A True Messenger (Galatians 1:10-24)
A True Messenger
Galatians 1:10-24
March 9, 2014
As you know we have begun a study of Paul’s letter to the Galatians.
And most recently we have studied what we called
“Galatians in a Nutshell”
The first 10 verses of this book really serve as
Sort of a table of contents for the rest of the letter.
After Paul planted churches in the region of Galatia,
The Jewish extremists known as the “Judaizers” followed him in
And started trying to turn his converts Jewish.
Acts 15:1 “Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”
It was subtle, it was close, it could be argued with Scripture,
And yet it was a damning perversion of the true gospel.
And because it was so dangerous Paul actually wrote:
Galatians 1:8-9 “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!”
Those were some pretty harsh words.
“accursed” translates ANATHEMA
Which refers to an offering which has been
Devoted to God for destruction.
It is unredeemable, it is doomed to suffer, it is devoted for destruction.
And Paul said if anyone preaches a different gospel, that is him.
And so as we move through this letter, we will see Paul take the issues
He introduced in the first 9 verses and now take them a little deeper.
And he begins going deeper by revealing the truth about
The difference between a true messenger and a false one.
You will remember that Paul began this message by revealing
That he was a true messenger of God.
He is an apostle, he is sent from God not from man,
And now he will expound on that.
He is going to show why he is a true messenger, and why the Judaizers who are preaching the false gospel of works are not.
And in order to do that Paul gives a section revealing his own vindication.
He is answering his critics and at the same time
Revealing to the Galatians why he, and not they, can be trusted.
So put yourself in the Galatian’s shoes.
• Paul shows up and preaches one thing.
• Then come the Judaizers and preach something else.
WHO ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO BELIEVE?
And not only in this situation, but in all situations, how do you know if a preacher of the gospel is trustworthy as a preacher of the gospel?
2 Peter 2:1 “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.”
We learn time and time again throughout the Scriptures that not everyone who claims to speak the truth of God really does speak the truth of God.
By examining Paul’s life,
Not only will we see the motives of a true messenger,
But by contrast, we will learn the motives of a false messenger.
So tonight, let’s break our text up into 3 points.
#1 THE MOTIVE
Galatians 1:10
You will notice that Paul begins with two questions.
They are not rhetorical.
He actually wants the Galatians to examine his ministry
And honestly answer the question.
“For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God?”
Let’s start with that question.
It is a vitally important question in order to determine if a preacher or prophet or apostle is the real deal.
“For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God?”
In other words, whose approval do you think I am trying to win?
Especially after twice pronouncing a curse on the Judaizers
And insinuating that the Galatians are near apostasy,
Paul wants to know if they think he is a man pleaser.
In fact he asks that question second.
“Or am I striving to please men?”
Apparently one of the attacks the Judaizers had mounted against Paul is that he was just a man pleaser who told people what they wanted to hear.
Paul begins this letter with a rebuke and a curse and then says,
“Does that sound like a man pleaser to you?”
What Paul is also doing is revealing to us
The motive of why a man begins to preach.
What is the motive?
The Bible is clear that false prophets preach to please men,
And true prophets preach to please God.
Matthew 11:7-9 “As these men were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? “But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ palaces! “But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet.”
Luke 6:22-26 “Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. “Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets. “But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full. “Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.”
False prophets did not care about what God thought,
They only wanted to be more popular at the end of the day.
It is those that Paul warned the Ephesian church about.
Acts 20:28-30 “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.”
And who he referenced as he wrote to Timothy.
2 Timothy 4:3 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,”
A false prophet is obviously not perverting God’s truth
For the sake of having treasure in heaven.
Therefore their pay off must come while on earth.
And the only way they will ever get a pay off on earth
Is if they are pleasing to man.
WHAT IS THEIR MOTIVE?
At the end of the message are they more concerned that you are right with God, or that you like them?
You will see later in the letter that the motivation of the Judaizers
Is to please men.
Galatians 6:12 “Those who desire to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.”
But that is not Paul.
He then answers it on his own behalf.
“If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.”
Notice what Paul said.
“If I were STILL trying to please men”
Obviously that used to be Paul’s motive.
In fact, if you look down to verses 13-14 you can see that was the case.
“For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it; and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions.”
It’s obvious Paul was pleasing men,
Or else he would not have been advancing.
Philippians 3:5-6 “circumcised the eighth day, of the nation 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 the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.”
That’s Paul’s life and he says right after that,
“whatever things were gain to me”
In other words, this was what he used for personal gain.
It allowed him to impress people, to please people,
And therefore it built his reputation among men.
Paul used to try and please man, BUT NOT ANY MORE.
“If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.”
Paul is no longer trying to please men, now he is trying to please Christ, and you CANNOT DO BOTH at the same time.
Serving Christ is NOT an effective way to become popular in the world.
Matthew 10:24-25 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. “It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household!”
John 15:18-21 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘ A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. “But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me.”
John 16:1-3 “These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. “They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. “These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me.”
And so you get the point.
It is all about motive.
Paul’s motive is not to please men, he only wants to please God,
And this is one of the ways we know he is legitimate.
So first, the motive
#2 THE MESSAGE
Galatians 1:11-12
Notice what Paul says about his message.
“For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man.”
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
• Paul did not learn this from some human.
• Paul was not taught this in some seminary.
“For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.”
Paul got his message from God.
And that is another great indicator
To rather or not a man is a true spokesman of God.
Where does his message come from?
Who is the source for what he preaches?
• Now, is that to say that you can’t have learned anything from someone else?
• Is Paul knocking seminaries?
No, not at all. God gave the gift of teaching
That we might teach others and other might teach us.
Even in Bible times we read of Apollos
Acts 18:24-26 “Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John; and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.”
The explanation is simple:
Matthew 16:13-18 “Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”
This was not a truth that Peter had never learned.
In fact, John the Baptist was teaching this from the beginning.
But when it finally stuck with Peter, he got it from God.
So it is from a true preacher of the gospel. We call it conviction.
They don’t just preach what the majority has come to agree is the truth. They preach what God has revealed to them through His word.
That is what Paul did.
As he read the Old Testament God burned in his heart
The gospel message of salvation.
Contrast that to the false prophets.
Jeremiah 23:25-32 “I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy falsely in My name, saying, ‘I had a dream, I had a dream!’ “How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the deception of their own heart, who intend to make My people forget My name by their dreams which they relate to one another, just as their fathers forgot My name because of Baal? “The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has My word speak My word in truth. What does straw have in common with grain?” declares the LORD. “Is not My word like fire?” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock? “Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the LORD, “who steal My words from each other. “Behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the LORD, “who use their tongues and declare, ‘The Lord declares.’ “Behold, I am against those who have prophesied false dreams,” declares the LORD, “and related them and led My people astray by their falsehoods and reckless boasting; yet I did not send them or command them, nor do they furnish this people the slightest benefit,” declares the LORD.”
All they do is say what they are told to say,
But they have never learned anything from God.
But not Paul
He preaches the message that God has given him to preach.
He preaches “the gospel” which is “not according to man.”
And think about that.
“not according to man”
Man never came up with anything like the gospel of God.
The true gospel is absolutely contrary to human logic.
1 Corinthians 1:18-25 “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE.” Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
Later Paul says:
1 Corinthians 3:18-20 “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, “He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS”; and again, “THE LORD KNOWS THE REASONINGS of the wise, THAT THEY ARE USELESS.”
God’s gospel is beyond human logic.
So when evaluating preachers one main question is
Where did their message come from?
You have to trace the origin.
Is it the message of Christ, or the message of men?
AND THEY ARE NOT THE SAME MESSAGE
When Christ came preaching, He was a radical.
No one preached His message. It was unique
And different from anything the people were hearing.
Matthew 7:28-29 “When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.”
John 7:45-46 “The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, “Why did you not bring Him?” The officers answered, “Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks.”
Mark 6:2 “When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands?”
Christ’s message was radical and different from the world’s.
And what that means is that you cannot preach the world’s message and still claim to be a messenger of Christ.
Look at the message.
• Is it Christ’s message?
• Did it come from Christ?
Paul wants the Galatians to know that the message he is preaching was the message Christ preached, and Christ gave it to him.
Look at his motive and look at his message.
#3 THE MISSION
Galatians 1:13-24
So when you want to evaluate a messenger, you evaluate his motive, you evaluate his message.
And then you evaluate his mission.
In other words, what is he trying to accomplish?
Here Paul actually gives you a contrast.
We get his original mission and then we get his present one.
Look at his ORIGINAL mission
(13-14) “For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it; and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions.”
Now look at who Paul used to be
And you find several indicators of a false messenger.
Let me show them to you.
PERSECUTION TO DESTROY THE CHURCH
“I used to persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it”
Attacking the church physically or spiritually or emotionally or verbally
Is not an indicator of a mission of the Holy Spirit.
Is the church perfect? No
But you must understand that Christ loves His church.
• He is not out to destroy her
• He is not out to grieve her
• He loves her
And when you see people whose ministry is more about attacking the church than caring for her, that is the wrong kind of mission.
That’s was Paul’s original mission and it was not of God.
Incidentally it was also the mission of the Judaizers.
They weren’t physically attacking the church,
But they were trying to dissolve it into Judaism.
That is a faulty mission.
Look at the next characteristic of Paul’s former mission
AMBITION TO OUTGAIN HIS CONTEMPORARIES
“I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen”
Look, ladder climbing is NOT a Holy Spirit inspired mission.
The Bible never looks favorably on ambition.
James 3:13-18 “Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”
And seeking only to out do your contemporaries
Is NOT something God inspires.
That is something the false messengers do:
2 Corinthians 10:12 “For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves; but when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding.”
Ambition is nothing more than promotion of self,
And you can’t promote self and Christ at the same time.
Ambition is a sign of a false messenger.
One more:
TRADITION OVER TRUTH
“being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions”
Now we know that tradition is not necessarily a bad thing.
The problem occurs when tradition becomes the measure of truth
Instead of truth becoming the measure of tradition.
If the truth validates a tradition, then by all means keep it.
But if the truth contradicts it, then that tradition must be discarded.
However, because they love to please people (who love tradition),
False messengers are not zealous for truth, they are zealous for tradition.
That used to be Paul, and that was the Judaizers.
They didn’t care about the truth gospel, they only cared about their traditions, and this made them false messengers.
Persecution of the church
Ambition to excel
Tradition over truth
That was Paul’s former ministry.
Now let me show you what his ministry became when God changed him.
(15-24) “But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus. Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days. But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. (Now in what I am writing to you, I assure you before God that I am not lying.) Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which were in Christ; but only, they kept hearing, “He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy.” And they were glorifying God because of me.”
Now notice the characteristics of this true ministry.
IT BEGINS WITH GOD
“God, who had set me apart”
“called me through His grace”
That is a God initiated ministry.
Earlier we read about the false prophets whom God did not send,
but they ran anyway.
A true prophet is one who runs because God sent him.
That was Paul.
And with every messenger,
• We are looking for evidence of God’s call on their life.
• We are looking for evidence of the gift
• We are looking for that fire in the bones to answer the call
• We are looking for the fruit of that ministry to suggest that God is working through him
That was Paul, his ministry did not begin with men, it began with God.
IT REVEALS HIS SON
“was pleased to reveal His Son in me”
Who does the ministry glorify?
Who does the ministry promote?
We live in a day where preachers actually promote themselves
More than they promote Christ.
• They push their television ministry
• They push their website
• They push their radio spot
• They push their latest book
• They unashamedly ask for support for those things
But you are hard pressed to hear much about Jesus’ ministry,
Or Jesus’ book, or Jesus’ mission.
A true messenger reveals God’s Son, not themselves.
It begins with God, It reveals His Son
IT IS CONCERNED WITH GOD’S FAVOR
“I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem”
Paul goes on and on about how he was doing was for God, not for man.
And it is not that he was opposed to Peter, James, and John,
It was just that he didn’t feel the need to get their approval.
He was serving God and he wanted God’s favor, not mans’.
Paul was concerned about pleasing God.
And that is also a characteristic of a true messenger.
And finally
IT HAS A REPUTATION OF HELPING THE CHURCH, NOT HARMING
“I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which were in Christ; but only, they kept hearing, “He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tired to destroy.” And they were glorifying God because of me.”
That church was encouraged by Paul, not confused.
Remember the Judaizers came in and were “disturbing” the Galatians.
That is not a true messenger.
Paul came in to encourage the church, not disturb her.
So if you want to know the difference
Between a true messenger and a false one.
Look at his motive – why does he do it?
Look at his message – is it the same message Christ preached?
Look at his mission – does it promote Christ and bless the church, or does it promote self and disturb the church?
And with that criteria, it is not hard to spot who is real and who is not.
And it is important that we see the difference
That we not end up in the same confused condition as the Galatians.
Galatians 1:8-9 “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!”
