February 5, 2023
The Anatomy of a Heresy
Galatians 1:6-9
Heresies, Pharisees, & Everything in Between
The Anatomy of a Heresy
Galatians 1:6-9
A few weeks ago, we heard a sermon entitled, “Don’t Fool Yourself”, in which we looked at Jesus’ sermon on the mount recorded in Matthew 7. In the sermon, we were challenged to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith. Jesus gave us 3 tests to see if we are in fact Christians and not the wolf in sheep's clothing that He speaks about in that sermon. Today’s sermon is somewhat of a sequel. Instead of looking inwardly we are going to be looking outwardly in order to identify heretical teachings and those wolves in sheep's clothing Jesus warned us about, but before we do that we need to understand the definition of heresy. There have been many definitions of heresies over the years. When we mention heresies this morning, we mean any teachings that are in direct opposition to the truths found within the Bible, whether they call themselves “Christian” teachings or not.
Heresies are nothing new to the church for they have been around ever since the church was established. They will show up in new ways every few years, but one thing remains the same, they are always contrary to the teachings of the Bible. This morning, I want us to take a look at a letter that Paul wrote to a church that was struggling with heresies. We can better identify heresies when we are exposed to them and we will not be fooled by them as the church in Galatia was.
The Language of Heresies - Galatians 1:6
6 I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News
Paul starts this letter as he does with almost all his letters. Instead of the encouragement he usually gives after his introduction, Paul starts with a very passionate response to what was taking place at the church. The issue was that there were church members that had fallen for the false teachings of a group called the Judaizers (we will get into their particular heresy later). This morning I would like for us to pay careful attention to two portions of this verse. The first is the word that is translated as, “turning away”. It gives us the idea of someone who is drawn away by means of seduction or enticement and this helps us to understand why it was such a quick turning away from the true God. These heresies were moving into the church without anyone noticing because everyone thought what was being taught sounded like good teachings and it was very appealing. In reality what was being taught was false. As we see all throughout scripture this is a trick Satan loves to use especially against believers. Therefore, we must be on our guard, standing on the Word of God at all times.
The second part of this verse I want us to pay close attention to is the phrase, “pretends to be the good news”. The key word here is “pretend” because how else would this heresy (a teaching that was so different from the teachings of Jesus and the apostles) start taking root so easily within the church? It’s because, to the immature believer, it looked like the real thing. Just as a wolf that pretends to be a sheep, heresies pretend to look like true Biblical teachings. One way teachers of heresies try to fool people is by using the same terms Christians use but mean something totally different.
We all know that not everyone who says they are Christian are actually Christian. We know that not every church that says it’s Christian is in fact Christian. It’s sometimes hard to tell the difference between the real things and false teachers who teach heresies. That’s what was seemingly happening here. You had a group using all the same words that Paul used when he established the Galatian church. The things the church was comfortable and familiar with, but they were meaning very different things. This is what pretenders do, they take parts of the real thing but then they insert their false heretical teachings into them. It’s like rat poison, if you look at the ingredients on the back of a box of rat poison it’s 99.9% good stuff, but it’s that 0.1% that kills the rat. The same thing happens with false teachers. They come in and teach a lot of seemingly good and sometimes true things, but it’s those false teachings that end up destroying. A very effective way to combat this is by asking people who are using “church words” to define what they mean or define their terms. Ask them what they mean when they use words like saved, Jesus, God, atonement, heaven, hell, and (in the case we have here in scripture) the gospel or good news. When we start having people define what they mean we will quickly find out if what they are teaching, what they believe lines up with the truths of the Bible or are their teachings in direct opposition to it.
The Methods of Heresies - Galatians 1:7
7 but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.
Paul starts off this verse by declaring that this pretend gospel is “no” good news at all, it’s a fake. This is the same sentiment that Paul expresses in 2 Corinthians 11:4 when he declares that there are people who are preaching a false Jesus and the church is accepting them. When you preach a false gospel, you are preaching a false Jesus. When you preach a false Jesus you are preaching a Jesus who cannot and will not save you because it is fake. The Jesus of the Bible is the sure foundation of the gospel. When you have a false Jesus you have a false foundation and everything built upon it will crumble. How does one proclaim a false Jesus? You do so by twisting the truth of Christ.
In the case of those who were deceiving the church at Galatia, we know from scripture that they were twisting the truth of Christ by claiming they had secret knowledge (we call those people charlatans). They were saying the things recorded in the Bible (the teachings of Jesus and the apostles) are fine and they accept it (to a point), but they’ve been given something else, some sort of special knowledge that makes the gospel even “better” and more true. They would also bring those new and exciting false teachings in and they would ever so slightly distort the true gospel of Jesus Christ. All of it would be driven by legalism, the very thing Jesus fought and taught against in the lives of the Pharisees during His earthly ministry. The Judiazers were so good at this that even Peter started to fall for their teachings.
The Judiazers were adding to the true gospel by including works. They said there were aspects of the Mosaic Law that must be practiced in order to obtain salvation. That’s a problem because the Bible teaches we are saved by GRACE ALONE (Ephesians 2:8-9). As we said when someone teaches something that is in direct opposition to the Bible it’s heresy. Salvation by grace and salvation by works cannot co-exist. It must be one or the other. The Bible says it’s by grace. It’s upon grace we will live and we will stand. When we add anything to the gospel of grace that is taught in scripture, we are teaching a false gospel and proclaiming a false Jesus. Any other Jesus than the Jesus taught in scripture can not save.
God’s Response to Heresies - Galatians 1:8-9
8 Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. 9 I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed.
Lastly, Paul makes sure we understand the severity of teaching heresies. He uses a word that is used very sparsely throughout the New Testament and that word is “anathema”. It’s a word that we translate here as a curse. The meaning in Greek is much more terrifying than our English word “curse” can portray. It means to be handed over to God as an object for His wrath to be poured out upon. This is what happened to Jesus on the cross when He took upon Himself the sins of the world and the wrath of God was poured out upon Him. While the wrath of God upon Jesus was temporary, the connotation here is that this will be eternal. Paul only uses this word in his writings when dealing with false teachers, so I think we can confidently understand God’s response to those who teach falsely.
Not only is this a warning to those who teach heresies, it’s also a declaration of Paul’s confidence in God’s unchanging nature and unchanging gospel. We know from Malachi 3:6 that God does not change. Paul is so confident in it, that he says even if I come and tell you a new gospel (or it’s an angel) let that tell you a new gospel that the wrath of God will fall upon that person or being. It’s because Paul knew the God he was proclaiming and the gospel that he was proclaiming was a truth that would never change. The gospel that we proclaim today is the same that was proclaimed then. God’s word and His message never change.
This morning we’ve seen what heresies look like. We’ve seen that those who teach them will use very similar language to the Bible but mean very different things. We’ve seen the method they use is by claiming to have special knowledge and try to add to the gospel of grace by means of legalism and good works. We’ve seen God’s response to those who teach falsely. God takes this very seriously and we should too. Our ultimate authority is God’s Word, the Bible, and it should be our first and last standard in all things. Not our feelings and not through people who claim to have a special word from God, but by God’s Word alone. Next week we will be looking at how we are called to deal with heresies in and around our church. Until then I want you to think about possible heresies that you have been exposed to in and around our community. Take those teachings and examine them against the standard of the Bible to see if they measure up. When you find teachings that are contrary to the Bible begin by praying for those who propagate those false teachings that they will come to repentance. Pray for those who are victims of these teachings, that they will come to the knowledge of the truth. Pray that you will have the opportunity, even today, to proclaim the true gospel to them and they can experience the saving grace of God.
