8/19/2018
NO OTHER FAITH! – Pt 2
Galatians 1:11-12 I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
A Life Before Christ Is Anti-Christ
Galatians 1:13 …you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God & tried to destroy it.
Acts 9:1-2
Religious Zeal Is Competitive
Galatians 1:14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age & was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.
Acts 22:3
To Meet Christ Is To Meet One’s Destiny
Galatians 1:15-17 But God, Who set me apart from birth & called me by His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles I did not consult any man nor did I go to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, I went immediately into Arabia & later returned to Damascus.
Your Personal Testimony Is Powerful
Galatians 1:18-24 Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter & stayed with him fifteen days. I saw none of the other apostles only James the Lord’s brother. I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. Later I went to Syria & Cilicia. I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” So they praised God because of me.
Transition To A New Standard Always Encounters Resistance
Galatians 2:1-3 Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. I went in response to a revelation & set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain. Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.
A Servant Of Christ Is Devoted To Christ Not Man
Galatians 2:4-6 This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus & to make us slaves. We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you. As for those who seemed to be important, whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance–those men added nothing to my message.
God Uses Multiple Strategies In Ministry
Galatians 2:7-8 On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the Jews. For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles.
We Must Recognize That God Works Through Others
Galatians 2:9-10 James, Peter & John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me & Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles & they to the Jews. All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do…
Even Apostles Can Sin
Galatians 2:11-12 When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back & separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.
Social Peer Pressure Leads To Spiritual Compromise
Galatians 2:13-14 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile & not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?”
Justification With God Is Based In FAITH IN CHRIST not Religion
Galatians 2:15-16 We who are Jews by birth & not ‘Gentile sinners’ know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we too have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ & not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.
Romans 3:28 …we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.
Romans 10:4 Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
Romans 3:20 …no one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the law…
Hebrews 7:19 …the law made nothing perfect; a better hope is now introduced by which we draw near to God. (Perfection Through Grace)
2 Timothy 1:9 He has saved us & called us to a holy life–not because of anything we have done but because of His own purpose & grace. This grace was given to us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time!
Acts 26:17-18 …I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified BY FAITH IN ME.
Acts 15:8-11 God, Who knows the heart, showed that He accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for He purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.