What is Paul Calling Evil?

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Galatians 1:1-9 Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers who are with me,

To the churches of Galatia:

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

6 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— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 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. 9 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.

Opening Prayer

Paul’s Desire for the Galatians

Last Sunday we looked at the heart of the Apostle Paul...

First and foremost for the Lord.

Secondly, and that which overflows from it is a love for the Lord’s people.

Not only the known people of the Lord…known converts...

But, for the unconverted.

The lengths at which the Apostle Paul went...

The suffering he endured physically and emotionally...

For the sake of the Church of the Lord.

The people of God.

Paul had exerted himself for the sake of the churches of Galatia.

He’d endured much in order to preach the gospel to them...

To establish the foundation of the churches...

To have elders appointed in the churches...

To instruct, doctrinally, the churches so that they would not be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine.

But, Judaizers had snuck in and started tempting the Galatians to a false gospel...

And, Paul’s desire was for them to know the dangerous waters they were about to traverse.

They were on a path that would cut them off from the grace and peace of God.

So, Paul continues to address the Galatians...

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

6 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— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

Deserting the Gospel is Deserting Christ

The Galatians have been told that Jesus is good...

Like most, if not all, cults of history...

Jesus can be a prophet.

Jesus can be a great Teacher.

Jesus can be a great man.

But, what it always amounts to is that Jesus is not enough.

So, the Judaizers were following the Apostles and they’d sneak in after them...

And, with the goal of gaining proselytes...

They would seek to convince them that faith in Jesus is good...

But, it wasn’t enough.

If you really want to be in the family of God you need to be circumcised...

You need to live by the Laws of the Torah.

It is nothing more than a Works-Righteousness Salvation.

And, a Works-Righteousness Salvation is a system invented by mankind...

The purpose of such a system is an attempt to clear the conscience in a way other than God’s design to clear the conscience.

It is one of a myriad of ways to suppress the truth of God in unrighteousness.

There is no other way to clear the conscience outside of Christ.

God has revealed how to be made right with Him.

God has revealed how to be guiltless before Him.

There is no way to cleanse yourself of guilt outside of the atoning work of Jesus Christ.

Paul says...

6 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

Paul is warning them with great urgency that what they are doing by embracing this false theology...

This false system of salvation...

Is actually abandoning Christ.

It is a system that leads you away from God.

The Judaizers are telling them that it brings them closer to God.

Paul, under the inspiration of the HS, is teaching that it actually does the opposite.

It does not bring them closer to Christ.

It does not bring them closer to God.

It drives them away.

And, by choosing that path...

You are choosing to walk away from Christ.

Why would you walk away from the only source of grace?

Why would you walk away from the only means of reconciliation to God?

Why would you choose to abandon your only hope for eternal life?

Why would you give up your eternal adoption into the family of God?

Paul connects this truth to another critical truth of the gospel...

The Purpose of Christ’s Life Giving Sacrifice

v.4 who gave Himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age

Does that make sense?

How does the gospel deliver us from the present evil age?

It almost sounds like we’re being delivered from the present...

But, we’re still here.

We’re still in the world.

So, what does Paul mean by us being delivered from the present evil age?

If I passed out a sheet of paper and asked us all to write down ten things in our culture that expresses itself as evil...

I think a lot of the list would consist of immoral behavior in some form or fashion...

And, I’m not saying that those immoral expressions are not expressions of evil...

But, I wonder if our list would mirror Paul’s point here.

Would we even have his point on our list?

If so, would it be a the top of the list...

Or would it be down the list behind some of the more offensive, immoral behavior?

Paul’s list in Romans 1 Ungrateful to God, Unwilling to worship God, Unwilling to repent to God, Unwilling to believe God...

All of those things are bottled up and sold in a Works-righteousness salvation...

And a Works-Righteousness Salvation is an attempt to suppress the truth of God in unrighteousness.

I think it is hard for us to maybe wrap our minds around this truth at times...

But, the greatest evil in the world is any doctrine that attacks the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So, on your list, would the #1 expression of evil in our world...

Be any doctrine that attacks, skews, thwarts, veils, maligns, or distorts the gospel of Jesus Christ?

Paul says it should be #1 on our list.

And so Paul goes on to say...

6 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— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

Paul wants us to understand that this distortion of the gospel...

That is always presented as a necessary addition to the grace of God...

Is not part of the gospel...

It is a distortion of the gospel...

And, hence, not another gospel, but a flase gospel.

It is an attack against Jesus Christ.

It is an attack on the gospel.

It is a religiously, dressed up way of suppressing the truth of God...

And, resisting God and the gracious salvation offered in Jesus Christ.

Make no mistake...

This kind of doctrine is, no matter how dressed up it is...

Is nonetheless trampling under foot salvation in JC.

And, it should be the primary doctrine that the Church defends.

Other doctrines feed and fuel this message.

Such as the person of Christ.

But the free, gracious salvation in JC...

Is always under attack.

And, it is always being distorted.

And, it is the only truth that can set one free.

So, let me close with this truth that we should not pass over...

Is the Will of God Always Comfortable?

A wrong answer to this question has caused many religious people to walk away from the Christian faith.

A false understanding to this question has cause many Christians to fall into despair.

An incorrect conclusion will lead you to depression when the struggles of life come your way.

Galatians 1:3–5 (ESV)

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

So, the whole mission of Christ was the will of God.

The condescension of the eternal Son of God was the will of the Father.

That mission included taking the form of a creature a servant of God...

Living a perfect life, while being tempted in every point as we are yet without sin...

Being tempted with such intensity and agony that He sweat drops of blood.

Doing all of that…living a life of perfect obedience...

In order for Him to be able to walk to the cross...

And suffer the wrath of God for all the sins of His people.

The suffering that was endured on the cross is utterly inconceivable by the human mind...

And all of that was the will of the triune God...

The will of the Father for His Son

Was that comfortable?

No. It wasn’t comfortable.

But, if Christ was willing to, and did indeed, suffer so much on our behalf...

What makes us think that the will of God for our life will be comfortable?

Sometimes the will of God is uncomfortable because it brings pressure, persecution, suffering.

But, a lot of the time God’s will is not comfortable to us because it is not our will for us.

Listen...

Clinging to the gospel will cause you to suffer.

Defending the gospel against legalism will cause you to suffer.

Resisting the temptation to find justification in peer opinion will cause you to suffer.

Dyeing to self each day will cause you to suffer.

Standing for the Bible will cause you to suffer.

But, rejoice!

Because when you endure suffering for the name of Christ...

It is proof that you are indeed clinging to the gospel of JC...

And, clinging to the person and finished work of the only one that can save...

And, His name is Jesus.

Application

So, what about you?

Where are you in all of this?

What is your daily routine?

Are you allowing yourself to fall prey to legalism?

Are you giving in to the temptation to think that you need more than Christ?

Are you willing to suffer for the Lord?

Or do you you see yourself gradually clinging to temporal comforts over the only One who can truly comfort you?

These are questions that we should not only ask today...

But, every day.

These are truths that we should not only cling to on Sunday.

But, we should be clinging to them every day.

Let it be said of us that...

We will cling daily to the Old Rugged Cross.

By clinging to the one who conquered the Cross...

And conquered the grave that could not hold Him.

Closing Prayer