I have one verse for a text this
morning. Of course, it's in Paul's letter
to the churches of Galatia. It's Galatians chapter 3 and
verse 1. Galatians 3 and verse 1. Of course,
Paul is continuing, but he writes these words, O foolish Galatians,
who hath bewitched you that ye should not obey the truth? before
whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified
among you. My title, and I suppose I can
say my subject this morning, is Christ Crucified Among You. Of course, we've kind of worked
our way through chapter one, through chapter two, but just
as a a little bit of foundation here. Let us remember in chapter
two, specifically in verses 14 through 21, Paul recounts his
rebuke of Peter's inconsistency in the gospel. Now, some of the
things that I have said leading up to this point, especially
when we consider the things that are said and I said about them
in verses 16 through 21, When these things are presented
as Paul wrote them, as the Spirit of God moved him to write them,
when these things are presented, even to some who have heard the
truth, they seem distant, tough, hard to swallow. In some cases,
it is exactly opposite. That is, the words of Paul in
verses 16 through 21, if they take it all in its context, it
is usually inconsistent with what they have been taught. Imagine
how Peter and the Jews felt when Paul publicly said these things. Because as I said, verses 14
through 21, Paul is recounting his rebuke of Peter, and Paul
just comes right out and says it. But if, while we seek to
be justified by Christ, we ourselves are found sinners, is therefore
Christ the minister, or the inciter, the cause, the party to our,
a contributor to sin? God forbid, that's the only answer
he gave. did not try to explain it, did
not try to explain it away, did not try to justify it. He just
says, God forbid. We can't ever blame Christ for
our sin. Never, ever, ever, ever. But
he goes on. He's telling, remember, think
how Peter felt when Peter heard these words. When you got people
struggling today, they hear this truth and they, I've never heard
it like that before. Well, if that's so, then you've
never heard the truth. For if I build again the things
which I destroyed, he's talking about the law, and specifically
the law for life, the law for righteousness, the law for justification,
the law for sanctification, all of it, the law for glorification,
all of it. For if I build again the things
which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. Earl used to
give an illustration along this line, all you have to do to get
a child to do something, all you have to do to get a child
to do something is tell them not to. And when we as men and
women, saved or lost, regenerate or unregenerate, when we hear
the commands, thou shalt not, or thou shalt, our flesh rises
up in incitement, Tommy, but I will do what I want to do. For if I build again the things
which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. Here he is, here's
Paul standing before Peter, this group of Gentiles that Peter
had removed from to this group of Jews from Jerusalem that were
there. And he goes on, for I through
the law am dead to the law. Now there is no stronger language
that you could get. You're either dead to the law
or you're not. God doesn't save us so we can
keep the law, he saves us so we can worship Christ. Believe
him, follow him, for I through the law am dead to the law that
I might live unto God. As long as you're still trying
to hold on to the law, you're not truly living unto God. you're
living unto your flesh. Trying to do something with it,
whether you're trying to make it sound different or not, you're
still trying to somehow bring your flesh into check. You don't
have to bring the spirit into check. And we'll look at this,
as I told Tommy, some of you may have heard it, God willing,
in a couple weeks, we'll look at this in more detail. But you
don't have to bring the spirit into check. You don't have to
improve the new man. He's created in righteousness
and true holiness. He, and I don't even want to
say it, it's not he needs to be, he is. It doesn't say he
needs to be. He is renewed in knowledge after
the image of him that created him. So again, for I, through
the law of 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, in 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 died for nothing. Oh, foolish
relations. Only a regenerate man or woman
can hear something like that said to them and despise it with
all they are in the flesh. and yet rejoice in it through
the Spirit of God in Jesus Christ. To have a preacher. Remember,
this is not just what Paul came up with later to speak to the
Galatians because of the trouble of the circumcision that some
had brought in. This is what Paul was saying
to Peter and those Jews. He's just recounting to the Galatians
this matter. Do you like to be called foolish?
I don't. But if we seek a union, a relationship
with the law in any form or fashion, we are foolish. But especially, but especially
in this context, oh foolish Galatians who have bewitched you, they've
tricked you. As Earl talked about, they do
the shell game on you. And it's designed so that you
don't know where the P's at, or whatever that is, that marble,
whatever it is, it's designed so that you don't know where
it's at. And I'm sure it's also designed probably, Jack, that
if you've seen where it was at, they're gonna have some way to
make sure it's under another one when you pick the one you
want. Oh foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you that ye should
Here's the people who are wanting to keep the law. What's wrong
with that? You're not obeying the truth.
If you try to keep the law for righteousness, for justification,
for sanctification, for glorification. You see, There comes a time in
the life of the child of God when they realize, they really
begin to realize, now we may, our mind wanders, I understand
the flesh will take us into all kinds of circumstances and areas,
but when we begin to realize, I cannot keep God's law. The spirit of God and the new
man was given to me, not so I could keep the law, but so I could
have a relationship with Jesus Christ. that I can continually
acknowledge what I am and who I am by nature and rest totally,
totally and solely upon Jesus Christ, even in our present everyday
activity, even in the life we now live. Oh foolish Galatians
who have bewitched you that ye should not obey the truth. Think
of this, every sacrifice that was offered and offered according
to the law. Now remember, sometimes the Israelites
would offer sacrifices, but they would bring the lame, or the
halt, or the disease. Well, that's not what God ordained.
But think about it, every sacrifice that was offered, whether it
be a lamb, a goat, a sheep, a bullock, a turtle dove, a pigeon, whatever
it was, every sacrifice that was offered, and offered according
to God's strict designation by the law was an act of obedience. It was an act of obedience, but
it never took away one sin. Now you think about that. So
why would I think it would help me now? Whether it be the 10
commandments or the 600 and some commandments. Oh foolish Galatians,
I know I keep reading it over and over, but this is serious
business. Remember, if righteousness come
by the law, Christ died for nothing, for nothing. The Father is horrible,
a horrible, despicable tyrant if righteousness could have come
any other way. O foolish Galatians, who hath
bewitched you that ye should not obey the truth? But then
that freight, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently
set forth and is crucified among you. So now, Paul, our brother
Paul again, rebukes the Galatians directly. He's taking his rebuke
now right back to them. He started with that in chapter
one, right? He started with that, I marvel
that you're so soon removed from him. Now he's getting back to
them. Because after all, it's not just
hearing sweet little stories that turns us around, but it's
being told our actual fault. Being told our actual fault. As Earl said, you don't slip
the truth in the back door. Now Paul again rebukes the Galatians
directly. The remainder of the letter,
that Paul wrote to the churches of Galatia, and of course, which
is profitable for us as well. Never let us think we're above
such a thing. Never let us think. Every man
that thinks he standeth, take he lest he fall. So again, the
remainder of the letter is filled with proof after proof after
proof after proof of the efficacy of God's grace in Christ. Before
we move on, let's consider a phrase that Paul uses here. Before whose
eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you. We don't generally think of the
preaching of Jesus Christ in those terms, do we? But this
is the way the Spirit of God moved him to say it. and to say
it directly to the Galatians in rebuke for their foolishness,
before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth
crucified among you. How was this so? How did this
happen? How was it that before whose
eyes, evidently, Jesus Christ had been set forth? Now, that
phrase in itself lets me know that Paul's not talking about
they took some pilgrimage to Jerusalem when they heard this
man called Jesus, who claimed to be the Christ, was going to
be crucified, and all of these people of Galatia says, let's
go watch this. They weren't there literally.
You see, he's using a figure of speech, but when he uses the
phrase or the words, set forth. This lets us know Paul's talking
about the proclamation of the preaching, the preaching, the
declaring of the crucifixion, the cross work of Jesus Christ. That's what he's talking about. That's how this was so. They
weren't present at Calvary, not in any way, shape, or form. These
were, at that time, nothing but pure heathen. Never had even
heard any gospel. Worshiping who knows what. That's how it's so. How it's
so is they heard the preaching of the gospel. They heard the
truth preached, declared about who Jesus Christ is and what
he accomplished when he died on that tree. That's what they
had heard. That's how it was so. They'd
heard the gospel preached by the power of the Spirit of God.
God sent someone. He sent someone. to them with
this message endued by the power of the Spirit of God. And all
that means doesn't mean they're really eloquent. Doesn't mean
they have all their points all right in a row like they're supposed
to be. It means they told the truth about Jesus Christ and
His cross works. That's what it means. It's not
how eloquent you are, how you got all your points in a row
and how everything sounds so logical when people listen to
you, it's just telling the truth about what Jesus Christ accomplished
when he died on that tree. It's not just the fact that he
died, but what he did when he died. Paul said the gospel's
this, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scripture.
You see that? No, they'd heard the gospel preached
by the power of the Spirit of God, but it's much more than
that. In our unregenerate state, we
could hear the gospel preached by the power of the Spirit of
God, and we remain oblivious to it. Oh, we may be emotionally
moved for a little while, and we may make a decision for Jesus,
we may decide that's what I need, that would be good for me. but
not to have him evidently set forth crucified among us. Do you see that? Among us. That's how it's said. They had
heard it in the power of the spirit of God. It's already been
quoted. If our gospel be hid, it is hid
to them that are lost. And the if is not in the sense
it might be, it might not be. It's in the sense of since it
is. If our gospel be hid, it's hid
to them that are lost, whom the God of this world has blinded
the minds of them which believe not. That was each and every
one of us at one time. Amen, that's right. And even hearing the preaching
of the gospel and preach by the power of the Spirit of God. That
messenger, that man sent from God is preaching through the
power of the Spirit of God. He's telling the truth. It will
mean nothing unless God does something for us first. First. The seed must fall on good ground. The seed don't make good ground. The ground is what it is. and
the seed must fall on good ground. And I said, it must. Some have
accused us here, said, well, you don't need the preaching
of the gospel. That's hogwash. We never preach that. We never
preach that. But it's them trying to defend
their own pet doctrine. their own pet doctrine. But again,
they had heard the gospel preached by the power of the Spirit of
God, and in the power of the Spirit of God, remember what
Paul told the Thessalonians, and you can turn if you wish,
1 Thessalonians chapter one. This is when, let me turn to
1 Thessalonians chapter one. And remember what Paul wrote
to the Galatians now. O foolish Galatians, who hath
bewitched you? Paul said, this is astounding
to me. And you look like foolish people. Foolish people. Somebody's bewitched you. They
put a, and this is not literally, it is metaphoric, they put a
spell on you. They put the hoodoo on you. Oh
foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you? And let me tell you, some
of these people, when they speak, it's like, wow, that makes sense.
You ever heard of it? But it's not a matter of making
sense. Is it the truth? It's not about whether it makes
sense. Is it the truth? Is it the truth? Who hath bewitched
you that ye should not obey the truth? And here's why you look
so foolish. Before whose eyes Jesus Christ
hath been evidently set forth, not just crucified, but crucified
among you. As though it was right in your
presence. As though it was real to you.
You were there. It's like you were there. You
get what Paul's saying here? First Thessalonians, he's kinda
saying the same thing, and you're familiar with this, I know. First
Thessalonians one, I'll begin kinda in the middle, but verse
four, knowing, brethren, beloved, your election of God. Well, that
took place before the world began. So how can you know that? There
is a way to know it. For our gospel came not to you
in word only, Now, Paul's not saying there was no spirit in
it if it's just word only, because that's all I'm doing, is word
only. I'm not coaxing up something
special. I'm not working on you, okay? I can do nothing to you, I'm
just speaking words to you. That's all I'm doing. For our
gospel came not to you in word only, but it must come in word,
in some form or fashion. some form or fashion, in word
only, but also in power and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance,
not assurance about yourself, but assurance about the word
you're hearing. You see, it's not up to us to
prove to men this is the inspired word of God. God has to do that. I like a lot of the arguments
about how this proves that in the scripture. I like that, I'm
intrigued by that. I could read and read on that
jack all day long. I could read about the Dead Sea
Scrolls and how it proved that the language that this book was
written in was the common language of the common Greek in the day
of Christ and the apostles. And I like to read and study
about how the universe, certain things in the universe prove
the existence of God. But that is only prove in words,
because there is no empirical proof. Even this book is not
empirical proof. It's just a book written by men,
moved by the spirit of God. And it takes the work of God
to convince a man or a woman, a boy or a girl, old, young,
black or white, that this is the word of God. But Paul's saying
the same thing to these Thessalonians as he was saying to the churches
of Galatia. For our gospel came not unto
you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Ghost,
and in much assurance, as ye know what manner of men we were
among you for your sake. Now notice, Paul's saying my
conduct wasn't to gain something from God. but was for your benefit. You see that? Our testimony,
our witness does matter. How we walk and live in this
world does matter. Ask Lot's sons-in-law. Ask Lot's sons-in-law. They thought
he was one that mocked. But look, let me just go on,
I'll drop that and just go on. It does matter, but as Tim James
said, now I won't go on, let me stop. As Tim James said, how
we live in this world does matter, but it don't count before God. Yeah, that's it, it does matter.
It matters a lot, but it don't count before God. For our gospel
came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the
Holy Ghost, and in much assurance, as you know what manner of men
we were among you for your sake, and ye became followers of us.
It got a hold of you. You see it, it got a hold of
you. And it leaked out on you. You could read the rest of it
there sometime. It leaked, as Earl used to say,
it leaks out on you. Now know, if somebody, anybody,
if anybody follows me every day of my life, There gonna be a
lot else leak out on me too. They gonna know what I truly
am in the flesh. But just maybe, if I tell the
truth, they're gonna know what we are in spirit as well. Aren't
you glad people are not following you around all the time watching
you? Aren't you glad they don't see
your dreams? Huh? Old foolish Galatians, who hath
bewitched you? Put the hoax on you. that ye
should not obey the truth before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath
been set forth, evidently set forth, crucified among you. And
we'll get to that word, not as a point, but evidently here in
just a moment. That was that. But think about
to the Corinthians. Look at 2 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians chapter 10. 2 Corinthians chapter 10, just
two verses. Verse four and five. For the weapons of our warfare
are not carnal, In any way. It's not about logically, and
I'm not saying our preaching shouldn't be logical and reasonable,
okay? But it still has to be the truth.
It has to be the truth. For the weapons of our warfare
are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. This is not an offer. What God's
doing through the preaching of the gospel is not him offering
us anything. It's God doing something to some
people. As a matter of fact, he does
something to everyone who hears it. If they reject it, he'll
do something to them. If they receive it, it's because
he has done something to them. For the weapons of our warfare
are not carnal, but mighty through God, to the pulling down of strongholds,
casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth
itself against, and here's the knowledge of God. If God shows
you everything about yourself, and he still shows you nothing
about himself, you know nothing, because you are nothing. You
see what I'm saying? Huh? Against the knowledge of
God and bringing into captivity every thought to the, there it
is, to the obedience of Christ. You see that? Now to me, this
is so clear, yet my flesh muddles it up. Think about those who
don't have the spirit of God. Think about you when you first
begin to hear the truth. Joe, I've not forgot it, but
it's not as real today as it used to be back there closer
to it. You know what I'm saying? That's why God often reminds
us. He just moves his restraint for
a moment to let us see, remind us what the flesh still is. It hadn't improved at all. As a matter of fact, it hadn't
gotten worse. We just sometimes are allowed to see more of it.
Back in our unregenerate state, we could either accuse it or
excuse it. We had a way of working things out. When somebody tells you, somebody
calls you foolish, what's the first thing you do? I don't care
if you're the meekest person, the most humble person that walks
the face of the earth, it don't feel good to be told you're foolish. But we are. if we try to build
again the things which we've destroyed. And remember, we don't
just believe in Christ. We believe in Christ and reject,
and reject law righteousness. We do both. If you wanna use
the word do, we do both. A lot of people trust in Jesus,
but still want law righteousness as something, either to get to
heaven or to have rewards, something, to be a better person, something. But God's people receive Christ
fully and only and they reject law works. They reject it. Listen to me now. True gospel
preaching and a true reception of the gospel is intensely personal. It's personal. If it's never been personal,
he's never been, Christ has never been set forth before your eyes,
crucified among you. It's got to be personal. If I or you made a decision,
and we're still hanging with that decision, and on that decision,
because mommy or daddy did, or brother or sister did, or somebody
we cared about did, he wasn't crucified among me. You see what
I'm saying? It's personal. It's personal. It is real on a heart and mind
level. I mean, granted, men and some
men and women can look at this as the truth. They can look at
the truth, they look at it, they see it academically. It's just
a matter of that sounds logical, that sounds reasonable to me.
Now, not everyone is designed that way, built that way. Not
everyone's flesh works that way, but some people's do. They can
put this down in point one and point two, and they can take
T-U-L-I-P, the five points of Calvinism, and lay them all out
and say, that makes sense. But we're not talking about coming
to understand some doctrines, we're talking about Jesus Christ
being crucified among you. Crucified among you. It's far
more than info received and mentally processed. You hear what I'm
saying? It's far more than info. I'm
afraid this happens. It happens even in gospel assemblies. Our young ones, our little ones,
and they grow up and they've heard it all their life. And
they receive, they hear the info, I'm sorry, they hear the info,
they mentally process it, and they say, I believe that. And
they come and tell somebody like me, well, I believe that, and
I'm a sinner. And I'm corrupt, well they've heard that all their
life. I put them in the water. To me and them, they're both
fixed up. They're both of us. But if Christ hadn't been crucified
among them, it means nothing. As a matter of fact, it may be,
it's just more baggage they gotta deal with if God does something
for them. More baggage to deal with. You
see, again, I say it's intensely personal. It is a real, it's
right on the heart and the mind level. It's not just info received
and mentally processed. Look at Hebrews chapter four,
you know this. Hebrews four, verse 12. For the
word of God is quick. That means quickening, it's alive.
I fell into that trap of one time saying God gives life, but
there's no, or maybe I didn't say it, Mack, but I was thinking,
the spirit of God gives life, but this book don't. Yes, it
does, too. Yes, it does. The seed has to
fall in good ground, or the good ground ain't worth squat. You
hear what the book says? The good seed's got to fall in
good ground or there just is nothing. A good heart means nothing
till God puts the seed in. And when God puts the seed, the
good seed in the good heart, what happens? Sprout comes up. Now the fruit
may vary in quantity and all that, but it's still fruit from
the seed in the good ground. Both are absolutely essential. For the word of God is quick
and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. But now
it kind of explains, that's a metaphor, right? We're not trying to physically
coerce men and women into decisions for Jesus. It's a metaphor. But look, piercing, even dividing,
asunder of the soul and spirit. Something happens down in here.
Do you see it? dividing asunder of the soul
and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner
of the thoughts and intents of the heart. When Christ crucified
is set forth in your presence, and that's a metaphor, I'm talking
like Paul, in your presence, it will begin to expose you for
what you really are. your wrong thoughts, as well
as your wrong deeds. Not everybody is just, not everybody's
an immoral piece of trash. Now some of us were immoral pieces
of trash, but not everybody was. But we're all unrighteous, ungodly
people in God's sight. and our morality doesn't give
us any credit before God. As a matter of fact, it is mensis
claus in God's sight. Our best deeds, our righteousnesses
are. Now we see a part of why, oh
foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you. Look at James chapter one. And I say this not necessarily
because I've heard these accusations recently. I haven't heard them
for a while, I have to say. But what was it, Paul? I think
Paul and Paula, somebody told them, or they may have heard
it secondhand. Maybe they told them directly,
but oh yeah, Sovereign Grace Chapel, oh yeah, they're a bunch
of hard shales. You know? Well, what's that mean? It means
that you're elect, you go to heaven when you die. You know? I ain't heard that in a long
time. I'd like to stop and preach on that for a while, but my message
ain't what people say about us. That don't matter, does it? Look
at what James says. James 1, verse 18. Talking of
God, that's the nearest antecedent, the nearest thing preceding this
statement. Of his own will beget he us. How? With the word of truth. Do you see it? with the word
of truth that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. Look at it, wherefore, my beloved
brethren, let every man shut up and listen. I paraphrase that. Just shut
up. I'm not saying we ought not discuss
these things afterward and rejoice in them, but when you're hearing
God's man preach, listen and shut up. Listen. Why? Look. Look. Wherefore, my beloved brethren,
let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath,
for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
Ever heard a man preaching and all of a sudden he says something
maybe he hadn't heard before? Maybe it's something you didn't
believe before. And you heard it, but it came straight from
the word of God. And what happens? Wrath. I don't know if he said that
the right way. He'd be quoting it straight out of the book.
I ain't talking about them out there, I'm talking about us.
He'd quote it straight out of the book. What happened? Wrath. Look, for the wrath of
man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore, lay apart. He didn't say get rid of. We
can't get rid of it. but lay apart, lay it over here
to the side, put it over here. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness
and superfluity of naughtiness, look, and receive with meekness,
now look at that phrase, the engrafted word. Not just the
word that enters here, you process the info and you receive, it's
engrafted word. It's an inside personal kind
of deal, which is able, to save your souls. Well, you must believe
this. No, I believe what the book says.
Don't try to, you know, tar and feather me. Saying I'm preaching
my opinion, I'm talking about what the book says. And I don't
have to make sure all my ducks are in a row. God's got his ducks
in a row. I'm just telling you about God's
ducks. You hear me? I'm just telling you about Dodd's
Ducks. Again, true gospel preaching.
Let me just go on. The gospel received is not an
academic reception. It is being transported, transported
in heart and mind to see Christ crucified for sinners. You hear
the preaching in such a way as trying to, Don Fortin used to
say, put shoe leather on it. You hear the preaching of the
cross, now we know wow, but you hear the preaching of the cross
of Christ in such a way that it captivates your heart and
mind. He would die, he would do that
for a sinner? He would do that for a person
that is without strength? That's what the book says who
He did it for, right? That He would do it for the ungodly? And that gets a hold of you?
And it sticks both ways. Two-edged sword. Cuts going in,
going out. Cuts up, down. Whichever way
it moves, it hurts. It discerns. It exposes. It reveals. You see, it is to be captivated
by Christ and His crosswork. You see it? It's to be captivated
by Christ and His crosswork. It is to be captivated by Christ
and His crosswork on behalf of the ungodly, even if you're the
best person in town. Even if you're the best person
in town. You realize I'm ungodly and I'm
better than everybody else, but I'm still ungodly in God's sight. Huh? Not everybody was as foolish
in their unregenerate state as some of us were. And I know I've
said that already, but I want to keep reminding me and you
all of that. I mean, I've heard, I've had believers say about
other believers, well you know they had to have done this if
that was the circumstances. Don't put all your baggage on
everybody else. Quit thinking everybody else
is as bad as you. They're just not good enough
for God. There's a lot of people in this world that are a whole
lot better moral, decent person than I am. But good people is not the kind
of people God saves. He saves sinners. Ungodly. Strengthless. See, true gospel
reception is to see and feel the corruption of my own, my
whole being. That was, I was a good little
preacher boy when God saved me. I had gotten rid of most of the
things people said y'all to get rid of. I mean, and Joe, it's
just like Paul said, we'll talk about the flesh, I'll talk about,
I got rid of my TV, I got rid of my playing cards, I got rid
of my dice, I didn't smoke, I didn't drink alcohol, I didn't take
drugs. I was the epitome of a good religious Christian person. And when God began to show me
what I was really down in here, and that even that goodness,
that's the whole thing. Yes, I had an immoral past, Yes,
I had an immoral past, but then I had a self-righteous present.
And I realized it was just as bad, if not more deceiving, than
the immoral past. I mean, that drunk under the
bridge, you don't have to convince him as a sinner. He knows he
is. Or she knows she is. They might not can do anything
about it, but they know they're not a good person. Most of them. I mean, you might find a few
nowadays. You understand when this becomes real, God begins
to show you that even your best deeds are evil in God's sight. That's an awakening. Did you
know that? That's an awakening. Again, I
say true gospel reception is to see and feel the corruption
of my whole being and find myself hoping in God's Christ, crucified
in the place of the ungodly. I find myself daring to believe
that's true about him. The first time I ever began to
hear it, I said to myself, that can't be true. That can't be
true. But God didn't, now I'm not saying
he has to do it this way for you, but God didn't convince
me that that was true first, he began to show me how bad I
was in my best deeds. That's what he did for me. Now
he may show you Christ first and what the hell he went through,
if you pardon my language, the hell he went through, and then
you begin to see, well, he did that for somebody like me. Again, true gospel reception
is to see and feel the corruption of my whole being and finding
myself hoping in God's Christ. It is seeing Christ crucified,
not in some vision, but in the message of the book. Turn to
Acts 16. And this is, of course, familiar
too. I'm talking about the passage itself is familiar. Acts chapter
16. Let's begin for the context,
verse 14. Well, no, let's go, just for
the context, let's look at 13, I'm sorry. And on the Sabbath
day, we went out of the city by the riverside, where prayer
was wont to be made. Well, that must have been a bunch
of saved people, right? I know they evidently wasn't
bewildered. Whom God saved after they got there. Now, saved in
the sense of converted, but look at what it says. And on the Sabbath,
we went out of the city by a riverside where prayer was wont to be made,
and we sat down and spake unto the women which resorted thither.
They didn't have to get up behind the podium. They just sat down
with them. They were praying and started
talking to them. You see that? Now look, and a certain woman
named Lydia, a seller of purple of the city of Thyatira. Why
she was all the way there, I don't know. Maybe she was selling her
goods. Maybe she's on a business trip. Clearly she was religious
and she was one, as we will see, which worshiped God. But that
in itself ain't enough if you don't know Jesus Christ. Do you
hear me? Look at it. A certain woman named
Lydia, a seller of purple of the city of Thyatira, which worshiped
God, heard us, whose heart the Lord Let me see that. But it's like, oh, well, I understand
it all now. I get the five points now. I
remember going from a four-pointer to a five-pointer. I do. I specifically remember going
from a four-pointer, a four-point calvinist to a five-point calvinist.
But that didn't save my soul. Look, whose heart the Lord opened,
that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. She
listened to God's man. She heard it. But look, and when
she was baptized, pardon me, and when she was baptized, and
her household, she besought us, saying, if ye have judged me
to be faithful to the Lord. Well, she ain't even been in
the way but a few minutes. Huh? I mean, just got her wet. She
probably hadn't even dried off good yet. But she believed this. She believed this. Even though
it'd been for just a moment, Jesus Christ had been evidently
set forth, crucified right in her presence. Right in her presence. When she was baptized in her
household, she besought us, and notice she besought. She didn't
say, well, it'd be nice if, no. She begged them. begged and besought
us saying, if you've judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come
into my house and abide there. And she constrained us. She's heard something now that
the business trip's over. It's time for a fellowship meeting.
Right? We need to talk about this some
more. That's what mattered now. And
that's what happens when Christ is crucified among you. among you, and she constrained
us. How could someone with such a
profound work being wrought on them and in them, how could they
ever go astray? Two reasons. One, our texts.
Three, one, they're bewitched, tricked. And don't ever let us
think that we're powerful enough spiritually to overcome false
teachers on our own. I can't do it, gotta have Christ.
Gotta have Christ. Or it could be, as Paul said,
I'm afraid of you. That's in chapter four, verses
eight through 11. I'll paraphrase and get to the brief of it. I'm
afraid of you, lest I bestowed labor upon you in vain. It wasn't
real. That's why it says evidently.
You see it? Evidently crucified among you. This sounds like serious business,
don't it? Yes, sir. You ever wonder, well, is it
real in me? The only answer I give you, do
you believe Christ? Amen. But I fail so much. Do you believe Christ? Amen. Well, I'm doing so great. Do
you believe Christ? Huh? You know, some of us, and
I want to put it this way because there's no need for me trying
to explain it all, some of us live a better Christian life
than others. Some of us are more faithful than others, but it's
not about how faithful we are, it's about him who was faithful
that died in our stead. We live even life, we now live
in this body, in this flesh, by the faith of the Son of God
who loved us and gave himself for us. It's serious business. I can just imagine when this
letter first hit the region of Galatia. I can just imagine some
ires, I-R-E, some ire begin to rise. Calling us foolish? We're good Christian folk. We're
even trying to keep the law. Now what's wrong with that? Huh? Paul wasn't rebuking them
for being immoral, he's rebuking them for being legalistic. Do
you see it? It's not they'd gone back to
drinking and smoking and courting bad girls. They were trying to
keep the law. Expecting something from God
out of it, whatever it is. Preachers can be deceiving. And
our flesh drinks up deception like a wino with a jug. Now let's
just, our flesh loves deception. It has a way of making it sound
good. Oh God, save me. Save me. I'm not, well preacher,
you've been saved for years. Yeah, but oh God, save me now. Every moment, every hour, every
day, save me from myself. Because if you let me go, I surely
will perish. Aren't you glad he doesn't let
his own go? He may let you spiral till you
feel like you've hit rock bottom, but he ain't let you go. Can
you imagine how Peter felt when he says he cursed and swore that
he didn't know the man? Cursed and swore. Cursed and swore! I don't know
the so-and-so, we might say. Can you imagine how he felt? But what was one of the first
things that our Lord Jesus Christ said when he was raised from
the dead and met that one group? Go tell Peter. I'm here. I'm not in the grave. Well, that's how Christ had ordained
it. Satan's desire to sift his wheat.
But I prayed for you. Now bless God if his prayer for
me is that efficient. How much do you think his death
for me was? Chew on that one for a while. Brothers and sisters,
I said it a couple Sundays ago, let us lean hard and always on
Jesus Christ. Let the cross, but God forbid
that I should glory except one thing, save in the cross. of the Lord Jesus Christ. Why?
Because everything else is based upon that. His keeping me, his
sustaining me, his bringing me to repentance when I fall flat
on my face. Jack, it's all based on that
cross work. If all it took was for God to
bring me to repentance and ask him to forgive me of my sins,
Christ died for nothing. Nothing. But he had to die even
for my good deeds. as well as my bad ones. Heavenly
Father, oh God, remind us. You've taught us these things,
but remind us of them constantly. We need that. We're so forgetful
and so prone to be bewitched even by our own thoughts. Thank
you for your mercy and grace in Christ, in his name, amen.