The Divine Gospel

May 13, 2012 Preacher: Randy Smith Series: Galatians

Scripture: Galatians 1:11–24

Transcript

The Divine Gospel

Galatians 1:11-24
Sunday, 13 May 2012
Pastor Randy Smith



One of my favorite recreational activities is to visit America's National Parks. Julie and I during our recent trip to southern Arizona spent our entire five days gallivanting from one park to another. It's a great experience to hike, camp, eat tuna fish and peanut butter out of the back of a minivan and enjoy God's beautiful creation right here in this country.

The park system does a wonderful job, but there is consistently one thing that I dislike. It is almost predictable that the opening film narration depicting the specific park has to say something to denigrate our Christian heritage. We witnessed this again when we were in the extreme southwest corner of the state visiting Organ Pipe Cactus National Park.

The storyline is always the same - everything was wonderful until those Christians came. This time it couldn't have been more obvious. Perfect bliss with nature until - music becomes dramatic and three crosses flash up on the screen. I'm sure many walk away from the short film with a diminished view of Christianity. Now I am not saying that every early Christian did everything right nor am I saying that every so-called Christian was really a Christian, but what stands out to me in these videos is what is ultimately missed. And what is missed is the most essential truth that should concern every person in every culture throughout all of time.

Earlier in this particular film it spoke of the Native American belief that their departed loved ones would return as a saguaro cactus. The movie not only endorsed but also exalted the view. Is there any shred of proof that this is true? And how many people would really want to come back as a cactus? Then you have those awful Christians. They claimed that you can enter into a personal relationship with the Creator. They claimed that you can spend eternity with Him in a place that far exceeds this one, not with prickly thorns baking in the scorching sun, but with a glorified body in a place called Paradise. And their message comes with documented proof that is still accepted even to this day.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is more important, more beautiful and more practical than anything this world can offer us. The Gospel of Jesus Christ teaches how a sinner on the road to hell can be forgiven and given the promise of heaven. The Gospel of Jesus Christ leads us into a life that is filled with purpose, satisfaction and joy. And while you should be willing to part with everything to have this reality, the promises this Gospel provides come free of charge and free of effort. You simply receive it, or should I say Him, on the basis of faith.

Though not often shared accurately in the history books, many of the early Europeans came to the "New World" in a desire to share this message of good news. Was that wrong? Absolutely not! Didn't Jesus in His final words before the Ascension say, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations?" Global evangelism to some degree is a commandment placed upon every Christian by Jesus Christ Himself!

And this is what we saw last week when we began the letter to the Galatians. It was the apostle Paul taking this command very seriously. Just a few decades after the earthly ministry of Jesus, the Bible records his efforts to take the Christian message to a place that had never heard of Christ. And the first place he visited on his first missionary journey was Galatia. Galatia was region just north of the Mediterranean, Asia Minor then, now modern day Turkey.

As I shared last week, the reception of the Gospel from among the native Galatians was wonderful. But unfortunately shortly after Paul's departure, certain false teachers known as Judaizers entered the Galatian area and began to condemn Paul. They said he was a Johnny-come-lately with some personally made-up information or at best a good disciple with no authority having received all his information from the apostles. Then these false teachers instructed these new and vulnerable converts in a Gospel contrary to the one preached by Paul. Paul shared the true Gospel of free grace. They shared a false Gospel of things you needed to do in order to be saved. Outraged, Paul fires off this letter to the Galatians to reestablish his authority as an apostle and remind them of the true Gospel he preached.

From last week his bewilderment is seen in verse 6. "I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel." And his commitment to the true Gospel is seen in verse 8. "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!"

Now that Paul has established the true Gospel and his commitment to it, his next step is to fight for its authority. In other words, what makes the Gospel he preaches right and the one the false teachers proclaimed, wrong?

We will look at Paul's reasoning in a moment, but before we move on I think we can all identify with what Paul is trying to achieve. We are called by Jesus Christ to share that salvation comes in His name alone. And the response we receive from the world is, "What makes your religion better than anyone else's? How dare you think that only your way is right!" Exclusivism does not fly very well in a world of pluralism and relativism. Even 2,000 years ago Paul fought the same battle.

So Paul begins in verse 11 saying to the Galatian church, "For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man."

The Gospel that Paul brought was simple. God is holy and therefore we are sinners. God the Father sent God the Son to the cross to receive the full penalty for our sins. Justice has been accomplished and salvation is offered to those who turn to Jesus and turn away from their sins. It is message of free grace in Christ offered to everyone to receive on the basis of faith.

Paul says in verse 11 that this Gospel "is not according to man." In other words, it wasn't invented by any particular person. And the simple way to know that is because every other man-made religious system is permeated by a works righteousness. Every other religious system says "do" and hopefully if you did enough you will be rewarded for your efforts. The true Gospel says you cannot please God. The true Gospel says God will not accept sin in His presence. Yet the true Gospel also says God in His love and mercy has worked for humanity. The true Gospel says receive God's gift and rest in His grace. Man loves false Gospels because he can take credit. In the true Gospel, all the credit goes to God (Gal. 1:5). It is "amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me." And this is why natural man hates it!

As Julie will tell you, I love smorgasbords. Give me the pay once and eat all you can restaurant anytime. It's great to go up to the buffet and sample a little of everything.

This pretty much defines world religions. For the most part, each of them is a different dish in the buffet line saying, "All of these recipes are good choices, but sample me because I think I will satisfy your appetite. And if you don't like everything there is about me, mix me with a couple other dishes to find what is most appealing to your taste." Then Christianity walks in. The restaurant owner says, "Welcome Christianity, I have a wonderful spot for you in between Buddhism and secular humanism. You are more than welcome to stay." And Christianity replies, "I did not come here to take up residence. I came here to say all of these courses will not satisfy or deliver. I came here to tell people that I am the only true food available. And if you want my food you need to leave this restaurant and feast on me alone." Every other world religion is invented by man. Paul says in verse 11 that the Gospel "is not according to man."

So if this Gospel is not according to man, where did it come from? Verse 12, "For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ."

Staying with the context, which is fending off the criticism from the Judaizers, Paul makes it clear: One, he did not invent this Gospel he preaches. Two, it was not based upon the traditions of men. And three, it was not passed down to him by the apostles. It was from God and given to him by a direct revelation from Jesus Christ.

Now that sounds great and all of us who have grown-up in the church and accept the full inspiration of the Bible say, "Amen." However, we know many people will not accept that statement. Anyone can say they have received a direct revelation from God. And in probably every case they would have a tough time convincing anybody. Paul knows this too. So how can Paul validate his claim? There are many routes he could have chosen, but the one he goes with is his personal testimony, and he does it, like all good testimonies, with the three step outline: His life before Christ, His conversion and his life after Christ.

1. Paul's Life Before Conversion (verses 13-14)

So now half way through the sermon, we begin with our first point. What was Paul's life like before Christ, and how does his life before Christ support his claims on the Gospel?

Verses 13-14, "For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it; and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions."

Since Paul spent considerable time with these churches, he reminds them of his life prior to coming to Christ. All of them were well acquainted of Paul, then called Saul in his pre-Christian days.

One thing that defined his life was how much he hated the church. In verse 14 he uses the terms "persecute" and "destroy." Both words are in the imperfect tense denoting a continual action. He said he did these "beyond measure." Paul made it his top priority to eliminate this new group that called themselves Christians. Acts 8:3, "Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison." In Acts 9 we read, Paul, "Still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem" (Ac. 9:1-2). In his testimony before Agrippa he said, "And this is just what I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death I cast my vote against them. And as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and being furiously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them even to foreign cities" (Ac. 26:10-11; also Ac. 22:4-5). Paul's point? You think this is my invention? Look at my life before I became a Christian. How can you account for these changes?

Second, in verse 14, Paul shows how zealous he was for Judaism. "Advancing Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries." "Being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions." Paul was a "good Jew." In Acts 26 he testified that he "lived as a Pharisee according to the strictest sect of [his] religion" (Ac. 26:5). After all his zeal and energy and time to achieve the fame and status that he did, why in the world would he ever throw it all away to associate with a small sect and receive immeasurable persecution?

2. Paul's Life at Conversion (verses 15-16a)

Second in verses 15 and 16, Paul talks about his conversion. What I find interesting is that when Paul spoke about his life before Christ in verses 13-14 he never even mentioned God. Rather he used nothing but personal pronouns - he uses "I" twice and "my" four times. Now from this point forward it is all about God. Verse 15 starts, "But when God!" He breaks his conversion into three parts.

First Paul said that God "set [him] apart…from [his] mother's womb." In the likes of all believers - God's sovereign decision. Specifically, Paul is placing himself in the category of God's special servants like Jeremiah who said the same (Jer. 1:5).

Second, Paul says in verse 15 that God "called [Him] through His grace." At an historical point in time, again in a sense like all of us, God called Paul to salvation. Paul would be God's choice messenger and when the time came, Paul's former convictions would be no match for God's will, His irresistible grace. Again, only God can be credited with this change. It is the only explanation for a man that persecuted Christianity to suddenly become a bold proclaimer of the faith. As a matter of fact, Acts 9 recalls Paul's conversion and it says this came from God, not when he was contemplating the claims of Jesus Christ, but when he was on the road to Damascus in an effort to arrest Christians. This was grace! This was God's undeserved favor shining through, saving a man that hated Him and His people. Paul didn't ask for it. Grace came after him!

And third verses 15 and 16 say it was at this time that God "was pleased to reveal His Son in me." God was not reluctant. Rather God was pleased to save Paul as He is pleased to save others and He does it by revealing "His Son," the glory of Jesus Christ. How can one person yawn at Jesus, another use His name as a swear word, another hate Him and His followers, and yet another find Him more attractive than all in the world and willingly lay his or her life down for His name? The only answer is God regenerating a heart and revealing the beauty and lordship of Jesus Christ that we might embrace Him! Acts 9:5, "And [Paul] said, 'Who are You, Lord?' And He said, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.'" On that Damascus Road Paul saw Jesus like never before. Until God does a work in our lives, we have scales over our eyes (Ac. 9:18) and a veil over our hearts (2 Cor. 3:14-16).

Paul's point again, how do you account for this 180? The only explanation is that he experienced a sovereign and supernatural work of God.

3. Paul's Life After Conversion (verses 16b-24)

Finally, in point number three, Paul speaks about his life after conversion. Half way through verse 16 he says his commission was clear that he was called to "preach" Jesus. And now he again ties it into his authority. He makes it clear that he is an apostle called by the Lord, and the other apostles contributed nothing to his message.

First, in verse 16 and 17, Paul says, "I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me." In other words, "Contrary to the claims of the false teachers, I did not get my message from anybody, not even an apostle." As a matter of fact he says in verse 17 that he "went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus."

Second, verse 18, when he finally did go to Jerusalem, it was three years later. And the purpose of this visit was, verse 18, only to "become acquainted with Cephas (Peter)." And even that stay was only "fifteen days," definitely not enough time to learn the full counsel of God. And when you read about this account from Acts 9, much of that time was spent preaching Jesus (Ac. 9:28). And even when in Jerusalem, verse 19, Paul did not see any of the other apostles except James, the Lord's brother. Acts 9:26 says most of the disciples in Jerusalem at this time were even afraid of Paul, not believing that he was truly on their side! His whole point is that he was not discipled by them, but also that he is not in contradiction to them (Gal. 2:9). They are all preaching the same Gospel message. Then he seals this testimony with a vow in verse 20: "Now in what I am writing to you, I assure you before God that I am not lying."

I love the way Paul concludes this section beginning in verse 22. "I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which were in Christ; but only, they kept hearing, 'He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy.' And they were glorifying God because of me" (Gal. 1:22-24). First it was all about Paul. Now it is all about God's glory. That is the Gospel that Paul proclaimed. The churches in Judea and the apostles in Jerusalem recognized it (Gal. 2:9). And that is the Gospel he now pleads that the Galatians will again embrace.

I leave you with some concluding thoughts as we camp out on the greatness of the true Gospel.

Paul had all the religious works that these Judaizers claimed the Galatians needed and he hated God. As a matter of fact he says these badges of self-righteousness actually kept him away from Christ. Remember, Jesus plus anything equals nothing!

It is best seen in Philippians 3. He says he was "circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless. But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith" (Phil. 3:5-9).

Most people in the evangelical church do affirm grace on paper, that salvation is faith in Christ alone, apart from our works. We may even have difficultly identifying with Galatians as if we'd be tempted to add anything to the sufficient and completed work of Jesus Christ. But consider these examples of where we might fall short.

We fail to appreciate the true Gospel of grace when we start with grace alone to get God's approval and then revert to works alone to keep God's approval. Do you believe in grace? Do you believe God loves you even when you blow it if you are His child? If not, you fail to understand the Gospel of grace.

We fail to appreciate the true Gospel of grace when we prioritize Jesus to get into God's kingdom and then prioritize something else once in that kingdom. Jesus only becomes a means to better health, greater wealth, more popularity, a good family or greater self-esteem. If Jesus is not your all-in-all from beginning to end, you fail to understand the Gospel of grace.

We fail to appreciate the true Gospel of grace when we call ourselves a Christian and then say we are not ready to be baptized. If salvation is all of grace and baptism represents God's work in your heart, what are you waiting for? In the Bible we see the confession of Christ and immediate baptism that same day. If it's additional personal righteousness, you'll be waiting a long time to get baptized, and you fail to understand the Gospel of grace.

And we fail to appreciate the true Gospel of grace when we call ourselves a Christian and are unsure of our final destiny. Claiming your home is heaven is not arrogance, it is confidence in God's promise to not only save you, but also keep you saved. Do you believe salvation is all of God from beginning to end? If not, you fail to understand the Gospel of grace.

What a great God and Savior in Jesus Christ we worship who has provided for us salvation entirely by His work on the cross. How can we not embrace it? How can we not share it? And how can we not allow it to transform our lives?


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