No Other Gospel Series

No Other Gospel

Galatian’s Series CCCAG 4-7-24

-Scripture- Galatians 1:1-10

Introduction

Today we are going to begin a new series focusing on the book of Galatians.

However, I want to put out this warning- For this message, I will be dealing with some things that are of an adult nature later in the message so if you are here with young children, or listing by podcast, this is your warning to put on headphones for this message. I’ll keep it PG, but there isn’t really a way to sanitize this and have it still make sense.

So, back to the message-

The book of Galatians, along with the book of James, are the two books of the NT that scholars believed were the first books written after Jesus ascended and the church began to grow. As we go through this book, we are going to get a great look into the development of the early church as the Holy Spirit led the apostles in coming out of a very legalistic religion known as Judaism and into the freedom that we have in Jesus Christ.

But, it wasn’t just Jewish people converting to Christianity, but Gentiles- who is everyone else. Gentiles also came out of very legalistic pagan religions, which even if you followed it to the letter you had no real hope of this pagan deity helping you or offering you eternal life.

The author of this letter is the Apostle Paul.

The churches that he is writing too aren’t in a specific city, but an area that existed in what today is the country of Turkey, or geographically Asia Minor.

Galatia was what we could call a state or a province within the Roman Empire, and so this letter covers not just one church, but several.

It was expected that the scribes within that early church would have copied this letter and sent it onto the other church’s to help them learn about the truth of Christ because there were so many counterfeits rising up.

One of the things we will see is Paul trying, for lack of a better way of describing it, reprogram the way that people thought about faith and religion. The bible calls this the renewing of our mind- cleaning house of the clutter of our old life so the new life can flourish.

I mentioned that Galatians and James were the first books written in the New Testament, and therefore show us a progression of thought from a legalistic mindset regarding God to one of grace through faith in Jesus the Christ.

When I say legalistic I’m referring to the kind of religion people are practicing. For the purposes of this message, let’s just define religion as humanities attempt to reach God on our terms. Religion makes up laws, traditions and ceremony to fill that area in our spirits that God designed to be filled with HIM. Religion teaches if you do this, that, and the other thing God will bless you and be happy with you. It’s focused on your effort to please God just enough so that He will be satisfied.

Christianity, at it’s essence, teaches that God has made a way for you to come into his grace, and that way is by faith alone. Jesus did the work, through faith in that work you are saved. Period, end of story.

You are not made righteous before God by your effort but through what Jesus has already done. Not only did He make the way for us to come to HIM and achieve heaven when we die, but our Father gives us The Holy Spirit to empower us to live in a way that pleases God.

Christianity is all focused on what God did, does, and will do, not what we can do.

Paul says in plainly in

Eph 2:8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift?—? not from works, so that no one can boast.

This was a huge shift in the way the ancient world believed thought, and lived their lives. They were so used to having to do certain things, give certain offerings, perform religious ceremony’s, and in the case of Judism, obey 613 laws. It was so ingrained in them it took awhile for them to adjust.

That’s the background of this book. Really long intro today but you need to understand that to really appreciate what Paul is trying to teach this young church.

So let’s dig in.

Galatians 1:1-10 (Christian Standard Bible)

Gal 1:1 Paul, an apostle?—?not from men or by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead?—?

Gal 1:2 and all the brothers who are with me: To the churches of Galatia.

Gal 1:3 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,