By His Grace

19 For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Introduction

Good Morning Everyone, today I want to take a few minutes to talk to you about something that could be or should I say is a major problem for the world today.

Many people come to Christ today with a magical view of God. They realize that the Christian God is most able to meet their needs, and they accept him as their God. They pray the sinner’s prayer; but that is more like a mantra that they feel they need to recite to become a Christian.

Their worldview—the way they look at life and the world, the beliefs that make them think and act the way they do—has not had a major change. They still see religion as a list of dos and don’ts. What they do has changed. Now they pray, read their Bible, go to church on Sundays, tithe, and get involved in service. But those activities do not represent the heart of Christianity.

The Christian life is essentially not a list of things we do or avoid doing. Everything has been done for our salvation by Christ. The loving God has loved us in sending his Son to win our salvation through his death on the cross.

The Father has let His Son, Jesus bear the punishment of our sin. Now it is our privilege to be forgiven, to be reconciled to God, and to enter a Father-child relationship with him. Everything in life springs from that relationship, which is a gift of grace. These ideas are strange to someone who has come from outside a Christian background.

Today when many think of the death of Christ, the focus is on how much he lovingly suffered for us in his heroic death. They have seen films like The Passion of the Christ, and they are deeply moved by the intensity of his suffering.

Their own sin is not a major factor in their thinking. But the Bible teaches that sin mars their relationship with God. When those who understand grace commit a sin, they are eager to confess sin and to be quickly restored in their communion with God through grace. When Jesus taught his disciples an ideal prayer, he included in that a request for forgiveness (Matthew 6:12).

When we approach life from the perspective of grace, we are not afraid of sin. We are afraid to sin, but not afraid of sin. We know that “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Rom. 5:20). John puts it beautifully. He first says, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin” (1 John 2:1a). There is no excuse for sinning. “But,” says John, “if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation [the sacrifice that takes away God’s wrath] for our sins” (1 John 2:1b–2a). Those who understand this are eager to see sin cast aside through forgiveness, with the resulting restoration of their love relationship with God. They are eager to confess so that they can be free, and they are afraid of concealing their sin.

As Proverbs 28:13 says,

He who covers his sins will not prosper,

But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.[1]

Today, I want to spend a few minutes looking at that thing called GRACE …

Sermon Title

Our title for today is “By His Grace”

Our scripture is taken from Galatians 2:19-20

Justification by Faith

One of the most important questions for a believer in Christ is: “How can we be right with God?” that question implies that there are problems. So, what are the problems?

Here are two that can be found in Paul’s writing in the book of Galatians.

First thing that we find in the scripture is that we are sinner’s (2:15a)

Our sin is a debt we owe to God.

Our Sin is enmity toward God.

Our Sin is a crime against God.

Just to help you understand what sin is.

“Sin is when we act out of harmony with God and His desires and intentions for our lives. Both sins of commission or omission can be intentional or unintentional. The Bible tells us that all people sin and even one sin separates us from God, and without God we cannot have life everlasting.

Well now we know,

The second thing we fined by searching the scriptures are found in Hebrews 9:27.

27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,

Here’s a couple of things we must remember that happens because of our sin.

We will physically die (Romans 5:12).

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—

We are separated from God, because of our sin. (Isaiah 59.1).

Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear.

We will spend eternity in Hell (Revelations 20:11-15)

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Revelations 20:11-15 reads ...

11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.

12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.

13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.

14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

Knowing these issues, how can we get right with God? We learned from the scriptures that “justification through faith, not by good works, is what gets us right with God.

Justification by faith is the instantaneous act of God, legally declaring that the sinner, who solely believes in Christ, is forgiven and righteous in His sight. Yes, my friends, it is that easy.

Objection!

You can imagine that in our humanistic form, how those who follow the Law just might object to this doctrine? “The doctrine of justification by faith or grace removes that Law, which undermines tat basis for right living. You eliminate man’s moral responsibility.

If we follow his words precisely to the letter, according to Paul, a person can be saved then can go out and sin like crazy, it does not matter anymore, since they have received the promise of eternal life in heaven. Was or is Paul promoting lawlessness?

But, there is always a but …

Objection Overruled!

Justification by faith or grace does not promote sin or lawlessness, the very opposite is true! Justification by faith produces a level of righteous living there cannot be obtained by the doctrine of works. Grace is superior to law in producing right living.

Here are a few things to help clarify, Paul’s writings, as we exegete Galatians chapter 2 verses 19 and 20.

We will start by taking a quick look at verse 19.

1.We have a new relationship with God (2:19) you have all heard the saying you have got to have the right tool for the right job. The axiom means that you must know the purpose of the tool and match it with the kind of job it was made for.

· The Law was not given to give life.

o The Law reveals sin (Romans 7:7).

o The Law reveals the penalty for sin.

o The Law was not given to give life.

· God is the one who gives life (Romans 8:1-4). When we are justified by faith, God infuses new life in us.

2.We have been crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20a).

Galatians 2:20 NKJV

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

I have been crucified with Christ

Certainly, Paul did not mean that he had been physically crucified with Christ. So let me ask you, what does he mean? At this point we are on very sacred ground. We must understand that the death of Christ was unique, because on either side of Him were thieves being crucified. The uniqueness of His death was the substitutionary suffering and vicarious death of others. Fact is that Jesus was carrying the sins of others.

So what does Paul mean when he says we are “Crucified with Christ”? I believe what he is saying is that believers are identified with Christ in His death and resurrection. Think of it as co-crucifixion. What happened to Christ physically, happened to Paul legally. He was identified with Christ and thus died. As John Calvin put it: “As long as Christ remains outside of us, and we are separated from Him, all that He has suffered and done for our salvation remains useless and of no value to us.”

· The believer’s crucifixion through Christ is once and for all death. When you trust Christ for your salvation, in that moment you die.

· The believer’s crucifixion was something that God do to him. When Paul says “ I have been crucified with Christ,” it is in the passive voice in the Greek (sustauroo), which means that the subject is being acted on.

Paul cannot brag and say, I have been crucified myself,” rather he was crucified.

Ok, so what does this mean in plain English? First, we are dead to the law and its condemnation. Second, and most importantly it relates to sanctification, we die to sin and the self-life.

Self-life – I can relate to this because there was a time in my life when even though I believed in God, I also believed that it was all about me. But the more I knew God and desired a closer relationship with Him, the more I realized that it wasn’t about me, it was about Him.

Romans 6: 1-4 says: ....

Romans 6:1–4 NKJV

1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

As we continue to dig deeper into verse 20 we find ...

3.We have he indwelling life of Christ (Galatians 2:20b).

Galatians 2:20 NKJV

it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me

John 11:25 says this: 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.

You see at salvation, we die, BUT we also come to life. This is a new live in Christ.

o Christ dwells in us.

o We dwell in Christ. Humm, let me explain. If I go to the Pacific ocean and fill a bottle of water, I can say that the Pacific ocean is now in the bottle. If I then take that bottle out about 100 miles off shore and drop it in the Pacific Ocean, I can now say the ocean dwell in the bottle and the bottle in the Pacific ocean. This is the premise behind John 15:4 reads ...

John 15:4 NKJV

4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

If we keep digging in verse 20 the next fact we find is ...

4.We have a new modus operandi (Galatians 2:20c)

Galatians 2:20 NKJV

I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

This is where the Judaizers got it all wrong and where many of us still get it wrong today. They say that we are saved by faith but sanctified by works. Let me say that again, They say that we are saved by faith but sanctified by works.

I believe that Paul is saying that it is by faith from salvation to sanctification (Colossians 2:6-7). If we at a look at Colossians 2:6-7 we find these words:

Colossians 2:6–7 NKJV

6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

We trust Christ to provide what we could not provide: Salvation. In the same way we trust Christ to do what we can’t do in our own power: live the Christian life.

Which brings us to our next fact found in our dig.

The Christian life is not about trying harder and harder to get right with God, it’s trusting Christ more and more to live His life through us. Living by faith is our new modus operandi.

5. Finally, we have a higher motive for living a righteous life (Galatians 2:20d)

Galatians 2:20 NKJV

who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Paul says that he lives this new life for Christ, who loved me and gave Himself for me. This new life in Christ gives a new reason for living. We live for the One who loved us and made the ultimate sacrifice for us.

Conclusion

Let’s recap the fact that we found in our dig today ...

1.We have a new relationship with God (2:19)

2.We have been crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20a).

3.We have he indwelling life of Christ (Galatians 2:20b).

4.We have a new modus operandi (Galatians 2:20c)

5. We have a higher motive for living a righteous life (Galations 2:20d)

As we close today, I want to leave you with this. Paul teaches grace does not produce lawlessness; it produces true righteousness. It is not a license to sin; it is a license to live. It is not a relationship of law and obligation; it is one of love and devotion. It’s not about trying harder and failing, it’s about trusting more and letting Christ live in us. It’s not about what we as Christians have to do; it is about what we should want to do.

Let us Pray.

[1] https://www.preaching.com/book-reviews/need-for-grace-orientation/ [2] The New King James Version. (1982). (Ga 2:19–20). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

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