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Church, we're going to get started with song number 419, Sound the Battle Cry for our first
song this evening.
Song number 419, Sound the Battle Cry, and if you are able to let's all stand together
for our first song, song number 419, seen on that first verse.
Sound the battle cry, see the foe is thine, raise a standard high, for the Lord, gird
your arm around, stand firm everyone, rest your cause upon his holy word.
Rounds and soldiers rally round the banner, steady, steady, pass the word along, onward,
forward, shout aloud Hosanna, crisis, captain of the mighty throng, strong to meet the foe,
marching on we go, while our cause we know, must prevail, shield and banner bright, gleaming
in the light, battling for the right we ne'er can bear.
Rally round the banner, ready, steady, pass the word along, onward, forward, shout aloud
Hosanna, crisis, captain of the mighty throng, oh thou God of all, hear us when we call.
By thy grace, when the battle's on, and the victory's won, may we wear the crown before
thy face, rounds and soldiers rally round the banner, ready, steady, pass the word along,
onward, forward, shout aloud Hosanna, crisis, captain of the mighty throng, amen.
Wonderful singing, let's start our service with a word of prayer, dear God, my father,
we thank you so much dear God for just allowing us to be in your house this evening, thank
you so much Lord God for all the people that are here as well Lord God, I pray that you
please just bless them and their families Lord God, and I pray that you also most of
all bless our service Lord God, that you please just be with the singing unto you, and please
just be with our pastor Lord God, that you please just guide him through the scriptures
Lord God as he preaches unto us, help him Lord God to just bring to remembrance of the
things that he studied, and I pray that you please also just be with us in a congregation
Lord God, help us Lord God to learn something today Lord God, and help us to leap your chains
as well.
Pray now these things in Jesus' name, amen.
You may be seated, song number 75 on Jordan Stormy Banks, song number 75.
Song number 75, singing on that first verse.
On Jordan Stormy Banks I stand and cast a wishful eye
To Cana's fair and happy land Where my possessions fly
I am bound for the promised land I am bound for the promised land
Oh who will come and go with me I am bound for the promised land
All o'er those wide extended plains shines One eternal day
There God the Son forever reigns And scatters thine away
Promised land I am bound for the promised land
Oh who will come and go with me I am bound for the promised land
No chilling winds nor poisonous breath Can reach that healthful shore
Sickness and sorrow, pain and death Are felt and feared no more
I am bound for the promised land I am bound for the promised land
Oh who will come and go with me I am bound for the promised land
When shall I reach that happy place And be forever blessed
When shall I see my Father's face And in His bosom rest
I am bound for the promised land I am bound for the promised land
Oh who will come and go with me I am bound for the promised land
All right, great singing. Thank you for being here this evening. Welcome to First Works Baptist Church.
We're going to be singing 102 for our next song, He Hydeth My Soul.
If you want to get that ready in your songbooks, 102.
Our Sunday morning service is at 1030 Sunday evening at 5 p.m.
And then we have our Thursday night Bible study at 7 o'clock.
You see the so many times and teams. Of course, today was the birthday breakfast.
Happy birthday to you all in the month of May.
And then you see the list of expecting mothers. Please continue to keep them in prayer.
Keep my wife in prayer. She's actually due this Tuesday.
We'll see if baby Charity wants to come out by then.
Hopefully that's the case. Amen.
And so we anxiously await her coming.
And then you see the important reminders at the bottom.
Some of the upcoming church events. Next week is Mother's Day.
And that is on the 14th. We will have a gift for all the moms who come on that day.
And so I want to encourage you to bring your family.
And then we do have on the 28th of May, Ms. Tanya Leib's baby shower.
And then the end of school picnic is on Tuesday, May 30th at 1230 at Eucalyptus Park.
And then we have the ladies' prayer breakfast on Saturday, June 3rd.
You see the regular reminders there at the bottom.
Please make sure you silence your phones during the preaching so as to not be a distraction during the service.
Let's go ahead and take some so many numbers from this past week.
Salvations from Monday to Thursday.
We have two in South Central. Anybody else? Yes. One. Okay.
Anybody else? How about Friday and Saturday?
Salvations for Friday and Saturday. Three.
Twelve. Where'd you go?
Um, National Stadium. They could do it in a week or two though.
That'll do it. Alright.
Okay, so twelve. Anybody else? Anyone want to beat that? No, I'm just kidding.
How about this afternoon? Salvations for this afternoon.
Two, alright, for Brother Morrie's team. One for Brother Marco's team.
Five for Brother Cody's team. Three for Brother Glenn's team. Anybody else?
Going once, twice, thrice. Alright, keep up the great work on soul winning.
Let's go ahead and sing our next song. 102, He Hideth My Soul.
Song number 102, He Hideth My Soul.
Song number 102. See it on that first verse.
A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord.
A wonderful Savior to me.
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock
where rivers of pleasure I see.
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock
that shadows a dry, thirsty land.
He hideth my life in the depths of His love
and covers me there with His hand.
And covers me there with His hand.
A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord.
He taketh the burden away.
And I shall not be moved.
He giveth me strength as my day.
He hideth my soul in the depths of the rock
that shadows a dry, thirsty land.
He hideth my life in the depths of His love
and covers me there with His hand.
And covers me there with His hand.
With numberless blessings, He shmoopeth,
He crowns, and filled with His fullness divine.
I seek in my rapture, oh glory to God,
for such a Redeemer as mine.
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock
that shadows a dry, thirsty land.
He hideth my life in the depths of His love
and covers me there with His hand.
And covers me there with His hand.
When clothed in His brightness,
transported I rise
to meet Him in clouds of the sky.
His perfect salvation, His wonderful love,
I'll shout Him with millions on high.
He hideth my soul in the depths of the rock
that shadows a dry, thirsty land.
He hideth my life in the depths of His love
and covers me there with His hand.
And covers me there with His hand.
Amen. Wonderful singing.
At this time, our ushers will be receiving the offering.
And please turn your Bibles to Galatians chapter 4.
Galatians chapter 4.
Galatians chapter 4, and the Bible reads,
Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child,
differth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all,
but is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father,
even so that he may be a servant.
Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child,
differth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all,
but is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father,
even so that he may be a servant, though he be lord of all,
but is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father,
even so that we, when we were children,
were in bondage under the elements of the world,
but when the fullness of the time was come,
God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
to redeem them that were under the law,
that we might receive the adoption of sons.
And because of your sons,
God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son
into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
Wherefore, thou art no more a servant, but a son,
and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
Howbeit then, when ye knew not God,
ye did service unto them which were by nature our no gods,
but now, after that ye have known God,
or rather unknown of God,
how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements,
whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage.
Ye observe days and months and times and years.
I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labor in vain.
Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am,
for I am as ye are, ye have not injured me at all.
You know how, through infirmity of the flesh,
I preached the gospel unto you at the first,
and my temptation, which was in my flesh,
ye despised not, nor rejected,
but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.
Where is, then, the blessedness ye spake of?
For I bear you record that, if it had been possible,
you would have plucked out your own eyes,
and have given them to me.
I am therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth.
They zealously affect you, but not well.
Yea, they would exclude you, that you might affect them.
But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing,
and not only when I am present with you.
My little children, of whom I travail in birth again
until Christ be formed in you,
I desire to be present with you now,
and to change my voice, for I stand in doubt of you.
Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law,
do ye not hear the law?
For it is written that Abraham had two sons,
the one by a bondmaid, the other by a free woman.
But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh,
but he of the free woman was by promise.
Which things are in allegory?
For these are the two covenants,
the one from the Mount Sinai, which genderth to bondage,
which is Agar.
For this Agar is Mount Sinai in Arabia,
and answerth to Jerusalem, which now is,
and is in bondage with her children.
But Jerusalem, which is above, is free,
which is the mother of us all.
For it is written, Rejoice, thou baron, thou barest not,
break forth and cry, thou that travailest not,
for the desolate hath many more children
than she which hath an husband.
Now we brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise,
but as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him
that was born after the spirit, even so it is now.
Nevertheless, what saith the scripture?
Cast out the bondwoman and her son,
for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir
with the son of the free woman.
So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman,
but of the free.
Let's pray.
Dear God, thank you for the people within our church, Lord,
and thank you for salvation, Lord,
and we thank you for this church.
We thank you for pastor as well, Lord.
I pray that you bless him right now
and fill him with the Holy Spirit
as he preaches your word, Lord,
and just bless the service in every aspect.
We pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
All right.
Amen.
We're in Galatians chapter four this evening,
and the title of my sermon is which things are an allegory?
Which things are an allegory?
If you look down at chapter four and verse 24, it says,
which things are an allegory?
For these are the two covenants,
the one from the Mount Sinai,
which generates the bondage, which is Agar.
For this Agar is Mount Sinai in Arabia
and answereth to Jerusalem, which now is,
and is in bondage with her children.
Now, in order for us to understand
why this allegory is being used in chapter four
and how that really fits into the book of Galatians,
we really got to know why this letter is being written in the first place.
Now, obviously, this is great doctrine here,
and it's a great symbolic representation
of the point that the Apostle Paul is trying to get across here to the Galatians,
but why is it here?
Why is it just randomly just placed in chapter four?
Why is he even bringing up Isaac and Ishmael and the two covenants?
What is the purpose of him talking about this?
Well, the book of Galatians is essentially a letter
that's written to the churches of Galatia,
not just one particular congregation,
but many congregations in this region
that the Apostle Paul and potentially even Peter
helped start by reaching people there,
preaching the gospel, getting people saved.
And apparently there's this issue where in his departure,
when he left those churches which are in Asia
or the churches of Galatia,
there were false brethren who were creeping in unawares.
And this is the term that the Bible uses in chapter two
when it says false brethren,
it's referring to the fact that they're not saved,
but they're essentially parading themselves as being saved people,
infiltrating congregations,
and as we're going to look at in just a bit,
they're essentially trying to bring the people of God back under the law
by telling them to observe times and months and years
and essentially become Jews, religiously speaking.
And so this is what the book of Galatians is about,
and he brings up so many great arguments throughout this book
to debunk Zionism and to debunk the doctrine of Judaism
to try to get the people of God back on track doctrinally.
And we're going to look at some things here,
but I'm going to mainly focus on chapter four.
But let's go ahead and look at, go to chapter one if you would.
First and foremost, I want to talk about the fact that
one of the problems that arises here
is the fact that the Galatians have been bewitched.
And in fact, in chapter three, in verse number one,
you don't have to turn it, it says,
What does that word mean, bewitched?
It means that someone is tricking them.
Someone is essentially enchanting them with false doctrine.
And he's saying, like, who is tricking you?
Who's deceiving you that you're not obeying the truth of God's word?
And he also says in chapter four, no, actually chapter five,
he says,
Because, you know, this raises suspicion, right?
Like, for example, if I were to, let's say I have a leave of absence
for about six months or something,
and other people are preaching here,
we have different guys coming in here,
and then six months later I show up to First Works Baptist Church
and let's just call someone out, let's say Marcos, okay?
It's preaching, and I come in during the service
and he's wearing a prayer shawl or something, right?
And then it's just like, what in the world is he wearing?
Hopefully that's just for, like, an illustration or something, you know?
And it's preaching night, so he got, you know,
he has about ten minutes of preaching,
then more comes up and he has a shofar, right?
And he starts blowing the shofar, you know,
I'm not going to be like, uh, you know,
they're just a little off right now.
I would say, who hath bewitched you
that ye should not obey the truth?
Why are you teaching and or believing these things
if they're not biblical?
And you kind of got to ask yourself,
what happened within the last six months?
Who came in here and infiltrated First Works Baptist Church
with Judaism, Zionism, and trying to bring people back under the law
because he did run well, right?
You believed the right doctrine,
you knew what the Bible says,
but all of a sudden you kind of made a 180
and now it seems as though you are contradicting God's word,
teaching things that are contrary to the word of God.
That would cause me to think, oh man, maybe Marcos is not saved.
Maybe Maury is not saved, right?
Because they're promoting a religion that is anti-Christ, you understand?
So you see where the Apostle Paul is coming from,
that when he comes to the churches at Galatia
and he finds out all these people who are Gentile believers, by the way,
these are not ethnic Jews, they're not part of Israel in any way.
These are people from Bithynia, Cappadocia, Galatia, Pontius, that region.
These are Gentiles in nature.
How is it that they are now observing Jewish-type observances
such as being back under the law, circumcision, things of that nature?
You would think to yourself, man, I wonder if you even got saved in the first place.
And in fact, he specifically says, I am afraid of you.
I fear that you probably didn't get saved.
You know what, this is the heart of every person
that essentially when we get someone saved,
we hope that they really did get saved, amen?
We get someone saved at the door or they get saved, they come to church.
Our greatest fear would be that that person becomes an apostate.
Somewhere along down the road, they start rejecting
the first principles of the doctrines of Christ.
They begin to transgress the doctrines of Christ
and start accepting heresy, endamable heresy.
That would be like our greatest fear.
And the same thing with the Apostle Paul.
He's thinking, man, I wonder if these people are even saved, if they're doing this.
But it also goes to show us that people, believers, newborns, spiritually speaking,
can often get carried away with false doctrine.
And in fact, that's why Galatians 5 talks about one of the works of the flesh being what?
Heresy, right? Because they can get carried away with those things.
And the Bible even says that they which are unlearned and unstable can rest the scriptures.
This is why he warns in Ephesians chapter 4 not to be tossed to and fro,
carried about with every wind of doctrine by the slide of men who couldn't craft in this,
whereby they lie in wait to deceive.
And he says that we henceforth be no more children.
Why? Because children are gullible.
They're gullible. They believe just everything.
They're simple-minded.
And God is warning people not to be simple-minded
and to be careful who is influencing you
and make sure that you prove all things, hold fast that which is good.
So here's a major problem.
He comes here and he left Judaism.
He's left Zionism.
And that was something that he strongly promoted in times past.
He's getting people saved.
These churches are getting started.
And everything's going hunky-dory.
All of a sudden he comes back and it seems as though they're adhering to Judaism,
the Judaism that he once knew.
And he's probably like, what in the world? He's freaking out, wondering what's going on here.
The Galatians are bewitched.
Now another thing that I want you to notice is the fact that
when you study the New Testament,
when you study the New Testament, you will quickly see
that the antagonists of the New Testament are Jews.
And of course, more specifically, you have the Pharisees
who are spearheading Judaism in the New Testament.
And they are what the Bible describes as being the enemies of the Gospel.
Now, do not misunderstand me.
I'm not saying that anybody who's not a Christian is an enemy of the Gospel.
What does it mean to be an enemy?
It means you're an adversary.
It means you're fighting against something or someone.
So if someone's an enemy of the Gospel,
that means not only does this person disagree with what you believe,
but they're actually trying to go out of their way to try to stop you
from preaching that to others, converting others, getting people saved.
And so when you study the New Testament from the Gospels,
all the way even to the Book of Revelation, believe it or not,
you see one of the main adversaries of the Gospel are the Jews.
And we're not necessarily referring to Jews ethnically,
but rather those who adhere to Judaism.
And this is very clear in the Scriptures.
You see this in the Book of Acts that they're constantly following Paul
in different areas of Greece and Thessalonica, at Philippi,
they follow him to Berea, they follow him down all the way to Corinth.
I mean, they're trying to stop him, no matter what, from getting people saved.
And so even though here we don't explicitly see that the Jews are being mentioned
as being the adversaries in the Book of Galatians,
I mean, it's pretty obvious who's the adversary, okay?
If he's calling them false brethren,
if he's saying that they are being brought back under the law,
we basically know who's the culprit here, okay?
Pretty much the Book of Galatians has a bunch of murder weapons, per se,
and it's just like, well, there's only one murderer that uses this type of weapon
of circumcision being brought back under the law,
it's those who adhere to Judaism, okay?
So this is a big problem, okay?
This is not just a difference in opinion, okay?
As far as like some secondary or third doctrine, this has to do with salvation.
Because when you study the Book of Acts, you see that many of the Pharisees
were trying to bring people back under the law and they're stating
that if they were not circumcised according to the law of Moses,
they could not be saved, okay?
At which point, if I was a dude back then, I would have been like,
well, what about the women?
You know, that doesn't necessarily work, okay?
And so the Galatians are being bewitched.
The main culprit, the enemies of the Gospel are the Pharisees
or those who adhere to Judaism.
And another thing that I want you to notice,
you're in chapter one, but go to chapter two real quick.
It won't take much work, just flip the page.
Okay, it's the next chapter over.
Is, we'll often say, look at a story like this,
or even in modern days and say,
you know, they're trying to Judaize that church, right?
You guys heard that term before, right?
They're trying to Judaize that church, or they're trying to Judaize the believers.
These people are Judaizing.
And a lot of people don't really understand where that word actually comes from.
It actually comes from Galatians chapter two, verse number 14.
Let's go ahead and read it. It says in verse 14,
But when I saw that they walked not uprightly,
according to the truth of the Gospel,
I said unto Peter before them all,
If thou being a Jew liveth after the manner of the Gentiles,
and not as do the Jews,
why compelest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?
So that phrase, live as do the Jews,
if you were to look it up in Greek, it's the word Judaize.
That's actually where it comes from, the Greek word Judaize,
comes from the phrase that means to live as do the Jews.
So when these false brethren are creeping into the churches,
what are they trying to do?
They're trying to get everyone to live as do the Jews.
They're being Judaized, they're trying to bring people back under the law,
and so that's where that phrase comes from.
And I remember having this discussion with someone who wants to keep the Sabbath,
and they want to promote Sabbath keeping and all this,
and I said, you're Judaizing.
And they said, no I'm not, because Judaizing is trying to convert someone to a false religion.
Yeah, that's exactly what you're doing.
But even more specifically than that, it's the false religion of Judaism,
which in my opinion is the worst religion on the face of the planet,
because it's a religion that hates Jesus Christ and are open about hating Jesus Christ.
Obviously every religion aside from Christianity is wrong,
because they teach a false way of salvation, false doctrine,
false teachings about the Godhead,
but there are certain religions that are not as openly blasphemous as Judaism.
Let's put it that way.
So go back to chapter 1.
So that's basically what's taking place here,
is the Galatians are bewitched, they're being tricked,
and may this be a lesson to us that believers can be deceived.
To a certain extent, especially if they're babes in Christ,
they can be deceived, they can be tricked, they can be bewitched.
You have someone with great swelling words of vanity,
trying to allure them to the lust of the flesh,
or they use the words of man's wisdom,
they're able to deceive them into believing false doctrine,
that definitely can happen.
And that's why it's necessary that churches place a heavy emphasis on teaching doctrine, right?
Give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine,
so that the flock is constantly being fed,
and they understand what the truth is,
and how to combat that which is deception.
And so we need to take it easy on people,
if they believe in some sort of heresy or false doctrine,
we need to lovingly bring them along, right?
And teach them and say, hey, that's not what the Bible says,
let me show you what the word of God says,
let me show you what the Bible says,
and especially when it comes to salvation.
We always have visitors here,
and so when visitors come and they have the wrong way of salvation,
you can't blast them out of the water.
Call them a heretic or something like that.
And it's just like, oh man, you believe in what?
Repent of your sins?
We've got a heretic here!
And just kind of blast them out of the water,
you need to teach them lovingly,
and obviously we don't have that problem,
but we need to make sure that we realize that some people are just off in a lot of areas.
And every once in a while you'll get a person who claims to be saved,
and they give the wrong answers,
and then when you teach them the right way,
then they say, oh yeah, no, actually that's what I believe.
That's what I believe, right?
And you're like, that's not what you said in the beginning, though, you know?
And often it's just pride, right?
Pride, they don't want to admit that they're wrong,
but at the end of the day, people can be deceived and we need to show them the right way.
I want you to notice the enemies of the gospel, and of course they're Judaizing.
So he begins to give some compelling evidences as to why he's right and that group is wrong.
And the first thing that he goes over is the fact that they just have a false gospel.
So let me say this, folks.
Here's a good way to determine if it's a good ministry or not.
Don't look at how they dress.
Don't look at what music they use.
Don't look at whatever else, how big their building is.
What is their gospel?
That's what you've got to look at.
Look at Galatians 1 in verse number 6.
He says,
I always find it hilarious that some of the biggest cults in the world
always practice or believe something that's just blatantly stated in the Bible,
or that's condemned in the Bible, right?
Like the Mormons.
I mean, they base their doctrine off of Joseph Smith being communicated to by an angel named Moroni.
And it literally says here,
And he says,
So he starts off by saying, look,
if whoever's coming here and teaching you guys is saying something contrary to the gospel
than that which I've delivered unto you, they're cursed.
Now, why is he saying that?
Why is he using such strong language to describe these people?
Well, because of the fact that there's a big difference.
Listen, there's a big difference between a person who comes to our church deceived
and finds the truth, and the person who goes door to door deceiving.
There's a big difference between the person who comes to our church deceived
and they need to know the truth, and the difference between that person and the Jehovah's Witness
and the Mormon and the dudes who teach that God is a mom or something like that or a woman,
because that's going around too.
There's a big difference.
He said, what's the difference?
This guy's not cursed.
That person is.
Because when they're putting in effort to preach a false gospel
and actually go out of their way and exhaust resources, time and effort into going door to door
preaching a false gospel, that's a new level of demon.
They're devils.
They're cursed.
They're out there willingly promoting a false gospel.
So that's why the Apostle Paul says, if they're willing to come here to Galatia from Jerusalem
to try to deceive you and to bring you back under the law, these people are cursed.
But you know what?
Isn't that what Jesus said in Matthew 23?
That they come pass land and seed to make one proselyte, and when he is made,
they make him twofold more a child of hell than themselves.
False prophets are hard workers too, unfortunately.
They'll go out there, the Jehovah's Witnesses will wake up at six o'clock in the morning
and stand on some, I mean, it's not like they're doing much, actually.
Now they just stand in a corner with some bookshelf or whatever.
And they just have their array of art with heresy attached to it, and that's all they do.
But yeah, I'm sure there's still Jehovah's Witnesses that go from door to door.
But folks, that's the distinction that you need to understand is that the person who believes a false gospel
but doesn't necessarily know is different from the person who is deceived and being deceived.
I'm sorry, excuse me, they're deceived and they're deceiving others.
They're going around, knocking on doors, preaching their false gospel.
So that's the first thing he brings up. He's like, look, these people are not good.
They're false brethren because they're giving you a false gospel,
essentially saying that you have to obey the law in order to be saved.
Now go to chapter two, if you would, go to chapter two.
Look at verse 16 of chapter two.
Of course we know that then the Apostle Paul, showing how important it is to have the right gospel
and how important it is not to live after the matter of the Jews,
he gives an example of how he rebuked one of the apostles of the Lord, which is Peter.
What does that show? It shows that the gospel is no respecter of people.
Let's look at verse number 11 actually.
So this is a really great story here because it really drives home the point,
first of all, that apparently Peter's not necessarily a pope now, is he?
Because he's being called into question for his false doctrine.
But secondly, it shows that we should be no respecter of people if they're teaching a false gospel.
It doesn't matter how popular they are or how long they've been around,
and obviously we know that Peter is not a false prophet.
He got mixed up here and he's being carried away with their dissimulation.
He's being fearful of the Jews is what he's doing.
But at the end of the day, this applies to both, right?
We can't just say, well, you know, this person has a really big church.
He's reached so many people. How dare you say that about Billy Graham?
Don't you know how many crusades he's had? He has a false gospel.
All he did was have a crusade of unregenerated people.
That's all it is. It's just a rock concert with really lame music.
You know, it's just some dude up there spewing out verses, taking them all out of context.
Oh, I believe Billy Graham was saved. He believed you have to repent of your sins to be saved.
There's plenty of clips out there. There's plenty of sermons out there.
It's in the age of the internet where you can literally just look them up real quick and see what he preached.
And you're like, oh, repent of your sins. This guy is not Billy Graham. He's Billy Bailin.
He's not saved. I don't care how many.
He's like, well, I know someone who got saved at a crusade or something.
And it's just like, folks, just because someone says that they're saved, that doesn't mean that they're saved.
What do they mean by saved? Because they could say, well, I believe I'm saved because I got baptized.
I believe I'm saved because I repented of my sins. I'm saved because I do good works or I produce fruits or something like that.
That's not a clear salvation testimony. Okay?
And so he's rebuking him and then he gives a really clear definition of what it means to be saved.
Look what it says in verse 16.
Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by the faith of Jesus Christ.
It blows my mind how many times the Bible can say this very consistently and clearly
and people will still be like, yeah, but faith without works is dead.
Yeah, but if you really love God, though, are you saying that you really love God?
Because there's no one in this world who loves the Lord 100% of the time.
But by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ
and not by the works of the law, for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
I mean, he's just like repeating himself.
I mean, it says, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ.
I mean, it's just reiterating over and over again what salvation is.
Not by the works of the law.
The Bible says, therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
Okay?
So he brings this compelling evidence to say, first of all, let me tell you why these guys are wrong.
Number one, they're preaching a false gospel automatically occurs.
Number two, even when Peter was trying to get, was trying to Judaize people because he's afraid of the Jews,
I rebuked him because the truth fears no investigation and we should be no respecter of people.
If a saved person is teaching false doctrine, they should get called out for it, especially when it comes to salvation.
And then he gives a really clear definition of what it is to get saved in verse 16.
Okay?
Now look at chapter 3, if you would.
It says in verse number, let's read verse number one, it says,
O foolish Galatians, who have bewitched you that ye should not obey the truth?
Before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you,
this only would I learn of you, receive ye the Spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith.
So he brings this logical argument here and he says, if you got saved by the Spirit,
what makes you think you have to maintain your salvation by doing the works of the law?
Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith?
And he says there in verse number three, are you so foolish?
This is, the way you would say it today, why are you guys laughing?
Is are you that stupid?
That's what it means, right?
Are you so foolish means are you that stupid?
I mean he's pretty harsh here, right?
But rightfully so.
Are you so foolish having begun in the Spirit, are you now made perfect by the flesh?
Because it requires the flesh to obey the laws of God physically, right?
And he said, you're made perfect by the Spirit, but now you think that you have to keep the law
in order to like maintain your salvation or something?
Verse four says, have you suffered so many things in vain, if it yet be in vain?
So we see here the consistency of salvation, he says, look, you're saved by the Spirit,
you're kept by the power of God as well.
You're not kept by keeping the laws of God, essentially, or even the ceremonial laws,
which is really what he's referring to in this particular passage.
Look at verse 15, actually look at verse number 15.
Brethren, I speak after the manner of men, though it be but a man's covenant,
yet if it be confirmed, no man dost annulth or addeth thereto.
Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made, he saith not unto the seeds as of many,
but as of one and to thy seed, which is Christ.
Now this is a very powerful passage right here.
Because it's a callback to Genesis chapter 12, which is a portion of scripture that Zionists love to use.
Anytime the subject of who are God's chosen people comes up, even within fundamental Baptist circles,
although I don't know how it is now, you know, I ain't about that life anymore,
I ain't about the life anymore, I've been in the New IFB for quite some time now,
but I'm assuming it's still the same thing.
But back in my day, when I was in the Old IFB, a major passage that they would always bring up is Genesis chapter 12.
The promise that was made to Abraham, and in fact, let's go there real quick.
Let's just read it.
Look at Genesis chapter 12.
It says in Genesis 12 verse 1,
Now the Lord hath said unto Abraham, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, from thy father's house, into a land that I will show thee.
And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great, and thou shalt be a blessing.
And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that cursed thee, and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
So this is their text verse, text passage, to prove that the Jews are God's chosen people.
I mean, let's just ignore everything that the New Testament says.
Let's just ignore Romans 2, let's ignore Romans 9, Romans 10, let's just ignore all the book of Galatians.
Let's just ignore Ephesians chapter 2, let's ignore the entire book of Hebrews.
Let's ignore Revelation 2 and 3, and let's just stick to Genesis chapter 12.
That's the interpretation that a lot of people take.
Because they claim that this promise that was made is made to Abraham and his seed, and what they interpret as being seed is his literal physical descendants.
And in fact, the modern versions of the Bible don't say seed, what does it say?
It says descendants.
Because there's an agenda that's being pushed through these modern versions.
Now luckily we have Galatians chapter 3 that expounds upon who that seed is, and we can't ignore that.
And if you thought it was his literal physical descendants prior to Galatians being written, hey, it's okay, everyone makes mistakes.
Luckily the Holy Spirit moved the Apostle Paul to write the book of Galatians to bring clarity to who that seed is.
And he says there in verse 16 again,
Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made, there you go, all Jews and Israel.
He saith not unto seeds as of many, but as of one, and to thy seed which is Christ.
So the seed that's being addressed in Genesis chapter 12 according to Galatians 3 is Jesus Christ.
And the Bible says that if we believe on Jesus Christ, then we're also heirs of that.
So we are included in that promise of that blessing found in Genesis chapter 12.
So when Genesis chapter 12 was written and given to Abraham, it was written with us in mind.
You know we often think Israel, Genesis, that's like Hebrews. No, it had all believers in mind.
Because, I don't know if you know this, Gentiles are not plan B.
They're not plan B. God had the intent to save, I mean I thought the Bible says God so loved the world.
Everyone in the world, not just Israel, not just Jews, Jesus Christ didn't just die for Israel,
He died for all the world, all nations, all Gentiles.
And so a very strong case there to show that that promise even belongs to us through the promise given to Abraham.
And then he goes on to say, look what it says in verse number 17,
And this I say, that the covenant that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was 430 years after,
cannot this annul that it should make the promise of none effect. What does that mean?
He's saying you guys are adhering to a law that these false brethren are bringing to you,
which came in effect 430 years after God spoke to Abraham in Genesis chapter 12.
And he's basically saying, you guys know Genesis comes before Exodus, right?
And just because this law was instituted 430 years after he talked to Abraham,
that covenant that he made with Moses on Mount Sinai does not disannul the covenant that he made with Abraham.
It's still in effect. And in fact, when that covenant was made with Moses on Mount Sinai with God's people,
guess what? That had an end. Hey, stop. This is my kid, sorry.
It does not disannul them. You know why?
Because of the fact that that covenant that he made with Moses and Israel on Mount Sinai
was a temporary covenant that was meant to foreshadow the coming of Christ.
It had a purpose for sure. The sacrifices had a purpose.
The meats, drinks, divers, washings, carnal ordinances, they all had a purpose.
What was the purpose? To keep on the forefront of the minds of the Israelites, the coming Christ.
Then one day he would fulfill all of those foreshadowings of him of the Old Testament.
But you know what? The covenant that he made with Abraham came before that law was instituted.
And it's going to stay long afterwards. And in fact, it's everlasting.
They had a beginning and an end to it as far as the carnal ordinances is concerned.
He's just like, look, just because this came 430 years after, it's not going to make the covenant that he made with Abraham null and void.
This is an everlasting covenant because Christ is our everlasting Lord.
Now here's a really good passage. You're still in chapter 3. Go to verse number 21.
Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid.
For if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.
So he's like, hey, I'm not down on the law. By the way, we love the law of God, right?
And we even appreciate the law that has been done away with of the Old Testament.
You know why we appreciate it? Because we in the New Testament now see the fulfillment of what those laws represented.
I mean, some of the richest Bible reading that you'll get is when you're reading the Old Testament and you see all the pictures of Christ.
Now to the people who were back then, maybe partaking in those ordinances and all that,
they didn't really make a whole lot of sense to them. But we of the New Testament, we're like, wow, that's beautiful.
You know, the Lamb of God who should take away the sins of the world and, you know, the meats, drinks, diverse watches.
We see all the spiritual significance to that and we have a greater appreciation for it, right?
But he's saying there, look, I'm not down on the law, but let me say this.
If you could get saved by the law, he says there, righteousness should have been by the law then.
But you know, righteousness can't come by the law because there's none righteous, no, not one.
There's not a just man upon earth to do with good and sin, it's not.
He that keepeth the whole law yet offended one point, he is guilty of all.
So you can't be righteous by the law. Well, what's the law then for, huh?
What's the purpose of the law? Well, look what it says.
Verse 22, but the scripture hath concluded all under sin.
Why? Because sin is the transgression of the law.
That the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Wherefore, the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ that we might be justified by faith.
So he's saying, look, I'm not down on the law, the law is good and the truth of the matter is the law was like our teacher.
Why was the law our teacher? Because when we look at the perfect standard of God,
we recognize that we fall short of it and in light of that, we recognize we need a savior.
That's why anybody who promotes you have to obey the law to be saved, they don't even read the Bible.
They don't love the law. They've never read the Bible because if they actually read the entire law of God,
the only conclusion that you can come from by reading the entire law of God is I'm a sinner.
I cannot save myself. I cannot keep the laws of God perfectly because there's so many laws and I've already broken them all,
but you know these self-righteous, pompous, arrogant people out there who are telling you you've got to keep the law in order to be saved,
they don't even love the Bible. How do you know? Because they don't read the Bible.
How do you know? Because they're saying you've got to keep the law to be saved.
That teacher doesn't teach that. That curriculum is not in the Bible.
That curriculum is not a part of the schoolmaster's agenda.
You know when class begins, it's not like rule number one, keep the law to be saved.
It just shows you the law, you see where you fall short and you recognize I need someone else's righteousness because I'm not righteous in and of myself.
That's what the schoolmaster does.
It says, verse 24, wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ that we might be justified by faith.
But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster, for ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Essentially saying once you get saved, you don't need the schoolmaster anymore because now we've essentially graduated to salvation by our faith in Christ.
He says there in verse number 28, there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
And if ye be Christ, then are ye Abraham's seed. Oh, that's a really good verse there.
If ye be Christ, then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise.
So according to the Bible, Genesis 12 is talking about us.
Now with that being said, look at chapter 4.
Because when you look at this allegory, it's just like, really cool allegory, but why is it there?
Well it's just an add-on to all these great arguments that he's already making.
And hopefully, we don't know obviously, but hopefully when they receive this letter, hopefully they're just embarrassed.
It's like, I can't believe we believe that nonsense.
Like it's so clear, right?
And here's the thing, when it comes to the word of God, salvation, these things are clear my friends.
If you're hearing about salvation and it's still like foggy to you, and you're still struggling as to whether you have to repent of your sins, you know that's not a good place to be.
Because salvation is very clear.
Justification by faith is very clear.
And he's making it very clear that they're not to do those things, they're not to keep the law in order to be saved.
Now let's get into the actual allegory itself.
Look at verse number 21.
So this is a really funny verse because of the fact that he's basically saying, you know, you guys want to be under the law.
But do you basically know what you're saying by wanting to be under the law?
Let me just explain to you where you're positioning yourself if you want to be under the law according to the Bible.
Look at verse 22.
It's like when people say, you know, you have to do works to be saved.
Works like what?
You know, you've got to preach, you've got to do many wonderful works.
It's just like you're just condemning yourself.
You're just, by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
For it is written that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid and the other by a free woman.
Now he's obviously referring to Sarah, who in times past was Sarai, and Hagar.
Hagar, if you remember the story of Abraham, he's a father of faith, but just like anybody, you know, he made a lot of mistakes.
Some were very grievous.
And he went into Egypt during a time of famine because he lacked some faith, and so he went into Egypt to sojourn there for a while.
And unfortunately he brought back Hagar, which was a bondmaid, like a servant, but she was an Egyptian.
And in the Bible, when you look at the stigma that Egyptians had from a spiritual perspective, they essentially represent the world.
They represent that which is not of God, it represents the world.
So it's kind of showing us there that when he came back to Bethel and he came back to the will of God per se, you know, he brought back baggage with him.
Known as Hagar, okay?
Now you're like, well, you know, Hagar needs the Lord too.
Yeah, but remember, so a promise is made, right, to Abraham.
And although this is a spiritual promise, it was a promise by faith and he could expect that hope to come in the future.
Actually it says that in Romans chapter 4, that against hope believed in hope, referring to children, the immediate blessing was that he was actually going to have children, because he couldn't have children.
So he's really old, Sarah's really old, she's past the time where she can technically have children, and the fulfillment of that promise is just not there.
Just not getting it.
So you can see how like Sarah is kind of losing faith, right?
Now it could be that Abraham just did not lose faith during this time, because it actually says that he staggered not at the promises of God, and he said that he was fully persuaded that what he had promised he was able also to perform.
Against hope, believed in hope, and you know, he's the father of faith, he had a lot of faith.
But you know, maybe his wife Sarah didn't have a whole lot of faith.
Not maybe, she for sure did not have a whole lot of faith.
Because this is where Hagar comes into play.
So Sarah, in a time of doubt, just has this really weird request or idea, and says, I got an idea, why don't you marry Hagar, and I can have children vicariously through Hagar.
Like Hagar will bear you a child, and that basically would be the promise.
So she's like trying to force the promise of God, right?
Trying to do it in her own way, and he's like, well yeah God, you know, he promises us a child, but we have to do our part, kind of thing.
And so he goes into Hagar, Ishmael is produced, and that was not God's will, obviously.
Now you kind of wonder why Abraham didn't put up a fight with that idea.
It's like, why didn't you say this is a bad idea?
But again, he's just a sinner, he's making stupid decisions.
Now, in my opinion, all things work together for good, for them to love God, and Abraham loved God, so he ended up using that whole situation to picture a very important New Testament principle and doctrine.
Which is why we're talking about it here.
So he has this bond woman, known as Hagar, and he has a free woman, which is Sarah.
And of course, Sarah, after Hagar bears the child, she just regrets it instantaneously, because the child begins to persecute her child later on, who's Isaac, and so forth.
But let's read on here, it says, verse 23,
But he who was of the bond woman was born after the flesh, but he of the free woman was by promise.
What does that mean?
It means that Ishmael was a byproduct of fleshly wisdom, because it wasn't an act of faith.
It was an act of desperation on Sarah's part to kind of get the ball rolling in God's will.
Whereas Isaac was actually promised and was delivered by God, blessing the bodies of Abraham and Sarah to have Isaac.
That was God's promise fulfilled right then and there.
Whereas Ishmael is just of the flesh, because that which is not of faith is of the flesh, right?
And it says in verse 24,
Now who are the two covenants? Ishmael and Isaac.
Or you could say Sarah and Hagar.
Two covenants, the one from Mount Sinai which generateth to bondage, which is Hagar.
So you have Hagar representing the covenant mentioned at Mount Sinai, referring to the two tablets, the Old Testament law.
So she represents the law, right? Which is exactly what we're talking about here.
And he says,
Now what is this referring to?
Well don't ask old IFP people what this means.
Because old IFP people who hold to Zionism will say, well Arabia, Arabs, Muslims!
That's what that's talking about.
And I'm telling you, I've heard preaching like that pretty much my entire old IFP career.
Where it's just like Galatians 4, 25 is proof text that Ishmael are the Muslims.
And you can see how essentially they would get that because it says Arabia, I guess.
But I will say this, even Muslims believe that they are physical descendants of Ishmael.
They actually believe that.
In the Quran it actually says that and there are segments of Muslims that actually believe that they physically come from Ishmael.
But here's the problem with their interpretation and here's the problem with the Jews interpretation and here's the problem with the old IFP interpretation.
It's not about physical descendancy.
When it says allegory it's referring to the fact that it's symbolic representation.
Now symbolically, yeah, Muslims would also fall under the category of Ishmael just like every unsafe person would.
Just like the Jews would because they're not saved.
But the reason the old IFP pins Muslims or Ishmael on Muslims is because they hate Muslims.
And they believe the greatest enemy of Christianity or whatever are the Muslims because the Muslims are the greatest enemy of the Jews.
And of course because of Zionism they just kowtow to Israel and Zionism and they just worship them.
You're like, oh that's an exaggeration. Most old IFP churches will always have a Babylonian flag on their platform along with a star rem fan as well.
I'm referring to the Israeli flag.
And they'll have them right then and there and it's just like being invited to these churches because Babylon is his and he comes from there so it just kind of works out.
But this narrative that the Muslims, and by the way I'm not for Islam and I'm not for Muslims per se as far as the religion is concerned.
It's a wicked religion. It's anti-God. It's blasphemous. It teaches a lot of crazy stuff.
But here's the thing is that Muslims can be saved though.
And in most cases I think I have a better time talking to Muslims here about the gospel than I would with a Jew.
I'll just be honest with you.
I've witnessed to a Jew in Montebello one time. I knocked on his door and I didn't know it was a Jew obviously.
But he opened the door and he had the cherry curls and all that. The sideburned cherry curls.
And I wanted to give him the gospel and he's just like, hold on a second. He went inside the house, he came back out, he had his long robe and his little tassel or whatever.
And then he gave me like a yarmulke. And he wanted me to put on the yarmulke to talk to him.
And I just kind of looked and this was before we started, long before we started the church.
And I just kind of looked and I was just like, what is this? He's like, oh it's just for you to put on. I was just like, alright.
And I just kind of put it in my pocket. And then I started giving him the gospel and he was just like, I don't believe any of that.
And he was very open about his views of Jesus Christ, about Christianity. And I just kept kind of giving him the gospel. I wasn't going to the book of Isaiah or anything like that.
Just straight Romans wrote, amen. And then he interrupted me and he said, look, let me just be honest with you.
He's like, we like Christians. He says, you guys are helping us. That's what he said.
And what he meant was, you guys are helping us build a temple. And promoting Zionism and all that. And I'm just like, hey, don't pin that on me.
I was like, I don't help Jews. And I told him, I was like, let me just tell you what I believe. I said, I'm more Jewish than you are.
So I told him. And he didn't really like that because he was just kind of looking at me like, where's your tassel, you know, kind of thing.
And I said, for he is not a Jew which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision outward in the flesh made of hands, but he is a Jew which is one inwardly.
Circumcision is that of the spirit and not of the flesh whose praise is not of men but of God.
So according to that verse, believers in Christ are more Jewish than you.
And then he just kind of looked at me and was like, you know you need to read the Talmud.
I'm just like, oh man. He's like, that's what you need to reference, reference the Talmud. Don't read the Bible.
And I just walked away like, this guy doesn't want to hear about this. And this is before like, I understood a little bit about replacement theology and I believed it to a certain extent.
But now I know the full depths of replacement theology and the depths of Satan when it comes to the synagogue of Satan.
And so looking back I'm like, this guy was not open, he was mocking me as a Christian.
Whereas I've witnessed the Muslims and they're actually very kind. I'll just be honest with you.
And they have a certain level of respect for Jesus Christ even though they only deem him as a prophet, they don't see him as the son of God, they won't disrespect Jesus Christ to us.
They won't disdain Christians or anything. We had like a good conversation, the guy that I talked to, he didn't get saved but he was very polite, he was kind.
And at the end of the day it made me walk away like sad that he didn't get saved because to a certain extent he was humble and it made me feel bad because of the fact that I know that he was trying to work his way to heaven.
And I remember discussing with him the differences between our gods and I said my God died for you though.
Because he was saying that Allah did not die for them and that they have to kind of prove their righteousness to Allah and it made me really sad.
And I said well my God loves you, he died for you, he took on human form.
And he listened in a sense, he was just like I get you but he had just a lot to overcome.
And so I'm not for Islam but you know what, Christians need to turn off Fox News and get rid of the dispensational garbage that promotes Zionism and just stick to the Bible.
Well this is Arabia brothers and muslims. Muslims didn't show up there until like 680 or something. They weren't even there.
There might have been pockets of muslims but let me say this, the muslims were not the number one enemy during this time.
I don't even mention muslims. If there were muslims they obviously didn't have any influence whatsoever on biblical Christianity.
They weren't the antagonists of the Christians. No, the ones that we see antagonizing the Christians are the Pharisees and those who adhere to Judaism.
That's what we see. Well explain verse 25 then pastor.
Well okay, easy. For this is Agar on Mount Sinai in Arabia. Can we name one muslim that was at Mount Sinai?
Who are the people who are at Mount Sinai receiving the law?
Israel.
Israel!
I mean it doesn't take much to like see and it's just like one of those moments where I'm sure people are like, oh yeah, that's true.
And it says, and answerth to Jerusalem which now is. What does that word answerth mean?
The word answerth, also a synonym of that would be reflects.
So he's saying the people that were given that covenant Mount Sinai from Arabia, they reflect Jerusalem which now is.
And he's referring to not now as in 2023, although you know, I know there's muslims in that area.
But here's the thing folks is that when he's saying now he's referring to those who are in Jerusalem at that point.
He's there during that time.
And is in bondage with her children.
So according to this, the first covenant represents Israel.
Represents Jews according to the flesh.
He said why do you say according to the flesh?
Well number one, because it says right here in verse 23, but he who was of the bond when was born after the flesh.
But number two, the Bible also says in Romans chapter nine that they are Israel according to the flesh.
Physically, they may be of Israel.
But guess what? In God's economy, that doesn't even matter.
Doesn't count.
Your ethnicity does not matter to God.
You don't get a free pass because of your ethnicity.
You don't get a free pass by God, into heaven, into God's graces because you know you just did nothing but you're just simply born.
You understand?
We don't believe in racial supremacy here.
We believe in the supremacy of Christianity, the supremacy of Jesus Christ and faith in him alone.
He said are you saying the Christians are better than everyone else in this world?
We're better off than everyone else in this world.
No one can argue that because we're going to heaven.
But yeah, Jesus Christ is better.
I mean the Bible even says it in Hebrews that he's a better mediator, better covenant, established upon better promises.
You know what that tells me? He's better!
Look at verse 26.
But Jerusalem, which is above, is free, which is the mother of us all.
So why don't the Catholics call Sarah the mother instead?
That's actually found right here in this verse, right?
It's like the mother of us all, not Mary.
But it's referring to the fact that Jerusalem, which is that new Jerusalem, which is above in heaven, represents believers because only believers go to new Jerusalem.
That's why we're not going to fight for Jerusalem, which now is.
No one wants that piece of dirt.
Don't you want to go over there? Why? No.
You can go to San Francisco and pretty much have the same experience.
I want to go to a new Jerusalem. It's a lot cleaner.
You know, no dogs, no sorcery, no Christ rejecting people there, no people disrespecting Jesus Christ and talking down on him and disdaining Christians.
Now Jerusalem, which is above, is free, who's the mother of us all, the Bible says.
He says in verse 27,
It's referring to the fact that the nation, the spiritual nation of Christians is a lot larger than the physical nation of Israel.
They can have as many physical descendants as they want, but at the end of the day, it's far more believers, right?
Father Abraham had many sons, many sons had Father Abraham, I am one of them and so are you.
You say, why is it more? Because it's made up of all nations.
The gospel does not discriminate.
And I'm with you brother Maury, amen.
It doesn't discriminate. It doesn't matter what color you are, it just matters what you believe in.
And don't bring this nonsense to me, oh what about the LGBT, that's not a race, it's a disgrace.
That's not, don't try to amalgamate that with race my friends.
You know I'd be offended if I was a black person or something like that, they'd try to associate that with race, I'd be offended and be like, what are you talking about?
Don't say that being a homo is the same thing as being a black person or a brown person or whatever other color, it's not the same thing.
And obviously this is a quotation from Isaiah chapter 54 because he's saying that Sarah, though physically she did not have that many children per se, spiritually she did.
Spiritually a lot of people got saved, the gospel went to all the earth, tons of nations, people, kindreds and tons believed on Jesus Christ and therefore she's essentially part of that.
Just as Abraham was. It says in verse 28, Now we brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.
Now notice that he includes himself in it even though he's from Israel. Now why is he included even though he's of Israel? Because he's a believer.
So believing Jews are part of the promise as well. But here's the thing, once a Jew believes, they cease being a Jew.
There's no such thing as Judeo-Christian. We don't use that terminology here. It's like I just want to retain my Judeo part and be Christian as well. Wrong.
No shofar, no prayer shawl, no keeping the law, we're not with that business. There's no Judeo-Christian in the Bible. In fact the Bible says it's neither Jew nor Greek.
It says now we brethren, and by the way he's talking to Gentile believers, that means that it doesn't matter what nation you come from, if they believed on Jesus Christ, there are brothers and sisters in Christ.
Now we brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. He says in verse 29, But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.
So find me a passage of scripture in the New Testament where Muslims are persecuting Christians. I'm not going to find it. Because he's saying there, even so it is now.
Because what a lot of old IFP people will do is they'll take this dispensational view that because Ishmael was a wild man, that means, you know, just the whole, he's like a, what do they call him? AK-47.
You're way off. He's like some suicide bomber or something like that. He's just a wild man, he's like the Muslims, they just want to kill everyone or something, you know.
But that's not what it's referring to. Because he says, even so it is now, which means there's a present day example given during Paul's time of a fulfillment of Ishmael persecuting Isaac just as the Jews are persecuting Christians in the New Testament.
And the Bible says of Ishmael that he was a wild man, you know, because he's just like contrary to all men. Just as it says in 1 Thessalonians that the Jews are contrary to all men, that they have the wrath upon them unto the uttermost.
This is obviously referring to Jews because they're the ones who persecuted Christians throughout the New Testament. That's undeniable. You can't dispute that.
You can't point to another antagonist in the New Testament other than those who are adhering to Judaism. I mean, even when Paul goes to an island, he goes to Cyprus, he encounters Bar-Jesus, who the Bible says was a Jew and a false prophet and a sorcerer.
And so, you know, they're the ones who are constantly fighting against the brethren, trying to get people to get back under the law. They're trying to infiltrate these Gentile churches to kind of get people to observe the law once again.
Not because they care for their soul, not because they want to get them saved, not even because they esteem Moses' law. Because Moses would have believed me, he wrote of me, the Bible says.
It's because they're false prophets, that's why.
And so just as Ishmael mocked Isaac in the Old Testament, you know, he says that they're still mocking today. They're persecuting Jesus Christ, they mock Jesus Christ, they mock his believers, they mock Christianity.
Look at what it goes on to say,
Now, if you remember the story, Sarah sees her mistake, she's like, this is a bad idea, because now, you know, Ishmael's mocking Isaac, persecuting Isaac, and so she goes up to Abraham and is just like, you need to cast this woman out.
And Abraham feels bad about it, but he basically kicks her out. He casts out Hagar and Ishmael, he gave him a little bottle of water, and hopefully this suffices for your trip of wherever you're going, just away from here. The wife says you gotta go.
And it seems like a really cold-blooded thing to do, right? Now obviously, in the literal sense, the literal story, God still watches over Ishmael, because it's not his fault, right?
You know, it's just the sinfulness of man. But it was used to symbolically represent Israel according to the flesh and believers. Why is that?
Well, because of the fact, go to John chapter 8, if you would, John chapter 8.
So what does casting out Hagar have to do? Casting out Hagar and Ishmael have to do with, you know, what we're talking about here, this allegory. How does it allegorize anything?
Well, the Bible says in Matthew chapter 8, you're in John chapter 8, but I remember Matthew chapter 8, when the Roman centurion gets saved.
If you remember the story, you know, he understands authority, he ends up getting saved, and you know, Jesus was marveling that this man has so much faith.
But then he talks about the fact that, you know, in the kingdom of God, many from the east and west shall come down to sit with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Now, east and west is referring to areas foreign to Israel. It's basically saying Gentiles from the east, Gentiles from the west, they're going to come to the kingdom of God to sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
And then it says, and the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness. There shall be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Who are the children of the kingdom? In context, it's referring to Israel.
Because he's saying, look, he's preaching in Israel, this Roman centurion comes to him seeking salvation, he gets saved, and he's just like, this guy who's not even of Israel is open to the gospel.
He gets saved, and you know what, this is exactly what heaven is going to look like.
Heaven is going to be filled with all nations, and in fact, read Revelation 7.
Nations, kindreds, and tongues. He said, what about, like, you know, them?
Well, the Bible says that they're cast out into outer darkness, that there shall be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.
And it's a fulfillment of the story of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar, just as he cast out the bond woman, and cast out Ishmael, because they have no inheritance.
They're not part of the promise, they're getting cast out into outer darkness. Basically referring to the fact that they're not saved.
Now, you know, Ishmael was probably saved, right? But I'm talking about what he symbolically represents, though.
Look what it says in John chapter 8. He says in John chapter 8, in verse number, look at verse 31.
It says, Then said Jesus to those Jews, notice it doesn't say Muslims, which believed on him, If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed.
He shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Then answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man.
How sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Now keep in mind the terminology used in Galatians 4, the bond woman and the free woman, right?
Verse 34, Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committed sin is a servant of sin, and the servant abideth not in the house forever.
You know, just as Ishmael did not abide in the house forever, but the son abideth forever.
Who does the son represent? Isaac. He's basically saying, you know, you guys aren't saved.
And you guys are servants of sin. You think you're of Abraham's seed, but you're not.
Because you seek to kill me, right? And he tells them, you're not going to abide in that. And this is probably going over their heads, by the way.
And by the way, Jesus is not like, did you get it? Did you understand it? Hope you got it, you know what I mean?
He just answers them and gives them this example, and all believers are like, ooh, we know what he means by that.
They don't know what he means, because they don't know the Bible.
But he's basically saying, you guys are of Hagar. You guys are of Ishmael.
And you guys are going to be cast out like Hagar was cast out. You're going to be cast out the way Ishmael was cast out.
You're going to hell is where you're going, because you're not saved.
He says, the Son abideth forever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
And of course you have verse 44, ye are of your father the devil, the lust of your father will you do, etc.
Go back to Galatians chapter 4, if you would.
What a great allegory to represent, because it's not just a contrast between the Israel according to the flesh,
the Jews according to the flesh, and these particular Christians, it's just the Jews according to the flesh and all believers.
Or you could just say all unbelievers and believers. Understand?
Because anybody who believes they have to keep the law, they don't even have to be a Jew.
If you believe that the law saves you, you're of Hagar.
Every single YouTube influencer out there who preaches a false gospel,
who preaches you have to keep the law and keep the commandments and you have to repent of your sins,
just say you are of Hagar.
You are a spiritual descendant of Ishmael and you're not going to abide forever.
You don't abide in the house forever.
You're going to be cast out into outer darkness because you're not saved.
Verse 31 says, so then brethren, we are not children of the bond woman, but of the free.
And what he thinks here is saying, stop observing the law the way these guys have told you to,
because if you are, what you're basically saying is that you're of Mount Sinai.
You gender with to bondage.
You're of Jerusalem, which now is.
You're going to be cast out.
You're basically sealing your fate if that's what you claim to believe. Understand?
Whereas if you believe the gospel that I'm giving unto you, is what he's saying,
you are of Sarah.
You're of Jerusalem, which is above, free, mother of us all.
You actually inherit the promises given unto you.
And it's good every once in a while to just hit on Zionism and just remind us as Christians
that we need to be careful not to be influenced by Zionism,
not to allow any Judaism to ever infiltrate our belief system or our churches,
regardless of what the ADL says, regardless of whatever articles they write.
We need to stand our ground and say, well, this is biblical here.
You can call a hate speech all you want.
You can bring up all your hate rhetoric against us.
But at the end of the day, this is Bible.
We got to stick to it. Let's pray.
Father, we thank you so much for your word.
Thank you so much for the book of Galatians, Lord.
And what a great letter here written to many churches.
And of course, it applies to us as well, Lord.
And sometimes we read these things and think that these are only things that happened in times past,
in the first century, but it's still going on today.
And a lot of churches have been infiltrated by Zionism,
and a lot of Christians have been deceived.
And I pray that they get back to reading the word of God
and understanding these biblical principles and doctrines.
In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
If you guys don't have a song sheet, please raise your hand.
We're going to be singing a song, I believe, in a hill called Mt. Calvary.
Please keep your hands raised so the ushers can come by and give you one.
Ms. Courtney over here needs one.
Anybody else? Anybody else need one?
Alrighty, we're going to see it on that first verse.
There are things as we travel this earth's shifting sand
that transcend the reason of man.
But the things that matter the most in this world
they can never be held in our hands.
I believe in a hill called Mt. Calvary.
I believe whatever the cost.
And when time has surrendered and earth is no more
I'll still cling to that old rugged cross.
I believe that the Christ who was slain on that cross
has the power to change life today.
For He changed me completely, a new life begun.
I will stay.
I believe in a hill called Mt. Calvary.
I'll believe whatever the cost.
And when time has surrendered and earth is no more
I'll still cling to that old rugged cross.
I believe that this life with its great mysteries
surely someday will come to an end.
But faith will conquer the darkness and death
and will lead me at last to my friend.
I believe in a hill called Mt. Calvary.
I'll believe whatever the cost.
And when time has surrendered and earth is no more
I'll still cling to that old rugged cross.
Amen. Wonderful singing. You are dismissed.
I heard you got the pressure on.