Old Time Religion isn't Really Old

Paul - Apostle who went all over the Gentile World planting church. He would raise up pastors and and go start another church. To help them while he was gone, he wrote letters… Galatians, Philippians, Romans…

Galatians - in the heart of modern day Turkey. right after he left, some Christian Jews who were off doctrinally, came behind him and told the Christians in Galatia that they were doing it all wrong. They told them that they actually had to be Jews first before they could convert to Christianity.

Galatians was actually written to correct wrong doctrine.

Galatians 1:1–5 NLT

1 This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead. 2 All the brothers and sisters here join me in sending this letter to the churches of Galatia. 3 May God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. 4 Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live. 5 All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.

The next verses are the key of this chapter. The rest of the chapter is historical. Look whats’ happening.

Galatians 1:6–7 NIV

6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.

Different gospel - The Jewish Christians were telling the new Christians that they had to be circumcised to become a Christian.

These people were trying to pervert the Gospel. We do this today. We try to revert back to works and trying to earn God’s favor. Too many people have been exposed to these mean Christians… it’s a religion and not a relationship. The other gospel actually pushes people away.

How am I going to become godly?

What is going to be my approach to God… to serving him?

Unfortunately most people choose the approach that’s like the other religions. They choose to approach God on their own.

Look at the first story in the Bible…

Genesis 2:8–9 NLT

8 Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made. 9 The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Most people think that Eve and Adam chose to walk away from God, but that’s not true. Look at the choice they had. They actually had the choice of being more like God. Satan tricked them.

Genesis 2:16–17 NLT

16 But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”

Sin will kill you… your emotions… your families… your workplace...

Genesis 3:1–7 NLT

1 The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” 2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’ ” 4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” 6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

Satan inserted doubt into Eve about what God said. That’s the same thing these Jewish Christians were doing here in Galatia.

The devil did not appeal to Eve’s desire to be rebellious or evil. He appealed to her desire to be godly… or to be like God.

They chose the wrong gospel and shame followed. Shame always follows sin… even if it’s choosing the wrong Gospel.

One Gospel focuses on what you do

You focus on what you do… how many chapters you read today… I bet I read more than… How long you prayed… How many good deeds you did… and its never enough!

The focus should be on

One Gospel focuses on what Jesus has done

Jesus did it all on the cross. Jesus took care of guilt. You feel guilty, for the most part, because you are guilty, but Jesus paid your bill. You cannot earn it… Jesus took care of it if you turn to him.

When we read the bible we should not worry about how much of the Bible we read, but how much of Jesus we find in it.

John 5:39–40 NLT

39 “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! 40 Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.

One Gospel focuses on getting God’s Approval

Some believe that God is mad at them.

There are different views of God in different regions. South - God is angry at us. How many of you remember Chick Tracs? the problem was that God was always a BIG, HOLY Angry God. Some people see God like the Wizard of OZ. Dorothy goes to the Wizard… he’s mad at her and she hasn’t met him yet. What do you want? I want to go to heaven. go get the broom… go earn it. US - What do you want? Heaven… go earn it.

Listen to me. How you see God will determines how you relate to God. How you see him will determine how you interact with him.

How you see God will determine how you relate to God

ILL - you have done some stuff this week you should not have… so in church tonight you say, I better not clap too loud tonight because I am a hypocrite.

One Gospel focuses on receiving God’s Love

Romans 5:8 NLT

8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

His love changes everything.

1 John 4:19 NIV

19 We love because he first loved us.

He loved me when I was an idiot. I get to serve him even though I don’t deserve it.

One Gospel focuses on external duty

One Gospel focuses on internal desire

1 John 5:3 NLT

3 Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.

They are if you are not in love with God. Everything changes because of Love

1 John 5:12 NLT

12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.

So how do we approach God… We wan to live and eat from the Tree of life, not the tree of the knowledge of Good and evil.

Living in the Tree of Life

How do we do it?

1. Fall in love with Jesus

Who he is and what he has done. When I really know who Jesus is… a loving God who laughs in heaven, who forgives me....

When I look at what he did… he paid my bill.

these things change everything and make it easy to love God.

John 14:15 NIV84

15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command.

Love him… then you obey him. You don’t obey him first…

Which side of the comma are you living on? Love or obey?

2. Don’t allow condemnation

Don’t allow it. That’s what the Jewish Christians did behind Paul… they will do it here tonight. People will try to move you back to the other Gospel… the other tree of knowledge of Good and Evil. Tendency is to go back into a performance based religion.

One way you can know what tree you are living in is by how you view other people’s sin. You can’t judge others unless you are in the other tree.

Romans 8:1–2 NIV

1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

The Spirit gives life…

Here is the key, we have to ...

3. Make the choice every day

We have to choose to live by the Gospel Paul Preached… the tree of life, not the three of knowledge of Good and evil.

Deuteronomy 30:19 NLT

19 “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!

Conclusion

I want to invite you tonight into the tree of life… to live by the real Gospel.