Church Life: PEOPLE OVER RELIGION: Good News, For People Who Love Bad News

Introduction

Let me begin with a discipleship question: how will you follow Jesus in prayer and dependence on God this week?

Main Points

In this lesson shaped by Calvary Boise's teaching on PEOPLE OVER RELIGION: Good News, For People Who Love Bad News, Christ invites us to receive truth with humility, practice repentance, and walk in faithful obedience.

Life in the Church

You picked a good week to join us if you're new because we're starting a brand new series in the book of Galatians so. If you have your Bible would you please open it with me to the book of Galatians it's in the New Testament it's in.

• The section of letters that were written by the Apostle Paul a good acronym to remember we're Galatians fits in your Bible is the.
• General electric power company helping you remember where it's Galatians Ephesians Philippians and Colossians so G EPC General Electric Power Company will help you.
• Remember the order of these letters and we'll start with Galatians as we go through the Bible in our time every Sunday morning we're.
• Calling this series in the look of Galatians people over religion because this is one of those letters that was written to a region.

Of the first church this is many churches that make up the region of Galatia that had really accepted the truth excitement for what. They found to be the new life in Christ that is offered through the preaching of Paul and not long after that something kind.

Life in the Church

The way that the order is returned to the simplicity of what Paul calls the gospel the initial message of Christ in your life. The initial message of God's love you hear it can be so exciting you accept it and then not long after you accept it.

• Can sometimes turn into something that was never meant to be so that'll be theme one of our look at this let's start now.
• As we read this in galatians chapter 1 starting in verse 1 paul says this paul an apostle not from men nor through man.
• But through jesus christ and god the father who raised him from the dead now paul is writing a greeting normal letter has a.
• Greeting dear sir/madam the letters of the first church or the ancient times usually started with an of who was writing it but he's.

Gonna get right to the point of the letter which is to establish the primary message the foundational message of what it means to. Be a Christian and believe in Jesus and that is the gospel and he's going to lead with that we look at that as.

Grace and Justification

Worth remembering because if you understand this you will understand a healthy relationship with God in people and if you lose sight of what. Paul says here it will turn into something that God never intended the message to be so we start with what the gospel is.

• And verses three through five he says this grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ who gave.
• Himself for our sins that he might deliver us from this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father to.
• Whom be glory for ever and ever amen an to the letter packed with the truth of God's love God's saving grace and God's.
• Intended purpose for your life he says that he gave his son that is the beginning of the gospel it is motivated by love.

God gave his son because he loved the world and the gospel of grace starts with God being the prime mover we couldn't save. Ourselves so he intervened into our world and into each one of our lives to show his love and how does he do that.

Sin and Salvation

Glory to the Father for ever and ever amen which means the gospel is a message you receive not simply to retreat into a. Spiritual bunker where you can be removed from evil and never have to deal with it again because all of you know that is.

• Not something that is actually a reality that's something that's offered to you it is so that you can be a witness to the.
• Power of God to change your life to the glory of God that God would use your to represent the cross lifestyle to anyone.
• Around you that you yourself would take part in giving your life so that others could find theirs pointing people to God that is.
• The gospel here's the gospel in an acronym learning style some of us like acronyms gos PE l spells an acronym that will give.

Us a core remembrance of the gospel it says this God's only son provides eternal life you remove any one of those aspects of. That acronym and all of a sudden you've lost one of the essence of the gospel and here's the challenge the message that is.

Grace and Justification

To do something and then you have to go back and think I think I've lost it again and that happens with your pursuit. Of God he says I'm surprised so quickly the pure essence of God's grace his love for you defining your life has turned into.

• Something that it was never meant to be and this is what Paul warns us of he says when you turn from the gospel.
• You're turning to something which is not another gospel but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel so what.
• Paul is saying he's being clever with his words gospel means newse what I preached in summary of Paul's summary of the gospel is.
• The good news that God indeed loves you and there is hope for your soul and when you hear a message that will pervert.

Or distort that gospel it is not gospel because it's cannot good news it will bring trouble to your spirituality it will bring division. To your church and it will bring burden to your life and that is why Paul is so serious about defending against the gospel.

Mission and Witness

The difference they will have an essence of them that is slightly twisted they'll be slightly out of shape the stitching will be slightly. Wrong the leather will be slightly less valuable and there will be things that you have to do in the counterfeit to take the.

• Essence of the shape and twist it slightly and this is how all counterfeiting works and this is how the counterfeiting of the truth.
• Of God's will for your life we'll look what Jesus says in warning of the messengers that come with the counterfeit gospel Matthew chapter.
• 7 verse 15 and 60 says this beware of false prophets beware of false messengers who come to you in sheep's clothing they come.
• To you looking like the real deal they come to you looking very mild looking very innocent and yet inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

And you will know them by their fruit the reason this message is important is because the counterfeit Gospels come in a package that. Are meant to look very similar to the real deal and they're meant to sound very similar and yet Paul warns us that they.

Prayer and Dependence

And the gospel that brings trouble to our lives and I want to point out three of the ways that we can identify the. Distinctions between those Gospels and in doing this mind you there are number of ways the gospel is distorted we'll look at three this.

• Morning that what I think will speak not only to what the word is warning us of but it'll also speak to a real-life.
• Warning for our time and our culture but mind you there are many ways and what one of the things we have to do.
• Is to be so alive in our spirit and our pursuit of God love for the word that we ourselves become people who know.
• How to judge the fruit of the message and here are ways that we can look for that in the preaching that Paul will.

Give us in the example that he shares with the Galatians and starting with the warning against what I'm going to call the celebrity. Gospel this is not the word that Paul will use because the idea of celebrity worship in his day was different than it was.

Conclusion

We return to the opening teaching: discipleship is not just information, it is transformation through faith and obedience to Jesus. If we receive His Word and walk it out, He will shape us into people who endure and bear fruit.

Lord Jesus, help me hear Your Word, obey it with faith, and grow as Your disciple. Amen.

Conclusion

We return to the opening teaching: discipleship is not just information, it is transformation through faith and obedience to Jesus. If we receive His Word and walk it out, He will shape us into people who endure and bear fruit.

Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus, help me hear Your Word, obey it with faith, and grow as Your disciple. Amen.