It's the Real Thing

Big Idea: Know the Gospel so you can spot a fake.
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Galatians 1.6-7 (CSB): I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— (7) not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

Devotion: A few years ago, I was in Fort Worth, TX at a Dave and Buster’s. I had never been to one and it was absolutely phenomenal. I was, however, shocked to discover that they did not sell Sweet Tea...I was absolutely shocked. In the same way, I’m also equally shocked when restaurants sell Pepsi instead of Coke. Afterall, there is nothing that compares to Coca-Cola. You can substitute Pepsi for Coke and get the same thing.
 
In the same way, you cannot substitute the Gospel of Jesus Christ for something less than and get the same result. Some try to sell a “Prosperity Gospel” and others try to sell a gospel of works. However, those gospels are not the real Gospel. You need to know the real thing so that you can spot the fake.
 
In today’s passage, Paul is confronting the sad reality that the Galatians had chosen to follow a false gospel instead of the real one (which they knew). So, do you know the real thing? Do you know the Gospel like the back of your hand? If not, get a hold on it. The better that you know the genuine article, the quicker that you’ll be able to spot a fake.

For Reflection…
 
-What false gospels have you heard in the last few months? In what ways do those false gospels contradict the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
 
-Read one chapter of Galatians a day over the next week and take note of how Paul describes the Gospel.
 
-Pray and thank God for providing the Gospel so that you may be saved. Ask him to help you know when you hear a false gospel.