The Apostle's Defense

Coming up next on Renewing Your Mind. We can't overemphasize the degree to which Saul of Tarsus almost extinguished the early church had it within his power, or at least almost from a human point of view to actually put out to snuff out the Christian church at its very infancy. If we were to put it in modern-day terms was a radical anti-Christian activist, but he did much more than stage protest actually rounded up Christians to be imprisoned were killed which is why his conversion on the road to Damascus is such a dramatic story when a man like that did say people take notice today on Renewing Your Mind. We continue a series titled no other gospel teacher is Dr. Derek Thomas Buchan\into Galatians 1 and this time verses 11 through 24 larger segment. I want to draw attention immediately to verse 11 for I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel.

As we saw in the first lesson Paul is writing this letter to the Galatians because there are certain folks in the church.

That's just called and Judaizers for now who are insisting that is not enough to believe in Jesus you need to believe in Jesus plus the second set plus obey the dietary laws.

Plus plus plus I'm Paul has said this is a damnable plus and anyone preaches the gospel of this nature is not preaching the true biblical gospel and should be anathematized and he was very rational in the opening introduction.

Now he wants to open this up a little bit more because not only are these Judaizers suggesting that Paul's gospel is insufficient. There are truly questioning Paul himself. That's not a new tactic to go after the person and to make an ad hominem argument in effect. So who is the apostle Paul, look as we know who the apostle Paul, is we have the benefits of hindsight and we know that Paul, his Greek name Saul his Hebrew name.

Some people think the soul was given that name by Jesus on the Damascus Road. That's probably not true. You always had these two names. One is a Hebrew name and one is a Greek name, and I think of Paul when he is ministering now in an Hellenistic Greek places like Galatia. He uses policy uses his Greek name which would be a point of entry for him to advance the gospel. We know that he is the author of 13 of the New Testament books but the Galatians didn't know that and did their minds were filled with prejudice as to who Saul of Tarsus was. And Paul is now on the defensive front, he has to defend his name. And yes, to defend his reputation and he has to defend his right to impose on the Galatian church a certain view of the gospel is not Peter he's not John he's not James he's not one of Jesus's disciples. He said Johnny-come-lately.

These Judaizers are suggesting. Paul does this in a number of epistles you'll find Paul doing something similar in second Corinthians. For example, where the church is being influenced by a group within it. Calling Paul's authority into question as an apostle of Jesus Christ. So let's look at the section, verses 11 through 24. The first thing I want us to see is that Paul has a past.

He talks in verse 13 of his former life. You've heard of my former life in Judaism.

That's an interesting Expressionism that that is already distancing himself from Judaism.

This is a certain sense in which the early church is still it still has her foot into camps. It's it's Christian but it's also still in synagogues and so until that moment when they're put out two of the synagogues and by the turn of the first century there no longer under the aegis of Judaism and that gets him into trouble with the Roman Empire and brings in all kinds of persecution against the Christian church was a very definitive moment, to the end of the first century, the turn into the second century when the church, as it were, has to stand on his own 2 feet in the Roman Empire. What Paul is talking about a former life and to the context of course is that Paul is being accused of being a charlatan. The Johnny-come-lately his views about the law about circumcision about recognizing with the Gentiles since all now been called into question the Judaizers might have been saying this man, this man's a liberal businessman is Sir from out west somewhere and and he's coming to the church and he's forgetting the traditions of the church and he may well have been a conservative in the past, but now he's something of a religious liberal Paul. Paul has to defend himself. I have a formal life and you know all about it is not as though some reports has done some investigation on this now publish the kind of scoop on the apostle Paul revealing his past that no one was ever aware of Saul of Tarsus is past. You have heard, he says in verse 13. And what is it that they've heard how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. We can't overemphasize the degree to which Saul of Tarsus almost extinguished the early church. He had it within his power, or at least almost from a human point of view to actually put out to snuff out the Christian church at its very infancy and to look for example, gives us more than one account of Paul's conversion. This is another one so so we have lots of information here about Paul's past going after men, women and children writing letters of authority to Jewish henchmen who would arrest in trigon and even in some cases kill these early Christians I suppose. So I guess that not her night went by when Polly his head on pillow that he didn't think about his involvement in the violent past, we see examples of it in our own time in terms of religious zealotry, and so on that involve for acts of violence. It's been part of Christian history as part of Islamic history in our own time. For example, that there is this violent section given to implementing their understanding of Scripture or or holy books or laws to the point of putting men and women and children to death, and this is Paul's past this.

This is what he was is not that he met someone and you know he used to be a conservative but now he's kind of loosened up penalties more tolerant, and so on that that's not the case.

Paul is still a conservative is so passionate about God is still passionate about God's law is still passionate about more about the 10 Commandments about the need for Christians to repent of their sins and I'm to lead to a righteous way of living. He's still a conservative in that sense, but something has happened to the apostle Paul in his understanding of the gospel that obedience to the law, and obedience to Jewish traditions or boundary markers or whatever you call them that that's not a part of the gospel. So Paul is a past and was a violent past and something that happened concerning the second case.

This is conversion is a past, but he was converted and in verse 15, but when he, who would set me apart before I was born is not an interesting way of seeing. It doesn't refer to the time on the Damascus Road. He doesn't refer to the moment in which she saw and encountered the risen Jesus so much, he goes all the way back before he was born and end into eternity.

I was set apart before I was born and Paul is saying that something about the understanding of who I am. The something about my understanding of the gospel that has NOT written all over it. Paul is a man who wasn't countered and being shaped by the sovereignty of God. The reason why Paul is a Christian. The reason why he's an apostle to the Gentiles is because God has had a plan for him from before he was born. It's anonymous him. I sought the Lord and afterward I knew he drew my soul to seek him seeking me. It was not I that found or Savior to know I was found of the and that's Sir.

It's a human. We sometimes sing it in our church, but it's a beautiful way of describing we sought the Lord's. I was converted in December 28, 1971, 1130 or so at night after reading John Stott's basic Christianity but within days. I realized that something had been network someone had been work in my life euros before. In fact, had been shaping my life from the contour so Providence from the moment of my birth, and the more I read Scripture belongs further back than the moment of my birth into the councils of eternity. When Paul thinks about his conversion, he is gripped by the sovereignty of God. The reason is a Christians not because he made a decision he made a decision.

He did make a decision.

He is will was engaged.

His volition was in Grace's affections were engaged but who enabled him to will forward enabled him to be drawn to Christ.

It was the gracious sovereign hand of my heavenly father you notice again in verse 15 when he heard set me apart before I was born unto called me by his grace this that would grace again resort in the first lesson. And here it is again as he thinks about who is in and what is it's a story of grace from beginning to end, who called me by his grace on pause there. When we think of them who we are as Christians we we tend to use John three. We tend to use Jesus words to Nicodemus about being born again. I was born again.

I was regenerated I was given a new heart.

You must be born again. Jesus said to Nicodemus, but there's a sense I'm not certain that's a Jeong way of seeing it very put it that way before Paul Paul sees it using a different metaphor, it's, it's not being born again. It's being call when he writes to the Corinthians of reopening versus he refers to the Christians in Corinth as called to be saints. They were called to be saints all or you can also translate that the holy called once. Next time you think about yourself as a Christian you could say this about yourself. I'm somebody who has been called, I received a call I received the sovereign effectual call me to Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, and so full Paul. At this stage one is writing to the Galatians. The reason why he's a Christian is because he answered the call he received a call and he answered the call and that call was powerful. That call was sovereign, that call was effectual that way of thinking will be dominant in St. Augustine. For example I to be dominant in the reformer's. It will be dominant in the Puritans of the 17th century the doctrine of effectual calling as we record the sessions. It's the anniversary of the Synod. The door the five points of Calvinism, one of which is effectual calling. We been called sovereignly and powerfully by God. And then he goes on to say in verse 16 was pleased to reveal his son to me is a little footnote and so the aversions that to me can also be translated in me, not just that the Lord Jesus was revealed objectively to him as a reference to the Damascus Road incident where he saw the risen Jesus, but he was revealed in Paul close to his heart. Convincing his heart, so the real reason why Paul is a Christian is because Jesus was revealed in him, friend should exist by the name of Brandon said about the Damascus Road experience of the apostle Paul Saul of Tarsus had an uneasy conscience, he was on strong in his nerves.

He was fatigue design is inflamed by the hot sun, feverish hallucinating all the time and that's just the humanistic way of trying to explain the experience of the conversion of the apostle Paul and Paul, of course, would laugh in his face and say to him you weren't there. I know what I saw and I wasn't hallucinating or feverish or sick in any way.

He was in full possession of his faculties and in the course of his journey to snuff fire the Christian church. He was arrested in every faculty of his being by the reality of the risen, ascended, Jesus, and it changed his life entirely.

So here the past and he had a conversion in any tells us about his gospel. The accusations that Paul never learned this gospel from the apostles in Jerusalem. Now you have to go back to around 50 A.D. and who are the important people in other important people or people with names and influence in the church and who are they, and now of course the disciples of Jesus in your account so you can't beat the cards that says you know I was one of his disciples. I lived with him for three years. I understand I listen to him preach shy. We slept on the side the road than the trees on the journey we ate together.

We talked together we journey together understand when Jesus fell asleep in the storm at sea. I was I was there when he raised Lazarus from the dead. Paul had none of that he had. He had no firsthand knowledge. Jesus had he seen Jesus. Perhaps the numbers serve every possibility that at some point in Saul of Tarsus's rabbinical training he would've been in Jerusalem and he may well of being there when Jesus was in Jerusalem. We have no evidence of that. But that's not that's not to a complete clean fantasy language, but he can't speak like John could speak. You can speak like James, the Lord's brother. By the way, that's one of the reasons why I'm convinced by the truths of the New Testament that Jesus is divine because his brother James said in his epistle success. So he calls them more because of curiosity, causing the Greek equivalent of Yahweh. An older brother and never dawns on me to call him more so I respect him and his four years older than me was even fearful of him as a teenager, but no way would ever call him Lord, but James does. James worships his older brother and calls him more. Paul had none of that is an interesting question, and scholars debated at length. You know what is the origin of Paul's religion is a wonderful book written over 100 years ago another aggression matron called the origin of Paul's religion and it's so outdated now because of advances in knowledge and so on. The last hundred years, but but that's what Christian matron was addressing. Where did all jacked all this doctrine from we know that after his conversion he goes immediately to Arabia. He says in verse 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.

He actually Luke tells us and asked that he went and preached in some synagogues before he actually arrived in Arabia and then he returned again to Damascus and then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained within 15 days that reads is a very matter-of-fact bit of history, but that's absolutely huge.

Who is the most important man around in A.D. 50 and the answer is Cephas Peter.

Peter is way more important than Paul in the first 12 chapters of acts. For example, it's not Paul it's all about Peter, to whom did Jesus say I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Peter you are petering on this rock I will build my church. Peter was in the first Pope of Rome. Of course, but but he was the supreme apostle. He was the supreme disciple.

He was the one this broken individual who had denied Jesus knew you would've picked John before you to pick Peter the one whom the Gospels referred to as Jesus is friend is another wonderful thing that God uses broken people like Peter to build his church to who is the great preacher on the day of Pentecost, Peter, so there's a sense in which Saul of Tarsus, now the apostle Paul is gone away to Arabia. He studied like crazy. I'm sure when he was there, the Holy Spirit gave him revelation and insight and knowledge and understanding, but he still had to get the approval of the Primo's James, the Lord's brother John the one whom Jesus loved, and Peter and and he spends 15 days with Peter were so tape-recorded us with their microphones. Would love to know how that went. Cephas send and Paul to huge personalities and Paul's point is that this gospel that he preaches it's actually not Peter's gospel.

It's not John's Gospel. It's not of man is the point that he wants to make. It's not of man.

It doesn't get the approval of man. It's not man's gospel first 11, I would have you to know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel is the gospel that is reviewed by the Holy Spirit.

Given to this individual. Saul of Tarsus.

No apostle is from God, and that's why you should at the time of the Reformation. The word Sola became a necessary qualifier to guard the simple truths of the gospel justified by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone for the glory of God alone and just as we are not justified by believing in the soul is we don't look to Paul as the source of the gospel, God communicated the gospel through Paul and we are grateful beneficiaries of Paul's faithfulness to God's gospel this week on Renewing Your Mind were featuring a new series by leader teaching fellow Dr. Derek Thomas, a series that point is directly to the gospel that Paul talked to the churches in the ancient Roman province of Galatia.

This is the first time we bear the series and it's also your first opportunity to request the DVDs for your own library is a 14 part series and it's titled no other gospel when you give a donation of any amount today to look at your ministries will be glad to send it your way. You can call us with your gift at 800-435-4343. You can also find us online@renewingyourmind.org. This series provides us with a comprehensive definition of the gospel and how it's applied to us as Christians. You may want to tell your family and friends about this series you will be airing at the rest of this week. You can do that by going to Facebook you can listen to the program there and easily share individual messages with your network of friends. Once you're on Facebook. Just search for at our YM radio. Well, these Judaizers we heard about from Dr. Thomas today were insisting that the ancient Jewish practice of circumcision was necessary for salvation. Paul saw this as a threat to the gospel and he was not about to let them get away with it.

Why was he so dogmatic about this issue will find out tomorrow on Renewing Your Mind. We do hope you'll join us