M-G: 9.3.16 // How Should We Then Live in Light of Eternal Security, Part 3 of 7

There are dire consequences in preaching another way of salvation other than through faith alone (Eph 2:8-9, “not of yourselves … not of works”) – “let him be accursed” (Gal 1:8-9). These Judaizers and those buying into their message in Galatia believed that a right standing before God was derived by observing the law. They were spiritually condemned men; these false teachers and their followers were (Jn 3:18). So, if they are already condemned due to unbelief, what does Paul’s invocation to God through inspiration accomplish, “let him be accursed” for preaching any other gospel than what was delivered by Paul? They are already doomed to destruction should they die without Christ. Indeed, all sin is sin, but all sin is not equivalent any more than all crimes carry the same punishment.

To gain some insight into being “accursed” it is helpful to go back into the OT and look at the narrative of Josh 6-7. The reason for doing so is that the word “accursed” in Galatians is the Greek word anathema (G331) used for the Hebrew word, cherem (H2764, something dedicated to God, positive or negative) in the oldest Greek translation of the OT, referred to as LXX or the Septuagint (for the seventy Jewish scholars involved).

What we glean from the OT passage is that all life was doomed to utter destruction as sort of the first fruits of Canaan, the Promised Land (Jos 6:17a; cf Jos 8:2). The only exceptions according to Yahweh were Rahab and her family (Jos 6:17b; Heb 11:31; Jas 2:25) and the silver, gold, and vessels of bronze and iron that would be placed in the treasury of Yahweh (Jos 6:19).

There was an ominous warning about taking any booty whatsoever for themselves (Jos 6:18). One man’s lusts got the better of him which resulted in putting all the tribes of Israel in jeopardy (Jos 7:1, 11-13, 19-21). Bear in mind there were approximately 2-3 million all total coming out of Egypt. This reveals just how sensitive and inclusive the ban was to its violation.

In understanding what Paul meant by “let him be accursed,” requires some restraint by not making it walk on all fours in view of violating the ban in the fall of Jericho. We should not read everything that took place in Joshua 6-7 into Gal 1:8-9, but Paul did employ anathema under the superintendence of the Holy Spirit in his letter to the Galatians and the implications were provocative. Was Paul implying we should take up stones against these false teachers perverting the Gospel as having no hope from that time forward of being redeemed because they were doomed to destruction? 

You may disagree with my assessment, but this is my takeaway from Paul’s use of anathema (accursed) in Gal 1:8-9 while keeping in mind the Joshua passage. (1) Corrupting the Gospel is very serious and dangerous. (2) Those who pervert the Gospel and those who support the perversion may shorten their own lives. (3) Those who corrupt the Gospel and mislead others may receive a greater degree of punishment in the lake of fire if they die without Christ (cf. Lk 12:48).

I am hesitant to say emphatically that these false teachers are unredeemable, without hope, because they are “accursed,” for as long as they draw breath, there is hope from our vantage point (cf. Rahab). From God’s point of view, since He is omniscient (all-knowing), omnipotent (all-powerful), and omnisapient (all-wise), I cautiously say that He does not have to wait until death to judge a person’s sinfulness though he or she is still living.

An illustration of that is Yahweh hardening the heart of Amenhotep II, pharaoh of the Exodus. MacArthur noted there is a theological conundrum in Exodus with the pharaoh hardening his own heart (mentioned 10x), and God hardening the pharaoh’s heart (10x), (The MacArthur Bible Commentary on Ex 4:21). In this interplay between the pharaoh’s will and God’s will, God struck a balance of preserving not only pharaoh’s will but also in accomplishing His own sovereign purposes (cf. Jer 9:24). Those corrupting the Gospel should beware!

Those who are antagonistic toward the teaching of eternal security share a common thread with the Judaizers in Paul’s day, they both teach a “different gospel” (Gal 1:6) and pervert a Gospel of grace by attaching works to faith, in this case, circumcision and keeping the Law (Gal 1:7). Keep in mind that the Jews had the Law for nearly 1,500 years. Along with the Mosaic Law, they had the rabbinical interpretations of the Law and traditions stemming from all of that passed down through the centuries. By the time of Christ, we see the traditions of men had transgressed (Mt 15:3) and transcended the very commandment of God (Mt 15:6; Mk 7:8, 9, 13)! Whenever confusion is the centerpiece, you can bet there are demons in the mix stirring it up! It was a convoluted mess. 

The churches of southern Galatia were being infiltrated by Judaizers who looked at the Gospel message of grace through faith alone as too radical and revolutionary. Wanting to avoid persecution as a “Christian,” maintaining certain privileges as a Jew in a Roman world, and boasting in their recruitment of Christians into the Jewish fold, they pushed and promoted keeping the law starting with circumcision (Gal 6:12-13). The Gentiles obviously had no cultural ties to the Mosaic Law and Jewish traditions; so they had no history to relate to or any cultivation of the Jewish ways of life from birth. The promoters of “let's get back to the Law” took advantage of this and advocated that in order to be a Christian you needed to be circumcised and keep the Law; they must have been a persuasive lot (Gal 1:6; 3:1; 5:7), but this persuasion didn’t come from God (Gal 5:8). 

The believers in Galatia did not have the whole counsel of God like we do; however, they were still responsible for the special revelation present at the time; we have the blessed privilege of having the whole canon of Scripture. In spite of the volume of special revelation, we still struggle with false teachers all over the place claiming that faith alone is insufficient for salvation which is not surprising given the restricted path to glory (cf. Jn 14:6). Faith plus works (e.g., doing something for fear of losing salvation because of personal sin) is tantamount to a working salvation: faith + effort = salvation. There is no way you can derive faith alone out of a human gospel.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith” (Eph 2:8). You don’t earn a “gift.” This gift is not of this world – “the gift of God.” The meaning of “grace” and “gift” are dismantled if salvation is of works, but Paul, a former Pharisee extraordinaire, clearly states, “not of yourselves…not of works” (Eph 2:9), the alone part. “Earn,” to acquire or deserve by one's own efforts or actions, is a foreign verb never to be found in the sphere of salvation. 

The flesh always leans toward boasting, “Look what I did to earn this! Look what I’ve done!” But Paul cuts through the worldly inclinations of the flesh by declaring, “lest anyone should boast” (Eph 2:9). “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal 6:14). There is only one Man who hung on the cross for our salvation…. The content of redemption is all of God; man has absolutely, unequivocally nothing to do with it.

The idea of works added to faith is a slap in the face of Jesus. Our salvation is a product of God; we are not our own workmanship (Eph 2:10)! Oh, how do we miss the proper understanding of works in relation to salvation (positional regeneration) and sanctification (progressive, growing and maturing in the faith)! Read it for yourself, “created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph 2:10). Works are the evidence of salvation; salvation is never the byproduct of works! Works are conspicuously absent in salvation but should be ubiquitous in the life of a believer after regeneration, the evidence that the Holy Spirit resides within the heart (cf. Gal 5:22-23, 24-25). <><

To Part 4