Today’s Reading: Galatians 1; Acts 15:1-3

I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ. – Galatians 1:6-7

Paul wrote this letter to the believers in Galatia when he heard that the message of salvation was being added to. Jewish believers were including Jewish religious traditions into their gospel message. Instead of preaching a message of salvation by grace through faith, they were telling the Gentiles that they must be circumcised in order to be made right with God (Acts 15:1-2).

Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed. – Galatians 1:8-9

Paul’s words were very strong as he boldly protected the message of salvation. He did not worry what people would think; he did not tiptoe around the truth in order not to hurt anyone’s feelings. Paul stood boldly in the gap between what the people wanted to hear versus what they needed to hear, and he proclaimed the truth as revealed to him by the Spirit of God. He did not worry about winning the approval of people, but of God (Galatians 1:10).

But why? Why was Paul not influenced by the loud voices of the Jewish believers? Why wasn’t he pulled towards the luxury afforded by the favor with man? Paul opened his letter to the believers in Galatia with the bold statement of loyalty to the One who had appointed him.

This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead. – Galatians 1:1

APPOINTED BY BOTH THE FATHER AND THE SON

Paul was not worried about the opinions of man because it was not man who had called him, it was not the church who had appointed him, and it was not the disciples who had chosen him. It was Jesus who had appeared to him on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:5), and it was God who had planned for his salvation through the death of Jesus on the cross.

You know what I was like when I followed the Jewish religion — how I violently persecuted God’s church. I did my best to destroy it. I was far ahead of my fellow Jews in my zeal for the traditions of my ancestors.

But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles. – Acts 1:13-16a

CHOSEN BY GOD AND CALLED BY HIS MARVELOUS GRACE

Paul knew what an honor it was to be chosen by God. He had clarity around his calling (to bring the Good News to the Gentiles), and he never forgot the life that God had rescued him from (his self righteous attitude and his misplaced zeal). He never took his eyes off the One who had released him from the bondage of sin. He had experienced freedom in Christ and he was determined not to surrender that freedom to the misguided expectations of those who were straying from the truth.

Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live. – Galatians 1:4

For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. – Colossians 1:13-14

RESCUED FROM DARKNESS AND FREED FROM SIN

My friends, we have a lot to learn from the life of Paul. Just as he stayed true to the direct revelation he had received from Christ (1:12), we need to boldly protect the message of salvation. It may not win us a popularity contest and it may put a strain on some relationships, but God takes any divergence from the truth seriously and so should we.

Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed. – Galatians 1:8-9

Lord, thank you for purchasing our freedom through your death on the cross. Thank you for the Good News of salvation that Paul preached and that we have accepted — we are saved by grace through faith. It is an honor to be chosen by you and it is a privilege to be appointed by you. May we never lose sight of the calling we have received through the loving mercy of Christ or forget the marvelous grace by which we have been saved. We pray that your Spirit will give us the courage to stand strong for the truth found in your Holy Word, seeking approval from you and your only. Amen.