WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.580 If you turn to Galatians, chapter 1, I've been here 22 years, and over the summer I worked 00:00:08.580 --> 00:00:16.480 ! out the books that I hadn't preached on in the Bible. And so we've got Galatians, 1, 2, 3 John, 00:00:16.480 --> 00:00:23.760 and then the greatest hits of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Lamentations, Joshua, 1 and 2 Chronicles. So you're 00:00:23.760 --> 00:00:32.359 in for a great few years, all right, coming up. And I've shied away from Galatians, but I'm quite 00:00:32.359 --> 00:00:37.900 excited about preaching it. And there's many things that I'd love you to know as a church family. 00:00:37.900 --> 00:00:44.140 There's many things I want you to know, lots of things about the Bible and about the Christian 00:00:44.140 --> 00:00:49.079 life that I want you to know, but I think what Galatians gives you is what you need to know. 00:00:49.079 --> 00:00:56.799 And particularly as we start this morning, I need you to know this. Many things I want you to know, 00:00:57.700 --> 00:01:03.500 but what is the key message of the church we need you to know? And that's Galatians, chapter 1, 00:01:03.560 --> 00:01:10.959 verses 1 to 5. Really, we're going to look at the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what I need 00:01:10.959 --> 00:01:15.680 you to know. Galatians might be one of the earliest, well, it might be the earliest of the New Testament 00:01:15.680 --> 00:01:22.420 letters. It's a toss-up between Galatians and 1 Thessalonians. But most people think it is Galatians. 00:01:23.680 --> 00:01:31.280 It means it was written about 48 AD. It's only 15 years, 1-5, 15 years after the death of the Lord 00:01:31.280 --> 00:01:40.600 Jesus. It's not a lot of time. These are the first words we read of the Apostle Paul. Possibly the first 00:01:40.599 --> 00:01:47.719 words in the New Testament. They're exciting words. The first words written by New Testament believers. 00:01:49.459 --> 00:01:55.299 And I think that's really important. It's important because lots of the sceptics that are around today, 00:01:56.399 --> 00:02:01.519 and the kind of default that people think is that the Christian faith kind of evolved. 00:02:03.359 --> 00:02:08.699 Jesus was a nice guy. He did lots of good things. And then he's kind of evolved into what we believe 00:02:08.699 --> 00:02:13.560 about him today. Those who were there at the time, they didn't really think that. They admired him. 00:02:14.060 --> 00:02:17.599 But it's evolved into this kind of more complex 00:02:17.599 --> 00:02:19.599 Son of God kind of stuff. 00:02:22.459 --> 00:02:26.439 The Christian faith, they would say, started really simply and unsupernaturally. 00:02:27.019 --> 00:02:30.259 And gradually, those doctrines kind of evolved. 00:02:30.579 --> 00:02:31.839 But that just isn't the case. 00:02:33.379 --> 00:02:37.280 The great truths which Christians believe, that we believe, are there right from the beginning. 00:02:37.280 --> 00:02:39.640 Just look at the first few verses of Galatians. 00:02:41.259 --> 00:02:44.939 Verse 1, you have Jesus alongside the Father. 00:02:46.639 --> 00:02:51.180 And you've got the resurrection in the first verse, haven't you? 00:02:51.319 --> 00:02:54.180 God raised him from the dead, right from the off. 00:02:55.620 --> 00:03:01.099 You've got verses 3 to 5, the atoning death of Jesus Christ for our sins. 00:03:01.099 --> 00:03:05.859 So it's all there, right from the very first words of the New Testament. 00:03:06.979 --> 00:03:14.659 Now I want to pass quickly over verses 1 and 2, where Paul states more clearly than anywhere else in the New Testament, 00:03:14.759 --> 00:03:16.919 his kind of divine right of apostleship. 00:03:16.919 --> 00:03:20.379 Verse 1, Paul, an apostle, a saint one, 00:03:21.879 --> 00:03:28.179 not from men, nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, 00:03:28.279 --> 00:03:30.039 who raised him from the dead, 00:03:30.799 --> 00:03:32.839 and all the brothers who are with me. 00:03:34.060 --> 00:03:36.539 He emphasizes his apostleship there. 00:03:36.539 --> 00:03:39.560 It's something we're going to come back to again and again in Galatians. 00:03:40.479 --> 00:03:44.620 There are people in the church in Galatia who are trying to influence the church, 00:03:45.459 --> 00:03:48.340 and they're very anti the apostle Paul. 00:03:49.399 --> 00:03:51.899 And they're casting doubt on his apostleship. 00:03:53.039 --> 00:03:55.719 So can you see, right from the very first words of verse 1, 00:03:55.819 --> 00:03:58.199 Paul stresses, doesn't he, in very strong words, 00:03:58.319 --> 00:03:59.799 I am an apostle of Jesus Christ. 00:03:59.800 --> 00:04:06.460 I am an authoritative witness, and I am an authoritative spokesman of Jesus Christ. 00:04:06.560 --> 00:04:07.460 It's not from man. 00:04:08.420 --> 00:04:09.660 It's not by man. 00:04:09.860 --> 00:04:11.480 It's not something that I took upon myself. 00:04:11.580 --> 00:04:13.020 It's not something I applied to. 00:04:14.680 --> 00:04:18.519 It's not something anyone appointed him to, or was conferred upon him. 00:04:18.600 --> 00:04:22.300 It was the choice of God, who raised Jesus from the dead. 00:04:22.360 --> 00:04:24.660 And he's going to say much more about that in chapter 1 and chapter 2. 00:04:25.900 --> 00:04:28.139 But I want to start with verses 3 to 5, 00:04:28.139 --> 00:04:30.180 and we're going to do something slightly different in this series. 00:04:30.339 --> 00:04:32.439 We're going to do memory verses, all right? 00:04:33.519 --> 00:04:35.939 And so we have given you a little card. 00:04:37.079 --> 00:04:40.000 And if you can get it, it should have been in all your service sheets. 00:04:40.180 --> 00:04:42.899 I want you to pin it on your fridge, put it in your Bible, 00:04:43.240 --> 00:04:45.339 stick it on the windscreen of your car if you want to. 00:04:46.199 --> 00:04:50.300 But I want us to start, in the words of Psalm 119, 00:04:50.459 --> 00:04:54.139 hiding God's word in our hearts that we might not sin against him. 00:04:54.699 --> 00:04:57.279 And we get children of our church, don't we, to learn the Bible, 00:04:57.279 --> 00:05:01.239 but for some reason we think when we get to about 14 or 15 that we've outgrown it. 00:05:02.679 --> 00:05:06.319 And so would you read with me Galatians 1, verses 3 to 5. 00:05:06.339 --> 00:05:07.159 Let's say it all together. 00:05:07.160 --> 00:05:08.160 Amen. 00:05:08.160 --> 00:05:36.000 And so what we have in those verses is really the earliest statement. 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:40.139 in the New Testament about the meaning of the death of the Lord Jesus. 00:05:41.399 --> 00:05:47.839 And I want to give you six points, yes, six points about the death of the Lord Jesus. 00:05:47.920 --> 00:05:48.959 Before we do that, let's pray. 00:05:48.959 --> 00:05:57.399 And we thank you, Lord, for this, the greatest of all subjects. 00:06:00.299 --> 00:06:05.479 And I guess, Lord, that some of us, when we hear about the message of the cross, 00:06:05.699 --> 00:06:08.000 or that we're going to hear a sermon on the cross, 00:06:08.159 --> 00:06:10.899 we switch off because we think we've heard it all before. 00:06:10.899 --> 00:06:16.839 And we pray, Lord, that we wouldn't do that this morning. 00:06:18.539 --> 00:06:22.039 We ask that the death of the Lord Jesus, the cross of our Savior, 00:06:22.179 --> 00:06:26.379 would come to us with a new power, with a new freshness. 00:06:27.459 --> 00:06:30.620 We ask that your Holy Spirit would bless his word 00:06:30.620 --> 00:06:33.980 and focus us on Jesus and what he's done for us. 00:06:35.139 --> 00:06:38.879 And we pray that we would be sent away today with glad hearts. 00:06:40.079 --> 00:06:42.579 Bring us to Jesus, we ask, in his name. 00:06:43.540 --> 00:06:43.879 Amen. 00:06:44.759 --> 00:06:45.300 Six points. 00:06:45.379 --> 00:06:47.560 Number one, Jesus' death was voluntary. 00:06:48.920 --> 00:06:50.120 Jesus' death was voluntary. 00:06:50.120 --> 00:06:53.220 Verse 4, can you see it? 00:06:54.079 --> 00:06:54.720 Jesus. 00:06:57.920 --> 00:07:00.060 Christ who gave himself. 00:07:01.579 --> 00:07:04.240 Jesus gave himself for our sins. 00:07:06.120 --> 00:07:09.879 Jesus chose to die for us. 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:14.500 Jesus wasn't betrayed and arrested and put on trial 00:07:14.500 --> 00:07:18.879 and condemned and ill-treated and tortured and crucified against his will. 00:07:20.120 --> 00:07:24.280 His death on the cross was not something he resisted. 00:07:25.720 --> 00:07:28.220 And then he was finally overcome by his enemies. 00:07:29.060 --> 00:07:32.939 Jesus wasn't dragged to crucifixion against his will. 00:07:34.579 --> 00:07:37.959 Jesus didn't go suddenly on that road to Calvary, 00:07:38.079 --> 00:07:40.079 kind of sullenly accepting the inevitable. 00:07:40.259 --> 00:07:43.160 No, this is what Jesus wanted to do. 00:07:44.040 --> 00:07:46.780 This is what the Lord Jesus chose to do. 00:07:47.860 --> 00:07:49.319 He gave himself. 00:07:50.120 --> 00:07:56.259 At the good shepherd, gave himself for his sheep. 00:07:57.000 --> 00:07:58.160 John 10, he says, 00:07:58.360 --> 00:08:01.240 No one takes my life from me. 00:08:01.560 --> 00:08:02.860 I lay it down myself. 00:08:03.959 --> 00:08:04.959 Jesus gave himself. 00:08:06.920 --> 00:08:09.180 He chose to do what he did. 00:08:09.180 --> 00:08:11.639 That's very clear, isn't it? 00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:13.540 If you take Mark's gospel, do you remember Mark's gospel? 00:08:13.680 --> 00:08:14.639 Chapters 1 to 8. 00:08:16.060 --> 00:08:18.720 Jesus reveals to his disciples who he is, his identity. 00:08:20.300 --> 00:08:21.300 He is the Christ. 00:08:21.379 --> 00:08:23.160 He is the one who has absolute authority. 00:08:23.960 --> 00:08:26.500 He has authority in his teaching. 00:08:26.720 --> 00:08:29.660 He has authority over demons, over disease. 00:08:29.920 --> 00:08:31.500 He has authority over nature. 00:08:31.500 --> 00:08:34.419 He has authority over disability. 00:08:34.919 --> 00:08:37.039 He has authority even over death. 00:08:37.039 --> 00:08:40.779 And then he gets to the halfway point in Mark's gospel. 00:08:41.179 --> 00:08:46.899 And he tells his astonished disciples that this one who has authority over absolutely everything is going to Jerusalem. 00:08:47.740 --> 00:08:49.480 And when he gets there, he will be rejected. 00:08:49.799 --> 00:08:51.459 And he will suffer and he will be killed. 00:08:52.679 --> 00:08:55.799 And we're told that Jesus sets his face towards Jerusalem. 00:08:55.799 --> 00:09:03.419 That he knowingly drinks the cup that his father had given him to drink. 00:09:04.539 --> 00:09:05.779 He willingly drinks it. 00:09:08.339 --> 00:09:16.359 When he's about to be arrested, you remember the soldiers approach him and Jesus forbids his disciples to resist. 00:09:16.659 --> 00:09:18.740 He says, put your swords away, boys. 00:09:18.740 --> 00:09:28.080 He says, don't you realize that I could call to my father in heaven and 12 legions of angels would come and rescue me if I wanted them to. 00:09:28.680 --> 00:09:29.919 They would get me out of this. 00:09:31.019 --> 00:09:32.299 Put your swords away. 00:09:34.019 --> 00:09:36.600 Jesus chose to die. 00:09:38.299 --> 00:09:39.379 He gave himself. 00:09:40.980 --> 00:09:43.200 So the question is, isn't it, why did he do that? 00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:49.840 Why did he voluntarily choose to give himself? 00:09:51.420 --> 00:09:52.440 And the answer is love. 00:09:54.360 --> 00:09:56.060 Love is the reason why he did that. 00:09:58.000 --> 00:09:59.200 Love was why he did it. 00:09:59.379 --> 00:10:02.640 If you just look at Galatians chapter 2 and verse 20, flick over the page. 00:10:04.020 --> 00:10:05.300 These remarkable verse. 00:10:06.540 --> 00:10:08.379 Halfway through the verse he says this, Paul. 00:10:08.379 --> 00:10:10.640 And the life I now live in the flesh. 00:10:10.639 --> 00:10:19.080 I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. 00:10:21.399 --> 00:10:23.100 It's what every Christian can say, isn't it? 00:10:23.759 --> 00:10:28.319 The son of God loved me and gave himself for me. 00:10:31.059 --> 00:10:33.039 So the death of Jesus was voluntary. 00:10:35.340 --> 00:10:38.039 Secondly, the death of Jesus, Jesus' death was an act of obedience. 00:10:38.179 --> 00:10:39.360 Can you see that in verse 4? 00:10:40.639 --> 00:10:50.059 He gave himself for all our sins and to deliver us from this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father. 00:10:51.720 --> 00:10:53.519 And Jesus gave himself willingly. 00:10:55.000 --> 00:10:58.120 He gave himself because it was what his father had planned. 00:10:59.199 --> 00:11:00.620 And it was what his father had wanted. 00:11:00.620 --> 00:11:05.340 You can go to those passages in Mark's gospel. 00:11:06.279 --> 00:11:09.340 Where he will talk about how he will go to Jerusalem to die. 00:11:09.700 --> 00:11:13.159 And do you remember how Jesus says it in Mark's gospel if you read it? 00:11:13.500 --> 00:11:14.879 He says, it must happen. 00:11:16.200 --> 00:11:16.779 It must happen. 00:11:16.840 --> 00:11:19.379 It says, the son of man, which is the way he refers to himself. 00:11:19.460 --> 00:11:21.779 The son of man must go to Jerusalem. 00:11:22.179 --> 00:11:23.080 He must suffer. 00:11:23.279 --> 00:11:24.320 So why must he? 00:11:24.320 --> 00:11:28.120 Because it is his father's will. 00:11:30.100 --> 00:11:32.900 And because the scriptures, God's word must be fulfilled. 00:11:34.700 --> 00:11:36.400 The scriptures foretold it. 00:11:37.140 --> 00:11:38.400 The father wills it. 00:11:38.399 --> 00:11:41.819 It's what the father wanted him to do. 00:11:43.299 --> 00:11:46.519 And that is why the Lord Jesus gives himself to this. 00:11:46.579 --> 00:11:47.399 That is why he was doing it. 00:11:47.579 --> 00:11:48.759 So you go to John's gospel. 00:11:49.939 --> 00:11:55.319 And you read over and over and over again where Jesus says he'd come to do his father's will. 00:11:57.399 --> 00:11:58.799 He'd come to please his father. 00:11:58.799 --> 00:12:05.019 He'd come to do the work that he'd been given to do by his father. 00:12:06.479 --> 00:12:08.079 He was doing the will of God. 00:12:08.159 --> 00:12:09.099 It was his father's will. 00:12:10.179 --> 00:12:11.819 That he lay down his life. 00:12:12.159 --> 00:12:13.399 That he give his life. 00:12:15.059 --> 00:12:17.679 And so you go to the Garden of Gethsemane again. 00:12:19.519 --> 00:12:21.079 And where Jesus prays. 00:12:21.319 --> 00:12:23.439 And it's the night before his crucifixion. 00:12:23.439 --> 00:12:27.939 And he prays and sweat, as it were, like great drops of blood falls from him. 00:12:29.299 --> 00:12:30.459 And he prayed, didn't he? 00:12:30.500 --> 00:12:32.620 If it is possible, let this cup pass from me. 00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:36.099 Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. 00:12:37.979 --> 00:12:40.579 And then he rises to meet those soldiers that we just talked about. 00:12:40.620 --> 00:12:43.279 He rises to meet Judas, who've come to arrest him. 00:12:43.579 --> 00:12:44.919 And he says these words. 00:12:45.179 --> 00:12:49.639 Shall I not drink the cup that the father has given me? 00:12:52.199 --> 00:12:56.179 The Apostle Paul in Philippians says that the Lord Jesus was obedient. 00:12:56.319 --> 00:12:57.879 Obedient even to death. 00:12:58.799 --> 00:12:59.539 On a cross. 00:13:01.559 --> 00:13:06.379 And so can you see these first two points that Paul is making in Galatians 1, 3 to 5. 00:13:06.379 --> 00:13:08.539 That Jesus gave himself. 00:13:09.299 --> 00:13:12.559 And his death was an act of obedience to the father. 00:13:12.879 --> 00:13:14.879 These first points tell you, don't they? 00:13:15.099 --> 00:13:18.699 That the father and the son are in perfect harmony. 00:13:20.459 --> 00:13:23.339 They are in perfect harmony when it comes to the death of Jesus. 00:13:23.340 --> 00:13:31.960 We must never imply that the son volunteered to do something against the father's will. 00:13:31.960 --> 00:13:38.040 Or that the father required the son to do something against his will. 00:13:38.039 --> 00:13:42.639 The father and the son were completely at one. 00:13:44.179 --> 00:13:46.500 Jesus gave himself in love and obedience. 00:13:47.199 --> 00:13:48.360 In love for us. 00:13:49.120 --> 00:13:50.500 And in love for his father. 00:13:50.699 --> 00:13:52.139 And in desire to do his father's will. 00:13:52.240 --> 00:13:52.839 Number three. 00:13:52.840 --> 00:13:55.800 Jesus' death was for our sin. 00:13:56.980 --> 00:13:58.280 Jesus' death was voluntary. 00:13:59.480 --> 00:14:01.259 Jesus' death was an act of obedience. 00:14:01.899 --> 00:14:02.460 Number three. 00:14:02.920 --> 00:14:04.100 Jesus' death was for our sin. 00:14:04.139 --> 00:14:04.879 Look at verse four. 00:14:05.580 --> 00:14:09.460 He gave himself for our sins. 00:14:09.460 --> 00:14:16.840 And why was this giving of himself and this act of loving obedience necessary? 00:14:18.940 --> 00:14:22.519 Well, Paul says, it's necessary that Jesus died for our sins. 00:14:25.340 --> 00:14:26.840 Our moral failure. 00:14:29.960 --> 00:14:31.000 Our rebellion. 00:14:32.900 --> 00:14:35.060 Our disobedience towards God. 00:14:35.059 --> 00:14:38.019 It was our sin. 00:14:38.019 --> 00:14:38.039 Our sin. 00:14:38.039 --> 00:14:38.699 Our sin. 00:14:39.899 --> 00:14:42.639 That made it necessary for Jesus to do this. 00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:47.479 Jesus was without sin. 00:14:49.579 --> 00:14:52.699 So Jesus' death was not on account of his own sins. 00:14:54.339 --> 00:14:56.000 But on account of our sins. 00:14:56.079 --> 00:14:56.899 His people's sins. 00:14:58.639 --> 00:15:01.159 And again, that's what the New Testament says right the way through, isn't it? 00:15:01.159 --> 00:15:07.439 In 1 Corinthians 15 and verse three, the Apostle Paul says, 00:15:07.559 --> 00:15:10.919 And these are the really key things about my ministry. 00:15:12.059 --> 00:15:14.559 Here are the most important things about the gospel. 00:15:15.620 --> 00:15:17.279 Here are the things that I need you to know. 00:15:17.480 --> 00:15:19.360 Christ died for our sins. 00:15:20.439 --> 00:15:22.480 He was buried on the third day. 00:15:23.759 --> 00:15:25.259 And he was raised again. 00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:28.459 Christ died for our sins. 00:15:28.460 --> 00:15:29.460 Christ died for our sins. 00:15:30.019 --> 00:15:32.800 The Apostle Peter in 1 Peter 3 verse 18 said this, 00:15:33.040 --> 00:15:35.480 Christ also suffered once for sins, 00:15:35.800 --> 00:15:37.780 the righteous for the unrighteous, 00:15:38.740 --> 00:15:40.400 that he might bring us to God. 00:15:42.900 --> 00:15:44.440 And of course, this builds, doesn't it, 00:15:44.460 --> 00:15:45.900 on the whole teaching of the Old Testament. 00:15:48.240 --> 00:15:50.139 So you read the Old Testament and you will see there 00:15:50.139 --> 00:15:52.759 that there are Old Testament sacrifices for sins. 00:15:54.080 --> 00:15:55.660 There are differences, aren't there? 00:15:55.659 --> 00:15:59.059 Different kinds of sacrifices. 00:15:59.759 --> 00:16:01.559 But there are animal sacrifices. 00:16:03.539 --> 00:16:05.819 What's the difference between an animal sacrifice 00:16:05.819 --> 00:16:07.679 and the Lord Jesus' sacrifice? 00:16:08.659 --> 00:16:09.719 What have we learned already? 00:16:11.579 --> 00:16:13.860 We've learned, don't we, that animals don't give themselves. 00:16:14.059 --> 00:16:16.600 We've learned that the Lord Jesus gave himself. 00:16:16.699 --> 00:16:17.759 The animal never gave himself. 00:16:17.759 --> 00:16:23.000 The animal is taken kicking and screaming or blindly. 00:16:24.879 --> 00:16:25.939 They didn't give themselves. 00:16:26.100 --> 00:16:29.319 They were dragged kicking and screaming to the place of sacrifice. 00:16:29.840 --> 00:16:33.000 But the Lord Jesus gave himself to be a sacrifice for sin. 00:16:35.139 --> 00:16:37.759 You go to Isaiah and that most famous foreshadowing 00:16:38.580 --> 00:16:40.600 of the cross of Christ in Isaiah 53, 00:16:40.779 --> 00:16:44.080 the servant of the Lord who gives himself for Israel's sin, 00:16:44.080 --> 00:16:48.020 who is wounded for our transgressions, 00:16:48.320 --> 00:16:50.040 who is bruised for our iniquities. 00:16:50.360 --> 00:16:53.840 The punishment that brings us peace was laid upon him. 00:16:55.180 --> 00:16:57.560 And by his wounds, we are healed. 00:16:57.559 --> 00:17:04.919 And so in the Bible, death is associated with sin. 00:17:07.940 --> 00:17:09.159 Death is not natural. 00:17:10.059 --> 00:17:11.919 There's no such thing as a natural death. 00:17:13.139 --> 00:17:15.359 Death has come into our world as sin. 00:17:15.399 --> 00:17:16.159 Now, you know that, isn't it? 00:17:16.200 --> 00:17:16.799 How do you know that? 00:17:16.839 --> 00:17:19.639 Because when someone that you love dies, 00:17:19.720 --> 00:17:21.419 it feels like an intruder. 00:17:23.079 --> 00:17:24.399 It feels so wrong. 00:17:24.400 --> 00:17:32.040 The wages of sin, the Bible tells us, is death. 00:17:34.160 --> 00:17:37.800 And so Jesus' death, like all deaths, 00:17:37.900 --> 00:17:39.280 is associated with sin. 00:17:40.560 --> 00:17:42.680 But in his case, the sins are ours. 00:17:45.500 --> 00:17:46.340 Not his. 00:17:47.740 --> 00:17:51.180 And that means that Jesus acted as our substitute 00:17:51.180 --> 00:17:52.700 and our representative. 00:17:54.400 --> 00:17:56.640 Jesus died instead of us. 00:17:57.860 --> 00:17:59.380 He was our substitute. 00:18:00.860 --> 00:18:02.860 And he also died on our behalf. 00:18:02.980 --> 00:18:03.880 He was our representative. 00:18:06.040 --> 00:18:07.380 Let me try and illustrate it. 00:18:07.560 --> 00:18:11.500 Let's imagine that IPC Ealing have a football team, all right? 00:18:12.820 --> 00:18:14.800 And I'm one of the star players, quite naturally. 00:18:14.799 --> 00:18:19.119 And yet I'm getting old and I get injured often. 00:18:20.659 --> 00:18:24.440 And so I ask Andrew Cuey to be my substitute 00:18:24.440 --> 00:18:25.980 and to be my representative. 00:18:27.879 --> 00:18:31.180 And because Andrew goes to play for the IPC football team, 00:18:31.339 --> 00:18:32.119 I don't have to. 00:18:33.700 --> 00:18:36.079 I can sit at home while he plays the game. 00:18:36.079 --> 00:18:39.819 He's also my representative. 00:18:39.819 --> 00:18:41.399 He speaks on my behalf. 00:18:42.220 --> 00:18:43.240 He speaks in my name. 00:18:43.460 --> 00:18:45.939 When he scores, we score. 00:18:47.839 --> 00:18:50.359 And if his team wins, we win. 00:18:50.359 --> 00:18:54.979 And it's not just Andrew that wins. 00:18:55.819 --> 00:18:57.879 It's IPC Ealing that wins. 00:18:58.919 --> 00:19:00.659 His victory is ours. 00:19:00.660 --> 00:19:07.259 So in and through Andrew, the whole church plays and wins. 00:19:08.940 --> 00:19:12.759 Jesus is our substitute and our representative. 00:19:13.000 --> 00:19:14.740 He died instead of us. 00:19:16.420 --> 00:19:19.980 And because he died, we don't have to if we trust him. 00:19:20.220 --> 00:19:21.560 And he's also our representative. 00:19:24.040 --> 00:19:26.920 Jesus acted as the head of the church. 00:19:26.920 --> 00:19:31.779 And so what he did on our behalf, what he did, the church did. 00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:35.840 Not because we've actually done anything, 00:19:36.840 --> 00:19:39.759 but because Jesus, the head of the church, has done it. 00:19:40.120 --> 00:19:42.539 Jesus obeyed the law of God perfectly. 00:19:44.519 --> 00:19:46.039 Jesus died on the cross. 00:19:46.519 --> 00:19:48.759 He took the penalty for our sin. 00:19:49.360 --> 00:19:51.240 Jesus suffered what we should have suffered. 00:19:51.759 --> 00:19:54.060 And because he did it as head of the church, 00:19:54.680 --> 00:19:56.100 God regards us as having done it. 00:19:56.920 --> 00:20:01.019 So Jesus' death was for our sin. 00:20:02.039 --> 00:20:03.080 That's the third point. 00:20:04.900 --> 00:20:06.900 Number four, Jesus' death rescues us. 00:20:06.960 --> 00:20:07.820 Can you see that verse four? 00:20:11.180 --> 00:20:14.500 Who gave himself for our sins to deliver us, 00:20:14.620 --> 00:20:18.240 to rescue us from the present evil age. 00:20:18.240 --> 00:20:22.940 The word rescue here is different. 00:20:23.940 --> 00:20:25.819 It's unusual in the context. 00:20:26.779 --> 00:20:30.819 It's not usually said of what Jesus has done for us. 00:20:31.819 --> 00:20:36.319 This word rescue, it's used in the book of Acts that we studied last year. 00:20:36.319 --> 00:20:42.859 So it's used, for example, about Peter being rescued from prison by an angel. 00:20:43.379 --> 00:20:47.059 Peter being delivered, rescued from prison by an angel. 00:20:47.299 --> 00:20:52.399 It's used of the Apostle Paul when he was rescued from the Jewish lynch mob by the Romans. 00:20:52.400 --> 00:20:59.880 It's used of Stephen's speech in Acts of God rescuing Israel from the clutches of Egypt. 00:20:59.880 --> 00:21:05.720 And so Paul says here that Jesus' death rescues us. 00:21:05.720 --> 00:21:10.880 The implication is the situation we were in was disastrous and hopeless. 00:21:12.140 --> 00:21:18.839 We're facing misery, we're facing disaster, we're facing death unless someone comes and intervenes and pulls us out. 00:21:21.660 --> 00:21:24.079 And it is Jesus who intervenes. 00:21:25.559 --> 00:21:27.779 And it is by his death he rescues. 00:21:27.779 --> 00:21:37.500 Jesus' death is the only thing that can rescue you from your sins. 00:21:40.859 --> 00:21:48.559 And so that tells you, doesn't it, that self-salvation, trying to rescue yourself, is utterly impossible. 00:21:49.879 --> 00:21:51.579 And you should give up the attempt this morning. 00:21:51.579 --> 00:21:58.859 Jesus gave himself for our sins in order to rescue us. 00:22:01.359 --> 00:22:05.500 But what is it, according to our verse, that Jesus' death rescues us from? 00:22:07.919 --> 00:22:10.339 What is it that Jesus' death delivers us from? 00:22:10.399 --> 00:22:10.839 Can you see it? 00:22:11.559 --> 00:22:14.599 The present evil age. 00:22:16.699 --> 00:22:19.639 Could be, another way of putting it, is the present age of evil. 00:22:21.579 --> 00:22:23.939 Or the present age of the evil one. 00:22:26.799 --> 00:22:30.039 2 Corinthians 4 calls the devil the god of this age. 00:22:32.199 --> 00:22:37.059 The Jewish people divided history into two ages. 00:22:38.339 --> 00:22:42.480 At this age and the age to come. 00:22:43.619 --> 00:22:44.799 So I've got an illustration here. 00:22:46.299 --> 00:22:48.980 And so there are two ages, alright? 00:22:48.980 --> 00:22:51.660 There is this age. 00:22:52.599 --> 00:22:54.120 And there is the age to come. 00:22:54.759 --> 00:22:57.279 I couldn't find one that didn't rattle, alright? 00:22:57.940 --> 00:22:58.140 Okay. 00:22:58.519 --> 00:23:00.279 So there's this age and the age to come. 00:23:00.460 --> 00:23:02.720 So the Jewish people believed, we lived in this age. 00:23:02.960 --> 00:23:05.880 And then in the future, there was the age to come. 00:23:05.880 --> 00:23:13.340 This age is dominated by evil, isn't it? 00:23:14.540 --> 00:23:16.760 This age is dominated by sin. 00:23:17.280 --> 00:23:20.040 And it is Satan's age. 00:23:21.500 --> 00:23:24.020 Dominated by sin and death and judgment. 00:23:24.400 --> 00:23:29.420 This age was inaugurated when Adam fell in Genesis 3. 00:23:29.420 --> 00:23:33.400 And so how do we get into this age? 00:23:33.460 --> 00:23:34.660 Let me tell you how we get into this age. 00:23:34.740 --> 00:23:35.500 We're born into it. 00:23:35.680 --> 00:23:37.120 Every single one of us. 00:23:38.400 --> 00:23:39.580 We're born into it. 00:23:40.840 --> 00:23:48.980 But Jesus' death rescues us from the age of judgment and death and sin. 00:23:48.980 --> 00:23:53.559 And we're told, aren't we, that it delivers us from this present evil age. 00:23:54.539 --> 00:24:00.059 That Jesus, our substitute and representative, he accepted God's judgment. 00:24:00.259 --> 00:24:02.140 He entered into this evil age. 00:24:03.259 --> 00:24:06.700 And because he did, he is now raised from the dead. 00:24:07.779 --> 00:24:13.579 And the new age of the kingdom of God, the Lord Jesus, has come. 00:24:13.579 --> 00:24:21.980 And so when you became a Christian, you moved from being in this present evil age into the age to come. 00:24:24.619 --> 00:24:25.619 But here's the truth. 00:24:25.759 --> 00:24:27.899 The Jews thought that these ages were completely separate. 00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:33.000 But what the New Testament teaches, and it's really important for you and I to grasp, 00:24:33.119 --> 00:24:36.079 is that Jesus entered into this present evil age. 00:24:36.220 --> 00:24:38.099 And we live now in the overlap. 00:24:39.960 --> 00:24:42.139 So we live in that bit in the middle. 00:24:42.139 --> 00:24:42.980 Don't you put a little of that. 00:24:42.980 --> 00:24:45.039 We live in the middle bit. 00:24:46.440 --> 00:24:54.380 One day, gloriously, the age to come will be fully and perfectly free, won't it? 00:24:55.140 --> 00:24:58.420 But we now live in the overlap of the ages. 00:24:58.839 --> 00:25:00.259 The Jews didn't think it was going to be like that. 00:25:01.440 --> 00:25:02.680 And Jesus says, no, no, no. 00:25:03.079 --> 00:25:04.740 I have died and I have risen. 00:25:04.860 --> 00:25:07.940 So the cross comes right in the middle here. 00:25:08.660 --> 00:25:10.839 And inaugurates the age to come. 00:25:10.839 --> 00:25:13.599 We live in the overlap. 00:25:15.259 --> 00:25:17.599 And so as Christians, we have two locations, don't we? 00:25:17.619 --> 00:25:21.059 We live in this present evil age, but we also live in the age to come. 00:25:23.059 --> 00:25:26.559 And we are living for and looking for this age to come. 00:25:27.000 --> 00:25:32.339 Jesus rescues us by his death from this present evil age. 00:25:32.339 --> 00:25:38.980 And so Andrew, if he is my substitute, do you remember that? 00:26:02.339 --> 00:26:03.759 He is not mine. 00:26:04.679 --> 00:26:05.919 But I am in the first division. 00:26:07.119 --> 00:26:09.399 And we as a church are in the first division. 00:26:09.619 --> 00:26:13.859 Because Andrew, our substitute and our representative, has scored the goals for us. 00:26:14.059 --> 00:26:16.899 He's got us out of the second division and into the first division. 00:26:16.900 --> 00:26:26.100 Jesus Christ, by his death and by his resurrection, has got us out of the present evil age. 00:26:27.400 --> 00:26:29.700 And one day that evil age will pass away. 00:26:30.860 --> 00:26:33.360 And all there will be, will be the age to come. 00:26:34.240 --> 00:26:35.660 And we will be part of it. 00:26:35.660 --> 00:26:38.340 If we belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:26:39.740 --> 00:26:43.500 And if we trust in what he has done for us when he died on the cross. 00:26:43.580 --> 00:26:44.840 That is good, good news. 00:26:46.279 --> 00:26:48.880 Number five, Jesus brings grace and peace. 00:26:49.040 --> 00:26:49.500 Can you see that? 00:26:49.560 --> 00:26:51.259 Verse three, chapter one. 00:26:52.840 --> 00:26:54.019 Grace to you. 00:26:55.180 --> 00:26:55.800 And peace. 00:26:57.240 --> 00:26:59.540 From God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:26:59.539 --> 00:27:10.159 And this work of the Lord Jesus brings you into a life of grace and peace. 00:27:11.960 --> 00:27:18.319 Nearly all of Paul's letters begin grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:27:19.740 --> 00:27:25.059 At that age to come, the age to come, do you remember it? 00:27:25.059 --> 00:27:28.399 The age to come is an age of grace and peace. 00:27:29.539 --> 00:27:33.700 And we enjoy it now, right now, through our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:27:35.740 --> 00:27:39.980 Grace and peace is how Christians live in this present evil age. 00:27:41.059 --> 00:27:42.899 That is our Christian experience. 00:27:43.099 --> 00:27:44.359 So, understand this. 00:27:44.559 --> 00:27:47.200 Grace, God's undeserved kindness, leads to peace. 00:27:48.619 --> 00:27:50.740 Peace comes from grace. 00:27:51.879 --> 00:27:54.399 And peace can only come from grace. 00:27:54.400 --> 00:27:55.920 God's grace. 00:27:56.280 --> 00:28:00.180 Receiving God's undeserved kindness is the only way to receive God's peace. 00:28:02.600 --> 00:28:07.840 The only way that you will ever receive peace is by relying on the grace of God. 00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:15.759 As long as you look to yourself, even if you're looking to yourself for 1% of your salvation, 00:28:16.159 --> 00:28:18.659 if you look to yourself, you will never have peace. 00:28:20.599 --> 00:28:23.119 Because you will never ever be sure that you've done enough. 00:28:23.119 --> 00:28:27.019 The Christian message is this. 00:28:27.219 --> 00:28:31.059 The peace of God is, by God's grace, 100%. 00:28:31.059 --> 00:28:33.639 Grace, grace, grace. 00:28:33.839 --> 00:28:35.239 We stand in grace. 00:28:35.519 --> 00:28:38.479 And it is that grace that is the basis of our peace. 00:28:40.079 --> 00:28:44.519 Grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:28:44.819 --> 00:28:46.179 Grace is totally undeserved. 00:28:46.180 --> 00:28:48.660 And it comes only through Jesus. 00:28:49.600 --> 00:28:51.120 Through what he did on the cross. 00:28:51.480 --> 00:28:53.860 And Christians never move beyond this. 00:28:55.720 --> 00:28:58.480 So, we never move beyond the grace of God. 00:28:59.580 --> 00:29:02.700 We never move beyond the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:29:03.980 --> 00:29:05.500 There's nothing to move to. 00:29:05.600 --> 00:29:06.580 There's nothing beyond it. 00:29:07.019 --> 00:29:10.420 We are always celebrating the grace of God in Jesus Christ. 00:29:12.700 --> 00:29:15.320 And so, this morning, if you've lost your peace, 00:29:15.319 --> 00:29:19.220 and you've lost your assurance, 00:29:19.419 --> 00:29:20.339 let me tell you this, 00:29:20.679 --> 00:29:24.159 it is almost certain that you've moved away from the grace of God 00:29:24.159 --> 00:29:24.939 to a certain degree. 00:29:26.679 --> 00:29:28.779 If you've lost your peace this morning, 00:29:29.919 --> 00:29:33.220 it is almost certain that you have moved away 00:29:33.220 --> 00:29:35.259 from the grace of God and the cross of Jesus Christ. 00:29:37.079 --> 00:29:37.819 Number six. 00:29:38.899 --> 00:29:40.339 The result of Jesus' death 00:29:40.339 --> 00:29:43.299 is that God is glorified forever. 00:29:43.399 --> 00:29:44.819 Look at verse 5. 00:29:45.319 --> 00:29:45.559 Amen. 00:29:47.720 --> 00:29:49.700 To whom be the glory 00:29:49.700 --> 00:29:51.919 forever and ever. 00:29:52.759 --> 00:29:53.399 Amen. 00:29:56.319 --> 00:29:58.519 And the purpose of the good news of God 00:29:58.519 --> 00:30:00.819 is not 00:30:00.819 --> 00:30:04.619 just our personal salvation. 00:30:04.619 --> 00:30:04.679 salvation. 00:30:06.559 --> 00:30:08.139 It's not just our salvation. 00:30:08.139 --> 00:30:09.739 The purpose of the gospel, 00:30:09.919 --> 00:30:11.000 the good news of God, 00:30:11.079 --> 00:30:12.339 is the glory of God. 00:30:14.559 --> 00:30:15.839 The purpose of the gospel 00:30:15.839 --> 00:30:17.859 is to display God's character 00:30:17.859 --> 00:30:18.799 of all that God is, 00:30:19.579 --> 00:30:21.059 so that God's character 00:30:21.059 --> 00:30:21.699 and his holiness 00:30:21.699 --> 00:30:22.719 and his mercy 00:30:22.719 --> 00:30:23.319 and his grace 00:30:23.319 --> 00:30:24.139 and his love 00:30:24.139 --> 00:30:25.319 will be known and praised 00:30:25.319 --> 00:30:26.159 throughout all the world 00:30:26.159 --> 00:30:26.799 and all eternity. 00:30:26.799 --> 00:30:31.379 and that is why God sent his son, 00:30:31.460 --> 00:30:32.180 the Lord Jesus Christ, 00:30:32.220 --> 00:30:33.099 to die on the cross. 00:30:33.240 --> 00:30:34.299 It was not just for us, 00:30:34.359 --> 00:30:34.960 but for him. 00:30:36.799 --> 00:30:39.539 He wanted to make himself known. 00:30:39.539 --> 00:30:43.379 He wanted to demonstrate his glory. 00:30:43.519 --> 00:30:44.819 That is what Jesus wanted. 00:30:45.180 --> 00:30:45.740 So do you remember, 00:30:45.859 --> 00:30:46.299 he prayed, 00:30:46.519 --> 00:30:48.059 glorify your name, Father. 00:30:48.099 --> 00:30:49.019 This is what it's all about. 00:30:50.720 --> 00:30:51.779 Glorify the Father 00:30:51.779 --> 00:30:52.759 because of the cross. 00:30:52.759 --> 00:30:55.240 Because of the cross, 00:30:55.759 --> 00:30:56.960 the Father will be glorified 00:30:56.960 --> 00:30:57.920 forever and ever. 00:30:58.319 --> 00:31:00.599 And Jesus was entirely centered 00:31:00.599 --> 00:31:02.140 on the glory of the Father. 00:31:04.319 --> 00:31:06.299 And for us to be Jesus-centered, 00:31:06.619 --> 00:31:07.920 which people talk an awful lot about, 00:31:08.180 --> 00:31:09.599 will mean that we are Father-centered. 00:31:12.900 --> 00:31:14.220 Because Jesus recognized 00:31:14.220 --> 00:31:15.339 that the work of the cross 00:31:15.339 --> 00:31:16.319 was that the Father 00:31:16.319 --> 00:31:17.059 might be glorified 00:31:17.059 --> 00:31:17.819 forever and ever. 00:31:19.960 --> 00:31:22.599 That is the Apostle Paul's message. 00:31:22.759 --> 00:31:26.259 The Apostle Paul's gospel 00:31:26.259 --> 00:31:27.720 centers on Jesus Christ 00:31:27.720 --> 00:31:28.740 and him crucified. 00:31:30.920 --> 00:31:32.660 It focuses on the person 00:31:32.660 --> 00:31:33.519 of Jesus Christ 00:31:33.519 --> 00:31:34.460 and his work. 00:31:36.400 --> 00:31:38.559 It focuses on a message 00:31:38.559 --> 00:31:39.599 of rescue, 00:31:40.059 --> 00:31:42.400 pointing to the now 00:31:42.400 --> 00:31:43.619 and the not yet. 00:31:45.940 --> 00:31:47.859 And it is the best news 00:31:47.859 --> 00:31:49.539 and it is the only answer 00:31:49.539 --> 00:31:51.379 for your guilt and mine. 00:31:52.759 --> 00:31:54.879 And it is why this church exists 00:31:54.879 --> 00:31:56.779 to preach Jesus Christ 00:31:56.779 --> 00:31:58.220 and him crucified. 00:31:59.720 --> 00:32:01.559 And it is the main thing 00:32:01.559 --> 00:32:03.460 and we have to fight 00:32:03.460 --> 00:32:05.319 to keep it the main thing. 00:32:07.079 --> 00:32:08.359 Because verse 6, 00:32:09.200 --> 00:32:10.119 he drops the bomb. 00:32:12.920 --> 00:32:14.180 And he says to the church 00:32:14.180 --> 00:32:14.680 in Galatia, 00:32:14.759 --> 00:32:15.279 he says this, 00:32:15.279 --> 00:32:16.399 I am astonished, 00:32:17.299 --> 00:32:18.160 I am astonished, 00:32:18.160 --> 00:32:20.039 I am astonished 00:32:20.039 --> 00:32:22.500 that you are so quickly 00:32:22.500 --> 00:32:23.259 deserting, 00:32:23.579 --> 00:32:24.299 abandoning 00:32:24.299 --> 00:32:26.859 him who called you 00:32:26.859 --> 00:32:28.240 in the grace of Christ 00:32:28.240 --> 00:32:31.039 and turning to a different gospel. 00:32:31.039 --> 00:32:36.039 And so may we as a church 00:32:36.039 --> 00:32:39.399 never abandon the gospel, 00:32:41.000 --> 00:32:42.700 never abandon the message 00:32:42.700 --> 00:32:44.119 of Jesus Christ crucified 00:32:44.119 --> 00:32:45.220 and can you see 00:32:45.220 --> 00:32:46.240 how quickly it happens? 00:32:46.339 --> 00:32:46.960 Look what it says. 00:32:47.700 --> 00:32:48.539 I am astonished 00:32:48.539 --> 00:32:50.119 that you are so quickly, 00:32:51.119 --> 00:32:52.599 quickly deserting, 00:32:53.000 --> 00:32:54.000 quickly abandoning. 00:32:54.000 --> 00:32:57.839 May we never abandon 00:32:57.839 --> 00:32:58.559 the message 00:32:58.559 --> 00:32:59.839 of Jesus Christ 00:32:59.839 --> 00:33:00.579 and him crucified. 00:33:00.759 --> 00:33:01.759 May we delight in it. 00:33:03.119 --> 00:33:04.160 May we rejoice 00:33:04.160 --> 00:33:05.339 to take this message 00:33:05.339 --> 00:33:05.940 to others 00:33:05.940 --> 00:33:07.920 because it's changed 00:33:07.920 --> 00:33:08.539 our lives. 00:33:10.240 --> 00:33:11.460 It's changed our eternity. 00:33:13.240 --> 00:33:14.500 Would you read with me again 00:33:14.500 --> 00:33:15.680 verses 3 to 5 00:33:15.680 --> 00:33:16.400 of Galatians 1? 00:33:16.599 --> 00:33:17.319 Let's read it together. 00:33:17.319 --> 00:33:18.319 Amen. 00:33:18.319 --> 00:33:19.639 Grace to you 00:33:19.639 --> 00:33:22.319 and peace from God our Father 00:33:22.319 --> 00:33:24.659 and the Lord Jesus Christ 00:33:24.659 --> 00:33:26.279 who gave himself 00:33:26.279 --> 00:33:27.720 for our sins 00:33:27.720 --> 00:33:29.179 to deliver us 00:33:29.179 --> 00:33:31.200 from the present evil age 00:33:31.200 --> 00:33:33.200 according to the will 00:33:33.200 --> 00:33:34.919 of our God and Father 00:33:34.919 --> 00:33:37.059 to whom be the glory 00:33:37.059 --> 00:33:38.700 forever and ever. 00:33:39.279 --> 00:33:39.679 Amen. 00:33:40.220 --> 00:33:40.720 Let's pray. 00:33:40.720 --> 00:33:40.779 Amen.