“The Heart of the Gospel”
Galatians Series
Introduction
A Sermon by
Jim Hammond from Galatians 1:1-5
Take yourself back to the time was the late 40s, not
the 1940s, but the late A.D. 40s. Paul himself was probably in his late
40s at the time when he and Barnabas went on their first missionary
journey (you can read about this in Acts 13 & 14). They had finally left
Cyprus and headed into the region that was known at that time as the
southern Roman province of Galatia. Galatia proper was North, but the
cities Paul and Barnabas entered were also called Galatia by the Romans.
This might parallel how the Verde Villages (in
Cottonwood) are not technically Cottonwood city, but county. We have a
Cottonwood address, we tell people we live in Cottonwood, but when it
comes time for me to pay up at the Old Town Cottonwood gym, run by
Cottonwood City Parks and Recreation, I don’t qualify for a Cottonwood
resident discount. So also, this way of identifying Galatia has tripped
up many scholars who try to figure out the date and destination of the
letter Paul wrote called Galatians. Some date the letter late thinking
the Northern Region was the destination of the letter. I won’t go into
the detail as to why I believe the letter was written early (the first of
Paul’s letters) and to the southern part of Galatia. But let’s get back
to the story.
Paul and Barnabas left Cyprus and were finally off on
the pioneering work that was a whirlwind of challenges, adventures and
excitement. They were a band on a mission, not the “fellowship of the
ring” but the “fellowship of the cross.” Nonetheless the perils and
similarities of their journey matched the perils of the popular books and
movie. As they continued their journey toward the cities of Galatia they
had to hike steep mountain passes. Unlike mountain roads of our times
with sharp hairpin turns making switchbacks up the steep terrain, Roman
roads often were cut more or less straight up the steep banks. It was
difficult traveling. Imagine the blisters on the feet walking these
distances in crudely made leather sandals. Imagine the perils of the
rough crowd who often robbed travelers along the roads. During these
journeys, when they were between towns, this small fellowship of the cross
slept out at night. Undoubtedly they built fires for the night in the
colder, higher elevations. They probably slept around the fire with their
feet toward the heat, perhaps taking turns watching so that they would not
be overtaken by the gangs of criminals. In the night the watchers
probably wrapped in sheepskin. They’d get up before dawn and eat a
breakfast of olives and perhaps goat’s cheese or some dried fish. They
knew nothing of coffee or tea. They might have heated some mulled wine,
which was kind of a wine paste you added water to.
It was slow traveling, hard work, and high altitude,
cold at night and hot in the day. This first journey was one of the
toughest. So tough in fact that John Mark (the writer of the gospel of
Mark) for reasons we don’t quite know left Paul and Barnabas and
returned. Paul viewed this as a desertion. Barnabas saw this more from
John Mark’s perspective. But that’s another story with a good ending.
With Paul’s credentials and training, everywhere they
went when they went to a synagogue they had opportunities to speak.
They’d hear the synagogue leader say, “Brothers, if you have any word of
exhortation for the people, we would like to hear from you.”
Paul stood up, happy to give them words. He would
look over the crowd and see that the crowd included a large section of
Gentiles who had not yet become Jewish proselytes. These were known as
pagan, but labeled “God-fearers.” Paul addressed the crowd in a manner
that was quite unusual. Usually, Jewish speakers addressed only the
Jews. Traditional openers might be “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is
One God.” Paul was one of the first Seeker Sensitive Speakers in the
church. He didn’t address only the sons of Israel. “Men of Israel and
you God-fearers, listen!”
That got their attention, and Paul kept their
attention as he continued to describe what God had done. Much like
Stephen had done and you can read his message in Acts 7. “Men and
brothers, sons of the race of Abraham” he would say. Then he would turn
over to look at he God-fearers, “and all of you who fear God. It is to us
that God has sent a message of salvation through his Son, the Christ, the
Messiah.” Here Paul probably described some of Jesus' miracles, and
teachings, and profound actions, and maybe some of the scriptures he
brought into fulfillment. But then he brought the dark report. The
leaders of Jerusalem rejected his message, God’s message, and even though
they found no cause for putting him to death they begged Pilate to have
Him executed. And the Jesus, was crucified on a Roman cross.”
He let the enormity of the situation sink in, as he
looked into the eyes of the crowd who were listening attentively they
looked let down. After a dramatic pause, Paul said, “But God raised Him
from the dead!” The crowd immediately responded with movements and
murmurs. But things got silent again as Paul continued to explain with
compelling evidences from scripture how these things were already foretold
precisely as they occurred. Then he described the eye witness reports
including his own story about meeting the resurrected Christ.
His message climaxed when he began to explain how
Jesus removed the barrier between Jew and Gentile to include every person
with the offer to have their sins forgiven. He explained that God had
given them a gift and that Jesus was the fulfillment of all of the
sacrificial system. He gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this
evil age. Know this then, sons of Abraham and those of you who fear God,
that it is through this man, God’s Son, Jesus, that forgiveness of sins is
proclaimed to you and by Him everyone who believes is freed from
everything, from which you could not be freed by the Law of Moses!
Oh the controversy erupted, but so did the hopes of
all the Gentiles. Paul would continue to speak over and over again; soon
the Gentiles were far outnumbering the Jews who wanted to hear this
message. Instead of approving of the largest crowd they ever had in
church, the synagogue leaders were infuriated. They soon closed the
synagogue doors to the likes of Paul and Barnabas. Nonetheless news
spread like wildfire. And so it would go, the same story repeating many
times, but it usually got very heated. In Lystra Paul got everyone’s
attention much more quickly when he healed a man that had been crippled in
his feet and lame since birth. Though this man had never walked, when
Paul looked at him and said, "Stand up on your feet!", the man was
suddenly healed and was able to stand, then jump, then make a tremendous
stir among the whole city. In fact because this was in front of a Pagan
crowd, the crowd misunderstood and began to try to worship Paul and
Barnabas as gods, Zeus and Hermes. Paul stopped them immediately.
The controversy then was like but unlike the
controversy of Christianity now. Back then, the crowds of Jewish leaders
were getting very disturbed, even angry because Paul’s good news (the
gospel) was so inclusive. He made it sound like God made little
distinction between Jew and Gentile. In Jesus all could be forgiven.
This made them mad.
It sounds similar yet different from the controversy
today. Today people want God to be all inclusive. It makes no difference
what religion, Zeus, Hermes, Budda, whatever God is all inclusive
according to the gospel of pop culture. Christianity is controversial now
for opposite reasons. The message that salvation is found in Jesus is too
exclusive for crowds today. But the similarity is there, the offense over
Jesus and his amazing claims. Paul didn’t mind the verbal abuse so much,
but he was not going to be silenced by these leaders. He answered back
when they told him to speak no more of these things and to get out of the
synagogue, “It was necessary that the Word of God be declared to you
first. But since you reject it, and now condemn yourselves as unworthy of
God’s message, we will now turn to the Gentiles even as the Lord has
already instructed me.” The Apostles then left, and the crowd left with
them because they still wanted to hear more. This infuriated the
leaders.
Intro: A problem with the franchises.
Imagine that you are a CEO of an international
franchise business. Imagine the kinds of problems you would be called
upon to solve. Some of the problems would be general in nature, common
problems to all your franchises. Some of the problems would be specific
in nature based on a local problem. For example McDonald’s in India
doesn’t sell as much beef as McDonald’s in other countries.
In a sense this is the kind of situation in which
Paul finds himself. He has just established a great number of franchises
(churches) of the greatest business on earth. There are problems and he
addresses these problems that come up in follow up letters that were
longer than usual letters. Some times we call these letters epistles.
The letter to the Galatians was just such a letter written to multiple
churches in a Roman province called Galatia, located in modern day
Turkey. Galatians also happens to be the first of Paul’s letters ever
written.
Galatians answers some very important
questions, such as:
1.
Should Gentile Christians be required to follow Jewish laws?
2.
What role does the Old Testament law play in our lives?
3.
If we are not required to follow the laws of the Old Testament,
then are we Gentile Christians second class to Jewish Christians, much
like the God fearing Gentiles who didn’t want to become fully Jewish were
considered second class even though they enjoyed the viewpoints of
Judaism?
4.
What does Christian freedom look like?
5.
Probably the most important question the letter to the Galatians
answers is this: What is it that makes a person a Christian? What saves
a person and makes him or her acceptable to God? Is it faith in Christ
alone, or faith in Christ and an adherence to the principles and practices
of the Old Testament? Just exactly what is the Gospel good news about
Jesus? What exactly does Jesus do for us?
One of the obvious problems Paul’s first letter
corrected is the problem of legalism. However, one doesn’t have to be a
legalist to see many powerful applications from this profound letter.
This letter helps us understand the heart of the Gospel and the power of
the gospel and how to live the Christian life. This letter helps free us
from the man made trappings of religion so that we can learn what a
dependent relationship with Jesus Christ is all about.
Focus: The letter to the Galatians helps us
understand the heart of the Gospel and the power of the gospel and how to
live the Christian life.
Are you ready to find out more about this letter?
I. The Person, Place, and Purpose of
“Galatians”
Galatians 1:1-2
Paul, an apostle--sent not from men nor by
man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the
dead--
2and all the brothers with me, To
the churches in Galatia:
The Person (Writer): Paul, the
Apostle
Do you know what this means? It means that our
attitude toward this letter and our response toward this letter is an
indication of our attitude and response toward Christ. Since Paul is a
personal agent of Christ and he was not sent by men, or from men, but by
Christ as Christ’s agent, whatever he says in this little letter, is the
message from Christ. This is a powerful statement of authority here. If
you acknowledge this, and I do, then this implies that I must acknowledge
this as authoritative words.
Submission to the apostolic message because it is a
message from Christ is why we consider this activity of Bible study so
important!
Furthermore, we must carefully guard ourselves as to
why we believe something, or why we live the way we do. Do you behave the
way you do because the Bible teaches it, or do you behave the way you do
because you conform to those around you? In Paul’s day he addressed those
who conformed to the legalistic Jewish culture of the day. In our day we
can minimize Jesus in other ways than by legalism while we conform to our
culture and people’s views around us.
The Place:
The Place in Time
(Date): AD 49
The Place: Galatia (Southern)
The North Galatia Theory (Late Date 55-60)
Some believe Paul visited northern Galatia on his
second missionary Journey although no mention of this in Acts. This is
geographic Galatia proper.
The South Galatia Theory
(Early Date 48-50)
Some believe Galatians to have been a circulating
letter to those cities Paul visited on his First Missionary Journey. I
favor this view for the following reasons.
1)
Barnabas is mentioned in the letter and Barnabas was with Paul only
on the first missionary Journey.
2)
These southern cities would have been more accessible to the
Judaizers.
3)
As a Roman Citizen Paul always used the provincial names of the
areas under Roman control. All of Paul’s references to Galatia seem to be
to the Roman province of Galatia (the Southern part).
4)
The Acts 15 Jerusalem Council (A.D. 50) addressing the same
controversies is not mentioned and the Jerusalem decision would have been
referenced by Paul to support his position.
If this theory is correct, Galatians is the first
written explanatory documentation of what Jesus’ Crucifixion meant to us!
APPLICATION:
THIS WEEK READ IT AS IF YOU HAD NEVER HEARD IT BEFORE…
The Purpose: Defense of His Authority
(as an Apostle) and His Message (the Gospel).
The best way to understand the problem and the
purpose of the letter is to study the letter. Let’s take a quick jet tour
fly over. As you read the letter look for clues as to what the false
teachers were saying about Paul and about his teaching. Look for clues
that show what they were saying about what it means to be a REAL
Christian, then note what Paul says as a rebuttal.
The Problem: Judaizers were
distorting God’s Grace
It wasn’t that Paul was opposed to moral rules, but
he was opposed to relying on those moral rules as a means to being saved
from our sin.
Have you heard of the 4 spiritual laws? It’s a
little tiny tract that is used as an evangelistic tool. Now these
Judaizers come and say, “Have you heard of the 4,973 spiritual laws?”
acting as if this is the Good News. Well it’s not!
Key Verse!
Galatians 5:1 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.
II. The Heart of the Gospel
Galatians 1:3-5
3Grace and peace to you from God
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,
4who gave himself for our sins to
rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and
Father,
5to whom be glory for ever and
ever. Amen.
·
Only the reality of “peace to you from God” can give you any
true and lasting experience of peace.
Without justification it is impossible to have real
peace. Conscience forbids it. Sin is a mountain between a man and God,
and must be taken away. The sense of guilt lies heavy on the heart and
must be removed. Unpardoned sin will murder peace. The true Christian
knows all this well. His peace arises from a consciousness of his sins
being forgiven, and his guilt being put away. ... He has peace with God,
because he is justified.[1]
When the heart's wrong, there can't be peace.
Selfishness is a gangrene, eating at the very vitals. Sin is a cancer,
poisoning the blood. Peace is the rhythm of our wills with Jesus'
love-will. Disobedience breaks the music. Failure to keep in touch makes
discord. The notes jar and grate. We have broken off. The peace can't
get in. Jesus made peace by his blood. We get it only by keeping in full
touch with him.
[2]
Not peace from you to God, but by “Peace to
you from God.” Peace to you from God, comes by way of Grace through
Christ, not by way of works to merit peace or acceptance.
Corrie
Ten Boom said, “I looked on Jesus and the dove of peace entered my heart.
I looked at the dove of peace; and lo ... off he went.”
[3]
·
Don’t make peace your aim, make Christ your aim and you will
find peace.
·
Don’t make happiness your aim, make Christ your aim and you
will find happiness.
·
You cannot have lasting peace without having a relationship
with the prince of peace.
Grace
and Peace to you from God through Jesus Christ.
In
Galatians we learn
·
We do not deserve the peace God gives
·
We CANNOT deserve the peace God gives,
·
but we can enter into the peace that God gives.
I’m here to declare to you today as Paul did to the
Galatians on his first Missionary journey and in his letter--I declare to
you the “Grace and Peace to you from God!” It is the best news that has
ever come to anyone! And it comes to you as a gift of God through Jesus
and you can have it by faith.
Have a Heart to Heart with God. His heart has been
demonstrated in sending his Son to… what does 1:4 say?
who gave himself for our sins to rescue us
from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and
Father,
I have some very serious questions to ask you this morning.
1. Do you recognize that we live in an evil age?
The Bible tells us that sin has created a world that is hostile to God.
2. Have you ever admitted before God that without
Christ your sins have enslaved you and keep you trapped in this evil age?
Will you acknowledge today that you need Christ’s intervention, the
intervention he offers by way of what he did on the Cross?
3. Are you willing to confess that you have been a
willing participant in sin and that you are unable to rescue yourself from
your sin? The heart of the Gospel declares that God sent help to you from
an outside resource and that help was Christ, your only hope.
4. Are you willing to accept God’s loving concern
for you and his provision by faith in Jesus Christ? This morning, will
you ask God to deliver you?
[1]
J.C. Ryle in Foundations of Faith. Christianity Today, Vol. 35, no.
8.
[2]
S.D. Gordon in The Bent-Knee Time. Christianity Today, Vol. 34, no.
4.
[3]
Corrie Ten Boom in Each New Day. Christianity Today, Vol. 35, no. 2.
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