The Gospel Of Christ

THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST
Galatians 1

Today we will be looking into the first chapter of a letter that the Apostle Paul addressed to the churches which were scattered throughout the province of Galatia.
The churches of Galatia were products of the ministry of Paul.
He had been powerfully instrumental in their founding and especially in their encouragement to continue and stay in the Christian faith.
The nature and motivation of this letter is soon revealed, as we will see in our text, and is this:
There had crept into the congregations some false teachers who were adding to the requirements of the Gospel.
These teachers were claiming that certain works were required for salvation.
They were not just encouraging people to change their appearances and their ways as a result of their salvation, but as part of it.
In doing so they were perverting the Gospel of Christ.
This first chapter sets a major theme for the entire letter as Paul reminds them of the nature of the Gospel of Christ and encourages them to reject any additions to it.

READ TEXT
Galatians 1:1 ¶ Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)
2 And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia:
3 Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,
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:
5 To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
6 ¶ I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
10 ¶ For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
11 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
13 For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it:
14 And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.
15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace,
16 To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:
17 Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.
18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.
19 But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother.
20 Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not.
21 Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia;
22 And was unknown by face unto the churches of Judaea which were in Christ:
23 But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed.
24 And they glorified God in me.
PRAY

Whether you are newly a child of God or have been in His family for some length of time, the teaching on the nature of the Gospel of Christ is always an essential element in our spiritual growth.
We can never get too much of it.
We must constantly immerse ourselves in it.
It is the truth that set us free from the penalty of sin.
It is the truth that does now set us free from the power of sin.
It is this same truth that will someday deliver us from the presence of sin.
If you are here today and you are uncertain about your eternal future or your relationship with God, it is the nature of the Gospel that you must hear above all other truths, for it is what you need to be saved.

Let us dive right into the text and see the nature of the Gospel as Paul so concisely lays it out before us.
The first thing we see about the nature of the Gospel of Christ is regarding Paul's own call to preach it.
It was important to Paul that the people of the churches of Galatia understand that the democratic nature of church government does not translate into a power of the people over the nature of the Gospel.
So, the first element that Paul brings in at the very introduction of the letter is this, regarding the nature of the Gospel:
ITS MINISTERS ARE CALLED BY GOD ALONE.
This was important because many believed that the most popular ministers had the most authority.
Paul's argument is clear: I was appointed to this position by God Himself, and I cannot but deliver the message He has given.
It matters not what the most popular message is or what the people want to hear, because they did not call me to the ministry.
Certainly, as we see the democratic process by which major decisions are made within the church body, it is easy to see how people thought they could influence the message that was preached, but the ministers of the Gospel are called by God alone.

The next aspect of the Gospel of Christ that we see is in verse 4:
ITS PRICE HAS BEEN PAID IN FULL
This was the major problem within the churches of Galatia, and therefore the primary point that Paul brings to bear.
Even today Christians fall into the trap of thinking that their works are helping them gain a place in heaven.
Beloved, every work that is motivated by this thought is a work unrewarded, because it disrespects the price that was paid for our sins and for the deliverance of our souls.
We come to God with nothing to offer and we accept by faith the payment that Jesus made at the great expense of His holy blood.
We must believe that price has been paid in full or we are, in part relying on something else to save us.
That amounts to a perversion of the Gospel and dilutes it to the point of making it powerless to save.
Its price has been paid in full.

Verses 6-9 bring us the next aspect of the Gospel of Christ:
ITS POWER TO SAVE IS EXCLUSIVE
Paul's scolding here reminds us of the fleshly tendencies within us to drift away from fellowship with the Holy Spirit.
It was the Holy Spirit that called us to the gospel, and when we change the nature and the ingredients of the Gospel of Christ we move away from the Holy Spirit.
Paul marvels at how quickly some of the Galatians had done this.
Even in the church today, the trend is similar, to exchange the personal guidance of a personal Holy Spirit for a list of rules separate from God's written word.
Such a substitute often results in a perversion of the Gospel itself, claiming that only those who follow the published list are saved, when in reality it is the publisher of the list that has removed from the Holy Spirit.
Verse 7 discredits all other "gospels" as being powerless to save.
The Gospel is the good news of Christ, and there is no good news in the requirement of my works for salvation.
Paul even warns that reputable people or figures might come preaching a works based gospel - these figures were to be accursed because their gospel is powerless to save.
The Gospel of Christ is exclusive in its power to save.

Verses 10-12 reveals one more point about the Gospel of Christ:
ITS MESSAGE WAS NOT INFLUENCED BY MAN
This reminds us of the salutation in which Paul laid the foundation for his authority to preach the gospel.
Now he is debunking an age old myth, that the gospel came by the creation of man.
The gospel came straight from Heaven with no human influence.
It came with the stamp of God's certification on it and that stamp was inked with the blood of Christ.
Paul is hereby arguing that if the Gospel came from men, he would seeking to please those men from whom it came, but it did not.
It came by personal revelation from Jesus Christ.
The particular problem that Paul is addressing is that the false teachers that had been adding works to the message of the Gospel were claiming that their doctrine had come straight from "headquarters."
They were lying about the approval of the Jerusalem church on the doctrine they were disseminating.
Paul is effectively saying, even if the Jerusalem church were to authorize such heresy, it would not change the Gospel because the Gospel came from God and was not influenced by men.
Paul continues this argument in verses 17-20 and declares that he was able, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to understand the Gospel message.
He did not get the message from church headquarters, but from God Himself.
We must be certain that our relationship with God is with Him not just with a denomination or a church.

The last aspect of the Gospel of Christ that I see Paul emphasizing is in verses 13-24.
ITS CONVERTS ARE CHANGED BY IT
Paul lays out as proof of the power of the Gospel his own changed life.
When in the past he was a persecutor of the church, he was now member of it.
When in the past he was zealously against the faith, he now held it as his only hope for salvation.
This is where works come into the equation.
They are not a means of salvation.
They are a result of it.
Paul's entire demeanor changed because of the power of the Gospel to change a man.
This is a challenge to you and to me.
Have you allowed the Gospel to change you?
Do you talk different, walk different, live different?
Remember, your life and even your person is supposed to be a reflection of the purity and holiness of the Gospel.
This should affect your mannerisms, your appearance, your habits, your goals and your relationships.
I cannot judge whether God has reached down into your heart and changed it, but I should be able to see the difference in your life and your person.
Let us examine our lives to see if there has been a change.

If you are here today with no assurance of your relationship with Christ, let me show you how you can never be uncertain again.
Let me show you the message of the Gospel straight from the pages of Scripture.