Praise the Lord for that. Aren't you glad that there is power in the blood? Thank you so much for that, Gabe and Chloe. What a wonderful song and a great reminder for us on this Sunday evening that there is power in the blood of Jesus. There have always been those since the first century up until our present day, who have said, who have claimed that the blood is not necessary, that there is no special aspects to the blood of Jesus Christ. Oh, my friend, how wrong they are. There is power in the blood of Jesus. It is absolutely necessary. And I think that our message this evening from the book of Galatians chapter one makes that so very clear. And so if you'll join me in Galatians chapter one, and as you're turning to that passage of scripture, One of the moving truths from God's Word is we begin to focus on what God has for us this evening. Romans chapter 5 verses 1 and 2, the Bible declares, therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Praise the Lord for the gift of grace that is present in our lives Where would we be apart from the grace of God? That grace is afforded to us by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the shedding of his precious blood, which is a part of the gospel. 1 Corinthians 15, verses 1 through 4, Paul declared what the gospel is when he wrote, Moreover, brethren, I declared unto you the gospel which I preached unto you. which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand, by the which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain." Don't miss those first words of verse two, by the which also ye are saved. Friends, we are saved through nothing else but the gospel of Jesus Christ. What is that gospel? Verse 3, For I delivered unto you, first of all, that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. That is the gospel. Jesus died for our sins, according to the scriptures. He was buried and he rose again the third day, according to the scriptures. That is the gospel. And you and I can be saved through nothing else but the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the message that he shed his precious blood at Calvary and three days later was raised from the grave by the power of God. What a wonderful truth in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Last week we re-began a journey through the epistle to the Galatians that we're calling plus nothing grace. We opened our examination of this letter by looking at Paul's salutation in the first five verses. And he opened by looking at the amazing grace of God. And now in verse number six, he gets straight to the purpose of his writing. I'll ask you to look with me. Galatians chapter one. Follow along as we read verses six through ten. The Bible declares, I marvel that you're so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel. which is not another, but there be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." We said before so say I now again if any man preach any other gospel unto you then that 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 yet pleased men I Should not be the servant of Christ How many of you use artificial sweeteners in various applications? Coffee, sweet tea, or I guess unsweet tea. Maybe you add artificial sweetener too. I hope you wouldn't add artificial sweetener to sweet tea. That'd be a little strange. Artificial sweeteners. I remember when Stephanie and I traveled as reps for Pensacola Christian, we were out in California. And the pastor of the church took the team out to a meal. I can't remember if it was before or after the service, but he took us out to a meal. And I don't even remember what he ordered for a drink, but he used artificial sweetener. But he didn't use one or the other. Some of you are probably the sweet and low, the pink packet people. How many of you are sweet and low people? How many of you are the yellow pack people? Is that equal, right? Splenda. See, I don't know. Is the blue pack the equal? Something like that. Steve's shaking his head, so I guess so. The pastor, though, in his drink, he used a mixture of the pink packet and the yellow packet. And I don't know if we were giving him funny looks or what, but he looked at us and he said, I'll tell you why I use some of each. They say the pink packet gives you cancer. The yellow packet causes dementia. So I figure if I use both, I'll just forget the fact that I have cancer. Thought that was pretty good. Good reasoning there. What is an artificial sweetener though? It's simply a product that is meant to replace the real thing, the natural or the real sugar. Supposedly might be better for you. I don't know. But that's what an artificial sweetener is. In his work, The Expositors Bible Commentary, Robert Rappa writes, Then the same way artificial sweetener is a replacement for the real thing, artificial gospels can be dangerous, not just to unbelievers, but to believers. He goes on and he writes, alternative gospels distort God's intended redemptive activity and leave humanity to suffer the just result of sinfulness. These gospels do not reconcile people to God, do nothing to remedy human sinfulness, and thus must be condemned in the strongest possible way, particularly since God has provided in the gospel of Christ. the way of escape. If you understand what Paul is writing in verses 6 through 10 and what he combats all through this epistle, you understand that Paul was writing to these people because of the corruption of God's grace that had set into the church. It was a danger not just on believers in his day, but to the very believers in the church. He was writing because God's amazing grace needed to be defended, but not just God's amazing grace, but what is a product of God's amazing grace, and that is the pure gospel of Jesus Christ. In these verses, Paul was very concerned with the purity of the gospel. If I can say it this way, he was very concerned with the truth that there is power in the blood of Jesus. The good news of Christ. As we look at Galatians 1, 6 through 10, I hope tonight that you'll simply be challenged to commit to being followers and proclaimers of the pure gospel of Jesus Christ. Three declarations that Paul gave In these verses of scripture, would you notice first of all paul declared that the galatian believers had deserted? the god of grace Now you might think that paul would simply declare that they had deserted the truth of grace But no paul goes beyond that He says that in deserting the truth of god's grace. They had actually deserted God Himself, the giver of that grace. Notice in verse number six again, what does Paul say? I marvel that ye are so soon removed from Him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel. The word marvel here, I think we would understand, speaks of surprise and astonishment. It's frequently used by orators, people who are speaking, as a signal of astonishment, rebuke, disapproval, and disappointment. I can see a parent as they're speaking to their child just marveling over some behavior, some action. I know we have teachers in the room and you know that I taught for many years during my time in Pensacola. And there were times that I would just marvel over a student's behavior or over a foolish question. I would take time, especially in my Bible doctrines class, which I taught to 10th grade students, as we would get to the end of various sections, I would encourage them, hey, don't ask questions every day during class. When I get to the end of sections of the curriculum, I will stop and we'll take time for questions, so just jot your questions down. And from time to time, there were really good questions that even put me on my toes, as it were. I had to be ready for about anything and try to answer to the best of my ability or even tell them at times, hey, I need to get back to you on that one. Every once in a while, a student would just ask a stupid question. And I'd marvel over that stupid question. I'd be like, really? I remember when Stephanie and I traveled as representatives for Pensacola right out of college, we would have a question and answer time with the 11th and 12th grade students after each presentation. And sometimes it was hard to get high schoolers, Calvin, you'd understand this, to get them to talk. Yeah. It's no problem during class when they're supposed to be quiet. Right, Calvin? Yeah, but when you want them to talk, it's like pulling teeth. I mean, it's tough. So I would often encourage these students, hey, just want you to know, there's no stupid question. There really isn't. Well, we were at one school, and we had a banner for the college that was right there, and one of the students, one of the guys raised his hand, and he pointed at the banner, and he said, is every girl at Pensacola as attractive as those ones? And I had just tried to get them to ask questions and did the whole, you know, there are no stupid questions. And I sat there just silent for a moment. And then I looked at him and I said, well, I didn't think there were any stupid questions, but that's definitely one of them. Everyone else, of course, laughed. I don't know if he did too much. But Paul hears he's writing. He's just in awe. He's in shock. He struck with surprise, astonishment, with disapproval and disappointment over the Galatian believers, many that he probably personally had led to Christ. He had established this church. What was it that he was in shock over? Notice, he says again in verse number six, you are so soon removed, not just from the gospel, not from the grace of God, but you're removed from him. who called you into the grace of Christ. And by the way, that hymn there, Paul wasn't referencing himself. He was referencing God. You've gone away from God. The word removed here signifies a departure or change. It's used throughout the Greek language of that day to speak of altering a treaty, to changing an opinion, or a deserting of an army. You're a soldier in an army and you go and desert from your army, from your regiment, or whatever it is. changing a treaty, changing an opinion. And the word here is used in the middle voice in a continuous present. That's its voice in the grammar, which indicates that they were in the process of apostasy, but it was not yet consummated. So they're actually in the process of departing from God, deserting the God of grace. Warren Weirsbe wrote it this way about what they were removing themselves from. He said the Galatian believers were not simply changing religions or changing churches. They weren't church hopping. They weren't switching denominations. He says they were actually abandoning the very grace of God. To make matters worse, they were deserting the very God of grace. Paul said here that not only were they simply abandoning grace, but they were abandoning God that called them into the grace of God. What was it they were deserting God for? What's he say there in verse number six? Unto another gospel. And then he goes on in verse number seven and says this, which is not another. Another gospel, which is not another. What's he mean by that? There's two different words used here, translated another. We could read it this way. Follow this closely. I marvel that you're so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another of a different kind of gospel, which is not another of the same kind. Pastor, I'm still struggling to follow that. The first another specifically represents something that is of a different sort altogether. So he says, you've deserted the God of grace unto another gospel, a gospel that is of an entirely different kind, which is not another one of the same kind of gospel. If if we were going to illustrate this perhaps a little further, we might think of fruit. Let's take just two of whatever, apple and an orange. Are they the same thing? The answer is no. They're both fruits, but they're of a completely different kind of fruit. But if I were to take two varieties, Granny Smith apples and Honeycrisp apples, Are they the same thing? Well, in one sense they are, right? They're both apples. They're just different varieties of apples. Paul says you've deserted the God of grace unto another gospel, one that's not even in the same ballpark as the true gospel of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 11 verse 4, the Bible says it this way, For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him. Paul here is describing the same type of thought. You've completely departed unto another Jesus or unto another spirit or unto another gospel. Now, what is the point Paul's trying to make here with the Galatians, though? If we were to really get down and understand the one point Paul is driving home, what is it? It's simply this, friends. Don't miss this. There is only one gospel. There is only one message of salvation that is true. There is only one way to the Father. There is only one way to heaven. There is only one way that your sin can be forgiven. through the gospel of Jesus Christ. He declared that the Galatian believers had deserted the God of grace. And then notice, secondly, I want you to see this. He declared that the troublers had perverted the gospel of Christ. Look at verse seven. He says, but there be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. Christ. Paul shifted his attention from the Galatian believers deserting the God of grace to the ones who had brought in this damnable heresy in the middle of verse 7. He turns his attention from those believers to the heretics, the one who were preaching and teaching this message, referring to them as some that trouble you. In presenting another gospel, Paul said that what they were doing was perverting the gospel of Jesus Christ. The word pervert in this text means to turn about, to turn around, or change. They were not simply giving a different aspect of the gospel of Jesus Christ. They were not giving revelation that God had added. This was not a more full revelation. It wasn't a greater understanding of the gospel. No, Paul said this was a downright perversion. of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The word he uses is an emphatic word. You find the same word used in Acts chapter 2 and verse 20 where it speaks of the sun being turned to darkness. It's used in James chapter 4 verse 9 where the Bible speaks of laughter being turned into mourning. In other words, Paul is describing something here that are on very opposite ends of the spectrum. They're not simply giving us more information. He says Galatian believers, these troubles have come in. They've perverted the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's not just more understanding. It's not a fuller revelation. It's not just a different aspect. No, it is a completely different message. How was it demonstrated in Galatia? The history of it is found in Acts chapter 15 and verse number 1. There the Bible declares these words, Now listen to that. Take it in. except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved." If I can generalize it a little further, they came in saying, if you don't obey the law, you cannot be saved. Friends, is that the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ? No. I believe I've shared before, when I was a senior at Pensacola Christian, I had a young man on my hall when I was a floor leader. We had just had the opening meetings for the semester with Evangelist Dave Young, and he came to me, and we started talking right after prayer group, and we're talking until well after lights out time. He came to me because Evangelist Young had preached the gospel of Jesus Christ. had shared what salvation is and how we are saved through Christ alone. And this young man came to me. He and his family had attended a church for many years. I don't know what the denomination was. I don't know exactly what the religious affiliation was. But as we were talking, he shared with me that what he had been taught all growing up was salvation was essentially a matter of obeying the Ten Commandments. that yes, Jesus Christ died for sin and you needed to believe in Jesus, but you needed to follow the Ten Commandments, and apart from that, you could not be saved. That wasn't just around in Paul's day, it's still around today. Paul here says that those who teach these type of aspects, the these type of more full revelations. Galatian believers, we've we've come to you with some more revelation from God. You've believed on Christ. That's wonderful. That's great. But now you need to understand if you're not also circumcised after the manner of Moses, if you don't obey the law, you can't be saved. And the Galatian believers were buying this. And starting to turn to it. That is not the pure gospel of Jesus Christ. What is? Jesus spoke about it to a religious man in John chapter 3. You remember the context of those famous verses in John chapter 3, don't you? Someone came to Jesus by night. Do you remember who it was? Who was it? Nicodemus, right? Who was Nicodemus? He was a Pharisee, a member of the Sanhedrin. He was one who believed that meriting God's favor, earning salvation was a matter of righteous living, obeying the law, not just the Ten Commandments, but all 600 plus laws found in the Torah, plus whatever traditions and so on the Pharisees had added on top of that, that that's what salvation was about. And when he came to Jesus to seek Jesus out to seek out an understanding of Jesus in his ministry Jesus declared unto Nicodemus the simple truth verily verily I say unto you Except a man be born again. He cannot see the kingdom of God. You remember Nicodemus's response, don't you? How can that be? Can I enter my mother's womb a second time and be born I? And Jesus, I love the response of Jesus, don't you? Jesus looks at Nicodemus and says, you're a teacher in Israel and you don't get this. You don't understand this. Jesus used an illustration. Do you remember when Moses raised the serpent on the pole in the wilderness? What was going on? The people had disobeyed God. God judged, God disciplined by sending fiery serpents among them to bite them. They were growing sick and dying from the serpent bites. And God told Moses, when Moses interceded, I want you to fashion a bronze serpent, a brazen serpent, hang it on a pole, set that up in the midst of the camp, and whoever looks at that serpent on the pole will be healed. Was there magic? Sorcerian, the bronze serpent? No, what was it all about? It was about having faith in God. I mean, think about it. If you were in that situation, you'd been bitten by some serpent and the venom was spreading through your body, you felt yourself growing weaker and weaker, you knew you were dying, and someone came to you and said, hey, I've got the message of how you can be saved. I've got this bronze serpent hanging on a pole over here, just look at that and you'll be healed. What would you think? I mean, let's be honest. I know what I'd think, you are a crazy nut. You've got to be joking. It was about faith. Jesus took that illustration and he said, in John chapter three, that whosoever believeth in him, speaking of the Son, should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. As Paul was writing to the Galatian believers, he told them that those who teach and preach this message of adding to the grace of God, needing to do certain things to earn God's favor and be saved, they are perverting the gospel of Christ. And Paul went on from that. At first, in verse number 8, just in the realm of possibility, but then in verse 9, in the realm of actuality, pronounced a divine judgment in the severest language possible known to him, to those who would pervert the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul essentially said, let them be accursed, let them suffer eternal damnation for teaching and preaching this perversion. What was the effect of all of this on the Galatians? Well, again, Paul said they were troubled, verse number seven. That word means disturb, agitate, jumble up, or confuse. It's the same word used in the Gospels about the state of the disciples when they were caught on the sea in the storm. You remember the Bible speaks to us there about how they were troubled. They thought they were going to die in the midst of that storm. It's the same word that is used here. It's the word used in Matthew chapter number two when the wise men came to Jerusalem seeking Jesus and the Bible says that Herod in all of Jerusalem was troubled at that message. Now I want you to think about this for just a moment. I read from Romans chapter number five earlier as we began our message. Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. What is a product of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the grace of God? It's peace. Peace with God. Reconciliation. The bringing together of two who had been at war, who had been in conflict. We are reconciled through Jesus Christ. We are brought close to God, made his children through the grace of God. That is a product. That's a benefit of our salvation. But these believers had deserted the God of grace. Grace leads to peace. We are saved by grace and we are called as believers in Jesus Christ to live by grace. It is grace that is foundational to our Christian lives. Grace that gives us strength to be victorious. Grace that enables us to glory in tribulation. It is the grace of God that produces peace. But when a Christian, when a believer in Jesus Christ turns away from God's grace, begins to rely on his own power and resources, begins to look to himself for salvation and even strength to live the Christian life. Guess what? There he finds not peace, but trouble. When you and I begin to depart from the God of grace, giving in to the perversions of the gospel of Christ that are present and active in our world, it is there that we find ourselves troubled rather than at peace. Friends, do not desert the God of grace or pervert the gospel of Jesus Christ. be cautious about those who espouse deserting the God of grace or perverting the gospel of Jesus Christ. Any cult that adds to God's revelation would be included in that. Anything that adds to God's revelation is a cult. Any denomination or group that claims exclusive rights and privileges would be counted as those who depart the God of grace and pervert the gospel of Jesus Christ. and we need to be cautious of them. But then I want you to notice Paul's third declaration here in this passage, and we'll conclude. He declared that the Galatian believers had deserted the God of grace, that those who troubled them had perverted the gospel of Christ, but then notice Paul declared that he was committed as a servant of Christ. In verse number 10, Paul here was defending his apostleship. He was coming against those who perverted the gospel of Christ, who accused him of focusing on pleasing man. If you will, this was an early form of an attack on Paul for a version of what may have been considered easy-believism. Have you heard that terminology? Easy-believism. It's likely that the Judaizers, those who said you need to obey the law in addition to believing in Christ for salvation, looked at Paul's simple gospel, faith in Christ alone for salvation, and declared that Paul was simply trying to be a man pleaser in that. But Paul's response in verse number 10 was simple. If I were seeking to please men, I wouldn't be the servant of Christ. Service to Jesus Christ often runs contrary to, not parallel with, pleasing man. Do you ever find that to be true? If you're one who struggles with being a people pleaser, anyone like that? You ever feel like you got to try to please everybody? Let me help you this evening. This is absolutely free. You'll never please everybody. The sooner you learn that and live that way, the better it'll be for you. You'll never please everybody. And Paul was very clear. If you're committed to being a servant of Jesus Christ, you better learn. You better get over wanting to please everybody. Because if you're committed as a servant of Jesus Christ, you're not going to be able to please everyone. Paul essentially stated that we need to commit to being a follower and a proclaimer of the pure gospel of Jesus Christ. That's what verse 10 was about. I'm committed to pleasing Christ, to serving him. I will be a follower and proclaimer of the pure gospel of Christ. Friends, can I ask you just simply this evening by way of application, are you committed to following and proclaiming the pure gospel of Christ? Are you committed to living in the grace of God? In living in the peace that you have with God? It's a matter of grace. Do not now as a child of God, as a believer in Jesus Christ, desert the God of grace. Not necessarily talking about going AWOL as a believer. Talking about thinking and believing that somehow you have to live by a particular set of rules and standards to please God. No. God wants you to live in His grace. To stand in His grace by which you're saved. Follow and proclaim the pure gospel of Christ. Don't desert the grace of God or the God of grace, but live in his grace. His grace has saved you. Stand in his grace. Depend on him and his resources. Be at peace. Don't pervert the gospel of Christ by giving place to those who come proclaiming Jesus plus. Friends, the gospel is Christ plus nothing. Jesus only in his finished work. Going back to that truth, there is power in the blood. Do you realize that as soon as you add anything to Jesus Christ, you take away from the power of the blood? Why did he die? Why did he shed his blood if salvation were a matter of what I do or don't do? It's all of God's grace in the work of Jesus Christ. And then as a child of God, as a believer, be committed as a servant of Jesus Christ. When pleasing Christ and pleasing man run contrary to each other, choose to please Jesus Christ. Some may not understand it. Some may not like it. That's okay. Be committed to serving Jesus Christ. Would you bow your heads and close your eyes with me this evening? Aren't you thankful for the grace of God? I know where I would be if my salvation were dependent upon me. I'd not be saved. And friends, the same is true for every single person. We cannot do anything. We cannot do enough of anything to earn salvation. Perhaps you've tried to add to the work of Christ. Maybe you've even been one. Like the young man who lived on my hall in college that I spoke about earlier, who has been brought up believing that yes, Jesus died for sin, was buried and rose again, but salvation is more than just believing him. It's adding to, it's about being baptized, being a church member, doing good. That's not salvation. The Bible declares, for by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. It's all of his grace. If you've been looking to yourself or trusting in yourself for salvation, I'd invite you right now to bow your head and your heart in faith to the Lord and trust him alone for salvation. But to those of us who are believers, do you realize Paul was writing to believers in Galatians? It was believers who were guilty of deserting the God of grace unto another gospel, who were looking to more than just Jesus Christ. And that behavior led to them being troubled. They were removing themselves from peace because of that. God wants you to live in peace, to be at peace with him. As long as you look to yourself and your resources and your strength, you're going to be living in trouble. Focus on Him, what He has done, what He's continuing to do in your life, and be at peace. Are you committed as a follower of Jesus Christ? I hope that you'll commit to Him completely. If the Lord is working in your heart, I'm going to close us in prayer. And if God's working in your heart, would you pray just in your own heart to the Lord? Respond to him as he's working in your life. Father, thank you so much for the grace of God. For the power that is in the blood of Jesus Christ. Blood that cleanses us from all our sin. And Lord, I pray this evening that you would help each of us to rest in your grace. Lord, if there is one who is watched or listened to this message who does not know Jesus Christ as their Savior, perhaps they've tried to add to Jesus Christ's work for salvation. Maybe they've looked to themselves for salvation. I pray that right now, wherever they may be, they would place their faith and trust alone in Christ. Lord, maybe there's a believer who's been looking to themselves for strength or their own resources who have been living outside of the grace of God. I pray that now you'd work in their hearts to bring them back to that place of standing in your grace, trusting in your grace, depending on you and you alone for their standing in Christ. Help us all to be committed, Lord, in this day. When the commitment of so many is wavering, I pray you would help us to be committed as servants of Jesus Christ. And we will be sure to praise and thank you for it in Jesus' precious name. Amen.