Galatians: The Gospel of Freedom - St. John's Richmond

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Our SJR Sermon Series in Fall 2025 is Galatians: The Gospel of Freedom. The series begins September 7th, and concludes before Advent. The Apostle Paul writes a stern yet loving letter to the churches in Asia Minor, who are in danger of adding something extra, or some obligation, to Jesus Christ's death on the cross for certainty as a Christian. Galatians 3:3 is right at the heart of Paul's passion for the church, and for the gospel: "Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?" In other words, have the sincere yet false teachers convinced you that Jesus hasn't quite done enough to make you acceptable to God? And that you must add to what Jesus has already accomplished? Paul says, this is not just an aberration from the gospel, it is the destruction of it.

We see this tendency in ourselves and the church, to add things to what Christ has done. Sometimes it is subtle. Other times it is shockingly clear. But today we must be on guard. Could the Apostle address his letter to us today? How would we respond?