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[0:00] Well, I don't need to tell the boys and girls that the next big event is the Commonwealth Games. And it starts on the 23rd of July, and this year it's in Glasgow.

[0:15] It's one of the biggest events that we've seen for a long, long time. I don't know, maybe some of the young ones are going to go to some of these events, because it depends on what you like to watch, whether it's swimming or running or jumping or cycling or diving or whatever it is.

[0:33] There's a whole variety of events and competitions that are going to be held as of the 23rd of July in Glasgow. There's only over 70 countries are going to be represented.

[0:45] Their top athletes are all going to be coming here to Scotland, and you have a chance. And if you don't have a chance to actually go there and watch it, I'm sure you'll have a chance of watching it on the television.

[0:58] And as you know, before that happens, there's another special event, which is the Queen's Baton. The Queen's Baton is, I don't know how to describe it, it's a long stick, I suppose.

[1:12] It's a very fancy and a very beautiful stick that began its journey last October when the Queen sent a message.

[1:23] She wrote a message on a piece of paper, and she folded the piece of paper, and she put it inside the Queen's Baton. And then the Queen's Baton was taken all around the world to over 70 countries.

[1:37] And today, it's back in Scotland. And on Tuesday, they tell me it's going to be here in Lewis. And two people in our congregation are getting to run with the Baton.

[1:51] At least two that I know, maybe there are more, maybe I'm missing something. But at least two people in our congregation are going to be held. What an honour that will be. And that's on Tuesday evening.

[2:02] I don't know what time, and I don't exactly know what the course is, but I'm sure that you can find out, and I'm sure you'll want to be there if you can. Because that's a very special event.

[2:13] It's not everybody that gets to hold the Queen's Baton, and that's a once-in-a-lifetime honour and privilege. And then, of course, the Queen's Baton will, it's not just, it's not the one person that takes it all over the world.

[2:26] It's lots and lots of people, thousands of people get to hold it, and it's a relay. So you pass it on to someone else, and they take it a little bit more in the journey. Then they pass it on to someone else, and so on.

[2:37] And it's back in Scotland, and it will make its way down through Scotland to Glasgow for the opening ceremony on the 23rd of July. And then, when it reaches the opening ceremony, the message, nobody knows except the Queen what the message is.

[2:57] Nobody knows. But on the 23rd of July, at the opening ceremony, the message will be taken out, I think, I'm told, and it will be read.

[3:10] And then we'll get to hear the message of the Queen. And everybody will get to hear it, because it will go all over television and all over the internet and everything.

[3:22] It's amazing, isn't it? It's amazing. I think it's quite exciting. And I hope you're as excited as I am about it. I want to tell you about another message.

[3:35] And this time, it has come from not the Queen, but the King. The King of all the universe. The King not only of Scotland, but Britain, Europe, the world, the universe.

[3:53] And he's the King because he has created the universe. It belongs to him. And he has given a very, very important message.

[4:06] But he hasn't hidden it like the Queen has. The Queen folded up our message and put it into the baton. It's only to be read on the 23rd of July.

[4:17] But this King, his message, he wants everyone, the whole world, to get to know that message. Do you know what that message is? Well, the message is this.

[4:32] God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

[4:52] Now, that's a message that you can write on a very small piece of paper. But it is the most important, the greatest message that you could ever get to hear.

[5:03] It's so important that it mustn't be hidden. God wants the whole world to know that. Because he wants you and me to come to know this Jesus for ourselves.

[5:16] And we can if we come to trust in him and what he did for us when he gave himself on the cross. That's the greatest message in the world from the greatest King in the universe.

[5:28] The King who created the universe and created you and me to love him and to hear him and to serve him. And so I hope that we will listen to that great message.

[5:40] I hope that we come to know what it means for ourselves. We're going to sing together in Psalm 27. It's on page 32 in Sing Psalms.

[5:50] And soon as Jackson, we're going to sing from verse 4 down to verse 8, 5 verses.

[6:09] So on page number 32 is Psalm 27 and it's verse 4. For one thing I'll plead before the Lord. And this I'll seek always, that I may come within God's house and dwell there all my days.

[6:21] We're going to sing Psalm 27 verse 4 down to verse 8 and we'll stand to sing. Psalm 27 and it's verse 4 down to verse 9 and we'll stand to sing.

[6:59] Psalm 27 and it's verse 5 down to verse 9 and we'll stand to sing.

[7:29] Psalm 27 and it's verse 5 down to verse 9 and we'll stand to sing.

[7:59] Psalm 28 and it's verse 5 down to verse 9 and we'll stand to sing.

[8:29] Psalm 28 and it's verse 5 down to verse 9 and we'll stand to sing.

[8:59] Psalm 28 and it's verse 5 down to verse 9 and we'll stand to sing. Psalm 28 and it's verse 5 down to verse 9 and we'll stand to sing. I'm going to read Paul's letter to the Galatians on chapter 2.

[9:11] Page 1170 in the ESV Bible. Galatians chapter 2. Let's read from verse 11.

[9:41] Galatians 2 and verse 11. But when Cephas came to Antioch. Cephas is another name for Peter. The apostle Peter. The disciple. When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face.

[9:56] This is a Paul talking. The apostle Paul and Peter. And they're having a fallout. When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face.

[10:09] Because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles. But when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.

[10:22] And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him. So that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all.

[10:38] If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews? We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners.

[10:50] Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ. So we also have believed in Christ Jesus in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law.

[11:04] Because by works of the law, no one will be justified. But if in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin?

[11:17] Certainly not. For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the law, I died to the law that I might live to God.

[11:29] I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

[11:44] I do not nullify the grace of God. For if justification were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. Amen. And we ask that God will bless his own word to us.

[11:58] We're going to once again join together in prayer. Our Father in heaven, we thank you that we have the privilege this morning of not only praying for ourselves, but praying for others.

[12:09] In fact, we are commanded to pray for other people. We're commanded to pray for those who have been given into this world as our family.

[12:21] We pray, Lord, for the people that we know as either family members or friends of ours, people that we have been acquainted with by way of being neighbors or work colleagues.

[12:35] And we ask, oh Lord, we pray that we might recognize that it is not for no reason that we have been united with the people who are around us here in this world. And neither is it any coincidence that we are living at this time in this world.

[12:50] And we pray to recognize that you have brought us into this world and it is for a reason. And we pray that we will be faithful at fulfilling the purpose for which we were born and for which we live.

[13:03] We thank you for the gospel and we pray, Lord, for those we know in our neighborhood, in our community here in Stornoway and the locality.

[13:14] We pray that we might be a witness to them, both collectively as a congregation, but as individually as well. And that's our greatest prayer. More than anything else, we want people to come to know Jesus as their Lord as well.

[13:28] And so, Lord, we pray for those who at this moment in time have no thought about you. And we ask that you will so work in them to bring them to know Jesus.

[13:40] But, Lord, we ask also for the rest of the world. And we're conscious that the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. We're conscious that it was because this world became separated from you that Jesus was sent into the world to die for sinners.

[13:58] And his message, the gospel, has been taken out into the world and has been made known to many, many people this morning. And that's a great thrill to us.

[14:10] But we want more and more people to hear it. We think of all the people groups in the world, the many languages and cultures that don't have a Bible in their own hands. And the many people who have never read a single verse of the Bible because they don't have it in their own language.

[14:26] And, Lord, we pray for those whose work it is to translate the Bible. And we pray that you will give them encouragement and give them wisdom and give them the determination to continue that important work and fill them with your Spirit.

[14:40] And, Lord, Father, in heaven, once again, we pray for the governments of this world. Because we think of all those who are in power today. And we think of the implications of these powers.

[14:52] We are commanded to pray for kings and for emperors and for presidents and for heads of state. And we pray for them not because it is just a duty but because we believe that you are hearing and answering your prayer.

[15:08] And you're able to do great things amongst the powerful and amongst the authoritative. And, Lord God, we lament the fact that there is so much corruption in the world.

[15:22] And very often in the last place where we would hope to find it. Lord, the very people that we entrust power to are the very people that very often abuse that power.

[15:36] And so, Lord, we pray for all those who are victims of the abuse of power today. We pray, Lord, for where there is injustice in the world. For where the innocent are suffering.

[15:47] And where the guilty go free. We ask, Lord, that you will, as the judge of all the earth, we pray that you will exercise judgment on this world, Lord.

[15:59] And we pray that you will show us that every one of us stands before you as accountable. Not only for what we do in this world, but also for the way we are and for what we think.

[16:11] We pray, Lord, that we will conduct ourselves in a manner as your people. That is consistent with what we profess and what we believe.

[16:22] But, Father, we pray once again for where there is the most excruciating suffering and pain and death. Lord, we think of Iraq, particularly the northern territories and all the instability that there is there and in Syria.

[16:36] Lord, we think of those who have set themselves up in power. And we think of how unpredictable that whole region is. And we ask, Lord, for those who seek to bring peace to that region.

[16:49] And we ask for those who have suffered loss and pain and injury. And, Father, we have no idea of the kind of conditions that there are over in these places.

[17:02] And we pray, Lord, because you are there present. We pray, Lord, for your people who are suffering because they are your people. And ask that they may know not just release from suffering, but that they will bless their suffering to the conversion of those who act violently towards them.

[17:21] And, Father, in heaven, so we pray for our world. And we pray for the day when the earth shall be full of the glory of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. And so we pray that your kingdom will come and that your will will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

[17:37] And we ask, Lord, for those who are known to us who are ill at this time. For those who are having to go through treatment or medical processes or operations. And, Father, we pray for them, Lord, where they are.

[17:50] We pray that you will be very close to them. And pray that they may know your presence and your power and your comfort and your fullness at this time. In Jesus' name, amen.

[18:02] Amen. We're going to sing together in Psalm number 85. It's the Sing Psalms version. It's on page 113. Page number 113.

[18:15] And it's Psalm number 85. I'm going to sing from verse 4 to the end of the psalms. Tune us, Bland Wern. Page 113, Psalm 85, verse 4.

[18:27] God, our Savior, now restore us. From us, turn away your rage. Will your anger burn against us? Will it last from age to age? Will you not again revive us, that we may rejoice in you?

[18:39] Show us, Lord, your covenant mercy, your salvation grant anew. Psalm 85, from verse 4, rather, to the end of the psalm. That's the three double verses.

[18:50] I'm going to stand to sing. Father, Savior, now restore us.

[19:01] From us, turn away your rage. Will your anger burn against us?

[19:14] Will it last from age to age? Will you not again revive us, that we may rejoice in you?

[19:33] Show us, Lord, your covenant mercy, your salvation grant anew.

[19:46] I will hear what the Lord said. I will hear what the Lord said. Through his sins he offers peace.

[20:01] But his people must not water and return to foolishness.

[20:14] Truly for all those who fear him, his salvation is a time.

[20:27] So that once again his glory may be seen within our land.

[20:41] Love and truth are met together. Righteousness and peace and grace.

[20:56] Righteousness works down from heaven. From the earth brings faithfulness.

[21:08] What is good the Lord will give us. And our land his fruit will bear.

[21:22] Righteousness will go before him. And his royal way prepare.

[21:38] Let's turn to Galatians chapter 2.

[21:53] It's on page 1170. And I want us to focus this morning on verses 19 to 20. For through the law I died to the law.

[22:13] So that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live. But Christ who lives in me.

[22:27] And the life I now live in the flesh. I live by faith. In the son of God. Who loved me.

[22:38] And gave himself. For me. I shouldn't have to tell you this morning that the cross.

[22:52] Stands at the very heart. Of the Christian faith. That's why throughout the centuries the cross has become the symbol of the Christian faith.

[23:09] As a symbol itself it doesn't really tell you much. But nevertheless it is the symbol or has become for many people the symbol of the Christian faith.

[23:21] That's because that it looks back to the moment and the time and the place where Jesus of Nazareth was put to death.

[23:34] It is the single most significant life changing event in human history. Because from that moment that was the day that human history changed forever and would never be the same again.

[23:51] And it was the day that the Christian message and the Christian movement was started. The message of the cross as Paul describes it can be put very simply and I use the words of the New Testament.

[24:08] Christ died for sinners. That's one way of putting it. Or Christ died for the ungodly.

[24:20] That's another way in which the apostle summarizes the death of Jesus. Or Christ died for our sins. Or as Peter says he himself bore our sin in his body on the tree.

[24:42] All of these statements they are summaries of the message that the son of God came into this world and became a human being to give his life.

[24:54] As the sacrifice in order for our sin and our guilt to be taken away and for us to have everlasting life.

[25:06] Now for Paul who wrote this chapter that we've just read. The death of Jesus was what he lived for. It was what he breathed. It was his first waking thought every day.

[25:18] His life's ambition was not for himself. But in order so that other people would hear this great message for themselves.

[25:30] Because he believed that in the hands of God that the message was the most powerful life changing in the world. So he said we preach Christ crucified.

[25:41] He said woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. And that's because he himself personally had come to discover the reality of Jesus and what he had done for himself.

[25:55] And that was the moment when Saul of Tarshish. This young diligent Jewish Pharisee. Who prided himself in being more religious perhaps than anyone else amongst his colleagues.

[26:15] That was the moment at which his life changed when he met with Jesus on the road to Damascus. Because from that moment his object up until that day his objective was to persecute as many Christians.

[26:30] So violent was his hatred towards Christians. His objective was to take as many of them away to prison as he possibly could.

[26:42] But the moment that he met Jesus on the road to Damascus that objective changed. And for him now he wanted to make Jesus as widely known as possible.

[26:54] So wherever he went he preached Jesus in whatever way he could. Whether that was in the marketplace or in the street corners or in homes or in the synagogue. Every opportunity that Paul had.

[27:06] It didn't matter where it was or to whom. He wanted to make Jesus known. So that people would come to know Jesus for themselves.

[27:16] But that was something that got him into trouble. And often he was taken prisoner. Sometimes he suffered. He was stoned. He was shipwrecked. He was rejected.

[27:27] He was marginalized by the religious leaders of the day. And often he was put into prison. But even there he used the means that were available to him to write letters.

[27:38] Very often his letters, many of his letters were written from a prison cell. And it is in the letters that he gets the opportunity to open up the cross in detail.

[27:52] And particularly in this case his own relationship with the death of Jesus. And that's what I want to examine this morning. The relationship that the apostle Paul had with the death of Jesus.

[28:07] The intimate relationship that he had. But the reason I want to examine it this morning is because it wasn't just, he's not just speaking on his own behalf.

[28:22] What he says about himself is true for every believer in Jesus. So you and I, if you trust in Jesus, you can say this morning, through the law, verse 19, through the law, I died to the law.

[28:36] That's true about me. This is my history I'm talking about. Through the law, I died to the law that I might live to God. Verse 20. We can also say I have been crucified with Christ.

[28:50] We can also say it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And we can also say the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

[29:04] So we're not just trying to get into the mind of an obscure religious leader at the time. We are asking God that God will show us how we may live what we've just read.

[29:18] And the first thing we do is that we have to acknowledge that these are our words as well as they are the apostles, because these are words that God places in our hearts and in our mouths.

[29:32] And I want us to notice in particular that what the apostle does is he's looking at the death of Jesus through three individual personal perspectives.

[29:44] Let me say that again. What the apostle Paul is describing the death of Jesus by way of three personal perspectives.

[29:58] Let's take the last one first. Verse 20. The son of God loved me and gave himself for me. That's the first perspective. That's where it begins.

[30:09] I know it doesn't begin in this chapter. It comes at the end. That's because the apostle is building up to it. It's for him a crescendo of praise and thanksgiving.

[30:19] But that's where it all began. The son of God loved me and gave himself for me. And if you're a follower of Jesus today, you can say the same thing.

[30:30] That is your testimony. The son of God loved me and gave himself for me. Very often when we hear people giving their testimonies, they're giving their own personal account of how they came to discover the gospel.

[30:46] And every testimony is different. It's fascinating, isn't it? How everyone has their own story as to how they came to know Jesus. For some people, it's almost like they don't have a testimony at all.

[30:59] Because from a very early age, as soon as they were able to understand, they accepted the Bible. They accepted Jesus and his death on the cross.

[31:10] And they grew up to embrace Jesus as their savior. They didn't go along a rebellious path. They weren't like the prodigal son. They simply came to accept what they saw in the Bible.

[31:23] Other people were the opposite, like the prodigal son. Who very often, that's why the prodigal son is such a favorite passage. Because so many people can see themselves in it.

[31:36] And trace their own history back to when they themselves left the knowledge that they had of the truth of God and Jesus Christ. And wasted their lives.

[31:50] What does it say? He squandered his life with riotous living. There may be a lot of people in here today. That's your history. Your story. Until you came back to the Father.

[32:01] Until that moment you came to your senses and you came back to the Father. And you discovered the love of the Father was waiting for you. In Jesus Christ. But this statement belongs to everyone.

[32:14] Whatever our testimony is. This is my history. Our testimony doesn't begin. With when we left home at 15. Or when we decided to take our lives into our own hands and all that kind of.

[32:28] Our testimony. Every one of us. It begins with God. It doesn't begin with me. It begins with God. And here is what the apostle says. Jesus loved me.

[32:40] And gave himself for me. And that was something that the apostle Paul never got over. For him the love of God wasn't just some kind of pietistic expression that he would use every so often.

[32:59] Paul felt he never ever got over the fact that God. Why should God love him? He felt that he was the most unlovely person. And the most unlovable person in all the world.

[33:12] Because he had rebelled so much. And he had refused with so much tenacity to listen to the voice of God in Jesus Christ. And he had dug his heels in.

[33:23] No matter what happened. He was determined to go against what was obvious to him in the life of Jesus Christ. And yet God's love persisted with him.

[33:34] Is that not something that has always amazed you as well? Why God should love you? When you really look at your own life. Certainly when I look at mine.

[33:48] There is so little in my life of anything that God should love. There is so much of what shouldn't be there. It's just a... The Bible tells us that the heart of man is deceitful.

[34:04] And desperately wicked. And I think if you were honest. And if I was honest. That we would say that it is a miracle. It defies our understanding that God should love us.

[34:18] But God's love is not just a saying love. God's love is a doing love. And that's why he tells us that he loved me and gave himself for me.

[34:30] Now what does he mean by giving himself for me? Well the whole passage is about the cross. So when he talks about Jesus giving himself.

[34:41] He means Jesus' death on the cross. That is where Jesus gave himself for me. The death of Jesus wasn't a tragic accident.

[34:54] It wasn't something that was never supposed to happen. You know there are people who tell us that. There are people who tell us that what we've got to concentrate on is the life and the teaching of Jesus.

[35:09] And the fact that the tide of public opinion turned against him. And that he was arrested. And he was tried. And he was sent to Pontius Pilate. And he was condemned to death.

[35:20] And he died on a cross. Well they'll tell you. Well that was simply the end result of him stirring things up. And the courage with which he stood up.

[35:32] And with which he taught unpopular things. But the Bible tells us. That that was why he came into the world in the first place.

[35:46] It was to die. And if you read through the gospels. What is abundantly clear is that there was this consciousness in Jesus.

[35:56] All throughout his life. That one day he would be arrested. And that he would be condemned to death. And that he would be crucified on a cross. But that he would lay down his life.

[36:10] No one has the authority to lay down. I have the authority to lay down my life he said. And I have the authority to take it up again.

[36:23] He set his face towards Jerusalem. Why? Because he knew that in Jerusalem. He would be taken and arrested and condemned. He came into the world with the express singular purpose.

[36:36] Of dying on the cross at Calvary. In order to be the sacrifice for our sin. The substitute for our sin.

[36:47] So that's Paul's starting point. He loved me. And gave himself for me. And that is the personal testimony of every Christian.

[36:59] Every person who follows Jesus Christ this morning. And I hope that you're included in that. And if not. Then I would invite you. As Jesus himself invites us.

[37:11] To come to know him for ourselves. Listen on. The second perspective. If we work our way backwards to verse 19.

[37:23] Is this. Through the law. I died to the law. Paul. That's the second perspective. That's the second personal perspective.

[37:35] By which the apostle Paul describes the death of Jesus. Now we have to stop here. And we have to try and grasp. Something of the circumstance.

[37:46] In which Paul was writing. You can never understand. Fully. Letter to the Galatians. Unless you understand what was happening. And it's only by reading the letter to the Galatians.

[37:58] That you do. That you do get a glimpse of. What was happening. The Christian faith was in its infancy. And it had started amongst Jewish people. In Jerusalem.

[38:10] But many of the Jewish people. Found it incredibly difficult. To adapt. To living as Christians. Because for them.

[38:22] It was a total revolution. From what they had always been brought up. And you know. The way in which we're brought up. It has a hold on us. Isn't it? Doesn't it? I'm sure I can speak for many of us today.

[38:33] When we say that the way of. The way that we were brought up. Our habits. Our customs. Our routines. We've never left them. Because they've had such a hold. Because they've had such a hold.

[38:43] On our lives. Very often the way that we're brought up. In our own homes as children. Is the way that we bring up our own children. Well if it was true for us.

[38:54] It was even more true. For the Jewish people at that time. For whom family was everything. And their traditions. Were absolutely paramount. Every part of their life.

[39:06] As Jewish people. Was grounded. Upon God's law. Now God's law. Can be found in Exodus. And Leviticus.

[39:16] And Numbers. And Deuteronomy. It was the law that was given by God. Through Moses. When Moses was on the top. Of Mount Sinai. And it spelled out for the people.

[39:28] How they were to live. It spelled out for them. How they were to worship. It spelled out for them. Their relationships with other people.

[39:39] And how to protect other people. And how to live in the interests of other people. It spelled out for them. Their relationship to God. They must never take God's name in vain.

[39:52] They must remember the Sabbath day. To keep it holy. They must not worship any idols. Any other image. Or anything else. And so on. I'm sure that you know the Ten Commandments.

[40:02] Or at least most of them. Off by heart. That was God's law in summary. And if you were a Jewish person. That was the very core of your being.

[40:12] Plus all the different regulations. About food. And ceremonies. And synagogue worship. And all of the rest of. Now for them. When they came to faith in Jesus.

[40:22] It was incredibly difficult. To make the adjustment. Adjustment. In looking at things. In an entirely different light. And in moving away from the notion.

[40:35] And here's the point. The notion that in order to be saved. That if you are going to be saved. It's not about keeping God's law. It's about trusting in what Jesus has done for you.

[40:49] On the cross. And that involved a whole new set of principles.

[41:00] And a whole new lifestyle. All together. In which Jesus became everything. But some of these. Jewish.

[41:11] Some of them had started. Infiltrating the church at that time. And they began to teach this message. That if you really want to be right with God. As well as believing in Jesus.

[41:24] You have to keep the ceremonies in the Old Testament. For example. Like you have to be circumcised. And you have to abstain from certain foods. You're not allowed to eat pork.

[41:35] For example. In order for you to be truly right with God. It's more than just believing in Jesus.

[41:46] You have to live. The life that was specified for you. In the Old Testament. And Paul was absolutely furious.

[41:58] When that teaching started to spread. And when people started believing. That teaching. And when people started separating themselves. From Gentile believers.

[42:09] Just out of racial grounds. That's why there was this argument. In verse 11. When Cephas came to Antioch. I opposed him to his face. Because Cephas. Peter. Even Peter.

[42:20] The disciple of Jesus. Had started buckling under this influence. That had started coming in. And he must have had a sort of a weak streak in him.

[42:31] Because he kind of took a step back from the Gentiles. And started refusing to eat with them. Paul said. How could you do that? You're a follower of Jesus.

[42:43] And as followers of Jesus. There's no such thing as a separation between Jew and Gentile. We're all sinners. And we're saved by God's grace. And so Paul's mission.

[42:55] If I can put it that way. In Galatians. Was to persuade the church in Galatia. Not to believe this message. That you needed Christ plus. Because if you add.

[43:07] And here's the point. If you add to the gospel. You're changing the gospel. If you add to the message of Jesus.

[43:21] You are changing the message of Jesus. And if you're changing the message of Jesus. You're destroying the message of Jesus. And if you destroy the message of Jesus.

[43:37] Then you're playing about with people's lives. And you're teaching them the wrong message. Which means that they will not be saved. They won't be right with God. They won't have everlasting life.

[43:49] And they won't have the forgiveness of sin. Which only. Which you can only have. Through Jesus. Now says Paul. Here's my argument. You people.

[44:01] You claim to insist upon keeping the law. In order to be saved. You can't have it both ways. Now for them the law was.

[44:13] I suppose it's a bit like. The law is in every generation. I mean. We all have a sort of a. Have a kind of a double relationship. With the law. And it was the same.

[44:25] People. It was the same as the people there. No. I'm not going to go down this line. I'm going to stick to what I. Originally. I was going to go off on a detour.

[44:35] But I'm not going to. Because I see the time. Has. Is going. What Paul is saying to them. Is this. You can't have it both ways. Because this is God's law.

[44:46] You're talking about. And God demands. Perfect obedience. To his law. And the penalty. Of not perfect obedience. Is death. The wages of sin. Is death.

[45:00] So you can't claim. To insist. You cannot insist. That in order to be right. With God. You have to keep the law. As well as. As. Believing in Jesus.

[45:12] It's either one. Or the other. And that's why he says. In verse 19. Through the law. I have died to the law. What does he mean by that? What does it mean. What does it mean.

[45:22] For a person. To die. To the law. Well. It's very simple. The penalty. That the law. The law. Demanded. For breaking the law. Was death.

[45:33] Bible says. The soul that sins. Shall die. Paul himself says. The wages of sin. Is death. And everyone knew that. Because God is holy.

[45:43] And he expects. Perfect. Holy obedience. The penalty. That the law. Demanded. Was death. So when Paul says. I died to the law.

[45:54] What he means by that is. I the death. I've died. I've died. The penalty. That the law demanded. Now somebody.

[46:07] Listening to him. And say. Well hold on a minute. Hold on a minute. How could you have died. Because. You're still here. You're writing all this. You haven't died. That's right. Says Paul.

[46:17] When Jesus died. I died. And that's the relationship.

[46:28] I have with Jesus. It's one in which. I have become. So identified. With Jesus. That his death. On the cross. Becomes. Why did Jesus.

[46:38] Die on the cross. Why was it. That Jesus died. On the cross. Well the Bible. Tells us. That he died. As the penalty.

[46:48] For our sin. That when he hung. On the cross. God took the guilt. Of our sin. That we deserved. And he took that guilt. And he placed it.

[47:00] On Jesus. And the result. For the apostle Paul. Was. Because Jesus. Took my guilt. On himself. And because he died.

[47:11] As a result. Of. My sin. I can say. Hand on heart. I have died. To the law.

[47:22] I have fulfilled. The demands. That the law. Demanded. On me. The soul. That sins. It shall die. Therefore. I've paid the penalty. The penalty. Has been paid.

[47:33] On my behalf. And because. Because it was Jesus. Then I can say. I have died. And that's what you and I. Can say this morning. If we belong to Jesus. We've been set free.

[47:44] From the laws. From the laws. The penalty. That the law demands. The wages. Of sin. Is death. But if what he says.

[47:56] In verse 19. Baffled. Those who were listening. To him. Then what he says. In chapter. In verse 20. Absolutely.

[48:08] Mystified them. I have been. Crucified. With Christ. I have been. Crucified. With Christ.

[48:18] You see. What he's doing is. He's taking what he said. In verse 19. And he's actually. Just repeating it. And he's just using. Different words. What he means. By that. Is that when Jesus.

[48:29] Died. I died. When Jesus. Died. It was for my. Sin. Which I am. Guilty of. That I. That he died.

[48:40] And because. He died. God has set me free. From. The guilt. Of sin.

[48:51] That's what the gospel. Is all about. It's not about. Our. Working our way. To God. Trying our best. To please God. Discovering. Day by day.

[49:01] That we fail. And. What do we do. When we fail. We try harder. No. That's not the answer. At all. When it comes to. Being right with God. You don't try harder.

[49:12] You stop trying. You confess. That I'm wasting. My time. That's what happened. To Saul of Tarsus. If anyone.

[49:23] Tried to be right. With God. By doing. And keeping. And observing. And being faithful. It was. Saul of Tarsus. And it came to a point. Where he discovered. It's a complete waste. Of time.

[49:33] It's a complete waste. But that's the moment. You discover. That actually. It's all. Been done. God.

[49:45] Has done it. All. And the reason. Jesus. Came into the world. Was. Because God. So loved. The world. That he gave.

[49:55] His only begotten son. To pay. The penalty. For our sin. To stand. Where we should have stood. And to suffer.

[50:07] The anger. And the wrath. Of God. That we deserved. And as a result. Of his death. And resurrection. We. By faith. In him. Can live.

[50:19] A new life. A forgiven life. A life. That has been set free. From the guilt. Of sin. Now you can see.

[50:29] Why Paul was so. Irate. At the suggestion. That there was. Some other way. To be right with God. No. Says Paul. There is no other way. It's got to be kept.

[50:41] Simple. The gospel message. Is the most simple message. In all the world. Christ died. For our sins. The moment you begin. To add to that message. You complicate. And confuse.

[50:53] Everything. But what Paul is saying here. Is this. This message. This death. Of Jesus. Is so precious.

[51:03] To me. And so. Absolutely. Essential. To me. That here's what I'm going to say. I have been. Crucified. I am. Nailing myself. To the Lord.

[51:14] Jesus Christ. Because. In him. And through him. And by him. Is my salvation. And in him. Alone. There is no.

[51:26] Other. Way. Jesus. Alone. That's what makes the gospel. So marvelous. Tonight. Today.

[51:38] That it is so. Uncomplicated. It's so. Unconfused. The son of God. Loved us. And gave himself. For us. He went.

[51:49] All the way. To paying the penalty. For our sin. He suffered. God's anger. And wrath. Because. Of our sin. And rose again.

[52:00] On the third day. So the death. Once and for all. Would be defeated. And so that we could look. A death. In the face.

[52:11] And know. That for us. Who are in Christ. There is no death. I am the resurrection. And in the life. Said Jesus. He who believes in me.

[52:22] Though he were dead. Yet shall he live. And he who lives. And believes in me. Shall never die. I would love for you to. To know this message.

[52:32] For yourself. Not just to hear it. Hearing it. Is one thing. Knowing it. And discovering it. Is another. I would love for you. To have this Jesus.

[52:43] Today. I would love. For you to discover. What the forgiveness. Of sin means. I don't know. What Jesus means. To you. This morning. I don't know.

[52:55] How much thought. You've given. To the gospels. Perhaps. There are some of you here. Who don't have much acquaintance. With the gospels. Maybe that perhaps. You're here. Out of interest. And. Because you've. Decided to visit with us.

[53:06] And I hope that something. Of what. Has been said this morning. Strikes a chord. But I would love to think. That this might be. The beginning of. Of.

[53:17] A journey for you. To discover. What it is. About this. Jesus of Nazareth. That has changed. The world. So. Radically.

[53:30] I want to put to you. Today. That it is the greatest. Single event. That ever took place. In the history. Of the world. Why is that? The reason is. Because.

[53:40] The man on the cross. Is. The son of God. The reason. For the cross. Was the payment. Of the penalty.

[53:51] Of our sin. The result. Of the cross. Is a new life. A life. By faith. A life. I now live. I live.

[54:02] By faith. In the son of God. Who loved me. And gave himself. For. Me. Let's bow our heads.

[54:12] In prayer. Our father in heaven. We pray that you will make. This message. Ours. Today. And drive it home. To our hearts. We thank you for the.

[54:23] The change. That took place. In the life of. Saul of Tarshish. And the change. That has taken place. In the lives. Of many of us here. Who. Are able to say.

[54:35] With the apostle. I have been crucified. With Christ. And the life. I now live. I live by faith. In the son of God. Who loved me.

[54:46] And gave himself. For me. And so Lord. Make this. Cross. Ours. We pray today. Forgive our sin. In Jesus name. Amen. We're going to bring.

[54:57] Our service to a close. By singing. Psalm 119. And that's. Page number 411. We're going to sing.

[55:09] From 129. To 133. It's a traditional version. Scottish altar version. Thy statutes Lord.

[55:26] Are wonderful. Verse 129. Thy statutes Lord. Are wonderful. My soul. Them keeps with care. The entrance of thy words. Gives light. Makes wise. Who simple are.

[55:37] The tune is Ayrshire. We're going to sing. Four stanzas. From 129. To 133. And we'll stand to sing. Thy statutes Lord.

[55:51] Are wonderful. My soul. My soul. Let things. With care.

[56:02] The entrance of thy words. This life. Makes wise.

[56:13] To simple are. My God. Thy God. Thy口.

[56:24] Jesus Isçu. б Johan aner. Thy acartu nothing will end zeal. Thy night, During the sea.

[56:35] While after life. O man and thunder. Thy light. Thy light. Thy day, O man and mistress.

[56:50] Look on me, Lord, and merciful to Thy one truly prove, As Thou art one to do to all Thy name, who truly love.

[57:23] O let my cruisest in Thy word arise to order Thee, Let no iniquity obtain dominion over me.

[57:57] Now may the grace of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the communion and fellowship of the Holy Spirit rest on and abide with each one of us both now and always. Amen. Amen.