Galatians 1:10–24 - Directly From Christ

In the region known as Galatia – in modern-day Turkey – there were people called Judaizers. These were Jewish Christians who believed that Gentiles Christians needed to become Jewish – being circumcised and following the ceremonial law of Moses. Their teaching went against the teaching of the apostle Paul, who had preached in Galatia that only faith in Jesus Christ was necessary for salvation.

Paul had planted many churches there as well. So the Judaizers, in efforts to keep
their hold on the Galatians Christians, sought to discredit Paul. In this letter, Paul will soon enough get into his detailed explanation of gospel doctrine; but first, he defends his status as an apostle.

Yet even in this defense, which will carry over into chapter 2 and into next week’s sermon – even as he recounts these historical events, we have the opportunity – and really, the obligation – to read closely and think deeply so that we may understand the true gospel better. There’s probably no one trying to make you follow Jewish customs, but we are prone to impose as law things that God has not made law.

When that happens, at worst, people are deceived about how to become a Christian, and at best, Christian freedom is restricted, making muddy the clear water of the gospel. The Judaizers were putting burdens on these Gentile believers that were not from God and imposing traditions and convictions not commanded in God’s Word.

We face many similar burdens and traditions today – some are self-imposed; some have been imposed by others. Therefore, we may do or not do certain things because we fear that God may remove His favor from us, or we fear that other people won’t approve of us. Again – to be clear – I’m talking about rules that are not expressly given by God, but rather, rules developed by people and traditions established by people that are made to feel like holy law.

I hope this gets you thinking! I hope you wonder, “How does this play out in my life?” Because it affects every single one of us. How so? Well, in regards to two things: approval and authority. We all seek approval and recognize authority somewhere. For you, is it Christ alone? Not other people, not the traditions of men – not even your own conscience affected by sin – but Jesus Christ as He rules over His church by His holy Word and Holy Spirit?

Do you seek approval and recognize authority directly from Christ? To answer that question, we must meditate on His glorious gospel. So let’s do that.

There are two ideas in verse 10 that are explored further in 11-24. The first half of 10 relates to verses 11-17; the second half of 10 relates to verses 18-24. So, at the beginning of verse 10, Paul says, “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God?”

What does he mean by “now”? Paul is about to recount his commissioning to preach the gospel and the events after that in his effort to emphasize that the gospel he preached to them in Galatia was received directly from Christ. It was God’s gospel. See in verse [11], he says, “For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. [12] For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Acts 9 describes when Christ appeared to Paul. He was converted to Christianity and commissioned by Jesus to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. Paul came face-to-face with the risen Lord. Christ stunned Paul in his tracks as he traveled to Damascus.

And at that time, Paul wasn’t warming up to the gospel. He wasn’t coming around, so to speak. In fact, the opposite was true. He wasn’t thinking about starting to follow Jesus –  you know, changing his ways. Notice verse [13] “For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it.” Paul was dead set against the Christians. He hated Christianity.

But he loved something else, and in verse [14] he tells us what that was. He says, “I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.

Paul’s Judaism was what one scholar calls, “God’s holy law buried under a load of human traditions.” Listen to that again: “God’s holy law buried under a load of human traditions.” Jesus spoke against that Judaism in his Sermon on the Mount in the gospel of Matthew. Jesus repeatedly says, “You have heard that it was said,” – and then states a traditional teaching of Judaism. But then Jesus says, “But I say to you” and what follows is a clear teaching of God’s Word. Jesus contrasts their traditional beliefs with God’s actual Word.

Before his conversion, Paul had religious zeal. But he was not zealous for God’s Word. God’s OT Word continually points to the gospel of grace. Paul, however, was zealous “for the traditions [his] my fathers.” By the time Christ came into the world, Judaism had gone far beyond the OT Scriptures – with many additions and interpretations and competing schools of thought. And from those came many new, long-lasting and dearly-loved religious traditions – ones that perhaps related to God’s Word but were not rooted in it.  

Paul hated Jesus and His followers because their gospel flew in the face of his traditions. Jesus seemed to be tearing down everything they had built.

But even as Paul railed against Christians, he was destined to trust in Christ. Look at verse [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…” Let’s pause there. This is the true gospel – God declaring a wicked sinner righteous, God causing a blind sinner to see the light of Jesus. God saved Paul for two purposes. The first was to be His child, and the second, Paul says, was “in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles.”

Paul would minister and care deeply for the non-Jews, which is fascinating. In Philippians 3, Paul says he was “a Hebrew of Hebrews.”  You couldn’t be any more Jewish than he was, with his family tree and his accomplishments. But God sent him to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to the non-Jews. God will often put you somewhere that you never thought you would be. He will often send you where you never thought you would go.

Why was Paul so zealous for tradition? He wanted approval. He wanted the approval of those who kept the same traditions. And in turn, he demanded that others keep those traditions to secure his approval. But when he came to faith in Christ, Paul realized it was God’s approval that he needed, and securing God’s approval is not based on keeping the traditions of men.

Being made right with God is not based on following rules. Rather, God’s approval is based on God’s own grace. You see, for someone who is in Christ, God’s approval is based on Christ. In Christ, God accepts us when we are unacceptable. He approves our salvation when we are not worthy of approval.

Before Paul’s conversion, he went by the name “Saul,” the Hebrew version of his name. When Christ blinded him with light from heaven, he fell to the ground, and Acts 9 says, “he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And [Paul] said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”

Paul was actively harming Jesus, and Jesus surprised him with blessing. Paul did not approve of Christ, but God graciously approved of Paul through Christ.

The gospel is the direct proof of God's approval of His people.

It is the message of what God has done through Christ – and it must have the final word in our quest for approval. We must learn to rest in the approval of Him whose righteousness makes us approved by God. But wait, what about our obedience to God? Shouldn’t we surrender our lives? Yes, but God’s approval of His people is based not on our ability to surrender and obey, but on Christ’s ability to do those things.

Now go back with me to verse 10 – to the second half of the verse. Paul writes, “Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Paul says “still trying” because back when he was zealous for Jewish traditions, again, it was all about pleasing those people. The concept in this part of verse 10 is the same as the first part of the verse, but the word “servant” stands out. A servant has someone in authority over them.

If you look again at the end of verse 16 and then in 17, notice Paul says that after the events of his conversion, “I did not immediately consult with anyone; 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.” This was a period of three years. Scholars speculate about what Paul was doing during this time, but it seems that he was being established in the faith and ministry apart from the other apostles.

However, later on, when he met with them, it was clear to all of them that they were preaching the same gospel. Notice verse [18] Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas (that’s the apostle Peter) 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!).”

Like the other apostles, Paul commissioning was directly from Christ. His message was from and about Christ, and Christ alone was his authority. Peter and even James the brother of Jesus approved of Paul and his message. You can see how this should have validated Paul’s gospel in the eyes of the Galatians. Paul wasn’t appealing to his own authority, but to that which the apostles all shared. These false teachers in Galatia had no such authority. All they had were the traditions of Judaism, which, to be clear, went beyond what Scriptures stated. That was first century Judaism – many additional documents.

Paul’s preaching appealed to God and His Word as the authority. And the result of that appeal was validating for Paul, notice verse [21]. He says, “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.” Paul was famous for his vicious persecution. But most people had never seen him. They didn’t know what he looked like – there was no internet, or TV, or photographs.

Paul eventually went to Judea – the area surrounded Jerusalem where the apostolic ministry began. This was an area strong in the true gospel: strong in doctrine, with many sound churches. And notice their take on Paul in verse [24]. He says, “And they glorified God because of me.” The believers praised God for His work in and through Paul because they recognized that Paul’s authority was God and His message was the God-centered gospel.

No preacher has authority to stand in the pulpit and tell you all his opinions. The pulpit belongs to Jesus Christ. We believe that this is where God speaks. Any authority a preacher possesses is validated only by Jesus Christ and His Word. We only have the authority of God’s Scriptures. We say what He has said. Preachers should call you to do the things that God says you are to do.

And the same is true for every believer speaking the truth of God to someone else. God with His Word is our authority. And it’s no coincidence that Jesus Christ is called the Word of God. The person and work of Jesus is the final and greatest revelation of God, and for that reason, the gospel is the direct grounds for God's authority over His people.

We serve God because we belong to Him in Christ. His gospel tells us that He is our gracious, generous, and kind Master, while at the same time, He is our loving and forgiving Father. In Matthew 28, Jesus told the apostles, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”

We all seek approval and recognize authority somewhere. For you, will it be Christ alone? Not other people, not the traditions of men – not even your own sin-affected conscience – but Jesus Christ as He rules over His church by His holy Word and Holy Spirit? His gospel is the direct proof of His approval of you and the direct grounds for His authority over you.

It’s a gospel of grace – directly from Christ. If you haven’t trusted in Christ, I call you to do so today, and if you have, renew your faith in Him. As we sing and meditate on the words of this final song, may you be both humbled and encouraged by these facts: that Christ is the only sure means of approval, and He is the authority to whom you must submit your whole life. Believe in Him and follow Him.

Let’s bow in prayer.