Galatians 1:1-4 Paul, an apostle — sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead — and all the brothers with me, to the churches in Galatia: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
When Paul writes the above words to open his letter to the church in Galatia, he is claiming literally that what happened to him on the road to Damascus was of supernatural origin. He is not saying he is an apostle to the Galatians because of his own desires or because he was sent by others to minister to them, or even because he has had some spiritual revelation or some powerful conversion, (even though it was powerful and dramatic), he is saying that Jesus Christ himself commissioned him to preach the Good News to all people. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” (Acts 9:3-6) Indeed, Paul's arrival in Damascus was not as he anticipated. Initially coming as a firebrand zealot for God and his laws, instead he arrived as a helpless, blind man, dependent on others, who did not eat or drink for three days. Then God called a believer, Ananias, to go to Paul and tell him what his mission on Earth would be from that time on: But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” (Acts 9:15-16) Paul's life was immediately transformed from a hater of Christ and his followers to a proponent of Christ's teachings and to a love of his followers. Thus we have Paul preaching and teaching the good news to the unsaved and to the church.
Paul's mission to the world was not to redeem the good from the bad: his mission was to redeem all people from this evil world, for all have sinned. All have a death sentence upon them because of unrighteousness. On the Damascus Road, Paul found the answer: But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. (Romans 3:21-25) Paul's directive from Jesus to go into all the world to preach his word was not an easy order to accomplish, for with the implementation of Jesus' command would be trials and personal suffering. He experienced all kinds of deprivation and persecution in his given mission of spreading the good news, mostly at the hands of "good people," the self-rightious, who denied they needed a savior. Since they were made in the image of God, they believed they had a special place with God. They believed good teaching, laws, and conditioning can redeem man from his wicked ways. As the Communists believe, "good people" often believe if they get children early enough in their lives and condition them well to do good, then they will work for the benefit of others and society. Of course that philosophy failed miserably in Russia and in many other utopian societies, for people in their fallen nature are gods in their own eyes and work for their own good. "My will be done, not God's will" is their creed. As the Bible says, We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6) One time when Jesus tried to go away to a solitary place, when he got out of the boat, He saw many faces before him. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. (Mark 6:34) Outside of Christ, people wander into the confusion, frustration, and chaos of sin.
Jesus Christ came to rescue us from this evil age, to deliver us from our broken spiritual bodies, our broken lives. He came to make us whole, to free us from the captivity of sin and all its ravages. This was Paul's message: freedom from sin and darkness. Many received, some did not. Those who did not receive this message of grace and mercy turned to increased hatred and maliciousness toward the one who brought them a message of life eternal. Paul said this to those who boasted in Corinth: I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. (2 Corinthians 11:23-27) They followed Paul from city to city, stirring up crowds against the message of peace and redemption. They spread gossip about Paul in the secular world as well as the church of Christ. Their intentions were to prove goodness came from man's efforts, by following the law, or as the Gentiles tended to believe, the right gods or principles. This attitude of independence from the Creator is ingrained deeply into man's fallen nature: "I will make it on my own, I am right with God, He will accept me for who I am. I don't need a savior." Paul came with a contrary message: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age. Paul believed the world needed a Savior. His faith was so strong in that belief that he gave his all, even his life. Do we hold to a faith that energizes our lives? If we don't really believe the world needs a Redeemer, we will merely share good ideas, a nice way of living: doing good is better than doing bad. But if we believe the world needs a Savior, we commit everything to God and his salvation message. James said, Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. (James 2:18) HOW MUCH DO YOU BELIEVE?
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