One of the dangers, I suppose, of putting my address on public announcements or advertising, is that people know where you live. I had a visitor a few nights ago who I hope was not prowling about my house after dark. He did however leave a letter on my mailbox addressed to me. So it was evident that he knows me, but he didn’t sign it, which is kind of concerning that he wants to be anonymous.

The bottom line of the letter he left was to inform me that generations of Bible teachers and scholars have gotten wrong the date of the Sabbath. I didn’t want to waste my time reading all the information there, but the gist of it was that if you recalculate the Sabbath based on their calendar, then you come up with another day for the Sabbath that we are to worship on, which is the correct day. And their opinion was that worshipping on the proper Sabbath was the missing key to spiritual knowledge and power.

But as I said, I didn’t want to waste time reading about moon cycles and all that sort of thing because it was evident that they got the basic principle of the gospel wrong. Their idea was that if you keep the law of the Sabbath, then you unlock the blessing of God. And so once I realized that was the gist of the letter, I discarded it. The apostle Paul has been making arguing this principle in his letter to the Galatians, that there is not salvation by faith plus keeping the law. We are not under the obligation to keep the law of the Sabbath. There is no benefit to keep the law of the Sabbath, or as Paul was arguing here in Galatians, to keep the law of circumcision, or any of the other ceremonial laws. Paul has argued conclusively that the law is not a means of righteousness, nor of salvation. So no matter what sort of pseudo science, or Biblical research, or whatever else they might use to try to entice you with, if it speaks of the necessity for keeping some point of the law, then they are of a false doctrine, and we need to disregard it and not let it upset our faith.

Now in regards to arguing that doctrine of salvation by faith alone, in Galatians chapter 3, Paul is giving a scholarly treatise on the purpose of the law, versus the promise of faith. It’s almost like when the Supreme Court makes a decision on a law, and then one of the leading judges writes an opinion. Paul is using a very technical, almost legal argument to establish the purpose of the law as a means of refuting the false doctrine that had pervaded the church. These false teachers were legalists, and so Paul uses a legal argument to defeat them.

But I will say that his message is difficult to comprehend sometimes. I have heard that supposedly there are 300 or so interpretations of this passage that have been broached over the years. So even Bible scholars are not always in agreement as to what Paul is saying exactly in some cases. However, I think we can focus on what is clear and plain, and perhaps what is unclear will be explained by the context.

So we’re picking up his argument in the middle of the chapter, vs 15, and I don’t want to have to regurgitate everything that has been said up to this point. But it is important to look back to vs 8 and following and remember that Paul has used Abraham as an illustration of faith in contrast to the false teachers reliance upon Moses and the law. Paul isn’t saying that Moses or the law was bad, but he points them back to Abraham to show that salvation by faith preceded the giving of the law, just as Abraham’s salvation was by faith before he was circumcised.

He says in vs 8, “So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.” And he concludes that argument in vs 14 saying, “in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Now that phrase “In Christ” is a very important phrase that Paul is going to use again in this next section. Being in Christ is the means by which we are made the children of God, and the children of Abraham, and the inheritors of the promises or the blessing.

So let’s continue now in vs 15, Paul says, “Brethren, I speak in terms of human relations: even though it is [only] a man’s covenant, yet when it has been ratified, no one sets it aside or adds conditions to it.” He says in other words, I am speaking in human terms, but in men’s covenants, once a covenant has been ratified, no one can change it or add to it. A covenant is a legal agreement between two parties. And ratified means it has been agreed to, or signed by both parties. Once a legal covenant has been ratified, you can’t just arbitrarily add to it or take from it. That’s pretty much common to law everywhere.

Vs16 “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as [referring] to many, but [rather] to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ. 17 What I am saying is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. 18 For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.”

So the first thing Paul does here is apply the principle of a human covenant to the covenant God made with Abraham. And in vs 15, he is identifying who is involved in the covenant. And what he says it is was made by God to Abraham and to his seed. And Paul gives us some insight there that may not have been clear in the Genesis account, and says that it wasn’t given to Abraham’s seeds, plural, but seed, singular. He then tells us that signifies that the seed was Christ, the Messiah, through whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed. And according to vs 4, what God promised Abraham constitutes the gospel.

Then what he adds in vs 17, is that the Mosaic law, which came 430 years after Abraham was given the covenant, does not invalidate the covenant made to Abraham and his seed. It had been ratified by God, and thus the law cannot nullify the covenant promise made to Abraham that through Him all the nations would be blessed.

Vs 18, For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise.” So in other words, the inheritance promised to Abraham was not based on keeping the law. The law didn’t come for 430 years later. God gave His promise based on Abraham’s faith, not on the condition that Abraham kept the law. So the illustration shows that salvation is based on faith, not on law. The law cannot affect salvation by faith.

The question then on the minds of the legalists would be, then what was the purpose of the law? We know that God gave the law to Moses at Mt. Sinai. What purpose was there in giving the law, if it wasn’t to provide a path to salvation?

Paul answers that question in vs19 “Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made. Now a mediator is not for one party only; whereas God is [only] one.”

I think what Paul is saying in “the law was added because of transgressions,” is that because of sin, God gave the law to elucidate sin more clearly. Sin existed before the law, of course. But sin became clearer, more condemning if you will, after the law was given. The law clarified sin, it made it more apparent, it made it more condemning. The law showed the extent of sin and how sinful man really was. I think the law also revealed God’s standard for righteousness more clearly. But basically Paul says the law made sin more sinful.

Paul says the law was given until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made. The law was given until Jesus came, who then fulfilled the law, and He became the curse of the law for us, that we might be sent free from the condemnation of the law.

Now vs 20 talks about angels and mediators and is really one of the most confusing and obscure texts in the NT. What it might be referring to, is that the Mosaic law was given through a mediator, which is typical in a two party covenant. But in a unilateral covenant, such as God made with Abraham, there is no mediator. But that still doesn’t answer all the questions about this verse. However we will press on to plainer things and leave the not so plain things for God to reveal as He sees fit. The plain thing to remember is that the law was given to make sin more sinful, more apparent, more clear. It was to make man more aware of his sin.

Paul continues with a question of his own regarding the law in vs 21 “Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law. But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.”

Paul says that the law is not something evil, in opposition to God’s promise. The problem with the law is found in its inability to give life. In reality, the law brings death because it shows that man is sinful, and the wages of sin is death. If the law could have given life, then it could have produced righteousness. But the Law of Moses brings no life; it simply states the standard of God, tells us to keep it, and tells us the consequences if we break the command.

Paul uses in vs 21 the idea of imprisonment as an illustration of the law. Sin, brought about by failure to keep the law, holds us captive. The law then put us in prison, because it pointed out our sinful condition. So we sit imprisoned by sin, and the law can not help us, because the law put us in the prison. Under the law, there is none righteous, no not one. We are all sinners, condemned to death and held captive.

Only faith can break us out of our imprisonment to sin. The Law of Moses can show us clearly our problem and God’s standard, but it cannot give us the freedom that only Christ can give. That freedom is given to those who believe.

Vs.23 “But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. 24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor [to lead us] to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.”

What I think Paul means there is before faith in Christ came. Faith existed since the beginning. But faith in Christ was not revealed util Jesus came. Until that time that Christ came, we were kept captive under the law. Paul says one of the most insightful comments about the purpose of the law in vs 24, “Therefore the Law has become our tutor [to lead us] to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.”

That’s the purpose of the law, to teach us that we need a Savior. It’s to show us our sinfulness, to reveal our hopelessness, so that we might come to Christ who is our satisfaction of the requirement of the law. And by believing in Him, we are justified by faith. We believe in who He is, in what He has done on the cross, and by believing, our sin is transferred to Christ, and His righteousness is transferred to me.

Vs25 “But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” The illustration Paul is using there of a tutor is someone who was given responsibility for the proper upbringing of a young person. He was a school teacher, but even more than that, he was responsible for training and development. A lot of times in that culture he would have been a slave, but a very educated slave. However, in Paul’s simile, when the boy becomes a man, the need for a tutor is done away with. When the perfect comes, the partial is done away with. When salvation through faith in Christ is realized, then there is no longer any need for the tutor.

When Paul says you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, he is establishing two important distinctives of our faith. One is our standing before God. To be considered the sons of God means that we have a special relationship with God as a loving Father. Our standing with God is a place of intimacy, a place of affection, a place of special care and attention.

And the second thing Paul establishes is the method of becoming sons of God. It is by faith. To become a son of God through faith in Christ Jesus means much more than believing that He existed, but in who He is, what He accomplished for us on the cross, and trusting in Him for life now and for eternity.

Then in closing, Paul tells us what it means to be considered “in Christ.” He says in vs27 “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” Notice that Paul doesn’t say we were baptized into water, but baptized into Christ. Just as in water baptism a person is immersed in water, so when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, we are immersed in Jesus. We put on Jesus. We are in Jesus, just as when you put on clothes you are in your clothes. That’s the analogy that he is making, as evidenced by the phrase, “have clothed yourselves with Christ.”

It’s like the song we sing, the Solid Rock, where it says, “dressed in His righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne.” So when we were saved by faith, we received the righteousness of Christ, so that we are in effect baptized into Christ, clothed with Christ. That’s what it means to be in Christ. When God looks at us, He sees us dressed in Christ’s righteousness.

Then Paul addresses the blessings of being in Christ. He gives the first benefit in vs 28” There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” We all belong, irregardless of race, of sex, of social status or heritage. All of us who have confessed faith in Jesus Christ are one in Christ. We are all equal. No distinctions. No one is less a possessor of the promise because they are not a Jew by birth.

Vs29 “And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.” Paul comes full circle, back to Abraham, the father of the faith. Those who have come to Christ by faith, belong to Christ, and we all can claim Abraham as our father. And as spiritual descendants of Abraham, we are heirs according to the promise.

Paul describes this in Romans chapter 4:13, 16-17 saying, “For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. … 16 For this reason [it is] by faith, in order that [it may be] in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17 (as it is written, “A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, [even] God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.

The crux of the argument then is whether or not you are in Christ. This is the issue. The issue is not “Are you keeping the law?” The issue is not “Are you a Jew or a Gentile?” The only issue is if you are in Christ. Do you belong to Him? Have you accepted Him by faith as your Savior? Are you clothed in His righteousness? If so then you receive the promise of blessing that God gave to Abraham and to His seed. You receive eternal life. You receive forgiveness of your sins. And you become a child of God, an heir of God. You receive an eternal inheritance. Trust Jesus today that you might be found “In Christ.”

Paul has written this letter to the Galatians to counter false teaching which has entered the churches in Galatia.  He had founded these churches, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe and others during his first missionary trip.  But in no time at all, Jews from Jerusalem had come to the churches and spread a malicious doctrine that you had to conform to Jewish law, particularly that of circumcision and other ceremonial laws, in order to be truly saved.

So Paul spent the first two chapters of his letter reestablishing his apostleship and authority in giving them the gospel.  Now he adds to that the argument against this false teaching by means of theology.

There are three arguments that we are going to look at in the message this morning, and the first is an argument from Christian experience. Paul asks the Galatians to look back over their past and to analyze some of the things that happened to them as the apostle preached the gospel to them.

The first is a question regarding the reception of the Holy Spirit. He says in vs1 “You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed [as] crucified?” The KJV, which I prefer in this case, adds the phrase; ”Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth?  They had deviated from the truth of the gospel because they had been bewitched.

The word foolish there does not mean they were mentally deficient.  Instead, Paul used the ancient Greek word anoetos, which had the idea of someone who can think but fails to use their power of perception. Paul uses a lot of word play in this passage about eyes, or seeing.  So he is accusing them of being spiritually blind.

He also accuses the Galatians of being bewitched. This Greek word that is used here is a rather interesting word. It was used of individuals who had magical powers. In fact, it was often the equivalent of what we mean when we speak of someone casting an evil eye upon someone else. The Greeks had a great fear of the “evil eye.” I am sometimes accused of giving other surfers who want to take my wave the stink eye.  That’s not a very loving thing to do to your neighbor, and I’m sure I am not guilty of it as frequently as I am accused of.  However, I think the stink eye and the evil eye are not the same thing.

The evil eye was thought to work in the way a serpent could hypnotize its prey with its eyes. Once the victim looked into the evil eye, a spell could be cast. Therefore, the way to overcome the evil eye was simply not to look at it. In using this phrasing and the word picture of bewitched, Paul was urging the Galatians to keep their eyes focused steadfastly upon Jesus.

The trouble with the Galatians, to put is simply, was “eye trouble.” They had been bewitched by the Judaisers who had a laid and evil eye upon them so to speak.  They had turned from the sole-sufficiency of Jesus Christ, and were attracted to the doctrine that one must not only believe in the Lord Jesus but also be circumcised in order to be saved.

Now what makes it even more ridiculous is that the apostle says that he had publicly portrayed the Lord among them. The idea behind publicly portrayed is something like “billboarded,” to publicly display as in setting on a billboard. Paul wondered how the Galatians could have missed the message because he certainly made it clear enough to them. He had billboarded the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Paul plays on the idea of eyes and “evil eyes.” He says, “Who has laid an evil eye on you? Before whose eyes Jesus Christ has been publicly portrayed as crucified.” The emphasis is on a crucified Jesus. He proclaimed him as crucified in the sense that his sufferings were looked at as atoning sufferings.  Christ’s crucifixion was proclaimed as the sole-sufficiency for human salvation.  If salvation came through the law, then it would not have been necessary for Christ to be crucified.

Now he asks another question of the Galatians in vs 2 “This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?” Of course, the answer to that was very simple, because the Galatians were Gentiles and did not have the Law of Moses, and chances are that they didn’t know a great deal about the Law of Moses. And so, when they received the Holy Spirit it could only have been by the hearing of faith, not by doing the works of the Law. 

It’s also important to understand that when he says received the Holy Spirit he is talking about salvation.  Salvation is being born of the Spirit.  You cannot be saved without the Holy Spirit entering in a person.  Rom 8:9 says “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.”  To be born again is to be born of the Spirit.  You received the Spirit when you are justified by faith.  So the answer to that question is they had received the Spirit by faith, not by keeping the law.

Then he asks them another question. He says in the third verse, “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” In other words,  you received the Spirit by believing in the Lord Jesus, and now are you to take the second step in salvation by being circumcised?  Is salvation really a two step procedure, faith and then the observance of the rite of circumcision? And the idea of perfection there means simply completion. As if there was something not yet completed that was necessary.

When a person comes to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and is born into the family of God, he does not need to take other steps in order to complete his salvation. He does not need to believe in Christ and then be baptized, or be circumcised, or keep the Sabbath, or take communion, or any such thing.  The Spirit is the means by which we are born again, saved, and there is nothing that you can add in the flesh that will complete salvation.  You were born complete, in the sense that you have all that is required for new birth.  You were justified by receiving Christ’s righteousness applied to your account.  You have received a new nature.  You have received the Spirit of Christ. And all of that is by grace, the gift of God. There is nothing else that must be added to be a complete, new creation.

Now, that third question is one that concerns the manifestation of the Spirit. Vs4-5  “Did you suffer ( a better translation might be experience) so many things in vain–if indeed it was in vain?  So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?”

You remember if you turn over to Acts chapter 14 and read that chapter, that when the apostle was in Iconium that God testified to the work, to the preaching of the word, by “signs and wonders.” Those are the specific words of Luke when he wrote the 14th chapter of the Book of Acts. So when the apostles came there, they manifested the signs of an apostle, the miraculous gifts. Paul says in 2 Cor. 12:12  “Truly the signs of an apostle were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds.” Signs and wonders were the evidence that they were apostles.  And Paul says they came by the Spirit as they were preaching Jesus Christ.

 Paul asks, “So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Again, the Law was unknown to these Gentiles in Iconium and Lystra, and Derbe, The answer was obvious. These mighty works were done through the hearing of faith, not through the works of the Law. So the apostle, then asking the Galatians to look back over their past experience, has in effect said to them, “There is no indication that the spiritual life into which you have been brought came from works of the Law at all. It has come on the basis of grace through faith.”

Now the Galatians had been taught to recognize the fact that in the final analysis, an argument on spiritual things must be grounded in the word of God, because that’s the final proof of all of the truth. So now he turns to the Scriptures. And you probably have noticed in reading through these verses that the apostle cites about six passages from the Old Testament in this next section. In most Bible versions the Old Testament references are in capital letters or in italics so that you can recognize them.  In verse 6, there is a quotation from the Old Testament, “Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

Let us make sure that we don’t rush past the word faith. Faith is believing.  Believing is faith.  But notice Abraham is not justified because he believed in God.  As in he believed that God existed.  The Bible says that the devils believe and tremble, but they are not saved.  Simply believing in God does not save you.  Notice Abraham believed God. He believed  God’s word.  He believed that what God said was true. He believed that what God said He would do, He did.  That’s what it means to believe on Christ.  It’s not just to believe that Jesus walked the earth, otherwise thousands of Jews who saw Him during His earthly ministry were saved.  But those who were saved believed Him. They believed  who He claimed to be. What He did.  They believed His word. So we need to make sure we know what constitutes faith in God.

Now among the Galatian Christians, the push towards a works based relationship with God came from certain other professing Christians who were born as Jews and who claimed Abraham as their spiritual ancestor. Therefore, Paul used Abraham as an example of being justified before God by faith and not by faith plus works. So he’s arguing from the word of God now for his truth.

It’s interesting to notice the man Paul turns to for illustration more than anyone else, other than Christ. He turns to Abraham. Abraham is the perfect illustration of a man whose life rests upon faith. God appeared to him as an act of sovereign grace, turned him to Himself, brought him to faith in Him, and his whole life is an expression of a life of faith. 

The Judaisers had a favorite OT character as well; they favored Moses. And Moses was important. You certainly cannot understand the Old Testament if you don’t understand the contribution that Moses made. But in the final analysis, Moses was a man who introduced a system, which was a temporary system. It was a system that foreshadowed what was to come.  But Moses’ system was not the final solution.  Abraham, of course, preceded Moses, and in a sense Moses emanated from Abraham.

Now, the reason why Abraham is such a beautiful illustration is, because when a person believed in the days of the Old Testament, he became a true member of the covenant. Ideally all of the children of Israel belonged to the covenant, and in a symbol of that, they gave testimony to it by circumcision the males on the eighth day. That was a sign and a seal of the righteousness, which came by faith. But as so often happens, the sign and the seal became the primary things. And men were identified as the possessors of righteousness if they had been circumcised. But the essential inward necessity of faith was forgotten.

Even in the Christian church, the fact that a person is a member of a Christian church does not mean that he is a Christian, except in a superficial sense only. A true Christian is a person who has believed in our Lord Jesus Christ and who has a personal faith in the Redeemer, the Messiah.  And in the Old Testament, no man was a true Jew, a true Israelite, who did not also have faith in the Messiah who was to come. “Not all who are of Israel are Israel,” the apostle states. So it is important for us to remember that in the Christian church, one must have a faith in Christ before he is a true Christian, and in the Old Testament dispensation one must have a true faith in the Christ (Messiah) to come before a Jewish man is really a covenant Jew in the spiritual sense. 

Now, Paul makes an argument similar to this in Romans chapter 4, and he asks the question, “Does justification come by circumcision? No,” he says, “it’s very simple; all you have to do is look at Genesis chapter 17, and Genesis chapter 15.” In Genesis chapter 15 Abraham is credited with righteousness, but in Genesis chapter 17, he is circumcised. And so, since chapter 15 precedes chapter 17, and a man, such as Abraham is pronounced righteous in Genesis chapter 15, it’s not because he was circumcised, which is not recorded until chapter 17. 

That’s what he’s talking about in vs7 when he says, “Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.” If you, sitting in this audience today, have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore, are of faith, you are as he says, a son of Abraham.

And then in vs 8, he says, “The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, [saying,] “ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU.” Notice all the nations, in other words, the Gentiles were blessed in Abraham. Do you realize that you are a son or daughter of Abraham? You are, if you have believed in Jesus Christ unto salvation.  Vs9, ”So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.”

This would have been a shocking challenge to the thinking of these Judaisers. They deeply believed that they had a standing before God because they were genetically descended from Abraham. Jewish Rabbis taught that Abraham stood at the gates of Hell just to make sure that none of his descendants accidentally slipped by. John the Baptist dealt with this same mindset when he said, “Do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.” (Matthew 3:9). Paul here debunks their reliance on their genetic relation to Abraham and showed that what really mattered was those that shared in the faith of Abraham. 

Now, finally the apostle will argue from the negative. He will argue from the curse of the Law. And he will show that if a man does put himself under Law, he puts himself under the curse, a curse that can only be cured by our Lord Jesus Christ. Look at the 10th verse, in which he speaks of the condemnation of the Law. “For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT ABIDE BY ALL THINGS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW, TO PERFORM THEM.”  He is appealing to Deuteronomy chapter 27, vs 26, “‘Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words of this law by observing them.’  All the words of the Law. You cannot pick some to keep and some to disregard.  You are under the curse of all the law.

The legalist’s view is do and live.  Not that they can keep all the law, of course.  But the Christian’s view is believe and live.  John 20:31 says,  “but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”  And 1 John 5:13 says,  “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”  It should be clear from scripture that spiritual life comes through faith.  

Verse 11 and 12 says, “Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “THE RIGHTEOUS MAN SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”  However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, “HE WHO PRACTICES THEM SHALL LIVE BY THEM.” If you’re going to try to gain heaven by keeping the law, then you need to understand that the standard for acceptance is 100% perfection.  Not that your good deeds and your bad deeds are put on a scale, and if the scale tips on the good side then you get in.  That’s not how heaven works. You must keep the entire law perfectly, which no man can do.   So if you are at this moment not perfect, what you need is a remedy for a law breaker, because that’s what you are.

Now fortunately, Paul, in the 13th verse, gives us the remedy. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us–for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE.”   The idea of redemption came from the practices of ancient warfare. After a battle the victors would take captive those who were defeated. Among the defeated, the poorer ones would usually be sold as slaves, but the wealthy and important men, the men who mattered in their own country, were held for ransom. When the people in their homeland had raised the required price, they would pay it to the victors and the captives would be set free. The process was called redemption, and the price was called the ransom.  The price for breaking the law was death, and Christ paid that price for us. He redeemed us from the curse of the law.

So when he says that he has been made a curse for us, it is evident that he means that Christ has paid the penal judgment for our sins. And when he says that Christ has borne the curse for us, he means that Christ has borne the penalty of the broken Law for us. As Paul says in 2 Cor. 5:21, “God made Jesus, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” 

Someone has said that the story of substitutionary atonement is shown in three prepositions here in this passage. Verse 10 says, “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse.” This is the curse, and this is I. I am under the curse. Notice the preposition under. Then in the 13th verse we read, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us.” Now the word “for” is a Greek preposition which really has the idea of over. So here am I under the curse, but Christ has been made a curse for us, over us, so that now he has intervened between the curse and myself, so that the curse, when it falls, falls upon him, and it does not fall upon me. Further, he has just said, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the Law,” a preposition that means “out from.” So that as a result of the curse falling upon him, I am out from under the curse. Theology in three prepositions, under, over, out from. Christ became the curse for us. ”For it is written, Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree.” 

And the consequences of Jesus becoming cursed for us is  that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. What’s the blessing of Abraham? Well, justification first and foremost. I stand before God credited with the righteousness of Jesus Christ. I have a righteousness that is acceptable to God, by virtue of what Christ has done. In addition, I have been given life, “For the just shall live by faith.” And that life is by and through the possession of the Holy Spirit.  And thirdly, as it says in James 2:23 “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called the friend of God.”

We are made the friends of God by virtue of Christ’s righteousness.  We are born into the family of God.  We receive an inheritance that will never fade away.  We gain citizenship in the kingdom of God.  We receive everlasting life.  That’s just some of the blessings of Abraham that we  also receive.  1Cor. 2:9 “but just as it is written, “THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND [which] HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.”

I hope that if you are here today and have not believed on Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, then you would simply receive Him today as your Lord and Savior.  There is no work that you can do to gain salvation.  Jesus did the work, He paid the price, He took your curse upon Himself that you might be set free. If you will just call upon Him today you will be saved, and receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that you might have eternal life.  Today is the acceptable day of salvation.  Call on Him today.  [ohn 1:12  “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, [even] to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

As I have said previously, this is Paul’s first letter, or first epistle, that he writes in his ministry.  And the subject of this letter is to write the Galatians a defense of his apostleship, and a defense of his gospel and the doctrine of justification by faith.  Now we have looked at his autobiographical details in chapter one in which Paul defended his apostleship.  He did that by explaining his conversion on the road to Damascus, and how the Lord Jesus spoke to him directly.

Then we read that immediately following his conversion, he did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, but went to the desert region of Arabia where we believe he received instruction from the Lord Jesus which lasted about three years.  He came back at the end of that three year period to Damascus and was preaching the gospel that he received.  Now this is noteworthy, because the church had been started in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost.  And it was in that church, and through that church, that the apostles doctrine was established, and various men were sent from that church to establish churches in the surrounding regions. 

So there was a sense in which Jerusalem was the mother church.  The twelve apostles were there. And the gospel emanated from that church to the other regions. So for Paul to reveal that he did not come from Jerusalem, he had not been a part of that group of apostles, and his doctrine did not come from that church, it was a significant point of criticism.

But what he is doing is showing that his gospel is the gospel of Jesus Christ, it was taught to him by Jesus Christ, and his apostleship was from Jesus Christ.  He says as much in chapter one vs 11 “For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man.  For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but [I received it] through a revelation of Jesus Christ.”

But though Paul’s gospel was received directly from Christ, he also wants to show that his gospel is the same gospel as that which the apostles in Jerusalem believed.  He is being criticized and his churches are being undermined by people who were saying that his gospel was not enough.  They said it did not include certain requirements that were necessary for salvation.  Paul refers to these requirements as the law.  But what is really being referred to here is the ceremonial marks of the law, such as circumcision and observing certain days and dietary laws.  Those were the aspects of the law that the critics were trying to get the Gentile congregations to observe.  They basically were saying that they needed to become Jews in practice, and these laws were the defining marks of the Jews.

Now I want you to see that for yourself.  Because we tend to think when we hear the word “law” that it is speaking of the ten commandments.  And to some extent that is included, but the context of what Paul is talking about becomes clear as you read the epistle.  For instance, notice chapter 2 vs 3, Paul says Titus was not compelled to be circumcised.  Circumcision was the law in question. In chapter 2 vs 12, he condemned Peter because he stopped eating with the Gentiles, fearing the party of the circumcision. In vs 6-9, the issue is the circumcised versus the uncircumcised. In chapter 4:9 and 10, Paul equates observing days and months and seasons and years with weak and worthless elemental things by which one would become enslaved again. In 5 vs 2, Paul says that if you receive circumcision then Christ is of no benefit to you.  In 5 vs 3, he says that if you receive circumcision, then you are under the obligation to keep the entire law. In 5 vs 6 he says neither circumcision nor uncircumcision mean anything but faith working through love. In chapter 6 vs 12 he says that hose who desire to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. For those who are circumcised do not even keep the Law themselves, but they desire to have you circumcised so that they may boast in your flesh.  He says in 6:15, neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.

So we see that the laws that the Judaisers were concerned about were largely circumcision, and then to a lesser degree certain dietary restrictions, and also observing Jewish days, months and seasons and years.  So it was mostly the ceremonial aspects of the law that they were concerned about, which they were saying that the Gentiles must observe if they were to be truly saved.

So Paul wants to show that circumcision was not a part of the gospel that the apostles in Jerusalem were preaching either.  He says in chapter 2 vs 1, “Then after an interval of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also.  It was because of a revelation that I went up; and I submitted to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but [I did so] in private to those who were of reputation, for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain.”

Up until this point, Paul had not been in Jerusalem except for 15 days when he had seen Peter.  But that was 14 years prior.  Peter had not taught him the gospel.  He had been taught by Christ in the deserts of Arabia for 3 years before he went to see Peter. But now there had been some things that the Judaisers had accused him of, and they were undermining the churches that he had planted.  And so he had deliberately brought along Titus, a Greek, so that he could confirm that the apostles doctrine concerning salvation was the same as his gospel.  Paul says he met with the apostles privately. In other words, he didn’t walk into a Sunday morning service and disrupt the service in order to bring up this concern.  But he wanted to consult with the leaders privately. 

And notice that Paul said he went up to Jerusalem by revelation from God.The Lord obviously knew that this was a matter that needed to be addressed and settled. That was a 300 mile trip, by the way, which was probably done on foot taking a couple of weeks or so. Paul said that he communicated to them the gospel that he was preaching to the Gentiles. You can read about that in Acts 15.  I don’t have time to read that chapter for you this morning, but you can read it later and find out what the council at Jerusalem decided concerning circumcision.  They basically sided with Barnabas and Paul and sent messengers back with them to the churches to that effect. 

Paul says in summary of that decision in vs 3 “But not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. But [it was] because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage.  But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.”

Paul’s point is that the apostles in Jerusalem accepted Titus as a brother in Christ even though he was not circumcised in accord with the Mosaic Law. This shows that the apostles in Jerusalem  accepted the gospel of grace as Paul understood it and had been preaching.  The problem with circumcision then did not come from the apostles, but from the false brethren who were trying to bring them into bondage.

Circumcision was a mark in the flesh that was the sign of initiation into the Jewish faith and the Mosaic covenant.  Today, we don’t have people in the church saying that it’s necessary to be circumcised.  But we do have a similar sign that is viewed as a requirement by some, and that is baptism.  Baptism is an outward sign.  The Catholic Church believes that baptism removes original sin, and daily sin is removed by the mass, and other sins are removed by purgatory.  But many of the characteristics of circumcision are also characteristics of baptism.  And there are some denominations that say that baptism is necessary for salvation.  So the principle of works versus grace is really the crux of the argument here in Galatians, and it is fundamental to the accuracy of the gospel.  That truth of the gospel is what Paul said he wanted to make sure remained with the Galatians, and so he was willing to go to Jerusalem to defend it.

So Paul wants to emphasize that the church in Jerusalem did not correct his gospel, nor add to or detract from his gospel. He says in vs 6 “But from those who were of high reputation (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)–well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me.”  Even though Paul met with the apostles a few times, they did not give him the gospel he preached. The leaders in Jerusalem added nothing to the gospel Paul preached or to the apostolic authority he possessed.  They confirmed his gospel, but they did not teach him his gospel.

I don’t think that Paul means any disrespect to the apostles in the way that he refers to them.  But I think he understands that they are men, and somewhat flawed men at that.  They were still learning themselves the distinctions of the new covenant, at least in some respects. They were still intertwined in Judaism to some extent.  And I think Paul recognizes that and consequently is not overawed by their position.  Because he also knows the Lord Jesus.  He has also been taught the doctrine of Christ.  And so as he says in 2Cor. 11:5 “For I consider myself not in the least inferior to the most eminent apostles.”

So Paul continues in vs7; “But on the contrary, seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter [had been] to the circumcised  (for He who effectually worked for Peter in [his] apostleship to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles), and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we [might] [go] to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.”

The apostles of the Jerusalem church (James, the brother of Jesus; Cephas, also known as Peter, and John) accepted Paul and his ministry to the Gentiles. They gave him the right hand of fellowship. That means they endorsed Paul’s gospel, even though they knew that Paul did not require the Gentiles to come under the Mosaic Law in order to be saved.  But instead, they accepted that Peter’s primary ministry was to the circumcised, and Paul’s primary ministry was to the uncircumcised.  Of course, there was overlap in both camps, Peter preaching to Gentiles and Paul preaching to Jews.  But Peter was primarily ministering in Israel, and Paul in Galatia and Asia.

Paul adds in vs 10 “[They] only [asked] us to remember the poor–the very thing I also was eager to do.” I think that is the concession that was made to the church in Jerusalem.  It was not that the church in Jerusalem would give Paul anything, but that Paul and the Gentiles might give the church in Jerusalem something.  And that was to remember the poor who were there, who were being persecuted by both the Romans and the Jews.  Many of whom were displaced from their occupations, from their homes, and suffering from what was said in Acts 11 was a famine in that area.  And Paul said he was eager to do that.  We read elsewhere of Paul collecting a contribution for the saints in Jerusalem on a number of occasions and either sending it to them or taking it there himself. I think Paul demonstrated that he understood the debt of gratitude he had for the church in Jerusalem and the kinship he had with them. And so he wanted to participate in that relief for them.

But Paul is not done in describing his relationship with the apostles and the doctrine of the Judaisers which had infiltrated the church.  He says the false gospel of the Judaisers even went so far as to affect Peter. Peter, of course, was the head of the church of the circumcised.  Paul says in vs 11 “But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.  For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he [began] to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision.”

I think Paul makes it clear that when Peter eventually came to Antioch he was happy to eat with the Gentiles.  Peter knew theologically that there was nothing unclean which God had made.  You will remember the vision that he had where a great sheet came down from heaven with all kinds of animals in it, and God told him to kill and eat.  And Peter didn’t want to do that because he had never eaten anything unclean.  But God said what I have cleansed let no consider unholy. And as a result of that dream, not only did God pronounce all foods clean, but He also showed Peter that he should preach the gospel to Cornelius, a Roman centurion. 

So Peter had no problem eating bacon and eggs with the Gentiles. But then some men who came from Jerusalem, Paul says from James – probably not meaning that James sent them, but that James was the pastor of the church in Jerusalem at that time- and when they came, Peter withdrew from the Gentiles, fearing the party of the circumcision.  That would be the Judaisers.  Peter was afraid of what they would say if he was seen eating with the Gentiles.

Vs13 “The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.  But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how [is it that] you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

In the previous trip Paul referenced that he made to Jerusalem, he spoke to the apostles privately.  But here Paul rebukes Peter in the presence of all.  Why the difference?  Well, it was probably because Peter had acted in a public fashion, and it had influenced others in the church, as well as Barnabas.  And so to correct that false doctrine, it needed to be a public rebuke so that everyone affected could see that it was in error and needed to be corrected.

So Paul shows here that rather than Jerusalem rebuking Paul’s gospel and changing it, Paul actually rebuked Jerusalem’s gospel and compels them to change their hypocrisy.  Peter and Barnabas both knew better.  Peter had received a direct vision from God concerning this very thing.  And yet both of them were willing to disregard the truth for the sake of not offending the Jews who were wrong in their doctrine. 

Paul said in 1 Cor. 8, that it may be proper to restrict your freedom for the sake of a weaker brother so that you do not put a stumbling block in front of him.  But this was not that kind of situation.  This was actually putting a stumbling block in front of a weaker brother by implying that it was necessary to be in bondage to the Jewish law. And so Paul had every right to rebuke them for it.

Paul then takes this illustration and uses it to differentiate justification by faith versus justification by the law.  He says in vs 15, “We [are] Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles;  nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.”

Paul’s argument is that he and Peter and the other apostles were Jews by nature.  Yet being a Jew and observing the law  did not save them.  It was necessary for them to believe in Christ Jesus so that they might be justified by faith in Christ.  They could never be justified by the works of the law. Justification has always been through faith, not by works. Abraham, the father of the Jews,  was justified by faith. Rom 4:3 says, “For what does the Scripture say? “ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

Justified means declared righteous. We are not determined to be righteous after God has examined us.  No one can be righteous enough to be accepted by God.  But God declares us to be righteous on the basis of Christ’s righteousness. 2 Cor. 5:21, “God made Jesus, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” We are credited with the righteousness of Jesus Christ by faith in Him.

To have faith is to believe in Christ, in who He is, that He is God incarnate, that He is Lord, that He is our Savior, having died on the cross for our sins, and rose again on the third day and ascended to heaven. Rom 10:9-10 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus [as] Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;  for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”

Since salvation is by faith, it is plain to see how wrong it was for Peter to separate from these Gentile Christians because they had not put themselves under the Law of Moses. Since by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified, then what difference does it make in salvation if a Gentile is circumcised according to the Law of Moses? What difference does it make if a Gentile keeps the dietary laws? All that counts in justification is their faith in Christ, because that is the only way we are made right before God.

Paul continues his argument for justification by faith in vs17-19 “But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be! For if I rebuild what I have [once] destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God.”

I think what Paul is saying here is that Gentiles were considered sinners because they were not circumcised and they ate unclean foods and did not keep the festival days and Sabbaths. So he is asking does justification through faith in Christ make Him a minister of sin? The answer is a resounding No! For we have died to the law. We do not reestablish the law in justification, but the law of the flesh is done away with. Essentially Paul said, “There is more sin in trying to find acceptance before God by our law-keeping than there is sin in everyday life as a Christian.” If he were to try to build a way to God through keeping the law then he would make himself a transgressor.

How is it a sin to build again a way to God through the Law of Moses? In many ways, but perhaps the greatest is that it looks at Jesus, hanging on the cross, taking the punishment we deserved, bearing the wrath of God for us, and says to Him, “That’s all very nice, but it isn’t enough. Your work on the cross won’t be good enough before God until I’m circumcised and eat kosher.” That is to regard the atonement of Christ as insufficient. 

Paul states the conclusion of this doctrine of justification by faith in vs19-21 “For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. 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. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness [comes] through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.” 

Paul realized that the law made him guilty before God, not justified before God. John Calvin said “To die to the law is to renounce it and to be freed from its dominion, so that we have no confidence in it and it does not hold us captive under the yoke of slavery.” As long as Paul still tried to justify himself before God by all his law-keeping, he was dead. But when he died to the law then he could live to God.

Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ. I died to the law when Jesus died on the cross. He died in my place on the cross. I was condemned to die for my sins, but Jesus took my place on the cross. Since we died with Christ on the cross we have been given a new life. Our old life lived under the condemnation of the law is dead. Now we are made alive in Jesus Christ and Jesus is alive in us. Paul realized that on the cross, a great exchange occurred. So Paul’s righteousness wasn’t his, it was the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

Paul says, “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.” I live by faith in Him.  I trust Him, I listen to Him, I follow Him, I love Him, I obey Him, I yield to Him. Faith is actively following Christ daily, minute by minute, hour by hour, decision by decision.  Faith is not just something in the past, but it continues. Hab. 2:4 says, the just shall live by faith.

Paul said, “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.” To try to keep some or all laws in order to be justified, is to deny the effectualness of Christ’s atonement.  It is to nullify the grace of God. Eph.2:8 says,  Salvation is by grace through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.

Salvation is a gift of God.  What a wonderful doctrine.  Much to wonderful to try to add to it.  To do so is to minimize God’s grace, which would rob God of His sovereignty and diminish HIs character.  God has loved us so much that He was willing to sacrifice His only Son so that He might GIVE us Christ’s righteousness, so that He might justify us. That is grace. God’s gift of salvation which we cannot earn, but we can accept through faith in Jesus Christ.  I trust that you have believed in Christ and received justification from God on the basis of His righteousness. 

The epistle to the Galatians is Paul’s first letter to the churches. And perhaps due in a large part to being his first epistle, he spends a large portion of this letter defending his apostleship, and his gospel. We get something like a summary of his biography in the first couple of chapters, at least the part of his history that has to do with coming to Christ and the beginning of his ministry.

And that was necessary then because there were false teachers that had crept into the churches of Galatia that Paul had started, and they were undermining Paul’s authority and his gospel in order to establish their own gospel, which was a doctrine that said you must add the law of circumcision and other Jewish ceremonies to salvation by faith in order to be really saved.

It’s also beneficial to the church today to understand how Paul came to preach his gospel, and how he became an apostle. One reason is because Paul’s example of conversion illustrates how we are also converted. And secondly, because there is a mindset in certain ecclesiastical circles that says that Paul’s message is corrupted. They say it’s corrupted by the the fact that he is not a real apostle. It’s corrupted by the fact that he is a patriarchal Jew from the sect of the Pharisees that had very strict, demeaning, archaic views about women. And there are many modern theologians that think that Paul’s teachings are at odds with Christ’s teachings. So it’s important for us to understand the basis for his gospel.

I don’t know if you have ever given it much thought, but have you ever considered the fact that about half of the New Testament was written by Paul? One man, Paul, who was not one of the original 12 disciples. He never claims to be a witness to Jesus’s teaching or ministry before Christ’s crucifixion. And furthermore, there is no advance notice or prophecy in the gospels that a man such as Paul would arise and become the “apostle to the Gentiles” and who would take on such a large role in shaping the church and writing 13 epistles explaining the gospels.

According to the Roman Catholic Church, Peter was the apostle to whom the church was entrusted. But in actuality, I think the modern church owes more to the apostle Paul for it’s doctrine than it does to Peter. Not to minimize the epistles that Peter, John and Jude wrote, but I believe the epistles of Paul are the backbone of church doctrine. And because of that, I think it is fair to ask what credentials does Paul have that he would make such a large impact in church formation and history?

Well, I think the best answer to that comes from Paul himself. There are some things that are given in Acts which I think shows that the apostles in Jerusalem accepted Paul, and even more importantly, confirmed the ministry of Paul. And another important confirmation is the words of Peter in his epistle, in which he said in 2Peter 3:15-16 “and regard the patience of our Lord [as] salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all [his] letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as [they do] also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.”

In that statement, Peter reveals that the apostles in Jerusalem considered Paul a beloved brother. He makes reference to the wisdom given to him by revelation, and he also states that Paul’s writings are scripture. That’s a pretty good commendation.

But that commendation would not come for a number of years. So Paul in writing this first letter finds it necessary to give an autobiographical account of how he received his ministry and the gospel which he was preaching. Last time we looked at the apostleship of Paul, and how he said that he received his apostleship not from men, but from Jesus Christ. Now that’s an important distinction, because the other apostles received their apostleship from Jesus Christ as well. So if Paul received his from men, then it would have been inferior to the other apostles.

The apostles ministry was to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. And Paul had done that when he established the churches in Galatia. But then false teachers had come in and preached another gospel, a seditious gospel that advocated keeping the law of the Jews in order to be saved. But Paul said if any man, if even an angel should preach a different gospel other that what they had been given by Paul, they were to be accursed.

Then in vs 10, Paul says, “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 bond-servant of Christ.” I think what he is saying here is really a rebuke to the Galatians. In giving in to the Judaiser’s doctrine they were in effect trying to please the Jews. Paul and anyone who had followed his gospel was subject to criticism and even persecution from the Jews. But if you were to follow the Judaiser’s doctrine, then by accommodating things like circumcision you were relieving the onus of Paul’s doctrine and you would be less likely to receive criticism. So I think Paul is referring to that in a back handed way as a rebuke to their acquiescence. And in contrast to that acquiescence, he says he is not trying to please men, but he wants to please God by giving them accurately the gospel of Christ.

That should be the goal of any preacher of the gospel. Sometimes that can be a nuance that goes unnoticed by the church. But it is very tempting to preach a gospel that accommodates the world’s view and thus finds favor with the world, and avoid certain doctrines of the gospel that are more contentious and controversial to the world’s view in order to gain approval from men. But the goal of a faithful minister should be to be true to the gospel of Jesus Christ, irregardless of what the culture or society thinks of it.

The source of Paul’s gospel was a revelation from Christ, not something that he learned from other men. He says that in vs11 “For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but [I received it] through a revelation of Jesus Christ.”

In contrast to the different gospel brought by the false teachers, Paul’s gospel was by a revelation from Jesus Christ. He was in no respect inferior to any of the other apostles. He was taught by the Lord Jesus the same way that they were taught it. Furthermore, his gospel was different from the message being taught by the false teachers, because they could not claim that they got their message directly from Christ.

That is the only way that we can know God – by divine revelation. Man cannot study the cosmos and biology and philosophy and come to know God. He may come to realize that there must be a God by studying such things, but to really know God, to know His plan and purposes, it must be revealed by God to man. All that is necessary to be known about God was made known through Jesus Christ. As John said about Jesus in John 1:14, 18 “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. … 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained [Him.]”

So Paul received his gospel by divine revelation from Jesus Christ. Some think that this occurred during the Damascus road experience, or in the three days following that Paul was without sight. I don’t think that would have been the full experience. I’m sure the Lord did reveal some things concerning salvation when Paul was converted and awaiting his sight to return. But I think in this next section we might understand that Paul received it during the time he spent in Arabia. Let’s listen to his description.

Vs13 “For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it; and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions. But when God, who had set me apart [even] from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus. Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days.”

Now a parallel scripture concerning Paul’s conversion we can read about in Acts 9. Let me read you just the first part of that. Acts 9:1-9 “Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He [said,] “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do.” The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.”

I wanted to read that for a number of reasons, but one of which was to affirm what Paul says in our text in vs 15 when he says God “had set me apart even from my mother’s womb called me through His grace.” Much can be learned about the doctrine of salvation from this statement. First notice the phrase, “but when God was pleased…”. Paul did not come to Jesus because any man decided that he should. It wasn’t at the pleasure of any man, but when it pleased God. Additionally, God did not choose Paul because there was something in Paul that pleased him; God called Paul through His grace, God’s unmerited favor.

We know this call wasn’t because of anything Paul did because he said that he was called from my mother’s womb. Therefore, God called Paul before Paul did anything to deserve it. This statement is reminiscent of Jacob and Esau, of whom Paul says in Romans 9:11 that God chose Jacob when he was still in the womb, when he had done nothing right or wrong. This illustrates the doctrine of election, or predestination. It is a doctrine that we cannot really comprehend fully. We have to accept it by faith.

Paul states the doctrine of election in Rom. 8:29-30 saying “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined [to become] conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.” God is the author and finisher of our salvation. Salvation is of the Lord. And the beginning of our salvation is when God chooses us before the foundation of the world.

From Luke’s description, it should be obvious that it was God’s grace by which Paul was converted. He was actually an enemy of Christ at that point. He was not pursuing Christ. He had no interest in knowing about salvation through Christ. He was at war with Christ. And yet by the grace of God Christ came down to Him and shed His light upon Paul, so that he saw with the eyes of his heart that Christ was the Messiah.

And the point that needs to be made is that we are all saved the same way Paul was saved; by God’s grace. When we were at odds with God, at war with God, not seeking after God, He spread His grace upon us so that our eyes were opened, and we received Him as our Lord and God. We may not see a light flashing from the sky or hear a voice from heaven, but we experience the same grace in conversion.

Paul wrote of how Jesus was revealed to him by the revelation of Jesus Christ. But in vs 16 Paul says something different happened after his conversion; Jesus is revealed in Paul. God wants to do more than reveal Jesus to us; He wants to reveal Jesus in us. That’s what happens in conversion. The Spirit of Christ dwells in us, that we might do the works of Christ. And in Paul the result is he preaches the gospel of Christ. He says, “But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles.”

After his conversion, Paul spent three days without sight, before a Christian named Ananias was sent by God to him. Then when Ananias came to him, he said, ““Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized; and he took food and was strengthened.” I would like you to notice there that there is no mention of speaking in tongues when Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit. That’s contrary to what a lot of people are teaching, I know, but that is not what the scripture teaches. It also doesn’t say that Paul didn’t receive the Holy Spirit three days earlier. But it just says he was filled with the Holy Spirit. That filling of the Holy Spirit is a filling with power. It’s not receiving the Holy Spirit. We believe that the scriptures teach that you receive the Holy Spirit at conversion. In fact, if you don’t receive the Spirit at conversion then you are not saved at all. But there is a subsequent filling of the Spirit which happens when you yield to Him and let Him control and empower you to do His will.

But to the point that Paul made, he is not taught by Ananias. He is not taught by the disciples at Damascus. But as he says in Galatians, he received a revelation from Jesus. I think that is likely when he went to Arabia. It would seem from Paul’s statement that he stayed in Arabia for some time before he returned to Damascus. But there is an interim of three years after his conversion before he went to see Peter in Jerusalem. So possibly during that three year period Paul was taught by Jesus. If that’s so, then it’s interesting that three years being taught by Jesus in Arabia and Damascus is parallel to the three years the disciples spent learning from Jesus during His ministry on earth. So again, the case could be made that Paul was not inferior in any way. As he said in 2Cor. 11:5 “For I consider myself not in the least inferior to the most eminent apostles.”

Paul continues his autobiography in vs18 saying, “Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, (that’s Aramaic for Peter) and stayed with him fifteen days. But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. (Now in what I am writing to you, I assure you before God that I am not lying.) Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. I was [still] unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which were in Christ; but only, they kept hearing, “He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy.” And they were glorifying God because of me.”

Paul showed here that he did not learn the gospel from the apostles, because he had been a Christian for three years before he even met the apostles Peter and James. Paul had been given the gospel in a divine revelation from Jesus Christ Himself. I want to share a passage with you from 2 Corinthians which may be a part of what Paul is referring to here. The timeline of such things is not easy to discern. But in 2Cor. 12:1-4, 7 Paul wrote, “Boasting is necessary, though it is not profitable; but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ (he is speaking of himself) who fourteen years ago–whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows–such a man was caught up to the third heaven. And I know how such a man–whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows– was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak. … Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me–to keep me from exalting myself!”

I can’t say with certainty that is part of the experience that Paul had while he was in Arabia, but it seems to fit. But I don’t doubt that there were multiple events when Paul was given revelation from Jesus. He says visions and revelations of the Lord, plural. So there are more than one. But though the things in Paradise he heard and saw on that occasion he was not permitted to speak of, there was obviously things taught to him that he was permitted, even commanded to speak of, which became the basis for his gospel.

After his conversion, God spoke to Ananias about Paul saying, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;
for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” I always think of that last phrase “how much he must suffer for My name’s sake” in regards to these self styled modern day apostles that claim to have special knowledge and revelation from God, and supposedly do all these miracles and speak amazing prophecies. God did not give such gifts to Paul and Peter and the other apostles without it coming at a great cost of personal and physical sacrifice. I don’t see those self proclaimed apostles experiencing too much sacrifice in their private jets and mansions in Laguna Beach.

But God chose Paul to be an instrument for the proclamation of the gospel. And God specifically directed his path in ministry. He saw Peter for 2 weeks and then was moved on to minister in the regions of the Gentiles. Paul did not learn the essential content of the gospel from Peter, and it was also true that the early Christians in Judea were slow in learning just who Paul was in Jesus. All they really knew was that he had been dramatically converted. They kept hearing, “He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy.” And they were glorifying God because of Paul.

Now if Paul is telling the truth, then there is only one response to the message of the apostle, and that is to believe in our Lord Jesus Christ that you may be saved. Does salvation then come by being circumcized? No. Does salvation come by keeping the Sabbath? No. Does salvation come by keeping the law? No. Does salvation come through religion? No. Does salvation come through some religious ritual like baptism, or communion? No. Salvation is of the Lord. You must be born again by the Spirit of Christ. Or, as Paul puts it, in the 3rd chapter in the 6th verse, “Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

If you are here this morning and you have never believed in the Lord Jesus Christ and been converted, I call upon you to come to him in faith, trusting in Him who has offered Himself as a sacrifice for sinners. May God open the eyes of your heart so that you respond in faith, casting aside all of your trust in yourself or any human institution. And casting yourself upon the grace of the Lord Jesus. May God help you to come to him and be converted, even as Paul was.

Well, having finished up 2 Timothy last week, we are beginning a new book, which is Galatians. I think I preached through Galatians on Wednesday evenings maybe around 10 years ago. However, I can’t find my notes on it, so this will be like starting from scratch for me. But in 2 Timothy, we had what many believe to be the last words that the apostle Paul wrote before he was martyred. In Galatians, we have what many believe to be the first epistle that Paul wrote. Galatians was probably written very early in Paul’s ministry. The chances are that he wrote it sometime during the years of 48, 49 AD, and therefore the Epistle to the Galatians probably is the first of the Pauline epistles. In it we get a very good picture of the apostle’s theology at this earliest stage of his ministry.

It’s believed that Paul is writing to the churches in Galatia that he had started when he visited that region on his first missionary journey. Those churches were Lystra, Derbe, Antioch and Iconium. So Galatia then is not a city, but was a region, a Roman province, which Paul had visited in order to establish churches there.

In this letter, the apostle Paul was seeking to counter false teachers who had come in among his churches, and had sought to teach them that it was not only necessary to believe on Jesus Christ to be saved, but it was also necessary to be circumcised and obey the Jewish ceremonial laws such as pertained to diet and the Sabbath and certain festivals.

In fact, it would seem that the doctrine of the Judaisers, (the name given to those who taught the doctrine that it was necessary to keep the law), is the same doctrine of those described in Acts 15, who came down from Judea to Antioch and said, “Except you are circumcised after the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved.” So the purpose of this letter is to counter that false doctrine.

We learn in the first verse, of course, that the author of the letter is the apostle Paul. It is his most harsh, explosive letter. He doesn’t take his usual approach with such letters and start by commending the church. Instead it is mostly a letter of rebuke. But the rebuke is based on the fact that the Galatians had surrendered to false teaching which would lead them back into bondage. Paul has a better message, a message of liberty that is found in Jesus Christ. This is the same message of salvation by faith that he had preached when he founded these churches, and so he is reminding them of that as a means of countering this false doctrine of salvation by works.

By the way, Galatians is sort of a rough draft of Romans. You will find much of the same material, in roughly the same order, in both books. Galatians is basically a more brief summary of Romans. If you were to put the books of Romans and Galatians side by side in comparison, you would find that on the whole Romans tells us what the gospel is, and Galatians tells us what the gospel is not.

Now notice in his salutation he emphasizes the fact that he is an apostle of Jesus Christ in vs 1, “Paul, an apostle (not [sent] from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead), and all the brethren who are with me, To the churches of Galatia.” The foundation of the church’s doctrine was laid down by the apostles. They had a very special ministry. They were given supernatural, miraculous power to illustrate that they were sent by God with the gospel of Jesus Christ. They had the authority to say “thus says the Lord.”

And so on the basis of that authority they established the churches, laying down the doctrinal foundation of the faith. Their doctrine was the true doctrine of Jesus Christ, the gospel. And their ministry was authenticated by miraculous signs for the time that they were given to establish the church. In 2Cor. 12:12 it says, “The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles.” The purpose of their miracles was not to make everyone around them healthy, but to authenticate that they were sent by Christ with the message of the gospel. And that gospel was the foundation of the church.

Eph 2:19-22, speaking of the church says, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner [stone,] in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”

So Paul’s apostleship was very important, because he had established these churches in Galatia, and under his apostolic authority he had laid the foundation of the gospel, and now false teachers were attempting to undermine and distort that gospel.

It’s also likely that Paul gives such a reminder of his apostleship credentials in order to counter the Judaisers, who themselves claimed to be sent from the 12 apostles in Jerusalem. The word apostle means “one sent forth.” But a true apostle was sent by Jesus Christ. That’s why Paul emphasizes that he was sent not by men but by Jesus Christ and God the Father. These Judaisers were probably from Jerusalem, but they were not sanctioned by the 12 apostles. But nevertheless, they claimed some sort of credentials from the church in Jerusalem which the used to validate their false teaching.

Though he doesn’t commend these churches at the beginning of this letter, yet he does issue a blessing upon these churches. He says in vs3, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom [be] the glory forevermore. Amen.”

Paul blesses them by saying “Grace to you and peace…” Notice the order, it is always grace first. Then peace. No one ever has peace with God who does not first know the grace of God through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is something that we experience throughout the whole of our Christian life, the grace of God and the result is peace.

Paul’s blessing emanates from the great event that displayed the grace of God and issued the peace that they enjoy. And that great event is the cross. The grace of God is the sacrifice that Jesus became on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, that we might have peace with God. But not only justification is brought about by that transaction, but sanctification. He says “who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age.” To be rescued is to be saved, delivered from the present evil age. That’s a reference to the natural state of man, to be dead in your trespasses and sins. To be held in captivity by the dominion of darkness. To be condemned to death as the wages of sin. That’s the present evil age. But by grace Christ rescued us from sin, from both it’s penalty and it’s power. And one day, when Christ returns, He will rescue us from it’s presence. Sin and death will be done away with forever.

Paul emphasizes this doctrine of salvation through grace in this introductory blessing in order to establish that salvation is by grace through faith and not by works such as the false teachers were advocating. If the Galatians remembered the gospel, they would not have been so easily influenced by the Judaisers. And that’s a standard temptation today, to come to faith in Christ by simple faith, but then be taught by false teachers that you need to add something else, something that you are missing, which will provide the missing link and complete your salvation. False teaching has at it’s roots the idea that Christ’s work of atonement was not satisfactory, it is not enough. We must add something that is missing.

So in light of this doctrine then, we might ask – are we saved by good works? Are we saved by joining a church? No. Are we saved by baptism? Are we saved by observing the sacraments? Are we saved by keeping the Sabbath? No. Are we saved by culture? Are we saved by education? Are we saved by some great act of philanthropy? No. The Apostle Paul puts it most plainly in the 2nd chapter in the 16th verse. He says, “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”

On the basis of the doctrine of salvation then, Paul turns to rebuke the Galatians for adopting another gospel, or better said, a distortion of the gospel. He says in vs 6 “I am 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.”

First notice that Paul is amazed that the Galatians would be so easily persuaded by the false teachers. I have said it before, but I think the characteristic of our fallen nature is that man is more prone to believe a lie than he is to believe the truth. It is our nature to be contrary. As it says in [Rom 3:10-18 “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; 12 ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.” “THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,” “THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS”; “WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS”; “THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD, 1DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS, AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN.” “THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.”

We that have been saved have been given a new nature, but there is still the old nature that lies dormant in our lives, and given the slightest provocation or inducement it rapidly rises up again. The Galatians had listened to the false message of the Judaisers, and ended up believing their lies, swallowing their doctrine hook, line and sinker. And it amazes Paul. Really, I think it angers Paul. He uses very strong language in his argument to the Galatians which I think illustrates his anger. His anger is mostly directed towards the false teachers. But perhaps some anger towards the churches who have accommodated such teaching.

I will say that I too feel a great deal of anger towards false teachers that are at work in the church today. I believe it is righteous anger. Jesus said such who put stumbling blocks before His children should have a millstone tied around their neck and the whole bunch dropped off a boat in the middle of the sea. I think that indicates a certain degree of righteous indignation is appropriate. But I am also dismayed, and even amazed when so called believers, when self described “mature Christians” are so easily duped by false doctrine. They should know better. They should be more on guard against such things. It’s evidence that they are walking according to the old nature, and not living in the new nature. And when you have invested into these people and poured into them the word of God for months and sometimes even years, and then see them wander off into la-la land doctrinally speaking, it’s kind of upsetting. And usually they don’t just go away alone. They want to take others with them as they go away.

Paul says that they aren’t just abandoning his gospel, they are abandoning Christ. They are deserting Christ who died for their sins so that they might receive His righteousness. But instead of trusting in His righteousness alone, they want to establish their own. And Paul says that’s equivalent to desertion. Desertion is a military term. One breaks rank and leaves the church, the body of Christ for another gospel.

But I think it also speaks of a desire to know some secret to the gospel. I see a lot of people attracted to the idea of some mystery, something secret, some key that unlocks the mysteries of God. That was the temptation that took down Eve. Satan tempted her with a deeper knowledge, the knowledge of God, so that she might be like God. She believed a lie that she thought would make her wise. That’s the doctrine of Gnosticism. That’s the false doctrine of the Judaisers. That’s the false doctrine of the Charismatics. That’s the false doctrine of numerology. That’s the false doctrine of every cult that has come down through the ages. That they have discovered some truth that no one else is privy to that unlocks the kingdom of heaven. They have discovered the key to wisdom. But invariably they all lead to spiritual ruin.

Paul says there really isn’t such thing as a different gospel. There isn’t a different method of salvation. What the false teachers do is simply distort the gospel. That’s really the devil’s most successful strategy. Not to come out with a completely new, different gospel. But to simply distort the true gospel so that it’s out of balance, it’s corrupted, parts of it are swollen out of proportion. They do that by emphasizing certain passages of scripture and minimizing others. In Acts 20:27 Paul said he did not shrink from teaching the whole counsel of God. The gospel is from Genesis to Revelation. Not just isolating some verses out of context but teaching the whole counsel of God.

Paul says the goal of these false teachers was to disturb the Galatians. To draw them out of the peace that they have with God through Christ and say that there is something else, something that they are missing, something that the false teachers are able to provide. And so they draw the Galatians away from the simplicity of the gospel and the peace that they have with God, to follow after them.

Is it any wonder that Paul is angry? What shepherd of his sheep would not be angry at another shepherd who comes along and seduces his sheep from the rich and peaceful pasture that they are feeding in, by enticing them with greener pastures just over the way. When in fact, such greener pastures do not exist. Greater spirituality, more intimate communion with God, more power to work miracles and so forth are not just beyond the doctrinal fences of the sound church. But since the sheep are naturally prone to wander, the devil makes sure that there are false shepherds to lead them astray.

What they end up with is a counterfeit gospel. A counterfeit dollar bill may look like a dollar, it’s got the same pictures and symbols on it as a dollar, and some may believe it’s a dollar, but when you go to the bank you find out it’s not a dollar. It does not have the authority of the US Government behind it. And if you gave up your goods or services for counterfeit money then you have been swindled, you have been robbed. The same can be said for a counterfeit gospel. It may look the same, sound similar, and believed by many, but when it is brought up into heaven’s court for scrutiny, it is revealed as a false trust. You were trusting in something that was not the accepted currency of heaven.

So Paul has every right to feel righteous indignation at these apostles of Satan. He says in vs8 “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!” In 2 Corinthians Paul was addressing some other false teachers who were leading the flock astray. And he said this in 2Cor. 11:13-14 “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”

These false teachers are Satanic apostles. They are sent by Satan to confuse and deceive and mislead. I don’t care if they purport to be saved. I don’t care how much they claim to love Jesus. I don’t believe in the supernatural powers that they claim to possess. I would go so far to say that the majority of them you see on television and so forth are even saved. I can’t say that conclusively, but I can see the evidence of their ministries, and I see the error of their false doctrines.

Paul says that even if an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to what he had laid down, he is to be accursed. What Paul is saying is that to veer from the truth of the biblical gospel brings one under the divine curse. Now that’s a pretty heavy statement, isn’t it? But there is no other way to interpret this statement. The Greek word is “anathema.” It means a person or thing doomed to destruction. That’s a pretty strong word, and Paul says it twice. When a statement is said twice in scripture, it is to show that it is a certainty.

In vs 9 “As 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!” That accursed, anathema, is the millstone that is to be tied around his neck and then he is thrown into the deepest sea. That’s why James says “let not many of you become teachers brethren, for as such we shall incur a stricter condemnation.” It’s a dangerous thing to be a preacher of the gospel. Because God will hold you to a very high standard. And those false shepherds that glibly spew their false doctrine to gullible church people will one day face a very angry Great Shepherd, who will judge them with a righteous judgment.

The apostle’s doctrine is written down for us that we might be more sure of it as the word of God. It’s important that we teach the whole counsel of God, not leaving out the more controversial parts, nor adding to the more exciting parts, but faithfully shepherding the flock of Jesus Christ according to His gospel.

Our hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus’s blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus name. I hope that you have trusted in the finished work of Jesus Christ as the atonement for your sins. There is salvation in nothing else. There is not salvation in any works that we have done or might do.

No work of religious ritual can save you. No work of human attainment. No human merit. No keeping of the Law, only by faith in the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ. In what is your trust? Are you trusting only in Christ? I pray that the Holy Spirit has brought you under conviction of your sin, and your need for salvation, and the message of the gospel has illumined your eyes to see the grace that God has provided so that you may be saved. Call upon the Lord, and receive the gift of His salvation.

The word of God is not just all theology, but also very practical. And by the same token, the church is not just all doctrine, but also fellowship. In Second Timothy, Paul has written extensively about doctrine, the need for sound doctrine, and warned about false teachers, wolves in sheep’s clothing that will ravage the sheep. He has urged Timothy to stir up the gift that is in him, to study the word, to preach the gospel, to stand firm and to persevere. Now his epistle is almost over. But before he closes his letter, he gives a few personal, parting words to Timothy and to others in the church of a personal nature. That doesn’t mean this is some sort of subscript that has no meaning for us, other than to those it was originally intended. But rather it can teach us much concerning the individual’s responsibility to the church, the individual’s response to the gospel, and the fellowship of the people of the church. The church after all is not brick and mortar, but is made up of individual people, people just like you and me who have been saved.

The word church, by the way, comes from the Greek word “ekklesia” which means called out ones to an assembly. Paul calls the church in 1 Tim.3:15 the household of God. So Christians are called out from the world, set apart as the household of God, the body of Christ, who are assembled together.

Belonging to the household of God is based on a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. And our belonging to the church is not by having your name written on a membership roll, but by personal relationships with one another. The imperative to those who are Christians is that they will know you are Christians by your love for one another. Love for one another is not a theoretical construct. Love is practical, personal, and applicable. And love is worked out in service to one another, and in service to the Lord and His church.

To that end then, we can see much personal, individual application of the command to love one another in these last verses that Paul writes at the end of this letter. As a reminder, this is Paul’s last written word that we know of before he was executed by the Roman emperor Nero. He is writing from a dungeon, possibly just a hole in the ground with a grate overhead. Furthermore, he knows he is about to die, though perhaps he still has some hope that somehow that fate might be averted. But he is ready to die, nonetheless. He said the time of my departure is at hand, I am ready to have my life poured out in a final act of sacrifice to the Lord.

But the human side of Paul still desires companionship, still desires love, still desires fellowship with those he loves. And perhaps more than anyone else, he loves Timothy, who he calls my child, meaning his child in the faith. Timothy would seem to be the closest thing to family that Paul has on earth. And in his last days on earth, he wants to see Timothy once again. I don’t believe that it was just for his own personal comfort though. I think that he wants to see Timothy so that he can strengthen him in his faith. Imagine that kind of love. To be in prison, suffering terribly, and yet your greatest desire before dying is not to be comforted by your loved ones, but to comfort them, to encourage them, for their benefit, and not just your own.

That is love, sacrificial love. Love is being more concerned about the other person’s needs than about your own. Love does not seek it’s own fulfillment, but the other persons. And Paul loves Timothy as his own son. So he says in vs 9, “Make every effort to come to me soon.” There is a sense of urgency in that appeal. Paul knows that his time is short. If he is to see Timothy again, it must be soon.

In vs 21, he reiterates that appeal saying, “Make every effort to come before winter.” We can assume that it might have been late summer or even fall as Paul is writing these words. Notice in both statements he uses the same phrase, “make every effort…” That’s a pretty strong appeal. Paul uses that one word in the Greek frequently in his letters. The same word in Greek is translated as be diligent, be eager, endeavor, or make every effort.

Such a passionate appeal can be applied to all of the commands of God in scripture. It wouldn’t be out of place to add that before most admonitions in scripture. How about this one? “Make every effort to not forsake the assembling of yourselves together.” Or make every effort to love one another. The point I think that needs to be made is there should be every effort made on our part to carry out the commissions and commands of scripture. There should be every effort to fulfill our ministry in the church. To our good intentions, we must add a sense of urgency. We need to apply some elbow grease to our works of righteousness. Some people tend to think that walking in the Spirit has no relevance to working in the flesh. No, we carry out the desire of the Spirit by the working of the body. We need to apply some urgency, some extra effort, or to use another phrase, “with all your heart.”

Jesus said you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. That means love is making every effort, with your body, soul, and spirit. Christianity is not just a spiritual dimension, but it is physical as well, involving diligence, endurance, perseverance, continuance, sacrifice. Present your bodies, Paul said in Romans 12, as a living sacrifice. Your bodies. I think that applies to the church. It’s not enough to attend church virtually. We need to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to the church.

Paul says Timothy should make every effort to see me soon because Demas has forsaken me. Vs 10, “for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens [has gone] to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.” See, here is the reference to love that is in contrast to the love which Paul has for Timothy, and which Timothy has for Paul. Christian love is sacrificial, wanting what is best for others, not seeking it’s own. But Demas, having loved this present world has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.

So Paul is in Rome. It’s dangerous there. Demas had been a long time companion of Paul. He has been a part of the church. We must assume that he was saved. But he had a divided loyalty. He had a compromised love. He tried to love two opposite entities. He claimed he loved the Lord, but he also loved the world, and the world eventually won him over.

1John 2:15 says “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” When Jesus said we were to take up our cross and follow Him, he was talking about dying to the world. James equates loving the world with committing adultery. He says in James 4:4 “You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

Demas loved the world or he grew to love the world more than he loved the church and so he went to Thessalonica. That was about as far from Rome as you could get. It was on the other sea, on another coast, and a lot further south. I suspect it was kind of like going to Florida for the winter. Man, everyone wants to go to Florida for the winter, don’t they? Sometimes I think we should just close up shop after Christmas and have church in Florida for a few months.

Now before you get in a dither I’m not saying there is anything wrong with taking a vacation in Florida. But I don’t think that as Christians, as part of Christ’s body, His church, we are to take a permanent vacation from church or our responsibilities to the church. I don’t think it’s correct to think that you can retire from the practice of your faith. You might retire from your law practice, or doctor practice or whatever business you are in, but there is not any indication in scripture that we should ever retire from the practice of our faith.

Demas took off for sunnier, friendlier climates, and left Paul there practically alone in Rome. Demas wasn’t looking forward anymore to the Lord’s return and his reward, but he was looking at cashing in while he could still enjoy the lusts of the world. And you know, you can almost hear the disappointment and sorrow in Paul’s voice. Church is about personal relationships with people you love and invest in, and when they leave you, it hurts. It speaks of Paul’s humanity that he felt sorrow about Demas’s departure. He missed him.

Paul had better things to say about two others in his church; “Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.” These guys were basically missionaries that Paul had sent out. Not much is known about Crescens, this is the only reference to him in scripture. But there is some manuscripts that say he went to Gaul, not Galatia, and Gaul is modern day, France. That’s interesting if true that Crescens might have been the first missionary to France.

Titus, we know about. He is the subject of the epistle to Titus which is very similar to the epistle to Timothy. He was an assistant to the apostle Paul in foreign lands, working to establish the churches. Dalmatia is modern day Croatia. So again, another missionary. One thing that strikes me when I read this sort of thing in the epistles, is that for a society that did not have modern transportation such as we have, that didn’t stop these people from really traveling. They went tremendous distances without seemingly too much concern. Perhaps that was one of the great benefits of the Roman Empire. Their extensive road system and the peace that they brought to that region of the world was a great benefit to travel and to taking the gospel to the world. But it kind of puts us to shame by comparison when we make very little effort to overcome relatively minor distances in regards to the church.

Vs 11, Paul says “Only Luke is with me.” That’s a kind of understatement. I don’t think that Paul meant that in a dismissive way. Luke was a physician and a long time faithful companion to Paul. Luke of course is the author of the gospel of Luke as well as Acts. Some people think that Luke might also have been the author of Hebrews, but that is supposition. What we do know about Luke is that he was faithful. He left his practice as a doctor to attend to Paul. What a sacrifice that must have been. And yet what a reward it must have been for Luke as well. I believe Paul and Luke were a mutual blessing to one another. Paul ministering to Luke in spiritual things, and Luke ministering to Paul in physical things. That fulfilled the spiritual principle that Paul stated in 1Cor. 9:11 “If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you?”

Then Paul adds, “Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service.” Mark had been someone that Paul had refused to take with him on a missionary journey because on a previous missionary journey Mark had decided half way in it to go back home. He had deserted Paul and Barnabas, and so the next time when Barnabas wanted to take him again, Paul had refused and it resulted in a split between Paul and Barnabas. But obviously, Mark had matured in his faith in the time sense. He had proven himself to be faithful in service to the Lord. And now Paul wants him to come with Timothy to help with the ministry to the Romans. Mark knew Rome well, and he knew the church in that city, and Paul believes he will be the right man for the job of leading that church, though it be a dangerous station.

As with Timothy earlier, Paul’s concern is not just for his own creature comforts and what Mark might do for him, but his concern is for the church and what Mark might do for it. That’s kind of remarkable, isn’t it? That Paul is superintending the mission of the church at large from a dungeon in Rome. It reminds me of what my wife said about her grandmother, who was bedridden in her later years, and yet managed her house and kitchen from her bedroom until the day she died. Paul is still the leader of the church among the Gentiles even from prison.

Paul sends and commissions men from the dungeon, saying; “Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus.” Tychicus had accompanied Paul when he was on his third missionary journey, returning from Greece through Macedonia into Asia, on their way to Jerusalem. Tychicus had been with Paul in his first imprisonment. Paul had entrusted him to take his letters to the Ephesians, the Colossians and the Corinthians. Now Tychicus is taking this letter to Timothy in Ephesus, and he would take over for Timothy while he goes to see Paul. Tychicus is a very capable person. I think of Tychicus as like a Navy Seal of the early church. He was able to travel long distances, through all kinds of danger and hardship, keep on going, making every effort as a faithful servant to the church.

So Timothy doesn’t need to fear leaving Ephesus, for Tychicus would cover for him, and as for Timothy, Paul instructs in vs 13 that “When you come bring the cloak which I left at Troas with Carpus, and the books, especially the parchments.” The cloak that Paul wanted was probably like a coarse blanket with a hole in the middle for the head, and no arms. It was needed with the approaching winter in the cold, damp dungeon. Paul was used to making do with the barest of essentials. It reminds me of his statement regarding the proper perspective of worldly possessions in 1Tim. 6:8. He says, “If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.” What burdens we add to our lives by possessions. And what a difficulty to our lives does the purchase and keeping of those possessions add. Paul isn’t burdened down by earthly treasures but he has stored up heavenly ones.

The books and the parchments are probably a reference to the scriptures which he calls books, most likely scrolls. And the parchments are dried skins that were used for writing. Paul wants to be able to write the churches. In his last days on earth, he gains spiritual sustenance from the books, the scriptures, and he gives spiritual strength to others through the parchments.

Then Paul gives Timothy and the church a warning, vs 14 “Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm; the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Be on guard against him yourself, for he vigorously opposed our teaching.” It’s not clear who Alexander was, whether he lived in Ephesus or Rome. There is another Alexander mentioned in 1 Timothy 1:20 where Paul says, “Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme.”

It’s possible that this blasphemous Alexander is also Alexander the coppersmith. If that’s the case, then he was once a part of the church, but he was the cause of much trouble. So much so, that Paul delivered him and his companion over to Satan. That means that God removed his protective mantle from this man and let Satan have his way with him. If that’s who Alexander was then it’s obvious that he had not died, but was still causing trouble in the church, and Timothy should be on guard against him.

Let me make sure we understand something. When Satan attacks the church, he is more likely to attack from within than from without the church. Rarely does the government attack the church, or some poilitical institution. But frequently there arises people within the church to sow dissension, strife, controversy, and false doctrine. And they are not easy to deal with because of their alliances which they make in the church. But nevertheless, the pastor must rebuke such people who are being used by the devil to make trouble, to be a distraction, to bring in doctrinal confusion. So Timothy must be on his guard against such people. And perhaps it’s even necessary to call out such people by name, such as Paul does here.

It’s possible that this Alexander was involved in the trial that Paul had been through. He says, in vs16-18 “At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him [be] the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

I don’t think I can safely fill in the blanks of all that is alluded to in this statement, especially regarding the trial and what Paul was charged with and who had brought charges or testified against him. That’s too much guessing involved. But look at what we do know. First Paul used this trial as an opportunity to preach the gospel. No one supported him in his first defense. The church deserted him in his trial. But Paul doesn’t hold it against them even as the Lord Jesus did not hold it against the disciples when they deserted Him at His trial. But most importantly, Paul sees it as a victory because he was able to preach the gospel to the Gentiles.

And then the other interesting thing Paul says is that the “Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom.” I think that is a reference to the slander and lies that they said about Paul will one day at the judgment will be revealed as lies, and though Paul may be executed in the body, yet in the spirit he will be rescued and taken to the Lord’s heavenly, or spiritual kingdom. Death is not defeat for Paul, it is victory. Because in heaven he will be vindicated and rewarded by the Judge of Heaven and Earth. It’s interesting that in the spiritual kingdom of God, what looks to be defeat on earth actually is victorious in heaven. It’s a mistake for us to constantly looking for physical victory over trials, over sickness and even death. In the kingdom of God, taking up your cross is victory.

Speaking of traveling Christians, the greetings he gives to Prisca and Aquila are further evidence that distance meant little to the early Christians. Prisca and Aquila were originally from Rome, they had left there due to anti-Semitism and settled in Corinth where they were converted by Paul. They eventually traveled with Paul on a missionary journey to Ephesus and he ended up leaving them there. From there they ministrered to Apollos to whom they expounded the way of God more accurately. When Paul writes from Ephesus to Corinth, he sends greetings from Aquila and Prisca and from the church that is in their house. That’s further evidence that small house churches were the norm in those days. There weren’t any mega churches in those days.

Then it seems that this couple went back to Rome and had risked their necks for Paul at some point. And now at the time of this writing they are back in Ephesus. He also greets the household of Onesiphorus, which may be a reference to the church in Onesiphorus’s home, and perhaps he is the pastor there. He is mentioned in 1 Timothy for his service to Paul in Rome as well as his service to Ephesus. But the point that can be emphasized is that a godly couple such as Aquila and Prisca and Onesiphorus could have such a major impact on the early church in a variety of geographical locations.

Paul mentions another couple of the men of the church in vs 20, “Erastus remained at Corinth, but Trophimus I left sick at Miletus.” These men were no doubt known by Timothy though they lived in Rome. Erastus had traveled with Timothy on a previous missionary journey. One thing that becomes apparent, is that these believers in the early church were missions minded. Not sending others to be missionaries, but they themselves were constantly engaging the world through missions. At the very least, we should learn from their examples that we are to be about evangelizing, sharing the gospel wherever we go. These early believers put us to shame by comparison.

Trophimus Paul left sick at Miletus. That’s a very important statement. First of all, it reveals that it’s not always God’s will that someone is healed of some disease. The name it and claim it crowd among the charismatics don’t want to recognize this. But Paul was obviously unable to heal Trophimus- he left him sick in Miletus. But that wasn’t due to a lack of faith or a lack of claiming it by Paul, but rather I think it’s indicative of the fact that the apostolic age of miracles was coming to a close. Remember Paul had told Timothy to drink a little wine for his stomach problems. Paul didn’t suggest that Timothy needed to be healed. Paul himself wasn’t healed of his own thorn in the flesh. And so I believe that it’s an indication that towards the end of the apostolic age, there was not the miraculous sign gifts being evidenced any more by the apostles. That was for a particular purpose, at a particular time, in order to show that they were authentic apostles of the Lord Jesus and they spoke His word. Paul said in 2Cor. 12:12 “The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles.” But once their apostleship was established, the miraculous gifts began to fade away. And so we see that with Trophimus.

One last time, Paul urges Timothy to come soon. Vs 21 “Make every effort to come before winter. Eubulus greets you, also Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brethren. The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.”

There really is no biblical references to these people that Paul sends greetings from. They are mostly Latin names, so it’s probable they were Roman citizens who had been saved during Paul’s ministry there, and had not yet left Rome due to persecution.

Paul’s final words are to bless Timothy, whom he longs to see, and perhaps never does see again on earth. He says “The Lord be with your spirit.” Timothy needed to be strengthened by the Lord in his spirit. The spirit is the part of our being that has fellowship with the Lord. And the Spirit of Christ joins with our spirit once we are believers, that we might have life in the Spirit, and be strengthened and taught by the Spirit. Having been made partakers of the same Spirit, we are brothers and sisters in Christ.

And that gift of the Spirit is the grace that we are given when we believe in Christ unto salvation. By the Spirit we are quickened, born again, as a gift of God. So many Christians today are infatuated with the idea of the gifts of the Spirit as if that will make them able to do miraculous things. But the greatest gift is the Spirit Himself, by which God does a miracle in us, changing us and transforming us, and giving us the power to do what he has called us to do, which is to love one another and serve the kingdom of heaven through the spread of the gospel.

Jesus called the Holy Spirit the Spirit of Truth. And He said that the Spirit will lead you and guide you into all truth. And furthermore He said that when the Spirit comes He will give you power to walk according to the truth. That is the purpose of the Holy Spirit. He isn’t given to give us goosebumps, to make us dance around erratically in some ecstatic frenzy as if that is evidence of God at work in us. God is not the author of confusion. But rather the Spirit is given to teach us the truth, and to empower us to walk in the truth. That’s what the Spirit does, and He is given to us in salvation. Paul simply blesses Timothy to be filled with the Spirit of Christ that he may be bold and courageous to carry out his service to the Lord.

And in like manner, I pray that you will yield to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and make every effort to fulfill your ministry to His church.

Today we are looking at the last chapter that Paul ever wrote, and writing what we might call his own epitaph. An epitaph is a statement written about a person who has died, which often says something about the person’s legacy. You know, important people, such as President’s, are always concerned about their legacy, what history will say about them. I think it’s indicative of their own sense of self importance that they are so concerned about it that they build libraries in their own honor to try to mold people’s opinion.

So an epitaph is written on a tombstone. Not to be too cavalier about the subject, but after all , epitaphs are a kind of morose subject matter, there used to be a company called Tombstone Pizza that had commercials that ran on TV. And the one I remember was a guy on a horse with a noose around his neck, about to be hanged, and they asked him, what do you want on your tombstone. And he suddenly gets a pleased look on his face and says, “Pepperoni and cheese!” That would be a pretty interesting epitaph to have on your gravestone.

But to consider your own epitaph or legacy is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it can be a good thing if it causes you to examine how you live, and what impact or lack of one you have had on the world. In studying for this sermon I googled some of the most famous epitaphs to try to get some serious background information on this subject, and found some of them really interesting.

The one I liked the best is one I’m tempted to use on my own tombstone, which was, “I told you I was sick.” According to my wife I am a chronic hypochondriac, but one day she’s going to realize that there was something wrong with me all along. But there were others in that list that were interesting as well. An atheist had written on his tombstone in a cemetery in Thurston, Maryland, “Here lies an atheist. All dressed up and no place to go.” I have a feeling he did in fact go somewhere he didn’t want to believe existed. Another one I liked was by a guy named Johnny Yeast. His said, “Here lies Johnny Yeast, pardon me for not rising.” And one more which I thought was pretty cool is found in Tombstone, Arizona, in a graveyard for gunfighters near the infamous Ok Corral. It says, “Here lies Lester Moore. Four slugs from a 44, no Les, no more.”

Now as Paul concludes this letter, he writes what might be considered his own epitaph. He knows that he is not going to leave prison alive. He is about to die by execution. In those days, execution for a Roman citizen was by beheading. That is a pretty awful thing to contemplate, especially when it is your own head that is destined to be on the chopping block. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to think about those last minutes.

But much to his credit, Paul doesn’t seem to dwell much on his physical death. He has said elsewhere that for him to be absent from the body was to be present with the Lord, and that was very much better. He has said for me to live and to die is gain. So the means of his death, the pain of his death, doesn’t seem to be on his mind at all. He seems to see death as merely a vehicle to take him from one place to another. He says in vs 6 “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.”

That word for departure is from the Greek word “analysis” which reads like our word analysis, but actually comes from the idea of loosening from moorings prior to setting sail. That’s kind of a neat way of thinking about death, isn’t it? Just pushing off from the dock, dropping all the lines, and setting sail for a new horizon, another shore.

Paul says the time of his departure is at hand, his time has come to cast off. And he is ready to go. All that awaits is the moment that the Lord says, “it’s time.” Paul isn’t waiting on the courts, or on Nero, he is waiting on the Lord. Our time’s are in His hand. It says in Psalm 139, “And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.”

Isn’t it interesting to think about the fact that most of the Lord’s greatest servants in the New Testament died by execution or torture? John the Baptist was beheaded and his head put on a platter at the whim of an adulterous woman. Peter was hung upside down on a cross. Timothy was, according to tradition, stoned to death. Stephen was also stoned to death, while Paul, or Saul as he was then known, held the coats of those who threw the stones. James was thrown from the temple wall to his death. This idea that 21st century Christians have that God owes them a calamity free existence or a illness free existence just doesn’t have any basis in scripture. When God is finished with His servants, He takes them home, and rather than always sending a fiery chariot, sometimes He uses what seems to us as the most inglorious methods possible.

But Paul’s time of departure has come, and he is ready for it. His bags are packed and he is waiting and ready to go to be with the Lord. He isn’t afraid of death, even death by beheading, because he knows it is merely a vehicle to something much better. He wrote in 2 Cor. 4:17 “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.”

In fact, he looks at his imminent death as the last sacrificial act of a life dedicated to sacrificial service to the Lord. He says, “I am already being poured out as a drink offering.” According to the law in Numbers 15, when a lamb was sacrificed on the altar in a burnt offering, a drink offering of wine was poured out beside the altar. It was the final act of the sacrificial ceremony and Paul said it pictured the final pouring out of his life on the sacrificial altar of his service to God. His entire life had been a living sacrifice as he describes in Romans 12:1, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, [which is] your spiritual service of worship.”

It is only by faith that a life so lived can be spoken of as a sacrifice of service, and when your time comes to die, that you can see it as Paul saw his final moments, a final act of sacrifice to the Lord. Paul is ready to go, ready to depart, because as he says in vs 7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.”

An unbeliever, looking at how Paul’s life ended in prison, and the ignominy of being beheaded, alone among his enemies, they might hardly see a life worth boasting about. But Paul is boasting in the Lord, not in his flesh. He says, I have fought the noble fight. That’s what it really means, the noble fight. He is making the ultimate sacrifice for a noble cause, dying in service to the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. He is giving up his life for the kingdom of God. We honor men and women in America who gave their life in service to their country. There should be no greater honor given than to those who laid down their lives in battle so that others may be free. Jesus said, “There is no greater love than this, that a man lays down his life for his friends.”

Paul loved the Lord, and gladly gave his life in service to the Lord, even unto death. And he considered it a privilege to fight the noble fight. To be counted as worthy for service. And what a fight it had been; a fight against Satan and his horde, against the principalities and powers in the spiritual realm, the world forces of this present darkness, against Jewish and Gentile vice and violence, against Judaism amongst the church, against fanaticism, against contention, strife, jealousy, false reports, lies and slander about him, against Gnosticism, against false teachers in sheep’s clothing, and their false doctrines. And last but not least, against his own flesh and the sin that so easily besets us all.

The life of a Christian is not a life called to leisure, to Sunday school picnics, to lazy days in the sunshine with fair winds and following seas. The Christian’s life is a call to battle, a noble battle. Such battles require great sacrifice, but the battle is a noble cause, the very highest calling and privilege, and one to which Paul devoted his life without regret. Now that’s a thought that is worthy of an epitaph, to have lived a life without regret. I can assure you that if you live your life according to the standards of the world, to try to achieve some sort of acclaim or fortune, at the end of your life the only thing you will have to take with you when you depart this life will be regret. But a life lived for the Lord can be a life without regret.

Paul said in Phl. 3:7-14 “But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from [the] Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which [comes] from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained [it] or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of [it] yet; but one thing [I do:] forgetting what [lies] behind and reaching forward to what [lies] ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” That’s how to live and die without regret.

Paul said, not only has he fought the noble fight, but he has finished the course. Other translations say he has finished the race. Paul changes metaphors here from a battle to a race. He fully accomplished the ministry that the Lord had called him to. Paul was a man with one holy passion, that was to run the race to which he had been called, to run well, and finish well. So many Christians don’t seem to finish the race. Paul rebuked the Galatians for that in Gal. 5:7 saying, “You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth?”

This race that we have been called to run is a marathon, not a sprint. It requires endurance and perseverance to finish the race. To continue to the end. Paul said in 1Co 9:24-27 “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but [only] one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then [do it] to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”

So Paul says he ran the race and finished the course. That’s an example for us, that we continue, we persevere, we endure to the end. That we do not fall short of our goal. And the goal is not “he who dies with the most toys wins” or “he who dies with the biggest estate wins” but he who gives it all up, counting it all as loss, pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Not only did Paul fight the noble fight and finish the race, but he says he kept the faith. It’s the idea of keeping the true doctrine. Not deviating from the faith once delivered to the saints. Not falling into the trap of false teaching, of being deceived, the trap of another gospel in order to scratch the itching ears of those who would rather believe a lie. Keeping the faith is difficult today in an ecclesiastical field that is sown with tares among the wheat. It’s a battle between the truth and the lie. Because the devil is a deceiver and a liar and his strategy against the church is to tell a lie that looks like the truth, but will lead you into a false doctrine, or even better, a false sense of salvation. So to keep the faith requires discernment, wisdom, studying the word to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that doesn’t need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth, and in so doing, being reliant upon the Holy Spirit to guide you into all truth.

Another application that is included in keeping the faith is similar to what was indicated in running the race. And that is keeping the faith, being faithful, till the end. Being found faithful when your time comes to depart. Being found faithful in the little things. Paul said in 1Cor. 4:2 “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” A steward is a man who was put in charge of his master’s goods while he went away to a far country. And when the master returned, he calls the stewards together to give an account of what they did with his goods. Jesus told that parable to illustrate many things, not the least of which was being found faithful when the Master returns. As I said when talking about the race, a lot of Christians start out running well but at the end of the race they are no where to be found.

Paul was found faithful when he was called to stand before his master. And for those who fought the noble fight, who finish the race, who kept the faith and are found faithful, Paul says that there will be a reward. In vs 8 he says, “in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

Paul says, in the future… that is in of itself an expression of faith. For a man condemned to die in a few days or weeks to talk about his future is an expression of faith. It reminds me of the faith of the thief on the cross. Jesus said to him that today he would be with Him in Paradise. But the thief was dying on a cross as a convicted criminal. What cause was there for believing that he was saved on that cross? The answer is found in what that man said to Jesus as he was hanging there. He said, “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom.” That was an expression of faith, faith that Jesus was the Messiah, that He would rise from the grave, and that His kingdom was an everlasting kingdom, the kingdom of God. That’s a lot of faith crammed in a very small sentence. And Paul said in Romans 1:17, “the just shall live by faith.” Salvation is by faith, and that thief found salvation through faith in Christ.

Paul’s faith is assured that he has a future even though from an earthly point of view he was at the end of his rope. And in that future he is assured that God has laid up for him a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day. What is Paul talking about? First of all, he is speaking of that day, that is the day of Christ’s appearing, the day when God will judge the living and the dead, the day of judgment. That’s why Paul refers in this context to the Lord as the righteous Judge. Jesus came to earth the first time to save. But the next time Jesus comes, He comes in judgment.

At that judgment, Paul says the Lord will give him a crown of righteousness. This wreath or crown is the victor’s crown, the crown that Jesus Himself has earned for us that believe in Him. As the hymn we sing says, “Dressed in His righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne.” It’s the righteousness of Jesus Christ that is our wreath, our crown, that He gives to those who believe in Him as their Savior.

As 2 Cor. 5:21 says, “God made Jesus, who knew no sin, to become sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” We are given the righteousness of Christ in exchange for our sins, which He paid for on the cross through His death. Are we then not to be judged for our good works, our works of righteousness? Yes, there is a reward for works of righteousness. But the crown or wreath that Paul is claiming here is the crown of the righteousness which is given to all who trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior. This is the crown that is everlasting life with the Lord. There are also crowns (plural) which we will receive for our stewardship. As Jesus said in the parable, “‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.”

But it’s evident from the context of the judgment that Paul is speaking of the last day, the reward at the judgment will be the crown of the righteousness that qualifies us for entry into the kingdom of heaven. In another parable, Jesus likened it to the wedding garment that all who entered into the wedding feast must wear for entrance. Without the righteousness of Jesus Christ, applied to our account, we have no basis for entrance into eternal life.

That is why Paul says it is not only going to be given to him, but to all who have loved His appearing. That’s a reference to the second coming of Christ. Note the word love, not fear is used here, because perfect love casts out fear. Of all the indications that one loves the Lord, the eager anticipation of the Lord’s return is one of the best assurances that they do in fact love the Lord, for such a person is thinking not only of himself and his own glory but also the Lord and HIs vindication.

Are you looking forward with anticipation for the Lord’s return? Unfortunately I don’t think that’s as universal of an attitude as we might think in the church. If you’re like most of us, we really are more enamored with this life than we are excited about the next one. As Paul says in the next section, Demas has deserted me, having loved this present world. I would say that suggests a current problem with the church, and perhaps a reason that we cannot say with Paul that we have confidence about our departure.

I would urge you to remember the line from the old spiritual which says,” this world is not my home, I’m just a passing through.” Let us present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service of worship, and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

What will your epitaph be when you finish this race which we call life? I hope that you will make it your ambition to be found faithful when you are called home. I hope that you will fight the noble fight for the kingdom of heaven, that you may know that in the future there is laid up for you the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to you on that day; and not only to you, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

Last week we studied a rather grim message that Paul gave Timothy regarding the last days. And as a reminder, the last days is a phrase that refers to the time period between Christ’s first appearing and His second coming. It is sometimes called the church age, which is the age Timothy was living in, and which we are living in. Obviously, we are living in the latter days of the last days, but we don’t know how much longer there is until Christ comes back.

But I say it was a grim message because Paul said there would be perilous seasons which would come in this church age. I suggested it was kind of like hurricane season which comes every year, which sometimes can be extremely damaging and dangerous. And Paul explains that the danger to the church was there would be seasons where apostasy would run rampant in the church, when false teachers would prevail in the pulpits of churches, when people would be duped by a form of religion but without the power of the Holy Spirit to change their hearts from being dead in their trespasses to being made alive in Christ.

These perilous seasons would be dangerous because there would be a powerful spirt of deception upon the church which would take people captive to damning theology. Instead of the gospel freeing them from the hold of sin, this false gospel would actually give them a false sense of security, deceiving them by means of false signs and wonders. Paul gave an example of the sort of deception that would be fostered on the church by the example of Jannes and Jambres, the Egyptian magicians that were able to duplicate a lot of the miracles that Moses did, and their deception resulted in the damnation of the Egyptians. Paul says similar deceptions of signs and wonders would be characteristic of the perilous times in the church.

He goes on to say in the passage we are looking at today, which is a continuation of his warning to Timothy, in vs 13 that “… evil men and impostors will proceed [from bad] to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” As the church age progresses, so will the intensity of these perilous times. Evil men and imposters will proceed from bad to worse. That means the deceptions will go from bad, which it was in Paul’s day, to worse, which I think it is in our day. An imposter is someone who pretends to be someone else. The Bible says that the devil is an expert imposter, masquerading as an angel of light, when he is actually the prince of darkness. And he is the puppet master behind the false teachers that will proliferate as the church age comes to it’s consummation.

Now if Paul stopped there, then it would be a grim message indeed. But Paul gives a counter strategy to the church so that they might survive the perilous times. Not only will the true church survive, but they can even thrive in perilous times. You know, the reality is that the church thrives in times of persecution. When the church declines it is usually in a time of peace and prosperity. But when persecution arises, the church gets stronger. Tertullian, one of the early church fathers living around 200 AD is credited to have said, “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” It is when the world is antagonistic towards the church that the battle lines are more clearly drawn, and the truth stands out more clearly than the deception, but when the world and the church lie down in the same bed then it produces adultery with the world and the apostasy that brings destruction.

But in this last section and continuing in the first part of the next chapter, Paul gives us a strategy for surviving the perilous times which come upon the church, and not just surviving, but thriving. But for the sake of brevity, I am not going to really expound much more than this chapter, and wait on the part found in chapter 4, which we will address next week, God willing.

The first principle of the strategy for surviving perilous times might be summarized by the idea of discipleship. The concept of becoming a disciple is something that seems to have fallen by the wayside in modern evangelicalism. But back in the beginning of the church, before even they were called by the name “Christians”, the concept that Jesus taught was to become His disciple. What does it mean to become a disciple? It means to be a follower of Christ, one who receives and believes the teaching of Christ, who patterns himself after the behavior and actions of Christ. And by extension, it meant after Christ’s death and resurrection that one would follow an apostle, follow their teaching, their pattern of life.

And so we find that principle of being a disciple given here by Paul as part of his strategy for surviving the perilous times. He says in vs 10 “Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions, [and] sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium [and] at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me!”

The significance of what he says is you followed me. Timothy was a disciple of Paul. Timothy literally followed Paul in his missionary journeys as he planted churches in the Gentile regions. In the great commission in Matthew 28:19, Jesus says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations.” The mandate is to make disciples, followers of the apostle’s doctrine, followers of the apostle’s teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance persecutions and sufferings.

The life of discipleship is much more than simply profession of faith and then continuing to live as you always have lived but with the exception of an hour or so a week spent in church. Being a disciple is a new life, one that is characterized by service to the Lord, by obedience to the word, by a sacrificial love for others, and love for God. It’s a life that perseveres when it seems that there is not always evidence to support our faith. It’s a life that endures suffering for the sake of Christ, that endures persecution for the sake of the gospel.

It’s interesting to notice that Paul says Timothy followed his purpose. What was the purpose of the apostle? It was to carry the gospel to the Gentiles, to the people who had not heard the truth. Paul’s purpose was to share the gospel, to win souls for the kingdom of heaven. That’s the reason God left him on the earth after his conversion. And that’s the reason we are left on the earth. Our purpose, our mission is to go make disciples of all the nations. Make disciples of our loved ones, our families, our friends, our neighbors, our community. That’s the purpose that God has for us that are saved.

It’s also important to notice that Timothy followed the apostles teaching. Teaching is doctrine. And the doctrine taught by the apostles is the doctrine which the church is to hold fast to, to listen to, and to obey. Paul refers to it as sound doctrine in his previous letter to Timothy. He says in 1Tim. 4:6 “In pointing out these things to the brethren, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, [constantly] nourished on the words of the faith and of the sound doctrine which you have been following.” Part of discipleship is following sound doctrine. There is a lot of deviant, deceitful doctrine that is being taught in the church today, which is a hallmark of the perilous times of the last days. We need to be like the Berean’s, who studied the word daily to see if the things being taught to them by Paul was correct. Sound doctrine has it’s basis in the words of scripture. And we need to ask the Lord for discernment so that we can check the doctrine coming from our pulpits with the scripture, so that we may know the truth. But being under the teaching of sound doctrine is a vital part of discipleship. You cannot be a disciple and not be under the preaching of sound doctrine.

So being a disciple is a complete life of devotion to the Lord. It’s living a life that is conformed to sound doctrine, that exhibits godly conduct, that fulfills the purpose which we have been given, that perseveres in faith, that has patience and love for others, and which does not waver in persecution and suffering. It’s not just a matter of making a profession of faith and then coming to church once in a blue moon. But it’s a life that is patterned after Christ and the apostles. Walking in the footsteps of Jesus is discipleship. When you are walking in the footsteps of Jesus in your day to day life, then you will be preserved from the perilous times which are coming upon the church in the last days.

The apostle Peter said in 1Peter 2:21 “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.” That’s our purpose, to follow in the steps of Christ, doing what He did, living as He lived, even to the point of suffering as He suffered for the sake of the gospel. You might not be called upon to suffer on a cross, but you are told to take up your cross and follow Christ. That means dying to self, dying to self gratification, and living for the Lord.

Paul says that suffering is a part of discipleship, in vs. 12 “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” That’s a sobering statement. All who follow Christ, all who desire to live godly lives, will be persecuted. Not maybe will be, but will be. Persecution may not always be physical, but it will come in attacks from the enemy, ridicule from the world, difficulty in the work environment and antagonism from your own family. I will tell you something that wasn’t true 50 years ago. And that is that there are very few occupations that you can be involved in today in this culture that are not in some way or another hostile to Christianity. You’re probably going to have to make a decision in your job in some way, some day soon, where you will be forced to cave into the demands of the culture, or stand up for your convictions and your faith and bear the consequences of possibly being censured, or forced to take sensitivity training, or even fired for your faith. But that day is already here for many careers and occupations. The same is true for colleges and universities. They are hostile to Christianity. If you are a Christian in a secular college today you will either have to cave in to the pressure, or risk being ostracized and perhaps cancelled because of your faith. I hope that when that day comes, you will not waver in your faith.

So discipleship is the first way to survive in perilous times. The second principle is to walk in the truth. Paul speaks of walking in the truth as continuing. To be a disciple, to be follower, means to continue to follow, to continue to walk in the truth. He says in vs 14 “You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned [them,] and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

This continuing in the apostle’s doctrine is the emphasis that Paul is making as a strategy for survival. The life of the disciple is not start and stop, take a break for a while. The life of a disciple is continuing to follow, continuing to fellowship, continuing to learn. The preaching of the word is one of the primary ways in which we learn the truth, and then we continue to apply ourselves to that truth. Timothy knew that apostle intimately. He knew that he could trust his word, trust his message as the truth of God. It was the same truth that his mother Lois and grandmother Eunice had taught him.

You know the truth of God is self validating. As you learn the truth, and apply the truth, it becomes more and more evident that it is the truth. When you first come to Christ and you are converted, the Bible is something which you have to believe by faith. There isn’t a lot of support from the world that the Bible is God’s word, that it is truth. But as you believe it by faith, and start to apply it to your life, the truth is manifested as being true in your life. That’s why Jesus said, “you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” The truth of God’s word is believed by faith, but it is validated in application.

I believe that if you are going to be a disciple, then you are going to want to be in a Bible preaching church every time the door is open. You cannot walk in the truth, you will not continue in the truth, if you forsake the assembling of yourselves together. The word of God is a lamp to your feet and a light to your path. And when you start skipping church, skipping Bible study, you’re going to find that you are going to be wandering and straying from the path of following Jesus. Your attendance to church is a like a spiritual thermometer that everyone can see. When you are absent more than present, its evident that your love for God has grown cold. When you are eager to hear the word, then its evident that your faith is hot.

Another important principle to notice here in this passage is one that parents should take note of. And that is Timothy was taught the Bible from childhood. The word Paul uses which is translated childhood literally means infancy. The sacred writings is a reference to the Old Testament. That was all that they had available at that time, for the most part. But his mother and grandmother instilled the scriptures into him from infancy, and throughout his childhood. The best insurance you have as a parent that your kids will turn out all right is to raise them in the church, and teach them the scriptures from a very young age.

I find it ironic that Christian parents seem to leave Christian education up to their child to decide if they want to participate. They don’t leave it up to the child to see if he wants to go to school, or to decide what he wants to eat, or whether or not to wash up and brush his teeth. But yet they leave the most important aspect of life, a person’s spiritual health, up to the child to decide if they want to come to church or not. No, start their education as an infant and continue with it until they reach the age where they no longer are under your roof.

Notice Paul said the scriptures were able to give Timothy the wisdom that lead to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Faith is founded upon truth, it’s founded upon the scripture, it’s founded upon the promises of God. Faith is not a feeling, it’s not conjuring up some emotion, faith is not imagining something really hard and trying to visualize it. Faith is believing what there may not seem to be any evidence for, but which you are convinced is true. And the word teaches that salvation is from the Lord Jesus Christ who died in your place, to take away your sins, and give you new life through Him.

So the other aspect of continuing in the truth is to walk according to the word of God. Paul gives a tremendous statement about the authorship and authority and sufficiency of the scriptures that everyone should take the time to study and even memorize as the definitive statement about the scripture.

He says in vs 16 “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” There are so many vital principles that are contained in this verse. But first of all notice that he establishes the authority of scripture. All scripture, both the Old and New Testaments, even though it was not all written at this time in history, all scripture, is inspired by God.

What does inspired mean? Literally, the word mean’s “God breathed.” That refers to the divine breath, the Spirit of God. The human authors were guided and directed by the Holy Spirit. I’m not going to try to take the time today to give an apologetic about the scriptures which we have in our Bibles. That is a study that would take far more time than what we have today. But I will emphasize what I said earlier, that the truth is self validating. God’s word attests to it’s own authenticity.

God used human authors to write the words that God breathed into their minds. The individuality of the human author is not override, but instead incorporates their own personality, their education, their style and language. Peter spoke of inspiration this way in 2 Peter 1:21 “for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” God spoke through men by the Holy Spirit. That’s inspiration.

So all scripture is authored by the Holy Spirit, and it is authoritative because it is the word of God. God spoke as men were moved by the Holy Spirit. It’s God’s word, thus it is truth, it is reliable, it is authoritative. Jesus said in Matt. 4:4, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’”

And all scripture is profitable. It is profitable to the disciple who submits to it’s teaching. The Bible is instructions from heaven to earth. It’s God’s instructions and principles which are given to man so that he might know how to live and how to live more abundantly. Timothy was able by the wisdom of the word to gain the knowledge of salvation. And so are we. The scriptures are God’s will for mankind revealed. It is the truth of God revealed to us so that we might walk in the light of God.

Paul says the scriptures are profitable for reproof. I said the other night when we were studying the Psalms, that though David asked that God would not rebuke him, he undoubtedly needed to be rebuked. The word of God rebukes us when we need to be rebuked. It corrects us, corrects our thinking, aligns our minds with God’s minds, our attitudes with God’s attitudes, our desires with God’s desires. To be reproofed is to be turned back from a false way.

And the word of God is profitable for training in righteousness. Training is an integral part of discipleship. That’s why we walk in the steps of Jesus, so that we might be trained how to walk. And in the same way, the word of God teaches us how to walk, how to we are to conduct ourselves, how to be godly, how to be righteous. When we read and study the word, it trains our minds which then trains our bodies. Psalm 119 says, “your word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

Finally, the word of God is sufficient. Do you want to be a disciple? Do you want to follow the example of Christ and the apostles? The word of God is able to supply all that you need to know in order to be a disciple. Paul says the word is sufficient so that the man of God is adequate, and equipped for every good work. All the things we have been purposed to do, we are able to do as we walk according to the word of God. It’s able to strengthen our faith. It’s able to give us sufficient knowledge that we can share the gospel. It’s able to equip us with the tools we need to fight the good fight of faith in the midst of persecution and sufferings. It’s sufficient for everything that we need. It’s like a manual for discipleship which covers every thing that we need. It’s sufficient to help us survive in the perilous times that come upon the church, when false teachers prevail and the world ridicules and the enemy attacks.

When we read the gospels we see that Jesus Himself relied upon the scriptures, even quoting the scripture repeatedly to combat Satan’s attempts to tempt Him in the wilderness. The word of God was sufficient for Jesus, and it will be sufficient for us as we go through the perilous times of the last days which lie ahead. Paul gives us the certain hope that if we are disciples who continue in the sound doctrine and practice of our faith as exemplified by the apostles, as we walk according to the word of God, we will not be overcome by the world, or by the perilous times ahead, but that we will prevail by the power of the Spirit and the word of God.

Listen, the strategy for avoiding the pitfalls of the perilous times ahead is to draw near to God and He will draw near to you. As we stay close to the Lord and follow Him, stay in the word and submit to it’s teaching, then you will be preserved from the deception and destruction that comes in the last days.

As a surfer, I look forward to hurricane season with a mixture of anticipation and anxiety. Hurricane season can bring epic waves to the East Coast, which are for the most part much better than the normal summer fare. But at the same time, those hurricanes are best enjoyed when they are hundreds of miles offshore. When they get close to land, or make landfall, they can be extremely dangerous. We are now in hurricane season, and the waves we have this morning are the result of Hurricane Earl which is churning away somewhere off the coast of Greenland this morning, after having moved up the US east coast over the last few days.

From a boating perspective, hurricane season is a perilous season. These powerful storms pose a serious threat to shipping and fishing vessels at sea. The apostle Paul was no stranger to severe storms while at sea. He said in 2 Cor. 11:25 that he was shipwrecked three times. One of those events we read about in Acts 27, where he and his shipmates were in the midst of a severe storm for 14 days and eventually had to abandon ship and swim ashore on an island. So Paul was very familiar with the season in which the storms were known to be severe on the sea. So here in 2 Timothy 3, it’s very interesting to note that Paul uses this expression of a perilous season in his letter to Timothy to describe what he calls the last days.

Notice vs 1, “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.” That reads in the NASB a little more tame than how it was originally written. More literally, he means “perilous seasons.” It’s not the word “chronos” which indicates time, but “kairos” which indicates a season, a period of time. So during the last days, there will be periods or seasons which are particularly perilous, or even extremely perilous.

But the real difficulty in this verse is the phrase “in the last days.” Many people suppose that is a reference to the time directly before the second coming of Christ. But if you study the scriptures to see how this phrase is used in other places, it becomes clear that it cannot mean that. If that were so, it would be pointless for Paul to tell Timothy to avoid these people who characterized the perilous season of the last days, when the second coming has not yet come some 2000 years later.

There are many other references in scripture where this phrase is used, but the most significant one might be found in Acts 2:17, when Peter quotes from Joel 2:28, where God says, “‘AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS, THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND.” Peter goes on to say that this prophecy was being fulfilled in that day, on the day of Pentecost. The best understanding then of the phrase the last days is to say that it is a time period that began at Christ’s first coming, and continues until His second coming. It is called by some the church age. And so as you consider the persecutions and afflictions of the church throughout the last 2000 years, it is evident that there have been perilous seasons which have come and gone. But these perilous seasons will become worse and worse as time goes on, culminating in a severe climax of wickedness in the last hours before Christ’s return.

Certainly, Paul and Timothy were living in a perilous season. They were experiencing persecutions and even executions for their faith. Paul would soon be martyred after writing this letter. In another couple of dozen years, Timothy would be stoned to death for his faith. I would suggest that we that are in the church are entering into a perilous season as well in our lifetimes, and possibly becoming even worse in our children’s lifetimes. When you look at the state of the world, t’s hard not to imagine that we are in the last hours of the last days, but it’s possible that our season will come and go and there may still be some time before Christ’s appearing. We do not know the day or the hour. But we know that perilous seasons will come as a result of ever increasing wickedness, until one day, God will say “Enough! It is time!” And Christ will come in the clouds with millions of His angels in power and in glory to execute God’s wrath and judgment upon the world.

It is the people of the earth who are living during these grievous seasons who are the cause of all the grief. Paul gives a long list of the characteristics of these sinful people. I’m reminded in Psalm 5:5 which we studied last Wednesday evening, that the Psalmist David said, “God hates those who do iniquity.” And he gives a description of boastful, proud, lying, deceiving people as examples of those that God hates. In Romans 1:28-31 there is another list which is very similar to the one here in 2 Timothy. It says in Rom 1:28-32 “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; [they are] gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”

Now let’s read Paul’s list he gives here to Timothy and notice the similarities. Vs 2, “For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.”

Now I don’t want to get bogged down in defining all of those types of sinful behaviors. I think that this list can be summarized as “lovers of self,” “lovers of money,” and “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” They have no spiritual quotient at all in their lives. They don’t love God, nor love his people. Though they may profess to do both, their actions betray them. And about these sort of people, Paul says “avoid such men as these.” It’s not just males, but females, all people who embody such characteristics, we are told to avoid. To turn away from. The point is, don’t fellowship with such people. Don’t hang out with such people. Don’t try to be friends with such people. Because their actions will rub off on you. They will influence you to follow them into wickedness, just as Eve influenced Adam to follow her into sin.

What becomes more apparent though as Paul continues in this letter, is that these people he is describing are not necessarily pagans, but people in the church. Particularly church leaders seem to be indicated here as a part of this group. The list we read in Romans was describing people who had rejected God wholeheartedly, they didn’t even try to pretend to be Christians. But these people Paul describes, though they have many of the same characteristics of the pagans, are actually according to vs 5, claiming a form of godliness, or you might say, claiming a form of religion. They claim to be godly, to be Christian, to be a part of the church.

Now when we understand that he is talking about so called Christians in the church, and we are to avoid such men as these, then that is a very shocking statement. Of course, we know that we are warned in scripture by the apostles and by Christ, that false teachers will come in to the church who are actually wolves in sheep’s clothing. We are warned that the false doctrines that they teach are actually the doctrines of demons. We are warned that they will lead many people astray, and destroy the faith of many. But it’s still shocking to realize that they are in the church, masquerading as Christians, and we are told to avoid fellowship with such people.

Jesus gave a parable about the wheat and the tares, which I’m sure you are all familiar with. There is a long time in the process of the planting and sowing and maturing of the wheat, when the tares look like the wheat. Jesus said the devil comes in the darkness and sows tares amongst the wheat. The only way to be sure which is which is to wait for the harvest, when the fruit will make it known which are tares and which are wheat. That’s a picture of the church, tares are sown amongst the wheat. And the fruit which shows the difference is either their righteous behavior or their wicked behavior. That’s why Paul gives us this list of the behavior of these people. Their actions show that they are not converted. They may hold to a form of religion but their actions show that they are unregenerate.

Now those false teachers, Paul says, in particular take advantage of those in the church who are weak. Vs6 “For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

A lot of people see some sort of male chauvinistic bent that they think Paul has against women in this statement. So it’s tempting to try to mitigate the effect of Paul’s words here which on the surface seem to be an indictment against women. But actually, I don’t think that Paul was a male chauvinist at all. I think he writes by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. So either you are going to believe that the Holy Spirit is a male chauvinist, or you don’t believe that the scriptures are inspired.

The best way to understand it, is to realize that in the church in Paul’s day, and in the church in our day, there were some women who are gullible, who were vulnerable to deceiving spirits, who are weighed down by sins that they have not repented of, nor have they been delivered from. And these false prophets, these wolves in sheep’s clothing have targeted these women. It’s like the way a wolf works in the wild. They go after the weaker sheep, the straying sheep, the ones that have wandered from the herd. Those are the targets of the wolves in sheep’s clothing.

And I would suggest that Paul’s indictment is not so much against the women, even though they are burdened with sins. His indictment is directed towards the false prophets who prey on these gullible women. These women who are looking for spiritual validation without repentance are easy prey for these false prophets. These women are not led by the Spirit, they are led by their impulses and they are taken captive by these false doctrines that promise spiritual validation, but actually produce more ungodliness and are held captive by the false doctrines. As a result, Paul says these women are always learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Now that is not an indictment against all women. There are women who are strong in the faith, who are knowledgeable of the scriptures. In a previous passage, Paul praises Timothy’s mother and grandmother who raised Timothy in the scriptures and imparted to him the knowledge which leads to salvation. So in the church are many women who live chaste and holy lives. Women that are examples to the younger women. But there are some weak women who are especially vulnerable to the false teachers. These women were home when their husbands were working, and the false teachers knowing they were vulnerable, preyed upon them and targeted them.

I think we see that happen today a lot of times by the use of television. There are some people who mean well, who have good intentions perhaps, who go to some of these so called Christian television broadcasting stations, and they listen to false prophets who tell them what they want to hear. They tell them that they don’t need to repent of sin. I could name names this morning, but I don’t want to give these false prophets any more notoriety than they already have. But I warn you that a lot of the characters who are televised on these Christian TV stations are wolves in sheep’s clothing, that come right into the homes of the unsuspecting and take them captive by deceit. And of course, they try to take their money as well, to fund their lavish lifestyles and private planes and luxury homes. A more primitive version of that was happening in Paul’s day. But it’s still happening in our day and it’s perhaps more prevalent than we realize.

To further describe and warn against these false teachers in the church, Paul gives an historical illustration. He says in vs8 “Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these [men] also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith. But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all, just as Jannes’s and Jambres’s folly was also.”

The first question we must ask of course, is who is Jannes and Jambres? Well, this is the only place in scripture that they are mentioned by name. But whoever they were they opposed Moses. The answer is found in Jewish rabbinical tradition, which Paul and presumably Timothy were familiar with. That tradition states that Jannes and Jambres were the magicians of special arts who were called up by Pharaoh to counter the miracles that Moses did. When Moses turned the staff into a snake, Jannes and Jambres turned their staffs into snakes. Moses snake ate their snake, but still, they performed mighty miracles by some power other than the power of God. And they were able to duplicate to some degree most of the miracles that Moses did.

Now that is a significant characteristic that Paul is pointing out about these false prophets. Some of them may possess miraculous powers. I believe that a lot of the so called miracles that are being done today in the church at large are not true miracles at all. I know of one such false prophet in particular who admitted that he studied and practiced hypnosis before he supposedly became a Christian. I think a lot of these faith healers are practicing something like that. They seem to always heal a disease that can’t really be quantified by actually seeing the problem. Something a like a pain in someone’s back, or headaches or something that they are supposedly healed from, whereas the poor paralyzed guy in the wheelchair usually leaves the service still in the wheelchair. Those types of false prophets are just charlatans, snake handlers, what I call fake healers.

But what Paul indicates is that some false prophets do possess some spiritual powers. But the spirit that they are of is not of God. It’s demonic. I think there are some preachers or evangelists active today that may fit that category as well. But most of them I think are charlatans. It’s mostly smoke and mirrors, the power of suggestion, perhaps hypnosis. But there are deceiving spirits in the church, and we are told in John to test the spirits. 1John 4:1 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” That’s why we need the gift of discernment. To distinguish between truth and error. The point that should be clear though, is just because there is some seeming miracle, some power demonstrated in the church, that is not a reason to believe that they are of God. Don’t be deceived by demonstrations of some spiritual power into believing or accepting false teachers who actually oppose the truth.

Paul says, just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regards to the faith. The bottom line, that means these men are not saved. They have a form of religion but they denied the power thereof. They have depraved minds, that means they are unconverted. Oh, they seem to have a power, they claim it’s power from God, but their power is not from God, its’ demonic. Listen, demonic power is real. Demons can make a man superhumanly powerful. Demons can cause physical things to do things that are unnatural. But greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.

What is important to take away from this is that we are warned that these demonically powered false prophets are in the church, taking captive people who are easily duped, who are gullible, who are living in sin and looking for an answer that doesn’t require repentance from sin. And we are told to avoid such people. To recognize that they are not teachers of the truth of the gospel, but are actually opposed to the truth. And we must practice discernment to know the difference.

But though Jannes and Jambres at first were able to match Moses miracle for miracle, there came a point when their limit was reached and they were not able to duplicate Moses’ miracles. At that point they had to reluctantly concede that what Moses had done was the power of God. In the same way Paul says the false prophets of his day will fall short and be revealed for who they are. We can assume that the same will be true today about the false prophets that we see on television and so forth. One day their true nature will be revealed and they will be put to shame. That revelation may come in their lifetime, and from time to time we hear about some famous televangelist who comes to public shame because their depravity becomes known. But if not in their lifetime, it will certainly come on the last day, at the judgment seat of Christ, when Jesus said “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’ (Matt. 7:22,23)

There is the message of great hope in the midst of this great deception that is perpetrated on the church — the spirit of the false prophet will not prevail against the truth of Jesus Christ. The spirit of the last days to deceive is not stronger than the power of Jesus to save. The tremendous truth is that we don’t have to be held captive by the spirit of the world; but by the truth of the gospel we can be set free from the captivity of sin and the condemnation of death and receive life from the Lord Jesus Christ.

In the previous section which we looked at last week, Paul said in his admonition to Timothy that he was to be like a strong warrior, that he should be unafraid of making the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of the gospel. As a warrior for the kingdom of God, he should not shrink back from affliction, persecution or even death, because of the eternal glory that awaited him.

Today in this next passage, Paul changes analogies, saying that Timothy needed to be a workman that was not ashamed. And he uses yet another analogy, he was to be a useful vessel as opposed to a worthless vessel.

Paul is writing to Timothy, who was a sort of assistant apostle to the apostle Paul, and Timothy was to teach these principles to the local pastors of Ephesus and the surrounding region. But though it is written to pastors, it is by extension, given as well to the congregation. Because whatever standard the Lord sets for the pastor is given so that the pastor can be an example to the flock. Paul said to Timothy, “Be an example to the believers in word and conduct.” The apostle Paul said concerning himself that, “You are to follow me as I follow Christ.” So, when we talk about the standard that God has established for the pastor, we should understand that he should be the example for all the church to follow.

In this passage, Paul talks about a workman that doesn’t need to be ashamed. That’s in contrast to other church leaders such as Hymenaeus and Philetus who will be ashamed when they face the judgment. And notice in verse 14 you see the word “useless.” And in verse 21 you see the word “useful.” There’s a contrast in this text about being useless or being useful as a good faithful workman, or one that is shameful. Anyone who serves the Lord Jesus Christ I think would desire to be useful, a workman that doesn’t need to be ashamed.

What does it mean to be useful? Verse 21 says, “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the master prepared for every good work. The word “vessel” is a household container. It refers to a pot, or a cup, a serving dish, a serving bowl. The master of the house has certain vessels that are honorable. On the other hand, there are some other vessels. They are dishonorable. Verse 20 says, “In a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor.”

Paul is giving us a picture, I believe of the church. And the Master here, in this large house, which is the church, is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. And within the church there are contrasting vessels that serve the congregation. Some of them are honorable. They are made of precious metals; they’re clean; they’re useful for every purpose.

There are others that would never be for proper food service, that are not for any clean usage. The honorable vessels are made of gold and silver. The dishonorable vessels are made of wood and earthenware, pottery. The contrast is deliberately extreme; the honorable vessels in the house were what you served the food on, and the dishonorable vessels are what you took the waste out in.

What does it mean to be a useful vessel? What is it to be a gold and silver serving dish, to serve people the bread of life? Well, if you go back to verse 21, it says there are three things that describe the useful vessel. First of all, it is sanctified. Secondly, the Master employs it for His good purposes. And thirdly, it is prepared for good works.

Now let’s go back to verse 20 and look at the analogy. A large house – this pictures the church. There are valuable, honorable vessels that are used to serve the food, but there are also the vessels which have become corrupted and are only good for common use. That this house is the church can be drawn from verse 19, where it says, “Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands.” Most all commentators think that phrase “the firm foundation of God” refers to the church. In 1 Tim.3:15 the church is called by Paul the pillar and foundation of the truth.

So, Paul gives here seven characteristics of an honorable vessel, or of an unashamed workman. And this is what we should all desire to be; unashamed, a vessel for honor, which is useful to the Lord. So seven characteristics are given here. The first one will take longer to get through, but the rest will go pretty quickly.

Number one thing that is necessary to being an unashamed workman, or honorable vessel is Biblical fidelity. Back in verse 14 we read this, “Remind them of these things” – things concerning the gospel of Jesus Christ – “and solemnly charge them in the presence of God.”

“Solemnly charge them in the presence of God” – that is to say you have an accountability to God; you are visible to God. It should be a sobering thing to realize God is watching you. And what is the charge? In chapter 4 vs 2, he states that charge to pastors in a positive sense, to preach the word of God, the truth of God. Paul charges them in the negative sense here, “Not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers.” The word “ruin,” by the way, here is the Greek word katastrophē. It is catastrophic; it is devastating; it is destructive.

What does it mean wrangling about words? To wrangle is to wrestle, it’s an argument on the strength of human wisdom, philosophy, human reason from the viewpoint of the world. The argument of the church which uses the reasoning of the world has an outcome which is always catastrophic. In contrast to that, Paul says you should accurately handle the word of truth.

Verse 15 says, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.” Forget about wrangling with words of human wisdom. Instead accurately handle the Word of Truth. Paul says “Be diligent” – spoudazō in the Greek – it means to give maximum effort. The King James said, “Study to show yourself approved”. That may not be the best translation, but I do think it is applicable because if you’re going to handle accurately the word of God you must be careful to study the word. To compare scripture with scripture. To meditate on the word. We are instructed in the scriptures to meditate on the word. Paul said back in verse 7, “Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” Think on the word, meditate on it so that we interpret it and apply it correctly.

The idea presented here is not just to be a student, but to apply what you have learned and become expert in it. It’s a picture of a master workman who has perfected his craft. “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who doesn’t need to be ashamed.”

Be diligent to perfect your workmanship. What is the work? It is accurately handling the Word of truth.For a pastor especially your craft is expounding the word of God. It’s understanding correctly what the Holy Spirit is indicating in His word. You know, the idea that some pastors seem to have is that they can improve upon the gospel. Really, that must be what they think because they use the word hardly at all, or at the best, they use it as a springboard to go off down some rabbit trail of their own making. But the word of God is what is powerful. The truth of God’s word is what is able to pierce the heart.

Heb 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” To borrow a phrase from Shakespeare, man’s words are “much ado about nothing.” But the word of God is able to convict, to cleanse, and to give the knowledge that leads to salvation. And so the pastor should be diligent in his study and faithful in his use of the word of God if he is to be effective and be approved by God.

You know, my goal is not to win your approval with my witticisms and articulation and oratory skills. I gave up trying to be an entertainer years ago, realizing that not only was it beyond my ability, but it was not a worthwhile goal. My goal is to win the approval of the Lord God as a faithful messenger of what He has already said in His word.

And so Paul repeats that idea verse 16 again, because we need to hear it again. “But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it leads to further ungodliness, and that kind of talk spreads like gangrene.” Worldly wisdom, twisting doctrine to be acceptable to the world, using philosophy to try to minister instead of the truth of God only leads to further ungodliness. That kind of talk, that kind of sermon, doesn’t produce sanctification, it doesn’t produce more Christlikeness in the hearer, it produces more worldliness. Worldliness is the opposite of godliness. If you preach the philosophy, the reasoning of the world, then don’t be surprised to find it produces more worldliness. It cannot produce godliness. You must teach the word of God if you expect the outcome to be godliness. If you teach the world’s doctrines, then ungodliness spreads like gangrene. In other words, it corrupts more and more until it destroys the whole body.

Paul then gives a human illustration of this type of worldly preaching, “Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus” – these were two pastors who had turned from faithfully preaching the word, and had developed a dialogue with the world, they bought into the lies of Satan. They went so far astray from the truth, that they were saying that the resurrection had already taken place, and they upset the faith of some. We’re not sure what that false doctrine entailed, but it was probably a spiritualization of the resurrection, no longer believing in a bodily resurrection. The result though was catastrophic, it upset, or better overthrew, or destroyed the faith of some of the church.

This kind of false wisdom is the opposite of the true ministers of Christ. Because verse 19 says, “Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness.” So the firm foundation is the church, and God knows those who are truly His church, because they abstain from wickedness. This idea Paul is speaking of is borrowed from Numbers 16, which is about Korah’s rebellion and God’s judgment. Back in Numbers 16, judgment from God fell on those men who had rebelled against Moses’ leadership. And God’s judgment will again fall on those who rebel against His word. But God knows those who are true, faithful workmen. God knows His true and faithful ministers because they are faithful to the word, and it’s evident because they abstain from wickedness. Good behavior is always the product of good theology, but wickedness is the product of worldly philosophy masquerading as theology.

So, the call to be a vessel unto honor – useful to the Master, prepared for every good work, a workman that is unashamed – is then a call to biblical truth. And right alongside that, number two, it is a call to a pure fellowship. Verse 21 “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.”

The things he should cleanse himself from are the dishonorable things, the common things, the unholy things, the world’s philosophy, the carnal knowledge that spreads like gangrene and causes the faith of men and women to be destroyed. In the rebellion of Korah the Lord told the Israelites to separate themselves from the wicked lest they too be destroyed. Look back at vs 20, “Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor.” So there is pure fellowship which is honorable, godly, and useful for every good work. And there is dishonorable fellowship, which is hallmarked by ungodliness and false doctrine. And they are both found in the church at large.

Jesus gave a parable about a mustard bush which is often misinterpreted, in my opinion. In Mat 13:31-32 it says Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and this is smaller than all [other] seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that THE BIRDS OF THE AIR come and NEST IN ITS BRANCHES.”

The problem with most interpretations is that they confuse two different sayings about mustard seeds. In one, Jesus compares faith to the size of a mustard seed. But in this case, Jesus teaches that this mustard seed grows into something abnormal. It should produce a bush, but it produces a tree which is bigger than all the other plants, so that the birds come and nest in it’s branches. In a previous parable about the sower, Jesus likened the birds of the air to the devil and his angels. So if we are to understand this correctly, it would seem that Jesus was saying the church universal was going to grow, but the growth was going to be abnormally large and would actually give refuge to the devil and his angels, which are the ministers of false doctrine.

I think that ties in with what Paul is saying here. In a large house, God’s church, there are honorable and dishonorable vessels. The dishonorable vessels are those pastors, those teachers that have adulterated or even abandoned the truth of God’s word for the sake of the world’s acceptance and approval. But they are not approved by God. Some of you folks visiting here today are perhaps attending churches back home that have abandoned the truth of God’s word. The pastor is teaching an adulterated version of the gospel which has been sanctified by the culture of the world, rather than sanctified by the Word of God. You do not know what spirit you are partaking of. I would suggest that unless you want to become corrupted like them, and be cut off, then you get out of those churches, stop supporting those churches for the sake of fellowship with the world, and find a church where you can have pure fellowship in the truth.

The third thing Paul says is this, “If you want to be a useful vessel, if you want to be an honorable vessel, you must have not only a biblical fidelity and pure fellowship, but thirdly, a clean heart. Verse 22, “Now flee from youthful lusts.” That’s the negative. The positive is, “Pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”

Youthful lusts are not the sole property of the youth. Old people can have youthful lusts as well. Older people are just people that haven’t learned lessons that they should have learned in their youth. Lusts include all the things of this world that are in opposition to the truth of God. The desire for physical gratification, or sexual gratification, or financial gratification that the devil tells you can be found outside of the bounds that God has established for them. God gave us sex, He gives man the ability to make money, He blesses the work of our hands, He gives us things which we can enjoy. But to lust is to want more than what God has given, and use ungodly means to get such things.

Paul says run from such things. These lusts of the world are so destructive, we should run from them, the way Joseph ran from Potiphar’s wife. Don’t dare try to have God and have the world as well. Run away from the lusts of the flesh and the lusts of the world. But there are things we should run to, and that is righteousness, faith, love and peace. If we pursue those things, we will have a pure heart, a clean heart.

He says we should pursue righteousness. That means doing right according to God’s standards. Righteousness means living in harmony with God’s Law, living in obedience to His Word. The second thing we pursue is faith. Faith is trusting that God’s way is best. It’s being faithful to God. It’s being a faithful steward of what God has entrusted you with. The third thing to pursue is love, a sacrificial love for others. 1 Cor. 13 says “Love is patient, love is kind [and] is not jealous; love does not brag [and] is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong [suffered,] does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” That’s agape love. Peace means that they have made peace with God and man. They are no longer rebellious, no longer enemies of God.

And notice what he says at the end of the verse, “With all those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” That’s speaking of salvation. To call upon the Lord is to call upon Him for forgiveness, for life, for mercy, for grace, for His Spirit. David called upon the Lord in Psalm 51: “Hide Your face from my sins And blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.” Those who have called on Him pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace.

Number four, if you would be an unashamed workman, a vessel fit for the Master’s use, you must have a discerning mind. And here he comes right back to the same issue again, verse 23, “Refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels.” Foolish and ignorant speculations is a description of the wisdom of the world.

1Co 1:21, 25 says “For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not [come to] know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. … 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” The foolish and ignorant speculations of false teaching, and worldly wisdom cannot produce godliness or a pure heart, but it will produce quarreling, squabbling, an impure heart, a deceived mind. Discernment is a gift of the Holy Spirit. That is the job of the Holy Spirit, to give us discernment to distinguish between truth and error. So we should pray for discernment that we may not be deceived as we study the word and fellowship in the church.

Number five, if you want to be a useful vessel, honorable, you must be characterized by a manner that is not combative or argumentative. Vs 24, ““The Lord’s bond servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged.” Foolish and ignorant speculations produce quarrels, arguments, contention. But the useful vessel, the unashamed workman must not be quarrelsome. I don’t preach the word of God to try to cause dissension or an argument, or to try to pick a fight with people. I preach the word of God to take fighting off the table. I am not the one saying a certain thing is a sin, or that we should run from certain things, or avoid certain types of people. If the Bible says it, then the Lord is saying it. Don’t shoot me, I’m just the messenger. I’m going to say what God says. I’m not making this up on my own. If you don’t like the message, your complaint shouldn’t be with me, it’s with God.

Number six is a humble spirit. Vs 25 says “with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth.” The Biblical definition of gentleness is not weakness, but meekness. Meekness is power under control. It was a word used in talking about training horses. The tremendous power of the horse that is under the control of it’s rider is said to be gentled. So it should be with us. Our message should be under the control of the Lord and given in the spirit of humility.

Humility is essential to have as you try to correct those that are in opposition to the truth. We don’t have some air of supereriority as if we earned our salvation through our piety or by our works. We are sinners saved by grace, by God’s mercy. That understanding is the basis for our humility in dealing with those who are not saved. But for the grace of God, there would I be. That’s an attitude of humility, having the heart of a servant, being concerned for other’s needs.

And then finally, number seven, seems almost counterintuitive. if you want to be a vessel unto honor, you must have a confrontive will. If you go back to verse 25, “With humility correcting those who are in opposition” – you’ve got to be willing to correct. Go over to chapter 4, verse 2, he says it again, “Reprove, rebuke, exhort.” First Timothy 3 says that the Word give by inspiration of God is profitable for instruction and correction.

Being humble, being gentle, being loving, doesn’t mean that you don’t tell the truth in regards to sin and rebellion against God. But rather we speak the truth in love. If we didn’t love you, we wouldn’t tell you the truth about sin and the wrath of God against sin. But because we love you, we must tell you the truth. But thank God the truth is an antidote to sin. The truth of the gospel is that the righteousness that is required comes through faith in Christ Jesus as a gift of God to the person who recognizes their need of it, who recognizes that they are lost, they are a sinner without hope. To that one who looks to Christ, God gives the gift of righteousness.

But it could also be applied to a believer who has fallen into some false doctrine, or some sin, and needs to be confronted with the truth so that by that truth he can come back to his senses, escape the snare of the Devil where he’s been held captive. But it doesn’t happen without confrontation.

By the way, verse 26, it says, “May come to their senses.” He uses a verb ananēphō which means to return from drunkenness, to sober up. It’s used only here in the New Testament. There’s all kinds of lies floating out around there, the lies of Satan filtered into Christianity by the dialogue that the church always wants to have with the culture. These false teachers numb the conscience, deceive the mind, paralyze the will, and cause some believers to fall into a spiritual drunkenness from which they need to be delivered because it is a snare of the Devil. And the devil tries to hold them captive, as long as he can, and render them useless. So, we need to deliver them by a confrontive will. So we are to be compassionate, a loving, and humble, yes, but we don’t back off when it comes to truth.

So you want to be an honorable vessel, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, you want to be a useful servant to the Lord? Then you need Biblical fidelity, you need pure fellowship, a clean heart, a discerning mind, a gentle manner, a humble spirit, and a confrontive will. I pray that’s your desire and the desire of all who truly know the Lord and are called to His service.