We or an Angel
Scripture Reading: Galatians 1:6-9
Two tools Satan keeps in his toolbox and uses to draw people away from Christ are trusted people and miraculous messages. Paul warns the people in the Galatian churches to believe neither if they are preaching a gospel contrary to the one first received from him.
The first trap comes in the form of people we trust. This is not to suggest we are not to trust others at all. The danger is that we trust people so implicitly that we reject any questioning of their message or their motive. We can develop a mindset that we are so enamored by a particular teacher that we won’t even entertain the idea that they might be wrong. There are preachers who are falling away from the gospel, but their fans won’t allow that to be pointed out because they hold them in too high of a regard.
The second trap is when we think something has to be true because the messenger performed what seemed to be a miraculous act. Supposedly someone was healed, or there was some sort of prophecy, or they did something spiritually heroic and as a result we conclude that everything they said must be true.
Paul warns that it doesn’t matter who the messenger is or what they have done. If their message is contrary to the gospel of Christ, then that message must be rejected. That person must not be listened to. It doesn’t matter if it is Paul (a trusted messenger) or an angel (a miraculous messenger). Don’t listen to them if the message doesn’t match the gospel.
The only safeguard we have is the truth as given to us in Scripture. Know it well. Then, not matter who is teaching you, if the teaching is contrary to the word of God you will recognize the error. Then, reject it and hold to the truth of the gospel in Jesus Christ.
