Tuesday 18 March 2025

Psalm 101

Background
It is usual in Paul’s letters, after the initial greeting, to give thanks for the faith of the congregations to which he is writing. As we said yesterday, this isn’t a typical letter and, the urgency with which he writes, means he cuts straight to the chase.

Paul is astonished that, in a short time, the churches in Galatia are abandoning not just certain aspects of belief, but the God who called them and the grace they had been shown. The word ‘desert’ is the same as for 'turning apostate' (renouncing their religion), so it was no light thing he charged them with.

At this point, Paul doesn’t articulate in what way they are deserting God, or why they are doing so. He does mention that other preachers have been confusing them and wanting to pervert the gospel of Christ. At this point, it isn’t clear who those people are or how they are perverting the gospel.

What Paul wants to stress from the outset is that there is only one gospel – and that is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Anything that deviates from this is a false gospel. This ‘gospel of Christ’ (1:7) can be understood both as the message preached by Christ, and the good news embodied in the life, death and resurrection of Christ.

The following passage details how Paul’s life and belief changed (Galatians 1:13-2:14). Elsewhere in his letters he details how he becomes all things to all people (1 Corinthians 9:19-23). Therefore, this statement about there only being one gospel shouldn’t be taken in a rigid way, or to imply that Paul wasn’t open to learning and discovering more.

There may have been allegations made about Paul that he had watered down the gospel in order to be more appealing to people. He refutes that and reasserts his claim that the gospel he preached was received from Jesus Christ. This leads into the next passage which we will consider on Thursday.

To Ponder:

• How can we grow and develop in faith, while also remaining true to the one gospel?
• When the world is full of different ideas and beliefs, how do we discern which voices to listen to and which to reject?

Prayer
God of wisdom, help us grow into discovering the length, breadth, height and depth of your sovereign grace. Amen.

Bible notes author: The Revd Will Fletcher
Will Fletcher is a presbyter in the Central Sussex United Area. Alongside his church duties, Will is the Ecumenical Officer for the Sussex part of the South-East District. He is married to Helen and they have one son. When not working, Will makes up part of the bass section of Patcham Silver Band.