Reading: Galatians chapter 1 verses 1-10.
Ill:
• On the28th August 1963;
• Martin Luther King addressed a huge crowd of people;
• He gave one of the greatest speeches ever given.
• In his; “I have a dream” speech he called for transformation;
• From “the heat of injustice and oppression” into an oasis of “freedom and justice”.
• His final words in that speech are logged indelibly in our memories,
• As well as etched on his gravestone:
• “Free at last, free at last! Thank God Almighty, I am free at last”.
Every ‘born again’ Christian can proclaim those words:
• “Free at last, free at last! Thank God Almighty, I am free at last”.
• Because in Jesus Christ we have been set free!
• Not political freedom, not social freedom, not economic freedom;
• But spiritual freedom.
Quote: Colossians chapter 1 verse 13:
“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves”.
Every Christian has been rescued/set free from:
• the darkness of ignorance of God
• the darkness of separation from God
• the darkness of sin
• the darkness of condemnation/judgement
• the darkness of death
• the darkness of bondage to Satan
“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves”.
• Every ‘born again’ Christian can proclaim those words:
• “Free at last, free at last! Thank God Almighty, I am free at last”.
Ill:
• During Paul's first missionary journey (Acts chapters 13 and chapter 14);
• He ravelled trough Pisidian, Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe.
• Which is part of a large Roman province called Galataia.
• The gospel was preached, people were converted and Churches were planted.
• And Paul later wrote to these Churches a letter – we call Galatians.
• He probably wrote to them from Antioch after that first journey, around A.D. 49,
• That makes the book of Galatians Paul's earliest letter,
• Which means its message is a foundational truth,
• The letter that Paul preached was a message of GRACE!
• It is a message of freedom.
• Ten times in these six chapters Paul talks about freedom!
Note: Key verse in the book is chapter 5 verse 1:
N.I.V.:
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
Amplified:
“IN [this] freedom Christ has made us free [and completely liberated us]; stand fast then, and do not be hampered and held ensnared and submit again to a yoke of slavery [which you have once put off].”
Message:
“Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand!
Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.”
(1).The GALATIAN SITUATION
• The apostle Paul needed to write to these Galatian Christians;
• Because wrong teachings were being taught in the Church,
• The true message preached by the apostles was starting to get distorted;
• And this letter was written to bring back clarity and to dispel error.
Question: What was the wrong teaching?
Answer: Twofold:
• (a). The problem of legalism.
• (b). The problem of liberty.
• (a). Legalism - tied up believers with man made rules and regulation.
• (b), Liberty – was misused causing believers to have no boundaries and to sin.
Ill:
• Wrong attitude to freedom;
• A misuse of our freedom in Christ.
• e.g. How close can I get to the edge of a cliff without falling over.
• Engage brain – stay away from the edge!
• The Christian is not free to do whatever they want,
• They are free to do what God wants!
• The Christian’s priority is to please him,
• To enjoy our freedom and not to abuse it!
Note: Let’s look for a moment at the problem of legalism:
• Shortly after Paul had planted the churches in Galatia,
• A group of Jewish converts began to attack his message.
• These Jewish converts were teaching that if Gentiles want to follow Christ,
• They must also embrace the Jewish system.
Ill:
• i.e. After all salvation is from the Jews;
• i.e. Jesus was Jewish.
• i.e. The apostles were Jewish;
• i.e. The scriptures (Old Testament) was Jewish.
• Therefore their logic said;
• To be a true follower of Jesus meant that you needed to also embrace the Jewish system:
Ill:
• i.e. Keep the Sabbath & other holy days,
• i.e. Eat only kosher food
• i.e. And even be circumcised.
Note:
• Now by adding these rules and regulations,
• They had consciously or unconsciously rejected the idea that we are saved by grace.
• They had knowingly or unknowingly;
• Changed the gospel that Paul had preached to them;
• Their gospel was now faith in Christ plus works.
• Their gospel had shifted the focus from what God has done for us in Christ,
• To faith in Christ and what we need to do for God through our good efforts;
ill:
• Consider the difference between a sailboat and a rowboat.
• In a spiritual rowboat the sailor is dependent upon human effort,
• In a spiritual sailboat the sails are raised in faith;
• And the undying power of the wind of the spirit moves the boat.
• It is still entirely necessary that the boat move,
• But the power source of the sailboat ... is unquenchable.
By adding rules and regulations to the gospel message:
• These Galatians had consciously or unconsciously;
• Rejected the idea that we are saved by grace.
• Their gospel was now faith in Christ plus works.
• Their gospel had shifted the focus from what God has done for us in Christ,
• To faith in Christ and what we need to do for God through our good efforts;
Notice: How quickly in this letter Paul is to bring it to their attention - verse 6:
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a DIFFERENT gospel”
• Verses 1-5: are an introduction and greeting.
• Verse 6: onwards is a rebuke!
• Notice there is no words of praise and encouragement;
• That you will nearly always find in his other letters.
• We would say; “There is no sweetener before the nasty tasting medicine”.
• We would say; “Paul is going to lance that poisoned boil and without anaesthetic”.
Look again at verse 6:
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a DIFFERENT gospel”
• Because it was a message of grace plus works.
• It undermined and poisoned the true gospel,
• It made salvation a partially human accomplishment,
• Instead of an act of God's grace.
ill:
• When you are given a Christmas or Birthday gift from a loved one.
• All you can do is receive it, accept it.
• The moment you say; "What can I do to accept it or earn it?"
• It no longer becomes a gift.
• It changes from a gift to a reward or it changes from a gift to a payment.
• The very meaning of the act has changed.
Ill:
• As a giver I would be offended if I gave my wife Penny a gift and she said;
• "Thanks, what do I have to do to earn it?"
• Giving is an act of love,
• You either accept it or reject it but you cannot earn it!
Note:
• This ‘different' gospel was actually no gospel at all;
• ‘Gospel’ means ‘good news’ and there was nothing good in this false message.
• Paul writes this letter to correct this false teaching,
• And encourage the Galatians to hold fast to the message he had preached to them.
• A message not of partial works, but of grace!
Ill:
Freedom Lady.
• On July 4th let me give you an American illustration.
• atop the hill in Washington, D.C. Stands the Capitol Building of the USA.
• The cornerstone was laid in 1793,
• But the crowning touch, is the statue on top of the rotunda;
• It is known as the “Freedom Lady”.
• That was placed there in 1863.
• The Freedom Lady, stands nearly 20 feet tall,
• And stands proudly atop the dome.
• A crest of stars frames her face.
• A shield of Stars and Stripes is in her left hand.
• It was sculpted in Rome,
• And “the Lady” was brought to America aboard a sailing ship.
• During the trip across the Atlantic Ocean, a fierce storm developed.
• The Captain ordered cargo thrown overboard to lighten the load.
• The sailors wanted to throw the heavy statue overboard,
• But the captain refused, shouting over the wind,
• “No! Never! We’ll flounder before we throw ‘Freedom’ away.”
• And so, “Freedom” was saved, and the statue stands above the dome today,
• Because one man stood for “Freedom.”
Notice: in verse 6 Paul is standing for freedom:
• Because the message isn't the only thing from which the Galatians turned away.
• Look at what he says:
"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting THE ONE WHO CALLED you"
• They deserted "the one who called them".
• They have turned away from God himself.
• He is the giver, the source, of their salvation,
• Notice: Paul says; to abandon or reject the gift of salvation by grace,
• Is also to abandon or reject the giver.
Ill:
• The Greek word for desert suggests a military defection.
• The Galatians, in other words, had become spiritual turncoats,
• By shifting their allegiance to another message of salvation.
• They were also turning to a different god.
• These Galatians had swapped good news for bad news:
• Swapping a God of grace and mercy for a god who desires works and self-effort.
Ill:
Paul is saying to these Galatians:
• Why would a slave, who had been set free;
• Choose to go back to living in bondage, in oppression?
• Why would he willingly place his ankles that were now healed.
• Back in the shackles that had scraped them red raw?
• Why would he, having breathed the sweet, pure air of the gospel,
• And felt the warmth of the Son on his soul,
• Want to return to the dark, dark dungeon of legalism?
Question: Why swap a message of liberty for one of bondage?
• A message of what God has done for us,
• To a message of what we can do for him.
• A message of freedom in Christ,
• For a message of slavery to a list of rules and regulations.
The message the Galatians were holding onto was not the message Paul preached to them:
• i.e. It was as different as night from day,
• i.e. Fire from water,
• i.e. A lie from the truth,
• i.e. Death from life.
• Once you add something else to the gospel,
• Whatever that might be – it will always stop it being the gospel.
• Now although the book of Galatians,
• Paul hammers home this message of salvation through grace and grace alone!
• From start to finish Galatians is a message of liberation, a message of freedom:
A simple outline of Galatians:
(a). Chapters 1&2 is personal.
• Paul talks about his own personal experience with Jesus Christ.
• How he had received the gospel message independently.
• The Lord himself gave him the gospel;
• He did not get it from the twelve apostles.
• But they did approve his message and his ministry;
• (Chapter 2 verses 1-10)
• The key word found in these chapters (1&2) is ‘Gospel',
• It is found ten times in forty-five verses.
• In verse 11-12: Paul reminds them that his gospel unlike these false teachers;
• Was not a message he had figured out by human logic.
• It was given to the apostles by God himself!
“I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. 12 I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me.
Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ.”
(b). Chapters 3 and 4 are doctrinal.
• The apostle Paul presents a number of reasoned arguments that focus;
• On the doctrine of justification by faith;
• (That is how we are made right with God).
• In these chapters Paul shows how justification by faith,
• Sets us free from the Law, how we have been liberated from legalism.
• In verses 1-3: He appeals to their own experiences.
• He then goes all the way back to Abraham and the prophets;
• To show that we are saved by grace through faith.
(c). Chapters 5&6 are practical:
• Paul explains the relationship between the grace of God;
• And practical Christian living.
• Now although chapters 5&6 are very more practical,
• Once again Paul hammers home this message of grace and grace alone!
From start to finish Galatians is a message of liberation, a message of freedom:
• Christ has set us free.
• Free from the shackles of legalism.
• Free to love and live for Him.
• Free to love and serve others.
