Run, John, run, the law demands,
but neither gives us feet nor hands.
Run, Mike, run, the law demands,
but gives me neither feet nor hands.
Run, Joanne, run, the law demands,
but gives you neither feet nor hands.
Far better news the gospel brings.
It bids us fly and gives us wings.
This past week, Jenny and I were in Chicago.
We went and saw the musical Hamilton,
which was phenomenal,
and we stayed in a nice hotel,
and of course when we checked in,
we were given the key card,
and so we went up into the room,
kind of slid the key card,
opened the door,
and then that key card's work was done.
So I put it on the desk.
We limit our understanding
of the gospel of Jesus Christ
to a key card that gets us into Christianity,
and once we're into Christianity,
we think the gospel key card is done,
so we put it on the shelf.
And when we forget the cross of Jesus Christ,
what happens is we become more aware of our actions,
what we should or should not be doing.
You know, we shouldn't be lusting,
we shouldn't be swearing,
we shouldn't be lying,
we should be praying,
we should be writing our Bibles,
we should be giving generously,
we should be going to church.
And so when we lose sight of the cross,
what we become more aware of
is what we are or are not doing,
and those things become what we determine
how we're doing with God.
I'm good with God if I am doing this.
I'm okay with God if I'm doing that.
I'm not good with God if I'm doing this.
So we can begin to measure
our standing with God
based on our own obedience or lack thereof.
What we fail to realize
is that the gospel
is not only the key that initiates our salvation,
the gospel is the very thing of our salvation.
It completes our salvation.
What God begins in us by gospel grace,
God will complete in us by gospel grace.
In other words, this gospel,
Christ crucified,
it's the announcement that God's salvation
salvation from beginning to end
is all a work of God's grace.
The book of Galatians
is the apostle Paul
writing to these young Christians
in the first century,
these Gentile Christians
in southern Galatia,
and he's really concerned about them.
If you'd open up your Bibles to Galatians,
if you haven't already,
let me just help you see the concern.
In Galatians 5.1,
Paul writes to these Christians,
for freedom Christ has set us free.
Stand firm, therefore,
and do not submit again
to a yoke of slavery.
Christ, through the gospel,
sets you free, brothers and sisters.
Don't go back to the law.
Slavery.
4.21,
Tell me,
you who desire to be under the law,
do you not listen to the law?
4.9,
But now that you've come to know God,
or rather to be known by God,
how can you turn back again
to the weak and worthless
elementary principles of the world,
which,
whose slaves you want to be once more?
You want to go back to that?
Way back in Galatians chapter 1,
this thing that Paul is really concerned about,
he uses different language
in Galatians 1.6,
I am astonished
that you are so quickly deserting him
who called you
in the grace of Christ
and are turning to a different gospel.
Going back to the law.
It's what Paul rebukes Peter for,
what we saw the last couple weeks
in 2.18,
when he says to Peter,
for if I rebuild what I tore down,
I prove myself to be a transgressor.
You're just going back to the law.
And in our passage today,
Galatians chapter 3,
verses 1 through 14,
if you look at Galatians 3.3,
are you so foolish,
Galatian Christians?
Are you so foolish?
Having begun by the Spirit,
are you now being perfected by the flesh
by obeying the law?
What Paul is doing in the book of Galatians
is he's trying to free these Christians
from this false understanding
of a false gospel that says,
hey, you can start by believing in Jesus,
but you've got to finish what God starts
by obeying the law.
And so what ends up happening is
you've got, in the book of Galatians,
two incompatible ways to live life.
Option one is the gospel of self-dependence.
It's not really a gospel,
but it's spun as gospel.
It's spun as good news,
but it's not good news.
Here's the thinking of the gospel of self-dependence.
Hey, Jesus may have saved me,
but I need to trust in myself
to stay saved with God
by obeying his law.
And so what you're essentially saying is,
my salvation depends upon my obedience.
That's a gospel of self-dependence,
or it's also known as legalism,
thinking that obeying the law
will keep me right with God.
Option two is the one true gospel,
that by trusting,
not in myself,
but in Christ,
trusting in not my works,
but Christ's finished work
by trusting in what Christ has already done.
I have been declared righteous forever
in God's sight.
All of my sin is forgiven.
I am in righteous standing with God
because of Christ's righteousness given to me.
And so now I don't obey
in order to win God's favor,
thoroughly convinced of God's favor through Christ.
I want to obey him.
So either you're going to live your life
trusting in your own efforts
to stay right with God,
or trusting in Christ's finished work
who has made you right with God.
The two are incompatible.
And what the Galatians were being taught
by false teachers way back in the first century
was,
no, no, no,
you need to be circumcised,
you need to eat kosher foods,
you need to observe Jewish holidays,
and then you will stay right with God.
And Paul says,
we'll have none of that.
And so in 3.1,
he says,
oh, foolish Galatians,
who has bewitched you?
One English translation says,
oh, you stupid Galatians,
who has cast this spell on you?
Who's telling you that what began by God's grace
is now finished by the power of the flesh?
He's like saying this,
as if it's possible that any sinner
can add to a salvation
that is by grace alone,
in Christ alone,
by faith alone,
from beginning to end.
Oh, foolish Galatians,
who's bewitched you?
And then he says,
in that same verse,
it was before your eyes
that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed
as crucified.
You know what he's talking about?
He's talking about,
in Acts 13 and 14,
when he's on his first missionary journey,
and he's cruising through southern Galatia,
and he's hitting all these cities,
and he's proclaiming Christ to the Galatians,
what the Spirit of God was doing,
is he's proclaiming Christ,
and they're thinking,
it's like Jesus is here being crucified,
and we're seeing it for us.
That's how impressive
the Spirit's work was
when they first were converted.
And he's saying,
I preach to you the true gospel,
two words,
Christ crucified, period.
And the way to respond to that
is by faith alone.
And so,
what we have here
is a rebuke.
Paul is saying to these Galatians,
snap out of it.
Snap out of this
legalistic spell on you.
And for the rest of these verses,
for verses 2 through 14,
he gives us three gospel convincers.
Three reasons why
the gospel,
Christ crucified,
in all of its grace,
keeps us from going back to legalism.
So if I can sum up this passage
in one sentence,
it would be this.
In light of the gospel of grace,
don't go back to the law.
In light of the gospel of grace,
don't go back to the law.
So let's look at reason number one.
It's in verses 2 through 5.
The first reason why
we don't go back
to live for the law,
to try to finish
what God has begun,
we don't do that
because we are
God's new covenant people now.
Indwelt by the Spirit of God.
Now if you look at verses 2 through 5,
I don't see any new covenant phrase.
No new covenant.
Verse 2, nope.
3, nope.
4, nope.
5, nope.
Where is this new covenant business
coming from?
Well let me give you
a little background.
In the Old Testament,
in Jeremiah 31
and Ezekiel 36,
God began promising
that he was going to establish
a new covenant
with a new people.
And in Jeremiah 31,
we learn that
this new covenant
was going to be different
from the old covenant
that God had made
with Israel
on Mount Sinai
after he delivered them
from Egypt.
And in Ezekiel 36,
we learn more
about this new covenant,
this new way God relates
with a people.
And the new way
we learn in Ezekiel 36
is that
God himself
would put his spirit
in this new people
and radically transform
their hearts of stone
into hearts of flesh
so that
they would obey
God's law.
And so what you need
to understand is
the new covenant,
the hallmark,
is the pouring out
of the Holy Spirit
who radically changes
sinners' hearts
from hard
and not wanting God
to soft
and now wanting
to obey Him.
And so what we see
going on here,
you don't see
new covenant language
but you see
spirit language.
Let me ask you
only this,
did you receive
the spirit
by works of the law?
Having begun
by the spirit,
are you now being
perfected by the flesh?
Does he who supplies
the spirit to you
and works miracles
among you
do so by works of the law
or by hearing
with faith?
Paul is pointing
to a new reality.
These Galatians,
these Gentiles,
they are God's
new covenant people
indwelt
by the spirit.
Now,
here's what you need
to understand.
The new covenant
of what
Jeremiah and Ezekiel
prophesied,
it has come.
The new covenant
is here
and it has come
through Jesus
ratified by his
blood on the cross.
Do you remember
when we do communion,
hold up the cup
and we say these words,
this is the new covenant
given in my blood.
The new way
with which God
relates with his people
through the blood
of Jesus.
Jesus.
So,
this gospel,
Christ crucified,
is an announcement
of the new covenant.
And what we are learning
about the spirit here
is this,
the third person
of the Trinity,
the Holy Spirit
who is completely,
wonderfully a person,
what he is seeking
to do is
the spirit of God
is seeking to apply
the finished work
of Jesus,
freedom to every
single person
who believes.
And so,
the spirit of God
is applying
the finished work
of Jesus
to anyone
who believes
in what Christ
has done.
It's
a working
of God's spirit
among a new covenant
people.
So,
the spirit
is seeking
to empower us
daily
to live out
the freedom
accomplished
by Christ's death.
That's
what it means
to walk
by the spirit,
Galatians 5 and 6.
So,
that's a little
background
of what's going
on here.
So,
in verse 2,
in verse 3,
in verse 4,
in verse 5,
we have
four rhetorical
questions.
Do you know
what a litmus test
is?
Remember,
high school
chemistry?
Litmus paper,
there would be
a petri dish,
some solution
in it,
you dip it
in there,
you pull it
out,
the litmus paper
turns colors
because there's
some kind
of chemical
in there,
and so you
see what's
in the dish,
you find out
what kind
of chemicals
in there.
These rhetorical
questions are
a litmus test
for what's
going on
in the Galatians.
So,
let's just
look at two
questions,
verse 2
and verse 5.
Verse 2,
we read,
let me ask you
only this,
did you receive
the Spirit
by works
of the law
or by
hearing with
faith,
this new
covenant work
that God
has begun
in you,
Galatians,
is this new
covenant work
of the outpouring
of the Spirit,
did you earn
that by your
obedience to
the law?
option 1,
or did you
receive that
as a gift
by the hearing
of faith?
We know the
answer.
We received it
by the hearing
of faith.
And so what Paul
is pointing back
to is,
your very salvation
began by
nothing you did.
It was all
a work of God
and outpouring
of Spirit
that you received
by faith.
The Galatians
were making
a classic
mistake.
They were
thinking,
verse 3,
that what
began by
the Spirit
that they
now are
to complete
by the works
of their flesh
by obeying
the law.
Not so.
In verse 5,
Paul moves
from talking
about what
happened at
the beginning
of their conversion
to what is
presently happening
in their midst.
present.
He says,
does he who
supply the Spirit
to you and
works miracles
among you do
so by works
of the law
or by hearing
with faith?
It's all
present tense.
Does he who
is supplying
the Spirit
to you now
and working
of miracles
among you
now do
so because
you are
obeying
his law
or does he
do so because
you're just
hearing it
with faith?
We know
the answer.
We don't
obey God
in order
for him
to bless
us.
We receive
his blessing.
So the
present
working of
the Spirit
in Galatians
to which
the Apostle
Paul is
talking about,
he's saying
this isn't
some,
you've heard
it in the
news,
some quid
pro quo.
You scratch
God's back,
he scratches
yours.
He scratches
yours.
The
outpouring
of the
Spirit
in our
past
to in
our
present
is all
by God's
grace
and it's
all received
by faith.
And so
here's the
Apostle Paul
doing this
litmus test
in the
Galatians.
And he's
pulling out
this paper
through these
questions
so that the
Galatians
can understand
what their
true colors
are,
who they're
truly trusting.
And Paul
is trying
to convince
them,
you are
new covenant,
new covenant
people indwelt
by the Spirit.
So what that
means is,
they don't go
back to
legalism because
they've been
made new by
the Spirit and
the Spirit is
at work in
them to begin
all the way
to completing
them all the
way through.
another way
to think
about it
is this.
In light
of the
nature of
the new
covenant,
Jeremiah 31
and Ezekiel
36,
we don't
obey God
in order
to be given
new hearts.
We've been
given new
hearts by the
Spirit,
in order
to obey
God.
The first
is legalism,
the second
is gospel.
So here's
what this
means for
us.
I know
many people
in the room
want to see
an outpouring
of God's
Spirit in
our midst.
We want
to experience
the presence
of the third
person of the
Trinity in
greater and
greater measure.
God's
love.
And so what
we're learning
here is
that's not
something we
swap for.
We don't
obey God
so that He
would pour
out His
Spirit on
us.
It doesn't
work that
way.
Our
experience of
the Holy
Spirit
doesn't come
as a result
of our
performance.
our experience
of the Holy
Spirit is
solely a
working of
God's grace
which we
receive by
faith.
But it
raises an
interesting
question.
Let's say
that God
we're asking
God to pour
out the Holy
Spirit on
us.
How will
we know
that the
Spirit is
moving in
our midst?
Will people
start prophesying?
Speaking in
tongues?
Will there be
healing?
Perhaps.
We'd
welcome that.
But the
onus of this
passage and
of the New
Testament is
that when the
Spirit of God
is moving in
the midst of
His sons and
daughters,
the hallmark
of the
Spirit's
activity
is freedom.
When the
Holy Spirit
moves on
us and
applies the
finished work
of Christ
to us in
greater and
greater measure
and we are
experiencing
greater and
greater measures
of freedom
to not be
ruled by sin,
to not be
ruled by fear,
but to be
ruled by grace
and to live
our lives
out of the
freedom purchased
for us by
Christ, the
Holy Spirit is
seeking to do
that in our
midst so we
don't need to
go back to
legalism.
So the first
reason why we
must not revert
back to a
legalism is
that we are
God's new
covenant people
indwelt by the
Spirit.
Isn't that good
news?
Here is the
second reason.
The second
reason is in
verses 6
through 9.
Now it is
unfortunate in
the ESV that
verse 6 is
at the end of
a paragraph
after verse 5
when verse 6
should actually
begin beginning
the paragraph
before verse 7.
And so that
question mark at
the end of
verse 6 should
be following the
word faith at
the end of
verse 5 because
Paul is making
a really important
argument.
I am going to
help you to
see that.
But here is the
second reason
why.
Brothers and
sisters,
Gentile brothers
and sisters,
the second
reason why we
don't go back
to legalism is
we are sons and
daughters of
Abraham.
And Abraham
was no
legalist.
father Abraham.
Maybe you have
heard that
familiar song,
classic Sunday
school hit.
Father Abraham.
Sing with me.
Father Abraham
had many sons
and many sons
had father
Abraham.
I am one of
them and so
are you.
So let's all
praise the
Lord.
Let me ask you
this.
How is it
that Gentiles
living in the
21st century
can say
we are
somehow
related to
Abraham
who lived
thousands of
years before
us and we
have no
common DNA?
How are we
related?
Amen.
In verse 6
we read this.
Just as
Abraham believed
God
and it was
counted to him
as righteousness.
Here's what
is being said
in Genesis 15
6.
That's the
quote.
God promised
that Abraham
would give
a descendant
would come
from despite
his old age
and God
would populate
the earth
with his
descendants
as the
stars and
the heavens.
Abraham
believed that
promise
and God
credited
that belief
God
credited
it in
his sight
as
righteousness.
At that
moment
Abraham
was justified
made right
with God.
Nothing he
did.
The law
had not come
yet.
He wasn't
circumcised.
He believed
and God
said you're
right with
me
because you
trust me.
And so the
argument goes
like this.
Just as
Abraham was
justified by
faith
verse 6
7
no
believe it
bank on
it
know then
that it is
those
anyone
of faith
anyone
who believes
in the
finished
work of
Christ
know
that it
is
those
of
faith
who are
the
real
sons
of
Abraham.
Do you
know what's
going on
in Galatia?
Here's these
false teachers
who are
saying oh
you want
to be a
son or
daughter of
Abraham?
Oh you
need to
get
circumcised.
Oh you
need to
eat kosher.
Oh really?
Oh you
need to
observe Jewish
holidays.
And Paul
is saying
no no
no.
a true
son or
daughter of
Abraham
is one
who doesn't
perform the
law to be
justified.
A true
son or
daughter of
Abraham
is justified
by faith.
Abraham
was no
legalist
and we
as his
sons and
daughters
are no
legalists
either.
What has
made us
right with
God is
not what
we do
it's what
Christ has
done.
And you
know what?
It gets
better.
Look at
verse 8.
And the
scripture
foreseeing
that God
would justify
the Gentiles
by faith
preached the
gospel beforehand
to Abraham
saying in
you shall all
the nations
be blessed.
Literally in
you shall all
the Gentiles
be blessed.
Is that
in my
Bible?
Is that
in your
Bible?
Do you
know what
that's
saying?
The gospel
that justifies
people by
faith has
been God's
plan all
along.
Way back
in Genesis
the scriptures
were preaching
the gospel
to Abraham
saying not
by works
but by faith
in what God
has done.
So what
that means
for us
is that
we are
sons and
daughters
of Abraham
not because
we're
obeying
the law
but because
we've been
justified
by faith
and that
was God's
plan all
along.
Next week
we're going
to see
the fireworks
of how
this blessing
has come
to us
as
Gentiles.
But here's
the intended
effect.
Because God
has always
intended
Gentiles
to be
fully
included
into his
new covenant
people
sons and
daughters
of Abraham
and it's
always
by faith
there's
no distinction
among God's
people.
the issue
isn't if
you're a
Jew or
Gentile
the issue
is how
you've
responded
to Christ
crucified.
Have you
believed
that?
Have you
trusted in
that?
And so in
this first
century
Galatia
the issue
was these
Christian
Jews were
saying hey
we're kind
of first
class
Christians
I mean
we're
Jews
and
Gentiles
were being
thought of
as kind
of a
second
class
Christian
and what
was happening
was in
order for
a Gentile
to become
a Christian
they needed
to become
a Jew
and what
Paul is
saying here
is no
no you got
the whole
sons and
daughters of
Abraham thing
wrong.
According to
my Bible
Paul says
what justified
Abraham was
his faith.
So anybody
who has
faith in
God will
be justified
by God
and therefore
the difference
between Jew
and Gentile
if you're
believers in
Christ
it's not a
big difference
because the
issue is
Jesus.
Now
today
in our
congregation
we're not
having fights
over
who's
Jewish
who's
Gentile
and what
does that
mean for
us.
But
we deal
with other
issues.
We deal
with other
kinds of
differences
other
distinctions
that are
made
and they
can fall
along a
very similar
first class
second class
Christian kind
of line.
Now I'm not
going to go
into all
of the
differences
but here's
one that
you need
to be
aware of.
There can
be a
difference
between
churchy
people
and
non-church
people.
And
churchy
people are
those people
who've spent
a lot of
time going
to church.
They are
the religious
insiders.
They've got
I'm one
of them
churchy
language
churchy
expectations
kind of a
churchy
schedule that
they live
off of.
And so
these
churchy
people which
I would
count myself
one of
what can
happen is
we can
think that
we got it
down.
And in
order for
someone to
become a
Christian they
got to
become
churchy
like us.
And so
there's this
other group
of people
people who
have not
spent most
of their
lives inside
the church
but outside
of the church
and all of a
sudden when
they're around
churchy people
they can feel
like they're a
religious
outsider.
And they can
start drawing
the false
conclusion that
in order for
me to become
a Christian
I need to
become churchy.
But the
gospel says
none of that
business
because that
is not
what makes
one a
Christian
or not.
What makes
one a
Christian
is not if
they're
churchy or
not
it's how
you have
responded to
Christ crucified.
Of whether
or not you
have believed
that
alone
for your
salvation.
So the
issue is not
whether or not
you've been
growing up in
the church
or not
the issue
is if you're
justified by
faith or not
of whether
or not
you're a
son or
daughter
of Abraham.
So in
verse 9 we
have this
summary statement.
So then
those who are
of faith
justified by
faith they
are blessed
along with
Abraham who
also exercised
faith.
And that
word blessed
is carrying
with it
Paul is
connecting the
blessing of God
in Galatians
with us
being justified
by God
according to
our faith.
So what he's
saying is here
is we don't
revert back
to legalism
because we're
sons and
daughters of
Abraham and
he wasn't a
legalist.
He was justified
by faith.
We are the
legit sons
and daughters
of Abraham.
Members
of God's
new covenant
people.
That's the
second reason.
Don't go
back in
light of the
gospel of
grace that
has made
you a son
or daughter
of Abraham.
Don't go
back.
The third
reason why
we don't go
back to
legalism trying
to finish
what God
has begun
in us is
third reasons
found in
verses 10
through 14.
It goes
something like
this.
We don't
go back
because we
who were
under a
curse, that
curse has
put on
Christ and
the blessing
in Christ
has been
given to
us.
Don't go
back.
Another way
to say it
is this.
Legalism
leads to
being cursed
and that
curse was
put on
Christ's
head so
don't go
back to
legalism for
which Christ
was cursed.
all
throughout
this
passage
Paul is
appealing
to
multiple
Old
Testament
passages.
In this
section
in 10
through 14
there are
multiple
Old Testament
passages
that he
appeals to.
So in
verse 10
he says
for all
who rely
on the
works
of the
law
are under
a curse.
Now
those
who rely
on the
works
of the
law
are in
contrast
to
verse 9
those
who are
of faith
are blessed
with
Abraham.
So those
who are
relying on
the law
are the
ones who
are actually
trusting in
their obedience
to make
them right
with God.
And he
says
for all
who rely
on the
works of
the law
are
blessed.
Man
that guy's
blessed.
You see
how much
he obeys?
It says
here
for all
who rely
on the
works of
the law
who are
trusting
in their
own
flesh
to make
them
right
with
God
they're
not
blessed
they're
under
a
curse.
And he
appeals to
Deuteronomy
27
26
for
cursed
be
everyone
who
does
not
abide
by
all
things
written
in
the
book
of
the
law
and
do
them.
Here's
what he's
saying.
If you're
trying to
justify
yourself
by
obeying
any
of
the
law
you
are
obligated
to
keep
all
the
commands
of
the
law
all
the
time
all
your
life.
And did
you know
that there
are actually
613 commandments
in the
Old
Testament?
So
here's
what this
means.
If you're
trying to
justify
yourself
by the
law
you've
come to
faith in
Jesus
and you're
like
okay
Jesus
started
it well
his
blood
spirit
now
I
gotta
work
this
out
by
my
flesh
I'm
gonna
obey
God's
law
which
means
you gotta
obey
all
613
commandments
all the
time
all your
days.
So let's
take a
straw poll
just
show of
hands.
Who in
this room
has
obeyed
all
613
commandments
of the
Old
Testament
every
day
of
their
life
all
the
days
of
their
life
up to
this
point
hands
please.
No?
Okay let's
narrow it
down.
Let's
just go
down to
the
Ten
Commandments.
Okay so
who in
this room
has been
able to
obey
all
Ten
Commandments
all
the
days
of
their
life
in
both
attitude
and
action?
Raise
your
hand
please.
Oh no
couldn't
do it.
Let's
commandment
the
commandment
that you
shall
have
no
other
gods
before
you
who
in
this
room
please
raise
your
hand
who
in
this
room
is
able
to
say
that
they
have
no
had
no
other
gods
before
them
all
the
days
of
their
life
up
until
this
point.
No
one.
No
one.
You
have
not
obeyed
God's
law.
And
if you
think
you
have
you
haven't
obeyed
the
rest
of
God's
law.
Here's
Paul's
point
in
bringing
this
up.
Quoting
Deuteronomy
27.
If you're
seeking
to justify
yourself
in your
flesh by
obeying
any
of God's
law
you are
obligated
to obey
all of
God's
law.
Which
means
this
if you
just
break
one
of
God's
law
you've
broken
the
whole
thing.
That's
why
he
says
you're
under
a
curse.
Even
if
you're
thinking
you're
obeying
God
in
these
three
commands
and
failing
to
obey
God
in
these
other
610
commands
you're
under
a
curse.
Failure
at any
point
in
God's
law
brings
us
under
failure
of
all
of
God's
law
which
means
we
are
condemned
by
God.
That's
in
verse
312
he says
but the
law
is
not
a
faith
rather
the
one
who
does
them
shall
live
by
them
all
of
them.
So
what
Paul
is
saying
here
is
this
don't
you
realize
Galatians
don't
you
realize
Christ
the
King
Church
that
by
trying
to
justify
yourself
by
obeying
any
command
obligates
you
to
all
of
the
commands
of
God
which
no
one
can
obey
and
are
therefore
under
a
curse
it's
not
that
you
just
can't
obey
it
you're
cursed
for
trying
so
here's
the
point
we
don't
go
back
to
legalism
because
it
only
leads
to
cursing
in
verse
11
here's
this
ray
of
light
now
it
is
evident
that
no
one
is
justified
before
God
by
the
law
for
the
righteous
shall
live
by
faith
Paul's
point
is
this
even
the
law
says
no
one
can
be
justified
by
the
law
and
he
quotes
Habakkuk
2
4
he
says
only
the
justified
live
by
faith
even
the
law
says
that
so
if
we
can't
justify
ourselves
by
the
law
and
make
us
acceptable
in
God's
sight
how
are we
to
live
well
he
says
we're
to
live
by
faith
the
righteous
shall
live
by
faith
but
what
about
all
of
the
commands
we've
broken
even
if
it's
just
one
that's
still
over
our
heads
what
about
that
that's
why
13
and
14
is
such
good
news
Christ
redeemed
us
from
the
curse
of
the
law
by
becoming
a
curse
for
us
for
it
is
written
curse
it
is
everyone
who's
hanged
on
a
tree
if
I
can
use
Galatians
2
20
as
kind
of
a
riff
I
would
say
this
we
have
been
crucified
with
Christ
it's
no
longer
us
who
live
but
Christ
lives
in
us
in
the
life
we
now
live
in
the
flesh
we
live
we
don't
go
back
to
living
for
the
law
thinking
that
it
can
justify
us
there's
no
blessing
in
it
there's
only
curse
when
you
hear
the
word
curse
I'm
guessing
you
may
be
thinking
your
mind
goes
to
like
a
1960s
bewitched
with
that
witchy
lady
who
kind
of
wiggles
her
nose
and
curses
somebody
and
it's
kind
of
cute
biblical
cursing
is
not
cute
and
in
Galatians
and
in
our
Bibles
curse
is
the
opposite
of
blessing
and
I've
tried
to
convince
you
that
Paul
uses
blessing
along
the
same
lines
as
what
it
means
to
be
justified
by
faith
so
if
to
be
blessed
is
to
be
justified
by
faith
to
be
cursed
is
to
be
condemned
by
our
works
and
here
is
what
Christ
has
done
he
took
our
curse
on
himself
he
redeemed
us
he
paid
for
us
he
delivered
us
through
a
payment
from
the
curse
by
taking
our
curse
on
himself
my
favorite
words
in this
section
are
two
words
the
words
for
us
Christ
redeemed
us
from
the
curse
of
the law
by
becoming
a
curse
for
us
you know
the irony
of this
is that
Jesus
lived a
perfect life
every thought
every feeling
every action
was pleasing
to God
he honored
God
every day
of his life
all 613
Old Testament
commandments
he fulfilled
fully
every day
he walked
this earth
so how
is it
that
this
perfect
man
can
hang
on a
cross
cursed
because
cursed
is the
one
who
hangs
on a
tree
God's
curse
is on
him
it's
because
he did
it
for us
knowing
all
Jews
and
Gentiles
who would
one day
believe
in him
Jesus
took
on our
curse
at the
cross
he
paid
in full
for all
of our
failures
to obey
all of
God's
commands
that resulted
in the
curse
he took
it
God
poured out
his wrath
for our
curse
on Christ's
head
but it
doesn't end
there
because there's
verse 14
Christ
redeemed us
from the curse
of the law
by becoming
a curse
for us
14
so that
in Christ
Jesus
the blessing
justification
by faith
that
justifying
blessing
of Abraham
might come
to us
Gentiles
so that
we might
receive the
promised
spirit
new covenant
through faith
Jesus
removed the
curse
from us
by taking
it on his
own head
and we
are brought
into Christ
because he
is the
offspring
of Abraham
through whom
all the
nations
will be
blessed
and in
Christ
we experience
the blessing
of having
his righteousness
imputed to
us
that's good
news
we don't
go back
to legalism
because
our legalism
led to a
curse
which
Jesus
paid for
in full
we don't
go back
okay
this morning
we've
looked at
reasons
why we
don't
go back
to legalism
the gospel
of grace
is wonderful
and when you
get it
you don't
go back
to legalism
you fight
it
it's because
you're part
of the new
covenant
community
indwelt
by the
spirit
you are
united
to Abraham
in a
shared
faith
a
justifying
faith
and you
don't
go back
because the
curse
for your
disobedience
has fallen
on Christ
so you
don't go
back
which means
this
when you
realize all
that God
and Christ
has done
for you
you realize
I don't
need to
obey
in order
to gain
God's
favor
God
has already
shown me
his favor
through the
cross of
Jesus
and therefore
I obey
I began
by reading
a little
poem
attributed
to John
Bunyan
run
John
run
the law
demands
but gives
us neither
feet
nor hands
much better
news the
gospel brings
it bids us
fly and
gives us
wings
we don't
go back
to the
misery of
trying to
win God's
favor by
obeying the
law
we
indwelt
by the
spirit
walk by
the spirit
and now
live out
the freedom
that is
ours
in Christ
Jesus
in light
of the
gospel of
grace
we don't
go back
to legalism
let's pray
God in
heaven
would you
press this
into our
hearts
would you
help us
to live
out
the freedom
that Christ
has purchased
for us
in the power
of your
spirit
God would you
keep us
by the
gospel
from going
back
to trying
to live
a life
that you've
delivered us
from
in Jesus
name we
pray
amen
I'm
really
I'm
doing
that