It is for FREEDOM

that Christ has set us

FREE

GALATIANS for TODAY

Mark MeynellCornerstone 2013

DESERTING THE GOSPEL?Galatians 1 Sunday 11th August 2013

Introduction: What do people out there really think?

Christian Smith & Melina Lundquist Denton Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers (2005, OUP USA)

Paul was sent by the God of the Gospel (1:1-2)

The Galatians were saved by the Grace Gospel of God (1:3-5)

MORALISTIC THERAPEUTIC DEISM (MTD)

1. GOD2. BEHAVIOUR3. PURPOSE4. DIVINE INVOLVEMENT5. FUTURE

1. DESERTING THE GOSPEL OF GOD? (1:6-10)

Acts 14:1-20

1:6

1:7-9 ANATHEMA

3 Elements of the Galatian Heresy

Legalists

Cf Acts 15:1-2

Racialists

Nomists

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2. MANDATED BY THE GOD OF THE GOSPEL (1:11-24)

A Divine Revelation1:11-12

Philip Yancey What’s So Amazing About Grace (Zondervan, 2002)

A Divine Invasion

1:13-14

1:16

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SETTING GRACE ASIDE?Galatians 2Monday 12th August 2013

Introduction: The Appeals and Perils of High Office

Mark 10:42-45

1. Paul’s Gospel: Endorsed by the Big Guns (because it is God’s!) (2:1-10)

Acts 11:27-30

(i) Paul’s Gospel Submission2:2

2:4-5

2:6

(ii) Peter’s Recent Revelation

Acts 11:1-3

Acts 11:9, 18

(iii)Apostles’ Right Hand

Gal 2:7-10

Guard the Truth of Grace

Protect the Most Vulnerable

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2. Paul’s Gospel: Undermined by the Big Guns (Despite being God’s!) (2:11-21)

2:12-13

2:15-16

2:17-19

Refusing to eat with Gentiles? =

Sharing a meal with Gentiles? =

Seeking righteousness by works of the law is:

(i) Impossible

(ii) Dangerous

(iii)Offensive

7/24

IS FAITH REALLY ENOUGH?Galatians 3:1-25Tuesday 13th August 2013

Introduction: Why do people lose their faith?Cf Mark 4:1-12 (Parable of the Soils)

3:1

1. SPIRIT NOT STRIVING: How do we know God? (3:1-5)

How it all began (3:2,5)

3:2

3:5

Acts 11:18

How it all continues (3:3-4)

Blessings (Deut 28:1-14)Curses (Deut 28:15-68)

Jeremiah 31:33-34

2. FAITH NOT FITNESS: How do we inherit from Abraham? (3:6-14)3:6 & Genesis 15:6

3:8 & Genesis 12

3:9

Genesis 17 BUT Gal 3:10

CURSE: 3:10 = Dt 27:26

LIFE: 3:11 = Hab 2:4

LIFE: 3:12 = Lev 18:5

CURSE: 3:13 = Dt 21:23

JUSTIFIED =“righteousified”AcquittedMade right with GodJust as if I’d never sinned

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3. PROMISES NOT PERFORMANCE: Why do we need the law at all? (3:15-25)3:18

Luke 19:9-10

3:19-20

3:24-25

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PLEADING FOR THEIR LIVESGalatians 3:26-4:31Wednesday 14th August 2013

Introduction: The old nature must dieOliver Sacks An Anthropologist On Mars (Picador, 2009)

3:26 ‘In Christ’.

1. You are IMITATORS not DESERTERS (4:12-20)3:1

4:16

2. You are SONS not SLAVES (3:25-4:11)

3:27 Baptism imagery

3:28-29

4:1-2

BEFORE Turning Point AFTER

Slave (4:1) Sons (4:5)

Subject to powers, even if heir (4:2-3)

Coming of age (4:2) Spirit poured into hearts - call God Father (4:6)

Legalism Christ under law (4:4) Heir inherits (4:7)

4:8-11

3. You are FREED not CHAINED (4:21-31)

(i) The Facts: 2 MOTHERS & SONS (3:21-23)

(ii) The Figures: 2 MOUNTAINS

Isaiah 54:1

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(iii)The Futures: 2 OUTCOMES

4:30

Moses a child of Abraham

Paul a child of Abraham

In Summary: ABRAHAM’S LEGACY (Gal 4:21-31)

HAGAR 2 Mothers (4:22) SARAH

ISHMAEL 2 Sons(4:22-23) ISAAC

“Ordinary Way” 2 Births(4:23) “By Promise”

Mt SINAIMountains

(4:24 cf Heb12:22)

Mt ZION

EARTHLY Jerusalem(4:25-26) HEAVENLY

ENSLAVED Status(4:25-26) FREE

RACEDescendants (4:28 cf Gal

3:6-7)GRACE

DISINHERITED Outcome(4:30) HEIRS

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FREE AT LAST!Galatians 5-6Thursday 14th August 2013

Introduction: When will we be truly free?28th August 1963 - The March on Washington

Paul vs Legalism: 2:21

Paul vs Licence 5:1

1. You are free… SO DON’T BE BURDENED AGAIN: Who I am before God (5:1-12)5:2-3

5:5-6

5:11

5:12

Douglas Coupland, Life After God (Simon & Schuster, 1994)

The Spirt in Galatians so far3:2-5 FAITH3:14 PROMISE4:6 ADOPTION4:29 BIRTH

2. You are free… SO DON’T INDULGE THE FLESH: Who I am in myself (5:13-26)

5:16

5:13-14

FIGHT (5:16-18)

FLIGHT (5:19-21)

Sexual immoralityJealousySelfish ambitionDissensions

FRUIT (5:22-26)

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3. You are free… SO LIVE TOGETHER IN GRACE: Who I am with others (6:1-18)

One another’s sin6:1

One another’s burdens6:2

One another’s growth

6:3-6

4. GALATIANS IN SUMMARY: YOU ARE FREE!

(i) Walk in the Spirit!

6:9-10

(ii) Boast in the Cross!

6:14

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OR CHRIST DIED FOR NOTHING!Galatians 2:21Friday 16th August 2013

Introduction: Wasting our time?

Gal 2:21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!

Do we treat the CROSS as a waste of time?

1. Forgetting about the Cross

2. Adding to the Cross

3. Presuming on the Cross

PERSONAL NOTES

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Maps, Charts & TablesGalatians Background

Paul In Galatia (Acts 14-15, Galatians 1-2)

Galatians and the OT

PAUL’S USE OF THE OT in GalatiansPAUL’S USE OF THE OT in GalatiansGal 3:6 Genesis 15:6Gal 3:8 Genesis 12:3 (cf Gen 18:18 & 22:18)Gal 3:10 Deuteronomy 27:26Gal 3:11 Habakkuk 2:4Gal 3:12 Leviticus 18:5Gal 3:13 Deuteronomy 21:23Gal 3:16 Genesis 13:15 (cf Gen 12:7, 17:7, 24:7)Gal 4:27 Isaiah 54:1Gal 4:30 Genesis 21:10Gal 5:14 Leviticus 19:18NB all are from Torah (Law/Pentateuch)NB all are from Torah (Law/Pentateuch) except Habakkuk & Isaiah

The 75 most common words in Galatians

Useful Things On Galatians

BooksGalatians (Bible Speaks Today), John Stott (IVP, 1993)Galatians For You, Tim Keller (Good Book Co, 2013)Galatians (Tyndale NT Commentary), Alan Cole (IVP, 2009)Galatians: Paul’s Charter of Christian Freedom, Leon Morris (IVP, 1996)

No Longer Slaves, Roy Clements (IVP, 1997) If you can track down a copy (Out of print)

The Bible’s Grand StoryGod’s Big Picture, Vaughan Roberts (IVP, 2002)Remaking a Broken World, Christopher Ash (Authentic, 2010)According to Plan, Graham Goldsworthy (IVP, 1991)A Better Freedom (Finding Life as Slaves of Christ), Michael Card (IVP 2009)

AudioGospel Freedom: ASLP series C166 on Galatians (2010-2011)Only One Gospel: ASLP series C002 by John Stott on Galatians (1966)Hope In A Despairing World: MM’s podcast Bible Overview (free on iTunes)

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The Background in Acts 14:1-20

At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed. 2  But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 3  So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders. 4 The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. 5 There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. 6 But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, 7 where they continued to preach the gospel.

8 In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10 and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.

11  When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.

14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15 “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. 16  In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17 Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” 18 Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.

19 Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. 20 But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.

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GROUP DISCUSSIONSGalatians

You have 30 min each morning to discuss what you have heard and then to pray it in. Perhaps simply start by clarifying any misunderstandings or confusions, and then consider how the talk’s big idea changes us.

Deserting the Gospel?(Gal 1)

Big Idea:GOD is an

INTERVENING GOD

How does Galatians’ portrayal of God differ from the way many of your friends think of Him?Why is GRACE such an important and joyful truth for Christians?What happens if we lose hold of GRACE? Why might we be tempted to lose sight of it?

Setting Grace Aside? (Gal 2)

Big Idea:GRACE makes the

gospel good!

Why was Paul anxious to get the support of the Jerusalem apostles? Why was he then prepared to challenge them several years later?Why did the issue of circumcision represent the whole problem of the false teachers in Galatia?Why are people offended by the Cross gospel? Were you at some point? How might you respond to a friend who was offended?

Is Faith Really Enough (Gal 3:1-25)

Big Idea: FAITH Saves!

Have you known friends fall away from the faith? What were some of the reasons?Are there ways in which you are tempted to nomism (i.e. saved by grace, continue by works)? How would Paul respond?How is it possible for faith really to be enough?

Pleading for their lives (Gal 3:26-4:31)

Big Idea:We are ADOPTED

Why is it so important to understand our identity in Christ as he has revealed it?How does that change our view of ourselves and of those around us?What might some of the All Souls’ church family’s blind spots to our Gospel unity be? (3:28) What practical steps can you take to change that?

Free at Last! (Gal 5-6)

Big Idea:We really are FREE at LAST!

How is it possible to understand a holy life as a truly liberated life? Are there aspects of it that you struggle with? How does Paul help with them here?Why is the Holy Spirit so important for all believers (whether ‘charismatic’ or not)?How can we help one another to fight, flight and fruit?

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