This pastoral passage was originally written for LRBC for June 16, 2024

Our lack of acquaintance with the terminology of the Old Testament can at times mask the significance of things we read in the New Testament.

One of the more electrifying things Paul ever wrote in his letters is found near the beginning of Galatians. There, he repeats a statement pronouncing a curse on anyone who preaches a different gospel message to the one he brought to them (Gal 1:8–9; see his mission to the Galatian towns in Acts 13–14). A “curse” here evokes the idea of handing over something to God, irrevocably, thereby devoting it to destruction—seen most graphically in the OT story of Achan’s sin in Joshua 6–7.

Paul’s use of this language against rival preachers may well be shocking to us. We are all used to the realities of living in a multi-religious culture, and the experiences of denominational differences within Christendom and theological differences within churches.

We might also call to mind biblical commands and commendations to gracious words, kindness, and humility, over against cursing, severity, and rivalry (Matt 5:22; Col 4:6; Phil 2:3). On what grounds can we accept such harsh language, let alone affirm it or even—if necessary—adopt it? 

It is important to pay attention to the issue at stake here. Paul speaks of others who bring “a different gospel.”

The message Paul and the other Apostles preached was that of God’s own act of self-giving, self-revelation, and self-investment in his own plan and purpose.

Paul spends the rest of Galatians unpacking how this is the case, but the issue he takes is that the so-called “other gospel” that is being preached effectively disposes of what God has done in Jesus Christ. Such preachers are not so much Paul’s rivals, as God’s enemies. Anyone promoting a version of the Christian faith that sets it up against the gospel by deferring, downplaying, or distorting the significance of what God has done in the gospel deserves to be under God’s curse. What’s more, they undercut the way that people can be redeemed from God’s curse and receive his promises (see Gal 3:10–14).

A clear view of the issue at stake will clarify the appropriateness of such severe language. It is of course not our first or only port of call for false teachers (2 Tim 2:24–26 springs to mind), but it is far from inappropriate. Weighty matters deserve weighty measures. 

For a final and more constructive thought, let me leave you with this. Since Paul saw fit to use such serious language to uphold the gospel, might it not be worth taking measures to see to it to that we ourselves grasp the gospel rightly? I invite you to read carefully Paul’s letter to the Galatians, where he clarifies and commends the gospel, and contends for the truth of what God has done in Jesus Christ.

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