Will you turn with me in your Bibles in Galatians chapter five? You can also find it in your bulletins. We're continuing with our study of the book of Galatians. And as we go week after week, you can easily see that there is one main topic that Paul is emphasizing throughout the book and looking at different aspects of this topic, which is that salvation is through faith in Christ alone. And we are hearing this week after week. We hope that this states in our minds, even after we move on from Galatians, because that's what we find in the rest of God's word, that salvation is through faith in Christ alone. So we're starting today, Galatians chapter five, verses seven through 12. This is the word of God. You were running well. who hinder you from obeying the truth. This persuasion is not from him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case, the offense of the cross has been removed. I wish those who unsettled you will emasculate themselves. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you that you have reveal yourself through your word, your infallible word, and that you have given us the Holy Spirit to reveal to our hearts spiritual truth. We pray, Lord, that as we consider this portion of your scripture, that you will give us understanding of it, that you will open the eyes of our hearts to see the truth of the gospel written in these verses. At the same time, Lord, we pray together for those that are not yet your followers, followers of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you will reveal yourself to them in a special way, that you will open the eyes of their hearts as well, and that they will confess that you, Lord Jesus, are the Lord. We pray all these things in Jesus' name, amen. We're living in times in which streams ideas are becoming stronger and stronger. And it's not just here in America. You can look around the world and you see that you have one stream emphasizing their belief and you have the other stream. And then the people that stay in the center is little and little. There are small groups in the center and more people pushing towards different stream ideas. And that creates tension, that creates difficulty for people to communicate with each other, to find common ground, to have peaceful conversations. And sometimes that presents for the church a temptation. The temptation of presenting or providing in the church this common ground where there are no these extreme views and when you can come together and just enjoy the company of one another where nobody will offend anybody. That's a temptation for the church. It's a temptation because when you look at the Word of God and when you look at a passage like this, We are reading here something that is very clear, that the gospel is going to offend people. And the very moment you start to remove that offense from the gospel, you start to remove the gospel itself. stop being the gospel. Yes, the church is a wonderful place where God brings people from all the nations of the world, all socioeconomic status, different backgrounds, to be part of one family. That's true. But people come together when they have, first of all, trusted in Jesus as their savior. That's the only way they become part of this universal family that runs around the world, that brings people together. But the gospel will still offend people. And that's what we're gonna look at in these verses, how Paul is explaining that. And there are three things that at least I can see from these verses that Paul is teaching to us. One, he's teaching us about false teachers. He's teaching us about false teachers. Then he's also teaching us about false doctrine, false doctrine. And then he teaches to us about right doctrine. False teachers, false doctrine, right doctrine. So let's look at first what he says about those who are the false teachers. Paul starts in this portion talking about something that he loved to use in order to illustrate Christian living, is running. He says, you were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? Gentiles, Galatians, Christians were running well because they had welcomed the message of the gospel into their hearts. They have become Christians by trusting in Jesus alone for their salvation. They celebrated the work of Jesus Christ as their savior. And that's the very reason why they were running well, not because they were good people, but because they are relying or they were relying totally in Jesus for their salvation. That was the gospel that Paul proclaimed to them when he came to them, that they needed to trust in Jesus alone for their salvation. But he says, or Paul asks this question, which is a rhetorical question, he knew very well who have hindered them, and they knew as well, who have hindered them from obeying the truth. It is interesting that the word that Paul uses here, the Greek word that is behind this word hinder, was a word that was used in the ancient Greek games when there were people running in a race, a word that was used, a technical word that was used to describe a technique of those who were running to put an obstacle in front of those who were running or they were their competitors in order to stop their progress. Paul is comparing that situation with what the Galatians were experienced because he saw that those who came to them, they didn't come to help them in their running to Christ. Remember they came not saying that Galatians you should stop believing in Jesus, but they came saying beside believing in Jesus you also need to be circumcised and then keep the law of God. if you want to be a member of God's family. You needed to add this to the gospel in order to be saved. And there is where Paul is describing their action as someone who is putting an obstacle in the way of people who were running well in the Lord. So Paul says this statement which is very important for them to understand and for us as well. This persuasion is not from him who calls you. Who was the one who calls them? It was not Paul. Paul was a instrument of God. But it was God himself who calls them to himself. And Paul is declaring to them that those who were the Judaizers that have come to them, and they were saying we are coming with letters of recommendation from Jerusalem, and we are speaking in behalf of God, they were not bringing a message that came from God. The message that came from God to them came through the word the words of Paul and those who were serving with Paul. Therefore, if what they were hearing from the Judaizers was not coming from God, it was coming from one and there was only one source, and that was from the devil. Because there is no mutual ground in the world. Paul himself describes in Ephesians chapter 2 that we were all followers of the prince of the world, which is the devil, until Christ intercepted us and transformed our lives and gave us the truth of the gospel. Therefore, Though those Judaizers may have not come thinking that they were serving the enemy by asking the Gentiles Galatians to take circumcision and keep the law, though they may have thought that they were actually doing something good for God, they were not serving God, but they were serving the enemy. Why was that? Because they were teaching them that righteousness could be obtained based on their own works. And that would only reduce God's righteousness to the level of human righteousness? And therefore, they were presenting to them a distorted version of the gospel. In other words, they were corrupting the message of the gospel that was proclaimed to them. And only the enemy corrupts the message of the gospel. Why is that important? Because we might think, or they might have thought, even the Judaizers, that they were, again, serving God. But by corrupting the message of the gospel, they were not serving God, but serving the enemy. Now, remember we are talking about the false teachers. Now, what Paul says about them is this. You read in verse 10, I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view. And those And the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. It is interesting that Paul does not mention the name of that person here. Most likely he knew about him he was talking about. And we're talking about here, or Paul is talking about here, possibly about the leader of the Judaizers, or one of the leaders who was preaching this corrupted version of the gospel to them. And what he says about him is that he will bear the penalty, whoever he is. This word penalty is a translation of the word crema, which is judgment. It's not just simply a penalty or a fine that he will bear, but Paul is saying that whoever is corrupting the message, will bear the divine judgment of God. Remember, Paul is speaking about the false teachers to the Galatians Christians, but he's also speaking to the Judaizers as well. Because this letter will be read in front of the congregations and the Judaizers will hear that what they will bear is the judgment of God for corrupting God's message. Why would they do that? Because their persuasion was not coming from God, but it was coming from the devil. Now Paul says something else about this group. And there is where he becomes, or this becomes more personal for him. Remember, the Galatians were like his children. He loved them. He cared for them. He preached the gospel. They became Christians. He move on to his next mission target. But for him, they were still his flock. He was their shepherd, and he was troubled, and he was concerned about what they were going through. So he said these words, what you read in verse 12. I wish those who unsettle you will emasculate themselves. Those who unsettle you will emasculate themselves. Well, you might wonder, what is Paul talking about? What is he talking about when he says this? Well, most likely he had in mind a practice common of the priests of Siberet, which were located in North Galatia, where those priests, pagan priests, will become eunuch once a year in a festival in order to offer this to their false gods. So think about for a moment what Paul is doing here. What Paul is doing here is telling them, Judaizers, who were Jews, who thought that they were basically following the instruction of God, Yahweh, from the scripture, that they were chosen as pagan preachers. That what they were requiring from the Galatians, was basically, circumcision was almost as bad as what was required from the pagan gods or the pagan religions of that time. That's why he's saying, I wish those who have unsettled you would emasculate themselves. I wish those who are troubling you, those who are distorting the message of the gospel, become clear that they are not serving God but serving pagan gods. And think for a moment in this. What these people were using to come to the Galatians was not another book or book of magic. They were using the Old Testament to speak to the Galatians, to confuse them. I think that that give us an idea, something very important, that People within the church can use the Bible to distort the message of the gospel. So let us summarize the four things that we could see about the false teachers. First of all, they were seeking to hinder Christians, their Christian Rome. They were not seeking to help believers to be Stronger in their faith, but they were putting obstacles in their way to obey the truth of the gospel. To obey the truth of the gospel, he will be to trust completely in Jesus for salvation. Second, they serve the enemy. If they were not serving God, if the message that they were bringing to the Galatians wasn't coming from God, it was only coming from the devil. Even though they might not even realize that, they were used by the enemy to confuse God's people. Third, they will bear God's judgment. And that goes for anyone who corrupts the message of the gospel. They will bear or anyone will bear God's judgment. And fourth, their teaching is equal to those proclaimed by pagan religions. And this is based on what he said at the end, that he wished that they will emasculate themselves. Now let's talk about second point, which is false doctrine, false doctrine. Look this little verse, verse 9. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. A little leavens the whole lump. The same phrase or verse is used by Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 6. But there he's referring to sexual immorality that was happening within the church when a man was living with his stepmother. And the Corinthians were doing nothing about it. And Paul was confronting the Corinthians about they not, that they were not taking actions confronting sin. It was one person, but Paul was saying back there in the letter of Corinthians that a little leaven, one person will leaven the whole lump. It will corrupt the whole lump. Basically what Paul was using also, an illustration taken from the Old Testament, the festival of the unleavened bread, where Jewish were supposed to remove any leaven from the household so that nobody would take and eat leavened bread. But Paul is saying here, what Paul is saying here, which is important for the Galatians to hear, but for us as well, is that it takes just a little bit of tweet in the message of the gospel to corrupt the whole message of the gospel. Remember, when the Judaizers came to them, they didn't say, just get rid of Jesus, or stop believing in Jesus. They said, just add circumcision. And if you add circumcision, just skip the whole law. Simple. It's written. It was revealed by God. But if they were to do that, they would have corrupted the essence of the message of the gospel. Because the message of the gospel is about telling people that they are broken, and that there is only one way of salvation, that is to surrender and trust in Jesus alone for salvation. If you add one work that comes from you, you corrupt the whole message of the gospel. That goes for the church of Christ throughout history and the universal church around the world. That's why we cannot compromise the message of the gospel for the sake of keeping people happy. Because if we corrupt the message of the gospel, at least in one point, we are corrupting the whole lump. And that's why Paul tells this to his brothers and sisters in Galatia. He was concerned that they let a little leaven in their church. Third, Paul talks about false or talks about right doctrine. He has talked about false teachers, then false doctrine, then he talks about right doctrine. Look what he says here. But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case, the offense of the cross has been removed. This word offense comes from the Greek word skandalon. Not so difficult to guess what's the English word, skandal. I think it's the same word in Spanish, skandalon. Think about what Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter one, verses 23 through 24. We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles. But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. A stumbling block to Jews. A literal translation of the word skandalon is basically a stumbling block. That is the offense of the cross. For the Jews, it was a scandal because they could not think that their Messiah would be hung on a tree. Because according to the Old Testament, that person would be cursed. But for Greeks, it just didn't make sense. that their leader will be killed on a cross, when Romans would never execute one Roman citizen on a cross. Now, why is Paul saying, if I still preach circumcision, why I am still being persecuted? Because it would have been easier for Paul to submit to the Judaizers or to encourage Christians, new believers in Galatia to be circumcised. After all, that would have removed the tension between the new believers who were Gentiles and the Jews who were becoming Christians. It would have made Paul's life and ministry easier, but it would have also made the new believers' life ministry easier because they don't have that tension. But if Paul did that, as we have read before, he didn't submit to the Judaizer even for a moment. If Paul would have done that, he would have been teaching the Galatians and everyone that you actually needed something else to be saved and that was circumcision. Therefore Paul is saying this is logical. Why if I preach circumcision, which it looks like some of the Judaizers may have been saying, well Paul is with us, he also preached circumcisions. He will say if I preach circumcision, why then I am still being persecuted by the Jews? Or the Judaizers. Now if we think about examples in our time. in which we can be also tempted to remove the offense of the cross. I can think about at least two of them in churches around. On the one hand, we have the prosperity gospel. The prosperity gospel teach that if you give more to God, God will bless you more. He will give you more in return. Now the problem is not only that you are trying to make deals with God, but the problem is also that when you are doing that, you think in your mind that you have something to offer to God. When in reality, what the gospel in itself preaches is you have nothing. I think you have heard about total depravity, right? Humans are totally depraved because they are broken. Because we have a sinful nature. And there is nothing we can offer to God. So those who preach prosperity gospel have removed the offense of the cross by flattering people, telling them you have something to offer to God. On the other hand, you have some others who have removed one important element in our presentation of the gospel. When we think about Mark chapter one, verse 15, when Jesus is inaugurating his ministry, he says, the kingdom of God is at hand, which means that I am bringing the kingdom of God. It's right now, right here. And he says, repent and believe in the gospel. Repent and believe in the gospel. So think about what he says before believing in the gospel. Believing in the gospel, come after repenting. Repenting, which is recognizing that yes, Lord, we have offended and our only hope is that gospel, which is Christ on the cross, will grant us righteousness. But sometimes the gospel that is offered to the world that removes the offense of the cross is a gospel that says the kingdom of God is at hand, believe in the gospel. You don't have to repent. And therefore, we become people who are inclusive of everyone. And yes, everyone is welcome. But when you come, you come to the message, the message of the cross. Repent and believe in the gospel. And the moment we remove the offense of the cross, the moment we lose the message of the gospel. Brothers and sisters, We as Christians and as a church of Christ here in Philadelphia in Center City, we have the responsibility before God to bear witness of this message, the message of the gospel. We're not called to offend people, that's not what we do with the word of God, but the message of the gospel will offend people. It offended us before we became Christians, because it confronted us with our reality, that we're broken, and that we needed a Savior, and that is our Lord Jesus Christ. So praise the Lord that he has revealed this to us. And let us continue to pray for those that are our friends, our relatives, our neighbors, who still don't know him. Let us love them, but let us expose them to the message of the gospel as it is, as it is written. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your mercy and grace. We thank you that you send your song, our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you that you have revealed yourself to us through the power of the Holy Spirit to see our brokenness and to see our need of a savior. And Lord, we pray for those, our friends, our neighbors, and people that are around us who still don't know you, we pray that they will Be able, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to see the truth of the gospel. We pray all these things in Jesus' name, amen.