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[0:00] Good evening. Be in the New Testament this evening. The book of Galatians.!

[0:30] Man, the Spirit of God. Paul was writing very much as a pastor. Toward the churches in Galatia.

[0:42] And what had happened was these Judaizers had come into the church. And it's much like the last time I was here. I believe I preached out Colossians chapter 2.

[0:52] And it was much the same situation with that letter. There were people coming in that were saying, Jesus is fine, but you also need this and you need that.

[1:04] The same thing was happening with the churches in Galatia. But Paul begins this letter just surprised, astounded, that they were so quickly moving away from the Gospel, which had saved them, to another doctrine, to another Gospel, which in all honesty is no Gospel at all.

[1:30] You know, there is one Gospel, and that's the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And that Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. And so Paul writes this letter to the churches in Galatia defending the Gospel.

[1:45] And the main thing that these people had come in, these Judaizers had come in, was the keeping of the law. They were saying it was Jewish people, it was Jewish unbelievers that were coming in, saying, you know, you can believe in Christ, you can have salvation through Christ, but the law still must be kept.

[2:04] And folks, that completely dilutes the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no faith and works salvation.

[2:15] It is faith. It is faith in Christ alone. It is faith in His atoning death alone. It is faith in His Gospel alone that is the power of God unto salvation.

[2:28] So, Paul spends six chapters here defending the Gospel of Jesus Christ and exalting the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Not only exalting Christ Himself and lifting up His name, but lifting up the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

[2:43] He is reminding these people in Galatia of the very Gospel, the very thing that they heard that brought them unto salvation.

[2:54] This is much like the book of Hebrews. You read through the book of Hebrews and that's what it was about. These Jewish people that were in danger of falling back into the law, falling back into their old practices, falling back into their old ways, and leaving the Gospel of Jesus Christ behind.

[3:11] Behind. That's what much of the book of Hebrews is about. That's what about all the book of Galatians is about. So, then we come to chapter 6. And after Paul spends five chapters making argument for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and establishing doctrines of grace inside of all of that, he begins chapter 6 with the practice of that grace.

[3:38] with the practice of how saved people should be. He begins it with telling how if one is found in fault, if one is fallen away, how those which are spiritual should restore them.

[3:53] He goes on to say that we should bear one another's burdens. He says that we should bear our own burdens. He goes on to say that whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

[4:04] And he goes on to talk about the practice of the grace that he has established in the previous five chapters. So, all that being said, we'll begin reading in Galatians chapter 6 beginning with verse 11.

[4:22] He says, He says, Back to verse 11.

[5:11] He says, He says, Paul again has spent the previous five, five and a half chapters up to this point establishing the Gospel, defending the Gospel, and showing the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ as opposed to the works of the law.

[5:35] And I'm not discounting the law here at all. And I'm not preaching easy beliefism at all. I'm not saying that a person can be saved and continue living any old way that they want to.

[5:47] Folks, that goes against sanctification. That goes against the teachings of Scripture. That goes against the very Scripture that says, For if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.

[5:59] Old things are passed away, and behold, all things are become new. I'm not standing here telling you that the law is of none effect. I'm not saying anything along those lines.

[6:10] But it is through faith and faith in Christ alone. And it is by the grace of God alone that we receive salvation. And again, Paul here says, You see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand.

[6:24] And there's argument out there in the theological world whether Paul was talking about the size of the characters that he was using or whether he was talking about the length of the letter that he wrote to the Galatians.

[6:35] But folks, I don't think that really matters. I don't think it matters one way or the other exactly what Paul was getting at there. What Paul, though, was telling the churches in Galatia here.

[6:47] Paul, much like many other people during his time, Paul would dictate his letters unto someone else, and they would write his letters for them. And Paul may sign off at the very end of them as a sign of authenticity that it is indeed from him.

[7:03] But Paul here is saying, I have written this letter to you by my own hand. I've written this entire letter unto you. You see how important this is.

[7:14] Not just the size of the characters. Not just the length of the letter. But Paul here is saying, I have taken my time, and I have picked up the pen myself and sent to send this letter unto you.

[7:27] But why did he do it again? It was to exalt the gospel of Jesus Christ to these people. It was to lift up the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, unto these people because they were in danger of falling back into the law.

[7:42] They were in danger of depending upon something to do with themselves. Something to do with anything that they could do. They were looking unto merit. They were looking unto the keeping of something.

[7:52] They were looking unto pleasing God with their flesh. But folks, only the work of Jesus Christ can please God and does please God. His is a finished work.

[8:03] His is a complete work. His is a righteous work. And His work is the only work that we can stand before God and be justified in. And Paul here is writing this letter unto these Galatians.

[8:16] Before he begins here with the last few verses that we read here, he has written this letter and he is saying here, how important, the utmost importance that the gospel is unto salvation, that the gospel is to your salvation, to the Galatians salvation, to my salvation, to anyone who ever has believed and anyone who ever will believe, the gospel is of utmost importance.

[8:46] Hallelujah. Don't depend upon the works of the law. Don't depend on what you can do. Don't depend upon throwing your money into the plate at church.

[8:58] Don't depend upon singing songs at the church. Don't depend upon painting the walls. Don't depend upon vacuuming the carpet. Don't depend upon shaking the preacher's hand or upon teaching Sunday school.

[9:10] or anything else. You depend upon Christ and Christ alone. And here's glorious gospel for your salvation. Praise God for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

[9:22] And Paul here is telling these Galatians, I've written this letter unto you myself because it was of utmost importance that I do so.

[9:33] It was urgent to Paul that he write this letter unto these people because other people have infiltrated the church just as other people infiltrate the churches now with false doctrine, with false religion, with false Christ, with false gospels.

[9:50] They infiltrate the churches with all of these things. And folks, we have got to be on guard for people like this. We have got to be on guard for people that will come within the doors of the church and they will come to you with their cunningness.

[10:05] They will come to you with their smooth talk. They will come to you with things that are almost true. They will mingle these things in their head. These things that are almost true and mix it up with Scripture to make it sound biblical.

[10:21] Just like these Judaizers did. Just like these Judaizers did. You stay on guard. You stay on guard here at this church and any other churches that you may attend.

[10:34] You stay on guard there. Verse number 12 says, As many as desire to make a fair shoe in the flesh that constrain you to be circumcised, only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.

[10:49] This is amazing to me. Paul says, As many as desire to make a fair shoe in the flesh. Paul begins talking about these that have come into the church.

[11:00] These Judaizers. These that have come in saying you must keep the law. Namely, circumcision is what these Judaizers were getting at. You must continue this practice.

[11:10] But folks, the circumcision that we read about over in the book of Genesis, the circumcision all throughout the Old Testament, that was not the covenant in and of itself.

[11:21] It was a sign of the covenant that Almighty God made with Abraham. When He told Abraham, He said, I will multiply your seed. I will multiply it as the sand of the seashore.

[11:33] I will multiply it as the stars of the heaven. When He made this promise unto Abraham. And then He commanded the circumcision. It was a sign of the covenant.

[11:44] It wasn't the covenant itself. These Jews had gotten it into their heads. Well, if I'm circumcised the eighth day, just like I'm told, just like Abraham was told that all the people in the family of God should be.

[11:58] All the people, all the covenant people should be circumcised the eighth day. If that is the case, then I'm good with God. If that is the case, then me and God are alright.

[12:09] But folks, it was never the circumcision that brought this. The Bible says that Abraham believed God and his belief in God is what was counted unto him for righteousness.

[12:19] Not the actions. Not the circumcision. Not the taking of Isaac up on Mount Moriah. None of these things were the actual salvation. But the belief in the Word of God, that was salvation.

[12:33] What does the Word of God teach us? The Word of God teaches that man is a sinner. That man is lost. That man is depraved. That man is hopeless outside of this man, Jesus Christ, that I preached to you this evening.

[12:45] That's what the Scripture teaches. But it also teaches that there is hope in Christ and He alone. There is hope in the Gospel. There is hope in the never after. And once we leave the side of eternity, there is hope found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

[13:02] Folks, we must believe what the Word of God says. Not what man says that it says, but what it actually states within the Scriptures.

[13:14] Because again, there's many people that will take verses of Scripture and they'll mingle their own thoughts into it and make it almost true. But folks, almost true is an outright lie.

[13:27] Almost true is completely false. It's either true or it's not. Someone's either telling you the truth or they're a liar. There is no in-between. There is no in-between with this.

[13:39] He says, as many as desire to make a fair shoe in the flesh. He's talking about these people that have come into the churches in Galatia. But He does not begin with their methods.

[13:51] He begins by exposing their heart here. He begins by exposing their heart. As many as desire to make a fair shoe in the flesh.

[14:01] In other words, as many as desire to show off. As many as desire to show what intelligence that they think that they have. To show what a special touch from God that they think that they have.

[14:15] To show people how close that they are to God. He begins by exposing their heart. And folks, people like this are very dangerous. They are very dangerous because they are influential.

[14:28] And they're believable. They are very dangerous. As many as desire to make a fair shoe in the flesh that constrain you to be circumcised. They constrain you to follow the law.

[14:41] They constrain you to do something outside of faith and belief in Jesus Christ that constrain you to be circumcised. Only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.

[14:54] He begins here by exposing their heart. That they're doing this to have a fair shoe in the flesh. But he goes on to say only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.

[15:10] How would this persecution come upon them because of the cross of Christ? It's because these were unbelieving Jews that were coming in to the assemblies. And it was found out that they were within the assembly but they were not trying to continue on with the law.

[15:29] They were not trying to persevere with the law and they were not trying to convince others that the law was necessary for salvation. They would get persecution from their own people from the other unbelieving Jews from the Jews who were clinging to the law instead of to the grace of Almighty God.

[15:49] And that's exactly what people will try and convince you of sometimes. Folks, we're not talking about people that were outright atheists. That's what's most scary about this.

[16:02] They believed in God. The Judaizers did. They believed in God. They believed in the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. But they did not believe the Gospel.

[16:14] They did not believe the truth of the Gospel. They did not believe that salvation was by faith and faith alone. They did not believe they wanted to have something to do with their own salvation.

[16:28] And Paul is writing this letter to say, no, no, that's not how it is. Verse number 13, for neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law. Paul here exposing them.

[16:41] He says, neither they who are circumcised keep the law. He says, he's saying essentially here that those that are pushing the law upon you and those that are insisting that you keep the law are not even capable of following the law themselves.

[16:59] And folks, anybody that comes to you and tries to push something on you, something to do with the law of Almighty God, you remember what James says. James says, if a man keeps the whole law, yet offendeth in one point, he is guilty of all.

[17:15] He is guilty of all. It doesn't matter if you've never murdered anyone or not, you are guilty of it. I'm talking about physically murdering someone. It doesn't matter if you've ever committed adultery or not.

[17:27] We are guilty of breaking God's law. If we have offended by lying, if we have offended by dishonoring our mother and our father, if we have offended in any of what we would consider the smaller aspects of the law, if we have offended God with any of those, we are guilty of breaking the entire law.

[17:50] That's not my scripture, that's God's scripture that teaches that. He says, these people that want to push the law on you, they're not even capable of keeping it themselves.

[18:02] So why would you listen to them? Why would we listen to them? And folks, there's people out there now, I'm telling you, there are people out there now that call themselves Christians, but they are so bent on trying to keep the law for salvation.

[18:20] they are so bent on keeping the laws of Judaism. They are so bent on keeping the feasts of the Lord. They are bent on everything it seems other than Jesus Christ, what they need to be obsessed with.

[18:37] Our Christian walk should be to the glory of God and it should be to the exaltation of Jesus Christ. Every step that we take in our lives, every word that we utter, everything that we do, it should all be to the glory of God.

[18:57] And our keeping the law, our keeping the law, does nothing for salvation. It does nothing for salvation. In fact, Galatians chapter 2, Paul done wrote to them in Galatians chapter 2 in this very same book.

[19:13] He said, if righteousness be by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. Folks, righteousness is not by the law and it never has been by the law.

[19:24] It is completely, totally, and utterly of God through Jesus Christ. Period. And don't you let anyone convince you otherwise. Don't you let anyone tell you otherwise.

[19:36] And if someone does tell you otherwise, you tell them about the grace of Almighty God. You tell them about the mercy of God. You tell them about the cross and Calvary. You tell them about the pure blood of Jesus Christ that is able to wash away sins and make you whole.

[19:52] Hallelujah. Get them away from those doctrines. For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law, but desire to have you circumcised that they may glory in your flesh.

[20:05] Why were they wanting this? Because this would show that they were putting forth their effort. They were putting forth effort to convince other people to keep this law of circumcision.

[20:16] Circumcision is something that could be counted. Circumcision back in these days is something that could be displayed. It was something that someone could boast about. They say, well, I'm of the circumcised.

[20:28] I'm a keeper of the law. My parents kept the law. Whatever the case is, and they would say, because of this, I am of God. And that is not what makes anyone of God.

[20:40] Whether they're circumcised or uncircumcised. They say, they desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. Not glory in the things of God.

[20:53] Not glory in the law itself. But that they may glory in your flesh, so that they could take a tally as to how many people that they could report to the other Jews that they had convinced to keep the law of circumcision.

[21:09] And folks, I will tell you now, there are single individuals out there that call themselves ministers of Jesus Christ. And their sole purpose is to steer you clear of the gospel.

[21:22] And every person that comes their way, every person that listens to their false doctrine, they put another tally up under their belt.

[21:33] They put another mark on the wall. I've got another one. I've got another one to follow me. I've got another one to follow my ideas. I've got another one to follow my ways.

[21:43] But folks, those ways are the ways that lead to destruction. Those ways are the ways that lead to the broad path and the wide gate. They're the ways that lead straight unto hell.

[21:56] They're the ways that lead to the strange woman's house that you read about in the book of Proverbs where it says that her guests were in hell. Be careful who you listen to.

[22:06] Be cautious who you listen to. They just want the glory in your flesh. They want the glory saying, I've got another one to come along with me regardless of how false the doctrine is, regardless of how false their supposed gospel is.

[22:24] They want you to follow their ways. And I hate to say, but I know a few preachers like that. They are bent on their own ways and on their own philosophies and on their own doctrines.

[22:36] And not the things that are taught as per the word of God. You challenge everything that you hear. If it doesn't sound like it's gospel, it's probably not.

[22:47] Everybody in here has been in church longer than I have. Everybody in here has walked with God longer than I have. You should have heard the gospel and you should know what the gospel is now even better than I do.

[23:02] So if you hear something that doesn't sound like the gospel, it probably isn't. And you steer clear of that. Verse 14, this is the key to the whole passage.

[23:14] This is the wonder of the whole passage. But God forbid that I should glory saving the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world.

[23:30] He just finished verse 13 saying that these people, he says, they're unable to keep the law. He says, and they desire to glory in your flesh. Then he comes with verse 14, but God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[23:49] This is an amazing statement that Paul makes here. Why is that? Folks, respectable people did not talk positively about the cross. They did not talk positively about crucifixion.

[24:04] Jesus Christ wasn't the first person that was ever crucified. There have been many people crucified. This was the worst torment. This was the worst form of torture and roadway to death in the Roman Empire.

[24:18] And here is Paul saying, I'm not counting upon my zeal as a Pharisee. I'm not counting upon my learning. I'm not counting upon my status.

[24:30] Folks, all of that ended on the road to Damascus. Paul, or Saul of Tarsus, was a very proud man. And he was constantly trying to impress those around him.

[24:43] Constantly wanting to fulfill the law. Constantly wanting to please God by fulfilling the law. By doing the things of the law. By arresting those that he saw as blasphemers.

[24:57] By having some put to death. Whatever the case was. But I'll tell you now, when he came into an encounter with the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, all of that went out the window.

[25:11] All that went by the wayside. It was no longer important to Paul about his reputation. It was no longer important to Paul about what men he impressed.

[25:22] It was no longer important to Paul any of these things. What was important to Paul is the same thing that should be important to you and important to I.

[25:32] That was the gospel of Jesus Christ and the cross of Jesus Christ. The Bible says that without the shedding of blood there is no remission. There is no forgiveness.

[25:44] There is no washing away of sin without the shedding of blood. And the blood of Jesus Christ was shed on a cross on Calvary's hill on behalf of rebel sinners who will repent of their ways and believe on Him.

[25:59] Hallelujah. That's why he says God forbid God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of Jesus Christ.

[26:12] And you and I have nothing to boast in of our own. Paul Paul had nothing to boast in on his own.

[26:24] Although he was a Pharisee, a Pharisee, although he was a very well learned man, a very intelligent man, knew the law frontwards and backwards.

[26:36] He said as far as being a Jew, as far as being a Hebrew, he was untouchable by any of the others. He says this in the book of Philippians. But all of that mattered not to Paul.

[26:50] after his encounter with Christ. And none of that should matter to you and I if we have had an encounter and we have received salvation from Jesus Christ.

[27:01] The cross of Jesus Christ strips away all race. It strips away all denomination. It strips away everything. It strips away pride.

[27:13] It strips away everything that you could think of that would apply to you or that I would think would apply to me the cross of Jesus Christ. It strips away every bit of it.

[27:25] There is one level meeting ground for rebels against God and that is at the foot of the cross. And folks that is where the Christian life begins and praise God that is where the Christian life on this earth ends is at the foot of the cross.

[27:45] There is more to be learned about God through the cross of Jesus Christ than there is in any other thing that you can read about in scripture.

[27:57] There is more to be learned about God. We may may may may may may We read about the justice of God. We read about the cross. We read about the mercy of God.

[28:08] We read about the love of God. We read about the punishment for sin. We read about the judgment of God. We read all about God when we read about the cross.

[28:19] The cross is centered to Christian faith. It is centered to Christian faith. And that's why Paul said, God forbid. God forbid that our glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[28:36] If you and I boast in anything, may it be in His cross. May it be in the sacrifice that He made on our behalf. May it be in Christ.

[28:48] Because you and I have nothing in and of ourselves to boast about. God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[29:00] by whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world. Again, we can go back to Paul's experience on the road to Damascus.

[29:12] At that point, at the point of conversion, the world lost its savor. The world lost its appeal for Paul.

[29:22] The world lost everything and his entire walk began to be for Christ at that point.

[29:34] And for the glory of Christ. And to the glory of God. Folks, when you got saved, was the world crucified unto you? When I got saved, was the world crucified unto me?

[29:47] Think about what Paul is saying here. Think about what he's saying when he says, by whom? By whom? Who was he talking about just before this? He was talking about our Lord Jesus Christ.

[29:58] He says, by whom the world is crucified unto me. It is by Jesus Christ that the world is crucified unto us who believe.

[30:09] Unto us who are saved. The world becomes nothing but a lifeless mass that has no appeal to us anymore. And the longer I walk with God and the more I'm in this Bible, the less the world has to offer for me.

[30:28] I'm not saying that the temptations aren't there. I'm not saying that the demons won't whisper in your ear. But the closer you walk to God and the more you keep your nose in His Word, the less appealing the world will be unto you.

[30:44] And the world will be crucified unto you. And you'll be crucified unto the world. The world will have nothing to do with you. The world doesn't want anything to do with you.

[30:54] The world will do nothing with you but contend with you. And be contentious with you. And fight with you. And argue with you. And rebel against you. Because by Jesus Christ, the world has become crucified to you.

[31:10] And when that happens, the world naturally wants nothing to do with us. I think I said the last time I was here, according to Scripture, where God said to come you out from among them and be ye separate.

[31:24] We're to be a separated people. If we've been saved, we are a separated people. And we're crucified of the world and the world is crucified unto us.

[31:34] Verse 15 will be done. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.

[31:47] In other words, it doesn't matter what laws you keep. It doesn't matter in this particular case. It doesn't matter if you keep the commandment of the circumcision from the Old Testament.

[32:02] But folks, it doesn't matter what laws we keep now. That does not matter. He says, For in Christ, neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision.

[32:13] Righteousness is not by the law. No man shall be justified by the deeds of the law. Period. We are justified through the shed blood of Jesus Christ in our faith, in His substitutionary sacrifice.

[32:32] In Christ, neither circumcision availeth anything. Following the law does not avail anything as far as salvation goes. Nor uncircumcision.

[32:45] Not following the law doesn't avail anything as far as salvation is concerned. But what does?

[32:56] But a new creature. This is the new creature from 2 Corinthians 5 that I quoted earlier. For a faint of man being Christ, He is a new creature.

[33:09] That is what avails. And that is an act. That is a supernatural act that only Almighty God can accomplish in the life of anyone who repents of their ways and believes on Him.

[33:22] And believes in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He makes a new creature. Folks, the Gospel does not just improve our lives. It does not merely show us a different way.

[33:35] It completely and utterly makes a new creature in Jesus Christ. It completely transforms us. If you met Jesus Christ and didn't do no more and turn over a new leaf, you never got saved.

[33:49] If you met Christ and you said, okay, I can't break any of the commandments now. Folks, you sin every day.

[34:04] Now, we don't do it willfully. We don't just go out here and gallivant. We don't go to the pubs. We don't go to the bars. We don't go out and commit adultery or commit a fornication or whatever the case is.

[34:17] We don't lie. We don't steal. We don't purposely do any of these things and we don't willingly do any of those things. But folks, we sin every day of our lives.

[34:29] The Bible teaches your flesh is sinful. There is a constant war between the flesh and the Spirit for those that have been saved. But praise God we have got that Spirit. Praise God we have got the Spirit of Christ.

[34:41] For Romans 8 says, without the Spirit of Christ, you are none of His. If we have the Spirit of Christ, we are His. And we are a new creature.

[34:52] And that new creature is the availing. That new creature is what is going for as far as salvation goes. If you were not born again, if you did not become a new creature, if you got saved, quote unquote, and continued on in your former life, you never really got saved.

[35:14] because God changes your direction. The Spirit of God changes your will. He changes your wants. He changes your desires.

[35:26] He changes everything about you. Everything about you. That's why I don't talk the way that I once did. That's why I don't go to the places that I once did.

[35:37] That's why I don't look at some of the things that I once looked at. That's why I don't drink some of the things that I once did. It's because God has made a new creature in me through the blood of Christ Jesus.

[35:50] Through the regenerating power of the Holy Ghost of Almighty God. That's why I don't do those things. Because those are changes that I would have never made on my own.

[36:04] And that I could have never made on my own. In Christ Jesus, neither circumcision availeth anything. nor uncircumcision. Your following of the law or your not following of the law avails nothing for salvation.

[36:23] But being made a new creature in Jesus Christ, that is salvation. And it's salvation completely and totally of God.

[36:34]  That's this evening's message. God bless you all. I appreciate your attention. may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may may