From Christ, By Grace, For God’s Glory

Intro

If you have your Bibles, go ahead and grab those and turn with me to Galatians 1. This morning we will be in Galatians 1 right where we left off with verses 10-24.

Recap from Galatians 1:1-9

And just to bring you up to speed from last week:

Paul is writing to the churches in Iconium, Derby, Lystra, and Pisidia Antioch because there were false teachers coming in behind Paul questioning his Apostleship, his motives, and his gospel.

These Judaizers were coming in and they were preaching what Paul calls a distortion of the gospel. A different gospel.

What these teachers were doing is they were adding to the gospel.

They were teaching these churches that if they were truly going to be Christians then they had to also keep the law of Moses. They had to be circumcised. They had to observed certain feast days. They had to convert to Judaism and be Jews.

Then, and only then, can they follow Jesus.

Paul says that is a false gospel.

Last week, we talked about the one true gospel and the importance of fighting for it’s purity. All of us are to be concerned with the preservation and the purity of the gospel. All of us should combat false gospels because eternity is at stake.

According to Paul, the consequences for preaching false gospels is eternally serious. He tells these Galatian churches that these teachers are anathema—or under divine judgement for doing this.

We talked about how false gospel can look like a lot of different things through different additions to the one gospel of Justification by Faith.

And all of us are in danger of believing in false gospel if we are not careful. All of us are in danger of adding to or subtracting from the gospel of Grace.

And that is what is happening in these Galatian churches. They were believing in these additions to the gospel and were in danger of what Paul would consider Apostasy.

The reason that Paul is writing this letter is to correct these Christians. And the very next thing that he says is essentially,

“I didn’t get the gospel from you, and I’m not trying to impress you.”

He gets into people-pleasing.

William Carey

This week, as I was studying this passage of Scripture, I couldn’t help but think of William Carey.

Have you guys ever heard of William Carey?

Some people call him the father of modern missions. But what struck me this week wasn’t how famous he became — it was how unimpressive he was when he first started.

Carey wasn’t a celebrity pastor. He wasn’t seminary-trained. He wasn’t widely respected. He wasn’t someone trying to impress people.

He repaired shoes for a living.

In 1786, at a gathering of Baptist ministers in England, Carey raised a question about the Great Commission because when he looked around at the churches in his city, he wasn’t seeing a whole lot of mission.

He had a very important question and it was:

Are we actually supposed to go to the nations?

And the response he received was dismissive.

He was even told by a pastor:

“Sit down. If God wants to save the heathen, He’ll do it without you.”

Can you imagine that?

A young, unknown pastor, standing up with a burden for the nations…

And the older, established leaders shutting him down because he was unimpressive.

Carey had a choice to make.

He could pursue approval. Or he could pursue obedience.

He could protect his reputation. Or he could risk everything for the gospel.

Eventually, he left for India as a missionary.

And it cost him dearly.

His son died on the mission field. His wife suffered severe mental illness. Years passed with very little visible fruit.

From the outside, he looked like a failure.

But by the end of his life, the Scriptures had been translated into multiple Indian languages. Churches had been planted. And a global missionary movement had begun.

The man who was told to sit down… Became the father of modern missions.

And here’s why that matters for us this morning.

Because in Galatians 1, the apostle Paul is facing something similar.

He’s being questioned. His motives are being attacked. His authority is being challenged.

And Paul says something that cuts straight to the heart:

“If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

That’s the issue in Galatia. And it’s still the issue today. Because there are preachers and ministries all around us whose only concern is to build up their own platform.

Paul essentially says in this passage that he does not care about making a name for himself. He does not care about bringing glory to his own name. He cares about bringing as much glory to God as he can.

TRANSITION TO POINT I

Paul has this confidence in the gospel that he preaches. But where does that confidence come from? This is point one in your notes,

The Gospel’s Source: From Christ, Not Man (vv. 10-12)

Verse 10,

Galatians 1:10–12

Galatians 1:10 ESV

For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Paul begins with a question. He says,

Who am I trying to please?

Now why does he start there?

Because the false teachers — the Judaizers — were attacking his motives.

They were saying things like:

“Paul’s softening the message.” “Paul cut out circumcision because he wants more converts.” “Paul removed law-keeping because he wants Gentiles to like him.”

In other words:

Paul is being accused of people-pleasing. They’re suggesting that his gospel of justification by faith alone is not bold — it’s convenient.

But look carefully at what Paul says. He says,

“If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

That word servant (Doulos) means slave.

Paul is saying: I belong to someone. And you can’t be owned by Christ and owned by public approval at the same time.

Christ said it best: You cannot serve two masters.

What that means is:

If your goal is applause, you will eventually adjust the message. But if your goal is obedience, you will preach what Christ has revealed — even if it costs you.

And let’s be honest about something:

The true gospel is not naturally flattering so if your goal is to make yourself look good, you will adjust the message.

The gospel is offensive. It tells us:

Your morality cannot save you.

Your religious heritage cannot justify you.

Your ethnicity cannot save you.

Your effort cannot earn God’s favor.

Your law-keeping cannot make you righteous.

Instead, the gospel says that you are dead in your sins and in desperate need of outside help. You're in need of Christ.That message confronts pride.

So what Paul is saying is if he were trying to win approval from man, this is not the message he would preach. He would preach something more like what these Judaizers were preaching. Because these Judaizers were trying to please men.

Paul was trying to win approval, but it was God that he was trying to please.

Verse 11,

Galatians 1:11 ESV

For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel.

He’s saying:

This message that you are accusing me of making up...

It did not originate in Jerusalem. It did not originate in a rabbinical school. It did not originate in a committee meeting.

Verse 12,

Galatians 1:12 ESV

For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

The message of the gospel… The incarnation, the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus… these things were not made up by man. Instead, the gospel is a direct revelation from God.

The gospel is God’s revealed way of reconciling man unto himself. And this revelation from God is where Paul is grounding his authority.

Paul grounds his authority not in popularity… But in revelation from Jesus Christ.

This is crucial. Why?

Because if the gospel comes from man, we can modify it. We can change it. But if it comes from Christ, we must submit to it as it is.

Paul is defending more than just his reputation. He is defending the divine origin of the gospel itself.

Every generation faces this same temptation.

Will we adjust the gospel to fit cultural comfort? Will we soften the edges to avoid tension? Will we add to it to make it feel safer?

But here’s the thing, maybe we aren’t adding to the gospel. Maybe we are taking out the parts that people find offensive.

Sometimes people-pleasing subtracts from the gospel.

Sometimes it adds to it.

In Paul’s day, they added circumcision. In the Middle Ages, indulgences were added — which is why men like Martin Luther protested. And in our day, the temptation may look different — but the heart issue is the same.

A gospel without repentance. A gospel without obedience and holiness. A gospel that affirms sinful lifestyles without heart transformation.

But the moment we adjust the gospel to make it more acceptable, it is no longer the gospel Paul preached — It is not the gospel that we read about in Scripture.

And that’s exactly what the Judaizers were doing. They were deviating from the gospel of Justification by Faith Alone.

But hear me here:

Both adding to the gospel and subtracting from it are dangers for all of us.

Last week we talked a lot about adding to the gospel.

But subtracting from it is just as dangerous. And this is what we most commonly see in the American Church. Subtraction.

And what is one of the first things we are tempted to subtract?

One word: Repentance.

Repentance is not optional in the Christian life.

When Jesus began His ministry, He preached, “Repent and believe the gospel.”

Repentance is turning from sin and turning to Christ. And if you remove repentance from your gospel presentation, you leave people with no hope of real change.

Without repentance, we remain in our sins. Without repentance, there is no forgiveness. Without repentance, the cross becomes information instead of salvation.

It is very tempting in our culture to present a gospel that comforts but does not confront.

But a gospel that does not call sinners to repentance is not the gospel that saves.

And that is why we must guard it. And this is why we can be confident in the gospel.

Have confidence that the gospel we preach here in this church and out in our neighborhoods is the gospel as it was revealed to us by God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son. And for anyone who repents of their sins and turns to Christ, they will experience real, lasting life-change.

And this is exactly what Paul brings up next.

And this is the second thing in your notes this morning,

The Gospel’s Power: Grace That Transforms (vv. 13-17)

The gospel of grace is a gospel that forever transforms life.

It is not just theology. It is not just a change of opinion. It is transformation.

When you place your faith in Christ, something real happens.

The theological word for this is regeneration.

It’s what the prophet describes in Ezekiel 36 — when God says He will remove the heart of stone and give a heart of flesh. A heart that loves God and wants to follow his law.

That’s not behavior modification. That’s resurrection.

And Paul is about to say:

If you doubt my message… look at my life.

Galatians 1:13 ESV

For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it.

“For you have heard of my former life in Judaism…”

He says,

Former life. There’s a before. And what was it?

He says,

“I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it.”

Before Christ, Paul wasn’t spiritually neutral. He wasn’t confused. He wasn’t seeking.

He was attacking. He hated the church. He was actively trying to stamp it out.

That is where we were before we were introduced to Christ. This is where all those lost people around us are until they are changed by the gospel. They are enemies of Christ.

And verse 14:

“I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age…”

Paul was successful.

He was respected. He was zealous. He was winning in his system.

This is important.

Because sometimes we think people come to Christ because their life falls apart. Paul didn’t come to Christ because he failed. He was perfectly happy with his life before Christ.

He came to Christ while he was thriving. He was an enemy of Christ.

Then comes one of the most powerful turns in all of Scripture:

Galatians 1:15 ESV

But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace,

“But when…”

Right there.

Everything changes there.

Not:

“When I decided.” “When I matured.” “When I softened.”

But:

“When He who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by His grace…”

This wasn’t Paul climbing toward God.

This was God interrupting Paul’s life with GRACE. That is exactly what the gospel does. Is it interrupts people’s lives and totally changes everything.

Because Grace is not God responding to our improvement or our efforts. Grace is God initiating when we are still rebels.

Paul says God,

“Set me apart before I was born.”

What that means is that God’s purpose for Paul existed before Paul’s rebellion.

We have a really big God that is so beyond anything we can ever comprehend.

Verse 16

Galatians 1:16 ESV

was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone;

“Was pleased to reveal His Son to me…”

It pleased God to save Paul.

Not reluctantly. Not begrudgingly. Certainly not because Paul earned it because as good as he was, he was not good enough to meet God’s standards.

But it is because of grace.

And why?

“In order that I might preach Him among the Gentiles…”

This is important church because we do have a mission, Grace saves. And grace sends.

Paul wasn’t just forgiven. He was commissioned. Just like every one of you who are disciples and followers of Christ are commissioned to go out into the world to make more disciples.

Paul has a crazy story. You should go home and read Acts 9 tonight if you haven’t before.

But some of you will hear Paul’s story and think:

“Well that’s Paul.”

But the principle is the same. If you are in Christ, there is a “former life.”

There is a before. And if there has been no transformation at all…

No new desires. No new affections. No new trajectory.

Then we have to ask hard questions. Paul says over in 2 Corinthians 13:5 “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”

The gospel of free grace transforms.

It doesn’t make perfect people overnight. But it makes new people.

And here’s the hope:

If God can take a violent persecutor. A Terrorist. And turn him into a preacher of the faith Then no one in this room is beyond grace. There is no one in our offices or schools that are beyond grace.

There is no prodigal that is too far. There is no skeptic is too hardened. There is no past that is too stained.

Because the power of the gospel is not in the worthiness of the sinner. It’s in the grace of God.

And if that’s true — that should make us bold in our evangelism. That should free us from fear when we are speaking the gospel into someone’s life.

Why?

Because Grace takes all of the heavy lifting off of our shoulders.

God is the one who draws. God is the one who saves.

All we have to do is be obedient, open our mouths, and share the gospel boldly anytime we have an opportunity.

And once we are a part of the church of God, we are all called by God to go and make disciples of all people.

Because the same God who saves by grace Also sends His people with the message of grace.

Paul says in Romans 10:

“How are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard?

And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

And how are they to preach unless they are sent?”

Yes, God is the one who reveals himself but he does it through means. Through the preaching of the gospel. Through you and me speaking the gospel into people’s lives.

So yes, God is sovereign but we have to open our mouths and share because that is how God chooses to save people.

PAUSE

In verse 16, Paul makes it clear that his transformation began not with his decision, but with God’s revelation.

In the text, he is still making the argrument that he received the gospel independent from any human source.

Those false teachers were saying that Paul’s message was too easy. That he removed the law to make conversion simpler. That he adjusted the message to gain influence among Gentiles

Paul says, “No — that freedom from earning God’s favor is not my invention. It was revealed to me by God.”

And the evidence of that independence is what he says next.

Verse 17,

Galatians 1:17 ESV

nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.

Even after his conversion, Paul did not rush to Jerusalem to be instructed by the apostles. He spent years away from them.

Because the gospel he preached did not originate in Jerusalem. It originated in revelation. Revelation of the risen Christ.

PAUSE

Paul was being accused of self-promotion. Of wanting followers. Of trying to look successful.

But look at what actually happened in the rest of his story.

When the churches heard about his transformation — When they saw the fruit of his ministry —

They didn’t glorify Paul like these Judaizers were accusing him. They glorified God.

The gospel Paul preached did not produce applause for Paul. It produced worship for God.

And that’s the result of the true gospel being preached.

And this is the last point in your notes:

The Gospel’s Result: Glory to God (vv. 18-24)

Verse 18,

Galatians 1:18 ESV

Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days.

Galatians 1:19 ESV

But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother.

Galatians 1:20 ESV

(In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!)

So three years after he was called by Christ, Paul finally goes to Jerusalem.

He meets Cephas (Peter). He sees James. These guys were the leaders of the church in Jerusalem. He stays fifteen days.

Why does he include this detail?

Because even when he finally met the apostles, it was brief. It wasn’t long. Certainly not long enough to be trained in doctrine.

He’s saying that,

He wasn’t trained by them. He wasn’t commissioned by them. He wasn’t shaped by them.

Instead he was trained by Christ himself. He was commissioned by Christ. He was shaped by Christ.

And he swears it. He says,

“Before God, I do not lie.”

Paul is still defending independence.

But now something shifts.

verse 21,

Galatians 1:21 ESV

Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.

Galatians 1:22 ESV

And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ.

Galatians 1:23 ESV

They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.”

That’s Paul’s whole story.

The man who tried to destroy the church is now building it.

The man who hated Christ is now preaching Christ.

The man who imprisoned believers is now suffering for them and with them.

That is not self-improvement. That is transformation.

And that is exactly what the gospel does. It brings about new creation with a new heart, motives, and purposes.

And Paul ends this section with the result of the gospel that he preached.

He says in verse 24,

Galatians 1:24 ESV

And they glorified God because of me.

Paul’s life becomes evidence that the gospel he preaches is of divine origins.

Because if this were a man-made message, it would have produced man-centered glory.

If Paul were building a platform, the churches would have praised Paul.

If he were preaching for applause, the applause would have followed him.

But that’s not what happened.

The church glorified God.

That is the difference between a man-made message and a Christ-revealed gospel.

One builds personalities. The other produces worship.

And that really is the test for the gospel that we preach.

Does the message magnify the person speaking? Or does it magnify God? Does the transformation draw attention to the person?

Or does it cause people to say,

“Look what God has done.”

That’s true for a church. That’s true for a ministry. That’s true for a life.

Here’s another point Paul is making.

Your life — your story — your testimony of how God has changed you — is one of your greatest apologetics.

Paul doesn’t defend himself with philosophical arguments here.

He says, essentially:

“You know who I was. And you see who I am now.”

That’s powerful.

Your testimony is one of the most useful tools you have in evangelism and discipleship.

Do you remember when we had that discipleship training with Pastor Mike and we practiced sharing our 15-second testimony?

You know the one:

“There was a time in my life when I was lost and afraid. Then someone introduced me to Jesus. And now my life has purpose and meaning. Do you have a story like that?”

That’s simple. That’s accessible. And it’s powerful.

And you can include more details if you have more time. But the point is:

Use your story.

Tell people what God has done in your life. How he has forgiven all of your sins. How he has given you a new life.

But here’s the key — and this is Paul’s point in verse 24.

After sharing your story…

If people walk away impressed with you, You’ve missed it.

If they walk away thinking you’re strong, You’ve missed it.

If they walk away admiring your discipline or your morality… You’ve missed it.

But if they walk away saying,

“Look what God has done.”

That’s grace at work. That’s the gospel doing what it does. And that’s when God receives the glory.

And that’s something our evangelical culture desperately needs to remember.

The goal of Christianity is not to build platforms. It’s not to build personalities. It’s not to build fan bases.

It’s to glorify God.

Don’t anchor your faith in a preacher. Don’t anchor your faith in a movement.

Anchor it in Christ and His revealed gospel.

And if your faith is anchored in Christ. If you foundation is the gospel of grace.

Then you will not be shaken when personalities fall—because they fall all the time. You will not be confused when movements drift—because movements fade. You will not panic when culture shifts—because that’s what culture does.

Because your confidence is not in men. It is in Christ. And he stays the same today, tomorrow, and forever.

Conclusion

At the beginning of our time together, I brought up William Carey.

Carey was told to sit down.

He was told that if God wanted to save the lost, he would do it with his help.

Carey could have built up a platform. He could have chased approval of man. He could have stayed safe.

But Carey was not out for the approval of man. He was only concerned with the approval of God.

And at the end of his story…

After all of the translations of the Scriptures he finished. After all of the churches that were planted. After the countless people who can trace their spiritual ancestry back to Carey.

No one glorifies Carey.

They look at all the things that came out of his ministry and they say,

“Look at what God has done.”

That’s exactly what happened with Paul.

The man who once persecuted the church became the man who preached Christ.

And the churches didn’t say, “What an impressive man.”

They said,

“What a powerful God.”

All those things you do for God…

All the people you help in God’s name. All of those times you boldly share the gospel.

May you do those things so that those looking on will say,

“Look at how great God is.”

When you are telling your story, your testimony of how God has done mighty things in your life because of the gospel,

Do it in a way that onlookers say,

“Look at how great God is.”

Let’s stand and pray about it.

Response

Let me say something before we pray.

There may be someone in this room who has heard the gospel before… But it has never changed you.

You’ve heard it. You understand it. You can even explain it.

But there is no “former life.” There is no transformation.

Paul’s story reminds us that the gospel does not merely inform. It regenerates.

And if you have never repented of your sins… If you have never trusted in Christ alone for your salvation…

Today can be the day.

Because the same grace that transformed Paul is available to you.

The same Christ who revealed Himself to Paul still reveals Himself today through His Word.

Repent. Believe. Be made new.

We will have a couple of elders up here standing with me at the front. While we sing one last song together, if you need prayer or if you want to know more about what it means to be a follower of Jesus, we would love to speak with you.

Let’s pray.