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Galatians chapter 4, we're looking 
specifically this evening at verses 12 to 20, the Apostle 
Paul's paternal appeal to the Galatians. Remember last week 
we saw his concern for the Galatians, which came in fear over verses 
8 to 11. He is fearful for them. Their 
current trajectory is not good. They are in danger of turning 
from the Lord Jesus Christ, turning to the Judaizers and their emphasis 
not only on faith, but faith plus words. So he expresses his 
fear for them in verse 11. He says it very candidly. I am 
afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain. He continues 
with his concern for the Galatians in verses 12 to 20. Here it comes, 
though not so much as a fear for them, but rather as an appeal 
to them. based on their experience together, 
the apostle and the brethren, the people of God in the Galatian 
churches. And it shows something of the 
heart of the apostle. So while this section doesn't 
necessarily advance our doctrinal understanding of justification, 
it ought to inform us about the heart that is concerned with 
such issues. So we're going to pick up reading 
in verse eight of chapter four. He says, But then indeed, when 
you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not 
gods. But now, after you have known 
God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again 
to the weak and beggarly elements to which you desire again to 
be in bondage? You observe days and months and 
seasons and years. I am afraid for you, lest I have 
labored for you in vain. Brethren, I urge you to become 
like me. For I became like you. You have 
not injured me at all. You know that because of physical 
infirmity, I preach the gospel to you at the first. And my trial, 
which was in my flesh, you did not despise or reject. But you 
received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. What then 
was the blessing you enjoyed? For I bear you witness that if 
possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them 
to me. Have I, therefore, become your 
enemy because I tell you the truth? They zealously court you, 
but for no good. Yes, they want to exclude you, 
that you may be zealous for them. But it is good to be zealous 
in a good thing always, and not only when I am present with you. 
My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until 
Christ is formed in you, I would like to be present with you now 
and to change my tone, for I have doubts about you. Tell me, you 
who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? For 
it is written that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondwoman, 
the other by a free woman. But he who was of the bondwoman 
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. 
The Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. 
For it is written, Rejoice, O barren, you who do not bear. Break forth 
and shout, you who are not in labor. For the desolate has many 
more children than she who has a husband. Now we, brethren, 
as Isaac was, are children of promise. But as he who was born 
according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to 
the spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless, what does the scripture 
say? Cast out the bond woman and her 
son for the son of the bond woman shall not be heir with the son 
of the free woman. So then, brethren, we are not 
children of the bond woman, but of the free. Amen. Let us pray. Blessed God, we pray for the 
ministry of Your Spirit as we look at Galatians 4. Teach us 
something concerning the heart of this man of God. Help us to 
not only be earnest contenders for the faith which was once 
for all delivered to the saints, but to do so with a view to Your 
glory and with a view to the good of men's souls. We pray, 
Father, that You would just fill us now with Your Holy Spirit. 
We know in our generation, in our current age, there is a lot 
of theological debate. pray God in heaven that you would 
just help us to engage in such things with love and with affection 
and with a genuine desire to promote your glory. We ask through 
Christ the Lord. Amen. Well, as I said, this particular 
section doesn't necessarily advance our understanding of the doctrine 
But the apostle, by way of personal appeal, by way of a reference 
to their experience together, is teaching them and highlighting 
something about his own heart and his disposition toward that. 
It's been a helpful passage for me because it is easy to want 
to contend earnestly for the faith. We need to remember that 
there's real people involved. There are real casualties when 
men follow after strange doctrine. There are real problems when 
people entertain heresy. And if we don't keep this in 
mind, we will relax instead of fighting for the faith and doing 
so lovingly. So Paul teaches us, not just 
sound theology, by way of didactic or teaching with reference to 
his writing. But he also teaches us by way 
of his own personal example. And that's what we find here. 
I'm going to break this section up in two places. First, verses 
12 to 16, a reminder of their filial relationship. A reminder 
of what they had together on his first visit amongst them. 
And then secondly, a warning against their involvement with 
the Judaizers. Verses 17 to 20. Remember, Judaizer 
is a term depicting those who came to the churches that Paul 
had preached at. And they said, it's good to believe 
on the Lord Jesus, but you must also keep the law. You must also 
become circumcised. You must keep the ceremonies 
of Moses. not simply for a cultural reason, 
but for acceptance with God. That's why it's such a grave 
error and a grave heresy, why it is so disconcerting to the 
apostle. Looking back for just a moment 
in verse 10 of chapter 4, he says, you observe days and months 
and seasons and years. Again, he is not militating against 
any recognition of a particular day. He highlights his thought 
on that in Romans chapter 14. He is against the idea that our 
observance of a day or of a month or a season or a year somehow 
gains us acceptance with God. That is legalism. That is attaching 
works to faith in order to gain our justification before God. And that is what is wretched. Justification is an act of God's 
free grace, wherein He pardons all our sins and counts us as 
righteous or accepts us as righteous in His sight, only for the righteousness 
of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone. That word alone 
was one of the center points in the Protestant Reformation. 
Rome taught faith and words. The Reformers said faith alone. And they got that from the Apostle 
Paul. He emphasizes our acceptance 
with God is not based on our performance, but on Christ's 
performance, Christ's obedience to the law, Christ's sacrifice 
at Calvary, Christ's resurrection. When we believe on Him, we have 
acceptance with our God. So let's look at this reminder 
of their relationship together in verses 12 to 16. First, he 
exhorts them. Notice in verse 12, Brethren, 
I urge you to become like me, for I became like you. You have 
not injured me at all. The relationship. Become like 
me because I became like you. Some of the commentators explain 
this as sort of a family relationship. Like father, like son. Paul had 
been brought in in such an intimate circle that they were like family 
with one another. But I think the direction is 
actually a different one. When he says that you are to 
become like me, I believe he means free from Jewish observances 
with a view to acceptance with God. Become like me in your insistence 
upon acceptance with God by faith alone. Become like me with reference 
to our standing before God. We are not brought into His presence 
because we perform well. We are brought into His presence 
because Christ performed well. Become like me with reference 
to the issues of faith and words and law and justification. And 
then when he says, for I became like you, I believe he means 
free from Jewish observances with a view to acceptance with 
God. Paul behaved like a Gentile so 
that he could win Gentiles. Look back at Galatians 2 at verse 
14. He says, But when I saw that 
they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, 
I said to Peter before them all, If you being a Jew live in the 
manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles 
to live as Jews? We who are Jews by nature and 
not sinners of the Gentiles, 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. when he says, even we. He's saying, 
even we Jews are like the Gentiles, believing solely in Christ for 
acceptance with God. It's not through our observances. 
It's not through looking at the high holy days. It's not through 
circumcision. It's not through the ceremony 
specified by Moses. It's by faith alone. So that 
when he says be like me, he means free from Jewish observances. 
When he says I became like you, he means free from Jewish observances. This is the thought in 1 Corinthians 
chapter 9. Verses 19 to 23. He says, For though I am free 
from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might 
win them all. Now this passage, unfortunately, 
has been taken to mean, you know, I ought to get a nose ring, and 
I ought to get, you know, a bunch of tattoos, and I ought to shoot 
heroin, and I ought to be like everybody else so that I can 
win them to Christ. I ought to be just like everybody 
out there so that they'll see me and want to believe the gospel. That's not what he's talking 
about. insofar as it does not compromise or put himself into 
sin, insofar as he does not relinquish the fact that he is a godly man 
under Jesus, when it doesn't come to compromising issues of 
faith and acceptance with God, he will be like a Gentile, if 
necessary. That's the thrust. That's the 
direction. He says in verse 20, and to the 
Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews. To those who 
are under the law as under the law, that I might win those who 
are under the law. To those who are without law, 
as without law, not being without law toward God, but under law 
toward Christ, that I might win those who are without law. To 
the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have 
become all things to all men, that I might by all means save 
some. Now this I do for the gospel's 
sake, that I may be partaker of it with you." Think that's 
what he's referring to here. In this, I urge you to become 
like me, for I became like you. when he made his first missionary 
journey, when he went to these cities in southern Galatia, he 
did not preach to them observance to the Mosaic ordinances for 
their acceptance with God. He became like a Gentile. He 
told them it's belief alone in Christ alone for your acceptance 
with God most high. Vincent Chong says, therefore, 
his personal appeal to them is I plead with you, brothers, become 
like me, for I became like you. Paul lived like a Gentile when 
he was among them. Consistent with his message, 
he did not insist on following Jewish customs and regulations 
for himself, nor did he impose these upon the converts. Now 
he pleads with the Galatians, become like me, as one who affirms 
and practices a gospel of justification by faith in Christ apart from 
circumcision, the works of the law, or Jewish customs and regulations." 
That's the direction that he is going in. That's what he's 
exhorting them to. He's in essence saying, reject 
the Judaizers, reject the emphasis upon the Mosaic ceremonies, and 
follow me. Not because he's Christ. but 
because he's actually accurately teaching them the truth. Notice 
as well what he says. You have not injured me at all. 
You've not injured me at all. His concern is for his converse 
well-being and ultimate salvation. Paul's not here fighting for 
his reputation. Paul's here not on some vendetta 
to fix these people that have turned from following him. He's 
not out to get them because they have somehow discouraged him 
in terms of his own place in redemptive history. He is concerned 
for these people. He understands that the stakes 
are high. If they follow the Judaizers, 
they show themselves apostate. They show themselves as having 
never entered in to that state of grace. And so he is concerned 
that they don't fall prey to this attack. But as far as Paul's 
concerned, it is not his well-being that is in view here. It is not 
his reputation. It is not his esteem. That is 
not what drives the apostle. It's their salvation. It's their 
well-being. Notice their history together. 
Verses 13 to 15. It's an amazing thing. It was 
because of a physical sickness that Paul went to preach there. 
There's been several reasons, several thoughts on what this 
actually means. One said, Paul contracted malaria 
in the low-lying territory of Pamphylia and made his way up 
to the high country around Pisidian Antioch to recuperate. If you 
read the autobiography of John G. Payton, didn't he do that? 
He was down by the water and then he moved up to a higher 
elevation so that he could avoid sickness. Maybe there's some 
merit to that particular issue. Paul's in Pamphylia, he gets 
malaria, he relocates so that he will be in a healthier place. 
Also, the words translated, you did not despise, have been taken 
literally, you did not spit out. I think the new American standard 
contains that in the margin. The word literally that we read, 
you did not despise, can be literally said, you did not spit out. And 
related to the practice of spitting to avert the evil eye or to exercise 
an evil spirit believed to be the cause of certain afflictions, 
including epilepsy. And then as well, the statement 
of verse 15 concerning their eyes has been taken to show that 
Paul suffered from ophthalmia or some other infection in the 
eyes, but the text does not tell us, one way or the other, what's 
in view. It tells us that they met, first 
of all, because of a physical infirmity. Paul was sick. He had an issue. He had a trial. 
He had something wrong with him. That brought him into the sphere 
of these particular believers, or people, rather, in the southern 
Galatian region. Note the sovereignty of God in 
this. I mean, just imagine this. Your salvation depends on or 
hinges upon some man getting sick so that he'll come to your 
particular village. God is orchestrating all these 
things. God has his elect out in the 
world. He will send the gospel. He will call them to himself. 
And in this particular instance, this is what's going on. Notice 
what he says as well in verse 14. He says, and my trial. It's literally and your trial, 
which was in my flesh. and your trial. The idea being 
is that Paul either looked so repulsive or he had such an infirmity, 
perhaps he might have been contagious, that they didn't want anything 
to do with him. Or it would have been expected 
for them not to want anything to do with them. One commentator 
renders it this way. And though my illness was a temptation 
for you to reject me, yet you did not despise me nor disdain 
me. You see, these brethren have 
some history. These Judaizers are new on the scene. They've 
come and said, Paul's decent, but you need to keep the ceremonies 
of Moses. Paul says, do you remember what 
brought us together initially? Do you remember that I was sick 
and I came into your villages? Do you remember that my very 
appearance was a trial to you? But instead of you casting me 
out, instead of you rejecting and shunning me and thus shunning 
the gospel, you received me unto yourself. You listen to the preaching, 
you listen to the word, and not only that, you receive me as 
an angel of God. Some have tried to link this 
with Lystra in Acts 14, when Paul and Barnabas were preaching 
and the natives came and fell down before them and praised 
them as having been angels. I don't know that that's a legitimate 
stretch or a legitimate connection. But regardless, when he comes, 
they received him as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. So they have history together. 
Judaizers have come along new on the scene and they are uprooting 
this relationship. Now, when Paul says you have 
not injured me at all again, it's not his self-esteem. It's 
not his self-respect. It's not his preacher of the 
month status. But I'm sure there was a great 
deal of pain in his heart. You know when you've effectively 
or tried to effectively minister to somebody and then they turn 
away because they found some new teaching that's heretical? 
That's disconcerting. It's difficult. If you've ever 
discipled somebody and you've been one-on-one and you've shared 
the gospel with them and you try to teach them what the Bible 
says and you grab them by the hand and you meet with them and 
you're concerned for them and you're praying for them and then 
you watch some television preacher hear something on the radio and 
poof, they're gone. That's tough. He says, you received 
me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. Calvin says the 
papists want us to receive them as angels and as Jesus Christ. He says, well, when their when 
their their conduct is a bit better, then we'll receive them 
as angels. And when they preach to us sound truth, we'll receive 
them as Christ Jesus. That was a good side note by 
John Calvin there with reference to the papists. But they have 
a history here. They have. time spent with one 
another. So when you look at this whole 
epistle, this is in many respects the rub. These guys are turning 
from one who preached the gospel to them and the power of the 
Holy Spirit to a bunch of guys who have come along that really 
don't want their well-being. That's another one of these shocking 
realities that happen in this world. A man can be invested 
and genuinely desire the good of somebody. What did the Judaizers 
want? We'll see it in more detail as 
we proceed. They court you zealously. They're after you. Why? Because they want you to follow 
them. It's not that they want you to 
follow Jesus. They don't want you to follow 
God. They don't want you to honor the Lord. Rather, they are seeking 
to gain followers after themselves. That's very grieving that these 
sorts of things go on. Notice they didn't shine. They 
receive them as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. And then 
notice in verse six of 15, what then was the blessing you enjoyed? 
I bear you witness that if possible, you would have plucked out your 
own eyes and given them to me. Now, this mixed with what Paul 
writes later in chapter six, when he says in verse 11, see 
with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand, 
seem to indicate some sort of a problem with his eyes or it 
could simply be an idiom. A figure of speech. How do we 
describe somebody who's very generous and very nice? We say, 
oh, they'd give you the shirt off their backs, wouldn't we? 
He's such a nice man, or she's such a solid lady. She would, 
or he would. We don't want she to. We want 
him to give you the shirt off his back. Look at the extent 
of their love. They would take their own eyes 
out and give them to the Apostle. So while his esteem and his reputation 
and all that is not the concern here, there is an ache in his 
soul because he is witnessing firsthand defection, departure 
and apostasy from people who know better. They at one time 
would have been willing to pluck their eyes out and give them 
to the Apostle Paul. That was the extent of their 
love for this particular brother. All that to say it is easy for 
people to get led astray by false teaching and view with suspicion 
those who have faithfully ministered to them. We need to guard against 
this temptation. It is easy to be led astray. It is easy if we are not on our 
guard, if we don't know our Bibles, if we are not examining daily 
the things that we are hearing, we can be led astray. And then 
look at suspicion or look at people that we should love and 
esteem suspiciously. This is the whole purpose of 
2 Corinthians. You ever read 2 Corinthians and 
you wondered why is Paul defending himself so vehemently in this 
letter? Because people had gone to Corinth 
and said, Paul really doesn't love you. Paul's not really concerned 
about you. Paul isn't an impressive guy. 
He doesn't have good oratory skills. He's nothing to look 
at. He's not the power preacher. 
He doesn't wear the power tie. He's not into power religion. 
He isn't a super apostle. Follow us. That's why in 2 Corinthians, 
for so much, he defends his apostleship. Because in that instance, as 
in this one as well, if he is discredited and the opponents 
win and he won't let that happen. So that's a reminder of their 
relationship. Now, notice, secondly, a warning 
against their involvement with the Judaizers or just just for 
a moment, look at verse 16. Have I therefore become your 
enemy because I tell you the truth? That's a tough statement. Not 
a tough one to exegete or understand, but it's a tough one when you 
realize that sometimes people get to the point where they get 
mad at you because you're telling them the truth. I mean, isn't 
it great when you tell somebody the truth, they say, yeah, you're 
right. I'm a wretch. I should believe the gospel. 
Is that normally what happens? No. Normally what happens is, 
who do you think you are? Who do you think you are telling 
me about my sin? Who do you think you are using 
the term lost? What's this word saved? That 
implies bad things about me. You talk about damnation. People 
don't like you when you tell them the truth. Now, you would 
hope that within the churches of Galatia, it would not be the 
case that Paul would become their enemy because he tells them the 
truth. We need to guard against this 
as well. Sometimes some people might tell 
us things that are hard to deal with. Sometimes somebody might 
tell you something that is difficult to process. Let's just use a 
real analogy that we can all relate to. If somebody were to 
say to you, man, your breath reeks, you probably wouldn't 
be thrilled. You wouldn't say, yay, I love 
allitosis. That's what I'm about. It's how 
I roll. I try to be as offensive as I 
possibly can. No, it's offensive to you. How 
dare you tell me that my breath smells? You're invading my personal 
area. You are encroaching on my esteem. What happens in the spiritual 
realm as well? Somebody might say to you, you know what? You're 
getting dangerously close to a pattern of iniquity. getting 
dangerously close to indulging that sin instead of dealing with 
it. What happens? Is it the case 
that all the people of God say, thank you, faithful are the wounds 
of a friend. I bless God for you. No. How about the husband and wife 
relationship? Wife musters up the courage to say, honey, you 
need to lead this family better in the things concerning God. 
Oh, what do you mean? I'm so busy. I got all the... 
Just deal with it, man. We spend so much time defending 
our honor, defending our integrity, defending our excellence, when 
we should say it is a whole lot worse than you can even imagine. 
Thank you for reproving me so that I can deal with this. In 
disarrangement, because Paul told the truth, they were now 
looking at him with eyes of suspicion. He has become the enemy. He wants 
to hold us back. He wants to keep us down. He 
doesn't want us to be everything that we can be in Jesus. It's 
an amazing dynamic that occurs. People get Very irritated or 
upset with the current regime when somebody new comes in telling 
them things they want to hear. Well, let's look finally at this 
warning against their involvement. Notice the Judaizers strategy. 
Verse 17, they zealously court you. You know what I think of when I see 
that? I think of a young man who's in love with a young woman. 
He zealously courts. He puts on his best behavior. 
He puts on his shirt ties, sprays himself with cologne. He's respectful 
to the parents. He's respectful to her. Everything 
is great. Everything is hunky-dory. He's 
zealously courting her. Why? Because he wants her. He 
wants to marry her. He wants to engage in wedded 
bliss with her. Well, the same idea is present 
here. But he highlights the fact that 
it is for no good. It's not like the man of integrity 
going after the woman. It's like the serpent. It's like 
the snake. It's like the one zealously courting 
you, not for good. You see, that's what's at stake. Paul sees the spiritual reality 
involved. If they add works to faith, they 
are damned. Sometimes fear, we don't see 
it in such stark reality today. Oh, they're just Roman Catholics 
who teach faith plus words. Oh, it's just the new perspective 
on Paul that teach faith plus words. It's just the new federal 
vision theology, faith plus words. They are highlighting that our 
acceptance with God in some way depends upon us. That rips the teeth or guts right 
out of justification by faith. Paul saw they zealously court 
you, but for no good. Notice this. Yes, they want to 
exclude you that you may be zealous for them. Like the prey animal 
focusing or the predator focusing on the prey. What do they do? 
They don't attack the whole mob. They try to exclude them. They 
try to get them isolated. No, don't follow Paul. Don't 
listen to Paul. Don't listen to what he has to say. They want 
to exclude them from Paul and thus exclude them from Christ. 
Why? Not for high and noble purposes. 
No, so that you may be zealous for them. When all is said and 
done, these guys want money. They want prestige. They want 
a following. They want disciples who call 
them Reverend Pastor, Doctor, Sir, or whatever it is. That 
was fair. That's what these guys were about. 
They want to exclude you that you may be zealous for them. F.F. Bruce says they want to 
gain adherence for themselves and to shut them off from fellowship 
with Paul and, in effect, from fellowship with the Christ, whose 
apostle Paul is. In Paul's eyes, to seek justification 
by legal works, as the Galatians were being urged to do by the 
troublemakers, was to be severed from Christ. Look at that in 
chapter five. Verse four. Let's just pick up 
reading in verse one, stand fast, therefore, in the liberty by 
which Christ has made us free and do not be entangled again 
with a yoke of bondage. Indeed, I, Paul, say to you that 
if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing again. 
This isn't some cultural health whatever. It's not just this 
is the way we do things because we like to be cleaner or whatever. That's not the issue here. The 
issue is religious insignificance. It is to keep the law of Moses 
for our acceptance with God. Look at what this obliges a man 
to. If you first say yes to circumcision, 
notice verse three. And I testify again to every 
man who becomes circumcised, that he is a debtor to keep the 
whole law. It doesn't stop there. That's 
why they were following days and months and years. That's 
why they were celebrating the Jewish High Holy Days in an attempt 
to gain favor with God. You don't just keep a little 
bit of the Law of Moses for your acceptance with God. It has to 
be complete. It has to be total. It has to 
be thorough. And that's the glory of the Gospel. 
Because none of us have done that. None of us can do that. 
But Jesus Christ did. So by faith in Him, we are justified. Notice in verse four, you have 
become estranged from Christ, separated from Christ. You who 
attempt to be justified by law, you have fallen from grace. It's 
not an Arminian doctrine that he's setting forth there. You 
can be in a state of grace and be saved and then fall from grace 
and not ultimately make it. He's talking about the categories. If you are to be in the state 
of grace, do not bank your resources on law. To go now into the law 
category is to fall from grace. So these guys had diabolical 
motives in their heads and in their hearts and in their minds. 
Again, back to chapter four. They zealously court you, but 
for no good. Yes, they want to exclude you, 
that you may be zealous for them. He says it is good to be zealous 
in a good thing always, and not only when I'm present with you. 
The problem isn't zeal. I wish everybody was a lot more 
zealous than we are. Remember Phineas, that man that 
was marked by the zeal of God, who takes that javelin and he 
shoves it through that Israelite and the Midianite woman. God 
commends him for that zeal. I am not suggesting that you 
go out and do that, but God commends him for his zeal. We saw this 
morning Jesus cleansing the temple, turning the tables, driving out 
the animals. What does it say? They understood 
that zeal for God's house had eaten him up. You take Paul the 
Apostle, was he zealous? Absolutely. You take George Whitfield, 
was he zealous? Absolutely. C.H. Spurgeon, zealous? Absolutely. Any man of God worth 
his soul is zealous. That's not the problem. Zeal 
in good things is a good thing. But zeal when you are trying 
to shipwreck the faith of people, that's wicked. That's horrible. 
That's evil. Notice his loving concern in 
verses 19 and 20. My little children for whom I 
labor and birth again until Christ is formed in you. I would like 
to be present with you now and to change my tone. I have doubts 
about you. It's not that Paul sees two stages 
of Christian experience. It's not what he's saying here. 
He is saying rather. That if I'm sorry, let me just 
read a quote from Bruce, it is not that Paul sees two stages 
in Christian experience being justified by faith and having 
Christ formed within one. It is rather that the one implies 
the other. The one implies the other and 
reliance on the law for salvation negates both of them, he says, 
my little children, for whom I labor and birth again and so 
Christ is formed in you. Look at the way he's speaking 
here. 1 Thessalonians 2 is almost embarrassing to the machismo 
bravado that we often like to display as men. I had a guy tell 
me once when I got here, oh, I just don't cry. I'm just not 
going to cry. I'm not saying you need to go 
out and cry. I'm not telling you all you men need to go home 
and just weep. But Watson is right. He says, you know, we 
can cry internally though the cistern isn't broken. It may 
not come out. Paul wept. Jesus wept. Paul speaks in maternal language, 
not just paternal, not just the father of these people, but he 
speaks as a mother. An assistant of George Whitefield 
would be embarrassed because Whitefield cried so profusely 
during preaching. We've lost something of that. 
Again, I'm not saying a pastor should just come up and bawl 
his eyes out. He's preached the Word with all his eyes up. Look at the tender language. 
My little children. He's gone from, I marvel, chapter 
1, verse 6, and the pronouncement of anathema. He's gone from, 
you foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you. He's gone from, 
I fear for you, lest I have labor in vain, to this. My little children. For whom I labor in birth again 
until Christ is formed in you. Go back again for just a moment 
or go forward again to First Thessalonians, chapter two. One 
of the first times I ever read this, I thought, man. He means 
business. He's really concerned. He really 
cares because this matters. As we have been approved by God, 
verse 4, to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, 
not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. For neither 
at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak 
for covetousness, God as witness, nor did we seek the glory or 
glory from men, either from you or from others, when we might 
have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were, notice, 
gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. We need to remember this. It's 
easy to get into this doctrinal debate and forget the fact that 
we're dealing with real life people. Pastor Barcelos told 
me about a time when Dr. John Gershner spoke at Masters 
College. Dr. Gershner, for any of you 
who know, was the mentor of R.C. Sproul, basically. And Gershner 
was up waxing on predestination, on foreordination, the election, 
sovereignty of God issues. Then some kid asked a flippant 
question. And Gershner's response was, 
we're dealing with everlasting hell here. You don't make jokes. You don't play games. This isn't 
something to laugh about. I think it was Edwards who said, 
we preach as men with one eye on the glory of heaven and one 
eye on the terrors of hell. That's Paul. We were gentle among 
you. Just as a mother nurses her child. I mean, what more intimate, what 
more warm, what more beautiful picture can he possibly portray 
here? It's not this theology machine 
that runs into town or, you know, lets people have it on his blog. 
He is a man committed to the propagation of the truth of the 
gospel for the glory of God and the good of souls. It affects 
him. He cares. He weeps. He's affectionate. Notice verse nine. For you remember, 
brethren, our labor and toil for laboring night and day, that 
we might not be a burden to any of you. We preach to you the 
gospel of God. You are witnesses, and God also, 
how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you 
who believe. As you know how we exhorted and 
comforted and charged every one of you as a father does his own 
children, that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into 
his own kingdom and glory. In the book of Acts, in chapter 
20, when he's en route to Jerusalem, he stops in Miletus. He calls 
for the elders of Ephesus and he addresses those men of God. And it's interesting what he 
says. He says in verse 19, And when they had come to him, he 
said to them, You know from the first day that I came to Asia 
in what manner I always lived among you, serving the Lord with 
all humility, with many tears and trials, which happened to 
me by the plotting of the Jews. How I kept back nothing that 
was helpful, but proclaimed it to you and taught you publicly 
and from house to house. Look over at Romans chapter nine. 
Romans chapter nine, one of those passages that reform types like 
to go to to beat up Arminians and Pelagians. We need to remember 
how he begins this chapter. We need to remember the kinds 
of or the kind of affection that he has with reference to the 
glory of God and the souls of men. Notice in Romans 9.1, 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. All of this to say, Brethren, 
pray for Pastor Cam and I that we'd be more like Paul. That's 
fair. That this would mark us, this 
kind of an ethos or pathos. For I could wish, he says, that 
I myself were anathema from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen 
according to the flesh. Paul had gone to synagogue after 
synagogue after synagogue. He had preached Jesus as the 
Messiah and he had seen them reject. He had seen them turn 
away. He had seen them despise the 
Lord of glory. What does it do to Paul? Does 
he say, oh, that's too bad for all of you? No, he says, I have 
great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. This needs to mark 
us as ministers of the gospel. It needs to mark all of God's 
people that we would function in terms of God's truth with 
a view to his glory and a view to the souls of men. Well, then 
he says at verse 20 in Galatians 4, I would like to be present 
with you now and to change my tone for I have doubts about 
you. Same kind of thing we get on email. Sometimes you write 
something and somebody gets all offended when you didn't mean 
it that way. All the emoticons notwithstanding, smiley face 
or whatever, they just still don't get it. They think you're 
upset with them. He doesn't want that to be the 
case. He underscores the reality here. I'm not upset with you. 
I don't hate you. I'm not angry at you. I'm concerned. I love you. I want to see you 
finish. I want to see you happily connected 
to God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. So in summary, 
we learn from this passage the need for faithful ministers. We need men like Paul, we need 
men like Spurgeon, men like Whitefield, men like Peter, men like Isaiah 
the prophet, men like Malachi, men like Micah, men like Jesus, 
men like this, that have a genuine desire to advance the truth in 
a godly way. There's a lot of heat. Or a lot 
of light, but not always a lot of heat, not the warm heat and 
affection that ought to punctuate our presentation of gospel truth. We need to have both light and 
heat. We need to have passion and desire, 
but we need the basket or we need to surround it in love and 
affection. Paul was willing to be counted 
an enemy instead of compromising the truth of the gospel. We learn 
something else as well about the wickedness of false teachers. 
Be nice if they only stayed in the first century and plagued 
the churches in southern Galatia, but that's not the case. They're 
out there. The reality of bad men, Bruce 
calls them troublemakers, bad men seems to summarize it as 
well, that are not concerned for your soul. They don't care. They have no desire whatsoever. 
They are zealous. They are aggressive. They are 
persuasive. They are deceptive. They are 
dangerous. The best way to guard yourself 
is to be a Berean. You're all familiar with the 
passage in Acts 17. These were more noble minded. Why? Because they'd been to college, 
they'd been to seminary, they went online, they took courses. 
No, because they examined daily the things spoken by Paul to 
see if it was true. Paul wasn't offended. He didn't 
say, oh, keep your Bible shut and just listen to me. Paul didn't 
say, thus saith Paul. Those Bibles were flipping. Paul 
was not offended. You search the scriptures, you 
test the spirit. The best way to guard yourself 
against the counterfeit is to know the truth. Search the scriptures, 
read the confession, read good theology, understand doctrine, 
so that you don't fall prey to these troublemakers who don't 
want you to follow Christ, but to follow them. And then finally, 
if anyone here has not understood a word I've said, please forgive 
me. Let me just break it all down. 
Paul's message, Paul's whole life, Paul's emphasis, Paul's 
desire was that you know these simple things. God is a holy 
God. He is righteous. He is pure. He cannot look approvingly upon 
any evil whatsoever. Paul wants you to know as well 
that man is sinful. Man is corrupt. He taught in 
Romans 3, there is none righteous, no, not one. There is none who 
seeks after God. There is no fear of God before 
our eyes. So if you're tracking at this 
point, you say, wow, that sounds like a miserable arrangement. 
God hates sin and I'm a sinner. God hates sinners and I'm a sinner. Yeah, that's the bad news. But 
Paul never stops there. He goes on to the good news that 
Jesus Christ came into this world to do what we could never do, 
to live in obedience to God's law, to always do that which 
is pleasing to the Father. To love the Lord as God with 
all his heart, soul, mind, and strength. To love his neighbor 
as himself. To continue in subjection to 
his earthly parents. To continue in subjection to 
an ungodly magistrate. To ultimately be delivered up 
by the Father through godless men upon a cross. So that he 
could take the punishment due for our sins. He was put in the 
tomb and on the third day he rose again. And the Bible says 
that all of us who believe in him will have forgiveness of 
sins. So if you haven't followed anything 
about Paul and his relationship with these Galatians, get this. 
God is holy. You're not. And you need Jesus 
Christ to save you from your sin. And the way is by faith 
alone in Christ alone. Well, let us pray. Father, we 
thank you for your word. We thank you for the heart of 
the apostle Paul. God, I pray that we would take 
these things to heart, that we would pray them in, that we would 
Be more like this brother, this man of God. And as well, Father, 
I pray that you would put us all on guard and to be watchful 
and to beware of men that would disrupt, men that would add works 
to faith in order for our acceptance with you. God, I pray that we 
would love and rejoice in your truth. And we pray that you would 
just keep us on that narrow path. Forgive us, Father, that we are 
prone to wander and prone to leave the God that we love. I 
pray that you would keep us in check, that you would keep us 
under your blessed care and protection. And we ask this in the name of 
the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.