January 23, 2022 - The Gospel Sieve
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For the past several weeks we’ve gazed LONG and HARD at - the Gospel
Having finished up chapter 1 of Galatians last week - we come out of it realizing the task at hand for the apostle Paul...
He’s trying to CONVINCE the Galatian churches to - BELIEVE what he had ALREADY taught them when he established the churches...
THE GOSPEL!
And he starts out by...
Defending his apostleship (that he was SENT BY GOD and not man)
He THEN...
Defends his message as having COME FROM GOD - and not man
And we SEE that his approach EARLY on in this letter - is to DISTANCE himself from...
…MAN AS HAVING anything to do with his apostleship or message!
And that makes SENSE right?
If we think about the context of this book - FALSE teachers had come in and began TEACHING a false gospel...
NOW - they didn’t LABEL their message as a FALSE gospel!
They labeled PAUL’s message as a FALSE gospel!
Which MEANS - they were teaching that Paul’s message was NOT FROM GOD...
…and was strictly FROM MAN!
And so PAUL responds - IN chapter 1 - to that claim...
Paul SEPARATES himself from MAN - and ATTACHES himself to - GOD
My message is FROM [Him]…!
This AGENDA is FROM [Him]…!
This LOVE is FROM [God]…!
It’s ALL from HIM!
And so PAUL - PRECISE in his argumentation - NOW - beginning in chapter 2....
Shifts course a bit…and for good reason.
We’ll get to that reason today...
1 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me.
2 I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain.
3 But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek.
4 Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery—
5 to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.
6 And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me.
7 On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised
8 (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles),
9 and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.
10 Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.
Anytime you read a text of Scripture that is NARRATIVE...
There’s ALWAYS an aspect of the text that is - HISTORICAL...
And so part of every sermon in that sense - becomes a history lesson...
And so with this text here - we read of what Paul was doing (at the time) and WHY he was doing it...
…and we gain understanding - on a very PRACTICAL level!
What Paul did...
Where he went...
WHEN he went...
WHY he went...
And ALL of these things - not ONLY do they speak into this - STORY of the past...
But they also speak into - our THEOLOGY - today...
And it’s THOSE pieces and parts that we want to GET TO - but not before we UNDERSTAND the STORY...
So let’s walk through the STORY of it…so we can get to the THEOLOGY beneath it...
And we’ll probably spend a few weeks on the theology beneath this passage today...
But first...
I’d like to first - GET INTO Paul’s head if we can - to make sense of what’s happening...
Paul - as we know - is wanting to RE-ENGAGE the Galatian churches...
They’ve EMBRACED a false gospel - one that - ADDS - works to faith...
False teachers had begun teaching that Gentiles in the church needed to be circumcised if they wanted to become - CHRISTIANS...
That they needed - Physical circumcision to GET right with God...
And they begin teaching that PAUL is simply out to - PLEASE man...
To MAKE IT EASY on the Gentiles
To NOT upset them - in making them get circumcised...
And so - - WHAT does Paul do here in our text?
Where in chapter 1 he SEPARATED himself - from MAN…saying he was not taught this MESSAGE…this GOSPEL…
HERE - today...
…we see Paul making it known that HIS message - DID align with the apostle’s message!
Let’s go to a couple verses to see this...
1 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me.
2 I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain.
So Paul here is TELLING the Galatians - that 14 years after his conversion (that’s the concensus) - that he went back to Jerusalem…in order to preach to those who SEEM influential… the gospel he preached to the GENTILES!!
Now those who SEEM influential - this is probably James, Peter and John...
Which I think v9 speaks to...
9 and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.
So Paul here - having LAST chapter SEPARATED himself from MAN...
NOW ALIGNS himself - with the apostles…ACCORDING to the MESSAGE - the GOSPEL!
NOW WHY would Paul do this?
He told us at the end of v2...
2 I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain.
This verse here - is gonna be our SPRINGBOARD...
it’s going to LAUNCH us into our passage today…to help us DIG in...
…and SHOW US - why Paul is taking this approach here in our text...
WHY he’s aligning his message with the message of the apostles!
When Paul here - TELLS the Galatians that he preached the gospel to James, Peter, and John...
..IN ORDER to make sure that he was not RUNNING in vain...
Paul’s NOT SAYING that he was wanting to MAKE sure that his message was - ACCURATE!
He’s not saying - Well - I just wanted to make sure that what I was saying - was correct…!
NO - I believe that it’s VERY possible that there were PEOPLE who were ALREADY maligning Paul’s message of GRACE....
…and MAYBE their beef went like this...
From the New American Commentary...
Galatians (1) The Second Visit to Jerusalem (2:1–10)
“After his conversion we had such high hopes for Paul. After all, no one else in this generation was better trained in God’s Torah than he. But now he has departed from the faith of Jesus and the apostles. He is carrying out a negative campaign against the law, totally divorcing the Messiah from the nation Israel. He is a dangerous radical who must be stopped before he completely overturns the Jewish character of our faith by bringing into the church those Gentiles who shun so basic a requirement of the law as circumcision.”
And so MAYBE this was at play...
AND PAUL - was wanting to SEE and HEAR about the RESULTS of their labor...
He wanted to KNOW if the CHURCH that was being ESTABLISHED...
…was a - DIVIDED church or not…!
NOT because the MESSAGE was wrong....but simply because we’re dealing with MAN - who’s HEART is above all things - wicked…and deceitful...
Paul wanted to know if the CHURCH being established was actually - divided...
a Jewish church
a Gentile church
If THAT was the case - Paul would have labeled his work - IN VAIN...
But he’s TELLING the Galatians this very thing - NOW - TO THE GALATIANS...
He wants THEM to know - something specific about the Gospel!!
What is it? - Let’s read thru the text - and we’ll see it...
2 I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain.
3 But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek.
Paul here - is letting the Galatians KNOW - that back when TITUS (who was a Gentile), WENT with Paul to Jerusalem...
He wasn’t FORCED to be circumcised!
And that MEANS - that WHAT THE GALATIANS are hearing NOW - from the False Teachers - FALLS OUTSIDE of - the gospel first PREACHED by the apostles!
And that POINTS to the reality that this PUSH for circumcision had COME ABOUT - OUTSIDE of the apostles themselves -
And this puts a SPOTLIGHT on the False Teachers...
4 Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery—
5 to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.
And so here we see - within the STORY - a theological nugget that we can pull out...
SLIDE: Our Gospel Living: Preserves God’s Truth in the Heart of Man
Our Gospel Living
Our Gospel Living
What did Paul say...
5 to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.
Paul’s not saying that HIS CHOICE to NOT allow Titus to get circumcised - KEPT the gospel TRUE...
He’s saying that HIS CHOICE to not allow Titus to get circumcised - KEPT the gospel - CLEAR in the hearts of the those watching that play out…and OUR hearts as well - EVEN today!!
See - if Titus WOULD have succumbed - and GOTTEN circumcised - that wouldn’t have made the Gospel - FALSE...
BUT IT WOULD have - BLURRED the gospel - in the hearts of OTHERS…!
Our LIVES can do the same! - TODAY!
We need to KNOW that!
Our LIVING - will either - DISPLAY the gospel in a CLEAR way...
OR
will NOT display the gospel in a CLEAR way...
**People have asked me (in the past) if I know of any devotionals that would be good for their Catholic family member - and I always clarify - a Devotional probably wouldn’t be a good idea for a Catholic family member - BECAUSE - it will become another checklist in their life and something they use to try and EARN HEAVEN…**
And Paul wanted to CONTINUE to display the Gospel CLEARLY - to those around him...
SO - they DID NOT submit to the false teachers - not even for a moment...
6 And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me.
7 On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised
Paul here is setting up - I believe - his next MAIN argument - TO THE GALATIANS - for WHY they need to EMBRACE his message of the Gospel!
HERE - Paul is LINKING arms with the apostles…and in DOING SO _ he’s SHINING a BRIGHT LIGHT on the False Teachers and their teaching!
See - it seemed at first - IN GALATIANS - that Paul was maybe setting himself up to be..
this LONE-WOLF...
this Renegade...
this Rogue...
Jewish CONVERT...
But he NEEDS to SHOW the Galatians - that he IN FACT - is ALIGNED with the apostles!
WHY?
Well - I think - if we remember back to the demographic of the Galatians churches - we talked about it...
Mostly Gentile…but a mix of Jews as well...
Well we should know - that WHILE the false teachers’ message was DIRECTED at - the Gentiles...
THAT MESSAGE would STILL have had an IMPACT on - - The Jewish believers!
*IMAGINE - You’re a Jewish convert - coming out from UNDER the law - into the LIGHT of Grace!
And then you hear - “Hey Gentiles - You NEED to be circumcised to BE SAVED!”
Well THAT message is going to impact my JEWISH mind...
“maybe I DO need to TRUST in my physical circumcision!”
You see? - It IMPACTS BOTH sides!!
That’s WHY this sermon is TITLED what it is...
SERMON TITLE: The Gospel Sieve: Sifting All Men & All Beliefs
The Gospel Sieve
The Gospel Sieve
The message of the FALSE TEACHERS - impacted both Gentile - AND Jew
SLIDE: A Distorted Gospel: Flows From a Distorted Law
A Distorted Gospel
A Distorted Gospel
Paul told us early on in this book of Galatians that False teachers had come in to distort the Gospel… the Good News
And we KNOW that they claimed CIRCUMCISION was a prerequisite to Salvation!
Well - THAT’S a distortion of the law!
What was the purpose of the law? - And we’ll get to this later in this book...
But the Law brings with it - the KNOWLEDGE of SIN...
The law REVEALS to us how INSURMOUNTABLE the law is...
It POINTS to the - righteous One - Jesus Christ!!
WHY? - because Jesus fulfilled the Law!
The False Teachers - by distorting the LAW - end up Distorting the Gospel…!
And so they’ve basically CREATED their own BELIEF system!
And so - PAUL wants to let the Galatians KNOW - that the ONE TRUE Gospel - SIFTS ALL Men & ALL BELIEFS!!
8 (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles),
LOVE THIS VERSE!
This is - I believe - the CRUX of the matter for Paul.
he’s saying - The SAME MESSAGE - Gospel - SIFTS both JEW - AND Greek!
AND EVERYONE ELSE for that matter!!!
HERE’s what the False Gospel SIEVE looks like:
SLIDE:
False Gospel SIEVE Picture
What do SIEVES do?
They allow PARTICLES to get thru right?
They STOP SOME particles…but ALLOW others...
The False Gospel SIEVE allows certain WORKS - to GET THRU...
It says - OK, you NEED circumcision to GET to HEAVEN....So this SIEVE will ALLOW circumcision to GET THRU!
It will allow water baptism - to GET THRU!
It will allow your GOOD WORKS to GET THRU...
This is a FALSE GOSPEL - sieve...
· And the REASON it’s a FALSE Gospel sieve is because of what Paul says in Romans 3:28
28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.
· The FALSE Gospel – teaches that WORKS (whatever they are) – ARE REQUIRED to get you to God!
· But what did this verse JUST SAY?
· It says – we’re JUSTIFIED or SAVED – based on FAITH and NOT works!
So if you try to USE this SIEVE to get to God – you WON’T make it!
· The TRUE Gospel - - allows NO works through – as a basis of our SALVATION…
And SO – since that’s true…
This HERE – is the ONE TRUE Gospel Sieve…
SLIDE:
The Gospel Sieve Picture
· You’re like – that’s NOT A sieve…NOTHING’s getting through that thing…
· EXACTLY
· Well – if God is on the other side – HOW do we get to GOD?
· Answer – Faith ALONE…
And so – to close – HOW does this TRUE Gospel Sieve – IMPACT both Jew and Greek?
· An ethnic Jew lives his life of external obedience to the Law…
o He comes to the end of his life and he comes to this SIEVE…
o He’s got – ALL of his history of WORKS – stored up in a duffle bag…
o And he’s trying to get his works thru the SIEVE…!
· Well – they’re not GETTING thru!
· This Jew is told – you’re works CAN’T GET you in…
· The TRUE Gospel – CONFRONTS the Jew (or anyone) TRYING to use their WORKS to get them to GOD!
· And the Gospel says to that person – NOT HAPPENING! – It’s IMPOSSIBLE!
And so – the TRUE Gospel – points this person AWAY from their works – and TO Jesus and HIS work on the cross!
THEIR only way to get to GOD??
· To let go of their WORKS as a basis for their salvation!
· To TRUST FULLY in Christ alone for their salvation!
· That’s the ONLY way to get THRU – to God.
How about the Gentile? The Greek?
· An unbelieving Gentile/Greek lives his life – LIVING as he pleases.
· He comes to the end of his life and he comes to this TRUE Gospel SIEVE…
· His mindset is – I’m not even sure God exists…BUT IF HE DOES – I know I’m not a bad person.
o CERTAINLY not the worst person in the world.
o I’ve never killed anyone…
o My GOOD deeds outweigh my BAD deeds…
· Well – the TRUE Gospel sieve – CONFRONTS this mindset.
· It tells this Gentile that THERE IS a GOD and that FAITH ALONE in Christ ALONE – is the ONLY way to GET to Him!
· It tells this unbelieving GENTILE that MORALITY (good works) won’t GET you THRU – to God!
· And so WE SEE – the reality of verse 8 come to life in the lives of both Jew and Greek…
8 (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles),
· As we saw a couple weeks ago – the TRUE Gospel – judges ALL MEN…and ALL beliefs.
SUMMARY
This week - Paul is now ALIGNING his message - with the message of the apostles!!
AND IN DOING SO -
He REINFORCES the connection between his message and Christ’s!....
AND
He shines a spotlight on the ERROR of this False Gospel!
The True Gospel:
Aligns with the Message of the Apostles
Sifts All Men & All Beliefs
Is Displayed in Our Living
Aligns with the Message of the Apostles: This is what PAUL did today…He ALIGNED his message (the one he previously preached TO the Galatians - with the message of the apostles) <— the men who lived and walked with Jesus Himself
Sifts All Men & All Beliefs: This means that a DISTORTED view of the Law, will lead to a Distorted (false) Gospel
Is Displayed in Our Living: That for those around us - who should be HEARING the gospel from our lips - they should also SEE the gospel in our hands and feet.
The Gospel Displayed in our Living - is a Gospel validated in the hearts of those watching...
May we - as a fellowship - LIVE out this GOOD NEWS in our lives...
drawing men and women - young and old - to Jesus Christ, their savior...
Let’s Pray