It is absolutely astonishing for anyone to desert the gospel of grace and peace for another so-called gospel. That is why we see next the double damnation of “other gospel” preachers in verses 8–9:
But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.
Again, Paul has nothing nice to say about anyone who preaches another gospel. He has only one word, which he says twice: “Accursed!” The Greek word is anathema. The Roman Church infamously and ironically pronounces its anathema on the Protestant doctrine of justification by faith alone, which happens to be one and the same with the biblical and apostolic doctrine of justification by faith alone.
In the Council of Trent, held to respond to the Protestant Reformation, the Roman Church declares,
If any one [says], that men are justified, either by the sole imputation of the [righteousness] of Christ, or by the sole remission of sins, to the exclusion of the grace and the charity which is poured forth in their hearts by the Holy Ghost, and is inherent in them; or even that the grace, whereby we are justified, is only the favour of God; let him be anathema.1
The Roman Church rejects Christ alone—that we are justified only by the imputation of Christ’s righteousness and the sole forgiveness of our sins. To that they add inner renewal. They combine regeneration and sanctification with justification.
They reject grace alone, that we are justified only because of the saving favor of God. They reject faith alone—that is, trusting only in God’s mercy in Christ for the forgiveness of sins. All of it falls under their official anathema as a church.
And in so saying officially as an institution, they have fallen under the apostolic anathema of the apostle Paul. And that anathema is not a decree of the church. It is, in fact, the curse of God. To anathematize justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone is to fall under God’s anathema.
Paul does not care who is declaring a false gospel—if it is a future council of the church or a pope of Rome (something he surely never imagined). Paul does not even care if it is a fellow apostle—even himself! Or even if it is an angel from heaven! That is how certain he is of the saving truth of the gospel he preaches. Anyone preaching a gospel contrary to the one he already preached to them: Let him be accursed—damned by God forever to hell.
We might be tempted to think that Paul is being harsh or overreacting. Maybe he should lighten up on the rhetoric. After all, these men he so viciously condemns believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, who died for our sins and rose from the dead.
Paul says, “In case you think I am overreacting, I will say it again! ‘As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.’ Damned by God forever to hell.”
It is true that some people are ready to let their own personal anathemas fly at anyone who disagrees with them on some secondary point of doctrine. But Paul is not temperamentally defective like so many self-appointed theologians on the internet. This is about the glory of God in Christ. This is about the only way of salvation for sinners. Not everything is a “gospel issue.” But the one and only gospel is the one and only “gospel issue.”
Notice also where Paul directs this divine curse. Not at the Galatians, but at the false teachers. This, too, is instructive for us. John Calvin said this: “The pastor ought to have two voices: one for gathering the sheep; and another, for warding off and driving away wolves and thieves.”2 Paul is using that second voice here to protect the sheep from the wolves, from those who are preaching a contrary gospel.
This is not Paul’s gospel. It is God’s gospel. It is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And there is none other. If sinners are to be saved from God’s wrath, this is the only gospel that can save them because it proclaims the only Savior of sinners, the only one qualified to save us—Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, the Righteous One, crucified and risen for you.
The gospel is literally and actually good news. This is what it means. All perversions of it are bad news because you are left in your sins to try to vainly save yourself. Jesus has done everything necessary to save you from the guilt of your sins, from the eternal wrath of God, and to bring you into eternal life. Believe this gospel and you will be saved to the uttermost—not partially, not conditioned on whether you do your part. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—not to help sinners save themselves. It is all of His grace so that God alone gets all the glory.
How astonishing it is for anyone to desert this gospel of grace and peace for another so-called gospel! We see this issue made personal in our third and final point: the pleasing of man or of God in gospel ministry in verse 10:
For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Not only do false teachers subvert the true gospel. They also seek to destroy the credibility of those who preach it. This is what they do here. “Paul is a people pleaser. He will say or do anything to be accepted by his audience. When he is with the Jews, he acts like a Jew. When he is with the Gentiles, he acts like a Gentile. He even tells them they do not have to be circumcised or keep the law of Moses to be saved!”
In one case, Paul will have Timothy circumcised. But not so in Titus’s case. And Paul does write in 1 Corinthians 9:22, “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.” Paul’s opponents would bellow, “See? Paul is an inconsistent people pleaser!” Not so. Paul is always consistent with the gospel. Circumcision means nothing, but it should not be a hindrance to Timothy’s gospel ministry among the Jews. This is prudence. But if you make it something necessary for salvation—as some insisted with Titus—then Paul will not budge. This is principle.
This gospel does not please the natural man. It does not please the flesh. It does not satisfy the old Adam, the inner Pharisee. As Luther says, “No man can say that we are seeking the favor and praise of men with our doctrine. We teach that all men are naturally depraved. We condemn man’s free will, his strength, wisdom, and righteousness. We say that we obtain grace by the free mercy of God alone for Christ’s sake. This is no preaching to please men. This sort of preaching procures for us the hatred and disfavor of the world, persecutions, excommunications, murders, and curses.”3
Indeed, the gospel is not nice news, but it is good news. It alone reveals what is pleasing to God: the blood and righteousness of His own dear Son. And we please God when we believe it, add nothing to it, and preach it purely. Because God will not share his glory with us. But he will freely glorify himself by saving us—by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. And the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is a beautiful testimony to that glorious fact. We do not prepare a meal of our works for God, as if we were feeding him. No, Christ sets the table of his grace for us to feed us with his gospel. We are but beggars at His bountiful gospel table.
Notes
- Papal Encyclicals Online, General Council of Trent: Sixth Session, Canon XI, accessed January 16, 2026.
- John Calvin and William Pringle, Commentaries on the Epistles to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon (Logos Bible Software, 2010), 296.
- Luther, Epistle to the Galatians, 19, Kindle.
©Tony Phelps. All Rights Reserved.
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Tony Phelps
Tony grew up in Rhode Island. He was educated at University of Rhode Island (BA) and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He worked in the insurance industry for ten years. He planted a PCA church in Wakefield, RI where he served for eleven years. He has pastored Covenant Reformed Church (URCNA) in Colorado Springs (2015–18), and Living Hope Presbyterian Church (OPC) in Allentown PA (2019–25). He is currently pastor of Christ Our Hope Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Charlestown, RI. Tony is married to Donna and together they have three children.
More by Tony Phelps ›
The genius of the Reformers was in that rediscovery of the crucial importance of that little word, ALONE. By grace, through faith, in Christ alone we are justified before God. Sanctification is the fruit of this justification, it does not cause or contribute to our justification. That simple distinction is the touchstone of the true gospel.
Humbling, as it should be.