I would like to keep verse 16 in chapter 2 in mind as our theme verse as we work through this letter. Galatians 2:16, “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” We will begin with Paul’s introduction and then get into the The Problem in Galatia. The Introduction, v.1-5. Paul begins defending his apostleship as he identifies himself as the sender of the letter. (1) This is one of the most important themes in the letter. Though Paul regularly affirms his apostolic authority in his letters, the way he does so here is not found in any others. His apostleship did not have human origins. Not of men, neither by man. Paul was called by Jesus on the road to Damascus. (v.12, Acts 9) Why must this point carry weight in such a letter? “His is a divine appointment and a divine commission, and hence the gospel he proclaims is authoritative and true.” (Schreiner) Not only were the Judaizers promoting legalism and undermining liberty from grace…but they were also using a personal attack on Paul to gain ground in this direction. The word apostle means “messenger.” Paul would on occasion use it to refer to those sent by a church, “but he uses it often in Galatians to denote (those) uniquely sent by the risen Christ and bearing His delegated authority, including the original apostles…” (Sproul)Paul here identifies himself as an apostle and claims the authority of an apostle to lay the foundation of the church. An authority derived directly from God Himself. In v.2 we find out the recipient of the letter. (2) Verse 3 gives Paul’s prayer for them as a greeting. (3) Verse 4 speaks to the purpose of Christ’s death. (4) The tone here briefly gets to the heart of the matter we will see in v.6 and on. The diluting of the gospel was the problem in Galatia. v.4 with a bit of the information already given in v.1 explains exactly “what” the gospel is. (Literally = good news) Jesus died for our sins. According to God’s plan. And God has raised Him back to life. Consider the roles within the Gospel. We are helpless and lost. That is what the word “deliver” implies in verse 4. You don’t (deliver) rescue people unless they are in a lost state and a helpless condition! Imagine you see a drowning man. Do you throw him a manual on how to swim? You don’t throw him teaching—you throw him a rope. Thus, Jesus is a deliverer because that’s what we most need. Nothing in who we are or what we do saves us. This is “Who we are” in the gospel. Jesus rescued us in that He “gave Himself for our sins” (v 4a). He made a sacrifice which was substitutionary in nature. The word “for” means “on behalf of” or “in place of”. Substitution is why the gospel is so revolutionary. Christ did all we needed to do, but cannot do. “Jesus did all we should have done, in our place, so when He becomes our Savior, we are absolutely free from penalty or condemnation.” (Keller) God the Father accepted the work of Christ on our behalf, by raising Him “from the dead” (v 1). And by giving us the “grace and peace” (v 3) that Christ won and achieved for us. This was all done out of grace—not because of anything we have done, but “according to the will of our God and Father” (v 4d). We did not ask for rescue, but God in His grace planned what we didn’t realize we needed, and Christ by His grace (v 6) came to achieve the rescue we could never have achieved ourselves. There is no indication of any other motivation or cause for Christ’s mission except the will of God. There is nothing in us which merits it. Salvation is sheer grace. That is why the only one who gets “glory for ever” is God alone (v 5). The biblical gospel—Paul’s gospel—is clear that salvation, from first to last, is God’s doing. It is His calling; His plan; His action; His work. And so it is He who deserves all the glory, for all time. Verse 5 is Paul’s Soli Deo gloria statement. This is the introduction, next we get into the problem. The Problem, v.6-9. I marvel! (6-7) Paul was beside himself with this situation! He was amazed! He was astonished! They were deserters! God had called them into the grace of Christ; now they were putting themselves under the curse of the law. They had accepted the true gospel; now they were abandoning it for a different gospel which was not good news at all. It was just a twisted message, a mixture of grace and law. Spurgeon said, “The Galatians were a very fickle people. They seem very soon to have left the gospel, to have adulterated it, and to have fallen into Ritualism, into Sacramentarianism, into salvation by works, and all the errors into which people usually fall when they go away from the gospel.” But how did this situation in Galatia arise? How did the churches there begin to toy with apostasy? We know from Acts 13–14 that Paul planted the Galatian churches during what was likely his first missionary journey. Shortly after Paul had departed: False teachers came after the churches Personally attacked Paul (Gal. 4:17) And preached a false gospel (Gal. 1:6–7) These false teachers taught that circumcision was necessary for salvation (Gal. 6:12). Since the Galatian churches were largely composed of Gentiles (non-Jews), the false teachers taught that converts not only had to believe in Christ for their salvation but also had to carry the sign of the Old Covenant. To emphasize the fact that the true gospel of the grace of God cannot be changed, Paul stated a hypothetical case. (8) If he (a divinely called apostle) or an angel (a heavenly messenger) were to alter the gospel message–A highly improbable situation—then let him be accursed or eternally condemned (anathema). Sproul wrote, “Those who add any additional requirements for salvation to faith in Jesus Christ, no matter how excellent their credentials, twist the gospel into another form. The preachers of the false gospel are under God’s condemnation.” In v.9 Paul goes from his hypothetical to reality. (9) He has taught them this previously. These perverting the churches were doomed for destruction because of their heresy. The Gospel. (6b, 9) “The gospel is a manifestation of God’s grace, His favor that is poured out upon sinners without the slightest reference to their merit.” (Fesko) The gospel is that which brings peace to God’s people. Before a person is saved, God is his enemy. The sinner is under God’s judgment and wrath, and there is no peace between them. When God sets His grace upon a person, the sinner is no longer at enmity with God—Christ, the only Savior, has brought peace. This is called reconciliation — it is the action produced by the good news which we call the gospel. God the Father gave us His Son, and the Son gave Himself for our sins, “to deliver us from the present evil age” (Gal. 1:4b). Conclusion: The Problem in Galatia can be a big problem in the church today. When we operate as if what God would do for us depends on what we do for God, we’ve fallen into legalism. (Another gospel) We’ve failed to understand that God’s grace cannot be earned; it only comes free. Salvation is rejecting our own righteousness and receiving the righteousness of Christ. It can be hard to leave legalism behind. Although we initially received God’s grace for free, we keep trying to put a surcharge on it. We believe that God loves us, but secretly suspect that His love is conditional, that it depends on how we are doing in the Christian life. This results in a performance-based Christianity that denies the grace of God. Ryken says we, “want to base…justification on…sanctification.” (Ryken) Although we have been saved by grace, we do not always know how to live by grace. The letter to the churches in Galatia was written to solve this problem.