Well, good morning to everyone. Thank you, Mark and Diane. And thank you, Mark, for filling in last week. Really appreciate that. We had a nice time with my brother and his family and got to see them. So that was good. Caught a few small mouth and froze ourselves to death. So maybe summer will come sometime soon.

Well, I'd like to begin this morning by asking you to turn to Acts chapter 20 with me, please. Acts 20 at verse 17. This is Paul's meeting with the elders from Ephesus. At verse 17 in Acts 20, it says, from Miletus, he sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. 

And when they had come to him, he said to them, you know from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you, serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials, which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews. How I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you and taught you publicly from house to house, testifying to Jews and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. But none of these things move me, nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. 

And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men, for I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. 

Therefore, take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also, from among yourselves, men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. 

Therefore, watch and remember that for three years, I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 

Savage wolves will come in among you, he says, not sparing the flock. Also, from among yourselves, men will rise up, speaking perverse things, drawing away the disciples. This is the exact context of the book of Galatians. This is the main concern of Paul in the whole point of the letter before us, a most important, vital letter for the churches then and today as well. 

There's always been false religion setting itself against the Christian church, but there have also always been those within the umbrella of Christendom claiming the name of Christ who preach a false gospel. This was true in Paul's day, particularly concerning the Judaizers. They professed faith in Jesus, but required rites and rituals and law-keeping for salvation. 

And we have the same issue today. We have those who claim the name of Christ, who profess to believe Jesus, but also add works and sacraments and religious rites as necessary for salvation or as the means of receiving God's grace. 

But the real heart of this letter is found in our text today. Paul was passionate to stand against false teachers and a false gospel, as we saw in chapter 1. But his equal or greater concern was the influence that the false teachers and perverted gospel was having on the understanding, the thinking, and actions of the true church, the believers in Galatia. 

There have always existed those who are outside of the church working against Christ, all the religions of the world, the man-centered, works-righteous religions created by man. And there have always been false teachers and a false gospel in the realm or under the name of Christianity. But the call of this letter, the imperative need of the church then and today, is that there will never be a false gospel within the confines of the true church. 

In other words, each local body of believers. Notice he spoke to the elders in Ephesus. He was talking to the elders of a specific local body of believers in the city of Ephesus. And he said it was their job to take heed, to watch, to warn. He says, for three years, night and day, I warned you. 

Bobby and I were talking at the cabin the other day in Iron River. And she's like, she knew I was working on this text. And she's like, maybe you need to make it more positive. And I understand that. I feel that. Paul says, for three years, night and day, with tears, I didn't cease to warn you. Warn you about what? Warn you about a false gospel. Warn you about false teachers. Warn you about savage wolves coming into the church and scattering the flock. 

In each local body of believers, because the Bible teaches the autonomy of the local church under a system of elders appointed to watch over that body, in each local body of believers, there must never be confusion concerning the gospel. A false gospel must be rejected clearly and forcefully. And we must separate from those who teach anything but the true gospel of Jesus Christ. 

This has nothing to do with whether there are believers and unbelievers in a given local body. Of course there are. This has to do with the message that is preached, that is held up clearly stated and defended by the leadership of the church, and by extension, the entire body. This is the willingness of the local church to stand against and warn the brethren against a false gospel and to be sure that these subtleties do not creep into and influence the true church. 

And we may think that we have this in hand, under control. But we see that even the great apostle Peter was susceptible to the influence of a false gospel. And that confusion was spreading even in the early church. This occurred even after the foundational teaching of the apostle Paul, whose promise came true. After his departure, savage wolves came in, the Judaizers. 

You know, I know something about savage wolves. When you've seen a situation where a cow is having a calf, and the wolves have come in and eaten a calf right out of her and ripped her hamstrings out and waited on her to wander around the pasture and bleed out before they began to eat her. Graphic scene, savage wolves. This is the picture that Paul paints. This is the picture of false teachers and a false gospel. 

When you have a pack of wolves who've become accustomed to killing sheep or cattle, the only answer is to remove them, to eliminate them. You cannot reason with them. You cannot trust them. You cannot find their good points and highlight their virtues. You must remove them and continually guard against them, lest the flock be destroyed. This is true with false teachers as well. And we dare not play around with a different gospel, which is why Paul came with such strong language in chapter 1.

We must stand boldly, clearly, forcefully against any perversion of the true gospel and those who would trouble the believers, lest we all lose the truth, and there's no hope for the salvation of the lost and no hope for the glory of God in the church. This insipid thinking is so prevalent in the church today. And the primary issue, I believe, is fear. 

This is precisely what happened to Peter. Look at chapter 2, verse 12, Galatians 2.12. It says, for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles. But when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. 

And we see the result of this fear in verse 14. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, Peter's whole life was Judaism. These were his people, his culture, his heritage, what he calls later the vain traditions handed down from his fathers. He was afraid. He feared. This is a major point in our text. And I have to ask myself, why do I fear? Why do you fear? What do you fear? 

Do you fear tension in your relationships with your mother, your father, your sister, your brother? Do you fear offending them? Do you fear the implications of the truth to their eternity? No one wants to make people mad, bring division in their relationships. No one likes to offend. But shouldn't we have a deeper conviction based on the fact that the only way, according to the gospel of Jesus Christ, for people to be saved is to offend them? 

Because, my friends, the gospel is offensive to carnal men. In 1 Corinthians 1.23, Paul said, we preach Christ crucified to the Jews a stumbling block and a fence and to the Greeks foolishness. My brothers and sisters, if we truly love them, then we must tell them the truth. We must make it clear and persuade them that they might believe and be saved. Without a clear gospel, men cannot be saved. 

And that clarity must begin in the mind of the believer. You hear me? Let me say that again. That clarity, the clarity of the gospel, must begin in the mind of the believer. In you, in me. And it's a constant battle against fear, against false teachers, false doctrine, against Satan masquerading as an angel of light, against the wisdom of the world, the wisdom of men. It's against my own feelings and my emotions.

What we see in our text is two examples, two strong believers, two apostles, in fact. One who succumbed to fear, to his emotions, to his culture, to his heritage, and one who kept his mind straight by the truth of the gospel and was willing to stand against the false gospel and make clear, be straightforward about the truth, the gospel of grace, and that for the benefit of the church. 

This is the very issue of this epistle. This is the application for you and for me. Paul is the example. Paul said, if I seek to please men, then I would not be a bondservant of Christ. And at the very bottom, the very heart of this, is faith, is trust. 

God says that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation for those who believe. God says the gospel must be guarded, defended against all error and lies, against all who would come against it. If they preach any other gospel, if they trouble the believers, if they bring an unclear message that confuses the minds of the believers, Paul says, let them be cursed. 

Do I believe God? Do I trust his message of truth, his way, the gospel preached, Jesus Christ crucified, and nothing else? Or do I somehow know a better way? Am I like the seeker movement that took the church by storm, just entertain them into salvation, meet their carnal needs? Or maybe for the sake of unity, I'm willing to entertain and commend the message of the Judaizers in my day, salvation by faith plus sacraments or through sacraments, receiving God's grace by those works. 

Do I believe Jesus and trust him, his way? And am I willing with Paul to withstand Peter to his face if he's not straightforward about the gospel? This deeper conviction, this faith in God and his word must override our fear and emotions by his grace. 

We as believers in Jesus Christ, as the church, as the ambassadors of the truth, must be clear in our own minds about the gospel. This is Paul's concern in writing this letter to the churches of Galatia. 

Let's look at our text, Galatians 2.4. Paul says, and this occurred, he's referring to the meeting that they had when he went up to Jerusalem. This occurred because of false brethren secretly brought in who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty, which we have in Christ Jesus, that they may bring us into bondage, to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. 

But from those who seem to be something, whatever they were, it makes no difference to me. God shows personal favoritism to no man. For those who seem to be something added nothing to me. But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter, for he who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles. 

And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing I was also eager to do. 

Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed. For before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles. But when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. 

And when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, if you being a Jew live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews? 

I've given you four points on your outline. First, agreement on the gospel. Second, God's mission for His people. Third, confusion in the church. Fourth, no option. 

Well first we see in our text that after 17 years of ministry, Paul went up to Jerusalem to make sure that he and the Apostles were in full agreement concerning the gospel truth. Because you remember, the Judaizers had come from Jerusalem, they said they were from James, they were bringing confusion and as if there was some disagreement between Paul and the Apostles in Jerusalem. 

And this must have been frustrating for Paul, I feel that frustration sometimes. There's so much more that Paul wants the believers to know, to understand, to apply. He's been preaching the gospel for a long time in the Gentile regions now, teaching them day and night for years, explaining the depths of the gospel and the implications in the Christian life, and now he must go up to Jerusalem to meet with the Apostles because there's a dispute about the very gospel itself. 

Confusion about the grace of God and the way of salvation. He said in chapter 1, I marvel, I'm stunned after all this time and growth and maturity that you are influenced by a false gospel, that you're turning away from grace alone through faith alone and Jesus alone. 

But it is necessary that he go up to Jerusalem, and he went up by revelation, he says, to one, then after 14 years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas and also took Titus with me, and I went up by revelation and communicated to them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those who have reputation lest by any means I might run or had run in vain, yet not even Titus who was with me being a Greek was compelled to be circumcised, and this occurred because of those false brethren. 

They wanted to bring their bondage, their law teaching back onto the believers in order to steal away the liberty that they have in Christ, and Paul says we didn't submit to that even for an hour, we stood against it immediately in order that the truth of the gospel would continue. 

And what we find is that he went up to Jerusalem, discussed it with the Apostles, they were clear, we're going to look at that in a minute, and they had agreement in the gospel. It was always necessary to go back and affirm the gospel, to continually reinforce the truth and to contrast it with the error that threatens the minds and understanding of the believers. They did this in a formal way at this time and because of the false teachers who were troubling the church. 

This was necessary and is necessary because there's a constant force of Satan and his ministers and false teachers who Jesus said were sons of Satan coming against the true gospel. You see, Satan has a thousand errors he can use to confuse, but grace must not be contaminated by law and works, and so they had a meeting in Jerusalem to set the record straight once and for all, and we see that in Acts 15. If you turn to Acts 15 with me, please. 

Acts 15 1, and certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about this question. 

There's confusion, right, in the church. They came down to be just like today and say, you can't be saved unless you're baptized. You can't enter the church unless you enter through baptism. You can't be saved apart from the church, therefore you must be baptized to be saved. And we would say, no, no, no, and have no small dissension and dispute, and yet the believers in those churches in Galatia said, well, hey, maybe you guys should go up to Jerusalem and make sure about this. 

That's a hard thing for Paul at this point, I think. If you guys did that, I would be crushed. Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about this question. 

So being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles, and they caused great joy to all the brethren. And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all things that God had done with them. 

But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, it is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses. That word necessary is important, right? We've already seen it was necessary for their salvation, he said. 

Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter, and when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them, men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. So God who knows the heart acknowledged them by giving him the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us, and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 

Do you see that? Purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore why do you test God by putting a yoke, he's referring to the law of Moses, a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they, by grace through faith. 

Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles. The gospel of the legalistic Jews, it says the sect of Pharisees who believed, who professed faith in Christ, was condemned as false at this meeting in Jerusalem, laid to rest by the leadership of the church. 

This is the role and obligation of the elders of every church today, to condemn a false message of faith plus work, salvation by means of sacraments, not by circumcision in our culture and time, but by baptism, or by the Lord's table, or any other means of grace other than faith. It is by grace through faith in what Jesus accomplished in his one-time death on the cross in our place for our sins, and any other message is a false gospel that must be condemned. 

And so Paul and Barnabas and the other Apostles in Jerusalem settled this matter, made the gospel clear, condemning the message of the Judaizers. There was agreement on the gospel, praise the Lord. We don't have that in the evangelical church today. There are those who insist that salvation through by means of sacraments or churches that teach faith plus works are Christian churches. 

There is this confusion in the church, and this filters down even into good Baptist churches and churches like this, where people are confused in their mind as individuals as to the clear distinction between a true and a false gospel. 

Well, Paul must have thought, okay, we got that out of the way. Now we can get back to work in discipleship and sanctification of the believers so that they might be equipped to go out and do the work of ministry and preach the true gospel, and this is God's mission for his people. This is the whole point of the local body of believers and the way that God is glorified in the church. 

It starts with a true understanding of the gospel, standing against a false gospel, and then the application of that gospel in the lives of the believers is what brings fruit for the glory of God. And this is where Paul's heart was for the church, not the basic elemental understanding of the gospel of grace, of the means of faith that comes in justification, but he desired to have the believers come to a full knowledge of the gospel in their lives, in their sanctification, being conformed to the likeness of Christ that they might bear fruit. 

We see this at the end of chapter 2 and end of chapter 3, and I just want to preview that for next time, one of my favorite passages in the Bible, if you go down to Galatians 2.16. Galatians 2.16, now this is coming out of the dispute with Peter, and he's making this statement, he says, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. Even we have believed in Christ Jesus that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. 

Paul's like, how else can I possibly say this? But if while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not. So in these verses, Paul is clarifying the gospel and justification in the context of his defense of the gospel against Peter's confusion, you see that? 

But he's moving to the implications of this gospel in the Christian life, in the next few verses, in sanctification and how we now live in light of these great truths. Look at verse 18. Paul says, for if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. What is it that was destroyed by the gospel of grace? Righteousness through the law, through works. 

And so many scriptures come to our mind concerning that. Paul clarifies that this is what he's talking about in the next verse, if you look at 18 again, for if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. What did you destroy? I, through the law, died to the law in order that I might live to God. So it's necessary that he died to the law in order that he might live to God, Romans 7. 

I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live. Now wait a minute here, what's he talking about? He's talking about how I live. He's not talking about justification, how I come to faith, salvation. He's talking about sanctification, how I live the Christian life, the implications of the gospel of grace and God's purpose for me. 

I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which 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 set aside the grace of God for if righteousness, now this is not positional righteousness, justification, this is practical righteousness of sanctification, I do not set aside the grace of God for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain. 

You see, my friend, the law is not a means to holy living, it's not a rule of life for the believer, it is Christ in me, like we just sang. His life lived in and through me by grace through faith that produces fruit and holiness and sanctification, and this can only happen if we first have a clear understanding of the gospel itself. 

Look at chapter 3 verse 1, Paul continues, O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? This only I want to learn from you. Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? 

See, having begun justification in the Spirit, now being made perfect, sanctification by the flesh, by works, by law? No. Sanctification is just as much by grace through faith, not by the law. For I through the law died to the law so that in order that I may now live to God. 

And I now no longer live by the letter, by the law, but by the power of the Holy Spirit living in me, witnessing with my new regenerated spirit, imparting strength to my inner man, Ephesians 3 14 to 21, as Jesus lives in and through me, and I abide in him, and that purpose is glory to God in the church. 

So the point I want to make here is that the clarity of the gospel is the starting point, not only for justification but also for understanding the Christian life, and we'll look at this more in depth next time, but what we see in our text today is that we can never get to this second step, this purpose of God for each one of us in Christ, if there's confusion in the church about the gospel itself or why or how we can now live the Christian life. 

Let's look at verse 11 in our text again, please, Galatians 2 11. When Peter, just imagine this scene, the church in Antioch, the church that had sent out Paul and Barnabas, their home base, and Peter is there and he's fellowshipping with the Gentiles in the love feast, having communion together, dining with each other, having this sweet fellowship, right? 

No law, no circumcision, none of that going on. Now when Peter had come to Antioch, it says, I withstood him to his face because he was to be blamed. For before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles. But when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. 

And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, see, by their actions they were confusing the gospel. I said to Peter before them all, if you being a Jew live in the manner of Gentiles, which he had been doing and not as the Jews, why do you turn around and compel the Gentiles to live as a Jew? 

I don't think we can overstate the gravity of this situation in Antioch. And I don't think we can really grasp the example of Peter and Paul here in the context of the early church. Peter was the great apostle, the leader of the twelve, the one who preached that amazing sermon on the day of Pentecost, and 3,000 were converted. The pillar, the clear leader, and a force to be reckoned with in the early church, and sort of a hothead by nature, right? So he was dominant in his personality as well. 

This is a intimidating situation, I think. And yet he got confused, he became fearful when the legalistic Jews came down and started saying all these things about circumcision and the law. And he was afraid about what it meant to go against them. And Paul says he and the other Jews, including Barnabas, were taken away by fear. Paul says they played the hypocrite. 

And here we have a most interesting word. You're familiar with the word hypocrite. It comes from the actors in the plays who wear a mask, and there's something behind the mask is the reality. The Greek word here, we get our word hypocrite, generally refers to one hiding his wrong feelings, okay? He's hiding his wrong feelings or convictions under the guise of better ones. 

That's generally how hypocrites are, right? They make themselves look better than what's really going on on the inside. But really we have the opposite here. Weis says Paul, by characterizing their actions as hypocrisy, implied that there had been no real change of conviction on the part of Peter and the rest of the Jews. 

There'd been no real change of conviction in what they believed, but only conduct that misrepresented their true convictions. They were willing to compromise their true convictions concerning the gospel of grace by the way that they acted outwardly because of their fear. 

I think there's such a great application here for us because in this circumstance, the context before us, we don't want to be a Peter or a Barnabas who had been fellowshipping with the Gentiles, participating in the love feast with them, who were clearly convicted about what the gospel was and what it meant to life, but now we're splitting the church because they were too afraid to stand for the truth. 

Rather, we want to be a Paul who's willing to look only to Jesus, to believe and trust God who says that his gospel of grace is the answer, the way to salvation, the way to sanctification, the way to glorify him. We want to be willing to stand for the truth, to never compromise, no matter the cost to us personally, and to be willing to correct a brother who's been carried away with fear or a false doctrine in order to preserve the truth. 

How can we do that? Not easy, my friends, not in our world, not in our culture, not in the state of the church today, but it starts with an unwavering commitment to know and believe and continually renew our minds to the truth, to never entertain error, to never welcome those who do not teach a clear, true gospel into our pulpits, into our homes, into our minds through books or sermons or podcasts or whatever. 

John gives us this warning, 2 John 1 9, whoever transgresses does not abide in the doctrine of Christ, does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house, nor greet him, for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds. Romans 16 17, Paul said, I urge you, brethren, mark out those who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you learned and avoid them. 

We must know the gospel. We must continually strengthen our understanding of the gospel by letting the Word of Christ dwell in us richly, immersing ourselves in the Word of God, looking to and entrusting ourselves to the God of his Word, and we must abide in Christ, reckon our crucifixion, burial, and resurrection with Christ, and live by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us. 

The gospel is the point of division. There's no fellowship with a false gospel, with unbelievers, and at the moment we entertain a false teacher, a false gospel, we begin to slide down the slippery slope into confusion. The moment we let our emotions and fear and desire for approval from men to make us hypocrites, hiding our true convictions and our faith, we are being carried away, confused and fruitless in the cause of Christ, in fact, damaging to the church and her great purpose in this world. 

The gospel must be first, and we as believers must be clear in our own minds and in our actions in defending it. There's no other option. 

I want to just highlight a few phrases as we close here in our text so that you might see the example of Paul that we must follow. Galatians 2.4, this occurred because of the false teachers trying to bring the believers back into bondage. Verse 5, to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. 

If the truth of the gospel is to continue in the local church and bear fruit for the glory of God, then we must not yield submission to a false gospel even for an hour. Galatians 2.9, and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship. 

There can only be fellowship where there's agreement in the gospel. There can never be fellowship with anyone who preaches any other gospel or adds to the gospel of grace in any way. Verse 11, now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face because he was to be blamed. Verse 14, when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, if a believer, no matter who that believer is, is not straightforward about the gospel by his words or his actions, we must be willing to correct him. 

That may be taking him aside in a spirit of gentleness to restore him, but if the influence is public affecting the church, if the church is confused because of his actions, then we must be willing to withstand this error before the whole church, even to his face, if it's necessary to maintain the clarity of the gospel. 

Now my friends, we can hardly even imagine this in the church today. Let alone to someone such as Peter. But how much worse when a leader is drawn away, when he's confusing the church by his teaching or his actions. This is the commitment we must have to the gospel, over and above our loyalty to or fear of any man. It is a matter of maintaining the truth, the gospel, the only way of salvation. 

So what shall we do? Well, here's the admonition for us from the scripture. Set your eyes upon Jesus. Look to the shepherd and follow him. Seek to know him, not from books, not from systems of theology, not from men, but from his word. 

Know his truth, know him through faith by his grace. And know the gospel. Hold fast to it. Defend it in your own mind against your feelings and emotions and fears and proclaim it. Preach it, my brother, my sister. Persuade men, beseech them to believe Jesus. 

And when false teachers come along, reject them. Warn against them and their heretical message. And when confusion comes into the church and the minds of the believers because of fear or false teaching, withstand it publicly, clearly. Correct, rebuke, exhort with the truth so that everyone knows and is clear about the gospel of God's grace and the life of faith in Jesus and him alone. 

If we can't get the gospel straight, then there's no hope of salvation. And my friends, there's no hope of a fruitful life that brings God glory in the church. And that's the whole purpose. 

Let's close in prayer. 

Father, we thank you for the gospel, the truth, the truth that we can do nothing to save ourselves, that we deserve your wrath for our sins, that we've broken your law and we deserve the punishment. But we're so thankful for your love and your grace for us that you were willing to send your only Son to take on flesh, become a man to die in our place for our sins as a sinless substitute, accomplishing our salvation by his one-time death on the cross, and that it's through faith. Faith is the means of grace, faith is receiving salvation. 

When we believe your righteousness is imputed to us, our sins imputed to Christ. Thank you for that truth. Thank you for the gospel. Help us to understand it more deeply and fully, continually, to be clear about it and to speak it boldly. Speak that truth in love to persuade men, the men you desire to be saved. It's in Jesus' name we pray.