Peel Grace Baptist Church.
Andy Feather 26th October 2025. Morning
If you'd just like to turn with me now to Galatians, we're starting a new book this morning, Galatians chapter one. So we're going to be taking a close look this morning at the ministry of Paul the Apostle. We will look at his calling, his purpose, his message, his way of life, and who he seeks to glorify.
Why? In the first chapter, Paul warns the church about turning to another gospel. He wants to draw them back to the true gospel. And this is partly why Paul tells them of his calling and his apostolic authority.
He is saying to them, come back to the gospel, the gospel that I preached as an apostle of Christ. And as we go through Paul's life and calling, it is helpful for us to compare this to the life of those who claim the title of apostle today and those who believe in apostolic succession. Firstly, I want to make it clear that when I speak of Paul being an apostle and of the other 12, I'm speaking in a narrow sense.
The Greek for apostle is apostolos, which is translated to mean a delegate, a messenger, one sent with orders. In the narrow sense, this refers to Paul and the 12 who were sent by Christ with a specific purpose, which was the preaching of the gospel, the laying of a doctrinal foundation for the church. Ephesians 2.20, you're built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone.
So these apostles, what I would say are uppercase A apostles, were by the Holy Spirit sent to build that doctrinal foundation for the church. Paul and the others would preach and teach what it is to be believed and to be taught in regard to the Christian faith. Acts 2.42 states this, and they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship and the breaking of bread and in prayers.
So these apostles, these men were called by Christ. They'd witnessed the resurrected Christ. We know Paul had on the road to Damascus.
Luke 6.13, we read this. And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples. And of them he chose 12, whom also he named apostles.
And we have Paul speaking of his calling in the opening statements in several of his letters, and one being here in Galatians. But we do also have other apostles mentioned in the scriptures. I would say these are lowercase A apostles.
We have Timothy and Titus as examples. They were sent, so they were apostles in the sense that they were sent, but they were sent by Paul and the churches. They were not men who built the foundation of the church.
They were men who taught what the 12 apostles had taught. They brought nothing new. They were there to carry the message of the gospel, the gospel that had been proclaimed by the apostles.
So we have two types. We have the apostles selected by Christ for the purpose of building the church. And we have other apostles in the sense of being sent to preach the gospel, those that were building upon the foundation that had already been set.
The miracle of the apostles, the 12 apostles, showed the authority that they had been sent with. The other apostles were sent to stand on that foundation. So let's now look at Paul's calling.
Let's read verse one. Paul, an apostle, not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead. There we have Paul's calling.
Paul's calling to be an apostle came directly from God. He was not called by men. He was not selected by men.
He wasn't set forth by men who have fallen natures, who are not all wise and who are not all knowing. He was called by Christ himself. He mentions the resurrection here.
And as John Gill puts it, it wasn't so much to express the divine power of the Father or the glory of Christ, but it is mentioned here to validate Paul's commission. Where he might have been rejected, Paul here is stating that he had witnessed the resurrection of Christ. He's declaring his apostolic calling.
And after this calling, Paul tells us throughout this chapter and gives us details about his preparation for this mission, this calling as an apostle of Christ. And this building and calling, this claim comes in verses 13 to 24. And I think it'd be good just to flick through these now.
For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion. How that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God and wasted it. And prophetess in the Jews' religion above many my equals in my own nation being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.
But when it pleased God who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by his grace to reveal his son in me that I might preach him among the heathen, immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood, neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me. But I went into Arabia and returned again unto Damascus. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter and abode with him 15 days.
But other of the apostles saw I none, said James the Lord's brother. Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not. Afterwards, I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia and was unknown by face unto the churches of Judea which were in Christ.
But they had heard only that he which persecuted us in times past now preaches the faith which once he destroyed, and they glorified God in me. Paul's salvation and then his calling came through Jesus Christ and God the Father. And what we have just read shows what Paul was and who he is in Christ.
So before Paul came to faith, he was a persecutor of the church. He hated Christ. He hated the church.
Paul lived to destroy the church. Paul excelled above all his contemporaries. He excelled in being zealous in the traditions of men.
See, Paul loved legalism. He loved God's law, but he also loved man's made law. He loved the law, believing that he could keep it.
He trusted in the law of men that was devised in the hearts of sinful men. He trusted in his own righteousness, believing that he could attain salvation for himself. But God, in his goodness and grace, separated Paul from his mother's womb, predestined and called him by grace to preach Christ among the Gentiles.
In verse 11 and 12, Paul tells us that he was taught the gospel by God through Jesus Christ. Verse 16 and 17 show that Paul didn't confer with others about his calling, but spent time with God in Arabia. So here we have Paul's calling.
Here we have his preparation for his ministry. He was clearly called by Christ, confirmed by Christ, sent by Christ with authority, and by the inspiration and the power of the Spirit, he was able to preach, teach, and to write the scriptures. And we receive the scriptures as the word of God here.
So now we've seen Paul's calling, this very specific calling, and we've seen his preparation, and we've seen how it was by Christ and not of men that he was called to serve the church. So let us now measure it against those who proclaim to be apostles. We have one example, the Pope.
The Pope is supposed to be a successor of Peter, yet he doesn't meet the calling. And this is a big deal, as we'll see soon. The Pope was not called by Christ, but by men.
He was voted in. This was not the case for Peter, who was chosen by Christ. The Pope also adds to scripture.
He adds to scripture when he speaks ex cathedra, that is, speaking from the chair, from the chair that he sits on. Whatever he declares at that moment is the word of God. So when the Pope speaks from the chair, he's teaching with the authority of God.
Well, that is what he alleges, which is strange because, historically, Popes have disagreed with previous Popes. Popes have contradicted one another, but surely God cannot change his mind and cannot contradict himself. But this is what happens when Popes speak ex cathedra.
So that is one type of apostle that, well, one type of modern-day apostle that doesn't fit the calling that we have just seen. But how about those who claim to be apostles with authority, like Paul, who oversee several churches? They claim to be called by God, yet have not seen the resurrected Christ. They claim to be called by God, yet are confirmed by men.
They will call themselves things like post-ascension apostles because that way they can do away with having to see the resurrected Christ. But we never see this in Scripture. They will turn to the likes of Timothy and Titus, who were sent by Paul and the churches.
They say that they are like them, but with the authority of Paul. You see, Timothy and Titus were told to select elders in churches to lead the churches and make sure that they were teaching what Paul and the other apostles were. But these modern-day apostles want the authority over the churches.
But we also see the criteria for elders and deacons for the purpose of overseeing churches. We don't see that for these modern-day apostles. There are no, there's no criteria for that.
You see, we have the Scriptures, so there is no need for modern-day apostles to bring in a new message. See, it's the duty of the elders to preach and to teach as we saw earlier on, from the foundations laid by the apostles, where Christ is the cornerstone. So to have someone claim that they are an apostle with authority over churches is to pronounce what is claimed in Paul's second letter to the Corinthians.
For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works.
So those who claim an apostleship today, seeking authority over churches, they are not called by Christ. But as we see in Scripture, they are deceitful workers, just like the one they serve. Who transformed into an angel of light, their end will be according to their works.
They claim to be of the light, but are of the dark. We will see more of their evil works later. We will compare them again to Paul and the work of Christ through Paul.
For our next point, we'll be looking at Paul's purpose and message and what he was called to do as an apostle. We look at verses three to 12. Grace be to you and peace from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father.
To him be glory forever and ever. Amen. I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ and to another gospel, which is not another, but there be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
But though we are an angel from heaven, preach another gospel unto you, that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so I say now again, if any man preach another gospel unto you, then that he have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men or God, or do I seek to please men? For if I yet please men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. We see Paul's message in verse four.
Paul's purpose and message was to proclaim Christ and him crucified. And he was sent to do that to the Gentiles. He was sent to build up the churches, to build them up in the faith, to correct false teaching.
Paul wrote letters to the church, proclaiming Christ, correcting their errors and building them up and calling out the false teachers that had sought to come in and pervert the gospel. Paul was all out for Christ. And we see this in Philippians 1, 21, when he states, to live is Christ, to die is gain.
His life, his death, everything was for Jesus. And then he writes in his first letter to Corinthians in chapter two, verse two, I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified. Paul didn't want to know anything amongst the church, except for Christ and him crucified.
This was the sum and substance of Paul. He lived and died for Christ. He suffered greatly for Christ.
He went without. He was persecuted for the name of his saviour. His message, his whole emphasis was on Christ and him crucified.
Is that the same message that we see today from those who call themselves apostles? That is the message that Paul wants the church to hear today. He wants to hear the true gospel being preached. Paul wasn't concerned about trivial matters.
Paul was concerned for the church, that he would visit them, in order that they would not stray from the gospel. Paul in verses six to nine warns of false teachers coming in to preach another gospel. We will see that the modern day heretics, the modern day apostles will preach another gospel.
But Paul's calling and desire was to see that the church, churches remained on that firm foundation of Christ. And that the church would be the church of Christ and him crucified. Verses eight and nine, he warns of another gospel that people would preach and states that anyone who does such a thing should be accursed.
He states that twice. Therefore, we should take note of that. Those who alter the gospel, add to the gospel, pervert the gospel, twist the gospel, use the gospel for their own gain, should not only be removed from their office, but they should be cast from the church.
There is the warning that if unrepentant, they will be condemned at the return of Christ. This is serious stuff. But there are those still today that do such things.
They pervert the gospel and in doing so, they lead many astray. The church in Galatia were turning from that true gospel and chasing after another because of such false teachers. And this is why Paul is declaring his authority there.
So by doing this, by seeing what Paul is preaching, we can compare this to the false apostles of today. But we can ask ourselves, do we desire the same things as Paul? Do we desire to know only Christ and him crucified? Let us never be a people who tyre of hearing this wonderful gospel. Let us remember now what the church is built on and never forget what Paul preached in verse four.
I'd like to think that we have nailed our colours to the mast at Peel. Outside we read, we have stated on a poster that we are a church that preaches Christ and him crucified. By the grace of God, may that continue.
That was Paul's message then, and that should be ours today. So we are called to remember the gospel. Remember that Christ gave himself for our sins, bearing the punishment that we deserved.
You, your sins have been imputed to Christ, his righteousness imputed to you. Christ is your righteousness and you are therefore blameless in the sight of God. Christ has delivered you out of this evil world in accordance with his perfect will.
That is the gospel that Paul preached. That is the gospel that is true for today. The gospel shows that you are a chosen people, not because of anything that you have done, but because God is merciful and gracious.
You are saved by faith, which is a gift from God. And again, that is the message that Paul preached. That is the message that should be preached today.
So let's examine the modern day apostles and the message that they preach. We know that the Pope does not preach such things. The Catholic church preaches another gospel.
Now I'm not saying there are no believers in the Catholic church. There may well be, but the gospel that is preached is not the gospel that Paul preached. Here we have, I'm going to show you now a section from the Catholic catechism.
This is what is taught and this is what it says. Since the initiative belongs to God in the order of grace, no one can merit the initial grace of forgiveness and justification. Started off slightly shaky there.
At the beginning of conversion, moved by the Holy Spirit and by charity, we can then merit for ourselves and for others, the graces needed for our sanctification, for the increase of grace and charity and for the attainment of eternal life. Even temporal goods like health and friendship can be merited in accordance with God's wisdom. These graces and goods are the object of Christian prayer.
Prayer tends to the grace we need for the meritorious actions. There we have it. They acknowledge that the initial party of salvation is by God, the initial part.
Yet we can merit for ourselves and others, the graces needed for sanctification, for the increase in grace and charity and for the attainment of eternal life. That is not the teaching of an apostle of God, but that is what the Pope believes, that is what is proclaimed in the churches. They state that man will inherit eternal life through merit, through works.
We know that is false. We therefore know that that church is a false church because they deny the things of Christ. They corrupt the gospel and lead people astray.
That is one apostle that we should not follow. That is a false apostle that we read in Paul's second letter to the Corinthians. But what about the other type of apostles of today who claim authority over the churches? Well, the chances are they will preach a gospel that we may even say amen to.
They may have the right words, the right phrases. They may agree with the five solas. How wonderful for the reformed people we can agree with these things.
But where they go wrong is what they emphasise. And the little additions that they make after salvation, the things that can be easily missed, they add promises to the gospel message. Paul emphasised Christ.
The modern day apostles emphasise health, wealth, works, and giving. They are not content with Christ. Paul gave himself for the church.
Today, the church will give themselves for their false apostle. You will not see Christ and him crucified on the door. What you will see is God loves a cheerful giver.
That is their message. They desire money rather than Christ, prosperity rather than gospel, health rather than trials that lead to sanctification. They preach another message.
You will not see an apostle say, I know both how to be a base and I know how to abound. You will not see that in the modern day apostle. You'll hear that God wants them to be healthy and with the finest car and the finest home.
You will not see the modern day apostle speak of working so that they do not burden the church. You will hear them speak often of their need for more money. They will speak of all the wonderful things God has done for them and how he blesses them greatly with comforts of this world.
They won't speak as Paul did of the hardship of being hungry and thirsty, of being persecuted by being nearly stoned to death, of journeys so dangerous that they have nearly died. Listen to what Paul tells us in his letter to the Corinthians. In journeyings often, in perils of water, in perils of robbers, in perils by my own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, in weariness and painfulness, in watching often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness, beside those things that are without, that which come up on me daily, the care of all the churches.
Paul was willing to go without. He was willing to suffer and be persecuted because to live was for Christ, to die was gain. That was his message.
That is how he lived. The false apostle of today will not be bruised and battered in serving the church as Paul was. The false apostle will have the look of a snake oil salesman with a crisp social media presence, the finest linen, speaking nice things to the church and robbing them rather than serving.
They will not say the same things as Paul did. They will not believe the same things that Paul believed. They will not count all things of loss for the excellency of knowing Christ and him crucified.
Paul gave himself for the church. The modern apostle will make the church give themselves for them. You see, Paul was only interested in preaching the true gospel.
We see that throughout this first chapter. His desire was that the church know Christ and him crucified. The modern day apostle wants the church to know about giving and tithing and bettering him.
See, Paul was a man so thankful for salvation, his desire was to serve Christ. Because of this mentality and love for Christ, Paul was persecuted. You see, what we have read here this morning was about an apostle who was sent by Christ, an apostle who proclaimed the gospel, an apostle who wanted to protect the church from false apostles who sought to bring in another gospel.
This morning, we can't go through every verse in chapter one, but what we can gain from the few things that we have read is that Paul was an apostle for Christ. And through understanding Paul's calling, Paul's message, Paul's desire for the church, it protects us today, protects us against the work of the devil, protects us against the false teachers, the false apostles that will seek to pervert for their gain. And we can give thanks for the life and the work of Paul the apostle.
But more so, we look to the one whom he rejoiced in glorifying. In verse 24, Paul states, and they glorified God in me. Paul was happy to be persecuted.
He was happy to give everything for Christ, for his glory, because of the gospel that had saved Paul. So now we can look to ourselves and ask ourselves, do we have that same desire as Paul? Do we have that same love you that Paul had of himself? Do we have that same joy in suffering for Christ? Paul had this because he trusted and believed the gospel that Christ had revealed to him. So this is what we should turn to now.
For where we seek to honour Christ, to glorify him as Paul did, we cannot look to ourselves but to Christ. For your salvation came at a price, the price of Christ's life. He suffered, bled and died for you so that you would be taken out of this dark world, brought into newness of life, that he may be glorified through you.
So let that be your focus this day. Where you fail, where you fall short, remember that Christ has called you. Christ has saved you.
He has set you apart unto good works for his glory. So as Paul did, look to Christ, look to him crucified and rejoice that to live is for Christ, to die is gain. Amen.
For of him and through him and to him are all things to whom be glory forever. Amen.
(Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai.)