Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church,
located at 905 Yadkin Street in Kingsport, Tennessee, would
like to invite you to listen to a message of sovereign grace
by their pastor, Gabe Stoniker. And now, Pastor Gabe Stoniker. If you would like to follow along
with me in your Bible, I'm going to be speaking to you from Galatians
chapter 5 today. Galatians chapter five, and while
you're turning there, I'll give you the title of this message.
It's a question, and the question is this. Why does the gospel
offend? Why does the gospel offend? Galatians five, verse 11, it
says, and I, brethren, If I yet preach circumcision, and what
the Apostle Paul means by that is the law, the deeds of the
law. He said, and I brethren, if I
yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? Then is the offense of the cross
ceased. The Apostle Paul suffered a lot
of persecution for the truth that he preached. And that's
something that's amazing, isn't it? We know that he had the truth
of the gospel. God sent it to him. He was a
called apostle. And everywhere he went, his message
was strange. People said, we never heard a
message like this before. It's not the common message of
our land. And it was not well received
by natural man. And Paul was very persecuted
for the message he preached. And what he said right here is,
if I preach salvation like most other people do, through obeying
the law, the deeds of the law, the commandments of the law,
the do's and the don'ts of the law, he said, I wouldn't be persecuted
for that. That would be normal. But he
said, Then, if I did that, if I preached salvation through
men and women obeying the law, He said the offense of the cross
would cease. If I did that, the offense of
the cross would cease. And that can't happen. That cannot
happen. The offense of the cross cannot
cease. It cannot cease. If it does,
the truth and the gospel have ceased. And that's the truth. If the offense of the cross ceases,
then the truth ceases and the gospel ceases. If the truth and the gospel cease,
then God's means of quickening dead sinners from death to life
has ceased. God has chosen a means to call
his people to himself and notify them of the salvation he's given
them. And if that gospel means goes
away, then His chosen means to call His people to Himself is
going away. So we must preach and we must believe and we must
cling to the offense of the cross. The offense of the cross. Now,
why is that? Why is that? Why would we desire
and insist that our message be the offense of the cross? Why
would the apostle Paul say, I must preach the offense of the cross? Is it just because we enjoy offending
people? Well, we just really want to
come and bring a message that is very offending to people.
Is that what it is? Absolutely not. Absolutely not. We're just not dead set on offending
people. The apostle Paul cried, God forbid.
If there's one thing in this life that I personally do not
want to be, personally, if there's one thing really that I do not
want to be, it's an offense. I don't want to go around offending
people. You don't want to go around offending
people. May God keep us from ever being a personal offense. If you look with me at first
Corinthians chapter 10, it says there, and this is the commandment
of our Lord to us. First Corinthians 10 verse 32,
he said through the apostle Paul, give none offense, neither to the Jews, nor to the
Gentiles, nor to the church of God. He said, don't be an offense
to anybody. Second Corinthians chapter six. If you look at second Corinthians
six, it says in verse three, giving no offense in anything
that the ministry be not blamed. He said, don't be an offense,
a personal offense in anything. So God's ministry will not be
blamed. And what he means by that, if
you really want to get to the heart of it, he's saying, don't
make it so that people don't like you personally and do not
want to come hear the gospel from you. There's just no need
in that, and there's a commandment from God not to be that way.
So I don't ever want to be a personal offense, never, never. I don't want to personally offend
anybody. All right, well then what is
the scripture talking about? What is this offense that the
scripture is talking about? If you look at Galatians 5 again,
it says in verse 11, and I brethren, if I yet preach circumcision,
why do I yet suffer persecution? Then is the offense of the cross
ceased. The offense is in the cross. It's in the cross. The offense
is in who hung on it, the reason why he hung on it, what he accomplished
on it, and who gets the glory for it. That's where the offense
is. Who did hang on the cross? Who
is it that hung on the cross? Whose cross was it? Who took
ownership of that cross? Well, if you look at chapter
six, Galatians chapter six, verse 12, it says, as many as desire
to make a fair show in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised. ONLY LEST THEY SHOULD SUFFER
PERSECUTION FOR THE CROSS OF CHRIST." The cross is the cross
of Christ. Over in Colossians chapter 2,
the last word in verse 11 is Christ, speaking of Christ. And
verse 14 says, BLOTTING OUT THE HANDWRITING OF ORDINANCES THAT
WAS AGAINST US, which was contrary to us and took it out of the
way, nailing it to His cross. His cross. The cross was His
cross. To preach the cross is to preach
the Christ of the cross. It's to preach His cross. He is the offense. He is the
offense. Now, some may hear that and say,
well, I've never been offended by Him. You say it's His cross,
He's the one who hung on the cross. I've never been offended
by the thought of Him dying on the cross. Men stand up and say,
Jesus Christ died on the cross to save sinners from their sin,
and people say, I've never been offended by that. Well, to that,
we need to ask this question. Have we ever truly understood
why He hung on the cross? Have we ever truly entered into
the reason why He hung on that cross? Have we ever truly understood
exactly what He accomplished on that cross? And have we ever
truly understood who gets all the glory for what happened on
that cross? If after hearing that, if we
understand why he hung on it and what he accomplished on it
and who gets all the glory for it, if after hearing that and
understanding that, we can still say, but that doesn't offend
me at all. Well, then that's a great blessing from God. That's
a great blessing of God. That's called the grace of God.
If we can hear that and not be offended, That's the grace of
God to us. Now concerning the Christ of
the cross, why did He hang on that cross? Why did He have to
die on that cross? Why did He have to die? It's
because Galatians 2 says, if you look back just a few pages
to Galatians chapter 2 verse 21 tells us, I do not frustrate the grace
of God. For if righteousness, perfection,
goodness, if righteousness comes by the law, the deeds of the
law, the flesh doing the law, then Christ is dead in vain. If salvation and perfection and
acceptance if it could come by a sinner obeying and doing the
things of the law, which is what most people believe. That's what men stand up in pulpits
and say to people. If you'll do the law and obey
the law and straighten up and fly right, you can be saved. You can do something that will
cause your own salvation. It's in your hands. The choice
is yours. Well, And God's Word says, and
God's Apostle says, if that were possible, then Christ died in
Bain. If that was possible. If it was
possible for a sinner to do something that could save himself, then
there would have been no point in Christ dying on that cross.
No point. He would have died in vain. Men and women could have just
been responsible for themselves, and that's how it should be if
it were possible. You do good, you go to heaven.
You do bad, you go to hell, period. That simple. But here's the thing. That was
not possible. It was not possible. It was not
possible for any sinner who has ever stood on this earth. I'm
standing on the earth. You're standing on the earth.
I am too sinful to do anything that could possibly save myself. You are too sinful. You're too sinful. People think,
well, I can do it if I just set my mind to it and set my heart
to it. No, no, no. You are too sinful. You, you
are too sinful. And I am too sinful. People have
it in their minds that they can just, you know, make God happy
with them. It's not possible. It's not possible. This is what David said. I was
conceived in sin. Sin is what made this body. Isaiah said, from the sole of
the foot to the crown of the head, there's no soundness, nothing
but wounds, bruises, and putrefying sores. The Lord looked down from
heaven to see if there were any that did understand and seek
God. They are all gone aside. They have all together become
filthy. There is none that do with good,
no, not one. That's offensive, isn't it? Does
that offend you? That's what God's Word says. It says, Gabe Stoniker, you are
too sinful to please me. You cannot please me. This Word
says to you and every man standing on the earth, you are too sinful. You're too much of a sinner.
You're a sinner. I'm a sinner. That's offensive,
isn't it? Oh, how offensive. The flesh
says, don't you tell me that. It's offensive. Many people believe
that before they got saved, they displeased God. But now that
they have decided to get saved, now they live a life that He's
happy with, and they conduct themselves in a way that He's
happy with. You know what God's Word says? That's not so. That's
not so. This flesh does not please Him. Before we are quickened to life,
And this flesh does not please Him after we are quickened to
life. It's still sin. It's still sin. He said all of our righteousnesses,
everything that we think is a good deed, He says is filthy rags
in His eyes. The only righteousness that God
the Father is pleased with is the righteousness of Christ His
Son. The Apostle Paul, he said in
Romans 7, read Romans 7, this was a saved man, this was an
apostle of God, and he said, oh wretched man that I am. The
things I wish that I would do, these good things, I don't do
them. And the things that I wish I could stop doing, these wicked,
evil things, I can't stop doing them. In 1 Timothy 1 verse 15,
he said, I'm the chief of sinners. Not I was, I am the chief of
sinners. So Christ is the only one. He is the only man that can fulfill
righteousness before God. Nothing that we could do could
redeem us, nothing. That's why Christ had to hang
on that cross. That's the reason why. It's because
our sin was too great for there to be any other way. All right,
that's the first offense of the cross. Why Christ had to die
on it. We were too wicked, just too
vile for there to be any other way. That's an offense, all right? Now, the second thing that makes
the cross of Christ such an offense to the flesh is the declaration
of what He accomplished on it. And this is what He accomplished
on it. All the work. That's what He accomplished on
it. All the saving work. all the work. Hebrews 1 says,
He by Himself purged our sins. That's an offense to the flesh. That's such an offense to the
flesh because the flesh of mankind wants to do something. The flesh
wants to have a partnership with Him, a cooperation. The flesh
wants to say, Me and Him, we have a good thing going. But
the word of God says, he by himself accomplished all the work. We
take no part in it. No part at all. That rich young
ruler came to the Lord and he said, good master, what shall
I do? The Lord said, sell everything
you have. That's what the word says, sell
everything you have. Empty yourself. of all of your
ability to do anything. Get rid of everything. Get rid
of all of it. And follow me. Look to me. Listen to me. Believe on me.
The Apostle Paul said, everything I thought I had attained up to
the point that God opened my eyes, all of that previous stuff,
he said I had to throw it away and count it all dung. Everything, all of my religious
training, all of my good deeds, all of the status I had earned,"
he said, I had to throw it all out and count it all down. The
Lord said, sell everything and follow me. It says that rich
young ruler went away sorrowful and the reason is because he
wanted to do something. That's what men and women want
to do, they want to do something. A man named Naaman, he had leprosy
in the Old Testament and he wanted to be cleansed of it. He said, what shall I do? And
God's prophet said to him, nothing. You just go wash in the River
Jordan. Just wash. Be new, be clean. And he went
away angry because he wanted to do some great thing. If you'll
look with me though at Ephesians 2, it says in verse 1, you hath
he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins. Dead. Just dead, that's all we were,
dead. We could not do anything to take
part in our salvation, we were dead. It goes on to say, but
God, who is rich in mercy for his great love, wherewith he
loved us, that's verse four. Verse five, even while we were
dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, by grace
we're saved. and hath raised us up together,
and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that
in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of
His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." He
did it all. He did it all. And then He came
and told us about it. Through the gospel message, He
told us about it. Over in Romans chapter 3, It says in Romans
3 verse 28, therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith,
just looking to Christ, believing that he accomplished it all,
without the deeds of the law. The flesh wants some kind of
event that it can lean on for assurance and salvation. People
want to pray through They want to accept Jesus into their heart. They want to come crying down
to the front of an auditorium. They want to dedicate their life
and then they go out and mess up, so they want to come back
and rededicate their life. People come up with all of these
things that they want to do, but none of it, none of it can
accomplish what Christ has already accomplished FOR HIS PEOPLE ON
THE CROSS. HE ACCOMPLISHED TOTAL REDEMPTION,
FULL PARDON, SET FREE, COMPLETE ACCEPTANCE WITH GOD, AND HE ACCOMPLISHED
A PERFECT RIGHTEOUSNESS, PERFECT HOLINESS. WHEN HE SAID IT IS
FINISHED, IT WAS FINISHED. IT WAS FINISHED. THE FIRST REASON
FOR THE OFFENSE IS IN WHY HE HAD TO HANG ON THAT CROSS. Man
was just too wretched. Too wretched for there to be
any other way. The second reason for the offense is in what he
accomplished on that cross. All the work of salvation by
himself. Completely by himself. The third
reason for the offense of the cross is in who gets the glory
for all of it. Who gets the glory for all of
it. Here's the answer. He does. He does. All of it, my salvation, your
salvation, all of salvation, he gets all the glory for it. All the glory for it. If he did
all the work by himself, then he gets all the glory by himself. Over in 1 Corinthians 1, it says
in verse 29, that no flesh should glory in his presence. But of
him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom
and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, that according
as it is written, he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. Let
him glory in the Lord. Philippians chapter 2 verse 5
says, Let this mind be in you, which also was in Christ Jesus,
who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be
equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon
him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and
became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore
God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which
is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things
under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord to the glory of God." Every tongue. All of it, from all people, it
all goes to Him. There is no other name given
among men whereby we must be saved. No other name. Not His name and my name. No other name. That's why God's
people don't go around saying, I got saved. That's a common
phrase. It's not a very good phrase.
People go around saying, I got saved. Rather, once God really
does a work on the heart, people go around crying, He saved me. Not I got saved. He saved me
by Himself from my wretched sin. on the cross of Calvary, that
glorious cross. I'm going to close the message
with this portion of scripture. Galatians chapter 6, if you look
at Galatians 6 verse 14, it says, but God forbid that I should
glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. by whom the
world is crucified unto me and I unto the world. For in Christ
Jesus, neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision,
but a new creature." In Christ, God's people are made to be new
creatures. Verse 16 says, and as many as walk according to
this rule, peace be on them and mercy and upon the Israel of
God. If God ever truly does a work
of grace, grace means free gift, freely given, not earned through
works. If God ever truly does a work
of grace in the heart of a sinner, that sinner will say this, all
right, if God opens the sinner's eyes, reveals the truth of the
word, sends grace to the heart. If God does all of that, the
sinner will say this, that's not an offense to me. Everything
you told me, everything this word has to say to me, that's
not an offense to me. Not at all. I acknowledge every
bit of it to be true. I acknowledge who did the sinning.
This word says, I did the sinning. Amen. Amen. That's not an offense
to me. Amen. I'm a sinner. That's true. Amen means so be it. That's the
truth. I acknowledge who did the saving. Christ did it. Not me and Him. Christ did it. Amen. That's not
an offense to me. He did it. He did it all. And
I acknowledge who gets all the glory for it. Who gets all the
credit for it? Where should all the credit go?
To Christ alone. Amen. That's not an offense to
me. This word says, you get none of the credit. Amen. Amen. It all goes to Him. I acknowledge
every bit of that to be true. And thank God that's not an offense
to me. That is not an offense to me. Honestly, that's the greatest
news I've ever heard in my life. I WAS RUINED, DESTINED FOR HELL,
BUT HE REACHED WAY DOWN AND SAVED MY SOUL. AND IT'S DONE. THAT'S
THE GREATEST NEWS I'VE EVER HEARD IN MY LIFE. MAY GOD MAKE IT SO
WITH US. MAY THAT NOT BE AN OFFENSE TO
US. UNTIL NEXT WEEK, MAY THE LORD BLESS HIS WORD TO OUR HEARTS.
YOU HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO A MESSAGE BY GABE STONIKER, PASTOR OF KINGSPORT
SOVEREIGN GRACE CHURCH IN KINGSPORT, TENNESSEE. If you would like
a copy of this message or to hear other messages of sovereign
grace, log on to our website at ksgctn.org. If you would like to come and
worship with us, our service times are Sunday morning Bible
study at 10 o'clock AM, worship at 1045 AM and 6 o'clock PM,
Wednesday evening at 730 PM. Please tune in next week for
another message of God's free and sovereign grace.