Authentic Christianity Changes People

Appreciate Eddie for leading our singing this morning and so thankful to see you today here and we’re going to be studying from Galatians chapter 1 as we continue our first Sunday series in thinking about authentic Christianity. Now we started this in this year as we think about different things related to Christianity and specifically we asked this question, Why should we be concerned about authentic Christianity? Well, we look around us in the religious world today, and we see all kinds of different religions. And we wonder, which one of them is authentic? Which one of them is the thing that I need to follow in order to be right with God?

And so there’s a tremendous number of competing religions in the world. And many of those religions Galatians have been broken by man and perverted, just as the Apostle Paul wrote in Galatians chapter 1, that there were some who were perverting the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And so we ask, well, if the religion of Christianity has been perverted in some way, how do we restore what is broken? And if we look, for example, at an old house that has fallen into disrepair, and we wonder, what do we need to do in order to repair that house? Well, we know the answer to that. We’ve got to go back to the original blueprints. Go back to the plan, the original one that was given by the architect. And then you can restore that house to what it needs to look like.

With authentic Christianity, where do we need to go in order to restore that original plan? We must go to the Bible, God’s Holy Word. And it’s there and only there that we’ll be able to find authentic Christianity. Now, the book of Galatians is about authentic Christianity. As we mentioned, there were some who were perverting the gospel, Galatians 1 and verse 7. And there were some who were then trying to change the gospel to make it something that it wasn’t. In Acts chapter 15 and verse 1 and Acts 15 and verse 5, we learn about who that was.

It was certain Pharisees who then taught the Gentile Christians in that day and age that it was necessary for them to be circumcised and to keep the law of Moses. But of course, Christianity was not about that. And Paul wrote the book of Galatians to correct the churches of Galatia and bring them back to what authentic Christianity really is.

And so, as we go through this series looking at the book of Galatians, we’re going to be talking about different topics related to authentic Christianity. And this morning, we’re going to look at this topic. Authentic Christianity changes people. Now, this is something that many in Christianity today have failed to address.

In fact, many in Christianity today refuse to even talk about wanting to change people. They will take them just as they are and without any changes whatsoever. But you know, the Bible does not teach that. The Bible teaches that in order to become an authentic Christian, one must change.

And Paul the Apostle is going to be our example this morning as we think about his story and as we think about what he relates to us here in Galatians chapter 1 and verses 11 through 24. Now he’s going to tell us how he changed and then we’re going to see how we can change in relationship to authentic Christianity.

For authentic Christianity to change us, first of all, we’ve got to listen to the right person. Secondly, we need to repent of our sins. Third, we need to obey the teaching of Christ. And finally, we need to stay faithful to Christ.

And that’s going to be our four points this morning as we think about how authentic Christianity changes us. First of all, for authentic Christianity to change us, we must listen to the right person. Now, the Apostle Paul is our example, and we’re going to look at what he says about himself here in Galatians chapter 1.

And in verses 11 and 12, he says this, But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man, for I neither received it from man nor was I taught it, but it came through the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

Now, I want you to understand what Paul is saying here. For Christianity to change us, as it changed the Apostle Paul, we must listen to the right person. And the right person, Paul tells us, is Jesus Christ. It’s not man or any man, but the Christ Himself, who is Jesus of Galilee.

When Paul started listening to the right person in his life the gospel changed him. Now the gospel is not according to man and so we need to make sure that if someone is preaching the gospel that they’re preaching it faithfully and not just giving their own opinions. In Acts chapter 17 and verse 11 it says, These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, and that they received the word with all readiness and searched the scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. Now, they were listening to the Apostle Paul when he preached, and yet they still wanted to go to the scriptures to see whether what the Apostle Paul was saying was right or not. And we encourage you to do that this morning. Go to the scriptures.

Are we teaching what the Scriptures teach? If not, we need to change. But if we are, then one needs to simply obey and listen to the Scriptures. John tells us in 1 John 4, verse 1, that we are not to believe every spirit, but we are to try the spirits to see whether they are of God.

And to do that, we’ve got to know what the Scriptures teach because that’s where we try the messages that people bring us. The Gospel is not according to man, and so that means if any man is preaching or teaching something that they claim to be the Gospel, we need to test it, we need to try it, and that includes me.

I don’t want you to take my word for it, or my opinion for it. I want you to study what’s in the Bible itself, and listen to what the Bible says. Now, the gospel is through Revelation of Jesus Christ, Paul tells us. And this is the right person to listen to.

In John 16, verses 13 and 14, Jesus said this, However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears, He will speak, and He will tell you things to come.

He, that is the Spirit, will glorify Me, that is Jesus Christ, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. And so there, Jesus is telling us that the Holy Spirit will tell us about who the right person is, and that right person is Jesus Christ.

Paul says in Romans 16, verse 25, that this is the message of the gospel. Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel, and the preaching, of who? Of Jesus Christ. According to the Revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began. And when we listen to the right person, we’re listening to Jesus Christ and His gospel.

In Mark 9 and verse 7, the Father in heaven made this clear. When Peter and the others were there with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, And Peter said, hey, it’s good that we should be here. Let’s make three tabernacles, one to Moses, one to Elijah, and one to Jesus.

And then that voice came out of heaven and said, no, no, that’s not the way it’s going to be. There’s only one that you need to listen to. And who is that one? It’s Jesus Christ. A cloud came and overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud saying, “‘This is my beloved Son. Hear Him.'” And that’s who we need to be listening to, Jesus Christ.

Now we have that Revelation today, the Revelation of Jesus Christ. It’s in the Holy Word of God that we refer to as the Bible. And Paul says in Ephesians 3 and verses 3 through 5, that by Revelation He made known to me the mystery, as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets.

In other words, what Paul is saying is this, when you read what I write, you can have my knowledge, you can have my understanding, and you can know the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. John wrote in John 20 and verses 30 and 31 these words, And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written. Notice, they’re written.

John wanted us to believe in Jesus Christ. That’s the person that we must listen to. Authentic Christianity changes people, but it only changes us if we listen to the right person. And that right person is Jesus Christ. Secondly, authentic Christianity changes us when we repent of our former conduct. Now look at what Paul says here in Galatians 1, verses 13 through 14. He says, “…for you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond Now, the Apostle Paul is looking back on his old life here, and he’s talking about his former conduct in which he persecuted the church of God. But he repented of that conduct. He repented of that life. He repented of that life.

While he tried to destroy the church and advance in Judaism, he understood that was not the right thing to do and that he needed to change. He said in Philippians chapter 3 and verses 7 and 8 regarding that former conduct, But what things were gained to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed, I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.”

Paul repented of that former conduct of his life, and he recognized that Christ saved him from that. He said, I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has enabled me because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry. Although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man, but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

1 Timothy 1, 12-13. And so Paul repented of that former conduct. What about us? What is that former conduct that we have repented of? It’s described in Titus 3, verse 3. “…for we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.” We’ve got to put away that kind of lifestyle, that former conduct, and we’ve got to repent.

In 1 Corinthians 6, verses 9 through 11, Paul describes the church at Corinth and what they had repented of. He says, Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.

And such were some of you, but you were washed. You were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. What is he telling us there? That as Christians, we had former conduct, but we put those things away when we were baptized into Christ.

We washed our sins away, and we’re forgiven, and we don’t want to go back into that old lifestyle. Jesus indeed preached this message. He said, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. There is a reason why He preached repentance. He did so because, as Paul said, One cannot practice sin and enter into the kingdom of God. One must repent of sin in order to enter into the kingdom of God.

And so Jesus preached, and so all the apostles preached. And Paul wrote this, or said this, to those who are not Christians in the city of Athens. In Acts chapter 17 and verses 30 and 31, he said, “…truly these times of ignorance God winked at or overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”

Authentic Christianity changes people when they repent of their former conduct. It changed the Apostle Paul and it can change us today. But then third, authentic Christianity changes us when we obey God’s call. Now look at Galatians 1, verses 15 through 17 here. Paul wrote, “‘But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me. But I went to Arabia and returned again to Damascus.”

God called Paul through His grace. Now, Paul was called on that road to Damascus. And then, after he had entered the city of Damascus, he encountered Ananias. And Ananias told him what he needed to do to be saved. And Paul, recounting that story some years later to Agrippa, said this.

He said, “‘Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.'” Paul obeyed that heavenly vision, and he became obedient to the gospel of Jesus Christ. And we know what Paul did to obey the gospel of Jesus Christ, because it’s recorded for us in Acts 22, verses 14 through 16.

Then Ananias said, “‘The God of our fathers has chosen you, that you should know His will and see the just one, and hear the voice of His mouth, for you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. And now, why are you waiting? Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.'”

Now, that’s what Paul did to be obedient to the gospel. He repented of his former sins. He went into the city of Damascus. God told Ananias to go to Paul and tell him what he needed to do to be saved. And Ananias did that. And Paul obeyed. And he was saved.

He recounts in 1 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 16, he says this, For this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life. So Paul’s life then became a pattern for us to show us what we need to do to obey the gospel, How do we obey God’s call today? Well, first of all, God calls us today through the gospel. 2 Thessalonians 2 and verse 14 says, He called you by our gospel. And the gospel is the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes. Romans 1 and verse 16.

But what is the gospel? 1 Corinthians 15, 1-4 tells us that it is the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Christ. Well, how do I obey the gospel? How do I obey the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Christ?

Look at Romans 6, 3-4. Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ’s death, We’re baptized into His death. There’s the death. Therefore we were buried with Him. There’s the burial. Through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead, there’s the resurrection. By the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

The gospel of Christ is the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Christ. We obey the gospel by being baptized into Christ where we come into the likeness of His death, burial, and resurrection. We must obey the gospel. 2 Thessalonians 1 and verse 8 says that God will take vengeance on those who do not know Him and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. We must obey the gospel.

And then finally, authentic Christianity changes us when we stay faithful with the church. Now the Bible talks about us conforming to the image of Jesus Christ, and that’s something that takes a lifetime to do. We obey the gospel when we come into the death, the burial, and The resurrection of Christ and baptism. But that’s just the beginning. That’s where we start. And from there, we must stay faithful. Paul talks about his relationship with the church and his efforts to be faithful here in Galatians 1, verses 21 through 24.

He said, Afterward, I went into the region of Syria and Cilicia, and I was unknown by faith to the churches of Judea which were in Christ, but they were hearing only. What were they hearing? That He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith which once He tried to destroy, and they glorified God in me.

Paul repented of his sins. He listened to the right person. He repented of his sins, he obeyed the gospel, and he stayed faithful to it. And we see that faithfulness here. When those who heard that he formerly persecuted the faith, now preaching faith. And what did they do? They glorified God in Him.

We need to stay faithful. And as Paul did, we need to integrate with the Lord’s Church. Now, Paul’s relationship with the church began on rocky grounds because he had persecuted the church and they were kind of afraid of him.

In Acts chapter 9, verses 26 to 28, we read, When Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him and did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles, and he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road and that he had spoken to him and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.

And then what happened? The church received him, he was faithful, and they could go forward together. So He was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out. They glorified God in Him because He was faithful to Jesus Christ.

We need to be faithful to the Lord as well. We put a lot of emphasis on baptism because there’s so much wrong teaching about baptism in the religious world today. But it is not enough to just be baptized. We’ve got to have more than that. Paul wasn’t just baptized. He was baptized and then he began preaching Christ and he stayed faithful to Christ all of his life.

And if we want the gospel to change us, if we want authentic Christianity to live within our lives so that we can be authentic people and authentic Christians, we must stay faithful to Christ. Paul wrote in Colossians 1, verse 10, that he wanted the church there to walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of the Lord.

There’s a snapshot of what it means to be faithful. In Hebrews 10, verses 24 through 25, we read, “…and let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching.”

How do we stay faithful? We’ve got to stir up one another to love and good works, and we’ve got to assemble together on the first day of the week to stay faithful. We get additional encouragement. We get additional teaching. We get built up in Christ Jesus when we assemble together with the church.

Now, what Paul was telling us there in those verses at the end of Galatians chapter 1 and verses 18 through 23 was this. Yes, he had persecuted the church. Yes, he repented. Yes, he obeyed the call of God by being baptized. But now he had to work with the church. He had to come together with them. He had to support them. And they needed to forgive Paul.

The person who obeys the gospel needs the church, and the church needs the person who obeys the gospel. We need to forgive. We need to go forward together. We need God’s purposes to be accomplished in us. Authentic Christianity changes people. It changes us when we listen to the right person, when we repent of our sins, when we obey the gospel, and when we stay faithful to Jesus Christ.

Would you be an authentic Christian this morning? We’ve shared with you how Paul became an authentic Christian and you can become one today in the same way. And we invite you to do that right now while together we stand and while we sing.

End of transcript. Thank you for reading along!