Galatians (3)

Introduction: On November 25th, 1920 there was a tragic train wreck in West Liberty. Apparently, a brakeman had opened the switch of a north bound passenger train, and it ran off the main tracks into a head on collision with a freight train that was sitting on the side rails. From the article I found, there were 23 people were injured as a result of this negligence. Many of you are probably very familiar with that true story.

Transition: In a similar fashion, the churches of Galatia were in danger of being derailed from the main tracks of the gospel. Galatians 1:6-10 records a major warning from apostle Paul when he identifies the problem. They were actively turning away from God to a false gospel.

Read Text and pray.

Begin by walking through these verses and pointing out some key observations.

General Observations

Verse 6

a. Paul’s astonishment

b. Quick desertion

c. Forsaking God: The Galatians were in danger of abandoning the greatest gift of the gospel, God Himself. This observation helps us to begin to understand the severity of the problem.

d. How were they deserting God? By turning to another gospel.

Verse 7

a. Paul explains his statement about turning to “another” gospel. He make the emphatic point that there isn’t such a thing.

b. But, there are “some” who trouble you and strongly desire to distort the true gospel.

1. Who are these some? In Paul’s day it was those Judizers who are mentioned in Acts 15:1 that were teaching, “unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses you cannot be saved.”

2. This deception to derail the truth of God’s word was not new. It was directly influenced by the enemy of God who used the same tactic to deceive Eve in the garden of Eden. The serpent of old came in temptation against the gospel of God. He continues to so today.

3. Behind every attempt to pollute and delude the truth of the gospel of Christ is the prince of the power of the air working in the sons of disobedience. Not that anyone needs his help in defaming God. According to our own flesh we are all guilty of this sin. And without the true gospel of Christ telling us the truth we would all still remain in that sin.

4. However, we should be weary of what is often passed off as the gospel. Sadly, what we hear called gospel is concerning how to make people good. However, God’s gospel is concerned with making people holy.

5. Considering this ...Church, I had a startling reality check this week while studying… Many professing Christians who we might be tempted to think are in danger of being derailed from the gospel of Christ, have never actually heard or recieved the true gospel.

6. Again… we are pressed upon to think about the seriousness of the problem that the Scripture is addressing.

Verse 8 (read again)

How important is the gospel of Christ? So much so that if Paul himself, or another apostle should show up and add to what they already preached , he should be cursed. The gospel of Christ is so vitally important that even if an angel should show up and preach something contrary to what was already preached, he should be cursed!

The problem of false teachers coming into the church is very real. It often occurs through ignorance, and simple delusion. It is rarely as glaring falsehood and often the false teacher with agree and teach all the true essentials of the gospel , but then slip in something extra at the end. This little leaven, as is mentioned later in this letter, leavens the whole lump. Which means, a small addition to the gospel pollutes the rest of what a person has taught even if it was true.

Verse 9

We should take special care to notice the repetition in this verse. It is in order to reveal emphasis.

Two times he says let the one who is preaching a gospel contrary to what they had heard and received be accursed. Anathema. Come under condemnation. What does this mean? Paul is not pulling out a wand and practicing some sort of hocus pocus witchery. He is not being a prudish close minded bigot who is wishfulfully hoping that the person who disagrees with him will die.

No, rather he is expressing the true reality of the condition and consequence of a person who distorts the gospel of Christ. They are cursed. They are serving the wrong master. They are serving their father the devil and will rep the same consequence of the one they belong to. The curse of sin and death. Paul is making the statement here of what he alludes to later in Gal 6:7 .

Galatians 6:7 ESV

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.

d. Again, we are confronted with the absolute seriousness of tampering with the gospel of Christ.

Verse 10

a. This verse helps to transition into the next portion of Scripture, but at this point simply notice that Paul’s main concern is not to be a man pleaser. If that were the case he would have never left his former life, and would certainly not be a bond slave to Christ.

Transition: The meaning of this passage is to give the grave warning of the serious consequences for deserting God and adding to the gospel. Interestingly, while Paul gives this grave warning he also offers insight into an essential element of the gospel of Christ. Here is what I mean, in the midst of correcting the active apostasy of the Galatians he also give a pivotal part of the gospel. In other words, he reveals an key aspect of the gospel of Christ while at the same time exposing their main problem. Case in point notice again the phrase in verse 6, “deserting Him who called you in the grace of Christ.”

Transition: Spend the remainder of our time unpacking this phrase with three questions. What is God’s calling? How does God call? Why does God call? Now, a wonderful principle for Bible study is that Scripture will always interpret scripture. If we want to understand the meaning of a passage then we explore other passages of Scripture because the Bible will alway complement itself. I share this because I want to encourage you in your personal studies to search out the Bible for this concept of God’s calling and discover more depth in answering these three questions from other parts of Scripture. However, for our time I’m gong to do my best to simply stay in the text of Galatians.

What is God’s calling?

First, notice that it is God who does the calling. 1:6 and again in 5:8. God gets the credit for doing the calling, but what is this calling? Is this like God placing a call on your cell phone in which you can check called id and decide if you want to answer? No.

The word literally means to summons. Ex. Think about when you were a child and your mother summons you. That meant you were to leave what you were doing and come to her side. It’s captured in the same word that is used for church, ecclicia. Which means the called out ones. A good example is the calling that came to Abram when he was in the land of Ur. God called Him out. He received a summons.

Another example of God’s calling is from Paul himself. He uses the the word to describe this summons in two particular variables. Look at Gal 1:15. (read)

Galatians 1:15 ESV

But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace,

One is the calling of God to salvation. It involved God’s grace, revealing His Son to him. This is obviously a reference to his Damascus road experience when Jesus blinded him and sent him into Damascus to hear his orders from Ananias.

But the other is the calling of God to apostleship or service. We can notice the distinction here, but don't be too quick to think that one can happen without the other. Paul is using the word to describe both. And frankly, no one is called to service without first being called to salvation.

As this summons relates to God and an essential element of the gospel , we discover that it is a calling away from something and to something. Notice Gal 5:13

Galatians 5:13 ESV

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

4. If we were called to freedom, the implication is that we were previously in bondage. To what? Sin and death. We can at least conclude that this called to which God had summonsed them was for deliverance from sin? It was a calling to be in right relationship to God. Now.. begs the question…

How does God call?

First a we see in 1:6 and 1:15 God make this summons by the grace of Christ. This point makes it clear that the calling of God is not by achievement, or good works, or well meaning attempts, or trying hard to believe, or praying the right prayer, or having the right surgical procedure. No, this calling to salvation is by the grace of God.

Story about why this is such an important part of the gospel. Several years ago I had a lengthy conversation with a person who was trying to persuade me that baptism was essential in order for a person to be rightly saved. To the point that he said faith is a work. a complete misunderstanding of Biblical faith. However, sadly, many evangelicals today have emphasized this same notion.

Second, we get some further detail in how God accomplished this calling from Gal 3:1-6.

Galatians 3:1–6 ESV

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

4. God calling is a summons to salvation which is accomplished by His grace through the proclamation of the gospel about Christ dying in the place of sinners, and God raised Him from the dead. The Holy Spirit uses that gospel to awaken spiritual life in a person who turns from sin and trusts in Christ. This is not accomplished by works of the law, rather by hearing with faith.

Why does God call?

Because it pleases Him. (1:16)

He is glorified in accomplishing His desired purpose. (1:4-5)

We are blessed by His faithfulness in believing, being justified, redeemed, adopted, forgiven, set free, sanctified, and glorified. Point: These are all benefits or results of His calling, not causes. Again, herein is the main problem that faced the Galatians and still faces us today. There is no other gospel! To add to this gospel some condition on our part is heresy and worthy of cursing.

Closing: Story on how this problem prevails on both sides of the cross.

Be clear in our proclamation of the gospel.

Be serious when we hear gospel pollution.

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