Once again, it's been over a month since my last QT entry (and, yes, since my last time sitting down with the Bible. Sigh. I'm diving into Galatians and then back to the OT, perhaps for the minor prophets, I'm not sure yet. I'm open to your OT suggestions.
Galatians 1:1 - Paul pauses, briefly, to point out (or remind them) that he is an apostle, not because men decided he should be, but because Jesus himself had come to him and mad him one.
Galatians 1:3 - Paul reminds us of several things in this short greeting. 1) This age is evil. (So don't be surprised when men do evil things.) 2) Christ gave himself for our sins to deliver us from said evil. (Amen!) and 3) That was God's idea and desire. (Amen again!)
Galatians 1:6-9 - I think this passage ought to give us more pause than it seems to. Paul says if anyone preaches a different gospel than what was originally given, they should be cursed. To that many would say "Amen!", yet we see many gospels in what is broadly seen as Christianity today. We see a gospel of prosperity, that God want's you to have stuff, we see a gospel of works where we must perform to get into or stay in God's favor, we see the self help gospel and more. if we agree that there is but one true gospel and that those who preach another ought to be cursed, then we should be sobered and consider hard the gospel that we preach. Is it the gospel or another? Or is it the Gospel plus our own pet convictions and doctrines?
So, should we be timid in proclaiming it, lest we get it wrong? No, the fact that it is so precious and so frequently mis-preached means that, while being careful to preach only what is from Christ, we ought to, in fact we must, proclaim it constantly in order to keep it fresh in our minds and the minds of those around us that any gospel that is false me be immediately seen as such.
Galatians 1:11-24 - Paul says that he did not stop to consult any man, even the leaders in Jerusalem, before he started preaching the Gospel. So, it wasn't Man's, it was straight from Christ, through Paul, to the people. There was no need to consult with the leaders, to craft a position or draw up a statement. The Gospel needed no polish or spin then, nor does it today.
