There's no evil things that you have ever done. What's up everybody? Chester A.R.P. Church Devotional Podcast. Thanks for joining us again together as we read the Word of God and we discuss it briefly. We have started a new study or a new book that we are reading through, is probably the better way to put it, in The book of Galatians is where we are, and the Apostle Paul, writing to the church in Galatia, speaks of the true gospel that he has called to proclaim, and the authority he has to proclaim it comes from God, the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul is jumping right in here to the meat of the letter that he writes to the church in Galatia here at the beginning of verse 6 in Galatians chapter 1. So from the very start he jumps right in and helps them understand the reason for which he is writing and what his ultimate purpose is to address those concerns. I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel. Not that there is another one, but that there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before and so now say again, if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. For I am now seeking the approval of man or of God. or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. Now Paul here is gonna get to the heart of the issue in the next section of Galatians chapter one. We are intentionally slowly walking through Galatians chapter one and probably will walk slowly through the book of Galatians so that we'll understand what Paul's getting at here. But the question is, and I said it in our last episode, the question facing the church in Galatia is, Does a Gentile have to become a Jew in order to become a true Christian? Is faith in Jesus Christ, is there anything that needs to be added to faith in Jesus Christ? It's a better way to ask that question. Is faith alone the way of salvation or do we need to add something to it? Like for instance, right, circumcision. or the adherence to Jewish traditions in the context of Galatia. But in the modern era, is trusting in Jesus Christ all that is necessary or do we need to add something to that faith to ensure that we are walking with the Lord? So maybe Bible reading or maybe church membership or maybe being married in the church, maybe being baptized in the church, maybe going through different rites in the church. In fact, interestingly, we'll explain this as we get through the book of Galatians, interestingly, this is one of the primary texts that Martin Luther used as the foundation of his new understanding of the Reformation theology, new understanding of the gospel, or a renewed understanding of the gospel is a better way to put it. He's reclaiming the old understanding of the gospel message from the Apostle Paul. The church had so distorted the gospel message. There was no good hope. The word gospel means good news. And so when Paul is writing here in this first section of the book of Galatians in verses 6 through 10, he says, why are you discerning or deserting so quickly the one who called you in Christ Jesus and turning to a different gospel? The idea Paul is saying here is not that there is a different gospel, but why are you turning from the Lord Jesus Christ? I'm astonished, Paul says. that so quickly. Remember this is early on. This is his earliest letter. This is early on in the life of the Christian church. Most people believe this was somewhere written around AD 49. The Jerusalem council in Acts chapter 15 took place AD 50 or around the same time, either this was written in conjunction to the Jerusalem Council or written before the Jerusalem Council. We're talking early, early stages, not only of Paul's ministry, but of the outgrowth of the church. And so he says, you're quickly deserting the one who called you in faith in Christ and turning to a different gospel. Not that there is another gospel, he says. Why is there no other gospel? Because the word gospel means good news. It is good news for you and me to understand that when we trust the Lord Jesus Christ, we are freed from our sins. We are forgiven from our sins. We are made right with God instantaneously, what we call justified, made right with God. That we are now saved eternally by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Good news is that Jesus did it all and we don't need to do anything to earn our salvation because we can't do anything to earn our salvation. But Jesus did everything that was necessary and our faith in him gives us access to all that he has done for us. That's good news. It's not introducing another set of principles that you have to follow. It's saying He did it for you, you trust Him. That's good news. Nothing else can be good news. Trust Jesus and do all this other stuff. That's not good news. Because it says, all right, I trust Jesus, but I still have to do all this other stuff. And what if I don't do it right? There's anxiety, there's burden. I think one of the reasons that so many Christians are so anxious about their eternity is because they don't understand the good news of the gospel. You don't have to do anything to make yourself right before the presence of God. You can't. All you do is trust Christ. And our assurance comes from our trust of Christ. And so I think it's important for us to understand that good news by definition is Jesus did it for you, he died in your place and he gives you life eternal. And Paul says there's no other gospel, there's only good news. And you're turning from that. I'm astonished, Paul says. You knew the freedom you had in Jesus. And you've turned from that to what appears to be a different gospel. And he says here, a different message. And then he says something very powerful. He says, if I say something, or if one of my friends say something, even an angel from heaven preaches to you a gospel contrary to the one you originally heard from us, then that person needs to be accursed. And Paul says, I can say this because I fear God, not you. I'm not trying to please you. If I was trying to please you, I wouldn't be a servant of Christ. I'm a servant of Christ to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. Listen, when you and I go out and share the gospel with people, we need to recognize that we are telling them the truth of the gospel. We are telling them what God says. and we are a servant of Christ, and as a result of that, we're not trying to please them, we're pleasing Him, and they have to deal with the reality of what they've heard. And may all of those who hear it from us turn and repent and follow Christ, trusting in Christ alone, by faith alone, to receive grace alone, in Christ alone, for the glory of God alone. You guys take care, God bless you, catch you next time. Make you to