The Bible Series Galatians
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Transcript
One of the saddest scenes I have seen was while kayaking down the river seeing multiple eagles soaring in the sky swooping down to the river getting their fish all the while one eagle walked along the river, not flying, not swooping… looking hungry while still walking never once spreading its wings to take flight…
Imagine with me the church in this condition...
A Church where traditions become more important than God’s Word
It focuses more on what man thinks than God!
The scriptures when read or quoted are twisted, abused, or even omitted to meet ones own interest and desires.
The church in this condition...
Will find itself drifting from truth and slowly… placing itself on the shoulders of people rather than God’s Word
It does not force its way, it is willingly carried by those who stray from the truth of God’s Word
They are led by the pride of the heart into a dangerous place of thinking they can obtain the Gospel, Salvation, on their own apart from Christ.
God did not intend the church to live in constant comparison, constant worry, constant uncertainty… “Faith alone” is the heartbeat of this letter. Paul’s insistence that no human work can contribute to a person’s right standing with God makes this letter of Galatians critical for all
Letter Information…
Letter Information…
These churches Paul writes to are young… only about three years.
This is the first of the letters Paul would write and he is PASSIONATE concerning the content of this letter.
As Paul begins this letter with an interesting salutation... Galatians 1:1-5
Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead), and all the brethren who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen.
FROM:
FROM:
We must recognize the authority this letter is written with.
Paul is an Apostle = having been commissioned by Jesus Christ for a particular task or role
Paul was NOT sent out or writing this letter sent or commissioned by man, but rather by Jesus Christ
The other apostles were taught, commissioned, and instructed by Christ while Christ was with them.
Paul is taught, commissioned, and instructed after Christ has ascended, the risen Savior!
There is authority in what Paul is going to say because it comes from Christ Himself!
TO:
TO:
This is going to a Region… Galatia (modern day Turkey)
This is the only letter Paul writes that is not addressed to a specific church or person
This was meant to pass around and get the message out! Notice the plurality of “churches”
These would have been churches started on his first missionary journey with Barnabas…
It has not taken long for error and false truths to come into the church!!!
It can just as easily happen today!
Paul is writing to correct the error and clearly define the Gospel!
Paul is writing to correct the error and clearly define the Gospel!
In this letter there are no words of commendation rather a harsh tone and emphatic message
So crucial is the Gospel in this letter Paul brings it into his salutation…!!! Verse 3-5
God’s grace and peace came through Christ
It was God’s will to send His Son Jesus Christ
It was His will to rescue us… because we needed rescuing. (we couldn’t do ti!!!)
AND… notice God is the One who will get the GLORY… NOT MAN! (last week)
The TONE Paul uses in this letter stresses the importance of what he is writing...
It has been said “You can hear thunder as you read the words of Paul in this letter”
It bristles with PASSION, SARCASM, and ANGER!
So crucial is this message Paul writes it with his own hand!
This short yet pointed letter is said to be the thesis statement of Romans… where we see an aged minister of the gospel convey things in a softer tone in Romans we see and feel the fire and passion of this younger version of himself as he takes heresy head-on… We observe this urgency and tone through out his letter…
Galatians 1:6
I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel;
Galatians 3:1
You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?
Galatians 4:20
but I could wish to be present with you now and to change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.
Galatians 5:12
I wish that those who are troubling you would even mutilate themselves.
Yet he loves these people calling them his “dear children” in Gal 4:19-20
My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you— but I could wish to be present with you now and to change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.
Galatians Overview
Galatians Overview
I was heading home for lunch one day driving down the driveway of the church and an event caught my eye and attention… an EAGLE dove down and as it approach the ground by the edge of the drop off it spread its wings and shot up into the sky, whisked by the wind under its wings… It would soar up in the sky for a while, wings spread wide open… then dive down again to repeat the this magnificent display of beauty and freedom!
To Soar: Being lifted up to great heights, rising in in a majestic stature… YET!!! NOT in ones own power!
In quick overview we look at SOARING in our Faith… Paul addresses The Gospel, Grace, & Freedom in a methodical manner delivering a powerful argument!
This letter is best read and understood by going through it in one sitting
Digesting what one has heard or read and then reading it once again this time with greater thought and processing
This argument was laid out in a beautiful three point approach
GOSPEL DEFENSE Ch 1-2
GOSPEL DEFENSE Ch 1-2
Authority of the message… this message came from God Himself
The Gospel message has been attacked by false teachers (Jews declaring okay yes faith but you must also do the works of Law)
Any gospel or teaching that adds to Christ or detracts from Christ is a false gospel
Paul declares a curse on any who do this even an angel!!! (some religions have declared special revelation from angels adding to scripture, adding to Christ!!!)
Paul’s Apostleship… affirmed by the other apostles!
Paul gives a little of his biography...
Paul even shares how easy it is to slip into this illustrating with Peter
GRACE EXPLAINED Ch 3-4
GRACE EXPLAINED Ch 3-4
In this section Paul uses eight lines of reasoning to develop his theological defense of justification by faith:
(1) The Galatians began by faith, and their growth in Christ must continue to be by faith (3:1–5)
Galatians 3:1–3 “You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”
(2) Abraham was justified by faith, and the same principle applies today (3:6–9).
(3) Christ has redeemed all who trust in Him from the curse of the Law (3:10–14).
(4) The promise made to Abraham was not nullified by the Law (3:15–18).
(5) The Law was given to drive men to faith, not to save them (3:19–22).
(6) Believers in Christ are adopted sons of God and are no longer bound by the Law (3:23–4:7).
(7) The Galatians must recognize their inconsistency and regain their original freedom in Christ (4:8–20).
(8) Abraham’s two sons allegorically reveal the superiority of the Abrahamic promise to the Mosaic Law (4:21–31).
Wilkinson, B., & Boa, K. (1983). Talk thru the Bible (p. 397). T. Nelson.
Paul’s argument beautifully laid out and delivered expresses what we receive through Christ is by faith in the GRACE God extends to you and I!… Dr. Charles Swindoll in his book “Grace Awakening” beautifully illustrates GRACE…
Understanding what grace means requires our going back to an old Hebrew term that meant “to bend, to stoop.” By and by, it came to include the idea of “condescending favor.”
… someone in the ranks of nobility will stop, kneel down, and touch or bless a commoner. That is grace. There is nothing in the commoner that deserves being noticed or touched or blessed by the royal family. But because of grace in the heart of the royal person, there is the desire at that moment to pause, to stoop, to touch, even to bless.
Donald Barnhouse perhaps said it best:
“Love that goes upward is worship; love that goes outward is affection; love that stoops is grace.”3
To show grace is to extend favor or kindness to one who doesn’t deserve it and can never earn it. Receiving God’s acceptance by grace always stands in sharp contrast to earning it on the basis of works. Every time the thought of grace appears, there is the idea of its being undeserved. In no way is the recipient getting what he or she deserves. Favor is being extended simply out of the goodness of the heart of the giver.
… One more thing should be emphasized about grace: It is absolutely and totally free. You will never be asked to pay it back. Most of us have trouble with that thought, because we work for everything we get. ... grace comes to us free and clear, no strings attached. We should not even try to repay it; to do so is insulting.
Swindoll, C. R. (2006). The Grace Awakening: Believing in Grace Is One Thing. Living it Is Another. Thomas Nelson. / 3 Donald Grey Barnhouse, Romans, Man’s Ruin, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1952), 72.
True grace applied in the life of the believer, recieved in Faith allows one to SOAR!!!!
FREEDOM APPLIED Ch 5-6
FREEDOM APPLIED Ch 5-6
Paul clearly states the freedom and liberty of our faith with the legalism of the law… Oh but christian beware!
The opposite extreme is just as dangerous!
We are set free from bondage of law,
We are also free of the bondage of sin because of the power of the indwelling Spirit
Liberty is not an excuse to indulge in the deeds of the flesh
Our liberty provides the privilege of bearing the fruit of the Spirit lived out in our life
Galatians 5:22-23 list the FRUIT (Singular) of the Spirit
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Think on These Things
Think on These Things
Paul closes this letter challenging ones who are stronger to encourage and strengthen those weaker who struggle in sin… Galatians 6:1-2
Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.
In a very unique way Paul closes this letter not offering peace for them all but rather for those who heed this teaching and warning… the false teachers would boast in themselves their works… BUT LISTEN HERE TO PAUL … Galatians 6:14-16
As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God.
Oh people of God… let us truly hold to this Faith that we have in Jesus Christ… may we NOT look to man, to ourselves, to our deeds… but rather to the finished work of Jesus Christ
Being filled, lifted by the Holy Spirit to SOAR in the liberty He gives through Faith in Him and Him alone!