“If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.” –Galatians 1:9
Do you have a friend or a family member who is one of those overly-friendly-never-angry-always-optimistic types? In every situation you have ever been in with them, their ever impressionable emotion has been the one and only constant. It is scary sometimes! Eventually you cynically start waiting for the time to come when some situation or circumstance finally breaks their now annoyingly gregarious outtake on life!..
Just me? Okay.
Imagine you did hit a circumstance like this where this person finally snaps! You would know that they were serious! You would know that if they who are always so calm and optimistic are upset and angry, that the situation they are angry about is truly justifiable!
The term “accursed” is a special word in that it has a vast array of definitions. Luckily for us, we can assume that Paul probably had the Hebrew equivalent in mind when using this Greek word – “anathema.” The Hebrew word, “harem,” means “something which God sets aside for destruction.” It also carries the connotation of something that is to be banned or expelled. Some have even translated this word as condemnation – “damned.”
If that doesn’t make you feel a little uneasy reading, consider that Paul uses this word twice in his introduction. It’s like he is saying, “Let me say this again, in case you missed it the first time.” Paul is using possible exaggeration to express the importance of this situation. Paul, who probably came to the Galatians with grace and love, is now saying that to preach or accept what the Galatians are hearing and accepting deserves condemnation. I’m sure hearing this phrase once was enough to startle the Galatians.
Note that Paul didn’t actually call curses from God on the men who were preaching this false gospel. He went around it with tact, saying that even an angel or he himself would deserve condemnation if they ever preached a gospel different than the true gospel of Christ.
He was willing to call judgment on himself:
That was how much the gospel meant to him.
That is how much Jesus’ redeeming work meant to him.
Does your heart ever break for those who are following a lie? How important is truth to you? How much does the gospel mean to you? Do you correct people who misrepresent God or Jesus or Christianity? What have you done in your own life to make sure you never stray away from the truth? You can read Paul’s urgency, his frustration, and his passion for God in every word he wrote in this letter. Grasping the truth of the gospel meant life and death to him.
How much do you care about the gospel?
BOBERT HILL 