The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Now you may have noticed in verses 12 and 13 that he is exposing the false teachers once more, their motives. He is exposing them for the corrupt message that they are bringing. If you look back at chapter 1 of Galatians, you'll notice if we read at verses 6, perhaps through Verse 8, he says, I'm 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 there are some who trouble you and want to, look at that, distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven, whether it's an apostle or an angel, preaches a gospel contrary to the one we preach to you, let him be accursed. And he says it again in verse nine, let him be accursed. So this letter warning comes in the first chapter, comes in the last chapter, and comes throughout because deceivers have infiltrated the churches of Galatia, and they have infiltrated those churches with a message that says, yes, you must believe in Jesus and be circumcised. That salvation was by faith plus the works of the law. And now he's closing his letter and he is warning them again of this corrupt message which cannot be countenanced. It cannot be received. There can be no compromise. Now the center of Paul's closing words here is found in verse 14. Notice verse 14 again, chapter 6. But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." These words separate the message and lives of those false teachers those who boast in the flesh, who have carnal confidence of self-righteousness, with Paul who boasts only in the cross of Christ. In other words, he boasts in the perfect, all-sufficient righteousness and sacrifice of Jesus Christ the Savior. And Paul calls attention to the wicked motives of those who were preaching the false message. Those teachers had modified the gospel by adding circumcision to it, observing dietary laws, adding ceremonial festivals, in order that the cross would not be an offense to the other Jews. They taught that the work of Christ or the righteousness of Christ was not sufficient to save, but that we have to add our own works and our own righteousness. They said salvation is in Christ, but also in ourselves. And this is nothing new. Because really, all false religion is about glorying in ourselves. Look at 12 and 13 again. I just read them, but look at them again. He says, it is those who want to make notice of a good showing in the flesh. who would, notice, force you, compel you to be circumcised. And only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ by the Jews who held to the law and so forth. They wanted to avoid persecution by saying, hey, you know, we're keeping the law. Verse 13, for even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. So he spells out their self-worship and their idolatry, these Judaizers who were teaching Christ plus the law. What are their motives? Well, self-glory. I'm just going to point them out here, try to break them down for you. This is the nature, as I said, of all false religion. First, they want approval from Jewish culture. Those who not believing in Christ at all, not converted at all to the faith, who were suspicious that all Christians were a sect, and so forth. They wanted approval from those. And they wanted to do that by making a good showing in the flesh. Outward things. The keeping of these traditions and so forth. They wanted to impress those leaders in Jerusalem. That they were still good Jews that kept the law. And by leaders in Jerusalem, I mean those Jewish leaders in the synagogues there, not the church in Jerusalem. Next, they love the power of lording it over the faith of others. I pointed out that word force. They want to force you to be circumcised. That word is used three times here in this letter and it has to do with compelling others or pressing someone to do something. These false teachers are spiritual tyrants and they gain a special pleasure out of forcing, persuading, pushing, coercing people to do certain things. This is a sign of false spirituality. And then these false brothers are actually trying to escape the persecution of Judaism, who consider Christianity to be a sect, to be an aberration. And if you read the book of Acts, when you get past chapter 13, and actually before, but from chapter 13 forward, you will discover that everywhere that Paul took the gospel, he was followed by the Jews who were persecuting him. They wanted to impress these people, these leaders of Judaism, with how diligent they were to keep the law. But in doing so, they were denying the righteousness of Christ, denying the sufficiency of Christ to save poor sinners. Instead, they were binding on the backs of Gentiles the burden to have to obtain righteousness by their own efforts. In verse 13, he points out their hypocrisy. They were teaching one thing but doing another. Like the Pharisees before them, they demanded that their converts, they forced them, right? They demanded that their converts keep the whole law while they themselves cut corners and rationalize God's commands with human tradition. And then verse 13 also says that they wanted to show off how many Gentiles they persuaded to be circumcised so that they might boast in the flesh. They wanted to point out the number and they wanted this to be impressive to them, like many modern day preachers who wish to demonstrate their success with numbers or buildings or possessions or money. So they modified the gospel in order to make it popular. There's a danger, right, when we forsake the gospel in order to please men. Paul says in chapter one, that he was not pleasing men. He said, if I am pleasing men, then I'm no longer pleasing God. And so that kind of breaks down for you the motivations that were driving these false teachers. And listen, I know that we don't deal specifically with this kind of thing with those who are Jews trying to convince us that it's Christ plus works, but the Christ plus thing is all around us. And the idea of self-glorification, self-justification, self-righteousness, that makes up all the religion of the world. It is all around us. The whole world is addicted to self-glorification. The lie of self-glory permeates every human culture. Now, listen to that word I just said, culture. Cult. Cult means worship. Cult or cultus means worship. Culture is everything that characterizes a society based on what we worship. Culture encompasses all the shared values, beliefs, knowledge, institutions, habits of any people group, whether a tribe out in the jungle or whether it is a community like ours here. in Anniston and Oxford and Cowan County. The cult or cultus is what we worship and believe as a society. And culture flows from the cult of a people group. So if you wanna explain culture, you have to look to see what that people group worships. What is their cult? Let's go to slide three. Only the cross can deliver us from the bondage of believing that the answer to life is in myself. That is what these Judaizers were teaching. They were teaching these new converts that, yes, it's in Christ, but it's also in yourself. That the answer to life is in yourself. Listen, in order for our lives to be transformed to reflect God's glory, we must come to the cross of Christ. That is what Paul is getting at. The cross is the place of death for the sinner. It is the place of destruction for every idol that we worship. And we live in a world, in a culture, that pursues the lie of self-glory. It may not be like the Judaizers, but the same principle that the answer to life is in myself. And the gospel of the cross is offensive to our culture because the cross kills the sinner. It shows that we are worthy of death and wrath and judgment. The gospel condemns our self-worship as utterly sinful and blasphemous. The gospel proves that we need a Savior, we cannot save ourselves. Salvation must come from outside ourselves. Theologians use the word extra nos. It means from outside ourselves. Outside ourselves. That's the principle of grace. That salvation has to come from God to me. There is no me going to God, building my relationship to God, making myself acceptable to God. No. It is God, by grace, coming to me. It is extra nos. I cannot achieve it. I cannot earn it. I cannot even contribute to my salvation. Luther said it is an alien righteousness. It is not about aliens. He's talking about that it is not my own. It is outside myself. It is in Christ alone. Listen, our culture teaches that humans are free, independent creatures defined by their feelings. And never has there been a time when this attitude has been more dominant, at least in my lifetime, but I feel for a long time, that our culture teaches that humans are free, independent creatures defined by their feelings. In his book, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, Carl Truman calls that expressive individualism. It's an idol. of our day. But this is the culture of idolatry, expressive individualism. And so you bear witness to it, you're troubled by it, you see it all around you. This world is an empty and dead place. It's a spiritual cemetery because it is full of idols, full of false gods, false gods who demand your love, demand your allegiance, but cannot meet the need of your heart. And chief among all the idols of this world is the idol of self. Why do you think so many people start out hopeful and become such cynics about life? Because they look for what can only be found in God in themselves. They look for what can only be found in God in themselves or in this world. That idolatry will always disappoint us. Maybe I'm talking to someone today who's starting to be disenchanted with looking to yourself or looking to this world for the answers. And if you are disenchanted, perhaps this is God encouraging you to turn your eyes to the cross of Christ today. Stop worshiping your own desires and feelings. and turned to Christ. Because the Bible tells a different story. The gospel confronts the narrative of self-glory, of self-worship, that parades our sinful inclinations and perversions as something we take pride in. God tells us who we are. He tells us our identity. He tells us what we should believe. He tells us how we should live. That's right. He is God and we are not. I'll just say that again. God tells us who we are. He tells us what we should believe. And he tells us how we should live. Let me just list some things here for you. One, humans were made in the image of God to reflect his glory. There is no greater misery than a life spent reflecting or glorying in myself. That is what produces the ultimate futility and emptiness because we were created to image God's glory, to reflect the glory of God. Humans, there's a second, humans are not defined by their feelings. We are defined by our relationship with God. You are not defined. And so if you say, I am a woman trapped in a man's body, or I am a man trapped in a woman's body, you are not defined by false and libelous feelings. You are defined by what God says, by your relationship with him, which in that case, you're either a child of God or you're a child of the devil. You're either under the covenant of works In which case there is damnation because we are unrighteous or under the covenant of grace because you have received the gifts of God and forgiveness of sin through salvation. You're either reconciled to God through the new covenant or you are an enemy of God. And so humans are not defined by their feelings. We are defined by our relationships with God. Number three. Our identity is objective, created, God-given, God made us, God sustains us, God defines us, and only God's definitions matter because it is his definitions that give us meaning and purpose and significance. So you may not be plagued by the Judaizers as they were in Paul's day, but you are plagued constantly with the false gospel of believing in yourself and living by your feelings and identifying yourself and defining yourself by your feelings. These are all lies and they are counter to the gospel. Now here's a fourth thing. Interpretations of reality that do not begin with the God of Scripture are destined to collapse in the absurd. Interpretations of reality that do not begin with God. God is the ultimate reference point. If they do not begin with God, they are destined to collapse into irrationality and into the absurd and ultimately into hell itself. Don't be fooled. And so the gospel, the gospel of the cross, exposes man's wisdom as foolishness. It exposes the irrationality and the absurdity of human wisdom that seeks to explain life apart from God and without God. Let's go to the next slide. Let's take note of this turning point again in the paragraph, verse 14, and we'll read through verse 16. But, okay, there's a contrast here with those who were teaching that we should find salvation in ourselves. And so what is Paul? What is different about Paul? But far be it from me, God forbid, to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything," and I'm gonna add the words, before God, nor uncircumcision counts for anything before God, but a new creation. I don't know if you noticed that we were singing about the new creation here. 1 Corinthians 5, 17, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. Christ, as he came into this world and died and rose again with that gospel event, he inaugurated the new creation which will culminate in his second coming and his establishment of his kingdom in the new creation when all is glorified and is harmonized and reconciled to who he is. Now let me pick up Verse 15 again, for neither circumcision counts for anything before God, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And as for all who walk by this rule, that is the rule of the new creation, peace and mercy be upon them and upon the Israel of God. So Paul confronts the idolatry of self with the theology of the cross. That's what we're seeing here. He confronts the idolatry of self with the theology of the cross. The gospel exposes the futility of self-worship. We make pretty bad gods. And the pursuit of our own desires, the glory of ourselves, this is a terrible reason for living. The gospel exposes the futility of self-worship. It contradicts the emptiness of making the world revolve around myself and my desires. The cult, all right, the cult of self-esteem the worship of the self, the pride of personal autonomy, the lie that I decide what is true as I walk in the light of my own understanding, the savior complex, right, of human activism. Are you aware of this, seeing this around you? The savior complex of human activism that seeks to save ourselves and the planet, to provide for ourselves and justify ourselves. Listen, we need a savior. But we are not going to save ourselves. Luther wrote that the cross alone is our theology. Amen? The cross alone is our theology. Notice how Paul describes the cross. It's that turning point in his life when he died to the world. and the world died to him. When he was crucified to the world and the lies of this world and all its idols were crucified to him. The Judaizers put all their confidence in self-righteousness and self-justification. They followed these ceremonies like circumcision and that you have to do this. Paul makes it clear that anything we do outwardly as though it were something to boast in, some achievement of ourselves spiritually or in our own righteousness, some effort that we have done, that it is meaningless before God. Isaiah says that even our righteousness is like filthy rags. In fact, it's hard for religious people to be saved because they are so confident in their religion. They're so confident in their habits and practices of religion. Many times, not only do sinners have to repent of sins, but religious people have to repent of righteousness because they put their confidence in those things instead of in the God of the gospel revealed in Christ. You say it in your heart, far be it from me to boast in anything except for the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not being a Jew that saves you. It's not being a Gentile that saves you. It's not circumcision or uncircumcision. Those things mean nothing before God. It's not religious ceremonies. What is it that gives our lives meaning and brings us into reconciliation and harmony with God. What gives us the promise? Not just the promise, but what is the mediation? What provides peace and mercy that he speaks of there in verse 16? Well, verse 15 at the end, what does he say? A new creation, but a new creation. You see, it's only through the cross and the resurrection that we can be born again. The cross stands for the whole salvific event of Christ's death and resurrection. And John 3, 5. Jesus says to Nicodemus, marvel not that I say to you, you must be born again. Again in verse seven, you must be born again. We were born once in this world and according to the flesh, we need to be born according to the spirit so that we can be part of the new creation. The cross is the place of judgment against human glory and pride. It marks the end of self-confident, moralistic human boasting. And I can prove that to you in chapter one. Let's turn over there for a moment. Galatians chapter one, and I'll just say that again. The cross marks the end, listen, of self-confident, moralistic human boasting. So Paul says, And pick up at verse 13 of chapter one. For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the Church of God violently and tried to destroy it. And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people. So extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. But when He who had set me apart before I was born, who called me by His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son to me, in order that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone with flesh or blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem." And so the Lord revealed himself to Paul, and Paul, who was investing himself heavily in zeal for the law, and zeal for the tradition of his fathers, he was saved from all of that worship of self, all that achievement that he counted as gain to him, now he confesses it as loss, in order that he may gain Christ. You can read that Same story in Philippians chapter 3. So the cross marks the end of self-confident, moralistic, human boasting. Have you come to the end of who you really are before God? And you recognize that you have nothing to boast in. My brothers and sisters, I hope you're hearing this. It is at the cross that we recognize that everything we need is in Christ, and that Christ is all we need, that Christ is life, and that life is in him. And Paul explains that here in Galatians 2.20. I'll just read that verse to you. Galatians 2.20, listen to it because it's the cross that marks the change, that marks the transformation. Galatians 2.20, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. You notice that he says I have been crucified with Christ. He came to the cross. It was the place that he died to himself and to his own righteousness. It was the end of his moralism. And instead there he died and now he was raised with Christ and Christ lives in him. It's no longer I who live. Christ lives in me, the life that I live. I live by faith in the Son of God. Christ lives in me. So all true wisdom begins at the cross of Christ. Until you come to the cross, you're a fool. Until I come to the cross, I'm a fool. And our folly will only turn to wisdom when we come to the cross of Christ, when we humble ourselves before God, the crucified God, on the cross, and turn from self-worship to the truth of his grace and salvation. The new creation is being united with Christ in His death and raised to walk in newness of life by His resurrection. Only then can we be the recipient of peace and mercy. Just notice those verses again. Verse 16, and as for all who walk by this rule, this canon, the rule of the new creation, you must be born again Believe and be saved. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. Right? And as for all who walk by this canon, peace, the gospel rule, peace, reconciliation, the end of hostilities between me and God, and mercy, tender mercies, kindness from God. His bestowment of benefits and blessings that are given to me in Christ. In fact, the benefits and blessings promised in the Old Testament as well, because he says, peace and mercy be upon them and upon the Israel of God. So let me just say that again, that the new creation is being united with Christ in his death and raised to walk in newness of life by his resurrection. Only then can we be the recipient of God's peace and mercy. Only then can we be truly the recipients of God's promises in his covenant to Abraham, which is mentioned again and again in the book of Galatians. Only then can we be truly the Israel of God. Let's go to the last slide. So how do I measure the worth of my life? Look at Paul's closing words again. He says, verse 17, from now on let no one cause me trouble. Remember he said earlier we read that These Judaizers were troubling you, troubling the church there. He says, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. Book of Second Corinthians, he gives us a list of all the things. I said something about that in the prayer I sent out, but I think my number was off. It's not 138, it's 195 stripes that he received, as well as countless beatings All of these scars were on the body of the Apostle Paul. He says, I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen. How do I measure the worth of my life? Well, what am I willing to suffer and die for? What am I willing to suffer and die for? Am I only living for and willing to die for what is gained to me? The worship of myself? The glory of self? As long as we follow the pursuit of self-glory, the cross will be the place where we reject the grace of God. See, keep in mind that we have there at the cross, representing us among the Jews and Gentiles, the rejection of Christ. The cross is the ultimate rejection of Christ. that I refuse his grace. I turn away from him. And we are participants in the rejection of Christ. We reject Christ in Adam. We embrace the world's wisdom and ways of thinking. And so the cross is foolishness to us. It's foolishness to the Greeks, right? A stumbling block to the Jews. But if we embrace by faith the God-man dying for us and the truth of the gospel, that this is the doorway, the cross is the doorway into the new creation. into fellowship with God, into the eternal blessings of heaven, into the reception of the Holy Spirit, into the church, the family of God. If we embrace the cross by faith, if we embrace the person and work of Jesus Christ, we die to ourselves, we receive forgiveness and the righteousness of Christ as our own, then the cross becomes the place of deliverance from the idol of self. from our bondage to slavery, from the destiny of hell. Paul throws back his robes and he says, let me tell you that the gospel is worth living for and the gospel is worth dying for. Take a look at my body and it tells you what I stand for. And he took his stand between these false teachers, those corruptors of the gospel, and that young church in Galatia. And he stood strongly in that gap. And the question is, will you and I stand for the cross of Christ? Are we gonna buy into the world and blend into the world? Are we willing to suffer and die for the gospel of Christ? Brothers and sisters, God is calling us to take our stand with Paul. And not only that, he's offering us the grace of his enablement, the last blessing, the benediction, the promise, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen. Will you stand with me? Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.