Introduction
A family from a remote area was making their first visit to a big city. They checked in to a grand hotel and stood in amazement at the impressive sight. As Mom signed in at the reception desk, Father and son came to the elevator entrance. They’d never seen an elevator before, and just stared at it, unable to figure out what it was for. An old lady hobbled towards the elevator and went inside. The door closed. About a minute later, the door opened and out came a stunningly good-looking young woman.
Dad couldn’t stop staring. Without turning his head he patted his son’s arm and said, "Go get your mother, son."
What a difference. In the passage we considered last week, The apostle Paul made some strong arguments for what he called a "different Gospel, which he said really wasn’t any Gospel at all--any other message he said isn’t good news.
In today’s passage, we get a look at the other side of the coin. Today we look not at a different gospel, but the one true Gospel
Proposition: And we shall se that it is a gospel that makes a difference...
Interrogative: So what is the difference between the real gospel and the counterfeits, and what is the difference that the gospel makes in our lives?
Transition: I notice three big differences here, The source the substance and the strength, but since you’re fill in the blank outlines don’t have S’s but T’s you know those aren’t the words I’m going to use to describe the differences. First I’d like to consider the difference in Source of the true Gospel. It is different because of it’s
1. Transcendence
vv. 11-12 I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
The true message of good news, that salvation from sin can be found in the sacrificial death of Christ through faith alone, is not a man made message. It is at once too simple and too magnificent for man’s wisdom. It is a transcendent message, a message from beyond our mortal limitations. It is a message from God.
Notice the similarity here between verses 1 & 12. In verse 1 Paul makes it clear that he is an apostle, a representative sent not by man, but by God. And here in verse 12 Paul makes the same point for the message itself. For Paul the two are inseparable, the source of his authority is the authenticity of his God-sent message.
Now Paul here is not saying that there was anything wrong with the Gospel as taught in Jerusalem, in the next chapter he makes the point explicitly that the message was the same. He is simply saying that he does not have some sort of proxy authority for the message but that he received the message by the direct authority of Jesus Christ just like those apostles in Jerusalem.
The reason that is important in the context of this letter to the Galatian churches is that those who were preaching another Gospel were trying to say, "Hey we’ve got the REAL message straight from Jerusalem, from the REAL apostles, and Paul got it there too but he tried to water it down because he didn’t think you would accept the REAL message."
To this Paul responds, "No, I didn’t go to Jerusalem to hear the message, I received it by revelation from Christ Himself."
The significance for us today is that we need to understand and submit to the Divine authority of the Gospel message just like the Galatians did. We have no right to alter parts of it according to our pleasure to make it more acceptable to ourselves and our society. Yes we want to communicate it with relevance to make it understood, but we cannot water it down.
The message is what it is once and for all, in every time in every place. Christ died for sinners, those who submit to his authority and reach out in faith are saved by His sacrifice. It doesn’t matter if we live in a society that is uncomfortable with the concept of sin, if you don’t admit your sin you can’t be saved.
It doesn’t matter if we live in a world that wants every viewpoint to be equally accepted, the good news is still singular, there aren’t many ways to get to heaven, there is one way, the way of the cross. If we could save ourselves, Paul will argue in chapter 2, verse 21, then Christ died for nothing.
That message of salvation, that good news, is not a message from man but a message from God. It is Transcendent, that makes a big difference. The next difference is one of substance. The genuine Gospel is...
2. Truth
v. 20 I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie.
Now I understand that in this verse what Paul has in mind is that the story He’s relating about his life is true, he’s not making it up. But I’m using this verse as a place to hang my hat for a concept that is underlying this whole discussion; and that is that for Paul the question of what the gospel is is not merely a matter of academics. It is important to him that the message is truth. It’s not a question of which Gospel works better for you, which one meshes with your lifestyle, the ultimate question is what is truth. It doesn’t matter what I think or what I want, what matters is what’s true.
In this sense Paul IS saying, "I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie."
We live in a world that is becoming increasingly distant from the notion of the truth--that is of transcendent truth, absolute truth. Postmodernism has sold the lie that there is no absolute truth, truth is a social concept, filtered through cultural lenses, and what’s true for you may not be true for me. Especially in the case of religious belief, we are told, it is arrogant for us to claim an absolute corner on the truth market. Each group or individual has their own plan that works for them and we should understand that, be tolerant of other viewpoints.
But it is one thing to be tolerant of and to even defend the right of others to hold other viewpoints, and it is another thing to say that any other gospel is equally true or valid.
The message of Jesus is good news because it is Truth, with a capital "T." But by it’s nature truth is intolerant by society’s standards, because TRUTH makes an exclusive claim, everything not the TRUTH is false. It is error.
ILLUSTRATION: Imagine that I made twelve Treasure maps, on one x marks where treasure is buried,on the the others, land mines. People can sincerely believe in their false maps, but that won’t make their maps true, because there is only one way to the treasure.
The right map, the truth, makes all the difference. Finally I’d like to consider the difference in the strength of the true gospel. It makes a difference because it has the power of...
3. Transformation
vv. 22-24 I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They only heard the report: "The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy." And they praised God because of me.
Here is the big difference. Because It’s God’s message and not man’s, because it’s true and not false, The message of the cross has the power to transform lives. The apostle Paul was killing Christians until God literally knocked him out of the saddle and convinced Him of the truth of that message. From that moment he was transformed into a mighty faith warrior, desperate to tell the world that they could be changed too.
The gospel message isn’t just pie in the sky by and by but a message of New life NOW! Jesus may find you in the ditch but he doesn’t leave you there, he gives you a new heart, he sends the Holy Spirit to live within you, empowering you to live a life for Him. Real life. The Gospel transforms.
ILLUSTRATION: Lee Strobel, teaching pastor at Saddleback Community Church in California shares about the Gospel’s power of Transformation: "How can I tell you the difference God has made in my life? My daughter Allison was 5 years old when I became a follower of Jesus, and all she had known in those five years was a dad who was profane and angry. I remember I came home one night and kicked a hole in the living room wall just out of anger with life. I am ashamed to think of the times Allison hid in her room to get away from me.
"Five months after I gave my life to Jesus Christ, that little girl went to my wife and said, "Mommy, I want God to do for me what he’s done for Daddy." At age 5! What was she saying? She’d never studied the archeological evidence [regarding the truth of the Bible]. All she knew was her dad used to be this way: hard to live with. But more and more her dad is becoming another way. And if that is what God does to people, then sign her up. At age 5 she gave her life to Jesus.
"God changed my family. He changed my world. He changed my eternity."*
The message of the cross is one of transformation. What a Difference.
*Citation: Lee Strobel, author and teaching pastor at Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, California, from sermon "The Case for Christ"
