Partners In Grace Series

PARTNERS IN GRACE

Galatians 2:1-10

S: Partnership

Th: “Grace-Full Living”

Pr: WE ARE TO BE PARTNERS IN GRACE.

?: What? Concerning what?

KW: Matters

TS: In our study of Galatians 2:1-10, we will find three matters in which we are to be partners in grace.

The _____ matter in which we are to be partners in grace is…

I. PROCLAMATION (1-8)

II. PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS (9)

III. PRACTICALITY (10)

RMBC 5/14/00 AM

INTRODUCTION:

ILL Notebook: Criticism (C & H)

In the comic strip, Calvin and Hobbes, here is a situation that every mother can relate to…

It is suppertime and in the first frame, we see Calvin making a very ugly face, pinching his nose, and he says, “Ewww! What’s this, something scraped off the bottom of boots?? I’m not eating it!”

In the next frame, Calvin’s mom is in disbelief, “Calvin, I made this last week and you said it was your favorite meal of all time and you wished we could have it every day for the rest of your life!”

In the next fame Calvin replies, “Well, now I hate it.” And there sits Mom sitting in utter despair.

In the final frame, we see Calvin still at the table, but with a smile on his face saying, “Another day, another gray hair for Mom!”

I know, too many moms have had that same experience.

The problem is, is that if our memories were better, we might remember that we did the same thing to our moms!

Nevertheless…

1. Many of us would like to learn how to remove conflict from our lives.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could get through one meal peacefully with nice and pleasant conversation?

If only we could just get along.

Can you imagine?

No complaining.

No criticism.

No fighting.

OK, maybe I am living in a dream world, but I can dream, can’t I?

The fact of the matter, though, is whether we are talking about conflicts at the dinner table, or in our everyday world, most are not worth having.

We sweat a lot over small stuff that doesn’t really matter.

But every once in a while, you discover that…

2. Some disagreements are worth having.

ILL Notebook: Disagree (out with the boys)

Take for instance…

Did you hear about the guy who had a big fight with his wife about whether it’s all right to spend one night a week out with the boys?

He doesn’t think she should.

Perhaps a case could be made there!

TRANSITION:

As we continue this morning in our study of Galatians, we need to recognize this…

1. For our church, we must not disagree on the subject of grace.

This is absolutely essential to who we are.

We must get “grace” right.

For it is by grace that we receive salvation.

And it is by grace that we live the Christian life.

If we are going to be characterized by “grace-full living” we must understand and apply grace.

This is important, for…

2. If we do not get grace right, the good news turns into bad news.

When we come to these two opening chapters of the letter to the churches in Galatia, Paul is battling over the subject of grace.

It was a battle worth fighting over.

Paul knew that we can never allow anyone to mess with the message.

Salvation is by grace alone.

You do not need to do anything else to be saved.

There are absolutely no other requirements.

It is God’s work and God’s alone.

Therefore, there is nothing you can do to add to it.

Paul also knew that he had to defend himself as the messenger, not for his own sake, but for the sake of the message.

The accusation against him was that he was a “Johnny-come-lately.”

He was accused of being a self-appointed apostle with a self-devised message.

His communication here has been a defense of God’s call on his life.

Though he was late in doing so, and least of all the apostles, he has met Jesus personally.

He was called to serve.

So in this portion that we are looking at this morning, Paul is establishing his partnership with the other leaders of the church.

Again, he was accused of being a rogue.

It was said of him that he was acting independently of the church in Jerusalem.

And though he would agree with that last accusation, the context of today’s passage demonstrates that he had to find out if his independence meant that he was proclaiming a different gospel than they were.

The good news for Paul, was though he was acting independently of the church in Jerusalem, he was proclaiming a gospel that was identical in terms of the content.

He found that the church in Jerusalem were partners in grace.