The Apostle had called the Galatians into the grace of Christ. Now grace means unmerited, unrecompensed favor. It is essential to get this clear. Add never so slight an admixture of law-works, as circumcision, or law effort, as of obedience to commandments, and “grace is no more grace.” So absolutely is this true, that grace cannot even begin with us until the law has reduced us to speechless guilt (Rom. 3:19). So long as there is the slightest question of utter guilt, utter helplessness, there is no place for grace. If I am not, indeed, quite so good as I ought to be, but yet quite too good for hell, I am not an object for the grace of God, but for the illuminating and convicting and death-dealing work of His law.

Grace is God’s “kindness toward US” (Eph. 2:7)—us, “who were dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1), “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12). The law is “just” (Rom. 7:12), and therefore heartily approves goodness, and unsparingly condemns badness; but, save Jesus of Nazareth, the law never saw a naturally good man. Grace, on the contrary, is not looking for good men whom it may approve, for it is not grace, but mere justice, to approve goodness; but it is looking for condemned, guilty, speechless and helpless men whom it may save, sanctity and glorify.

Into grace, then, Paul had called the Galatians. What was his controversy with them? Just this: They were “removed” from the grace of Christ unto “another gospel”—though he is swift to add, “which is not another” (vv. 6, 7). There could not be another gospel. Change, modify, the grace of Christ by the smallest degree, and you no longer have a “gospel.” A gospel is “glad tidings”; and the law is not glad tidings. “What things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God” (Rom. 3:19)—and surely that is no good news. The law, then, has but one language; it pronounces “all the world”—good, bad, and goody-good—guilty. The only way to escape is to get out of the “world,” and the hand of grace alone opens that way of escape.

But you say: What is a simple child of God, who knows no theology, to do? Just this: Remember that any so-called gospel which is not pure unadulterated grace is “another” gospel. If it proposes, under whatever specious guise, to win the favor of God by works, or goodness, or “character,” or anything else which man can do, it is spurious. That is the unfailing test.

But it is more than spurious; it is accursed—or rather the preachers of it are (vv. 8, 9). It is not I who says that, but the Spirit of God who says it by His apostle. This is unspeakably solemn. Not the denial of the Gospel even, is so awfully serious as to pervert the Gospel. Oh, that God may give His people in this day power to discriminate, to distinguish things which differ. Alas, it is discernment which seems so painfully wanting.

If a preacher is cultured, gentle, earnest, intellectual and broadly tolerant, the sheep of God run after him. He, of course, speaks beautifully about Christ, and uses the old words—redemption, the cross, even sacrifice and atonement—but what is his gospel? That is the crucial question. Is salvation perfect, entire, eternal, the alone work of Christ and the free gift of God to faith alone? Or does he say: “Character is salvation,” even though he may add that Christ “helps” to form that character?