Living in Grace

Galatians  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  36:12
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Intro
#3 of Galatians
Paul - Apostle who went all over the Gentile World planting church. He would raise up pastors and go start another church. To help them while he was gone, he wrote letters… Galatians, Philippians, Romans…
Galatians - in the heart of modern-day Turkey. Galatians is a book to help us to be grounded in the proper doctrine of the faith. It was written by Paul probably around AD 49. Paul and Barnabus had just completed a missionary journey (Acts 13:2-14:28)
Here is what happened. Right after he left, some Christian Jews who were off doctrinally, came behind him and told the Christians in Galatia that they were doing it all wrong. They told them that they actually had to be Jews first before they could convert to Christianity. These Jewish Believers from Jerusalem did not trust Paul and disagreed with him doctrinally.
Week 1 he said I can’t believe that after experiencing the real thing, that you are believing in another gospel.
There are two brands of Christianity out there. It’s illustrated by two trees in the Garden.
One, is very free... based on Grace and the other is based on rules. One gives life and the other sucks the life out of us. It’s a dead religion. The real Gospel comes along and you begin to enjoy obeying God. It’s highlighted in the 2nd story of the Bible… the fall of humankind.
Last week we talked about the tendency to swung back from the Tree of life back to the Tree of knowledge of good and evil. We talked about living the Crucified life where we kill our old nature.
Today, he addresses …

Human Effort

Galatians 3:1–3 NLT
1 Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross. 2 Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. 3 How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?
evil spell - literally means an evil eye. You know… your mama could probably do that like on one else. I’ll bet a lot of you have been in a church where you got looked at. They literally turn their nose up at you…
Then Paul explains…
We want to explain the message of Jesus.
When someone puts the evil eye on you it means that think that their human effort is better than your effort.
Let me straighten some things out. let me pause for a minute…
We are in a bad condition because we are all sinners. It only takes one sin…
Romans 3:23 NLT
23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
We have all sinned. We can’t be in God’s presence with sin in our lives. Sin and god can’t be in the same room, but God wants to be wit you. He created you to be in a relationship with him. He wants to be your father.
We have sin in our lives, so how do we get rid of our sin? This is different than any other religion.
Romans 6:23 NLT
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
We earn death by our sin, so someone has to pay for our sin. To get into God’s presence, someone has to die for sin. Jesus paid the price for our sin. Jesus paid our bill. He didn’t sin, I did.
Hell is not a place where God sends people he is mad at. Hell is a place where people go to pay for their own sins.
It’s crazy for us to try to rely on our own works to earn God’s favor.
Galatians 3:10 NLT
10 But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.”
When we try to do it ourselves, we are under a curse. If you can’t keep them all, you are guilty. It only takes one. You have to do EVERYTHING … none of can do this.
James 2:10 NLT
10 For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws.
Write this down.

The Law couldn’t be obeyed

… and it still can’t be obeyed.
If you pray a lot… read the Bibles a lot… It doesn’t matter what or how much you do, it will never be enough. None of those things fixes sin.
51% heaven - most Americans believe in a 51% heaven… if I can just do more good than bad, I’ll be ok.
ILL of guy who did good all his life and killed someone … would God be just to let them off because most of their life was good?
Galatians 3:19 NLT
19 Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people.
If the law can’t cure you and it can’t be obeyed, why did he give it to us? He wanted to create in us a frustration that we can’t do it so we would look for the Savior.
Galatians 3:24–25 NIV
24 So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

The Law leads us to Christ

The law pointed to the need for having a Savior… to Christ.
When you do this the right way, a miracle happens. We can’t train ourselves into godliness, but when we allow Jesus to live in us, we become new.
Christianity is not a learned behavior, it’s a transformed life.
Galatians 3:24 NLT
24 Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith.
We are made right. Christianity doesn’t want you to do right, it wants you to be made right.
This is what Grace is. I want you to experience this Grace. I want God to change you… not me. I can’t tell you what to do and not do the rest of your life… stop it.... Sure there are things that God requires… I don’t lie because God changed my want toos…

Five things that Grace Is

1. Grace is a free gift

It’s a gift, you can’t earn it.
Smith Barney - We make money the old fashion way… we earn it. Some of you went to that church, “we do religion the old fashion way, we earn it.” Guess what, you can’t earn it.
Jesus did not come for you to try and earn anything, He came to give you something. He came to give you and I a gift… it’s not even salvation. Remember, someone has to die for sin and Jesus died for your sin… his gift for you is his life.
We take it for granted. We say Jesus died on the cross like it was nothing. It was something.
ILL - It’s like you stepped out in front of a car and someone pushed you out of the way but was hit themselves and killed. That’s what Jesus did for you.
Romans 6:23 NLT
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
The free gift of God is salvation through Jesus… no other way.
How many of you have had your child hurt? or a grand child hurt? Lucas broke his collarbone and Brandi had me hold him down for the doctors… It felt helpless on my end. That’s the way God felt when Jesus died on that cross. If you could switch places, you would…
That’s the way God felt when Jesus said my God my why have you forgotten me… I know that everything in God the Father wanted to go get His son jesus off of that cross, but God saw your face and sat back down and let it happen. When you understand this, it will change you. You and I were supposed to die, but God let Him die for us. Give God some praise…

2. Grace is received by faith

Faith is not belief in… it’s trust in. This actually means you trust God to do what he said. You may not understand it all, but you put your faith in Him. The devil believes in him, but he is NOT saved.
Ephesians 2:8–9 NLT
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
Romans 4:16 NCV
16 So people receive God’s promise by having faith. This happens so the promise can be a free gift. Then all of Abraham’s children can have that promise. It is not only for those who live under the law of Moses but for anyone who lives with faith like that of Abraham, who is the father of us all.
Something happens when you place your faith in Jesus. It’s not an intellectual thing, you experience it.
It’s like you saying, I don’t want to go to Tuscaloosa but you have never been. You don’t know.

3. Grace is available to everyone

It’s not just for some… it’s for everyone. We will never be people who look down on others. We are here for everyone… no matter who. We are a welcoming church. We are not a church for church people.
In John 8, these asked the woman caught in adultery, where are your accusers.... they are none. Then neither do I condemn you. Go and send no more.
ILL - man who was gay asked a pastor if he was welcome at his church… Yes. Good because I was born this way. P - I was born that way too. liar… lust… cheating… angry…
The Gospel is everybody come, and let Jesus do his work.
Romans 10:13 NLT
13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Lord here is who I am… I am calling on you…

4. Grace comes only through Jesus Christ

There is only one way. Why? Jesus is the only one who took care of the problem. No other religious leader did that… only Jesus.
John 1:17 NLT
17 For the law was given through Moses, but God’s unfailing love and faithfulness came through Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:15 NCV
15 But God’s free gift is not like Adam’s sin. Many people died because of the sin of that one man. But the grace from God was much greater; many people received God’s gift of life by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ.
Galatians 2:21 NLT
21 I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.
John 14:6 NLT
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
Acts 4:12 NLT
12 There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”
Jesus is the only one who fixed our sin problem.

5. Grace is extended throughout eternity

When Jesus paid for your sins, he took care of your past, your present and your future sins.
John 3:16 NLT
16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
So, can we live anyway we want to? NO. Grace just changes our motivations for living for the Lord.

The Result

Titus 2:11–12 NIV
11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,
The Grace of God teaches you…

Grace: When what you ought to do becomes what you want to do.

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