11-20-11 Galatians!

This morning we begin our study of Paul’s letter to the Galatians.

It’s not a long letter...just 6 chapters,

but it is a letter in which we will see Paul

as we see him nowhere else in the New Testament.

We all have things in our lives

that have the ability to trigger powerful responses within us,

responses that simply explode out of us with an intensity that may surprise even us.

With most of us

it is our love for another person

and our desire to protect or defend them

that will trigger such responses.

I can remember at least two times during my daughter Joni’s Jr. High years

when I experienced such explosions erupting out of myself.

One was with a teacher who severely misused his position of authority over my daughter

and a second was in a babysitting situation

in which the wife hired Joni to babysit,

and then after Joni arrived the husband decided to stay home with Joni

while the wife went out.

Sandee and I just happened to stop by shortly after the wife left

to see how Joni was doing

and I’m still amazed when I recall

some of the things that came out of me in both of those situations.

I am not by temperament a confrontive person

unless it is in defense of someone I love.

Well, the book of Galatians allows us to see Paul in such a setting.

But it was not the defense of a person that drove Paul to his explosion,

it was the defense of what he knew was the most critical single truth of the gospel -

the truth that our salvation - our absolute and eternal acceptance by God through Christ

is by grace alone, apart from any works or any performance we could ever offer.

And just to give you a little glimpse

of the intensity of Paul’s communication

let me read verses 8 and 9 of chapter one

to show you how Paul begins his communication.

In those two verses he says,

But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, let him be damned! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let him be damned!

And as soon as I read that

some of you are looking for your Bible

because you were unaware that any such language

was ever used by anyone in the Bible.

And let me save you the effort

by letting you know that when the translators got to these two verses

for obvious cultural reasons

they chose to use the word accursed rather than the word damned,

I think most likely because the later in our culture is most often used as profanity

and it would sound like Paul was simply cursing.

But when correctly used

the meaning is the same.

...if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, let him be accursed...let him be damned...”

not by us,

but by the only one who truly has the authority to damn - God Himself.

We’ll get to that statement in context in a week or two,

but I mention it this morning at the beginning of our study of this letter

because I want us to begin this study

by understanding how much what we are about to read

mattered to the one who wrote it.

The truth being defended by Paul in this letter

is the foundation upon which everything else in our Christian lives is built,

and we will know we have understood that truth correctly

when we see the same strength of reaction within ourselves

against anyone who compromises this truth in our own lives.

This will make more sense as we move into the letter,

but I want us to know from the very beginning

that we are going to see Paul and the gospel he preached as we may never have seen it before.

I don’t want to spend a lot of time on the historical background of this letter,

but we need some information

in order to understand Paul’s history with the Galatians

and what brought about the confrontation we see unfolding in this letter.

Paul and Barnabas visited the region of Galatia on all three of their missionary journeys

and, in fact, they were the ones who first established the churches throughout the region.

We have that first missionary journey recorded for us in Acts chapters 13 and 14

and I would encourage you to read those two chapters on your own

because they’ll give you a great perspective on what was going on and why.

Paul’s presentation of the good news of Jesus Christ in Galatia

began in the city of Pisidian Antioch.

When Paul entered a new region

whenever possible he would begin his introduction of himself and his message

by attending the local Jewish synagogue.

And this is what they did when they arrived in Pisidian Antioch.

As a Jewish visitor to the synagogue

Paul was invited to share a few words.

He accepted the invitation

and soon began sharing with his listeners

the remarkable account of another Jewish Man,

a teacher with remarkable powers

and an amazing message,

a Man who was proven to be the literal Son of God

through His coming back to life

three days following His public crucifixion.

The words Paul spoke, and the account he shared

caused no small stir

not just among the Jews

but, as the news of what Paul had said spread,

among the much larger non-Jewish population as well.

In fact it wasn’t long before everyone was talking about it and the following Sabbath

we are told that nearly the entire city showed up at the synagogue to hear what Paul had to say.

But when the Jews saw this sudden massive Gentile interest in Paul’s message

it made them furious - it made them jealous,

and rather than allowing Paul to present his message and his claims,

the Jews immediately began contradicting Paul,

doing everything within their power to discredit both him and his message.

And then something happened that had profound repercussions first for the city itself,

but then ultimately for both the history of Christianity

and eventually for the history of the entire human race.

Speaking to the Jews who were so hostile to his message,

we are told in Acts 13:46-47,

Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, "It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. "For so the Lord has commanded us, 'I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES, THAT YOU MAY BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.'"

And for the first time

the message of God’s offer of salvation through Jesus Christ

was publicly, clearly severed from Judaism

and offered to anyone and everyone who would listen and respond.

Paul made it clear

that people did not have to go through Judaism

to find their Savior or to be reunited with their God.

This proclamation brought about a powerful response

both from the Gentiles and from the Jews.

The Gentiles were overjoyed

and responded in massive numbers to the free offer of God’s grace given through Jesus Christ.

The Jews, on the other hand, were furious,

and, by enlisting the support of a number of prominent women in the city,

they quickly created an environment so hostile

that Paul and Barnabas were driven out of the city.

From there they went on to Iconium,

another city in the Galatian region

where they once again entered the synagogue and presented their message.

And once again some responded, both Jews and Gentiles,

and once again some of the Jews became so hostile to the message

that they drove Paul and Barnabas out of the city.

This pattern was repeated again and again throughout much of the Galatian region

with more and more of the Gentiles responding

and more and more of the Jews declaring war on both Paul and his message.

At one point the Gentiles were so excited about Paul and Barnabas

that they tried to offer sacrifices to them as gods,

and then the very next day the Jews rallied a mob so hostile to them

that they stoned Paul and left him for dead.

When Paul and Barnabas finally left the region and moved on,

these baby Gentile Christians had a clear, uncomplicated grasp

of the way God had poured out His love on them

simply because they had chosen to believe His promise

that their sins were paid in full forever by Christ’s death for them.

But given the intense hostility of the Jewish community against this truth,

the pieces were already in place

for a warfare on the part of the Jews against the message of God’s grace

that would soon strip the Galatian Christians of their freedom in Christ

and bring them into the same bondage that always comes

when the people of God are told

that they can come to Christ through faith,

but they must maintain their relationship with Him through their performance.

It is a message that has formed the heart

of one of Satan’s most powerful attacks against the people of God

from the earliest days of the Church’s existence.

From a human point of view

such a message seems like the perfect blend of “faith and works”

because it seems as if it would prod the Christians into better performance

through threatening them with the rejection of their God

if they failed to clean up their life.

But in reality

it carves the very heart out of the only discovery that truly has the power

to bring about real changes in our lives - the discovery that our God loves us,

He really loves us,

not because of anything we’ve done or not done,

but simply because He delights in who we are.

The fear of the rejection of God

certainly can bring about short term changes in our behavior,

just as any form of intense emotion-based manipulation can do,

but only our discovery that our God truly, deeply, eternally loves us

has the power to motivate us to reshape our lives one step, one day at a time from the inside out.

Well, the Jews in Galatia continued their campaign of lies against the truth of the gospel after Paul left

until they successfully convinced many of the young Galatian Christians

that they did indeed have to keep the Jewish law

if they wanted God to continue accepting them and loving them.

And soon many of the Gentile Christian men were being circumcised in accordance with the Jewish law

and then submitting to much of the Jewish legalism.

When word reached Paul about what was going on

he responded by writing what we now know as the New Testament book of Galatians.

It was a letter born out of the rage he felt

at the thought that anyone would ever be allowed

to successfully carve the very heart out of the greatest message of freedom

the human race would ever know.

The organization of the letter is simple.

Paul takes the first 10 verses to introduce himself

and to confront his readers with the lie they had believed.

Then, in the next 4 chapters,

he offers a series of 9 proofs,

9 reasons why the Galatians should return to a grace-based union with God and walk with Him,

a walk built upon their simple trust in God’s love for them,

a love poured out on them solely on the basis of their trust in the death of Christ

as payment for their sins.

Then in Galatians 5:1

he summarizes everything he has been trying to say in the preceding 4 chapters

in one clear, simple, incredible statement,

a statement designed to forever obliterate the lies imbedded in all man-made religious systems

and at the same time proclaim the truth about our God’s heart longing for us

and His purpose for us through Christ.

He then uses the rest of his letter

to offer a brief review of the 9 proofs he’s offered

and then gives clear, simple application of the statement he offers us in 5:1.

This letter is not an academic treatise,

it is an explosion of truth,

designed to utterly destroy the lies

that were sucking the life and freedom from the people of God.

And with that as background,

let’s plunge in and see what Paul has to say to us.

OK, Paul begins the letter with these words:

Gal 1:1 Paul, an apostle (not sent from men, nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead),

Gal 1:2 and all the brethren who are with me, to the churches of Galatia:

And from the opening sentence

it is clear that Paul is going to war.

There were on the scene in the Galatian churches

Jewish leaders who came with impressive credentials

asserting their authority over these young Gentile Christians

as they attempted to bring them into the Jewish legalism they were peddling.

And so the first thing Paul does

is to claim for himself the highest possible position of authority

given to any human being within the early church,

and then to trace that position of authority

directly back both to Jesus Christ and to God the Father.

This is Paul beginning his letter

by handing his readers his credentials...Paul an apostle,

and then he backs up those credentials

by assuring them that his apostleship was not a position he claimed for himself,

certainly not one given to him by others,

but rather one that was given to him by God Himself.

Because of the credentials the Jews had offered the Galatians

they had been impressed,

and had trusted,

and submitted,

and obeyed.

But from his opening words Paul trumps their claims to authority

by claiming for himself

the authority of one who literally speaks for God Himself.

And I can’t let that pass

without making just a brief comment

about the way this whole authority thing works within the Body of Christ.

Obviously anyone can claim to be speaking on behalf of God.

Anyone can claim that their authority comes from God Himself.

But it is not that claim in itself

that gives the speaker’s message the authority of God.

There is the most remarkable

and effective protective working of the Spirit of God within the Church,

a working in which,

in order for a person’s words to truly take on life and power in the growing Christian’s life,

the Holy Spirit must be working both in the one who speaks

and in the one who hears.

Simply put,

God equips the speaker with authority to speak the truth

and He then gives the listeners the inner confirmation

that what they are hearing

is indeed the truth.

In 1Co 14:29 Paul says, “ And let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment.”

And in 1Jn 2:18-20 John says, Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen; from this we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, in order that it might be shown that they all are not of us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know.

And when John says, ...and you all know...

he is simply affirming that essential work of the Spirit of God within each Christian

that gives confirmation of the truth.

This process takes place every time the Word of God is taught.

As a Bible teacher

I understand that God is working within me

both to give me eyes to see His truth

and then to give me the authority to communicate that truth to His people

in a way that can equip the people of God for the work and life He has called them to live.

But the words I share with you

can only take on power in your life

if God’s Spirit gives them life within you.

And our role as Christians

is always to be actively seeking that God will give us ears to hear what He wants us to hear,

and at the same time,

the ability to recognize what is not for us,

or what is not from God.

And if what you hear from me

or from anyone who claims to be speaking on behalf of God

doesn’t ring true in your own spirit

set it aside unless or until the Spirit of God gives it power in your own life.

With Paul,

as he began this letter to the Galatians,

he clearly, boldly affirmed his authority as an Apostle,

an authority that equipped him to speak the truth of God to the people of God.

But he knew

that his words would only have power in the lives of those who read his letter

if the Spirit of God then gave it power in their lives.

And since I’ve gotten into this,

I should add one more comment before we move on.

It is true that God’s Spirit does protect the believer

by giving us the ability to recognize truth and error as it comes at us.

But it is also true

that there is and endless river of doctrinal sewage

being constantly pumped into the world of religion

and countless millions of people are accepting it and building their lives upon it.

So how can that be?

And without getting into a huge side-track here,

let me just say that this Spirit protection,

this God-given ability to sense truth and error

is only at work within our lives

as we actively choose to keep the leadership of the Lord

more important than the acceptance of the group in our lives.

There is a whole world of people

who are desperately seeking something to belong to,

a group to call their own.

It is an incredibly powerful motivating force with our lives.

And because of that longing to belong

it is not surprising that any authoritative voice

speaking even the most hideous lies or stupidity can find a following in our world.

And if we allow that longing to belong

to become more important to us

than our longing to know and follow the voice of our Lord

we will loose our ability to recognize His voice.

There will be times in every growing Christian’s life

when the voice of God within them

points them a different direction than the crowd around them.

They will be times

when everyone else seems to be heading a different direction

and we must choose between the crowd and our King.

When those choices come in your own life

if you trust the voice of your King

you may not end up where you expected

but you will end up exactly where you really longed to be.

And you will get there knowing

it was the voice of your King

that showed you the way.

Well, Paul offers his credentials as an Apostle

and then, just to assure his readers

that his authority is already clearly recognized and accepted throughout the young church,

he goes on to say, ...and all the brethren who are with me...

Paul may be the spokesman,

but the message he is about to present

is the one that is supported and affirmed

by all those who hold positions of leadership within the Body of Christ.

OK, that background and introductory words will get us started,

and next week we’ll see Paul’s opening attack against the lies.