Hold On to the Gospel - Galatians 1:6-10

2:47Well, greetings to everybody from Antioch Bible Church, 10,000 miles away. That was a bit of a long commute, but anyway, yeah, made it in time. And in Africa, I can't promise we finish on time because. You know, services there last about six hours, so I'm glad I didn't warn you about that. Okay, but yeah, Tom, Tom did give me an interesting topic for tonight. So I just encourage you to come because we live in South Africa. I was born in Zimbabwe, lived in South Africa, Africa most of my life, and it's a world of racial tensions.

3:27And so we've had to apply a lot of thought to really developing what you call cross-cultural relationships and how do you maintain unity in a world of racial tension. It's kind of what I was brought up in, what we've lived in our whole lives. So I just encourage you to come tonight as I attempt to deal with that biblically tonight, because we face the same things all around the world. Even in India, I was in India for six years, and guess what? The human condition is the same there. We're all sinners. We all are prideful.

4:05And we need the gospel. We need Christ. The gospel that is preached from this pulpit is no different to the gospel that's preached in South Africa, and it's no different to what we preach in India. And so even today, as I preach from Galatians, it's important to realize that we never compromise the gospel. So that's what I want to preach about today as you turn in your Bibles. Then is to first chapter 1 of Galatians to verse 6 to 10.

4:37And I'm going to read from the text. Galatians chapter 1, verses 6 to 10. And here's the text. Paul says this. He says, I'm amazed that you are so quickly deserting him who called you by the grace of Christ for a different gospel, which is really not another. Only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed.

5:15As we have said before, so I say again, now if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed. For am I now seeking the favor of men or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. Now, this is a very unusual letter in terms of Paul's letters. When you look at his other letters, you realize at this juncture in his letter you would expect to find thanksgiving and prayer and just thanks for the readers, but you don't find that.

5:54In fact, you find a very sharp and profound, pointed rebuke. And so here's a Christian leader writing a letter and judging other Christians and dealing with what they believe. And he doesn't sound very charitable. He doesn't sound very friendly. In fact, in this day and age, he would be considered very politically incorrect. The mantra in South Africa, and I would imagine it's here as well, is judge not lest you be judged. And often that's an excuse in Christian circles for not making an assessment of what somebody else believes or how they live their lives. And so this is not the case with Paul. This is a crucial matter. And when you think about it, when somebody's eternal destiny is at stake, this shouldn't be the case with us either.

6:43So if you take the time to slowly read through Galatians, what will strike you then is that it's very short, it's very abrupt, and it's very direct. It's full of fiery words and passionate appeals. There's an urgent tone in this letter. And Paul is even distressed. He sounds distressed. He's even kind of angry, almost righteously angry at the situations facing the Christians in Galatia. He cannot at this juncture even thank God as he does in his other letters, since he knows this is a matter of spiritual life or death. And so in our text today, there really is only one main point in verses 6 to 10, and that is this, is that there's only one authentic gospel. There's only one.

7:27And if that authentic gospel is changed, Anyway, and if you mix in the slightest hint of human effort or human works in any form to the apostolic gospel that's revealed in the scriptures that you have in your hands, whether in paper form or electronic form, you know, it needs to be called out in the strongest possible terms. Why? Because it's a distortion of Christ's truth and it renders the cross useless. It's a difference between people experiencing eternal life or experiencing death and eternal damnation. It's that serious.

8:00And so if you want a title for today, the title is this, is Be warned, there's only one authentic gospel. And so from this text, I hope that you will realize, as we have to realize in other countries in South Africa, in India, that you cannot sit on your laurels and be comfortable, but you need to be on your guard. And be aware of these three warnings from Paul, really, to any congregation regarding the gospel of Christ. And so if you're taking notes, there's really three warnings here. First of all, be warned of desertion from the gospel. Be warned of desertion from the gospel, verses 6 and 7. Be warned of the judgment of false teachers, verses 8 and 9. And be warned of trying to please men, verse 10.

8:50So firstly, be warned of desertion of the gospel of Christ. There was a man called Eddie Slovak, and Eddie Slovak, by the end of summer, In 1945, he arrived in war-torn France with a batch of green replacements destined for the American 28th Division. The unit had suffered heavy losses in Normandy, and they needed fresh troops to bring it up to strength as they planned to push into Germany. On his way up to the front line, Slovak's column came under heavy fire.

9:25All of the recruits scurried for cover, and when the barrage lifted, Slovik began to listen to the others and he gave in to the defeatist talk. Soon, a terrified Slovik and another private slipped away from the group and they made their way secretly to the rear and they attached themselves to a Canadian unit. They were so convinced that the battle was over and that they would die, the next day Slovik and another requested transfer to a rear Echelon post.

9:55They were too scared to serve on the line. When the commander refused, Slovik then declared to the platoon leader his intention to desert. And so the following morning he made good on that threat and he abandoned his position and he walked several miles to the rear. In the afternoon he presented himself at the division's headquarters with a handwritten confession of his desertion. On november the eleventh, Slovik was tried for desertion by nine staff officers. The panel spared no time in finding him guilty and sentenced him to death by firing a squad.

10:31Despite the speed and the severity of the ruling, it was generally expected that his punishment would be reduced to a prison term, but unfortunately for Slovak, it didn't work out that way. Major General Norman Cotter saw the sentence as an opportunity to stiffen the resolve of the rank and file, and he said, If I hadn't approved it, I don't know how I could have gone up the line and looked a good soldier in the face. And so, on the morning of January 31st, Private Eddie Slovak from Detroit, Michigan was strapped to a post in a farmyard in France and shot to death by 12 riflemen. That was in 1945. And so, even though an estimated 150,000 men deserted and ran away from the battlefront, Eddie Slovak was the only American to be executed for desertion. And this is the sad thing. The battle was already won, because three months later, the war in Europe ended and the Allies proclaimed victory. So, perhaps you can understand the cowardice of this man, seeing his friends decimated every day, the terrifying sound of artillery shells, screams of wounded men. Perhaps you can understand his desire to run away and desert. But this desertion in our text today is even more amazing, and it has profound implications. The Galatians have felt the joy of being called to God. Verse 6 says, The one who called you, that is God the Father, called to the free gift of grace of Christ, to the good news of his son. Savior who died in their place. Galatians 3:5 says that even witness, they were even witnesses to the miracles that happened when Paul entered that area and pronounced the gospel of Christ. It says in Galatians, he displayed Christ in front of them as if like a billboard. They could clearly see the message of the gospel. And then not only that, did they have the best training in the Apostle Paul, but they had him for a while. They had the best teacher, the Apostle Paul himself. And so what did they do? They ran to Christ, receiving and believing in him, becoming soldiers of the cross. They were free at last, free from useless human works that would never obtain them favor before God. They were assured now of heaven by the commander of the universe through Christ's merit alone and through nothing of their own doing. And so the battle had already been won by Jesus Christ, through his sinless life, and by his dying on the cross and being resurrected as their first fruits of a life of joy and of satisfying eternity with him.

13:06Then a few months later, the going got tough. False ideas propagated by devious men arose, and the Galatians listened to them. And so what did they do? They began to set aside the grace of Christ. And when they set aside the grace of the gospel, they began to run back into a religious philosophy of worldly passions that could never save them. Now that kind of desertion is amazing. And Paul here has been flawed in apostolic astonishment. He says in verse 6, I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel. Paul is incredulous here. He can hardly believe their unbelief. This is what is shocking to him. But you know what? We have this around us as well, if you think about it, even in our day and age. This is what apostasy is. It is desertion, and it is a tragedy to see it happen in the church. We have people today in our churches in South Africa as well, running all over the country, calling themselves Christians. South Africa itself calls itself a Christian nation. But, you know, it has the highest crime statistics in the world. And when you examine who and what Christians are in South Africa, it's not going to be long before you realize many are Christian in name only, and they follow a false gospel. And so Paul is deeply and he's profoundly concerned about this problem in Galatia. And so we should be as well. When there's any kind of drift from the gospel in a person's life, we should be amazed. We should be astounded. We should be concerned. I've just come back from California now. I was there for the Shepherds Conference. And my wife and I, we ministered there for a number of years when I was at seminary. And we ended up in a fairly large Bible study, which I taught. For many, many years, maybe 50, 60 people. And I've met some of the families again now. And, you know, what I find is so sad is to see how many of the young kids that were in our group all those years ago, now in their late teens, have apostasized from the gospel. Now, since I've been in the mission field for so long, I don't fully know what happened, but I hope that the church went after them. You see, but people who desert Christ, they don't see it this way. Like the Galatians, you know what they see usually, they see merely that I'm just enhancing my spiritual life, I'm just taking another track, that's all I'm doing, I'm just adding something to Christ. They don't accept the idea that Jesus plus anything equals nothing. Jesus plus anything equals nothing. And so it should tear us up when young people growing up in the church abandon all they've been taught. Like it tore up Paul here in Galatia. He had labored among them. He had spilt his own blood for them. And now they were deserting the grace of Christ and returning to a world of bondage in a world of human works and fleshly living. The real apostasy here in the text is that when you desert the grace of the gospel of Christ, you totally desert God. Now, why would anyone want to desert the gospel of grace? Well, look at the text further as Paul develops this. Verse 7, he says, the gospel. Which they're hearing, which is really not another, only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. And so there are some that have come among them. These are the false teachers, the ones with the false ideas, and they are disturbing them. What does that mean? Well, it relates to the inner turmoil of the mind. This is what this word points to: it's mental agitation. And so these teachers had come in and they planted false ideas in the minds of the Galatians. And look what follows next. It says, and want to distort the gospel of Christ. And so this mental distortion in their minds, this mental agitation rather, is related to the distortion of the truth of the gospel of Christ. They're twisting the truth. That's what they're doing. They're starting to twist the truth. And when you ask people in South Africa and you ask them and you investigate why they've moved away from the gospel in Scripture, you quickly find out that they don't think they've moved away from the gospel.

17:33The gospel, they're following the gospel. And you'll find out what is the gospel. And they'll find out that the gospel is all about them. Yes, they've been told Jesus died for them, but it's all about them. The truth is so slightly twisted. The gospel they're following is the gospel of my experience, the enhanced gospel of my lifestyle. It's the gospel of what I feel and what I can get out of it. Or it's the gospel of the power in you. To determine and to bring about whatever reality you want it to be in your life, only Jesus is there to help you if you need Him. That's the kind of gospels that they follow. And so, in other Christian circles in South Africa, the gospel is about having this divine ATM machine called Jesus who makes, who's not at all concerned about the way you live, but is simply there to make you blessed. And that means, if you push them further, materially rich. So, they can have a mansion and a Lamborghini or something like that.

18:37And all these so-called gospels that are out there, they sound Christian, they look Christian. You know, they're taught in buildings with steeples, they're full of Christian terminology. But you know what they do in the end? They just mentally shake up the mind and they plant in modified and twisted truth about the gospel of Christ. And the result is that people are persuaded to turn their back on the truth of Scripture. Scripture no longer matters, scripture is no longer the final authority in matters of faith. And so, these teachers set themselves above the apostolic gospel and they add in or subtract aspects of the gospel that are not there and they create confusion. I don't know if it does that sound like similar to America. Well, that's what we have in South Africa. All right, the Zionists, for example, which represent 12 million people, you ask any one of those people, they'll tell you. You they're Christians, and yet at the same time, they have to placate their ancestors. Why do you have to placate their ancestors? Because the spirits are stronger than Jesus. The spirits are stronger than Jesus, and they have a false gospel, and there's 12 million people that believe that. It's amazing. And so, this is what you have. And so, before long, you're turning your back on the fact that the real battle has already been won. And that is salvation is completely initiated by God in Christ alone through faith alone. And then you find yourself running to the back lines, like Eddie Slovak, telling you that comfort and safety and security are really your lot in life, and God simply wants to bless you, and He really needs you to help Him do that, only to find out, like the Galatians, that you've missed the real battle. You've missed it. So, if the Galatian churches then had the best teacher of that time and it happened to them, won't it happen to us? I think it's presumptuous to think it won't happen to us. And so, by way of application, we need to be warned, as Paul warns the Galatians here, that in any church with any number of people, any person in this congregation, it's possible for us to apostatize and follow a false gospel. So, how can we avoid this? How can we avoid this situation? Well, firstly, be warned. That's what Paul is doing here. He's warning of this situation. Don't think it could never happen to you. It could. We need to be warned not to desert the gospel, just as Paul is warning his Galatian Christians. I mean, just think of the Apostle Peter. I mean, a few times he was within inches of apostasy, and Jesus had to rebuke him in Luke 22 for detracting from the gospel. It's not that he didn't believe in Jesus. It's just that he wanted to have another method, another way to maybe realize the gospel. Maybe, Jesus, you don't need to go to the cross. Let's just do this a human way. And so Jesus rebuked him and said, get behind me, Satan. And then later, again, poor Peter. Galatians chapter 2, verses 11, 14 in this text. If you look in chapter 2 later, you'll see that Peter and even Barnabas, yes, Barnabas, right, the thundery preacher, were on the verge of compromising the gospel by their actions, by turning their back on the Gentiles and sitting with the Judaizers who had come from Jerusalem, thereby showing those Gentiles that the gospel was Jesus Christ plus something else. And so you realize we're not exempt from this. And so we need to be warned. We need to be warned. If these great men have to be warned, we need to be warned about this. Secondly, we need to hold on to Scripture. Hold on to Scripture with all that you have. Spurgeon said this, cling tightly with both your hands, and when they fail, Catch hold with your teeth, and when they give away, hang on with your eyelashes. Don't let go of the gospel. All right? So hang on with your eyelashes, even. Don't let it go. Paul, just turn to 1 Timothy. You'll see the same kind of warning, 1 Timothy 4, 16. So just turn in your Bibles quickly. Then you'll see two commands here that Paul actually gives Timothy along these lines. And 1 Timothy 4, 16, he says this. He says to Timothy, pay close attention to yourself and your teaching. And secondly, he says, persevere in these things. For as you do this, you will ensure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you. Do you see that word there? Persevere. And so the perseverance of the saints, active perseverance in the gospel, becomes the ultimate revealer of final salvation. Whether or not the gospel of grace indeed took root in a person's life, you've got to persevere. And so I come all the way from Africa to tell you to persevere in the gospel. I've seen the gospel decimated in Africa. I've seen it decimated in India. I've seen Hindus in church on Sunday. And then on Monday, they're in the temple, the Hindu temple, because they see no difference. That means the gospel has been watered down. It's been removed of its exclusiveness. And so we need to hang on. We need to persevere. We need to persevere in the gospel. Now the good news, of course, is this, is that Jesus held on to Peter. You know that. And Paul publicly confronted Peter in Galatians 2. And we see the fruit even of that confrontation later when Peter penned 1 and 2 Peter. And you see the humility of a man writing to those in a situation of struggle and persecution in 1st and 2 Peter. And so you realize God will guard his children. But don't rest on your laurels. Don't just take that and say, well, God will guard me. I don't need to worry about this. I don't need to worry about my lifestyle. I don't need to worry about what I believe. You see, God will guard his children. Paul is warning the Galatians. We must never become complacent and take this warning seriously. Paul said this, ultimately, I'm sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1, 6. And he who calls you is faithful, he will surely do it. 1 Thessalonians 5, 24. But let us not become complacent. Let us be warned about desertion from the gospel. The second point here Paul brings up is be warned of the judgment for false teaching. Be warned of the judgment of false teaching. Verse 8 of Galatians chapter 1. Go back there if you're not there. Galatians 1, chapter 1, verse 8. He says this, but even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you about the Gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed, as we have said before. So, I say again now: if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you receive, he is to be accursed. Now, it's interesting when a great player leaves a rugby team. We play rugby in South Africa, we don't do this American football stuff where you wear pads because you don't get injured. We play a real man's sport there, okay.

25:59Peyton knows, Peyton, you've experienced rugby, you felt the pain of rugby, okay? I played rugby up to university level, then I stopped because I wasn't like six foot six and like 290 pounds. I wanted to stay alive, but you know, when a great player leaves rugby, we're shocked. I mean, the equivalent here is when you have a major league basketball team and you have this great player in basketball, and he turns his back on millions of dollars and a career of fame and fortune. No, it's in the news, and people are shocked. But what happens when a professing believer turns his back on Christ? What do we do? Little is said. So, apostasy and desertion from the gospel should shock us and it should amaze us. And we should go after those who do this and bring them back. That's why it's important to be committed to a church and be a member of a good church. Walking away from the gospel is a matter of life and death. That's why Paul writes this letter. But here in Galatians 1, verses 8 to 9, is another war.

27:00Twice, Paul refers to the reality of the tragic and terrible consequences of those who would propagate a false Jesus and a false gospel, and that is they are to be accursed. Now, that is very strong language, very strong language. That would be politically incorrect language today. But you know, it was politically incorrect in Paul's day as well. But he still used it. And today, you know what, I think to explain this word is quite difficult because you know we're entertained to death, right? We watch movies, we watch all the superhero movies, they come and they go, they get blown up, then they come together again and they're fighting in the next movie. And I'm waiting for a civil war between Tigger and Winnie the Pooh. I mean, surely that's going to be the next one. And so we're enamored by special effects, and we don't realize the reality of death and the concept of eternal death. This is what this word means. It's a terrifying word. It means it's the word anathema, anathema. And so Paul's using very strong language. And notice he uses it twice. He says he is to be accursed. He is to be anathema. In Romans 9:3, in Romans 9, 3, this word means to be cut off from God, to be cut off from Christ. That is a terrifying prospect, to be cut off from God.

28:21In 2 Thessalonians 1, verse 9, Paul says this: These, those are those who do not obey the gospel of Christ, these will. Pay the penalty of eternal destruction. That highlights that word, eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power. And so, when a person rejects the gospel, the free, gracious gift of God, or for the forgiveness of sins, when he rejects that, when he rejects the truth of Christ, then he abides under this judgment of God. And it's an even worse thing to go out and teach that and teach that. 1 Corinthians 16, 22 says this, if anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed. Same word, accursed, anathema. And so this word, this curse described by the word anathema, applies to anyone who teaches the gospel falsely and who rejects the gospel. So Paul does not shake a person's hand here and says, hello, brother, how you, you know, preach whatever you want to preach. Your truth is your truth, and my truth is my truth. He doesn't say that. He doesn't say that at all. He doesn't say we need to accept all gospels that are out there about Christ. In fact, he's very strongly against preaching the wrong gospel. The gospel of Christ, the true gospel, is the only point that the glorious forgiveness of Christ can ever touch and cleanse a man's sinfulness, selfishness, and religiosity. It is an offer of infinite and amazing grace. That's what the gospel is. The offer of a right relationship. With a compassionate God. But when a man or woman rejects that grace, and even when they teach against that, we need to love that person and plead with them and tell them that it's a terrible thing to fall in the hands of an angry God. And this is what we do in South Africa. With the Zionists, we invite them to our churches. We sit them down. We take them to the gospel. We show them that it's not about ancestor worship. We plead with them. And for the bishops, the so-called bishops, we sit down with them and we actually point them to Galatians and we say, you are teaching a wrong gospel. Do you realize the consequences of teaching a wrong gospel? And so we don't mince our words with them. We do it in a spirit of love and care, but we don't mince our words. We tell them straight what it is. Most of the time, they reject us and they will just walk out on us. And they'll never come back to our church. But they come to the preaching workshops, which is good. All right? So we realize the horror of rejecting or deserting the gospel. We need to be grieved when someone walks away. We need to be grieved when somebody teaches a false gospel. Now, in this context here, Paul is specifically referring to the men, the Judaizers, who come among the Galatians and they diabolically promoted a false gospel. And that was this, is that Jesus is not totally sufficient. In fact, if you wanted to complete your salvation, you needed Jewish law, circumcision, ceremonies. They were necessary for. Salvation. Without that, you cannot be saved. And so that was the false gospel that was promoted. But in a sense, even though these men came and taught a false gospel, we have to realize, in a sense, we're all teachers. At some point in another, you will have a position of influence in somebody's life.

31:48Whether you're a parent or a grandparent or simply leaders of a younger people, even co-workers, they know you're a Christian, they hear your claims to the gospel. And so we need to heed this warning as well. You cannot skim over the gospel. You cannot compromise. You cannot be careless with the gospel and represent something that is false to those that you have influence over. If you want to know what the gospel looks like in your life, what it should look like, just look at Galatians 2:22, 2:20. So turn down in your text there to Galatians 2, verse 20. This is what Paul says, what the gospel looks like in his life. And so it should look like this in our own lives. He says, This, I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me. Is this how you show the gospel of grace in your life to those people you can influence? Do you show it this way? Now, we don't like to be warned, and our pride rises up, but warnings are good because they cause us to exist. Examine ourselves and ask the questions like, How do I, in fact, do I teach the gospel to others? How do I teach the gospel to those that I'm at work? Yes, there's laws in this country that, and we have them in South Africa, that you know what, I have to be careful with the gospel. I have to be careful. But what are you going to do? Are you just going to gloss over the truth when something is propagated that is not the gospel? Are you just going to leave it and let it go? So, how do you, in fact, do you display and teach the gospel to others that you come into contact with? Can you clearly explain the gospel to others? In chapter 1, verses 15 and 16, Paul gives a single sentence that answers the question of how unworthy sinners like you and me find a right standing before God. Can you articulate it the way Paul does, like in verses 15 and 16? Can you teach that gospel in word and deed? And so, what does that practically mean for us? Well, you've got to work hard at becoming discerning. You have to work hard at it. You've got to discipline yourself unto holiness. You ought to know your Bibles well. You ought to know how to refute those who propagate wrong gospels. And you can't say, well, you know, it's just the pastor's job. And the elders have to do that. Yeah, it's not for me. I mean, Paul rebuked the entire Corinthian church for not growing up. In 1 Corinthians 3, he says to them, and I, brethren, could not speak to you. Spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to infants in Christ. And so we don't want to remain there as infants in Christ. Paul said, I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, for you were not yet able to receive it. Even now, you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly, for there is jealousy and strife among you. Are you not fleshly? Are you not walking like mere men? So the question is: When you warned like this by Paul, do you want to still just remain a milky Christian? Milky Christians are immature. How do you see that? You see it in fruit. That's the fruit of childish comparisons, worldliness, jealousy, strife is rampant in their lives. They will not confront others with the gospel. Their attitudes are very similar to worldly people. And so we need to grow up in Christ to prevent desertion from the gospel. We need to prevent us ourselves, first of all, conveying a false gospel to others, but we also need to be able to refute the false teachers that may seek to disturb fellow believers. And so, here are so far two warnings from the Apostle Paul: of desertion from the gospel and of the judgment of false teachers. And the third warning he gives us here in the text is the warning of trying to please men in verse 10. Look at verse 10. For now, he says, sorry, verse 10, for am I now seeking the favor of men or of God? Or am I? Am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. As you look at this text here, can you see the repeated phrase? Three times he talks about favor of men. Please men, please men. Again, three times, Paul mentions this phrase. And so this has to be an important issue. But how does this relate to desertion from the gospel and judgment of false teachers? Well, obviously then the desertion from the gospel and the perversion of the gospel occurs in the context of what motivates that, what motivates the desertion and what motivates the false teaching. And one of these things is the, and we all have this, by the way, it's the overwhelming part of our flesh that wants to gain the favor of men. We want to please men. This is the problem. Paul says to the Galatians in verse 10 that it should be obvious that he's not trying to please men. Otherwise, it would not be possible to be the bondservant of Christ. Note that. It is not possible to be seeking to be continually pleasing men and be a true Christian. That's what he's saying. Now, Paul is not saying this. He's not saying you need to go out and be the most obnoxious Christian that there is. And make sure that everyone knows that. And make sure that they really hate you, especially that unbelieving neighbor out there. He's not saying that at all, okay? Because the Same Paul in Colossians says this. He says, conduct yourselves with wisdom towards outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person. In Romans 15, 2, Paul says this as well. Each of us ought to then please his neighbor for his good, for his edification. So Paul is not saying go out and be the most obnoxious Christian out there. No, but when it comes to this, in this context, when it comes to upholding the one authentic gospel, when people's eternity is at stake, when salvation is at stake, we have to ask the question, are we a people pleaser or are we a bondservant of Christ? That's the point here. People pleasers are motivated by the fear of man and they see their worth in the eyes of other men. Servants of Christ, on the other hand, are motivated by their fear of God. That's the difference. People pleasers want to gain a following among their peers at school or college or in the workplace. And so they won't confront wrong belief about the gospel of Christ because they will lose the favor of their peers. Servants of Christ, on the other hand, love others and they're concerned for the eternal destiny of people and they leave approval or disapproval to God. So what are we? Are we people pleasers or are we bondservants of Jesus? Christ. And so the question in Galatia, therefore, is not simply a theological one in terms of what is the gospel? Let's get the gospel right. No, it's a moral question as well. The Galatians aren't simply mentally confused and they've had twisted truth come into their minds. No, there's something else going on here in Galatia, and that's this, is that they highly value pleasing people above the grace of Christ. That's what's going on. And this is what often swings people away from Christ. It can be any social political issue. In South Africa, it's racism. Racism has decimated churches there. It can become the single focus of a church. And so there's leaders on this side and there's leaders on that side. And you know what you miss? You miss the gospel. You miss the gospel. It's just a plot of Satan. That's all it is. And so you miss the gospel. Because now we need to please our leaders. We need to please our peers. We need to take sides in these issues. And so we miss the gospel. People, pleasers, they want to be popular with the crowd. They want to be with the shakers and the movers. They don't want to be seen part of a narrow-minded minority holding fast to the gospel. And so they easily cave in around influential people. That's what happens. And so, remember, even Paul himself knew about this. Because in chapter 2, he had to travel all the way to Jerusalem with Titus to settle the issue that the gospel is. Gospel that he is preaching, he'd been preaching it for over 17 years, was indeed the same gospel that the apostles were preaching in Jerusalem. Now, that is intimidating. You're going to Jerusalem to these pillars, these men that are upheld by the church.

40:49And the pressure to compromise the gospel in Paul's life must have been huge in chapter 2. There must have been huge private and public pressure from these leaders in Jerusalem to compromise the gospel in some way. But Paul says this to them, those are the Judaizers. We did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. I don't know if we'd be sitting here today as Gentiles if Paul had compromised on that day. I really don't. Think about it. Okay, but he went there and he did not compromise. This was a costly move for Paul. I'm sure he got the disapproval of many in Jerusalem when he did that. But he knew that his compromise at this point would have been even more costly for the Galatians because it would have meant compromising the truth of the gospel, which would have meant serving himself and not the Galatians. And so we need to be careful that we're not overwhelmingly concerned by influential people in our society, even though they take a stand against the gospel.

41:57We ought not to be seeking their approval. Above Christ and to compromise the gospel of Christ. In South Africa, this is a major thing. Everybody in the government is Christian. Everybody. And so when you take a stand against racism in South Africa, when you take a stand against homosexuality, it's the same as here. South Africa has the most liberal constitution in the world. If a homosexual applies to your church, and even if they do not have the credentials of being a pastor, the training, it is written in the Constitution that you are required to employ that person. You're required to employ that person. So our church in Cape Town at that time, when they passed that law, this was years ago in the 80s, when they passed that, wrote to the government and they said, regrettably, we cannot apply this law in our church. And they wrote to the president, Tabum Becky, at that time and said, we cannot apply it because the gospel is supreme. And they expected all kinds of retribution and nothing happened. Nothing happened. They refused to compromise the gospel of Christ. And so Peter, you know, he's a prime example of this. Remember again when influential men came to Antioch, Peter gave up the gospel in a sense, in this sense. What did he do? He started meeting. He was living as a Gentile with the Gentiles, teaching them, displaying that Christ is not about ceremonies and about Food, and then influential people came from Jerusalem, and he compromised the truth. He separated himself from the Gentiles, and he started sitting with the Jews, and he sent a message to the Gentiles. You know, that actually the gospel is about Jesus plus ceremony plus law. And so, Paul confronted him head-on in Galatians chapter 2. And so, again, people pleasing can lead to hypocrisy, it can lead to hypocrisy, and it can result in harmful hypocrisy. And then, the gospel will be compromised in your life and before a watching world. Just turn to the end of Galatians, and you'll see what Paul says at the end of this letter as he closes this desperate appeal to the Galatians. In verse 17 of chapter 6, he says this: He says this, from now on, let no one cause trouble for me, for I bear on my body the brand marks of Jesus. And if you think about it, no one understood the shame of bearing the cross of Christ better than the Apostle Paul. He, I mean, Paul had the credentials, right? He really did. He earned the right to pen this letter to the Galatians. But just prior to this, look back at verse 12. He reflects on the motivation of the false teachers in Galatia. And have a look at that. He says this in verse 12 of chapter 6. He says, it is those who want to make a Good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order, note this, that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. You see that? Not persecuted for the cross of Christ. And so these false teachers, ultimately, even the false teachers, their agenda was to be a people pleaser. Who were they going to please? Well, they're going to please head office back in Jerusalem. That's why they were sent, right? They had to please them. They had to keep up appearances. They wanted to avoid anything difficult or humiliating. They certainly didn't want to be persecuted for the cross of Christ. They don't want to bear the shame of the cross. And so what did they do? Well, they're going to force the Gentiles to comply with Jewish law. And how are they going to do that? They're going to tell the Gentiles that it's Jesus Christ plus law. And so then they wouldn't get any heat or condemnation from the very influential people back in Jerusalem. And so people pleasers actually hide from the shame of the cross. That's what we do. And I would hope that none of us here hide from the shame of the cross in our workplaces, in our schools, in our colleges. We ought not to do that. No one likes to be embarrassed, least of all people pleasers. I think you don't want to be embarrassed. Really, it's death to a people pleaser if you're exposed publicly or humiliated in front of others. But you know what Paul is saying here in Galatians chapter 1, verse 10? He's saying, if you want to be a bondservant of Christ, if you want to be a bondservant of Christ, you must be willing to take up your cross and follow Jesus and follow him.

46:43Otherwise, you can't be a bondservant of Christ. And yet, the cross is not just a method of execution. You've got to remember that it's a tool of humiliation as well. In India, many, many times, when we taught the gospel, the pride of the caste system was so evident to us. There were pastors who would come to our preaching academies, which were a week long, and we'd notice how they would sit. Some would sit this side, and some would in a room this size. And then we would start, and we'll start teaching. And then we'd break into groups. And so we knew what was going on. So we'd break up the groups, and we'd put the people over here with the people here, and we'd mix them into groups. And I knew that the people on the right-hand side were Brahmins. That was a high caste. And usually the people on the right were Dalits. You could tell from their name or even the way they dressed. And I had pastors come to me and say, Look, you don't understand.

47:38There's other Brahmins here, and I cannot sit with these people. So why can't you sit with these people? Because you don't understand, they're low caste. We don't eat with them. We don't sit with them. I said, but I said, you're a Christian, aren't you? Yes, he's a Christian. You're a pastor. So I said, and I'd say to them, Do you understand the humiliation of Christ? If you claim to be a Christian, do you know that Christianity? Christ had no place to even lay his head, and you can't even sit with his brother. Because if you can't, then you ought not to be here. You need to go. Because this is your brother. You have to sit with him. And realize, and they were concerned, but you don't understand. There's other Brahmins here and they're watching me. I can't do this. What will they think of me back in my village? That I sat with a Dalit and I sat at the same table and we ate from the same food. And so I'd question them and I would challenge them because they are doing wrong with the gospel, just like Peter in Galatians chapter 2. In fact, chapter 2 of Galatians is what I'd read to them and try and instruct them. And usually at the end of that time, they would sit together and they would come to me and say, thank you so much for warning me because we compromised. I realize we have compromised. Others would leave out the back door. They would never come back. They would never come back. And so people pleasers hide from the shame of the cross. That's what they do. And so when it's a question of compromising the truth and the gospel in any way, you know what we have to do, each one of us here? We have to fight the people pleaser in us. We really do. So that in any area, wherever we are, that we can be bondservants of Christ. And on that great day, we will hear those words. Well done, my good and faithful bondservant. So remember that. So in conclusion, just like in this country, just like in South Africa, just like in. India, there's only one authentic gospel. There's only one. And so we need to heed these warnings. Be warned of desertion from the gospel. Ensure you persevere in the true gospel of grace. See to it that you persevere.

49:46Secondly, be warned of the judgment of false teachers. And I would say here, check your life and your doctrine. But when there are others who are teaching a false gospel in love, you need to speak to them. You need to confront them in love. And thirdly, be warned of trying to please men because there's a people pleaser in each one of us. And make sure that all that counts is Christ's approval, not the approval of men. And so today, if you realize that you've been following after a false gospel, I would just encourage you to speak to any of the leaders here and examine your heart, examine your lives. If you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ, I would encourage you today to read through Galatians and understand what the true gospel is. And if you're not sure, speak to the leaders here today. Speak to them. Don't let this go. You need to not walk out of this church unless you understand the true gospel of Jesus Christ. That is critical. And so my question is: do you know the apostolic gospel of the grace of Christ that is in your scripture? Let's pray. Lord, we just thank you so much for your word. Warns us here as Paul warns the Galatians. And Lord, we just see how this epistle, one of the first ones he wrote, is a warning to the church in Galatia not to apostasize, not to desert the gospel of Christ. And Lord, how there are those who come among us and are in the church. Ultimately, the biggest battle is not even with Hindus or Islam. It comes from within, with those who would distort the truth of the gospel and agitate the mind so as to send us to the back lines when the battle has already been won in the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. Lord, so I pray for this church that we would be warned of these things and that we would seek to know that gospel in the scripture and to live it out daily in our lives. And thirdly, Lord, help us never to be pleasing men, that that would trump the gospel of Christ, that that would be above the gospel, and so that we would compromise by not speaking in love to others when they teach a false gospel. Even in our own lives, there are those who we influence, Lord, whether we are parents or grandparents or co-workers. Lord, I pray that people would never see us as just part of the world, part of the general flow of so-called Christianity, and compromise the truth of Scripture. Help us to be bold in these things, Lord. Help us to open our Mouths and speak the gospel of Christ. And Lord, if there's any here today who do not know you as Lord and Savior, I pray that even today they will not leave this place without knowing the true gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you.