“No Other Gospel” (Galatians 1:1-10)

What this episode covers

No Other Gospel (1:1-10) Over six years ago we held our first public worship services with a series on Galatians. The context of the letter seemed like an appropriate starting point. Paul was a church planter. After his conversion he set out on three different missionary journeys in which he planted churches in the provinces of Galatia, Asia, Macedonia, and Achaia. After planting these churches Paul wrote letters of encouragement, instruction, and sometimes rebuke. Galatians is probably the first letter he wrote of this kind. It was written to a group of churches in the the southern region of Galatia. Paul had visited the region once or twice during his first missionary journey (Acts 13-14). He preached the Gospel there and established several churches. The letter was initially sent to one church, read to the congregation, then passed on to be read in the next congregation. Since his last visit false teachers, known as the Judiazers, came through the area and taught a message that was contrary to the one Paul preached. They called into question Paul’s apostolic authority and taught the Galatians “a different gospel.” Primarily, their message was that faith in Christ was only the start of becoming a Christian. In order to be accepted by God they must also be circumcised. Fundamentally, this letter is about the basis for our relationship with God. The Galatians began to rely upon their ceremonial obedience—especially their circumcision—but all of us are tempted to base our relationship with God on what we do rather than what Christ has done. We feel justified when we’ve gone to church or had our daily quiet time. We feel condemned and unworthy of God’s love when we fall into sin. Galatians is a strong rebuke of making the gospel about our works. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Anything else is NOT the Gospel! Read Galatians 1:1-10 Notice how quickly Paul jumps to the point of his letter. Actually, we could summarize the letter with two words from the greeting – “apostle” and “grace.” Paul wrote the letter of Galatians as a defense of his apostolic authority and a defense of the gospel of grace. Some have condemned Paul’s tone. They suggest that he is far too harsh with his language. They imagine Paul to be shouting at the top of his lungs, wagging and pointing his finger and scowling at his readers. But Paul’s tone is more like that of a distressed father yelling at his son who has wandered into the street with oncoming traffic. To remain calm on an occasion like that would be unthinkable. Have you seen Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? The one starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka? Remember the moment they are in the all-white Wonka Vision room and they are wearing all-white onsies with white goggles? Mike Teevee decides he wants to be transmitted by the oversized camera onto the television. Mr. Wonka tells him there might be some “messy results” as it involves being broken up into a million pieces. But Mike Teevee ignores the warning so Wonka nonchalantly replies, “Stop. Don’t. Come back.” Wonka’s calm demeanor implies a dark disinterest in the child’s safety. The boy’s mother was in hysterics, but Wonka could not have cared less. Paul could never be accused of not caring. He simply cannot remain calm when his own children in the faith are deserting their only hope. The consequences of their actions are eternal. The word “gospel” is found five times in this passage. So we’ll consider three aspects of that theme this morning: The Source of the Gospel (1-2)The Heart of the Gospel (3-5)The Exclusivity of the Gospel (6-10). 1. The Source of the Gospel (1-2) Paul’s apostleship comes from God, not man (1). The only reason Paul would need to state this is because—at least some of—the Galatians were questioning his authority. Paul explains himself further in verse 11. But we should recognize at this point the unique qualifications of an ‘apostle’. This is w

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