August 28, 2022; Sunday Evening Worship

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Psalm 107:1-2, 43
• Hymn — Praise to God Who Reigns Above
• Westminster Shorter Catechism — Questions 57 & 58
• Hymn — O Day of Rest and Gladness (#393)
• Pastoral Prayer
• Scripture Reading — Galatians 1:1-5
• Prayer of Illumination
• Sermon
• Hymn — Marvelous Grace of Our Loving Lord (#465)
• Benediction — Numbers 6:24-26

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Sermon Title: The Apostolic Gospel and Its Author

Scripture: Galatians 1:1-5

I. Background: The Recipients and the Occasion

A. The Galatian churches were comprised largely of Roman Gentile converts who had heard Paul preach on his first missionary journey (Acts) B. Reports reached Paul of trouble in the churches — the Judaizers were infiltrating after him

1. The Judaizers were Jewish converts who preached a "Christ plus law-keeping" gospel
2. Specifically, they required circumcision as necessary for justification
3. They also attacked the foundation of Paul's authority by calling his apostleship into question C. The theme of Galatians: faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone justifies and brings freedom from sin

II. The Authenticity of Paul's Apostleship (Galatians 1:1)

A. The office of apostle was distinct from all other church offices

1. Unlike the offices of elder and deacon — which continue and are confirmed through men — the apostolic office was temporary, established by Christ for a specific purpose
2. The one strict requirement: an apostle must receive his call directly and personally from the risen Christ B. Paul's apostleship was not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father
3. The preposition "through" connects Christ's authority to the authority of the triune Godhead
4. Paul met the risen Christ on the Damascus road — this was his direct, divine call as apostle to the Gentiles C. The credibility of Paul's apostleship matters because it undergirds the credibility of the gospel he preaches
5. If Paul's credentials are false, the gospel he preaches is suspect — just as a builder without a license calls into question the integrity of every home he builds
6. Paul's authority to preach is from God himself; his gospel message came directly from God

III. The Substance of the Gospel Paul Preaches (Galatians 1:1, 3-5)

A. The resurrection of Christ (v. 1 — "God the Father who raised him from the dead")

1. Paul begins with resurrection because his own call as apostle came through encounter with the risen Christ
2. The resurrection is the source of new life for those united to Christ by faith
3. As with the dry bones of Ezekiel 37, God raises dead sinners to new life in Christ B. The willingness of Christ to go to the cross (v. 4 — "who gave himself")
4. These three words reveal the voluntary, uncompelled obedience of Christ as sacrifice
5. The cross is the crescendo of Christ's righteous obedience; he laid down his life of his own accord
6. This is the supreme picture of the love of Christ for his people C. The purpose of the cross (v. 4 — "for our sins")
7. The law is the standard by which all are judged; Romans 3:23 — all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
8. For our sins we stand condemned; for our sins Christ died in our place — substitutionary atonement
9. Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ (Romans 8:1) D. The effect of the cross (v. 4 — "to deliver us from the present evil age")
10. The "present evil age" is the totality of human life dominated by sin and opposed to God
11. Christ's death accomplishes a new exodus — deliverance from bondage to sin, analogous to Israel's exodus from Egypt
12. Believers already now belong to a new kingdom; they are no longer subjects to the reign of sin E. The origin of the cross (v. 4 — "according to the will of our God and Father")
13. The cross was no divine afterthought or reaction to the fall — it was eternally planned by the loving Father
14. The Father does not love us because the Son died; the Son died because the Father loved us
15. From eternity past the Father decreed the cross as his plan to rescue those he loves

IV. Application: Believe the Gospel Paul Preaches

A. Christ plus anything gets you nothing — not law-keeping, not good deeds, not cultural relevance B. Any other message is a false gospel amounting to futile human effort C. The call: consider your sin, consider Christ crucified and risen, and trust in him alone