E01: There Is One Gospel - What The Gospel Is Not

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Com Are you thankful for the blessed assurance that we do

have in Christ Jesus? And in Christ Jesus alone you'll

give him praise. You don't have to stop praising

him just because we're going to begin to preach.

Let our praise continue as we have praised Him in song.

Now let us praise him as we look at his Word and as we dive off

into the truths that the Scriptures contain.

So if you've been here for any amount of time, your Bible

probably this morning tried to open itself to the 119th Psalm.

I'm going to get you to make a right, a hard right turn.

I want you to turn into the New Testament this morning.

I want you to turn to Galatians chapter 1.

Galatians 1 · chapter mention

As you're turning there, I want to kind of give you a preface

into what we are going to be looking at for the next several

weeks and and our times together on Sunday morning.

This series that we will we will be covering has been a series

that has been on my heart for quite some time and and to which

I think is very applicable to the current situation of our

culture even now because we have as of late as you all know.

Heard. Much talk about the gospel,

about falling Christ, about being a Christian, about Jesus

himself. However, we're living in a time

where we have seen so many unbiblical variations of the

gospel and of Jesus and of Christianity that many of us,

I'm sure, not even sure, nor maybe we haven't even ever heard

the true gospel at all. We will begin a study entitled

There is one Gospel. There's not many Gospels,

There's not different variations of the gospel, different tweaks

of the gospel. There is one gospel and there's

always been one gospel, and there always be will be 1 and

one gospel only. So in a broad sense, when we

talk about the gospel, I want you to understand this and the

broad sense. We're talking about the gospel

that encompasses the entirety of Scripture from Genesis all the

way to Revelation, and how that gospel points us to Christ and

points us to our great need for Christ.

We see that in the beginning of the Bible all the way until the

end, and it is here in the Bible as a whole that God is revealing

himself to us, and he's revealing Christ to us.

He begins with revealing himself as Creator there in Genesis.

He then shows us shortly after that the the record of man's

rebellion where our first father Adam fell into sin and rebelled

against the holy God. And then we can follow Scripture

as we walk through that fall of sin to a great flood that we

know Scripture confirms occurred because God cannot and will not

tolerate sin. We see also in the entirety of

Scripture that it reveals for us God's holy standard.

In fact, the whole reason that God instituted the law was to

show His perfection and to show man's inability to meet the

standard of His perfection. And so in the law, in the Old

Testament, we see that we have record of that.

It is in that holy standard that we come to the recognition and

the realization of our rightful place, and that is totally

sinful, depraved and able to come to God in our own strength.

In fact, Scripture says we're cut off and we're alienated from

God because of our sin. We've missed the mark.

We don't meet the standard. And then we see in Scripture the

prophecies concerning the Redeemer who is to come.

All of the prophets Speaking of the Messiah who was to come.

We know now in our day. That that was pointing to

Christ. Son of the living God who came

to this earth as God Incarnate. And it is in the person of Jesus

that we see the God man living a perfect life and then laying

down that perfect life in the place of imperfect depraved

sinners, that they might be reconciled to a holy and to a

righteous God. We see Jesus fulfill all that

the prophets spoke about him. You see a sinless life.

We see His substitutionary atonement.

We see His mercy and His grace offered to sinners, His unending

and undying love offered up for those who had not ever loved

Him. We see His death, We see His

burial, We see His resurrection. We then see His ascension, where

He ascends back to the Father from which He had come.

We see His promises that one day, just as He was taken away

from this earth, He will return to this earth, and He will

rescue the bride that He has purchased by His own sacrifice

for the glory of God. That is a broad sense of the

gospel and the entirety of Scripture.

But then we see a more narrow sense.

We see the narrow sense is that the gospel is the message of

good news. That Greek word you in galleon

means good tidings, a good message.

That is the good news and the good message that Christ did

truly come to this earth and He did come to rescue sinners and

to redeem all of the fallen sinners who will believe and

trust in Him as Lord and as Savior.

Those who were once alienated from God.

Yet Christ came to fulfill the purpose of God the Father in

rescuing some from the multitudes call His own.

Those who would by faith believe and trust in the sacrifice of

Jesus Christ as the only justification for their sin.

And is that same Jesus who rescues sinners, who will

ultimately judge the unrepentant sinners?

Oh, we know that he came to save the repentant, believing

sinners. But in the gospel we must

understand in the narrow sense, yes, the same Jesus will judge

the unrepentant and the unbelieving Sinner.

They will bear the wrath of God for their sin in hell for all

eternity. So we see in a narrow sense that

is the gospel, and in the broad sense it is Genesis to

Revelation. And we will be discussing this

gospel in great detail in the days and the weeks to come.

It's crucial that we get it right.

It's. Crucial that we know the true

gospel according to the Scriptures, especially when we

live in a time where many, if not most are getting it wrong.

I pray that we get it right, and if we're going to get it right,

we are going to have to get it from the Scriptures themselves.

Because I believe many a man and many a woman will spend an

eternity in hell thinking that they believed the gospel, only

to find out that the gospel that they believed was not the gospel

at all. It was what Paul is going to

talk about this morning in Galatians, another gospel, and

he quickly says which is not the gospel.

They believe in some pseudo gospel, some false gospel, some

watered down fake gospel thinking that it's somehow going

to lead them to. Forgiveness of sin and eternal

life. So it's crucial that we get the

gospel because if we get the gospel wrong, we spend an

eternity separated from the goodness and love of God only to

face his wrath and his judgment. And so today as we open the word

of God, we begin here in Galatians chapter one with a

message entitled what the gospel is not.

I pray that in looking at what the gospel is not, we will

clearly see what the gospel is. So if you will turn with me

there to Galatians chapter one verse 6 Paul writing the Church

of Galatia. He says this.

I am astonished in verse 6 that you are so quickly deserting the

one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a

different gospel which is really no gospel at all.

Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and

are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.

But even if we or an Angel from heaven should preach a gospel

other than the one we preach to you, let them be eternally

condemned, as we have already said.

So now I say again, if anybody is preaching to you a gospel

other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned.

Verse 10, he says, Am I now trying to win the approval of

men or of God, or am I trying to please men?

If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of

Christ. Let's pray together.

Father, in the name of Jesus, we come to you, thanking you for

your word, thanking You for the truths that we are going to see

concerning what the gospel is not this morning in a time where

many are confused with every variation, every altering of

what is being called the gospel. God, I pray today that you give

us clarity in your word to the true gospel so that we not

believe a false message, so that we not believe and we not preach

a message that will bring condemnation upon those who

follow this false gospel. That we will through the true

gospel watch you bring darkness out of darkness into marvelous

light as you save souls according to your word, you save

souls according to your power so that you can receive all the

glory and praise for it in Jesus name, Amen.

So today as we open to Galatians chapter one, we are going to

learn what the gospel is not. I have found in my life that

sometimes in order to learn the authenticity of something, I

have to learn what it is not first, especially when they're

differing ideas about the topic. And we know that there are

differing ideas about the gospel.

They are running rampant in our culture.

So Paul begins with this. And so I will begin with this so

that we understand clearly, first of all, the gospel is not

earned by our works. Verses 6 in the first part of

seven say this. I am astonished that you are so

quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of

Christ and are turning to a different gospel.

Which is really no gospel at all.

Let me give you a little backdrop.

Someone, or perhaps a group of people, we're here among the

Galatians, and they were teaching works of righteousness

according to the law to seal their justification, namely

circumcision. And so if you'll follow me into

this, I want you to understand what was going on.

Paul and the apostles were preaching a gospel that is grace

alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

And then there were those who had entered into the church

there, a Galatian. They were introducing heresy,

and that heresy was saying this, yeah, you need to have faith in

Jesus Christ, but also alongside of faith in Jesus Christ, you

also need to be circumcised, which is a work of the flesh,

which counts for nothing in regard to salvation.

That is by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone.

And so many of them had been LED down this road of legalistic

teaching, claiming that in order for us to be saved, we must have

faith in Christ and be circumcised.

However, faith in Jesus Christ plus anything, please hear me.

Church is legalism. If you think that you have to

have faith in Christ plus baptism, a work that men do,

faith in Christ plus church membership, a work that men do,

faith in Christ, plus anything else under the sun that a person

could do, you're sadly mistaken. And the Galatians have fallen

into this trap. They had fallen in and were

potentially falling deeper into a trap that said it is Jesus

plus works and, and I'll go ahead and boldly declare this.

That is heretical. That's not the gospel.

So Paul makes it clear in this letter, in fact in his entire

ministry, that a person is justified by grace alone through

faith alone and Christ alone and not by his works.

Period. End of discussion.

Person's good good works are never credited to them as

salvation. That is not the gospel.

Now I know many of you. You have been around here long

enough to know that we don't preach justification by.

Works we preach justification by faith.

So many of you would say, well, Kirk, we already know this and I

hope you do. But I go to many funerals, and

in those funerals, do you know what they talk about at

funerals? They talk about how good a

person was or how good a person is or what good that person did

while they were on this earth, as if somehow that person is

justified by the good they do or don't do in the eyes of God.

Paul is going to make it very clear here that it is dangerous

when we turn away from grace alone and when we pick up works

of the flesh trying to be justified by those things.

Why is this dangerous? Write it down.

Our works are insufficient in satisfying a holy God.

You will not, cannot. It is impossible for you and

your own works to satisfy a holy God.

Let me help everyone out. Even if you're patriotic, even

if you're hard working, even if you're Southern, and even if

you're a good old boy, you still fall short of God's perfection.

You in and of yourself. You are sinful and you are

rotten to the core. I don't say that to belittle

you. I am agreeing that that is

exactly what I am, apart from the righteousness of Jesus

Christ that comes by faith in Him and that alone.

But I want you to have a clear understanding that there are

many people who preach a message that says that you earn

salvation not just by faith in Christ alone through the grace

of God, but that you also have to do something in order to

receive that. Can I tell you this, that His

standard has not changed? That's how I know I don't meet

His standard. That's how I know you don't meet

His standard because you know what His standard is.

Jesus clearly defines that force in Matthew chapter 5 verse 48,

Matthew 5:48

He says this, be perfect. Therefore, as your heavenly

Father is perfect. Jesus was telling them something

that they could not do be perfect.

But in telling them that they could not be perfect, He

revealed also something to them. Their heavenly Father is

perfect. And he has not changed his

standard. He has not altered who he is.

He's still perfect. And so his standard is still

perfection. That doesn't take long to spend

any time with any of us. But I'll say this, it won't take

you long to spend time with me to find out that I am imperfect.

He said, well, we don't have a lot of time to spend with you.

Pastor, do you have someone who you could call to account?

Ask my wife if I'm perfect, she will tell you absolutely not.

Ask my children, they will say absolutely not.

He's very imperfect, but he trusts in a perfect God.

We will miss the mark in regard to our own perfection.

Therefore, we can never be justified by a holy God.

We can never be declared righteous because even our

thought goodness is still tainted by sin, by wickedness.

In fact, Romans chapter 3 Paul gives a discourse on this.

Romans 3 · chapter mention

I don't want you to miss it. He says in verse 10 of Romans

Romans 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3. He says as it is written,

there's no one right. It's just not even one.

He's Speaking of both the Jew and the Gentile.

There is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.

All have turned away. They have together become

worthless. There is no one who does good,

not even 1. Their throats are open graves.

Their tongues practice the seat. The poison of the Vipers is on

their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing

and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed

blood. Ruin and misery mark their ways

and the way of peace they do not know.

He said, I don't want to spend any time with that kind of

person. You are that kind of person.

That's who we all are apart from Jesus Christ, He says.

Their feet are swift to shed blood.

The ruin and misery mark their ways and the way of peace.

They do not know. There is No Fear of God before

their eyes. Now we know that whatever the

law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every

mouth may be silenced in the whole world, held accountable to

God. Why are we held accountable to

God? Because if we lay our life next

next to God's perfect law, we realize very quickly that we're

transgressors of this law, right?

You don't even have to know all 10 of the commandments.

If you know three of them, you've probably broken two of

them. And if you've only broken one of

the three that you have. Memorized.

Guess what? You're a transgressor and you're

saying guilty in the face of God as a Sinner.

So you, you should be silenced by that.

You have nothing else to say. So he says in verse 20.

Thankfully, therefore, no one will be declared.

Righteous in his sight by observing the law.

Thank you. Because I have failed.

Not only have I broken one of the commands and two of the

commands and three of the commands and four of the

commands and five of the commands.

I've broken all of his commands, you say?

Well, Pastor, yeah. Because if I've broken one of

them, I have broken all of them. I have transgressed against God.

And so have all of you. He says, therefore no one will

be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law.

Rather through the law we become conscious of sin.

What is he saying? God shows us his perfect

standard, and he says, here's my perfect standard.

And he gives us the 10 commandments, and he says live

by it. But in and of ourselves we have

no sufficiency to live by that. And so we.

Find ourselves in a predicament, don't we?

Because everything that we tried to do good is tainted by our

sins. Is that not what Isaiah says in

Isaiah 64? Six, when he says all of us have

become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are

like filthy rags. We all shrivel up like a leaf,

and like the wind, our sins sweep us away.

Look what Isaiah says there. He says, Your best day, filthy

rags, your best efforts don't meet God's standard.

Your best good deeds fall short. So we have to understand that

the gospel is not earned by our works because our works are

insufficient for satisfying a holy, perfect, righteous God.

In fact, Galatians chapter 3 verse 10 says all who rely on

Galatians 3:10

observing the law are under a curse, for it is written cursed.

It is everyone who does not continue to do everything

written in the book of the Law. There are some of us who think

by our works we can be justified.

Now I have to ask you this, have you ever failed?

Well, if you failed, you're in trouble because you're cursed

and. Isn't that what we all really

are Until Christ relieves that curse from us?

We're cursed because of sin. We inherited that curse all the

way from Adam. That's why I told you.

In the broader sense, we can go from Genesis to Revelation and

we see there in the Gospel. But in a narrower sense, we can

look at it in our lives and we know this.

If there is no innate good in US apart from Christ, there's no

good in us at all. Our works are insufficient and

satisfying a holy God. Secondly, our works are

incapable of saving a depraved Sinner.

If our works can't satisfy God's standard and be sufficient

enough because they are so sinfully tainted, then common

sense tells me this. That they can't be useful in

saving me from the wrath that I deserve.

Because many people will say, yeah, Kirk, I understand that

we're all imperfect, but I'm trying my best and I'm doing

some good. I'm, I'm doing more good than I

used to, somehow thinking that because you're doing more good

that you you than you used to in your own power, that your works

are going to somehow save you. And you're dreadfully wrong.

And I don't tell you that so that I can be right.

I tell you that so that you can know the truth because I do care

about your soul, that you're not going to get to God because

you've been a pretty good old boy or a pretty good old gal

done the right thing most of the time.

Because there's been those times where you didn't do the right

thing, proving that you're a transgressor and you're in need

of a righteousness that is greater than your own

righteousness there. And we see the truth of the

gospel. Romans chapter 3 he says in

Romans 3 · chapter mention

verse 21, but now a righteousness from God apart

from the law, your works has been made known to which the law

and the prophets testify. He says this righteousness from

God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe there

is no difference. He says there's no difference

between the Jew and the Gentile, all who by faith trust in Jesus

Christ. They are accredited and imputed

with the righteousness of Christ, the righteousness that

comes from God, he says in verse 23 for.

All of sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are

justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came

by Christ Jesus. God presented him a sacrifice of

atonement through faith in His blood, and He did this to

demonstrate His justice, because in his forbearance he had left

the sins committed beforehand unpunished.

He did it to demonstrate His justice at the present.

Time so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have

faith in Jesus. What is he saying?

God would have to cease to be just if you could somehow save

yourself by your own works. But he remains just.

But he is also a justifier, and he justifies by grace alone,

through faith alone in Christ alone.

He says. Where then is boasting?

He says it's excluded. We have nothing to boast about.

Have you ever met those people who profess to be Christians?

And all they do is boast about the good that they do.

If someone gets up at my funeral one day and starts talking about

all the good that I did, tell them to stop and talk about

Christ, because the only good in me is Christ.

If you saw good in me, please don't give me credit for it.

I'm not. Good.

Christ is good. He's aware that his boasting

it's excluded. On what principle?

On that of of observing the law, No.

But on that of faith we for we maintain that a man is justified

by faith apart from observing the law.

What is he saying there? He's saying your works are

incapable of saving you. I grieve for those who have

bought into this gospel that they sell so often in America,

that if you just do enough good, it will somehow outweigh the

bad. You cannot do enough good

because good does not live in you, in and of yourself.

Our works are incapable of saving us.

Romans 5 verse 19. Paul says this.

Romans 5:19

For just as through the disobedience of the one man,

talking about Adam, the many were made sinners, so also

through the obedience of the one man, the many will be made

righteous. This is the only way for you to

be made righteous. It is through the obedience of

Christ, not your own obedience, your own words.

It is the work of Christ that justifies us, and faith in that

alone. And so our works are incapable

of saving us because we're depraved sinners.

Only God can save sinners, and He does this apart from any work

that you do. He does this through the work of

Jesus Christ, through his atoning work and that alone.

Titus chapter 3 verse 5, it says this.

Titus 3:5

He saved us not because of righteous things we had done,

but because of his mercy. He saved us through the.

Washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

He saved us not because of anything that we could do.

Why we're not righteous? But he's righteous and his work

is able to save the unrighteous. Galatians chapter 2, verse 16.

Galatians 2:16

He says this know that a man is not justified by observing the

law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.

So we too have put our faith in Christ Jesus, that we may be

justified by faith in Christ Jesus and not by observing the

law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

He takes it a step further. Down in 21 of that same 2nd

chapter in Galatians he says this.

I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could

be gained through the law, your own works, if you could be saved

by your own works, Watch what he says.

Christ died for nothing. We have to be very careful in a

culture that is constantly preaching and teaching works

salvation. Your works cannot save you.

Your works are wicked in and of themselves, and if you think

your works can save you, you have set aside to the grace of

God. Paul says, I'm not going to do

that because it is the grace of God that saves me and allows me

to gain to that righteousness from God that comes apart from

the law. It is by grace.

That's what he's saying to the to the Galatians here.

I'm astonished that you were so quickly deserting the one who

called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a

different gospel, he says. Which is really no gospel at

all. Your words won't save you.

In fact, they can't save you because Ephesians chapter 2

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

makes it very clear if you, if you would just turn over one

book in your Bible there to Ephesians in the second chapter

and it says this. It says As for you, you were

dead in your transgressions and sins in which you used to live

when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of

the Kingdom of the air. He said you're spiritually dead

in your sin and you're following Satan.

That's for the unbeliever who we all used to be.

He says all of us also lived among them at one time,

gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature, following his

desires and thoughts like the rest.

We were by by nature objects of wrath.

But because of his great love for us, because of what his

great love for us, who God, who is rich in mercy made us alive

with Christ, who made us alive. He made us alive.

You didn't make yourself alive. You didn't draw near to God, and

he met you halfway. God, who is rich in mercy, made

us alive with Christ. Even when we were dead in

transgressions. You were dead in your

transgressions and God made you alive.

He rebirthed you, He regenerated you.

It is by grace you have been saved, not your works.

And God raised us up with Christ and seated us, us with him in

the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the

coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace

expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

Who's doing all this? It's God doing all this.

Your works aren't even involved in this, he says.

For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this

not from yourselves. It is the gift of God, not by

works, so that no one can boast. What is he saying here?

He's saying our works are incapable of saving us because

we are depraved sinners and our works are never good enough to

rescue us. It is Christ's work, His death

on the cross, His burial, his resurrection.

It is through Christ that a Sinner is saved and made

righteous and it is by faith. And what says God-given faith

that we access that? How do we know it's God-given

faith? Because he says it's by grace

and not of works so that you don't boast about it.

I believe and have faith in Christ because God regenerated

me to new life so that I could believe and have faith in Christ

with the gift of faith that God gave me.

He gets all the credit because he deserves all the credit.

And so unfortunately, many are depending upon their own works

and their own efforts to count for something before a holy God,

right. I walked an aisle, I prayed a

prayer. I turned my life over to Jesus.

I stood up at a stadium event just because some man told me to

stand up if I wanted heaven. Wrong answer.

Wrong answer. That is no gospel at all.

And Paul was astonished that they would abandoned the grace

of God and turn back to works that are incapable of saving

men. If God could have saved a single

person through the law, why would he send Christ to die for

Sinner? It absolutely makes no logical

sense and it absolutely makes no biblical sense.

I join with Augustus top Lady, the rider of the old hymn Rock

of Ages, and I declare this not the labours of my hands can

fulfill the law's demands. Could my zeal no respite?

No Could my tears forever flow all for sin could not atone.

Thou must save, and thou alone. And so a gospel that is earned

by works. Please pay attention to me.

American Church in 2025 is no gospel at all.

It is another gospel, and it is a perversion.

Secondly, the gospel is not ecumenical tolerance.

Many of you would ask what in the world is ecumenical

tolerance? Verse 7, he says this the last

part, evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and

are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ and we need to go back

and we need to look exactly how were they perverting the gospel

of of Christ. They were perverting the Gospel

of Christ by trying to get the true believers to tolerate the

customs and the traditions that they were wanting to bring over

from Judaism. This is what we call ecumenical

tolerance. We see it in our day.

This is where new ideas and free thinking and philosophy in

regard to Christianity and doctrine, especially the gospel,

enter in. This is the reason that there

are so many different gospels today, right?

Because we've tolerated ecumenism.

This ecumenical tolerance is a movement in our day that is very

subtle. It is very dangerous, just like

a rattlesnake. He's very subtle.

He sneaks in, he rattles a little bit to charm his prey,

and before they know it, he strikes with deadly venom.

This is the problem with the ecumenical movement of our day,

right? When we all just get along for

the sake of getting along, we slip quietly into false teaching

and into a false gospel that introduces destructive heresies

and perverts the one true gospel, all in the name of

tolerance and unity and peace. Well, the problem with

ecumenical tolerance is this, and you can write this down.

It leaves sound doctrine. It abandons the foundational and

orthodox truths of Christianity that we have lived by for

thousands of years. It leaves sound doctrine, all in

the name of unity and peace, making it sound very good and

very spiritual, right? Aren't we to be a people of

unity? Yes, among ourselves.

Now, are we to be a people of peace?

Yes, internally and among ourselves.

But what the ecumenical movement does is they want us to be at

peace with them and to unify with them and all of their false

doctrine and all of their false teaching and just to give them a

big hug and let's all just agree and get along.

However, this is false peace, this is false unity, and it

comes at the cost of perverting the Gospel almost every single

time. Oh, it'll fill stadiums as we

light candles and sing kumbaya led by pure emotionalism, pure

feelings. But it isn't the true gospel.

It isn't the gospel that saves sinners.

It isn't the gospel that promotes the righteousness of

Christ. It's a gospel that promotes

another agenda which is outside of Christ.

The pastor, it must be right, he said.

Drew a crowd. Church, please listen to me.

That is pragmatism. That is embracing the idea that

it just because it draws a crowd or just because it works in our

mind, it must be right. Can I tell you, unifying with

people at the expense of the true gospel and sound doctrine

is never right. It's always wrong and we as

Christians can no longer adhere to this.

Crowds do not equal conversion. In fact, in John's 6th chapter

of his Gospel in. Verse 60 there Jesus preached a

pretty intense message and it says this in verse 60.

On hearing it, many of his disciples said this is a hard

teaching, who can accept it? We don't like this.

You drop down to 66, you see this?

From this time, many of his disciples turned back and no

longer followed him. Jesus wasn't trying to draw the

crowds. In fact, many times his message

pushed the crowds away. There's some people who like to

say, well, those people were saved and they lost their

salvation. That's not what John teaches in

his first epistle. He says they went out from us

because they were not of us. These were people who, as long

as you were embracing what they wanted you to embrace, they

tolerated you. But when Jesus preached a

message that they didn't like, man, they were gone.

Like yesterday's news, they were out of there.

Couldn't handle sound doctrine because the ecumenical tolerance

movement always leaves sound doctrine.

We can't abandoned the gospel. We can't abandoned sound

doctrine just because people tell us in doing so that we'll

keep peace. You know, this is not what Jesus

taught at all. The sad thing is most of you

don't even know this, but in Matthew chapter 10, here's what

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

Jesus taught about it. Verse 34 he says, do not suppose

that I have come to bring peace to the earth.

I did not come to bring peace, but a sword, for I have come to

turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a

daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

A man's enemies will be the members of his own household.

What would cause? This to happen, the gospel, the

true gospel of Jesus Christ, What it does is it divides

because when we hear the true gospel, it causes us to embrace

sound doctrine. It causes us to shun those who

do not embrace sound doctrine. It causes a mother to hate her

son because he's a Christian. It causes a father to hate his

children, a child to hate his mother.

It causes all these things to happen that we don't like.

And Jesus said, I didn't come to bring peace between the

believers and the unbelievers. I came to bring peace to the

believer, but I came to bring division.

I came to actually call a group of people.

Out from among the wicked, ecumenical tolerance leaves

sound doctrine and promotes the unity among believers and

unbelievers, among the sound and the unsound that Jesus himself

did not stand for, nor should we.

Why do you think Paul said in our Scripture reading?

Earlier, I'm not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for it

is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe,

first for the Jew and then for the Gentile.

Why did he have to say I'm not ashamed of this message?

Because there were many who were trying to make him ashamed of

this message. Because this message was

dividing people. This message was dividing homes

just as Jesus said that it would.

Paul says, I'm not going to change the message just so that

we can have false unity and false peace, just so we can get

along with one another. He would not leave or abandoned

the gospel. He would not leave or abandoned

sound doctrine in the name of ecumenical tolerance.

So we see that that toleration of acumenism leads to sound

doctrine or leaves, excuse me, sound doctrine, but it leads to

syncretism. Again, I know this, the word

that many of you have never even began to contemplate.

There are many and many so-called church movements who

would say, pastor, don't use terms like that because you're

going to confuse the people. How about we do it like this.

I've been entrusted to teach you the truth and somehow sometimes

in an understanding the truth, what you have to do is you have

to learn some new things. And so why don't, instead of me

just taking the easy road and dumbing it down for you and

insulting you because I don't want to do that, how about I

actually stop and I shepherd this flock and I teach you what

syncretism really is and how we see it all around us?

And if we're not aware of it is going to take Minnie down leads

to syncretism. What is that?

That's the mixing of sound doctrine with false doctrine.

That is thinking that you can put a.

Little bit of salt in a cup of water and it not become fully

salt water. That's foolish isn't it?

Because even the smallest hint of salt and fresh water, you

will taste it immediately. And So what syncretism does?

They mix sound doctrine with false doctrine, making it all

together false doctrine. How many of you get that that

you can't take sound doctrine and even introduce 1 little

small speck of unsound doctrine and still think you have sound

doctrine? Your doctrine is completely

perverted it at that point in time.

That's what Paul's telling those believers there at Galatia.

In fact, in chapter 5, he drives us home a little more

thoroughly. He says in verse 7, you were

running a good race who cut in on you and kept you from obeying

the truth. You were running grace alone

through faith alone in Christ alone, and accessing God's

righteousness through that and that alone.

And then all of a sudden somebody came in and they

started telling you, yeah, but you also have to keep the works

of the law like we did in Judaism.

You also have to be circumcised like God told Abraham.

And he says this. That kind of persuasion does not

come from the one who calls you. It's not from God.

He says a little yeast works through the whole batch of

dough. He says That little tweak that

they made trying to get you to synchronize with them trying to

get all of you on the same page you've all seen.

The the bumper. Stickers right where you got the

Darwin fish and he's holding the Star of David while he's walking

with a cross in the other hand. Can't we all just get along?

Coexist. That's.

What syncretism is There's nothing new.

There's nothing new under the sun, Solomon tells us.

But as we look at this, please see that it is very prevalent in

our day, as it was in the days of Paul mixing biblical

Christianity with unbiblical so-called Christianity.

Even now in our day, Americanized Christianity, which

is in fact frightening, or even. Worse, religions that aren't

Christian at all, right, where we say, you know what, we ought

to just unite with the Hindus, we ought to unite with the Jew,

or we ought to unite with the Muslim.

Unite with them. We ought to unite here, don't

you think? At least the Roman Catholics

unite with them. I am a Reformed Protestant.

Why would I reunite with the error of the Roman Catholic

Church? No, I would tell you all

plainly, stay away from those doctrines of demons.

They have taken the true gospel and they have intermingled it

with church tradition and the ideology of men, and they have

perverted the one true gospel. I don't make apology for that.

This is exactly what Paul is doing here.

And so I don't sync, synchronize with other religions ever.

But you don't understand, pastor, it's just a a community

event. It's just a political event.

Come on, let's all people of faith join together.

No, they may be people of faith, but they are not people of the

faith. And Paul tells us that we are to

contend for the faith that has once for all been entrusted to

us. And what is the faith?

It is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And we cannot compromise the gospel of Jesus Christ just

because people want us to synchronize with them.

It's exactly what Paul's telling them here not to do.

He says. Evidently, some people are

throwing you into confusion or trying to pervert the gospel of

Christ. How are they doing that?

Let's take a little Judaism. Let's take a little

Christianity. Let's put it in a jar.

Let's shake it up and see what we have.

But let's just all get along. We can't.

Jesus rebukes churches for doing just this.

You say he does. Yeah.

Have you not read the last book of the Bible, the Revelation of

Jesus Christ? There, in chapter 2, he actually

warns literal, specific churches about some things.

Two in particular stand out in regard to what we're talking

about today. Pergamum, which is found there

in Revelation chapter 2 in the 14th verse, and it says this

Revelation 2 · chapter mention

after telling them some of the good that they have done.

He says in verse 14. Nevertheless, I have a few

things against you. You have people there who hold

to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the

Israelites to send by eating food, sacrifice to idols and by

committing sexual immorality. He said you're.

Intermingling with the gospel, with sound doctrine, sexual

immorality and idolatry, he says.

Likewise, you have. You also have those who hold to

the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Now just to know a little bit

about the teachings of the Nicolaitans.

These are the people in the day who would say, you know what,

because we have grace, we can live any way that we want to

live. Do what we want to do.

Here's what Christ says to that church.

Repent therefore. Otherwise I will come to you and

will fight against you with the sword of my mouth.

Be warned, in church we are never called to synchronize with

false doctrine and false gospels.

He doesn't stop there. He also speaks to the Church of

Thyatira. He says in verse 20 of chapter

2. Nevertheless, I have this

against you. You tolerate the woman, the

woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess.

By her teaching, she misleads my servants into sexual immorality

and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.

What's going on here? You have this woman, Jezebel,

she's controlling and she's obviously somehow stepped into a

a role of being a prominent teacher in the church, which

should never be. And she is now misleading the

entire group of people into sexual immorality and eating

food sacrificed to idols. What is she doing?

She's taking paganism and she's taking Christianity and she's

mixing it all together. But isn't that what we do in our

day? We take a little paganism, we

take a little Christianity, we mix it all together.

Say we're all just trying to do our best as we journey on to

heaven. Can't we all just get along for

the sake of getting along? That's syncretism.

You kind of have an idea of what it is now, don't you?

And unfortunately, ecumenical tolerance leads to syncretism

most of the time. We're not called to tolerate.

We're not called to accept. We're not, and called to embrace

confusing perversions of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Never are we taught to do that. The gospel message is not

ecumenical tolerance. In fact, it is an intolerant

message. It is an exclusive message and

we don't care if the world hates us and if the world kills us

because we stand on the true gospel.

We cannot compromise the true gospel just to pacify the

pagans. Paul and his day dealt with, and

we're dealing with it in our day.

The gospel is not ecumenical tolerance #3 the gospel is not

evolving in nature. Verse 8, he says, But even if we

are, an Angel from heaven should preach the gospel other than the

one we preach to you. That's for the Mormons who

received another gospel from the Angel Moroni.

Watch what Paul says about this. Let them be eternally condemned,

as you have already said. So now I say again, if anybody

is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted,

let him be eternally condemned. Oh, it's a serious business.

Two different times Paul talks about eternal condemnation for

those who would pervert the gospel.

He says, if it's me, may I be eternally condemned.

If it's any of the other apostles, may they be eternally

condemned. If an Angel himself give you

another gospel other than the gospel that we preach, he said

let them be eternally condemned. This is serious business.

I want you to pay attention to it.

I want you to pay attention to things like this.

When when the the the so-called church in America is distracting

so many people right now, instead of teaching them sound

biblical truth, they're distracting them with new age

thinking. Pay attention to this.

The gospel is unchanging. It's not going to evolve, not by

the apostles, not by so-called apostles of today, not by an

Angel from heaven, not by a demon from hell.

If anyone delivers to you a gospel other than the gospel

that the Lord Jesus Christ preached that he passed down to

his apostles, that you believe that salvation if you're truly

saved. So if anyone brings you a

different gospel than that, you need to know what you're dealing

with. You're dealing with someone who

is eternally condemned. You are dealing with the dregs

of the dregs, the most wicked of the wicked.

Why is this important? Why is this important that we

understand that the gospel is not evolving in nature because

there are many who are making additions and many who are

making subtractions to the gospel in our time to make them

more acceptable. The gospel message cannot

change. It doesn't evolve over time.

Just as Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever,

the gospel that Jesus Christ preached just the same

yesterday, today, and forever. So we can't change it.

We can't change it for cultural preferences.

Don't we see that today, man? Those who seek and attempt to

change the gospel to meet the thought needs of the culture,

seeking to make it relevant or cool or hip?

To be honest with you, I'm quite nauseated.

By it, but we attempt to put the gospel in some attractive

package so that our culture will think it's relevant or preachers

try they they put more effort in being cool than they do studying

the word of God. And I say this to all of them.

Don't you think I'm cool? I'm cool.

No, I don't care anything about being cool.

I want to be biblical and I want to make sure that the gospel

that I preach is biblical, and I'm not going to allow that

gospel to be changed just because culture seeks to make

that gospel relevant in their day.

Has anything really changed? Sinners are still sinners.

They're still wicked, they're still depraved, and they are

still in need of the only sacrifice that has ever been

made that will purify A Sinner from their sin, and that is the

sacrifice of Jesus Christ. So those who seek to make the

gospel more entertaining, they do it simply because they

understand that we have a culture that demands

entertainment. Now they're all afraid to call

it what it is. I'll call it it's the idol of

entertainment. Our society thinks that they

have to be entertained all of the time.

And we cannot think that the gospel changes so that people

will be entertained. You know how I know this?

Because I know many people who won't read their Bible, but

they'll watch the Chosen, a perversion of the Bible.

You say a perversion of the Bible.

Yeah, a perversion of the Bible, because they don't take the

Bible word for word. What they do is they actually

use artistic license or liberty to make it fit the agenda that

they're trying to spew out. Not on many of you.

You're going to get mad because you're more loyal to ATV Show

than you are to Christ himself, and that's quite all right.

Get mad. The reality is you're not mad at

me, you're mad at the truth. And we have a culture that is so

driven by entertainment that many people think that we have

to somehow evolve the gospel to fit our generation, right?

We got to have some sermon clip before the preacher ever gets up

there, after he walks out of his green room, because he doesn't

associate with the normal people, because he'd never stoop

that. Low.

He walks out of his green room drinking Starbucks in his skinny

pants to entertain the people, and he leaves out the gospel

where he gives them the shallow, unbiblical gospel.

Why? Because the culture says

entertain us, entertain us, so that's what we do.

No, the gospel is not evolving in nature.

It has not become something that we use to entertain people.

The Gospel is the truth of the Word of God.

It is the message of the death, the burial, the resurrection of

Jesus Christ. And that cannot change, not for

people's cultural. Preferences.

Not for what they like or dislike, Not to market it to a

crowd who would otherwise not receive it.

Oh, don't we see that nowadays? Let's make the gospel marketable

because the old gospel didn't sell.

Let me just tell you something. I'm not here to sell the gospel.

I'm here to preach the gospel as the gospel is preached.

God does what He does with the Word of God as it goes forth.

I'm not in charge of the results.

But do you know that there are churches who spend endless

amounts of money on marketing schemes and marketing campaigns

to try to make the gospel more attractive and more appealing so

that people will choose this message over the alternative?

You know, the problem with that is this.

The true gospel speaks nothing of that at all.

The true gospel has never been about man choosing God, but it's

always been about God choosing man.

Oh, you don't believe me? Why don't you go to the first

disciples who were there just doing what they did.

They sinned and they fished and Jesus met them and they're

sinning in and they're fishing. He said leave your Nets and come

and follow me. So with that, does that really

him choosing him? I don't know.

He tells him in John 1516 this plainly he says you did not

choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear

fruit, fruit that will last. I don't have to market Jesus so

that man can choose Jesus. I have to preach Jesus so that

they hear the word of God and God would effectually choose

them and call them out of darkness into His marvelous.

Light I don't have to package that up into something pretty.

Try to make it. Easy for men to choose him.

Know what I have to do is I have to preach the truth and let the

choosing fall on the shoulders of the one who does the

choosing. In fact, John chapter 6, verse

John 6:44

44, the Scripture, we often forget.

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him and

I will raise him up at the last day.

No one's coming to Christ because of your marketing

campaign or your marketing schemes.

Your American ideas of advertisement People are coming

to Christ when God himself, by his grace and by his sovereign

power, calls them out of darkness and into light,

regenerating them so that they can believe and so that they can

repent. That's the gospel of Jesus

Christ and. It doesn't change.

We can't allow it to change, not on our watch.

Well, it can't change. Not for cultural preferences,

not for comfort purposes. Don't people want us to change

the gospel to make it comfortable for other people?

Now, Pastor, you need to calm down a little bit.

Calm down with what I'm passionate about.

A message that God spoke through a preacher to me one day.

It was the words of life that rescued this filthy, rotten

center from the hell that I deserved, that declared to me

that God loves me in spite of me, and He loved me enough to

send His only begotten Son to this earth to die in my place,

bearing the wrath that I deserved.

And you want me to calm down about that?

That's the greatest story ever told.

Why would I not tell that with passion in my heart and passion

in my lungs and passion from my voice?

We're not here to make people comfortable.

Right give us a more palatable message, pastor, could you maybe

you know, do ain't the pulpit and get maybe a pub table with

the water on it that you never drink because it makes us feel

like we're just in a pub having a good time We're.

Not in a pub having a good time. We're in a church where Christ

is to be exalted and Christ is to be preached and Christ is to

be honored. That's where we are.

We're. Not going to change the message

to make you comfortable. Well, change it just a little,

right? Don't include the judgement and

the wrath and the hell that is to come upon the unbeliever that

makes them uncomfortable. How about you could preach a a

less confining message, right? Encouraging followers, instead

of living holy lives, to just use grace as a license to sin,

right? You're saved.

So do whatever in the world that you want to do.

That's called antinomianism. It's been around a while.

It's a heresy, and it always will be a heresy, to think that

you can claim to have the grace of God and then live any way

that you want to live. That's an American ideal.

Violate Scripture. Romans 6.

Paul says this. What shall we say then?

Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?

By no means, God forbid. We didn't.

We died to sin. How can we live in it any

longer? But isn't it true of the

American church? We have taken grace and made

grace a license to sin because we preach a less confining

gospel, right? We preach the gospel, the gospel

of freedom. You know what the scripture

says. Do not use your freedom to

indulge in your sinful nature. How about a less offensive

message, Pastor? Remove the offensive nature of

the gospel so as not to offend anyone.

Paul says this in First Corinthians.

He says in chapter 1, verse 18. For the message of the cross is

foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are

being saved, it is the power of God.

It's foolishness to the lost people.

They're not going to understand it until God quickens them so

that they can see the truth. It will always be offensive and

it will always be foolish to them until God does a work.

Again, I am not responsible for that work.

I'm responsible to preach the pure message of the gospel of

Jesus Christ. And so are all of you who claim

to be in Christ. Don't look for a less offensive

message for the comfort of people.

How about a more attractive message?

You get to keep the world. You get to keep the indulgences

of the world. You get to have Jesus too.

There is no forsaking of yourself.

There's no coming out of your sexual immorality.

There's no coming out of your drunkenness.

There is no coming out of your gossip or your slander or your

lying. How about we preach a gospel

that's more attractive, right? You get to live the same way

you've always been living, catering to the pleasures of

your flesh, indulging in sin. And you get heaven in the end.

Doesn't that sound like the American gospel in a nutshell?

I've told you I've been to enough funerals.

Everyone goes to heaven because we're all pretty good old boys

and gals, which is not the gospel.

Could you give us a more attractive message?

Here's the message that Jesus preached.

He says if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself

and take up his cross and follow me.

That's the message of Christ. Self denial, willingness to

suffer for his glory and for his message for his name's sake.

That's the message of the gospel.

The gospel message cannot change, is not evolving in

nature because the attempt to change the gospel comes with

consequences. Pay attention to what Paul says

there about the consequences. He says let him be eternally

condemned. If an Angel or an apostle or

pastor or so-called evangelist or politician or whoever it may

be preaches a gospel message that is not the true gospel, he

says let him be eternally condemned.

I want you to understand that because when you attempt to

change the gospel, there are consequences that follow no

matter who you are. An apostle, an Angel, Sunday

school teacher, a plumber, electrician.

Satan introduces these lies into the churches.

How does he do it? That's why Paul takes the stance

that he takes Second Corinthians Chapter 11 and tells us this.

2 Corinthians 11 · chapter mention

He says, for such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen

masquerading as apostles of Christ.

That's why Paul said that even one of us gives you a different

gospel. Beware of this person, he says,

and no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an Angel of

light. It is not surprising then, if

his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness.

Their. End will be what their actions

deserve. What is their end?

Eternal condemnation, that's the warning that Paul is giving.

That is why it is so important that we understand the true

gospel and we avoid all of these false gospels that are out there

because. Eternal condemnation will come

upon those who teach those Gospels and those who those

gospels lead astray. It's very important that we

understand that the Gospel is not evolving in nature.

So we see this. It's not earned by our works.

It's not ecumenical tolerance. It's not evolving in nature.

Lastly, it's not eagerly accepted.

Paul says something in verse 10 that you might think

immediately. This seems kind of out of place.

He's warning them that if someone preaches a gospel,

that's not the gospel that I preach, even if it's an Angel or

another one of us. He said let them be eternally

condemned. What Paul is doing here, he's

standing up when others are not willing to stand.

It was chaos going on at the Church of Galatia.

There were these Judaizers who had crept in there and they were

introducing a false gospel. And this false gospel obviously

was more eagerly accepted, right?

We get to keep Judaism and we get to keep all the traditions

that we were brought up in and. We get the gospel of Jesus

Christ, which when you intermingled the two, there was

no gospel of Jesus Christ left at all.

It was the gospel of these who would pervert it.

And Paul says, am I now trying to win the approval of men or of

God, or am I now trying to please men?

If I was still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of

Christ. And so the true gospel has been

often altered so that people will will more eagerly accept

it. However, please listen to me

Church. We should never alter the gospel

so that it will be more eagerly accept it.

It's a true gospel will by nature.

It will by nature offend people. It will by nature not be

appealing to man's flesh. Oh, I remember the day that I

heard the gospel when I was saved.

That preacher was telling me how rotten and how awful.

And how sinful I was. And I remember in that moment

I'm thinking, who does this guy think he is telling me how awful

I am? Little did I know that God was

working to regenerate my heart, to show me just how right that

man was, that I am in and of myself, awful and unrighteous

and sinful and wicked, and I did need a Savior.

So the gospel message, the true gospel message, is not eagerly

accepted because it is an offensive message.

John MacArthur said it like this.

He said the Gospel is not a message that tells people what

they want to hear. It's a message that tells them

what they need to hear. That's why it's offensive.

That's why it's offensive. It tells you what you need to

hear, and you might not be ready to hear that at that time.

And so it offends you because the true gospel confronts man's

sin. It crushes man's pride.

It deems man sinful and helpless and spiritually dead and

incapable of having a right relationship with his Creator.

Then it goes on and it declares an exclusive salvation in Christ

alone, and it demands repentance and surrender to Jesus as Lord

and Savior. Then it promises persecution to

all who embrace it. But it also promises hell and

judgement to all those who do not.

And so the gospel by nature can be offensive to the natural ear,

can't it? But just because the gospel is

offensive, we don't have to change it so that it will be

eagerly accepted, because it is. So offensive because so many are

offended by it. Here's often the reason why

churches and pastors and ministries think that they have

to A water it down. B Sugar coat it.

Or see completely leave it out. And all of those are wrong.

The gospel is offensive. May we not forget church, please

listen. May we not forget what they

desired to do to Jesus because of the message that he preached.

May we not forget that our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ in

John chapter 8 verse 40, he calls the Pharisees out.

John 8:40

They say we're children of Abraham.

He says no, you're not your children of Satan because

children of Abraham don't plot what you're plotting.

You're plotting to kill me. Why were they plotting to kill

him? Because of the message of truth,

the gospel that he preached, the message of repentance and faith

unto God for salvation. That alone may we not forget

what they did to Stephen, first martyr to follow in the

footsteps of Christ. Acts Chapter 7 what did they do

Acts 7 · chapter mention

as he knelt and they plotted to stone him to death after

preaching the clear passionate gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ

says in verse 59. While they were stoning him

there in Acts Chapter 7, he prayed.

Acts 7 · chapter mention

Lord Jesus received my spirit. And then he fell on his knees

and cried out, Lord, do not hold this sin against them.

And when he said this, he fell asleep.

Now, what did Steven do? He didn't change the message so

that they were would eagerly accept it.

He preached the wrong message of the gospel, knowing that they

were probably going to kill him for it.

And as they killed him for it, you know what he did?

He prayed for their souls. That's the gospel, Father,

forgive them, for they know not what they do.

God, we're dependent upon your mercy and your forgiveness and

that alone. Stephen didn't try to make the

gospel more acceptable. He told them point blank, the

Messiah came and you killed him. They didn't like it and they

gnashed their teeth and they picked up stones to end his

life. But even then, he would not

change the gospel to be less offensive.

He knew it would have cost him his life.

May we not forget about that. May we not forget about the

brother of John James who was killed by the sword under King

Agrippa there in Acts chapter 12.

Acts 12 · chapter mention

Why was he killed? Same message, The gospel he

preached, the truth that Jesus preached, that Stephen preached.

He came to the same fate. Why?

Because the gospel message is so offensive that sometimes those

who will not accept it want to stop.

Those who preach it now venture to say this in light of

Scripture and in light of history.

A gospel message that doesn't offend is no gospel message at

all. William Garnol said this.

The world loves the gospel that lets it sin and go to heaven,

but the gospel that calls it to holiness and self denial is an

offense. Isn't that true in our day?

A gospel that calls people to self denial and away from sin

and into holiness service to God.

That gospel is offensive to men. It is an offensive message.

Therefore, it's not eagerly accepted, but it's also an

unappealing message. I spoke a moment ago about

people trying to appeal to men so that the gospel will be

appealing to them. The true gospel is unappealing.

It doesn't appeal to our flesh. It can't appeal to our flesh.

It's not fleshly. It's a spiritual message that

must be spiritually discerned. Is that not what Paul said?

The natural man can't understand the things of the Spirit because

they are spiritually discerned. Many of you would testify there

were many times in your life before you can't became a

follower of Christ and surrendered to Him.

You heard the message of the gospel.

It meant nothing to you. But on that one particular day

God used that message and he effectually called you out of

darkness and in delight through that message and you were truly

saved forever more. Why is that?

Because he opened your spiritual.

Deaf ears to hear the truth. He opened your spiritually blind

eyes to see the truth. He opened your spiritually dead

soul to receive the truth. Because the true gospel is not

eagerly accepted by man, not in their flesh and not on their

own. Because the true gospel calls us

to forsake sin and self in the world and to surrender to Christ

alone. The true gospel is the gospel

and we see Jesus preach the rich young ruler when he says, I've

done all these good things and Jesus, I bet you have.

Now go sell everything that you own and come and follow me there

in Luke chapter 18. And he went away sad, unsaved,

Luke 18 · chapter mention

because he had great possessions.

It was unappealing to him. Think of all of his riches that

he had acquired and inherited just to be given away to someone

else. He would not obey Christ.

And a gospel that does not call for obedience to Christ is no

gospel at all. It is unappealing to the Sinner.

So what men do is they try to make it appealing, and they err

dreadfully. Unbelievers love their sin.

So what we try to do is we try to make the gospel a little

easier. Swallow, don't we?

But John in his gospel he said this chapter 3 verse 19.

This is the verdict. Light is coming to the world,

that men love darkness instead of the light because their deeds

were evil. Everyone who does what is evil

hates the light and will not come into the light for fear

that his deeds will be exposed. It is the true gospel that

exposes the deeds of men. I'm so thankful that the true

gospel was preached to me on that day in my life, exposing my

sinful deeds, my sinful nature, revealing to me my deep need for

Jesus Christ to rescue me and to save me.

It is an unappealing message. It demands repentance.

Is that not the message Jesus preached?

Matthew chapter 4 verse 17. You don't think that's the

Matthew 4:17

message Jesus preached? Go read it, it's pretty simple.

From that time on, Jesus began to preach repent, for the

Kingdom of heaven is near. Have you noticed in our day the

the message of repentance is all but left out of the so-called

gospel? Why?

Because repentance is not appealing.

You mean I have to turn from what I like and what I prefer

and what I enjoy to have Christ? Yes, it is a part of the gospel

message. You must repent, you must

believe. The gospel demands it.

It rejects our own self righteousness.

Doesn't the true gospel reject our righteous, our thought Good.

Remember the Pharisee in the tax collector in Luke chapter 18?

Luke 18 · chapter mention

Oh, isn't that an interesting exhibit of this?

The Pharisee thanking God that he's not like that filthy tax

collector, while the filthy tax collectors over there hiding his

face from God, feels that he's unworthy to even come into God's

presence. He just.

Throws his hands to the heaven and he cries out for mercy.

And you know what Jesus said the the tax collector went away

justified. Why?

Because the Pharisee was holding on to his self righteousness,

his own thought good. And it's not appealing to

mankind to think that I have to throw away all my thought good.

I'm a pretty good person. No you're not.

There are no good people. There are only sinners who are

in need of a Savior and Christ. Is that Savior?

Repent and trust in Him today. That is the true gospel.

That is the gospel that says. It's an unappealing message for

many reasons that I've mentioned, but I don't want to

leave this out because it's an exclusive message.

So I'm appealing the most because it's exclusive.

Jesus said in John 14, six, I am the way, the truth and the life

and no one comes to the Father but by me.

There is no other way. There is no other name given

under heaven whereby men must be saved.

And our diversity, equity, inclusion driven society hates

that message just as they hated it in the day of Paul as he

wrote to the Galatians. It drives them crazy to think

that there is but one way and it's not their way.

But Jesus said this. He said enter through the narrow

gate and I'm done for. Wide is the gate and broad is

the road that leads to destruction and many enter

through it. We often forget about that wide

gate and that wide Rd. is there's a sign above the door

that says heaven and has an arrow.

But that's a lie, because there's only one way He says

this about it. But small is the gate, and

narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Only a few find it. Oh, beware, Church, when you see

multitudes flocking to a so-called gospel, be very leery

of it, because only if you find it.

I pray today that God would have mercy on you, that He would

point you to the true gospel by looking at what the false

gospels are. I'm looking at what the gospel

isn't so you can know what the gospel is.

And that today He would rescue your wretched soul.

For those of you who are here today who are believers, you're

saved today because someone preached to you the true gospel

or you're not saved at all. Be thankful for that and rejoice

that God sent a messenger with the unadulterated gospel of

Jesus Christ and he put his life and his neck on the line.

He risked offending everybody in the room so that you could hear

the truth and be saved. Be thankful for that.

Be thankful for those who stand on the true gospel so that

you're not thrown into confusion, so that your children

are not thrown into confusion. To the unbeliever, I say this to

you and looking at what the gospel isn't today, all you have

heard intermingled through it all the true gospel and what it

is. And I would encourage you today,

surrender to Jesus Christ according to the true gospel

that you have heard. In desperation, cry out to him

to forgive you of your sin to save you, to cleanse you from

the wrath that you deserve, the judgment that you deserve, the

sin that has defiled a holy God. Repent and believe on the Lord

Jesus Christ today. Let's pray together.

Father, in the name of Jesus, we come to you.

Thanking you so much for your word.

God, I thank you for the patience of your people and

hearing it out. Enduring sound doctrine.

But I thank you for the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the

power of God unto salvation for all who believe.

God, I pray according to Your will and by your mercy and your

grace that there be 1 here among us today.

Who does not know you, Lord, that you would have mercy on

them today and you would draw them out of the darkness of sin

and draw them to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior today, That they

would repent, turning from their unbelief and sin turning to you

and you alone. We know that you are faithful to

save all who call upon your name.

But again, we thank you for the gospel, for how you have rescued

us through the truth of it. We give you glory in Jesus name,

Amen. Would you stand to your feet

now? You've been listening to Key

Life Fellowships Pulpit Ministry podcast.

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