Galatians chapter 6. I've been itching to preach this one for several weeks. This is actually the last sermon from Galatians. And so tonight we're just going to look at the last two verses of the chapter. So Galatians chapter six, verses 17 and 18, and we'll have some concluding thoughts from the series as well. So it says here, from now on, let no one cause trouble for me. for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen. As Paul concludes this letter, he lays down his final admonition. Let no one trouble me. Let them not annoy me. Let no man charge me with inconsistency. And if you think of the context of this, he's actually been troubled. He's been troubled a lot. He's been troubled by the false teaching. He's been troubled by the false teachers. He's been troubled by those who would call into question his apostolic authority, those who would pervert the gospel. He's very troubled. He says, from now on, he's written these several pages. Remember, they weren't originally written in chapters and verses, but we know them as six chapters. He's written this to address the problem that was going on within these churches. From now on, let no one cause trouble for me. This is his last word here. For I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. The Greek term here is stigma. Some translations use the word brand marks. The LSB translators, right now, their translation notes for the New Testament are all available online. Eventually, they're gonna publish a set of books, kinda like a commentary series, but they have a note here since the Greek term stigma here is translated as marks rather than brand marks to avoid over-translation. While the meaning of the term may include the idea of being branded, branding is just one of several ways someone could be marked. So you think of tattoos or scars. Thus, marks keeps the translation more general where the original text does not specify the exact kind of marks. By referring to these marks of Jesus on his body, Paul is likely calling attention to the scars he had amassed in his ministry of the gospel for Jesus. Marks demonstrating his sincerity and sacrifice as well Jesus. So I like that and as we think about this you oftentimes we just read these things and we think of the words on the page and yes these have been preserved for us but Paul is actually calling attention to and get dressed up and all of those sorts of things, but Paul is calling attention to something else. Something that would have disfigured his body. Something that would have been terrible on his body. These scars, these marks that he would have gotten for the cause of Christ. Alva Hoving, The Baptist commentator from the 1800s in his commentary on Galatians said the pronoun I is emphatic. I bear on my body. Implying that this was not true of the Judaizing teachers who had impeached his authority and attempted to render his work vain. Moreover, he appeals to the seers which were in his body as signs of the persecution which he had suffered for Christ's sake. As Marx declaring that he was Christ's bondservant, the Marx attested who the apostle's master was. Jesus is my master, my protector, his brand. is stamped on my body. I bear this badge of an honorable service. You think about if you've ever been on a ranch or a farm. The farmer will mark with a brand on his cattle. That belongs to me. Paul says, I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. What a grand testimony this was, that Paul didn't go around saying, oh, this pain I've got in my back, it's terrible. They mistreated me. He knew. He knew that it was costly. to serve the Lord and he did not complain. In fact, as he wrote this, those who read it were probably very familiar of what happened. No doubt, many of the saints there had witnessed Paul's receiving of those marks in his body. Remember in our studies in Acts, if you go back to Acts chapter 14, this would have been Acts chapter 14 and verse 19. Luke here records the scene. But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and after winning over the crowds and stoning Paul, dragging him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. Paul really did suffer for the things of Christ. They did treat him terribly. He was not a He was not like some in our day who go from town to town dressed in a nice suit and tie and collect the check and draw the crowds and then go to the next city. He was one who had been beat and truly had the marks to show it, the marks As he wrote this, no doubt the Judaizers there, they would have read this letter. They would have heard this letter being read and they made a presence of personal sacrifice and devotion. Jesus called them out for it in Matthew chapter six and verse 16. Matthew chapter 6, verse 16. Now whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed Truly I say unto you, they have their reward in full. The Judaizers, they knew something about marks, but their marks were the marks of hypocrisy. They made a show. Look at me, I'm fasting. serving Christ. He had the marks of the slave. It costs something to serve Jesus. And you and I, we are the servants, the slaves of Christ. As I was studying this sermon some several weeks ago, like I said, I've been wanting to preach this for a long while, but as I was studying for this, you know, things just kind of come together. And I was scrolling through Facebook the night or two before I planned to preach it the first time, and I saw a video clip from Paul Washer on Instagram. And he was talking about, he was talking about the cost of serving the Lord. And he made this point, and I like it. I paused it and typed it out. He said, I'm going to have to answer for all the books I've read, all the opportunities to learn, all the good sermons, all the men that have influenced me. Did I just grow fat off of all of that or did I respond? The Great Commission is not that complicated. You're either called to go or you're called to send. You're either to go down into the mine Hold the rope for those who go down. Either way, there'll be scarves on your hand. He goes on to say, show me the scarves on your hand. Show me the scars on your life. Show me what it's cost you to serve the Lord. Christianity. I appreciated what he had to say there because all of us, we need to have in our lives, on our bodies, the marks of Jesus. Christianity is not a spectator sport. We need to be busy in the service of the master. We may not be like Paul to go out in the places that he went, but Acts chapter 9 in Acts chapter 9 and verse 4. Falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Whenever a Christian is persecuted, his way to Damascus. This is before he was saved. He was on his way to Damascus to arrest and imprison Christians. The Lord said to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Here's the deal. Satan, Satan can't afflict Christ directly. So, who's he go after? He goes after his people. Particularly, he goes after his churches. He goes after the Lord's churches. He goes after the Lord's people. And so, the trouble that we have, the the scars that we face, the marks of Jesus. What Paul suffered truly was the marks of Jesus. this epistle the way it began. Verse 18, he says, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit brothers. Amen. Remember that's what he said in verse 3, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. In his conclusion, this he he recognized them he acknowledged them as brothers once again these were not the enemies of the gospel these were brethren they they had some issues no doubt about it in fact Even as I thought about this, if there's a fault of the modern landmark movement, it is this. Everyone who differs with us is often seen as an enemy. But Paul was not like that. As harsh as he was with these churches, We can't, we shouldn't build kingdoms up complete with walls and rules and regulations and divisions. Let us always hold up the scriptures. Let us always stand up for the faith that was once delivered. Let us always hold on to the truth. But let us not forget the finer details, like this, where Paul calls even those churches at Galatia, he calls them brothers. He prayed the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Even those brothers that we disagree with, those brothers who are falling or have fallen into some error, even as big of an error as these churches were falling into, wouldn't it be great if we remembered to pray for them in such a way, to pray that they would be preserved from error or further error to prevent them from being tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine. Even in these words, Paul is showing his commitment to the gospel of grace over a man-made system of works righteousness. Amen. So be it. And so as we close this, I trust that this series from Galatians has been a blessing as it's been to me. I trust it's been a blessing to y'all too. I trust that we've seen the importance of the gospel. Jesus Christ, the importance of the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Indeed, from start to finish. room for legalism. In fact, I trust that we've seen the dangers of legalism. And while it's very doubtful that we ever run into the same scenario as what these dear saints, what these churches were running into, in other words, I doubt we'll ever have an issue of having somebody come in and say, I wouldn't say never. Weird things have happened in churches. The reality is we do have to guard against the error of legalism. Indeed, Larry Osborne in his can unintentionally sabotage the work of the Lord we claim to serve when we become so focused on what we see as the agenda of God that we lose touch with the heart of God. We're all susceptible in different ways. The dark side of my zeal may look quite different from yours, but in the end, the pathway to becoming an accidental Pharisee And this is what he wrote. It begins with a failure to grasp the true gravity and depths of my own sin. Number two, it's followed by a heightened disgust for the sins of others. And then thirdly, it's then justified by a cut and paste theology that emphasizes some of the hard things of Jesus legalism will either cause you to be very puffed up or extremely discouraged. But if you put your trust in the finished work of Jesus, you don't have to worry about it. Most always and forever in the cross, as Paul put it, may May we, may the Lord always help us to stand for the truth and keep these things close to hand. All of these sermons are on Sermon Audio on YouTube. many through the centuries, but it's been a joy to preach. Lord willing, next week we'll start with Genesis. I'm looking forward to that. So let's go ahead and close with prayer. And I thank you for your attention.