Sunday School 8/21/22

Church United in Faith

INTRO:

Split into groups

Choose one of these 3 options.

Five ways to survive a plane crash

Five ways to stop the hiccups

Five ways to break out of prison.

Goal! The funnier the better.

Transition:

Sometimes you best efforts to stop the hiccups aren’t enough…

If you were in prison, I hate to break it to you, but you aren’t getting out…

A plane crash, I’m not sure there’s anything you can really do to increase your chances of survival.

In each situation, your best efforts probably won’t set you free.

Maybe with hiccups… maybe.

In the same way though… Our best efforts with sin won’t set us free.

Only Jesus.

Only trusting Jesus as Lord sets us free from sin.

Read Galatians 3:1-6, “1 You foolish Galatians! Who has cast a spell on you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? 2 I only want to learn this from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by the Spirit, are you now finishing by the flesh? 4 Did you experience so much for nothing—if in fact it was for nothing? 5 So then, does God give you the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law? Or is it by believing what you heard—6 just like Abraham who believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness?”

Galatians 3:10-14 “10 For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written, Everyone who does not do everything written in the book of the law is cursed. 11 Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because the righteous will live by faith. 12 But the law is not based on faith; instead, the one who does these things will live by them. 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, because it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree. 14 The purpose was that the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles by Christ Jesus, so that we could receive the promised Spirit through faith.”

21-26 “21 Is the law therefore contrary to God’s promises? Absolutely not! For if the law had been granted with the ability to give life, then righteousness would certainly be on the basis of the law. 22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin’s power, so that the promise might be given on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ to those who believe. 23 Before this faith came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed. 24 The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith. 25 But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for through faith you are all sons of God in Christ Jesus.”

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We’ve been talking lately about Sin, the gospel, and Salvation.

Reading Galatians this morning, let’s continue that conversation.

Our focus is that we Live by Faith!

How was someone saved in the Old Testament ?

Recognize God as God.

See the sin in their own lives.

See there is no way to overcome their sin without God.

Place their faith in God as the only one to save them from their sin.

Genesis 15:6 “6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.”

Genesis 6:8-9 “8 Noah, however, found favor with the Lord. 9 These are the family records of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among his contemporaries; Noah walked with God.”

How is someone saved today in the New Covenant?

Recognize who God is

See the sin in our lives

See there is no way to overcome sin without God

Place our faith in God as the only one to save us from sin.

See clearly now that Jesus is the savior of our sins through his life, death, burial, and resurrection.

Many churches Paul ministered too struggled with this idea of how we are saved.

Didn’t the law have a saving capacity in the Old Testament?

In other words, before Jesus, wasn’t it an individual’s perfect obedience and living according to the law that saved them?

NO!

Read Galatians 3:5-6 “5 So then, does God give you the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law? Or is it by believing what you heard—6 just like Abraham who believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness?”

Galatians 3:10 “10 For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written, Everyone who does not do everything written in the book of the law is cursed.”

Galatians 3:11 “11 Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because the righteous will live by faith.”

Wow! A lot going on here.

I think the law is perfectly summed up in Romans 3:20 “20 For no one will be justified in his sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law.”

What was the purpose of the law?

1. Romans says, “The knowledge of sin comes through the law.”

2. In other words, I compare my works to God’s law.

3. The law is a mirror

4. The law was NEVER given to save. It was given to show us WE CAN’T SAVE ourselves!

It was to point us to the only one who ever could, did, and ever will perfectly keep the law.

What do I do?

Live by Faith!

Imagine you go to a restaurant and you find a hair in your meal…

Do you still eat it?

What if you find a toenail?

What if get your meal and the waiter says, “Enjoy the meal… oh… and btw… our chef has a stomach virus. He did vomit a bit in the back, but we… don’t think.... anything ended up in your meal… ENJOY!!!!

What are you going to do with that meal?

THROW IT OUT! Get up… and leave…

We pretend like one sin doesn’t matter…

but guys… one tiny bit of spit from someone sick that got in our meal… And we all know we aren’t touching that.

James 2:10 “10 For whoever keeps the entire law, and yet stumbles at one point, is guilty of breaking it all.”

We can’t keep the law.

Even more, thinking we are saved by keeping the law was never the point!

Understanding we stand guilty before a holy God if we break just ONE part of the law IS THE POINT!

God gave us such high standards that we could never hold to show us that HE WOULD GO ALL THE WAY!

HE WOULD HOLD THE STANDARD!

Not just so we wouldn’t have too… but so we would TRUST HIM!

Believe in Him

Place our faith in Him!

And each time we don’t have faith in Him, but trust ourselves to live according to the law it’s like telling God, “I can die on a cross better than you can...”

I can save myself… better than you.

But guys… that’s living a life enslaved to sin and enslaved to the law.

Paul said in Galatians 5:13 “13 For you were called to be free, brothers and sisters; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.”

Are you living in faith to God and living free?

APPLICATION:

When you sin, what is your response?

Go to God? Pray, seek him? etc..

Or...

Hide, feel guilty, disconnect from God…

We need to remember that grace is always available to us.

We are free to go to Jesus and we should expect to receive grace and mercy!

Hebrews 4:15-16 “15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. 16 Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.”

Also, remember, Satan wants to keep you thinking you aren’t free.

The best way to apply this today is also to look at how Satan attacks us.

Satan attacks our mind.

He causes confusion and chaos.

Satan wants to put a divide in your mind that is subtle.

That doubts God really paid the price and all I need to do is live faithfully to God’s promise.

If Satan can just get you to doubt that… and continue to doubt that… He wins…

Not only that, but if Satan can keep all of this in your head… He takes your mind off of God’s faithfulness, goodness, grace, mercy, and gentleness with us…

If Satan can convince YOU God isn’t who He says he is… then YOU won’t share God’s goodness with others around you?

BUT!

When we are living in faithfulness to Christ, our lives will overflow with thankfulness and praise for what God has done in our lives!

May we never be so lost in our own doubts that we miss the freedom Jesus has given us.

May we live in that freedom, overflowing with praise and grace from the God who saves us!

As you live faithfully this week… Would you invite one other person into what Jesus is doing in your life?

Just share with them what Jesus has done in you, then listen to the way they respond.