Oct. 29, 2023

“THE ROAD TO FREEDOM”

“TRANSFORMATION”

GALATIANS 1:11-24

Romans 12:2

Galatians 1:10 “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.”

Paul makes it very clear that as a servant of Jesus Christ, his only desire in communicating the message of free grace is to please God.

Paul had been transformed:

1.   Paul’s Message Originated In A Revelation From Christ- Galatians 1:11-12

He did not event the Gospel, nor did he receive it from men, but he received the Gospel from Jesus Christ:

Galatians 1:11-12 “But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. 12For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

2.   Paul’s Call To Apostleship- Galatians 1:13-16

Paul gives evidence that his apostleship and his Gospel are truly of God.

• The Persecutor

Galatians 1:13 “For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it.”

 Galatians 1:14 “And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.”

Acts 26:5 “They knew me from the first, if they were willing to testify, that according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.”

Then something happened; Saul of Tarsus, the persecutor of the church became Paul the Apostle, the preacher of the Gospel.

Acts 9:1-9

How could the Judaizers explain what happen? They couldn’t, because it was a “transformation.”

Paul’s change came not from man but from God!

• The Believer- Paul explains the characteristics of his conversion:

Galatians 1:15 “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace.”

*God did it- “it pleased God”

Salvation is of the Lord!

Jonah 2:9 “But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.”

*God did it by grace- “…who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace.” vs.15

Ephesians 2:8-9

*God did it through Christ-

Galatians 1:16 “To reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood.”

*God did it for the sake of others- vs.16 “…that I might preach Him among the Gentiles…”

3.   The Preacher- Galatians 1:17-24

Galatians 1:17 “Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.”

Why would Paul go away by himself and remain somewhat isolated for three years?

He spent the greater part of three years in Arabia:

Galatians 1:18 “Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days.”

*Paul finally visit Jerusalem-

Galatians 1:18-20 “Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days. 19But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. 20(Now concerning the things which I write to you, indeed, before God, I do not lie.)”

Acts 9:26-28

*Paul returns home to Tarsus- 

Galatians 1:21-23 “Afterward I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22And I was unknown by face to the churches of Judea which were in Christ. 23But they were hearing only, “He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once tried to destroy.”

As Paul went through Syria he preached the Word, and when he arrived in Cilicia, his home province , he began to evangelize. 

Acts 21:39 “But Paul said, “I am a Jew from Tarsus, in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city; and I implore you, permit me to speak to the people.”

Paul wasn’t influential because of anything he had done himself. He was influential because of what God, in His grace, had done in him:

Galatians 1:24 “And they glorified God in me.”

Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”