Galatians 1 - How Free Are You?

We are so excited that you’ve joined us this morning as we kick off our series through Galatians titled:

JESUS + NOTHING. If you have your Bible with you (& we hope you do), please open to Galatians 1 as we spend a few minutes reading through the text together.

Galatians 1 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; 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. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother. (In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!) Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” And they glorified God because of me.

May God & a blessing to the reading of His Word. Let’s Pray-

Last week’s message had a lot to do with freedom & truth & how we drift away from truth. Our Series through Galatians, and today’s message in particular will continue to explore some of these important themes.

We see from the text that Paul is the author & he’s writing to the churches in Galatia, which isn’t a city but a region similar to a large county or small state in our thinking- situated in the middle of modern-day Turkey. The people who lived in this region were known as Galatians because they originally migrated from Gaul or ancient France.

Many scholars believe that this was Paul’s earliest epistle or letter and it stands apart from others in its boldness & directness. Maybe he softened in his approach over the years, but we see none of that here. Paul, led by the Holy Spirit, is writing because he’s received very alarming news about the Galatians drifting from the one true gospel he had given to them when he planted churches in the area.

Based on clues from Acts 13-16, scholars debate the exact timing of these events, but a reasonable conjecture (or educated guess) at the timeline can be made, as you’ll see up on the screen.

Now, we won’t go over this entire timeline, but It’ll be available for you later online with these slide notes. I just want to point out a few quick things:

Saul, who later became know as Paul, the persecutor of Christians had his saving encounter with Jesus around 34 AD.

Some 14 years later around 47-48 AD, Paul & Barnabas depart on that first missionary journey to the Gentiles, planting churches as they go including in Galatia.

Maybe a year or two after that, Paul penned this (probable 1st) epistle to the Galatians … not long at all!

Paul & other apostles visited the Galatians at least 2 more times - which gives me hope! They accepted this correction, and ceased their drift away from the gospel! Paul’s strong rebuke was effective!

Understanding a little about this timeline is critical. As we put these events in context, we begin to grasp the depth of Paul’s anguish and anger at what’s happening in these churches.

Unlike most of Paul’s other letters, there is no commendation for the people he’s writing to, he is too consumed with the urgency of the situation. Even in his greeting we can hear it. In V. 1 Paul establishes that he is an Apostle who was not called or appointed by any man, but by Jesus & the Father (many see a little jab there) ‘who raised him from the dead’ Paul is already infusing his letter, here in the greeting, with corrective theology & doctrine. He boldly asserts in V.1 that God the Father raised Jesus the Son from the dead (so much good stuff here…).

As we continue to read, we see in V. 3 his typical ‘Grace & Peace’ salutation- and we readers are reminded that you can’t get to Peace unless Grace comes first, & it’s not Paul’s grace that he’s wishing upon them, it is from God our Father & the Lord Jesus Christ (notice the word Lord there? - Paul wants to make it clear that Jesus is in charge). Paul continues with more of the gospel: in V. 4: WHO GAVE … gave what? Gave Himself!

John 3:16 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

We see there that God GAVE the Son and here in V.4 we see the Son gave Himself. WHY? To deliver us from this present evil age according to the will of the Father! This was good news in the first century & it’s still good news in the 21st century!

So far, Paul is just reminding them of the gospel he’s already taught them, but with the greeting completed, we quickly understand the cause for the letter in verses 6-8. Paul writes:

Galatians 1:6–10 ESV

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.

Did you happen to watch that Bible Project video we put on Facebook outlining Galatians? If not, please take 10 minutes and check it out this week, it’s a great tool to see what’s really going on in Galatia & some of these other early churches.

The Galatians had been taught by Paul & Barnabas and given the true gospel of Jesus had allowed some to trouble them, some who distort the gospel by adding requirements and prerequisites to it. The Judaizers, who we’ll learn more about in the coming weeks convinced the gentile Galatians that they needed to become Jewish and observe the law before they could become Christians. But Paul says NO. No way, no how! He says it’s Jesus + Nothing. He doesn’t care who shared it with them, whether a noble Jew, an Angel or even Paul himself, he says if they share another gospel contrary to the one he originally taught them, that person is sharing a false gospel and should be accursed!

Paul says, I’m not concerned with what this crowd, the Judaizers will think of him, he’s not trying to please them (or any man), he only wants to please God. He continues this thought in the next couple of verses:

Galatians 1:11–12 ESV

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.

He reiterates that the gospel he preaches is not from a man, but from a direct revelation of Jesus Christ. The gospel is repeated often in the New Testament and especially in Paul’s letters but appears no where as succinctly as it does in 1 Cor 15.

1 Corinthians 15:3–4 (ESV)

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.

At it’s essence & at its core, that is the Gospel, that Jesus died for our sins, as had been prophesied, He was buried and on the Third Day He rose to life again, in fulfillment of prophecy, having achieved and demonstrated victory over sin and over death.

The gospel is not complicated… & yet people try to make it more difficult to understand and comprehend. The gospel brings liberty & freedom & yet the Galatians were quick to dispense with that liberty and put back on the bondage of performance when the followed the Judaizers in believing that they could ‘work harder to become more Jewish and so earn God’s favor’.

Before we judge the Galatians too harshly, we should consider the words of the old Presbyterian radio preacher J. Vernon McGee who put it this way:

These Gallic Celts had much of the same temperament and characteristics of the American population, that is, of those who came out of Europe or England. It is interesting to see what was said concerning my ancestors (and maybe yours). Many of these Germanic tribes were wild and fierce. Caesar said of them: "The infirmity of the Gauls is that they are fickle in their resolves, fond of change, and not to be trusted." This description fits the majority of Americans in our day. We are fickle in our resolves. We are fond of change-we want a new car every year. We like to get the magazine that is dated next week. Another described them as "frank, impetuous, impressionable, eminently intelligent, fond of show, but extremely inconstant, the fruit of excessive vanity." That is a picture of the American population today.

Caesar made his observations in the 2nd century BC, this quote from Dr. McGee came was written in the early 1970s.... what would they think of Americans today? If the Galatians were infirmed by their uncommitted and irresolute, what does that make Americans in 2021?

In our Friday Night Bible Study, we’re currently studying the book of Romans, one of Paul’s other wonderful letters, and as we were reading the hard truths of Chapter 1 the other night, we saw this in verse 25:

Romans 1:25 (ESV)

...they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

This fickleness of the Galatians and this tendency for people to exchange the truth of God for a lie (or a pack of lies) could never be more true of a people & a time than it is for Americans in 2021.

One of the biggest lies that we hear in our culture and sometimes even among those is the church is this:

All Roads Lead to Heaven

-you can substitute the word road for beliefs or religions and heaven for God or eternal life.

As we read last week,

John 14:6 ESV

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Jesus is clear on this point. All roads or all religions do not lead to heaven or salvation or God. As an Army Chaplain, I fight for the rights of every service member to believe and worship as their conscience dictates. I understand that we operate in a pluralistic environment and I champion the 1st amendment freedom of religion. HOWEVER, I do not pretend that all religions are true or equal or that various truth claims are interchangeable. For a Christian to say that all roads lead to heaven is to preach another gospel and Paul has reminded us that if we do that, we are accursed.

That one was pretty easy to understand. Just take monotheism for instance- in Christianity a core foundational Biblical belief is in the trinity, God is One God in 3 persons, Father, Son & Holy Spirit. We are monotheists… so if we speak to someone that believes there are multiple (g)ods, we can’t both be right. We must hold firm to the gospel and the simple foundational doctrines of the faith.

I will not denigrate any other faith from this pulpit but here’s a word of caution for Christians in 2021. It is possible for someone who is not a Christian to use all of the same vocabulary that you do and they may even call themselves Christian, but please dig a little deeper to ensure that they are not only using the same words, but the same dictionary. Make sure that when they are speaking about Jesus that they describe Him the way the Bible does and that there are no hints at some other gospel in there message. Jesus (as defined by the Bible) plus nothing!.

The Judaizers were intent on getting the Galatians and other gentile Christians to follow the Mosaic law in all ways before they could follow Jesus. As Judge will unpack for us next week, this even went so far as to require Gentile Christians to become circumcised as Jews as part of their conversion. While we can recognize that as extreme legalism and applying standards that God never required, it is still very easy for us to exchange truth for lies and put barriers between ourselves or others & Jesus. As we wrap up our time together I want to take us through a series of questions-

Have you ever:

Imposed extra rules of conduct, not prescribed by the Bible (for good Christians). Think ‘Footloose’ or un-approved media’. Those things may not be wise, but are they truly matters of salvation?

Specified only one authorized version of the English Bible?

Condemned those who keep the Sabbath differently than you do?

Esteemed a certain teacher, sect or denomination & their teaching higher than the Word of God?

Been required to maintain a certain level of giving to become or sustain your membership in a Church?

Ridiculed others because of particular clothing and/or grooming?

Embracing political views over Biblical views?

Put others down for the way they choose to educate their children?

If we answered yes to one or more of those questions, there’s a good chance that we’ve let legalism slip in and fog up our Biblical World-View. Sure, we may not be demanding that people eat Kosher or get circumcised, but in suggesting that people can earn more of God’s favor by loving & following Jesus (+ ANYTHING) we are putting ourselves or others back into bondage that Jesus freed us from.

As the worship team comes back remember the words of this 1865 Hymn, and sing it with me if you know it:

Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.

This week I’m going to search my ways, what I think, what I say & what I do… I’m going to pray and ask the Lord to reveal to me if there are any hurdles I put in front of people to freely receive the Gospel of Jesus that was so costly to our Lord. I invite you to join me in asking the Lord to reveal any legalism that may have crept in and that we would take the Lord’s correction, as the Galatians did and continue to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus in a manner that is led by the Holy Spirit and brings glory to our Father in Heaven.

As we’ll do every week, our team is standing by to pray with you during this closing song or after we’ve dismissed today. If you have business with the Lord, Come- His alter is open!

Galatians 1:1–3 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,