1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND OF GALATIANS I love Hugh Lunn s book,. And especially his compression of years where trends just hit you p 325. you may ask yourself How did this happen in our generation? but the more important question is can we redress it? How do you successfully warn someone that their values, and what they think, and what they really love is in fact completely wrong? We are delving into Galatians a letter that is direct, hard hitting, and uncompromising. The sort of stuff the Hummer n Helicopter gen can t cope with unless they are dishing it to others. Before the Paul critics leap into the starting blocks how about we consider Jesus Get outs my sight Satan directly to Peter You are of your father the Devil to the Jews. How long do I have to put up with you? To his ineffective disciples. There are times when politeness needs to be overridden. If you overstep the law of the land and you resist arrest, police are not obligated to be polite If a person is consistently rude in a courtroom Magistrate will not be polite. If you overstep the moral boundaries of the gospel, and you resist all attempts to redress that, I may not be obligated to be polite to you if you cramp the gospel, I just won t miss you!! you ll take a direct hit, both barrels. Better coming from me than from Christ!!! The successful outcome of a direct warning depends more on the heart of the offender, than on the tone of the alarm raiser. (Jesus n Peter, me, you) can I urge our older saints to pray often for Peter and Jezza and others as their ministry years will involve addressing the hearts of the Hummer n helicopter generations. And now my immediate challenge is to prove that Galatians can be successfully applied to all generations!! So let s get the wide angle as the movie starts to pick up speed and zoom gently in. THE EARLY CHURCH Just before the risen Christ returned to Heaven, He told His disciples, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). The early believers boldly proclaimed Jesus Christ as eternal Lord and Saviour, the fulfillment of all God had promised for His chosen people Israel. Thousands in Jerusalem responded to the gospel. 1
2 When persecution by the Jewish authorities scattered them from Jerusalem, their "good news," the gospel, scattered with them. Still, they only spoke to those who had already embraced the Jewish faith. Non-Jewish people--the Gentiles--were avoided as impure until God Himself showed that they too were now part of His chosen people, Samaria, Ethiopian eunuchs, Cornelius, etc. Churches with Jews and Gentiles meeting together soon appeared throughout the Roman Empire and beyond. Within forty years, gentile urban centres had replaced Jerusalem as the focal point of the Church. THE GALATIANS (Map of the area) About 280 BC, a group of Celtic warrior tribes known as Galatians established themselves in north-central Asia Minor. They later became a kingdom subject to Rome. When their king died in 25 BC, a Roman province by their name was established. Since the Galatians had ruled over other groups, the Roman province of Galatia included areas south of the original territory. Paul's first missionary journey (about 47 AD) took him into the southern part of the Galatian province. Churches were established in Pisidian Antioch. Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe (Acts 13:3-14:23). Many commentators believe these churches were the recipients of Paul's letter to the Galatians. Others think that Paul also visited the original ethnic group in the north, and that these were the people he addressed as Galatians. While nothing in Scripture rules out a visit to northern Galatia, there is no certain record of it. On the other hand, the New Testament is clear regarding Paul's close ties with the southern part of the province (Acts 16:1-5, met Timothy and family, revisits churches, 20:4). THE JUDAIZERS There were many who wanted to twist the early advances of the gospel to their own ends. They would follow Paul and other missionaries, attempting to "bend back" the new converts to their own distorted Jewish ways of thinking Galatians 5:7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? They are called "the Judaizers" because they wanted to Judaize the believers--to make them Jews as well as Christians. They taught gentile converts that "Unless you are circumcised according to the Law of Moses, you cannot be saved" (Acts 15: Certain individuals came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved. 2This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. 2
3 compare Galatians 6:12 Those who want to impress others by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. They apparently claimed to represent the church leadership in Jerusalem (Acts 15:24), so some Gentiles obediently began trying to follow the Jewish Law (Galatians 3:2-3, 4:10). The Law and many traditions were not evil in themselves. Circumcision, dietary restrictions, and special days are within the Christian's liberty to observe (Acts 16:3, Romans 14:5). Jesus had lived perfectly in the will of the Father as a Jew. Paul himself was a Jew, and Christianity did not require him to abandon his Jewishness in areas unopposed to the truth of the gospel (Acts 21:20-25, 1 Corinthians 9:20). But if even Jews looked to the Law as a means to secure God's favour, then their faith was not in Christ and His completed work on the cross. If the Gentiles were required to practice the Law--an impossible task--then suddenly the means of both salvation and living the Christian life became human effort, rather than faith in God. This is a pivotal concept to grasp about Galatians. (This is why Paul is so direct, so animated, and so deeply concerned it s his white hot pastoral heart, cause he knows what is at stake if anyone looks elsewhere from the gospel.) And more importantly about your life. It is ONLY what Jesus did on the cross that saves us can I be just as direct as Paul? And ask you when you are one day standing before God and He says to you why should I welcome you into my heaven? What answer will you give? Only answer that matters. You gotta get this one right cannot get it wrong if your answer started with I you are probably in eternal danger if your answer started with / focussed on Jesus and the cross you are well on the right track. See how vital this all is? Not yet started Galatians!!! Jesus will welcome as brothers and sisters those who know Him. And sadly say to many who have done many things in His name Depart from me I NEVER KNEW YOU Allow me to most sincerely urge you to get to know Him Know that love that drove him willingly to the cross in my place!!! This is the core issue of the letter to the Galatian churches. PAUL'S LETTERS Paul was at the forefront of the expansion in the early Church. Many others whom the Holy Spirit gifted were boldly spreading the gospel throughout the Roman Empire and beyond. What set Paul apart as a proclaimer and defender of the truth were his pastoral letters to the churches he had started. They were soon recognized by other churches and then The Church as Scripture inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 3:15-16). Over the centuries, these letters of the New Testament have repeatedly restored the Church to life and teaching in accord with God's truth. 3
4 Paul's letter to the Galatians is probably his sternest defence against false teaching. He normally begins each letter with some expression of praise and thankfulness for the faith of his readers. To the Galatians he gives not one word of commendation before he plunges into his counterattack against the inroads of the Judaizers. Like a parent for his children, he bares his heart in an effort to protect his flock, and then to lead them back into the truth. It is possible that Galatians is Paul's earliest epistle. Those who see it as addressed to southern Galatia usually date it in the vicinity of the Jerusalem council of Acts 15 (about 48 AD). This meeting of church leaders dealt with the same issues the Galatians faced and involved the same people, if not the same events, that the letter refers to. THE OUTCOME What resulted from Paul's appeal to the Galatians? Paul was confident that the Galatians would respond to his pleas (Galatians 5:10), and we have no indication that they did not. Paul continued to teach those churches (Acts 16:1-6, 18:23). They shared in his collection for the poor believers in Judea (1 Corinthians 16:1-2) and provided two of his faithful coworkers (Acts 16:1, 20:4). The Judaizers did not fare as well. The Jerusalem council removed from them any pretense of apostolic authority (Acts 15:1-29). It recognized gentile believers as having full rights in the Body of Christ without submitting to Jewish requirements. Judaizing efforts weakened, and with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the Church's centre shifted to Antioch in Syria. The danger of a Church bound to Jewish legalism for now was past. THE LINK One of the most dangerous commodities any pastor can offer you is complete true Freedom. However they will mistreat you if they inhibit your true freedom. Now many people say show me your wallet and I will show you your heart, some say show me your devotional life Galatians says show me how you use freedom and I will show you your heart. I recall chatting with an immigrant before he returned to the security of his home country the reason he did so was because there is too much freedom here in Australia... for him He even found too much freedom in the gospel was terrified about how his children would cope he was used to rigid, and brittle restrictions Nothing, nothing reveals our soul so clearly as freedom does how we use it defines us isn t this every parents worry when their children get the freedom to drive, to earn, to make choices. 4
5 Galatians is where we see Paul wrestling with this dilemma. Look at chapter 5 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:13You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: Love your neighbour as yourself. If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. Recall our bible reading??? 1 Corinthians 9:19 27 19Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God s law but am under Christ s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. 24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. You can use your freedom this week to read Galatians and see if you can connect with the pastoral / parental fathering heart of God. Who has given us all massive, massive freedom in Christ. And you might also care to use your massive freedom in Christ to pray for the Hummer n helicopter generation and many others beside who are sure that they have no chains!! 5