Gálatas 1
H.A. Ironside · Citado em PreceptAustin
Gálatas 1
Ironside says: The apostle Paul in this section is obliged to defend his apostleship. There is something pitiable about that. He had come to these Galatians when they were heathen, when they were idolaters, and had been God’s messenger to them. Through him they had been brought to the Lord Jesus Christ. But they had fallen under the influence of false teachers, and now looked down upon the man who had led them to Christ; they despised his ministry and felt they were far better informed than he. This is not the only time in the history of the Church that such things have happened. Often we see young converts happy and radiant in the knowledge of sins forgiven, until under the influence of false teachers they look with contempt upon those who presented the gospel to them. (Galatians 1 Commentary) C Norman Bartlett says: Paul is saying in effect that, while in the past, before he knew Jesus, he may have trimmed his sails to the breeze of popular acclaim, he now has but one aim in life, and this is to please Christ to whom he owes complete and undivided allegiance. We who bear the name of Jesus need to learn that the surest way to lose the favor of the Lord is to seek the favor of the world. Whom we seek to please shows who pleases us. The more Christ pleases, the more earnestly shall we seek to please Him in all we say and do and think: "Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father." (Col. 3:17). The deeper and sweeter our communion with Jesus, the more repellent is any suggestion of compromise with sin or conformity to a world that is at enmity with God. “If I pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.” Men will never be transformed by the gospel that is cut to the style of the time or the tastes of the crowd. Steer clear of a diluted gospel that flatters rather than flattens the pride of men. Souls that want to be flattered need to be flattened. Let us not think to advance the cause of Christ by whittling down the truth. When tempted to tone down our message to the whims of men, let us tune up our message to the Word of Christ. (Galatians 1:1-10 - Historical Background of the Epistle) Bickel & Jantz - After laying his cards on the table––the Galatians have been deceived by false teachers, causing them to follow a perverted gospel of works––Paul begins to make his case for the true gospel of grace. Beginning in this section, and continuing through the end of Galatians 2, Paul lays out the first tow or three proofs for the true gospel: Paul has apostolic authority, and the gospel he preached to the Galatians was not from man but from God. To do this, he gives a synopsis of his own conversion story, reminding his readers that he was an intense persecutor of the Christian church before God saved and called him through a special revelation of Jesus Christ. Paul then gives a chronology of the years after his conversion and call, making it clear that he didn’t have contact with the Jerusalem church and its leaders for the first three years of his Christian life. He wants to make sure his Galatian readers know that his authority came directly from Jesus. The dramatic story of Paul’s conversion is not meant to be a template for your own conversion experience. Most Christians can’t claim a special revelation from Christ as Paul did. But like Paul, you have a unique and God-given mission in life, and it’s something God planned for you long ago. (Galatians: Walking in God's Grace) WHAT OTHERS THINK - Am I trying to please man? (GALATIANS 1:10) - Often we don’t enjoy our freedom in Christ because we’re afraid of what others will think. We do or don’t do certain things because of a fear that we’ll be judged by others. But standing firm in our freedom in Christ means resisting that fear. In Galatians, Paul wrote, “Am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10). I had to learn this lesson the hard way. Surprisingly soon after the death of my first wife, God brought into my life another godly lady—a single woman who had been a family friend for many years. As our friendship deepened into a romantic relationship, I became concerned about what people would think. I knew I would be violating the culturally accepted maxim of “don’t make any major decisions the first year.” I also sensed an inner compulsion in my spirit, which I felt was from God, to move ahead. My journal during those days records numerous times when I struggled with God over this issue. One day I wrote, “I wonder if God is pushing me along faster in this relationship than I want to go because of fear of what people will think.” I’d put God in the box of our culturally accepted norm. Surely He wouldn’t do anything in my life that would be unacceptable to my friends. God was actually doing a wonderful thing, but instead of fully enjoying His work of grace, I was struggling with Him because of what people might think. If you’re going to experience the joy of your freedom in Christ, you have to decide whether you’ll please God or people. (Jerry Bridges - Holiness Day by Day: Transformational Thoughts for Your Spiritual Journey) Francis Lyall - Be that as it may, it is nonetheless clear that for Paul, “the slave of Christ,” all his goods, time, ambitions, and purposes were subject to the determination of Christ. Paul was no different from the ordinary slave: he was at his Master’s disposal. He was also only at his Master’s disposal. Just as a man can serve only one master (Matt. 6:24; Luke 16:13), so he was responsible only to his Master (Rom. 14:4)—a liberating thought for those dogged by the opinions of others. (Slaves, Citizens, Sons: Legal Metaphors in the Epistles) The Mouth of Gold - His name was John of Antioch, but history knows him as Chrysostom, a word which means “Mouth of Gold.” His sermons in the fourth century are among the most eloquent in the history of the church. He was the Billy Graham of his day, combining careful exegesis of Scripture with incisive moral application to everyday life. His popular sermons were taken down in shorthand as he preached them and have been preserved through the centuries, making him the most quoted of the church’s ancient preachers. But Chrysostom often found himself in the crosshairs of Roman rulers who resented his powerful and unflinching message. In such times, he kept Galatians 1:10 close to his heart. His archenemy was the Empress Eudoxia. Furious over Chrysostom’s attacks on sin, she determined to rid Constantinople of him. He countered by preaching a blistering sermon about Elijah and Jezebel with obvious overtones. Eudoxia struck back and Chrysostom found himself deposed and shipped into exile. But the people of Constantinople rioted, angrily insisting on the preacher’s return. At the same time an earthquake shook the city. Eudoxia, trembling, admitted defeat, and Chrysostom returned in triumph. He later expressed his feelings in these words: "When I was driven from the city, I felt no anxiety, but said to myself: If the empress wishes to banish me, let her do so. The earth is the Lord’s. If she wants to have me sawn asunder, I have Isaiah for an example. If she wants me to be drowned in the ocean, I think of Jonah. If I am to be thrown into the fire, the three men in the furnace suffered the same. If cast before wild beasts, I remember Daniel in the lions’ den. If she wants me to be stoned, I have before me Stephen, the first martyr. If she demands my head, let her do so; John the Baptist shines before me. Paul reminds me, “If I still pleased men, I would not be the servant of Christ.”" What God knows about us is more important than what people say about us. TODAY IN THE WORD - Since it was selected for Oprah's Book Club, New-Age spiritual leader Eckhart Tolle's book, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose, has sold over 3.5 million copies. When Tolle and Oprah launched a series of “webinars,” over two million people participated. Tolle preaches a message that many people want to hear. According to Tolle, our basic problem is living out of our “false” self, which is ego-centered. Overcoming our false self involves discovering our “oneness” with God, who is everywhere and in everyone. Thus finding God and finding our true self is essentially the same thing, because God is in us, just as He is in everyone. It's easy to see why Tolle's message is so successful: the hard truth about sin and judgment is nowhere to be found. The situation wasn't much different in Paul's day. There were plenty of traveling philosophers who went from town to town preaching whatever people wanted to hear and often making good money by doing so. Speakers were considered to be good if they could persuade, not necessarily if they told the truth. Such individuals often used clever-sounding arguments or trickery, but when their deception was discovered, they frequently had to leave town quickly. Apparently, some in Thessalonica were accusing Paul of doing the same thing. They may have noted that Paul had to flee Philippi just as he had left Thessalonica. This probably explains why Paul defends himself and his ministry at several points in 1 Thessalonians, including today's passage. John
Gálatas 1
Ironside says: Have you ever noticed how many of God’s beloved servants had their finishing courses in the university of the wilderness? When God wanted to fit Moses to be the leader of His people He sent him to the wilderness. He had gone through all the Egyptian schools, and thought he was ready to be the deliverer of God’s people. When he left the university of Egypt he may have said, “Now I am ready to undertake my great lifework.” But, immediately, he started killing Egyptians and hiding them in the sand, and God says, “You are not ready yet, Moses; you want a post-graduate course.” He was forty years learning the wisdom of Egypt, and forty years forgetting it and learning the wisdom of God, and finally, when he received his post-graduate degree he was sent of God to deliver His people. Elijah had his time in the wilderness. David had his time there. Oh, those years in the wilderness when hunted by King Saul like a partridge on the mountainside. They were used to help fit him for his great work. And then think of our blessed Lord Himself! He was baptized in the Jordan, presenting Himself there in accordance with the Word of God as the One who was to go to the cross to fulfil all righteousness on behalf of needy sinners, and the Holy Spirit like a dove descended upon Him. He then went into the wilderness for forty days, and prayed and fasted in view of the great ministry upon which He was to enter. Then He passed through that serious temptation of Satan, emerging triumphant, and went forth to preach the gospel of the kingdom. Galatians 1:18 Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days. Amplified - Then three years later, I did go up to Jerusalem to become [personally] acquainted with Cephas (Peter), and remained with him for fifteen days.