We are kicking off a new series this morning in Galatians.
It has been on my heart for some time and I have been praying about it and trying
to figure it out exactly where to go with it. Instead of trying to layout the details
in advance, I decided to just go with it. I cannot tell you how many weeks we
will spend in Galatians, as I will let God guide me through each week’s sermon
preparation and we will see where it takes us.
The book of Galatians was written by Paul sometime during
his first missionary journey. Some of the points made also tell us that it was
written not long after the Jerusalem Council that is recorded in Acts 15.
The Jerusalem Council is where there was a heated discussion
about if gentile believers had to adhere to Jewish customs and rituals. Some of
the Jewish believers wanted the gentiles to be circumcised and to keep the law
of Moses. They expected them to adhere to every last rule that they themselves
struggled to follow.
Acts 15:6-21
“6 Then the apostles and the elders
assembled to consider this matter. 7 After there
had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them: “Brothers, you are aware
that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the
Gentiles would hear the gospel message and believe. 8 And
God, who knows the heart, testified to them by giving the Holy Spirit,
just as He also did to us. 9 He made no distinction
between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. 10 Now
then, why are you testing God by putting a yoke on the disciples’
necks that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear? 11 On
the contrary, we believe we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus
in the same way they are.”
12 Then the whole assembly fell
silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul describing all the signs and wonders
God had done through them among the Gentiles. 13 After
they stopped speaking, James responded: “Brothers, listen to me! 14 Simeon has
reported how God first intervened to take from the Gentiles a people for His
name. 15 And the words of the prophets agree with
this, as it is written: 16 After these things I will
return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. I will rebuild its ruins and set it up
again, 17 so the rest of humanity may seek the Lord—even
all the Gentiles who are called by My name, declares the Lord who does these
things, 18 known from long ago. 19 Therefore,
in my judgment, we should not cause difficulties for those among the Gentiles
who turn to God, 20 but instead we should write to
them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from
eating anything that has been strangled, and from blood. 21 For
since ancient times, Moses has had those who proclaim him in every city, and
every Sabbath day he is read aloud in the synagogues.”
The Jerusalem Council was pivotal for what we call
Christianity today. It set the tone for us gentiles and what part of the Mosaic
law we are to follow. We will find some of these same discussions as we work
through the verses in Galatians. I look forward to seeing exactly what God
wants each of us to learn during this series.
Open your Bibles to Galatians.
As usual Paul starts out with an introduction.
Galatians 1:1-5
“1 Paul, an apostle—not from men or by man,
but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead— 2 and
all the brothers who are with me: To the churches of Galatia.” 3 Grace
to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who
gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil
age, according to the will of our God and Father. 5 To
whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”
This may seem like a simple introduction just like is found
in Paul’s other letters, but there are a couple of points being made in these
first verses.
Paul starts right away declaring that he is an apostle of
Jesus Christ. With Paul making this statement first and foremost, even to the
point of interrupting his introduction, it is evident that it needed to be
addressed. It is believed there were people saying that Paul was not an apostle
or at best that he was a self-made apostle. His calling and ministry was being
attacked.
By addressing this first thing, he was hoping to sway the
doubters so that they would accept the rest of the letter. An apostle was
traditionally someone who had direct interaction with Jesus. The original 12 are
traditionally who we think of when someone talks about apostles, and many also
include Matthais who replaced Judas in Acts 1. Paul’s claim to apostleship
stems from his conversion experience on the road to Damascus. Where Jesus
personally confronted Paul and gave him the mission to carry the gospel message
to the gentiles, kings, and Israelites. We will touch on this in much more
detail next week.
Galatians 1:3-5
“3 Grace to you and peace from God
the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who
gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil
age, according to the will of our God and Father. 5 To
whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”
After taking a break during his introduction, Paul quickly
moves into using the traditional Hebrew greeting wishing ‘grace and peace’ to
the those he is writing to. Paul then goes on to make a simple, yet strong
declaration of what Jesus accomplished. He declares that Jesus voluntarily gave
Himself, to pay the ultimate price so that nothing would ever need to be done
again. His sacrifice was enough to satisfy the cost of redeeming us from our
sins. Laws did not matter, regular sacrifices did not accomplish anything,
Jesus paid it all.
In these first 5 verses Paul not only introduces himself,
but he also gave us a hint of what is to come in the rest of the letter. Now Paul
has made some strong initial points in this introduction, more than he normally
does. But there is also something that he traditionally includes that is
missing.
Paul normally goes directly from the introduction to some
level of thanksgiving for those he is writing to. In this case, he completely
skipped thanking God for the Galatian believers. In his introduction in Romans
and Ephesians, he calls them saints. Here nothing. He skips it and goes on the
offensive. He is jumping in with both feet and ready to hit hard as needed.
Something is wrong and it needs to be addressed immediately.
Galatians 1:6-7
“6 I am amazed that you are so
quickly turning away from Him who called you by the grace of Christ and
are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there
is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want
to change the good news about the Messiah.”
The Galatian believers were in the process of turning away,
back sliding, and downright deserting Jesus Christ. Sometime after Paul’s last
visit with them a false teacher has come in and stirred things up. From what
Paul is saying here, this was not a simple theological debate like we may see
about whether all believers will pray in tongues or not. This was much more
severe, someone was feeding them false teachings and if they continued on the
path they were on they would turn away from God. They were in the process of
giving up the gift of grace they had been given by Jesus. A false gospel was
being preached and it was being embraced by the Galatian believers. Things were
bad and Paul was dispensing with the pleasantries.
If you were to look around at Christians today, will you find
some who have turned away, are back sliding, and deserting Jesus?
Will you find false teachers sharing a gospel message that
does not point to Jesus?
Is there a message being preached in some churches that
point to many ways to heaven?
Are people believing that Jesus is not the only way?
Are people believing they can earn their way into heaven?
Sadly, all of these are true. People who say they are
Christians do not believe what the Bible teaches. They do not believe that sin
is sin. They do not believe that we need to repent of our sinful ways. They are
not following the commands of Jesus. They don’t show love to others. They live
their lives how they want to live it. They listen to a soft and fluffy message
that really is a false gospel coming from false teachers. They are worried
about stepping on other people’s toes or don’t want to hurt their feelings.
They think it is ok to be affirming, instead of correcting. They are looking
for accolades from man instead of serving God. There are people who claim to be
Christian that do not believe that God will condemn people to hell, they do not
believe that Jesus is the ONLY way. They think they can earn their way into
heaven. They think they will see their Muslim friends in heaven.
In 2016 we are facing the exact same things that Paul was
addressing in the Galatian church. The issues we are dealing with are the same
Paul was confronting in 50 ad. It was ugly then and it is ugly now.
Galatians 1:8-9
“8 But even if we or an
angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel other than what we have
preached to you, a curse be on him! 9 As we
have said before, I now say again: If anyone preaches to you a gospel contrary
to what you received, a curse be on him!”
The Galatian believers had heard Paul and Barnabas preach
the true gospel. They were there and taught them what they needed to know. So
Paul is saying even if we visited you again and told you something different,
or even if an angel came down from heaven and tried to tell you that the gospel
was different, that Jesus was not needed, there were many ways to heaven, or
some other story, we and he would be cursed.
The message of Jesus does not change. The teachings of
scripture do not evolve. They do not become outdated. They are not obsolete.
The Bible was what was needed when it was written, it was what was needed 50
years ago, it is exactly what is needed today, and will continue to be what is
needed until Jesus Christ returns and sets up His future kingdom.
The message does not change to suit our needs, it does not
change to justify sin, it does not change to make us feel better. The Gospel is
the Gospel. Sin is Sin. Our path to salvation is through a narrow path that was
paved by Jesus. There is no other way.
John 14:6
“Jesus told him, “I am the way, the
truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Jesus is pretty clear, there is only one way. Which means
there is only one message and those that say otherwise will be cursed. If they
do not repent of their ways they will spend eternity without Jesus, where there
is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
We live in an ‘evil age’ one where the gospel message of
Jesus Christ is not popular, but it is the truth. We need to make sure we are
being true to the message of Jesus, not the message of the world.
Galatians 1:10
“10 For am I now trying to win the
favor of people, or God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were
still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ.”
Paul is being real clear here. The false teachers had
accused Paul of trying to be a man pleaser by softening the gospel and limiting
the Jewish laws that gentiles had to follow. Paul is addressing this head-on.
He is wanting everyone to understand that He is first and foremost a slave of
Jesus Christ. Paul is staying loyal to his Master, no matter the cost. Pleasing
men is nothing when compared to pleasing God. Paul is not sugar coating the
gospel. He is hitting hard as needed.
1 Thessalonians 2:4
“Instead, just as we have been approved by God to be
entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please men, but rather God, who
examines our hearts.”
To many ‘Christians’ are worried about pleasing men. They do
not fear God any more. They have sugar coated the gospel and warped or discarded
the parts they do not like. If it is not inclusive of all, they have tossed it
aside. If it is condemning, they skip over it. If the message is harsh they
soften it and make it easy to be swallowed.
Paul was taking a stand. He is a true messenger of Christ
and He will speak the truth.
We are not called by Jesus to please men or to curry their
favor. We are called to be witnesses to the lost so that they can hear the true
gospel message. The message of Jesus Christ. The message that can save them.
Every one of us needs to clearly proclaim the complete
message found in the Bible. There is a Holy God who created all. All of mankind
are sinners and are deserving of hell. There is one and only one way for us to
be saved, and that is through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus
Christ. He paid for our sins so that we can spend eternity with Him. All we
have to do is believe and follow Him.
Don’t live a sugar coated life, stay true to the Gospel!
Thanks for reading! God Bless!
Robert
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