Go with me, if you would, back
to Galatians chapter 2. Galatians chapter 2. One verse
is going to be our text this morning. And this verse is a
wonderful verse. It's an amazing verse. Sometimes
you run across a verse that just clearly, simply tells it all. the whole gospel, the whole message,
all contained in one verse. This is one of those verses.
Galatians 2, verse 20. It 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 who loved me
and gave himself for me. That's the whole thing, isn't
it? That's the whole thing. 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. Who loved me, he said. Who loved me. Now there are so
many titles we could go with in this verse, so many titles.
You can take each line, just I'm crucified with Christ. So
many titles we could give this. There are so many questions that
we could ask in regard to this, but the one that I want us to
consider for this morning is how could God love me? How could God love me? He said, who loved me? Who loved me? Now I'm going to
go ahead and tell you that this message is for sinners. This message is only for sinners. This one is only for the sick.
Only. Not the well, not the righteous. This one is only for those who
say with absolute sincerity in the heart, ask this question
truthfully in the heart, how could God love me? The man who wrote this, the man
who penned this, the apostle Paul, he said in chapter one,
if you turn back a page to Galatians one verse 13, he said, for you have heard of my conversation
in time past in the Jews religion, how that beyond measure, you
couldn't measure it. It's beyond measure. I persecuted
the church of God, the apostle Paul. He said, let me tell you
about myself. I persecuted the church of God. And he went on to say and wasted
it. Oh, I had a dear brother right
there and I wasted him. Verse 14 and he said, I profited
in the Jews religion above many, my equals in my own nation being
more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers. What was the tradition? What
were you exceedingly zealous in? He said, I was the enemy
of Christ. He said, I thrived at being the
enemy of Christ. He said, I was an evil, evil
person. I was self-righteous. I didn't
need his righteousness. I had my own. I was a Hebrew
of the Hebrews. I was of the tribe of Benjamin.
As touching the law, I thought I was a Pharisee. He admitted to being the enemy
of Christ and the enemy of his people, the enemy of his people. When the Lord converted him and
told Ananias to go preach to him, Ananias said, Lord, we've
heard of him. I don't know if I, I don't know if I feel comfortable
going over to him. The Lord said, Ananias, look
at him. He's praying from the heart. But Paul said, oh, I was the
enemy. Verse 15, he said, thank God. But when it pleased God. Who separated me from my mother's
womb and called me by his grace, I was doing my thing, living
my self-righteous life. But God, but when it pleased
God, verse 16 said he revealed his son in me. He showed me who I was, and He
showed me what I was really doing. And He said, when I saw it, I
realized how vile I was. That's what the Apostle Paul
thought of himself. That's what he thought he was
in the flesh. Now, I talk to a lot of brethren who say, why
am I what I am? Why do I do what I do? Well,
this is what the apostle Paul thought of himself. He thought
he was a vile, wicked center. That's what he thought of himself.
Turn with me over to Romans seven. Romans 7 verse 14, it says, for
we know, and this is the apostle Paul speaking, he said, we know
that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal sold under sin. The apostle said this, I am sold
to sin. Verse 15, he said, that which
I do, I allow not. I know not, I don't know why
I do it. Why do I keep doing this? Why
do I keep thinking those things? Why do I keep feeling this way?
That which I do, I allow not for what I would. I don't do
it. The way I wish I was, I'm just
not in this flesh. He said, but what I hate, what
I see in myself and hate, that's what I do. Verse 18, he said,
I know that in me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. For to will is present with me. Oh, I want to be like Christ.
But how to perform that which is good, I can't find a way to
do it in this flesh. Verse 21, I find then a law that
when I would do good, evil is present with me. Every time I
try to do something good, I ruin it. For I delight in the law
of God after the inward man, that new man he's created in
me. But I see another law in my members warring against the
law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of
sin, which is in my members. Paul said in verse 24, this is
all I can say about myself. Oh, wretched man that I used
to be. That's not what he said. Oh, wretched man that I am. I believe
we could have had some good fellowship with this man. I believe we will
have some good fellowship with this man. Oh, wretched man that
I am. Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? He said, I'm a wretched sinner. I am such a wretched sinner. In first Timothy one, he said,
I am the chief sinner. I'm the chief sinner. Paul is
not the only one who feels that way. The Apostle Paul is not
the only one who feels that way. All of God's people feel that
way. They honestly do. I love what
Charles Spurgeon said about it one time. He said, I take issue
with the Apostle Paul. He said, I have an issue to take
up with him. I have a bone to pick with him. I remember reading
that the first time and I thought, where is he going with this?
But he said, I take issue with the apostle Paul because he has
taken my seat as the chief of sinners. He said, I would feign tap him
on the shoulder and say, sir, go up higher. You're sitting
in my seat. I'm the chief of sinners. You're not. I promise you, you're
not. I am. Sin, a real understanding of
sin that has to be revealed by God. It just has to be. Until God reveals it, men and
women have no understanding. They have no view of their sin. They cannot see in themselves
what God sees in them. If they could, it would slay
them. It would absolutely slay them. When men and women look
at themselves, they may not see absolute perfection. Nobody does.
But what they see doesn't look that bad to them. It's not that
bad. For most people, this is what
they wonder. Honestly, how could God not love me? I'm a good family
person. I pay my taxes. I help my neighbor. How could he not love me? Kind of like when the apostle
Paul quoted in Romans nine, he quoted the Lord. The Lord said,
Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. Before God reveals the absolute
sin of man, that's a shocking statement to people. They hear
Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. And before God
reveals this absolute decay of sin, that's shocking to hear.
But after God reveals the absolute decay of sin, a man or a woman
hears that, and that's a shocking statement to hear. Before God
reveals it, it's shocking. And after God reveals it, it's
absolutely shocking. Because before God reveals it,
people say, what? How could God love or how could
God hate Esau? They look at Esau. As a kid growing
up, Esau was my favorite. I didn't like Jacob at all. That's
what people see in him. He's a fine, upstanding citizen. He's a good boy to his dad. Once God reveals the absolute
decay of sin to every man and woman before God, when God's
people hear that verse of scripture, they are shocked by it, and this
is what they say, what? Oh, I see how God could hate
a totally depraved sinner like Esau, but how on this earth could
God love Jacob? Me being just like him, a spiritual son of Jacob, one of
the spiritual children of Israel, who is Jacob, me being just like
him, the trickster, the supplanter, the center, me being just like
him. How could God love me? How could
God love me? Here's the answer. Here is how. How could God love a sinner like
me? How could God honestly love a sinner like you? Go back to
our text, Galatians 2. Verse 20 says, I am crucified with Christ. Why does God love his people?
Number one, it's because they are 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. Christ was the Lamb slain for
His people before the foundation of the
world. That's how God could say to each one of His people, I've
loved you with an everlasting love. It's because He loved them
in Christ, in the Lamb slain. When Christ came, He proved that
love to us. When Christ came, He fulfilled
that love for us, the love that began in Him in eternity past. Turn with me over to Romans chapter
5. Romans 5 verse 5 says, 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, this is who Christ
died for. These were his people, the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous
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. Much more than being now justified
by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. When Christ died for his people,
He died because he bore the judgment for their sin. Had he not bore their sin, he
could not have died. It would not have been possible. It takes sin for something to
die. That's why there's no, never
gonna be death in heaven, never. There's no sin there. The fact
that He died proves that He bore the sin of His people. And when He died, He justified
them by the payment of His blood. He washed them white as snow
in the payment of His blood. He cleansed them from every stain,
every spot. He perfected them forever. He made them holy and without
blame before God the Father. He made them acceptable to God
the Father. Now that's why, that's how and
that's why God can and does love sinners. It's because they were the ones
He chose and the ones in Christ, they were crucified with Him. Alright, here's the second reason. If you go with me back to Galatians
2. 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 am crucified with
Christ. Nevertheless, I live with Christ. With Christ? With Christ? Here's the answer. With Christ?
With Christ? With Christ? With Christ? That's
the answer. Everything with God concerning
us is with Christ. It has to be with Christ. Turn with me to Ephesians 2,
a couple of pages over. Ephesians 2, verse 4. But God, who is rich in mercy
for His great love, wherewith He loved us even when we were
dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. With
Christ by grace, are you saved and hath raised us up together
and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in
the ages to come, he might show the exceeding riches of his grace
and his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. This is what he
just said with Christ in Christ through Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ said, because
I live, you live also. Christ, who is our life, in Him
we live, as He is, so are we. And if He is resurrected, and
if He is ascended, and if He's seated in perfect peace and unity
and love with the Father, in Him, with Him, through Him, so
are we. 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 him. We've risen with him. We've already
ascended with him in him. And because of that. As He is
in the favor of the Father, we are in the favor of the Father
with Him. All right, now here's the third
reason. Back in Galatians 2, and I love this. I just love
this reason right here. Galatians 2 verse 20 says, I
am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me. How could God love us? Here's
how. When God joined us together with
Christ, and this is so beautiful to me, it's just so glorious.
When God joined us together with Christ, He put us in Christ, and He put Christ in us. And when God the Father looked
at Christ hanging there on that cross, He saw us in Him. Therefore, He dealt to Christ
all that judgment we deserved. For that reason, us in Christ,
we talk about us being in Christ. Well, us in Christ is the hope. of all of our judgment with God
being settled, forever settled. Us in Christ, that's our hope,
that the judgment's over, us in Christ. And Christ in us is
the hope of glory. Now when God looks at us, All right, because when he looked
at Christ, he saw us in Christ because that's where he saw us.
Now, when God looks at us, he doesn't see us. He sees Christ in us. He saw us in him. He sees him
in us. And every time God the Father
looks at us, we're so ashamed of what we see in ourselves,
but that's not what God sees in us, not now. not because of
the substitution of Christ. Every time God looks at us, he
sees Christ in us and he loves us. He loves what he sees. He says, well done, well done. He is well pleased with us. All right, 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. That word
faith means belief and it means trust, but it also means faithfulness. The commandment is believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Ephesians 2 tells us that that
faith to believe is not of ourselves, it's the gift of God to us. That's
God's grace to us. Hebrews 12 tells us that Christ
is the one who authors it. Christ is the one who finishes
it. Philippians 1 tells us that Christ is the one who performs
it. And he will perform it in his
people until the day he returns for him. So how is it that God
can love sinners like us? It's all because of the faithfulness
of the Lord Jesus Christ. The faithfulness of His faith
that He gives and works, authors and finishes for us. He said
in Malachi 3 verse 6, I am the Lord, I change not, and that's
why you sons of Jacob are not concerned. That's the reason why. It's because
of my faithfulness. I won't change from it. Look
with me at 1 Corinthians 1. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 4, it says, I thank my God always on your
behalf for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ,
that in everything you are enriched by him in all utterance and in
all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you
so that you come behind in no gift waiting for the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ. who also shall confirm you unto
the end that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Now watch verse nine. It says,
God is faithful. by whom you were called unto
the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord." God is faithful. Christ is faithful. 2 Timothy
2 says, even if we believe not, He abideth faithful. He'll do
it for us. He will keep us looking to Christ.
He will not let us stray. He cannot deny Himself. The faith
that we have, that's not our own. It's the faith of Christ
believing for us, trusting for us, and being faithful to us. So how is it that God can love
sinners like we are? Go back to our text, Galatians
2. 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 who loved me and gave himself for
me. The last reason we'll look at
this morning, reason number five. It's because Christ gave Himself. I've seen this in a new light. Christ gave Himself for us. Why does He love us? It's because
He gave Himself. He gave Himself. Turn with me
to Ephesians 5 and we'll close with this. Ephesians 5 verse 25, it says,
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church
and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse
it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present
it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or
any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish,
so ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. Now see if the Lord will let
us enter into this. So ought men to love their wives
as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth
himself. For no man ever yet hated his
own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord
the church. For we are members of his body,
of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave
his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and
they too shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery, but
I speak concerning Christ and the church." How could God love
sinners like us? It's because He gave Himself
for us. He gave His own flesh, His own
blood, His own bone for us. And no man has ever hated His
own flesh. No man. When He gave Himself
to us, He gave His all to us, everything that He is. And in
doing that, this is what He said to us. As I am your all, you are mine. You're mine. I am yours and you're mine. I'm
giving my all to you. Therefore, you are my all. He gave himself. I love you as I love myself because
that's what I gave for you, myself. That's how God can love sinners
like you and me. It's all because of Christ, all
of it. It's all because of the person, the work, the blood,
the life, the death, the faith, the faithfulness of the Lord
Jesus Christ. In Him, God loves us. In Him we can all say, 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. All right, let's all stand together.