Today we start a new sermon series on the book of Galatians.
The subtitle: SET FREE.
Galatians is probably one of Paul's earliest letters, written to a group of churches in a region called Galatia.

THE PROBLEM:
Galatians 1:6-7 - "I am SHOCKED that you are turning away so soon from God who called you through the loving mercy of Christ. You're following a DIFFERENT WAY that pretends to be the good news, but it's not the good news at all. You're being fooled by those who deliberately TWIST the truth concerning Christ."

Paul starts right off: "You guys are following a different gospel."

WHAT WAS THE "OTHER GOSPEL"?
Acts 15 tells us. Some men from Judea taught: "Unless you're CIRCUMCISED as required by the law of Moses, you CANNOT BE SAVED."
When you become a Christian, you first have to become JEWISH.
It's hard for some to break with tradition they learned all their life. They grew up being Jews. They followed the law. They couldn't conceive of NOT following the law.

The basic truth of the Old Testament doesn't change: Man sinned. Man broke relationship with God. God had mercy and received mankind back through GOD'S GRACE and through MAN'S FAITH.

So they went a step farther: "If you want to follow Jesus, you must become a good Jew just like us."
I'm sure in their minds, they were trying to be good Christians.
BUT PAUL SAW DEEPER.

For Paul, the basic question was: Is Christianity a SECT of Judaism? (Like being a Pharisee or Sadducee?) Or is this something TOTALLY NEW?
All of Jesus' first disciples were good Jewish men. So it's natural to think as the church grows, everybody should become a good Jewish man.
But Paul's answer: NO. This is something TOTALLY NEW. COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.

HOW SERIOUS IS THIS?
Galatians 1:8-10 - "Let God's curse fall on ANYONE—including us or even an angel from heaven—who preaches a DIFFERENT kind of good news. I say again: If anyone preaches any other good news, let that person be CURSED."

This isn't Paul saying "I'd really prefer you didn't do that." This is Paul saying: "If you follow a different gospel, you are CURSED."
TWO GOSPELS COMPARED:
PAUL'S GOSPEL:

Comes by God's GRACE
Requires FAITH in Christ
Results in obedience to the LAW OF CHRIST (love God, love others)

THE OTHER GOSPEL (Judaizers):
Also comes by grace of God
Requires OBEDIENCE TO THE LAW (Moses' law)
Results in following Old Testament requirements

Paul's gospel is about FOLLOWING CHRIST. The other gospel says you must SUBMIT TO THE LAW.

THE QUESTION:
Why would they EVER go back to submit to the law after experiencing freedom in Christ?

This series will explore what it means to be SET FREE in Christ.

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