You’ve Got the Time is taking 28 minutes a day to listen to the New Testament on mp3. You’ll cover the entire New Testament in just forty days. 28 minutes a day for forty days – it’s just that simple. And if you’re behind in your reading/listening, do as Dori did in the movie, Finding Nemo, “Just keep swimming.” I’m preaching on selected Scriptures throughout the forty days as you listen.
Note: for those who are on Twitter, I’ll be tweeting throughout the message with the hash tag #sermon.
“Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—2 and all the brothers who are with me,
To the churches of Galatia:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.
10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Galatians 1:1-10)
You cannot read the first ten verses of this letter without feeling that something important is at stake. The early church father, Jerome, once said that when he read the letters of the apostle Paul he could hear thunder. Nowhere in all of Paul’s writings do you hear the storm better than in this letter. The letter has been described as a “lion turned loosed…” Throughout these six chapters of 149 verses you can readily sense Paul’s passion, sarcasm, and anger. There is a tremendous amount of emotional intensity in the pages of this letter. Another has compared the emotional intensity as holding a “live coal with your bare hands.” We see from the outset that Paul’s words are to the point when comparing this to his other letters. It’s these terse words that betray his tense mood. Why all the emotion? Because of the gravity of the situation.
1. Only One
Focus on the starting words at the beginning of verse seven for a moment: “not that there is another one…” (Galatians 1:7a) Paul is so intense because the Christians have turned away from the gospel to “a different gospel” (Galatians 1:6b). Paul had spent about four years spreading the Gospel in modern-day Syria, among other areas (Acts 13-14). Ironically, Paul had gone throughout this region before his conversion in order to sniff out Christians for persecution. Now, after his conversion, he went through the very same region in order to share the Gospel with those same people. After Paul leaves this area with churches in their embryonic state, he learns they have gone away from the gospel: “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel” (Galatians 1:6)
Part of his emotional intensity is how “quickly” these followers of Christ turned from the gospel. The word “deserting” in verse six was used to describe a soldier who revolted his command or deserted his post. The converts had become religious turncoats or spiritual deserters. He was concerned that the Christians were committing spiritual suicide. He is now sounding a spiritual tornado warning.
Over the past two Sundays, we have examined two instances of an interfaith dialogue (John 8:30-36 and Acts 24). What’s been remarkable is how the Bible consistently puts its cards on the table by its denial that all roads lead to heaven. Against, the popular notion of all religious roads lead to the same place, the Bible says this: “not that there is another one…” (Galatians 1:7a)
For believers, we cannot be hazy and imprecise in what we believe about the Gospel. I hope our church has clarity when it comes to the Gospel. I hope to rid all confusion when it comes to the Gospel’s message. Every Christian should know by memory how to communicate the Gospel with accuracy. Instead, the Bible expects our mental concepts have to be sharply attuned.
It asks us to not lose track of the tune of the real Gospel. And what is the tune? This is the Gospel: “who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father…” (Galatians 1:4) More on the ingredients of the Gospel in a few moments…
2. Reject “Jesus Plus” Thinking
“As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:9)
Again, Paul’s emotional intensity is something we are not used to. If he were on a talk show at this point, we wouldn’t listen to him. Instead, we would ask him to be rational and calm down during the commercial break. We would ask him to come away from the set and whisper in his ear, “Why are you so angry?” If we were his public relations agent, we would tell him to apologize for being so agitated. Yet, let’s not lose track of the different thoughts in today’s passage.
Religious Options
What’s important for you and I to ponder is this: The people this letter represents had not turned to Buddhism, Hinduism, or Islam. Instead, they had added a more subtle thread for they wanted people to require every person who was a Christian to be circumcised as well. Some would say they had slightly turned to another emphasis.
If you are new to the Bible, then you might find the Bible’s way of thinking as foreign in many respects. Here is one especially strange thing about the Bible: the Bible doesn’t present itself as one color among a spectrum of colors. Nor is the Bible’s tune open to be “remixed.” To enter in the Bible’s word is to see these words posted above the doorway: “If this is true, then the opposite is false.” Instead, it presents its teaching as right versus wrong, or true versus false. If you have a philosophical bent, then this is thesis and antithesis. Today, many of us like to think about science as “either/or” and religion as “both/and.” Yet, the Bible calls on us to think of the Gospel in terms of “either/or.”
This is very different from the mindset of many of us in America today where we conclude, “You have some good points and so do you…” This is radical to many, if not most, people in our day. To use a sports analogy, most people see the various religions to be playing for the same team. I didn’t say denominations, but religions. Yet, Jesus Himself sees these others in terms of the opposing team. Jesus Himself said: “For the one who is not against us is for us.” (Mark 9:40)
Had we been there when the Gospel opponents showed up, we might have heard them say, “Look, I’m not asking you to reject Paul’s message entirely. I’m not asking you to reject grace. You just need the law of Moses and to be circumcised as well.” Yet, this was not a slight difference of opinion.
Later on in the letter, Paul gives more explanation: “Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you.” (Galatians 5:2) Or, as it is summarized in Acts: “…Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” (Acts 15:1b) Or back in our letter today: “I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.” (Galatians 5:3) Again, Paul turns to an “either/or” logic as opposed to his adversaries who use a “both/and” approach. If you turn away from the Gospel of grace to be circumcised, you have to keep the whole law. In other words, you must be perfect. This group did not deny you must believe Jesus for salvation, but they stressed that you must also be circumcised and keep the law as well.
In other words, you must let Moses finish what Christ has begun. Jesus doesn’t need anyone to finish His work. If you turn away from the cross, you turn toward your ability to keep the law.
Think of it this way: good deeds are represented by money in the bank and you needed so much money to get into heaven. If you turn toward circumcision, you are working to build up enough money to get into heaven. If you turn to the cross of Christ alone (and the keyword is alone), then you are relying on Jesus Christ to deposit the money you need in the bank. Paul would say, “You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.” (Galatians 5:4)
These are two very different paths. One is called grace and the other I’m calling “Jesus Plus.” In essence, it comes down to this – Is Jesus’ death on the cross enough? People always want to either add to or subtract from the cross of Christ. Yet, the Bible presents the Gospel as saying that the cross of Christ is just the right length. You’ll find people who wish to add weight to the cross or shave a few pounds off. Yet, the Bible presents the Gospel as the cross weighs just the right weight. No extra length is needed. No need to shave off a few pounds. If you add an inch to the cross, you might as well thinking Muhammad is the prophet and Allah is God. If you add a once to the cross, you would do just as well to be an atheist. My dress pants might need to be altered but the cross doesn’t need to be altered.
This is really not that egregious when you consider today’s options. Where many people want to live as hyphenated Christians – “I am a Mormon Christian.” Or, “I’m a Buddhist-Christian.” Still others will say, “I’m a Jehovah’s Witness- Christian.” An outsider looking at this situation might be tempted to see two people discussing these various ideas in the hallway of a church or in the parking lot of a Jewish Temple and conclude, “Just a disagreement over non-essentials.” When you consider your religious options today, the situation is more like a supermarket of religious options. Paul anticipated just this thing as he told one church before he left it to start other churches elsewhere: “I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.” (Acts 20:29-30) Again, the Bible calls on us to think of the Gospel in terms of “either/or.”
We have a natural tendency to soft-pedal the Bible at this point. Yet, we “soft-pedal” it to our peril. And I want to warn you of the danger this morning. Paul shows us the implications of this different gospel: “As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:9) The word in verse nine “accursed” deserves your attention. It means final destruction – condemnation.
Preaching a different message is not a minor defect. This is not a trivial matter for Paul says if you alter the engine of the Gospel, then you will go to hell at the end of time.
3. The Ingredients of the Gospel
Today, we cannot relax our hold on the Gospel. Instead, we must tighten our mental grip on this truth. Why? Because becoming religious active is not the answer. Millions of people, both inside and outside the church, believe that the essential message of Christianity is, “If you behave, then you belong.” This is the gospel of My Moral Performance where I shine. This gospel says, “Look at me. Look how good I am. Shine the stage light on me!” The reason he is so intense is because the “Jesus Plus” crowd will lead you to a joyless life. We are left as angry as the elder brother in Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son. If you alter the Gospel, you’ll end up being the elder brother in Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son: “But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 29 but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command…” (Luke 15:28-29a)
Instead of the “ahhhh” feeling of knowing Christ has done all of the heavy lifting for you, you are left with the gospel of “Do more, try harder.” When we reject the Gospel of grace for the Gospel of “Do More, Try Harder,” we are handcuffed to yesterday’s sins. You need to reject the gospel of moral performance.
Here is the Gospel: “who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father…” (Galatians 1:4) The Gospel is good news that Jesus Christ died so that anyone who trusts in Christ is saved from God’s anger for your sin. The only thing you bring is your sin, which is the problem you need to be saved from. “Christianity isn’t a crutch for the weak; it’s a stretcher for the dead.” The Gospel is Jesus Plus nothing. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, without adding any human works to it.
Non-Christians
Warning: Sitting there saying, “I’m not that bad,” only shoots yourself in the foot. Tony Soprano of HBO fame says, “I may kills lots of people … but I’m a good son.”
Christians
For many of you think of the Gospel only as of the diving board where we jump into Christianity. “The gospel is not the first ‘step’ in a ‘stairway of truths, rather, it is more like the ‘hub’ in a ‘wheel’ of truth. The gospel is not just the A-B-C’s but the A to Z of Christianity. The gospel is not just the minimum required doctrine necessary to enter the kingdom, but the way we make all progress in the kingdom.”
