Freed by Grace

Introduction

We are going to be spending the next little while walking through Galatians together as we look at the grace of God and what he has done for us.

This book is addressed to churches in a region called Galatia. It’s around modern day Turkey. Paul is speaking to a church that has been infiltrated by a group who were teaching an anti-gospel, a false gospel. These false teachers were saying that in order to be saved, you had to believe in Christ plus you had to basically become a jew. In other words, you had to follow the laws of the Old Testament and, most importantly, be circumcised.

Transition: As we get into this letter, we need to define the terms. What is legalism?

Defining Legalism

Paul comes and he writes this letter to the Galatians to address this idea of legalism that had infiltarted the church. It has begun to take over, but it’s important to be able to define legalism because sometimes we label things as legalistic that are not legalistic.

So what is legalism?

English Standard Version Chapter 1

Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers who are with me,

Paul, an apostle: There was a bit on instagram where a lot of my feed was filled with people who called themselves apostles. There can be confusion about what this word mean, and even as Paul writes this letter, he is addressing confusion.

It wasn’t through men nor through man that he is who he is. It’s purely by what God has done for him. The God who was raised from the dead for our sins is the one who has called him to the office of apostle.

So what is legalism?

Let’s think of it in three ways:

Working in our own Power

Paul comes and he writes this letter to the Galatians to address this idea of legalism that had infiltarted the church. It has begun to take over, but it’s important to be able to define legalism because sometimes we label things as legalistic that are not legalistic.

So What is legalism?

Let’s think of it in three ways:

It’s working in ourown power.

Something at we can’t forget, is that when we look at the people that Paul is address, it wasn’t that Christ was absent. He was there. It was that these false teachers were preaching Christ plus what man can bring to the table. They were not preaching a message that said it is only through faith in Jesus Christ that one can be saved. They had added their own little twist to it.

It’s like saying, “Hey, I am a Christian, I am saved by God’s grace.“ Then going out and living the Christian life in our own strength, essentially leaving grace behind. That’s legalistic because it involves working in your own power.

Think about how I work in my own skills. “I’ve got this” We just moved into our house on the 14th. I had all these grand plans and a schedule in my mind. It was pretty foolish. There’s no way I could have got it all done. I could not do this in my own power. Now, if I could get the work in my house done in my own power, how much more can I get myself made right before God?

I have two tools that I use to help with my alone time. And yes, they are apps. But one is

Working According to Our Own Rules

2. Working According to Our Own Rules

What we have here is the great ability to add rules. Jesus comes and says that if we love him we will obey, or do, all that he has commanded us to do. We don’t add to what Christ has already said to us

Board games: people who make up rules to play a game. Families do that.

This goes two ways though. We have all sorts of ways that either adds to or takes away from what God has revealed. But this is no game. God has made the rules, we’ve sinned against him. And we broke the rules. No adding or taking away of the rules changes the fact that we can’t be made right before a holy God on our own.

Working to Earn God’s Favour

3. Working to Earn God’s Favour

Legalism is more than just working in our own strength and with our own rules, but is also about trying to work to earn God’s favour. Sometimes legalism is practiced in order to please men, but the main idea is that by doing certain things one increases in favour before God. This is were performance-based faith comes alive. Paul is addressing the teachers, the Judiazers, who taugh that obedience to God’s law was the way to ensure a right stand before God. So the more obedient I am, the better I am at following all the rules, I am going to have a better standing before a holy God.

And before you go all, “Oh man, these Galatians, they just don’t get it, we are obviously saved by Grace alone, through Faith Alone, in Jesus Christ. This letter has nothing to do with me..” Yes, you are right, in saying that we are saved by grace, through Faith, in Jesus Christ, but let me ask you:

Have you ever thought: If I’m reading the Bible, praying, going to worship, and doing a number of other good things, then I have favour before God? Or, I’m a pretty good person, or at less I’m better than so and so next to me, they don’t come to church as often or aren’t involved in as much as I am. Or, I’ve out lasted all those other people.”

The legalist in us struggles with this idea of God’s grace. We think, “surely there has to be something I have to do?” This is what the false teachers were talking about when Paul charged them in verse 6 of deserting the gospel.

Well, you, like me, are struggling with legalism. And that’s what Paul is addressing here. That’s why Paul starts his letter with what is most important.

Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers who are with me,

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

Galatians 1:1–2 ESV

Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia:

Galatians 1:1-2

Look, Paul completely separates Jesus Christ from the category of all other human and placed him on the side of God. Why did he do this? Clearly he was not denying the true humanity of Jesus. He wants to show us that Jesus is much more than a mere man. He is qualitatively different from every other human being who has ever lived, not only with reference to his sinless life but also in respect to his unique relationship with the Father. This was a critical issue for Paul for this one reason: if Jesus Christ were not fully divine, he could never have redeemed us from the curse of the law or freed us from the power of sin by his death on the cross. If Jesus was not fully divine, there would be no grace, we would have to when God’s favour.

You can’t earn God’s favour by what you do, for the gospel is free and freeing.

Luther put it this way: Let this be then the conclusion of all together, that we will suffer our goods to be taken away, our name, our life, and all that we have: but the Gospel, our faith, Jesus Christ, we will never suffer to be wrested from us....Let every Christ man here be proud and spare not, except he will deny Christ. The Gospel must be zealously defended, which means that legalism must be vehemently attacked and destroyed. But how do I counter the thinking that is so ingrained in us that God’s pleasure is based on our performance? Paul continues to define the gospel.

Transition: The Gospel defines what legalism is for us, but it also destroys it as the Apostle Paul continues on. You can’t earn God’s favour by what you do, for the gospel is free and freeing.

Without Jesus you’re stuck here: trying to win Gods favour, you’re in a constant rat race of trying to appease God by your works, and it can’t be done. You can’t earn God’s favour by what you do, for the gospel is freeThe gospel not only defines legalism, it destroys it.

The gospel not only defines legalism, it destroys it.

Legalism Destroyed

English Standard Version Chapter 1

3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

It’s destroyed because it is:

The Gospel Is Free

Listen to what Paul say is in verse three:

Galatians 1:3a ESV

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,

Verse 3: Grace to you and peace

Verse 3: Grace to you and peace

Grace to you and peace

Paul starts and end his letter with these words. Grace to you and peace. This is Paul‘s short hand of the defining the Gospel, and it will destroy legalism. Peace is what should characterized the Christians life which is because of the grace brought by Christ.

Where does this peace and grace come from?

Galatians 1:3 ESV

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,

God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The peace that is experience because of the grace God has given you has been given by God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Just as in 1:1 the Father and Son were linked together by a single preposition, the same happens right here. The true deity of Christ is seen in the fact that he is associated indissolubly with the Father in all the mighty acts of salvation. It is only by the the finished work that God the Father did through Jesus Christ as he died for our sins on the cross and three days later, rose again.

Gospel Move

From the very beginning of this letter, Paul teaches us that God’s favour is free. His salvation is free. His love, his mercy, His provision is free. its not based on your performance; rather, it’s based on Jesus Christ’s performance.

Gospel Move: When we tamper with the gospel, we lose sight at how bad things are or were. We loose sight that we, at some point, will have to stand before a holy God. And we either are going to do that on our good works, or on the work of Jesus Christ. We all have sinned against a holy God. Because of that sin, we are all desErving of enteral, forever, damnation to hell. We remain as objects of God’s wrath. But, the free gift of God is eternal life, that anyone who confesses with their mouth that Jesus Christ is both Lord and saviour, will be saved. Not if, not maybe, not, you need to do this or that. Acknowledge your sin before a holy God and rest in his finished work.

When we tamper with the gospel, we lose sight at how bad things are or were. We loose sight that we, at some point, will have to stand before a holy God. And we either are going to do that on our good works, or on the work of Jesus Christ. We all have sinned against a holy God. Because of that sin, we are all desErving of enteral, forever, damnation to hell. We remain as objects of God’s wrath. But, the free gift of God is eternal life, that anyone who confesses with their mouth that Jesus Christ is both Lord and saviour, will be saved. Not if, not maybe, not, you need to do this or that. Acknowledge your sin before a holy God and rest in his finished work.

Think about how this works out through the work of God the Father and God the Son. God the Father has initiated our salvation. Look again at verse 3 and 4, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present devil age, according to the will of our God and Father…” Grace is from God. The gospel is from God. It is God’s will that His people would know His grace, He’s designed it this way.

Paul gives his testimony in 1:13-14. Take note of the subject “I”. But in verse 15, everything changes. You see, this is the amazing part. Paul knows, he points out, that his complete rebellion and raging fanaticism was no match for the good p[lease of God. God set him par, God called him, and God saved him by revealing Christ. This is the grace of God. You and I may not have the same background as Paul. Some of you are like me, pretty boring stories of God’s grace, some of you may have different stories,. But it was all by God’s grace that you sit there now and can stand in awe of the grace that God has poured out on us. Every follower of heist has the same testimony.

It is free because:

The Gospel is not invented by man.

When I was rebelling

When I was still running far from you

You came and you found me

You would not relent in your persuit

You came and you found me

You would not relent in your pursuit

Look at verse 4:

Galatians 1:4 ESV

who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

Look at the redemptive work of Christ. He “Gave himself” for our sins. This is grace.

Oh, will you look at what God has done for you. He has redeemed us with his blood. We were lost and dead in sin and he came for us. He adopted us in love. We were orphans without hope, but now we are his children.

It is free because:

The Gospel is revealed by God

There is nothing man-made about it. The good news is that God became a man and lived a perfect life that He might die on the cross for our sins and be raised from the dead in victory over sin so that all who believe in Him will be saved, not based on anything they have done, but based solely on what He as done. This goes goes against every single strain of pride that dominates our hearts, which indicates that it had to come from God. he initiates our salvation, which is why Paul says that abandoning the gospel of free grace is an abandonment of God himself.

It is free because:

God the Son has accomplished our salvation

Paul is saying really forcefully that we malign the gospel when we add to grace.

Not only that, but we misunderstand the gospel when we cheapen grace. We don’t get a “get out of jail card.” You don’t get to live however you want.

Illustration

this a prevailing thought that you’re good when your saved

Romans 6:15 ESV

What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!

The cost of grace is not cheap. It’s free because someone has paid for it, and Jesus has paid for it through the cross. You can’t have this free grace without it changing your life. Grace brings about change.

Instead of maligning the gospel or misunderstanding it, we need to stand in awe of what God has done for us. We marvel at the gospel when we trust in grace. The key would her is trust, sometimes we think of that as faith. We must believe that the gospel is free. God the Father has initiated our salvation, and God the Son has accomplished our salvation, and we did absolutely nothing for it. That’s why the gospel is called “good news.” SUch grace extended to unworthy sinners is worth our marvelling.

The Gospel is free:

You can’t earn God’s favour by what you do, for the gospel is free and freeing.

The Gospel is Freeing

Transition: The Other way that the gospel destroys legalism is that it’s not only free, but freeing.

Go back to back story. Legalism chains us down. Inslaves us

Check out verse 4 again with me, notice the last part there:

Galatians 1:4 ESV

who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

Frees us to live in Christ

Jesus gave himself for our sin, “to deliver (or rescue) us from the present evil age.

This work ”rescue” is used in Acts to talk about how the Isrealities were rescued from slavery or how Paul is described as freed from prison.

This word is not just talking about being delivered from the guilt of sin, which is true. But also about being delivered from the power of sin. As people who have expereinced the grace of God, you are no longer living like the world, pursuing what this world pursues, loving what this world loves, indulging in what this world indulges in. You are free!

The Judiazers that the preaching of the gospel lead to loose living, so they set up all these rules on top of what God has already called us to do and be. Be we haven’t been freed into nothingness. We are free into Christ, who changes us by the Holy Spirit from the inside out. We are freed to live based on Christ’s power at work in us. Don’t miss this point: our obedience isn’t legalistic. We’re not working in our own power according to our own rules to earn God’s favour. We’re working in His power according to his rules and we know we have hid favour, not based on what we do, but based on all that Christ had done for us! The gospel frees us to live as we were created to live, in Christ.

You can’t earn God’s favour by what you do, for the gospel is free and freeing.

The gospel frees us to live as God created us to. It also frees us to:

Frees us to Proclaim Christ

Check out verse 5:

Galatians 1:5 ESV

to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Why did God give Paul such grace?

So that Paul would preach the gospel to the Gentiles. This is the type of grace that frees us to speak, to tell. Paul’s not the only one who has been saved to proclaim the good news. It could be to a group in India or China or northern Canada. Or bearing witness to all Christ has done for you at your workplace or at school or at the park with the other moms and dads, or across the street. You and I have the privilege and the resp, as those who have received God’s grace, to share this gospel with everyone. Grace frees us to pas along this good news.

Conclusion

The gospel defines legalism and it destroys legalism. We struggle with it just as much as the Galatians church did 2000 years ago.The gospel is free and frees us to live who Christ has called us to.

BI: You can’t earn God’s favour by what you do, for the gospel is free and freeing.

Who are we that he would save us?

Who are we that he would save us?

Who are we that he would send us?

Who are we that he would send us?

How does legalism undermine the gospel?

In what ways do we add to the gospel? What are some ”Jesus+ something else” messages taough today?

Does Free grace lead to carelessness about sin? Explain?

What practice steps can you take to avoid legalism as you share the gospel with unbelievers?