Sermon: “Dear Pharisees and Prodigals” from Dan Mitchum

On May 21, 1972, a mentally disturbed man entered Saint Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City and took a hammer to Michelangelo’s magnificent marble sculpture of Mary and Jesus. The masterpiece was struck 15 times before the assailant was apprehended. Mary’s arm was removed at the elbow, her nose was damaged, and one of her eyelids was chipped. The world responded with outrage, grief, and anger over this senseless act of vandalism. Paul wrote the book of Galatians in response to the damage being done to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Through his teaching, the believers had a clear picture of the wonder of God’s grace. But false teachers were distorting their view of Jesus. They claimed doing good works was also necessary for salvation. It’s like they sprayed graffiti over Christ’s work on the cross. In Galatians 3:1-14, Paul takes the Galatians—and us—back to the pure and undefiled message of the cross. He takes us back to the amazing truth that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

Scripture References: Galatians 3:1-14

More Sermons from Dan Mitchum

From Series: "Galatians"

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