Galatians Chapter 1:13-16b
Sermon #7 ~ Does the Past Really Matter?
Introduction
- Paul
has written, and we have looked at, that the gospel he taught did not come
from men
- We
saw this first in verse 1 of chapter 1 and also in verses 10-12 which we
looked at the previous two times we came together
- Now
what Paul needs to do is prove this to the Galatian churches; the way in
which he sets out to prove the origin is by an appeal to his personal
history
- So
for the remainder of the chapter Paul relates about his pre-conversion
state, at the moment of conversion, and then what happened in the period
shortly after his conversion
- He
makes it clear that he could not have received the gospel from men, least
of all the apostles in Jerusalem
- Rather
we will see in the coming weeks that his very isolation at this period of
his life (this is the critical period being attacked by the legalizers)
indicates that the gospel must have come to him directly from God, as he
has stated
- However today we will have
to begin where Paul begins, and that is in his former life, i.e. his life
before Christ
- Out of this we will see how
God can take that which seems the least likely person and make them his
very own
- Who have you known in your
life that you have mentally almost written off? Who is in your life that
you believe that it would be nearly impossible for that person to be saved
by God’s grace?
- As I ask the question two things come to mind, right?
One is that person’s face whom you can’t imagine as a believer and the
second is the words of Matthew 19:26 “that with God all things are possible.”
- As Christians we know we
should never think that God can’t do something but at the same time don’t
we often behave as if that is what we believe?
- Today we are going to look
at the life of Paul as he tells his own story and we will examine the
question of “Does the Past Really Matter?”
- I trust that today you will
be encouraged by this as we look at the truth of God’s word
- I know that there are those
within the sound of my voice that have children that have wandered far
away from God and their parents are sitting here wondering what God can do
with them after they have wasted their youth
- I know there are others of
you here who have unbelieving spouses at home; some of those spouses are
content to let you be here and just dismiss that church isn’t for them
others are very outspoken against Christ and his church
- Perhaps you are in a
different group, maybe it is a grandchild, a sister or brother, an aunt or
an uncle that you would like to see saved, perhaps a friend or a co-worker
- The difference in all these
situations is God not the persons current manner of life; don’t allow
yourself to focus on the current behavior but rather take comfort that God
is sovereign over all
- Proverbs 21 tells us “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he
turns it wherever he will.”
- Allow God to change the
heart of your loved one just as he does the heart of a King
Permitted by God
- 13For you have heard of my former life in Judaism,
how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 14And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many
of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the
traditions of my fathers. 15But when he
who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in
order that I might preach him among the Gentiles,
- Paul’s past performance was
no indication of his future was it?
- I think of that disclaimer
you get when they advertise an investment opportunity
- They go through all the
good stuff about this investment, they tell you all about how well it has
done over the last 5 years
- Then at the very end an
announcer with a really, really fast voice says “Past performance is no
guarantee of future results, read prospectus carefully before investing,
investments are not FDIC insured blah, blah, blah”
- That is sort of how I feel
it is with God, God looks at our lives and his message to all of us is:
“Past performance is no guarantee of future results.”
- Of course when stock brokers
tell you that they mean instead of making lots of money you may lose money
on the deal
- When God adds that
postscript to someone’s life he means just the opposite doesn’t he?
- Look at the life of Paul,
by his own confession he was persecuting the church of God and trying to destroy it
- I think most of us recall
the violence with which Paul (then called Saul) persecuted the church,
Acts 7:58 tells how he was overseeing the stoning of Steven
- At the time he rationalized
it in his mind by finding an Old Testament law to allow him to do it but
when your goal is to rationalize anything your mind can always find a way
to do that
- Acts 8:3 Tells how Saul
continued to persecute the church in Jerusalem, if you read the account it
sounds like Saul might have been the first member of the KGB
- It speaks of him going into
houses and removing men and women, fathers and mothers and having them
committed to prison
- Acts 9 continues and verse
one of chapter 9 says that Saul was still breathing threats and murder
against the disciples of the Lord
- What does he do, he has
almost cleaned up the problem in Jerusalem because in reality many of the
people have fled to other areas but Saul is not content to see them go but
chases them down
- 9:2 tells us he got
permission to go to Damascus to find people of The Way and bring them back
to prison in Jerusalem
- Throwing parents in jail,
killing Christians, Saul was not a nice guy
- But through all of this he
was advancing in Judaism, I notice he went directly to the High Priest for
his request, clearly he had a reputation with the High Priest and had
access to him to make this request
- He didn’t even have to
throw stones at the stoning of Steven he just oversaw it
- Saul was what we might call
a bad dude
- Yet in spite of all the
evil he did he was able to do it in such away that before men he appeared
blameless
- He had men fooled that what
he was doing he was doing for God and not for himself, however that was in
his former way of life
- In this passage Paul gets
honest with his readers and tells the truth about his motivation, it was
to please men, it was to advance in Judaism
- As for pleasing God, his
testimony is Paul did not try and confuse traditions of the fathers with
jealousy for God, he knew his own heart in the matter
- He says that his goal was
the traditions of the fathers, he had been more concerned with preserving
history and tradition than pleasing God
- I hope there is no one here
today that is more concerned with history and tradition than pleasing God,
may it never be so
Set apart by God
- 13For you have heard of my former life in Judaism,
how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 14And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many
of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the
traditions of my fathers. 15But when he
who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in
order that I might preach him among the Gentiles,
- Notice the contrast here,
at first it was I persecuted, I was advancing, I was zealous then we have
the connector of “but” next Paul speaks of him who set him apart, had
called him, revealed the Son to him all with the goal that Paul would
preach
- Do you see the contrast
from I, I, I to when he; the focus shifts to what God did not what Paul
did
- I have said before that the
gospel is a man abasing God exalting truth; Paul not only taught this but
lived it as well; his testimony gives glory to what God did not what he
did
- You see Paul as he gives
his testimony talks about what he did as he walked in the flesh and then
how God began to do and even had begun to do before he was born
- Now you may be wondering
about the expression Paul uses here where he mentions that he was set
apart before he was born
- We have seen numerous
examples throughout the Old and New Testaments of children being set apart
before they were born
- For example in 1 Samuel we
see that Samuel’s mother committed him to the Lord before he was even
conceived, in Judges 13 we see that Samson was set apart before he was
conceived, and of course there are others, Jeremiah and so on
- In the New Testament we
have the story of John the Baptist in Luke 1 and how he was promised to
his father Zechariah as he went into the temple to burn incense he
encountered an angel who made the promise of the birth of John
- Of course let us not forget
how Jesus was set apart before birth so much so that even the nature of
his conception was set apart to illustrate the call on his life and to
point to his true identity
- But let me tell you that
when Paul wrote that he was set apart before he was born he is not merely
referring to an angel visiting one of his parents and making a promise, as
unique as that would be it is actually so much better what happened
- Turn with me to Titus 1; I
want you to all see this because when Paul says he was set apart before he
was born it wasn’t just Paul but also me and many of you here today, it is
all of God’s elect whom he has set apart.
- 1Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus
Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of
the truth, which accords with godliness, 2in
hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages
began 3and at the proper time manifested
in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the
command of God our Savior;
- Did anyone catch what Paul
just said there? Let me tell you he said a whole lot
- For those of you who think
I may be moving too slowly through Galatians be glad we are not in Titus
because I think there is more to deal with in Titus’ opening words than in
Galatians
- Paul mentions a bunch of
things in these opening 3 verses but notice the expression “which
God…promised before time began”
- Now let me ask you
something, to whom did God make this promise if it was before time began?
- Some might guess angels but
I think a correct theology would place the creation of angels somewhere in
the 6 days of creation that God records for us in Genesis 1 and 2.
- Keep in mind we see time
created in Genesis 1 and this was before time began, so to who did God
make this promise?
- The answer is, it was an
inner-Trinitarian promise; God the Father promised God the Son a redeemed
humanity
- Look again at this verse
and what Paul is saying.
- Paul a
servant and an apostle for the sake of the faith of the elect; Paul is saying God called him to be a preacher
that preaches faith so the elect can hear and be saved
- And their
knowledge of truth which leads to godliness; what is he saying here, after they have
accepted in faith I keep preaching in order that they hear truth and are
led by the Spirit into all godliness
- In hope of
eternal life; that is a major
part of the motivation of the Christian life isn’t it? The fact that are
names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life and that when we die we have
assurance of going to heaven and being with our Savior, Paul preaches that
too
- Which God who
never lies promised before time began; you see what
Paul is saying, God promised election, faith, sanctification and
glorification to the Son in eternity past before there was ever a sun, a
moon, an earth, let alone sinful people that would need to be redeemed
- Everyone who is a
blood-bought child of God was promised by God the Father to God the Son
before time even began; do see now why I said that was better than an angel
promising something to your parents?
- God’s election and
foreknowledge of people extends far beyond just merely who will be saved
but even to the specific details of their individual conversion
- God decided that I should
be converted as a 5 year old boy in a school chapel, he decided that Paul
should be converted as an adult man walking on the road to Damascus
- Take a moment to reflect on
your moment of conversion; as you reflect on that take another moment to
thank God for ordering the events of your life so that you were saved at
exactly the right time in exactly the right way according to his sovereign
will
At one with God
- 16was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order
that I might preach him among the Gentiles,
- The first half of verse 16
reveals something new in Paul’s character as we go through his testimony
- He went from being
permitted by God for a time to wreak havoc in the church, but then in time
God who had set him apart called him unto himself and now Paul is at one
with God
- It is as 2 Corinthians 5:17
teaches us: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a
new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
- Paul genuinely is a new
creation, he is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy
- Remember at the beginning
of the message we talked about the one person who we couldn’t see
changing; Paul was that guy in the 1st century
- People Magazine just
published their Top 100 most beautiful people list; and all the Hollywood stars that are considered to be the best looking are in there
- Well I don’t know if the
early church had a publication called 100 worst people for Christians to
hang out with but I am certain if they did Paul would have been in the top
10
- His name would have been
listed right in between Caesars and the High Priest’s name
- But now he is at one with
God, saved by faith through grace; so what is it natural to assume Paul is
now doing? He is doing what he was predestined to do, in his case preach
- What are you called to do
and are you doing it?
- Not everyone is called to
go to Africa as missionary for the rest of their lives but if God called
you to do that then you better go
- Not everyone is called to
preach but those who have been called better be busy about the task they
were called to do
- Maybe God is calling you to
teach Sunday School, perhaps God has called you to be a servant here in
this church, perhaps folding bulletins and putting the inserts in them is
your God assigned calling, then do it with joy knowing you have been
faithful to the master
- 1 Corinthians 4:2 “It is required of stewards that they be found faithful
or trustworthy”
- But allow me to also say if
God has called you to preach the Gospel say in a foreign land and you have
opted to teach Sunday School here you are not fulfilling your God
appointed task
- Remember Jesus’ words in
Luke 12:48 “Everyone to whom much was given,
of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much,
they will demand the more.”
- My father had an uncle that
served as a deacon in a Baptist church all his life; from the outside he
was blameless, but after his death my father found out something about him
that he hadn’t known.
- His uncle had been called
to preach and instead of obeying the call he did everything he could to
appease God but not what he was told to do, he disobeyed
- I know a man who had been a
preacher for most of his life, then one day he stopped preaching; his wife
never knew why he stopped but just that he had and he wouldn’t do it again
- I ask you, was he faithful
to his call? Did he execute his assigned task to the glory of God?
- We must do what we are
called to do; once we are at one with God it should naturally flow from
our lives Spirit lead, Spirit filled good works.
- Ephesians 2:10 tells us: ”10For
we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
- This is one of the most
exciting and most invigorating verses in the Bible; this verse tells us
that we have been created anew in Christ for the purpose of good works
- But not just any good
works, specifically we were chosen for good works which God has already
planned out for us
- Do you realize you can wake
up every morning and as you do your morning routine you can be invigorated
by the thought that God has prepared good works for you to do that day?
- Again don’t try and do
someone else’s good works; that won’t work out
- Can you imagine me trying
to do Eydie’s job, Jim’s job, Noah’s job? It would be a disaster but there
are tasks that God has given me and also he has equipped me with the
skills, the abilities, the interest the zeal, everything I need to succeed
in the power of the Spirit
- Look at Paul, he was
ambitious at whatever he did; we see that in his life before faith in
Christ and after he became a believer in Christ
- At first his zeal was
un-sanctified and led to disastrous ends, later once his zeal had been
purified by the blood of Christ he was able to say in 2 Corinthians 4:8-11
- 8We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed;
perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9persecuted,
but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10always
carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may
also be manifested in our bodies. 11For
we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that
the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
- That is Christian zeal
given as a gift from the Father, to say that we are afflicted but not
crushed, perplexed but not driven to despair can all of you say that?
Conclusion
- Does the past really
matter?
- It doesn’t if you are a blood-bought
child of the king; everything in your former manner of life was washed
away by his blood
- If that is what you think
of when you think of the past and whether it matters then no, it doesn’t
- If on the other hand when I
ask if the past really matters and you are a believer but you have sinned
against someone, perhaps someone in this room today then you need to do
what James 5:16 says and confess your sins to one another and pray for one
another
- Don’t leave with that
burden still on your heart
- If you are here today
asking if that Past really matters and you can’t look back on your life
and pinpoint a time when God changed your life, when he came into your
life and took control, when you accepted what Christ did on the cross for
you then the message of the Gospel for you today is you are still living
in the past
- All things haven’t become
new to you, but perhaps today is the day that is appointed for salvation,
if you would like to come forward I would love to talk to you about your
relationship with Jesus Christ
- Nothing scary just ask you
some questions and lead you through a very simple prayer
- The scary thing is to not
know, there is great peace in knowing that God has bought you with his
blood and you are his forever child