While the gospel is the greatest message the world has ever heard, it might be the message most tampered with as well.  Man has always attempted to change it.

Galatians 1:6-7 (ESV)
⁶  I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— ⁷  not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

There are at least two things that we should consider from these words from the inspired pen of Paul.  First, we should not easily give in to false teaching.  Paul was not astonished by the presence of false teachers.  He expected them to come (Acts 20:28-31).  He was, however, taken aback by the fact that the churches at Galatia were so easily turned away from the truth.  The Greek word for “soon” here points, not only to quickness, but also to rashness.  Thayer says that it suggests “inconsiderateness.”

The false teachers who came to Galatia did not have to engage in a whole lot of expostulation.  They did not have to spend a lot of time convincing the church that they needed more than what Paul had given them.  It is almost as if the false teachers had only to suggest something new, and the Galatians were ready to accept it.  Are you like that?  I know a lot of brethren like that. It seems as if they are ready to give in to every new doctrine that comes along.  Anything that sounds a little exciting or seems a little fresh, they are intrigued by it, and, so, they give the doctrine a listening ear.  Before you know it, they are clinging to all kinds of teachings that actually contradict the true gospel of Christ.  Paul warned brethren about this.

Ephesians 4:14 (ESV)
¹⁴  So that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

Let’s not be like the brethren at Galatia and be so easily persuaded by a distorted gospel.  We must study the Word of God so that we will recognize false doctrine when it is presented to us.

Another important fact that Paul is quick to point out is that a perverted gospel is no gospel at all.  He realized that there is only one gospel.  Every other message, no matter how well-intended or considerately conceived, is nothing more than a perversion of the original message.  There is just one system of faith that we must follow, and it is that which we can read of on the pages of the New Testament.  Everything else is simply a perversion.  Every claim of new revelation is a perversion of the gospel.  Every man-made creed or doctrinal discourse conjured up in the mind of man leads people away from God, not to Him.

The gospel is a wonderful and powerful message, able to save the soul.  It is important, however, that we remember that there is just one.  Like Paul, we must be set for the defense of it (Philippians 1:16).  We must preach the gospel, only the gospel, and all of the gospel, and in doing so, we will help God save, both ourselves and others.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.