Scriptures, and let us turn once again to Paul's letter to the churches of Galatia. Again, if you're in the New Testament, you pass the Gospels, you get to the book of Acts, and then the first three letters of Paul there, Romans and 1 Corinthians, and then there you find Galatians. Galatians is more than likely the very first letter that Paul penned. and probably one of the first New Testament writings to be written. Which is interesting when you think of the nature of it, of being, we might say on the surface, negative in nature. as it is a response to the conflict that was going on in the own practice of the Galatians who had turned aside to another gospel, another message that they were privy to because of those that had come in before them from, it seems, from the Jerusalem church, ones that they seemed to have gone out from them as you go back and read the letter that comes from the Jerusalem Council in Acts chapter 15. They did not have the approval of the Jerusalem Church in doing what they did, but they feign to have. And we'll learn more about those things in the coming weeks as we get further into the epistle. We began with the opening last week, and this week we come to the very first section or body of the letter in our passages verses 6-10, but I will read beginning in verse 1 and read through verse 10, but our preaching portion will be verses 6-10. But before we come to the reading and preaching of God's Word, let us once again go in prayer to our Lord. that we would have ears to hear. Sometimes the epistles can be so didactic in nature and very descriptive and sometimes difficult in the arguments and the points that the apostles are making that he loses us. And so we need this special care and special grace of God to open up our ears in order to understand these things so we can really get the gist of what the Apostle is saying clearly and plainly. So let's go to the Lord asking His help in prayer. Our gracious and heavenly Father, we do thank You for Your Word that You have preserved from way back when it was penned, how You, again, Your Spirit expired that word through the mouth and the pens of the apostles and even the amanuenses through which they wrote. We do pray that you would use this very word, your word, the word that is from heaven and for all eternity, your gospel set down in the person of your Son, Jesus Christ, that reveals Him to us. And through Him, you, our great, mysterious, and heavenly Father. We thank You that Your Spirit is poured out into our hearts, that we might be adopted as Your children and cry, Abba, Father. We thank You for the truth of the Gospel and You set it apart from every other message that is given, especially those which would seek to pervert the Gospel, and that You would keep us from those things by the power of Your Spirit your holy word as Jesus continues to be that great prophet that proclaims your word to your people. And may we hear the voice of his apostle as he declares these things in all truth and authority and power, because we know that it is in that power and by this means that you have brought us from death unto life, that you have restored us from exile and captivity and bondage to sin into the glorious a place of the sons of God, along with our Savior, who is the Son of God, Jesus Christ. And we do pray all these things according to His blessing and the exaltation of His name. Amen. Brothers and sisters, if you would please again stand for the reading of God's Holy Word. I will begin in Galatians 1.1-10, and then our preaching will be from the last five verses of that reading. Knox Presbyterian Church, I do remind you that these are the words of your God. So please give heed to them. Paul, an apostle, not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead, and all the brethren who are with me. Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. I marvel that you are turning away so soon from him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel, which is not another. But there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. He who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the church. Please be seated. Parents, how often do you have to repeat yourself to your children? Because they didn't listen to you the first time, or they simply refused to obey. Last time we began by observing our children challenging their parents' authority, and now today we begin with the observation that parents often have to repeat themselves over and again to their children. And that's a true observation of parenting, isn't it? Having to repeat those commands, those things that you tell your children to do. because they either feign that they don't hear you or they just simply refuse to obey. Well, again, as we come to our passage today from Galatians 1, we hear the Apostle Paul repeating himself to the Galatian congregations to whom he is writing. And particularly in verse 9, we read, as we have said before, So now I say again, often Paul would say those words and in the epistles is that I've told you this before and now I repeat it unto you. Repetition, teaching requires repetition, does it not? And so Paul repeats himself again. Again, so it would seem that Paul and perhaps his companions, such as the Barnabas, had already declared this very thing to them on a previous occasion. But like children, they did not listen or fail to heed what the Apostle and those with him had proclaimed. Well, we come again to the letter of Paul to the churches of Galatia. Again, multiple congregations, probably there in the city of Antioch, of Iconium, of Lystra, and Derbe on his first missionary journey. And this letter, of all of Paul's letters, comes off as being quite harsh in its content and its tone. But the reason is because he truly cares for these young believers and these young congregations. And for them to err on this point is not some inconsequential matter, but rather it is not only a life and death situation, but it is an eternal life and everlasting death situation. What stands in the balance is this debate between the Apostle Paul and these opponents. It is the very heart of the Christian faith. The gospel of the good news itself being twisted and contorted. The souls of the Galatians is at stake. Therefore, Paul pulls no punches in the battle against this error that it would appear the Galatians have at least begun to buy into and receive. But of course, Paul's desire is for them to be blessed and enjoying the full measure of the grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. But apart from the gospel of free grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ, that grace and peace will be lost to them. And what they will have exchanged for it will not bring them joy, but rather everlasting torment. And so this is why Paul is passionate like a parent pleading with a wayward child to save them from the result of their decision which will bring about their death and destruction. Well, this brings us to our purpose statement for our message for today, which is simply, there is one true gospel of Jesus Christ in which God calls His people into His saving grace. And if this is true, then all other so-called Gospels are counterfeits, are forgeries by nature. Paul makes this truth clear and plain in our passage this morning. The Apostle Paul proclaims vehemently, passionately, and unashamedly that there is only one true Gospel of Jesus Christ in which God calls His people into a saving grace, and we'll consider this truth under two points today, and our first point is the danger of departing from the one true gospel. The danger of departing from the one true gospel. One of the most notable differences between Paul's letter to the Galatians and his other letters is that there is no Thanksgiving. There's no Thanksgiving following the opening greeting of the letter. In virtually every other letter Paul writes, he gives thanks for the work of God in and through the church that he's writing to. And rather than thanksgiving, here in Galatian Letter, there is instead an expression of astonishment. Why is there no thanksgiving? Probably because it's difficult to be thankful for what he has seen happening in the churches. So there is no thanksgiving, only astonishment by Paul here in Galatians. There are two points as to why Paul is shocked and surprised or amazed here. First, he mentions the speed of their defection. the speed of their defection away from the gospel. One reason for Paul's astonishment is that his converts had so soon or so quickly turned away from the gospel he had preached to them, which they had received. Now, many scholars see in the words of the apostle Paul an allusion to the golden calf incident in Exodus 32, where we read earlier, especially verse 8, where Yahweh says to Moses, Israel has turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf, have worshipped it, sacrificed to it, and said, these are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Not long after God had redeemed Israel from Egypt, had sealed His covenant with the Israelites at Mount Sinai, then Israel turned aside quickly out of the way that Yahweh commanded them and made a golden calf to worship. So just as the Israelites' departure from the Lord jeopardized their status as the people of God, so now if the Galatians depart from the God who called them in the grace of Christ under the New Covenant, so their status as the New Covenant people of God is jeopardized. So in both cases, they are quick to depart from the Lord. We must heed this same warning of turning away, especially when we think of new young believers. They are very susceptible to being deceived, but even we who have lived long in the faith of Christ must be on our guard as well. But the second point given for the apostles marveling and more crucial is who they are turning away from. Notice what the text says, turning from him who called you. This, of course, is God himself. Paul's astonished that they are departing from God who called them. They are departing from God himself. For Paul, the call of God creates life. In 1 Corinthians 1, he says, but we preach Christ crucified to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness. Notice that he preaches to all, both Jews and Gentiles alike. He proclaims the gospel to all, but he says in the next verse, but to those who are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. So he preaches to all, but not all are called. So here we see the effectual call of God, which brings life to the dead sinner who is able to hear and respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ in saving faith. In Romans 4, verse 17, he speaks of God's call to Abraham when he says, as it is written, I have made you a father of many nations in the presence of him whom he believed, Abraham, God who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did. Here we have the creative power of God's call. He calls into existence things which did not previously exist. Then, in 2 Thessalonians 2, we read that this calling of God comes through the gospel preached. This calling of God comes through the gospel preached. But he says here in verses 13 and 14 of 2 Thessalonians 2, But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren. There's the thanksgiving, right? of the Apostle Paul, by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which he called you by our gospel for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So God's creative, eternal, life-giving, effectual call comes through the gospel. And we once again find that blessed purpose of verse 3 that we looked at last time brought up again here in verse 6. Him who called you in the grace of Christ. in the grace of Christ or perhaps by the grace of Christ. God's grace that truly only comes in any everlasting enjoyable way only and ever comes through Jesus Christ. Without Christ, no one can enjoy the fullness of God's grace. Yes, we do experience grace in a common way, but it's really a different category in creation. But in a real sense, Again, the fullness of God's saving grace is only in Christ. But it's interesting that in a real sense, grace is the theme of Paul's letter to the Galatians. It is the overarching theme, is God's grace. And the Galatians are in danger of exchanging grace for the works of the law. And this is what is astonishing to Paul, that his own converts, in a pious attempt to be rigorously ritually scrupulous, are actually turning away from God. But Paul knows this very well, since he himself was once a Pharisee. In fact, he was a Pharisee of Pharisees. But the irony is very thick here, and this was a shocking state of affairs for the Galatians' defection from the truth of the gospel. They, although primarily Gentiles, were actually replaying the scenario of Israel's apostasy and rebuffing the one whom they professed to be attempting to worship more fully by taking on and adding things to the gospel. That is, they were deceived into thinking that they were actually drawing closer to God by taking to themselves the works of the old covenant law. But in so doing, they were actually abandoning Christ and God and His grace by abandoning the truth of the gospel. So they were in fact forsaking God's grace in Christ. They were forsaking God's grace in Christ by turning toward a false gospel of works. All of God's saving covenantal blessings come to His people through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and His work on our behalf. Paul understands the gospel of Jesus Christ to be the fulfillment of all God's promises. That's how Paul understands the gospel. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of all of God's promises in the Old Testament. The word gospel is most wisely used and widely used by the prophet Isaiah in chapters 40 through 66 of his prophecy, where it refers to God establishing his reign over all the nations through the redemptive work of the servant of Yahweh. And who is that servant? That servant is Christ. Not only Israel, but all the nations will return from captivity and bondage unto Mount Zion, the prophet declares. Paul understands this rescue and restoration and return to have taken place in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The old covenant law highlighted and pointed out the curse that God's people were under apart from Christ. As Paul so vehemently declares in Romans 3. And later he will do so here in Galatians. So for Paul, these false teachers are proclaiming a fundamentally different gospel. A fundamentally different gospel. It is not even a distant cousin. But it is an alien gospel. Or rather, an enemy gospel. A competing gospel. Competing for the hearts and souls and lives of God's people. That they might turn from the true gospel and forsake it from an entirely different gospel. Which Paul says in his next breath, verse 7, which is not another. It's not another gospel. Now it's interesting that he uses two different words there. A different gospel is the word heteros, which can be translated another, but it's of a completely different kind. But there in verse 7 he says, which is not allos, another of the same kind. It's completely different. It's not another gospel. These troublers, as Paul calls them here, in all likelihood were probably claiming that their message and activities should be understood as complementary to Paul's preaching and ministry. They would perhaps argue that they were adding to his gospel message in a positive sense, in a positive way. But regardless of what they claim, their message of faith in Christ plus keeping the Mosaic Law was not good news at all. It was not a gospel in any real significant sense. But Paul makes it explicitly clear that this issue, which appears to at least seminally be received by the Galatian churches, is not one which believers can reasonably disagree on. This is not one of those just minor things in the faith that we can have disagreements on and still be united together. No. The very nature of the Christian faith is at stake in what these men are teaching. Their eternal destiny, the Galatians' eternal destiny is at stake. Verse 7 is the first mention of the false teachers. But interestingly, he refers to them as troublers. As troublers. This corresponds to the very same word used to describe their activity from the letter that seems to be later sent from the Jerusalem council in Acts chapter 15 verse 24. Listen to what it says. Since we have heard, this is the Jerusalem council writing to the Galatian churches or the other churches to whom Paul and Barnabas have been driven. Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your soul saying you must be circumcised and keep the law to whom we gave no such command. It seemed good to us being assembled with one accord to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul. Men who have risked their lives in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. but they refer to them as those who have troubled you. It's the same term in the Greek. Some scholars point to the possibility that Paul here may be using a negative epitaph or name troubler from Israel's own history. Who is it that is called the troubler of Israel? Again, Paul may be referring to these false teachers as modern day Achans. As modern day Achans. give ache to Israel, right? Achan ached Israel. Again, in 1 Chronicles 2 verse 7, Achan is described as the troubler of Israel, who transgressed in the accursed thing. That kind of fits the context, does it not? Achan was the one who took from those things that were devoted to destruction by the commandment of God from the city of Jericho. They were not to take anything from there. And because he did, Israel was defeated by their enemies at Ai, recorded in Joshua chapter 7. Achan and his whole family were stoned to death and then set on fire. So perhaps Paul alludes to this account to persuade the Galatians away from these troublers so that they do not suffer their same fate of falling under God's curse. Yahweh promised Joshua and Israel victory in the land of promise if they followed His way. But Achan partook of that which was devoted to destruction, so he himself was destroyed and all those associated with him. He brought trouble upon God's people Israel. So Paul is warning his Galatian brothers against following their false gospel of works. Paul makes it very clear that their goal and end is a distortion of the gospel. It's not complementary to it. It's not supplemental to it. It doesn't align with it. It is a distortion of God. Those who trouble you want to pervert the gospel of Christ. He argues that they are seeking to destroy the true gospel of Christ. The only other New Testament occurrence of this word, distort or pervert, is in Acts chapter 2 verse 20. in Peter's Pentecost sermon, wherein, quoting from the prophet Joel, the apostle refers to the sun being turned into darkness. That's the same word. It's transformed. They're trying to transform the gospel from light into darkness. In the Greek version of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, the verb is often used in contexts where the change is sudden, unexpected, and even dramatic. For example, in Deuteronomy 23.5, in which the episode of the cursing of Israel by the prophet Balaam is referenced, that is where Moab's king, Balak, hired the prophet to curse Israel, we read this. Nevertheless, the Lord your God," Moses recounts to that second generation, "...would not listen to Balaam, but the Lord your God had turned his curse into a blessing for you." There's that word. In the Greek of the Hebrew Bible, that word turn is the same term here. where he takes the curse and he turns it into a blessing for you. Why? Because the Lord your God loves you. Although Balaam could not proclaim an effective curse upon Israel, he came and he blessed Israel every time, he too became a troubler of Israel, didn't he? By telling Balak and the Moabites how to cause Israel to fall under God's judgment through their women, causing the men to be led astray into idolatry. We have that recounted in Numbers 25, but it's also told that Balaam was the instigator of it in Numbers 31. Far from improving Paul's message then, these false teachers were perverting the Gospel into something entirely different. False teachers were perverting it. And false teachers troubling God's people by perverting God are just as dangerous today as they were in the days of Paul. Regardless of whether it is more obvious errors in the cults, such as Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses try to say that they are Christians too, that they believe the gospel too. No, they do not. It is a completely different faith. or the more subtle lures of the prosperity gospel, or liberalism, as our founding father J. Gresham Machen wrote, the difference between Christianity and legalism. It's a completely different gospel. Every generation faces the dangers of troublemakers who distort the gospel for their own ends. Jesus himself warned that this present evil age will be filled with false teachers, with wolves in sheep's clothing. So we must remain vigilant to protect the purity of the true gospel in Jesus Christ. This then brings us to our second point. Not only the danger of departing from the true gospel, but the danger in proclaiming another gospel. The danger of proclaiming another gospel. To make it clear that Paul's attack against the false teachers is not personal, he's not making a personal attack, he is in a sense, he places himself potentially under the curse of God himself in verse 8. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed. Here Paul teaches that the truth of the gospel depends on its content, not upon the credentials of the messenger. On the content rather than credentials. Whether it is I myself, or even an angel from heaven, if it is another gospel, it ought not to be received nor accepted. It is the message of the gospel that is all important, and not Paul's authority or anyone's status, however exalted. Now, of course, the authority and character of the preacher is important. Those things are important. Don't think that they're not, as Paul has asserted himself in verse 1. He is an apostle. Not from men, nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father. He is a sent one from them. It is important. And he will continue to show the importance of that in these first two chapters of the letter, as we will see. Their importance, however, is secondary to that of the gospel itself. Paul saw the preacher's authority as derived from the gospel, and not vice versa. So he would not countenance any change in the focus or content of that gospel on the basis of someone's credentials or by an appeal to some more imposing authority, whether supernatural or not. Or an angel from heaven. Isn't it interesting that other faiths claim to have been received by the revelation of angels? And that may be true. But Christ says if it's another gospel that they've received that does not align up with the gospel we proclaim in Jesus Christ by the grace of God alone, it is accursed. And those who proclaim it are cursed. So the issue at stake was not first and foremost the messenger at first, but the message. But the messenger is important. Paul recognized the importance of high moral standards and a good reputation for those who assume leadership posts in the Church of Christ. But his point here was that none of these characteristics or traits, significant as they are, can ever compare with the gospel itself as the ultimate criterion for both sound doctrine and holy living. The gospel is our standard. The gospel is our authority. Paul does not ask the Galatians to be loyal to him for his sake. Although he was the one that planted the church. But rather to the unchanging message of Christ. Christ alone that he had preached to them from the beginning of his ministry in their midst. And in bringing the angels within the purview of the anathema, Martin Luther says this in his commentary. Here Paul is breathing fire. His zeal is so fervent that he almost begins to curse the angels themselves. Paul mentions the role of angels in the mediation of the Old Covenant law in Galatians 3.19. But here he seems to be adding them to show the extent of his point that no mere creature can authoritatively or legitimately speak contrary to God's good news in Christ. without at the same time falling under God's eternal curse. Thus some, if not the strongest words, are declared here in all of Holy Scripture, let him be accursed. Anathema esto, in the Greek. Paul uses the same word in 1 Corinthians 16. If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema. Here then is the depth of the danger of declaring another gospel. A curse be on him who would do such a thing. This is anything but a light matter. This is extremely heavy and weighty. This corresponds to the Old Testament concept of cherim, that which is devoted to utter destruction. According to Leviticus 27, 29, no person under the ban, the cherim, who may become doomed to destruction among men shall be redeemed. They cannot be redeemed. but shall surely be put to death." Referred to again in Deuteronomy 7 verse 26, "'Nor shall you bring an abomination into your house, lest you be doomed to destruction.'" There's that word again, haram, like it. "'You shall utterly detest it and utterly abhor it, for it is an accursed thing.'" Haram. It is that which is devoted to utter, absolute destruction. This is what Achan took to himself in Joshua chapter 7, and thus was destroyed himself because of it. There may also be a connection made here to the covenant curses pronounced on the false prophets, who would try to lead God's people astray in worshipping false gods. in Deuteronomy 13. Under the Mosaic Covenant, the divinely appointed punishment for these false professors was to be placed under God's eternal curse. Just as the Israelites faced the danger of being led astray from the very One who delivered them from their slavery in Egypt to worship other gods, so now the Galatians face the threat of being led astray from the God who delivered them from the present evil age, as Paul tells us in verse 4, to embrace another gospel. Therefore, when Paul invokes anathema on anyone proclaiming a gospel contrary to the one he first preached to the Galatians, he is declaring God's judicial wrath to be executed. So final eternal condemnation is in view here. This is what he is proclaiming. It's very strong. Very deep. And in an age of tolerance, above all things, Paul's words might sound harsh. But when the truth of the gospel and people's eternal destinies are at stake, the apostle has no time for niceties. Those of us who seek to teach must pay careful attention to our life and doctrine. since teachers, as the Lord's brother tells us, shall receive a stricter judgment. And in case you didn't get the first warning, Paul repeats it again. He repeats his sober warning to emphasize the gravity of what he has just declared so there would be absolutely no confusion So he reminds them of what he had taught them before and repeats that same instruction. And therefore repetition emphasizes the severity. Repetition emphasizes the severity of the danger in both the proclamation of another gospel, but also further impresses upon the Galatians the utter folly of their flirtation with this false gospel. Their following this way will ultimately lead to their own destruction as well. And as Jesus said, to whom much is given, much will be required. So Paul reminds the Galatians that they had in fact embraced the true gospel when he preached it to them. They had embraced it. They had accepted it. They had believed it. So a solid foundation of the truth of the gospel was laid in Galatia, in these Galatian cities, in the Galatian congregations. A solid foundation was laid, so they dare not depart from it, or they will surely reap the consequences of it, and they will be steep. What they had accepted and received was the true gospel of Jesus Christ. If they had not, then Paul couldn't accuse them of turning away from it. But they had it. So they will be held responsible for holding faithful to it. And this is why he's amazed that they're turning away from it. This is why he's calling them on the carpet and moving away from this alone solid foundation upon which they were built. They'd be moving to the quicksand of a false gospel that leads to destruction, a suffocating death, that which Paul had received by revelation from Jesus Christ Himself, that he goes on to say, they had received from Him faithfully. Therefore, just as He will be judged for what He received and what He does with it, So will they be judged for what they have received. The truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And so will we, my friends. We too will be judged for what we have received and what we do with it. Paul now brings this point to a close by applying the principle of the ultimate authority of the gospel to himself. He sets the gospel as the criterion, and then he applies it to himself. This verse, verse 10, It's a transitional verse, it transitions into the next section. But again, it really holds here. This verse is to demonstrate Paul's motivation in ministry. His motivation in ministry. Which is not to be a people pleaser, but to please God. Scholars note that Paul may be responding sarcastically to a charge by his opponents that he was seeking the approval of the Galatians by preaching a circumcision-free or law-free gospel. That is, they may have said that Paul, the false teachers had said that Paul was afraid of offending the Galatians by commanding them to get circumcised. Therefore they were setting matters straight, since Paul simply sought to make their acceptance to the gospel easy and unhindered. Circumcision isn't an easy thing, especially for grown men. It takes a real commitment. But he didn't want to hinder them with such difficult ceremonial rites and rituals. But here in verses 8 and 9, Paul calls down God's curse on anyone, including himself, who would dare proclaim a different gospel than the one he declared to them already. If he twisted the gospel, if he failed to give them something they were to keep, then he would have been responsible. and held charge for preaching a different gospel. The fact that he would do so, that he would call down a curse upon himself if he did so, proves that Paul is not trying to be a people pleaser, but is motivated in pleasing God. Again, the apostles' opponents in Galatia probably drew the conclusion that someone who was preaching faith in the Jewish Messiah Jesus to Gentiles, but without making clear the covenant obligations of that faith, was guilty of softening or cheapening the gospel. Paul draws a similar contrast between being a people-pleaser or a God-pleaser in 1 Thessalonians 2, verse 4, when he says, But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, the true gospel, even so we speak not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts." So Paul is clearly and emphatically not seeking to please people. And he ends here saying, if I were really motivated in my gospel ministry by desire to please people, and it's obvious that I don't, why would I call a curse upon them? Why would I say to you, if they preach another gospel than what I originally preached to you, curse be them. Does that sound like he's trying to please people? Of course not. But if he is desired to do that, then I definitely would not be a servant of Christ. I would be his enemy. Because I've destroyed the message he sent me to preach. Paul took pride in being a slave of Christ. He often refers himself by that designation. That was his favorite designation. Here then was His motivation and ministry to please His Lord and Savior. To be His servant in proclaiming His message untarnished, true, and faithful to His people. And so there is only one true gospel of Jesus Christ in which God calls His people into His saving grace. And as for the Apostle Paul, he will not be diverted from it, and seeks to warn others with every fiber of his being from abandoning it as well." And that's the point he's making here in these five verses of Galatians from verses six through ten, before he moves on into his arguments. Well, before closing, let us consider some concluding points of application. We must acknowledge our proneness to wander. We must acknowledge our proneness to wander from God's good news of free grace in Christ. We confess it in that famous hymn, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. We see this in the Galatians. And presumably we see it in ourselves. We feel it in ourselves. And the prophet himself acknowledges it. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. This is why the servant of Yahweh had to suffer and die and give his life for many. Jesus tells the parable of the lost sheep. That is those sheep that were in the flock but have gone astray. Sheep are dumb animals. They go off on their own, they get lost, they can't make their way back. And so Christ calls us to go after them as under-shepherds. Even after we become believers, various influences may draw us away, including the sinfulness of our own hearts. In Galatians, we see the influence of the false teachers, who probably swayed the Galatians with their knowledge of the Scriptures. which at that time was the Old Testament, an effective antidote against the false teaching is both a head and a heart filled with the love and knowledge of the true gospel of Jesus Christ. When we truly understand that our righteousness that our suffering, that our sufficiency, that our sanctification, that our adoption, that our glorification, that our perseverance and endurance of all these things is only in Christ alone, we will not be deceived by any other so-called gospel. One practical way to ensure that we stay true to the gospel is to be faithful members in a gospel faithful church. Therein we are kept accountable to one another in the truth, both doctrinally and practically. We should assess our own service in the church by how we are, again, keeping one another accountable in this way. from proneness to wonder. Secondly, there is only one gospel. There's only one gospel. And we see the exclusivism of the gospel here. Exclusivism is not very popular today, is it? But it wasn't popular in Paul's day either. Our world and culture embraces pluralism. Salvation can be gained by various and multiple ways. But Peter, like Paul, preached there is no salvation in any other, and there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we can be saved. And Jesus himself declared, I alone am the way, the truth, and the life. No one will come to the Father except through me. This is not arrogance nor pride, my friends. This is humility. If we stick to the Gospel of Christ, because we are looking and depending to God alone who reveals to us His Word in His Son. So we speak and live the truth as we do in order to be faithful to the revelation that has been bestowed and granted to us. We are not wiser than God, but we rely humbly upon Him and upon what he himself teaches us in his holy word. And hopefully, that light and that humility comes across in our disposition as we converse with others who may disagree with us. But they're not ultimately disagreeing with us, are we? Are they? They're disagreeing with the one whom we've received this revelation from. And also, that our disposition in humility would come across to those with whom we share the light of the gospel, the truth of the gospel. And third and finally, our goal. Our goal in life and service, like Paul's, should not to be people pleasers, but to please God. Our goal should not to be people pleasers, but should be to please God Himself. Pleasing people is not always bad. but when it confronts the reality that we displease God, then that should not trump our main goal. Pleasing people can be a very tempting thing. Jesus says, I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, him you will receive. How can you believe, since you receive honor from one another, and you do not seek the honor that comes from the only true God. It is a strong temptation in our lives to receive the glory and accolades of others, and often this can be in direct opposition to God's honor and glory. We want people to like us, naturally, there's nothing wrong with that. We don't like it when people don't like us. But we have to be sure that desire doesn't become the primary purpose in our lives so that the gospel is ignored or even denied. The solution is to embrace your identity as a servant. As a servant of Christ. That is the solution. embrace your identity, take it as the Apostle Paul did, that I am a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is my master. And make it your ambition to please him. And often, that will be to seek to please others. It can often align with that, but not always. And that needs to be the criterion. We all serve at his pleasure. And we should all know that one day, we will all give an account before Him for our life and service. Again, we are His servants. The One who Himself took the form of a servant to free us from our slavery, from sin and death. Remember, He is the stronger man who robbed the strong man and plundered his house. He has redeemed us. He has rescued us. He has restored us. He has brought us back to our God and Creator. So remember, a servant is not greater than his master. If Christ gave Himself in service to us in faithful obedience to His Father, so you and I are called in the power of His grace and gospel to serve Him. So heed the call of Him who has called you to His saving grace in the only true gospel of Jesus Christ. Amen. Let us pray. Our gracious and heavenly Father, we do thank You again for Your Word. We thank You that You, through the preaching, the means of preaching of Your Word, the hearing of Your Word, the reading of Your Word, that You again make these things plain that there is only one true gospel of Jesus Christ, through which you call your people, our Heavenly Father, into your saving grace. May we never divert from it this day, and we continue to grow in it, and we pray all these things in our Savior's precious name. Amen.