Grace Changes Everything

On May 31st…2014 my life changed forever.

I May 31st, 2014 I had an identity shift.

I was no longer a single man…I my union with my wife changed everything in my life…And praise God...

But marriage as we know, is designed by God to be a picture of Christ and the church. When two sinners are joined together in the covenant of marriage they put on full display God’s redemptive plan of the gospel.

In a way…marriage is a small taste of what has already happened for those who have believed in Jesus…in Jesus Christ, God has married himself to us…He has entered into covenant with imperfect people…as Paul says in this passage this morning…If you have union with Christ this morning you can agree with Paul...I have been crucified with Christ…it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me...

This Changes Everything…the Gospel changes everything...

Galatians 2:15–21 CSB

15 We are Jews by birth and not “Gentile sinners,” 16 and yet 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.

Were introduced to a new word this morning through our study in Galatians...

“Justification”

If a persons actions are “justified” it means that they are doing the right thing....

When we start talking about words like justification…people’s eyes start to glaze over like a Fresh Donut from Janie’s...

“Dont talk to me about all those high falutent theological terms…just tell me how to be a better Christian...”

So let me start off by telling you why this idea of Justification is so important and relevant...

God is Holy

We are Not

This is a Big Problem—it means that we are by default not justified…we are not right with God by nature...

Because…we are all born in sin…we arent sinners because we sin…we are sinners by nature…thus…we are born condemned…we deserve God’s wrath and punishment…we deserve hell.

So here’s the question—what the solution? How can unrighteous sinners be made righteous…how can we be justified...

In this text Paul gives us the answer...

First, Paul tells us how we ARE NOT justified…then he tells us how we can be justified...

We Are Justified By Faith Not By Works.

“We ourselves are not Gentile Sinners, ...but…because we know that a person is not justified by the works of the law...”

So Paul clearly say…noone is justified (or made right with God) through any works of the law.

Translation: Noone can be made right with God through anything that they can do for God.

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Here’s a statement:

A misunderstanding of sin leads to a misunderstanding of salvation.

When we think of sin only in terms of behavior problems, it leads to the idea that we can be saved through behavior modification.

If we think that behavior is the problem…then it makes us think that behavior is the solution… (This was definitely what Peter was wrestling with…it was why he seperated himself from Gentiles in the story we read last week…and it was definitely what the Galatians were struggling with…it was why they were tempted to enforce believers to be circumcised…they thought circumcision would be a better behavior to make up for their bad behaviors.)

But the problem with sin isn't our behavior…it is our nature…we are born with sin natures…We are Sinners by default…not just sort of bad…but totally depraved…lost...without hope…by nature…not by choice. We are born this way...

Romans 1 says it this way...

Romans 1:18 CSB

18 For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth,

“By their unrighteousness”…The human default is to suppress the truth of God. It is apart of who we are…which means that when human beings are given the opportunity to choose between right and wrong…we choose the wrong…think of it this way…a dog is a dog…could a dog meow like a cat? Well, theoretically, yes, it could. But the fact is that the dog doesn't meow like a cat because it is limited by it’s nature. In the same way, human beings are by nature born sinners. And therefore we are limited by our nature…theoretically we can do good…but because we as Ephesians 2:3 puts it “Children of wrath...”

Isaiah 48:8 CSB

8 You have never heard; you have never known; for a long time your ears have not been open. For I knew that you were very treacherous, and were known as a rebel from birth.

Isaiah 64:6 CSB

6 All of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment; all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.

And this sin nature…it is what causes us to have sinful behavior. We are not sinners because we sometimes sin…we sin because we are sinners.

Our nature determines our behavior…it’s just the way God has determined that things work.

And therefore, behavior doesnt determine nature… (Hence the reason why men cannot be women simply by acting like women…)

This is why Paul writes… in verse 16 “…by works of the law, no human being will be justified...” (or made right with God.)

Paul recognizes that no matter how much “good” a person does…it doesnt fix the heart of the problem…which is that we have sinful hearts. So…as a result…everyone sins...

So … How can we be justified…or made right with God if it isnt through works?

Paul tells us in the remaining verses...

Galatians 2:15–16 CSB

15 We are Jews by birth and not “Gentile sinners,” 16 and yet 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.

By Faith...

How Can a Person Be Justified Simply By Faith? It almost seems to good to be true...

Paul tells us...

Verse 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?

In other words...“If we preach that salvation is by faith alone…wont people just be encouraged to sin!”

In Romans Paul addresses a similar issue after preaching the message of freedom in grace he writes, “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound...” and he answers the same way there that he does here… “God forbid...”

Grace…real grace…never leads to sin…it leads to freedom and righteousness.

BUT…THE LAW—on the other hand— ALWAYS LEADS TO SIN!

VERSE 18: “IF I REBUILD THOSE THINGS THAT I TORE DOWN, I SHOW MYSELF TO BE A LAWBREAKER...”

This verse addresses what the false teachers in Galatians were attempting to get the church to do…they wanted them to re-establish or rebuild the rules and regulations of the law...

So Paul reminds them of the failure in thinking that keeping the law will produce more obedience than justification by faith alone. He says if he wanted to live by the law, and not by grace, then all he would ever do is break the law!

VERSE 19: “FOR THROUGH THE LAW I DIED TO THE LAW, SO THAT I MIGHT LIVE FOR GOD.”

When Paul says “He died to the law...” he means that he died to the idea that the law could be the means of salvation...

Paul understood…and we need to understand…that Jesus was serious when he said… “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets, I did not come to abolish them but to fulfill them...”

He had died to the works righteousness way of life…He stopped being a law-man…and he started being “God’s man”

When Jesus said it is finished…he meant it…all of the righteous requirements of the law were satisfied at that very moment.

Here is what we fail to understand when we struggle with the idea that God justifies us by faith alone....

VERSE 20: “I HAVE BEEN CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST (PAST TENSE), I NO LONGER LIVE, BUT CHRIST LIVE IN ME. THE LIFE I NOW LIVE, I LIVE BY FAITH IN THE SON OF GOD....WHO LOVED ME....AND GAVE HIMSELF FOR ME.

DO YOU NEED ASSURANCE THIS MORNING THAT YOU ARE RIGHT WITH GOD? Do you fear that maybe you arent right with God this morning? Believe these words then...

Hear these words:

“I have been crucified with Christ....I no longer live…but Christ lives within me. The life I now live

Even when I sin...

Even when I struggle...

Even in my failures...

Even in my victories...

I live by faith in the son of God. Who loved me and gave himself for me...

Here is the beautiful reality for you and I this morning...

Since we are justified by faith…and not by works…it means we did nothing to earn our right standing with God. And because we didn’t earn it…it means we cant lose it.

I had a guy just yesterday tell me and Brett Smith his story of how God was working on his life… His words were this “Once you get him…you dont lose him” and it’s true…but the reason that it is true isnt because we got him…it’s because HE HAS US.

Just like when I got married, it changed everything…Christ who is now our bridegroom has wed himself to us…and that changes everything

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In Christ…my accomplishments do not distinguish me…and in Christ…my failures do not destroy me.

In Christ…my accomplishments do not distinguish me and my failures do not destroy me...

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Church…Christ is yours by faith…and you are His…forevermore.

So to end…I want to pray verse 21…let’s make this our aim

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

Father, help us…help us to never set your grace to the side of our lives…help us to live in this reality…that if righteousness comes through the law…through our actions…then Christ…you may as well have never died. Help us to never leave the truth of the gospel.

May we in this room be able to say along with Paul “I have been crucified with Christ…I no longer live…but Christ lives within me…” And God make this true for us… “and the life we now live…we want to live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me…” Give us this faith Lord…we pray in Jesus name....AMEN

You respond how God leads you to while we sing...

So let me give you a point of application here: And ill be honest…I never thought I would say this...

We Must Be Careful With Our Motivation for Obedience .

I want to be clear…the Bible certainly teaches us that works are indeed “good.” Hence the reason why James writes “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works is dead.” so there is a clear teaching from scripture that good works will be present in the life of anyone who has experienced the new birth through faith in Christ…However the Bible is very clear that “Good Works” are the result of salvation and not the means of salvation.

As Martin Luther once said, “We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone.”

We must be crystal clear on the REASON that we obey...

If we obey out of a desire to make sure that we are saved…we arent living by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us.

We obey for one reason and one reason only…because we love the God that loved us in Jesus Christ.

We dont obey God to get God’s love…our obedience is FROM having already been loved by God through Jesus Christ.

If we, even deep down…believe that we have to add to what Christ has already done…then Christ might as well have died for no purpose at all…Paul says.

But we get this idea of faith and works twisted up constantly.

It is common today in Jesus’ Church for us to profess the gospel on our lips…but not believe the gospel in our hearts.

We tell people all day long that our standing before God is not based upon works…but solely on the work of Christ…but then in our own relationship with God we think that our behavior dictates God’s attitude toward us.

When we believe that…we are just like the Galatians…we have departed from the truth of God’s gospel and have begun to believe in a counterfeit religious system of works based righteousness.

Thus, there is a subtle danger in doing good for God…brothers and sisters…and the danger is when we begin to believe the subtle lie that our good works merit God’s grace.

Good works are like putting paint on a car that has a faulty engine…you can spruce up the outside of the car all day long…but if they problem is the engine…you gotta have a mechanic.

And when it comes to the matters of the human condition and the human heart...All the good works in the world will never fix a human heart that is under the curse of sin.

So be careful church family of your good works…make sure that you arent performing out of a motivation to earn righteousness.

We Must Believe in the Transforming Power of Grace