What Really Happened At Calvary

Q: What does the Bible say about justification?

The Bible teaches that justification is by faith, not by the works of the law (Galatians 3:11). Justification is a central doctrine in Scripture, affirming that a sinner is declared righteous before God not by their own deeds, but solely by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Galatians 3:11 states, 'But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.' This emphasizes that reliance on the law or personal works leads to condemnation, while faith in Christ alone results in acquittal from guilt and acceptance before God. It is a divine act where God counts the righteousness of Christ to the believer, setting their status as justified, righteous, and free from the curse of the law.

Q: Why is understanding the curse of the law important for Christians?

Understanding the curse of the law highlights our need for Christ's redemptive work (Galatians 3:10). The curse of the law, as outlined in Galatians 3:10, reveals the severity of God's standard for righteousness. Scripture states, 'Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.' This underscores the impossibility of earning salvation through our own efforts, as every individual has fallen short of perfect obedience. Recognizing this curse is crucial for Christians, as it leads them to appreciate the necessity of Christ's sacrificial death. Jesus became a curse for us, fulfilling the law's demands and providing a means of reconciliation with God. In essence, understanding the curse helps believers grasp the depth of God's grace in redeeming them through Christ's atonement.

Q: How did Christ redeem us from the curse of the law?

Christ redeemed us by becoming a curse for us through His crucifixion (Galatians 3:13). Galatians 3:13 affirms, 'Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree.' This passage explains that Jesus willingly took upon Himself the penalty due for our sins, becoming sin in our place so that we could be made righteous. Through His death, He fulfilled the demands of the law, which could not justify us due to our inherent sinfulness. By exchanging our curse for His righteousness, Christ effectively liberated us from the eternal consequences of the law's judgment. This act of divine redemption showcases God's love and justice in addressing sin while offering grace and hope to all who believe.

Q: What does it mean to live by faith according to the Bible?

Living by faith means trusting in God's promises and resting in Christ's righteousness (Galatians 3:11). Living by faith, as articulated in Galatians 3:11, implies a continual reliance on God's grace and the righteousness of Christ rather than one's own efforts to fulfill the law. This lifestyle reflects a heart transformed by the gospel, where believers acknowledge their inability to attain salvation through works and instead trust fully in Christ for their righteousness. The just live by faith, finding assurance in God's promises and the completed work of Christ on the cross. This faith is not merely intellectual assent but involves deep-rooted conviction that shapes one's entire way of life, leading to obedience as an outflow of gratitude for God's mercy and grace.

I've entitled this message, What
Really Happened at Calvary? What really happened? You know, if anyone's interested, and hearing what God has to say
about acceptance with Him. I've got a message from the Lord
for you. If anybody's really interested. I'm interested. I think I am.
I truly do. I think I am. I think the Lord's given me an
interest in His Son. I know, Paul says, whom I have
believed. I am persuaded. He is able to
keep that which I have committed unto Him, my very soul, my eternal
soul, against that day. This message, I'm going to deal
with Galatians 3, verses 10 to 13. And we're going to hear some
things this morning that we've heard and heard and heard. I'm going to preach, by the grace
of God, the same thing that we've heard for years and years and
years. Aren't you glad? You don't want to hear some new
thing. No, you tell me. Tell me what the Scriptures have
set forth clearly. But by the grace of God, it will
be new every day, brand new. It's a brand new old message. Let's ask right now that God
put away all preconceived ideas all of our opinions. And let's
just do something this morning. Let's just sit down for just
a second together. Let's just look at what the Word
of God has to say. And ask, ask. Ask right now for
yourself. I pray for myself right now.
Lord, I ask You, would You teach me what you have to say about salvation. Lord, would You teach me how
God Almighty is just, can be just in dealing with sin, and
can justify a sinner? Now see, the thing I know is
that Almighty God is not going to sweep, as I've said before, sin
under the rug. It's just not going to happen. I know this. This is going to
have to be all out in the open. Everything is open before Him who sees, knows all things. We're not fooling anybody. He
knows every one of us. He knows what we're thinking.
He knows what's going on. We're not sitting here kind of
crouched down, you know, and hiding from God. He knows. So let's just be honest about
it. Let's just be by the grace of
God. Let's just pray that God teach
us today. I pray that we might be able
to leave today and say, you know what? It's good to have been
in the house of the Lord. We heard from God. If He blesses us by His Spirit,
we will. I don't have any ability to speak to the heart. Only God can speak to the heart. Verse 10, Galatians 3, For as
many as are of the works of the law are under the curse. For it is written, Cursed is
every one that continueth not in all things that are written
in the book of the law to do them." What I would like to do today
is as we're looking at these words, and a lot of times, you
know, you lose the real meaning if you just don't understand
what the word meant. If you don't understand what
is actually said, then the heart of it, the message of it, you
just didn't get it. It's like someone speaking in
a foreign language. They can use a word. You heard
the Word, but if you didn't understand it, you just, I don't get it. May the Lord be
pleased to teach us. Now listen. Here's what the Scripture
says. For as many as are of the action,
the principle, the standard, the works, the deeds, the doings,
the motions, something that I can do. As many as are of the works
of the law are under The curse of it. The curse of it. Now, there's
a word that we use and we think, under the curse. And you know,
somehow in our little mind, we just don't understand what it
means. The curse. You say, well, that
sounds bad. Yeah. Yeah, it does. But how
bad is it? to detest utterly, to pronounce
evil, to pronounce detestable, utterly accursed, evil, evil,
evil. As many as are of the and the
doings and the actions. What does it mean? What does
it mean when it says, for as many as are of the works of the
law? What does that mean? Well, looky
here. Romans 10.5. Now, this is what it means. For
as many as are of the works of the law. What does that mean
if you're under the works of the law to die in that state? What does that mean? Romans 10,
5. For Moses describeth the righteousness
which is of the law. Now, Moses describes what it
is to be right before God according to the works of the law, that
the man which doeth those things shall live by them." This is what it means
for as many as are of the principles, the actions, the works of the
law. Those that do them, and listen now, listen. When we start talking about doing
them, I'm talking about in absolute holiness. To live according to
the works of the law means absolute holiness, in obedience, no deviation. Not ever deviating one time in
your thought. Not ever deviating one time in
your deeds. I'm talking about absolute perfection. And to offend in one point ever or ever before. If it ever happened before now, it's over. It's over. If that is the standard of your
righteousness, those As many as are of the works of the law
are under the pronouncement of evil. The law, the works of the law. Just coming right down to brass
tacks means this. You're trusting in your own ability,
in your own will, in your own decision, in your own works for
acceptance before God. I made a decision, the man says,
to follow Christ. I made a decision to obey the
law and to follow after the Lord. Cursed. But I'm telling you, I have been
sincere. Evil! Evil! Not enough. Not enough. But I read my Bible
and I tithe and I'm telling you I'm faithful and I'm here. I'm
here often and I demand more. I demand more perfection, perfection,
evil, lawlessness, evil, evil. But I've done everything that
my religion told me I was supposed to do. Evil, evil, evil, evil. I've done the best I can do.
Evil! As many as are of the works of
the law. You remember this. The law requires
perfect obedience and it provides no provision whatsoever to repair
or to prevent. It just, this is the standard.
This is the law. This is God's Word. This is God's
law. Paul says, do you hear what the
law says? If obedience could be perfect
and it cannot, from the moment you made that decision, this
is the thing that gets me. See, I didn't know this. I mean,
I grew up in false religion. Those of you that didn't, many
of you never heard. I'm telling you, man, I've heard
some junk. I'm telling you. I mean, I just
I grew up thinking that by me walking down the aisle and giving
my heart to Jesus and after and praying through and I'd have
to come back later and rededicate, you know, because I come back
on rededication. And and I'm telling you, you
know, I realized, you know, that I would just be so, you know,
I did. That wasn't enough, you know, and I just but I was I
was saved in my mind, in my mind. I wasn't, in my mind, you know.
But do you know nobody ever told me, nobody ever told me in false
religion the demand for perfection. Nobody says, now listen, if you
believe God, if you've given Him your heart, now this is good. This is good. Nobody ever told
me this. This is good if you've never
sinned before, now, or ever from now on. As long as you've never
sinned at all before God, then this will work. Nobody ever told
me that. All they told me was that if
I'd give my heart to Jesus and confess that I was a sinner and
pray the sinner's prayer and be baptized, then I would be
saved. Once saved, I'm always saved.
That's all they told me. And I'll guarantee you, buddy,
let me tell you something. I deviated. But once saved, always
saved. I had a false confidence. I had
a false hope. Nobody ever told me about the
perfection of God's law. Nobody ever told me about the
demands of God's law. Nobody ever told me by the works
of my self-righteousness, my free will, that nobody... No,
they lied to me. They lied to me. Thinking that you're converted
because you have trusted in Christ is to trust in your faith, and
that's worse. If you're trusting in your faith,
you're trusting in your own works. If you're trusting in your faith,
you're trusting in your own works. Faith is the evidence of salvation.
God Almighty saves by grace, and it's given unto you to believe.
You're not saved because you have faith. You have faith because
God saved you, and your faith didn't die for you. Do believers have faith? Yes,
they have faith. But they don't trust in it. Are they baptized? Yes, they're baptized. But they
don't trust in their baptism. That would be to trust in their
own ability. And you know that. As many as are of the works of
the law are under the curse of it. For it's written, Cursed
is everyone that continueth not. Cursed is everyone that continueth
not in all the things, in all the things, in all the things,
in all the things. that are written in the book
of the law to do them. And I'm not talking about that
Pharisee came to the Lord and we asked him, Good Master, what
good thing must I do to be saved? He said, What sayeth the Scriptures?
And he named off the ten commandments. He said, I kept all those from
my youth up. No, he hadn't. Not according
to God's standard. Not according to God. That no man Verse 11, "...is
justified by the law in the sight of God." It's evident. "...For
the just shall live by faith." That man that is justified before
God, that man that is absolutely declared to be righteous before
God's law, based totally by being found in Christ Justified by
the blood of Christ. Let me tell you something. Justification
requires two things. Number one, you can have no guilt
before God. No guilt before God. And you've
got to possess a righteousness that is the righteousness of
God. Now, buddy, that's a tall order. I'm talking about no guilt
before God. Yeah, but you say, but you don't
understand. I'm a sinner. That's right. You are a sinner. But you must
understand, verse 13 is going to deal with this in just a second,
but you must understand something. Christ has paid the debt. of what I'm doing right now.
There's enough pride in what I'm doing right now to cast me
in hell. Man, a scripture will come back to my mind, Carl, and
I think, man, I'll tell you what, I remembered that one. I quoted
it. There was enough pride in that
to put me in hell. The Lord Jesus Christ being made
sin He paid the debt of all of them. All of His elect. All of the debt. All of them. You say, even the ones that I
will commit tomorrow, in the future? I heard Brother Scott
say, he said when he died, they were all future. They were all
future. Yeah, the one for tomorrow. Aren't
you glad for that? Somebody say, well, I tell you
what, then that will make me just, you know what I'm about
to say. That'll make me just happy. I don't really care. He's not converted you yet. If
you can have an attitude that I'm just going to sin, that grace
may abound. God's people, they live in this
world. They know what the law has said is so. Because of sin,
we're helpless to obey it. Thanks be unto Him. That no man
is justified by the law. The law does not justify. The law declares whether one
is just or is not just. The law is not the one that justifies
you. That no man is justified by the law in the sight of God
is evident. How is a man justified? He is
justified by God Himself. by the blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ. The law just lays down what is
required for justification before God, but it cannot, because of
the weakness of our flesh, justify us. The just shall live by faith. They live by faith. Verse 12 says, And the law is
not a faith, But the man that doeth them shall live in them."
The law promises no forgiveness to those that believe. The law does not forgive. It
demands obedience. And once you disobey, it's over. You say, the law forgave me. No, it didn't. No, it did not. The law is not a faith. The law says obey, die for disobedience. That's what the law says. Obey
and live for obedience. The law says disobey and die. It's over. It's over. As many as are of the works of
the law, they're under the curse. Cursed is everyone that continueth
not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do
them." The law can do one thing. It exposes what a man is before
God. If the law declares a man to
be justified before God, it is because God has justified that
man by the blood of Christ, and the law recognizes that man to
be perfect and accepted in Christ totally by the blood of the Lord
Jesus. And if the law declares a man
to be just before Him, the law has found no guilt there. It
does not deviate. It does not deviate. Now, we're going to get to a
verse of Scripture right here that I'm going to hold my breath,
and I pray, Almighty God, give me a heart to set forth what
I know. I know. I know what it says. And I'm telling you, this next
verse right here, this is what I was talking about when I said
a lot of times we'll use words and we don't understand exactly
what the word means, and so therefore, we don't get the impact of it.
This verse of Scripture, you remember Brother Scott saying, when the Lord Jesus Christ was
made sin, Was he really made sin? When the Lord turned water
into wine, was it really wine? Or was it water with a sticker
on it that said wine? When He was made flesh, was He
really made flesh or was He something else and just had a flesh kind
of stuck on? Was He really flesh? When He
was made sin, was He really made sin? Then He said this, if He
wasn't made what I am by nature, And this is the great controversy.
This is a great controversy right now. I'm going to tell you something.
A lot of times you may not know. You know, we're in the confines
of this place. And let me tell you something. This is a great
controversy outside of this, the realm of Katie. I mean, this
is I mean, not not to everybody, but there's this. This is a very
this is a great dividing point right here, even among many that
profess to be believers. This is a great dividing point. This is what Brother Scott said,
if the Lord was not made what I am by nature, then I have no
hope. If He was not made what I am
by nature, I'm going to tell you something. Verse 13, I told
you this, the law of God is holy. The law of God is holy. My problem is that I can't keep
it. The law in myself can do but one thing because of my sin,
pronounce me guilty. and cursed. The law can do but
one thing. If I'm justified before God,
it's because the law has declared me to be just before its own
very standard based totally upon the satisfaction of the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ having put away my guilt. And the law
declares me to... The law can do nothing but declare
that which is so. Guilty? free, redeemed, holy,
no imperfections, no disobedience, or there is absolutely one thing,
cursed. That's it. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse
of the law, being made a curse for us, for it is written, Cursed
is everyone that hangeth on a tree." Now, as I said a while ago, that
which is often the case is we don't understand exactly what
was being said. And therefore, we miss the heart of the wonder of redemption. the wonder of redemption. We're
going to put away all of our preconceived ideas. Tell me what really happened
at Calvary. Tell me what really went on.
And after I tell you everything I know, I realize this, it's
going to be so far below I don't have the ability, but I can tell
you a little bit. I can tell you what these words mean. And
pray the Spirit of God will teach us something. Christ has purchased us back. Bought back. Redeemed. Remember
when Hosea was told by the Lord to go get him a wife? women, adulterers, harlots. He got Gomer and he took Gomer
to a wife back in Hosea chapter 3. He married her and she was
a harlot. And she was unfaithful to him
after he married her. She was just unfaithful, unfaithful,
unfaithful. She came up for sale and the
Lord told Hosea to go buy her back. to buy her back. And He bought her back from the shame of her humiliation. Oh, the picture of the grace
of God toward His own. For He has actually bought us
back, purchased us, redeemed us. To redeem means to buy back,
to pay the purchase of, to pay the price of. What's it going
to cost? Now, here's where we are. Here's
the situation. We're born in Adam. We're born in sin, in rebellion, and the Scripture sets forth
that Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made
a curse for us. Now, you have to understand something. Something took place before the
foundation of the world and absolutely came into absolute
realization in time. Almighty God, as we looked at
last week, chose us in Christ, trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ,
trusted in His blood. The Father trusted in His blood
first. Having chosen us in Him, saw
the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, Almighty God has
forever loved His people. forever looked upon them in mercy,
forever looked upon them in Christ, and now here is actually what
has taken place in time that Almighty God eternally saw. Christ has redeemed us from the
curse of the law. Now, I looked up again. The word curse, I'll be honest
with you, it meant two things. And I had to look these two words
up because I really didn't know exactly what they meant. It means
execrate imprecation. Those are two nice words. There's
probably people who are sitting here a whole lot smarter than
I am that know exactly what those words mean. I didn't. So I looked them up. This is
exactly what it means. Execrate. To pronounce accursed. To declare detestable. To detest utterly. That's execrate. Implication. To invoke evil. Remember the
Lord says, you know, is there evil? in the city and have I
not done it?" Somebody said, you know, I don't understand
all the depth of what God Almighty does, but when God says He does
something, that's what He does. To pronounce a curse, to declare
detestable, to detest utterly, to invoke evil. Now, I can understand
Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. That's talking
about us. That's talking about Christ has
redeemed us from the curse, from the pronouncement of being a
curse to declare detestable, to detest utterly, to invoke
evil. I can enter into that because
I know just a little bit about myself. But let me read the rest
of the verse. Christ has redeemed us from the
curse of the law, being made a curse for us. And I looked it up. It's the
same Word. It's the same Word. And just like 2 Corinthians 5.21,
I take a deep breath and I pray, I must be right here. I must
be right. I must be honorable. I think
about, again, old brother Scott saying, don't you ever, ever,
ever. Take away the glory of what God
Almighty did for Himself in the redemption of His people. Don't
you ever take that away. And I'm telling you, I stand
here and right now my heart is just probably about 50% higher
rate than normal. I can understand somewhat Christ
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, but being
made a curse for us. For it is written, Cursed is
everyone that hangeth on the tree." Same word. Again, I looked
it up. Same root word. Cursed. Here's what's happened. He absolutely
was made to be what we are by nature. I can understand to die
without Christ, to be pronounced a curse, to declare detestable,
to detest utterly, to invoke evil. I can understand that when
it comes to a man. Because man by nature is just
rotten. And here was the holy, harmless
Lamb of God. Perfect. Perfect. Perfect. What happened? What happened
in those few hours of darkness? God Almighty was doing something
for Himself and by Himself that men were not going to look on.
And God Almighty put away the guilt of His people. And God
Almighty satisfied Himself. Almighty God redeemed us from
the curse of the laws Oh, what did that take? Whatever it took
based on the little bit that I can understand of the words
of this Scripture right here. He was made a curse. Cursed is everyone that hangs
on a tree. And in those moments, the Scripture
says in Matthew 27, 46, My God, my God, why have you abandoned
me, forsaken me? Why have you left me? You left
me. You abandoned me. My son Abraham told Isaac, God will
provide himself a land. I'm telling you, in all of the
wonder of the grand scheme, I don't
even know how to say it, of salvation, what's it going to take? What's
it going to take for God to save a sinner? Christ is going to have to redeem
them from the pronouncement utter abandonment by the Law. He's going to have to redeem
them, buy them back. How is He going to do it? The
Law is going to have. It's just due. The Law of God is going
to be satisfied. And Christ honored the Law. He honored it. I'm telling you, as I've told
you before, you don't want to deal with God's law. You do not
want to stand before God and plead your own works of self-righteousness. The law is going to pronounce
you cursed. You don't. I'm telling you, men
and women standing in this world today, trusting in their own
works of self-righteousness, are standing before God Almighty
declaring that which is going to absolutely be to their utter
destruction. What is it going to take for
God to save a sinner? This is what it's going to take. The Lord Jesus Christ is going
to have to absolutely take His place. He's going to absolutely have
to be made what that man is, what that woman is. And that's
what happened. He absolutely bore in His own
body, and He was made a curse. Now, I'm telling you, I cannot
enter into the depth of that. I cannot enter into the depth
of it, but I can tell you the little bit that I can perceive. I think to myself, Lord, though
I see through a glass darkly, thanks be unto God that I can
see something. Lord, though I don't understand,
thank You that You did something for me that I had not the will
or the power to do. Thank you for salvation by grace. And one of these days, I'm going
to understand it. And I'm going to see Him as He
is. And I'm going to know. And the Scripture says that the
four and twenty elders are going to cast their crowns before Him
and they're going to say, You're worthy for You have redeemed
us out of every nation and people and tribe and tongue. and their
bearing in His own body throughout all eternity. He shall bear the
scars of redemption. Christ has redeemed us from the
curse of the law being made a curse for us. May God Almighty bless
our hearts with some understanding and close our mouths before pleading
any works of self-righteousness that we have done for Christ's
sake. Amen.

What Really Happened At Calvary

What does the Bible say about justification?

Why is understanding the curse of the law important for Christians?

How did Christ redeem us from the curse of the law?

What does it mean to live by faith according to the Bible?

Sermon Transcript

About Marvin Stalnaker

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What Really Happened At Calvary

What does the Bible say about justification?

Why is understanding the curse of the law important for Christians?

How did Christ redeem us from the curse of the law?

What does it mean to live by faith according to the Bible?

Sermon Transcript

About Marvin Stalnaker

Comments

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