I'm entitling the message from
Galatians chapter 1, six marks of the certified gospel. Down
in verse 11, the apostle said, but I certify you, that is, I
guarantee you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached
of me unto you is not the gospel of man, It is the gospel of God,
the certified gospel. Now, when I was a very young
man trying to preach, and I'm still trying to do the same thing,
about 33 years ago, when I was about 30, 31 years old, I stood
for the first time in a pulpit They were at 13th Street, having
been asked by Pastor Mahan to bring a gospel message. And I
used Galatians chapter 1 as my text many, many years ago, 33 years ago. And this book, this
book of Galatians, has been one of my favorites for many years.
And I pray that God will enable me to preach the gospel one more
time as we begin a new year, 2015. 2015 goes by so quickly, doesn't it?
Seemed like we just went through that 2000, year 2000, everybody's
worried about everything crashing and the world ending, and here
we're 15 years later. It just seemed like that was
the other day. But maybe one more time the Lord will enable
me to preach the gospel of God concerning the Lord Jesus Christ,
which will do this. It will incite us and cause us
and lead us as believers to worship Him. When the gospel is preached,
when Christ is exalted, it excites us. It inspires us. It compels us. to reverently
worship Him. Be still and know that I am God. Beside me there is no other."
Now we see here in this first chapter the Apostle Paul giving
a warning to those to whom he loved. He loved these people.
And God gave him these words to write back unto them. He says in verse 6, I marvel
that some of you are so removed from him that called you. Some
of you have departed from the gospel of God's grace. Unto another
gospel, which the apostle said there is but one gospel. But
there would be some that would trouble you, these false preachers
and these Judaizers who came saying that Christ is not enough,
you must add your personal obedience unto it, that would pervert the
gospel, that had changed the gospel. And then he gives this
dire, dire warning that we or an angel from heaven would preach
any other gospel unto you. Let him be accursed, let him
be condemned, let him be damned. Now there is just one gospel,
the gospel of God. But anytime that you bring a
message that would somehow, someway introduce creature merit, creature
righteousness, human effort into the scheme of salvation, Saying
something like, well, God's done all he can do. Now, really it's
conditioned upon you whether what he did, his atonement, whether
it's successful or not, really depends upon your attitude toward
it. That's another gospel. That's
not the gospel of God. To preach it or to embrace it
is to go down with it. down to eternal condemnation. Here the apostle declared that
the gospel that he preached is a certified gospel. It's certified. That is, it's guaranteed. It's
guaranteed by God. You see, this gospel we preach
that Paul defined in Romans 1 as the gospel of God concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ. is a guaranteed message. It's
guaranteed to work. It's guaranteed to save His people.
It's guaranteed to bring all the honor and glory unto Christ.
It's guaranteed. God has guaranteed it. This is
God's gospel. What I preach and bring to you
each week is not the gospel according to Tom. Although I can say with
Paul, it's my gospel. That is, I embrace it, I own
it, I confess it. But it's God's message, it's
God's gospel concerning Christ. You see, God's gospel is older
than creation. God's gospel is an ancient gospel. It's as old as God. Before Adam
ever was created, or before Adam ever sinned against God, the
Lord Jesus Christ stood as a surety of that everlasting covenant
of grace. The Lord Jesus Christ is a lamb
slain before the foundation of the world. Before there was a
fall, before there was ruin, there was remedy. You see, the
gospel of God is an eternal gospel. God is the author of it. The
Lord Jesus Christ is the message of it, the sum and substance
and subject matter of it. God is the executor of this gospel. He makes application of it, and
He is the revealer of this gospel. Did you notice verse 15 and verse
16 in Galatians chapter 1? But when it pleased God, who
separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by His grace
to reveal His Son in me." This salvation doesn't come by education. You can't educate people into
the Kingdom of God. We're born into the Kingdom of
God. This salvation comes by revelation of God. It's a mystery
that God must reveal. He's hid these things from the
wise and prudent and revealed them unto babe, to reveal his
Son in me. Christ in you is a hope of glory. God who has begun a good work
in you will finish it. Salvation, we call it, and we
say salvation is a heart work. It's the inward work. It's Him
making you a new creature in Christ Jesus. 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. He's able to keep us from
falling and to present us faultless before the presence of God's
glory, and He does so with exceeding joy. Aren't you glad that He's
not ashamed to call us brethren? He presents us to the Father
as His bride, adorned in His righteousness, clothed with the
garments of salvation. Now, so Paul warns about those
who would come preaching another gospel, another message. What
is the message that Paul preached? Well, I think it's defined here
for us very clearly in Galatians chapter 1 verse 3, 4, 5. grace be unto you and peace from
God our Father from the Lord Jesus Christ who gave himself
for our sin that he might deliver us from this present evil world
according to the will of God Our Father, to whom be glory. Now, who gets the honor? Who
gets the glory? For salvation, the salvation of sinners. Forever
and ever. Amen. So be it. To God be the
glory, great things. Would you have it any other way? Does man deserve any credit,
any glory for the grace of God? Absolutely not. He's worthy of
all honor. That's why the song of redemption
throughout eternity is worthy of the lamb that was slain to
receive all honor, glory, blessing, and power both now and forever. So, here's the outline. Six distinct
marks of a certified gospel. And here's my question for us
to consider this morning. Is the gospel I believe the certified
gospel? Or is it another? The gospel
I believe, the gospel you believe, is it the certified gospel? Or is it what Paul warned about,
another gospel? Now let's see if we can define
this. Verse 3, we see the cause of
salvation, grace. Grace. Now this is more than
just a common greeting. This is describing how God saves
sinners, is it not? Grace. The cause of salvation
is the grace of God. Now what is the grace of God?
It's the sovereign, irresistible, everlasting, free favor of God. He is gracious. He said, I will
be gracious to whom I will be gracious. God is a gracious,
generous giver. Grace, the unmerited favor and
pleasure 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 God who saved us and called
us. With a holy colleague, not according
to our works, but according to God's own purpose and grace,
given us in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world.
Now, did you get those two points, those two words in that scripture,
2 Timothy 1, 9? Purpose and grace. Purpose, God
saves. You know, there's never have
been a sinner saved by accident. Did you know that? Every sinner
God saves, He saves on purpose. There is an eternal purpose,
which He purposed in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the
world. God's purpose is tied to His grace. His grace is tied
to His purpose. God's married the two together.
You cannot separate it. While God had joined together,
we attended a wedding yesterday in Kingsport. Tony and Rita's
daughter, Lauren, was married yesterday. And we think of that
scripture in regard to marriage, what God had joined together,
let not man put asunder. But God had joined together many
promises in the Word of God, His purpose and His grace. They
work in harmony together. His decrees and His purpose all
work together to His glory. Salvation is of the Lord, God's
grace. It's electing grace that chose
us. There's a remnant according to the election of grace. His
grace, sovereign grace that justifies us. We're freely justified by
His grace through the redemption that is in the Lord Jesus Christ.
His grace that has called us unto Himself. Verse 15 says, when it pleased
God who separated me from my mother's womb, and He called
me by His grace. You see, there's no aspect of
salvation that's not according to His grace. Election, justification
are called, and certainly God saves us by His grace. And we believe. You know how
we believe? We believe according to the working
of His grace. According to the working of His
power. We believe through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
we shall be saved. Remember from Acts 15, 11, that
message I brought just a few weeks ago? We believe through
the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved by his grace,
by his grace. You see, this thing of believing,
this thing of faith, and that's how salvation's received, it's
received by faith. And this faith is not something
that is native to our wicked heart. Faith is not something
that just naturally flows out. We're not naturally born with
faith. Just opposite, unbelief. You
see, faith is a gift of God. You know, faith is called precious. Precious, we've obtained like
precious faith through the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. God's
salvation is all to the praise of the glory of his grace. You
read Ephesians chapter 1. To the praise of the glory of
His grace, wherein 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. What a better way
to begin a new year than declaring that salvation is by His grace.
Aren't you glad it's that way? Apart from His grace, this sinner
would have no salvation. None at all. Neither would you.
according to the riches of His grace. Now, my question is this,
have you embraced and received the certified gospel of the grace
of God? That's all my hope. That's all
my plea. God's free and sovereign grace,
His favor. Well, preacher, you just harp
on that all the time. I mean to. I mean, I mean to
do it. I'm going to harp on it some
more. The Lord gives me another year to preach the gospel. Every
sermon I'll bring, you'll hear about the grace of God, the grace
of God, the grace of God revealed in Christ Jesus. Now, the second
thing we see about the certified gospel, grace be to you, grace
to you, sovereign grace, he'll have mercy on whom he will, and
then the fruit of that salvation is peace. Peace! Peace! Peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ. Here's the fruit of salvation
by the grace of God is peace. Being justified by faith, we
have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. Peace! This is more than just a common
greeting, grace and peace. This is a declaration of the
gospel. There is no peace with God. Notice it's grace first,
And then peace. There is no peace with God apart
from the grace of God. Not at all. No peace with God
apart from the grace of God. We often hear some say in other
places, not here, God forbid that anyone would say this here,
but we often hear sinners in other places say, well, I'm trying
to make peace with God. Okay? Tell me how. How are you going to satisfy
God? Oh, come on. Tell me how you're going to do
it. Tell me how a guilty vile sinner can satisfy Christ's holy
God. How can you meet His holy standard
of perfection? You're going to make peace with
God? You're going to reconcile yourself unto God? By your doing? Now listen. By your repentance? By your faith? by your goodness,
by your righteousness, forget it, forget it, there is only
peace with God. Now you think about this, the
God that we have sinned against, the God that says I'm angry with
the wicked every day, there is only reconciliation and peace
with God, reconciliation in the Lord Jesus Christ. He made peace
for us with His own blood. Let's turn and read that, just
a few pages over to the book of Colossians. So how is peace
made? Because of God's grace, we have
an atonement in Christ Jesus. And the fruit of that atonement
is peace with God. Colossians chapter one, verse
19 says, for it pleases the Father that in Him should all fullness
dwell, having made peace. Now who made peace? I don't read
your name in there anywhere. He made peace with the blood
of his cross by him to reconcile all things unto himself in heaven
or on earth. And you that were aliens and
enemies in your mind by wicked works yet now have he reconciled. God was in Christ reconciling
us unto himself, in the body of his flesh to death, to present
you holy, unblameable, unreprovable in his sight. Now who made peace? Christ made peace. He made peace
with his own blood. You see that? It's peace only with God in Christ. By His performance, not mine.
He performed all things for us. This is the only certified peace
we have before God. Anything else is not peace. Now, this is the certified gospel
that gives the real sinner real peace with God. Thirdly, the
means of salvation, look back at verse 4. Grace be to you and
peace from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sin. Do you see that? Who gave himself
for our sin. The means of this salvation,
by the grace of God, is Jesus Christ Himself, who gave Himself
for our sin. Now, He could have given universes,
He could have given planets, He could have given gold and
silver and cattle, He could have given all those things, but without
the shedding of blood, there's no remission. You see, He gave
Himself. for our sin. He gave his blood
for our sin. Look just across the page or
one page over Galatians chapter 2 verse 20. I'm crucified with
Christ nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the son
of I live by I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me
and gave himself for me He gave Himself. He bought us with His
own blood. You are bought with a price.
Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your soul. Now, who
is this one that dies for us? Turn to Galatians chapter 4.
Who gave Himself for our sins? Who is this one that dies for
us? Look at Galatians chapter 4 verse 4. When the fullness
of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, to
redeem them that were under the law. God sent forth Himself,
His Son. God the Son, to redeem them that
were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. Who gave Himself? He gave Himself. Who is this
one that dies? God. God bought us. And then
he gave himself for us. Who gave himself? He said, no man takes my life
from me. I have power to lay it down.
I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received
in my father. And then he gave himself. He
gave himself. Our great high priest didn't
come with the blood of Balls of gold, did he? As those Old
Testament priests did. He came and shed his own blood. He gave his own life. You see,
it's who he is that gives infinite value to what he did. We're redeemed
with the precious blood of Christ. He obtained eternal redemption
for us with his own blood. And then in our text, look what
it says again. Verse 4, Galatians chapter 1.
who gave himself for our sins. Now, he didn't have any sin of
his own. He had no sin, He knew no sin,
and He did no sin. But He was manifested to take
away our sin. He took our sin unto Himself. God the Father laid upon Him
our sin. That's what happened at Calvary.
God made Him sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be
made the righteousness of God in Him. He gave Himself for my
sin. the sin of his people. The just
one suffered for the unjust that he might bring us unto God. This is such a vital point. Christ's
substitutionary sacrifice wounded for us, bruised for us. I wonder sometimes if we If we
really, I'm speaking of myself, fully appreciate His sacrifice. He gave His life. He died for
my sin. How can I not love Him? Here in His love, not that we
love God, but He loved us. And He gave Himself as a sacrifice
for sin, my sin. We laid on Him. And he put them
away. This is the only certified sacrifice
that God will accept. Not your blood. It's not when
I see your blood, I'll pass over you. That's not it, is it? God
said, when I see the blood of Christ, I'll pass over you. This is the only certified sacrifice
that God will accept. You remember what Abraham said? To Isaac, my son, God will provide
himself a lamb for an offering." You see, only that which God
provides will God accept. Christ and Him crucified. We
glory in this. We're determined as Paul to know
nothing else but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Now, is this
all your hope of your sin being put away? The certified sacrifice? Do you have a certified sacrifice,
one appointed of God, sent of God, accepted of God, provided
of God? Absolutely, that's my hope. Christ
and Him crucified. So who gave Himself for our sins? Here's the fourth point, that,
that, that He might that He might, the One who is the Deliverer,
that He might deliver us from this present evil world. You see this redemption that
we have through the blood of Christ actually brings deliverance. His blood was not shed in vain.
His blood was not a partial down payment. It was a full ransom
that actually delivers us. You remember that scripture in
Job where God said, deliver them from going down to the pit? I
found a ransom. When the ransom price is paid
by the blood of Christ, it actually delivers the prisoner. He set
us free. Justice no longer has a claim
upon us. The justice of God has been satisfied. Now the law of God and the justice
of God, do you know what it says? Freedom! It's the year of Jubilee! You're set free. He actually
delivered His people from the bondage and condemnation of their
sin. There is therefore now no condemnation
to those who are in the Lord Jesus Christ, that He might deliver
us. Christ did not die to make salvation
a possibility for all men if they would meet certain conditions.
Christ did not die to put men in a savable state. The atonement
the Lord Jesus Christ made was not a partial payment, but complete
payment, full ransom that actually delivers us from all our sin. Stand fast in the liberty wherewith
Christ has set us free. Now remember that scripture from
Romans 8? I quoted chapter 8 verse 1 a
moment ago. There is therefore now no condemnation
to those who are in the Lord Jesus Christ. And then that 32nd
verse where it says that God who spared not His own Son but
delivered Him up, He delivered Him up for us all. He delivered
Him up for us all. How shall I not with Him also
freely give us all things? You see, He was delivered up
for our sin and we're delivered from all our sin because He was
delivered up to put away our sin. Who can lay anything to
the charge of God the left? You see, He delivered us from
the I like that scripture there when it closes that first chapter
of 1 Thessalonians. He delivered us from the wrath
to come. Do you have a deliverer? Do you
have a redeemer? That's what the word redeem means.
He actually delivers us. We read a moment ago, the Spirit
of the Lord is upon me, the Lord said in Luke 4, because he has
anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, he has sent me to
heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives,
recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are
bruised. The certified gospel of God concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ Actually delivers us from the bondage
of sin Being translated from the kingdom of darkness into
the kingdom of God's dear son He has delivered us turn just
a couple pages over to Galatians or Colossians rather chapter
1 He had delivered us, therefore we say in Colossians chapter
1 verse 12 this time, Colossians 1 verse 12, giving thanks unto
the Father who hath made us meet, which means fit to be partakers
of the inheritance of the saints in light in Christ, who hath
delivered us. Past tense. Hath delivered us. from the power of darkness, and
hath translated us into the kingdom of God's dear Son." We have redemption. We have deliverance. The Lord
Jesus Christ is the Savior that actually saves, the Redeemer
that actually redeems, the Justifier that actually justifies His people. And He cannot fail. He cannot
fail to deliver all of His people up unto the Father. Remember
that scripture over in John chapter 6 where he says of all that the
father had given me well, you know, I Might say most of them
That's not what it says is it He says of all that the father
had given me. I'll not lose one There is nobody
And I've said this before I'm gonna keep on saying it. I There's
nobody in hell for whom the Lord Jesus Christ died. You know why? He delivered us from this present
evil world. He delivers by His blood. That's what God demanded, and
that's what He paid. You see, that's our only hope,
isn't it? The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us
from all our sin, delivers us from this present, what can you
say about this present world? It's evil. It's evil. It's full of evil people who
do evil things. He delivered us from our sin. And it's, The fifth thing is
this, and it's all according, all this works according, His
grace, His peace, His sacrifice, His deliverance, all this works
according to the will of God. You see that? It's not man's
free will. Man's will is not free. And we
often hear people say, well man's a free Man's a free moral agent. Really, show me that. Man's not free, he's in bondage
to his sin. Man is certainly not moral, he's
an evil creature. And he's certainly not an agent,
one who has power to act for another. Man is not a free moral
agent. He's a wicked sinner. And salvation
can't be by the will of man. We're born again, not of a corruptible
seed, but incorruptible by the word of God and the will of God.
It's His own will begat He of with the word of truth, according
to the will of God. Salvation by the sovereign will
of God. Listen to this scripture. 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 to the praise of his glory. You
see, in Romans 9 it says, I will have mercy on whom I will have
mercy. I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
So then it's not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth,
but it's God that shows mercy. Salvation's by his grace, by
his sacrifice, by his will that delivers us and that leads us
to the last thing, The certified gospel is according to the will
of God that brings all the glory to God alone. You see the last
point there in verse 5? It's the gospel, the gospel of
God, the gospel of His grace, but you know the gospel is also
called the gospel of His glory. The gospel of His glory. Now
turn to Galatians chapter 6. And look at this, Galatians chapter
6 verse 14, God forbid, but God forbid that I should glory save
in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is
crucified unto me and I unto the world. My soul shall make
her boast in the Lord, the humble shall hear thereof and be glad. It's only the gospel of God that
gives all the honor and glory to the Lord Jesus Christ alone. In Psalm 115, David said, Not
unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name be glory for
thy mercy and for thy truth's sake. God forbid we should glory
save in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, the certified
gospel gives all the honor and glory
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, is the gospel you believe
this certified gospel? If it's not, you got another. You know, it says over in chapter
5 of Galatians that just you ladies who bake bread, a little
bit of leaven, leavens a whole lump. And you add creature merit,
creature righteousness anywhere at any point at any time to salvation. And you've got something other
than the gospel of God concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. The grand design of redemption
is the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. But of him are you in
Christ, who of God has made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption, that according as it is written, he that would
glory, rejoice, or boast, that's what the word means, let him
glory only in the Lord.