Paul: Going From Terrorist to Evangelist
Galatians • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 28:15
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· 75 viewsA walk through the letter to the Galatian church.
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Start Big!
Jesus can break through anytime, anywhere, and through anything!
Jesus can break through anytime, anywhere, and through anything!
And Jesus can even work through a real mess.
Maybe you are feeling like your life is a mess. Jesus can work through that.
Or Maybe you know of someone else’s life is a mess. Jesus can work through that.
Jesus can also work through your enemies. AND this is part of Paul’s story.
1. The Origin of Paul’s Message
1. The Origin of Paul’s Message
11 For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel preached by me is not of human origin. 12 For I did not receive it from a human source and I was not taught it, but it came by a revelation of Jesus Christ.
What they are accusing Paul of is being just a sub-apostle and he’s gotten the word wrong.
What they are accusing Paul of is being just a sub-apostle and he’s gotten the word wrong.
Paul is just a sub-Apostle and so he has some truth but we represent the true leaders of the church and we are bringing the full truth.
The problem was that this “full truth” that they were claiming to bring was full of baggage and as we said last week was a Jesus + message.
Since Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s plan I’m not sure that it is wise for us to try and add on to that with new rules or go back and try to add the old rules.
2. The Transformation of Paul’s Life
2. The Transformation of Paul’s Life
Paul spends this portion of Scripture giving them his testimony
Paul spends this portion of Scripture giving them his testimony
....again
vs. 13 - For you have heard about my former way of life.....
Think back. You know who I am.
Think back. You know who I am.
13 For you have heard about my former way of life in Judaism: I intensely persecuted God’s church and tried to destroy it. 14 I advanced in Judaism beyond many contemporaries among my people, because I was extremely zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. 15 But when God, who from my mother’s womb set me apart and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me, so that I could preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone. 17 I did not go up to Jerusalem to those who had become apostles before me; instead I went to Arabia and came back to Damascus.
18 Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to get to know Cephas, and I stayed with him fifteen days. 19 But I didn’t see any of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. 20 I declare in the sight of God: I am not lying in what I write to you.
21 Afterward, I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 I remained personally unknown to the Judean churches that are in Christ. 23 They simply kept hearing, “He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they glorified God because of me.
Paul concludes that through it all he’s recognizing the position that God has placed him in. He’s not denying or downplaying his Apostleship
But he’s also that hyping himself up as this new and super Christian, now I have got it all together.
15 This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them.
Not an all inclusive study of Paul’s life and ministry tonight
The New Testament in It’s World
Commentary on Paul
Acts
We want to show just how deep grace can go.
His pre-conversion: In need of grace
His pre-conversion: In need of grace
13 For you have heard about my former way of life in Judaism: I intensely persecuted God’s church and tried to destroy it. 14 I advanced in Judaism beyond many contemporaries among my people, because I was extremely zealous for the traditions of my ancestors.
Paul was a man on a destructive mission.
When you think about someone who has caused so much pain is your first thought “oh boy, God is really going to do something great through them.”
Here’s some of his list.
He approved of he martyrdom of Stephen
1 Saul agreed with putting him to death. On that day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the land of Judea and Samaria.
He dragged Christians to prison
3 Saul, however, was ravaging the church. He would enter house after house, drag off men and women, and put them in prison.
He threw his support behind the death of Christians
10 I actually did this in Jerusalem, and I locked up many of the saints in prison, since I had received authority for that from the chief priests. When they were put to death, I was in agreement against them.
Paul was convinced that destroying the church was God’s will for him.
vs. 14 - Traditions - He wasn’t just following the Old Testament traditions but the traditions that were added over time.
Paul was a violent guy before he met Jesus his savior.
He might have been comparing himself to one of his heros - Elijah with his zeal for the Lord.
Elijah was a man of fire
He called down fire on soldiers sent to seize him 2 Kings 1
He called down fire on the prophets of Baal 1 Kings 18
He would have been feared by those who were taken to idol worship
Paul may have seen himself in the same line as Elijah. I am doing righteous work.
Paul is the example of a sincerely misdirected man.
This is how my hero did it.
He sincerely believes that he is taking the right path but then he is confronted with the truth.
Literally Jesus coming right before him.
His conversion: God’s work of grace
His conversion: God’s work of grace
15 But when God, who from my mother’s womb set me apart and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me, so that I could preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone.
Conversion involves God’s intervention.
Pauls uses the word BUT to transition from the picture he painted of his lost life to a new breaking in by God.
BUT is a transition word that he frequently uses in the Scripture to talk about these two different states.
The other team scored a touchdown, but there was a flag on the play!
He got hit in the face with the ball, but nothing was broken.
You have cancer, but it can be treated!
I was on the verge of suicide, but God kept me alive!
BUT - is a word of rescue of a change in our situation.
BUT - is a word of rescue of a change in our situation.
3 We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, 5 made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!
3 For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved by various passions and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, detesting one another.
4 But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared, 5 he saved us—not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy—through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
God is intimately involved in a rescue mission for us.
Conversion involves God’s eternal planning.
vs. 15 - God, who from my mother’s womb set me apart and called me by his grace.
Paul understands that God has a plan for his people. He has chosen us as a people for Himself as part of that eternal, sovereign, and gracious plan.
Think about how Paul words this transition. God knew him from His mother’s womb. Before he was born. So as Paul is talking about his religious zeal in the past he is recognizing that he himself was rebelling against God for years.
God had remained patient with him even through that rebellion.
Question
Do you see that God is patient with us as well?
Conversion involves God’s gracious calling.
God’s call is an action call. When God calls things happen.
God says let there be light and there is light.
Jesus said to the waves “be still” and it gets still.
Jesus called Lazarus out of the tomb and Lazarus came. Jesus didn’t have to go in and do CPR or work magic over his body. Jesus’ words bring life.
If you are a Christian, at some point in time, you sensed God’s call on your life.
It may have felt very tangible. Like a weight that meant something.
Maybe after a sermon, or maybe after a worship experience, or maybe even during a mundane task that you were involved in.
Paul’s call was on the road to Damascus.
“God called me by his grace”.
Even though in Paul’s mind what he was doing was good in good’s plan it was not.
God did not strike him down on the road, he didn’t say I am giving up on you.
You messed up one too many times, so you are through.
God’s call actually gave Paul a big mission.
I want you on the team, and I’ve done everything needed for that, and I’ve got a big mission for you.
Conversion involves seeing the glory of Christ.
Paul had his eyes opened to the wonderful reality of Jesus Christ as our crucified, risen, and now reigning savior.
Paul knew about the Christian teaching and he was railing against that. He was repulsed by the idea of a crucified Messiah - “any one who is hung on a tree is cursed!”
And the Christ was revealed to him.
6 For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ.
Like Paul we were spiritually blind to who Christ Jesus was.
And it should be our duty to pray for those who are still in that state. “Lord, reveal yourself and your glory to.......” Who is your ONE?
Question
Is your life defined by rejoicing because Jesus has been made known to you?
His post-conversion: Faithfulness to Jesus
His post-conversion: Faithfulness to Jesus
16 to reveal his Son in me, so that I could preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone. 17 I did not go up to Jerusalem to those who had become apostles before me; instead I went to Arabia and came back to Damascus.
18 Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to get to know Cephas, and I stayed with him fifteen days. 19 But I didn’t see any of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. 20 I declare in the sight of God: I am not lying in what I write to you.
21 Afterward, I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 I remained personally unknown to the Judean churches that are in Christ. 23 They simply kept hearing, “He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they glorified God because of me.
Like Paul, we can say that Christ now lives in us.
Like Paul, we can say that Christ now lives in us.
Paul recognizes that by accepting the gospel message he has become one with Christ. “Christ lives in me” is what he says in Gal. 2:20.
With that we don’t try and live our lives by our own power. Paul’s going to give us a clue as by how we are to live in passages like
3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by the Spirit, are you now finishing by the flesh?
We live in the Spirit. Before we had to try and make it on our own. And now we have the help of the Spirit because we are sealed by the Spirit.
9 You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him.
We also share in the responsibility of making Christ known to others.
We also share in the responsibility of making Christ known to others.
There was purpose in Paul’s calling.
v. 16 - so that I could preach to the Gentiles
Paul’s conversion didn’t just bring a benefit for himself. The blessing and purpose was much larger.
Paul says that I was called, “so that I could preach Him among the gentiles”.
You are my purpose Paul tells the church of Galatia.
“You’ve been told that I am preaching a false gospel. A gospel that I twisted after I sat under the real Apostles teaching. You claim that I am twisting it for my own advantage, to gain a greater audience for myself.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
I’ve already told you that I am not trying to please men, but only God himself.
In fact my message came straight from Jesus himself, and let me give you a little history lesson about my life.
After I had an encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus I didn’t even go back to Jerusalem to start my ministry.
I went to Arabia.
I had fashioned myself as the earlier prophets. Zealous for my cause and ready to do anything for it.
Elijah was stopped in his tracks. Going back to Mt. Sinai to meet with God afresh.
But just like Elijah had to have the Mt. Sinai moment with God to receive a fresh calling I too had that moment when I took myself to the mountain to hear from God in a fresh way.
Mt. Sinai (God’s mountain) being in the area of Arabia that Paul mentions.
It would be 3 years before Paul would make a serious trip to Jerusalem to check in with the other Apostles.
This is a bit of a time of silence for Paul. He was preaching the gospel of Jesus but had been staying away from other church groups.
It was probably a time on his own.
Some say that it was a time of training for him as Jesus had spent three years with the other Apostles.
And so he spends this time doing his work.
Working his calling and then he has opportunity to meet with the other leaders of the church.
Galatians tells us that he meets with Peter (who is called Cephas) in this text and also the brother of Jesus, James (another disciple who denied who Jesus was early on and then came to saving faith after his resurrection.
Paul could say that he received his calling, preached his message, and then had that fully confirmed when he finally met with the other leaders.
There is no way that he made up what he had given to the Galatian churches.
God’s transforming grace is amazing.
God’s transforming grace is amazing.
Paul summarizes God’s work to the Corinthian church by saying:
18 Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.
I find this so comforting. God did the initiating, Jesus made the sacrifice, and we’ve been given a vision and goal. We are not wandering around on our own.
Paul’s own story is quite amazing
Paul’s own story is quite amazing
Pre-conversion: Paul was a fanatic headed in the wrong direction.
Conversion: God put his grace on display.
Post-conversion: Paul’s story is that of one who is a faithful proclaimer of Jesus, who gave him the message.
Paul tells us that one of the results is that the other followers of Jesus were amazed about his conversion.
24 And they glorified God because of me.
Paul’s story tells us that no one is beyond God’s reach. There is no one who can’t be included in the Kingdom of God. This should give us hope.
Paul’s story tells us that no one is beyond God’s reach. There is no one who can’t be included in the Kingdom of God. This should give us hope.
Paul had an amazing testimony.
But guess what so do you.
You and I were separated from God’s purpose.
We were spinning our wheels.
And then Jesus broke through in our lives on his terms and in His way and said welcome to the family!
That is an amazing testimony.
So, the question stands,
So, the question stands,
“who is your ONE?”
“who is your ONE?”
who is the one who needs our prayer.
Who needs our encouragement.
And who needs to hear about the freedom that you have experienced through Jesus Christ.
End Big!
Questions
Why should Paul’s conversion and commission encourage us?
How does Paul attribute his conversion to God’s efforts instead of his own?
What is the most important lesson that you have learned from chapter 1?
* Outline based on Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary