Good News/Bad News

Good News/Bad News

An Introduction to Galatians

Background Passage Galatians Chapter 1

Focal Passage: Galatians 1:1-10

May 7, 2000

Rev. Charles S. Mims

Galatians 1:1 through Galatians 1:10 (KJV)
¹Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) ²And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia: ³Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: ⁵To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

⁶I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: ⁷Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. ⁸But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. ⁹As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

¹⁰For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

Good News and Bad News For a Pastor

Good News: You baptized seven people today in the river.
Bad News: You lost two of them in the swift current.

Good News: The Women's Guild voted to send you a get-well card.
Bad News: The vote passed by 31-30.

Good News: The Elder Board accepted your job description the way
you wrote it.
Bad News: They were so inspired by it, they also formed a search
committee to find somebody capable of filling the position.

Good News: You finally found a choir director who approaches
things exactly the same way you do.
Bad News: The choir mutinied.

Good News: Mrs. Jones is wild about your sermons.
Bad News: Mrs. Jones is also wild about the "Gong Show,"
"The Simpsons" and "Texas Chain Saw Massacre."

Good News: Your women's softball team finally won a game.
Bad News: They beat your men's softball team.

Good News: The trustees finally voted to add more church parking.
Bad News: They are going to blacktop the front lawn of your
parsonage.

Good News: Church attendance rose dramatically the last three
weeks.
Bad News: You were on vacation.

Good News: Your deacons want to send you to the Holy Land.
Bad News: They are stalling until the next war.

Good News: Your biggest critic just left your church.
Bad News: He has been appointed the Head Bishop of your
denomination.

Good News: The youth in your church come to your house for a
surprise visit.
Bad News: It's in the middle of the night and they are armed
with toilet paper and shaving cream to "decorate" your house.

The new Christians at Galatia had a problem within their ranks. These young Christians, who were predominately Greek were faced with a crisis of faith. Jewish Christians who insisted upon adherence to the tenets of the Jewish faith as a precondition to salvation had infiltrated the ranks of the Galatian Christians. These Jewish adherents were trying to say that Paul had given the Galatians an incomplete accounting of the Gospel

It’s obvious that the Galatians were in need of a preacher. The good news, is God supplied them with one. The bad news is that they wouldn’t like what he had to say to them. Paul was shocked at the rapidity with which the Galatians had turned away from the Gospel and perverted its teaching. In the first chapter of Galatians, Paul finds himself defending his own authority before he can even begin to defend the authority of his teachings. The good news was that Paul had the authority to preach, the bad news is he was about to expose the “grumblings” and “groanings” of the early church.

The Good News – They Have A Preacher

When Christian Herter was governor of Massachusetts, he was running hard for a second term in office. One day, after a busy morning chasing votes (and no lunch) he arrived at a church barbecue. It was late afternoon and Herter was famished. As Herter moved down the serving line, he held out his plate to the woman serving chicken. She put a piece on his plate and turned to the next person in line.

"Excuse me," Governor Herter said, "do you mind if I have another piece of chicken?"
"Sorry," the woman told him. "I'm supposed to give one piece of chicken to each person."
"But I'm starved," the governor said.
"Sorry," the woman said again. "Only one to a customer."
Governor Herter was a modest and unassuming man, but he decided that this time he would throw a little weight around.
"Do you know who I am?" he said. "I am the governor of this state."
"Do you know who I am?" the woman said. "I'm the lady in charge of the chicken. Move along, mister."

Bits & Pieces, May 28, 1992, Page 5-6

Before any decisions can be made, it needs to be determined who has authority over a situation. For all his power as Governor of Massachusetts, this man held no authority over the woman in charge of the chicken. She asserted her authority and trumped any claims he might have had.

In the very first verse of Galatians, Paul asserts his authority. He tells us that he has been sent as an apostle, and presents to us his credentials. Paul tells us clearly that God and no one else sent him. James, or Peter, or anyone else did not send him from the Jerusalem church, but rather Jesus Christ Himself commissioned him

Having established himself as a credible authority Paul then tells the Galatian Christians exactly what message he had come to give to them. See Paul was a forthright person, he made no apologies for what he was about to say. In order to make sure that things were clear, Paul tells the Galatians in verse three that he had come to them to preach a message of grace.

I would submit to you today that we in the church need to hear that message of grace. We need to understand more clearly what grace is, and the greatness of it. We sing a song about “Grace, grace, marvelous grace” yet I’m afraid that if we look at the actions of many calling themselves Christians today we are not practicing that grace we like to sing about.

When a person works an eight-hour day and receives a fair day's pay for his time, that is a wage. When a person competes with an opponent and receives a trophy for his performance, that is a prize. When a person receives appropriate recognition for his long service or high achievements, that is an award. But when a person is not capable of earning a wage, can win no prize, and deserves no award--yet receives such a gift anyway--that is a good picture of God's unmerited favor. This is what we mean when we talk about the grace of God.

G.W. Knight, Clip-Art Features for Church Newsletters, p. 53

Even Paul asserted unashamedly that the source of the grace was from God. He tells the Galatian Christians in verse one, and again in verse three that grace comes from God and God alone.

Finally, Paul tells the Galatians why he was sent to them in verses 4-5. If the Galatians were to hear and heed the message that Paul is going to preach in this letter, then they will find themselves delivered from the present evil age.

Especially mark well the words, “for our sins.” For here our weak nature
starts back, and would first be made worthy by her own works. It would bring
him that is whole, and not him that has need of a physician. Not only to redeem
us from the wrath of God, and the curse of the law; but also to recover us from
wicked practices and customs, to which we are naturally enslaved. But it is in
vain for those who are not delivered from this present evil world by the
sanctification of the Spirit, to expect that they are freed from its condemnation by
the blood of Jesus.

Title: Matthew Henrys Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible

Author: Henry, Matthew

We, today, need to be delivered as well. We need to be delivered from the evils of this world, and the message Paul gave to the church at Galatia is a message that we must hear as well.

The Bad News – The Preacher Is Angry!

The good news was that God had supplied a preacher. The bad news was that the preacher intended to preach! Not a watered down, perverted gospel of half truths, and legalistic mumbo-jumbo, but the pure unadulterated gospel given to him by Christ.

Costly Mistakes

A teenager worked as a florist’s delivery boy. One day he had two
arrangements to deliver—one to a church for the dedication of a new building;
the other to a funeral home. He got confused and took each to the wrong location.
The florist received a call from an angry minister. “We’ve got a basket of flowers
in the front of our new sanctuary that says, ‘Rest in Peace.”’ The florist replied,
“You think you’ve got problems! Somewhere in this town there is a casket with
flowers beside it that say, ‘Good luck in your new location.”’ Some mistakes are
more serious than others, but perverting the gospel is the biggest mistake of all.

Title: Sermon Outlines on Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians

Author: Stone, Sam E.

This is the mistake that had been made in Galatia. The gospel truth of faith + nothing = grace had been perverted into faith + Works = salvation. Even in the early days of Christianity false teachings abounded. Paul makes no concession for this teaching, and did not minimize it or pretend it doesn’t matter.

We run into much of the same today with the prevalent social gospel. It manifests itself as a “feel good” “be happy” kind of emotionalism tied into a core of humanism, and it is out and out heresy. Even today, a group of so-called moderate Baptists have written a book with a group of secular humanists and have alleged that the Christian “right” have been intolerant by our insistence that the only way to heaven is through Christ.

Well brothers and sisters, if that makes me intolerant then I’ll have to wear that label with pride, because Jesus Himself said that there is no other way. To say anything else is heresy.

The Galatian Christians were being taught that if they weren’t circumcised or didn’t follow other aspects of Jewish ceremonial law then they couldn’t be Christian. Frankly that’s not what God’s Word says. God’s Word tells us that it is by grace we are admitted into heaven. Any other gospel being preached is in error and ought not be followed.

We have gotten wrapped up in recent years in a cloak of legalism that would do these Jewish Christians proud. Paul needed to remind the early church, and indeed remind us as well that the only reason we can get an audience with God is because of His grace through Christ.

During the building of the Golden Gate Bridge over San Francisco Bay, construction fell badly behind schedule because several workers had accidentally fallen from the scaffolding to their deaths. Engineers and administrators could find no solution to the costly delays. Finally, someone suggested a gigantic net be hung under the bridge to catch any who fell. Finally in spite of the enormous cost, the engineers opted for the net. After it was installed, progress was hardly interrupted. A worker or two fell into the net but were saved. Ultimately, all the time lost to fear was regained by replacing fear with faith in the net. As we paid nothing for God's eternal love and nothing for the Son of His love, and nothing for His Spirit and our grace and faith, and nothing for our eternal rest...What an astonishing thought it will be to think of the unmeasurable difference between our deservings and our receivings. O, how free was all this love, and how free is this enjoyed glory...So then let "Deserved" be written on the floor of hell but on the door of heaven and life.

Richard Baxter, The Free Gift.

The truth, as he explained later (2:15-21), is that all people—Jews or
Gentiles—are saved by faith in Christ, not by obeying the Mosaic law.

Paul, as he states in verse 10, does not come to please men. We would do well to remember this, and to remember that the gospel of Christ will be at odds with the world in which we live. We cannot be all things to all people. We must stand upon the truth of the rock of ages and let our faith remain firm.

We will see Paul’s defense of himself, and of Christ’s gospel in the next few weeks as we study the book of Galatians together. At the end of the study it is my prayer that we will be able to both understand, and live with, grace in our lives.

Rev. Charles Mims

South Peninsula Baptist Church

Daytona Beach, FL