Galatians Week 1 --Forsaking Religion Embracing Relationship Because of Jesus Ministries BecauseofJesus.

.com Galatians Chapter 1 The Book of Galatians was written by the Apostle Paul. His purpose for writing it was because the people in Galatia with whom he had shared the Good News of the gospel of grace and invited them into an intimate, trusting relationship with Jesus, were now being drawn away into the religious traditions of man. In this Book, He warned them of those who would try to control them by their rules for righteousness and encouraged them to keep their eyes on Jesus and embrace the gift of righteousness that only comes through faith in Him. In the spoken Word, by Jefferson Bethke, He gives an accurate difference between religion and relationship with Jesus : Religion says do; Jesus says done! Religion says slave, Jesus says son! Religion puts you in bondage; while Jesus sets you free! Religion makes you blind; but Jesus makes you see! Religion teaches you about God; but relationship causes you to know Him personally! Religion is a belief about God; relationship is about believing God-Embracing His good opinion of you in Christ! Religion is about mans good works; relationship is about resting in the finished work of Jesus! Religion divides us by our doctrines and self-righteousness; relationship with Jesus unites us by making us all equal in Christ! Galatians 1:1-5 I. Paul reminds us of the True Gospel of Grace which reveals our Heavenly Fathers heart of love towards us through Jesus. 1 Paul, an apostle[special messenger appointed and commissioned and sent out] not from [any body of] men nor by or through any man, but by and through Jesus Christ and God the Father, Who raised Him from among the dead 2 And all the brethren who are with me, to the churches of Galatia: 3 Grace and [soul] peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 Who gave (yielded) Himself up [to atone] for our sins, in order to rescue and deliver us from this present wicked age and world order, in accordance with the will and purpose and plan of our God and Father 5 To Him [be ascribed all] the glory through all the ages of the ages and the eternities of the eternities! Amen (so be it). AMP Verse 1: In the very first verse of this Book, Paul reveals his departure from religion and his reliance upon Jesus. He shares that his qualification and commission to share the Good News
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came not from any man, but it came by and through Jesus, and by God his Father,Who raised Him from among the dead. We could easily skim over this very important statement, but in Romans 4:25 we see the significance of Jesus resurrection, 25 Who was betrayed and put to death because of our misdeeds and was raised to secure our justification (our acquittal), [making our account balance and absolving us from all guilt before God]. Paul was reminding us of the true Gospel- that Jesus was raised from the dead to secure our righteousness (approval and acceptance) and to absolve us of all guilt before God! In verses 3-5, the Apostle Paul continues to remind us of the Good News about Jesus. While religion often portrays God as One Who is judgmental and angry at man because of their sin, Paul reveals the truth about Gods heart toward man when he says in verse 2, Grace and Peace be to you from God, the Father and our Lord, Jesus Christ! Grace: Unmerited favor and blessing, acceptable; the divine influence of God upon your heart and its reflection in your life (Strongs G5485) Peace: Prosperity; wholeness; to set at one again; to join as one (Strongs G1515) Grace is the power of the Gospel and peace is the fruit of it! Both are received through a personal, trusting relationship with Jesus. The True Gospel of grace is about being made one with Jesus, and therefore, being able to come to the Father, fully approved and accepted, and share your heart with Him without any fear of rejection or anger or disappointment. Regardless of how many religions wrongly portray the character of God, He is the Daddy we have all longed for and He made it possible for us to have an intimate relationship with Him. His perfect love for us expels all fear from our hearts, and the result is perfect and constant peace with Him! In verse 5 the Apostle Paul reminds us that Jesus gave Himself up for our sins in order to rescue and deliver us from the oppression of the worlds system -- in accordance with Gods will. Hebrews 10:9-10: 9 Then he said, Look, I have come to do your will. He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect. 10 For Gods will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time. The worlds system is a constant effort to find value, acceptance and approval through your performance. It was our Fathers will to forgive all our sins and make us holy in His sight by Jesus one sacrifice so that we could live free from the worlds system by receiving our approval and acceptance, not from any man, but from Him alone! Verse 5: says all glory to God! It reminds me of the declaration of Good News at the birth of Jesus: Glory to God in the highest! Peace on earth and Good will toward all men! Through Jesus, the Father invited the whole world into a trusting relationship with Him by removing the guilt and shame of their failures, and declaring His goodness of heart toward all men! His salvation is for whosoever will receive it!
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II. Paul warns against going back to the bondage of religion after once experiencing the grace and peace found in a personal relationship with Jesus.
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I am surprised and astonished that you are so quickly turning renegade and deserting Him Who invited and called you by the grace (unmerited favor) of Christ [and that you are transferring your allegiance] to a different [even an opposition] gospel. 7 Not that there is [or could be] any other [genuine Gospel], but there are [obviously] some who are troubling and disturbing and bewildering you [with a different kind of teaching which they offer as a gospel] and want to pervert and distort the Gospel of Christ [into something which it absolutely is not]. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to and different from that which we preached to you, let him be accursed! 9 As we said before, so I now say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel different from or contrary to that which you received [from us], let him be accursed! After Paul had brought the Good News of complete acceptance and approval in Christ, religious teachers of the law tried to convince the people that reliance upon Jesus was not enough, they also needed to follow the religious rules and Jewish laws of circumcision to be accepted, not only by God, but to by their particular religious group as well. This turning away from the grace (unearned favor and blessing) offered through Jesus to a religious set of rules to earn Gods favor is common in the church today. I have talked to so many believers who shared with me that when they first received Jesus as their Savior, they enjoyed such peace and joy in their relationship with Him, but then they started listening to a man tell them what they needed to do to get closer to God and the rules they must follow to earn His favor and blessing. They eventually found that their joy and peace was gone because they had traded their personal relationship with Jesus for a peer pleasing religion. Note 8 at Ga 1:7: The Greek word for "pervert" ("METASTREPHO") in "pervert the gospel" means "to change" the Gospel, not by denying it but by mixing something with it ("Galatians in the Greek New Testament" by Kenneth S. Wuest). The Galatians were perverting the Gospel by: (1) (2) (3) (4) observing special days (Sabbaths), months, seasons, and years (Gal 4:10); demanding circumcision along with belief in Jesus for salvation (Gal 5:2); thinking that part of their righteousness came through observing the Law (Gal 5:4); believing that righteousness could be obtained by the strength and ability of their own flesh (Gal 3:3). Andrew Wommack

Today most people don't observe these same rituals that the Galatians did, so they miss the comparison between what the Galatians were doing and what much, if not most, of "Christianity" is doing today. The vehicle has been changed, but people are still traveling the same road to the same destination. We could say, "Pray, fast, go to church, read your Bible, tithe, and believe in Jesus, and you will be accepted in God's sight." That would be a perversion of the Gospel just as much as what the Galatians were doing. Andrew Wommack

All of these things are good things to do and will benefit your life, but to teach they are required to be acceptable and pleasing to God is a perversion of the Gospel. Verses 8-9: The Apostle Paul felt so strongly about not perverting the true Gospel that he stated that anyone who adds to the Gospel let him be accursed. This word comes from the Greek word anathema and it literally means: a (religious) ban; or (concretely) excommunicated (thing or person) (Stongs G331) III. Transformed by Grace -- The Apostle Paul shares His own personal journey out of religion and into a personal relationship with Jesus
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Now am I trying to win the favor of men, or of God? Do I seek to please men? If I were still seeking popularity with men, I should not be a bond servant of Christ. 11 For I want you to know, brethren, that the Gospel which was proclaimed and made known by me is not mans gospel [a human invention, according to or patterned after any human standard].12 For indeed I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but [it came to me] through a [direct] revelation [given] by Jesus Christ.13 You have heard of my earlier career and former manner of life in the Jewish religion (Judaism), how I persecuted and abused the church of God furiously and extensively, and [with fanatical zeal did my best] to make havoc of it and destroy it. 14 And [you have heard how] I outstripped many of the men of my own generation among the people of my race in [my advancement in study and observance of the laws of] Judaism, so extremely enthusiastic and zealous I was for the traditions of my ancestors. 15 But when He, Who had chosen and set me apart [even] before I was born and had called me by His grace (His undeserved favor and blessing), saw fit and was pleased 16 To reveal (unveil, disclose) His Son within me so that I might proclaim Him among the Gentiles (the non-Jewish world) as the glad tidings (Gospel), immediately I did not confer with flesh and blood [did not consult or counsel with any frail human being or communicate with anyone]. Verses 10-12: The Apostle Paul is a beautiful example of a man who forsook religion to embrace a personal relationship with Jesus. With confidence He declared, I no longer seek after nor do I need the favor and approval of man because I am completely approved in Christ. I am chosen, special, and called by His grace into a personal relationship with my Savior. He turned away from peer pleasing, fear induced religion and embraced the truth that He was well-pleasing to the Father because of Jesus. This freed him from the control of man to enjoy the freedom of being led and taught by Gods Spirit. He acknowledges that this revelation that he teaches came directly from Jesus, Himself! Verse 10: Bondservant: One who voluntarily lays down His will and opinions and agrees with the will and opinion of Jesus. In calling himself a bondservant of Jesus, the Apostle Paul was saying- I voluntarily surrender my own opinion and the opinion of others and I come into agreement with my Fathers good opinion of me in Christ and I rest in His finished work on my behalf.
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Note 3 at Gal 1:13: The phrase "in time past" refers to his former life before meeting Jesus Christ. Paul's religious zeal is referred to in Phillippians 3:5-6 where he described himself as "an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as...touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless"; i.e., he "tried to obey every Jewish rule and regulation right down to the very last point" (Phil 3:6, The Living Bible). He was in a religious system, like all of the world's religious systems, that tried to achieve righteousness before God by human effort. When confronted by the claims of Jesus Christ and the real truth proclaimed in the Law, he realized he was the chief of sinners (1Tim 1:15). He learned that by the works of Law, no person could ever be justified (Gal 2:16) and that the Gospel was a Gospel of grace (Acts 15:11 and 20:24). Andrew Wommack Note 4 at Ga 1:14: Paul advanced within the ranks of Judaism. In the Greek, the word for "profited" literally means "to drive forward (as if by beating), i.e. (figuratively and intransitively) to advance" (Strong's Concordance). Just as in a race, a person might beat an animal to drive it forward and cause it to advance over the others, so Paul was driven by religion. Paul was speaking here of his youth when he advanced and drove himself forward in the Jewish religion beyond many of his own age (Acts 22:3). He was superabundantly zealous for the traditions of man. A good definition for religion would be the description found in Mark 7:9-13 and summed up as "making the word of God of none effect through your tradition" Andrew Wommack Verse 15-16: Paul was transformed by a revelation of Gods grace toward Him in Christ. He discovered His true identity in Jesus- He was chosen, set apart as special before he was born, and called by His grace. The Holy Spirit revealed Jesus in Him and He became a trophy of Gods grace through a personal relationship with Jesus. You and I were also chosen, set apart as special before we were born and called by His grace into a personal relationship with Jesus (Ephesians 1:4; Romans 8:29-30) Verses 17-22 reveal Pauls journeys after his revelation and transformation
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Nor did I [even] go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles (special messengers of Christ) before I was, but I went away and retired into Arabia, and afterward I came back again to Damascus. 18 Then three years later, I did go up to Jerusalem to become [personally] acquainted with Cephas (Peter), and remained with him for fifteen days.19 But I did not see any of the other apostles (the special messengers of Christ) except James the brother of our Lord. 20 Now [note carefully what I am telling you, for it is the truth], I write this as if I were standing before the bar of God; I do not lie. 21 Then I went into the districts (countries, regions) of Syria and Cilicia. 22 And so far I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Christ in Judea (the country surrounding Jerusalem).
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They were only hearing it said, He who used to persecute us is now proclaiming the very faith he once reviled and which he set out to ruin and tried with all his might to destroy. 24 And they glorified God [as the Author and Source of what had taken place] in me.

Verse 23-24: The transforming power of Gods grace was revealed in Pauls life. He who once followed the religious traditions of his ancestor and persecuted those who had a personal relationship with Jesus was now proclaiming the very faith he once tried with all his might to destroy. And they glorified God as the author and source of what had taken place in Pauls heart and life! The Apostle Paul is a perfect example that true freedom comes when we forsake religion and embrace a personal, trusting relationship with Jesus! We, too, can break free from the control of man and finally be led and taught by Gods Spirit as we embrace His complete approval and unconditional love toward us every day! We, too, can experience the freedom that can only be found in a personal, intimate, trusting relationship with Jesus -- thats when true lifetransformation takes place!