Driven by fear

We are attracted to some heresies because of what they offer. They pander to our sinful cravings. They do things for the Pelagian within us, or for our inner Rationalist. We are drawn to some errors, however, not by their mock spiritual worth but by the threat of adverse consequences. We are driven by fear. The classic New Testament example of this comes from Galatians, and the corresponding section in Acts 15. There was a compulsion to accept the ritual of circumcision on pain of exclusion, not merely from God's people, but from salvation (Acts 15:1-2; Galatians 6:12).

No wonder then that Paul's opening salvo is directed to those who "trouble you" and want to "distort the gospel of Christ" (Gal. 1:7). The deviant influence of the false teachers was not only upon the gospel but also upon the spiritual well being of the Galatian churches. "Filling them," wrote John Brown, "with doubts and alarms as to the safety of their state while they remained uncircumcised and unsubjected to the law of Moses."

As much as errors can come to us laden with promises of blessings they may also, at the same time, speak threatening words if we refuse them.

A Man Who Could Say "No"

Here are some snippets from Machen's Notes on Galatians [For US readers the Westminster Bookstore has it here]. The newsclipping is from the PCA Historical Centre.

The Epistle to the Galatians is a polemic, a fighting Epistle from beginning to end. (p. 8)

All definition is by way of exclusion. You cannot possibly say clearly what a thing is without contrasting it with what it is not. When that fundamental law is violated, we find nothing but a fog. (p. 6)

The first word of the Epistle, after the address is over, is not "I gave thanks" but "I am surprised": Paul plunges at once into the matter that caused the Epistle to be written. "You are turning away from the gospel," he says in effect, "and I am writing this Epistle to stop you."

What is the reason for this absence, in the Epistle to the Galatians, of the usual thanksgiving? The answer is really very simple. Paul omitted giving thanks, for the simple reason that there was nothing to be thankful for. (p. 34)

Thanksgiving at such a moment would have been blasphemy; praise of the Galatians would have been cruelty. Paul engaged neither in thanksgiving nor in praise. Instead, he wrote this mighty Epistle, with its solemn warning, with its flaming appeal. (p. 35)