GALATIANS 1:1 | NO TURNING BACK

TEXT: GALATIANS 1:1 | NO TURNING BACK

INTRO

ILLUSTRATION: Getting your drivers license can be a nerve racking experience.

Even if you grew up driving on the farm or your parents broke the law and let you drive before the state said you were old enough, it can still make you nervous.

In Indiana, at 15 years old you could go to drivers ed and that would allow you to get your driver’s license when you turned 16.

I don’t remember much about my drivers ed course.

I remember they tried to scare us out of our minds with some of the videos and pictures they showed us.

I was confident only a few of us in that room would actually survive driving after watching those videos and seeing the pictures.

I remember being excited for the day of the actual driving test because that was when you could actually show them your skills… not just on a piece of paper.’

And I can remember all the names of signs we had to memorize!

It was impossible!

There were so many and some didn’t make any sense!

So I thought I would help us freshen up on our traffic signs for a moment this morning.

There is one sign that I believe could be the theme of this next book of the Bible, Galatians, that we are diving into.

“No U Turns”

No Turning Back

EXPLANATION: The Author of the book of Galatians recorded nearly half of the books of the NT.

His name is familiar and we find it as the first word of the book: Paul.

Following his conversion on the road to Damascus, Paul was used by God to reach more people and more regions in the NT than any other individual.

In a second century writing titled “The Acts of Paul and Thecla” the apostle Paul is described as “a man of small stature, with a bald head and crooked legs, in a good state of body, with eyebrows meeting and nose somewhat hooked, full of friendliness; for now he appeared like a man, and now he had the face of an angel.”

To understand a little better of when and who Paul was writing this book too, we must go back and see what led him to this place.

Paul was born Saul of Tarsus

He studied under the notable Gamaliel in Jerusalem where he became an expert on the Law

It was Paul who approved the stoning of the first recorded martyr in the Scriptures, Stephen.

But sometime following that while on the road to Damascus to persecute more Christians, Paul met Jesus.

When Paul met Jesus and accepted Him as his Savior, it radically changed his life.

Paul got connected with a friend named Barnabas that came alongside him and traveled with him to Jerusalem where he was introduced to the apostles

Then for a period of time, Paul traveled and preached the Gospel and brought help to people in Tarsus, Syria, Cilicia, Antioch, and Jerusalem.

And following those travels, Paul and Barnabas headed out on what is known as their First Missionary Journey.

It is on this first missionary journey that he travels through a region planting churches and leading people to Christ.

That region was Galatia

Galatia had many familiar cities such as Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe.

Luke recorded this period of time for us in Acts 13-15

Following that first missionary journey, was when Paul pulled out the quill and the parchment and penned this letter to the churches of Galatia he had just visited.

This letter was penned somewhere around 49 AD

He was writing to those believers that he and Barnabas had led to the Lord.

The believers who had so recently been faithfully following God.

But as we are going to see very quickly in this book, they were already turning back from the simple Gospel message that had been preached to them.

And Paul’s overwhelming challenge throughout this little book is “No Turning Back!”

Right from the start, Paul begins by refuting the attacks the enemies of Christ were using

V.1, PAUL’S DEFENSE

Galatians 1:1 KJV 1900

1 Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)

EXPLANATION: In 7 of 13 greetings, Paul begins the book in a similar way to how he does here in Galatians, by stating that he is an apostle.

An apostle was one who was specifically commissioned by Christ.

That included the 12 disciples following Christ’s resurrection and Paul, who was commissioned by Christ on the road to Damascus.

But then he immediately delves into something that he doesn’t do in the other greetings.

He immediately defends his call.

Following the presence of Paul and Barnabas in the cities throughout Galatia, false teachers and religious pharisees began to make there way into the cities with their false teachings.

In fact on many occasions they ran Paul and Barnabas out of town.

In Acts 13, Paul had just preached the Gospel in a synagogue in Antioch and in Acts 13:44-45

Acts 13:44–45 KJV 1900

44 And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. 45 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming.

They became so angry that in Acts 13:50

Acts 13:50 KJV 1900

50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.

In Acts 14, they were in Lystra and Paul through the power of God had healed a man who was unable to walk.

When the people saw it, they began to worship Paul and Barnabas, but Acts 14:14-15

Acts 14:14–15 KJV 1900

14 Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out, 15 And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:

As they continued with their message, those same religious Jews that had caused trouble in Antioch and Iconium showed up.

Acts 14:19–20 KJV 1900

19 And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. 20 Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.

After Paul and Barnabas had left, these religious Jews tried to tear down what had been preached.

They began to lead these young believers astray with false doctrine and teachings.

And the young believers were falling into the trap so easily, and I think by Paul’s defense that he gives we can understand why they were falling.

They were relying on what Paul had to say as their defense.

You may be thinking, “Ya, he was preaching the Gospel, they should have been relying on what he said.”

When the religious crowd began to teach something contrary to what they knew, their response was, “But Paul said...”

When Paul defended his calling, it wasn’t because he was proud of his position… It was because of the importance of the message!

A message that wasn’t from him!

You see it wasn’t that Paul was an apostle that made his message powerful!

It wasn’t that Paul was a preacher that made his message powerful

It wasn’t because Barnabas was a super nice guy that made their words so powerful!

No, Paul knew what made what they had taught so powerful!

And it was the primary thing that he wrote to defend.

What he had preached was the Word from God!

Paul didn’t point back to his training with Gamaliel.

He didn’t point to his religious learning as a pharisee

He didn’t just say, I’m an apostle and that’s why you should listen to what I said.

No Paul understood the power of the message came from the One that it originated from.

His message was a message from Jesus Christ and God the Father who had raised him from the dead.

That was the trump card!

That was what gave power to everything he had said and everything he was going to say!

That is the foundation for the book of Galatians!

APPLICATION: Friend, we live in a world with a lot of voices

News channels, podcasts, radio, teachers, professors, parents, friends, bosses, coworkers, and preachers… everything with constantly speaking into our lives.

But not everyone can be right!

Not every message can be true!

It seems crazy that it has to be said, but it has to be said… there is objective truth!

Truth is not subjective to your opinion or mine or the talking heads on the TV!

There is absolute truth!

And today as we lay this foundation for the rest of the book of Galatians that we will be diving into, can I just encourage you to let this Book be your absolute truth!

We are going to discuss things that Paul says throughout this book that at times you are going to cheer, but at other times you are going to bristle up...

Will you decide today to submit to the truth of this book!

So many Christians are like those believers in Galatia who have been corrupted by religion!

By God’s grace, through this book of Galatias, my prayer is that God will be able to do so deprogramming!

Some of you in this room have been holding onto beliefs because some pastor, preacher, pope, or priest told you.

Friend may we not find ourselves in the shallow place of those believers in Galatia, when their only defense was, “Well, Paul told me...”

Listen to Paul today as he proclaims, “those messages were not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead!”

CONCLUSION

What can you take away from today?

DON’T BE THE ONE WHO LEADS SOMEONE ELSE FROM THE TRUTH

Just because you believe something, doesn’t mean it’s the truth.

There is a difference between doctrine and preference.

ILLUSTRATION: The Bible teaches that Jesus is God

This is a doctrine that we hold to, and it isn’t something that we compromise on!

ILLUSTRATION: The Bible also teaches about music

There are certain types of music that are worldly and there is certain music that honors God.

Now where is the line?

APPLICATION: I want to teach you one more word: Principles

As Christians, we live according to doctrines and the principles of Scripture.

This is where the grey areas exist.

While the Bible may not come out and say something is blatantly right or wrong, we can find Biblical principles that can give us direction on what pleases God and what doesn’t.

It is the principles from God’s Word that out to dictate our preferences.

Then as we are led by the Spirit into what is truth and what pleases God.

And the Spirit will never lead someone contrary to God and His Word!

You see I can stand up hear this morning and tell you WHAT TO THINK… but you may not agree with me.

But what is far more important is learning HOW TO THINK SCRIPTURALLY AND BE LED BY THE SPIRIT.

Here’s the danger of telling people what to think: Mark 7:13

Mark 7:13 KJV 1900

13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

When you or I lead someone to believe something that is extrabiblical based on my preferences, it will lead them away from the truth

It will take away from the power of God’s Word

Many get in uproar about adding or taking away from the Word of God… all the while doing the same thing when we add to the Word of God by elevating our preferences to a level God never intended them to be, and then pushing them on someone else.

That is exactly what was happening to those believers Paul was writing to as the religious crowd tried to add to the Word of God Paul had preached to them.

Don’t be the one who lead’s someone else from the truth

DON’T FORGET THE ONLY ONE WHO’S MESSAGE ACTUALLY MATTERS

EXPLANATION: Paul makes it so clear right off the back… There’s only One Who’s message actually matters.

And that message is a message worth standing for!

Paul could have cowered in a corner and just said, “Oh well.”

But the message of the Gospel is too important!

We will see it in the next couple weeks but Paul jumps right into proclaiming that message!

Galatians 1:3–5 KJV 1900

3 Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: 5 To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

APPLICATION: Friend, only God knows the names of some who have made the greatest impacts for the cause of Christ!

Those who were willing to give their lives for the sake of the Gospel going forward!

Men and women, like the apostle Paul, who cared more about the message than about their name!

ILLUSTRATION: About 150 years ago, there was a great revival in Wales.

As a result of this, many missionaries came to north-east India to spread the Gospel.

The region known as Assam was comprised of hundreds of tribes who were primitive and aggressive head-hunters

Into these hostile and aggressive communities, came a group of missionaries from the American Baptist Missions spreading the message of love, peace and hope in Jesus Christ.

Naturally, they were not welcomed.

One missionary succeeded in converting a man, his wife, and two children.

This man’s faith proved contagious and many villagers began to accept Christianity.

Angry, the village chief summoned all the villagers.

He then called the family who had first converted to renounce their faith in public or face execution.

Moved by the Holy Spirit, the man said:

“I have decided to follow Jesus.”

Enraged at the refusal of the man, the chief ordered his archers to arrow down the two children.

As both boys lay twitching on the floor, the chief asked, “Will you deny your faith? You have lost both your children. You will lose your wife too.”

But the man replied:

“Though no one joins me, still I will follow.”

The chief was beside himself with fury and ordered his wife to be arrowed down.

In a moment she joined her two children in death.

Now he asked for the last time, “I will give you one more opportunity to deny your faith and live.”  In the face of death the man said the final memorable lines:

“The cross before me, the world behind me. No turning back.”

He was shot dead like the rest of his family.

But with their deaths, a miracle took place. The chief who had ordered the killings was moved by the faith of the man. He wondered, “Why should this man, his wife and two children die for a Man who lived in a far-away land on another continent some 2,000 years ago? There must be some remarkable power behind the family’s faith, and I too want to taste that faith.”

APPLICATION: May you and I be challenged by the example of the apostle Paul, and so many others who have gone before us, and determine that there is a message that matters!

There is something worth standing for!

And when the enemies of Christ come along and try to tempt you to turn from that message of Christ, may we proclaim the overwhelming message of Galatians: NO TURNING BACK!