Rooted
Notes
Transcript
Text Introduction
We began our exposition of Galatians a few weeks ago, and Paul’s opening verses, which are essentially his salutation (greeting) made clear that his ministry as an apostle was not something he constructed, nor did anyone else. His mission was to proclaim Christ. No matter the cost to him, he was to proclaim Christ and point his listeners to the truth… to the gospel. His mission was given to him by God, through Christ. And the mission of proclaiming Christ was fueled by the same power that brought Jesus to life from the dead. And what God the Father through Jesus provides His people is His grace (unmerited favor) and His peace (the sate of those who have been delivered from their sins). Delivered from sin, and from the bondage of this present evil age. And by the time we get to verse 5 of chapter 1, Paul goes from salutation to doxology. There is so much in the gospel, that you don’t need to think about it or talk about it long before praise and glory to God well up in us. That’s what was happening to Paul. We suggested that the gospel should move us. It should stir our hearts.
But this was not true among many in the galatian churches. Paul was used by God to establish the churches in the cities in this region. God had blessed the missionary efforts of Paul and his partner in the gospel, Barnabas in these cities. They taught in a synagogue, and the people responded favorably to them. So much so, they didn’t want their preaching to end.
As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath. And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God.
The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.
Now, to be sure, their ministry success was not void of trouble. Some of the Jews became jealous of all the positive attention Paul and Barnabas were receiving and caused them trouble. But never-the-less, things went well in the cities of Galatia. We would say that Paul was being used by God in powerful ways and evidence of that was how he was used by God in Galatia.
But we come to our passage today and we learn despite all the hard work and the success, things unraveled in these galatian churches. It’s almost as if nothing of kingdom consequences ever took root in the lives of the people. We suggested that the theme of this book can be summed by the phrase: don’t mess with the gospel. That’s what was happening in these churches. People were messing with the gospel, and as a result people’s lives were being messed with.
But in the midst of the broken heartedness Paul expresses, Paul makes clear the remedy for the trouble. He conveys it in negative terms, but the remedy is there. Church, any local church can suffer these same consequences, but there is a way to fight against it. We all have see it and respond with God’s help and wisdom. Let’s look to get clarity.
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 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.
For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Introduction
Eilud Kipchoge (Kipchogee)
Marathon world record holder: ran 26.2 miles in 1 hr, 59 minutes and 40 sec.
Watched an interview with him. To the question, what is the key to your success?, he answered, I had to believe that I could achieve this goal (break the 2 hour barrier). He continued and said, belief is the key.
Now, this sentiment is common. Just believe. Just believe in what? But for Eliud, he had an object for his belief. Possibility. He believed it was possible for him to achieve the completion of a marathon in less than 2 hours, and he did it.
But saying he believed it was not enough. His actions demonstrated what he professed to be possible.
Here’s a typical week for Eliud Kipchoge
Monday
AM Easy to moderate run: 10-13 miles
PM Easy Run: 5-7 miles
Tuesday
track session
9 miles worth of intervals at right around his goal marathon pace which is about 5 min/mile
Wednesday
AM Easy to moderate run: 10-13 miles
PM Easy Run: 5-7 miles
Thursday
a long steady tempo run
cycling between 18.6mi and 24.8 mi
and sometimes a second run, depending on how he feels / if a major race is approaching.
Friday
AM Easy to moderate run: 10-13 miles
PM Easy Run: 5-7 miles
Saturday
AM speed workout
PM easy run 6-7 miles
Belief: I can break the 2 hour barrier in the marathon race
Practice: Intense regiment all week
His life was centered on running, and it was so because of the way he lived his life. He had strong roots in running. Meaning, because of his practice, running 6-7 miles is to him a light run. It’s no big thing for him to run this distance. He would not be easily shaken by the challenges of running.
Paul thought the people of the galatian churches were centered on the gospel. He preached the gospel, they responded to the gospel, they became the church in that region. But apparently they did not have strong roots in the gospel. They got distracted from it by the compelling and crafty words of some influential teachers. They were preaching a message that sounded good, and seemed to make sense to anyone who was not rooted in the gospel. They professed to believe the gospel, but it turns out they were not rooted in the gospel.
Martin Luther wrote a commentary on Galatians, and commenting on the heart-breaking developments in the galatian churches hes said this:
Luther’s Commentary on Galatians (Chapter One)
This so sudden and so great a loss, no doubt, this was more bitter for the Apostle than death itself. Therefore let us watch diligently, first every one for himself, secondly all teachers, not only for themselves, but also for the whole Church, that we do not enter into temptation.
I suggest we heed the advice of Luther.
watch ourselves diligently (meditation on God’s word, church, fellowship, prayer)
watch our teachers: pastors, preachers, anyone who teaches us what they claim is the truth
watch out for one another
But the bottom line is, if we are going to live lives centered on the gospel, that is, centered on the truth. If we are going to live by the grace of God and in the peace of God that is given to those who believe the gospel, we must be rooted in the gospel. We must know the gospel, dwell on the gospel, hear the gospel preached and preach the gospel to ourselves. Strive to lunge the depths of the gospel and love the gospel. Because there is a lot at stake, if we are not centered on the gospel. We’ll be centered on something or someone else, and the consequences are always devastating.
So, what does God use to strengthen our roots in the Gospel?
Meditate on God’s law day and night (the word)
Pray without ceasing (prayer)
Ordinances
Don’t forsake the assembling of yourselves together (fellowship)
These are the ordinary means of grace. In other words, these practices are what we can expect God to use in the lives of His people to cause their roots in the gospel to grow and strengthen.
But here’s the problem:
FCF: Some in the church do not have strong roots in the gospel.
In other words, some in the church do not practice the ordinary means of God’s grace. Or at least not consistently.
Main Idea:
In order for us to live centered on the gospel, we must be rooted in the gospel
In order for us to live centered on the gospel, we must be rooted in the gospel
explain what I mean by living centered on the gospel and rooted in the gospel
Main Question: What are the consequences of not being rooted in the gospel?
A weak devotion to God (6-7)
A weak devotion to God (6-7)
So what we are saying is that if we are not rooted in the Gospel, we will have a weak devotion to God.
What are the marks of a weak devotion to God?
Vulnerability to opposing messages (6)
Vulnerability to opposing messages (6)
we’ll come back to astonished later
so quickly: with little delay
fell apart quickly
3 sunflowers on the side of my house
On what do we trust to withstand the difficulties, trials and temptations of life?
Our flesh, the world, the devil are at war with what God has begun in His people
strong rootedness in the gospel is the only to withstand these forces
deserting: transplant to a different place
By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.
taken up is the same word as deserting in Gal.
What Paul is saying is with little or no delay, some of the galatian church was setting itself in another place. Another place other than the truth. Uprooting themselves from out of the gospel and into another one
in the present tense: still in process but not complete - still hope - God preserves His people
Interesting how Paul describes the Galatians’ turning away
who were they deserting? Him (God the Father from v. 5)
what did the Father do that makes their desertion of Him so egregious? He called them. It wasn’t Paul who ultimately called them. Paul preached the gospel to them, but the Gospel message is a message that is from God. God called them, and that’s why they responded in faith. But now they are behaving as if they were not called.
How did the Father call them? In the grace of Christ. This grace is a reference to what was said in v. 3, that Jesus gave Himself for our sins. This is the plan of redemption… the covenant of redemption. God the father elects his people to be saved. He calls them. And Jesus displays this grace through His substitutionary death on the cross.
And by turning from God, what did they turn to? a different gospel.
to turn from or away from God is to turn away from the gospel.
See how closely connected the gospel and God are? Not the same thing, but closely connected.
A weak devotion to God. This means we are vulnerable to opposing messages
messages that call us to minimize our sin and marginalize it
messages that call us to trust in ourselves and center on bettering ourselves and ultimately being our own god
messages that tell us to believe that we deserve the good things in life and that suffering and sacrifice are not to be tolerated. So taking p our crosses daily would not fit into that paradigm.
All of this reflects a weak devotion to God. One day we may be excited about a relationship with God but another we may be more excited about being, or at least attempting to be, our own gods.
But another mark of a weak devotion to God is we will be...
Unable to discern that which contradicts the truth (7)
Unable to discern that which contradicts the truth (7)
there is no other gospel. there’s no other good news. We may behave as if there is, but what Paul is saying here is there’s not another gospel.
false teaches who want to distort the true gospel.
we will be vulnerable to the teaching of these teachers. I mentioned last time that these teachers are compelling. They now what people want to hear, and they say it. Often false teachers have large followings… big crowds.
nothing wrong with large churches.....
whether large or small, what is taught must accord with the gospel. If it doesn’t, it is a false gospel.
Are you confident you can identify error. Often the error is mixed in with some of the truth.
We need to be rooted in the gospel. It’s the only way for us to be able to discern messages that contain error
In order to live centered on the gospel, we must be rooted in the gospel. Another consequence of not being rooted in the gospel?
An unhealthy devotion to man (8-10)
An unhealthy devotion to man (8-10)
Where is this coming from? It makes sense, even on its face, that a weak devotion to God would result from not being rooted in the gospel, but that also resulting in an unhealthy devotion to man is perhaps more difficult to understand.
What’s the connection between not being rooted in the gospel and an unhealthy devotion to man?
Our loyalties will be influenced more by the preacher than the truth
Our loyalties will be influenced more by the preacher than the truth
we or an angel: Paul’s point, the message is primary, the preacher is secondary
your favorite preacher can get it wrong
this pastor is not infallible
our loyalties must be to Christ and His gospel first. And on that basis we then understand our relationship to those who claim to proclaim Christ and His gospel.
We will fail to recognize the severity of the consequences of rejecting the truth
We will fail to recognize the severity of the consequences of rejecting the truth
anathema
We will strive for the affirmation of man rather than faithfulness to the truth
We will strive for the affirmation of man rather than faithfulness to the truth
seeking the approval of either God or man.
approval = acceptance
please = delight
we are either seeking to gain the approval of man by striving to please man or we are striving to gain the approval of God by seeking to please Him
God’s grace is not merited. we cannot gain it as hard as we may try. But His children are concerned above all else to glorify Him. In this sense, we strive to live in such a way of which God approves and that is accomplished by living for His pleasure.
but what’s clear here is that in our efforts to please God we will end up displeasing man. There will be times when, because of our devotion to Christ and His gospel, we will disappoint or anger people.
And those who are not rooted in the gospel will have a tendency to be more concerned about what man thinks… more concerned for people’s
approval
applause
affirmation
And even if obeying God could jeopardize those things, we’ll transplant to a man-centered gospel.... which is no gospel at all
Conclusion
Conclusion
astonished = typically used to express irritation and surprise
Paul was shocked and disappointed
Like a parent of a disobedient child
There is a heart-brokenness here
No doubt, he is angry: you foolish Galatians (3:1) but he’s pleading with them to come back. Live lives centered on the gospel. But the only way that will happen is if you’re rooted in the gospel (word, prayer, ordinances, fellowship)
The road they were on was one of devastation. Church, we are not immune from this. We need to be clear and be rooted in the gospel. otherwise we will have a:
weak devotion to God and
an unhealthy devotion to man