Galatians 1:11-24

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Psalm 5:11-12
• Hymn — To God Be the Glory (#55)
• Shorter Catechism — Questions 61–62 (Fourth Commandment)
• Hymn — A Day of Rest and Gladness (#392)
• Pastoral Prayer
• Scripture Reading — Galatians 1:11-24
• Sermon
• Closing Prayer
• Hymn — My Faith Has Found a Resting Place (#468)
• Benediction

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Sermon Title: The Apostle, the Gospel, and the Grace That Cannot Be Earned

Scripture: Galatians 1:11-24

I. The Source of the Gospel Paul Preached

A. Paul's opening defense: the gospel he preached is not man's gospel (Galatians 1:11-12)

1. He did not receive it from any man, nor was he taught it by men
2. He received it through a direct revelation of Jesus Christ

B. The uniqueness of the true gospel

1. No other religion offers God incarnate suffering and dying for sinners
2. The charge of the gospel: believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved — not a works-based system
3. To corrupt it with works is to reject Christ himself

II. Paul's Biographical Defense of His Apostleship

A. Paul's former life in Judaism (Galatians 1:13-14)

1. He persecuted the church violently and tried to destroy it
2. He advanced beyond his peers in zeal for the traditions of his fathers
3. In persecuting Christians, Paul was persecuting Jesus himself (Acts 9)

B. Paul's humility on display — his past achievements he counts as rubbish (Philippians 3)

1. Education and zeal for the law apart from grace only heap up condemnation
2. The sanctified mind, however, is God's instrument for saving lost sinners and building up the body

C. The warning to the Galatians — and to us

1. To return to the law as any ground of justification is to reject the gospel
2. As the author of Hebrews warns, it is to crucify the Son of God afresh
3. Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone: Ephesians 2:8-9

III. God's Sovereign and Predestinating Call

A. Paul set apart before birth (Galatians 1:15-16)

1. God's choice of Paul preceded any achievement or merit on Paul's part
2. Paul's calling mirrors that of Jeremiah: Jeremiah 1:5
3. God was pleased to reveal his Son to Paul and in Paul

B. Application to every believer

1. Conversion — whether dramatic or quiet — is entirely the work of God's grace
2. Christ revealed to us and in us by the Holy Spirit explains the drastic change in every believer

C. Paul's subsequent movements confirm the independence of his apostleship (Galatians 1:17-24)

1. He did not consult with the Jerusalem apostles immediately — he went to Arabia
2. After three years he visited only Peter and James, and briefly
3. The churches of Judea glorified God at hearing of his transformation — confirming the miracle of his conversion

IV. Two Takeaways for the Church

A. There is only one true gospel

1. Many counterfeits exist, then and now
2. It is the gospel of total reliance on God to save through Christ's blood — not to be mixed with human merit or religious achievement

B. If you belong to the Lord, he will not let you go

1. The Father pursues his straying children through discipline and grace
2. For those still trusting in works, the gospel is extended even now: Romans 5:6-10
3. We were each enemies of Christ, but in him we are reconciled — believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved