Would you turn to Galatians, the fourth chapter? I've entitled this, Weak and Beggarly Elements. Galatians chapter four, verse eight. How be it then, when you knew not God, you did service unto them which by nature are no gods? But now, after that you have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements? Where into you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days and months and times and years. I'm afraid of you. Lest I have bestowed upon you labor in vain. Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you for who you are, how we thank you for All your glorious attributes, your righteousness, your sovereignty, your holiness, your independence. Lord, you're altogether glorious, altogether of other. And we thank you for who you are. Lord, we pray that your gospel would be preached in the power of your spirit. And that you bless us with your grace and your loving kindness. We pray that you'd speak to our hearts and deliver us from hearing merely the words of a man, but let us hear from you in your words. Lord, we confess our sins and we say with David, our sin is ever before us, but how we thank you for the putting away of sin through the blood of your son. We pray for grace to be poor in spirit, to mourn, to be meek, to hunger and thirst after your righteousness, that we might be merciful, that we might be pure in heart, that we might be peacemakers and we ask for the grace to be persecuted for righteousness sake. Lord, those are great honors of your grace to all your people. Be with all your people, wherever they meet together, Lord, those of our number that are sick. Suffering. We pray for your hand upon them. Be with all your people, wherever they meet together in Christ. And we pray verse eight. How be it then when you knew not God, you didn't know who he was. You did service unto them, which by nature are no gods. Now there was a time when you did not know God. Um, and that was seen by the fact that you served those, which by nature are not gods at all. Now he's talking about the false gods of false religion. You serve them. You believe them now. I love the way he says they, by nature, are no gods. You thought they were gods, but they were not gods. Now listen to this statement. Any concept of God that is contrary to any of the attributes of God revealed in scripture is a non-existent God. A God that is not sovereign, completely sovereign, is no God at all. A God that is not utterly holy and righteous, that will not just pass over sin, is no God at all. A God who can let sin go unpunished. is no God at all. God that's not independent, that has no needs, is no God at all. Now he said, you did service, you served those which by nature are not God's at all. Now, when you know the living God, and I love the scripture, this is eternal life, that they might know thee, the only true God. And Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent, When you know the living God, when you hear a God that's not Him, you know it. You can discern it. This comes from an actual knowledge of the living God. And if you hear a God that's not Him, that's not Him. That's not the God of the Bible. Any God presented, small g God presented, that is not the God of the Bible is a non-existent man-made God. Now, notice his language. How be it then when you knew not God? You did service unto them which by nature are no gods, false gods, weak gods, pygmy gods. But now, after that you have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements where into you desire again to be in bondage. Now, now that you have known God. Now I want you to think about the awesomeness of that thought. I know God. And when I use his name, I'm not name dropping. He's someone I know. I know the living God. Every believer knows the Lord. I think the most powerful example of that is the thief on the cross. When he was first nailed to the cross, he didn't know him. He was cussing him like his buddy. But something took place. God made himself known to that man, and all of a sudden he knows what no one else knows. He's the Lord. He's God. He's not going to stay dead. He's going to come back as a mighty reigning king. How did he know all that? Because he knew who he was. He knew him. And every believer knows the living God. I repeat, it's not name-dropping. Some say, I know so-and-so. Well, I know the living God. And it's not Name drop it, but look how he says this, but now after the, you have known God or rather, this is a better thing to say rather are known of God. Now, while I know God, my knowledge is very minuscule. I'm aware of that. We see through a glass darkly. Don't you know that so? We see through a glass darkly. We know him, but how little we know of his infinite transcendent being. How little we really know of the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ. We see he's beautiful, but we're seeing through a glass darkly. That's scripture. teaches that we love him. We recognize him, but we have to say, we know very little of him. That's why I am so thankful. Paul says, now that you've known God or rather, this is a better thing to say are known of God. Now I'm not dependent on my knowledge of him. I'm dependent upon his knowledge of me. You know, there's a lot of folks he doesn't know. He's going to say to a great group on judgment day, depart from me, I never knew you. Depart from me ye that work iniquity, I never knew you. But listen to this scripture, second Timothy two 19, the foundation of God standeth sure having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his. Now here's what I'm depending on that he knows. Me, David said in Psalm 139, Dallas searched me. Oh God. And known me down. Noah's my down sitting down. Noah was my uprising. Now understand this. My thought of far off. He knows me. He knows me eternally. before I formed thee in the belly. Now, this is before you had any physical existence. This is before you were conceived. Think of this. This is true of every believer. This is so other, altogether glorious. Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee. I had personality before him eternally. You know why my name is my name? He named me. You say, well, your parents named you that. No, he named me that. He gave you your name. Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee. And he knows me completely. He knows me altogether. I love that scripture. He knows our frame. He remembers that we're dust. He knows me completely. Now, I've told this story before, but it's always made a deep impression on me. I remember I was working at Armco Steel Mill every summer when I was in school. And I remember there's a guy I made friends with. I can't remember his name now. He was from Greene County, Kentucky, and we would work together, and he was getting married that summer. And he was going on his honeymoon, and off he went. And he came back the week later, I said, how was your honeymoon? He said, I married a monster. And he was distraught. He didn't know her. He didn't know her. She wasn't what he thought she would be. Well, the Lord knows me and you all together. And do you know his knowledge of us? I mean, he knows everything about you. He knows all your weaknesses. He knows all your sinfulness. He knows everything. You can't hide anything from him. Be honest before him. He knows you. But you know that doesn't prevent him from loving you all together and seeing you as perfect in Christ Jesus, because that's what you are. perfect, holy, unblameable, and unapprovable in his sight. He knows me completely. He knows my name. He said to Moses, I know thee by name. Think about that. The Lord knows your name. He gave you your name. He knows you all together, and he knows us in Christ. Ephesians 1, 4 says, according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world. The believers accepted in the Beloved. Now, I want you to think about this. The Lord has never known you apart from the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Revelation 13, 8, he's called the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. And there's never been a time where the Lord Jesus was separated from me. He got it. to think that I've always been viewed in the lamb slain. And that's how the Lord's always loved me. That's how he's always seen me as clean and perfect and beautiful because I've always been in the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Now he says in verse nine, but now after that you have known God or rather are known of God. And isn't that what you're hoping in his knowledge of you. I'm not trusting my knowledge of him. I'm trusting his knowledge of me. But now after the, you've known God or rather are known of God question, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements wherein do you desire again to be in bondage now? Paul says to these people, after the Lord has saved you by his grace, what are you doing? Turning again to these weak and beggarly elements wherein do you desire to be in bondage? Now, what's he talking about? This word element, it's the first things. It's the ABCs. All of our words come out of our alphabet, don't they? The ABCs, the first things that's what elements means the ABCs. Why are you turning again to the ABCs of works? What's your motive? How can you do that? Turn with me for a moment to Colossians chapter two. Verse eight, beware. lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition of men, after the rudiments, that's the same word, the elements, the ABCs of the world, and not after Christ. Look in verse 20 of the same chapter. Wherefore, if you be dead with Christ from the rudiments, the elements, the ABCs of the world, Why, as though living in the world, are you subject to ordinances, man-made rules, touch not, taste not, handle not, which all are to perish with the using, after the commandments and doctrines of men. Now the ABCs, the elements of the world, what are they? Turn with me to Hebrews chapter five. This scripture is very similar to what was going on with the Galatians. Do you remember when Paul opened this letter, he said, I marvel. I'm amazed, Paul says, that you're so soon removed from him that called you to the grace of Christ and to another gospel. Now, that ought to scare us. It should. I mean, you ought to, what's going to keep me from this? Only his grace. Now, something very similar is said in Hebrews. Chapter five, I want, and this word elements is used again, Hebrews chapter five, verse 11. He'd been talking about Melchizedek and he said of whom we have many things to say and hard to be uttered, seeing that you are dull of hearing. For when for the time you ought to be teachers, you have need that one teach you again, which be the first principles of the oracles, the words of God." Now that word principles is the same thing as elements. You need to be taught once again, the ABCs of the gospel. Now, if me and you don't learn the alphabet, we're not going to make much progress in reading, will we? The ABCs of the gospel, the elements, the first principles of the gospel. Now, but somebody says, what are they? Well, we don't have to guess because he tells us in chapter six, verse one, therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on into perfection, not laying again the foundation. Now he's not saying we go on to better things. He's saying, we should not have, you ought not have to be learning the alphabet over and over and over again. If you're always having to learn the alphabet, you're never going to really make any progress in understanding the gospel. He said, we shouldn't have to be laying these things over and over again. You ought to be able to go A, B, C, D, after you just, it comes out of your heart, you believe it, you're grounded in it. And look what he says. Therefore, leaving the principles of the ABCs of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on into perfection, maturity, not laying again the foundation. If you're always laying the foundation over, there's some problems in there. He said, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms and of laying on of hands and of the resurrection of the dead and of an eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permit. Now here are the ABCs, the fundamentals of the gospel. And this is what Paul was asking the Galatians. Why are you leaving these things? And going back to the ABCs of the world, here are the ABCs of the gospel. And the very thing, first thing he mentions, and this is so important, repentance from dead works. Now, what in the world does that mean? Repentance from dead works. Anything done before regeneration is a dead work. That's easy enough, isn't it? I think the biggest illustration of it at work is free will. I've got to make a decision to accept Jesus Christ as my personal savior before he can save me. I've got to decide to accept his offer of forgiveness. The Lord said, all that ever came before me are thieves and robbers. Now, if there's something you need to do before he can do something for you, that is a dead work. That's what the Bible says. And what do you and I have to do about dead works? Repent of those dead works. Have a change of mind concerning them. See, they're nothing but dead, rotten. stinking works that could never your only hope is what God does for you. Not what you do for him, not what you allow him to do. Make Jesus the Lord of your life. That's so foolish. Lord, save me. And you even know that the Lord put that in your heart when you say, you know, you wouldn't even say that if apart from his grace, repentance from dead works and the next, uh, Alphabet of the gospel is faith towards God. Faith not works. Uh, when you look to Christ, you're having faith toward God, aren't you? You believe he's God. That's the only way you believe he can save you is because he's God. He's the God man. Uh, to him that worketh not. but believeth on him that justifies the ungodly. His faith is counted for righteousness. Faith or works? Works. And that's the ABCs of the world. I think it's interesting that the first letter of the alphabet for the ABCs of the world is F. Free will. Free will. That's where it begins. Why would you be going back to that, Paul says. And look what he says next. Verse 2. of the doctrine of baptisms. This is something we shouldn't have to always be laying down again, the doctrine of baptisms. Now, what is the doctrine of baptisms? Well, baptism signifies what? Union with Jesus Christ. Baptism says my only hope of being saved is that when He lived, I lived. When He kept the law, I was in Him, I kept the law. He is my obedience. When he died, I was in him, my sins were paid for and punished and put away. When he was raised from the dead, I was raised from the dead. That's a union with the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, anything that's contrary to union with Christ is the ABCs of the world. Anything that doesn't say my only hope is being united to him. That what he did, I did. His righteousness is my righteousness. Anything that's not that is no good. And the next thing he mentions is the doctrine of the laying on of hands. Now, when he's talking about the laying on of hands, he's not talking about a preacher laying his hands on somebody. This comes out of the Old Testament. Turn with me to Leviticus chapter 16. This is what the doctrine of the laying on of hands is. Verse 21, and Aaron shall lay both his hands, Leviticus 16, 21, and Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat. and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness, and the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited, and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness." Now, what is the doctrine of the laying on of hands? The only way my sins can be put away is by the Lord Jesus Christ bearing them. And if he bears them, I don't. The doctrine of the laying on of hands is his righteousness. Through my sin becoming his, his righteousness becomes mine. All through this symbolic act of the priest laying his hands on the head of the sacrifice. Here's the new Testament commentary on that. For he had made him sin. That's what that live goat, um, illustrates to us. I remember reading somewhere where a fellow said, well, a live sacrifice was never defiled. The goat was, wasn't he? He bore our sins. Now he never committed a sin, even when he was bearing my sins, but he bore our sins in his own body on the tree. That's the laying on of hands. It's the Old Testament, the sacrifice. My sins transferred to him, his righteousness given to me. So I become the righteousness of God, my sin being put away by what he did. And the next, now, now anything that's not that is the alphabet of the world. Anything that's not exactly like that. It's the alphabet of false religion works religion. Now, remember he's saying, wow, I'll turn you again to this, these weakened beggarly elements that ABCs of false religion. Now he says in verse two, the fifth thing he mentions is the resurrection of the dead. Christ was delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification. He accomplished my justification before God. He made it to where I stand before God. By his life, death, burial, and resurrection, I stand before God justified. The resurrection of the dead, the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. He was delivered from our fences, raised again for our justification. The resurrection from the dead and the new birth. I was dead in sins. He gave me life. Just like Lazarus was dead, Lazarus come forth. He that was dead came forth. And you have he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins. Now this is regeneration. This is the new birth. And anything that is not this is a false gospel. Anything that's not this, this is going back to the world. The last thing he speaks of is eternal judgment. Now, I love the way he calls this eternal judgment. God is eternal. Who made God? Nobody made him. He's eternal. And everything he does is eternal. I love this term, eternal judgment. I was eternally justified in the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Everything God does is eternal. Now He came in time to accomplish this, but what He does is eternal. Listen to this scripture, 2 Timothy 1.9, He saved us and He called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which were given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. He saved us. And he called us, the saving came before the calling. He saved us eternally in Christ Jesus and called us by his grace. Everything we have was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. And anything that is not just like that is a false alphabet of the world. That's turning again to those weak and beggarly elements. Now go back to Galatians. Let's begin in verse eight again. How be it then when you knew not God, you did service unto them, which by nature are no gods, but now after you've known God or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, the ABCs of the gospel of the false religion of man's religion. They're weak. They're powerless and they're impoverishing. They're beggarly. Where until you desire again to be in bondage? Paul saying this incredulously, how are you doing this? You observe and he's talking about old Testament days and months and times and years. Now look what he says. I'm afraid of you. And he looks at these people and when he sees their tendency to observe these things, he says, I'm afraid of you. lest I've bestowed labor upon you in vain. Look in verse 19 of this same chapter. My little children of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you. It seems to me that Christ is not formed in you because you're going back to works. He says, I desire to be present with you now and to change my voice. I hate talking like this. For I stand in doubt of you. I'm perplexed by you. You trouble me. And then he says, tell me you that desire to be under the law. Don't you hear the law? Don't you hear what the law says? All it does is condemn and you desire to go back to it. How turn you again to weaken beggarly elements. Being known of God and wanting to go back to works, how insane, how frightening, and here's what's most frightening. If it could happen to them, it could happen to us, apart from the grace of God. If it could happen to them, it could happen to us. Turn with me to 2 Peter 2. Verse 20. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world, you can call that the ABCs of the world too, can't you? Just the world. For if after they've escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome. The latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than after they've known it to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them." That's looking to Christ only. But it's happened unto them according to the true proverb, the dog has turned to his own vomit again and the pig that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. Paul put it this way in Galatians 6, verse 14, and may this be burned into our hearts. God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me. I see it for what it is, only in light of the cross. And the world to me, oh, weak and beggarly elements, salvation by works, how weak, how impoverishing. Why? Oh, may the Lord give us the grace to see the insanity of thinking about works when we're saved by the grace of God through the Lord Jesus Christ in which we glory. Amen.