Sunday School Lesson

1. Galatians 1:1-24
Only One Gospel
September 2, 2018
First Baptist Church
Jackson, Mississippi
USA

2. What’s the number one thing?
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3. The Glory of God!
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4. 1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV
31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it
all for the glory of God.
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5. September Memory Verse
Philippians 4:6-7 NIV
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every
situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God,
which transcends all understanding, will guard your
hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

6. References
•Stott, John R. W., The Message of Galatians (Inter-
Varsity Press, Leicester, England, 1968).
•Barker, Kenneth, The NIV Study Bible, (Grand Rapids,
Zondervan, 1985).
•Walton, John H., and Keener, Craig S., NKJV New
Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible (Grand Rapids,
Zondervan, 2017).

7. Introduction to Galatians
•Paul had evangelized the southern province of Galatia
on his 1st missionary journey (Acts 13 & 14).
•The main cities were Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra
and Derbe.
•In each city a church (congregation) had been
established.
•About 2-3 years had passed since Paul’s initial visit.

9. The People of Galatia – a mixed culture of
Celtic, Greek and Jewish origins.
•The Jewish Christians had trouble accepting that their
heritage was not applicable even though Jesus was
Jewish.
•Christianity was not an extension of Judaism.
•Cultures with idol worship and knowledge worship
had trouble accepting a Jewish savior.
•The false common denominator:
•Man must somehow contribute to his own salvation.

10. The Troubles in the Galatian Churches
•Judaizers – Jewish Christians who believed that a
number of ceremonial practices of the Old Testament
were still binding on the New Testament church.
•These false teachers said Gentiles had to convert to a
form of Judaism to become Christians.
•These false teachers also attacked Paul’s teachings by
attacking his qualifications as an apostle (someone
taught directly by Jesus).

11. Definitions in Galatians
•Jew – Anyone who practices Judaism because of
heritage or by conversion to Judaism.
•Gentile - Anyone who is not a Jew (everyone else).
•Gospel – The message of salvation by faith in Jesus.
•Christians – Believers in Jesus for salvation (term not
used yet for believers).
•Brothers/Sisters – Believers in Jesus.

12. The Common Denominator in False Teachings
• Faith alone, in Christ alone for salvation is not enough.
• Man must somehow contribute to his own salvation.
• A Verse Against This False Teaching Common Denominator:
Galatians 2:16 NIV
16 know that a person is not justified by the works of the
law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our
faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in
Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the
works of the law no one will be justified.
• Details coming in future lessons in Galatians.

13. Approach to today’s Scriptures
•Read through Chapter 1.
•Examine the false teaching that Paul is addressing.
•How to identify false teachings.
•False teachings in churches today.

14. Galatians 1:1-5 NIV
1 Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by
Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the
dead— 2 and all the brothers and sisters 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.

15. Galatians 1:6-7 NIV
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the
one who called you to live in 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.
•This different gospel is no gospel at all and a
perversion.

16. Galatians 1:8-9 NIV
8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach
a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let
them be under God’s curse! 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 them be
under God’s curse!

17. Galatians 1:10 NIV
10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human
beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I
were still trying to please people, I would not be a
servant of Christ.

18. Galatians 1:11-12 NIV
Paul now begins explaining his credentials as an
apostle.
11 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the
gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12 I did not
receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I
received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

19. Galatians 1:13-14 NIV
13 For you have heard of my previous way of life in
Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God
and tried to destroy it. 14 I was advancing in Judaism
beyond many of my own age among my people and
was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.
•Paul was a very educated Pharisee who would know
and practice all Jewish laws & customs.

20. Galatians 1: 15-17 NIV
15 But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb
and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son
in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my
immediate response was not to consult any human being. 17
I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles
before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to
Damascus.
• The revelation and direct (one-on-one) teaching from Jesus
occurred during this 3-year period in Nabatea Arabia.
• Paul’s gospel message did not come from other apostles or
disciples (students).

21. Galatians 1:18-20 NIV
18 Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get
acquainted with Cephas (Peter) and stayed with him
fifteen days. 19 I saw none of the other apostles—only
James, the Lord’s brother. 20 I assure you before God
that what I am writing you is no lie.
•Paul’s point is that he is teaching the same gospel
message as the other apostles without conferring with
them.

22. Galatians 1: 21-24 NIV
21 Then I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22 I was personally
unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ.
23 They only heard the report: “The man who formerly
persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried
to destroy.” 24 And they praised God because of me.
•Galatian 2:1-10 completes Paul’s defense as an
accepted apostle (Next Sunday).

23. What is the issue that has perverted Paul’s
gospel message in Galatia?
Galatians 1:6-7 NIV
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the
one who called you to live in 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.
•The “grace of Christ” is the pure, unadulterated gospel
– any other gospel is a perversion and a lie

24. The “perverted gospel” – twisted &
unacceptable
•Jews who had become believers in Christ for salvation
were trying to make Gentile believers in Christ follow
Jewish customs and laws (Judaizers).
•Circumcision was the most dramatic requirement.
•Paul’s gospel message was that “faith in Christ” was
the only requirement for salvation.

25. Paul restates this message of “Faith alone in
Christ alone.”
Galatians 2:15-16 NIV
15 “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles 16
know that a person is not justified by the works of the
law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put
our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by
faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because
by the works of the law no one will be justified.
•This will be next Sunday’s Lesson.

26. Why does man so easily believe that he must
contribute something to his salvation?
•Man’s pride causes him to believe that he has
something valuable to add to the finished work of
Christ.
•Man’s pride causes him not to accept Christ’s gift of
grace unless he can contribute something (works).
•Man’s pride makes him believe that his works are
good enough to redeem his sins before God.

27. Bottom line of the perverted gospel of
“salvation by works.”
• By your obedience to the law, you yourself must finish
what Christ has begun.
• Salvation by Works = you must finish Christ’s unfinished
work!!
• CHRIST’S WORK IS FINISHED!
John 19:30a NIV
30a When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is
finished.”

28. What does Paul say should be the penalty for
those who present a false gospel?
Galatians 1:9 NIV
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 them be under God’s curse!

29. How can we recognize the true gospel?
A Test of Three Questions:
1. What do they believe about the Bible?
2. What do they believe about Jesus?
3. What do they believe about the way to Salvation
(How to be saved from your sins)?

30. Question #1: What do they believe about the
Bible?
•It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and
truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter.
(Baptist Faith and Message, 2000)
•2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for
teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in
righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be
thoroughly equipped for every good work.

31. Question #2: What do they believe about
Jesus?
•The words of John the Baptist:
John 3:35-36 NIV
35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything
in his hands. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has
eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see
life, for God’s wrath remains on them.
•Matthew 28:18 NIV
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in
heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

32. Question #3: What do they believe about
Salvation?
•John 3:16-17 NIV
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one
and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not
perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his
Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save
the world through him.”
•There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus
Christ as Lord. (Baptist Faith and Message, 2000)

33. How does false teaching enter the Church?
1. The desire to apply new or interesting teachings or
doctrines.
•Theologians who attempt to explain difficult
scriptures by providing interpretations that are not
biblical.
•Example: Pope’s final authority of scripture
interpretation in Catholic Church.

34. How does false teaching enter the Church?
2. The desire to avoid criticism.
•Teachers within the church can become afraid that
they will have no effect on the world around them
unless they teach in a way that is acceptable to the
culture.
•Current cultural issues of creation, homosexuality,
same-sex marriage, co-habitation, social justice.

35. Three Basic false teachings in churches today.
1. Moralism – The Christian life is one of effort in
which God blesses those who do good.
2. Legalism – We earn favor with God by what we do
through obedience to rules and regulations.
3. Antinomianism – “against the law” – obedience is
no longer required when you believe in Jesus.

36. What are the basics in moralism?
•We give God our obedience and He gives us blessings.
•Salvation is a type of economic transaction.
•The basis of the “Prosperity Gospel.”
•It is a type of “quid pro quo” relationship.
•A favor or advantage expected or granted in return
for something.

37. What are the basics in legalism?
•Related to moralism by blessings for morality.
•Legalism is specific in the kind of obedience God
demands and blesses.
•In the Galatian churches, the requirement was
circumcision, dietary laws and feast days.
•In today’s churches it is related to salvation by
observing the sacraments or specific behaviors.

38. What is the difference between gospel
obedience and moralism/legalism obedience?
•In gospel obedience, we obey in response to the love
God shows us in Jesus Christ.
•We don’t obey to gain God’s blessings or love.
•Our works are acceptable to God only because He
receives them in and through Jesus.
•Our obedience is empowered by the Holy Spirit.

39. Jesus addresses obedience and the Holy
Spirit’s influence.
•John 14:15-17 NIV
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will
ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate
to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of
truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither
sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he
lives with you and will be in you.”

40. The false teaching of antinomianism.
•Antinomianism = “Against the law.”
•This is the opposite of moralism and legalism and
denies any place for God’s law as a guide for Christian
life.
•When we trust in Jesus, we can live any way we want
because obedience distorts the gospel of grace.

41. Paul addresses antinomianism.
•This false teaching was also a problem in the 1st
century.
•Romans 6:1-2 NIV
1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so
that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those
who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?

42. Summary of Galatians 1
•Any gospel other than the message of the “grace of
Christ” is perverted.
•False teachers will be eternally condemned and under
God’s curse.
•Paul was a true apostle and received the gospel by
revelation from Jesus himself.
•The common denominator of false teaching is that
man must contribute to his own salvation.

43. Next Sunday
Galatians 2:11-21
True Grace
September 9, 2018
First Baptist Church
Jackson, Mississippi
USA

44. The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
John 3:16 NIV
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only
Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have
eternal life.”
John 14:6 NIV
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No
one comes to the Father except through Me.”

45. The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
Romans 3:23 NIV
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23a NIV
23a For the wages of sin is death,
• Death in this life (the first death) is 100%.
• Even Jesus, the only one who doesn’t deserve death, died in this life
to pay the penalty for our sin.
• The death referred to in Romans 6:23a is the “second death”
explained in Revelation 21:8.

46. The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
Revelation 21:8 NIV
8 “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers,
the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the
idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake
of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Romans 5:8 NIV
8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we
were still sinners, Christ died for us.

47. The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
Romans 6:23b NIV
23b but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Revelation 21:7 NIV
7 “He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God
and he will be My son.”
• Romans 10:9-10 explains to us how to be overcomers.

48. The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
Romans 10:9-10 NIV
9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in
your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be
saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are
justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith
and are saved.
Romans 10:13 NIV
13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be
saved.”

49. The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
Do you have questions or would you like to know more?
Please, contact First Baptist Church Jackson at 601-949-1900
or http://firstbaptistjackson.org/contact/