calvin varsermon01

7/27/2019 Calvin Varsermon01

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On Perverting the Gospel of Christ

John Calvin

I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christunto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and

would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preachany other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him beaccursed.Gal. 1:6-8

Now we will look more deeply into the subjet ! touhed upon this mornin". ! said that wherea#aul does not spare the Galatians$ neither does he wish to shut the "ate o% salvation to themompletely. &e intends to brin" them to repentane$ and %or this reason he speaks o% the "rae o% Godinto whih they had all been alled. 'et$ he does not %latter them( rather$ he rebukes them %or theisins. !n partiular$ he rebukes them %or their %ikleness$ %or they had listened to deeivers who ame inamon" them distortin" the pure dotrine o% the "ospel. !n order to make them better pereive theirtreahery$ #aul says he marvels that they have %orsaken their heavenly allin" so )uikly and easily

&e wonders how it is that they have been led astray so swi%tly$ and how it is that they have remainedin that state$ "iven that they had %elt and e*periened the "rae o% God in our +ord Jesus Christ,eause he is seekin" to restore them$ he is not sayin" at the outset that they have ompletely turnedaway %rom the "ospel$ but rather that they have been overtaken by temptation throu"h seduers$ whosou"ht no less than to pervert the truth o% God. here is only one pure "ospel$ as also there is only oneJesus Christ on whom it is %ounded. !t is not %or us to reate the "ospel anew( indeed$ i% we seek to addanythin" to the pure seed whih we have reeived %rom our +ord Jesus Christ$ we are destroyin" whaGod has established. his$ in sum$ is what #aul is teahin" us in this %irst verse.

!t mi"ht seem that #aul is bein" overly harsh and severe in rebukin" the Galatians weaknessseein" they had never one thou"ht o% rejetin" the "ospel$ nor Jesus Christ who had been preahed to

them. ,ut #aul pays no attention to the way they viewed the situation( he sees it as it really is/inother words$ that one people turn away %rom the truth o% God$ they are rejetin" Jesus Christ anduttin" themselves o%% %rom him. 0ome people may think this stran"e$ %or many would like to mi* li"hwith darkness. !ndeed$ the on%usion that e*ists in #opery is an outstandin" e*ample o% this. heymake many wonder%ul laims to the e%%et that they are upholdin" the Christian %aith into whih theyhave been baptised. ,ut$ %or all this$ it is lear that they have turned everythin" upside-down0uperstitions rei"n$ and they pratise open idolatry o% a worse kind than has ever been known$ evenamon" the pa"ans. ny reverene %or God is destroyed$ sine eah one sets himsel% up as a saviour inplae o% our +ord Jesus Christ. Now$ the #apists would respond by sayin" that they are not apostatesand that they have not abandoned Jesus Christ. ,ut our +ord Jesus Christ is no "host( he annohan"e aordin" to the whims o% men. !n short$ he annot be separated %rom his hurh. hus

whatever the #apists may laim$ they rob Jesus Christ o% all his authority. !% there is only onemediator$ 2they say3$ what about the male saints$ our patrons$ and the %emale saints$ our advoates4!% we speak to them o% the sari%ie by whih our +ord Jesus Christ has obtained per%et justi%iation%or all believers$ one and %or all$ 2they will say3$ re we not supposed to say 5ass every day and o%%eJesus Christ a"ain as a sari%ie to appease the wrath o% God4 !% we speak to them o% %ree %or"ivenesso% sins$ 2they will say3$ hat about the ways in whih we have made satis%ation %or our own sins$ andthus earned Gods pity4 !% we say that we an only be made "ood by the re"eneratin" work o% the &oly0pirit$ and that until God trans%orms us$ we are %ull o% sin and rebellion$ 2they will say3$ hat4 haabout our %ree will4 !n short$ they will name the name o% Jesus Christ o%ten enou"h$ and will still "ivehim his title o% 7edeemer$ but they will divide his o%%ie and put it on o%%er so that eah man may laima share in it %or himsel%. hey also ima"ine that the saints and an"els in paradise are their patrons


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and that$ there%ore$ they have in%inite means o% omin" be%ore God$ %or so it seems to them. Now$ wemay well onlude that the &oly 0pirit has "ood reason to all them apostates( %or they have %orsakenJesus Christ$ and ut themselves o%% %rom him. hey even misuse his name. ,ut Jesus Christ neverhan"es( we have seen that #aul says in Corinthians that we will not %ind in him yes and no 9 Cor1:1;$ beause he remains onstant. hus$ whatever the #apists babble about Christianity$ it is nothin"but mere hyporisy and lies. hey %alsely and wikedly use the name o% the 0on o% God$ either as amask or as an idol.

his$ then$ is why #aul auses the Galatians o% havin" been led astray. !% we ask what they haddone$ the answer is that they sou"ht to observe the eremonies o% the law as i% they were neessary'es$ it is true that these eremonies had been ordained by God.


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shaken like reeds in the wind. +et us remain %irmly rooted in the "ospel$ "rounded upon the inviniblepower o% our +ord Jesus Christ. !n him all the promises o% God are yes and amen 9 Cot 1:A;( theirtruth and their %ul%ilment is in him. here%ore$ let our %aith rest stead%ast in these %ats. his is whawe must retain in our minds %rom #auls teahin" in this passa"e.

o make the Galatians even more ashamed o% themselves$ he speaks to them o% the allin" o%"rae. e an relate the words$ %rom him that alled you$ as muh to Jesus Christ as to God the=ather$ there bein" no "reat si"ni%iane in this. e an$ however$ understand what #aul is sayin". &e

is ritiisin" the Galatians %or their base behaviour( %or they had even less e*use %or "oin" astrayonsiderin" they had e*periened the "oodness o% God. =or i% God alls us$ even i% he summons us inorder to put us to shame$ we are still his reatures$ and$ there%ore$ owe him our obediene. e mustalways submit to his authority$ whatever he deides to do with us. !t is our duty to say to him: &ere !am. hat do you re)uire o% me4 hereas$ i% we make e*uses when God alls us$ we are pervertin"the proper order o% thin"s. ,ut God not only alls us to himsel%$ he "ives us all the treasures o% hi"oodness in our +ord Jesus Christ. &e "ives himsel% willin"ly to us$ askin" o% us only that we shouldbe his own. 0ine God treats us with suh kindness$ and ravishes all our %aulties with admiration %orhim$ this should render us most unwillin" to draw bak. Nevertheless$ i% we do happen to wander toand %ro a%ter we have ome to him$ we will have muh less e*use$ and will there%ore su%%er a moresevere and a more terri%yin" ondemnation$ as ! have already su""ested.

e see now why #aul mentions the "rae into whih the Galatians had been alled. !n %at$ weare more "uilty today than our %athers were under the law$ i% we %ail to abide in the pure dotrine othe "ospel$ without swervin" %rom it. =or althou"h God led our %ore%athers to salvation under the lawyet that allin" was not aompanied by suh open and abundant displays o% the rihes o% his mery awe now have in our +ord Jesus Christ. +et us e*amine ourselves. !% God has already made his "raeknown to us$ may this inspire and enoura"e us to have even "reater boldness and invinible stren"thso that we may ontinue in our allin"$ until we reah the plae to whih he is allin" us. hen weompare ourselves with wrethed$ i"norant unbelievers$ our in"ratitude is all the more apparent$ inthat we have had %uller and nobler "rae shown to us. e know that many poor souls stray %ar andwide. hey are$ however$ subjet to ondemnation: =or as many as have sinned without law shall also

perish without law 97om. :1;. Now$ as %or us$ God has delared his will to us in suh %amiliar termsand has "iven us the opportunity to learn the dotrines o% the "ospel 9i% we would only apply ourselveto them;( there%ore$ our ondemnation will be even "reater than theirs$ i% we do not make every e%%ortto devote ourselves entirely to God$ as ! have already said. his makes our responsibility all the"reater.

#aul adds another point here: that all this had happened so )uikly. !ndeed$ it is terrible thathe Galatians$ who had been tau"ht %rom the lips o% the apostle$ had de%iled themselves durin" hisli%etime. his made them even more blameworthy$ beause just three days 2as it were3 a%ter reeivin"the "ospel$ they %ell away by mi*in" %alse teahin"s with Gods truth. &ad they kept the %aith until a"ood while a%ter the death o% #aul$ it does not %ollow that this would have e*used them in Gods si"hti% they had subse)uently %allen away. =or as the truth on whih our %aith is "rounded is everlastin"althou"h the heavens and the earth are passin" away$ even so our %aith must endure to the very end9+uke 1:BB;.


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enemies. hey will have to su%%er while others prosper 9or so they think;. hus$ you an see how manydesert our +ord Jesus Christ$ not just as one "eneration sueeds another$ but even as those whoappear to be his %ollowers turn and rebel a%ter three$ or perhaps ten years.

&ow losely then do we need to hold on to this teahin"$ sine it applies to us. +et us onsiderthe "rievane Jeremiah had a"ainst the Jews. &e says$ in e%%et$ Go to distant lands$ run to the islesobserve what is done by other people. ah one keeps to his own idols$ addin"$ whih are yet no "ods9Jer. :1A-11;. 0atan had deeived them by allin" this worship$ and they were so set in their ways tha

they ould not be moved. 9! hope you are as stead%ast as they were$ sine God has revealed himsel% toyou$ and you have a %ull and ertain knowled"e o% his will.; 0urely$ however$ the same ould be said ous nowadays: %or we have seen how unbendin" the urks 25oslems are bein" re%erred to here asDurksD - d.3 areE nd althou"h the wrethed Jews are no better than unlean do"s$ yet they are verypersistent in maintainin" the authority o% their law. s %or the #apists$ their %oolishness is so apparenas to make them hideous( even hildren ould jud"e them. 'et %or all that$ they burn with suh madFeal to maintain their blasphemous praties. s %or ourselves$ as soon as the devil bekons with his%in"er$ we are entied away. !t seems as i% eah o% us is on the lookout to see i% there is anythin" newthe sli"htest thin" will immediately weaken us and lead us astray. here is enou"h sin here withou"oin" any %urther. e must$ there%ore$ take heed to the ausation whih is made here by the moutho% #aul a"ainst the inonstany o% those who turn away %rom God$ so soon a%ter he has alled them

into the "rae o% our +ord Jesus Christ.

t this point$ #aul states that the ause behind all this is that$ there be some that trouble youand would pervert the "ospel o% our +ord Jesus Christ. &ere$ #aul is assertin" that anythin" whih wemay add to the "ospel is nothin" but mere smoke. ventually we will disover that it is the devil whohas oneived suh nonsense in order to deeive miserable %ools who annot adhere to Gods truth aall. his is nothin" other than some people troublin" you$ he says. !t is true that this e*pressionnothin" other 2he uthorised ersion o% 1611 renders this not another 2"ospel3$ thus re%letin" aview di%%erent %rom that "iven in Calvins =renh translation. rans.3 seems to imply that the wholematter is o% no importane. &owever$ #aul is sayin" that the Galatians were wron" to be troubled bythose %rom Jerusalem and Judaea$ who told them they must not separate the law %rom the "ospel. No

no$ he says$ there is only one Jesus Christ. here is only one dotrine that will lead us to him$ and"ive us %aith$ throu"h whih we may obtain salvation. !% we wish to have and maintain a pureknowled"e o% the "ospel$ we must realise that this is where we %ind per%etion( those who "o %urtheare simply trouble-makers throwin" everythin" into disarray. his te*t is well worth notin". e learn%rom it that i% our +ord has "iven us the privile"e o% bein" tau"ht in his shool$ we must no lon"er haveweak %aith whih an be blown here and there. e must have resolute determination$ so that we ansay$ &ere is the %aith by whih we are "oin" to live and die. e meet many who do not openly opposthe teahin" o% the "ospel$ and who even su%%er us to preah the "rae o% our +ord Jesus Christ!ndeed$ i% we were to ask suh people what they disa"ree with in the "ospel$ 2their answer would be3Nothin"E ,ut then$ i% they were to see an altar adorned with "rotes)ue statues$ sure enou"h$ theywould %lok to itE hey would "o and hear 5ass and do all the other e*esses o% the #apists( it is all thsame to them. nd i% all this is set be%ore them as error$ they still annot see that it makes anydi%%erene. ake "ood note/suh base behaviour reveals that they do not have %aith. &ow4 ell$ thisis how we an know$ and even %eel$ i% we ourselves are believers: when we have disernment about the"ospel$ and onlude that it is the in%allible truth o% God$ and that it annot lead us astray i% we %ollowit. &owever$ the #apists have invented a %aith 9as they all it; whih is veiled( this suits them %ine 9eventhou"h the poor souls know nothin";$ as lon" as they ontinue to say$ ! rely on our &oly 5otherChurh( ! hold to what she believes. hese people openly display that they have no %aith$ and do noknow how to be saved. !t is written that we an only obtain justi%iation and salvation throu"h %aithwhen we embrae Jesus Christ as the one who ommuniates all blessin"s. here%ore$ i% the +ordJesus Christ is unknown$ there an be no %aith. #opish leaders and teahers have been bewithed by amost aw%ul deeption o% 0atan to speak as they do$ whih proves to us that they have no knowled"e o


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God( indeed$ they are %ollowin" the path o% reprobates.

+et us observe$ then$ that when #aul tells us there is no other "ospel$ he wants us to abide inthe +ord Jesus Christ and to remain %aith%ul to him$ now that we realise the "ospel has ome %romhim$ rejetin" anythin" whih is ontrary to its teahin". !% we have suh maturity$ we will bee)uipped to do battle with 0atan$ and to oppose all the various opinions that are in the world todaye will never be shaken$ whatever troubles ome our way( nor will we ever lak the assurane o% %aith&owever$ i% we waver$ we will be just like little hildren: i% they are o%%ered an apple in one hand$ sur

enou"h$ they will run to it. !% they are then o%%ered some other pleasant thin" in the other hand$ theywill reah %or that in the same wayE &avin" deserted the %irst thin"$ they will rally around the seond!%$ ! say$ we are as %ikle as this$ then it is a sure si"n that we are ompletely un%aith%ul. Hnowthere%ore$ that there must be harmony between our %aith and the "ospel. &avin" "iven ourselvestotally to it$ we will never turn aside$ beause we %i* our %aith on what is ontained therein$ as we havealready said. Not that we an all be as well-versed as eah other( %or it is ertain that most o% thosewhom the +ord Jesus Christ has in his %lok do not understand the tenth part o% the &oly 0riptures'et$ whatever else we do not know$ we should have the %ollowin" belie%s in ommon: that$ 91; here isone God the =ather$ in whom we all believe$ who has adopted us out o% his pure mery. 9; here isonly one Jesus Christ$ throu"h whom all blessin"s are "iven to us. 9B; e are made re"enerate by the&oly 0pirit.

Conernin" our +ord Jesus Christ$ we must also be aware that he is our dvoate$ and thawithout him we annot approah God. e would not dare to say our =ather unless we were membero% the body o% the +ord Jesus Christ/unless he spoke on our behal% as our interessor and %riend"uidin" us$ as it were$ by the hand to brin" us to God the =ather. !% we do not know these thin"s$ thenwe annot obtain salvation. #aul auses the Galatians o% %ailin" to reo"nise that there is only one"ospel$ whih annot be altered. &e does not want them to "rieve our +ord Jesus Christ$ who alone ito be heeded. &e also warns us o% seduers$ who seek to turn us %rom the pure simpliity o% the "ospeo% God and o% our +ord Jesus Christ. &e teahes us to re"ard them as abhorrent$ %or 9as we shall soonsee more learly; they pervert the "ospel o% the +ord Jesus Christ. &ow dread%ul it is that the "ospelthe %oundation o% our salvation$ and the key that opens the "ates o% paradise$ should be pervertedE !t i

our only treasure. e were banished %rom the kin"dom o% heaven and ould not ome near to it$ untiGod made a way$ throu"h the "ospel$ %or us to be his people and %or him to be our Hin"$ so that we anbe led and "overned by his authority. !nestimable treasures are ontained in the "ospel. God isreoniled with man( the "ates o% heaven are opened to us( our +ord Jesus Christ has been "iven to uas our inheritane( we are made partakers o% all the "ood thin"s that he has bestowed upon us( and weare assured o% our eternal salvation. !t were better that the whole world should perish and beonsumed than that this "ospel should be perverted. his is what #aul says about all those who ometo trouble us$ a%ter we have been so %aith%ully tau"ht$ and o% all those who brin" us little noveltiesmi*in" in their own inventions here and there/these people turn men %rom the kin"dom o% God$ and%rom his royal throne$ so that they are no lon"er "overned by him$ and thereby the septre o% our +ordJesus Christ is no lon"er e*tended to them %or their salvation. !% Gods honour$ and our own salvationis as dear to us as it ou"ht to be$ and i% sharin" in all the blessin"s o% heaven is preious to us$ thenwhenever we are approahed by suh soundrels seekin" to detrat %rom the majesty o% God$ the "rao% the +ord Jesus Christ$ and even our salvation$ ou"ht we not to shun them and ast them out as wewould the most deadly pla"ue in the world4 his$ in short$ is what we must do: we must lin" withstron" a%%etion to the "ospel$ and not allow anyone to orrupt it in any way. e must not let anybodyon%use our minds by their laims to be brin"in" us an alternative view. ven i% the people who speakto us have "reat knowled"e$ and are skil%ul$ sharp-witted and very elo)uent$ we must rejet them asabominations$ people who have ome to draw us away %rom the purity o% the "ospel. his is what #auis teahin" us here.

&avin" spoken o% this$ #aul then adds$ that i% either he$ or an an"el$ ame to preah any other "ospe


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than that whih the Galatians had already heard$ they were to rejet them. hey must be treated asaursed people$ and as devils$ and be e*ommuniated. e see here that #aul beomes heated 9in amanner o% speakin";$ as he is seekin" to promote onstany in the %aith so that we will not be shaken'et he does not do so without "ood reason. =or we know how %ra"ile we are$ and not only %ra"ile$ buworse than this$ we are vain and rebellious. hen we are %irst tau"ht %rom the ord o% God$ i% we arenot "enuinely touhed$ we %ind it the stran"est book in the world( %or the teahin" o% the "ospel isalways %oolishness to the human mind$ as we have seen on previous oasions 91 Cor. :1I;. nd thereason %or this4 ,eause we are vanity: our hearts have wandered and "one astray$ our natures inline

and tend to %alsehood$ and we almost wil%ully desire to be be"uiled. ,eause our minds are thuorrupted$ we should not be surprised i% we do not desire the ord o% God and i% it does not beome part o% us. =or our only ativity is in rebellin" a"ainst God. lthou"h we think we are doin" ri"ht$ weare$ in %at$ blind. !n short$ the 0riptures do not say without ause that all men are vanity andleasin" 9#sa. I:;. e are in rebellion a"ainst God$ pullin" in the opposite diretion when he alls usGod has "ranted us the privile"e o% bein" drawn to himsel%$ and o% realisin" that his truth is what wemust hold to. &e has so mastered us that we are no lon"er %ull o% "uile$ but willin" to be ompletelysubjet to him. ven so$ the devil is still able to lead us astray at any moment$ beause we are so%ra"ile and inonstantE e have seen this happen to those who were mirror-ima"es o% holiness 9as itwere;. e have been shoked to see them han"e so )uikly and wander %rom the ri"ht path. haauses this4 s ! have already said$ even when we are in "ood %orm$ we annot remain in this state

lon" be%ore we travel in the opposite diretion( that is$ unless God works in us and stren"thens us inour weakness.

his is why #aul upholds the teahin" o% the "ospel in suh a %ore%ul way 9oasion havin"been "iven him by the Galatians$ who had "one astray beause they had been tau"ht to observe theeremonies o% the law;. 0eein" suh an e*ample and suh a piture o% mans "reat weakness and%ikleness$ #aul states that the truth o% the "ospel must supersede anythin" that we may devise. &ealso implies that we ou"ht not to be deeived by the knowled"e$ skill or elo)uene o% men$ %or even ithe an"els %rom heaven had entered our ranks$ we should rather ount them as devils. ,ut this$ apart%rom anythin" else$ must have seemed a very stran"e thin" to say. hatE he an"els %rom heavenE ,uwhat else is it to whih he re%ers4 &is own preahin". &e does not simply speak o% the "ospel o% Christ

but o% the "ospel whih he had preahed to them. nd an he be superior to the an"els %rom heavenell$ in the %irst plae$ we see that it is nothin" to praise the "ospel in a "eneral and va"ue sense( youmust know$ its teahin". %ter all$ there are many who will mok the %olly o% the #apists$ but i% youwere to ask them the rudiments$ whih even little hildren know well$ they do not know them. !% onesays one thin" and another says somethin" else$ it is all one and the same thin" to them. here is nodi%%erene( it is as i% they are throwin" salt$ water$ mustard and bitter juie to"ether in a reipeE heywill speak o%ten enou"h in "eneral terms about how we must preah the "ospel$ and yet they do noknow what it isE !n order to orret suh a sin$ #aul speaks o% the "ospel whih he preahed to them,y this 9as ! have said;$ he is showin" us that we ou"ht to know the substane o% the dotrine whih isbrou"ht to us in the name o% God$ so that our %aith an be %ully "rounded upon it. hen we will not betossed about with every wind$ nor will we wander about aimlessly$ han"in" our opinions a hundredtimes a day( we will persist in this dotrine until the end. his$ in brie%$ is what we must remember.

,eause #aul speaks in suh bold lan"ua"e in de%ene o% his teahin"$ this should make it allthe more "enuine to us. &e does not speak with human arro"ane or presumption$ but in the name oGod. !ndeed$ there is no )uestion here o% his boastin" about himsel%( he proves this by sayin"$ i% !. &eputs himsel% %irst$ as i% he is sayin": ven ! mysel%$ i% ! han"e my dotrine$ or i% you %ind ! haveswerved in any way$ let me be re"arded as a devil. &ere$ #aul is showin" that he was not seekin" to"ain a reputation %or himsel%$ nor was he %i"htin" %or his own ause$ so that people would say howintelli"ent$ wise and "i%ted he was. No( he puts himsel% on the level o% all believers and says: +et us alembrae the whole o% our 5asters teahin"$ whih God has entrusted to us$ and to whih we mussubmit our ondut. =or althou"h ! have tau"ht you this dotrine$ yet it is not mine$ but it is o% God


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who never han"es. !% ! han"e$ do not be shaken$ nor surprised about this$ but treat me as a devilount me aursed. s %or yourselves$ remain "rounded in the truth that you have always known. !would rather you saw me as aursed and abominable$ and even the an"els %rom heaven also$ thanthat you %orsake the truth about the 0on o% God and turn away %rom it. e an see %rom this what#aul desired: that Gods truth should be revered amon"st men$ as it deserves to be$ and that it shouldbe esteemed in suh a way$ that all our senses$ thou"hts$ desires and a%%etions should be subdued andheld aptive to it. !t is not law%ul %or any livin" reature to han"e anythin" in the "ospel$ %or God hasspoken by the mouth o% his only 0on. 5ay he be our master indeed$ and may eah o% us obey him

without )uestion. his is what #aul desired. ,ut sine we annot now %inish ommentin" on the restit will be reserved %or ne*t 0unday$ in Gods "ood pleasure.

Now let us %all be%ore the majesty o% our "reat God$ aknowled"in" our %aults$ and prayin" thahe will make us ever more onsious o% them. 5ay this lead us to a ri"ht repentane$ and make us"row and inrease in %aith$ as true sari%ies to him. 0ine our +ord Jesus Christ "ave himsel% %or ourredemption$ let us also seek to dediate ourselves %ully to him. 5ay we be led by him to persevere$ sothat in li%e and in death we seek no other ontentment or rest than to a)uiese in his "ood will. 5aywe "lory in nothin" other than the salvation whih he has purhased %or us. 5ay this "rae not only be"ranted to us$ but to all peoples and nations on earth$ et.

ar!ed up by "ance #eorge arshall

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