A Little Thing Makes A Big Difference, Part 1

Today on Fellowship in the Word, Pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. But there's another reason I'm doing this. I believe that many of you in your past, and maybe some of you even in your present, have been told by religious authorities that coral snakes are harmless, that poisonous mushrooms will not hurt you.

They're wrong. The Book of Galatians will point it out. Thank you for joining us today on this edition of Fellowship in the Word with Pastor Bill Gebhardt. Fellowship in the Word is the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible Church located in Metairie, Louisiana.

Let's join Pastor Bill Gebhardt now as once again he shows us how God's Word meets our world. I want you this morning to use your imagination. I want you to imagine that you are on a backpacking trip in the great Smoky Mountains National Park. And after about a day or so, you get completely disconnected from your group. And you find yourself completely alone in the Smoky Mountains. And so you walk and not really sure what direction you're going. And eventually night comes. And so you decide that, look, there's nothing I can do in the dark. So you pitch your tent from your backpack and you get your sleeping bag out and you crawl inside. And then right in the middle of the night, say three o'clock in the morning, you feel something's moving inside of your sleeping bag, kind of on your stomach and chest. And you realize that it's probably a snake. And so you unzip the top of your bag and you take a look, but you really can't see anything. So you get your flashlight and you look in.

Sure enough, you're right. That's a snake. And it's kind of colorful.

It has wide bands of black and red with narrow band of yellow. Now, if you know anything at all about snakes and for this sake, we'll say you kind of do. There's two possibilities here. It could be a king snake and a king snake is just a constrictor.

And he just went in there for the warmth of the night. And he's really no threat to you at all. It could be a coral snake. And a coral snake is highly poisonous. And if it bites you alone in the mountains by yourself, you're likely to die. Now, I've even used this illustration in the past and there is a little rhyme that could help you in a situation like this. The rhyme goes that red on black, that is, if the red touches the black, deadly venom lack.

Red on yellow, kill a fellow. OK, so if you knew that, you would probably want to be thinking about that right about then. There's just a real little difference between a king snake and a coral snake. Unless they bite you.

And then a little difference is a big difference. Now, I know most of you, and so I know the kind of snake that's in your bag doesn't matter at all. You're going to go out of that bag like Harry Houdini, you know. You're just going to climb out of that bag, go running into the darkness, hit a few trees and just keep on running, probably to daybreak.

But let's say you do that. And now you're even more lost than before. But now you don't even have your tent or your bag or anything. And so you start wondering. You can find a little water, but you don't find any food.

So you go for two days, three days. You have no food at all. You're starving. And then you go over a little know when you come to a patch of mushrooms.

Now you have to make a decision. Do you eat the mushroom? Now, five percent of mushrooms are edible. About 90 percent of mushrooms won't do you any good to eat at all. And then five percent of them are fatal.

So what do you do? Now they look just kind of like mushrooms. Now with this, I'm not sure at all because I looked it up online and tried to figure out how would you know the difference between a poisonous and an edible mushroom. And the best I could find out, it had something to do with the rib structure underneath the mushroom and how the design was and how many there were. But even that left me totally in the dark. Now, one expert that I found online did say this.

For the average person, the best way to find out if a mushroom is poisonous is to serve them to your in-laws and see what happens. Then you know. But you don't have your in-laws. It's just a little thing.

But it makes a really big difference. You see, most of you will never have a snake in your sleeping bag. And most of you will never find yourself in the middle of the Smoky Mountains starving to death. But each and every one of you have an eternal destiny. Each and every one of you.

And the end game couldn't be more polarized. Heaven or hell. And when it comes down to the difference between the two tickets, the one that takes you to heaven and the one that takes you to hell, it might be just a very little thing.

But that little thing will make an enormous difference. Open your Bibles to the book of Galatians. Galatians Chapter 1. Galatians Chapter 1, the first epistle that the Apostle Paul wrote.

Depending on a theory of exactly who his audience is, it's possible that he wrote this around AD 45. Paul is writing to people who are called, as you see on the title, Galatians. They're not Jews. They're not Greeks. They're not Romans. They're Galatians.

They're a unique people group. You see, centuries before the time that Paul was writing, a horde of barbarians went from Asia all the way across Europe. When they settled in modern day France, they were called Gauls. When they settled in England and Ireland, they were called Celts. They were a fierce people.

The Roman Empire had enormous problems trying to deal with them militarily. But it turned out that many of them, especially those that lived in England, decided that they did not like the British climate. And they decided that they would migrate east again. And they settled into what we call modern Turkey, or Asia Minor. And that's where Paul, the Apostle Paul, finds them. It is his first missionary journey. And in that first journey, the Apostle Paul has a tremendous amount of success. Many of the Galatians come to Jesus Christ. The Gospel was believed and embraced by them.

But within two to five years, something went wrong. And what went wrong was there was a group of men who followed Paul. They were called Judaizers. And what they were is they were believers in Jesus Christ who were Jewish.

But there was two things substantially unique about them. One is, everywhere they went, they actually do everything they could to help you lose your confidence in the Apostle Paul. They discredited Paul on every account. They said he wasn't really an apostle, that he really wasn't ever around Jesus Christ when Jesus Christ was alive, and he really didn't have very much authority. And secondly, they discredited his message, the Gospel. They said to the Galatians that Paul taught you an improper Gospel, that in order to get to heaven, what you needed to do was, yes, you needed to believe in Jesus Christ. No doubt about that.

But you also had to embrace some aspects of Judaism, circumcision, keeping the law in some fashion or some way. And because of that, the Apostle Paul finds this out. And when he does, he writes this letter. And I'm so glad he did. I don't think there is a more important book in the Bible than the book of Galatians.

It's that important. If there is a book that you truly understand, it should be the book of Galatians. Merrill Tenney, the great Christian scholar, writes this. Christianity might have been just one more Jewish sect, and the thought of the Western world might have been entirely pagan had Galatians not been written. He says Galatians embodies the germinal teaching of Christian freedom, which separated Christianity from Judaism, and which launched it upon a career of missionary conquest.

It is the cornerstone of the Protestant Reformation because its teaching of salvation by grace alone became the dominant theme of the preaching of the Reformers. Martin Luther, who wrote a magnificent commentary on the book of Galatians, says this. The epistle of Galatians is my epistle.

He said, to it I am as it were in wedlock. He said, Galatians is my Catherine. That was the name of Luther's wife. When Luther found Galatians, he found Jesus Christ, and he found the grace of God, and he launched the Reformation. Many years later, in fact, in 1738, there was a young Englishman who was reading Luther's commentary on Galatians, and it changed his life forever.

His name was John Wesley. So you get some idea of the impact of this book. It is important. It is extremely personal. It is intensely entertaining.

Its value cannot be overestimated. To understand Galatians is to understand the heart of Christianity. To understand Galatians is to understand the fullness and the uniqueness of the grace of God. But there is another reason I am doing this.

I believe that many of you in your past, and maybe some of you even in your present, have been told by religious authorities that coral snakes are harmless, that poisonous mushrooms will not hurt you. They are wrong, and the book of Galatians will point it out. Paul was going to give a very powerful rebuttal. He sees it in a battle that must be won, and what I want to do today in the first nine verses is simply show the first definitive steps that Paul takes. So let me read verses one to five. Paul, an apostle, not sent from men, nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead, and all the brethren who are with me, to the churches of Galatia. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins and might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever.

Amen. A salutation, a long one for Paul, but there's a point to this, and it's this. Nobody should have more authority to us than the apostle Paul.

Let me say that again. Nobody should have more authority to us than the apostle Paul. Notice he starts out talking about his ministry. Paul, an apostle, an apostle apostolos.

It just means one who is sent with a commission. And so there are sort of small A apostles and large A apostles, just like with disciples. Disciple was a learner. There were lots of disciples, and then there were the disciples. But in this case, Paul says, I am an apostle.

And notice what he says. I am not sent from men. James, the Lord's brother, Peter, John, they did not send me. I am not sent from men. And then he says this. Nor through the agency of man. Men didn't make me an apostle. They did not pick me. He says, in fact, he says, but through Jesus Christ, he says in God the Father.

What is he saying? We see there were many people, and by the way, who said and discredited Paul wasn't an apostle at all. An apostle was one who had to see Christ, the resurrected Christ, and have apostolic authority, and Paul said, that's me. Now, if you remember, if you read in the book of Acts after they realized that Judas was not a viable candidate anymore, the disciples got together as apostles and said, we need a 12th apostle. And so what they decided was, let's cast lots and let it fall on someone, and they did, Matthias. Now, it's my conviction that Matthias is not an apostle, and he is not the 12th apostle. I believe the apostle Paul is the 12th apostle. Notice, it didn't come through the agency of man, men casting lots.

It comes through the agency of Christ and God. And in fact, it's interesting, when you follow the historical tradition of all the apostles, it's kind of interesting to me anyway that Matthias is missing. Paul wants to make it clear that I have authority here. He says, notice, through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead.

Paul wants to let them know right off the bat, my authority is not to be questioned. I am a full-blown apostle. And obviously, this isn't a word of God. He's inspired by the Holy Spirit.

His message, by the way, is extremely clear. Notice, he says in verse 3, grace to you and peace. Paul loves that, grace and peace.

And he loves it always in that order. I believe, from Paul's point of view, you don't have peace until you've experienced grace. And so he says, grace and peace to you, he said, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. And then he gives you a very sort of synopsis, sort of snapshot of the gospel. He said, who gave himself for our sins so that he might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will, he says, of our God and Father.

Notice, the gospel was here, even if it's in seed form. The person, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The price, the cross. The atoning work of Jesus Christ. The purpose, deliverance from the bondage of sin. The plan, it's God the Father's plan.

He said, it's by the will of God the Father. For God so loved the world that he sent his Son. And then in verse 5, we see the goal, to whom be the glory forevermore.

The goal, the glory of God. Why did Jesus Christ come to this earth? For the glory of God.

Why did Jesus Christ live a perfect life? For the glory of God. Why did he go to the cross? For the glory of God.

Why was he raised from the dead? For the glory of God. Why do you ascend to heaven? For the glory of God. Why is the message of salvation by grace given to mankind? For the glory of God. Why are you and I saved because we put our trust in Jesus Christ? For the glory of God. You see, why am I going to heaven? For the glory of God. That's what Paul is saying.

It's the goal. Nobody, nobody should have more authority to us than the Apostle Paul. No one in their world, and no one in our world, not me, not denominational leaders, not your brother-in-law, not anybody should have more authority in your life when it comes to the salvation message and the grace of God than the Apostle Paul who's writing this under the inspiration of the Spirit of God.

There's a second thing that he says, though. Nobody is more shocked by our spiritual naivety than the Apostle Paul was. Verse 6, he jumps right in. I am amazed. I am amazed.

King James, marvel. NIV, astonished. But if you read this, that Greek word, it's an interesting word, thamadzo. And I actually believe the best interpretation I could come up with is bewildered. I am bewildered. I am shocked. I am astonished.

Why? He says that you are so quickly deserting him. I am bewildered by that. How could you desert Jesus Christ?

How could you be doing that? That word deserting is a military word, the idea of a military desertion. And there's something else about it. When he says deserting, that verb is reflexive.

It's not passive. It's not like I don't know what's happening. I'm just kind of drifting.

It means I'm doing it voluntarily. He said, I am deserted. Why are you? I'm astonished by this.

How can you be deserting? And it's only the beginning. I'm going to tell you something. For six chapters, Paul is spitting mad. And he's mad the whole way through because of what is at stake here. The apostle Paul sees the problem here.

And he sees what's at stake. In fact, in every epistle that he writes, even to the Corinthians, which are the worst local church in the New Testament by a mile, he says something nice about them. He doesn't say one nice thing to the Galatians, not one, because of the nature of what's going on there. Paul said, I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting him who called you by the grace of Christ for a different gospel, a different gospel. Paul says they're coming in here and they're giving you a different gospel. Now, you might be thinking, well, were they trying to lead him into some kind of following pagan deities?

Were they trying to do something really crazy or out? No, no, no, not at all. You know what the Judaizers said? We believe Jesus is the Messiah. We believe Jesus is the Son of God. We believe Jesus died on the cross for your sins. We believe all that. And now you need to believe that. Paul's right about that. But there's a couple other little things you need to do.

Just little things. But you can believe in Jesus. You know what Paul called that? A different gospel. It is a different gospel. In fact, let me give you an example of it. Hold your place here and just turn to chapter 5 of Galatians.

You know, sort of get a little glimpse into it. Paul writes, it was for freedom that Christ set us free. Therefore, keep standing firm and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery. Behold, I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision that he is under obligation then to keep the whole law. You have been severed from Christ. You are seeking to be justified by the law. You have fallen from grace.

Notice what he is saying here. What were the Judaizers saying? Well, look, you need to believe in Jesus.

Everything that Paul said is true. But you also have to be circumcised. You see, the covenant with Abraham is sealed through circumcision. It is the mark of the Abrahamic covenant. And if you are going to get to heaven, if you are going to be saved people, you need to be circumcised. Now, believing in Jesus, that's fine.

But you also need to be circumcised on top of that. And Paul calls that a different gospel. You see, all they are doing to him is what's been done to so many of us. They are saying it's Jesus Christ. Oh, yeah, it's Jesus Christ. But let me tell you something. There's just something you have to add to it. Just a little bit.

Just add a little bit. And all that is is somebody telling you that that is a king snake in your sleeping bag. But it's not. It's a coral snake, a completely different snake.

And that snake can be deadly. And so can this gospel. Notice what he says. He goes in verse seven, which is really not another. He goes, look, I understand the gospel means good news. Actually, it means best news. He goes, there's not really another good news. There's only one good news.

There's only one best news. He said, but I'm just saying it's a different gospel. So he says, which is not really another. Only there are some who are disturbing you. Oh, I love that. There are some, he says, who are disturbing you. Now, when you see this, it's kind of an interesting word, this idea of being disturbed. It literally means to shake you like this.

To sort of grab you by the shoulders and neck and shake you. He goes, I know what they're doing. They are disturbing you. They are doing this to you.

And then he says this. He says, and they want, and here's where the truth of it comes, to distort the gospel of Christ. They want to distort the gospel of Christ.

That's what they're after. Jesus Christ plus circumcision, you're saved. Just Jesus Christ, you're lost.

If you know anything about rudimentary mathematics, what would cross out of the equation? Jesus Christ. You are saved by circumcision. And through the last 2,000 years, the church has tried to do the same thing. Oh, if you're not baptized, you're not saved. You can't be saved. If you aren't put in water, you're not saved. Only people who are baptized in water are saved.

Only people who take the sacraments are saved. Oh, you need to believe in Jesus. He is the Son of God, but you've got to do this. And if you don't do this, you're not saved. You see, you've got to believe in Jesus Christ, but you have to show up in church. You have to give a certain amount of money. You have to be religious. You've got to be a good guy.

You've got to be a good lady, whatever it is. It's always Christ plus something. Paul says that's a distortion of the gospel, a complete distortion. It is something else. It is a poison mushroom or a coral snake. It is not a king snake or an edible mushroom.

It is something else, and it is dangerous. You've been listening to Pastor Bill Gebhardt on the Radio Ministry of Fellowship in the Word. If you ever miss one of our broadcasts, or maybe you would just like to listen to the message one more time, remember that you can go to a great website called oneplace.com. That's oneplace.com, and you can listen to Fellowship in the Word online.

At that website, you will find not only today's broadcast, but also many of our previous audio programs as well. At Fellowship in the Word, we are thankful for those who financially support our ministry and make this broadcast possible. We ask all of our listeners to prayerfully consider how you might help this radio ministry continue its broadcast on this radio station by supporting us monthly or with just a one-time gift. Support for our ministry can be sent to Fellowship in the Word 4600 Clearview Parkway, Metairie, Louisiana 7006. If you would be interested in hearing today's message in its original format, that is as a sermon that Pastor Bill delivered during a Sunday morning service at Fellowship Bible Church, then you should visit our website, fbcnola.org. That's F-B-C-N-O-L-A dot O-R-G. At our website, you will find hundreds of Pastor Bill's sermons. You can browse through our sermon archives to find the sermon series you are looking for, or you can search by title. Once you find the message you are looking for, you can listen online, or if you prefer, you can download the sermon and listen at your own convenience. And remember, you can do all of this absolutely free of charge. Once again, our website is fbcnola.org. For Pastor Bill Gebhardt, I'm Jason Gebhardt, thanking you for listening to Fellowship in the Word.