Book of Galatians - Ch. 1, Vs. 1-9 (03/12/2017)

Well, that was the major theme of the entire conference, not letting your church go the way of the world. Keep it what it is. Keep it for the sensitivities of the people that visit. Then you will have lost the value of the church.

And I'm not saying that to say that we are. I'm just saying that to say that we need to be cautious about that, especially at this period of time for us. Okay, that's not what I had intended to do at all.

But I just want to let you know where I was, what I was doing. And I'm going to, again, I'm going to sacrifice a quote from Martin Luther that I had in this lesson for that. And that may be a bad deal.

Apostolic Authority and the Completion of the New Testament

Galatians chapter 1, verse 1. Paul, an apostle, not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead. Now, the first thing we need to consider as we go into Galatians is, what is it that is being referred to when Paul identifies himself as an apostle?

What does it mean to be an apostle? Okay, it means chosen by God. That's a part of it. All apostles were chosen by God. Even the one apostle that betrayed him. They were all chosen by God. And we're every one of us chosen by God.

Every one of us is chosen by God. How many are apostles? Well, one thing is, we didn't live at the same time Jesus did. And that's one of the things that we say to the screen and say, these are apostles and those are not.

But really, an apostle is one who is sent with a commission. It's not just one that's called, but it's one that's called and assigned a particular mission, a job. But not just any job. Let's look at some non-apostles that were called for a job.

Job was called for a job. His job was to testify to Nineveh. And he did it eventually. But he wasn't an apostle. David was chosen for a job. And he did it. And he was an apostle. King Saul was chosen for a job.

And he didn't do it. The job that these apostles were chosen for was a particular, specific job. They were special ambassadors. They were chosen and trained by Christ. They were not sent by men. They were sent by Jesus Christ and by God the Father.

Now what mission were they chosen for? Two things, as I see it. Laying the foundation for the early church. And being the conduit through which the writings of the church, the scriptures, were completed.

Now, not every New Testament scripture was written by an apostle. Can you think of two that were not? Matthew was. Luke wasn't. And I said two. I think there's three. Acts wasn't because it was also written by Luke.

Who was the other one? Paul was. Mark. Mark was not an apostle. He was an apostle's apprentice. He was well acquainted with the apostle. He was writing basically for Peter. The book of Mark is really the book of Peter.

He just wrote it. Now, Paul didn't write all of his letters. He wrote some of them. But he had another person to write some of them. Okay, so that's the message. The message was what? Preparing the foundation for the early church and being the conduit through which the New Testament scripture was being written.

Well, both of those jobs are completed. In fact, in Revelations it says, Curse be anybody that tries to add to this book or to this scripture. There is no longer a mission for an apostle. And there are no longer any apostles.

Now, there are certain church groups today that will say that there are apostles today and that they follow a line all the way down from the early apostles. But the mission is over. There is no need for apostles anymore.

Apostles are apprentices maybe, but not apostles. I'm going to give one little piece of a quote from Martin Luther, so I don't want to leave him out altogether. This is part of his commentary on Galatians 1.

He said, St. Paul wrote this epistle because after his departure from the Galatian churches, Jewish fanatics moved in who perverted Paul's gospel of man's free justification by faith in Jesus Christ. That is the gospel that Paul preached.

That's the gospel that the scripture presented. But that's not the gospel these Jewish Christians were espousing. He went on to say, the world bears the gospel a grudge because the gospel condemns the religious wisdom of the world.

Jealous for its own religious views, the world in turn charges the gospel with being a subversive and licentious doctrine offensive to God and man, a doctrine to be persecuted as the worst plague on earth.

And that's where Paul was on the road to Damascus. He viewed the gospel as being subversive and licentious and offensive to God and offensive to man, a doctrine to be persecuted as the worst plague on earth.

That's where he was. That was me. Back to Martin Luther. As a result, we have this paradoxical situation. The gospel supplies the world with the salvation of Jesus Christ, peace of conscience, and every blessing.

And just for that, the world abhors the gospel. These Jewish Christian fanatics who pushed themselves into the Galatian churches after Paul's departure, boasted that they were descendants of Abraham. Well, Paul could have done that too, couldn't he?

Paul was a descendant of Abraham. They were true ministers of Christ. They had been trained by the apostles themselves. These were the Judeo-Christian fanatics that came into the church, undermining the church, and for which Paul is going to be so very unhappy.

And I've changed my mind. Just to show how flighty I am, I am going to do the whole thing on Martin Luther. It is worth continuing reading. These Jewish Christian fanatics who pushed themselves into the Galatian church after Paul's departure, boasted that they were descendants of Abraham.

True ministers of Christ, having been trained by the apostles themselves, and that they were able to perform miracles. And you know what? Every one of those things may have been true. They may have been.

I don't know that any of them were able to perform miracles, but I suspect some of them were. They had been trained by the apostles. I suspect all of these things were true. But here's the problem. In every way, they sought to undermine the authority of St. Paul.

They said to the Galatians, You have no right to think highly of Paul. He was the last to turn to Christ. But we have seen Christ. Now, Mrs. Mitchell, they're implying that Paul didn't. Paul was alive.

He could have seen him. They don't really know that. But at least he didn't fall. They can say that. He was the last to turn to Christ. But we have seen Christ. We have heard him speak. We have heard Christ speak, preach.

Paul came later and is beneath us. This is a question, but it's written as a statement. It is possible for us to be an error, we who have received the Holy Ghost? Paul stands alone. He has not seen Christ, nor has he had much contact with the other apostles.

Indeed, he persecuted the church of Christ for a long time. That's what they were saying about Paul. Yes. That's Martin Luther. No, no, no, no, no. He is saying, Martin Luther is saying that this is what the usurpers coming into the church of Galatia were saying about Paul.

Yes, this is what they would have said, all of these things. And then he goes on to say, and that would have been clear on the next line, when men claiming such credentials came along, they deceived not only the naive, but also those who are seemingly well established in the faith.

Then he goes on to say, this same argument is used by the papacy. Do you suppose that God, for the sake of a few Lutheran heretics, would disown his entire church? Or do you suppose that God would have left his church floundering in error all these centuries?

The Galatians were taken in by such arguments with the result that Paul's authority and doctrine were drawn into question. Now he goes on. He's got a long, long thing. And I couldn't just read that, and it would be probably much better than I could do.

But then I decided not to do that. That's Galatians' take. That's Luther's take on the Galatians. So now we're going to go back to the book itself, and I'm going to reread the one I just read. And I'm going to read the entirety of his greeting to them.

Paul, an apostle, not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead, and all the brethren which are with me to the churches of Galatia. That's who's writing it and who it's written to.

Here's what he says. Grace be unto you, and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ. I underline that. I boldface that verse. That is constant to all of Paul's letters. Verse 4. Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever.

Amen. That's the end of the introduction. That's way different than any other letter. Not a single word of commendation. He doesn't say anything good about the Galatians. I want to compare that to a letter to another church.

I selected the Corinthians. I selected the Corinthians because the major theme of the letter is corrective. I chose the greeting from 1 Corinthians. The major theme of the letter is corrective in nature.

And they had a lot to correct. There was divisiveness in the church. There was sexual immorality. And there was bad theology. Now that's who he's writing this letter to. This letter is written to a church full of divisiveness, full of sexual immorality, and full of bad theology.

And here's what he says. Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sothenius, our brother, unto the church of God, which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints.

Well, that's something, isn't it? With all that in every place, call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours. Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Well, you recognize that verse. That was the one that was in Galatians. That was the only good thing in the introduction to Galatians. I thank God to continue. I thank God always on your behalf for the grace of God, which is given you by Jesus Christ, that in everything you are enriched by him, in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come behind in no gift.

Now remember, who is this written to? This is written to a church that is getting ready to get a whole bunch of scolding for their behavior. So that you come behind in no gift, waiting for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall confirm you unto the end.

That's comforting. Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. So he's telling them, you are taken care of all the way to the coming of Jesus.

God is faithful by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. And once again, why are you there? Because you're called. That was the introduction to the letter of Corinthians.

Compare that to the Galatians. He is so concerned over Galatians' defection from the gospel, that it's evident even in his greeting, which lacks the common, customary commendations and courtesies. And is instead brief and impersonal.

He is quick to get to the point. The only thing I want to do before I go any further is to re-read this passage on. Grace be to you and peace from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ. That is included in every one of his messages, every one of his letters.

And it is here that John MacArthur made this comment. Even Paul's typical greeting attacked the Judaizers' legalistic system. This typical message, grace be to you and peace from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ, attacks the legalistic system of the Jews.

Think of what it's saying. If salvation is by works, as the Judaizers claimed, it's not grace. And if it's not grace, it can't result in peace. You can't have peace because no one can be sure that he has done enough good works to be eternally secure.

And if you're not eternally secure, you can't have peace. So even the greeting by Paul in every one of his letters attacks the legalistic system. Now, Brother David has been doing a major event on the Book of Romans.

And the thrust of the Book of Romans is salvation is by grace, not by works. And when you try to add works to grace, I'm trying to think of a word. You mess it up. Not only you mess it up, you make it of no avail.

It is of no avail. Grace has no work on you. Grace has no hold on you if you're relying on work. And so that is an important message out of this chapter. Grace be unto you and peace from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ who gave himself for our sins that he might deliver us from this present evil world according to the will of God and our Father.

To whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Now that's it. That's the introduction. And just a couple of notes before we return to the text. Number one. No one can, by human effort or law-keeping, avoid sin.

So can anyone avoid sin? Well, Brother David says, for a season we can hold his hand and avoid sin. And we can't sin while we're holding hands. In order to sin, we've got to turn his hand loose and do our sin.

And what's great about it, if we were ever holding his hand, if ever he is holding his hand, he's going to grab our hand again. And we will recognize in the midst of our sin that we ought not be doing that.

And that's the greatest thing. You can't imagine what it's like. Well, you can. I know you all can. To be in the midst of a sin and to say, whoops, God's here with me. You have to close the door. You have to hide to keep other people from seeing you engage in your sin.

You can't close the door on the one that matters. He sees you. And when you recognize that, you say, I better grab his hand. And you look around, and there it is. Grabbing his hand doesn't make you not sin.

Being his makes you not sin. But you can't do that by human effort. You can if you've got something that, if smoking is your sin, and you try to quit smoking, it is a monster to do. And some people tell me you just can't do it.

Others say you can. I don't know. I never started, so I don't know that one. But here's what Romans says. Now we know that, this is Romans 3 .19, if you're trying to keep up with me as I bounce around.

Now we know that, Now let me ask you a question. Are you under the law? What are you under? You're under grace. And it's a good thing you're under grace and not under the law. Now we know that, So if you're under the law, you're guilty.

You have no excuse. You're under the law. You're guilty. Now it didn't say not much flesh. It said no flesh. For by the law is the knowledge of sin. So no one that's under the law can avoid sin. Even those who are under grace cannot avoid sin.

But what you can avoid is the penalty of sin. Because it's already paid for. And it was paid for by Jesus Christ. All sin cannot be avoided. Therefore, all sin must be forgiven. So, was it? Yes. Christ accomplished this through his atoning death on the cross.

So all of your sins are paid for. We had this discussion. No, I'm not going over there. Is there any sin that is unforgivable? Unbelief. And that's not really unforgivable if it's only at some point in your life that you don't believe.

But it has to be throughout your life that you don't believe. Because if you believe, even if you're like the thief on the cross, already hung up, already in the pains of death, he was forgiven. Because he believed.

The one beside him didn't. This present evil world. What is that? That's the current world system. That's this world that we've got to be careful that we don't fall in love with. That's the world that's run by Satan.

That's the world that when we go out and try to change everything about the world, we're fighting an uphill battle and we will lose that battle. We can't change the world. Or we can have an effect on it for a time.

And that's not bad. It is not bad to postpone the judgment of the world. But the judgment of the world is coming. Because the world is ruled by Satan. And finally, John, in his letter illuminating the importance of love amongst the brethren, veers off to warn them not to love the world.

In 1 John 2, verse 15, he says it very clearly. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof. But he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. Yes, we're to love one another. Yes, we're to love our enemy. But we're not to love the world system.

Because if we do, we're loving the things of the world, not the love of God. Okay, now the greeting is over. And it's time for the scolding. And I've got about two or three minutes to complete the scolding, which I certainly won't do.

But I need to get to this verse. Five impersonal verses, followed by verse six. I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you unto the grace of Jesus Christ, unto another gospel. Now, a couple of things you need to know.

Called is a very emphatic word. It means call once and for all. It is a really strong word, called. Removed is also a very strong word. The word removed is better translated deserting. Desert. It was the Greek word used for military desertion.

It was punishable by death. And that probably could be scary to you. Or should be scary to them. What he's saying to them is, I marvel that you so soon desert. Leave with the penalty of death from him that called you unto the grace of Christ, unto another gospel.

The form of this verb indicates that the Galatians were voluntarily deserting grace to pursue the legalism taught by the false teachers. So to finish that verse up, or to go to the next verse rather, I marvel that you are so soon removed from him that called you unto the grace of Christ, unto another gospel.

Which is not another, but there be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. To pervert means to change it from what it is to the diametrically opposite thing. To change it from one thing to the exact opposite.

The Judaizers' perversion of the true gospel is they added requirements, ceremonies, and standards of the Old Covenant as necessary prerequisites for salvation. By adding law to the gospel, the false teachers were effectively destroying grace and turning the message of God's undeserved favor toward sinners to a message of earned and merited favor, which no one can earn.

And then I'm going to do two more verses and then I'm going to stop. But though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel, and look who he's picking. Myself, Paul, or an angel from heaven. Two people with impeccable credentials.

Two people, two sets of people, Paul with impeccable credentials and angels from heaven? Not angels cast out from heaven, but angels from heaven. But though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you, then that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

That word is anathema. And it means devoting someone to destruction in eternal hell. That's a pretty severe accursed. And then verse 9, it says, as we said before, so I say now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you other than that you have received, let him be accursed.

Now this is not earlier in this letter. This is earlier in an earlier visit. But it is still a repetition in this particular letter. And he does that for emphasis. It's like when he says, verily, verily, that means truly, truly.

Verily is truly. And how much more truly can you be than truly? You can be truly, truly. I don't know that he ever did truly, truly, truly. But I guess you could have done that. He does say in the song, holy, holy, holy.

So I guess we can emphasize it even more. Paul Johnson at the convention did First Galatians. And when he got here, he said it's done for emphasis. It's kind of like what we do today when we retweet in all caps.

It means really important. So what's the message here? Stick by the gospel given to us by Christ. Don't create anything new. There's a tendency. Every one of us have this in them. I don't know that. I'm just going to say me.

I have this in me. I have a desire to find something new. I read and I read and I read and I find something and I say, wow, I found something new. Solomon says, there's nothing new under the sun. Somebody has already found it, but I didn't listen to that.

And I want to go out and spread all these new things that I have found. Well, it's okay if the new things I have found are gospel things. But when I start adding my little twist to it, that's where the danger lies.

Because everything that I add to it, anything that I add to the scripture, destroys the scripture. And anything I take away from the gospel takes away from the gospel. And so what is the gospel? That Jesus was born.

That he died for our sins according to the scripture. He was born according to the scripture. He died for our sins according to the scripture. And he arose on the third day to pay for our sins according to the scripture.

That's the gospel. If more than that, less than that is a problem. Most gracious Heavenly Father, thank you for providing in your word the Holy Scripture, the gospel, the good news. The good news that Jesus came, died, and rose again.

Thank you for putting it in a way that even a child can understand it. Thank you for putting it in a way that we can follow it. Thank you for making the possibility of a future life in your hands, not in our hands.

Because if it were in our hands, we would undoubtedly fail. But because it is in your hands, it will certainly succeed. Bless us and keep us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.