Would you turn to Galatians 1. I've entitled this study, The Revelation of Jesus
Christ. Now you'll see why I entitled
it as we read this passage of scripture. Verse six, I marvel that you are so soon removed
from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another
gospel, which is not another. But there be some that trouble
you and would pervert, change the gospel of Christ. But though
we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto
you than that which we preached unto you, Let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now
again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that
which you have received, let him be accursed for. Do I now persuade men or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I yet please men, I should
not be the servant of Christ. But I certify you, brethren,
that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. It's not derived from any human
source. For I neither Received it of
man? Neither was I taught it, but
by the revelation of Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Lord, we ask in Christ's name
that we might have the revelation of Jesus Christ to our hearts. Lord, we can't know you except
you reveal yourself to us. And we ask in Christ's name that
we might enter in to the revelation of thy dear son. Lord, if we have that, we have
all things. In Christ's name we pray, amen. The revelation of Jesus Christ. The word means the laying bare,
making naked. It's a disclosure of truth concerning
things before unknown. You don't see, now you see. Things that were not seen are
made visible, a manifestation, an appearance. Now you and I
will not and cannot know Christ unless he makes himself known
to us. We are completely, I can't, Say
this clearly enough, we're completely dependent upon him to reveal
himself to us or we will not know him. You know that, don't
you? Revelation, the revelation of
Jesus Christ. And the only way you can know
what's going on in my mind, you can guess. Lynn thinks she knows
all the time. She knows what I'm thinking.
A lot of times she does, but she doesn't know invalidly what
she's saying I do. The point is, the only way you
can truly know what's going on in my mind is if I make it known.
The only way I can know what's going on in your mind right now,
infallibly, is if you make it known to me. The revelation of
Jesus Christ. We're going to be looking at
this next week, but let's peek ahead, verse 13. For you've heard
of my conversation in times past in the Jews religion. I like the way he calls it the
Jews religion. How that beyond measure I persecuted the church
of God and wasted it and profited in the Jews religion above many
my equals in mine own nation being more exceeding zealous
of the traditions of my fathers. But when it pleased God who separated
me from my mother's womb and called me by his grace to reveal
his son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen. Immediately I conferred naught
with flesh and blood to reveal his son in me." Now, back, back
up to verse six. We looked at this last week,
but I'm going to make a couple of comments again. Verse six,
I marvel, I'm utterly dumbfounded by this,
he's saying, I'm amazed that you are so soon removed from
him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another
gospel. Now, I love that name for the
gospel, the grace of Christ, the saving grace of Christ. I love what Peter said. We believe
that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be
saved, even as they. And the grammatical construction
of that, we've been saved, we're being saved, we will be saved. Now something that preachers
generally use, God offers you salvation. God offers you the
forgiveness of sins. offers you acceptance with him.
He does no such thing. He saves. Salvation is saving
grace. By grace, you've been saved. You're plumb saved. By grace,
you're being saved right now. By grace, you will be saved. Now, he says, I marvel. I'm astonished. that you're so soon removed.
He says to these people, they learned the gospel through him
and they left. They defected. He said, I'm marveled. I'm amazed. Have you found something
better? Do you no longer need him? I'm amazed by this. I marvel
that you're so soon removed from him that called you into the
grace of Christ and to another gospel, which is not another,
but there'll be some that trouble you. and would pervert or change
the gospel of Christ. But though we are an angel from
heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we preached
unto you, let him be," now here's the word, damned, sent to hell. Now Paul was a
man who loved the souls of men. He said, I could wish that I
myself were a curse from Christ for my brethren. my kinsmen,
according to the flesh." He's saying, I would be willing, and
I don't understand this, but he's saying I would be willing
to be damned if they would be saved. Now, the Lord was willing
to be damned that we might be saved. I think that's a picture
of the gospel in a very real way. But Paul loved the souls
of men. Yet he makes this statement,
if anybody preaches anything else, let them be anathema, cursed
upon the return of the Lord. And then he says in verse nine,
as we said before, so say I now again, if someone didn't hear
me, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that which
you've received, let him be accursed. Four. Do I now persuade men? Now that word persuade, when
it says, do I now persuade men or persuade God? We don't try
to persuade God. The word means appease. And he
lets us know in the next statement, do I please men or God? But do
I appease men or God? Who is it I'm seeking to be pleased
with what I'm saying? Men or God? We, I wish this would come across
the right way, but I love what Scott Richardson said, we're
in the people business. We are. We want men to hear the
gospel, to know the gospel. We want them to be saved by the
grace of God. We're in the people business.
And the Lord said, follow me and I'll make you fishers of men.
Every believer is called on in following Christ to be a fisher
of men, to seek the salvation of men. Don't you want to see
thousands of people here this morning loving the gospel? Of
course you do. We love men. We're not indifferent
about the salvation of men. We want men to come to a saving
knowledge of Jesus Christ the Lord. We greatly desire that.
And that being said, Who do you want to be pleased
with what you're saying, men or God? I'm a whole lot more concerned
with what he thinks than what any man thinks. Now that's what
Paul is saying, and really you don't want to hear somebody that's
concerned about pleasing men. Look what Paul says in verse
10, for do I now persuade men or God? Or do I seek to please
men? If I yet please men, I should
not be the servant of Christ." Now, the scripture that I thought
that would most accurately describe this attempt to please men is
when Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1, 17, Christ sent me not to
baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words. Not
trying to make the gospel appealing to the flesh. Not trying to remove
the offense of the gospel so men will be more likely to receive
it. Not trying to be relevant. I've
heard preachers say, we make the scriptures relevant. You're
totally irrelevant when you say something like that. I mean,
this is God's word. Make it relevant? You know, I
can't help it. Maybe I shouldn't even say this,
but the John MacArthur Study Bible. The Todd Nyberg Study Bible.
It doesn't make sense, does it? Any kind of a man? No, no. This is the Word of God. We don't
make it relevant. We preach it seeking for please. I want the Lord to be pleased
with what's being said with regard to him. And that's what he's
saying. Do I now please men, seek to please men or God? If
I please men, if men were happy with this, guess what? I'm not even the servant of Jesus
Christ. Oh, may the Lord deliver us from
trying to present the gospel to make it more appealing to
the flesh, to keep flesh happy. Oh, may the Lord deliver us from
that. To preach the gospel as it is. Look what he says in verse
11. I certify you, brethren. I assure
you, brethren, this is the truth. that the gospel which was preached
of me was not after man. It was not derived from any human
source. I'm not trying to preach myself
and my own ideas and my own thoughts, but Christ Jesus, the Lord. Look at the way he began this
epistle in verse one. Paul, an apostle. The word apostle means a saint,
one. God sent Paul. Paul, an apostle, not of man, but by the will of God. Paul,
an apostle, not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ and
God the Father who raised him from the dead. Now, why is Paul
making An issue of this, he's showing that the gospel he preached
was the gospel of God. It's not the gospel of man. It
has as its origin, God, not my thoughts, not my take. God is
the author of this. I'm bringing a message that doesn't
have anything to do with my thoughts, but God's thoughts. This is not my definition. This
is God's definition, the gospel of God that has its origin from
God Himself and its end is His glory. That's the gospel of God. It comes from God and its great
end is His glory. Now, most religion emphasizes
man and the help God can give him. God can help you in your
life. God can improve your life. God
can do things for you. Man and the help God can give
him. That is the wrong emphasis. It's
God and His glory. And this is what Paul is speaking.
He says, I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached
to me was not after man. I want you to turn to Romans
chapter one for a moment. Verse 16. Paul says, for I'm not ashamed
of the gospel of Christ. Now, let me say this. Not only
am I not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, I'm proud of the gospel
of Christ. It's a gospel worthy of God, worthy of the glory of
God. I'm not ashamed of this gospel.
I glory in it. This is the saving gospel. This
is the gospel of God. I'm not ashamed of this. You
know, I love the gospel we preach and believe because it glorifies
and honors God in all of his attributes. And it saves sinners
like me. I'm not ashamed. I'm proud of
the gospel. I never want to, by the grace
of God, be ashamed to boldly preach the gospel. Now I know
I will be if he doesn't cause me to. I realize that. I realize
every one of us will chicken out when it comes right down
to it if the Lord doesn't preserve us. But don't you know this is
the truth. I'm not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ. And here's why. For it, the gospel
of Christ, is the power of God unto salvation. It's only the
gospel that's the power of God unto salvation. Now, understand
this, a false gospel cannot save. Do you understand that? A false
gospel, one that is not this gospel, cannot save. No one is ever saved by believing
a false gospel. If I have not believed the gospel,
I have never been saved. It's the gospel that's the power
of God into salvation. I've heard people say, do you
believe in gospel regeneration? Well, with the Holy Spirit, yeah,
I do. Yeah, I do. It's the power of
the gospel that regenerates, that gives life from the dead.
That's what he calls it. I'm not ashamed of the gospel.
It's the power of God to salvation, to everyone that believeth, to
the Jew first and also to the Greek. For therein, in the gospel,
is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith as it's written,
the just shall live by faith. The gospel reveals the righteousness
of God. Now there's no more important
phrase than that, the righteousness of God. I was reading the paper
this morning and I want to be very sympathetic and I would
want to help people who have suffered in these things, tornadoes
or floods or whatever, the horrible things people suffer. But when
people start saying, where's God in all this? Who do you think
you are? What do you mean, where is God
in all this? He's where he's always been. He's on the throne. He's
in control of everything. And when I'm starting to sit
and judge me on God, how could a good God let that happen? That's
so hypocritical for any man to say something like that. When
we're so sinful, all of a sudden we think we can judge God and
say, why does God let this happen? Why does God? God's righteous. His character is righteous. He's
altogether righteous. He's righteous if he sends me
to hell. He's righteous in my condemnation. For some son of Adam to sit in
judgment on God, say, how could God let that happen? No, God's
God. He's righteous. Thou, by his
grace in your heart, he's righteous. He's righteous in my condemnation. And thank God he's righteous
in my salvation. He makes me to where I deserve
his favor because the righteousness of his son is my personal righteousness
before God. Now that's the righteousness
of God. Therein, in the gospel, his righteous character is revealed,
his righteousness in my condemnation, his righteousness in my salvation.
Thank God for his gospel. Look in Romans chapter three. The righteousness of God revealed,
now let's read beginning in verse 19. Now we know that what thing
soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law,
that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become
guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the
law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. For by
the law is the knowledge of sin. But now, now here's that phrase,
the righteousness of God. But now the righteousness of
God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and
the prophets is what the Old Testament scriptures have always
taught. Even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of
Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe. For there's
no difference for all have sinned and come short of the glory of
God being justified freely by his grace through the redemption
that is in Christ Jesus whom God has set forth to be a propitiation
through faith in his blood to declare his righteousness, not
simply his mercy, not simply his grace. To declare his righteousness
for the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance
of God. To declare, I say at this time, his righteousness
that he might be just and the justifier of him which believeth
in Jesus. I'm not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ. It's the power of God unto salvation. I go back to Galatians chapter
one. Verse 12, I certify you, brethren,
that the gospel which was preached to me was not after man, I neither
received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus
Christ. Now, three times in the book
of Acts, we have recorded Paul's experience of Christ revealing
himself to him on the road to Damascus. I think it's interesting
that Luke had it recorded three times and twice it was Paul's
testimony of what took place. First in Acts chapter nine, but
then in Acts chapter 22, let's read this. This is Paul's testimony
of the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ, Acts 22. Verse one. Men, brethren, and fathers. I like the respect that he's,
these people are getting ready to have him thrown in jail. They've
tried to tear him apart. And look at the way he speaks
to them. Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defense, which I now
make unto you. Now remember, this is the same
group that had been trying to pull him into pieces. just a
few minutes before, and he's delivered by the Roman soldiers,
and now he makes an address to these people, and here's what
he has to say. And when they heard that he spake
in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence, and
he saith, I am barely a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city
in Cilicia, yet brought up into this city at the feet of Gamaliel.
and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers
and was zealous toward God as you are this day. And I persecuted
this way, this way of grace, this way of Christ unto the death,
binding and delivering unto prisons both men and women. As also the
high priest doth bear me witness in all the estate of the elders,
from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to
Damascus to bring unto them which were bound in Jerusalem for to
be punished. And it came to pass that as I
made my journey, I was come nigh into Damascus about noon. Suddenly
there shone from heaven a great light round about me. And I fell
into the ground and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why
persecutest thou me? And I answered, who art thou,
Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus
of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. And they that were with me saw
indeed the light and were afraid, but they heard not the voice
of him that spake to me. And I said, what shall I do,
Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise
and go unto Damascus, and there it shall be told thee of all
things which are appointed for thee to do. And when I could
not see for the glory of that light being led by the hand of
them that were with me, I came unto Damascus, and one Ananias,
a devout man according to the law, having a good report of
all the Jews which dwelt there, came unto me, and stood, and
said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour
I looked up upon him and he said, the God of our fathers have chosen
thee that thou should know his will. That's not talking about
knowing his will for your life. I want to know his will for me
as far as where I ought to work or where I live. That's not talking
about that. That's talking about his will
of redemption. This is the will of him that
sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing,
but raise it up again at the last day. The God of our fathers
hath chosen thee that thou should know his will and see that just
one. I love the way the Lord Jesus
Christ is called that just one, the one who made the way for
God to be just. and justify the ungodly, and
should hear the voice of his mouth. For thou should be his
witness unto all men of what you've seen and what you've heard."
Now, Paul says once again in verse 12 of Galatians chapter
1, For I neither received it, the gospel that I believe, I
neither received it of men, neither was I taught it. I wasn't taught
it by Peter or John. I was taught directly by the
Lord Jesus Christ himself. And as a matter of fact, you
go on reading in Galatians chapter one, he spent three years in
Arabia in the desert with the Lord teaching him the gospel. You can read in 2 Corinthians
chapter 12 where he was brought up into the third heavens. He
says, whether in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell.
The Lord knoweth. He was brought into the third
heavens and heard unspeakable words which are not lawful for
a man to utter. Now what I take from that is
there's some kind of heavenly language that you and I don't
know anything about. And we wouldn't understand it if we heard it.
But he understood the truth of that language that he communicates
to us. This is the gospel that I preach
to you, the gospel of the revelation of Jesus Christ. I want you to
think about this. If you know the gospel, Jesus
Christ personally taught you the gospel. You didn't learn
it from a man. You might have learned through
his voice, but man's not the teacher. Jesus Christ himself
personally taught you the gospel. Now he didn't appear to you the
way he did to Paul as far as a physical manifestation, but
it's just as much him with you as it was with Paul. It's the
revelation of Jesus Christ. When it pleased God who separated
me from my mother's womb and called me by His grace to reveal,
to uncover, to make bare, to make know His Son. And I love
the way He said, in me. He didn't say to me. If all the
Lord did was reveal Himself to me, that's not enough. I won't remember. I'll leave. He revealed His Son in me. That I might preach him among
the heathen. Now what is involved, closing,
what is involved in revelation? Well, number one, God's word. God's word. There is no revelation
of the person of Jesus Christ apart from the word of God. What is involved in revelation? God speaks. Turn to 1 Thessalonians chapter
2. Now this is not talking about
hearing an audible voice. Anytime somebody says, God told
me to do this. Somebody said that recently.
God told me to do this. God told me to, they actually
said, God told me to tune into the, God never told you that. You might've been impressed to
do something, but you didn't hear words saying, God said,
do this, do it. No. First Thessalonians chapter
two, verse 13. This cause also thank we God
without ceasing, because when you receive the word of God,
which you heard of us, you received it not as the word of men. But
as it is in truth, the word of God. That's what it is to have
him revealed to you. When he speaks to you, you know,
it's his word. It's his truth. It's not man's
production. It didn't come from man. It's the word of God. To have Christ revealed, yes,
it's to hear the voice of the Son of God. It's also to have
a heart to receive it. to be given a heart to receive
it. You won't receive the word of
God unless God gives you a heart to receive it. I think of that
parable the Lord gave of the patchwork. You don't take new
cloth and put it on an old fabric that's gonna rip it up, and you
don't take new wine and put it into old bottles. God doesn't
take the new wine of the gospel and put it in that old heart
of yours. He gives you a new one to receive it. And to hear it,
a new heart, hearing ears. I love the way the Lord says
this over and over again. If any man have ears to hear,
not everybody does, only those he gives these ears to. If any
man have ears to hear, let him hear. A new nature, a heart to
receive, the new birth, that's what's involved in the revelation
of Jesus Christ, the word of God, him speaking. Him giving
you ears to hear and a heart to receive and you believe. That's what happens when God
reveals himself to you. You believe the gospel. You really do. It's good news
to you. It's you know, it's the truth
of God. It is the gospel. That is the revelation of Jesus
Christ. Now. If. You don't believe that Christ
himself has revealed himself to you. Ask him to do it. Do you know he's never turned
down anybody who asked him? If you ask the Lord, Lord, For
Christ's sake, reveal yourself to me. He will reveal himself
to you and you're going to know something about the revelation
of Jesus Christ, who he is, what he did, why did it, where he
is now. the revelation of Jesus Christ.