Connection Fellowship
May 24, 2009
The Best Defense is a Changed Life
Galatians 1:11-24
May 24, 2009
The Best Defense is a Changed Life
Galatians 1:11-24
Revelation [Ch. 7] tells us that there will come a day when people from every tongue, tribe, and nation will bow before the throne of God and cry out in praise to the Lamb of God Who brought salvation to the world. This is a very foreign message to those in our culture who find it very difficult to see past their present circumstance, or find it impossible to believe that the God of the Universe could provide salvation by grace, through faith [Eph. 2:8] in a gift, without doing something to earn it or keep it.
This difficulty is not just found in the faculty club on an Ivy League college campus. No, it has been (and is still) found in religious movements and in churches all around this country and around the world…and it is called legalism.
Last week, as we began our series of messages in the book of Galatians, we saw that the Apostle Paul is refuting this false teaching (by Jewish traditionalists) that has infiltrated the churches in the area now known as modern Turkey. He began by reminding them that GRACE and PEACE only come from knowing Christ. They are not experienced through keeping a human standard, but by pursuing a Holy God. The true freedom that Christ desires for us to experience, (from our sin) is not found in either the bondage of frustration in religious exercise, nor in the guilt of living for self. Instead, GRACE and PEACE come from a life daily surrendered to God.
As Paul was delivering this message, he was also under attack from those who were in both camps: religious legalists and personal freedom fighters. Both would try to discredit him, as well as those who would genuinely try to follow Christ. If we are not careful, we can end up in personal bondage because of the pressure of others. For some of you today, that pressure can come from unbelieving family, friends, or co-workers. It could also come from religious acquaintances who try to get you to live in the box of their legalism. Either way, we can feel trapped in our desire to Live in the Freedom that Christ died for and that God intends for us.
So how are we supposed to Live in Freedom among those who would try to have us live under their personal bondage or religious pressure? Let’s read together:
TEXT [Galatians 1:11-24]
11 For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. 12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it; 14 and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions. 15 But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased 16 to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus. 18 Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. 20 (Now in what I am writing to you, I assure you before God that I am not lying.) 21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which were in Christ; 23 but only, they kept hearing, “He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they were glorifying God because of me.
One of my favorite types of movies is a ‘lawyer’ movie. And one of my favorite lawyer movies is “A Few Good Men”. Tom Cruise has made a career of negotiating and settling cases privately. But in this movie, he is faced with the pressure of the military to ‘settle’, while battling the fears of his past and the principles of right to fight for justice. At one point in his preparation, a friends says, “I think I just heard you make an argument.”
There are times in our Christian life that we need to ‘make an argument’. But see how Paul makes his argument for the reality of Living in Freedom through Christ. Just like surrender does not seem to make sense, Paul’s approach may not make sense to most people either.
First, he argues the case of his ‘got it from’. In vs. 11-12, he says he got this message, (not from school or teacher), but from Jesus Christ Himself. He says, “They did not teach this where I grew up and went to school. In fact, they taught just the opposite…and I was a really good student.”
In vs. 13-14, he argues the case of his ‘used to be’. He had a reputation as an excellent, legalistic Jew. And he was so passionately committed to it that he works with all his influence to destroy the very thing that he now so passionately advocates and teaches…the Gospel of Christ. But how could this zealous persecutor of Christians change? It’s in the ‘but’.
V. 15 begins with the words, “But God…” Then Paul tells what he was ‘made to be’. God’s intersection and collision with Paul’s life revealed to him Who God really was and turned him into a messenger of the Gospel to the Gentiles (those despised by religious Jews of whom he had been a part.)
In v. 16-22, Paul that who he was ‘made to be’ was not just a philosophical change that came about through study or reflection. It was not through an education received from other believers. He says, “Check out the history…it can be verified…God as my witness…I am telling you the truth.” We have this whole story in the Book of Acts – Chapter 9.
Then in v. 23-24, he ends with the case of ‘because of me’. It is not an argument of, “because of me there are all of these churches or converts.” No, he says, “because of the change they have seen in my life and the fruit that this life-transformation is reaping…they are glorifying God.” The same man who tried to destroy the Gospel is now preaching that same Gospel…to the point of being persistently persecuted himself. Only God could do that!
My parents are here this morning and they may have a bit different perspective on what I am about to say. But, honestly…I was a pretty good, religious person when I became a follower of Christ. The difference in my life, behaviorally, may not have even been that noticeable to many people. I used to envy people who may have had a more ‘dramatic’ life transformation than I did. But listen to me!
My ‘got it from’ was the same as Paul’s. The Holy Creator God intersected and collided with my life and revealed Himself to me…and in me and gave me His PEACE by His GRACE through my FAITH that, (by the way) He gave me as well.
And He turned my ‘used to be’, which was a religious, legalistic kid who really only cared about getting my way and doing thing my way…because I thought it was the best way to make me and everyone else happy with me. And for the past 31 years, the same God has been putting me through ‘me, myself, and I de-tox’.
And just like Paul, the same holds true for me: “But God…” But God who knew me in my mother’s womb [Jeremiah 1:5], has taken my ‘plan to be’ and has been working out His plan for me (which, by the way, is much better than my plan for me) [Jeremiah 29:11]. And anyone who knew my plan can see that my ‘plan to be’ is certainly not what I was ‘made to be’ because of that phrase, “But God…”
And the truth is that my plan…and what I ‘used to be’ had quite a bit of focus on ‘look at me’. But any credibility that I could make for my life, my ministry, or my presentation of the Gospel is held in this argument: For those who know me, just possibly, ‘because of me’ there are others whose lives have been transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ…and (just like Paul)…‘only God could have done that.’
Just as living in freedom comes through surrender and not by accomplishment, we gain confidence and credibility in that freedom by the fact that only God could have changed our lives like that.
Living in freedom is verified by the fact that only God
could have made that change in your transformed life.
Has there been a change in your life that can only be attributed to God? If not, then you have not met Christ personally…because He will change you. It is inevitable. And I am praying for that collision to happen today. And if He has, are you living in the freedom of that verified change, or are you still trying to prove it by yourself? Stop living in that bondage and live in freedom today - every day of your journey in His grace and peace.
This difficulty is not just found in the faculty club on an Ivy League college campus. No, it has been (and is still) found in religious movements and in churches all around this country and around the world…and it is called legalism.
Last week, as we began our series of messages in the book of Galatians, we saw that the Apostle Paul is refuting this false teaching (by Jewish traditionalists) that has infiltrated the churches in the area now known as modern Turkey. He began by reminding them that GRACE and PEACE only come from knowing Christ. They are not experienced through keeping a human standard, but by pursuing a Holy God. The true freedom that Christ desires for us to experience, (from our sin) is not found in either the bondage of frustration in religious exercise, nor in the guilt of living for self. Instead, GRACE and PEACE come from a life daily surrendered to God.
As Paul was delivering this message, he was also under attack from those who were in both camps: religious legalists and personal freedom fighters. Both would try to discredit him, as well as those who would genuinely try to follow Christ. If we are not careful, we can end up in personal bondage because of the pressure of others. For some of you today, that pressure can come from unbelieving family, friends, or co-workers. It could also come from religious acquaintances who try to get you to live in the box of their legalism. Either way, we can feel trapped in our desire to Live in the Freedom that Christ died for and that God intends for us.
So how are we supposed to Live in Freedom among those who would try to have us live under their personal bondage or religious pressure? Let’s read together:
TEXT [Galatians 1:11-24]
11 For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. 12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it; 14 and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions. 15 But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased 16 to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus. 18 Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. 20 (Now in what I am writing to you, I assure you before God that I am not lying.) 21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which were in Christ; 23 but only, they kept hearing, “He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they were glorifying God because of me.
One of my favorite types of movies is a ‘lawyer’ movie. And one of my favorite lawyer movies is “A Few Good Men”. Tom Cruise has made a career of negotiating and settling cases privately. But in this movie, he is faced with the pressure of the military to ‘settle’, while battling the fears of his past and the principles of right to fight for justice. At one point in his preparation, a friends says, “I think I just heard you make an argument.”
There are times in our Christian life that we need to ‘make an argument’. But see how Paul makes his argument for the reality of Living in Freedom through Christ. Just like surrender does not seem to make sense, Paul’s approach may not make sense to most people either.
First, he argues the case of his ‘got it from’. In vs. 11-12, he says he got this message, (not from school or teacher), but from Jesus Christ Himself. He says, “They did not teach this where I grew up and went to school. In fact, they taught just the opposite…and I was a really good student.”
In vs. 13-14, he argues the case of his ‘used to be’. He had a reputation as an excellent, legalistic Jew. And he was so passionately committed to it that he works with all his influence to destroy the very thing that he now so passionately advocates and teaches…the Gospel of Christ. But how could this zealous persecutor of Christians change? It’s in the ‘but’.
V. 15 begins with the words, “But God…” Then Paul tells what he was ‘made to be’. God’s intersection and collision with Paul’s life revealed to him Who God really was and turned him into a messenger of the Gospel to the Gentiles (those despised by religious Jews of whom he had been a part.)
In v. 16-22, Paul that who he was ‘made to be’ was not just a philosophical change that came about through study or reflection. It was not through an education received from other believers. He says, “Check out the history…it can be verified…God as my witness…I am telling you the truth.” We have this whole story in the Book of Acts – Chapter 9.
Then in v. 23-24, he ends with the case of ‘because of me’. It is not an argument of, “because of me there are all of these churches or converts.” No, he says, “because of the change they have seen in my life and the fruit that this life-transformation is reaping…they are glorifying God.” The same man who tried to destroy the Gospel is now preaching that same Gospel…to the point of being persistently persecuted himself. Only God could do that!
My parents are here this morning and they may have a bit different perspective on what I am about to say. But, honestly…I was a pretty good, religious person when I became a follower of Christ. The difference in my life, behaviorally, may not have even been that noticeable to many people. I used to envy people who may have had a more ‘dramatic’ life transformation than I did. But listen to me!
My ‘got it from’ was the same as Paul’s. The Holy Creator God intersected and collided with my life and revealed Himself to me…and in me and gave me His PEACE by His GRACE through my FAITH that, (by the way) He gave me as well.
And He turned my ‘used to be’, which was a religious, legalistic kid who really only cared about getting my way and doing thing my way…because I thought it was the best way to make me and everyone else happy with me. And for the past 31 years, the same God has been putting me through ‘me, myself, and I de-tox’.
And just like Paul, the same holds true for me: “But God…” But God who knew me in my mother’s womb [Jeremiah 1:5], has taken my ‘plan to be’ and has been working out His plan for me (which, by the way, is much better than my plan for me) [Jeremiah 29:11]. And anyone who knew my plan can see that my ‘plan to be’ is certainly not what I was ‘made to be’ because of that phrase, “But God…”
And the truth is that my plan…and what I ‘used to be’ had quite a bit of focus on ‘look at me’. But any credibility that I could make for my life, my ministry, or my presentation of the Gospel is held in this argument: For those who know me, just possibly, ‘because of me’ there are others whose lives have been transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ…and (just like Paul)…‘only God could have done that.’
Just as living in freedom comes through surrender and not by accomplishment, we gain confidence and credibility in that freedom by the fact that only God could have changed our lives like that.
Living in freedom is verified by the fact that only God
could have made that change in your transformed life.
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