Sharon Reformed Presbyterian Church · Sermon study sheet

The Gospel Defined and Defended (Galatians 1:1-10)

Bryan Schneider · December 26, 2020

Scripture passage not listed

sharonrpc.org/sermons/the-gospel-defined-and

Summary

The church is a place where sinners receive good news, not a gathering of people who have made themselves righteous.
God's law exposes universal guilt and closes every path to justification through human obedience.
The gospel announces that Christ gave himself for sins and that God freely justifies through faith in Christ alone.
Salvation magnifies God's grace and glory because sinners contribute no righteousness of their own.
Paul pronounces a curse on every altered gospel, even when it arrives through an impressive teacher or claimed angelic messenger.
Any addition to Christ as the ground of acceptance—ritual, faithfulness, self-improvement, possessions, or other works—perverts the gospel.
Believers must know Scripture, reject plausible counterfeits, and rest entirely in Jesus' finished work.

Can I define the gospel from Scripture rather than only repeat familiar religious language?
Where am I tempted to treat obedience, sincerity, or improvement as part of the ground of my justification?
Why can God's law reveal sin but never supply the righteousness a sinner needs?
How does salvation by grace alone give glory to God and assurance to the believer?
What appealing philosophies or religious claims add something to Christ's finished work?
Would I reject a different gospel even if it were delivered by a respected leader or supernatural messenger?

Gospel: The good news that Christ gave himself for sinners and provides the righteousness by which God freely accepts them.
Justification: God's free act of pardoning sinners and accounting them righteous for Christ's obedience and satisfaction received by faith alone.
Propitiation: Christ's sacrificial satisfaction of divine justice on behalf of sinners.
Another gospel: A counterfeit message that changes Christ's gospel by denying its truth or adding human works as a ground of acceptance.
Legalism: Seeking or preserving acceptance with God through personal obedience rather than resting in Christ alone.