The Truth of the Gospel: Sermons from
Galatians
Galatians 1:3-12 The Grace of Christ WC
McCarter
Introduction
The Apostle
Paul and his missionary partner planted churches in southern Galatia during
Paul’s first missionary journey around A. D. 47. There were four primary cities that they
evangelized: Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia. During the Apostle’s second missionary
journey, around A. D. 49, Paul and Silas went to those same churches to
“strengthen the saints.” The apostle also wrote a letter to the congregations
in that region, and many believe that Galatians was the first NT book to be
written.
The major
concern that developed in the Galatian churches was the arrival of false
teachers. The false teachers, whom we
will call Judaizers during our study, attacked on three points:
1. Undermined Paul’s Apostolic
Credibility
2. Demanded Circumcision for Continued
Justification
3. Required All Jewish Ceremonies/Rituals
to be maintained
These
legalistic Jews claimed to be Christians while harassing Gentile believers and
pulling them away from the true faith that they had put in Christ for
salvation. In light of the claims of the false teachers, Paul had three tasks
to accomplish with this letter:
1. Defend His Apostolic Authority
2. Restate the Gospel of Grace in
Christ
3. Encourage Christians to Live Free
from Law
You see, the Gospel has always under attack. It suffers violence from the outside and the inside, directly and indirectly. The true Gospel of the grace of Christ is even being undermined in America today by thousands of preachers and religious folk who are more interested in making a name for themselves, enlarging their bank accounts, telling jokes and stories, and feeling good about themselves than proclaiming and believing the truths about the saving work and Lordship of Jesus Christ. They tell listeners that they can live their best life now, that if they sow a seed they will reap a great financial reward, that there is no Hell, and happiness comes by living however you see fit. This has been coined as “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism,” that is, they uphold certain morals because they do want to be “religious,” their chief goal is to feel good about themselves, and they believe in God but want to keep Him at a distance until He is really needed. They pervert the Gospel to fit their own purposes instead of proclaiming the Good News that Christ has paid the penalty for our sins by going to the cross. They preach a God without wrath, men without sin, and a Christ without a cross (Richard Niebuhr). Sadly, this is only one form of Gospel perversion. For example, others preach a crucified Christ, but then add so many rules to go alongside faith that, in essence, they are telling you that Christ has not done enough, and you have to save yourself.
READ Scripture- This is the Word of God
Grace and Peace from God (3-5)
The greeting
“Grace and Peace” actually summarizes Paul’s message in only two words. Grace
is how we attain salvation, and peace is what has been accomplished. These two
things are going forth in the preaching of the apostle. The cross becomes
central. Paul is not promoting himself but something totally outside of
himself. Grace and peace are founded on the Father’s plan of redemption and the
Son’s completion of it.
The primary
display of the cross was not heroism, exemplary, or even love, but the chief
concern of the cross was the atoning for sin. Christ’s sacrifice for sin has
saved us from the present evil age.
Notice the harmony
of the will of the Father and the work of the Son. Christ gave Himself
according to the will of the Father. These two persons of the Triune God were
in complete agreement about this plan. This is the plan and accomplishment of
God. Salvation belongs to Him from beginning to end. Thus, all glory is due to
Him.
Paul’s
language, here, is closely in line with the theology of Isaiah 53 (Moo). The
language of the Servant giving Himself as a willing sacrifice and also the
acknowledgement that this sacrifice was in complete accord with the Father are
both theological points that Isaiah 53 makes.
Let Him Be Accursed (6-9)
While the
apostle usually follows his greeting with a prayer for the church and a word of
encouragement, here he launches into a rebuke of the Galatians. In the same way
that we are blown away by the prompt rebellion of the Israelites after the
Exodus so, too, is Paul about the Galatians. The Israelites saw all of the
miraculous plagues tear through Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea, yet they
almost immediately crafted a golden calf to worship. The Galatians heard the
true Gospel of grace in Christ from the apostle and almost immediately were
swept away by the perversion of the false teachers.
The apostle
criticizes with great emotion the many who were turncoats. Like a soldier who
deserts the battle field or a politician who completely flips parties, these
folks were abandoning the Gospel that Paul had proclaimed and they had
believed. While those two things may be serious, this has eternal
ramifications. “They are religious turncoats, spiritual deserters” (Stott, 22).
This is a more severe issue than simply changing from one Christian church to
another. These folks were abandoning God. The apostle makes this precise and
personal. This serves as a warning for us. When you abandon the true Gospel which
was secured by the sacrifice of Christ, then you have no access to God. The
only way to the Father is by Jesus Christ. There is salvation in no other name.
If you abandon salvation by grace through faith, you abandon God.
What is
grace? The word can refer to many things, but foundationally it is that
undeserved favor of God toward sinners in the person of Jesus Christ which
brings about our redemption. In other words, grace is God forgiving us for our
sins because of Christ’s death even though we do not deserve it. God has
determined to favor all those who put their faith in the finished work of
Christ.
The end of
verse six, going into verse seven tells us that they were leaving the Gospel of
grace in Christ for another gospel, which was no Gospel at all. Someone can
disguise their message as “gospel” all day long, but if it is not about the
grace of Jesus Christ, then it is not truly the Good News. The Galatians were
being led away into destruction by false teachers. We may call these false
teachers Judaizers because they taught that to be a good Christian, one had to
also continue to follow the OT Law. The apostle says that these folks were troubling the Galatians and perverting the Gospel. “To tamper with
the gospel is always to trouble the church” (Stott, 23). They were teaching
that to be saved one had to commit to Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ, but then
also fulfill the OT Law by observing circumcision and holy days. “In other
words, you must let Moses finish what Christ has begun;” or, worse, “You must
finish Christ’s unfinished work” (Stott, 22). For Paul, and the true believer,
this is absurd. The Gospel that he declared to them was of the finished work of
Christ, the once-for-all sacrifice for sin. There is nothing to add to what
Christ has done. You must trust that what He has done is enough to save you
because you cannot save yourself. You can never be righteous enough before God.
The apostle
repeats himself in verses eight and nine, saying the same, strong statement
twice: “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you
than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.” What was going on in
the Galatian congregations was of utmost importance. There is only one Gospel
that is true and saving. Paul had proclaimed that Gospel to those people during
his first missionary trip. They had believed that word and put their faith in
Jesus Christ. They were given peace with God as they were welcomed into the
grace of Christ. Paul makes clear and emphatic that if they hear anyone,
whether someone from earth or even heaven, proclaim to them any other message,
they are to be rejected. He even calls down a curse on them. He calls on God to
set those false teachers aside for utter destruction in the fires of Hell. If
you thought that maybe the apostle rushed into this statement and was overtaken
by emotion as he stated it, he says it a second time so that you may know
different. What he has said was sober-minded and intentional. If you think that
he is being spiteful to one group of teachers, you may notice that he is not
because this is a mass statement that covers any false teachers including all
men, angels, and even Paul and his associates.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ (10-12)
The language
that Paul has just used is not for the faint of heart. He is obviously not
trying to be a people-pleaser. He wants God’s favor on his life and ministry.
He is a slave of Christ, one who belongs
to Him. He has said what he has said because he answers to God and not to men.
Of course, the apostle is following the example of the Lord who once sternly
said, “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to
stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck,
and he were thrown into the sea.”
This is not
a man-made message. This is the God-generated Gospel.
Conclusion and Christian Application
(1) There is no other way to be saved
than by putting your faith in Christ. Do not try to save yourself. You will
fail miserably.
(2) Be on guard against false teachers.
TV preachers and even some radio teachers are dangerous. The history channel,
popular books, and such can be misleading. You may think that they are Christian,
but they are fooling us.