Hindered

I remember very well the First time I needed to go into the Hampton County Court house here in Hampton, SC. I walked to the doors just as I had many times in WV expecting to walk in and get the information I needed from the department I needed it from.

However, as I got to the door there was something I was not used too; something that I was not expecting. There was a guard station with a guard checking each person as they came in.

He asked me, “Do you have a phone one you?” I said yes I do. He said “You will need to leave that in your car before you can come in here.”

I was hindered to enter into the courthouse because of the no cell phone rule that I didn’t even know about

How often do we hinder people to come into our churches and grow in their walk because of all our extra rules. Sadly, at times, these rules have nothing to do with what the Bible says.

Today we are going to look at a Passage where Paul deals with a group of people that were adding extra rules

The Message is not ours

Galatians 1:11–24 NKJV

But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. (Now concerning the things which I write to you, indeed, before God, I do not lie.) Afterward I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. And I was unknown by face to the churches of Judea which were in Christ. But they were hearing only, “He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once tried to destroy.” And they glorified God in me.

Paul Knew where his message came from (11-12)

Paul makes it very clear that the message he was teaching did not come from him.

Paul is not passing on some man made tradition. It is not something they had always done that way. In many ways, the message of Jesus Christ goes against the cultural norms as we will see next week

Paul says this message that I give is not from me, it is not from man, it is not from tradition, it is from Jesus Christ

Paul was commissioned by Jesus Christ to be an apostle Acts 9:1-9

This message came from Christ

There is no higher authority that could have passed this message on to Paul.

Since this message that Paul delivers is from Christ, should we not heed it?

You and I need to remember where the message comes from that has been entrusted to us

The message that we have been entrusted to share with the world is the message of Jesus

Our goal is not to build a name for ourselves

Our goal is not to build a name for Hopewell First Baptist Church

Our goal is not to get our way

Our goal is to proclaim the wonderful name of Jesus Christ, and Him crucified

Paul shares who he was in tradition (13-22)

Next Paul shares with us who he was when he lived according to the traditions

Paul was well known for his persecution of the church

Acts 9:1–2 CSB

Now Saul was still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the high priest and requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women who belonged to the Way, he might bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

We see that Paul was more zealous for the traditions of his fathers than the work of God.

There are times when you and I fall into this category.

If not careful it becomes about keeping the legacy of our fathers than the legacy of our Father

I don’t believe that we do this on purpose. Paul thought that what he was doing was right.

I think we get comfortable in the way we have always done things. It is what we know and new is scary

Even though it can be scary we need to do our best to step out of our comfort zone and see what it is that God would have us to do not what tradition tells us to do.

Paul was focused on the traditions of his fathers, but when it pleased God (15)

God changed the trajectory that Paul was on

God saved him by grace and set him apart to be a light to the gentiles

This is so important to us, for most of us are gentiles and we can come to know the hope in Jesus

Present the gospel

We need to be transformed by the message not our traditions (23-24)

Paul was drastically changed and transformed by the message of hope that comes from Jesus.

He went from seeking to destroy those who follow the Way, to being a leader in advancing the Way.

You and I, we need to allow the word of God, the Bible, to transform us into the men and women that He has called us be

Let us not be transformed by tradition but by the wonderful word of God.

Preserve the truth

Galatians 2:1–10 NKJV

Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and also took Titus with me. And I went up by revelation, and communicated to them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those who were of reputation, lest by any means I might run, or had run, in vain. Yet not even Titus who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. And this occurred because of false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage), to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. But from those who seemed to be something—whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man—for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me. But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter (for He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles), and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do.

After sharing that the message comes from God and it transformed him, Paul shares the need to defend that message

Paul meet opposition (4-5)

Sadly, there will always be those who seek their own interests and thus will oppose change.

The same would be no different with Paul. Paul would deal a lot with a group that would come along and say that you needed to believe in Jesus plus be circumcised

Acts 15:1 CSB

Some men came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom prescribed by Moses, you cannot be saved.”

Being circumcised was not the problem.

To be circumcised was required of the Jews by law.

They were to be circumcised on the 8th day as a sign of the covenant

Genesis 17:10–14 CSB

This is my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you, which you are to keep: Every one of your males must be circumcised. You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskin to serve as a sign of the covenant between me and you. Throughout your generations, every male among you is to be circumcised at eight days old—every male born in your household or purchased from any foreigner and not your offspring. Whether born in your household or purchased, he must be circumcised. My covenant will be marked in your flesh as a permanent covenant. If any male is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that man will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

The problem was that this group was more concerned about the Gentiles become Jews than becoming Christians

They wanted the gentiles to look like them, act like them, be like them, and do as they did

Thus, they said as we saw in Acts 15:1, that you need to believe and be circumcised

The questions that we need ask ourselves is what did Jesus say on the cross?

John 19:30 CSB

When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then bowing his head, he gave up his spirit.

Jesus did not say “it is finished”

Unless you are circumcised

Unless you use the KJV

Unless you dress a certain way

Unless you look like us

Unless you act like us

Unless you are the same color as us

Jesus said it is finished Period.

Keeping the traditions of those who have gone before us will not get us into heaven. The only thing that can get us into heaven is the precious blood of Jesus

Present the gospel again

God does not have favorites (6-10)

One of the many wonderful things about God is that He does not have favorites

Paul shows that God has sent men out both to take the message of hope to the Jews and to the Gentiles

Paul to the Gentiles

Peter to the Jews

It is the desire of our great and awesome God that all people regardless of race, religion, gender, or background would come to know Him.

John 6:40 CSB

For this is the will of my Father: that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him will have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

If we are not careful we can be like this group that Paul was dealing with and we can hinder people from coming to Christ because we add extra burdens on them expecting them to be just like us

There is nothing wrong with tradition in its self. The problem is when we say it has to be this way and we put our traditions on the same level as doctrine.

We need to always remember it’s not Jesus plus, it’s Jesus period

It’s Jesus Period

Galatians 2:11–16 NKJV

Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews? We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

Paul believed so much in Jesus Period that he even called out Peter (11-14)

Now we know how Peter was:

Walk on water on minute

sink the next

Cut off a servants ear

Then deny Christ

After Peter’s vision from God to go to Cornelius in Acts 10, he realized that it was ok for him to eat with Gentiles (this was against the Jewish law)

As we see in our text Peter ate with the Gentiles till certain men came.

Once they came he began to withdraw from the Gentiles

Paul calls him out on this so strongly that he says, “the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him.”

It was tradition for Jews to not eat with Gentiles. Peter had falling back into tradition in order to save face with certain men who came to where he was.

Peter was trying to please his fellow Jews

Who are we trying to please?

In all honesty, when we say things like we have never done it that way or we have always done it this way, who are we actually trying to please?

When we fear change are we concerned about reaching the lost or our own comforts?

Is our goal keeping church members happy and comfortable or doing whatever it takes to be the hands and feet of Jesus?

Do we seek to save face with each other or to serve our great God with all that we are?

It’s all about Faith (15-16)

We end today with the heart of it all. It is not about my wants or your wants. It is not about the way we have always done it. It is not about our traditions.

It is all about Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross for us.

As I said last week, we need to get back to the basics of the gospel.

“Man is not justified by works of the law but by faith”

Our Identity should not be in our denomination, or church name, or our traditions. Our Identity should be in Jesus Christ Period.

Conclusion

Just as I was hindered to go into the court house because of my phone, we at times hinder people from coming to God because of our traditions

We cannot expect people to come into our churches and change if we are not willing to change. Paul has a word for that: Hypocrite

Now as Paul stated, we cannot change the message, that is not what I am saying at all.

We can change the methods.

We can change the way we treat people who are different than us

We can accept people who are different than us

As long as none of these go against the word of God

As we close today there are three things I want to ask us as a church to do

First, I want us to ask forgiveness for the times we have hindered others.

Second, I want us to ask God to give us courage to try new things

Third, and most important, I want us to ask God what we can do different to better reach the lost in our community?

For those who are not a part of the family of God, would you like to come to faith in Christ today knowing that you have to do nothing other than believe?

Invitation