[PDF]Galatians 1.11-24. Gods Gospel - Rackcdn.com56f78cbcaadcc52d4d5a-56bb19f47dc039afbb0c7963eac1a779.r5.cf2.rackcdn.com/...
0 downloads
263 Views
122KB Size
Intro: Most people love a good story. Whether we are talking about a small child or someone in that, latter chapters of their life, there is something captivating about a good story. Stories hold the power to teach us and even transform us. One of my favorite times with our girls is Story time. Both of our girls love to read books. A few months ago, our youngest daughter, Kesed, was in the sometimes cute and sometimes annoying habit of seeing how many books she could gather for mommy or daddy to read before bedtime. Now, in my experience, one year olds have an uncanny ability to work the system for all it’s worth. Thus, one of her stall tactics was to go to her bookshelf and grab “a gook.” Not a book, a “gook.” As she developed the ability to put words together, she would return to the shelf repeatedly and chant, “More gooks mommy. More gooks daddy.” Here is a little evidence of her handiwork… Picture Most of you are probably like Kesed. You love a good story. What we discover as we journey through life is that our lives are like a story. The opening pages are written from life’s first cry and as God sees fit, the final chapters are written in our death, and even beyond our death. We are going to encounter a story today, the story of the Apostle Paul. Paul shares his story in order to point to the validity of God’s story in the gospel. His primary argument is this . . . The Point: The Gospel belongs to God and is powerful to bring transformation. So this morning I want us to consider the source and power of the gospel, . . . “God’s Gospel” Galatians 1:11-24 • Remember, we said last week, “As soon as you begin to tweak the gospel in the slightest manner, you’ve just lost the gospel.” Paul’s whole point in the opening verses is that there is no other gospel… • He has to take such a firm stance because there were false teachers roaming through the region of Galatia, to these various cities where Paul had planted churches like Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, and they were saying it’s Jesus (+) PLUS observing the mosaic law. These false teachers have come to be known as Judiazers. • The Judiazers were seeking to discredit Paul’s authority and Paul’s gospel. (Expound…) • Have you ever had someone say something nasty about you that was totally untrue? • This is what Paul was experiencing, but he was more concerned that people were saying things that were untrue of God and his gospel. So in v. 11, he begins… 11-12 Trans: The first truth I want you to see this morning is this: I. Because the gospel belongs to God, he is the one who reveals it (1:11-12). He is appealing to “brothers,” to those in the faith, and says, “For I want you to know…” He is building his argument on what he just said in verse 10. I am not seeking the approval or pleasure of men. On the contrary, I am trying to please Christ because he is the one I serve. He supports this by then providing the thesis statement for this section in verse 11: “that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel.” He then provides a flurry of arguments to support this assertion. • His first concerns how he received the gospel. He says in verse 12. “For…” • Remember, the Judiazers were saying, “You can’t trust Paul, he has no divine authority behind his message.” And Paul says, “I did not receive it from man, nor did I matriculate in the school of the
1
• • •
•
•
•
• •
•
•
•
apostles in order to take classes and be taught the gospel.” Here’s how it went down: “I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.” God made himself known to Paul. He revealed himself to him, and we find this recorded in Acts 9. Read Acts 9:1-9 (RECOUNT the STORY) (Turn to Acts 9. Page _____) Saul was “breathing out threats and murder against the disciples.” It does not get more extreme than this. So Jesus meets him in a light from heaven, that Paul describes in Acts 26 as “brighter than the sun.” “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” {The union of Christ with his people…) There is a complete identification of Christ with his people. Christ is in his people and his people are in him, so much so that he can say to Paul, “why are you persecuting me?” Now, in Galatians, we see Paul’s union with Christ and his gospel. If we don’t understand this, we won’t really understand this letter. Why? Paul is so fired about people perverting the gospel, because when you twist the message of the gospel of Christ, you devalue and trample the dignity of Christ himself! This was no human invention. This was supernatural revelation. Jesus supernaturally revealed himself and the gospel to Paul. God still reveals himself in a supernatural manner, but he always works by his Spirit taking his Word to show people their need for him and the sufficiency of Christ’s life, death and resurrection on their behalf. Yes, on the one hand the gospel is proclaimed through people …. BUT the Spirit takes the Word and convinces people of “sin, righteousness, and judgment” (John 16). To make this very practical… I can say a lot of true words that come straight from the Bible this morning, but unless the Spirit takes them and penetrates your heart with them, they will not carry the power to transform you. When Paul “saw the risen Christ on the Damascus road . . . the gospel in all its glory and beauty was disclosed to him.” And in that moment, he was converted and called to be an authoritative messenger of the crucified and risen Lord. And let’s not miss the obvious here: It is the resurrected Christ who appears to Paul. No resurrection? No gospel. The apostles were witnesses of the resurrection and this is our privilege today, to feed off the power of the resurrection at work in us and to tell others that Jesus is alive. Many scholars point out that Paul’s conversion points to the validity of the resurrection, which is the subject of vv. 13ff.
Trans: In these verses we will see… II. Because the gospel belongs to God, it holds the power to rewrite our story (1:13-24). What you have in verses 13ff is a snapshot of Paul’s testimony… Story metaphor (you are our letter!) A person’s testimony is part of their witness to Christ. Your testimony is your personal story of how the gospel has transformed and is transforming you… Paul’s story provides a helpful framework of how we can communicate the story God is writing into our lives. And a person’s gospel testimony is easily communicated in three phases: your life before Christ, how you came to know and believe the gospel, and how the gospel has changed you. Here’s how Paul tells his story… Paul’s Life Before Christ (13-14) “For you have heard of my former life in Judiasm . . .” • Let these two words sink into your heart: “Former Life.” • The power of the gospel can transform your current life into a former life. –Chandler (paraphrase)
2
•
•
• • •
•
So here’s the beauty of the God’s offer to us in Christ: no matter what your life looks like, no matter what your life is filled with that is contrary to God, no matter what plagues and riddles your life, God can change you and equip you with resources that give you everything you need to glorify him. Before Paul met Jesus, his life looked totally different. This is what Paul speaks of in 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” Paul knew how deep the work from his former life to new life in Christ can be, because he says he… “how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it.” o Paul was bent on destroying the early church. “was advancing in Judaism . . . “ o Paul was a rising star in Judiasim. He did not simply pop into the synagogue a couple of times a year, he was trained by Gamiliel, one of the greatest Jewish leaders of that day. (Acts 5). o In short, Paul was a fanatic… “Extremely zealous for the traditions of his fathers” o Paul belonged to the “strictest party” of the Jewish religion (Acts 26:5), a group known as the Pharisees. o In Philippians 3, he describes his ethnic, religious, and moral pedigree. o “If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.” (Phil. 3:4-6) o He had the Pentatuech memorized! Most of us, let’s be honest, can’t even make it through Leviticus or Numbers… “as to righteousness under the law, blameless.” He kept the law meticulously! o Just because someone is zealous, sincere, and even very religious, does not mean they are right and it does not mean that they have God’s salvation. App: Is this you? Trusting in your righteousness? Trusting in your resources, your resources?
• How Paul Came to Know and Believe in Christ (15-16) • “But God!” The two greatest words in Scripture… • “set me apart before I was born…” Sovereign Grace – Salvation begins and ends with God. When you were not looking for God, God has come looking for you! • “called me by his grace.” o Calling: External Call to all; Internal/Effectual call to all who believe. o The gospel is both an invitation (Luke) and a call, a summons, a command (repent and believe). o Grace: unmerited favor. What did you do to earn your salvation? Here’s the answer: nothing! o That should not make us feel small. That should make us feel great about God. It should humble us. It should move us to gratitude! Here’s what grace does . . . in the words of one of my favorite verse in the Bible: when God’s grace grafts us in to the true vine of God’s people because of his choosing, Paul says in Romans o Do you have a framework for grace? Seriously. We are an achievement culture. We are a “do it myself” culture. This is the American way, but it is not the way of Christ. o If you don’t see your need for Christ, because of the immensity of your sinfulness and idolatry. • “was pleased to reveal his Son to me.” o What brings God pleasure? Revealing his Son to people that they might have life. o Why does heaven rejoice (Mike brought this up in CG this week), why does all of heaven get so fired up when one person turns back to God? It’s because God gets so fired up about this! God is so pleased when any person, perhaps someone will decide to turn to God today? God is just elevated, elated, yes I meant to put those two words together.
3
How do we receive salvation? o Admit. Believe. Confess Jesus as Lord. Commit your life to him. Paul was absolutely committed, to the point of death! o Some of you can’t say, “my former life.”” o And by the way, no one was born a Christian. I talk to people, “I’ve been a Christian my whole life.” That is a theological impossibility! But when we experience God’s salvation, it is powerful!... How the Gospel Changed Paul (16-24) Read 16-24 • The gospel brings change. When Christ comes into a person’s life, transformation will happen. This is one of the primary ways we glorify God as a church. “RHC exists to . . . as a community transformed by the gospel.” • The persecutor now lives to preach Christ. (“in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles”). o It’s hard to fathom a more radical change. The one who imprisoned Christians is now preaching Christ. o Remember, Paul covers the timeline of his early days as a Christian and preacher of the gospel to help the Galatians understand that he did not receive his message from the apostles leading the church in Jerusalem and then twist it as some seemed to have charged him with. . o Paul says, “Look, I did not receive my message from the apostles in Jerusalem because I did not even visit them until three years after of gospel preaching, and if you want some details on that: I only stayed there 15 days and met just two of the apostles. o Paul provides all of these details, because details validate. If a jury hears that a defendant left the scene of the crime around 10:00pm at night, that’s not going to carry as much weight as if there is proof that he left at 9:56pm. • The gospel changed Paul from a persecutor to a preacher of God’s message, and word was spreading . . . “he who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” Another change the gospel brought to Paul was the aim of his pleasure. • The people-pleaser now lives to please God! o The Pharisees lived for the approval of others. They prayed on the street corners, when they fasted, everyone knew it! They gained satisfaction through the praise of others. o Most people, to one degree or another, struggle with this. We crave approval. We feel better about ourselves, our sense of worth and dignity rise if people make much of us and think well of us. o But now, because the gospel tells me that God is pleased with me because he is so pleased with his Son, his pleasure in me, motivates me to live for his pleasure. Finally.. • The way Paul calculated profit and loss radically changed. o “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith. . .” (Phil. 3:7-9) Unpack… • What does the testimony of Paul teach us? No one is beyond the reach of God’s grace. Who, in your life, do you believe is beyond the reach of grace? Roommate? Family Member? Co-‐Worker? An acquaintance in the Community? • Is there anyone of whom you think: “I’d be wasting my time to tell them about Jesus.” •
4
•
Every conversion is a miracle. Yes, Paul’s was radical, amazing,…. But every time God awakens a person from spiritual death and raises them to life, it is a miracle. The gospel’s work in us results in God receiving glory (24)
• Here’s Paul’s point: You want to know if my gospel came from God or man? Only God could have changed me from the inside-‐out, redirected my zeal, and turned a persecutor into a preacher of the gospel. This is his testimony and he lived to tell about it. Acts 20:24 is one of my favorite verses in the Bible: “But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” (Acts 20:24) What about you? Do you have a testimony? What is your story of grace and redemption? Let me give you four takeaways about sharing your story with others. #1 Share Your Story 1) Your story is unique. No one has your story. 2) Your story will reach a unique audience. Some people will listen to your story that won’t listen to mine. You have their ear. Whether they will admit or not.. 3) Your story provides evidence of the gospel’s power. 4) Your story provides an opportunity to tell The Story. It is the privilege and responsibility of every Christian to testify to the grace of Christ. When is the last time you shared your story and the Story of the gospel? There is no greater topic and nothing better that we could ever share with someone than the message of Christ. Conclusion: The Book of Revelation was written to a group of persecuted Christians. The encouragement is to endure and overcome by the grace of God, because of our final destination is soooo good. “And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, ‘Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them!’” (Revelation 12:10-12a) How will we stand in the end? We will say, “Jesus died in my place. God set me apart, called me by his grace, and was pleased to reveal his Son to me, and now because God has given me his righteousness, I am untouchable.” And all of heaven will rejoice!
5
