JANUARY 16TH,
2004
I.
What amazed the Apostle
Paul?
A.
Paul was amazed at the
sudden removal of the Galatians from the Gospel.
1.
Solomon warned his readers
to beware of people given to change in Proverbs 24:21.
2.
The Apostle James stated
that instability was the result of being double minded in James 1:8.
3.
Unstable change is a mark of
ungodliness (II Peter 2:14).
B.
The Galatians were “soon
removed” from the Gospel.
1.
These people were known as
people given to change.
2.
They could be persuaded to
move away from the truth.
3.
Paul was stable in his
beliefs, and he could not understand a Christian so easily moved away from the
truth (I Timothy 1:19).
C.
We must be settled in our
beliefs about God and His Word ( Colossians
1:23).
1.
We must not be moved away
from our faith by Mr. Worldly Wise Man.
2.
We are “grounded and
settled” by studying the Word of God and walking close to God everyday.
II.
What is the Gospel?
A.
The definition of Gospel is
“good news.”
-
see Luke 2:10.
B.
The Gospel that Paul
preached, and that we preach today, is:
1.
Jesus Christ died on a cross
for the sins of he world.
2.
Jesus Christ was raised from
the dead for our justification.
3.
All who believe in the work
of Christ on the cross can be saved from their sins (Romans 10:9).
C.
When a person believes the
Gospel, (death, burial and resurrection of Christ), they have peace with God (Colossians
1:20).
D.
So the TRUE Gospel is based
on the person of Jesus Christ, and what He did on the cross.
1.
The true Gospel adds nothing
to the work of Christ on the cross (Ephesians 2:9).
2.
The true Gospel is simply
trust in Christ.
III.
The Apostle Paul must deal
with subtle attacks that are made on the Gospel (6-7).
A.
There was “another gospel”
being preached in
1.
Paul is very quick to state
that it is not the real Gospel.
-
“which is not another” (7)
2.
The Galatian
Christians were “soon removed” from the Gospel by the preachers and teachers of
the false gospel.
B.
These false teachers are
described by Paul as “some that trouble you” (7).
1.
When you try to blend human
works with the True Gospel it will result in trouble.
2.
You will become frustrated
trying to balance out your own works with the finished work of Christ on the
cross.
C.
Paul brands these preachers
and teachers as “accursed” in verses 8 and 9, and calls their gospel a
perversion in verse 7.
Conclusion: Next Sunday, Paul will
describe the true spiritual condition of people who “pervert the gospel of Christ.”