Most professing Christians fall into one of two different extremes. They either fall into the arena of license; that is, they feel that "Now I've walked the aisle at Church I can relax. I have no need to worry. I am Heaven bound no matter what I do in this life, and I need not worry about working for my Creator". Or else believers fall into the arena of asceticism, that is, they feel that "God saved me, sure, but He is an angry God. If I do not toe the line, walk that straight and narrow road, then I may lose my salvation and fall into eternal damnation!"

How does our Creator perceive us? How are we, as believers in Jesus Christ, to walk in this life? Is Christianity a "fire and forget it" religion, or is it a "quake in my boots, follow every precept" religion? The truth is, Christianity is neither of these extremes. Christianity is a true and personal relationship that each believer has with the Historic God of the Holy Bible. We enter into this relationship when we recognize that we are unable to approach this Great and Holy God on our own, when we recognize and accept the fact that the Historic and ever present Jesus Christ suffered a horrific death to pave our road to God the Father. We enter into Christianity only when we are confronted with our Sinful Nature in the light of the Law of God, and while in that state of horrid confrontation the Spirit of God offers us a choice: choose Christ and salvation, or reject Christ and accept damnation.

Christians do not become Christians to "enhance their life", but Christians become Christians to escape damnation. Many Pastors have refused to preach this truth, the Gospel Truth, preferring instead to preach a "God loves you" and "Come to Christ and have an enhanced and peaceful life" message. The message that Christ preached was much more severe:

(Mark 16:15-16 KJV) "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. {16} He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."

(John 3:16-21 KJV) "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. {17} For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. {18} He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. {19} And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. {20} For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. {21} But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God."

The current estate that Christ's Church is now in is a result of lighthearted preaching of a lightheaded and unscriptural Gospel. Our Churches are flooded with people who, if they are Christians, are shallow and ineffective in their witness for Christ. The most segregated hour in America is the time when most Churches meet, from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM on Sunday morning. Though our God is patently and declaredly no respector of persons (that is, He does not racially discriminate in His treatment of people (see Romans 2:11; Ephesians 6:9; Colossians 3:25; James 2:1; 1 Peter 1:17)), the Church that He died for still segregates itself into white congregations and black congregations, and pity the fool who crosses that racial boundary. Though there are Church buildings on nearly every street corner in nearly every major city of America, there are people in our country who cry themselves to sleep from hunger while we build bigger and fancier buildings. Less than 10% of those who profess to be disciples of Christ witness their faith away from the Church, and only 20% of those enrolled in a local assembly perform any function whatsoever in their congregation. In any other organization in the world this would be an intolerable state of affairs, and any business with these statistics would quickly go bankrupt.

What, then, is the solution? Every professing Christian who is truly a Christian must first ascertain in their heart of hearts that they are indeed saved. If you who are reading this are indeed saved, and I pray that you are, then it is time to return to the truths that our forefathers held dear. We need to understand the truths of the Scripture without compromise, and then apply these truths in our lives and in the world in which we live. When Scriptural truth is understood by the hearer and applied, not argued with but applied, then you will see changes in the world around you. You see, Christianity has always been a supernatural faith in a Supernatural Christ. We who believe do not believe in our own concept of God, but we believe in the God of the Holy Bible.

Who is this God? How has He represented Himself to mankind? Our first contact with this Great God came in the recounting of creation in the Book of Genesis. The Bible begins abruptly with, "In the beginning, God ...", without explanation of Who this fantastic Being is. We just know that He is, and that He created all things. It is only when Adam neglects to honor the Word of God and partakes of the forbidden fruit that we discover something about our God: He is holy, righteous, and always keeps His Word. Adam was expelled from the Garden without opportunity for parole, cast from the place of perfection and peace and into a chaotic world.

Out next encounter with God comes when two brothers, Cain and Abel, offer sacrifice and homage to His holiness. Abel offered a sacrifice from among his sheep, whereas Cain, a farmer, offers a sacrifice from his harvest. We see that God's very being demanded a sacrifice of blood, not grain, but we see no explanation as to why this is so. Our God must be a very holy God with very specific desires among His creation - but He has not fully revealed His holiness to us. Not yet, not yet. Cain's offering was rejected by God, and, rather than repent and accept the correction as a son, Cain murdered Abel. God's holiness was further revealed when he cast Cain out from among humanity and marked him as a murderer. We see three things now about our God: His Word He will always keep; He must be approached by blood; and He will not tolerate the shedding of innocent blood among His creation.

And so it was. God for a time revealed only small bits of Himself to man. He flooded the earth, and killed all but 8 humans for none other would repent. His justice was revealed as terrible and sure. He confused the language of man at Babel. He promised Abram a child and a kingdom. Sodom is destroyed. Joseph comes, and is sold into slavery, but God protects Him. Abraham's seed populate Egypt under Joseph, and eventually come under bondage to that same nation. God raises up Moses, who should have died at birth but was spared. Moses led Israel away from Egypt.

In each of these episodes, all historical truths recorded by the Scripture, God revealed a little more of His character. But it was not until God told Moses to go up into the Mountain of God, Horeb, and receive the Law: not until then did we see how truly pure and holy our God is. We had glimpses of His purity and holiness, but nothing caused us to fear like that Law. We would try to keep that Law but, being human, we would fail year after year. That Law would taunt us with its purity. We could not say, "I have never broken that Law", for to break one facet of the Law was to cause the weight of judgment of breaking all the Law to come crashing down on us. The Law whipped us, beat us, and caused us to cry out to our God, "Father ... save us, for we cannot save ourselves!" Then came Christ.

It is my prayer that we can study the Book of Galatians, which is, I believe, the greatest presentation of the Law and Christ within the Scripture. When we understand that which God has called the "Law of Moses", and understand its purpose, then we will be equipped as believers to live our lives closer to our God. We will cherish that which Christ did for us, not taking for granted the Cross of Christ. Understanding the Law and Grace is more than an intellectual pursuit. Unless you understand the Law as the Teacher, and Grace as the Taught, you will never understand the Christian way of life. In fact, you may not be a Christian, for our Lord said:

(Luke 6:46-49 KJV) "And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? {47} Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like: {48} He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. {49} But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great."

(John 14:15-21 KJV) "If ye love me, keep my commandments. {16} And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; {17} Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. {18} I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. {19} Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. {20} At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. {21} He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him."

Christianity is not a "walk the aisle and forget it" religion. Once you understand the Law of God, and understand what Christ had to do to stand between us and the Law, you will toss out that foolish notion of cheap Grace. You will avoid licentiousness, but you will also avoid the trap of living in asceticism, like some fantastic untouchable monk. So let's begin our study of Christian Liberty in the Book of Galatians.

As I stated before, most Christians, often because of ignorance of the Word of God, tend to lean toward asceticism (touch not, taste not, handle not) or license (if it feels good, do it). God used the Apostle Paul to write the Book of Galatians to correct these two extremes, and to drive the Christian to a balanced and disciplined walk with God. The Apostle Paul normally dictated the Church epistles to a clerk that stayed with him because the Apostle had problems with his eyesight. Yet he wrote the Book of Galatians with his own hand:

(Galatians 6:11 KJV) "Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand."

This in itself should show us how important Paul regarded this work. Further, the work was addressed to specifically Gentile believers, whereas other Scriptural texts were addressed to predominantly Jewish or mixed Jewish and Gentile assemblies. There is some debate among the theologians as to whether Galatians was written to the churches located in Northern Galatia (which was a view that the early "Church Fathers" held (see Talk Thru the Bible, page 394, Nelson Publishers)), or to the churches of Southern Galatia. I will leave a debate of "Northern theory" Vs "Southern theory" for those who are wiser than I. In truth, the most pertinent fact here is that Paul wrote this letter to predominantly Gentile Churches that he had previously established. These Gentile Churches had been infiltrated by Judaizers, people who claimed to be Christian but instead preached the Law of Moses over Christ. The Galatians fell into the trap of asceticism, and the Epistle to the Galatians was written to bring balance back to these precious congregations of Christians.

Easton's Bible Dictionary says of the Galatians: "Has been called the "Gallia" of the East, Roman writers calling its inhabitants Galli. They were an intermixture of Gauls and Greeks, and hence were called Gallo-Graeci, and the country Gallo-Graecia. The Galatians were in their origin a part of that great Celtic migration which invaded Macedonia about B.C. 280. They were invited by the king of Bithynia to cross over into Asia Minor to assist him in his wars. There they ultimately settled, and being strengthened by fresh accessions of the same clan from Europe, they overran Bithynia, and supported themselves by plundering neighboring countries. They were great warriors, and hired themselves out as mercenary soldiers, sometimes fighting on both sides in the great battles of the times. They were at length brought under the power of Rome in B.C. 189 and Galatia became a Roman province B.C. 25. This province of Galatia, within the limits of which these Celtic tribes were confined, was the central region of Asia Minor. During his second missionary journey Paul, accompanied by Silas and Timothy (Ac 16:6) visited the "region of Galatia," where he was detained by sickness (Ga 4:13) and had thus the longer opportunity of preaching to them the gospel. On his third journey he went over "all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order" (Ac 18:23). Crescens was sent thither by Paul toward the close of his life (2 Ti 4:10)"

The book of Galatians is a polemic (adjective po·lem·ic or po·lem·i·cal containing passionate argument: containing or expressing passionate and strongly worded argument against or in favor of something or somebody). It is similar to the book of Ephesians, though it's presentation is largely negative or rebuking, whereas Ephesians is written on a positive note. The Galatians were an unconquerable people who God in His Graciousness conquered for Christ under the preaching of Paul. These strong people, who had withstood numerous physical attacks against their nation, should have been strong enough to recognize the half truths of the Judaizers and cast them out. Instead, the Galatians accepted the ascetic side of Judaism while trampling underfoot that which Christ did for them on the Cross - and reports of this heresy angered Paul to a livid rage. His rage showed as he wrote Galatians. His sentences were often choppy, sharp, rebuking. Verbs were often dropped or emphasized, showing his depth of anger. These Grace-Killers, these Judaizers came into congregations that had believed on Jesus Christ for salvation, and taught the Galatians that what Jesus did was not enough. They said that the Galatians must accept circumcision in order to complete their salvation, must accept a certain ritual, must return to the Law. This disturbed Paul to no end.

Our Lord Jesus Christ taught:

(Matthew 7:13-21 KJV) "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: {14} Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. {15} Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. {16} Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? {17} Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. {18} A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. {19} Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. {20} Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. {21} Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."

God's way is straight and narrow, not wide and crooked. The Galatians needed to stay in the doctrine that Paul taught them while he was among them, and should not have veered off course from God's Way. The only Way to God is the Way that God has established, and this Way does not condone either asceticism nor license. This Way is one that accepts what Jesus Christ did for us on the Cross, accepting Him as Savior, surrendering to Him all that we have and all that we are because we love Him, and then obeying His leading without question in our lives. This is God's Way, the only Way acceptable to Him. Anything else is a poor and unacceptable substitute.

Salutation vs. 1-5

(Galatians 1:1 KJV) "Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)"

(Galatians 1:1 KJV) Paul, (paulos:G3972, name means "little". Paul was a great believer, but neither earned nor deserved his office - it was all of Grace. See 1 Timothy 1:12-16; 1 Corinthians 15:10)

The Apostle Paul begins by identifying himself by both name as well as by his Christ given office. It is interesting that the name Paulos or Paul means "little", whereas Saulos, which was Paul's Hebrew name, meant "death" (See Hitchcock's Bible Names Encyclopedia). It was Saulos or a dead man that Jesus Christ struck down on Damascus Road, but Paulos, a little but a saved man, that was the end result of that encounter. No one is saved because they are GREAT PEOPLE. Churches tend to look for preachers with great and glowing letters of recommendation, fantastic degrees in theology, wonderful testimonies of countless numbers of people enticed to the altar each Sunday. In America we reckon greatness with numbers and size and ostentatiousness. God reckons greatness not with size nor riches, but with how much we surrender of our lives to Him. Paul said of himself:

1 Timothy 1:12-16 "And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; 13 Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 14 And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting."

Paul saw nothing worthy in himself, nor did he consider himself greater than he actually was. What a refreshing approach! In our day and age men stand forth and declare themselves to be apostles and prophets. They post their faces on billboards and demand that we go to their Churches to see them in all their glory. You would not find a picture of Paul on a billboard, nor on a business card. Paul considered himself what he was, what we all are - sinners saved by the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul was a pattern, as he said: for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.

Consider that statement for a moment. When I was young I used to watch my momma make dresses on an old sewing machine. She didn't just sit down and, willy nilly, whip together a dress. No, my momma used a pattern that she got from the store. The pattern was a paper outline, a template, for all the panels of the dress. Momma would take the pattern, usually made of cheap and easily torn tissue paper, and lay it out on the fabric that would become the dress. Then she would trace the outline of the pattern on the fabric, faithfully following every line and curve, until the pattern was transferred from the paper to the fabric. Then and only then could she begin to cut out the panels of the dress so as to make something she could wear in public.

Paul was a pattern of those who would follow in his footsteps in believing in Jesus. Paul was NOT Jesus, who was sinless and perfect, but he was the chiefest of sinners, a murderer many times over. Paul the pattern neither earned nor deserved the salvation that Christ purchased for him with His Holy Blood; but once Paul was saved by calling on that salvation only found in Christ he relied fully on Christ to live out his life. Paul did not become saved then say, "Well, that's done - no need to work for Jesus - I'm saved, glory be!" No, Paul the pattern worked with all his heart for Jesus because he knew what the Cross cost Christ. He understood the screams of our Savior as He cried out,

(Mark 15:34 KJV) "And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

and because of his love for Christ, just as all true believers who follow the pattern of Paul into the Kingdom of God have great love for Christ, he labored for his Love. Oh believer, if you are a believer, do you labor out of the love you have for Jesus? Oh believer, if you are a believer, have you followed the example of our pattern, Paul the sinner made saint? Oh believer, if you are a believer, are you willing to bear the stripes that our pattern bore on his back for Jesus, singing as they beat him:

(Acts 16:23-28 KJV) "And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: {24} Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. {25} And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. {26} And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. {27} And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. {28} But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here."

Or would you have run from the prison when the walls fell? Oh believer, if you are a believer, have you looked upon the horror of our bleeding Savior and said, as our pattern said,

1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

The brand snatched out of the fire of hell labors for Jesus because he appreciates and loves Jesus. Paul was not only saved by Grace, which to him was was the greatest thing, but he held a high, undeserved office in the Church - that of APOSTLE.

(Galatians 1:1 KJV) "Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)"

an apostle, (apostolos:G652, means "one sent". Used 79 times in the N.T. From the Athenians, who had a great Navy. The Admiral in command of the fleet was the "apostle", eventually "one who holds the highest rank in the Church Age". No more than possible seventeen people ever held this position. There were the original eleven apostles - minus Judas - Paul, Barnabas [Acts 14:14], James the Lord's half brother, Apollos [1 Corinthians 4:6 cw 4:9], Silas and Timothy [1 Thessalonians 1:1-6])

Was Matthias, selected by casting of lot following the fall of Judas, an Apostle of God, or was his election a mistake, the first mistake of the newly formed Church at Jerusalem? Paul the Apostle was a pattern for us, and in that sense we can say that all the Apostles, truly ordained of God, were patterns for we who would follow after them. If Matthias was truly an Apostle, selected by God to take Judas' place, then wouldn't he be a pattern too? :

(Acts 1:20-26 KJV) "For it is written in the book of Psalms [Psalms 69:25], Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishopric (literally," apostleship". They are going to choose an apostle, which is wrong. People, even Christians, do NOT elect spiritual gifts - they are given by God. Praise God I do NOT owe man for my spiritual gift!) let another take. {21} Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, {22} Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection. {23} And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. (He is never heard of nor recognized again in Scripture nor Church history. Do you suppose he was bitter over this?) {24} And they prayed, (They prayed, though they should have prayed before locking God into a "heads or tails" situation) and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show whether of these two thou hast chosen, (a lot of people pray this way, trying to limit God to their volition. God does not often answer multiple choice) {25} That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression (his transgression was rejection of Christ, unbelief) fell, that he might go to his own place. {26} And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles."

Was Matthias one of the Apostles? Our Lord Jesus said that you would know the tree by the fruit it bore, and Matthias was a fruitless tree. His name is mentioned once in Scripture, at his election as "apostle". Peter and the other believers were told to go into the upper room and WAIT for God's empowerment:

(Acts 1:4-5 KJV) "And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. {5} For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence."

But Peter, hardhead that he was, wasn't content to wait. Waiting for God's power, the Holy Spirit, was contrary to his pushy nature. As the Psalmist said:

(Psalms 27:14 KJV) "Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD."

I believe that God allowed Peter and the apostles to make their choice, powerless and without the Spirit's backing, as a testament and a pattern for us to see today. When the believer is unwilling to wait on the Lord; when the Church is unwilling to seek God's Will through prayer and fasting, and to move only when that Will is revealed, then the Church and the believer make foolish choices that have literally no impact on this world or on the Kingdom of God. Matthias was such a choice. He never wrote Scripture, never committed a noteworthy act; not even a footnote in Scripture is attributed to him. He never established a local Church, never oversaw a flock, never preached a sermon. His name stands in one place in Scripture, at his selection to office, a powerless testament to a powerless choosing. Paul, on the other hand, was not chosen by man's hand, but by the Son of Man's hand. He was not recommended by Peter to God, but God recommended him to Peter. Matthias stands as a mute warning from our Savior that, unless He empowers the choice, the choice will be useless in the end. We have local Churches filled with deacons, pastors, ministers, and elders not chosen by God but recommended by man. Beloved, the Church of Christ is not a democracy, it is a Theocracy under the leading of God the Holy Spirit. When we forget that, we make bold yet useless choices. It would be easier to knock down the moon with a child thrown stone than it would be to empower one to an office that God has not anointed. Debate me if you will, but unless God is in the work and in the decision, your bold moves are in vain!

(Galatians 1:1 KJV) "Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)"

(not of (apo, preposition of source = "not from the source of" <men>. Paul was not appointed by men, but by God. The legalists who came to Galatia with their false doctrines were appointed by men) men, neither by (literally, "through the instrumentality of <man>", Gk dia + genitive case, preposition of instrumentality. An apostle cannot select his successor) man,

Apostleship as well as the other teaching and proclamation gifts were not given to the Church until Christ gave them. CHRIST must give the Gift, GOD must do the choosing. While Jesus walked the earth He was our Teacher and our Leader. When He ascended unto the Father He ordered that His apostles WAIT until the Holy Ghost, His chosen Representative, come and anoint them with power. It is a dangerous thing to appoint yourself to an office in God's Church without His approval. It is a dangerous thing to claim the title "prophet" or "apostle" or "deacon" or "pastor" or "minister" or "elder" without Jesus first making the claim. It was only AFTER Jesus completed His work of redemption, AFTER He descended into the lower parts of the earth that He gave the Church apostles and prophets and evangelists and pastor-teachers. This Jesus Christ did through the Spirit of God Who represents Him:

(Ephesians 4:8-14 KJV) "Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. {9} (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? {10} He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) {11} And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; {12} For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: {13} Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: {14} That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;"

Jesus Christ alone chooses His apostles, for He alone has earned the right to choose with His own blood (see Matthew 10.2; Mark 6.30; Luke 6.13; 22.14; Acts 1.2). I will not stand up and say that there are no apostles today, nor any chance of one to hold such an office, but I do say this: for any person to claim that he is an apostle, that person would have to receive direct revelation from God. To be an apostle as the early Church reckoned apostles, the candidate for this high office would have to have seen the resurrected Savior Jesus Christ, and would have had to have been selected to this office by Jesus Christ. And IF, pay attention Beloved, IF any person is truly an apostle of God, then the signs of the apostle would be evident in his life:

(2 Corinthians 12:11-12 KJV) "I am become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing. {12} Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds."

None of the signs and wonders and mighty deeds followed Matthias when he was appointed to the post of apostle by Peter; and quite frankly none of the signs and wonders and mighty deeds follow many of the charlatans who claim to occupy this mighty office today. According to Paul, our pattern, apostles did NOT choose successors to their office. Only Jesus Christ had the right to appoint His apostles, and His apostles were known for their mighty works. This was so well known among even the heathen unbeliever that they would line the streets where the apostles were going to walk:

(Acts 5:15-16 KJV) "Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them. {16} There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one."

In hope that some might be healed with their endued power from on high. There are many like Matthias that walk amongst us today claiming to have the office of apostle, yet show no evidence of God's mighty hand. Wake up, Beloved, and learn the truth, lest you be led further from the Gospel of Christ!

(Galatians 1:1 KJV) "Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)"

but (declaration of contrast) by (dia + Genitive = through the instrumentality of Jesus Christ) Jesus Christ,

Paul's claim to apostleship was not the casting of lots of Peter and the other apostles, but he was directly chosen to his office by Jesus Christ our Lord. Saul, the dead man, became Paul, the little saved man, when Jesus knocked him down on the Damascus Road.

(Acts 9:3-5 NIV) "As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. {4} He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" {5} "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied."

Paul's conversion was, in a sense, no different than the conversion of the average believer in Christ: When I was saved God opened my heart and confronted me with my sin, cut me to the core of my soul with His perfect Law which I had failed to keep, and showed me my hopeless estate without Jesus. I knew that death and hell were all that were waiting for me, and in desperation I cried out, "Jesus, please save me!" And He did, praise His holy name!

(Galatians 1:1 KJV) "Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)"

and God the Father, (the Author of the Plan of Salvation, the plan for the human race. The Son and the Father work together to select Paul as Apostle) who raised (egeiro:G1453, Aorist Active Participle, raise Him in a point of time. The Holy Spirit was also involved, Romans 8:11; 1 Peter 3:18) him from the dead;)"

The same Jesus who was raised from the dead by God the Father, this same Jesus selected Paul to be His apostle. The resurrection of Christ is not some fairy-tale or some mythological happenstance made up by the early Church to enlist recruits, but is one of the pivotal doctrines of Christianity. In our present day Church, and in many of the so-called "Christian Seminaries", scholars with large degrees "pooh pooh" the notion of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Yet Paul, our pattern, made it clear that unless Christ resurrected from the grave by the very Will and Power of God the Triune, then our faith is but a foolish fantasy. Paul's claim to apostleship was that the One that chose him was resurrected by God the Father. In fact, we have no evidence that we will one day possess resurrected bodies unless we believe that Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone was raised from the dead by the Triune God.

(Romans 8:11 KJV) "But IF the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you."

Why anyone would profess to be a Christian and yet deny the resurrection of Jesus Christ is a mystery to me. If Christ has not resurrected, then we are fools for following Him! If Christ died and His bones are rotting in some grave somewhere, then Christianity is no more effective than Islam or Hinduism or Buddhism. If Christ died and His bones, like Abraham's, were gathered by by the early Church to be hid, then what hope do we have? None, none at all!

(1 Peter 3:18 KJV) "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:"

What is our strength? We KNOW that Christ has risen from the dead. We KNOW that His bones do not reside in some unmarked grave, and we KNOW that He sits at the right hand of God the Father, forever making intercession for us who believe.

(1 Corinthians 15:12-20 KJV) "Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? {13} But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: {14} And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. {15} Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. {16} For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: {17} And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. {18} Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. {19} If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. {20} But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept."

If Christ has not resurrected and does not live as proof positive that we shall one day be in resurrection bodies, then close the Book, leave the Church, walk away from it all and stop wasting your time. But Christ IS resurrected from the grave! The apostles stood before rulers and willingly were tortured and killed without flinching; for they saw the risen Savior. No man would watch his wife walking forward to feed the lions, nor would he himself boldly step forward to die by inches if he did not know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Jesus rose from the grave.

In An Examination of the Testimony of the Four Evangelists by the Rules of Evidence Administered in the Courts of Justice, circa 1847, Simon Greenleaf, Professor of Law at Harvard University, wrote:

"The great truths which the apostles declared, were, that Christ had risen from the dead, and that only through repentance from sin, and faith in Him, could men hope for salvation. This doctrine they asserted with one voice, everywhere, not only under the greatest discouragements, but in the face of the most appalling errors that can be presented to the mind of man. Their Master had recently perished as a malefactor, by the sentence of a public tribunal. His religion sought to overthrow the religions of the whole world. The laws of every country were against the teachings of His disciples. The interests and passions of all the rulers and great men in the world were against them. The fashion of the world was against them. Propagating this new faith, even in the most inoffensive and peaceful manner, they could expect nothing but contempt, opposition, revilings, bitter persecutions, stripes, imprisonments, tortures, and cruel deaths. Yet this faith they zealously did propagate; and all these miseries they endured undismayed, nay, rejoicing. As one after another was put to a miserable death, the survivors only prosecuted their work with increased vigor and resolution. The annals of military warfare afford scarcely an example of the like heroic constancy, patience, and unblenching courage. They had every possible motive to review carefully the grounds of their faith, and the evidences of the great facts and truths they asserted; and these motives were pressed upon their attention with the most melancholy and terrific frequency. It was therefore impossible that they could have persisted in affirming the truths they have narrated, had not Jesus actually risen from the dead, and had they not known this fact as certainly as they knew any other fact. .... To have persisted in so gross a falsehood, after it was known to them, was not only to encounter, for life, all the evils which man could inflict, from without, but to endure also the pangs of inward and conscious guilt; with no hope of future peace, no testimony of a good conscience, no expectation of honor or esteem among men, no hope of happiness in this life, or in the world to come. Such conduct in the apostles would moreover have been utterly irreconcilable with the fact, that they possessed the ordinary constitution of our common nature. ... If then their testimony was not true, there was no possible motive for its fabrication. "

(Galatians 1:2-5 KJV) "And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia: {3} Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, {4} 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: {5} To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."

• Why do you think the book of Galatians is called the "Magna Carta of Christian Liberty"?
• Who were the Galatians?
• Who was threatening the Galatians with their hybrid form of Christianity?
• Was Paul in a pleasant frame of mind when he, under the guidance of God the Spirit, wrote Galatians? Why do you think this?
• What does "Paul" mean in the ancient languages? Why is this significant?
• Did Paul earn or deserve the office he held?
• Who appointed Paul an Apostle?
• Who only can appoint Apostles, Pastors, Teachers, and Evangelists?