WEBVTT
00:01.120 -->
00:04.640Good morning, good morning everybody. So glad that you're here. Uh,
00:04.880 -->
00:08.480if you are visiting today or it's your first time to the GraceWorks Church,
00:08.880 -->
00:12.480welcome. We're so glad you're here. Um, we are
00:12.560 -->
00:15.200going through a book study in, in the book of Galatians,
00:15.920 -->
00:19.600so we find ourselves finishing out chapter 2 today and getting
00:20.240 -->
00:23.840into chapter 3. Uh, and so there's not— I'm not
00:24.340 -->
00:27.770gonna do a whole lot of introduction, uh, because I think it'll It'll
00:27.850 -->
00:31.130play out as we continue to look at it. We having trouble here,
00:31.210 -->
00:33.770or is it me? Let's see here.
00:35.130 -->
00:38.490Perfect. Galatians. And we've titled this book study
00:39.450 -->
00:42.810Christ Lives in Me. And Paul was getting
00:42.970 -->
00:46.250a hold of these churches in Galatia where he had planted the churches.
00:46.890 -->
00:50.650He loved the churches. He got to know people. And, and he hears
00:51.150 -->
00:54.650a few years later that there are some people coming in and And they're
00:55.150 -->
00:58.810trying to change the gospel. They're trying to change what being a Christian was
00:58.970 -->
01:02.170really all about. And Paul's addressing those things. And so the last few
01:02.330 -->
01:06.250weeks we've been looking at some of those, uh, things that the Judaizers
01:06.330 -->
01:09.690were trying to bring in, telling people that were Gentiles that they
01:09.770 -->
01:13.370needed to become Jews basically to be saved,
01:13.690 -->
01:16.970to follow Jesus. And Paul was like, no, that is not the case.
01:17.610 -->
01:21.160You don't have to be circumcised. You don't have to do all the Jewish things
01:21.400 -->
01:25.480to be a follower of Jesus Christ. And so this is
01:25.720 -->
01:29.160the continuation of that. We're going to start reading in chapter 2,
01:29.320 -->
01:32.680verse 15, and then read through chapter 3,
01:32.840 -->
01:35.240verse 14. So if you have your Bible with,
01:36.040 -->
01:39.400uh, I would tell you to open that thing up and be ready to take
01:39.560 -->
01:42.760notes. Whatever the Holy Spirit prompts you, make some marks in there. If you have
01:42.840 -->
01:45.640something on the phone, great. If you don't have a Bible, we have some Bibles
01:46.140 -->
01:48.990back on our Grab a Bible table. You could take one of those. Let that
01:49.070 -->
01:52.110be a gift from us to you today. We believe that everybody should have a
01:52.190 -->
01:55.470copy of God's word. So let's get started today,
01:55.710 -->
01:59.390starting in chapter 2, verse 15. We ourselves are Jews
01:59.550 -->
02:03.150by birth and not Gentile sinners, yet we know that
02:03.230 -->
02:06.830a person is not justified by works of the law but through
02:06.990 -->
02:10.670faith in Jesus Christ. So we also have believed
02:11.070 -->
02:15.040in Christ Jesus in order to be justified by faith in Christ
02:15.840 -->
02:19.120and not by works of the law, because by works of the
02:19.200 -->
02:22.520law no one will be justified.
02:25.040 -->
02:28.720But if in our endeavor to be justified in Christ,
02:28.960 -->
02:32.560we too are found to be sinners— were found to be sinners—
02:32.720 -->
02:36.560is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not.
02:36.720 -->
02:40.640For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor.
02:41.310 -->
02:45.150For through the law I died to the law so
02:45.230 -->
02:48.750that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ.
02:49.470 -->
02:52.990It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in
02:53.230 -->
02:56.750me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by
02:56.990 -->
03:00.750faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself
03:01.310 -->
03:04.750for me. I do not nullify the grace of God,
03:05.470 -->
03:09.260for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ
03:09.900 -->
03:12.420died for no purpose.
03:13.180 -->
03:16.380Oh foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you?
03:17.340 -->
03:20.540It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly
03:21.260 -->
03:25.020portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only
03:25.340 -->
03:28.940this: did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or
03:29.100 -->
03:32.460by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish?
03:32.990 -->
03:36.270Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected
03:36.990 -->
03:40.190by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things
03:40.430 -->
03:43.310in vain, if indeed it was in vain?
03:44.110 -->
03:48.350Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among
03:48.510 -->
03:52.430you do so by the works of the law, or by hearing with
03:52.510 -->
03:56.270faith, just as Abraham believed God and it was
03:56.510 -->
03:59.880counted to him as righteousness.
04:01.680 -->
04:05.120Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of
04:05.200 -->
04:09.520Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles
04:09.760 -->
04:12.880by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to
04:12.960 -->
04:17.440Abraham, saying, in you shall all the nations be
04:17.600 -->
04:21.120blessed. So then those who are of faith
04:22.000 -->
04:25.550are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
04:27.150 -->
04:30.430For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse.
04:31.230 -->
04:34.990For it is written, cursed be everyone who does not abide by
04:35.150 -->
04:38.110all things written in the book of the law and do them.
04:39.230 -->
04:42.750Now it is evident that no one is justified before God
04:42.990 -->
04:46.430by the law, for the righteous shall
04:46.590 -->
04:49.950live by faith. But the law is not of faith.
04:50.430 -->
04:54.460Rather, The one who does them shall live by them.
04:55.500 -->
04:59.340Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming
04:59.500 -->
05:02.860a curse for us. For it is written, cursed is
05:03.420 -->
05:07.260everyone who is hanged on a tree, so that in Christ Jesus
05:07.740 -->
05:10.780the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles,
05:11.340 -->
05:14.700so that we might receive the promised Spirit through
05:14.940 -->
05:18.270faith. If you were noticing As we were reading along,
05:18.770 -->
05:22.030there are a lot of quotations. So today, if you're interested in like
05:22.190 -->
05:25.630cross-references and quotations, I'm going to be giving you guys some scripture
05:25.870 -->
05:29.470references that you can jot down and then maybe go and check out this
05:29.630 -->
05:33.310next week. We will talk about them, but we won't necessarily go
05:33.470 -->
05:36.990there. But Paul was pulling from scriptures a
05:37.070 -->
05:39.870lot of the things that we're going to talk about today. So I just wanted
05:40.030 -->
05:43.560you to kind of have that heads up. As we look at
05:43.720 -->
05:47.080this, this basically chapter's worth of verses,
05:47.240 -->
05:51.240we know that Paul is making a case for a gospel based
05:51.720 -->
05:54.120on faith in Christ alone,
05:55.240 -->
05:58.920that works are something that come after salvation,
05:59.000 -->
06:02.760but they don't save you in any way. And so becoming
06:03.000 -->
06:07.000a Jew and being circumcised, which is one of the things that these Gentiles
06:07.400 -->
06:11.040were being told they needed to do, Paul was making sure that they understood
06:11.520 -->
06:14.720this will add nothing to your salvation. And,
06:14.800 -->
06:18.560and so when I read through this passage, uh, I've read it before,
06:19.060 -->
06:21.840I've preached it before. I love these verses.
06:22.000 -->
06:26.480Um, what I see is kind of a courtroom scene
06:26.800 -->
06:30.240playing out. And so today we titled this, this,
06:31.280 -->
06:34.960uh, sermon that we're gonna do today, uh, who's gonna represent
06:35.120 -->
06:39.010you? Are you going to represent yourself by your
06:39.250 -->
06:42.770works, the things that you've done, the things that you've accomplished?
06:44.050 -->
06:47.410Or are you going to allow Jesus Christ to stand there
06:48.050 -->
06:50.610for you on your behalf,
06:51.570 -->
06:54.930which is what he's offering and what, what salvation really is all
06:55.170 -->
06:58.610about? So if you think about it, if I were to die
06:59.010 -->
07:02.990today, do I want to go to heaven and stand before God and try
07:03.070 -->
07:06.910to make a case based on all the things that I've done or not
07:07.230 -->
07:10.670done? Or do I want to lean on the cross of
07:10.830 -->
07:14.670Christ? Do I want to say I'm here because Jesus died on
07:14.750 -->
07:18.190the cross? He took all of my sin, and in
07:18.510 -->
07:21.870exchange he gave me his righteousness. That is
07:21.950 -->
07:25.790the beauty of salvation. When we talk about being a Christian,
07:26.290 -->
07:29.400it's understanding that It's a willingness to say
07:29.560 -->
07:33.400that I am not enough. I cannot do this on my own. I need
07:33.640 -->
07:36.760Jesus. Then as we walk the path
07:36.920 -->
07:41.480of discipleship, we do things and we don't do things not
07:41.640 -->
07:45.080for salvation, but because we love God.
07:45.240 -->
07:48.760And that's what Paul wants to make sure we understand today.
07:48.840 -->
07:51.080So let's dive in. We got a lot of verses to look at, and I
07:51.160 -->
07:55.010want to get through this this morning. We see here Paul's
07:55.250 -->
07:59.090starting out. It's kind of a continuation of the conversation he had
07:59.170 -->
08:02.450with Peter. If you've been here the last couple of weeks, uh, you know about
08:02.610 -->
08:05.810this confrontation that happened between Paul and Peter.
08:07.970 -->
08:12.610Peter had distanced himself, refusing to eat with Gentiles,
08:12.930 -->
08:16.690non-Jews, after he already knew that
08:16.850 -->
08:20.050that was okay to do now. It didn't make them unclean
08:20.450 -->
08:23.980to to eat with a Gentile. Peter knew this. Peter had
08:24.140 -->
08:27.500done this, and then Peter stopped doing this. And Paul,
08:27.660 -->
08:31.100he called him to task. Remember last week he had some harsh words
08:31.420 -->
08:35.420for him? Well, I think this kind of continues on in that he's,
08:35.980 -->
08:39.580he's been talking about that situation, and now he wants to make the case
08:40.140 -->
08:44.620as for what salvation really is and what it isn't.
08:44.780 -->
08:49.160There are 3 absolutely vital terms that Paul introduces verse
08:49.320 -->
08:53.92016 as we get started today. We see the concept of justified,
08:54.200 -->
08:57.720which works right into the courtroom scene, right? Works of the
08:57.880 -->
09:01.400law. Okay, because again, we're talking about the
09:01.560 -->
09:05.000law or faith. And that's the third
09:05.080 -->
09:09.880thing we see, is the faith that we can have, that we can place in
09:10.040 -->
09:13.960Jesus Christ. Now, all are gonna be repeated, and they're gonna form a foundation
09:14.600 -->
09:18.480for for every argument that he makes, really not
09:18.560 -->
09:22.000just here but throughout the book of Galatians. So it's important that
09:22.500 -->
09:25.520we understand what Paul means by each term. So we're going to quickly look at
09:25.680 -->
09:29.520all of those this morning. Justified is the
09:30.020 -->
09:32.480first thing that pops up here. You can kind of see in the light blue
09:32.720 -->
09:36.400there, it crops up 6 times today
09:36.480 -->
09:41.180in our passage. It's the central concept for
09:41.340 -->
09:45.340Paul's argument that justification happens
09:47.340 -->
09:51.180through faith. Now, in the legal sense
09:51.340 -->
09:54.780of this word, they're being declared not
09:55.100 -->
09:58.540guilty or righteous or innocent
09:59.820 -->
10:03.580because what Jesus did— God the righteous judge,
10:03.740 -->
10:06.460the one who had the right to judge you and I for what we have
10:06.620 -->
10:11.600done, in our rebellious, sinful nature is
10:11.920 -->
10:15.840taking into consideration of sorts what Jesus said.
10:16.320 -->
10:20.400He said, I will take the punishment. I will take the punishment for
10:20.480 -->
10:24.000this sin and die. My blood will be shed,
10:24.500 -->
10:28.560and then I will give that to those who can't help themselves.
10:28.640 -->
10:32.240And so God is seeing us as justified
10:33.330 -->
10:36.770because of what Jesus did on the cross.
10:36.930 -->
10:40.850Martin Luther called our justification an alien
10:41.410 -->
10:45.690righteousness. It does not come from within.
10:46.290 -->
10:50.450We cannot make ourselves righteous. We can't
10:50.690 -->
10:54.690repair on our own a relationship between us and
10:54.930 -->
10:59.410God. It comes from outside of us entirely, right? It must.
10:59.770 -->
11:03.290Come from the outside to everyone, Jews and
11:03.450 -->
11:06.970Gentiles alike. So the 2 groups that we see, the Jews and the
11:07.290 -->
11:10.570Gentiles, um, they're on the same ground.
11:11.770 -->
11:15.290God has leveled the playing field. I've heard it said before, I've probably
11:15.450 -->
11:18.570even used it before, at the foot of the cross it is a
11:18.650 -->
11:22.570level ground, it is a level playing field. We are all the same because
11:22.650 -->
11:26.860no matter how good you are or or how bad you've messed
11:27.100 -->
11:31.260up. We all have sinned and fallen short of
11:31.420 -->
11:36.060the glory of God. The bar has been set and
11:36.220 -->
11:40.220none of us can reach it, but Jesus can,
11:40.300 -->
11:43.100and he willingly brings you along. It's beautiful.
11:43.900 -->
11:47.660So neither of us, neither group, Jews nor Gentiles,
11:48.220 -->
11:51.920can be justified by the works of the
11:52.000 -->
11:55.920law. And that's where he goes to next. The Gentiles can't
11:56.420 -->
11:59.520be justified by the law because they don't have it. The Jews
11:59.840 -->
12:03.520can't because it's impossible to obey the entire law.
12:04.640 -->
12:08.960Now, Paul states this foundational concept 3 times in
12:09.040 -->
12:12.400verse 16. So unless we're throwing out the
12:12.900 -->
12:16.640book of Galatians, this is an important concept that all of us need
12:16.800 -->
12:20.240to hear and understand. We hear it in other places in Scripture,
12:20.740 -->
12:23.660But we need to understand that the works of the law, the works of the
12:23.740 -->
12:26.380law, the works of the law fall short.
12:28.060 -->
12:31.980God's law, it did govern all aspects of
12:32.220 -->
12:35.740Jewish life back in the day. That's all that
12:35.820 -->
12:39.100they had. But Paul says that
12:39.500 -->
12:42.940no one will be justified by the law. No one will
12:43.020 -->
12:47.040be declared not guilty by keeping the
12:47.200 -->
12:49.360law. Well, why does he say that?
12:51.760 -->
12:55.040Because nobody can. Nobody can keep the law. We all know of the
12:55.120 -->
12:59.200Ten Commandments. Even if this is the first time you've stepped into a church building
13:00.160 -->
13:03.920ever, you've heard of the Ten Commandments. You probably even could recite a few of
13:04.000 -->
13:07.600those 10, right? Well, we fail in keeping the
13:07.760 -->
13:11.440Ten Commandments, yet God's law was 600
13:12.360 -->
13:16.120613 laws total that
13:16.200 -->
13:19.480we find in Scripture. So we know the 10, but there's another
13:19.640 -->
13:22.840603. And he's gonna talk
13:23.080 -->
13:26.280about this more, this idea, this concept of the heavy burden of
13:26.780 -->
13:30.440the law, and that Jesus came to take that and to give
13:30.520 -->
13:33.880you a yoke. Yes, but he says, my yoke is easy and
13:33.960 -->
13:37.720my burden is light, because Jesus again is gonna
13:37.880 -->
13:41.300do all the hard work. God planned it from
13:41.380 -->
13:44.820the beginning. We are not designed to
13:45.300 -->
13:48.740represent ourselves. How many of you seen, uh, whether on the news or,
13:48.980 -->
13:52.580or now with all social media, somebody's saying, I'm going to represent myself
13:52.820 -->
13:55.540today here in court, and they just— it just goes sideways?
13:56.740 -->
14:00.100We're not, we're not capable of doing that. We go and we get a lawyer,
14:00.340 -->
14:04.360and that lawyer's been trained and knows what to do. And even then Sometimes
14:04.680 -->
14:08.440they do a great job and sometimes they don't because they're human. Well,
14:08.520 -->
14:12.920we in our life can't
14:13.400 -->
14:16.920represent ourselves. Mark Miller can't stand before
14:17.080 -->
14:21.560God's throne and say, I didn't yell at my wife very
14:21.800 -->
14:25.800often, right? I didn't speed all
14:25.960 -->
14:29.320the time. I didn't— and start listing off all these
14:30.060 -->
14:32.860accomplishments that we think that we did. And,
14:33.500 -->
14:36.780you know, I'm 54, so let's say 30 times I've started reading
14:37.020 -->
14:40.700the Bible in January and made it through February
14:41.260 -->
14:44.5401st, you know, like that sort of thing, right? Like, we can't do it on
14:44.620 -->
14:48.140our own. We can't do these things on our own. And yet we get
14:48.220 -->
14:52.140to stand there being represented by
14:52.220 -->
14:55.020the one who was declared innocent.
14:56.700 -->
15:00.380That can justify us. So let's
15:00.880 -->
15:03.900move on here. The third thing we had talked about is this idea it's not
15:03.980 -->
15:07.900the law, but it is faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ
15:08.060 -->
15:11.660is righteous and innocent, but he paid the full price for
15:12.160 -->
15:15.580our sin. He's the perfect advocate to
15:16.060 -->
15:19.900represent us. Ultimately, we're not justified by
15:19.980 -->
15:23.230our works. But by faith.
15:24.070 -->
15:28.230So faith— what is faith? It's dependent, active trust.
15:28.310 -->
15:31.790It's what you and I have been called to live in.
15:32.390 -->
15:35.990The object of the faith, though, is the important thing.
15:36.150 -->
15:39.110We can't just put our faith in anything.
15:39.750 -->
15:42.950We need to put our full faith in Jesus Christ,
15:43.450 -->
15:48.070and we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ.
15:48.240 -->
15:50.080And what he has done for us.
15:52.560 -->
15:54.160Any method of salvation,
15:56.320 -->
15:59.920anyone explaining Christianity to you and how to become saved
16:01.600 -->
16:05.680that veers from Jesus Christ, faith in him alone,
16:06.160 -->
16:09.440in his works alone, freely given to
16:09.600 -->
16:12.640you because he loves you, is,
16:13.200 -->
16:16.720is Someone who is moving away from
16:16.880 -->
16:21.000the central issue of the gospel.
16:21.760 -->
16:26.000We are saved by faith in Jesus Christ alone.
16:26.500 -->
16:29.240He is the only worthy object of our faith.
16:30.720 -->
16:35.520Any, like I said, any other method, any other religion
16:36.560 -->
16:40.480that adds to that is working with faulty,
16:40.800 -->
16:44.280a faulty foundation. We talked about that a couple weeks ago.
16:44.440 -->
16:48.200You can't add anything to the concrete if you're just a little bit short because
16:48.760 -->
16:50.600it'll make the entire foundation,
16:52.200 -->
16:56.200right, not as solid, as firm a
16:56.520 -->
16:59.880foundation as it needs to be. You'd never build your house with
17:00.120 -->
17:03.960concrete mixed with something else. You need it to be mixed
17:04.200 -->
17:08.280the right way. Paul is building his case here.
17:08.570 -->
17:13.210For this faith that is active and dependent on
17:13.370 -->
17:17.290Jesus Christ. Paul states
17:17.530 -->
17:20.810it here that we
17:21.210 -->
17:25.130know it, we believe it. Everything that
17:25.210 -->
17:29.410he's been talking about here, that he says we know these things,
17:30.330 -->
17:33.690they've been proven true for us. I can't save
17:34.410 -->
17:38.480myself. By trying to be a good person. Or in this day, I can't save
17:39.040 -->
17:42.640myself by trying to do all the works of the
17:42.800 -->
17:46.720law. We can't find
17:47.360 -->
17:51.520Jesus Christ in the purest state
17:52.320 -->
17:56.280in other religions that add other requirements.
17:56.960 -->
18:00.960Because if you add to Jesus Christ, you're diluting
18:01.960 -->
18:05.560the strength of the salvation provided. And so we have
18:06.060 -->
18:09.880to know that if it requires human effort,
18:10.120 -->
18:12.760human endeavor, it,
18:13.160 -->
18:16.520it's something that has been compromised. And we need to,
18:16.600 -->
18:19.960as believers, be able to stand up and say, no, that's not true.
18:20.120 -->
18:25.040Let me show you what the scriptures say about faith and salvation.
18:25.800 -->
18:29.370And we need to make sure that we're always pointing people towards
18:29.610 -->
18:32.410faith in Christ alone.
18:32.570 -->
18:36.330Let's continue on here. Paul established that both Jews and
18:36.410 -->
18:40.090Gentiles are justified in Christ. Peter,
18:40.330 -->
18:44.010again, like we had said, he, he, he was eating with the Gentiles and then
18:44.510 -->
18:46.330he stopped doing that. And Paul,
18:47.370 -->
18:51.050he, he's trying to make this argument still to the readers,
18:51.210 -->
18:55.120the same argument that he made to Peter And he
18:55.200 -->
18:58.480takes it to this illogical conclusion here. He says,
18:59.360 -->
19:02.080is Christ the one causing you to sin?
19:03.120 -->
19:06.560Is Christ then a servant of sin? Is he the one that's causing you to
19:06.640 -->
19:10.480sin? He's told you that you can do something. Would he take
19:10.640 -->
19:14.920you to a place that would cause you to do something that was wrong?
19:15.760 -->
19:18.800Certainly not, right? So he said, certainly not.
19:19.280 -->
19:22.260It translated, God forbid. Like, this is,
19:22.740 -->
19:25.940this is an emphatic no.
19:26.180 -->
19:28.620God would never take you to that place.
19:29.860 -->
19:33.460Rebuilding the divide between the Jews and the Gentiles would
19:33.540 -->
19:37.780be rebuilding a system of slavery to the law.
19:37.940 -->
19:41.380The Jews prided themselves on being Jews because they
19:41.460 -->
19:45.460kept the law of God and no one else was worthy or
19:46.500 -->
19:50.260able to, even though they weren't either, or even it
19:50.340 -->
19:53.560wasn't available to them. And, and the,
19:53.800 -->
19:56.440the Jewish people had a sense of pride about that.
19:59.720 -->
20:03.400Paul wants us to understand that that objection,
20:04.600 -->
20:08.120that Christ has put a law out that allows
20:08.360 -->
20:12.280us to not eat with Jews, he's the one who said not to do
20:12.360 -->
20:15.240it— the Judaizers were trying to push that also,
20:16.280 -->
20:19.630and Paul's saying no, that won't stand up here
20:20.350 -->
20:21.670in court.
20:24.590 -->
20:28.830Requirements of the law also,
20:30.670 -->
20:34.270depending on the laws that were broken, required us
20:35.230 -->
20:39.150to pay a price. And that's what Jesus Christ did on the cross.
20:39.470 -->
20:43.470Once Jesus died, Paul was freed from the law. He was
20:43.950 -->
20:47.830dead to it. Right. And so we need to understand
20:47.990 -->
20:50.870that concept when we place our faith in Jesus Christ,
20:51.510 -->
20:54.870our work for salvation, our effort to please God,
20:56.070 -->
20:59.870it ends on the salvific part.
21:00.310 -->
21:03.550And now the good works that we do,
21:03.990 -->
21:07.590the growth that we have in our spiritual lives and in
21:07.670 -->
21:11.110our lives, that's because we love Jesus.
21:11.600 -->
21:15.080We're grateful for the salvation provided.
21:15.520 -->
21:19.600And Paul wants us to understand that we are dead to our old selves and
21:19.920 -->
21:23.360alive in Christ. And in verse 19, uh, he works
21:23.680 -->
21:28.160into that. For through the law I died to the law so
21:28.240 -->
21:32.680that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ.
21:33.360 -->
21:36.560The very start there of verse 20, Paul tells
21:36.640 -->
21:39.810us we have been crucified with Christ. And if
21:39.890 -->
21:43.730we process this through, not just these few words, but the concept throughout
21:43.810 -->
21:47.410the New Testament especially, what he's saying is when Christ died for
21:47.570 -->
21:50.850our sins on the cross, 4 things were
21:51.010 -->
21:54.450nailed to the cross. So for those of you who
21:54.530 -->
21:58.130would claim to be Christians, who have placed your faith in Jesus Christ,
21:58.290 -->
22:02.130you would understand these. Uh, the physical body of Jesus was
22:02.210 -->
22:05.420nailed to the cross. Most of us here, even if you're just
22:05.500 -->
22:09.260seeking, probably wouldn't say that didn't happen. You'd be like,
22:09.340 -->
22:13.420yep, I believe that that happened. There was a public announcement nailed
22:13.500 -->
22:17.660to the cross above his head that said, Jesus of Nazareth,
22:18.160 -->
22:21.980the King of the Jews. Most of us understand that the
22:22.140 -->
22:25.660debt of all sin was heaped
22:25.980 -->
22:29.420upon Jesus Christ on the cross. So on the cross that
22:29.500 -->
22:33.020day, those 3 things we know for sure: his physical body, the public announcement,
22:33.660 -->
22:36.940The debt of all sin. But the 4th thing that Paul wants us to realize
22:37.020 -->
22:41.260and understand that I think sometimes you and I forget is that we have
22:41.420 -->
22:44.140been crucified with Christ. Us.
22:46.700 -->
22:49.660The first 3 things I think are readily accepted,
22:51.260 -->
22:55.260but do you and I understand the weight and the necessity of
22:55.660 -->
22:59.660the concept that you and I died with
22:59.980 -->
23:03.950Christ? Christ. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no
23:04.110 -->
23:07.630longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.
23:08.130 -->
23:10.670And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the
23:10.750 -->
23:14.910Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me.
23:14.990 -->
23:18.590And brothers and sisters, we need to understand that we are crucified.
23:18.750 -->
23:22.110We are dead, not just to the law,
23:22.270 -->
23:26.270but we no longer live. We're willingly giving
23:26.510 -->
23:29.710up our lives to live in Christ Jesus.
23:32.030 -->
23:35.150And I think if we understand that and we live in that and we believe
23:35.310 -->
23:39.070that, it brings us to a place in our lives that we find joy
23:39.230 -->
23:42.990that we never thought would be available in this life here
23:43.150 -->
23:46.830on earth. Christ lives in us.
23:46.990 -->
23:50.270This is a key verse in, in all of
23:50.510 -->
23:54.030Galatians, but I would say in Scripture. Understanding verse
23:54.430 -->
23:57.23020 there is so important for us.
23:58.620 -->
24:01.500Do you view yourself crucified,
24:02.700 -->
24:05.740dead, but made alive in Jesus Christ?
24:06.460 -->
24:09.580Because that's what Paul's arguing here. I love it. I see all 4
24:10.080 -->
24:13.260of those there. I hope that you do too, because it's so
24:13.660 -->
24:17.900important for us to know that Christ lives in us.
24:19.660 -->
24:23.580When we, when we die to ourselves, we are raised alive
24:24.450 -->
24:27.090in Christ. It's Christ who lives in me.
24:28.850 -->
24:32.610When we encounter faith by Jesus Christ, we are attached
24:32.930 -->
24:36.050to his works by the judge,
24:36.850 -->
24:40.690by God the Father. I've talked about it
24:40.770 -->
24:43.490before. If I were to die today and stand before God,
24:44.290 -->
24:47.410I would literally say to him, if I, if I could even speak, if he
24:47.490 -->
24:51.610said, Mark Miller, why should I let you into heaven? I would say Because
24:51.930 -->
24:55.450the blood— of the blood that was shed on the cross by Jesus
24:55.850 -->
24:59.930Christ and freely given to me for the forgiveness of sins.
25:00.090 -->
25:03.370It's all about him, and I'll
25:03.870 -->
25:08.330never tire of saying that. His life, his works, his death,
25:08.490 -->
25:12.490his burial, his resurrection, his eternal destination,
25:13.770 -->
25:17.930heaven— all of those things have been given to us.
25:18.520 -->
25:21.880But we have to die to ourselves. We don't get to keep a little bit
25:21.960 -->
25:25.400of what we like. I really like to do this, and I know God's
25:25.900 -->
25:29.560not a big fan of it, but man, I'm not giving this up. That doesn't
25:29.800 -->
25:34.000save you or keep you out of heaven.
25:34.280 -->
25:39.640But we have been called to put our old self to death and
25:39.800 -->
25:43.320live in Christ. The faith Paul talks about in verse 20
25:44.190 -->
25:47.790is in God, who through that faith gives
25:48.190 -->
25:52.110us a new life. Not our
25:52.190 -->
25:55.670life, but Christ's life in and through me.
25:56.590 -->
26:00.350If this is true in our lives, we must allow God to
26:00.830 -->
26:04.350put to death our selfish actions and
26:04.430 -->
26:08.590our selfish thoughts. His life,
26:08.750 -->
26:12.440not ours. So brothers and sisters,
26:12.940 -->
26:16.720and I will call you brothers and sisters, we are called to do this actively.
26:17.320 -->
26:20.120And some of you may need to do it. You might be holding on to
26:20.200 -->
26:24.280some of that stuff because you don't realize the depth of
26:24.440 -->
26:27.680your salvation found in Jesus Christ.
26:28.280 -->
26:31.320Paul says it's no longer I who live. And as
26:31.480 -->
26:36.860we grow in Christ, we got to walk away from our selfish thoughts
26:37.740 -->
26:41.260that once dominated our lives and
26:41.340 -->
26:44.300say, no, I want to live for you. I want to live in you.
26:44.380 -->
26:47.420I want to live through you. You can make
26:47.660 -->
26:51.500my joy complete. And most of us know when we're chasing
26:51.580 -->
26:55.020things of the world, they always leave us wanting more or
26:55.260 -->
26:59.260not satisfied, no matter what it is.
26:59.420 -->
27:03.420If it's money, you make some money, you just want more money.
27:04.320 -->
27:07.920And when you've reached that amount, you want to add another zero to it,
27:08.080 -->
27:11.400right? It's always going to leave you wanting.
27:11.840 -->
27:14.400It's the same thing in the area of, of, of,
27:15.600 -->
27:19.280of anything you put it to. If you're chasing
27:20.880 -->
27:24.400satisfaction, self-satisfaction through anything but God and
27:24.480 -->
27:28.080what God designed, you will find disappointment in
27:28.240 -->
27:31.730the end. Moving into a life living
27:32.930 -->
27:35.930in the flesh by faith,
27:36.290 -->
27:39.890right? We, we can find a new life given to us by
27:39.970 -->
27:43.330the Son of God who loved us and he gave
27:43.810 -->
27:46.850himself up for us. It's such a beautiful
27:47.170 -->
27:50.930concept and a beautiful verse. Verse 21 is really
27:51.250 -->
27:55.290important. If we are found righteous by the work that we
27:55.530 -->
27:58.410do to accomplish the law,
27:59.050 -->
28:02.370if that's our standard of measure,
28:02.890 -->
28:06.610Paul says that then Christ died for no purpose.
28:07.210 -->
28:11.130If you or I could save ourselves, why would Jesus have needed
28:11.610 -->
28:15.370to have gone to the cross? He would have said, this is a standard,
28:15.610 -->
28:18.970live up to it. If you don't, you're on your own, right?
28:19.050 -->
28:20.970Like that just— it doesn't work.
28:22.220 -->
28:25.740And Paul says if that was the case, Christ would have died for no purpose.
28:26.860 -->
28:30.780If we could be found right in the law by obeying the law
28:31.020 -->
28:36.220and not by grace alone, we would by our actions say
28:36.300 -->
28:39.660that Christ's death does not matter. It was
28:39.820 -->
28:43.500for nothing. I don't need Jesus. I can
28:43.660 -->
28:47.090do it on my own. But we know from the last few weeks that Paul
28:47.250 -->
28:51.970is emphatic that we cannot have a
28:52.290 -->
28:56.370gospel of grace muddied with
28:56.610 -->
29:00.370works. That's the beauty of Galatians and
29:00.450 -->
29:04.210really of all the New Testament. It's Jesus Christ. He's done the work and
29:04.290 -->
29:08.490he freely offers that free gift of salvation to you. It's beautiful.
29:08.930 -->
29:12.610Chapter 3, O foolish Galatians. Foolish does not
29:12.690 -->
29:16.260mean unintelligent. Foolish seems to mean the Galatians,
29:16.420 -->
29:19.940they were emotionally and spiritually careless. They allowed
29:20.020 -->
29:22.980these Judaizers to come in and to knock them off course.
29:23.300 -->
29:26.020I love to think of it as a train, like it's going down the track,
29:26.180 -->
29:29.620right? It gets bumped off, the wheel comes off the rail. It doesn't look pretty.
29:30.120 -->
29:33.540There's sparks flying everywhere and disaster is imminent, right?
29:34.260 -->
29:37.780And, and, and they've come in and they become careless, bewitched,
29:38.420 -->
29:42.490mesmerized. There's something appealing To them,
29:43.770 -->
29:47.290right? We would ask why. Why is there something appealing about leaving a gospel
29:48.010 -->
29:51.610of grace and going back to the old works, the works of the
29:51.690 -->
29:55.290law? He asked the Galatians
29:55.610 -->
29:58.650only this, right? I love how Paul starts out there.
30:00.410 -->
30:03.370Uh, where are we at here? Let me ask you only this. And then that
30:03.870 -->
30:06.490would be one question, right? But then he asks like, I don't know, 8 or
30:06.570 -->
30:08.73010 of them. So we're going to try to get through these quick here.
30:09.450 -->
30:12.810He proceeds with a number of questions. And here we
30:12.890 -->
30:16.490see in, in these verses here the first mention of Holy Spirit.
30:17.450 -->
30:21.210And Holy Spirit plays an important part in Galatians and in the life
30:21.290 -->
30:24.810of the believer. When someone believes in Jesus, they receive
30:25.130 -->
30:28.250God the Holy Spirit. God actually dwells
30:28.890 -->
30:32.650in the believer. Again, I think that's a concept sometimes that's
30:33.150 -->
30:36.460lost on people who are Christians. That every time we
30:36.540 -->
30:39.660make a decision, every time we do something, every time we look one way or
30:39.900 -->
30:42.860that way, God is inside of us.
30:43.020 -->
30:45.700Holy Spirit dwells inside of us.
30:46.300 -->
30:48.820And Paul thinks that's really important.
30:50.220 -->
30:53.420So the rhetorical question he asks, did you receive
30:53.580 -->
30:56.700the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing
30:56.940 -->
31:00.700with faith? Of course they didn't receive the Spirit by following the
31:00.780 -->
31:04.620law. They couldn't. And we're told that the Holy Spirit is a gift of
31:04.940 -->
31:08.620salvation. God gives us himself in
31:08.700 -->
31:11.740the form of the 3rd person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit,
31:12.220 -->
31:14.540to indwell us. The Spirit is not a merit badge,
31:15.740 -->
31:18.780right? This isn't— we're not in the Boy Scouts or the Girl Scouts trying to
31:19.280 -->
31:22.380earn badges, and if we've done enough or do enough and we're good
31:22.540 -->
31:24.540enough, we get a badge. Holy Spirit.
31:26.060 -->
31:29.880Holy Spirit is always given. He's given to the believer. He's He's never earned.
31:31.080 -->
31:34.760If you could earn the Holy Spirit by following the law, you wouldn't need
31:35.480 -->
31:38.760the Holy Spirit. Did you get
31:38.840 -->
31:42.200that? If you could earn the Holy Spirit by being good enough,
31:42.280 -->
31:44.520you're good enough to not need the Holy Spirit.
31:46.200 -->
31:49.960But Paul doesn't make that argument. He knows that that is not the case.
31:50.120 -->
31:51.840That's not the case.
31:57.170 -->
32:00.530Paul continues on saying, having been begun by the Spirit,
32:00.850 -->
32:04.450are you now being perfected by the flesh? Is this somehow part God and
32:04.610 -->
32:08.370part us? The Galatians began in the Spirit.
32:08.870 -->
32:12.450They believed, they received the Holy Spirit. They were declared righteous
32:12.770 -->
32:17.250and perfect before God. They were opponents of
32:17.490 -->
32:21.810trying to be perfect. They were willing to say God is enough.
32:22.500 -->
32:25.860Because how can you get more perfect than perfect? So when someone
32:26.100 -->
32:29.620comes in and says, yes, you have the gift of the Holy Spirit and
32:30.120 -->
32:33.220you, you have the salvation in Christ, but you need to do these things also,
32:34.100 -->
32:38.540that's like heaping a false perfection on top of perfection.
32:40.260 -->
32:44.020You're saying that Jesus' work is insufficient. You need
32:44.100 -->
32:47.780just a little bit more. And that's not
32:48.500 -->
32:51.800Christianity. God saved us through
32:51.960 -->
32:56.440faith in Jesus Christ, his sacrifice secured by
32:56.600 -->
33:00.520the Holy Spirit. Did you suffer so many things in vain,
33:00.600 -->
33:03.800if indeed it was in vain? Paul continues to ask these probing
33:03.960 -->
33:06.640questions. He wants the church to think.
33:07.000 -->
33:10.960Paul thought he could ask one question, but there's a lot of them coming here.
33:11.560 -->
33:14.840If they suffered persecution— Paul did—
33:15.160 -->
33:18.720at the hand of opponents, This is a— it's
33:19.220 -->
33:24.000a difficult word that he's giving him. This experience that he's talking about,
33:24.320 -->
33:27.680Paul is hoping and praying what the Galatians have experienced
33:28.000 -->
33:31.760and gone through was not in vain, that their faith was
33:32.000 -->
33:35.840grounded, that what they've seemed to have forgotten, they haven't
33:36.320 -->
33:39.840forgotten. We tend to forget. We're human
33:40.080 -->
33:43.680beings, right? We know something, we believe something,
33:44.100 -->
33:47.220And then we act a different way that's flying contrary
33:47.700 -->
33:51.660to what we believe. You and I do that.
33:52.420 -->
33:55.700We know things, we believe things, and then we
33:55.860 -->
34:00.340act in a way against that. And Paul's saying, don't— why
34:00.420 -->
34:04.100are you suffering these many things? Why are you having
34:04.420 -->
34:08.180these experiences? Why are you willing to consider a
34:08.660 -->
34:12.610salvation that costs you works when
34:12.690 -->
34:15.610you know that you can't do that?
34:17.090 -->
34:21.010He asks another question. Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and
34:21.170 -->
34:24.130works miracles among you do so by the works of the law or by hearing
34:24.290 -->
34:27.570with faith? He's going to continue to just go
34:27.810 -->
34:30.810over this until the Galatians get this.
34:31.330 -->
34:35.010Does God— right, because he's the one who supplies the Spirit and
34:35.090 -->
34:38.250works miracles amongst the Galatians there,
34:39.530 -->
34:43.250work by works of the law or by faith?
34:43.930 -->
34:47.130Again, Paul's asking these questions over and over so that we'll think about it.
34:47.290 -->
34:50.330If it were by the law, it would seem like we've done
34:50.570 -->
34:54.410enough good that now God would owe us, right? So Paul's
34:54.570 -->
34:57.850talking about this miracle. We don't know for sure if it's a specific miracle or
34:57.930 -->
35:01.290just miracles in life in general, right? We don't know exactly what
35:01.790 -->
35:05.240he's saying there, but the readers would have understood Did somehow you
35:05.400 -->
35:09.400earn that miracle? The goodness of God that's being lavished upon you
35:09.800 -->
35:13.400or I, somehow I've earned that? If I do
35:13.560 -->
35:17.240enough good, God will give me a blessing? And of course,
35:17.740 -->
35:21.320we know the answer to that. You don't do 7 righteous acts to
35:21.400 -->
35:23.840earn one blessing or one miracle.
35:25.080 -->
35:28.760The only way that you and I can accomplish anything in this world of
35:29.000 -->
35:32.550positive If you believe what the scriptures say, it's by the
35:33.050 -->
35:36.150Holy Spirit working in and through us. Because if not, we just wanna take care
35:36.650 -->
35:39.830of ourselves. You wanna act righteously?
35:40.390 -->
35:43.990You're living in Jesus Christ. That's the life he has for
35:44.070 -->
35:48.070you. The good news of Jesus Christ was spreading.
35:48.550 -->
35:52.710The Holy Spirit's been given, right? They were seeing miracles
35:52.950 -->
35:56.000happen day to day. And,
35:56.160 -->
36:01.160and, and, and Paul wants them to understand you're not earning these miracles.
36:01.520 -->
36:05.480These are the gift that's continuing on Paul's ministry,
36:05.760 -->
36:09.600right? When he's going around, we see story after story, Book of Acts through
36:09.680 -->
36:14.040the letters. It's punctuated by miracles of healing,
36:14.480 -->
36:18.080him not dying when he should have, raising someone from the
36:18.240 -->
36:21.840dead. But Paul didn't earn those things.
36:22.690 -->
36:26.450The Holy Spirit worked through Paul, and that's what Paul really wants
36:26.610 -->
36:30.450us to understand. He brings up an example here at the end. He introduces Abraham,
36:31.490 -->
36:34.770right? He's like, I'm gonna give another example, kind of that courtroom thing. This is
36:35.010 -->
36:38.850exhibit, right? Exhibit A. 3 major world religions
36:39.010 -->
36:44.050trace their roots back to Abraham: Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.
36:44.290 -->
36:47.890Paul is fighting where Judaism— where Judaism has drifted
36:49.020 -->
36:52.460Right where Islam finds itself, that those are
36:52.620 -->
36:56.700righteousnesses that are built on works. And Paul's
36:57.200 -->
37:00.380fighting against that. He's saying, no, no, righteousness by faith alone.
37:01.020 -->
37:04.300Abraham's story in the 10-second form. He's a
37:04.380 -->
37:08.780pagan, probably living in someplace that's now the current Iraq
37:09.100 -->
37:12.460area. God speaks to him. He promises he's going
37:12.960 -->
37:15.500to make him a blessing. He's going to bless him. He's going to give him
37:16.000 -->
37:19.080a huge family. He's going to make him a great nation. And here Paul
37:19.400 -->
37:23.560quotes— so if you're taking notes today, he quotes Genesis
15:6 here,
37:23.800 -->
37:27.600where Abraham believes God,
37:28.360 -->
37:31.280right? He believes God.
37:33.000 -->
37:36.440Abraham had a son Isaac, who had a son Jacob, whose name
37:36.600 -->
37:40.040was changed to Israel. These are the children
37:41.000 -->
37:44.280of Israel. Abraham believed God.
37:44.890 -->
37:48.650And it was counted to him as righteousness. It doesn't say that Abraham
37:49.050 -->
37:53.130followed all the rules. It doesn't say that Abraham did all
37:53.210 -->
37:56.650the things necessary to earn God's blessing.
37:56.810 -->
38:00.090He simply believed. Moving on to verse 7 there.
38:00.250 -->
38:03.850Being a son of Abraham was a Jew's very
38:04.410 -->
38:08.250identity. Know then that it is those of faith who
38:08.330 -->
38:12.130are the sons of Abraham. They looked back,
38:12.290 -->
38:15.650even the Jews who were relying on works looked back and said,
38:15.970 -->
38:19.010Father Abraham. And yet you and I today,
38:19.970 -->
38:23.090sitting here in DuPont, Washington in 2026,
38:23.650 -->
38:27.090can look back, if you've placed your faith in Jesus Christ,
38:27.890 -->
38:31.170to Abraham as our father,
38:32.130 -->
38:36.050as our spiritual father, as our first example.
38:38.460 -->
38:41.140God followed through on his promises.
38:42.780 -->
38:46.700Paul sees the foreshadowing in scriptures of God's promises
38:46.940 -->
38:50.220and, and that promise of blessing all the nations,
38:50.460 -->
38:55.140not just the Jews but the Gentiles also, and he pulls that in.
38:55.580 -->
38:59.340Abraham did obey, but that was his faith being
38:59.660 -->
39:04.770worked out. When God said to Abraham, you need to move, Abraham moved.
39:05.610 -->
39:08.410Because again, you're never going to hear me argue that placing your faith in Jesus
39:08.650 -->
39:12.170Christ, receiving the free gift of salvation, that's all you need to do.
39:12.250 -->
39:15.370I'll see you when you get to heaven, right? Like, that's never
39:15.530 -->
39:19.370going to be the argument. I want you to understand that
39:19.930 -->
39:21.850salvation happens that way,
39:23.530 -->
39:27.290but we've been called to live an incredible life. And each
39:27.450 -->
39:30.580one of us, our life looks a little bit different, and that's the beauty As
39:30.740 -->
39:34.740Christians, we get to walk by faith alive in
39:34.900 -->
39:37.780Jesus Christ and in his plan for you.
39:37.940 -->
39:41.860So Abraham did obey, but it was, it was his faith being worked
39:42.260 -->
39:45.700out. Abraham didn't do anything to earn the blessing that he
39:46.020 -->
39:49.860received. Saul is trying to prove this case.
39:50.360 -->
39:53.780He's trying to make an example, and this is one of the best examples he
39:54.280 -->
39:58.110could bring up, if not the best. And Abraham was
39:58.350 -->
40:03.750blessed by God because he believed God.
40:07.230 -->
40:11.310The last few verses we're going to look at quickly here. For all who rely
40:11.390 -->
40:14.670on works of the law are under the curse. Curse is mentioned
40:14.910 -->
40:17.950here 5 times in the next few verse— verses.
40:18.270 -->
40:21.710Paul's quoting Deuteronomy
27:2640:22.030 -->
40:26.040here. Right. He wants to make the
40:26.280 -->
40:31.800case, right, that, that Christ
40:32.520 -->
40:37.240on the cross took the curse that would have fallen onto us.
40:37.400 -->
40:40.680And he makes that case as he works through this. He makes it logically.
40:40.760 -->
40:44.440He starts out there, cursed be everyone who does not abide by all
40:44.600 -->
40:48.040things written in the book of the law and do them right. He brings that
40:48.200 -->
40:52.000up. Because Paul's
40:52.080 -->
40:55.760logic is to take the Old Testament and prove
40:56.000 -->
40:59.720that it was finished in Christ.
40:59.920 -->
41:03.120And so Paul wants us to understand that he
41:03.280 -->
41:06.880is not just tossing out the Old Testament, but that it all
41:07.200 -->
41:10.600works together as it flows through.
41:11.600 -->
41:14.640If you rely on yourself, if you're representing yourself,
41:15.840 -->
41:19.840Your works are cursed. Why? Because everyone
41:19.920 -->
41:23.200who doesn't abide in all of the law falls short.
41:23.280 -->
41:27.040They're cursed. That's all you can say, right?
41:27.200 -->
41:30.880No one can do it. And that's what he's saying
41:31.120 -->
41:34.680here. For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse.
41:34.960 -->
41:39.000If you're going to rely on your works, you're going to fall short.
41:39.440 -->
41:43.290That's why then Paul says Now it is evident that no
41:43.370 -->
41:47.490one is justified before God by the law.
41:47.930 -->
41:51.610Again, keeping that, that legal picture in your mind,
41:51.770 -->
41:55.050you will not be found not guilty or innocent
41:55.690 -->
41:59.770by the works that you have done. It's impossible. We can't represent
42:00.090 -->
42:02.690ourselves before God.
42:04.170 -->
42:07.610So if we can't be justified by our works, what hope is
42:07.850 -->
42:11.510there then? Well, Paul's building this case on logic,
42:12.010 -->
42:15.670and logic would say, if I can't represent myself, then I'm going to have
42:16.170 -->
42:18.830to put my faith in someone that I can.
42:19.190 -->
42:22.070The righteous shall live by faith.
42:22.150 -->
42:26.070That's what he says there. The faith that you express in
42:26.230 -->
42:29.670Jesus Christ as your Savior, that is
42:29.990 -->
42:34.150what allows you to receive his righteousness and
42:34.650 -->
42:38.020to be called righteous. It's the faith, it's not your
42:38.500 -->
42:41.780works. We want to continue to live in that
42:42.020 -->
42:46.260faith and grow to look more like Jesus each day,
42:46.420 -->
42:49.020but it's not based on our works.
42:52.580 -->
42:56.420Paul says he lives in faith, he lives by that
42:56.660 -->
43:00.100faith. The righteous shall live by faith,
43:00.600 -->
43:04.350and that's what you and I are called to. The one who does them shall
43:04.510 -->
43:07.470live by them. Paul says, that's what I'm gonna do.
43:08.510 -->
43:10.590I think that quote is from Leviticus 18,
43:12.350 -->
43:15.870early part of that chapter. The, the one who does them
43:16.110 -->
43:19.870shall live by them. God's law is not
43:20.110 -->
43:23.630evil. That's not what you're hearing me preach this morning. The things that we're
43:24.130 -->
43:27.790called to do in the Old Testament that, that Jesus actually
43:29.080 -->
43:32.680makes even harder in some ways. In Matthew 20,
43:32.760 -->
43:36.600or Matthew, the Sermon on the Mount, he calls
43:36.760 -->
43:40.520us from not just not murdering, but to not hating people, right?
43:40.840 -->
43:44.600He calls us from not committing adultery to not lusting
43:44.680 -->
43:48.200after someone else. So Jesus is even calling us to
43:48.280 -->
43:52.480a stricter lifestyle, but again, not to save us.
43:53.000 -->
43:56.760And Paul is saying here in Leviticus, He's summing it up. The one who
43:57.000 -->
44:00.840does them shall live by them. But again, we're living by
44:01.160 -->
44:05.480them to please God, not to be saved.
44:05.720 -->
44:09.560God's law is not evil. It's good. It's the perfect standard,
44:09.640 -->
44:13.080but it's impossible to keep. And you and
44:13.160 -->
44:17.000I can't say, I can keep the law. I don't need Jesus.
44:17.160 -->
44:20.920I can do this on my own. Only Christ did.
44:21.630 -->
44:24.390He's the only one who lived a perfect life.
44:25.150 -->
44:28.830Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a
44:28.910 -->
44:32.190curse for us. This is the end.
44:32.510 -->
44:36.430This is what Christ did on the cross for you and I. Christ redeemed us.
44:36.590 -->
44:40.630He bought us back from death to life,
44:40.910 -->
44:44.590right? Not only is, is Christ representing me,
44:44.750 -->
44:47.070but he actually becomes the defendant.
44:49.200 -->
44:52.880In that conversation I'm having with God, Jesus is standing
44:53.200 -->
44:57.360next to me and saying, you know what Mark Miller
44:57.600 -->
45:00.800has done, and I will take the punishment for
45:00.880 -->
45:04.000him. He becomes the curse
45:04.880 -->
45:08.480for us. We're redeemed. The word that they use here in Galatians
45:08.980 -->
45:13.440was commonly used in the old— or in that day in the marketplace.
45:13.700 -->
45:16.340And a lot of times it was the price that was paid for a slave
45:17.060 -->
45:20.980to be taken out of slavery. You would pay a redemption price
45:21.620 -->
45:23.980and then that person would go free.
45:24.660 -->
45:28.740That's what Jesus did for you and for
45:28.820 -->
45:32.060I. He took the curse. He became the curse for us.
45:32.580 -->
45:36.500And that's the only legal way for you or I to be declared by
45:37.060 -->
45:40.830God innocent. The curse is very real
45:40.990 -->
45:45.390for you and I, and yet Jesus
45:46.030 -->
45:49.790took that curse. He became the curse for us.
45:53.470 -->
45:57.550From the book of Deuteronomy, Paul quotes again Deuteronomy,
45:58.050 -->
46:01.390uh, I think 21: Cursed is anyone who is hanged on a tree.
46:01.550 -->
46:04.830This text explains and it talks about in
46:04.910 -->
46:08.790that day Anyone who had committed a capital punishment would
46:08.950 -->
46:12.390be killed, hung on a tree, so that people would see them and say,
46:12.470 -->
46:15.990I don't want to do that, right? And so
46:16.070 -->
46:19.110it was, it was an embarrassment for the family. There was shame, there was
46:19.510 -->
46:21.670guilt involved in that. It was offensive.
46:23.510 -->
46:27.750The Jewish people did this for, for a reason. But imagine how
46:28.070 -->
46:31.590offensive Christianity was in those early days to a Jew who
46:32.090 -->
46:36.040who had lived by the law and understood that cursed is any man who hung
46:36.360 -->
46:39.640on a tree. And Jesus, this supposed Messiah,
46:40.280 -->
46:42.360hung on a tree for you and for me.
46:43.480 -->
46:46.280And yet you and I, through the help of Paul here in the book of
46:46.440 -->
46:50.920Galatians, know that Jesus Christ became the curse for us.
46:51.720 -->
46:55.000He paid the price. So understanding all of that,
46:56.280 -->
46:59.960instead of being embarrassed or being shame-filled because of how Jesus
47:00.360 -->
47:04.660was treated and ultimately died, we can boast Paul
47:04.820 -->
47:07.660says he will boast in a crucified Christ.
47:10.660 -->
47:14.300Why, we might ask, or we might ask ourselves,
47:16.820 -->
47:21.220because Jesus Christ paid the price as
47:21.300 -->
47:24.980the perfect sacrifice that
47:25.060 -->
47:28.580you and I could never be. We receive from him
47:29.610 -->
47:33.850That salvation, we receive the blessing, God's blessing promised to Abraham,
47:33.930 -->
47:38.170the promise of the Spirit through faith, this not guilty verdict,
47:38.330 -->
47:42.250it all comes to us through Jesus Christ.
47:42.410 -->
47:46.250We're declared innocent so that in Christ Jesus
47:46.730 -->
47:50.650the blessings of Abraham might come to the Gentiles so that
47:50.730 -->
47:55.290we might receive the promise, promised Spirit through faith.
47:55.880 -->
47:58.920You and I receive salvation because
47:59.160 -->
48:02.760of what Jesus Christ did alone.
48:03.000 -->
48:06.520That is the good news. That's what Paul wants us to
48:06.840 -->
48:10.760understand, that Jesus Christ came to represent you
48:11.260 -->
48:15.560and I before the Father. He paid the price. He was the curse.
48:15.720 -->
48:19.120He redeemed us from sin,
48:19.560 -->
48:22.850and he's given that to you this morning. Father God, we thank you for this
48:23.010 -->
48:26.610passage. We thank you for an opportunity to look into your word
48:26.770 -->
48:30.050and to see the beautiful gospel message
48:30.850 -->
48:34.850explained. We thank you that Jesus Christ
48:35.250 -->
48:38.690willingly came to this earth to suffer and to die,
48:39.010 -->
48:42.690knowing exactly what was going to happen. And he died for
48:42.770 -->
48:46.050our sin according to your plan and to
48:46.130 -->
48:49.820your work. Father God, we want to come
48:50.060 -->
48:53.580before you this morning maybe with a
48:53.740 -->
48:57.260clearer understanding that we need to place our faith in
48:57.340 -->
48:59.820Jesus Christ alone for salvation.
49:00.940 -->
49:04.700That everything that you allow us to do beyond that
49:06.060 -->
49:09.740is us putting to death our old self and living fully
49:10.300 -->
49:13.800in Christ. Help us to be Christians that want to look like
49:14.040 -->
49:17.560Jesus more and more each day. And it's in his name we pray.
49:18.060 -->
49:21.000Amen. During this last time of worship, the communion tables will be open in the
49:21.080 -->
49:24.440back. If you came prepared and
49:24.600 -->
49:28.200ready to take communion, those elements are in the back there. During the
49:28.280 -->
49:31.320last song also, there'll be somebody that'll walk up and down the middle aisle here.
49:31.560 -->
49:34.600If you came prepared to worship through giving,
49:35.240 -->
49:38.200that could be an opportunity. We do also have the giving box back on the
49:38.280 -->
49:42.300back table. If you're new or newer, haven't decided that Graceworks is your church home,
49:42.620 -->
49:45.500please let that go by. We're not looking for your money this morning. We're just
49:46.000 -->
49:49.260glad you came to worship with us. Stand if you're able and let's worship God
49:49.340 -->
49:50.060this morning together.
49:53.020 -->
49:57.100Man of sorrows, Lamb of
49:57.660 -->
50:01.100God, by his own
50:02.300 -->
50:05.910betrayed. The sin
50:07.110 -->
50:10.870of man and wrath of God
50:11.990 -->
50:15.670had been on Jesus laid.
50:18.950 -->
50:23.830Silent as he stood accused,
50:25.430 -->
50:29.630beaten, mocked, and scorned.
50:31.920 -->
50:36.000Bowin' to the Father's
50:36.720 -->
50:41.280will, he took a crown of
50:41.600 -->
50:45.680thorns. Oh, that rugged
50:46.400 -->
50:47.760cross, my salvation,
50:50.480 -->
50:53.920where your love poured out over
50:54.880 -->
50:58.810me. Now my soul cries
50:59.370 -->
51:01.330out hallelujah,
51:03.530 -->
51:07.210praise and honor unto
51:07.450 -->
51:07.530thee.
51:14.010 -->
51:16.810Sent of heaven,
51:17.290 -->
51:26.650God's own Son to purchase And
51:28.570 -->
51:31.930reconcile the very ones
51:33.050 -->
51:36.730who nailed him to that tree.
51:39.130 -->
51:42.890Oh, that rugged cross, my salvation,
51:45.610 -->
51:50.880where your love poured out. Over me.
51:52.200 -->
51:54.600Now my soul cries out,
51:55.400 -->
51:59.080hallelujah! Praise and
51:59.480 -->
52:02.760honor run to thee.
52:08.360 -->
52:10.760Now my debt is paid,
52:11.640 -->
52:13.960it is paid in full.
52:14.890 -->
52:18.970By the precious blood that my Jesus
52:20.410 -->
52:23.770spilled. Now the curse of sin
52:24.570 -->
52:28.250has no hold on me. Whom the
52:28.570 -->
52:31.930Son sets free, oh, is free
52:33.450 -->
52:36.730indeed. Now my debt is paid,
52:37.610 -->
52:41.220it is paid in full. By the
52:41.620 -->
52:46.500precious blood that my Jesus spilled.
52:47.300 -->
52:50.980Now the curse of sin has no
52:51.300 -->
52:55.460hold on me. Whom the Son sets
52:56.180 -->
53:00.020free, oh, is free indeed.
53:00.180 -->
53:02.660For that rugged cross,
53:03.460 -->
53:07.150my salvation bore. Let your
53:07.470 -->
53:11.670love pour out over me.
53:13.230 -->
53:16.590Now my soul cries out hallelujah,
53:19.710 -->
53:23.390praise and honor unto
53:23.630 -->
53:23.790thee.
53:31.400 -->
53:35.080The stone is rolled away.
53:36.680 -->
53:39.880Behold the empty tomb.
53:44.360 -->
53:48.120Hallelujah, God be praised.
53:49.160 -->
53:52.600He's risen from the
53:52.920 -->
53:56.360grave. All the rugged
53:56.920 -->
53:59.080Big cross, my salvation,
54:01.880 -->
54:06.360where your love poured out over me.
54:08.360 -->
54:11.640Now my soul cries out, hallelujah!
54:14.840 -->
54:19.760Praise and honor are to thee.
54:21.320 -->
54:25.050Praise and Wonder unto
54:25.290 -->
54:25.370thee.
54:56.260 -->
55:00.020He is not confined, he confounds.
55:02.340 -->
55:06.260He will not resign, he resounds.
55:08.260 -->
55:13.020He is not restrained, O hear the sound.
55:13.950 -->
55:15.070Oh, hear the sound!
55:18.430 -->
55:19.950The rocks are falling,
55:21.630 -->
55:25.310the broken calling to the God who
55:25.550 -->
55:26.350moves the mountains.
55:30.430 -->
55:34.030The earth is shaking, the weary
55:34.910 -->
55:38.110waking to the God who moves the
55:38.270 -->
55:42.320mountains. God who moves the mountains.
55:56.280 -->
56:00.960He is not surprised, he surrounds,
56:02.280 -->
56:06.570he cannot be stopped. He astounds,
56:08.290 -->
56:11.810he is drawing near. Oh, hear the
56:12.050 -->
56:15.090sound, oh, hear the sound.
56:18.530 -->
56:22.930The rocks are falling, the broken calling
56:24.370 -->
56:26.290to the God who moves the mountains,
56:27.890 -->
56:31.420God who moves the mountains. The earth is
56:31.900 -->
56:36.460shaking, the weary waking to
56:36.540 -->
56:40.380the God who moves the mountains. God who
56:40.540 -->
56:55.340moves the mountains, the earth is
56:55.740 -->
56:58.870standing. We say move,
57:00.790 -->
57:04.390you say watch what you can
57:04.790 -->
57:09.510do. You say trust and
57:09.750 -->
57:13.590then you prove you're the God who moves
57:13.990 -->
57:17.350the mountains, God who moves the mountains.
57:18.790 -->
57:22.400You say speak and And we say
57:22.800 -->
57:27.440move, you say watch what
57:27.680 -->
57:31.360you can do. You say
57:31.840 -->
57:36.400trust and then you prove you're
57:36.560 -->
57:38.320the God who moves the mountains,
57:39.840 -->
57:41.360God who moves the mountains.
57:45.600 -->
57:49.260The rocks don't fall in, the rope The
57:49.760 -->
57:53.260broken falling to the God who moves the mountains,
57:54.780 -->
57:58.300God who moves the mountains. The earth is
57:58.780 -->
58:01.900shaking and we are really waking
58:03.340 -->
58:07.260to the God who moves the mountains, God who
58:07.500 -->
58:11.780moves the mountains. The rocks are falling,
58:12.540 -->
58:16.370the broken falling. To the God who
58:16.530 -->
58:20.050moves the mountains, God who moves the
58:20.210 -->
58:22.930mountains. The earth is shaking,
58:24.610 -->
58:28.610the weary waking. To the God who moves
58:29.010 -->
58:32.050the mountains, God who moves the
58:32.210 -->
58:33.210mountains.
59:06.310 -->
59:12.230Blessed be
59:12.710 -->
59:17.030your name in the land that is plentiful,
59:17.990 -->
59:21.190where your streams of abundance flow.
59:21.750 -->
59:23.110Blessed be your name,
59:27.110 -->
59:31.030blessed be your name when I'm found in
59:31.430 -->
59:34.950the desert. Though I walk through
59:35.430 -->
59:38.470the wilderness, blessed be
59:38.630 -->
59:38.950your name.
59:42.630 -->
59:45.110Every blessing you pour out,
59:46.550 -->
59:48.150I'll turn back to praise.
59:50.470 -->
59:53.590When the darkness closes in, Lord,
59:54.470 -->
59:58.790still I will say, blessed be the name of
59:59.190 -->
01:00:03.180the Lord. Blessed be your name.
01:00:04.900 -->
01:00:08.140Blessed be the name of the Lord.
01:00:08.820 -->
01:00:10.340Blessed be your glory.