Abounding Grace

Pastor Ed Taylor: Today on Abounding Grace, the gospel is on full display. Jesus Christ died for your sins and when you believe in him, you are completely forgiven. He died, he was buried, he rose again. The summary of the gospel is right here. It is the good news. God is the author of the greatest true story ever told. That you and I are forgiven by grace. It's a gift of God. We don't earn it. We don't deserve it. We don't work for it.

When we're saved, we're not saved in little degrees where you get a little bit here and a little bit there and a little bit there and if you're good the rest of your life you might get it all. No way. When you were saved, you are wholly, completely saved from the beginning. You're a new creation in Christ. New hope, new strength, new life. That's the good news.

Guest (Male): Welcome once again to Abounding Grace with our pastor and teacher Ed Taylor. We're just getting our feet wet in the Epistle of Galatians. Now, the Galatians had drifted and turned away from the truth. They needed to be reminded that there is only one gospel. And that's a message our world needs to hear today as well, as there are many who have turned away from the truth and are believing lies. Here is Pastor Ed.

Pastor Ed Taylor: Open your Bibles with you to Galatians chapter one. Galatians chapter one. I've entitled our Bible study "Only One Gospel." Because there is only one gospel. As we read in the psalm today, the enemy loves to attack foundations. He loves to attack the foundation of your faith, the foundation of your home, the foundation of your marriage, the foundation of your parenting, the foundation of your singleness. He loves to go after the foundations. It's important that we keep our eyes wide open to the schemes and the attacks of the enemy.

I even think some of you have the foundation of your sanity being attacked, where you're wrestling in the realm of mental health and the enemy's just going after you and confusing you and causing you to doubt the word of God and to believe lies. You just need to know that in Christ he is your strength and he provides clarity where clarity's needed. And he can heal. He can heal your body. He can heal your muscles, your ligaments, and he can heal your brain as well. Isn't that good? You can just trust the Lord. All those errant thoughts, all those thoughts of condemnation, all those thoughts of regret and beating yourself up, there is wholeness and clarity and forgiveness available to you through the blood of Jesus Christ, by faith. You can trust him.

And today we learn with the Galatians that there's only one gospel. There are not two gospels or three gospels or four gospels. There's only one. Or you could say it this way. There's only one way for a man or a woman to be right with God. Only one way. There are not two ways, three ways, five ways, ten ways. There is only one way that you and I can be made right with God, and that is the gospel, the good news, that your sins can be forgiven by the blood that was shed by Jesus Christ.

Jesus said it this way. There are two ways of life. There is a wide gate, a wide path, and there's a narrow path. If you choose the narrow path, few, he says, will go through it, but that is the path of life. Whereas most people are on the wide path, doing their own thing, following their own theology, their own belief system, doing their own thing. That will not lead to life but to death, and to death eternally. The Galatians have been ripped off by false teachers. They received the gospel, beginning to live by grace, and then they started believing lies. And they drifted away and departed from the faith.

Over the years, many Christians have drifted away from the foundations of their relationship with Jesus. And it started out so good. For those of us that got saved later in life, you can remember it started out so good. There was an encounter with God and the Spirit of God, and you were born again and everything changed. You started reading your Bible, you started making wise decisions, addictions were being broken, families were being saved, relationships reconciled. And then something happened. It's the same for many, it's different for others, but somewhere along the way you began to drift and to depart. Some backslid and never returned. They apostatized. They left the faith.

Paul here is brokenhearted over a man, over a church, over many in the church that turned their backs on God. In 2nd Timothy chapter four, he describes a fellow ministry partner. He says in verse 10, "For Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica, Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia." He looks at a brother and he goes, "I used to serve with this guy. I used to go and we would do ministry together. But Demas has left. He's gone." And why? We know what it was for him. He loved the world more than he loved God. But it wasn't always that way. There was a time in his life where he loved God more than the things of this world, but something happened and he took a hard turn away from God.

Drifting that leads to departing has a beginning. It just doesn't come out of nowhere. Somewhere along the way there's a distraction, a diversion, a temptation, and before you know it, he or she is gone. They're gone. I was thinking of this when I first taught Galatians. The church wasn't more than a year old, year or two old. And I was teaching it and when I was teaching through I was teaching what I learned. I was teaching what I heard. I was teaching what I studied. And I still teach that way today.

However, I have something else to add to you in my teaching besides my studies and the Spirit. I have something else to add and that is experience. And when I look out on the church today and I see a few empty chairs along the way, it reminds me of many that have come through this church that have drifted and departed from the faith. I have a photographic memory, so I began to think of people and I could see them in my mind, of men that I served with closely.

I remember one episode in particular where me and this brother were out street witnessing, and the way that God used him was unbelievable. I actually have a picture of it to remind me to pray for him because he no longer walks with the Lord. He's no longer married. I mean he's remarried, but his life just was a disaster. But it wasn't always that way. And I think of people that were even on staff. They were even here taking of the tithes and offerings of this church to provide for their family that today are full-blown atheists. And you're like, "What in the world happened?"

While I don't know everything that happened in their hearts and what they experienced, I don't actually know. But I do pray for them and I pray for myself as well. Because whatever happened to them, I don't want to happen to me. I want to be able to say, "No Lord, I'm stronger today than I was five years ago, than I was ten years ago." Because departing is real. And those that you know in your life that have fallen away, you need to keep praying for them, praying that God would apprehend them, grab them, bring them back. Because even in Hebrews chapter two, it says in verse one, "Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away."

The Galatians, or many in the churches throughout Galatia, hadn't just drifted. They actually turned away from the truth. They removed themselves from a place of pursuing Christ, which is a very dangerous way to live your life. Remember there was a group of false teachers. We know them as the Judaizers. Today we may use the label legalists. A group of legalists came into the church and began to add to the gospel of grace, which we'll learn in a moment wasn't actually the gospel at all. But they added to it and what were drawing back and saying, "You're not saved. That's not right. You're not doing it right. What you need to do is believe in Jesus and keep the law."

Remember with this particular group, what was very important to them, number one on the list was this. You need to believe in Jesus Christ and adult males be circumcised. And you're like, "Whoa, no thank you. I believe in Jesus. I don't need to go through the ritual of circumcision because Jesus fulfilled the law." But many of them were troubled in their hearts and began to follow false teaching which led them away from the truth.

Now here at Calvary, if you're interested in who we are, where we came from, where we're going, on our website, on our app, which we just recently redeveloped and changed and updated, you will come to a page that will give you all that information. It will tell you our doctrinal statement, it will tell you the history of our church, it will give you our philosophy of ministry, the principles, the axioms by which we live by. There's a lot of information that define who we are, where we came from, where we're going.

At the top of the page, there is a little paragraph that I brought with me from the church that I came from that he received from the church that he came from, that was written by a man by the name of Chuck Smith. Chuck Smith is the man that God used to begin the Calvary Chapel movement of churches of which we are a part of. And he wrote this little paragraph. He used to put it in his paper bulletin, which is how he defined himself. And I go, "Oh, this is so good. I want to read it to you." It says this, and I quote:

"Our supreme desire is to know Christ and to be conformed into his image by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are not a denominational fellowship, nor are we opposed to denominations as such, only their overemphasis of the doctrinal differences that have led to the division of the body of Christ. We believe that the only true basis of Christian fellowship is his agape love, which is greater than any differences we possess and without which we have no right to claim ourselves Christians." End quote.

What a great definition for a church. We love the Lord. We're going to be conformed to his image. There's a lot of differences in the body of Christ, but we're not going to overemphasize them. There's a lot of secondary issues that people make big deals. We're not going to do that. We're going to keep the main things the main things. What happens with the Galatians is that this is not a secondary issue. It's a primary issue. It is the foundation. It's the question: how is a person saved? On those matters, we're going to put up a strong fight. We're going to make sure that we stand for truth and righteousness.

But all these other things, these secondary things, we want to be able to say, "Hey, in love we love you." We may disagree. We may have a strong position biblically. We believe what we believe, but we're not going to allow these divisions to weaken the strength of the overall church. I love it. It brings great comfort to my heart to know that for us as a church, we want to keep things simple. That's our goal. That as a team, as a staff, as a group here, we work very hard behind the scenes to keep things simple.

So that when you show up to a gathering like this, that you can enjoy that really this room can become a sanctuary for you. A sanctuary. You know what that word means? It means a place of refuge. That in the hustle and bustle of your life and all the things that you're going through and all the fights and all the difficulties and all the trials and all the tribulation, we work behind the scenes very hard, very intentionally, to keep things simple here so that when you come you can lift up your hands and sing and worship and receive the word of God. Your kiddos can receive the word of God and that your family can be strengthened.

Why? Because the enemy is really good at disrupting the peace of a church. The enemy loves to disrupt the peace. And one of the many ways that he does that is by scattering false teaching and false teachers in a group of real, true believers. That's what's happening with the Galatians. They started out so well and the false teaching was taking root and ripping people off.

Notice with me in verse six of chapter one. Paul writes, "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." If you like to write in your Bibles, you can circle that word in verse six: gospel. You can circle it again in verse seven: gospel of Christ. What is the gospel? This is so important that we understand. We're using this word, but what is the gospel? What is the good news?

Notice with me, turn over to 1st Corinthians, so it's backwards from Galatians. Turn over to 1st Corinthians chapter 15. Let's define our terms so that we understand, and the best way to define terms is: what does the Bible say? And this is a great definition of the gospel right here, 1st Corinthians chapter 15. What is the gospel? What is the true, real, only one gospel? Verse one: "Moreover brethren, I declare to you the gospel which is preached to you, which also you received, in which you stand. By which you are also saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain."

Verse three: "Here it is. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures." That, my friends, is the gospel. Jesus Christ died for your sins and when you believe in him, you are completely forgiven. He died, he was buried, he rose again. The summary of the gospel is right here. It is the good news.

God, he is the author of the greatest true story ever told. That you and I, we're forgiven by grace. It's a gift of God. We don't earn it. We don't deserve it. We don't work for it. And when we're saved, listen, when we're saved we're not saved in little degrees where you get a little bit here and a little bit there and a little bit there and if you're good the rest of your life you might get it all. No way. When you were saved, you are wholly, completely saved from the beginning. You're a new creation in Christ. New hope, new strength, new life. That's the good news. That your sins can be forgiven and God has a life for you, a full life.

How the Bible speaks of eternal life? Eternal is not just a word in the original language that speaks of time, although it does. It also speaks of substance. When you enjoy eternal life, you enjoy an age-abiding life. You get the fullness of life. Remember what Jesus said, that if you believe in him, that out of you, out of the abundance of your heart, rivers of living water. God has an abundant life for you and me.

Legalism is not good news. It's not good news. What the Galatians were brought into is not good news. From God's perspective, you could put it this way. God's saying to you in the gospel, he's saying to me, the gospel says from God, "I accept you. I love you. I loved you even when you were in rebellion against me. I sent Jesus for you that if you believe in him you'll be in right relationship with me. Don't let anyone trouble you or twist up the true gospel because the moment someone tells you differently, reject them. Reject that false message."

The issue before the believers in Galatia is very simple. It's of utmost importance. How can a person be saved? And you notice in verse six, Paul starts out. Typically in his letters he would give the typical greeting and then he'd have something encouraging to say. He's got nothing encouraging to say to the Galatians. Instead, he has a very strong rebuke and he starts out with that word: marvel. You might want to mark it. It means to be amazed or it means to be shocked.

It has the idea of astonishment, strong rebuke, and even disappointment. It's like Paul is saying, "What are you guys thinking? I can't believe what I've heard about you. Are you kidding me? Are you really? I can't believe that I haven't been gone that long and you're already turning away from the gospel." That's what he's saying. It's strong. It would be the idea of you had a good close friend and you just took them by the shoulders and you're just trying to shake some sense into them. It's like, "Come on now, listen to me, look me in the eye. I can't believe that I'm dealing with this. What has happened to you guys? Why have you made these bad choices?"

You could step back and even say this is a strong rebuke for their very foolish decision. And do you know that when you make foolish decisions, it is not unusual to receive a strong rebuke? That is sometimes what you need. You don't need someone to come alongside of you and coddle you and, "It's going to be okay," although there are times for that. There are other times where it's like, "Are you out of your mind? What has happened to you? Where are you at now?" And it usually comes through relationship. Or in a Bible study like this.

And by the way, in my notes today, I knew as we go along that this will be a rather challenging Bible study. So around my notes on every page I put a little smiley face so that when I'm saying something hard that I can come up and say it this way. Make sure there's a little bit of smile here for you because these are strong things. Because I know there are some listening to me that will receive today's message as a rebuke. Why? Because you've been making some foolish decisions. And it's not the type of Bible study of, "Oh come on, everything's going to be okay." Sometimes you need to hear it's not going to be okay unless you repent. It's not going to get better. It's going to get worse. When you choose to sow to the flesh, you're going to reap corruption.

And Paul writes right in the beginning, he doesn't have anything good to say to them. "I can't believe what you guys are doing. I'm so disappointed in you. Why would you listen to them?" I mean you think about from the church perspective, the Galatians had the second best Bible teacher on the planet earth, second only to Jesus himself, who came and rolled into town and planted the churches and discipled the leaders and raised up already a next generation to take the church when he leaves to go to the next city. God used him in miraculous ways in their lives with healing and life and amazing things and they're still turning away and it was hard for him to stomach and they needed to hear that.

I want you to notice as well in verse six, he says, "I marvel that you're turning away so soon from him." Don't miss that word: him. They weren't leaving a set of church doctrine. They weren't leaving traditions. They weren't leaving a message. They were leaving a person. The gospel is a person. Now of course it's communicated through words and sound doctrine and theology, yes. But the gospel is a person. Christianity is summed up in a person, in a relationship with Jesus Christ. He is who we follow. It's his words, his teachings, his models, his examples. And he says, "I can't believe you guys are leaving Jesus. Why would you follow these guys? Why would you listen to them?"

Leaving Jesus along the way, on top of that he says, "Hey, you're leaving him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel, which isn't even another gospel." There is no second message or third message. There is no little detour that you can take. There's only one message, it's found in Christ. And he says that there are some in verse seven who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel.

Now circle the word pervert. You might already have a note in your Bibles that means to distort or it means to twist. It's a word that really when it's defined, it's this word "pervert" means to take something and make it the exact opposite of what it is, which means it's no longer what it is. This Greek word was used in Acts chapter two to describe sun turning to darkness. This word was also used to describe in James chapter four laughter being turned to mourning. It's a complete opposite change. And he says, "You guys, you're following something that's not even the message I gave. You're following a false message."

Guest (Male): This is Abounding Grace and you're listening to a message from pastor and Bible teacher Ed Taylor. Catch a replay when you visit aboundinggraceradio.com or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Here in the month of May, we've picked out an excellent book written by Chuck Smith called *When the Storm Hits*. If you're struggling with life's burdens, this is a must-read. From the ability to discern spiritual warfare and how it can affect our emotions to the realization that God is intimately aware of everything we are going through, this book will restore hope and peace to the weariest of believers.

God may not always deliver us from the storms of life, but he is faithful to be with us as we go through them. And we'll send you a copy with our thanks for a gift of $25 or more to Abounding Grace. Please remember, it is through your financial support that we're able to come to you day by day on stations all across the nation.

Your gift, whatever the size, would be greatly appreciated and put to good use. Request your book today by calling us toll-free at 877-30-GRACE. Again, 877-30-GRACE. You can also order the book online at calvaryco.store. And if you'd rather not have the book but still want to make a donation, that can be done rather easily at aboundinggraceradio.com.

And we'd like to connect with you before the day is done. Say hello. Tell us what God is up to in your life when you visit aboundinggraceradio.com and then click on "contact us." Don't miss our next study with Pastor Ed tomorrow on Abounding Grace. And may God richly bless you with his abounding grace.

Abounding Grace is brought to you by Calvary Church in Aurora, Colorado and online at aboundinggraceradio.com.