Jesus' Gospel, Your Gospel

Paul Called by God

11 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

13 For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. 17 I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus.

18 Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother. 20 I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie.

21 Then I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22 I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they praised God because of me.

In our scripture this morning, we pick up where we left off last week and we find Paul making some pretty bold claims.  Paul is claiming that what he preaches is from God, not some other source.  He is claiming that God is who gave him the authority and knowledge to preach God’s message.  This is no small claim and in order to back this up he needs to provide proof.  Paul’s biggest argument to support this claim was the radical change he had in his own life.  Paul points to his past and tells the people of Galatia that he used to strictly persecute those people who made the same claims about Christ that he is.  He also wants them to know that he has very little contact with the other apostles and says that he has only met James, the brother of Jesus.  He goes as far as to tell them about his travel schedule so they understand where he was so they would understand that he has had little contact with the apostles.  Paul wants the Galatians to understand that he used to be a fanatic for the law but now his central message is one of grace.  Under the Jewish law, a believer had to earn God’s favor but Christ changed all of that.  Through Christ, God allowed us to humbly accept the love that God offered.  There was no longer any reason to try to earn God’s favor.  Since Christ died for our sin on the cross as the final sacrifice for us, God’s love was now there just waiting for us to accept it.  This humbles us because we no longer can be glorified for our own piety, we had to place our faith in Christ and give God glory for what He had done for us.  This really got me thinking about our faith today because it is evident that we still haven’t let this aspect of our faith go.  We still have a tendency to forget this aspect of our faith.  For a long period of time, I found myself still trying to earn God’s favor.  I thought God would reward and bless me for being a great Christian.  I thought I could earn my way to finding favor from God.  I did not understand that God’s grace was there, waiting for me to accept it.  This is why Paul emphasizes the fact that it is not works that allow you to experience eternal life.  Galatians 2:15-16 says, “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles 16 know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.”  So Paul is maintaining that it is not through our own works that we are able to find grace.  We must humble ourselves and accept what Christ did on the cross in order to find grace.  

Paul did a complete U-turn in his life and Paul says that this change was only possible because God intervened in his life.  Paul wants us to understand that there was no other reason or explanation for his change other than God’s grace.  He goes out of his way to help us understand that he did not have contact with the apostles, that he did not read something, it was God and God alone that caused him to completely change.  Sometimes it is obvious to us when God’s love has an impact on their life because they make a complete U-turn just as Paul did.  But what happens when the change is not so obvious?  What happens when God’s love enters someone’s heart but they only changed in a very subtle manner?  Does this make their faith less significant?  Absolutely not!  If someone has really long hair and the next time you see them they have very short hair, it is likely you will notice the change.  But if someone already has short hair and they get it cut, it is more difficult to notice.  Our faith should change who we are but the change for some is not as noticeable for some as it is for others.  This does not mean their story is any less important than it is for others.  Paul had a very significant impact on the church but so did Peter.  Paul dramatically changed his life but the change in Peter was more subtle.  It did not change them in the eyes of the Lord, He did not love Paul anymore than He did Peter.  It is our nature to have an eye for the dramatic which is why the change in Paul is more appealing to us than Peter’s faith journey.  One of my very good friends has always been very religious, she has always known that God was with her.  She grew up understanding her faith but for me it was not quite so obvious.  She is a lot like Peter where my story is more like Paul’s.  Her ability to draw upon scripture to help those in need is much better than mine but she often tells me that my story is more appealing to help those searching for God’s love than her’s.  Neither is better than the other but God uses us both to spread his message.  Christ dying on the cross unifies us, the love and grace that God so freely gives is there for both of us.  And so no matter your story, whether it like Paul or like Peter, know that God loves you regardless, that God’s love is the unifying force that links all Christians together.  Your story does not have to be dramatic for someone to learn from it.  Your story needs to be shared and Christ commissioned all of us to share our stories with the world.  

In our scripture this morning we find Paul trying to justify his authority and this got me thinking about those people who justify their authority for the wrong reasons.  We have all heard and seen those preachers who are trying to sell you something like miracle manna, prayer clothes, miracle spring water, prayer packages and faith seeds.  I came across a list of of 33 different church related scandals that go back to the 1920’s and reading some of them made me sick to my stomach.  They used the name of the Lord to benefit socially and economically.  They destroyed the hard work of many pastors by destroying the faith of many people.  It is safe to assume that many of those people affected never made it back to the Church.  I often wonder why God would allow so much of this to go on... Why would God allow these people to destroy the faith of those people who fell for these scams.  The truth is that God did not allow these people to commit these acts, by this I mean that God did not commission these people to do this, these people freely chose to commit these acts.  Initially, I am sure their intentions were pure but something happened to them and they changed for the worse.  Greed got the best of them but they used the Lord’s name to commit these acts and thought they were justified in doing so.  I know these are very extreme examples but there are still people out there who use the Lord’s name to do damaging things that aren’t so extreme.  Some people who are Christians make others feel insignificant if they do not seem to be as holy as they are and this is just as damaging as those who try to benefit financially in the name of God.  The only reason I bring this up is because I do not want us to cast judgment on those who do not seem to have faith.  Our job is not to judge, that is God’s job and His alone.  You know, God loves those people who had such a negative impact on the church as much as He loves each of us.  Jesus’ mercy, love and grace is just as much for them as it is for us.  I know this is a tough pill to swallow but we must understand that God’s love is not just for the holy.  We must not get caught up in who does what, we are called to just work on our faith and not compare ourselves to others.  This goes back to earning our way into God’s favor.  I used to look at people and say if I do better in my faith than this person, God will bless me.  As long as I attend church or read my Bible more than this person, God will still love me.  God does not want us to compare our faith to others.  He made each of us unique, therefore our faith is just as unique and does not need to be compared to someone else just so we can think we have earned our way to heaven.  

This morning we have talked about transformation and authority but I want you to leave here knowing that no matter your story, no matter what you have done, Christ’s love is sitting there just waiting for you to accept it.  Whether your story is like Peter’s or Paul’s, whether you have compared yourself to others, whether you have previously tried to earn your way to God’s favor, I want you to know that God loves you and wants a relationship with you and all that you have to do is tell God you want to accept Him into your heart.  Your story may have its ups and downs, it may not perfect but it is filled with mercy, love and grace.  It is your story, now go share it.  Amen.

God Bless,

Clinton

Fairview Christian Church