Only One Gospel

Only One Gospel

A Study of Galatians Series

By Bro. Kinh Quach
BACF, Sunday, September 11th, 2016

Text: Galatians 1:1-24, NKJV

  1. Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead),
  2. and all the brethren who are with me, To the churches of Galatia:
  3. Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,
  4. who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
  5. to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
  6. I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel,
  7. which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.
  8. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.
  9. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you 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 still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.
  11. But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man.
  12. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.
  13. For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it.
  14. And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.
  15. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, 16 to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood,
  16. nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.
  17. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days.
  18. But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord's brother.
  19. (Now concerning the things which I write to you, indeed, before God, I do not lie.)
  20. Afterward I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.
  21. And I was unknown by face to the churches of Judea which were in Christ.
  22. But they were hearing only, "He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once tried to destroy."
  23. And they glorified God in me.

Outline

  1. There is only one Gospel = Jesus + Nothing
    1. The Gospel (v. 4, Acts 13:38-39).
    2. The Perversion of the Gospel. When you add anything to Jesus, it is no longer the Gospel. It is no longer Good News but Bad News (v.6-7).
    3. The Consequence of Perverting the Gospel. Any effort to add to the Gospel and anyone trying to add to the Gospel is cursed, cannot please God (v.8-9).
  2. The Authority of the Gospel
    1. Divine Plan (v.4, 11).
    2. Divine Revelation (v.12).
    3. Divine Commission (v.1, 13-24).

Introduction

Praise the Lord! This morning, I have the privilege of opening a new series of messages on the study of the book of Galatians. This small letter from the Apostle Paul to the churches in Galatia has been referred to as the "Magna Carta" of Christians' Liberty! What is a "Magna Carta"? A "Magna Carta" is a charter of freedom. Down through the Church Age, every time God's people lost sight of "What is the Gospel?" God has used this letter to bring His people back to the simplicity of the Gospel that is Jesus plus nothing.
 
I am excited! This is one of my favorites of Paul's letters for the Lord has used it to speak into my own life in the past couple of years to set me free from the bondage of trying to perform to please Him. Will you please stand with me for the reading of God's Word? On screen, I have the NKJV which I will be reading from, Galatians 1:1-24. Please feel free to open your Bible and read from whichever version that you have! Let us read!

The Big Idea

The Gospel = Jesus + Nothing
Jesus + Anything = Bad News
I want to share with you two main points in today's message, each comprises of 3 sub-points that you see in the outline. First, I believe that if we say as Paul said in this letter to the Galatians that The Gospel equals Jesus plus Nothing, then we need to define what is the Gospel. Why, when you add anything to the Gospel, it is no longer the Gospel but bad news that leads to bondage? Why is Paul so bold as to put a curse on anyone who twisted the Gospel by adding anything to it? The second main point deals with the Authority of the Gospel. What gives the Gospel its Power or Authority? Why should we believe and live this Gospel that Paul preached instead of some other so call "gospel"? We will look at the facts that it is a Divine Plan that comes through Divine Revelation and it is Divine Commission.

Background

I love what Eugene Peterson, the author of The Message Bible said in his introduction to the book of Galatians:
 
When men and women get their hands on religion, one of the first things they often do is turn it into an instrument for controlling others, either putting or keeping them "in their place." The history of such religious manipulation and coercion is long and tedious. It is little wonder that people who have only known religion on such terms experience release or escape from it as freedom. The problem is that the freedom turns out to be short-lived.
 
Paul of Tarsus was doing his diligent best to add yet another chapter to this dreary history when he was converted by Jesus to something radically and entirely different—a free life in God. Through Jesus, Paul learned that God was not an impersonal force to be used to make people behave in certain prescribed ways, but a personal Savior who set us free to live a free life. God did not coerce us from without, but set us free from within.
 
It was a glorious experience, and Paul set off telling others, introducing and inviting everyone he met into this free life. In his early travels he founded a series of churches in the Roman province of Galatia. A few years later Paul learned that religious leaders of the old school had come into those churches, called his views and authority into question, and were reintroducing the old ways, herding all these freedom-loving Christians back into the corral of religious rules and regulations.
 
Paul was, of course, furious. He was furious with the old guard for coming in with their strong-arm religious tactics and intimidating the Christians into giving up their free life in Jesus. But he was also furious with the Christians for caving in to the intimidation.
 
His letter to the Galatian churches helps them, and us, recover the original freedom. It also gives direction in the nature of God's gift of freedom—most necessary guidance, for freedom is a delicate and subtle gift, easily perverted and often squandered.
 
Since this is the first message in a series on the book of Galatians, I want to give you a little more details on the background to set the stage for the subsequent messages in the series. In order to understand the context to the book of Galatians, we need to read the historical accounts in the book of Acts. I have done a lot of reading of commentaries and books to understand the context of Galatians. In Acts 9, we have the record of Paul or Saul as he was known by his Hebrew's name, his conversion on the road to Damascus when he met the Risen Lord Jesus. We also have the record of Paul's first visit to Jerusalem since his conversion in Acts 9:26. This corresponds to Galatians 1:18-19. In Acts 11:30, we have the record of Paul's second visit to Jerusalem with Barnabas to deliver gifts to the poor saints. This corresponds with what Paul wrote in Galatians 2:1-10. In Acts 13-14, we have the record of Paul and Barnabas' first missionary journey; in particular, we have the record of the first visit to this region of Galatia from Antioch, which is today's modern Turkey in Acts 13:13-52 and the second visit on the way back to Antioch in Acts 14:21-23. We can see in those accounts from Acts that the Jews, who were envious of Paul and his Gospel message, which won over many Gentile believers, were not satisfied in stirring up troubles and chased Paul and his companions out of town; they followed Paul and his companions to other places to cause troubles for them also.
 
It would appear that soon after Acts 14 and before Acts 15, once Paul had left these churches in Galatia, the Jews infiltrated these churches, attached Paul and twisted the Gospel trying to lead these new believers back into bondage. This necessitated Paul to write this urgent letter to defend the Gospel and his Apostleship around 49 AD from Antioch. My conclusion after careful reading is that the Jerusalem Council recorded in Acts 15 took place not long after the letter to the Galatians has been written and sent as Paul did not mention the Decree from the Jerusalem Council that would have settled the debate.

The Gospel (v.4)

I will come back to what is the debate or conflict, but let first look at what is the Gospel? Paul summarized the Gospel message that he preached for us in Galatians 1:4,
 
4 who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
 
In Acts 13:13-41, we have the record of the Gospel message that Paul preached to the Galatians; in particular, we have the summary of that Gospel message in v.38-39:
 
38 Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; 39 and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.
 
For most Christians, the Gospel message is summarized in the first part of Galatians 1:4, "who gave Himself for our sins" or Acts 13:38, that is Jesus died for the forgiveness of our sins. Would you agree that since we have received Jesus, life is not automatically a bed of roses? We were not immediately taken up to Heavens. We are still in this world, which is under the dominion of Satan and we are still plague by sins and temptations, conflicts and struggles. Would you agree that we need deliverance from "this present evil age?" How are we going to live the Victorious Christian Life? This letter of Paul to the Galatians is not just a Charter of Christian Liberty but is also a Charter of Christian Living.
 
Notice that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world (John 1:29) but only those who would humble themselves and received Him are made justified or righteous and acceptable to God the Father and received Eternal Life. Is that not what our Lord said in John 3:16 (NIV)?
 
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
 
The Gospel is more than just forgiveness of sins; it is for the living; it is for deliverance from this present evil age; it is for justification "from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses." In essence, Galatians 1:4 deals with two things that we consider part of Salvation:
 
4 who gave Himself for our sins [Justification], that He might deliver us from this present evil age [Sanctification], according to the will of our God and Father [Divine Plan],
This is a Divine Plan which I will talk more about later. Paul said in Ephesians 4:8-9 (NIV):
 
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
In other words, we are saved by grace through faith; we ought to also live by grace through faith.

The Perversion of The Gospel (v. 6-7)

But living by faith is hard! For most of us, it is much easier if we are given a list of things to do and by our own success or failure, we will know if we are alright or not. These Gentile believers in Galatia had received Jesus with joy and they were enjoying their new life in Christ. The Devil was not happy, he wanted to bring them into slavery or captivity and he has allies in the Judaizers. Paul referred to them as "false brethren" in Galatians 2:4, "those who were of the circumcision" in Galatians 2:12. They are referred to as "some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed" in Acts 15:5. Their message to the Gentile Christians everywhere is clear in Acts 15:1 and Acts 15:5:
 
"Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved."
 
"It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses."
 
In other words, Jesus was not enough, you also need Moses in order to be saved. The Judaizers did not argue that you need to receive Jesus in order to be justified; but in order to keep on being justified, you need to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses; that is, you need to become a Jew in order to be a Christian. This is a debate between Old Covenant vs. New Covenant, Law vs. Grace, Flesh vs. Spirit, Freedom vs. Bondage that has raged since the birth of the Lord's Church until today. John 1:17 said, 17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
 
You cannot mix Law and Grace. Imagine Grace as a pure glass of water that represents Life and Law as a bottle of Arsenic that represents Death. What will happen if you add a drop of Arsenic to a glass of pure water? Would you drink it? No! Why? It is now poison; it is now death. Sadly, this is not just a problem for the Galatian believers who are being led astray by these Judaizers, it is a problem in many of our churches today, where Pastors and churches still insist that believers need to work or by self-effort live up to the Law.
 
A couple years ago, when our church was birthed, we invited Bro. Don Higgins to conduct the Grace Life Conference for us. We invited others from outside our church to attend as our guests. I met a couple who had been Pastors for a long time and who attended the conference for a coffee afterward. They told me that yes, they understood that we are now under Grace and not under Law as Paul said in Romans 6:14; but we still need the Law; otherwise, there will be anarchy and disorder in the church. They even told me that they have seminar on Law and Order and they will be glad to come and share it with our church. I met a Pastor of a very successful church in the Philippines who insisted the same thing: "we need the Law; otherwise, there will be chaos in our churches."
During this past mission to the Philippines, we saw this sign at one of the churches where the offering envelops are kept: "The Christian who does not give is the Christian who is worth nothing;" talk about mixing Old Covenant and New Covenant, talk about mixing Law & Grace, talk about condemnation, talk about bondage!
 
Let me take this a step further and ask you a question: "as Gentile believers, are we ever under Law?" No! The Law was given through Moses for Israelites or Jews, it was never given to the Gentiles. Paul said in Romans 2:15 that as Gentiles, "the requirements (NIV) of the Law are written on our hearts" not "the Law is written on our hearts." That is, we feel the conviction, shame or guilt of sins. However, we can unwittingly put ourselves or allow others to put us under Law; but as Paul said in Romans 8:1-2 (NIV), 8 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
 
There are two extremes in this Law vs. Grace debate: Antinomianism (Against the Law) and Legalism (Grace + Law). As I said above those who believe in Legalism will be offended when you say that they are being legalistic but will accuse anyone preaching Grace of being antinomianism. They would say that if it is all Grace, then people can just sin, sin, sin. Paul is not against the Law and we who preach Grace are not against the Law either. Let me just say that the Law is still there. Jesus did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill the Law. He introduced a higher Law, the law of Christ (Gal 6:2) which is Love; Love fulfills the Law (Gal 5:14) as we walk and live in the Spirit, trusting Jesus Who is Love to love others through us. As Paul said in 1 Timothy 1:8 (NIV), 8We know that the law is good if one uses it properly.
 
We will have so much more to say about Law vs. Grace and what is the purpose of the Law in future messages on this series on Galatians.
Whenever we say or let others tell us that we need Jesus plus something else in order to be accepted, we put ourselves into bondage. Do you have to do anything to earn Salvation or acceptance? No, except to believe! Do you have to do anything to keep your Salvation or acceptance? No, except to believe! Come as you are! There is room at the Cross for you! There is Power in the Blood of the Lamb to save to the uttermost! Jesus not only saved us; He keeps us saved!
 
Does this mean that we just sit back and do nothing? No, absolutely not! As sons of God, we ought to be all about our Father's business like our big Brother Jesus. Instead of work through self-effort to earn God's favour; we ought to join Jesus and trust Him to do great works of the Kingdom in and through us. Be Alive Christian Fellowship is a testament of Jesus Christ living and doing the works of the Kingdom through us!

The Consequence of Perverting the Gospel (v.8-9)

Why was Paul so emphatic in putting a curse on anyone who perverted the pure Gospel of Grace that is Jesus plus nothing? Because Paul knew and we ought to know also that when we add anything to the Gospel of Grace, it becomes work religion, self-effort or works of the Flesh. Those in the Flesh oppose God, hinder His works and cannot please God (Rom 8:7-8). All the works of the Flesh are but woods, hays and stubbles that will be burned up; the only things that will remain are what Jesus did. Please note that it is not like these Galatians were living a life of sins; in fact, it was the opposite, they were trying to live to a very high moral standard, but they were doing through self-effort to live up to the Law in the energy of the Flesh. When we add anything to Jesus, it stinks in God's nostrils and it displeases Him because it is saying that what Jesus did on the Cross was not enough, we have to add to it.

The Authority of the Gospel

I feel like I have enough material in this first chapter of Galatians for two or three messages so I will be brief on the second main point as Pastor Daniel who will preach next week will pick up where I left off. Paul went on for the rest of chapter 1 of Galatians to defend his Apostleship and the Gospel that was entrusted to him.
 
Have you ever pay any attention to Political Races? There is a Presidential Race in the U.S. at the moment. In politic, what is the best way to attack the message? It is by attacking the messenger. You assassinate the character of the person in order to destroy his/her message. That was exactly what the Judaizers did. They attacked Paul's message by attacking him. They said that Paul is just a men pleaser (v.10), that he preached an incomplete Gospel message just to make it easy for the Galatians, but this kept them from the full inheritance as sons of Abrahams.
 
The Judaizers said that Paul received the Gospel message second hand from the Apostles in Jerusalem, that he is just a minion. Paul was brilliant in defending the Gospel and his Apostleship. He said in v. 4 and 11 that the Gospel was a Divine Plan originated from the will and mind of God. Paul went on in v. 12 to say that he received the Gospel through Divine Revelation directly from the Lord Jesus Himself. He spoke about his former life in Judaism in v.13-14. He had zeal but without knowledge. He was a fanatic just like those terrorists that flew those airplanes into the twin towers in New York City on 9/11. They were pretty certain that they were doing the will of God also. You see it takes a Revelation of God to open the eyes of a fanatic like Paul on the road to Damascus in Acts 9. Are we not glad that the Grace of God is sufficient for Paul? Are we not glad that the Grace of God is sufficient for you and for me? That is why we sing: "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saves a wretch like me!"
 
Paul claimed to have receive a direct Divine Commission from Jesus and God the Father (v.1, 15-16). While none of us can claim the same Divine Commission like Paul did with his Damascus Road experience and we are not Apostles in the sense of those who have personal encounter with Jesus; we too are being sent. Jesus said in John 20:21 (NIV), "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you."
 
We may not have received a direct revelation from Jesus, but we also received revelations from Jesus when we endeavour to live out the truths of the Gospel in our lives. Jesus said to the Pharisees in John 5:39-40 (NIV), 39You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
 
In other words, when we received Jesus and endeavour to live out the truths of God's Word in our daily lives, trusting Him to live in and through us, Jesus will be reveal through us.
What is the Gospel, you ask? This is the Gospel. That Jesus died on the Cross of Calvary to pay the penalty of my sins, He was buried, God raised Him to Life for my justification. That I was once a child of the Devil, but now I am a righteous son of God. That I was once in the kingdom of darkness but now I am in the Kingdom of Light. That I was once a sinner, who humbly came to the Cross and acknowledged that I cannot save myself. I chose by faith to trust in the finish work of Jesus on the Cross to receive Him as my Lord and Saviour. That Father baptized me into His Son on that same Cross. That I died with Christ, was buried with Christ, was raised to new Life with Christ. I belong to Jesus and the rest of this life here on earth, I choose to live by faith trusting in the Son of God Who loves me and gave Himself up for me to live in and through me. And that is the Gospel. God bless you as you receive Jesus as your very Life!