I love the introduction to Galatians. First, Paul separates himself unto God. He firmly understood his calling from Christ. He understood the work of the Father and the Son: God raised the Son from the dead to set men free from sin's tyranny.
Next, Paul greets the listeners with sweet words: "grace and peace to you." Paul uses the intro to point the listener to God and His message. This is a beautiful beginning before laying out a fierce argument against cultural oppression using the law as a means to dominate Christian thought.
...Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Galatians 1:3-5 (NIV)
Verse four is a needed message for today. Jesus dies to save us or rescue us from the present evil age. Everyday we face struggles against the use of evil and its temptations. I am glad to have a rescuer who acted in the will of the Father. God's will is to rescue us. He willing came to restore relationship with all mankind. We must never forget God's first steps towards us. He initiates the relationship between us and Him, and He gave His life for us as the ultimate proof of His love for us.
Paul's purpose for writing this is seen immediately in verses 6-9. He doesn't mince words and slide gently into correction. Paul is upset and is not afraid to tell the truth. Just look at some of the words Paul uses: astonished, deserting, turning to a different gospel.
Some Jews, who called themselves evangelists, were filling the minds of believers about the need to be "more Jewish" and the need to follow "the Law." Paul had once believed those he addresses were solid in their faith. He now confronted their lack of faith in the message from Christ. He challenged their new believe in a false gospel. They were easily swayed by rhetoric. This astonished Paul because he only preached Christ and the good news.
I guess Paul needed to use a little shock therapy. I can't imagine what the people told Paul about their new belief but it was enough for him to convict the Galatians of deserting the true gospel - Jesus raised from the dead to rescue us from this present evil.
Paul condemns this false gospel and those who preached it. Paul uses very strong language to demonstrate how dangerous false teaching can become. Even today, we hear perverted messages about the gospel such as the prosperity gospel. We have to become aware of carefully crafted sermons that take the Bible and misinterpret its meaning. God has given us a great text and His Holy Spirit as guards against false teaching. Use them wisely.
Paul says that those who pervert the real gospel should be eternally condemned. This is not a far cry from the words of Christ in Matthew 18:6 in which He said death by drowning would be better than causing a little one to sin. This is why I personally choose to use passages from the Bible to outline my sermons. You can preach a topical message using the Word of God as an outline. This is the way I prefer so I do not stray from what God is saying. I do not want to create unintended meaning.
Ministry is not about pleasing people or trying to win accolades for good speech writing. It is not about trying to one-up a fellow minister! It is about telling people about our Savior. Ministry is about being a servant of Christ, and there are conditions to this servant-hood. One of those conditions is to hold on to the truth that flows from the Bible - only this truth can set us free!
- How do you defend yourself against false teachings?
- What struggles to you face against evil temptations?
- Why are people swayed by rhetoric?
- What can you hope to learn from the study of Galatians?
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