Galatians 1 - Wednesday, August 28

Galatians 1

New International Version (NIV)

1 Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— ² and all the brothers and sisters with me,

 

To the churches in Galatia:

³ Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴ who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, ⁵ to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

No Other Gospel

⁶ I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— ⁷ which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. ⁸ But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! ⁹ As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!
¹⁰ Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

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ANOTHER GOSPEL

   How easy it is to twist the truth.  

   The true Gospel teaches us that we are saved solely by God's grace.  We are not contributors in our salvation.  God accomplished it all.  The good works that we do, are not earning us our place with God, they are simply a response to His gracious actions and unconditional love.

    But people always seem to want to turn the tables and twist salvation into something that is earned by our cooperation.

   Legalism is a common problem in the church.  It seeks to motivate by guilt -- teaching that God's grace is dependent on what we do.  And if we are not measuring up to certain standards, then we won't earn our place with God.

   The Galatians were struggling with some Jewish leaders who maintained that Christ's atoning work was not all that was necessary to win eternity.  They believed that certain Jewish rites and rituals must still be practiced in order to be right with God.  In particular, some were insisting that the rite of circumcision must still be practiced by all who hoped to be saved.

   In response, Paul reiterates that Jesus' work on the cross as our substitute IS the key that opens the gates of heaven.  Nothing else can possibly add to what He did, nor will any rite or ritural make our Lord "more pleased" with us.

   Nevertheless, it is the responsibility of God's people to respect God's will and to serve Him.  These are acts of love which are intended to make a difference in a sinful world.

   May our Lord always keep us humble as we celebrate His unchanging Gospel that has rescued us for the kingdom of darkness, and made us heirs of eternal life.  Praise to Him and Him alone for His incredible love.

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Paul Called by God

¹¹ I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. ¹² I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
¹³ For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. ¹⁴ I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. ¹⁵ But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased ¹⁶ to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. ¹⁷ I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus.

¹⁸ Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas^[b] and stayed with him fifteen days. ¹⁹ I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother. ²⁰ I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie.

²¹ Then I went to Syria and Cilicia. ²² I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. ²³ They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” ²⁴ And they praised God because of me.