The Galatian Situation

B: 6-9

Welcome guests to the family gathering, introduce yourself. Thank the band and choir. Invite guests to parlor after service.

Through the month of July, we are taking up our annual offering to combat world hunger and to provide assistance during disasters through the Southern Baptist Convention. Our goal this year is $3,700, and so far, we’ve received $985. Please prayerfully consider how God would lead you to give to this offering this year.

We have our regularly scheduled bi-monthly business meeting of the church tonight at 5:30 here in the Sanctuary. Please plan to be here to be a part of discussing and deciding the business of the church family.

Adults on Mission (AOM) will be held tonight following our evening service in Miller Hall. The service starts at 5:30, and then AOM will be immediately following at 6:30. Richard and Anna Shelley will be sharing about their recent trip to Croatia.

Just a reminder that Tenna Eckert’s memorial service will be this Friday at noon. We will have Jessi Hale’s memorial service on Saturday at 1:00 pm. The family has requested casual dress for that service. There will be a cookie reception afterwards in Miller Hall. Please keep both families in your prayers this week.

I really appreciate how many of you grabbed a Sunday Morning Bible Study card last week after I mentioned them in service. Remember that our Sunday morning Bible studies are the best vehicle we have here at EHBC for intentionally connecting the members of the family to each other on a weekly basis. If you aren’t currently involved in a Bible study on Sunday mornings, please look at the card and find one to try next week!

PRAY

Galatians 1:6–9 CSB

6 I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—7 not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling 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, a curse be on him! 9 As we have said before, I now say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him!

Following his introduction, Paul doesn’t give the customary thankful blessing that was normal for letters written during the time, including most of his epistles. He launches right into an assault on the situation in Galatia. To help us understand this passage a little more, we can use a little bit of background information to give us better context.

As I mentioned last week, I believe that in the book of Galatians Paul is writing to the churches that were founded during his first missionary journey, when he and Barnabas traveled through the southern part of the Roman province of Galatia. This missionary journey is recorded in & 14. They traveled through the Galatian towns of Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, sharing the gospel and starting churches in each town.

Before we read our focal passage this morning, I need to give a little bit of background to set the passage up. As I mentioned last week, I believe that in the book of Galatians Paul is writing to the churches that were founded during his first missionary journey, when he and Barnabas traveled through the southern part of the Roman province of Galatia. This missionary journey is recorded in & 14. They traveled through the Galatian towns of Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, sharing the gospel and starting churches in each town.

Luke records in Acts that the Word of the Lord spread throughout the whole area. They first spoke to the Jews in the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch, but when the whole town showed up to hear the message of the gospel, the Jews argued against them out of jealousy. Paul then said that they would be taking their message to the Gentiles instead, and the Gentiles rejoiced at this, and many believed (a Gentile is anyone who is not a Jew). However, the Jews incited the prominent people of the city to “stir up persecution” against them, and had them kicked out of the city, so they went to Iconium.

In Iconium the same thing happened, although they were able to stay for a longer time there, according to . In Lystra, God healed a paralyzed man through Paul, and the people there began to worship Paul and Barnabas as Greek gods, and nearly sacrificed offerings to them. But Jews had followed them down from Pisidian Antioch and Iconium, and Paul was nearly stoned to death in Lystra. After that, they then traveled as far as Derbe. On their return trip, they traveled back through those same towns, strengthening the churches along the way. These churches were mostly made up of Gentile believers.

They then traveled as far as Derbe. On their return trip, they traveled back through those same towns, strengthening the churches along the way. These churches were mostly made up of Gentile believers.

On their return trip, they traveled back through those same towns, strengthening the churches along the way. These churches were mostly made up of Gentile believers (Gentiles being anyone who is not a Jew).

This first missionary journey occurred from around 46 to 47, maybe 48 AD. In his letter to the churches of Galatia, Paul makes no mention of the Council of Jerusalem, which is recorded in , and took place in about AD 49. The Council of Jerusalem was specifically about the issues that Paul brings up in Galatians: the introduction of false teaching appearing in the new Gentile churches regarding the gospel. Certainly, if Paul is addressing the same issues to the churches of Galatia that were addressed in the Council of Jerusalem, he would have brought that up.

Galatians 1:6–9 CSB

6 I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—7 not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling 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, a curse be on him! 9 As we have said before, I now say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him!

So I believe that Galatians was written not long after Paul and Barnabas returned to Syrian Antioch. If this is correct, then the false teaching infiltrated the Galatian churches very quickly. In less time than I’ve been the pastor of this church. This explains why Paul immediately attacks the problem:

Galatians 1:6–7 CSB

6 I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—7 not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

Galatians 1:6 CSB

6 I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—

Galatians 1:6–7 CSB

6 I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—7 not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

He is astonished, shocked, and dismayed at what has occurred “so quickly.” Within perhaps a year of Paul and Barnabas going back through the Galatian churches on their way home, a problem has arisen: the Galatian believers are “turning away from him who called [them] by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel.”

galatians 1:

He is astonished, shocked, and dismayed at what has occurred “so quickly.” Within perhaps a year of Paul and Barnabas going back through the Galatian churches on their way home, a problem has arisen: the Galatian believers are “turning away from him who called [them] by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel.”

Paul’s concern is that the Galatians have been seduced by a heresy: that there is a “different gospel” for them to believe. Apparently, as we will see as we go through Galatians together, some people who are commonly called “Judaizers” came through Galatia after Paul and Barnabas left. They claimed to be Jewish believers in Christ who had come from Jerusalem, and they had come to tell these Gentile believers basically how to be “really saved”… by following the Jewish Law. They questioned Paul’s credentials as an apostle, which we will look at more next week. And they had started to throw these fledgling churches into a state of confusion and error.

Just by way of evidence of these conclusions, notice some things that Paul says throughout this letter (we’ll look at these in more detail when we get to them during our study in the weeks to come):

Galatians 3:1 CSB

1 You foolish Galatians! Who has cast a spell on you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?

Galatians 3:1–4 CSB

1 You foolish Galatians! Who has cast a spell on you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? 2 I only want to learn this from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by the Spirit, are you now finishing by the flesh? 4 Did you experience so much for nothing—if in fact it was for nothing?

Someone had “cast a spell on” or “bewitched” them. They had been taken in by something that wasn’t true.

Galatians 4:10–11 CSB

10 You are observing special days, months, seasons, and years. 11 I am fearful for you, that perhaps my labor for you has been wasted.

galatians 3:1-

Galatians 4:8–11 CSB

8 But in the past, since you didn’t know God, you were enslaved to things that by nature are not gods. 9 But now, since you know God, or rather have become known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elements? Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again? 10 You are observing special days, months, seasons, and years. 11 I am fearful for you, that perhaps my labor for you has been wasted.

Galatians 5:7–8 CSB

7 You were running well. Who prevented you from being persuaded regarding the truth? 8 This persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.

galatians 4:

Galatians 5:7–12 CSB

7 You were running well. Who prevented you from being persuaded regarding the truth? 8 This persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole batch of dough. 10 I myself am persuaded in the Lord you will not accept any other view. But whoever it is that is confusing you will pay the penalty. 11 Now brothers and sisters, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12 I wish those who are disturbing you might also let themselves be mutilated!

Galatians 5:12 CSB

12 I wish those who are disturbing you might also let themselves be mutilated!

galatians 5:7-

Strong words! Paul isn’t playing around in this letter to the churches of Galatia. And we need to ask ourselves if we might be in the same situation as the Galatians. Before we address this, however, we need to address the question: “What is the gospel?”

Strong words! Paul isn’t playing around in this letter to the churches of Galatia.

Before we address this, however, we need to address the question: What is the gospel?

The word “gospel” literally means “good news.” So the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the message of God’s joyful revelation of Himself and His work of love in Christ that leads us to salvation.

The message of the Gospel is God’s joyful revelation of Himself and His work of love in Christ that leads us to salvation. It answers four big questions:

The Gospel answers four big questions:

1) Who is God?

2) Why are we in such a mess?

3) What did God do in Christ to remedy the mess?

4) How can we get back to God?

The answers to these questions are basically known as the “Four Spiritual Laws.” I try to bring these four elements into every message I preach on Sunday morning. Sometimes I succeed. Sometimes I don’t. But I do this because the message of the Gospel isn’t only critical for those who have not yet believed in Jesus, but for those who are believers to constantly apply and reapply to our lives.

Philippians 1:27 CSB

27 Just one thing: As citizens of heaven, live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or am absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit, in one accord, contending together for the faith of the gospel,

So the truth of the Gospel of Christ saves us, and it continues to be effective in our lives.

I personally like the acrostic GOSPEL to explain the Gospel message:

God created us to be with him. Our sins separate us from God. Sins cannot be removed by good deeds. Paying the price for sins, Jesus died and rose again. Everyone who trusts in Him alone has eternal life. Life with Jesus starts now and lasts forever.

Last year, in my teaching on discipleship during our evening services, once when I was asked about the Gospel, I said that the Gospel gave form and meaning to all of the Christian life. I still hold to this. The entire Christian life, from beginning to end, is a life created by, informed by, and defined by the Gospel. If we do not believe the Gospel, then we are not Christian.

Last year, in my teaching on discipleship, when asked about the Gospel, I said that the Gospel gave form and meaning to all of the Christian life. I still hold to this. The entire Christian life, from beginning to end, is a life created by, informed by, and defined by the Gospel. If we do not believe the Gospel, then we are not Christian.

When we make the Gospel too small, we only focus on the saved/lost part: that the Gospel is just a get-out-of-hell-free card. We forget that it matters for every part of our lives. Here’s how J. Mark Stiles said it:

It’s that simple. One cannot be Christian because they behave well. One cannot be Christian through inheritance: that their parents were Christians. One cannot be Christian through the vehicle of culture: that because they live in a certain place at a certain time, that makes them a Christian.

“Since the Gospel manifests the heart of God, it makes sense that the themes of the Gospel should inform how we live – themes such as love, reconciliation, forgiveness, faith, humility, repentance, and more. Then we see that the Gospel becomes both the door of salvation and the pattern for life.”

No, the Christian life is created by, informed by, and defined by the Gospel. I’d like to address these three sort of sub-points very quickly:

A person is a Christian is one who is at peace with God through faith in the fact that Jesus died in our place for our sins, that He defeated death by rising again, and He offers life now and eternally to those who trust in Him alone for salvation.

According to Scripture, because of the loving work of God, when we hear the message of the Gospel and believe it, then we are saved by Christ.

John 3:16 CSB

16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16–17 CSB

16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

John 3:16 CSB

16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

And if we are in Christ, then we are made new: God is remaking us from the inside out through the power of His Spirit living in us.

2 Corinthians 5:17 CSB

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!

Since the Christian is a new creation, you could say that the Christian life is a life created by the Gospel. It starts when the Gospel is heard and believed in faith.

That we see ourselves in light of the message of the Gospel, and then live out the themes and implications of that perspective. However, when we are evangelizing, we need to focus on the message of the Gospel. The Gospel is the joyful message from God that leads us to salvation.

When we make the Gospel too big, we add to the Gospel. We say that people need to believe AND immediately change. Or worse, we tell someone that they have to change IN ORDER TO believe the Gospel. We add things that are certainly good, but are not of primary importance. We cannot tell someone to fix their lives and then come to Jesus. That’s not the Gospel. That’s works. The Gospel is the joyful message from God that leads us to salvation. It answers four big questions:

1) Who is God?

2) Why are we in just a mess?

By “informed by the Gospel,” I mean that the Christian’s life is lived in a state of hope because of the salvation that they have received from God through Christ. So the message of the Gospel begins to inform every aspect of the Christian’s life: who he is in his marriage, his family, his workplace, his neighborhood, his church… each of these is considered in light of the truth of the Gospel. This is how Paul determined to live:

3) What did Christ do?

Galatians 2:20 CSB

20 I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Living a life informed by the Gospel doesn’t save us: it’s the result of being saved. Paul will address this more in this letter as we study it further.

That we see ourselves in light of the message of the Gospel, and then live out the themes and implications of that perspective.

4) How can we get back to God?

The Christian’s life is defined by the Gospel in that the message and work of the Gospel in the Christian’s life is a determining factor in what that person’s life looks like. It defines the choices, directions, and boundaries of the Christian’s perspective on life. Just like being informed by the Gospel, this aspect of the Christian life is also a work-in-progress kind of deal:

The answers to these questions are basically known as the “Four Spiritual Laws.” I try to bring these four elements into every message I preach on Sunday morning. Sometimes I succeed. Sometimes I don’t.

Philippians 3:12–14 CSB

12 Not that I have already reached the goal or am already perfect, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, 14 I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.

phil 3:12-

Again, living a life defined by the Gospel doesn’t save us either: it’s the result of being saved.

That we see ourselves in light of the message of the Gospel, and then live out the themes and implications of that perspective.

I personally like the acrostic GOSPEL to explain the Gospel message:

So the Gospel is the message of God’s joyful revelation of Himself and His work of love in Christ that leads us to salvation. Through it, God creates the Christian life anew at salvation, and then begins the process known as sanctification through informing the Christian life by the Gospel, and by defining the Christian life by the Gospel.

Now that we’ve established that, we can return to the point that Paul was making, and to his concern for the Galatians:

God created us to be with him. Our sins separate us from God. Sins cannot be removed by good deeds. Paying the price for sins, Jesus died and rose again. Everyone who trusts in Him alone has eternal life. Life with Jesus starts now and lasts forever.

Galatians 1:6–7 CSB

6 I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—7 not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

Paul is critically concerned that the Galatians are turning away from the true gospel, and in doing so, are turning away from the one who has called them by the grace of Christ: namely, God Himself.

The way Paul phrased this is instructive: he said that they “are…turning.” They haven’t finished turning yet, but have started to turn.

The Galatians were in the process of switching teams. John Stott notes that the word turning means “to transfer one’s allegiance.” It was used of soldiers in the army who would go fight for the other side, or of politicians who would transfer to the other political party (Message of Galatians, 21). Can you imagine a Cowboys fan wearing a Redskins shirt, or a Red Sox fan wearing a Yankees cap? That is serious turning.

If we turn from the gospel, we turn from God Himself (v. 6). Paul says that the Galatians are turning away from “Him,” not merely from a set of principles. If we turn from the gospel, we are turning from the God of all grace. We are turning from the Christ “who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age” (v. 4).

This isn’t to say that you can lose your salvation. But it is to say that you never truly accepted the gospel, because it is by faith that those who are righteous live:

Romans 1:16–17 CSB

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.

God is the One who has provided our means of salvation. In turning from the Gospel, the Galatians were adding means. But as soon as we add to the means that God has provided for our salvation, then we say that God is not enough; that the Gospel is not the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes; that God got it almost right… He just needed some help to finish the job.

No! The Gospel is Jesus, and Jesus is the Gospel. He needs to assistance, no work, no help, no add-ons or add-ins or upgrades. He has given us everything required for salvation and to live a life that honors Him:

When you turn from the gospel, you turn from God Himself (v. 6). Paul says that the Galatians are turning away from “Him,” not merely from a set of principles. When you turn from the gospel, you are turning from the God of all grace. You are turning from the Christ “who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age” (v. 4).

2 Peter 1:3 CSB

3 His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

If we turn from the gospel, we also turn from the grace of Christ (v. 6). “The grace of Christ” is a synonym for the gospel (cf. 5:4). Remember, the Judaizers believed salvation was Jesus + circumcision and the requirements of the OT law. But salvation is not Jesus + anything. It’s just Jesus. And that’s our next point:

Both for the lost and for the saved. We are saved by the gospel, and we must live by the gospel.

When you turn from the gospel, you have nowhere else to go (vv. 6-7). Paul tells the Galatians that they are “turning to a different gospel,” but adds, “not that there is another gospel” (emphasis added). In other words, Paul says the false teachers’ message is no gospel at all. There is only one gospel.

In the end of verse 6 and the beginning of verse 7, the two words “different” and “another” are not the same words in Greek. The first word, “different” in verse 6, is the Greek word heteros. This denotes a different kind between one thing and another. We still use this prefix today, in words like heterogeneous (a mixture of completely different things), and heterosexual. Paul says that the “gospel” that the Galatians are turning to is of a different type altogether.

The Greek word for “another” in verse 7 is allos, which means “another of the same kind.” We use the idea of allos in everyday life as well: it’s used when at a restaurant, we are asked whether we would like another cup of coffee, meaning a second (or third) installment of our original drink.

How do we create this “different” gospel?

I think that we make the message of the Gospel too small, and I think we make it too big.

When we make the Gospel too small, we only focus on the saved/lost part: that the Gospel is just a get-out-of-hell-free card. Certainly this is a part of it, and it is by the message of the Gospel that we are saved. Jesus Christ is Savior. But if we see the Gospel as only that, and not the message through which God not only saves us but changes us, we neglect the fact that Jesus is also Lord, and the message of the Gospel can become for us a license to sin. We forget that it matters for every part of our lives. Here’s how J. Mark Stiles said it:

“Since the Gospel manifests the heart of God, it makes sense that the themes of the Gospel should inform how we live – themes such as love, reconciliation, forgiveness, faith, humility, repentance, and more. Then we see that the Gospel becomes both the door of salvation and the pattern for life.”

When we make the Gospel too big, we add to the Gospel. We say that people need to believe AND immediately change. Or worse, we tell someone that they have to change IN ORDER TO believe the Gospel. We add things that are certainly good, but are not of primary importance. We cannot tell someone to fix their lives and then come to Jesus. That’s not the Gospel. That’s works. We’ve focused on the fact that Jesus is Lord, but not that He’s the all-sufficient Savior as well.

Max Anders, in the Holman New Testament Commentary, said this:

In fact, a works-based, human-effort driven gospel is no gospel at all. How is a demand for impossible human achievement good news? Anyone who presents a way of salvation that depends in any way on works, rather than God, has contaminated the gospel message. They confuse honest, sincere believers. They have no gospel, no good news.

We cannot earn our salvation. That’s why the Gospel is the gospel! If I can’t earn my salvation, then it is a gift of God’s incredible grace. I don’t deserve salvation on my own, so God condescends… stoops down to me… and takes me from the pit, from the muddy clay as it reads in , and rescues me, as we spoke about last week.

And if I can do nothing to earn my salvation, then I can also do nothing to continue to deserve my salvation. I cannot work hard enough to make Jesus have to save me. The fact of my being saved is a given because of the grace of God. And finally, if I cannot work hard enough to earn my salvation, and I cannot work hard enough to keep my salvation, then I also cannot work to lose my salvation: either I am saved and will continue to be saved, or I am not saved at all.

Romans 5:15–17 CSB

15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if by the one man’s trespass the many died, how much more have the grace of God and the gift which comes through the grace of the one man Jesus Christ overflowed to the many. 16 And the gift is not like the one man’s sin, because from one sin came the judgment, resulting in condemnation, but from many trespasses came the gift, resulting in justification. 17 Since by the one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

It’s an all-or-nothing proposition: Timothy Keller, in his commentary on Galatians, put it this way:

Max Anders, in the Holman New Testament Commentary, said this:

In fact, a works-based, human-effort driven gospel is no gospel at all. How is a demand for impossible human achievement good news? Anyone who presents a way of salvation that depends in any way on works, rather than God, has contaminated the gospel message. They confuse honest, sincere believers. They have no gospel, no good news.

...A different gospel is no gospel at all. This means that the gospel message, by its very nature, cannot be changed even slightly without being lost. It’s like a vacuum. You can’t allow in some air and say that it is now a “90 per cent vacuum” or an “air-enriched vacuum”. It is either a complete vacuum or no vacuum at all! Equally, the message of the gospel is that you are saved by grace through Christ’s work and nothing else at all. As soon as you add anything to it, you have lost it entirely. The moment you revise it, you reverse it.

Finally, we must address the final two verses of our focal passage today:

galatians 1:8-9

“‘Christ’s a fine master. He makes the beginning, but Moses must complete the structure.’ The devil’s nature shows itself therein: if he cannot ruin people by wronging and persecuting them, he will do it by improving them.”

Galatians 1:8–9 CSB

8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, a curse be on him! 9 As we have said before, I now say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him!

Paul’s strongest language was for those who had brought this false teaching, and set a standard for evaluating the teaching and preaching of the Gospel.

Galatians 1:8–9 CSB

8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, a curse be on him! 9 As we have said before, I now say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him!

When he said “a curse be on him,” he was saying “let him be anathema.” Anathema is basically as strong as you can say something negative against someone. Timothy George said, “To be anathematized then means far more than to be excommunicated. It means nothing less than to suffer the eternal retribution and judgment of God.”

Paul, in his love for the Hebrew people, actually wished that he could be anathematized so that they could be saved. The meaning of the term is clear in :

Timothy Keller wrote:

Romans 9:3 CSB

3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the benefit of my brothers and sisters, my own flesh and blood.

What we need to realize is that altering the Gospel by adding anything, as the Judaizers were doing, was to add a curse, not a blessing. Because as soon as the Gospel becomes about human achievement and perfection, fear, anxiety, and guilt are injected into the message. These things will always be a part of different “gospels” because they rely upon human effort.

Martin Luther, in his commentary on Galatians, summarized this problem well:

“‘Christ’s a fine master. He makes the beginning, but Moses must complete the structure.’ The devil’s nature shows itself therein: if he cannot ruin people by wronging and persecuting them, he will do it by improving them.”

The Galatians were being led astray from their hope in the true Gospel by those who wanted to “trouble [them] and…distort the gospel of Christ.” (7) How are we adding to the Gospel? How are we seeing salvation as Jesus+anything?

If you have never believed the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, today I implore you to hear and believe. Jesus Christ died for you, so you could be saved. He rose from the grave so that you could live. He is the Savior and the Lord. He calls you to trust Him alone for your salvation and your life. That happens right where you are. And if this is you today, then please come and share that with us, so that we can celebrate with you.

If you are already a believer, and today God is calling you to become a part of this family of believers here at Eastern Hills through membership, come and share that as well.

If you have some other prayer need, this time is for you to come and pray with us, or pray at the steps.

Call the band down.

Pray.

Invite to the parlor.

The Galatian Situation

Bookmarks & Needs:

Housekeeping Stuff & Announcements:

Opening

1: The Gospel is the good news of what God has done in Christ.

1: The Gospel is about what God has done in Christ.

Created by the Gospel

Created by the Gospel

Informed by the Gospel

Defined by the Gospel

2: To turn from the Gospel is to turn from God.

2: To turn from the Gospel is to turn from God.

3: Changing the Gospel makes it not a gospel at all.

3: Changing the Gospel makes it stop being truly good news… not a gospel at all.

4: Changing the Gospel brings curses.

4: Changing the Gospel brings curses.

Closing