Adrian Rogers - The Gospel of Grace
Take your Bibles, find Galatians chapter 1. Now we fly, many of us, many places. I heard of an airline pilot who came on the intercom and said to his passengers, he said, "Folks, I've got bad news and good news. The bad news is this: we are hopelessly lost. The good news: we're making great time". Now, I think that is very, very much like this generation in which we live. We think that we're making progress, but we don't know where we're going. Now folks, in the things that really count, listen to me, in the things that really count, we're not making progress through civilization, through science, through learning, through technology, we're not. Man has three great enemies: sin, sorrow, and death. Those are the three great enemies.
Now you think about it. You may think that we have some other enemy. We do not. Sin, sorrow, and death. Now I want to ask you a question. In the light of all of our so-called progress, what has civilization done about sin? About the only thing we've done about sin is to re-label it, put new labels on the same old bottles of poison. No longer is a man a thief, now he's an embezzler; no longer is a woman a harlot, now she's a lady of the night; no longer is a person a drunkard, he's now an alcoholic; no longer is a person sinful, he's morally challenged, and we've just really not made any progress whatever in the matter of sin. As a matter of fact, we are sinking, sinking, sinking, to a swirling sewer of filth and debauchery.
I want to ask you another question. Not only in the matter of sin, but in the matter of sorrow. Have we made any progress? Not at all. I think of the heartache, the tears, a nation baptized in salty tears, and we're boasting about our economy, we're boasting about these things but suicide has reached epidemic proportions, mental institutions are filled and overcrowded. We don't know what to do with these people who have broken minds and broken hopes and broken hearts. We've not made any progress in the matter of sin, not in sorrow, and certainly what have we done about death? Not a thing. We may have postponed it a little bit, but from the time that Adam and Eve looked down upon the broken body of their son, Abel, who was murdered by his own brother, all of us have been hurt by death.
Now we've tried to camouflage death. No longer do we call it a coffin, we call it a casket; no longer is a man an undertaker, he is a mortician; no longer is it a graveyard, it is a memorial park, but we haven't changed the facts, have we? Sin, sorrow, and death. Where's the answer here? Well, friend, there is no answer apart from the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Put that down big, put it down plain, put it down straight. Now, there are those who would want to offer some other panacea, some other answer, but there is no answer, and even the devil has tried to pervert the Gospel.
Look if you will here in Galatians chapter 1 and beginning in verse 6 through verse 12. Paul says, "I marvel that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another Gospel". From that verse I get the title of my message, The Gospel of Grace. Let me read it again. Paul said, "I marvel that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another Gospel. Which is not another," that is, it just seems like another, "but there some that trouble you, and would pervert the Gospel of Christ".
Underscore that word pervert. But then Paul says in verse 8, "But though we, or an angel from Heaven, preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed". Let him be anathema. Actually it literally means, "Let him be damned". "As we said before, so say I now again, 'If any man preach any other Gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.' For do I now persuade men, or God? Do I seek to please men? For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. But I certify you, brethren, that the Gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it by man, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ".
Now, the devil has tried to pervert the Gospel of Jesus Christ as we've seen in that verse. And how does he pervert the Gospel, the saving Gospel? He perverts the saving Gospel by what we call the social gospel. Many churches are not telling people how to be saved. They're telling people to do good, to feed the homeless, to clothe the naked, to heal the sick, and folks, that is wonderful and that is good, and if you're saved you ought to do those things. But that is not the Gospel. If you do that and don't preach the Gospel, all you're doing is making the world a better place to go to Hell from. After all, we're going to be here for all eternity.
Now, thank God for social work, but there is no social gospel. There is only a saving Gospel which is the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And then, of course, we have another perversion which is new age occultism, that has the idea that we are reincarnated and we just keep going around. We keep getting another chance until we get it right. All of that is ridiculous. And we find people trudging to churches today who've never met Gospel truth, and our churches are padded with moral worldlings and do-gooders who've never really been saved, and we are materially rich in America and we are morally poor because we do not know the Gospel.
So what is the Gospel of grace? What is the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ? I want to give you five facts here today taken from these six verses, and I want you to see them. First of all, I want you to understand that there is satanic opposition to the Gospel. Satan fought it. Satan fought the Gospel in Paul's day and he is fighting the Gospel in our day. Look again in Galatians 1 verses 6 and 7, "I marvel that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another Gospel. Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you," now underscore this, "and would pervert the Gospel of Christ".
Did you know that Satan is a pervert? I say that seriously. Satan has no raw material. All he can do is take what God has created and twist it and pervert it. Satan is a pervert. God made everything and sin is a perversion of that which is good. Now, Satan, rather than denying the Gospel, had rather pervert the Gospel, because if you will accept a synthetic Gospel then you'll never see your need for the real Gospel. So he's not out-and-out to deny the Gospel, he's out to twist the Gospel, and he's done a good job. Look in the religious world today. Folks, you can come to our city or any great city in America today, and in the realm of religion just say, make up any list of things that you want to believe and any way you want to act, and somewhere you'll find a church in this society where you'll fit right in.
That is true. I mean to us, the Gospel is like some sort of a cafeteria line. We say, "Well, I'd like this, I don't want this, I want some of this, I want none of that, give me some of this, and here's the way I want to live," and we think that we have sort of a do it yourself religion. You talk to people and here's what they'll say. "Well, I'm looking for a religion that suits me". Now wait a minute. Who are you, God? "I'm looking for a religion that suits me". I want to say it respectfully, but you'd better find one that suits God. I mean, you'd better find what God has said. Who are you? Looking for one that, quote, "suits you". There are those who pervert the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Now folks, when it comes to Gospel truth there can be no compromise with the truth. It would be far better for a banker over here in the bank to say two plus two equals five or three than for me to stand up here in this pulpit today and play loosely with the truth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Now, every now and then when you hear a preacher like yours truly, they'll say he's narrow-minded. Well folks, I want to tell you in the first place you can be so broad-minded your brain will get thin in the middle. Did you know that? And you can be so open-minded your brain just may fall right out.
Now, I want my banker to be narrow-minded; I want my doctor to be narrow-minded; I certainly want my airplane pilot to be narrow-minded. Why, in the things that really count, the things that count the most, the things that count for all eternity, why should we not stand up for that which is truth? I'm talking to you about truth, friend. You know, verses 8 and 9 in Galatians chapter 1 almost seem unchristian. Look at it. Paul says, "But though we, or an angel from Heaven, preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed". And again I want to tell you, Phillips translates that let him be damned. "As we said before, so say I now again, 'If any man preach any other Gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.'"
Now, our natural sensibilities, we'd just recoil at that and say, "Oh, that's so unkind, that is so bigoted, that is so prejudiced, that is so intolerant, oh no, why, there's room for everything in religion". Folks, if one way is right, and only one way, then all the other ways are wrong. That is the Gospel that Satan tries to pervert. Now, Paul says it's really not another Gospel in Galatians 1 verse 7. He says it's not another, it just sounds like another. But it is really not another. I say again, many folks, many of them in our Baptist churches, have really no idea what they really believe. One man asked a woman, he said, "What do you believe"? She said, "I believe what my church believes". "So what does your church believe"? "Well, my church believes what I believe". "Well, what do you and your church believe"? "Oh, we believe alike".
People have no idea what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is and they could not give you the Gospel truth if you asked them to. Now, don't think that I'm talking about a Baptist Gospel. There's no Baptist Gospel; it's Bible Gospel. Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, whomever they are the only way anybody is going to go to Heaven is through the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, the first thing I want you to see is there is satanic opposition to the Gospel: Satan fought it. He did in that day; he will in this day. Here's the second truth I want you to see. Friend, there is the settled origin of the Gospel, God thought it.
Now look in Galatians 1 verses 11 and 12. Paul is talking about this Gospel. Look at it. He says, "But I certify you, brethren," I love that word certify, "I certify you, brethren, that the Gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ". What is the origin of the Gospel? God thought it. It came from Almighty God. The Gospel is not man's invention. It comes by divine revelation. Therefore, when it comes to the Gospel, you put your intellect and your emotions to the side and pick up your Bible. Put your intellect to the side. So many times we take the Word of God and parade it past the bar of human reasoning and judgment.
You say, "Well, it doesn't seem right to me that there's only one way to be saved, and all others ways are wrong, that just is not logical for me". And so, we try to bring human ingenuity, human wit and wisdom against the Gospel. Now, and then if that doesn't work, we'll just bring our emotions. You say, "Well, that doesn't feel right to me. I mean, I just have a queasy feeling about that". Folks, again I want to say respectfully, it doesn't matter what you think or what you feel. It's what God says that counts. You have to understand that. I listen to the pilots talk, and the pilots said if a man doesn't know how to read those instruments, he can have the idea that he is absolutely flying level and he's going down. He can't tell it. If he says, "Well, I think I'm all right and I feel I'm all right," friend, that does not change the attitude, the direction of that airplane.
And so many people are doing the same thing, making a tragic mistake in the realm of religion. They are flying by the seat of their trousers rather than by the instrument panel which is God's Word. Now folks, we have to understand that there is the divine origin of the Bible, the settled origin of the Bible. We're not looking for a new and a modern Gospel for a new and a modern age. If it's new it's not true. If it is new it is not true. That's what Paul is saying. Look at it here in this passage of Scripture in Galatians 1 verse 8 and 9, "But though we, or an angel from Heaven, preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. So we said before, so say I now again".
Paul keeps repeating this. He wants them to understand it. "If any man preach any other Gospel unto you, let him be accursed". What Paul is saying here is this. That if any new revelation ever comes down the trail it's not of God. If anybody says there's a new Gospel. If an angel appears and says, "Look, I've got a new message from God," Paul says don't believe it. Now folks, if an angel were to stand up here on this platform today, I mean a great, glorious, mighty angel, just glowing in whatever an angel would look like and he would say, "Ladies and gentlemen, I have been dispatched from Heaven. You folks at Bellevue are the first to know we've got an amendment to the Gospel, we've got some additions to the Gospel, we've got some modification to the Gospel," Paul says let him be anathema.
I don't care if he's an angel. And then, look at it again. He says in Galatians 1 verse 8, "Though we, or an angel preach from Heaven". Suppose Paul were to stand up later on and come to Galatians and say, "You remember what I said over there when I wrote you that letter? Well look, I've gotten a new revelation. I've gotten some new insight. I want you to listen to me. I've changed my mind. There's another Gospel". Paul said, "Don't you listen to me; don't listen to an angel".
Friend, it is settled once and for all. Do you have that? You know, everybody has the idea that somehow this idea of religion is just sort of migrating, it's just changing and that we live in a new day, a new age, and therefore we need a new Gospel. What Paul is saying, listen, he is saying it is not the messenger that validates the message; it is the message that validates the messenger! So if a man stands up, and I don't care how many degrees he has, I don't care how eloquent he may be, I don't care what seminary he attended, I don't care how persuasive he may be, if he is not preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, he's a false prophet and the wrath of God is upon him.
Now, I'm talking about the settled origin of the Gospel. Paul says I didn't receive it from man, neither was I taught it; it came by revelation. So there's the satanic opposition to the Gospel. Satan fought it. There is the settled origin of the Gospel, God thought it. It didn't come from man. It's God's mind. God thought it.
Now, here's the third thing I want you to see, and that is the sacrificial obtainment of the Gospel, Jesus bought it. I mean, how did we get this Gospel? Where did it come from? Well, Jesus bought it. He obtained it with His rich, red, royal blood! Notice in Galatians 1 verse 7. This Gospel is not another false Gospel, "But there's be some that trouble you, and would pervert," now watch it, "the Gospel of Christ".
Now, how did Christ buy it? Well, go back to Galatians 1 verses 3 through 5, "Grace be to you". Remember I called it the Gospel of grace? "Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ. Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father. To whom be glory forever and ever. Amen". Now, the Gospel that I'm preaching to you is the Gospel that was purchased, obtained with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. It is the Gospel of the cross. It is the Gospel of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It's a Gospel that centers in Christ, not a Gospel that simply mentions Christ or alludes to Christ. It is the Gospel of Christ.
Do you know why so many churches today are filled with people who've never been saved again? They have never had a personal confrontation, an encounter, a faith encounter with Jesus Christ. They've met a creed, but not Christ; they've met a cause, but not Christ; they've met a code, but not Christ; they've met a church, but not Christ. Do you know Jesus Christ? I want to tell you today that Jesus Christ is real to me. I put my faith in Jesus Christ. It is, according to verse 7, "The Gospel of Christ". And not just the Gospel that brings Christ in, it centers in Him. It just doesn't simply mention Him or give lip service to Him. Back when Paul wrote this the pagans had many gods.
As a matter of fact, if you go to Rome you can visit a thing called the Pantheon. That means many gods. A beautiful building, still standing, 2000 years where they had niches in the walls for all of the gods and you could worship this god, or this god, or this god, or this god, or this god, or this god. That made everybody happy. Rome was not really a destroyer of religions, it would just bring all the religions together and just sort of syncretize all of the religions of the world. But friend, you can't do that with Jesus Christ. It's not Jesus and, it's Jesus or, and it's Jesus only.
Remember this, Acts 4:12, "Neither is there salvation in any other. For there is none other name under Heaven given among men whereby we must be saved". It is our sweet, dear, saving Savior who said in John 14 verse 6, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes unto the Father but by Me". And I want to tell you this, folks, if Jesus Christ is not the only way, He is none of the ways because He's a liar, a fake, a fraud and an impostor. He was the one who said He was the only way. Now what kind of a liar, fake, fraud, imposter can be a Savior? No! You can't just tip the hat to Jesus Christ; you have to bow the knee to Jesus Christ.
Many a Christian in Paul's day could have saved his life if he'd a made Jesus just one of the ways to Heaven. Just offer a little pinch of salt to Caesar and say, "Yes, Jesus is Lord, but kaisor kurios, Caesar is lord, and Christ is Lord. Now let's just all get along somehow". No, friend. There is the sacrificial obtainment of the Gospel. It is purchased with the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus bought it. Look again in Galatians 1 verses 3 and 4. The Bible says, "Grace be unto you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ. Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world".
Friend, don't you know this; that if there'd been some other way for you to be saved apart from the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, God would have taken it? Be reasonable. Are you going to tell me that God allowed His darling, precious Son to die the most ignominious, excruciating death that a man has ever known, in agony and blood upon that cross, and yet there was some other way to be saved? If that is true, I have no respect for that god, a god who would allow his son to do that when there was some other way. I wouldn't want to meet that god in a dark alley. Friend, I'm telling you, if Jesus Christ is not the only way, God made a blunder at Calvary. No wonder the Bible says, "There's none other name under Heaven given among men whereby we must be saved".
In Romans 1:16, Paul said, "I'm not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. It is the power of God unto salvation". Friend, God Himself is powerless to save apart from the Gospel of Jesus Christ because God is a Holy God and sin must be atoned, sin must be paid for. Now, Satan fought it. God thought it, it didn't originate with man. Jesus bought it and He bought it with His own precious blood.
Now, here's the fourth thing I want you to see. I want you to see the saving operation of the Gospel, grace wrought it. It is called the Gospel of grace. Notice in verse 6, he calls it the Gospel of grace. Grace is what causes God to love folks like we are: vile, worthless, unworthy, sinners by nature, sinners by birth, sinners by choice, and sinners by practice. Thank God for grace. Hallelujah for grace. Why are we saved by the grace of God? It is seeking grace.
Look in Galatians 1 verse 15. Paul talked about the grace that sought him. He says, "But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by His grace, He called me by His grace". When Paul got saved he wasn't seeking Jesus, but Jesus was seeking him. You know, you say, "Well, today I'm just seeking the Lord". Well friend, the only reason you may be seeking the Lord is because He's first sought you. Don't get any idea that you just thought it up all by yourself. The Bible says in Romans chapter 3 verses 10 and 11, "There is none that seeketh after God, no, not one".
Well you say, "But, but why then do I have this hunger? Why do I have this thirst for God"? Because He gave it to you. Let's think about a natural thirst. We all get thirsty for liquid. God made us that way. Why do we get thirsty? Because God created us where we would have a thirst. Had God not created us to have a thirst we would never get thirsty. I mean, we wouldn't just be walking down the street and say, "You know, I'd better get some liquid. I'm going to dehydrate". No. God made us that way. That thirst that is in us is a gift of God and that thirst for God that is in you is a gift of God and it is seeking grace and it is separating grace according to this verse here that we're looking at in verse 15. It pleased God to do this.
And so the grace that saved you, friend, and I want to tell you is, as the God who loves you and God is seeking for you. When God came in the Garden of Eden, in Genesis 3:9, after Adam and Eve sinned, He said, "Adam, where are you"? That wasn't the voice of a detective. That was the voice of a loving God. God is seeking you today. You may be here today without Jesus Christ. I want to tell you, my friend, God is seeking for you. Thank God for His seeking grace. And that seeking grace, friend, is saving grace. Paul says here in verse 16 that God revealed His Son in me. Here was old Paul, lost, on the road to Hell, a hardened Pharisee, and he's saved by the grace of God.
Ephesians 2 verses 8 and 9 says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God". What is grace? Grace is the free gift of God. You're not saved by joining a church, you're not saved by getting baptized, you're not saved by being a Gideon, you're not saved by singing in the choir, you're not saved by preaching a sermon, you're not saved by coming to church. You're saved by the grace of God, by the grace of God. It is saving grace. And that means it's not of works of any kind. They, works don't save and works don't help save. Romans 11:6, the Bible says, "And if by grace, it is no more of works; otherwise grace is no more grace. And if by works it's no more of grace; otherwise work is no more work".
You can't mix grace and works. If it's by grace, forget your good works. Baptism, whether a spoonful or a tankful, can't take away your sin. Your prayers, your pilgrimages, anything you do, that cannot take away your sin. This seeking grace is saving grace, and friend, it is securing grace. Do you know why you have eternal security? Because you're saved by grace. Now if you were saved by works, your works fail, you'd lose your salvation, wouldn't you? Grace can never fail. Down through all of the ages you're going to just be saved because of the grace of God. And Paul was telling these Galatians this over in Galatians chapter 3 verse 3. He said, "You foolish Galatians. Having begun in the Spirit, are you going to be made perfect in the flesh"?
Don't you understand that the Spirit that has saved you is the Spirit that's going to perfect you and carry you all the way through? It is securing grace. Now some people have the idea that they can get saved and lose their salvation after a while. People are so confused about this matter of salvation. Suppose you're out there in the deep, briny blue on a cruise ship, and you fall overboard and the ship just goes off without you. Let's say you're about ten miles offshore. Most of us can't swim that far. You're out there in the ocean and maybe you don't even know how to swim at all and up comes a man in a high-powered speedboat.
And you say, "Oh," you're just trying to keep your head above water. And suppose that man comes along and he says, "Look, you're drowning. Let me show you what you do". And so he jumps in the water and begins to do the Australian crawl and the backstroke and the breaststroke, and all of that, and he says, "You see, this is what you do". Well friend, that man's not a savior, he's an example, and you're going blub, blub, blub, going under. Or suppose the man stays in the boat and begins to circle around you and tells you what to do and gives you instructions, takes out a book and reads it on swimming and safety, and again you drown. No, you don't need an example, you don't need an instructor. What you need is a savior. Suppose he throws you a line and pulls you in and towels you down and puts you in the boat.
You say, "Oh, I have a savior," and you start heading toward the shore and then he looks at you and he says, "You know, you're not sitting in this boat just right," and he throws you overboard. He's not a savior, he's a probation officer. Friend, Jesus is a Savior, Jesus is a Savior. Oh, thank God for His example, thank God for His teaching, and all of that, but He is a Savior. Salvation by grace is such an amazing thing. When people begin to understand it, they want to sing songs like, "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me". It is seeking grace, it is saving grace, it is securing grace. And friend, it is sufficient grace, all you'll ever need. You're not going to run out of the grace of God.
Second Corinthians chapter 9 verse 8, the Bible says, "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work". You've got all you need. I can tell you this, I can testify to this. I've been on the trail a long time and God's grace has never been insufficient, never. You think you're going to run out of grace? Is a minnow in the Atlantic Ocean going to run out of water? No. Thank God for His sufficient grace. And it is surviving grace.
Look, if you will in Galatians 1 verse 5, "To whom be glory forever and ever. Amen". You see, the Bible says in the ages to come we're going to be trophies of God's grace, and when you get up there in the glory, you're going to see Him, and He's going to point to you, and He's going to say, "There it is. David is there because of My grace, Jim is there, Bob is there, Adrian is there". We're all there because of the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. "When we've been there 10,000 years, bright shining as the sun, we've no less days to sing God's praise, then when we've first begun". It is surviving grace.
Here's the fifth and final thing I want to say about this Gospel of grace. Friend, I want you to see the singular obsession with the Gospel: Paul taught it. Now, this is very important. Look if you will again in Galatians chapter 1 verses 9 and 10 of this passage. He says, "As we said before," he said it once, "so say I now again," he's saying it again, "If any man preach any other Gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed". And now, notice what Paul says, "For do I now persuade men, or God"? Do I seek to please men? "For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ". Paul was obsessed with the Gospel. It was a divine obsession.
Now, we all have a desire to please people. We all want to please. Did you know I really have a desire to please you? I really do. Do you know I like it when you say Amen? Do you know I like it when you meet me afterwards and say you were a blessing to me? If a preacher says he doesn't, I believe he's not telling the truth. You know, I want to please you, I want to please my parents, I like to please my friends, I like to please people, but friend, I'm going to tell you something. I want to be like the apostle Paul who would say it doesn't matter whom I please if I displease God.
Now, we all have people that we want to please, but you see, if you try to please everybody, you're going to please the devil most of all. Paul loved these Galatians. Paul talked to them compassionately, but Paul is saying, "Look, I'm obsessed with the Gospel. I'm not trying to please you". Now Paul might have tried to please the civil authorities in Rome. Paul was a Roman citizen and Galatia was an outpost there, and Paul could have fitted in and not gotten into so much trouble. But you know, Paul knew that it was Jesus, not Caesar, that met him on the Road to Damascus. Friend, government can't make us good. Only Jesus can make us good. And, you know we ought to thank God for our governmental officials.
Friend, I want to tell you something. The mayor may pave the road, but only Jesus can pave the way to Heaven. We've got to please the Lord Jesus. Now we, as Christians, ought to be involved in politics. We're not disenfranchised because we are Christians, but friend, we can't let the Gospel of Jesus Christ be identified with the Republican Party, the Democrat Party, the Independents, the Libertarians, anybody else. We need to be able to tell them all to repent, get right with God.
Now, Moses didn't try to please Pharaoh, Elijah didn't try to please Ahab. It's an amazing thing, you know, politicians, they come around, an usher will come up to the platform and they'll say, "Pastor, so and so is in the church today, so and so is in the congregation today". And my advice is, "Well, tell him to sit down and get a Bible". We're here to preach. You know, in some churches the politician comes in, they bring him right up to the platform, let him talk. You know, when I go down to City Hall they don't say, "You know, Adrian Rogers is here. Let's stop business and let him preach". They don't do that.
Paul says, "I'm not trying to please Rome"! And Paul wasn't trying to please the false teachers. There are false teachers around. And do you know the way to get along with everybody is just try to never mention true doctrine. There're some people, I'll guarantee you, there's some people right here today who say, "That old narrow-minded, hellfire and brimstone preacher". Paul said, listen, "If any man preach any other Gospel to you, let him be damned". Let him be accursed. You say, "Unloving".
Friend, that was not the way for Paul to get elected, "Clergyman of the Year". Paul said, "Look, I am not trying to win a popularity contest"! If you want to be unpopular in today's day that puts a great virtue on tolerance, just preach the old-time religion and say there's one way, and only one way to Heaven and it's the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul didn't try to please his own family. Paul goes on to say in verses 13 and 14 of this chapter about how he's a Jew. And how he was raised according to strict laws. You know what they thought about Paul? They thought Paul was a turncoat. They thought Paul had gone south on them, that Paul now had left them and they were not pleased with him. And some of you, if you give your heart to Jesus Christ, your family is not going to be pleased with you.
Some of you kids, you go to school. You don't tell dirty stories, you don't read those magazines, you don't smoke that whatever it is, you don't pop that whatever it is, you don't sleep around. They going to look at you like you're strange. You're not strange, friend, you're different. What was the obsession that Paul had? It was a singular obsession with the Gospel. He was a Gospel preacher and he says, "I don't care whom it displeases. I'm going to preach the Gospel". And you are looking at a man, God help me to mean this, with my dying breath I'm going to be preaching the old-time Gospel of Jesus Christ, the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the Gospel of grace. Satan fought it, God thought it! Jesus bought it! Grace wrought it! Paul taught it! And we're to stand on that old-time Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank God for the Gospel.
Bow your heads in prayer. While heads are bowed and eyes are closed, friend, I am telling you today that if you will receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, He will instantaneously, dramatically change you. He will save you. Doesn't mean you're going to sprout wings and get a halo, but He will save you and keep you saved, and that is the Gospel truth. If you'd like to be saved, I invite you to pray a prayer like this right now. Forget that anybody else is here and pray this prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank You that with Your precious blood on the cross You bought my salvation. And thank You, Lord, that I don't have to behave myself into Heaven, that I can trust You, and that You will save me. And Lord, right now, with all of my heart, like a little child, I put my faith, I put my trust in You. I trust You, once and for all, now and forever, to save me. And Lord Jesus, begin now to make me the person You want me to be and help me never to be ashamed of You. In Your dear name I pray. Amen.