Crucified with Christ

[0:00] Well, good morning, everyone. Great to see you all this morning. It's great to be gathered! Looking to the Lord together. Well, this morning we're going to really build on what Andrew shared! And that means this morning, as we continue to work our way through the book of Galatians, we're coming to Galatians chapter 2. And we're going to look this morning at verses 17 to 21.

[0:28] And Olive is going to come now and read our passage for us this morning, and then we will take it from there. So thank you, Olive. Good morning to you all. The church Bible is 1169, page 1169.

[0:57] And I'm taking the liberty of just stepping one verse back, one we read last week. We're just going to hear again today.

[1:09] 1. Know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.

[1:19] 1. So we too have put our faith in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law. Because by the works of the law, no one will be justified.

[1:38] 2. But if in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, 2. Doesn't that mean that Christ promotes sin?

[1:53] 3. Absolutely not. 4. If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker.

[2:03] 5. For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live for God. 5. I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.

[2:20] 6. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

[2:31] 7. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, 7. Christ died for nothing. Amen.

[2:44] 7. Well, thank you, Olive. 7. I recently read a story, a true story, about a little boy who was adopted.

[3:03] When this little boy was born, on the day of his birth, his mother and father, I think it was just his mother at that point. He gave him into an adoption shelter, one of these adoption agencies.

[3:19] And from that point on, he actually never met his mother again or never heard anything of his father again. Well, at this adoption agency, people would obviously come in and families would come in and they would seek to try to adopt different children. But for some reason, this little boy was never chosen.

[3:44] He did look a little bit different. He admitted that later in life and he had some slight medical concerns or issues. So perhaps for that reason, he was never chosen. But for the first years of his life, this didn't really bother him.

[4:05] Because he was too young to realize that he wasn't being chosen. So as a one-year-old, as a two-year-old, as a three-year-old, he didn't realize that he wasn't been chosen.

[4:19] But this would all change when he was four years old, when his good friend at the agency, same age as him, he was chosen by a family. And off he went.

[4:33] And with his friend being chosen for the first time at four years old, he realized that no one was choosing him.

[4:47] And for the first time at four years old, he said out loud to a worker at this agency, no one wants me. He turned five.

[5:01] He turned six. He turned seven. Still no one chose him. Well, when he was eight years old, same age as my Isaiah, I think that's why this story kind of resonates with me.

[5:21] He was chosen. A Christian family went in and they adopted this little boy. And off he went with his new family. What a moment that must have been.

[5:35] First night heading off with a family that chose you. For the first time in your life, you have felt chosen.

[5:45] Well, on the very first night in his new home, this little boy got a piece of paper. And he scribbled down on it a whole list of jobs and chores.

[6:00] Washing and cleaning. Cutting the grass. Looking after the dog. The list was very long and he scribbled down everything he could think of.

[6:13] And he put this note before he went to bed on his new dad's pillow. Well, his new dad found it.

[6:26] And went into him and said, what's this? And the little eight-year-old boy replied, you chose me. And I am so afraid of being unchosen.

[6:40] That this is what I can do. To earn my place. And keep my place here. The father knelt down.

[6:54] And looked him in the eyes. And said, son, you don't need to earn your place here. You are my child now. That is who you are.

[7:07] And that is not something that you need to earn to keep. I share this story.

[7:19] Because I believe. For us as believers. It is so easy. To live having the same thought. That this little boy had. With our heavenly father.

[7:33] As believers. We have been adopted. We have been. Made sons and daughters of God. We have been adopted. Chosen by God. But yet. A little bit like that little boy.

[7:44] We can so often live. Having the idea. That we somehow. Need to earn our father's. Continued approval. Or somehow. We will be unchosen.

[7:55] Or unadopted. Like that little boy. We know that we're saved. We know that we're adopted. But we. Add in works.

[8:08] To continue to earn our place. And his approval. And then all of a sudden. The reality is. We're left in a place. Where as believers. We're living.

[8:19] With a mixture. Of relying on Jesus. And a mixture. Of relying on ourselves. And it all becomes. A little bit confusing. And it's all.

[8:29] A little bit exhausting. As we seek to try to live. Earning. His continued approval. And earning. Our continued place.

[8:40] Jesus. Well the church in Galatia. Or at least. For some of them. This all got. A little bit unclear. It was a bit unclear.

[8:54] How one was made right. And how one stayed right. With God. As we've seen in our letter. So far. As we've been going through it.

[9:05] Verse by verse. Some were essentially saying. Yes Jesus saves. But you also need. These other things. You also need. To be circumcised. You also need. To continue.

[9:15] With these customs. Continue. With these works. In order to sort of. Be truly right. And stay truly right. With God. Well again.

[9:26] In our verses. This morning. Paul continues. To deal. With this. Very issue. In our verses. This morning. Paul addresses. The burning question. If you like.

[9:37] What makes us. And keeps us. Right. With God. To put it another way. What saves us.

[9:50] And keeps us saved. What justifies us. And keeps us justified. In these verses. And even the verses previous.

[10:00] As Paul is dealing. With this issue. Is it the law. Or is it grace. Is it works. Or is it grace. Or as someone said.

[10:11] Is it grit. Or is it grace. What makes us. And keeps us. Right. With God. This is something.

[10:23] That at least. Some of the Galatians. Were fuzzy on. They were unclear. Are unclear. About this issue. And maybe it is something.

[10:35] That some of us. Are unclear. Are unclear. About. But folks. If we are going to be unclear. About anything.

[10:46] In our Christian walk. May it not be this. If we are going to be clear. On anything. In our Christian walk. Let us be clear.

[10:58] On this. Of all things. Let there be no confusion. In what makes us. And keeps us. Right. With God.

[11:09] Because really. The. The answer. To this question. Has a massive impact. On our lives. Our view.

[11:21] Our answer. To this question. Is the difference. Between. An exhausting life. Spent. Continually. Trying to earn.

[11:32] And keep. Our place. In heaven. And earn. And keep. Our father's approval. That's exhausting. And there's no freedom. In that. Versus.

[11:45] A life. Of peace. And joy. And freedom. Knowing. That it's already.

[11:56] Ours in Christ. And there's nothing. That can take that. Away from us. The burning question. Is what makes us. And keeps us. Right. With God.

[12:07] God. Well in verse 20. The. Stunning. Reality. Is. The stunning.

[12:18] Answer. Is. It is all Christ. And nothing. Of ourselves. As Andrew shared last week. It's.

[12:28] It's all Jesus. And what he has done. For us. I'm going to read verse 20. And 21. Again. I have been crucified. With Christ.

[12:39] And I no longer live. But Christ lives in me. The life. I now live. In the body. I live by faith. In the son of God. Who loved me. And gave himself.

[12:50] For me. I do not set aside. The grace of God. For if righteousness. Could be gained. Through the law. Christ died.

[13:02] For nothing. Paul in these verses. He brings the Galatians. And he brings us. Back to the very heart. Of the gospel. That Jesus paid.

[13:14] It all. He loved us. He gave himself for us. He paid the price. In full. So that when we turn to him. In faith. We could be adopted.

[13:25] As his precious children. And as his precious children. He lives in us. And we in him. And we are his.

[13:36] Forever. And there is nothing we need to do. To earn that. Or continue to earn it. Jesus did it all.

[13:48] For us. You know. Our old self. The one obsessed. With performance. And striving. And earning. And looking.

[14:00] And appearing good. Really has been nailed. To the cross. With Christ. We as believers. We leave behind. That sense of needing to earn.

[14:11] And strive. And perform. We don't need to make a list. Of. So to speak. Washing. And cleaning.

[14:22] And. And cutting the grass. We don't need to leave it. On our father's pillow. Trying to earn. Our continued place. We are his.

[14:35] And we will be his. Forever. All we need to do. Is rest in him. Abide in him. Enjoy the. The union. That we have. With him.

[14:46] As believers. Our life is. Is no longer defined. By what we can do. But by what Christ has done. As believers. We're not defined.

[14:57] By what we can do. Or how we look. Or our performance. We're defined. By who we are in Christ. So. Unlike that little boy.

[15:08] We don't need to earn. Our place. It has been done. Our old self is gone. Crucified with Christ.

[15:19] Our new place. Our new standing. Our new position. Is we are his forever. And that is that. No earning.

[15:30] Needed. Well. In light of the. The stunning reality. That we do not need to earn. God's approval. Or our continued.

[15:41] Place. In light of the reality. That we are his forever. The freeing call. Is let us as believers.

[15:55] Live in grace. And by grace. And through grace. And not performance. A pastor. Once asked.

[16:07] A young Christian. But this could be asked. To any Christian. Are you living. For God's acceptance. Or are you living. From God's.

[16:19] Acceptance. And there's a world of difference. Between the two. There's freedom in one. There's chains in the other. That's the difference.

[16:30] Between. If you like religion. And the gospel. Religion. And works. And earning. Says. I obey. Therefore God accepts me. But the true gospel.

[16:43] Is God accepts me. In Christ. So I am accepted forever. And it's nothing to do with me. Earning my place. Or seeking to.

[16:55] Perform. To keep it. Paul said. At the end of our passage. This morning. In verse 21. I do not set aside. The grace of God.

[17:08] For if righteousness. Could be gained through the law. Christ died. For nothing. I just. To close. I don't want us to miss that point. We are not to set aside.

[17:21] God's grace. Another translation. God's grace. We are not to frustrate. God's grace. In other words. As believers. We are meant to take hold. The grace. We are meant to cling to it. We are meant to use it.

[17:32] So to speak. And live in it. We are not to set it aside. And go back to works. As believers. We cannot have this idea. That we are saved by grace.

[17:42] But then we need to live. By grit. And live by performance. That's what it is. To take God's grace. And then set it aside again.

[17:54] Paul says. We do not set aside God's grace. For if. Righteousness could be gained. Through the law. Christ died for nothing.

[18:07] You know. When we come to Christ. We cannot gain. Righteousness by works. Why would we then think.

[18:18] We go from there forward. And then we can start. Earning righteousness. It makes no sense. Let us not set aside. The grace of God. For if righteousness.

[18:29] Could be gained. Through the law. Christ died. For nothing. Let us know. As believers.

[18:39] That we are in Christ. Accepted forever. Forever. And then may that be the platform. From where we live. And serve.

[18:50] Him. From the platform. Of us being accepted forever. Not from the platform. Of trying to earn. Our continued approval. No matter what way you look at it.

[19:03] If we are trying to. Earn our way. So we are not. Unchosen. Or unadopted. No matter what way you are looking at it. That is a works gospel. We are saved by grace.

[19:15] We are kept by grace. We will be brought home by grace. I love that line. In Amazing Grace. It starts off. Of course. Saying we are saved. By grace.

[19:25] I once was blind. But now I see. I am going to forget this now. This line. This is what happens. When you. But later on. John Newton says.

[19:35] It was grace. That brought me. Safe thus far. And grace will bring me home. It's not a case of grace has brought me safe thus far.

[19:46] My works. My efforts will bring me home. No grace will bring us home. And from that platform. We live. And we serve. Him.

[19:58] And there's nothing. We can do. To add to that. Or earn it. There's nothing we can do. To be unadopted.

[20:08] Or unchosen. Once we are made right. With God. We are made right. With God. Through Christ. Forever. Once we are adopted. Sons and daughters. In Christ.

[20:18] That is our identity. For all time. And even when time is no more. Once we have received. Eternal life. Our home.

[20:30] Will be with Christ. Forever. Forever. And ever. All because of what he has done for us. Let's pray together. Lord we thank you so much.

[20:41] That you have paid it all. In full. For us. What makes us. And keeps us right with God. It's all you Christ. It's all you Jesus.

[20:55] So help us to. To live in freedom. Help us to live in grace. Help us. Not to spend our Christian lives.

[21:08] Wrapped up in performance. Trying to look good. Trying to earn. Lord help us to live in the freedom. That you have given us. And we need your help with this Lord.

[21:20] And I pray that. You would help us. As a church. To be an encouragement. To each other. As we grow to see more and more. What it means to be in Christ. What it means to be your precious sons and daughters.

[21:34] What it means to be adopted by you. For forever and ever. So we thank you Jesus. For all that you have done for us. And I pray just for any one of us.

[21:45] Who might have the weight of works. And the weight of performance. On our backs. Lord as we sing now. Help us just to cast that off to you. And help us to look to you.

[21:58] Even as we sing. To walk in the freedom that you have given us. And from that platform Lord. From the platform that you have done it all. Let us live for you.

[22:09] Let us serve you. With all that we have. But knowing that none of it changes. Our identity in you. In Jesus name.

[22:20] Amen.