Galatians Week 1 • Galatians 1:1-9

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Going to open up to Galatians chapter 1.

Galatians 1 · chapter mention

As you do that, I want to tell everybody, Happy New Year.

Glad that you're here with us as we're starting off a new series, as we're starting off a

new year.

For us, as we're starting off this new One Service, as we gather in here together, we are glad

that you are here and that you are worshiping with us.

You saw it on the screen.

You'll hear it a couple more times.

We want you to come back tonight, all right?

There's a chili cook-off happening, all right?

There's no place that I would rather be this evening than right here gathered with my closest

friends and family and experiencing as many different bowls of chili as absolutely possible.

And so, if you've got one and I want you to bring it, there is a competition.

Not only is there a competition for chili, but there's a competition for desserts, right?

So, whether you're a sweet or a savory person, we've got both of those for you, all right?

So, I want to make sure that you come back, bring something, bring a chili, bring something

sweet, bring one or the other, but the preference is that you would absolutely bring both.

That's my preference, right?

So, come back tonight as we have that time.

You know what God did for us?

It was summer all last week.

God brought the cold.

No better time for chili than when it's cold outside.

So, make sure that you are here with us.

Well, as we're starting off with this new service, I want to kind of remind you guys about the

flow and how things are going and what we're doing.

And we will, together today as a church family, take part in the Lord's Supper together.

And that is going to be something that we do the first Sunday of every month.

And so, if that's an important thing for you like it is for me, then you might want to make

sure that you're here definitely for the first service, or for the first Sunday, not first

service, first Sunday of each month as we have that together.

Something else that maybe you weren't aware of, because on our first Sunday of the month,

we'll have first grade through fifth grade with us in the building.

And so, Dawn and the kids team has put together these kids handouts, all right?

And so, they're going to help the kids track through the message.

They're going to help them follow the points.

It's got the scripture on the back and some extra areas where they can take notes.

And so, kids, if you didn't get one today, that's all right.

Next month, we'll have them available for you as well to kind of help you track through.

Now, kids, here's where you can really benefit with these, all right?

How many of you sometimes for the little kids, you get in the car, and your parents are like,

so what did you learn today, right?

And they give you the test, right?

We do that with our kids.

Kids, next time, next first Sunday of the month, grab one of these.

You're riding home.

Mom and dad are driving.

Pull it out.

So, dad, what did you learn today, right?

You can test them, all right?

This is what we're working toward as a family, but we can grab these and have these together.

So, thank you, Dawn and her team for getting those out for our kids today.

We're going to be studying the book of Galatians over the next several weeks and over the next

several months.

And it's important that we understand what is happening in this letter.

Who's writing it?

Why are they writing it?

And what are they addressing as we go through?

So, this letter is written by the Apostle Paul to the church at Galatia, to the Galatian

people, which is why it's called the letter of Galatians.

Now, what Paul would do is Paul would plant a church, and then he would move on from that

church to plant another church.

If you've ever heard of the phrase church planner, today, Paul was the first church planner

that we see in biblical history as we move forward.

He's the most dynamic church planner that the world has ever known.

And so, what Paul would do is he would plant a church, he would stay there for a certain

time, he would raise up the congregation, he would raise up another pastor, and then he

would leave it, and he would entrust, like he did with Timothy and Ephesus, he would leave

the authority with a pastor there, and then he would move on.

But periodically, from time to time, Paul would check back in with the church, and this

would happen through letters.

Hey, how are things going?

What are the problems?

What are the successes?

What are the wins?

And as Paul would hear back from the church what was happening and taking place, sometimes

he would write letters and he would praise them and praise God for the work that was being

done.

But sometimes Paul needed to instruct or correct things that were happening and things that

were taking place.

And that's what we're going to look at with this letter to the Galatian people.

Now, there were two factors that Paul's going to address throughout this letter that we need

to be aware of.

This letter will address some social and racial divisions that come within the church.

You see, when the church first started spreading, racially speaking, the people that were coming

to faith were of Jewish race.

They were of a Jewish faith, and they left the faith to become followers of Jesus Christ.

And that's where the church first began and first took off.

But as the church began to grow and began to expand, Gentiles started coming in, those who

weren't of Jewish faith before, those who weren't of Jewish race before.

And so with more and more culturally Jews and with more and more culturally Gentiles coming

together, there began to be some problems and some divisions within the church.

And so as Paul was going to point out about how the gospel unifies in so many different

ways, Paul, throughout this letter, is going to address some social issues and some racial

issues and even some culture issues that we're going to dive into.

But the primary thing that Paul is going to address in this is the nature of the gospel.

This is going to be the theme that overwhelmingly takes and continues on for the Galatian people

for their foundation of not only their faith, but of their life.

And it's why I love that we're starting off this series at the beginning of the year, this

time of year, because what will be a reminder for us is the foundation for which we set our

lives on, the foundation for which we live our lives on, but then the foundation for which

we continue our lives with.

That the gospel will infiltrate all of these aspects of our life.

And it's what rings true for the Galatian people.

Specifically, the issue that Paul was having to work through with the Galatian people is

the concept that the gospel wasn't enough.

For them, they were teaching that it was Jesus, it was the gospel, but then it was all of these

other things as well.

Remember, I said earlier that primarily that the followers who had largely become Christians

first were Jewish believers.

And so what would typically happen in their faith was they would receive the gospel of

Christ, but then they would continue on in a lot of their Jewish customs or their lot of

Jewish traditions.

And that's fine.

There's nothing wrong with that as long as it's the understanding that the gospel in and

of itself only is what saves you.

But not only what saves you, but what keeps you.

And what is beginning to happen in Galatia is they say to these Gentile believers, look, look,

it's not just enough that you're saved, but then culturally speaking, you also need to adapt

these things in if you are going to be saved.

And so Paul addresses that.

Paul's going to begin this letter by addressing the heart of the gospel, the point of the gospel,

and what we respond to the gospel.

So here's going to be the foundation of this sermon series as we go through this.

Number one is this, is that the gospel is how we enter into the kingdom.

That's the first thing I want us to understand about the gospel.

That the gospel is how everyone in the world gets saved.

It's how you enter into the kingdom.

It is the gospel and the gospel alone that saves us.

And Jesus is himself the heart of the gospel.

If you remove Jesus from gospel, it's not gospel.

If you remove his birth from the gospel, it's not gospel.

If you remove his crucifixion, it's not gospel.

If you remove his resurrection, it's not gospel.

That Jesus is and of himself the heart of the gospel.

And it's why he says that he is the way, that he is the truth, that he is the life.

And that no one, in all-encompassing word, that no one comes to the Father except by him.

No other works.

No other ways.

No other gods.

No other faiths.

in Jesus alone. And so when we talk about eternity, when we think about heaven, when we think about

the eternal kingdom of God, the entrance into that is found in Jesus, in Jesus alone.

So the gospel is how we enter. But then also is this, the gospel is how we live as a part

of the kingdom. And that's the other thing that Paul's going to work through in this letter,

that not only is what the gospel does is to bring you into the kingdom, into the future of the hope

that we sing for, of what we raise our hands in proclamation of what the future holds for us

in the coming of Christ and the calling of the saints to him, but that also that the gospel is

doing something here with us, that the gospel is actually working in us now, and that we need

the gospel here. That not through some morality, not that through some religious rules, not through

some works, but that the gospel is how we live. It's why it's so important that for those of us as

believers, that we think that the gospel is for non-believers. And so we proclaim and that we

teach and that we explain the gospel to them in hopes that they might be saved. But then we fill

up churches all over the world that says, well, the gospel is for them. Give me something for me. But it

all rests in and roots in the gospel, that the gospel for you and I as believers in Jesus Christ is how

we live as a part of the kingdom. So the gospel for me is just as important now, 19 years after I got

saved, as it was in the moment when I got saved. That the gospel is how I live as a part of the

kingdom. That for me in my life, the gospel sets the standard. For me in my life, that the gospel is at

work in us now and that the gospel is what works through us. It is the power and it is the nature

of the gospel. I heard a pastor say one time that as followers of Jesus Christ, that we should be so

filled with the power of the spirit and living in the gospel that when people see us, they see the gospel.

that there's living evidence of the fruit within us. So yes, we look different. Yes, we do things

different. Yes, we talk different. Yes, we treat each other different. Not because we're better. Not

because we've done anything, but because of the gospel. Because he's so much better. And so that's

going to be the foundation of this. That's what Paul's trying to impress on the hearts of the Galatian

people. And what Paul's impressing on the hearts of us today is that we enter into the kingdom through

the gospel, but that we also live through the gospel. And so let's start reading Galatians chapter 1,

Galatians 1 · chapter mention

starting in verse 1. Paul writes,

to the churches of Galatia, grace to you and peace from God, our Father and Lord Jesus Christ, who gave

himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age according to the will of God and Father,

to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Paul says, I'm astonished that you were so quickly

deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are 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. 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 have said before, so now I say again, if anyone is preaching

to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. And so Paul begins, he opens it up,

he addresses, he greets them, and then he gets to the heart of what is taking place. I want to say

this church to all of us as individuals, to all of us who wrestle with our faith, to all of us who dive

into scripture, for all of us who sit under teaching, or wherever we are, what we have to understand,

what Paul does as he addresses this to the church, but as the individuals within the church, is this,

what you believe matters. What we believe matters.

When it comes to faith,

can we say that it's not just enough to say,

I believe in God?

When we really get down to it,

it's not just enough

to say we believe in

Jesus.

Because it's in the details of who we believe him to be.

It's in the details of what we trust him with our life,

that when it gets down to understanding

what the gospel is,

and what the gospel does,

what Jesus we believe in matters.

And so what you believe,

and what I believe matters.

And Paul's passion,

and his heart for addressing this church,

is to make sure that there's this understanding

that the Jesus they believe in,

the Jesus they follow,

the Jesus they trust,

is an authentic Jesus.

It's an authentic gospel,

and that it's not counterfeit.

And the problem is,

is that there are those then,

and there are those today,

who are trying to sell a counterfeit Jesus.

They're trying to sell a counterfeit gospel.

And so Paul brings it back to the heart.

He says, look,

there are those who will trouble you

by distorting the gospel.

Now he doesn't say,

there are those who will trouble you

by completely destroying it,

and throwing it to the side.

He doesn't say,

there are those who will try to trouble you

by trying to lead you

to something completely different.

See, there's something sneakier

that is happening and taking place here.

He says,

what they're doing

is they're taking the gospel,

and they're just turning it.

They're just modifying it.

They're making it a little bit easier to hear.

They're making it a little bit more simple.

They're making it a little bit

where it's not as harsh.

They're making it a little bit

where it doesn't call,

where it doesn't talk about grace

or the cross.

He says,

they're distorting you.

They're troubling you

by distorting the gospel.

And church,

when the gospel is distorted,

when the gospel is distorted,

it's no longer the gospel.

When the gospel is changed,

when we take it and we make it ours,

when we move it away

from the gospel laid forth by God,

in that moment,

it ceases to be the gospel.

You see,

here's the trick of Satan.

Satan cannot change the narrative.

Satan cannot change the story.

Satan cannot change what has happened.

But where Satan attacks

is he attacks the narrative

that's being told about the truth.

And so he takes

and he adapts to make it his.

He sets it onto the minds

of those who are evil

for those who are corrupt.

And they modify it

and they mold it

to fit their agenda.

And the false gospel

doesn't save you.

A distorted gospel

doesn't save you.

Instead,

the harsh part,

the reality that we're dealing with,

if it doesn't save you,

it condemns you.

And it's why this is so important.

And it's what we understand.

And it's why it's so valuable,

kids,

that you are in here today.

And it's why it's so important

that at every age

and every language

and every people

that we don't hear a gospel

but that we hear the gospel

and that we have the opportunity

of salvation

because the key is the true gospel.

It saves us

and it transforms us.

And Paul gives the severity

of what he's talking about.

He gives here twice

what's called the threat of the accursed,

that if anyone comes

and tells you anything different

than what's been preached,

if anything different

than what God has said to them

in that,

let them be accursed.

And Paul says,

look, look, look,

if it's any of them

who do it,

if it's any of us,

he says,

we, Paul,

in the leadership,

if we do it,

or in the level of severity,

Paul says,

if angels come to you

and they share with you

a distorted point of the gospel,

a distorted narrative of the gospel,

Paul says,

if any of us,

if anyone,

no one rises above this,

let them be accursed.

It's interesting,

this word accursed,

it's not a word

that we use very often.

But the concept

of what Paul's communicating

with accursed

is what you can read about

and what you can find

in Leviticus chapter 27.

Leviticus 27 · chapter mention

And it deals with the concept

of removal of someone

or excommunicating someone.

So what Paul says to them is this,

if there's any of us

that try to bring

this false gospel into you,

then it's not just a warning,

it's not just a hard conversation,

lead them out.

They are accursed.

They are excommunicated.

They are banished

and they are banned.

An interesting part of this

is in order to get

the penalty

of being accursed,

what the person

must have been doing

must have been dealing,

or I'm sorry,

they must have been devoted

to death.

So what Paul says is this,

if there's someone

bringing a false gospel,

if there's someone

bringing a false narrative,

then what they are devoted to

is death,

not life,

and remove them immediately.

The seriousness of what's there,

of what is ringing true.

So what is the true gospel?

What is this that I'm talking about?

And we're going to understand it more

over the coming weeks,

but this morning

I want to give us a snapshot.

A brief snapshot

before we partake

in the Lord's Supper

of what is

the true gospel.

The first thing is this,

the true gospel

tells us who we are.

The true gospel

tells us who we are.

Verse four

says that Jesus

came to deliver us.

He came to deliver us.

Literally breaking

that word down

means that he came

to rescue us.

How many of you

in your life

have ever needed

to be rescued from something?

Raise your hand.

Yeah, yeah.

Me too.

I remember

one time I was in fifth grade

and me and some friends,

we were back in the woods

and we had thousands of acres

back behind our house

and we got lost

and we couldn't find our way out

and they had to send people

to come and rescue us.

Now, over time,

eventually,

could we have stumbled out?

Probably, absolutely.

But right,

we're 10 years old.

We're petrified.

We're crying

and it's a great moment

when your parents

have to send law enforcement

into the woods

to come bring you out, right?

Those long conversations

that we had

with my mom and dad.

Hey, kids, don't do that.

But y'all would just

go on your phones

and call your parents

to come and get you, right?

Drop a pin

right where you're at.

Come find me.

But they had to come rescue us.

Here's the thing.

If you need to be rescued,

do you know

what you can't do

for yourself?

You can't save yourself.

You can't rescue yourself.

So what the Bible tells us

in the heart of the gospel

is that we needed

to be rescued,

which means this,

that you and I,

we couldn't save ourselves.

That what God had to come

and do for us

was something

that we were incapable

of doing.

we needed to be saved.

The true gospel

tells us who we are,

but the true gospel

also tells us

what Jesus did.

Paul says in verse 4

that Jesus gave himself

for our sins.

That Jesus gave himself

for our behalf.

Now, it's very important

that we understand this,

that oftentimes

that we talk about,

and I've said it

a million times,

that Jesus came

as a sacrifice.

And let me tell you this,

in repentance mode,

fully now right before you,

is that true?

Yes, but there's more to it.

There's a part

that we're leaving out

that Jesus came

to do more

than just to be

a sacrifice.

That Jesus came

to be a substitutionary

sacrifice.

That he didn't just come

to do something,

but he came

to do something

on our behalf,

which meant this,

there was something

that we needed to do,

but we were incapable

of doing it,

so Jesus came

and did it for us.

And then that was the cross.

And then that was

the resurrection.

And then that was

the power.

So you see what

the gospel begins to do

is the gospel addresses

who we are,

but the gospel also addresses

what Jesus did.

Also within here,

the true gospel

tells us what God did.

What God did.

Think about this.

The beauty of this truth.

In the substitutionary sacrifice,

God accepted it.

God accepted it.

Verse three.

Grace and peace

to you from God.

So now,

as followers of Jesus Christ,

now as those

who needed to be rescued,

now because Jesus came

and did the rescuing,

that we are no longer enemies

because God accepted the work.

And so now,

what should have come toward us

was his anger

and his wrath,

but now what comes to us?

The grace

and peace

from God.

The true gospel

tells what God did.

God accepted it,

but also,

the true gospel

tells us

why God did it.

This is so important.

I think this is the part

of the gospel

that we don't talk about enough.

This is the part

of the gospel

that we don't think

about enough.

The true gospel

tells us

why God did it.

That God willed it.

That we didn't ask for it.

That we didn't cause it.

That we didn't plan it.

And that we didn't deserve it.

Jesus says as much.

Jesus says,

look,

you don't take my life.

I lay it down

for the will

of the Father.

Reread verse four

with me.

Jesus who gave himself

for our sins

to deliver us

from the present evil age.

Look at this.

According to the will

of God,

our Father.

That God

willed it.

that God

set the plan

in motion.

That what broke

the heart of God

was purposed

by God

to redeem

his people.

That God

willed it.

The true

gospel

tells us

why

he did it.

But it also

tells us

what he gets

from it.

what God

gets from it.

In verse five

tells us

that God

gets glory

forever.

Forever.

You see

the heart

of salvation,

the focus

of eternity

is the praise

and the glory

of God.

That what just

happened here

a moment ago

and I want to tell you

getting all the feels

this morning

standing over here

when the band

kind of backed off

and I heard

everybody singing

and the hairs

on the back

of my neck

started standing up

and for some reason

water kind of

started filling my eyes

up a little bit.

Maybe I got some

sawdust in there

or something.

I don't know, right?

But in that brief

moment

as the saints

gave glory to God

and then it hit me

of an eternity

with that.

An eternity

of all

devotion

devotion

to Him.

The gospel

the true gospel

that you and I

we need to be rescued.

In just a moment

we're going to

partake in the Lord's

Supper together

as a family.

We're going to have

the opportunity

for you and I

who are followers

of Jesus

to take a moment

and pause

in gratitude

of what He's done

and in a reflection

in our response

to it.

Would you pray

with me?

God, I thank you

so much

for the work

of Christ.

Thank you so much

Lord

for this opportunity.

God, of where

we were

and we were

broken

we were dead

in the trespasses

and sins

there was

nothing

that we could

do

for ourselves

and so

you sent

your Son.

Lord

and we thank you

Father

we thank you

that as you

sent Christ

that He

gave Himself

for our behalf

the sacrifice

that we

couldn't make

He

substituted

and became

the sacrifice

so that we

find life

in Him

and Him

eternal.

God, we thank you

that you

accepted it

and as a result

Lord

that you

extend grace

and peace

from you

to us.

Lord

and it's

the standing

that we now

have.

Lord, we thank you

that it was

in your perfect

plan

it was in your

perfect time

in the evidence

of the gospel

it's enough

for us to trust

you with all

that we have

and all that we

are.

So Lord

may we live

lives

not just

in eternity

but may we

live here

now

for your

kingdom

and for your

glory.

And it's in

Jesus' name

we pray.

Amen.

As the elements

are being passed

out this morning

I want to ask

you this question.

I want you

to think about

this.

Have you been

transformed

by the gospel?

Has it

changed your

today?

Has it

changed your

tomorrow?

Has it

changed your

there of what

awaits you?

And has it

changed your

here

right

now?

has the gospel

fully

transformed

you?

The reality

is that God

loves you

and I

too much

to save

us

and then

leave us

right where

we were.

That God's

been in this

19 year

journey

with me

since the

moment of

my salvation

to mold

me

and to

change

me

and to

shape

me

into more

of a

heart

like his

and like

him.

And so

as the

elements

are

passed

out

let me

ask you

what does

that

transformation

look like?

Thanks again

for listening

to the

Willow Ridge

Church

weekly

podcast.

We hope

that you

enjoyed

listening

to this

week's

message.

If you'd

like to

learn more

about who

we are

or explore

additional

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