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You can turn in your Bibles to 
the book of Galatians, Galatians chapter 1. While you find your way there, 
or before we read from Galatians 1, James Montgomery Boyce says this with regards to the 
book of Galatians and its significance, its importance. He writes, not 
many books have made such a lasting impression on men's minds as 
the epistle of Paul to the Galatians, nor have many done so much to 
shape the history of the Western world. Protestant reformers had 
this as something of a flagship book, because it lifts up the 
doctrine of justification by faith alone before the eyes and 
the minds of men, and it brings forth the reality of Christian 
liberty. Stand fast therefore in the liberty 
wherewith Christ hath made you free, and be not entangled again 
in a yoke of bondage. The Apostle Paul is the author, 
as we'll look at in a number of minutes here. It was written 
probably in the year 47-48 AD, most likely Paul's first epistle. 
He's writing this to the churches of Galatia. These would have 
been the southern Galatian churches that he preached the gospel to 
in Acts 13.1 through Acts 14.28. He goes through Pisidian Antioch, 
Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. He 
comes back through and follows up that proclamation with a checking 
in on the churches, and then eventually he writes the epistle 
of Paul to the Galatians. The theme of the book is a glorious 
one. It is simply the defense of the 
gospel of sovereign grace with special emphasis on justification 
by faith alone, and that was necessitated by those who were 
perverting the gospel of Jesus Christ. These Judaizers, these 
most likely Jerusalem Jews who had gone to Galatia to pervert 
the gospel of Jesus Christ. The danger is, as Edy writes, 
putting partial or complete trust in legal observances. This is 
why Paul time and again exalts justification by faith alone 
apart from the works of the law, because if justification comes, 
whether partially or completely, by trust in legal observances, 
then that sets aside the grace of God and it renders the cross 
of Christ as empty and vain. Much is at stake here in the 
letter of Paul to the Galatians. Well, let's read verse 1 to verse 
10, and then we'll have a look specifically at the first three 
verses And then verse 4 and 5 this evening. This is Galatians 1, 
1. Paul, an apostle, not from men 
nor through men, but through Jesus Christ, and God the Father 
who raised him from the dead, and all the brethren who are 
with me, to the churches of Galatia, Grace to you and peace from God 
the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for 
our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil age 
according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory 
forever and ever. Amen. I marvel that you are turning 
away so soon from him who called you in the grace of Christ to 
a different gospel, which is not another. But there are some 
who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even 
if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you 
than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As 
we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any 
other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be 
accursed. For do I now persuade men or 
God, or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I 
would not be a bondservant of Christ. Amen. Well, let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank You 
for this now, the preaching of Your Holy Word. We would ask 
that You would bless this time of worship. Help the preacher 
to proclaim rightly the things of Your Holy Scriptures. We do 
pray that You would, by Your Spirit, tend unto those gathered. 
We would ask, Lord God, that those saints of Yours would be 
well instructed and lifted up, edified, encouraged in your word 
and by your Christ and for your glory we pray that they would 
leave here equipped well equipped to go into this upcoming week 
to conduct themselves in a manner worthy of your glorious gospel 
and we do pray as well for those who entered in these two doors 
outside of Christ in unbelief we would ask Lord God that you 
would Save them from on high, that You would send Your Spirit, 
that by amazing grace they would turn from their wickedness, that 
You would make them alive by sovereign grace and cause them 
to leave this place rejoicing in our Savior, the Lord Jesus 
Christ. We do pray that all that is done, 
Lord God, would be unto Your glory. We pray in the name of 
our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, we're going to look at 
verses 1 to 3 this morning, and it's perhaps verses that sometimes 
can be overlooked in a reading of an epistle. Some, you know, 
with human minds, well those are the only sorts of minds that 
we can come to the Bible with, but with our minds, we can come 
to the beginning of a letter and we can kind of think the 
tradition of letter writing and just sort of skip past some of 
the letters that, or some of the words that these letters 
begin with. You know, when we read, hopefully this isn't the 
case, but sometimes when we read letters written by human authors, 
uninspired, you know, dear so-and-so, I hope this letter finds you 
well, we can kind of just mumble that in our minds and skip past 
it and go to the good stuff. You see, there is much in the 
opening words of these epistles by the apostles and by those 
inspired of God to the various churches as we find them in the 
New Testament, and we ought not to simply skip past these things. We ought not to think light of 
these introductory words as if it's just the Apostle yawning 
and writing an introduction and then getting to the meat and 
potatoes. No, we have the Apostle Paul 
introducing this letter and it does us well, or we are well 
served to key in on some things. Why certain wording is being 
used and what certain wording means. We're simply going to 
look at three things this morning, and those are, first, the author, 
second, the audience, and third, the benediction. Notice, first, 
the author. It's very simple. First off, 
we want to observe Paul. Now, this is one of those things 
where many Reformed preachers could come to the word Paul, 
and that could be the stuff that'll launch a four-sermon series on 
what that means. Paul before conversion, Paul 
after conversion, Paul in his calling to the apostleship, etc., 
etc. But very briefly, let's consider 
the author of this letter here for a moment, Paul. We've said 
it before from this pulpit, I know I have, that when you come to 
a book of the Bible or a particular portion of narrative in your 
Bibles, never just skip past a reflecting upon the person 
under focus or concern. In this case, it's Paul. It's 
an amazing thing that Paul is writing to the churches of Galatia 
and that he opens up benedictorally with grace to you and peace from 
God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Why? Because we know 
what Paul was. We know who Paul was. It's a 
testament to the grace, the almighty and amazing grace of God, that 
this Paul, once Saul, is taking pen to parchment and penning 
these words. Again, we've done this before, 
but let's go through this exercise. Consider the psalm that we read 
this morning, Psalm 32. Never skip past Psalm 32 without 
a solemn and joyful reflection upon who is penning these words. Psalm of David, a contemplation, 
blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the 
Lord does not impute iniquity. Those words in and of themselves 
are glorious because truly blessed is the man who has his sins covered. Truly blessed is the one to whom 
the Lord does not impute iniquity. But this is David penning these 
words. The one who lay with Bathsheba. The one who, to cover that up, 
set Uriah into the forefront of the hottest battle to be murdered. 
This is David penning those words. Never skip past an opportunity 
to reflect upon who is penning certain words. Think of the Apostle 
Peter in his first letter. Other places to be sure, but 
the Apostle Peter in 1 Peter 1 writes, to those who believe 
he is precious. Writing of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
to those who believe he is precious. Don't just skip past those words, 
move on to the next, without reflecting for a moment on who 
is penning those words. Peter, the one to whom the Lord 
said, you will deny me three times, but I will restore you. I will restore faith to you and 
you will strengthen your brethren. He cast, Peter did, his eyes 
upon Christ, right after denying thrice before a servant girl. His eyes caught the gaze of his 
Master and he broke down. But post-resurrection, Christ 
comes to him and he doesn't berate him, he doesn't rebuke him, he 
doesn't lean in on him with a strong arm. He feeds him breakfast, 
gives him a Bible study, and restores him. Well, here we have 
the Apostle Paul, that one who sought to put an end to Christianity, 
now penning the blessed words of this epistle. Just look at 
what Paul says of himself. Notice in verse 11, But I make 
known to you, brethren," this is Galatians 1, 11, but I make 
known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached 
by me is not according to man, nor, excuse me, for I neither 
received it from man nor was I taught it, but it came through 
the revelation of Jesus Christ. Now notice, for you have heard 
of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of 
God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. See, the Apostle 
Paul doesn't shrink back from rehearsing his former conduct 
as a sinner, outside of Christ, in damning activity and engaging 
in multitudinous wickedness. He says, I persecuted the Church 
of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. Verse 14, and 
I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in 
my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of 
my fathers. This was Paul prior to being 
confronted wholesomely by sovereign and victorious grace. And this 
is the one that is now writing this letter because, v. 15, but 
when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and 
called me through His grace to reveal His Son in me, that I 
might preach Him among the Gentiles. Notice as well, v. 21, Afterward, 
I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, and I was unknown 
by face to the churches of Judea, which were in Christ, but they 
were hearing only, he who formerly persecuted us now preaches the 
faith which he once tried to destroy, and they glorified God 
in me." You see, brethren, this is where we ought to take pause. 
Though 2,000 years removed from these Syrians and Cilicians and 
these rejoicing that God had saved Paul, we should take pause 
to likewise glorify God. Because He really is a God rich 
in grace. To take a Paul who is seeking 
to put an end to Christianity, seeking to destroy the church, 
dragging men and women from out of their houses, off to prison, 
even unto death, unto murder. He stood by and welcomed the 
heavy robes of those who were crushing Stephen's head with 
large rocks. And He did so approvingly. And 
yet, by amazing grace, that Saul is turned into this Paul, the 
greatest propagator of the Christian faith ever to walk the earth, 
save our Lord Himself. We have such a rehearsal that 
can be engaged in at just the word Paul. Never skip past an 
opportunity to reflect upon the author of a particular letter. Now, notice as well an apostle. 
Paul and Apostle. Now this might, you know, to 
the quick mind that's reading through these words, to the mind 
just saying, Paul and Apostle, okay, yeah, and you're moving 
on to the churches of Galatia, etc. You might just think, okay, 
that's just the Apostle Paul identifying himself. I'm Paul, 
the Apostle. And then that's it. There's something 
very important in what he is doing when he says, Paul and 
Apostle. First off, he is stressing the 
reality that he comes to them and he writes to them as one 
with an official office. He's not just Paul, a citizen 
of our shared earthly community that wants to share some things 
with the Galatian churches. He's Paul, an apostle. And not 
just a small A Apostle, a messenger, one sent, generally speaking, 
but a capital A Apostle, one officially sent by a king sovereign 
in order to bring a message, bearing the authority of the 
sovereign sending. He is a commissioned Apostle. There is a general sense in which 
we can see Apostle as just a messenger. In fact, the greatest messenger 
that ever walked the earth, the Lord Jesus Christ, is called 
Apostle in the book of Hebrews. Apostle can refer simply to messenger, 
but here Paul is using the word and employing it to identify 
himself in order that they might understand that this letter comes 
with authority. You see, what was happening in 
the church was this. As Edy notes, the Apostle's standing 
had been challenged by a faction in the Galatian churches in order 
that his distinctive teaching might be disparaged or set aside. You see, that was one of the 
issues. Not only was it a perversion, these people coming in to trouble 
the Galatians, not only was it a perversion of the Gospel, but 
it was an usurping of the authority of the Apostle Paul as one sent 
by God preaching the riches and the excellencies of Christ. What 
better way to pervert the gospel by saying that the one who came 
to preach the gospel was not officially sent and is not a 
valid messenger of the gospel of Jesus Christ. To undermine 
his doctrine, he goes on to write, they denied or explained away 
his apostleship. It seems to have been alleged 
against him that as he had not been a personal disciple of Jesus, 
he could not claim the inspiration enjoyed by those on whom he breathed, 
as he said, receive ye the Holy Ghost. That his gospel had been 
communicated to him through a human medium and therefore was not 
primary and authoritative truth. So Paul rightly doesn't just 
say Paul, he says Paul, an apostle. But you see, he then underscores 
that and bolds it by this bracketed qualification, not from men nor 
through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who 
raised Him from the dead. You see, he's underscoring the 
reality that his apostleship isn't some earthly established 
reality. He wasn't commissioned by men. 
He was not sent into action by earthly figures, but rather by 
the triune God. His apostleship, or rather, the 
Apostle Paul comes to them and he writes to them as one divinely 
commissioned. He has been commissioned by God 
to bring his apostleship. That's why he writes, again, 
not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and 
God the Father, and note, who raised Him from the dead. His 
very apostleship comes from the power of God. That same God who 
through great divine power raised again the Lord Christ from the 
dead. He wants to stress that it's 
not the Apostle Paul. that is the errorist, that is 
one preaching error. It's not the Apostle Paul that 
is not divinely commissioned. It is these who are seeking to 
pervert the gospel of grace, who come not with the warrant 
of God, but rather with the stamp of the devil himself, seeking 
to pervert such a glorious gospel. What's at stake, brethren? When 
Paul writes here an apostle and when he punctuates that by this 
qualification, divinely commissioned apostle, what's at stake is the 
eternal salvation of souls, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
You see, remember in the book of Revelation, There's the letter 
to the church in Ephesus. And one of the commendations 
that the Lord Christ gives to that church is that they tested 
those who said that they were apostles and were not, and found 
them to be liars. It is absolutely necessary for 
the Church of Christ to mark those who do bear the stamp of 
approval as being commissioned by God, and those who are not. And one of the ways that that 
can be established, not the only way, but a chief way, is which 
gospel do they preach. That's why we have verses 8 and 
9, even if we are an angel from heaven come preaching any other 
gospel, let him be accursed. He says it twice, to underscore, 
to punctuate the absolute importance of protecting the gospel, of 
saving grace. Not from man, nor through man, 
but through Jesus Christ. Notice the language that he uses 
in verse 15, just a reminder. Or excuse me, verse 11. But I 
make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached 
by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from 
man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation 
of Jesus Christ." You see, that's not just Paul rehearsing how 
he came into his apostleship, or sort of giving a narrative 
of when the Lord Christ commissioned him, but he's defending the reality 
that his apostleship comes by divine commission. He was sent 
by God, through the Lord Jesus Christ, by the Lord Jesus Christ, 
from God the Father, who raised Him from the dead. He comes with 
the authority of God Most High. Just before we move on to our 
next point, I think we need to take away a few things from these 
things. I think we should enrich our 
Bible reading when we're reading certain portions of the Bible 
by reflections on the characters involved. And when I say characters, 
I mean the real persons that the Bible is telling this story 
about. In this case, the Apostle Paul. 
Never read, not never, that's perhaps binding your conscience, 
but when you read Galatians, when you read Ephesians, when 
you read Philippians, when you read Colossians, when you read 
all of these books, perhaps at some point go back to the Book 
of Acts and find those portions of the Book of Acts that deal 
with the very things that those books are dealing with. Remember 
that the Apostle Paul isn't just writing a letter to the Galatian 
churches, having never dealt with them before, and having 
never spoken to them before, and having never preached to 
them before. You go to Acts 13.1 through Acts 14.28, and therein 
you find a chunk of the book of Acts dealing with the very 
churches that he's writing to here. You read through the book 
of Galatians, or perhaps even before you do, read Acts 13, 
1 through 14, 28, and you see the background of what Paul is 
getting at here, and actually through chapter 15 with regards 
to the Jerusalem Council, the very matter that is being dealt 
with here was dealt with at that Jerusalem Council as well. So 
enrich your Bible reading by reflecting upon the author as 
often as you have occasion to do so. Secondly, don't count 
persons beyond the reach of divine grace. What do I mean by that? Don't count persons beyond the 
reach of divine grace. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ. Grace to you and peace from God 
the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul wrote, You see, 
I think in our Christian lives we can very often become anxious 
and frustrated. We've spoken to friends and family 
members of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, the holiness, 
the perfections of our triune God, the sinfulness of men, the 
glory of Jesus Christ in saving men from their sins. They will have nothing of it. 
It's folly, it's madness, it's ridiculed, it's mocked. We get 
frustrated and we can figuratively, or maybe for some of us, literally 
bang our heads against the wall. We should never do that. Why? 
Because the God over those things is the God of the Apostle Paul. 
This man was seeking to put an end to Christianity, to put it 
down. He shed the blood of men and women in order that he might 
bring an end to the Christian faith. And yet God comes upon 
the wings of victorious grace and brings that wretch. to salvation 
in Jesus Christ the Lord. Never count persons beyond the 
reach of divine grace. Pray for them. Remain diligent. There is sufficient biblical 
warrant to stop at some point preaching if they're coming at 
you with guns and knives, but insofar as there's still breath 
in their lungs and they're not railing outright against the 
things of the kingdom, Keep with diligence proclaiming the gospel 
of saving grace, because there are none beyond the reach of 
amazing grace. Thirdly, respect the persons 
God has ordained to bring the gospel of peace. There is in 
this letter, even in just these, well, in the entirety of chapter 
one, where Paul is arguing for his apostleship, there is sufficient 
warrant that extends to us in our own day, that we are to respect 
those who have been commissioned to proclaim the gospel of peace. We are not to exalt men, but 
we are to respect those whom God has put in places of influence 
to proclaim the gospel of saving grace. Well, let's move on to 
the audience. Who's the audience here? In fact, 
before we do, we ought not to skip by the first part of verse 
2. And all the brethren who are 
with me. So the Apostle Paul is the author of this letter. 
He gives this qualification respecting his apostleship that it is by 
divine commission. And then he says, and all the 
brethren who are with me. There's something important in 
this too. Well, first off, who are all these brethren that are 
with him? It's probably not the congregation of Christians that 
he found himself among. I mean, that's fine if you would 
hold that to understanding of that portion of the verse. It's 
most likely certain people in his inner circle that bear the 
same recognition of the proper gospel of saving grace. In other 
words, it's not just Paul alone who is the proclaimer of justification 
by faith alone without the works of the law, not by the works 
of the law, but all these brethren that are with him. It's not just 
Paul, this rogue apostle, running around preaching a gospel of 
saving and victorious grace, but rather the brethren that 
are with him bear the mark of a stamp of approval upon the 
legitimacy and the veracity, that means the certain truthfulness, 
that the gospel of Jesus Christ is such that we're saved by grace 
alone, through faith alone, in Christ Jesus alone, and not by 
the works of the law. For if righteousness comes through 
the law, then Christ died in vain. So who is the audience? 
He writes to the churches of Galatia. And two things we ought 
to note here. First off, who these churches 
are. I know I've already alluded to it briefly, In engaging in 
that exercise that was just recommended, let's turn to Acts 13 for a moment. We're not going to read the whole 
portion, but just to make a note of who these churches in South 
Galatia are. Acts 13. We want to make two observations 
from the text that speak to the populating, if you will, of the 
churches of Galatia by amazing grace through the gospel's proclamation. But notice that in Acts 13 we 
have the ministry of the Apostle Paul. We have the apostolic ministry 
going out to many churches. And you'll notice first we have 
Pisidian Antioch. There is the Antioch in Pisidia 
that they go to. They preach the gospel there. 
They go to Iconium. They go to Lystra. They go to 
Derbe, etc. Those are the churches that populate 
South Galatia. Notice a summary report in Acts 
13, verse 48. Now, when the Gentiles heard 
this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord, and as 
many as had been appointed to eternal life, believed. So, at 
the preaching in Pisidia and Antioch, they preach the gospel 
of glorious and saving grace, and there are those gathered 
who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, having aforehand been 
appointed unto faith. As many as had been appointed 
to eternal life believed." And then notice in verse 1 of chapter 
14, now it happened at Iconium, that they went together to the 
synagogue of the Jews and so spoke that a great multitude, 
both of the Jews and of the Greeks, believed. But the unbelieving 
Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against 
the brethren. Therefore they stayed there a long time, speaking 
boldly in the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of His grace, 
granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands." So you 
see there, if you read through that narrative, you see how God 
is populating, if you will, these churches in South Galatia. He 
preaches the gospel of Christ, and many Jews and Gentiles are 
brought into the church by amazing and victorious grace. and these 
are the churches of Galatia that Paul is writing to. Now, a second 
thing we ought to observe here is the fact that Paul only says 
or only writes to the churches of Galatia. He doesn't write to the churches 
of God in Galatia called to be saints. He doesn't write, to 
my beloved brethren in Galatia, grace to you. Well, he does say 
grace to you, but he doesn't say to the churches beloved of 
God in Galatia. And there may be a reason for 
that. There may be in here a subtle rebuke. Notice in the book of 
Romans. Verse 7 of chapter 1. Notice what we find there. This 
is the Apostle Paul. Then he uses the same benediction, grace 
to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 
But you see what is present here that is absent in Galatia He 
says, Beloved of God, called to be saints. In 1 Corinthians 
1, what do we find there? We find, To the church of God, 
which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ 
Jesus, called to be saints. In 2 Corinthians 1, we find this, 
To the church of God, which is at Corinth, with all the saints 
who are in all Achaia. And just bear with me, in Ephesians 
chapter 1, notice what we find there. To the saints who are 
in Ephesus and faithful in Christ Jesus. Philippians, to all the 
saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi with the bishops 
and deacons. And finally, but not even to 
really exhaust the examples, notice in Colossians 1. to the 
saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colossae. So now we get back to Galatians 
2 here, to the churches of Galatia. There's probably here a possible 
rebuke. You see, because verse 6 says, 
I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called 
you in the grace of Christ to a different Gospel. You see, 
what's at stake here in Galatia is dire. It's a grave situation 
Galatia, in the churches of Galatia. So Paul is very quick, and he 
leaves out a reflection upon commendable things, that it's 
the church of God, that they're beloved of God, that they're 
saints in Christ Jesus. It's the only instance where 
he just says, to the churches of Galatia. Now, believe that 
or don't believe that, that there is a rebuke in there, but I think 
what follows immediately strengthens that understanding, because he 
doesn't go off on, you know, we're thankful to God for you, 
we've prayed for you, etc., etc. He launches immediately into 
a rebuke. He launches immediately into 
this wholesome astonishing that they're turning away from the 
gospel of grace to a perverted gospel, which is no gospel at 
all. Now, Notice then, thirdly, the 
benediction. The benedictions. We know the 
author. We know the audience. Notice the benediction. Verse 
3, Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus 
Christ. We need to observe and we need 
to appreciate that these aren't just mechanical words. It's not 
just an apostolic formula. Again, the Apostle Paul wasn't 
sitting down, you know, just getting this introduction out 
of the way, yawning, as he says, grace to you and peace from God 
the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Heaven forbid. This is 
rich with pastoral love and care. What is the answer to the issue 
in Galatia? What is the answer? What is the 
remedy to the perversion of the gospel? Well, it's certainly 
that the triune God would bring to the hearts of the churches 
of Galatia grace and peace. We'll see why in a moment, but 
we need to appreciate that, at large, this is not simply a formulaic 
beginning to the letter, but it represents the genuine pastoral 
heart of the Apostle Paul, and it reflects an immediate need 
that the Galatian churches had. Very rightly, not by formula, 
but rightly, and to a designed purpose, he writes these words, 
grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus 
Christ. So, just generally then, what does it mean when he writes 
grace to you and peace? What is he getting at there? 
Probably what's not in view is salvific grace and peace. He 
is writing to saints. He is writing to believers. He 
is writing to those who are the recipients of the verse for reality, 
who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from 
this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father. 
So the grace and peace that's in view is probably not that 
salvific grace and peace that God affects in the hearts of 
His elect for His own glory. Now, no doubt the Apostle Paul 
preaches that elsewhere, and we ought to understand that for 
persons who are reading this letter, hearing this letter in 
the churches that are outside of Christ. God can own such words 
unto the saving of their souls, but the grace in peace and view 
is most likely not that salvific or saving grace. What is it then? Well, first, the grace. This 
can be described as an increase of grace as to its degrees, acts, 
and exercise as guilt. An increase in grace. Growth 
in the grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. We read that 
in Peter's epistles, don't we? Grow in the grace and in the 
knowledge of Jesus Christ. That is a reality for Christians. 
We are saved by grace, and then by grace we grow in that self. Same grace and in the knowledge 
of Jesus Christ. And so the grace that's in view 
is, again, this, an increase of grace as to its degrees, acts, 
and exercise. One of the places that we find 
that is in Hebrews 4. In Hebrews 4. This idea of grace, 
again, not being a saving grace, but a grace that comes from God 
to saints, and usually in times of absolute need. Not that we're 
never outside of the need of God's grace. but very often in 
time of need, in time of gravity and seriousness. In Hebrews 4.15, 
what do we have? We have these blessed words, 
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our 
weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without 
sin. Let us therefore come boldly 
to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find 
grace to help in time of need. The Galatians were in a time 
of need. The Galatians were in a time 
of... They were in a very needy time. These people were coming 
in, tossing away the apostleship of Paul, saying it was through 
men, that it was by men. Saying he was not commissioned 
by God, and so this gospel then that this apostle Paul was preaching 
to you, it's not of God. You see, this is the gospel, 
the different gospel, the perverted gospel, which is not another 
that they were preaching, that the errorists, that the heretics, 
that those troubling the Galatians were preaching. Christ Jesus, 
yes, you know, He's enough. He did A, B, and C. But you see, 
you need to do D through Z. I said that for any Americans 
in the crowd because it rhymes with C. You need to do D through 
Z because Christ didn't do enough to affect your salvation. Christ, 
yes, you need to believe in Christ, that's good, but you also must 
be circumcised according to Mosaic institution, and you must adhere 
to Mosaic precepts in order to be justified before God. You 
see, Paul doesn't just roll into town and say, oh, let's just 
all live together, they can have their gospel, we'll have ours, 
and we'll just sing Kumbaya around the fire. No, Paul speaks to 
that perverse gospel and calls it such, a different gospel, 
a perversion of the gospel, one that is to receive anathema, 
a devotion unto destruction. it incurs the curse and the wrath 
of God. That's what's at stake here. 
They need grace. They need to obtain help from 
the throne of grace, from Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So that 
grace in view is just that, an increase in grace. John Eady 
speaks of it this way, that grace in this case is that many-sided 
favor that comes in the form of hope to saints in despondency, 
of joy to them in sorrow, of patience to them in suffering, 
of victory to them under assault, and of final triumph to them 
in the hour of death. We ought to pray. We may never 
come under such things as many of our brothers and sisters of 
Christ have and do and will come under. But we ought to always 
pray for such grace that we would have hope in times of our own 
despondency. that we would have the strength 
from on high given to us to endure through these trials, through 
afflictions, that we would have victory under assault, final 
triumph in the hour of death. Grace and peace to you from God 
the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. What does the peace mean 
then? If grace is not necessarily that 
saving grace, but rather that growth in grace, that strengthening 
of grace, that increase of grace, what then is the peace being 
spoken of? Well, again, it's probably not 
that saving, reconciliatory peace between God and man, but there 
would needs be a chastening taken away, by a correction back to 
the proper gospel. If Paul is marveling that they 
were turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace 
of Christ to a different gospel, then they would need that peace 
restored in the sense of the chastening of the Father casting 
a chastening eye upon a wayward saint. But the peace that's in 
view is probably, and we'll list a few descriptions or a few definitions 
of what the peace in view is. Mental tranquility, you know, 
bear with me with that one. I'm not talking about a Buddhist 
mental tranquility where they're just supposed to meditate somewhere 
in the Iconium Desert and, you know, just empty their minds 
of all thought and hum. Mental tranquility, perhaps further 
defined this way, the felt enjoyment of the favor of God, peace in 
the conscience, and as Edy says, that form of spiritual blessing 
which keeps the heart in a state of happy repose. Why do they 
need peace? Why do they need this happy state? 
Why do they need an inflamed conscience calmed and restored? Why do they need the waters of 
peace to wash away the flames of mental intranquility? Well, 
because they are being taught to assume, they are being taught 
to believe that they need to engage in obedience to the law 
of God in order to merit His favor. If any man, woman, boy 
or girl ever under a system that says that you must strive unto 
perfection in order to merit justification and divine favor, 
we would never be at peace under such a system. Never at peace. 
What is the autobiographical report of Martin Luther? He was 
tormented. tormented in this task that he 
thought he had to go through. You know, he had to do X, Y, 
and Z. Perfect obedience to the law 
of God. This righteousness that avails 
with God in that system was a righteousness that he had to perfect through 
his life. Obedience to precept after precept. Purification law after purification 
law. institution after institution 
of the Roman Catholic Church, in order to maybe, at the end 
of that laborious journey, maybe hear words, enter the bliss of 
everlasting life. But probably not even that. Enter 
purgatory, where for an indeterminate amount of time, you'll have to 
go through purging after purging until God lets you into the bliss 
of everlasting life. What a peaceless religion that 
is. You see, these were in a state 
where they were being taught that it is not justification 
by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. There 
is a Christ element, but you see, we also need the act of 
circumcision. We also need to adhere to mosaic 
institution after institution in order to finally hear those 
words. Enter ye faithful to the bliss 
of everlasting life. They would have been taxed, stressed, 
burdened down with things that never entered into the mind of 
God. This is why Paul writes in Galatians 5 at verse 1, Stand 
fast, therefore, in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, 
and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. It's 
hard for me to read that verse without thinking of Alan Cairns, 
I think, with his Irish accent. I listened to a sermon when God 
first saved me. He was preaching on the Reformation 
and he's in the King James. I can't say it without the King 
James English, too, that is in there. But stand fast thereby 
in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not 
entangled again with a yoke of bondage. You see, that's what's 
at stake here, being entangled in a yoke of bondage. Oh, the 
Gospel of amazing and victorious grace. It casts off all bondage. It casts away, that chases away 
all manner or institution of religion that would say, yes, 
we can add, yes, we must add, whether partially or to completion, 
things to the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. May that 
never enter into the churches of Christ. May that never enter 
into a true church of the Lord Jesus Christ to argue that Christ 
is not enough. Horror and affront to the gospel 
of saving grace is any such thought. Paul, writing at the end of Galatians 
2, writes these words, and this is what is at stake ultimately. 
I do not set aside, verse 21, the grace of God, for if righteousness 
comes through the law, then Christ died in vain. The cross of Christ, that blessed 
though horrible act, Wicked act of wicked men delivering Christ 
up to death, though in the determined purpose and foreknowledge of 
God an event foreordained unto the salvation of multitudes that 
no man can number. But that glorious event, that 
glorious, glorious event is rendered as vanity and is rendered empty 
and is rendered as no effect if we can be justified whether 
in part or completely by adherence to the law. Christ came in vain 
then. Christ died in vain then. You 
see why some look at the present landscape of religion, Christian 
religion, and those who would say that they are Christian but 
are not. There's this idea that we just need to seek peace. It's 
been 500 years since the Council of Trent and the Protestant Reformation. 
Can't we all just grab a guitar grab some Oscar Mayer wieners 
and sit around a fire and sing Kumbaya and just disregard the 
gospel of Jesus Christ at the point of justification. Of course 
we can't. You see what's at stake here? 
Oh, you mean Protestants? Oh, you mean adherence to confessions 
of faith throughout the years that have upheld justification 
by faith alone apart from the works of the law? Why are you 
so mean to those who are preaching a little different gospel? It's 
not just a different gospel. It's no gospel at all. It's the 
perversity of true and proper and holy religion. to say that 
Christ coming into this world, giving His life, a ransom for 
guilty sinners, perfecting the saving work that God the Father 
sent Him to do, that's not enough. To look at the bleeding wounds 
of the Lord Jesus Christ, in effect, obviously not looking, 
literally, but to look upon the bleeding wounds of the Lord Jesus 
Christ, a massacred body upon Golgotha's gibbet, and to say, 
you know, that's not enough. to dwell upon a victorious Redeemer 
arising from the tomb, victorious in His saving work, ascending 
to the right hand of the Majesty on high where He receives dominion 
and glory and a kingdom, and to say, no, it's not enough. I need to tape stones to my knees 
and walk upstairs to a statue of the Virgin Mary in order to 
possibly get into heaven. I need to do X, Y, and Z in order 
to merit everlasting life. No, Christ paid it all, all to 
Him I owe. Nothing in our hands do we bring, 
but simply to Christ's cross do we cling. That's what's at 
stake. And this is all to get back to 
peace, brethren. Peace in your souls you will 
not have if you're seeking to merit the favor of God by obedience 
to the law. If you're seeking justification, 
if you're seeking salvation and redemption by your own doing, 
you will never find peace. To have peace, you need to be 
resigned by grace unto this reality, that Jesus paid it all. All to 
Him I owe. What a blessed gospel. It is 
Christ who worked perfectly. It is Christ who obeyed perfectly. It is Christ who died a perfect 
death upon Calvary's tree so as to secure the salvation of 
a multitude that no man can number. Not an atonement of maybe. Not 
an atonement of perhaps. Not an atonement that needs supplementation 
by the deeds of the sons of men. Perfect atonement. Perfect saving 
work. And a glorious march from death's 
tomb. A glorious march from that tomb. 
Victorious was our Savior. We not not. We can not. God forbid 
that anyone would cast him under the dirt of a religion of salvation 
by works, whether in part or in completion. Grace to you and 
peace. The felt enjoyment of the favor 
of God, peace in the conscience, that form of spiritual blessing 
which keeps the heart in a state of happy repose. We find that 
in this benediction. Perhaps you've, maybe you haven't, 
but maybe you have. When you read these benedictions 
sometimes, for example this one, notice what it is in its fullness. Grace to you and peace from God 
the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. There's noticeably someone, 
a person of the Trinity, absent from this benediction. Grace 
to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps the question has arisen, 
arised in your Bible reading, where's the Holy Spirit? For example, if you read Paul 
in other portions of his letters, we have that same benediction 
identically, grace to you and peace from God the Father and 
our Lord Jesus Christ in Romans 1-7, 1 Corinthians 1-3, 2 Corinthians 
1-2, Ephesians 1-2, Philippians 1-2, Colossians 1-2, 2 Thessalonians 
1-2. The Apostle Paul really liked 
to place that in verse 2, didn't he? There was no versification 
when he wrote. 2 Thessalonians 1-2, Philemon, 
I said that for those who don't like the way I pronounce Philemon, 
Philomone 1-3, and other variations as well that have just a little 
bit different language. Grace to you and peace from God 
the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Make no mistake that 
this is still a triune benediction. a triune benediction. This is 
Ambrose, a brother of old from the late 4th century. And peace 
is good and necessary. Oh, excuse me, that's Ambrose, 
but not the right one. You see, then, that we are told 
that the grace of the Father and the Son is one, and the peace 
of the Father and the Son is one. But this grace and peace 
is the fruit of the Spirit. as the Apostle taught us himself, 
saying, but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience. What we have here is a triune 
benediction, and that is simply seen in this, that the Holy Spirit, 
though not explicit, is implicit as the one who brings grace and 
peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. This is 
a triune benediction. This isn't some example of, well, 
you know, the early apostolic church wasn't fully flowered 
yet in its Trinitarian doctrine. The Apostle Paul hadn't yet realized 
that the Holy... Of course not. We see Trinitarian 
theology throughout. But the grace and the peace is 
brought from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ by the 
Holy Spirit. Make no mistake, this is a Trinitarian 
benediction. In fact, what we have in view 
here, or we can see this later in the book in Galatians 4. We're 
going to close in a couple of minutes here, but turn to Galatians 
4 for a moment just so that we can see Paul's Trinitarianism simply in one verse benediction, 
even though the Holy Spirit, while not mentioned, is present 
by virtue of being the one who brings grace and peace to the 
hearts of believers. Notice in Galatians 4, beginning 
in verse 4. But when the fullness of the 
time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born 
under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that 
we might receive the adoption as sons. Verse 6, And because 
you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your 
hearts, crying out, Abba, Father. Therefore you are no longer a 
slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. 
You see the sending forth language there of God pertaining to the 
Spirit. God has sent forth the Spirit 
of His Son into your hearts. Our Confession of Faith, chapter 
14, paragraph 1, says that that grace of faith, whereby the elect 
are enabled to believe unto the saving of their souls, is the 
work of the Spirit in their hearts, and is ordinarily wrought by 
the ministry of the Word and also Lord's Supper and the baptism, 
prayer, other means ordained by God. It is increased and strengthened. The Holy Spirit is not absent 
from the benediction, though not explicitly there. He is implicitly 
there as the one who is sent forth by God, the Father and 
the Son, to bring grace and peace to the hearts of believers. It's 
important to see that. It's important as it feeds our 
Trinitarianism. We, as Christians, are Trinitarian. Let us never hold to a conception 
of God that is just ambiguously the one and only true God who 
is not also three. One God in three persons. Blessed 
Trinity. We are Trinitarian. Father, Son, 
and Holy Spirit. We worship one God in three persons. Blessed Trinity. Our confession, 
speaking about this sending forth language, and in fact, the early 
church at Galatians 4 and verse 6 used this sent forth from God 
into your hearts to back up the language of procession of the 
Holy Spirit. In this divine and infinite being, 
there are three subsistences, the Father, the Son, and the 
Holy Spirit of one substance, power and eternity. each having 
the whole divine essence and the essence undivided. The Father 
is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding. The Son is eternally 
begotten of the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the 
Father and the Son. Grace to you and peace from God 
the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a Trinitarian benediction. And notice, this language, from 
God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, we should see there the 
origin of all blessings is God. In times of despondency, where 
do we go? Do we go to ourselves? Do we 
go to help from other people? Well, that's good sometimes. 
We need the saints to help, to build us up in our most holy 
faith. Very often we do need each other. But you see, ultimately 
and finally, the peace and the grace, the origin of all blessings, 
these come from God. These come from the throne of 
grace, that God, that triune God who helps us in time of need. 
So we need to understand, we need to appreciate, we need to 
glory in this, that in times of need, every time, but in times 
of need, when we need supplies of grace and peace, we go to 
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The equality of the Son with 
the Father again is brought forth here. Grace to you and peace 
from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The Son is not 
somehow inferior to the Father. The Son is not somehow in some 
sort of authority structure submitted or subordinated to the Father 
who doesn't also dispense grace and peace, but rather He has 
divine equality with the Father. Grace to you and peace from God 
the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Brethren, in closing, 
just two things that we ought to take from this single benediction. First, seek after growth in grace 
and peace. To seek after growth in grace 
and peace, that's a hard sentence to say. growth and grace and 
peace. Brethren, this is what we ought 
to seek after. Let it never be the case that we seek after stagnancy 
in the Christian faith. Let's just float in the water 
and just bask in the sun. We've arrived. No need for growth 
and grace. No need to swim. No need to blast 
through those waves coming at you. No need to pray for strength 
in order to swim unto that great day. We need grace to endure. 
We need peace to endure. We need strength from on high 
to endure. Seek after growth in grace and peace. How do we 
do that? How do we seek after growth in grace and peace? One 
thing that hopefully you never roll your eyes at in this church, 
the way to grow in grace and peace, first off, is to attend 
unto the means of grace. Come to church. You don't need 
to seek after a book. You don't need to go home and 
Google, OK, pastor Porter said, I need to grow in grace and peace, 
I need to find a book series, I need to find a conference, 
how to grow in grace and peace. How do I grow in grace and peace? The preaching of the Word of 
God, the administration of baptism in the Lord's Supper, prayer, 
and other means ordained by God. By those things we are strengthened, 
we are nourished from on high to grow in the grace and in the 
knowledge of Christ. Christianity isn't a rogue religion 
of isolationists where we all just go about and do our thing 
and we come back into these pews on Sundays, but you know, it's 
still just me there and I'm going to leave and forget the rest 
of you. You know that when we stand and 
when we sing hymns, Our confession says, the Bible says, our confession 
summing it up, that we are singing to each other psalms and hymns 
and spiritual songs. You don't open up that hymn book, 
flip to the page and sing to yourself or for yourself. You're 
singing for the glory of God and horizontally you're singing 
for each other, building each other up in our most holy faith, 
singing back to each other the words of God and the glory of 
the gospel. You come to church and you hear the preaching of 
the Word of God, that particular and a special place where God 
blesses His people through the proclamation of His Word through 
cracked pots. That's whereby you're going to 
grow in the grace and in the knowledge of Christ by coming 
into church, by sitting down, and by hearing the Word of God 
proclaimed. and by God's grace faithfully, not by perverters 
of the saving grace of God and the perfection of the saving 
work of Christ, but by those who uphold the true and saving 
doctrine of the true and saving gospel. Baptism in the Lord's 
Supper, prayer. You know, it's not just church. 
We hammer a lot from this pulpit the need to be in church, to 
be here, you know, Sunday in and Sunday out, and attend unto 
the means the Lord's Supper. You see as well in your own private 
homes, there is a place for private worship as well. In your homes, 
how can you grow in the grace and in the knowledge of Christ? 
Buy a book by so-and-so? Well, there's some books out 
there that might help you, but open up your Bible. There's a book 
that'll help you. Open up these 66 books of the Old and New Testaments 
and avail the grace of God through the Spirit by taking in the revelation 
of the living and true God. Feed your mind and your soul 
with the blessed words of Holy Writ. Brethren, One thing that 
we need in this lower world, when we're beset on all sides 
by wickedness, maybe not even wickedness, maybe by our own 
wandering hearts, the attacks of the devil, whatever it may 
be, we need grace and peace to endure. Pray to our triune God 
for daily supplies of such things. In times of ease, sometimes we're 
never brought to contemplate these things. But there are those 
times where hardship comes. And will you fall apart? Maybe. 
You're brought together by the God of grace and peace, though. 
But prepare your hearts for those times of difficulty by attending 
unto the means of grace and private worship whereby you can be strengthened 
by God in grace and in peace. If you're here this morning and 
you're outside of Christ, This growing in grace and peace will 
not help you, because first you need that saving grace from on 
high, that you might own the name of the Savior and rejoice 
in the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. If you're here and 
you're outside of Christ, you don't believe in this Jesus, 
you've put Him off, you've mocked Him, you've just said, perhaps 
another day, perhaps you're young, you're with your parents, They 
bring you to church, and you cross your arms, and you don't 
really care if the preacher finds you with your head down, looking 
at your watch, or whatever you're looking at, because I'm going 
to leave soon anyway. You need to understand, or you're 
old, or you're middle-aged, or however old you are. Boy, girl, 
man, woman, you're outside of Christ. Know that that is a horrible 
lot. It's a horrible place to be. 
There is one who saves. Why do we need salvation? Because 
of the holiness of God, the sinfulness of man, the fact that God cannot 
look with approval or cannot simply look away from depravity 
and wickedness and the breaking of His law minute after minute, 
hour after hour, but must wholesomely, with wholesome severity, punish 
wickedness. You stand under the curse and 
the wrath of God for breaking His law time and again and for 
rejecting His Christ. But you see, there is that blessed 
good news. Christ Jesus came into this world. 
Sinners such as you. Sinners such as us to save. The 
glorious gospel. That's the gospel that was at 
stake. That there's one who lived in obedience. That there's one 
who died a perfect death. That there's one who rose again. 
And all this to save sinners from their sins. Look to this 
Christ. Believe on this Christ. And you 
will have everlasting life. And you will rejoice along with 
Paul, giving the triune God glory for such a glorious gospel. Let 
us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you 
for your word. We rejoice in your revelation to men and what 
it discloses concerning the perfect work of our Savior, the Lord 
Jesus Christ. We do pray, Lord God, that you 
would keep us, protect us from any perversions of the gospel. 
We pray that we would not entertain for a second anything that would 
seek to sully the finished and perfect work of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. We pray that you would help us as a church to be unified 
around these blessed truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ and 
salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Him and protect 
us from the attacks of the devil and from the attacks of wicked 
men who would seek to pervert that. We do pray, Lord God, that 
You'd go with us now, help us to rejoice in You, help us to 
sing the praises of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And we do pray, 
God, that You would just go with Your saints into this upcoming 
week, strengthening them and giving them daily supplies of 
grace and peace, that they might order their lives after the Gospel 
of Christ, that they might conduct themselves, that we all might 
conduct ourselves in the manner worthy of our calling by grace. 
And do save sinners, Lord God, even as we're praying and as 
many are contemplating the things spoken. As many are contemplating 
the things read aloud, we do pray that you would conquer the 
hearts of those who are outside of you. You would come by victorious 
grace and bring them from deadness to life and light in Christ Jesus 
the Lord. And it's by His name, in His name, that we do pray. 
Amen.