The Gospel Centered Church

So one of the questions that I have gotten asked over the last few weeks has been something to the effect of this: “What’s been the most the best thing so far and the most challenging thing so far starting out at Heucks.”

Believe it or not my answer is the same for both of those questions.

The best thing so far has been getting to know people. I have loved being able to get to know the people that are sitting in this room. I feel like God made me to be a pastor and nothing has been more fulfilling than being able to do that over these last few weeks.

What you need to know is…does this guy preach the gospel...

And that’s why we are studying the book of Galatians…Galatians is a book that is all about the Gospel.

If I had to choose one book that has had more influence on church history more than any other Galatians would be on the short list.

Timothy Keller said of the book, “Galatians is a little bomb.” It’s a small but explosive little letter.

Jerome…one of the early church Fathers…said that when he read Paul’s letters he could hear thunder. Galatians is like a thunderstorm....it has changed the course of human history in more ways than one.

The Protestant Reformation began, at least in part, because of Martin Luther’s preaching and writing on Galatians. He called Galatians his “Katie Von Bora” because this letter was as dear to him as his own wife. Just imagine saying to your wife, “Baby…I love you like I love the book of Galatians...”

Galatians is a great book not because of who wrote it or who it was written to…it is a great book because of what it’s about…THE GOSPEL…

And my hope for us as we study this great book is that God would awaken our hearts once again to the simplicity and the complexity of what the gospel is all about.

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So this morning as we begin our study through the book of Galatians…we are going to start with where Paul started…in the introduction...

We sometimes have a tendency to skim over the opening words to get to the real heart of the letter. We kind of treat them like flight instructions on a plane. “Im a grown man....I know how to buckle a seat belt and I dont think im gonna need a life jacket while i fly from Jackson to Dallas...” But to skip over the opening words of Galatians would be a big mistake.

Galatians 1:1–5 ESV

1 Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

There are four Gospel Themes found in the introduction that run throughout the rest of the letter. They are like four rooms in a house that Paul enters in and out of…

Where the Gospel is From

Who the Gospel is For

What the Gospel is About

Why the Gospel Matters

Where the Gospel is From

Galatians is a book that clarifies where the gospel comes from…

It is clear from this letter that Paul’s ministry was under attack by people who were in Galatia. They were undermining Paul’s credibility as an apostle. They were arguing that a person couldnt be a Christian unless they observed particular rituals and Jewish cerimonies.

As a result they were attacking Paul as the messenger because they didn't agree with Paul’s message...

So because of that…Paul opens the letter with a defensive tone. His first word is literally “NOT”

Galatians 1:1 ESV

1 Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—

What is “An Apostle”

Apostle simply means “a messenger”

The word is used in the NT in two ways.

First, the general sense of the word.

Phillipians 2:25—Titus is called an Apostle.

2 Cor. 8:23—Paul calls his “brothers” apostles of the churches and of the glory of Christ.

Hebrews 3:1—Even Jesus is called an Apostle.

Second though is the particular sense of the word: Which is how Paul uses it here. We find examples in the NT (like 1 Cor. where Jesus appointed particular men to preach the gospel and write the NT.

So when Paul says that he is An Apostle…or “One who is sent” Not from men nor through men…but through Jesus Christ and God the Father....” What’s he saying?

Let’s read it with the description of what the word “Apostle” means

“Paul, a divinely appointed messenger, NOT FROM MEN NOR THROUGH MEN…but of Jesus Christ…and God the Father

AKA…I don’t speak on behalf of any human figure or authority…I speak on behalf of God...

You see Paul understood that the church didnt need any message from a human figure or authority…Paul understood that the church needed God’s word.

This is why in Acts 2:42 we see the church devoting themselves to the Apostle’s Teaching…because they understood that God spoke through them.

And here at Heuck’s, this is what we need.…we must devote ourselves to the Apostle’s Teaching as well…Where do we get that teaching…RIGHT HERE...

We do not need the word of Jonathan…We need the word from Jesus.

The gospel is from God…and as a result of that…we can trust it…we can believe it…it is an anchor for our soul...

“AND ALL THE BROTHERS WHO ARE WITH ME”

PAUL MENTIONS THE FACT THAT HE ISNT THE ONLY ONE THAT BELIEVES WHAT HE BELIEVES...

Here’s just a side note…if we look around and we are the only one’s that believe something about God…like if NO ONE else agrees with us…it is probably the case that we are the one’s and not everyone else.

Who the Gospel is For

Galatians 1:2b ESV

2 and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia:

Unbelievers

The gospel, as Romans 1: 17 says… “Is the power of God for salvation.”

When the gospel is preached: sinners are saved and the lost are found....

So when I preach…I will always do my very best to preach in a way where people who dont know Jesus can understand the gospel.

So bring people with you to church if you dont think they know Jesus…seriously…you shouldnt feel bad about inviting people to church if they dont know Jesus…sometimes we forget that we werent always saved…we all were unbelievers at one point…and a lot of us came to faith because they brought us to church with them.

Believers

But the gospel isn't just a message to unbelievers…it is a message to believers.

Paul writes “to the churches of Galatia”

Paul was preaching the gospel to Christians…or at least those who claimed to be Christians...

Here’s the point…we should never think that we have moved beyond the gospel.

If we ever add to the gospel—we are a legalist cult

If we ever take away from the gospel—we are liberal pluralists, or naturalists…or something else…but we arent Christian...

We have to hold fast to the gospel from beginning to end as followers of Jesus....we never move past the gospel…we only grow deeper into the gospel...

One writer said it this way:

“We shouldn't imagine the gospel as a class, we should imagine it as the entire school.”

My pastor through my college years, Tony Merida, said it like this: “The gospel changes everything, including the way you treat your wife, handle your finances and deal with anxiety. A lot of teenagers dont get excited about the gospel because they dont think they need it. Their parents have raised them as self-righteous Pharisees; because that’s what their parents are...”

Strong words…but it’s true…it is possible for us to live our entire lives claiming to follow Jesus…but if we move beyond the gospel…we dont just move beyond the Gospel…we move all the way beyond Jesus himself…we’ve moved beyond Christianity...

What the Gospel is About

The gospel is all about God’s grace given to undeserving sinners...

One writer captured what the gospel was all about very well when he said:

Therefore, God accepts only the forsaken, cures only the sick, gives sight only to the blind, restores life to only those who are dead, sanctifies only the sinners, gives wisdom only to the fool. In short, He has mercy only on those who are wretched, and gives grace only to those who are not in grace. Therefore, no proud saint, wo wise or just person, can become God’s material, and God’s purpose cannot be fulfilled in him. He remains in his own work and makes a fictitious, pretended, false, and painted saint of himself, that is, a hypocrite.”

Galatians 1:3–4 ESV

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

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Why is Grace Amazing?

Grace is Amazing Because It’s Free! Grace is unmerited favor…meaning there’s nothing we could ever do to earn it…and if we cant earn it…it means there’s nothing we can do to lose it…We are brought to grace by God…and we are kept in Grace by God...

God’s Grace is Amazing Because it Transforms Us: Paul said, “by the grace of God i am what I am”

As John Newton—the man who wrote the Hymn “Amazing Grace” once wrote, “Though I am not what I ought to be, nor what I wish to be, nor what i hope to be, I can truly say, I AM NOT WHAT I USED TO BE (CAN ANYONE SAY AMEN TO THAT THIS MORNING? WE ARENT WHAT WE USED TO BE!)

God’s Grace Brings Peace: The ordering in Pauls words here in verse 3 are intentional…because we have recieved the Grace of God…we have peace with God

The gospel also is about the acknowledgment of our sin...

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins....”

Grace is only avaliable to those who have a deep understanding of their sin....

Sin cannot be dealt with by human efforts...

Our situation in our sin was so desperate that the only remedy that could be if God himself made a way for us to be delivered from it.

No amount of church going, or bible reading, or praying, or law keeping will deliver us from the sin that enslaves us…the only way to experience deliverance from the power of sin is through the grace of Jesus Christ recieved by faith...

Why the Gospel Matters

Galatians 1:5 ESV

5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

The Gospel matters because the gospel is all about the glory of God...

We are not saved by our efforts…we are saved by God’s efforts given to us by His grace...

The gospel makes God the hero…not us...

Therefore…we boast not in our performance or our efforts…we boast only in the grace of God...

AND I cant think of any way for us to boast in the grace of God this morning than to celebrate the grace that we have recieved through the observance of the LORDS SUPPER