Galatians 1:15-24

Text

Galatians 1:15–24 (CSB)

But when God, who from my mother’s womb set me apart and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me, so that I could preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone. I did not go up to Jerusalem to those who had become apostles before me; instead I went to Arabia and came back to Damascus.

Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to get to know Cephas, and I stayed with him fifteen days. But I didn’t see any of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. I declare in the sight of God: I am not lying in what I write to you.

Afterward, I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. I remained personally unknown to the Judean churches that are in Christ. They simply kept hearing, “He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith he once tried to destroy.” And they glorified God because of me.

Introduction

Everyone loves a good story. They don’t hand out awards for books, movies, and stories that are bad. So we try and compete with others don’t we. A radical thing happened when I was growing up, they only handed out trophies, ribbons, and medals to the 1,2,3 winners. I got a participant certificate if my pinewood derby car didn’t place or my baseball team didn’t win the tournament. But we grew up and that competition stopped right? No, it became who we are. We have to keep up with the Jones’, have the better car, better wardrobe, car, phone, etc.

Last we we talked about who Paul was before his trip to Damascus. Then Paul tells us, “But when God” showing that there is no one outside the grasp of God’s redeeming hand!

So this morning, you may not have a story like Paul’s but you may have a “but God” moment.

Maybe you were at the end of your rope and then “but God” showed up. Or you were about to give up and then “but God.”

Revelation 14:6-7 “Then I saw another angel flying high overhead, with the eternal gospel to announce to the inhabitants of the earth—to every nation, tribe, language, and people. He spoke with a loud voice: “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.””

Read that this morning, what a glorious thought in that the gospel is still going out.

Maybe you have come in today with major worries and anxiety but I am here to tell you that if you stay focused on Jesus, you will also have a “but God” moment!

Let’s look at Paul’s story:

PAUL’S CONVERSION STORY

BEFORE: FANATIC AGAINST THE CHURCH (PERSECUTOR / TERRORIST)

SAVED: FAMILY MEMBER (BROTHER IN THE LORD)

AFER: FAITHFUL PROCLAIMER FOR THE GOSPEL (PLANTER)

Verses 15-16

[15] But when God, who from my mother's womb set me apart and called me by his grace, was pleased

[16] to reveal his Son in me, so that I could preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone.

[15]

God interrupted his life by His grace.

set me apart and called me

When we hear things like this, we think about things like the sanctity of life. Although Jan. 16 was sanctity of life Sunday and the Life Center gold tournament is over, as Christians (especially Southern Baptists) we hold to the fact that every life is sacred. It is God who opens the womb, it is God who allows what needs to happen to happen, it is God who is in control of that child while in the womb.

Story of Beethoven

A professor in a college ethics class presented his students with a problem. He said, ‘A man has syphilis and his wife has tuberculosis. They have had four children: one has died, the other three have what is considered to be a terminal illness. The mother is pregnant. What do you recommend?’ After a spirited discussion, the majority of the class voted that she should abort the child. ‘Fine,’ said the professor. ‘You've just killed Beethoven.’

sounds like Is 49:1, “Coasts and islands, listen to me; distant peoples, pay attention. The Lord called me before I was born. He named me while I was in my mother’s womb.” (which refers to the messianic servant)

and Jr 1:5, “I chose you before I formed you in the womb; I set you apart before you were born. I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” (which refers to the prophet Jeremiah.)

The emphasis is again on God’s initiative: Paul was not called because of anything he himself accomplished.

Philippians 1:6 “I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.”

[16]

Paul was converted in order to preach primarily to non-Jews . This was revolutionary because God’s dealings in the OT had been focused on Israel as his chosen nation. Now, with the coming of Christ, there was no distinction

Sometimes when God calls you to do something it also seems revolutionary or at least draws you out of your comfort zone.

Galatians 3:28 (“There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus.” ) : all must come to faith in Christ.

Paul is separating himself from the apostles. The Judaizers are saying that the apostles are delivering a false gospel. This shows the unity of the gospel between Paul and the apostles. Acts chapter 8 shows us how that comes to happen after the death of Steven. This also shows is why it’s vital that new believers are involved and sitting under gospel centered biblically sound preaching. How many new believers Are led astray because they take for granted that the person preaching or teaching is sound and representing the Bible correctly.

Paul simply citing 3 things God did for him.

1) INWARD VISION:

God set him apart from birth. Paul knew that God had providentially set him apart from birth and that all his life to this point was a preparation for his ministry as a proclaimer of the gospel of God’s grace.

2) UPWARD VISION:

God called Paul by His grace. This is a reference to the time of Paul’s salvation. He responded to God’s efficacious call and received Jesus Christ as Savior.

3) OUTWARD VISION:

God was pleased to reveal His Son in Paul. God gave Paul an outward vision. The purpose of this revelation was that Paul might preach Him among the Gentiles. The Book of Acts gives full account of Paul’s ministry to the non-Jewish world on his missionary journeys. He became known as the apostle to the Gentiles. Thus Paul emphasized that both his conversion and his commission owed nothing to man.

Conversion involves God's intervention.

Conversion involves God's eternal planning.

Conversion involves God's gracious calling.

Conversion involves seeing the glory of Christ.

HIS CONVERSION CAME WITH A COMMISSION AND SO DOES OURS!

LAKE ARROWHEAD

Text

Galatians 1:15–24 (CSB)

But when God, who from my mother’s womb set me apart and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me, so that I could preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone. I did not go up to Jerusalem to those who had become apostles before me; instead I went to Arabia and came back to Damascus.

Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to get to know Cephas, and I stayed with him fifteen days. But I didn’t see any of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. I declare in the sight of God: I am not lying in what I write to you.

Afterward, I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. I remained personally unknown to the Judean churches that are in Christ. They simply kept hearing, “He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith he once tried to destroy.” And they glorified God because of me.

Introduction

One thing that I remind my daughters of is that sometimes, daddy is right.

I try to help my girls learn as much as they can as they are young to set them up for a better future. To be more knowledgeable and wise than I was at their age.

To help them know what they believe, stand firm in what they believe, and be able to defend what they believe in a God honoring and loving way.

That is exactly what Paul is doing.

He understands the Judiazers because he was one.

He understands the dilemma because he faced it.

He understands the battle in not resorting back even if others are, because Paul endured persecution.

Verses 17-24

Galatians 1:17–24 CSB

I did not go up to Jerusalem to those who had become apostles before me; instead I went to Arabia and came back to Damascus. Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to get to know Cephas, and I stayed with him fifteen days. But I didn’t see any of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. I declare in the sight of God: I am not lying in what I write to you. Afterward, I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. I remained personally unknown to the Judean churches that are in Christ. They simply kept hearing, “He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith he once tried to destroy.” And they glorified God because of me.

Paul did not feel any compulsion to travel immediately from Damascus to Jerusalem to consult with the authorities on the gospel. He went to Arabia, then back to Damascus.

Syria and Cilicia. Formerly two provinces, they were joined together as a single province at this time. Paul spent time in both Tarsus (in Cilicia) and Antioch (in Syria; Ac 9:30; 11:25–26).

God’s presence matters more than man’s program. Can you imagine how the fanatic felt when he went to the deserts of Arabia and read his OT with new redeemed eyes. Possibly that the 3 years in Arabia is mirror to the 3 years the disciples had with Christ.

When all of this is added up, it means that Paul spent less than 3 years in the desert. It is interesting how God has trained His men. He trained Moses in the desert. He put Abraham in a rather unique place to train him, and Elijah had that same type of experience. It has been God’s method to put His man out on the desert to train him. David was trained outdoors in the caves of the earth while he was running away from King Saul. Remember that he cried out to God that he was hunted like a partridge - it was open season on him all the time. The Lord used the same method with Paul. God sent him into the desert for less than 3 years. Then he went to Jerusalem, saw Peter, and stayed with him for 15 days.

That Paul was personally unknown to the Judean churches agrees with the silence about him in Acts from when he went to Tarsus (Ac 9:30) until Barnabas went there to bring him to be involved in the church in Syrian Antioch (Ac 11:25-26).

Over the 14 years before the Jerusalem Council (see note on 2:1), Paul had come only twice to Jerusalem (Ac 9:26–30; 11:30) so the Christians there only knew him by reputation.

Unknown to the churches of Judea. Being born in the Diaspora and educated in Jerusalem (Ac 22:3), Paul would have been known to some in Jerusalem but not in wider Judea. Even in Jerusalem, churches knew him more as a persecutor (vv. 13, 19, 23), and in an era without photographs not all of them would have known him by face. The majority of the Jerusalem church came from a different social class than Paul, and many now estimate Jerusalem’s population in this era at 70,000 or higher. (I have heard that is why Jesus came before the invention of the camera/photograph)

Since the Judean churches glorified God because Paul was preaching the faith he once tried to destroy, it is clear that they did not disagree with the gospel as he preached it.

They didn’t know his face, they knew his faith. Are they praising God because of us? (Billy Graham)

APPLICATION:

Paul is a classic example of a person who was sincere in his misdirected beliefs before becoming a Christian. Sincerity cannot bring you to salvation if you do not sincerely believe in the truth. You can be sincerely wrong. You can be consumed with religion and miss Jesus. (One thing that we talked about in the cohort a lot was that we can fall into the trap of becoming Christian consumers and not worshippers. Meaning we can turn the Bible, the Gospel, and the church into what we think it must be and use it for personal use OR humbly coming to the Lord and bowing down under His lordship).

People set in their ways. There are people who strongly believe that we never landed on the moon and no matter what you say or evidence you show them, they will not budge.

That was Saul the Pharisee when it came to the law versus the message of grace.

His rebellious heart was no barrier to the grace of God.

The great persecutor became the great proclaimer and also the great church planter.Paul’s radically changed life served as powerful evidence of the truthfulness and reality of the gospel he received, altering his insulated identity and behavioral pattern as a zealous, rapidly advancing Jewish rabbi (vv. 13-14). It was not other apostles (vv. 15-17), but rather the universal nature of the gospel, that caused these changes in Paul’s life.

One way to know if you have a story like Paul’s is not “was I one a murder and now I love people” but has your life, passions, desires, dreams, goals, etc changed to exalting the person you look in the mirror or God?

That is a huge and hard question isn’t it?

Has my affections and my passions changed? Are they exalting Christ genuinely OR do they appear that they are real but really aren’t. (FB video of this ridiculous guy who has a diamond tester and says everything is real vs. fake). What if the Holy Spirit came in today, is your faith real or fake? is it genuine or playing pretend and make believe? Is the church a place to come and worship the Lord and serve him or a place where you can be served?

I know it sounds harsh but that is why I feel the number one thing that we need to deal with as a church is asking what is a Christian, what is the church, and what is a healthy church member… because a lot of what the churches are battling with including our own is wrapped up into those questions.

So I ask you, like Paul, have you had a “but God” moment where you know at your moment of conversion you were also commissioned? Do you truly realize God has equipped you with gifts and talents for His kingdom and glory? Are you willing to lay down “all of you” and follow “all of him?” At the center of your heart is a throne chair, who sits on it?

But it has crept into the church too. Better band, lighting, gimmicks, etc. in all of this, this is why I feel is is vital not just that we rediscover our identity in Christ but also our identity as a church. I am convicted and convinced that one of the major issues plaguing the church today is that the church universally has an identity crisis. What is church, what does it mean to be a church member, how do we do life together? Hence, why this fall, we will take a side detour from Galatians to wrestle with those questions through the lenses of the Bible and then get back on the road of Galatians. This is what Paul is dealing with, isn’t he?

Eternal Good News and how it is received will result in an eternal resting place.

Gospel Urgency: Revelation 14:14-20 “Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and one like the Son of Man was seated on the cloud, with a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Another angel came out of the temple, crying out in a loud voice to the one who was seated on the cloud, “Use your sickle and reap, for the time to reap has come, since the harvest of the earth is ripe.” So the one seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested. Then another angel who also had a sharp sickle came out of the temple in heaven. Yet another angel, who had authority over fire, came from the altar, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Use your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the vineyard of the earth, because its grapes have ripened.” So the angel swung his sickle at the earth and gathered the grapes from the vineyard of the earth, and he threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. Then the press was trampled outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press up to the horses' bridles for about 180 miles.”

Who you were is not stronger than the power of the work of the cross that Christ died for you nor is who you were a barrier to what God can do in you and through you!