Galatians 1:1-5
Never Throw Away Freedom
Sitting
on top of the United States capitol building is a 20 foot statue known as the “Freedom Lady”. She was sculpted
by Italian artists in the city of Rome, & shipped across the Atlantic Ocean
to her perch in Washington DC.
During
the delivery, the ship carrying the statue encountered a fierce storm.
Howling
winds and huge waves threatened to capsize the ship. Its skipper ordered the
cargo thrown overboard.
But
when the men went to toss the Freedom Lady the captain shouted, “No, never! We’ll flounder before we throw “Freedom” away.”
This is the message of Galatians… Never throw away your freedom.
A)Galatians has been called the
“Declaration of Independence of Christian liberty.”
B)The great reformer Martin Luther especially loved
this letter; he called Galatians his “Catherine (his wife’s name)
1) because, he said, “I am married to it.”
C) This letter transformed his way of relating to
God – and became the catalyst for the Protestant Reformation.
A)The Galatians were a celtic people originally from
Gaul, or present-day France, migrated south, settling in a region which is present-day Turkey.
B)Note: that Galatia is not a city, but a region- consisting not of one
Church but many Churches that were in that region
C) History tells us the
Galatians were country folk - backwoods people -
ancient Hillbillies, who were unstable, uneducated, & easily misled.
A)Acts 13-14 gives us an example of their fickleness…Paul works a miracle and heals a lame man in the
city of Lystra.
B)At first the
people assume he’s the Greek god
JUPITER. They try to worship him
1)But Paul sets the
record straight……. and preaches the Gospel… !!
C) That was in the morning - By evening time these grace-rejecting
Jews arrive, mingle with the crowd, and
stir up the people against Paul.
1) The Galatians end up
picking up rocks and stoning the man they had originally tried to worship.
D) And In a sense, they were
still throwing rocks when he wrote this
letter.
1) The Jews who couldn't
kill him were trying to assassinate his character - question his apostleship.
Where were his credentials? Who appointed him?
They attacked his MESSAGE & HIS MINISTRY:
A)They contradicted his teaching of Justification by
grace thru faith ALONE.
B) Because They
essentially said that believing in Jesus Christ was good but it wasn’t enough
–
1) If you really wanted to be saved you needed to become
JEWISH –
{
Witnessing class Pocket NT – Tracks /
Scalpel ) small surgical ….
C)
Understand, false teachers distort the gospel in 3 ways: Some twist the truth - make it say what it was never
meant to say.
1) Some subtract from the truth. They’ll leave out
crucial elements.
D)And some add to the truth – that was the tactic of the Judaizers.
One
Commentator described their message in this way:
“Faith is fine – Jesus is good – the
cross works – the blood helps – but it’s not enough to cover sin. To be dressed for heaven you’ve
got to add to the wardrobe a few religious accessories – like Sabbath worship,
or circumcision, or baptism, or monthly fasting, or weekly tithes, or daily
devotions – this discipline, that sacrifice.”
A)As a
Result of the teachings of these LEGALIST The Galatians were Christians who
were suffering from a case of covenant confusion.
1) Their relationship with God had become muddled by
these false teachers.
B) So that was the Basic scene in the Churches of
Galatia that Prompted the Lord to inspire Paul to write this Letter Rd v. 1-5
Now
at first glance this looks like a normal greeting from Paul! In some ways it is
similar to the way that He began his other letters
A)But a closer look reveal two themes that Paul is going to keep coming back to throughout this Letter – His Authority & His message or gospel
B) These two matters are at the heart of the letter to the Galatians:
v.1 Paul, an apostle (not
from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who
raised Him from the dead),
C)
1st He Explains His Authority :
APOSTLE
1)Paul always began his epistles in one of two ways:
2) To the Romans and the
Philippians, to Titus and Philemon, he introduced himself as a servant, or
prisoner of Christ.
D)To the Corinthians and
the Ephesians, to the Colossians and the Galatians, he presented himself as an
apostle. Why?
1) Because to those who
embraced and welcomed his ministry, he was a SERVANT but to those who challenged his authority he
was an Apostle,
The basic meaning of the word Apostle means one who is sent out on a mission !
A)Jesus Chose 12 – Apostles
- Mission to Change the World !
B) Now the 1st 12 apostles who
were sent out by Jesus seemed to have a unique place
in the history of the church! God's
plan!
1) They were used by the Lord in the birthing
of His Church
&
in the putting together of God's word! (
Inspired!)
C) Paul was later added to this Unique group of
original apostles – but as he mentions here in v.1 – He
was added not by men – but by the Lord
D) Paul was not
commissioned by a church, or a denomination, or a theological institution… but
by the risen Lord Himself.
1) He explains later in
the Chapter his Conversion & calling by the Lord
Now why is it so
important that we recognize Paul’s Apostleship:
A)Well there are certain Theologians today who
refute the writings of Paul on the basis of them being outdated
B)Paul was writing in a particular era – that is
outdated with our era
1)
Example
– Subject of Homosexuality – Romans
C) So If Paul was just a man writing his own
opinions – then we can pick & choose what fits with our lifestyle &
Preferences
D) But if Paul is an apostle writing under the
inspiration of the HS – then we must accept his writings as from the Lord
1)
Relevant for all times
E) So two things that are going to keep coming up in
this epistle are Paul’s Authority / the 2nd thing is Paul’s Message
the gospel that he preached v.3
3 Grace to you
and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,
A)Grace and peace have
been called "the Siamese twins of the NT
B) The term "Siamese twin" refers to twins that are joined together at birth. 1) If they share a
vital organ some remain connected for life.
C) The first twins referred to as "Siamese" were named "Chang" and "Eng". 1) They remained joined for life, and eventually married - fathering several children. Don't ask me for details.
D) Likewise, grace and peace stay joined together. You
can't have one without the other.
1)You can't enjoy peace
with God without the grace of God. And grace always produces peace. They work
together to bear fruit in believing hearts.
A)See the NATURE
of Salvation is Peace: Peace w/ God / Peace w/ men & peace
with in !!!!
B) The SOURCE of
Salvation is grace: God’s unmerited free favor that is void of
any human works
1)
Nothing
we can do to EARN IT – Nothing we can do to ADD to it !!!
C) And note Paul makes it clear that this Grace
& peace flow from The Father & the Son together
1)
Grace
is who God is & Peace is the Result of Knowing Him
Now
in v. 4 Paul describes how this Salvation that we enjoy that came by the grace
of God was brought about – Note 3 things
A)1st He tells us what Christ did / 2nd He tells it why He did
it / 3rd He tells us Who it
was done for –
B) 1st What
Christ did: The first thing he says about Jesus is that He gave Himself for our sins
. “Throughout the epistle Paul points the Galatians to the
centrality of the cross.
C) Jesus gave the greatest gift He could; He gave himself.
1) Christ Gave Himself for our Sins
D)Our sins had put us on a road to ruin and destruction. If God did not do something to save us, our sins would destroy us.
1) So out of love, Jesus gave
Himself for our sins!
2nd Why did He do it? To Deliver us from this Present evil age
A)The word Deliver means to RESCUE – Christianity is
a rescue faith
B) The word Deliver is used in Acts 7:14 of the
Children of Israel being Rescued from Egyptian slavery
C) Acts 12:11 Of Peter being rescued out of Prison instead of being beheaded
1)And in 23:27 Of Paul being rescued from the Mob
that was about to Lynch Him
D)This verse in Galatians is the only place where it is used Metaphorically of our Salvation
But what does it
mean that He rescued us from this Present evil age?
A)Understand that
The Bible divides history into two ages – there is this age &
the age which is to come – Kingdom age
B) This age started in the garden at the Fall – Man
forfeited this world into the hands of Satan – god of this world
1)
The age which is to come – started at the
cross – Redemption –
Jesus has not yet laid claim to that which is
rightfully his
C) So presently the ages are overlapping – and when
a person is born again they are transferred from this
age – to the age that is to come
1)
Transferred from the Kingdom of Darkness …. Kingdom of God
Col 1:13 13For He rescued
us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His
beloved Son, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
A)There are two Kingdoms – we are not taken out of
this world – we are to be salt & light but we are transferred One Kingdom to
the other
B) SO the Purpose of
Christ death was not only to bring us forgiveness but having been
forgiven we should live a new life
1)
Life
of the Kingdom of God
C) So Paul tells us what
Christ did – He gave Himself for our sins / He tells us why He did it –
to Rescue us from this Present evil age
1) And 3rdly He tells us who He did it for – the
Motivation: according to the will of our God
and Father, 5 to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
A) Jesus lived to Please His Heavenly father: His desire was to bring glory to God – Father be glorified !!!!
That
is a Crucial Pt. Because any teaching that adds to or subtracts from the work
of Christ – doesn’t glorify God but glorifies man
A)If Salvation can be earned – PRAISE BE TO ME
B) I changed my life / I cleaned up my act – I followed the plan – I made it / I did it!!!! ME ME ME - Praise be to me
C) But when I understand that I was hopelessly lost – Doomed / damned not a chance in the world of Changing my status before a holy God
1) But
Christ – Praise
be to God
D) Eph 2:1-10
Now
at this point in most of His letters Paul usually breaks into some kind of
greeting – or prayer for those whom he is writing –
A)But in this but Paul's heart is too heavy for that here - there's a burning issue he wants to address!
[6] I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel,
B)As I mentioned, the Galatians were fickle, gullible, impressionable - and thus, vulnerable to false doctrine.
1) Paul says they were "turning away" from the Gospel of grace.
C) Now This is where I want to pick up next week – but I want you to note 2 things before we go today:
1st The phrase turning
away in the Greek is very strong : It
means "to change sides, to defect".
A)Idea is that of Deserting – means to transfer allegiance/ it is used of a solider in the
army who revolts or deserts – and goes to the other side
B)This is what Paul accuses
the Galatians of – They were in danger of becoming religious turn coats – they are spiritual
deserters
1) The verb tense implies they were not there yet, but they were getting close.
C) Their faith was vacillating. They were losing their
grip on the grace of God.
2nd
But note they were not just turning away from a teaching to embrace another
A) they were turning away from a Person from Him who called you)
B)Pt To turn away from the true gospel is always to turn
away from the Person of Jesus Christ.
Christianity is
not just a truth to be learned, but a person to be
experienced.
Now How
IS their Problem SIGNIFICANT TO US ?
A)Well There are two
types of Legalist today: Unsaved legalist and
the saved Legalist
B)Unsaved legalist
are trying to obtain their salvation
thru their works
1) They are working to GET right w/ God
C) That is the Basis of
every false religion in the world today: Places an emphasis on what Man has to
do to earn God’s Favor !!!
D) And Yet that message has infiltrated into many Churches
that we would consider to be Christian
1) there are those who say
– that in order to be saved you need to be baptized / Or Join their Church /
Attend their Class
E) Listen those are all
good things – Wonderful responses to Salvation – not a Requirement of Salvation
1) Oregon Sunday School class – What makes someone a
Christian ? Jesus is heart – Church
Now the Saved Legalist are those who are trying to maintain
their salvation thru their works : they are working to STAY
right w/ God
A)Then there are those
who say once you are saved in order to maintain your salvation – certain things
that need to Change { List of Don’ts
B) Don’t where Make up : Magee
1) Pants:
South
C) Caffeine – Others think it is Essential to
Spirituality
1) Long hair for men:
D) Rock Music – Never Secular – Some have problems with
anything that is Rock oriented – Deut 32:31 Our
Rock is not like their Rock –
I say Rock on!!!!!!!!!!
Movies -
Yugoslavia – Young people
were so turned off to the Church
Students at CCS – Line
Dancing: