Galatians

Intro

A while back I went to the doctor for my anxiety. I was having these type of panic attacks where I could only breathe in and my heart would race really fast. My doctor told me to try taking a natural supplement called L-Theanine. She said I could take as much as I wanted to help my anxiety. I trusted her since she was the expert. It helped. I hadn’t had one of those attacks in a long time.

In our day and age we like to self diagnose. With information so easily and readily in our hands, we quickly Google our symptoms. Or we ask Ai what is wrong with us. Not only do we self diagnose, but we will also self treat. While not all home remedies are necessarily bad, not all are good and safe. It can be dangerous to add to or take away what the doctor prescribed.

In the same sense there are a lot pastors and social media theologians who are doing this very thing to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is very dangerous when you begin to change the Gospel.

Revelation 22:18–19 NASB95

18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.

I was in my office the other day and the Lord told me to go through the book of Galatians. This past we as I began to read through the first chapter I can see exactly why He wanted me to do so.

Today we are beginning a journey through all six chapters of the Galatians.

I encourage you church that during this series you read through it at home. Download the devotions or study guide each week from the Dig Deeper section of our app or website.

As you will see today, those trying to change the Gospel of Jesus is not a new concept. They have been trying long before you and I were born and they will continue to try long after we are gone until that day when the clouds will be rolled back like a scroll and our Lord and Savior Jesus comes back for His bride!

This Present Evil

Galatians 1:1–5 NASB95

1 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), 2 and all the brethren who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 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, 5 to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen.

The author of this letter is none other than Paul the Apostle. We will get into a little bit of that later on in the message today. Paul wrote almost half of the New Testament that we know today.

Notice in verse 2 that this book was written not to one particular church, but to many churches in the region of Galatia. There wasn’t just one church that was dealing with an issue of believing/preaching a false Gospel, but many churches have fallen into this . It was as if it was a trend.

Too many churches today follow trends instead of following God. Church we get into trouble when we follow trends. Trends come and go. Trends die out. Trends tend to lead you into circles. I see it all the time just in the clothing industry. What was in style in the 90’s came back around and then disappeared again. Then another trend from another time came back around and then died out again.

Trends come and go, but God and His Gospel will never die! Paul gives the remedy before he calls out the problem.

Galatians 1:3–4 NASB95

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 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,

This tells me there is only one thing that was important to Paul and that was the Gospel message of Jesus Christ who died for our sins in order to rescue us from this present evil!

We live in an evil world. One only has to turn on the news for a few moments and can see how evil our world is.

"Man produces evil as a bee produces honey." —  William Golding (Author of Lord of the Flies)

Romans 3:10–12 NASB95

10 as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one; 11 There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; 12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.”

We live in an evil world and there is only one cure for that evil and that is the blood of Jesus Christ! The One who knew no sin who became sin on our behalf and died so that we may live. Not only live but live a life of freedom!

Church this only comes from preaching and teaching a pure Gospel unfiltered, un-sweetened, with out any additives!

Perversion of the Gospel

This is why Paul was so passionate about opening this letter to these churches with Gospel. Letting them know it is ONLY Jesus who died for their sins and nothing more. It is Jesus plus nothing that equals freedom.

It shocked Paul that so many were trading this freedom for a false Gospel.

Galatians 1:6–9 NASB95

6 I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; 7 which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing 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, he is to be accursed! 9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!

Let me take a quick poll.

How many here been following Jesus for at least 3 months?

6 months?

1 year?

2 years?

They say somewhere between a couple of months to 2 years after Paul shared and taught the Gospel of Jesus that these churches began to follow a different Gospel.

Paul doesn’t spell out every detail in chapter 1, but the rest of the letter lets us reverse-engineer the counterfeit message that had swept the churches. Think of it as a “Jesus + ___” formula:

Jesus + Circumcision = Salvation

Jesus + Human Approval = Credibility

Jesus + Rule-Keeping = Ongoing Security

And many other things. What we need to understand church and if we don’t get anything else out of this message, we need to get this:

Jesus + NOTHING = FREEDOM

There is NOTHING you can add to the Gospel that will bring salvation. It is only by believing that Jesus Christ is Lord, died for your sins, buried, and raised from the dead! There is only ONE name by which a man or woman can be saved and that name is not:

Muhamad

Buddah

Allah

Hary Krishna

or any other name

It is ONLY by the Name of JESUS CHRIST of Nazareth that one can receive salvation!

John 14:6 NASB95

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

John 10:1 NASB95

1 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.

John 10:7 NASB95

7 So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.

There is NO OTHER WAY CHURCH!

Paul took this very serious. So serious he told them that even if himself, or an angel from heaven should preach a different Gospel, they are to be cursed!

This is strong language church. He meant every word of it. So much he said it twice.

Galatians 1:9 NASB95

9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!

To be accursed means to be unredeemable. There is no hope of redemption for those that are preaching a false Gospel. Why? I thought Jesus can save anyone. He can and He does. There is only one whom He cannot save and that is one who does not believe. The one who does not believe has an unrepentant heart. Therefore they are unredeemable.

It doesn’t matter how “good” they may be. It doesn’t matter how many “good” deeds they do in this life. None of it is good enough. Your good deeds are not accepted by God. Only the blood of Jesus is accepted as a propitiation of your sins!

1 John 2:1–2 NASB95

1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

Adding to this Gospel brings a curse, not freedom.

One thing I love about Paul is:

Paul Didn’t Care About Popularity

Paul was not a pleaser of men. This message that Jesus is the only way for the forgiveness of sins is not a popular message. It can cost you something. In fact, if following Jesus doesn’t cost you anything, one may have to ask…am I really following Him?

Awhile back I was watching a clip from a Larry King show and on this particular show there was a famous pastor. I won’t give you his name, but he did have a great big smile and held up the Word of God every service and said:

“This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. I have what it says I have. I can do what it says I can do. Today I will be taught the word of God. I boldly confess. My mind is alert. My heart is receptive. I will never be the same. In Jesus' name. God bless you.”

In this interview he was asked point blank:

“Is Jesus the only way to get to heaven?” In which he side stepped the question and said, “It isn’t my business to say.”

The last I checked 3.4 million people watched that clip. This pastor had an opportunity to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ to 3.4 million people and he side stepped the question with “It is not my business to say.”

Church…it is ABSOLUTELY my business, your business, and anyone else who says they follow Jesus to say unapologetically “YES!! JESUS IS THE ONLY WAY!!”

Romans 10:14 NASB95

14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?

But pastor I am not a preacher. Yes you are! This word preacher is the same word used for a herald. Someone who proclaims! We are to proclaim to the world who Jesus is!

But here is the thing. You have to not care about your reputation. You have to not care about if you lose family, friends, people under your ministry. You cannot be a people pleaser who only want to hear what scratches their itchy ears and follow Jesus at the same time.

Galatians 1:10 NASB95

10 For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.

Paul cared more about people’s eternity than his popularity.

How about you? Do you care more about what people think about you or what they will say about you?

Maybe this is why so many deserted Jesus. No wonder this “pastor” didn’t want to say anything. People don’t want to hear that Jesus is the only way. We are want our Gospel to be like a menu at a fast food restaurant. We want options.

Church, there is no plan B, C, D, E, F, G for salvation. Jesus is it.

I will tell you this. This pastor…me…I will not preach what you want to hear in order to keep you here.

I will preach what God tells me to preach. I will preach the same GOSPEL that PAUL preached. Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Raised from the dead. He is the ONLY way to get to the Father.

No OTHER WAY! No OTHER so called deity. There is only ONE that is ALIVE. All those other quote unquote ways…those people are dead. But Jesus. Jesus is ALIVE!

There is only one I have to answer to when I leave this world and it isn’t anyone sitting here today, tomorrow, or next week.

I love you all too much to tell you anything but the truth in love. It’s not always easy. But it is the truth that brings FREEDOM!

Paul Knew His Identity

The reason I can stand before you today and proclaim this…is because like Paul…I know who I am.

Paul knew his identity

Paul understood who he was in Christ. He knew his identity. He had an encounter with Jesus. Not an experience. Experiences come and go. Too many people have an experience with Jesus. They get the goose bumps in a service. They get into the proximity of Jesus, but there was no encounter.

Proximity doesn’t mean encounter. Proximity doesn’t bring about transformation. You need an encounter with Jesus that leaves you changed. Changed to the point that people don’t need to see you changed…but they hear about.

Galatians 1:22–24 NASB95

22 I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which were in Christ; 23 but only, they kept hearing, “He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they were glorifying God because of me.

Seeing is not always believing. Our cultures have not changed that much. Think about it. We believe a lot of what we hear more so than what we actually see.

Think about it. How many times have you believed something because you “heard it said” rather than “seeing it with your own eyes”?

People seen Jesus heal the sick, raise the dead, perform miracles…and yet still didn’t believe.

I want my life to be so affected by Jesus that people hear about it and believe without even seeing me or meeting me and give God the glory. Paul didn’t need to be seen. I don’t need to be seen. You don’t need to be seen. But you do need to be changed.

I was thinking about Jacob in Genesis 32. Jacob had an encounter with God that left him changed.

Genesis 32:30–31 NASB95

30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved.” 31 Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh.

Have you had an encounter with God like that? Is your walk different?

your lifestyle

language

thinking

heart towards people

Or did you just experience Jesus in a service? Only when you encounter the One true God can you walk different and know who you truly are. When you know who you are in Christ Jesus, you will have no problem speaking truth in love and not shy away from the true Gospel for a twisted perverted Gospel that isn’t really a Gospel at all.

Closing

**Motion for piano**

Stand with me.

As heads are bowed and eyes are closed today, I want to ask you something very honestly…

Have you truly encountered Jesus Christ?

Not just had a church experience… Not just felt emotion in a service… Not just grown up around Christianity…

But have you truly surrendered your life to Jesus?

Because church, there is only one Gospel that saves. Not Jesus plus religion. Not Jesus plus good works. Not Jesus plus tradition. Not Jesus plus your own effort.

Jesus plus NOTHING equals salvation and freedom.

The Bible says in:

John 14:6 — Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

There is no other door. No other Savior. No other name that can wash away sin.

And maybe today the Holy Spirit has been revealing to you that you’ve been trying to treat your soul with everything except the true cure. You’ve tried self-help, success, relationships, addiction, religion, morality—but none of those can rescue you from sin.

Only the blood of Jesus can do that.

Today, Jesus is calling you.

He died for your sins. He was buried. He rose again. And He is alive right now.

If you are here today and you say:

“Pastor, I need Jesus.” “I need my sins forgiven.” “I need to stop playing games.” “I need a real encounter with God.” “I want to surrender my life completely to Christ.”

Then when I count to three, I want you to boldly raise your hand.

One… You are not promised tomorrow.

Two… Jesus Christ loves you enough to die for you.

Three… Raise your hand right now if you need salvation today.

(Pause)

Thank You, Jesus.

Now I want to speak to another group today.

You are saved… You love Jesus… But if you’re honest, fear of people has silenced your witness.

You’ve cared too much about popularity… Too much about offending people… Too much about being rejected…

And somewhere along the way, you stopped boldly proclaiming the true Gospel.

But today the Holy Spirit is stirring boldness back inside of you.

Like Paul, you’re saying: “I will not water this down.” “I will not compromise truth.” “I will not be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Church, people are dying without Jesus. This world does not need a softer Gospel. It needs the true Gospel.

We need believers filled with the Holy Spirit who will lovingly but boldly declare:

“Jesus Christ is the only way!”

If that’s you today—if you want fresh fire… fresh boldness… fresh courage… a fresh encounter with God that changes the way you walk…

Then I want you to step out from where you are and come to this altar right now.

Don’t wait for somebody else. Don’t worry about who’s watching. This altar is for people who are tired of timid Christianity.

Come on church… If you need salvation, come. If you need boldness, come. If you need an encounter with Jesus, come.