Galatians 1: 1-10 | June 6, 2010
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 brothers who are with me,
To the churches of Galatia: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
6 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 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 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. 9 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. 10 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.
It’s a joy to be around a new Christian. It’s something like being around newly weds or new parents. They’re very happy and hopeful about each other or their new little one. I wonder sometimes. If you turned out the lights, would they glow in the dark?
New Christians can be like that. The good news of Jesus Christ has touched their hearts. They know something very new and wonderful they didn’t know before. A burden is lifted that they’ve carried around inside. A terrible question mark is taken away and replaced with hope. They’ve stood before Jesus cross and caught a glimpse of a love for them ,God’s love for them, that goes beyond understanding.
Yet with time something can happen if we are not careful. That husband can begin to take his wife for granted. The responsibility that comes with raising kids can tarnish some of our joy. And I suppose some of that is bound to happen.
But what about the gospel? What about the good news of Jesus Christ? How do you hold it today? I know how you once held it. But what about now? Do you hold it close like a treasure or under your arm like a sack of potatoes. Is it something that gives you joy, peace or something you rarely think about. I guess what I’m asking is this:
Has the Gospel lost its luster for you?
From time to time I like to preach through a book of the Bible. These next months I intend to preach through the letter to the Galatians starting today with these first 10 verses of chapter one. Here Paul’s inspired letter made me think of this.
I. Treasure what is yours in Christ
II. Don’t be so quick to trade it away
Who were these Galatians? Where did they live? We know they lived in the Turkey of today. But we’re not sure where these congregations were. Yet we do know this. These were people that Paul came to in one of his missionary journeys. He came wanting them to know the One who had turned his life around. A man named Jesus. Paul worked very hard that they should know who this Jesus was and what God had done for them through Jesus.
But something was threatening that. Something was causing them to lose sight of what was theirs in Christ. So Paul reminded them as God reminds you today. To the churches of Galatia: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father…
What is yours in Christ? This is yours. Grace. Grace was a common greeting among the Gentiles. But there was nothing common about this grace. This grace is the love of God for undeserving people like you and me. It is the grace that caused the Father to send his own Son to be born as our brother, to live among us for a time and then give his life for us all. This grace is the love of God that now forgives us all our sins because Jesus paid our debt of guilt on the cross. So treasure what is yours . Grace.
And peace. Again that was a common greeting this time among the Jews. Shalom. Peace be with you. But that could only be a kind wish or at best a prayer. Here Paul greets us with a peace that is truly ours in Christ. You see, each of us has a voice inside that troubles us with guilt. It points to things we have sad or done or failed to do. Then there is the devil who points an accusing finger our way and for good reason. For how often our hearts been far from God. How often we have failed to love and be kind to the people around us as should.
But look what the gospel announces. Look what the gospel brings to you. Peace. When we bow our heads in repentance, we can look up knowing that God has removed what stood between us and him. There is now no condemnation. And more than that we can know. We can come to God knowing that he is our dear Father and we, his dear children. We can face life knowing that nothing can separate us from his love. No accident, no cancer, no broken heart or broken body. That’s peace. So treasure what is yours.
And treasure this. Your rescue. I can remember taking some fisherman aboard our Coast Guard ship. Their boat had sunk in the treacherous North Atlantic. How grateful they were for that rescue!
Well treasure what is yours in Christ. You see, this world is like ripe fruit hanging on a tree. This is ripe for God’s judgment. For doesn’t this sound like the world we live in. But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. (2Timothy3:1-4) Yes, this world is ripe for judgment. And we would be swept away by a torrent of God’s righteous anger if not for One. The One who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age.
So has the gospel its luster? Treasure what is yours. That grace of God’s forgiveness , that peace that all is well even in death; that rescue from what is to come. It is yours. It is yours not because of something that you have done or could do. It is yours in Christ, through faith in him, a gift of God. It is yours because of what Christ has done for you. And that is very good news.
You know, parents are sometimes astonished when their young people get off on their own. How quickly young people can turn away from their good upbringing to foolishness. Some of us know that from our own foolishness. Well here Paul was astonished. He had worked hard to build these people up in their faith in Jesus. He had worked hard to give them that grace and peace in the gospel of Jesus Christ. . 6 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— 7 not that there is another one. What had happened? After Paul moved on, some came and told them things that made the gospel lose its luster. The same can happen with us if we are not careful. So treasure what you have. Don’t be so quick to trade it away.
We can’t be sure of what these men told the Galatians. Maybe something like this. Paul made a good beginning by telling you about Jesus. But there is more you need to know. There is more you have to do if you are going to be saved. For them it was the law of Moses, circumcision, maybe keeping the Sabbath day. Later came people called Gnostics who claimed that the Gospel was not enough. You need a special knowledge from God.
The same kind of thing happened in the days of the Lutheran Reformation. After God used Luther to restore the pure gospel, along came those who said. Yes, Luther made a good beginning. But he didn’t take you far enough. And there is nothing new under the sun. Inside and outside the church, people are told that we need something more than what Jesus has done. We need something more than what Jesus offers in his Word and Sacraments. Some are told you need to speak in tongues. Others are told you need to be worthy. Still others are told that the gospel is about social justice. It’s about making this world a better place for all.
Know what’s being offered you. Any time someone claims you need something more than Jesus, go in the other direction. For didn’t Jesus say, it is finished. Isn’t that the gospel? Your sins are paid for and forgiven. The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
You might even think about it this way. In the gospel God invites us to stand on the rock solid perfect righteousness of his Son. But the false teacher at best, tells us, you can stand with one foot on Jesus. But with the other foot you have to stand on your goodness, or your spirituality or your wisdom. Well that’s like trying to stand with one foot on firm ground and the other on quicksand. It’s doesn’t work. You sink. You fall. So don’t be fooled. Don’t trade away what you have. You get to stand on Christ, the grace and peace you already have in him.
But you know, if Paul were like many preachers today, he wouldn’t be making such a big deal of this. He’d find a way to accommodate their views. He’d try to work things out. But Paul was not trying to be the most popular preacher in Galatia or anyplace else His goal was to be a faithful servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. And more than that, Paul knew what was at stake. Precious souls were being led away from Jesus, their Savior.
And so as Christ’s apostle, Paul expessed God’s anger at those who offer us anything but the good news of Jesus Christ. If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. His words might shock us but they should not. Such a person is like that con man who gets a poor widow to sign over her house to him. She thinks he is offering something more valuable.
There is nothing more valuable than what you have in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Don’t trade it away. The grace, the peace, the hope that yours in Him. Amen.