Galatians 2:1-10 "Ministry"

Galatians 2 and the Jerusalem Council

So we are going to be in Galatians 2, 1 -10 for today, if you wouldn't mind making your way there this morning and your respected Bibles that you have with you today. Galatians 2, verses 1 -10 for this morning.

As you're making your way there, I do want to let you know that this is probably going to be the longest section that we'll be taking from Galatians as far as one bite at a time that we go through a whole book.

This is going to be a larger portion of Scripture. The reason that is, there's a lot of historical narrative that Paul is covering here in this chapter at the beginning of this. He's really leading off from where we left off last week with that historical narrative that he talked about last week as we went through.

So as you're making your way there, let's go ahead and begin with a word of prayer. Lord, we do ask, Lord, that you would be glorified, Lord, that each one of us would take these words that Paul has written here to the churches of Galatia, that we would take from them the nourishment that we need for this week, Lord, that we would have this means of grace revive our souls within us.

Lord, may this word go forth and not return to you void, Lord. May we be edified and may you be glorified. And we ask this in your name. Amen. Galatians 2, verses 1 through 10. Let's go ahead and read this text.

Let's actually, since there's few of us today, let's just go ahead and stand as we read this text for this morning. Let's go ahead and stand with one another as we read the word of God. It says here, The Greek was compelled to be circumcised, but this was because of the false brothers secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our freedom, which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to enslave us.

But we did not yield in subjection to them for even a moment so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you. But from those who were of high reputation that what they were makes no difference to me.

God shows no partiality. Well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me. But on the contrary, seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised.

For he who worked in Peter unto his apostleship to the circumcised worked in me also unto the Gentiles. And recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputable, reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship so that we might go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.

Only they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I also was eager to do. Let's pray before we sit down. Lord, we thank you just again for this text, Lord. God, as we look at this narrative that Paul is demonstrating and teaching these churches, Lord, again, God, we would ask that we would be able to glean from it the information that is good for us, Lord, as this is your word, as we are confident that this is what we need to hear today for us in this church.

And Lord God, I would ask that as it would grow us spiritually and sanctifying us to be more and more like Christ, Lord, that we'd be ready to go into the world and tell others about the glories and the graces and the riches that is knowing and having faith and trusting in the finished work of Christ, Lord.

God, I ask this, we ask this in your name, Jesus Christ, amen. Let's go ahead and sit on down now as we continue to look at these things. So like I said, this is going to be a longer portion of text that is not going to be the normal.

We're going to be most likely really slowing down here in chapter 2 after this text. The following verses are theologically deep, very, very theologically deep. There's a lot of substance there that we have in the following texts.

But for today, I have titled today's message, Ministry, as what is related here by the great apostle Paul is the many years that he has labored in spreading the gospel. This is a challenging text. I'll be up front with us on this.

It is a challenging text, not because of any particular theological teaching here or not because of any particular supposed contradiction in the text, as we know that there's no contradiction. The challenge is to sift through the narrative here.

This historical narrative is something in part that we see in a couple different sections in Acts. We would see what's being related here to us as referring to events that happen in Acts chapter 15, Acts chapter 16, Acts chapter 9.

And so it's kind of really Paul talking about just these multitude of events all at the same time as he talks here. And so because of that, there's some challenge when referencing the actions that Paul speaks of in here.

And so there's going to be some jumping back and forth that we do here and there as we look through this today. But I will try my best to help paint a picture for us in our minds of what Paul is intending here for us and for, most importantly, what the churches of Galatia were supposed to be seeing from what Paul was telling them.

However, as a way of reminder, I think it is always helpful to recall the previous text. Paul, as we discussed last week, speaks of his time before ever meeting the other apostles, such as Peter and John.

He recalls those events prior and post his conversion, how he preached the gospel, which he did in truth, clarity, and precision with steadfastness and eagerness. He was not slow in telling others about the gospel.

He was quick. He was immediate. And his story never changed. The gospel never changed for Paul in those three years. And he does this before and during and after. Before the 14 years that's talked about in here, the Jews were seeking his life.

Paul never changes any of his messages, never changes any of the gospel, never changes any of his teaching, but is very clear in what he believes the Lord has told him to do. What we will be reading out here today is again those events that take place 14 years after the three years that we talked about last week.

Those three years that Paul references. So let's go ahead and look here into verse 1 through 2 to begin. It says this,. Then after 14 years, I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also.

Paul in these verses recounting a total of 14 years. If we add 14 years to three years that was talked about last week, how many years are we talking about that Paul is now covering? 17 years, right? Paul is relating his history for 17 years to us here in these 10 verses that we're looking at here.

And as we're going to see today and in the coming weeks, what has Paul's life consisted of? Even longer than 17 years, it has been Christ. It has been Christ, it has been his ministry to glorify him and to tell others about the freedom that exists in and through the gospel.

Paul has been a faithful steward in this endeavor. A man that I would ask today that we would try to mimic in our own lives. How long has any one of us been saved in this room? Can we look back and say the last 10 years have been a fruitful ministry for us?

The last 17 years has been a fruitful ministry for us. The last year, can we look back at the last year and say it's been a meaningful and fruitful ministry? I would like us to be very honest with ourselves when we think about this.

But Paul then goes on to say that he went back to Jerusalem after 14 years here. So let's go ahead and read this. Let's read verse 1 again in verse 2. It says, then after 14 years, I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also.

And I went up because of a revelation and laid out to them the gospel which I preached among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, lest somehow I might be running or had run in vain.

Paul, after 14 years, goes back to Jerusalem with Barnabas. This character that we talked about last week, who was the man that told the other apostles, after those three years of Paul running for his life, Paul is with the other apostles for 15 days, and Barnabas is the one that comes and stands up for him.

And now we see another character that's revealed here to us. Titus. Titus. Who is this Titus individual? Titus is a Gentile, was a Gentile, who has been converted to Christianity by ultimately the Holy Spirit, as we obviously will know.

But it has been through the ministry of Paul. Now it is important to note that Titus was a Gentile. He was not a Jew. He was not a Jew like Paul and some of the other apostles were. This is going to be important for us in this discourse and the discourse that is to come, because why would Paul be referencing here a Gentile when speaking to the churches of Galatia?

It's because the majority of all these individuals in this church, these churches, are Gentiles. They're not Jews by birth. And so Paul is recounting, he's essentially using Titus as an example of a man who was not circumcised for salvation.

He was a man that was not circumcised for salvation, which is going to fly in the face of the Judaizers. It's going to go against everyone in their teachings that they've been trying to tell these churches.

And so we see here in verse 2, it says,. And I went up because of a revelation, and I had laid out to them the gospel, which I preached among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, lest somehow I might be running or had run in vain.

Paul references a revelation that he had brought him to Jerusalem for that purpose, that he had the council that we would see there in Acts chapter 15, which we'll look at here in a moment. But in Acts chapter 14, we would see that Paul and Barnabas is an Antioch, and they are approached by these Judaizers in Acts chapter 14, and it alarms them there at the end.

And then the beginning of chapter 15 then is this discourse that we're reading about here in Galatians 2. So let's keep on thinking through this. It says here that he went up because of a revelation. So Paul is saying that something drew him.

He was concerned about what these Judaizers were preaching in Antioch with him and these other disciples with him, and they sought necessary to reconvene with the other apostles in Jerusalem. Let's meet together, and let's talk about what these people are teaching.

What are they saying? So Paul here says that he goes about this because of a revelation, and he says he's been laying out the gospel. The way that he does in this council is sometimes through one Paul's saying in this verse here in verse 2 that these councils that he was having with these other apostles, he was having several one of these meetings with different individuals, and he was doing this in a way that was very purposeful and deliberate.

He's saying that I went and didn't want to bring shame to these other individuals that were of high position, of somebody that was reputable because he didn't want to undo his ministry that he had been performing for 14 years in these foreign areas.

I want us just to notice that Paul is very deliberate in the way he acts. He's very intentional in the way he performs ministry. He just doesn't just go out and do anything willy-nilly. He's saying I strategized.

When I went to Jerusalem, I thought about who to talk to and how to talk to them because I didn't want my ministry to be undone. I didn't want to fall and stumble in what I was telling these individuals.

I hope this is our desire as we would see Paul use this language over and over and over again in Timothy and other places that Paul wants to run a good race. Do you and I today want to go before God and be able to say that we ran a race that was very well, that we performed a ministry that was good unto the Lord?

That's what Paul is saying. I don't want to bring shame to the gospel. I don't want to bring shame to the ministry and what I've been called unto. Let's go ahead and read though. I think it'd be helpful for today.

Let's turn to Acts 15 1 -12. This is just going to be the background context of what Galatians 2 is referencing. But Acts 15 1 -12 says this,. But some men came down from Judea. So this is Paul again in Acts 14.

We see that he's in Antioch and says,. But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, unless you are circumcised according to the customs of Moses, you cannot be saved. I'd pause here and just let you know.

What are we dealing with within Galatians? Judaizers, these Jewish people who are coming into the churches and saying, unless you are circumcised, you cannot be saved. So Paul's saying, I've dealt with these individuals before churches.

We as a whole group of apostles have dealt with these type of men. And after Paul and Barnabas in verse 2, it says,. And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question.

So being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria and describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles brought great joy to all the brothers. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them.

But some believers who belong to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, it is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses. So in all these discussions that Paul is having, there's a group of these believers, these supposed believers that are Jewish descent Pharisee, Pharisee type men who rise up and are saying, no, the Gentiles in order for them to have what we think we have in Christ, salvation from our sins, we have to circumcise these Gentiles.

That's the debate that's going on. That's the argument that's going forth. It says in verse seven and after there had been much debate, Peter stood up. So again, this is so important for us to remember because Peter is going to be mentioned in next week's message as being rebuked by Paul.

We'll see that in the future. But Peter in this text, in Acts chapter 15, he stood up and said to them, brothers, you know that in the very early days, God made a choice among you that by my mouth, the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.

And God who knows the heart bore witness to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us. And he made no distinction between us and them having cleansed their hearts by faith. Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers, nor we have been able to bear, but we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.

And all the assembly fell silent and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. So again, we can recall from last week, Paul, after his three years of being chased by these Jews, seeking his life, he comes to the apostles.

And after 15 days, they say, we're going to send you to these Gentile nations, go preach the gospel 14 years. Then go by. And Paul and Barnabas is now returned back to Jerusalem. And it's now a witness to the truth of the gospel.

These Gentiles who I was sent unto, they have come to know Christ. They've come to know Christ. They have not come to know a yoke. They have not come to know a slavery of fearful law, obeying in order to maintain or obtain salvation.

But they have known Christ, the one who has freed them from sin. And when we marry these accounts from Acts 15, together with this account, let's turn back to Galatians two. When we marry those two accounts together, Galatians two and Acts chapter 15, we should think to ourselves and have several takeaways.

First of all, there is no distinction when it comes to salvation between Jew or Greek, Jew or Gentile. We're all saved the exact same way. And we're all saved by the exact same means that God has called us.

God has justified us. We have faith in Jesus Christ, the son of God. There's no distinction. And number two, the other takeaway that we should be able to take from these verses here in Galatians, and also from Acts, is that the gospel that saves us all saves us the exact same way.

It's not like the Jew has to be circumcised in order to be saved. And the Gentile has to do X, Y, or Z things in order to maintain or have the gospel. No, it's the exact same method, the exact same ways.

And number three, we do not nor cannot earn our own salvation. Peter is very clear in this council that is convened in Acts chapter 15. He's very clear in saying, no, our fathers, they couldn't even be saved by this law.

We couldn't have even been saved by this law. Why are we trying to take this law and put it upon the necks, the backs of the Gentiles? It's not fitting. It's not correct. And it will not save them. Let's look here now in verses three to five.

It says this here in Galatians two, but not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. But this was because of the false brothers secretly brought in, who had snuck in, who'd sneaked in to spy out our freedom, which we have in Christ Jesus in order to enslave us.

But we did not yield in subjection to them for even a moment, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you. Before we jump into what this text is getting at here, and these are these couple of verses here, I want to mention, we read an account of a gentleman in Acts chapter 16 being, or at the end of chapter 15, excuse me, that is circumcised to be able to advance the gospel.

And that's Timothy. Timothy was born of a Greek and of a Jew, and he was compelled. He was circumcised by Paul for the purpose of being able to speak to the Jews in the synagogues to spread the gospel.

But here we just need to distinguish that Titus is not Timothy, right? Titus is not Timothy. This is one of those areas that we have these multiple narratives running together. Acts does not mention Titus.

Acts does not reference Titus being there with them. But Paul is saying, no, Titus was there with us. So we would see that Paul and Barnabas and Titus and Timothy, they're all together in Acts 15. But Titus is a different individual than Timothy.

And here in, since there's these several events and places that Paul in Galatians here is referring to, it's challenging for us to recall these stories in an orderly fashion. But Timothy is not Titus, and the person that is referenced in Acts 16 and Acts 15 as being circumcised to be able to advance the gospel and be a witness to the Jews in that area was Timothy.

And, again, that was a strategic move from Paul, not one done out of necessity for salvation's sake. But here in Galatians, Paul is referencing Titus not being circumcised. And this is a powerful testimony to the churches of Galatia because Titus was a Greek, a Gentile, and someone who had been converted to Christianity.

And Paul is telling these churches, look to Titus for your example. Look to Titus. Was Titus compelled to be circumcised? Did Titus enter into his pastoral position because of circumcision? Was he placed within the church because of circumcision, because of law-keeping?

No. This is what the Judaizers are trying to argue for. Here is the knife, churches. Go and circumcise yourself for salvation. Become a true Christian. Come and be a true Jew. You need to be circumcised is what these Judaizers are saying.

And Paul is saying no to Titus. Titus was saved apart from circumcision, and he hasn't been circumcised yet. And yet he's saved because the gospel is what's saved, not the knife. So here in verse 4, let's look at this again.

But this was because of the false brothers secretly brought in who had sneaked in to spy out our freedom which we have in Christ Jesus in order to enslave us. And so here in verse 4 is something that should cause our heads to be on a swivel.

This is a text that should bring the utmost concern for you and I, brothers and sisters. Because what does this say in here? False brothers. Meaning they were never really of us. Yet they took on the title of what?

Brother. They were not really brothers, but they took on the title and they acted, they looked, they sounded like us. But yet they were ravenous wolves. What is the purpose of these false brothers according to Paul here?

The purpose of these false brothers, these slavers and felicious men who came into the church, what was the reason that they were there? To spy and enslave. To spy and enslave. There are people in the world that whether they know it or not are coming into churches to spy out the freedom we have in Christ and then in turn want to give you and me a yoke of slavery.

And friends, we need to take this verse so seriously because of this. Paul has told us previously to be on the lookout for those who might teach a false gospel. And then if they do, to cut them off from us, to let them be damned, to not let them be a part of us.

Here then Paul is now telling us that those same individuals who sneak into the church, they sneak in for the purpose to spy out what you have graciously received, what you have undeservingly received in Christ Jesus.

And then like a cancer, slowly undermine the message of the gospel until it's of no avail in your life. Be like Paul who says that he did not yield for even a moment to these type of men. Remind yourself today of the truth that Jesus the gospel itself has all that you do in life.

Let all that you do in life be predicated in the trust of Christ who rose from the grave. Do not neglect the grace that has been given to you by trading freedom for slavery. Jesus did not grant us salvation so that you and I might become slaves unto sins and yokes of false ordinances, but he has released us from the dominion of darkness so that we might be slaves unto him and that we would have life and freedom in his kingdom.

Do not be duped or tricked or enslaved by the world, men, or false brothers of today. Our church today through God's word, through watchful elders, through earnest prayers, through deliberate worship, through meaningful membership, through sweet fellowship, and through regular obedience of action according to Christ's command seeks to avoid such false brothers like what the churches of Galatia suffered and had been infected with.

This text here flies in the face of the modern church which practices no membership, no discipline, no discipleship, and no accountability. Though these types of churches may have increased numbers of attendance, they are full of falsehoods which have been built upon the sands of destruction awaiting their hour of a hurricane upon which they will come crumbling down.

The faithful church whose numbers, brothers and sisters, we look around today and we see people in our church missing. We take confidence that God has precisely designed the church. Its border cannot be pushed farther than what God has designed it to be.

God's church who he's sovereign over, the one that has predestined the exact number that will worship him. We stand in the face of persecution because she has been built upon the rock. We will not fall like those false churches around us.

Yield today to the grace of Christ and flee from the treachery of those who seek to enslave. This is a terrifying text, I think. There's going to be false brothers who are trying to enter the church. There have been false brothers is what Paul is saying.

Let's look here at verse six. It says this. But from those who were of high reputation, what they were makes no difference to me. God shows no partiality. Well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me.

Paul reminds us here that God shows no partiality to men. It does not matter if you are a king with wealth above others, or if you're a man of honor known abroad with respect amongst the people, or if you are the lowest of the low with nothing to your name.

It does not matter in the eyes of the Lord for him to show us favor. But instead, it matters if you are in Christ Jesus. Therefore, Paul, though, recognizes these men in positions of honor here in this text.

He does not want to embarrass them. He understands that the gospel, though, is an offensive message nonetheless. It's an offensive message to all men because that good news does not change, depend on the societal positions of men.

And it is an offensive message to say you in your own righteousness, your own supposed good deeds, you will stand condemned and go to hell for eternity. That's an offensive message to sell someone. And to then tell them you must throw yourself to Jesus and his mercy seat because there alone is salvation.

Look to Christ alone. This is offensive, and Paul knows this. It's a stumbling block for the Jews. Jesus Christ dying for our sins according to scriptures and defeating death itself is the only hope you and I have in this world.

It's the only hope that we fully and truly, I hope, trust in today. Let's look here in verse 7. So Paul, after saying, look, there's no respecter of men when it comes to God. God does not look at someone and say, this person dresses nicer than this person.

So therefore, I will award him salvation. That's not how God works. But then in verse 7 through 10, it says this,. But on the contrary, seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised just as Peter had been to the circumcised.

For he who worked in Peter unto his apostleship to the circumcised, for in me also unto the Gentiles, worked in me also unto the Gentiles, and recognized the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we might go, the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised.

Only they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I also was eager to do. Just keep your eyes there in verse 7 for a moment. Here, Paul is demonstrating both to us and to the churches of Galatia that he is an apostle like Peter is.

Someone who the early church is being built upon, and a man who is to be submitted to, ultimately. Because the Lord Jesus himself has sent Paul as an apostle. Let it be known that though Paul has been entrusted to the Gentiles, and Peter to the Jews, here according to the words of Paul, this is just meaning that they have been given a particular people who God the Spirit has desired to be the main focus of their ministry within the church.

It does not mean that they have a different gospel amongst themselves. And pay attention and remember, recall back to Acts 15, when Peter is the one that says that he gets up and says, Look, why are we doing this?

Our fathers, they weren't justified by the works of the law. We aren't justified by the works of the law. What does it say? That Peter preached the gospel to the Gentiles. There's occasion over and over and over again in the scripture where both Paul and Peter are recorded to sharing the gospel with both Jew and Gentiles.

It's not like if you were a Jew, Paul couldn't talk to you. Or if you were a Gentile, you were immune to the words of Peter. They were both called to Paul, you, regardless if you were a Jew or a Gentile, to repent and place your faith in Jesus Christ and him crucified alone for our salvation.

Peter and Paul had specific components, specific places where they were to preach the gospel. Paul was to go specifically to the areas where Gentiles were the predominant individuals. And Peter, likewise, to the areas that were predominantly Jewish.

Here in verse 8, then even illustrates this unity even more as Paul states that the one and only God who was at work in Peter was also in work in him unto his own ministry of being an apostle unto the Lord.

8 again says this, for he who worked in Peter unto his apostleship to the circumcised worked in me also unto the Gentiles. It's the same God, it's the same call of the gospel, but just we've been sent specifically to these two different types of regions, these two different types of people.

Let's look here now in verse 9, it says this,. And recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship so that we might go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.

So Paul now transitions back. So again, this is where this text can be somewhat of a confusing text when you first glance at it. Because Paul now references that the same God, the same Spirit, who is working in both Peter and in himself, they've been sent to these different areas.

He now goes back and he recalls those first days after the three years of being on the run for his life when he had first met the apostles. Paul is referencing here those first 15 days in which he was examined by the other apostles and that they all had concluded that not only had Saul, the persecutor of the church, been saved by grace, but that he, like themselves, the other apostles, had been commissioned as an apostle.

Paul's pointing back to that very first time meeting those apostles when they said, you know what? You are a brother in Christ. You are an apostle. We see what God has done in you. And they give him this right hand of fellowship.

And this saying is essentially them saying that they accepted him and that they all recognized his call in ministry. Then Paul references that they did commission him to remember the poor, a thing that Paul was already excited to do here in verse 10.

This is an important principle that I do want to make mention of. When we think of pastors and teachers and elders and deacons and these different positions that we see within the church and how it's to be ordered today, do you think, let's consider the position of deacon, this person that is to serve.

Would it be wise for the church, a church in general, to call a man to that position when he's not eager to already do so? No, it wouldn't be wise. A deacon, if someone was to be ordained into the office of a deacon, they should already be doing the work of guess what?

A deacon. They should already in practice be doing the work that a deacon should be doing. They should already have that heart and eagerness to do this. And that's what Paul is just confirming here, that when I was sent out, churches of Galatia, when I was sent out as an apostle, they told me to look out for the poor.

I was already doing this. I was already eager for this principle. I was already eager for this portion of ministry. I want to finish today by asking us a very important question, followed by another question that I hope will cut very deep inside of our hearts.

How many years have we been saved? Have you been saved for one year, five years, 10 years, 17 years, or maybe 30 years? How long have you been saved today? Have you, in all those years, fulfilled your ministry?

Have you been eager to advance the gospel? Have you not yielded in demonstrating the grace that has been given to you? Now, I want us all to—I understand that not all of us have been called to be pastors or teachers, but each of us have been called to be obedient to Christ, to be obedient and have faith to the gospel.

Are you being obedient to Jesus today? Now, we obviously know that our obedience does not save us. If that was to ever be said or thought of in our hearts, guess what we'd be doing? Going against the words of the apostle here in the book of Galatians.

We know that those things do not save us, obviously. However, because we have been saved, we follow the words of Christ in thought and action. The one who has saved us, now we follow and obey. But I want you to answer those questions honestly today, and think, if asked by God, have you fulfilled your ministry?

Would you come forth in humility, proclaiming the works the Lord has performed through you and your labors? Would you be able to say that your race was not in vain, like we see Paul doing here and we'll read in a moment?

Or would you shrink back out of shame and embarrassment? Would you weep in your laziness? Or would you tear over the forsaking of the one who's forsaken for you? We must cling unto Christ today and fulfill your ministry.

2 Timothy 4, 7 -8 says this, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

If you love Christ, you will long and seek to glorify Him through your efforts, through your ministry, through the obedience that you want to have to honor the King, not to receive salvation, but because you have been graciously given salvation, undeservingly reckoned righteousness.

If you love Christ, the law of God has been written upon your heart. If you love Christ, you will do that which is spoken of in His word that accompanies salvation. If you love Christ, you will love His church and you will seek fellowship within.

If you love Christ, you will have been baptized to put Him on. If you love Christ, you will take forth the gospel. Now, each of us are in different situations, and that's very clear, brothers and sisters.

So whether you are a mother in the most challenging and difficult season of your life, or you're the brother in a very deep hardship, or a husband who is in a valley of darkness, let me say this, run your race well.

Keep the faith. Love Christ, who will never forsake you, as you undoubtedly have Him. And may today we run in stride honoring the King, acting out of humility, so that our deeds might not be made vain.

Stand tall, Christian. March forth as you are armed with the most fierce weapon of all, the gospel that saves. Jesus, who is worthy, has taken what you are worthy of and has imputed His righteousness unto you.