At the very beginning he closes the door against compromise, and throughout the epistle this attitude is maintained. Obedience to their teaching puts in bondage (
2:4) and entanglement (
5:1), and could not result in justification (
2:16), or freedom (
5:1); it made Christ to be of no profit (
5:2), and the death of Christ, which is the essence of the gospel, a superfluous thing of no account (
2:21); and so far from bringing blessing it puts him under a curse (
3:10); and all who accepted it fell away from grace (
5:4).]
only there are some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.—Those who troubled them with false teachings perverted the gospel of Christ. Christ died to redeem all nations from sin. It was a perversion of the gospel to claim that they could not be saved by Christ save through keeping the Jewish law. It was turning them from a sole reliance in Christ back to the Jewish law.
8
But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema.—Paul's claim was that the gospel as he had preached it was complete, absolute,
and final, and if he himself, or even an angel from heaven, should preach another gospel than that he had preached, let him be accursed.