Trustworthy and True

Joshua Trosper

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Open Bibles to Gal 1.

Next YG event: Youth Group ice skating at Mountainview Ice Arena

-Price: $15/kid (Price includes skates)

-Saturday, February 5th from 12:45 - 3pm

Last week, we read through the entirety of this letter, and tonight we are beginning our sixteen week study of this letter.

Let me give us a brief introduction to this letter before we read tonights Scripture.

This book that we call Galatians isn’t a book full that tells a story. Rather it is a letter written by the Apostle Paul - we often call these letters epistles.

This letter was written by Paul to the churches in Galatia - so it was written to Christians

And the reason for Paul writing this letter to the Galatians was because the Christians there had began following a different gospel… what was being taught was that the Christians there had to believe in Jesus and they had to keep the OT Law if they wanted to be saved. Paul is writing them to remind them that the Gospel of God’s grace + anything else in addition to that ≠ the true gospel

This is the big idea of Galatians, and consequently the big idea for our series… there is no other gospel besides the gospel of Jesus Christ

Now that we know a little about this letter, lets stand together for the reading of God’s Word.

Galatians 1:1–5 ESV

1 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.

Let’s pray.

Intro -

How do we know what is true?

If I call myself a dog - does that make me a dog?

People make all kinds of claims…

men claiming to be women and women claiming to be men.

People call good evil and evil good…

People are making truth subjective rather than objective

So how can we know what is true?

Or if the internet says that the world is flat - does that mean that the world is flat?

Again, the world is making all kinds of crazy claims…

Claims about God

Claims about creation

And claims about how we can have peace

How can we know what is true?

If our parents, or pastors, or any other person tells says that God is real - or if they deny the existence of God all together - how can we know if their claim is true?

Even the best parents are fallible and capable of making mistakes

Even well intending pastors don’t always say what is true

And everyone in the world will make some kind of claim about God

So how can we know what is true?

This is what we are dealing with in tonights text - Paul is defending his gospel - the true gospel - from the so called gospel that is being taught in the Galatian church.

And Paul doesn’t waste any time addressing this question…

Galatians 1:1–2 ESV

1 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:

Often we might be tempted to read over these beginning verses because of how similar they can be to all of Paul’s other introductions, but he is laying the groundwork in these opening verses that will pave the way for the rest of his letter.

In these first few verses Paul is establishing this point.

1. We can know that Paul’s gospel is true because he is a trustworthy apostle.

Let me illustrate this in two ways.

First of all, I like to do various DIY projects in my house…

If I am to cut a six inch whole into my ceiling…

or If I am to make sure my walls are straight,

or if I need to ensure that the angles of a board are cut to a 90° angle from a board

How reliable do you suppose my eye is?

I have to get a trustworthy tool so that my measurements are precise

So it is, Paul is like a measuring tape of sorts, that we can compare everything else to so that we might know what is true, compared to that which is not true.

Here’s my the second illustration.

By show of hands… How many of you have ever written a research paper?

Again… by show of hands… how many of you have ever tried to use Wikipedia as a resource to defend the argument of your research paper?

Wikipedia is not a trustworthy source… because anyone can add or edit the pages that are found there in a Wiki webpage

So when we quote a source in a research paper, it is crucial that we ensure that that source is reputable and trustworthy.

Here’s what I want us to see: How can we know the Paul’s gospel is true? We can know it is true, because Paul is a trustworthy apostle...

I’ll add… his is more trustworthy than my tape measure, and he is more trustworthy than a scholarly research article.

Listen again to how Paul opens this letter:

Galatians 1:1 ESV

1 Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—

First of all, we can trust Paul because he is an apostle…

What is an apostle? They are the official spokesmen for Jesus who saw the risen Jesus and were appointed by Jesus to preach the gospel.

Paul has authority, because he is an apostle… the way a police officer has authority because he wears a badge.

But those who were among the Galatians likely doubted Paul’s apostleship… They thought his apostleship was not authentic, because Paul was not among the 12 apostles that followed Jesus during his earthly ministry.

But Paul adds reminds us that his apostleship is just as authentic as that of the other apostles

he is an apostle - “not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead”

In other words - Paul didn’t make himself an apostle

The other apostles didn’t appoint Paul to become an apostle

But Jesus Christ and the God the Father appointed Paul to be an apostle.

Then Paul adds, Who raise him [Jesus] from the dead

Paul went from being a Christian killer, to becoming a christian who would be beheaded for the sake of the gospel. How did this reversal happen? This happen because he saw the risen Jesus, and was appointed by him as an apostle.

This alone should cause us to recognize that Paul’s gospel is trustworthy, but he isn’t even done just yet.

Galatians 1:2 ESV

2 and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia:

Paul’s gospel is trustworthy, and his apostleship is genuine, because his letter is supported by all the brothers that are with him.

Now, just a note on this: The approval of the masses does not make something trustworthy or reliable

Homosexuality - supported by the majority but it isn’t good

Rioting mob - a mass of people rioting does not make their violence legal

Christianity was far from being accepted by the masses in Pauls day

The approval of others does not equate to something being true. But the testimony of others can help us recognize the truth!

Take for example the testimony of a witness in a legal case - there is a weight to the testimony of a witness

Paul’s gospel may be challenged by the false teachers among the Galatians, but Paul is reminding the church that his gospel is supported and trusted by all the other brothers that are with him.

The testimony of others can be used by us to discern what is true today as well.

Not the testimony of the world… but the testimony of other saints who will attest to what is true

This is why we are serious about being a part of a local church who takes the Word of God seriously

Not just the local church, but the historical church who took the Word seriously will help us discern what is true from that which is not - contrast to many modern “Christian” movements

We can be confident, and know that Paul’s gospel is true, because Paul the Apostle is trustworthy.

He provides us with a reliable way to measure what others claim to be true about God and the gospel.

So hear the gospel from the Apostle Paul.

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.

I see here, at least six ingredients that distinguish the true gospel from any kind of false gospel.

Six ingredients of the true gospel:

If any of these ingredients are all together missing, or even more so, if any of these ingredients are contradicted or substituted for another, you will lose the gospel.

Losing any one of these ingredients, is like trying to make chocolate cake without having any chocolate

Or substituting any of these ingredients for another would be like trying to make chocolate cake and subbing the chocolate for dirt

If any of these ingredients are missing or substituted, we will lose the true gospel.

Let’s consider the first ingredient

Galatians 1:3 ESV

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,

A. The gospel gives grace for sin, and peace for the sinner

This is what the gospel accomplices… and this is what makes it good news

GRACE

The world will tell you that grace is obtained through beauty, riches, or strength…

But grace ultimately comes through the gospel…

You see, apart from grace, we are wretched sinners unworthy to even breath another breath…

But, because of the grace of God our sins are now covered

And the result grace for sin, sinners can have peace with God

PEACE:

Certainly a type of peace can be experienced based on the conditions around us

We are at peace when our tests and assignments are complete

We are at peace when all is well in our life

But such peace is quickly fleeting

But the peace that comes from God is a peace that is not based on the condition of your life

You can be in the midsts of the storm

Overwhelmed by school

or by broken relationships

Or a bad decisions

But if you have Jesus - you will have peace

You can be going though the valley of the shadow of death

Loss of loved ones

or perhaps even sick and nearing death yourself

But if you have Jesus - you will have peace

This is what makes the gospel such good news -

There is grace for our sin - and peace for our consciences

If anyone preaches a gospel that contradicts this, do not listen to them. For they are either deceived, or they are a deceiver

Second ingredient:

Galatians 1:3 ESV

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,

B. The gospel of grace and peace comes from God

You don’t receive grace because of anything you are, or anything that you have done…

Grace - that is, all the benefits that we experience - are not a result of anything that we have done - rather it is a overflow of the goodness of God towards us!

Grace is a free gift that is is given and it cannot be earned!

And again - peace comes from God - not from ourselves, and not from our external circumstances

The effect of the gospel is grace and peace

The source of the gospel is God

If anyone preaches a gospel that contradicts this, do not listen to them. For they are either deceived, or they are a deceiver

Now let’s consider how it is that the gospel came to be:

Galatians 1:3–4 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,

C. The gospel delivers us from the penalty of sin

What is the penalty of sin? Death

And who among us has not sinned? None of us

We have all sinned - that makes us sinners

And as sinners we all deserve to die

Now is there anything we can do to remove the penalty of Sin?

How about keeping God’s law? Will that do it?

No it’s too late… we have already broken the law, and as such we deserve to die

Well how about we make up the difference some how… isn’t there another way we can pay for our sin instead of dying because of it?

No not without someone dying in your place…

And no other person can pay that price in your place, because all have sinned… and all have an infinite debt that needs to be paid

The price for sin is death, and the price must be paid. And through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross, our sins have been covered.

And Jesus did this willingly…

Paul tells us that Jesus gave himself for our sins…

John 10:17–18 ESV

17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

If anyone preaches a gospel that contradicts this, do not listen to them. For they are either deceived, or they are a deceiver

Galatians 1:3–4 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,

Here is an important one - not that the others weren’t important.

But this once has gotten slippery in our age especially among professing believers

D. The gospel delivers us from the power of sin

Listen - grace doesn’t just remove the penalty of sin namely death

But God’s grace gives us victory over the sway of sin in our lives as well

In this very letter, Paul will tell us what the effect of the gospel is when it is applies the gospel to our lives

Galatians 5:22–23 ESV

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

James 2:14–17 ESV

14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

If anyone preaches a gospel that contradicts this, do not listen to them. For they are either deceived, or they are a deceiver

Galatians 1:3–4 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,

E. The gospel was planned by the Father

Often times people make distinctions about the Son and the Father that ought not to be made

As if there is a God of the OT and a different God of the NT

OT= Law and Wrath

NT=Grace and Love

But this just isn’t true!

The Gospel was not Jesus’ plan… rather it was the plan of the Father

The Father is not opposed to grace and mercy

Exodus 34:6 ESV

6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,

And the Son of God is not opposed to the law

Matthew 5:17 ESV

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

If anyone preaches a gospel that contradicts this, do not listen to them. For they are either deceived, or they are a deceiver

Galatians 1:3–5 ESV

F. The gospel gives all glory to God

God has done all the work - so he alone gets all the glory forever and ever

And any person who who claims any credit for what God has done, or any person who does not give all glory to God is not worth listening to

And don’t just listen to their teaching… watch their live

The life of a person who is not living for the glory of God is abundantly clear

Even here in Paul’s introduction, he cannot help but direct all the glory to God