Perversion of Truth

For Jews of the first century, the Gospel of Jesus Christ was a radical change from life as usual.  The Apostle Paul was spreading the good news that they no longer needed to be circumcised, they no longer needed to offer animal sacrifices at the temple, and they no longer needed to do all the other ritualistic activities of their religion to keep themselves in good standing with God and their teachers.

This revolutionary doctrine told them that the works of the Law no longer removed guilt. Now, faith in Jesus Christ replaced the arduous tasks once required.  That was good news indeed.

But for many, it was just too much.  Judaizers, those who embraced Christianity as long as some of the old customs were included, began to follow the Apostle Paul on his journeys.  They began to “disturb” the Galatians by distorting the gospel of Christ saying that those who had faith in Jesus Christ must also follow some of the old covenant rites including circumcision. This bit of tweaking in their message, in one fell swoop, negated everything Jesus did for the salvation of the world.

Their mission greatly angered Paul to the point that he wrote to the Galatians condemning those who preached another gospel, other than what he preached, as accursed.  He repeated this statement twice, back to back in the beginning of the letter to the Galatians showing that he meant what he said.

These men had so swayed some of people that Paul stated in his letter, “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel...Gal. 1: 6 He goes on to say that what they were preaching was a perversion of the truth.

These Judaizers were treading on shaky ground. They spoke the truth, but added just enough deception whereby the whole message was distorted. Many followed them and were, once again, enslaved to the old rites of their religion.

To skew the Gospel, to preach just enough truth while adding a bit of untruth into the mix is dangerous for the preacher and for those who blindly follow along. 

There is a world of deception present in this age.  It seems, more than ever, the devil successfully makes his way through the church doors unbeknownst to many, leading captive men and women who are not well versed in their faith.  

Studying the Word of God and the teachings of the Church can protect us from these charlatans. This daily practice will enable us to be good workers for God and enable us to discern what is right and what is false in the current spiritual theater and political theater.