Now, many years ago, I drove to Yass to visit my sister, who had recently got married,
and I took along with me a little friend who had been my sister's flower girl.
Now, Michelle would have been in late primary school at the time,
and my sister worked in Canberra, which is a little distance from Yass,
and I volunteered to drive her to work, and the plan was that Michelle and I would have time in Canberra
doing really wonderful things together.
Now, this was my first trip to Canberra, and I really didn't know where I was going,
and I also had this huge responsibility of looking after this young companion of mine.
Now, for those of you who know Canberra, there are these really, really large roundabouts in Canberra,
and when I say large, they go all around Parliament House,
and if I remember correctly, there's two layers, but I'm not absolutely certain,
but I just know that they're big, and they go around in a circle.
And so, you need to know where you are going when you go to Canberra.
You need to know which exit to get off to get to the place that you're going,
and unfortunately, I didn't know that piece of information.
So, I spent a lot of time going around and around and around and around,
not knowing which exit was the one I was needing to get off to take my little companion for a fun day.
Now, my little companion was more and more distressed,
distressed because she saw the same things over and over and over again.
When I say distressed, she was in tears and telling me I want to go home.
So, we were really not in a good place at that moment in time.
But in Galatians, it's a little bit like going around on a roundabout
because we seem to be seeing the same message over and over again,
and yet, it's a message that we too forget over and over as well.
So, we need to try and set a new pattern, I think.
Now, Paul's concentration and his central concern here is that he wants the Galatians to be right with God.
This is of grave importance to Paul, and it's of grave importance to us as well,
that we also know that we are right with God.
We already know from previous sermons that Paul is combating the issue that there are Jewish Christians
who are telling the Gentile Christians that to be saved, they first have to believe Jesus,
then they obey a whole bunch of the laws, and then they are saved.
And Paul's reminding them that what has to happen is that you believe Jesus,
and then you're saved, and then you go on obeying God.
Now, the law, being all the rules, all the regulations that we've spoken of over the last few weeks,
the food restrictions, circumcision, ceremonial ways of doing worship.
So, let's today think of three things.
Now, for my community group people who like to have three points, here's your three points.
The three points are going to be, and mind you, it is only three points because the passage actually does this for us very neatly.
What we're going to look at is what is the gospel from verses 10 to 14?
What is Paul asking of the Galatians in verses 1 to 5?
And what witness does Paul bring in to give us in verses 6 to 9?
So, what's the gospel in verses 10 to 14?
Well, scripture tells us it's all about Jesus' life, death, and resurrection,
that we will be saved if we believe in him.
We are justified, that is, we are made right with God, and we are no longer condemned.
We receive this through grace if we believe in him.
That's what all of the Bible keeps telling us.
And it seems so simple to believe in Jesus.
But the Galatians were being encouraged to believe that it wasn't enough.
And we too fall into that same trap of thinking that it cannot be that simple.
You see, doing good is a natural default setting for all humans.
Many believe that God will love you more if you are busy doing good things,
or that by doing good things, that's the way that you get to God.
It's either about your place in heaven or God loving you.
Now, remember in the first sermon that Sam did on this Galatians,
he mentioned the two diagnostic questions that Evangelism Explosion talks about.
The first one being, if you were to die tonight, where would you wake up?
And the second one being, if you were to die and you wake up in heaven and God says to you,
why should I let you into my kingdom, what would you say?
Now, I've been around using those two questions in actual fact for many years,
for about 40 years.
I have used those same questions.
And I can tell you there is a massive percentage of answers that I have received over the years
that most people would actually say, well, I've actually been pretty good
and I've tried to do the right thing.
And, you know, and it's about how good I have been as a person.
And that comes from Christian people too, let me say.
So we all fall into this trap that we're talking about today.
Now, the law or obedience to the law won't get you to God
and doing good deeds for salvation won't get you to God either.
Why is that?
Well, verse 10 says,
For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse.
As it is written,
cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything that is written in the book of the law.
Now, those who live by the law,
who are relying on their obedience to the law,
their own moral achievements to make them right with God
are under a curse.
And it is as bad as it sounds.
It means devoted to damnation
or devoted to destruction.
And Paul is saying the very law that you Galatians are looking to
to make you right with God
actually teaches that you are in big, big trouble.
So Paul is warning them,
do not do it.
Verses 11 to 12 says,
Clearly, no one who relies on the law is justified before God
because the righteous will live by faith.
The law is not based on faith.
On the contrary, it says,
the person who does these things will live by them.
Obeying the law can't do enough to save you.
Notice Paul assumes that they're going to fail in this.
And he points out that it has always been God's intention from the beginning
that one is saved by faith.
Faith is about trust.
It's about entrusting yourself to another.
So he's saying we are only made righteous,
we are only rescued from the curse and God's wrath
through putting our faith in the one
who has perfectly obeyed and fulfilled the will of God.
That is Jesus Christ.
Think about it.
Jesus is the only one who has never been under a curse
and Paul is saying that's where you look.
You look to Jesus.
That's where you put your faith.
If you put your faith in him,
you will be forgiven of your sins.
You will be declared innocent by God.
You will be made right with God.
The curse will be lifted.
But the question comes how.
How is putting my faith in this man Jesus going to save me
and do what the law cannot do?
And Paul tells us in verse 13,
excuse me,
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law
by becoming a curse for us.
For it is written, cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.
Now friends, as I look around the room,
there should be great smiles on your faces
because this is the best news ever.
This is the message of the Christian faith.
This is what God is inviting you to believe and to be saved by.
How did he do it?
He did it by going to a tree,
by going to the cross,
by being crucified.
After having lived a sinless life,
he did this to ransom us.
On the cross,
he became our substitute.
He took our place.
He made atonement.
He made payment for the debt that we owed God.
He substituted himself and paid what we could not pay.
Being crucified is horrific.
But what is worse and what is more scandalous
is the wrath of God that was put on Jesus
instead of putting it on us.
God did not withhold anything.
Jesus redeemed us from the curse
by becoming a curse for us.
And do you know what is quite stunning here?
If we put our faith in Christ to save us
in the same supernatural way,
he takes away our sin
and the eternal punishment we deserve
because we've disobeyed him.
He gives us his righteousness.
He gives us his moral perfection
so we are declared as seen as innocent
before God the Father.
He doesn't just take away our sins.
That would be enough.
He then gives us his perfect record.
The one who obeyed perfectly says,
now what I've done,
it's as if you have done it.
If you put your faith in me.
He clothes us with robes of righteousness.
Now Athanasius,
who is one of the early church fathers
in the fourth century,
he called this the glorious exchange.
That Christ, the Son of God,
got the punishment
and took the punishment of an enemy of God
so we, who are the enemies of God,
could receive blessings of sons and daughters of God.
It's the glorious exchange that occurs.
Believing in this,
putting your hope in this
and living by this
is at the heart of what it means to be a Christian.
So the gospel that Paul taught the Galatians
was one of grace.
It has always been
and it always will be
about grace.
Now,
having seen what the gospel is,
what does Paul ask
of the Galatians
in verses one to five?
He says this,
you foolish Galatians,
who has bewitched you?
Before your very eyes,
Jesus Christ was portrayed as crucified.
I would like to learn just one thing from you.
Did you receive the spirit by observing the law
or by believing what you heard?
Are you so foolish?
After beginning by the means of the spirit,
are you now trying to finish
by the means of the flesh?
Have you experienced so much in vain,
if it really was in vain?
So again,
I ask you,
does God give you his spirit
and work miracles among you
because you observe the works of the law
or by what you heard?
So many questions
in that one paragraph.
So much concern
from Paul to the Galatians.
So brash
was Paul
that he calls
the Galatians,
whom he loves,
he calls them fools.
Now we've already seen
what Paul had taught
the Galatians,
that the gospel is by grace alone
through faith alone.
But there's
an important premise
that Paul is pointing out here.
That is,
once you have become
a Christian,
how do you then move ahead?
Did you see that?
He says,
after beginning
by the means of the spirit,
are you now trying
to finish
by means of the flesh?
So the way you become,
the way you come
into faith
is exactly
the same way
that you advance
in the Christian faith.
We don't change
the message.
Remember the two orders
that Steve mentioned
last week
and I mentioned
right at the beginning
of this.
There's a religious order
that says
that you start
with belief
in Jesus,
you obey the commandments
and then you are saved.
This isn't a gospel
at all.
And then there is
the gospel order
that says
that you believe
in Jesus,
you are saved
and then
you obey
and you follow Jesus.
the Galatians
had it back
to front
and are being
reminded
to remember
what they had
first heard.
But let me remind you,
we are not saved
to then just
please ourselves.
Ephesians 2.10
says,
for we are God's
handiwork
created in Christ
Jesus
to do good works
which God prepared
in advance
for us to do.
One of our core values
here at St. Paul's
is servant,
to be servant-hearted,
servant leadership.
That isn't because
we just want to fill
rosters,
let me tell you.
it's because
it sends a message
and the message
is all about
your heart.
It's about our heart
when we want to serve.
It tells us something
of what is going on
within you.
Now what is fascinating
in our Galatians verses
is that Paul reminds them
that it was before
their very eyes
that they saw Jesus
crucified.
But we know
that that wasn't
the case at all.
The Galatians
didn't see physically
the crucifixion
of Jesus.
But the interesting
thing is
what the Bible does,
the Bible actually
uses sensory language.
And the Bible
uses it.
Once you've actually
got the intellectual
knowledge,
it then,
that intellectual
knowledge
and Steve
mentioned this
in different words
last week,
it needs to become
heart.
But it becomes
a heart belief
and then the Bible
uses a sensory language
when it becomes
a heart belief.
It's so real
and it's so vivid
that it's as if
you were personally
there at the crucifixion
witnessing what Jesus
was doing
for them personally
and for us
personally as well.
Hence the sensory language.
Another example
of this sensory language
is in Ephesians
118
where Paul actually
says,
I pray also
that the eyes
of your heart
may be enlightened.
Paul wants
the Ephesians
here
to know
the hope
of the gospel
that it doesn't
just remain
a concept
but it becomes
a heart truth.
so it's the eyes
of their heart
seeing something
from the heart.
Now how does one
become a Christian?
You get the facts,
you trust
and have faith,
that is believe
and you become
righteous.
God sees
Jesus
in us.
Now Paul
is pointing out
that when the
Galatians
became Christians
they stopped
relying
on
the law
and they trusted
God
would accept them.
That's what happened
at the beginning
and God gives
his spirit
not because
you observe
the law
but because
you believe
and the gift
of the spirit
then leads
you through
life
and how
you then
obey God.
you don't
get into
faith
and then
you turn
around
and you try
really really
hard to stay
in the faith.
That then
would be no
gospel at all.
Remember
verse 10
says
that we
covered
if you want
to continue
in keeping
the law
then you are
under a curse.
So
what is Paul
asking
of the Galatians?
He's asking
them to
remember
the gospel
remember
the freedom
in Christ
remember
as if you
have just
become
a Christian
today
remember
the joy
remember
what you
saw
when the
scales
dropped
from your
eyes
remember
co-remembers
the moment
when they
were singing
a particular
song
alternatively
so just
remember
if
and if
you are
here today
and you
cannot
remember
a time
when the
gospel
came alive
to you
then just
maybe
you've never
really
understood
it at all
so today
could be
your day
see
taste
hear
all
the words
that
Galatians
is saying
to us
today
alternatively
if you
are here
today
and you
give
agreement
to
the life
of Jesus
you
know
something
of
there was
a death
and a
resurrection
but you
are choosing
to live
life as
you wish
to ordain
your days
your way
then let me
tell you
this
you have
not believed
the gospel
at all
if you
are doing
that
just
believing
God
and
knowing
that there
is a
God
is not
enough
in James
2
19
it says
you believe
that there
is one
God
good
even
the demons
believe
that
and they
shudder
so verse
5 says
that God
gives us
his spirit
it doesn't
say that
God gave
his spirit
it's not
a once
only action
it's a
continuous
action
we
continually
need to
believe
and have
faith
we can
still
struggle
in life
but in
every area
of our
life
we want
to
appropriate
the gospel
message
and become
like
Jesus
it won't
happen
completely
until Jesus
returns
but we
need to
be continually
repenting
and moving
toward
Jesus
allowing
Jesus
and his
spirit
to actually
work on
us
and change
us
to be
like
Jesus
and
struggles
come in
many
different
ways
sometimes
it will
be our
pride
fears
jealousy
envy
bitterness
and
unforgiving
spirit
anger
both
passive
and aggressive
and many
many more
instead of
just hoping
that God
will remove
them or
simply
exercising
willpower
against
them
we
might
be
should
be
asking
ourselves
what
do I
wrongly
believe
in
what do
I
wrongly
believe
is being
held
withheld
in order
for me
to feel
complete
for me
to feel
as if I
have hope
to be a
person of
worth
what is it
that I'm
wrongly
believing
in
for that
to occur
we might
be wanting
comfort
above all
things
and someone
has made
our lives
harder
we might
be worshipping
other people's
approval
but let me
tell you
comfort
and control
and approval
and many
many other
things
they are
functional
saviours
and when
they are
blocked
we get
bitter
only
when we
set our
eyes
on Jesus
for our
everything
and say
there is
no better
way in
life than
Jesus
will we
move ahead
and start
the journey
of becoming
like him
it will
only
be when
we say
Jesus
is our
everything
we fail
in this
journey
because we
forget
what we
heard
just like
the Galatians
had forgotten
what they
had heard
so what
is Paul
asking the
Galatians
to do
he's asking
them to
remember
the gospel
and to
walk in
obedience
we all
need
to preach
that gospel
to ourselves
day by day
as well
now we've
seen what
the gospel
is and
we've seen
what Paul
has asked
of the
Galatians
now for
his argument
here in
this letter
he has
this master
stroke to
bring in a
witness of
one who
lived by
faith and
was credited
to him as
righteous
and who
is this
person
verse 6
says
consider
Abraham
who was
way back
not in the
New Testament
but right at
the very
beginning of
the Bible
Abraham
is the
witness
he's going
to call
in
Abraham
no less
by using
Abraham
Paul
will show
these Gentiles
why they
have been
bewitched
so from
Genesis
chapter 12
1 to
3
it says
the father
of Jews
is Abraham
the people
of Israel
began
when God
promised
Israel's
ancestor
Abraham
that he
would make
his descendants
into a
great nation
living in a
God given
land
and blessed
by God
this is a
man who
lived 430
years
before
the law
that the
Galatians
are being
told that
they have
to actually
obey
before that
law was
even given
verse 6
says
just as
Abraham
believed
God
and it
was
credited
to him
as
righteousness
being
credited
being
an
accounting
term
that
means
to
confer
a
status
or a
status
on
something
that
wasn't
there
before
so what
does it
mean
that
Abraham's
faith
was
credited
to him
as
righteousness
of course
faith in
God's
word
and promise
results
in
righteousness
if we
believe
God
exists
and that
we owe
him
our
obedience
and
worship
then out
of that
will
flow
righteous
living
but here
we have
something
more
when the
Bible
tells us
that God
credits
Abraham's
faith
as
righteous
it means
that God
is treating
Abraham
as if
he were
living
a righteous
life
the lesson
here is
that when
someone
is credited
righteous
by God
he is
conferring
this legal
status
on him
he treats
them as
actually
righteous
and free
from
condemnation
even though
they are
still unrighteous
in their
heart and
behaviour
they have
not been
made perfect
at this
stage
but they
are justified
Paul and
Abraham
are showing
that it
is possible
to be
loved
and accepted
by God
while we
ourselves
are still
sinful
and imperfect
and we
know from
scripture
that Abraham
made some
really foolish
mistakes
and decisions
whilst waiting
for God's
promise
to be
fulfilled
so here
in Galatians
Paul is
saying to
do what
Abraham
did
first
believe
the gospel
message
believe
God
and second
have faith
in God's
provision
not in
our
performance
live
knowing
that God
provides
what else
does Abraham
teach the
Galatians
and us
we are
spiritual
children of
Abraham
we become
part of a
spiritual
family
of Abraham
by faith
the gospel
was preached
beforehand
to Abraham
and it
echoes
all the way
into eternity
from the
beginning of the
Bible to the
very end of the
Bible
is this
whole story
so ultimately
the good news
in the Old
Testament
is the good
news of
Jesus Christ
and this
gospel message
is for the
nations
we have a
global God
and a
global
message
Abraham
has much
to say
to us
here in
Galatians
but we'll
hear a lot
more about
Abraham
next week
so what
have we
covered
we've seen
the glorious
exchange
that is the
gospel message
we've been
told to
remember
this gospel
message
remember
when Christ
came to
you
and we
have shared
in the
witness
of Abraham
clarifying
that it
is through
faith
that one
is saved
and made
righteous
men
can