Sermon

"An Introductory Apostolic Rumble Strip"

Christ the King Church Sermons

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  1. There is this strip along I-65 between Indy and Chicago.

  2. Maybe you've driven it.

  3. When you're driving along, if you're in the right lane,

  4. there is the emergency lane and there is this rumble strip.

  5. Maybe you notice the title of the sermon,

  6. an introductory apostolic rumble strip.

  7. That's what Galatians 1-9 is.

  8. A rumble strip is to snap you out of it

  9. when you're drifting on a road like I-65.

  10. If your tires come and hit that rumble strip,

  11. which is these slats built into the road,

  12. it's going to get loud and it's going to get rumbly really quick.

  13. Not only do you hear it, you feel it.

  14. A rumble strip is a built-in warning system

  15. that you're leaving the safety of a roadway

  16. and that you're approaching danger.

  17. These verses at the beginning of Galatians

  18. is an apostolic rumble strip for Christians.

  19. You can sum up these verses like this.

  20. There is only one true gospel

  21. through which God delivers sinners from beginning to end.

  22. And we must not turn from it.

  23. There's only one gospel

  24. through which God delivers sinners from beginning to end

  25. and we must not turn from it.

  26. There's a lot of other false gospels out there.

  27. A lot of people proclaiming man-centered ways

  28. with false hopes of self-salvation,

  29. but not the one true gospel.

  30. These false gospels distort the gospel of Jesus Christ.

  31. A distorted gospel is no gospel at all.

  32. It doesn't free, it only enslaves.

  33. In Galatians 1, 1-9,

  34. we're going to see a progression.

  35. The apostle Paul in verses 1-2,

  36. he introduces himself

  37. with that word apostle.

  38. We're going to key on that.

  39. And then from there,

  40. he is going to move from introducing himself,

  41. God's gospel man,

  42. to God's gospel message.

  43. In verses 3, 4, and 5,

  44. he lays out for us the gospel,

  45. the details of it.

  46. And then from gospel,

  47. he moves to warning,

  48. the rumble strip.

  49. And that's in verses 6-9,

  50. and that's where you see him say,

  51. I am astonished.

  52. And then he wraps up twice saying,

  53. let him be accursed,

  54. let him be accursed.

  55. God damn him,

  56. is what he's saying.

  57. Strong language.

  58. It's an apostolic rumble strip.

  59. All this movement,

  60. these three moves,

  61. are making a claim.

  62. There is only one gospel

  63. that delivers sinners

  64. from beginning to end,

  65. and we must not turn from us.

  66. Here's what I'm going after this morning.

  67. My aim is that

  68. by the end of this sermon,

  69. you will be leaving

  70. with this sense of,

  71. this sense of weight,

  72. because we have an apostle

  73. writing to us.

  74. Not only just that,

  75. the sense of worthy.

  76. worthy,

  77. worthy,

  78. is this God

  79. who has called us

  80. by his grace,

  81. and then warning.

  82. The stakes are high.

  83. When the apostle says,

  84. God damn him,

  85. that's getting at something

  86. very serious.

  87. So let's turn to

  88. verses 1 and 2.

  89. The apostle Paul

  90. introduces himself.

  91. Paul,

  92. an apostle.

  93. Who is this gospel man?

  94. Well, from the very get-go,

  95. why Paul is

  96. raising this word apostle

  97. is that he's wanting

  98. to make sure

  99. the Galatian Christians

  100. understand what he means

  101. by the word apostle.

  102. In a general sense,

  103. apostle means

  104. a sent out one.

  105. So for example,

  106. Jenny says,

  107. Mike,

  108. hey Mike,

  109. I'm sending you to festival

  110. to get some toilet paper.

  111. I am the apostle

  112. of my lady.

  113. Sent forth

  114. on a mission.

  115. And what you see

  116. in the New Testament,

  117. what matters

  118. for an apostle

  119. is who sends you.

  120. And so,

  121. we see that played out

  122. at the very beginning.

  123. Paul,

  124. an apostle,

  125. not from man,

  126. nor through man.

  127. It didn't,

  128. my apostleship

  129. didn't originate

  130. with men,

  131. nor was there

  132. some kind of

  133. ordination council

  134. where the group of men

  135. laid hands on me

  136. saying that I'm apostle.

  137. My apostleship

  138. does not come from men.

  139. I was not sent

  140. from just an ordinary man.

  141. He goes on to say,

  142. but through Jesus Christ,

  143. I'm an apostle

  144. through Jesus Christ

  145. in God the Father

  146. who raised him

  147. from the dead.

  148. When you hear

  149. raised him

  150. from the dead,

  151. that is like

  152. game changer,

  153. the resurrection

  154. of Jesus Christ.

  155. It changes everything.

  156. And this God

  157. who raised Jesus

  158. from the dead

  159. through Christ

  160. commissioned Paul

  161. as an apostle.

  162. Sent him out.

  163. And you can read that

  164. in Acts chapter 9.

    Acts 9 chapter mention

  165. Paul's on his way

  166. to Damascus.

  167. He's going to Damascus

  168. to persecute the church

  169. and Jesus totally

  170. flips him by his grace,

  171. converted,

  172. commissioned to be

  173. a proclaimer of Jesus

  174. to build the church.

  175. Flipped by the risen Christ.

  176. Sent out as an apostle.

  177. You can talk about

  178. the word apostle

  179. in the New Testament

  180. along these lines.

  181. There's two ways

  182. the word apostle gets used.

  183. There's the small a apostle,

  184. which is like Barnabas

  185. in Acts 13

  186. who was sent out

  187. by the church of Antioch.

  188. That's a small a apostle.

  189. It's kind of like

  190. missionaries today.

  191. But the capital a apostle

  192. are those men

  193. who were sent out

  194. commissioned

  195. by Jesus himself.

  196. And Paul is claiming

  197. to be a capital a apostle

  198. here in verse 1

  199. of Galatians.

  200. He's clearly establishing

  201. his apostolic authority.

  202. Let me try to illustrate this.

  203. My wife and I enjoy watching

  204. a crime and police show

  205. called Blue Bloods.

  206. And one of the

  207. main characters

  208. is a detective,

  209. this hothead

  210. named Danny Reagan.

  211. And when Danny Reagan

  212. shows up to an apartment

  213. in the Bronx

  214. or in Queens

  215. or in Manhattan,

  216. he knocks on the door

  217. and when somebody

  218. looks through the door

  219. to see who he is,

  220. you know what they're looking at?

  221. They're looking at

  222. his gold detective badge.

  223. Legit.

  224. He's there on official

  225. New York City police business.

  226. With the word apostle,

  227. Paul is telling

  228. the Galatians,

  229. these churches in Galatians,

  230. he is writing

  231. on official

  232. Jesus church building business.

  233. And they must heed

  234. what he is about to say

  235. about the gospel.

  236. So when we read these,

  237. this first verse,

  238. Paul an apostle,

  239. not from man,

  240. but through Jesus,

  241. we've got to realize

  242. what he's saying.

  243. This is being written

  244. by a capital A apostle.

  245. It's as authoritative

  246. today in the 21st century

  247. as it was then

  248. in the first century.

  249. So not only were

  250. the Galatians

  251. and the Galatian churches

  252. to heed

  253. what the apostle

  254. was saying,

  255. we must heed

  256. what the apostle

  257. is about to tell us.

  258. In Acts 2.32,

  259. the early Christians,

  260. they devoted themselves

  261. to the apostles' teaching.

  262. So must we.

  263. Paul is writing

  264. as Christ's

  265. apostolic spokesman.

  266. He is God's gospel man

  267. and we are to heed

  268. what he's about to say.

  269. We're to feel the weight

  270. of what he's about to say.

  271. And here's what he's

  272. going to tell us.

  273. There's only one gospel

  274. by which God delivers

  275. sinners from beginning

  276. to end

  277. and we must not turn

  278. from it.

  279. Which brings us to

  280. verses 3-5.

  281. God's gospel message.

  282. Paul has moved from

  283. introducing himself

  284. in verse 1

  285. to the gospel itself

  286. in verses 3-5.

  287. And there's a connection.

  288. When Jesus sent Paul out

  289. as an apostle,

  290. he didn't send him out

  291. to go to festival foods.

  292. He sent him out

  293. to proclaim a message.

  294. The message of a crucified

  295. Messiah raised from the dead

  296. who delivers sinners

  297. from beginning to end.

  298. And so now this apostle

  299. is basically saying

  300. to these churches,

  301. Okay gang,

  302. let's,

  303. just hear me out.

  304. Let's get on the same page.

  305. I want to be clear

  306. on what the gospel is

  307. before we start talking

  308. about what the gospel isn't.

  309. And in verse 3,

  310. Paul speaks these words

  311. of blessing

  312. to the Galatians.

  313. He says,

  314. Grace to you

  315. in peace

  316. from God

  317. our Father

  318. and the Lord Jesus Christ.

  319. I don't miss the hour.

  320. Paul believes

  321. that these Christians

  322. in these churches

  323. are actually believers.

  324. At least most of them.

  325. That they have

  326. experienced God's

  327. grace,

  328. responded in faith,

  329. but they're being misled.

  330. The hour.

  331. But I'm going to show you

  332. in a second

  333. how verse 3

  334. relates to verses 4 and 5

  335. because it's very important.

  336. In verses 4 and 5,

  337. Paul actually states

  338. the one true gospel.

  339. He says,

  340. Here it is.

  341. And it consists

  342. of several things.

  343. I'm going to walk you

  344. through it

  345. so that you understand

  346. what the gospel is,

  347. so that you understand

  348. what the gospel isn't.

  349. It begins

  350. with the Lord Jesus Christ.

  351. This gospel,

  352. this announcement

  353. of good news

  354. is good news

  355. about the Lord Jesus Christ

  356. at the end of verse 3.

  357. He is the who

  358. of verse 4.

  359. The Lord Jesus Christ,

  360. the gospel,

  361. is not a message

  362. about us.

  363. It's a message

  364. about Jesus.

  365. The Lord Jesus Christ.

  366. The next thing

  367. I want you to notice,

  368. the gospel is a message

  369. about the Lord Jesus Christ

  370. who gave himself,

  371. verse 4.

  372. Now,

  373. if you're not familiar

  374. with the Bible at all,

  375. that little phrase,

  376. who gave himself,

  377. is a way of talking

  378. about Jesus voluntarily

  379. giving himself up

  380. to die on the cross.

  381. It's shorthand

  382. for talking about

  383. Jesus' death

  384. on the cross.

  385. The gospel,

  386. the announcing

  387. of good news

  388. has to do with Jesus

  389. who died

  390. on a Roman cross,

  391. crucified.

  392. It is a crazy thought

  393. back in the day

  394. that the Messiah

  395. would be crucified

  396. who gave himself.

  397. voluntary.

  398. And let me point out,

  399. it's done.

  400. He gave himself.

  401. He died.

  402. This is an announcement

  403. of something

  404. that's happened

  405. and it changes everything.

  406. So this is a message

  407. about Jesus.

  408. It's about his death

  409. on the cross.

  410. And the next thing

  411. we see is that

  412. who gave himself

  413. for our sins.

  414. Our sins

  415. are a way

  416. in which we rebel

  417. against the triune God

  418. of the universe

  419. and it carries

  420. a capital punishment.

  421. And so what we hear here

  422. is this good news

  423. about Jesus

  424. who gave himself

  425. is his death

  426. is a for our sins death.

  427. Which is another way

  428. of talking about

  429. substitutionary death.

  430. Jesus died on the cross

  431. for our sins.

  432. sins.

  433. The death

  434. that we deserved,

  435. Jesus died for us

  436. so that we could live

  437. a life pleasing to God

  438. that we were incapable

  439. in and of ourselves.

  440. This substitutionary death

  441. of Christ,

  442. it forgives all

  443. who receive it by faith.

  444. It forgives all

  445. of our sin,

  446. past,

  447. present,

  448. future.

  449. It is an amazing,

  450. an amazing announcement.

  451. what God has done

  452. for sinners.

  453. Paul keeps on going.

  454. This Jesus

  455. who died

  456. a substitutionary death

  457. for our sins

  458. forgives us

  459. but it's to deliver us.

  460. To deliver us.

  461. The substitutionary death

  462. of Jesus Christ

  463. on the cross

  464. is not just

  465. a model

  466. for how we are to live

  467. to be nice to people.

  468. The substitutionary death

  469. of Jesus

  470. on the cross

  471. is God's power

  472. to rescue sinners.

  473. That word

  474. deliver

  475. literally means

  476. to pluck out.

  477. To pull out

  478. of a trash can.

  479. His death

  480. that forgives us

  481. also delivers us.

  482. Delivers us

  483. from what?

  484. Well the next phrase

  485. from this present evil age.

  486. The cross

  487. of Jesus Christ

  488. powerfully delivers us

  489. from the world.

  490. This present evil age

  491. Paul uses

  492. a different word

  493. for at the end

  494. of the book of Galatians

  495. in 6.14

  496. he says

  497. far be it for me

  498. to boast

  499. in anything

  500. except

  501. in the cross

  502. of Jesus Christ

  503. by which

  504. the world

  505. has been crucified

  506. to me

  507. and I to the world.

  508. I've been delivered

  509. is what he's saying.

  510. The world

  511. is organized

  512. humanity

  513. against God.

  514. This present evil age

  515. is organized

  516. humanity

  517. living against God

  518. between Jesus

  519. first coming

  520. and his second coming.

  521. The present evil age.

  522. this present evil age

  523. proclaims

  524. gospels

  525. that are man centered

  526. that are trying

  527. are man made

  528. attempts

  529. for self salvation.

  530. We've been delivered

  531. from that

  532. from this present evil age.

  533. Paul continues

  534. in explaining the gospel.

  535. He says

  536. all this deliverance

  537. is according

  538. to the will

  539. of our God

  540. and Father.

  541. There's the hour again.

  542. Our God

  543. and our Father.

  544. That phrase

  545. God and Father

  546. shows up multiple times

  547. in these

  548. just few verses.

  549. Our God

  550. and Father.

  551. Paul is saying

  552. I'm part of this too.

  553. I am a Jewish apostle

  554. sent to the Gentiles

  555. but I've been delivered

  556. by the cross too

  557. out of this present evil age

  558. and into the family

  559. of God.

  560. When you see

  561. that word

  562. will

  563. according to the will

  564. of our God

  565. and Father.

  566. There should be

  567. two words

  568. in your head.

  569. Sovereign grace.

  570. God's sovereign plan

  571. that depended

  572. on nothing

  573. on any of us

  574. would ever do

  575. to deliver us

  576. from sin

  577. and its consequences.

  578. God

  579. in an act

  580. of his

  581. sovereign grace

  582. sent

  583. his son

  584. Jesus

  585. to die

  586. in your place

  587. to pluck you

  588. from this present

  589. evil age

  590. in order to

  591. place you

  592. by his grace

  593. into God's family.

  594. It's good news.

  595. Notice

  596. it's not by your will

  597. God sent Jesus

  598. to die for you.

  599. It's according

  600. to the will

  601. of God

  602. our Father

  603. in grace

  604. God

  605. has pursued

  606. you

  607. brother and

  608. sister.

  609. It wasn't like

  610. he figured out

  611. like two

  612. years ago

  613. that you were

  614. a sinner

  615. and he's like

  616. oh I should

  617. do something

  618. about that.

  619. From before

  620. the foundation

  621. of the world

  622. God

  623. in his grace

  624. set his love

  625. on you

  626. and has been

  627. pursuing you

  628. to pluck you

  629. out of the world

  630. and place you

  631. into his family

  632. by his grace.

  633. His sovereign grace.

  634. This is a gospel

  635. about God

  636. about what

  637. God has done

  638. about what

  639. God is doing

  640. to rescue

  641. to deliver sinners

  642. from beginning

  643. to end

  644. but it doesn't

  645. end there

  646. in verse 5

  647. the result

  648. of this gospel

  649. when we receive

  650. it by faith

  651. because there's

  652. nothing that

  653. you can do

  654. to earn

  655. such a gospel

  656. are you picking

  657. up on that?

  658. This is all

  659. God's grace

  660. from beginning

  661. to end

  662. there's nothing

  663. it's not like

  664. God can I write

  665. you a check

  666. for what Jesus

  667. has done

  668. there's none

  669. of that

  670. the only way

  671. to respond

  672. is to receive

  673. it by faith

  674. and the result

  675. is this

  676. in verse 5

  677. to whom

  678. be the glory

  679. forever and ever

  680. amen

  681. gospel

  682. results

  683. in God's

  684. glory

  685. the one

  686. true gospel

  687. culminates

  688. in the praise

  689. of God

  690. not man

  691. because God

  692. is the

  693. one

  694. who is

  695. acting

  696. through

  697. the gospel

  698. to save

  699. we contribute

  700. absolutely

  701. nothing

  702. to God

  703. saving us

  704. and therefore

  705. there's nothing

  706. to boast

  707. in in and of

  708. ourselves

  709. our boasting

  710. is in

  711. the glory

  712. of God

  713. God

  714. we are saying

  715. worthy is he

  716. who pursued

  717. us this way

  718. and rescued us

  719. this way

  720. and delivered us

  721. this way

  722. worthy

  723. is this

  724. God

  725. and now I want

  726. to show you

  727. the connection

  728. between this

  729. gospel

  730. in 4 and 5

  731. and what

  732. Paul says

  733. in verse 3

  734. verse 3

  735. he says

  736. grace and peace

  737. to you

  738. do you see

  739. the connection

  740. he says

  741. grace and peace

  742. to you

  743. from

  744. God our

  745. Father

  746. and the

  747. Lord Jesus

  748. Christ

  749. gospel

  750. ongoing grace

  751. ongoing well

  752. being

  753. is founded

  754. on

  755. sourced

  756. in the

  757. gospel

  758. we live

  759. out

  760. the gospel

  761. as

  762. Christians

  763. it's

  764. it's not

  765. like we

  766. graduate

  767. from the

  768. gospel

  769. it's not

  770. like the

  771. gospel

  772. is some

  773. kind of

  774. kind of

  775. little

  776. snack

  777. before a

  778. meal

  779. and then

  780. you get

  781. to the

  782. real

  783. stuff

  784. the gospel

  785. is the

  786. meal

  787. from

  788. beginning

  789. to end

  790. the

  791. apostle

  792. is

  793. clarifying

  794. for the

  795. Galatians

  796. and us

  797. what the

  798. gospel

  799. is

  800. what the

  801. gospel

  802. that the

  803. risen

  804. Christ

  805. entrusted

  806. to him

  807. to proclaim

  808. is

  809. it's about

  810. Jesus

  811. it's about

  812. his

  813. death

  814. on a

  815. cross

  816. that

  817. was a

  818. substitute

  819. for our

  820. sin

  821. that

  822. plucked

  823. us

  824. out

  825. from

  826. the

  827. world

  828. by

  829. God's

  830. sovereign

  831. grace

  832. and placed

  833. us

  834. in

  835. his

  836. family

  837. all

  838. to

  839. his

  840. glory

  841. and

  842. it's

  843. an

  844. ongoing

  845. source

  846. of

  847. grace

  848. and

  849. peace

  850. for those

  851. who

  852. believe

  853. have you

  854. heard of the

  855. secret

  856. service

  857. maybe when

  858. you hear the

  859. secret

  860. service

  861. you think

  862. about

  863. people

  864. in dark

  865. suits

  866. protecting

  867. the

  868. president

  869. and

  870. limousines

  871. little

  872. known

  873. fact

  874. that

  875. the

  876. secret

  877. service

  878. was

  879. originally

  880. founded

  881. in

  882. 1865

  883. to investigate

  884. and suppress

  885. the counterfeiting

  886. of

  887. US

  888. currency

  889. to this

  890. day

  891. the secret

  892. service

  893. is training

  894. its agents

  895. to detect

  896. counterfeit

  897. money

  898. and they

  899. train them

  900. by making

  901. their agents

  902. study

  903. the real

  904. stuff

  905. the thinking

  906. is

  907. if our agents

  908. know with

  909. intimate detail

  910. the true

  911. and genuine

  912. real

  913. US

  914. currency

  915. they will

  916. be able

  917. to detect

  918. fraudulent

  919. currency

  920. by what

  921. it's

  922. not

  923. in

  924. Galatians

  925. 1

  926. 3

  927. through 5

  928. the

  929. apostle

  930. Paul

  931. in all

  932. of his

  933. risen

  934. Christ

  935. given

  936. authority

  937. lays out

  938. before us

  939. the essential

  940. truths

  941. that define

  942. the one

  943. in true

  944. gospel

  945. to help

  946. us

  947. see

  948. know what

  949. the gospel

  950. is

  951. and to

  952. help us

  953. to see

  954. what

  955. false

  956. gospels

  957. are not

  958. there's

  959. only one

  960. true

  961. gospel

  962. that delivers

  963. us

  964. from beginning

  965. to end

  966. and we

  967. must not

  968. turn from

  969. it

  970. I want

  971. to take a

  972. moment here

  973. and just

  974. point up

  975. a couple

  976. things by way

  977. of application

  978. this gospel

  979. that Paul

  980. has laid out

  981. for us

  982. that's the

  983. same gospel

  984. we preach

  985. here at

  986. Christ the

  987. King

  988. Church

  989. it's the

  990. apostolic

  991. gospel

  992. it hasn't

  993. changed

  994. it's the

  995. only message

  996. that saves

  997. sinners

  998. from beginning

  999. to end

  1000. and did you

  1001. notice that

  1002. he's actually

  1003. explaining the

  1004. gospel to

  1005. Christians

  1006. this is a

  1007. letter to

  1008. Christians

  1009. so he's

  1010. aware that

  1011. Christians

  1012. can

  1013. can get

  1014. confused on

  1015. what the

  1016. gospel is

  1017. this

  1018. gospel

  1019. message is

  1020. for us

  1021. brothers and

  1022. sisters

  1023. not only

  1024. did we need

  1025. to hear it

  1026. to be

  1027. saved

  1028. we need

  1029. to understand

  1030. it and

  1031. cling to

  1032. it to

  1033. walk in

  1034. the power

  1035. of it

  1036. this true

  1037. gospel

  1038. it exposes

  1039. counterfeit

  1040. gospels

  1041. and that's

  1042. where we go

  1043. to now

  1044. God's

  1045. gospel

  1046. warning

  1047. it's the

  1048. apostolic

  1049. rumble

  1050. strip

  1051. if

  1052. verses

  1053. three

  1054. through

  1055. five

  1056. is the

  1057. gospel

  1058. way

  1059. it's

  1060. the path

  1061. of God's

  1062. blessing

  1063. in Christ

  1064. that not

  1065. only

  1066. gets us

  1067. on the

  1068. road

  1069. but keeps

  1070. us on

  1071. the road

  1072. verses

  1073. six

  1074. through

  1075. nine

  1076. is a

  1077. kind

  1078. of

  1079. apostolic

  1080. rumble

  1081. strip

  1082. but before

  1083. we actually

  1084. get to

  1085. verses

  1086. six

  1087. through

  1088. nine

  1089. I got

  1090. to point

  1091. out

  1092. something

  1093. that's

  1094. MIA

  1095. missing

  1096. in action

  1097. if

  1098. if you

  1099. looked at

  1100. Ephesians

  1101. chapter

  1102. one

  1103. verse

  1104. 15

  1105. and

  1106. looked

  1107. at

  1108. Colossians

  1109. 1

  1110. 3

  1111. you would

  1112. notice

  1113. that

  1114. in almost

  1115. all of

  1116. Paul's

  1117. letters to

  1118. the churches

  1119. in the

  1120. New Testament

  1121. there's always

  1122. this section

  1123. on thanksgiving

  1124. I give

  1125. thanks for

  1126. you

  1127. there's none

  1128. in Galatians

  1129. there's none

  1130. in Galatians

  1131. because there

  1132. is a clear

  1133. and present

  1134. danger

  1135. facing the

  1136. Galatians

  1137. that Paul

  1138. must

  1139. immediately

  1140. address

  1141. there is a

  1142. threat

  1143. to the

  1144. gospel

  1145. and therefore

  1146. to salvation

  1147. and so

  1148. Paul

  1149. makes a

  1150. pretty dramatic

  1151. shift

  1152. from verse

  1153. five

  1154. in which he

  1155. is saying

  1156. to whom

  1157. be the

  1158. glory

  1159. of God

  1160. forever

  1161. and ever

  1162. and amen

  1163. he's like

  1164. yes

  1165. yes

  1166. and then

  1167. in verse

  1168. six

  1169. he goes

  1170. I am

  1171. astonished

  1172. that's a

  1173. pretty

  1174. significant

  1175. change

  1176. Paul moves

  1177. from talking

  1178. about gospel

  1179. now to

  1180. warning

  1181. about a

  1182. distortion

  1183. of the

  1184. gospel

  1185. and he's

  1186. shocked

  1187. by that

  1188. so in

  1189. verse six

  1190. he starts

  1191. by saying

  1192. I am

  1193. I am

  1194. astonished

  1195. that's a

  1196. strong word

  1197. I am

  1198. astonished

  1199. that you're

  1200. so quickly

  1201. deserting

  1202. him

  1203. our God

  1204. and father

  1205. who called

  1206. you in the

  1207. grace of

  1208. Christ

  1209. and are

  1210. turning to

  1211. a different

  1212. gospel

  1213. it would

  1214. be like

  1215. this

  1216. it would

  1217. be like

  1218. us

  1219. saying

  1220. this

  1221. I

  1222. can't

  1223. believe

  1224. that you

  1225. are

  1226. bailing

  1227. on our

  1228. God

  1229. I am

  1230. shocked

  1231. that it's

  1232. you've so

  1233. quickly

  1234. turned away

  1235. from the

  1236. one who

  1237. has moved

  1238. towards you

  1239. in grace

  1240. it's really

  1241. strong

  1242. strong language

  1243. and the

  1244. question is

  1245. why

  1246. what's the

  1247. intensity

  1248. all about

  1249. well first

  1250. let me help

  1251. you understand

  1252. what that

  1253. word

  1254. quickly

  1255. is getting

  1256. at

  1257. I'm

  1258. astonished

  1259. that you

  1260. are so

  1261. quickly

  1262. deserting

  1263. him who

  1264. called you

  1265. in the

  1266. grace of

  1267. Christ

  1268. just a little

  1269. historical

  1270. background

  1271. remember

  1272. Paul first

  1273. showed up

  1274. in the

  1275. region of

  1276. southern

  1277. Galatia

  1278. in about

  1279. 47-48

  1280. AD

  1281. he was

  1282. making his

  1283. way through

  1284. preaching the

  1285. gospel in

  1286. like

  1287. Lystra

  1288. Derbe

  1289. Iconium

  1290. and he

  1291. was proclaiming

  1292. that

  1293. 47-48

  1294. AD

  1295. in

  1296. AD

  1297. 50

  1298. there was

  1299. the

  1300. council

  1301. of

  1302. Jerusalem

  1303. which is

  1304. this big

  1305. deal

  1306. and most

  1307. scholars believe

  1308. that this

  1309. letter was

  1310. written somewhere

  1311. in between

  1312. that because

  1313. Paul makes

  1314. no reference

  1315. to the

  1316. council of

  1317. Jerusalem

  1318. which would

  1319. have been

  1320. really helpful

  1321. in this

  1322. letter

  1323. and so

  1324. what this

  1325. means is

  1326. he probably

  1327. wrote

  1328. Galatians

  1329. around

  1330. 49-80

  1331. which means

  1332. if he was

  1333. just there

  1334. in 47-48

  1335. we're talking

  1336. about a

  1337. year

  1338. since he

  1339. was there

  1340. in one

  1341. year's time

  1342. these believers

  1343. who had

  1344. received

  1345. the true

  1346. one true

  1347. gospel

  1348. and had

  1349. been adopted

  1350. by God's

  1351. grace

  1352. into God's

  1353. family

  1354. they're

  1355. now

  1356. deserting

  1357. or being

  1358. tempted

  1359. to desert

  1360. the one

  1361. who had

  1362. called him

  1363. that word

  1364. deserting

  1365. is a very

  1366. strong word

  1367. it means

  1368. to turn

  1369. from one

  1370. for another

  1371. it's got

  1372. this soft

  1373. idolatry

  1374. sense

  1375. to it

  1376. these

  1377. Galatian

  1378. Christians

  1379. Paul is

  1380. so concerned

  1381. he's

  1382. invested

  1383. his life

  1384. he's

  1385. preached

  1386. the gospel

  1387. he's

  1388. seen

  1389. many of

  1390. them

  1391. respond

  1392. in

  1393. faith

  1394. to God's

  1395. grace

  1396. and now

  1397. it looks

  1398. like

  1399. they're

  1400. deserting

  1401. the God

  1402. who saved

  1403. them

  1404. Paul's

  1405. shocked

  1406. astonished

  1407. and what

  1408. we learn

  1409. is that

  1410. their

  1411. deserting

  1412. of their

  1413. God

  1414. our God

  1415. and Father

  1416. is

  1417. is also

  1418. a

  1419. turning

  1420. to a

  1421. different

  1422. gospel

  1423. and we

  1424. learn about

  1425. what this

  1426. different

  1427. gospel

  1428. is

  1429. in verse

  1430. seven

  1431. not that

  1432. there is

  1433. another

  1434. one

  1435. but there

  1436. are

  1437. some

  1438. who

  1439. trouble

  1440. you

  1441. and want

  1442. to

  1443. distort

  1444. the

  1445. gospel

  1446. of

  1447. Christ

  1448. whatever

  1449. these

  1450. people

  1451. were

  1452. the

  1453. some

  1454. who

  1455. were

  1456. troubling

  1457. these

  1458. Galatians

  1459. whoever

  1460. they

  1461. were

  1462. they

  1463. were

  1464. distorting

  1465. what we

  1466. just

  1467. talked

  1468. about

  1469. in verses

  1470. three

  1471. through

  1472. five

  1473. they

  1474. were

  1475. trying

  1476. to

  1477. tweak

  1478. it

  1479. they

  1480. were

  1481. trying

  1482. to

  1483. revise

  1484. it

  1485. they

  1486. were

  1487. trying

  1488. to

  1489. maybe

  1490. redefine

  1491. it

  1492. a

  1493. little

  1494. bit

  1495. and what

  1496. Paul says

  1497. when you

  1498. do that

  1499. it's not

  1500. a gospel

  1501. anymore

  1502. not that

  1503. there is

  1504. another

  1505. one

  1506. a distorted

  1507. gospel

  1508. is no

  1509. gospel

  1510. at all

  1511. a distorted

  1512. gospel

  1513. is

  1514. powerless

  1515. to save

  1516. a distorted

  1517. gospel

  1518. is powerless

  1519. to change

  1520. you

  1521. a distorted

  1522. gospel

  1523. has no

  1524. provision

  1525. for ongoing

  1526. grace

  1527. and peace

  1528. a distorted

  1529. gospel

  1530. doesn't

  1531. free

  1532. it

  1533. enslaves

  1534. that's

  1535. why

  1536. Paul

  1537. is so

  1538. astonished

  1539. what are

  1540. you guys

  1541. thinking

  1542. why would

  1543. you turn

  1544. from this

  1545. why are you

  1546. settling

  1547. for this

  1548. trash

  1549. gospel

  1550. how can

  1551. you guys

  1552. so quickly

  1553. swap out

  1554. the one

  1555. true

  1556. gospel

  1557. that will

  1558. alone

  1559. set you

  1560. free

  1561. from beginning

  1562. to end

  1563. to live

  1564. for God

  1565. why would

  1566. you ever

  1567. swap

  1568. that gospel

  1569. out

  1570. for this

  1571. different

  1572. gospel

  1573. that's only

  1574. going to

  1575. enslave

  1576. you

  1577. shocking

  1578. now if you're

  1579. wondering what

  1580. the different

  1581. gospel was

  1582. it was a

  1583. form of

  1584. legalism

  1585. these

  1586. troublemakers

  1587. who were

  1588. teaching in

  1589. these churches

  1590. in Galatia

  1591. they were

  1592. teaching these

  1593. new converts

  1594. these Gentile

  1595. Christians

  1596. they were

  1597. teaching that

  1598. in order to

  1599. be in

  1600. right standing

  1601. with God

  1602. which is

  1603. another word

  1604. for that

  1605. is to be

  1606. justified

  1607. in order for

  1608. them to be

  1609. justified

  1610. not only do

  1611. they have to

  1612. believe in

  1613. Jesus

  1614. but in

  1615. addition to

  1616. believing in

  1617. Jesus

  1618. they had to

  1619. be circumcised

  1620. and that they

  1621. had to abide

  1622. by Jewish

  1623. dietary

  1624. restrictions

  1625. and that they

  1626. had to

  1627. observe Jewish

  1628. holy days

  1629. so what they

  1630. were teaching

  1631. was Jesus

  1632. plus your

  1633. obedience

  1634. justifies you

  1635. before God

  1636. and Paul's

  1637. like that's

  1638. not the

  1639. gospel

  1640. it's only

  1641. going to

  1642. enslave you

  1643. they were

  1644. adding to

  1645. the gospel

  1646. of grace

  1647. and when you

  1648. add obedience

  1649. to the gospel

  1650. of grace

  1651. you de-grace

  1652. the gospel

  1653. it's no

  1654. longer

  1655. the gospel

  1656. distortions

  1657. of the gospel

  1658. take the

  1659. form of

  1660. adding

  1661. legalism

  1662. to the

  1663. gospel

  1664. but they

  1665. it also

  1666. takes the

  1667. form of

  1668. detracting

  1669. from the

  1670. gospel

  1671. maybe you

  1672. know of

  1673. Thomas Jefferson's

  1674. bible

  1675. Thomas Jefferson

  1676. one of my

  1677. founding fathers

  1678. he got a

  1679. copy of the

  1680. new testament

  1681. and what he

  1682. did is he

  1683. took a sharp

  1684. scalpel like

  1685. instrument and

  1686. cut out all

  1687. references to

  1688. anything miraculous

  1689. because of his

  1690. enlightened mind

  1691. he cut out all

  1692. kind of references

  1693. to the miraculous

  1694. culminating and

  1695. cutting out the

  1696. resurrection of

  1697. Jesus Christ

  1698. it's a false

  1699. gospel

  1700. it's a man

  1701. centered gospel

  1702. so distortions

  1703. of the gospel

  1704. take the form

  1705. of adding to

  1706. it and

  1707. distracting

  1708. or detracting

  1709. from it

  1710. but it's all

  1711. man done

  1712. so in verses

  1713. six through

  1714. seven

  1715. Paul is

  1716. voicing his

  1717. apostolic

  1718. astonishment

  1719. by way of

  1720. warning and

  1721. rebuke

  1722. he's saying

  1723. this

  1724. guys don't

  1725. do this

  1726. I am your

  1727. rumble strip

  1728. turn back

  1729. to the gospel

  1730. don't cross

  1731. over this

  1732. rumble strip

  1733. I'm speaking

  1734. to you

  1735. you're only

  1736. going to be

  1737. enslaved

  1738. by this

  1739. Paul

  1740. above all

  1741. wants

  1742. God's

  1743. gospel

  1744. protected

  1745. and these

  1746. young Christians

  1747. living in the

  1748. goodness of it

  1749. that's why he's

  1750. saying what are

  1751. you thinking

  1752. I'm astonished

  1753. but it doesn't

  1754. end there

  1755. Paul gets

  1756. a little bit

  1757. more worked

  1758. up

  1759. in verses

  1760. eight he

  1761. says

  1762. but even

  1763. if we

  1764. Paul's

  1765. including

  1766. himself

  1767. if I

  1768. or my

  1769. buddy

  1770. Barnabas

  1771. or

  1772. an angel

  1773. Michael

  1774. Gabriel

  1775. from heaven

  1776. should preach

  1777. to you a

  1778. gospel contrary

  1779. to the one

  1780. we preached

  1781. to you

  1782. verses three

  1783. through five

  1784. let him be

  1785. accursed

  1786. that word

  1787. accursed

  1788. means destined

  1789. for destruction

  1790. God be damned

  1791. God damn you

  1792. he's saying

  1793. he's basically

  1794. well I'll be damned

  1795. if I preach a different

  1796. gospel

  1797. and he would be

  1798. and he goes

  1799. from talking

  1800. about

  1801. himself

  1802. as a

  1803. possibility

  1804. just imagine

  1805. me

  1806. Barnabas

  1807. Gabriel

  1808. Michael

  1809. preaching a

  1810. different gospel

  1811. they would be

  1812. damned

  1813. if they did

  1814. and then in verse

  1815. nine he says

  1816. if anyone

  1817. as we've said

  1818. before so now

  1819. I say again

  1820. it's emphasizing

  1821. he's repeating

  1822. what's been said

  1823. if anyone

  1824. and what he's

  1825. getting at there

  1826. is anyone

  1827. anyone in your

  1828. midst right now

  1829. anyone who's

  1830. troubling you

  1831. right now

  1832. by by preaching

  1833. a different

  1834. contrary gospel

  1835. to the one

  1836. we've preached

  1837. if anyone

  1838. if anyone

  1839. is preaching

  1840. to you a gospel

  1841. contrary to the

  1842. one you received

  1843. let him be

  1844. damned

  1845. that's

  1846. Paul that's

  1847. pretty strong

  1848. language

  1849. maybe maybe

  1850. Paul's overreacting

  1851. a little bit

  1852. just maybe

  1853. a little bit

  1854. Paul's saying

  1855. it doesn't matter

  1856. your status

  1857. or your position

  1858. whether you're

  1859. a capital A

  1860. apostle

  1861. a small A

  1862. apostle

  1863. whether you're

  1864. a pastor

  1865. whether you're

  1866. a mom

  1867. whether you're

  1868. an archangel

  1869. if you preach

  1870. a different gospel

  1871. than the only

  1872. gospel that

  1873. saves

  1874. you're damned

  1875. because you're

  1876. damning

  1877. those who

  1878. hear you

  1879. you're

  1880. actually

  1881. proclaiming

  1882. a gospel

  1883. that doesn't

  1884. save

  1885. it only

  1886. enslaves

  1887. you're

  1888. proclaiming

  1889. a gospel

  1890. that

  1891. damns

  1892. people

  1893. so damn

  1894. you

  1895. feel the

  1896. warning

  1897. the stakes

  1898. are high

  1899. when it

  1900. comes to

  1901. the gospel

  1902. eternity

  1903. is at

  1904. stake

  1905. and this

  1906. is a warning

  1907. for us

  1908. today

  1909. because there

  1910. are plenty

  1911. of false

  1912. gospels

  1913. out there

  1914. there is

  1915. only one

  1916. true gospel

  1917. by which

  1918. God

  1919. delivers

  1920. sinners

  1921. from beginning

  1922. to end

  1923. and we

  1924. must turn

  1925. from it

  1926. or be

  1927. damned

  1928. maybe you've

  1929. had a Mormon

  1930. elder come

  1931. up to your

  1932. door

  1933. very nice

  1934. looking people

  1935. morally

  1936. impressive

  1937. preach to you

  1938. about the

  1939. grace of

  1940. Jesus

  1941. but oh yeah

  1942. you need to

  1943. obey

  1944. to make you

  1945. right with

  1946. God

  1947. it's a

  1948. false

  1949. gospel

  1950. liberal

  1951. mainline

  1952. Christianity

  1953. invites you

  1954. to believe

  1955. in a new

  1956. improved

  1957. more palable

  1958. gospel of

  1959. Jesus Christ

  1960. that doesn't

  1961. talk about

  1962. sin and

  1963. makes the

  1964. substitutionary

  1965. death of

  1966. Jesus just

  1967. an example

  1968. of how to

  1969. be a good

  1970. neighbor

  1971. not the

  1972. power of

  1973. God to

  1974. save people

  1975. it's a

  1976. false gospel

  1977. the prosperity

  1978. gospel

  1979. in which

  1980. God is made

  1981. into this

  1982. divine

  1983. health and

  1984. wealth

  1985. snack

  1986. dispenser

  1987. is a

  1988. false

  1989. gospel

  1990. will not

  1991. save you

  1992. not free

  1993. you

  1994. it's only

  1995. going to

  1996. enslave

  1997. you

  1998. and if

  1999. you're in

  2000. the room

  2001. right now

  2002. and you're

  2003. thinking that

  2004. the way that

  2005. you keep

  2006. in right

  2007. standing with

  2008. God is if

  2009. you read your

  2010. Bible and you

  2011. pray and you

  2012. share your

  2013. faith and you

  2014. give and you

  2015. show up to

  2016. church

  2017. that's not

  2018. the gospel

  2019. through the

  2020. blood of

  2021. Jesus

  2022. God has

  2023. made you

  2024. right with

  2025. him

  2026. period

  2027. there's nothing

  2028. you can do

  2029. to add to

  2030. that

  2031. that's the

  2032. glory of the

  2033. gospel

  2034. this morning

  2035. we have

  2036. been warned

  2037. there are

  2038. false gospels

  2039. out there that

  2040. distort the one

  2041. true gospel

  2042. so we need to

  2043. be clear on

  2044. what the one

  2045. true gospel

  2046. is in order

  2047. to recognize

  2048. the false

  2049. gospels that

  2050. are making a

  2051. claim on us

  2052. and the way

  2053. that we

  2054. recognize

  2055. false gospels

  2056. is by studying

  2057. and treasuring

  2058. delighting in

  2059. the one

  2060. true gospel

  2061. which makes

  2062. our hearts

  2063. sing

  2064. it's about

  2065. Jesus

  2066. it's about

  2067. his death

  2068. on the cross

  2069. a substitute

  2070. for our sin

  2071. it delivers us

  2072. from the world

  2073. and by God's

  2074. sovereign grace

  2075. places us

  2076. into his family

  2077. it results

  2078. into God's

  2079. glory and

  2080. ongoing source

  2081. of grace

  2082. and peace

  2083. I hope you're

  2084. feeling the

  2085. weight of this

  2086. these words

  2087. of the apostle

  2088. but I also

  2089. hope you're

  2090. feeling the

  2091. glory of it

  2092. how worthy

  2093. our great God

  2094. is who

  2095. delivered us

  2096. by the blood

  2097. of his son

  2098. on the cross

  2099. he's worthy

  2100. and I hope

  2101. you feel a little

  2102. warning too

  2103. maybe

  2104. maybe your

  2105. tires are on

  2106. the apostolic

  2107. rumble strip

  2108. and you need

  2109. to say

  2110. I need to

  2111. steer back

  2112. into the

  2113. gospel

  2114. Christ the

  2115. King Church

  2116. there's only

  2117. one true

  2118. gospel

  2119. that delivers

  2120. from beginning

  2121. to end

  2122. it's the gospel

  2123. of our Lord

  2124. Jesus Christ

  2125. and we must

  2126. not

  2127. we must

  2128. never

  2129. turn from

  2130. it

  2131. because there's

  2132. so much at

  2133. stake

  2134. let's pray

  2135. God in heaven

  2136. thank you so

  2137. much for the

  2138. gospel of Jesus

  2139. Christ

  2140. thank you for

  2141. giving us ears

  2142. to hear

  2143. our head

  2144. was full

  2145. of rocks

  2146. our heart

  2147. was stone

  2148. and you

  2149. through the

  2150. preaching of the

  2151. gospel by the

  2152. power of the

  2153. Holy Spirit

  2154. you

  2155. enlightened

  2156. us

  2157. you

  2158. awakened

  2159. us

  2160. and now

  2161. Lord Jesus

  2162. would you

  2163. in your

  2164. grace

  2165. and your

  2166. mercy

  2167. and the

  2168. power of

  2169. the Holy

  2170. Spirit

  2171. would you

  2172. help us

  2173. to stand

  2174. firm

  2175. in the

  2176. freedom

  2177. which you

  2178. purchased

  2179. for us

  2180. through your

  2181. blood

  2182. we ask

  2183. this in the

  2184. name of

  2185. Jesus

  2186. amen

  2187. amen

  2188. amen