The title of the message this
morning is this. The gospel we preach. The gospel we preach. Now we hold fast to the gospel
of God's free and sovereign grace in Christ Jesus. And it's to
be preached boldly. It's to be preached unapologetically. It's to be preached without compromise. But it's also to be preached
with compassion and in love. I don't know that I've ever stepped
into the pulpit. I don't ask the Lord to enable
me to preach with boldness, but also to preach with compassion. And this gospel, it's offensive. It is offensive to the natural
flesh. And if you leave here today offended
by this gospel, well, that's one thing. Paul wrote this in Romans chapter
12, 18. He said, if it be possible, as much as lying in you, live
peaceably with all men. I want to have a, I believe Paul
had a compassionate Paul at one time, he had went
about, he was a ruthless, he was a ruthless man. And yet the
Lord in his mercy was pleased to save him. I wanna have a compassionate
spirit, just like the Apostle Paul did. In Galatians six, verse
one, just turn over a few pages there, Galatians chapter six
and verse one, Paul said this, he said, brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, what
did he say? Restore such a one. Restore them
in the spirit of meekness considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Let's not forget the pit from
which we were dug out of. Hold your place there in Galatians
1 and turn back Turn over to Ephesians. This is the next book
over. Ephesians chapter four. Ephesians chapter four. Look at the beginning of verse 31. Ephesians four. Verse 31, let all bitterness, and wrath,
and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you,
with all minds, and, read on, be ye kind. Be ye kind one to
another, tend to hearted, forgiving one another as God, here's the
reason, as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you. Isn't that a good reason to have
a forgiving spirit? Consider what the Lord's done
for us. As God, for Christ's sake, hath
forgiven you. You see that? Put away bitterness,
put away anger, put away wrath, put away clamor, put away evil
speaking, and instead, in place of that, that's what we try to
do in school. Kids pick up bad habits, and
sometimes it's not enough just to tell them not to do that.
We gotta find something to put in. Put away those things. Put away
wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking, and instead, be kind. Be tender hearted. Have a forgiving
spirit. As God, for Christ's sake, hath
forgiven you. How has he forgiven us? He's
forgiven us freely. He's forgiven us fully. Not just a partial forgiveness,
a full forgiveness. He's forgiven us forever. Eternal, eternal forgiveness. And why did he do it? For Christ's
sake. He has forgiven us for Christ's
sake. Romans 14, we'll turn there. Romans 14. It's filled. Romans 14 is filled
with instruction on not judging others, not being judgmental. Not judging on others for maybe
celebrating a day we don't celebrate, or what a man eats. Say if one
fellow eats pork and another doesn't, What's that matter in
the overall scheme then? What a man drinks. All these,
all these things. Look at verse 19 of Romans 14. What's he say here? Instead of
getting caught up in all those things, let us follow after the
things which make for peace and the things wherewith we may. That's clear, isn't it? Huh? We're to get along with
people. Matthew, he went so far in Matthew
5.25 to say this. Agree with thine adversary quickly
while thou art in the way, lest at any time the adversary deliver
you unto the judge and the judge deliver you to the officer and
thou be cast into prison. Now all that said, all that said,
there are many things that we can agree to disagree on. There's a lot of things we can
kind of overlook and put behind us. But listen to what Paul writes
in Galatians 1, Verse six, turn back there with me. Galatians
one, verse six. He says, I marvel that ye are
so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of
Christ unto another gospel. which is not another, but there
be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But the we. Paul says this of
himself. He says, the we, or an angel
from heaven, preach. unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so now I say
again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that
which you have received, let him be accursed. That's a bold statement, isn't
it? That's a mighty strong charge, isn't it? And truly, what a responsibility
for anyone who stands in this place to declare the truth of
God's word. But it doesn't end there, does
it? What a responsibility to both the preacher and those who
hear. That's who he's talking to here,
isn't he? He said, if anybody comes to
you preaching any other gospel than that which we've preached,
Let him be accursed. What a serious, serious matter
this thing of the gospel is. And apparently, in one of those
churches of Galatia, false preachers had crept in. They're describing
the word as wolves in sheep's clothing, preaching Another gospel,
which is, Paul was clear about that. Not another gospel. There
is no other gospel. There's but one gospel. Paul
said they're preaching a perverted gospel. And what this perversion
was, I don't believe it's spelled out clearly. Maybe it was just
a little bit. Don't take much, does it? Any at all, anything apart from
Christ and Christ alone. And we're told in God's word
to beware. Beware of false prophets, those
who would come in sheep's clothing. But inwardly, inwardly, they
are ravening wolves. They got sheep's clothing on.
You know what that means? They look like sheep. They look like sheep. They might
even sound like sheep. A brother of mine was traveling
here a few years back out west, and he had come across close
to where their campground was a Grace Church. That's what it
was listed as. And he was eager. He was eager
to get out there, not just to take a vacation, but to go and
maybe find there was another congregation preaching God's
Word. And when he got there, he said
it was anything but. Isn't that disappointing? Beware. Beware. Name on a building
can be deceiving. Using words like grace and sovereignty
can be slid into a message, but that doesn't mean that person's
preaching the gospel. Again, this is a stern warning
to all of us. Our Lord spoke in Matthew and
he said this, he said, there shall arise false Christs and
false prophets and they'll show great signs and great wonders
insomuch that if it were possible, if it were possible, they'd deceive
the very elect of God. If it were possible. Turn to 2 Peter. 2 Peter. 2 Peter 2. 2 Peter 2, verse 1. But there were false prophets
also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers
among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies,
even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves
swift destruction and many, listen, many shall follow their pernicious
ways. I don't use that word pernicious
a lot, I had to look it up. It means this, damnable ways. It means destructive ways. Many shall follow their pernicious
ways, by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken
of. Let's be watchful. Let's not let that happen on
our watch, right? Paul says, again, here in our
text, if we, or if it was even possible, an
angel of God preach any other gospel than that which we have
preached, let him be accursed. Accursed, that means a thing
devoted to God with no hope of being redeemed. Accursed, it
means banned. It means doomed for destruction. And Paul repeats this twice.
No doubt, emphasize it. We have to be told things twice,
don't we, or three times or four times? We have to be told it
over and over again. Tell me the old, old story. We wanna hear it over and over
again. Paul says this, if any man preach
any other gospel than that which is preached, let him be accursed. I was thinking about this. I
remember Brother Henry saying the best way, the best way to
expose a crooked stick, it's not through arguing about
it, it's not debating about it, it's simply this. You want to
expose a crooked stick, you put a straight stick right beside
of it. It's evident, isn't it? So what
was? What was this gospel that Paul
preached? Well, look with me at Galatians
1. Let's begin with verse 3. Listen to what Paul writes. He
says, 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 our Father, to whom be glory forever and
ever. Amen. What was this gospel that Paul
preached? I believe we see it here in these,
it's seen throughout God's word, but I believe we can see it here
in these three verses. What's the very first word we
see? In verse three, that's right, grace. Grace. It's the gospel of God's grace. What we read back there in Genesis,
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Unmerited favor. God giving us what we do not
deserve. In Ephesians chapter 2, verse
8, we read, for by grace are you saved through faith. And that not of yourselves, it's
the gift of God. The believer is redeemed from
death and sin to life and glory. Why? By the grace of God. Electing grace. Redeeming grace. Sanctifying
grace. Eternal grace. Sovereign. sovereign grace, in, by, and
through the Lord Jesus Christ. In Acts chapter 20, in verse
24, we read, none of these things move me. Neither count I my life
dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and
the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus to testify
of what? The gospel of the grace of God. It's the gospel of grace. Back to our text, second point
here. Grace be to you, verse three,
again, Galatians 1, verse three. Grace be to you, look at this
word, peace. Peace, peace from God the Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ. You know a false gospel declares
peace where there is no peace. The gospel, the gospel declares
peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Gospel, a gospel of peace. Think about that. Peace with
God. As a man, we have peace with
God through the Lord Jesus Christ. Peace in our hearts. The peace
described in scripture that passeth all understanding. The gospel declares the Lord
Jesus Christ who is our peace. It declares the peace that was
made by his blood. The peace by his sacrifice. God's wrath. God's wrath on sin. Through the suffering and
death of our Lord Jesus Christ. Again, that peace that passeth
all understanding. Peace from God the Father. Here's
the source of it. Peace from God the Father and
the Lord Jesus Christ. Third, look at verse four. Who gave himself Who gave himself for our sins? The gospel declares this. The
gospel declares that the Lord Jesus Christ gave himself for
our sins. Mike, when you sing those hymns,
sometimes it just has the word Jesus, the name Jesus. you might always slip in the
Lord Jesus. We're not talking about a man. We're talking about the Lord
Jesus Christ, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ who gave himself
for our sin. Men say this, men say he died
as a reformer, I guess a frustrated reformer at that because he's
dependent on man. They say he died as an example. Scripture declares this. He died
for our sins. And that's what we are. That's
what we are. Sinners. Sinners. Sinners by birth. Sinners by
choice. Sinners by practice. Romans 5,
12, wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death
by sin, so death passed upon all men. Why? For all have sinned. We're born, born in trespasses
and sin. We come forth from the womb speaking
lies. Is that true? Let me ask you,
how many of you had to teach your children how to lie? They were well equipped for it.
How many of us had to be taught to lie? Did anybody set you down
on their knee when you were little and say, now this is how we lie?
No. We knew, didn't we? It's born
in us. Didn't have to be taught to.
Didn't have to be taught to lie. David said this in Psalm 51. He said, behold, I was shapen
in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. And this
thing of sin, it's, listen, it's not just what we do. It's what
we are. It's what we are in this flesh
dwelleth no good thing. Paul wrote that he said, even
when I would do good, evil is present with me. And apart from
Christ, apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, we will die in our sins. Romans 7, 24, Paul said, oh,
wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of
death? Oh, he didn't stop there, though,
did he? He said, I thank God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. So then, with the mind, I myself
serve the law of God, but with the flesh, the law of sin. Yet, in spite of my sin, in spite
of who and what I am, we read, he gave. He gave. The Lord Jesus Christ gave himself
for our sins. A sacrifice for sin. He was wounded
for our transgression. He was bruised. for our iniquity. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him. By his stripes we are healed. Well, again, back to our text
here. First, verse four, Galatians
1. This gospel, God's gospel declares
that the Lord Jesus Christ gave himself for our sin. He was made an offering for sin. He bore the wrath of God for
sin. Fourth, that he might deliver us from
this present evil world. This gospel, Paul's gospel, The
gospel of God's word, it declares deliverance. The captives set
free. Our Lord walked into a synagogue
in Bethlehem on the Sabbath, and he opened the book of Isaiah,
and he began to read. Turn to Luke 4. Turn to Luke
chapter 4. But beginning with verse 16,
I said Bethlehem, Nazareth. He came to Nazareth where he'd
been brought up. And as his custom was, he went
into the synagogue on a Sabbath day and he stood up to read.
And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book,
he found the place where it was written, Spirit of the Lord is
upon me. because he hath anointed me to
preach the gospel to the poor. He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the
captives, the recovery of sight to the blind, and to set at liberty
them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And we read that everybody, can
you imagine when he read that? Says everybody in the synagogue,
their eyes were fastened on him. Think about that. Deliverance
to the captives. Deliverance from this present
evil world. Well, turn back to Galatians
1. Galatians 1, verse 4. Fifth point, this gospel is according
to the will of God the Father. His will, not man's will, not
my will, His will. In Psalm 135, six, it says this,
whatsoever the Lord pleased, That did He. He didn't ask permission. He didn't take a pole. No. Whatsoever
the Lord please, that did He where? In heaven, in earth, in
the seas, in all deep places. He doeth. 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? What did he do? He chose a people
in Christ from before the foundation of the world. And that people,
he took them and he gave them to his Son, gave them to the
Lord Jesus Christ. And he quickens us, he gives
life, through this, while we were, listen, scripture says
this, that while we, when did he do this? After we straightened
out our lives, huh? Because he looked down from time
and said, well, this one's gonna be good and this one's gonna
be bad, no. He did this, he quickened us and gave his life while we
were yet dead in trespasses and sin. And that people he redeemed
in his son, redeemed in the Lord Jesus Christ, God's word declares
of his own will begat he us even by the word of truth. Well, what
is this gospel? What is this gospel that we preach? What is this gospel that we desire
to hear? It's the gospel of his grace.
It's the gospel that declares Peace. It's the gospel that declares
that the Lord Jesus Christ gave himself for our sins. It's the gospel that declares
deliverance, deliverance to the captives. It's the gospel that's
according to his will, his sovereign will. And six, it's the gospel
in which almighty God gets all the glory. You know, a false gospel gives
man the glory. At best, at best he gets to share
at least a little bit of it, doesn't he? Isaiah 42, eight says this. I
won't have you turn there. It says, I am the Lord. That's my name. That's almighty
God speaking. I am the Lord. That's my name. And I will not give my glory
to another. He's not gonna share his glory
with another. This gospel. Says, look there,
to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. All the glory and praise to the
Father, to the Son, to the Holy Spirit. That's the gospel. That's the
gospel. And I'll tell you this. You hear
somebody speak, you listen to them long enough, and you listen.
Who gets the glory? Who gets the glory? Revelations
5 verse 13. Blessing, this is the song of
the redeemed. This is the song that we'll sing
throughout eternity. Blessing and honor and glory
and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne and into the
land forever and ever. Well, may he by his grace enable us
to faithfully preach his gospel. Let's all be faithful to hear
it. To hear it. To be faithful to
guard against error. What'd he say? Though we, or
an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than
that which is preached, let him be accursed. All right.