The Gospel According to Galatians
Scripture Text: Galatians Chapters
1-2
Rev. Charles R. Biggs
Are you ashamed of the gospel of Christ?
In our last
study we learned the hope we have in Christ of being sons and no longer
slaves! The gospel is truly the good news of Christ’s work for us
apart from anything we do. We cannot add anything to the gospel for it to
be truly by definition “gospel” or good news. Today’s studies could be
summarized by the Apostle Paul in his Letter to the Romans (Can you say this
enthusiastically with him? Rom. 1:16-17; 11:6):
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for
it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first
and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is
revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live
by faith."- The Apostle Paul, Romans 1:16-17
ESV Romans 11:6 But if it is by grace, it is
no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
The problem that
the Apostle Paul was confronting at
Essentially
this amounted to Christ ‘plus’ cooperation with Law which was contrary to the gospel Paul
had received and proclaimed to the Churches of Galatia. Paul was writing
to pronounce a curse or an anathema on this kind of gospel that was no gospel
at all (Gal. 1:6-9).
It is important to state up front that
the Judaizers did not believe in “salvation by works,” but rather in “salvation
by grace plus works.” “Salvation by grace plus works” is much more
dangerous and subtle. If the Judaizers were teaching “salvation by works”
not many within the congregation would have bought it. It was the
half-truth with the lie that being preached as good news, which was no gospel
at all!
The Apostle
Paul’s authority was being undermined by the Judaizers and they were
discrediting his reputation as an apostle and as Jew who should be persecuted
because he was denying circumcision for new Greek converts (including the
Gentiles from the Galatian churches and Titus, cf. Gal. 2:4).
Additionally,
Paul had claimed authority from the Jerusalem Apostles, but in fact the
Judaizers were the “true authorities sent from
Divine
Origin of God’s Gospel Revealed to Paul
The Judaizers
were saying that Paul had preached the full gospel originally, but under
pressure to conform and to make the gospel “easy” to Gentiles he had
compromised the Jewish-Mosaic Law. The Judaizers lied and told the
Churches at
In response to
the false allegations, the Apostle Paul begins his powerful retort by making
sure the congregations at the churches of
Paul said my gospel is from God to man,
not “man’s gospel”- The origin of God’s gospel is with God himself- -not man, but it is for man.
Paul’s gospel
was received revelation from Jesus Christ himself. It was not from
man. It was a gospel “for man” and the only hope for man to be saved by
grace. As an apostle, Paul wanted it clear that he had been uniquely
called to make this gospel of Jesus known to all who believe, even though he
was the last to be called (1 Cor. 15:1-11). Paul wrote:
ESV Galatians 1:9 As we have said before, so now I say
again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you
received, let him be accursed.
ESV Galatians 1:12 For I did not receive it from
any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus
Christ.
Notice how the
gospel is received. That is, its origin is divine and man receives it, no
man would naturally come up with nor invent a gospel of grace that was truly
“all of grace.”
The Gospel is a
revelation from Jesus Christ (the “of Jesus Christ” is an
objective revelation that Jesus Christ gave to Paul). The gospel’s origin
is not from man, but from the resurrected-ascended Prophet, Priest and King who
sits at God’s right hand! Paul did not receive it, nor was taught it by
man to indicate his unique status to preach the only gospel of Christ to the
Gentiles thus fulfilling Isaiah 49:1ff:
Paul was a
“slave” or “bond servant” of Jesus Christ not a man-pleaser (Gal. 1:10). Paul makes it clear
that if he were a man-pleaser, he would not be preaching a gospel of divine
origin, but would be preaching the gospel that the Judaizers were preaching in
reality! Paul’s point in saying he is a “slave” or “bond-servant” of
Christ is that he obeys his master in his message. As a slave, he only
serves to make his Master and His Master’s message known to the world.
Paul’s
Calling and Election
Paul was a
man “set apart” and gifted for the task of preaching this Divine Gospel. Paul gives an autobiographical
testimony to describe his unique calling and how his gospel was received from
Jesus Christ, and not from man. Paul is not merely giving a testimony of
God’s grace, but his testimony is part of his argumentation to convince these
churches that a gospel all of grace was something he would NOT have made up (no
matter how much a man-pleaser he might have been - -although he wasn’t).
Paul could not
have invented a gospel that was all of grace, because Paul knew that before he
was regenerated and saved, he was bent on destroying with fury the
"I myself was
convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of
Nazareth. 10 And I did so in
However, God’s
eternal election (God’s good pleasure, or eudokia (Gk.), set Paul apart
before he was born, from his mother’s womb, and called him, in order to make
himself know in him (Gal. 1:15-16).
ESV Galatians 1:15-16: But when he who had set me
apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16 was
pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him
among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone…
A unique
election and call of the Apostle Paul similar to the Prophet Jeremiah; recall
from Jeremiah the Prophet’s call:
Jeremiah
1:5-9: Now the word of
the LORD came to me, saying, 5 "Before I formed you in
the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed
you a prophet to the nations." 6 Then I said, "Ah,
Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth." 7
But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a youth'; for to
all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall
speak. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you,
declares the LORD." 9 Then the LORD put out his hand and
touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, "Behold, I have put my
words in your mouth.
ESV Isaiah 49:1, 5-6: Listen to me, O coastlands, and give
attention, you peoples from afar. The LORD called me from the womb, from
the body of my mother he named my name…. 5 And now the LORD says, he
who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him;
and that Israel might be gathered to him- for I am honored in the eyes of the
LORD, and my God has become my strength- 6 he says: "It is too
light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and
to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for
the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth."
The Apostle Paul
was called like the prophets to be the voice of God’s gospel, and in Christ as
a unique Apostle to the Gentiles, Paul was made a “light for the nations,” that
God’s good news or gospel might reach the end of the earth where the Gentiles
lived!
Paul’s election and
being set apart because of God’s good pleasure and grace is for us to glorify
God in Paul’s testimony (Gal. 1:23-24), but it is also to remind us of the
origin of his gospel. Paul was not looking for Christ. Paul was not
seeking to understand this gospel of grace. Rather, Paul was looking to
destroy with fury the gospel, because in himself as a sinner he would never
have believed in grace alone in Christ alone, and certainly not a crucified
Messiah (which is “no Messiah at all” in an unregenerate Jew’s estimation!).
Paul’s election
is instructive of our own election, calling and grace:
“From eternity rooted, in time to be
revealed by the Holy Spirit.”
Paul’s election
and call show that it is all of grace and NOT of works. In our own lives,
the only reason we ever believed in Jesus Christ, and a gospel that was all of
grace, was because God in his eudokia (Gk), or good pleasure made it
known to us. In other words, God’s will for us is more important
and life-giving than our will for him. Our hope in our salvation
is not dependent on our decision or will, but it is utterly rooted in God’s
good pleasure from the foundation of the world, in his electing mercies in
Christ Jesus (see Ephesians 1:3-14).
Think about who
Paul was when he was trying to destroy Christ, His Church, and His Gospel the
Church was proclaiming! Paul was an unregenerate Jew who persecuted
Christ’s Church violently and tried to destroy it; he was advancing in his
knowledge and practice of Judaism. He was not looking or seeking after
salvation in Christ. As he writes in Galatians 1:13-14:
ESV Galatians 1:13-14: For you have heard of my former life in
Judaism, how I persecuted the
Paul
was violently opposed to a gospel revealed by God and that was all of grace (and so are all of those who are
perishing apart from the gospel of grace).
Don’t miss
this! Saul the Pharisee, raised in the Judaism(s) of his day would have
violently stamped out any grace alone revealed from God.
The aversion of natural man to God’s gospel revealed in Jesus Christ is hatred
of the deepest kind! Paul as an unregenerate Jew violently hated the
gospel revealed in Christ…
BUT,
because of God’s will and the powerful working of His Spirit, Paul was changed,
regenerated to serve as a slave of Jesus Christ! Why did God save Paul (or any of us)?
God saved Paul simply because of
His good pleasure (eudokia-Gk.); this violent persecutor was saved to preach!
God made Paul alive while he was dead in
trespasses and sins…walking according to the will of the prince of the power of
the air (violently persecuting the
ESV Galatians 1:15-16a: But when he who had set me apart before I
was born, and who called me by his grace, 16 was pleased to
reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the
Gentiles…
This passage of
Paul reminds me of the words of Jesus when some of the Jews come to believe in
him as Messiah, but many are perishing, and turn away from the truth.
Jesus says:
ESV Matthew 11:25-27: At that time Jesus declared, "I thank
you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from
the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26 yes,
Father, for such was your gracious will (eudokia-Greek). 27 All
things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son
except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to
whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
Paul in no way
deserved salvation- -this is his point in Galatians 1:15-16 (If salvation was
to be had, it would have to be God’s initiative, not his own)!
Furthermore, Paul knew that he did not deserve anything but wrath from God as
one “untimely born” and as the “foremost of sinners” (1 Cor. 15:1-11; 1 Tim.
1:15). In 1 Timothy, the Apostle Paul further describes the grace
revealed to him in Jesus:
ESV 1 Timothy 1:12-16: I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he
judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, 13 though
formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received
mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace
of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the
foremost. 16 But I received mercy for this reason, that
in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an
example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.
Paul’s works and
labors for Christ after he was saved were acts of obedience because of God’s
grace to an undeserving sinner, and these works did not contribute one wit
to his election and calling. Rather, Paul’s obedience flows out of his
eternal election, calling and being set apart. It should be remembered
that…
Paul worked because he had been called;
he was not called because he worked or cooperated with God’s grace in Christ!
This is why the
brothers glorified God when they heard Paul, the former persecutor of the
Church had been saved and called to proclaim the good news (Gal. 1:23-24).
Judaism
and Christianity:
Pelagianism, Augustinianism, and Semi-Pelagianism
Let us now look
in our study at how Paul contrasts his old religion of Judaism with the gospel of
Christianity in his autobiographical testimony and in his lucid argumentation
to prove the divine origin of the gospel that would never have been- -never
could have been conceived in the mind of man (cf. Eph. 3:20-21).
Paul
understood that there was a stark contrast between the old Pharisaical Religion
of Judaism and Christianity! This was a true antithesis. Judaism was a false gospel;
Christianity was a true gospel of divine origin from Christ himself!
ESV Galatians 1:11 For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was
preached by me is not man's gospel.
What
would “Man’s Gospel” be like?
We should
remember the biblical advice of the Reformers during the Reformation as we
proceed in our study:
The Reformers charged the Church during
the Reformation that all expressions of Christianity are on the path to one of
two destinations,
What the
Reformers meant by this statement (although it is a bit anachronistic) was that
all expressions of Christianity are headed for
Before we consider
Paul’s teaching on Judaism or the traditions of the fathers, let us learn three
important theological terms for our study. These terms are anachronistic
when applying them to 1st century AD Judaism, but they are useful
for any study of sin and grace.
Since the fall
of man, there have only been three views of sin and grace. These three
views can exalt as well as humble man. Two of the views are “from man”
and one of the views is “from God alone”. What are the names of these
three views of sin and grace?
Make this
personal, and not merely theological (What you believe is truly a matter of
life or death). Ask yourself which of these three terms best describe
your own standing before God (I will ask you a specific question after each
term’s description).
Pelagianism, Augustinianism, and
Semi-Pelagianism
Pelagianism
(simply put): Man is born without a sinful nature, thus he is able to achieve
salvation through obedience to God’s commandments. Pelagianism would
believe one can be saved by his good works. The name of this term comes from a British monk named
Pelagius who lived and taught error concerning sin and salvation in the 5th
century AD.
Is your confession: “I am a good person
and I try hard to be obedient to what I know about God, and I know that God
will understand on judgment day and cut me some slack regarding his
commandments. I’ve lived a good life and have never done as bad as the next
guy. Nobody’s perfect, you know!”
If this is your confession, you are a
Pelagian and damned according to Scripture.
Augustinianism
(simply put): Man is born dead in sin, thus he is unable to cooperate with God
for salvation and is utterly dependent upon God and his initiative to save him
- -and this is completely apart from obeedience to God’s commandments. We
are saved by grace alone.
Is your confession: “Not what my hands
have done can save my guilty soul! I am a sinner who has been saved by the
power and initiative of God in my regeneration. God gave me the gift of
faith and I believe Christ, and am trusting in his righteousness alone for my
right standing before God- -apart from my own works.”
If this is your confession, you are
Augustinian.
Semi-Pelagianism
(simply put): Man is born sick in sin (but not completely dead), so if he has a
bit of grace given to him, he is able to achieve salvation through cooperative
obedience to God’s commandments. Semi-Pelagianism (also semi-named after Pelagius!) was a
compromise between Pelagianism and Augustinianism. It is the most
dangerous, because it is the most subtle.
Is your confession?: “God gives all men
the ability to decide, or to believe upon Jesus, or reject him. I
cooperated with the grace that God gave to me and I believed in him. I
was sick in my unbelief, but when the healing power of the gospel was given to
me and I took it, I was saved from my sins.”
If this is your confession, you are
Semi-Pelagian.
What we want to
notice first is that Pelagianism is a “religion of man” or “the flesh” in
contrast to Paul’s gospel “not from man” but for man!
In fact, all
other man-made religions apart from Christianity, in one way or another teach
that we can somehow work hard and save ourselves- - thus they are “Pelagian”
(again sometimes a theological term is helpful even if used
anachronistically). Christianity alone says don’t try to get to God by
your own works, you will only get so far as idolatry (see Romans 1:18-25).
Paul argues in
Galatians 1 that he formally was a teacher and professor of a religion that was
“from man”, that is, it had its origins in sinful man, and was not received as
a revelation from God. Paul’s autobiographical testimony is to help the
Churches of Galatia and us today to understand that the gospel, in order
for it truly to be the gospel must be revealed to us—it must be received by us!
The Gospel must be revealed to us by
God’s grace! Paul contrasts a gospel of man’s making with a revealed
gospel of grace in Galatians 1:13-15:
ESV Galatians 1:13-15: For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I
persecuted the
Judaism(s)
(Gal. 1:13-15)-
Judaism(s) of Paul’s time is known today in scholarly circles as “Second Temple
Judaism” (This is the Judaism(s) after the exile, circa 490 BC to 70 AD).
Paul here in Galatians contrasts Judaism with the
Promise rather than performance!
Paul contrasts his performance of
advancing in Judaism (1:14) with his called by God’s grace which was based on
God’s promise (1:15)!
Judaism(s)
was not “God’s Gospel”.
It is important to say that “Judaism” is often called “Judaisms” (plural)
because there were many different kinds of teachings in 1st century
AD Judaism (or “Second Temple Judaism”, think about Pharisees, Sadducees,
Zealots, etc.).
Judaism, to speak anachronistically
again, was not Pelagian, but it was Semi-Pelagian.
Judaism(s) was a
works-oriented religion of the first century as the Reformers of the 16th
century taught faithfully (Note for those familiar with the NPP: In light of
the scholarship of the New Perspective on Paul that Judaism(s) was not full
blown Pelagianism we can agree, yet contrary to what E. P. Sanders, James D. G.
Dunn and N. T. Wright propose, Judaism was essentially a “grace + works =
righteousness religion”, which is still synergistic and best described
theologically as Semi-Pelagianism, and therefore the Apostle Paul was well
understood by the teachers of the Reformation).
E. P.
Sanders in his magnum opus “Paul and Palestinian Judaism describes
Judaism’s view of man’s sin nature by quoting the teachers of the day:
“Men have,
apparently the inborn drive towards rebellion and disobedience. But this is not
the same as being born in a state of sinfulness from which liberation is
necessary. Sin comes only when man actually disobeys; if he were not to disobey
he would not be a sinner. The possibility exists that one might not sin.
Despite the tendency to disobey, man is free to obey or disobey.” (pgs.
114-115- This is Pelagianism at worst, or Semi-Pelagianism at best, if followed
consistently and logically, I might add!).
One Rabbi from
this time period is quoted in Sanders’ book, and says this:
“If he that
commits one transgression thereby forfeits his soul, how much more, if he
performs one religious duty (mitzvah), shall his soul be restored to
him.” (pg. 133 –sounds a lot like evangelicalism today—yet it is Judaism!).
Guy
Prentiss Waters in
his stimulating and outstanding analysis and critique of the New Perspective on
Paul, writes summarizing Judaism, and later Rabbinic Judaism that was different
than, and in contrast with Christianity:
“…Ancient
Rabbinic Judaism is a semi-Pelagian religion. In this
religion…the language of the grace of God is not absent…yet it is ultimately a
synergistic religion. Works occupy a fundamental or essential place in
this religion. We quote the paradoxical statement attributed to Rabbi Akiba:
the world is judged by grace, and yet all is according to the amount of work.”-
Justification and the New Perspective on Paul, pg. 152.
Judaism of
Paul’s day was Semi-Pelagian. Judaism taught that the soul of man was a
bit sick and needed grace from God to cooperate within the covenant to be
saved. Contrary to popular caricatures of Judaism(s) of Jesus’ and Paul’s
time, it was not a religion of full-blown Pelagianism, but rather more subtly
dangerous because it was Semi-Pelagianism.
Paul calls Judaism
in contrast to the gospel: “the traditions of my fathers.” See
also “tradition of the elders” in Matthew 15 which were using different terms
to describe the same thinking:
ESV Matthew 15:1-14: Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus
from
Notice how in
this passage from Jesus, the tradition of the elders (or “fathers”) was
contrary to the Word of God, and in fact made the Word of God void. Jesus
calls the teachers of Judaism, this Semi-Pelagian religion, “hypocrites,”
“false prophets,” and “blind guides.”
Judaism(s) was another name for what we
might call a “Semi-Pelagian-Pharisaical” Religion. This false religion
emphasized:
“Performance over Promise”
For the Apostle
Paul, Judaism’s cooperating with God’s grace in order to be saved
(Semi-Pelagianism) and Christianity, the divinely revealed gospel of
righteousness in Christ alone (Augustinianism), were mutually exclusive ways of
being saved.
This is why Paul
is vehemently upset under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit here in Galatians
1. Paul had lived and tried to cooperate with God’s grace in order to
achieve his right standing before God! Paul had “been there and done
that” kind of salvation! Paul had lived, no, slaved under the heavy
burden of performance over promise, never knowing if he was truly working hard
enough!
Paul smells a
rat at
Grace
versus “Works of the Law”
We must
understand that for Paul “works of the Law” were performed cooperating with
God’s grace in the covenant. Paul was not a Pelagian in Judaism and the
traditions of his fathers, but rather he was a Semi-Pelagian, and this is what
the Judaizers were teaching to the Churches of Galatia.
From the Book of
Romans, notice carefully Paul’s use of “works of the Law” and how radically
opposed they are to grace alone that God reveals and makes known in Christ
Jesus (Read these contrasts carefully; grace and works of any kind are mutually
exclusive for Paul):
ESV Romans 11:5-6: So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. 6 But
if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would
no longer be grace.
ESV Romans 3:20 For
by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight,
since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
ESV Romans 4:4 Now
to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5
And to the one who does not work but trusts him who justifies
the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness…
ESV Romans 9:30-33: What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness
have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but
that
ESV Romans 10:1-3: Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may
be saved. 2 I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but
not according to knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of the
righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did
not submit to God's righteousness.
There were
elements of truth in Judaism mixed with “traditional lies” (oral and written Law). This was
the Pharisaic religion (in contrast to the True religion of
Judaistic-Semi-Pelagian-Pharisaic
Religion and the “Seven Woes” of Jesus- Matthew 23
Not only Paul as
we have seen taught against the Judaistic-Semi-Pelagian-Pharisaic Religion, but
Jesus in his most scathing comments found in Holy Writ, opposed this teaching
and rebuked vehemently those who taught it. Jesus says (and I have
inserted a comment after what Jesus says in Matthew 23):
"The
scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, 3 so practice and
observe whatever they tell you- but not what they do. For they preach, but do
not practice.
The Sanhedrin has authority (they sit in
Moses’ seat) and when they preach or proclaim Moses’ writings listen to them!
4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear,
and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move
them with their finger. 5 They do all their deeds to be seen by
others....
Yet they are hypocrites who lay
unnecessary Law-burdens on the people for they misinterpret the purpose of
Moses’ Law to point them to Christ!
13 "But woe to you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces.
For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. 14
15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel
across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a
proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves....
They evangelize but then make slaves of
the people and shut the kingdom of heaven revealed by promise in people’s
faces- - they make the twice as much a child of hell as yourself, Jesus says.
23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier
matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have
done, without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, straining
out a gnat and swallowing a camel! 25 "Woe to you, scribes and
Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but
inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 You blind
Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside
also may be clean. 27 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear
beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. 28
So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of
hypocrisy and lawlessness.
They deny justice, mercy, and
faithfulness that is borne out of grace and promise and by doing so they strain
out the gnat in God’s gospel ointment for the healing of sinners, and allow a
camel of Law to be swallowed.
They are outwardly religious, but inside
they are unclean, rotting sinners who are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments
of the righteous, 30 saying, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers,
we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' 31
Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the
prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33
You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to
hell?
Jesus asks the Pharisees to consider
whether they are sons of Abraham, or sons of those who murdered the prophets!
Jesus and Paul
both make stark contrast between the faith of Abraham, the true religion of
God’s promise and grace in
Jesus says
in Matthew 23:34ff (in his woes against Judaism or the Pharisaical Relgion that
is opposed to the gospel:
Therefore I send
you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify,
and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, 35
so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood
of innocent Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you
murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36 Truly, I say to
you, all these things will come upon this generation.
There is a radical and mutually exclusive
contrast between Judaism and Christianity (Gal. 1:14-15).
In Galatians
1:13-14 there is a parallel construction in the Greek so as to emphasize the
stark contrast between the True religion found in the Church, and the false
religion in Judaism. It reads literally (R. K. Fung, pg. 57):
“…Beyond
measure/I persecuted/the church of God.”
“…More
exceedingly/being zealous for/the traditions of my fathers.”
It is important
again to note in detail that Paul uses the term “Judaism”, not Israel because
the Church made up of Jew and Gentile is the Israel of God
(Gal. 3:26ff; 6:16).
In Galatians 6:16,
Paul calls both Jews and Gentiles the “Israel of God”.
The Church is
called the “
ESV Galatians 6:14-16: But far be it from me to boast except in
the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to
me, and I to the world. 15 For neither circumcision counts for
anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. 16 And as for all
who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of
God.
The Church is called “the
Circumcision”
ESV Romans 2:25-29: For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you
break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. 26 So, if a
man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his
uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 27 Then he who is
physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the
written code and circumcision but break the law. 28 For no one is a
Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29
But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by
the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.
ESV Philippians 3:3-4: For we are the real circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and
glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh- 4 though I
myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he
has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more:
ESV Acts 7:38 This
is the one who was in the congregation (ecclesia) in the wilderness with
the angel who spoke to him at
What is “God’s Gospel” in contrast to
Judaism? What is “God’s Gospel” that is divine in origin, received by
sinful man, and is the message of the
The gospel is
gloriously summarized by Paul in three passages. Note Paul’s emphasis on
works versus grace. What we would emphasize would be ‘grace alone’ apart
from any works at all as what is needed for salvation:
ESV Titus 3:4-5:
But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5
he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but
according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and
renewal of the Holy Spirit…
It is because of God’s
mercy, through a righteousness that is alien to us, not our own that is given
to us. We are saved NOT because of works done by us (this opposes
Pelagianism and Semi-Pelagianism!).
ESV 2 Timothy 1:8-9; Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me
his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9
who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works
but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in
Christ Jesus before the ages began…
God saved us and called us
in time because of his “good pleasure” or eudokia (Gk.). The
gospel demonstrates God’s power to save sinners NOT because of our works, but
because of God’s purpose and grace (this opposes Pelagianism and
Semi-Pelagianism).
ESV Ephesians 2:8-9: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is
not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works,
so that no one may boast.
“It is NOT your
own doing…it is the gift of God…NOT a result of your works.” In other
words, to say one is “saved by grace”, you must believe that it is a gift of God
apart from anything you can do or try and attempt to do (Eph. 2:1-4). No
one can boast! If Pelagianism is correct, we don’t need God’s
grace! If Semi-Pelagianism is correct we need God’s grace to cooperate
with, but we have every reason to boast.
If man is merely
sick as Semi-Pelagianism teaches, and grace is made available to all, then if
you have cooperated with God’s grace and were saved and others have not, you
have every right to boast in what you have done- -your decision, your joining a
church, your raised hand, your prayer- -your whatever!
Paul says you
will know the true gospel because you will not be able to boast about anything
in yourself! You will only be able rightly and gloriously boast in the
LORD! Paul was not able to cooperate with God’s grace in the covenant
after many years of trying. Although he advanced in Judaism beyond his
peers, it only caused him to be a murdering sinner that was trying to stamp out
any idea of grace alone!
ESV 1 Corinthians 1:30-31: He is the source of your life
in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and
sanctification and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written,
"Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."
God’s true
gospel of grace alone is about a crucified Messiah for sinners, both Jew and
Gentile who believe! As we consider the true Gospel of the Apostle Paul,
let us also consider why so many during his time and in our own dismiss it,
hate and vehemently oppose it, and do not ultimately receive it as the good news
it truly is! Let us consider Paul’s doctrine in his writings of the
“Apollumi”.
Paul’s
Doctrine of the “Apollumi” both Jew and Gentile
Paul mentions
the “Apollumi” in several places in his writings. The “Apollumi” are
“those who are perishing” [the apollumi in Greek] (including both Jews
and Gentiles who reject Christ and His gospel):
ESV 1 Corinthians 1:18 For the word of
the cross is folly to those who are perishing [Apollumi], but to us who are
being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, "I will destroy the
wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart." 20
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater
of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For
since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it
pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22
For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but
we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24
but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of
God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God
is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For
consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly
standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But
God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is
weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and
despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things
that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of
God. 30 He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom
God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. 31
Therefore, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the
Lord."
ESV 2 Corinthians 2:15-16: For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those
who are being saved and among those who are perishing [Apollumi], 16 to one a fragrance
from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is
sufficient for these things?
ESV 2 Corinthians 4:3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those
who are perishing [Apollumi].
ESV 2 Thessalonians 2:10 and with all wicked deception for those who
are perishing [Apollumi], because
they refused to love the truth and so be saved.
Unless God takes
the initiative and makes us willing and able to believe in the gospel, we are
only the “Apollumi,” or “those who are perishing.” We must
have God removed the veil over our hearts, minds and eyes in order for us to
see the good news that is truly good news in the Gospel of grace alone.
The only true
and biblical teaching of sin and grace then is found in Augustinianism.
Paul not only opposes Pelagianism, but any form of Pelagianism, including
Semi-Pelagianism! To say it starkly albeit anachronistically, Paul was
Augustinian in his understanding of sin and grace, and thus why he fought so
hard to teach and defend the gospel of grace alone, that was not from man -
-but for man!
The Apostle Paul
teaches that we are not merely sick, but dead in trespasses and sins, walking
blinding under the authority of the Prince of the Power of the Air, as “sons of
disobedience” (Eph. 2:1-4). Like the Apostle Paul, we must have Christ
revealed to us by his grace, otherwise we will not, and cannot believe!
Humanly
speaking, why does Judaism reject the gospel of grace alone in Jesus Christ?
To
Judaism, a crucified Messiah for sinners is “a stumbling block” or an “incomprehensible absurdity” to
those in Judaism (read: Isaiah 11:2; Dt. 21:23). In Isaiah 11, Isaiah
tells the people that the Spirit of YHWH will rest on Messiah:
ESV Isaiah 11:1-2: There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch
from his roots shall bear fruit. 2 And the Spirit of the LORD
shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of
counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
The Jews
ask if the Spirit of YHWH shall rest on him, then how could YHWH allow Messiah
truly to be sentenced as a blasphemer and crucified on a heinous Roman cross?
Moses taught the
people in Deuteronomy 21 that a hanged man was cursed by God. Jews living
under Roman rule in the 1st century had seen and some experienced
what this means and looks like in horrendous Roman crucifixions.
ESV Deuteronomy 21:22-23: "And if a man has committed a crime punishable
by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23 his
body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same
day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not
defile your land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance.
If Jesus
was Messiah then how could he be a cursed man hanged on a cross?
The Apostle Paul
makes clear this quandary in Galatians 3:10-14. Paul makes it known to
both Jews and Gentiles that it is just in Christ-Messiah being crucified as a
law-breaker on your behalf, taking upon himself the wrath of God, that you find
your hope of salvation in him alone. Christ was made a curse for all who
believe - -for both Jew and Gentile! Paul writes:
ESV Galatians 3:10-14: For all who rely on works of the law are
under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who does not abide
by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them." 11 Now
it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for "The
righteous shall live by faith." 12 But the law is not of faith,
rather "The one who does them shall live by them." 13 Christ
redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us- for it is
written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"- 14 so
that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so
that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
God cursed his Christ-Messiah for all
those who believed, redeeming us from the curse of the Law (that is, from our
attempted “works of the law” and law-keeping in cooperation with God’s grace
that proved time after time to be failure, and that was storing up for
ourselves the wrath of God to be revealed against us on the Day of Wrath (cf.
Romans 2).
In the only Gospel revealed by God, God
made Christ who knew no sin to be sin for us so that we might be the
righteousness of God- -this is a stumbling block to those who are perishing:
As Paul writes
in Romans 4:25:
Jesus was delivered up for our trespasses and raised
for our justification.
And in Romans
3:23-26:
ESV Romans 3:23-26: …For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and
are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his
blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness,
because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It
was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and
the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
To the Jews,
Jesus is a “stumbling block” and to the Gentiles his life, death, resurrection
and ascension are folly, or foolishness!
To
Gentiles: “folly”-
We hear people say things like this in response to the preaching of the gospel:
“The gospel of
Christ crucified makes no sense!”
“The gospel of
Christ is too bloody and against my modern sensibilities.”
“I’m a pretty
good person with morals; I don’t like talk of sin and God’s wrath.”
Saul the
Pharisee was “stumbling over the cross of Jesus” when he was regenerated and
saw the risen, resurrected Messiah, and commissioned as the Apostle Paul to
make this good news known to the Gentiles! Paul was sent by Jesus with a
gospel of divine origin to make the “good news” or gospel known that Messiah
had come to the ends of the earth.
In contrast to
inventing our own gospel, or trying in our unregenerate self to make sense of
the gospel, or to make it less offensive to us, believers are to “receive” (paralambano)
the truth of God’s revelation as it is given in the preaching and teaching of
God’s Holy Word:
ESV 1 Corinthians 15:1-3: Now I would remind you, brothers, of the
gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and
by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you-
unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of
first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our
sins in accordance with the Scriptures…
We are all
revelation-receivers from the Scriptures! We dare not try to invent our own religion, or try to
understand Christianity beginning with us, we will come up with Pelagianism at
our worst, or at our best perhaps Semi-Pelagianism- -but never Augustinianism
that teaches grace alone in Christ alone!
There is still
an offense to the cross for Gentiles and Jews. The cross is and should be
highly offensive (some might even say an “insult to their intelligence”), but
once God effectually calls one, and regenerates the sinner by his powerful
Spirit, one can see, hear, believe, and understand!
We today still
receive the clear revelation of the Gospel from God from his most Holy Word,
and yet we must understand that the gospel can be misunderstood and confused by
unregenerate man as:
“Folly”
“Offensive”
“A Stumbling block”
In light of our
study on a divinely revealed gospel that is contrary to man’s natural thinking
and hoping for grace, we must remember that there is no such thing as a
“pleasing, non-offensive, seeker-friendly gospel”.
A seeker-friendly gospel is an oxymoron.
Only by God’s grace can one be saved!
Show me a gospel
that does not offend and that somehow pleases man, and I will show you a false
gospel!
No cooperation with
God and his grace to achieve our salvation in Christ should ever be taught in
the
Christianity is not a
synergistic-cooperative-Judaistic-Pharasaic-Semi-Pelagian religion of man’s
making and devising…
…but Christianity is a monergistic
religion of divine origin revealed to man through God’s grace alone.
Be warned of any
systems of religion or “gospels” which are no gospels at all that place the
emphasis on God and man cooperating to achieve salvation!
Judaism(s) today is still a false religion (perhaps
even more so than in the 1st century AD) and even if we are heard as
being “anti-Semitic” because we preach Christ, we must still preach Christ to
the Jews –Jesus is their only hope!! God’s gospel is a divinely revealed
Gospel not from man- -but for man!
[Note: preachers
after World War II and the treacherous Holocaust have been hesitant to preach
to Jews and to call Judaism(s) a false religion opposed to Christianity because
they were frightened that some might think they were anti-Semitic.
However, I would point out that Jesus Christ crucified is the only hope of the
Jews and of Judaism. The gospel of grace is “pro-Semitic” not
“anti-Semitic” in any way! The Apostle Paul, as well as the other
Apostles were Jews saved by grace. Additionally, Judaism is a false
religion of man’s making that denies Jesus Christ as the only Savior, and the
revelation of the Holy Trinity in Scripture. Jews must be called to
repentance and to turn from Judaism to serve the living and true God in Christ
alone by his grace alone!]
Roman
Catholicism is a religion that stresses man’s cooperation with God’s grace. This is why the Reformers thought
of the system of Medieval Roman Catholic theology as being “Jewish”.
Evangelicalism stresses man’s cooperation with God’s
grace to achieve salvation. Grace + works of piety = salvation. Overall,
modern evangelicalism is a movement of Semi-Pelagianism. It is
interesting that often the evangelical caricature of both Judaism of the 1st
century as well as Roman Catholicism (ancient, medieval, and modern) is
works-righteous religions (or “Pelagianism”, though they might not use this
term!).
However, Judaism
and Roman Catholicism have always been “Semi-Pelagian” in their understanding
of sin and salvation. Neither Judaism(s) nor Roman Catholicism has taught
that salvation is by works alone, but rather works cooperating with
grace. Perhaps this is why evangelicals today can so quickly
embrace some aspects of Judaistic teaching, and join with Roman Catholics in
fellowship one with another (e.g. ‘ECT: Evangelicals and Catholics Together’).
Your average
evangelical has been taught that Roman Catholicism teaches “salvation by
works”, so when your average evangelical meets a knowledgeable Roman Catholic,
and the Roman Catholic says “I believe a person is saved by grace in Christ,”
they are quick to form a fellowship and bond together. However, the truth
is not that they teach “salvation by works” but rather (and perhaps more
dangerously) “salvation by grace and works.” Perhaps the reason this does
not distress more evangelicals today is because most evangelicals are as
Semi-Pelagian as Jews and Roman Catholics in their understanding of sin and
grace.
In saying that
Roman Catholicism and Evangelicalism errs in their understanding of sin and
grace, and that they are Semi-Pelagians, this does not mean that they are not
saved. If they are relying on Christ plus something else of their own
works they cannot be saved, but if God has regenerated them by his sovereign
grace and they believe in Jesus Christ, then they can still be saved and also
Semi-Pelagian (although I don’t believe they have thought through their system
of belief and would encourage them to do so!).
Are you one of
the “Apollumi” or “Those who are perishing”? Or do you understand that grace is
to be found in Christ alone with nothing you do, add, or exert?! Or as
John says in chapter one of his Gospel:
ESV John 1:11-13: He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to
become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will
of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Kim Riddlebarger
wrote: “It is [Paul’s] gospel through which we have been set apart and called
by God’s grace. And it is this gospel which alone can set us free from the
guilt and power of sin and the deception of Satan and his henchmen. For
when this gospel is before our eyes in Word and Sacrament, Jesus Christ himself
sets us free from all of those things which had enslaved us.
Let no one dare
attempt to undo what the blood of Christ has purchased for us (nullify the
cross). By the grace of God and through the power of the Holy Spirit, let us,
like Paul, stand firm and resist every attempt of those who seek to enslave us
when Christ has died to set us free!”- from an essay ‘Set Apart and Called by Grace’-
from “Riddleblog” online.
Some are ashamed
of the Gospel of God’s grace alone! Are you ashamed? Or can you
with the Apostle Paul confidently say:
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for
it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first
and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is
revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live
by faith."- The Apostle Paul, Romans 1:16-17
ESV Romans 11:6 But if it is by grace, it is
no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
CRB
Sermons available at www.sermonaudio.com/kcpc
©
Bibliography for Further
Bruce, F. F. Paul:
Apostle of the Heart Set Free.
_________. The Epistle to
the Galatians (New International Greek Testament Commentary)
Calvin, John. The
Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and
Colossians, trans. T. H. L. Parker.
Fung, Ronald Y. K. The
Epistle to the Galatians (New International Commentary on the New
Testament-New Edition).
Gaffin, Richard B., Jr. By
Faith, Not by Sight: Paul and the Order of Salvation.
Hendriksen, William. Galatians
and Ephesians (Baker New Testament Commentary).
Lenski, R. C. H. The
Interpretation of
Lightfoot, J. B. The
Epistle of
Luther, Martin. A
Commentary on
Machen, J. Gresham. Notes
on Galatians (Edited by John Skilton).
Ridderbos, H. N. The
Epistle of Paul to the Churches of
________. Paul: An
Outline of His Theology.
Stott, John R. W. The
Message of Galatians (The Bible Speaks Today)
Ancient Christian Commentary
on Scripture, Volume VIII:
Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians (edited by Mark J. Edwards).