Galatians 5:1

Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I, Paul, say unto you that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever you are, who is justified by the law. You are fallen from grace.

For we, through the Spirit, wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision, but faith which works by love.

Let's pray. Father, as we just sang, receive our adoration. What an awesome privilege it is to be able to come before the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. You promised that wherever two or more are gathered, there you are in their midst. And Lord, it is because of the work that you did on our behalf that the way has been opened today for us to come before you. What a blessing, what an honor to be able to come before you.

Jesus, you said that you are the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but through you. As we have seen and will continue to see here in the book of Galatians, there is no other way—not through the keeping of the law, not through the keeping of religious services, Lord, but through you and the work that you have done. Lord, remind us of that every single day. Teach us, we pray, by your Spirit today. In Jesus' name, Amen.

You can be seated. Paul is writing to the church, or churches rather, of the region of Galatia, a region today that we would associate with modern-day Turkey. It was there in that place that Paul and his co-laborer, Barnabas, had planted at least...

Four churches were established, and after a short time, a group of false teachers associated with Christianity, but originating from Phariseeism among the Jews, came in. They began to tell the people there that they could not be saved unless they were circumcised. This issue became significant enough that a council was called in the city of Jerusalem during this time in the church.

You remember in Acts chapter 15 that Paul, Barnabas, and several others from the church at Antioch went up to Jerusalem to discuss this teaching and the related issue. However, unbeknownst to Paul, Barnabas, and the others, these false teachers had already gone into the region of Galatia and spread their false teaching among the Christians there. Consequently, Paul had to address this by writing a letter, and he would shortly visit the believers there as well.

As we saw in our study in chapter 4, Paul used the illustration from the Old Testament about Abraham and the two children he had: one by a bondwoman, Hagar, and the other by his wife, Sarah. Paul concluded that portion of Galatians by stating that we are not the children of the bondwoman, as mentioned in verse 31 of chapter 4, but we are the children of the free. In Christ, we have been given liberty. Therefore, Paul urges us to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.

The phrase "stand fast" in the original language is the Greek word "steko," which is a military term meaning to stand firm when the onslaught of the enemy is coming. It signifies perseverance, persistence, and maintaining allegiance. The enemy was coming against these new converts to the faith in Galatia, as he always does, seeking to destroy their young faith.

Some of the Galatian Christians had been swayed, with some being tossed about. There is a very real danger for an immature follower of Christ. I do not use the word "immature" derogatorily; rather, I use it to describe the fact that when we come to Christ, we are babes in Christ. We start out needing the sincere milk of the word, as Peter states in 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 2. The aim and ambition of any pastor or teacher is that we would not remain in the position of needing milk, but that we would move on to strong meat, as the author suggests.

The book of Hebrews says in his letter. Paul would say in Ephesians chapter 4, verse 14, the very next book after Galatians in your Bibles, that we are to henceforth be no more children. Ephesians 4, verse 14 states that we should be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine. There are those within the church, even today, who are tossed about by every wind of doctrine, every new teaching that blows into the church. They are easily carried away by it.

Paul expresses his desire that we no longer be children, but that we would be raised up to maturity in Christ. He warns us not to be carried away with every wind of doctrine by the slight of men and by the cunning craftiness whereby they lie in wait to deceive. There were those who had come to the believers in Galatia, attempting to draw them away after their form of teaching, pulling them away from the gospel that Paul had preached to them.

Paul tells us in Galatians chapter 1 that this gospel was not of man or from man; it came by the revelation of Jesus Christ. It was not something that Peter had made up, nor was it something that Paul arrived at through his own reasoning. It was a message given by God through revelation. These individuals had come in and perverted that simplicity in Christ. Paul urges us to stand fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.

Would you underline that in your neighbor's Bible? Just lean over and underline, "Christ has made us free." We must take careful note that it is Christ who has set us free today. But free from what? What are we bound by?

Turn in your Bibles to the Gospel of John, John chapter 8. In John chapter 8, early in the morning, Jesus was teaching in the temple in Jerusalem. A group of religious leaders, Pharisees and scribes, brought unto Jesus a woman taken in adultery. Many of you know this story; many of you have read through it or studied it before.

The question always arises at the beginning when we read this: If the woman was taken in the act of adultery and brought before Jesus for judgment, where was the man? It takes two to tango. When they had set her in the midst, verse 3 states, they said...

Unto Jesus, Master, this woman was taken in adultery in the very act. Now Moses and the law commanded us that we should stone her; that she should be stoned. What do you say? They were tempting or testing Him that they might have something to accuse Him with.

But Jesus stooped down. He didn't answer them with His voice; instead, He stooped down and, with His finger, wrote on the ground as though He heard them not. When they continued to ask Him, He lifted Himself up and said, "He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone." He again stooped down and began to write on the ground. Those who heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the oldest, even to the last. Jesus was left alone with the woman standing in the midst.

The law did say, in the Old Testament, that those who committed adultery were to be taken outside the city and judged. They were to be stoned to death. When Jesus lifted Himself up and saw none but the woman only, He said to her, "Where are your accusers? Has no man condemned thee?" She said, "No man, Lord." Jesus said unto her, "Neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more."

The law rightly stated that those taken in adultery were to be put to death. There was a capital punishment placed upon that crime. However, according to the law of God, capital punishment among the Jewish people could only be brought about through two witnesses. You'll notice that Jesus had no legal authority on that day, being the only sinless witness there to condemn her to death. The law required two witnesses. His releasing of her at this point was in accordance with the law; He didn't break the law. Instead, He gave her liberty, saying, "Neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more."

It's important to take note that He said, "Go and sin no more." We'll talk more about that in a moment. But notice what Jesus says many verses down from there, in John 8, verse 34. Jesus answered them and said,

Most assuredly, or truly, truly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. Now, Paul tells us in Galatians that we have been given liberty in Christ and that we are to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free. But what are we free from? Well, John 8:34 says that whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. Paul echoes that in Romans 6:17, where he says, "You were slaves of sin." Every single one of us, including the woman who was taken in adultery on that day, was a slave of sin.

However, she was no more a slave of sin than the men, the Pharisees, who brought her to Jesus that morning. Remember, they went away from Jesus that day, being convicted in their consciences of their sin. They were just as much sinners; they needed justification. They needed someone to forgive their sin. And yet, they all left. The only one who had the power to free them from their slavery to sin, the only one there who was actually given liberty that day, was the woman taken in adultery.

Paul says that you and I were slaves of sin, leading to death. For by one man, sin entered the world, and death through sin, and death spread to all men, for all men sin, as the book of Romans states. Through one man—who was that man? Adam. In Genesis chapter 3, Adam brought the great Adam bomb. He bombed out, and death spread to all men. Paul would say, "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God," and the wages of sin is death. We are slaves to sin and headed towards death. For you and I, it is inescapable servitude, slavery to sin.

And yet, the Scriptures say Christ is able to make us free. In Romans 6:6, the Apostle Paul says, "Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin, for he who has died has been freed from sin."

Going on down to verse 17, Paul says, "But God be thanked, that though you were servants or slaves of sin, you have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered unto you. Being then made free from sin, you are servants of righteousness."

John chapter 8, verse 34 says, "Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin." Two verses later, we read in John chapter 8, verse 36, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed." You see, this freeing ministry of the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament, in the book of Isaiah. If you turn to Isaiah chapter 61, you will find that Jesus came to set slaves of sin free.

Seven hundred years before He came, we read in Isaiah 61, verse 1, the very words that Jesus would read in Luke chapter 4, applying it to Himself: "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted and to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those that are bound." Jesus came to proclaim liberty to the captives.

Would you turn just several chapters before that to Isaiah chapter 49? While you're turning there, I want to read to you from Psalm 107. Why are we in captivity? Psalm 107, verse 10 says, "To such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and in iron." The psalmist writes to those that are in prison, bound in affliction and in iron. Why? Because they rebelled against the words of God and they contemned the counsel of the Most High.

We are slaves to sin. We are bound in affliction and in iron because we have disregarded or rebelled against God's word. God told Adam, "Of all the trees in the garden you may eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the tree in the midst of the garden, you shall not eat of it. For in the day that you eat of it..."

You shall surely die. Adam and his wife, Eve, were deceived, and they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Death entered in, and sin spread to all men. Sometimes we arrogantly think that if it had been us, we wouldn't have eaten. But Adam was the champion of humanity. If ever there was one we would have chosen to stand in our place, he would have been our champion. And he failed. Thus, death entered in, sin entered in, and we became slaves of sin. We contend with the counsel of the Most High and disregard His word.

Isaiah 49:9 speaks about the ministry of the Messiah. It says that the Messiah comes and says to the prisoners, "Go forth." Those who are in darkness, as Psalm 107:10 states, sit in the shadow of death and are bound because they disregarded God's law. Jesus comes and says, "Go forth." He has the power to set man free, and that's what He did in John chapter 8 for the woman taken in adultery. Her sin was exposed; everybody saw it. The Pharisees, however, had their sin hidden, but they were still sinners. They went away that day convicted but not forgiven. There are many who leave Christ convicted but not forgiven because they have not placed their faith in Him.

The psalmist in Psalm 102:19 says, "For He," speaking of God, "has looked down from the height of His sanctuary. From heaven, the Lord beheld the earth to hear the groaning of the prisoner and to loose those that are appointed to death." Jesus looked down from heaven, and not only did He look down, but He also came down from heaven to earth to hear the groaning of the prisoner and to loose those from the prison house who are appointed to death. Every single man, woman, and child—all of humanity—sits in the prison house awaiting the day of judgment, not just for a physical death.

But for eternal death, all will be condemned to hell justly. God is perfectly righteous in condemning man to hell. However, God does not desire that man would go to hell. He does not delight in the death of the wicked. Instead, He desires that wicked sinners would come to repentance, come to the knowledge of the truth, and find in Christ that their sin can be forgiven and that they can be justified.

And so He came. If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. Here were these Galatians at that church that Paul had labored to plant. They had been set free by the gracious gospel of Jesus Christ, by the simplicity that is in Christ. Yet, somebody else came in and bound them again with a yoke of bondage. They brought a false teaching that said, "Listen, you're not really saved unless you do fill in the blank." For them, they said, "You must be circumcised as your first step in keeping the law of Moses. You must keep the law of Moses if you really want to be right with God."

So Paul would say to them, "Do not be entangled again with the yoke of bondage." Just a very short time before the Apostle Paul wrote this letter, these six chapters to the Christians in Galatia, he, along with Barnabas and many others, were gathered in Jerusalem discussing this very issue about circumcision and the law of Moses. It was there at that meeting that the Apostle Peter said in Acts chapter 15, verse 10, "Now therefore, why tempt ye God to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?"

There were those who came in and said they had to tell these Gentile Christians that they must be circumcised and keep the law of Moses. Peter stood up and asked, "Why would we put a yoke of bondage upon them that nobody was able to bear? We can't even keep the law of Moses." The law of Moses was never meant to justify, as we've been looking at in the book of Galatians. It was meant to reveal that we need a Savior. We are bound in sin and need someone to set us free.

Peter continues, "But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved even as they." We are saved by grace through the work that Jesus did on our behalf, not because of our own merit.

Not because of our own good works, whether they be religious or not, but saved by grace. Peter recognized that adding anything to the cross of Christ was sin and a yoke of bondage that nobody could bear. The Pharisees visited these Gentiles, and they were experts at building yokes. There are still people within the church today and in the world today who are experts at building legalistic standards, creating yokes that you must bear to be considered righteous.

But, you know, 2,000 years ago, Jesus bore the yoke for you and me when He carried the cross to Calvary. That wooden cross was the yoke He carried for us. Now He calls to anyone who would hear, as stated in Matthew 11, verse 28. He says, "Come to Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Let me tell you, the Pharisees that came to Galatia had a yoke that was not easy or light; it was impossible to bear. But Jesus says, "Come to Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

You see, there are many religions in the world today, and every single one of those religions, save one, fashions yokes for people to bear. An interesting fact that Dr. TV clued me into a few years ago is that Hinduism, of course, is the main religion in India, where Dr. TV is from. One of the tenets of Hinduism has come to our nation, and many people just think it's wonderful. They love it; they call it yoga. Did you know that yoga means yoke? You are bringing your body into submission to a yoke. That's what it's all about. That's why they do those challenging poses with their bodies. Some of you may still hurt from it right now, probably. It's to bring man under a yoke.

There are many different yokes that people seek to bring themselves under. And here, these people that brought this false teaching...

To the Galatians, they were saying, "This is the yoke. You must be circumcised and keep the law of Moses, or you are not saved." What does Paul respond? In verse 2 of Galatians chapter 5, he says, "Behold, I, Paul, say unto you, I know what they say, but I, Paul, say unto you, if you be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ has become of no effect unto you, whosoever you are that are justified by the law. You have fallen from grace."

If you be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. Now, this is a very powerful and heavy statement. In fact, the strength of this statement, I don't know if we fully comprehend. These people were being called to be circumcised for the purpose of making themselves right with God. They had a religious standard that if you obey and do this, then you're right with God. It was just the first step into the law of Moses.

The work that Jesus did on the cross 2,000 years ago is completely worthless if you are seeking to rely upon your own religious service, your own merit, or your own righteousness. If you're saying that, yes, the work that Jesus did on the cross 2,000 years ago is great, but I must knock on doors, or if someone says the work that Jesus did on the cross 2,000 years ago is wonderful and it's great that you believe in that, but you must be baptized in this church, or you must partake of communion in this church, or you must tithe to this church, or you must be a member of this church, then the work that Jesus did is worthless. It has no value.

The individual that seeks a right standing with God based upon their good works or their religious service literally considers the gift that God gave in His only begotten Son to be valueless. And that's exactly what Paul is saying. Now, you may say, "Well, I'm just trying to be a good person." Yes, that's great to try and be a good person, but if you're doing that to try and earn favor with God, then you're saying the work that Jesus did is insufficient. It's limited in some way, shape, or form. If we consider our justification based on anything other than Jesus Christ and His righteousness, then we're rejecting that gracious gift.

The author of the book of Hebrews says in Hebrews chapter 10, several books to the right of Galatians, in verse 28, "He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses." If you rejected the law of Moses, then you would be condemned to death without mercy, with no mercy shown to you as long as there were two or three witnesses.

In verse 29, it continues, "Of how much sorer punishment do you suppose you shall be thought worthy of who has trodden underfoot the Son of God and has counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing and has done despite unto the Spirit of grace?" If the law of Moses was severe and would condemn an individual to die because they had broken it without mercy, how much sorer punishment do you suppose someone is worthy of if they say, "Oh, the work that Jesus did on the cross, eh, it's nothing"?

The person who does this, the one who says, "No, Jesus' work is good, but I have to do A, B, C," fill in the blank, whatever it may be, becomes a debtor to do the whole law, as Paul says. Imagine that you owed a million dollars to a creditor, and as you were preparing to make that first payment, someone came in and said, "I will pay the full debt for you on your behalf. Here's a check for a million dollars." Relief for many of you would come in, but perhaps imagine if you said, "No, no, no, I really appreciate the offer, but I don't need what you're giving. I can afford the minimum payment each month. I'll pay it myself."

How foolish would that be? Sure, you may be able to cover the minimum payment, but it would take you six lifetimes to even begin to make a dent in that. You'd never be able to do it. It would be insufficient. You would always be a slave to the balance that you owed, even if you had perhaps the minimum to cover it each month.

Now, such a rejection of a gracious gift would not only be foolish; it would be an insult to the giver, wouldn't it? "No, no, no, I don't need what you're giving me. I can afford the minimum payment." And so Paul says to these believers in Galatia, "Listen, if you're going to rely upon your circumcision, if you're going to rely..."

Upon your keeping of the law to make you right before God, then Christ has become of no effect for you. His work is ineffectual for you. Paul's strong words continue: if you believe that your right standing is based upon anything that you do, not based upon the work that Jesus has done, it is of no effect.

On the day of judgment, you will stand before God without Christ to plead on your behalf. You will stand, in a sense, as your own attorney before a holy God, relying on your own merit. Baptism will avail you nothing on that day, although baptism is good and Jesus commanded that we be baptized. Partaking of communion, although Jesus is the one who ordained it in John chapter 13, will mean nothing on that day aside from Christ.

Church membership or attendance will not save you. You might say, "I went to Calvary Chapel for 40 years," and God will respond, "Calvary what?" Keeping the Sabbath will not save you, and knocking on doors will not get you in.

So what can I do? Well, Galatians chapter 5, verse 5, Paul continues. He says, "For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by what?" Say it again: faith. "For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision avails anything nor uncircumcision, but faith which works by love." We through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

After the children of Israel were exiled to Babylon, they spent 70 years as captives there. God raised up someone to deliver them: Cyrus, king of Persia. He allowed them to return to the land of Jerusalem, to the land of Israel, to rebuild the temple and the city. One of the key people from the line of David, from the royal family, went back to Jerusalem at that time. His name was Zerubbabel. When Zerubbabel got there—what a tough name! How would you like to sign that on your check?—they found a city in ruins.

In ruin, a city filled with the trash of broken-down houses and walls, it was overwhelming. I didn't know where to start. Some of you, when you came to Christ, came in a sense to the promised land; you found a life in ruin. You looked at Him, you looked at His Word, and you looked at your life, and you found that you were in ruin.

Zerubbabel was overwhelmed. God spoke to him through the prophet Zechariah in Zechariah 4, verse 6: "And then he answered and spoke unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." This city will not be rebuilt; this trash will not be removed by your might or by your power, but by the Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. It is a work of God's Spirit in our lives. Our justification is not by our own might, not by our own power, but by the work of God's Spirit.

Therefore, we wait. We see there in verse 5 of Galatians chapter 5 that we wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. Now, the idea of waiting for the hope of righteousness by faith—many times when we hear the word "hope," we consider it or contextualize it in the mind of, "Well, gosh, I hope I get there." Right? Are you going to heaven? "Oh, I sure hope so."

Yet, when you look at this word for hope in the original language, it's not this blind kind of anticipation of, "Man, I really hope so," but it's an absolute expectation of coming good. It is an absolute expectation that this will come to pass. Why? Because Jesus paid it all. He's the one who finished the work. He cried on the cross, "It is finished." It's not based upon my merit; it's not based upon my works. It's based upon what He did.

What? I don't have to do anything? Shouldn't I make it happen or bring it about in my life? You see, the Pharisee, or even the religious person in general today, lives with fear of not being accepted on the day of judgment. You ask the good Mormon who comes to your door and knocks on your door, "Are you saved?"

Are you going to heaven? You have to define it for them because they believe in three different levels of heaven, so make it the highest aim. Ask them, "Are you going to end up in the highest, the third heaven? Are you going to make it?" I sure hope so. Many are knocking on these doors. They have been baptized in the Mormon church and wear their holy BVDs. They are fearful whether or not they will ever make it. They don't know until that day of judgment, and unfortunately, that will be too late.

In the Muslim tradition, at birth, two angels are dispatched to you. One takes records of your good works in a book, while the other records all your bad works. On the day of judgment, when you stand before Allah, they will place the good works and the bad works on the scales, and hopefully, your good works will outweigh your bad works. They have no assurance of paradise unless there is a caveat, a loophole. If you die in the act of jihad as a martyr, you have assurance. That's a scary thought.

Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Muslims, and many others, even those from lesser-known religions, always live in a fearful expectation of what is coming. Every other religion on the face of this planet produces a fearful expectation, save Christianity and the work that Jesus did. Our salvation, our justification, is not based upon our good works or our bad works; it is based upon the good work that Jesus did 2,000 years ago upon the cross and our faith, our trust, our confidence—not in ourselves, but in Him.

True Christians do not wait wondering if they will be accepted before God. We are accepted because of Him. We wait with absolute expectation of the coming crown of righteousness, as Paul says in 2 Timothy 4, verse 8. Therefore, we read in Galatians 5, verse 6, "In Jesus Christ, neither circumcision avails anything nor uncircumcision, but faith which works by love." We know for certain, based upon the work that Jesus did on our behalf, that we are accepted before God. Therefore, we expectantly wait for the day when we will be with Him eternally in His presence because He opened the door for us.

Here and now, faith works in love. You see, in all the other religions in the world, they do good works to try and get love, to try and get a satisfactory mark, or to try and attain enlightenment. We do good works because God has given us salvation, and we love God and the people of this world. We don't want them to remain in the prison house and in bondage, so we seek to reach out with the love of God to them. Faith works itself out by love.

Paul says to this church in verse 7, "You did run well. Who hindered you that you should not obey the truth?" There are many who begin this race well. They jump off the starting block in faith and run with a steady pace. But someone comes in and hinders them. This word "hinder" does not mean to be grabbed from the back or for someone to catch your heel. It means to be beaten back. It is a military term that signifies the breaking up of the road in front of you, someone trying to devastate you before you are ever able to make it in, rendering the way impassable.

There are things in this world today seeking to hinder us from obedience to the truth. I think of the parable of the sower in Matthew 13, verses 3-9. Many of you have read it before. The sower went out to sow seed, and some was spread upon the wayside. The birds of the air came and took it away. Some was spread among stony ground that had very little good soil on top. It sprang up quickly, but then the sun came and burned it away. More was sown among the thorns and briars, and it was choked out by these thorns. Some was spread upon good ground, and it produced fruit—some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

Well, Jesus explains the parable to His disciples in verses 18-23. He says the seed that was on the wayside was snatched away by the birds. That's the word of God that is spread upon a heart that is hard, and the enemy comes in and snatches it away. The word that is spread upon the stony ground, or the ground that has very little good soil, springs up quickly. It receives the word with joy, but then trials come and burn it out.

There are those who are sown among the thorns, and that represents the cares of the world. It grows up, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke it out. All of those were hindered; they were beaten back from obedience to the truth. Paul says we are to obey the truth, and the word "obey" there could also be translated as "have confidence in." They were hindered from trusting or hindered from having confidence in the gospel, the simplicity that is in Jesus. They were beaten back by these false teachers to the point where they had little confidence.

The sad fact is that this continues to happen 2,000 years later. It occurs in many different ways. Someone receives the sincere truth of the gospel, and immediately the enemy comes in and sends a very good cultist into their life who says, "Well, I know that you believe in that, but that's not enough. You need to be baptized in our church. You need to pay tithes to our church. You need to have church membership in our church." None of those things are biblical, but it goes even further than that. Our media, science, and education in our nation hinder us from obedience or confidence in the truth of God by saying things like "millions and millions of years ago," belittling the truth of the gospel.

As a result, there is a growing majority of people within the church today—300,000 Christian churches in America—who do not believe in the first 11 chapters of the Bible. They do not believe that God created the heavens and the earth in six days literally. They do not believe in the fall in Genesis chapter 3. They do not believe in the flood, which is perhaps the best explanation for the geological phenomena we see in our world today. It is rammed down our throats from higher education and from the media to the point where many Christians today have been beaten back from their confidence in the truth of the gospel.

If you question the first 11 chapters of the Bible, why not question the rest of it? If the first 11 chapters are not true, then you might as well throw the rest away too. Paul says to the church in verse 8, "This persuasion does not come from him who calls you." Christ had not called them to this point of view, but I assure you the enemy would love nothing more than to distract you and me from the simplicity that is in Christ.

Listen, the work that Jesus did on the cross 2,000 years ago is a complex thing. The transaction that took place between God the Father and God the Son, as Jesus became sin for us, is profound. He not only took sin upon Himself; 2 Corinthians chapter 5 says He became sin for us. It is a complex transaction, as God the Father poured out His wrath upon the Son to crush Him. The crushing of the Son was pleasing to the Father.

We can spend years studying the theological implications of this, but the simplicity of the Gospel is that Jesus died in my place and in your place. We were in the prison house, bound in affliction and in iron; we were slaves of sin. He paid the price to get us out. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. If the Son sets you free, you are free indeed. Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ has made you free.

Do not allow yourself to be brought down to a place where you are in a legal relationship with God, thinking that God is mad at you today because you didn't read your Bible or that you don't have a right standing with God today because you didn't do the religious service. Now, don't get me wrong; sin does separate us from our God. Remember Jesus' words to the woman He set free in John chapter 8: "Go and sin no more." She was given tremendous liberty that day, an opportunity to sin in that liberty, and yet He said, "Go and sin no more. Walk in righteousness from this point."

Paul would say to the church at Corinth, in the second letter to them, just one book to the left of Galatians, in 2 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 3: "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled or deceived Eve through his subtlety, that your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." He warns against adding so many different components to it. In verse 9 of Galatians 5, he states, "A little leaven leavens the whole lump."

See, when you begin to base your relationship with God upon your standing in the law, things begin to blow up very quickly. It won't be long before complications arise.

Before you have a standard by which you live and judge others, you must consider what it means to be a Christian. You might say, "I was baptized in this church," and then begin to judge everyone else, claiming, "He's not going to heaven because he wasn't baptized in my church." This is Phariseeism. It mirrors what the Pharisees said to Jesus when they pointed out, "We wash our hands in the ceremonial way, and your disciples don't, so your disciples are unclean." They were adding to the word of God with the traditions of men.

Yet, Paul says in verse 10, "I have confidence in you." Note this: "through the Lord, I have confidence in you." He emphasizes that you will be none otherwise minded, but he that troubles you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he may be. Paul expresses a similar sentiment in his letter to the church at Philippi in Philippians 1:6, stating, "Being confident of this very thing, that he which began a good work in you will perform it until the day of Christ Jesus."

I praise God that your sanctification is not dependent upon me; God is the one who sanctifies. My fellow pastors and I labor so that you have every opportunity to run unhindered the race that God has set before you. We work to bring you the word of God because I know that the word of God is able to transform us. He washes us by the washing of the water of the word, as Ephesians 5 says. Jesus prayed in John 17:17, "Sanctify them by your truth; your word is truth." God is able to cleanse and sanctify us.

Every opportunity we have—whether it's on Sunday mornings, Monday nights, Tuesday nights, or Wednesday nights—we want to provide the word of God that is able to transform our lives. I have confidence through the Lord that He will perfect that work in you. Praise God! I can't be with you every day, and you're probably really happy about that; I talk too much. But Christ is with you wherever you go. How that changes our mindset! If we truly realize that Jesus is with us when we're driving down the street and yelling at the person who cut us off, it changes everything.

I love the story that Richard used to tell, and he still tells, about that mindset of God being with us. Rewind back to high school. There you are, sitting with your girlfriend at her house, doing some things that her dad probably wouldn't be too happy about on the couch. The lights of his car glaze across the window. How does your heart change pretty quick, huh? That mindset of knowing that God is with me wherever I go changes everything.

I have confidence in the Lord. He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus, as Paul says in verse 11. And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I suffer persecution? Then is the offense of the cross ceased? You see, it seems that these false teachers were saying to the Galatian believers, "Well, you know, Paul does teach everywhere else he goes that you need to be circumcised. He must have just forgotten to tell you this, or maybe he was fearful that it would be too much too soon." They wanted us to come and tell you that you need to be circumcised.

Paul says, "If I did still preach that, then why am I being persecuted by it? I would that they were even cut off who trouble you." Now, if we really broke it down to what it literally means, it's pretty offensive. You see, among several pagan religions of ancient days, sacred castration was something they would do as an obligation to their deity or to show how holy they were. Paul says, "I wish that these circumcisers who have come to you would just cut the whole thing off and cut themselves off from you. If they really believe that this will make them holy, then why don't they take it to the total complete end?"

For, brethren, you have been called unto liberty. Only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh. Paul says God has called you and me to liberty, and there are some throughout the ages of the church who have said this teaching is very dangerous because it will produce a kind of Christian who will do whatever they want because God has set them free. Today, people live in a pursuit.

Of freedom, that's why so many millions have come to this nation, perhaps the freest nation on earth. However, the problem is that we have misunderstood freedom. We think that freedom is to do whatever we want. In our day, people really define freedom as the ability to do whatever you desire. They say, "Don't deny any desire that you have; do whatever you want as long as it doesn't injure anybody else." If it's in the privacy of your home, you can do whatever you want.

That's the kind of freedom that comes from Satan. You could go to Barnes and Noble today and buy the book of the law, basically the Satanic Bible, and it all boils down to this statement: "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law." But that's not what this liberty is about. The kind of liberty that America is in such pursuit of is often a false liberty, and there is no sin in it.

Paul says that God has called you to this kind of liberty, but don't use your liberty as an occasion for the flesh or as an opportunity to sin. In John chapter 5, the story is told of the man who was lame for 38 years at the pool of Bethesda. Jesus came to that man and healed him. After He made him whole, do you remember the words that Jesus said to the lame man? He said, "Go and sin not, lest a worse thing come upon thee."

For 38 years, that man had been lame; his sins had been in his mind and in his heart. But now he was given liberty. He could move his extremities; he could walk, run, and jump up and down. He could go find himself a harlot or get drunk and become a drunkard. He could do whatever active sin he wanted to do. He had a liberty he never had before, and Jesus said, "Don't use it to go and sin."

He said the same to us as well. He set us free, and with that kind of liberty, people are tempted. How shall we, who have died to sin, live any longer in it? So, what ought we to do with the liberty that God has given to us?

In Galatians chapter 5, verse 13, look at the last several words of the verse. It says, "But by love serve one another." This is phenomenal! By love, be a slave, is what Paul says. How is that possible? You see, in our minds, servitude or slavery represents a complete lack of freedom and liberty. Yet, Paul says, as one who is set free by Christ, use your liberty to now go and serve those in this world by love.

God's economy, God's way of thinking, is so drastically different from anything that we could ever imagine, and yet that's what He has called us to. For all the law is fulfilled in one word. Why would He call us to serve one another in love? Because the entire law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

But hey, if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you be not consumed one of another. All the law is fulfilled in this: love thy neighbor as thyself. We have been set free.

The fact is this: the religious individual who bases their righteousness, their right standing with God, or their route to heaven on good works does so selfishly for themselves because that makes them feel righteous. Christianity is totally different. We have been set free, given liberty, and called to serve one another out of love—to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

God has called us to this, but we don't do this to attain righteousness. We do this because He has made us righteous. Amen! May God give us boldness to declare the message.

A number of months ago, I believe there is a great famine of the message of the Gospel today. As we were going through Acts chapter 10, we reached verses 36 through 43. I read from that passage, and afterwards, one of the brothers in the church came up and asked if he could make a postcard or something with that on it to perhaps give to the body to hand out to people.

"Peace with God is through Jesus Christ, who is the Lord of all. Jesus of Nazareth was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit and power. Jesus did good works, healing the sick and the oppressed, as God was with Him. Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem and then rose from the dead three days later. Jesus was seen by many witnesses after He arose. Jesus commanded His disciples to testify of what they had seen and heard. Jesus is ordained by God to be the judge of the living and the dead. This is what we preach; any other preaching is vain."

These cards are on the tables in the back if you want to take one or a few. They even have the whole thing on the back, so you can send it in. In Christ, we are a new creation; we are part of the body of Christ. Welcome!

May the Lord give us the boldness and the strength to tell this world, many of whom are bound in affliction and iron in the prison house, awaiting the day of judgment, awaiting the day of their trial before a holy God. Their good works will not stand up; their baptism will not stand up; their membership will not stand up. Only Christ alone can plead the case for us before the Father. May we never forget that.

Let's stand and pray. Father, thank You for the truth of Your Word. Write Your Word upon our hearts and give us boldness.

To share it with those that we come in contact with, Lord, help us to see as we go about our business today or this week that the majority of those we encounter don't know You. Lord, they are headed towards hell. It's not mean to say; it's just the truth, and we don't desire that any would go to hell.

Lord, You do not delight in the death of the wicked, and so You've sent us forth to give the message. Help us to never add anything to it. If we share the Gospel with someone and they receive it, may we never think to say, "Well, okay, now that you believe, you have to do this to be saved."

Thank You for the liberty that You've given to us. Teach us by Your Spirit, as we'll see next, to live it out in love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. We praise You and thank You in Jesus' name. Amen.