Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church,
located at 2709 Rock Springs Road in Kingsport, Tennessee,
would like to invite you to listen to a message of sovereign grace
of their pastor, Gabe Stonica. For information and service times,
visit www.ksgc.church. And now, Gabe Stoniker. I would like to bring a message
to you today from Galatians chapter 2. And this is such a wonderful
chapter, a very special place to be in the scripture. And the
message will come from one verse. One verse will be our text. It
will be Galatians 2 verse 20. And before we read it, I just
want to point out that this one verse contains the whole gospel
message. The whole gospel of God is declared
in this one verse. Now let's read this together,
Galatians 2 verse 20. This is the Apostle Paul speaking,
and he said, 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. What a wonderful verse
that is. The whole gospel is contained
in that one verse. 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 want to point out that
Paul said, who loved me. That's an amazing thing to say.
Who loved me. Who loved me. I want to consider
this question. How could God love me? That's the question for today. How could God love me? Paul said, who loved me? And I want to go ahead and say
that today's message is for sinners specifically. So as you listen
to this, as you are there watching this, If you're a sinner, if
you know that you're a sinner, I just want to acknowledge today's
message is for you. If you're a real sinner, today's
message is for you. How could God love me as a sinner,
as a sinner against God? The Apostle Paul started this
letter to the Galatians in chapter one by saying, if you are following
along and you want to look back at chapter one, verse 13, he
said, you have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews religion. When I was in false religion,
that's what he's saying. How that beyond measure, I persecuted
the church of God. I persecuted God's church and
wasted it. and profited in the Jews' religion
above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly
zealous of the traditions of my fathers." I was more concerned
about the traditions of my fathers than God's Word. And what he's
saying in this is, I was an evil man. I beat God's people, imprisoned
God's people, killed God's people. I was an evil man. Paul is saying,
I was self-righteous. I was in false religion. And he admitted to being the
enemy of Christ and the enemy of his people. He said in verse
15, but when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's
womb and called me by his grace, Verse 16, he said, God revealed
his son in me. He did that for me. He showed
me who I was. And that's what happens when
God reveals Christ. Number one, we not only see Christ,
but we see ourselves. When we really see him, we really
see ourselves. And that's what Paul is saying.
He revealed to me what I was. He showed me what I was really
doing. And he said, when I saw it, I realized how vile I was. Takes God to reveal that to a
sinner, so vile. That's what the apostle Paul
thought he was in his own flesh, vile, wicked. Over in Romans 7, we look at
Romans 7 often because It's so true, and it's so important to
see, and it's so comforting to those who are real sinners. Romans
7, verse 14, Paul said, we know that the law is spiritual, but
I'm carnal, sold under sin. Sold, completely sold out to
sin. For that which I do, I allow
not. I don't know why I do it. For
what I would, that do I not. The things I wish I did, I just
don't do them. But what I hate, that's what
I do. Verse 18, he said, I know that
in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. Nothing good. That's what the apostle Paul
said about himself. There's nothing good in here. Verse 21, he said,
I find then a law that when I would do good, evil is present with
me. For I delight in the law of God
after the inward man, but I see another law in my members, in
my flesh, warring against the law of my mind and bringing me
into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members.
He said, there's a war in me. God has created a new man who
loves his law and desires the things of God, but I'm still
living in simple flesh and there's a war going on in me. Verse 24,
he said, Oh, wretched man that I am. Who shall deliver me from
the body of this death? Oh, wretched man that I am. Oh, I'm such a wretched sinner. I'm such a wretched sinner. In
1 Timothy 1, the Apostle Paul said, I'm the chief sinner. I am the chief sinner. That's
amazing, isn't it? That's amazing. You hear people
talking about St. Paul and St. Peter and St. James
and St. this and that. You know, all
of those men said that. Peter said, Lord, depart from
me. I'm a sinful man. Paul said, I'm the chief sinner
that exists on this earth, that has ever existed on this earth. I love what Charles Spurgeon
said about that one time. Charles Spurgeon, the preacher
from the 1800s, the gospel preacher, he said, I take issue with the
Apostle Paul. I have an issue to take up with
him. As we say it around here, I have
a bone to pick with him. He said, I take issue with the
Apostle Paul because he has taken my seat as the chief sinner. He's stolen
my seat. In his old English way of speaking,
Spurgeon said, I would fain tap him on the shoulder and say,
sir, go up higher. You're sitting in my seat. I'm
the chief of sinners, not you, it's me. I'm the chief sinner. And I'm gonna say that to us
right now. It's not you, it's me. If you're a sinner, this
message is for you. But this message is most definitely
for me because I'm a sinner. I'm the chief sinner, not you,
it's me. I believe that's the only thing
God's people truly argue about. It's not you, it's me. I'm the
worst one, I'm the chief sinner. A real understanding of our sin
that has to be revealed by God, all right? Listen to this truth
concerning what we're talking about. A real knowledge of sin,
men and women don't naturally understand that, they don't naturally
get that. You talk about these things and
people think, what in the world are you talking about? I don't
understand what you're saying. That has to be revealed by God.
Until God reveals it, men and women have no real understanding
or view of their sin. Until God reveals something of
it, men and women cannot see themselves as God sees them. Can't. They cannot see what God
sees. When men and women naturally
who grow up in, you know, a town like this town, and they grow
up with, you know, good, honest citizen parents, and a good upraising,
and they go to church, and all of these things, when they look
at themselves, they may not see absolute perfection. They may
not. But what they see doesn't look
that bad to them. Now, this is all human flesh
by nature. May not see perfection, but what
I see, it doesn't look that bad. For most people, this is what
they wonder. And this is the truth here. For most people, they wonder,
how could God not love me? Look at me. How could God not
love me? Kind of like when we quote the
scripture, where the Lord said, Jacob have I loved, but Esau
have I hated. You know that scripture? Romans
9, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. Before God reveals
the absolute sin of man, the absolute decay of man, that's
a shocking statement to hear. Jacob have I loved, but Esau
have I hated. That's shocking. People think, how could God hate
Esau? Esau sounded like a fine man.
You know, growing up as a child, I heard the story of Jacob and
Esau. I liked Esau better than Jacob. How could God hate Esau? That's before God reveals the
total ruin and decay and wickedness of sin. After God reveals that,
it's still a shocking statement, but for the other reason. After God reveals sin, sin, people
don't wonder how God could hate Esau. God says he hates all sin. The shocking statement is how
could God love Jacob? That trickster, that supplanter,
that liar, that cheat, that wicked man. How could God love that
wicked sinner? And then me being just like him,
a spiritual son of Jacob. How could God love me? One of the spiritual children
of Israel, that's what Jacob's name was changed to. How could
God love me? I'm just like him. How could
he love me? Well, here's the answer. Here
is how, okay? This is the heart of the message
today. Here is how God could love a sinner like me and love
a sinner like you. Here's how. If you look back
in Galatians 2, verse 20 says, I am crucified with Christ. That's how. That's how. Why does God love his people?
Number one, it's because they were crucified with Christ. That's the reason why. It's because
they were vitally joined to Christ. When were they vitally joined
to Christ? before the foundation of the world, before this world
was ever created. Christ was the Lamb slain. Why would Christ be the Lamb
slain? He was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the
world, before anything was. Why would Christ be the Lamb
slain? The sin of His people. It was
for the purpose of redeeming His people. Before the foundation
of the world, Christ was the Lamb slain. And that's how God
could say to each one of His people, I've loved you with an
everlasting love. You were always in the Lamb slain. He loved them in Christ. He loved
His chosen people in Christ. When Christ came to this earth,
He proved that love to his people. He was the Lamb slain before
the foundation of the world. He was the Lamb slain in the
world, after the foundation of the world. When Christ came,
he proved that love. When Christ came, he fulfilled
that love by dying on the cross of Calvary. That love that began
in him in time past, fulfilled that love. If you look at Romans
5 it says in verse 5, hope maketh not ashamed because the love
of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which
is given unto us. For when we were yet without
strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Do you know who Christ died for
on the cross? You say, well, he died for the good religious
people. No. He died for all those good
church-going people. No. Romans 5 verse 6 says, when
we were yet without strength in due time, Christ died for
the ungodly. If you are sitting there right
now saying to yourself, I am an ungodly sinner, I have good
news for you. That's who Christ died for. Verse
7 says, for scarcely for a righteous man, a good church going man,
will one die, yet peradventure for a good man some would even
dare to die. But God commended his love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. That's who he died for, sinners.
All of God's people are sinners, all of them. When Christ died
for his people, he died because he bore the judgment of their
sin. Had he not bore their sin, he
could not have died. It takes sin for something to
die. The wages of sin is death. The
fact that he died proves that he bore the sin of his people.
And when he died, bearing their sin, taking it off of them, laying
it on himself and bearing that punishment, he justified them. He justified every one of them
by the payment of His blood. This is the sin that was committed. Here's the payment for that sin.
Redeemed. Justified. Cleansed. Washed. Perfected. That's what the Scripture says.
He perfected them eternally. He made them holy and without
blame before God the Father. Sinners against God the Father
in the death of Christ were made completely spotless, holy, without
blame. That's what happened on the cross
of Calvary. He made all of his people acceptable to God. acceptable in the eyes of the
Father. So that's how, that is the reason why God can and he
does love his people. Sinners in the flesh, that's
how he can, that's why he can. Number one, it's because they
were crucified with Christ. Okay, here's the second reason.
Over in Galatians 2 again, Verse 20 says, I am crucified with
Christ, nevertheless I live. How could God love sinners like
you and me? It's because we live the same
way we died, with Christ. with Christ. He said, I'm crucified
with Christ. Nevertheless, I live with Christ. And that's the key to it. With
Christ, with Christ, everything with God concerning us, concerning
his people is with Christ. All of it with Christ. It has
to be with Christ. In Ephesians chapter two, verse
four says, that chapter begins by saying how sinful we are,
sinful God's people are. Verse four says, but God who
is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us even
when we were dead in sins, he hath quickened us together with
Christ. By grace you are saved. and hath raised us up together
and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ, that in the
ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace
in his kindness toward us through Christ." That was the key to
it all. Verse 5, he said, with Christ. Verse 6, he said, in Christ.
Verse 7, he said, through Christ. Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ
said, because I live, you live also. Scripture says Christ who
is our life. In Him we live and move and have
our being. As He is, so are we. And if He is resurrected and
ascended and seated and perfected, so are we. If He has peace with
the Father, so do we. If He has unity with the Father,
so do we. If he shares love with the Father,
so do we, so do his people. All because of him and what he
did and what he accomplished. So how could God love sinners
like you and me? Number one, it's because we were
crucified with Christ. We died and our sin died with
him. Number two, it's because we live
with Christ. We've risen with him. We've already
ascended in him. seated with Him. And because
of that, as He is in the favor of the Father, we are in the
favor of the Father. Okay, here's the third reason.
Again, back in Galatians 2, verse 20 says, I am crucified with
Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me. Yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me. How could God love us? Here's
how. When God joined us together with Christ, he put us in Christ
and he put Christ in us. You know, the Lord gave two ordinances
to remember him by, baptism and the Lord's table. Baptism is
a picture of us being in Christ. We go down and that water just
covers us over. That's us in Christ. And the
Lord's table is something that we eat and it goes inside us.
That's Christ in us. That's what those two ordinances
represent. And when the father looked at
Christ while he was hanging on the cross, He saw us in Christ. He saw sinners, wicked, evil, children of his. And he judged
and punished Christ because we were in Christ. And now that
that's over, when God looks at us, He sees Christ in us. He sees the holy, spotless Son
of God in Christ. And when he sees Christ, he says,
well done. Well done. Now, good and faithful
servant, I am well pleased with you. That's how he can love us.
Christ is in us. Okay, here's the fourth reason.
Verse 20 says, 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. I live by the faith of the Son
of God. That word faith means belief,
and it means trust. And it's the belief and trust
of Christ in his people. Did you know that Ephesians 2
says, faith is not of ourselves, that's the gift of God. He's
the author of it, he's the finisher of it. And it's his belief and
his trust in us, crying out, Abba, Father. But that word faith
also means faithfulness, that's what it means. Faithfulness,
Paul said, I live by the faithfulness of the Son of God. The commandment
is believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. And that's what the Spirit of
God causes the people of God to do. He causes them to believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ. But he is also the one performing
that belief. He is the one finishing that
belief. And that is how God loves his
people. It's because of his own work
in his people. The book of Philippians says,
it is God who worketh in you, both to will and do of his good
pleasure. The faithfulness of the Lord
Jesus Christ. He said in Malachi 3 verse 6,
I am the Lord, I change not, and that's why you sons of Jacob
are not consumed. That's the reason why, it's because
of my faithfulness, I change not. I'm the same yesterday,
today, forever. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 9 says,
God is faithful by whom you were called into fellowship with his
son, Jesus Christ. 2 Timothy 2.13 says, even if
we believe not, he abideth faithful. He cannot deny himself. He can't. That means the faith that we
have, it's not our own. It's Christ. It's the faith of
Christ believing for us, trusting for us, So how is it that God
can love sinners like us? Well, Galatians 2 verse 20 says,
I'm 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 Son of God who loved me and gave
himself for me. That's the fifth reason. It's
because Christ gave himself for us. He gave himself. Over in Ephesians 5, I was gonna
have you turn, but I'm out of time. In Ephesians 5, it talks
about husbands loving their wives as Christ loved the church and
gave himself for it. And it says that husbands ought
to love their wives as they love their own selves. No man hates
their own flesh, their own bones, their own blood. He said that's
how Christ loved his church, as he loves himself. And that's
the reason why God loves us. It's because he gave himself
for us. He gave himself to us. And as
Ephesians 5 says, no man hates his own flesh. He gave himself
away. He said, you're mine and I'm
yours. And he loves his people as himself
because he gave himself. He gave Himself in full. He gave His all, everything. For that reason, God Almighty
says to His people, I love you. For all those reasons, I'm 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. Amen. You have been listening
to a message by Gabe Stoniker, pastor of Kingsport Sovereign
Grace Church in Kingsport, Tennessee. If you would like a copy of this
message or to hear other messages of Sovereign Grace, you can call
or write to the number and address on your screen or visit www.ksgc.church. Tune in at this same time next
week for another message of God's free and sovereign grace.