If you would turn with me to the book of Galatians. We're going to be in chapter 4 and with the Lord's help and with his blessing looking at verses 8 through 20 this morning. Galatians chapter 4 verses 8 through 20. As you're turning there I want to remind you of what is perhaps the most well-known parable of the Lord Jesus and that would be the parable of the prodigal son. And we all are familiar with the story. An entitled son who knows little of his father's great love and grace towards him demands his inheritance early from his father. He takes his money and he leaves his father's house and he goes off to a foreign land and he has his good time. He lives it up. He's finally free now that he's out from under the thumb of this oppressive father, or so he thinks. Well, soon the money dries up, the new friends that he thought he had made abandon him, and a severe famine hits the land. And he finds himself having to take a job feeding pigs in this foreign land just to get by. And his hunger during this famine becomes so great that the Bible tells us that he actually longs to be fed with the slop that he's feeding the pigs. That's how hungry he is. So we have a son who's experienced quite a fall from grace, if you will. Well, after a time working in the pigsty, the Bible tells us that the son came to himself and he remembered his father. He remembered how he never went hungry when he was under his father's care. He always had everything that he needed. So he resolves to return to his father and to seek his forgiveness. And his plan is to ask his father to hire him as a servant, not to treat him as a son, because of course he has given that privilege up, but to treat him as a hired servant and let him work in his fields. And you know how the story goes. The father sees the son returning home and far from being disgruntled or from being upset, he's overjoyed. And he runs out to meet his son and he immediately begins lavishing him with this grace and love. And the father orders his servants to bring his son the best robe. to go into the jewelry box and get the ring and bring the ring and put it on his finger, to bring sandals for his feet and to slaughter the fattened calf that they've been preparing because now was the time to celebrate the return of this son who was lost. Now imagine how insane it would be for the son, having received such love and grace from his father, to then turn back and decide that he wants to return to that foreign land once again to suffer starvation and to feed slop to a foreign man's pigs. We would rightly think that he's crazy, that he's out of his mind. But this is exactly what we find the Galatians doing in our text. Having received the robe, the ring, the sandals, having feasted upon the fattened calf, as it were, they are now longing to return to the pigsty. Having been adopted as sons of God, they are now desiring a return to spiritual slavery. And on our text this morning, Paul makes a passionate plea with them not to turn back to slavery, but to press forever forward as sons of God. Well, let us pray and ask for God's help and blessing, and then we'll read our text. Pray with me. Father, would you pour your Spirit out upon us now, not because we have earned it from you, because we haven't, we could never earn the gift of the Holy Spirit, but because your steadfast love and faithfulness endures forever, because through the merits of Christ, you are pleased to give us every good and perfect gift. Lord, we ask that the preaching of your word this morning might be to your own glory, and it might be to the good of each and every one of our souls this morning, even those who at this very moment do not know you in a saving way. Lord, it is our prayer and desire that they may, by the end of this day, have Christ as their Lord and Savior. And we ask this in Jesus' name, amen. Read with me from Galatians chapter four. Our verses again are eight through 20. We're gonna start in verse four. Galatians four, verses four through 20. Hear the word of God. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son, born of woman, born under the law to redeem those who were under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the spirit of his son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. So you are no longer a slave, but a son. And if a son, then an heir through God. Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world whose slaves you want to be once more? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I'm afraid I may have labored over you in vain. Brothers, I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong. You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first, and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me. Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth? They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out that you may make much of them. It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose. And not only when I am present with you, my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you. I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you. Amen. The title of this sermon is Forever Forward. Again, by God's grace, the Galatian believers had been made sons of God. They had been set free from spiritual slavery and they had been given an inheritance that was beyond their imagination. But now we find them astonishingly looking back to the time that they were in bondage to the elementary principles of the world and longing to return to those things. Like Lot's wife looking back with longing to the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, or like the wandering Israelites who longed to be back in bondage in Egypt, the Galatians are desiring to be once again in spiritual captivity. And Paul is admonishing them, don't look back, don't return to spiritual slavery, press forever forward as sons of God. And brothers and sisters, I say the same thing to you this morning. Don't look back. If you have been set free from spiritual slavery, from bondage to the elementary principles of this world through God's grace, do not desire a return to spiritual bondage, but press forever forward as a son of God. We'll examine our text under two headings this morning. Firstly, in verses eight through 11, we'll see the paradox of the Galatians. the paradox of the Galatians. And secondly, in verses 12 through 20, we'll see the paradox of Paul. The paradox of Paul. Starting first with the paradox of the Galatians. A paradox is a statement or a situation that defies logical expectation. It's something that is opposed to common sense. It's where reality unfolds in a way that contradicts what one would reasonably predict, creating this tension between expectation and outcome. And the situation in Galatia is a spiritual paradox. It's a spiritual contradiction. Again, by God's grace, the Galatians had been set free from spiritual slavery. And our expectation is that they would be thankful for that, that they would rejoice in the grace of adoption and that they would perseveringly grow in grace and in Christian maturity. That is what we would expect. But instead, the Galatians are inexplicably desiring a return to spiritual slavery. So having been set free from the bondage of the law, they're turning back to, as Paul says in our text, the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world. And what is unfolding here in Galatia defies logical expectation. It's opposite of what we would reasonably predict. Again, it is a spiritual paradox. And I want us to look at this paradox from both angles, starting first with the reality that the Galatians had been set free from spiritual slavery. And Paul begins in verse eight by reminding the Galatians of where they came from. He says, formerly, That is to say, before Paul came and preached Christ to them, formerly, they did not know God. Now, to be sure, they knew that God existed, did they not? There are many places in the Bible that this testimony is given to us. Psalm 19 is one of them. The heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. They have seen creation and they have deduced in their minds that there is a creator who put the creation in place. They know that God exists. They can even see something of his attributes. The Bible tells us that creation reveals his eternal power and his divine nature. So they know that there is a divine creator. Like all men of all times, the Galatians knew that God had existed. He showed it to them, excuse me, in his creation and in his providence. But they lacked a saving knowledge of God. Formerly, when you did not know God in a saving way. And Paul then points out, that at this time when they did not know the one true and living God, at that time the Galatians were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. Again, like all men before them and all men after them, the Galatians had invented their own religion. They had invented their own ways of being made right with the creator whose existence cried out to them everywhere they looked. and far from being a liberating force, their pagan religion, their ceremonies, their rituals and observances, their idols, these things were captors and they were prison guards to the Galatians. Before Christ had set them free, the Galatians were enslaved to these things, which by nature, in their essence, are not God's. And this is the same argument that Paul introduced in chapter three. We looked at that in detail as we were going through those verses, but just as a quick reminder, chapter three, verse 22, the Galatians were imprisoned. Chapter three, verse 23, they were held captive. Chapter four, verse three, they were enslaved. And here we are again in verse eight, before they heard the message of the gospel with faith, they were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. Well, Paul then goes on to contrast their former condition with their current condition. Look with me to the first part of verse nine. But now that you have come to know God, in God's mercies, the Holy Spirit set apart Paul and Barnabas for the work which he had called him to. And as they were on their first missionary journey, you will recall that they traveled to four different cities. Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. Each of these four cities are in the region of Asia Minor known as Galatia. And if you'll remember, when Paul and Barnabas first showed up in Lystra, the people saw them preaching and working miracles, and what did they do? They cried out, the gods have come down to us in the likeness of men. And they called Barnabas Zeus, and they called Paul Hermes, They were very obviously enslaved to those things that by nature are not God's. But in the midst of their pagan idolatry, God blessed the preaching of Paul and the preaching of Barnabas and the Galatians heard with faith the message of the crucified and risen Christ. And we saw this when we looked at the beginning of chapter three, where Paul interrogated the Galatians with a series of rhetorical questions about their own experience of God's grace. If you would just look there with me at the beginning of chapter three, verse two, Paul asks the Galatians, and again, these are rhetorical questions. The answers are embedded into the questions themselves. Did you receive the spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Verse three, having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Verse five, does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law or by hearing with faith? And Paul's point is clear. The Galatians, formerly enslaved to those things that by nature are not God's, they heard Paul's preaching of the gospel with faith and were set free and adopted as sons of God. Again, chapter four, verse nine, but now that you have come to know God. Now Paul here catches himself. It's almost like we get a glimpse into the human authorship of scripture. He says, but now that you have come to know God, or rather, to be known by God. He's writing so fast, he is so concerned with getting this letter to the Galatians to address this issue, it's like he has to pause, hold on a second, actually, but rather, you've become known by God. This is even more accurate than saying that the Galatians have come to know God. They became known by God through Paul's preaching of the gospel. Now, Pastor Jerry spoke to us about God's omniscience during the public scripture reading. That is not what Paul was talking about here. He's not talking about God's general, complete knowledge of all things. What he's speaking of here is a special and intimate knowing. And the word used by Paul means to know personally and deeply. It's actually the same word that Paul uses in a different letter in 1 Corinthians 2 when he's speaking to the Corinthians about how the Spirit of God comprehends the thoughts of God. It is a deep, intimate, personal knowing. It's in reference, if we were to put a doctrine around this, it's in reference to God's electing love. This is the doctrine of election. This intimate knowing of a sinner by God, this eternal election of a sinner, what does it result in? In time, it results in regeneration, conversion, justification, and in adoption. If we were to look back to chapter four, verse six, God sending the spirit of his son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. That is the sure end result of God knowing a sinner in this deep, intimate, personal way. And so the question is put in front of us here. Are you known by God? Are you known by God? And I'm not asking if you know that God exists. I'm not even asking you if you claim to know God. What I'm asking you is, have you become known by God in this way? And if you have, then I would submit to you that two things will be true of you. One, you will hold fast to the trustworthy word as taught. You will hear the true gospel with faith and you will never give it up for a false gospel. And two, I would submit to you that your life will imperfectly but perseveringly be a life of obedience to God. Now we think of the book of Galatians and we think of a letter that defends as strongly as any book in the Bible, the doctrine of justification by faith alone. And we are right to think that. We have seen that Paul is continually driving home to the Galatians the superiority of what he calls hearing with faith over and against works of the law. The gospel sets you free from bondage to the law. It sets you free from the curse of the law. But the gospel also sets you free from bondage to sin. And listen to what Paul will say to us later in chapter five. He'll give us this admonition. For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love, serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Friends, if you are using your freedom from the law as an excuse to coddle, as an excuse to hoard, as an excuse to hang onto and indulge in sin, then you have to repent of that. That is not Christian behavior. That is not behavior of a son of God. And if this is you, I would strongly encourage you that you need to, before God, confess these things and seek his grace to turn from them. So the Galatians experience, they were known by God. God had sent the spirit of his son into their hearts, crying, Abba father, they were no longer slaves, but sons. But here's the paradox. Here's the contradiction. Having been made sons of God by faith, the Galatians now want to turn back to those things which previously had held them captive and enslaved them. Look with me to verse nine again. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world whose slaves you want to be once more? Now Paul is astonished. How can you? How crazy are you? How absurd can you be? Having been freed from spiritual slavery through God's grace and adopted as sons, this is really inexplicable behavior. It's like the prodigal son having been received by his father and saying, you know what? That was nice. I'm going to turn back around and go back to the pigsty. I think I want to feed on some of that pig slop instead of the fattened calf that you've prepared for me. It makes no sense. And Paul is amazed. And this feeling of amazement, and this is amazed, by the way, in the bad way. But this feeling of amazement really just runs all throughout Galatians. We saw it in chapter one, verse six, where Paul started right out of the gate. I am astonished that you were so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel. Chapter three, verse one, oh foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? And looking ahead, we'll see in verse 20 today, I am perplexed about you. And then chapter five, verse seven, Paul says, you were running well. You were doing so good. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? It's, this is confusing to Paul. It's shocking to his system. He is astonished that they would turn from the one true and living God to a false gospel, which would once again bring them into spiritual captivity. Now, we should note that the word turn here is a present tense verb. The Galatians are actively turning. This is a change in progress, which Paul is working intensely to prevent. They have not yet apostatized from the faith, but they're headed that way. That is the trajectory that they are on. They are dangerously close because they're desiring to be slaves once again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world. And these things are in reference to their former pagan religion, the things which Paul just said in verse eight are not God's. This is what they want to be enslaved to once again. And let's note something about these elementary principles. They're weak. They don't have the power to justify the Galatians. But they're also worthless. They will not provide for the Galatians a rich and priceless spiritual inheritance like union with Christ will. They are weak and they are worthless. Now we should be clear that the Galatians are being bewitched by the Judaizers. They are being manipulated, and Paul's gonna get into that here in a moment. But notice what Paul says, whose slaves you want to be once more. The Galatians are not innocent victims. They want to be slaves to these weak and worthless elementary principles of the world. They desire to be, they wish to be in spiritual slavery once more. And Paul makes here what may seem like to us a surprising connection. He's just said that they want to be enslaved to what? the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world. Back to verse eight, the things which by nature are not God's, obviously in reference to their former pagan worship. But then he says, you observe days and months and seasons and years. What's he talking about here? All of a sudden he makes this switch. He's talking about a pagan religion as being weak and worthless. And then he says, you know what? You're observing the Jewish calendar. That's also weak and worthless. Paul is equating the former pagan religion of the Galatians with the God prescribed ceremonies of the old covenant. This should get our attention. One commentator puts it this way. Though the Galatians as Gentiles had never been under the Mosaic yoke, yet they had been under the elements of the world, which is the common designation for the Jewish and Gentile systems alike, both in contrast to the gospel. Regardless of how superior the Jewish was to the Gentile, both systems consisted in outward worship and cleaved to sensible forms, that is, things that you could see and taste and touch. Both were in bondage to the elements of the senses as though these could give the justification and sanctification which the inner and spiritual power of God alone could bestow. Friends, now that Christ has come, now that the fullness of time has appeared, the Old Covenant law has fulfilled its purpose. It has ceased to be the guardian set in place to point people to Christ because, guess what, Christ has come. To turn back to the ceremonies of the Old Covenant would be equivalent to adopting pagan forms of religion. You observe days and months and seasons and years. The word observe here is in reference to a careful and scrupulous observance. Now, it's interesting that Paul doesn't say that the Galatians are actively practicing circumcision at this point. Now, certainly he warns throughout the letter in the strongest possible terms that adopting circumcision would be to abandon Christ. But it seems that at this point, the Galatians turning back to slavery really consists not of circumcision yet, but it consists of the careful observance of the Jewish calendar. we might say that they were dipping their toes in the water of legalism. They were experimenting with a faith plus works gospel through this scrupulous, exact and legalistic observance of days and months and seasons and years. Now, I don't know if you have had the interesting experience of engaging with professing Christians who are obsessed with the Jewish holidays. I don't know if this is a new trend. I know it's an old, obviously, problem. But it seems as if I'm hearing more and more about it. That's a slippery slope. We have no command to observe these things. We have been set free from all of these things. They are completely fulfilled in Christ. And so just let me say to you, brothers and sisters, if you are tempted with that, don't go there. There's no need to go there. Christ has fulfilled everything that those things stood for, and you are complete in him. Now, some have taken Paul's words here and wrongly said, see, Paul is saying, if you observe days, there it is, that's the word I'm looking for, I see it. If you observe the weekly Sabbath, then you're a legalist. If you obey the fourth commandment, then you know what? You're no better than the Judaizers who he was writing to here. But I would submit to you again, to make this application would be a gross error. For one, the New Covenant Sabbath is observed on the first day of the week, not on the seventh day of the week, as the Judaizers were most likely pressing upon the Galatians. But secondly, and more importantly, the Judaizers were pushing what we would call a legalistic observance of the weekly Sabbath, an observance that would earn them, through their own merits, favor from God. And this is in stark contrast to the way that New Covenant Christians are to observe the Sabbath. Brothers and sisters, you and I are to observe a weekly Sabbath as a means of grace through evangelical obedience to God. That being obedience that flows not from a desire to earn his favor, but it flows from a heart of thankfulness because his favor has been freely lavished upon you in Christ. So do not make the mistake of assuming that the apostle is advocating that the weekly Christian Sabbath is not a requirement for us, because it is a requirement for us. But rather, understand what he's saying. To turn back to any form of works righteousness, whether that be Sabbath-keeping or otherwise, is to abandon the gospel. to dip your toe into the waters of legalism, to experiment at all with a faith plus works gospel, to toy with the idea that you can add anything to your justification beyond the work of Christ received by faith alone is to enter into the paradox of the Galatians. So friends, ask yourself, Are there any weak and worthless elementary principles of the world in your life? Is there anything that you are tempted to look to to anchor your hope for eternity in beyond Christ crucified and risen? Even good things like obedience to God. Should we be obedient to God? Yes, we should be obedient to God. Should we be members of a church if we are regenerate Christians? Yes, we should be church members if we are regenerate Christians. We should be baptized. We should partake of the Lord's Supper. We should read our Bibles. We should pray to God. We should love our neighbor and serve our neighbor. But even good things like this can be soul destroying if they are set forth before God as a means to earn your own righteousness. So if there are things coming to your mind, you know what? I'm beginning to get self-righteous in my devotional time. It really is about all about me feeling like I've done the thing that I need to do to make God love me. I've done that thing. Now God can accept me. And we all fall into this to one degree or another. But I'm here to tell you, if you are thinking of things like that right now, we have a solution. We can repent. We can confess it to the Lord. Lord, I'm beginning to trust myself here and not you. Forgive me. Give me grace to lean wholly on Christ alone. And he will answer that prayer. Looking now to verse 11. We see here one of the minister's greatest fears. I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain." Paul's fear is twofold. Certainly he's fearful for the souls of the Galatians, but he's also fearful, and I would submit to you, in a reasonable and good way, that his labors will have been wasted. Now, in the ultimate sense, as a minister of the gospel, if I faithfully discharge my duties before God, that's all I care about. God is my only audience in that primary sense. The same for Pastor Jerry. Yet I would be lying to you if I said that I don't take good and godly pleasure in seeing my labor bear fruit in all of your lives. because it is a great joy to see that. Whether that's conversions, which we are praying, Lord, convert the sinners that are amongst us, especially our children. Whether it's growth in grace and in sanctification, every minister of the gospel desires to see his work for God bear fruit in the lives of those whom God has entrusted to his care. And Paul is no different. Paul's not a Superman. Paul's a regular guy. He's afraid. He's anxious that his ministerial labors amongst the Galatians may have been in vain. He's afraid that his work in preaching to them and in shepherding them may, at the end of the day, have been for nothing if they turn back to their former state of spiritual slavery. And so we've seen, firstly, the paradox of the Galatians, how they, being made sons of God through faith, have begun the process of turning back to spiritual slavery. As we move now to our second heading, we're going to see the paradox of Paul. Now, I would remind you that a paradox is a statement or a situation that defies logical expectation. It is something that is opposed to common sense. Things unfold in a way where the outcome is completely opposite of what we would have expected the outcome to be. And as it relates to Paul, at first, he was loved by the Galatians for the sake of preaching the gospel to them. He brought the words of life to them and they loved him for it. But now, After being influenced and moved and persuaded by the false teachers, the Galatians considered Paul an enemy because of this same commitment to the truth. He's gone from being loved by the Galatians for the sake of the gospel to being hated by the Galatians for the sake of that same gospel. And this defies logical expectation. It is opposite of what we would reasonably predict. Again, it is a paradox. It's a pastoral paradox. And I want us to look at this as well from two different angles, starting first with the Galatians' previous love for the Apostle Paul. Look with me to verse 12. Brothers, I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. Although Paul is astonished with the Galatians, he's not written them off, he's not given up on them. This whole letter is a pursuit in love for these people he cares so deeply about. And we see it here because he refers to them, he addresses them as brothers. And he pleads with them, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. Now this is a strange statement perhaps, but he's simply saying to them, become as I am. Consider yourself dead to the law and alive to God through Jesus Christ. Remember in chapter two, Paul speaks so passionately about the sufficiency of Christ alone to justify sinners. Listen to what Paul says in chapter two, verses 19 through 21. He's speaking of himself here. He says, for through the law, I died to the law so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. In the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose." Paul wants the Galatians to become as he is. He wants them to die to the law. He wants them to live to God. He wants them to live by faith in the Son of God. He doesn't want them to nullify the grace of God by seeking to earn their own righteousness through law keeping. But he follows this up by saying, become as I am for I also have become as you are. Well, remember when Paul died to the law, he in a very real sense became as the Galatians. He became a Gentile. He's no longer bound by the rules of the ceremonial law. He is a freed man in Christ. And this is exactly what Paul rebuked Peter for when Peter visited Antioch. You'll remember that Peter had become like the Galatians. Peter was having the time of his life. He was living for all intents and purposes as a Gentile. He was living with them. He was fellowshipping with them. He was eating with them. Until the same Judaizers made their way to Antioch. And what did they do? Well, you can't eat with those people. You can't eat that food. You're a Jew. That's your primary identity, Peter. What are you doing? If word ever gets back to Jerusalem about this, man, you're going to be in a whole lot of trouble. So what does Peter do? He backs away. He stops fellowshipping with the Gentiles. He stops eating with them. And Paul publicly rebukes him. He says, you're walking out of step with the gospel. He pointed out the hypocrisy of Peter's actions. And he says, Peter, If you are a Jew and you live like a Gentile, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews? It doesn't make any sense. And this is what Paul's getting at here. He had become one in Christ with the Gentile Galatians. Remember what we saw last time, chapter three, verse 28. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Paul simply wants the Galatians to become as he is. He wants them to return and to reaffirm their commitment to the true gospel of faith in Christ alone, apart from works of the law. Well, Paul then goes on to remind the Galatians of how they once loved him for the sake of the gospel. The second half of verse 12, Paul says, you did me no wrong. You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first, and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. The Galatians did him no wrong at first. They didn't astonish him or perplex him when he visited with them the first time, but rather they cared for him in his physical weakness. Now, if you remember from Acts 14, when Paul was on the first missionary journey there in Galatia, he is preaching in the city of Lystra and the Jews enter into Lystra and they stir up the people against Paul. Well, and everyone starts stoning him. and they drag him out of the city and they think he's dead and they leave him outside the city gates. Well, Paul gets up and enters back into the city and apparently the believing Galatians there received him and cared for him and nursed him back to health. Then Paul acknowledges here that his physical condition was a great trial for them. Caring for him wasn't easy, yet they didn't scorn him for it or despise him for it, but they received him. And as they cared for him in his weakness, what did Paul do? He continued to preach the gospel to them. He brought to them the good news of Jesus Christ. He told them about the eternal son of God taking on flesh, obeying God's law perfectly, laying down his life as a sacrifice and payment for sin, and then being raised on the third day for the justification of those who would believe in his name. And as he was teaching them the gospel, the Galatians heard the gospel with faith. They received Paul as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus himself. They gave him the same respect and the same honor that they would have given to an angel of God or even Jesus himself. And this tells us something about how we are to receive the men who are called by the Holy Spirit to minister the Word of God to us. We should receive them as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. Listen to what Paul says elsewhere in 1 Thessalonians. Chapter five, verse 12, he says this. We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you. and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Or how about the words of Christ? Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. The people of God are commanded, not by me, not by Pastor Jerry, not by some other pastor anywhere, but the people of God are commanded by God to receive ministers of the gospel, to respect them, to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. And to do otherwise is a great sin. It's to despise the gift of Christ to the church. And if you despise and reject the gift, you are insulting the giver of the gift. I would also extend this application out and say that when the man of God handles the word of God rightly, when the word of God is preached faithfully, those words are to be received as the words of Christ by the people of God. And the measure of faithfulness when it comes to a preacher is not whether you agree with what the preacher says. That's not the measure of faithfulness. The measure of faithfulness is not whether the preacher's words give you a warm and fuzzy feeling on the inside, but rather the measure of faithfulness is whether the preacher's words accord with what the word of God says. And in as much as they do, brothers and sisters, you are to receive those words as the words of Christ. And again, extending this by way of application, This extends to all believers everywhere as they share God's word faithfully independence upon the Holy Spirit as an angel of God. Moms, it can feel like a waste of time to have that same conversation again. Here we are, there's been some act of disobedience and we're talking about sin and about Christ and about repentance and faith again. Nothing's happened. Why am I doing this? Your labors are not in vain. Your labors are not in vain. When you share the words of Christ with your little ones, you are acting as an angel of God, as a messenger of God to them. Grandparents, same thing. Children, what about your conversations with your siblings? When you tell them about Christ, you're acting as an angel of God to them, as a messenger of God to them. And we don't know, but God may be pleased one day to use your words given to them as an angel of God, as a messenger of Christ Jesus, to bring them into the kingdom. So be faithful in that. Be faithful in sharing the words of Christ as an angel of God with those whom God has placed in your life. Well, moving now to verse 15, we see, again, Paul's astonishment with the Galatians. Look with me there. What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me." Now here, Paul is not astonished at their turning from the one true gospel to a false gospel. He's already expressed his astonishment for that. His astonishment here is about how quickly their hearts have changed towards him. What then has become of your blessedness? You would have given me your eyes. That's how much you loved me. This word blessedness carries with it the sense of a favored status with God that results in a happy condition. But the blessedness of the Galatians was gone because they were turning from the God of grace who had blessed them in Christ. And because their blessedness was gone, They had no love for their preacher. They had no love for the apostle. And when Paul, again, when he first encountered the Galatians, they loved him so much, they were willing to do almost anything to minister to his needs. He says here, using hyperbole, if you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me, I swear you would have done that. How often do we look at someone and say, I'd do anything for you. I just love you so much. I'd give you my right arm if I had to. How many parents here, you see your kids sick in bed. If I could, in a heartbeat, I'd give you my health and I'd take whatever it is you have in a heartbeat. That's what Paul is saying here. That's the way you used to look at me. You loved me so much because I brought to you the gospel that you would have given me your eyes if at all possible. So by all accounts, their love and affection towards Paul was real and deep, and it makes their sudden change all the more disturbing to the apostle. And once again, this is where the paradox comes in. Having loved Paul so deeply for the sake of the gospel, the Galatians now considered him an enemy for the sake of that same gospel. Look with me to verse 16. Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth? And this word enemy means to be the active object of hatred. The once beloved Paul is now by some in the churches of Galatia considered to be an enemy. And not because he changed, not because he compromised in some way, but because rather he refused to compromise. He wasn't gonna put up with this legalistic tippy-toeing thing that they were doing. He was done with it. He would not compromise. And now they said, you're not a friend anymore. You are an enemy. One commentator says this, they no longer contemplated his presence among them with joy. Rather, they now acted as though he had become their enemy for the simple reason that he had been telling them the truth. How fickle were these Galatians. They were turning against the Lord, turning against the gospel of grace, and turning against the messenger who brought them the good news of justification by faith. And friends, unfortunately, this paradox still exists in the ministry today. It's been said that the minister of God is at the same time, the most loved man in town and the most hated man in town. And for you men who aspire to the ministry, know that if you discharge your duties faithfully, it is not a matter of if you will be hated, It is simply a matter of when and by whom. And I can testify to you that in my short time as a minister of the gospel, I've seen the change. I've seen it. I've had people stand in this very sanctuary and come up to me and encourage me for bringing them the word of God and thank me for bringing them the word of God. Only to have some of those same people abandon my ministry for a false gospel. and treat me as their enemy because I told them the truth. For as much as it's true that the gospel unites, it also divides. The gospel divides the sheep from the goats. It divides the believers from the unbelievers. It divides those headed to eternal life in heaven from those headed to an eternity of destruction away from the presence of the Lord. And friends, your commitment to the truth of the gospel will impact your relationships. Certainly on the bright side, on the happy and pleasant side, it will forge for you new friendships that you would have otherwise never had, but it will also bring division. That division may be in your family. Division may be in the workplace. It may be with longtime friends. but despite what division may come, despite former friends who now consider you an enemy for the sake of the gospel, never turn back. Do not compromise, press forever forward as a son of God. And despite the Judaizers working diligently to paint Paul as an enemy of the Galatians, Paul now clarifies for us who the real enemy is, and it's the false teaching Judaizers. Look with me to verse 17. Paul says, they make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out that you may make much of them. They, the Judaizers, the purveyors of the false gospel, they make much of the Galatians. They pursued the Galatians with an extreme zeal. They sought hard to make them converts to their false gospel, but for no good purpose, for ill intent. And you get the sense here that contrasted against Paul's plain, truthful, and straightforward speaking of truth is the Judaizers' kind of cringing flattery in dealing with the Galatians. Like the Pharisees before them who would travel across sea and land to make a single convert, those won over by the zealous pursuit of the Judaizers would suffer only spiritual slavery and eternal destruction. Now notice that Paul comments here, the Judaizers want to shut out the Galatians. They want to cut the Galatians off from Paul and from his missionary partners. They want to sever any connection that the Galatians might have to teaching that would expose their falsehoods in the light of God's truth. This is a classic move of any cult or any false teacher. They try to cut you off. They try to isolate you from the faithful people of God and from the faithful ministers of the gospel. and they do it for their own gain. As Paul says at the end of verse 17, they wanna shut you out that you may make much of them. Now, Paul goes on to explain this in more detail in chapter six and Lord willing, we'll get there, but I just wanna read two verses from chapter six for you. Paul says this, it is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh, in other words, the Judaizers, who would force you to be circumcised. and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. For even those who are circumcised, that is the Judaizers, do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh." The Judaizers want to force the Galatians to be circumcised as to avoid persecution from the unbelieving Jews who take offense at the cross of Christ. And Paul is telling the Galatians to not be fooled. Even the Judaizers don't keep the law. They desire the approval from unbelieving Jews so much so that they are willing to sacrifice the spiritual well-being of the Galatians to do it. And the Galatians are simply pawns in the Judaizers' power scheme. They consider the Galatians expendable. They don't care about them. Again, this is the mark of a false teacher. Now contrast this with Paul, who was willing to spend and be spent for the spiritual well-being of the Galatians. Contrast this with Paul, who bore so many anxieties over the souls of the believers, not only in Galatia, but in all the churches. And the contrast couldn't have been more stark. So by way of application, test those who would presume to teach to you the word of God. Test them by their fruits. Do they point to Christ or do they point to themselves? Do they speak to you about the free grace of God in Christ or do they obsess over rituals? Do they obsess over ceremonies and sacraments? Paul proudly exclaimed that he knew nothing amongst his hearers besides Jesus Christ and him crucified. And Pastor Jerry preached to us last week from John chapter one. True ministers of the gospel are like John the Baptist. Their sole purpose is to point others to Christ. Remember the illustration Pastor Jerry gave us. John the Baptist was a broken record. Look at Jesus, look at Jesus, look at Jesus. That's all he had to say. Test any teacher by this measure. Do they point to Christ or do they point to themselves? Would they seek to cut you off from other faithful teachers or other faithful people of God? If so, mark them and avoid them. Paul continues, verse 18. It's always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you. Paul isn't upset at the Judaizers because they're somehow encroaching upon his territory in Galatia. He's upset with their purposes and their intent. They're not there for good purposes. They're there for evil purposes. And as such, Paul is confronting them. But Paul says here, it's always good to be made much of for a good purpose. If the intent is good, it's great to be zealous for souls, but only with that intent. So Paul is not claiming exclusive rights to the Galatian believers. He simply wants anyone who would follow him in ministry there to be concerned for the good of their souls. And Paul's care for their spiritual wellbeing comes out of his loving address of them in verse 19. It stands out, if you will, here in this address. My little children, my little children for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you. As a mother labors intensely and in anguish to bring about the birth of her child, Paul is laboring intensely and in anguish to bring about spiritual maturity in these his Galatian children. And notice the word again, here in verse 19. Paul won them to Christ on his first missionary journey, and now he's seeking to win them back from their spiritual backsliding. J.B. Lightfoot put it this way, their relapse, the Galatians relapse, that is, has renewed a mother's birth pangs in Paul until they will have taken the form of Christ. If verse 11 reveals one of the greatest fears of a minister of the gospel, I'm afraid I may have labored over you in vain. Then verse 19 reveals one of the greatest desires of a minister, that his people, that his little children, as Paul puts it, might have Christ formed in them. And this is one of the greatest desires that Pastor Jerry and I have for all of you. We long to see Christ formed in you. We long that you may live in and for Christ. We long that you may have the mind of Christ. We long that you might glory in nothing but Christ and in him crucified and resurrected. Now you don't need me to tell you that we're not perfect men, but despite our imperfections, I can before God say that we genuinely desire to see Christ formed in you. And that is in the background. It's in the foreground, if you will, as we are teaching and preaching and leading this church. It is Christ being formed in you. As we move to verse 20, we see another marker of just how personal this section of the letter is to the apostle. It kind of ends here on a whimper almost. Now the letter's not over, but this section is. It's almost like it just kind of, I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone for I am perplexed about you." Paul longs to be with his little children in Galatia. He longs to guide them through this trial face to face. As much as this letter is necessary, it's not what he wants. He wants to be with them. He wants the Galatians to see his concern for them in the flesh. And there's a self-awareness here that Paul has as he writes. He knows that he has said some hard things in this letter. He knows that his language and his tone, it's gonna take some of the Galatians by surprise. But note that he doesn't apologize for that. It's necessary considering the seriousness of the situation. But that being said, he doesn't like it. He doesn't glory in the hard words that he said to them. It's not ideal. He longs to be with them, that he might change his tone, that he might become more gentle, more warm-hearted with them. And the paradox of the Galatians' attitude towards Paul is a perplexing one. It's as if, again, Paul himself is almost left speechless as he considers the state of his little children. It's as if Paul's at a loss here. He's not really sure what to do or say next. He is perplexed. And by way of application, I know many of you have suffered similar perplexity as you've sought to share the good news of Christ with those that you love, be it children who have rejected the gospel that you've ministered to them for years or friends or other family members. If this is you, know that it is okay to be perplexed. when you have labored intensely for the soul of another and it's just not happening. It is okay to be perplexed. You're not the first one to find yourself at a loss as to what to do or what to say, but keep pursuing them. Paul doesn't end his letter here. He keeps writing, keep pursuing them, keep making much of them for a good purpose. And do it confident, not in your own abilities or your own winsomeness, but in the power of God. Because he is able to convert them. He is able to save them from their backsliding. As Pastor Jerry has often said to us regarding those whom we love who are still outside of Christ, as long as there's breath in their nostrils, there's hope. So don't give up. So we've seen the paradox of the Galatians and the paradox of Paul. I wanna end with two quick applications. For you who are in Christ, for you who are known by God, for you who have been adopted into the family of God, embrace your sonship, embrace your sonship. By the grace of God, resolve to live confidently and to live obediently in your identity as a son of God. Don't turn back to slavery. Don't turn back to works of the law as a way to earn favor and forgiveness from God, but press forever forward as a son of God. But perhaps you're here today and you know that you're not savingly known by God. You know that you're not a son of God by faith. For you, there's no spiritual slavery to turn back to because you've yet to be set free from the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world that you are enslaved to right now. If this is you, know that the eternal son of God, Jesus Christ, entered into time and took on flesh. He became a man. He obeyed all the commands of God his entire life. He fulfilled all the righteous requirements of the law of God. Everything that you haven't done and can't do, he did. But then he did the most unexpected thing. Jesus Christ laid down his life on the cross as a substitute. He paid the sin debt for all who would believe upon his name. And three days later, God raised him from the dead, declaring for time and eternity that the sacrifice of Christ was completely accepted, completely sufficient. This Jesus can save you. Listen to me. This Jesus can save you. He can justify you. God says that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. No works, no law keeping, no ceremonies or rituals, just faith in Christ. Turn to him and be set free from spiritual slavery. Turn to Christ and live. Let us pray. Father, bless your word to us now, we pray, in Jesus' name.