Galatians 1:15–24

One of the challenges we have as we study the letter to the Galatians, this year, is we can only hear one side of the conversation.  It is like… I am watching TV with Tanya and the phone rings.  Whenever she answers the phone and begins to talk I like to play a game called, “Name That Caller.” I win the game if I can figure out who it is she is talking to and what the purpose of the call is before she is finished. I can win right away if it is one of the grandkids because she answers it, in her most pleasant voice, “Hi sweetheart.” If its one of her kids she has a little different tone of voice. If it is one of her friends she answers it a bit different.  If it is someone she doesn’t know at all, then the game is a little harder because she is even nice to telemarketers.  So, the game is not always easy.  Usually, after a few moments to listening to one side of the conversation I can figure out what is going on and I win. 

As we study the letter to the Galatians we have to play the “Name That Caller” game as well. 
-We don’t know exactly who it was that Paul was talking to.  Most likely it is the churches he visited in Acts 13 & 14 which were in Galatia.  But, we are not 100% sure and we don’t know all that much about them anyway. 
-We don’t know exactly who the troublemakers were.  Who were those guys that Paul called; “people (who) are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.” AND “Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good.” AND “As for those agitators”? Exactly, what they were agitating and what confusion they were causing we don’t know.  We can only listen to one side of the conversation and “Name That Caller.”  

So, the upside of our study in Galatians is we have the answer!  But the downside is we don’t know exactly what the question was.  The upside is we have the solution; without knowing precisely what the problem was.  We have Paul’s angry response to this emergency, but we are going to have to fill in the other side of this phone call.  But, not to fear, I am quite good at the “Name That Caller” game. 
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This morning we are going to study the second half of the first chapter.  Here we come to one of those places in the conversation where it is a little difficult to know exactly what is being said in the part of the conversation we can’t hear.  Paul is making a big deal out of his not associating with other Christians, but we don’t know why he is making this big deal.

Let’s go ahead and listen to Paul’s side of the conversation and then play “Name That Caller.” 

Galatians 1:15-17  But when God, who set me apart from birth and 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 up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.

Last week I made the point that the Gospel came straight from Jesus.  Paul did not get the message he proclaimed from people.  He received the message directly from Jesus.  This was big for Paul.  He was an apostle because Jesus chose him from birth and called him to preach to the Gentiles.  Note Paul says he didn’t even talk to any apostles but he left Damascus, where he was converted, and went into Arabia and then back to Damascus.  Remember this Arabia thing.  I will be coming back to it shortly. 

Galatians 1:18-20  Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and 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.

He was in Arabia and back in Damascus for three years.  Interesting number… three years… who else spend three years with Jesus before being sent out on their own to preach?  The Twelve Apostles.  Paul did point out that he spent two weeks with Peter and some time with James, after the three years in Arabia. This James, Jesus’ brother, had become one of the main leaders in the early Church.  We think he wrote the NT book of James. 

Paul feels strongly enough to add this reassurance, almost an oath, that he was telling the truth, “I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie.” Isn’t that odd?  If we heard that on one side of the phone call we would assume the other side was having a hard time believing him or someone was questioning his integrity.  This is a “Name That Caller” clue.

Galatians 1:21-24  Later I went to Syria and 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."  And they praised God because of me. 

Paul made sure the Galatians knew that he didn’t really have anything to do with the churches in Judea; those around Jerusalem.  After his three years in Arabia and two weeks with Peter and James, he went to the area north of Judea and had no contact with the Judean churches, except they had heard of his amazing story and praised God.  I like that last verse.  “They praised God because of me.” 
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Now we have listened to Paul’s side of the phone call, what conclusions can we draw about what is being said on the other side of the call?  Why did Paul make this big deal out of getting the Gospel from Jesus and not seeing any of the other apostles and not even being known by the churches in Judea?  And I guess you are asking yourselves, “What’s the point, for me?”  Go ahead, ask.

Last week we heard Paul answer his own question, “Am I trying to please people?”  We heard Paul tell us that he did not make up the Gospel.  The Gospel of Freedom came from Jesus.  The message that Freedom is Free came straight from the lips of the Lord.  The Gospel is not the kind of thing we, as humans invent.  We want to deserve our freedom.  It is hard on our pride to simply receive the gift of freedom without any strings.  We like strings.  We like to-do lists.  We like having God owe us for being good people.  

But the Gospel of Freedom was not made up by any person. It came straight from the horse’s mouth.  Not to say that Jesus is a horse. But I’m sure he likes horses.  Last week the point was when we get our heads around the message that freedom is free, it changes our hearts.  God does surgery on our hearts and takes out our desires to please ourselves and the desires to please others and leaves us with a pure heart wanting only to please Him! We become servants of Christ because the message was from Christ.  But the main point Paul made last week was that he received the message by revelation from Jesus. 

In the remainder of chapter one Paul is showing that his message remained pure.  His message wasn’t changed by Peter or James or anyone in Jerusalem or the churches in Judea.   The pure message that “Freedom is Free,” which he got straight from the horse’s mouth, was not added too, nor taken away from, nor tweaked, nor trimmed, nor expanded, nor bended, folded, spindled, or mutilated.  The message of Freedom which Paul preached in Galatia was still the pure message from Jesus. 

Here is what I think is being said on the other side of the phone call.
Paul’s integrity was being challenged by the troublemakers.  They were saying his message of freedom, without strings, can’t be right. It was incomplete.  Paul had messed it up. “You have to have circumcision and other laws to please God!”  They were saying that somewhere along the way Paul must have changed the message he received from Jesus.  Either the other apostles had gotten to him or someone was pressuring him, or he was trying to please the Gentiles or somebody.  They must have been saying his message was tweaked by someone else.  They were challenging Paul’s authority by challenging his message of freedom. 

So Paul wanted the Galatians to know that the message he received by revelation from Jesus got to them unchanged.  The Gospel of freedom is the pure message of Christ; nobody messed with it! And I think that wins the “Name That Caller” game; well mostly, anyway. 
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Now let’s get to what this has to do with our journey to Freedom.  Remember we are studying Galatians to learn about how we live our lives in the Freedom of Christ.

Last week we took the first step toward freedom by realizing that we don’t please people.  We please God.  Our freedom is found in being simply servants of Christ. How many of you did your homework assignment; saying I am a servant of Christ?  Understanding that being focused servant of Christ; pleasing Jesus is the first step toward freedom. 

The second step in freedom is making your faith your own.  Isn’t that fundamentally what Paul is saying?  He met Jesus on the road.  He was converted in Damascus.  He was baptized by Ananias.  He received a call to take the message to the Gentiles.  And then he went into Arabia for three years.  We don’t know what happened there, exactly; what he did, what he heard, what he experienced.  But I suspect it was a time when he walked with Jesus.  It was a time when he learned from the Lord.  It was a time when the Gospel of Freedom fundamentally changed who he was.  It was a time when the message, he formally persecuted, became his own.  It was a time when the Gospel of Freedom was firmly planted in his heart. The message became his message!   The Gospel became his Gospel!    The faith became his faith!  

Each of us must make that same transition if we are to continue to take steps toward freedom.  We all start in different places. If I were to go around the auditorium I would find all kinds of different stories of faith.  I was blessed, by God, to have parents who love the Lord.  I was raised going to church and believing in Jesus.  I have never, not believed in Jesus.  That heritage is priceless.  But at a point in my life, and I know when, it suddenly dawned on me that I needed to know why I believed in Jesus.  And from that point on I have attempted to make my faith, my faith.  My dad taught me, “You need to discover the truth for yourself.”  That is the message of this sermon.

Freedom requires your own faith!  You need to know the Gospel; yourself. You need to embrace this thing called faith, internally.  You need to know that the Gospel really is good news for you, so that you can grasp the reality of freedom. So, that the freedom that is free is free for you.  Adopting your own faith gives you the capability to enjoy freedom. Otherwise, you are following someone else’s set of expectations. You are behaving to earn someone else’s approval.  You are chained to someone else’s faith and that is not freedom.  At some point in your walk you must take what you have been taught and the heritage that has been passed on to you and with thanksgiving, appreciate it, and decide that you have faith because you have faith. This is an important step in gaining this freedom that is found in Christ! 

But how do we do that? “Okay, Tim, I buy that I need my own faith.  How do I make that transition from my mentor’s faith to my own faith?”  Paul’s example is instructive. 

1) Reflect on Your Heritage.  Paul knew where he came from.  He appreciated his Jewish heritage.  But he did not allow it to hinder his freedom in the Gospel. First, reflect upon your heritage. Praise God for the good.  Give thanks for the people who loved you enough to teach you about Jesus. But also understand where your history might hinder your freedom. Be honest about your heritage; good or bad. 

2) Acknowledge the message is from Jesus.  This is really the bottom line.  The authority for our religious beliefs and our behavior comes from Jesus.  It comes from the horse’s mouth.   Our doctrines should not come from our heritage but from our Lord. Our transition to our own faith comes in the authority of the Gospel of Jesus. Paul gave up everything he had to be a servant of Christ.        

3) Spend some time in Arabia; metaphorically.  You don’t have to do to Saudi Arabia to spend time with Jesus.  In order to know the Gospel of Jesus, for it to soak into your own heart, you need to spend time with it.  Your personal time with the Book, your time in Bible Class, your time in private devotion and worship all go to make your faith, yours.  You have to ask yourself where is my “Arabia” time? 

4) Give others reason to Praise God in you.  Paul’s story was reason for the Judean churches to praise God.  Your story of faith is reason for us to praise God.  When others begin to praise God for your faith, you are on your way to your own faith.  Isn’t that cool? 

We can’t know, 100%, what the troublemakers were saying on the other side of Paul’s conversation to the Galatians.  But we can know for sure that Paul received the Gospel of Freedom straight from Jesus and he preached it in its purity and simplicity and its freedom.  And we know for 100% that our freedom is found in that Gospel! 

 

Los Alamos Church of Christ
January 25, 2009