Galatians 1:1-7

A few years ago, or many years ago now, I lived in Kenya for a year, and we had these in our house occasionally, about once every week, I suppose.

We'd see these big orange furry spiders. They're quite terrifying, but we thought, well, those dudes are going to kill off the other things we really don't want to have.

So we let them run around our house. We put up with them. We thought they were a kind of welcome addition to our house. They'd take care of other nasties.

Now, after we'd been there 11 months, one of our students, we're teachers out there, one of our students, a lad named Ezra, was in our house.

He saw one of these things, and straight away he stamped on it. And we looked at him like, Ezra, what's the problem?

He said, aye, teacher, these are more dangerous than scorpions. Oh, okay. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for helping us out.

See, Ezra loved us. He didn't want us to be in danger. And so he acted very promptly. These things that we tolerated, he knew, were actually dangerous to us.

So he took strong action. And that is a sense of what is happening here as we read Galatians.

The Apostle Paul is taking strong action because ideas that people were tolerating, that people were thinking were acceptable, were actually deadly.

That's why he gets straight into this stinging rebuke. Every other letter he writes, he starts with thanksgiving and saying how he's praying for people.

Not stay with these folks. Look at verse 6.

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel.

He is not, as I think the Germans were saying, he's not politely knocking on the door, asking to come in for tea.

Rather, he's entering the house with the door in his hand. I believe that's a German expression.

Barbara can correct me if I'm wrong. It's what a German professor told me.

He's entering the house with the door in his hand. He has an urgent message.

He's being very abrupt with these people.

Now that sounds intolerant. It sounds very fundamentalist to our 21st century Western ears.

So why is Paul being like this?

Well, we need to understand that he's being like this because it's only God's good news that rescues people.

It's only God's good news about Christ Jesus that transforms lives.

And so Paul wants us to hold to that true gospel message.

To accept other ideas is not merely to dilute the gospel.

It is to distort the gospel and make it deadly rather than life-saving.

Now why is that the case?

Well, Paul shows us here in these verses that the gospel has a unique source, a unique message, and a unique seriousness.

A unique source, a unique message, and a unique seriousness.

We need to get these things right to understand why Paul is so urgent here.

So first of all, the source.

Look at verse 1.

This is God's good news.

Paul says,

Paul, an apostle, not from men nor through men, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead.

The unique source is God himself.

That's why Paul introduces himself as an apostle.

Literally, that's a word that means sent one.

Now, occasionally in the New Testament it is used as someone sent by a church,

but mostly it is used in a technical sense of one sent, one appointed by the Lord Jesus,

one sent by him with a message to speak his message.

So in Acts chapter 1, when they needed to get a new apostle to replace Judas who betrayed the Lord Jesus,

Acts 1 · chapter mention

there were certain criteria.

It had to be someone who had been with the Lord Jesus from the beginning,

who had been a witness of the resurrection.

And he was then appointed by the Lord Jesus, in fact, through lots there in Acts chapter 1.

Acts 1 · chapter mention

Now, some people dismissed Paul.

They said, oh, you weren't one of the original crowd.

But Paul, and we'll read about this later on in Galatians,

was specifically chosen by God, by the Lord Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus.

He had been an eyewitness of the resurrection as he saw the Lord Jesus there.

And Paul wants to underline this, because he's not speaking as a private individual.

He is speaking as one speaking God's message.

He is not from man or through man, but by God.

It is God's word. God is the source of this gospel.

Now, it's important we get this for two reasons.

Firstly, there are some today who use that word apostle in a very different, loose way.

So about a few years ago, I had a cup of coffee with a lady who gave me a book she'd written,

and she called herself an apostle.

Now, the best thing I can say about that is it's very confusing.

Very confusing.

She is at least 2,000 years too late to be an apostle.

She is not an eyewitness of the resurrection.

She does not have the authority of an apostle, in the biblical sense.

So that is confusing.

The second reason it's important is that people like to, we all, all of us as human beings,

like to resist authority.

And we find that with the Bible particularly, and often very much with the apostle Paul.

People like to divide a, try to create a division between what Jesus taught and what Paul taught.

So people will say things like,

Well, I like Jesus.

I like what he said.

But I don't like what Paul said.

He can be very harsh.

He can be very judgmental.

He was a misogynist.

What did he know?

He was very sexist, wasn't he?

That's why it's really important we understand,

when Paul talks as an apostle,

he is saying that he is speaking God's words,

with God's authority,

as one appointed by the Lord Jesus Christ and God the Father.

What the apostles said went into the Bible.

What we say today,

what people like me say today,

has to come out of the Bible.

There is a unique source here.

The unique source is ultimately God,

is his gospel.

So that's the first thing,

there's a unique source of this message.

It is from God.

But secondly,

there is a uniqueness to this message.

There's a unique message here.

Many people may say,

well, all religions are just the same, really, aren't they?

They're all really about getting to God,

and being nice people,

and all that sort of thing.

I mean, after all,

didn't Muhammad claim to be speaking God's words?

What makes Paul any better or different than Muhammad?

That's why we need to be clear about the uniqueness

of this good news message.

Gospel means good news.

So look at all other religions.

You find you can divide them into three basic camps.

They're either about behavior,

what we do,

or belief,

what we think,

or about belonging,

about being part of a community.

So for example,

Islam gives many things for Muslims to do.

They've got the five pillars of Islam.

Forms of Buddhism can really be a kind of philosophy,

a way of thinking about the world.

Many forms of Buddhism are atheistic, in fact.

Nothing about God at all.

Or think about a conversation I had with a Hindu friend of mine.

And he didn't necessarily believe

any of the, or many of the teachings.

But for him what was important

was a sense of belonging,

a sense of tradition,

a sense of the culture,

being part of something bigger than himself,

which generated a sense of order to life

and connectedness with the past.

See, these religions tend to be about behavior,

about belonging,

or about believing certain things,

thinking certain ways.

But in contrast to these mere religions,

see what Christianity is about.

We get a clue to what it's about in verse 4.

You see,

the gospel diagnoses a deeper problem

and prescribes a different remedy.

Diagnoses a deeper problem

and prescribes a different remedy.

You see it in verse 4.

Paul talks about the grace from God our Father

and the Lord Jesus Christ

who gave himself for our sins

to deliver us from the present evil age

according to the will of God the Father.

See, the deeper problem

that the gospel identifies

is our sins.

It's the fact we're in an evil age.

It's not just modifying our behavior.

It's about rescuing us.

Deliver us.

He delivered us, Paul said,

from the present evil age.

That's the worst to do with rescue.

There's a film out at the moment,

or it came out at the end of last year.

I could have watched it on a plane I was on

but didn't a couple of weeks ago.

It's called The 33.

It's about the miners,

the 33 Chilean miners

who a few years ago

were trapped underground

for many, many days.

What was their problem?

Their problem was they were trapped.

They were in a desperate situation.

They were going to die.

They needed to be delivered from that.

They needed people to come down

and get them out.

That, Paul says,

is what has happened to us.

We have been delivered

from this present evil age.

We've been rescued

through the death of our Lord Jesus.

Now, what are our sins?

What are our sins?

What is this present evil age?

Well, our sins

are not one or two wrong things we do

but our general rebellion against God.

Our turning away from the God who made us

and trying to live lives

relying on our own strength,

our own wisdom,

our own sense of right and wrong.

And that's true of the whole world around us.

Has been true

since Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden

and ate the apple.

It's been true ever since.

This present evil age

is not an age where

there's an internet

or whatever you think

is the most evil thing around.

It's the human course of life

all through human history

trying to live without God.

One of the most obvious consequences of that

is death.

Because death is the consequence

of sin.

Death is the consequence

of rebellion against this God.

So that's the diagnosis

of this unique gospel message.

The diagnosis is

we are dead in our sins.

Trapped in this present evil age.

What's the remedy?

Well the remedy

is not just to change

the way we behave.

That's the remedy of religion.

The remedy is not just to

think something different.

That's a remedy

of man-made religion.

The remedy is not to belong

to a certain group.

Again, that's just

mere man-made religion.

What is the remedy?

What's the cure?

Well verses 3 and 4 again.

It's the Lord Jesus Christ

who gave himself

for our sins

to deliver us

from the present evil age

according to the will

of God the Father.

Through Jesus' death

we can be raised

set free

raised to new life.

And that is the will

of God the Father.

That's why Paul can

pray in verse 3

Grace to you

and peace from God our Father.

The whole point

of this gospel message

is it's not about

what we do

it's about what God

in Christ has done.

It's about what God

in Christ has done.

That's why Paul can say

grace to you

and peace from God our Father.

Grace

is God's undeserved kindness

God's unlimited kindness

to undeserving people.

God's unlimited kindness

to undeserving people.

He gives us his love

he gives us forgiveness

he gives us rescue

not on the basis

of what I do

or what you do

but on the basis

of what Jesus Christ

the eternal Son of God

has done.

And through that grace

we get peace.

Verse 3

Peace is not just

an absence

of conflict

but the presence

of wholeness

the presence

of the wholeness

the well-being

that God created us for

and that can only come

through knowing God.

If you look at the end

of verse 4

how does all this come about?

Well through Jesus

who gave himself

for our sins

to deliver us

from the present evil age

according to the will

of God the Father.

See this good news

this rescue

is all God's idea.

That's what makes this

a unique message.

It's not about our idea

it's about God's idea.

It's unique

in its diagnosis

of our real problem.

We need to be rescued

from our sin.

It's unique

in its remedy.

It's not about us

it's about what God

has done in Christ.

And it's unique

because the hero

is not us

and what we do

the hero is God

it is all his will.

So that

is the good news message.

That is the good news message

that Paul had taken

to these Galatians.

It's the good news message

that we preach here

week by week.

So what's the danger?

Why is Paul writing

so forcefully

to these Galatians?

What's the danger

for you and me?

So I suspect

it's not that we'll

wake up tomorrow

and say

I don't believe in God anymore

I'm going to be an atheist now.

I don't think that's

our biggest danger.

Our biggest danger

is probably not

we're going to wake up

and say

you know what

I think Buddhism

or Hinduism

or Islam

is a much better idea.

I don't think

that's the biggest risk.

The biggest risk

is we distort

the message

that we've heard.

Because that's

what the Galatians

are doing.

This message

that is unique

in its source

unique in its substance

in its message

it's also unique

in its seriousness.

So look at verse 6

I'm astonished

that you're so quickly

deserting him

who called you

in the grace of Christ

and turning to

a different gospel.

Not that there is

another one

but there are some

who trouble you

and want to distort

the gospel of Christ.

And look how serious

this is.

He goes on

verse 8

But even if we

or an angel

from heaven

should preach

to you a gospel

contrary to the one

we preached to you

let him be accursed.

As we've said before

also now I say again

if anyone is preaching

to you a gospel

contrary to the one

you received

let him be accursed.

That is

let him be cut off

from God forever.

This is a very serious

warning in the New Testament

I think.

Now what is this

distortion that Paul

is worried about?

What distortion is this

that it's turning away

from the grace

of our Lord Jesus Christ

God's unlimited kindness

to undeserving people

it's turning away from that

it's thinking we can do

something to deserve

to merit

it's thinking we can do

something extra

to add to what Christ

has done

that's the different

gospel here

the difference of adding

saying yet Jesus is good

but I need to do

something else

Jesus is good

but I need to have

something else

and that

is what the danger

you see what Paul

says they're doing

as soon as they add

try to add to the gospel

verse 6

they are deserting

him who called them

they're not just

having a different

idea

they're deserting

the God

who called them

as soon as they

distort the gospel

as soon as they

leave the central

teaching of Jesus

giving himself

as a substitute

for us

as soon as we try

to add to that

we're deserting

we're rejecting

God

and how are they

in danger of doing

it?

I'll see more of this

in coming weeks

but they're deserting

being called

verse 6

in the grace

of Christ Jesus

in other words

they're deserting

the simple truth

that is purely

what Jesus has done

on the cross

for us

through his life

death and resurrection

that makes us

right with God

it's not our own

religious act

it's not our own

prayerfulness

it's not our own

giving

it's not our own

church attendance

it's purely Jesus

now why

would anyone

be tempted

to turn away

from that?

why were these

Galatians tempted?

why are you and I

tempted day by day

to try and add

to what Jesus

has done?

well

it comes from at least

three different places

first of all

there can be pressure

from people teaching

let's look at verse 7

Paul says

there are some who

not that there is

another one

but there are some

who trouble you

and want to distort

the gospel of Christ

well people need

to make money

by writing books

by being preachers

and teachers

on the circuit

they put pressure

on Christians

by selling different

ideas

by saying things

which sound very

believable and

plausible

which sound like

they're Christianity

but actually are not

notice Paul goes on

to underline the fact

it doesn't matter

what people's

qualifications are

or credentials

or their past record

what matters

is whether

what they teach

is in line

with the gospel

that's why he says

in verses 7 and 8

if even an angel

shop or even I

come back myself

and preach something

different

let me be accursed

let me be cut off

so there can be

pressure

from other teaching

coming in

also there can be

the desire to be

popular

can make us want

to add

to the gospel

and distort it

that's what Paul

says in verse 10

am I now seeking

approval of man

or from God

if I were trying

to please man

I would not be a

servant of Christ Jesus

see people hate

the idea

that as human beings

we are powerless

to save ourselves

people hate that idea

it's deeply unpopular

to say that Jesus

is the only way

to be right with God

and so it's easy

just to be more popular

to kind of dilute

that a bit

but of course

the other reason

we can try and add

to the gospel

is purely our own

pride

in our pride

we want to feel

like we can do

something

to make ourselves

in a better standing

with God

but as human beings

we're all naturally

proud

we all want to feel

we've contributed

something

if you want evidence

of this

just go down the road

to Marks and Spencers

I've got nothing

against it

but go and look

at the food aisle

go and look at

the kind of meals

you can buy

now you can buy

ready meals

or you can buy

meals where all

things are already

chopped up

and there's a nice

sauce there

so you can make

the meal yourself

that's the idea

you can feel

like you've

contributed something

to it

that's why

supermarkets

like M&S

sell those

kind of meals

not just

things you

shove in the

microwave

and so you

can feel good

about yourself

like you've

contributed

to the meal

you haven't

just been lazy

and had ready

meals

that's appealing

to our pride

as one of the

adverts once said

life gets so

busy that sometimes

it's temptingly

easy to pick up

some convenience

food

but it's easier

than you think

to find nutritious

foods

in other words

don't give in

to the easy

thing

do something

yourselves

make us

let us help

you feel good

about yourselves

and that's why

it's so tempting

to think we can

add to what

Jesus has done

it appeals to

our pride

instead of

recognising that

actually it's

only through

the perfect

sinless life

of our Lord

Jesus

through his

death

in our

place

on the cross

and through

his resurrection

to new life

it's only

through that

we can be

set free

from this

present evil

age

see Paul

wants the

Galatians

and us

to see

the ultimate

significance

of this

gospel message

if we try

and dilute it

we don't merely

water it down

we distort it

and make it

deadly

it is not a

matter of life

and death

it is more

important than

all that

in July

the 7th

2011

a 44

year old

lady

surprisingly

died

at the hospital

in Greater

Manchester

people couldn't

quite figure out

why

and four days

later another

man died

and on the

12th of July

staff at

Stepping Hill

Hospital

discovered that

vials of

saline solution

had been

tampered with

what should have

just been pure

water with a

bit of salt in

it

used for

flushing out

drips and

syringes and

things

to keep

everybody

healthy

instead

someone had

added

some

insulin

the result

was that

something that

should have

been safe

and promoted

health

became deadly

and those

vials

which were

contaminated

would not

have looked

any different

to the

healthy ones

to the

true ones

yet the

addition of

one extra

ingredient

was deadly

and that is

the same

with the

gospel of

the Lord

Jesus Christ

the good news

about Jesus

if we dilute

it

if we try

and add

to it

we make

it deadly

it might

look similar

it might

sound similar

but it's

deadly

only God's

good news

about Jesus

rescues us

this message

is unique

in its source

it comes

from God

as Paul

as an apostle

writing it

it is unique

in the scope

of its message

it diagnoses

our deep

problem

rebelling

against God

it prescribes

the only

remedy

faith in

Jesus Christ

the Son

of God

and it's

unique in

its seriousness

this is the

only way

to life

so we must

hold fast

to this gospel

and not

desert it

let me pray

for us