Paul charges the Galatians with quickly “translating” from the one who called them to another gospel (Galatians 1:6).
What is the otherness of this other gospel? Merit? Works righteousness? Wearing the badges of Judaism?
In context, it must be most immediately related to Paul’s summary of Jesus’ achievement in 1:4: Jesus “gave Himself for our sins so that He might pluck us from the present evil age.”
The gospel promises deliverance from the present age. “Another gospel” is one that denies Jesus has plucked us out. A false gospel is one that preaches Jesus but maintains that we persist in the present age. Judaizers do that, insofar as they insist that, despite Jesus, we are still in an age where circumcision matters.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…
