Wednesday Service -- Galatians 1:6ff

Open your Bibles and let's look together at Galatians. Last week, we looked at Galatians, 1 verses 1 to 5. and we sort of, Scour, the entire book of Galatians trying to figure out from the text before us, what the problem was and I we determine that the Apostle Paul was vexed worried upset, because music reached him that a bad Doctrine had infiltrated, the galatian church and the bad doctrine that has the traitor. Emulation church is actually something that the Apostle Paul struggled with most of his ministries, you kind of piece together the entire do the New Testament. It would seem that there was always a group who followed Paul to the churches that he found it to try and fix the problems that Paul created, with his gospel of grace in Jesus alone. And what these men would do is, they would presume then maybe women. Who knows what these people would do is they would come and they would say if Paul is right about Jesus, but if you're really going to be safe, you have to submit to the Yoke of the Mosaic law. Generally, you need to be circumcised and you need to kind of follow the kosher food laws of the Old Testament and you need to observe the calendar that the Jewish people did. In other words, you need to take out the cultural trappings of Judaism, if you're going to be able to claim any faith, in the Messiah of Judaism, a great Verse that kind of summarizes. This is an acts 15 verse one, where it says this but some men came down from Judea and we're teaching the brothers unless you were circumcised according to the custom of Moses you cannot be saying that's what they were teaching. And for the Apostle. Paul this basically amounted to going backwards, regressing religiously instead of progressing religiously, instead of moving forward into Faith, keeping up with what God had done in Jesus. They were going backwards back to the law and Paul is going to argue in coming weeks that the law had a specific purpose that has been met. Now, the Jesus is come and whereas in Judaism, the mindset may have been that your relationship with God was mostly mediated through his law for the Apostle Paul and now that Jesus has died and been raised from the dead. Now your relationship was God is mediated through Jesus, and Jesus alone. And this was no small thing as we'll see tonight. We're going to look tonight at verses 6 through 10. So I would invite you to kind of have your Bibles open there, but let me just remind us really quickly. What we said last week. Last week. We said, if the question is, how does someone become a true Israelites? And what Paul would argue, is the way you become a true Israelite after Jesus is by believing in Jesus, right? Jesus is the true is real. And therefore anyone who believes in Him is a true Jewel and him, if that sounds just funky to you read, Romans to read Galatians 6, read John 15, read Ephesians 2. That's one of the central messages of the New Testament that all of the promises to his real are in Jesus. Now because he stands as Israel's representative before God and its Messiah and savior and if you want to be at rude, you you can be one in him. and so, when we talked last week about Versus 125. What we said, is, if the question is, how can these Gentiles be made? True Jews, what Paul was doing last week, was treating him as if they already were Israel. And so we talked about how in versus 125, God used the the name for God, God, the Father three times and just those few verses and we said that, if you look at Exodus 4, and if you look at Isaiah 63, that being the Son of God was the prerogative of the people of Israel. And now that Paul is calling these Galatians sons of God, that God is their father, he was calling them is real. We set in versus 3 that when Paul said to them, grace to you and peace from God, that that was his way of taking the blessing. From numbers, 6 may the Lord bless you and keep you make his face shine upon. You may the Lord. Make his countenance to shine upon you may he be gracious to you and may he give you peace that Paul's introduction of Grace and peace was taking up that aaronic blessing and and putting it on these gentiles. We also said that in first for when Paul says that Jesus gave himself to deliver us that that language of Deliverance again would have gone back to the Exodus. And so Paul riding to this Gentile Church by enlarged is riding to them answering the question. Am I truly one of God's people by addressing them as if they're God's people without them being circumcised? Without them taking up the law that says, we look at versus 6 to 10 tonight, let me read it and then we're going to try and cover it just in a few minutes. And you guys know, I can't say my name in 20 minutes, so this should be fun. Pulse is this? I am astonished that. You were so quickly, deserting him, who called you in the grace of Christ and returning to a different gospel. Not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort, the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven, should preach the gospel, contrary to the one, we preach to you. Let him be accursed. And as you said before. So now I say, again, if anyone is preaching to you a gospel country region one, you received, let him be accursed for him right now, seeking the approval of man or of God. Where am I trying to please, man, if I were still trying to please, man, I would not be a servant of Christ. May God is blessing to the reading of his word.

Paul is a well-educated person. And somebody that Paul almost definitely would have run into in his studies, is a person named quintilian quintillion Road. A very famous book on oratory in rhetoric, called the studio, Auditorium, and here's what he said in that. I do not understand why they should open in such a wild and exclamatory manner. When a man is asked to express his opinion on any subject, he does not. If he is sane, begin to freak but Endeavors as far as possible to win the ascent of the man. He was considering the question by a courteous and natural opening. That's

A lot basically saying if you want to win people over an argument, don't start by yelling at him. And only the Apostle Paul doesn't start but yelling if you look at the way he opens some of his other letters you'll see that he usually even in difficult Circumstances had good things to say about people. Somebody flipped the 1st Corinthians 1. Henry versus 429 just first person to get there. Just read out loud. Read clear. This is, this is the kind of way that Paul normally opens as letters. I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus but in every way you are enriched in him and I

Got it.

DePaul the game with. I. Thank my God and he, thanks God for the fact that they have the spirit. He thanks God for the fact that they're very gifted. He thanks God for a lot of things and this was the Church of Corinth. Let me take about the church at Corinth in the church at Corinth. They had a problem cuz they weren't kicking out a dude. He was sleeping with his stepmom in the Church of Corinth since they had a meal together before they had service and took the Lord's supper. And usually rich people could get to church quicker because Slave people worked all day. The rich people would have eaten, all the food and would be drunk on the wine. By the time, the poor people could even get there and start to eat. That's the church in Carmel. They were vet yet you like that's happening. Yeah, that happened in the church, right? People always say they want to go back to the New Testament Church. Know you do not you don't know, right? It was messed up from the beginning, it's messed up still right? And the Corinthian Church, they were very gift. But they argued about their gifts and rather than serve and love one another with their spiritual gifts. They were kind of digging themselves up and comparing and talkin about which gift was strong as they were a messed-up people that Paul still was able to start with, I'm thankful for you. You are obviously gifted God has done great things. Among you, if you look at the letter to the Philippians, he starts with. I, thank God for you and 1:3 for the Colossians and the colossian church was overrun, with heretical teaching. He said, I thank my God, for you, the Thessalonian Church, which had all kinds of misunderstanding about the end times he writes. And he says, I am thankful to God for you to call had no issue, right, into a church, with lots of problems, and finding a reason to be thankful nice little lesson. There for us, find a reason to be thankful even when you're really struggling with someone, right? It's hard to hate somebody and thank God for him at the same time. But this Paul begin with thanks for dissing. Begin with what quintilian said, kind of wild an exclamatory is freaking. What would you characterize Galatians ass?

Yeah, the first word. In Greek in. In this letter is a faucet. I'm astonished that the word in Greek. It's the first word he just starts bow mods, o. All right. Now sell mods. Oh, is when you he says, astonished sometimes you can be astonished in a good way, right? Sometimes you know like I don't know when you see your spouse for the first time in the birds land on their shoulders, in the light, attaches to them, and just the right way and you know, you just marvel at their beauty like that's that's good. Astonishing does marveled at the faith of the Roman Centurion or you can be bad more, will you ever been in situations where something's happening to you? And your like, this is really happening to me. I cannot believe I am astonished that. This is how it like, Astonishment can be good and bad. You can be positively gobsmack and you can also be, oh, my goodness. This is a whole lot more awful than I thought it was. You can be bad Godsmack. And Paul uses the word, he just starts out by going. I am astonished. He doesn't start with thanks. So something's going on in this church, that's so bad. That the Apostle Paul can't even start with the regular thank-yous that he begins with. And what does he say? I am astonished that you are so quickly. That's a big. I need to make that smaller. You are so quickly deserting him.

Focusing on that phrase. So quickly for a minute. I'm going to have some of you look up. Some

Parts of scripture.

Somebody look up, Exodus 32:8. Somebody else look up Deuteronomy 9:16. Somebody else look up judges, 217 going back to the Old Testament. Cuz when Paul uses this phrase so quickly.

Yes, exactly. Right. Theo, he's mad. somebody read, Exodus 32 8, They're turned aside quickly out of a way that I can add them, they have made for themselves a golden calf and worshipped it and sacrifice to it instead.

So we all know the story tell me Moses is up on the mountain, receiving the Ten Commandments to Covenant and why Moses is up on the mountain that people are down. Fashioning, the two golden calves and Moses comes back and he says I'm basically I'm astonished at you so quickly have deserted. Paul was Paul was quoting Old Testament here in Exodus. They had just received the Covenant and very quickly. They turn to idolatry Deuteronomy 916. Was that say

What's the adverb use there again? Quickly. All right. How about Judges? 217?

if I did not listen to their judges, were, they formed after other

And so the Hebrew where there is that for soon as that work quickly. And so when the Apostle Paul says I am astonished that you are so quickly. Deserting him. Paul is basically looking at these Galatians. Any saying you guys want to be Jewish? You're being all to Jewish. Right? Because God's people in the Old Testament, as soon as they receive from him, the Covenant, they quickly turned to sign and pause as I am gobsmacked. I am horrified that so quickly, you are deserting. And that's the Greek word. Turncoat means to go from one place to another, you're deserting.

What's make him who called you in the grace of Christ, who's the one who calls you in the grace of Christ. God, the father and I are turning to a what? You look really quickly our page here. We've got, we can believe we can begin to see the problem that Paul is going to deal with. So we got different gospel. Distort, the gospel gospel contrary. Gospel contrary again and just a few verses. Anytime, the Bible uses the same word over and over again, it's called a late word. In other words, it's it's it's the thing about which he's speaking. So, Paul is the concern here, the reason that even he can be thankful for the Corinthians cuz they're messing up a lot of stuff, but they haven't messed up is the what the gospel, but the Galatians are messing up the what? So there is no, thank you. If you get this wrong, you get everything wrong. And I am astonished that you are so quickly. Turning from the gospel, you can make all kinds of mistakes and in the end, be okay, but if you make a mistake here, there's no hope. Write it. So the Apostle Paul is letting him know it's not. It's not a different gospel. There is not that there is another one. He says there is another gospel. You're looking to a different gospel, but there's there's not another gospel. There's there's not two options. Remember what I said, a few weeks ago that a couple of the things that are most offensive about Christianity. Number one, we talked about a couple weeks ago, the description of the Lost state of the sinner. The Bible doesn't have good things to say about Sinners people. Give you say, they can be changed, they can B12, Jesus, they can be turned into Saints and made holy but we don't start, we start bad right in the pain in one of the things that just defend. Modern sensibilities is the sinfulness that the Bible describes lost Humanity with. But the other thing that really offends, modern sensibilities is the exclusivity of the Gospel that we really do believe. There's one way And there's one true. False says, there's not, there's not a different gospel, there's not another one. There's there's, there's one gospel and you guys are are turning. Ramen and he gives us Clues. Paws always dropping Clues. He gives us Clues as to what characterizes the real gospel. Because they're being tempted. Remember what they said, an X-15 that unless you are circumcised, you cannot be saved. But let's think about that. That's not just. Okay. We're going to go go to the doctor or whatever and get circumsized. It's not just what you just do. One little thing. Know Paul says if you do that, one little thing. You changed the nature of everything. Because it is salvation, then depends upon you getting circumsized. That at the end of the day who is to thank for the fact that you're saved you and if salvation is about you getting circumcised, then at the end of the day, what you're concentrating on is who Me and Paul says that is entirely contrary to the gospel. So when he, when he talks about gospel What are the words he uses?

He did what?

So that means the gospel doesn't start with our effort, the gospel starts with what? God's call. So the end of the day when I stand before him and I'm saved, It's not because it started with me. I didn't wake up one day so the reality of my situation. It all began with the fact that God called God called, and God called it in into a sphere into something. What do they call us into? The grace of Christ is a word in Greek. That can carry a lot of meaning, is that Jesus is Grace. Is it the gracious message about Jesus? Yes. God called you not to take up a task, God called you to recognize the need for grace and then that Grace was provided in Jesus and Paul's going to from the very beginning. He's going to go, there's a basic impulse to Christianity. That is different than any other religion because the basic impulse, it even though, you know, we talked about that word religion before it comes from the word. Legare a we get ligament from that for a ligament eyes things together. And so, religion is how are weary types to God? And for most religions, the way that you're retired to God, as you try to tie yourself back to God with the things that you do. The five pillars of Islam, write the life of meditation Church, attendance, whatever, but pure and undefiled religion. The Christian religion is not that you retard yourself to God but what? God re tied to you. And so, our fundamental impulse is not ever to look to ourselves. We we do have to examine ourselves. We do need to make sure that we're growing in Christ and that there's fruit. Yes. But the basic impulsive Christianity is called by God into the grace of Christ. Not, you must X in order to be saved. And that's all the difference in the world. And you know what the thing is, you would think that sounds great who wouldn't want Christianity. Then I'll tell you who wouldn't want Christianity people because most people want to stand before God and forgot to say you did great. Right. And then there's a sense in which we'll get there, right, but You would think that Grace would be the most acceptable message in the world, but it's not because of the end of the day, if it's all about God's grace, then there's nothing I can look at in myself. That provides me a way to hook in the god to make sure I can use them for my purposes. And that's the basic thought of religion is give me something so that I know I've got something over God, I've got something, that'll make it so that he has to act in a certain way. And Christianity, is based upon trust, that is apart from his grace, apart from his work, in my life, there's no certainty. And there's nothing in me to base it on, and that is scary. It requires, rest, it requires, trust, it requires a firm conviction, that God is good, and that he will do what he says. And that is hard. And that's why we are always trying to read manipulate god with the things that we do to put in our debt to make it so that we know he's going to act. And the only reason and we can know that he's going to do, we know he's going to act because we trust what he said. We rest. And then we yes we we do work but we were from that position of rest and we work and skies knowing that God has given his promises and so we walk in those things knowing he's going to be there to meet us along the way. Christianity is not. It's not a religion of scientific certitude.

It's not, it's a religion of trust. and that is too scary for prideful people and that's why I even though it sounds like the best message in the world, we often find ourselves rejecting it A Paul goes right to the heart of it. You're deserting. Who the one who called you into the grace of Christ and you're turning to a different gospel? Not another one. But Paul says this in the three minutes that remain call says this, there is no other gospel. And even if who Who's included in? We Paul is not out to establish his own authority, apart from Jesus. He's I just want the truth. What did he say last week? I'm not an apostle from men nor through men, Jesus called me. He gave me a gospel. I gave it to you. If I even come with a different one, don't believe it. That's amazing. Paul cares about the truth. So, even if we or an angel from heaven, should come to you and preach the gospel country. The one we preach to you. Let him be accursed. Instead of starting with blessing, Paul is not starting a blessing polish, starting with what curses

because the guy supposed to say,

He's not out to.

He's not out to, to make sure you believe him. He's out to make sure that you believe what he said that Jesus told him. Does that mean that's a fine point? But you understand cuz sometimes I was going to argue for his authority here but the only reason he cares about his authority so that you believe what he said not. So that you fall at his feet, right?

When Angel was getting ready for 1 minute, and then we're going to close it. Why would Paul say he going to be the angel with the reason? It's always say, even an angel will get you this in chapter 3. The old Covenant was given to Moses. By Angels. And that's going to become an important point for the Apostle, Paul, and Deuteronomy 32 33 to f*** that. God giving a lot of Moses with his thousands of holy ones at 7:53, we'll talk about the law. Coming through Angels. Hebrews 2:1 says, if the word given through Angels proof unalterable how much more the word given through the Sun? Boracay, Galatians 3:19 and 20, you can flip right there really quickly.

The law.

What does but the laws put in place through Angels by an intermediary? Another words, Angels moso God's law to angels, to Moses, to his re-election, to be a big going to Paul's Bicycle to go. The gospel was God to you. Not, not all the hands in between, that'll be an important point for Paul. But Paul says, even if an angel from heaven, even if it look like Michael Landon, that's a no references to fit, right? Even if an angel look like See, you don't listen the gospel that you receive, which is the gospel into which you were called, is the only gospel. Can anyone who preaches anything else is? Accursed, now, Paul closes by saying this for? Am I now seeking the approval of man or God? What am I trying to please, man? Where does that come from? What is Paul saying that while there was a teaching a foot that the Apostle Paul was changed? Because if you look at Acts chapter 16, one of his young followers, Timothy wasn't circumcised and in order to do ministry to Jews, Paul had Timothy, what circumcised But then, you look in Galatians Chapter 2, and it talked about people trying to circumcise Titus. And Paul says, I would not allow Titus to be circumcised. I thought, what's your problem? Sometimes your for circumcision, sometimes, you're not for circumcision. Are you trying to please men? Paul's changeable. Just depends on the audience. And Paul says, listen if I really cared about what people said, I wouldn't be a cursing them right now. Number one, and here's a thought. This is an important thing in our day. Paul is happy to have Timothy circumcised, which is a funny sentence, to say, if Timothy being uncircumcised was a problem for Jewish people, when circumcision was not part of the Gospel, this is make sense, but as soon as those Jewish people make circumcision part of the gospel. Paul says, what? Titus don't get circumcised thing. And everybody there read the King James because they like the King James, what it, what is breach the message?

You're saying.

if if a different example like, you know, do you say Drinking alcohol. Really bothers me because of my past and because of the Temptations in the dangers of it, I'll be like, yeah, man, I don't worry about that. And yeah, but if you say, you can't drink me, Christian, I'm breaking out whiskey in front of you and you think I'm joking, I'm not. I would never get drunk. Because drunkenness is the said and drinking may be unwise, but if you make it a gospel issue, that is a problem. Does this make sense? and so Paul is like, I'm not changing cuz I'm trying to approve men or trying to please men He says, if you make it a matter of the Gospel, I'm no longer about trying to minister in ways that you're comfortable and now I'm just about Sledgehammer of Jesus and Jesus alone. Does it make sense? And Paul ends up with a very interesting thing. It will close with this in 30 minutes over. Paul says, if if I were still and nobody Miss hear me. Am I saying anything? Don't don't get caught up on the examples. Am I telling anybody to drink? No. Do you understand my point? Process of grants for single close to this. If I were trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. This is very interesting. This is something that we need to know and it's something that we all struggle with don't pretend you don't.

if you are motivated to look good in front of people, and you can do that, whether you're a pauper or pastor, if looking good in front of people and pleasing them is, A significant motivator in your heart and to some degree, it is in all of us, right? Amen. But to the degree that it is, you are susceptible to heresy.

Now, we just need to know that. Is a degree that it is being part of the In Crowd. Getting the Pats on the back from people to do who doesn't want a pat on the back and we all want to hear we're doing a good job and we all want to that's fine. But if it comes to the truth of the Gospel or pleasing people, you cannot try and please people and be a servant of Jesus. And we need to be serving Jesus cuz we're saved by his grace and his grace alone. So let's wrap up. Sorry, I'm late.

They're quickly deserting him. Because they're going after the gospel. That is about what they do. Paul says, even if an angel when I come with a gospel, contrary that distorted gospel? That's about what you do rather than about. What Jesus did. If anybody comes with that, let them be damned. Because anybody who believes that gospel is Damned. And we can be the kind of people who seek to be pleasing to Men. We Are Servants of Jesus, very difficult.

Tubi. Servants of Christ and his gospel. Pray. This in his name, amen.