The True Gospel is Critical (Galatians) - 02/09/20
What do we know?
How do we know what is true and what isn’t? People spend lifetimes proving truths, uncovering lies. Have you been told something to find out later it wasn’t the truth?
In 1995, a man by the name of Ray Santilli claimed he had footage of an alien autopsy from 1947. The autopsy was performed after the alien spacecraft crashed in Roswell, NM. Santilli said he got the video from a retired military cameraman from that time period. If he got it from a retired military cameraman it must be accurate and truthful, right? Well, it turned out it was a lie. Santilli admitted in 2006 that it was staged but claimed that real footage existed.
The letter to the Galatians was written by Paul to the churches in Galatia primarily because a false gospel was starting to spread. Galatians was said to be written around 48 A.D. This makes it one of the earliest, if not the earliest, NT letter. Jesus was still being proclaimed and worshipped as Lord and Savior, but some were adding to the things necessary for salvation, which then makes the gospel being taught partially true. If it is partially true then it is false. And a false gospel is then no longer the true gospel.
The Big Idea: The True Gospel is Critical
What is the true gospel? Paul reminds us of this in Galatians 2:16 saying, “yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” Faith alone is how we are saved. If we have given ourselves to Jesus, our old self is dead and we now have the Spirit which is the work of Jesus in us.
The gospel is complete
Think of your favorite food dish. Mine is lasagne. If I took the core ingredients out and replaced them with other ingredients, would it be lasagne? Or, if I added ingredients that didn't belong, say cookies and coffee and wood chips, would it be lasagne)? No (and yuck). It would not be what it is supposed to be. Replacing the core ingredients or adding unnecessary things would no longer make it lasagne. This is the same with the gospel.
Adding requirements for salvation besides faith is not the gospel Jesus gave. Paul is addressing the churches in Galtia to show the error of their ways. There was a group called the Judaizers who were teaching that the OT law had to be followed along with the gospel. Basically they were saying that you had to be a Jew to be a Christian. This is wrong. We know we don’t have to become Jewish to follow Jesus so what does this have to do with us? As long as there are people who believe in a gospel plus other things, and teaching that, we have to know the true gospel and teach the true gospel. The gospel can only be what was revealed and accomplished by Jesus.
When we read the early chapters in Galatians, it would appear that Paul is mad at them. He probably is, but he is mad because he knows that adding to the gospel does not make loving Jesus better. Paul wants only the truth for the Galatians and only love that is created in a changed heart by Jesus does that. We know Paul cares for them and is in a struggle for the truth to be realized. He tells us in Galatians 4:19, “my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!” He is comparing his feelings to childbirth, meaning he is in pain until the joy of the full birth. Until the Galatians stop and consider the true gospel, Paul will be in anguish.
Let’s stop and remember who Paul is, and was before Jesus changed his life. He was once Saul, a Pharisee. He persecuted the followers of Jesus (Acts 8:3) and he would have kept on doing it if Jesus didn’t reroute his life (Acts 9). Before Jesus interrupted Paul's trip to Damascus, he thought he was doing all the right things therefore being righteous under the law. He even reminds the Galatians in 1:14 of his old life. “And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.” Paul (then Saul) was living out the Law and opposing the gospel. It took the direct revelation of the true gospel by Jesus (Galatians 1:12) to change Paul so the true gospel is all he would stand to be taught. Just the gospel!
This goes for us. Knowing the gospel is the most basic teaching we should know as Christians. Basic doesn’t mean simple but foundational (Matthew 7:24). Religions that do not claim Jesus as the Son of God and Savior don’t teach the gospel. If the gospel isn't revealed how can people be saved?
Then why the law?
Why would people in the church want to teach both faith in Christ plus the law? We are creatures of habit. We will continue to do something even after we are told or learn. This group called the Judaizers had heard the law all their lives. It’s what they knew and they knew it came from God. When God gave the law, He didn’t do it from a lack of love for His people. He gave the law because He wanted His people to be different from the rest of the people in the world. And not just at that point in time but for all time. He also knew that Jesus was the ultimate answer to the Law and would fulfill the law (Matthew 5:17) when the time was right (Galatians 4:4).
If the gospel is the only thing true for salvation, then why the law? Paul gives us a couple answers here in Galatians. Galatians 3:19 tells us, “Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary.” Law is a restraint to bad behavior, not to good. We see this in Romans 13 when Paul is talking about authorities. We know authorities as those who enforce laws . We have set up authorities throughout the world because we could not obey the basic prescription of life God gave us in the 10 commandments (Exodus 20:1-17).
Paul tells us next that the law was our guardian. Galatians 3:24 says, “So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.” Have you ever been bowling and seen the lanes where they have bumpers guarding the gutters? Think of the law in that way. The goal in bowling is to knock down the pins at the end of the narrow lane. Those who are good at bowling do not need the bumpers. They have practiced and bowled enough to gain experience to avoid going in the gutter. They know going in the gutter is not good. Avoiding sin is like avoiding the gutter - you have to know it is there. And that is where the Law is like the bumpers. The Law says “on the other side of me is destruction if you avoid me”.
The law exposes our sin. Sin is the condition that keeps us from being what God originally created. Sin is what keeps us from God. Sin tells us we have to keep working harder and harder so we can be loved. Sin messed up the created good. Jesus said He came not to abolish the law or the Prophets but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). What does this mean? What do you do when you fulfill something? You make it complete. Jesus fulfilled the law by not sinning against the law. He fulfilled the prophets by doing what they predicted. He was sinless but became sin so we could be righteous to God (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Jesus changes us
The law can never free us. Only Jesus sets us free. Only Jesus can take away our sins to restore us with God and make us new people. The sacrifices made under the Law could not forever remove sin. Hebrews 10:4 tells us, “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” The ultimate removal of sin was taken upon the cross by Jesus so we could live in His glory and bring glory to Him. Paul tells us in Galatians 5:13, “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.”
Jesus showed us that if we aren’t loving then we aren’t changed. Paul reminds us of the importance of love in Galatians 5:14 saying, “For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Laws don’t change our heart but expose the wrong (sin) and Jesus showed us what was right, and that was love for one another. Love speaks the truth of the gospel. Our love would be the first fruit.
We read about the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 which says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” The way which Jesus works in us to complete us is through the Holy Spirit. How do we know we are being completed? By our fruits and the first fruit listed is love. Why love? The whole law is fulfilled in love. Without love the others fruits don’t happen. When we love Jesus and know more and more about him, we begin to understand how enormous love is and how it shapes everything else.
The trouble we have is we continue in the flesh which keeps sin ongoing in our lives. Our salvation sets us free from the punishment of sin, which is separation from God, but there is still a sin nature in us that can produce some wicked things (Galatians 5:19-21). This is why we look to the fruit to determine, and for others to determine, our growth and sanctification. We can talk like Christians all day long. We can say the right things, do the right things, and appear to look good. We can show up on Wednesdays and Sundays and sit in the crowd. But, are you seeing fruit in your life? Are other people seeing fruit in your life? Our fruit exposes our love for Jesus and His gospel.
Now what?
We came out of the gospel of John with the great story of our Savior. When we read the other 3 gospels, we see and hear from Jesus. The trouble we can run into when we study the other books in the NT is hearing the author of those books and not the conviction of the Spirit that was given to them. Paul doesn’t share the gospel with the Galatians and then does not work to correct them without the guidance of the Holy Spirit. He stands on the revelation that was given to him directly by Jesus and then tells them to get right. Not because he said so but because Jesus set them out on a mission. So goes for us also. Tell the gospel. Grow in sanctification. Bear fruit.
