Shabbat Shalom everyone. Please open your Bibles today for the ministry, today for the book of Galatians. We are studying the book of Galatians, and today we are going to deal with the first 10 verses of Galatians chapter 1. Galatians is one of these letters that Shaul Paul wrote to the assemblies in Galatia. Galatians was in Asia Minor. Galatians was more than just a city, one single city. But Galatians was a region in which the Apostle Paul had visited and established local congregations, local assemblies, as in Antioch, in Antioch, in Lystra, in Iconium, and in Derby. There were at least four cities which Shaul Paul had visited, share the message of the Gospels, and sought to see that many who turned to the Lord Jesus the Messiah will grow spiritually and understand what the Lord had done for them.

So he wrote to them the letter to the Galatians in order to help them because they were, it didn't take too long, beloved brothers and sisters, and things have happened in Galatia that made it necessary for Paul, Shaul, to write this letter. And I'm reading Galatians 1, verses 1 to 10. This is the second ministry meeting on the Bible teaching on the book of Galatians. And Paul says in verse 1, Paul, an apostle, not of man, neither by man, but by Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus Christ, and God the Father who raised him from the dead, and all the brethren which are with me unto the churches of Galatia, the assemblies of Galatia.

"Grace be to you and peace from God the Father and from our Lord Yeshua HaMashiach, 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." I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that calleth you into the grace of Messiah unto another gospel, which is not another, but there be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ, the gospel of Mashiach. "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.

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." "Anathema." "For do I now persuade men, or God, or do I seek to please men? For if I yet please men, I should not be the servant of Christ, the servant of Messiah." "And I am going to stop here with these first ten verses of Galatians chapter 1." "Now we have gone already through the first meeting together, starting the first two verses, and in the previous ministry meeting we have been introduced to the apostle Paul." "Shaul, his Hebrew name, Paul, his diaspora, dispersion man, and we have learned that many of the Jewish people have dual names.

There is the Hebrew name, Shaul, there is the diaspora name, Paul, and Paul, because he lived in Tarsus, he was carrying more than that one name, Shaul, and then also Paul." "We have also learned from Acts chapter 9, how on the way to Damascus, Shaul, this Pharisee, Parush, Jewish man, Israeli man, Hebrew man, who loved the God of Israel and loved the Jewish people, but when he saw that those wayward Jews who believed that Yeshua was the Messiah have accepted him and followed him, Shaul thought as before the God of Israel that he is going to help God and that he is going to go to Damascus and he is going to capture all these

Hebrew Christians, Messianic Jewish people, bring them from the synagogue and bring them to the city of Jerusalem." So he took a letter with him from the high priest in order to go and bring these early Hebrew Christians back to Jerusalem and he really persecuted them for a long time until, beloved brothers and sisters, on the way to Damascus, Yeshua, the Messiah from heaven, the glorified Messiah who died and was buried and rose and had been ascended to heaven, he said to Shaul on the way to Damascus, "Saul, Saul, Shaul, why do you persecute me?" And then at that moment, beloved brothers and sisters, the Lord touched his heart and Shaul had to understand, and he

said, "Who art thou, Lord?" And from that time on, after he was stricken to the ground, he received, you might say, the salvation of the Lord, and he became what is known to us today as a born again believer in the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah.

And from there on, beloved brothers and sisters, Shaul, Paul began to minister among the Gentiles, the Goyim, among the people of Israel and kings as he was called by the Lord to do so. So it is amazing, it is fascinating, because already in the early days of the church age in which we live in today, Paul's teachings have crept in, as it crept in in the history of our people Israel, it creeps in into the body of Messiah, and we today at the latter days of the church age, at the end, notice we live 2,000 years almost after Shaul Paul wrote the letter to the Galatians, and we face the same problem today.

While in the early days, those who imposed certain things upon the Gentiles were called Judaizers, today we have another problem called Gentilizers, in which the very same thing is happening today in the days of which we live in today. So, in the first 10 verses, beloved brothers and sisters, the Apostle Paul relayed to the Galatians three important facts as he opened his letter to the erring Galatians. They have already began to err, they have moved away from the truth of the Gospel, they began to move, shift more to the right or more to the left, assuming that salvation is not only by faith in the Messiah, but you need to be circumcised, you need to keep the law of Moshe, or you need to keep any laws that we hear people tell us today, and we have to be speaking in tongues, or you have to be baptized, or you have to keep the rules of a certain church group, or congregational group, and the Apostle Paul, Shaul, determined to teach the Galatians the fact concerning the great salvation that had been provided by the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah himself.

So, in these first 10 verses, Paul relayed to the Galatians three important facts as he opened his letter to these erring Galatians in those days, and we can learn from these letters today, these important principles. Now, notice what he says here in these three, I should say in these 10 verses, three points. Number one, in verses one to five, Paul explained to the Galatians his God-given authority. In other words, he shows the Galatians that whatever he does and he says, he has a God-given authority, and it's not his own, but it is coming to him from none else but the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah. Then in verses six and seven, Paul expresses his concern for the Galatian believers.

They were already, they have accepted the Mashiach, the Messiah. They have recognized the grace of God, so he is expressing to them his concern because they shifted, they began to turn away from that which they have already learned when he shared with them the Gospel. And thirdly, in verses eight, nine, and ten, Paul, Shaul Paul exposes his adversaries who perverted the Gospel of Mashiach, the Gospel of the Messiah, the Gospel of Christ. So that's what I want to share with you this ministry meeting. These three, you might say, important facts. Paul explained his God-given authority, Paul expresses his concern for the Galatians, and Paul exposes his adversaries who perverted the Gospel of the Messiah.

Now, brothers and sisters, let me show you just a few things about the Gospel before I'm going to continue on. Look, beloved brothers and sisters, God created you, he created me, he created all men. And I don't have to tell you, we all have sinned, we all fall short of the glory of God. If you remember, Adam fell in the Garden of Eden, he plunged the whole human race into sin. That's why the Bible says, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. This is not only today, it started when our father Adam fell into sin in the Garden of Eden.

So we have a problem. Here is God, on one hand, sin has separated us from God. That's why men, by nature, can never attain salvation. And what we read in Romans chapter 3 and verse 23, the problem that you and I have, the problem that Jew and Gentile have, the problem that men and women have, the problem that boys and girls have, the problem that religious or secular have, is that we are sinners by nature. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. David, our king, the king of Israel said, in sin did my mother conceive me. You like it or you don't. God is a holy God.

Man is a sinful man. That is what happened. We had fallen unto sin from Adam on until today. Well, sometimes, as we continue on, men deserve to die because their wages of sin is death. Because God is holy and because we have sinned, sin demanded judgment. In Romans 6:23, Shaul Paul said elsewhere, the wages of sin is death. So, just the same as Adam in his days, he needed the forgiveness of the Lord. And you and I today need it as well. But man's problem and the penalty that sin deserves is judgment, is death and separation from God. But, sometimes, we all realize that we try to please God.

Man is trying to attain salvation. So, we try, you know, we are attending congregational meetings. We think it will save us. We are keeping laws and rules and we think that will save us. Or we are doing good deeds and we think if we are going to make some good works, you see, God is going to accept us. Or even knowing the Bible well, we can quote verses from the Bible and we can add to that. Keeping laws, keeping days, keeping all sort of man-made things. We find ourselves never going to be able to reach us to the other side, to the presence of the Lord, because we are still sinners by nature.

And Isaiah said this to our people of old Israel. In Isaiah chapter 64, all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags before the Lord. It doesn't matter what we do. It comes from a sin nature of a Jewish man or a gentleman. We all cannot attain God's holy requirement. So, God, graciously, what did he do? He provided a way for salvation. It's like a ladder whereby instead of man falling into eternal separation from him, God provided the person of Yeshua, the Messiah, who came to die for the sin of Israel and the sin of the nations of the world. And you remember what Yeshua said in John chapter 14?

I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me. You remember what Peter said in Acts chapter 2? In Acts chapter 4, I should say, there is no other name whereby we must be saved. And that is the name of the person of the Son of God. His name is Yeshua. Jesus is Yesus, the Greek for the Hebrew word Yeshua. And you shall call his name Yeshua, the angel said, because he will save his people from their sins. Matthew chapter 1 and verse 21. Well, of course, the question is where you and I are finding ourselves today. Do we believe what God says or do we reject what God says?

If we reject what God says, we will find ourselves never going to be able to be drawn back to the Lord in restoration. And we will find ourselves in suffering eternal separation from God. And that's the question we all have to ask ourselves where you and I are today. Thank God that from what we understand that the vast majority of us, as we know, we have accepted the Messiah. We have crossed over from here to here, not on the basis of any good things that we have done or laws that we have committed or circumcision that we have held. But on the basis of the work of the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah, who died for us on the shameful Roman cross some 2000 years ago.

And here is where Paul, Shaul, is now explaining or relating to the Galatians those three important facts. And I would like to share with you in this ministry those three important facts. So let's go back to Galatians chapter 1. And you notice in verse 1 to 5, Shaul Paul explained his God-given authority. You see, people said about Paul, who is this man? He was not there when Yeshua was in the land of Israel ministering to the people of Israel. He was not there when the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, chose those 12 disciples. He was not there when the Lord himself set up this order among the early believers in the city of Jerusalem.

And who is that Shaul Paul? Why is it that he claimed to be such an apostle or such a great man, you might say? And they were accusing him that he was teaching things which were contrary to the word of God and contrary to the people of Israel's teaching as they have been taught from the Lord. Well, Paul had to explain to the Galatians that he was not called by men, but that he was called by the glorified Messiah himself, the Lord Jesus. And so you notice this in Galatians 1 verses 1 and 2, Paul explained to the Galatians that he is an apostle. He is explaining, notice he says here in verse 1, Paul, an apostle.

The Greek word for apostle is apostolos. In Hebrew, the word is shaliach. Shaliach is a messenger that was sent by the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah. And so he says, Paul, an apostle, verse 1, not of men, neither by men, but by Yeshua, the Messiah, Jesus, the Messiah, and God, the Father, who raised him from the dead. You see, he is saying to the Galatians, who were already influenced by those that came and taught them otherwise, that it is not enough for them to be saved through faith in Yeshua, the Messiah, but they need to be circumcised, keep the law of Moses, and keep all sorts of rules of men.

And Paul is saying, listen, I am an apostle, and I was not called by men, no men have sent me, and I was not neither by men, no one is the one who promoted me to become a shaliach, a messenger, an apostle, but no one else except notice, but by Jesus, the Messiah, Yeshua HaMashiach, and God, the Father, who raised him from the dead. He immediately, he immediately, beloved brothers and sisters, exhibit, not for pride, not because of his arrogance, but in humility, he says, listen, I was called by the glorified Messiah, who died once, and he was raised from among the dead by God the Father, he is the one that made me an apostle, a shaliach.

And you remember, beloved brothers and sisters, as we have already read, in Acts chapter 9, that Yeshua said to Hanania, in Acts chapter 9, I'm just going to read these verses for us. In the earlier part, he says, the Lord said unto Hanania, he said in verse 15, go thy way, for he, this is Shaul Paul, he is a chosen vessel unto me to bear my name before the goyim, the Gentiles, the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel, and the children of Israel, he is a chosen vessel, the Lord is the one that has chosen him, and for I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.

So Paul wanted the Galatians to understand that he was indeed an apostle that was sent not from men, nobody sent him, not Peter or James or John from Jerusalem sent him, no. It was a direct call from the glorified Messiah, who is the one that died and he rose again, and the Abba, the Father, raised him from among the dead. He is emphasizing this, beloved brothers and sisters, and notice also that in verse 2, he said, and all the brethren which are with me unto the churches of Galatia. So in the first two verses, Shaul Paul explained to the Galatians that he is actually a shaliyah, an apostle that was called by the Lord.

Now, brothers and sisters, you know, all of us who are believers, truly believers, are called to be messengers by the Lord himself. We are called by the Lord to go to share the gospel, to minister the things of the Lord. But you and I can never be apostles in a sense the way that Shaul Paul or the other 12 apostles were, because in order that one will be qualified for apostleship, Acts 1 tells us that one must see the resurrected Messiah. And what happened, if you remember, after Yeshua died and was buried and he rose again, he appeared to the 12 apostles in the days before he left back to go to heaven.

And therefore, they were qualified to be called an apostles because they have not only seen him in their lives and in his life, but they have seen him in his resurrection. After his death and resurrection. Well, it was the very same way with the apostle Paul, with Shaul. He did not walk with Yeshua in the time when Yeshua was here on earth. In fact, he rejected him. He didn't want the early Hebrew believers to follow him, but he saw the glorified Messiah on the way to Damascus. And it was the glorified Lord Yeshua, the Messiah who made him an apostle. So he's not made an apostle by men.

He's not made an apostle of men, but he was made a shaliach, an apostolos, a messenger of the Lord with authority directly from the glorified Lord Jesus, the Messiah. And, notice, and God the Father who raised him from the dead. So he was writing now to these Galatians in verses 1 and 2, and he was explaining to them that he has authority. He is indeed a messenger, an apostle that was sent by the Lord himself. But now you notice as he moves along, he explained the gospel. Now, brothers and sisters, listen to me. It is so important to understand what is the gospel. There is no gospel.

By the way, the Hebrew word is besorah. There is no besorah. There is no good news or gospel. If we have to do something in order to gain salvation. If we have to do something, keep laws, be circumcised, keep rules, speak in tongues, be baptized, do something to earn our salvation, then it's not news. It's not good news because we find ourselves that after we were baptized, we still fall in sin. After we were circumcised, we still fall in sin. After we speak in tongues, we still fall in sin. After we keep certain rules and laws, we still fall to sin. And the wages of sin is death.

So there is no gospel if it's men's works. And so the apostle Paul is explaining in verses 3 and 4, what is the gospel to the Galatians? They already knew it, but it's so quickly some have come into their midst and told them, as we read in Acts 15 and verse 1, where some came down from Judea, saying, told the brethren there, that except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moshe, you cannot be saved. It's not enough to believe in Yeshua, they said. You're going to get circumcised, otherwise you are not quite saved. Can you imagine how this has frustrated the apostle Paul? And it's frustrating us and many, many people today who are not quite sure, well, I haven't arrived, I'm not quite there, I haven't kept enough things to get saved.

And Paul determined to stand for the principle that is taught in the word of God, and that's why, notice, he explained the gospel. And you and I need to internalize this into our own soul. So notice verse 3, he says, listen, grace be to you and peace. Chesed in Hebrew and shalom, grace and peace, from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus the Messiah, our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. And now notice how beautiful, beloved brothers and sisters, that it should touch our hearts every time we read such a passage as verse 4. Listen, Yeshua our Lord, Yeshua the Messiah, at the end of verse 3. And then notice, 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.

Now this is what touches our hearts when it comes to the gospel message. Who is the one that is able to give himself for my sins? Who? Who is the one that can give? Can I pay for my sins on my own? Can you pay for your sins on your own? The best of us have fallen short of the glory of God. So of Shaul, Paul, he says, listen, brethren of the local area of Galatia, many local churches in this local assembly, he says, listen, the Lord, Yeshua the Messiah, gave himself. He willingly laid down his life. He offered himself as a sacrifice, not for his own sins, but for our sins.

You see, this is something that we cannot even fathom. That someone will be penalized for all the sin and sins which you and I, I and you committed doing our life, from the day that we were born until the day that we will die. And that's why, beloved brothers and sisters, the apostle Paul, notice he emphasized, gave himself. You remember what Yeshua, before he died, he said in John chapter 10, and I want to read these verses to you, John chapter 10, he says, listen to this beautiful verse, he's speaking about himself as the good shepherd. He says, I am the good shepherd, John 10, 11, the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

He was the true shepherd of Israel. He is the good shepherd of the sheep. He is the one that laid down his life, gave it over for the sake of the sheep. In John chapter 10, verse 17, before his death, Yeshua said, therefore doth my father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my father. You see, beloved brothers and sisters, there is something that happened here that was already predicted by the prophets of Israel, that in the fullness of time, the Mashiach will come, and he will lay down himself willingly.

You remember what Isaiah said? All we like sheep have gone astray. Isaiah 53 and verse 6, we have turned everyone to his own way, but the Lord laid upon him the iniquities of us all. And that's why the Apostle Paul is explaining and emphasizing the gospel that God the Son as man gave himself, but notice what it says in the second point in verse 4, he gave himself for our sins. It is your sins and mine that we deserve to pay for because of our falling nature, but here come a man, God the Son as man, Yeshua from Nazareth, and he gave himself for my sins and for yours.

Did I earn that? Did I keep any laws in order to earn that? Did I get circumcised in order to be saved? Did he save me on a basis of circumcision on law keepers and rules of men? It was totally from God. In fact, the only thing we have brought to the table is our sins. Jesus, the Messiah, paid it all. All to him we owe. And that's what Paul is seeking to explain to the brothers and sisters in the region of Galatia. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians 15 for a moment. There's a greatest explanation of what is the gospel that Paul explained elsewhere in the book of Corinthians when he wrote to these Corinthians who had so many trouble in their midst.

He said to them in 1 Corinthians 15, verse 3 I deliver unto you first of all that which I also received. You see, Paul is saying I receive it from the Lord. I'm not telling you my ideas. I receive from the Lord what I am telling you the people of Corinth. How, verse 3b, how that the Messiah died for our sins according to the scriptures. Which scriptures? There was no New Testament when Shaul wrote to the Corinthians. He was writing to them according to the Hebrew scriptures because the Hebrew writers have predicted that the Messiah in the fullness of time will come and he will pay for sins.

That's why he said I'm telling to you what I receive how the Messiah, Christ have died for our sins according to the scriptures. And then he continued and that he was buried, verse 4 and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures. Here's the gospel. Here's the besorah, the good news that the Mashiach of Israel, the one that was promised to the people of Israel came in the fullness of time and pay for the sin of this world. Israel did not recognize him as a nation but the early few Jewish believers did and they were called to become missionaries, you might say, apostles that will spread the message of the gospel of the grace of God throughout all the nations of the world.

And you and I are today beneficiaries of what these first early apostles have done. And so notice that it says here after he says that he gave his life for our sins but not at the next thing that he says. In verse, and I mean, back in Galatians chapter 1 and verse 4 in the second half of the verse he said that he might deliver us from this present evil world. Beloved brothers and sisters, the world in which we live in today, this present day, the world system is an evil system against God and against his anointed one. And when the Galatians as much as you and I have turned our hearts to Yeshua, Jesus, the Messiah, he delivered us from this present evil world.

And for us, for the believers, we are only passing through and we are soon to go to meet the Lord and be with him for time and eternity. This world is heading to judgment. There is a day come in which God will judge this world in righteousness in the coming days but every one of us that have turned our hearts to the Lord that repented of our sins recognize that we sinned against God and there is nothing that we can do to avail us for our salvation. We, when we have turned to the Lord, we have been transferred from one world to another, you might say.

We became sons and daughters of the Father. Remember 2 Corinthians 5, 17, all that are in Christ Jesus in the Messiah Yeshua are new creation. All things have passed away, all become new. So Paul is so determined to explain, to express and to explain his authority to be the one that shared the gospel with the Galatians and elsewhere in Asia Minor and he was so sad to hear of what happened to the first century believers in Galatia. Apparently, those who oppose Shaul Paul and those who sought to bring the believers into some sort of merits and work system and circumcision and laws keeping, they followed him wherever he went.

But in Galatia, it stuck. It didn't stick in other places because they were far more biblically sound, but in Galatia, it stuck. And Paul heard about the condition there and he writes this letter out of so much concern for the welfare of the Galatians. So, beloved brothers and sisters, notice verse 5, to whom be glory forever and ever. In other words, Paul did not want his own glory, but he wanted the glory of Yeshua the Messiah. And that's why in verse 5, he's saying glory is not mine, but it is to belong to the Lord Yeshua the Messiah himself. Now, if you just turn with me to the 6th chapter for a moment, Galatians 6, you notice that those who came and taught otherwise, they sought their own glory in contrast to the Apostle Paul.

In Galatians 6 and verse 12, he said to them, this is at the end of the book, we'll get to it at some point of time. He said to them, as many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised, only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of the Messiah. For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law, but desire to have you circumcised that they may glory in your flesh. Know that? They want to do glory in the fact that they were successful to influence those non-Jewish believers in getting them to be circumcised, so they will glory in their own flesh.

You see, we got another one who is circumcised. Or others today will say, oh, we got another one who we influence to speak in tongues. Or we got another one that we have set upon him our rules and our laws and our views on how a man seek to live for the Lord. And beloved brothers and sisters, Paul was so determined to stop this and to emphasize the gospel. They want a glory in you for their own glory. But here is in contrast, I seek the glory of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. That's why, brothers and sisters, Paul gave us in the New Testament, in the 13 letters.

if if we don't believe what Paul wrote is might well take aside Romans, 1st Corinthians, 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1st Thessalonians, 2nd Thessalonians, 1st Timothy, 2nd Timothy, Titus, Philemon, take all these and set it aside and you will find out that half of your New Testament is gone. And if you want even more, the whole book of Acts from chapter 9 on, with exception, the whole book of Acts is the life of Shaul Paul and his journeys as he shared the gospel. If you take half of the book of Acts, what you got in the Brit HaDashah. And that's why Paul is so strong in emphasizing the importance of understanding what Yeshua has done.

And can you imagine what a man will have to stand before God one day and to say God you were wrong. I know that I need to do this in order to satisfy you God. If you only listen to what I have to say, God will show us where we are and what we are. And he will expose us and he will show us that we all fail. And if he wouldn't be Yeshua the Messiah who died for our sins, we would have no hope. Religion doesn't save. Only the Mashiach, the Son of God, saves. Now he moves along and as I mentioned, in the first ten verses, Paul relate to the Galatians three important facts.

As he opened this letter to the erring Galatians and in the first five verses he told them, he explained to them that he received a God given authority, he is an apostle, not because of men, not because anybody sent him, but because Yeshua the Messiah is the one that has sent him. And by the way, if we don't believe Paul, how can we believe Moshe? We were not there. How can we believe Isaiah? And how can we believe Jeremiah? And how can we believe Ezekiel? And how can we believe the early days of Genesis if we began to play with the word of God?

We can't believe anything anymore because the Bible would have no authority if we don't accept what we have in the written word 7 Shaul Paul expresses now his concern for the Galatians and you notice brothers and sisters what he does he was astonished he was really astonished it says in verse 6 and notice what he says I marvel that you are so soon removed from him that call you into the grace of the Mashiach of Christ and to another gospel which is not another but there be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Messiah the gospel of Christ see in verses 6 and 7 Paul shows that he so much concerned for

the spiritual welfare of the Galatians that he was shocked that he was so surprised that just after he left explaining to them and leading them to Yeshua the Messiah simply by faith in the work of the Messiah and no more than somebody else coming he said wait wait wait wait wait Jesus is not enough Yeshua but add some additional thing in order to be actually saved you're not quite saved you haven't arrived and that's why Paul was so surprised he says a marvel in the Hebrew word is I'm tameha tameha is the Hebrew word I'm puzzled I'm shocked I'm surprised that he has so soon removed notice he says removed from him this is removed

from God removed from God in other words God who had this plan the plan of salvation originated not by man may never think of such a thing man always think of a way to be right with God I gotta do something you see I'll keep certain days I'll keep weeks and months I keep certain rituals and I'll please God you see but again beloved brothers and sisters when it's come to the gospel is not what you and I keep it's what the Messiah himself have done for us and Paul is saying listen I marvel at you that you are so soon removed from him that is God that called you into the grace of the

Messiah and then he said and to another gospel besora zara or besora acheret in Hebrew another gospel another news you see what is going on in the world in which we live in today because there are many religious groups in this world some of them is part of Christendom that gave us various messages you can hear it on the radio you can watch it on the television you can read it in the newspaper you can open magazine you can go on internet and there are so many messages that are spread in a world in which we live in and because we are human and because we have seen nature we sometimes even as believers if

we are not careful we are so quickly are shifted and began to wonder maybe he's right and maybe they are right and maybe I should go there and I should do this instead of looking at what God gave us in his word in other words he said I marvel that you are so soon removed from him from God God beloved brothers and sisters we read this morning in our reading today in a psalm that was read for us in psalm 146 praise ye the Lord not man praise the Lord oh my soul while I live will I praise the Lord I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being and he continue

put not your trust in princes nor in the son of man in ben adam in human race in people in whom there is no help his breath goes forth he returnes to his earth in that very day his thoughts perish you know brothers and sisters what sometimes is fascinating is that we look to man to try to fix our understanding of the word of God instead of looking to the God of the scripture who taught us that man at his best with all his religious activities cannot avail us for salvation the best of us Shaul was the Pharisee of Pharisees he kept all that which God had given our people of Israel plus the rabbinical

and Pharisaic views that he lived in his life every day and he find no peace to his heart he needed forgiveness that will be provided when a Messiah will die for his sins so he says I marvel how quickly you move from God and we can't blame the Galatians because we are no different we are just the same we look there and we find that we are trying to find oh there it's a better way or he teaches something greater oh if I keep this I will be more happy spiritually and I'll grow and I'll be and then we find out but even those that try and here is that what the apostle Paul is

so strong he says listen I marvel how soon you remove from him that call you listen into the grace of the Mashiach of Christ unmerited favor undeserved favor of God towards us grace sometimes we sing grace grace God's grace grace that is greater than all my sin marvelous grace of our loving Lord our loving Mashiach how is it possible well apparently it is possible because we are gullible because we are not sound standing on the on the promises of God standing on the truth of the word of God we shift from one place to another and we don't understand and stayed focused and so he said how come you are moved from him that called

you into the grace of the Messiah into another gospel and what brothers and sisters another gospel is anything anything that will be said to be added to the work of the Messiah Yeshua's death and resurrection for my sin plus baptism Yeshua's death and resurrection plus speaking in tongue Yeshua's death and resurrection plus getting circumcised Yeshua's death and resurrection plus keeping the law Yeshua's death and resurrection plus man's works and church practices Yeshua's death and resurrection plus what I can do in order to gain my salvation this is another gospel that is that which dishonor God we say to God God you did your part and now I'm going to do my part and God says

all what you do come from a sin nature and unless you are guided by the spirit of God all even your good your righteousness is as far as I can tell you are filthy red those of us who are believers already for years know how much we fail the Lord every day we seem to climb up a little bit on a mountain and we are kind of spiritual minded and it didn't take too long and we find oh Lord here again I have an evil thought I have an evil desire I shouldn't have said what I said I shouldn't have done what I have done I have this and that and this and the other

had our salvation depend upon our performance where would we be beloved brothers and sisters that is another gospel just turn to chapter 3 for a moment Galatians 3 3 we will go over that with the Lord's help he said to them in verse 3 of chapter 3 are you so foolish have you begun in the spirit are you now made perfect by the flesh in other words you began your salvation by trusting in the Lord Yeshua the Messiah and you have been allowed to be led by the Holy Spirit of God now do you think if you are going to do this and do this and keep this and keep this that will help you

spiritually as if you're doing it binding yourself into that and not being led by the Spirit of God then you begin in the spirit and you think you continue and conclude your life as a believer in your flesh activity is that what going to make you more spiritual Paul is saying to them if you turn a little bit to the next verse chapter 4 and verse 10 and here in chapter 4 and verse 10 he says you observe days and months and times and years I'm afraid of you Paul is saying lest I have bestowed upon you labor in vain in other words they assume that if they keep certain feasts and holidays is there

adding or helping in their salvation as if that if you fail to do that God is not going to be pleased with you that's what the Galatians had to go and experience notice a little bit one more verse that I marked for myself here in chapter 5 and notice these verses in verse 2 3 and 4 listen what Paul said behold I Paul say unto you that if ye be circumcised you Galatian Gentiles it was given to Israel the Jewish people were commanded by the Lord to be circumcised but you gentle believers if you be circumcised Messiah shall profit you nothing look at verse 3 for I testify again to every man that is circumcised

that he is a debtor to do the whole law Messiah is become of no effect and to you whosoever of you are justified by the law ye are fallen from grace he doesn't talk any evil about the law because the law is not the problem the problem is men the law is holy Roman chapter 7 the law is spiritual Roman chapter 7 but we are sold under sin and that's why circumcision law keeping days keeping human merits all the baptism and speaking in tongues and all what we are told in order to save one it's of no avail and it's an affront to a living God who gave us his son to pay the price

for our sins so as we have expressed and I now want you to go back to our chapter and he said to them now in chapter 1 Galatians 1 verses 6 we read verse 6 he says he said to them i marveled that i marveled from him that called you into the grace of the messiah into another gospel and then he continued and listen what he says in verse 7 which is not another but there be some notice here the early church the early assemblies have experienced there be some that trouble you and would prevert the gospel of the messiah i would like to say that that in days of old some might call those

judaizers today we might call it gentilizers after 2000 years that passed and today because the vast majority of the church are made out of non Jews and today we are influenced by all sort of things that are pulling us out of the A B C of the gospel message some that trouble you in order to prevert that word prevert is distort or twist the gospel of the messiah you know when that person gonna have to stand one day before the Lord and he will have to tell the Lord after the Lord will show him or them their failure in their own lives that they couldn't do what they expect from others to do the Lord

will expose them and he will show them that it is only the grace of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah alone that saves a wretched soul as yours and mine what shall wash away my sin nothing but the blood of Yeshua his death burial resurrection is the only ground beloved brothers whereby we are accepted by a holy and righteous God otherwise all other ways all other things are sinking sand sinking sand no good deeds no love keeping no circumcision no baptism no speaking in tongues no church affiliations or whatever it is will ever avail the believer for the person for salvation the sinner for salvation only the precious precious blood of Yeshua the Messiah avails for

justification so now let me finalize these thoughts here you remember what we said that Shaul Paul related to the Galatians three important facts as he opens his letter to the airing Galatians in verses 1 to 5 Paul explained his God given authority I am an apostle in verses 6 and 7 Paul expresses his concern for the Galatians he said to them I marvel how you have moved so quickly from God who have called you into the grace of the Messiah into another gospel which is really not another it's not a news it's not good news it's a bad news because because because anything that we have done because of our sin nature brought the judgment

of God upon us we cannot earn our salvation Paul is saying to them and now he's finalizing his thoughts in verses 8 9 and 10 he exposes his adversaries who pervert the gospel of the Messiah he exposes them they really they don't bring the gospel of God but they bring another gospel another Besorah Zarah it's like bringing on the altar Esh Zarah a fire remember how the sons of Eli offered strange fire on the altar and God had to deal with them to teach that salvation based upon circumcision law keeping rules of men speaking in tongues being baptized doing good works and to say that that is salvation this is bringing false teachings that is

exactly what he's emphasizing now so notice in verse 8 Paul warns the Galatians he said to them notice verse 8 but though we even me I Paul though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you then that which we have preached unto you listen to the word let him be anathema this is the Greek word for accursed the Hebrew word is cherem cherem simply means devoted for destruction if any notice let me repeat that and Paul is speaking about himself if we I and those that are with me or any angel from from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you let him be

accursed let him be anathema by the way the word anathema in the Greek here is mentioned six times in the New Testament one of them the apostle Paul used in Romans chapter 9 and verse 3 about himself because of his love for Israel I'm willing to be accursed from the Messiah for my brethren my kinsmen according to the flesh he said Romans chapter 9 and verse 3 lest anybody will blame him that he didn't love his people Israel he was willing to be cut off from the Mashiach for his people Israel no one could accuse Paul Shaul who didn't love God and love the people of Israel he is willing to be accursed the same

word he is using let him be devoted to destruction and that's why I noticed that in the Tanakh it's mentioned about 31 times the Hebrew word is cherem cherem anathema accursed and you remember in the book of Joshua when our forefathers the people of Israel were going to enter into the promised land the first city that they've entered in was Jericho Jericho and God warned Israel when you're going to Jericho you will not touch the unclean thing in that city of Jericho because this city is accursed and you will not touch the accursed thing that which is devoted for destruction any other cities when Israel defeated Israel took the spoils to themselves but when he's

come to the city of Jericho Israel could never take the accursed thing and you remember what happened in chapter 7 Akan took of the accursed thing and because he took from the accursed thing which God already told Israel this is devoted for destruction the city of Jericho is a city of curse but Akan took anyways violating the word of God and from that time on Israel could not defeat their enemies and they fled from the people of Ai they were defeated they could not successfully win you might say take over that which God had for Israel the inheritance of the land and finally Akan was found out and sadly the Lord destroyed he killed him

and his family because Akan violated the word of the Lord and you know what that tells us that when we take from the gospel message and we tell Yeshua Yeshua your death is not quite enough you see you didn't quite make it you see you died thank you but I gotta do something myself I gotta get circumcised I gotta keep rules and laws I gotta keep days and weeks and months I gotta keep holidays feasts in order to be saved you didn't do quite enough Lord I have to add to your work God gonna have to deal with us on that to keep things in order to be saved is a violation of the word

of God and look what's going on in the world in which we live in today where there's all sort of views about salvation not enough Jesus the Messiah but we need something else and that's why Paul says let him be accursed now he doesn't talk here about someone who want to keep certain days and certain holidays or feasts and so on as we practice here and there but we never teach that those are for salvation we do it because it's far better to do things that are based upon the principles of scripture than to introduce things that are not fine that are pagan that aren't biblical but we don't say to anyone you must do

that otherwise you are not saved not at all beloved brothers and sisters and that's why he says let him be accursed and as long that Israel continued without to deal with this sin they never won a victory and they were defeated and you know sometime and I want to make a spiritual lesson as long that we tell God that it's something that I did and I do in order to earn my salvation salvation I am an affront to God and spiritually I will never grow and mature and enjoy what the Lord have done for me but once I as it were casting us before the Lord and saying Lord God be merciful to me a

sinner I don't come to you on the basis of my marriage just as I am without one plea but that your blood was shed for me that's the ground upon which God can accept a sinner who repents notice in verse 9 Shaul Paul is reemphasizing what he just said about the condemnation against anyone who preach any other gospel and he said in verse 9 as we said before so say I now again he repeat if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that he have received let him be cherem anathema a curse and by the way you notice in verse 8 he said if we in verse 8 he said if angel and

in verse 9 he said if any man or any person if any person any angel and even if we will teach anything otherwise as far as God is concerned let him let them let them be devoted to destruction let them be leave them alone God will deal with them you make sure that you embrace the grace of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah notice finally in verse 10 he concludes with the third important fact that he exposes his adversaries who perverted the gospel of the Messiah the gospel of Christ and notice what he says in verse 10 as for me Paul he presents his own personal position in order what he said for for do I

now persuade men or God or do I seek to please men for if I yet please men I should not be the servant of Christ the servant of the Messiah notice four times he used the word I here in this verse for do I persuade men or God or do I seek to please men for if I yet please men I should not be the servant of the Messiah you see we cannot serve the one who paid for the sin of this world and tell others that he is not enough that we need in addition to his death burial and resurrection we need to do something on our own whether it is what the early

believers said in past days 2000 years ago or what the people later days of the church say to us today to pervert the gospel will bring about the judgment of God so Jesus the Messiah died in vain if we need to add to what he has done so beloved brothers this is very very strong where the apostle Shaul Paul is emphasizing this today the three important facts that Paul opens the letter with to the erring Galatian believers who needed to be corrected and the Lord is ministering through the apostle Paul to them through this letter listen I have an authority Paul said I am an apostle I am concerned for you Galatian I love you

and I care for you but I would like to emphasize the judgment will come upon those that share or teach otherwise because they are eventually perverting the gospel of the Messiah so may the Lord help us to sink this into our heart and ask the Lord to help us to understand that because the only ground of our salvation is the finished work of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah the gospel of the grace of God may the Lord help us and bless his word can we say amen