Good News - remember it!
Galatians 1:1-9
Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— [2] and all the brothers with me,
To the churches in Galatia:
[3] Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, [4] who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, [5] to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
[6] I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— [7] which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. [8] But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! [9] As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
When Paul wrote to the churches in Galatia he had one overriding concern – that they would remember that Jesus dies to save them from their sins and to restore their friendship with God. This was God’s plan, and a task which Jesus willingly undertook. And look how Paul gets straight into this in vs3-5.
Very often we refer to Jesus’ mission as the Gospel. Gospel means ‘Good news’. As far as Paul is concerned it is good news that Jesus has made us friends with God again. It’s simple – believe in Jesus, that he died to save you, and rose again to be Lord of your life and your relationship with God is restored.
In some ways it is like a bridge. There was a huge gulf between us and God, and Jesus came to build a bridge between us, saying that anyone who wanted to, by believing in his message could cross the bridge.
The problem for the folk in Galatia was that someone else was trying to put a toll on the bridge. As we’ll find out when we delve into the letter more they were saying that in order to cross the bridge you had to adopt the old ways and customs of the Law.
This was a way of trying to cross the bridge, but doing it this way we find out that the price of the toll was perfection. The only way to cross the bridge was to live a life in which you had never done anything wrong! It’s impossible. Yet someone was telling the people in Galatia this was the way forward – and Paul was having none of it!
Imagine, Paul says, having to work hard at being religious all your life and then rolling up to the toll gate, only to discover that despite how diligent you were you didn’t have enough to make the toll. That’s not a Gospel – that’s not good news. That’s hard work.
The Good News that Jesus brings is this – it’s a gift. For anyone who is willing to accept Jesus’ gift, no matter how short of the toll they are, Jesus makes up the difference.
Imagine that you’re an okay person, and you turn up at the toll with 86p and the toll is £1. Jesus makes up the 14p difference. Paul himself was a pretty good guy say 92p, but he’s still 8p short. Jesus makes up the difference. Imagine an axe murder brought 32p, but then discovered this good news and wanted to change. Jesus makes up the 68p difference. For those who believe in him, Jesus makes it possible to cross the bridge toll free.
It’s not about who we are and what we’ve done, but about who Jesus is and what he’s done for us. As Paul was to write in a later letter God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8.
Now that’s good news, Paul tells the Galatians – don’t forget it.
Anyway, here's today's question: if the Gospel is good news, why does it sometimes seem like so much hard work?
Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— [2] and all the brothers with me,
To the churches in Galatia:
[3] Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, [4] who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, [5] to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
[6] I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— [7] which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. [8] But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! [9] As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
When Paul wrote to the churches in Galatia he had one overriding concern – that they would remember that Jesus dies to save them from their sins and to restore their friendship with God. This was God’s plan, and a task which Jesus willingly undertook. And look how Paul gets straight into this in vs3-5.
Very often we refer to Jesus’ mission as the Gospel. Gospel means ‘Good news’. As far as Paul is concerned it is good news that Jesus has made us friends with God again. It’s simple – believe in Jesus, that he died to save you, and rose again to be Lord of your life and your relationship with God is restored.
In some ways it is like a bridge. There was a huge gulf between us and God, and Jesus came to build a bridge between us, saying that anyone who wanted to, by believing in his message could cross the bridge.
The problem for the folk in Galatia was that someone else was trying to put a toll on the bridge. As we’ll find out when we delve into the letter more they were saying that in order to cross the bridge you had to adopt the old ways and customs of the Law.
This was a way of trying to cross the bridge, but doing it this way we find out that the price of the toll was perfection. The only way to cross the bridge was to live a life in which you had never done anything wrong! It’s impossible. Yet someone was telling the people in Galatia this was the way forward – and Paul was having none of it!
Imagine, Paul says, having to work hard at being religious all your life and then rolling up to the toll gate, only to discover that despite how diligent you were you didn’t have enough to make the toll. That’s not a Gospel – that’s not good news. That’s hard work.
The Good News that Jesus brings is this – it’s a gift. For anyone who is willing to accept Jesus’ gift, no matter how short of the toll they are, Jesus makes up the difference.
Imagine that you’re an okay person, and you turn up at the toll with 86p and the toll is £1. Jesus makes up the 14p difference. Paul himself was a pretty good guy say 92p, but he’s still 8p short. Jesus makes up the difference. Imagine an axe murder brought 32p, but then discovered this good news and wanted to change. Jesus makes up the 68p difference. For those who believe in him, Jesus makes it possible to cross the bridge toll free.
It’s not about who we are and what we’ve done, but about who Jesus is and what he’s done for us. As Paul was to write in a later letter God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8.
Now that’s good news, Paul tells the Galatians – don’t forget it.
Anyway, here's today's question: if the Gospel is good news, why does it sometimes seem like so much hard work?
posted by Gordon at
8:41 am
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