Latest / Reformed Thinking / No Other Gospel: Paul’s Holy Warning (Galatians 1) | John Chrysostom

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No Other Gospel: Paul’s Holy Warning (Galatians 1) | John Chrysostom · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to Reformed Thinking. It is absolutely fantastic to
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have you joining us today. Yeah, really glad you're here
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with. Us For this deep dive, our
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central mission is to carefully and methodically examine Jean
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Chrysostom homily on the 1st chapter of the Apostle Pauls
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Epistle to the Galatians. You're getting a front row seat
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to see how the early Church Fathers understood well the most
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critical concepts of our faith. Really heavy stuff, right?
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We're talking about the mechanics of grace, the proper
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role of the law, and the absolute sovereignty of God in
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salvation. It's.
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Going to be a fascinating discussion.
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OK, let's unpack this. We have to set the historical
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context first because, well, without the background, the
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intensity of Paul's letter might just catch you completely off
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guard. Oh, absolutely.
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It's aggressive. It is the apostle Paul is
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writing to a group of believers in the region of Galatia, and
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these individuals are they're rapidly slipping away from the
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gospel of Greece. They're being pulled right back
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into the heavy bondage of the Jewish ceremonial law.
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And Paul is not happy about it. He's writing this letter as an
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emergency intervention, basically to stop a theological
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catastrophe. What's fascinating here is the
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sheer magnitude of the theological stakes involved.
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When we look at this text through the lens of the
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Westminster Confession of Faith, it perfectly illustrates the
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absolute, irreconcilable clash between the Covenant of Works
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and the Covenant of Grace. Yeah, we should probably define
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those for anyone who might need a quick refresher.
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Good call. So the Covenant of works was the
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original arrangement with Adam in the Garden of Eden.
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Do this and live. Right, Disobey and die.
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It relies entirely on human performance.
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Which didn't go so well. Not at all.
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The covenant of grace, on the other hand, is God's promise to
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save Throners through the perfect life and sacrifice of
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Jesus Christ. Received by faith alone.
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Faith alone, but the Galatians were trying to drag the covenant
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of works right into the covenant of grace.
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It's like trying to mix oil and water.
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Exactly. The sources we're analyzing
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today show Paul vigorously defending his divine Commission
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against false teachers. These teachers who were actively
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trying to pull believers back under a system where, you know,
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human works were required to maintain God's favor.
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The battle lines are just completely drawn over how a
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person actually stands justified before a holy God.
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And you can feel that tension from the very first lines of the
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text. Chris Austin points out the
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vehement and the lofty spirit of Paul's opening remarks.
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He comes in hot. He really does.
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Usually when you read a letter from Paul, he starts with warm
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greetings. Giving thanks for the believers.
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Right offering a long prayer for their continued growth, but not
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here. No pleasantries.
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He skips them entirely, and Chrysostom provides this
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brilliant analogy to help us comprehend why Paul is being so
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abrasive right out of the gate. The doctor analogy, yes.
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He compares a good spiritual teacher to a skilled medical
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doctor because a doctor cannot always prescribe soothing
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ointments and gentle bandages. If a patient comes in with a
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life threatening infection. You can't just give them an
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aspirin. A doctor has to use a scalpel to
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cut out the dead tissue. Sometimes they have to use
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cautery to burn the wound closed and stop the bleeding.
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Other times, sure, mild remedies will do the trick.
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But not here. No.
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Paul is applying the scalpel and the cautery here because the
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Galatians are in critical spiritual condition.
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The infection of false teaching is spreading fast.
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And gentle persuasion would honestly be malpractice at this
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point. We see that same shifting tone
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in Christ's own earthly ministry.
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Actually, no, that's a great point.
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Yeah, when dealing with his disciples, Chrysostom brings up
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very specific examples from the Gospel narratives to prove this,
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and it perfectly validates Paul's approach.
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Like with Peter. Think about the Apostle Peter.
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In one breath, Christ praises him enthusiastically.
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Right after Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ.
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Jesus says, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and
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blood hath not revealed that unto thee.
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It's a massive moment of high praise.
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But then shortly after that when Peter tries to talk Jesus out of
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going to the cross. Effectively trying to bypass the
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atonement. Christ issues a shockingly harsh
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rebuke. Get thee behind me, Satan.
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Yeah. Severe language becomes an
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absolute necessity when dealing with the corruption of grace.
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When the core of the gospel is under direct attack, mild
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manners are just no longer the appropriate tool.
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Paul is following his master's playbook.
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He's escalating his rhetoric to match the severity of the
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threat. That brings the specific crisis
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in Galatia into shark focus. The threat was coming from a
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group of false teachers. Often referred to as Judaizers.
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Right. And according to Chrysostom's
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analysis, these teachers were entirely intoxicated with vain
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glory. They crave the dignity and the
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social status of being recognized as authoritative
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teachers. And they were demanding that the
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Galatian believers observe specific Jewish rituals.
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We're talking about mandatory circumcision.
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Keeping the Sabbath days. Observing the new moon
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festivals. They were essentially telling
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these new Gentile Christians that faith in Christ was a good
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start. But it simply wasn't enough.
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Right. To be truly right with God, you
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also had to conform to the ceremonial law of Moses.
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They were adding human requirements to the finished
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work of the Cross. The false teachers also deployed
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a very specific, highly deceptive argument to back up
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their demands. And to undermine Paul's
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credibility. Yeah, they claim that Peter,
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James and John. The original apostles down in
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Jerusalem. They claim those guys did not
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forbid these Jewish practices. They argued, look, the guys who
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actually walked with Jesus are still going to the temple and
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keeping the customs. So Paul is just a rogue agent
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making up his own rules. But Chrysostom defends the other
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apostles by explaining A crucial distinction here.
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This part is so insightful. It really is.
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The other apostles allowed those practices just as a concession
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to the weakness of the Jewish believers.
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Not as a positive binding doctrine.
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Exactly. They were condescending to the
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cultural background of the Jews. Allowing them time to transition
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out of the Old Covenant customs. They were absolutely not
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teaching that these practices justified anyone before God.
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But the false teachers took that sensitive pastoral concession.
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Weaponized it. Yes, weaponized it against Paul,
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telling the Galatians that Paul was contradicting the original
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disciples and preaching an inferior, watered down gospel.
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So how does Paul respond to this massive attack on his
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credentials? Well, he defends his authority
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by launching into a rigorous defense of the Trinity.
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Right in the opening lines. His opening claim is that his
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apostleship is not from men, neither through man.
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He's stating clearly and unequivocally that his
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Commission came directly from God.
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Skipping human mediation entirely, he didn't go to a
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seminary in Jerusalem. He didn't get a certificate of
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approval from Peter. He wasn't ordained by the
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Council of Men. His authority is divine.
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And the theological synthesis Chrysostom pulls from this
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opening greeting is just incredible to read.
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He anticipates the heretics, right?
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He anticipates how later heretics, particularly those who
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denied the full deity of Christ, tried to use the word through in
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Paul's phrasing. To argue that the son is
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inferior to the father. Because Paul writes through
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Jesus Christ. And these heretics claim that
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the word through implies A lesser agent.
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Like an assistant carrying out the orders of a superior boss.
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But Chris Austin refutes this completely.
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He shows that Paul immediately adds and God the Father to the
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exact same phrase. By applying the word through to
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both the father and the son simultaneously.
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Paul proves they share the exact same divine essence.
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Chris Austin even brings in the standard baptismal formula to
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cement his case. We're commanded to baptize in
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the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
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And he argues that the order of the names does not establish an
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order of rank or superiority. Just because the son is named
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second does not make him less than the father.
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It proves the absolute equality of the persons within the
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Godhead. And it validates that Paul's
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calling through Christ is a calling directly from the
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Almighty God. Chris Austin makes another
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brilliant observation about what Paul deliberately chooses to
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leave out of his opening remarks.
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The cosmic majesty part, yes. Why does Paul skip mention in
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Christ's Cosmic Majesty? If you read the opening of the
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Gospel of John, it starts with the sweeping declaration that
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the Word was God. Existing before time began.
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The Epistle to the Hebrews spends its opening verses
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talking about Christ being the exact imprint of God's nature.
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Upholding the universe by the word of His strength.
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But here in Galatians Paul skips all that pre existence theology.
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And goes straight to the resurrection, saying God raised
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him from the dead. It seems like a missed
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opportunity to establish Christ's authority.
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But Chris Austin points out the sheer genius of this omission.
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Paul does this because he is diagnosing the specific fear
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gripping the Galatians. They're terrified.
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They're terrified of abandoning the Law of Moses because they
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fear God's wrath. Right, if Paul had spent his
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opening paragraph talking about Christ creating the universe out
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of nothing. It would be entirely true.
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But it wouldn't address their immediate blinding panic about
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works, sin and justification. By highlighting the cross and
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the reservation duration right away, Paul points directly to
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the historical acts that completely exclude the need for
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the ceremonial law. The atonement is the central
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issue here. Christ dying and rising again
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proves that the penalty for sin has been paid in full.
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If the cross is sufficient to deal with the wrath of God
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against sin, then the law is entirely obsolete as a means of
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justification. Paul is giving them the specific
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theological medicine they need for their specific spiritual
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disease. Here's where it gets really
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interesting. In verse 4, Paul uses the phrase
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deliver us out of this present evil world.
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Oh, the ascetic heretics love this.
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One they did. Chrysostom notes that certain
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heretics seized on this exact phrase to claim that the
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physical world, physical matter itself, is inherently evil.
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Even the literal course of the sun and moon.
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Yeah, they tried to pit the spiritual realm against the
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physical creation. Arguing that the goal of the
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Christian life is to escape the wicked physical body.
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And the corrupted material universe.
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They read Evil World and thought it meant Evil Planet.
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But Chrysostom early dismantles that heretical view using
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airtight, undeniable logic. Walk us through that.
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If physical life itself is evil, he argues, then murderers would
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deserve a crown of honor for ending it.
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Wow, that's taking it to its logical conclusion.
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If the physical body is a wicked prison, then a killer is just a
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Liberator. And suicide shouldn't be
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punished at all, but praised for escaping the evil matter.
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But we know from the Scriptures that God strictly punishes
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murder. Therefore, the physical world
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and the biological life God created cannot be inherently
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evil. Instead, when Paul says evil
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world, he's referring to depraved moral principles.
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Sinful. Actions and the ungodly systems
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of thought that dominate the current age.
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Chris Austin lists daily realities, eating, sleeping,
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growing, the natural cycles of the sun and moon.
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He sees them as entirely natural and good works of God's original
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creation. True evil is not found in dirt,
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rocks, or human biology. True evil is a matter of the
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corrupt human will acting in deliberate rebellion against a
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holy God. The physical world is just the
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stage. The is where the evil actually
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resides, meaving. Into the actual body of his
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rebuke, Paul expresses absolute shock at the situation.
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He's stunned. He says.
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I marvel that you are so quickly removing from him that called
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you He's stunned. By the sheer speed of their
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desertion, Chrysostom. Highlights that falling away at
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the first onset of false teaching displays extreme
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cowardice he uses. This vivid military analogy
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comparing. The Galatians to a soldier who
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deserts his commanding general in the very middle of a minor
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skirmish, The false. Teachers didn't even need a long
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drawn out siege to deceive them. The Galatians.
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Threw down their weapons and surrendered almost immediately.
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They. Traded the freedom of grace for
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the chains of the law without even putting up a fight, Paul.
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Then diagnosis their surrender by saying they are turning to a
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different gospel but he. Quickly clarifies, which is not
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another gospel, this phrase. Requires very careful handling
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because. Chrysostom addresses how a group
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known as the Mamarsianites twisted this specific verse
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right for. Those who might not spend their
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weekends reading 2nd century church history.
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The Marcinites. Were a radical sect who
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essentially took scissors to the Bible they cut.
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Out the entire Old Testament and anything.
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In the New Testament, they felt was too Jewish, claiming.
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The God of the Old Testament was an evil deity they used.
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Paul's phrase here to claim there is only one valid gospel
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book, their. Heavily edited version of Luke
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Karestum. Refutes this nonsense by arguing
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that the four canonical gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are
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truly one gospel because. They agree perfectly in their
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core doctrine. The number.
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Of physical writers does not destroy the unity of the truth
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when. Paul says there is not another
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gospel. He means there is only one
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objective truth regarding salvation by grace alone.
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Any. Alternative system of salvation
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is not a different kind of gospel, it's a total.
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Fabrication. The Judaizers.
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Infiltrating Galatia might have argued that they weren't
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actually changing that much. They probably told.
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The Galatians, we still believe in Jesus, we still believe in
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the cross. We're just adding.
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One or two minor commandments like circumcision and a few holy
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days just to be safe. But Paul.
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Treats this seemingly minor edition as a total catastrophic
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subversion of the Gospel. Kurostom.
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Gives us fantastic, vivid examples from the text to
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illustrate why a slight alteration is so incredibly
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deadly. The Royal.
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Coin example, he says. That taking a knife and paring
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away a small piece of a royal coin ruins the validity of the
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whole coin. You cannot.
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Use a defaced coin in the marketplace.
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He also. Points to the Old Testament
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narratives to show God's 0 tolerance policy for altering
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his commands a man. Gathering sticks on the Sabbath
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brought a death sentence upon himself.
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Ouza. Simply reaching out and touching
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the Ark of the Covenant to keep it from falling resulted in his
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sudden death. The point?
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Is clear small deviations from God's prescribed way have
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massive fatal consequences if we connect this.
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To the bigger picture, Chrysostom's application to his
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own contemporaries in the 4th century is striking, and it
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hits. Very close to home for us today,
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he sternly. Rebukes Christians in his day
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for keeping Jewish fasts or adopted Gentile customs like
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looking. For omens practicing.
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Astrology and even. Writing superstitious
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incantations on the heads of newborn babies to ward off evil
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spirits, they thought they. Could blend cultural
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superstitions with their Christian faith, but.
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Adding anything to Christ's grace, whether it is the Jewish
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ceremonial law, Pagan ideas of fate, or modern self help,
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moralism nullifies the gospel entirely from a.
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Reformed perspective justification is by faith alone
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in Christ alone, if you. Attempt to add your own works,
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your own cultural superstitions, or your own religious traditions
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to the finished work of Christ on the cross.
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You have completely destroyed grace.
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You're. Essentially telling God that his
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son's sacrifice was insufficient and that you.
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Need to chip in your own effort to close the gap that.
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Uncompromising stance on the purity of the gospel leads right
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into what commentators call the great anathema in Galatians 1.8
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to 9, Paul writes. Something terrifying, He calls.
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Down a curse an. Anathema, a sentence of eternal
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destruction, even on an Angel from heaven or on himself.
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If they dare to preach a contrary gospel, he leaves.
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Zero room for negotiation. There is no.
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Dialogue, no middle ground and no compromise, including.
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Himself and celestial beings in this terrifying curse, Paul
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demonstrates a massive theological principle that still
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governs the church today the. Objective truth of God's written
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revelation ranks infinitely higher than any personal dignity
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any. Miraculous experience or any?
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Ecclesiastical office, it doesn't matter.
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How high-ranking the messenger is if a glowing.
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Angel descends from the sky tomorrow with a message that
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contradicts the Bible. That Angel is cursed.
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Chrysostom. Points out the specific reason
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Paul adds the phrase from heaven, right?
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Because in the Old Testament context, earthly priests and
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prophets were sometimes called angels, which.
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Simply translates to messengers. Paul.
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Specifically says angels from heaven to cover all possible
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bases, ensuring. Absolutely no one, whether
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earthly priest or heavenly seraphim, has the authority to
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alter the message of salvation by grace the truth.
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Judges the messenger. The messenger does not determine
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the truth. Paul then turns.
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The spotlight onto himself and asks the listener to consider
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his own motives for am I now? Persuading men or God he's
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challenging. The false teachers accusation
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that he's a crowd pleaser who watered down the gospel to make
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it easier for Gentiles to accept, Paul argues.
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That if he simply wanted to please men, he would still be a
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comfortable, highly honored, wealthy Pharisee in Jerusalem.
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He wouldn't be. Suffering beatings, stonings and
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constant harassment. Paul's.
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Radical shift in lifestyle is the ultimate proof of his
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absolute sincerity. He voluntarily.
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Traded his country, his friends, his elite reputation, and his
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physical safety for a life. Characterized by persecution,
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strife, and daily impending death?
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No. Sane person makes that kind of
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massive sacrifice simply to please human beings or to gain a
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small following of outcasts. This proves his conversion is
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entirely genuine and his motives are laser focused on facing
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God's final judgment with a clear conscience.
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This completely. Aligns with the Reformed view of
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human nature and salvation A totally.
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Depraved heart, dead in sin and fiercely opposed to the truth,
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cannot just decide one day to change its own desires and
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suffer. For a cause it previously hated
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it. Requires God's overwhelming
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grace to miraculously intervene, shatter that hard heart, grant
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the gift of faith, and redirect those affections entirely toward
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God's glory. Paul's.
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Suffering is the evidence of God's sovereign work in his soul
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that. Reality brings us directly to
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Paul's testimony about his dark past he describes.
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Himself as the Pharisee of Pharisees saying.
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Beyond pleasure, I persecuted the Church of God.
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He wants them. To know he wasn't a casual
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observer, he was the. Chief antagonist.
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Chrysostom makes a point to clarify that Paul's persecution
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wasn't born of petty vanity, personal greed or a desire for
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political power. It came.
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From a fierce, though terribly misdirected zeal for the
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traditions of his father's, he genuinely.
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Thought he was doing the right thing by eradicating A
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blasphemous cult his. Conscience was captive to the
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law, and that made him a ruthless killer.
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This raises. An important question regarding
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human merit and God's election why would.
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A holy God choose someone violently attacking his own
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bride, the Church in. Galatians 1.15 Paul gives the
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answer. He says it pleased God, who
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separated him from his mother's womb, to call him by his grace.
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Paul credits his calling entirely to God's good pleasure.
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He doesn't. Claim he earned it through his
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zeal. He doesn't.
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Claim that God looked down the corridors of time and saw some
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future good in him or. Foresaw that he would eventually
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make a great apostle. He was.
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Chosen before he had done anything good or bad, going all
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the way back to his mother's womb.
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We see clear Reformed theological alignment right
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here, specifically the doctrine of unconditional election God.
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Calls individuals based entirely on His secret Providence and
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sovereign grace, not. Based on any human worthiness,
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foreseen faith, or moral superiority, Paul.
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Was the worst of sinners, and God saved him to display the
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absolute freedom of his grace when Paul.
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Describes the actual moment of his conversion.
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He uses a very specific and revealing phrase, he says.
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God chose to reveal his son in me, Chris Austin.
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Zeroes in on that tiny preposition in.
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It wasn't just. An external instruction.
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It wasn't just Paul. Reading a new scroll, hearing a
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persuasive lecture, or even just seeing the blinding light on the
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road to Damascus. The external.
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Light blinded his physical eyes, but the internal enlightenment
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of the soul by the Holy Spirit is what actually saved him God.
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Worked inside his heart to reveal the truth of who Jesus is
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and Paul. 'S immediate reaction to this
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internal revelation is incredibly telling.
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He says he. Didn't consult flesh and blood,
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meaning he. Didn't rush off to Jerusalem to
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get the other apostles to verify his experience.
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Divine. Instruction requires no human
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verification. When God speaks to the soul
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through the Word and the Spirit, you don't need a committee to
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approve it. You don't need a.
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Denominational stamp of approval to know that grace is real
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instead of. Seeking validation, Paul went
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straight to Arabia Chrysostom. Expresses immense admiration for
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Paul's fervent soul here. Think about.
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The psychological weight of this decision rather.
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Than seeking comfortable human validation in a familiar city
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where he could have been celebrated as a high profile
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convert, Paul chooses. A life of intense labor and
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isolation, heading straight. Out into the desert to preach to
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wild Barbarians, he. Demonstrates that his authority
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comes from heaven and he needs no earthly permission to start
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doing the work God called him to do.
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It isn't. Until 3 full years later that
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Paul finally travels to Jerusalem to visit Cephas, who
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we know. As the Apostle Peter and
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Chrysostom. Make sure we understand the
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exact nature of this trip Paul did.
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Not go to Jerusalem to sit at Peter's feet and be taught the
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basics of the faith he had. Already been preaching the
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gospel for three years? So what?
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Does this all mean for the relationship between the early
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apostles? It tells us.
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Everything about equality and mutual respect in the Kingdom of
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God. Paul.
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Possessing equal dignity and holding authority directly from
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Christ visits Peter out of sheer respect and friendship he stays
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with. Him for 15 days, likely sharing
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stories of what God was doing among the Gentiles and.
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Comparing notes on the grace they had both experienced, he
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also mentioned. Seeing James during this trip
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and he. Specifically honors James with
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the title The Lord's Brother Chrysostom.
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Argues this detail proves Paul harbored no envy or resentment
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toward the original apostles he freely.
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Gives them their honorable titles and respects their
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history with Jesus while. Fiercely maintaining the
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independence of his own God-given mission, He is.
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Not submissive to them, but he is in joyful harmony with them
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after that. Brief 15 day visit.
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Paul makes a highly strategic geographical choice.
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He leaves. Jerusalem and goes to preach in
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the regions of Syria and Silesia.
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Purposely remaining unknown by face to the churches in Judea,
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he's. Actively avoiding building on
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another man's foundation and he's.
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Ensuring that no one can ever accuse him of just copying the
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Judean Church's homework. He is.
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Forging his own path among the gentiles, the.
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Reaction of those Judean churches to Paul's distant
22:53
ministry is incredibly beautiful.
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They didn't know. What he looked like.
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But they had the rumors they heard.
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That the man who used to violently persecute them?
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The man who held the coats while Stephen was stoned was now
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passionately preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.
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And Paul? Records their reaction.
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They glorified God in me, concluding.
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His sweeping analysis of this first chapter, Chrysostom points
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out Paul's intense, genuine modesty.
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Paul. Deflects all the admiration and
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amazement away from his own achievements.
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He doesn't. Say they praise my incredible
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turn around or they admired my dedication he.
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Ensures that God alone receives the full glory for turning the
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chief persecutor into the chief preacher of grace.
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It is a. Stunning, breathtaking picture
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of Soli Dale. Gloria, Glory to.
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God alone, God took. His greatest enemy and made him
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his greatest ambassador, ensuring that human boasting is
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completely excluded. To sum.
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Up what we've sterilely covered today for you, the listener.
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We have seen Paul's fierce, uncompromising defense of pure
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grace against the legalistic demands of the law.
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We have. Looked at the absolute supreme
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authority of divine revelation over any human and tradition,
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even an Angel from heaven, and we have.
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Examined the radical sovereign grace that reaches down into the
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muck of human rebellion, shatters a hard heart, and turns
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enemies into apostles. This.
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Ancient text requires us to evaluate our own understanding
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of grace in our daily lives right now.
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Are you trying? To add your own modern
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equivalent of circumcision or new moons to the gospel, are
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you? Secretly relying on your own
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good works, your own consistent religious performance, your
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church attendance, or your own cultural superstitions to add to
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the finished work of Christ, do you think?
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God loves you more on the days you read your Bible and less on
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the days you fail. If so, you are slipping back
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into the Galatian error grace. Plus your effort equals a dead
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works religion grace plus. Absolutely anything equals
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nothing, Christ. Is entirely sufficient or he is
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not sufficient at all? I want to.
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Leave you with a final thought to Mull over as you go about the
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rest of your week if the apostle.
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Paul, a man directly commissioned by the risen
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Christ, was willing to pronounce an eternal curse on himself
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should he ever deviate from the pure gospel of grace.
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How meticulously. Should we examine the media, the
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favorite authors, the popular teachers, and the personal
25:15
traditions we allow to shape our own faith today?
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Are we holding? Them to the standard of pure
25:20
grace or are we letting a little bit of the law sneak back in?
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Thank you for joining. Us for this deep dive on
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reformed thinking Fair.