So the book of Galatians chapter four, and today we're gonna look at the portion of scripture from verses 12 through 20. So we're gonna take a look at this paragraph, Galatians four verses 12 through 20. It says here, I beg of you brothers, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You have done me no wrong. But you know that it was because of a bodily illness that I proclaimed the gospel to you the first time. and that which was a trial to you in my bodily condition, you did not despise or loathe, but you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus himself. Where then is that sense of blessing you had? For I testify to you that if possible, you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me. So have I become your enemy by telling you the truth? They zealously seek you, not commendably, but they wish to shut you out so that you will zealously seek them. But it is good always to be zealously sought in a commendable manner and not only when I am present with you. my children with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you. But I could wish to be present with you now and to change my tone because I am perplexed about you. Title of my sermon this evening is Telling the truth, but not your enemy. Telling the truth, but not your enemy. As a reminder, Paul has written this epistle to the churches of Galatia who had gone astray or were going astray after an idea that justification had to be by some work, that it had to be by circumcision or by the keeping of the law. And further, they held not only that justification was by works, but also sanctification. Sometimes that gets missed in this in this passage, but legalism comes in many forms and oftentimes one will lead to the other or sometimes people will hold to one form or another. And these folks seem to have a mix of it going on there that You had to be, in order for a person to be saved, in order for a Gentile to be saved, they had to be circumcised. In order to remain saved or to grow in Christ or to grow in the Christian life, they had to keep the law. Remember, remember, it was over in chapter three, he asked the question in verse, In verse two and three, he said, this is the only thing I want to learn from you. Did you receive the spirit by the works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish having begun by the spirit? Are you now being perfected by the flesh? We're not justified by the law. We're not sanctified by the law. Legalism of either sort is a danger to the church. It's a danger to the Christian faith. It's a danger to the gospel. I was, as I often do through the week, listening to some other sermons on the subject, and I happened to catch Vodie Bachum preaching on this, and he was talking about the different forms of legalism, and he brought up the different types of legalism. He was talking about people who are legalistic when it comes to salvation, and oftentimes we'll guard against that real quick. but then sometimes we might miss those who are legalistic when it comes to sanctification. And he was even talking about some who are legalistic. I forget the exact term he used, but he said something about concordance legalists. And what he meant by that was people who will have their concordances and they'll grab their concordance and say, all right, well, is the Bible against this or is the Bible against that? And they'll use their concordance and find that and they'll look at everybody else instead of their own lives. It was a good message. I appreciated the things he brought out in that. The fact is that we're saved by grace, justified, sanctified by grace. And while there are, while there are While the law does have a purpose in a Christian's life, we have to be careful about letting legalism creep in to the point of we're not being perfected by the flesh. We have to understand that the danger that was happening there with the Church of Galatia to some point or another can creep in in our own lives. And so this letter that Paul writes to the churches of Galatia was intended to rebuke and to correct them in their errors. And in much of this letter, we've seen and read of the harsh rebuke. There in chapter three where we were, he says, oh foolish Galatians who bewitched you. I've already pointed out how that there was no pleasantries in the beginning of this letter, like what often was the case with other letters. But what we find here in chapter four and verse 12 is the first real personal portion of this letter. Up to this point, he's handled this situation with them very matter-of-factly. He's handled it much like a lawyer might handle a case before a judge. He's handled this in a stern, rebuking way, like a father might to a child who has gotten into trouble. But here in chapter four in verse 12 and through verse 20, he gets very personal with them for the first time in any real way. Now he did call them brothers in chapter three in verse 15, and we mentioned that. As he said, brothers, I speak in human terms. But in this section, he gets to a personal level with them. He says, I beg of you, brothers. This is a plea that he has with them. He's not arguing at this point. He's not sermonizing. He's not presenting his case at the moment. Right now, in verses 12 through 20, he is pouring out his heart to these churches. I beg of you, brothers, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You have done me no wrong. To understand what he means here, Let's go over to Philippians. Philippians chapter three. Philippians chapter three. Beginning of verse three and going down to verse six, he says, for we are the circumcision, who worship in the spirit of God and boast in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh. Although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh, if anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more. Circumcised the eighth day of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, as to the law of Pharisee. as to zeal, a persecutor of the church, as to righteousness, which is in the law found blameless. Verse seven, he says, but whatever things were gained to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be lost because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God upon faith, that I may know him in the power of his resurrection, in the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead." That was actually all the way to verse 11. But what we see here is that Paul had once been a self-righteous Pharisee, but now he was free from all that. He was free from the bondage of the old traditions. He was free from the old customs, he was free from Judaism, though he was a Jew. He had become like a Gentile, except Christ, you see. He was trusting in the finished work of Jesus Christ. And they had done him no wrong. In other words, he was well received among them. He didn't demand that they become like a Jew. And in fact, in this Galatians chapter four, in verse 12, He says, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You have done me no wrong. He was well received among them. There was no issues. Verse 13 and 14, he says, but you know that it was because of a bodily illness that I proclaimed the gospel to you the first time. And that which was a trial to you in my bodily condition, you did not despise or loathe, but you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus himself. Some suspect, and the details are, you know, you and I, we read this and we're not, quite sure of what was going on there. The original readers would have known 100% what he was talking about. They were there, they lived it, they experienced it. Some commentators Suspected this was an illness that he contracted in the lowlands of Pamphylia over in Acts chapter 13. There's something going on there Acts chapter 13 Verses 13 and 14 Now after Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia, but John left them and returned to Jerusalem. But going on from Perga, they arrived in Pisidian, Antioch. On the Sabbath day, they went into the synagogue and sat down. So some scholars, as they kind of try to piece this all together, they suspect that this might have been malaria that he's talking about here in his letter to the Galatians. That he may have contracted it there at Pamphylia. In Acts chapter 13, we read something was going on there. The cooler weather. in Pisidian Antioch in Galatia would have brought relief. Although malaria is rough, it's not a continuous issue. He would have been able to preach in between the malaria attacks. We don't know for sure, but one thing's for certain, Paul did have some health issues. In 2 Corinthians, for instance, 2nd Corinthians, he wrote this to the church at Corinth, and we know he had health issues, we know he had some problems. 2nd Corinthians chapter 12, beginning of verse 7, says, because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations. For this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from exalting myself. Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might leave me, and he has said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast in my weakness so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore, I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions and hardships. For the sake of Christ, for when I'm weak, then am I strong. Whatever it is that was going on in Galatia, whatever the illness was, whatever was happening, it wasn't a problem for the Galatians. They received him as an angel of God. as Christ Jesus himself. Paul, though he had these problems in the flesh, he asked the Lord three times for it to be taken away. He told about this thorn in the flesh. And the answer was given, my grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfect. perfected in weakness. So Paul learned to be content with weaknesses and with insults and distresses and persecutions and hardships for the sake of Christ. When I'm weak, he says, then I'm strong. And so Whatever was going on there in Galatia, we may not know for sure. We may never know for sure this side of heaven, but the testimony is that Paul used that time, even though he was ill, even though things weren't going quite the way that he might've planned it, he used it. as an opportunity to minister, to preach to those folks and the people of Galatia, they received him well. And so there in Galatians four and verse 15, he says, where then is that sense of blessing you had? For I testify to you that if possible, you would have plucked out your eyes, given them to me. He says, there was a time when you received me as though I were an angel from God. There was a time when you received me as though I were Jesus Christ himself. Where is that now? What happened? What happened? I testify to you that if it were possible, you would have plugged out your eyes and given them to me. This was the truth. And you say, how do you know that was the truth? Well, this is the inspired word of God. We know that this is how that they treated him. Whether plucking out the eyes was a figure of speech or a reference to maybe that was Paul's physical problem. There is some who say that Paul had a problem with his eyesight. Maybe that's what is meant here. And maybe this is literal, that there were people who were ready to literally pluck out their eyes if they could and give them to Paul. But whatever is meant here, we see that they had a great love and a concern for the apostle. Their appreciation for him was great. So he says in verse 16, so have I become your enemy by telling you the truth? So have I become your enemy by telling you the truth." The Galatians had gotten so confused, so turned around, so hardened, if you will, that in spite of their earlier affection towards Paul, some had come to regard him as an enemy. Paul reminds them that he had not caused them any problem, he had not caused them any harm, but he only told them the truth. This sad commentary is often repeated as Pastors and other men will often get accused of being the enemy as they faithfully tell the truth. You know, it happens in the family circle. It happens in church circles. It happens in all sorts of places. When a child gets upset at the father because the father tells the child the truth, When a wife gets upset at the husband because of the truth. When a church member gets their nose bent out of joint because of the sermon that's preached by the pastor. And on and on we go. But that's what was happening here. But the question is, when did Paul, when did this happen? with Paul. It couldn't have been with this epistle, because he didn't know what was going to be the result, what their reception would be of this. It couldn't have been in his first visit when they regarded him as their friend, which he just described, as they received him as an angel of God or as Christ Jesus himself. So it must have been in his second visit when he saw the mischief and warned of its consequences. Understand beloved that This should not surprise us when this happens and it probably did not surprise Paul either Why because this sort of thing happened? To Jesus in John chapter 8 John chapter 8 verses 44 through 47 He says, you are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I speak the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I speak the truth, why do you not believe me? He who is of God hears the words of God. For this reason, you do not hear them because you are not of God. The world will rather believe or tell lies than to believe or tell the truth. The truth will always be in the minority. But mark it down and understand that it is better, regardless of the consequences, to be known as one who tells the truth rather than one who lies, one who follows the truth rather than one who follows the lies. The church at Galatia was in a mess, a terrible mess. The gospel was at stake. What was happening? There were liars in there who were fraudulently presenting a false gospel. Over in Revelation chapter 21, Revelation chapter 21, And verse eight says, but for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. Paul was certainly in the minority. Jesus told those people there in John that they were of their father, the devil. What's the answer to all of this? What's the answer to the madness that goes on in our world? The answer is Jesus Christ. The answer is the true gospel. The answer is to repent and believe what Jesus has said. The answer is to stand up for the truth. And that's what Paul was doing, even though, even though some people within those churches of Galatia thought of him as an enemy. He said, I've got to tell you this truth. In Galatians chapter 4, in verse 17, He says, they zealously seek you, not commendably, but they wish to shut you out so that you will zealously seek them. There's a battle going on, he says. They zealously seek you, not commendably. They, he's talking about the Judaizers. He said, they appear to have a genuine interest in you. But their motive is to exclude the Galatians. They wish to exclude you, to shut you out from God's gracious salvation and win recognition for themselves. That's what was happening there. They were trying to build kingdom for themselves in all of this. It was a terrible thing. that was happening there. And Paul was warning them. Verse 18, but it is good always to be zealously sought in a commendable manner, not only when I'm present with you. In opposition to that parasitical courting of the Judaizers, it's good to be zealous for the truth. for the true gospel of grace, and not just when Paul's around, but always. And then in verses 19 and 20, we kind of begin to bring this to a close. He says, my children, my children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you, but I could wish to be present with you now and to change my tone because I am perplexed about you." And you Bible readers will know that that term, that phrase, my children, is a phrase that John uses a lot, but Paul doesn't use it. In fact, this is the only time that Paul uses that term. that phrase, my children. He has a concern for them as a loving father is rebuking his children. He says, my children, I'm again in labor until Christ is formed in you. Paul's motive here is not to upset them or anger them or disturb the peace of the churches of Galatia. But Paul's motive is that they should be like Christ. That they should grow and be more and more like Christ. Is that your motive? Is that my motive? Is that your goal in life? Is that my goal? Oh, that daily we would be more and more like Jesus and that we would work with each other and encourage and to edify and build up one another in Christ. And yes, we need it. get on to each other. He says, I could wish to be present with you now and to change my tone because I am perplexed about you. I wish things were different, he says. I wish that I could be with you and to change my tone because I'm perplexed. I'm at a loss for words. I'm at my wits end, if you will. I'd rather be with you face to face to deal with this rather than with a letter. Because this is a serious issue. What's happening is a terrible thing. And this is why my tone is the way it is, he says. Sometimes there are times where a father, a husband, a pastor, a preacher, a man needs to take a harsh tone. But the gospel was at stake. This was definitely one of those times, wasn't it? The gospel was at stake means that people's lives were at stake. You lose the gospel, what else is there? Think of it this way, if someone you loved was standing on the edge of the bridge over here, getting ready to jump off, you'd have a different tone, a sense of urgency. Or, If there was a glass of poison sitting on the table and somebody picked it up that you loved and starting to drink it, you'd have a bit of a tone, wouldn't you? No, don't take that poison. It'll harm you. It'll kill you. That person could come back and say, you're being too harsh. I'm an adult, I can jump off this bridge, I can drink this poison, I can do what I want. Paul says, have I become your enemy by telling you the truth? You'll do whatever you can, even in that moment, though it may seem harsh, to try to save their life. And so it is spiritually. So it is spiritually. The very gospel of Jesus Christ was at stake. Paul could not encourage them in their error of their ways. He couldn't do it. He had to write this letter. And some would argue, well, of course he had to. He was writing under the inspiration of the spirit. But I personally believe from what we read of Paul and his life, I believe Paul would have written this even if he wasn't inspired to write it. that he would have written something similar. He may not have written it the exact way, probably not, but he would have written something. I mean, in Acts chapter 17, Luke recorded that as he was there in Athens, his spirit was stirred within him when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. Paul had a concern for people. He had a concern for their souls. He had a concern for their lives. I wish that we, I wish that I had that same kind of zeal such that I could express myself in the same way. It is tough because we do want people to like us all the time. But as Paul said earlier in Galatians chapter one, verse 10, for am I now seeking the favor of men or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a slave of Christ. What good is it to try to make friendship with someone who is going down a road that leads to death and destruction, when we have the truth to be able to warn them and tell them We've been given an awesome responsibility, just like Paul. Sometimes it's hard, but may we always have this in our mind, that we, above all things, need to tell the truth to save others. May God add the blessing to the preaching of his word.