QT 17/08/2026 Mon Galatians 1 No Other Gospel. No Substitutes. 没有别的福音。没有替代品。

QT 17/08/2026 Mon Galatians 1 No Other Gospel. No Substitutes.
READ https://www.esv.org/Galatians+1

What if the biggest threat to Christianity isn't rejecting the gospel—but subtly changing it? In Galatians 1, Paul warns that there is no other gospel. Discover why adding anything to Christ's finished work doesn't improve the gospel—it destroys it.

Key Verse
"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ." — Galatians 1:6–7 (ESV)

The Apostle Paul begins his letter to the Galatians with an unusually urgent tone. Instead of his customary thanksgiving, he expresses astonishment that the believers are turning away from the gospel they had first received. False teachers had persuaded them that faith in Christ alone was not enough. They insisted that obedience to the Jewish law was also necessary for salvation.

Paul's response is uncompromising. There is only one gospel—the good news that sinners are justified by God's grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. Any message that adds human effort, religious rituals, or personal merit to Christ's finished work is not a better gospel; it is a distorted gospel.

This warning remains relevant today. Many voices promise acceptance with God through morality, good deeds, religious performance, spiritual experiences, or self-improvement. Others redefine the gospel into a message of personal success, comfort, or prosperity. Yet whenever Christ's sufficiency is diminished and human achievement is elevated, the gospel has been distorted.

Paul goes so far as to declare:
"But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed." (Galatians 1:8, ESV)

Truth is not determined by popularity, eloquence, sincerity, or even supernatural claims. The true gospel has already been revealed in Jesus Christ and entrusted to His apostles. Every teaching, preacher, church, and spiritual movement must be measured against God's revealed Word.

Paul then shares his own testimony. Once a fierce persecutor of the church, he was transformed entirely by God's grace. His conversion was not the result of human persuasion or religious education but of God's sovereign initiative:

"But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me..." (Galatians 1:15–16, ESV)

Paul's life reminds us that salvation begins with God. Before we sought Christ, He sought us. His grace does not merely improve people—it transforms enemies of the gospel into servants of Christ. The same grace that saved Paul continues to rescue and change lives today.

Finally, Paul's unwavering commitment challenges every believer:
"For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ." (Galatians 1:10, ESV)

The temptation to seek human approval is powerful. We may soften biblical truth to avoid criticism or compromise our convictions to gain acceptance. But faithful discipleship requires that Christ's approval matter more than the world's applause. The servant of Christ is called to proclaim the truth with both courage and love, even when it is unpopular.

Reflection

What shapes your understanding of the gospel? Is your confidence rooted entirely in Christ's finished work, or have you subtly begun trusting in your own performance, morality, or religious activity? The gospel never changes. We are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Every day we must return to that glorious truth, for it is the only gospel that saves, sustains, and transforms.

Prayer

Gracious Father, thank You for the unchanging gospel of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Guard my heart from believing any message that adds to or subtracts from Your grace. Keep me from trusting in my own efforts, achievements, or religious performance. Help me rest completely in Christ's finished work on the cross. Give me courage to stand for the truth of the gospel with humility and love, seeking Your approval above all else. May my life proclaim the grace that has rescued and transformed me. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

QT 17/08/2026 星期一  加拉太书 1 没有别的福音。没有替代品。
阅读 http://m.bbintl.org/bible/ncv/gal/1/

如果基督教面临的最大威胁不是拒绝福音，而是悄然篡改福音，会怎样？在《加拉太书》1章中，保罗警告说，没有别的福音。来了解为何在基督已成全的工作上添加任何内容，非但不能完善福音，反而会摧毁它。

关键经文
“6 我很惊奇，你们这么快就离开了借着基督的恩呼召你们的那一位，去归向别的福音。 7 其实那并不是另一个福音，只是有些搅扰你们的人，想把基督的福音改变了。”——加拉太书1:6–7

使徒保罗在致加拉太人的书信开头，语气异常急切。他没有像往常那样先表达感谢，而是对信徒们背离他们最初所领受的福音表示惊讶。假教师们说服他们，单单信靠基督是不够的。他们坚持认为，要得救还必须遵守犹太律法。

保罗的回应毫不妥协。只有一个福音——那就是：罪人单单因神的恩典，单单借着对耶稣基督的单单信心，得以称义。任何在基督已成全的工作上附加人的努力、宗教仪式或个人功德的信息，都不是更好的福音；而是被扭曲的福音。

这一警告在今天依然具有现实意义。许多人宣称，通过道德操守、善行、宗教仪式、属灵经历或自我完善，就能获得上帝的接纳。还有人将福音重新定义为关于个人成功、安逸或繁荣的信息。然而，每当基督的完全被贬低、人的成就被抬高时，福音便遭到了歪曲。

保罗甚至断言：
“但无论是我们，或是从天上来的使者，如果传给你们的和我们以前传给你们的福音不同，他就该受咒诅。”（加拉太书 1:8）

真理并非由受欢迎程度、口才、真诚，甚至超自然的主张来决定。真正的福音早已在耶稣基督里显明，并托付给祂的使徒们。每一项教导、每一位传道人、每一间教会以及每一个属灵运动，都必须以神所启示的道为衡量标准。

随后，保罗分享了自己的见证。他曾是教会中凶猛的逼迫者，却因神的恩典而彻底改变。他的归信并非源于人的劝说或宗教教育，而是出于神主权的作为：

“15 然而，当我在母腹里就把我分别出来，又用他的恩呼召我的那一位，16既然乐意把自己的儿子启示给我，使我可以在外族人中传扬他，我就没有和任何人（“人”直译“肉和血”）商量”（加拉太书 1:15–16）

保罗的一生提醒我们，救恩始于上帝。在我们寻求基督之前，祂早已寻见我们。祂的恩典不仅使人变得更好——更将福音的仇敌转变为基督的仆人。那拯救了保罗的恩典，今天仍在拯救并改变着人们的生命。

最后，保罗坚定不移的委身向每位信徒发出了挑战：
“我现在是要得人的欢心，还是要得　神的欢心呢？难道我想讨人欢喜吗？如果我仍然要讨人欢喜，就不是基督的仆人了。”（加拉太书 1:10）

寻求世人认可的诱惑十分强烈。我们可能会为了避免批评而淡化圣经真理，或为了获得接纳而妥协自己的信念。但忠心的门徒生活要求，基督的认可比世人的喝彩更为重要。基督的仆人被呼召要既勇敢又满怀爱心地宣讲真理，即使真理不受欢迎。

反思

什么塑造了你对福音的理解？你的信心是否完全植根于基督已成全的工作，还是你已悄然开始倚靠自己的表现、道德操守或宗教活动？福音永不改变。我们唯独因恩典，唯独藉着对基督的信心，唯独靠基督得救。我们每天都必须回到这一荣耀的真理，因为这是唯一能拯救、扶持并改变我们的福音。

祷告

慈爱的天父，感谢祢赐下祢儿子耶稣基督那永不改变的福音。求祢保守我的心，不让我相信任何在祢的恩典上增减的内容。求祢使我不倚靠自己的努力、成就或宗教表现。帮助我全然安息在基督在十字架上已成全的工作中。赐我勇气，让我能以谦卑和爱心捍卫福音的真理，并以寻求祢的喜悦为至高无上的目标。愿我的生命宣扬那拯救并改变我的恩典。奉耶稣基督的名祈求，阿们。