to that day when I'll have the opportunity to see him face to face. It's so good to welcome each of you that are here and that are watching or listening by way of the webcast. Thank you for being with us. And I trust that you will be blessed as we look to the word of God this evening. One more time, I'll ask you to join me in the epistle to Galatians. Galatians chapter number six, as we go to the word of God. For the final message in this series that we started many months ago, we have walked verse by verse through the epistle to the Galatians, focusing on Paul's main theme throughout this letter, that salvation is grace with nothing added. Justification being declared righteous, that act whereby God declares the guilty sinner to be righteous, is a matter of faith in Christ alone, by grace alone, and nothing else. And that is what Paul has declared all throughout this epistle to a church that he planted. Many of the people of this church are people that he personally won to the Lord Jesus Christ. But they have been duped. They've been deceived by those who have come in and shared with them what Paul declared in chapter one to be another gospel. Do not mistake the length to which Paul goes to denounce this heresy. Paul does not say this is just another view of the gospel. He doesn't say this is another theory about the gospel of Jesus Christ. No, Paul declares it to be another gospel entirely. It's not even in the same ball field. It's not even on the same level of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's an entirely different gospel altogether. Taken in light of what Paul declares in the book of Romans, we could say that the Judaizers were teaching a works-based gospel. Because Paul declared in Romans that if you are saying grace, but then you bring in works, it's no more of grace. And if you're saying it's of works and try to bring in grace, it's no more grace. Grace and works are not two sides of the same coin. They're completely different and separate. You cannot have both. And I'm thankful today that salvation is not works. Nor is it Christ plus works Because in either case we would be left fallen short of the glory of God It is all of God's grace if you are saved today You are saved you're justified by faith alone in Christ alone by grace alone and Nothing else not of you in any way whatsoever And we should thank the Lord for that As we come to this final passage in Galatians chapter 6, Paul ties it all together. As he announces, he declares what his life is all about, what his ministry is all about, what his passion is, what he is living for. And I want to ask you this evening, what are you living for? If you could pinpoint it and identify your life and what your life represents in one word, one symbol, one pursuit, one passion, what would it be? Let's find out what Paul declared to the Galatians in chapter 6 beginning in verse 11. He says, ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand? As many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised, only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For neither they themselves, who are circumcised, keep the law, but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them and mercy and upon the Israel of God. From henceforth, let no man trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. as we think back over all that we have seen from this epistle to the Galatians. we could look back to chapter 1 and find out why Paul penned this letter to these believers to begin with. In Galatians 1, 6 and 7, he said, Again, he wrote to them to deal with the issue of the Judaizers. And the whole issue of this book was their behavior, legalists who demanded that the Gentile followers of Christ needed to submit to the law of Moses through circumcision. I was reading about the history of this again just this morning in my devotions, and I'll ask you to hold your place in Galatians 6 and look with me at the book of Acts chapter 15, because it's so important that we understand the foundation of all of this, which we have seen before. But to be reminded of it as we come to this closing passage in the epistle to the Galatians, Paul and Barnabas had gone on the first missionary journey where the greatest fruit of their ministry during the first missionary journey, and even prior to the first missionary journey, took place at the church in Antioch. that place where believers were called Christians for the first time. It was to that church, the church in Antioch, where Judaizers, Jewish converts coming out of Jerusalem, came there to begin spreading this philosophy. Look at Acts 15 verse 1. And certain men which came down from Judea taught the brethren and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, read the last four words with me, ye cannot be saved. Would you say that that's a pretty significant statement? If you're not circumcised according to the law, now look past just the physical experience of circumcision. What they're saying is if you don't live according to the law of Moses, as we've discussed, the Ten Commandments, but beyond that, the 613 commandments found in the Talmud, along with all the traditions and interpretations given by the Jewish rabbis throughout history, if you do not yield to, submit to all of these, what? ye cannot be saved. Paul and Barnabas, even from that point, began contending with those who taught these things, according to verse number two. And this led to what Acts 15 discusses, what we also know of, written about from church history, what we refer to as the Jerusalem Council. This actually led to a conference of the early leaders of the New Testament church. Think of the apostles, James, John, Peter, and others, Paul and Barnabas coming back from Antioch. All of these leaders of the early church getting together to discuss this circumstance, this situation, whereby these Jewish converts were spreading among the churches, unless you follow the law of Moses, you cannot be saved. Even if you're a Gentile convert to Christianity, you cannot be saved unless you also submit to the law of Moses. I love when Peter came to give his testimony. And don't forget, not long before this, Peter may have very well fallen into the camp of the Judaizers. Having been a Jew himself, even though he walked with Jesus Christ, had heard Jesus teach, had seen Jesus interact with Gentiles as we saw from the passage this morning, when God appeared to Peter in Acts chapter 10 and let that down out of heaven with the unclean animals on it and told him to kill and eat. And Peter said, not so Lord, I've never touched anything unclean. He was staying within those Jewish parameters. And God told Peter, don't call unclean what I've called clean. And from there, the messengers came from the house of Cornelius. and the Gentile to call Peter to go and share the gospel, and Peter did. And when they believed on Jesus Christ, received the Holy Spirit, and began speaking with tongues, even Peter was amazed. But now in Acts 15, Peter comes before the Jerusalem council. And he repeats what had happened when God called him to go to the home of Cornelius to share the gospel. And I want you to look at what he says in verse number eight. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, the Gentiles of Cornelius's home, giving them the Holy Spirit, even as he did unto us, and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore, why tempt ye God? to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear." Friends, that's a pretty telling statement. Peter says, why would we put the yoke of the law upon the Gentile believers, which we who are Jews could not even bear up under ourselves? We couldn't even keep the law ourselves. And then notice what he says in verse 11. But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved even as they. Friends, that's the gospel. Right there. That we're saved by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. And that is the message for all and to all. That is the gospel of Jesus Christ. And as we go back to Galatians chapter 6, Paul is tying it all together as he is given an essay as if he's debating the Judaizers themselves, repeating over and over that salvation, justification, is through faith alone, in Christ alone, by grace alone. He argued that the teaching of the Judaizers constituted a false gospel that substituted the grace of God for the work of man. And he declares that this teaching and belief was, and friends is today, to be denounced in the church. That is not the gospel. Grace plus works. Grace plus law. No, it's all of God's grace. We come to the end of the book, the passage of scripture that we read. Paul takes pen into his own hand to reemphasize the essential nature of the Christian faith. The key verse of this entire passage is verse number 14. Look at it again where he says, but God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ by whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world. about this passage, Charles Spurgeon penned these words, he, speaking of Paul, seems to take all that he had, all that he did, and all that he was, and put it all away, and come forward with no other theme upon his lips, and no greater love in his heart except this, Jesus crucified for the sons of men. Paul had a lot that he could glory in his flesh. He wrote about that in Philippians chapter 3. If anyone could boast in his flesh, and in his keeping of the law, it was the apostle Paul, but now he declares to the Galatians, I will boast in nothing else. I'll glory in nothing else except the cross. Jesus Christ. As he wrote to the Corinthian believers, for I determined to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified. What is Paul saying? There's only one object of glory for me. I will boast in nothing else but the cross of Jesus. Paul's determination should be followed by those of us who have trusted Christ as our Savior. Like Paul, we have nothing to glory in save the cross of Jesus. And so would you examine this passage with me so that we too might consciously determine to glory only in the cross of Christ. I want us to begin by considering the grounds of criticism, the grounds for criticism in verses 12 and 13. Even as he's drawing to a conclusion, he again calls attention to the Judaizers, these false teachers who brought the law into salvation, who brought this belief that you cannot be saved except you submit to the law of Moses. He speaks to them here, and he reveals their true character. While the Judaizers made a lot of sense to the Galatians, we've seen other parts of the epistle where Paul identifies that. It appealed to the Galatians, these who had converted to Christianity from their Gentile walk. For whatever reason, this thought of law-keeping and that adding to and actually being a part of salvation really appealed to them. But Paul here reveals the true nature of the Judaizers. Notice he speaks of how they were prideful. He speaks in verse number 12 about these who desire to make a show in the flesh, and at the end of verse 13, that they may glory in your flesh. Here's what Paul is saying. The Judaizers find pride, what they can boast in, in their teaching and in the followers of their teaching. As they proclaim salvation, you need to submit to the law of Moses. They gain great pride in seeing Gentiles convert to this hybrid Christianity, if you will, this mix of Christianity and Judaism. Paul says it's all a matter of pride for them. They're not glorying in the cross. They're glorying in their own belief system and the accomplishment of it. Paul declares them to be compromisers. He says, in part, their motivation is lest they should face persecution. Friends, don't forget that the earliest persecutors of the New Testament church were whom? It wasn't the Romans, it was the Jews. The earliest persecutors of the church were the Jews. Do you remember in Acts chapter 7, the first Christian martyr that we view? Stephen, one of the early deacons of the New Testament church, a man who was full of faith and of the Holy Ghost and of wisdom. He was called to give an account before whom? Not the emperor, not before the Roman leadership, before the Sanhedrin. And it was Paul. before he came to faith in Christ, who was the witness over the execution of Stephen. Paul says, in part, the motivation of these Judaizers is that they might not face persecution. Through compromising, through bringing in this hybrid mix of Christianity and Judaism, they're hoping to avoid the persecution that those who preach and proclaim the name of Christ are experiencing, and then notice this, Paul declared them to be hypocrites. What's he saying in the beginning of verse 13? For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law. He declares in accordance with what Peter said as we read in Acts chapter 15. Those who declared to keep the law for salvation failed to recognize that it's a burden, a yoke that they cannot keep. As Paul has declared throughout this epistle, the law was not given so that we might reach for righteousness. The law was given to show us that we fall short of righteousness. They're hypocrites. They were interested not in the spiritual well-being of the Galatians, but of promoting themselves in the sight of others. They lived motivated by the praise of men for their own glory. How well this describes human nature. This is a temptation that we can all be prone to. to look at the accomplishments of our lives and of our flesh and be lifted up in pride and find pride in drawing others to follow suit with us. That was the Judaizers. And so Paul declares, I have great grounds for criticism here. all throughout this epistle as I've drawn attention to the Judaizers, I'm doing so because even as you, their philosophy appeals to you, they're prideful, they're compromisers, they're hypocrites. But I want you to see secondly and where we'll focus the rest of our time is the glory of the cross. Paul lived for a completely different purpose. He was not driven by the praise of men for his own glory. He was moved by the cross to bring glory to God. How radical was this statement? The cross was viewed in those of that day as a curse. And we truly do not appreciate how crazy a statement like this is, that Paul would say, I glory in the cross, I boast in the cross. We tend to view the cross today in a sentimental or an artsy way. It's decorative. We use it as a symbol that we etch or carve into furnishings as pieces of jewelry on chains, on bracelets, on earrings, and so on. But all of that would have been detestable to the world in which Paul lived. They wouldn't have used the cross in these ways. The cross symbolized shame. The cross symbolized a cursed death. It was certainly not something that anyone would glory in. How could Paul make such a radical statement that he would glory in the cross? Paul could make this radical statement because he understood what made the cross that he preached different from all others. What made the cross different in Paul's mind? Notice, first of all, the person of the cross. Friends, it's not just that I glory in a cross. No, it was a particular cross. And what made this cross special was not that it was a cross, but it was the person who hanged on that cross. This cross was different from every other cross because of the person whom it bore. It was not a criminal. The one who hung upon this cross was not a criminal, as most crosses were used to execute the very worst of men, to execute the most vile and the most criminal and the most transgression-type lives in individuals. This was reserved for the worst of the worst in Roman society, and even in the societies that use crucifixion preceding the Romans. It was reserved for the worst lawbreakers, for the worst criminals. It was reserved to be an example to all those who witnessed and saw as crucifixions took place in very public atmospheres. It was an example to those of the authority and the power of the governments who put to death those criminals hanging upon the cross. But the cross that Paul preached was different. This cross did not hold a criminal. On this cross was not hanging the worst and the most vile of men. No, on this cross hung Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the spotless Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world. On this cross held the promised one, the one who would come to redeem men from their sin. All men, from the worst to what we might view as the best of men, because all still fall short of the glory of God. Paul could glory in the cross because of the person of the cross. Paul could glory in the cross, notice, because of the power of the cross. If we've learned nothing else through the epistle to the Galatians, we could say that we've learned that the world and the flesh have no ability or power to save. Paul has made that abundantly clear. There is nothing and no one in this world who has the power or the ability to save us. Friends, your flesh has no power to save you. Paul gloried in his flesh before coming to Christ. He banked upon his heritage and his own personal holiness to gain him entry into heaven and to gain him favor with God. But he had learned through the power of Jesus Christ, through the proclamation of Christ, through the preaching of Christ, that his flesh and this world could do nothing and bring salvation, not bring salvation to him. He learned that the world and the flesh have no ability or nothing to save, and they add nothing in Christ. He had learned and he declared, in Christ alone is salvation. Through his death and resurrection, God's power is released to give deliverance and victory. And friends, you can experience deliverance and victory through no other means but the cross of Jesus Christ. That is the power of the cross. He gloried in the cross because of the person of the cross, the power of the cross, and then notice the purpose of the cross. He declared in this passage that the cross offers peace and mercy to those who respond to God's message of salvation through the cross and to those who glory in the cross of Christ. That's why he wrote in verse 16, and as many as walk according to this rule. What rule is that? That I'll boast in nothing save in the cross of Jesus Christ. Because in verse 15, for in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. And so he says in verse 16, as many as walk according to this rule, that we have nothing to glory and save in the cross of Jesus Christ. Peace be on them and mercy. The cross offers peace and mercy to those of us who respond to God's message of salvation through the cross. If you have come to faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, you have experienced the great peace with God and mercy from God. And perhaps you've never trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior. He offers you peace. He offers you mercy through the cross of Jesus Christ. But friends, we too, as the Apostle Paul declared, should glory in nothing save in the cross of Jesus Christ. We have no reason for boasting. We have no reason for glory. We have nothing that we can depend upon and lean on in and of ourselves for salvation, or for glory, or for boasting. The only right place that we can glory is in the cross of Jesus Christ. Because of these truths, the person of the cross, the power of the cross, and the purpose of the cross, Paul gloried only in the cross of Christ. While others were motivated by the praise of men for their own glory, Paul was motivated by the cross to bring glory to God. Paul didn't care what you said or what you thought of his ministry, of his message. He was only concerned about pleasing God. What do you glory in? What are you boasting? What are you depending upon? What are you leaning upon? Are you seeking the praise of men in your life or to bring glory to God? As all of this comes to a conclusion in the epistle to the Galatians, an epistle that has declared justification is through faith alone, in Christ alone, by grace alone. Over and over, Paul has declared through his arguments, through his debates, through his teaching and his preaching, that we have nothing to glory in save Jesus Christ. And because of that, we should live our lives for nothing else but the cross of Christ, concerned only with bringing glory to God, not seeking the praise of man. What about you this evening? What are you glorying? What are you living for? Paul determined based on the truth that salvation, justification is through faith alone in Christ alone, by grace alone, he would boast in nothing else save the cross of Jesus Christ. If during the message the Lord has spoken to your heart, would you consciously determine the glory only in the cross of Jesus Christ? Would you bow your heads and close your eyes with me this evening? No one looking around. In just a moment, we're going to close the service. But as we have walked through the epistle to the Galatians over these last weeks and months and concluded where Paul concluded with the cross of Jesus Christ, perhaps the Lord has spoken to your heart this evening. Whether you're here in this auditorium or you're watching or listening by way of the internet, Can I ask you first, have you trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior? Have you come to faith in Jesus Christ, recognizing that there is no other way of salvation, no other means of getting to the Father, no other way of meriting favor with God, except by placing your faith in Jesus Christ? If you have never made that decision, I would invite you to do so right now. Call out on the Lord Jesus Christ and ask him to save you and he will. Christians, what about us? And I remind you again, Galatians were believers in Jesus Christ who were deceived. They came back to a place of depending on their personal holiness. their observances and rituals as somehow earning God's favor. And Paul declared to them, no. You are saved by grace. Live in God's grace. Don't glory in yourself, in your flesh, in your works. Glory only in the cross of Jesus Christ. Maybe as a believer in Christ, you have begun to glory in your flesh and yourself and your works. And what you do or don't do what you stand for and what you don't stand for. Oh, may we come back to the place of glorying only in the cross of Christ. Remembering what we are in where we would be if it were not for his grace. If God is speaking to your heart, I would ask you to cry out to the Lord as I lead us in prayer. You respond as God leads you. Heavenly Father, thank you so much for the truth of the scripture for this epistle to the Galatians that we have studied over these last weeks and months, to be reminded again and again of the true nature of salvation in Christianity. It's not about us. It's all about the cross of Christ. I pray that you would help us to live in light of this truth. that Lord, you would help us to glory in nothing save the cross of Jesus Christ. May the cross of Christ be what we live for and be the message that we declare to those around us. Lord, use us to effectively share the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ in this world. Help us to walk in your grace and nothing else. And we'll be sure to praise and thank you for it, Lord, in Jesus' precious name, amen.