All right, turn with me back
to Galatians chapter 1. Galatians chapter 1, text is found again in verse
6. I'm going to continue the message that I started last week. Entitled, One True Gospel. One True Gospel. The apostle
here says, 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 the gospel of Christ. Then he gives this announcement
that though we, if I were to come back to you, if I who initially
preached this gospel to you, whom you love, whom you received
it from, if I or one of these other men come back to you, or
an angel from heaven come down." Now, it's not going to happen.
Paul's not going to preach another gospel. Nor is an angel from
heaven going to come down and preach any other gospel. But
he says, he's using the highest point of hyperbole here. He said,
you know, it doesn't matter who it is. If they preach any other gospel
than we preached unto you, let him go to hell. Strong language,
friends. Why? Because this is a vital,
important issue. The gospel. The gospel. And as we said before, I say
again, in case you missed it, if any preach Any other gospel
than that you have received, let him be accursed. Let him go to hell. Again, strong
language. Why? Why is Paul doing this?
Because there's only one gospel. It is vital that we understand
that there is one gospel. There are not multiple gospels.
There's only one. Our Lord warned us of those coming
in, wolves in sheep's clothing. Why? Because we are susceptible. Being sheep, we are susceptible
to these things. And so he warns against any perversion
of the gospel. And he gives this in a tone of
animosity, and he says, you know, out of love for them, I'm amazed.
I'm just astounded that you have moved to another gospel. Believers
in Christ, we know this, that there's only one gospel, there's
only one message of salvation, one message of God to sinners,
one message of hope, righteousness, justification, sanctification,
and redemption. And that is the message of Jesus
Christ and Him crucified. This is the message of the gospel.
It is, in sum, the person and the work of Jesus Christ in the
salvation of God's elect. It is the gospel. And any addition
to this gospel is an abomination. This gospel that we preach, we
must preach the gospel, yes, in humility, understanding that
if I understand the gospel, it is because of God's grace. If
I know the gospel, it is because of God's grace. I do not know
this gospel because of anything in me or my ability or my academic
understanding. No, I know this gospel only by
the grace of God. So I'm not to look down upon
men concerning this. When we preach the gospel of
God's grace, we are to do it with simplicity. And we're to
do it very carefully because there's only one. And I told
you I've had nine irrefutable statements concerning this gospel
we preach. I'm going to give you the first three very summatious-wise
because that's where I got to, three or four, I don't remember.
But the first one is this, the source of our gospel is the inerrant,
infallible Word of God. This is the source, you have
it in your hand, this is the source of the gospel. It is the
word of God. Why? Because God has exalted
His word above His name. You understand that? That God
says, I'm putting my name on this book. And if something is
wrong with this book, my name is affected. And God says, I'm
exalting this word above my name. And so the psalmist writes this,
therefore I will esteem all thy precepts concerning all things
to be right. You know what I say about this
book? It's all right. All of it. I didn't mean it's
all right. I mean, it is all correct. It
is all perfectly right. Whatever God says in this word. It's right, and I hate every
false way. I hate everything that is against
this book. Why? Because this is the source
of all our faith and practice. Why? It is the one true gospel. The source of the one true gospel
is the Word of God. And the whole Word of God is
concerning what? Concerning Jesus Christ. Beginning
at Moses, when Christ came back, when Christ was risen from the
dead, He met with His disciples, and on the road to Emmaus, the
scripture says, beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He
expounded unto them in all the scriptures things concerning
Him, He told the Pharisees, search the scriptures, in them you think
you have eternal life. They are they that testify of
me. So this word, this gospel is
Jesus Christ. The whole word of God is concerning
Christ, His work. And so this is the source of
our gospel. Now the second thing I mention
is this, the God that we preach, Out of this word is absolutely
sovereign. Any God who is not sovereign
is not God. You read Isaiah and you can't
help but see that this is always the comparison. God is always
comparing himself to false gods. He said the false god, he has
a mouth, he has hands, he has feet, he's made and he's dressed
in, he's dipped in gold. But he can't walk, he can't talk,
he can't do anything. He is not sovereign. And Isaiah
46, God said, I am God and there is none else declaring the end
from the beginning. See, that's how he separates
himself. He says the false God can't tell you anything. I'm
telling you the end from the beginning. from ancient times
of things that were not yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand,
and I will do all my pleasure in time, eternity, and providence. What's happening is the exact,
exactly what God decreed to happen. Everything. Everything. I think
that should just comfort our hearts. I think it should just,
we should be content. that everything is moving according
to the will of God. Our God is in the heavens. And
hath done what? Whatsoever he pleased. So any God that is preached,
that is not sovereign, is not the gospel. He's not preaching
the God of this book. But especially in this matter
of salvation, and we're going to see this more closely, God
is not only God of, and most religion won't They won't argue
with you saying God's sovereign in providence or God's sovereign
over events. When you start talking about
the sovereignty of God and salvation, that salvation is 100% the work
of God, that's when men will start telling you different.
They'll differ with you. And so we know this to be true. We
who hear the gospel and believe it, that God is sovereign. The
third thing I pointed out last week was this, that man, according
to this gospel, is totally, absolutely, completely, and utterly depraved. That we are born into this world
not partially depraved. We are totally and absolutely
ruined in the fall. Paul says the carnal mind is
enmity against God. It is enmity against God. Why? For it is not subject to
the law of God, neither indeed can be. It doesn't matter how
you dress up the corpse. It's still a corpse. You can
make all the religious garb and you can put it on him and it
doesn't make him anything but a dressed up corpse. We are dead
in sins. You know who knows that? Someone
who's been risen. Somebody who's been raised from
the dead. And you had the quickened. What's your experience in this?
And you had the quickened who were dead. You were dead. I was
dead. I couldn't come to Christ. I
didn't want to come to Christ, but I didn't want to come to
Christ really because I couldn't. Had no ability to come to Christ. So this matter of the gospel,
listen, if anybody's preaching a partial depravity, or a partial
death, then they're not preaching the gospel because they're telling
you that man has something to do, something to add. So the gospel we proclaim is
that man is completely and utterly fallen Our Lord Jesus Christ declared
that plainly, didn't he, in John 6, 44? No man can. You don't have to be an English
scholar to understand that has to do with ability. No man can
come to me. Now, why can't he? Because he's
dead. Because he's dead. And the fourth
thing that I want you to see about this gospel that we preach
is that God has chosen some of Adam's race in sovereign election. The gospel we preach declares
that God has chosen to save some of Adam's race. Go to 2 Thessalonians chapter
2. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. Paul is giving thanks here. We're bound to give thanks always
to who? To God. Why? Because God's the
source of it. God is the source of it. We'll
give thanks to God for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord. Now why
are we giving thanks to God? Tonight, you can give thanks
to God. Now why? Why would you give thanks to God? I give thanks
to God for you. Why? Because God hath from the
beginning chosen you to salvation. I told you about that phone call
one time I had. I don't get many phone calls,
but that's one of them. And it always stick in my mind,
someone telling me, well, you tell me where election's unto
salvation, and I'll believe it. God hath chosen you to salvation. Well, he hung up on me. Didn't
even get to finish. But this is praiseworthy, isn't
it? Isn't this something to be thankful
for? Isn't this something to be joyful about? That God has
from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification
of the spirit and belief of the truth. Because of man's depravity,
we would have never come. You understand the necessity
of election? In preaching the gospel, we must
preach the election of God, because if there were no election, there
would be no salvation. Had God not chosen us to salvation,
none of us would have been saved. None of us. You see the point
of thanks? Thank you. Thank God for election. That's why Paul begins Ephesians,
thanks, praise be unto God the Father. Why? Because he had chosen us in Christ
before the foundation of the world. He'd given praise to the
Father for it. Man, you that are saved, you should, we should,
I mean, I know, are you discontent as I am about things? Because
I am. I find things that I'm just not thankful when I should
be the most thankful person in the world that God has chosen
me. Why? Only by grace. Ain't nothing
here. Ain't nothing here to choose.
It's nothing to choose me because of me. because we could not come to
God. Matter of fact, Isaiah tells us that we would have, had God
not left to remit, what would we be like? We would have all
been as Sodom and like unto Gomorrah. Jesus told those disciples, you
have not chosen me. And you didn't believe. Wait,
do we not say, give me Jesus? I mean, I do. I want him. I do. I choose him. Christ said. Only reason you say anything
like that is because I chose you. He's right. He's right. You have
not chosen me, but I have chosen you. So the preaching of the
election of God is sweet. To the ears of God's people. It's sweet, isn't it? So praise God for His love. Praise
God for His mercy. Therefore, with joy, we preach
the election of grace. I don't hesitate to preach the
election. Why? I rejoice in it. I'm happy because
of it. It makes me joyful. We sing that hymn often, "'Tis
not that I did choose thee, O Lord, that could not be, this heart
would still refuse thee had thou not chosen me. Thou from sin
that stained me hath cleansed and set me free. Thou of old
hath ordained me that I should live to thee. So we praise God
for this sovereign election. And without election, you're
not preaching the gospel. Not just so. Fifth thing is this, that Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, is the effectual redeemer of his people. And what do I mean by effectual?
I mean it gets the job done. That's what it means. That Jesus
Christ actually redeemed his people. He actually redeemed
them. The false gospel holds that Christ
made an attempt The false gospel of this generation holds that
Christ died for all men in the hopes that they would choose
Him. That they would, by the exercise
of their will or by the obedience of their flesh, that they might
have somewhat to attain to His offering. In other words, there are some
people that Christ died for in hell. This would make him an utter
failure. An utter failure. We preach no
such Christ. I do not rejoice in a Christ
that failed. We rejoice in a Christ that succeeded. We rejoice in
a Christ that could not fail. This is exactly what Isaiah says
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He shall not fail. Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
God purposed Him to be our surety. He purposed that all the salvation
of the elect should rest in Him. He chose us in Christ before
the foundation of the world, in love predestined us unto the
adoption of children by Jesus Christ. So then all of the salvation
of the elect were totally, absolutely, 100% dependent upon the work
and the person of Jesus Christ. All our salvation, all of it,
was totally dependent upon Him. And God gives us the comforting
word, He shall not fail. That's good. That's good news. That's glad tidings of great
joy to us. He shall not fail nor be discouraged. And what was his work? His work
was to fulfill the law of God in our stead and satisfy the
justice of God for us. That was his work. That was the
will of God. Go to Isaiah. Go to Isaiah 53. Read what his work, this servant
of God that was to come. It was the work of Jesus Christ. Verse six, it says, we all like
sheep have gone astray and turned everyone to his own wake. What's
the hope of us who went astray? Here it is, the Lord had laid
on him the iniquity of us all. Listen, he was oppressed and
was afflicted, and yet he opened not his mouth. He was brought
as a lamb before the slaughters of sheep before his shears was
done, so he opened not his mouth. He was taken from prison and
from judgment. That's exactly what happened
to him, wasn't it? His whole life he was oppressed. His whole
life he was despised and rejected, hated, a man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces
from him. We esteemed him stricken, smitten
of God, and afflicted. He was oppressed. He was taken
from prison to judgment. That's exactly what happened
with Herod and with Pilate. He was taken from prison to judgment.
And then what's gonna happen to him? Who shall declare his
generation for he's gonna die? They're gonna cut him off out
of the land of the living. For what? For what cause? For
the transgression of my people was he stricken. He made his grave with the wicked
and with the rich in his death because he had done no violence,
neither was there deceit found in his mouth. He was righteous.
Isn't that what he's saying he's going to be? Righteous. Yet he
made his grave with the wicked. Isn't that what happened to all
wicked men? Why did we all die? Because of sin. That's what happens
to wicked men. And the rich in his death, that
Joseph of Arimathea, he carved out that tomb for himself, had
no idea what he was doing. He's fulfilling the scripture.
He'll make his grave with the rich. All of this it pleased the Lord
to bruise him. You want to know what pleases
God? The death of his son. That alone
pleased God. Satisfied he He hath put him
to grief, when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin,
he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure
of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the
travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge
shall my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their
iniquities. You see, the work of the Lord
Jesus Christ, according to our gospel, it was to satisfy the
justice of God for our sins. It was the will of God that Jesus
Christ accomplished the righteousness of God for us. This was his work. And this was no work that was left up to man to fulfill
or make valid. When you believed in Christ,
did that validate His work? No, you believing in Christ was
just a product of it. The reason we believe in Christ
is because of His perfect work. So then behold the perfect obedience
of Jesus Christ, who obtained our righteousness, even the righteousness
of God, that is unto all and upon all them that believe. Therefore,
if Christ left one sin for us to pay for, one sin, one act
of righteousness that we had to perform, if one thing was
left for us to do, we would all perish. But this is
the joy of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that all is done. This is the gospel we preach
of a victorious Savior. And how do we know He was victorious?
Because God raised Him from the dead. Does this not thrill your
hearts? I'll tell you, if it don't thrill
our hearts, something's wrong with us. We're cold and fat. God said, you're
wax fat. That happens. This is what brings
us joy. This is what brings us peace,
is that the work is done. It's finished. The sixth thing is this. We preach
the gospel of the irresistible call of the spirit. The false gospel says that the
spirit is trying to call men, but they're capable by their
will to resist him. Now there is a general call that
goes out to all men that is men. You can resist anybody. The general
call goes out to everybody. We surely preach the gospel to
everybody. You know why? I don't know who the elect are.
It's not my business, is it? I don't go pick and choose. It's
not my job. Don't do it. So what I do, I
preach to all men the gospel of Jesus Christ. And surely man
by nature will reject it. Now this is not an iffy question.
He doesn't have a choice in this. He is going to reject it. He
is going to despise it. Was it 1 Corinthians 2.14, the
natural man Receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God,
for they are foolishness unto him. That's what he says. That's
his point of view, isn't it? This is just foolishness. Listen,
neither can he. Neither can he know them, because
he's spiritually condemned. So man, in that sense, will reject
the gospel. But when the appointed time of
love comes toward the elect, When God comes in love to save
his elect, it is an irresistible call. It's a call that will not
be refused, cannot be refused, and you that hear it do not want
to refuse it. When Jesus said, no man can come
unto me. Go over there to John 6. Go over
there to John 6. Jesus says in verse 44, no man
can come to me, but he fully explains himself in verse 63. He says, it is the spirit that
what? Quickeneth. And what that means,
the spirit raises a man from the dead. That's what it means.
The spirit gives a man life. It is the spirit that quickens.
It is the spirit that creates life. It is the spirit that creates
holiness in a place that there was only sin. It is the spirit
who creates light, light in a place where there was only darkness. It is a spirit that gives faith
where there was only unbelief. You know, I love I love that
dear sister's testimony. Danielle, the lady who comes
and visits us in our church, her testimony was the most wonderful
thing I ever heard. She said, I know when I started
listening to the gospel, I did not believe. But as I listened, I could not
help but believe. That's exactly my statement. I identify with that. Why? Because when he said live, I
lived. And when God calls a man to life,
he lives. It's like Lazarus. Lazarus is
dead. He's in the tomb. That is a picture. God allowed
Lazarus. I hate using that word. I always
use it. God decreed that Lazarus should die for this purpose. To give us a glorious picture
of how a sinner is saved. Lazarus, good picture of me.
Dead. Loved, but dead. And when Christ said, Lazarus,
come forth, was there any chance of rejection? When God gives
a man life, of course not. Lazarus, come forth. And he did. And I think it's one of the most
miraculous things in Scripture. Not that he just lived, but that
he actually came out of the tomb. You know why? He was mummified.
He was wrapped. I don't know how he walked out.
I don't know how. Maybe he floated out. I don't
know. But it was a miracle. That's the same way with me.
How did I get to Christ? What a miracle that I came to
Christ when he called me. How many times have I heard that
before? Come to Christ. Come to Christ. Sinner, come
to Christ. And there was a time where I
would just say, man, I want to, but I didn't really. But I thought
within myself, I want to, but I can't. You know why? He didn't call me. But the day
he called me, I couldn't do anything but believe. And when he calls
you, there's nothing else you can do. Isn't this glorious? This gospel
of grace and mercy. It's an irresistible call. And
I like that Behold, I lay in Zion a stone, a tried stone,
a precious stone. He that believeth shall not make
haste. You want to go anywhere else?
You that have come to Christ, you want to go anywhere else?
No, I'm staying right here. I want to stay right here. It's
because the Spirit of God does this. Now, the seventh thing,
we went over this. The Word of God is the source,
right? God is sovereign. Man is absolutely depraved. God
in election chose us. This perfect work of Jesus Christ
redeemed us. The Spirit of God is effectual
in our calling. And the seventh thing is the
people of God are free from the law. Free from the law. This too should cause us to rejoice. False religion of this day says
that Christ is our redemption, he's our justification, he's
our righteousness, but somehow we are our sanctification. Somehow man is saved by Jesus
Christ, but by his religious deeds and good works he makes
himself more holy or more acceptable. And I heard this phrase, I hadn't
heard it in a long time. I was talking to Greg Elmquist,
and I told you that, and Greg had reminded me of this statement
that a man had made, that we make ourselves more ripe for
heaven by our obedience. I thought about that. That has
got to be the most confusing thing that anybody's ever said
in their life. Because consider the thief on the cross. What
could he do to be more ripe for paradise? What could he do? Yet the Lord Jesus Christ said,
Today thou shalt be with me in paradise. Now you suppose Abraham
was more ripe for heaven than him? Or do you suppose Paul was
more ripe for heaven than him? No. Our total holiness and acceptance
with God is totally dependent upon the work of Jesus Christ,
upon the work of the Spirit in us, and none of ourselves. This is the point of Galatians
the book of Galatians. This is the total point of it.
That somebody said, well, we believe in the sovereignty of
God, we believe in the election of God, we believe in the perfect
redemption of Jesus Christ, we believe in the irresistible call
of the Spirit of God, we believe in the total depravity of man,
but, but, to make yourself more acceptable
with God, you have to be circumcised. Again, we all kind of think that's
To us, that's strange, right? We would never say anything like
that. We never say you got to be circumcised. But we do say, well, you know,
churches do say, well, you got to go back under the law. You
got to obey the law. Go back to Galatians. See if it's not clear. Look at
verse three. For believing this, for entertaining
this, what did Paul call them? He said, fools. Oh, foolish Galatians. Chapter three, sorry. Chapter
three and verse one. Oh, foolish Galatians. Who hath bewitched
you that you should not obey the truth? He's talking about
the gospel. That's the truth he's talking
about. Before whose eyes Jesus Christ had evidently set forth,
crucified among you. This only would I learn of you.
Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by the
hearing of faith? How did you receive it? Well, the answer is clear. You
received it by the hearing of faith. You didn't receive it
by the obedience of the law. You received him through the
grace and work of the Spirit in faith. Now are you so foolish
as having begun in the Spirit that you are now made perfect
by the flesh, that you are made perfect by your service, by your
obedience? And we know this, that every
believer in Jesus Christ grows in the grace and knowledge of
the Lord Jesus Christ. We grow. Spiritually grow. But I want you to not be confused
about this. Your works do not produce growth. All your service cannot increase
your faith or increase your love. This is why it's called the fruit
of the Spirit. because it is the Spirit that
gives to every man the measure of faith. How much faith do you
have? Well, who gave you that? Well, that's a product of the
Spirit. The Spirit gives every man the
measure of faith that we have, the measure of love that we have,
some 30, some 60, some 100-fold. Surely there are differences. But this is a work of God, not
a work of ourselves. And as we grow in the grace and
knowledge of Jesus Christ, as we grow by the Spirit of God,
listen, how is that manifest? Surely it is manifest by two
things, faith and love. You see, our service to God is
an outpouring of spiritual growth. It's not the cause. If we are
growing in grace and knowledge, surely that will come out. I
remember what Ralph Barnes said to that lady. The lady came to
him and said, Brother Ralph, I believe the Lord saved me.
He said, don't worry, it'll get out on you. It will, it'll get
out on you. You love the brethren? It'll
get out on you. You believe in Christ? It'll
get out on you. It will. Because that's what's produced. But who's producing it? Me or
him? Who's getting the glory for producing it? Me or him? He is. He is. Does a believer
want to serve? You bet. Why? Because of the outpouring and
growth of the Holy Spirit, not by putting ourselves under rules
and regulations and laws. Why should we not be under the
law? Look again at Galatians 3, look at verse 10. For as many
as are of the works of the law are what? Under the curse. Under the curse. I don't care which part of the
law you pick. You ain't done it right. Pick one. Name one. You ain't done it right. You strive all your life and
you won't ever do it right. Why? You're under the curse.
You're under the curse. I didn't write it there. That's
been written there. The Word is written. See why Paul says that? It's
written. Written by who? By God. Cursed
is everyone that continueth not in all things written in the
book of the law, not just to acknowledge them, but to do them. Don't tip your hat to it. That's
not it. He said if you want to be under
the law, don't tip your hat and acknowledge it. Go do it. Not just one thing. Do all of
it. All of it. You find any joy in that? No joy there. It's only a burden. But that no man is justified
by the law on the side of God, that's just evident. If you're
a believer in Christ and you look within your own heart, you
know that's evident. Well, how's this believer supposed
to live then? Pastor, how are we supposed to know how to live?
just shall live by faith. And listen, and the law is not
of faith. You got that? These are oil and water, they
do not mix. They don't mix. But the man that
doeth them shall live in them. You want to do them, go live
in them. I don't. Faith looks to Christ for all
my wisdom, all my righteousness, all my
justification, and all my sanctification. Look at this again with me in
Hebrews. I got two more, but I can go
real fast with these last two. Look at Hebrews. Hebrews chapter
10, verse 9, Christ said, lo, I come to do thy will. I told
you what the will of God is, save you. That's the will of
God. God said, I'm going to save you. That's good news. I came to do
thy will, O God, and take it the way of the first, that he
may establish the second, by the which will we are sanctified. You were holy according to the
will of God. You were made holy according
to the will of God. Effectually, you were made holy
through the offering of the body of Christ. How many times you
were sanctified? Once. Once. You were made holy through the
offering to Christ, and it only took him one time to do it. And then, as I read in 2 Thessalonians,
the means by which you were made holy is through the sanctification
of the spirit and belief of the truth, both operations of the
Holy Spirit. What then is left for you to
do? How about this? Give thanks.
Isn't that the sacrifice we're to offer? Thanksgiving? Give
thanks. Give thanks. The eighth thing
is this. Every sinner that comes to Christ
and believes on him shall be saved. This is the gospel we
preach. Every sinner that believes on
Christ shall be saved. I know God's got to elect people.
I do. I know that Christ died for all
of them. And I know the Spirit will come to every one of them,
and every one of them will believe. And when they believe, they have
this that they may hold on to forever. They are saved. They are saved. Our Lord Jesus
Christ is sitting on the throne of heaven, and He has one purpose,
to give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Me. And if
you believe, listen, he has given you eternal life and no one,
this is the last thing, no one can pluck you out of his hands.
This is the gospel we preach. We preach that his salvation
is perfect in every way. And those who believe are kept
by the power of God unto salvation ready to be revealed at the last
time. So this is our gospel. This is
the one gospel. What's the source? Word of God. That's the source of our gospel.
The sum of that word is Jesus Christ. The God we preach is sovereign
in providence and salvation. That's number two. Number three,
Man is totally depraved, incapable of saving himself. Number four,
we preach the sovereign election of God. Number five, we preach
the total success of Jesus Christ to save his people. Six, we preach
the power of the Spirit to effectually call them. Seven, we preach that
we are free from the law and saved by the grace of God. Number
eight, all who come to Christ shall be saved. And number nine,
all who come shall never perish. This is the gospel. And anyone who preaches to you
another gospel, let them perish. Let them perish. There's only one. Not many. Not many gospels. One. These
are the characteristics of the gospel we preach. This is the
characteristics of the gospel that Paul preached. It's the
characteristics of the gospel according to the word of God.
And what do we, as we hear this gospel, are we hardened to it
or are we humbled by it? It should humble
us. It should abase us to know this. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. And
this is the motivation by which we love Him, serve Him. I pray that God bless this to
our hearts. Let's stand and be dismissed.