To Deliver Us from the Present Evil Age

Introduction:

Memory Verse: Galatians 1:3–5

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen

This morning we begin a new series in the book of Galatians. This is one of the most fervent, ardent, and fiery appeals of the Apostle Paul in all his writings. Also, this letter is living, breathing, spilling over with freedom. The emotional energy that exudes from it pages is heart pounding and full of passion.

Passion? If you ask ten people for a definition of the word, I am sure you would probably get ten different answers. It is hard to describe. The thesaurus lists the following synonyms of passion: fervor, obsession, infatuation, excitement, enthusiasm, craze, delight or zeal. When associated with Jesus Christ, the word passion comes from the Latin word meaning suffering. So, perhaps the reason why we fail to have zeal or passion at times in our personal time with God or in our professional times is that we are failing to suffer with them and for them.

Perhaps that is what is missing in so many people’s lives today.  Even more sadly, perhaps it is something that is missing from the lives of many in ministry today. We have lost that fervor, that zeal. We have become so hedonistic and so self-absorbed that we have lost the desire and/or ability to suffer with and for people. The antonym of passion is indifference. Indifference is a good way to describe much of what we see today.

Paul never seemed to lack passion. He radiates passion, he emanates passion. It just pours out of his pores, out of his mouth and out of his life. And what was he passionate about. He was passionate about Grace. He was passionate about the Cross. Also, he was passionate about Truth. Each was under assault in the churches in Galatia and the letter was the attempt by the Apostle Paul to stop the spread of the deadly disease of legalism that was threatening to destroy the people of the recently planted churches.

So what is legalism? Legalism is the self-righteous life. It leads to hypocrisy. It expects a reward. Legalism springs from pride. Its work is external; it is what we do on the outside. Its desire is to have us conform to those around us. It leads to becoming critical of others and judgmental in our spirits. It is constantly making demands and setting requirements on others. It is a religion that is works oriented. Ultimately, legalism brings bondage.

Church historian, Richard Lovelace, states that many Christians “below the surface of their lives are guilt-ridden and insecure…[and] draw the assurance of their acceptance with God from their sincerity, their past experience of conversion, their recent religious performance or the relative infrequency of their conscious, willful disobedience” (Richard Lovelace, Dynamic of Spiritual Life, Intervarsity Press, 1979, page 101). We all have aspects of the legalist at heart.

This letter is Paul’s shot across the bow of the Galatian church and is a wakeup call for the modern church of Christ. John Piper says that,

You can’t read the first ten verses without feeling that something utterly important is at stake. You can’t read Galatians and think, “Well this is an interesting piece of religious reflection”—any more than you can examine a live coal with your bare hands. Galatians is a virile statement of the central truths of Christianity. If we as a people can make these truths and this vigor a part of our thinking and our willing, the bones of our faith will be strong and not brittle, and the emotional force of our life in Christ will not be lukewarm but ardent and intense and undivided.

As we mentioned earlier, this letter speaks to issue of freedom in the life of the believer. This freedom can only be found in the Cross of Christ and the Work of the Holy Spirit. At the Cross, we find our only sufficient remedy for how we as sinful people can ever become right with the Holy and Righteous Judge and God. In the Spirit, we find our only way of ever being able to obey the Word of God. Both are essential messages of the letter to the Galatians. Paul argues that if anything or anyone, obscure, diminishes, devalues, detract and/or distract from the wondrous beauty of the Cross, let him be damned! And anything that replaces the transforming work of the Holy Spirit with our work is useless, pointless, fruitless, ineffective, futile and condemning.

It is my hope that we can sing along with Andre Crouch, as we read the wondrous freedom that is found in this letter which has been called the Magna Carta of Christian liberty and the Christian’s Declaration of Independence:

Freedom, Oh I long for the day when I can say I have freedom. Oh, Jesus came my way. What a happy day! I was walking in darkness to the Light. He set me free. He gave the right to say, “He, he who the Son sets free, is free indeed!” Well, I am free, from the chains that bound me. Free, since the day He found me. Well, He opened up the way. He brought a better day. I was living in sin and the seeming peace within, till Jesus set me free when I let Him in. And, he who the Son sets free, is free indeed!

Is that your song today?

Key Points of this Section:

1. Defense of the Apostleship of Paul
2. Confrontation of the heresy seeping into the church
3. Confirming the Doctrine of Grace

Explaining the Scripture:

1:1 Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers [1] who are with me,

CALLING

Who was Paul?

• Paul, formerly called Saul, was raised in a strict Jewish family in the city of Tarsus a city in Southeast Asia Minor. The basis of the family’s religious life was a legalistic, works–righteousness. Paul was educated at the feet of at the feet of the famous rabbi, Gamaliel, according to the strict manner of the law (Acts 22:3). Paul was at the top of the class. Paul was a first rate legalist. Before, his conversion, he lived and breathed works–righteousness. Galatians 1:14 says: “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.”
• Paul said in Philippians 3:4–6 that, “If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.”

• • Paul described his own lofty attainments as a Jew, which were greater than those his opponents could claim, but were of no benefit for salvation.
  • The eighth day. Paul was circumcised on the prescribed day (Gen. 17:12; 21:4; Lev. 12:3).
  • of the people of Israel. All true Jews were direct descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel). Paul’s Jewish heritage was pure.
  • of the tribe of Benjamin. Benjamin was the second son of Rachel (Gen. 35:18), and one of the elite tribes of Israel, who along with Judah, remained loyal to the Davidic dynasty and formed the southern kingdom (1 Kin. 12:21).
  • A Hebrew of the Hebrews. Paul was born to Hebrew parents and maintained the Hebrew tradition and language, even while living in a pagan city (cf. Acts 21:40; 26:4, 5).
  • a Pharisee. The legalistic fundamentalists of Judaism, whose zeal to apply the OT Scriptures directly to life led to a complex system of tradition and works righteousness (see note on Matt. 3:7). Paul may have come from a line of Pharisees (cf. Acts 22:3; 23:6; 26:5).
  • as to zeal, a persecutor of the church. To the Jew, “zeal” was the highest single virtue of religion. It combines love and hate; because Paul loved Judaism, he hated whatever might threaten it (see notes on Acts 8:3 and 9:1).
  • as to righteousness under the law, blameless. The standard of righteous living advocated by God’s law. Paul outwardly kept this, so that no one could accuse him of violation. Obviously his heart was sinful and self-righteous. He was not an OT believer, but a proud and lost legalist (MacArthur, John Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible. electronic ed. Nashville : Word Pub., 1997)

•  On one of his expeditions to root out and imprison believers in Christ, on the road to Damascus, Paul was encountered by the Risen Lord Jesus Christ. His life and the life of the Christian church would never be the same again. God, who had predestined Paul before the foundation of the world to salvation, called him from sin to salvation and also to service to the King. Paul was called to the office of apostle by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

What was an apostle? Are there apostles today?

• In the ancient world, the apostle was an ambassador or official messenger. In the New Testament, the term denotes, one who was sent out by Christ as His official spokesman and representative to the church in its formative years.
• One of the requirement was to have seen the Risen Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 1:22)
• Therefore, there are no apostles today.

How was Paul chosen? What did Paul stress regarding his apostleship?

• His apostleship is not from men nor through man. No human resources, means, or agency was involved in the commissioning of Paul. There was no “laying on of hands” and commissioning service of a church.
• Paul was chosen by a direct commission from the Risen Lord Jesus Christ and God the Father
• Paul was not one of the original 12 apostles, so some argued that Paul’s apostleship was of a lower level than the 12.
• You see the best way to destroy the message is to attack the credibility of the messenger. Philip Graham Ryken, in his commentary, stated that Paul’s opponent said that he was a “latecomer…who had not been commissioned by Christ Himself. Therefore, he was only a second-rate apostle – his gospel was just hearsay” (Galatians, Reformed Expository Series, P&R Publishers, page 6).

Why did he begin speaking about the raising of Christ from the dead rather than the Cross?

• One of the requirements of an apostle was witnessing the Risen Lord (see Acts 1:22), therefore, he began his defense of his apostleship not with the Cross as some might imagine but with the empty tomb.

To the churches of Galatia:

To whom was this letter written?

• The letter was written to the churches at Galatia. There has been some dispute as to who these churches are. Galatia was a name used both geographically and politically in the first century. Geographically, it was used to describe the northern part of central Asia Minor. Politically, it included parts of Pontus, Phrygia and Lycaonia, i.e., more southern regions of central Asia Minor.
• During their first missionary journey (45-47 A.D.), Paul and Barnabas had the opportunity to establish several churches in the Roman province of Galatia – Ac 13:14-14:23.
• On Paul’s second trip (51-54 A.D.), he and Silas visited them again – Ac 16:1-5.
• On Paul’s third trip (54-58 A.D.), he visited them yet again – Ac 18:23.
• It is quite likely that the churches of Galatia included those established on his first journey Antioch, Lystra, Iconium, Derbe and the home of Timothy – Ac 16:1-6. Paul and Peter would later make mention of these brethren in other epistles. Paul in reference to the collection for the saints – 1 Corinthians 16:1. Peter in writing his first epistle – 1 Peter 1:1.
• The time and place of writing is uncertain perhaps from Ephesus, sometime around 55 A.D.

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Is there a reason why grace precedes peace in the listing?

• Grace and peace is a concise expression of Christ’s saving work. This phrase is a common expression used by Paul in his greetings (see Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 1:2; Ephesians 1:2; Colossians 1:2-3; 2 Thessalonians 1:2; and Philemon 3).
• Grace means unmerited and undeserved favor. It is entirely separated from human ability or merit. It is unmerited grace, it is unsurpassed grace, and it is unassailable grace. It is sufficient in all things, at all times, supplying all that we need to do any work God has called us to accomplish (2 Corinthians 9:8; 2 Peter 1:3)
• Peace this is not merely the internal sense of well-being which is subjective. It is an objective reality that, we, who were once enemies of God and at war with Him, have now been reconciled. The war is over. We are no longer enemies but friends of God and even more exciting we are called children of the Most High God.
• This grace and peace are ours in Christ alone. Notice that grace precedes peace. In fact, there is no real peace without grace. Grace is God’s favor imparted to the undeserving. It is the declaration of peace between two parties which was completely accomplished in the work of Our Savior Jesus Christ and was ratified by the empty tomb.
• The Father planned for our salvation. The Son purchased our salvation through His blood on the Cross at Calvary. The Spirit pursued us, regenerated us, called us, and is sanctifying us. God pour Himself into us. He passionately loves is. He is present with us continually.
• This is the foundation of true peace. Do you have that peace today?  

Why did Jesus give Himself? Jesus gave Himself to be our:

• SUBMISSION: Jesus voluntarily submitted Himself to His Sacrificial death
• SUBSTITUTION: Jesus became our Substitute as our Sin offering
• SAVIOR: Jesus is our Savior who delivers us, rescues us, sets us loose – the Great Emancipator
• SANCTIFIER: Jesus is our Sanctifier who earned our standing of righteousness before His Father and is creating holiness and righteousness in our life, through the work of the Holy Spirit
• SOVEREIGN: Jesus fulfilled the Sovereign will of God (Isaiah 53; Acts 2:23)

Westminster Confession of Faith 20.1 The liberty which Christ hath purchased for believers under the Gospel consists in their freedom from the guilt of sin, the condemning wrath of God, the curse of the moral law; (Tit. 2:14, 1 Thess. 1:10, Gal. 3:13) and, in their being delivered from this present evil world, bondage to Satan, and dominion of sin; (Gal. 1:4, Col. 1:13, Acts 26:18, Rom. 6:14) from the evil of afflictions, the sting of death, the victory of the grave, and everlasting damnation; (Rom. 8:28, Ps. 119:71, 1 Cor. 15:54–57, Rom. 8:1) as also, in their free access to God, (Rom. 5:1–2) and their yielding obedience unto Him, not out of slavish fear, but a child-like love and willing mind. (Rom. 8:14–15, 1 John 4:18) All which were common also to believers under the law. (Gal. 3:9,14,11, 1 Cor. 5:7) But, under the new testament, the liberty of Christians is further enlarged, in their freedom from the yoke of the ceremonial law, to which the Jewish Church was subjected; (Gal. 4:1–3,6–7, Gal. 5:1, Acts 15:10–11) and in greater boldness of access to the throne of grace, (Heb. 4:14,16, Heb. 10:19–22) and in fuller communications of the free Spirit of God, than believers under the law did ordinarily partake of. (John 7:38–39, 2 Cor. 3:13,17–18)

Applying the Scripture: Bringing It Home

1. Begin by meditating on and praying Galatians 1:3–5.
2. Begin memorizing Galatians 1:3–5
3. Read the Book of Galatians at least one time this week

Digging Deeper:

1. Read of the conversion of Paul found in Acts 9:1–31; 22:1–21; 26:9–23 and Philippians 3:1–14
2. Review of the Gospel. Consider looking up the passages and distilling the message into one sentence containing the gospel’s essential elements. Memorizing that message may help us from falling under the influence of false teaching (Homework assignment adapted from Carol Ruvolo’s study No Other Gospel).

1. • Bad News: Our Condition without Christ (Romans 1:18 – 3:31; Ephesians 2:1-3)

• Guilty of breaking God’s Law
• Under the just punishment of the Justice of God
• Object of the Wrath of God
• Alienated from the Presence of God
• Under a curse and slaves to sin, Satan and death
• Enemies of God

1. • Good News: Gospel – The Work of Christ (Every work of Christ is directed towards God)[i]

• Perfectly obeyed the Law of God (Psalm 40:8; John 4:34; 8:29, 46; Matthew 3:17; 17:5)
  • Therefore, we are declared righteous in the sight of God (Justification)
• Satisfied the Justice of God (2 Thessalonians 1:6-8; Romans 12:9; Isaiah 53:5)
  • Therefore, we are free from the penalty of sin
• Exhausted the Wrath of God (Matthew 27:46; John 19:30; Romans 5:9; Ephesians 2:3-5)
  • Therefore, we are at peace with God
• Removed our sins from the Presence of God (Leviticus 16:20-22; Psalm 103:12; Isaiah 38:17; 43:25; Micah 7:19; Romans 4:8; Hebrews 8:12; 9:14; 10:17-18)
  • Therefore, we are forever free from condemnation and guilt
• Redeemed us from the Curse of God (Galatians 3:10;Matthew 20:28; Galatians 3:13; 4:4-5; Titus 2:14)
  • Therefore, we have the full rights as sons and daughters of God (Adoption)
• Reconciled us to God (Isaiah 59:2; Romans 5:10; 2 Corinthians 5:19-20)
  • Therefore, we are in a permanent and eternal status of favor and friendship with God

[i] Adapted from Jerry Bridges’ The Gospel for Real Life