Sermon Text:
Galatians 1:10-2:14
As Paul seeks to defend his Gospel message against the attacks of those who opposed it we hear three key statements which speak of how credible our message of a loving God is.
Sermon Transcript:
(transcribed with AI)
My name is Rich, Rich Kopanke, and I'm a member and I serve as an elder here at Promontory. And this morning I'd like to start our message by asking you a question. OK, here it comes. Why should I believe you?
Have you ever been asked that question? I mean, we're Canadians I know, which means that many of us are too polite to ask somebody that question outright. But let me tell you, inside, people still wonder. Is what you're saying true? How credible are you? Do you know what you're talking about? I mean, we've wondered that about others, haven't we? Particularly when they're saying something that sounds totally unbelievable.
Should we be surprised when others wonder that about us? Particularly when we talk to them about such outlandish claims as there being a God who actually loves them tremendously, that there's a God who can help them in their lives and forgive their sins and prepare them for eternity? You know, knowing God personally has meant so much to so many of us that we want our kids, we want our spouse, we want our friends to know him as well. We want them to experience the joy and excitement of living for God. We can see so many ways that Christ can make a difference in their lives and so we pray for them and we talk to them and we try to help them encounter Christ and they look at us and they wonder. Why should I believe you?
And how would you answer? What will make your message of God's love credible in their eyes? That's the question the apostle Paul wrestled with as he defended the gospel message during his time in the Roman province of Galatia. And from his answers We're gonna encounter 3 questions about ourselves and how credible we really are as we seek to influence others for Jesus.
Now to understand how Paul got into the situation where he's defending his own credibility, we need to go way back to the beginning of Christianity. Now I know what you're thinking. OK, that's great, we're gonna talk about the baby and the manger and then Jesus talking to the crowds and the cross and the empty tomb. That's where it got its start. And You'd be right. Almost. Without the manger of the cross, we wouldn't be here this morning. But the foundations of our faith. Were laid many foundations, many centuries before that little baby in the manger cried.
Thousands of years before the events of the New Testament, God had already decided to bring salvation to the world through His chosen people, the Israelites. I mean that's why Jesus was born a Jew. Humanity needed help with their problem of sin. Even what evil was wreaking havoc on people's lives and eternities. And only God could do something about it, and he did it through His people. This is what God promised Israel's forefather Abraham, as he declared in Genesis 12,
all peoples on earth will be blessed through you, Abraham.
And so centuries before that baby in the manger, God began to lay the foundation. He shepherded the Israelites through good times and bad. He loved them, even though sometimes his love had to come in the form of severe discipline as his people wandered away. And he gave a tremendous gift to his people. That gift was the law. All the rituals, the ceremonies that thou shalt and thou shalt not that we read about in the Old Testament.
I don't know about you But if when I read through all those requirements, what you can and what you can't eat and how you should worship and what kind of sacrifices you're supposed to bring and how you're supposed to treat others, it may seem, at least to some people. That the law was not a gift at all but actually a terrible burden. I mean, thanks God for nothing. I was better off without it.
But friends, the law was a gift. It provided an avenue by which a rather unholy people could approach a very holy God. And it made people aware of their own sinfulness of all the ways they fell short of God's standards for righteousness. And it also made it very clear of how impossible it was to ever achieve true righteousness just by ourselves. Try as they might, no matter how meticulous they were, people back then and even we today. We'll never measure up, be good enough by ourselves. No matter how hard we try. True religion can never be spelled D O. And that's because we will never do enough. To make ourselves righteous before a holy God.
Which leads to the conclusion, there's gotta be a different way, a better way. And that conclusion is one of the law's greatest contributions to humanity. All those requirements were meant to drive people to God's grace, to compel them, to compel us today, to admit that the only thing that can save us is the mercy of a loving God. And it's that contribution, that awareness of our salvation and how it relies upon God and not us, which lays the foundation for the gospel, the good news that we discover in our study of Galatians.
There is a better way, and that way is through the cross as Jesus took our sins and failures upon Himself, dying in our place so that through faith as we respond to what Jesus has done, we can receive forgiveness and salvation. That's the gospel that Paul proclaimed as he visits Galatia. Christianity is not spelled D O, try harder, do more, it's spelled D O N E because what we couldn't do, Christ has done for us on the cross.
And now We need to understand a little more history, OK? Let's keep going. After the cross, after the resurrection, as the early church gets its start. For the first 10 years or so, pretty well every convert to Christianity. Was a Jew. Makes sense. Jesus was a Jew, the disciples were Jews, they all lived in Jerusalem, which was the Jewish capital. Jewishness was so prevalent in the early church that for a very long time, Romans didn't persecute Christians because of their leave them alone policy they had regarding Jews. They just saw Christianity as part of Judaism.
I mean these Jews who came to Christ did so for the same reason that you and I do. They sensed a deep spiritual need. They knew something was missing, they were aware of their own sinfulness, especially in light of the Old Testament laws. And they embraced Christianity as a fulfillment, the culmination of everything the Old Testament was leading up to. Jesus was their Messiah, their deliverer promised by God centuries before.
But here's where trouble begins. Some of the Jews coming to Christ. We're having a real problem letting go of their former Jewish beliefs and rituals. Yes. Christ died for my sins. But you know I still need to earn my salvation. And I do that by what I do and how meticulous I am and keeping the law.
Well, after its first decade, Christianity spills out beyond the borders of Jerusalem. This has been God's plan all along. Remember the promise again to Abraham,
all peoples on earth will be blessed through you?
Jesus didn't just die for the Jews, he died for all humanity. God wanted to make sure that every nation could hear the awesome message of his love and forgiveness. And so rather quickly, word began to spread. Some of the early Christians from Jerusalem were scattered to other places because of persecution, and wherever they went, they took the gospel with them. God also chose some individuals to be missionaries, proclaimers of the gospel, specifically to the Gentiles, those who weren't Jews.
Paul himself talks about his appointment by God. In Galatians 2:7, he says,
on the contrary, when they, the Christian leaders, saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, that was the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the circumcised, those were the Jews. For he who worked through Peter from his, for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles.
And Paul experienced great success. I mean, many, many Gentiles came to Christ.
And now Do you see the collision? That's coming. I mean here we have all these former Jews who are now Christian believers, but some of them are still holding on to the law, and they feel that it's their mission in life to impose this law on these Gentile Christians through such things as making them eat keep kosher and circumcision and all those kind of things. That group some have described as the Judaizers, trying to make people into Jews even though they hadn't been born as a Jew.
And here we have all these Gentile converts from across the Roman Empire. They don't have a whole Jewish background that possibly they never even heard of things like circumcision or kosher. They're just glad that they had been set free from their bondage of sin that had been given eternal life. The gospel for them really was the good news of salvation. And now you've got two groups at two opposite ends of the spectrum, and they're going to collide.
And that's exactly what happens in Galatia. Paul introduces these people to the gospel. They gladly embrace this message, they come to Christ in faith. And then Paul moves on because there's other people who need to hear the message and he continues on and after he leaves, some of these Judaizers arrive with their own agenda. We hear Paul talking about this in Galatians 2 verse 4. He says,
because of false brothers secretly brought in who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus so that they might bring us into slavery. To them we did not yield in submission even for a moment so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.
These false brothers. They were out to correct what they saw as the incomplete gospel proclaimed by Paul. And so in order to convince these new believers in Galatia to reject what Paul had taught them and to come back into the rules of the Jewish faith. They attacked Paul's credibility. And the approach worked. These early believers were buying into this deception. We heard Jonathan Reed last week from verses 6 and 7. He says,
I'm astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are returning, are turning to a different gospel. Not that there is another one, but there have been some who trouble you and distort the gospel of Christ.
That's why Paul writes this letter. He knows that the stakes are high. As Paul explains, to believe. That the cross is not enough. To believe that is to reject God's solution for our sin problem. You know, it's one or the other. Either we try to do it all ourselves and try to make ourselves good enough. Or we rest in what God has done through Christ. On the cross That's the choice we face. And it's one or the other. Paul is battling for the heart and soul of the Christian faith. And his battle affects even us today.
You know, I'm sure some of you are kind of wondering what's this all about. I mean, I'm not a Jewish person, I guess that makes me a Gentile, but hey, I never use that term to describe myself. I mean, what's this all about? Guys? Throw away the words Jew and Gentile. And realize that there's many people today in our society, maybe some of you. Who still live with the idea, I've got to earn my way. I've got to somehow impress God so that he'll love me. That, you know, I mean, basically, if I'm gonna get into heaven, you know, I've got to be sure that I get enough on this side of the balancing scale to outweigh the other things that I've done that I really don't want to tell you about.
Are you saved because of your faith in what Christ has done? Or do you have to somehow prove that you're good enough so that God will love and forgive you? The stakes are high. Paul knows it He also knows that if these early Christians are gonna believe what he has to say, they have to believe in him, his credibility, that he truly was an apostle appointed by God to proclaim the gospel, that this gospel isn't just some story that he made up or he heard somebody else talk about and now it's a secondhand tale that he's passing on.
OK, folks, let's pause for a minute. Let me first of all say thank you. We've just waded through some early church history from 2000 years ago. And I can imagine some of you right now are wondering what in the world does this have to do with me. As I try to just, I just try to keep my head above water and live for God. You know, guys, I realize that none of us are standing in the gap for all of Christianity like Paul was trying to ward off a teaching that if it came and swept over the Christian church, we would be seeing things a whole lot differently than we do from the scriptures. I realized that none of us are standing in that gap for all of Christianity.
And I also know that you are trying to influence people. If you know Jesus as your savior. Then he has done things in your life and you want to share it with others. You pray for your kids, you pray for that neighbor, you seek to somehow build a relationship with that guy at work so that you can have the opportunity to get to know him and point him towards Christ. You desperately want others to encounter God's love and forgiveness that you've experienced. Well, as you talk to those people, as you seek to accomplish that, can I let you in on a little secret? They're looking at you. And they're trying to figure out whether what you're saying is true or not.
And a big factor in determining what they will decide will be your credibility. I mean, let me put it more bluntly, the eternal destiny of your children, your spouse, your neighbors, the people you work with, the guys on your hockey team, the kid that sits next to you at school. Whether they spend eternity in heaven or hell will in part. Be influenced by what they see in your life. And whether your faith is credible to them. Now that's heavy.
And as you think about that, I want us to see what Paul points to as he realizes the same thing 2000 years ago and seeks to defend himself and his credibility. As we look at Paul's defense, I challenge you to look at your own life. Paul's opponents are saying Paul doesn't know what he's talking about, you know, he's just parroting what he heard other people said, or maybe he just made it all up himself. And so Paul responds. Look at my experience.
Did you hear that? When Sherry read verses 11 and 12,
for I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached to me is not man's gospel, for I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
He's talking about the day that the truth of Christianity went from his head. To his heart He's declaring that contrary to Jewish tradition where beliefs were handed down from generation to generation by repetition, his faith, the gospel was received through a revelation from Jesus Christ. That word revelation in the Greek can be used to describe an unveiling. It gives us a picture of a statue that had been made and now the drape is gonna come off the statue at its commissioning and as the cloth falls, everyone sees that work of art for the first time.
You know, before coming to Christ, Paul already knew Christianity's basic beliefs. I mean, he lived in Jerusalem where there were a lot of Christians. He persecuted those Christians. He knew who they thought Jesus was. But that was all up in his head. He had the beliefs already. He knew about them. It was all up in his head until the day came when the veil came off. And God drove the real meaning of salvation by faith deep into his heart.
Guys, if we're gonna influence others. Then that same thing has to happen in our lives. The truth of Christianity has to go from our head, a bunch of beliefs that we agree to. To our heart Where they begin to change our lives. If you're just doing the Christian thing, going to church, helping others, singing songs, trying to be good, if you're doing it because your wife says you should or because your conscience makes you feel guilty if you don't, or you're hoping to find friends or you don't know what else to do. Then it's gonna be pretty hard for you to influence others with your faith.
At some point, Christianity has to become yours. At some point, the veil needs to come off as Christ reveals Himself, and the facts and beliefs go from the head to the heart. And impact your life. So let me ask you, has that happened? Have you responded to that by stepping across that line of faith and choosing to put your trust in Jesus Christ to forgive your sins? To give you a new life. Is today the day that you need to make that step? Paul, he's saying, look at what I've experienced.
And then he continues and as he establishes his credibility, he says, look at how God's changed me. Look at verse 13,
for you have heard of my former life in Judaism. How I persecuted the Church of God violently and tried to destroy it.
The Greek word there can talk about an army that's utterly sacking a city. I mean we are talking about scorched earth policy as Paul attacks the church. I mean this is a guy that you would not want to walk past while you were wearing a what would Jesus do bracelet or a Jesus loves you t-shirt. This guy is a stark raving mad Christian hater.
And he says, I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age, among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my father.
Paul couldn't conceive that God had a better way. He says,
but when he who had set me apart before I was born.
Pause for a minute. Paul's conversion was no last minute desperate adaptation by God. It wasn't like, oh God, I didn't see that happening, I better do something in Paul's life now. It had been part of God's plan. Even before Paul was born. Even as it is for each one of our lives. He says,
but when he who had set me apart before I was born and who called me by his grace was pleased to reveal his son to me,
he's talking here about what happened in Acts chapter 9. I encourage you to read that this week as he's on his way to Antioch and Jesus meets him on the road in a vision that opens his eyes to see the truth and suddenly it goes from his head to his heart.
In order that I might preach him among the Gentiles.
Well, you know, there's a lot of travel going on here as Paul carefully explains his early days as a Christian and what God did in his life and how his authority to preach the gospel came from God Himself. He's telling his detractors, why should you believe me? Well, look at how God has changed me. There is nothing short of a God-sized miracle that could have made this huge difference in my life. It's because of this divine miracle that Paul could report in verse 23.
He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy, and they glorified God because of me.
You know when God is at work in our lives, he will get the glory as people see his great love and mercy working in us and that will draw our friends, that will draw our children, that will draw our neighbor. Into a relationship with Christ. My question To those who are close to you, see change in your life. I'm not asking, are you perfect? None of us could say yes to that, but are you changing? Is it obvious that God is at work in your life? Is your faith affecting how you think and act? Are you becoming more like Jesus in your love and patience and integrity? Friends, those changes not only help reveal whether our faith in God is real or not, those changes also greatly influence whether people will see our Christian faith as something they want for themselves.
Look at my experience, how God met me. I didn't make this up. Look at how God has changed me. I'm a new person because of him. And then we continue in chapter two as Paul talks about visiting the church leaders in Jerusalem and how they endorse his ministry to the Gentiles as being from God, and then we close off our text. By hearing Paul declare one more thing as he talks about a huge confrontation. We look at verse 11, chapter 2.
But when Cephas, another name for Apostle Peter, when Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face.
I mean, let me tell you, Paul must not have been a Canadian cause we would be too polite to do that.
Because Peter stood condemned, for before certain men came from James,
the phrase here doesn't by the way imply that James sent them, he's the leader of the church, by the way, or that they were representing his views.
Peter was eating with the Gentiles. But when they came, these Judaizers with their legalism and rules and how you've got to follow it all in order to earn God's favor. Peter drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party, and the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, if you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?
Do you feel the heat? As Paul tells his story. Do you see his righteous anger at those who are belittling the Gentile Christians? Do you see how he's getting riled up by those who are denying the gospel? Do you see how important it was that this travesty not just be accepted? Oh well, that's just the way it is. You know, I can hear him declare through his actions, look at my passion.
In the church at Antioch where this event occurs. Christian Jews and Gentiles had gotten past their concerns about needing to decide to keep all the Jewish laws and customs. They had found their freedom in Christ. And so when the congregation came together to celebrate a love feast, sort of like a potluck meal where everyone brought what they could and they'd eat and they'd all fellowship together, there was no thought about who was a Jewish Christian and who was a Gentile and who could sit with who and who has to sit at the table in the corner. They would just eat, they'd fellowship together. They were one in Christ.
But then these men arrive. Seeking to impose Jewish laws on these Gentiles, refusing to accept that God saw Jew and Gentile as equal. And their actions and their judgmental attitudes spread like poison. And suddenly the apostle Peter withdrew from eating with the Gentiles, and then even Barnabas, who had been Paul's ministry partner, a person described in Acts 11 as a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, even he would no longer sit with the Gentiles.
And right in front of Paul's eyes, a tragedy is happening. Gentile believers are really being told they're inferior. There's no room for them at the same table. The gospel was being trampled on. And Paul's passion for the gospel soon became apparent to everyone. As he publicly calls out Peter for his hypocrisy.
Do you think Paul really believed the gospel message? That we don't earn our salvation by what we do. That we don't prove ourselves worthy to God, and finally he relents. But that God loves us. And through the blood of Christ as we come in faith, will forgive us. Do you believe that? Just listen to his actions here.
You know, 2000 years ago, a group opposed to the gospel attacked Paul's credibility. And they did it by asking the question, why should I believe you? I mean that question's still being asked today. The guys at work, your friends at school, maybe even your kids or your spouse are still wondering why should I believe you when you talk about Jesus?
Well, Paul answered that. He answered it by saying, look at my experience. The gospel is not just something I heard from others. Jesus gave me these truths. I've experienced God in my life. Is that something you can tell your friends? Do they know your story of how you came to experience God? How you stepped across that line of faith and the difference he's making?
Paul goes on and he says, you wanna know whether you can believe me? Look at how God has changed me. I was a raving Christian hater out to destroy the church, and now I'm a Christ follower ready to lay down my life in order to preach the gospel and plant churches. Nothing but a divine miracle. Can explain what happened in my life.
And then he says, look at my passion. I will do whatever it takes to defend the gospel, to ensure that every man and woman and child hears it, because I know to the core of my being that it is true.
Friends again this coming week, people are gonna ask. They're going to think That same question, why should I believe you? How are you gonna answer them? What are you gonna say? What will you point them to in your life? What will you point them to in your actions? And even more importantly, what you point to in scripture. To show that what's happening inside of you is real. And it's worth them seeking it out.
Let's pray together. Father, here we are. If we're a believer today, if we've stepped across that line of faith, then within our hearts is a desire to help others to do the same, because we've experienced you and you've been doing things in our lives that are incredible. Lord, we want to be passionate for you. We want to be able to share what you've done with others around us. Lord, we want to change that our faith in you will help us to continue to be more Christ-like in our lives. Lord, we want to be credible in the eyes of those around us. So that they can encounter you. And experience what we've experienced. Lord, show us how to do that. And there's someone here today who hasn't stepped across that line. They haven't put their trust in you. They're still on the outside looking in at Christianity and trying to figure it out. Lord, give them the courage, even this today, this morning, to make a choice, to put their faith in you. To experience forgiveness. To experience new life. I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.