Never White Noise

Review of overview

2 weeks ago, we began a new series on the epistle to the Galatians. We spent that first sermon working through an overview of the book, and I suggested that the theme of the book centered on the purity of the gospel. The apostle Paul, who was instrumental in planting the churches in Galatia, received word that trouble was emerging in the churches, and the trouble revolved around a corruption of the gospel. There were false teachers who, in a very subtle and compelling way, were teaching that the gospel of Jesus Christ was good but incomplete. In addition to trusting in Christ and what He accomplished through His death and resurrection, these teachers taught it is also necessary to obey some of the law. Essentially teaching that man could and must contribute to his right standing before God. A gospel that is Christ + faith + works.

Now why some of the Christians in these churches bought into this is probably not answered by one answer. There were, to be sure, multiple factors to consider. But what we suggested as a summary statement of the theme for Galatians was don’t mess with the gospel. Nothing needs to be added to it, taken away, altered in any way. It is a perfect message.

But why do people mess with the gospel. Why are we tempted, even those who are of the church, to adjust the gospel? As mentioned before, we may be tempted to minimize our sin and therefore our need for a Savior. We may presume, in some way, that we can handle life on our own. Or perhaps we attempt to compartmentalize Jesus. We might live as if the gospel message in one that only applies to our lives on Sundays or only among certain people or only in specific circumstances. Christ crucified and risen from the dead is for some of life but not all of life.

Why are we prone to think this way and live this way?

FCF: Some of the church have become unmoved by the gospel.

Which is so contrary to how God understands the good news he gave to His people. The prophet Isaiah was given a message to proclaim to his people (Israel), but it’s interesting what God made clear to Isaiah regarding his mission.

Isaiah 49:6 ESV

he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

The salvation of God is massive because it has changed and is changing the world.

Has the gospel become white noise to us? Has the fact that we all live before a holy and righteous God who will not permit any unholiness in His presence. The fact that we all, fall short of God’s righteous standard of holiness, and are therefore to have any fellowship with Him. And that a big problem, because the alternative to having fellowship with God being judged by God, and God is justified in judging people. But the good news is that God provided what people need to have fellowship with Him. Te redemptive work of Jesus. God’s people, instead of receiving His judgement, receive His mercy. And His mercy is expressed through the substitution of Jesus on the cross. We deserved to suffer and die for our sins, but Jesus did instead of His people. And not only did Jesus suffer and die, He rose from the dead. He is victorious, and His people are granted to result of that victory, which is fellowship with God. We have been made righteous in God’s sight. Blameless. Forgiven of our sins. Cleansed from our sins. And nothing can ever change this. Christ did it all, paid it all.... It is finished.

And for some, perhaps here today, this news is white noise. Maybe we’ve grown apathetic towards it. Maybe it’s become too familiar to us. Maybe another message has obtained our attention to such a degree, that we are hoping in a man made, man based, man promoted, man promoting message, that the true gospel has faded into the background of our lives. Regardless, when the gospel becomes white noise to us, we are unmoved by the gospel.

Big Idea: The gospel should move the church.

The Gospel should move us.

AQ: Why might the church be unmoved by the gospel?

Because we loose sight of

The divine agency of the gospel (1-2)

agency = the means by which the gospel came to us.

AQ: Why should the divine agency of the gospel make a difference to us?

because the gospel is the only message that came from God

apostle = one who is sent

in Paul’s case, he has received a special commission from Christ (Acts 9)

Paul is not mentioning the gospel yet but the fact that he refers to himself as an apostle, that is, one who is sent, at least indirectly refers to his mission. To be one who is sent, in this context is to be one who is sent by God. And God sent Paul on a mission to proclaim the gospel.

The gospel is not from men nor did it come through men.

All other messages that are preached (other than the gospel) are from man, and need, therefore, to be filtered through the gospel in order to be properly processed. Our favorite cable news channel is not preaching the gospel. They are preaching something, but what people who are striving to have a gospel-centered worldview must allow the gospel to be thee filter through which we hear the other messages that are preached to us everyday.

But what we need to know and embrace is that we have a message that is so clear and life-giving. And it is trustworthy, it is true, it is pure and it is perfect. The gospel is perfect because it doesn’t come from man, it comes from God.

and make no mistake, there is power in the gospel. the gospel transforms, breaks barriers, rearranges. The divine agency of the gospel should make a difference to us:

because the power of the gospel is the same power of the resurrection of Jesus

when we trust in the gospel ourselves, and when we hold forth the gospel to others, we are handling the most powerful message in the universe. There’s nothing ordinary or commonplace about the gospel. We should not be able to dwell upon the gospel without being stirred in our hearts.

This was significant for Paul. He, before being confronted by Jesus on the Damascus road was a persecutor of Christians. Now, even when he persecuted Christians, he did believe in resurrection from the dead. Many Jews did. He believed that God was a raiser of the dead. But now he had learned that Jesus was raised from the dead. Paul was commissioned to the work of the gospel as an apostle by the resurrected Jesus on the Damascus road. Jesus made clear to Paul that He had in fact been raised from the dead.

An notice the contrast Paul establishes here in v. 1. He begins by expressing his call as an apostle in a negative sense: not from men nor through man. Then he contrasts that statement with a positive: but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead. What Paul is doing here is showing that Jesus is much more than mere man. The gospel is a message that centers on Jesus. Jesus, who is much more than man. And notice the distinctives that Paul outlines about Jesus:

Jesus and the Father are unified. And this emphasizes the fact that Jesus is divine. He is God. And if Jesus were not divine, He could not redeem anyone. And if we don’t have a redeemer, we don’t have the gospel. No payment for sin. Not forgiveness of sin. No victory over sin. And all that leaves is the unsatisfied judgement of God against sin.

The fact that Jesus was raised from the dead after dying in the place of His people on the cross for their sins points us to the fact that sins has no authority over those who believe the gospel. Followers of Jesus are no longer slaves to sin. Consider Acts 2:24

Acts 2:24 ESV

God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

Even death itself is overcome through the resurrection of Jesus. This is what the gospel makes clear. This is why no one, who claims to have believed the gospel, who understands the gospel can become apathetic or indifferent towards the gospel.

The power of the gospel is the same power that was displayed in the resurrection.

Church, if you have grown callous towards the gospel, if you’re unmoved by the gospel, I’m pleading with you now not to be content with this posture towards the gospel… towards Christ. Remember what Paul said in Rom. 1

Romans 1:16 ESV

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

The gospel is the power of God. This is what we embraced when we confessed Jesus as Lord and Savior. The power of God. This is what we proclaim when we proclaim the gospel. The power of God.

The gospel should move us

Another reason why the church might be unmoved by the gospel is because we may have lost sight of:

The love of the gospel (3-4)

The gospel is a message of love. It is the most loving message there is.

AQ: Where is love in the gospel?

The victory of Jesus (3)

No doubt this is the common salutation Paul uses in his letters. But there is nothing common about the grace and peace of God. And the fact that anyone can be a recipient of God’s grace and peace is testimony to the fact that Jesus is victorious over sin and all that opposes God.

Grace is God’s unconditioned favor toward people. And this grace was expressed through the redemptive work of Christ

Peace is the state of life that comes to the benefactors of the grace of God. Peace with God and with one another.

Take away the conveniences of life. Take away our health. Take away having our expectations fulfilled by others. Take away all the things that we treasure and have come to even rely upon and leave us with the gospel of Christ. Leave us with the victory of Jesus, which grants us the grace and peace of God. That’s enough. Not only is that enough..... it is an abundance.

The victory of Jesus granted to His people in the gospel. That’s love.

We also see love in the gospel in:

The sacrifice of Jesus (4)

Notice how Paul describes what Jesus did in the crucifixion: He gave Himself. The death of Jesus was voluntary. He gave Himself. This is what Jesus said He came to do:

Mark 10:45 ESV

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Notice the word for here at the beginning of v. 4. It’s a preposition (some debate which word was actually used), but it seems it’s best understood like this:

who gave Himself on behalf of our sins. This is the only pathway to a right relationship with God. Through the death of Jesus, because His death was for or on behalf of our sins.

Love is also seen in:

The rescue of Jesus (4)

deliver = rescue

So the death of Jesus accomplished personal salvation for His people but it goes beyond this. There’s a wider context in play here. What Jesus accomplished through His redemptive work is directly related to His promises to His people as a collective. His church. All of us who are in Christ today. There are both individual and community implications here.

Notice the reference to the present evil age. Paul is saying that Jesus gave Himself for our sins to (for the purpose of) deliver us from this present evil age. The, perhaps, obvious question is, have we been delivered from this present evil age?

Present evil age

A future age of blessing and peace

Those whom Christ has purchased as His own have been delivered from the bondage of this present evil age but not from the effects of it yet. This is what one commentator said:

Galatians ((3) The Greeting (1:3–5))

The Christian now lives in profound tension between the No Longer and the Not Yet. (Timothy George)

The coming and death of Christ has changed everything. There is now real hope for the forgiveness of our sins. We do not have to live under the burden of our sin. Striving to impress God to merit His forgiveness or the futility of running away from God and pretending that our sin is not an issue. No, Jesus took care of the sin problem, and in this sense we can be delivered from this present evil age

But for those who belong to Christ, yes, we continue to be effected by the evil in this world. But our struggle and suffering that comes as a result from this evil is not the end of us. The is coming an age in which Jesus will return for His people, and establish His reign.

And the love of the gospel is evidenced in:

The will of the Father (4)

All of this, the death of Jesus, the deliverance of His people from sin, the rescue from the evil of this age, all of it was in accordance with the will of the Father.

We see the connection in the God-head referenced here. Jesus was a volunteer for the mission of redemption, and that was in accordance with the Father’s will.

Church, the gospel is a message of love. The love of God expressed to sinners. Our sin, our rebellion, our rejection of Him, did not stop Him from loving us. Jesus came, died in our place, took on the penalty of our sin, rose again and granted us His victory, not only over our sin and death now, but a peace in knowing that one day we will be rescued by Him from all that causes our suffering today.

The gospel should move us.

The reverence of the gospel (5)

AQ: What is to be revered in the gospel?

God’s supremacy

notice what Paul does here. This is the beginning of the letter. We just worked our way through his salutation (greeting). He ends the salutation with a doxology. We have 6 chapters to go, and Paul is already expressing a doxology. Why? Because all that he referenced so far.

The divine agency of the gospel

The love of the gospel

the fact that the grace of God and the peace of God are granted to God’s people

And that His people are granted a hope in the deliverance, not only from the bondage of their sins, but from a hopeless future. This present evil age is not the end for God’s people.

So yes, to Him be the glory forever and ever.

You see, the point here is to contemplate who God is and what He has done through Jesus is to glorify God.

God’s eternality

forever and ever - for all eternity is the most unlimited sense

In light of the gospel message, God’s people ascribe glory to Him now. But we need to know that He is worthy of our praise now, and He will be worthy of our praise for all eternity.

We know from John’s revelation that the people of God will be praising God together for all eternity. A glimpse into the throne room of God in heaven:

Revelation 7:9–10 ESV

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

The Gospel should move us.

Conclusion

You might have noticed I skipped v. 2. It may seem insignificant, but I want to take a moment to point a few things out that will emphasize something important to us:

We don’t know who all the brothers who are with Paul are. But these individuals are colleagues of Paul’s in the ministry of the gospel.

It seems to me that Paul’s purpose in mentioning these unnamed partners in ministry to the Galatian churches is to make clear that what he is about to express to these troubled churches summarized by urging them to not mess with the gospel, is not his viewpoint alone. It’s one shared by many others.

So members of New Life, please understand that what connects us to one another is the gospel itself. The message that proclaims that sinful people can have fellowship with a holy God through the redemptive work of Jesus.

So I invite you to join me in striving to not allow our proneness to distraction, our sinfulness, our tunnel-visioned tendencies to distract us from the glory that is in the gospel.

It centers on Jesus, and don’t loose sight of this Christian. The gospel makes clear that one day we will see Him face to face.