Relations, chapter 1. Every local church at some point
goes bad. That's a solemn thing to think
about. But there's never been a church, a local church, that
at some point has veered off. The machinery keeps going, but
the spirit of God has departed. Now, the church at Galatia was
a church who had believed the gospel, who had heard the gospel,
and loved the gospel, But it appears as if they're going back. It appears as if they've left
the gospel. And the theme of the book of
Galatians is the recovery of the gospel. They seem to be leaving. Paul says in verse six of verse
chapter one, he says to the Galatians, I marvel I am amazed that you
are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace
of Christ unto another gospel, which is not another. It's not
a gospel that will save, but there'll be some that trouble
you and would pervert or change the gospel of Christ. Now, wherever
the truth is preached, you can just write this down, the counterfeit
will be there trying to battle it. Always. That's what had happened
in the Church of Galatia. Wherever the truth is preached,
there will be a counterfeit right behind. You see, Satan's ministers
come as ministers of righteousness, don't they? Angels of light. That's how they masquerade. ministers
of human righteousness, ministers of perversions of what the Bible
calls righteousness or what righteousness actually is. And that's what
was going on at the church of Galatia. They were removed by
these false teachers. You know, Paul warned the elders
at Ephesus that men will come out of your midst. Grievous wolves,
not sparing the flock of your own selves, shall men arise preaching
perverse things. And that's what had happened
in Galatia. And they'd taken the bait. Look in Galatians chapter
three, verse one. Oh, foolish Galatians, who has
bewitched you? You've been bewitched, he says,
that you should not obey the truth before whose eyes Jesus
Christ has been evidently set forth, crucified among you. Look in chapter four, verse nine.
But now, after that you've known God, or rather are known of God,
how turn you again to the weak and beggarly elements wherein
to you desire to be in bondage? Why are you going back in this
direction? Look in verse 16. He says, am I therefore become
your enemy because I tell you the truth? They zealously affect
you, but not well. Yea, they would exclude you that
you might affect them. Verse 19, my little children
of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you. I desire to be present with you
now to change my voice for I stand in doubt of you. Now that's how
he speaks to these people. I stand in doubt of you. Tell
me you the desire to be under law. Don't you hear what the
law says? Chapter five, verse seven, he
says to these same people, you did run well, you seem to believe. Who did hinder you? That you
should not obey the truth, this persuasion cometh not of him
that calleth you. And do you see how he's speaking
to these people? They were in danger of leaving
the gospel. And the theme of this book is
the recovery of the gospel. And that's what we need in this
generation, isn't it? The recovery of the gospel. Now, Paul says,
I marvel that you're so soon removed from him that called
you into the grace of Christ and to another gospel. Paul says,
I marvel. You know, nothing much amazes
me as far as men go. We're all so weak. We're all
so sinful. We all have so many contradictions
and inconsistencies. And it ought not be that way,
but that's the way it is. That's the way it is. That's
all of us. Sinful, weak, frail creatures. And nothing that I
ever hear really amazes me. I'm disappointed. No doubt. disappointed but i'm not amazed
any anything that happens i'm not much amazed by because i
know myself that's why i'm not amazed i know i think of that
scripture if a man be overtaken in a fault can't you see how
anybody can be overtaken in a fault because you know yourself and
you know how easy that could take place so i'm not much amazed
by anything but i'll tell you one thing i would be amazed by
to see someone leave grace and go back to works. Now, that would
be amazing. And that's what Paul marveled
at when he spoke to the churches of Galatia. He says, I'm amazed
that you're so soon removed from him that called you to the grace
of Christ. Now, the grace of Christ is saving
grace. It's electing grace. You leave
out election, you leave out grace. You can't preach grace and not
preach election. It's justifying grace. It's grace that doesn't
offer justification to us to where we get accepted or rejected.
No, it's God declaring his people to be justified. Justifying grace. It's redeeming grace. Grace that
pays the whole price. We just heard about it. All that
the Lord requires of me, he looks to my surety for. I love that.
I love that. Preserving grace, life-giving
grace, glorifying grace. Why would anybody want to leave
that? The only hope I have is in His grace. Now what would
motivate somebody to leave that? And he looks at these Galatians,
he says, I'm amazed, I marvel that you're so soon removed from
Him that called you to the grace of Christ unto another gospel. Look what it says in verse seven,
which is not another, but there'll be some that trouble you and
would pervert the gospel of Christ. It's not a different gospel that
will still save, but a perversion of the gospel. And listen to
this. No one is saved from a perverted gospel. Just not going to happen. Look what it says in verse eight
and verse nine. Now I want you to remember who's
speaking before I read these verses. This is the same one
who said that I could wish myself accursed from Christ for my brethren,
my kinsmen, according to the flesh. Now what all that means,
I don't know, but I know what it says. That's an amazing verse.
This man loved the souls of men. He loved the people he was preaching
to. But look what he says in verse
eight. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other
gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let
him be damned. Let him be sent to hell. Let him be anathematized upon
the return of the Lord. Now, was he saying that in a
harsh, Unloving and critical spirit? You know he wasn't. But you look at the force of
this language. If anybody preaches any other
gospel, let him be cursed. Verse 9, just in case you didn't
hear me, let me repeat myself. As we said before, so say I now
again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that
which you have received, let him be accursed. Or do I now persuade men for
God? Or do I seek to please men? If
I yet please men, I should not be the servant of Christ. Now
there's only one person we're really concerned about pleasing. I'm as vain as the next guy,
and I want you to be pleased with me. I want you to leave
here saying, oh, he's a good preacher. I'm vain as anybody
else. But all that being said, there's
only one person that I want to be pleased with this message.
That's the Lord himself. That's it. Now, if I please him in what I'm saying,
preaching his word, you're pleased with that, aren't you? You're
pleased with that. And that's, that pleases God's
people. But here's the issue. We're not
seeking to please men. We're seeking to preach the gospel
of God, and if I please men, I'm not even the servant of the
Lord Jesus Christ. That's what it's about, pleasing
men. Now he says in verse 11, but I certify you, brethren,
I assure you that the gospel which was preached of me is not
after man. It was not derived from any human
source. Now, perversions of the gospel
are designed to please men. That's what they're for. They
take the edge off. Why? To please men. And they
have as their source men, not God. But Paul says, my gospel
didn't come from man. It has no human origin. You see, anything that comes
from man is evil in its intent. But Paul said, The gospel he
preached was of no human origin. It was not after man, verse 12,
for I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it,
but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. Now, Paul said, man didn't
give me my gospel. Man didn't teach me. I was given
a direct revelation of the gospel from the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Now, here is the authority. The gospel I'm preaching came
directly to me from the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul was the man
God chose to expound the gospel more than any other man. And
no man taught him. He was brought into the third
heavens, and the Lord taught him directly the gospel. Now, Paul was a sinful man, just
like me and you. He was a fallible man, just like
me and you. A weak man, just like me and
you. But his gospel was infallible.
It's what God gave him. The revelation of the Lord Jesus
Christ and any deviation from Paul's gospel was a deviation
from God's gospel. You see, the gospel is utterly
unique. There's nothing like it. It's
perfectly suited for a sinner like me. It's exactly what I
need. And it's called The revelation
of Jesus Christ. He's the author of it. It's the
revelation of him. He's the subject of it. And his
glory is the motive of it. It's the gospel concerning his
son. It's not about you. It's not
about me. It's about him. The revelation of Jesus Christ,
our Lord, and it's a perfect gospel, it's immutable, it's
everlasting, it's perfect. And he says, I certify you, brethren,
that the gospel which was preached to me was not after man, for
I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but
by the revelation of Jesus Christ. Now the false teachers were seeking
to discredit Paul, and what they were doing was seeking to discredit
the divine authority of the gospel he preached. If we can discredit
Paul, we can discredit everything he's saying. And this is why
he's defending himself in this manner. So he gives a little
biographical information in verse 13. He says, for you've heard
of my conversation in times past in the Jews religion, how that
beyond measure, I persecuted the church of God and wasted
it. I thought it my moral obligation before God to persecute everybody
who worshiped the Lord Jesus Christ. I was so zealous of what
I was doing, I thought this is what I needed to do. He says
in verse 14, I profited in the Jews' religion above mine equals
in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the tradition
of my fathers. I was going places, I was exceedingly
zealous, but, verse 15, but. There's a good definition of
grace right there. But, I was headed down the road to hell
thinking I was serving God, satisfied with where I was at. But, but,
when it pleased God. Aren't you thankful for the buts
of the scripture? But Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. And because of that, God says
to Noah, thee have I seen as righteous before me. That's because
of a but God. But God, who is rich in mercy
for his great love, wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace,
you're saved, but God. But when it pleased God. When were you saved, Paul? When
it pleased God. That's when. When it pleased
God. Now the only reason Paul was
saved and the only reason that you or I will enter into heaven
is because it pleases God. That's the only reason. There
is no other reason. I love the words of our Lord
when he said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
you have hid these things from the wise and prudent and revealed
them unto babes, even so, father, for so it seemed good in thy
sight. When it pleased God. Sovereign grace. That's the difference. When it pleased God. Who makes
you to differ from another? And what do you have that you
didn't receive? Now I know who's made you differ,
if you love the Lord, if He's done something for you. God the
Father made you to differ in eternal election. God the Son
made you to differ in redemption when He paid for your sins. God
the Holy Spirit made you to differ when He gave you a new heart
and caused you to believe on His Son. When it pleased God. Now there Some who quarrel with
this idea of when it please God, they had no problem with a God
they can control. I mean, if I've got a God, if I've got a
free will, that means I got control over God. I'm not really too
afraid of him. I mean, really, if you have a free will, That
means you've got control over God. You can stop Him from doing
what He wants to do. Nobody's bothered by a God like
that. I mean, I can put Him in my back pocket, I can get Him
out when I want, I can do with Him what I want. Nobody's afraid
of a God like that. Daniel 4, 34 and 35 says, He
doeth according to His will. In the armies of heaven, and among the inhabitants of
the earth, and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, what
doest thou? Now that's the God of the Bible.
Now let me, if somebody says, I have a problem with that, let
me remind you, that's who God is. That's who God is. The absolute
sovereign of the universe. And really, this is good. This is not bad. This is good. Now if sovereignty was in my
hands, you'd be in trouble. You know, people complain with
the fact that God didn't save everybody. How come he didn't
save everybody? If I was God, I would've saved everybody. I would've elected
everybody. Christ would've done, I would've saved everybody if
I was God. How, that doesn't seem right for God to not save everybody.
Now, wait a minute. The fact of the matter is, is if salvation
was in my hands or your hands, nobody'd be saved but me. I'm
sure of that. Now, I'd forgive you once, I'd
forgive you twice, maybe even 10 times, but at some point I'd
say, that's it. No more mercy. God is good. God is merciful. God is gracious. It's good that
absolute sovereignty is in his hands. Wouldn't mean by saved
if it wasn't. Thank God for this. When it please
God. What he says next. who separated
me from my mother's womb and called me by His grace. He said to Jeremiah, before I
formed thee in the belly, I knew about you. I knew you'd one day be created.
No, before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee. Now, I don't understand this,
but I believe it. I was before 99-59. I had personality before God. He
said, I knew you. Now, of course, I don't understand
that. That's what he said. You know,
he said to one crowd there in Matthew chapter seven, he said, depart
from me, ye that work iniquity. I never knew you. I never knew
you to be mine. I never loved you. I never knew
you to call upon my name. I never knew you to love me.
I never knew you. But he says to Jeremiah and all
of his elect, before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee. He separated me from my mother's
womb, united to Christ, always known by God. When it pleased God, who separated
me from my mother's womb and called me by His grace. And notice the order, separation
and calling. This is the same call that Paul
spoke of in Romans 8 28 when he said, and we know that all
things work together for good to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to his purpose. Paul said, we
preach Christ crucified into the Jews, a stumbling block into
the Greeks foolishness, but unto them which are called both Jews
and Greeks. Christ the power of God and Christ
the wisdom of God. Lazarus! Come forth! Could he say no? He that was dead came forth. Would it please God who separated
me from my mother's womb and called me by His grace. Now catch this. Verse 16. To reveal His Son in me. Not to me, but in me. Now listen real carefully. If Christ is revealed to me,
it won't do me any good because the me is no good. I'll lose
it. I'll lose it. I know that. If
all He is is revealed to me, that's not enough. Paul doesn't
use language like that, does he? He says to reveal His Son
in me. Christ in you, the hope of glory. Paul said in Galatians 2.20,
I live, I do, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life that I now live
by the flesh, I live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son
of God who loved me and gave himself for me. I believe. Right now, I believe the gospel.
I'm trusting the Lord Jesus Christ right now, and I know it's Christ
in me. I know that didn't come from the strength and energy
of this flesh. I know it's His work in me. It's Him in me. I
love God. I love Him as He is. I love all
of His excellent attributes. I wouldn't change Him if it weren't
my power. I love Him. And I know it's because
of Christ in me. I know that. I know it didn't
come from me. I know it's great. To reveal His Son in me that
I might preach Him. I preach Him. Now, what do I
mean by that? Well, first of all, I preach
who He is. He's God. He's man. He's the second person
of the Trinity. He's the only Savior of sinners. He's the God-Man. I preach what
He did. When He had by Himself purged
our sins. He had no help. Had no help from
me. Had no help from you. When He
had by Himself put away my sins so that it was gone. This is
what He did. Because of who He is, that's how He does what He
does. He purged our sins. He made them to wither no more.
When He went into that, walked out of that empty tomb, He walked
without my sins. You know why? Because There isn't
any. There isn't any. That's what
he did. He made it to where I have no sin. That's what he did. What's he doing? What's he doing? He's seated at the right hand
of the Father, ruling and reigning. Right now, me and you, we're
in his hand. And everything's up to him. He's in control of
everything. And he's there making intercession
for his people. Hebrews 7.25 says, wherefore
he is able to save them to the uttermost that come to God by
him. I tell you what, I'm coming to
God by him. That means more than I'm coming. It means more than
saying, well, I'm, I'm, I'm pleading only His name. I am pleading
only His name. I'm not looking anywhere else but Him. That means
more than that. That means when He comes to the Father, I come
to the Father because I'm in Him. I am the way, the truth,
and the life. No man comes to the Father but
by Me. And when He comes to the Father,
so do all of His elect. That's what He's doing. Ruling,
reigning, and interceding. Would it please God who separated
me from my mother's womb. He knew me before time began. And He called me irresistibly
and invincibly by His grace. So when He called, I came. When
it pleased God who separated me from my mother's womb and
called me by His grace to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach
Him among the heathens. You know something I didn't do?
I didn't confer with flesh and blood. I didn't have to check
out the commentaries to see if that's all right. I didn't have
to go to my mom and dad and say, is this what I've been raised
with? I didn't have to compare myself to, or what I believe
to other preachers or other. No, when, when God teaches you
the gospel, you know, it's the gospel. You don't need to confer
with flesh and blood. You know, it's the truth. Neither when I went up to Jerusalem
to them which were apostles before me. You know, Paul didn't have
to come and check this out with Peter or Paul, but I went into,
or Peter or John, but I went into Arabia and returned to Damascus.
Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter
and abode with him 15 days. But of the apostles saw none
save James, the Lord's brother, that the things which I write
unto you before God, I lie not. Afterwards, I came into the regions
of Syria and Cilicia. and was unknown by faith unto
the churches of Judea which were in Christ, but they heard only
that he which had persecuted us in times past now preached
the faith which once he destroyed, and they glorified God in me."
Now, for whatever reason, the church at Galatia was departing
from grace. That's a scary thought, isn't
it? And it'll happen to me and it'll happen to you, apart from
the grace of God. And if the Lord doesn't come back first,
at some point, the Todd's Road Grace Church, the college, whatever
church it is, it's going to go bad. It's just going to happen. What do we do? Just sit back
and wait for it to happen? No. or to do like Paul, to give
ourselves completely to the recovery of the gospel in this generation,
in this town. May the Lord enable us to do
so. Amen. Pastor.