1 Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead—

2 and all the brothers with me, To the churches of Galatia:

3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,

4 who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

5 to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

6 I am amazed how quickly you are deserting the One who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—

7 which is not even a gospel. Evidently some people are troubling you and trying to distort the gospel of Christ.

8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be under a curse!

9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be under a curse!

— Galatians 1:1-9

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace, mercy and salvation from Christ to you.

We can summarize what the gospel is NOT here. The gospel is not a subjective message. It is not something we say or do in our hearts. Neither is it an experience we have had. The gospel is not a formula. It is not repeating some phrase. It is not what we say or what someone leads us to say. The gospel is not saying the so-called “sinner’s prayer.” The gospel is not an emotion. It is not a show of remorse or beating oneself up. It is not a display of tears, joy or sorrow.

The gospel is not some ecstatic or mystical experience. It is not speaking in tongues. It is not being slain in the spirit. It is not some sort of magical incantation. The gospel is not a promise or commitment we make. The gospel is not something we do for God. The gospe is not some deal we make with God. God does not say, “If you’ll make me Lord, then I’ll save you,” or “If you’ll give Me your life, your heart or your all, then I’ll give you salvation.”