Life Unexpected, Part Three: The Unexpected News. Matthew 11:2-15. Sunday, December 15, 2013.

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Title: Life Unexpected, Part Three: The Unexpected News.

Scripture: Matthew 11:2-15

- Unexpected news.

- The test results are back; you have cancer.

- Your spouse says to you: I'm leaving; I'm in love with someone else.

- The investment banker telephones you: The Company has gone bankrupt; your retirement savings are gone.

- The police arrive at your door: There's been a tragic accident...

- More unexpected news.

- I have your test results; you are in remission.

- A voicemail from your estranged spouse: I'm so sorry for the pain I caused you. Please, forgive me. I miss you. May I come home?

- The police arrive at your door and with them is the long missing child you grieved for dead.

- Tragic, painful, confusing, even joyful, unexpected news has the power to turn life on its head.

- Jesus already announced the good news of God's rule, he displayed God's power through healing and miraculous signs, and he sent out his disciples to do the same.

- John the Baptizer languished in the prison of Herod Antipas.

- He had long ago accepted his role as the forerunner, the prophet who would call people to repentance and prepare the way for the Messiah.

- But alone and imprisoned, John began to doubt.

- Why did John doubt? Unexpected news.

- The ministry of Jesus did not meet Jewish expectations of the Messiah, and the ministry of Jesus also did not meet the expectations of John the Baptist.

- The prophet Isaiah told of freedom for prisoners and of God's vengeance.

- Where was God's vengeance against the unjust Herod Antipas? Where was freedom for the imprisoned John?

- That's why John doubted Jesus.

- So, John sent disciples to question Jesus. "Are you the Coming One or should we expect someone else?"

- This question gave Jesus the opportunity to sum up his ministry to that moment, declaring that his preaching and miracles were all the evidence that John and his disciples needed.

- Jesus told them, "Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen – the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. And tell him, "God blesses those who are not offended by me."

- The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life and the good news is preached to the poor, these are the signs of the kingdom of God, but they are not all the signs.

- What about God's judgment and vengeance? What about release for captives and freedom for prisoners?

- The reply Jesus gave to John was a sure sign that he was the Messiah and that the day of salvation truly had arrived.

- God's judgment would be delayed, postponed. God would judge sin, but he would first judge sin by atoning for it through Christ's cross.

- This unexpected news of Jesus was scandalous news.

- It was scandalous news because it shattered the expectations of the time.

- The Jews expected that when Messiah came, he was going to clean house, punish the wicked, reward the righteous, Rome would become his footstool, Israel would be restored as the greatest nation among all the nations, the kingdom of God would be on earth complete.

- To have claimed anything else would have invited scandal and offense, causing many to stumble and fall. Many did.

- The scandalous idea of a suffering Messiah raised doubt because this news was most unexpected.

- Jesus came first to conquer sin, not the enemies of Israel.

- Jesus issued a warning to John and his followers: Just because your experience of me does not fit your expectations, don't abandon me.

- Just because our experience of Jesus does not fit our expectations, let's not abandon him.

- Embrace the unexpected news of the Messiah who shatters all expectations.

- Jesus also turned to the crowds to speak about John.

“What did you expect when you went out to see him in the wild? A weekend camper? Hardly.

"What then? A sheik in silk pajamas? Not in the wilderness, not by a long shot. What then? A prophet? That’s right, a prophet!

"Probably the best prophet you’ll ever hear. He is the prophet that Malachi announced when he wrote, ‘I’m sending my prophet ahead of you, to make the road smooth for you.’

“Let me tell you what’s going on here: No one in history surpasses John the Baptizer; but in the kingdom he prepared you for, the lowliest person is ahead of him. For a long time now people have tried to force themselves into God’s kingdom. But if you read the books of the Prophets and God’s Law closely, you will see them culminate in John, teaming up with him in preparing the way for the Messiah of the kingdom. Looked at in this way, John is the ‘Elijah’ you’ve all been expecting to arrive and introduce the Messiah. Are you listening to me? Really listening?” (MSG)

- John, baptizing in the wilderness, was the first prophetic voice that the people of Israel had heard in 400 years.

- Because of John's fame, his arrest by Herod Antipas would have been the talk of the town. Likely, everyone talked about it.

- The crowds wanted to know: What kind of prophet was John? Why did John minister the way he did?

- Sure! They had their own ideas, but Jesus set things straight.

- John was no weekend camper, no tall grass blade easily swayed by the poll of public opinion.

- John was no Mr. Fancy Pants flatterer. He was no toady, telling rulers what they wanted to hear.

- No, John was a prophet. In fact, John was the long waited for prophet who prepared the way for Messiah's coming.

- John himself was the fulfillment of prophecy.

- The climax of the old covenant and the opening of the new covenant are found in John.

- The least of the kingdom are greater than John because John is the last of the old covenant prophets.

- Jesus told the crowds that John was a key example of the persecution that will accompany the age of mission.

- Violent people will do violent things to the messengers of God's kingdom.

- All the prophets and the law come to a spectacular fulfillment with John's moment in the limelight.

- Like a chorus of fanfare trumpets, John pointed to who came afterward, not to his own fanfare, but Jesus the Messiah.

- If you are willing to accept it, Jesus said, he is the 'Elijah' you've been expecting.

- According to Jesus, John was the turning point of history.

- After the 11th chapter in Matthew's Gospel, the Pharisees, scribes, teachers of the law and Sadducees stepped up their opposition to Jesus.

- Obviously, instead of really listening to Jesus, these groups chose reject and oppose the unexpected news that Jesus brought.

- Rather than being like the Pharisees, scribes, teachers of the law, and Sadducees, we need to be like the early disciples and embrace the unexpected news of the Messiah who shatters all expectations.

- Jesus calls his disciples to righteousness greater than the scribe and the Pharisee.

- Their righteousness is a righteousness that says "I didn't." The Scribe and the Pharisee say, "Look at me, God, look at me, everyone, look at all the bad things I avoided."

- Their righteousness is legalistic score keeping, overflowing with self-righteous pride and finger pointing.

- Jesus is not the Messiah everyone is expecting.

- He brings most unexpected news. Too many people want to remake Jesus in their image.

- Too many people want a comfortable Christ who makes life easier and simpler, but Jesus is not a comfortable Christ.

- Jesus calls his disciples to faithfulness, commitment, obedience, and sacrifice.

- Just because our experience of Jesus does not fit our expectations, let's not abandon him.

- We live in the time of fulfillment. The saints and prophets of the Old Testament longed for the day in which we now live.

- The promises of all the prophets and all the law find fulfillment in the coming kingdom of Jesus Christ.

- John the Baptist preached the coming of a new age, the age of the Messiah and with that age come the blessings of the kingdom of God.

- Because the kingdom of God has come in the person of Jesus Christ, the Christian has access to God, the Christian can pray with power, and the Christian can experience new, abundant life in the Holy Spirit.

- Christians must learn not to take these blessings of a new reality of the present kingdom of God for granted and complain.

- Instead, Christians must live in the light of the real presence of the kingdom of heaven, allowing the kingdom to get a complete hold on us.

- Because the kingdom of God has come in the person of Jesus Christ awaiting his return, the Christian will experience violent opposition from violent people.

- God has postponed or delayed his vengeance and judgment upon the wicked, as well as, rewards for the righteous.

- Let's make no mistake, God's kingdom has come in the person of Jesus Christ and Jesus is coming again.

- Let us be encouraged to accept Jesus as the Savior and Lord who sets aside our expectations, who calls us to suffer, to sacrifice and to a growing commitment to him in the present darkness of this world.

- Embrace the unexpected news of the Messiah who shatters all expectations.

Life Unexpected, Part 2: The Unexpected Voice. Matthew 3:1-12. Sunday, December 8, 2013. Advent 2.

- In April 1993, immediately after Steve Morrow scored the winning goal, giving the Arsenal team England's league cup soccer championship, Morrow's teammates tossed him into the air enthusiastically beginning their victory celebrations. However, they failed to catch him when he came down, and Morrow was carried off the field on a stretcher with a broken arm and an oxygen mask on his face.

- Popularity is a precarious position. A life built on popularity is on a shaky foundation.

- In his gospel, Matthew shared with his readers the popularity of John the Baptist.

- John appearing in the wilderness, baptizing at the Jordan River would have created no small stir among the Jewish people.

- The minds of early first century Jews would have turned immediately to restoration and redemption.

- Their collective memory turned back to the leadership of Joshua and God's people entering the Promised Land.

- Their hearts waxed nostalgic over the great and mighty deeds of God among his people in the past.

- Such thoughts of a new conquest and re-established kingdom of Israel ignited an intensely emotional atmosphere.

- They longed deeply for God to show up and set them free from their Roman oppressors in a mighty way.

- They heard their deliverance in John preaching repentance and kingdom, so they flocked to John in droves to show their repentance through confession and baptism.

- Those who went to John for baptism were confessing their sins, which is what the prophets of old hoped for when they preached repentance.

- To repent is not merely to change one's mind as the Greeks imagined, but to turn around and return to God.

- If one needs to repent, then that person is going in a direction that travels further away from God.

- Repentance means a change in direction, plotting a new course in the opposite direction, taking a U-turn on the highway of life.

- John's clothing, diet, and message are an unmistakeable suggestion that John represents the promised return of Elijah, paving the way for the coming Messiah.

- Earlier I said that popularity is a precarious position, a shaky foundation.

- The crowds presumed upon the meaning of John's message, i.e., they assumed his message meant the restoration of Israel as a sovereign nation.

- John's popularity drew so much attention that Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee, was concerned that John's message might cause a rebellion.

- John's popularity also drew the attention of both the Pharisees and Sadducees (whom Matthew lumps together as one)and we have noted before that you could not find two more opposite groups among the Jews of those days.

- The Pharisees were very religious and concerned with living rightly before God which they believed came from keeping the laws of Moses.

- They were concerned with keeping the letter of the law above the spirit of the law.

- However, the Pharisees so concerned themselves with keeping the Mosaic law that they forgot the greatest commands of the law, namely the law of love.

- They forgot that God prefers mercy over sacrifice.

- You may also recall that they believed in the resurrection of the dead on the last day.

- While the Pharisees had a high appeal with the general populace, the crowds, the Sadducees, on the other hand, appealed only to the rich.

- The ancient historian Flavius Josephus had this to say about the Sadducees:

- [They] suppose that God is not concerned in our doing or not doing what is evil; and they say, that to act what is good, or what is evil, is at men's own choice, and that the one or the other belongs so to every one, that they may act as they please. They also take away the belief of the immortal duration of the soul, and the punishments and rewards in Hades.

- In other words, the Sadducees, although religious, taught that right and wrong don't matter; God does not concern himself with that. Do whatever your conscience dictates.

- To them, after this life there is nothing, so live for today.

- Now, the members of the Sadducees were mostly the Jewish priests, and these self interested aristocrats who were supposed to care for God's people, in fact, cared only for themselves.

- Both of these groups believed themselves to be children of Abraham, yet in the Pharisees and Sadducees we find both the ultra conservative legalists and the mega liberal biblical compromisers who come together to investigate John's popularity and hear what he had to say.

- The Greek of verse seven can be translated to ways: 1) "the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to watch him baptize" or, 2) "the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to be baptized."

- Whether they came to watch or came to be baptized does not matter because John had words of doom and gloom for those who refused to repent and be baptized.

- Keep expecting the unexpected voice and humbly repent.

- 7 But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to watch him baptize, he denounced them. “You brood of snakes!” he exclaimed. “Who warned you to flee God’s coming wrath? 8 Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. 9 Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. 10 Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.

11 “I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12 He is ready to separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, gathering the wheat into his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire.”

- The Pharisees and Sadducees did not expect to hear John's voice telling them to stop assuming that because they are descended from Abraham they will not be judged.

- John's warning to the Pharisees and Sadducees was harsh and stern. It was a message of judgement.

- But to those who have ears to hear, it is also a message of hope.

- Keep listening for the unexpected voice and humbly repent.

- We heard last week that Advent anticipates the coming of Jesus into the world as a newborn infant, but also that Advent anticipates the return of Jesus as King and Judge.

- We learned that the world does not look expectantly for Jesus, in fact, the world turns a blind eye and a deaf hear, to those who speak his message.

- For those who turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to the message of repentance because the kingdom of God is near, this message becomes a message of judgment.

- But for those who see and hear this message is a message of hope.

- Keep listening for the unexpected voice and humbly repent.

- Do we presume upon our salvation, assuming that we are saved, while remaining unrepentant?

- Are we prepared for the coming of the King of Kings who will judge the whole world?

- Don't go the way of the Pharisees by becoming an ultraconservative biblical legalist measuring everybody by standards that they can't even live up to.

- And don't go the way of the Sadducees by becoming a mega liberal biblical compromiser doing whatever you please because you think that God is not going to judge you.

- Instead, humbly accept your salvation without presuming upon it because you are saved by grace.

- Never stop turning away from your sins and turning toward God by faith, confessing your sins to him and receiving the forgiveness offered to you in Jesus Christ.

- Keep listening for the unexpected voice and humbly repent.

Sunday, December 1, 2013. Communion Sunday. Advent 1. Life Unexpected, Part One: The Unexpected Hour. Matthew 24:36-44

- Last week I implied at the end of the message that at any moment any one of our lives could end.

- Advent is the season of the year that we prepare for the coming of Jesus, as we look forward to Christmas.

- But Advent is also a season of the year for the Christian to pause and consider the second coming of Jesus and evaluate our readiness for his coming.

- The title of this sermon series is Life Unexpected and that title has a wide variety of possible meanings and whatever you think I mean by that title, the answer is yes.

- Today, we're going to look at The Unexpected Hour.

*- I want to start with a question: are we living in ways that show we are expecting Jesus to return?

- We just read moments ago from Matthew's gospel, Jesus own admission that not even he knew the day or the hour at any time of his return.

- Only the Father knows. 

- Although Jesus was God, he submitted himself to the will of his Father.

- Although Jesus was God, he took on human flesh, limiting omnipresence to bodily, individual presence. He couldn't be everywhere at once.

- Although Jesus was God, his humanity limited his omnipotence and omniscience.

- While we see glimpses of his power in the Gospels, we do not see the full measure of his power.

- While we see divine displays of knowledge and awareness in the Gospels, we do not see that knowledge and awareness, extending to everything.

- Jesus submitted himself to God the Father's eternal plan and part of that plan is secrecy surrounding the day and the hour of Christ's return.

- We live in a time where the secular world no longer expects Jesus to return.

- False prophets have been attaching dates to Christ's return for centuries.

- Peter prophesied that in the last days people would scoff at the second coming of Jesus, deliberately forgetting that God spoke everything into being (2 Peter 3).

- Just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be with the second coming of Jesus.

- The message for the believer is: keep expecting the unexpected Christ.

- Jesus would not have us turning to false prophets and doomsday Sayers who concern themselves with the day and the hour of his coming.

*-Jesus would not have us fall prey to the delusions of scoffers who say, "What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was created." (2 Peter 3:4)

- Jesus also would not have us choose to sit on the fence because Satan owns the fence.

- Keep expecting the unexpected Christ. Why? Because just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be with the coming of Jesus.

- Sin keeps people ignorant of the truth. Sin closes the eyes of awareness, making them blind to the truth.

- What truth is that? Jesus is coming again.

- Just like it was in the days of Noah, right up to the very day the flood began, people were banqueting, partying, feasting and getting married.

- They were obsessed with their daily lives without a single thought to their debts and responsibilities before Almighty God.

- They continually went about their daily living without ever thinking of God.

- For about 100 years, Noah constructed the great boat and warned the people of the impending judgment until the day he, Mrs. Noah and their sons and their families entered the ark.

- It wasn't just simply a matter that people did not realize what was going to happen because Noah told them and that great ark was a sign to them that it was going to happen.

*- Because of their obsession with daily life and their sin, they failed to recognize that God was about to judge the earth "until the flood came and swept them away."

- Doesn't that sound like today? Most people today live like they haven't a care in the world when it comes to God's judgment.

- Are they so blinded by their obsession with daily life and their own sin that they cannot see their need of a Savior?

*- Jesus thought so, as he said, "That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes."

- "Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left" (vv., 40-41).

- Jesus was speaking about the coming judgment. Therefore, those taken will be taken in judgment.

- People will be going about the normal daily activities of life when the end comes most unexpectedly and they are judged.

- Keep expecting the unexpected Christ, expectantly living for him.

*- That is the conclusion Jesus wants his followers to draw. “Keep watch!” Keep expecting the unexpected Christ. “For you don't know what day your Lord is coming.”

- Those who keep watch are always expecting something or someone.

- Those who keep watch are always vigilant in their duties and their responsibilities.

- For the Christian who keeps watch, he/she must not grow weary in doing good and daily wear love as the general all-purpose garment.

- Since it is sin and obsession with daily life that blinds us to the signs, then we must watch over and guard our lives because our place in eternity depends upon it.

- When the Lord Jesus returns, and he is going to return, every one of us will have to give an account of our thoughts, speech, and actions.

- Keep expecting the unexpected Christ, expectantly living for him.

*- "Understand this," said Jesus, "If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into." (v., 43)

- If someone warned us that a thief was coming to break into our house, but we didn't know exactly when, we would bolt the doors and lock the windows and sit up ready to dial 911.

- Friends, Jesus is our spiritual lifeline. He alone will protect us from the coming judgment.

- If we are living daily for him, focused on him, then we will be ready.

*- As he said, "You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected." (v., 44)

- Because Jesus will come when we least expect it, we need to be ready all the time.

- Keep expecting the unexpected Christ, expectantly living for him.

- The cost of not being ready for the return of Jesus is too severe to overlook.

*- Because we know that Jesus is coming, but not when, the Christian must learn to arrange all of life around expecting his coming.

- The natural tendency for people is to arrange our lives around ourselves and our interests and our enjoyments and our comforts.

- That is our default position. And when we don't arrange our lives around Christ, then our lives will inevitably return to the default position of arranging our lives around the self.

- That default position, if we allow ourselves to return there, will guarantee us being caught unprepared for Christ's return.

*- Because we know that Jesus is coming, but not when, Christians must not live as if this life is all that matters.

- Being obsessed with this life, living as if this life is all that matters is the mindset of the unbelieving world.

- Such a mindset is not appropriate for the committed disciple of Jesus Christ.

- The Christian needs to concern him/herself with what concerns Jesus.

- We need to immerse ourselves in the mind of Jesus, learning to think how he thought by reading and meditating on his words, submitting our lives into his control.

- Since Jesus is coming again, this life will fade away.

- 1 John 2:17 says, And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.

*- Because we know that Jesus is coming, but not when, the Christian must be ready to deflect the false claims of false prophets.

- Since Jesus said only the Father knows the day and the hour of Jesus return, anyone who claims to know is a fraud.

- Fraudulent prophecy is not of God, and as such is fake and unchristian.

- Committed Christians need to steer clear of fraudulent Christianity.

*- Because we know that Jesus is coming, but not when, then, the Christian must work to accomplish every possible good for God's kingdom.

- Doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly before God, are the key goals for the Christian life.

- As John Wesley said:

“Do all the good you can.

By all the means you can.

In all the ways you can.

In all the places you can.

At all the times you can.

To all the people you can.

As long as ever you can.”

*- Keep expecting the unexpected Christ, expectantly living for him.

Beginning with the Bible, Part 6: The Only Word. Sunday, November 24, 2013

Scripture: Galatians 1:3-10, NLT

3 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. 4 Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live.5 All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.

6 I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News 7 but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.

8 Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. 9 I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed.

10 Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.

- Today's message marks the end of our series on Beginning with the Bible.

- At this point, we should be getting a good handle on how important the Bible is for us.

- We've been learning about the authority of Scripture over our lives.

- We've been learning about the uniqueness of Scripture and the Bible's divine inspiration.

*- Today, we're going to learn that the only word has only one message: Jesus Christ, crucified, buried, and resurrected.

- The only word has only one message: Jesus Christ, crucified, buried, and resurrected.

- Moments ago, we read about Paul telling the Galatians that anyone who preached something different than the message of the Gospel he preached to them should be under God's curse.

*- So I want to start us off with a simple question, why? Why did Paul tell the Galatians that anyone who preached another message, a different gospel, should be under God's curse?

- That question has a very straightforward answer.

*- The Christians of Galatia were falling away from the message Paul preached, which is the only gospel.

- The only word has only one message.

*- Is it true that the only word has only one message?

- Let's take a few moments to answer that question.

*- First, much of the narratives of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the four biblical Gospels are taken up with the subject matter of the last week of Jesus life and the events of his crucifixion, burial, and resurrection.

*- Second, the four Gospels and Acts emphasize Jesus sending out his apostles into the world as his witnesses. Of course, they were witnesses to his ministry, crucifixion, burial, and resurrection.

*- Third, the Scriptures testify to the uniqueness of Jesus and his message.

*- Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)

*- The promise of the prophets is a promise of intimacy with God and the forgiveness of sins, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (see Jeremiah 31:33-34, Joel 2:31-32)

*- The apostle Peter preached to the Council of Elders in Jerusalem, "There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved." (Acts 4: 12)

- The author of Hebrews describes the uniqueness of Jesus and his message.

*- "Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. 2 And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe. 3 The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. 4 This shows that the Son is far greater than the angels, just as the name God gave him is greater than their names." (Hebrews 1:1-4)

- The only word has only one message: Jesus Christ, crucified, buried, and resurrected.

- No wonder Paul was so concerned for the Galatian Christians.

*- To follow the claims of any gospel that adds or takes away from the message about Jesus Christ is to follow no good news at all.

- The Christians of Galatia were giving their allegiance to something other than Christ by turning away from the original message that Christ's death, burial, and resurrection is more than enough.

- He is everything the sinner needs to be saved. No more and no less.

- To trade allegiances is become a turncoat, a traitor to Jesus Christ.

- That is what Paul accused of the Galatians. They were running away from the good news of God's grace available in Jesus Christ.

- But to what were they running? They were running toward a gospel of works.

- The problem the Galatians were facing was simply that a gospel of good works is no gospel at all.

- Do good works save? Can good works create a new heart or cancel the debt of sin?

*- Of course they can't. But some among the Galatians had convinced them otherwise.

- One of the last things Jesus said from the cross before his death was, "It is finished."

- Someone convinced the Galatians that Christ's work was unfinished.

- Someone convinced them that not only did they need Jesus for salvation, but they needed to add keeping the works of the law.

- As the humble preacher and scholar John R.W. Stott puts it, "In other words, you must let Moses finish what Christ has begun."

*- For the apostle Paul, that kind of thinking is intolerable, so he declared to the Galatians his shock.

- How can you add to the finished work of Christ?

- Paul was shocked that a people who embraced the good news about God's grace in Jesus Christ should suddenly turn away to follow something that only pretends to be good news and is really a perversion, a twisting of the truth.

- The Bible warns against people who add or take away from the message of Scripture.

- Deuteronomy 4: 2, Do not add or subtract from these commands I'm giving you. Just obey the commands of the Lord your God that I'm giving you.

- Deuteronomy 18: 22, If a prophet speaks in the Lord's name, but his prediction does not happen or come true, you will know that the Lord did not give that message. That prophet has spoken without my authority and need not be feared.

- Proverbs 30:6, Do not add to his words, or he may rebuke you and expose you as a liar.

- Revelation 22:18-19, If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book. And if anyone removes any of the words from this book of prophecy, God will remove that person's share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book.

- God warns against adding or taking away from his message. Those that do will be exposed as frauds.

- Paul was deeply concerned for the Galatians because they were walking away from their faith in Jesus Christ, and running toward that which is no faith at all but depends only on self.

- The only word has only one message: Jesus Christ, crucified, buried, and resurrected.

*- Paul told the Galatians that some among them had perverted the gospel, they twisted the truth, and a twisted truth is no truth.

- Some from among their own members turned aside to a modified gospel, a new and improved version, an upgrade of the Good News.

- But one cannot add to the finished work of Christ.

- Faith in Christ is irreplaceable. Jesus of Nazareth cannot be separated from the good news nor the good news separated from him.

- The message of the gospel is repent and believe. Repent, turn away from your sins and turn toward God. Believe, trust and have faith that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead.

*- Adding or taking away from the message of Jesus Christ turns the gospel inside out, backwards and upside down and makes an opposite gospel.

- Such a false gospel deeply troubled the church of Galatia. They were confused, divided, and in turmoil.

- When churches try to change the gospel, then they are thrown into chaos.

- God brings order out of chaos. The fastest way to plunge the Christian church into a state of chaos is to teach the church a false gospel.

- Paul told the Galatian church that anyone who preached a gospel different than the one he originally preached should be under God's curse because the gospel Paul preached is the only gospel.

*- As Paul wrote, Let God's curse fall on anyone, including us, or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of good news than the one we preached to you. I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other good news than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed.

- The only word has only one message: Jesus Christ, crucified, buried, and resurrected.

- Paul used such strong language with the Galatians because when we are talking about following Jesus Christ, or some different so-called gospel, then we are talking about eternal security.

- To buy into someone else's version of the gospel rather than the Bible's version of the gospel is to auction off your salvation to the highest bidder.

- It's to trade away the priceless gift of eternal life for a perverted, twisted knockoff of the only truth.

- Anything taught by anyone which contradicts the timeless teachings of Scripture and the essential doctrines of the church believed all over the world for the last 2000 years is in danger of the fires of hell and endangers the ones listening.

- Paul told his readers that even if he himself or an Angel came to them and told them to follow some other way than the grace of God available in Jesus Christ, such a messenger should be under God's curse.

- An accursed one or an accursed thing is devoted to destruction.

- It comes from the Greek anathema which refers to the divine ban of the Old Testament, in which God judged entire cities for their idolatry and devoted them to destruction, every living thing and every material good was destroyed.

- Paul was deadly serious about this for two key reasons.

- One, preaching-teaching a different gospel deflects glory away from Christ.

- By deflecting glory from Christ, the preacher-teacher seeks glory for him or herself; and contradicts the finished work of Christ.

- Two, preaching-teaching a different gospel endangers the souls of human beings made in the image of God.

- The person and work of Jesus Christ is foundational to the gospel, so to change or modify the person of Jesus or his message in any way compromises the good news.

- Compromised good news is no good news, which equals no eternal life.

- Regardless to who it is, if the truth is changed, then the teacher is false.

- There is no compromising the truth, and there is no compromise for the Christian in this present evil world.

- There is only one gospel.

- The only word has only one message: Jesus Christ, crucified, buried, and resurrected.

- The best way to guard against being taken captive by false teaching is to allow yourself to be captivated with truth.

- That's why it's so important that we are familiar with the Scriptures, know and understand the good news of Christ, so that our lives are not thrown into turmoil, confusion, conflict, and chaos.

- If you have not yet believed that the only word has only one message, why not do it right now? Why put it off? None of us know for certain what the remainder of the day or tomorrow holds.

- Beginning life with Jesus is the simplest thing.

- Paul puts it this way in Romans 10: 9, 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.

- Allow me to close in prayer with a confession of faith and if you pray that prayer today for the first time let me encourage you to tell others, tell the world.

- The only word has only one message: Jesus Christ, crucified, buried, and resurrected.

- Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. Thank you that you live and reign, so I can live. I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Thank you for sending your Holy Spirit to live within me. Make me the kind of person you want me to be. Thank you that the only word has only one message: Jesus Christ, crucified, buried, and resurrected. Amen.