Galatians

One Gospel

2006-09-14T14:08:00.000-05:00

Galatians 2:6-10

Verse 7 has been taken to imply that there were two Gospels, a Petrine Gospel and a Pauline Gospel, which represented a "theological antithesis" or at least contained important differences in content. Actually, howeer the so-called Petrine Gospel is merely the gospel as Peter preached it to the Jews, with the particular approach and emphasis appropriate to Jewish audiences, just as the so-called Pauline Gospel is the same Gospel as Paul proclaimed it among the Gentiles, with the particular approach and emphasis appropriate to Gentile audiences. NICNT

I often find it interesting when I hear or read about arguments meant to convey more than one Gospel. The first thing that I try to do is determine the motives of the person conveying the argument. More often than not there is an element of an attack or an attempt to discredit any Gospel. As fallen beings we are too often attempting to find any weakness, however small, in order to bolster our need to believe in something that is not true and more in keeping with our sinful nature. If there are two Gospels than maybe there are more and maybe those others are more palatable and do not require so much of us. The other thing I try to do is have compassion for the one making the argument. Compassion because I so often fall into error myself, either actively or passively. So often we can be blinded by our sin into thinking that the Bible says something other than it really says. And even a very small deviation from the true path will lead to a wide divergence given enough time. And one of those errors is in thinking that a group or type of people are different from one another spiritually speaking.

We need to be sensitive to other cultures and attempt to speak to people in a manner that they understand. I think that is the reason that Paul and Peter were sent to their respective spheres of influence rather than preaching to all peoplse at the same time. There are nuances that need to be addressed to have people understand the message that is being spoken. But the heart of the matter, the core of the Gospel, remaind the same in both cases and that is the key. When we speak of the Gospel to others we need to be mindful of our presentation without watering down or altering the meat of the message. That is a hard thing to do sometimes but something to which we are called to labor with. And if we do not look at the situation through such a lense we can find ourselves arguing that there are two if not more Gospels and that path takes us away from the Truth.

May God richly bless us this day and strengthen us to the task of spreading the one true Gospel to the glory of His Name.

Interlopers

2006-09-14T14:00:00.000-05:00

It thus emerges that the interlopers were sham Christians precisely because they had not really grasped the fundamental principle of the Gospel-justification by faith apart from the works of law. NICNT

I was both angered and saddened reading this text and the above quote. Angered that people would want to keep the Gospel from being spread to the salvation of those who desperately needed. I was also saddened for the same reason. To know the Gospel and be a part of Christ should continually remind us of the Grace we have been granted. We should continually fall to our knees in gratitude for this gift and be filled with the desire to see others experience the same grace. To want to keep it to ourselves is a perversion of this precious gift and should be countered at ever opportunity. We also need to be careful to check our own motives carefully to make sure we do not fall into the same trap as well. May God strengthen us to rise above our own selfish desires and serve God with all our hearts.

A Humbling Testimony

2006-08-19T10:26:00.000-05:00

And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They only were hearing it said, "He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy." And they glorified God because of me.
Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus with me. I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain.

Galatians 1:22 - 2:2

Let us learn with [Paul], to acknowledge simply the offenses that we have committed, when it stands upon the honoring of God and let us not be loath to receive some shame before men. For that is the way for us also to have our sins buried before God, so as they may never come to account, nor to remembrance more: that is to wit, if we be contented to sustain some mark of infamy before men if need be, that God may have his due.

Calvin's Sermons on Galatians, 142

One of the elders at my church recently retired and plans to move to warmer climes. In his final address to the session, he remarked on the fact that his conversion was extraordinary because he had not been brought low to receive Christ. He was a very successful lawyer in a town where lawyers are a dime a dozen; while I don't remember the details of his story, it basically amounts to meeting some Christians, learning the gospel, believing it and converting. Spectacularly unspectacular.

We know that Paul was successful. His conversion was also extraordinary - not by being brought low but by literally being knocked off his horse by God himself. Two millenia later we see Paul in such an exalted state that we fail to realize that the rest of his life was an utter humiliation in the eyes of the world. He had all the advantages that his world could offer: pure Hebrew lineage, excellent Hebrew education from one of the most brilliant Hebrew teachers of the age in addition to a quality Greek-Roman education, and even Roman citizenship. His crusade against the church had full sanction of the Jewish authorities, and he was good at it. Converting and becoming an apostle was not an improvement for him; he was not climbing corporate or social ladders.

Not only was Paul not moving up in the world, but here we see him defending himself against people who were probably less educated and of less social stature than he should have been. And it's hardly as though this were an isolated incident, for we read in 2 Corinthians 11:21-29 another defense of his ministry: "Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I." and so on...

Paul dismissed the honors of his life before Christ, saying they were rubbish compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ. He does not use that pedigree to impress his readers with any credibility he might have in the eyes of the world. Instead, he honestly and simply admits his role as persecutor of the church, accepting the shame of his sin so that God might have all honor.

Humble obedience

2006-08-08T16:00:00.000-05:00

Galatians 1:22-2:2

“But Paul did set his godpel before the apostles, and this was done, he says, “for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain” (NIV). The Greek phrase rendered “for fear that” indicates “the accompanying and determining feeling of apprehension” with which Paul communicated his gospel to the Jerusalem authorities; positively expressed, his concern was to assure that they would recognize his converts as genuine Christians and members of the Church. He was concerned, in other words, with officially securing the freedom of the Gentiles from the requirements of the law and their equality of status with Jewish Christians.” NICNT

Scripture never ceases to amaze and delight me no matter how often I read it. Like so many other passages in Scripture, it is very easy to go right by the implications of this section of Galatians when reading the letter. It is a short section and taking the time to halt and figure out the implications has widened my eyes to what Paul did here. Here is a man who was called by God in a dramatic fashion, who puts all of his energies into doing God’s work, and yet who takes the time to not only reassure his brothers for the sake of the Gentile Christians but is humble enough to make sure that he is on the right path.

I have been thinking about that for several years in my own life and the lives of the Christians around me. In my experience as a Christian, I find that we talk about fundamentals when we take a membership class for a church or occasionally in a Sunday School class or Bible study but rarely do we speak about it amongst each other on a regular basis. And yet what could be more important to do on a regular basis? It is a wonderful thing to be able to pray for one another and encourage one another in witnessing for the Lord and doing His will in the dark world around us. But every so often we should be humble enough to stop and take stock of what it is we are communicating. We should grab another wise Christian and say “Hey, this is the Gospel that I am proclaiming and this is the manner in which I am presenting it. What do you think of that?” And not only that but we need to have an open heart to be able to accept criticism or refinements to either our message or our approach. This is so important for if we are to be ambassadors of the one true God and the light that He gives we need to make sure that we are indeed proclaiming the light. I am not talking about gross misinterpretations of the Gospel (although we should indeed be wary of that). It is the more subtle effects of legalism that creep in that make what we have to say less than it ought to be. We need to be agents of liberation in the freedom that the Gospel provides and not the shackles of legalism and human self-centeredness that can so often infest our message.

To see Paul stop and do this is an encouragement and rebuke to my neglecting to do so. I pray that God will strengthen us to learn from this and be humble enough to seek one another out.

Truth v Unity

2006-07-15T06:23:00.000-05:00

But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days.

Galatians 1:15-18

[When Saint Paul says that he went up to Jerusalem to see Peter] it is a sure record that his former speaking of his going into Arabia was not of any pride or disdain, but to the end that God's grace might be known, and that no worldly means might be made as a vail to keep men from knowing that Jesus Christ had wrought by singular miracle, in that a man which had been so stubborn before, had been brought to the lure. Thus we see on the one side how Saint Paul meant to reserve unto God his due, and on the other side, that yet notwithstanding he meant to show there was good agreement between him and the other Apostles.

Calvin's Sermons on Galatians, 129

Whenever I used to read Paul's description of his movements immediately after his conversion, I would read into it my own ideals of individualism. By going off into Arabia, Paul seemed to be describing an ascetic period in which he shunned the negative influence of men in favor of some sort of direct communion with God. The idea appealed to my own sense of individualism, which was really just pride.

Calvin makes a good point for why the opposite is true. If he had immediately gone to the other apostles, Paul's teaching might have come under the accusation of being coached by them, and his own ministry and influence diminished - especially as it pertains to the issues grappled with in this epistle, namely the forensic nature of Christ's saving work and the place of Gentiles to what was at the time still a predominantly Jewish church.

Paul's initial isolation permitted him to articulate the truth of the gospel in a manner both distinct from the other apostles and also more appropriate to the Gentiles. But it was still the same gospel truth, which is affirmed by the apostles when they finally meet him some time later and give him the right hand of fellowship. By travelling to see the other apostles, Paul also demonstrates his firm commitment to church unity - later on, we see that he even checked in with the other apostles to make sure that he wasn't preaching a false gospel. If he were an individualist he would not have done this. Instead, he places himself in submission to the other apostles as an expression of his submission to Christ and the truth of the gospel.

We see in this how we ought to be committed to the truth of God while simultaneously committed to the unity of the church. This can be really humbling - in our pride, we would often like to hear things said just so; we're certain that we could do better. I know that I can be a great snob when it comes to how things are said, and I need to confess my pride and rejoice to hear the gospel proclaimed, rejoicing also at the unity I can enjoy with other believers in such a great salvation.

Why do I need this Gospel?

2006-07-12T08:50:00.000-05:00

Galatians 1:11-15

"Paul first asserts in general the non-human character of his Gospel by stating that it is not according to man then supports this assertion by referring to both the source of his Gospel and the manner of its communication to him." NICNT

It is always interesting when I hear people talk about faith, whether it be Christians or non-Christians. I find that in the majority of cases the presentation, of whatever faith, seems to be one of what the speaker inherently knows. What I mean by this is the sense that faith is "mine" or "your" or "theirs". This diminishes the need to acknowledge something other than ourselves as the source of that faith. I very rarely hear anyone say "the faith that Christ gave me" when talking about spiritual matters. And yet that is the point. If we were not given this faith and wakened from the dead to be able to receive it we would have no faith at all. Or more accurately our faith would be in the enmity with the one true God. WE do not have anything apart from the saving faith we have in Christ Jesus. And that faith comes from a holy, holy, holy God. That should give us pause. The Gospel and our faith should not be taken lightly for it is a momentous thing. It should drive us to our knees seeking forgiveness.

Having told the Galatians this, Paul does something that I wish I could consistently emulate. So often it is ease to present the Gospel and move on to why the addressee needs repentance and forgiveness (which they indeed need). But Paul starts by reminding the Galatians that he was a murderer. That shold be our model. Present the Gospel, and then, using wisdom, explain why we needed it. This is a hard thing to do and one that is lacking in Christians. Mostly because it is a very scary thing to do. What if we enumerated our sins and the need for a Savior and the other person laughs? or says "you are sick!"? My answer is yes, but it was worse than that, I was dead. Until we understand our absolute helplessness and the need for our Lord to rescue us, our evangelizing will be weak at best. I pray that we have the humility to follow Paul's example.

Doctrines of Men

2006-06-27T06:23:00.000-05:00

For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ

Galatians 1:11-12

All such as will have men to preach pleasurable things to their liking, do drive away God as far off from them as they can. True it is that they will not speak after that sort. For even among the Jewish people, every man protested to serve the God that was revealed to their father Abraham, and which had published his law by Moses. Sacrifices were offered in the temple, and there were fair show enough there. Nevertheless the prophet concludes in one word, that men were desirous to be soothed, and fair spoken to, and by means thereof could not suffer God to guide them, nor give him leave to lay his yoke upon their neck. Ye see then theat the means for us to prepared to receive the doctrine of the gospel, and to be edified by the same, is that we be not wedded to our own likings, but suffer our Lord jesus Christ to speak the things that are expedient for our instruction. Howbeit besides this, we must also be as it were wounded to the heart by the word that is preached to us, or else we shall never fare the better for it.

Calvin's Sermons on Galatians, 91

Paul's defense of the source of his doctrine makes it clear that he was being accused of preaching an easy gospel. It seems strange to me, but the Judaiser's claimed that by allowing Gentiles to avoid circumcision and the other strictures of the law, Paul was in fact preaching the doctrines of man and an easy gospel.

It's ironic that circumcision, which was given by revelation, should become a doctrine of man. But in putting their hope in it rather than the free mercy of God, the Jewish people robbed it of its meaning, supposing that God could be pleased if they just went through the motions. That is how it became a doctrine of man.

I can understand their reasoning to an extent: the law of circumcision came as a revelation from God to Abraham and Moses, and so it must be human doctrine to assert that it held no force in the Christian life. But more than anything else, this only showed their ignorance of Christ. For as you said, Frank, the Christian life is not easy - there is no comparison with circumcision; the Christian life requires a constant humbling of our sinful pride, for we always want to imagine that we can please God in our own way. Calvin shows what it means to be humbled by God: that we should welcome his word, even though it slays us. For any injury we receive from God will only strengthen us for his service.

Standing for the Truth

2006-06-21T11:15:00.000-05:00

"The twice repeated "let him be accursed", coupled with the indication that this was not the first time such an anathema had been invoked, shows that it cannot be explained as "a careless utterance, expressing more accurately his immediate feelings than his general theory", but must be taken with all seriousness as indicating Paul's attitude toward any teaching that is at variance with the Gospel." NICNT

It is sometimes very hard to be a Christian. Not only is it hard to try to live out the precepts of the Bible, with the help of the Holy Spirit, but it is also hard to stand for Truth in this fallen world. Paul's injunction agains following another gospel or any deviance from the true Gospel is compelling and unsettling at the same time. We are called to defend the Gospel from any deviation and that can often be something that puts us "on the spot". We need to stand for the truth no matter how reasonable the other person or position seems to be. This needs to be tempered with love and respect (for sometimes our sinfulness will get in the way) but there does need to be a firmness when we deal with issues of the Truth. Whether the other person likes us is beside the points. The only opinion that matters is the one who sent His Son to die so that we might be restored as His children. Grace and peace to you all.

Frank

The Importance of God's Will

2006-05-27T10:24:00.000-05:00

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.

Galatians 1:8-9

It has always been a common disease in the world, that men knowing well that they were created to serve God, have tormented themselves and taken much pains to do it, and yet all hath been vain and unavailable, because they began not at the right point of ruling their life by the will of God, and to settle themselves fully to take nothing in hand but that which he commanded them. You see then that the means to have our service acceptable unto God at this day, is to give ear unto him, to suffer ourselves to be taught by his word, to be governed altogether thereby, and to frame all our life with all our deeds and thoughts fully according to the same.

Calvin's Sermons on Galatians, 80

When Paul lays down the curse contained in these verses, he shows us that the purity of the doctrine of the gospel is of the highest importance in the Christian life. For while his letters contain many warnings and rebukes concerning the godliness of his churches, nowhere else does he use such severe language as he does here in defense of the doctrine of the gospel.

What we are talking about here is the will of God. This may sound a simple point, but there is some real confusion today surrounding the concept of God's will. We often hear people say that this or that course of action is God's will; we hear athletes praising God's will for their success; the gospel is commonly presented as "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life".

All of these statements, whether or not they might be true, ignore the most important expression of God's will, which is contained in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Calvin strikes the point when he describes the pagan idolatry of men and women, who throughout history have sought to please God by their own devices. We think this is a good thing: that people should get an "A" for effort, and that God should be pleased that we try so hard. We are offended at the suggestion that this great effort is not enough. In fact, we are doubly offended: first, at the show of intolerance; second, at the presumption of knowledge concerning something so mysterious.

But is God's will a mystery? We are not talking here about whether or not to take a certain job. We are talking about the knowledge of God. And God has gone to great lengths to reveal his will to us on this most important matter. Beyond the prophets and the apostles; beyond the law, the histories, the psalms and proverbs; beyond all these, he has given us his son. In Christ he has made the demands of his law perfectly clear, so that we may know the sinfulness of our sin; in Christ he has satisfied the demands of this law; in Christ he has reconciled himself to all who will believe; and in Christ he builds his church and overthrows all the wisdom and might of the world in preparation for the ultimate revelation of his heavenly kingdom and eternal rule in glory. In Jesus Christ, the visible image of the invisible God, God has finally and completely revealed how he may be known and worshipped in this life while we await the completion of our redemption.

God's will is not a mystery. But we must not confuse it with the mundane affairs of life - in these he will direct our steps as he sees fit, using the ordinary as well as the extraordinary - but we must hold fast to the gospel and guard it with vigilance against the assualts of liars and of our own pride.

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
Deuteronomy 29:29)

Beyond Snobbery

2006-05-17T22:03:00.000-05:00

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.

Galatians 1:8-9

And for this cause we must not only receive God's word as good and holy: but also bear such honor to it, as to hate whatsoever is against it, yea or which agrees not fully with it. For when as Saint Paul speaks here of another gospel: his meaning is, that if men disguise the pure simplicity which they have learned of him, there remains nothing else but untruth and corruption. Wherefore let us learn to set such store by God's doctrine, that we may not only esteem it in itself, but also reject as devilish things, whatsoever shall be brought contrary or repugnant unto it. And truly Saint Paul thinks it not enough to speak of men, but mounts even unto the angels of heaven, and says that we must rather hold them accursed, than alter any whit of the faith which we have of the gospel.

Calvin's Sermons on Galatians, 70-71

Sometimes I cannot help but marvel at Paul. In worldly terms, it seems like a tremendous conceit to hold his doctrine up as divine, infallible truth. Even in reformed circles, where we imagine ourselves to be guardians of the true and pure doctrines of grace, we cannot help but bow our heads in modesty in acknowledgement of our fallibility. But here Paul says that they are cursed who present a doctrine contrary to his. But there's a crucial point to be understood, which is implied when he says "even if I or an angel...": and that is that it's not his gospel, but the very gospel of the living God. By placing himself first under this judgment, he shows that his is not some megalomaniacal campaign focused on bringing support to him as a person, but rather shows that he, too, is in submission to God.

Another point to be understood is the primacy of the gospel, that we should disdain all counsels conceived against the word of God. That, indeed, no matter the celebrity, anyone who preaches another gospel or distorts the true gospel is cursed. But I really like the way Calvin says it here, because it seems to me that Christians in America are well practised at hating all sorts of things, without ever really having anything good to say.

We should "honor" and "esteem" the word. This may sound obvious, but it really is not. As sinners, it is not natural for us to love the things of God. True, he transforms us by his Spirit; however, the renewal of our minds means that we go beyond thinking Jesus is pretty cool for saving us to imbibing his word so that we learn to love his power, wisdom, goodness, justice, mercy and truth in difficult as well as pleasant circumstances. This is not easy. It is an everyday and lifelong journey which faces constant opposition from the devil and world without, and our own flesh within.

Any true and pure hatred of error can only arise from love for God and his word. Anything else is just snobbery.

A Different Gospel

2006-05-06T06:40:00.000-05:00

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 - not that there is another one, but there are some who would trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel of heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.

Galatians 1:6-8

Jesus tells us this parable in Matthew 13:
"A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop - a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."

Christians expect to see certain types of attrition in the church. There are often people who show up who seem to be newly awakened to the truth of Christ, full of enthusiasm to learn and serve; and then just as quickly, it seems, they're nowhere to be found. And if you run into them in the future, perhaps they will dismissively refer to it as a phase, of no greater significance than changing cereals for a season. These are those seeds that fell among the stones. The Christian sees this and grieves over it. But the Christian also soldiers on. We're used to it; but more than that, there is by the Holy Spirit a call and a burden on our souls that makes it impossible to turn aside.

The seed among the thorns represents a different type of attrition, one in which the person falls away, not because of unbelief, but because of worry and lust. While Christ makes it clear that the seed which falls on good soil represents the true believer, nevertheless this weed-choked seed poses a special trouble for Christians. For who among us has not had to endure hardships which have sapped our energy and joy?

The Galatians experienced such a hardship when false teachers showed up and persuaded them that they had to get circumcised and follow Jewish customs if they wanted to be considered true Christians. The great danger in this case, however, was that the Galatians didn't know they were in danger! The false teaching appealed to their pride and lust, for in adopting the Jewish forms they were in fact seeking spiritual security in forms and ceremonies rather than that which the Word and Holy Spirit give in the profession of faith in Christ. They were seeking a faith secured by their actions rather than by the actions of Christ.

This is a great threat to us at all times, as Calvin points out:

Here Saint Paul shows, that whatsoever men bring besides the Gospel, is every whit of it but stark smoke, and that in the end it will be perceived that the Devil did cast trinkets in their ways, to cozen silly fools that could not rest wholly upon God's truth. [...] Saint Paul declares, that the Galatians may well pretend, that they which came from Jerusalem had told them that they ought not to separate the Law from the Gospel. No, no (says he), there is no more but one Jesus Christ, neither is there anymore than one doctrine that leads us unto him, and holds us in the faith, where through we obtain salvation by his means. So then all such as intend to cleave unto the pure knowledge of the Gospel, and to continue in the same, must not seek any other perfection than that.

Calvin's Sermons on Galatians, 60, 61

Amidst all these alarms and threats about the purity of our faith, there is also a wonderful truth to behold: that Christ is enough. It is a testimony to his power and efficacy that we need no additives to preserve or strengthen our faith; and it is his abiding grace and profound love by which he invites us into his freedom, to enjoy the knowledge of him and the glory of his presence.
While we must be on guard against all of the prideful notions that seek to attach themselves to our faith, nevertheless we can also take comfort and confidence in the power and love of Christ, which are more than adequate to meet our need.

Greetings!

2006-04-04T12:00:00.000-05:00

Paul, an apostle - not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead - and all the brothers who are with me,

To the churches of Galatia:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Galatians 1:1-5

It can be easy for most of us to skim over the headings of the epistles as formulaic or somehow unimportant; of course, on the other hand, sometimes it seems like sport among commentators to see who can derive the most out of these portions of scripture - particularly the genealogies and headings. Galatians, at least, is one book whose heading/greeting really sets the tone of the remainder of the letter, and even announces the agenda. This is most evident when you compare it with some of the other epistles.

The typical headings either announce Paul as an apostle by the will of God, or describes Paul and his companions as servants of God. As an apostle by the will of God, we may be assured of Paul's authority, that we may trust his words as the very words of Christ given to instruct and comfort us in the way of salvation.

Here in Galatians, however, Paul announces himself as an apostle - not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead. This is a much more confrontational introduction - as though Paul announces his Authority, with a capital "A", and he bases it on no less than the power of the living God as manifested in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We may ask why this confrontational tone; Calvin sums it up:

We see how the Devil has at all times served his own turn with the name of God, and made thereof a false cloak to disguise the truth, and to turn it into a lie, or else to sow some discord, that by little and little the Gospel might quite fade away. The Apostles (as they that were chosen by our Lord Jesus Christ to bear abroad his Gospel, and to preach it through the whole world) were well worthy to have been reverenced everywhere, and to have been of such renown and authority, as the things that proceeded from them should have been thoroughly received. For their calling was lawful: it was well known that they did not thrust in themselves of their own heads, but that the son of God had chosen and apponted them by his own mouth, yea and made them as it were new creatures: being silly souls and ignorant folk, they were so changed, as it appeared well that their doctrine came altogether of heavenly miracle. For they had not learned ought but in God's school: and he had in one instant of time so indued them with his grace and power, that they became as instruments of the Holy Ghost. Yet notwithstanding, the devil missed not to abuse their name and title, to bring store of troubles and stumbling blocks into the Church. For such as went in their company, made their brags when they went in far countries, that they had been familiarly conversant with them: and yet for all that, some of them were full of vainglory and pride, and sought nothing but their own advancement. Others were self-willed, and could away with nothing but that which they had seen in the City of Jerusalem, and in the land of Jewry: and they would have had the whole world subject to their lure, and therewithal would have turned all things upside down. Others were led yet with a more wicked mind, so as they sought nothing else but to overthrow all that Saint Paul had built. And all these boasted that they had not learned anything of him, but that they had been taught their doctrine by the Apostles themselves. Thus you see how Satan has always defaced God's glory, even under the shadow of the gracious gifts which he had bestowed upon his creatures.

Calvin's Sermons on Galatians, 3-4

So we are warned that the devil seeks at all times to overthrow the gospel in our hearts, in our families, and in our communities, and we should be on guard against his scheming. But his assualts are most effective when they use our own pride, vanity and celebrity. And aren't these the hardest things to defend against? We should be so much more careful, then, to remember that it is only through Christ's sacrifice and resurrection that we stand before God with righteousness and confidence.