Today, I would like you to turn in your Bible to the book of Galatians, the book of Galatians chapter 1, beginning with verse 1. I'll be speaking from verses 4 and 5 this morning, but let's read from Galatians chapter 1, verses 1 down through verse 8.

Paul, an apostle, not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead. and all the brethren which are with me into the churches of Galatia. Grace be to you and peace from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world according to the will of God and our Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. marvel that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel now he says in verse 7 which is not another there's just one gospel my friend continue reading with verse 7 but there's some that would trouble you and would pervert or change Twist the gospel of Christ, but though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you Then that which we have preached unto you let him be accursed and verses 3 4 & 5 the Apostle gives a description of the gospel of the true gospel and the only Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. He said it's a gospel of grace and peace It's a gospel concerning the Lord Jesus Christ how he gave himself for the sins of his people. Now serious problems had crept in among many of the churches in Galatia.

Paul had preached to them plainly and boldly the truth of salvation in Christ alone by grace alone. Received by faith alone. That's how salvation is received not by doing But by believing and it's believing is a gift of God faith is something God works in us faith is a gift of God Not of works lest any man should boast but false teachers had been encouraged by Paul's imprisonment Paul's in prison now in Rome writing this letter back to these believers and False teachers had been encouraged by Paul's imprisonment and sought to slander his character saying that he was not an apostle of Christ. And they also sought to ridicule and ruin his message of grace saying that salvation was partly by observance of the law and partly by faith in Christ. Now it's recorded what they said over in Acts chapter 15 verse 1. Here's what they were saying. Here's what the false preachers of that day were saying. They said, except you be circumcised after the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved.

Paul in Romans chapter 10 says of these men, they being ignorant of God's righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth." My friend, men are doing the same thing in our day. Rather than preaching Christ alone, faith alone, and salvation by grace alone, they're pointing people to various things to do or to say or to abstain from in order to earn salvation, in order to receive salvation.

You listen to Paul's instructions in chapter 3 of Galatians. Listen carefully. He said this only would I learn of you received you the spirit of the works Received you 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 perfect by the law Paul says you started out by the Spirit of God, but now you've turned away from grace and he's looking to works looking to the law and many in our day and many preachers in our day doing the same thing turning people away from christ alone and pointing them to some other things now the apostle writes to them in great love and concern for their souls welfare warning them plainly warning them not to stray from the true message of salvation by christ he says over in chapter five turn over there if you would chapter five notice this warning he gives he says stand fast Therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage Behold I Paul saying to you that if you be circumcised Christ shall profit you nothing Nothing at all if you look to the law or look to your works Christ shall profit you absolutely Nothing nothing at all.

He says in chapter 2 Verse 16 of Galatians, chapter 2, 16. He says, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. Even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law, for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. In chapter 2 of Galatians, verse 21, Paul says, I don't frustrate the grace of God, distorted or confused. this grace of God and salvation by the grace of God.

If righteousness comes by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. You see, he's warning these people to stay with Christ alone and grace alone. Now let me ask you a vital question. Is salvation, and I mean by that peace and pardon, Reconciliation with God. Redemption before God. Righteousness.

Is it dependent in any way upon what you do? Or what you have done? Or what you will do? Or is salvation totally dependent and accomplished by another? Jesus Christ. Now, which is it? Is salvation totally dependent upon you? Or is salvation totally dependent upon the sinner's substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ?

It can't be both. Can't be both. We read in Romans chapter 11, Romans 11 verse 6, if by grace, then it is no more of work. Salvation is either totally by our works or totally by God's grace. And my friend, the only biblical answer that we can give to that question is salvation is totally vested in Christ. It's his doing, his dying that secured our salvation.

You listen to his prayer, the Lord Jesus Christ praying in John 17, he said, I've glorified thee on the earth. I've finished the work that you gave me to do. Salvation's a finished work. God who had begun a good work in you, he'll finish it, he'll accomplish it. In Christ dwells all the fullness of a Godhead bodily and we are complete in Christ. You see, my friend, salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is something Christ accomplished. Salvation doesn't depend on the sinner. Salvation depends on a sinner's substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, the Apostle Paul was given wisdom of God to deal with this error and to expose this false doctrine, this false gospel by setting forth the true gospel. And that's the way you expose error is by preaching the truth. If you want to expose a crooked stick, lay down a straight stick beside of it. And that's what the Apostle Paul does here in verses 3, 4, and 5. Let's look at these verses. Galatians chapter 1, verse 3.

Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Here we have the truth declared. He says salvation is all of grace. Grace to you. Grace. Salvation is by grace. There can be no reason given for grace but Grace cannot be earned, merited, or deserved. This grace is not common grace, but the special, saving, redeeming, sovereign grace of God.

In Acts chapter 15, Peter stood up at that council and said, We believe through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved. We're justified by his grace. Justified freely, Romans 3, 24. Justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in the Lord Jesus Christ. He not only justifies by grace, but he calls us by his grace. This same chapter, chapter one of Galatians, verse 15.

Read these verses together. But when it please God. Now, when will a man be saved? When it pleases God. Not when a man walks in the aisle, not when a man shakes a preacher's hand, not when a man prays through. When will a man be saved? When it pleases God. You look at verse 15, but when it pleased God who separated me from my mother's womb and then he called me by his grace to reveal his son in me that I might preach him among the heathen, immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood.

He recalled by grace and salvation is a revelation of Christ in you, the hope of glory. So we're justified by grace, we're called by grace, and this grace, my friend, is sovereign grace. And I mean by that, God will have mercy on whom he will, and whom he will, he'll harden. It's not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but it's God that shows mercy. And then he says, peace. Now where grace is given, peace will follow.

And there can be no true peace with God without the grace of God in Christ. In Christ, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Being justified by faith, we have peace with God. In Christ, we have peace of conscience. No condemnation to those who are in Christ. In Christ, we have peace among believers. How good and pleasant it is for the brethren to dwell together in unity.

This grace and peace flows out from God. He's the author of grace. He's the author of peace. He's a God of peace and a God of all grace. That's the gospel that Paul preached, grace unto you in peace. And then he goes on in verse 4 to describe this gospel in detail. Here we have the reason that God can be gracious and give peace unto us who are not deserving or worthy of such mercy, such blessings.

We've merited, the only thing that we have merited is wrath. The wages of sin is death, and we're all sinners before God, this preacher included. We've all sinned and come short of the glory of God. Now notice these things he says in verse 4, describing this gospel. Here we see who died, the Lord Jesus Christ who gave himself for our sins. Now, always remember this about the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. The crucifixion of Christ was not an accident.

He died on purpose. He died on God's purpose. Him being delivered by the determinate purpose of God, counsel and determination of God. Wicked men did what they wanted to do, but they did what God before determined to be done. God planned the cross. God presided over the cross, and God participated in inflicting the Lord Jesus Christ that day at Calvary. It pleased God to bruise Him. And we see who died on the cross. It's who died that gives merit to what He did. The Lord Jesus Christ. He's God, He's the Savior, and He's the Anointed, Prophet, Priest, and King of God. And here we see what He did. He gave Himself for somebody.

He died as a substitute. He didn't die for his own sin. He didn't have any. He died for our sins. He died for the sins of God's people. He didn't die as a frustrated reformer. He didn't die as a defeated martyr. He died as God's substitutionary, satisfying sacrifice for sin.

God made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the very righteousness of God in him. He was wounded for us, bruised for us. Peter said, by the one sacrifice, one sacrifice, he suffered once for our sin that just for the unjust that he might bring us unto God. He was manifested to take away our sin.

He gave himself as a substitute unto God, as a sacrifice unto God, satisfying God's offended justice. something else we see in verse four that he might deliver us from this present evil world my friend the death of the Lord Jesus Christ and the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ will not shed in vain he delivered us He didn't die to render salvation possible for all men. He died to secure and to deliver God's elect from their sin. And He shall not fail to redeem, to save and deliver all His elect from their sin, from all the penalty of their sin. He appeared once in the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

He redeemed us from the penalty of our sin. He redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us. He delivered us from the sting of death. We've been made conquerors through Him. Thanks be unto God who has given us the victory through Christ. Now notice this. He gave Himself for our sins and He delivered us from this present evil world. Now notice this in verse 4. And it's all according to the will of God. Whose will? How are you saved? By your will? No, sir. There's no such thing as free will. Free willism does not exist. Free willism is not the truth of salvation that's taught in the scripture. Men are dead in sin. Their nature is dead to God. bound by sin, dead in sin. A dead man can't give himself life, neither can a sinner redeem himself and give himself salvation. Salvation is according to the will of God. You see that?

The will of God. In the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law. God worketh all things after the counsel of His own will. Now notice that carefully. Salvation, He gave Himself and delivered us, redeemed us and saved us by His will. Salvation is of the Lord. He worketh all things after His will, all things in creation He's sovereign, all things in providence He's sovereign, of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, and all things in salvation. He's sovereign in salvation of His own will beget He us with the word of truth.

Now in closing look at verse 5, Galatians chapter 1 verse 5 and here's the reason behind all his suffering all his dying all his redeeming blood all the will of God verse 5 sums it all up to whom be glory forever and ever amen the grand design and the ultimate end of everything God does is for his glory. Now listen to me carefully. What is the grand design of redemption? The grand design of redemption is not to save some sinners from hell. The grand design of redemption is the glory of God.

The glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is worthy of praise, honor, and glory. The believers, the believers of the gospel love His glory. That's why Paul said in Galatians 6, God forbid I should glory save in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Believers love his glory because he has been enthroned in their heart We love his glory because he's washed us loved us and washed it from our sin in his own blood We love his glory because he saved us by his sacrifice and we love him because he has given us all Spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ No wonder the eternal song of heaven will be worthy as a lamb that was slain to receive all honor and all glory