The Gospel vs. Legalism

Introduction:

-Imagine that you are living 2,000 years ago in ancient Rome

-You are standing on an auction block as a slave, waiting to be sold

-There are two bidders who are interested in you

-One is a cruel master, someone who horribly mistreats, beats, and even kills his slaves

-He cares nothing for you, is evil, and will do you great harm

-The other is a kind, gracious, compassionate person

-This person cares deeply about you, and wants to buy you so he can free you

-Who would you choose?

-That seems like an obvious choice, or even a stupid question

-Who wouldn’t choose freedom

**movies about slaves escaping to freedom, but never running from freedom to slavery**

-And yet, this is exactly what Paul is saying is happening in Galatia

-There are people out there who want to enslave you, who want to distort the Gospel of grace in Jesus Christ

-They want you to believe that you must earn your salvation or your right standing with God based on your works or efforts

-Unfortunately, as sinners, although we think we would always make the choice to be free, we have a tendency to enslave ourselves, convincing ourselves that we must earn God’s favor

-In our text this evening, Paul is going to show us two very important truths about the True Gospel and about legalism

Background:

Paul is writing this letter to the churches of Galatia because some false teachers have infiltrated the church

-They have told the Galatians that in order to be truly saved, you not only need to believe in Jesus, but you must also be circumcised and keep the OT Law

-It seems they have been trying to undermine Paul, saying that he was a sub-par apostle, someone who did not even know Christ personally, and therefore wasn’t an authoritative source of the Gospel

-Paul starts the letter off by declaring his astonishment that the Galatians were deserting the true Gospel of Grace so quickly

-Paul then has one major point that he is trying to prove:

Vs. 11-12

**read entire passage then pray**

1. Because the Gospel glorifies God, you must hold fast to it (vs. 16-24).

-Remember that Paul wants to show that he didn’t get his Gospel from man

-Paul’s opponents want the Galatians to think that Paul was some later comer to the Apostolic band

They were probably saying something like:

“Why are you believing him? He wasn’t with Jesus. He had to get all of his information about Jesus and His teaching second-hand.”

-So, Paul states that when he got saved, he didn’t go consult with any person

-He didn’t go up to Jerusalem to learn from the Apostles

-He instead goes to Arabia and then returns to Damascus

-Now, what was Paul doing in Arabia and Damascus?

-The most likely answer is that he was preaching the Gospel

-Acts 9:20-25 teaches that after Paul’s conversion, he immediately begins to preach

-He’s preaching so boldly, that there is an attempt on his life, and he has to be lowered out of the city in a basket

-So it seems likely that Paul went from Damascus to Arabia, and then back to Damascus preaching the Gospel

-Some people postulate that Paul went to Arabia to learn from Jesus Himself or to meditate on the Scriptures and the revelation he had just received.

-While this may be possible, we’re never told this is the case.

-In verses 18-20, Paul informs his readers that three years after his conversion, he did go up to Jerusalem for 15 days to get to know Peter.

-However, 15 days is certainly not long enough to really sit at someone’s feet and learn all the ins and outs of their doctrine

-Furthermore, he didn’t see any of the Apostles, except for James, who seems to be one of the lead pastors at the Jerusalem church

-Paul takes a moment to earnestly state that nothing he is telling them is false

-He is being completely level with the Galatians

-He didn’t get his Gospel from Peter, or James, or John, or any of the Apostles!

-He got it directly from Christ!

-Furthermore, Paul goes on to tell the Galatians that he wasn’t even known among the churches in the area around Jerusalem for some time

-You see, it seems that after Paul’s brief Jerusalem visit, that he goes off to the regions of Syria and Cilicia, away from Jerusalem

-This is corroborated by Acts 9:29-30

Acts 9:29–30 (NKJV)

And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill him. When the brethren found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus. (Which is in Cilicia)

-He says that he wasn’t well-known to the churches of Judea, mainly because he had spent so little time there

-The only thing that they knew about Paul was that they heard that the person who used to try to destroy them was now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy!

-To summarize, what Paul is saying is this:

“I didn’t get my Gospel from anyone other than Jesus! After my conversion, I was only in Jerusalem briefly, 3 years after I was saved. I came to see Peter, but I wasn’t with him very long and didn’t see hardly any of the Apostles! As a matter of fact, I wasn’t even known by face in the Jerusalem area! How can you claim that I got my doctrine from any of the Apostles in Jerusalem? I was preaching the Gospel long before I spent any substantial time in Jerusalem.”

Now, here at the end of this section, Paul adds in here an important description of the True Gospel that is expanded upon later in his epistle

-I want us to spend some time thinking through this together

Notice the last verse in chapter 1

Galatians 1:24 NKJV

And they glorified God in me.

-Right here, Paul is clueing us in to something very important, even foundational, about the true Gospel vs. Legalism

-The true Gospel results in God being glorified, not man

-A good question that ought to be asked when it comes to religious claims is this: Who is being glorified?

-In Catholicism, saints who have so much extra virtue and righteousness supposedly intercede for you to God

Let me read you this short excerpt from an article from St. Paul Seminary, which is a Catholic seminary:

Just as you might ask a friend or family member to pray for you during a difficult time, Catholics believe that saints can intercede on their behalf with God due to their closeness to Him.

By doing so, we express their belief in the power of prayer and the understanding that saints can empathize with our struggles.

Saints are not just abstract figures from the past; they are individuals who led virtuous lives, faced challenges, and overcame them through their faith. Their stories can serve as a source of inspiration and guidance in our own spiritual journeys.

By praying to saints, we seek to emulate their virtues and gain their guidance in living a more Christ-like life.

Who gets the glory in this kind of Gospel?

-In Islam, followers are compelled to keep the 5 pillars of Islam, which are faith, prayer, almsgiving, fasting, and pilgrammage in order to try to gain a right standing.

Let me read you a short excerpt from the Quran:

{The believers must (eventually) win through. Those who humble themselves in their prayers; Who avoid vain talk; Who are active in deeds of charity; And who guard their modesty, . . . Those who faithfully observe their trusts and their covenants; And who (strictly) guard their prayers;- These will be the heirs, Who will inherit Paradise: they will dwell therein

Who gets the glory in this kind of Gospel?

-In Mormonism, doing good works are essential to going to heaven.

This is from thechurchofjesuschrist.org

Latter-day Saint teachings state that where we go after this life depends primarily upon the degree to which we accept and follow Jesus Christ, as well as on the desires of our hearts and how we translate those desires into works. 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.

Let me ask you: who receives the glory in that kind of Gospel?

Brothers and sisters, a hallmark of the true Gospel is that God, and God alone receives the glory for the salvation of men and women!

-That was the result of Paul’s conversion!

-The churches in Judea were hearing that the guy who used to be jailing them was now preaching, and they glorified God, not Paul!

-And this goes hand in hand with our verses from last week!

-Paul states very plainly that he was chosen by God’s grace, separated from the womb to receive Jesus Christ

-And because of this, Paul doesn’t deserve any glory for salvation

-He doesn’t claim any glory!

He says this in 1 Timothy 1:12-15

1 Timothy 1:12–15 NKJV

And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.

Brothers and sisters, this is also why legalism is so attractive for sinful human beings

-This is why the Gospel is perverted all around us

-Because deep down, as sinful human beings, we don’t want God to get 100% of the glory

-We’d really like to keep some for ourselves

-But if we insist on a Gospel that comes only by grace through faith in Christ, we lose the opportunity to keep some of the glory for ourselves, and we desperately want that

-Imagine you’re outside mowing your lawn with a push mower

-and your 4 year-old son wants to come out and “help you”

-So you allow him to stand right near you and put his and on the handle of the lawnmower as well

-So you go and he’s content with that for awhile

-But then, he kind of realizes that he’s not doing anything . . . you’re doing all the work

-So he asks if he can do it by himself

-You tell him that he won’t be able to push the lawnmower. It’s too big and heavy for him

-But he insists that he can do it

-So you turn the lawnmower off, stand off to the side, and allow him to try to push it on his own

-And we pushes with all his might, but he’s not able to push your big pushmower, but he desperately wants to be able to say that he’s the one who can cut the grass and do it

-As a sinful human, you can be exactly like that with God

-God does all the work in salvation

-It has been rightly said that Jesus did not come to make salvation possible for those who do their part, but to accomplish salvation for his people

-Yet, as sinners, we desperately want to be the ones who get the glory and say that we earned our seat in heaven

-Brothers and sisters, this is something that you and I can easily fall into

-Perhaps you’re here, and you look at your life, how you’re serving at church, or at VBS, or how much you’ve grown or changed as a Christian

-And these are wonderful things that we ought to rejoice in!

-But you may be tempted to look around and allow in thoughts of, “wow, look how much I’ve changed myself and what a great person I’ve become. Look at how much I’m serving and doing the right thing.”

-And when you do that, you begin to undercut the Gospel of Jesus Christ

-Because it wasn’t you who changed you . . . it was Jesus Christ who changed you

-But when you glory in your own works, you imply that somehow you’re the one responsible for this incredible life-change

-Perhaps you’re tempted to be filled with pride at how consistent you are in devotions or prayer

-Perhaps you’re lifted up in your own mind because you meet faithfully for discipleship

-Brothers and sisters, do not undercut the Gospel by thinking that you have somehow cleaned yourself up

-Rejoice in what God is doing in your life! Rejoice in opportunities to serve and to be helpful and useful

-But do not take any glory for these things

-Remember that belief and acceptance of the true Gospel results in the glorification of God, not man

2. Because legalism enslaves, you must hold fast to the true Gospel (2:1-5).

-Paul continues his defense that he received his Gospel from Jesus Christ and not man

-But now in chapter 2, he wants to show that, although he did not receive his Gospel from the other Apostles, they preach the same Gospel that he preaches

-This is important, because if the Apostles disagreed upon the Gospel amongst themselves, it would undermine Christianity

-So Paul, in this next section, wants to maintain his independence from the Apostles in receiving the Gospel, but to maintain solidarity with them that they do indeed preach the same Gospel

So, in verses 1, Paul says that he goes up to Jerusalem privately, taking Barnabas and Titus with him

-Barnabas was one of the first major influencers in the early church to accept Paul and to get him involved in some important ministries

-We read in Acts 9 that Barnabas took Paul to the Apostles when Christians in Jerusalem were scared of Paul

-And then in Acts 11 when Barnabas sees the need for ministry in the budding church of Antioch, he goes to get Paul to help in minister to that church

-Titus is a Gentile believer who ministered alongside Paul

-Paul probably led him to the Lord, and later, writes a letter to him that makes it into our NT

In verse 2, Paul says that he went up to Jerusalem to meet with the Apostles privately to communicate the Gospel to them that he was preaching among the Gentiles

-Now, Paul is not doing this because he’s afraid his Gospel doesn’t match theirs

-Paul has already demonstrated that he received his Gospel from Jesus Himself

-However, he is aware that opponents may try to drive a wedge between him and the other Apostles, perhaps saying that a different Gospel is being preached to the Gentiles than is being preached to the Jews

-Paul knows how damaging that would be, so he goes to have this meeting with them so that he won’t be running in vain, so that he can avoid any falsehoods that may undermine his ministry

In verses 3-5, Paul gives us a little more insight into the dangers of legalism and why it’s so harmful

In verse 3, Paul notes that the Apostles and leaders did not compel Titus to be circumcised

-This is significant

-Titus is a Gentile believer who’s going to this private meeting

-if the Apostles told Titus that he ought to be circumcised, this would have huge ramifications for the Gentile believers

-You see, in the OT, circumcision was required for someone to be part of the people of God

-And the question now that Jesus had died and rose again and Gentiles were getting saved was this: do Gentiles need to keep the Law and get circumcised to be a part of the people of God

-And the resounding answer from the Apostles was NO

-Gentiles are not obligated to live under the Law in order to be saved

-And by not compelling Titus to be circumcised, the other Apostles and leaders were giving their full endorsement to Paul’s Gospel of Grace that he was preaching to the Gentiles

Now look at what Paul says verse 4 about the Judaizers, who want the Gentiles to be circumcised and keep the Law

Galatians 2:4 NKJV

And this occurred because of false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage),

-These people who came in are false brothers

-Paul doesn’t consider them to be true Christians!

-And these are people who are spying out their liberty in Christ in order to bring them into bondage

This is where we see our second important truth this evening:

The Gospel glorifies God, but Legalism enslaves man.

Now, how can that be? How is it that legalism enslaves people?

-Paul actually comes back in chapter 5 and expands on these ideas of liberty and enslavement

I want you to see this. Look at Galatians 5:1-3

Galatians 5:1–3 NKJV

Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law.

Paul is teaching that in the Gospel of Grace, we have freedom and liberty

-Jesus Christ has completely and totally paid our sin debt and given us His righteousness.

-If you are in Christ, there is nothing that you must do to maintain a right standing with God!

-But these false brothers wanted to once again enslave these Christians, putting them once again under the bondage of keeping the Mosaic Law

-Brothers and sisters, legalism is enslaving because if you have to work to attain your right standing with God, you must work to maintain your right standing with God

**Many of you have worked with small children before, maybe your own or maybe in one of these ministries we have, or babysitting

-You’ve probably been sitting there before, and the baby or small child begins to cry

-You really want that child to stop crying, so in desperation, you hand the child a toy, and they throw the toy

-You reach down to grab it, and you realize that the child is momentarily entertained by throwing the toy and making you get it

-So you give the child back the toy, and he throws it again

-And you repeat this, just thankful that the crying is stopped . . . until it hits you about 4 throws in

You’re now trapped playing this annoying game or the child will go back to crying

-You’ve unknowingly enslaved yourself to this child, because the thing that got it to stop crying, is the only thing that will keep it from crying

And brothers and sisters, whenever you believe that you must work to make God happy with you, you’ll soon realize that you must work to keep God happy with you

-If you think that your standing with God is earned by your witnessing that day, then you’ll have to keep witnessing consistently to maintain that standing

-If you think that God is happy with you today and likes you today because you read your Bible and prayed, you’re going to have to do that every day to keep God happy with you

-Some of you may be there in your life right now

-That is not the true Gospel that brings glory to God, but a false Gospel that enslaves man

What do we do? How do we get out of this?

Galatians 2:5 NKJV

to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.

-You must stand firm in the true Gospel of Grace!

-You must not move away from the simplicity of the Gospel!

No matter what other people may tell you:

-whether they claim that you have to be a social justice warrior to be a Christian

-or you must be on a certain political side to be a Christian

-or you must read your Bible every day in order to be a Christian

-or read from a certain translation

-or go to a certain denomination

You must stand firm in the Gospel and not move away from it:

Martin Luther said, “we can stand the loss of our possessions, our name, our life, and everything else; but we will not let ourselves be deprived of the Gospel, our faith, and Jesus Christ. And that is that.”

And furthermore, when your own sinful and wicked heart condemns you and tells you that in order to keep God happy with you, you must do some good work: stand firm

When your heart condemns you and tells you must not be a Christian simply because you’ve struggled with faithfulness in some area that day: stand firm

Do not go back to a yoke of slavery.

Because the Gospel brings glory to God, and legalism enslaves, you must hold fast to the true Gospel