Galatians chapter 1. We studied the first chapter of Galatians
in the Bible classes this morning, beginning a series of lessons from the book
of Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. And I felt that the scripture
which we read and studied this morning is so very important,
very, very important. As our Lord said to the people,
verily, verily I say unto you, truly, truly I say unto you,
that I want to speak further on the subject here in the worship
service. Now, according to the scriptures,
there's just one gospel. Paul said in Romans 1, Paul,
an apostle and a servant of Jesus Christ, separated unto the gospel
of God, the gospel of God in one gospel. And here in our text,
Galatians 1, Paul said in verse 6, that you are so soon removed
from him who called you into the grace of Christ unto another
gospel." I'm amazed that you would move away from the gospel
of God's grace to another gospel. He said in verse 7, it's not
another gospel at all. It's only one gospel. But there
be some preachers and teachers that would trouble you and twist,
pervert the gospel of Christ. And then he emphasizes so strongly
the seriousness of this matter. He said, though, we, if I do
this, if I come to you with another message, or more than that, an
angel from heaven, a person, you remember Lucifer, Satan was
once an angel. now fallen. But that's how serious
it is. He said, if I change my message,
let me be a curse. If an angel from heaven preached
any other gospel, because there's just one unto you, let him be a curse.
Over here in the book of Acts, chapter 4, there's just one gospel. Listen to what The Apostle said
in Acts 4, verse 10, Be it known unto you all, and
to all the people of Israel, Acts 4, 10, that by the name
of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God
raised from the dead, even by him that this man stand here
before you whole, this is the stone which was set in all of
you which has become the head of the corner, neither is there
salvation in any other. There's none other name under
heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. There's not
another name, there's not another gospel, there's not another message. But this has been a problem for
a long time. Look at, look, if you will, at
2 Corinthians. Chapter 11. Paul was so troubled about the
problem down in Corinth. In verse 2 of chapter 11 of 2
Corinthians, he said, I'm jealous over you, with a godly jealousy. I have
espoused you to one husband. that I may present you as a chaste
virgin to Christ. And I fear, lest by any means,
as a serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety and craftiness,
your mind should be corrupted from the simplicity of Christ.
Don't do that. Don't leave the singleness of
Christ, the simplicity of the gospel For if he that cometh
preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, if
ye receive another spirit, whom ye have not received, or another
gospel, which ye have not received, ye might well bear it with me."
What that word is there? Don't put up with that. You don't
bear with somebody that brings another Jesus, another spirit,
another gospel. You might well bear with me,
he said. Keep listening to me. Turn to Ephesians 4. According
to the scriptures, there's one gospel. There's one gospel. The everlasting gospel. Ephesians
4. Let me begin with verse 4. There's
one body. Christ is a head, is one body,
is one spirit. Even as you are called in one
hope of your calling, one hope, the blessed hope, the good hope,
one Lord, one faith, believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. One baptism, a confession
of Christ, his death, burial and resurrection, is not The
two or three baptisms, the two or three meanings of baptism
is one baptism. One God, one Father, of all who
is above all and through you, through all and in you all, but
unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure
of the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith when he ascended
up on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts to men.
This is speaking of our Savior. Now that he ascended, what is
it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of
the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended
up, far above heaven, that he might, the word is fulfilled,
he fulfilled all things. And he gave some apostles like
Paul, James and John, Peter, some prophets like Moses, Elijah,
some evangelists traveling missionaries, some pastors and teachers like
your pastor. Why? For the perfecting of the
saints, for the work of the ministry,
for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come,
now watch this, in a unity of faith, one faith, into a knowledge
of the Son of God, unto a mature perfect man unto the measure
of the stature of the fulness of Christ, that we henceforth
be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with
every wind of doctrine, every strange voice of sound or doctrine
or gospel, religion that comes our way, by the slight of men,
cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive you, but
speaking the truth in love that we might grow up into him, into
Christ in all things, even which is the head, even Christ, from
whom the whole body fitly joined together, compacted by that which
every joint supplies according to the effectual working in the
measure of every part, making increase of the body unto the
edifying of itself in love." One gospel. Go back to the text,
Galatians 1. in our day, there are many so-called Gospels. You know that, and I'm not being
unkind, I'm not being fanatical, I'm being truthful. There are
many Gospels being preached today. There's the Gospel of the Church,
salvation's in the Church. This is what's prevalent in Mexico. People aren't interested. Most
of them are not interested in the gospel of Christ, because
they have the gospel of the Church. Salvation is dispensed by the
Church. It's in the Church. It's dispensed
by the priest. It's in the wafer and the wine,
given by the Church. And that's the gospel that's
being preached in many places. You find a refuge and security
and salvation in the Church. A lot of times parents say to
children, any time you thought about joining the church, why? If you're in Christ, you're in
the church. You don't get in Christ by coming in the church,
you get in the church by coming into Christ. And then there's
the gospel of morality. This is sweeping the world and always
has. Now do the best you can, and live a good moral life, and
you'll go to heaven. There are multitudes of people
who believe they are good, and the Scripture says there's none
good, no, not one, none righteous, none that understand it. Man
at his best state is altogether banitic. Lord God looked down from heaven
to see if there was any that did understand, and they're all
gone out of the way. They all together become unprofitable. From the sole of our feet to
the top of our head, there's no goodness in us. How can we
attain eternal life by goodness when we have no goodness? Even
the master, when a man called him good, he said, if I'm not
God, I'm not good. Don't call me good, there's nothing
good but God. I appreciate goodness, I appreciate
honesty, I appreciate morality, I appreciate when people try
to live clean, outward lives, and we should and will, as an
example for our children and others and to make our society
a better society, but it's got nothing to do with saving a man's
soul. Can't do it. Just cannot do it. There'll be no one in heaven there because he was a little
better than his neighbor. We'll have on the wedding garment
of his righteousness or we'll be cast out. And then there's
another gospel, the gospel of freewillism, freewill decision. It's being preached today all
over this country. They talk about Christ came to
the earth and lived and died and rose again, went back to
heaven, but they say now salvation's in your hands. It's up to you. God's done all he can do. Now
it's up to you. And I heard a preacher say to
his, a television preacher say to his audience, now pray this
prayer with me. And he prayed a prayer. He said
to the people, he said, now, if you prayed that prayer, welcome
to the family of God. Is that the way a person gets
in Christ, by praying a prayer? Salvation is a new creation.
Salvation is a new birth. Salvation is the work of God.
Salvation is a new creature in Christ Jesus. Salvation is not
the old man polished up, it's a new man. It's the work of God. You're God's creation. You're
God's workmanship. And then there's the gospel of
ordinances. Baptism is used as a door to the kingdom of heaven, as a door into the covenant. People take infants now, little infants, days old. months old and have a complicated
ceremony and godmothers and godfathers and and all kind of things and
lace and all this satin and pillars and and a preacher dressed in
a gown and he says some it's almost hocus-pocus it's almost
like a some kind of weird situation you know and he sprinkled some
water on that What's he doing? Is he changing the infant? Is
he putting the Spirit of God in the infant? Is he bringing
the infant from dunghill to the throne, from darkness to light?
What's he doing? The infant is totally oblivious
of anything going on. Crying, probably. Getting water
sprinkled in your face, you'd cry too, you know. Just a bunch of adults playing
God. But a man said to me one time, He said, I can still feel the
drops of water on my head. He was 60 years old, still looking
back there to that ceremony. That's sad now. There's the gospel
of ordinances, there's the gospel of making the Lord's table a
sacrament, a saving ordinance. Now that's sad, and we're in
that day when they're There are men and women and young people
out yonder trusting something or someone, or even themselves,
or laws, or morality, or ceremony, or churches, or religion, or
preachers, or priests, when there's none other name
unto heaven given among men whereby we must be saved except the name
of Christ, who said, I'm the way, the truth, and the life.
No man cometh to the Father but by me. who said eternal life
is to know God and Jesus Christ whom he had sent. That's eternal
life, to know God. Not to know Reverend Mahan or
Reverend somebody else. Not to know the church or know
the creed or know the theology or know the doctors or know the
person. Isn't that right? To know Christ. Eternal life
is to know God and Jesus Christ, whom he had sent, and to be in
him. We know that the Son of God has
come and given us an understanding that we may know him that is
true. And we are in him, not in the
church or in the pool, in him. This is the true God. This is eternal life in Him. Now we need to examine ourselves
whether we be in the faith. We need to examine our gospel. And I'm not so foolish as to
tell everybody in town to examine themselves and not examine myself. I'm not such a fool as to tell
everybody to weigh your words and weigh your gospel by his
word, and then not do it myself. The question is not, do we have
a gospel? The question is, is our gospel
his gospel? That's what Paul is saying. Paul
says, if we or an angel from heaven bring in the other gospel,
let him be accursed. I'm talking about myself, anybody
else. I'm, if I'm truthful and want
to know the gospel, I can know it. And I'm saying that's so of everyone.
If a man, our Lord said, if you will to do my will, you'll know
whether I speak of God or of myself, if you really want to. So I'm going to give you four
points. I could, in defining the gospel, I suppose I could
give or the average person give 15 or 20 points, I have four,
I put this thing down to four critical areas, this gospel,
four critical, vital areas, just four. And all four of these are critical,
they're vital. Now, and you remember these four
statements. If it's the gospel, it's always
been the gospel. If my gospel is the gospel which
Paul talks about here, it's always been the gospel. It's no new
thing. Turn to 1 Corinthians 15. This
gospel of God didn't start with Joseph Smith. It didn't originate with Mary
Barker Eddy. It wasn't founded when the Catholic
Church was established. This gospel didn't start at Pentecost. This gospel didn't begin with
the apostles. This gospel didn't begin with
the Old Testament prophets. This is God's gospel from all
eternity. The first gospel sermon preached
on this earth was preached by God the Father right after Adam
and Eve fell. And he said, the seed of woman,
the Lord Jesus Christ, the lamb, the son of God, the seed of woman,
the virgin born son of God, shall bruise the serpent's head, conquer
evil, put away death, destroy the government of evil, and redeem
a people. First gospel sentence. And the
gospel, if my gospel is the gospel, it's always been the gospel.
Look at 1 Corinthians 15, verse 1. Brethren, moreover, I declare
unto you the gospel, the gospel, which I preached unto you, which
you also received and wherein you stand, by which also you
are saved, if you keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless
you believed in vain, for I delivered unto you, first of all, that
which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins, according
to the scripture, according to Genesis. Is Genesis divinely
inspired? Absolutely. Exodus, Leviticus,
all the word of God. That's where it began. God revealed
it. The gospel began in the councils
of eternity. It was revealed in Genesis. He
died for our sins according to the scripture. Listen. He was
buried and rose again the third day according to Abraham rejoiced, he said, to
see my day. Abraham loved and believed and
preached the gospel. Noah was a preacher of righteousness. Whose righteousness? Christ's
righteousness. Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it and he was glad. Abraham
believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. Abraham didn't even have the
Ten Commandments, but he walked with God. Abraham knew nothing
about baptism. Abraham knew nothing about a
tabernacle or a high priest. Abraham knew the gospel of Christ. All of these things are types
and pictures and ordinances and examples of Christ person and
word. But Abraham believed God and
it was counted to him for righteousness. What do you want? I want righteousness.
Well, there it is. Believe God. Believe Christ. He's our righteous. The gospel
has been the same, is the same, and always will be the same.
There's no different or new gospel. It's just presented by God in
different dispensations under various revelations. Some revelations
are greater than others. We've got a more open revelation
of the gospel than Abraham had. He looked to the coming Son of
God and the death of the sacrifice, the blood of the Lamb. Abel,
when Abel brought the sacrifice of the Lamb, and slew it, and shed its blood,
and put that lamb on the altar, and built the fire, roasting
the body of the lamb and the blood. And God had respect for
his sacrifice. Abel, Adam and Eve and Abel,
that's way back there. Abel looked to Christ. He believed in the blood. He
came to God by the sacrifice of another. by the offering of
another. This gospel I'm presenting to
you, the blood of Christ, the Lamb of God, the righteousness
of Christ, the Lamb of God, is the same gospel by which Abel
came to God. So that's what I'm saying. This
gospel has always been the gospel. Don't dress it up, change it, put it in new words. Just preach
it like it is, substitution, satisfaction. The blood makes
atonement for the soul. All right, the second statement
is this. The gospel, if the gospel I preach
is the gospel, it enables God to be just, to be God. It does not alter his character
as just, righteous, and holy. It cannot look upon sin. It enables God to be God and
yet justify folks like you and me. It enables God to be God,
pure and holy and righteous, and yet take the very opposite,
which we are. into his presence justified and
holy. Now that's, you see, Job, they
tell me Job is the oldest patriarch. He goes back before Abraham. And this is a question that occupied
the mind of Job. Ought to occupy our minds. Ought
to occupy the minds of our preachers, but I'm afraid it doesn't. But
Job and his friends, millenniums ago, sat around and discussed
this problem. How can God be just and justify
the guilty, set free the guilty? How can he be clean, like God,
who's born a woman? That's what they sat around and
talked about. How could this be reconciled? Turn to the book
of Job, let me show you that. Job, first of all, chapter 9. Job chapter 9, verse 2. Job 9, verse 1 and 2. Then Job
answered and said, I know, I know it's so of the truth, but how,
how should man be just before God? justified before God. Look at verse 20. If I justify
myself, my own mouth would condemn me. If I just say I am just,
I'm a liar, unjust liar. My own mouth would come up in
judgment against me. Look at Job 25. Broke Job 15. Stop at 15. Job 15, 14, what is man that
he should be clean? He which is born of a woman,
he should be righteous. Behold, God put his no trust
in his saints. Yea, the heavens are clean in
God's sight. How much more abominable and
filthy, oh God help us, is man which drinks iniquity like the
water. How are you going to get him
from there to there? And if you couldn't get him from there to
there, how could he stay there? How could God tolerate him? How
could you get a man from the dunghill to the presence of God,
and who would keep him there? That's what they're asking. And
how could God tolerate his presence? Couldn't do it. Job 25. This
is finding out the gospel. Chapter 25, verse 4. How then, how, how, how, how
then can man be justified with God? How can he be clean that's
born of a woman? Behold, even to the moon it shined,
if not stars are not pure in God's sight, how much less man
that's a worm, son of man which is a worm. Now, find that out.
You've got the gospel. How these dunghill dwellers can
be They can't walk out on their own. They don't want to. They
lack it. It can be changed, lifted out, washed, purified, clothed,
made righteous, given a new nature, taken to the presence of God,
and God receive them with open heart. Well, Romans 3 tells you,
Romans 3, verse 19. Now, verse Romans 3, 19, now we know
that what things of the law saith, it saith to them who are under
the law, that every mouth be stopped and all the world become
guilty, subject to the judgment of God. Therefore, by the deeds
of the law shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for by
the law is the knowledge of sin. The holiness of God without the
law, without man's obedience, because he doesn't obey, is manifested,
being witnessed by the law and the prophets, by the Old Testament.
It's the holiness, the righteousness of God, which is by faith of
Jesus Christ, by his faithfulness, his obedience. unto all, and
upon all them that believe, there is no difference. All have sinned
and come short of the glory of God, but being justified freely
by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, watch
it now, whom God has foreordained, set forth to be a mercy seat,
a covering, a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare
God's righteousness even for the remission of sins that have
passed, Old Testament people, before the cross, through the
long suffering of God. Watch this verse now. To declare,
I say at this time, His righteousness, that God might be just, and the
justifier of him that believeth in Jesus. That's how we can be
lifted. He came down and took our place.
bore our sins, paid our debt, worked out of righteousness,
gave us life, and He took us. He died for the unjust that He
might bring us to God, being put to death on the cross. He brings us to you. That's the
gospel, and enables God to be just and justified. All right, the third statement.
Now listen to me, this is the third statement. If my gospel
is the gospel, it depends solely and completely upon the personal
work of our Lord Jesus Christ. Solely and completely depends
on his work, his person, his work, and requires absolutely
nothing from me. Nothing at any time. Everything
I have spiritually is given to me in Christ. I don't produce
any of it. Now let me just quote these verses.
1 Corinthians 1.30, listen. But of God are you in Christ,
who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. That as it is written, he that
gloryeth let him glory in the Lord. Colossians 2, it pleased God that in him should
all fullness dwell, all fullness, grace, love, mercy, truth, righteousness,
everything is in Christ, and you are complete in him. 2 Timothy 1 verse 9, listen to
this, who hath saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according
to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which
was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. Not after
you did something. When was this grace given to
you? Before the world began. Our election to salvation is
of the Lord. God hath from the beginning chosen
you. Our regeneration is of the Lord. Of his own will begat he us. Our righteousness is of the Lord.
He who knew no sin was made sin for us that we might be made
the righteousness of God in him. Our sonship and forgiveness is
of the Lord. He hath made us sons of God. in whom we have forgiveness,
our repentance is the gift of God. Knowing that the goodness
of God leads you to repentance. Our faith, Cecil, is the gift
of God. By grace, so we say, through
faith and that none of ourselves, it's the gift of God. Our perseverance
is the gift of God. We're kept by the power of God
through faith. He said, I'll never leave them,
and I'll put it in their hearts not to leave me. Our resurrection is of the Lord.
He's going to change these vile bodies and make them like his
own. Father, I will that those whom
you've given me, he prayed, be with me where I am. And he said
in John 6, all that my father giveth me shall come to me, and
him that cometh to me I'll in no wise cast out. I came down
from heaven not to do my will, but the will of him that sent
me. This is the will of him that sent me, that of all which he
hath given me I'll lose nothing, and I'll raise him up at the
last day. Who's going to raise him up? In other words, the gospel is
the gospel of Christ, his person, his work. Here's the last point. If it's the gospel, it's always
been the gospel. No new revelation, nothing added. If it's the gospel, It rests
solely and completely upon the personal work of our Lord Jesus
Christ. If it's the gospel, it enables
God to be God, holy and just, and justify us. Last, if it's
the gospel, it's the gospel which can save the chief of sinners, the chief of sinners, and translate
him from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God's dear and give him a sure and certain
hope for eternal life. And I'm telling you, this is
the only gospel in which you can have any assurance or any
peace. That's right. This is the gospel. You can take this gospel anywhere
to anybody. I mean, you can take this gospel
to a fellow like Saul of Tarsus, the chief Pharisee in the temple,
with all of his false robes of religion. It'll save him. Or
you can take it to the most criminal in the penitentiary, a hateful man like John Newton,
and it'll save him. And it won't only save him, but
it'll take him from darkness to light, it'll make him a new
creature, it'll put a song in his heart, and praise on his
lips, and give him a blessed hope of seeing God someday, and
give him a peace and rest in his conscience. On it? Firm as the throne of God, my
gospel stands. My Lord, my hope, my trust, if
I'm found in Jesus' hands, my soul can never be lost. His honor is engaged to keep
the weakest of his sheep. All whom his Heavenly Father
gave his hands shall surely save. nor death nor hell can ever remove
his people from his breast. Within the kingdom of his grace,
we shall forever be blessed. That's the gospel. And I believe
I can say with Paul, if any man, or even if it be an angel from
heaven preaching any other gospel, then this ancient gospel, always
been the gospel, this gospel that justifies God, this gospel
that's solely, wholly, completely in Christ, and this gospel that's
effectual and can save anybody here, that's the gospel.