Grace From Galatians (2 Of 19)

(1) HE HAD TO DEFEND HIS APOSTLESHIP

Those who hated Paul were stating that he was not a true apostle.

Ministers go into the ministry for a number of reasons:

• Some think it is an easy job, SO WHY NOT

• Some folks enjoy being in front of people

• Some are in the ministry because Mommy wanted a preacher boy and to please Mommy they went into the ministry

• Some are in the ministry because of the money

Illus: A teacher was asking her class what were they going to be when they grew up. One little boy said he was going to be a minister. The teacher said, “Johnny, that is wonderful, why do you want to be a minister?” The little boy said, “Well, I am going to have to go to church anyway, why not get paid for it!”

But many are in the ministry because of the Divine calling of God upon their life.

This is the reason that the apostle Paul was in the ministry. It was because God had called Him.

Look at Gal. 1:1, he says, “Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)”

But he also dealt with another serious problem.

(2) SOME WERE PREACHING ANOTHER GOSPEL DIFFERENT THAN WHAT PAUL HAD PREACHED

But Paul made it clear that the gospel he preached provided GRACE and PEACE.

Look at verse 3, we read, “Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,”

Illus: L. Thomas Holdcroft said, “There may be those on earth who dress better or eat better, but those who enjoy the peace of God sleep better.”

The thing that the lost world craves for is peace. But only the gospel of Christ can provide PEACE.

God’s grace provides peace. But even though it provides peace that passes all understanding, let’s look at -

I. THE TRUE GOSPEL

Look at verse 6, we read, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel.”

It never ceases to amaze us that some folks are not satisfied with life until they mess it up. For example:

• We have seen people inherit a lot of money. They had a chance to really do something with their life, but they blew their entire inheritance.

• We have seen folks who had a good job where they could have really done something great with their life, but they were not satisfied until they destroyed those opportunities.

• We have seen folks with a wonderful spouse, but they were not satisfied until they had messed their marriage up.

It seems that some folks can not stand SUCCESS!

They can’t stand SUCCESS in two ways. They can’t stand SUCCESS in-

(1) THE LIFE OF OTHERS

For example, a federal judge released "findings of fact," in which he declared Microsoft to be a dangerous monopoly. One fact was undisputed: the defendant is extraordinarily successful. This success is the very reason why Microsoft was declared to be a dangerous monopoly. The conclusion is inescapable: Microsoft is being punished for being the most successful company in their field, and some folks who can not compete are down right jealous.

This hate for success is not only seen in the Tech world, but also in sports.

Illus: One obvious example is Alan Webb. Everyone loved the guy when he was breaking records for a short time, but then he secured a contract, started to make money and made running his full-time work, and slowly people started hating him for it.

The same is true in the business world. There are those who have worked hard and been successful and there are those who will look at them and say, “It’s not fair, the government should not allow them any tax break, take their tax break and give the money to us.”

There are folks who can not stand SUCCESS in the life of others.

But also there are some who cannot stand SUCCESS in-

(2) THEIR OWN LIFE

This seems to be the case with these Galatians.

God’s marvelous grace had saved them from their sins, and then some FALSE TEACHERS came along with a new doctrine and they accepted it.

This way of thinking was shocking to Paul.

Look at verse 6, Paul says, “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel.”

Look at the word “Marvel”, this is the word “Thaumazo” (Pronounced as “Thou-mad'-zo.”) which has two meanings.

• It has a POSITIVE meaning, as when we see something good and we marvel (admire) at what we are looking at.