Accept No Substitutes - [Galatians 1:6-12]

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Well, I would invite you to take your Bibles and open them to Galatians chapter 1 as I continue my series in Galatians Oh wait,
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I don't have a series in Galatians turn there. Anyway Mike gave me permission as long as I didn't go to Ruth and Who knows why
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I would go to Ruth to preach whatever I wanted. So here we are in Galatians Chapter 1 this morning.
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I Think we got a real lesson this week in tolerance How it works
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How it doesn't work what it means What it doesn't mean As far as words go.
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I think tolerance has been stretched Folded spindled mutilated. I mean it it virtually has lost all of its previous meaning
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It's become a buzzword and basically it means it for you to be tolerant means you must accept
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Any sinful activity that anybody wants to participate in if you don't you are Intolerant and guess what intolerance could
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Potentially cost you your job for a few days and then they hire you back But if you haven't been watching the news somebody did lose their job this week for saying some things crassly about homosexual behavior and It was all over the news, so I don't know what you guys are watching but anyway
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Today there are there there is a group that a lot of people agree deserve condemnation
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Who is that group? What's those people that? Actually hold to a standard that says there is objective truth
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In fact, there are some really bad people and those people Sometimes are referred to as heretic hunters
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They like to think of themselves as discernment ministries. Here's what they do They listen to what people teach from the
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Bible and they say does that match up with what the Bible says now to some people That's horrible Especially to false teachers, right?
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They don't like that. They don't like being called out But we're gonna see in our passage this morning that we need to be discerning
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We need to examine things that are taught. We need to look at what the Bible says
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We need to be able to distinguish between truth and error Now the
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Church of Galatia is Part of what today would be called
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Turkey some of you may be familiar with the term Asia Minor It's that little peninsula that gets really close to Greece doesn't quite get there adjacent to modern -day
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Bulgaria, I Mean how many you know, it's in the Mediterranean between the Mediterranean to the Black Seas I could go on but I won't be pointless
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That's where it is. That's where the church was actually a group of churches But it's unusual this book is
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Unusual among all the books why because typically Paul gives some kind of warm greeting and Then he addresses whatever issue it is that he wants to address with them
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Maybe it's multiple issues But listen to some of the ways he starts his letters book of Romans To all who are beloved of God in Rome called as saints
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To even the church at Corinth with all their problems listen first Corinthians 1 2
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Says to the Church of God which is at Corinth to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus Saints by calling to the church at Ephesus to the saints who are at Ephesus and who are faithful in Christ Jesus to Timothy He wrote to Timothy my true child in the faith a tenderness
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Thessalonians first Thessalonians He wrote this kind of a little plain But he says to the
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Church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ at least Identifying them as being in Christ listen to how he starts
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The book of Galatians the letter to the church in Galatia to the churches of Galatia stop
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No qualifiers. No praise Just the bare plain facts.
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It's as if he's just naming them and giving their address. You're a church. You're at Galatia This really is not a long -distance hug it's kind of more like a long -distance slap if we're being candid
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We like to be candid Lightfoot said of this opening.
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He says it is an indignant Expression of surprise that takes the place of the usual Thanksgiving for the faith of his converts
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This is the only instance where st. Paul does not express his thankfulness in addressing a church
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The only time and also as I read because I'm gonna read through the first five verses we're gonna start on Galatians 1 we're gonna read 1 through 12, and I'm gonna focus on 6 through 12 this morning
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But even as I read I want you to just look at how he focuses on his Apostleship the nature of it.
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Why why was that important because he wanted the church to understand Look, I have some authority here
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You know what I responded to calls in Los Angeles County People look at my uniform and they go.
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Well, there's a representative of the government of the sheriff. This is a deputy I need to respect him and here's what he's doing.
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He's pulling the authority card right off the bat I want you guys to know this is just not my opinion. I Am writing as an official
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Messenger from the Lord Jesus Christ Why is it so important?
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Because the church at Galatia had been infiltrated by a movement known as the
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Judaizers These were people who wanted to kind of marry the old covenant with the new you you could be saved by grace
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But you also needed to be circumcised In fact, it's interesting one of my favorite passages in all the
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Bible is in the book of Galatians Where Paul and reason I like is because I'm somewhat irreverent
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Paul goes to the man the Catholics call the first Pope Peter and confronts him
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For his theological air right to his face The theme of this book is justification by faith
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Alone, there's nothing that can be added to it and you're gonna hear me say that a lot today
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If you add something to the gospel you negate the gospel You can't do it, but that's what these men were doing
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They had begun teaching that Justification was not a matter of faith alone.
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In fact, they even said that Paul, you know when he was in various places He would actually Prescribe circumcision.
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So how dare he withhold it from the Church of Galatia? He just doesn't want you guys to take that extra step that really gets you into heaven
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This was an assault on the sufficiency of the death of Christ to justify believers
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It's an attack on the gospel How does one get to heaven? How was one declared righteous by God?
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The Judaizers had to be dealt with in a most severe manner this rebellion against the grace of God had to be put down and Paul was in Effect the general of the forces that were going to put it down That I'm speaking.
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I'm using a lot of militaristic terms. Why because this is spiritual warfare If you pick up some almost
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I'll call it science fiction It's Christian fiction. You know that that deals with spiritual warfare.
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It's about Demons and angels and behind -the -scene warfare and you know, this is all going on and we have no clue here's spiritual warfare
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It's truth versus error It's the gospel versus non Gospels our
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Demons involved. Yes But none of some physical confrontation with angels, this is a battle of ideas
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That's a consistent theme of spiritual warfare. It is about Assaults on the gospel and that's what we're dealing with here today let's read our text
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Galatians 1 verses 1 to 12 and Again, notice his authority and how it's up front and center here
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Paul an Apostle not from men nor through men But through Jesus Christ and God the
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Father who raised him from the dead My authority is not man given.
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It's God given He's writing and all the brothers who are with me to the churches that the fellow
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Christians who are with him to the churches of Galatia verse 3 grace to you and peace from God our
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Father and the Lord Jesus Christ Who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age
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According to the will of God our Father to whom be the glory forever and ever.
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Amen Nice little encapsulation basically of the gospel what has been done now look at verse 6
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I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and Are turning to a different gospel
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Not that there is another one But there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preach to you let him be a cursed as We have said before so now
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I say again if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received
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Let him be accursed For am I now seeking the approval of man or of God or am
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I still or Excuse me, or am I trying to please man if I were still trying to please man
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I would not be a servant of Christ For I would have you know brothers that the gospel was preached that was preached by me is not man's gospel
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For I did not receive it from any man Nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ Now this morning.
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I want to draw your attention to three truths Drawn from our text so that you will really treasure the gospel
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It was and is under attack and it needs to be proclaimed
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Defended guarded and What we need to do is whenever we hear somebody say thus saith the
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Lord or this is the gospel We need to compare that with Scripture and see if it is so Our first truth is and I used a lot of a's we have some mild alliteration going on here
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Our first truth is abandoning grace is abandoning Christ Abandoning grace is abandoning
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Christ Abandoning Christ Looking in at verse 6. I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him the person
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Who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel?
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Turning from God the one who called them in Christ and turning to a different gospel listen to what
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Hendrickson said he says What we find here is not Satisfaction as would be typical with other churches but stupefaction
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Overwhelming amazement painful perplexity Paul is shocked. He is indeed stupefied
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Listen he is shocked can't even believe this Other churches have their problems, but Paul writes of his thankfulness for the work of God in them how he's
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Directed them thus far and then he addresses the issues that maybe they need to change But Paul is stunned by the theological desertion of the
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Galatians They are essentially traitors turncoats They've abandoned
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Christ Now imagine using such language about other churches today
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Accusing them essentially of theological treason What's going to happen? You're going to be called intolerant a heretic hunter, but what's the truth?
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the truth is that people who Water down grace who want to add something to the gospel are leading people to hell
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Now this Greek verb translated deserting pictures a complete changing of affections
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It's as if a man seems Married man seems perfectly content and happy with his wife and the next day he runs off With another woman it's that radical.
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It's a complete changing of allegiance Would that it would be only just a moral failure and you say well only a moral failure.
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This is much worse Because it's not just them. It's not just this one particular group this has an
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Impact at the Church of Galatia, and if it's not stomped out it will have a broader impact
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It marks these people who believe in this as those who are not just merely ensnared in some sin
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But those who have been visited by the grace of God who have tasted and seen that it is good and then run from it
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The Galatians have heard the gospel. They've been taught the gospel. They gave assent to the gospel.
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They said they believed now consider the contrast between This letter and again just the the letters written to the
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Church of Corinth with all of its problems Remember they had problems of unity
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They had problems of immorality in their midst They misused the spiritual gifts.
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The the problems are go on and on and on In fact, people have just written books about the problems of the church at Corinth But Paul took time to praise
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God for them. Why? Because like other Christians they stumbled they fell down But God was at work at them.
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They weren't perfect, but they were it's not the direction It's or it's not the perfection. It's the direction of their lives, but the church in Galatia doesn't get anything like that They get a cannon blast a full fusillade as it were right in the face
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Paul doesn't hold anything back Why? Because there's nothing more serious.
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There is no greater failing than abandoning the gospel of Christ There was a fleeing from God.
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It says desertion They ran away our text tells us that they were quickly deserting. It was like a stampede
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They were not thinking through they had like a herd mentality. They were not thinking through what they were being told
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They were not comparing this different gospel to the Bible they were not carefully scrutinizing the teaching to see if it matched the scripture as the
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Bereans were committed for They heard about this new gospel this new and improved gospel
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This new edition of the Bible or of the gospel and they couldn't wait They had been called to grace
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They had been called to Believe in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ to trust in him alone
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But they were switching allegiance from that gospel to a different gospel Now, how is it different?
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well, it really the word means and it's the word from which we get hetero it really means of a different type
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I mean, you know a couple of examples It's like I asked my wife to go to the store and get me night.
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She didn't she wouldn't fail like this I asked her to go get my favorite Ben and Jerry's ice cream and she comes back with store brand ice milk
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Or worse yet some kind of sugar -free frozen yogurt or something, you know, like come on We're not we're not even in the same ballpark
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When we say hetero we understand that they are opposites Especially in this day and age when we're told that hetero doesn't matter anymore, you know, homo is just fine a
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Man and a woman they're opposite opposites attract. We understand that and that's the word that's used here
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This is an opposite of the gospel. This is no gospel at all. This is like going from the gospel of grace to this new improved additional
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Gospel gospel plus let's just call it It's like going from the
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United States to the Soviet Union during the Cold War for you kids. That's really bad. How did this happen?
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Well, the Galatians have been beguiled by smooth talkers Who have convinced them that they need to do something to get into heaven now
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You know Paul was shocked. But if we consider He was shocked because he knew what they'd been taught but if we consider the nature of mankind it really isn't so shocking
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We consider the way Satan works it's really not so shocking what happened in the
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Garden of Eden Satan distorted The Word of God has
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God really said and then he twisted a little bit and what did Eve do in response? She twisted it all the more
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It's surprising what a big difference just a little tweak a little change can make You know, sometimes we hear things we go.
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Well, that's not too far off. How bad can that be? I was reading yesterday
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That if you're flying a plane and you start on the equator and you're and you do a loop around the earth
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Instead of ending up where you started if you're off one degree One degree one degree out of 360 what's one degree between friends?
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Come on 500 miles So maybe you know,
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I mean to obviously we're not on the equator But let's say you started in Boston and you flew around and you're off one degree.
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You could wind up what? Washington DC the horror. It's just a little difference
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It's not that bad I mean think about it what they were what they were promoting was Good at least under the old covenant, but when it comes to the gospel adding
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To the gospel adding to grace You don't just wind up at the wrong Airport you wind up Some place you don't want to be
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Paul wrote in Romans 11 6 that adding to works Or adding works to grace causes the grace to know no longer be grace
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You nullify grace grace is as Sinclair Ferguson likes to say demerited favor
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That is we get the opposite of what we deserve. Nobody wants what they deserve Nobody wants that because what we deserve is hell, but when we tamper with the recipe of the gospel of grace when we add to it we subtract to it we negate it an
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Adulterated gospel that is a gospel featuring a mixture of grace with some merit some works some effort some deed
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Is as useless as an idol you might as well go out to your backyard You know do what the ancient people used to do
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Carve yourself a little idol of stone or maybe a really nice piece of wood out there in the back
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That you decided not to burn for whatever reason Carve yourself a nice little idol fall down on the ground and worship it because that's exactly the same effect as when you add works to the gospel you are
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Believing in a gospel of your own imagining and a God who needs your help to save him a gospel designed by mortal minds cannot appease the wrath of an immortal holy
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God such a gospel Such a pseudo gospel a false gospel imagines that there is something good something worthwhile something valuable in our efforts
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But the Prophet Isaiah said that our righteous deeds in other words our best efforts the things that we at the end of the day we feel good about whether it's
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Helping somebody across the street or taking care of a baby or whatever wonderful thing that we've done feeding the poor
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Clothing the Those who need clothing sheltering those who need shelter whatever good work that we think we have done
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Isaiah says it's a filthy garments a polluted garments our best efforts one who
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Let's put it another way if you think you know what if I do this I have a better chance of being saved
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You don't understand the gospel you don't understand grace you have not believed There is no chance
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It's 100 % Our second truth a lot of A's here ambassadors of angels are anathematized a lot of A's We see a distortion of the gospel look at verse 7
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He says not that there is another one another gospel But there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ You've left for Christ for another gospel, but the bad news is and this is really bad news there is no other gospel and actually in the wording here
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Paul expresses a little bit of sorrow a little bit of Empathy for the
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Galatians he feels sorry for them The literal meaning of trouble you is it would have the idea of causing
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Something to be shaken together to be mixed up and I don't
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I don't like to mix my protein shakes up by shaking them like that because it doesn't work all that well But throw it in the blender. That's the idea here
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It's taking these ideas, and they've they've just spun them in such a way that it's got these
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Galatians dizzy They're theologically dizzy. They're not thinking right they're confused
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The false teachers have succeeded in jumbling their thinking concerning the gospel See that word they're distort.
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They really want to distort or Change the gospel. They're changing it from one thing to another
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It's a metamorphosis only in this case. You know we typically how do we explain metamorphosis?
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The process we see a caterpillar, and it turns into a beautiful butterfly Well in this case the beautiful butterfly turns back into a caterpillar.
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It's going the wrong way This is not something that's desirable, but they're pursuing it
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We need to defend the gospel, and that's playing right in the next verse look at look at this in verse 8
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But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel Contrary to the one we preached to you let him be accursed now look at just the first four words, but even if we
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It's kind of the royal ways talking about we meaning himself Mostly, but the other men that he's with the other godly men that he's with And he says listen
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If somehow it were possible for me to show up at your church and start preaching a gospel
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That's different from what I used to that's contrary. That's opposed to the gospel. I used to preach
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I Ought to be Accursed I ought to be Anathematized I ought to be condemned.
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I ought to be sentenced to hell that's What he's saying and look he says he adds there, but even if we one of these godly men or even if me the
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Apostle of Christ should appear and do that that would be bad, and we should be accursed, but look what he says he says or an angel from heaven a
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Messenger from heaven it's amazing that angel should be then condemned
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It's that serious to misrepresent the gospel The master seminary we used to have a sign you know like if If you ever watched
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Notre Dame football and by the way my favorite team is whoever's playing Notre Dame, but they have a little sign
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That they that's over their locker room as they exit that says play like a champion today
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When I see it, I always go you know play like a Catholic today, or whatever you know I just really don't like but At the master seminary they had a little sign and we didn't get to slap it
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I always thought it would be cool You know if we could slap it before we went in a preaching lab you know preach like a champion or something
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That's not what it says anyway The sign says this it says we train men as if lives depend on it let me tell you something souls do depend on getting the gospel right an
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Accurate gospel saves a gospel with things added subtracted
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Affixed Whatever, whatever is done to the gospel to change it will not save and in fact condemns that's why he pronounces that anathema on them an adulterated gospel any change condemns
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It's as simple as that What about a message from heaven who would claim to be visited by an angel and receive some revelation that contradicts the
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Bible? Who would do that? Well, let's see Muhammad said he was visited by the angel
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Gabriel who started giving him parts of the Koran that Were contrary to the
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Bible and in fact if you read the Koran you're gonna find that there have been a lot of changes To what is essentially the familiar
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Old Testament story? see Joseph Smith visited allegedly by an angel
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Founded Mormonism Ellen G. White's Received messages from angels or so.
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She said the founder of Seventh -day Adventism The Jehovah Witnesses have their issues with the
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Archangel Michael whom they believe to be Jesus Christ I was reading something that they say that he disintegrated after the cross and then became the
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Archangel Michael very strange But it's as if this verse
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Even if I or anybody else come and preach the gospel is different It's almost like heat it's almost a prophecy because it is a prophecy
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This is what's been going on ever since then wave after wave after wave of assaults every possible variation and distortion and addition and subtraction if Something could be claimed to be the gospel no matter how ridiculous the claims no matter how absurd the source
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No matter how unbiblical Attack after attack after attack
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But the gospel is not changed It is not able to be changed.
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It is no more malleable that is subject to change bending folding shaping whatever
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Then the nature of God himself because if you think about it, what is the gospel? It is the outworking of the nature of God You say how's that?
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Well, God is holy. He disapproves of sin, right? That's part of the gospel
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Well, God is love God loves therefore he acted he sent his son second person the
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Trinity to live a perfect life Die a sacrificial death be raised on the third day
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God is justice God will punish every single sin
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Every single sin the only question is whether they are put on Christ at the cross or whether you will pay for them for all eternity
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God is righteous. He cannot look at sin. He cannot even abide it.
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No unclean thing will enter into the kingdom of heaven There isn't an attribute of God where you could say well that has nothing to do with the gospel because it all does
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The gospel cannot change it is fixed. It is his means to save his people and make no mistake about it when anyone
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That you hear teaching Says that they found something new or notices something that has been lost
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You should approach that with great caution Your alarm system should be going off like crazy
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Why because there is nothing new Jude said it was what the once for all delivered faith
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There's nothing new or improved. It can't get any better the great
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Scottish preacher John Brown put it this way. He said it may be called it is called gospel, but is misnamed
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There is no gospel, but one and that ye have abandoned. That's what they had done
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Listen Every other gospel every other so -called gospel is actually an anti gospel if the gospel is going north every so -called pseudo fake
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Gospel is heading south They're not close. This isn't about shades of gray It's not like there are you know, many things from which we can choose from this isn't a smorgasbord of truth
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There's one truth and many enemies of the truth seeking to masquerade the truth or to provide reasonable
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Seemingly reasonable alternatives why? Because Satan is a liar and a deceiver the father of all lies and he has many willing emissaries who promote these false
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Gospels to lead billions to eternal damnation. What did Jesus say in Matthew 7?
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He said many are on the broad road Many think that they're bound for heaven
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And if you ask them why they're bound for heaven, they can tell you that is something that they've done
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No, they might refer to the grace of God. They might talk about Jesus But when you get down to it, what are they gonna say?
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In part it was because of their baptism. It was because of their temple marriage
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It was because because because they've got something that they contributed to it
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That is not the gospel. And by the way, you can't live the gospel
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Anybody who says to you live the gospel you must live the gospel doesn't understand the gospel One person live the gospel
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We believe the gospel. We don't live it. You can't live it. You don't have the capacity to live it gospel is good news
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That'd be kind of crazy. You know, are you living the newspaper? Nobody would ever say that how can you live the gospel?
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But in Mormonism, that's what they teach Many teach that you read that you just you should run the other way
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And think about what they were doing here. The Judaizers wanted to add Parts of the
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Old Covenant specifically circumcision to the gospel of grace
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Judaism morphed over time from a gospel of grace
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We read of the heroes of faith We understand that they were saved by faith and faith alone and it really had turned into a ridiculous set of rules
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Now look at some so -called Christian denominations out there Roman Catholicism They specifically deny
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Salvation by grace alone. They specifically deny and condemn anyone who says that you can know that you were saved
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They specifically condemn Anyone who teaches that salvation is by faith alone through grace alone in Christ alone.
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They deny all that and instead Salvation is only available through the church and by its auspices meaning there are things that you have to do in order to Merit heaven in order to help justify yourself
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Every false religion every false system says to you and appeals to your flesh and says
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You know what? The grace of God is abundant and all you have to do is
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Fill in the blank. The truth is you can't even believe apart from the work of God Salvation is from beginning to end all of God Now other
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Gospels, let's look at verse 9 as we have said before So now I say again if anyone's preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received let him be accursed it's interesting that he
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Pronounces a judgment not on the Galatians not on the Church of Galatia, but on whom those who are teaching false things
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Is it because he thinks that they're too smart to fall for false teaching no It's because he understands
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The God who has chosen at least some of the people at the Church of Galatia Listen to as I read
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Galatians 5 verses 7 to 10. You are running. Well, you were doing super Who hindered you from obeying the truth?
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This persuasion is not from him who calls you a little leaven Or a little leaven leavens the whole lump
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I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty whoever he is
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There's a small group of people. Maybe it's only one person with some persuasion
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With some influence who's trying to introduce this heresy into the church and he goes get rid of him
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Basically, that's what that means verse 9 a little leaven leavens the whole lump. It's not just a little addition
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To the gospel spoils it but whoever this person is you need to get rid of him He's going to wreck the whole church
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Paul is confident though. Look at that. He says I have confidence in the Lord not in you but in the
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Lord Confidence in the
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Lord the Lord that is it work in his people Again, notice he uses a cursed
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He is that over and over again for emphasis He wants us to understand that those who teach these things will be delivered over to divine wrath
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Paul wants to make plain that as one man calls it these self -appointed nobodies
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Who are now making themselves guilty of this crime. They will be punished. They will receive their
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Just desserts and with all the authority of an apostle of Christ He is pronouncing
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God's judgment on those who would distort the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ So we've seen truth number one abandoning grace is abandoning
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Christ truth number two ambassadors of angels are anathematized that just means that these who claim to have messages from angels are condemned and our third truth approval of salvation's author is
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Is above anthropic ascent too many A's there, but anyway, here's here's the point
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Salvation's author is Christ Paul wants the approval of salvation's author More than he wants anthropic ascent, which is the approval of man fancy way of saying that And he asked the question am
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I going to be a God pleaser a man pleaser look at verse 10 For am I now seeking the approval of man or of God or am
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I trying to please man if I were still trying to please Man, I would not be a servant of Christ. Look I have to make a choice
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He says I can either just let you guys go and let you believe whatever you want to believe I can be tolerant
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I can go along to get along but if I do that I'll basically be resigning my position as a servant of Christ.
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I'll no longer be faithful to the Lord Is it wrong to call people on the carpet who are teaching a false gospel?
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No It's a service to the Lord It's what teachers are called to do
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They're to exhort in sound doctrine from Titus Chapter 1 and they're also to refute those who contradict it
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Again Jude contend for the once -for -all delivered faith. This is what teachers of the gospel ought to do
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Now if he were seeking the approval of man, what would he do? Well, you'd be out there trying to maybe outmaneuver these false teachers so that he could have a bigger group than they did
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But Paul makes it clear. There is no compromise. There is no midpoint at which the two sides agree We have gospel and anti gospel.
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We have matter and antimatter and if they meets it's gonna be a cataclysm Mankind us we by inclination we want what we want rules.
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We want to know what we have to do I don't care if it's in your marriage if it's at work
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And you know what even in the church sometimes it appeals to our sin nature You know what?
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I don't want to just trust in the Lord Jesus Christ Can you just give me a list of things that I need to get rid of in my life?
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Is there some way that I you know, some list of sins that I can just stop committing and then I'll be okay It's our sin nature that makes us want to raise ourselves up to be worthy of heaven
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And this is no small thing the very glory of the triune. God is at stake. He has decreed planned and Brought about the salvation of his people.
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He paid for it all without their help is he now to share the credit because of their circumcision or their baptism or their obedience of any kind is
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The sovereign God of the universe in need of our help to save us The answer is no
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He has done Everything some say well
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God has done all he can and now he just needs you to just kind of lean across the finish line That's not grace
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Any accommodation to sinful man is a rejection of Paul's Lord and Master He's would in effect be throwing off the yoke
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Again he says if I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. I can't do both Finally look there's only one source for truth
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Look at verse 11 for I would have you know brothers that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel
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For I did not receive it from any man nor was I taught it but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ He was taught by the resurrected
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Lord himself. He didn't learn his gospel in seminary. He didn't read it in a book
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He wasn't taught by anyone and in fact if we just remember what the
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Lord said to Ananias What he gave him the unenviable task of going to take care of Saul then
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Saul of Tarsus in Acts 9 16 Ananias is not too crazy about the idea, but the
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Lord says this for I will show him Paul Saul Paul How much he must suffer for the sake of my name?
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The Lord himself would show Saul then Paul how much he would suffer for the sake of my name
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Jesus taught Paul the gospel and he told him you're going to suffer.
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It's not going to be easy Well, what could sustain a man through beatings? through floggings
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Running for his life over and over again shipwrecks all the things that Paul went through the whole litany of them
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What could sustain him through that except for? The very personal
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Relationship and instruction he'd received from the Lord. He didn't need
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Self -help books. He didn't need anything else He knew what he knew by virtue of hearing it from his creator his sustainer his
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Savior The Church of Galatia had been infiltrated by spiritual traitors those who had joyfully and willingly exchanged the treasure of the gospel
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For trash They were leading some astray and causing confusion in the church and Paul wrote to straighten them out
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Now we live as I mentioned earlier. We live in an age of tolerance. Tolerance is the buzzword.
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It's the watchword It's what everyone prize or what the world prizes above all else.
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We also live in an age of unprecedented technology Technology is both a blessing and a curse.
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I heard John MacArthur recently talking about how via the
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Internet Some of the resources they're able to send out via the Internet mp3 files of sermons and whatnot.
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There are thousands maybe tens of thousands of Vietnamese holding
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Bible studies and rice patties Now that is a country that is
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Communist officially atheist that condemns Christianity in every way possible, but because of technology
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The Lord is using that now to reach people that have never heard the gospel would have no way of knowing the gospel
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But technology as I said is a double -edged sword
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What's the face of Christianity across the globe it's a so -called Trinity broadcasting network
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Countless millions Led into false systems of salvation whether it be the prosperity gospel, which says, you know,
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God loves you and wants you to be rich God loves you and will bless you if you just send all your money
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God loves you, but he is Not a Trinity God loves you, but they have a they have a million different variations
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Not a million but a lot of different variations, but they all have one problem they don't preach the gospel
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What is the gospel? What is it that we are to defend? Well, I said earlier
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It is simply put it is this that we are helpless to save ourselves that nothing we do
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Can merit God's favor and In fact, our very best efforts are so riddled with sin that if we were to hold them up before God He would send us straight to hell
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Those are our best efforts We all sin and fall short of the glory of God Paul wrote to the
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Romans Because of that and because God cannot abide sin cannot see look upon sin with favor
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Cannot have it in his presence that sin had to be dealt with God dealt with it
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We couldn't having sinned. There's no way we could make up for it. There's no amount of effort
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No amount of work no amount of sacrifice that we could possibly ever do That could make up for our sin.
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So God sent his son the Lord Jesus Christ second person of the Trinity eternally
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God To take on an additional nature as man to suffer the restrictions the limitations that we do
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To feel the effects of gravity to be hungry to be sad to be tempted and Yet in all these things not only did he never sin and the way we think about sin, which is never to do anything wrong
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But he also never did anything that was less than perfect Which we often fall short of have you ever loved
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The Lord your God with all your heart soul mind and strength for one hour You ever loved your neighbor like yourself for a minute
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The answer to both those is no Jesus never sinned lived a perfect life
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And then went to the cross not as a victim, but as a willing participant in the redemption of his people
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He willingly took the burden of our sin upon him God the
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Father poured out his wrath on the Son on the cross and Then we know he was satisfied with it both because the scripture tells us and because he raised him from the dead
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All that is the gospel Anything else at best is a response
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Now I tell you to believe in the gospel. Is that part of the gospel? No Believing is something that you will do
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If God causes you to be born again You will believe you will inevitably believe and I beg you and urge you and plead with you to believe even today
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I want you to be reconciled to God We preach Jesus Christ and him crucified because we want people to believe we want them
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To see their sin to see the cross and to flee their sin and to embrace the
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Savior But you can't do anything to add to that you can't do anything to be better than the gospel there's nothing better The gospel is good news
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Good news is God has done it all in Christ. He has accomplished your salvation our response
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Needs to be to believe Let's pray our
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Father in heaven Lord this morning this afternoon Would you so fix these truths in our mind that no smooth talker no flatterer
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No one who wants to appeal to our flesh Can convince us that any addition or any subtraction or any new?
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Thought Any way needs to be added to the gospel. The gospel is perfect.
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Would you cause us to rest in that? Would you cause us to trust entirely in the finished work of Christ Jesus That is not to say that you won't change us once you save us
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But let us not confuse Changing ourselves with the work that you will do.
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There is no preparation of salvation It is all a work of yours your spirit
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Causes us to be born again You draw us you convict us
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Even today Lord, would you be pleased to draw to convict?
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to save to grant faith
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To any here who don't have it. May you guard this church and everyone here from false teachers from false teaching
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From any so -called gospel whose end is Only condemnation we pray in Christ's name and for his sake.