Welcome And Text In Galatians

SPEAKER_00 0:16

Good morning. As you can imagine, when you travel across the world, and God and kindness I do not deserve, has allowed me to speak in every state in over 60 foreign locations. It seems so weird to get in your car and drive 30 minutes to your next uh opportunity. But I the only thing I could do because I called the airlines and asked them if they had a flight between Richardson and Capel, and they seem surprised by my question. But it's it's just a delight to be here with you. May I ask you to take your Bible and in a moment we'll look at our slides. But for right now, just take your Bible and open it to Galatians chapter one and follow me there because that's the paragraph I'll be speaking from, and open that Bible and have it in front of you in Galatians chapter one.

The New Year’s Most Dangerous Temptation

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One of the questions that you ought to be asking as we begin 2026 is the question, what is the one thing that should concern you as we enter the new year? Well, if I were to ask a variety of people that question, I could get a variety of answers, and there's some that would just not be certain what to say. But if you could ask people the question, you might have to think about that for a little while before answering it. But if you were to ask people a question, what's one of the questions you ought to think about as you enter 2026? I would propose a question you ought to think about is this. And that question is, what is one of the most dangerous temptations facing you in 2026? What's one of the most dangerous temptations facing you in 2026? Well, if you ask a variety of people question that you get a variety of answers. Some might say, Well, it's a temptation to be unfaithful to my spouse, because unfortunately, all of us know those people who started their marriage by saying I do, but did not end up by saying I did. One time there was a couple having a bit of a marital conflict, and she said to him, had said to her husband, There's only two things that bother me about you. And he said, Well, honey, where are they? And I'll work on them. She said, Everything you say and everything you do. And then there are other people who say their biggest temptation that are having trouble with is to rob or to cheat, because there is not one person here that would far rather live with more than what we need than less than what we need. Again, I love the honesty of the bride who's asked by the one performing the wedding, do you take this man for richer or for poor? And she said, for richer. And then there's a third thing that people have in their minds, and that is the problem of pride. Because so many times they start by saying in their lives that they are a person that are difficult, easy to live with. And they come to a point in their lives where they find out they're difficult, they feel like they're difficult to live without. One time there's there's so many times we have like the child who said to her parent, please button my dress for me. And her parents said, Ma, Mommy is too busy, button it yourself. And the child looked at the mom and said, What would I ever do without myself? And so many times we can have that same opinion. But the fact of the matter is that if we are to think about that some more, there is one bigger problem that we're facing as we enter 2026. And it's one of those, the reason that is so important is because any other problem might affect the way you live on earth, but this problem might affect the way people go about facing their eternity.

A Different Gospel In Galatia

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And that is a problem of giving people a confusing gospel instead of a clear one. The problem of giving people a confusing gospel instead of a clear one. Because so many times out of excitement, we are not even listening to what we're saying. And so when we talk to people, we give them something very confusing because we're not at the same time, we're not listening to what we're saying. And we're like the father whose wife had just given birth to their first child and it was a baby girl, and she was he was so excited, she ran down, he ran down the hospital hall saying, It's a father, it's a father, I'm a girl, I'm a girl. And so many times when it comes evangelism, we are not actually looking at what we are saying. And for that reason, we're presenting people with a confusing gospel instead of a clear one. Now, with that in mind, would you look how Paul says in Galatians 1, verses 6 and 7, as he begins there, because there in verse 6 he says, I marvel. That means I'm surprised. I think the way he would have said it today is, I am blown out of my mind. I can't believe what I'm hearing. Then he says, I marvel that you are turning away so soon from him that called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel. Now that word different does not mean different of the same kind. It means a gospel of a different kind, a completely different gospel. Then he says, which is not another. He means by that another of the same kind. It's another of a different kind. It's a completely different gospel, which is not another, for there are some who called you in grace of Christ to a different gospel, which is not another, but there are some who would trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Jesus Christ. And for that reason, we have to ask the question what is the gospel? Time magazine one time made the comment that I think was one of the most provoking comments ever made in that magazine, because it was an article on religion in America. And they made the statement, and you better book your seatbelt. And that statement was, it seemed like church of the day are unsure what the message is. They said in Time magazine, it seems like church of the day are increasingly uncertain what the message is. Spurgeon one time made the comment when a man does not make me understand what he means, it's because he himself does not understand what he means. And the very interesting thing is the gospel ought to be the one message that everybody hears. And there's some things you do not understand. There are some things we only think we understand, but the one message we dare not misunderstand is that message of the gospel. Now, with that in mind, that raises the question well, what is the gospel?

Defining The Gospel In Ten Words

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So while you keep your finger there in Galatians 1, turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 15, the one place in the testament where the gospel is clearly defined. So keep your finger in Galatians 1 and turn with me to 1 Corinthians 15, because there in verses 1 and 2 he says, I declare to you the gospel which I preach to you, which also you received, and which you stand, by which also you are saved. In other words, this is the gospel that tells you how to get from earth to heaven, and what is that gospel? Now, will you notice when it comes to defining the gospel? He uses four different verbs to define it. Four verbs that everyone, from your mother whom you love, to your mother-in-law, whom you're trying to love, needs to hear. And these are the four verbs that everybody needs to hear. Notice what he says in verse 3. He says, in 1 Corinthians 15, he says there as he begins in 1 Corinthians 15, for I delivered you first of all, that which I also received in verse 3, that Christ died. Now the word died there means died in your place. He died for our sins, he died in our place. Had he not died, we would have according to scriptures. Christ predicted his death in Isaiah 53 when it said, He was wounded for our transgressions, he was brewed for our iniquities. So the first verb is Christ died. He did not die to show you how to die, he died in our place. Some time ago, I spoke in Missouri, and while I was there, I was reminded of one of the most severe tornadoes that ever hit the United States of America. So severe it left 86 people dead. Well, the interesting thing was something happened that many people never heard about. Because as those funnel clouds start to come down over a football field, there was a man that was doing some work for the field on the umpiring the game. Well, as that came down over the field, he thought of his niece who was in the bleachers. So he ran in the bleachers as that funnel cloud started to come down over the field and he grabbed his niece. Then he went to a ditch that was nearby and he threw her in that ditch, and then he covered it with his own body. And when the silence came over the field, the storm was over. The uncle was gone, a victim of the deadly tornado, but his niece was alive and well. In other words, he died in her place. He saved her for dying and for her. He was her substitute. The Bible saying Christ died in our place. Had he not died, he would have. Then he mentions a second verb because he says, Christ died for our sins, and that he was buried. In other words, had you been there, he would have seen the grave. He died, the proof is he was buried. You don't bury alive people, you bury people who died. He said he died, the proof is he was buried. Then he goes on and mentions a third verb, and that is in verse 4, and he rose again. And the word rose there has the idea. He arose, he's still risen. There will never be a newspaper produced saying the body of Christ had just been discovered. And the interesting thing is, the resurrection is the most proven fact of history. As I've been telling people for 53 years, if you do not believe Christ arose from the grave, you cannot accept the fact that George Washington was the first president of states, because the empty tomb is the most detested fact of history. He says he died, the proof is he was buried. Then he says he rose. Then in verse 4 it says, and that he was seen. Just as burial is proof that he died, fact he received proof he arose. He arose, the proof is he was seen. A man one time made the comment, had you been there, you could have talked to all the witnesses, because it's the most, again, proven fact of history. Now, so the four verbs are Christ died to prove he was buried. He arose, proof is he was seen. So what is the gospel in ten words? And the interesting thing that shocks me to no end, if you walked into any group of people and you asked them the question, what's the gospel? Less than 10% of all Christians in America can tell you what the gospel is. Less than 10% of all believers can tell you what the gospel is. And yet he reduces the gospel to 10 words. It worked with proof that he died. In fact, he was seeing proof that he rose. But the gospel in 10 words is Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead. That's the gospel. The Bible six, six books, the gospel's ten words. Christ died for sins and rose from the dead. Let's say that together. Say it again. Christ died for sins and rose from the dead. Say it again. Christ died for sins and rose from the dead. I hate repetition. Say it again. What's the gospel? Christ died for sins and rose from the dead. His burrow is truthfully died. In fact, he rose is truthfully seen. But a gospel with ten words is Christ died for sins and rose from the dead. One time there was a chaplain in Great Britain who was witnessing to a prisoner. And the prisoner said to him, Do you really believe what you're saying? And the chaplain, I sure do. And that prisoner said, If I believe like you do, I will travel across Great Britain on broken glass to tell people. If there's one message, we ought to travel across the world on broken glass to tell people. It's the message of the gospel. The Bible is 66 books, but the message God can trust it with us is 10 words. What again are the 10 words? Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead. Now the interesting thing is that is, with that said, what's the perversion of the gospel?

The Peril Of Grace Plus

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Because Paul says if you go back to Galatians chapter 1, he makes a comment there in Galatians chapter 1. But there are some who would trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Jesus Christ. And that danger of perverting the gospel is not just a danger the Galatians faced, it's a danger that every one of us faced. It's interesting to me, since we've crossed to the new year, how many people, how many magazines, how many places are talking about dieting because having come through the holidays eating everything they could, they're now realizing they should not, instead, they should eat everything they should. And they've gone from wanting to eat everything they could to realizing they all eat everything they should. And with that in mind, an individual one made the comment is the problem is not what we eat. The problem is watching what other people eat. Because if we watch what other people eat, then we want what they eat. Well, the same way, the reason sometimes people pervert the gospel is because we listen to what other people say instead of watching what we are saying. And for that reason we come up with a perversion of the gospel. And with that in mind, look at what he says in Galatians 1.8, because that is the strongest word of sentence in the entire Bible. You will never come across a sentence in the entire Bible that is as strongly worded, is that what it is? Notice it says, but even if we, that means even me, Paul the Apostle, even if we or any other person preach any other gospel than you preached, then we are priests, let him be accursed. That actually means let him suffer the discipline of God. If any man preaches any other gospel to you, then will be a priest. Let him suffer the discipline of God. For an unsafe person, that would mean eternal separation from God. For a saved person, that could mean physical death. The consequences of preverting the gospel are huge. He says, if anyone preaches any of the gospel, then what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. And that is strong language. Let him suffer the discipline of God. The danger of destroying the gospel is one of the greatest dangers anyone could face. But Paul realized, I don't know if they got what I said. Maybe they didn't hear me. So look at what he says in verse 9. As we have said before, so sad I am again. If anyone preaches any of the gospel, we have preached, let him be accursed. A mother was one time asked the question, why do you tell your child the same thing 20 times? She said, Because I found 19 doesn't do it. And the reason he repeats it is because he wants to be certain. Everybody gets what he says. If anyone preaches any gospel and I preach to you, let him be accursed. Now, who's he referring to? Well, in context, he's referring to the Judaizers. He said, You had to do this to be saved, but you also needed this and this and this and this and this and obey this. And they perverted the gospel. In the same way, there are people today perverting the gospel. Those that say, Well, you have to come to Christ, but you also have to keep the Ten Commandments. And if you don't keep the Ten Commandments, you're not going to heaven. There are those who say, Well, you have to come to Christ, but you also have to be baptized. But if you've not been under the water, you're not going to go above the clouds. Then there are those who say, Well, you have to come to Christ, but at the same time, you have to go to church. But if you have not darkened the doors of a church, you are not going to darken the gates of heaven. Paul says, if anyone preach any other gospel, we'll be a preacher who be a curse. So what's one of the dangerous temptations facing us in 2026? I can put on one sentence, and that sentence is very simple. Because if you hear any other gospel, then the gospel grace, period, that's not the gospel. In other words, we need to preach, as rein says so well. If we do not give people the gospel grace, period, instead of the gospel of grace plus, we've not given them the gospel of all. If we do not give people the gospel grace, period, instead of the gospel grace plus, we have not given them the gospel at all. Say it with me, would you? If we do not give people the gospel grace, period, instead of the gospel grace plus, we have not given them the gospel at all. Say it again. If we do not give people the gospel grace, period, instead of the gospel grace plus, we have not given them the gospel at all. Once more, if we do not give people the gospel grace, period, instead of the gospel grace plus, we have not given them the gospel at all. Now, the thing I want to find notice as so interesting. He says in verse 6, I marvel that you are turning away. There are some churches today that are not preaching the gospel. Others that are.

How We Garble The Message

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Step by step, listening to people, not watching what you're saying, we're starting to give people a wrong gospel. And for that reason, we give them a mighty gospel, a garbled one. I was raised on a dairy farm in some, you know, in Pennsylvania. And we had a calf that was born. We had to take away from the pure milk of his mother to eating dry prepared food. So, how do you do that? What dad would do is he would take the mother's milk and put it into a bucket. But before giving it to the calf, he would take and put some water in it and mix it with the milk. And soon the calf lost his taste for the pure milk and was ready to eat prepared food. It was not pure milk, it was a garbled milk. Unfortunately, there are those who are beginning to turn away from the gospel and are giving people a garbled gospel, and a garbled gospel is no gospel at all. If we do not give people the gospel grace. Period. So the gospel great plus, we have not given them the gospel at all. Now, why is it that we do that? Before I answer the question, how do we give people a garble gospel? I'd like to ask them this question why do we do that? Why do we so easy to get away from the message? And I have several different reasons. One is because we are Americans. We can confuse anything. It's interesting to me if you talk to someone from China, ask them for some tea, within five minutes, they'll bring you a simple cup of hot tea. But if you ask an American for some tea, they're asking about six different questions. Do you want hot tea or cold tea? Do you want with sugar or without sugar? Do you want with lemon or without lemon? So for that reason, someone from China says some time ago, those Americans are so confusing. They first put sugar in it to make it sweet, then they put lemon in to make it sour. Then they pour whole to eat it to make it hot, then they put ice in it to make it cold. We have a way of confusing everything, and for that reason, we confuse the gospel. And so many times we confuse the gospel by what we do. And I'd like to suggest different ways that we confuse the gospel. One way we confuse it is by confusing terminology. The one book of the Bible written to tell us how to get to heaven was the Gospel of John. Ninety-eight times that book says, ble, ble, ble, ble, bleep, ble, bleep, ble, bleep, ble, bleep blee, bleep, ble, ble, ble, ble, ble, ble, ble, bleep, bleep, 98 times. It means you come to God as a sinner, recognize Christ died for your rose, and trust in Him alone to Savior. And the moment you put your trust in Christ, you live prepared to die, and you die prepared to live because you have his life living inside of you simply by trusting Christ alone. But so many times we come up with confusing terminology. I've heard people say, You want to be saved? Just invite him into your heart. Nowhere in the Bible does God ever say to be saved, invite him into your heart. In fact, I know a small boy who was told, You want to be saved, invite him into your heart. And the boy said, It wouldn't do any good. And the person said, Why? And the boy said, Because mommy says there's a hole in my heart. If I invite him in, he'll probably fall out. Nowhere in the Bible are you ever told, invite him in your heart. You're told to trust him as your personal savior and your only way to heaven. Then there are people that in confusing terminology say, Well, if you want to be saved, just give your life to Christ. Nowhere in the Bible does God ever say, You want to be saved? Give your life to God. Salvation is not you giving God your life, it's he giving you his. That's why you live forever. You have his life living inside of you. And salvation is not you giving God your life, instead, it's he giving you his. Another way we confuse the gospel is simply by confusing salvation and discipleship. Salvation means you come to Christ that moment. You can live prepared to die, again, die prepared to live. Discipleship is following him one step at a time, day after day, week after week. Sometimes you do great, and sometimes you do miserably, but you're still saved. Because salvation is different than discipleship. If I've heard people say, if he's not Lord of all, he's not Lord at all. If Jesus Christ has to be Lord of every area of your life, there is not one Christian sitting here today. Not one. Two of us on any given day would say, Christ is Lord of every area of my life. Obviously, one place he's not, Lord is your pride. Because he's obviously not Lord of your pride. The fact of the matter is, you cannot confuse salvation and disciple ship. First you come to him, then salvation, then you walk after him. That's discipleship. If anyone comes to me, he said, and invites you to be a disciple, and disciple ship is awfully exciting, but don't confuse it with salvation. Then another way we confuse the gospel is we confuse everything in Christian life but living it. And do we ever confuse the gospel? First you enter it and then you live it. But you dare not confuse the two, because some days you may live better than other days, but you dare not confuse the gospel. I've heard people say, if you're unhappy in your marriage, come to Christ. The fact of the matter is, Christ did not die on a cross that you might have a happy marriage. Christ died on the cross because you were headed to separation from God. He took your place so you can live forever with him. And you can come to Christ and have a different marriage, but you can also come to Christ and have one of the most difficult marriages you've ever had. I even said to my wife the other day, if you had to do it over again, would you still marry me? She said, sure, honey, if I had to do it over again, but the fact is you cannot confuse the two. There are some that come to Christ and they're told now, if you come to Christ, you'll never be lonely again. You can come to Christ, experience moments of loneliness. You dare not confuse entering Christian life but living it. First you enter and then you live it. Sometimes I say to people, Since you've come to Christ, have you had any problems? And if

Salvation Versus Discipleship

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they say no, I say, just be patient, things will get worse. Because you dare not confuse entering the Christian life with living it. First you come to Christ and then you live, but you dare not confuse the two. And the thing I'm pouring my heart out to you today about, we've entered 2026. What an opportunity for the gospel. I've been there for 53 years. I am shocked if someone does not want to talk about salvation because they're not the norm, they're the weirdos, because the norm is a person who wants to talk. But we dare not confuse the gospel. Become to God a sinner sinner, recognize Christ died for you, and trust in Him alone to save you. That if we give people and talk to people, we must give them a gospel, Christ plus, not a gospel of Christ Christ, period. Not a gospel, Christ plus. Because if we do, we've confused the gospel. Salvation is not Christ plus, it's Christ, period. And we dare not confuse the gospel. And for that reason, I ask you, please, let's not confuse the message. First you enter it, and then you live it. But don't confuse the two. Being a person who flies a lot, I loved reading recently at the Atlanta Airport, they were going through some renovations, and for that reason, things were a bit confusing. And there was a flight from Delta Airlines, a flight from American Airlines, that they were leaving from the same exit or going to two different gates in two different cities. And so someone came on the announcement and they said, now, if you're on Delta, if you're on American Flight 147, then what that's leaving from gate number six, exit number seven, and at one o'clock. Then they gave the same flight and they said where it was going to a different city, same exit, but a different gate. Everybody was confused. They couldn't figure out what in the world I should do. And finally, one small airline attendant go on the intercom and she said, Now, if you're going to this city, take the red plane. If you're going to this city, take the blue one. Oh, that we could keep that gospel simple. If we give people a gospel grace plus, period, we must not give them a gospel grace plus. Otherwise, we do not give them the gospel at all. Say that with me another time. If we do not give people the gospel grace, period, instead of a gospel grace plus, we have not given them the gospel at all. Say it again. If we do not give people a gospel grace prayer, instead of a gospel grace plus, we have not given them the gospel at all. As I've been saying for 53 years and plan to say for the next 53. Be clear, be clear, be clear. Because the one area we cannot speak confusely is how do you get from earth to heaven? One time there was a woman who came to one of her outreaches, and not only did she come to the outreach, she came to Christ. And she was so excited. And she went home and she said to her husband, You wouldn't believe what happened tonight. She said, I hired a guy and he explained the gospel. He explained that I was a sinner. Christ died for me to rose, and I had to put my trust in him alone to save me. And I want you to know that tonight I put my trust in Christ and I'm living prepared to die, and I'm going to die prepared to live. Her husband looked to her and he said, Oh man, I've known that stuff for years. I've known that stuff for years. She looked at him and she said, as the tears started running down her cheeks, if you have known it for so long, why did you never tell me? Could I ask you to think of the people around you, work, home, neighborhood? Would they have reason to say to you, if you really understand the gospel, why have you not told me?

Keep It Simple And Be Clear

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But may I beg you, when you speak to anyone about Christ, don't speak in a way that can be understood. Speak in a way that cannot be misunderstood. Oh, God's people ought to say, Amen. That's pretty good.