To the churches of Galatia.
Galatians 1:2
At the beginning of the book of Galatians there is a summary of the gospel: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father” (1:3-4).
Here we see two dimensions of the gospel: What Jesus did for us on the cross (gave Himself for our sins) and what Jesus does in us by the Spirit (delivers us from the present evil age). These two are inseparably tied together.
The gospel is about what Jesus did for us 2,000 years ago on the cross. It is also about what He is doing in us now by His Spirit. The gospel is more than forgiveness and entrance into heaven. It is about the ongoing work of Christ by His Spirit in your life today. In other words, the gospel is as much about your sanctification as it is about your justification.
Our difficulty in grasping this is not a new problem. This is the reason why Galatians was written. Believers in Galatia had come to Christ. They found forgiveness of sins and assurance of heaven and within a short time they were asking, “What’s next?”
In their minds, the gospel was about the beginning and ending of the Christian life. But it had nothing to say to the middle. So, they were saying, “I know my sins are forgiven. I know that I am going to heaven when I die, but how do I get through next week?”
It’s not surprising that some entrepreneurs stepped in and seized the opportunity to offer an answer. They did not exactly say that Paul’s message was false. They said it was inadequate. They didn’t deny the truth of the gospel. They questioned the sufficiency of the gospel.
Do you ever wonder about or doubt the sufficiency of the gospel?
