← Back to sermon library

e e e e e e e e e e e e e e everyone it's good to be back in the house of our God you can turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 29 for our call to worship Psalm 29 Psalm 29 I'll begin reading in verse one a Psalm of David give unto the Lord oh you mighty ones give unto the Lord glory and strength give unto the Lord the glory due to his name Worship the Lord in the beauty of Holiness the voice of the Lord is over the waters the god of Glory Thunders the Lord is over many Waters the voice of the Lord is powerful the voice of the Lord is full of majesty the voice of the Lord breaks the seeders yes the Lord splinters The Cedars of Lebanon he makes them also skip like a calf Lebanon and Syrian like a young wild ox the voice of the Lord divides the flames of fire the voice of the Lord shakes the Wilderness the Lord shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh the voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth and strips the forest be and in his Temple everyone says glory the lord sat and throned at the flood and the Lord sits as king forever the Lord will give strength to his people the Lord will bless his people with peace amen well please turn to Psalm 48a as in Alpha Psalm 48a and we'll sing stanzas 4-6 on the right side of the page psalm 48a [Music] holy prise we are kindness the of your PR we sing your praise where your name is and all God Mery [Music] soul and all all of the and my children glor [Music] to Forever will [Music] will be are let us pray our great God and Holy Father we thank you for the privilege to gather again on this Lord's Day evening we come to you you we bless your great and awesome name we say with Paul blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who's blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places in Christ we thank you for your Sovereign Grace and pred predestination and election we thank you for blood atonement through our Lord Jesus Christ and for the power of the Holy Spirit to apply that finished work unto us we Rejoice that you have put this desire in us to gather together in your house and to call upon upon your great and awesome name we look forward to the proclamation of your truth tonight we pray for our brother Cam that you would fill him with your spirit cause him to handle accurately your word and may you indeed give us ears to hear and hearts to receive these things and may it affect us for good may you indeed conform us ever more under the image of your beloved Son we ask most high God that you would fit our hearts right now that we would gather together in that that that disposition of trembling and fear before such a holy God and may it be mingled with that joy and that gratitude and Thanksgiving that is right for those who have been bought by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ we pray for any and all who have come here tonight that are dead in their trespasses and sins that you would awaken them that that voice of the Lord that is able to crush and break the Cedars of Lebanon we pray that you would do that with Harden Hearts you would cause Sinners to see Christ as the one in whom there is forgiveness and a righteousness that avails with you and God as we gather together we are mindful of that reality that we are prone to wander and prone to leave the god that we love so even now we pray for your forgiveness for all of our sins we look at your holy law we see it as a as a revelation of who you are and we see how far short we come and certainly we confess our transgression we confess that that lack of Conformity unto that law and we thank you that there is a fountain open for sin and uncleanness we thank you that if we can confess our sins you're uh faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness so do that even now we pray and cause us with that that that mindset to enter into this sacred and delightful time to worship our Triune God we pray for your blessing upon all the brothers and the sisters in our local church here we pray for your blessing upon those who are struggling with physical challenges and trials and difficulties we pray that they would know the help of God in the midst of Affliction and hardship and for all of us God we all have spiritual struggles there are many Temptations and sins that we fight against we pray that your spirit would enable us and Empower us and give us that that Zeal to put on the Lord Jesus Christ and to make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts we ask God that you would look with favor upon our children and our young people bless those babies amongst us and the babies in the womb we thank you Lord and we know that this is a gift given from you we see it as a great stewardship as as as parents as grandparents to want to bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord may you give them ears to hear and hearts to receive your truth and may they indeed call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in their youth we pray for your blessing upon other churches here in our community be with pastor cman and the Saints at the free Reformed Church pray for pastor champ and the Brethren at at at Valley Heights we pray for other churches in our community that are holding fast with reference to the word of God we pray that they would know your goodness and their and your presence as they gather for public worship and may you sustain bless and encourage each of your people in these places as well bless our association churches we thank you for for this wonderful thing that you are doing we look forward to the conference in April so that we can gather together and get to the business at hand in terms of associational matters and we pray that you would be glorified in this that we would be Unified that we would be bound together by our common confession of those truths most surely believed among us and we pray that you would do glorious things in this nation we pray that more and more Sinners would be called effectually out of Darkness into Marvelous Light to to to confess faith in our Lord Jesus Christ we pray for the civil government we know these are tumultuous times in our own land and God we know that you are sovereign even over all these things we great get great comfort reading through the history of Israel in the old the Old Testament and we see how you oversaw in your Providence and in your government and in your your divine power you restrained the wickedness of men and you caused things to work according to your good purpose so Lord have mercy upon us in this body politic we know these are evil days we know these are are days where godlessness is celebrated abortion and youth and Asia and all manner of sexual perversion is exalted and this Grieves us we know it Grieves the the heart of a thce holy God so we pray for your restraint and we pray for your blessing upon gospel preaching and as well father we pray for the missionary Enterprise we thank you that your word is going forth we know that there is that great promise from every trib tongue people and Nation there will be a a massive Church triumphant assembled in that New Jerusalem and until that day God may you give Grace and strength to all of your servants to be faithful in proclaiming the truth as it is in Jesus Christ Our Lord Lord continue with us now be glorified in our midst and we ask in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ amen we can turn with me again to 457 457 we'll stand as we sing together [Music] my [Music] and my beauty are my glorious this world in me the r with shall my my for you [Music] my I and and shame my to my Jus forless prise to Mery for me [Music] for now my voice now [Music] glor and rightous please turn with me your Bibles to the Book of Joshua as we conclude Joshua tonight Joshua chap 24 the emphasis in this final section in the Book of Joshua is on retaining the land the way they'll retain the land is through faithfulness to God via Covenant of course once we move out of Joshua we see that is not the case Joshua portrays a very favorable uh portrayal of the the conquest judges not so much and we see in the Book of Judges they begin to start to ape the Nations around them and we see increasing Canaan isation of the nation of Israel ultimately culminating in their ejection from the land through the Assyrians in 722 and then through the Babylonians in 586 but here you have a covenant ceremony Covenant renewal at sheam so I'll begin reading in verse one and Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to sheum and called for the Elders of Israel for their heads for their judges and for their officers and they presented themselves before God and Joshua said to all the people thus says the Lord God of Israel your fathers including terara the father of Abraham and the father of nahor dwelt on the other side of the river in old times and they served other gods then I took your father Abraham from the other side of the river led him throughout all the land of Canaan and multiplied his descendants and gave him Isaac to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau to Esau I gave the mountains of seir to possess but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt also I sent Moses and Aaron and I plagued Egypt according to what I did among them afterward I brought you out then I brought your fathers out of Egypt and you came to the Sea and the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and Horsemen to the Red Sea so they cried out to the Lord and he put Darkness between you and the Egyptians brought the sea upon them and covered them and your eyes saw what I did in Egypt then you dwelt in the wilderness a long time and I brought you into the land of the amorites who dwelt on the other side of the Jordan and they fought with you but I gave them into your hand that you might possess their land and I destroyed them from before you then BAC the son of zippor King of Moab arose to make war against Israel and sent and called balum the son of Bor to curse you but I would not listen to balum therefore he continued to bless you so I delivered you out of his hand then you went over the Jordan Jord and came to Jericho and the men of Jericho fought against you also the amorites the perizzites the Canaanites the Hittites the gites the hivites and the jebusites but I delivered them into your hand I sent the Hornet before you which drove them out from before you also the two kings of the amorites but not with your sword or with your bow uh bow I have given you a land for which you did not labor and cities which you did not build and you dwell in them you eat of The Vineyards and Olive Groves which you did not PL now therefore fear the lord serve him in sincerity and in truth and put away the gods which your father served on the other side of the river and in Egypt serve the Lord and if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the river or the gods of the amorites in whose land you dwell but as for me in my house we will serve the Lord so the people answered and said far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods for the Lord our God is he who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage who did those great signs in our sight and preserved Us in all the way that we went and among all the people through whom we passed and the Lord drove out from before us all the people including the amorites who dwelt in the land we also will serve the Lord for he is our God but Joshua said to the people you you cannot serve the Lord for he is a holy God he is a jealous God he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins if you forsake the Lord and serve foreign Gods then he will turn and do you harm and consume you after he has done you good and the people said to Joshua no but we will serve the Lord so Joshua said to the people you are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord for yourselves to serve him and they said we Are Witnesses now therefore he said put away the foreign Gods which are among you and incline your heart to the Lord God of Israel and the people said to Joshua the Lord Our God we will serve and his voice we will obey so Joshua made a covenant with the people that day and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shaka then Joshua wrote these words in the book of The Law of God and he took a large Stone and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord and Joshua said to all the people behold this Stone shall be a witness to us for it is heard all the words of the Lord which he spoke to us it shall therefore be a witness to you lest you deny your God so Joshua let the people depart each to his own inheritance now it came to pass after these things that Joshua the son of nun the servant of the Lord died being 110 years old and they buried him within the border of his inheritance at Timnath sah which is in the mountains of Ephraim on the north side of Mount GES Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua jhua and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua who had known all the works of the Lord which he had done for Israel the bones of Joseph which the children of Israel had brought up out of Egypt they buried at sheam in the plot of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of hore the father of sheam for 100 pieces of silver and which had become an inheritance of the children of Joseph and Eleazar the son of Aaron died they buried him in a hill belonging to Phineas his son which was given to him in the mountains of be frame amen well just a couple of very quick observations as I said this is Covenant ratification that we see here at sheam there's a review of what God had done amongst them which is typical for Covenant making and then uh Joshua lays down the gauntlet basically in verses 14 and following he says now therefore fear the lord serve him in sincerity and in truth and put away the gods which your father served on the other side of the river and in Egypt serve the Lord so as they're getting ready to go conquer or as they're they've conquered the land and they're retaining the land this is the imperative hang on to it don't succumb to the pagans and the Heathen and the idolators around you and then what he says verse 15 if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve he's not an Armenian and he's not actually giving them an option he is basically consolidating or showing that it's only to be one way from hence forward it's similar to what uh uh uh Elijah does with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel when he tells is Israel how long will you falter between two opinions if God or Yahweh is God serve him if Baal is God then serve him in other words it's time to fish or cut bait and obviously Joshua and Elijah want them to fish similar what Jesus says if you're not with me you're against me and then when they swear or rather show forth their their declaration that they want to serve the Lord verse 19 is curious he says Joshua said to the people you cannot serve the Lord for he is a holy god' he is a jealous God he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins if you forsake the Lord and serve foreign Gods then he will turn and do you harm and consume you after he has done you good again he's not trying to dissuade them but rather he's trying to underscore how important it is that they demonstrate this kind of fidelity to the living and true God Davis says Joshua seeks to put down that blathering self-confidence that makes emotional commitments rather than shutting its mouth and counting the cost I think he's right and I think that's precisely what Joshua is doing in terms of Covenant making with the nation of Israel so let us pray Our Father in heaven we thank you for your written word we confess that it's God breathed that it's profitable for Doctrine for reproof for correction and for instruction in righteousness and again pour out your Holy Spirit Upon Us in the proclamation of your truth may we receive it with great Thanksgiving and with great joy and we pray through Jesus Christ Our Lord amen well please turn with me to Psalm 23b Psalm 23b before a brother comes up to preach we'll stand as we sing together [Music] down to my soul again and to walk our the of rightousness his s my our and will iar not him for are with me and my mer presence of my am and all and Mery all my life sh All Me for shall [Music] good evening to everyone you can turn in your Bibles with me to the book of Galatians we continue a study through the book of Galatians we're picking up where we left off last time which is always a good way to go Galatians chapter 1 you'll remember last time we looked at verses 11-1 17 Paul beginning the defense of the Gospel of Saving Grace by virtue of a reflection an autobiographical reflection and bringing these points and pieces of his life and Ministry to the four to argue for the authenticity of his gospel as it was being challenged both the authenticity of his gospel and the authority of his apostles ship being challenged by these by these false Brethren by these Juda judaizers by these aorists who uh came in seeking to pervert the gospel of saving grace we'll we'll read the section beginning at verse 11 uh of chapter 1 and then we'll continue through to chapter 2 verse 10 once again the word of God 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 have 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 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 before God I do not lie afterward I went into the regions of Syria and cissa 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 then after 14 years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas and also took Titus with me and I went up by Revelation and and communicated to them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles but privately to those who were of reputation lest by any means I might run or had run in vain yet not even Titus who was with me being a Greek was compelled to be circumcised and this occurred because of false Brethren secretly brought in who came in by stealth to spy out our Liberty which we have in Christ Jesus that they might bring us into bondage to whom we did not yield sub Miss Even for an hour that the truth of the Gospel might continue with you but from those who seemed to be something whatever they were it makes no difference to me God shows personal favoritism to no man for those who seem to be something added nothing to me but on the contrary when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter for he who worked effectively in Peter for the apostil ship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles and when James sephus and John who seemed to be pillars perceived the grace that had been given to me they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of Fellowship that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised they desired only that we should remember the poor the very thing which I also was eager to do amen well let us pray Heavenly Father we thank you for your word we rejoice in your truth truth as it's been given to us we thank you so much that you've revealed to us in your word the the doing and the dying and the rising again of Jesus Christ Our blessed savior we pray that you would be with us by your spirit help us to be illumined as we engage in this act of preaching we pray that in this act Lord God you would be honored and glorified and throughout the entirety of this worship this evening you would be honored and glorified and we pray in Christ's name amen amen well just a reminder of what Paul's doing in this book essentially it's a um it's a a banner Christian book that is the defense of the doctrine of justification by faith alone there had been those who had come into the churches seeking to pervert the Gospel of Jesus Christ seeking to add to the finished work of Christ specifically by adding circumcision and adherence to the Mosaic calendar and Mosaic precepts in order to be saved Christ was not enough in essence and things needed to be uh uh things needed to be done there were works and deeds and things that needed to be done in accordance with the Mosaic institutions in order to be finally and effectually saved by God which is obviously a perversion of the doctrine of justification by faith alone the the the very heartbeat of the Christian faith a doctrine that preaches not ourselves but a doctrine that that preaches Christ and him crucified the Perfection of his work alone for the Salvation of Sinners and what what Paul is doing in this section here is that he's giving an autobiographical defense of the true gospel and he's really opening up what we read in verses 10 through 12 just notice these verses again because everything that follows really up until the end of chapter 2 and verse uh verse 16 and we could say even to the end of chapter 2 is an opening up of verses 10 to 12 of chapter 1 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 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 and then you hear this or you read this four in verse 13 and there are a number of these fours or a number of then that mount one upon the other in order to hold forth the true apostleship of Paul not just for the end that the Apostle Paul would be honored and glorified but so that the the doctrine of justification by faith alone would continue with them and that God would be glorified and so we want to look this evening then at verses 18 uh Verse 18 of chapter 1 through chapter 2 verse 10 under two simple heads first the glory of God in the mission of the Apostle Paul and secondly the continued defense of the true and only gospel so first off the glory of God in the mission of the Apostle Paul we see this in verses uh 18 through 24 so the remainder of chapter 1 we see the glory of God in the mission of the Apostle Paul and under this head the first thing that we see is the authenticity of Paul's gospel argued from his independence notice the language that we read in verse 18 then after three years I went up 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 before God I do not lie so he's he's demonstrating here that though he went to Jerusalem he did not go to Jerusalem in order to somehow Avail of the instruction in the Gospel of Jesus Christ by one who is a leader at Jerusalem now he did go there and no doubt he was able to perhaps fill in some gaps that um that the Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ would have had with respect to the life and with respect to the ministry of Jesus Christ but he's arguing for he's arguing for the fact that he did not receive this gospel from man he did not receive the Gospel from Peter he did not receive the Gospel from James the Lord's brother he did not receive the Gospel from the other Apostles at Jerusalem but he received it from the very revelation of Jesus Christ again the end of verse 12 but he did go to Jerusalem and it must have been a it must have been a wonderful thing for Paul to go to Jerusalem and to to meet with Peter imagine uh going to meet with one of the Disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ to to glory in the same gospel that you both you both share that you both rejoice in to to glory in the gospel that Peter received from the very direct instruction of the Savior and that Paul also received from the self-same Savior though not enjoying 3 and 1/2 years uh of his Earthly Ministry but these two these two come together and they they meet and they talk about gospel Truth for for 15 days must have been great for the these two to get together that the one commissioned to the circumcised and the one commissioned to the uncircumcised to come together and to to leave recognizing the obvious Harmony of the Gospel that's being proclaimed by both of them the the the weight here or the thrust is that Paul did go to Jerusalem 3 years after his conversion but as we'll read later nothing was added to him nothing was corrected nothing was instructed with respect to the true and saving gospel Paul went after three years he had been proclaiming the true and saving gospel for three years and then after after those three years he goes to see Peter there's some weight of of Independence being declared here in verse 19 when he writes but I saw none of the other Apostles except James the Lord's brother what what's lurking in the background here is that the false teachers these these errorists these Heretics the judaizers were probably arguing for something of the the veracity of a Jerusalem gospel against the veracity or the non veracity of Paul's gospel that there was a conflict between what Paul was preaching and what really is the gospel that Christ isn't enough not quite enough but much rather there needs be circumcision and Mosaic precepts added to the finished work of Christ and so we'll see here that this proves not only the harmony of the Jerusalem gospel and Paul's gospel but it proves the very thing Paul is trying to argue for that he did did not receive the Gospel from man but he was taught it through the very revelation of Jesus Christ and we have this wonderful oath regarding the true origin of Paul's gospel this bracketed phrase in verse 20 now concerning the things which I write to you indeed before God I do not lie he's he's giving in in essence uh he's making an oath before God that God would judge him if he is lying with respect to the truth of the Gospel that he preaches and with respect to this account of going to Jerusalem that he didn't receive the Gospel from man but he received it from God perhaps there were reports that Paul received um what received instruction by Peter by James and by the Jerusalem leadership and that's where he got his gospel um but he brings out the very truth that he got it from God he received it from the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ and he calls a down a a curse upon himself essentially if he's lying this is how important the gospel of justification by faith alone is to the Apostle Paul and this is how vitally important it should be to the modern church as we read this book we we ought not to think ourselves detached from the things that are going on here in Jerusalem it's or or in in uh in galatia in in Syrian Antioch where Paul possibly is where he's writing this letter we have an intimate connection to the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ we are of the same church the same faith and the same baptism as the Apostle Paul as these galatian Saints and as our our brothers there in Jerusalem we have the same doctrine of justification by faith alone and we ought not count it a small thing when those seek to e either subtly or explicitly uh pervert the Gospel of Jesus Christ Paul would have nothing of it remember he had already called in essence a curse upon himself if his gospel was not the true gospel we read that in verses 8 and N verse 9 as it's a measure of repetition 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 a cursed and the Apostle Paul says even if we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel let him be a curse so Paul knows that the very doctrine of our Salvation is at stake the very uh the very Doctrine the truth and the glory of justification by faith alone we see as well here under the glory of God in the mission of the Apostle Paul the authenticity of Paul's God gospel argued from its reception how was the gospel of Paul received notice what we read here or what we see uh beginning at verse 21 afterward I went into the regions of Syria and cissa 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 the the authenticity of Paul's gospel argued from its reception and I think there there's a there's something of uh the the teeth of rebuke in in these particular verses here by the Apostle Paul if we're allowed to in a wholesome measure read into the words notice I was Unknown by fa to the churches of Judea which were in Christ he was known to the face of those in galatia to whom he obviously preached in his missionary journey he goes up through the region of Southern galaa to preach in in those City cities uh pidan Antioch Iconium Lyra Derby lisra Derby he comes back through those self-same cities of Southern galatia on his return back and he visits it he visits with them he uh he um comes in to see how they're doing comes into their Church is to see how they are fairing in their lives with Christ and according to the Gospel of Jesus Christ so these whom he had not seen gloried in uh glorified God in him but these to whom he's writing now even though he had seen them nevertheless they are falling away from the very gospel that he proclaimed I think there could be something of a rebuke you rebuke here these two didn't even see me but her of the preaching of the Gospel by a former persecutor they glorified god in me and you are being stolen away to glorify in forkins severed you're being stolen away to boast in forkins in circumcision in mutilation you're being stolen away to glory in adherence to Mosaic precepts in order to be saved what a wonderful thing we have here what a wonderful thing it must have been to to be those who can say he who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once tried to destroy I don't know if many of us here if if any of us could enter in to to that sort of amazing contrast there there were some who would have been and we we read in the book of Acts who who were the recipients of the persecuting activities of the Apostle Paul remember what we read here he who formerly uh persecuted us and we read before the one who sought to destroy the very Christian uh church this one who did all of this the The Madness of opposition and engaged in the tyranny of persecution is now preaching the very Faith he once tried to destroy I don't know if we know anything of that we know those who have opposed the truth uh we hear of those who oppose the truth but how often if ever have we heard heard of one who is so violently and vigorously opposed to Christianity who is one complicit in the stoning deaths of Believers and think Godly Steven who by Grace comes to Faith and preaches that Faith which he once tried to destroy you know what one of the things Paul is also doing here is he's he's calling upon these remember he he Marvels that they had so soon turned away from the gospel of grace to another gospel which is no gospel at all he's marveling that I I was just with you and now I have to write to you that you've turned away from the gospel which is the Perfection of the saving activities of Jesus Christ to a gospel that includes the chopping off of forkins and he wants to argue for the veracity of his gospel by once again emphasizing that he was opposed to it it vigorously and violently and yet God in his grace condescended to pull him from out of that Darkness from out of that deadness into the life and light of Jesus Christ it is only a true gospel which can be preached by one who is taken from that Darkness to The Marvelous Light of proclaiming the riches and the excellencies of Jesus Christ we see wherein True glorying Lies verse 24 and they glorified God in Me Turn Turn with me to chapter six for a moment chapter 6 because we see another contrast here notice in chapter 6 at verse 12 as many as desire to make a good showing in the flesh these would compel you to be circumcised only that they may not suffer persecution for the Cross of Christ for not even those who are circumcised keep the law but they desire to have you circumcised note that they may boast in your flesh and here we see back at Galatians back in Galatians 1 in that final verse that these glorified God in Paul the true gospel glorifies God it glorifies in God the true gospel boasts solely and alone in Jesus Christ the false gospel boasts in circumcision decisions the false gospel boasts In the Flesh the false gospel boasts in self in fact the very next verse that we read in Galatians 6 is that blessed verse by the Apostle Paul but God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by whom the world has been crucified to me and I to the world the true gospel glorifies God wherein does True gloring Lie it lies solely and alone in God and in Christ whom he has sent so secondly now we see the continued defense of the true and only gospel as we move into chapter 2 we we see here that the same discourse or the same writing is continuing this autobiographical defense of the true and saving gospel and what we want to see here under the continued defense of the Gospel is three things first ensuring the catholicity of Paul's gospel secondly the uncompromising demonstration of the gospel's liberty and thirdly Apostolic Unity for the cause of the Gospel so first notice ensuring the catholicity of his gospel we see here then after 14 years I went up to Jerusalem I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas and also took Titus with me this is uh it comes with the same weight though it's greater because if we can do math properly we'll see it's greater but it comes with the same weight of Verse 18 of chapter 1 then after three years I went up to Jerusalem we we now see then after 14 years and so a lot of time has passed here where the Apostle Paul again is preaching his gospel that does not come from man but that comes from God and this after 14 years probably refers to after his conversion if we are if we're thinking of the timeline with respect to Galatians and with respect to the corresponding narrative in the book of Acts this is most likely 14 years after his conversion just like the then after three years was after his conversion but this is not just a chronological marker but a further demonstration of Paul's Apostolic Authority after 14 years as the Apostle to the uncircumcised he proclaimed his gospel which is the very Gospel of Jesus Christ to those to whom uh uh to whom he traveled throughout his missionary journey and so we see here that he goes he uh goes with Barnabas Tak taking Titus and he goes up by Revelation and communicates to them that gospel which he preached and this is this is important language here as well and I and I went up by Revelation now that that isn't just recollecting the fact that he went by uh the spirit revealing to him where he must go but it's to continue to argue for the fact that he Bears a measure of a Apostolic Independence in the sense that he received his commissioning from God and His instruction from the Risen Christ in other words he didn't go up to Jerusalem by being compelled to do so by Jerusalem leadership it wasn't Peter it wasn't James it wasn't the other Apostles that said come to Jerusalem that we might check in on your gospel we have to make sure that we give it the the Jerusalem stamp of approval in order for you to keep on preaching uh your particular gospel no he goes up by Revelation he goes up by God just as his gospel came from God so too does this traveling to Jerusalem come from God he goes uh he goes up by Revelation and and communicates to them the gospel which he preached preaches among the Gentiles and notice but privately to those who were of reputation lest by any means I might run or had run in vain this this doesn't mean that Paul somehow questioned his gospel or that he was not confident in his own Gospel but he recognized that as he was going out proclaiming the truth of Jesus Christ he did not want to have his preaching his ministry his and barnabas' Ministries hindered by Jerusalem opposition to the gospel that they were proclaiming there there's a lot that Paul that Paul does was to be uh to be you know everything to all men we'll see an example here in in just a couple moments with respect to the circumcision of Timothy compared to that of Titus uh the non-c circumcision of Titus but Paul here says that uh he uses this language lest by any means I might run or had run in vain again not because he lacks a measure of confidence in his gospel but because he wants to be unhindered he was unhindered by the Jerusalem Church because it was the same gospel as we'll see and as we have seen and we see here this uncompromising demonstration of the gospel's Liberty this uh these verses 3 to5 the uncompromising demonstration of the gospel's liberty and there's there's I think something of a uh of a um Central Banner to Paul PA's Ministry that we see in verse 5B but notice the language here first with regards to the uncompromising demonstration of the gospel's liberty and we see it first in the non circumcision of Titus yet not even Titus who was with me being a Greek was compelled to be circumcised so what Paul is doing here in order to argue for the authenticity and the veracity of his go El is to demonstrate that the Jewish uh the Jewish leadership the the Jerusalem leadership that is the Jerusalem Christian leadership did not compel Titus to be circumcised um it it it's almost it's in a sense a a gotcha moment sort of for the Apostle Paul if it is the case that Christians that uh Gentile Christians are to receive circumcision and to adhere to Mosaic precepts then know this that Titus was not compelled to be circumcised so therefore the gospel of justification by faith alone is the true gospel and this gospel that these Heretics this gospel that these errorists are seeking to propagate is false not even Titus who was with me being a Greek was compelled to be circumcised this so-called called gospel which is no gospel at all that demands the circumcision of adherence is a false false gospel that is damned to Hell notice the language continues and this occurred because of false Brethren secretly brought in who came in by stealth to spy out our Liberty which we have in Christ Jesus that they might bring us into bondage that's that's the design and that's the intent that's the vile design and intent of these judaizers to bring uh to bring acolytes into to bondage it to to put upon themselves a yoke which they are not to Bear remember Jesus Christ said my my yoke is easy they are not to be brought back under the Yoke of the ceremonial law Paul will use some some glorious language when we get to chapter 5 Stand Fast there therefore in the Liberty wherewith Christ hath made you free and be not entangled Again by a yoke of bondage and so these were were seeking to spy out Liberty that it sort of means that they were you know lurking about these these Christians these Gentile Christians peeking over the shoulder if you were and seeing if they were going to adhere to the Mosaic precepts looking to see if they're being circumcised looking to see if the the Apostle Paul is is treating badly the Mosaic law and the ceremonies of Moses they're spying out their Liberty these false Brethren brought in and their design their intent is to bring Christians into bondage and we see this glorious uncompromising demonstration stated in verse 5 to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour that the truth of the Gospel might continue with you this the why why is Paul doing what is what he's doing why is Paul going about his Earthly Ministry why is Paul writing Epistles to churches it's Galatians 25b that the truth of the Gospel might continue with you a and 2,000 years removed from this this is what the churches of the Lord Jesus Christ are to do they're to not yield submission even for an hour to those who seek to pervert the Gospel of Jesus Christ we're not to give them the stage we're not to give them the mic we're not to to shake if you will religious and Theological hands with them we're not to go on a conference circuit and laugh and smile while we welcome them up on the stage to to talk about theology we're to we're to withstand them to their face as we'll see later though Peter was not a judaizer were to not yield submission even for an hour to those who would pervert the gospel because it is the very heartbeat of Christianity the doctrine of justification by faith that is our very peace is at stake and Paul would have nothing of it His companion in this Titus and of course Barnabas would have nothing of it we also see here lastly Apostolic Unity for the cause of the Gospel this long section here verse 6 to verse 10 Apostolic Unity for the cause of the Gospel the first thing that we see here is that Paul's gospel was not modified by the Jerusalem leadership notice what we read in verse 6 but from those who seem to be something whatever they were it makes no difference to me God shows personal favoritism to no man for those who seem to be something added nothing to me think there there's two things that are going on here one of the things that's going on in the language they added nothing to me is going back to what the Apostle Paul has already argued that he received his gospel from God and not from man they they didn't add anything to him they they of course when they sat together when they talked together he would have heard about those uh blessed things that obtained during the Earthly Ministry of Jesus Christ um you know Paul was preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ but he didn't give a narrative of the things that uh that happened in The Life and Times of Jesus Christ but the point here is is that they didn't add to his gospel they did not correct his gospel they did not modify his gospel they added nothing to me I think we should also understand here like we noted with Titus not being circumcised that they did not add to the message of the go go El as if to correct him to correct him in that he was somehow erroneous to say that we're justified by faith alone and not by The Works of the law they added nothing to me and then he continues the next but on the contrary the apostolic Unity that we see for the cause of the Gospel Paul's continued Ministry is affirmed by the Jerusalem leadership we see this this language here they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter and we see the unity captured in that these two Proclaimers these two Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ are of course of the same God for he who worked effectively in Peter that is literally he who energized Peter for the apostleship to the circum ized also energized me toward the Gentiles we we have similar language if you just move with me here as we move towards a close in 1 Timothy chapter 1 Paul is though to a a lesser degree in the way of size and space and the amount of words used uh speaking with respect to his autobiography um his conversion his Comm iing as an apostle notice what we have at verse 14 the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance that Jesus Christ came into the world to save Sinners of whom I am chief however for this reason I obtain Mercy that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering as a pattern to those who are going to believe on him for everlasting life now to the king Eternal Immortal invisible to God who alone is wise be honor and Glory forever and ever amen now if anyone is wondering why I just read that text it's because I realized that that's not the text I wanted to read but had I not finished it we would miss the Glorious language that's captured there uh as he ends with this with this doxology if we if we back up to verse 12 1 Timothy 1 and verse vers 12 and I thank Christ Jesus our lord who has enabled me because he counted me faithful putting me into the ministry that similar language moving back to moving back to Galatians 2 this language of energizing or as the language is here working effectively the same God who work worked effectively in Peter also worked effectively in Paul toward the Gentiles and so the Apostle Paul is driving home the unity there's not a disunity between uh Jerusalem and and Antioch if if you will Jerusalem and and Paul but rather there is a glorious Harmony a glorious uh un between the two Proclaimers of the Gospel between these two uh between these two Apostolic missions if you will in the early church your gospel in other words judaizers you arguing from any Vantage Point other than the simple Madness of your own minds and the devilish influences that are upon you you arguing for this gospel that says Jesus Christ is not enough you arguing for this gospel that includes the lopping off of forkins as requisite for God's acceptance of a sinner you guys are off and the apostles and myself are those who are proclaiming the the truth the riches and the excellencies of Jesus Christ as exclusive in the salvation of Sinners I don't know if you know we we can really imagine except perhaps those who who grew up in the Roman Catholic Church like like gemini or perhaps those who have been the recipients of a of a of a more subtle heaping upon the true true and saving gospel but if we do we appreciate the the the error and the weight and the the um just the the opposition to the gospel that the judaizers were bringing um in the time of the Apostle Paul you know I don't we perhaps can't um wrap our minds around this notion that these would be stolen away that they would so quickly turn away from the gospel of grace having heard of this glorious Jesus who himself is our peace who has secured our Salvation having been preached of a holy God uh having Having learned of a god father Son and Holy Spirit who cannot look upon sin approvingly who abominates sin wickedness transgression depravity the having received the message that we're all Sinners that we all fall short of the glory of God that we are rightly condemned before this most holy God for any and all trans uh trans transgressions committed in his sight and that the only way of Salvation is the doing and the dying and the rising again of Jesus Christ he himself being our justification to to then uh to to uh hear of and to see these owning that glorious gospel receiving that glorious gospel but then after you've gone through them preach to them and and come back uh through the churches visiting them you hear that they are just moving away being stolen away from that glorious gospel do you not hear what I preached about the Holiness of God do you not recall what I proclaimed with regards to your own sinfulness do you not recall the the riches and the excellencies of Jesus Christ having received the preaching of So Glorious a savior you're now going to add things to that gospel in this day it was circumcision and adherence to the Mosaic law in our own day it can be these proclivities and these fancies that so-called preachers and so-called ministers and so-called Reverend will Heap upon the people as burdens to be obeyed in order to be accepted before God it is only by grace through faith in Jesus Christ that we are saved and that's AO the Apostle Paul's Proclamation and he is doing this even unto certain death that the truth of the Gospel might continue with them in in closing two quick things we see the vital importance of justification by faith alone both the doctrine and the people's grasping of the doctrine so the doctrine itself the Theology of justification is absolutely vital as as we'll see in in uh Perhaps Perhaps next time or the time after that the the very the very crosswork of the Lord Jesus Christ is is suied and trampled upon by these judaizers when when we step away from the historic and the biblical and confessional doctrine of justification by faith alone we trample Upon Our God we trample upon the seriousness of sin and we trample upon the perfect perfect finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ the theology is not only at stake but uh or not only vitally important but our grasping of it your Christian peace and your Christian happiness and your Christian Joy does not depend upon the ebbing and the flowing of your own works and your own Deeds you I I think very often because the flesh does lust against the spirit a as we'll see in Galatians 5 because the flesh does lust against the spirit we can very often have our minds and our souls stolen away by Notions that our Christian joy and peace depends upon ourselves upon how good we've been this week uh upon our church attendance upon our attendance to the means of Grace that that that our joy and peace depends upon our works and our deeds and our doings and our strivings Paul wants the these Christians these Galatians to understand that Christ is their peace peace in fact Paul does write that to the Galatians he himself is our peace perhaps bringing forth the the the prophet Micah to the four that the the promised one who is from Everlasting will be our peace Jesus Christ is your peace not your own Bible reading read your Bibles but the frequency of your Bible reading is not the foundation or the ground of your peace o obey the law with joyful Christian Hearts because you have been saved don't obey it in order to somehow fill up the The Emptiness of your peace it's for your sanctification not your justification your peace is found in Christ so when you are when your soul is in that place of darkness when the the rains and the storms of frowning Providence can roll in and and and blast down upon your soul don't seek your peace and your comfort and your happiness anywhere save for the god of justification by faith alone save in Christ who secures our justification and him alone and then secondly and lastly the importance of an uncompromising faithful Ministry the Ministers of the Lord Jesus Christ are to be uncompromisingly faithful in their proclamation of Jesus Christ and him crucified and praise God that we've had Pastor Butler for coming up on on 30 years a a fallible man but a faithful man uncompromising in his faithfulness to to weak in and week out Proclaim this God and this Jesus of justification by faith alone taking taking his motions and his movements from the Apostle Paul who's stoned who Shipwrecked who whipped who's beaten who's battered who's opposed who is ultimately put to death that the truth of the Gospel might continue with us the the importance of an uncompromising faithful Ministry we need that in the Churches of Christ today we we don't need ministers and uh and we may say with some ministers socalled who inv who who have a truck with and and who uh engage in in the theological uh joining of hands with those who oppose the doctrine of justification by faith alone it's no small thing ah you know what little variation little variation on the truth you know if we just we smuggle in just a little bit little bit of works is that is that really that bad if we you know yeah you know if we're brought in by Christ into the New Covenant but you know we kind of keep ourselves in isn't that okay to that's that's abominable that's a aema that Doctrine is damnable according to the Apostle Paul and so Christian ministers need to vigorously without the dancing of a politician's feet uphold justification by faith alone even unto death if need be because that's the very heartbeat of Christianity and if you're here this evening and you're a saint of the Lord Jesus Christ rejoice in justification by faith alone uh the the spirit hopefully the spirit does lust against the flesh the spirit wins the spirit wins and so find your peace not in anything you've done will do or can do but find your peace solely and alone in the perfect doing the perfect dying and the Glorious Rising again of the Son of God incarnated and if you're outside of Christ this evening believe on him where whatever your station may be in your sinfulness and in your unbelief the only way to Salvation the only way to Everlasting peace is in this glorious Christ of justification by faith alone believe on him and you will have everlasting life let's pray Heavenly Father we rejoice in your goodness to us through the revelation of Jesus Christ through the Revelation that we have in the scriptures we thank you that we can connect ourselves 2,000 years back uh to that Apostle Paul that uncompromising uh faithful minister of the of the Gospel that endured much that we might know the Peace of Christ we thank you for your gifts to the church faithful ministers throughout the ages who who have carried that baton who have carried that torch and passed it on that the gospel of Saving Grace might move forward victoriously and we know that it is because of the Triune God and because of the spirit sent we do pray that you'd help us to uh to glory in the peace that we have in Jesus Christ and so to glory in our God and do go with us now help us to live our lives in a manner worthy of the gospel of grace and we do pray that you'd give us your spirit that we may do so and we pray in Christ's name amen well let's stand and sing together 568 that's the doxology 568 we'll stand and sing together [Music] pra All Creatures PR him the heav pr father son and holy now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy to God our savior who alone is wise be glory and Majesty dominion and power both now and forever amen well please be seated for a brief time of prayer when the piano's finished we're dismissed e e e e e for