Introduction:
I. Shh, don’t speak too loudly or someone might hear you.
A. They might hear you say there is only one church
1. They might hear it is mandatory for a person to be baptized to be a Christian
2. They might hear you disagree with their understanding of the gospel.
3. Shhh, don’t let anyone hear you.
B. Paul was not like that at all.
1. He stood his ground when it came to the gospel of Jesus Christ
2. Ephesians 6:13-14 "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,"
3. Paul was a man who would stand up and shout out if there was anyone teaching falsehood.
II. Paul did just that to the Galatian church when he heard of the conflict within the church’s hearts
A. When others had stood up and questioned Paul’s validity as a minister of the gospel.
1. They questioned how a man who had been a persecuting Jew could ever been close to Jesus.
2. How could Paul had seen Jesus?
B. It wasn’t a long trail down that path of thinking before the very message he was proclaiming was questioned.
1. When Paul receives the message he is appalled not because he is on the hot seat, but because the Galatians have chosen a false gospel.
2. A gospel that was tangled in legalism.
3. Tangled with the precepts of the law, which had been fulfilled by Christ.
4. So Paul chose to stand up for the gospel and speak boldly for the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
Body:
I. Paul says there is ONE Gospel. (6-7a)
A. There is only one church
1. With thousands of churches in each region of the world claiming to be Christians, what do you tell someone who asks which one is real.
2. The Bible claims that Jesus only built one church.
3. Remember Peter’s confession "Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." (Matthew 16:16-18)
4. Jesus built one church on the confession of Peter and no more.
5. So which one is the true church?
6. It would be the church that taught the true gospel.
B. There is only one Gospel Paul preached
1. The gospel is very simply a story about the man Jesus of Nazareth.
a. The good news is that he gave his life freely as a free will sacrifice for the sin of the world.
b. He was a perfect sacrifice given to cover the iniquities of the world.
c. After dying he was buried in the tomb of rich man, and three days later he rose from the grave defeating death.
2. When speaking of the gospel we are often not talking about the plain story of Jesus Christ.
a. The Judaizers were not discrediting these previous things, the were discrediting the actions necessary for a Christian to be created.
b. Today it is really the same thing.
3. So what is the gospel of Jesus Christ.
a. Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 15 and Romans 6 that it is a reenactment of the death, burial and resurrection.
b. We are to have faith, trusting in the promises of God.
c. We are change our attitude toward sin (dying to sin)
d. We must confess Jesus as Lord. (Rom 10:9; 1 Cor. 12:3; Phil 2:11)
e. Then be baptized for the forgiveness of our sins (Rom 6:3ff; Acts 2:38; Galatians 3:27)
C. Have we bought into falsehood.
1. Our nation, our world wants us to live a life without conviction and without standing up for our faith.
a. Have you bought into it?
b. When you told someone goes to church, is that enough in your mind to be a Christian?
c. Does it matter where you go?
d. Does it matter how you act?
e. Does it matter if you obey the gospel of Christ.
2. There is one gospel of Christ
a. It demands obedient faith that relies on the promises of God through his free grace.
b. One must obey the gospel of Christ.
II. Paul sees someone has caused confusion. (7b)
A. Illustration – The Premise to Joe Somebody. Starring Tim Allen and Jim Belushi.
1. Joe was an average working man with a job he didn’t really love, but did his duties.
2. He had just been through a divorce, and loved his daughter and was good expressing his love for her.
3. On a "Bring Your Daughter To Work Day" Joe came to a crossroads in his life.
4. When he was slapped by a coworker in front of his daughter and other coworkers his life went into a tail spin.
5. Joe had lost sight of living and was confused with just what he wanted.
B. The Galatians are confused about their faith and the gospel.
1. They have been brought to a state of confusion because of their inability to see false teaching.
2. What is worse: the wolf or the wolf disguised as a lamb
3. Watch your doctrine closely
a. 1 Timothy 4:16 " Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers."
b. How many of us when confronted with false doctrine would know the difference?
III. Paul knows eternal condemnation is waiting (1:8-9)
A. There is one gospel
1. There are many gospels that you can follow, and they seem real
a. The Gospel of Success – God wants to bless you, so if you are doing well you are a Christian.
b. The Gospel deal – We might think that we can sit down and do business transactions with God.
c. The "light" Gospel – If it feels good and it doesn’t hurt anyone it must be true.
d. The non-Committal Gospel – you can be a Christian Spectator
2. The Hymns of Laodicean Church (In retrospect of the non-Committal Gospel)
3. There truly is only one gospel of Jesus Christ.
a. No matter how you slice it you will come down to the need of obedient faith in death, burial and resurrection.
b. What have you obeyed in your lifetime?
c. Your soul is what is in consideration.
B. The Plumb line
1. Isaiah 28:16-17a "So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: "See, lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trust will never be dismayed. I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line;"
2. The plumb line helps a builder establish a true line square to the earths surface or straight up and down.
3. It’s a very simple tool that is till used today by modern builders and bricklayers.
4. It hasn’t changed much since the beginning of time, because gravity has changed much.
5. So if God was to use his plumb line of righteousness upon you how would you square up?
C. Paul is concerned about the Galatians final fate in eternity.
1. He knows there is only one gospel that can be obeyed, thus anything else obeyed would not be the gospel.
2. It would just be a flat out lie.
3. Sincerely believing something does not save us.
4. Working real hard to be good does not save us.
5. Jesus Christ saves us through the obedience of His gospel.
Conclusion:
I. It is frightening when you consider the eternality and the seriousness of the preaching of the gospel.
A. Each of us have serious things to consider when looking at the so called messages of Christ today.
B. Some pointers in finding the true gospel
1. When looking for a fake, always know the real thing.
a. When the government trains people to find counterfeit bills, they do not show them thousands of kinds of counterfeits.
b. They train them to find the real dollar bill.
2. Be like the Bereans and test the message with the Scriptures.
3. The Bible does not have conflicts, so everything taught must match up with other Scriptures.
II. Paul preached the gospel throughout the known world
A. He never waivered from the original he taught from Damascus to Rome
B. He taught that we are all saved by grace through faith.
C. That faith manifesting itself in the reenactment of the Gospel of Christ
1. Belief in Jesus as Lord
2. Confession that Jesus is the Lord of your life
3. Repentance – turn totally away from sin and live for God
4. Baptism – Immersed in the watery grave being cleansed with the blood of Jesus
5. Walk the Walk
