Trapped In Man's Gospel

Introduction

A couple of weeks back we kicked off the first week of classes at Penn State DuBois. It was a whirlwind of orientation events, academic advising, financial aid issues, class scheduling—the typical start of the academic year. But there was one phrase that I noticed kept popping up through all of the presentations. As the different speakers were encouraging the incoming students to take advantage of all of the opportunities available to them at Penn State, they would always include some variation of how the students needed to “be the best version of yourself”, or “be the best you you can be”. One speaker talked about having a bad day when “the best version of myself didn’t show up”, or something to that effect.

And when you listen to the way these speakers used that phrase, “the best version of yourself”, it was usually connected with one of two specific things: It was either about “doing the right thing” or “loving yourself”. And this kind of thinking isn’t just limited to higher education—you hear this kind of advice everywhere you go, don’t you? The highest good in the world—the most important thing in life—is to “be a good person” and “feel good about yourself”.

In fact, a number of years ago a pair of sociologists published a book on the National Study of Youth and Religion research project, in which thousands of young people were interviewed regarding their religious beliefs. And these two ideas—being a good person and feeling good about yourself—kept coming up so often in the interviews that the researchers eventually defined it as: Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism: God exists to help you become a better person, and helps you feel better about yourself. Other than that, He is unimportant in daily life.

I think that this definition is enormously helpful in understanding the way Americans view religion—if you asked the average person on the street to define “the Gospel”, you would almost assuredly get an answer that falls along these lines—God will help you to “be a better person”, that He loves everyone, so there is nothing in your life to feel guilt or shame over.

But the sad reality is that this same gospel of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism has made its way into Christianity as well. Much of what goes on in many churches today echoes along these same lines. People are taught that God wants them to have everything they want, that He wants to make them feel good about themselves, that being a Christian is to pray a one-time prayer “asking Him into your heart” and then living however you want, because He wants you to be happy, that what matters is that they really “try to be a good person” and “do the right thing” because “it makes God sad when we don’t”. That “being a Christian” is measured by the things that you do—pray before meals, come to church now and then, drop the kids off at a Vacation Bible School or Youth Group, vote Republican, sign a pro-life petition, don’t swear (out loud)… The list goes on, but you get the point.

This phenomenon of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism— “be a good person”, “feel good about yourself”, “believe there is a God out there somewhere”—is widely perceived (even within some churches) to be “The Gospel”. And in many ways, the Apostle Paul was fighting this same false Gospel among the churches in Galatia. The false teachers who were pressing the Galatian Christians into observing the Mosaic Law were telling them the same thing—that they needed to “be a good person” according to the Law in order for God to approve of them, and they thought very highly of themselves for their strict observance of Moses’ Law.

And so here in our passage Paul attacks this false gospel of self-esteem and moral purity—he calls it what it is. Verse 11:

Galatians 1:11 ESV

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

Paul makes it clear that the Gospel he preaches is not a gospel of “be the best version of yourself--try to be a good person and feel good about yourself!” And what he will do in these verses is point to his own life to demonstrate that

Man’s so-called “gospel” is a trap; transformation comes only as Jesus is revealed to us.

Paul points to his life before his conversion to show how he was

I. Trapped by Man’s Gospel (Gal. 1:12-14)

Look with me at verses 12-13:

Galatians 1:12–13 ESV

12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it.

The false teachers were trying to get the Galatians to go back into Judaism, so Paul points to his “former life in Judaism” to warn them about what that life did to him. First of all, we see from his testimony that

Paul was a violent, murderous man (Gal. 1:13; cp. Acts 26:10-11)

He says he “persecuted the church violently, and tried to destroy it.” And in the passage that we read earlier from Acts 26, we read that he

Acts 26:10–11 ESV

10 And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. 11 And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities.

Paul points to his own life to warn the Galatians that man’s gospel of “being a good person” made him into a monster. And if he had been sitting in on the Penn State DuBois orientation presentations last week, he would have stood up and said, “You keep telling people to ‘be the best version of themselves’. Let me tell you—my “best version of myself” was a white-hot cauldron of unregenerate rage and violence against innocent people! My ‘best version of myself’ destroyed lives, tore families apart and threw them in jail, voted for the execution of people who had committed no crimes, blasphemed and raged against God! That is the fruit that man’s gospel bore in my life!”

Under man’s gospel, Paul was a monster. But when you read on to verse 14, you see that Paul didn’t see himself that way, didn’t he? In fact,

Paul felt really good about himself! (Gal. 1:14)

Galatians 1:14 ESV

14 And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.

Beloved, this is the insidious trap of the false gospel of man—it lies to you about your condition! Paul was a horrible person under this false gospel of keeping the Law, wasn’t he? But if you asked him, he would point to all his good deeds to show you how righteous he was! In Philippians 3, he talks about how confident he used to be in his good works in Judaism:

Philippians 3:4–6 ESV

4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

The false gospel of man that says you can work your way into righteousness is so dangerous because it makes you feel so good about your accomplishments! We talk about our work in evangelism as “opening blind eyes” because the truth is that so many people are blinded to their true condition, aren’t they? You can have a perfectly cordial conversation with someone about the Gospel until you come to the point of suggesting that they are a sinner, can’t you? And as soon as you suggest that, what happens? The walls come up, the defensive attitudes come out— “I’m not a sinner! I’m a good person!” And then inevitably they will begin pointing to all the good things they do!

You see?

The false gospel of man will trap you into feeling good about yourself through good deeds that cannot save you.

Man’s so-called “gospel” is a trap. Paul was hopelessly trapped in a false sense of security about his condition because of all his good deeds. But then he goes on in verses 15-16 to show how he was

II. Transformed by Meeting Christ (Gal. 1:15-16; cp. Acts 26:13-18)

Look at verse 15 with me:

Galatians 1:15 ESV

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

Paul says that “God called him by His grace”. When God calls a soul to salvation, His “call” doesn’t merely invite a person to be saved; it causes them to be saved! We see this in the story of Paul’s encounter with Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus that we read earlier:

Acts 26:13–15 ESV

13 At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. 14 And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.

Here is the first difference between the false gospel of man and the Gospel of Jesus Christ: The gospel of man excused Paul’s sin—he wasn’t facilitating murder; he was executing judgment on sinners! He wasn’t blaspheming God, he was defending God’s honor! But the Gospel of Jesus Christ doesn’t excuse our sin—it

Confronts us with our sin (Acts 26:15)

When Jesus appeared to Paul, did He say, “Good job protecting Judaism from blasphemers!”? No, He said to him, “These people you are throwing into jail and having murdered? You are doing this to Me! The threats you are breathing out as you ride along? You are threatening ME!” The risen and reigning Jesus Christ appeared before the Apostle Paul in all of His glorious majesty, with all authority in heaven and earth in His righteous right hand. Paul was immediately thrown to the ground in powerless fear, and heard the Lord say to him, “You have been trying to have Me murdered all over again!” And Paul was caught dead-to-rights. He couldn’t deny his guilt anymore; he couldn’t justify his behavior that he was defending God’s honor when God the Son Himself was standing over him accusing him of his crimes!

Now, if anyone ever deserved the wrath of God for his sins, it was Paul at that moment, wasn’t it? It would have been infinitely and perfectly righteous and just for Jesus to crack open the ground underneath Paul’s grovelling form and drop him straight into eternal torment in Hell, wouldn’t it? But what did He do? He called him by His GRACE! He did not appear before Paul to damn him, he appeared there on that road to commission him!

Acts 26:16–18 ESV

16 But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, 17 delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you 18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

And here is the second difference between the false gospel of man and the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. the false gospel of man is quick to condemn failure, but

God delights to reveal grace through His Son (Gal. 1:16)

I see this in the way Paul talks about his encounter with Jesus here in Galatians 1:16, that God was “pleased to reveal His Son to me, in order that I might preach Him among the Gentiles...” Instead of the condemnation Paul deserved there on the road to Damascus, God was “pleased” to reveal Christ to him! And see that God was not just pleased to reveal Jesus to Paul so that he would repent of his sin—God was pleased to call Paul to serve Him!

The gospel of man says that once you have failed, you are done. There is no forgiveness, there are no second chances—just ask anyone in our society today who has been convicted of certain crimes. They can never be trusted again! There is no way to atone, no way to make it right. If you have done this, then you will never be allowed to forget it, and you will pay for it for the rest of your life!

But look at how God pours grace into Paul’s life! He doesn’t forgive him grudgingly, or halfheartedly—it’s not, “Well, OK Paul, I guess I will forgive you—I really shouldn’t, but you caught Me on a good day...” No—Paul says that God was pleased to reveal Jesus Christ for his salvation! He took pleasure in revealing Jesus to Paul on that road to Damascus—not because He enjoyed watching his enemy Paul grovel in the dirt, but because He delighted in turning his enemy Paul into His servant!

Notice at the beginning of verse 15 that Paul says that God had “set me apart before I was born”? Surely, among other things, this means that God had been waiting Paul’s whole life for this moment! Think of a time when you have “counted the days” until some wonderful moment—graduation from school, or your wedding day, or the birth of your first child. In the same way, think of God counting the days, waiting until the time was just right to reveal His grace to Paul and bring him to salvation in Jesus Christ! Through all of his sin and blasphemies and hatred and violence, God kept waiting until the time was right to drop him in his tracks, deliver him from his sin and bring Him to Himself in His grace! And He delighted to do it!

Paul had been trapped by man’s so-called “gospel”, but was transformed when he met Jesus Christ. And as he continues here in Galatians 1, we see that in the Gospel of Christ Paul

III. Transcended His Past (Gal. 1:21-24)

A couple of weeks back we read how when Paul first tried to join the church in Jerusalem they all recoiled in fear, "for they did not believe that he was a disciple” (Acts 9:26), and it wasn’t until Barnabas vouched for him that the other Christians would trust him (Acts 9:27-28). Here in Galatians 1:21-23, he alludes to that moment:

Galatians 1:21–23 ESV

21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.”

In other words, Paul’s past was dogging him. Everyone knew what kind of man Saul of Tarsus was—everyone had stories of the way his rage and hatred had decimated their lives and the lives of other Christians they knew. And under the terms of the gospel of “being a good person”, Paul was a lost cause, wasn’t he? Because everyone knew that he wasn’t a “good person!” And when you live with that kind of past dogging you, when you are constantly reminded of the guilt and shame of your past—the things you did, the kind of person you were—then “good self-esteem” is impossible, isn’t it? The false gospel of man will chain you to your past, But

The Gospel of Jesus Christ sets you free from your past

When Paul came to preach in the churches around Jerusalem, he came “preaching the faith he once tried to destroy”—he was a completely different person than he used to be! The false gospel of man says you can never really be trusted, because people never really change. But the Gospel of Jesus Christ says that not only is real change possible, but it is more dramatic, more total, and more lasting than can ever be explained by anything other than the power of God Himself!

That’s what Paul says happened when he preached in the Judean churches— verse 24:

Galatians 1:24 ESV

24 And they glorified God because of me.

Imagine coming to church some morning and you see in the bulletin that there is a special guest preacher—Richard Dawkins! Richard Dawkins, one of the most virulent, anti-Christian atheists in the world today, a man who once said that parents who take their kids to Sunday School should be prosecuted for child abuse—imagine that you are sitting there in the pew watching him stand and walk up to the platform with a Bible in his hand! Your first thought might be, “We need to have a serious conversation with the elders for who they’re letting into the pulpit!” But then imagine that he stands and delivers one of the most passionate, powerful, God-honoring, Christ-exalting, Gospel-saturated, grace-filled sermons you ever heard in your life! What would you do then? Whatever you would do, I’m sure that your reaction would not be, “Wow—I guess Richard Dawkins has changed his mind about a few things!”

No—your reaction would be the same as what Paul writes here—you would glorify God for what he had done in his heart! You wouldn’t think for a moment that his conversion was because someone had finally beaten him in an argument, or that he had decided to “turn over a new leaf”! There would be no other explanation outside of a supernatural, miraculous transformation of his entire being—heart, mind and soul!

Paul says here that no gospel of man can account for the kind of change he experienced in his life! There was no earthly explanation for how a man could go from trying to destroy the Gospel to glorifying the Gospel!

The best proof of the power of the Gospel is a transformed life

And there are at least three applications that I want us to draw from this passage this morning. And the first is this: Christian, your testimony is powerful! Consider for a moment that when the Apostle Paul wanted to prove that the Gospel of grace in Christ is more powerful than any man-made gospel, he didn’t string together proof-texts and verses and closely-reasoned arguments, did he? He simply told his own story! Now, there is a time and place for defending the Gospel with closely-reasoned arguments and grounding in the Scriptures. But don’t tell yourself you can’t share the Gospel with someone until you have memorized the entire book of Romans and have read every apologetics book on the market! There is real power in simply telling your friend, “This is what Jesus Christ did in my life!”

And don’t let yourself believe that your story of how Jesus saved you isn’t good enough to share! We tend to think that the only testimonies that are worth sharing are the dramatic stories of horrible sin and deeply shameful pasts: “There I was, knee-deep in my heroin syringes...” You may have been saved out of a terrible life of debauchery and violence and a long criminal record, or you may have been saved when you were five years old when your mom shared the Gospel with you while tucking you in one night. But listen: Both of those stories are equally miraculous!

You may think it is a miraculous display of God’s grace when He drops some wicked sinner in his tracks and turns his heart to Himself in a moment—but believe me when I tell you that there are people out there who see your quiet, happy childhood and stable home and long walk with Jesus as just as miraculous a display of His grace! Who say, “Wow! I never had that kind of life—God was so good to give you that kind of an upbringing and reveal Himself to you that way!” It is always a miracle of God’s grace when He is pleased to reveal Jesus Christ to someone in salvation!

Second, let Paul’s testimony here remind you again that there is no one beyond the reach of God’s saving grace! There is no atheist, no criminal, no blasphemer or drunkard or fornicator or brawler that God cannot stop in their tracks in the middle of their sinning and delight to reveal His grace through His Son! God loves to save sinners! It’s so easy to write people off—to say, “Well, I’m not going to even bother to talk to her about Christ—she’ll never become a Christian!” You can be sure that there were a lot of people in the churches of Judea who said the same thing about Saul of Tarsus! And if you told them that one day the man that they were all hiding from, the man who was threatening to take their children away from them and drag them off in chains to Death Row for believing in Christ—that one day he himself would be the most powerful preacher and writer for the sake of the Gospel in all of human history, they wouldn’t have believed you! But the power of God to save people by His grace is far greater than a sinner’s power to run from Him!

And finally this morning, I want you to see here from Paul’s testimony that only the grace of God in Jesus Christ can transcend your past! The moralistic, therapeutic “gospel of man” can’t free you from the guilt and shame and fear of your past. All it will do is chain you to it—you’re not good enough, you’re worthless, you’re weak, you’ve blown it, and you can never be trusted ever again! But even if somehow you could get away from your past, and the world recognized you for your achievements instead of your shame, it would not erase your guilt before God!

Listen to the way the Apostle Paul writes about the grace of God in the book of Titus:

Titus 3:3–6 ESV

3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

This is the Good News for you this morning! That even in the middle of your foolish, disobedience, even as you were passing your days in hatred and malice and envy, God was pleased to reveal His goodness and lovingkindness to you in Jesus Christ! You are not saved by your righteous works of “being a good person” and “loving yourself”—you are saved by His mercy! You are not saved by “forgiving yourself”, but by Christ forgiving you! You are not saved by loving yourself, but by His love for you! He died on the Cross under the wrath of God for your sin, and the blood that He shed in your place is the only way to wash away the guilt and shame of your past. And when He washes your past away, it is gone for good! Because He gives you a new birth in Him—a fresh start, a complete and total new life that is free from guilt and shame, and free to live before Him in holiness and peace! God delights to reveal His grace to you in His Son! He has been waiting since before you were born for this moment, and now it is here! Now is the acceptable time, now is the day of your salvation! So come—and welcome!—to Jesus Christ!

BENEDICTION

Hebrews 13:20–21 ESV

20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION:

How does your personal story of coming to faith in Jesus Christ glorify God? Is your story a dramatic “Damascus Road” experience? Or is it a quiet story of knowing Jesus since you were a child? How do each of those stories glorify God in a unique way?

How have you seen the Gospel transform your life in ways that can’t be explained by your own efforts (e.g., anger, lust, addiction, bitterness)? How can you testify about that transformation in a way that glorifies God?

How does Paul’s story encourage you to pray for someone who seems impossibly far from salvation? Think of one person in your life who you feel could “never” become a believer. Take some time this week to regularly pray for that person.