If you wish to follow along while I read my text turn to Galatians chapter 4 Now I will read the text here In just a moment, but Galatians chapter 4 what I want to do is read verses 17 through 20 kind of moving along Galatians chapter 4 verses 17 through 20. My title is this and I hope that as I go along it will be more evident of why I give it this title. This is the title, and the subject's not all about this, but this is the title, The One Sin That Perplexes. The One Sin That Perplexes. How often, if you think back in your memory, think back of when you're Maybe you were sitting with someone else or just whatever, you're talking to someone else and you hear about an acquaintance, especially someone who professes to believe, and maybe they've done something they shouldn't have. And then the statement comes out, well, why did they do that? I don't understand why they did that. You ever been there? I have no doubt it's probably been us on the receiving end of such thoughts. Someone you know of that professes faith in Christ and they see him. They fall. Maybe they even fall pretty deep. It just perplexes me that they did that. But it doesn't really. It doesn't really. We know better down in here. But there is one sin that perplexes, okay? And it's in our text. Actually, let me rephrase that. It's in this letter, and it is alluded to in our text. Now before I read the text, which is Galatians, again, Galatians 4, 17 through 20. In our text, our brother Paul, in this letter, having expressed his amazement over the Galatians' quick removal from the gospel of the free grace of Christ. And of course, we read about that clearly. You don't have to turn to it, but it's just a couple pages back. I marvel that you're so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ and to another gospel. So they've not only moved away from the doctrinal fact but they've moved away from him. Do you see? That's what he said. Which is not another, but there be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. So again, our brother Paul, having expressed his amazement over the Galatians' soon removal from the gospel of the free grace of God in Christ and their subsequent change of attitude toward him. We looked at that a little bit last time, and we read that in verses 12 up to our text. Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am, for I am as ye are. Ye have not injured me at all. Ye know how that through infirmity of flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first, and my temptation or my testing was in my flesh, and which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected." Whatever that was, and there's no need to speculate on it. No need to speculate on it, but here's the point. But receive me as an angel of God, a messenger, not a winged creature now, but as a messenger of God. Look, even as Christ Jesus, where is then the blessedness ye spake of? So clearly that indicates that this turning away from the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace in Christ had caused their attitude toward Paul to change. Right? Where is then the blessedness you speak of? For I bear you record that if it had been possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and have given them unto me. Am I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth? So having stated this, he now gives personal warning of the consequences of all that's taking place, and that's our text, verses 17 through verse 20, where he says, they, speaking of the, what men call the Judaizers, those, now remember, they were not denying the personal work of Jesus Christ. And I don't know how they always said it, Paul, but they were doing this. They were denying the absolute efficacy of the person and work of Jesus Christ, not by stating that, but by adding in anything else to it. At Galatia, it happened to be circumcision. And I don't wanna get back off on it, and Paul basically says if you add in one thing, you basically are adding in it all when it comes to the law. But let's go on. They zealously affect you, but not well. Yea, they would exclude you that ye might affect them. Now I know in our English that may give, it doesn't really tell us The words themselves don't really tell us a lot about what Paul's saying, but I'll try to look at that. But, he goes on, but it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing. And you will notice it could be stated this way, but it is good to be zealously affected always in good. Do you see that? A and thing are kind of added in to make the English flow. And there's nothing wrong with it, but it's, But don't let us not lose the perspective of the context here, okay? Paul's not talking about, and I'll illustrate this, the man whom many give credit for freewillism, Arminianism, you know, Jacob, what was his name? Jacob Arminius, whatever his name was. Now, most people who haven't really studied the history of it don't understand or know this. He was basically born, raised, and made a profession of faith in a Calvinistic church. and was a Calvinistic preacher in a Calvinistic church. I suppose it may have been the Presbyterian church, but don't hold me to that. Then, as time went on, he began to have personal feelings that these things were not right. But when they began to threaten him, okay, he never died an Arminian, Mac. He died preaching Calvinism in a Calvinistic church. but he really didn't believe it according to his personal writings. And it was his followers later that made it a big deal, okay? Do you understand what I'm saying? We're not talking about a man like that. We're not talking about somebody who publicly said one thing, but secretly said another. These men were clear in what they were saying. Jesus Christ is absolutely essential, but he's not all, that's what they were saying. You need this, or you need that, okay? Now that's, but it's good to be zealously affected always in a good thing. And what's the context? The gospel of God's free reigning grace of God in Christ. That's what he's talking about. 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, And unless you've ever had to stand behind a podium like this in a local assembly, knowing you had the responsibility of telling the truth to men and women, and you had the responsibility of their very souls, you really don't have any idea of what Paul's talking about. It is travailing in birth. Without getting on to that subject, it's a labor. It's a labor. because you have all these pressures from without and the flesh from within that says, tone it down just a little. Don't make it quite as offensive. Maybe someone else will receive it. That pressure's always there. But when you're preaching the truth, it's like childbirth. That's what he's talking about. But my little children, of whom I travail in birth again, until Christ be formed into you, I desire to be present with you now to change my voice. And then here is the phrase. For I stand in doubt of you. The word could be literally translated, I am perplexed by you. Was he perplexed that maybe somebody told a lie? That ought not perplex us at all, just to tell a lie. What was perplexing, Paul? These people had given evidence that they'd been called by the grace of God through the preaching of the gospel of free grace, and they turned from it. There's one sin, the one sin that perplexes. It doesn't perplex me that most people don't believe the gospel because I know a little bit about what it is to be lost, to have the old man. But it is perplexing that someone would quickly, quickly just turn away from it. As an example, we are here now, a very small group. At one time, this building was almost full about every Sunday, wasn't it? And I know many of us have died and went on to be with the Lord, but we've had more leave out of spite for the gospel, sadly, than we have had die and go on to be with the Lord. It's perplexing. People who've been basically born and raised under the gospel, they didn't make a profession of faith under the gospel. And where are they now? They're not just gone. They're at odds against what they were brought up under in this place. That's what I'm talking about. I'm not talking about people who's left and had to find a job and found another place to worship that's preaching the gospel. I'm not talking about them. I'm talking about those who left with onus against the truth we preach here. And we've seen this over and over and over. That is perplexing, perplexing. Now I have two things this morning, just two things. First of all, what we're gonna look at from our text is the pretension of legalism's twofold manners. And then the second thing, the gospel of free grace, that is God's grace in Christ, is always good. It's always the good thing to be zealously affected by. It always is, not just good things in general, but a, or we could say the good thing, okay? And I'm not going into the Greek about how maybe that should be a the. The good thing here is not just good works in general, talking about the truth of the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the context. Now, sadly, I have to say that because many preachers, maybe even Calvinistic preachers, will read this and then go off on some tangent about good things and bad things. It really doesn't surprise any of us when we hear a fellow brother or sister in Christ that they've sinned, does it? But if they abandon the truth of the gospel, if they start adding in things to the gospel, that is, especially since their profession was not in some error before, but under the very truth of the gospel, and then they turn from it, that is a sin that is perplexing. It just, Paul's not saying, I don't think you're really saved. He just said, I don't know, I'm perplexed. I'm perplexed. So first of all, again, the pretension of legalisms, and I say this, twofold manners. Here's the first thing. They zealously, this is the phrase Paul gives, as it's translated in our KJV, they zealously affect you, but not well. Let me just kind of go through this, and maybe this'll, maybe God'll bring this down to what Paul's talking about. Their impetus, that is these legalizers, Their impetus, their main thrust, their main message, if you will, is men, not the man. Do you get what I'm saying there? Their main emphasis is on men and not the man, the Lord Jesus Christ. For them, it's what we do for God, though they don't deny God must do something for us, but their impetus is it's what we do for God, not what Christ has done for us. They are very aggressive, and that's zealously affect. Remember, it's good to be what, zealously affected always in a good thing. So the phrase itself's not a bad one, but the two different distinct ways in which you're zealously affected are totally different. The first one is this, they are, listen, they aggressively, they aggressively affect people. Now think about it, they are very aggressive. That is, they zealously affect us, and I'm gonna try to make this personal now, because this ain't just a history lesson about these poor brothers and sisters way back yonder. That every man that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. We're not above this happening to us, even after all these years, okay? They are very aggressive, that is they zealously affect us to conform not to the gospel of God's grace, though they aggressively defend almost any profession of faith is valid. Think about that. They will aggressively defend almost any, not ever, but almost any profession of faith in Christ is valid. but they will not aggressively defend the free and reigning grace of God for salvation, for perfection, for sanctification, for redemption, for wisdom. They will not defend it solely. They just won't do it. They aggressively defend almost any profession of faith as valid while demanding, while demanding, they'll accept The truth of the personal work of Christ, what Paul preached, how Paul preached this morning, for most folk is like, well, but that's just all that deep stuff. Right? Yeah. I mean, what Paul preached this morning, when God first converted me, I would not hardly have understood much of anything he said back then, other than the fact that Christ was my substitute, and the words, he was made sin for us. I did not understand or compute, comprehend, Jack, the gravity of what was being said. But most people think, well, now you're going to picking, you're nitpicking. But when it comes to the personal work of Christ, as worded in the scripture, there is no nitpicking. But as I said, these This is deferred. They zealously affect you, but not well. They're very aggressive. They zealously affect us to conform not to the gospel of Christ's grace. They aggressively defend just about any profession of faith in Christ as valid, while demanding minute and extensive details on our obedience. They love dealing with the details of what we're supposed to be doing. They talk about minute and extensive details on our obedience to rights, and or ceremonies, and or laws and rules, and or moralities and ethics. They love the details of those things. They can tell you exactly where you ought to buy groceries or not, based upon what that grocery store sells. Right, I used to deal with, I was under that, when I was in religion, they'd tell me, and I'm not going in, you know, if they got alcohol, tobacco, or pornography, don't associate. Details, Jack, of where we ought to go, where we ought not to go, what we ought to spend money on, what we ought not to spend money on, what we ought to think about, what we ought not to think about, but they didn't give a flip about dealing with the details of the person and work of Jesus Christ. That's easy, he died on a cross for your sins, now you ought to accept him as your personal savior. Am I telling the truth? They zealously affect you, but not well. They don't care. Let me rephrase that. When it boils down to it, they don't care about the details of the personal work of Christ, they care about the details of what we do or don't do. Okay, now summed up, now, again, in other words, details about Christ's person and work are kind of like dessert. But our actions are their meat and potatoes, right? Now, I know dessert's great. Dessert's great, people say, but you can't live on it. Well, if the dessert is Jesus Christ, you can live on it. But I'm here to say he's the meat and potatoes as well. And he's the dessert as well. He's the whole meal. There's nothing else to feast on. But these religious people, I don't care if they're Calvinist, they concentrate, their message is about, well the Jesus part's easy. The hard part's what we do. Hard part's what we do. In other words, It will, what Paul is saying. It will not be well with us to concentrate on ourselves and not on Christ. Why? He's already stated. For I, through the law, am dead to the law. Listen, I am dead to the law that I might live unto God. I said I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. Now, almost everybody, especially if they're Calvinistic, will say amen to that, because that's how you start. But here's the rest of it. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. After I'm saved, it still takes the free and reigning grace of God in Christ to get me through all this, all the way to the end. And that's why he again says, I do not frustrate the grace of God, for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ died for nothing. Nothing. Do you see how serious that is? So that's their first part. They zealously affect you, but not well. You can't listen to a man's one message. You can listen to so many, they'll preach a message, and you think, that was great. But when you listen to their whole body of the message that they portray throughout their ministry, you think that man concentrates more on men and their doing for God rather than they do on Jesus Christ and what he done for his people. That's number one. Here's the second one. Yay. This is what Paul said now. This is not the first. The first, they zealously affect you, but not well. I've tried to illustrate that to you, okay? I've tried to illustrate to you. But here's the second phrase about that. This is that second twofold, the second part of that twofold manner. Yea, they would exclude you that ye might affect them. Now just the wording of it, it just kind of leaves you there. It just leaves you there. But listen to me. They will excommunicate. for moral discrepancies, even matters of conscience, and there are matters of conscience. We're not gonna be dealing with that, but it's in the letter to the church at Rome. There are matters of conscience. They will excommunicate for moral discrepancies, even matters of conscience, yet error about Christ's person and work is tolerated. Isn't that crazy? Well, you're right, Tommy. Here's the thing. Those who are preaching this are not believers. But what about those who have been called under the truth of the gospel and then succumb to it? That's what's perplexing. And did you notice, Paul, even when it come to those who were doing this to cause the perplexing, what did he say? Let me find it. Whoever they be, I have confidence in you through the Lord. He goes on to say this in this letter. I have confidence in you through the Lord that you will be none otherwise minded, but he that troubleth you must be excommunicated. Is that what he says? No, but he that troubleth you will bear his judgment, whosoever he be. Can you see that? It ain't about excommunication. And Paul is not denying here that there is not sometimes a time for what is called excommunication. But he says they'll do it. Isn't that what he says? They zealously affect you but not well. Yea, they would exclude you. But for what reason? That ye might affect them. Okay, now I'll give it to you. They will excommunicate for moral discrepancies, even matters of conscience, some of them will. Yet error about Christ's personal work is tolerated. They love the moral issues, okay? They love the moral issues, not the Christ issues. They love the moral issues. Even their excommunications though, he says yay, even their excommunications though are to make themselves appear holy and sanctified. That's why they put people out is because they want to look good. We're standing up for the truth. No, you're standing up for self-righteousness. You're not standing up for the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what Paul has just written to us. Well, that was what was happening at Galatia. And sadly, it's what still happens today. It's what still happens today. We had one that was amongst us, was here as a member of this local assembly, even when we were at Mabscot and was there before me. And they got caught up on this personal progressive sanctification and then called what me and Paul Joe preach, heresy. After all those years, call it heresy. That's what happens when you succumb to that, this twofold thing. Twofold thing. Think about it. Again, I said, even their excommunications is to make themselves appear holy and sanctified. That's what he said. Yea, they would exclude you that you might affect them. Somebody says, that's awful personal. This thing is personal. This thing is personal. That's their twofold manners. In other words, I'll sum up the first one. That is, the pretension of the legalism's twofold manners. It's more about men than Christ. Okay? It's more about men than Christ. Yay, it's more about themselves than others. You see what I mean? Right there. Now, if you'll conform to be like them, you're a part of the group. But listen to my phrase, I summed all that up this way. It's more about men than Christ, and it's actually more about themselves than it is about others. I don't care if they're the biggest Calvinist or the strongest Calvinist that ever walked, you don't add anything to Christ. We can sit and debate about whether we should pray first and sing second, pray three songs or sing three songs or four songs. We can sit and argue about how many preachers we should have. We can sit and argue how often we should have a Lord's table. And we can sit and debate about those things all day long. But what happens with men and women? They get caught up in those things. And Christ, the truth of Christ, goes where? By the wayside. By the wayside. by the wayside. So again, it's more, here's the impetus of all of it with these legalizers. It's more about men than Christ, and it's more about themselves than everybody else. And if you conform to them, you'll be one of the group. If you can't, or don't, it don't matter which one it is. If you can't, or don't, you're not gonna be a part of the group. and thank God every now and then God calls somebody out of that mess. But we're not talking about somebody who's born and raised in that mess. I'm talking about somebody who's been in the middle of the truth of the grace of God and then turns to that. Somebody says it don't happen. It's happened here many times. Many times. And it perplexes me. I'm still perplexed when I think about it today. Here's the second thing though. The gospel of free grace. Now, I realize this second point's not quite as catchy as the first one I gave you about the pretension of the legalist, but this is the truth. The gospel of free grace, God's grace in Christ, is always good. That's the context, it's always good. Yeah, it's good to pay your bills, you ought to, and if you don't, you'll suffer for it. It'll catch up with you one day. But that's not the good we're talking about here, you see? They zealously affect you, but not well. Yea, they would exclude you that you might affect them, but it's good to be zealously affected. There's a good zealously affected, right? There is a good aggressiveness. Not toward you, but about the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you, my little children of whom I travail in birth again unto Christ. He didn't take, Paul didn't take that. Well, we know God's sovereign, and God's will will be done, and just whatever happens, happens, and it really don't matter. I just like water off a duck's back. That person really don't know the truth of God. It hurts down in here because you know it's affecting people out there down in here. And it perplexes. And it will make you say things like, I stand in doubt of. I stand in doubt of. But it's good to be, always good to be what? Zealously affected in the good thing, okay? That's what he said. Now, listen to me. Try to wrap this up. Now, sadly, I've got two pages instead of one. I usually have one, but my pages are shorter now, too. Seriously. A little, you know, lighten it up just a little. Listen to me now. Gospel-called believers, and we've already read it, chapter one, verse six is it, gospel-called believers, okay, are not freed to serve self. I'm not, we'll look at this, God willing, if we're set. We're not freed to serve self, chapter six, verses one through five. We're to bear the difficulties of others, right? If anybody's overtaken in a fault, those who are spiritual do what? Point your fingers at, no, restore them in the spirit of meekness, considering yourself, because you're not above the fray either. And no, man, I got to read this one. Hold on, let me find it. For if any man think himself to be something, not if, but when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. Okay? So gospel-called believers are not free to serve self. Chapter six, verse one through five. Gospel-called believers are not free to use our liberty as an occasion to the flesh. Chapter five, verses 13 and 14. And why are we given that? Because we will. We will. We are at liberty, but we'll use it not to serve God in Christ, but we'll use it to serve the flesh. Yeah, we will. We'll use it to serve the flesh. That's why we're warned not to. Listen, nor gospel called believers are not freed to pit one against another. I wanna read that with chapter four, verse 12. Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am, for I am as ye are. Ye have not injured me at all. I'm just like you. You see it? Here's another one, chapter five, verse 15. But if we bite and devour one another, take heed that we also be not consumed one of another. So we're not to be pitting this thing one against another. Well, so-and-so fell. Yes, they did. Yeah. And so have I. When I start to, we don't really forget it. We just push it to the, I don't know the right word. Mack would take it and just shove it to the side and say, well, that was a long time ago. Mm-mm, no. To fall flat on your face at any time is to be able to fall flat on your face at any other time. We're all what? Sinners saved by the grace of God. And we're not to be pitying one another. Well, boy, did you hear what they did? Yeah, sadly I did, but guess what? I've probably done worse than that. Now come on now. Come on now. We're not free to pit one against another. There's also verses 22, chapter five. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Against such there is no law. So when we're walking in those things, it's right. It's that simple. But when we walk in those things as mentioned before, it's that simple as well. That's the flesh. Paul says that they are manifest, right? They're there, they're there. Okay, here it is. Here is our one role of faith and living life. Now, I know a lot of the I can't think of what they are, these writings, these copulations of articles of faith in the past. What are they called? Somebody help me here. Confessions of faith. They always talk about our role of faith and practice, you know what I'm saying? Or our role of life and faith. It's that here's our one role of faith and living. The life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. He's got to get me through today with just as much sovereign power through Christ as he did to call me out of that false religion he called me out of in the beginning. My flesh is still that bad. It's not, he gives me a big dose of grace and then a little grace here, a little, it takes a big dose of grace to get me from the beginning all the way through the middle, all the way to the end. It takes the free and reigning grace of God in Christ or I would abandon Christ in a heartbeat. And so would you. Now you'll see him, but the one that perplexes us is when you're removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ to what? Another gospel. You could be the most moral person in the world. You abandon Christ, you'll perish. You'll perish. You can be the biggest law keeper there is. The most faithful law keeper there is. And you gotta put a big question mark on that one. But you could be that. You abandon Christ, you'll perish. You'll perish. As a matter of fact, this rule of faith and living life, that's what I said, living life is summed up by Paul this way. As many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, They constrain you to be circumcised. Why? Here's the real reason. No matter what they say, only less they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. They don't want to be called an antinomian. They don't want to be called lawless. They don't want to be called immoral. They don't want to be called a transgressor. They don't want to be called sinful. And that's, who did Jesus die for and who does he still live and intercede for? Sinners. If I, When God converted me, if I'm no longer a sinner, why do I need him interceding for me? Huh? Answer that one. Why? Because I'm still a sinner and I gotta be saved by the grace of God. Look at it. Only less they should suffer persecution. What? For the cross of Christ. For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law, but desire to have you circumcised, why, that they may glory in your flesh. He's right back to the first part of that, or that means. They'll even excommunicate you to make them look good. Now look, but God forbid, Here's the one sin that ought to perplex every true believer. 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, you see. Why is it that I can now actually believe God and I've got at least the desire to gather with God's people and to hear the truth of Christ preached? because Christ crucified the world to me and me to the world. You see it? By whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world, for in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision. And I'll put it this way, tithing or not tithing, you give what God lays on your heart. And you don't worry about the percentage of it. Huh? Yeah, and I could go on and on and on. There's nothing wrong with giving, but if you do it out of percentage, you might as well not give it all. You remember our Lord taught, he gave an example. There was people casting in money into the treasury at the temple, and they were casting in vast sums. This one poor woman come in and cast in two mites, and people said that would equal, kind of like today, we talk about two pennies. And Christ made this statement. The disciples were just bewildered. He said, she has cast in more than they all. That's all together. What? Why? Because it's all she had. She wanted to give it and it didn't matter. Christ is not saying you got to give all your paycheck every week to the church. That's not what he's teaching. but she gave lovingly, willingly, and sacrificially. The amount doesn't matter with God. God created this world out of nothing. He don't have to have our million dollars. You see what I'm saying? Just what he lays on your heart. Now, listen, for in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision. What does avail? What makes the difference but a new creature? A new creature that still has, and I want to put it this way, the old creature still there. Fights and struggles with the old man day in and day out. So when I point my finger at you, I've got to acknowledge if I'm telling the truth, I'm the same way. I make the same mistakes. And when you think you've started to do pretty good, that's hard to do, ain't it? When you got a certain problem that you had, and all of a sudden God gives you a little liberty from it, and you say, I don't need that no more. Then you find yourself doing this at everybody else. Well, they ain't give up this, or they ain't give up that. That's what Paul says legalism does. God, listen to me. God sent gospel preachers are at a loss. That's the actual meaning of the word which we read, and it's stand in doubt. It's all one Greek word, okay? How do you pronounce it? Doesn't matter. You can go look it up for yourself. Learn to pronounce it, and you'll have it. They translate it stand in doubt. It means this, at a loss, at a loss, perplexed. In a couple places, it's actually, that phrase is translated perplexed, okay? God sent gospel preachers are at a loss. They are perplexed, or as translated here, stand in doubt. Not, not when men and women sin against laws and commandments and rules and morality. No, they're perplexed when someone who claims to have been called by the gospel of free grace and they turn from Christ as their all in all. That perplexes a gospel preacher. because that's what his whole ministry is all about. Getting us to look away from ourself, not trusting ourself in any way, and trust Christ, W-H-O-L-L-Y, holy. How much of his help did it take you to give God to call you out of that darkness you was in before he even converted you? It's still gonna take that same God with that same power to keep you in line, to keep you believing Christ. Believing Christ, serving Christ, repenting when you do fail. Making amends if you've harmed somebody. And on down the line. That's the one sin that just perplexes and perplexes. You see, Christ for the believer is all in all. He's all in all. But error causes this, you start to turn to self-rule, self-improvement. Now, they may not use the word self, but when they make you a part of the equation, it's self. Rather than, unless God does this for you, you've got this problem with this sin. It's a real motive. The word says, don't do this. And you're doing it. And what do they do? Well, they'll give you all the ways, philosophical ways of how you can deal with that. I pray God shows mercy on you because I'm the same way in some of the things that I have to deal with. They don't do that, not legalists. They've conquered this and they've conquered that and they tell you how to do it too. And it's called self, rule, self-improvement, self-righteousness, self-holiness, self-sanctification, self-justification. It all boils down to self, self, self, self, rather than Christ, Christ, Christ, Christ. This is the one sin that perplexes God-sent preachers. and it'll be the one sin that perplexes you if you've got somebody, even if you're not a pastor, if you're not up publicly preaching and teaching the word, and you've got somebody you really love and you really care about, and they made a profession of faith, and it came under gospel preaching, and you see them veer away from it, that's what perplexes you. It doesn't perplex you that they went off at somebody and lost their temper, does it? How many times do you do that? Huh? What perplexes you is when they turn and start adding anything to the truth of the person and work of Jesus Christ, even if it's just circumcision. What's sinful and immoral about circumcision? Nothing, unless you do it to gain God's favor for anything. Anything, not just righteousness, but everything else as well. It's all Christ. And somebody says, that's so simple. Yes, it's so simple, but it is that impossible for us. God must work it in us, both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Amen. Heavenly Father, as we part our ways, may we be prayerful of one another, mindful of one another, long-suffering of one another, loving of one another, and encouraging of one another. Lord, be with those who couldn't be here, and for whatever reasons, Lord, you know. Lord, give them strength and cause their hearts and minds to be stayed upon Christ. We think of David and others. We've mentioned my name before, Lord. be with them in that way that you know is needed. We don't even know what to pray for as we all we bow to you and the person of your son and praise and honor you for him. Amen.