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welcome to everyone it's good to be back in the house of our God for our call to worship this evening you can turn with me to Psalm 36. psalm 36. and I will begin reading in verse 1. to the chief musician a Psalm of David the servant of the Lord an oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked there is no fear of God before his eyes for he flatters himself in his own eyes when he finds out his iniquity and when he hates the words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit he has ceased to be wise and to do good he devises wickedness on his bed he sets himself in a way that is not good he does not abhor evil your mercy O Lord is in the heavens your faithfulness reaches to the clouds your righteousness is like the great mountains your judgments are a great deep O Lord you preserve man and Beast how precious is your loving kindness oh God therefore the children of man put their trust Under The Shadow of Your Wings they are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of your house and you give them drink from the river of your pleasures for with you is the Fountain of Life in your light we see light o continue your loving kindness to those who know you and your righteousness to the upright in heart let not the foot of Pride come against me and let not the hand of the wicked Drive Me Away there the workers of iniquity have fallen they have been cast down and are not able to rise amen well please turn with me in your hymn books to Psalm 22 Psalm 22 b as in bravo will stand as we sing together [Music] around us [Music] we are always I can see words [Music] foreign [Music] myself foreign [Music] I wanted [Music] well tonight as we pray we'll remember Shirley Crowe I would encourage all of you to remember her tonight and tomorrow she has surgery tomorrow at 12 30 she's a bit nervous about that and and obviously so she had surgery recently they had thought they got all the cancer but they did not so they have to go back in so let us pray for her and we'll also praise God for the opportunity to gather in his house so let us pray our blessed and most high God we gather together again on this Lord's Day evening and we acknowledge your glory and your majesty we know that you are Spirit infinite Eternal and unchangeable and we know that you are most high and most gracious over your people we thank you for your kindness to us expressed or displayed in the gospel of our Salvation we thank you that in the fullness of the time you sent forth your son born of a woman born under the law to redeem those under the law and we know Lord God most high it's because of what Christ has accomplished that we're we're citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven it's not because of our righteousness or our good works we were dead in our trespasses and sins we are at enmity with you we counted you our enemy you saw us in like Manner and yet Christ in his life and death and Resurrection made provision he made access to the father and we thank you for Your Grace enabling us to come out of Darkness into Marvelous Light and to confess him as Lord and Savior and tonight as we sing as we pray as we consider the holy scriptures as we come to the Lord's table May our hearts be encouraged may you strengthen us with might by the spirit and the inner man so that Christ May dwell richly in our hearts through faith may we grow in our our GR in the grace and in the knowledge of our blessed savior but as well may we grow in our love for him and God help us in this and cause us to to see him as the bride saw the bridegroom as altogether lovely and chief among ten thousand we confess our sins at the outside of worship now we know that as we enter into your presence you are holy and righteous and there is no impurity in you and yet father we see ourselves and our our conduct is to be worthy of our calling it's to be worthy of the gospel and yet we have that remaining corruption so we confess that sin to you now and ask for cleansing in the the Precious Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ we thank you for the many promises that you give to us in your word concerning that forgiveness and we know that John said if we confess our sins you are faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness and God we rejoice in this loving kindness and as well we pray for India any and all who've come here tonight still dead in their trespasses and sins we pray that your Holy Spirit would awaken them cause them to see their Rebellion against a holy God and cause them to see the provision in the gospel of salvation by grace through faith in our blessed Lord Jesus Christ we pray tonight for your grace and mercy to be upon our sister we know that this is a a nervous time for her we pray that she would find comfort in the scriptures Comfort at the throne of grace as she calls upon the name of our blessed God we pray that all would go well tomorrow in this surgery we know that ultimately you are in control of all things and we pray that you Grant wisdom and and ability to her surgeon we pray that they would be able to rid her body of this cancer and that father you would just bless her and give her health and strength and and that joy unspeakable in our blessed savior as well God we pray for all of the needs in our local body we know there is ongoing illness we know that there is the physical challenges and trials associated with life in a fallen world but as well God we all struggle with the spiritual concerns and afflictions we all have temptations and we all have that that proneness to wander and proneness to leave the god that we love so keep us by your Sovereign Grace and power keep us by the power of the Holy Spirit cause us to be a people that meditate upon the word of God and hide it in our hearts that we might not sin against you we thank you for the work in Dryden we pray that you would bless that local body we pray that you would just continue to see through see them through to the establishment of a faithful church we thank you for the work in Honduras and for the brothers there that are testifying of the Gospel of Jesus Christ we pray that they would know The Nearness of God as their good and that those men would indeed Proclaim Jesus Christ and him crucified bless the work in Armstrong we Rejoice that they had several baptisms today we rejoice in your loving kindness and the addition of of redeemed Sinners to the churches we pray for pastor maljars that you would continue to give him Grace and strength to continue to handle accurately your word of Truth and Lord bless the Saints in Surrey we thank you for pastor Kirkpatrick and pray God that you would just bless this brother and and use him for your glory in that part of the world and all over the Earth God we know that the people of God meet have matter going to mean we pray that you would be there in the midst of them we pray that the Gospel of Jesus Christ would go throughout this world that many more people would come to a saving knowledge of of Jesus we pray for the persecuted church and the great suffering and the oppression that the people of God receive in other parts of of the world and we thank you Lord God that the gospel is making such inroads into these places nevertheless we pray that you would surround your people that you would protect them that you would vindicate your glorious cause that one day you would crush your enemies and that you would usher in the church into that presence of God most high for all eternity as John ends The Book of Revelation even so come Lord Jesus we look forward to that day when all things will be made new when Christ will reign where that Kingdom will have only righteousness and glory and Majesty but until such time grant us as your church here on Earth to be faithful to be persevering to shine his lights in a crooked and perverse generation and give us the boldness and courage to hold forth that word of Truth and we pray these things through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen we can turn with me again in your hymn books to number 428 we'll use a familiar tune number 428 and we'll stand as we sing together [Music] foreign [Music] my own name [Music] I am Glory Lord holiday now [Music] you could turn with me in your Bibles to Galatians chapter 1. for a meditation tonight before we participate in the supper our Focus will be verses six to nine but I do want to read the chapter then we'll pray and then we'll look at that in some detail so beginning in Galatians chapter 1 at verse 1. Paul an apostle not from man nor through man but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead and to 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 man or God or do I seek to please man for if I still pleased men I would not be a bond servant of Christ 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 for you've heard of my former conduct in Judaism how I persecuted the Church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it and I advanced in Judaism Beyond many of my contemporaries in my own Nation being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers 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 I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were Apostles before me but I went to Arabia and returned again to Damascus then after three years I went up to to Jerusalem to see Peter and remained with him 15 days but I saw none of the other Apostles except James the Lord's brother now concerning the things which I write to you indeed God before God I do not lie afterward I went into the regions of Syria and Celestia and I was Unknown by faith 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 Maine amen well let us pray father we thank you for your word we thank you for the given by inspiration of God and that it's profitable for Doctrine for reproof for correction for instruction in righteousness and we pray now that the Holy Spirit would guide us as we consider this passage cause us to meditate upon to contemplate over the the richness and the glory of the Gospel of our salvation and cause us as well as the Church of Christ to reflect on our our blessed privilege and our responsibility and duty to guard that word and help us to be faithful with that stewardship forgive us again for all sin and unrighteousness and may Christ be glorified as we gather together tonight as we remember him specifically in the supper his death on behalf of Sinners as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus amen well the book of Galatians was written by the Apostle Paul after the first missionary journey so the first missionary journey occurs in Acts chapter 13 and 14. about the years A.D 48-49 so Paul was sent out by the church the spirit comes to the church and Antioch says to the teacher says to the the elders there to separate Paul and Barnabas for the work that he had for that so the church is instrumental in sending out missionaries it's not to be disconnected from the church but rather it is the church that sends out the missionaries so Paul and Barnabas go out and they go to the region of galatia it was a region and they went specifically to the places in Southern galatia and as I said those are mentioned in Acts chapters 13 and 14. they go to pacity in Antioch to Iconium to lystra and to Derby and when they go there they preach the gospel of justification by faith alone in Christ Allah they make disciples they plant churches on the way back to Antioch talk they stop in the churches and they appoint Elders in each of those particular churches well as they return to Antioch there was a group of people that would visit those churches after the Apostle Paul and those people are referred to in theology as judaizers and the judaizers came along and they said it's good that you've believed that Jesus is the Messiah it's good that you believe that he is Israel's Messiah so not only do you need to believe in him but you also need to get circumcised and you're obligated to keep the laws of Moses you're obligated to supplement the finished work of Jesus with these other things in order to be accepted by God well the Apostle Paul will have no talk with that kind of departure from the gospel of free Grace and that's why we see at the outset of his epistle after a very brief greeting he comes out of the gate to denounce this heresy to correct these Galatians to call them to a fidelity ability in Christ and a recognition that our Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone it's not a mixture of my faith plus my works and then God May accept me no that's absolutely positively contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ Our Lord so I want to look first at the astonishment of the Apostle in verse 6. secondly the defection of the Galatians in verse 7 and then thirdly the curse upon Heretics in verses 8 and 9. and as we come to this particular letter I think that matron was right he said the epistle to the Galatians is a polemic a fighting epistle from beginning to end what a fire had kindled at the time of the Reformation may it Kindle another fire in our day not a fire that will destroy any fine or Noble or Christian thing but a fire of Christian Love In Hearts grown coal so the object of this message tonight is not so much much political to denounce Rome and to denounce Federal Vision and to denounce the new perspective on Paul so we might do a little bit along the way but it is to appreciate the gospel of our Salvation to appreciate the doctrine of justification by faith alone to be able to sing with the hymn writer nothing in my hand I bring simply to thy cross I claim thou I to the Fountain fly Wash Me savior or I die to be able to celebrate with the Apostle Paul in Romans 8 when he says there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus if it depends even a little bit Upon Our Works in order for our acceptance with God we're doomed we praise God for the finished work of our blessed savior his life his death his resurrection we are dependent upon him through and through so let's look first of all at the astonishment of the apostle all notice in verse 6. I mentioned it's a very brief greeting if you look at say for instance First Corinthians in chapter one he has a long and extended greeting and if you're familiar with First Corinthians you'll know that he's got to deal with some pretty difficult things in that letter he's got to deal with an incestuous relationship in First Corinthians chapter five he's got to caution the people of God in terms of fleeing sexual immorality in First Corinthians chapter 6. he has to remind them that with reference to Christian Liberty they're not to destroy with their meat or their drink or whatever those for whom Jesus died he has to remind them or rebuke them rather for their conduct at the Lord's table so all of these things would indicate that that he should come out of the gate with them well those are sanctification problems I'm not suggesting that that these persons in galatia or in Corinth were necessarily going to go to hell but Paul sees the problem the Jeopardy the the the the the the threat to the gospel of our Salvation in Galatians chapter one so he comes right out of the gate and he says I Marvel that you are turning away so soon from him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel very gracious very humble very kind and compassionate man he's the man that wrote first Corinthians chapter 13 the great love chapter and yet when it comes to a threat on the doctrine of justification by faith he says I Marvel I'm amazed I'm astonished I can't believe my eyes I'm not liking what I'm hearing about the churches in galatia you're supposed to reject and resist those kinds of men that would try to add your Works vis-a-vis through Moses to try to make Christ uh sufficient or whole in terms of your acceptance with god notice the reality that they were turning away so soon from him who called you in the grace of Christ and notice as well this is a first time Century church sometimes you'll meet Believers today and they'll say we need to get back to the early church which early church Corinth whether it was incest going on in the context of the local church or to galatia the churches in southern galatia where there was a defection from the Gospel of Jesus Christ see sin is always been there and even in the early church they had remaining corruption and there was this proclivity or this tendency or this prone-ness to go after Moses to try to supplement Christ in order to be accepted with God these judaizers came with this particular intention and then as well notice what he says in terms of their position they are turning away so soon from him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel I wonder if we would consider it as a different gospel we might be tempted to think well what's the problem we have faith in Jesus plus circumcision that seems like well sort of round out the whole uh uh situation and bring us happily into heaven when we try to supplement the finished work of Jesus Christ we're rejecting the finished work of Jesus Christ you don't go at it with both and you go at it in an either or fashion again Jay Gresham Mitch and made the observation certainly the point of difference between Paul and the judaizers was no trifling difference no matter how trifling it may seem to the modern church we need to fight that tendency well that's not that big of a deal it's just a small distinctive it's just a bit of a difference that's the kind of stuff for theologians and those in the academic Guild that's just for the doctors and the church no every single Christian needs to understand doctrine of justification by faith alone every single Christian needs to know what it is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and what benefits a crew as a result under God's blessing this is the one of a few of few several doctrines that we must have firm grip on there's other doctrines you can be wrong in eschatology you can be wrong in ecclesiology we're not going to D church or D you know save the Presbyterians or the uh the Dutch reform or anything like that but when it comes to justification by faith alone as matron says this was what it a a fire that Galatians Kindle at the time of the Reformation why because Rome sounded just like these judaizers for Rome it was believed the gospel plus do what the church tells you believe the gospel plus do these sacraments of the church it was an attempt to supplement the finished work of our blessed savior and when we try to supplement that we're actually denying that finished work of our savior we're confessing that it wasn't enough so back to mention certainly the point of difference between Paul and the judaizers was no trifling difference no matter how trifling it may seem to the modern Church it will was the difference between a religion of Merit and a religion of Grace man is all about a religion a merit I do and then I get blessed well the Bible and the message of Grace says Christ has done believe on him and you will be blessed he goes on to say the judaizer's teaching required a man to earn at least a part of his salvation by his own keeping of God's law Paul saw clearly that to follow such teaching was to do despite to the Cross of Christ if we have to fill up even the slightest Gap by our own works then we are still lost in sin for the awakened conscience sees clearly that our own works are insufficient to bridge even the smallest Gap we must trust Christ for nothing or for all to trust him only for part is the essence of unbelief again I don't think we view it that way and we need to matron's not a fake matron's not being hyperbolic matron is echoing the great tradition we call Protestant Ezra the the the the the reality that it's grace alone through faith Alone In Christ Alone he says there are two ways of being saved according to the Apostle Paul one way is to keep the law perfectly if that's what you choose well then know this you have to do it perfectly you have to do it absolutely that way is closed because of sin matron says the other way is to accept the gift of Salvation which Christ offers us freely by his cross the two ways cannot both be followed that is the burden of the epistle to the Galatians a man must choose as the way of Salvation either law or Grace in bed bidding men choose the latter way the apostle was contending for the very heart of the Christian religion so Galatians 1 6-9 and the rest of Galatians capitalizes on that particular theme either you choose to enter in based on a covenant of Works your own obedience to the law which must be Perpetual it must be exact it must be entire or your going to be cut off or by the grace of God you see Jesus as the champion you see Jesus as the Savior you see Jesus as the one in whom alone there is forgiveness and a righteousness that avails with God most high now notice secondly the defection of the Galatians in verse 7. after saying to a different gospel he says in verse 7 which is not another it's not like there's two gospel choose your poison take take which one you know pleases you best there is only one gospel there's one good news and it concerns the life the death and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ so when they turned away from him who called them in the grace of Christ the grace of Christ to a different gospel Paul says that's not another gospel you're being lied to you're being deceived you are being threatened you are being distorted you are being confused if you choose to try and supplement the finished work of Jesus and then then deny the finished work of Jesus you're going to end up the loser as a result of this the judaizing heresy was simply that adding The Works that we see in the old Covenant vis-a-vis the Mosaic ceremonial law the particular emphasis in the book of Galatians is on circumcision trying to do that in addition to Jesus in order to be saved and you can hear the logic of the judaizers I mean these were predominantly Gentile peoples in the region of Southern galatia well you know we had to get circumcised as Jews and when we you know we believe on Jesus but but if we had to then then you have to too so it's almost like it's not enough to be a believer in Jesus you've also got to be a Jew as well you've got to subscribe to the Mosaic ordinances and you've got to comply with those in order to be accepted with God that's why Paul constantly thundered the doctrine of justification by faith alone this is why he constantly fought for it and proclaimed okay notice chapter 3 verses 1 to 3 is the evidence of this chapter 3 verse 1 of foolish Galatians who has Bewitched you that you should not obey the truth before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you is crucified how do you think Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified among the Galatians did they have the Jesus film did they have the passion no it was through the proclamation of the Gospel it was through the preaching of the truth that they set forth Christ and all of his offices to save Prophet priest and King he goes on to say this only I want to learn from you did you receive the Spirit by The Works of the law or by the hearing of Faith are you so foolish having begun in the spirit are you now being made perfect by the flesh have you suffered so many things in vain if indeed it was in vain turn over to chapter four he makes a covenantal comparison and specifically with reference to the old Covenant chapter 4 verse 21 tell me you who desire to be under the law do you not hear the law now when he says Those Who desire to be under the law as a covenant of Works in order to be accepted by God he's not talking about the law and the life and the New Covenant believer it's not talking about the normative use of the law he's not talking about Romans 13. how do I know what love is relative to my my brother or sister although murder him don't steal from him don't commit adultery with his spouse there is objective law keeping in terms of New Covenant obedience but it's the normative use it's not as a covenant of Works in order to try and comply your way into heaven that's the emphasis in Galatians he's not denigrating the law he is denigrating the attempt to enter into the presence of God vis-a-vis the law because man is sinful man is wretched man does not obey exactly entirely and perpetually and that is precisely what God demands and yet Christ has so the way of Salvation is to believe on him and he grants access to the father through the son in the spirit so tell me you who desire to be under law do you not hear the law for it is written that Abraham had two sons the one by a Bond woman the other by a free woman but he was of the Bond woman was born according to the Flesh and he of the free woman through promise which things are symbolic for these are the two covenants the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage which is Hagar for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is and is in bondage with her children but the Jerusalem above is free which is the mother of us all it's talking about old Covenant New Covenant sorry about old Covenant of Works where the children of Israel stood at the base of Sinai and said all that the Lord has commanded we will do and they didn't do it they were saved by virtue of the New Covenant that was coming they broke the Covenant of works that they had sworn Fidelity to so Paul says you don't want to go back to that you've got the New Covenant you've got Jesus you've got the way of access you've got provision a little circumcision may seem like a little thing but it's not it is to renounce fully the Gospel of Jesus Christ Our Lord turn over to chapter 5 verse 1 Stand Fast therefore in the Liberty by which Christ has made us free and that Liberty specifically is from the bondage of sin the power of Satan and brought into the Redemptive benefit that Christ secures and he says do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage for Paul the law used lawfully is not bondage for Paul the law used unlawfully is bondage and that's the point here he says indeed I Paul say to you that if you become circumcised Christ will profit you nothing now no Brethren Paul is not condemning circumcision as an ethnic practice as a cultural norm in Acts 16 when he goes on the second missionary journey he gets a companion by the name of Timothy and Timothy had a father who was a great great and Timothy was not circumcised at that time when Paul met him they were going to go into Jewish regions so Paul had Timothy circumcised that was not a religious thing that was not acceptance with God it was to not make waves with the Jews in the regions where they were going to to engage in missionary Endeavors so circumcision as a cultural practice circumcision is an ethnic right an ethnic practice Paul doesn't have a problem with that it's when you think that circumcision makes you more acceptable in the sight of God most high you are negating the gospel of free and Sovereign Grace So notice again in verse 2 indeed I Paul say to you that if you become circumcised Christ will profit you nothing now here's the rub verse 3 and I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law so the point is is that if you choose law and circumcision happens to be that one aspect you're obligated to keep the entirety of the law it's either Covenant of Works you're keeping of the law for acceptance with God or it's Christ's keeping of the law and that imputed to you and received by faith alone by virtue of the New Covenant of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ so the identification of the heresy is very obvious it is very very clear when you survey this particular epistle so going back to of chapter 1 verse 7. oh I'm sorry go back to chapter five there's a verse that I think a lot of us just don't get after he says that notice what he says in verse 4 you have become estranged from Christ you attempt to be justified by law you have fallen from Grace now typically that phrase you have fallen from Grace is pulled out of the Bible pulled out of this context and it's made to teach that a sinner Say by Grace can ultimately be lost he or she can fall from grace it is a rejection of the doctrine of perseverance of the Saints in some Churches it's called eternal security some people rail against that I think there's a reason to rail against that but I also think there's a reason to embrace it we are eternally secured because of what Jesus Christ has accomplished for us on the cross so the Fall From Grace is not oh you can lose your salvation the Fall From Grace in this context is that when you choose the law as a covenant of works for your acceptance with God you have turned from the gracious New Covenant and its approach to God through faith alone in Jesus Christ John Edie said Christ's method of justification is Holy of Grace and those who rely on Law and Merit are in opposition to Grace or fallen out of it the Clause has really no bearing on the doctrine of perseverance of the Saints or on their possible apostasy there's other passages that one could go to to try and teach that but it's not Galatians 5 4 the Fall From Grace there is to deny the gracious New Covenant and to throw yourself back in to the works-oriented law covenant the old Covenant Fisher and his wonderful book Merrell of modern theology he says so that if you desire to be justified before God you must either bring to him a perfect righteousness of your own and holy renounce Christ or else you must bring the perfect righteousness of Christ and holy renounce your own Christ Jesus will either be a whole savior or no savior he will either save you alone or not save you at all now lots of quotes lots of theology let's get real practical the Apostle is saying that there is one way of acceptance with God and that one way of acceptance with God is is gracious why would we bark at that why would we want to try to introduce Works into that especially our works if we know ourselves rightly we ought to appreciate the accent on grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone because we know the prophet Isaiah for instance on behalf of the nation of Israel cries out to Yahweh and says that all our righteousness is like filthy rags in your sight and in the context it was religious worship it was what they were obligated to do it was what God or Yahweh had called them unto in terms of their Covenant responsibility so they they say our righteousness is like filthy rags that doesn't even begin to get at our sins remember Jesus in Matthew chapter 12 says that men will give an account for Every Idle Word on the day of judgment think about that how many Idle Words do we vomit out in a given day just think about the blasphemies think about the lies think about the gossip think about the slander are you sure you want to try to get to God on your own or get to God with just a wee bit of help from Jesus no it's either all Jesus or no Jesus that's the message of Galatians and let me encourage you that all Jesus is the only way to go because there is no other name given under Heaven among men by which we must be saved it is Christ Alone who brings Redemption it is Christ Alone who ushers us into the presence of God it is Christ Alone who brings us not only a forgiveness for sins but the righteousness that he accomplished in his 33 years on Earth that's why this is so important that's why Paul Marvels why he's astonished I can't believe you're going to turn away I can't believe you're going to renounce Christ and try to go it on your own you're going to renounce Christ and try to try to supplement you're going to try to add to it you're going to suggest that what Christ has accomplished wasn't enough to get you over the Finish Line banish the thought perish the thought it is Christ and him only that brings Salvation And as we move through this particular passage we see something consistent with our studies in John Goss John's gospel I mentioned this last week notice in verse 7 which is not another but there are some who trouble you this is troublesome if the church is not troubled with false Doctrine then the church isn't thinking clearly if the church is okay with with false Doctrine if the church is okay with threats against the Integrity of the Gospel if the church says well you know we've got other bigger things bigger fish to fry man there's homeless people there's hungry people there's all kinds of people out there you know this doctrinal sort of emphasis is sort of not our bag Brethren if we are not upset if we are not perplex if we are not in prayer if we're not seeking to defend the Integrity of Christian of the Christian Gospel we might as well just depart from the church altogether and go join the Lions Club there's other agencies out there that can ameliorate the downtrodden and the poor certainly that's an aspect of church life but the thing that makes us markedly different is the gospel of our Salvation it is the truth as it is in Jesus it is that Faith once for all delivered to the saints that we have been charged to contend earnestly for when the church is indifferent to doctorate the church is in her Darkest Hours when the church is on fire for truth when she's fighting when she's going forward when she's persevering when she's engaging that or those are her Finest Hours so Paul says they trouble you and then notice what he says and they want to pervert the gospel of Christ I made the distinction last week there's just some not very bright bulbs that preach there are some guy eyes that just aren't smart and we don't want to charge them as you know their God haters they're perverters of the Gospel there's other guys that are smart there's other guys that know what they're doing and they want to pervert the gospel just like John 8 44 the desires of your father the devil you want to do it's not that you're neutral it's not that you've fallen into these things it's that you've actively pursued these things as a matter of rebellion against the living and true God and as a means by which you can plague the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ so Paul highlights that reality in verse 7 which is not another but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ listen to John start to tamper with the gospel is to trouble the church indeed the church's greatest troublemakers now as then are not those outside who oppose ridicule and persecuted but those inside who try to change the gospel conversely the only way to be a good Churchman is to be a good gospel men that's great be a good gospel men that means you'll be a good Churchman the best way to serve the church is to believe and to preach the gospel Martin Luther had the you know his unique way of saying the same thing he says that work which is built up of long labor may be overthrown in a night a man May labor half a score of years to build up some little church to be rightly ordered and when it is so ordered there Creeps in some malbrain yea a very unlearned idiot and in one moment overthrows all now that we don't resist this that we don't reject this that this doesn't bother us we're not of The Same Spirit of the Apostle Paul I I Marvel I Marvel that so soon after the reception of this treasure this stewardship that you've been given you're quickly deserted you're turning away you're going after these guys who have no vested interest in your soul they're troubling you they want to pervert the truth as it is in Jesus they want to engage in in things that are contrary to the written word that you have received we need to be like Paul in that and then notice thirdly the curse that he pronounces in verses 8 and 9. this is heavy this is powerful this shows the gravity of the situation notice what he says first of all let's look at the extent of the curse verse 8 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 so the extent of the curse pronounced by Paul upon those who pervert the gospel of Our Lord there's no Apostolic immunity no Apostolic immunity notice Paul includes himself in verse 8 but even if we if it were the case that Paul followed up his first missionary journey returned to those churches of Southern galatia after the judaizers had departed and Paul said oh yeah those guys were right I I neglected to tell you that my first preaching Ministry I neglected to tell you yes you need to be circumcised yes you're obligated keep the laws of Moses yes you need to do that in addition to belief in Jesus so that God May accept you Paul says if I did that then what I'm about to say may it fall upon my head but notice there's no Angelic immunity if it were the case that a Holy Angel fell out of heaven and assumed a position a preaching and a Pulpit and he twisted the gospel of free and Sovereign Grace then Paul's curse rests on him as well and then later he extends it to anybody so there's no immunity there's no Safe Haven there's no hiding place for those who want to pervert the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ The Gospel embodies the core a fixed tradition which is normative the church has been given this it is delivered to the Saints and therefore the Saints are supposed to hold fast to it they're supposed to defend it they're supposed to fight for it they're supposed to protect that now notice the gravity of the curse so verse 8 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 now the word employed here is the word anathema you may have heard that word before anathema it's the Greek word some translation Nations just leave it there as anathema here we have it translated as a cursed it means something devoted to God and that's something devoted to God could be a good thing or it could be a bad thing the same word appears in Luke 21 where there's devotions things given to God but the background is a Hebrew word called Harem that's the particular word in View and that means under the ban something that is devoted but in a negative sense it's devoted to destruction it's devoted to uh uh uh suffering it's devoted to uh decimation in fact let's turn back to the Old Testament and see two uses Leviticus chapter 27. Leviticus chapter 27. again this underscores the gravity involved of Paul's message here Leviticus chapter 27 specifically at verse 29. no person under the ban this is Harem or in the New Testament the Greek word is anathema who may become doomed to destruction among men shall be redeemed but shall surely be put to death now turn over to Joshua Joshua chapter 7 you see an actual Act of this in the uh life of Israel Joshua chapter 7. remember when they went on their campaign to to decimate cities there were certain times where they were prohibited from taking the booty from taking any spoil from from receiving anything unto themselves well Aiken you know he he rejected that Aiken stole Aiken you know covered up and Aiken you know hid stuff in his tent look at chapter 7 and verse 12. therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies but turn their backs before their enemies because they have become doomed to destruction neither will I be with you anymore unless you destroy the accursed from among you now turn back to the New Testament so the idea is devoted to destruction doomed to destruction when we see this word in our Bibles and it says a curse I think yeah it sounds bad it does I mean it wouldn't be good to be a curse would it but to kind of explore the passage or to explore the use and explore the meaning a little bit I think again underscores the gravity involved now Paul uses this word several times in the New Testament you can turn to Romans chapter 9. Romans chapter 9. and in this uh specific passage he is evidencing his love for his Nation notice in Romans chapter 9 specifically in verse 1. I tell the truth in Christ I am not lying my conscience also bearing me witness in the holy spirit that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart for I could wish that I myself were here it is anathema or accursed from Christ for my brethren my countrymen according to the flesh you see what Paul is saying there heart of compassion I I wish I could be devoted to destruction if it meant my countrymen according to the flesh could enter into heaven Moses does something similar in the Old Testament relative to the people of Israel really shows the heart of the love of the pastor of the people of God he's willing if it were possible to take for them that Devotion to destruction turn to First Corinthians chapter 12. First Corinthians chapter 12 use of anathema there specifically at verse one now concerning spiritual gifts if Brethren I do not want you to be ignorant you know that you were Gentiles carried away to these dumb Idols however you were LED therefore I make known to you that no one's speaking by the spirit of God calls Jesus accursed and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the holy spirit so no one's speaking by the spirit of God whatever dare say Jesus is devoted to destruction under the ban that he somehow a bad thing and then look at First Corinthians chapter 16. First Corinthians chapter 16 there's some question concerning singing or praying the Psalms of David that are imprecatory in nature the imprecatory Psalms of those psalms where the psalmist is calling down the Judgment of God upon his enemies it's not calling down the Judgment of God upon his own enemies this guy cut me off on the road today Lord I was on Wellington he just bounced right out there God kill him get him destroy him no that's not the emphasis in the imprecatory Psalms one instance is Psalm 119 he says do I not hate the hate those who hate thee O Lord I hate them with a perfect hatred Psalm 58 he talks about the righteous Dancing In The Blood of the wicked there are those imprecatory psalms that Express the justice that is built into us by God most high and it is a way for us as the Church of Jesus Christ to give place to wrath Paul cautions Us in Romans 12 do not avenge yourselves Brethren but give place to wrath well how do we give place to wrath we pray the imprecatory psalms now of course people in our modern church say well well that can't be that's the spirit of not goodness it can ever call down God's judgment upon anybody look at First Corinthians chapter 16 and tell me if Paul the Apostle would have a problem with the imprecatory Psalms of David I submit that the imprecatory Psalms of David in some sense is a walk in the park compared to what Paul says in First Corinthians 16 22. if anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ let him be anathema let him be devoted to destruction let him be doomed that's Paul's language relative to those who would reject the gospel of free and Sovereign Grace so back to Galatians chapter one if you think it's a small thing that somebody twists somebody adds somebody takes away somebody distorts or somebody confuses the gospel you're not thinking like Paul this word according to one dictionary means he who preaches a false gospel is delivered to destruction by God again it is not a matter of an act of church discipline in the sense of excommunication the curse exposes the culprits to the judicial wrath of God that's Paul's emphasis in Galatians 1 verse 9. even if we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you let him be anathema as we have said before so now I say again why because repetition causes the receiver to understand the importance of the particular theme that is repeated 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 the preacher of another gospel Edie says exposes himself to the Divine indignation and the awful penalty incurred by him is not inflicted by man he falls into the hands of the Living God that's Paul's words to those who trouble you to those who pervert the Gospel of Jesus Christ Our Lord who teach that Christ is good but he's not enough you just need to supplement a bit by going to get circumcised and once you do that then you'll be wholly accepted by God most high that flies in the face of all that Christ has accomplished that is to resist and reject all that Christ has accomplished if we choose that means or path then we have denounced or denied the Gospel of Jesus Christ Our Lord so in conclusion we ought to appreciate we ought to at least notice the intolerance of Paul then again Manson says to the men that dominate the life of the modern church now he's writing in the early part of the 20th century think about that he's writing in the early part of the 20th century we've come a long way baby and not in a good way there's been some major defection going on there's been some major you know trajectory life-altering bad decisions made ecclesiastically and theologically and so teriologically so he's dealing with some for the most part in terms of threats to the Gospel of Jesus Christ German neo-orthodoxy or theological liberalism so for matron that was you know not another species of Christianity but an altogether different religion I suspect that Machin would brand some of the the approaches that we use today to get to God as altogether different species and not subset or connected to Christianity so he says to the men that dominate the life of the modern Church it would seem to be a subtle hair splitting distinction at the most surely they would say Paul ought to have made common cause with those judaizer who had such a Zeal for righteousness and furthermore exalted the Lord Jesus Christ so high you see that tendency today we're going to compromise the doctrine of justification by faith alone to circle the wagons with guys who are good on culture I think you can be both I don't think you have to have an either or approach you can be right on culture and maintain Fidelity relative to justification by faith alone it's not the case well you know we've got to go over there because they're really combating the culture you know what combats the culture is theological Orthodoxy it is the church preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ it is the church doing what the church has called to do that's the best way we challenge culture that's the best way we deal with culture we do what God commanded us to do that or therein is safety he goes on to say as a matter of fact the Apostle did nothing of the the kind what he actually said with respect to the judaizers was let them be anathema he seemed to have none of the modern virtue of Tolerance at this point so the intolerance of Paul then my second observation is the intolerance of the church today a brethren we want to be tolerant in terms of you know every tribe telling people in Asia we want to be tolerant to people from different backgrounds we want to be tolerant of you know different socioeconomic groups we want to be tolerant in so far as we are able but we're not to be tolerant at the point of the Gospel of Jesus Christ Our Lord we as the church need to be aware of the doctrinal indifference it really doesn't matter yes it most certainly does matter we need to be careful of a doctrinal imprecision oh you reform people you're always dotting eyes and Crossing T's there's a whole world out there to be saved what are you going to save them with the judaizing heresy what are you going to save them with a Jesus that is not Jesus what are you going to save them with a God that doesn't have the ability because you've stripped from him all those Perfections that are absolutely requisite beware of doctrinal Departures the departure from the truth is should be evident and recognized by the Christian church I've said it before and I'll say it again if I come up here and I preach heresy tell Cam and he'll break my neck and I mean that spiritually speaking I don't want to be too vicious or un unkind and or call Pastor Kirkpatrick call Pastor Mal jars brother don't sit under heresy don't sit under a departure from the truth don't sit under a man that's going to teach you faith in Jesus plus something else in order to be accepted by God that is false that is a perversion that is a departure that is a apostasy and it is not to be entertained in the Life of Christ Church beware of doctrinal compromise again we have great fellowship with people that don't see eye to eye on on every other thing I you know probably the the bestest friend I've got in Chilliwack in terms of a pastoral colleague is a potato Baptist that's fine we never talk about it we don't arm wrestle about it and he probably win I don't think that makes his position right but but the the bottom line is when it comes to this other stuff when it comes to compromise over the gospel no will compromise on eschatology I I think premillennialism is wrong but come to our church praise God With Us enjoy life together and and worship and and and and adore and and bless the Risen Savior but when it comes to compromise with a papist at the level of soteriology when it comes to compromise with a federal visionist or A New Perspective on Paul at the level of soteriology you'll hear things like well you know Auntie right he he got the the gospels right he he got the historicity of Jesus right yeah but he gets soteriology wrong he gets Paul wrong Reid matron he got the New Testament right and he got justification right in a world there's a in a world where there's books printed of Jay Grace and matron read him versus NT write we don't compromise with people that want to add to the finished work of our blessed savior and beware of doctrinal novelty something new Brethren I gotta say say this if in 20 centuries of Christ's Church the best and brightest theologians didn't see something it's most likely not there oh I found this new discovery in the scripture now I'm not saying you're necessarily wrong but I am saying you're most likely Rob when it comes to theology I think hey uh Charles Hodge had a had a great statement concerning the founding of Princeton Theological Seminary which Unfortunately today has not held fast to Charles Hodges words he says we strive to have no new thoughts here we want no new thoughts at Princeton what does he mean by that he means that we are going to contend for that faith that was once for all delivered to the Saints it is our stewardship it is our trust it is sacred betwixt God and us and we're not going to relinquish our responsibility in that so beware of doctrinal Novelties of Calvin and Luther and John Owen and CH Spurgeon didn't see it most likely and I hate to Shadow your little you know mindset of snowflakeness but you probably haven't seen it either now one final passage Galatians 2 21. I think it summarizes the entirety of Paul's message after highlighting after pointing out after driving home the reality that we're justified by faith alone look at verse 16 for instance in chapter two knowing that a man is not justified by The Works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ even we have believed in Christ Jesus and not by uh that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by The Works of the law for by The Works of the law no flesh shall be shall be justified but if while we seek to be justified by Christ we ourselves also are found Sinners is Christ therefore a minister of sin certainly not for if I build again those things which I destroyed I make myself a transgressor for I through the law died to the law that I might live to God I have been crucified with Christ it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me we typically use Galatians 2 20 as a sanctification education passage I don't think it is I think it's a justification passage Paul's going to deal with sanctification in the latter part of the epistle he's making a theological or sociological point in terms of justification verse 20 I have been crucified with Christ it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me now notice verse 21 I do not set aside the grace of God for if righteousness comes through the law then Christ died in vain that's the point if you could make it to Heaven if you could work out your salvation or work for your salvation if all you needed was a a Little Help from Jesus then the whole cross was in vain it's either all of Christ or none of Christ and it's imperative that we go the way of the Savior and himself matron says this verse is the key verse of the epistle to the Galatians it expresses the central thought of the epistle the judaizers attempted to supplement the saving work of Christ by the Merit of their own obedience to the law that says Paul is impossible Christ will do everything or nothing earn your salvation if your obedience to the law is perfect or else trust holy to Christ's completed work you cannot do both you cannot combine Merit and Grace if justification even in the slightest measure is through human Merit then Christ died in vain I submit that that brother was absolutely positively right on that comment on Galatians 2 21. we have a rich Heritage in the reformed tradition we have a sacred deposit given in the Old and New Testaments we have the gospel as our treasure it is our job to fight for it it is our job to protect it it is our job to defend it and it's our job to meditate upon it and let it roll over us and cause us to reflect upon the great love of God in Christ Jesus for us and may we respond with love back to him for the finished work of the Savior well let us pray our gracious God and Father we thank you for the gospel of our Salvation we thank you for this section of Holy Scripture which underscores the importance of the gospel and God as well may it be such an encouragement the bomb of Gilead to our own Hearts as we come weary to the table may you encourage our hearts May strengthen us may we reflect upon the Lord Jesus Christ and may that Faith grow in him and may that love in for him grow as well we thank you for this church we thank you for one another that at the supper we not only commune with our blessed God but we commune with your people we commune with one another and we pray now through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen well you can turn to Matthew's gospel as we read that particular section when we take the elements the the bread and the wine before we do that I want to remind us of a few things the sacrament or the ordinance of the Lord's Supper is for believers only there are two sacraments two ordinances in the New Covenant uh Contra Rome they have seven we've got two baptism and the Lord's Supper so baptism is the initiatory right somebody believes the gospel they are baptized they identify publicly with the Triune God that is once in their lifetime the Lord's Supper is more frequent it is something to encourage weary pilgrims along the way I think we look at this as our service to God it's actually God's service to us He's The Ho he's the householder he's the head and he has provided for us Bread and Wine along the way to remind us of the doing and the dying of his blessed son it is to strengthen our faith that is to encourage our hearts it is to build us up according to his mercies as well it is a Sacrament for believers who are dealing with their sin it's not the case that you have to be sinlessly perfect because there'd be no supper for anybody ever but those who are living in known sin that are not relinquishing that are not repenting that are not dealing with it then you should not take the supper the Apostle deals with that in First Corinthians chapter 11 there was abuse at the table there was not physical abuse but there was a exclusion by the by The Haves of the have-nots and the Apostle says that's to bring division to the body that's not good what you're doing is not enjoying the Lord's table so he calls us to examine ourselves he calls us to to reflect upon where we're at before a Thrice holy God and then he speaks of the people of God being chastened for having taken in an unworthy manner he speaks of some having uh being asleep means god killed them there were sanctions appended to that and I'm not suggesting he's going to necessarily kill us tonight but it's certainly in the realm of possibility so the the the idea is is that the sacrament is for believers who are dealing with their set and you can deal with your sin right where you're at that's the beauty of having an omnipotent omniscient omnipresent God you can confess your sins right now and he's gracious and willing to forgive those sins the sacrament is a means of Grace to be sure but we need to remember that we are not changing the bread and wine into the actual body and blood of Jesus Jesus was speaking metaphorically when he says this is my body this is my blood he was not meaning it literally the elements are removed from profane or non-sacred use to Sacred use but they don't become something other the bread represents for us the body of Jesus the wine or juice represents for us the blood of Jesus and finally the sacrament should point us to Christ you know it's typical for you know Believers to get super introspective at this time and a bit of introspection is not bad but go to Christ preoccupation with Christ is what the supper is all about so the brothers are going to come up and they're going to pass out the bread and while the brothers pass out the bread we're going to remain seated and sing number 130 a after the brothers pass out the bread after we complete the singing of Psalm 130 I'll come back up and read the appropriate section I'll pray and then we'll take the bread together so Psalm 130 a thank you thank you foreign [Music] foreign [Music] my soul always it is [Music] Matthew chapter 26 beginning in verse 26 and as they were eating Jesus Took bread blessed and broke it and gave it to the disciples and said take eat this is my body well let us pray our gracious God and Holy Father we thank you as we reflect upon the gospel of our Salvation the reality that Christ was delivered up because of our offenses and we give praise to you for that truth and he was raised for our justification and God help us to appreciate this help us to grow in our love and our thankfulness and gratitude as we express these things in light of the Gospel of our Salvation we pray this gospel would go forth throughout the Earth we know this world is broken we know it's hurting we know there is great great pain and misery and we know that the answer ultimately is the Salvation that God brings through our lord Jesus so send it forth powerfully we pray and we ask in Jesus name amen will take together well you can turn to 336 again please remain seated and just a reminder the juice is in the outer ring if you're not wanting to take wine there is grape juice in the outer ring the the wine is in the inner ring so 336 will sing together read the section pray and take the wine together [Music] thank you please foreign [Music] good morning foreign [Music] foreign [Music] inside me as soon as we see the Lord forever [Music] foreign [Music] 27 we continue to read then he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them saying drink from it all of you for this is my blood of the New Covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins but I say to you I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my father's Kingdom and when they had sung A Hymn they went out to the Mount of Olives well let us pray Our God and Father we are reminded that the old Covenant is ratified in Blood and as well the New Covenant is ratified in blood that old was with the blood of bulls and goats which could never take away sin the blood of the New Covenant is our Lord Jesus Christ in whom we have Redemption the Forgiveness of sins according to the riches of your grace we rejoice in this provision we rejoice in this new covenant we rejoice in this opportunity to celebrate the Lord's death until he comes to Proclaim it until he comes bless and strengthen us now we pray in his wonderful name amen we'll take together well you can turn in your handbooks to 352. that wonderful summary of gospel truth in him form we'll stand as we sing number 352. [Music] blessings [Music] foreign [Music] it is now we can help me [Music] always foreign [Music] hope in the Lord for with the Lord there is Mercy and with him is abundant Redemption and he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities God we thank you for this Lord's day we thank you for the presentation this morning concerning the Bible translators we pray for your blessing upon Wycliffe and for the the publication of the word of God throughout this Earth we thank you for our corporate worship and the great privilege that we have to come to the father through the son in the power of the Holy Spirit we pray that you would go with us now that you would bless us and be our portion and provision and we pray through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen well please be seated for a brief time of meditation