WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.839 The church in Galatia have got a particular problem. 00:00:07.040 --> 00:00:10.500 They'd become Christians through the Apostle Paul. 00:00:10.500 --> 00:00:12.240 ! They'd heard the message. 00:00:12.240 --> 00:00:14.179 They'd received it by faith. 00:00:14.179 --> 00:00:16.719 They believed with great joy. 00:00:18.100 --> 00:00:19.320 Persecution came. 00:00:20.440 --> 00:00:21.420 There was pressures. 00:00:21.859 --> 00:00:22.740 There were struggles. 00:00:23.120 --> 00:00:23.940 There was persecution. 00:00:24.500 --> 00:00:26.240 But the church in Galatia stood. 00:00:27.239 --> 00:00:30.159 They were brave in the face of conflict. 00:00:31.719 --> 00:00:34.079 The question for them was now what? 00:00:35.420 --> 00:00:38.859 They didn't instantly become perfect. 00:00:40.099 --> 00:00:45.480 They still, as a church, had difficulties like you and I have difficulties. 00:00:46.079 --> 00:00:52.119 They struggled with envy and with anger and with idolatry. 00:00:53.719 --> 00:00:55.519 They struggled with lust. 00:00:56.240 --> 00:01:01.280 They struggled with immorality and arrogance and greed. 00:01:02.579 --> 00:01:04.939 And their very practical question was this. 00:01:05.099 --> 00:01:07.719 How do I go on in the Christian life? 00:01:09.020 --> 00:01:11.420 How do I get more love? 00:01:12.760 --> 00:01:14.159 How do I get more forgiveness? 00:01:14.159 --> 00:01:19.500 How do I grow in self-control? 00:01:21.099 --> 00:01:23.459 How do I go ahead in the Christian life? 00:01:24.920 --> 00:01:28.319 And for those of us who've trusted in the Lord Jesus, it's a question for all of us, isn't it? 00:01:30.599 --> 00:01:32.900 It's a question which we all struggle with. 00:01:32.900 --> 00:01:39.560 And of course, for the Galatians, it was even more difficult because a group of Christian teachers, 00:01:39.640 --> 00:01:42.660 or so-called Christian teachers, had come from headquarters in Jerusalem. 00:01:43.480 --> 00:01:47.560 And they were bringing the latest cutting-edge growth tool. 00:01:48.560 --> 00:01:49.780 They were very impressive. 00:01:50.660 --> 00:01:52.120 And they were very sincere. 00:01:52.980 --> 00:01:53.920 And they were very nice. 00:01:53.920 --> 00:01:56.000 And their simple answer was this. 00:01:56.159 --> 00:02:01.620 That the way to go forward as a Christian is you go back to the law. 00:02:02.540 --> 00:02:03.579 That was their message. 00:02:04.480 --> 00:02:06.740 And the way to go forward was to go back. 00:02:07.540 --> 00:02:10.740 The way to go forward as a Christian was to go back to the law. 00:02:12.140 --> 00:02:16.360 And so what God said to Moses, they said to the church in Galatia, 00:02:16.800 --> 00:02:21.060 what God said to Moses is a beautiful religious frame for your life. 00:02:22.920 --> 00:02:25.719 And it will help you if you go back to the law of Moses. 00:02:25.719 --> 00:02:32.979 It will control what you eat and what you wear and what day you do things. 00:02:33.860 --> 00:02:36.960 And it will give you all sorts of religious observance. 00:02:37.240 --> 00:02:39.620 That's the way to go forward, to go back. 00:02:41.479 --> 00:02:44.919 And to the Galatians, as well as to us Presbyterians, that is very attractive. 00:02:46.340 --> 00:02:50.379 To be told what to do and when to do it and how to do it. 00:02:50.919 --> 00:02:53.719 To be told exactly what you need. 00:02:53.719 --> 00:02:55.800 And this is what you need, let me give it to you. 00:02:58.659 --> 00:03:00.240 And it's very, very attractive. 00:03:02.740 --> 00:03:03.699 We've called it before, haven't we? 00:03:04.180 --> 00:03:05.060 Bop it, Christianity. 00:03:05.199 --> 00:03:06.280 You know that game, Bop it? 00:03:06.659 --> 00:03:07.460 You've seen the game, Bop it? 00:03:08.219 --> 00:03:11.360 And so you press the game on it and it shouts at you, doesn't it? 00:03:11.360 --> 00:03:13.159 It says pull it, twist it, push it. 00:03:13.539 --> 00:03:14.639 And we love that. 00:03:14.960 --> 00:03:15.860 Churches love that. 00:03:16.180 --> 00:03:19.539 You love it on a Sunday morning when I get up and give you a bit of a kick in 00:03:19.539 --> 00:03:20.460 and tell you what to do. 00:03:20.639 --> 00:03:21.819 That's what churches love. 00:03:21.819 --> 00:03:25.900 But it's a massive problem in the Christian faith. 00:03:27.060 --> 00:03:30.359 Because it's the opposite of the way that we ought to think. 00:03:32.079 --> 00:03:35.739 The way we advance in the Christian life, according to the Apostle, 00:03:36.579 --> 00:03:41.099 is exactly the same way that we entered the Christian life at the beginning. 00:03:41.099 --> 00:03:47.500 The way that we advance in the Christian life is exactly the same way as we entered into the Christian life. 00:03:48.579 --> 00:03:49.879 They're not two different things. 00:03:50.479 --> 00:03:53.180 We enter the same way that we grow. 00:03:54.900 --> 00:03:58.060 And so we begin the Christian life by faith. 00:03:59.780 --> 00:04:01.780 By forsaking all, I take him. 00:04:02.620 --> 00:04:05.099 By resting and relying on Jesus Christ alone. 00:04:05.099 --> 00:04:08.379 That's how we begin the Christian life, by faith. 00:04:08.579 --> 00:04:11.019 We live the Christian life by faith. 00:04:11.960 --> 00:04:15.219 And we end the Christian life by faith. 00:04:16.759 --> 00:04:20.540 Let me remind you of what Paul said in the passage we looked at last time. 00:04:20.800 --> 00:04:22.819 Look at chapter 3 in verse 1. 00:04:22.819 --> 00:04:52.800 Verse 1. 00:04:52.819 --> 00:04:53.259 Verse 5. 00:04:53.579 --> 00:04:56.759 Does he, we're in the present tense right now, we're in the present tense. 00:04:56.759 --> 00:05:04.019 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, 00:05:04.519 --> 00:05:08.079 do so by works of the law or hearing with faith? 00:05:08.079 --> 00:05:17.439 You see, it is infuriatingly humbling to our pride. 00:05:20.439 --> 00:05:24.060 And I think it only gets worse as I get older as a Christian. 00:05:24.060 --> 00:05:30.459 It feels like, doesn't it, there must be something that I have to do. 00:05:31.740 --> 00:05:34.540 There must be something that I have to do. 00:05:34.540 --> 00:05:39.920 If I know God utterly accepts me in the death of Jesus Christ. 00:05:40.120 --> 00:05:43.360 But surely, surely I must make some contribution. 00:05:44.840 --> 00:05:47.400 Surely I don't just grow by mere faith. 00:05:47.399 --> 00:05:53.299 And I think most of us think that we become Christians by faith. 00:05:53.839 --> 00:05:56.959 And that we grow by hard work and effort. 00:05:58.399 --> 00:06:04.459 And in these verses 6 to 14, the Apostle wants us to see this amazing, remarkable thing. 00:06:04.459 --> 00:06:14.259 That at the heart of the daily, hourly, minute by minute, practical life of the Christian is living by faith. 00:06:14.259 --> 00:06:19.139 And what he does is he opens up a chasm in this chapter. 00:06:20.180 --> 00:06:22.079 And he says there are two ways to live. 00:06:23.139 --> 00:06:26.379 And both of them look very religious from the outside. 00:06:26.920 --> 00:06:31.539 In fact, sometimes when you look at them from the outside, they look very similar. 00:06:33.139 --> 00:06:34.719 One is living by faith. 00:06:35.500 --> 00:06:38.259 And the other is living by law or works of the law. 00:06:39.360 --> 00:06:40.879 So let me just show you the two contrasts quickly. 00:06:40.879 --> 00:06:42.120 In verse 7, it literally says, 00:06:42.120 --> 00:06:45.879 So you see that it is those who are of faith. 00:06:47.019 --> 00:06:50.340 It is those who are of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 00:06:51.579 --> 00:06:52.899 And then verse 9, 00:06:54.519 --> 00:06:58.759 It is those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham. 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:03.220 And then verse 10, the contrast is there for the second half of the passage. 00:07:03.480 --> 00:07:07.000 All who rely on works of the law. 00:07:08.280 --> 00:07:11.160 Well literally, all who are works of the law. 00:07:12.120 --> 00:07:12.920 Are under a curse. 00:07:13.019 --> 00:07:14.040 So that's what I want to do this morning. 00:07:14.120 --> 00:07:14.899 It's very simple. 00:07:15.800 --> 00:07:16.620 Two ways to live. 00:07:18.240 --> 00:07:20.459 What does it mean to live the life of faith firstly? 00:07:22.100 --> 00:07:23.259 To live in faith. 00:07:23.379 --> 00:07:25.519 To live a life based on faith. 00:07:25.680 --> 00:07:27.160 To live a life out of faith. 00:07:28.079 --> 00:07:31.939 And in verse 6-9, the apostle uses the illustration of Abraham. 00:07:31.939 --> 00:07:34.680 It's a brilliant illustration. 00:07:35.279 --> 00:07:39.620 Because you remember the teachers from Galatia were saying, 00:07:39.699 --> 00:07:41.819 Listen, you've got to go backwards to go forwards. 00:07:42.360 --> 00:07:43.879 You've got to go back to Judaism. 00:07:44.259 --> 00:07:45.660 You've got to go back to the law. 00:07:46.399 --> 00:07:50.839 And Paul says, Okay, let's go back and see how they lived out the Christian life. 00:07:51.680 --> 00:07:53.920 Let's go back to Abraham, the father of the faith. 00:07:53.920 --> 00:07:58.819 Because right from the beginning to the end of Abraham's life, 00:07:59.080 --> 00:08:02.000 The big issue is not whether Abraham was a decent bloke, 00:08:02.460 --> 00:08:04.100 But the promise of God. 00:08:05.680 --> 00:08:07.759 It was whether Abraham believed. 00:08:08.960 --> 00:08:09.460 Verse 6. 00:08:10.460 --> 00:08:14.220 Thus, just as Abraham believed God. 00:08:15.700 --> 00:08:17.680 Abraham believed God. 00:08:17.680 --> 00:08:27.439 Notice, it doesn't say there that Abraham believed in God. 00:08:29.579 --> 00:08:31.379 He doesn't believe in God. 00:08:32.620 --> 00:08:34.720 It's not just, I'm ticking a box on a census. 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:37.620 They're ticking a box on the creed. 00:08:38.240 --> 00:08:41.240 It says, Abraham believed God. 00:08:42.519 --> 00:08:45.740 That means he believed the words that God said to him. 00:08:45.740 --> 00:08:48.480 And the promise of God came to him. 00:08:48.799 --> 00:08:50.840 And it came to Abraham and said, 00:08:51.060 --> 00:08:53.620 Salvation is not going to come from you, Abraham. 00:08:54.539 --> 00:08:57.519 It is going to come from my intervention in your life. 00:08:59.080 --> 00:09:00.840 And Abraham believed God's word. 00:09:01.000 --> 00:09:03.120 And it was reckoned to him as righteousness. 00:09:04.080 --> 00:09:05.759 And it's an accounting word. 00:09:07.159 --> 00:09:08.419 It's a money word. 00:09:10.019 --> 00:09:14.139 God takes the funds from one account. 00:09:15.740 --> 00:09:18.600 And he reckons them into another's account. 00:09:19.960 --> 00:09:24.480 So that what was not Abraham's, is now Abraham's. 00:09:25.379 --> 00:09:28.000 And he reckons it to him as righteousness. 00:09:28.759 --> 00:09:32.779 Abraham did not become righteousness in himself. 00:09:33.799 --> 00:09:37.840 But through faith in the promise of God, it was reckoned to him. 00:09:37.960 --> 00:09:39.419 It was credited to him. 00:09:39.620 --> 00:09:40.860 It was put to his account. 00:09:41.159 --> 00:09:42.799 It was transferred to him. 00:09:42.799 --> 00:09:45.440 God treats him as righteous. 00:09:46.740 --> 00:09:48.279 It's exactly the same for us. 00:09:50.139 --> 00:09:52.580 We are not righteous in ourselves. 00:09:54.519 --> 00:09:59.980 In our heart of hearts, righteousness is not a quality that lives in us. 00:10:01.019 --> 00:10:03.480 It is a gift from God. 00:10:03.799 --> 00:10:05.700 It is external to us. 00:10:05.779 --> 00:10:07.259 But we enjoy it by faith. 00:10:07.259 --> 00:10:10.740 It's the mark of the true Christian. 00:10:11.460 --> 00:10:13.360 The real Christian this morning. 00:10:13.360 --> 00:10:17.259 Who is living in faith. 00:10:17.259 --> 00:10:18.600 It looks into his own heart. 00:10:18.720 --> 00:10:22.000 And what does the true Christian see when they look into their heart? 00:10:22.080 --> 00:10:22.700 They see poverty. 00:10:23.980 --> 00:10:25.240 They see a mess. 00:10:26.379 --> 00:10:27.759 They see their sinfulness. 00:10:27.759 --> 00:10:31.000 And they cry out in mercy. 00:10:31.000 --> 00:10:34.379 And they look out to the Lord Jesus. 00:10:35.379 --> 00:10:38.539 And his death for righteousness. 00:10:38.539 --> 00:10:41.339 They don't look into their own life. 00:10:42.740 --> 00:10:48.139 And I know that is absolutely contradictory to all the self-help books published in the last 30 years. 00:10:48.419 --> 00:10:52.000 And nearly every Instagrammer who is influencing people. 00:10:52.000 --> 00:10:54.799 The self-help gurus. 00:10:56.220 --> 00:10:57.899 But I want you to see something of the power of this. 00:10:58.279 --> 00:11:00.740 Paul quotes the Old Testament a number of times in this passage. 00:11:01.120 --> 00:11:02.519 And I want to just look at one of them with you. 00:11:02.879 --> 00:11:06.299 That quote in verse 6 comes from Genesis chapter 15. 00:11:06.299 --> 00:11:11.120 So put your hand in Galatians 3 and come back with me to Genesis chapter 15. 00:11:13.519 --> 00:11:14.179 Come back with me. 00:11:14.219 --> 00:11:15.659 Write to the first book of the Bible. 00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:17.579 And Genesis chapter 15. 00:11:17.699 --> 00:11:18.779 And look at this promise. 00:11:24.799 --> 00:11:26.519 Chapter 15 and verse 1. 00:11:29.339 --> 00:11:32.919 After these things, the word of the Lord came to Abraham in a vision. 00:11:32.919 --> 00:11:36.639 saying, fear not. 00:11:37.639 --> 00:11:38.559 Fear not, Abraham. 00:11:38.719 --> 00:11:43.019 I am your shield and your very great reward. 00:11:43.599 --> 00:11:46.099 Your shield and your reward shall be very great. 00:11:46.139 --> 00:11:47.099 It's a beautiful promise, isn't it? 00:11:47.279 --> 00:11:48.519 And then look at verse 6. 00:11:50.799 --> 00:11:53.740 It says, Abraham believed the Lord. 00:11:55.559 --> 00:11:57.299 And he counted it to him. 00:11:57.799 --> 00:11:59.939 He reckoned it to him as righteousness. 00:12:01.379 --> 00:12:02.339 Now here's the question. 00:12:03.019 --> 00:12:04.639 When did the story of Abraham begin? 00:12:07.720 --> 00:12:10.840 Well, for you Bible nerds, Bible scholars, it began in chapter 12, didn't it? 00:12:12.780 --> 00:12:16.360 And by chapter 15, a lot of water has gone under the bridge and a lot of murky water. 00:12:18.639 --> 00:12:21.000 At the end of chapter 12, Abraham goes down to Egypt. 00:12:21.240 --> 00:12:23.180 And his wife is so beautiful. 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:25.920 His wife is so stunning. 00:12:26.820 --> 00:12:30.160 That Abraham is frightened that the king will kill him to get his wife. 00:12:30.159 --> 00:12:34.240 And so he concocts a plan with his wife, Sarah. 00:12:34.379 --> 00:12:36.539 And he says, I'm going to call you my sister. 00:12:38.379 --> 00:12:40.819 It's a strange, strange episode. 00:12:41.779 --> 00:12:43.620 The king marries Abraham's wife. 00:12:43.620 --> 00:12:45.539 It's an interesting story. 00:12:45.539 --> 00:12:46.500 I'm not going to preach it to you today. 00:12:46.799 --> 00:12:48.899 But it is a wrong thing. 00:12:49.240 --> 00:12:51.659 It is a very wobbly thing for Abraham to do. 00:12:53.240 --> 00:12:54.899 Read through the Abraham narrative. 00:12:55.179 --> 00:12:58.840 And again and again and again, you see how Abraham is a letdown. 00:12:59.000 --> 00:13:00.080 How he wobbles. 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:03.580 But here we are in chapter 15. 00:13:04.080 --> 00:13:04.860 And here's the point. 00:13:04.940 --> 00:13:08.160 Chapter 15 is in the middle of Abraham's life of faith. 00:13:09.240 --> 00:13:11.560 He's been a believer for a long time. 00:13:12.300 --> 00:13:14.040 He's not beginning his life of faith. 00:13:14.100 --> 00:13:14.740 That's the point. 00:13:15.980 --> 00:13:18.100 That's why the apostle uses this verse. 00:13:19.540 --> 00:13:21.340 Paul goes back to Genesis chapter 15. 00:13:21.340 --> 00:13:24.639 Not to show how Abraham started off in faith. 00:13:25.879 --> 00:13:29.540 But to show, chapter 15, how Abraham continued in faith. 00:13:31.160 --> 00:13:33.720 So go back to Galatians chapter 3 and verse 9. 00:13:34.420 --> 00:13:35.460 And Paul says this. 00:13:36.980 --> 00:13:41.560 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham. 00:13:42.500 --> 00:13:43.780 The man of faith. 00:13:43.779 --> 00:13:49.919 Those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham who had faith. 00:13:50.259 --> 00:13:51.019 It is continuous. 00:13:52.399 --> 00:13:53.459 It is ongoing. 00:13:55.839 --> 00:14:00.980 And so again and again, I want to say to you that the way we come into the kingdom is by simple faith. 00:14:01.879 --> 00:14:06.220 Most of us think that the way that we go on in the kingdom is by trying harder. 00:14:07.919 --> 00:14:09.299 So test yourself with me. 00:14:10.500 --> 00:14:11.679 Have you ever said to yourself, 00:14:11.679 --> 00:14:14.759 I've been a Christian for such and such a time, 10 years, say? 00:14:15.639 --> 00:14:19.859 I've been a Christian for 10 years, and I really ought to not be so angry. 00:14:21.500 --> 00:14:22.859 I ought to be more forgiving. 00:14:23.879 --> 00:14:25.399 I ought to try harder. 00:14:26.099 --> 00:14:27.759 I ought to not think those things. 00:14:28.659 --> 00:14:30.319 I ought to get my act together. 00:14:32.379 --> 00:14:36.159 What the apostle is saying here is that if you're having trouble with self-control, 00:14:37.599 --> 00:14:40.559 and that if this morning you can't control your sexual appetites, 00:14:41.679 --> 00:14:46.559 or if this morning you find it impossible to forgive yourself or to forgive others, 00:14:47.500 --> 00:14:56.899 the only way to advance through that issue is exactly the same way that you came to Christ in the first place. 00:14:56.899 --> 00:15:06.959 And that is by having Jesus Christ and him crucified publicly portrayed before your eyes. 00:15:08.100 --> 00:15:10.039 And it is to see him. 00:15:10.840 --> 00:15:16.879 And as we see him, that the Holy Spirit works in our hearts and gives us faith. 00:15:16.879 --> 00:15:23.700 The way that we receive the Holy Spirit, do you remember, is by hearing, the hearing of faith. 00:15:24.639 --> 00:15:26.439 We've already seen that in chapter 3. 00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:31.220 And so what we do is we go back, and we go back, and we go back, 00:15:31.379 --> 00:15:35.620 and we go back again and again and again to the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. 00:15:35.620 --> 00:15:38.639 And that is how we advance. 00:15:39.899 --> 00:15:40.940 And that is how we grow. 00:15:42.560 --> 00:15:44.279 It is through believing the gospel. 00:15:46.379 --> 00:15:48.860 And I want to just point out one stunning verse in verse 8. 00:15:48.960 --> 00:15:50.799 I want to leave it with you as a little bit of homework. 00:15:52.460 --> 00:15:54.460 Can you see verse 8? It's a puzzling verse. 00:15:54.460 --> 00:15:58.639 It says this, 00:15:58.820 --> 00:16:05.519 The scriptures, the scripture foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, 00:16:06.220 --> 00:16:08.560 preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, 00:16:09.220 --> 00:16:12.600 saying, In you shall all the nations be blessed. 00:16:13.300 --> 00:16:14.500 So here's my homework for you. 00:16:16.500 --> 00:16:22.860 How on earth can Paul say that scripture preached the gospel to Abraham 00:16:22.860 --> 00:16:26.379 when scripture wasn't written at that point? 00:16:29.639 --> 00:16:30.539 And I'm not sure. 00:16:31.180 --> 00:16:33.340 So you can bring me your answers in the next week. 00:16:34.639 --> 00:16:36.000 But I think it means this. 00:16:37.060 --> 00:16:40.820 It means that whenever we sit down and we open the word of God, 00:16:41.620 --> 00:16:48.500 there is as much revealing power as when God spoke to Abraham from heaven. 00:16:48.500 --> 00:16:52.960 Because every time we open God's word, 00:16:54.139 --> 00:16:55.519 God preaches the gospel. 00:16:57.519 --> 00:17:00.000 Every time we read the Bible, 00:17:01.519 --> 00:17:04.359 if we're reading Nehemiah or reading the book of Judges, 00:17:04.500 --> 00:17:05.599 or if we're reading the Psalms, 00:17:05.859 --> 00:17:11.779 God is preaching Jesus Christ to us and him crucified. 00:17:11.779 --> 00:17:14.399 That is the life of faith. 00:17:17.139 --> 00:17:18.180 Let's turn secondly, 00:17:18.319 --> 00:17:20.799 let's look briefly at the opposite. 00:17:20.920 --> 00:17:22.579 What does the life of law look like? 00:17:25.700 --> 00:17:26.680 Look at verse 10. 00:17:28.160 --> 00:17:33.619 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse. 00:17:33.619 --> 00:17:36.299 For it is written, 00:17:36.459 --> 00:17:39.959 cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things 00:17:39.959 --> 00:17:42.719 written in the book of the law and do them. 00:17:45.219 --> 00:17:46.859 And the problem for many of us, isn't it, 00:17:46.979 --> 00:17:48.139 who grew up in the West, 00:17:48.579 --> 00:17:50.179 is when we hear the word curse, 00:17:50.439 --> 00:17:51.479 if you're of a certain age, 00:17:51.599 --> 00:17:53.279 you think of Harry Potter. 00:17:54.799 --> 00:17:56.399 And for those of us who are a little bit older, 00:17:56.500 --> 00:17:57.439 when we hear the word curse, 00:17:57.519 --> 00:17:59.319 we think of kind of mummies, 00:17:59.919 --> 00:18:00.819 the curse of the mummies, 00:18:00.819 --> 00:18:02.099 or something from Scooby-Doo. 00:18:03.619 --> 00:18:07.079 But when the Bible uses the word curse, 00:18:07.199 --> 00:18:10.219 it is using the word to speak about a spiritual condition. 00:18:11.979 --> 00:18:13.500 And the life of blessing 00:18:13.500 --> 00:18:15.719 is the life promised by God. 00:18:17.259 --> 00:18:19.759 But when we live out of the works of the law, 00:18:19.879 --> 00:18:20.839 not out of faith, 00:18:21.119 --> 00:18:23.379 we turn from blessing to curse. 00:18:26.039 --> 00:18:27.279 Now don't some understand me here, 00:18:27.339 --> 00:18:29.079 there is nothing wrong with the law of God. 00:18:30.399 --> 00:18:31.879 And the law of God is good, 00:18:32.019 --> 00:18:32.619 and it is upright, 00:18:32.619 --> 00:18:33.919 and it is wholesome. 00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:38.479 We should take delight in the law of the Lord. 00:18:39.639 --> 00:18:42.979 The law of the Lord was given to shape the people of God. 00:18:43.059 --> 00:18:43.279 Do you remember? 00:18:43.399 --> 00:18:44.379 I am the Lord your God, 00:18:44.419 --> 00:18:45.519 who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 00:18:45.599 --> 00:18:46.439 out of the house of slavery. 00:18:47.399 --> 00:18:49.719 It is given to the people of God to shape them. 00:18:50.079 --> 00:18:51.799 It is given to them, 00:18:51.859 --> 00:18:53.000 to give them boundaries, 00:18:53.219 --> 00:18:54.979 to know how to love God. 00:18:54.980 --> 00:18:58.860 The law is not opposed to faith. 00:18:59.940 --> 00:19:02.700 And if you have true Christian faith, 00:19:03.319 --> 00:19:05.980 it will show itself in the works of the law. 00:19:07.420 --> 00:19:08.059 And so the issue, 00:19:08.160 --> 00:19:09.039 don't misunderstand the issue, 00:19:09.279 --> 00:19:11.200 the issue is not whether we're trying to keep the law. 00:19:12.360 --> 00:19:13.440 The issue is this, 00:19:13.500 --> 00:19:16.660 whether we're relying on the works of the law. 00:19:16.660 --> 00:19:19.720 You see, 00:19:19.820 --> 00:19:23.300 the law will justify every person, 00:19:23.400 --> 00:19:24.040 verse 10 says, 00:19:24.080 --> 00:19:25.600 who keeps every single part of it. 00:19:26.460 --> 00:19:27.440 The problem is, 00:19:27.600 --> 00:19:28.759 we don't and we can't. 00:19:30.140 --> 00:19:32.700 Unless we keep all of it with all our hearts, 00:19:32.800 --> 00:19:33.680 all the time, 00:19:34.180 --> 00:19:35.620 we are under the curse of God. 00:19:35.619 --> 00:19:38.939 And that is why you see, 00:19:39.619 --> 00:19:43.259 to rely on the law is completely frustrating and futile. 00:19:44.500 --> 00:19:48.979 It is futile to live one's life based on one's works of the law. 00:19:50.479 --> 00:19:50.959 Of course, 00:19:51.059 --> 00:19:52.399 we seek to obey it, 00:19:52.639 --> 00:19:53.719 and we seek to keep it. 00:19:54.179 --> 00:19:54.419 Again, 00:19:54.479 --> 00:19:55.039 that's not the issue. 00:19:55.319 --> 00:19:59.339 The issue is whether I live on the works of the law, 00:19:59.819 --> 00:20:00.619 resting on it, 00:20:00.959 --> 00:20:01.699 relying on it. 00:20:01.699 --> 00:20:04.519 The issue is not law-breaking or law-keeping, 00:20:04.519 --> 00:20:05.879 but law-relying. 00:20:07.559 --> 00:20:09.160 It's one thing to live a good life, 00:20:09.200 --> 00:20:10.000 I hope we all are, 00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:12.940 but it's another thing to put our hope in that life. 00:20:13.900 --> 00:20:17.379 Or to imagine that you stand before God on the basis of that life. 00:20:21.139 --> 00:20:27.379 Or imagine that you stand and look at the world in kind of a way that you're above them because of that life. 00:20:29.559 --> 00:20:33.139 And I think every single one of us is tempted to do that. 00:20:34.519 --> 00:20:36.599 Even when we know the love of the Lord Jesus. 00:20:38.480 --> 00:20:39.639 We're always tempted, 00:20:39.759 --> 00:20:42.940 we are constantly tempted to rely on the works of the law. 00:20:44.160 --> 00:20:46.299 And the Apostle Paul says it's a contradiction. 00:20:47.379 --> 00:20:48.279 You cannot do it. 00:20:49.579 --> 00:20:52.660 And our life is either relying on faith, 00:20:52.660 --> 00:20:55.700 or relying on works of the law. 00:20:56.900 --> 00:20:58.440 And if we trust our works, 00:20:58.620 --> 00:20:59.960 and if we trust our growth, 00:21:01.140 --> 00:21:04.880 and if we trust in anything we do for our salvation, 00:21:05.500 --> 00:21:06.840 we are under God's curse. 00:21:10.120 --> 00:21:11.840 And that is again, isn't it, 00:21:11.840 --> 00:21:14.440 why we have to go back again and again and again 00:21:14.440 --> 00:21:18.720 to Jesus Christ and him crucified. 00:21:20.720 --> 00:21:23.700 And I just want to show you as we finish in verses 13 and 14, 00:21:23.799 --> 00:21:25.700 that is exactly what the Apostle Paul does. 00:21:27.380 --> 00:21:30.299 It's a beautiful illustration of verse 1, verse 13 and 14. 00:21:30.840 --> 00:21:33.720 He holds up Jesus Christ and him crucified before us, 00:21:33.720 --> 00:21:36.559 so that our hearts would be ravished, 00:21:36.880 --> 00:21:40.220 so that our faith would be attracted and attached to him, 00:21:40.500 --> 00:21:41.120 and not to ourselves. 00:21:41.339 --> 00:21:42.039 Verse 13. 00:21:46.519 --> 00:21:47.140 It says, 00:21:47.140 --> 00:22:04.980 That in Christ Jesus, 00:22:04.980 --> 00:22:11.120 the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, 00:22:11.200 --> 00:22:15.420 that we might receive the promise of the Holy Spirit through faith. 00:22:17.140 --> 00:22:20.960 Verse 13, he quotes Deuteronomy, doesn't he? 00:22:21.000 --> 00:22:21.320 He says, 00:22:21.420 --> 00:22:23.660 Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree. 00:22:25.300 --> 00:22:27.920 It's speaking of somebody who's been executed for blasphemy. 00:22:29.220 --> 00:22:30.980 And then their bodies hang on a tree 00:22:30.980 --> 00:22:34.500 as a sign that the person who died is under the curse of God. 00:22:35.440 --> 00:22:39.540 And when God said those words in Deuteronomy 21, 00:22:39.800 --> 00:22:41.160 he had one person in mind. 00:22:42.200 --> 00:22:44.100 It was his only begotten son. 00:22:44.099 --> 00:22:46.899 And what Paul says here is, 00:22:47.059 --> 00:22:49.039 it's not merely that Jesus was punished for us. 00:22:51.319 --> 00:22:54.819 It's not that Jesus was treated as sinful instead of us. 00:22:55.279 --> 00:22:58.500 No, Paul says he became a curse for us, 00:22:58.879 --> 00:23:00.759 so that we might become a blessing. 00:23:02.959 --> 00:23:06.019 And that is so important for our day-to-day living this week. 00:23:06.019 --> 00:23:09.859 It's not just that when we come to Christ, 00:23:11.119 --> 00:23:13.339 he wipes our slate clean and we're forgiven. 00:23:13.639 --> 00:23:14.539 Wonderful though that is. 00:23:16.079 --> 00:23:18.339 But the gospel is much, much bigger than that. 00:23:19.920 --> 00:23:25.259 It is that God transfers the righteousness of Jesus Christ to us. 00:23:25.259 --> 00:23:30.500 And so we are regarded by God this morning 00:23:30.500 --> 00:23:33.619 as those who are in Christ as beautiful, 00:23:35.240 --> 00:23:37.200 delightful, righteous. 00:23:40.019 --> 00:23:44.799 It is not just that God takes away our sin 00:23:44.799 --> 00:23:46.339 and puts it onto the Lord Jesus 00:23:46.339 --> 00:23:47.700 and then says, 00:23:47.839 --> 00:23:49.339 you've got another second chance this week, 00:23:49.460 --> 00:23:50.740 go for it again, try your best. 00:23:50.740 --> 00:23:53.620 Get a better record. 00:23:55.140 --> 00:23:56.380 And we come back, 00:23:56.940 --> 00:23:58.120 failure, failure, 00:23:58.299 --> 00:23:59.559 and we have to get the slate clean. 00:23:59.880 --> 00:24:01.140 And again and again and again, 00:24:01.200 --> 00:24:02.180 we go through this process. 00:24:02.400 --> 00:24:03.940 That's not what the Christian life is like. 00:24:05.420 --> 00:24:07.000 Living that way, what does it do? 00:24:07.259 --> 00:24:09.099 It puts enormous pressure on us 00:24:09.099 --> 00:24:12.539 to live lives based on the works of the Lord. 00:24:12.680 --> 00:24:13.599 No, no, no. 00:24:13.599 --> 00:24:17.759 The Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 5 said, didn't he, 00:24:18.159 --> 00:24:19.819 that he, the Lord Jesus, 00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:21.659 became sin for us 00:24:21.659 --> 00:24:25.319 so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 00:24:26.899 --> 00:24:29.500 And our righteousness does not come from our works. 00:24:31.119 --> 00:24:32.399 It comes, doesn't it, 00:24:32.439 --> 00:24:34.019 from this glorious swap, 00:24:34.199 --> 00:24:35.379 this glorious exchange 00:24:35.379 --> 00:24:37.699 in the death of Jesus Christ. 00:24:37.700 --> 00:24:41.940 And that is why the death of the Lord Jesus 00:24:41.940 --> 00:24:43.840 is so, so important for us. 00:24:45.500 --> 00:24:48.279 Because it is in the death of the Lord Jesus 00:24:48.279 --> 00:24:50.700 that God makes him accursed. 00:24:51.779 --> 00:24:54.640 That God makes him sin. 00:24:55.900 --> 00:24:58.259 And that God makes us righteous. 00:24:58.660 --> 00:25:00.500 All the righteousness of God. 00:25:03.700 --> 00:25:05.240 That's why it's so important. 00:25:05.240 --> 00:25:07.440 So in this word, in this passage, 00:25:07.680 --> 00:25:10.680 Paul gives us three finance words. 00:25:12.440 --> 00:25:13.339 Three finance words. 00:25:13.420 --> 00:25:14.519 This week was the budget, isn't it? 00:25:15.400 --> 00:25:16.740 I can never understand the budget, 00:25:17.259 --> 00:25:18.160 but I complain about it. 00:25:19.359 --> 00:25:21.299 And one of the worst moments in church life 00:25:21.299 --> 00:25:24.220 is when treasurer or the finance people in church 00:25:24.220 --> 00:25:27.240 bring the spreadsheet. 00:25:28.240 --> 00:25:29.140 I couldn't even remember the word. 00:25:30.099 --> 00:25:31.059 They bring the spreadsheet 00:25:31.059 --> 00:25:32.099 and I sit with the elders 00:25:32.099 --> 00:25:34.200 and I chair the discussion on finance 00:25:34.200 --> 00:25:35.740 and I can't understand the spreadsheet. 00:25:36.759 --> 00:25:38.279 And so I gauge what the room is doing 00:25:38.279 --> 00:25:40.299 and nod along with the majority. 00:25:43.360 --> 00:25:44.160 Income and outcome. 00:25:44.400 --> 00:25:46.019 But here, there's a spreadsheet 00:25:46.019 --> 00:25:46.720 that you can understand. 00:25:46.840 --> 00:25:48.120 So three spreadsheet words. 00:25:48.299 --> 00:25:50.500 The first word is the word counted. 00:25:52.160 --> 00:25:53.960 It's pretty easy to understand, isn't it? 00:25:54.120 --> 00:25:54.720 Counting something. 00:25:56.000 --> 00:25:57.360 So verse six, reckoned. 00:25:58.259 --> 00:26:01.600 He reckons, he counts us as righteous. 00:26:01.599 --> 00:26:04.399 It's really easy. 00:26:04.559 --> 00:26:07.819 The transferring of funds from one account to the other. 00:26:09.699 --> 00:26:12.319 And so he transfers into our account 00:26:12.319 --> 00:26:13.980 the righteousness of Jesus Christ. 00:26:15.719 --> 00:26:17.419 That's the first finance word. 00:26:18.219 --> 00:26:18.699 Counted. 00:26:19.579 --> 00:26:22.099 Second finance word is in verse eight and verse 11. 00:26:22.259 --> 00:26:23.059 It's the word justify. 00:26:23.059 --> 00:26:26.619 So the accountants know what that word means. 00:26:27.339 --> 00:26:28.700 To justify the accounts. 00:26:30.079 --> 00:26:32.859 The word means it's all placed to our credit. 00:26:34.619 --> 00:26:37.779 The righteousness of Christ is placed to our credit. 00:26:39.679 --> 00:26:42.279 The account now has our name on it. 00:26:44.480 --> 00:26:46.059 And then even more wonderfully, verse 13, 00:26:47.139 --> 00:26:50.659 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Lord. 00:26:50.660 --> 00:26:51.380 That's the third word. 00:26:52.880 --> 00:26:54.759 It's an ordinary common garden word 00:26:54.759 --> 00:26:56.600 for going out of the house, 00:26:56.720 --> 00:26:57.940 taking your money with you to shop, 00:26:58.660 --> 00:27:00.200 and buying something and bringing it home. 00:27:01.940 --> 00:27:04.800 And Paul is saying that God paid this price for us. 00:27:05.200 --> 00:27:07.880 Christ redeemed us by giving, 00:27:08.480 --> 00:27:10.920 by making himself a curse, 00:27:11.580 --> 00:27:14.900 and freely offering us his righteousness. 00:27:14.900 --> 00:27:20.720 And that's why to be of the works of the law 00:27:20.720 --> 00:27:24.019 is a total contradiction to being of faith. 00:27:25.960 --> 00:27:28.759 We receive the righteousness and the blessing of God 00:27:28.759 --> 00:27:31.280 not by works, but by faith. 00:27:32.540 --> 00:27:33.500 Not just once, 00:27:34.820 --> 00:27:37.620 but every day and every hour of every day. 00:27:38.880 --> 00:27:40.700 And this is the heart of the Christian faith, 00:27:40.800 --> 00:27:41.340 brothers and sisters. 00:27:41.339 --> 00:27:44.259 It is substitution. 00:27:46.059 --> 00:27:48.720 And we try to substitute ourselves for God. 00:27:50.019 --> 00:27:52.639 And God's response in his mercy and in his love 00:27:52.639 --> 00:27:54.359 is to substitute himself for us. 00:27:55.439 --> 00:27:56.759 And to take our curse. 00:27:59.059 --> 00:28:01.959 And that is why in the death of Jesus Christ, 00:28:02.039 --> 00:28:03.519 we have resources 00:28:03.519 --> 00:28:06.639 we've never begun to realise yet. 00:28:06.640 --> 00:28:11.500 It is not just an entry into eternal life. 00:28:11.700 --> 00:28:13.780 It is not just a slate wiped clean. 00:28:14.840 --> 00:28:16.320 It means that God gives us 00:28:16.320 --> 00:28:17.680 all the righteousness of Jesus 00:28:17.680 --> 00:28:19.640 and he regards us as beautiful. 00:28:21.140 --> 00:28:23.660 And it's not about beginning the Christian life. 00:28:24.620 --> 00:28:25.480 This life of faith, 00:28:25.780 --> 00:28:27.120 faith in what God has done, 00:28:27.700 --> 00:28:28.560 begins the life, 00:28:28.700 --> 00:28:29.440 continues the life. 00:28:29.660 --> 00:28:31.440 And it is faith that will bring us 00:28:31.440 --> 00:28:33.120 to the point of completion in the Christian life. 00:28:33.119 --> 00:28:36.659 And so our exercise today 00:28:36.659 --> 00:28:38.000 and every day 00:28:38.000 --> 00:28:39.859 is to place our faith 00:28:39.859 --> 00:28:41.839 in Jesus Christ. 00:28:43.219 --> 00:28:44.599 In the Son of God 00:28:44.599 --> 00:28:45.500 who loved me 00:28:45.500 --> 00:28:47.659 and gave himself for me. 00:28:48.159 --> 00:28:50.159 To hear the words of the Gospel 00:28:50.159 --> 00:28:52.779 which God is preaching to us even now 00:28:52.779 --> 00:28:54.099 and to accept them 00:28:54.099 --> 00:28:55.299 by faith 00:28:55.299 --> 00:28:56.759 that Jesus Christ 00:28:56.759 --> 00:28:57.859 was made 00:28:57.859 --> 00:28:59.739 and he became 00:28:59.739 --> 00:29:00.899 a curse for us. 00:29:00.900 --> 00:29:03.019 that we might become 00:29:03.019 --> 00:29:04.560 his righteousness. 00:29:06.060 --> 00:29:06.680 Amen, 00:29:07.480 --> 00:29:08.080 Amen, 00:29:08.660 --> 00:29:09.680 and Amen. 00:29:13.019 --> 00:29:13.700 Let's pray.