The Gospel

A. A Gospel that Converts(Verses 1-16)

While Paul believed that he was doing the right thing and that there was nothing wrong in his life he was living in opposition to the Will of God. Paul was zealous for Judaism and for the traditions of his fathers. Paul explains the depth of his sin and the immediate change in his hear and actions.

B. A Gospel that guides(Verses 17-21)

In verses 15-21 we see how God guided and directed Paul. He was not concerned with being the most well known apostle and spent very little time with the apostles if any at all. during this time Paul was not concerned with the laws of Judaism but with the freedom we find in Christ. The ability to worship God away from the rules and regulations. A True undefiled love of Christ.

C. A Gospel that brings Joy(Verses 23-24)

In verses 23-24 we see the reaction that the Gospel brought to the believers and to those surrounding Paul. Paul is displaying the power of the Gospel and its ability to save the sinner and to bring joy to the believer.

Introduction

Today we will begin a journey that will look into the church. What is it that makes the church special? How is it that the church has operated so long and what is our future. There are many out there that allow the church to conform to the world and equally as many out there that allow the church to conform to legalism that leads to hate. I want to challenge you that neither of those approaches are Biblical or appropriate. In the book of Galatians Paul is writing to the churches in the area of Galatia and is bringing them back to the proper Worship and belief. We begin this journey with the greatest aspect of the Church and that is the Gospel. Aside from the Gospel we are just another group of good hearted humans that want to do good for those around us. It is the Gospel that sets us apart from every other humanitarian group. We are not simply a group of people that want to do good but we want to do good so we can deliver a message of hope, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and gentleness. We want others to know of the God who saves, the God who has a plan and, the God who sacrificed His own son to rescue those He calls His children. I invite you to join us on this journey and to explore what it is that we should be doing as a church, how we are doing and how we can be better. This is a time for us to center ourselves at Highlands Baptist Church to see if we are doing the right things and to evaluate our direction. I pray that each of us will ensure that as the Church we are approaching our Faith and how we live that out as a Church with a desire to allow God to position us in any way He chooses. The first Chapter of Galatians is all about the Gospel, Paul systematically walks us through a defense of the gospel. Paul planted the churches in the area of Galatia and he taught them the pure gospel. The gospel of truth that he was in person given by God. You see Paul was not an uneducated man as a matter of fact he was very educated in Judaism and understood the law as no others his age did. While Paul was in route to persecute Christians he was blinded by God and given the opportunity to turn his life around. At that time in his life Paul found the true gospel and he became the missionary to the gentiles. The Gentiles were the people outside of the Jewish faith and the ones that did not follow the laws of Judaism. This is a pretty big point because what you must understand about what Paul was doing while persecuting Christians was that he was putting them to death for not following Judaism. After Paul’s conversion he became the missionary to those that would be considered unclean. The ones that He would not have associated with prior to the Gospel becoming real in his life. While planting churches in Galatia this is the Gospel that Paul taught the true Gospel not bound by the Jewish laws and customs. As he was traveling others came in and began to teach that uncircumcised men could not worship God unless they became circumcised and began teaching that in order to Worship God correctly you must follow all customs and traditions and laws of Judaism. When Paul found out what was being taught, he took the time to address the church and to bring their focus back on how they truly needed to worship and view the gospel. Paul began with reminding the Church of the Truth that converted him. He then moves on to a Truth that guided him, and lastly in chapter 1 he ends with a Truth that brought joy to those around him. Today we will look at each of these topics and we will reflect on how we are doing today at Highlands Baptist. If we are meeting the standard then we have reason to worship, if we are not then we have reason to stop and reflect and to make the necessary adjustments to be a Church that hold the True Gospel as our most precious aspect.

A Gospel that converts

Galatians 1:1–16 ESV

Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 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. But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone;

Paul as we already discussed was a very zealous young man. As a matter of fact he was well known in the region as the most prominent up and coming religious leader. Paul was the guy that was on every poster around town and every one looked to him as a guide to “truth”. Paul had spent the majority of his life studying the Torah or the first five chapters of the Bible and learning the laws and customs of Judaism. At the same time as Paul was coming up running parallel to him was the crucifixion of Christ and the fulfilment of the prophecies of God from the Old Testament. To Paul and to the leaders of Judaism these new Christians were a nuisance. They were spreading this lie and they were not holding to Jewish traditions. Paul began to go around killing these Christians in an attempt to silence them. In Paul's attempt to follow customs and laws he became a murderer. Paul became a name that Christians feared and they talked about how wicked he was.

I know that the perspective of me is that I was a perfect angel when I was growing up and that my Mother was so happy the day I was born because after holding my brother she held me and realized that she had bore a child that would truly be perfect in every way. While I would love to continue with that story I feel that I must stop that now before you actually fool yourself into believing that I’m perfect. While I will not air out my list of sins that I committed I can tell you that as I think about the ways I let the Lord down the list is not a short one. I have done some really stupid things in the past and I know that shocks you. One of the earliest memories I have is of me and my brothers getting on this tall stand-up dresser we had and jumping across the room onto our mattress. I have distinct memories of my mother coming into the room and threatening to spank us if we did not stop and we would stop for a short time. My brother and I climbed to the top of the dresser and I remember pushing him off the dresser, I was not trying to hurt him but he needed that extra distance to make it to the mattress. Well he did make it to the mattress but as he made it his ankle turned and he began to scream. As quickly as I could I got off the dresser and ran over to tend to his injury. As twins we had a pact from the womb never to intentionally get the other in trouble so the first thing I do to make sure he is ok is to ensure that he will not tell mom that I pushed him. After he verified that he would not tell mom then I began to try and help him cover for himself. As my mother made it to the room and saw my brother in tears with a swollen ankle we began our story telling trying to look at each other to ensure that we were not going to contradict each other. My mother asked what happened and we instantly answered at the same time. Problem was that he said that we were wrestling and I landed on his ankle and I said that he was standing on his head and when he came down he injured his ankle. Using powers that I believe only mothers possess she systematically and quickly tore our stories apart and almost like she watched it happen explained to us what he had done to get hurt. Of course because of the twin pact he did not tell her that I pushed him although thanks to Facebook streaming today that is out now(sorry mom).

The point of this story just like Paul’s story is that I am a sinner. Each and every person in this building today and at home or on the go today are thinking of sins that you committed that made it impossible for you to have a relationship with Christ. Paul happened to be a murderer but I was a lying kid, I have done much worse in my time on this earth but the point is that I am a sinner and apart from the Gospel in my life I would have been a lost cause. Just like Paul the Gospel has changed my life it converted me from a sinner to a sinner saved by grace. I am purchased with a price as you are and we are God’s hands and feet on this earth not to simply do good things but to do good so that the people around us may glorify our father in heaven. Do you view the Gospel as a gospel that can change lives? Is the gospel the most important aspect of Highlands Baptist Church. Why do we do the things we do? Is it because each of those things we do has a purpose to share the Gospel? Is the Gospel viewed as the Truth with the power to convert? If we do have this view of the Gospel and we do understand its power then we can move on as Paul did. Paul understood how the Gospel was a Truth that converted him, but it was also a Truth that guided him.

A Gospel that guides

Galatians 1:17–22 ESV

17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. 18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. 19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother. 20 (In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!) 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.

After giving a clear view of how the Gospel changed his life Paul moves on to defend the power of the Gospel through how it guided his life. Paul as we saw earlier was well educated in Judaism and was what we might see as a scholar. What did Paul know about Christianity? Paul did not study with the disciples and he did not sit with Jesus. As a matter of fact when it came to Christianity Paul would have been considered a new “baby” Christian. Paul began teaching the truth not of wisdom or being a scholar but the truth about what happened in his life. You see the Gospel that guides is not for only the Christians that attend seminary. Seminary is great but it is not a requirement of being guided by the gospel.

Have you ever heard of Charles Spurgeon? Spurgeon is the most widely read preachers outside of the bible and has authored 63 volumes of sermons. It was once said that a woman was saved from reading one page from a sermon Spurgeon preached that was wrapped around the butter that she had purchased. Spurgeon missed out on going to college after he was led to the wrong room and missed his interview with the dean. Spurgeon decided that he would not reapply and would allow God to direct him.

Please do not hear me say that higher education is not good, but to limit ones ability to be used by God because of a lack of higher education is to limit God’s ability to use them. What Paul was saying in this passage is that he recieved no formal education from any apostle or disciple but the Gospel has the power to guide and to direct. Paul was used to author almost 1/3 of the New Testament 28% to be exact with what we can verify Paul personally wrote. The only time Paul did meet with the Apostles we would see in Chapter 2 of Galatians was to ensure that he was not not running in vain or delivering a false gospel and without his education and without formal instruction from other apostles we find that they all gave their hand in fellowship to Paul. There are a few questions that need to be asked at this point. First, do you view the Gospel as strong enough to guide you to be powerful in the delivery of the message of salvation? Second, do we as a Church use the Gospel as our guide. Do we reflect every ministry and every financial choice in view of the Gospel and trust that it has the power to not only allow us to survive, but to thrive? If you find yourself limiting yourself because you feel un-qualified then I challenge you to reflect on Paul and to follow his example. It is not about knowing the big words or every bit of history, the Gospel is your story. It is how God changed your life. That is all Paul shared for the first 14 years of his ministry! If as a church we are not allowing the gospel to guide us I pray that we will shift our hearts and actions towards the gospel and away from whatever we have allowed to guide our choices. Many churches allow finances, or the desire to have a large congregation to drive them and can I tell you that neither of those are the biblical stance. Those will fall into place when we use the Gospel of Truth to guide us. Paul did not stop there though as he closes chapter 1 Paul tells us that the gospel not only converted him, it guded him, but it also brought Joy to those it was shared with.

A Gospel that brings joy

Galatians 1:23–24 ESV

23 They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they glorified God because of me.

In closing today I encourage you to reflect on your life and whether the gospel is bringing you joy through a constant reminder of your conversion in faith and also how it guides your life. As a church does the gospel hold its rightful place in the center of every decision we make because it had the power to change us and has the power to change all those that we come in contact with. How are we using our finances, our buildings, our people to increase that ability to extend the gospel? You see because when we utilize the gospel as the center of all we do we will find joy. Notice I did not say we will find a packed sanctuary or an overflowing bank account. Those things may happen and would be pretty amazing to see. Regardless of those we will have joy. Our church will be a church of joy! Through the hard times we have joy, through the great times we have joy. When the Gospel is the center of a church and its mission is to spread the gospel then there will be no stopping that church. When Churches shut down because they lose their building the Gospel wasn't the purpose, when the gospel is the purpose your building is just a tool. We must ensure that the Gospel is the reason that we operate on a daily basis. That the Gospel is what makes us new each and every day regardless of how we fail the day before. The Gospel brings joy. I read the Gospel Herald from time to time, here is an excerpt that stuck with me

Joyfulness is characteristic of the soul that lives in communion with God, and that soul unconsciously will persuade others to "taste and see that the Lord is good," and that "blessed is the man that trusteth in Him."

Parents sometimes make the mistake of talking too much to their children about salvation, and showing too little joy and pleasantness around them.

No grouty, sullen Christian has any influence in the home, or in the church. How can the world that is bent on seeking pleasure be persuaded to accept anything that will not add to their happiness?—Gospel Herald.