Reformed Presbytery in North America GM

When we hear objections to the truth of the gospel, we should not be surprised nor discouraged, for the enemy will certainly not be silent when the pure gospel of grace by faith alone in Christ alone is proclaimed with conviction. The enemy of our soul hates this doctrine and will seek to pervert it in any way that he can, for this gospel is our only hope of eternal salvation. It is what all false religions teach—we are saved by our works rather than by Christ's work alone. That is what separates biblical Christianity from all perversions of the true religion. The Apostle Paul likewise faced an objection from the false teachers in the Galatian Churches when he proclaimed the truth of the gospel—a very common objection that still surfaces today: If a sinner is justified and declared righteous by God through faith alone in Christ alone (apart from or works of obedience), this will only lead to a life of lawlessness and complete disregard for holiness. There is no reason/motive for him to obey God's Law. If the Law of God isn't necessary to be justified, then it's unnecessary after one is justified. Let us hear how Paul responds to this objection: (1) The Objection of the False Teachers Stated (Galatians 2:17); (2) The Response of Paul to the False Teachers (Galatians 2:18-19).

The fifth trumpet in Revelation 9, interpreted as the first of three woes, symbolizes the rise and expansion of Islam as a false religious system that darkens the truth of Christ through doctrinal distortion and military conquest. Centered on the figure of Muhammad, portrayed as a star fallen from heaven and given authority over the bottomless pit, this judgment reflects a spiritual and historical invasion that, while not destroying the physical earth, inflicts prolonged torment on those without the spiritual seal of God—those who reject Christ's exclusive authority. The imagery of locusts with scorpion-like stings, riding horses, and wearing golden crowns evokes the swift, disciplined, and enduring nature of early Islamic expansion, which preserved infrastructure and imposed servitude rather than wholesale slaughter, aligning with the text's emphasis on torment over death. The 150-year period (612–762), understood through the day-year principle, marks the foundational era of Islamic conquest and theological deviation, culminating in the establishment of Baghdad as a center of power. Ultimately, the passage offers both warning and assurance: while false religion seeks to obscure Christ's glory and ensnare the unsealed, those marked by God's Spirit are preserved by His grace, sustained through trials, and guaranteed perseverance to the end through faith in Christ alone.

The toleration of many contradictory beliefs on any given doctrine is the idol of our age ("that's your truth, but it's not my truth" as if there can be contradictory doctrines that are both true). As Christians, we can't stand in some morally neutral territory when it comes to the truth of Jesus Christ. Of course, we must always speak the truth in love and in humility. If people reject the truth, let it not be due to our arrogance/belligerence. Today, are we considering one of the clearest passages of Scripture addressing the doctrine of justification: Galatians 2:16. No doctrine in Scripture more clearly explains what the true gospel is than the doctrine of justification by faith alone. This isn't a secondary point of doctrine. It's an essential point of doctrine (as Paul teaches). It is the heart of biblical Christianity. This is one of the most important reasons that led our Reformed forefathers to leave the Church of Rome and to protest against her—the true gospel was perverted. We will consider two main points today: (1) A Summary of the Doctrine of Justification (Galatians 2:15-16); (2) Why Does James Say We Are Justified by Works (James 2:24)?

The fourth trumpet judgment in Revelation 8:12 symbolizes the political collapse of the Western professing Christian Roman Empire, marked by the darkening of the sun, moon, and stars—a prophetic sign of imperial downfall echoed throughout Scripture, from Isaiah's judgment on Babylon to Ezekiel's on Egypt and Joel's on Judah. This collapse culminates in 476 with the deposition of Emperor Romulus Augustus, signaling the end of the Western Roman Empire's imperial authority, though the Senate persisted until 603, and the papacy gradually filled the resulting power vacuum. The removal of the emperor, described as a 'mortal wound' later healed in 800 with Charlemagne's coronation, is interpreted as the hindrance being lifted in 2 Thessalonians 2:7, allowing the papacy to ascend to unprecedented authority, particularly after Pope Boniface III claimed the title of universal bishop in 607. The passage concludes with a call to biblical hope—not rooted in wishful thinking, but in the confident assurance that Jesus Christ, not chance or human rulers, sovereignly directs history toward its appointed end, affirming the reliability of Scripture through its precise historical fulfillment and calling believers to reverence, trust, and obedience.

The example you live before others either confirms what you profess to believe, or it contradicts what you profess to believe. Ladies, if you profess to love your husband, but often speak with bitter, sarcastic, or demeaning words against him, you might find it difficult to convince others that you really do love him. Men, if you make your wife feel like a fool in front of others by your words and actions, you will probably find it difficult to convince your children that you really love their mother. For love is not only professed but also practiced as well. We are not only to profess our love in word, but to live it out daily in our actions. In our text this Lord's Day, there is a classic illustration in the life of Peter of one who contradicts by his actions what he professes to believe. Let us consider the following main points from our text in Galatians 2:11- 14: (1) Peter Contradicts His Profession Publicly, and (2) Paul Rebukes Peter Publicly.

The sermon unfolds Revelation 8:10–11 as a prophetic judgment upon the Western professing Christian Roman Empire, symbolized by the third trumpet where a burning star named Wormwood falls upon one-third of the rivers and fountains of water, representing the devastating invasions of Attila the Hun. Drawing from biblical typology, stars signify rulers, and Wormwood evokes Old Testament imagery of divine bitterness and judgment, underscoring the spiritual decay of an empire that had replaced Christ's intercession with idolatrous veneration of saints and martyrs. The historical fulfillment is traced to Attila's brutal campaigns across the Danube and Rhine regions from 434 to 453, whose sudden death in 453 marked the end of this divine judgment. The preacher applies this with urgent pastoral conviction, warning that earthly power and achievement are fleeting, and that true significance lies in faithfulness to Christ in whatever vocation or circumstance, for only kingdom service secures eternal reward. The message calls believers to active, humble stewardship in their daily lives, rejecting spiritual laziness and embracing service as a means of glorifying God and advancing His kingdom.

It is not being mean-spirited, sinfully critical, or downright negative to expose false teachers who pervert the gospel of Jesus Christ (even as Paul does in the Letter to the Galatians). It is an act of love to do so when motivated out of love for Christ, love for the gospel, and love for the souls of people. For to believe a false gospel brings God's condemnation in hell (that's not love). That is why Paul takes so much time in this Letter to the Galatians to establish through his own personal history that the gospel he preached was given to him by Jesus Christ through direct, supernatural revelation—it was not a false gospel of man's innovation which cannot save, but the true gospel which he received by miraculous revelation and which alone can bring salvation (not trivial, but necessary). Paul continues in our text today to present more evidence that the gospel he preached was blessed by certain "pillars" in the Church of Jerusalem (James—the brother of Christ, Peter, and John) who all extended the right hand of fellowship to Paul as a fellow apostle of Jesus Christ. Thus, Paul proves the attempts of the false teachers to divide him and the gospel he preached from the apostles in Jerusalem to be a vain attempt on their part and exposes their lies.

Paul now continues his defense against false teachers by showing from his own personal history that the apostles in Jerusalem confirmed his apostleship and the gospel he preached as both coming from Christ. The main points from our text are: (1) The Gospel Paul Preached Was Confirmed by Apostolic Word (Galatians 2:1-2); (2) The Gospel Paul Preached Was Confirmed by Apostolic Deed (Galatians 2:3-5). The reason Paul argues at such length is not because he was just too sensitive or was so defensive—it is not about him—it's about Christ and the gospel. The very gospel of salvation through faith alone in Christ alone is at stake. For if Jesus did not call him by supernatural revelation to be an apostle and if Jesus did not teach him the gospel he preached, then the false teachers were right that his gospel was not of divine origin but of human origin (and therefore a false gospel). Everything hinges upon his call by Christ to be an apostle and upon Christ having taught him the gospel he preached.

This is Part 2 to the sermon from last Lord's Day, but before moving to the last point in Paul's historical treatment of his post-conversion experience and how no man called him to be an apostle (though Jesus did) and no man taught him the gospel he preached (though Jesus did), I wanted to address who Paul met with in his visit to Jerusalem: Peter and James, the Lord's brother (Galatians 1:19). We know who Peter was (and comments were made about Paul's visit with Peter), but who was James, who is called "the Lord's brother"? Did Jesus have a brother through Mary (a half-brother)? The answer to this question does not necessarily determine whether one is orthodox or not or even reformed or not (many of the Reformers believed this James was not a brother of Jesus through Mary, but either a step-brother through Joseph in a previous marriage or a cousin of Jesus). And yet, I do want to share my thoughts because it may lead (not necessarily lead, but possibly lead) to some views of Mary that are unwarranted/unbiblical.

The Churches of Galatia had gladly received the good news of freedom from the guilt, condemnation, and power of sin that Christ brings to all who trust alone in Christ alone. Through the preaching of Paul they had begun walking in this liberty purchased for them by Christ (in about 46-47 A.D), but within a couple years, false teachers (Jewish converts to Christianity) were promoting another gospel, which was really not another gospel (good news), but was bad news for sinners. It implied that Christ's perfect righteousness and perfect sacrifice for sin were not sufficient for the complete justification of a believing sinner before a holy God. To Christ's perfect work must be added one's own obedience to God's law in order to be declared righteous by God, it was claimed. Paul writes this letter to expose this false gospel of bondage and to expound the true gospel of freedom in Christ.

In the Old Testament the Lord Himself many times appealed to Israel as His covenanted wife to be faithful to Him and likewise condemned the lovers of Israel who seduced her. Therefore, when we find the Apostle Paul using very strong language in this inspired Letter to the Galatians (perhaps the strongest he uses in all his New Testament letters), he is fully justified in condemning the seducers who were seeking to lead these new Christians from Christ and the truth of the gospel which he preached unto them. It ought not to be shocking to us to hear Paul fighting for the souls of those who are being misled into very dangerous errors and heresies. That's what faithful ministers do—they fight for the souls of those sheep that Christ has given to them to shepherd.

We begin this Lord's Day considering Paul's declaration of freedom to the Churches of Galatia. The letter to the Galatians has been called the Magna Carta of Christian liberty. It was one of the stones used by the Reformers in their sling to bring down the mighty Goliath of Rome during the Protestant Reformation as it enlightened the minds of sinners to the wonders of God's free grace in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul sets forth by inspiration of the Holy Spirit our liberty in Christ from the guilt/condemnation of sin, from the dominion/power of sin, from the fear of death, and from the ceremonies of the Old Testament. And it sets forth not only what we are set free from, but what we are set free unto. In Christ, we are set free to trust, love, and obey our gracious God. True freedom is not doing whatever we want to do (that is worldly bondage) but is doing what God calls/commands us to do. Our Christian liberty in Christ is not my will (and pleases me) but is thy will be done (and what pleases Thee). Anyone can do his/her own will, but only those who have been set free by Christ can do (and love to do) God's will.

We come today to a Psalm that the Lord has used to give courage to saints throughout the ages in facing the rulers of the darkness of this world and all manner of trials, heartaches, afflictions, and death. It was of great encouragement to Luther as he stood against the Papal Roman Empire and would not submit to the tyranny/corruption of the Papacy. Luther, facing danger/death in the cause of truth, is said to have comforted himself and his friend/fellow reformer, Philip Melancthon saying, "Come, Philip, let us sing the forty-sixth Psalm." I dare say that if God used these words to comfort them, we surely shall be comforted with the same inspired words as God sends us forth today. Though we may be shaken, God is not and cannot be shaken—He will bear us up, lift us up, and carry us through the most difficult times of life. He promises to be our Refuge in this blessed Psalm.