Sin. Do you commit sin? Easy question to answer. If anybody says no, you're a liar. Yes, you commit sin. I commit sin. Now look what he says. Whosoever committeth sin is the slave of sin. That's the Lord's words. And the slave abideth not in the house forever. He's turned outside. He's not a child, but the son abides forever. He stays in the house. If you're in him, guess what? You don't commit sin.

Let me show you that from the scripture. First John chapter three. Hold your finger there in John chapter eight. First John chapter three. Verse four, whosoever committed sin, same word, whosoever committed sin transgresses also the law, for the sin is the transgression of the law. And you know that he was manifested to take away our sins. In him is no sin, whosoever abideth in him, what? Sin is not. If I'm a believer, if I'm in Christ, I'm somebody who sinneth not. That's how real this union with the Lord Jesus Christ is. He didn't sin. He sinneth not. This describes every believer.

Back to John chapter eight. And the servant abideth not in the house forever, but the son. Capital S. He abides forever, and those who abide in Him abide forever. Those who remain in Him, now this thing of abiding in Christ, there's a lot in this, about this in the Bible. If I abide in Christ, that means I'm in Him, I don't wanna be anywhere else. I stay there. I don't want to be viewed outside of Him on any level to any degree. I simply want to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, If the son, verse 36, if the son, same one, therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed in reality. Now just talk. If the Son shall make you free. Now, here's the point. It's the Son who makes you free. If you're free, the Son made you free by what He did. Listen to this scripture. There is therefore now, right now, no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. The Lord said in John 19, verse 30, it's finished. What's finished? Your salvation, your freedom. It's finished. You are complete, Colossians 2.10. You are complete in Christ. You've been set free. Nothing to pay. Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and be not entangled again in the yoke of bondage.

The bondage, here's bondage, is salvation, is my salvation, my standing before God, my experience of God. I don't know what I mean when I say that, but I think it's appropriate, my experience of God. If it's dependent upon anything I must first do before he does something for me, that's nothing but bondage. You know, I read this this week and I kind of chuckled at it. A guy was talking about the difference between justification and sanctification. I'm gonna use some big words here. He says that justification is monogeristic. Sanctification is synergistic. Monogeristic, you're justified because of what God does for you. But sanctification, there's cooperation involved. God does his part in response to you doing your part. You can become progressively more sanctified by you doing your part.

Bondage. If any aspect of my salvation is dependent upon me doing my part, I have no hope. That's how serious this is. Justification is Christ doing it all. Sanctification is Christ doing it all. And I only want to be found in him. You stand fast in the liberty where with Christ has made you free and don't be entangled in that yoke of bondage, salvation being dependent upon something you do. Now, you've been liberated. You're free. Accepted in the beloved. You can't get any more saved. You can't get any more accepted. You can't get any more loved. You can't get any more justified. You can't get any more sanctified than you are.

Now, In my experience of that, if I try to put some entanglement of the law, all it does is bring me into bondage. Now, every one of us are so easily led into bondage because of the self-righteousness that's in us.

You know, I was thinking about myself last night. I was just meditating on what I wanted to preach. I was thinking about myself. I thought, you know, I'm a strange, contradictory mixture of self-righteousness and sinfulness. Both of those are mine. You'd think if you were self-righteous, you wouldn't see you're so sinful. No, I see I'm sinful. Well, you'd think if you see you're so sinful, you wouldn't be self-righteous. No, I'm self-righteous. It's contradictory, isn't it? It's what I am.

and I could so easily and you can so easily be entangled in this yoke of bondage.

Now turn back to our text, Galatians chapter five. Here's the command, I love this command. Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free. This was not a, what was the word, synergistic effort. I became free when I let him make me free or I had something to do with this. No. made me free. When he said it is finished, I was freed. Outside of my personal subjective experience, I was freed in Christ Jesus.

Now look what Paul says in verse two, behold I Paul. Paul's the man that God used more than any other man to expand the gospel. He's the one who was taken up into the third heavens. And Christ taught him the gospel directly. And I love that passage of scripture where he says, I knew a man in Christ Jesus. He wouldn't even use his own name. He knew the only reason he was brought into third heavens was because he was in Christ. No other reason. Behold, I, Paul, saying to you that if you be circumcised, Christ shall profit you what? Nothing.

Now let me say some things about circumcision. Circumcision is, while it's, if you were called upon to be physically circumcised, it'd be hard. But you know, it's easier to be circumcised than it is to not tell why. It's easier to be circumcised than it is to not have a lustful thought. It's easier to be circumcised than it is not to be proud. The point is, Circumcision represents, if you, anything other than Christ. It's not just the physical act, it's anything other than Christ.

Remember Acts chapter 15, this whole book is pretty much developed around what took place in Acts chapter 15, if you turn there for a moment. Verse one, and certain men which came down from Judea, that's the church of Jerusalem, That's the mother church. James, the Lord's brother, was pastor. But certain came down from that church and taught the brethren and said, except you be circumcised after the manner of Moses, you cannot be saved. Yes, salvation by grace, yes, salvation through Christ, but you need to be circumcised as well.

When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with him, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain other of them should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenicia and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles, and they caused great joy unto all the brethren. And when they were come to Jerusalem, there were they received at the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all the things that God had done with them.

But here's why we're here. Here's what took place. There rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees, which believed. Now that's an interesting way to put things, isn't it? He didn't say the rose up believers. He said, there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees, which believed.

Saying that it was needful, necessary. to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses. Yes, you're saved by faith, but you also need, fill in the blank. That's a denial that Christ is all. You know, when somebody says, all I need is Christ, that's relatively true, but it's sort of not true because you're actually saying, I might have some other things other than him. He's all I need. But in reality, Christ is all you have. He's it. But they were saying something else can be okay.

Back to our text. Here's what Paul says. Behold, I, Paul, say unto you that if you be circumcised, if anything is added to Christ, Christ shall profit you what? Nothing. That's powerful language. Christ shall profit you if you have anything in addition to him right now while I'm talking to you if I have anything in addition to him that I'm hanging my hopes in Christ shall profit you nothing.

Verse three for I testify again unto every man that circumcised that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Now, if you're going to go that route of Christ and here's what you need. Perfect nonstop obedience to God's holy law in your own person. You can never put anything before God. If you have any false concepts of God that you've made and concocted to make you feel better about yourself and make you feel okay. If you've brought God down to a level that you can please him. If you ever take his name in vain, have the improper reverence of his name. If you don't remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. If you don't honor your mother and father and honor all authority that God has put in place. If you ever kill somebody or get mad at them without a cause or become envious or jealous of them, if you ever commit adultery, not just physically, but in the mind, if you ever tell a lie, if you ever steal, take something that doesn't belong to you, take credit where credit was not due in and of yourself, if you ever covet, it's over for you. You have to keep all of God's law perfectly if you're going to have works count in any way in your salvation.

Verse four, Christ is become of no effect unto you. Whosoever of you are justified by the law, you are fallen from grace. Now, you're either justified by Christ completely or When He said it is finished, your justification was finished. He was delivered for our offenses, raised again for our justification. When were you justified? Well, I was justified eternally in the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Do you believe in eternal justification? Of course I do. Of course I do. I was justified when Christ died. That's why His body Never went through the process of decay. He completely satisfied God for me. And I'm just before God. I'm justified believing. I don't have, it's not my faith that's the cause of justification, but I don't have any right to even suspect that I'm justified if I don't believe the gospel.

You're either justified by Christ or by what you do. There's no in between. And if I, leave that I fall from grace." Now let me show you what this means. Would you turn with me to Hebrews chapter 10. Any removal from this being justified completely by Christ is falling from grace.

Verse 26 of Hebrews chapter 10. Now this verse for me as a young believer scared me more than any other verse. I would read this and it would just tear me up. For if we sin willfully, when do you not sin willfully? Ever sin, I commit, it's not like it was an accident. It's not like, whoops, didn't mean that. Every sin I commit is willful sin. And I, all the ramifications of that, but what does the writer mean?

If we sin willfully, after that, we've received the knowledge of the truth. And he had so gloriously describe what the knowledge of the truth is in this same chapter. Look in verse 11, every high priest standeth daily ministering and oftentimes the same sacrifices which can never take away sins but this man after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever sat down on the right hand of God from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool for by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified, whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us." This is what he bears witness to. What he did is everything. He perfected forever them that are sanctified.

Now, if you receive the knowledge of this truth and willfully go back to salvation by works, it's over. That's what he means. Let's go on reading.

26, for if we sin willfully, after that we've received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses. Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy who hath trodden underfoot the Son of God?

And if I leave Christ alone and go back to works, you know what I'm doing? I'm trodding underfoot as a thing of no value and useless. The Son of God hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified. An unholy thing, that word unholy is common. That's the Greek word, common, that which is general to all, as opposed to that which is peculiar to the few. You're taking away the only hope you have, that Christ's death is everything in salvation. And I've done despite unto the spirit of grace.

Turn with me to second Peter chapter two, verse 20. For if, after they've escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and they are again entangled therein and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning, for it is better for them to have not known the way of righteousness, Christ, than after they've known it to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.

But it's happening to them according to the true proverb, the dog has turned to its own vomit again, the pig that was washed were wallowing in the mire. That's leaving the only hope of salvation.

Now, somebody says, what is the unpardonable sin? The unpardonable sin is this. It's saying, turning your back on Christ being all in salvation. It's looking to yourself for something.

Back to our text, finish it real. Christ has become, verse four, of no effect unto you. Whosoever of you are justified by the law, by anything you do, you're fallen from grace. You know that, well he really fell into sin, he's fallen from grace, no he hadn't, you haven't. If you say something like that, now I want I'm not in any way saying, well, it's okay to sin. Salvation is by grace. Of course, I'm not saying that. But if you think somebody's fallen from grace because of some kind of fall, you don't even know what grace means, if you really believe that.

He says, you've fallen from grace, but for we through the Spirit, through God, the Holy Spirit, we're waiting for the hope of righteousness by faith. Now, hope is something you can't see. We're waiting for this hope of righteousness by faith. I can't see this perfect righteousness that I have, but by faith, that's the evidence I have. Faith is the evidence of things not seen.

For in Jesus Christ, verse six, for in Jesus Christ, and that's where all God's salvation is, in Jesus Christ, neither circumcision avails anything, nor uncircumcision. I love the way he added that. Somebody says, well, I understand that My circumcision won't save me. Well, it doesn't avail anything with God either. I've got my doctrine right. It doesn't avail anything with God. Not anything.

For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision avails anything nor uncircumcision, but faith which worketh by love. I love what the Lord said to the Syro-Phoenician woman, O woman, great is thy faith. Be it unto thee even as thou wilt. That's what avails with God. Why? Because it looks to Christ only. That's why. And this faith works. Real faith works. How does it work? By love.

love to his person. Not hope for reward, not fear of punishment. That's mercenary. Faith which worketh by love. May the Lord work in us this faith which worketh by love. May we all stand fast in that liberty wherewith Christ has made us free.