Paul speaks of Deliverance From An Evil Age through the grace of God (1:3-5)
INTRODUCTION
1. Paul's greeting to the churches of Galatia (Ga 1:3) contains words of
grace and peace...
a. From God the Father
b. And our Lord Jesus Christ
What is Grace?
The unmerited favor of God:
Undeserved Eph. 2:8-9
Freely Given- “The gift of God”
Transforming Joh 1:16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
2Co 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same
image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Sufficient 2 Corinthians 12:9 1Co 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man:
but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also
make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
Abiding: 2 Corinthians 4:16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward
man is renewed day by day.
2. As an illustration of such grace and peace, Paul continues in vers 4...
a. "who gave Himself for our sins" (grace!)
b. "that He might deliver us from this present evil age" (peace!)
3. I would like to direct our attention to the latter phrase...
a. Undoubtedly we have heard much about Jesus dying for our sins
b. But what of this idea of delivering us from an evil age?
4. The word "age" (aion) as used here means "period of time"...
a. Paul has in mind the present period of time
b. Paul views this time as evil - cf. Ep 5:16; Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 6:13 Wherefore take
unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
[Do we take seriously the evil of this age? Do we appreciate the
deliverance that Jesus provides? Consider for a few moments...]
I. THE EVIL OF THIS PRESENT AGE
A. EVIL IN PAUL'S DAY...
1. Paul described the sins of those in his day - Ro 1:18-32
a. Against whom the wrath of God was coming
b. For denying the Creator and suppressing the truth
c. Given up to their own vile passions, they fell into depravity
d. They were filled with all sorts of unrighteousness
2. He called such sins 'the works of the flesh' - Ga 5:19-21
a. Sins that are evident (to those not blinded by them)
b. Sins unrepented of that will keep one out of the kingdom of heaven - 1 Co 6:9-10
-- Paul and the early Christians found themselves living in an evil time
B. EVIL IN OUR DAY...
1. Today, many think lightly of such things as: fornication, adultery, divorce
2. One is considered enlightened when they support: abortion, homosexuality, same-sex marriage
3. More and more our culture is accepting: lasciviousness, pornography, drug abuse
4. All of which reflect a world view impacted by: humanism, evolution, selfishness
-- Today we find ourselves living in a very evil time
[Yes, things are not much different today than they were in Paul's day. Yet Jesus gave Himself for our sins "that
He might deliver us from this present evil age" (Ga 1:4). Consider therefore...]
| GRACE TO YOU; GLORY TO HIM! |
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