The Great Rescue

Intro

- The search for freedom

Ross and me tying each other up- got to a point where we couldn’t get out on our own

o Sometimes life feels like that- the continual feeling of being trapped- looking for a way to get out

o Many people live in this prison, yet they convince themselves “I’m fine” or they look for an escape in so many different things- relationships, money, or power

o In this search, there is hope, there is freedom and we find the path right here in the book of Galatians

- Overview of Galatians

o Sometimes called a short Romans

§ The cornerstone of the protestant reformation

§ Martin Luther even referred to it as his other wife- “I have betrothed myself to it”

o Gives a very clear and concise overview of Paul’s teachings and Christian theology in general

o Main themes

§ Christian liberty vs legalism

· The reality that we are justified by our faith in Christ, not by what we do

§ Freedom, identity, unity in Christ

o So why did Paul write this letter? - many letters were in response to problems in the churches, and this was no different

§ The Galatians received Christ when Paul’s first came to preach the good news of the gospel

§ A group of Jewish Christians taught them that they had to become like Jews (circumcision, eating kosher foods, obeying the sabbath)

· So really it was not primarily legalism (you must do these things), it was ethnocentrism (you must be like us)

§ They attacked Paul’s authority and claimed a “higher” authority of the apostles that traveled with Jesus.

§ Many bought into their teaching- perhaps they felt lost- couldn’t go to the pagan temples, couldn’t go to the Jewish synagogues

§ They thought that by submitting themselves to the mosaic laws, they would have the strength to overcome the sinfulness in their own lives and the world around them

o Freedom

§ The law serves to point out the wrong things that we do and makes us slaves to sin

· 3:10- For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written, Everyone who does not do everything written in the book of the law is cursed.

§ We cannot find freedom by obeying it

· 3:22- But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin’s power,, so that the promise might be given on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ to those who believe.

§ But where the law falls Short, God provides a way

- In these first 5 verses Paul is establishing his God-given authority and his Christ-centered message

- Read passage

Paul’s authority comes from God

sending one of the kids with a message- “tell Landon that dad said…”

A. Apostle- one given authority to represent another

1. Those given specific authority from Christ himself to be his representatives and to establish his church

2. Paul claimed to be an apostle in this sense, not subordinate to the original apostles (not from men) and therefore under their authority

a. This is what the Jewish teachers wanted the Galatians to believe- they sought to undermine Paul’s authority

B. How often do we do the same thing?

1. We may say we believe the words of Paul in the Bible, or any of the other books that the Bible contains, but what happens when we read things that we don’t like?- refer back to illustration

2. Are we ever guilty of challenging or rejecting what we read in God’s word?

a. Or perhaps we just bend it a little bit to fit what we think it should say.

3. If we believe that Paul’s authority is from Christ himself, if we believe that this book is the true inspired Word of God, then we must read it and act on it as if God is speaking to us, because he is!

Grace and Peace Come Only from Our God

A. Grace

1. Undeserved- God does not owe us

2. Unearned- there is nothing we can do to get it on our own

3. Unconditional- it is not based on our performance

B. Peace

1. With God

Rom. 5:1 “Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.”

2. With one another

Eph. 2:14 “For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.”

3. Within ourselves

Rom. 15:13 “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

C. Cause and effect

1. When we try to find peace from any other source, we will always be found wanting

2. The root and the fruit

3. True peace only comes because of the grace that God freely gives to us

Christ’s Divine Rescue

A. God the Father and Jesus are completely unified in this divine rescue

1. Paul emphasizes this unity- in the authority of his apostleship, in the giving of grace and peace, and in the work salvation

2. The will of the Father

a. Definite- necessitates action

b. God the Father- shows both his authority and power along with his love for us

3. Carried out by the willing sacrifice of the Son

B. Christ, the willing sacrifice (4)

1. He “gave himself”

2. For our sins- because of our sins

a. Through his death on the cross, Christ declare victory over sin

C. What was the purpose of Christ’s death?

1. To rescue us

a. 1 Tim 2:6- “who gave himself as a ransom for all”

2. From this present evil age

a. Gal. 4:3- “In the same way we also, when we were children, were in slavery under the elements of the world.”

b. NLT- “basic spiritual principles of this world”

3. Jesus offers freedom from the wickedness of this sinful world and from enslavement to an anti-God way of living

a. We look at the craziness and chaos around us and it isn’t hard to see that we live in a messed-up world

b. No amount of rule following or law making is going to rescue us from that

Conclusion

- Understanding the implications of this Christ-centered message should lead us to praise our God

o Glory belongs to God forever- for who he is and what he has done

- This was the gospel message that the Galatians heard from Paul the first time

o In the weeks ahead we are going to dig deeper into this book and see the challenges that arose within these churches and the importance of a right understanding of the gospel

So What?

- Do you recognize the authority of God’s Word in your life?

- Have you experienced the freedom that Christ offers?

o You can