Gospel People Part 1: A Gospel Foundation
Gospel People was a series I taught through the book of Galatians. The title came from the primary issue of the book: whether people define themselves by the Gospel or works they can accomplish. This writing series will outline the points I used in teaching the book of Galatians and will hopefully serve as a starting point for you in teaching it as well.
The book of Galatians was written by Paul to the people in Galatia about trusting only in the Gospel. My first teaching focused on Galatians 1:1-10.
Paul gives what seems like a standard greeting in verses one and two.
Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia:
It's tempting to skip Paul's greetings as they can seem similar to one another, but analyzing them provides helpful clues about the book. In this case, Paul highlights that his call came from God and no human source. It's interesting that Paul's first idea in a book about the simplicity of the Gospel is that God called him to this work.
Typically, I will use these greetings to explain the main issue that led to the book being written. When I taught this passage, I explained who the Judaizers were at this point. This was a group of people that influenced the church in Galatia to accept Jewish traditions as a means of obtaining God's grace. This works mentality being added to the Gospel led Paul to write about the place of the Gospel.
Paul's greetings continues in verses three through five.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Again, Paul's greeting highlights the Gospel. Paul makes three main points about the Gospel within these verses. First, Paul brings up the payment made for sin by calling Jesus the one who "gave Himself for us." Second, Paul explains it was God's will to offer Jesus for sin. Third, Pauls reveals the present effect of the Gospel: deliverance from the "present evil age."
With the power of the Gospel in clear view, Paul launches into his main argument in verses six and seven.
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
Paul draws a clear line in the sand by accusing the people of walking away from the Gospel. The issue for Paul is very simple: attempting to earn God is not displaying the trust God desires. This may sound small-minded to our culture of tolerance, but this is essential to real faith. To really trust in something is to give up every other means of security. Really trusting in Jesus means giving up our trust in everything else.
When you're teaching this passage, it can feel like this point is so simple that it's not worth saying. Fight that temptation with everything you have. This point is worth sharing, repeating, and then repeating again. Paul felt so bold about this topic that he wrote Galatians. God cared so deeply for this topic that He empowered Paul to write it and preserved it in our modern Bibles. Any topic that God cared for enough to put in Scripture is worth our attention. Remember, as a Bible teacher, your goal is to communicate whatever the text says.
Paul even doubles down on this idea in verses eight through ten.
But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
For Paul, this point cannot be emphasized enough. At no point will God contradict the message of the Gospel. Jesus will never give us new commands we must follow to earn His love or our salvation. All that saves us is Jesus and He no messenger of God will every preach something else. Paul admits this may not always sync with culture, but staying true to the Gospel matters more than fitting into culture.
For the most part, the people you'll be teaching in a church will agree with these ideas in theory. Very rarely will Christians tell you they need to earn God’s love. However, many Christians betray their spoken beliefs with lives of anxiety over whether they’re doing enough for God. Some fall victim to thoughts like, “God must not be happy with me today because I didn’t read my Bible.” I’m a huge proponent of Bible reading, but setting up anything as a standard of whether God loves you is dangerous.
This is the danger Paul wants to warn the Galatian church about. Throughout the book, Paul will address issues of law and grace. These issues remain important for us to tackle today. A good practice for you and the people you teach is to take time to pray and ask God to reveal if you trust anything other than Jesus to save you. Is there any practice you feel makes you complete before God? Is there a group you feel you need to attend to stay right with God? If so, that may be an indication that something other than Jesus is creeping its way into the top spot in your heart. Ask the Lord to reveal those things and be ready for answers you may not expect.
Teaching just this passage is a great place to start in teaching the book of Galatians. Pausing to reflect on this foundational message can help prepare people for the rest of the book. Don't rush over a topic as important as the Gospel. Take your time to show your audience how they need to be Gospel People.