PAUL’S TESTIMONY TO GOD’S GRACE

Text: Galatians 1:11-24

I. BEFORE JESUS CHRIST REVEALED HIMSELF TO PAUL, PAUL/SAUL WAS NOT CONVERTED.

A. There were false teachers in the churches of Galatia who were trying to convince Christians to go back to Paul’s former manner of unconverted life in Judaism.

B. According to Paul’s former manner of life in Judaism, he was:

1. “circumcised on the eighth day” (Philippians 3:5; cf. Genesis 17:12; Leviticus 12:3)

2. “of the nation of Israel” (Philippians 3:5)

3. “of the tribe of Benjamin” (Philippians 3:5)

4. “a Hebrew of Hebrews” (Philippians 3:5)

5. “as to the Law, a Pharisee” (Philippians 3:5)

6. blameless according to the Law (Philippians 3:6)

“Moreover the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live. (Deuteronomy 30:6)

For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh.
But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God. (Romans 2:28-29; see Col.2:11)

7. Paul’s confidence, glory and boast were in his flesh (Philippians 3:3-7; cf. Romans 2:23; 3:27; Galatians 6:131-14).

C. Why wasn’t Paul converted according to his former manner of life in Judaism? Because the law is not a means of righteousness for sinners but only condemnation (see Chapter 7 of the Westminster Confession and Questions 30-36 of the Westminster Larger Catechism).

What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; 31 but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone,
33 just as it is written, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.” (Romans 9:30-33)

II. INSTEAD OF BOASTING IN HIS KEEPING OF THE LAW, PAUL THE PHARISEE SHOULD HAVE BEEN HUMBLED BY THE LAW, BECAUSE LAW REVEALS OUR HELPLESSNESS.

A. Preach Christ crucified to a boaster like Paul and the Gospel is anathema (cf. Galatians 3).

“They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God.
“These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me. (John 16:2-3)

B. The self-righteous do-good keeper of laws and rules is just as lost (perhaps more lost! [Matthew 9:10-13; 21:28-32; 26:45; 1 Cor.1:26-29]) as the most wicked and vile of sinners!

III. WHAT TRANSFORMED PAUL WAS NOT HIS FORMER MANNER OF LIFE IN JUDAISM BUT GOD’S GRACE AND THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST (Galatians 1:15-16; cf. Matthew 16:13-17; John 3:1-12; Galatians 3:1)

A. Jesus Christ must be supernaturally revealed to our heart or we will never come to a realization of our need to be saved from our sins and from this present evil age.

B. When we say that salvation is by grace alone we mean that our salvation is according to the supernatural work of God.

1. There is an important difference between supernatural and dramatic!

a.. Every sinner’s salvation is the supernatural work of God.

b. Not every sinner’s salvation is “dramatic!”

2. The revelation of Christ to Paul was very dramatic!

a. Saul was breathing threats and murder against the disciples of Jesus (Acts 9:1)

b. Saul had received permission to take believers in Jesus bound to Jerusalem

c. As he was on his way to Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.

d. Jesus appeared to Paul, he was blinded, and after Ananias prayed with him three days later the scales fell off Paul’s eyes and he was baptized (Acts 9:18).

3. The revelation of Nicodemus was gradual and not as “dramatic.”

C. The best Paul could do according to his former manner of life in Judaism was:

1. persecute the church of God (Galatians 1:13-14; Acts 8:3; 9:1,13,21; 22:4,5,19; 26:10f; 1 Cor.15:9; Phil.3:6; 1 Tim.1:13cf. Acts 26:4,5; Philippians 3:5-6).

2. murder and blaspheme! (1 Timothy 1:13-15; cf. Acts 7:58; 8:1-3; 9:1-4; 26; 22:4; 5; 7; 8; 19; 20; 26:14; 15; Philippians 3:6).

D. The best that the Jewish Sanhedrin could do was condemn the innocent Lord of glory. The best they could do was spit upon him, beat him with their fists, slap Him and mock Him (Matthew 26-28).

E. The Gospel of God’s grace is good news for sinners! If Paul was a murderer and a blasphemer and the greatest of sinners, then we too can be saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

Even that heroic critic of the Jesus Seminar’s apostasy, N.T. Wright, Bishop of Durham, wishes to jettison this foundational doctrine [imputation] of classical Anglicanism. He was interviewed in the Christian Century and stated that contrary to his earlier views he now believed… “the big question about justification for Paul was not ‘How do I find a gracious God?’ but ‘How do Jews and Gentiles who believe in Christ share table fellowship?’” Paul’s conversion on the Damascus road was certainly not that he suddenly realized, “Now I can eat with the Gentiles!”” (C. FitzSimons Allison, “Word Made Verb”).

F. Has there been a supernatural work of God’s grace in your heart?

QUESTIONS FOR SABBATH DISCUSSION & MEDITATION

Pray that God would enable you and give you the desire to be conformed to His Word as read and preached today. Pray that God would give you a greater sense of your need for His grace in every part of your life.

Is salvation by grace alone something believed by all Protestants? Explain. (If you have trouble answering this question then see the helpful essay, Grace Alone: An Evangelical Problem? by Kim Riddlebarger.

How were the false teachers perverting the Gospel of God’s grace?

Was Saul/Paul “saved” before Jesus revealed Himself on the Road to Damascus?

Why wasn’t Paul converted according to his former manner of life in Judaism?

What was the very best that Saul/Paul could do according to his former manner of life in Judaism?

When we say that salvation is by grace alone we mean that our salvation is according to the super_______________ work of God.

Is everyone’s salvation by grace as “dramatic” as Paul’s? Why or why not?

Is everyone’s salvation by grace supernatural like Paul’s? Why or why not?

Parents, if your children have been baptized does this mean that you don’t need to teach them about the plan of salvation which centers in Jesus Christ and their personal need of a relationship with Christ?

Has there been a supernatural work of God’s grace in your heart? If so, share it with others, including your children.

How was the covenant of grace administered under the Old Testament?

The covenant of grace was administered under the Old Testament, by promises, (Rom. 15:8) prophecies, (Acts 3:20,24) sacrifices, (Heb. 10:1) circumcision, (Rom. 4:11) the passover, (1 Cor. 5:7) and other types and ordinances, which did all fore-signify Christ then to come, and were for that time sufficient to build up the elect in faith in the promised Messiah, (Heb. 8,9,10,11,13) by whom they then had full remission of sin, and eternal salvation. (Gal. 3:7–9,14) (Question 34 of the Westminster Larger Catechism)