Sermon Tone Analysis

The deliverance is conceived of here, not as a deliverance out of the present evil world (though that will also be true eventually), but as a deliverance from the power of evil and the values of the present world-system through the power of the risen Christ within the Christian.

5397 Only Two Religions

While presenting the Gospel on the street of a California city, we were often interrupted about as follows: “Look here, sir!

There are hundreds of religions in this country, and the followers of each sect think theirs the only right one.

How can poor, plain men like us find out what really is the truth?”

We generally replied something like this: “Hundreds of religions, you say?

That’s strange; I’ve heard of only two.” “Oh, but you surely know there are more than that?”

“Not at all, sir, I find, I admit, many shades of difference in the opinions of those comprising the two great schools; but after all there are but two.

The one covers all who expect salvation by doing; the other, all who have been saved by something done.

So you see the whole question is very simple.

Can you save yourself, or must you be saved by another?

If you can be your own savior, you do not need my message.

If you cannot, you may well listen to it.”

—H. A. Ironside

This story hits on the gist of the Book of Galatians.

Can man be saved from eternal damnation by doing good works?

Or is man in need of a Savior who has the done the work Himself?

Is the cross of Christ sufficient or does something more need be done in order that we might be saved.

Not longer after the first missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas contention broke out in the church.

The tension had to due with the content of the gospel message which emphasized justification by faith alone.

As New Testament scholar Darrell Bock has said:

If the church is in a fog on the gospel, then the church very much risks losing its reason for being.

A misdirected gospel message robs the church of valuable momentum in the world.

Nothing leads to stagnation more quickly than for an institution to forget why it exists.

A plethora of messages from the church might lead to no message from the church.

In sum, in many locales the gospel has gone missing, and wherever that takes place, the church suffers, God’s people lose their way, and the world lacks what it so desperately needs—an experience of God’s presence.

THE APOSTLESHIP OF PAUL

THE DEFINITION OF AN APOSTLE

A representative of someone who is of a higher rank; i.e. an ambassador

An office peculiar to a limited amount of men, namely the twelve, along with Matthias, and Paul

a. The prerequisite for this office is that they had to have seen the risen Christ

There are many who fall under the first part of the definition as being an ambassador.

But only fourteen who could legitimately claim the office of apostle.

Luther wrote:

Likewise, when Paul so highly commendeth his calling, he seeketh not his own praise, but with a necessary and a holy pride he magnifieth his ministry; as to the Romans (xi.

13) he saith: “Forasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I will magnify mine office,” that is to say, I will that men receive me, not as Paul of Tarsus, but as Paul the apostle or ambassador of Jesus Christ.

[1] Luther, M. (1997).

Commentary on Galatians (p.

32).

Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

THE SOURCE & AUTHORITY OF HIS APOSTLESHIP

Not of Human Origin

It would seem that Paul’s detractors were teaching that Paul had a much more limited authority than he claimed to have.

Perhaps more in keeping with the authority of a pastor of a local congregation.

But certainly not the authority that the official apostles had.

In their minds Paul may be a representative of the apostles, but not an apostle himself.

Therefore Paul said that he was an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man).

As the pastor of this local assembly I derive my authority within this church from a human agency — the Britton Bethel Baptist Church.

My authority is limited to this assembly — I do not have any authority over any other assembly.

And my authority is limited by this assembly in that I am answerable to you folks by means of our form of church government — congregational rule.

And I would not have it any other way.

I am not an apostle in the sense of the office of apostle.

Notice:

2. A Divine Calling

Paul’s claim is that he derived his authority in the same manner that the twelve derived theirs — he was commissioned by Jesus Christ and God the Father.

Of this Martin Luther wrote:

Paul is so inflamed here with zeal, that he cannot tarry till he come to the matter itself, but forthwith, in the very title, he bursteth out and uttereth what he hath in his heart.

His intent in this Epistle is, to treat of the righteousness that cometh by faith, and to defend the same: again, to beat down the law, and the righteousness that cometh by works.

Of such cogitations he is full, and out of this wonderful and exceeding great abundance of the excellent wisdom and knowledge of Christ in his heart, his mouth speaketh.

This flame, this great burning fire of his heart, cannot be hid, nor suffer him to hold his tongue; and therefore he thought it not enough to say that he was an Apostle sent by Jesus Christ, but also addeth: “by God the Father, who hath raised him up from the dead.”

The last phrase of verse 12 indicates that Paul received it (his gospel message and commission) through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

He said something similar in where he stated: I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received...”

Paul further explained this in .

When did Paul receive his commission as an apostle?

Although he was set apart from his mother’s womb, I will contend that his commission was at the time of his conversion, or shortly afterwards.

Notice what Luke records for us in .

Martin Luther wrote:

Paul is so inflamed here with zeal, that he cannot tarry till he come to the matter itself, but forthwith, in the very title, he bursteth out and uttereth what he hath in his heart.

His intent in this Epistle is, to treat of the righteousness that cometh by faith, and to defend the same: again, to beat down the law, and the righteousness that cometh by works.

Of such cogitations he is full, and out of this wonderful and exceeding great abundance of the excellent wisdom and knowledge of Christ in his heart, his mouth speaketh.

This flame, this great burning fire of his heart, cannot be hid, nor suffer him to hold his tongue; and therefore he thought it not enough to say that he was an Apostle sent by Jesus Christ, but also addeth: “by God the Father, who hath raised him up from the dead.”

To sum things up then, Paul’s claim is that he is an apostle and that his apostolic authority is equal to that of the twelve.

Paul’s defense effectively proceeds thus: “No matter how much these vipers may brag, their provenance is lacking.

They may boast that they have come either ‘from men’—that is, on their own, without any call—or ‘through men’—that is, being sent by someone else.

But as for me, I have been called and sent neither from men nor through men but by Jesus Christ.

In every way my call is like that of the apostles, and I am indeed an apostle.”

THE ASSOCIATES OF PAUL

Notice with me the first part of — and all the brethren who are with me...

It has been pointed out by most commentators that Paul frequently includes the names of his associates in his salutation.

Take for instance

But on this occasion he only reference generically to all the brethren.

James Montgomery Boice wrote:

The interesting point is that Paul does not name these fellow missionaries, as he does elsewhere, not wanting to give the impression that his gospel requires additional support.

It was, after all, received directly from God.

At the same time, he wishes to remind the Galatians that the gospel that had been preached to them far from being a Pauline oddity, is actually the received doctrine of all the Christian church and its missionaries.

THE GOSPEL OF PAUL

I have to caution that I am a little leery of the title of this point.

Quite frankly some of Paul’s detractors were saying that the gospel that Paul preached was a gospel of his own making and not the true gospel.

Or perhaps they said that what Paul said was true but incomplete.

That being said, Paul did refer to his message as “my gospel” on occasion.

There are four gospel doctrines that are referred to in these first five verses of Galatians: the doctrine of grace, the doctrine of the incarnation of Christ, the doctrine of the substitutionary atonement, and the doctrine of the resurrection.

We will deal with these, not in the order that we see them in this text, but in a timeline order from redemptive history.

THE DOCTRINE OF GRACE

Notice

Grace is a very broad subject.

It has been define by the acrostic: GOD’S RICHES AT CHRIST’S EXPENSE, which is a very true statement.

Paul makes very clear in his various writings that it is by grace that we are saved, and that this grace cannot be purchased or earned.

Grace is a free gift.

Both the Roman church and Protestants recognize that we are saved by grace.

But the distinction between Catholic theology and most Protestant theologies is in the means by which grace is imparted.

The Catholic church teaches that grace is imparted through the seven sacraments which are: