Well, good morning to everyone. Thank you, Mark, again, for leading us in some tremendous hymns this morning. I don't know if you were paying attention to the words, but a really clear message in the hymns this morning about the gospel, about the cross, about Jesus paying it all for us, that he has accomplished our salvation. 

I want to hone in in our text this morning, early on verses 11 and 12, where Paul says, "Brethren, I make known to you brethren that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man, for I neither received it from man nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ." And this is really kind of the message of Paul's text. Through chapter one, he's beginning to defend his apostleship and his authority. But I really want to talk today about the truth that the good news is from God, it's not from man. 

And we'll kind of set a contrast with that to help us hopefully understand clearly the gospel. I remember years ago when I was preaching at a chapel at a Christian school, I asked the children ranging in age from littles to high school students, "What is the gospel?" And this is just kind of typical, I don't mean to be critical of anyone, but typical of the church today. I got several answers from the Christian children, but one older high school student gave me this answer. She said, "The gospel is the life of Christ." 

Well, my friends, the gospel is not the life of Christ. The gospel is the death of Christ, his burial and resurrection. Jesus did not accomplish my salvation by his life, but by his death. His death is a substitutionary death in my place for my sins. The gospel is not that Jesus was a good man or that he was a great teacher or an example to inspire me to do better. The gospel is that Jesus took the wrath of God for the sins of the world so that God could remain just, punishing every sin on Christ and be the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus, imputing his righteousness to us through faith. 

My brothers and sisters, we must be clear concerning the gospel. We as believers in Jesus Christ must be clear in our own minds about what the gospel is and what it isn't, and we must be able to articulate that message clearly in order for men to understand and to believe and to be saved. That's Paul's concern in our text today in Galatians 1. 

The believers there had heard the true clear gospel of grace through faith in Jesus Christ and they had believed, they had been saved, born again, regenerated, they had new lives, but now they were turning away from that gospel to another. False teachers had come in behind Paul of the region of Galatia and were teaching a faith plus works gospel. They were legalistic Jews. They taught, as we saw last time in Acts 15, that yes, you must believe Jesus, but you also must be circumcised and keep the law of Moses in order to be saved. 

Acts 15 said those Pharisees who believed, it's interesting that they taught faith in Christ, professed to believe Jesus, and yet they added works, destroying the gospel truth. Paul says, this is a heteros, it's a different, it's another gospel, but it's not another, he says. What's he mean when he says it's not another? He means it's not good news. It's not good news from God, it's bad news from men. 

They seek to trouble you by perverting the gospel, to confuse the brethren, to win them over to their false religion that they might claim them as their own. And Satan is behind this, seeking to render the believer useless or even harmful to the cause of Christ. We see that in 1 Corinthians 10, as Paul says, all false religion is demonic. Demonic influences are behind a false gospel. 

There are many doctrines we could discuss, we could study, we could possibly even come to different conclusions about. But there most certainly is one doctrine that we must get right. We must be clear about the gospel. We must be clear in preaching that message to the world, and we must know and believe from the word of God the good news that comes from God. That's what our text is about this morning. 

Let's look at Galatians 1, at verse six. Paul says, "I marvel, I'm amazed, that you are turning away so soon from him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel, which is not another. But there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we are an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As I've said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than that which you have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ. But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ." 

Well, I have four points on your outline this morning. First, good news, bad news. Second, bad news from men. Third, good news from God. And fourth, the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Well, first we see in our text, good news, bad news. Paul was so thankful, he was so excited about the fruit that he had in Galatia, the people whom God had saved when they believed, and the churches that formed in that region. He'd had much fruit traveling through the region of Galatia on his missionary journeys. And this is what his life and ministry really were all about, preaching the clear, pure gospel of Christ, persuading men from the scriptures, seeing them come to faith and experience a transformation of regeneration and salvation in their lives. And he had seen this in Galatia. 

But now he's received the word that something awful is happening here. False teachers, another gospel, another Jesus. And the believers were being taken captive and confused and becoming fruitless as a result. So Paul's very upset, and his writing in this letter illustrates this truth. There's no greeting, there's no commendation. In every other letter he writes, even though, like in Corinth, where there were so many problems, so much trouble, he commended them for what they were doing good. We don't see that here in Galatians. He's right to the point. He's super concerned about the gospel. 

He'd come with that gospel, the true good news, and by it, the power of God unto salvation had resulted in new life and glory to God. But now these men were coming in with another message to pervert the gospel of Christ and trouble the brethren. And the word trouble here means to stir up or to agitate. The false teachers were agitating the brethren because their message was different from Paul's. 

And this was what happens when there's a false teaching in the church: trouble, agitation, disharmony, an unclear message. In Haddon Robinson's message on prayer and evangelism, he used an illustration, and I couldn't remember the leader. I think it was Alexander the Great. But Alexander was one of the greatest leaders of war in history who conquered the known earth before he was 33 years old. And it was said that he was sad because there was no place left to conquer. 

When Alexander would send a messenger into the battle to relay a message to his generals, he gave three requirements to the messenger. First, he said, when you give the message, be clear. Second, he said, when you give the message, be clear. And third, he said, when you give the message, be clear. Nothing mattered if the message was not clear, if it was not rightly understood. 

The herald of the message must be clear. And with the gospel, this is an eternal concern. Salvation is at stake. If we do not give a clear message when we preach the gospel, the souls of men are in danger. When there's an unclear message, then there's confusion in the church, there's disorder among the brethren, there's a lack of purpose and mission. When there is a false gospel, it leads men to hell. 

The difference between Paul's message and the message of the Judaizers and all false teachers is the difference between heaven and hell. Paul tells us that his gospel, the gospel he preached, the gospel of Jesus, is from God, good news given to him by revelation from God. And when the believers started to turn from the good news from God to the bad news from men, they were turning away from God. He says, "You're turning away from him who called you through his gospel." To turn from grace to works is to turn from God and his salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. 

My friends, the good news is from God. Again, verse 11, Paul says, "But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man." Paul didn't come up with this. Someone didn't tell him this. It wasn't some slick marketing scheme. It wasn't anything to do with man. It didn't come from man, for I neither received it from man nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ. This is such an important point for us to understand. 

Think about the religions of the world, the works-righteous, man-centered religions who turn from God and his grace and turn to their own righteousness and works. All of these religions are man-made. They are man-created. They are from man. Good news comes from God through the revelation of Jesus Christ and bad news comes from men. Turn over to Romans 1 with me and we'll look at Paul's explanation of this, Romans 1 at verse 18. 

Romans 1:18 says, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse." 

Because although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore, God also gave them up to uncleanness and the lust of their hearts to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie and worshiped and served the creature, rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 

Well, these verses tell us where religion comes from. Men suppress God's revelation of himself to us. He's shown it to us, he says. It's in us. And it's all around us in his creation. They willfully hold it down. They reject the truth. And they replace the true God with religion. They create for themselves gods crafted after the creation, after animals and birds and four-footed things, corrupt things and corrupt men. 

They make gods for themselves that meet their needs, that allow them to live how they wish, who will wink at their sins. The essence of these false religions is that good works, religious rituals, sufferings can make up for our sins, cover our sins, that our gods are those who understand our shortcomings and will let them slide. They will let us be corrupt and sinful and still bring us into their heaven. They teach men to be good. They teach men to participate in religious exercises, to give their tithes to the church, to submit themselves to the authority and the systems and their leaders. At its core, every religion in the world, every religion created by men, shares the same false teaching of the Judaizers in Galatia, that somehow man can atone for his own sins, that he can do enough good to cover up for his bad. 

Paul says, "This is not good news. This is not from God. This is bad news, and it comes from men." My friends, the law requires perfection. The scriptures say again and again, "The man who does them shall live by them." Jesus said, "If you just keep it perfectly, you'll be fine." Jesus said that in order to enter the kingdom, a man must be perfect as God is perfect. The fact is that no man can keep the law of God, and God gave us the law for this very purpose: to know our sin and to lead us to faith in Jesus Christ, to show us our need, our desperation, our sinfulness before a holy God. 

Turn over to Galatians 3 with me, please. Galatians 3 at verse 19. Paul asks the question explicitly here and gives us the answer. What purpose, then, does the law serve? Why did God give the law? What does the law do? Paul says, "It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made, and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. Now, a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one." 

He says, "Is the law, then, against the promises of God?" Certainly not. Look at this statement. Verse 21: "For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law." Think about that statement. Think about the religions of the world. Every religion, what does it say? Keep the law. Do good works. Keep the Ten Commandments, right? What does it say here? Paul says, "If it had been possible that a man could keep the law to become righteous, then God would have given a law the man could keep and become righteous," but what's the next verse say? 

The scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith, Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. What he's saying is it wasn't possible; no man could keep the law, and God gave the law for the express purpose to show us our sinfulness, our inadequacy, so that we might turn to Jesus in faith and receive the promise of eternal life. He says, "But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore, the law was our tutor, our schoolmaster, our teacher, to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith." 

But after faith has come, we are no longer under the tutor, the law. For you are all sons of God through faith in Jesus Christ. That's good news, my friends. If there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. The purpose of the law, the reason the law was given, was not for us to keep it, to earn our righteousness, to gain God's favor; the purpose of the law was to show us our sin, to lead us to faith in Jesus Christ. 

My brothers and sisters, it's not the good people who go to heaven; it's the sinners, the ones who realize their need for a Savior because of their sinful condition and condemnation before God. Turn over to Luke 18 with me, please, and I want you to see one thing we see for sure in the Scriptures is how sickened God is by self-righteous religion. We see it over and over, even in Isaiah 1 and 2 with the nation of Israel when they'd gone astray in their heart and He said, "I am sick of your sacrifices." The aroma is a stench in my nostrils. Why? Because they were going through the motions, they were trying to earn their own righteousness; they were not serving God from a true heart. 

Look at these two men in Luke 18 at verse 10. Jesus tells this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector." Who was a Pharisee? He was a religious leader of their day; he was a respected man in the community; he was the guy who wore the big hat, right? And everybody looked to him as a spiritual leader. "One a Pharisee, the other a tax collector." What was a tax collector? Scum of the earth, right? 

"The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself." It says literally he prayed to himself. What did he say? "God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, even this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I possess." And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast saying, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." And Jesus says, "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." 

Turn back a couple pages to Luke 15 at verse 1. Luke 15:1 says, "Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to him to hear him, and the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, 'This man receives sinners and eats with them.'" So he spoke this parable to them, saying, "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.' I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance." 

There's no good news in the religions of men, my friends, because the fact is that we are all sinners. There are no ninety-nine just, only those that think they're just. We have all come short of the glory of God, the standard of God, and we all deserve His wrath for breaking the law. Think about it this way. How does the law work? I mean, we don't apply this anywhere else in our lives except for to religion. 

Let's say you go shopping down in Wausau. Maybe you're going to hit the fleet farm because that's the only store you really need, right? You're on your way home. You come down the hill there by the waters in Minocqua, and you get to that little pesky twenty-five-mile-an-hour zone at the bridge, and you're coming a little hot; maybe you forgot about it, you were talking on your phone, and there sits a friendly officer, and you look down and you're going forty-five as you cross the bridge, and the lights come on. 

Now, you've been to Wausau a dozen a time. You've been very careful every time when you come to that little speed trap, and always jamming on the binders and slowing down to twenty-five just before you get to that flashing speed sign. So you've done the good thing. You've been a good person, say, forty-seven times in your life you've driven through there and you've gone twenty-four, twenty-five miles an hour. And this one time you break the law, forty-five and a twenty-five, and here's the man pulling you over. 

Now religion would say, "Listen, you've been good many more times than you've been bad. You'll be fine." But that's not good news, because that's not what the law says. The officer will inform you if you break the law once, you are deserving of a ticket, and a fat one for going forty-five and a twenty-five. And you can plead all you like about how good you are and how many times you've obeyed the speed limit right in this very spot, and it will be to no avail. You deserve the punishment because you've broken the law. 

And if you go to court, the judge will tell you that you are guilty and that you must pay the fine, and you can plead with him all you like about the righteous works you have done and how you've given to the poor and everything else. You know, this is also going to happen at the judgment. Jesus tells us in Matthew 7, listen to these stunning words, speaking to religious Jews, He says, "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name? Have we not cast out demons in Your name and done many wonders in Your name?'" Think of all the good works we've done, Lord. 

"And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'" If you seek to establish your own righteousness through works, then you will plead in vain, because Romans 3 tells us that no one is righteous, no, not you either. Jesus told the rich young ruler, "Only God is good." My friends, the religions of man are bad news. 

But there is good news from God, the gospel of Jesus Christ. Turn to Romans 5 with me, please, at verse 12, lay a little groundwork here. Romans 5:12, Paul writes, "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because all sinned. For until the law, sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of him who is to come." 

What Paul's saying here is, Adam had a law, "Don't eat of the tree," right? And he transgressed that law, and he died, spiritually, and he began to die physically. "Dying, dying, dying, you will die," right? From Adam until Moses, there was no law, there was no law. God gave the law to Moses, we've looked already at why he gave the law to Moses. But even through all that time, those people still died; why? Because they were in Adam. Because every son of Adam is born a sinner, we're going to see that here. 

Verse 15, "But the free gift is not like the offense, we're talking about Jesus contrasted with Adam here, the cross contrasted with the sin in the garden. But the free gift is not like the offense, for if by one man's offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ abounded to many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned, for the judgment which came from one offense, that's Adam's sin in the garden, resulted in condemnation. But the free gift which came from many offenses, that's all of our sins, Jesus paid for at the cross, it resulted in justification." 

"For if by one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the one Jesus Christ. Therefore, as through one man's offense, judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation. Even so, through one man's righteous act, Jesus' death on the cross, the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one man's obedience many will be made righteous." 

Paul's argument here is it was one man's sin that got us all into this trouble. And as sons of Adam, we are born sinners in our nature on the inside. So the logical conclusion is not us doing a bunch of good works. See, religion will tell you you do bad and you do bad and you do bad, and therefore you become bad. So what's their solution? The solution is to do good and do good and do good so you can become good. The only problem with that is it's not an answer. It's not good news. Why? Because you are bad. 

Every man born in Adam is bad on the inside. I'm bad on the inside, I was. I was made a sinner. This text teaches that the problem for the son or daughter of Adam, each and every man born in Adam, is that he is a sinner. He's a sinner on the inside, corrupt on the inside, and his outward acts are merely a manifestation of who he truly is on the inside. Death entered the world through the sin of one man, Adam, and all men were made sinners in Adam. 

It's not that some men are good and some men are bad. God has examined all men and He's found them all to be sinners. There is such a thing as relative human goodness, right? You've got Mother Teresa and Jeffrey Dahmer. But that's relative human goodness. All men are not as bad as they could be; however, all men fall short of the perfect standard of God, of His righteousness, His standard to enter heaven. No one is perfect. And all men are separated from God by sin. And my friends, their sin must be paid for. You know, sometimes you get the right judge and he'll let you out of that ticket. That's corruption. Right? God's not corrupt. He's not going to let you out. The sin must be paid for. The wrath of God must be satisfied. God must remain just by punishing every sin. 

This leaves man in a pretty bad spot. He's a sinner. He's not righteous. He's deserving of the wrath of God, eternity in hell. He cannot change the fact that he is separated from God by his sin through good works or religious rituals. He cannot do enough good to make up for the fact that he's broken God's law even once. James says if you break God's law once, you're guilty. You're a sinner. You're guilty of all. But let's say you go up to the courthouse about that ticket you got in Manacqua. And let's say that you owe $500, but you don't have any money. If you don't pay your fine, you're looking at jail time. 

But let's say that a benevolent benefactor comes in and he pays the court the full amount on your behalf. Writes a check for $500, gives it to the court. What happens? You're free. The man who did not owe the fine paid the fine for you in your place, in your stead, and the court is satisfied. The judge, the law, will no longer pursue you because your debt has been paid in full. You have been redeemed. The price has been paid. 

This is precisely what Jesus did at the cross. He did not owe the debt of sin, death. But he stepped in and paid the full price, satisfying the wrath of God for the sins of the world. The good news that Paul received from God is that Jesus accomplished our salvation when he died in our place on the cross, was buried, and rose again from the dead on the third day. 

The gospel of Jesus Christ is explained many places by Paul. First Corinthians 15, one of the clearest, right? "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. He was buried and he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures." Another great explanation is Romans 1. Look at Romans 1:1 with me, please. Romans 1:1, "Paul, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God, this gospel which he promised before through his prophets and the Holy Scriptures, this gospel concerning his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead." 

Paul says he was called by God. He's a sent one. He's an apostle, and God separated him to the gospel. This gospel was promised before in the prophets, his Holy Scriptures, all the way back in Genesis 3. We see the promise, the promise of a deliverer, of a substitute, a sacrifice for our sins. This promise is reiterated over and over. Genesis 12, the promise made to Abraham of a blessing to all nations through his seed. Remember the great prophetic picture of Isaac as he put the wood on his back and Abraham took him up the mount to sacrifice his only beloved son, a promise to God, and then what did God do? He provided a substitute, a ram caught in a thicket. 

The prophecy of Isaiah 53 of Psalm 22, picturing Jesus on the cross, listen to the words of Isaiah 53. It says, "He is despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." This is Isaiah, what, 700 years before Christ, he wrote this? "And we hid, as it were, our faces from him. He was despised and we did not esteem him. Surely he had borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon him, and by his stripes, we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before a shearer's is silent, he opened not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare his generation? For he was cut off from the land of the living. For the transgressions of my people he was stricken. And they made his grave with the wicked, but with the rich it is death, because he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Listen to this, yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He has put him to grief. When you make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see the labor of his soul and be satisfied. By his knowledge my righteous servant shall justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities." 

The gospel, the good news that comes from God, we see in Romans 1 was promised before in the Old Testament, and we see in verse 3 it's concerning his son. The gospel is concerning Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for sins. He was the fulfillment of all those shadows and pictures, the lambs of the Old Testament, the sacrifices for sins. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. The gospel is concerning his son. It is Jesus, by his one-time death in my place for my sins, who accomplishes my salvation fully and finally at the cross. 

And what we see is that the requirement of God to enter this salvation, to receive his righteousness, is not works, it's not religion, but it's by his grace through faith in his Son. Ephesians 2 says, for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, Titus 3, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by his grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 

My brothers and sisters, Romans 2 says God judges according to truth. What's the truth about you? What's the truth about me? We're all sinners. Doesn't matter if we're religious people or we're prostitutes and drunkards; we're all sinners before Holy God. We've all sinned, fallen short, we all need a Savior, and isn't that good news, my friends? Isn't it good that not only rich people go to heaven? Isn't it good that not only tall people or short people or people good at sports or people good at business get to go to heaven? Isn't it good that every man, every woman, every child has the same opportunity to receive the free gift of salvation by God's grace, his gift through faith, and faith alone in Jesus alone? 

You know, I used to be religious. I used to stand up and kneel down and sit down and stand back up whenever they told me. I used to go to the sacrifice and repeat the words and participate in the sacraments. You know what I found? I couldn't keep the law. I couldn't be good. I couldn't live up to any standard. And when I came to understand the one true sacrifice, the death that Jesus died for me on the cross, when someone preached to me a clear message about salvation by grace through faith in Jesus, I forsook all that religion, those useless traditions handed down by the fathers. 

I chucked the whole deal and turned to Jesus in faith. I no longer, as Paul, had any desire to establish my own righteousness through the law, but rather received his righteousness by faith. Found in him, right? And my friends, from that moment I've never been the same. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes. Let's make sure we're clear about that. 

Jesus did not come to make my life better. Jesus did not come to meet all my felt needs. Jesus did not come to make me happy and wealthy, to allow me to live my best life now. If this is my best life now, that's bad news, man. You know, I'm hoping my best life is yet to come. Jesus came to save me from the wrath of God for my sins. 

I just want to close in one more effort to make the gospel clear with an illustration I heard many years ago that really impacted me, and I know some of you've heard this multiple times, but it won't hurt you to hear it again. There was a well-known tribal chief in Africa who was known as a tremendous leader of his people. He held a high standard upholding the great virtues of honesty, of honoring his father and mother, of never taking what is not yours and many other moral values. He also loved his people very much, and his tribe was very prosperous, successful. He always strived to live by example, to rule in such a way that was best for everyone, and one day it came to the chief's attention that someone in the village was stealing items from other people's homes. 

This was a very serious matter because the penalty for stealing in this community was a severe whipping at the post by a great warrior. The chief spoke to the people. He pleaded with the offender to come forward to admit his sin and plead for mercy, but the stealing continued and the chief became angry, demanding the offender cease this awful transgression and turn himself in. Again, more stealing. Then one day the chief or the thief was caught in the act, and to everyone's horror, it was the chief's elderly mother brought before him and condemned as the thief. 

Everyone wondered what the chief would do. Would he maintain his justice and exercise the punishment, which would mean certain death for his elderly, frail mother, or would he honor his great teaching to honor your mother and father and maintain his love for his aged parent? Would he compromise his justice or would he compromise his love? This was the question on the minds of everyone in the village, and the day came for judgment as the great leader sat in his seat and he motioned for his mother to be brought forward and tethered to the post. The great warrior readied his whip and waited for the signal, and at that moment the chief rose from his seat. 

He walked toward his mother, tied to the post, and as he walked, he removed his shirt bearing his back and he wrapped himself entirely around his small, frail mother. Then he gave the signal to the warrior to proceed with the punishment. 

My friends, this is what Jesus did for us. He wrapped himself around us, as it were, at the cross, and he suffered the full wrath of God for my sins in my place, and now salvation is complete and it is available to everyone who will believe, who will place his whole trust in Jesus alone and what he did at the cross. If you place your faith in Jesus alone, God will impute to you his righteousness and bring you back into a right relationship with him. He's longing to do that. It's not through religion. It's not through the bad news from men or false teachers, but it's through the good news from God that we can be made right with him. 

Only at the cross can God remain just, punishing every sin, and be the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. This is good news. This is the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Let's close in prayer. Father, we thank you for the gift. Thank you for your love that while we were your enemies, while we were against you, while we hated you, while we were going our own way, Jesus died for us. Thank you for that great plan of salvation. Thank you for bringing it to pass and accomplishing our salvation. Thank you that it's by your grace alone, it's a gift. Paul calls it the indescribable gift. 

Father, I just pray that you would work in the hearts of men here and who would hear this message. I pray that you would inspire us here at Living Hope to go out and spread this message, this good news message from you so that men might believe and be saved and that you would receive all the glory. In Jesus' name.