This morning I'm going to bring
the message from Galatians chapter 1. I'm going to use verse 3,
4, 5, and 6 as the text. And I'm entitling the message,
Six Marks of the Certified Gospel. And I get that title from what
is said in verse 11 and 12. Galatians chapter 1 verse 11,
I certify you. This is the certified gospel.
This is a guaranteed gospel. I certify you, brethren, that
the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. Not the invention of man. It
didn't originate with man. Well, I neither received it of
man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation, the revelation
of Jesus Christ to reveal his son in me that I might preach
him among the heathen, preach the gospel to the Lord Jesus
Christ. Our gospel, the gospel of God
is guaranteed by our surety, our savior, our shepherd, the
good shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ. We see here in this first
chapter a terrible, dreadful consequence of preaching and
believing what Paul calls here another gospel or a different
gospel. As he uses the language in verse
six, I marvel that you are so soon. so soon removed from him
that called you into the grace of Christ. Now, how many months
or years, we don't know, into the grace of Christ and do another
gospel. He said, it's another gospel,
which is not another, but there'll be some that trouble you and
would pervert the gospel of Christ. There's only one gospel. He said,
there's not another, there's just one gospel. God saves every
sinner whom he wisely saves by His purpose and grace, given
us in Christ before the foundation of the world. Now, if you, in
the scheme of the gospel, he says in chapter 5, He said, a
little leaven, you ladies know what leaven is, when you're making
bread. How much leaven does it take
to make that whole lump of flour rise up? A little leaven, doesn't
it? A little leaven does what? It
affects the whole loaf. A little leaven leaveneth the
whole lump. And here's what Paul is teaching
here. Introduce creature merit, human righteousness and work
into the scheme of the gospel and you have perverted it, you've
changed it, you made it another gospel, which is not another. There's just one gospel, one
gospel of Christ. Introduce that human merit, creature
works, and you've changed the message from grace to works. Paul called it another gospel.
He said, you've turned the grace of God into a lie. Here the Apostle
Paul declares unto us that the gospel of Christ, that the power
of God in salvation is not after man. He said, I guarantee you
brethren, I didn't get this message from my Pharisee friends or from
any other man. I got this gospel directly from
God himself. It's God's gospel, is it not?
The gospel of God is older than creation. The gospel of God is
older than Adam's fall. The gospel of God is eternal
gospel. It's the ancient gospel. It's
eternal gospel. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ is the everlasting gospel. Before Adam was created, before
Adam sinned against God, the Lord Jesus Christ stood as a
surety and savior in that everlasting covenant of grace. The God of
peace that brought again from the dead, that Lord Jesus Christ,
that great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting
covenant. We read in Revelation 13, you
remember from our study, the Lord Jesus Christ is a lamb slain
from the foundation of the world. Before Adam fell, Christ stood. Before Adam sinned and plunged
us all into death and depravity, the Lord Jesus Christ stood as
our surety. He stood as our sacrifice for
sin. It's God's gospel in that he's the author of it. He's the
author and finisher of it. It's God's gospel in that he's
the subject of it. when Paul in Romans 1 says that
he was set apart unto the gospel of God that was aforepromised
and spoken of by the prophet, hath in these last days spoken
unto us by his son. But the gospel of God is concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ, made of a seed of woman, made of a seed
of David, but declared to be what? to be the Son of God, the
Son of God. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
author of it, the subject of it. He's the executor of it. God who had begun a good work
in you, He will perform it. He's a revelator of it, the revealer
of it. He's hid these things from the
wise and prudent and revealed them undebayed because, you know
what? It seemed right and good in His
sight. As He says here in verse 16, And verse 15, 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 heathen. So he called me by his grace,
and then what'd he do? He revealed Christ in my heart. So he's the author of it, the
subject of it, the executor of it, the revealer of it, and he's
the sustainer of it. were kept by the power of God
through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed at the last
day. Now, this certified gospel is
defined for us in verse 3, 4, 5, and 6. Verse 3, 4, and 5. Verse 3, 4, and 5. So, I have six statements that
are found in these three verses. We know that salvation is by,
the first word is grace. The second word is peace. Peace,
grace from God, from Christ. The third point will be who gave
himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present
evil world. And the fifth point is according
to the will of God. And the last point, number six,
to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Amen. Now, let's look at that
word grace. Here we see the cause of salvation.
The cause of salvation is the grace of God, the sovereign favor,
sovereign favor, almighty, irresistible grace of God. We see the grace
of God all the way through. Any sinner coming to believe
and love the gospel, from election to glorification, it's all of
God's grace. All of God's grace. Listen to
Paul's testimony. He's writing this from prison,
but he also writes 2 Timothy to the young preacher. And he
said, don't be ashamed of me. His prisoner, nor of the gospel,
for it's God who saved us and called us. He saved us in that
eternal covenant, and then He called us by His grace to reveal
His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the heathen. It's God
who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according
to our works, but according to God's own purpose and grace,
given us in Christ. before the foundation of the
world. Now that's grace. That's what we call sovereign,
sovereign grace. There is a remnant according
to the election of grace. When we talk about sovereign
grace, when we talk about the grace of God, we're talking about
sovereign grace. He will have mercy on whom he
will. His grace justifies us through the blood atonement of
Christ. being justified freely by His grace, the redeeming blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ. His grace, it's His grace that
called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. You see
that in verse 15, but when it pleased God, who separated me
from my mother's womb, and then He called me by His grace. It's
all grace, is it not? Grace, grace, grace. Of His fullness
have we all received grace for grace. It is His grace that saves
us. We all know Ephesians 2, 8 and
9, right? For by grace are you saved through
faith. And that not of yourself, it's
the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Sometimes
I think when I say we all know Ephesians 2.8, sometimes I think,
because I don't have that written down just to reference, sometimes
I think, oh no, can I quote that? Can I quote that? For by grace
are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourself, it's the
gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. We only
believe the gospel As Peter said in Acts 15, we believe according
to the grace of God. He will save us. Our believing
the gospel is by the grace of God. God's salvation is to all
to the praise of the glory of His grace. It is choosing, and
it is redeeming, and regeneration is all to the praise of the glory
of His grace. Listen to this scripture. Ephesians
1, to the praise of the glory of His grace, when He hath made
us accepted in the Beloved, in whom we have redemption through
His blood, the forgiveness of sin according to the riches of
His grace. You see, it starts in grace,
it continues in grace, all to the glory of His grace. Grace,
grace, grace. Preacher, you talk too much about
that. You can't talk too much about that. That's the core,
the heartbeat of the gospel. It's salvation by the grace of
God, is it not? Now my question to you is this.
Have you embraced the certified gospel of the grace of God? Have you embraced it? Have you
received it? Or are you out there on a limb
looking for another gospel? which is not another. Now, I
know what another gospel is, because I grew up, I cut my teeth
on works gospel. On works, they call the gospel,
another gospel. So, I, by the grace of God, when
it pleased God who separated me and called me by His grace
to reveal His Son in me." So have you embraced the gospel
of God's grace? Secondly, we see the fruit of
this salvation by the grace of God in that word peace. Peace. Grace to you and peace from,
it comes from God the Father. eternal covenant of God through
our Lord Jesus Christ, by our Lord Jesus Christ, and in Him.
Most of all, Paul's epistles begin with this phrase, grace
unto you and peace. But this is more than just a
common salutation. It is a declaration of the gospel
itself. There is no peace with God apart
from the grace of God, is there? We often hear in other places
people say, Those who embrace another gospel, which is not
another, but we often hear them say, well, I'm trying to make
peace with God. You ever heard somebody say that?
I'm trying to make peace with God. Forget it. Don't go there. You can't make
peace with God. You're too sinful and He's too
holy. Tell me then, how can a guilty vile sinner satisfy a thrice
holy God? How can you meet His holy standard
of perfection? By your doing? No. By your repentance? No. By your faith? No. Forget it. It must be perfect
to be accepted. We only have that peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ. He made peace for us. How did
He make peace for us? With His own blood. How is peace
made? How is God satisfied? How is
the law of God honored? How can God be just and justify
the ungodly and not violate His holy character? How can God be
a just God and Savior? Tell me how. Only in Christ Jesus. He made peace for us with His
own precious blood. He satisfied the law of God for
us. Turn over one page to Galatians
3 verse 13. Galatians 3 verse 13. Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. For it is written,
for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on the
tree. So, He redeemed us from the curse of the law. We are
redeemed with what? His precious blood. He obtained
eternal redemption for us with His own blood. God was in Christ. making peace, reconciling us
unto the Father. He is our propitiation for our
sin. He is our covering. He is our
reconciliation. It's only peace with God through
the Lord Jesus Christ, His reconciling blood, His atonement, His propitiation,
here in love. Not that we love God. He loved
us and sent his son to be the sacrifice for our sin. The Lord has performed all things
for us. All things for us have been performed
by him. His faithfulness unto death,
not ours. His obedience unto death, not
ours. Now, is this your only hope of
peace before God? Is the Lord Jesus Christ made
peace for us with His own blood? You're not out there on a limb
trying to satisfy God in your doing, in your works, in your
giving or anything else, right? You're resting totally in the
Lord Jesus Christ, who has reconciled us unto God. He is our peace. Christ is our peace. Christ in
you is hope of glory. So, we count everything else
lost, dung, and ruined, that we might win Christ and be found
in Him, being accepted in the Beloved, the Lord Jesus Christ. So you got the first two words?
The gospel of God concerning the Lord Jesus Christ is the
gospel of grace, it's the gospel of peace. Thirdly, the means
of this salvation by the grace of God, as it says there in verse
3, from our Lord Jesus Christ, verse 4, who gave himself for
our sins. Now there has to be a sacrifice
for sins. He gave himself. Now, as our
great high priest, he didn't bring the blood of bulls and
goats, did he? It says in Hebrews 9, verse 11
and 12, he didn't bring that typical animal sacrifice. The
blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sin. He brought his
own blood, shed his own blood on Calvary's tree, and the shedding
of his precious blood, he obtained for us eternal redemption, who
gave himself for our sins. Himself by himself with himself
he purged our sin by the sacrifice of himself He gave himself for
our sin notice if you will in Galatians chapter 2 He says in
verse 19, I through the law am dead to the law that I might
live under God. The law of God has been satisfied.
I'm dead to that law. It's already crucified me. I've already been executed in
Christ crucified. Verse 20, Galatians 2, for I'm
crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not
I, but Christ liveth in me. In 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. For I do not frustrate the grace
of God. This is one of my favorite verses.
For if righteousness come by the law, then Christ died in
vain. His death's in vain. If I can
get it done by my obedience to the law, my faithfulness to the
law, no need for him to come and die. But 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, the Lord Jesus
Christ Himself. Let's read that in Galatians
chapter 4. Turn there. Galatians chapter
4, verse 4. Galatians 4, 4. But when the
fullness of time was come, fullness of THE time was come, God sent
forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law to do what
to redeem them that were under the law that we might receive
the adoption of sons now watch it carefully and because you
are sons god sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts crying
abba father Wherefore, thou art no more a servant, but a son.
And if a son, then an heir of God through the Lord Jesus Christ. He gave Himself for our sin. God could not give anything better.
He gave Himself. God so loved that He gave Himself. He gave Himself. Christ Himself
accomplished our salvation. When He by Himself purged our
sin, He sat down on the right hand of God for our sin. He gave Himself, it says there,
for our sins. Now, we're going to see in our
study Wednesday night in Psalm 40 that the Lord calls our sins
His. He bare our sin in His own body
on the tree. He had no sin of His own. He
personally committed no sin. He knew no sin, did no sin, and
knew no sin, had no sin. Such a high priest became us
who were holy, harmless, totally separated from sin, undefiled. But He was made sin for us. He gave Himself for our sin. Holy, harmless, undefiled, separate
from sin. The Lord Jesus Christ dies for
the sin of His people that was laid upon Him. Christ suffered
once for our sin, the just for the unjust, that He might bring
us unto God. He bare our sin in His own body
on the tree. The Lord Jesus Christ dies the
appointed time, in the fullness of the time, for the appointed
people, with the appointed sacrifice that God required. What was that? The Lamb of God. Christ was not
the helpless victim of godless men. He was the appointed sacrifice
of a thrice holy God. We are redeemed with His precious
blood. I told you over the years, He bought us with His own blood
that God planned the cross from all eternity. And being delivered
by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, God presided
over the cross. Pilate thought he was in charge
that day. Remember he said, don't you know I have power to crucify
you or let you go? And the Lord said, you don't
have any power over me, except that which I give you. God planned
the cross, presided over the cross, and participated in afflicting
him. It pleased God to bruise him.
Now listen carefully, and this is a simple statement. I'm a simple man. It's not what God did. It's not
what men did at the cross. That's our hope. I mean, they
did wicked things. They nailed Him to a tree. They
put a spear in His side. They crushed thorns down on His
brow. They beat Him, pulled out His
beard, did all them wicked things to Him. But it's not what men
did. That's our hope. That's what
God was doing at the cross. It pleased the Lord to bruise
him. Our Lord speaks from Calvary and says, Is it nothing to you,
all ye that pass by? Behold and see if there be any
sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done to me wherewith the Lord
hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger. It was the
stripes of God's wrath that accomplished our salvation. Shedding of his
blood, sin demands death. The guilty must die. The Lord
Jesus Christ became guilty for us, bearing our sin in his own
body. This is the only certified sacrifice
that God will accept. God will only accept that which
he has provided. Did you get that? He is Jehovah Jireh, the Lord
will provide. He will only accept that which
he has provided. God said it must be perfect to
be accepted. God will only accept that which
he's provided. What has he provided? The Lamb
of God, Jesus Christ himself, gave himself for our sin. He
said, no man takes my life. Remember we studied that all
through the Gospel of Matthew. Remember he said, I must go,
I must die, I must be rejected, I must be crucified, I must be
raised up again. No man takes his life, he said,
I lay down my life, who gave himself for our sins. Now, is
this the only sacrifice for sin that's all your hope of pardon? Is that it? Is that all your
hope of forgiveness and pardon? Is His redeeming blood? Or do
you hold out some other hope? Some other thing? No, my friend. Has to be the blood of Jesus
Christ. His Son cleanses us from all
our sin. Nothing more. Nothing less. Nothing else, but Christ and
Him crucified. For I'm determined, Paul said,
to know nothing among you, but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Is this all your hope? That's
all the believers hope. Jesus Christ Himself. Now here's
the fourth thing. The character or promise, stamp
or hallmark, or assurance of a certified gospel is this. that he might deliver us from
this present evil world. Deliverance. Now what does a
deliverer do? He delivers us. He delivered
us from the curse of the law in that He redeemed us. He delivered
us. He delivered us. We read in the
book of Romans chapter 11 that He's going to deliver when He
comes. When He comes, He's going to
save all His people from their sin. He is the Savior who saves. He is the Redeemer who redeems,
and guess what? He is the Deliverer who delivers. He delivers! He delivers, doesn't
He? He delivers all His people from
all their sin. Christ did not die to make salvation
a possibility for all men if they would meet certain standards.
Christ did not die to put men in a savable state. The Lord
Jesus Christ is not a partial payment. It's complete payment.
It's a full ransom that actually delivers, fully delivers us from
all our sin. Can I make good on that? I think
I can. Turn to Galatians chapter 5.
Stand fast therefore, verse 1, stand fast therefore in the liberty
wherewith Christ hath made us free, and don't be entangled
again with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I, Paul, say unto you,
that if you be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For
I testify to every man that is circumcised, he is a debtor to
the whole law. Christ has become of no effect
unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law." Well,
you've departed from the grace of God. You've departed from
the grace of God. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ
is the One who has delivered us from all our sin. He is the Deliverer. He is the
Redeemer. In Luke chapter 4, when the Lord
came to his hometown synagogue in Nidrus, he asked for the book
of Isaiah, and he read from Isaiah 61, the spirit of the Lord is
upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the
poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach
deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the
blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. This is the
only certified gospel of God that really actually delivers
from the bondage of sin. Deliver them from going down
to the pit. I found a ransom. The Lord Jesus Christ is our
deliverer. There is no other. There's no
one going to perish for whom the Lord Jesus Christ died. He
delivered all of them. He said, all that the Father
has given to me, they'll come to me and I'll never cast them
out. I'll raise them up. I will not
lose one. Not one. He is the Deliverer
who gave Himself for us. Our sin to deliver us from this
present evil world. This world is an evil place.
You know why it's evil? It's full of evil people. That's
why it's evil. It's evil, because we're fallen
and sinful. Oh, if we say we have no sin,
we deceive ourselves, and the truth's not in us. This world
is evil because it's full of evil people. But He's going to
deliver us from all sin, take us to glory, and make us like
Himself. Here's the fifth thing. The certified
gospel, the gospel of God, All spiritual blessings are given
to us by the will of God. You see that? So He gave Himself
for our sins as a Redeemer. He delivered us from this present
evil world. And it's all according to, not
the will of man, but it's according to the will of God and our Father. There is a will involved in salvation. And it's not yours. It's God's
will. Our Lord taught us to pray, Lord,
not my will, but Thy will be done. Thy will be done. Salvation
is by the sovereign will of God. It's not of him that willeth,
nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. Salvation
is of the Lord, it's by the will of God, and it's in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Of His own will begat He us with
the word of truth. in whom also we have obtained
an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him
who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will,
that we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted
the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is by his will. His
will. We're born again, not of the
will of the flesh, not of the will of man, we're born again
by the will of God. Have you got that? The gospel
of God that saves sinners is according to the sovereign will
and purpose of Almighty God. Now, lastly is this. Now who gets the glory? Who gets
the glory? Verse 5 says, Pat yourself on the back. You
did a good job. I'm making fun, aren't I? That's
what Elijah said to those false prophets. Why don't you cry a
little bit louder? Maybe your God's sleeping. Maybe He's on
vacation. To whom be glory forever and
ever. Amen. Who gets the glory in the
salvation of sinners? God be the glory. To God be the
glory. Great things He has done. Look
at chapter 6. Chapter 6, verse 14. Chapter 6, verse 14. But God
forbid. God forbid. He said, 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. For in Christ
Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision,
but a new creature. As many as walk according to
this rule, peace be on them and mercy upon the Israel of God.
What is that rule that we walk by? God forbid we should glory
save in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's our rule.
That's the rule of faith. Gloring only in Christ. in the
Lord Jesus Christ. Worthy is the Lamb to receive
all honor and glory, not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but
unto Thy name, who we give glory. He's worthy of it. Now, is the
gospel you embrace and the gospel you believe, give all the honor
and glory to the Lord Jesus Christ alone? Then, You're blessed of God to believe
this Gospel of God. Now let's look at those three
verses again. Grace be unto you. Grace be unto you and peace comes
from God the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ who gave Himself
for our sins. What does that do? What's the
fruit of that? Deliverance. Deliverance from
this present evil world. And it's all according to the
will of God, our Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. And
then the last word is what? What do you say to that? Amen. I say amen. Amen. That's the Gospel of God
concerning the Lord Jesus Christ.