You turn with me in your copies of God's word to the epistle to the Galatians. Galatians chapter four. We'll commence our reading here at verse 12. That's Galatians chapter four, the 12th verse. "'The Word of God. "'Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am, "'for I am as ye are. "'Ye have not injured me at all. "'Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh, "'I preached the gospel unto you at the first, "'and my temptation, which was in my flesh, "'ye despised not nor rejected, "'but received me as an angel of God, "'even as Christ Jesus. "'Where is then the blessedness ye spake of, For I bear you record that if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes and have given them to me. Am I therefore become your enemy? Because I tell you the truth. They zealously affect you, but not well. Yea, they would exclude you that ye might affect them. But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing. and not only when I am present with you, my little children, of whom I travail and birth again until Christ be formed in you. I desire to be present with you now and to change my voice, for I stand in doubt of you. Amen. Thus far the reading of God's holy word. And may he bless it richly to us this evening. The world admires religious devotion and despises doctrine. But the Christian, the Christian knows that his sanctification flows from the truth of God. There's a radical divide, a radical religious divide between the worldly faith and the faith of the Christian. a radical divide between those who would admire basic piety, acts of devotion, and those who recognize that all of true holiness flows from the gospel. Well, friend, as we come to this text this evening, I want you to notice that the apostle is really hitting that very same chord tonight. As you look at the fourth chapter of Galatians, you'll remember that the apostle really, in the first several verses, comes to a conclusion, a conclusion to an argument that began all the way at the sixth verse of the third chapter. My friend, you remember that in that argument, the apostle takes us to high, lofty theological themes. He takes us to great and sublime doctrines, namely how a Gentile, how even the worst of sinners could enjoy the benefit that Abraham had. They clothed in the righteousness of Christ. Well, friend, as we come to our text this evening, the apostle really comes off of those high and those lofty themes and comes really to a point that's quite concrete. And in some sense, he's been warming to this point. You remember at the end of the section that we read, you remember that there, the apostle calls to mind how the Galatians themselves came to Christ. And so he's thinking concretely about the churches in Asia Minor. He's thinking primarily about churches, about people that he knows. And so he is thinking here in verses 12 and following of the same group of people. And as we'll see in just a moment's time, he's thinking about the self-same moment, namely the moment of their conversion. He leaves those great doctrines to come down to a very practical point. But friend, as we look at this text, I want you to notice that in the 12th verse, we have the apostle begin. And he begins in many ways with an exhortation that is both instruction and rebuke. He says, brethren, I beseech you, be as I am, for I am as you are. Now, as you look at this text, friend, I want you to notice that even our own translations have in italics a certain number of words here. And the reason, of course, is because in the Greek, in the original, this is quite a brief statement. But the words that are supplied for us in the translation, in some cases are quite helpful, in some cases, perhaps misleading. I want you to notice in the text itself, you'll notice that he says, for I am as ye are in our translations. In the original, it's left quite abrupt. For I am as ye, says the apostle. Now, obviously the question is, and our translators wrestled with that, what time does the apostle have in mind? Was he thinking about the Galatians in the present? Is that what he's referring to here? Is he thinking about the Galatians in another time? Well, friends, as you look at verses 13 and following, you'll notice that the scriptures themselves give us that answer. He's thinking of the Galatians not in their present capacity. He's not thinking about their present condition. He's thinking about what they were. And you see that borne out for us in those verses. The apostles reflecting on the time of their conversion, whenever the gospel first came to them with power. And so you notice what he's saying here. He's saying, be as I am, for I am presently what you once were. I am now what you once were when the gospel first advanced and advanced powerfully among you. That's the idea. The Galatians had changed. Paul hadn't. And so his exhortation is, be as I am, because I am as you once were. But now he says, as you work through those verses, but now he notices something has changed. And when you come to the 20th verse, you read those words that are staggering, don't you? It's simply, I stand in doubt of you. I stand in doubt of you." Put in the vernacular, Paul is simply saying, you're confusing me. A radical, a radical transition has taken place. And he says to him, it's something of bewilderment. It's something that he wonders at. Now, as you look at this text, friend, what do we find? First of all, you and I are to envision here the apostle coming, yes, through writing, but coming as an aged, an aged physician of souls. Not aged perhaps in years, but certainly aged in terms of trial, aged in terms of affliction, aged in terms of the persecution he faced under it. And he comes to a people that he loved and loved deeply. And he comes to them with something of a comparison. This great physician of souls, he as it were, he takes two points of reference. He takes two eras in the lives of these churches. And the first point that he takes is really their conversions I've already said. He looks at that time and he analyzes very briefly their experience under the gospel as the gospel went forth and powerfully arrested them. He takes their spiritual temperature as it were at that point, and then he compares it with their spiritual condition after the legalists have made their own inroads. And he says, as I see these two eras, as I see these two conditions, I'm left not only startled, but genuinely bewildered. You see, the apostle first of all begins by reminding the Galatians that in their conversion, the one who preached the gospel of God to them came in weakness. He came in weakness, preaching nothing but free grace in the Lord Jesus Christ by faith. And then he says, and he was received graciously. But contrast that just for a moment with the legalist, because the apostle does that for us. He says, these legalists, these false apostles, they came in zeal. You should understand their strength. Paul came in weakness, but these legal preachers, they came strong. And they preached a doctrine of law, bringing again, as the apostle says, the Galatians back under bondage, as it were spying out their liberty that they had in Christ. And what was the effect that this worked on the churches in Galatia? Paul simply says, and now I've become an enemy to you. But Paul came contemptibly. When he came as a man in weakness, preaching free grace in Christ, the fruits that attended that ministry was this gracious response in the Galatians. When the false apostles came preaching legalism, the fruit that that worked in them was quite the opposite. You see, the apostle is not just making here an aside. This is not a simple pastoral parenthesis. He's really advancing the argument he began. Because in this section, all you and I have to do is we have to ask, which preaching, which doctrine bore the fruit of Christlikeness? Was it the preaching of free grace when man came weak? Or was it the preaching of law when man came strong? that made men more like Christ. You see friend, what this text teaches us then is quite simply that free grace renders its recipients gracious. And our text teaches that to us in two ways. It teaches us this first of all, positively. And then by contrast, it teaches us this also negatively. And so I want us to think about this first of all, as we have it in the first several verses. In verses 12 to 15. There, the apostle gives us two examples. Two examples of what it means to have the gospel of free grace working in you. And the first example is actually himself. Again, note how the apostle described himself. He says he came preaching in the infirmity of the flesh. He came, as he says here, in a way that was also connected to temptation. That is, the temptation which was in his flesh. but he preached nonetheless. It was evident that the man came to them in a weak form. A friend, I think it's important for us to make note of that just now. The apostle didn't hide anything. When he came to the churches in Galatia, how did he come? He didn't come with a veneer of strength, a facade of ability and power. He came bearing all of his infirmities as it were on his sleeve. The Galatians could clearly discern that this man was a man and a man that was plagued with weakness. Beloved, that's a point that you and I can't miss. It's a point that you and I can't miss because the apostles really says this was the way in which he preached the gospel. evidencing before his congregation his weakness, not hiding the fact that he was a man with infirmities. In fact, you remember how he addresses the celestial mission in 1 Corinthians. I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. Well, I don't know about you, but that's quite instructive. The man who preaches free grace most experientially, The man who walks so closely with the Lord Jesus is quite keen to make his congregation clear that he is a weak man. What do you do with this text where he says that he had temptation in his flesh? Well, friend, in the original, that really ought to read, your temptation in my flesh. In other words, What the apostle is saying here is, you had some kind of temptation based upon my weakness. And John Calvin helpfully explains to us what that was. These Galatians would have been otherwise tempted to see him as a contemptible person. He came in all of this weakness, and surely somebody could have turned around and said, well, that man surely is not worth our listening. But he says, nevertheless, though I came in this weakness, you receive me. Paul was pleased to preach through his infirmities. As he says in 2 Corinthians 12, most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in mine infirmities. The power of Christ may rest upon me. That's the first example. Paul very willing to preach and even to exhibit his weakness so that the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ alone would be exalted. That's the first example of what the gospel of free grace does to a person. The second example is the Galatians themselves. He says, ye despised not nor rejected, but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. And he's speaking here not about a personal reception, he's speaking about the reception of his ministry. He came preaching and they received his preaching as though it were from an angel or even from the lips of Christ. But that's not all. There is a personal dimension to this as well. You would have plucked out your own eyes. That tells us, first of all, what physical infirmity the apostle had. The apostle came as a man who was blinded. Perhaps totally, perhaps not. But a man who these Galatians said they would be quite willing to give their own sight that he might have his. But this man came in weakness. He came in a way that the world would have seen as being contemptible, but these ones he says in Galatia, when they saw the apostle, when they heard and they received the gospel of free grace, they were graciously disposed to him. And friend, you and I can't get away from the fact that the apostle is reminding them that that kind of disposition came when they received his preaching. That preaching of the free grace of God that the apostle in the former chapters has been demonstrating, has been proving time and again against legal inclinations. And so friend, it's the gospel that induces a humble and loving disposition in those who receive it. It is the gospel that does that. It produces humility. Beloved, that is the Christian's calling. Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you're called with all lowliness and meekness. There the apostle joins the walking in this gospel with meekness and lowliness. The Christian is not really functioning in his vocation, says the apostle, without these attributes. And friend, as we think about the gracious disposition, even the charitable disposition that we see in the Galatians, the gospel also accounts for that, doesn't it? I want you to think just for a moment about how clear the connection is between our text and what Christ gives us at the end of Matthew 25. You remember at the end of that 25th chapter in Matthew's gospel, Christ really sets before us the great and the final judgment. And he turns away, well, sorry, he turns first of all to the godly, and he says, do you remember how you served me? And then he lists off the times in which he was sick, in prison, naked, and he was clothed, fed, visited by these Christians. Friend, do you remember that they responded saying, we don't, we never saw you in such conditions. And Christ says very pointedly, but you did it as unto me, as you did it to my own. Note how the apostle describes the Galatians reception of him at the first. You received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. The disposition that the Galatians had was to minister to Paul for Christ's sake. knowing that Paul was one united to the Lord Jesus. Yes, of course, Christ's servant, but of course, beloved, those selfsame themes that you find in Matthew 25 would apply here. When they heard the gospel of free grace, they were graciously disposed to Christ's people. But beloved, we can go further, can't we? You remember how again in Matthew's gospel, Christ conveys the self, same idea, but perhaps in a different way. You remember when he deals with the unjust servant. In Matthew 18, you remember how Christ calls to our attention this man who has been forgiven an infinite debt but will not forgive a much smaller sum of his fellow labor and servant. Do you remember how Christ concludes that? He says, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that dead because thou desirest me. Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on my fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee? You know the point of that, right? The point is that, that if they really understood the weight, the extent of their debt, then how could they not be charitable to their fellow servant? If they knew what it was to receive the forgiveness of God and to receive that freely, knowing that their debt is an infinite debt, that no man could sin against them, with such aggravation and with such malice as men continue to sin against God. And yet God is pleased for Christ's sake to forgive all those who come to Him through His Son. If they thought anything of that, how could they? How could they not forgive those lesser debts? How could they not maintain a charitable disposition to their fellow servants? Christ says very pointedly that it's in the knowledge of the gospel that this charitable disposition is really fostered. My friend, that brings us secondly and finally, as we close to the negative examples. The positive example is that the gospel does induce humble and loving dispositions to those who receive it by faith. But the negative is quite the opposite. In verses 16 to 20, we again have two examples. The first negative example is the false apostles themselves. They affect you, he says, that ye might affect them. They affect you that ye might affect them. They came zealously and in strength. They came, in other words, not, not revealing their weaknesses and infirmities. And they did so for a very particular reason. It was not out of a love for the Galatians, says the apostle. It was simply so that they might somehow merit the affection of these churches in Asia Minor. He says, that's the point. They came strong and they came self-serving. Friend, you can't divorce from this description, the gospel that they preached, which the apostle says was not another gospel. There was no gospel. They came strong to bind them, even though Christ had made them free. But how did this legal preaching affect the Galatians? You know, the question the apostle asks, he says, where is the blessedness? Where is the blessedness he spake of? In other words, he says, this great and high esteem of me, a weak and contemptible servant of Christ, where has that gone? Why has that been so diminished? Then he strengthens that with the question, am I become your enemy? When they received the gospel of free grace, they were willing to give the apostle their very eyes. When they gave in to these legal inclinations, under the guidance of these legal and false apostles, Paul now becomes their enemy. And friend, you and I can't divorce again, that fruit from the legal preaching. You see in this text, you recognize that there's been a change. And the change certainly teaches us this, that legal inclinations induce an uncharitable disposition to Christ's people. It must and always will. Why? Because first of all, it makes men proud. The apostle says this, it's the gospel of free grace alone that truly works a godly humility. Whereas boasting then, he asks, is excluded by what law of works? Nay, but by the law of faith. Boasting is reduced only by the law of faith. What's striking, friend, is as you read through the Greek philosophers, as you study the great ethicists of Greece, and you even, you move into Rome, a whole host of virtues, you'll find, you'll find treduces on any number of things that even the law of nature teaches us are good. But you'll find no, no commendatory word for humility and meekness, none. And that only came with the gospel. Only the gospel really reduces the pride of men. And a legal inclination only fosters it. It makes men proud and also makes men censorious. You remember how the apostle puts this, In 2 Corinthians 11, he says, ye suffer if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face, you will deal with that. You'll gladly receive that kind of abuse, he says, so long as they are the ones who are commending your works as meritorious. You see, friend, that is the disposition of the legal inclination. He makes men like Bunyan's Moses. You remember Christian and Hopeful as they're talking on the road about their own experiences with legalism. You remember that Christian was driven by worldly wise men to Hill, legality to Sinai. And you remember there that the Christian was beat back, but Hopeful had a different experience. Hopeful, you remember, was walking alongside the road. And as Hopeful was walking alongside the road, another man came and knocked him down. And then the man, Hopeful, he tried to get back up again, but that self-same man knocked him down a second time, and then a third time. And finally, Hopeful cries out, mercy, mercy! And you remember Moses' reply in the Pilgrim's Progress. It was, I don't know how to show mercy. You see, friend, when the legal inclination takes over, When men give into that, when professing Christians adopt that disposition, friend, you'll find that they too don't know how to show mercy. That charitable disposition also will go. So as we close, beloved of this evening, what is the disposition of those who receive free grace? What does free grace produce in us? Well, the apostle says, as he does in the 12th verse, it produces something that Paul himself had. Remember the exhortation is, be ye as I am, for I am as ye were. The sense is that there is a gracious disposition that men have that induces charity, mercy to the humble. But as the whole epistle shows out, that's not a timidity. That's not a kind of spinelessness. Paul is mercifully disposed to the humble, but friend to the proud sinner, to the false apostles in the Galatians. How clearly does he show himself also an austere man? Well, but that is really the measure of a gracious disposition. Are we, Are we merciful to the humble? Yes, perhaps to people that in our own mind, we would see them as being contemptible, especially in the eyes of the world. To folks who perhaps don't know as much as ourselves, but are humble, willing to be instructed. Are we capitulating? tender toward them. And on the other side, friend, are we willing to stand and to stand firm as the apostle does in this text against those who would seek out our bondage, who would steal away that liberty that Christ, I wish he's made us free. See friend, as you look at this text, it is an argument the apostle is making. But it's an argument from experience. Which one has learned from Christ? Which doctrine, which doctrine has made men in Galatia more like the Savior? The one who says, learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart. Beloved, it wasn't the false apostles and their false preaching. What was wrought in the Galatians when they sat under the gospel of free grace, that beloved, the apostle says, was proof positive that this was the gospel of God and made them more like the Savior. I open by saying that the world admires devotion, that it admires acts, religious acts of discipline, religious acts that require exertion, extreme exertion at times, on the participant, but it hates doctrine. Friend, what this text teaches us is that the Christian really, as was said already, he recognizes that if he is really to have the likeness of his savior, it must come with a greater knowledge, experiential knowledge of the gospel. Beloved, if we are proud, this text reminds us it is because we've given into a legal inclination. If we cease to be charitable to each other, Paul says here, surely then you've given in to those legal preachers. If we do demonstrate a lack of love, if we are not merciful, beloved the apostle says clearly in this text, And surely you've forgotten the first principles of the gospel of free grace. Archibald Alexander put it this way. He says, error, respecting the truth must be attended with a corresponding defect in the religious exercises of a person. He goes on to say this, He says, there may be much correct theoretical knowledge, I admit, where there is no impression corresponding with it on the heart, but still, all good impressions on the heart are from the truth and from the truth alone. Beloved, our text shows us that in the church in Galatia, that certainly was true. If we lack conformity to the likeness of our Savior, Friend, we are to see that there is a defect as well at some point in our holding to this doctrine of free grace. The exhortation then for us is not, as I think so often we would take it, is not to study humility itself. It's not to study a charitable disposition itself. It's to go to the one who is the fount of it all, to sit under his tutelage. For beloved, he calls us as a liberal tutor to learn of him, these very things. May we be those who seek this, seek this in earnest from Christ. Amen.