Finally Free #2: Galatians 1:11-24 Sunday, May 1 st, 2011 Intro: Welcome to our service this morning! Welcome guests introduce myself. We re honored that you are here today. Pads thanks for signing in today and letting us know that you are here. What an awesome Easter Sunday 475 adults, 190 kids, 16 first-time decisions Next Step #1- today, we have our First-Connect Lunch after 2 nd service stay to connect! Next Step #2- Baptism on May 22 nd (class on May 15 th ) Opening Image: Just a minute ago we heard Free by the Zac Brown Band The song remembers the freedom of young love going & doing & enjoying each other The song makes an interesting claim that our young love will be our freest years in life. The song builds on a common view of life today: freedom = lack of responsibility Therefore, people seek freedom by removing responsibility from their lives Feeling trapped get rid of your spouse, your kids, your house, your job But is that what brings freedom? No just loneliness! Need: Throughout this series on the book of Galatians, we ll be looking at various views of freedom Last week, we talked about political freedom freedom from oppression We made an important point = freedom from external control doesn t lead to internal freedom In the same way, freedom from responsibility doesn t lead to internal freedom In fact, running from accountability and responsibility gives rise to more bondage Talk to all those who have divorced in this room or see their kids every other weekend Talk to all those who have stopped paying their bills because they wanted to be free The removal of responsibility doesn t bring the freedom we most need. The freedom from sin, guilt, shame, death, and despair. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ brings that level of freedom. Subject: Last week, we learned from Galatians 1:1-10 about the true gospel & false gospels We learned about the false gospel of moral performance, what we might call moralism This false gospel teaches us that God loves us & accepts us based on our good works Paul speaks out passionately in Galatians against this message We also learned about the false gospel of moral indifference, what we might call relativism This false gospel teaches us that if God exists, He doesn t care how we live all paths are good The true gospel is neither moralism or relativism it is the grace of God offered in Christ The true gospel is that sinful people can be reconciled to God by the work of Christ Jesus life, death, and resurrection are good news because we can be forgiven in Him But how do we know that the gospel as presented by Paul is the gospel of God? Scripture: Let s first Read Galatians 1:11-12 here s the claim. Paul wants us to know that the gospel he preaches (which we just talked about) is not from men His message is based on a direct revelation from God of Jesus Christ. Read Stott quote. This is a repeated claim from 1:1 Paul s gospel is God s gospel in contrast to other gospels
How can we know this for sure? The next section of Galatians - Galatians 1:13-2:11 is autobiographical. Paul tells his story in order to authenticate the divine authority of his message. (Illustration: certificate of authentication for a painting) Preview: This morning, Paul wants us to see the divine origin of his gospel by 1. Looking into his past. 2. Looking into his conversion. 3. Looking into his authority. First, Paul wants us to look into his past. Read Galatians 1:13-14. You have heard Paul lets us know that his past was well known. Some doubted his message because they knew the kind of life that he had led. You can imagine how people used that against him you can t listen to Paul he s a traitor. But Paul testifies to his past for the glory of God. God delivered him from his former way of life. I persecuted the church severely Paul tells us how he went after the people of Christ. Read Acts 8:3. Paul, formerly Saul, saw the gospel as a threat to his religiosity. So he persecuted (the Greek word means to systematically organize a program to harass). Paul was zealous for the traditions of his ancestors. Read Philippians 3:4-6. He worked harder than anyone to excel in his religious performance. Paul wants us to see his past clearly one of sinful self-righteousness, pride, and anger. One full of tradition. Now traditions can be helpful if they point us to Jesus & grace. But traditions can be deadly if they give us a false confidence of being righteous before God. Paul s past shows us the power of God s gospel to free us from our past. Second, Paul wants us to look into his conversion. Read Galatians 1:15-17. God changed Paul s life on the road to Damascus. He met Jesus Christ in person. Paul had heard the stories about Jesus (that s why he persecuted the church) but didn t believe. But one day, he had a personal encounter with the living Christ. We say at HCBC that Jesus Christ is real and that if you encounter Him with an open heart, He will change your life forever. Paul knew that truth personally. His heart had been changed by the grace of God in his life. Verse 15 says that God had set Paul apart literally from his mother s womb. Conversion is the work of God, part of His eternal plan, so that none of us can boast. Paul is saying to us: there is no way that I would have chosen Jesus. He chose me. Verse 16 says that God revealed His Son in me not to me. This was an inward change! But notice also that Paul s conversion came with a commission to preach the gospel. God set him apart from the very beginning to take the gospel to the Gentiles. Paul s conversion and commission go together changed from a persecuted to a preacher. Paul s conversion shows us the power of God s gospel to change our identity. Third, Paul wants us to look into his authority. Read Galatians 1:18-24. So far, Paul has shown the personal nature & the divine power of his gospel. But is it apostolic? Is it in line with the teaching of Jesus Himself & what the disciples preach? This is important because many claim revelation from God, but are not in line with Jesus.
Paul tells us that he went up to Jerusalem after three years to meet with Peter. The phrase get to know in the Greek means to meet & inquire from. Paul was learning. Paul spent fifteen days listening to Peter talk about his time with Jesus. Wow. Let s read that story in Acts 9:26-30. Peter must have told Paul of his own encounter with the living Jesus. Peter denied Jesus three times at the end of his life, and yet Jesus appeared to him in John 21. Jesus forgave his sins and changed his heart and gave him a new commission. Paul then met with James, the brother of Jesus, another key leader in the early church. James was one of the four half-brothers of Jesus mentioned in Mark (read Mark 6:3). James story was also similar to Paul s. At first, he didn t believe in Jesus either. John 7:5 tells us that not even Jesus brothers believe in Him. So how did he become a leader in the church of Jerusalem? Only one possible explanation. 1 Corinthians 15:7 tells us that Jesus appeared to James just as He had to Peter and Paul. Peter went from Denier to Proclaimer. James went from Disbelief to Faith. Paul went from Persecutor to Preacher. The other apostles experiences confirmed, not contradicted Paul s gospel. None of three men mentioned here deserved the favor of God, but they believed in the Jesus they had seen crucified and resurrected and their lives were changed. The gospel! The authority of Paul s gospel was confirmed by the testimonies of the original apostles. So what do we learn from Paul s testimony? 1- Paul s testimony gives us confidence in his message. You know the difference between a paid spokesperson & a recommendation? Paul s testimony is not an infomercial for the gospel. This is real life. Paul s past was forgiven in Christ. Paul s identity was changed through Christ. Paul s purpose was transformed by Christ. His message is God s gospel, not Paul s suggestion. This is not Paul s gospel. This is the good news of God for all mankind. Are we listening? 2- Paul s testimony gives us an illustration of how the gospel transforms our lives. Through the gospel of Jesus Christ, God 1- Deals with our past. If you are in Christ, your past has been dealt with at the cross. Forgiveness has been extended and grace has covered your shame. Only the gospel allows us to move on from our past. Religious communities focus on the past they define holiness. But gospel communities focus on the cross He is our holiness. For many of us, Satan lives in our past, constantly reminding us of our failures. Hear Paul your past has been forgiven at the cross. Your past is no longer grounds for shame, but a demonstration of grace.
2- Changes our identity. If you are in Christ, your name has been changed. You are no longer Saul. You are Paul. Only the gospel can change the heart of who you are. You can change jobs, change families, change communities. But you will still be you with a new job, new family, and new community. Only Jesus changes you so radically that you can say, I am not who I was. God has changed my identity in Christ. 3- Gives us purpose. With that new identity comes new purpose in life. I no longer live as I used to live because I am not who I used to be. Paul didn t just have a new name and forgiveness for sin. He had a new mission for his life to preach Christ to the Gentiles. In Christ, God gives us new purpose. You no longer live for yourself, for your family, for your bank account. You live for God every day for His name, His glory, His fame. In short, the gospel changes our story. Paul says in vs. 23 that the Judean churches kept hearing something about him. This is in contrast to what they used to hear (vs. 13). They were hearing a new story about Paul The one who persecuted us now preaches the faith he once tried to destroy. God changes Paul s story. He can change yours as well.
Scriptures: Galatians 1:11-24 11 Now I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel preached by me is not based on human thought. 12 For I did not receive it from a human source and I was not taught it, but it came by a revelation from Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard about my former way of life in Judaism: I persecuted God s church to an extreme degree and tried to destroy it. 14 I advanced in Judaism beyond many contemporaries among my people, because I was extremely zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. 15 But when God, who from my birth set me apart and called me by His grace, was pleased 16 to reveal His Son in me, so that I could preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone. 17 I did not go up to Jerusalem to those who had become apostles before me; instead I went to Arabia and came back to Damascus. 18 Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to get to know Cephas, and I stayed with him 15 days. 19 But I didn t see any of the other apostles except James, the Lord s brother. 20 Now I am not lying in what I write to you. God is my witness. 21 Afterward, I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 I remained personally unknown to the Judean churches in Christ; 23 they simply kept hearing: He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith he once tried to destroy. 24 And they glorified God because of me. [HCSB] Acts 8:3 3 Saul, however, was ravaging the church. He would enter house after house, drag off men and women, and put them in prison. [HCSB] Philippians 3:4-6 If anyone else thinks he has grounds for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised the eighth day; of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; regarding the law, a Pharisee; 6 regarding zeal, persecuting the church; regarding the righteousness that is in the law, blameless. [HCSB] Acts 9:26-30 26 When he arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to associate with the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, since they did not believe he was a disciple. 27 Barnabas, however, took him and brought him to the apostles and explained to them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road and that He had talked to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus. 28 Saul was coming and going with them in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He conversed and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they attempted to kill him. 30 When the brothers found out, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. [HCSB] Mark 6:3 3 Isn t this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren t His sisters here with us?
Quotes: John Stott, The Message of Galatians Paul s gospel, which was being called in question by the Judaizers and deserted by the Galatians, was neither by invention (as if his own brain had fabricated it), nor a tradition (as if the church had handed it down to him, but a revelation (for God had made it known to him).