Christ Crucified, Holy Spirit Given, Father Works Among You

Introduction

The churches in Galatia had turned from the gospel and returned back to the law for their salvation. Judaizers had crept in and taught the people that in order to be a Christian you had to obey the law. If you did not obey the law then you were not a “true christian”. The people bought into this lie and turned their back on what Jesus did on the cross for salvation and began depending on what they could do to earn their salvation. Paul rebuked them for this by calling them “foolish Galatians” He is not calling them stupid, he is calling them spiritually lazy. It is not as if the Galatians did not know what Christ had done for them, they chose to replace faith with their own works.

This tends to be the measure for Christians today. If you are a good person then you are presumed to be a Christian. If you are a bad person then you cannot call yourself a Christian. This is modern day Judaism and is just as much a lie today as it was back then.

Sometimes Satan can use our morality to even cause doubts about our own salvation. When we sin, and we will, Satan will begin to whisper to us that if we were truly a Christian then we would not have done what we did. Christianity is not about what you do or don’t do, it is about what Christ has done. There is no good deed good enough to compensate for your sin nature. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Conversely there is no sin too great that cannot be atoned for on the cross of Calvary except one. Rejecting Jesus and trying to earn your salvation.

Jesus Crucified

Paul reminded the Galatians that Jesus was publicly portrayed as crucified. Understand that most of the people in Galatia were not witnesses to Jesus crucifixion. So what is Paul referring to?

The Galatians had come out of a life of Paganism. They were without the one true God. Their lives of licentiousness and false Gods were exposed by what Christ did on the cross. They were familiar with crucifixion. They understood the brutality of this punishment from the Roman government. They feared it themselves if they transgressed Roman law. They knew that it was a punishment that they would avoid at all cost. It was an ugly and brutal means of death.

So for them to understand that someone would take this kind of punishment for them, emphasized the magnitude of their sin and the graciousness of the Lord.

Mel Gibson in the passion of the Christ movie attempts to show the brutality of the crucifixion. He does a great job of showing the physical torture of the cross. It is very moving to see what Jesus went through physically to atone for our sins. One thing the film lacks portraying is the spiritual and emotional torture Jesus went through. He came to save a people that rejected Him. He came in obedience to the Father that would forsake Him on the cross. All of this Jesus went through to demonstrate the grace of God and His love for people

16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Jesus is enough for you!

What Jesus did on the cross is enough to atone for all of our sin! It is when we fail to believe this that fall into a moralistic religion. We fall into the trap of believing that what Jesus did is not enough and I must do something about it. Friend let me tell you! Jesus sacrifice on the cross is enough to satisfy the sins of the world. It is plenty enough to cover your sins. You do not need to add anything to what Christ has already done!

If you do not know Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, contemplate or even write down all the bad things you have done, bad thoughts you have had, lies you have told, and any other thing sinful in your life. What can you do to make it right with God? The answer is nothing. There is nothing that you can do to atone for your own sin. You are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

Anything we do to try to earn or keep our salvation takes away what Christ has done. We must understand that Christ died for the salvation of our souls so that we can live in Him all the days of our life!

20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and [t]the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Holy Spirit Given

Paul ask the Galatians three things regarding the Holy Spirit.

Did you receive the Spirit by works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?

He is asking them what they did to receive the Holy Spirit. What law did they observe to merit the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. In essence, what did you do to earn the Holy Spirit. Did you give enough sacrifice? Were you righteous enough to earn the Holy Spirit? What did you do to earn the Holy Spirit? The obvious answer is there is nothing I did to earn the Holy Spirit. He was given to me by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

We receive the Holy Spirit by hearing the gospel by faith. We understand that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is a gift of God that secures our eternity.

21 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God,22 who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.

God has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit as a pledge that we are His.

Having Begun In the Spirit, are you perfected in the flesh?

It is the Holy Spirit that sanctifies us. We do not sanctify ourselves by observing the law or living morally. When we try this in our own strength, it will be short-lived. This is because we are trying to adhere to something that our hearts have not been conditioned to receive. It is kind of like when your parents told you to do something as a child that you didn’t want to do. Mine was cleaning the pool. That was my responsibility. I hated doing it but would do it to keep from being punished. However, I was not consistent in cleaning the pool and would give my dad excuses as to why didn’t . This is the same way with trying to overcome sin in our life. We try to adhere but really don’t want to and when we give in to sin we give excuses to God.

2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and [a]observe His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.4 For whatever is [b]born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

When we have the indwelling Spirit the commands of God are not burdensome. We want to do them. When we surrender our will to the Holy Spirit, then we do not have to try to perfect ourselves by observing the law. It comes as being a part of the child of God.

The Holy Spirit changes our will to conform to the will of God.

Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. 6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light And your judgment as the noonday.

You don’t have to fight in the flesh to be perfected. All you have to do is surrender your will to the Holy Spirit!

Did you suffer so many things in vain- if indeed it was vain?

The people in Galatia that trusted in Christ, were changed. This change is not easy. You are no longer your own. You now belong to Christ. You can no longer live your life for yourself. Surrendering your life to Christ means that now you live for him. This is not easy! It calls for us to make adjustments in our lives to conform to his will. This could mean changing employment, distancing yourself from unhealthy relationships, change the way you think about issues, and forgive those who have hurt you in the past.

Surrendering your life to Christ does not make your life easy. As a matter of fact it makes your life more challenging. Before coming to know Christ as my Savior, I was oblivious to the sin in my life. When I was indwelt with the Holy Spirit, I was forgiven of my sin, but they did not automatically go away. The conviction of the Holy Spirit is unpleasant, but necessary to conform you into what God desires for you to become.

The more you surrender to the Holy Spirit the less you have to depend on yourself for sanctification.

Father Works Among You

When we receive salvation from Christ and surrender ourselves to the Holy Spirit, we then experience God.

What does it mean to experience God? He brings about the miracles of life that we never thought were possible.

God the Father has a purpose for every person He has created. It is through faith in Christ and Surrender to the Holy Spirit that our purpose is fulfilled.

Only through Christ can we receive the Holy Spirit. When we receive the Holy Spirit, He reveals’s God’s will. It brings us to a crisis of belief that causes us to adjust our life to Him. When we do this, He accomplishes His will through us, and He receives glory. What is God’s will and purpose for you?

19 [a]Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you [b]always, even to the end of the age.”

God’s purpose for you is to make disciples. There is not a formula for this because it looks different for every situation. The end result is the same. You make disciples that in turn make other disciples.

God brings people across your path that He calls you to disciple. We are to use our lives to teach others to follow Jesus and train others to do the same.

When we do this we will make a kingdom difference. Show multiplication factor.

41 So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. 42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

43 Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. 44 And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; 45 and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. 46 Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Living life together for the purpose of glorifying God is disciple making.

Conclusion

Jesus died on the cross so that you could receive the Holy Spirit and experience God forever.

Do you know that Jesus

You cannot earn your salvation.

Today you can receive the gift of salvation by putting your faith in Jesus Christ to forgive you of all your sins. (Salvation)

Surrendering your life to the Holy Spirit (Repentance)

Receive eternal life from the Father (Glorification)

Do you want to be saved today?