From Persecuting to Preaching Christ Rolling Hills Church
Gal 1:10-24[1] 30 May 2010
Two weeks ago we opened Galatians and covered the first five verses to learn the author, recipients, and the greeting. Last week we zeroed in on Gal 1:6-12 and let four words outline the message: astonished, accursed, approval, and authority. When I taught about Paul I brought out the need to emphasize his credentials to the Galatian churches. Paul's credentials and call being critical to his message being received. This week we'll dig deeper on that.
Gal 1:10-24
10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
11 For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel.
12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
13 For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it.
14 And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.
15 But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace,
16 was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone;
17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.
18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days.
19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord's brother.
20 (In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!)
21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.
22 And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ.
23 They only were hearing it said, "He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy."
24 And they glorified God because of me. Shall we pray?
How many of you have a china cabinet? It's a deal where you take the dishes you value most and you put them away, often on display for their beauty and worth; but you eat your meals on the Walmart plates, right? Some china sets are passed down from generation to generation having only been looked at, packed, shipped, and stored, but never used. Hold that thought there, OK? We'll come back to that.
Let's step back from this text for a minute to see a bigger picture of the book of Galatians:
- Chapter One: There is only one gospel, and it comes from Christ Himself: accursed is anyone who preaches another.
- Chapter Two: The apostles confirm Paul's gospel, and it is bigger than the apostles: it is about grace (justification of the wicked) alone through faith alone in Christ alone
- Chapter Three: Faith/promise contrasted with the law
- Chapter Four: Faith/promise illustrated through sons and slaves
- Chapter Five: Freedom in the Spirit: walk in the Spirit
- Chapter Six: Instruction after rebuke: Fulfill the Law of Christ, and boast only in the cross
The overarching message of this book is that Grace (and that includes justification) comes through faith alone in Christ alone.
Today we want to focus on the truth that Christ saved Paul, gave Him the gospel, and called Paul to preach the gospel to the Gentiles,
Three phases of Paul's life are shown here, and we're wise to consider them for a few minutes together:
Pre-conversion: Persecuting the Church
Acts 8:1-3 And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.
Acts 9:1-2 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
Acts 22:4 I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women,
Acts 26:9-11 "I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities.
Paul also referred to his own guilt in 1 Cor 15, Phil 3, and 1 Tim 1. There is no question that this man was directly, violently opposed to the church – even to the point of death for believers. He wants to establish this truth, and I am doing the same today: before his conversion to faith in Christ, Saul persecuted the church to the death.
Conversion: Saul's take-down and call on the road to Damascus
Acts 9:3-9 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do." The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
This is the actual story of Saul's conversion, and it's told again in chapters 22 and 26 of Acts as Paul defends his gospel. I think we can agree on a couple of things about Saul's conversion to faith in Christ, three to be sure:
1) His conversion isn't a standard procedure. In other words, we can see that others in the Bible weren't converted in the same manner, and neither were most of us. Neither off of a horse nor out of a car nor off of a path of great persecution of Christians were most of us saved, but certainly from our opposition .
2) Saul's conversion was definitely a sovereign act of God. God alone saved Saul; you couldn't rightly call him a seeker, would you agree? And God had a plan before saving Saul; it wasn't a random act, and it was far bigger than saving a few Jews in Damascus from unpleasantness. "But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone;".
3) Something had been bothering him about this Christ. Listen to the phrase Jesus used (Paul quoted only here) in Acts 26:14. '…It is hard for you to kick against the goads.' Goads. Possibly the testimonies of Stephen and others, their faith, their Christ-like suffering as he himself had persecuted them. Goads. Conviction? Was he regenerate and fighting it?
Post conversion: Paul received the gospel, preached the gospel, and was persecuted for preaching the gospel.
Mark of an apostle: walked with Christ three years, received the gospel from Christ, and was sent out by Jesus to preach this gospel. Acts 1:21-22 So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us [three years] --one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection."
So here's Saul's story: converted, spent three years alone with Christ receiving the gospel, and then began preaching Christ in earnest. His gospel, when he did go to Jerusalem, perfectly matched the gospel Peter was preaching. But we must keep this in mind: This gospel is bigger than both of these men. The church subsequently lost sight of this, and we'll consider that more next week.
Paul has a simple, three-fold emphasis here in verses 10-24 of chapter one:
- My call is from God. God is the one who saved and called me, through Christ
- My message is from God. This gospel was given to me by Christ; it was a revelation from Him, not man.
- God is glorified as I have obeyed Him.
The only possible reason he would go from persecuting Christ to preaching Christ is Christ! He saved Saul and called him to preach the message of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone! Saving persecutors and calling them to preach Christ glorifies God.
Now here is why Paul is writing this:
False teachers had obviously corrupted not only the gospel message but also the gospel messenger as much as they could in the eyes of the young converts. They gained a hearing in these churches by saying , "The message was incomplete and the messenger was insincere."
So Paul is writing this portion to boldly clarify this:
There was no need to question his motive, as false teachers surely had assumed. He was certainly diligent in persecuting Christ before He became diligent in preaching Christ. No way was this a man-pleasing, money-making scheme!
There was no need to question his message, as false teachers surely had accused. This gospel had come from Christ alone.
What do we take away from this message today?
Christ alone gives the gospel, and it is always over the messenger. This isn't about Paul or Peter, or about James or any early-church preacher; this is first and foremost about the gospel!
False teachers will often work to discredit the messenger when attacking the message.
That is why it is important for pastors to be above reproach (1 Tim 3). Church, validate the men who are called pastors by biblical qualifications only, and don't stoop to current cultural values only when observing leaders.
That is why it is equally important for the church not to condemn the character of pastors without clear proof (1 Tim 5:17-19).
So here is some wisdom for us from this text today, church, and those who sit among the church:
Deal with the message. If this is the true gospel, then repent of your sins and believe it. Stop messing around with excuses, listening to lies about pastors, Christians, or so-called hypocrites. Don't listen any longer to the distracting, sin-enhancing lies of the devil. The MESSAGE of the gospel is true, so believe Christ is God, and your only hope of escaping God's wrath is through His death on the cross and resurrection from the tomb! Repent from sins, and believe and follow Jesus Christ; here, now, today, and forever. Your only option is to reject the message of the gospel, and that means you are rejecting the One who alone can provide you a safe haven from God's wrath against the unjust.
Live the message; don't pay it lip service. Back to the china cabinet. Folks, the Scriptures aren't written to be honored, respected, and yet – ignored in favor of traditions either from history or current culture. Pharisees like Saul had the Scriptures and knew them but routinely exalted the teachings of rabbis over God's Word! It's like they encased it in glass to be displayed with great honor while they ignored it and used tradition of men daily – similar to how we treat fine China.
But God's Word isn't to be displayed and paid lip service to; it is to be sought, used, eaten daily, and worked into the fabric of our thinking about life! God's gospel MUST direct our decisions, values, morals, and bring us to relationship with HIM, or it is simply USELESS to us.
Paul didn't bring God glory by displaying the message of the cross; but rather by believing it and by preaching it as He was told!
Let's pray.
[1] All Scripture, unless otherwise noted, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (via E-Sword Software) © 2001 Crossway Publishing. All Rights Reserved
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