Truth 1: There is only 1 true gospel, but people will distort it - Galatians 1:6-7
Jesus Himself made the biggest exclusivity claim regarding salvation in John 14:6, and that is the message that Paul preached to the Galatians. The eye-opening thing here is that Paul uses some strong words ('deserting', meaning going completely AWOL; and 'distort', meaning a complete reversal). Paul was saying that if you add anything to Jesus' gospel (religiosity, morality, etc.) you are in fact leaving the gospel entirely! It's practically saying, "Jesus, you are not enough, your sacrifice was not sufficient." So even a "distortion" of the gospel of Jesus is on the same plane as following another faith system. Scary stuff! James Montgomery Boice has written, "embracing legalism is rejecting God."
Truth 2: No one is exempt from the temptation to distort the gospel - Galatians 1:8-9
Paul says that the penalty for distorting the gospel is to be "accursed". This word in original Greek is 'anethema', which means "being devoted for destruction with no hope of being redeemed." And Paul quickly points out that the Galatians should reject anybody that distorts the gospel, even himself or an angel! No one is beyond this. Because of our sin, we all are at risk of polluting the gospel. We need to be honest with our depravity and weigh all voices (including our own) against the truth in scripture.
Truth 3: The gospel's biggest enemy is man - Galatians 1:10
Too often people think the opposite of God is Satan. This is untrue on a couple levels. First and foremost, God is Creator, and Satan was a part of creation. Aside from possession, Satan has no ability to "make us" do anything. All he (or one of his henchmen demons) has to do most often is just nudge us in the right direction and leave us to our sin. CS Lewis demonstrated this beautifully is his classic work, "The Screwtape Letters." As we seek to please ourselves or another person, we cease being a servant of Jesus; for our greatest joy as servants of Jesus is to please Jesus.
Proverbs 14:12 clearly says that man's ways (our thoughts, ideas, feelings, etc) lead to DEATH. Yet, a few verses later in Proverbs 14:27, it's clear that God's ways lead to LIFE. There is no middle ground, as Peter said in Acts 5:29. Pleasing man functionally makes us an idolater and no longer a worshipper of Jesus.
Truth 4: God reveals the gospel to us - Galatians 1:11-12
Paul communicates how we come to know the gospel. He first tells us three ways we don't learn it, and the only way we do.
First, the gospel is not according to man (v. 11). Our humanistic philosophies or logic are not the gospel.
Second, the gospel is not received from man (v. 12). We don't get the gospel from human osmosis, human transmission, or just by parroting some teacher we've heard.
Third, the gospel is not taught (v. 12). A systematic presentation or apologetic argument won't get someone to believe the gospel. It's not just a mental exercise.
Fourth, the gospel is revealed to us (v. 12). Jesus will reveal his gospel to us. We need to experience the gospel. It's important to note here that our experience needs to be weighed according to the Bible (1 John 4:1-3), we do not weigh scripture against our experience, for that leads to untruth and men-centeredness.
A heart (and head) knowledge of the true gospel is central to everything - for without it we have no true wisdom or discernment to judge the people and situations that enter our lives that can lead us away from Jesus. We need to be honest with ourselves, be humble before God, and pray that God plants the truth of his gospel in our lives.
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