WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.560 Well, good morning, church. Happy New Year. I hope you all had a good Christmas holiday. 00:00:07.520 --> 00:00:14.400 ! We are in the book of Galatians this morning. That is page 193 in the Pew Bible, if you'd like to turn 00:00:14.400 --> 00:00:20.320 ! with me there. Last week we began our series in this book, and we'll be considering the message 00:00:20.320 --> 00:00:26.800 of Galatians for the next few months as we begin this new year and as we head towards Easter. Now, 00:00:26.800 --> 00:00:36.560 the book of Galatians is a book that is all about clarifying the true and real message of what the 00:00:36.560 --> 00:00:42.880 New Testament calls the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. If you've been around Trinity for a 00:00:42.880 --> 00:00:50.480 while, you know that we love this word. We even talk about being a gospel-centered church, and we 00:00:50.479 --> 00:00:57.439 talk a lot about the gospel, well, because the New Testament talks a lot about the gospel, and because, 00:00:57.439 --> 00:01:03.759 well, the whole Bible is really all about this thing we call the gospel, and because the thing that has 00:01:03.759 --> 00:01:10.239 sustained and nourished and protected and advanced the church throughout its history 00:01:10.239 --> 00:01:22.959 is the gospel, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. But here's the thing. It is very possible, some might 00:01:22.959 --> 00:01:32.479 even say inevitable, for churches and for Christians at times to get muddled and mixed up and confused 00:01:32.480 --> 00:01:43.520 about what the gospel really is. And that's what happened in Galatia in Paul's day, and it can happen again 00:01:43.520 --> 00:01:52.880 and again in our day and again and again in our own lives. And the results of that confusion aren't just 00:01:52.879 --> 00:02:05.280 unfortunate. They are disastrous. Galatians is one of the Apostle Paul's most passionate letters. 00:02:06.079 --> 00:02:09.919 You know, when we're thinking about renewing the website for every sermon series, we think, 00:02:09.919 --> 00:02:14.000 hey, what would be a good verse to put on the home page of the website? There are a lot of 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:17.599 verses in Galatians we probably would not put on the home page of the website. 00:02:17.599 --> 00:02:26.799 Why? Even in our passage today, right out of the gate, we hear Paul speaking with passion and with 00:02:26.799 --> 00:02:32.400 urgency. He breaks from convention in typical letter writing and just gets right to the heart of the 00:02:32.400 --> 00:02:41.759 matter. No thanksgiving, no praise. He says, I'm astonished. Why such passion? Why such urgency? 00:02:41.759 --> 00:02:50.239 Because when the gospel is at stake, everything is at stake. Everything. 00:02:52.479 --> 00:02:57.519 So let's turn to Galatians chapter 1, verses 6 through 10. And for context, I'm going to begin 00:02:57.519 --> 00:03:04.120 reading at verse 1, but we'll focus on verses 6 through 10 today. Let me pray as we come to God's 00:03:04.120 --> 00:03:11.579 Word. Father, help us now as we come to this passage of Scripture. Oh, Lord, our rock and our Redeemer, 00:03:12.719 --> 00:03:21.120 would You help us to rest and see and rejoice again in this glorious good news of our Lord Jesus 00:03:21.120 --> 00:03:27.359 Christ. We pray this in Christ's mighty name. Amen. All right, Galatians, picking up in chapter 1, 00:03:27.359 --> 00:03:33.280 verse 1, reading through verse 10. Paul, an apostle, not from men nor through man, but through Jesus 00:03:33.280 --> 00:03:38.959 Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead, and all the brothers who are with me to the 00:03:38.960 --> 00:03:45.760 churches of Galatia. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:03:46.320 --> 00:03:54.240 who gave Himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age according to the will of our 00:03:54.240 --> 00:04:06.080 God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. I am astonished that you are so quickly 00:04:06.080 --> 00:04:12.160 deserting Him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel. 00:04:12.159 --> 00:04:20.759 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of 00:04:20.759 --> 00:04:28.719 Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one 00:04:28.720 --> 00:04:37.360 we preach to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone is preaching 00:04:37.360 --> 00:04:44.960 to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. For am I now seeking the approval 00:04:44.959 --> 00:04:54.239 of man or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be 00:04:55.039 --> 00:05:04.959 a servant of Christ. So here's the problem in the churches of Galatia. In the late 40s, the apostle 00:05:04.959 --> 00:05:11.359 Paul arrived in the region of southern Galatia, what's now kind of south-central Turkey, and upon 00:05:11.360 --> 00:05:18.000 arrival he proclaimed the good news of what the God of Israel had done in Jesus Christ. And as they heard 00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:24.720 this message, both Jews and Gentiles responded in faith. They received the good news for what it truly 00:05:24.720 --> 00:05:33.360 is, good news. And as a result, they began their new life under the lordship of Jesus, Israel's Messiah, 00:05:33.360 --> 00:05:39.600 and the world's true Lord. And the gospel had changed everything for them, their relationship to God, 00:05:39.600 --> 00:05:44.160 their relationship to each other, their relationship to the world, to themselves, to the future, to their 00:05:44.160 --> 00:05:53.200 work, to their trials, everything. But now, not long after that, sometime a little before 50 A.D., 00:05:54.080 --> 00:06:02.879 Paul needs to write to them because as he says in verse 6, they are turning to a different gospel. 00:06:02.879 --> 00:06:10.719 And as verse 7 immediately clarifies, this different gospel is really no gospel at all. Not that there is 00:06:10.719 --> 00:06:19.439 another one, Paul says. In other words, this different gospel is really a non-gospel. Other gospels may 00:06:19.439 --> 00:06:28.879 sound plausible at first, but in reality, they are no gospel at all. So what we see, what we can see in this, 00:06:28.879 --> 00:06:34.560 even in this opening paragraph, is Paul beginning to contrast and distinguish the true gospel 00:06:35.680 --> 00:06:45.600 from any non-gospel. Like the Galatians, we often struggle to tell the difference between the true 00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:53.199 gospel and what is a different gospel that is really no gospel at all. We have a hard time distinguishing 00:06:53.199 --> 00:07:00.240 the real from the fake, and if we're honest, we sometimes aren't sure why it really matters that much. 00:07:01.599 --> 00:07:05.920 I mean, you have your version of the gospel, I have mine. Does it really matter all that much at the end of the day? 00:07:05.920 --> 00:07:16.480 Why bother? Well, let's take a look at some of these contrasts, both explicit and implicit, in verses 6 through 10, 00:07:16.480 --> 00:07:25.360 and let's find out. The first contrast that Paul makes is this. The true gospel exalts grace. 00:07:26.640 --> 00:07:31.920 Non-gospels distort grace. Look again at verses 6 and 7. He says, 00:07:31.920 --> 00:07:38.960 "'I'm astonished you're so quickly deserting Him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel.'" 00:07:38.960 --> 00:07:44.560 Not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort 00:07:44.560 --> 00:07:52.959 the gospel of Christ. Look at that phrase, "'Him who called you in the grace of Christ.'" 00:07:52.959 --> 00:07:58.959 Him there refers to God, right? In particular, God the Father. And what, according to the true gospel, 00:07:58.959 --> 00:08:11.600 does God the Father call us to Himself with? The grace of Christ. There it is. The heart of the gospel 00:08:11.600 --> 00:08:24.400 is the grace of Jesus Christ. Grace, utterly unmerited favor and acceptance, purchased and won and freely 00:08:24.400 --> 00:08:33.440 given through the person and work of Jesus Christ. The true gospel exalts grace. It's a message of a 00:08:33.440 --> 00:08:39.519 lavish grace from first to last. I mean, consider if you were to summarize the gospel, how would you do it? 00:08:39.519 --> 00:08:48.079 We often think of summarizing the gospel with four short words, God, sin, Christ, response, right? Well, 00:08:48.079 --> 00:08:55.919 let's walk through that. First, it begins with God, right? The triune God creates and sustains all things. 00:08:57.120 --> 00:09:01.840 If you want to learn more about the doctrine of creation, come next week, Sunday school, 9 a.m. Luke 00:09:01.840 --> 00:09:06.639 began us this morning. It was awesome. Check out the podcast. You can catch up. You can come. You won't 00:09:06.639 --> 00:09:12.399 miss a beat. Come at 9 o'clock. But according to the Bible, does God have to create the world? 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:20.240 Is God somehow obligated to make the world out of nothing and to give it being, to sort of make up for 00:09:20.240 --> 00:09:27.759 some kind of lack in His essential being or perfect beauty or perfect eternal happiness? No. 00:09:27.759 --> 00:09:38.960 God creates you and me and the world and everything out of His sheer good pleasure simply as an act of 00:09:38.960 --> 00:09:47.600 grace. And He places humanity in the midst of His creation as His image bearers. And is this something 00:09:47.600 --> 00:09:56.960 that humans warrant through their own desert, through their own being? No. God imparts His image to us 00:09:56.960 --> 00:10:04.560 humans as a sheer gift. And He gives humanity a vocation, a calling to bear that image and to 00:10:04.560 --> 00:10:11.840 steward creation for His glory. So, the gospel begins with God, and even in the beginning, it's full of grace. 00:10:14.320 --> 00:10:22.400 But of course, before we get to the heart of the good news, there's the bad news, right? Humanity decides 00:10:22.399 --> 00:10:30.959 to turn away from God rather than receiving and resting in our existence as a gift from God, 00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:38.319 rather than honoring God as God and living for God, the source of who we are out of His own gracious giving. 00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:47.279 We push God away. We rebel against Him and act as if we can be a law unto ourselves. 00:10:47.279 --> 00:10:54.799 And this is the sort of absurdity that the Bible calls sin. 00:10:56.159 --> 00:11:00.720 Because here, as we talked about this morning in Sunday School, Luke so beautifully illustrated, 00:11:00.720 --> 00:11:07.759 here we rest in the branches of God's grace and love, just in our very being. And instead, 00:11:07.759 --> 00:11:12.879 we start to saw the branch off, thinking we can be gods unto ourselves. 00:11:12.879 --> 00:11:21.679 And this sin brings death, spiritual death, and eventually eternal death. Rather than living 00:11:21.679 --> 00:11:32.000 under God's blessing as His creatures, we reject God and come under sin's curse. God, sin. But it doesn't 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:42.639 end there. The third part of the good news is the heart of it all, Christ. God comes in the person of 00:11:42.639 --> 00:11:50.399 Jesus Christ, fully human and fully God. And because He's fully God, He actually does what no human being 00:11:51.199 --> 00:12:01.199 tragically had ever done. He actually loves God and worships God fully and completely. He lives a life of 00:12:01.200 --> 00:12:09.840 utter freedom and perfection to the glory of God. And because He's fully human, taking our nature into 00:12:09.840 --> 00:12:22.080 Himself, He does that for us. Because He's human, He can do it for us. And when He died on the cross, He died to bear the 00:12:22.080 --> 00:12:27.759 punishment for our sin. And when He rose on the third day, He rose as a promise that all who are united to 00:12:27.759 --> 00:12:36.240 Him will also rise with Him to eternal life. Now, do you see, do you see that the center of the gospel 00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:48.960 is not the work that we do, but the work that Jesus has done? All that He purchases and accomplishes for 00:12:48.960 --> 00:12:55.320 us, a perfect record of righteousness through His life that warrants God's unmitigated blessing, 00:12:56.320 --> 00:13:02.220 a complete wiping away of our sinful record through His death, all of the curse done away, 00:13:02.220 --> 00:13:13.580 total assurance of new life now and forever through His resurrection, all of this is done by Him for us. 00:13:15.660 --> 00:13:19.820 We were helpless, guilty, doomed. 00:13:22.300 --> 00:13:30.220 Our bankruptcy wasn't partial, but total. I've read recently that there are actually two forms of 00:13:30.220 --> 00:13:33.899 bankruptcy. Maybe this isn't true anymore. It was kind of an old book. For the reason there's two 00:13:33.899 --> 00:13:37.379 kinds of bankruptcy. One is sort of like, yeah, you're kind of in trouble, but maybe you can work 00:13:37.379 --> 00:13:41.580 your way out. And there's another kind of bankruptcy like, you're toast. Like, you lose everything, right? 00:13:41.820 --> 00:13:45.100 I forget what title it, which one is. Some of you finance people can tell me afterwards. 00:13:46.460 --> 00:13:54.580 Right? Which one is our state? It's the latter. We're utterly forfeit. 00:13:54.580 --> 00:14:09.780 But what we could not pay and what we could never pay, Jesus gladly and in love paid in full for all who trust in Him. 00:14:10.580 --> 00:14:15.800 He gave Himself, the beginning of Galatians says. 00:14:15.799 --> 00:14:26.120 So, you see, it's grace. It's radical, undeserved grace. He didn't have to save us. He didn't have to do any of it. 00:14:26.319 --> 00:14:31.359 And we certainly don't deserve it. We had actually done everything to not deserve it. 00:14:32.059 --> 00:14:35.459 But He looked upon us in love and lavished His grace upon us. 00:14:35.460 --> 00:14:40.240 And now, here's the very radical thing. 00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:47.280 And this will be the chord that Paul strikes throughout the book of Galatians. 00:14:47.820 --> 00:14:51.620 Now, there is no righteousness. 00:14:52.780 --> 00:14:53.420 Nothing. 00:14:54.660 --> 00:14:59.100 We need to add to be made right with God. 00:14:59.100 --> 00:15:08.680 When you are united to Christ through faith, His perfect righteousness is credited to you. 00:15:10.080 --> 00:15:12.379 Is there anything that you could add to that? 00:15:13.700 --> 00:15:16.440 To warrant God's good favor towards you? 00:15:17.320 --> 00:15:20.700 To get a little more of God's blessing in your day to day? 00:15:22.379 --> 00:15:26.139 Imagine you could take a spaceship to the surface of the sun. 00:15:26.139 --> 00:15:28.680 I know that's not possible, but we're imagining, right? 00:15:30.040 --> 00:15:32.180 Burning with the heat of a million furnaces. 00:15:33.340 --> 00:15:36.080 And imagine you're there in your spaceship and you roll your window down. 00:15:36.740 --> 00:15:39.320 Because it's an old spaceship, so you've got to roll the window down like this. 00:15:40.600 --> 00:15:45.019 You take a matchstick, a little match, and you throw it into the fire. 00:15:47.120 --> 00:15:57.920 Would that matchstick add anything to the brilliance or perfection or heat of that star at the center of our universe? 00:15:59.100 --> 00:16:00.340 No, nothing. 00:16:00.340 --> 00:16:01.340 No, nothing. 00:16:03.340 --> 00:16:18.580 And so there is nothing that you can add to the perfect righteousness of Christ that clothes you completely when you are united to Him. 00:16:18.580 --> 00:16:28.740 And that means God the Father looks upon all those united to Christ with absolute, unchanging acceptance and favor. 00:16:29.740 --> 00:16:32.259 On your good days and on your bad days. 00:16:32.259 --> 00:16:36.799 And what sins? 00:16:36.799 --> 00:16:40.039 What sins are left for you to atone for? 00:16:40.340 --> 00:16:43.500 You have a perfect righteousness, but what about all your sins? 00:16:43.500 --> 00:16:49.679 But consider what sins are left for you to atone for that His cross hasn't already paid. 00:16:50.740 --> 00:16:55.159 From the cross, Jesus Himself declared it's finished. 00:16:55.159 --> 00:17:03.439 And that declaration, it is finished, standing at the center of redemptive history, stretches in every direction. 00:17:04.299 --> 00:17:11.539 Stretches back over your past sins, over all of your present sins, and even into the future over your sins yet to come. 00:17:11.599 --> 00:17:12.240 It's finished. 00:17:13.839 --> 00:17:16.119 There's nothing left to atone for. 00:17:17.059 --> 00:17:19.180 The record has been wiped clean. 00:17:19.180 --> 00:17:29.039 And that means any wrath, any curse, any justice your sins rightly deserved are satisfied. 00:17:30.799 --> 00:17:39.019 You see, in the gospel, God doesn't turn a blind eye toward our sins. 00:17:40.360 --> 00:17:45.660 He actually sees them fully and in more depth than you and I could ever know. 00:17:45.660 --> 00:17:50.300 An old pastor from the Philly area famously once said, 00:17:51.279 --> 00:17:52.100 Here's the good news. 00:17:52.360 --> 00:17:54.160 You're much worse than you think you are. 00:17:55.840 --> 00:17:57.940 God doesn't turn a blind eye toward our sins. 00:17:58.019 --> 00:17:58.800 He sees it all. 00:18:00.960 --> 00:18:08.360 But He sees them as completely atoned for at the cross. 00:18:10.200 --> 00:18:13.840 Justice has been fully satisfied when Jesus died for you. 00:18:13.839 --> 00:18:16.220 Nothing can be added. 00:18:17.259 --> 00:18:18.419 Nothing taken away. 00:18:20.459 --> 00:18:23.759 And so the gospel proclaims to sinners 00:18:23.759 --> 00:18:30.199 full and complete reconciliation with God, 00:18:31.019 --> 00:18:33.339 an ongoing life with God, 00:18:33.759 --> 00:18:35.699 an eternity with God, 00:18:36.199 --> 00:18:37.799 fully and totally, 00:18:37.799 --> 00:18:40.839 in every moment of it, 00:18:41.220 --> 00:18:44.180 by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:18:45.720 --> 00:18:47.519 You add nothing to what He has done. 00:18:48.299 --> 00:18:49.599 You take nothing away. 00:18:51.299 --> 00:18:52.859 The only thing we can do 00:18:52.859 --> 00:18:55.919 is receive it. 00:18:56.639 --> 00:18:58.119 This is the fourth part of the gospel, 00:18:58.240 --> 00:18:58.980 the response. 00:18:59.799 --> 00:19:02.119 To entrust ourselves to the risen Lord Jesus, 00:19:02.220 --> 00:19:03.440 to be united to Him 00:19:03.440 --> 00:19:05.740 through what the Bible calls repentance and faith. 00:19:06.340 --> 00:19:07.860 This is the response 00:19:07.860 --> 00:19:09.320 that the gospel calls for. 00:19:09.940 --> 00:19:10.380 Faith. 00:19:10.580 --> 00:19:11.259 What is faith? 00:19:11.440 --> 00:19:14.320 Faith is when we stop trusting in ourselves 00:19:14.320 --> 00:19:16.320 to be right with God 00:19:16.320 --> 00:19:18.559 and entrust ourselves 00:19:18.559 --> 00:19:20.340 to the risen Lord Jesus. 00:19:21.100 --> 00:19:23.299 Faith is relying wholly on Jesus 00:19:23.299 --> 00:19:24.259 and on His grace 00:19:24.259 --> 00:19:25.539 and nothing in us 00:19:25.539 --> 00:19:27.240 to be accepted by God 00:19:27.240 --> 00:19:31.140 and to live for Him. 00:19:32.940 --> 00:19:36.019 So the true gospel exalts grace. 00:19:36.759 --> 00:19:38.559 But non-gospels, on the other hand, 00:19:39.900 --> 00:19:41.000 they distort grace. 00:19:42.620 --> 00:19:43.660 We see this in verse 7 00:19:43.660 --> 00:19:44.140 where Paul says, 00:19:44.220 --> 00:19:45.079 there are some who trouble you 00:19:45.079 --> 00:19:47.579 and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 00:19:47.660 --> 00:19:49.500 It's interesting that the word distort there 00:19:49.500 --> 00:19:51.460 means not just to kind of confuse 00:19:51.460 --> 00:19:52.460 or to corrupt, 00:19:52.839 --> 00:19:55.740 but it even means something like to reverse, 00:19:55.740 --> 00:19:57.859 to kind of turn on its head. 00:19:59.680 --> 00:20:02.079 Now how were these teachers 00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:03.180 who showed up at Galatia 00:20:03.180 --> 00:20:06.279 flipping or reversing the gospel? 00:20:08.599 --> 00:20:10.200 Well, it's clear from reading the book of Galatians 00:20:10.200 --> 00:20:10.940 that after Paul left, 00:20:11.039 --> 00:20:11.920 false teachers showed up 00:20:11.920 --> 00:20:12.779 who started to teach 00:20:12.779 --> 00:20:14.279 what was in essence a different gospel. 00:20:14.519 --> 00:20:15.640 And we see a glimpse 00:20:15.640 --> 00:20:18.019 of what they were probably teaching in Acts 15 00:20:18.019 --> 00:20:19.200 that Kosh read for us earlier. 00:20:19.960 --> 00:20:20.160 It says, 00:20:20.519 --> 00:20:21.680 but some men came down from Judea 00:20:21.680 --> 00:20:22.480 and were teaching the brothers, 00:20:22.660 --> 00:20:23.779 unless you're circumcised 00:20:23.779 --> 00:20:24.880 according to the custom of Moses, 00:20:24.880 --> 00:20:26.380 you cannot be saved. 00:20:28.900 --> 00:20:31.180 Now you can see why that message 00:20:31.180 --> 00:20:32.680 might have been plausible 00:20:32.680 --> 00:20:35.620 to these new churches in Galatia, right? 00:20:36.400 --> 00:20:37.100 After all, 00:20:37.340 --> 00:20:38.620 these teachers who showed up, 00:20:39.260 --> 00:20:40.660 they were from Judea. 00:20:41.660 --> 00:20:43.540 Wasn't that where Jesus himself lived 00:20:43.540 --> 00:20:44.820 and taught during his earthly ministry? 00:20:44.980 --> 00:20:47.360 Wasn't that where the message of Christ 00:20:47.360 --> 00:20:48.740 originated and rang out from? 00:20:48.800 --> 00:20:49.640 They're from Judea. 00:20:50.020 --> 00:20:51.180 Talk about a pedigree. 00:20:51.180 --> 00:20:53.960 And not only were they from Judea, 00:20:54.120 --> 00:20:55.840 but they were advocating something 00:20:55.840 --> 00:20:57.120 that seemed ancient 00:20:57.120 --> 00:21:00.840 and rested on good ancient tradition, 00:21:01.380 --> 00:21:03.840 something even prescribed by Moses himself. 00:21:05.640 --> 00:21:08.060 Just think of all the Old Testament passages 00:21:08.060 --> 00:21:09.380 these teachers could have quoted 00:21:09.380 --> 00:21:12.279 to show that God required circumcision 00:21:12.279 --> 00:21:13.640 under the Mosaic Covenant. 00:21:13.640 --> 00:21:17.000 How plausible it must have sounded 00:21:17.000 --> 00:21:19.000 to the Galatian Christians 00:21:19.000 --> 00:21:21.800 as these teachers came and said, 00:21:21.980 --> 00:21:23.800 yes, Jesus is the Messiah, 00:21:24.500 --> 00:21:27.820 but you still need to obey the law of Moses 00:21:27.820 --> 00:21:30.280 and be circumcised if you're going to be saved. 00:21:30.279 --> 00:21:35.319 But Paul rightly sees 00:21:35.319 --> 00:21:37.980 that even though on the surface 00:21:37.980 --> 00:21:39.339 that sounds plausible, 00:21:40.359 --> 00:21:41.819 it's a distortion. 00:21:42.859 --> 00:21:43.839 It's a reversal 00:21:43.839 --> 00:21:46.359 of the true gospel of Christ, 00:21:46.920 --> 00:21:49.519 the radical fulfillment 00:21:49.519 --> 00:21:51.700 that Jesus had accomplished. 00:21:52.660 --> 00:21:53.160 Why? 00:21:54.160 --> 00:21:55.920 Why was it a reversal? 00:21:55.920 --> 00:22:00.120 Because it was making a human work 00:22:00.120 --> 00:22:04.720 a precondition of God's grace 00:22:04.720 --> 00:22:06.539 and favor of their salvation. 00:22:09.180 --> 00:22:11.060 Their message was basically saying 00:22:11.060 --> 00:22:13.220 that your obedience to the law 00:22:13.220 --> 00:22:18.880 must precede God's acceptance of you. 00:22:19.680 --> 00:22:21.560 First, you obey. 00:22:22.560 --> 00:22:24.740 Then, God will save you. 00:22:25.920 --> 00:22:26.740 That's what they were saying. 00:22:28.259 --> 00:22:29.160 But you see, 00:22:29.480 --> 00:22:31.060 that gets it all backwards. 00:22:32.800 --> 00:22:34.019 The true gospel 00:22:34.019 --> 00:22:36.740 is that God saves you 00:22:36.740 --> 00:22:38.279 by His grace in Christ. 00:22:38.980 --> 00:22:41.800 And then, in freedom and joy 00:22:41.800 --> 00:22:43.660 and the transformation 00:22:43.660 --> 00:22:45.100 of being saved by grace, 00:22:45.220 --> 00:22:46.039 then you obey. 00:22:48.580 --> 00:22:49.960 The false teachers were saying, 00:22:50.220 --> 00:22:51.380 obey in order to be saved, 00:22:51.440 --> 00:22:52.140 but the gospel says, 00:22:52.220 --> 00:22:53.519 God saves you by grace 00:22:53.519 --> 00:22:54.860 in order that you can even 00:22:54.860 --> 00:22:55.900 think about obeying. 00:22:55.920 --> 00:22:58.580 The false teachers were saying, 00:22:59.000 --> 00:23:00.519 become the right sort of person. 00:23:00.860 --> 00:23:02.279 You have to kind of take on 00:23:02.279 --> 00:23:03.580 this exterior thing 00:23:03.580 --> 00:23:04.960 of becoming a good Jew, 00:23:05.080 --> 00:23:06.019 getting circumcised, 00:23:06.060 --> 00:23:07.220 or whatever it is, right? 00:23:07.519 --> 00:23:09.440 Become the right sort of person first, 00:23:09.600 --> 00:23:10.800 then God will save you. 00:23:12.380 --> 00:23:13.580 But the gospel says, 00:23:14.019 --> 00:23:14.720 in Christ, 00:23:14.840 --> 00:23:16.759 God rescues you by His grace, 00:23:16.820 --> 00:23:18.240 and then by that same grace, 00:23:18.300 --> 00:23:19.580 He'll make you more and more 00:23:19.580 --> 00:23:20.940 into the image of His Son. 00:23:20.940 --> 00:23:26.000 You see, friends, 00:23:26.100 --> 00:23:30.220 any version of grace 00:23:30.220 --> 00:23:32.660 that makes it sound like 00:23:32.660 --> 00:23:34.279 you have to earn 00:23:34.279 --> 00:23:35.600 or warrant 00:23:35.600 --> 00:23:37.220 or achieve it 00:23:37.220 --> 00:23:40.279 isn't grace at all. 00:23:40.279 --> 00:23:43.519 It's not a gift 00:23:43.519 --> 00:23:45.779 if you have to earn it first. 00:23:46.839 --> 00:23:47.859 If you've worked 00:23:47.859 --> 00:23:48.859 and earned something, 00:23:48.940 --> 00:23:50.359 even something so slight 00:23:50.359 --> 00:23:52.160 as circumcision, 00:23:52.940 --> 00:23:56.019 that's not a gift. 00:23:56.940 --> 00:23:57.940 It's a wage. 00:23:57.940 --> 00:24:00.500 It's not grace. 00:24:01.980 --> 00:24:02.680 Grace is something 00:24:02.680 --> 00:24:03.759 you don't deserve 00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:05.100 and can't earn, 00:24:05.539 --> 00:24:07.320 and it has to come to you 00:24:07.320 --> 00:24:08.299 freely. 00:24:09.039 --> 00:24:10.400 At the cost of another, 00:24:10.559 --> 00:24:11.860 yes, but freely to you. 00:24:14.120 --> 00:24:15.120 Non-gospels 00:24:15.120 --> 00:24:17.160 distort this grace. 00:24:17.940 --> 00:24:18.740 The true gospel 00:24:18.740 --> 00:24:19.900 exalts this grace. 00:24:19.980 --> 00:24:21.019 That's the first contrast. 00:24:22.900 --> 00:24:23.820 But what difference 00:24:23.820 --> 00:24:24.500 does this all make? 00:24:25.539 --> 00:24:26.039 Well, there are actually 00:24:26.039 --> 00:24:27.059 three more contrasts 00:24:27.059 --> 00:24:27.559 that Paul makes 00:24:27.559 --> 00:24:28.119 in this passage 00:24:28.119 --> 00:24:28.700 or that are kind of 00:24:28.700 --> 00:24:29.879 implicit in this passage, 00:24:30.259 --> 00:24:30.960 and we're going to go 00:24:30.960 --> 00:24:31.639 through them quickly 00:24:31.639 --> 00:24:33.240 to see why all this matters. 00:24:34.359 --> 00:24:35.579 Here's the next contrast. 00:24:36.599 --> 00:24:37.440 The true gospel 00:24:37.440 --> 00:24:38.859 comforts the heart. 00:24:39.919 --> 00:24:40.839 Non-gospels 00:24:40.839 --> 00:24:42.399 trouble the heart. 00:24:43.000 --> 00:24:43.500 Did you notice 00:24:43.500 --> 00:24:44.339 how Paul starts his letter 00:24:44.339 --> 00:24:44.879 in verse 3? 00:24:45.659 --> 00:24:46.339 As he gets going, 00:24:46.419 --> 00:24:46.639 he says, 00:24:47.039 --> 00:24:48.940 grace and peace to you. 00:24:50.339 --> 00:24:51.700 Grace and peace, 00:24:51.819 --> 00:24:52.039 friends, 00:24:52.099 --> 00:24:53.059 are inseparable. 00:24:53.539 --> 00:24:54.480 Where grace 00:24:54.480 --> 00:24:55.139 is received 00:24:55.139 --> 00:24:55.759 and experienced 00:24:55.759 --> 00:24:56.500 and believed, 00:24:56.500 --> 00:24:57.920 peace abounds. 00:24:59.880 --> 00:25:00.759 That's why 00:25:00.759 --> 00:25:01.640 the true gospel 00:25:01.640 --> 00:25:02.519 comforts the heart 00:25:02.519 --> 00:25:03.920 because if your standing 00:25:03.920 --> 00:25:04.640 before God 00:25:04.640 --> 00:25:05.599 is based on the grace 00:25:05.599 --> 00:25:06.180 of Christ, 00:25:06.500 --> 00:25:07.220 not your works, 00:25:07.359 --> 00:25:08.079 not your performance, 00:25:08.279 --> 00:25:09.059 not your pedigree, 00:25:09.180 --> 00:25:09.880 not your position, 00:25:10.240 --> 00:25:12.259 then you will have peace 00:25:12.259 --> 00:25:14.940 because nothing can shake 00:25:14.940 --> 00:25:15.480 or change 00:25:15.480 --> 00:25:16.059 or diminish 00:25:16.059 --> 00:25:17.319 the grace of Christ 00:25:17.319 --> 00:25:17.880 towards us. 00:25:17.960 --> 00:25:18.480 It's a well 00:25:18.480 --> 00:25:19.579 that doesn't run dry. 00:25:20.259 --> 00:25:21.819 It began in eternity past 00:25:21.819 --> 00:25:22.420 and will run 00:25:22.420 --> 00:25:23.740 for all eternity to come. 00:25:23.740 --> 00:25:26.259 But non-gospels 00:25:26.259 --> 00:25:27.480 trouble the heart. 00:25:29.279 --> 00:25:30.259 Notice what Paul says 00:25:30.259 --> 00:25:30.759 in verse 7, 00:25:30.839 --> 00:25:31.480 there are some 00:25:31.480 --> 00:25:33.359 who trouble you 00:25:33.359 --> 00:25:34.920 and want to distort 00:25:34.920 --> 00:25:35.980 the gospel of Christ. 00:25:37.240 --> 00:25:38.480 If you are standing 00:25:38.480 --> 00:25:39.140 with God, 00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:40.920 it depends 00:25:40.920 --> 00:25:42.819 on your performance 00:25:42.819 --> 00:25:44.680 or some work 00:25:44.680 --> 00:25:45.599 that you have done. 00:25:45.599 --> 00:25:48.319 even if you feel 00:25:48.319 --> 00:25:48.779 like you've just 00:25:48.779 --> 00:25:49.599 got to add 00:25:49.599 --> 00:25:50.619 a little bit 00:25:50.619 --> 00:25:51.579 to what Christ 00:25:51.579 --> 00:25:52.019 has done. 00:25:54.019 --> 00:25:55.000 If that's 00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:55.939 where your standing 00:25:55.939 --> 00:25:56.399 depends, 00:25:57.599 --> 00:25:58.519 you can never 00:25:58.519 --> 00:25:59.379 have real peace 00:25:59.379 --> 00:26:02.619 because who's to say 00:26:02.619 --> 00:26:04.039 when the work 00:26:04.039 --> 00:26:04.500 is enough 00:26:04.500 --> 00:26:06.919 and who's to say 00:26:06.919 --> 00:26:07.480 you've done 00:26:07.480 --> 00:26:08.119 whatever that work 00:26:08.119 --> 00:26:08.759 is with enough 00:26:08.759 --> 00:26:09.539 sincerity 00:26:09.539 --> 00:26:11.279 or consistency 00:26:11.279 --> 00:26:13.379 because God 00:26:13.379 --> 00:26:13.879 doesn't just see 00:26:13.879 --> 00:26:14.599 your outward actions, 00:26:15.240 --> 00:26:15.960 He sees your heart 00:26:15.960 --> 00:26:17.019 motivations as well. 00:26:18.480 --> 00:26:19.279 Who can say 00:26:19.279 --> 00:26:20.559 whether even the best 00:26:20.559 --> 00:26:21.779 of our good works 00:26:21.779 --> 00:26:22.399 were done 00:26:22.399 --> 00:26:23.759 for true love 00:26:23.759 --> 00:26:24.180 of neighbor 00:26:24.180 --> 00:26:25.680 and for genuine 00:26:25.680 --> 00:26:26.399 love of God 00:26:26.399 --> 00:26:27.299 and not some other 00:26:27.299 --> 00:26:27.960 mixed motive? 00:26:30.299 --> 00:26:31.000 After all, 00:26:31.079 --> 00:26:31.899 was it not also 00:26:31.899 --> 00:26:33.740 to look good? 00:26:35.660 --> 00:26:36.639 Was it not also 00:26:36.639 --> 00:26:37.359 to prove 00:26:37.359 --> 00:26:39.019 a little bit 00:26:39.019 --> 00:26:39.920 that I'm a good person? 00:26:41.279 --> 00:26:42.139 Was it not also 00:26:42.139 --> 00:26:42.960 done in fear 00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:44.480 that I might not 00:26:44.480 --> 00:26:45.000 measure up? 00:26:47.519 --> 00:26:48.259 Now, at this point 00:26:48.259 --> 00:26:48.920 you might be thinking, 00:26:49.180 --> 00:26:49.960 but wait a minute, 00:26:50.019 --> 00:26:50.359 wait a minute. 00:26:51.639 --> 00:26:52.859 If God saves us 00:26:52.859 --> 00:26:54.379 completely by His grace, 00:26:55.759 --> 00:26:56.940 what motivation 00:26:56.940 --> 00:26:57.639 is there 00:26:57.639 --> 00:26:58.940 for doing good 00:26:58.940 --> 00:26:59.779 at all? 00:27:00.220 --> 00:27:00.519 I mean, 00:27:00.539 --> 00:27:01.259 if we have complete 00:27:01.259 --> 00:27:02.079 and total peace 00:27:02.079 --> 00:27:02.460 with God 00:27:02.460 --> 00:27:03.160 through Christ, 00:27:03.940 --> 00:27:04.539 why obey? 00:27:06.339 --> 00:27:07.180 Now, that's a very 00:27:07.180 --> 00:27:08.259 understandable question 00:27:08.259 --> 00:27:09.539 and Paul will have 00:27:09.539 --> 00:27:10.460 a lot to say 00:27:10.460 --> 00:27:10.819 about it 00:27:10.819 --> 00:27:11.619 as we get to chapters 00:27:11.619 --> 00:27:12.319 5 and 6 00:27:12.319 --> 00:27:13.059 of Galatians. 00:27:14.099 --> 00:27:14.899 But consider 00:27:14.899 --> 00:27:16.099 just here in our passage 00:27:16.099 --> 00:27:16.980 the difference 00:27:16.980 --> 00:27:19.139 between a calm 00:27:19.139 --> 00:27:21.619 and a troubled heart. 00:27:22.679 --> 00:27:23.519 Imagine two boats 00:27:23.519 --> 00:27:24.220 out on the ocean. 00:27:25.039 --> 00:27:25.960 One boat's sailing 00:27:25.960 --> 00:27:27.119 across the calm sea 00:27:27.119 --> 00:27:28.039 and the other 00:27:28.039 --> 00:27:28.819 is sailing across 00:27:28.819 --> 00:27:29.599 the troubled sea. 00:27:30.960 --> 00:27:31.819 Which sea 00:27:31.819 --> 00:27:32.439 is going to be 00:27:32.439 --> 00:27:33.059 more productive 00:27:33.059 --> 00:27:33.720 for sailing? 00:27:35.720 --> 00:27:36.419 Well, of course, 00:27:36.500 --> 00:27:37.679 it's the calm sea, right? 00:27:37.680 --> 00:27:40.140 The wind fills the sails 00:27:40.140 --> 00:27:42.000 and the boat glides 00:27:42.000 --> 00:27:42.820 across the water 00:27:42.820 --> 00:27:43.740 to its destination. 00:27:46.140 --> 00:27:47.100 But consider 00:27:47.100 --> 00:27:48.720 the boat amidst 00:27:48.720 --> 00:27:49.620 the troubled sea. 00:27:50.960 --> 00:27:51.820 On this boat, 00:27:51.900 --> 00:27:52.299 there may be 00:27:52.299 --> 00:27:53.519 a lot of activity. 00:27:54.400 --> 00:27:55.500 The crew is straining 00:27:55.500 --> 00:27:56.200 at the oars. 00:27:56.420 --> 00:27:57.120 They're tying down 00:27:57.120 --> 00:27:57.560 the cargo. 00:27:57.700 --> 00:27:58.120 They're fighting 00:27:58.120 --> 00:27:58.920 against the wind. 00:27:59.620 --> 00:28:00.320 There's activity 00:28:00.320 --> 00:28:01.700 and work on all sides. 00:28:01.700 --> 00:28:03.960 But are they 00:28:03.960 --> 00:28:04.539 getting anywhere? 00:28:07.840 --> 00:28:08.819 Just so, 00:28:09.380 --> 00:28:10.420 in the same way, 00:28:11.440 --> 00:28:12.080 a heart 00:28:12.080 --> 00:28:13.319 troubled 00:28:13.319 --> 00:28:15.480 by a non-gospel 00:28:15.480 --> 00:28:17.080 may look 00:28:17.080 --> 00:28:18.360 like a vessel 00:28:18.360 --> 00:28:19.400 full of activity 00:28:19.400 --> 00:28:20.080 wildly 00:28:20.080 --> 00:28:21.240 pulling at the oars. 00:28:22.519 --> 00:28:23.740 But is that activity 00:28:23.740 --> 00:28:24.640 truly done 00:28:24.640 --> 00:28:25.720 for love of God 00:28:25.720 --> 00:28:27.240 and love of neighbor? 00:28:27.240 --> 00:28:32.140 Or is it also done 00:28:32.140 --> 00:28:33.759 for oneself 00:28:33.759 --> 00:28:35.160 or in competition 00:28:35.160 --> 00:28:35.759 with another 00:28:35.759 --> 00:28:37.359 or just in response 00:28:37.359 --> 00:28:38.120 to a weary, 00:28:38.400 --> 00:28:38.859 burdened, 00:28:38.880 --> 00:28:39.279 conscious 00:28:39.279 --> 00:28:41.660 trying to get relief? 00:28:44.319 --> 00:28:44.740 You see, 00:28:45.000 --> 00:28:46.680 only the heart 00:28:46.680 --> 00:28:48.440 made calm 00:28:48.440 --> 00:28:50.079 by the gospel 00:28:50.079 --> 00:28:52.559 will then give rise 00:28:52.559 --> 00:28:53.380 to a life 00:28:53.380 --> 00:28:55.000 of genuine love. 00:28:55.000 --> 00:28:58.000 when the storm 00:28:58.000 --> 00:28:59.299 of a guilty soul, 00:28:59.539 --> 00:29:00.079 when the storm 00:29:00.079 --> 00:29:01.160 of a troubled soul, 00:29:01.619 --> 00:29:02.980 a soul burdened 00:29:02.980 --> 00:29:03.740 with idols 00:29:03.740 --> 00:29:05.480 that can never satisfy, 00:29:06.079 --> 00:29:07.440 when a stormy soul 00:29:07.440 --> 00:29:08.640 meets Christ, 00:29:10.640 --> 00:29:11.839 when a stormy soul 00:29:11.839 --> 00:29:12.839 sees Christ 00:29:12.839 --> 00:29:13.460 clothed 00:29:13.460 --> 00:29:14.619 in all of His grace, 00:29:15.359 --> 00:29:16.660 going into the storm 00:29:16.660 --> 00:29:17.400 of the cross 00:29:17.400 --> 00:29:17.960 for you, 00:29:18.700 --> 00:29:19.559 bearing your guilt 00:29:19.559 --> 00:29:20.099 and sin, 00:29:20.099 --> 00:29:21.240 and coming through 00:29:21.240 --> 00:29:22.720 victorious for you, 00:29:22.720 --> 00:29:26.740 when the stormy soul 00:29:26.740 --> 00:29:27.799 beholds that 00:29:27.799 --> 00:29:29.200 and the weight of sin 00:29:29.200 --> 00:29:29.860 is lifted 00:29:29.860 --> 00:29:30.819 from your heart 00:29:30.819 --> 00:29:32.339 and you hear 00:29:32.339 --> 00:29:32.900 the Father 00:29:32.900 --> 00:29:34.180 say over you 00:29:34.180 --> 00:29:35.480 what He spoke 00:29:35.480 --> 00:29:36.680 over Jesus, 00:29:37.059 --> 00:29:38.079 this is my beloved 00:29:38.079 --> 00:29:38.480 child 00:29:38.480 --> 00:29:39.400 in whom I am 00:29:39.400 --> 00:29:40.100 well pleased. 00:29:40.839 --> 00:29:41.600 When the Spirit 00:29:41.600 --> 00:29:42.519 comes and makes you 00:29:42.519 --> 00:29:43.880 alive to that, 00:29:43.980 --> 00:29:44.920 to the love of God 00:29:44.920 --> 00:29:46.299 and the costly grace 00:29:46.299 --> 00:29:46.799 of God, 00:29:47.120 --> 00:29:47.860 paying the infinite 00:29:47.860 --> 00:29:48.720 debt of your sin, 00:29:48.720 --> 00:29:50.860 oh, 00:29:50.940 --> 00:29:52.240 when that calm 00:29:52.240 --> 00:29:52.940 sweeps 00:29:52.940 --> 00:29:54.000 over the once 00:29:54.000 --> 00:29:54.940 troubled soul, 00:29:56.480 --> 00:29:56.940 then 00:29:56.940 --> 00:29:58.720 real 00:29:58.720 --> 00:30:00.480 and genuine 00:30:00.480 --> 00:30:02.100 love 00:30:02.100 --> 00:30:03.640 begin to flow 00:30:03.640 --> 00:30:05.220 for God 00:30:05.220 --> 00:30:07.360 and for neighbor. 00:30:09.460 --> 00:30:10.700 We will begin 00:30:10.700 --> 00:30:11.420 to love 00:30:11.420 --> 00:30:13.519 not in fear 00:30:13.519 --> 00:30:14.420 or anxiety 00:30:14.420 --> 00:30:15.380 or with a troubled 00:30:15.380 --> 00:30:15.880 conscience, 00:30:16.059 --> 00:30:16.860 we just love 00:30:16.860 --> 00:30:17.799 because He first 00:30:17.799 --> 00:30:18.700 loved us. 00:30:20.440 --> 00:30:21.759 And out of love 00:30:21.759 --> 00:30:22.940 for this God, 00:30:23.819 --> 00:30:25.039 we delight 00:30:25.039 --> 00:30:26.039 to keep His commands. 00:30:26.680 --> 00:30:26.879 Yes, 00:30:26.940 --> 00:30:27.940 we'll even strive 00:30:27.940 --> 00:30:29.639 and pursue holiness 00:30:29.639 --> 00:30:31.279 out of love. 00:30:31.279 --> 00:30:34.779 we will raise 00:30:34.779 --> 00:30:35.619 our sails 00:30:35.619 --> 00:30:36.319 to the wind, 00:30:37.079 --> 00:30:38.259 we'll put our oars 00:30:38.259 --> 00:30:39.160 into the water 00:30:39.160 --> 00:30:40.200 and pull 00:30:40.200 --> 00:30:41.299 with all the strength 00:30:41.299 --> 00:30:42.379 that He provides, 00:30:43.319 --> 00:30:44.680 strength that comes 00:30:44.680 --> 00:30:46.500 also by His grace. 00:30:49.200 --> 00:30:49.740 So, 00:30:49.839 --> 00:30:50.779 the true gospel 00:30:50.779 --> 00:30:52.000 comforts 00:30:52.000 --> 00:30:52.619 and calms 00:30:52.619 --> 00:30:53.139 the heart 00:30:53.139 --> 00:30:54.139 and empowers 00:30:54.139 --> 00:30:54.639 the heart, 00:30:55.279 --> 00:30:56.399 but non-gospels 00:30:56.399 --> 00:30:57.660 simply trouble 00:30:57.660 --> 00:30:58.079 the heart. 00:30:58.079 --> 00:31:00.500 The next contrast 00:31:00.500 --> 00:31:01.259 we see is this. 00:31:01.980 --> 00:31:02.859 The true gospel 00:31:02.859 --> 00:31:04.939 is odious. 00:31:05.659 --> 00:31:06.259 Yes, 00:31:07.000 --> 00:31:07.619 odious, 00:31:08.579 --> 00:31:08.980 offensive, 00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:10.740 but true gospel 00:31:10.740 --> 00:31:11.619 is odious 00:31:11.619 --> 00:31:12.879 to man. 00:31:14.339 --> 00:31:15.299 Non-gospels 00:31:15.299 --> 00:31:16.899 are odious 00:31:16.899 --> 00:31:18.319 to God. 00:31:20.659 --> 00:31:21.559 You see, 00:31:21.599 --> 00:31:22.220 the true gospel 00:31:22.220 --> 00:31:22.980 tells us, 00:31:23.119 --> 00:31:23.359 right, 00:31:23.480 --> 00:31:24.159 that apart from 00:31:24.159 --> 00:31:24.939 radical grace, 00:31:24.939 --> 00:31:26.019 we cannot please God. 00:31:26.019 --> 00:31:27.980 and that is a blow 00:31:27.980 --> 00:31:29.319 to all 00:31:29.319 --> 00:31:30.639 of our human pride. 00:31:31.460 --> 00:31:33.000 And in our fallen nature, 00:31:33.500 --> 00:31:34.519 we don't really 00:31:34.519 --> 00:31:35.740 like that message. 00:31:36.879 --> 00:31:38.000 The sinful human heart 00:31:38.000 --> 00:31:39.480 doesn't really accept 00:31:39.480 --> 00:31:40.660 its radical sinfulness 00:31:40.660 --> 00:31:42.599 and its dependence 00:31:42.599 --> 00:31:43.539 on radical grace 00:31:43.539 --> 00:31:44.079 in Christ. 00:31:45.619 --> 00:31:46.740 That message 00:31:46.740 --> 00:31:48.019 is odious to us, 00:31:48.759 --> 00:31:50.900 but by His Spirit, 00:31:51.759 --> 00:31:52.400 through the word 00:31:52.400 --> 00:31:53.400 of the gospel itself, 00:31:53.400 --> 00:31:54.359 through the message 00:31:54.359 --> 00:31:54.799 of grace, 00:31:54.799 --> 00:31:56.180 God actually softens 00:31:56.180 --> 00:31:56.559 our hearts 00:31:56.559 --> 00:31:57.500 and breaks through 00:31:57.500 --> 00:31:58.039 our pride. 00:31:58.539 --> 00:31:59.299 And what was once 00:31:59.299 --> 00:32:00.119 odious and offensive 00:32:00.119 --> 00:32:01.159 to us becomes sweeter 00:32:01.159 --> 00:32:02.019 and more desirable 00:32:02.019 --> 00:32:03.059 than anything this world 00:32:03.059 --> 00:32:03.599 could offer. 00:32:04.079 --> 00:32:04.859 Through the Spirit's 00:32:04.859 --> 00:32:05.419 inner working, 00:32:05.539 --> 00:32:06.480 we see that it's better 00:32:06.480 --> 00:32:07.740 to be loved by God 00:32:07.740 --> 00:32:08.740 in His grace 00:32:08.740 --> 00:32:11.659 and to find acceptance 00:32:11.659 --> 00:32:13.259 in His infinite favor 00:32:13.259 --> 00:32:16.119 than to cling to our pride 00:32:16.119 --> 00:32:17.440 and our self-justification. 00:32:19.379 --> 00:32:20.079 So yes, 00:32:20.159 --> 00:32:20.859 the true gospel 00:32:20.859 --> 00:32:20.919 is a true gospel 00:32:24.799 --> 00:32:27.200 of God. 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:27.200 00:32:54.799 --> 00:33:01.440 non-gospels, they steal God's glory. Because after all, if the deciding factor between my 00:33:01.440 --> 00:33:08.099 ruin and my rescue is what I do, whether that's my circumcision or any other human work, 00:33:08.099 --> 00:33:15.639 then ultimately I get the glory because, well, I did it. 00:33:15.640 --> 00:33:25.960 And these false gospels ultimately lead God's people into ruin. They don't just diminish God's 00:33:25.960 --> 00:33:32.380 grace or steal His glory. They lead God's people into ruin because false gospels cannot save, 00:33:33.600 --> 00:33:37.580 because they point us away from Christ and point us to ourselves. 00:33:37.579 --> 00:33:45.179 And friend, because false gospels are odious to God, 00:33:46.480 --> 00:33:49.559 that means they should be odious to the church as well. 00:33:51.359 --> 00:33:54.960 That's why Paul puts it the way he does in verses 8 through 9. He's telling the churches in Galatia 00:33:54.960 --> 00:33:59.960 to be discerning and to be decisive when it comes to these non-gospels. It doesn't matter what the 00:33:59.960 --> 00:34:05.980 source is. Even if Paul himself were to come back preaching a false gospel, a different gospel than 00:34:05.980 --> 00:34:12.420 the one they received that exalts the grace of Christ, what should they do? Throw him out. 00:34:17.079 --> 00:34:25.460 After all, everything's at stake in the gospel. Who God is, who we are, who Christ is and what He's done, 00:34:25.940 --> 00:34:31.619 the basis of our life and work, the motivation for our love and deeds, the assurance of our eternal 00:34:31.619 --> 00:34:38.900 future. It's all at stake in the gospel. The gospel isn't just something that unbelievers need to hear. 00:34:40.980 --> 00:34:48.460 It's something that believers need to constantly live in and unpack and unfold and rest in every 00:34:48.460 --> 00:34:50.279 single day of our lives. 00:34:53.880 --> 00:34:58.199 One more contrast. We've seen that the true gospel exalts grace. 00:34:58.199 --> 00:35:05.099 Non-gospels distort grace. We've seen that the true gospel comforts the heart. Non-gospels trouble the 00:35:05.099 --> 00:35:12.019 heart. We've seen that the true gospel, yes, is odious to fallen humans, but the non-gospel is odious to God. 00:35:12.879 --> 00:35:21.379 Last, in verse 10, we see that the true gospel frees us from people-pleasing, 00:35:21.380 --> 00:35:30.880 whereas non-gospels shackle us to human approval. Look at how Paul ends this kind of introduction to 00:35:30.880 --> 00:35:37.860 his letter. For am I now seeking the approval of man or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I 00:35:37.860 --> 00:35:44.039 were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. Apparently, some of Paul's 00:35:44.039 --> 00:35:50.340 opponents, including most likely these false teachers at Galatia, accused Paul of being a people-pleaser. 00:35:50.340 --> 00:35:55.579 They might have said something like this. You know, this Paul, he preaches a message of nothing but 00:35:55.579 --> 00:35:59.860 grace. He doesn't think you need to keep the law of Moses to be saved. Do you know why he's doing 00:35:59.860 --> 00:36:04.940 that? He's doing that so he can win an audience and gain human approval. Paul's gospel is just a 00:36:04.940 --> 00:36:13.039 people-pleasing gospel. That's what they were accusing Paul of. But what does Paul say here? He says, 00:36:13.039 --> 00:36:23.480 no, it's actually just the opposite. In his former life as a Pharisee, Paul was obsessed with his own 00:36:23.480 --> 00:36:28.420 performance. In the next passage of Galatians in verse 14, he says, 00:36:28.420 --> 00:36:36.820 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people. So extremely zealous was I for 00:36:36.820 --> 00:36:43.420 the tradition of my fathers. Did you notice the language of comparison there? Paul says, 00:36:44.159 --> 00:36:47.840 I was advancing beyond many of my own age. 00:36:47.840 --> 00:36:57.220 You see, living in a non-gospel inevitably leads us to comparison and competition. 00:36:58.260 --> 00:37:04.260 If my works, if my performance is what sets me apart and saves me, then I will inevitably start 00:37:04.260 --> 00:37:10.960 comparing myself to others to see how well I'm faring. For Paul, it was, am I keeping the law of 00:37:10.960 --> 00:37:15.119 Moses closely enough? And you know what? He thought he was doing a pretty good job. 00:37:17.760 --> 00:37:25.900 But what is it for us? Am I engaging in good works sacrificially enough? Am I being impacted by the 00:37:25.900 --> 00:37:31.159 Spirit's work enthusiastically or miraculously enough? Am I being the perfect parent or the 00:37:31.159 --> 00:37:38.340 perfect student or the perfect friend enough? All of this focus on the self then leads to comparison. 00:37:38.340 --> 00:37:43.280 How do my good works measure up against him or her? How does my experience of the Spirit compare to 00:37:43.280 --> 00:37:47.740 him or her? How does my parenting or friendship or work compare to theirs? And when that comparison 00:37:47.740 --> 00:37:53.380 starts to take hold, then we inevitably become trapped in human-centered approval or disapproval, 00:37:53.680 --> 00:37:58.160 even if the human whose approval we live for is our own, the own voice in our own heads. 00:37:58.159 --> 00:38:13.839 Paul says, I don't live that way anymore. He's actually found real interior freedom from human approval 00:38:13.839 --> 00:38:22.099 and people-pleasing and comparison. Like a bird flying out of a cage into the bright blue sky, 00:38:22.099 --> 00:38:36.599 he's found the freedom. Where? In Christ. If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant 00:38:36.599 --> 00:38:45.099 of Christ. You see, the gospel of grace takes our eyes off of ourselves and off of comparison with other 00:38:45.099 --> 00:38:51.819 people and puts our eyes solely on Christ and His beauty and His power and His perfection and above all 00:38:51.819 --> 00:38:59.519 His grace. And when the grace of the gospel reaches us and we're united to Christ by faith, we don't live 00:38:59.519 --> 00:39:08.599 anymore for what other people think of us, not even for what we ourselves think of us. We care only for what 00:39:08.599 --> 00:39:15.619 Christ thinks of us. We don't serve others anymore. We don't serve ourselves. We only serve Him. Our lives 00:39:15.619 --> 00:39:24.920 are hidden with Him. And friend, if I am a servant of Christ, the King of the ages, the risen Lord, 00:39:25.360 --> 00:39:29.219 the never-failing friend, the one whose very name is faithful and true, 00:39:32.219 --> 00:39:37.420 then how could I possibly live anymore as a servant of mere human approval? 00:39:38.599 --> 00:39:46.639 You have the favor of the Lord of heaven and earth. His grace rescues you and empowers you every day. 00:39:47.000 --> 00:39:52.799 That's all that matters. Now, I don't have to live to get the approval of others. 00:39:54.159 --> 00:40:01.819 I don't live to get something from other people, you see. No, in Christ, now I can live simply 00:40:01.820 --> 00:40:10.580 to bless them and do them good. I don't need their approval anymore. And because I don't need them, 00:40:11.860 --> 00:40:21.740 now I can truly love them. That's the power of the true gospel. It can change the very structures 00:40:21.740 --> 00:40:27.140 and motivations of your heart. It can change the very direction of your desires. It has the power 00:40:27.139 --> 00:40:39.699 to truly set you free. Do you know this gospel, the true gospel of God's grace in Christ, 00:40:40.460 --> 00:40:49.279 the gospel that calms your heart and sets you free? Or are you still flirting with a different gospel 00:40:49.280 --> 00:40:56.320 that's really no gospel at all? If the Spirit's showing you that this morning, 00:40:57.140 --> 00:41:00.820 then look at your own heart. Look at your own heart and say with Paul, 00:41:01.519 --> 00:41:06.260 I'm astonished you're so quickly deserting Him who called you in the grace of Christ. 00:41:07.200 --> 00:41:15.200 Be astonished with Paul, and then run to the arms of your Savior, and let the waves of His grace 00:41:15.199 --> 00:41:25.039 calm your troubled heart, and let the freedom of His grace lift you up and let you fly. Let's pray together. 00:41:29.539 --> 00:41:40.539 Lord Jesus, we simply praise You that Your grace has reached even us. Would we live in the peace 00:41:40.539 --> 00:41:45.619 and in the freedom of peace and in the freedom of that? Help us to have discerning eyes and discerning hearts 00:41:45.619 --> 00:41:54.840 when the non-gospels that flood our world and even our own minds and hearts come rushing in. Lord, 00:41:54.940 --> 00:42:04.139 quiet the voices of these false gospels and help us to see again that there's only one, 00:42:04.139 --> 00:42:08.579 only one, only one gospel, only one Lord. 00:42:11.239 --> 00:42:15.739 And in Him, we are loved forever. We pray this in Jesus' mighty name. Amen.