Good evening. Let's stand together. We'll sing hymn number 298.

298. In shady green pastures so rich and so sweet,
God leads His dear children along.
Where the waters cool, flow baits flow where He wants feet,
God leads His dear children along.

Some through the water, some through the flood,

Some through the fire, but all through the blood.

Some through great sorrow, but God gives us all,

In the night season and all the day long.

Sometimes on the mount where the sun shines so bright,
God leads his dear children along.
Sometimes in the valley in darkest of night,
God leads his dear children along. Some through the water, some through the flood, Some through the fire, but all through the flood.
Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song,
In the night season and all the day long.

Though sorrows befall us and Satan oppose,
God leads His dear children along.
Through grace we can conquer, defeating all our foes,
God leads His dear children along. Some through the water, some through the flood Some through the fire, but all through the blood Some through great sorrow, but God gives us all In the night season and all the day long

Away from the mire and away from the plain,
God leaves his dear children alone.
A way up in glory eternity's day,
God leaves his dear children alone. Some through the water, some through the flood,
some through the fire, but all through

Be seated, we'll sing hymn number 62.

Number 62. Crown Him with many crowns, the Lamb upon His throne.
Hark how the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing.
Of Him who died for thee,
And hail Him as thy matchless King
Through all eternity.

Crown him the Lord of love, behold his hands and side.
Rich wounds yet visible above, in beauty glorified.
No angel in the sky,
Can fully bear that sigh,
But downward bends his wandering eye,
That mystery so bright.

Crown Him the Lord of life, who triumphed o'er the grave,
Who rose victorious to the strife for those He came to save.
His glories now we see,
Who died and rose on high,
Who died eternal life to bring,
And lives that death may die.

Crown Him the Lord of heaven, One with the Father known,
one with the Spirit, through Him given from yonder glorious throne.
To Thee be endless praise,
for Thou for us hast died.
Be Thou, O Lord, through endless days adored and magnified.

Galatians 2. Galatians 2. Start at verse 14 and go down to the end of the chapter.

But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before all, if thou being a Jew, if you being a Jew live like a Gentile and not as do the Jews, why compelest thou the Gentiles to live like a Jew? We are Jews by nature and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. Even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law. For by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. But if while we seek to be justified by Christ, we also, we ourselves also are found sinners Is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I, through the law, am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God, for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

Our blessed Savior, our great God and Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, who redeemed us by his blood out of every nation, kindred, and tongue, and people. Lord, we come into your presence with some confidence, with some boldness, with some liberty. And we're thankful that we can call on you and look to you. And we're thankful that you taught us. You taught us. And Lord, in what you teach me, I try by your grace to teach you, dear people.

Lord, we gather here tonight to worship. We gather here tonight to learn from your word. And Lord, and I pray for the ones who, by providence, are not here, whose bodies are weak, who has great trials, who doesn't feel well, and their bodies are frail and weak, and we pray, Lord Jesus, for Debbie and Jim. Oh, Lord, please be with her to take care of him, cause him to be stronger. Pray again for Rick and Helen. God bless them. Lord, encourage them. I know you gave them grace sufficient for every single day of their lives. But, Lord, they need your grace. They need your upholding power. And, Lord, meet with us tonight. Have mercy upon our children and grandchildren, and do it for Christ's sake. Amen.

Number 31 on our course book. 31 in the course book.

Oh, how merciful. When I was lost in sin and shame,
How Thou let me take the blame? Blessed Lord, how merciful! ? Thou was to me ? When I could look down deep within ? And see the sinfulness of sin ? Blessed Lord, how merciful ? Thou was to me ? Oh, how merciful How merciful, how merciful, how merciful thou art to me. Oh, how merciful, how merciful, how merciful thou art to me.

A sinner lost and so hell-bent, Yet Thou say'st, I must repent. Blessed Lord, how merciful Thou wast to me! I wonder why should I rebel, And with a soul deserting hell? Blessed Lord, how merciful thou was to me oh how merciful how merciful blessed lord how merciful thou art to me oh how merciful How merciful, blessed Lord, how merciful Thou art to me.

I'm not ashamed of all Thy grace when Thou came and took my place. Blessed Lord, how merciful Thou art to me. And when this world ceases to be Eternal blood to speak for me Blessed Lord, how merciful Thou art to me Oh, how merciful How merciful Blessed Lord, how merciful thou art to me. Oh, how merciful, how merciful. Blessed Lord, how merciful thou art to me.

Paul asked the question, in verse 17, is Christ the minister of sin? Is Christ the minister of sin? But here, verse 17, if we seek to be justified by Christ, We ourselves are also found sinners. Is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. What a question. What a question. Who would ask such a question? Is Christ responsible for our sin? Christ responsible for us committing sin? And why would anyone ask such a question? Well, Paul asked it, why? Well, because when Simon Peter changed tables, he denied the righteousness of Christ. He denied the gospel. He denied justification. And that's what Paul is dealing with when he denied the gospel. And so Paul comes on and starts talking about how that we're justified.

You're a Jew and you live like a Gentile, and then you Tell the Gentiles that they gotta live like a Jew. And Gentiles never did have the law. But the Apostle's still dealing with justification. He says here in verse 16, knowing, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law. We know that. There's no doubt about that. by the works of the law. I don't care what they are, what ceremony, what ritual, how many commandments, it don't make any difference. It's a work of the law. But here's how man is justified, by the faith of Jesus Christ. Even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ. And I love that right there. We're justified by the faithfulness of Christ. That's what justifies us. Our faith doesn't justify us. Christ justifies us. And faith believes that he did it. And I tell you, justified by the faith of Christ and not justified by the works of the law. For by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

But if while we seek to be justified by Christ, We also ourselves are found to be sinners, or found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin. Now Paul talked about those who were Jews by nature, not sinners like Gentiles. And Gentiles were always regarded as sinners by the Jews.

And sinners, when we're Gentiles, we were without the law of Moses. We were not never under the law of Moses. We were not under the part of the written priesthood. We were not under the sacrifices. We were not under the, in any way, we were not under the law. God did not give us the law.

And if we were put, Gentiles are put in contrast to the Jews who were keepers of the law. They were keepers of the law. They delighted in the law. I don't know how many times they called in question what the Lord did. He said, why did you heal on the Sabbath day? Why did your disciples pick corn on the Sabbath day? Why didn't your disciples wash their hands? Why, why, why do you do this? And why do you do that? It is always over the Sabbath. Always over the Sabbath. And they only kept it hourly.

And the Gentiles made no pretense of keeping the law. Gentiles, those of us who are what's called Gentiles by the Jews, we made no pretense of keeping the law. To them it had no meaning. It had no meaning to them as it did to the Jews. And they were sinners, like in verse 15, sinners of the Gentiles.

And when you talk about sinners, when he talked about the Gentiles, what he's saying was, because we didn't keep the law, that made us transgressors of the law. And that's what they called us, really, that's why he said, is Christ a mentor of sin? Because we transgressed the law? Because we seek to be justified by Christ? You know, and Paul said, if I transgress the law because I'm justified by Christ. Does that make Christ a minister of sin because we transgress the law? Because we're not kept by the law, we're not looking to the law, we're not interested in the law, and I'm not going to be under the law. So that makes us transgressors of the law. And that means that if we are found to be sinners and we're responsible to Christ, because we transgress the law. Does that make Christ a minister of sin because we don't keep the law? No. That's saying Christ is responsible for our sin.

I remember years and years ago, a fellow committed a pretty grievous sin, and I went to talk to him about it. And he said, God could have kept me from that if he wanted to. And I said, you mean to tell me you're blaming God for what you just did? Is that what you're doing? No, no, no, no. Well, that's what it sounded like. God could have kept me from doing that. But what he was saying was that God is responsible for what I did. And that's what these fellas are saying is, because we don't live by the law, we're not under the law, and we're not subject to the law of God, and we are transgressors of the law, the Jew says we are, well then that makes us sinners because we transgress the law. And that makes Christ responsible for our sin.

Oh, no, no. Christ is not responsible for our sin. Can't be saved. without keeping the law of Moses, is what they said. If Christ turns you from the law, he calls you a transgressor. Calls you a transgressor. But we know, we know that Christ came to save sinners. He's not responsible for sin. And always seeking to be justified by Christ, by faith, not of works, believers turn from the law. And Jewish believers turn from the law. And when they do that, they're acting like Gentiles, not Jews, with respect to the law. And they're saying, well, then we transgressed it. Oh, my. What did he say there? He said, why do you compel a Jew to live like a Gentile? Gentiles live like a Jew. And what he was doing, he was making a distinction between the two.

If we're justified by Christ, and we are, And if we're without law, and we are, are we transgressors of the law? Are we sinners? Is Christ who justified us without law by his faithfulness, by his obedience? Is he a minister of sin? God forbid. The law and gospel cannot coexist. The law and the gospel cannot coexist. It's either all of grace or it's all of works. They cannot coexist. And I've got a book back there called The Genius of the Puritans, how that they made the law and the gospel come together. You can't make the law and the gospel come together. They can't coexist.

If we're justified by Christ, then we transgress the law. That's what they say. But we say that if they seek to be justified by law, they're the transgressors of the law. They're the ones that's not keeping the law. And they want everybody else to do it. Oh, to reject the law may make us sinners. And you know who they make us sinners to? The self-righteous, the legalist, The legalists, the people without law, you know, there's lots of people still under the law. All self-righteousness, the legalists, the workmongers, they tell us, I know of churches that still call Sunday the Sabbath and tell you not to do any. There was a church up in Pennsylvania, and there's several of them up there, but a lot of them left and were clay courtesies, and they come out from under that kind of bondage. But if they caught you bouncing a basketball on Sunday, you was called before the congregation and dealt with for breaking the Sabbath. Oh, my.

But I reject the law made men may make us sinners. But I tell you who it makes us sinners to the self-righteous. The people who are work mumbers. The legalist, we're justified by Christ, and we're without law. And I'll tell you something, beloved. If we do seek to be justified by Christ, who else could justify us before God except the Lord Jesus Christ? Who else is the law fulfilled by if it's not by the Lord Jesus Christ? What other sacrifice is there to be offered if Christ is not the only sacrifice? Whatever sin offering is there to be offered if it's not the Lord Jesus Christ? Who satisfied God if Christ did not? Oh, my. When Christ our Lord cried out, it is finished, salvation was done once and for all for all of his people. once and for all.

So I tell you what, they, you know, they say when you're without law, you're an antinomian. And I guess you've heard what that is. That means people without any law. That means they're lawless. Well, I'm an antinomian. I'm without law. Not without law to Christ, not without the love of Christ, not without subject to Christ, But when we're talking about the law, we're talking about all of it, all of it. And that's why he said, curses in everyone who continue not in all things of the book of the law to do them. And oh my, look what Paul says now. Christ is not the sinner. We know that. We're justified by Christ. Who else is going to justify us? Let them call us sinners. Let them be self-righteous. Let them go to the law. Let them seek to be saved by what they do and what they think and what they feel. We're not going to do that. And Paul said in verse 18, For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. Now what's he saying? If I turn around, If I turn around and start preaching the law, if I turn around and start building the things that I once destroyed, if I go back and preach again the law, if I go back and preach ceremonies, if I go back and preach rituals, if I go back and preach sacrifices for justification, he said I would be a transgressor then of the law. I'm an unjustified sinner if I go back and build what I once destroyed.

And the law, this is where people really truly miss it. The law demands perfection. It demands perfection. And if in Christ I'm not perfected, then I'm a transgressor. If Christ does not perfect me and perfect you, then we're a transgressor. And Paul said, if I go back, and do start all over. I think, I think that I may be wrong, but I think that Paul was that rich young ruler that our Lord Jesus Christ, he came running. You know, he was a very educated man. He was come from a pretty wealthy family and he was extremely educated. And he was, when I, that rich young ruler come running to Christ and said, good master, What good work must I do to have inherent eternal life?

And he said, why do you call me good? That's the first mistake you've made. Why call me good? God's the only one that's good. Either you're going to acknowledge me as God or you're not. God's the only one that's got any good. No, God is good. And so he said, you know the commandments. And you know, he started talking about all the commandments. He said, all these I've kept since my youth up. Kept them since my youth up. And he said, yet you lack one thing. One thing. How would you like to lack one thing when you face God? How would you like to lack one thing when you go into eternity? Yet lackest thou one thing. What is it? Still all you've got give it all to the poor.

He went away sorrowful and sad because he had much profession. But this is why I think it was Saul, Tarsus, or Paul, because the Lord Jesus said that he loved him. He loved him. He loved that young, rich, young ruler. He loved it. And I believe that he was the Apostle Paul, and when he was brought down on the Damascus Road, down on the Damascus Road. And that's what he said, if I turn around and go back to being that young ruler, keeping all the law, being righteousness after, blameless after the righteousness of the law, if I go back and start all over that again, I would be a transgressor. I would not be justified by Christ.

And then look what he says here. He says that, for I threw the law am dead to the law." What does it mean to be dead to the law? That I might live unto God. You know, Romans 6 says this. He says, that in Christ died unto sin once. Likewise, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God. And how in the world we come to be dead to the law? How do we do it? Through the law. You know what the law's purpose is for us, for anybody? For by the law is the knowledge of sin. Paul said, I didn't even know what sin was until God come with the law and said, thou shalt not covet. And then he said, that started a lust within me. That started a war within me. And I started, all evil work started going inside me. Never happened before. What happened? God made him to know that his heart was full of sin. He didn't know that before.

And, oh, how are we dead to the law through the law? How did we come dead to it? It found us guilty. We're guilty too. Oh, my. It comes to reveal sin. It pronounces a curse. It pronounces a death penalty. Look over in Romans 7. Get in Romans 7. Down to verse 12. Oh my, the law pronounced a curse on us. It found us guilty. We can't come alive. Law never did give life. He said here in Romans, 712, wherefore the law is holy and the commandment holy and is just and is good. Now then he asked the question, was then that which is good, that law, holy and commandment and just and good, was then that which was good made death unto me? No, the law, but sin is what made death unto me. that it might appear to be actually what it is, sin. And what does sin do? It works death in us. That by that which is good, which is the law, that the sin by the commandment by become exceeding sinful.

We know that the law is spiritual, but I'm not. I'm carnal, sold under sin. Now, when we talk about being dead to the law, We're dead to it as a covenant. We're not under the covenant of the law. We're in the covenant of grace. We're not under it as a curse. We're dead to it as a curse. We're dead to it as a means of righteousness. We're dead to it as a means of acceptance. Death, it's dead. It's power to condemn. That's all it can do. That's all it can do. Dead to the penalty of it. We're dead to the power of it to condemn us. Look in Romans 8. The law can't condemn us. You know that? The law can't condemn us. You ever feel condemned by the law? I ain't felt condemned by the law. No. Never have. When you're trying to be saved by works, yes. But look what he says there. The law, we're dead to its power to condemn us, dead to its penalty. This penalty is death. There is therefore, Romans 8, 1, no contemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, not after the old man, but after the Spirit of God. We walk and follow the Spirit of God. for the law or the principle of the spirit of life in Christ. That's where life comes from, in Christ. And that spirit of life that's in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin. Sin don't have dominion over me. Sin don't condemn me. And the law of sin and death, where sin produces death. So sin and death, we've been made free from it in Christ.

Now this was the problem for what the law could not do in that it was weak. Nothing wrong with the law. You know where its weakness come through? Us. We're the weak ones. We couldn't keep it. So what did God do to fulfill the law and clear the law and honor the law and cause it to be dead unto us? God sending his own son.

in the likeness of sinful flesh. And the margin says, by a sacrifice for sin, listen to this, he condemned and judged sin once and for all in the flesh. And this is what the consequences of that was, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh, but follow the Spirit. See what Christ said. Do that.

And then he goes back over and I text, he said, I'm dead to the law that I might live unto God. Now let me tell you something. You can't be alive by the law. Some lawyer pronounced death on you. The law can't make you alive. The law can't give you life. The law can't justify you. All it can do is condemn. And only as the law is fulfilled in Christ by faith in him We live, we live. And that's what he goes on to say. I might live under God.

And this is how he died. I'm crucified with Christ. This is how he died to the law. This is how you and I died. I'm crucified with Christ. This is talking about our union with Christ. And when he says, you know, I'm crucified with Christ, Christ bore our sins in his own body on the tree and made an end of them. He said, I'm crucified with Christ.

Now listen to this. Nevertheless, I'm alive. Nevertheless, I live. I died with Christ, crucified with Christ. Christ lives, so I live. And listen to this now. Yet not I. but Christ liveth in me. Yet not I. I live, crucified with Christ, and yet even though I was crucified with, nevertheless I'm alive. Though I died with him, yet not I, but Christ lives in me.

It's not that I live in Christ, but Christ lives in me. It's Christ, by his inner interest in us, is the source and cause of all we have spiritually. Now, there's two people here. There's two people here. He says, yet I, yet not I. I, yet not I. If it's not I, and yet it's not I, who's he talking about? I had a life, I lived in the flesh. I live by faith of the Son of God.

Yet I, a life in the flesh, yet not I, nevertheless I live by Christ. I live by faith. Ain't that what he says? I live by the faith of the Son of God. I live by the faith of the Son of God. Not my faith in the Son of God, but my faith in the Son of God. And he makes a distinction in the Son of God. And look what he says. Who loved me and gave himself for me. Oh my.

Look back over in verse four here, Galatians 1. Oh my. I, yet not I. The life I live right now in this body, in this world, I live by faith. I live on the Son of God. And this what he says, when he loved me and gave himself for me, talks about our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins. Mm-mm-mm. Gave himself for our sins. If he gave himself for our sins, then we don't have any sin if he took care of.

That he might deliver us, save us from this present evil world. Right now, right now. And he did it according to the will of God himself, our father. And yet he says back over in our text, We're one with Christ, union with Christ. In his death, I was crucified. In his resurrection, I live. Yet not I, the new creation, Christ in me. He loved me, gave himself for me."

And then look what he says in the last verse. I do not frustrate. That word frustrate can also mean void. Everybody knows what frustration is. And Paul said, I ain't fixing to frustrate the grace of God. I'm not going to frustrate the grace of God by talking about saved by law, by works, by self-righteousness. Oh, it makes it void.

If I frustrate and then salvation is by the law and by works and by Moses and by our own righteousness, that makes it void. And when he says, I do not frustrate the grace of God, he said, I do not frustrate the death of Christ. I do not frustrate the righteousness of Christ. For I'm dead to the law, justified by Christ. And I tell you, if you make, if Christ is not, look what he says. If righteousness come by the law. If righteousness come by the law. and we're not really justified by Christ, he died in vain. He died in vain. No matter what others preach, what others believe about what his death accomplished, one thing I know, it was not in vain. No, no. And I say if salvation is looked for by the law of Moses, by works, or by merit, or by a man's will, then the death of Christ is needless. If we could be saved without the death of Christ, what was the purpose of the death of Christ?

And everyone, a man was talking today, and he said, if I think I ever deserved anything from God, he said, I deny grace. I deny grace. I said, if you ever think that God owes you something, you deny grace. You frustrate grace. And if you think God's punishing you for something, you're frustrating grace. And you think about this. A man that wants to be saved any other way than through Christ, he makes void the death of Christ. And his death is not in vain. I'm proof that it's not in vain. You're proof that it's not in vain. And we're not fixing to frustrate the grace of God and add something to it. We're not going to do that. Not going to do it.

Our Father, in the precious name, the blessed name, the glorious name, that name above every name, the Lord Jesus Christ. We bow to thank you and to bless you and to praise you for your goodness and mercy given us in Christ. Lord, we thank you that you justified us and we live by the faithfulness, we live by the faith of the Son of God. Lord, our faithfulness is not, we're not very faithful, not like he was. We have this old flesh to contend with, but yet, We look unto Him. And Lord, we never, ever, ever want to deny Christ in any way. We don't want to deny Him talking about what we've accomplished, what we've thought, what we feel, what we've done. Oh, no. No, we'll talk about Him, talk about His blessed person, talk about His glorious work. talk about his justifying us, clearing us of all guilt and all condemnation, and justifying us once and for all by his precious, precious death.

God, thank you for meeting with us tonight. And I pray that through the weakness of my flesh that you'd let the folks overlook it and be blessed be taught some things from what was said tonight to your glory and our good, for Christ's sake. Amen. Amen. I'll see you Sunday morning, God willing. Good night and God bless you.