We're turning to Galatians chapter
1. Galatians chapter 1. I want to begin at verse 3. Galatians
chapter 1, verse 3. Grace be to you and peace. Grace and peace from God the
Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for
us. for us. That's substitution,
isn't it? He gave Himself. That's a sacrifice. A sacrifice of Himself for our
sins. That He might deliver us from
this present evil world accordingly. That is, in this way, this fashion.
According to the will of God, our Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Now, he defines what the gospel
is for us in verses 3, 4, and 5. And those verses will serve
as my text. But before we look at those and
see seven distinguishing marks of the gospel of God's grace,
he sounds a warning here. A warning. He's saying in these
next verses there is just one gospel. There is just one gospel. It's the gospel concerning the
Lord Jesus Christ. It's the gospel of God. The ancient
gospel, the eternal gospel. It's the gospel of God, but it's
the gospel concerning how God can be just and justify the ungodly
in and by and through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He said, I would
marvel, verse 6, that you would be removed from from Christ or
depart from the preaching of that message. The preaching of
the gospel unto something that someone would say is another
gospel, or a different gospel, or a perverted gospel. You know,
the gospel means good news. Good news. And the gospel of
Christ is good news to those who are guilty, to those who
are needy. It is indeed good news. So Paul
sounds a warning here. There's just one gospel. Just
one gospel. Don't look for another gospel
or another spirit or another Christ. But he said there would
be some that would trouble you who would try to pervert or change
the gospel of Christ to make it something of I add my part,
he does his part, and we bring both parts together and then
we have salvation. He said that's another gospel.
That's a changed gospel. That's not good news because
I can't contribute anything to accomplish salvation. That, he
said, would be a perverted gospel, a changed gospel. And then he
gives this strong warning, though we who are an angel, we who are
an angel from heaven preach any other gospel. Now what is this
gospel that he's so insistent upon? that he says in another
place, I'm determined to know nothing among you but Jesus Christ
and Him crucified. Though we or an angel from heaven
preach any other gospel, another message, something different,
something changed, something that doesn't honor Christ and
give God all the glory. He said, though we preach any
of the gospel unto you, and that which we have preached, let him
be accursed. Now, that's a strong word. It's
really the word, let him be damned. That person would be condemned
who believes and receives and preaches another gospel. And
then he repeats it. Let me say it again in case you
missed it. Let him be a curse. Let him be a curse. So, my question
is this. What is the gospel of Christ?
What is the gospel of Christ? How are we to distinguish it
from a perverted gospel or a changed gospel? Can we identify it? Well,
I know this. We better identify and distinguish
the gospel as it is revealed in His Word, in His truth. If
we don't have a standard and a rule to go by, we're not able
to believe anything and say anything. We need a standard, a rule, and
that is the Word of God. It's the foundation of faith.
Well, I believe if we start back in verse 3, I believe Paul defines
what the gospel is distinguished from a perverted gospel, a changed
gospel. So here's seven distinguishing
marks of the gospel that gives Christ all the honor and glory. And it begins with this word
grace. Grace. Grace to you. That is God's sovereign
pleasure, His sovereign mercy to have mercy on whom He will.
This is God's grace. Sovereign grace. Sovereign pleasure. There is grace in electing us. There is that remnant according
to the election of grace. God in His grace has chosen us. This is the gospel of Christ. And it's the gospel of grace. The grace of God in the Lord
Jesus Christ. Grace in electing us. Grace in
choosing us. Grace in justifying sinners. We read in Romans chapter 3 that
we're justified freely by the grace of God. The grace of God
that justifies us. So it's justifying grace, it's
choosing grace, it's calling grace. And we believe the gospel. How do we believe the gospel?
It's according to the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know,
faith is something that blooms in our sinful heart, naturally. Faith is the gift of God. Faith
is a miracle of God that He gives to us, and it's the fruit of
regeneration and the new birth, we believe, because we've been
born of God. Salvation, as it's described
in this book we call the Bible, is all of grace. from election to glorification,
from A to Z. He's Alpha and the Omega of all
salvation, and it's all by His grace. We quote that scripture
all the time. 2 Timothy 1.9. It's God who saved us and called
us, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose
and grace. You see, grace has a purpose.
Grace has a purpose, and that purpose is to glorify Christ
in the saving of His people. Faith, repentance, and these
things are all the gift of God's grace. Faith like repentance
both acknowledge the truth of how God saves us through Christ
Jesus. That's what repentance is all
about. And it's not something isolated in the past. I live
in a state of repenting. and of believing, and of looking
to Christ, and coming to the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a continuous,
ongoing life of the believer. And true faith and true repentance
acknowledges that salvation is all of God's grace. I believe
you can ask yourself this question. Am I a repenting, believing sinner?
If you are, your testimony is this, I am what I am by His grace. The grace of God. The grace of
God has made us to differ. Sovereign grace. Calling grace. In the scheme
of God's salvation, we contribute nothing. Nothing. Nothing. It's all of God's grace. Grace
and grace and grace alone. God's grace. We can't harp on
this too much. I hope you never weary of hearing
this preacher and others talk about the grace of God. We love it. We own it. We preach
it. Salvation by grace. And that's
where he starts here. Grace. Grace be to you. Grace
to you. And then the fruit and the result
of that, here's the second point, not only is salvation distinguished
by God's grace, and the gospel of Christ is distinguished by
the grace of God in Christ, but then he comes with the fruit
of that is peace. Peace. Peace. Peace with God. Peace with God through the Lord
Jesus Christ. Romans 5.1, being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, peace is not something I
accomplish. I can't satisfy God. I can't
appease God. People often say, in religion,
they say, well, make peace with God. You've heard that saying,
make peace with God. Well, I can't make peace with
God. But thank God my substitute did. We're reconciled unto God
through Jesus Christ. He made peace for us. How'd he
do that? How'd he make peace for us? Well,
Colossians chapter 1 said he made peace for us with his own
blood. By putting away our sin, He reconciled
us to God and justified us by His grace. So we have peace with
God through the Lord Jesus Christ. I know this, there is no peace
by my performance. I want you to turn to this scripture
here. I was thinking about this just recently. Find Psalm 57. Peace is not by my performance.
But peace is by performance. Look at this. Psalm 57. Peace is not by my performance,
but it is by someone's performance. Someone must honor the law. Someone
must satisfy God's justice. And that someone is my substitute
and my Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Psalm 57. Look at verse 2. I
will cry unto God Most High, unto God that performeth all
things for me. He's perfected, finished all
things for me. He shall send from heaven and
save me from the reproach of Him that would swallow me up.
God shall send forth His mercy. God shall send forth His truth.
You see, salvation is all by His performance. We have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. So we're not trying to
make peace. We're resting in the Lord Jesus Christ who is
called, He is called our peace. He is the Lord. Our peace. Without faith it is impossible
to please God. The man without faith is a man
without Christ. Christ is our peace before God. Now here's the third point, here's
the key. Back to Galatians chapter 1. So the first two marks of
this gospel is distinguished this way, the gospel of God concerning
Christ's grace and peace. Grace and peace. And this all
comes from God the Father, from our Lord Jesus Christ. He's the
wellhead. He's the spring. He's the fountain.
And it comes from God through Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ. From our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, here's the centerpiece.
The Lord Jesus Christ Himself is the heart of salvation. He
is salvation. He is the Savior. He that hath
the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son hath
not life. Jesus Christ Himself is the very
heart and essence of salvation. God's gospel is all summed up
by Jesus Christ Himself, as I preached to you last week. Jesus Christ
Himself. And when we talk about the Lord
Jesus Christ, we talk about His glorious person. Who is this
one that we call the Lord Jesus Christ? Well, He is Jesus of
Nazareth. He is the God-man mediator. He in His glorious person is
God incarnate. So when we talk about Jesus Christ,
we talk about His glorious person. He is God. manifest in the flesh,
justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the
Gentiles, and received up to glory. We preach His glorious
person and His redemptive work. He redeemed us. Turn over to
Galatians chapter 3. Jesus Christ Himself, His person
and His work, who He is, that gives value and power and glory
to what He did. It's just not that a Jew died.
It's this one is God Almighty. God purchased us with His own
blood. Notice, if you will, Galatians 3, verse 13, Christ hath redeemed
us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. He redeemed us. His glorious
person, He came, God's manifest in the flesh, and He stood as
our surety, our mediator, and He died for our sin, according
to the Scripture. Jesus Christ Himself. Now, fourthly is this. Here's
the fourth point. His person, His redemptive work,
and His glorious resurrection. Jesus Christ Himself. Who died for us? Who died for
us? Now, notice, here's the fourth
thing. The only means of salvation is this, who gave himself. Here's the means. He gave himself. He gave himself for our sins. For our sins. What is this? Substitution. This is the means whereby God
can satisfy His holy law and remain a holy, just God, and
justify the ungodly in and by and through Jesus Christ, because
He paid our sin debt. As we just read, He redeemed
us from the curse of the law. The only means that God has ordained
to put away my sin, as my pastor used to say, sin's hard to put
away. You can't put it away by the deeds of the law, by the
doing of the flesh, by human creature merit. Sin is hard to
put away. The Lord Jesus Christ by Himself,
by the sacrifice of Himself, put away our sin. That's what
it says there. Who gave Himself for our sin. Now He had no sin
of His own. He had no sin, knew no sin, did
no sin, but my friend, when he died on Calvary's tree, he died
with my sin upon him and the sin of God's people he took to
himself. God made him to be sin for us. who knew no sin, that we might
be made the righteousness of God in Him. And we call that
substitution. Substitution that satisfies God
Almighty. He gave Himself for our sins. Jesus Christ crucified is God's
only provision for the forgiveness and atonement of sin. The only
appointed Savior is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Him being
delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God, who sent Him? How did He die? It wasn't an
accident, was it? He died on purpose, God's purpose,
to put away our sin. We have forgiveness of sin through
the riches of his grace only through his blood. He gave himself
for our sins, a substitute to satisfy God. He is our mercy
seat. He is our lamb. He is our propitiation. Here is love. John said not that
we love God, but that he loved us. and sent his son to be that
mercy seat, that satisfaction. that covers the law of God, that
puts away all our sin. He was manifested to take away
our sin, and in Him is no sin. He gave Himself for our sin. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
only substitute, the only one that can satisfy God. He is the
only Savior. There is no other name under
heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. In Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Salvation is in a person. Christ
Himself. He died for our sins. Who gave? He gave Himself. Now get a hold
of this. He said, no man takes my life
from me. You see, He didn't die. They
didn't force Him to die. They didn't force Him to the
tree. He laid His life down for us. He gave Himself. He said,
no man takes my life. I lay it down. I have power to
lay it down. I have power to take it again.
This commandment have I received from my Father. He gave. Who? Who gave Himself. That's a miracle of grace. God so loved His own that He
gave Himself. Oh, I tell you, that's the glorious
good news of the gospel. The Lord Jesus Christ put away
our sin. He appeared once in the end of
the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. So that's
the means of salvation, number four. Number five is this, the
character, or the feature, or the hallmark of God's salvation. Right there in verse four, it
said, "...who gave Himself for our sin, that He might I like
that word, deliver. Deliver us. You see, his death,
we call it an atonement. His death wasn't an attempt to
make an atonement. It wasn't an attemptment. It
was atonement for sin. He delivered us. Got the job
done. He said at Calvary, it's finished. Over. Justified. God's people. He's a good shepherd that laid
down his life for the sheep. He delivered us from this present
evil world. Deliverance. You know, he's called
the deliverer. The Deliverer shall come and
all Israel shall be justified. He is the Deliverer. I need one. I need a great Deliverer. Because
I'm dead in sin. I'm shut out. And Adam all died. I'm a sinner. Undone. Ungodly. This One came and He died for
me and in His death He delivered me from my sin. Saved me by His
grace. Made me one with Christ. Delivered
us from this present evil sin. Redeemed us from the curse of
the law. Turn to Galatians chapter 4. Look at this here. Galatians
chapter 4. Look at verse 4. But when the fullness of time
was come, Galatians 4.4, God sent forth his Son. You see,
He's the appointed Lamb of God. Behold the Lamb of God that taketh
away our sin. God sent forth His Son made of
a woman. He was a real man. Made under
the law, subject to His own law. He came to redeem them. And my friend, He didn't fail.
He redeemed them. He delivered them that were under
the law that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because
you are sons, God has 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, an heir of God, a joint heir, an heir of God in a joint
heir with the Lord Jesus Christ. We have deliverance. I've got
good news. In Christ there is deliverance.
He delivered us from our sin. by the sacrifice of Himself.
This word also means that He ransomed us. He gave His life
a ransom for many. Job said, in the book of Job,
it's recorded, God said, deliver him from going down to the pit.
I have a ransom. You know, when someone pays the
ransom price for someone who's held, when that ransom price
is paid, their promise is to set the captive free. For the
Lord Jesus Christ paid my ransom price, and I am set free. I have liberty in Christ Jesus. Set free from the bondage and
curse of sin and of the law. That's why he says in Galatians
chapter 5. Turn there. Galatians chapter 5 verse 1.
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us
free. And be not entangled again with a yoke of bondage. We've
been set free. We've been set at liberty in
Christ Jesus. Ransomed, delivered, reconciled
unto God through Christ Jesus. We have ransom. We have reconciliation. We have redemption. He's redeemed
us. Not with corruptible things.
Right? But with the precious blood of
Jesus Christ. He came to rescue us. To deliver
us from the pit. Find Psalm 40. Psalm 40. Psalm 40. I like this scripture here because
it tells so much about what He has done for us. Psalm 40. He came to ransom, to reconcile,
to redeem, to rescue us. Look at Psalm 40. Look at verse
1. I waited patiently for the Lord.
He inclined unto me and heard my cry. He brought me up also
out of a horrible pit, out of the married clay, and set my
feet upon a rock, established my goings, and He put a new song
in my mouth, even praise unto our God. Many shall see it, and
fear, and shall trust the Lord. Trust Him. He brought me up.
He set me up. He set my feet upon a rock and
then he tuned me up. He tuned me up. He rescued us,
delivered us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom
of God's dear Son. We have ransom, reconciliation,
redemption, rescue, restoration. He restored us. In Adam, all
died. In Adam, all sinned. But where
sin abounded, grace does much more abound. By one man's disobedience,
many were made sinners. So by the obedience of another,
shall many be made righteous in Christ Jesus. Remission of
sin in Christ Jesus. Forgiveness of sin according
to the riches of His grace. You see that word deliverance?
He delivered us. He delivered us. He delivered
His people. He's made them new creatures
in Christ Jesus. This is deliverance that I need
so desperately. And thank God He can't fail.
He can't fail to deliver all His people from their sin. Not
one for whom Christ stood as surety, those for whom He died,
not one sheep will be lost. I like that scripture in Hebrews
2. It said, Behold, I am a children. We're all here. Not one. Not one will be missing. Well,
here's the sixth one. Back to our text. Galatians 1. Grace be unto you and peace.
from God through the Lord Jesus Christ, this One who gave Himself
for our sin, and the fruit of that is He delivered us from
this present evil world. Now, according, according. How
does all this work? Is it according to what you do?
Is it according to your will? Is it according to how much you
work? How much you go? How much you give? Is that what
it says there? According to the will of God
our Father. So salvation is all by the will
of God. It's according to the will of
God, the purpose of God, and the grace of God. It's not of
Him that willeth, nor of Him that runneth, but it's God that
would show mercy. God that would show mercy. Find
Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1, all according
to the praise of the glory of His grace. In Ephesians chapter
1, Ephesians 1 verse 11, it says, 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 the glory who first trusted in Christ. Salvation is all according
to the will of God. The will of God. Find the Gospel
of John chapter 1. Of His own will beget He us with
the word of truth. John chapter 1. Salvation is
by the sovereign will of God. He'll have mercy on whom He will
have mercy. In John chapter 1, look at this
here. John chapter 1, the Gospel of John, chapter 1 verse 11,
He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. Talking
about when He was a God-man, the Mediator, born among the
Jews, His own nation, His own people, He came unto His own,
and they said, Away with Him! Crucify Him! We have no king
but Caesar. He came unto His own people,
His own nation, His own family at one time, We don't want nothing
to do with Him. His brothers at one time didn't.
His half-brothers. He came unto His own, and His
own received Him not, but as many as received Him. To them gave He power to become
right, that word power is right or privilege, to become sons
of God, even to them that believe on His name. Now notice after
the word name, the punctuation. It's not a period. They're not
even a comma. There's a continuation. Most
people read this, see? They say, well, you have to receive
Him. You have to receive Him. Well, that's true. But you know
the reason why? It's found in the next verse.
Which were born. They receive Him because there's
been a work of grace in the heart. They've been given life from
the dead. And the fruit of that is to receive
the Lord Jesus Christ and to love Him, to believe Him. Which
were born, not of blood, I'm not a child of God because my
daddy was or my granddaddy was. Not at all. I'm a sinner because
my daddy was. Born in sin. Which we're born,
not of blood, nor of the will of flesh, nor of the will of
man, but of God. We receive Him because we're
born of God. That's right. He that believeth
that Jesus is the Christ, he's born of God. And the reason he
does believe is because he has life. Life from the dead. Life from the dead. Life from
the dead. So, go back to Galatians chapter
1. The source of salvation is the will of God. According to
the will of God our Father. You see that? These are the marks
that describe the gospel of God. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Now, here's the last one. And
it all gets down to this. To whom be glory forever and
ever. Amen. God's Gospel is so designed
to give all the honor and glory, not to the creature, but to the
Creator and the Christ of God, the Lord Jesus. To Him, to whom
be glory forever and ever. Forever and ever. What's that
next word there? Amen. Can you say amen to that? Amen. The purpose of God is His glory. His glory. Now, let's turn to
one more scripture. Find 1 Corinthians chapter 1.
His glory. All to the praise. If you're
reading Ephesians chapter 1, you'd be finding 1 Corinthians
chapter 1, but if you If you read Ephesians chapter
1, it talks about the Father hath chosen us all to the praise
of the glory of His grace, verse 3 down through verse 6. And in
verse 7, it talks about the redemptive work of the Son who gave Himself
for our sins, and it all works to the praise of the glory of
His grace. And then later on in that first
chapter, it talks about the work of the Holy Spirit. who regenerates
us, and calls us, and quickens us, and reveals Christ unto us. And that all works to the praise
of the glory of His grace. Now, 1 Corinthians chapter 1. 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Look at verse 30. Talking about
the glory, the grand design of the gospel is to glorify and
honor Christ. But of Him. This is 1 Corinthians
1.30. 1 Corinthians 1.30. But of Him
are you in Christ, Jesus. You see, it's all of God. It's
of Him that we're in Christ. God chose us and put us in Christ.
Who of God is made unto us? He's our wisdom. He is our very
righteousness that justifies us before God. This is what Christ
is to us. He is our sanctification. He
is our deliverer, he is our redeemer, our redemption, that according
as it is written, he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. Glory in the Lord. Now, this
is what identifies the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
be very wary, and be very cautious of another gospel. Something
that is not another, because they're just one. But be very
careful who you listen to. And gauge everything you hear
upon this record of Holy Scripture. How do you identify a crooked
way or a crooked stick? Lay down a straight stick beside
it. And this is what we do with the Word of God. We preach the
straight and narrow way in Christ, and that exposes error. I don't
want to spend my time talking about error. I want to spend
my time talking about Christ. And if we do that, it will expose
the error. It will expose the error. So, you take those seven
points right there, and you read this book of Galatians. It is
a powerful, powerful declaration of God's saving grace. in Christ
Jesus.