Galatians 1:10-24

Well, have you ever heard it said that the Bible is just stuff made up by men, it's just human ideas written down.

! Have you ever heard someone say that? Or have you ever heard people say, it doesn't matter what you believe, provided you're sincere about it.

If you follow a religion, that's fine, you just need to be sincere about it, and if you are, that's all that really matters.

I know I've heard those things quite a lot, but in these words here, Paul attacks both of those ideas.

He shows us they are false. He shows us, first of all, that what he writes is not merely man's ideas, but it's from God.

And he shows us that being sincere about something is no great help.

You can be sincere about being able to fly and jump out a window and crash land and kill yourself.

Sincerity makes no difference. What is important is what you believe in.

I've heard a couple of things that Paul is going to show us in these words.

Let me just put a bit of context here. Paul is writing to this young church because he is very worried that they are trying to add to the good news message of Jesus.

And in doing so, they're destroying the good news and are potentially making a shipwreck of their lives.

But there was an accusation that the false teachers were using.

They were saying, don't listen to this guy Paul. What does he know? He's just trying to be popular with people.

He's just teaching other human ideas. He's just passing on ideas he's already heard.

And people today say that kind of thing, don't they?

It's, you know, the Bible, that's just some guy's ideas.

Some men wrote it down. It has no authority.

Well, look at what Paul says, first of all, and why the reason the message he is preaching is God's message, not his message.

We'll look at his argument there first, why this is God's message, not a man's message or his message.

And then secondly, we'll see how this gospel, how meeting Jesus Christ, completely transformed Saul's life.

And as we meet Jesus Christ, he will completely transform our lives too.

So let's look at that. First of all, you can see Paul's main point if you look at verse 11.

I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel, the good news message that was preached by me is not man's gospel.

This isn't a human idea.

I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

In other words, this came straight to me from the Lord Jesus himself.

God revealed this message to me.

Now what's his evidence for that? That's quite a bold claim, isn't it?

Muhammad made a similar claim.

God spoke to him up the mountain.

He wrote down the Koran.

Does Paul have any better evidence?

Well, yes, he does.

He says the evidence is the change God has brought about in me.

You see his old way of life.

Look at verse 13.

You've heard about my former way of life.

How I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it.

We call it a snapshot of that in the reading from Acts.

The word there for try to destroy it is a word also used in the original language for burning down villages.

It means destroy.

It's like an act of war.

And that was Paul's aim.

Why?

Because he was zealous, he says, for the traditions of his fathers.

In other words, for the religious traditions passed down to him.

He thought he was doing God's job.

Persecuting this church.

Trying to destroy this church.

He thought it was heresy.

He thought anyone who called Jesus Lord and God was a heretic who deserved death.

So as Paul headed to Damascus, he thought he was on God's side.

He thought he was doing God's work.

He didn't think he needed forgiveness.

He thought he was in the right.

So he had this attitude towards Christ, this attitude towards the church.

You see his attitude towards himself as well.

Verse 14.

I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age, among my own people.

He was a man on a stellar career path.

Well respected, well admired, great authority.

So what changed?

Well, God grabbed him, didn't he?

Look at how God grabbed him.

Verse 15.

When he, that is God, who had set me apart before I was born,

and he called me by his grace,

was pleased to reveal his son to me,

in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles.

So God changed Paul's life around completely.

He revealed Jesus to him.

He revealed Jesus to him.

At that point, on the road to Damascus,

Saul made a wonderful discovery and a terrible discovery.

The terrible discovery was that this Jesus,

whom he had been trying to obliterate,

this Jesus who he stopped people worshipping,

that this Jesus was actually alive and kicking,

and was God's own son.

That was a terrible discovery.

But the wonderful discovery,

was that Saul, like Paul,

like Jeremiah the prophet in the Old Testament,

had been set apart by God from before his birth even.

God had a purpose for him.

And Paul, for the sake of showing the Galatians,

and showing us,

that this is all,

is God's message he's preaching,

underlines it straight away.

Verse 16.

I did not immediately consult with anyone,

nor did I go up to Jerusalem,

for those who were apostles before me.

In other words, Saul's saying,

I got this message,

God revealed Jesus to me.

He revealed the truth to me.

And I got it straight from God.

I didn't need to go and consult with the leaders in Jerusalem.

I didn't need to get it verified by somebody else.

Rather, I went off to do what God had told me to do.

You see what Paul is arguing here.

He wants us to know,

that the message he preached,

is not something he made up.

It's not something other people told him,

or a rumour that was going around at the time.

It's not something he had to check out with other people.

Rather, it was a message God gave him,

to preach to others.

Now that's important,

because in the days Paul wrote this letter,

there were people saying,

he wasn't really teaching the truth,

it was just his own ideas.

People today love to dismiss,

love the Bible,

particularly love to dismiss the Apostle Paul,

don't they?

Oh, he's a male chauvinist.

Oh, he's too fundamentalist.

He's not inclusive enough.

His attitude to sexuality is all wrong.

He's not enlightened enough.

We've grown up,

we've grown past his ideas.

And yet Paul claims,

the message he had,

came straight from God.

What's the evidence?

Well, why else would he turn his back on a promising career?

Why else would he forego,

the status and privilege he had,

in Judaism of the day?

To become an outlaw,

who was hounded by the Jews,

wherever he went.

The answer surely is that God changed his life around.

As Paul was going to Damascus,

he had no felt need of Jesus.

He had no felt need of forgiveness.

But he was shocked,

and transformed by what God did.

We'll see in a moment exactly how he was transformed.

I hope we can see first of all,

that Paul's main point here,

the message he received,

the message he preaches,

the message he writes down here,

the message we have in our Bible,

is not man-made.

It's not a human idea.

It comes from God.

And one little element of the evidence we have for that,

is how Paul's life was turned around.

But let's look more closely at how Paul's life was turned around.

In what ways was it changed?

We'll see how encountering the true Jesus changed him,

and can change us.

It really changed in three different ways particularly.

It changed Paul's view of himself.

It changed the goal of Paul's life.

It changed the motivation for Paul's actions.

So first of all,

it changed Paul's view of himself.

See, Paul thought he was a really good guy.

Look at verse 14.

I was advancing Judaism beyond many of my own age,

among my people.

So extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.

He's on this great career path.

Philippians chapter 3, verse 6,

Philippians 3:6

talking about his former life.

He says,

As for righteousness under the law,

I was blameless.

People looked at me,

and I was perfect,

according to the religious rules of the day.

See, he thought all his efforts

put him in God's good book.

He thought he was a really nice guy.

He thought he was doing God a massive favour.

And yet he was then shocked, wasn't he?

What did God do?

He revealed Jesus Christ to him.

You see that?

Verse 12.

I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

Verse 16.

God was pleased to reveal his son to me.

Now why did God do it?

It was by grace, wasn't it?

Verse 15.

When he set me apart from before I was born,

he called me by his grace.

God didn't do it, in other words,

because Paul was good,

because Paul was nice,

because Paul was religious.

God did it entirely

out of his own generous kindness,

extravagant kindness,

to an undeserving man.

So why God did it?

What did God do?

He revealed his son Jesus.

He wanted Paul to have a right view of Jesus,

and having a right view of Jesus,

he had a right view of himself.

Now what did Paul understand?

What did Paul grasp

as God revealed his son to him?

Has he got that revelation of Jesus

on the road to Damascus?

Well we can say lots of things.

Let's just say two things, first of all.

First of all,

Paul saw at last

that Jesus is the eternal son of God

in human flesh.

That Jesus is the eternal son of God

in human flesh.

He was not a heretic

claiming to be God.

He was in fact

the second person of the Trinity.

God on earth.

Now raised new life again.

That's important.

That's important for Paul,

because

as a Jew

he'd always been brought up

to believe that God is just one

and there is only one God.

And he's suddenly

confronted with Jesus

as the son of God.

It's revealed to him

that God is three persons in one.

Yes, God is a unity,

is one Godhead,

yet there's Father, Son and Spirit

in the one Godhead.

And Saul

finds Jesus revealed to him.

So he realises

Jesus is not some creation,

not some mere mortal,

he's not some being

somewhere between God and man

as some different sects

and cults teach.

He is God eternal himself.

And secondly,

Saul found out

that Jesus is God's promised king.

So in the Old Testament,

for example,

in 2 Samuel chapter 7,

2 Samuel 7 · chapter mention

the son of God

is a title

for God's chosen king

for his people.

So Saul found that

Jesus is God himself,

but also Jesus is

God's ruler and king.

So the very one

Saul would be trying

to put an end to

was in fact the one

whom God was using

to fulfil his purposes.

So in that moment

that Saul sees

Jesus revealed to him,

he completely changes

his view of himself.

He's no longer a good guy

doing God's work.

He now sees

he is God's enemy.

He is God's enemy.

He thought his religious zeal

and niceness was good.

Actually,

it was a way of rebelling

against God.

And that's actually

a warning to all of us,

isn't it?

We can think we're good people,

we can think we're very religious,

we're doing nice things

for God,

and yet actually

if we don't grasp

who Jesus is,

however zealous we are,

however enthusiastic we are,

we can be running

headlong against God's program

and God's ways.

And we can be

God's enemies.

So that's the first thing

that was transformed

in Saul.

His view of himself

that was all caught up

with his view of Jesus.

The second thing

that was transformed

was his whole goal

of his life.

The goal of his life

was turned upside down.

See,

formerly

his goal was to

persecute and destroy

the church,

wasn't it?

But now

the persecutor

has turned preacher.

Verse 16,

God called on him.

God is pleased

to reveal his son to me

in order that I may

preach him among the Gentiles.

As a good Jew,

it must have been

an absolutely horrendous idea

for Saul

to go to the Gentiles.

But now

his life is so transformed

that instead of trying

to put an end

to the church,

he's preaching

so the church is built up.

Not only that,

he's going to the Gentiles,

his very enemies,

to preach that.

The persecutor

turns into the preacher.

He has a new goal

in his life

because that is the purpose

which God saved him.

Now,

you and I

are not called to be

the apostles to the Gentiles.

That only happened

to Saul.

But we all live life

with some goal,

don't we?

And as I read this,

I have to ask myself,

truly,

what is my goal?

Am I just interested

in my own career?

As Saul also was,

part of his persecuting

the church,

was to build his own

career in Judaism.

Am I interested

in my own reputation

as Saul was?

Or am I primarily,

is my goal primarily

to preach Jesus Christ

to let others know

this glorious news

that we can be forgiven

and made whole again

by the grace of God

in the Lord Jesus

and not by our own

religious works?

What's your goal?

What's your goal?

What do you desire in life?

What is the longing

of your heart?

And how does that line up

with God's great program?

Well, Saul had a new view

of himself and of Jesus.

He completely transformed

the goal in his life.

And thirdly,

he had a completely

transformed motivation.

Look at verse 10.

See what his old motivation was

and what his new motivation is.

Verse 10.

For am I seeking

the approval of man

or of God?

Or am I trying

to please man?

If I was still

trying to please man,

I would not be

a servant of Christ.

Literally,

a slave of Christ.

See what Paul is saying

about his old way of life?

Actually,

he was a people pleaser.

Actually,

he was a people pleaser.

That's what he wanted to do.

And for Paul,

for Saul as he was then,

being deeply religious

was a great way

of being a people pleaser.

We please people

for all sorts of reasons,

don't we?

And being religious

can be a great way

of pleasing other people,

can't they?

It might be

we can please our parents

when we're younger

because they take us

along to church

or to the mosque

or to the temple

or whatever.

Sometimes we can

please other people

by our devotion

because they're impressed

with us.

So we go up in their views

because we're serving

so hard in church

or we are so involved

in so many things.

Sometimes we just want

to please other people

because we want them

to like us,

don't we?

And whenever people pleasing

is our real motive,

we just end up being

a slave to someone

else's desires,

don't we?

Whether that's

our parents

or our family

or our friends

or to the fashions

and customs of the age.

And Paul is confessing here

he was a people pleaser.

That got him promoted.

He's advancing beyond others

in his age

in Judaism.

There are people

following him

helping him

going to Damascus.

And yet,

his motives

have now changed.

His motives

have now changed.

He's now

trying to please God.

If I was still

trying to please man,

I would not be

a servant of Christ.

You can see that

if you look down

at the end of the story.

Verses 18 to 24.

We won't read it

all again now.

But as soon as God

has got hold of his life,

what does he do?

He doesn't go out

to Jerusalem

to get in

with the people

in power in that day

in the church.

He goes out

into Arabia.

Presumably to preach

the gospel for three years

is when he then

comes back to Damascus.

If we read on

in Acts chapter 9

Acts 9 · chapter mention

we find he had to

lower it out of the basket.

Rumor must have

got back to the king

in Damascus.

But this man

is a troublemaker.

Get rid of him.

So Saul immediately

goes to preach

the gospel

because that's

what he's been

called to do.

He immediately

doesn't go

to become popular

unsuccessful.

He isn't even

known in person

we read in verses 23

to the people

the Christians

in Judea.

Because none of that

mattered.

But what did matter?

Look at verse 24.

They heard that Saul

was now preaching

the gospel.

Preaching the faith

he once tried to destroy.

And they glorified

God because of me.

See how Paul's

motivation has changed

around?

He's no longer

pleasing men

but he's pleasing God.

He wants God

to be glorified.

He wants Christ

to be made known.

Now what about me?

What about you?

Are we people pleasers?

Or are we God pleasers?

If I look at my own heart

what lies at the bottom

of all my desire

to please other people?

Well it's actually

fear isn't it?

Fear of rejection.

Fear of missing out.

Fear of not being popular.

Fear of offending.

But what Saul found

is that having been

accepted by God's grace

having been set apart

having been loved

and chosen by the

living God for a purpose

there's no fear left

is there?

See the gospel

deals with our insecurity.

If we know

we're accepted by God

not because of what

we do but because

of what Christ has done

then it matters

a whole lot less

if other people

do not accept us.

And so pleasing

other people

can become a whole lot

less important

than pleasing the God

who loved us

and called us

and saved us.

Why should we need

the praise and

affirmation of people

when in Christ

God calls us

his beloved children?

You see how this

worked out in Saul's life

he was happy to lose

his status

in Judaism.

Happy to lose

the reputation he had.

Happy to be hounded

and persecuted

as we see if you read

on through his life story.

Because what he really

wanted was to

please God

and not please people.

There's a song

we sometimes sang

at my old church

which has this great verse

Take all my cravings

for vain recognition

fleshly indulgence

and worldly ambition

I want so much

Lord to make you

the focus

to serve you

in secret

and never be noticed.

And I think

Saul could say that

because he'd been

transformed by

meeting Jesus Christ.

He had a new view

of himself

that he was a rebel

who desperately

needed God's grace.

He had a new

change of the goal

of his life.

His goal came

to preach Christ

instead of to

kill off the church.

It changed his

motivation in life.

His motivation

was now the glory

of God

rather than

pleasing other people.

If we meet Jesus

day by day

he will change us too.

Let's pray shall we?