It’s Complicated

Hello & Greeting

Prayer Requests

Pastoral Prayer & The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever. Amen.

Introduction

Do you guys ever think we make life too complicated? Like there are just some things that don’t make sense to me.

For example:

When I’m trying to print something — when does my computer always say it can’t find the printer? What do you mean you can’t find it? I’m looking right at it?

Or, why do scissors come in packaging that you need scissors to open?

Or my personal favorite — this road out here that many of us travel on… Why is it called the Lloyd Expressway when there’s absolutely nothing express about it?

We overcomplicate everything.

Me

Another thing I feel like is way too complicated — dating. Thank goodness my wife and I got together before online dating was a thing. I don’t know how the single folks do it… everything is done in an app now. You know — used to — you’d walk up to somebody — maybe in a grocery store or something — ask them out — maybe tell them they look nice — whatever.

But now if you do that — you’re a creep!

Now you have to open your phone — and swipe left — and right — and up — and down — and sideways.

It’s far too complicated.

But that’s not all:

If you go to the bank to try to get a loan for a house — you run the risk of them telling you that you don’t make enough money to afford the house payment. So then you have to go rent a house that costs twice the monthly amount of what a mortgage would be. Make that make sense!

Women’s pants! I never understood why women would get so excited about having pockets till I got married and realized the put fake pockets on a lot of women’s pants. Somebody tell clothing manufacturers that women need pockets too! They’re literally going through the effort of sewing on pockets that don’t work. Far too complicated.

Have you ever noticed that hot dogs come in packs of five — six — or ten? But hot dog buns only come in packs of 8? Why?

Life is far too complicated.

We

I think we all struggle with this to some extend, right? Life is far too complicated — and honestly — a lot of that complication comes because we made it too complicated in the first place. And sadly — a lot of that complication exists in our spiritual lives, too.

We’ve made living for Christ far more complicated than it was ever meant to be. I mean look at all of the denominations that exist today — and for those of us sinners here who have no denomination at all. A majority of these different churches exist because we’ve overcomplicated the Gospel.

We’ve turned open-handed issues into hills we’re going to die on.

And people have experienced broken relationships with their brothers and sisters in Christ over things that don’t have to divide us.

And while I would never want to dismiss somebody’s feelings about something that they think is really important — a lot of times these things just end up resulting in a lot of silly stuff that overcomplicates the Gospel.

And really — many of us have moments where our faith got tangled up in things Jesus never asked of us.

For example — when my wife was a kid, she went down to the altar probably 20 times to get saved. Her church would make the altar call, and she’d go down there, and somebody would pray with her, and then she’d go off into a little side room and a little old lady would talk to her about her faith decision.

…I don’t think anybody ever told her that it stuck after the first time.

But because she saw people who overcomplicated the Gospel, she believed that she’d messed up too much and needed to be saved again. So it was like week after week, here goes little Blaire to get saved again.

Maybe that just means she’s extra holy; I don’t know.

It’s not just her, though. When I was baptized in the church I grew up in — I got dunked twice. You see, we were an old country church and we went out in the creek and held baptism services. And somebody in the crowd said they thought it looked like the tip of my nose was still sticking out of the top of the water when I went in — which honestly isn’t surprising considering how big it is — but they literally baptized me a second time to “make sure it counted”. WHAT!?

God

If there’s any consolation to all this — it’s that we’re not alone. Messing it all up isn’t a new phenomenon. Overcomplicating the Gospel has been happening ever since the Gospel was first preached in the early church.

This morning we’re exploring a passage in Galatians Chapter 2. Galatians was written by the Apostle Paul to a group of churches in an area that’s in modern-day Turkey. The people in these churches had come to know Christ in a saving relationship — but then started trying to add all their own Jewish customs and laws to the process. And it created a real challenge for people trying to understand the Gospel. They started adding in things like avoiding certain foods — and circumcision for the men — and all of these things that Christ said through His finished work on the Cross — we’re no longer required.

And when Paul writes this letter — he’s not sitting at a coffee shop — sipping on a latte — calmly journaling his thoughts. He’s frustrated — and passionate — and honestly a little fired up — because the people He loves have taken the simplest truth in the world — and turned it into a spiritual obstacle course.

He tells us that the minute we add anything to Jesus — we lose the simplicity and power of the Gospel.

Take a look with me — Galatians Chapter 2 — verses 16 through 21:

Galatians 2:16–21 CSB

16 …because we know that a person is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we ourselves have believed in Christ Jesus. This was so that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no human being will be justified. 17 But if we ourselves are also found to be “sinners” while seeking to be justified by Christ, is Christ then a promoter of sin? Absolutely not! 18 If I rebuild those things that I tore down, I show myself to be a lawbreaker. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live for God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

When Paul writes this — he is stepping into one of the most direct conversations about the Gospel in the entire New Testament. These verses are Paul’s way of saying, “Let me remind you what this whole thing is actually about.” And timing matters. He’s not writing to a group of rebellious people who’ve never heard about God. He’s writing to religious people. Church people. People who love Jesus but who’ve started adding unnecessary ingredients to the recipe.

Exposition

v. 16

Paul begins this passage with a truth that shocked the early church — and it still shocks the modern church. Look with me again at Verse 16:

Galatians 2:16 CSB

16 …We know that a person is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ,

Paul’s saying we’re not made right with God by anything we accomplish. Not by rule-keeping. Not by performance. Not by spiritual hustle. We are justified — Paul says — by faith in Jesus Christ. That’s it! Trust in Christ is the foundation. Everything else is decoration. And yet — if we’re honest — a lot of us spend our time decorating the Gospel — and then wondering why it feels heavier.

Paul emphasizes that knowing the right rules doesn’t make you right with God. Following the right customs doesn’t make you right with God. Trying hard every day to be a spiritual rock star doesn’t make you right with God. Only Christ makes you right with God.

But here’s the problem: the human heart loves the idea of earning. It feels safer to us. It feels measurable. It feels controllable. We like scoreboards — and progress charts — and gold stars. We love to believe that we can impress God with our behavior.

But that’s not how it works. We don’t come to God with our spiritual resume. He’s not impressed with our performance. He’s pleased with His son.

So Paul’s urgency here comes from the fact that the Galatians had slowly drifted away from this truth. They didn’t reject Jesus. They didn’t deny the Cross. They just added to it. They believed in Jesus — and they believed their own behavior helped solidify their standing before God. They believed the Gospel… plus something else.

And that’s where Paul steps in and says, “No… there is no plus. There’s no extra credit. Jesus is enough.”

v. 17

And then Paul shows the Galatian church — and us — the deeper reality of grace. Look with me at Verse 17:

Galatians 2:17 CSB

17 But if we ourselves are also found to be “sinners” while seeking to be justified by Christ, is Christ then a promoter of sin? Absolutely not!

Paul is addressing the fear that often rises when grace is preached clearly. People worry that if salvation is freely given — then human beings will run wild. It just further promotes this belief that we’ve gotta do more to earn God’s grace. In other words — if God’s grace is really free then people will just go on sinning and failing! But Paul says grace doesn’t produce rebellion — it produces transformation. Grace doesn’t make us careless. It makes us grateful.

“GRACE IS NOT PERMISSION” GRAPHIC

Grace is not permission to sin. Grace is the power to change.

Paul knows this is hard for us to grasp — so he keeps pressing the point to make sure we don’t drift back into old patterns.

v. 18

So at this point — he pauses to clear something up that the Galatians were confused about. Look at Verse 18:

Galatians 2:18 CSB

18 If I rebuild those things that I tore down, I show myself to be a lawbreaker.

Paul’s talking about the system he used to live under. The system of rule-keeping. The system where your relationship with God was measured by how well you followed the law.

Paul’s saying, “If I go back to that system after trusting Christ — then I’m the one doing something wrong. I’m the one rebuilding a wall that God already tore down.” In other words — if Paul tries to earn salvation again — he’s actually stepping away from grace — not toward holiness.

It’d be like tearing down a crooked old shed in your back yard — and then turning around and rebuilding the same old crooked shed because you miss having something to work on. Paul says going back to a works-based system isn’t spiritual maturity — it’s spiritual confusion.

v. 19

The Paul moves into verse 19:

Galatians 2:19 CSB

19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live for God.

He’s explaining here how the purpose of the law isn’t to save him… it’s to show that he needed saving. Look at how this verse reads in the New Living Translation:

Galatians 2:19 NLT

19 For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God.

When he “died to the law” — he means that the law — all of the rules and regulations — no longer had the power to define him or to condemn him. That chapter of his story is over. He stepped out of performance and stepped into grace. He doesn’t belong to the old system anymore. He belongs to God.

…And we do too.

Can I just say how thankful I am that we don’t live under the Old Testament laws? Do y’all know what they had to do every time they had to deal with their sin before God? They had to sacrifice a lamb!

Could you imagine having to carry a lamb to the altar every time you messed up? It’s all I’d ever be doing!

I’d pass you on the road, lamb over my shoulders — and be like, “Hey man. Yeah, I’m here again. Got mad and yelled at somebody in traffic this morning.”

20 minutes later: “Hey. Me again. Thought some really awful things about my co-worker when I was mad.”

And again: “Oh hey. Yeah, I’m back. I said some awful words when I was trying to open the packaging on a new pair of scissors — but I didn’t have any scissors to open them with.”

I’d never get anything else done!

And can you imagine those poor sheep!? I’d probably run out of my whole flock before the end of the week. They’d see me coming and go, “Oh no. He’s baaaaaaack.”

But praise be to God we don’t have to do that anymore. We don’t have to live in constant fear that we aren’t following all the rules. We don’t have to be perfect. Or do perfect. Or live perfect. That doesn’t mean we have a license to do what we want — but it does mean that there’s grace for every mistake we make… and we don’t have to hold the responsibility for making ourselves right with God!

Ephesians 2, verses 8 and 9 say it like this:

Ephesians 2:8–9 CSB

8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— 9 not from works, so that no one can boast.

…and friends, this is gift of God’s grace is far better than any gift you received this Christmas season.

v. 20

Now Paul lifts our eyes from what the law can’t do to what Christ has already done — and who we now are because of Him.

Galatians 2:20 CSB

20 I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

That’s a beautiful verse — but it’s not just poetic language. It is spiritual reality.

“SALVATION ISN’T JUST…” GRAPHIC

Salvation isn’t just forgiveness for what we’ve done. It’s a new life for who we now are. When we encounter a saving relationship with Jesus Christ — something real and something supernatural happens to the believer. The old self — the striving — and the performing — and the proving self — has been crucified. It no longer gets the final say. Christ Himself lives within you. Which is good news… because most of us weren’t doing that great of a job to begin with.

We were like teenagers when they first start driving: a lot of enthusiasm… but really poor abilities. But Paul says Jesus didn’t just take the keys… he moved into the driver’s seat of our souls.

That’s why the Christian life isn’t about trying harder. If trying harder could’ve saved us — Jesus wouldn’t have needed to die in our place. Paul says the Christian life is about trusting deeper. Walking in the reality that Christ’s life is now intertwined with our own. His presence is the engine. His love is the fuel. And His spirit is the power.

But then Paul adds something tender in this verse:

Galatians 2:20 CSB

(Zakk Paraphrase) — He says the life he now lives is by faith in Jesus Christ. And that because of God’s love — He gave Himself for us.

Church, that means the motivation for our obedience to God isn’t fear that we’re gonna mess it up — our motivation to obey God comes from our gratitude for God’s affection. Paul is saying, “I follow Jesus because He loves me. I trust Him because He gave Himself up for me.” And when we recognize ourselves and our relationship with Christ in that way — the whole tone of the relationship changes. You’re not a servant working to impress a distant master. You’re a child welcomed by a gracious Father.

v. 21

And that leads to Paul’s final, forceful declaration in verse 21. He says:

Galatians 2:21 CSB

21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

I do not set aside the grace of God. Paul refuses to walk away from grace. He refuses to treat it like it’s optional. He refuses to let religious pressure pull him back into a life of performance. And then he makes his strongest point: “If we could do enough stuff to earn our way into Heaven — then Christ’s death was all for nothing.”

Paul is telling us, “If you can earn this — then the Cross is unnecessary.” But because we can’t earn it — the Cross becomes everything. Paul pulls no punches here, because he wants his recipients to feel the full weight of what happens when we try to stand on our own efforts.

For these Galatian readers — hearing this read out loud — this is the moment the room should feel still. Because Paul has lovingly — but firmly — torn down every illusion we cling to about earning God’s approval. He has removed every spiritual trophy we try to display. He has silenced every voice inside us that says, “I have to do more.”

He’s reminding us of the Good News: Jesus did the work. Not Jesus did ninety percent and you do ten. Not Jesus did His part and now you must do your part. Jesus did it all.

And if that’s not strong enough for you, the author and theologian and missionary Paul Washer says it like this:

“If salvation was 99.99% Jesus and 0.01% us, we would all be damned.”

- Paul Washer

But guys — this is the part where we can breathe. This is where some of us can finally unclench our spiritual muscles. It’s where we realize that following Jesus was never meant to feel like a juggling act where you’ve gotta keep everything up in the air. We are the ones who overcomplicate what Jesus made simple.

Paul isn’t lowering the bar. He is returning us to the original bar. The Gospel is simple because Christ carried the weight. We rest in what He has accomplished — not what we manage to achieve.

And when we rest in Him — we find something new rising in us. We find joy instead of pressure. We find peace instead of panic. We find transformation instead of exhaustion. And we find a Savior instead of a scorecard.

Paul is bringing us back to the heart of Christianity. Not a religion built on human effort — but a redeeming God who loves us enough to do what we never could.

“THE GOSPEL IS SIMPLE” GRAPHIC

The Gospel is simple — because Jesus is enough.

You

So let me bring this right into your world for a moment. Because most of us know exactly what Paul is talking about in this passage. We live with this low-level pressure that says, “I need to do more. I need to do better. I need to earn my keep with God.” And when life gets hard — we assume it’s because we’re not performing well enough spiritually.

But the truth is far better than that. If Christ lives in you — then you don’t have to hustle your way into God’s love. You don’t have to impress Him. You don’t have to fear disappointing Him every other minute of your life. He’s not looking for perfection. He’s looking for trust.

So maybe the real question for you today is this: Are you trusting Jesus to save you — or trusting yourself to keep yourself saved?

Maybe that’s the shift you need. Instead of waking up every day thinking, “I need to fix myself,” you begin to wake up saying, “Jesus, live through me today.” Instead of acting like you have something to prove — you start living like you have Someone inside you who already proved everything on your behalf.

—

And maybe you know you’ve been rebuilding the old shed Paul talked about. You know Jesus — but you’ve drifted back into performance. You know you’ve been putting your confidence in what you do instead of what Christ has done. But today — Christ is inviting you back into freedom.

Call to Repentance

Listen — by now you’ve probably noticed a pattern to my preaching. Nearly every message ends with a Call to Repentance — a reminder that God is waiting. A reminder that He’s not looking for perfection — that we don’t have to clean ourselves up — that we don’t have to have it all together. That His grace is free.

And maybe you hear that week after week and think, “Well this is nothing new.” You’re right. It’s not. In fact it’s the same exact problem that people have been living with — and the same lie people have been believing — for two thousand years. This belief that we have to get our act together before God will accept us. And no matter how many times we hear this truth — many of us fall back into the trap of trying to earn a seat at the table God already set for us.

I also know that many of you here in this room grew up in a faith tradition that taught you — either directly or indirectly — that the only way to experience Salvation is faith plus works. His grace, plus good deeds. And while I’m not trying to cast blame — or cause division — or point fingers at a faith tradition you hold dear — I also love you enough to tell you the truth. And the truth is that you don’t have to keep striving. You don’t have to keep pushing. And working. And hoping that you could ever do enough to earn God’s favor. Because here’s the deal: There are 66 books, 1,189 chapters, and 31,102 verses in the Bible that tell us there is never enough we can do to measure up to God’s standard of goodness. And none of them tell us that we have to earn or achieve our way into a relationship with God. Imagine the weight that would lift off your life if you finally stopped trying to earn what God already gave.

Because of His great love for us — we don’t have work our way up to Him. He came down to us. Friends — let’s not overcomplicate the Good News of Jesus. His grace is available for all. Praise be to God.

Prayer

Communion