Hey guys, Francis Chan here. Today, let’s talk about the book of Galatians. It’s one of my favorite books of the Bible because it deals with the core of the gospel message – that we are saved by grace through faith alone.
Paul wrote this letter to the churches in Galatia because some false teachers had come among them and were preaching a different gospel. They were saying that in order to be saved, you had to follow the Jewish law and traditions – things like circumcision, dietary restrictions, and observing the Sabbath.
But Paul had a different message. He told the Galatians that salvation comes by faith in Jesus Christ alone. We can’t earn our way into heaven by following a set of rules. We are justified – made right with God – by our faith in Jesus Christ.
And this isn’t just some theoretical idea for Paul. He lived it out in his own life. He was a Pharisee before he became a Christian, so he knew all about following the law. But he realized that it was all worthless compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. That’s why he writes in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”
For Paul, the gospel was everything. In fact, in his book Crazy Love, I talk a lot about this idea of living for something that’s worth dying for. And that’s what the gospel is – it’s worth everything. It’s worth giving up our own desires and comforts in order to follow Christ.
That’s why it’s so dangerous when false teachers come in and start preaching a different gospel. It’s like they’re trying to take away the very thing that’s worth everything to us. That’s why Paul is so strong in his language in Galatians. He says things like “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ” (Galatians 1:6) and “You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace” (Galatians 5:4).
But Paul is also full of hope for the Galatians. He reminds them that because of Christ’s death and resurrection, they are free from the bondage of the law. They don’t have to live in fear of not measuring up – they are already justified by their faith in Christ. In Galatians 5:1, he writes, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
That’s the message I want to leave you with today. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. It’s not about following a set of rules or traditions – it’s about knowing and trusting in Jesus. And because of that, we are free. Free from the burden of perfectionism, free from the fear of not measuring up, free to live for Christ and his kingdom.
So let’s embrace that freedom. Let’s live for what’s truly worth dying for. And as Paul says in Galatians 6:14, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”
And as for a funny quote, well, let me leave you with this one: “I never knew that being a pastor was going to be this hard. I mean, they didn’t cover this stuff at Bible college – like how to deal with angry church members or what to do when your sermon illustrations fall flat. Sometimes I think God’s up there laughing at me.”
