WEBVTT 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:09.519 There is, I think, a really simple logic to the reason why most people who don't believe 00:00:09.519 --> 00:00:15.220 ! and trust in Jesus don't believe and trust in Jesus. Maybe that's you here this afternoon. 00:00:15.980 --> 00:00:25.719 But the logic goes like this. I don't trust in Jesus because I don't need Jesus because I'm 00:00:25.719 --> 00:00:32.460 good enough. I don't trust in Jesus because I don't need Jesus because I'm good enough. 00:00:33.899 --> 00:00:42.700 Zooming in on verse 15 to 21, Paul pictures that logic as if it were a building in our 00:00:42.700 --> 00:00:50.480 lives. A building built on self-sufficiency. The construction of this building is everything 00:00:50.479 --> 00:00:59.759 that you think you are and can do to impress God. You could call the building Project Me. 00:01:01.059 --> 00:01:09.039 And Paul's job today is to demolish that building and cancel Project Me. It's what he talks about 00:01:09.039 --> 00:01:18.479 in verse 18, if you look there. If I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 00:01:18.480 --> 00:01:27.560 He's saying that once upon a time I was working on Project Me, using God's laws to do this. 00:01:28.380 --> 00:01:34.719 But now Jesus has pulled the plug on that project. He has come with a wrecking ball and torn that 00:01:34.719 --> 00:01:42.700 down and I've now given up on that building. And it would be a real mistake to try and restart 00:01:42.700 --> 00:01:52.320 that project. And he gives two main reasons why today. The first reason why is that you cannot 00:01:52.320 --> 00:02:03.120 do enough. You cannot do enough. And right away that is pretty provocative, isn't it? Because 00:02:03.120 --> 00:02:10.819 people do believe at heart that human beings are pretty much good people. We might make mistakes 00:02:10.819 --> 00:02:16.659 and there are some rotten exceptions to the rule. But generally, human beings are alright, 00:02:16.780 --> 00:02:25.340 aren't they? That's what we think about ourselves and about each other. But Paul says that is not 00:02:25.340 --> 00:02:36.460 what God thinks. Paul is saying you're not alright. Look at verse 15 and 16. We ourselves are Jews 00:02:36.460 --> 00:02:43.180 by birth and are not Gentile sinners, yet we know that a person is not justified by works 00:02:43.180 --> 00:02:50.879 of the law. Now hit the pause button there just for a moment. What does that mean? It means 00:02:50.879 --> 00:03:00.620 that no matter how good you are or how much good you do, you cannot be or do enough to be right 00:03:00.620 --> 00:03:10.859 with God. Project me is a non-starter. That word justification, it speaks of a judicial declaration 00:03:10.859 --> 00:03:19.039 by God over each person. It's his verdict of your life and of my life. And on God a good 00:03:19.039 --> 00:03:25.859 works alone, it will be a very, very boring courtroom drama because the verdict will be the same 00:03:25.859 --> 00:03:35.579 every single time. That verse, it means, based on good works alone, there is no person who 00:03:35.579 --> 00:03:45.419 God would not reject. Notice three times in verse 16, he talks about works of the law, good 00:03:45.419 --> 00:03:53.239 works in a negative way, doesn't he. We are not justified by works of the law. Not by works 00:03:53.239 --> 00:03:59.000 of the law. By works of the law, no one will be justified. And it's utterly scandalous when 00:03:59.000 --> 00:04:07.519 you think about it. Based on our good works and our efforts, not even the very best, not even 00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:26.439 the privileged Jews who know God's law. But if you're working on project me, if you're working 00:04:26.439 --> 00:04:34.360 on building a building, of building a tower, of trying harder, of doing your best, of self-motivated 00:04:34.360 --> 00:04:44.560 spirituality, the verdict will be the same regardless. Note the word, no one will be justified in 00:04:44.560 --> 00:04:53.319 verse 16. It's without exception, isn't it? On the basis of good works, Mother Teresa won't 00:04:53.319 --> 00:05:01.759 be justified. She hasn't done enough. Nelson Mandela won't be justified. He hasn't done enough, 00:05:01.759 --> 00:05:10.199 not half enough. Not even the apostle Paul will be justified. He hasn't done enough. He would 00:05:10.199 --> 00:05:16.839 have to reject you as much as he rejects me based on the works of the law, based on project 00:05:16.839 --> 00:05:24.180 me. It's irrespective of who you are and of what you've done. And if you really think about 00:05:24.180 --> 00:05:34.480 this, we know this, don't we? Notice the words that Paul uses in verse 16. We know that we are not 00:05:34.480 --> 00:05:44.740 justified by works of the law. We know that a person is not made right by works. He quotes from Psalm 143, 00:05:45.259 --> 00:05:46.199 which says, 00:05:46.199 --> 00:06:00.659 And if we're honest, we echo that prayer. We don't want anyone to judge us, do we? Let alone God. 00:06:01.819 --> 00:06:08.439 Digging up our past, knowing our thought life, removing all privacy. If somebody could publish 00:06:08.439 --> 00:06:16.500 your life unedited onto Facebook, you would be horrified, wouldn't you? And before God, 00:06:16.579 --> 00:06:25.699 we'd be mortified, literally. In truth, we know this. We can't keep our own standards, let alone God's. 00:06:25.779 --> 00:06:34.079 And we want to avoid judgment. Please don't enter into judgment with us. Because deep down, we know. 00:06:34.079 --> 00:06:42.319 We know. We know we can't stand up to it. We can't do it. And so Paul is saying, Galatians, 00:06:42.479 --> 00:06:51.419 what you are doing is absolutely futile if you're working on project me. We know this. Our lives 00:06:51.419 --> 00:06:58.939 are a mess, and we've made a mess. We've hurt others, and we've been hurt by others. We've hurt God. 00:07:00.159 --> 00:07:03.740 Heaven would not be heaven with people like us there, would it? 00:07:04.079 --> 00:07:11.279 Deep down, we know it. That we can't do enough, and we're not good enough. You cannot do enough. 00:07:12.699 --> 00:07:16.899 But secondly, he says, Christ has done enough. Christ has done enough. 00:07:18.180 --> 00:07:24.000 Through the whole letter, there is a sharp contrast between two approaches to God. 00:07:24.560 --> 00:07:30.560 Two ways of relating to him. And they're set up as opposites. 00:07:30.560 --> 00:07:40.899 One is project me. Trying to earn my way into God's good books. Paul calls that works of the law, doesn't he? 00:07:41.839 --> 00:07:49.300 But the other way of relating to God is really bizarre. And it's in not doing anything at all. 00:07:49.300 --> 00:07:58.120 The other way of relating to God, he says, is to have faith in Jesus Christ, who died for us. 00:07:59.420 --> 00:08:04.639 You'll notice in verse 16, just as many times as he says, it's not by works of the law. 00:08:05.060 --> 00:08:08.840 He balances that out and says, it is by trusting in Jesus. 00:08:08.839 --> 00:08:11.679 By having faith in Jesus. 00:08:13.179 --> 00:08:14.479 And the reason? 00:08:16.019 --> 00:08:23.219 He goes on to explain that when a person trusts in Jesus, and his death and his resurrection, 00:08:23.479 --> 00:08:26.359 something really strange happens to that person. 00:08:27.719 --> 00:08:33.259 Paul says, by faith, we are joined to Jesus in a supernatural way. 00:08:33.259 --> 00:08:38.120 It's the kind of language that he starts to use in verses 19 and 20. 00:08:38.539 --> 00:08:44.960 He says there, speaking of himself and Christians, he says, we are with Christ. 00:08:46.100 --> 00:08:49.559 He says that Christ lives in me. 00:08:50.700 --> 00:08:54.340 There is a union between the believer and with Christ. 00:08:54.340 --> 00:09:04.600 And because of that union, when we trust in a crucified saviour, we also experience a kind of death. 00:09:05.700 --> 00:09:12.280 Paul says, doesn't he, in verse 20, I have been crucified with Christ. 00:09:14.180 --> 00:09:19.240 Ever since I was a student, I've had a student loan to pay off. 00:09:19.580 --> 00:09:20.440 And it's just there. 00:09:20.940 --> 00:09:22.800 I don't want to think about it, but it's there. 00:09:22.799 --> 00:09:24.719 And it's a significant amount of money. 00:09:24.859 --> 00:09:26.299 I'm talking thousands here. 00:09:27.079 --> 00:09:28.539 I try not to think about it. 00:09:28.599 --> 00:09:35.179 And over the years, I've tried to chip away at this debt, paying a little bit each month. 00:09:36.219 --> 00:09:40.839 But I kind of recently realised that unless I win the lottery or something, 00:09:41.179 --> 00:09:45.519 the day I pay this debt off is a long, long way into the future. 00:09:46.699 --> 00:09:50.439 And actually, I've worked out the exact day it's going to be. 00:09:50.440 --> 00:09:54.440 It's going to be the day that I die. 00:09:56.820 --> 00:10:02.460 According to the law on debt in this country, debts are written off when you die. 00:10:03.680 --> 00:10:05.260 They're not passed on to anyone else. 00:10:05.340 --> 00:10:06.900 My wife won't have to pay them. 00:10:07.580 --> 00:10:09.420 My children won't have to pay them. 00:10:10.420 --> 00:10:13.120 I'll be debt free when I'm dead. 00:10:13.920 --> 00:10:15.180 It's a lovely thought, isn't it? 00:10:15.179 --> 00:10:18.359 Can you see where I'm going on this? 00:10:18.459 --> 00:10:25.939 That the only way to lose this debt that we owe God is in his death. 00:10:26.899 --> 00:10:28.559 It is in a kind of death. 00:10:30.120 --> 00:10:32.939 Paul says, when you trust in Jesus, the one who died, 00:10:33.039 --> 00:10:35.599 it's as if you are walking around in a cemetery, 00:10:35.859 --> 00:10:39.059 and suddenly you see a grave, and it's really odd, 00:10:39.059 --> 00:10:41.299 because your name is written there. 00:10:42.599 --> 00:10:45.459 I am crucified with Christ, he says. 00:10:46.919 --> 00:10:50.519 In this way, his death gets rid of our debt. 00:10:51.979 --> 00:10:53.279 People know this, don't they? 00:10:53.359 --> 00:10:58.599 People try and fake their own debt to get rid of debt. 00:10:59.000 --> 00:11:02.799 Do you hear about that guy who disappeared to the Maldives for years? 00:11:02.799 --> 00:11:07.199 He faked his own debt to get rid of his creditors off his back. 00:11:08.719 --> 00:11:13.319 He found out that the problem was that the debt wouldn't go away. 00:11:13.439 --> 00:11:16.099 His main problem was that he was still alive. 00:11:16.959 --> 00:11:18.159 The debt lived on. 00:11:19.639 --> 00:11:22.099 But a person who trusts in Jesus, Paul says, 00:11:22.219 --> 00:11:27.740 experiences a real kind of death with Jesus. 00:11:28.579 --> 00:11:30.120 Sounds morbid, doesn't it? 00:11:30.120 --> 00:11:35.779 But Paul is saying, as you look at Jesus Christ dying on the cross, 00:11:36.759 --> 00:11:41.340 by faith you are watching your own death in a mirror. 00:11:42.779 --> 00:11:47.200 You are seeing yourself and the debt that you carry with you 00:11:47.200 --> 00:11:50.139 being killed off once and for all. 00:11:51.279 --> 00:11:52.899 You are seeing what you deserve, 00:11:53.060 --> 00:11:56.240 watching as the verdict you deserve is placed on him. 00:11:56.240 --> 00:12:00.639 And because you have died there with Christ, 00:12:00.740 --> 00:12:01.980 you've really escaped. 00:12:02.840 --> 00:12:04.159 You're in the Maldives. 00:12:05.320 --> 00:12:07.580 You've escaped the debt you owe forever 00:12:07.580 --> 00:12:09.240 and you'll never be asked to pay. 00:12:10.639 --> 00:12:12.139 You can't do enough, 00:12:13.019 --> 00:12:14.840 but Christ has done enough. 00:12:16.899 --> 00:12:19.659 How Paul describes it is really black and white, 00:12:19.980 --> 00:12:21.740 noticed in this section. 00:12:21.740 --> 00:12:25.720 There are only two ways that you can approach God. 00:12:26.720 --> 00:12:28.799 One is through works of the law 00:12:28.799 --> 00:12:31.820 and one is through faith in Jesus. 00:12:33.180 --> 00:12:35.899 One is to try and pay off the debt yourself 00:12:35.899 --> 00:12:38.299 and the other is to die with Christ. 00:12:39.980 --> 00:12:41.240 So what does that mean? 00:12:42.480 --> 00:12:44.240 What does it mean to die with Christ? 00:12:44.240 --> 00:12:48.320 It means to stop Project Me. 00:12:49.700 --> 00:12:54.019 It means not trying to rebuild that building. 00:12:54.960 --> 00:12:58.440 It means to kill off Project Me 00:12:58.440 --> 00:13:01.019 and trust Jesus' work instead, totally. 00:13:02.620 --> 00:13:03.539 And when you do that, 00:13:03.620 --> 00:13:05.399 Paul says Christ will help you. 00:13:05.500 --> 00:13:06.840 He will change you. 00:13:07.960 --> 00:13:10.060 It won't be everything all at once, 00:13:10.159 --> 00:13:11.519 but he will change you. 00:13:11.519 --> 00:13:14.199 Paul says, doesn't he, in verse 20, 00:13:14.340 --> 00:13:17.199 it's now no longer I who live, 00:13:17.299 --> 00:13:19.899 but Christ who lives in me. 00:13:20.919 --> 00:13:23.779 He'll give you his Holy Spirit to change your heart. 00:13:23.879 --> 00:13:25.579 And actually, the strange thing is, 00:13:25.639 --> 00:13:28.579 when you stop trying to please God 00:13:28.579 --> 00:13:29.799 for your justification, 00:13:31.259 --> 00:13:32.879 and you die with Christ, 00:13:33.100 --> 00:13:36.139 actually, slowly, you'll get better at pleasing God. 00:13:36.139 --> 00:13:39.659 Now, I just want to say, 00:13:40.100 --> 00:13:42.779 it is really easy to muddy the waters. 00:13:44.500 --> 00:13:46.480 Because Paul is clear here, 00:13:46.559 --> 00:13:49.500 it is not some of Jesus' works, 00:13:50.240 --> 00:13:53.319 with me kind of topping that up myself, 00:13:54.019 --> 00:13:55.799 with some good works of my own. 00:13:57.059 --> 00:13:58.759 The Gospel of the Lord Jesus 00:13:58.759 --> 00:14:02.000 is never a kind of combination of the two. 00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:05.379 And this is really easy to get wrong. 00:14:05.600 --> 00:14:07.200 Now, I know I'm going to offend 00:14:07.200 --> 00:14:08.399 at least one of you here, 00:14:08.620 --> 00:14:10.659 but my job is to give you the truth. 00:14:12.220 --> 00:14:14.720 This is where the Roman Catholic Church, 00:14:14.940 --> 00:14:16.000 at least constitutionally, 00:14:16.720 --> 00:14:19.399 has departed from the Apostle Paul. 00:14:20.679 --> 00:14:21.919 And this comes in the way 00:14:21.919 --> 00:14:24.340 that we understand words like faith, 00:14:25.080 --> 00:14:26.659 and grace, and works. 00:14:27.659 --> 00:14:28.580 Now, don't get me wrong, 00:14:28.580 --> 00:14:29.820 because I'm not saying 00:14:29.820 --> 00:14:31.580 that Paul is saying 00:14:31.580 --> 00:14:33.280 that good works don't matter. 00:14:33.639 --> 00:14:34.800 I'm not saying that at all. 00:14:35.600 --> 00:14:36.620 Later in Galatians, 00:14:36.740 --> 00:14:38.280 we'll see that he really says 00:14:38.280 --> 00:14:39.800 that good works do matter. 00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:42.759 But the Christian reformers 00:14:42.759 --> 00:14:44.620 taught that good works 00:14:44.620 --> 00:14:48.320 are a mark of genuine faith in Jesus, 00:14:49.360 --> 00:14:51.420 which leads to this justification. 00:14:51.820 --> 00:14:52.680 Works do matter. 00:14:54.120 --> 00:14:55.340 But they also taught 00:14:55.340 --> 00:14:56.160 that justification 00:14:56.160 --> 00:14:59.060 is not because of those good works. 00:14:59.500 --> 00:15:00.440 And that's really important. 00:15:02.040 --> 00:15:03.160 But the difference, 00:15:03.280 --> 00:15:04.639 it seems to be, in Rome 00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:06.960 is that faith that justifies 00:15:06.960 --> 00:15:09.360 includes those works. 00:15:10.820 --> 00:15:12.620 It is that when we believe in Jesus, 00:15:12.800 --> 00:15:14.980 we're joined to him by faith. 00:15:15.980 --> 00:15:19.340 And Jesus infuses grace into us. 00:15:19.340 --> 00:15:22.580 And he kind of gives us a leg up 00:15:22.580 --> 00:15:25.180 and helps us to justify ourselves 00:15:25.180 --> 00:15:26.580 by our own good works. 00:15:27.519 --> 00:15:29.320 And hence, the kind of end of that 00:15:29.320 --> 00:15:32.080 is doctrines like penance and purgatory. 00:15:33.259 --> 00:15:34.720 Now, if you want to talk with me 00:15:34.720 --> 00:15:35.560 about that afterwards, 00:15:35.700 --> 00:15:37.860 I'd be really happy to read with you 00:15:37.860 --> 00:15:40.200 the articles of Trent over a coffee, 00:15:40.340 --> 00:15:41.160 if that's your thing, 00:15:41.500 --> 00:15:42.700 or the Vatican articles, 00:15:42.800 --> 00:15:43.560 to see that. 00:15:43.559 --> 00:15:46.979 But having said that, 00:15:47.059 --> 00:15:47.459 as well, 00:15:47.579 --> 00:15:48.359 I want to say that 00:15:48.359 --> 00:15:50.339 mixing faith with works 00:15:50.339 --> 00:15:51.979 can creep up everywhere. 00:15:54.399 --> 00:15:54.799 Charismatics, 00:15:55.299 --> 00:15:55.959 Baptists, 00:15:56.899 --> 00:15:57.539 Methodists, 00:15:57.759 --> 00:15:58.339 Anglicans, 00:15:58.539 --> 00:15:59.299 Pentecostals, 00:15:59.419 --> 00:16:00.959 yes, even Presbyterians, 00:16:01.259 --> 00:16:03.899 we all can end up doing this. 00:16:04.979 --> 00:16:06.779 We just find different ways 00:16:06.779 --> 00:16:07.500 of doing it. 00:16:08.839 --> 00:16:09.719 And it's a temptation 00:16:09.719 --> 00:16:10.939 for all of us. 00:16:10.940 --> 00:16:12.280 Calvin said that 00:16:12.280 --> 00:16:15.040 we always want to be somewhat. 00:16:16.740 --> 00:16:18.900 We desperately want to feel like 00:16:18.900 --> 00:16:20.360 we are doing something 00:16:20.360 --> 00:16:22.780 and Project Me is working. 00:16:24.700 --> 00:16:25.200 And actually, 00:16:25.400 --> 00:16:26.700 it is that temptation 00:16:26.700 --> 00:16:28.940 that remains the only reason 00:16:28.940 --> 00:16:31.920 why some people don't believe. 00:16:33.240 --> 00:16:35.080 And maybe why you don't today. 00:16:37.340 --> 00:16:37.700 You know, 00:16:37.880 --> 00:16:38.680 because of Jesus, 00:16:38.980 --> 00:16:40.580 the only thing 00:16:40.580 --> 00:16:43.080 that is stopping you 00:16:43.080 --> 00:16:44.300 from knowing God 00:16:44.300 --> 00:16:46.879 and avoiding the punishment 00:16:46.879 --> 00:16:48.639 that you and I deserve, 00:16:49.600 --> 00:16:51.780 it's not only your sin, 00:16:53.540 --> 00:16:54.840 but more so, 00:16:54.900 --> 00:16:56.280 I think Paul is saying here, 00:16:56.340 --> 00:16:56.720 actually, 00:16:56.960 --> 00:16:58.560 the one thing that stops you 00:16:58.560 --> 00:16:59.220 knowing God 00:16:59.220 --> 00:17:01.340 is actually your good works. 00:17:01.340 --> 00:17:05.220 The only way to be right 00:17:05.220 --> 00:17:05.720 with God 00:17:05.720 --> 00:17:07.340 is to give up on that. 00:17:08.319 --> 00:17:09.900 To give up on Project Me 00:17:09.900 --> 00:17:12.240 and to trust in Jesus alone. 00:17:13.519 --> 00:17:15.160 And to die with him 00:17:15.160 --> 00:17:17.180 and be debt free. 00:17:18.420 --> 00:17:19.500 And to stop trusting 00:17:19.500 --> 00:17:20.840 in your own good works. 00:17:22.500 --> 00:17:24.079 Someone has helpfully written, 00:17:24.079 --> 00:17:25.960 all you need to be right 00:17:25.960 --> 00:17:26.579 with God 00:17:26.579 --> 00:17:28.460 is need. 00:17:29.539 --> 00:17:31.220 And all you must have 00:17:31.220 --> 00:17:32.919 is nothing. 00:17:35.059 --> 00:17:37.279 I pray that you will have that 00:17:37.279 --> 00:17:38.879 before God, 00:17:38.960 --> 00:17:40.079 that you will have nothing 00:17:40.079 --> 00:17:42.220 and that you will trust 00:17:42.220 --> 00:17:43.199 in Christ alone. 00:17:44.659 --> 00:17:46.019 Lest you should say, 00:17:46.159 --> 00:17:47.439 I don't trust Jesus 00:17:47.439 --> 00:17:49.980 because I don't need Jesus 00:17:49.980 --> 00:17:52.480 because I'm good enough. 00:17:53.480 --> 00:17:54.319 Let's pray. 00:17:54.319 --> 00:17:54.359 Let's pray.