 with us. Today we begin our study in Galatians. Let's look at verses, well we'll be looking at verses 1 through 9, but I'm going to read verses 1 through 5 and we'll get into our study. Galatians chapter 1, beginning at verse 1, reading to verse 5. Paul an apostle, not from men, nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead and all the brethren who are with me to the churches of Galatia. Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ who gave himself for our sins that he might deliver us from this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. So as we begin our study of Galatians as is my normal methodology in beginning of studies I'll give you a brief introduction, some information as I give this introduction that will help you as we look at this particular book. I'll give you some basic things and then we'll move into the first verse and go through the first nine verses. But as we begin this particular letter, this letter to the Galatians was written somewhere around the year 49. This is the only letter that Paul writes that is addressed to more than one church. I want you to notice that in verse 2 he says to the churches of Galatia. When you look in a map Galatia is actually what we today would call modern Turkey and the people who were there were actually they were called Gauls. They were from Orceltic, they were actually from from Europe, central Europe as well as France and so they're called Gauls and that's why it's called Galatia. These churches that are being written to were planted on Paul's first mission that he went on with Barnabas and it's recorded in Acts chapter 13 and chapter 14. Now there's a reason why he re he writes this letter. Every letter that he ever wrote had a purpose and the purpose for this is very basic. It's a response. It's a response to bad doctrine that has begun to enter into the churches. There are people who have entered in that we're going to recognize as they're referred to now as Judaizers who have entered into the church. They've infiltrated the church and what they're doing is they're actually adding to the Gospel and as they're adding to the Gospel they're mixing the Gospel of grace with the law of Moses. These people were entering in and you're going to see him as he begins to respond to this doctrine. These people who are entering in began to teach that Gentiles had to first become Jews through circumcision before they could become Christians and that one could only become righteous before God if you obey the law of Moses. And so what they were doing is they were mixing the law with the grace of God. And so what Paul is going to do in this particular book is he's going to he's going to reveal to the Galatians that freedom from the law as we are saved by Jesus Christ is the result of God's grace. God's grace and faith in Jesus alone gives us freedom and we're free from the law because we have been set free by the grace of God. When you look into this there'll be some key chapter and we'll see that when we get to chapter 5 because he's going to point out that though we are saved by grace and we are free from the law we are not given freedom to just live in the flesh and we'll be seeing that as we get there. Now this particular letter actually has a note of concern. I didn't read these verses but in verses 6 and 7 you see his concern it says I marvel that you are turning away so soon from him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel which is not another but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ and so he begins by saying I'm concerned for you because these false teachers are trampling the heart of the Christian gospel and I'm concerned that you are so easily being seduced you are so easily being led astray. A commentator by the name of Meryl Tenney wrote Christianity might have been just one more Jewish sect and the thought of the western world might have been entirely pagan had it never been written. Galatians embodies the germinal teaching on Christian freedom which separated Christianity from Judaism and which launched it upon a career of missionary conquest and so this particular book actually gives to us insight into grace and that's why I chose to entitle our first study the gospel of grace because that's what Paul is defending. Now as we begin here verse 1 Paul an apostle not from men nor through man but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead. This is a typical salutation of the apostle Paul. He begins by saying Paul an apostle. This is how he normally starts his letter as a matter of fact in nine letters that he writes in those nine letters he repeats this Paul an apostle in every one of those nine letters. Here he begins this letter in this way because there's a reason because his authority has been challenged. There are people who are who are challenging his authority and that's why he's saying I am an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see Paul had given the church the gospel of grace and they had originally embraced the message of God's grace but false teachers had entered in after he left and and we're bringing in something that we use the word that we use today to describe it is something called legalism and legalism is a wrong attitude toward the code of laws under which a person lives. Legalism is a fleshly attitude which conforms to a code for the purpose of exalting yourself and that's what is taking place here. These people were bringing in legalism a code of laws that ultimately would exalt themselves because they were going to be capable or they would think of themselves as being capable of actually living in such a way that it would please God and in doing that they needed to understand that in my flesh I can't please the Lord. I need the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit in order to be pleasing to him. So these legalists were entering in teaching them that you can please God if you undergo circumcision and obey the law of Moses and in doing so they were undermining the foundation of grace and so that's why Paul it begins in this way they were bringing doubt on his credentials. They're saying basically the apostle Paul he calls himself an apostle but he's not one of the original twelve he wasn't there when the birth of the church occurred and so that's why he begins by saying wait a minute my name is Paul and I'm an apostle. Now that word apostle literally is one who has sent forth with orders one who has received authority. It normally would apply to the twelve whom were called by the Lord Jesus Christ and you see those twelve in various portions of Scripture from the four Gospels and the book of Acts and there were twelve men originally called by Jesus Christ to follow after him. You had Simon who's called Peter, his brother Andrew, James the son of Zebedee and his brother John. You had Philip in Bartholomew, you had Thomas and Matthew the tax collector, James the son of Alpheus and Thaddeus. You had Simon the zealot as well as Judas Iscariot the one who betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ. These men except for Judas were used to form the foundation of the church. Paul has been called the thirteenth apostle because he was uniquely chosen by God. Well he wasn't of the original twelve and therefore he needs to defend his apostleship and that's why he says that he's an apostle. Now notice not from men nor through man but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead and so he's defending his apostleship. Notice he says not from men. When he says not from men it means I haven't been sent out by men. The twelve did not appoint me. The twelve did not recognize me. The twelve did not send me out. He says not through man, not through some human agency. No human agency appointed me as an apostle. There has been no installment ceremony. I am not receiving my apostleship through going through apostle 101 classes and graduating with the degree of apostle. He's saying I haven't been selected by the twelve and I didn't go through some classes to be recognized as an apostle. You see the bottom line is man cannot do anything but recognize what God already has done and that's why he says in verse one but through Jesus Christ and God the Father because Jesus Christ, God the Father, they are the ones who call people. God is the one who ordains man doesn't. In our church we have opportunities for me to as a senior pastor recognize individuals and give to them certificates that allow them in the state of California to perform certain functions. You have ordination, you have licensing, you have commissioning and those are three things that the state of California recognizes which enables an individual to perform marriages in a variety of things that relate to ministry. So the men that I have on staff have received commissions or are licensed and they're capable of doing things legally. That's why when you get married and one of the men performs the function, the ceremony for you and they sign that certificate that's a legal document and in order for that legal document to be signed the individual who signs it has to have legal credentials and so the state has a recognition process for an individual and they usually use those three things either ordination or commissioning or licensing. The bottom line is though all a man can do is recognize that God has called somebody. I don't call anybody into the ministry that's not my job. I don't look out there and see a holy glow on somebody and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is a person called from God. Now I used to think that way as a new believer. I really did. I actually sat close to the pastor when the pastor was preaching kind of hoping that he'd look down and see that halo effect over my head and know that I was a man called by God. I really did and I would be up there hoping maybe he'll recognize me. Well I had a lot to learn and with Paul Paul would simply say listen I wasn't sent by men and man isn't the one who called me. I haven't received my calling from man at all. The apostles didn't recognize me in that way. My calling came from God and so all a human being can do is recognize what God has already done. John the Baptist in John 3 27 says a man can receive only what is given him from heaven. In John 15 verse 16 Jesus speaking to his apostles said you did not choose me. I chose you and ordained you to go and bear fruit fruit that abides. You didn't choose me. I chose you and I ordained you. So ordination comes from above and that's what Paul is speaking about. He's saying I'm an apostle not from men nor through man but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead. So these false teachers who are coming into the churches of Galatia undermining my authority and ministry and challenging challenging me saying well I wasn't one of the original 12. Well these who are coming in have their facts wrong because the Lord has called me into the ministry and recognized me and that's the point he's making. He says in verse 2 and all the brethren who are with me. In other words I'm not alone. There are others who recognize my authority and therefore are included in this salutation. He says in verse 3 grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. I always say this too when we look at his letters. I would always remind you that I want you to know grace always comes before peace. You cannot have peace until you experience the grace of God. There are so many people who put it the other way. They want to have peace and then maybe I'll seek the grace of God. Paul made it very clear theologically even in his introduction to his letters that you will never have peace with God and you will never have the peace of God until you experience the grace of God because it all begins and it all ends with grace unmerited favor and so he begins with a basic salutation but in reality he's given a theological insight. It's interesting because he combines the customary Greek greeting which would be keras, grace to you with the Hebrew salutation which would be shalom or peace and so he actually takes both the Hebrew and the Greek but he puts grace before peace so that we'll always understand every one of us in this room and everyone who ever reads the word that we'll always understand that until I've experienced the grace of God I will never have peace with him or peace from him. Grace always comes before peace and because if I don't have grace I will never have peace. Romans 5 1 says we have been justified through faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. In John 14 27 Jesus said peace I leave with you my peace I give you I do not give to you as the world gives do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid I give you my peace and I give you my grace. Now as he's speaking about this he says grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ who gave himself for our sins that he might deliver us from this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father. How do you receive peace? How can I have peace with God and peace from God? Well I receive peace by recognizing that Jesus Christ gave himself for my sin. To the legalist this sounds too easy. Are you telling me it's interesting I just had a conversation within the last two three weeks with somebody who basically this is the gist of the conversation in a sense. It's almost as if the person was saying are you telling me that grace is all you need and the answer is yes that's what the Bible says. God's grace is all I need. God's mercy is all I need and when I respond properly to his grace and when I receive his mercy it actually transforms my life radically because I begin to live as an individual who realizes that though I deserved justice I obtained grace. I received something I didn't deserve. See mercy is withholding something I do deserve but grace is receiving something I don't deserve. So when God gives me his grace he's actually giving me something that is unmerited. There's nothing in me that charms God. That makes God say oh that cute little sinner down there I think I'll give him some grace. That's not how it works. But a legalist would say that sounds too easy. That sounds just just it's just too good to be true. You really ought to do something to show to show to prove to demonstrate that you really are sorry. But the bottom line is is the things that I do that demonstrates how sorry I am as a result because I have been overwhelmed by the grace of God. I've been overwhelmed by his goodness to me and it has provoked me to do something which is to give him my life and to live for him to the best of my ability every day. Not to somehow try and earn cosmic brownie points with God. To somehow get him to owe me something the Bible says who has first given him that he owes you something in return. The fact is the only thing that I added to salvation would be the sins that I've been forgiven for. The Lord worked in my life and that's what Paul's speaking about. He's speaking about the grace of God that God gave his son Jesus Christ. He says here Jesus gave himself for our sins. That is the heart of the gospel in John chapter 10 verses 17 and 18. Jesus said it like this. The reason my father loves me is that I lay down my life only to take it up again. No one takes it from me but I lay down. I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my father. I lay down my life. Jesus was not murdered. Jesus was not martyred. Jesus yielded up his life. He gave his life. He yielded it voluntarily. Matthew 2028 says just as the Son of man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. In 1st Timothy chapter 2 verse 6 it says Jesus gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time. The heart of the gospel is God's so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son and that Jesus Christ came to do the will of his father and he laid down his life voluntarily Paul is dealing with men who are coming into the church saying well this Paul is speaking about God's grace but in order to understand grace you need to experience law and if you don't understand the law then how can you have a deep appreciation of grace therefore you Gentiles need to receive circumcision when you receive circumcision and find yourself under the full weight of the law the yoke of the law when you see what a terrible burden it is you're going to understand the grace that comes through Jesus Christ but in mixing the law with grace they actually stole the power from the gospel and Paul's upset about it you're going to see this just a moment you see Jesus Christ gave himself for us notice that he gave himself for our sins Jesus was that offering that satisfied his father's perfect demands it's the offering he is the offering who is called the propitiation the blood of Jesus Christ satisfied the Lord God's anger towards sin and as Jesus Christ came and died on that cross for us voluntarily he demonstrated to us his depth of love for us and the justice of God God's love for you is an amazing thing I don't know if you realize it I don't know if you really ponder that I don't know if you meditate on it I don't know if we fully appreciate it I don't know that we really will until we are in heaven my children mean everything to me as a father I love my babies two sons and two daughters my grandchildren I wish you could have grandchildren without having children that's how much I love my grandchildren when my Josiah was born he's seven years old now my first grandson Marie and I were with two friends Randy and Jeanette Walls and we were having a cup of coffee we received a phone call from my daughter Corinne's about to have a baby on us said you need to be here now I knew that she was in the hospital but I made an assumption that she having her first baby would probably be like her mom Marie took 33 hours until she gave birth I really got tired to be honest with you hurry up let's get out get with it it's up so I'm thinking well Corinne went in you know just a few hours ago we got a phone call if you want to be around when the baby is born you better get here so I finished my coffee and jumped in the car and made it to the hospital well when we got up to the the ward where the babies were you know newborns are and all Josiah had already been born we walked in and as Marie and I and Jeanette and Randy walked in the nurse walks up to Jeanette Walls and says your daughter's doing fine and Jeanette says that's not my daughter that's this lady's daughter and points to Marie so the nurse says oh I'm sorry your your daughter's fine and the baby's fine mama go on in and see the baby and but only one of you can go in so mama go in and see your grandson and Marie goes no she goes grandpa is going to go in first my husband and the nurse looks at me and kind of smiles and says he can go in in a minute grandma go on in and hold your grand baby she tells Marie that a second time and Marie looks at her and says no my husband's going to go in and see his grandson and the woman looks at Marie and says no he can do that in a moment grandma go and so I strangled her I mean right there I mean she's dead it's over I mean shut up it's giving me orders shut up so Marie Marie says no my husband's going to go in and so I go walking into the room and the nurse couldn't understand that so she brings Marie in anyway and you know she just could not hang with that I mean this guy's not supposed to be in here the grandma supposed to be in here but Marie knew how I am she knows how I am when it comes to my babies and I walked in there and there's this bundle of ugly love my daughter and this beautiful baby you know and there's this little baby he was premature tiny little guy and Karini's holding him when I came walking in and I walked in and Marie's coming in behind me and my daughter looks up at me and I'm just looking down at my Josiah and she hands him to me and he was so small I had my hands together like that and his little head was in my hand he was so small he was he was premature and so tiny and I turned and I looked at Marie my wife and my eyes just burst with tears you know I know you can't believe that it's true and I took this little bundle and I gave him a kiss since little forehead and as as I'm so happy my my daughter happened to have her little phone that takes pictures right and she got that picture of Papa holding and kissing his grandbaby for the very first time I have that picture in a little album that she gave to me I have to tell you as a father I would lay my life down and that's the truth every dad would do the same thing for my babies there's not even a question of that that wouldn't even be that you wouldn't even have to ask me that's unnatural of course I'd lay my life down for him my grandchildren same way of course of course I've lived a long and happy life take mine let them live like yeah of course that there's no thought about that but if somebody said to me you give up your son you take his life his life is going to be he's going to be he's going to die not for good people but for evil people your son will you give your son for evil people I would say no like Paul said for a good man someone would possibly die for a righteous man but but while we were yet sinners Jesus died for us see we were no good we were no good if somebody said this criminal here is going to die unless he gets a transfusion of all the blood from your son so he can live I'd say bye I'll do your funeral bye you have got to be kidding me this man needs Josiah's heart no you cannot have my son you cannot have my grandson are you kidding me that isn't even something I'd even think about I'm sorry you're dying I'll pray for you before you die but I'm not about to give my child for you that's what amazes me have you gotten it yet that's what amazes me about my god while I was yet a sinner Christ died for me he gave up his life for me and I don't deserve it of course not the most precious precious person in the entire universe gave up his life love legalism never produces it never produces it the motivation of legalism is never love it's always activity love that's what we heard earlier today that's what motivates us to do things for Jesus Christ love not brownie points not some kind of position love love causes people to put money away their own money and to take vacation time and to fly to Haiti and care for these babies it's love that makes him do that not some reward they they are going to get some day in heaven God does give rewards but that's not what motivates them it's the love of Christ it's the love of God and and love love is the response that we have to a god who first loved us we love him because he first loved us not because I invented love and said oh I've always loved you know he loved me first he loved me first I didn't love him first again using children as an illustration you have your baby korean being my first born Marie is starting to swell up with child I'm a first-time dad I've got no understanding of these things I've heard about babies kicking and all that stuff I don't know what that means I've just heard it no women have a different grip on those things me it's just I don't know what that means and she starts to tell me oh the baby's kicking I say that's cool I'm kicking too no no the baby's kicking so I she said here and she'd take my hand and and put it on her on her little belly there and and and before you know what I'd feel that little kick and and and I go wow you know that is amazing she is all active kicking and everything and I would and and I would put my hand on on Marie's tummy and I and I shake her so the baby'd get all agitated and bang she kicked me and I go all right and there were times there were times when she wouldn't kick and I'd get nervous and I'd be shaking Marie get up talk to me you know I'd put my face on Marie's stomach and I would yell baby that's the truth I did baby this is daddy daddy's talking to you and I would do this and I would say I love you I would do that how stupid huh but I did I did I would yell that to her baby I love you she's born she comes out with her head all twisted all ugly they wrap her up put that blanket over her face no face that only a daddy could love ugly little thing but it was mine it was my ugly baby and I would carry her and hold her and talk to her and love her as I did all of my babies all of them all of them same way carry them hold them love them took her in to get her first shot I held her they pulled a diaper down jammed that needle in her little bottom she pulls back and looks me in the eyes like man what's up would you do that for her I cried the nurse starts to laugh I had to turn around with tears coming down my face because my baby was crying I'm real tender with my kids I love them with all my heart it's the truth I love you then one day they say you never loved me are you kidding me I don't like you but I sure love you I've always loved you I loved you before you even knew you were you I loved you before you separated that womb I loved you before I held you my hands I loved you from the moment I knew you were there and now you tell me I never loved you are you kidding me if there's anything you've ever had always it's been the love of a father but you know what you can do that to god you can say that to god you don't love me because if you love me you wouldn't let this happen to me no wait a minute father knows best he knows what he's doing in my life and if I understand his goodness and his love I can get through anything if I if I can put my head on a pillow at night knowing god loves me no matter what kind of day I've had god loves me I'm gonna make it I will make it and I have made it because I know beyond anything truly god is good and truly god loves me he loves us and that is what paul is dealing with when these people are coming into the church saying well god's love is great and his mercy is good and and grace is wonderful but you've got to do these things in order to to really have a relationship with god well paul gets upset because they're undermining the relationship of god with his children and he gets upset about that because it's wrong god loves us he gave himself he's saying concerning jesus he gave himself for our sins that he might deliver us from this present evil age according to the will of our god and father jesus gave himself that he might rescue us that we're delivered speaks of rescuing us from danger this evil age is a a death system energized by satan and is doomed first john 217 the world is passing away and the lust of it he who does the will of god abides forever jesus matthew 2435 jesus says heaven and earth will pass away but my words will by no means pass away in first Corinthians 7 31 paul says the form of this world is passing away he has delivered us from this present evil age this death system energized by satan that is doomed we haven't been removed but we're kept from its sentence of death and we live for jesus christ and we're used by god to rescue others we minister and call people and say to them god has a way for you jesus died on a cross for you to deliver you to rescue you some of us remember that tsunami that hit indonesia and thailand that region terrible and devastating and we saw a film where there was somebody on a roof taking a video of the wave that was approaching land traveling as fast as a jet and when a tsunami hits what happens is the wave as it's building well the water on the shoreline begins to recede it begins to be drawn towards the ocean and this man is on a on a rooftop with his camera and he's taking a film of the and you can see this huge wave in the distance coming towards the land but the but the water that is normally there on the shoreline has receded you know quarter mile out or further and there's a man who sees all these fish just flopping around they've been left behind and he has a basket and he's there running after the fish grabbing fish and putting them in his basket thinking oh man i've got all this fish i can eat later on it's just there but you hear the man on the roof screaming to the man who's there below he has a bird's eye view he sees the wave and he's screaming for the man run for your life run for your life and the man is so busy picking up fish he doesn't see when the wave hits him and you see that you see this man's film as the wave hits it and some people don't know this about tsunamis they have picked up all kinds of trash and things on the bottom of the ocean and it's like being inside of a of a blender when it hits you there is so much inside the wave that chops you up you are actually blended to death instantly it's not a drowning that takes place you are torn apart and this man is up there screaming get off leave run for your life that's a christian that's a good picture of a christian the wave is coming you're going to be destroyed but you're so busy picking up fish you don't even realize your life is in danger and the christian has the bird's eye view looking down saying it's coming that's what paul is speaking about when he says he delivered us he rescued us from this present evil age that's what we do as ministers of the gospel when you say come to christ turn from your evil ways open your heart to the grace of god he loves you be saved and so that's what he's speaking about he delivers us but what's going on well notice verse six i marvel that you are turning away so soon from him who called you in the grace of christ to a different gospel which is not another but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of christ but even if we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you let them be accursed as we have said before so now i say again if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received let him be accursed i marvel that you're turning away so soon he says in verse six that word marvel i am bewildered and astounded i cannot believe that you're turning so quickly from the truth of the gospel i cannot believe that you are deserting god and his grace now he's not surprised by what the false teachers are saying and doing he surprised at how quickly and easily the church is deceived that gives us insight by the way into how powerful deception really is you see paul outside of jesus was the greatest teacher in the history of the church yet they're readily rejecting the truth communicated to them by him they are being hoodwinked they are drifting from their moorings he speaks of them turning away when he speaks of turning away that means to fall away or desert it could be deserting a person it could be deserting a thing it actually is a word that can be used of military desertion they're not being removed by others that's what amazes him you are willingly removing yourself you are voluntarily leaving the sphere of grace so that you can begin to pursue legalism and that's what bothers him you see that continues to happen to this day by the way there are there are those who will say well i have the pure in the original gospel and you need to listen to what we have to say that those who follow that kind of teaching are people who seem to say things like well tell me what i'm supposed to believe in another words think for me and tell me how i should think somebody who approached me on one occasion said to me pastor i want to ask you a question what do we believe about this and my answer was i know what i believe about that but you have to determine what you believe about that see my job isn't to believe for you your job is to believe for yourself you know when marie and i were starting to date and she was newly following the lord one of the things that we had a conversation about very early in our relationship was this i said listen i don't have enough faith for the both of us i cannot carry you on my back i only have enough faith for myself and so you're going to need to develop a walk with god that is your own you cannot be relying on me to believe for you you have to have a walk with god of your own because i am not supposed to lord it over people's faith i'm supposed to be a helper of their joy because by faith they stand each one of us stands before god individually in other words and so paul is saying you are deserting voluntarily the grace of christ these false teachers are saying follow our god guidelines if you do what i say you're going to be right with god to desert the gospel of grace is more than to desert a doctrine to desert the gospel of grace is to desert god himself he says i marvel that you are turning so soon from him who called you the judizers who had invaded the church were claiming to be christians they were claiming to recognize jesus as a messiah they recognized the necessity of his death on a cross if not they wouldn't have been able to share but their problem was is they're trying to improve on the gospel and thus destroying grace what they're doing is they're adding a dimension knowledge of the law and again undermining the grace of god because when the law is added grace ceases being grace and it begins to be what we would call a false gospel notice verse seven how he says which is not another it is not another of the same kind because it's not a message of grace by adding works to salvation the good news becomes the bad news again some cannot fathom that god forgives every single one of their sins by his grace they cannot fathom that they forget god forgive god forgives you everyone every one of your sins and you want to know something about the law let me share something with you that really ministers to me he doesn't bring it up to you once it's done it's done you know how there's sometimes people who will say i forgive you but i'm not going to forget some guy was talking about his wife and he says man when we get an argument she gets all historical and his friend says you mean hysterical he says no historical she brings everything up from the past god doesn't do that aren't you glad are you not glad i'm glad that god doesn't do that oh lord please forgive me no wait a minute i forgave you 27 minutes and 30 seconds ago because you said this or did this and you're asking me again he doesn't do that he doesn't do that you know my kids can tell you this is true about us in our relationship if my kids won't have done something i or had done something wrong and they were to come up to me and say to me dad i'm sorry forgive me i don't bring it up to him again it's over it's done it's under the blood it's been forgiven this isn't something we're going to talk about again it's over it's done i don't bring it back up why because god doesn't bring up my sins because he doesn't remind me of what i've done if it's been forgiven it's forgiven let's move on i used to tell my kids when they were small at the end of the day sometimes they weren't as good as i would have liked them to have been but i would tell them sometimes at the end of the night you know what's a blessing is tomorrow's a new day and we can start over again tomorrow every day is a new day god's mercy is new every morning every morning because i use up all of his mercy that day so i need some more tomorrow and god renews and god renews and god renews this is the god i serve a god who loves me a god who forgives me of my sins in isaia 118 come now let us reason together say at the lord though your sins are like scarlet they shall be as white as snow though they are red like crimson they shall be as wool isaia 43 25 i even i am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake and i will not remember your sins psalm 103 12 as far as the east is from the west so far as he removed our transgressions from us saved by grace the wonderful grace of god totally unmerited the bible says it is by grace that you've been saved through faith and this not from yourselves it's a gift of god not by works so that no one can boast but he says in verse seven there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of christ there are some who are stirring you up who are agitating they're unsettling your minds are stirring your emotions that is always the result of false teaching there will be a lack of peace your relationship with god is going to be shaken your faith is going to be shaken and so he says if we are an angel from heaven should come and give you another gospel if we should preach any other gospel to you then what we have preached to you well let them be accursed as we've said before so now i say again if anyone preaches any other gospel to you then what you have received let him be accursed now i want you to see verse eight we're going to close with this these two verses even if we or an angel from heaven if i change my message may i be lost but if an angel from heaven brings a different message let them be accursed an angel from heaven different message all you need to do is listen to a young Mormon tell you the testimony that he has all you have to do is listen to the young Mormon and the angel moroni who appeared and brought this new insight to their prophet leader joseph smith who brought a different gospel all you need to do is do a little reading on islam how that muslims believe that gabriel gave revelation to muhammad an angel when you when you go to israel there is an area there in jerusalem we go to is called the the temple mount and on the temple mount you have the al aqsa mosque and you also have the dome of the rock one of the most holy sites in the muslim faith and we go up that we've been up there numerous times over the years and and people will say can we go into the dome of the rock and and my answer has always been the same they do permit it if you'd like you can go in they ask me are you going to go in pastor and i've been to israel i think 20 times and and i say no i i don't go in well why not wouldn't you like to go in and see it i say no not really well why not well there is a founding inscription inside the building that is written in classical arabic it's from the quran chapter 4 171 and it says this oh you people of the book overstep not bounds in your religion and of god speak only the truth the messiah jesus son of mary is only an apostle of god and his word which he conveyed unto mary and a spirit proceeding from him believe therefore in god and his apostles and say not trinity it will be better for you god is only one god far be it from his glory that he should have a son that is a blasphemous statement regarding jesus christ and i've been asked why don't you go in and that's why why would i enter in when it is centered on a denial of the god of grace it is built on the denial of a loving god who gave his son for me paul was dealing with error that crept in in the early history of the church that has continued to creep in and influence people over the centuries and paul said if i or an angel of god should give a message that is different than the gospel of jesus christ may we be accursed may we be anathema may we be doomed to destruction false teachers are marked avoided their teachings are rejected and they are left he's saying to god's judgment the gospel of grace must stand it's a gospel that is built on the gracious love of god for us a god who sent his son for us