Galatians 1, 1 through 5. Now, beloved, hear now the word of the Lord. Paul, an apostle, sent not from man nor by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father who raised him from the dead. and all the brothers with me to the churches in Galatia, grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Let's pray together. Our Father, we thank you for the privilege of Being in your word this morning, hearing the glorious gospel, we pray that your spirit would work in our hearts to receive these, not simply as words, but words that would draw us to you in faith and love. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. The Apostle Paul had stalkers, theological stalkers, a stalker is defined as a person who harasses or persecutes someone with unwanted or obsessive attention. That's actually what was happening to the Apostle Paul as he went out into the world to preach the gospel and to start churches. There was a group of men, excuse me, a group of men in Jerusalem not happy with the Apostle Paul. And these men were actually part of the church in Jerusalem. We are introduced to this group in Acts chapter 15, verse 1, where it says, certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers, unless you are circumcised according to Moses, you cannot be saved. Now this was from within the church in Jerusalem. And so they went over to Antioch, and that was a Gentile church for the most part. And they began teaching that the men, of course, must be circumcised in order to fully experience God's salvation. And so what they were saying is, you've made a good start, but you haven't done enough. There's one more thing you have to do to fully experience God's salvation. They were still hanging on to the old covenant to the Old Testament mosaic law, to circumcision. And we see in Acts 15, verse 2, what happened as a result, where it says, this brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So from the very beginning, the apostle Paul stood up to this group within the church, and they went toe to toe, which I would have loved to have been there for those debates between Paul and this group. So they already had tension with Paul from very early on when the church even started in Jerusalem. Now, we learn more about this group later in Acts 15 at a council when they discussed all these matters together. And it says, then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, the Gentiles must be circumcised, and they are required to keep the law of Moses. So after fighting or arguing with the apostle Paul, they were not giving in. So at a gathering of the apostle and elders, they stood up, and they stated very clearly their position, even though Paul had already informed them that they were in error. So we find out a little bit more about them, that these were Pharisees, like Paul, who had come to know the Lord, or at least were professing to know Jesus. They had joined the church, but now they were standing up and objecting to what Paul was preaching throughout the world. Now, the apostles themselves rejected this group. They sent out a letter as a result of the meeting, and it says, Verse 24, the apostles wrote, we have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and were disturbing you by what they were saying. In other words, this group that's going around, they're saying they're from us, but they're really not from us. We didn't send them. They're speaking on their own. Now, they stood up to Paul. They stood up then to the apostles when the apostles told them they were wrong. But they didn't give up. They were insistent. And they actually kept growing as a group. They are known now as the Judaizers. If you ever hear that term in theology, that is this group of men, the Judaizers. And so they are very angry now with Paul for, in a sense, turning the tide of what they thought would happen when the gospel spread. And so even though the apostles spoke against them, instead of giving up, they started a plan B. They came up with what they thought was a great idea. And this is where the stalking comes into play. They found out every church that Paul planted around the world. And they would send a group of men to go to that church. After Paul left, they didn't want to go toe-to-toe with Paul again. They would wait till he left. Then they would send a group. And they would begin to preach their views. And they would say, Paul didn't finish what he started. We'll finish what he started and explain the truth to you. They became stalkers because all around the world, Paul would plan a church. He would be there for a while. He would move on to the next church or the next area. And then these men would move in. There are some scholars that actually believe that when Paul speaks of his thorn in the flesh, that it was this group. that this is what he kept asking the Lord, why? Every time I plant a church, things are going well, I leave, and this group comes in to ruin everything. Why does this keep happening over and over? It may not be his thorn in the flesh, but they certainly were a thorn in his flesh. And so we see when we come to the beginning of Galatians, that's what had happened in the churches in Galatia. that they had arrived after he left, and they began to convince the people that they had not quite done enough. It wasn't enough to simply believe in Jesus, to be forgiven and saved, and be part of God's people. There was one more thing they had to do, and that was to adopt the Mosaic Law as their law, and therefore become part of Israel. And so notice in chapter 1, verse 6, how serious this is. Paul writes, 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. Chapter 2, verse 4, he says of these men, these men are false believers, and they had infiltrated our ranks to spy on our freedoms, which we have in Jesus Christ. and to make us slaves, slaves to the law, now that they had been freed. Now, as we come to the book of 1 Corinthians, what do we find out? In Corinth, after he had left, and this is a whole other continent away, they had sent another group from Jerusalem. And they were there. And they began turning the hearts of those new Christians. back to their view. And so in 2 Corinthians 11, 4, Paul writes, for if someone comes to you and preaches a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. Now, this raises a question I want to ask you this morning, which will lead us into the introduction to Galatians. Why are these new Christians so susceptible to this group of men? Why is it that Paul led them to Christ? They believed in Christ for salvation. They were growing in their faith. They found now they loved God. They loved one another. Things were going well. Paul leaves. These men come in and they begin to be, they are susceptible to this new teaching, even though Paul himself had taught them. Well, one of the reasons, the first reason is because their message was very subtle. They didn't come in and say, Paul is a false apostle. Everything he said was wrong. What they would say is something like, Paul isn't all bad. Yes, he had a good start. He came to Christ. But you see, when he went out into the Gentile world, he made things a bit too easy because he wanted a hearing. So he left out a few things in his gospel. He gave you a good start. He told you about Jesus. He told you you could be forgiven. That's good. But he left something out. There's something you have to do to fully experience God's salvation. If you really want his blessing, if you want to know he's your father, then you must take this one step. They were susceptible, like Eve was susceptible to Satan. That's the same type of temptation in the garden. Now, they also were susceptible of it because we are all a little suspicious when something is free. Right? Didn't you teach your kids this? When you got into the world, If anyone offers anything free, be suspect. Because there are probably strings attached, there are probably conditions you don't know about, or it's probably so cheap, that's why they're giving it away free. In this life, we are suspicious of anything that's offered to us freely. We think it's easier if we have to pay a little bit for it, or if there's something we must do. And so the Gospel comes as a free gift, There's nothing we can do but trust in Christ for salvation. It's a free offer of eternal life and forgiveness. And we're tempted to think, well, surely there's something we can do. There's got to be a little bit that we can add to make sure that we are right with God. And so we are always tempted to fall back into the way the world views religion, which is building sort of a connection to God through what we do. And so they were tempted by this message, even though they had heard the gospel from the Apostle Paul. And then thirdly, everybody wants to be blessed, right? And so when these men came and said, if you really want God's blessing, then do this one more thing. Well, we're all tempted to do what we need to do to be blessed by God. And remember, they were already outcasts in society. They were lowly. They were not getting preferential treatment. They would be maligned and ridiculed. So they already felt like separated and disconnected. So when this group of men said, do you really want to be connected? Do you really want to be part of the in group with God? then join this community, then do this one thing. By the way, all cults and cult-like groups, that's their sales pitch. That if you come and come to our church or you move up here with us, we are experiencing God's blessing because of the way we do certain things. So if you want God's blessing, join us. So they were as susceptible to this temptation as Christians are today. Now that brings us to our introduction. And by the way, that's probably the longest introduction to a sermon I've ever given to apostles. But when we come to the introductions of Galatians, the way this is written already, Paul is going to show in five ways why this false teaching is so dangerous. And he's going to refute it very subtly now, because it's only an introduction. But I want you to see the five ways first by what is missing. When Paul writes his epistles, every time except for now, he begins with a thanksgiving, not only to God, but for the Christians. So for example, if you're familiar with 1 Corinthians, the church was a mess. I mean, they had so many problems. But here's how he begins 1 Corinthians. I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you. And so even as messed up as they were, he thanked God for them. Philippians 1, 3, I thank my God upon every remembrance of you. And yet when we come to the book of Galatians, where's the thanksgiving? They would have recognized something's missing because letters normally started with a thanksgiving for the people that he's speaking to. And yet it's not there. Notice how terse verse 2 begins. to the churches of Galatia. That is not how you normally write a letter, unless something is going on that is so serious that Paul doesn't even feel thankful right now for what they're doing for them. And so by what is missing, that would have stood out of the error that they had adopted. Secondly, notice how Paul expands upon the terms here He normally lets stand alone. Normally, Paul begins a letter like this. Paul an apostle, or Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ. But notice how he begins it here. Paul an apostle, not from men, nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead. That would have stood out, because that's highly unusual. Well, what's going on? Well, Paul is already responding to the criticism of these men. These men would be saying, Paul distorted the message a bit. He left some things out. And so we're straightening out his message. Notice Paul's response already. I couldn't have distorted the message because I received it directly from Christ. They would have said something like, the apostles tried to set him straight. Trust us, we used to live in Jerusalem. But Paul went off a bit to make it easy. Paul's response, I couldn't have distorted it from the apostles because I didn't get it from the apostles. Christ appeared to me himself. And by the way, the father was present because he sits at the right hand of the father. So are you sure you want to suggest that the message was distorted. Because that message I gave you of the free grace of God was directly from the throne of heaven. So be careful what you're suggesting. The third way he does it is when he writes, the brethren who are with me greet you. Normally that type of thing waits till the end. of his letter. But Paul is subtly providing an encouragement to the Galatians. I know you feel like outcasts in society. I know it's difficult to be a Christian. But you're not alone. And you don't have to join Israel. You don't have to commit to the Mosaic Law. Because by believing in Christ, you already have a family. The brethren who are with me greet you. You have a family already all around the world, and the reason you're in this family is because you believed in Christ for salvation, not because you followed what these men are telling you. Now, the fourth way Paul refutes the Judaizers is how Paul uses the word father three times in four verses. never done anywhere else in his epistles. Verse 1, my apostleship came from God the Father. Verse 3, grace and peace from God the Father. Verse 4, according to the will of our God and Father. Very unique. Again, that would have stood out. They would have asked, what is Paul doing? You see, the Judaizers were saying, if you really want God as your Father, Then join Israel. Come under the Mosaic Law. The men be circumcised. What is Paul saying? God is already your Father because you believed in Christ for salvation. You don't need to do anything to make God your Father besides believing in Christ. He already is. The grace and peace of verse 3, that's an official declaration from God the Father. God is saying to you, you have my grace and you have peace with me because you have believed in Jesus, not because you're about to take this next step of coming under the Mosaic law and joining Israel. Jesus did everything to make you in God's family and to have him be your father, the father be yours. Now the fifth and final way that Paul's introduction refutes these false teachers is in verse four. This very unique phrase, Jesus who gave himself for our sins so that he might rescue us from this present evil age. The accusation would have been, Paul is not really explaining to you how to make sure you remain in God's care. The only way you can be faithful to God is to obey the Mosaic law. The Mosaic Law has to become your law, just like it was for Israel in the Old Testament. That is the way God keeps you from this present evil age. But notice how Paul refutes that here. It is Christ's death that delivered us from this present evil age. He looks to the past. What Christ has done That is what gives us the strength. Because when we believe in Jesus, God gives us his Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit gives us the strength to walk before God. And so they're looking at what they have to do. And what does Paul write? Christ delivered us already from this age. It is his work that made all the difference, that made us a new creation in this world. Now, these Christians should have known better. Yes, they were newer Christians. But what were they like? What were the Gentiles like? Well, in those days, if you grew up a Gentile, you were very sexually immoral. You had done all kinds of things in that world that we can't even mention this morning. You had worshipped other gods, all kinds of sacrifices, rituals, idolatry. They had believed in Jesus when Paul preached the gospel of free grace, and they weren't doing that anymore. They already were living for the Lord. The Spirit had entered them when they believed, and the Holy Spirit gave them a new life, new desires. And so they knew better than to fall back and think there's something we have to do to make sure that we walk right with God. Now, notice how Paul ends the introduction. He ends the greeting with a doxology. And you've heard this word already, but I'll say it again. That's unique with the Apostle Paul's epistles. When do doxologies usually happen? In the letters. At the end of the letter, or sometimes toward the end of the letter. This is the first time, right in the introduction, We already have a doxology. According to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen. You see, in verse six, he is going to give the sharpest rebuke we've ever seen to the churches, that they are abandoning the gospel, a very serious charge. But before he does, he wants to start them off lifting their minds to the glory of God. because of the gospel of grace. Paul is lifting their minds. In the gospel of grace, God receives all the glory because he does it all to save us. And so we are able to join Paul, and that's what he wanted them to do. That's what amen means, by the way. That's you saying, I agree. So he wants them who receive the letter and you to say amen. to this chorus that God has accomplished our full salvation through what Christ did for us. Now, I want to close this with three applications of this introduction. The first one is, and it's obvious right from the passage, do not be deceived by those who would add conditions to the gospel. Now, you might say, well, that would never happen to us today. We understand our theology. We understand what justification is. We believe in Christ, and we're saved. And we have all kinds of safeguards. We have ordinations to make sure men get it right. We even have confessions. We have presbytery. We have all these things that are, this could never happen. Well, guess what they had in the first century? Apostles. You couldn't get a better safeguard than an apostle, somebody who actually was with Christ, who had the authority of Christ to write the word of God. And yet, right in the midst of all these apostles, this group forms with another gospel within the church. If it can happen to them, it can happen anywhere, and it does. And so remember, even within the church, people struggle with something being free. When you explain that the gospel is free, there's nothing we can do but trust in Christ, that bothers some. And so what they want to do is they want to add a but. Yes, God forgives you, but you must. And they'll always find something to add. You have to do this. There's always a condition. And then, of course, the big worry is, if you explain it as free, well, isn't someone going to take advantage of it? And they'll just like it, but then live a life of sin? Yes, and that's their problem before God. But we don't change the terms of the gospel because somebody else somewhere misuses it. We keep what the Bible says. And so in the gospel, Christ has done it all. You cannot do anything, so you have to trust in Him for salvation. Now, why would God give such a wonderful free gift, with no strings attached, no conditions, such a free gift to people like us? Because God loves to lavish free gifts on people. That's his nature. Don't you like to give free gifts to people? It's much easier to give a gift than to receive a gift, right? We struggle with receiving something free because we think we have to somehow earn it. But we do like to give. Well, that giving comes from the nature of God. And so there will be some within every church denomination that want to rob you of the freedom you have in Christ. They will try to add conditions that if you really want to be blessed, if you really want to know you're right with God, there's something you have to do added to trusting in Christ. But do not be deceived by this. Do not play around with justification by faith alone, with salvation by faith alone. Now secondly, the second application is, when God gives you an opportunity, if he does, to share what you believe with others, please don't get this wrong. Make sure you get the gospel right. If you tell a non-Christian they have to reform their life, they have to change their ways, and that's how they're accepted by God, then you're saying exactly what these Judaizers said, that Paul called a false gospel. When you're explaining the gospel to others, you have to explain that this is a free gift from God, that there's nothing they can do to earn it or to work their way into it better, that they just have to open their hands and receive, by faith, this free gift. Now why is it free to us? Well, it costs Jesus everything, right? He's the one that had to bear our sins and suffer on the cross for us. So we cannot add works to any of our explanation of the gospel. Yes, God changes our hearts when we believe. because he gives us his spirit. And now we will want to obey and serve God. But even that comes as a gift of the gospel, a free gift of grace. Now, it's an urgent message because to reject God's offer and God's love has eternal consequences. But when you explain the gospel, be very clear, this is a free offer from God, and there's nothing you can do besides believing in Jesus, because he did it all. And then thirdly and finally, do not deceive yourself, because this is our nature. We struggle with the gospel no matter how long we have been Christians. Sometimes it's too good to be true for us. And don't we tell people that if it's too good to be true? What do we usually say? It probably is. And in most things in this world, that's right. Because it's a fallen world. But when it comes to what God gives us, it's not too good to be true. But we struggle with it. And so when we feel guilty, when we feel far from God, we begin to think maybe the terms have changed. Maybe there's more I can do. Maybe I haven't done enough. Instead of looking to Christ, we look at what we can add to make sure we're blessed of God, to make sure we're safe with Him. So we're tempted by pride or we're tempted by despair, thinking we haven't done enough, we're not as good as others, and so what can we do or add? So we have the same temptations as these early Christians. You're not more spiritual than they were for being susceptible to walking away from grace alone. We all struggle with it. That's why Paul wrote, under the inspiration of the Spirit, the book of Galatians. So the goal of all this is that when we understand more and more the free gift of grace in the gospel, our free salvation not by works, Then we join the chorus of this doxology. Unto God be all the glory forevermore. Amen. Let's pray.