Scripture: Galatians 1:1-5
Sermon Series: Galatians – Set Free, Live Free – Sermon 01

When was the last time that you received a personal letter? When was the last time you received a heartfelt letter?

There was a time when a handwritten letter carried a lot of weight. For example, did you know it was a letter that prompted Abraham Lincoln (picture) to grow a beard. In 1860, Lincoln was the Republican candidate for president. He was also clean-shaven. He looked young, even immature.

Growing a beard was a suggestion famously put forth by an 11-year-old girl, Grace Bedell (picture), who offered Lincoln some unsolicited advice. In her letter, she stated that his face was “so thin,” that it would benefit from a beard because “all the ladies like whiskers.” Despite his apprehension, Lincoln grew a beard, perhaps the most famous one in American history. On the way to his 1861 inauguration, he stopped at her hometown of Westfield, New York, to let Grace know that he’d taken her advice to heart.

In June 1940 in the heat of World War II, Winston Churchill’s assistant secretary, Eliot Crawshay-Williams (picture) wrote Churchill (picture) a letter, urging him to seek the best peace terms possible with Adolf Hitler rather than to continue fighting. It was written in 1940, before the U.S. had joined the war. In response to this letter, Churchill wrote, I am ashamed of you for writing such a letter. I return it to you – to burn and forget.

As Britain was under attack, the gospel was under attack in Galatia. Paul was a Churchill. He realized when it came to the gospel, there could be no compromise. He wrote Galatians because false teachers were adding to the gospel. When it comes to adding to the gospel, when it comes to saying Christ’s cross is not enough, there can be no compromise. We can’t make “peace.” It’s a spiritual war with eternal consequences.

If something is seriously dangerous, a municipality will send a warning letter, An Emergency Letter. That’s what Paul sends the Galatians. Yet, what’s at stake isn’t physical danger, it’s spiritual danger with eternal ramifications. Please turn to Galatians 1:1-5 (p. 913). “Paul, an apostle, not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: Grace to you and peace 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 our God and Father, to Whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Pray)

Usually, Paul’s letters have long introductions. He typically begins with a commendation for the letter’s recipients. Not this time. He just jumps in. What’s at stake is far too serious for formalities. The very foundations of Christianity are under attack. The gospel is being undermined. A heresy is being promoted that will result in soul murder.

Some were teaching it was Jesus +. The gospel brings freedom. A gospel + returned them to slavery, but tragically, the Galatians are buying it.

Because the gospel is everything, we’re going to take several weeks to work through this book. Paul begins with an explosive introduction. Before we dig into these first five verses, let’s get an overview of where we’re going.

Chapters 1 & 2 of Galatians are more biographical, focusing on Paul’s experience of gospel freedom. Chapters 3 & 4 are more theological, a bit heavier, focusing on Paul’s defense of gospel freedom. Chapters 5 & 6 are more ethical, focusing on Paul’s application of gospel freedom. Three parts – biographical, theological and ethical.

Gospel freedom, as our series is entitled, means that we are Set Free to Live Free. But the Galatians were enslaving themselves again by adding to the gospel. They were being tempted to believe that Jesus’ cross and resurrection weren’t enough, that they had to add their own contribution. It’s a lie that goes back to the dawn of time with Cain’s rejected sacrifice of Genesis 4.

Basically, they were being taught that they needed to become Jews to be Christians. That God’s grace needed to be completed with religious acts. It’s why Paul writes with such urgency. This is a spiritual emergency.

Throughout this letter Paul urges the Galatians to not abandon the gospel that brings true freedom in Christ. He brings them back to God’s truth that Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

It’s why this letter is still relevant today. We’re bombarded with the same lie, that Jesus is not enough, the cross is not enough. While we as Christ-followers may not doubt our salvation, we’re continually tempted to believe that God’s approval, His blessing is dependent upon what we do.

It’s enslaving. It’s why Galatians has been called The Magna Carta of Christian Liberty. Spiritual freedom is not just the greatest freedom, there is no freedom without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That’s where this little book of Galatians comes in. It’s short, six brief chapters. You can easily read it in a half-hour. Don’t be deceived by its size. A small stick of dynamite can blow up a big building. Galatians is spiritual dynamite.

Martin Luther (picture) read it, and an explosion went off in his soul that birthed the Protestant Reformation. John Wesley (picture) heard a sermon based on Luther’s commentary on Galatians and was wonderfully saved. From Luther to Calvin to Wesley to the Puritans to Spurgeon to Billy Graham, there’s a direct line from this ancient letter to gospel believers and what we believe today.

Like a good attorney setting forth his case, in these first five verses, Paul lays out the groundwork on truths we must know. If you’re taking notes…

1. It’s urgent that we know God’s Word is the final authority.

In 1976, someone bid $400 for the angry letter Frank Sinatra (picture) wrote to Chicagocolumnist, Mike Royko (picture). Twenty years later, that letter was valued at more than $15,000. In his letter, Sinatra promised Royko $100,000 if he could prove that Sinatra had punched an elderly man that Royko claimed he had. Quite frankly, Sinatra fumed, I don’t understand why people don’t spit in your eye three or four times a day.

It’s always telling how a person responds to criticism and personal attack. Paul began his letter to the Galatians having to respond to a personal attack. That’s why Paul had to immediately assume a defensive position.

Paul defended his apostleship. For Paul, it’s not personal. Much more is at stake than his reputation. His critics were attacking the gospel that he taught. To undermine his teaching, this first attack tried to discredit Paul’s authority.

Paul is upset. His words are terse. These false teachers are attacking the gospel. Yet, for Paul to defend the gospel he preached; he must first defend the validity of his apostleship. He writes, Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia (Galatians 1:1-2).

Paul reminds the Galatians that he’d been sent by Jesus Christ and God the Father. No human commissioned him. It was a divine call. Therefore, he had legitimate apostolic authority. The forcefulness of his defense, which becomes even clearer as we read on in chapter one, helps us to realize the critical nature of this attack.

Paul wasn’t just another preacher. He’s an official representative of Jesus Christ. He knew that like the twelve, he’d been called by Christ and been appointed an official apostle. He knew the implications of being an apostle.

During His earthly ministry Jesus had many disciples but just a few apostles. From those Jesus selected twelve. Paul, later when he was an enemy of the church, was chosen by the resurrected Christ to be an apostle. He had a miraculous conversion and call to apostleship by Christ Himself.

The apostles had a critical role in the birth and history of the Church. All of the apostles had personally seen the resurrected Christ. God called the apostles to write Scripture. Every book of the New Testament was either written by an apostle or a close associate of one. For example, Luke wrote the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts and was a direct associate of Paul. Mark who wrote the gospel of Mark, was an associate of Peter.

One hundred years after Christ’s resurrection no other books of the Bible were written or added. So, what’s at stake is not just Paul and his writings, it’s an attack on the very Word of God.  

These false teachers attacked the message by first attacking the messenger. Soren Kierkegaard (picture) once distinguished between a genius and an apostle by saying that, The genius impresses us with his own brilliance, the apostle with God’s glory.

Paul founded the churches in Galatia. These were his spiritual children. Mess with somebody’s kids and they’ll go Papa Bear on you. Paul was their spiritual father. You can feel his heart and affection for them throughout this letter. Because of these attacks, the Galatians were wondering if Paul had taught them the whole truth. They’re having buyer’s remorse. Maybe, they thought, Paul only gave them his interpretation. They’re so concerned that they’re ready to get circumcised and become Jews. It’s a crisis of faith.  

Unlike other churches that were in a city like Corinth, Galatia was a region (map) in what today is Turkey. It was probably in southern Galatia. Many Jews had settled there. Paul usually began his ministry in the local synagogue with the Jews, who had a foundation of the one true God but not Jesus as the Messiah. Galatians was most likely written after his 2^nd missionary journey, between A.D. 48-50, about 15 years after Jesus’ resurrection.  

Paul had a loving concern for his converts and longed for them to grow in the faith. He wasn’t content to lead men and women to Christ and then abandon them. Paul’s mission is our mission. Making disciples of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) begins with salvation. Our responsibility is assisting new believers to grow into spiritual maturity. The Bible teaches that someone isn’t mature until they are reproducing other Christ followers.

Paul is hot! What’s at stake is our salvation. New Testament scholar, J.B. Lightfoot (picture) began his commentary on Galatians by writing, “The two threads which run through this epistle—the defense of the Apostle’s own authority, and the maintenance of the doctrine of grace are knotted together in the opening salutation.” Paul wasn’t so much defending his apostleship as he was defending the gospel. When it came to the good news about salvation by grace through faith, he refused to budge.   

By taking away Paul’s apostolic authority, his opponents said that his gospel wasn’t God’s word to man but a man’s word about God. Skeptics haven’t changed. They accuse Paul of inventing Christianity. They say that Jesus was just a teacher of love and a model of sacrifice.

At the beginning of Galatians, which is one of Paul’s earliest letters, and a bit of a mini-Romans, Paul explains that his Christianity came straight from the mouth of Jesus Christ. His authority wasn’t human, it’s divine. By taking out Paul, these false teachers take down the gospel, too.  

So, Paul helps the Galatians rediscover the gospel. He starts with the good news of the cross and empty tomb. The gospel is made up of two great saving events, the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The resurrection of Jesus Christ was an unbelievable divine miracle, Paul would never have believed it if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes.

Paul fellowshipped with a band of brothers. In our day of Lone Ranger Christianity, Paul’s words “and all the brothers with me” (Galatians 1:2) needs to get our attention. His point is, “I’m not the only one who believes this. I’m surrounded as I write this with brothers and sisters who believe the same gospel.” He didn’t stand alone. Congregations well-grounded in God’s Word help keep us in line with Scripture, including pastors and teachers.  

It’s why we need the local church and spiritual family togetherness. We need the affirmation of fellow believers. We need their input and encouragement. It’s impossible to be a healthy Christ-follower without a band of other believers. Being together for Christians can’t be optional if we’re going to be all that God intends for us to be. We must speak into each other’s lives. Our children need spiritual aunts and uncles and grandparents.

Like the Galatians, many professing Christians want to take the parts of the Bible that they like and either cut out or ignore the ones they don’t. That’s not an option. When it comes to God’s Word, it’s all or nothing. It’s not a smorgasbord where we can pick and choose.

The apostles were used by God to write His Word. Apostolic authority is divine authority. It’s recorded for us in Scripture and because it has divine authority, and we must submit and obey God’s Word.  

2. It’s urgent that we know that without grace, there will never be peace.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:3). Paul’s greeting is the typical early Christian mixing of the Jewish and Greek greetings of grace and peace. Paul, though, in showing the source makes them sacred. This greeting is one only shared by Christ-followers because only a Christ-follower can have true peace.

Grace and peace are from two sources: God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We’re saved by grace which results in peace with God, which also gives us God’s peace in our hearts.

It’s always in this order: first grace and then we find the peace of God. You can’t know God’s peace until you experience the grace of God. Never in the New Testament do we find that peace precedes grace.

Yet, this isn’t the cheap grace that we often find in much of the professing church. It’s not just say that you’re a Christian or say a prayer and you’ll be on your way to heaven. No, this is the costly grace of a dying Savior.

Paul talks about grace 120 times in his letters. Other writers in the New Testament only speak of grace 55 times. From Genesis to Revelation the Word of God is a treasure house of grace. Grace has wonderfully been defined as God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.

Every time we make a mess of things, every time we blow it, we must run back to grace. We must open our Bibles to read it, look to it, dwell in it again and again. Nowhere else will we find what we so desperately need – grace.

As Charles Spurgeon (picture) used to say that Any poor lost sinner can know that Christ died for him. When He died, He knew your name. He knew your first name—POOR, your middle name—LOST, and your last name—SINNER. My friend, if you haven’t already, admit your sinfulness before a holy God and come to the Savior for forgiveness, then you’ll know the Christ who died for you, and He will give you, His peace.

Even those today who seem to have it all, lack God’s peace. A recent Wall Street Journal article highlighted a group called “The HENRYs.” That’s an acronym for “high earner, not rich yet.” The article show cased earners with incomes well into hundreds of thousands of dollars who still feel they’re living paycheck to paycheck. The essence of being a HENRY is feeling a gap between what you have and what you think you need to be comfortable.

What someone believes to be essential perhaps, more than anything else, reflects their deepest loves and allegiances. Studies show that once our most basic needs are met, there’s no significant difference in levels of reported happiness in correlation with the level of income. In other words, money can buy security but can’t buy happiness…and it will never buy peace. Peace only comes from first experiencing God’s grace at salvation.

3. It’s urgent that we know what a loving God has already done for us. 

This letter to Galatians was caused by the fact that essential truth was being thrown out. The gospel was being perverted, so the stakes were very high.

Chuck Swindoll (picture) told the story about an elementary student who took a test in anatomy and failed it. This is what the little boy said, “The human body is composed of three parts: the brainery, the borax, and the abominable cavity. The brainery contains the brain. The borax contains the lungs and the living things. The abominable cavity contains the bowels of which there are five: a, e, i, o, and u.” The little boy’s answer was a garbled message. We must not garble the message of the gospel. That’s what was happening. False teachers were garbling the message. The gospel is characterized by four facts, found in verses 4 and 5. Jesus “gave Himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to Whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” It’s first…

Substitution. John Stott (picture) writes, “The concept of substitution lies at the heart of both sin and salvation. For the essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting Himself for man.” Since Jesus gave Himself for our sin, then we need to do nothing else but trust Him and His finished work. Christ’s substitution for us, paying our sin penalty, is why the gospel is revolutionary.

If you take the cross out of Christianity, you don’t have Christianity. Basically, all other religions teach that in some way, shape or form, you must DO something to save yourself. You must pray a bunch, get baptized, obey rules, laws, and regulations. But Jesus has done it all for us. He gave Himself voluntarily, vicariously as a substitutionary sacrifice for our sins.

That little word for – Who gave Himself for our sins, that means in place of or instead of us. Jesus paid for our sins. He didn’t become a sinner, but He became a sin bearer. He died in our place as the sinless Son of God Paul’s point is that since Jesus did it all, these false teachers are lying by saying the Galatians still must do something. Jesus already did it.

Deliverance. The cross is a rescue operation. To deliver us from the present evil age. As the Lord’s Prayer says, deliver us from evil.”We need to be rescued from the dominion of sin. Sin is a cruel power, a godless force. This deliverance isn’t a one-time event, something that’s over once you’ve done it. The gospel delivers us from the penalty of sin, but we continually need deliverance from the power of sin. The word deliver literally means “to literally pluck out.” 

We’re not rescued from this evil age in the sense that we’re taken out of it, not until Jesus returns. But God has rescued us from the control sin has over us. He’s provided the power to have victory over sin. James 4:7, Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Christ defeated Satan. The purpose of Christ’s death was not only to bring us forgiveness, but having been forgiven, we’re to live in His power in a new life. We’re to live free, delivered from Satan’s power now.

God’s Will. This rescue process is part of God’s purpose in history. It happens according to the will of our God and Father (Galatians 1:4). It doesn’t center around us; it centers around the Lord Jesus. But we’re part of it in that God’s purpose for each of us is to live in the freedom Christ has provided. When a Christ-follower demonstrates freedom from sin, when we show it’s possible to walk with God daily, we become living testimonies for the Lord Jesus and are doing his will.

The crucifixion of Christ wasn’t some horrible mistake. While it was the greatest injustice of all time, it was the will of God. Christ submitted to the will of God by submitting to the death of the cross.

God’s Glory. To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen (Galatians 1:5). As Paul contemplates the wonder of God’s redeeming love, his heart overflows with a doxology, praise to God.

What’s also lost by adding to the gospel is the glory of God.  By their insistence on human achievement, these false teachers minimized what God has done. To add to God’s work glorifies man and dishonors God. By pointing to the all‑sufficiency of Christ and His finished work, Paul magnifies God’s grace and gives all the glory to Him.

Let’s be honest. Aren’t we prone to take grace for granted? Do we bow gratefully in adoration of the God of infinite mercy? While our worship can’t add anything to the glory of God, it brings God’s blessings by opening our hearts to the riches of grace God wants to shower on us. We absorb what we adore. What we appropriate, we appreciate. And we’re enriched by what we revere. When we glorify God, we ourselves are blessed.

Conclusion

Probably the most famous letter in recent history was from civil rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr (picture) when he was jailed in Birmingham, Alabama, on April 12, 1963, for participating in a march without a permit. King used whatever materials he could—including the margins of newspapers and paper provided by his lawyer—and spent the week he was locked up formulating an eloquent response to criticism from local clergy that protests weren’t the answer.

By April 16^th, he’d composed the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” It’s a powerful rebuttal defending the need for public demonstrations against segregation. He eloquently addressed racial inequality, calling for nonviolent protests. It became a powerful piece in the Civil Rights Movement and the start of a new level of racial freedom in America.

The book of Galatians is about freedom, true freedom. Freedom always begins with salvation and the freedom from sin. The core message of the gospel is that Christ rescues us from the slavery of sin and offers true freedom. As Jesus said, So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed (John 8:36).  Let me end today with…

Two Applications for Us

Do you know how easy it is to drift? When Jane and I vacation in Florida there are often warnings about rip tides. Rip tides are very dangerous. They’re difficult to escape. They can drag you out to sea before you realize it. The same thing can happen so easily in our lives and churches.

Thomas Schreiner (picture) writes: “The clarity and the truth of the gospel could easily be lost. So many other things may clutter our minds, hearts, and lives that we may forget about the gospel, thinking all the while that we have not strayed from it. In our churches we may begin to concentrate on what it means to be good parents, to have a good marriage, to form meaningful relationships, and to make an impact on the world (all good things of course!), so that we slowly and inadvertently drift from the gospel of free grace.” It’s so easy. The gospel is accepted —> The gospel is assumed —> The gospel is confused —> The gospel is lost.

It’s easy to drift from the gospel. The cross is our anchor. Any time it’s not front and center, it may be that we’ve drifted and need to return to the cross.

Are you clear on the gospel yourself? Do you understand that the heart of the good news is not that you must be a good person, try harder, or that your good deeds must outweigh your bad deeds? Do you understand that coming to church and being a good person won’t not make you a Christian?

The gospel is the good news that Jesus is our substitute. He took our place and gave Himself for us so that we could be delivered from sin and death and instead have grace and peace.  

My friend, if you’ve never come to the cross, if you’ve never accepted the gospel, right now please come to the cross and put your trust in the One who died in your place. That’s the gospel. That’s our hope.

Have you accepted it? If you have, please don’t be like the Galatians and lose it. They lost it by trying to add to it. The cross is enough. It’s everything. Is it everything for you?