The Gospel Changes Lives
Galatians 1:11-24
Since I came to faith in 1978, I’ve heard some pretty amazing stories about how Jesus Christ has changed lives. My own testimony, like most Christians, sounds rather pedestrian. But some people had their lives so far off into the ditch that their repentance became more notorious than their former life without Christ. One of these people was a man named “Chuck”.
He was called the “Hatchet Man”. In his lust for power, Time magazine once described him as blood-thirsty, deceptive and manipulative. Those who knew him best said these were his “good” qualities! He himself once said, “I would walk over my own grandmother” if she stood between me and my goal. But he never set out to live this kind of life. He became preoccupied with hiding his sins and covering his tracks. Urgent demands and deadlines on high-pressure assignments seemed to keep his mind from ever thinking about reaping what he was sowing.
That all changed on a rainy Sunday evening in 1973. It was then that onetime Presidential Advisor Chuck Colson (Nixon’s hatchet man) heard the Gospel from his friend Tom Phillips. He heard that Jesus Christ was the security he had been seeking through political power and manipulation all his life. God had gotten Chuck Colson’s attention. Then came Watergate.
The Watergate scandal was front-page news and Colson’s involvement in it was becoming increasingly more public. The same man who had been chauffeured to the oval office in a limousine would soon be indicted and carted off to an Alabama State penitentiary. But it didn’t seem to matter now. There was a peace about him. He was a changed man.
But whether your conversion was front page news—or no news at all, the fact is, the gospel changes lives. Belief in Jesus Christ not only changes our destination, it also changes our journey.
In Galatians 1:11-24, the Apostle Paul describes his own conversion experience. He tell us what he was like before Christ, then how he came to Christ, then what he did after he came to Christ. It’s the story of a radically changed life.
Paul needed to make this point clear. His opponents accused him of being a crowd pleaser. Some said his conversion came from a fascination with Jewish Christians he was following from city to city. But he was following them to arrest them. He was a violent persecutor of the church. And now before the Judaizers, he’s fighting to distinguish free salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ from salvation by external Jewish rituals in keeping with the Law of Moses. What he uses to make his point are historical facts from the life of Christ backed by his own first-hand, personal experience. No embellishment, just the facts.
As we continue our study of Galatians, let’s open our Bibles to Galatians 1:11-24. In honor of God and His Word, I invite you to stand for the reading of God’s Word.
11 I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
13 For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.
18 Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother. 20 I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. 21 Later I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22 I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they praised God because of me. [NIV]
[Prayer] According to his own testimony, Paul was not only “saved”, he was radically saved. At conversion, he began to love the very thing he once hated and set out to destroy. As then, so now—the gospel changes lives.
I’ve known the gospel to change alcoholics into clean and sober men and women with a new thirst for life. I’ve known the gospel to remove the poison of racism from the blood of hate-filled men and women, who now want only to see every race and nation come to Christ. I’ve known the gospel to add income for food and clothes where casino debts had once eaten that income away. In a word, it’s FREEDOM. Paul had been set free!
The question to be answered in this section is: What is the origin of Paul’s gospel? From where did Paul get all this new information? Was it from men or from God? Was it something Paul made up? Did he receive it from the other apostles? Paul’s answer to his critics is found in verses 11-12:
11 I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
Paul was adamant that the Galatians know the source of his gospel. It was not “made up” by man; it was not “received” from man; it was not “taught” by man. The gospel Paul preaches came directly by revelation of Jesus Christ.
In verses 13-24, Paul gives us his testimony. He tells us what happened before his conversion, what happened at his conversion, and what happened following his conversion.
I. First, Paul hated the church and tried to destroy it. (13-14)
Listen again to verses 13 and 14.
13 For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.
Notice the violence in these descriptive phrases: I persecuted, I tried to destroy, I was advancing, I was extremely zealous. Paul had a one-track mind, but his train was headed in the wrong direction… and it was full steam ahead. He was up to his eyebrows in religion, but he didn’t know God, because he didn’t know Christ. Paul was a highly trained religious lawyer, schooled in the teaching of the Torah. But the only One who was in God and came to explain God was the one Paul despised.
John 1:17-18 tells us: “17 For the law was given through Moses; [but] grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known [lit. “exegeted”].”
In his fervor, Paul had rejected the only One who provided for him the way to please God. He says, “How intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it.” Do you know of someone who hates the church? I mean really hates the church and everything it stands for?
Those people do exist in the world today, but they are rare. Most people who stay away from the church, don’t hate the church. They think highly of the church. They think the church serves a noble purpose. Or they tolerate the church. They think it’s fine, but it’s just not for them. But Paul went further than that. He made it his personal mission to persecute the church and tried to destroy it. No tolerance; no middle ground; no grace; no truth.
Paul was advancing in Judaism beyond the other Jewish men of his age. He wasn’t just zealous, he was extremely zealous for the traditions of Judaism. There is nothing wrong with good traditions. Traditions have their place. But traditions divorced from truth are like cancers that drain the victim of strength. Paul had traditions, but not truth. Paul wasn’t seeking Jesus, he didn’t want to be converted. But Jesus was seeking Paul, and he was about to be transformed.
II. Second, Paul was set apart by God and called to preach His Son (15- 17).
Listen again to these verses (15-16a):
15 But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles…
Notice the switch from Paul as the subject of the action in vv. 13 and 14, to Paul as the object of God’s action in vv. 15 and 16. God set apart… God called… God was pleased… God revealed. He seems to be telling the Galatians that he didn’t come to Christ because he was seeking to be a Christian. Quite the opposite; he wanted to destroy the Christian church. But Jesus Himself sought Paul and arrested him in the middle of his headlong course in the wrong direction. The raging fanaticism of the unconverted is no match for the good pleasure of a loving God. Remember that as you pray with hope for the unsaved.
Paul makes it clear that his conversion had nothing to do with human influence, not even from the other apostles. In other words, he was not biased by men. It was Jesus alone who turned Paul from a persecutor into a preacher. And it wasn’t because God saw anything attractive or useful in Paul’s personality. God never calls a person because of what they can offer Him; He always calls a person because of what He can offer us. The gospel is not a “help wanted” sign; it’s a “help available” sign. Verse 15 tells us Paul was set apart “from birth.” Those who are set apart in eternity are always called in time. Paul tells us he was called by [or through] grace.
It is very clear that God always takes the initiative, whether it be in salvation or anything else. God is never the second cause; He isn’t just a reactor. He is the initiator, and the first cause. So Paul is saying that his being an apostle had nothing to do with a choice he made. He tells them he was chosen and apprehended by God and his life will never be the same again. His eyes were opened and the scales fell off. Friends, the gospel changes lives!
But Paul’s argument is still incomplete. It was definitely the work of God; and his mission and message as an apostle had nothing to do with human influence, but what about after his conversion? Didn’t the other apostles tell him what he ought to say to sound like one of them?
Not according to the second part of verse 16 and following:
…I did not consult any man, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus. 18 Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother. 20 I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. 21 Later I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22 I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they praised God because of me.
Here we see the third and final principle Paul conveys about how the gospel changes lives.
III. Third, Paul took the time to know Christ privately in order to preach Him publicly (16b-24).
Paul’s opponents in Galatia were accusing him of getting his information from the other apostles or some other human source. They wanted to discredit his gospel. But in these verses, he gives historical proof along with three alibis to demonstrate his gospel is not only true, but it’s pure.
Alibi #1: he immediately went to Arabia after he was converted (v. 17).
Alibi #2: he went up to Jerusalem three years later and for only 15 days (vv. 18-20). This shows limited exposure to the other Christians.
Alibi #3: After leaving Jerusalem, he went to Syria and Cilicia (where there was no Christian influence). (vv. 21-24)
In the presentation of these verses, it’s easy to head for the finish line and overlook some vital truths for those engaged in Christian ministry. I want you all to notice the solitude of these verses. Notice how much time Paul had to spend in private preparation before he was ready for public presentation. Becoming a mighty man or woman of God always begins in private; often in solitude, sometimes in seclusion from even other Christians. Ministry is always public in the sense that it always involves other people. But preparation for ministry takes place away from the spotlights, away from the crowds; TVs and radios are turned off, distractions are kept to a minimum. This has always been the rule for those who grow spiritually.
Many of the greatest truths from God’s word that I’ve preached from this pulpit were learned in a little dorm room at Dallas Seminary. It was so small, I had to step out into the hallway just to put on my sportcoat!
The greatest spiritual fires that have ever ignited the world were those fueled in private devotion. We need discipline in both to be effective in ministry. We need people who love us and whom we love in the security of Jesus Christ. We need to touch and be touched as members of God’s family without any ill will or impure motives. Because it’s with people that ministry is expressed. It’s with people that truth becomes incarnate. Without other people, there is no ministry. But we also need time alone to grow deeper.
For me, Saturday has often been a time of limited public activity. That’s a day of preparation and reflection. Except for brief outings, I usually don’t accept invitations on Saturday. There are certain things I accept as part of the price for being effective and because of God’s grace, He always equips the called. So these things are not burdensome, but enjoyable and fulfilling.
Paul made sure the church at Galatia understood that he took the time to prepare himself to preach the gospel in their region. His gospel was from God, not from men. The conclusion of Paul’s defense of the gospel leaves his readers with a serious choice to make: to reject the gospel Paul preached is to reject God Himself. But to accept his gospel is to receive God and the one whom God has sent.
There are many stories of how the gospel has changed people’s lives. Just ask Paul. Or just ask Chuck Colson, the hatchet man. Has your life been changed by God’s truth? It can be.
(c) Charles Kevin Grant
2003