My Daily Devotion: Galatians 1:1-10

Scripture:
Galatians 1:1-10
1 Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers and sisters[a] with me,
To the churches in 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 for ever and ever. Amen.
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse! 10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Reflection:
- we are reminded in verses 3-5 that because of God's abounding grace, our souls were saved from eternal damnation.
- Jesus Christ gave himself to rescue us from the evilness of this world. Although Jesus is God, he submitted to God's will, and followed what God the Father has instructed him to do.
- The Galatian churches seem to be forgetting God's grace in their lives because they are turning to a different teaching. So Paul reminded them that there is no other gospel but the Gospel of Christ.

Application:
- As Christians we all know that Jesus Christ died for our sins and to save us from eternal death. We should no longer be swayed by other kinds of teachings. Anything that does not declare that Jesus Christ died on the Cross, was risen, and ascended into heaven is not true gospel.
- the only way we can find out whether the gospel being preached in churches comes from God is by studying God's Words, too. John 8:31-32 says that if we hold to Jesus's teaching, then we are truly his disciples.  Knowing the truth will set us free.
- We should be able to distinguish truth from untruth by meditating on God's Words, and asking the Holy Spirit for guidance. The Holy Spirit who gives us wisdom will indeed help us to understand whether a teaching is from God or not.