1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:05,720 Well, please have your Bibles open at Galatians chapter three. 2 00:00:05,720 –> 00:00:08,640 Our focus is particularly around the opening verses, 3 00:00:08,640 –> 00:00:13,180 though we’ll pick up the theme throughout the whole chapter. 4 00:00:13,180 –> 00:00:17,540 Foolish Galatians is a bit of a strong start, isn’t it? 5 00:00:17,540 –> 00:00:21,780 Who has bewitched you, who has deceived you. 6 00:00:21,780 –> 00:00:24,820 Before your very eyes, Christ was clearly portrayed as 7 00:00:24,820 –> 00:00:28,620 crucified and I want to just learn one thing from you. 8 00:00:28,620 –> 00:00:32,959 Did you receive the spirit by observing the law 9 00:00:32,959 –> 00:00:36,160 or by believing what you heard, are you so foolish? 10 00:00:36,160 –> 00:00:38,360 After beginning with the spirit, 11 00:00:38,360 –> 00:00:42,200 are you trying to attain your goal by human effort? 12 00:00:43,700 –> 00:00:46,880 We’re continuing in our series, Grasping the Gospel 13 00:00:46,880 –> 00:00:50,340 in which we’re learning what the gospel is 14 00:00:50,340 –> 00:00:53,799 and how it can change our lives. 15 00:00:53,799 –> 00:00:55,599 We’ve been seeing together that the gospel 16 00:00:55,619 –> 00:00:58,380 is the A to Z of the Christian life, 17 00:00:58,380 –> 00:01:02,439 not just the ABC of the Christian life. 18 00:01:02,439 –> 00:01:05,440 If you’ve grasped the gospel, as a Christian believer 19 00:01:05,440 –> 00:01:08,519 you will never say been there, done that. 20 00:01:09,400 –> 00:01:11,440 Those who are saved by the gospel 21 00:01:11,440 –> 00:01:13,540 know that we live by the gospel 22 00:01:13,540 –> 00:01:17,300 and that we will enter into everlasting life by the gospel. 23 00:01:17,300 –> 00:01:19,480 And so trying to see the bigness of this 24 00:01:19,480 –> 00:01:22,120 and to grasp it and to apply it to our lives, 25 00:01:22,120 –> 00:01:24,480 so far we’ve taken two steps 26 00:01:24,559 –> 00:01:27,419 in our journey through Galatians. 27 00:01:27,419 –> 00:01:31,599 First, we’ve seen that the gospel comes from God. 28 00:01:31,599 –> 00:01:34,199 Chapter one, it did not come by human invention, 29 00:01:34,199 –> 00:01:35,660 Paul didn’t make it up, 30 00:01:35,660 –> 00:01:38,160 it did not come by human tradition 31 00:01:38,160 –> 00:01:40,239 or ecclesiastical church tradition, 32 00:01:40,239 –> 00:01:44,519 the church didn’t kind of morph it into its present form, 33 00:01:44,519 –> 00:01:49,519 the gospel came by revelation from Jesus Christ 34 00:01:50,120 –> 00:01:52,379 and that is why there is only one gospel 35 00:01:52,440 –> 00:01:55,620 and that is why you can stake your life on it, 36 00:01:55,620 –> 00:01:59,980 it came by revelation from Jesus Christ. 37 00:01:59,980 –> 00:02:02,980 It follows from that, and we saw in our second step 38 00:02:02,980 –> 00:02:06,260 that the gospel is worth defending. 39 00:02:06,260 –> 00:02:09,500 The gospel will always be under attack, 40 00:02:09,500 –> 00:02:13,380 both in the world and also in the church 41 00:02:13,380 –> 00:02:16,339 and we saw last time that Paul had on one occasion 42 00:02:16,339 –> 00:02:20,080 to defend the gospel even against Peter 43 00:02:20,080 –> 00:02:23,080 when Peter caved into a pressure group 44 00:02:23,080 –> 00:02:26,660 who wanted to impose their treasured heritage 45 00:02:26,660 –> 00:02:29,419 on all new believers. 46 00:02:29,419 –> 00:02:31,940 And we learned a simple summary of the gospel 47 00:02:31,940 –> 00:02:34,179 that I hope we can remember together, 48 00:02:34,179 –> 00:02:35,820 if we do you can help me out, 49 00:02:35,820 –> 00:02:40,119 that it’s grace, it’s life, and it’s for the world. 50 00:02:40,119 –> 00:02:41,600 So with that little trigger, 51 00:02:41,600 –> 00:02:43,880 let’s recall it again together. 52 00:02:43,880 –> 00:02:48,160 It’s grace, it’s life, and it’s for the world, 53 00:02:48,160 –> 00:02:50,880 and we started by looking at it’s for the world. 54 00:02:50,880 –> 00:02:53,339 We saw that our task is not to gather 55 00:02:53,339 –> 00:02:55,979 a narrow band of people like us, 56 00:02:55,979 –> 00:02:59,880 but rather to reach across the cultural barriers 57 00:02:59,880 –> 00:03:03,179 that there are in any society, in between societies, 58 00:03:03,179 –> 00:03:05,580 and to call people from every background 59 00:03:05,580 –> 00:03:07,899 to faith in Jesus, it’s for the world. 60 00:03:07,899 –> 00:03:10,619 And then we looked at it’s grace, 61 00:03:10,619 –> 00:03:12,899 and we saw that Paul states so very clearly 62 00:03:12,899 –> 00:03:17,220 that no one is justified by observing the law. 63 00:03:17,220 –> 00:03:22,220 We are justified by faith in Jesus Christ. 64 00:03:22,399 –> 00:03:24,059 And we used a very simple illustration 65 00:03:24,059 –> 00:03:27,100 to try and grasp this, imagine two houses, 66 00:03:27,100 –> 00:03:30,399 one that’s owned by you, which means you pay the taxes, 67 00:03:30,399 –> 00:03:32,740 the other that is owned by Christ, 68 00:03:32,740 –> 00:03:35,899 which means that he pays the taxes. 69 00:03:35,899 –> 00:03:38,479 And we saw that the taxes on the house 70 00:03:38,479 –> 00:03:43,179 of your own righteousness are too high for you to pay. 71 00:03:43,179 –> 00:03:44,820 On the last day you would find 72 00:03:44,820 –> 00:03:47,199 if you live in the house of your own righteousness, 73 00:03:47,199 –> 00:03:49,160 that you cannot pay these taxes. 74 00:03:49,160 –> 00:03:51,699 You cannot fulfill the demands of the law. 75 00:03:51,699 –> 00:03:52,580 So what can you do? 76 00:03:52,580 –> 00:03:56,759 Well, you can tear down the house of your own righteousness. 77 00:03:56,759 –> 00:03:59,600 You can move into the house that has been built for you 78 00:03:59,600 –> 00:04:02,220 and is offered to you by Jesus Christ 79 00:04:02,220 –> 00:04:04,399 that is the home of Christ’s righteousness. 80 00:04:04,399 –> 00:04:06,559 So I like to think of it like this, 81 00:04:06,559 –> 00:04:08,520 that there are two places to live. 82 00:04:08,520 –> 00:04:13,119 My old address was Collinsmith, 83 00:04:13,119 –> 00:04:16,200 under the law, Arlington Heights, Illinois, 84 00:04:17,279 –> 00:04:21,760 my new address is Collinsmith in Christ, 85 00:04:21,760 –> 00:04:24,559 Arlington Heights, Illinois, 86 00:04:25,540 –> 00:04:30,000 and when the bills of the demands of God’s law 87 00:04:30,000 –> 00:04:33,040 come addressed to me, 88 00:04:33,040 –> 00:04:36,640 they are returned not known at this address. 89 00:04:37,959 –> 00:04:41,399 I’m no longer under the law, that’s what Paul is saying. 90 00:04:41,399 –> 00:04:44,820 The house of my own righteousness has been torn down. 91 00:04:45,799 –> 00:04:50,140 There is no such place as Collinsmith under the law. 92 00:04:52,679 –> 00:04:57,679 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live 93 00:04:57,940 –> 00:05:00,239 but Christ lives in me. 94 00:05:01,299 –> 00:05:02,720 So what Paul is saying is look, 95 00:05:02,720 –> 00:05:04,760 the taxes that are due under the law 96 00:05:04,760 –> 00:05:07,019 have nothing to do with me, 97 00:05:07,019 –> 00:05:09,839 I have moved from the place where taxes are owed 98 00:05:09,839 –> 00:05:12,059 into the place where taxes are paid, 99 00:05:12,059 –> 00:05:14,420 I live in the house of Christ’s righteousness. 100 00:05:14,420 –> 00:05:19,420 That’s the gospel, it’s grace and it’s for the world. 101 00:05:20,700 –> 00:05:21,859 But then there’s a third thing 102 00:05:21,859 –> 00:05:23,839 that we only touched on last time 103 00:05:23,839 –> 00:05:25,339 and we want to continue with today 104 00:05:25,339 –> 00:05:26,720 if we’re to grasp the gospel. 105 00:05:26,720 –> 00:05:31,359 It’s grace, it’s life and it’s for the world 106 00:05:31,359 –> 00:05:33,600 and we touched on this from Galatians chapter two 107 00:05:33,600 –> 00:05:36,500 in verse 20, I’ve been crucified with Christ, 108 00:05:36,500 –> 00:05:41,299 I no longer live but Christ lives in me, this is gospel. 109 00:05:41,299 –> 00:05:42,920 In other words, there are two dimensions 110 00:05:42,959 –> 00:05:47,239 to the good news, it is the death of Christ for me 111 00:05:47,239 –> 00:05:50,640 and it is the life of Christ in me 112 00:05:50,640 –> 00:05:52,519 and these are beautifully combined 113 00:05:52,519 –> 00:05:54,859 in this wonderful verse Galatians 2 20 114 00:05:54,859 –> 00:05:57,239 that’s so well worth committing to memory. 115 00:05:57,239 –> 00:06:00,940 The Son of God, he loved me and he gave himself for me. 116 00:06:02,059 –> 00:06:04,519 And you see that’s a historical event. 117 00:06:04,519 –> 00:06:07,040 It happened in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago, 118 00:06:07,040 –> 00:06:09,299 Christ died for my sins. 119 00:06:10,140 –> 00:06:12,420 The Son of God lives in me, 120 00:06:12,420 –> 00:06:14,480 Christ lives in me by the Holy Spirit, 121 00:06:14,480 –> 00:06:17,359 that is a contemporary experience. 122 00:06:18,320 –> 00:06:22,940 In my experience today, Christ lives in me. 123 00:06:22,940 –> 00:06:24,500 So remember that the gospel is 124 00:06:24,500 –> 00:06:27,899 about Jesus who died and rose. 125 00:06:27,899 –> 00:06:32,500 He died for our sins, he rose to bring us new life. 126 00:06:32,500 –> 00:06:34,220 And of course this is where the Galatians 127 00:06:34,220 –> 00:06:36,820 had got into difficulty they had grasped 128 00:06:37,260 –> 00:06:39,019 the gospel of forgiveness. 129 00:06:40,059 –> 00:06:42,200 But when they were faced with the question 130 00:06:42,200 –> 00:06:45,140 of how to go on and to live life today, 131 00:06:45,140 –> 00:06:50,140 they turned away from Christ and back to the law. 132 00:06:50,880 –> 00:06:52,760 And that is the theme of the whole of Galatians 133 00:06:52,760 –> 00:06:54,959 in chapter 3, though it begins at the end 134 00:06:54,959 –> 00:06:58,600 of chapter 2 in verse 18 there where he says, 135 00:06:59,720 –> 00:07:03,920 if I rebuild what I destroyed, 136 00:07:04,019 –> 00:07:07,700 I prove that I am a lawbreaker. 137 00:07:08,940 –> 00:07:11,619 In other words, if having torn down 138 00:07:11,619 –> 00:07:13,579 the house of my own righteousness 139 00:07:13,579 –> 00:07:16,320 and moved into the house of Christ’s righteousness, 140 00:07:16,320 –> 00:07:20,040 the new address, if I then go and rebuild 141 00:07:20,040 –> 00:07:23,980 the house of my own righteousness that I just tore down, 142 00:07:23,980 –> 00:07:27,140 if I move back to the place that I just left, 143 00:07:27,140 –> 00:07:30,420 I become liable again for all the old taxes. 144 00:07:30,459 –> 00:07:33,380 I place myself back under the curse. 145 00:07:34,679 –> 00:07:36,059 That is the point that he’s making 146 00:07:36,059 –> 00:07:38,920 and it runs right throughout chapter three. 147 00:07:41,100 –> 00:07:45,160 Now, there are many Christians who live with the idea 148 00:07:46,320 –> 00:07:49,119 that it’s grace that brings us in 149 00:07:50,399 –> 00:07:53,399 but it’s works that keep us in. 150 00:07:54,640 –> 00:07:56,320 That we’re forgiven because of faith 151 00:07:56,320 –> 00:07:58,820 in the Lord Jesus Christ, 152 00:07:58,820 –> 00:08:00,779 but where we stand before God today 153 00:08:00,779 –> 00:08:03,779 depends on how well we lived the Christian life last week 154 00:08:03,779 –> 00:08:05,339 and did you have a quiet time every day 155 00:08:05,339 –> 00:08:06,559 and so forth and so on. 156 00:08:08,140 –> 00:08:11,339 That somehow, having begun with grace, 157 00:08:11,339 –> 00:08:15,040 the reality of our lives is that we’ve turned back to works 158 00:08:15,040 –> 00:08:17,700 and to our own performance of the Christian life 159 00:08:17,700 –> 00:08:19,579 as the basis of our assurance, 160 00:08:19,579 –> 00:08:22,019 the center of our joy and so forth 161 00:08:22,019 –> 00:08:25,739 and guess what, it just doesn’t work 162 00:08:25,739 –> 00:08:27,739 and that’s the theme that’s at the very heart 163 00:08:27,839 –> 00:08:30,040 of Galatians. 164 00:08:31,940 –> 00:08:33,619 Are you so foolish? 165 00:08:34,900 –> 00:08:37,520 After beginning with the Spirit, chapter three 166 00:08:37,520 –> 00:08:42,440 and verse three, are you trying to attain your goal 167 00:08:42,440 –> 00:08:46,119 by human effort, by your ministry, 168 00:08:47,619 –> 00:08:49,979 by your spiritual disciplines? 169 00:08:51,419 –> 00:08:54,599 Is this what you think the Christian life is? 170 00:08:55,239 –> 00:08:56,080 No. 171 00:08:57,440 –> 00:08:59,340 Now, the Galatian problem was simply this. 172 00:08:59,340 –> 00:09:01,260 You see, they had been deceived. 173 00:09:01,260 –> 00:09:03,719 That’s really the word in chapter three and verse one. 174 00:09:03,719 –> 00:09:05,780 They had been deceived into thinking 175 00:09:05,780 –> 00:09:10,539 that the gospel is forgiveness plus law, 176 00:09:11,539 –> 00:09:14,900 and the gospel is not forgiveness plus law. 177 00:09:14,900 –> 00:09:16,539 Paul wrote this letter to tell the Galatians 178 00:09:16,539 –> 00:09:19,539 the gospel is forgiveness plus life, 179 00:09:19,539 –> 00:09:21,619 and there’s all the difference in the world, 180 00:09:21,619 –> 00:09:23,859 and if we can grasp that difference, 181 00:09:23,900 –> 00:09:27,140 it will be liberating and joy-bringing 182 00:09:27,140 –> 00:09:30,780 for so many of us here today. 183 00:09:30,780 –> 00:09:32,460 Thank God. 184 00:09:32,460 –> 00:09:37,460 It’s grace, it’s life, and it’s for the world. 185 00:09:38,780 –> 00:09:39,859 Now, that’s our thing. 186 00:09:42,119 –> 00:09:44,299 I want us to grasp three things from this chapter today 187 00:09:44,299 –> 00:09:46,900 that will help us to grasp the gospel 188 00:09:46,900 –> 00:09:49,419 and its power for our lives, I hope, more clearly. 189 00:09:49,419 –> 00:09:53,619 The first is that the law cannot impart life. 190 00:09:53,619 –> 00:09:56,979 The second, the law can lead you to Christ, 191 00:09:56,979 –> 00:10:00,260 and the third, Christ will give you the spirit. 192 00:10:01,460 –> 00:10:03,159 First, then, what the law cannot do, 193 00:10:03,159 –> 00:10:05,580 the law cannot impart life, 194 00:10:05,580 –> 00:10:06,900 and this runs throughout the chapter. 195 00:10:06,900 –> 00:10:09,299 It’s clearest in verse 21. 196 00:10:09,299 –> 00:10:14,140 If a law had been given that could impart life, 197 00:10:14,140 –> 00:10:18,020 then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 198 00:10:18,020 –> 00:10:20,419 If you see what Paul is stating here so clearly, 199 00:10:20,419 –> 00:10:22,739 the law cannot give you life. 200 00:10:22,739 –> 00:10:26,080 Nothing that you do for God can impart life. 201 00:10:27,979 –> 00:10:30,419 Your ministry can’t impart life to you. 202 00:10:31,840 –> 00:10:34,219 Giving can’t impart life to you. 203 00:10:35,419 –> 00:10:38,559 Spiritual disciplines can’t impart life to you. 204 00:10:41,640 –> 00:10:45,059 What do you think is going to kick start spiritual life? 205 00:10:47,580 –> 00:10:50,020 Nothing that you do for God 206 00:10:50,039 –> 00:10:53,059 can impart spiritual life to you. 207 00:10:53,979 –> 00:10:55,140 It’s what is he saying. 208 00:10:56,140 –> 00:10:58,080 And if it were the case that the law, 209 00:10:58,080 –> 00:11:00,900 that’s things that we do for God, could impart life, 210 00:11:00,900 –> 00:11:03,979 then righteousness would certainly have come by the law, 211 00:11:03,979 –> 00:11:06,700 but it’s simply not the case. 212 00:11:06,700 –> 00:11:08,640 The law tells you what you have to do, 213 00:11:09,739 –> 00:11:12,659 but it cannot give you the power to do it. 214 00:11:12,659 –> 00:11:16,000 The law cannot impart life. 215 00:11:16,000 –> 00:11:17,900 That’s why it’s such a deadening thing 216 00:11:18,380 –> 00:11:22,080 just to think that the gospel is forgiveness plus law. 217 00:11:24,799 –> 00:11:26,900 There’s a story about Will Rogers. 218 00:11:26,900 –> 00:11:28,919 Well, you know, everyone’s got a story about Will Rogers, 219 00:11:28,919 –> 00:11:30,599 at least if you’re of a certain vintage, 220 00:11:30,599 –> 00:11:34,840 a famous humorist, and during the second World War, 221 00:11:34,840 –> 00:11:38,140 Rogers was invited to give an after-dinner speech 222 00:11:38,140 –> 00:11:43,140 in Washington to a gathered group of military top brass. 223 00:11:43,840 –> 00:11:47,859 And in his speech, which was made at a time 224 00:11:47,859 –> 00:11:51,020 when the great menace in the oceans to shipping 225 00:11:51,020 –> 00:11:54,659 were the U-boats, Rogers stands up 226 00:11:54,659 –> 00:11:56,159 in front of all these military people 227 00:11:56,159 –> 00:11:57,820 and he says, now gentlemen, 228 00:11:57,820 –> 00:11:59,780 pulling himself to his full height, 229 00:11:59,780 –> 00:12:04,059 I have a plan to rid the waters of U-boats. 230 00:12:04,059 –> 00:12:05,059 Everyone’s listening. 231 00:12:07,059 –> 00:12:11,940 If you bring the ocean to boiling point, 232 00:12:14,000 –> 00:12:17,739 this will force the U-boats to surface 233 00:12:18,820 –> 00:12:21,239 and we will be able to capture the crews 234 00:12:21,239 –> 00:12:23,320 and destroy the boats. 235 00:12:23,320 –> 00:12:24,859 Pause. 236 00:12:24,859 –> 00:12:26,859 One of course somebody finally shouts out 237 00:12:26,859 –> 00:12:28,239 the obvious question about how do you bring 238 00:12:28,239 –> 00:12:29,340 the ocean to boiling point? 239 00:12:29,340 –> 00:12:32,059 Rogers said, now I’m just telling you 240 00:12:32,059 –> 00:12:34,340 what you need to do. 241 00:12:34,340 –> 00:12:37,059 It’s up to you guys to find a way to do it. 242 00:12:37,059 –> 00:12:41,099 Now, that honestly is the problem with the law. 243 00:12:41,859 –> 00:12:44,020 It tells us what we need to do, 244 00:12:45,799 –> 00:12:48,500 but it leaves us desperately figuring out 245 00:12:48,500 –> 00:12:50,320 some kind of a way of doing it 246 00:12:50,320 –> 00:12:54,280 and if you look at the law of God seriously, 247 00:12:54,280 –> 00:12:56,059 you will come to the conclusion 248 00:12:56,059 –> 00:12:58,619 might as well say go boil the ocean. 249 00:12:58,619 –> 00:13:00,280 Seriously. 250 00:13:00,280 –> 00:13:01,140 Think about it. 251 00:13:02,059 –> 00:13:03,340 You shall not covet. 252 00:13:04,640 –> 00:13:07,559 If that means that you should always be content 253 00:13:07,559 –> 00:13:08,419 with what you have, 254 00:13:08,419 –> 00:13:11,080 to such an extent that advertising 255 00:13:11,099 –> 00:13:12,479 has no effect on you. 256 00:13:14,559 –> 00:13:17,400 And you are not affected in any way 257 00:13:17,400 –> 00:13:22,400 by what other people earn or have 258 00:13:22,400 –> 00:13:24,080 or accomplish. 259 00:13:24,080 –> 00:13:25,799 That makes no difference to you. 260 00:13:27,380 –> 00:13:28,940 You’ll quickly say, I think in your heart, 261 00:13:28,940 –> 00:13:29,840 that’s impossible. 262 00:13:32,200 –> 00:13:33,539 Honor your father and mother. 263 00:13:33,539 –> 00:13:34,559 Wait a minute, someone says, 264 00:13:34,559 –> 00:13:36,380 you don’t know my mother. 265 00:13:37,340 –> 00:13:40,940 Or, you weren’t abused by my father. 266 00:13:42,900 –> 00:13:45,799 Honoring them is impossible. 267 00:13:45,799 –> 00:13:47,700 Might as well say, go boil the ocean. 268 00:13:50,200 –> 00:13:51,700 You shall not commit adultery. 269 00:13:53,500 –> 00:13:54,760 See, if as Jesus teaches us, 270 00:13:54,760 –> 00:13:56,340 that means that you should never have 271 00:13:56,340 –> 00:13:58,140 an impure thought about anyone 272 00:13:58,140 –> 00:14:00,500 or anything that you see at any time, 273 00:14:00,500 –> 00:14:01,340 you might as well say, 274 00:14:01,340 –> 00:14:02,179 go boil the ocean. 275 00:14:03,619 –> 00:14:05,179 Hard enough for those who are married, 276 00:14:05,219 –> 00:14:06,780 let alone those who are single. 277 00:14:09,580 –> 00:14:10,500 You shall not murder. 278 00:14:10,500 –> 00:14:11,979 If that means, as Jesus said, 279 00:14:11,979 –> 00:14:14,219 that you should never carry 280 00:14:14,219 –> 00:14:16,260 any bitterness or resentment 281 00:14:16,260 –> 00:14:17,880 in any circumstance of life, 282 00:14:17,880 –> 00:14:18,719 you might as well say, 283 00:14:18,719 –> 00:14:19,840 go boil the ocean. 284 00:14:20,700 –> 00:14:22,140 You know what has been done to me, 285 00:14:22,140 –> 00:14:23,239 some of us will say? 286 00:14:24,580 –> 00:14:26,380 You know the wounds that I carry? 287 00:14:30,700 –> 00:14:31,979 Jesus summarized the law, 288 00:14:31,979 –> 00:14:34,419 you remember, by saying here’s what it boils down to. 289 00:14:34,440 –> 00:14:36,780 It’s this, it’s love the Lord, your God, 290 00:14:36,780 –> 00:14:38,979 with all your heart and soul 291 00:14:38,979 –> 00:14:40,580 and mind and strength 292 00:14:40,580 –> 00:14:43,960 and love your neighbor as yourself. 293 00:14:47,460 –> 00:14:49,159 And remember, there was on one occasion 294 00:14:49,159 –> 00:14:50,940 a very rich, young person, 295 00:14:50,940 –> 00:14:52,460 very successful person, 296 00:14:52,460 –> 00:14:54,219 who came to Jesus 297 00:14:54,219 –> 00:14:56,440 and wanted to know how to be saved 298 00:14:56,440 –> 00:14:59,039 and Jesus told him the commandments 299 00:14:59,039 –> 00:15:01,500 and he immediately said, 300 00:15:01,500 –> 00:15:02,580 well, now these are the things 301 00:15:02,580 –> 00:15:04,140 that I’ve been doing since I was young. 302 00:15:04,359 –> 00:15:07,039 And I’m sure he meant it 303 00:15:07,039 –> 00:15:08,780 but by saying that he showed 304 00:15:08,780 –> 00:15:10,179 that he didn’t have the first idea 305 00:15:10,179 –> 00:15:12,419 as to what the law actually meant. 306 00:15:12,419 –> 00:15:16,460 And so Jesus said something very simple to him. 307 00:15:16,460 –> 00:15:18,179 He said, well, here’s what to do. 308 00:15:18,179 –> 00:15:21,940 You go and sell everything you have 309 00:15:21,940 –> 00:15:23,659 and give the whole lot to the poor 310 00:15:23,659 –> 00:15:28,659 which if He really loved His neighbor as Himself 311 00:15:28,960 –> 00:15:31,859 would not have been that difficult to do. 312 00:15:31,859 –> 00:15:34,460 If you really love your neighbor as yourself, 313 00:15:34,460 –> 00:15:35,960 what’s the problem with that? 314 00:15:39,880 –> 00:15:41,900 But of course he immediately turned away 315 00:15:41,900 –> 00:15:43,539 and went to find another rabbi. 316 00:15:49,299 –> 00:15:51,780 See, the law tells us what to do 317 00:15:51,780 –> 00:15:54,119 but it does not give us the means of doing it. 318 00:15:56,539 –> 00:16:01,539 And if the Gospel were forgiveness plus law 319 00:16:02,340 –> 00:16:04,020 we would be doomed. 320 00:16:07,700 –> 00:16:11,099 Back under a curse, which is why Paul introduces 321 00:16:11,099 –> 00:16:13,739 that theme so strongly in the middle of Galatians three 322 00:16:13,739 –> 00:16:15,960 because the law cannot impart life. 323 00:16:15,960 –> 00:16:17,760 Might as well say go boil the ocean. 324 00:16:21,099 –> 00:16:23,260 Second, what the law can do, 325 00:16:23,260 –> 00:16:26,179 it can lead you to Christ. 326 00:16:26,179 –> 00:16:29,440 What the law can’t do, it cannot impart life. 327 00:16:30,400 –> 00:16:33,119 What the law can do, it can lead you to Christ. 328 00:16:33,119 –> 00:16:35,760 Look at verse 23 through verse 24. 329 00:16:36,880 –> 00:16:39,880 Before this faith, that is faith in Christ came, 330 00:16:39,880 –> 00:16:41,900 we were held prisoners by the law. 331 00:16:41,900 –> 00:16:44,460 No wonder, if you’re told something you can’t do, 332 00:16:44,460 –> 00:16:45,840 you really are a prisoner. 333 00:16:45,840 –> 00:16:49,960 We were locked up until faith should be revealed. 334 00:16:49,960 –> 00:16:54,820 So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ 335 00:16:55,820 –> 00:17:00,380 that we might be justified by faith. 336 00:17:00,380 –> 00:17:01,659 You see what Paul is saying here 337 00:17:01,659 –> 00:17:05,459 that the primary purpose of all of God’s law 338 00:17:05,459 –> 00:17:08,939 is to lead you to Jesus Christ. 339 00:17:08,939 –> 00:17:12,780 When you see the sheer impossibility 340 00:17:12,780 –> 00:17:15,060 of what God is calling you to do, 341 00:17:15,060 –> 00:17:19,219 then you will see and feel your need of a savior. 342 00:17:19,219 –> 00:17:21,540 And the law was given for this purpose. 343 00:17:21,579 –> 00:17:25,000 The law was put in charge to lead us to Christ. 344 00:17:25,000 –> 00:17:29,479 Now, that is true as much for Christians today 345 00:17:30,739 –> 00:17:32,660 as it is for unconverted people 346 00:17:32,660 –> 00:17:35,140 who we think need to hear the gospel. 347 00:17:36,859 –> 00:17:38,819 See, many Christians have fallen 348 00:17:38,819 –> 00:17:41,219 into the same error as the Galatians. 349 00:17:42,699 –> 00:17:47,079 We saw our need of Jesus to forgive our past sins. 350 00:17:48,260 –> 00:17:50,040 But then somehow in church world, 351 00:17:50,060 –> 00:17:52,660 we come to feel that somehow we are able 352 00:17:52,660 –> 00:17:54,619 to live a life that is pleasing to God, 353 00:17:54,619 –> 00:17:57,119 at least more or less with an occasional bit 354 00:17:57,119 –> 00:18:00,359 of forgiveness topping us up now and again. 355 00:18:01,300 –> 00:18:03,800 In other words we think that the Christian life 356 00:18:03,800 –> 00:18:05,459 is forgiveness plus law. 357 00:18:07,859 –> 00:18:09,420 I have to ask you, 358 00:18:09,420 –> 00:18:14,420 do you really think that God looks down from heaven 359 00:18:15,239 –> 00:18:20,239 and is wowed by your Christian life, really? 360 00:18:25,140 –> 00:18:27,280 I have to tell you honestly, 361 00:18:28,739 –> 00:18:33,739 I look at my own Christian life and ministry, 362 00:18:35,020 –> 00:18:36,560 many times, 363 00:18:38,500 –> 00:18:41,800 and wonder to myself what in all the world 364 00:18:41,800 –> 00:18:44,079 does God make of this? 365 00:18:45,380 –> 00:18:49,160 Because it’s such a mixture, 366 00:18:52,859 –> 00:18:54,119 isn’t that the reality? 367 00:18:57,500 –> 00:19:01,359 Augustine who has been given by part of the church 368 00:19:01,359 –> 00:19:05,119 the title Saint, so he must have been a 369 00:19:05,119 –> 00:19:08,060 very good Christian, a great Christian leader, 370 00:19:08,060 –> 00:19:09,859 wonderful teacher. 371 00:19:10,540 –> 00:19:11,939 Augustine said this. 372 00:19:13,060 –> 00:19:18,060 I do not dare to commend the works of my hands 373 00:19:19,619 –> 00:19:24,619 for fear that you may find more sins in them than merit. 374 00:19:29,939 –> 00:19:34,939 That was Saint Augustine’s view of his own Christian life. 375 00:19:40,859 –> 00:19:41,939 It’s my view of mine. 376 00:19:43,640 –> 00:19:44,660 You relate to that? 377 00:19:47,459 –> 00:19:49,380 You really want to go bounding up to the lord 378 00:19:49,380 –> 00:19:50,819 on the last day 379 00:19:50,819 –> 00:19:53,000 and say, look at my Christian life? 380 00:19:54,219 –> 00:19:55,060 Not a chance. 381 00:19:56,900 –> 00:19:58,800 I do not commend the work of my own hands 382 00:19:58,800 –> 00:20:03,800 for fear that you may find in them more sins than merit. 383 00:20:10,780 –> 00:20:13,020 The law will do one of two things for you. 384 00:20:16,699 –> 00:20:20,599 It will either convince you that you are still a sinner 385 00:20:22,020 –> 00:20:23,660 or it will make you a Pharisee. 386 00:20:26,260 –> 00:20:29,579 And actually you find Christians of both sorts 387 00:20:29,579 –> 00:20:30,780 in the church today don’t you? 388 00:20:30,780 –> 00:20:32,859 Those who have a deep consciousness 389 00:20:32,859 –> 00:20:35,420 of their own ongoing need of the savior 390 00:20:35,420 –> 00:20:37,939 in their life, for them and in them. 391 00:20:37,939 –> 00:20:41,060 And others who seem kind of like a Pharisee. 392 00:20:43,579 –> 00:20:47,459 The law will either humble you as a Christian 393 00:20:48,520 –> 00:20:51,119 or it will make you an unbearable snob. 394 00:20:53,680 –> 00:20:55,400 And of course this is of huge importance 395 00:20:55,400 –> 00:20:57,000 for our impact on the world 396 00:20:57,000 –> 00:21:01,359 because the world sees evangelical Christians 397 00:21:01,359 –> 00:21:04,099 as self-righteous snobs, that’s what they think of us. 398 00:21:04,920 –> 00:21:09,140 Who go around calling others to be as righteous 399 00:21:09,140 –> 00:21:10,839 as we think we are. 400 00:21:12,839 –> 00:21:15,479 And of course if we think that we are successful 401 00:21:15,479 –> 00:21:17,780 in keeping the 10 commandments of God 402 00:21:17,780 –> 00:21:21,000 and all of the other callings that he lays upon our lives 403 00:21:21,000 –> 00:21:23,599 then frankly we deserve to be dismissed in that way. 404 00:21:24,660 –> 00:21:28,920 For the intent of God’s law is not to make us Pharisees 405 00:21:29,760 –> 00:21:34,760 but rather to lead us to Christ, 406 00:21:35,599 –> 00:21:36,619 to Christ. 407 00:21:39,660 –> 00:21:41,619 Now the Galatians grasped this at the beginning 408 00:21:41,619 –> 00:21:43,839 but clearly they lost sight of it 409 00:21:43,839 –> 00:21:45,920 and in the end what happened was that the law 410 00:21:45,920 –> 00:21:48,180 led them away from Christ. 411 00:21:49,280 –> 00:21:51,060 Trying to think of this in a picture, 412 00:21:51,060 –> 00:21:54,300 I think that their view of salvation 413 00:21:54,300 –> 00:21:56,719 was rather like a game of pool. 414 00:21:56,719 –> 00:21:59,739 Think of a pool table and you’ve never heard 415 00:21:59,739 –> 00:22:02,420 it illustrated this way, but as if Christ 416 00:22:02,420 –> 00:22:06,319 were the cue ball who collided with them 417 00:22:06,319 –> 00:22:10,560 once at conversion, firing them off in a new direction. 418 00:22:10,560 –> 00:22:12,760 Touched once by the forgiveness of Christ, 419 00:22:12,760 –> 00:22:15,020 they’re now traveling on in the momentum 420 00:22:15,020 –> 00:22:17,380 of that past experience, in their own attempt 421 00:22:17,380 –> 00:22:18,959 to live a righteous life. 422 00:22:18,959 –> 00:22:20,959 How many Christians are just there? 423 00:22:21,280 –> 00:22:22,540 First Brother. 424 00:22:26,599 –> 00:22:29,400 I’m not a person who needed grace once. 425 00:22:31,560 –> 00:22:34,160 I am a person who needs and can only stand 426 00:22:34,160 –> 00:22:37,660 in the presence of God by grace today. 427 00:22:40,599 –> 00:22:45,599 I was saved by grace, and today I stand by grace. 428 00:22:45,599 –> 00:22:47,020 I stand by grace. 429 00:22:49,920 –> 00:22:51,339 Remember one of the lesser known verses 430 00:22:51,339 –> 00:22:53,119 of John Newton’s famous hymn. 431 00:22:55,260 –> 00:22:59,400 Through many dangers, toils, and snares, 432 00:23:00,359 –> 00:23:02,439 I have already come. 433 00:23:02,439 –> 00:23:05,619 Twas grace that brought me safe this far, 434 00:23:07,260 –> 00:23:12,260 and grace, not law, will lead me home. 435 00:23:13,260 –> 00:23:17,719 For what the law cannot do, it can’t impart life. 436 00:23:19,359 –> 00:23:22,719 What the law can do, if it has its right effect 437 00:23:22,719 –> 00:23:26,619 in your life, it can lead you to Christ. 438 00:23:27,699 –> 00:23:31,479 And here’s the third thing, what Christ will do. 439 00:23:32,439 –> 00:23:35,060 He will give you the spirit. 440 00:23:35,060 –> 00:23:37,099 Here we come to the heart of the message. 441 00:23:38,380 –> 00:23:40,239 Chapter three in verse two, I would like to learn 442 00:23:40,239 –> 00:23:41,719 just one thing from you. 443 00:23:42,979 –> 00:23:46,260 Did you receive the spirit by observing the law 444 00:23:46,260 –> 00:23:51,319 or by believing what you heard? 445 00:23:51,319 –> 00:23:55,079 Now here is the crucial question that goes to the heart 446 00:23:55,079 –> 00:23:57,439 of how we live the Christian life today. 447 00:23:57,439 –> 00:24:00,479 How do you receive the Holy Spirit? 448 00:24:02,020 –> 00:24:06,300 How do you receive the new life that comes from above? 449 00:24:06,300 –> 00:24:11,060 How is it yours today, tomorrow, and for everything 450 00:24:11,060 –> 00:24:13,199 that you face in this coming week, month, 451 00:24:13,199 –> 00:24:15,439 and however long you’re here on this Earth 452 00:24:15,439 –> 00:24:17,359 until Christ shall call you home? 453 00:24:17,359 –> 00:24:19,660 Answer, not by the law. 454 00:24:21,540 –> 00:24:23,439 The law cannot impart life. 455 00:24:24,640 –> 00:24:29,020 But rather by believing what you heard, verse two. 456 00:24:30,119 –> 00:24:32,800 And believing what you heard refers back to verse one 457 00:24:32,800 –> 00:24:35,660 where Paul speaks about his own preaching of the Gospel 458 00:24:35,660 –> 00:24:37,579 of Jesus Christ crucified. 459 00:24:37,579 –> 00:24:39,939 So what he’s teaching us here very clearly 460 00:24:39,939 –> 00:24:44,939 is that those who believe the Gospel receive the Spirit. 461 00:24:47,060 –> 00:24:49,140 There is no such thing, in other words, 462 00:24:49,140 –> 00:24:52,839 as a Christian who does not have the Holy Spirit. 463 00:24:54,099 –> 00:24:59,099 If you have forgiveness, then you have life, why? 464 00:25:01,180 –> 00:25:05,239 Because you receive both by being joined to Jesus Christ 465 00:25:05,239 –> 00:25:07,900 who holds them both in himself. 466 00:25:08,739 –> 00:25:10,439 He holds them in his hands 467 00:25:10,439 –> 00:25:12,060 and when you embrace him, or rather, 468 00:25:12,060 –> 00:25:16,339 he embraces you, both become inseparably yours. 469 00:25:16,339 –> 00:25:20,219 He died for the forgiveness of your sins. 470 00:25:20,219 –> 00:25:22,380 He rose to give life to you. 471 00:25:22,380 –> 00:25:25,260 You can’t separate the death and the resurrection of Jesus. 472 00:25:25,260 –> 00:25:28,660 You can’t be saved by half of Jesus Christ 473 00:25:28,660 –> 00:25:30,800 or receive half a salvation from Him. 474 00:25:30,800 –> 00:25:32,819 You cannot have forgiveness without life 475 00:25:32,819 –> 00:25:34,459 or life without forgiveness. 476 00:25:34,459 –> 00:25:37,479 The Christ who died for you is the Christ who rose for you 477 00:25:37,479 –> 00:25:39,520 and the promise of the gospel is that he will 478 00:25:39,520 –> 00:25:43,520 forgive your sins and give you his spirit. 479 00:25:43,520 –> 00:25:44,579 That’s the gospel. 480 00:25:46,319 –> 00:25:48,560 As you have faith in him. 481 00:25:50,920 –> 00:25:53,359 Not because you’ve reached a certain sort of standard 482 00:25:53,359 –> 00:25:55,819 in your pursuit of the Christian life later on. 483 00:25:58,079 –> 00:26:01,300 Those who believe the gospel receive the spirit. 484 00:26:01,640 –> 00:26:02,479 Please. 485 00:26:05,739 –> 00:26:08,800 Now, the New Testament makes this so clear. 486 00:26:11,560 –> 00:26:13,300 Perhaps never more so than when it’s put 487 00:26:13,300 –> 00:26:14,140 the other way around. 488 00:26:14,140 –> 00:26:16,060 Put negatively, rather than positively. 489 00:26:16,060 –> 00:26:17,939 Romans, chapter eight in verse nine. 490 00:26:17,939 –> 00:26:19,859 Listen to this. 491 00:26:19,859 –> 00:26:24,560 If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, 492 00:26:26,020 –> 00:26:27,699 he does not belong to Christ. 493 00:26:28,699 –> 00:26:33,219 If anyone doesn’t have the Spirit of Christ, 494 00:26:34,140 –> 00:26:37,780 he or she does not belong to Christ. 495 00:26:37,780 –> 00:26:39,199 Why? 496 00:26:39,199 –> 00:26:41,439 Because to belong to Christ by faith 497 00:26:41,439 –> 00:26:44,540 is to have your sins forgiven and to receive the Spirit. 498 00:26:44,540 –> 00:26:45,500 That’s the gospel. 499 00:26:47,099 –> 00:26:48,339 And if we haven’t grasped that, 500 00:26:48,339 –> 00:26:49,780 what it really means is that we think 501 00:26:49,780 –> 00:26:51,579 the gospel is forgiveness plus law, 502 00:26:51,579 –> 00:26:53,260 because that’s all that we’ve got. 503 00:26:54,859 –> 00:26:56,319 And Paul writes to these Galatians 504 00:26:56,359 –> 00:26:57,959 who somehow had got so confused 505 00:26:57,959 –> 00:26:59,699 as to what it really means to be a Christian, 506 00:26:59,699 –> 00:27:02,880 and he says, no, it’s not forgiveness plus law, 507 00:27:02,880 –> 00:27:04,959 it’s forgiveness plus life. 508 00:27:04,959 –> 00:27:07,359 The Christ who died for you rose for you, 509 00:27:08,719 –> 00:27:13,140 and those who believe the gospel receive the Spirit. 510 00:27:15,719 –> 00:27:18,079 Now, put very simply, what that means, 511 00:27:18,079 –> 00:27:21,520 is if you do not have the Holy Spirit living within you, 512 00:27:21,520 –> 00:27:25,079 you are not yet a Christian, 513 00:27:25,079 –> 00:27:26,880 in New Testament terms. 514 00:27:27,959 –> 00:27:29,819 So please, whatever you do, 515 00:27:31,000 –> 00:27:35,000 don’t tell yourself that you are because of, 516 00:27:35,000 –> 00:27:37,479 otherwise you’ll deceive yourself into thinking 517 00:27:37,479 –> 00:27:39,359 that you have the pearl of great price 518 00:27:39,359 –> 00:27:40,859 when actually, you do not. 519 00:27:42,939 –> 00:27:43,780 And if you think you have it, 520 00:27:43,780 –> 00:27:45,140 you’ll no longer be seeking it. 521 00:27:46,439 –> 00:27:47,400 And then you might miss it, 522 00:27:47,400 –> 00:27:49,199 which would be the most disastrous thing 523 00:27:49,199 –> 00:27:50,800 in all of the world. 524 00:27:52,339 –> 00:27:55,719 Now actually, I’m finding more and more, 525 00:27:55,719 –> 00:27:57,719 especially in our culture today, 526 00:27:58,959 –> 00:28:00,420 among church people, 527 00:28:01,939 –> 00:28:06,079 that this is a very very useful question to ask, 528 00:28:06,079 –> 00:28:08,319 to be clarifying whether people 529 00:28:08,319 –> 00:28:11,339 have actually grasped the gospel, or not. 530 00:28:12,479 –> 00:28:15,839 See, if you’re talking to a churchy kind of a person, 531 00:28:15,839 –> 00:28:17,800 and you say to them, 532 00:28:17,800 –> 00:28:19,319 are you a Christian? 533 00:28:19,500 –> 00:28:23,199 Then to most people today, 534 00:28:23,199 –> 00:28:24,599 that is like asking the question, 535 00:28:24,599 –> 00:28:25,719 are you a good person? 536 00:28:26,839 –> 00:28:30,140 And the vast majority of people will say, yes! 537 00:28:30,140 –> 00:28:34,079 And then they’ll be slightly offended that you haven’t asked. 538 00:28:34,079 –> 00:28:35,280 Of course I’m a Christian. 539 00:28:35,280 –> 00:28:36,140 Why do you ask? 540 00:28:37,699 –> 00:28:39,719 So you might like, in a situation like that, 541 00:28:39,719 –> 00:28:42,939 to ask a more subtle penetrating question, 542 00:28:42,939 –> 00:28:44,119 which would be this, 543 00:28:45,800 –> 00:28:48,319 have you received the Holy Spirit? 544 00:28:49,660 –> 00:28:51,859 Actually it’s exactly the same question. 545 00:28:53,260 –> 00:28:56,160 It’s no different from askig, are your sins forgiven? 546 00:28:58,040 –> 00:29:00,319 Does the Spirit of God live in you? 547 00:29:01,839 –> 00:29:03,680 And you know the extraordinary thing? 548 00:29:04,640 –> 00:29:08,680 That many people who think themselves Christians 549 00:29:08,680 –> 00:29:12,000 are completely bemused by that question. 550 00:29:13,199 –> 00:29:14,599 Do you have the Holy Spirit? 551 00:29:16,959 –> 00:29:18,599 And you know what that tells us? 552 00:29:19,640 –> 00:29:22,000 That a great number of people in evangelical churches 553 00:29:22,000 –> 00:29:24,339 today have not grasped the gospel. 554 00:29:25,439 –> 00:29:27,520 We’re right back in Galatian territory 555 00:29:28,380 –> 00:29:31,560 of thinking it’s forgiveness plus law, 556 00:29:31,560 –> 00:29:36,560 not yet having grasped that it is forgiveness plus life. 557 00:29:36,900 –> 00:29:39,400 Which is why of course we end up with this phenomenon 558 00:29:39,400 –> 00:29:41,719 that we identified at the beginning of this series 559 00:29:41,719 –> 00:29:44,020 of people thinking my past sins are forgiven, 560 00:29:44,020 –> 00:29:45,680 my future is secure in heaven, 561 00:29:45,680 –> 00:29:47,599 but I desperately need now to go running around 562 00:29:47,619 –> 00:29:49,959 to find out how in all the world to live today, 563 00:29:51,160 –> 00:29:52,900 because the law cannot impart life. 564 00:29:56,520 –> 00:29:59,500 Now here is the amazing promise that Paul is establishing 565 00:29:59,500 –> 00:30:00,780 and as he goes through Galatians 566 00:30:00,780 –> 00:30:04,359 he’s going to work out all the implications of it for us. 567 00:30:04,359 –> 00:30:08,079 God’s spirit will come to live in you 568 00:30:08,079 –> 00:30:10,780 as you have faith in Jesus Christ. 569 00:30:12,160 –> 00:30:14,900 Or, to put it another way, the spirit of Jesus 570 00:30:14,900 –> 00:30:16,280 will come to live in you. 571 00:30:16,300 –> 00:30:18,979 If you check out Galatians chapter four and verse six, 572 00:30:18,979 –> 00:30:21,180 Paul says that because we are sons, 573 00:30:21,180 –> 00:30:25,939 God sent the spirit of his son, the spirit of Jesus, 574 00:30:25,939 –> 00:30:29,180 the Holy Spirit, into our hearts. 575 00:30:29,180 –> 00:30:32,819 Listen, God will give you the spirit 576 00:30:32,819 –> 00:30:35,739 as freely as he will forgive your sins 577 00:30:35,739 –> 00:30:39,020 as you put your trust in his son Jesus Christ. 578 00:30:40,380 –> 00:30:42,619 Let’s try and grasp that. 579 00:30:42,640 –> 00:30:46,339 God will give you his spirit 580 00:30:47,819 –> 00:30:50,920 as freely as he will forgive your sins 581 00:30:50,920 –> 00:30:55,540 as you put your faith in his son Jesus Christ, 582 00:30:56,959 –> 00:30:59,239 which is why Paul says in Galatians 220, 583 00:30:59,239 –> 00:31:01,239 Christ lives in me. 584 00:31:02,859 –> 00:31:05,020 I’ve been crucified with Christ. 585 00:31:06,239 –> 00:31:08,500 And I no longer live, but Christ lives in me, 586 00:31:08,500 –> 00:31:11,560 and the life I live and the body I live by faith 587 00:31:11,599 –> 00:31:15,000 in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. 588 00:31:15,000 –> 00:31:17,959 He lives within me, not just he died for me. 589 00:31:17,959 –> 00:31:19,380 He lives within me. 590 00:31:19,380 –> 00:31:21,199 That’s how I’m living today. 591 00:31:22,219 –> 00:31:27,219 The spirit of Jesus lives in me. 592 00:31:30,359 –> 00:31:32,819 Now take the rest of your life to ponder that. 593 00:31:34,560 –> 00:31:35,560 It is astonishing. 594 00:31:38,660 –> 00:31:40,319 It’s forgiveness plus life. 595 00:31:41,640 –> 00:31:43,180 Not forgiveness plus law. 596 00:31:44,760 –> 00:31:46,339 All the difference in the world. 597 00:31:50,680 –> 00:31:55,520 Notice just very briefly the two ways 598 00:31:55,520 –> 00:31:58,619 that he describes the experience of the Christian life 599 00:31:58,619 –> 00:31:59,819 in Galatians 2 20. 600 00:31:59,819 –> 00:32:02,380 I find this so, so helpful to grasp. 601 00:32:04,520 –> 00:32:06,420 Number one, it’s a life in the body. 602 00:32:06,420 –> 00:32:10,020 Number two, it’s a life lived by faith in Jesus Christ. 603 00:32:10,040 –> 00:32:13,319 You can grasp these two things that will help you make sense 604 00:32:13,319 –> 00:32:15,380 of your own experience of the Christian life. 605 00:32:15,380 –> 00:32:16,560 At least it’s helped me. 606 00:32:17,540 –> 00:32:19,479 Number one, I live in the body. 607 00:32:20,900 –> 00:32:25,239 That means that you will always find yourself in conflict. 608 00:32:26,979 –> 00:32:29,599 That you will find yourself at times lacking courage, 609 00:32:29,599 –> 00:32:33,300 losing heart, lamenting your inconsistency. 610 00:32:33,300 –> 00:32:37,160 You will struggle with sickness, temptation, 611 00:32:38,140 –> 00:32:41,300 weakness, eventually even death. 612 00:32:42,339 –> 00:32:46,959 A whole world of mental illness belongs in this category 613 00:32:46,959 –> 00:32:50,439 that we live this life in the body. 614 00:32:54,479 –> 00:32:57,579 And how in all the world am I going to do that? 615 00:32:58,959 –> 00:33:01,239 I live it by faith in the Son of God. 616 00:33:03,979 –> 00:33:06,640 I exercise faith in this Jesus Christ 617 00:33:06,780 –> 00:33:10,140 who lives within me, in every circumstance of my life. 618 00:33:10,140 –> 00:33:13,219 That means that the Christian life is active not passive 619 00:33:13,219 –> 00:33:14,859 by faith in the Son of God. 620 00:33:16,359 –> 00:33:19,420 See, when we talk about grasping the gospel 621 00:33:20,939 –> 00:33:23,400 we’re not talking simply about oh yes, 622 00:33:23,400 –> 00:33:25,459 we believe that Jesus died and rose. 623 00:33:27,619 –> 00:33:30,979 I mean believing and grasping that He is with you 624 00:33:30,979 –> 00:33:33,800 in what you’re struggling with in the body right now. 625 00:33:34,160 –> 00:33:38,040 That He is at work with you in the circumstances 626 00:33:38,040 –> 00:33:39,920 that you would rather be out of 627 00:33:39,920 –> 00:33:41,300 and that He will sustain you in them 628 00:33:41,300 –> 00:33:43,880 and bring you through them and complete His purpose 629 00:33:43,880 –> 00:33:45,640 because of them. 630 00:33:49,180 –> 00:33:52,359 By faith in the Son of God who loved me 631 00:33:52,359 –> 00:33:54,780 and gave himself for me. 632 00:33:56,280 –> 00:34:00,739 See, the risen Lord Jesus Christ comes to us today 633 00:34:01,300 –> 00:34:06,300 in all of the circumstances of life that we are facing 634 00:34:06,619 –> 00:34:10,340 that are so very different and some of them feel 635 00:34:10,340 –> 00:34:14,139 like we’re being asked to go boil the ocean. 636 00:34:15,600 –> 00:34:18,780 And He says to us in the words of a great hymn, 637 00:34:18,780 –> 00:34:23,780 fear not, I am with you, so be not dismayed. 638 00:34:23,780 –> 00:34:28,699 So be not dismayed, for I am your God 639 00:34:28,699 –> 00:34:30,800 and will still give you aid. 640 00:34:30,800 –> 00:34:35,540 I’ll strengthen you, help you and cause you 641 00:34:35,540 –> 00:34:40,540 to stand upheld by my righteous omnipotent hand. 642 00:34:41,219 –> 00:34:43,020 That’s not forgiveness plus law, 643 00:34:43,020 –> 00:34:45,760 that’s forgiveness plus life. 644 00:34:49,659 –> 00:34:52,459 So aren’t you so glad that the Holy Spirit of God 645 00:34:52,540 –> 00:34:55,280 is with you in everything you’ve faced this week? 646 00:34:57,979 –> 00:35:00,060 Aren’t you so grateful that the gospel 647 00:35:00,060 –> 00:35:01,879 is not, hey, you’re forgiven, 648 00:35:01,879 –> 00:35:04,139 now go do your best to work out the rest? 649 00:35:06,239 –> 00:35:08,860 Thank God it’s not forgiveness plus law, 650 00:35:10,300 –> 00:35:11,800 it’s forgiveness plus life. 651 00:35:13,780 –> 00:35:16,379 Christ gives you the spirit as freely 652 00:35:16,379 –> 00:35:20,620 as he forgives your sins, as you believe the gospel. 653 00:35:23,340 –> 00:35:27,879 He says to you, your sins are forgiven. 654 00:35:30,399 –> 00:35:33,020 And he says to you, now go face the challenges 655 00:35:33,020 –> 00:35:34,820 that are before you this week knowing 656 00:35:34,820 –> 00:35:39,820 that I am with you and in you by my spirit. 657 00:35:40,719 –> 00:35:42,600 That’s the gospel. 658 00:35:45,300 –> 00:35:50,300 It’s grace, it’s life, and it’s for the world. 659 00:35:50,820 –> 00:35:52,300 What is it? 660 00:35:52,300 –> 00:35:57,300 It’s grace, it’s life, and it’s for the world. 661 00:35:57,300 –> 00:35:59,600 Thanks be to God, let’s pray together, shall we? 662 00:36:02,780 –> 00:36:04,659 Father, right now we’re so grateful 663 00:36:04,659 –> 00:36:07,139 that what Jesus Christ gives to us 664 00:36:07,139 –> 00:36:08,919 is not forgiveness plus law, 665 00:36:11,659 –> 00:36:14,879 but rather forgiveness plus the life of the spirit. 666 00:36:17,939 –> 00:36:21,459 We bow before you seeing that this is what we need 667 00:36:21,459 –> 00:36:25,919 and believing the gospel, for those of us who do, 668 00:36:27,219 –> 00:36:30,580 grateful that this is what we have. 669 00:36:35,219 –> 00:36:38,040 Perhaps, if you’re not clear on these things, 670 00:36:38,040 –> 00:36:40,399 you’d like to join in this simple prayer. 671 00:36:43,060 –> 00:36:45,820 Lord, what’s been described today is what I need. 672 00:36:45,820 –> 00:36:47,739 And I don’t think it’s what I have. 673 00:36:48,639 –> 00:36:53,479 So I claim your promise today. 674 00:36:57,239 –> 00:36:59,479 Forgive my sins, 675 00:37:01,000 –> 00:37:03,159 and give me your spirit. 676 00:37:06,679 –> 00:37:11,679 And believing that you died and rose 677 00:37:12,820 –> 00:37:14,959 that these things should be mine, 678 00:37:14,959 –> 00:37:16,600 I gladly receive them. 679 00:37:17,580 –> 00:37:18,780 By faith. 680 00:37:23,439 –> 00:37:25,060 So that from this day, 681 00:37:26,800 –> 00:37:31,139 I may live with all the difficulties of life in the body, 682 00:37:33,199 –> 00:37:36,080 knowing that these glorious realities of the gospel 683 00:37:37,639 –> 00:37:42,639 are truly mine, in Christ Jesus. 684 00:37:42,639 –> 00:37:47,600 For this I thank You in His name, Amen.