A Continual Need for the Gospel; Galatians 1:6-10

Introduction

Recap the letter

Paul loves the gospel

Jesus willing gave his life

the father desired for this to happen

nothing left for us to do but praise him

Today - A Continual Need for the Gospel

A Paper in Bible College

I was not good at those

supposed to be formal, Professor wrote, you write like you are just talking to me

Paul is getting a bad grade on this letter

not because he is wrong - the gospel presented is correct

but the form is incorrect

technically we should be getting to a portion of thanksgiving

instead, shock and almost rebuke

Galatians 1:6–10 (CSB)

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 distort the gospel of Christ.

8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, a curse be on him!

9 As we have said before, I now say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him!

10 For am I now trying to persuade people, or God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

PRAY!

Retell what is happening

Paul has come and started churches in Galatia

many have come to the saving knowledge of Jesus

Jewish believers in Jesus have come in and said you must have Jesus plus to be saved

Jesus plus circumcision

circumcision because it is the sign of the covenant that God made with Abraham

Religion of works strives to impress man, including ourselves. The gospel is more than a moment we are saved, but the grace to live for him everyday.

Understand the Gospel

Exercise equipment now has screens on them

screens allow you to walk, run, bike or row in your house never leaving and yet seem like you are going all over the world

you get a work out

you see some pictures or videos

you are not going anywhere

This is what the gospel is like when we add to it

you get some work done

you feel like you have gone somewhere

You have actually gone nowhere

Galatians 1:6–7 (CSB)

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 distort the gospel of Christ.

How quickly the turned

this amazed Paul

not that they chose something else

but they seemed so sincere in their faith

only to be fooled by the next person that comes to town

“TURNED FROM HIM WHO CALLED YOU BY THE GRACE OF CHRIST…”

we do not know how long between when Paul was there to when others cam to town

we get the sense that you can still see the marks in the grass where Paul’s tent was

the other sounded good

I don’t know that one sounded better than the other

but those that came in after Paul made a lot of sense

the world can do that, it seems logical, seems right

what were they saying? God is not going to simply forgive you and let you live your life

you must follow his laws

Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, he wants you to follow the law that he gave to Abraham and Moses

we can be easily swayed by good sounding speakers that makes us feel good

It is Jesus plus your works, then you can live in confidence

giving you the emotional fulfillment that you are in the right place with God

I know he loves me because I have done all these things for him, because of my obedience

Jesus does not love you because of what you offer, what you have done, or what you will do

Jesus loves you because of his heart, his compassion for those made in his image

Elders are not to be newer believers or converts

they must be able to recognize the lies of the world

they must be able to see what is happening and combat it with the truth of God’s word

but this should not just be something that we hold them to, but a place we should all get to

What they turned to - Paul calls another gospel

not another gospel

the gospel is good news

it is what the angels came to tell the shepherds

a savior is born today!

false gospels are not good news, there is only one gospel and it never changes!

The Unchanging Gospel

Changes to the gospel are often subtle

many groups would call themselves christians, many of us do not know the difference

JW - Only 144000 will go to heaven

God selects a limited number of faithful Christians who, after their death, will be resurrected to life in heaven. (1 Peter 1:​3, 4) Once they have been chosen, they must continue to maintain a Christian standard of faith and conduct in order not to be disqualified from receiving their heavenly inheritance.​—Ephesians 5:5; Philippians 3:​12-​14.

Catholic -

The first element of our response is faith.

The second element of our threefold response to accept God’s gift of salvation is a commitment to service and acts of charity done out of love of God and love of others…

The third element required for our salvation is the sacraments, especially baptism…

Mormon - In addition, our destination after this life depends on whether we participate in the essential rites (such as baptism) that aid us in the process of repentance, progression and sanctification.

Some good meaning people

all faith systems denominations have had corrupt people

I choose to believe regardless of who may have founded that system, that most of the people you would encounter today are good meaning people who believe a lie

these were not people trying to fool the Galatians

people will tell you another gospel that the earnestly believe

that you must obey the law as well!

Galatians 1:8–9 (CSB)

8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, a curse be on him!

9 As we have said before, I now say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him!

Nobody can change the gospel

not just an attack on these people

Not even Paul or angels from Heaven can change the gospel

I like tangible things

I am not real big on digital currency

it is too easy for some other entity to control that digital dollar

how much of it i have, how much i can access or what I can spend it on

the same part of me that likes tangible things, looks for assurance of salvation

we want to know that we know that we are going to be with Jesus when we die, that Jesus is real

so we look for tangible things

something that we can point to that

Proof of their point that works are needed they used Matthew 7:21-23

Matthew 7:21–23 (CSB)

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?’

23 Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!’

They said see, Jesus said you must do…

what are we to do? the will of the Father

the question then must be what is the will of the father

you do not have to go to other passages and try to understand what Jesus is saying in this passage, he tells us

to know the son!

The gospel does not change, we believe in grace alone by faith alone through Christ alone!

Allegiance to the Gospel

Allegiance -loyalty or commitment of a subordinate to a superior or of an individual to a group or cause

our use of this word is typically limited to the phrase, “the pledge of allegiance”

in church life, we do not use the word allegiance so much, instead we use the word creed,

the nicene creed that spoke about Jesus is and that we affirm his divinity of Jesus against false teachers that claimed Jesus is not God

like the apostles creed - summarizing what it is we believe

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,  who was conceived by the Holy Spirit  and born of the virgin Mary.  He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried;  he descended to hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic* (universal) church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

A works gospel is an allegiance to ourselves not to God

what it ends up doing is making us a slave to men

Galatians 1:10 (CSB)

10 For am I now trying to persuade people, or God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Not allegiance to an idea

meaning it did not come from men

Paul said in V1 that his apostleship was not from men, but God and his message it the same

Galatians 1:11 (CSB)

11 For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel preached by me is not of human origin.

so our faith is not in men, or in an idea from men but in God and his word

Faith in God

Paul is not speaking of his preaching… he is not saying he is not trying to convince people of the truth the gospel

but who is he trying to please, who is he trying to convince that he believes in Jesus

if he is trying to please, convince men of his faith, by doing works, then he would not be a servant of God

Those whom we try to please are our masters. If a man tries to please the populace or to please the refined few, these are his masters, and he will be their slave.

But if he tries to please his God, then he is a free man indeed. Seek to please men for their good to edification, but never forget that he who is the servant of men cannot be the servant of God, for “no one can serve two masters” (Matt 6:24).

Trusting in the gospel is trusting in the Lord to provide all the righteousness you need

do not live trying to convince the world that you are a righteous person, instead believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, trust in the righteousness that can only come from him and be saved!

Discussion Questions

Exalting Jesus in Galatians (Reflect and Discuss)

Why must we contend for the gospel? What hinders people from contending?

2. What are some of the main arguments against Christianity today? How do you respond to them?

3. Are you having gospel conversations with people? Why or why not? Stop and pray for someone who needs to trust in Christ alone for salvation.

4. Why was Paul “amazed” by the Galatians? What might quickly “turning” away from devotion to God look like today?

5. Do you think Paul is out of control in this passage? Explain.

6. What do we learn about the gospel from this passage?

7. What does it mean to “reverse the gospel”?

8. What does Paul say about those who preach false gospels?

9. How should you pray for those who are preaching the gospel in local churches today? What might be gained through first praying for your church and your city before expanding your prayers to include the nations?

10. How do Paul’s words about pleasing Christ, not men, affect you? Do you struggle with the desire to please others rather than Christ? What might you do to fight this sin effectively?