GALATIANS

Galatians 1:1-9Page 989 in Pew Bibles

1. Paul, an apostle—not from men or by man, but by 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.

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3. Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,

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4. who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

5. to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

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6. I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from Him who called you by the grace of Christ, and are turning to a different gospel—

7. not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to change the gospel of Christ.

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8. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel other than what we have preached to you, a curse be on him!

9. As we have said before, I now say again: if anyone preaches to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him.

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• Recipient: “To the churches of Galatia”• Sender: “Paul, an apostle by Jesus Christ” • Greeting–Standard Greeting: “Rejoice”–Paul’s Greeting: “Grace and Peace”–Distinctively Christian content

How First Century Letters Began and Paul’s Greetings

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• Vs. 3 “Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ”

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PeaceHeals that nagging feeling that

everything is not OK

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William Gurnall

Satan’s Two Main Strategies

His first main design is to draw into sin. The second main design is

to accuse, vex, and trouble the saint for sin.

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People Who Struggle With Peace• The person who has lost hope he can escape the

power of the world’s pull on him• The person haunted by guilt over a sin committed

years ago• The person trapped in bitterness over the way life

has turned out• The person who can’t find it in himself to forgive

another . >

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The Gospel of PeaceFive Descriptions

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1. The Gospel of Resurrection Power

• Vs. 1 “Paul, an apostle—not from men or by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead”

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2. The Gospel of Forgiveness

• Vs. 4 “who gave Himself for our sins…”

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3. The Gospel of Rescue

• Vs. 4 “who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age”

• Rescued from: Hell?• Rescued from “this present evil age”

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4. The Gospel of Grace

• Vs. 6 “[God] who called you by the grace of Christ”

• Vs. 3 “Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ”

Acrostic >

GRACE

God’s

Riches

At

Christ’s

Expense 5 >

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5. The Gospel That’s All of God

• Vs. 5 “to whom be the glory forever and ever.”

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The Troublers of Peace

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Agitators & Disturbers

• Vs. 7 “…there are some who are troubling you and want to change the gospel of Christ.”

• Troubling: To stir or agitate• Disturbing and unsettling: Only the gospel

can bring peace, but they are seeking to disturb their peace

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Agitators and Gospel Changers

• Vs. 7 “not that there is another gospel, but there are some who… want to change the gospel of Christ.”

• Change the gospel? To what?

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False Gospel = Christ Plus

• 6:12, Weymouth “All who desire to display their zeal for external observances try to compel you to receive circumcision, but their real object is simply to escape being persecuted for the Cross of Christ.”

• Their Idea: To become a Christian, Jesus is not enough; you have to become a Jew first

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Ways People Try to Add to Jesus• Depending on my works in part to save me:

“I believe in Jesus and I have lived a good life”• Adding “another” book of teachings on “par

with” the Bible• Adding rules on top of the Bible that will make

me a “better Christian”• Believing things I do make me “spiritual” >

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False Gospel = Personal Desertion

• Vs. 6 “I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from Him who called you by the grace of Christ, and are turning to a different gospel”

• You are not merely changing to a different philosophy… you are deserting Jesus

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False Gospel: Shocking!

• Vs. 6 “I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from Him who called you by the grace of Christ, and are turning to a different gospel”

• We expect to take occasional casualties in the church, but this was a whole region of churches

• People who could remember what the difference Jesus had made in their lives

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False Gospel: Unforgivable!

• Vs. 8-9, NIV “But 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! As 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!” >

Really?Hell for a Difference

of Religious Opinion?

Arrogant?

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Peace is God’s Will for You

• Vs. 3-5 “Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father”

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The Good News

Jesus is not only necessary;Jesus is enough!

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