Turn back with me if you would
to Galatians 4. Galatians 4. Are we going to be saved by works
or grace? Which one is it? These souls right here, you know,
God made man and God gave man a soul and God gave man his spirit
and in the garden man lost it, didn't he? Now, are these souls
going to be redeemed back to God based on our works or on
God's works? I think about Matthew 7, those
men came to the Lord saying, but we've done this and we've
done that. What did he say to them? Depart from me. I never knew you. I think about
Luke 18, isn't it Luke 18, where the publican and the Pharisee
come to the temple and the Pharisee's talking about everything he's
done. But I did this. You know what he said? Unjustified. Isn't that right? Are we going
to be saved by works or by grace? Is it by works or is it by grace? Here in Galatians 4, I have five
soul searching questions. Sincerely, these are arresting
eye opening questions that every single one of us, every soul
on this earth needs to ask himself or herself before they settle
in on what they believe about salvation. And about righteousness before
God, what God is going to accept. The first question is in verse
9. But now, after that you have
known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to
the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto you desire again to
be in bondage. What he's saying is, why are
you looking to the elements of the law to save your soul? Why are you doing that? That's a great question. That's
an interesting question. Why are you looking to the elements
of the law to save your soul? Here's the second question. Verse
15 says, Where is then the blessedness
you spake of? Where's the blessing? Where is the sweetness? This
word says that God commended his love toward us. Where? How? Here's the third question. Verse
16 says, Am I therefore become your enemy
because I tell you the truth? The truth that's able to set
men and women free. I mean free. Free. What is truth? How can we know
what truth is? Don't we believe that's an important
question to ask ourselves before we settle in on what we believe
about God? About eternal life. Here's the fourth question. Verse
21. Tell me. Ye that desire to be
under the law. Do you not hear the law? You who want to carry the load. Do you not see how heavy it is? Here's the fifth question. Verse
30 says, nevertheless, what sayeth the scripture? Before we settle
in on anything, I believe we need to ask this question. What
sayeth the scripture? Before we lock in our belief,
we've been told things all our life, we've heard things, we've
believed things about God and man and salvation and eternity.
And before we settle in on this, I believe we need to ask this
question right here, what sayeth the scripture? Let's look at these five questions,
all right? Eternally important questions. Verse nine says, but
now after that you have known God, or rather are known of God,
how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto
you desire again to be in bondage." Now, to desire again, to be in
bondage means we started out in bondage. That's what it means. If we're going to be in bondage
again, then it means we were in bondage before. Right? In bondage to what? Sin. Sin. Do we not see what sin has
done to us? The answer is no. We can never
fully see what sin has done to us. But absolute bondage to sin. It's mixed with everything that
we do. Everything. By nature, the scripture says
we don't have a heart for the things of God and it's because
of sin. Somebody will say, well, she
does. She doesn't, she doesn't have
sin. She does it perfectly. I don't, I don't think so. Not
so. Well, the pastor, he doesn't
have any sin. He's a, he's on a completely different spiritual
level than the rest of us. Not so. Not by nature. Not by nature. He's a sinner.
We're all sinners. Every single one of us. The flesh
of every soul on this earth is born into this world in bondage
to sin. Everyone. Well, what happened?
What happened? Why are we here? Did God do something
for us? What happened? Look at verse
1 right here in Galatians 4. Now I say that the heir, as long
as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be
Lord of all, but is under tutors and governors until the time
appointed of the father. Even so we, when we were children,
were in bondage under the elements of the world. We were all born
into the only thing that this world can produce. Rebellion
against God. All of us. We are all from the
same lump. All of us. We can only be what
we are. Flesh. That's it. That which is flesh is flesh. The elements that make up this
flesh cannot inherit the kingdom of God. They just can't. This
flesh cannot do it, cannot please God. All this flesh can do is sin
against Him. That's all this flesh can do,
is sin against Him. And that's all that we are, is
flesh. And our state is a hopeless state. It cannot be a reformed
state. It cannot be a bettered state. It's just a hopeless state. That's
all it is. Man is born and then he spends
his life sinning against God and then he goes to meet God.
And outside of God's mercy, here's the truth. He has no idea. He's so blind. He's so oblivious. Man is born. He lives his life. And he spends that time unknowingly
sinning and rebelling against God. No idea. And then he goes
to meet God. And but for God's mercy and God's
grace, then God puts him where he belongs. In hell. Verse four says, but But one
of these days, oh man, that word is going to mean something to
us. All the record is going to be
given. All the sin of man is going to be declared, exposed. But these. I put a difference in these.
But these. have been paid for. But, verse
four says, when the fullness of the time was come, God sent
forth his son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem
them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption
of sons. Because the state of man was
so hopeless, so hopeless, God sent his son to man. God put Himself under the elements
of man. He made Himself to be born of
a woman. He put Himself under the law
so that He could obey it for His people, perfectly obey it. Every word of every commandment
and I do mean every word of every commandment He obeyed it, He
fulfilled it, and then He gave that perfect obedience to His
people to redeem them back to God. That we might receive the adoption
of sons. That's why He did that. Verse
6 says, And because you are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit
of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father, wherefore? because of Christ, because of
what Christ did, because Christ left his throne and he started
the work of redemption and he finished the work of redemption
and he made perfect peace with God. Perfect peace for a bunch
of. Hopeless enemies against him. Verse seven says, wherefore,
thou art no more a servant. Of sin. but a son of God. And if a son, then an heir of
God through Christ. If Christ has redeemed you from
death, here's the truth. If Christ has redeemed you from
death, then you're going to inherit eternal life with him. You're
going to inherit eternal life with him. Verse eight says, 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 unto you desire again to be in bondage. Christ redeemed us from that.
Christ satisfied every bit of that for us. Why would we want
to go back? Why would we want to go back?
This flesh could not keep the elements of the law the first
time. What makes us believe this flesh can keep it now? That's
not part of this. This flesh is still flesh. There's no hope in looking to
this flesh. There never will be never. Look at Galatians chapter 3 verse
1. O foolish Galatians, who hath
bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose
eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you,
received ye the Spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing
of faith. Are you so foolish having begun
in the spirit? Are you now made perfect by the
flesh? Having started with God's spirit,
God came down, he sent his son. Made of a woman, made under the
law, God started this whole thing. It all started with God's Spirit.
Entering a sinner, crying, Abba, Father. Having begun in the Spirit,
are we now made perfect by the law? By the deeds of this flesh? The answer is no. No. If the
flesh looks to this law to be saved, then there will be no
salvation. There'll be no salvation. Everybody's
looking to those Ten Commandments, aren't they? Do we not love God's
Ten Commandments? Aren't we looking forward to
actually obeying God's Ten Commandments one day in glory? We'll love
the Lord our God with all of our heart. In order to love Him
with all of our heart, that means there's no room left for anybody
or anything else. We've never done that. I can't
wait, though. I want to get to Him. But men look to this and I will
tell you, if the flesh looks to the law for salvation, there
will be no salvation. The flesh cannot do it. Look
with me at Galatians chapter 2 verse 21. I do not frustrate the grace
of God, for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ
is dead in vain. If we can be saved by obeying
God's commandments, then Christ made a wasted trip. And Christ
didn't make a wasted trip. He did not make a wasted trip.
His life, his death, that was the only thing that could save
us. So why would we now want to go
back and try to add all of our insufficient Filthy work to that
perfect accomplishment. Why would we want to do that?
Now, have you ever been folding clothes? Get them out of the dryer, put
them in the basket, dump them on the couch. Start folding clothes. And a little child comes up and
wants to help. You ever had that happen to you? Oh, okay. Great, thanks. Fold this shirt, fold this towel. What do you do after they leave
the room? You fold it again. Why? It wasn't perfect. It was not acceptable. It did
not meet our standards. Isn't that right? You wash your
car. The little child comes up, I
want to help. Great, honey, I'll get the high part, you get the
low part. What do you do when the child walks around to the
other side? You wash it again. Why do you do that? It wasn't
spotless. It wasn't fully cleansed. That's what we're saying to God. That's what we are saying to
God when we try to go back and do again what Christ has already
done. That's what we're telling God.
When we try to go back and do what Christ has already done.
Why would we do that? Why would we do that? Wasn't
perfect enough. Didn't meet our standards. Wasn't
fully cleansed. Why would we do that? The other
four questions stem off of that question and it's not going to
take nearly as long to answer them. All right. Here's the second
question. Verse 15 says, Where is then
the blessedness you spake of? Where's the blessing? Where is
the love? Where is the sweetness? What
a question for religion. What an eye-opening question
for religion. Religion has to be the hardest,
strictest, coldest, most judgmental, arrogant thing I've ever seen
in my life. It has to be. It's all based on, I'm the standard. Now, how do you all measure up? And everybody's doing that. They're always saying, oh, what
a blessing. Oh yeah, what a blessing. They're always talking about
love. Where is it? Where is it? Verse 10, he said
in Galatians 4, verse 10, you observe days and months and times
and years, you're doing, you're working, you're trying. You know,
some people try as they don't, but they're really trying as
hard as they can to keep the Sabbath. They're trying. Verse
11, I'm afraid. for you. Of means for. He said,
I'm afraid for you, lest I have bestowed upon you labor in vain. Brethren, I beseech you, be as
I am. What did Paul say he was? A sinner. Brethren, be as I am, he says.
I'm a sinner. I'm the chief of sinners. I'm
a beggar, just like you, he said in verse 12. Brethren, I beseech
you be as I am for I'm as you are. I'm in need just like you
are. You have not injured me at all.
I've injured myself. Paul came and preached the gospel
to them and they left all this and we're going back to the law.
And he said, you haven't offended me. I offend myself. Where is the blessing? Where
is the sweetness of relief? Verse 13, he said, you know how
through infirmity of the flesh, I preached the gospel unto you. At the first, the blessing is
in the gospel. The love and the sweetness is
in the gospel. What is the gospel? It's what we've been talking
about up to this point. It's the person and the work
of this dear savior. It's everything that he did. He is the gospel. He is the answer to a guilty
conscience. If a man, if sin starts laying
heavy on a man and he starts thinking, I truly am a sinner. He's the answer. He's the good
news. He's the water to a thirsty soul. He's the warmth to a cold heart. All the blessings of God are
found in him. All the blessings of God. All the love of God is
found in him. Jacob was in him. God said, Jacob
have I loved. Esau was outside of him. God
said, Esau have I hated. It's all in Him. It's all in
Him. This world has themselves convinced for some reason that
God doesn't hate anybody. We could turn to whole nations
of people in here He said He hated. He said He's angry with the wicked
every day. Who's the wicked? In the flesh. We all are. Every soul on this
earth. Well, is there any blessing to
be had? Yes. In Christ. It's in Christ. It's in the person
and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, here's our third
question. Verse 16 says. Am I therefore become your enemy? Because I tell you the truth. The truth that sets men and women
free. Free from this bondage, free
from damnation, free from sin and death and hell. Our Lord
said you shall be hated for the truth's sake. Isn't that what
he said? For the truth's sake. What is the truth? How can we
know what the truth is? The answer is it is all plainly
declared in this word. plainly declared. It's all right
here. This Word tells us the truth
about man, his sin, his condemnation. It tells us the truth about God
and His holiness, what God will accept, what God will not accept. This Word puts man in the dust
where he belongs. This Word puts God on the throne
where he belongs. And you stand up and declare
that to men and women and they say, don't like him. I don't like what he has to say.
Why not? Isn't it all right there? Isn't
it all in black and white? Yes, it is. Still don't like
it. Verse 14, he said, my temptation,
which was in my flesh, you despised not nor rejected. but received
me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. You received me
as God's messenger, as the Lord himself. Where is then the blessedness
you spake up? For I bear you record that if
it had been possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes
and have given them to me." What he's saying is, what happened?
How did we get off of Christ? That's what he's saying. I have
a desire for Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church. I have one desire
for Kingsport Sovereign. I have a bunch of desires, but
this is the main one. From day one to the last day,
may God make it to be said They stayed on Christ. They stayed
on Christ crucified. They stayed on the person in
the work of Jesus Christ. And that's what he's saying.
These Galatians, they got mixed back up in the law. Some of these
things started, ah, it's a little unclear. Now, how does this work
into grace and these elements and these ordinances we partake
of? Now, do you have to do that to
be saved? Started getting confusing. He said, where did we go? Go
off of Christ. Verse 16 and am I therefore become
your enemy? Because I tell you the truth.
Here's the truth. This right here is the truth.
A man who will stand up and tell lies is the enemy. He said, am
I your enemy because I tell you the truth? A man who will stand
up and tell lies is the enemy. The truth will set a man free. Lies will bring him lower into
bondage. A man is not feeling well, just not feeling good. He's having
bad symptoms. So he goes to the doctor and
the doctor draws blood and he says, we're going to do some
blood work on you. And when the results come back, we'll call
you. So this man knows it's a good
idea to go get a second opinion. So he goes to another doctor
and that other doctor draws the blood and he says, when we get
the results back, we'll call you. Both doctors get the same
results. What's in the blood is in the
blood. Both doctors know this man is eaten up with cancer. So he goes to the first doctor
and that doctor says, you are eaten up with cancer. And if
this doesn't become urgent to you, you're going to die. You
must have radiation. You must have chemotherapy. You
must have it right now. He goes to the second doctor
and the second doctor says, well, yes, we do see some cancer, but
I really don't like to talk about that. That's really a subject I'd rather
just steer clear of. It's just not a very happy conversation.
Surely there has to be something more uplifting we can talk about.
There's got to be something else. You'll be fine. Which one is
that man's friend and which one is that man's enemy? The man
who will stand up and tell lies, trying to promote happiness and
trying to promote peace and trying to promote serenity is the enemy. I tell you, the truth promotes
happiness, peace, and serenity. That man says, give me the chemo. The other one is crying peace
when outside of the blood of Christ, there's no peace. There's
no peace. So. Therefore, here's the fourth
question, verse 21 says. Tell me ye that desire to be
under the law. Do you not hear the law? You
who desire to bear that burden yourself, carry that load yourself
like a crane picks up a 20 ton boulder and some guy gets under
it and says, lower it on down. I got it. I can carry it. Do you not see how much weight
that is? Don't you see how much weight
that is? Do you not see that as soon as
the burden is laid on you, it's going to absolutely crush you? Verse 17 says they zealously
affect you, but not well. They're telling you, you can
do it. Religion is telling men and women, feel good about yourself. Have an uplifting day. You can
do it. It's all up to you. All you gotta
do is carry the weight for God. Verse 17, they zealously affect
you, but not well. Yea, they would exclude you that
you might affect them. They would exclude you from me,
Paul said, that you might be affected by them. They want to
keep this truth from you. Verse 18 says, but it is good
to be zealously affected always in good. A and thing, those two
words on both sides of the word good, they're in italics. Added
by the translators. It's good to be zealously affected
always in good. What is good? Christ. Christ. Be zealously affected
in Christ. Keep the focus on Christ and
Him crucified. Verse 18, it's good to be zealously
affected always in good and not only when I'm present with you,
my little children of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be
formed in you. I desire to be present with you
now and to change my voice for I stand in doubt of you. Tell
me ye that desire to be under the law, do you not hear the
law? Do you not hear that it's not
just in deed? It's in thought, it's in motive
of the heart. It's not just don't murder. It's don't think about
murder and don't hate, which is the root of murder. It's not just don't commit adultery,
it's don't think about adultery and don't lust, which is the
root of adultery. When we look this deeply into
God's law, it is clear no flesh can be justified in His sight. No flesh can satisfy God. Chapter 3 verse 11 says, But
that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it's
evident. For the just shall live by faith. No man is justified by the law
in the sight of God. No man. Faith in Christ. is how a man is justified before
God. Faith in the work of Christ and
the blood of Christ, that's the only way. All right, so what's
the conclusion? What's the end result? Our last
question is back in Galatians 4, verse 30. Nevertheless, what saith the
scripture? What do we conclude from this?
What sayeth the scripture? Verse 22 says, for it is written,
all right, here's the scripture. For it is written that Abraham
had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a free woman. The
free woman was Sarah, his wife. The bondmaid was Hagar, Sarah's
maidservant. Verse 23, but he who was of the
bondwoman was born after the flesh, but he of the free woman
was by promise. God promised Abraham that he
and Sarah would have a son. God promised that. Sarah was
past the age to have children. It was physically impossible
for Sarah. And God waited 25 years to deliver
that son. And Abraham and Sarah got impatient
along the way, which surprises me, but they did. They got impatient
along the way. And Sarah said, Abraham, why
don't you have a son by my handmaid, Hagar? And he did. They had Ishmael. Verse 24 says, Which things are
an allegory, they are an illustration of law and promise, works and
grace. Verse 24, Which things are an
allegory, for these are the two covenants, the one from Mount
Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Hagar. That represents
the law that God gave Moses on Mount Sinai. For this Hagar is
Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem, which now is and
is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem, which is above,
is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written,
Rejoice thou barren that barest not. Break forth and cry, thou
that travailest not, for the desolate hath many more children
than she which hath an husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was,
are the children of promise." What happened with Abraham and
Sarah and Hagar and Isaac and Ishmael shows us the difference
in us trying to do God's work for him and God doing his work. It shows us that difference.
Us trying to fulfill God's promise for Him. God made a promise in
here and men are going around trying to fulfill it for Him
as opposed to God coming down and fulfilling His promise. That's
the difference. Verse 29 says, but as then he
that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born
after the spirit, even so it is now. Ishmael and Isaac couldn't
dwell together. They could not dwell together.
The fruit of man's sinful works and God's saving promise, they
just couldn't dwell together. The end of verse 29 says, even
so it is now. That's exactly how it is right
now. You cannot mix man's works with grace. any piece of it,
any of the elements that God has given us, these wonderful,
beautiful elements, we observe them not mixing one ounce with
God's grace, not one ounce. Verse 30, nevertheless, what
sayeth the scripture, cast out the bond woman and her son, for
the son of the bond woman shall not be heir with the son of the
free woman. So then brethren, we are not
children of the bond woman, but of the, of the free. What is
he saying right there? He's saying, if a center is going
to be saved, he's going to be saved by the promise of the blood
of Christ. by God sending faith to believe
that the blood of Christ did it all. God did it all by himself
and not by that sinner's own works of the law. Oh, you got
to obey that law. If you want to be saved now,
you're going to have to obey that law. So then this scripture says
there's only one thing that needs to be done with all of our works.
They all need to be wadded up and thrown away. Where is that going to leave
a sinner? What does a sinner have left after he's done that?
After he's taken everything he's ever done that he thought God
would be happy with, after he's wadded every bit of that up and
thrown it away, where does it leave that sinner? Clinging to
the blood of Jesus Christ. clinging to God's Son alone. It leaves him with one hope,
none of these other things to be mingled in. One hope, one
salvation, one promise, one gospel, that's all that sinner will have
left. And if he has that, he has it
all. He has it all. If he has that,
he has the only thing that will truly save his soul. If he has
Christ in his blood, he has eternal life. And that's where we leave
it.