From Paul to the Churches of Galatia

Transcript

GR1134
10/24/98
From Paul to the Churches of Galatians
Galatians 1; Selected Verses
Gil Rugh

We are ready to start the study of a new book together today. We=re going to begin a study of the book of Galatians. We won’t get into the actual text of Galatians today. We want to look at some of the background information that may give us a better understanding and appreciation of the book.

Just a reminder of how I approach our study of the books of the Bible. My goal is to explain as clearly as I can the scriptures that we are looking into so that you can understand it for yourself. So, my goal in coming to the letter to the Galatians is that we will work through this letter piece by piece and I will explain what is being said here and what it means so that you can understand it for yourself. The goal being that when we get to the end of the book of Galatians, you will have an understanding of this portion of the word of God for yourself.

Now, my understanding of the word of God is that it is alive and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit. And it is a discerner of the thoughts and intentions of the heart. So my understanding is that as we study the word of God together and are open to what God has to say in His word and the ministry of His Spirit in our heart and mind, then God will use His word as nourishment for our spiritual lives.

I believe the word of God is very practical. And even though we are not primarily addressing needs, or des, dealing with specific situations, if you have a proper understanding of the word of God, you will be equipped to deal with whatever faces you in life. So, we are creating, if you will, a foundation for our lives as we study the word of God.

The letter to the Galatians, in chapter 1 of Paul’s letter and verse 2, he says he is writing to the churches of Galatia. So, churches that were located in a certain region or province in the Roman Empire. In chapter 3, verse 1, he refers to these Galatians, calling them you foolish Galatians. So, it’s a circular letter in that it is addressed to more than one church, but several churches within a given area or a given region, the area of Galatia.

If you’re using a Ryrie Study Bible, you might go to the book of Galatians on page 1865, I mention that because many of you use that, there’s a map there. If you’re using a different Bible, turn to the back of your Bible and there are maps back there. And go to the end of the maps, because it will be one of the last maps in the back of your Bible. And you’ll find there, laid out, the travels of the Apostle Paul. If you are looking in the book of Galatians, you have a map, in the Ryrie Study Bible, on the region of Galatia, and that will be helpful to have before you.

In the maps of Paul’s travels in the Roman Empire, the spread of Christianity, you note the Mediterranean and the island of Cyprus there in the Mediterranean. And if you just go north of that island of Cyprus, just go straight up on your map north, you’ll see that you have an area in there titled Galatia.

Now, that’s the region we’re going to talk about, but there is some disagreement over the exact extent of that region. There is the north Galatian view and the south Galatian view. And I just, without going into a lot of detail, want you to be familiar with at least the basic issues. If you read anything, you come across these expressions. Early on, Galatia was limited to more the northern region. So, the top part, if you have the map that shows the whole area of Galatia, originally that only referred to the upper half, approximately, we’ll say, of that region. On your other maps, it will be up more toward the middle and upper area of, ah, that region called Galatia.

I believe it was about 25 BC when the Romans expanded the province of Galatia under their control, so that it extended down to just above what is called Pamphylia, probably on most of your maps. And when it was brought down to there, it included cities like Lystra, Derby, Iconium and Pasidian Antioch.

Now, those who hold to what is called North Galatian View, believe that at one time, Paul went up to the northern regions and visited cities which are not mentioned in the New Testament. But then later wrote letters back to those churches.

Those who hold to the Southern Galatian View believe that the letter to the Galatians is written to churches in cities like Derby, Lystra, Iconium, Antioch. Cities that were part of the expanded province of Galatia in Paul’s day.

My understanding, and the approach I’ll be taking, is that Paul is writing to the churches in southern Galatia and the establishing of those churches is set forth in the book of Acts, and we’re going to look there in a moment. There’s no indication anywhere in the New Testament that any churches were ever established in New Testament times in the northern region. There’s no indication in the book of Acts that Paul ever traveled into that northern part of Galatia. It would have been a difficult and arduous, tortuous trip to go north. You’d be talking about a trip of about three hundred miles up to get into the cities of northern Galatia, over very rough and rugged mountain terrain. There was a road that went up there, but it was not a well-developed road until well after the Apostle Paul’s time.

Whereas the southern region was a well-traveled area and was on the route that went over, across Asia Minor there, across Philadelphia, up to Troas and across into Europe. In fact, Paul visited this southern area of Galatia on all three of his missionary journeys.

So, I think that the letter to the Galatians is written in that context. The Apostle Paul having visited these churches repeatedly, and now finding them abandoning the truth of the gospel under the influence of false teachers, writes very severely and sternly to them.

One of the reasons people hold to a North Galatian view is that down until the 18th century, that was the view almost universally held. The early church fathers held that the letter to the Galatians was written to the northern region, but that can be explained by the fact that sometime after the Apostle Paul, a hundred or more years later, they began to adjust the boundaries. And it ended up then that they re-drew the boundaries in the province of Galatia was once again was limited to just the northern region. So, the church fathers in early church history, when they thought of Galatia, they thought of that northern region, because that’s what was called Galatia in their time. But in Paul’s time, the province of Galatia was much larger and extended much further south.

There’s another point that you ought to be aware of, if you’re in the book of Galatians, you might turn to chapter 4, verse 13. Chapter 4, verse 13. Paul says, “But you know that it was because of a bodily illness that I preached the gospel to you the first time.” So, some kind of physical sickness caused Paul to journey to the cities in Galatia. We=ll say more about that when we look into the book of Acts, ah, shortly.

But, it would be very unusual for Paul, because he was sick, to make that long, treacherous trip to north Galatia. It would be a difficult even for a healthy person. So, his expression here that he preached the gospel in Galatia at first because of illness. He didn’t say he got ill in Galatia, but as a result of illness he came and preached the gospel in Galatia. We’ll say something about that in a moment.

So, I just want you to know, I’ll be approaching this that Paul is writing to churches in southern Galatia that were established and referred to in the book of Acts. And we’re going to look a little bit at that history because I think it will give us a helpful background into issues he had to deal with when he wrote the letter to the Galatians.

Now, turn over to the book of Acts. We’re going to spend the bulk of our time today in the book of Acts. And maybe before we look at the details of the establishing of these churches, I could just hi-light some of the events in the book of Acts to give you some kind of, ah, frame work to operate from.

The book of Acts is the history book of the early Church. It was written by the physician Luke. He also wrote the gospel that bears his name, the gospel of Luke. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. He tells us that he wrote the book of Acts to continue the history that he was telling.

Acts, chapter 1, picks up with the promise by Christ of the Holy Spirit who would come and indwell and empower His followers. Also, in Acts, chapter 1, you have the ascension of Christ to Heaven, where He bodily ascends to Heaven and He will not return to this earth until He comes to establish His kingdom.

In Acts chapter 2 you have one of the key chapters in all of the Bible. You have the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost in fulfillment of Christ’s promise, you have the beginning of the Church. The Church did not exist until Acts chapter 2. God was dealing with the nation Israel. They were the people that He was dealing with. Now, God’s plan will center in the Church, which will be comprised of people of all nationalities, and the largest portion of the Church will be Gentiles.

Acts chapter 2 is significant also because it marks the salvation of Jews in the sense of them becoming Christians, becoming members of the Church. So, the Church begins in Acts chapter 2 and it begins with the salvation, conversion of Jews.

Jump over to Acts, chapter 7. The following chapters up to chapter 7 give something of the progress of the development of the Church and the ministry of God’s word and the opposition that the apostles faced, and so on. When you come to Acts chapter 7, you have the martyrdom of Stephen. Because of his testimony for Christ, Stephen will be executed. He’s the first martyr in the Church.

At the end of chapter 7, something that fits with our development, you have the first mention of Saul, or Paul. Paul tells us later he was born a Roman citizen. It was common for people of this time to have two names, Jews to have two names, a Jewish name and a Gentile name. So, Paul’s Jewish name was Saul. His Gentile name was Paul.

And in verse 58 of Acts, chapter 7. When they had driven him out of the cities, we’re referring to Stephen, they began stoning him. And the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. So, significant here, Saul is introduced into Luke’s narrative for the first time.

And in verse chapter 8, the opening verses talk about the persecution that developed from that day under the leadership of Saul. Saul was in hardy agreement with putting him to death. On that day, a great persecution began against the Church in Jerusalem, so that they were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. The apostles remained in Jerusalem, the center of the Church. Verse 3, But Paul, but Saul, began ravaging the church, entering house after house, dragging off men and women. He would put them in prison. So, you see Saul becoming the key figure in leading the opposition to the preaching of the gospel and the ministry of the Church.

Acts chapter 8 is also significant in that you have the salvation of the Samaritans. Samaritans become believers in Jesus Christ and members of the Church. So the Church’s membership has expanded. In Acts chapter 2 it was Jews. Now you have the Samaritans. The Samaritans are mixed people. They are people of Jewish and Gentile blood. So, you’ve not completely moved outside the boundaries of Jews, in that these are partial Jews, if you will. They have Jewish blood. But the Jews and the Samaritans didn’t have any dealings with each other.

But now, in Acts chapter 8, they believe and you see God’s plan to incorporate beyond the Jews into the people that He is working with: the salvation of the Samaritans in Acts chapter 8. Acts chapter 9, a very pivotal chapter, this is the conversion of Saul. The Apostle Paul is converted in Acts chapter 9. And shortly he will become the dominant figure in the Church of Jesus Christ. Acts chapter 10 records the salvation of the Gentiles. Remember, Peter went and preached at the house of Cornelius. As a result of his preaching, Cornelius and his family and all those he had assembled, believed and received the Holy Spirit and they become members of the Church.

It’s hard for us to appreciate the dramatic impact this had on the Jews. In fact, Peter was called on the carpet by the leadership in Jerusalem. They demanded an explanation why he was preaching the gospel to Gentiles. You see, they still had not grasped that God’s plan in building His Church would be to include people of all nationalities, races and so on. And so, you have the conversion of the Gentiles in Acts chapter 10. And with that now you have the Church including Jews, Samaritans, Gentiles.

Acts chapter 11 is significant in what we are talking about, because here you see Paul and Barnabas together for the first time. The center of the Church, as a result of the persecution in Jerusalem, the center of the Church is going to become Antioch. The apostles will still be residing, for the most part, in Jerusalem, but the center of activity in carrying the gospel out and establishing new churches, will become Antioch. Syrian Antioch. There are several Antiochs, we’re going to see another one in a moment. But Syrian Antioch is the Antioch that was located in Syria. We’re more familiar with the region of Syria because of the way that part of the world makes the news today.

People come to Antioch, persecutions taking place in Jerusalem and in that region of Palestine, so they migrate to Antioch. And verse 21 of Acts 11 says, the hand of the Lord was with them. And a number who believed turned to the Lord. And the news about them reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch.

So, Barnabas is going to Antioch. Barnabas has been part of the Church from the beginning. In Acts chapter 4, verse 36, we’re told there that Barnabas, that section of the word, owned a piece of land and sold it and gave the money to the Church in Jerusalem to help with the needs of the people who were suffering because of the persecution.

He came to Antioch, verse 23, and he encouraged them. And we’re told in verse 24 that he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith. And a considerable number were coming to the Lord.

Now note verse 25, and he left for Tarsus to look for Saul. Here Saul is brought into the picture again. Saul was from Tarsus. And on your map, if you went up around the top of the Mediterranean, you know, you were in Syria, you went up around the top, you would come to Tarsus. That’s Paul’s home city. He’s Saul of Tarsus.

Barnabas goes up, finds Saul and brings him to Antioch. Verse 26, when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for a whole year they ministered together. And the disciples were first called Christians, those who belong to Christ, those who followed Christ, in Antioch.

So, you here, you see now Paul and Barnabas joined together as a team. Barnabas taking Saul and getting him involved directly in the ministry at Antioch. And they’ve take a collection to help the suffering saints in Jerusalem. And in verse 30, And this they did, sending it in charge of Barnabas and Saul to the elders. So, here you see Barnabas and Saul traveling to Jerusalem with the resources that had been collected at Antioch to help the saints in Jerusalem. Well, we’ll pick up Saul and Barnabas in a moment.

Chapter 12, you ought to just note that chapter 12 records the death of Herod Agrippa the First. He was the grandson of Herod the Great who was on the throne when Christ was born and tried to kill Christ. The wise men visited with him. This is a grandson. His death is significant to us because it’s one of the few events that we can tie a definite date to. So, when you’re trying to put some dates to things in the book of Acts and other New Testament events, the death of Agrippa in verse 23 of chapter 12 is helpful, because Herod Agrippa the First died in 44 AD. We have confirmation of that outside the scripture, the dates told us. So, we know, when we study the book of Acts and we hit chapter 12 verse 23, we’re at 44 AD. So, we can work around that date. We’ll have more to say about the date and the dating of the book of Galatians, when we get to chapter 2 of Galatians where some information will become helpful there. I don’t want to get into it now because we’re not in Galatians 2 and don’t want to study Galatians 2 with you until we get there. But here you just note that Herod Agrippa the First died in 44 AD. So we know that chapter 12 takes place about 44 AD. So we know where we are on a timeline.

At the end of chapter 12, verse 25, Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had fulfilled their mission. So they come back to Antioch after having taken the funds that were collected to Jerusalem and John Mark is with them. [A] young man who is a cousin of Barnabas and will travel with them on the first missionary journey.

All right. That brings us to the first missionary journey upon which the churches in Galatia will be established. Let me just give you an overview of the rest of the book. Chapters 13 and 14 talk about the first missionary journey. We’re going to look at some of the details of chapters 13 and 14 in a minute. Chapter 15 is the Jerusalem Council, where there is a meeting between leaders from Antioch and the church at Jerusalem to resolve some questions about the Mosaic Law and its obligation upon Gentile believers. Chapter 16 to 18, and I’ve rounded these chapters off. They’d bleed into one another. Chapters 16 to 18 record the second missionary journey when Paul travels again to carry the gospel out and establish churches. Chapters 18 to 21 record the third missionary journey. So, after the first missionary journey, Paul comes back to Antioch, reports, and then he’s sent out again to establish churches. Then he comes back to Antioch and then he’s sent out again on a third trip. And he’ll return to Caesarea in Jerusalem, be arrested. And then chapters 21 to 28 are about his travel and imprisonment in Rome. That’s where the book of Acts concludes.

Let’s look into Acts chapter 13 and Acts chapter 14. I want to just hi-light some of the events on the first missionary journey. And look at events surrounding the churches eh in Galatia. I think that will help us appreciate some of the difficulties that are dealt with in Paul’s letter to the churches of Galatia.

The first three verses of chapter 13 talk about events at the church in Antioch. And there are prophets. Prophets are those who receive direct revelation from God. And teachers and there’s ministry going on there. It’s become a real center for the ministry and development of the Church.

Verse 2 says, While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. Evidently, through one or more of the prophets, the Holy Spirit gave a message. Barnabas and Saul are to be set apart to carry out the ministry of the gospel in other places, because we read in verse 3, they fasted and prayed, laid their hands on them, and sent them away. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit. . . This message set apart Barnabas and Saul includes the fact that they are to go and carry the gospel to other places because the Church immediately responds and sends them out. So, they’re sent out by the Church, but the real One doing it is the Holy Spirit, according to verse 4, because He was the One who told the Church to have them go.

They go from Antioch down to the coast and get a boat and travel to the island of Cyprus. If you have a map, some of you are using a study Bible that has a map there, others of you would of seen it in the back, the island of Cyprus is out there in the Mediterranean. We were looking where Galatia was, off the land of Palestine there to the north, where we call Palestine, up in Syrian where Antioch is. You go out to Cyprus, then they’ll go from there up to Pamphylia and keep on going up north and you’re in Galatia.

Now, we’re not told why they went to Cyprus. Perhaps when the Holy Spirit said, set apart Saul and Barnabas and send them. He told them where to go. Also, true this is Barnabas’ home. Acts 4:36 says, Barnabas was from the island of Cyprus. He was a Cyprian. So they’re going to familiar territory, because this was where Barnabas was from.
So, they go to the island of Cyprus. And verses 4 to 12 talk about the ministry they had on the island of Cyprus and the cities there. We=re not going to look at the details of that because that=s not in Galatia, so it=s not directly pertinent. But it does show the stages they were going on. They had an effective ministry there. They had some opposition. Paul could speak rather bluntly to his enemies, to those who oppose the gospel. Note what he says in verse 10 to the magician, Elymas the magician, You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked the straight ways of the Lord? Pretty blunt, wouldn’t you say? Full of deceit, fraud, son of the devil, enemy of all righteousness. End result of all that is the leading proconsul there, the leading governor there, becomes a believer.

Well, Paul and Barnabas and John Mark, who is traveling with them, we’ll see in a moment, leave Cyprus, take the boat and go over to Pamphylia. Land at the city of Perga in Pamphylia. Pamphylia is just right there along the coast of the Mediterranean and Galatia is above it.

Now at Perga in Pamphylia, John Mark packs his bags and catches of boat, evidently, less he went over land, back to Jerusalem. We’re not given any details here [on] why he did it. Later on, in chapter 15, verse 38, Paul refers to the fact that Mark deserted us.@ So, for Paul it was such a serious issue, that when it came to the second missionary journey and Barnabas wanted to take his cousin Mark along, give him a second chance, Paul said, No. He’s a deserter. Paul, he is in military service for the Lord, and you don’t take deserters along, they can’t be relied upon.

So, that will cause a split, you will remember, between Paul and Barnabas. Barnabas and Mark will take their own missionary journey, and Paul will take Silas as his new traveling partner and they will go with the blessing of the Church and the rest of the book of Acts focuses on Paul and not Barnabas.

Something happened between verses 13 and 14. But going on from Perga, they arrived at Pisidian Antioch. There’s no record that any ministry occurred at Perga on this occasion. On the way back they’ll stop at Perga and have a ministry, but for some reason the leave Perga and there’s no indication any ministry takes place here.

They go up to Pisidian Antioch. Some of your, ah, Bibles may say, Antioch in Pisidia, that’s not correct and that’s not the way the Greek text reads. It’s an important distinction because Antioch is not in Pisidian. It is near Pisidian. Sir William Ramsey, in the last century, did, great deal of study, an excavation, in tracing the roots of Paul over here and all. In fact, he became a man committed to Jesus Christ because of the detailed accuracy of passages like this.

So, here you have Antioch, which is in Galatia, but it=s identified as being near Pisidia. To distinguish it, remember, from the Antioch in Syria where Paul left. So, just like us, we have different cities on our country that bear the same name. Well, if you are in Nebraska and talk about going to Norfolk, you have one thing in mind. If you’re on the East coast and say, I’m going to Norfolk, let me tell you, nobody thinks you’re going to Nebraska. They think you may be going to an important naval base. So, you would qualify it. I’m talking about East coast Norfolk, or Nebraska Norfolk.

Well, here, this is Pisidian Antioch, the Antioch that=s near Pisidia, in contrast for example to the Antioch in Syria. And if they didn’t qualify it, we’d be confused because we’d read that Paul left Perga and went to Antioch, and we’d say, what’s he going back home for? So, the detailed accuracy of the scripture here.

Now, why did he leave Perga and go to Antioch? Well, you remember, we read in Acts 4:13 that Paul said that it was because of a bodily illness that he first preached the word in Galatia. And Luke doesn’t refer to it at all, interestingly enough, especially since he=s a physician. Paul becomes seriously ill. And evidently that illness causes him to leave Perga in Pamphylia and journey to Antioch.

Sir William Ramsey, in his studies, became convinced that Paul probably developed a severe form of malaria that was rather common in this low-lying region of Pamphylia along the coast. And his feeling was that because of that malaria, which could be very serious, Paul journeyed to the higher region of Antioch, which was 3600 feet above sea level, where he might be in a better place to recover from, ah, his affliction. Whether it was malaria or what the bodily affliction, we don’t know, but according to Acts 4:13 that evidently was a motivating factor in him leaving the coastal region here and journeying into the region of Galatia and particularly the city of Antioch. And there he carries on a ministry.

All right, so now we’re in Galatia, and Paul is going to begin a ministry in a city in Galatia. And verses 14 to 43 talk about Paul’s ministry in Antioch. And verses 14 to 43 talk about the first Sunday. Verses 44 to 50 will talk about his second Sunday. So, really, through the rest of Acts, chapter 13, you’re going to see Paul’s ministry in Antioch, one of the Galatian cities.

What they do is they go visit a synagogue in the city of Antioch. And both Paul and Barnabas are Jews. Back to Acts chapter 4, verse 36, tells us Barnabas is a Levite. He’s of the priestly family. Paul was a Jew. He was educated under Gamaliel. He’d been a Pharisee. It was customary in the synagogue when you had visiting Jewish teachers you invited them to speak after you had the other formalities, such as the reading of scripture, Old Testament scripture. So, when they do that in the synagogue then they ask, would you men care to address us? Well, you know Paul didn’t say, I don’t think so, I’m not prepared. So, he immediately stepped up and began to speak.

And here you have the first sermon of, ah, Paul recorded in the book of Acts. And it really is very similar to Stephen’s sermon in chapter 7 except it’s much shorter. He gives them a history lesson. They’re Jews, remember, at the synagogue, as well as some Gentiles who had converted to Judaism.

He gives them a history showing how Jesus Christ is the descendent of David, the Messiah of Israel, the fulfillment of Old Testament scripture. Having done that, he comes down to verse 23, From the descendants of this man, from David, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, and he brings in John the Baptist who introduced Christ as the Messiah and Savior of Israel. The culminating issue, His death and resurrection.

And so, verse 28, 29, 30 and 31, Paul gives the simple gospel that he preached everywhere. In 1 Corinthians 15, verses 1-4, Paul says, here’s the gospel, verses 1-5, I believe, that he preached, Christ died for our sins, He was buried, He was raised on the third day and He was seen by many witnesses.

So, here you have in verse 28 and the first part of verse 29, the execution and death of Jesus Christ. The burial of Christ, the end of verse 29, they took Him . . . from the cross and laid Him in a tomb. The resurrection of Christ in verse 30, But God raised Him. The appearances of Christ to witnesses in verse 31, for many days He appeared to those who came up, and so on.

The death and resurrection of Christ are the two crucial issues. The burial of Christ is the proof that He died. His appearances are proof that He was raised. So, those four matters are brought up by Paul repeatedly in the preaching of the gospel. His death and the proof of His death, His burial; His resurrection and the proof of His resurrection, the witnesses.

Now, what he demonstrates is this is in fulfillment of Old Testament scripture. And the resurrection of Christ fulfills what David says that could not have been fulfilled in David. Verse 35, you will not allow your Holy One to undergo decay. But David died and was placed in a tomb, his body decayed. So, now, let me tell you, Jesus Christ is the Messiah of Israel, the Savior of the world. He suffered and died, was buried, was raised and was seen. So, verse 38, Let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. You must believe in Him as your Savior from sin. And through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed from the Law of Moses.

You must believe in Christ. And you can receive freedom, justification. The word translated freed in verse 39, is translated freed twice in the translation I’m using, translation of the Greek word, to justify. To become a key issue in the book of Galatians. You are justified from all things, from which you could not be justified through the Law of Moses. That includes the freedom. That includes the righteousness of God credited to your account.

You note, you can get salvation through faith in Christ. You cannot get salvation through the Mosaic Law. That was preached at the beginning by Paul in the first city he visited. It’s to become the issue in the book of Galatians. And then he gives them a warning that you’ll come under the judgment that the Old Testament prophesied about if you do not believe in the Savior. You cannot be justified by the Law of Moses. You can be justified through faith in Christ. You present the gospel, you challenge people to believe.

You know what I’m amazed when I read through the sermons of the book of Acts, is their utter simplicity. He’s given a simple history letter to Jews who knew the Old Testament history. He’s declared to them in a very clear, concise way, the facts of the gospel. And he’s told them, unless you believe in Christ, you cannot be saved. And if you do not believe in Christ, you will come under the judgment of God. The utter simplicity of the message. Well, some people believe, some people want to hear more. There’s excitement. This is something they haven’t heard. So, they ask if he’ll come back next Saturday on the Sabbath and teach them some more. Well, Paul could fit it into his schedule, so he said, yes.

So, the next week he comes back. And there’s a great crowd, word gets out. Know you, you ought to come and hear what this man has to say. But the Jews, verse 45, when they saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. So, they begin to contradict and oppose what Paul is teaching. This isn’t true. Jesus is not the Messiah. He does not fulfill Old Testament scripture. They begin blaspheming. So, they speak against Christ and the truth concerning Him.

Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, verse 46, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first. The gospel was first to be brought to the Jews. He has done that, but note, since you repudiate it . . . You repudiate it. The it referring to the word of God. You reject it. You refuse to believe it. And judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life. You ought to mark that statement in your Bible. You repudiate it, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life. That tells you the responsibility that rests upon us. We hear the word of God. We reject it. In rejecting the truth of the gospel, we pass judgment on ourselves. We are unworthy of eternal life. So, Paul says, We are going to the Gentiles. You Jews have had your chance. We will take our ministry and the gospel to the Gentiles. And he brings in, um, reference from Isaiah.

Verse 48, When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing, because they had heard the message [that] you can only be saved by becoming a Jew. And they could never fulfill, ultimately, the full responsibility of that. They could only be God-fearers, proselytes, but never have the full privileges of one who had been born a physical Jew. The Gentiles are excited.

Note the end of verse 48, As many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. You know the balance that there is here in Luke’s account? Verse 46, you repudiate the word of God and judge yourself unworthy of eternal life. They are lost because they will not believe. And they judge themselves unworthy of eternal life. But those who are saved? They had been appointed to that by God. As many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. Awesome truth here, the responsibility of mankind and the sovereignty of God.

The word of God continues to spread through the region. Verse 50, But the Jews incited a devout woman of prominence. . . You want to stir up trouble, stir up the women. That’s not completely the end of it, because he also stirred up the leading men of the city. In other words, the Jews went and bent the ear of prominent people, got them to realize what trouble makers these are. And had them run out of the city.

You ought to note a pattern here that’s repeated throughout the book of Acts: the truth of God is presented in its simplicity. The truth divides. Remember what Jesus says? I did not come to bring peace upon the earth, but a sword. And the truth concerning Him would divide right down through families.

So, you find, the truth of Christ is presented [and] people are divided. Some believe, some refuse to believe. Those who refuse to believe become antagonistic and persecution develops. And that becomes the on-going pattern. You preach the truth, you divide people. Some believe, some do not. The result of people not believing is they develop an animosity and a bitterness toward, not only the message, but the messengers, and persecution develops. But you note verse 52, The disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

They journey to Iconium, verse 51 says. And in chapter 14 you have the ministry at Iconium. The first 6 verses talk about Iconium. Iconium is another city in Galatia. They entered the synagogue again, that’s the starting point, spoke in such a manner that a large number of people believed, both Jews and of Greeks. But the Jews who disbelieved . . . That word translated disbelieve is literally disobey. Their disobedience was their refusal to believe. But they are disobeying the word God. They’re following the pattern of verse 46, they repudiate the word of God. They are disobedient to the Word. And they stirred up the minds of the Gentiles, and embittered them against the brethren. Therefore they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace. Miracles are being done at the hands of the apostles.

Verse 4, But the people of the city were divided. See the result? You come in and preach the gospel. Some people believe. But some people are dramatically opposed. And it doesn’t take very long, it took only a week, one Sabbath to the next, and you have opposition solidifying, division occurring and persecution developing in Antioch. Here in Iconium, they spend a long time there, but immediately in the preaching of their message, verse 2 said that division occurred. And the city is divided.

And, you know what happens? You find this pattern as well. Well, the whole city got saved and the unbelievers said we’re going to find another place to live. [Not!] Paul and Barnabas are again driven out because the people are ready to stone them.

So, when we see numbers believing, you oughtn’t to think that the whole city is getting converted. It would be like if you went to a city and there were no believers and you preached the gospel faithfully for a week, and 25 people got saved, you might write a letter back saying, many people are getting saved, because there are. I mean 25 people saved in a week in a city that had nobody saved before, that’s a lot of people. But it may mean 35,000 people are still unbelievers. And so, what happens here, the intensity of the opposition builds until Paul and Barnabas have to leave. They fled, verse 6 to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra, Derbe and the surrounding region. These are all cities in the province of Galatia.

There they continued to preach the gospel. I want you to note here, you might think there they sat down and re-evaluated their methods. You know, you and I can tract what happens. Paul was a very brilliant man. I think he could probably could have put two and two together, just like we do. If you go in there and preach the gospel in its simplicity, it’s going to divide people. If it divides people, there’ll be those who believe and respond, but there’s going to be those people who don’t. And if you continue to preach the gospel, they’re going to be antagonized and oppose you. And that opposition will build and persecution will develop.

That’s true, but there is no change. They continue to preach the gospel. They continue to get the same kind of reaction and response. But keep in mind, those who were exposed to the truth and repudiate it, judge themselves unworthy of eternal life. We proclaim the gospel so that those who have been appointed to life might believe.

Woe to the church, woe to the pastors, woe to this pastor, if I begin to take into consideration your needs and wants and desires. Soon we adjust. We won’t present the gospel today because there may be people here who would be offended to be told they are sinners on their way to eternal hell and under condemnation. And we certainly wouldn’t want to offend you. But we will be presenting the gospel next Tuesday evening for those who would like to come. I don’t think Paul would identify with that. And we shouldn’t either, as the Church. There they continue to preach the gospel.

Then you have the account at Lystra. The ministry at Lystra takes verses 8 to 20. And what happens at Lystra, as they preach the gospel in that context, they heal a lame man. And the healing of that lame man makes a dramatic impact on the city. So, the people think they’re gods. Now Greek was the universal language of the day, but every area had it’s own language as well. And at Lystra they spoke the Lyconian language. So, they’re talking among themselves and they decide that Paul and Barnabas are gods. Barnabas is Zeus and Paul is Hermes. In fact, one of the poets, in this area, a few years before, several years before, had written in one of his writings, a mythological account, that the gods, Zeus and Hermes, had visited this region and went door to door and nobody would welcome them. So, they got to the house of a very poor couple, they took that couple up on a mountain and destroyed the rest of the city, then built a glorious temple for this couple.

That may be some of the background in the thinking here, if Hermes and Zeus are back, we don’t want to make the mistake that was written about and that account by one of our leading writers. So, they get ready to offer sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas. It’s only with difficulty, we are told, that they were able to stop the people from offering sacrifice.

You’ve got to be careful because this seems like to provide a great opportunity. I’m, it’s a good thing I wasn’t there, because I’d probably been saying to Paul, You know, this is the hand of the Lord, Paul. You know you’re not God and I know I’m not God, but they’re confused. But that confusion could work for our good because we can continue to preach the truth and they’ll have to listen to us because they think we’re supernatural. My, isn’t it amazing how God works. Well, Paul didn’t have the good sense I have. That might not be the way it should be versed. Verse 15, he says, We’re men of like nature. We’re just human beings like you. And we’re here telling you ought to turn from these vain, empty things, the gods that you create, and worship the God who is the Creator. Well, they’re able to keep the people from offering sacrifice to them. And, you know what? Verse 19, Jews came from Antioch and Iconium . . . Trouble follows the ministry of the word. And they won over the crowds. You know, very fickled, popularity. You know, one minute you’re wonderful and you can do no wrong, and the next minute you’re wretched and you can do no right. So, here the same people who wanted to worship Paul as a god, now turn around and stone him. And they stone him so severely they think he’s dead and they just drag his limp body outside the city, which was common to do with stoned people, and you let the dogs dispose of the remains. So, the disciples come around, gather around Paul, and he gets up. He’s not dead. Some try to connect this with his experience of being caught up to the third heaven that he wrote about to the Corinthians, but it says they were supposing him to be dead. And he wasn’t dead, but it was amazing the hand of God on him, that he got up. Stoning was very unpleasant. The normal pattern of stoning, I don’t know they followed the normal pattern, they pushed the person off a platform nine feet high and then they dropped a large boulder on his chest or his head. Then they picked up stones and finished off the job. No matter how they did it, you ever have somebody throw a stone and accidentally hit you, you know that hurts. You imagine people standing around and throwing enough stones at you, they think you’re dead and you look like you’re dead. That would be pretty bruised. This is the only time Paul was stoned. He wrote to the Corinthians in his list of all of his afflictions, he says, one time I was stoned. That would have been this time. Amazing, he gets up, and you know what? I’d say let’s go down to the Mediterranean and recover for a few weeks or months. The next day they went away with Barnabas to Derbe. What did they do at Derbe? R & R? Verse 21, After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples.

You know, I have to say, I go back and read in chapter 13, verse 1, John left them and returned to Jerusalem, I have a little bit of empathy with John Mark. Paul was a fanatic. Think of the trouble he would have caused for us if he came to Lincoln. How many churches, do you think, would have invite, would invite Paul today to come and center his ministry in their pulpit? Not too many, and I’m not trying to be, you know, but I would. I have to say in my heart, I’d want to talk to him first. Because you know Paul, you could create a lot of trouble in a very little time in this city. And besides there’s a lot of people who don’t mind us teaching the word here. And there are a lot of people we have opportunities with because we go out of our way not to offend them.

Paul gets stoned? You know, he’s going to write in chapter 6 of Galatians that I bear in my body the brand marks of Christ. In other words, you can look at my body and I’ve got scars all over. They identify me as belonging to Christ. I imagine he had a few after being stoned almost to death on this occasion. Imagine what he looked like walking along with Barnabas to Derbe, you know, all black and blue and cut up and whatever else. And the next day, what? Preach the gospel, let them finish the job.

Then they returned. You know, they were down in Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, verse 21. Strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them, reminding them, Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. You note, he doesn’t think that he was in the kingdom yet, but we’re on the way to that kingdom that Christ will someday establish and the road to that is filled with tribulations. So, this is just the normal road.

So, he comes back to encourage these churches, to strengthen them and remind them tribulation is part of being on the right road. Remember the narrow gate and the narrow road. That narrow road is beset by affliction and tribulation and hardship. Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

And when they had appointed elders for them in every church . . . and so on. They also established order for the churches, appointing leadership. The elders appointed there, these would have been relatively new believers. I mean, there were no 15 year old Christian in these churches. There would have been those who came out of a background that was saturated with the Old Testament. And their response, when things are put together for them, would have been quick, but they’re still new Christians. But I take it they took and appointed the maturest men in each of these churches to be the elders, because God’s intention is that there would be leadership for His people, shepherds for His sheep, even at this early stage. And then they journey back through Pamphylia. They do have ministry at Perga on the return and then go back to Antioch and bring a report.

Keep this background in mind as we study the letter to the Galatian churches. This strong Jewish background, strong Jewish influence and the intensity of Jewish activity, would make it a ripe ground for the Judaizers, because the Judaizers come in and they agree with the Jews and they’ll agree with the Gentiles. We must believe in Christ, but we must also keep the Law of Moses. And it would be a great temptation to these Christians in the churches of Galatia, to say, Wow! You know, here’s a way that we can believe in Christ and also avoid the trouble, because we can agree with the Jews and also believe in Christ.

The Devil is relentless. First, he turns on the fires of opposition and persecution, then he turns it down and stirs up the fires of compromise. We just get together. We don't have to disagree on this. We can agree. The Old Testament scriptures are right, the Mosaic Law is right, we are obligated to the Law and Jesus is the Messiah. And everybody=s happy. Ah, Paul will put an end to that party pretty quick, too. Need to be careful, the Devil’s methods don’t change.

And one thing I want us to be fixed, the simplicity of the responsibility entrusted to us. We are the people of God, called together to proclaim the truth of God in its simplicity. I’m not here to entertain you. I’m not here to meet your needs, as that’s often addressed. I am here to nourish and nurture you on the truth of God and pray that, by God’s grace, you and I together will respond and believe the glorious truth concerning His Son and live lives unshakable faithfulness and commitment to Him. Let’s pray together.

Thank you, Lord, for Your glorious work in building Your Church. Thank you for the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ which brings life and salvation to every man, women and child who believe in this wonderful Savior. Lord, thank you for the ministry entrusted to us as Your Church in these days. May we take heart from the purity and simplicity of the presentation of truth that characterized the apostles of the Church. May we unashamedly and boldly proclaim the truth of the death and resurrection of the Messiah of Israel, the Savior of the world. May we call men and women to turn from their sin and believe in Him, for there is salvation in no one else. We praise You in Christ’s name. Amen.