Last week, first part of chapter 1, we talked about the reason for this letter to the Galatians, which is important to understand because it really gives context to the entire book,  written around 50 AD. It is understood by most scholars to be the first letter Paul wrote, with the central theme being JESUS + NOTHING = SALVATION. A group of Jewish believers, called Judaizers were preaching the message of Jesus, but was allowing their Jewish laws and customs to infiltrate their message, which was JESUS + the LAW of MOSES + CIRCUMCISION = SALVATION.  Paul’s assertion in the first 10 verses was that the “gospel” they were “quickly turning to” (V6) was false, and that those who were preaching it should be under God’s curse.  We finished last week in V10, saying that people pleasing and Jesus don’t mix.

Today, we will see Paul give his testimony of how he received salvation and his calling directly from Jesus, and his track record of living transformed.  As we walk through the passage today, here is what I want you to think about: Your story of how Jesus has transformed you is powerful, but only as powerful as your track record of living transformed. The power of your story is simply this: THIS IS WHO I WAS/ THIS IS WHEN MY LIFE WAS TRANSFORMED BY JESUS/ THIS IS WHO I AM TODAY AS A RESULT.  Salvation is only by God’s grace and faith in Jesus (V4) (Ephesians 2:8-9), but the proof of salvation is a transformed life and the product that accompanies, which we will see today.  Galatians 1:11-24

Verses 11-12:  Paul has already stated this at the beginning of the letter in V1. He is calling out those who were adding to the message of the gospel – now, to be fair to the Judaizers, these were Jewish believers in Jesus as the Messiah, but who were afraid of leaving their old way of life. They spent their lives believing that the LAW is what saved them, that adherence to the dos and don’ts of the law of Moses was what kept them in right-standing with God, ingrained in them.  Paul understood where they were coming from (Phil. 3:1-7) – He knew the law better than they did  and he was not hanging out in Jerusalem with the early apostles and convinced and trained that Jesus was a better way.  Instead, he wrote that his message came directly from a revelation from Jesus  Acts 9:1-6  so, Paul’s argument here will be that his credibility came his transformed life.

Maybe you get stuck here  maybe it has been ingrained in you that the way to salvation is when the scales of good outweigh the bad, maybe even the message of salvation you embraced was pray a prayer so you don’t go hell, and then try to be a better version of yourself.  I say it often, but let me say it again: YOU CAN’T FIX YOURSELF.  And just trying harder to clean it up will only lead to failure, frustration and ultimately hiding. In contrast, Paul shows us that salvation from Jesus is superior to trying to live up to the law. In fact, when Paul was striving to defend the law, Jesus stepped in and showed him a different way that led him into FREEDOM.

V13-14 – So Paul says here that he was advanced in Pharisaical living for his age, that he was passionate for the traditions of his fathers, meaning the law of Moses – but here is the interesting thing: he says he was so passionate about the law, that he broke the law to enforce the law. Did you catch it? He was so passionate about enforcing the law that he broke the law. “Thou shalt not murder” was part of the law, yet to enforce in someone else’s life, he murdered. While he was the best of the best as far as a Pharisee goes, he was not righteous according to the law.  HE WAS BROKEN and DECEIVED. This is self-righteousness at its finest. What does a self-righteous person do? Minimizes their own shortcomings while maximizing the shortcomings of others, it comes out as harsh judgmentalism that no one really wants to be around, and most self-righteous people don’t know they’re self-righteous.  And Paul is saying, “THIS IS WHO I WAS.” 

What is your “THIS IS WHO I WAS?” I can look around and see so many that have powerful BC stories – “Before I was transformed by Jesus, this is who I used to be, this is how I used to think, this is how I used to live” – this is what makes Regen so powerful, because each person has a recovery statement: “Hi, my name is Greg, I have a new life in Christ and I am in recovery from lying, manipulation and people pleasing” – Who in here is in Regen? Ask them their recovery statement, and part of it will be “This is who I was”

Verse 15: “God set me apart in my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace…” – before the foundation of the world, God knew Paul, and SET HIM APART FOR A CALLING – Psalm 139:13-16: “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” This is E210 talk.  Paul was created ON PURPOSE FOR A PURPOSE.  He took a guy who was blinded by self-righteousness and opened his eyes to his true calling – this should give you hope! If he could take his fiercest opponent and transform him into his biggest advocate, is there anything too hard for the Lord?

Verses 16-17:  Not only did he transform Paul, but he called a Jew to preach to Gentiles – Now remember, Paul, according to Phil 3, was a Jew of Jews – He studied the law and could out-religious the most religious in Judaism – So, if I’m sending Paul anywhere, it is to Jerusalem to reform the Pharisees and Rabbis – But instead, he is called to the Gentiles - Jews HATED Gentiles,  how counter-intuitive is that? And even crazier, throughout Paul’s letters, he talked about the deep affection he had for the people of the churches he planted – Philippians 1:3  I thank my God every time I remember you…” – Colossians 1:3  “We always thank God, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ when we pray for you…” – 1 Thess. 1:2  “We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers” – Romans 1:11  “I long to see you…”  This was a transformed Paul, not only was he soft and affectionate in his writing, he was speaking to people he previously thought unclean and unworthy – When Jesus opened his eyes, he changed the way he viewed people.

This is a picture of radical life-change and, this speaks to TRACK RECORD.  When people look at your life as a Christ follower, do they see the product of your relationship with Jesus? Can you articulate how Jesus has transformed you? When Jesus comes on the scene, you can’t remain who you were – 2 Cor. 5:17, you are MADE NEW. What is your TRACK RECORD as a follower of Jesus?

And notice that he again says, “I didn’t get my message from others.”  he didn’t go to a conference or seminary, he didn’t go get trained in evangelism by the apostles in Jerusalem.  He immediately began living in his calling, taking his cues DIRECTLY FROM the Jesus Christ.  Paul claimed authority as an apostle in V1, on the same level with the apostles who had been life-on-life with Jesus, he preached the same message of salvation, but his authority came from direct revelation from Jesus, not from the other apostles.

Verses 18-24:  It wasn’t until 3 years later that he went to Jerusalem to get to know Peter and James.  By that time, he had already planted churches and was a force in the Kingdom – can you imagine the word on the street in Jerusalem? Paul, Christendom’s public enemy #1, was now following Jesus, and planting churches in the Gentile world. I’m sure it was hard to swallow,  but what was their report? “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy”, and they PRAISED GOD BECAUSE OF HIM.  They heard the report of Paul’s TRACK RECORD of consistency over time, and they were all bought in on him!

By the way, this was just the beginning – you can find Paul’s TRACK RECORD of following Jesus in 2 Corinthians 11:21-28 . He moved from persecutor to persecuted – the proof of his transformation was the track record of his life.

I thought of the contrast of two people: Kanye West and Chuck Colson.  About 4 years ago, Kanye professed transformation by Jesus and came out with the album, “Jesus is King” that won a Grammy and placed him at the forefront of cultural Christianity, since then, he has made bizarre statements about Jesus, religion, politics, and what was briefly believed as transformation has settled back into business as usual for Kanye – I’m not here to judge, but the proof is in the track record.

Chuck Colson was an attorney and special counsel to President Richard Nixon in the early 70s,  he was known as Nixon’s “hard man and evil genius of his administration.” He has written, “I was valuable to the president because I was willing to be ruthless to get things done.”  That included breaking the law, which came to light during Watergate. After being convicted of conspiring to cover up stealing of government documents, and on his way to prison, he was introduced to Jesus by a friend, and his life was changed forever. In fact, after serving about a year in prison, he founded Prison Fellowship ministries, and eventually Prison Fellowship International, which is the largest Christian ministry to criminal justice systems world-wide. He was changed by Jesus from ruthless to compassionate, the proof is in the track record.

What is your transformation story? What is your, “THIS IS WHO I WAS” statement? How has Jesus transformed your life? How has he transformed your traffic patterns, thought patterns, life trajectory? When your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, the world around you see the product of your life, your track record over time, does it speak to your self-discipline, self-reliance, self-righteousness, or to the power of Jesus to transform?