Theseus’s Paradox is a thought experiment that goes a little like this: Suppose you have a wooden ship (some might even call it the “Ship of Theseus”). If you were to gradually replace every board that makes up the ship, is it still the same ship? If it’s not, how much of the ship do you have to swap out before it becomes another boat entirely?
While this can make for an interesting debate (if you like puzzles), Paul makes it clear in Galatians 1:6-9 that the gospel of Jesus Christ is no Ship of Theseus. You cannot swap out components of the gospel or add any additions to it and expect it to remain the gospel. To put it another way, if you have the Gospel and make it the Gospel+, then it is no longer the gospel.
Oftentimes when discussing alterations or additions to the gospel, we can be tempted to paint the perpetrators as bad guys who are purposefully acting maliciously. Yet, as we explore this passage, we’ll see that a different gospel was being proclaimed in the churches of Galatia out of best intentions. However, “some of the worst things imaginable have been done with the best intentions.”
The questions we’ll be asking this week are: How can we be tempted to alter the gospel out of our own “best intentions”? Perhaps more importantly, why are we tempted to do so? We’ll wrestle with these and answer them by pointing to the wondrous gift of God’s grace and how that dismantles everything.
Dinner Table Conversations:
Adult & Teen Table Talk:
- Why will understanding the true gospel produce anger at false “gospels”?
- Which of the three contemporary false-gospel dangers could you or the church most easily fall for?
Little Learners’ Table Talk:
- What does it mean to receive a free gift? How does that make you feel?
Sermon Title: Gospel Reversal
Sermon Series: Set Free
Sermon Passage: Galatians 1:6-9
Closing Scripture: Romans 8:28
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