Introduction:
A. Let me start this morning with some questions:
1. What is it that really gets you going? What is it that really makes you mad?
2. What gets your emotions stirred and launches you into a fight’em mode?
3. I came across this funny bumper sticker: “I'm just driving this way to get you mad!”
a. Sometimes you wonder if that’s what they are doing when driving behind some people.
b. Certainly, we can get pretty frustrated and infuriated while driving.
4. But there are much more important things that should cause us to get angry and cause us to want to rise up and fight.
5. When someone we love has been harmed or is in some kind of danger, then our rightful and righteous response should be to protect them and fight for them, right?
B. This is exactly what we see the apostle Paul doing in the letter to the Galatians.
1. Someone has likened the letter to the Galatians to a sword flashing in a great swordsman’s hand.
2. The enemy and destroyer of the church had come into the Galatian churches and had distorted the good news of Jesus.
3. Both Paul himself, and the gospel he preached, were under attack.
4. The stakes were very high - the salvation of the Christians in Galatia, and for that matter, the salvation of all Christians, present and future, was at stake.
5. Therefore, Paul wrote a letter to the Galatians to express his great concern for them and for the gospel.
6. And as we will see, Paul was fighting mad, and he held nothing back.
C. Today, we are beginning a new sermon series on the book of Galatians.
1. If you have been here at Wetzel Road a long time, then you know that I try to have a balance in my preaching.
2. You know that I enjoy doing topical series, like the last two series on being “Wholly Devoted” and “Got Questions?”
a. Topical series lend themselves to being very practical and they easily apply to the questions we have and the challenges we face.
3. But the kind of preaching that I love more than topical preaching, is expository preaching.
a. I love to take a book of the Bible and work our way through it.
b. I love to dig deeply into the meaning of the text and try to hear God’s word for us today from the ancient text.
4. Expository preaching has a number of advantages.
a. First of all, it helps us to get a better handle on the Word of God as a whole, rather than just on individual verses.
1. This forces us to handle the Bible as it is intended to be handled, being sure we understand the truths that come out of Scripture in the context they were given.
b. Second, it forces us to address some Scripture and some subjects that we might avoid for one reason or another.
5. Thankfully and joyfully, in my 26 years here at Wetzel Road, we have been blessed to work through the majority of the 27 books of the New Testament.
D. And so, today, in God’s timing, we find ourselves at the beginning of a study of Galatians.
1. Galatians is a relatively short book – only six brief chapters long.
a. You can easily read it in half and hour.
2. Nevertheless, we must not be deceived by its size – big and powerful things can come in small packages.
a. A tiny stick of dynamite can blow up a big building.
3. Galatians, indeed, is spiritual dynamite – read and study it at your own risk!
E. More than anything else, Galatians is a book about spiritual freedom.
1. That’s why I’m calling this series “Set Free!”
2. How can we be truly free?
a. How can we be free from guilt, free from fear, free from doubt, free from sin, free from always trying to win God’s favor?
3. When people look at the question of freedom, they often offer two contradictory answers.
4. Some people think that freedom comes from keeping the rules (legalism).
a. They say, “Do good, try harder, go to church, be baptized, give your money, follow the 10 Commandments, and obey the Golden Rule.”
b. Of course, the list is endless, and rule keeping always fails in the end.
c. If one prayer is good, wouldn’t two prayers be better?
d. With the rule keeping approach there’s always the sense that we could have done more or better, not to mention the question of whether we have done enough.
5. At the other extreme are those who say that freedom comes by throwing all the rules aside (hedonism).
a. They say, “Do what you want. Have a blast. You only go around once. There are no rules, other than: If it feels good, do it.”
b. But in the end, this approach to freedom really ends up just being another kind of bondage.
6. So, if we conclude that real freedom can’t be found in legalism or in hedonism, then where can we find it?
7. Galatians will offer us this simple and compelling answer – Freedom comes from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ through the Gospel.
F. So let me ask you, are you interested in finding real freedom and the power to live a new life?
1. If your answer is “yes,” then stay tuned, because over the next two months, as we explore the book of Galatians, we will learn how the Gospel sets us free.
2. Our first installment today covers the first 10 verses of Galatians 1.
3. These verses can be neatly divided into two parts – the salutation (verses 1-5) and the denunciation (verses 6-10).
4. Let’s jump in and see what we learn.
I. The Salutation (Verses 1 - 5)
A. The letter begins: “Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers with me, To the churches in Galatia:” (vs. 1-2)
1. These verses tell us that this letter was written by the Apostle Paul.
2. The word “apostle” means “one sent with delegated authority.”
a. Paul needs to make it clear that his delegated authority is directly from God.
b. Paul is not one sent by men or by some church council.
c. No, Paul’s calling and authority come directly from God the Father, and God the Son.
d. And since he speaks with God’s authority, to reject Paul is to reject God Himself.
3. We also learn from these verses that the letter is addressed to the churches of Galatia.
a. The region of Galatia was located in the central portion of modern-day Turkey.
b. This was a Gentile region, which meant that these churches were primarily Gentile, not Jewish.
4. On Paul’s first missionary journey in Acts 13-14, he and Barnabas preached the Gospel and established churches in Galatia – at Iconium, Antioch, Lystra, and Derbe.
5. Unfortunately, as we will learn, sometime after Paul left Galatia, a group of Jewish-Christians from Jerusalem came into this region, and claiming to speak for the original apostles in Jerusalem, they began to undermine Paul’s authority and teach a different Gospel.
6. It is clear from this letter that the Galatians were at best badly confused by these false teachers, and at worst were almost completely seduced and led astray by them.
7. When Paul heard about the inroads made by these false teachers, he sat down and wrote this letter – one that certainly has an urgency and an edge to it.
B. Like all of Paul’s letters, after stating who the letter is from and who the letter is to, Paul gives a blessing.
1. The Bible says: “3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
2. Paul was so concerned about the issues at hand, he put a statement of the Gospel right at the beginning of the letter.
3. What is the Gospel? The Gospel is the good news about what Jesus has done for us.
4. Paul summarized the Gospel in his first letter to the Corinthians: “Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” (1 Cor. 15:1-4)
5. The Gospel is all about the Son of God entering the world, living a sinless life, then offering that sinless life on the cross so that our sins could be paid for.
a. So Jesus, the Son of God, came by the will of God and His death and resurrection brought great glory to His Heavenly Father.
b. Through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, salvation from our sins has been made possible.
c. Now, through Jesus, all the benefits of the Gospel flow freely to everyone who believes in Jesus.
6. The Gospel is God’s wonderful gift to us.
7. Tragically, that simple, pure Gospel was being distorted and destroyed in Galatia, and Paul had to do something about it.
II. The Denunciation (Verses 6-10)
A. Galatians is unique among Paul’s letters because it is the only one that does not contain a word of thanksgiving for the readers.
1. In all of Paul’s other letters, right at the beginning of the letter, he takes a verse or two to give thanks for his readers.
2. But not in Galatians, Paul is so concerned for their spiritual welfare that he jumps right into the critical problem being addressed.
B. Paul wrote: 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— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. (vs. 6-7)
1. Paul’s astonishment comes from the fact that the very believers that he personally taught were so quickly being led astray.
a. He had clearly taught them the truth and they had believed and received the Gospel.
b. They certainly knew better.
2. Paul used a provocative word in verse 6: “deserting.”
a. The word “deserting” is a military term that refers to a traitor, one who leaves the army of his own country and goes to work for the enemy.
3. At issue is the Gospel.
a. They were leaving the Gospel of Grace, for a different Gospel, which is actually no Gospel at all.
b. There is a little play on words here, since the term Gospel means good news.
c. The gospel they were turning to was not “good news” but was actually “bad news.”
4. What will become clear to us is that this other gospel was a combination of the real Gospel and the following of the Jewish law.
a. These false teachers were teaching Gentile Christians that, in addition to the Gospel, they were obligated to keep the Jewish Mosaic Law – the dietary laws, circumcision and the rest of the ceremonial law in order to be truly pleasing to God.
b. To the Galatians, this probably didn’t appear to be a radical difference from what they’d been taught, because they really wanted to please God.
5. But in this letter, Paul made it clear that this other gospel was no gospel at all.
a. Paul preached a “Jesus only” Gospel.
b. Another way to describe it is “justification by faith alone apart from the works of the law.”
c. Paul taught a way of salvation that was “by grace alone, by faith alone, through Christ alone.”
d. The false teachers, sometimes called “Judaizers” taught a “Jesus plus” gospel, rather than a “Jesus only” gospel.
e. They taught that in order to be saved, you had to have Jesus plus circumcision, and Jesus plus the Jewish special days, and Jesus plus the Jewish dietary laws, and plus, plus, plus.
6. The difference has to do with being saved by believing and receiving, or by believing and achieving.
a. In the one way, salvation is a gift, and in the other it is a wage.
b. In the one way, it is a gift of grace to be received, in the other way it is a wage to be earned through achievement.
7. For Paul, the true Gospel was salvation by Christ alone, and anything else was no salvation at all.
C. In order to make this clear Paul added this strong condemnation: 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! (vs. 8-9)
1. These are some of the strongest words in the New Testament.
a. The key phrase is “let him be eternally condemned.”
b. Some translations say “accursed.”
c. The Greek word is “anathema,” which comes from a Hebrew term that means “devoted to destruction.”
2. Notice also that this destruction would be eternal.
a. So ultimately, Paul declared that anyone (including himself) who preaches any other gospel than the real Gospel, will be sent to hell.
3. The perverting of the Gospel is serious business!
a. There are eternal ramifications for the false teacher and the one follows the false teacher.
D. Paul finished up this section with these words: 10 Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
1. Paul added these words to communicate his motive for writing this warning.
2. Paul wrote because he cared deeply about their eternal welfare.
3. Paul doesn’t care a bit about trying to win anyone’s approval or allegiance.
4. God’s approval and people’s salvation were the only things that mattered to Paul.
5. He was willing to risk anything and everything to achieve those two ends.
Conclusion:
A. So, what lessons can we take home with us today?
B. First, we learn that even well-taught Christians may unwittingly follow false doctrine.
1. If Paul’s converts could be seduced and deceived, then the same could certainly happen to us.
2. Each one of us must be careful and take heed.
3. Satan disguises himself as an angel of light in order to deceive and lead people astray.
4. Paul warned the Ephesian elders saying, “Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard” (Acts 20:30-31).
C. Second, we learn that we have to stand for the truth and expose error when great issues are at stake.
1. Not every issue is a great issue.
2. There are some things that we might differ about that are a matter of opinion or personal preference, and we should not fight for or over these kinds of things.
3. But there are some “great issues” that are at the heart of our Christian faith and salvation, and none are more important than Jesus and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
4. When anyone attempts to deny or change these kinds of things, then we must stand for the truth and expose the error.
5. That’s what Paul did, and that’s what we must also do.
D. Third, we learn that we must believe the Gospel, obey the Gospel, and stay true to the Gospel to be saved.
1. Like Paul we must be able to say: 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” (Rom. 1:16-17)
2. Also, let me remind you of the passage we read earlier: “Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.” (1 Cor. 15:1-2)
E. Fourth, we learn that we must not change the Gospel, but allow the Gospel to change us.
1. There is nothing about the Gospel that needs to change, or that will ever need to change.
2. In contrast to that, there is always a need for us to be changing and growing.
3. The Gospel has the power to save us, and it also has the power to transform us.
4. As we move through this wonderful letter to the Galatians we will learn that the Gospel sets us free from sin and condemnation, but then it sets us free to grow and to serve.
5. Galatians 5:13 says: For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. (ESV)
F. Finally, we learn that salvation is by grace, not by works.
1. Paul said it well in Eph. 2:8-9, “8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.”
2. Let me end with the words to the great old hymn Rock of Ages:
Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee;
let the water and the blood, from thy riven side which flowed,
be of sin the double cure; Cleanse me from its guilt and power.
Not the labor of my hands can fulfill thy law's demands;
could my zeal no respite know, could my tears forever flow,
all for sin could not atone; thou must save, and thou alone.
Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling;
Naked, come to thee for dress; helpless, look to thee for grace;
Vile, I to the fountain fly; wash me, Savior, or I die.
G. Praise God that our salvation is based on what Jesus did for us, rather than on what we do for Jesus.
1. The Gospel of Jesus is not only good news, it is great news.
2. It is a wonderful gift of God’s grace.
3. We are saved by Jesus alone; by grace alone!
Resources:
Galatians For You, Timothy Keller, The Good Book Company, 2013.
Galatians, Maxie Dunnam, The Communicator’s Commentary, Word, 1982.
The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians, William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible Series, Westminster Press, 1976.
Be Free – Galatians, Warren Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, Victor Books, 1989.
Only One Gospel: Why We Preach an Unpoplular Doctrine, Sermon by Ray Pritchard, www.keepbelieving.com
The Gospel as God Gave It! Sermon by Greg Nance, SermonCentral.com
