Galatians 1
Daily Bread
Galatians 1
1Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2and all the brothers with me,
To the churches in Galatia:
3Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
No Other Gospel
6I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
10Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Observation:
We now begin studying some of Paul’s shorter letters to different churches throughout the Christian world. In this short epistle (6 chapters) to the churches in Galatia (which was Asia Minor – modern day Turkey), Paul immediately addresses what he sees as a perversion of the gospel. In Corinth, Paul had to deal with curbing excesses, or people who were using their freedom in Christ in an unhealthy way. In Galatia, Paul had to deal with legalism, where the churches were putting new laws on the people and not living in the freedom of Christ.
For Paul this is a huge deal. It is a non-negotiable that we are saved by grace through faith. To add works (like being circumcised if they were a new Gentile believer) was perilous to the furthering of the Good News. Paul is less concerned that he or someone else was preaching the gospel, but more adamant that it was the correct gospel being preached. He doesn’t care about the reaction he will get from others about this, because he realizes his call is to serve Christ and not people.
Application:
How do we take the Gospel and turn it into a new law today? It can often be subtle. One of the ways as I have mentioned before is when we are just known for what we are “against” rather than what we are “for”. When this happens, the church is seen as a bunch of judgmental people with lots of rules to get into the club.
What sets apart Christianity from every other religion is the gospel of grace. This is what seized Paul personally, as he encountered Jesus in dramatic fashion on the road to Damascus. Paul was a very religious guy, steeped in the ways and traditions of Judaism. But Jesus said to him, “You think you are doing the right thing but you are really persecuting me!”
Paul had to get correct understanding of the Law and Gospel. The Law condemns us and drives us to Christ, as we realize that we are lost and need help. The Gospel is only good news to us, when we discover we need it. But the foundation of the Gospel is that it is for all people, and you don’t have to do anything to deserve it. God chose us to be His children and sent Jesus to die so we could have a right relationship with Him. This extravagant love when realized by an individual changes their heart and draws them to know God as friend, coach, guide, Heavenly Father.
Then we live out our calling loving others as Christ has loved us. When we realize how much God loves us in spite of us, we are not tempted to be judgmental, because we realize we are just one beggar offering another beggar a piece of bread.
Take some time today to realize how much God loves you and how beautiful the grace of God is in Christ Jesus. Resolve to be a person of grace in all of your dealings with those around you starting with your family, friends and co-workers!
Prayer:
God thank you for sending someone to us like Paul to share the Good News. Help us to be people of Good News, sharing the freedom we have in Christ with all the world! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Galatians 1
1Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2and all the brothers with me,
To the churches in Galatia:
3Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
No Other Gospel
6I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
10Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Observation:
We now begin studying some of Paul’s shorter letters to different churches throughout the Christian world. In this short epistle (6 chapters) to the churches in Galatia (which was Asia Minor – modern day Turkey), Paul immediately addresses what he sees as a perversion of the gospel. In Corinth, Paul had to deal with curbing excesses, or people who were using their freedom in Christ in an unhealthy way. In Galatia, Paul had to deal with legalism, where the churches were putting new laws on the people and not living in the freedom of Christ.
For Paul this is a huge deal. It is a non-negotiable that we are saved by grace through faith. To add works (like being circumcised if they were a new Gentile believer) was perilous to the furthering of the Good News. Paul is less concerned that he or someone else was preaching the gospel, but more adamant that it was the correct gospel being preached. He doesn’t care about the reaction he will get from others about this, because he realizes his call is to serve Christ and not people.
Application:
How do we take the Gospel and turn it into a new law today? It can often be subtle. One of the ways as I have mentioned before is when we are just known for what we are “against” rather than what we are “for”. When this happens, the church is seen as a bunch of judgmental people with lots of rules to get into the club.
What sets apart Christianity from every other religion is the gospel of grace. This is what seized Paul personally, as he encountered Jesus in dramatic fashion on the road to Damascus. Paul was a very religious guy, steeped in the ways and traditions of Judaism. But Jesus said to him, “You think you are doing the right thing but you are really persecuting me!”
Paul had to get correct understanding of the Law and Gospel. The Law condemns us and drives us to Christ, as we realize that we are lost and need help. The Gospel is only good news to us, when we discover we need it. But the foundation of the Gospel is that it is for all people, and you don’t have to do anything to deserve it. God chose us to be His children and sent Jesus to die so we could have a right relationship with Him. This extravagant love when realized by an individual changes their heart and draws them to know God as friend, coach, guide, Heavenly Father.
Then we live out our calling loving others as Christ has loved us. When we realize how much God loves us in spite of us, we are not tempted to be judgmental, because we realize we are just one beggar offering another beggar a piece of bread.
Take some time today to realize how much God loves you and how beautiful the grace of God is in Christ Jesus. Resolve to be a person of grace in all of your dealings with those around you starting with your family, friends and co-workers!
Prayer:
God thank you for sending someone to us like Paul to share the Good News. Help us to be people of Good News, sharing the freedom we have in Christ with all the world! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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