WEBVTT 00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:00.800 Of campus. 00:00:01.679 --> 00:00:09.119 I am part of just a teaching team that's going to be filling in while Russ is gone on sabbatical, which him and Jill are leaving for Israel today. 00:00:09.439 --> 00:00:12.320 So if you want to keep them in your prayers, that would be awesome as they travel. 00:00:12.640 --> 00:00:14.160 But man, I'm excited for the summer. 00:00:14.320 --> 00:00:20.079 I'm excited for what God has in store, whether it's through summer jam, through summer camp with the students. 00:00:20.399 --> 00:00:26.800 I know that he's going to be working in the next generation, but I also think he has big plans for us as a church, as a family in Christ. 00:00:27.039 --> 00:00:27.920 I'm excited for this morning. 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:29.679 One, because it's Summer Jam. 00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:30.559 We're at the beach. 00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:35.359 I'm going to wear my Hawaiian shirt on a Sunday morning, which I did not ever think would be possible. 00:00:35.679 --> 00:00:36.960 So I'm excited about that. 00:00:37.280 --> 00:00:41.759 I'm excited also about this new series that we are starting in Galatians. 00:00:41.840 --> 00:00:47.280 I'm so excited for what God is going to do through this because I love different series that we do here. 00:00:47.359 --> 00:00:52.560 I love series like the Intentional Families, one that we just finished, where we take a topic like the family. 00:00:52.880 --> 00:00:55.520 We look at how God designed it through the lens of scripture. 00:00:55.679 --> 00:01:05.680 We pick out different verses that sheds light on how God designed the family to be, how he designed mothers to be mothers, how he designed fathers to be fathers. 00:01:06.560 --> 00:01:23.599 I love taking scripture and applying it to topics, but more than anything, I love just kind of this is known as expository teaching where we just come in here, we take a book of the Bible like Galatians, like we're about to do, and we just open it and we go through it verse by verse, seeing what God has to say through his word. 00:01:24.319 --> 00:01:27.040 If you know me well, I love the Bible. 00:01:27.200 --> 00:01:32.640 Um big shock that the preacher loves his Bible, but um, I mean, the Bible is so beautiful. 00:01:32.719 --> 00:01:42.719 That's kind of the word I've been using lately when I describe the Bible to people, I guess, is beautiful, um, which then I just feel like I need to go like spit or something and be manly after I say that. 00:01:42.879 --> 00:01:43.920 But the Bible is beautiful. 00:01:44.159 --> 00:01:47.040 God has designed the Bible in such a beautiful way. 00:01:47.280 --> 00:01:52.719 He has intentionality in every verse, in every phrase, and every sort of punctuation that's in the Bible. 00:01:52.879 --> 00:01:55.599 There's intentionality and it's all placed there by God. 00:01:55.760 --> 00:02:02.079 That's why I believe that when we open the book, I don't necessarily calling the Bible a book because I don't believe it's just an object. 00:02:02.159 --> 00:02:09.039 I believe the Bible is living, I believe it is, is it literally the voice of God, the breath of God, when we open it. 00:02:09.120 --> 00:02:11.360 That's the Bible is so beautiful. 00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:29.439 So I love series like this in Galatians where we just go through this book, how God designed it, how he used the Apostle Paul to write this letter, and through this letter we see so much of who God is, who he's called us to be, um, but also we just see so much of what the truth of the gospel is all about. 00:02:29.520 --> 00:02:32.800 So, like I said, throughout the series, we're just gonna walk through the book of Galatians. 00:02:32.879 --> 00:02:42.240 Um, I don't think we're covering every chapter, but the passages that we do cover, we're just taking the passage, we're walking through it, we're teaching it um verse by verse how God has designed it. 00:02:42.319 --> 00:02:45.919 So before we get started in the series, by the way, um welcome. 00:02:46.080 --> 00:02:47.439 If you're watching online, welcome. 00:02:47.520 --> 00:02:51.280 Thank you so much for tuning in and watching us as we get this thing going. 00:02:51.360 --> 00:02:56.560 Um but before we start on Galatians, I want to set up just kind of the context, um, the background of this book. 00:02:56.719 --> 00:02:59.520 In the first couple verses, we find out who the who the author is. 00:02:59.599 --> 00:03:04.319 It's Paul the Apostle, um, and he's writing to these churches in the region of Galatia. 00:03:04.400 --> 00:03:11.439 It's very important that we know he's writing to churches plural because we now see what he's about to address, that they have been corrupted by false teaching. 00:03:11.520 --> 00:03:12.960 It's corrupted an entire region. 00:03:13.039 --> 00:03:14.960 It's not just one church, one group of people. 00:03:15.120 --> 00:03:17.840 This false teaching has corrupted an entire region. 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:24.800 Um, so he's writing to these churches in this region of Galatia where he has already been on one of his earlier missionary journeys. 00:03:24.879 --> 00:03:32.080 He's preached the gospel, they've placed their faith in Christ, they've turned, they've repent, they've been saved, um, and they started following Jesus. 00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:46.000 But the problem is that in this area there were still some Jewish leaders who are teaching these Gentile, which means anyone who's not Jewish, that in order for them to be saved, they have to jump through all these religious hoops in order to be saved. 00:03:46.159 --> 00:03:49.439 The main one that Paul talks about later on in the book is circumcision. 00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:52.639 Um if you don't know what that is, look it up when you get home. 00:03:52.719 --> 00:03:54.639 Um, but be careful, I guess. 00:03:54.800 --> 00:04:08.080 Uh but that that's kind of what he's the these Jewish leaders are saying, they have to follow all these traditions, do all these rituals in order to be saved, in order to be welcomed into God's kingdom because they're not Jewish by just being born. 00:04:08.159 --> 00:04:10.479 They're not Jewish by um ethnicity. 00:04:10.639 --> 00:04:17.360 So they're teaching this idea that it's Jesus plus some sort of religious ritual or religious tradition. 00:04:17.519 --> 00:04:22.000 It's Jesus plus something that they have to do themselves. 00:04:22.639 --> 00:04:27.199 But in reality, what they were teaching, Paul calls it just a distorted gospel. 00:04:27.279 --> 00:04:30.000 They were teaching against what Paul had already taught them. 00:04:30.240 --> 00:04:41.680 Paul had taught the the Galatians that they are saved by grace through faith, and these leader, these Jewish leaders were coming in and deceiving the Christians, the believers in Galatia. 00:04:41.759 --> 00:04:50.240 So he's writing this letter to the Galatians to set the truth of the gospel straight, to kind of tell them, hey, like you're you're going down the wrong direction, bring it back. 00:04:50.399 --> 00:04:52.079 This is what the gospel really is. 00:04:52.240 --> 00:05:03.759 So he's writing this letter just to kind of bring these people back, um, to remind them of the truth of the gospel and rather than the false one that they had begun to believe in from the Jewish leader. 00:05:03.839 --> 00:05:08.879 So our big idea, the kind of the main theme of Galatians 1 is just the idea of truth. 00:05:09.040 --> 00:05:14.480 So our big idea this morning is a life built on truth will experience true life. 00:05:14.560 --> 00:05:18.959 Or you could say only a life built on truth will experience true life. 00:05:19.040 --> 00:05:21.759 So with that being said, let's read Galatians 1. 00:05:21.839 --> 00:05:24.879 This is verses 1 through 5 of Galatians. 00:05:24.959 --> 00:05:36.000 It says, Paul and apostle, so there's our author, Paul the Apostle, not from men nor through men, but through Jesus Christ and the God and God the Father who raised him from the dead and all the brothers who are with me. 00:05:36.160 --> 00:05:36.959 Who's he writing to? 00:05:37.040 --> 00:05:38.399 To the churches of Galatia. 00:05:38.560 --> 00:05:39.519 Church is plural. 00:05:39.759 --> 00:05:51.920 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 for ever and ever. 00:05:52.319 --> 00:05:52.959 Amen. 00:05:53.519 --> 00:05:57.360 Um, so in Paul's letters, this greeting is pretty typical. 00:05:57.439 --> 00:05:59.199 It's a greeting of grace and peace. 00:05:59.360 --> 00:06:02.079 By the way, like what could you imagine just walking up someone? 00:06:02.319 --> 00:06:11.439 Grace and peace to you from God our Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age according to the will of God and our Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. 00:06:11.600 --> 00:06:13.360 Could you imagine if that's your greeting to someone else? 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:15.279 Now we've shortened it to, hey, how are you? 00:06:15.439 --> 00:06:16.720 You know, how how you doing? 00:06:16.879 --> 00:06:17.600 How's life going? 00:06:17.680 --> 00:06:20.639 But Paul is saying, Grace to you, peace from God our Father. 00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:22.720 He's greeting them with grace and peace. 00:06:22.879 --> 00:06:34.160 However, in most of Paul's letters, after he has this greeting of grace and peace, he he usually points out something that he's thankful for or kind of encourages the people he's writing to about something. 00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:44.560 However, Galatians is the only book, the only letter that he writ, that he writ, he wrote, that doesn't have this sort of encouragement, this part of just thanksgiving for them. 00:06:44.639 --> 00:06:56.800 He cuts straight to the point, he skips that part, he welcomes them with grace and peace, and then he says in verse 6, I'm astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel. 00:06:56.959 --> 00:07:02.480 Not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 00:07:02.560 --> 00:07:06.240 So he greets them with grace and peace, and then he gets straight to the point and says, I'm astonished. 00:07:06.399 --> 00:07:13.519 I'm astonished that I come to you, I preach the gospel, you place your faith in Jesus, and then so quickly you are turned away to a different gospel. 00:07:13.680 --> 00:07:16.240 He uses this word astonished. 00:07:16.560 --> 00:07:22.079 He's astonished that they were beginning to believe that their salvation was gained through some sort of religious work. 00:07:22.240 --> 00:07:32.560 He was astonished that Jewish leaders had started to convince them that they had to jump through these different hoops, that they had to go and get circumcised before they could be saved. 00:07:32.639 --> 00:07:38.319 He was astonished that the Galatians had begun to believe this distorted gospel of Christ. 00:07:38.480 --> 00:07:39.199 He couldn't believe it. 00:07:39.600 --> 00:07:42.959 There was something that just wasn't sitting right with Paul. 00:07:43.040 --> 00:07:47.439 This was something that he couldn't just idly sit by and say, Well, you know, I tried. 00:07:47.600 --> 00:07:50.319 I preached the gospel and now they're going another way. 00:07:50.399 --> 00:07:50.879 I tried. 00:07:51.519 --> 00:07:52.399 That's not how Paul was. 00:07:52.480 --> 00:07:58.639 He couldn't just sit there and watch these people who place their faith in Christ be tricked into a distorted gospel. 00:07:58.800 --> 00:07:59.920 He had to address it. 00:08:00.079 --> 00:08:08.560 And he uses such strong language to just make sure that they, when they receive this letter, understand how important the truth of the gospel is. 00:08:08.720 --> 00:08:19.120 When I first, I don't really know why, but when I first read these verses and see Paul go from this place of just astonished that they had already changed their mind, that they had already followed a different direction. 00:08:19.199 --> 00:08:24.560 I went back, um, I don't know why, but I went back to college and just several conversations. 00:08:24.720 --> 00:08:30.079 I had a best friend in college that, I mean, he's just a ladies' man, ladies' man, loved the ladies, always chasing after a girl. 00:08:30.160 --> 00:08:36.399 He's a very godly man and he respected women, but at the same time, he he wanted, man, he wanted a girlfriend so bad. 00:08:36.480 --> 00:08:38.799 So he was constantly chasing after girls, chasing after girls. 00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:44.799 So we would talk for hours, for hours, and I'd say, man, like this is this just might not be the one. 00:08:44.879 --> 00:08:52.159 You just need to focus on the Lord, focus on your walk with Christ, and I promise you, he will bring someone into your life, and it'll be as easy as can be. 00:08:52.240 --> 00:08:54.960 You don't need to take your eyes off of God to go chase this girl. 00:08:55.120 --> 00:08:56.080 We had talked for hours. 00:08:56.159 --> 00:09:02.399 We were accountability partners, so this was constantly coming up, just this constant theme of dude, just focus on the Lord, focus on the Lord. 00:09:02.559 --> 00:09:05.440 And he'd be every time we left, he'd be like, Yeah, yeah, like that's good. 00:09:05.600 --> 00:09:07.759 He's I'm I'm done, I'm focusing on the Lord. 00:09:07.840 --> 00:09:10.000 I'm gonna, you know, that's all I'm paying attention to. 00:09:10.080 --> 00:09:12.320 I'm focused on my walk of Christ, that's it. 00:09:12.559 --> 00:09:16.240 And then, you know, two days later, he's like, Man, I'm thinking about asking this girl out. 00:09:16.399 --> 00:09:17.279 You know, that's how it went. 00:09:17.360 --> 00:09:18.559 It was just this constant cycle. 00:09:18.639 --> 00:09:26.639 He was so set on focusing on the Lord, and then two, three days a week would go by, and he's just right back to, man, I really want to ask this girl out. 00:09:26.720 --> 00:09:28.399 It was just a constant cycle. 00:09:28.480 --> 00:09:31.840 I'm sure that some of you that have kids, you've probably experienced this before. 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:34.559 What you tell a kid, hey, don't do that. 00:09:34.720 --> 00:09:36.639 And they're like, Yeah, okay, I won't do that. 00:09:36.799 --> 00:09:38.399 You walk out of the room, you come back, what are they doing? 00:09:38.480 --> 00:09:40.399 They're doing the thing that you told them not to do, right? 00:09:40.559 --> 00:09:44.000 I know that I did that a lot when I was a kid with my parents. 00:09:44.080 --> 00:09:51.200 There was plenty of things they told me not to do, and I still did them anyway, but it's this sort of just kind of feeling just kind of like like it hurts. 00:09:51.360 --> 00:09:55.840 Like it's a sort of pain later on in Galatians, because this is a much more serious note than this. 00:09:56.080 --> 00:10:03.759 Paul associates just this pain of feeling just betrayed almost, equivalent to bearing a child, to childbirth. 00:10:03.840 --> 00:10:07.279 That's how he associates the pain that he's feeling. 00:10:07.360 --> 00:10:09.519 This is exactly what the Galatians had did. 00:10:09.600 --> 00:10:16.240 They had turned, placed their faith in this gospel message that was true, that was glorifying to Christ, and then they quickly turned, they deserted that. 00:10:16.399 --> 00:10:17.759 And Paul was just astonished. 00:10:17.840 --> 00:10:21.759 He had there was a lack of words for what he was feeling. 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:33.600 I mean, you got to put yourself in Paul's shoes that I mean he he traveled hundreds of miles to this place, gave up his entire life, was working just to make a living, just enough to travel and preach the gospel. 00:10:33.759 --> 00:10:43.039 He preaches the gospel to these people, they come to Christ, they're saved, they place their faith in Jesus, and then he leaves, gets on down the road, and hear that they begin to turn away to a false gospel. 00:10:43.200 --> 00:10:48.639 He had to be devastated, and he wanted them to understand the importance of what was happening. 00:10:48.960 --> 00:10:55.519 The word that he used when he describes that they had deserted the truth, it literally means to transfer one's allegiance. 00:10:55.679 --> 00:11:06.159 It was used of soldiers in the army who would leave their nation and go and fight for the other nation, or equivalent today, a politician who would transfer from one political party to another. 00:11:06.240 --> 00:11:09.519 It was this idea of transferring your allegiance. 00:11:09.919 --> 00:11:12.159 This is what the people in Galatia had done. 00:11:12.240 --> 00:11:19.360 They began to transfer their allegiance from Jesus to this religious culture, the idea of the culture that they were living in. 00:11:19.519 --> 00:11:25.360 Nathan, um, when we were preparing this, came up with a bright idea of this theology called squirrel theology. 00:11:25.440 --> 00:11:28.879 Um I haven't taken seminary classes, so I don't know if this is a real thing or not. 00:11:28.960 --> 00:11:30.559 Um, but he called this squirrel theology. 00:11:30.639 --> 00:11:38.080 And what what he was meaning by that is, you know, you're driving down the road, you know, a squirrel, you know, poking its head out of the woods, and you're like, oh, he's good. 00:11:38.240 --> 00:11:40.080 Like he's staying right there, right? 00:11:40.240 --> 00:11:42.960 And then what does he do as soon as you get 10 feet from the car? 00:11:43.120 --> 00:11:44.159 What does a squirrel do? 00:11:44.480 --> 00:11:45.679 Runs right in front of you. 00:11:45.759 --> 00:11:52.879 So then you're like, oh wow, like he's just ran right in front of me, he's running across, and you're like, oh, he's gonna make it across in time, like I'm not gonna hit him. 00:11:52.960 --> 00:11:54.159 So he gets in the middle of the road. 00:11:54.240 --> 00:11:55.120 What does a squirrel do? 00:11:55.679 --> 00:11:56.960 Stops and goes back. 00:11:57.200 --> 00:12:00.399 It's squirrels are they're not smart. 00:12:00.480 --> 00:12:01.360 I'll say it that way. 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:08.960 But he he calls this idea of squirrel theology, that a squirrel, when it runs out in front of you in the car, it's constantly just going back and forth, not knowing what to do. 00:12:09.120 --> 00:12:13.919 And for the most part, um I almost hit one this morning, but I didn't. 00:12:14.080 --> 00:12:21.360 But for the most part, I've never seen a squirrel die another way, apart from being shot by a gun, then being ran over by a car. 00:12:21.440 --> 00:12:27.360 This this idea where they're just running across the road back and forth, this is what ultimately leads to their death. 00:12:27.600 --> 00:12:36.000 They just have this indecision when they're in the middle of a road and a car is coming out of them at 60 miles an hour, they're going back and forth between two different things, should I go this way or that way? 00:12:36.159 --> 00:12:40.879 And if we're being honest, this is how so many of us operate with our beliefs. 00:12:41.039 --> 00:12:49.440 We have this idea where like we hear the gospel, we go to church on Sunday, we hear the gospel preached, we're like, yeah, I'm all in, I'm following it, I'm giving everything to Jesus. 00:12:49.519 --> 00:12:58.320 We get back to work on Monday, and then we start hearing crude jokes, we start being tempted with just what the world has to offer, and we're constantly going back and forth. 00:12:58.559 --> 00:13:05.519 Our beliefs, what we believe, what we follow is constantly being changed and affected by the culture that we live in. 00:13:05.840 --> 00:13:12.960 And likewise, this is gonna get a little deep, likewise to a squirrel, their indecision ultimately leading to death the same way. 00:13:13.039 --> 00:13:21.840 If our beliefs are just so off the whim and the culture can change them this way and that way, Jesus says that that the narrow path is the straight path. 00:13:22.080 --> 00:13:29.360 And if we're in indecision, we're going left and right all the time, can't make up our mind, that will ultimately lead to our spiritual death. 00:13:29.679 --> 00:13:36.080 That's why Paul is trying to explain why it's so vital that we are grounded in a true gospel, the truth of God's word. 00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:47.759 And it's going back to our idea that a life, only a life built on truth, not indecision, not being swayed left and right by the culture we live in, only a life built on truth will experience true life. 00:13:47.840 --> 00:13:49.120 And our life isn't built. 00:13:49.200 --> 00:13:56.720 If it's not built on God's word, if it's not built on the gospel, then we are going to fall into the foolish lies that this culture has to throw at us. 00:13:56.799 --> 00:14:01.440 If we have no foundation, as soon as we hear something from the culture, we're going that way. 00:14:01.600 --> 00:14:07.360 If our life is not built on the truth of God's word, then we are going to fall into the lies of the culture. 00:14:07.759 --> 00:14:18.639 The next verses as Paul goes on, it shows how strongly Paul cares, not only that they believe the true gospel, but how strongly he cares that they're listening, that the true gospel is being preached to them. 00:14:18.879 --> 00:14:33.279 He says in verses 8 and 9, he says, But even if we, talking about him and his disciples and the people with him, but even if we or an angel from heaven should preach you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you originally, let him be accursed. 00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:41.279 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. 00:14:41.440 --> 00:14:46.799 This word accursed literally translates to condemned to hell or condemned to destruction. 00:14:47.039 --> 00:15:09.759 Paul is saying, he's giving his readers, the churches of Galatia, permission that if he ever steps in there, and he himself, or even an angel of heaven, preaches to them something that is false, that doesn't give Christ the glory, that isn't the true gospel, he's giving them permission to accurse them, to condemn them, to destroy them, because he cares that much about the true gospel being preached. 00:15:09.840 --> 00:15:22.799 He's using such strong language because he wants his readers and he wants us to understand how important it is that the truth, the truth of the gospel is being preached, and that's what we're listening to, regardless of who's teaching it. 00:15:23.279 --> 00:15:30.000 So you m why why is it so important to Paul that not only they believe the true gospel, that the true gospel is being taught to them. 00:15:30.159 --> 00:15:33.759 There's three things at stake when the gospel is being preached. 00:15:34.320 --> 00:15:36.799 The first thing is Christ's glory is at stake. 00:15:37.360 --> 00:15:39.200 Every Sunday we get up here, we preach the gospel. 00:15:39.360 --> 00:15:45.840 Every time Paul would step into another region and preach the gospel, he understood that the glory of Christ is at stake. 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:50.799 Depending on our gospel message, depends on how much glory is given to Jesus. 00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:54.240 You can preach a gospel message and point all the glory back to yourself. 00:15:54.480 --> 00:16:00.320 You can preach the good news of Jesus, but preach it in a way that points back to yourself, that puts the spotlight on yourself. 00:16:00.399 --> 00:16:08.080 And Paul knew that Christ's glory is always at stake, and that is can cannot be understated enough. 00:16:08.240 --> 00:16:12.080 We should have no greater desire than for Christ to be glorified. 00:16:12.320 --> 00:16:22.879 And Christ is most glorified in the truth of the gospel, in the truth of his life, his death, and his resurrection, resurrection, and that through him, by grace through faith, we are saved. 00:16:23.440 --> 00:16:27.440 The second thing that Paul knew was at stake when the gospel was being preached is people's souls. 00:16:27.519 --> 00:16:30.080 When we preach the gospel, people's souls are at stake. 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:35.440 I'm gonna get to this later, but if you have the gospel wrong, then you've missed everything. 00:16:35.919 --> 00:16:41.679 If a false gospel is being preached, then people's souls are gonna be deceived straight into hell. 00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:46.799 If the the false gospel is being preached, then people will not receive true salvation. 00:16:46.960 --> 00:16:50.799 When the gospel was preached, Paul knew that people's souls are at stake. 00:16:51.440 --> 00:16:54.559 And then lastly, he knew that the health of the church is at stake. 00:16:54.720 --> 00:16:58.480 If you remove the truth of the gospel from the church, it will quickly dissolve. 00:16:58.559 --> 00:17:04.640 And if it's flourishing and a false gospel is being preached, then that's not a church that you want to be a part of. 00:17:05.279 --> 00:17:20.559 Paul knew that when all these things are at stake when people are preaching the gospel, so he wanted the Galatians to be to be sure that they were listening and being taught the true gospel because he knew that Christ's glory, people's souls, and the health of the church was at stake. 00:17:21.200 --> 00:17:26.559 Like I said before, why is it so important that Paul to Paul that we know and are taught the true gospel? 00:17:26.640 --> 00:17:30.079 It's because if we miss the gospel, we have missed everything. 00:17:30.400 --> 00:17:33.359 If we have missed the gospel, then we have missed everything. 00:17:33.519 --> 00:17:37.920 There is nothing more important in this life than knowing the true gospel. 00:17:38.240 --> 00:17:47.279 So after making it known how serious it is to build our lives on the truth, Paul kind of uses the rest of chapter one to just establish his credibility as an apostle. 00:17:47.359 --> 00:17:53.759 Just like anything, if I'm gonna walk in and teach someone something, then that person's gonna want to make sure I know what I'm doing, right? 00:17:53.839 --> 00:18:07.039 If I mean, if I step in here and tell you that I, I don't know, own a own a bar or something like that, and you know, I do all this stuff on the weekends, but hey, I'm gonna teach you all the Bible, you would want to know why I'm credible. 00:18:07.200 --> 00:18:08.880 Why am I credible to teach the Bible? 00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:10.000 Paul is doing the same thing. 00:18:10.160 --> 00:18:19.839 He wants people to trust his message just by building his credibility, not on himself or what he's done, but just the fact that he is apostle, that he has been called by God. 00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:23.680 So he uses kind of the rest of this chapter to do that. 00:18:23.759 --> 00:18:34.400 And um, one of the main things that that we see from other, you know, other letters of Paul, people were coming at Paul, kind of trying to steer people away from Paul because they thought that he was just trying to please man. 00:18:34.559 --> 00:18:44.720 The Jewish leaders didn't like his message because his message was salvation by grace through faith in Jesus, and they kind of had this idea that Paul's message is is too easy to be true. 00:18:44.880 --> 00:18:46.559 It's it's it's too good to be true. 00:18:46.640 --> 00:18:55.279 All he's trying to do is just please man with this message that we can be saved by grace through faith in Jesus, and we don't have to be Jewish, we don't have to do all these things. 00:18:55.440 --> 00:19:01.279 They thought his message was too easy, so they gave the argument to other people that, oh, Paul's just trying to please you. 00:19:01.359 --> 00:19:04.400 He's just trying to tickle your ear a little bit and get you to follow him. 00:19:04.559 --> 00:19:08.880 He doesn't really care about you, he doesn't really care about his message, and it's not true. 00:19:09.039 --> 00:19:12.480 So Paul addresses this accusation directly in verse 10. 00:19:12.559 --> 00:19:17.599 So he establishes, starts establishing his credibility, and this is what he starts out with. 00:19:17.920 --> 00:19:19.039 Galatians 1 10. 00:19:19.200 --> 00:19:22.079 For am I now seeking the approval of man or of God? 00:19:22.319 --> 00:19:24.160 Or am I trying to please man? 00:19:24.319 --> 00:19:28.160 If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. 00:19:28.400 --> 00:19:34.799 Now, this verse, it could yeah, it could be an entire sermon, and I had to delete so much stuff from this, but I I'm just gonna leave it at this. 00:19:35.039 --> 00:19:39.359 If you're in the business of pleasing man, you're outside the business of serving Christ. 00:19:39.599 --> 00:19:43.680 If you're in the business of pleasing man, you're outside the business of serving Christ. 00:19:43.839 --> 00:19:52.799 Paul knew this and he wanted to reassure his readers that he was not in it for himself, he wasn't in it for his own glory, he was in it to serve Christ and glorify Christ and Christ alone. 00:19:52.960 --> 00:19:56.559 So he continues to just kind of establish why they can believe his message. 00:19:56.640 --> 00:20:13.920 In verse 11 and 12, he says, For I would have you know, brothers, um, that not only am I not trying to please man, but that the gospel that was preached to me or by me is not man's gospel, for I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 00:20:14.079 --> 00:20:19.680 This is why we can believe Paul's message, because his message that he is preaching was given directly to him by God. 00:20:19.759 --> 00:20:23.440 It wasn't taught to him by a man, it wasn't taught to him by another sinful person. 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:28.000 It was taught him directly through a revelation of Jesus. 00:20:28.319 --> 00:20:36.000 Many of us probably know that Paul's conversion story is he's traveling to Damascus to continue to persecute the church, he's met directly by Jesus. 00:20:36.160 --> 00:20:37.359 He has this revelation. 00:20:37.519 --> 00:20:43.599 He's blinded for three days before a Christian named Anias comes and helps him, heals him. 00:20:43.680 --> 00:20:51.359 But it was probably during this time, that either on the road or during the three days, that Jesus himself is the one that brought the gospel to Paul. 00:20:51.680 --> 00:20:57.839 When I first when you first read this, it kind of seems as if Paul is being prideful, as he's making much of himself. 00:20:58.160 --> 00:20:59.119 I didn't even get taught this. 00:20:59.359 --> 00:21:00.640 God taught it directly to me. 00:21:00.720 --> 00:21:01.359 What do you got? 00:21:01.440 --> 00:21:03.599 You know, like what's what's so good about you? 00:21:03.759 --> 00:21:08.079 God spoke directly to me, but that's not, he's not trying to make much of himself. 00:21:08.240 --> 00:21:13.039 Rather, he's trying to let us understand and see why we can trust his message. 00:21:13.200 --> 00:21:15.119 Martin Luther says this is so good. 00:21:15.359 --> 00:21:20.960 When I was a young man, I thought Paul was making too much of his call, or he was being too boastful. 00:21:21.119 --> 00:21:22.640 I did not understand his purpose. 00:21:22.720 --> 00:21:25.519 I did not then realize the importance of the ministry. 00:21:25.680 --> 00:21:33.920 We exalt our calling not to gain glory among men or money or satisfaction or favor, but because people need to be assured that the words we speak are the words of God. 00:21:34.160 --> 00:21:36.720 This is no sinful pride, it is holy pride. 00:21:36.880 --> 00:21:46.079 Paul is established establishing his credibility, saying these things so that we know that the words he is writing down, the words he is speaking, are directly from the mouth of God. 00:21:46.160 --> 00:21:53.279 These are the words of God that we read, not only in Galatians, not only in Paul's letters, but all of Scripture is breathed out by God. 00:21:53.359 --> 00:21:54.960 And we can be confident in that. 00:21:55.039 --> 00:21:59.759 That's all Paul is trying to tell us that we can be confident that what we're reading is the words of God. 00:22:00.799 --> 00:22:09.599 And this just proves the point that we can be confident, we can open the Bible knowing that it is absolute truth that we can build our entire lives upon. 00:22:09.839 --> 00:22:12.240 So Paul kind of closes out this first chapter. 00:22:12.400 --> 00:22:29.279 Um, he's still just kind of trying to establish his credibility, gain this church's trust as a truthful teacher, but he shares his testimony to kind of establish his credibility, but also to give us a glimpse of the grace of God that he's trying to teach them. 00:22:29.519 --> 00:22:36.480 Paul's explained the importance of knowing the true gospel, and now he's shifting his focus to explaining what the true gospel is. 00:22:36.640 --> 00:22:44.799 We know why it's important to know the truth of Jesus, but now he's starting to get into what is the truth of Jesus, what is this truth that we need to know and build our lives upon. 00:22:44.960 --> 00:22:48.319 So he starts in 13 and 14 and begins to share his testimony. 00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:59.759 He says, For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it, and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people. 00:22:59.920 --> 00:23:03.440 So extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my father. 00:23:03.680 --> 00:23:11.920 So we read this and we're kind of taken back, but most of the most of us know that before Paul was an apostle, he was known as Saul, and he was a persecutor of the church. 00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:14.880 He literally went around persecuting the church. 00:23:14.960 --> 00:23:19.839 He was trying to destroy it, violently destroy the church, is what he said in Galatians. 00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:24.240 The first time we ever see Paul appear, the character of Paul, appear in the Bible. 00:23:24.400 --> 00:23:30.960 It's in Acts 7 when Stephen, he was the first human being to be killed for his faith, apart from Jesus. 00:23:31.200 --> 00:23:33.200 Stephen is being murdered for his faith. 00:23:33.279 --> 00:23:36.000 Um this is the first time we see Paul appear. 00:23:36.160 --> 00:23:37.680 This is Acts 7, 58. 00:23:37.920 --> 00:23:42.400 Um it says, Then they cast him, talking about Stephen, out of the city and stoned him. 00:23:42.480 --> 00:23:45.680 And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of who? 00:23:45.920 --> 00:23:49.039 A young man named Saul, otherwise known as Paul. 00:23:49.279 --> 00:23:57.359 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit, and falling to his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, Lord, do not hold the sin against them. 00:23:57.519 --> 00:23:59.359 And when he had said this he fell asleep. 00:23:59.599 --> 00:24:01.920 And who was the one that approved his execution? 00:24:02.079 --> 00:24:13.279 And Saul, otherwise known as Paul, approved of his execution, and there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 00:24:13.519 --> 00:24:16.480 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 00:24:16.640 --> 00:24:24.160 But Saul was ravaging the church, entering house after house, and he dragged off men and women, committing them to prison. 00:24:24.480 --> 00:24:29.119 So this is the man that we're we're reading his letter, saying that it's the words of God. 00:24:29.279 --> 00:24:38.640 This is the same man, the same man that was trying to destroy the church is now trying to build up the church, trying to advance the church to all nations. 00:24:38.960 --> 00:24:44.240 And we would read this and we think, well, Paul, that that doesn't look too good on you, that you were trying to do this. 00:24:44.319 --> 00:24:47.119 We would think that this would discredit him from what he is doing. 00:24:47.279 --> 00:24:54.880 However, what Paul's testimony does is that he it proves that he is called and he is saved by nothing other than God's grace. 00:24:55.200 --> 00:24:59.839 This proves that he is called and saved by God's grace and God's grace alone. 00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:04.960 Paul confesses that he used to persecute the church, but that sets up what he says next in Galatians in verse 15. 00:25:05.039 --> 00:25:16.880 It says, But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his son to me in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone. 00:25:17.039 --> 00:25:23.200 Paul's testimony, it proves that it was only by the grace of God that he was saved, and that he is now in this position that he was in. 00:25:23.279 --> 00:25:25.839 He he confesses, I didn't do anything to deserve this. 00:25:26.000 --> 00:25:34.160 If anything, I did things that only deserved hell, only to deserve eternal punishment, but God, by his grace, through my faith in Jesus, saved me. 00:25:34.319 --> 00:25:40.640 And he's called me to this mission of preaching the gospel by sharing just this tiny piece of his testimony. 00:25:40.720 --> 00:25:49.440 Paul's giving us a preview of what the rest of Galatians is about, that we are saved not by our works, not by what we do, but by grace through faith alone. 00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:57.599 He spent the first half of this chapter explaining the importance of building our lives on the true gospel, but now he's starting to explain what the true gospel is. 00:25:57.759 --> 00:26:01.440 The true gospel is that we cannot do anything to earn our salvation. 00:26:01.519 --> 00:26:05.920 The true gospel is that we are saved by God's grace through faith in his Son, Jesus Christ. 00:26:06.160 --> 00:26:15.039 The true gospel is despite how many times we go to church every year, or how many good things we do or how much money we give, we can never earn God's favor or approval. 00:26:15.279 --> 00:26:30.640 The true gospel is that only when we surrender and we confess our sins, throwing ourselves down at the foot of the cross, having faith that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is enough to satisfy the wrath of God that we deserved and reconcile us back to our Father, will we be saved by God's grace? 00:26:30.799 --> 00:26:37.200 Only when we surrender, we place our faith in Jesus and what he did for us, will we be saved by God's grace. 00:26:37.279 --> 00:26:39.200 It's not what we can do. 00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:43.839 David Platt, he sums up the true gospel in this way. 00:26:44.240 --> 00:27:03.920 He says this the gospel is the just and gracious God of the universe looked upon hopelessly sinful people and sent his Son Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, to bear his wrath against sin on the cross and to show his power over sin in the resurrection so that all who have faith in him will be reconciled to God forever. 00:27:04.160 --> 00:27:05.119 That's the gospel. 00:27:05.200 --> 00:27:07.119 This is the message that Paul was trying to preach. 00:27:07.279 --> 00:27:10.720 Only by grace, through faith in Jesus, are we saved. 00:27:10.799 --> 00:27:17.519 It's not about what you do, it's not about your religious rituals, it's not about how much you go to church, it's about your faith in Jesus. 00:27:17.680 --> 00:27:20.799 That is the only way you can be saved. 00:27:21.279 --> 00:27:35.440 Galatians 1, all it is, is just Paul showing his utter desire, his deep, deep desire for the churches in Galatia just to build their lives upon this true gospel of faith in Jesus Christ and not by works. 00:27:35.920 --> 00:27:44.400 So we read this, and it's a lot, and sometimes we can read the Bible and we take it and we don't apply it, but we have to look at this and say, how do we respond? 00:27:44.480 --> 00:27:48.240 How do we apply what God is saying to us through Galatians 1? 00:27:48.480 --> 00:28:00.559 And I think after reading this, it would be smart for us after after just seeing Paul's language, the way he is so adamant to the Galatians about the truth that they're believing in, and it would be smart for us to evaluate what are what are we believing in? 00:28:00.720 --> 00:28:03.519 What is the truth that we are building our lives upon? 00:28:03.680 --> 00:28:08.559 We're all building our lives, all following, serving, worshiping something. 00:28:08.960 --> 00:28:14.960 Everyone's got a truth that they're following and building their lives upon, but it would be smart for us to evaluate what it is. 00:28:15.039 --> 00:28:17.519 Is it the truth of the gospel, the truth of God's word? 00:28:17.759 --> 00:28:26.480 Are we building our lives on God's word, or are we allowing the culture we live in to sway our decisions, to determine what we do, to determine how we live? 00:28:26.799 --> 00:28:30.400 We have to evaluate the truth that we are building our lives upon. 00:28:30.559 --> 00:28:37.039 Once again, if we miss the gospel, if we miss the gospel, if we miss this, we have missed everything. 00:28:37.759 --> 00:28:38.319 Miss everything. 00:28:38.480 --> 00:28:46.079 More personally, if you, not even as a church, but if you as an individual miss the gospel, you have missed everything. 00:28:46.400 --> 00:28:47.279 Everything. 00:28:47.519 --> 00:28:52.000 If you have a million dollars in your bank account and you miss the gospel, you have missed everything. 00:28:52.319 --> 00:28:59.759 If you have the best family you could ask for, the the best wife, best husband, best kids, but you have missed the gospel, you have missed everything. 00:29:00.079 --> 00:29:08.559 If you have the nicest house, the nicest car, the best job, the most popularity in school, whatever, if you have missed the gospel, you have missed everything. 00:29:10.640 --> 00:29:13.039 That's why the gospel is so important. 00:29:13.440 --> 00:29:15.039 You cannot afford to miss it. 00:29:15.119 --> 00:29:16.559 You cannot afford to get it wrong. 00:29:16.720 --> 00:29:22.160 You cannot afford not to believe in it and not to surrender and place your faith in Jesus. 00:29:22.319 --> 00:29:25.119 You cannot afford to miss the truth of God's word. 00:29:25.839 --> 00:29:32.079 So if you've been living your life on a false foundation, you understand and come to realize that I've missed the gospel. 00:29:32.240 --> 00:29:33.119 I don't understand this. 00:29:33.200 --> 00:29:38.079 I've never lived my life in the lens of following Jesus as my Lord and Savior. 00:29:38.240 --> 00:29:51.279 If you've understood or seen that you've missed it, then I just want to extend the invitation to not, to not miss it, to get it, to place your faith in Christ, to experience new life in Jesus. 00:29:51.680 --> 00:30:01.359 There's two lies that often keep us from taking the step of placing our faith in Jesus, saying no to the culture, saying no to whatever we think is right, and just surrendering to Christ. 00:30:01.440 --> 00:30:03.599 There's two things that often keep us from that. 00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:07.759 First lies that we believe we we don't really need to surrender to Christ. 00:30:08.319 --> 00:30:09.359 We don't need that. 00:30:09.519 --> 00:30:14.480 We believe I go to church, I do good, I'm generous, I give to the church. 00:30:15.200 --> 00:30:17.680 I'm nice to my neighbors, I love my family well. 00:30:17.759 --> 00:30:21.119 I don't I don't really need Jesus to go to heaven. 00:30:21.200 --> 00:30:22.160 I'm I'm good. 00:30:22.400 --> 00:30:24.640 That's a lie that we believe. 00:30:24.799 --> 00:30:34.640 Rather than repenting of our sin and giving our lives to Christ, I'll say that is a life spent trying to work your way into heaven will lead you straight to hell. 00:30:34.960 --> 00:30:36.640 Because you can't do it. 00:30:36.720 --> 00:30:38.079 It's impossible. 00:30:38.400 --> 00:30:48.799 The second lie that we think, uh or that we believe that that pushes us away from the gospel, keeps us from placing our faith in Jesus, is that we think we are too sinful to be saved. 00:30:48.880 --> 00:30:51.440 We got too dark of a past, we've done too many different things. 00:30:51.599 --> 00:30:53.039 I've never been to church before. 00:30:53.279 --> 00:30:57.039 I don't ever read my Bible, I don't care, I don't ever pray, I don't do anything. 00:30:57.119 --> 00:30:59.519 I'm too sinful to receive God's grace. 00:30:59.680 --> 00:31:05.759 There's no way that God could still love me, that God could still save me, that Jesus could still say that he died for me. 00:31:05.920 --> 00:31:07.039 There's no way. 00:31:08.799 --> 00:31:14.160 What I would say to that is I won't point you again to Paul's testimony. 00:31:14.400 --> 00:31:20.559 I'd be willing to bet that no one in this room has spent half of their life persecuting and murdering Christians for their faith in Jesus. 00:31:20.799 --> 00:31:27.680 And I don't believe that any sin is worse than another, but if we're talking like that, there is no sin worse than what Paul had committed. 00:31:28.000 --> 00:31:32.400 I would be willing to bet that none of us have done the things that Paul had done. 00:31:33.359 --> 00:31:35.680 But Paul actually refers to himself. 00:31:35.920 --> 00:31:38.880 He refers to himself as the foremost of sinners. 00:31:39.039 --> 00:31:43.759 One of my favorite couple verses in Scripture comes from 1 Timothy 1, 15 through 16. 00:31:43.920 --> 00:31:47.920 If you believe that you are too far from God's grace, I just want to read this. 00:31:48.079 --> 00:31:50.880 This is Paul talking to his disciple Timothy. 00:31:51.039 --> 00:31:54.160 And the saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. 00:31:54.400 --> 00:31:58.640 That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the foremost. 00:31:58.960 --> 00:32:10.400 By I receive mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost of the worst of worst sinners, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 00:32:10.720 --> 00:32:13.759 What these verses tell me is that Jesus Christ, he is patient. 00:32:13.920 --> 00:32:18.960 And he is sitting there waiting, waiting for those who are to believe in him in future tense. 00:32:19.119 --> 00:32:24.640 Jesus right now is sitting there waiting for those who are to, in the future, place their faith in him. 00:32:25.039 --> 00:32:26.319 Jesus is waiting on you. 00:32:26.400 --> 00:32:33.279 If you believe the lie that you're too far gone, that you're too sinful, he is waiting on you to come to him and place your faith in him. 00:32:33.920 --> 00:32:42.799 If you've lived your life on lies, you never understood, place your faith in the truth of the gospel, then turn and repent and trust in Jesus. 00:32:43.119 --> 00:32:49.039 So just to kind of close out this passage, I want to end with how I started by just saying that God's word is so beautiful. 00:32:49.200 --> 00:32:50.079 It is so beautiful. 00:32:50.240 --> 00:33:01.119 I truly believe that anyone who is just disciplines themselves to open God's word with a desire to know more of who he is, who he's created us to be, who he's called us to be, you will fall in love with the Bible. 00:33:01.599 --> 00:33:08.240 It's impossible for you to go to God, read his word with the with the purpose of just knowing him and glorifying him through it. 00:33:08.400 --> 00:33:11.680 It's impossible to do that without falling in love with scripture. 00:33:11.839 --> 00:33:12.799 It's impossible. 00:33:12.960 --> 00:33:19.680 The Bible is beautiful, and if you're not reading it, if you're not investing time in it each and every day, then all I can challenge you to do is to do it. 00:33:19.920 --> 00:33:25.920 The Bible is so beautiful, you can't afford not to build your life on the truth of the Bible. 00:33:26.160 --> 00:33:30.240 So, that being said, I'm gonna fill you in on a preacher's secret since Russ is gone. 00:33:30.319 --> 00:33:34.400 Um, I can tell you this, but you've got to promise to come back next week. 00:33:34.720 --> 00:33:39.200 The preacher's secret is that you don't need a preacher to read your Bible. 00:33:39.359 --> 00:33:41.519 You don't need a preacher to understand the Bible. 00:33:41.680 --> 00:33:45.200 You don't need a preacher to read Galatians 1 and see the truth of God's word. 00:33:45.440 --> 00:33:51.119 You don't need me, you don't need Russ, you don't need Nathan, you don't need Paul himself to understand the Bible. 00:33:51.359 --> 00:33:52.480 The Bible is God's word. 00:33:52.720 --> 00:33:56.640 You can go home right now, sit in your living room, open it up, and hear the voice of God. 00:33:56.720 --> 00:33:57.440 That is incredible. 00:33:57.519 --> 00:33:58.880 It's a blessing. 00:33:59.680 --> 00:34:15.280 It's important to listen to biblical teaching, it's important to go to church, it's important to worship, it's important to read biblical books, but at the same time, that's not a substitute for your personal time and God's word, reading it, seeing more of who he is and who he's called us to be. 00:34:15.920 --> 00:34:22.400 So, that with that being said, we're starting a new reading plan through the book of Galatians as we go through this series. 00:34:22.559 --> 00:34:26.400 Um, and what we're gonna do is each day you read a chapter of Galatians. 00:34:26.480 --> 00:34:31.679 There's six chapters, so that's six six days a week, you're reading one chapter of Galatians. 00:34:31.760 --> 00:34:36.000 And once we end this series, you'll have read the book of Galatians four different times. 00:34:36.159 --> 00:34:39.840 Um your probably first reaction is why do I need to read the book four times? 00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:41.199 You know, what's what's the point in that? 00:34:41.280 --> 00:34:42.719 Why do I need to read it four times in a month? 00:34:42.880 --> 00:34:50.000 I promise you, if you read the book of Galatians four times, you will have four different things that stick out to you every single time. 00:34:50.239 --> 00:35:03.440 You will have four things each time you read it that is different than the other because God's word is living, it's active, he is breathing through it, he is speaking to us through it, and he says different things through as we read his word multiple times. 00:35:03.599 --> 00:35:07.920 If it was just read the Bible once and you're done, then that would be pointless. 00:35:08.320 --> 00:35:10.800 But each time you read it, God has something new to say. 00:35:10.960 --> 00:35:14.000 He has something new to reveal to us through his word. 00:35:14.400 --> 00:35:19.360 So as we continue to worship, man, spend time just ensuring. 00:35:19.519 --> 00:35:21.679 We're about to sing this song, um, Build My Life. 00:35:21.840 --> 00:35:23.199 Spend time ensuring. 00:35:23.440 --> 00:35:27.360 Don't leave here questioning whether or not your life is built on truth. 00:35:27.920 --> 00:35:35.280