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What Can We Learn From Paul’s Testimony? Part 2 (Galatians 1:16-2:10)
GIST: Your salvation is the result of His love; it’s meant to be a witness to others, and it brings you into the family of God.
This morning, we’re coming to our second week of considering Paul’s testimony as he records it here in Galatians. This section is actually the longest we’ve covered so far in our study, and it will take us into chapter 2—after spending a whole month just looking at the first 15 verses of chapter 1!
Again, the context of this letter is Paul pleading with these early Gentile believers not to abandon the gospel. False teachers had come in and convinced them they needed Jesus + other stuff. In the process, they also called into question whether or not Paul could really be trusted in the first place. So, he shares his testimony not to defend his honor, but to point them to the difference the gospel made in his life in order to remind them how much they also need it.
There is so much we can learn from his testimony. Last week, we talked about these three truths: We aren’t naturally looking for the Gospel, but Jesus is pursuing us! And→we can’t be too far gone for Him to find us! Because→before we were even born, Jesus loved us and had a plan for us. Today, we’re going to take three more as our gist and points: Your salvation is the result of His love; it’s meant to be a witness to others, and it brings you into the family of God.
I. Your Salvation Is The Result Of His Love. (15-16a)
Look at the verses 15-16 again. “15 But when He who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by His grace, 16 was pleased to reveal His Son to me…” We covered these verses last week, so I won’t keep us long here. Nonetheless, this bears repeating. Paul was saved by grace because it pleased God to reveal His Son to him. In the same way, we can be saved because we’re loved. It’s not our worth or works; it His amazing grace that rescues us! We are saved by love, and we’re also saved to love. And that’s the next observation too. →
II. Your Salvation Is Meant To Be A Witness To Others. (16b-2:5)
This next section is the longer one ☺️, so let’s walk through to the end of chapter 1 first. “16 was pleased to reveal His Son to me, in order that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. 18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. 19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord's brother. 20 (In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!) 21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only were hearing it said, "He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy." 24 And they glorified God because of me.”
While there is a lot going on in this chunk, the evangelistic purpose of our salvation is what struck me most. Paul wasn’t rescued so he could rest on the shore. He was rescued and shown love and then sent in the lifeboat to share that love with everyone else he encountered.
A few key lines emphasize that for me here. First, immediately after those beautiful words about being saved by love, Paul says directly that he was→
Saved To Go To The Gentiles. Man, I say this all the time I know, but it sticks with me. And, honestly, I guess I’m hoping that if I say it enough, it will stick with you too ☺️. Like Paul, you were saved on purpose with a purpose. If you are struggling with God’s will for your life, please remember this. While the details of what this will look like may vary, God’s purpose for every believer is to go and make disciples, to share the message of Jesus’ rescue. We aren’t given grace to hide it. Here’s another one I say a lot too: we’ve been greatly loved, so we should love greatly!
That’s what Paul’s life became immediately about. He dug in deep with God, that’s what scholars all agree was happening in his time in Arabia, and he shared Jesus boldly. And just to clarify, in case anyone was trying to work out the chronology, we know from the book of Acts that he didn’t wait three years before he started preaching. He immediately began sharing the gospel wherever he was. He just didn’t immediately go up to Jerusalem after his conversion. And because Paul’s life became about sharing Jesus, other Christians— people he was just recently trying to kill→
Glorified God. I love that he says, “Yeah, they didn’t know my face. But they heard what God was using me to do.” He wasn’t looking for fame. He was just looking to share Jesus, so God got the glory. Man, that’s what I want in my life too. And I want that to be my heart. It’s so easy to allow our naturally selfish natures to take hold, but I don’t want to want people to know my face. It’s not worth knowing! I want them to know my Jesus!
Now, as we move into chapter to, we see this concern for people knowing the truth continuing. Look at the first 5 verses in the next chapter here. “1 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. 2 I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain. 3 But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. 4 Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in--who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery-- 5 to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.”
Fourteen years later, Paul is back in Jerusalem. Why? Well, we know it is because of revelation, which means he was sent by God, and he went to make sure he wasn’t “running in vain”. That is, he wanted to confirm with those who walked with Jesus that he wasn’t sharing a false gospel himself. Why? Because he→
Cared About Getting It Right. He’s already established the gospel isn’t something man-made. That’s why he didn’t need to confer with anyone after receiving it from Jesus. However, he knew he wasn’t infallible, so he wanted to confer with other people who had heard from Jesus. He wasn’t willing to let ego get in the way of people hearing the saving truth. Why? Again, because his life was about loving God and pointing people to His rescue. That’s why we also see that he→
Would Not Compromise On The Gospel. The context was that Paul brought Titus with him. Titus was a Greek, so he was uncircumcised. That wasn’t an issue until some of the Judaizers snuck in with the purpose of discrediting the gospel. They wanted to ensure that their traditions weren’t neglected, and the gospel was in the way of that. Their entire lives, they had been taught that every Godly person in history had followed these ceremonial laws, so their entire identity was wrapped up in them. However, Paul knew this would continue to enslave people by teaching that Jesus wasn’t enough. He knew the law pointed to our need for Jesus’ rescue but was not a rescue in itself. So, he stood immediately against these false teachers so that the gospel would be preserved for us. That’s the heart salvation should create in us. We should be passionate about knowing the truth so that others can experience the truth!
And lastly→
III. Your Salvation Brings You Into The Family Of God. (2:6-10)
Let’s read through to verse ten, then I’ll make a few quick observations for us. “6 And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)--those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me. 7 On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised 8 (for He who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), 9 and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.”
When Paul conferred with the apostles, they were on the same page because they were united in Christ. Being saved brings you into the bigger context of a family fellowship that breaks down barriers and crosses borders in a way nothing else ever could. We’re united to other believers for at least these reasons, and for the sake of time I will move through them quickly here:
We’re Serving The Same Mission. Loving God and loving people.
We’re Carrying The Same Message. The Gospel of grace. The message of Jesus’ rescue. Because→
We’ve Been Rescued By The Same Messiah. Jesus is the common denominator. He’s the one that transforms all who come to Him! It doesn’t matter who you were before, if you’re in Christ, we are united under His salvation. And then→
We’ll Be Moved With The Same Compassion. The only request the Jerusalem Christians had for Paul was that he try to help the poor, but the request was unnecessary because his heart had been transformed like theirs, so he was already filled with compassion.
TAKEAWAYS
Your salvation is the result of His love.
It’s meant to be a witness to others.
It brings you into the family of God.
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