In December 1965, a song from the group, The Byrds reached number one on the charts. It was the song, “Turn, Turn, Turn (To Everything There Is A Season). Most of this song was taken from the Old Testament book Ecclesiastes. It was one of the first times a song containing so much of the Bible did so well on the charts. 

The last part of Ecclesiastes 3:8 says, “A time for war and a time for peace.” The author, which many think was King Solomon, acknowledged that there was a time to fight even though most people do not like to do so.‌

As we continue looking at the letter of Galatians, Paul writes about something we should be ready to fight for at all times as Christ-followers.

6 I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—7 not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, a curse be on him! 9 As we have said before, I now say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him! 

10 For am I now trying to persuade people, or God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Galatians 1:6–10 (CSB)

‌In the verses we are looking at today, we see Paul sharing with the churches in Galatia how he is baffled that they would be turning away from the true gospel. He uses speech in this section that points to the need to contend for the true gospel.

We can see other authors in the Bible do the same thing. Jude was one of these authors. He was the half-brother of Jesus. He wrote a small letter in our Bibles right before the Revelation. In verse 3 of his letter, he writes, Dear friends, although I was eager to write you about the salvation we share, I found it necessary to write, appealing to you to contend for the faith that was delivered to the saints once for all (Jude 3 CSB).

‌What is contending?

Contending is a word that comes from the arena of athletics. It means “to agonize or struggle.” You can see this in the world of athletics many times. We watch professional athletes on TV and are often amazed at their condition and abilities. They didn’t just appear on the scene like that. It is something they had to work at constantly and vigorously. Hours are spent in the weight room strengthening and conditioning their bodies. More hours are spent working on their craft and perfecting techniques and abilities. 

When Jude writes to followers of Jesus in his time, he tells them to “contend for the faith that was delivered to the saints once for all.” He tells them they will have to struggle and be deliberate in keeping the true gospel before themselves and others because many false gospels are swirling around, seeking to guide people away from the truth. 

Is contending needed?

As we see in Galatians, there is a constant need for contending for the true gospel. False teachers had come in behind Paul and the team with him, adding to the true gospel the need for keeping the Mosaic Law to be right with God. 

In Galatians 1:6-7, Paul shares his amazement that the Galatians were so quickly turning away from the truth. They were beginning to abandon the true gospel for a fake. For this reason, Paul calls them to contend for the true gospel.

This was a serious issue. Though the false teachers would come in and say Jesus was God’s Son who died on the cross and rose from the dead, and they needed to receive Him as Savior and Lord, they also added extra steps that Jesus never intended. The Galatians, whether they realized it or not, were switching teams by obeying the teachings of these false teachers.

What would you think if Patrick Mahomes started walking around with Raiders’ gear all the time? What about if Nick Saban wore Auburn gear to practice and press conferences? 

While this was a serious issue, Paul shares that it is not a hopeless situation. There are times when we get off-track, even in our faith. Paul takes this time to show them that hope is found by contending for the true gospel.

Why should we contend for the gospel?

This is a question that some have in their minds. Is going through the struggle for the gospel necessary? Isn’t God sovereign? Yes, God is sovereign, but He also calls us to join Him in making sure the message of the true gospel is correctly put on display and not twisted to be something it is not. 

I can think of three things that are at stake.

1. Christ’s glory

When anything comes in seeking to add or take away from the true gospel, it is an attack on the glory of Christ and trying to steal it away from Christ. False gospels will always move glory from God and place it elsewhere — many times on us. 

Jesus Christ deserves all the glory. It was He who created all that we see. It was He who stepped out of heaven and became a man. It was He who died on the cross for the sins of the world. It was He who conquered the grave. It is He who comes to us with the gift of eternal life. Jesus is the only One who has done these things or could. He deserves all glory. 

9 For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth— 11 and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:9–11 (CSB)

2. People’s souls

When someone messes with the gospel, they are messing with the only hope that any person has for forgiveness and restoration with God. 

12 There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.”

Acts 4:12 (CSB)

‌When people mess with the gospel, it produces a message that can do nothing for anyone. When that hope is removed, people remain lost and separated from God. 

3. The health of the Church

When false teachings come in and distort the gospel, it begins in one person and spreads to others. When a church gets off-track from the true gospel, it begins the process of death and ceases to be a New Testament church. It becomes a country club for religious people where no real power is present. 

We can see just by these three reasons that there is a necessity for us, as Christ-followers, to contend for the true gospel. It may cost us at times. It might be uncomfortable at times, but Christ didn’t call us to comfort; He called us to obedience. 

How do we contend properly?

1. Know and experience the gospel ourselves

If we are going to contend for the true gospel, we must know what the true gospel is. Bankers can spot a counterfeit bill pretty easily, I’m told. Why? Not just because they’ve been trained to look for certain things but because they spend so much time with the real thing. 

The gospel of Jesus Christ is :

  • God created us and everything around us. 
  • We have sinned against a holy God.
  • God sent Jesus to be our atoning sacrifice.
  • God invites us to receive the gift of eternal life that Jesus made available to us.
  • We respond by trusting in Jesus Christ and allowing Him to lead our lives.

Now, you can say that you know what the gospel is. Have you experienced it for yourself? Have you responded to Jesus by turning from sin to following Him by faith? I would encourage you to do that. In a moment, we will have a time when you can talk with someone about what that looks like.

2. Call out false gospels

In Galatians 1:8-9, Paul shares that if anyone brings a ‘gospel’ other than what I just shared with you, they should be cursed. That’s not talking about profanity. That’s talking about having God’s judgment fall on the person. He is calling out what is false. 

It doesn’t matter if the person is respected among others or eloquent in their speech. If what they say does not line up 100% with the true gospel, it isn’t from God. It needs to be called out for what it is. 

As we call out false gospels, we need to do so with the love of Christ. We should never attack a person personally but love them enough to tell them the truth. We should not give arrogance any room in our communication either. We have no right to be a jerk about confronting false gospels to other people.

6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer each person.

Colossians 4:6 (CSB)

A second way to call out false gospels is by sharing the true gospel every opportunity we get. If we remain silent, we do no one any favors.

President John F. Kennedy spoke to some Canadian Parliament members in 1961. He said, ‌“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Too much ground has been given to the enemy by Christ-followers sitting by and being silent. We don’t want to rock the boat. If the boat isn’t rocked, it’s going down. 

3. Seek to please One

As we get closer to the return of Christ, the Bible tells us there will be a growing coldness toward the true gospel. We see it growing in our nation. It is not popular to stand for the truth of the gospel. We weren’t saved to be popular, though. 

25 The fear of mankind is a snare, but the one who trusts in the Lord is protected.

Proverbs 29:25 (CSB)

Paul states in verse 10 that he had no desire to strive to please people. He knew he would not be standing before any man or woman to give an account of his life. He said that if we try to please people, we are not being servants of Christ. When we seek to please everyone, we please no one.

Conclusion

The gospel of Jesus Christ is the greatest news ever brought to mankind. It is the message that, even though we have sinned against a holy God, He has graciously made one way back to a right relationship with Him. That one way is through faith in Jesus Christ and what He has done for us. 

Sadly, there are many attacks on this gospel by the enemy. As followers of Christ, we have been called to stand for the truth and even contend for the gospel. It is the hope for the world. Will we sit by and watch things play out, or will we join God in making sure the true gospel is displayed so anyone who will can experience the abundant life found only in Jesus Christ?