Galatians chapter 2, this will
be a very foundational message. Foundations. Principles. Paul wrote in Hebrews of the
principles of the doctrine of Christ. He talked about leaving
though, not meaning that you ever get away from those, but
that's what we cut our teeth on. This is what we cut our teeth
on. And our baby teeth. And if you may remember, when
I first came here, we started in the book of Romans. And that's
the foundation to doctrine, teaching. And we went through it again
several years later. But the next book after Romans
was Galatians. We looked at Galatians. And now
these many years later, we're looking at it again. These are
old. paths, old truth. Now remember,
the apostle is writing to the church at Galatia where some
false brethren, some Jews, had come in, been brought in, he
said. And they came in, verse 4 of chapter 2 says, they came
in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus to bring
us into bondage. Liberty means freedom. Freedom
from what? Freedom from the law. That's
what he's talking about here. He's writing this whole book
basically to remind the Galatians who had fallen into this trap
by these seemingly impressive Jews. They'd fallen in this trap
of mixing the law with grace. But he said, we have liberty,
freedom from the law. We're going to sing that song
this morning. Free from the law, oh happy condition. The Lord Jesus hath bled and
there is remission. Cursed by the law, bruised by
the fall. Christ has redeemed us once for
all. We're not under the law. And
so the law says this, this do and live. The law which says
it shall be perfect to be accepted. That's Leviticus 22, 21 I think.
Is that it? 21, 22 or 22, 21. 22, 21. It
shall be perfect to be accepted because God's perfect. The law which says, Cursed is
everyone that continueth. Look at chapter 3. That's what
he quotes. Chapter 3, verse 10. He says, As many as are under
the works of the law are under the curse, for it is written,
Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things which are written
in the book of the law to do them. All things. You're not
just speaking of the Ten Commandments now. And many people who think
they keep those, they don't keep those because God looks on the
heart. But he's not just talking about
the Ten Commandments. That's just one small part of
God's law. The handwriting of ordinances
were many. I've got a booklet down there,
somebody looked it up, of all the Jewish, all the ordinances. It's that thick. Thousands upon
thousands of things the Jews had to keep perfectly. So he's not just talking about
the Ten Commandments, but all things. Look at chapter 4, Galatians
4, verse 21. Now Paul, remember Paul was a
Pharisee. He was a doctor of the law. He
knew more about the law than the average person. He studied
it. And he says in verse 21, tell
me, you that desire to be under the law, you don't hear it. Do
you not hear it? It's so strict. It's demands. What the law demands. It's consequences
for not keeping it. The consequences are very severe. So, he said, cursed is everyone
that continueth not in all things. And James wrote, To offend at
one point is to be guilty of it all. Someone
says, well, I've kept, all these have I kept but one. Then you're
guilty. Doesn't matter. Remember that
time I told you that I got a speeding ticket and my speedometer was
wrong and I wrote the judge. and asked him for pardon because
my speedometer was wrong. I was doing, actually my speedometer
only read to me, I was doing one mile over the speed limit.
One mile per hour over the speed limit. It was about ten miles
per hour wrong. So he wrote me back and said,
fine, you're only guilty of doing one mile per hour over, but you're
guilty. One mile per hour. I got the
same fine as if I'd been doing 11 miles. Guilty. One point, guilty. Too strict? No, it's not too strict. This
is God. Well, so these false brethren
crept in, these Orthodox Jews who were proud of their law keeping,
thought they were keeping. And they brought in, they were
spying on The Galatians were Gentile, like you and I. They
were not Jew. They were Gentiles. They weren't
brought up under these old Jewish laws. And these Jews were spying
on them. They crept in. They were watching
them. They were observing them. They were critical of the liberty
that these believers had. These Gentiles weren't observing
their ordinances. They weren't washing their hands
every time. They weren't keeping the Sabbath
day and they weren't doing all of these things. None of them
were, the men weren't circumcised and so forth. And they were eating
and drinking just anything and everything. And so these Jews,
these law keep, the legalists, I'm going to call them legalists,
all right, legal means law, legal. They began to make these Galatians
feel very guilty. And they used themselves as an
example. Look at us. We're law-keeping. Look at us. Look how we dress.
Look how we act. Look how we talk. They were using
themselves. That's what legalists always do. They don't point you
to Christ, who's the only holy man that ever lived. Well, but
they used themselves as examples of being holy men and women.
Look at us. We're holy. Can't you tell? Look how pious we are. Look how
zealous we are. Look at chapter 4. Chapter 4,
verse 17. And as we said, Paul is dealing
with this throughout this whole book of Galatians. Chapter 4,
verse 17, he says, they zealously affect you, but not well. Not well. Paul wrote in Romans 10, they
have a zeal. for God, but they're ignorant. And they're going about to establish
their own righteousness. And he said, look at chapter
6. This is all through here. Chapter 6, verse 12, he says,
as many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh. It's all a
show. You see that? It's a show. They're
putting on a show. Our Lord addressed this. He pointed
at these Pharisees time and time again, and he told the people,
you beware of them. All they do, they do to be seen
of men. That's their glory. It's not
for the glory of God, but for their own glory. Look at us.
That's right. And so Paul is addressing this
too. Now, you and I would not fall
for, now I'm trying to make this relevant to our day, okay? Some
Jews came in here, we wouldn't be caught up in that. You and
I would not fall for, and there are a lot of very legalistic,
conservative religions around today, right? If, say, the German Baptists
came in with all of their so-called holy look and garb, we wouldn't
fall for that, would we? We wouldn't feel, we wouldn't
start dressing that way. If the Mormons, the Mormons are
very, very conservative people, aren't they? We don't fall for
that. That's rank Arminianism, right? We wouldn't fall for that.
the seventh-day Adventist. That's just Arminian works religion. We would not fall for that. What
would we? So the Galatians did. What would
we maybe fall for? Well, and I know this from experience,
there is a group in our country that claims to be Calvinists.
They claim to believe the doctrines of grace. And yet it's a subtle
legalism. And they call themselves reformed. Okay? Now we might fall for that. Do you understand where I'm coming
from? We might fall for that. Reform. Because they claim to
believe what the reformers did. This is a reformed doctrine. So the Galatians fell for that.
Paul said, I marvel. Paul was shocked. He marveled
that they could fall for this legal. But they did. They were
impressed. All right, let me give you an
example. Let me give you an illustration, a true story. There was a large
family that started attending a church we know, a grace church
we know. I told you who it was, where
it was, and who it was. You know them well. Pastors preached
here many times. Anyway, a large family started
attending there, and they were obviously very, very, very conservative
religious people. They dressed that way. They were
homeschoolers. All their children were homeschooled. Well, they said they loved what
they were hearing. They said they believed the doctrines
of grace, and they began to attend there. and were very zealous
for a while and loved what they were hearing. But they began
to be subtly critical of the people in that church and talk
to them on the side and find fault with them and try to influence
the people. toward their way of thinking,
that your children, you need to do away with this, you need
to do away with that, you need to quit this, you need to quit
that, you need to get your children out of public school, and on
and on and on. And the pastor, who was a true
pastor, spotted it. And he confronted the man, the
father, the husband. Just like Paul did, these fellas.
Remember in chapter 2, Paul said, I didn't give them place for
one minute. We're not going to allow this
here. And he confronted the man. Well, the man got offended, you
know. And they left. They left. So that's a good illustration,
I think. And they eventually left. They couldn't tolerate, you see,
being with this bunch of sinners. Right? And Paul wrote in Romans
14, oh, what a blessed chapter that is, he said, every man stands
or fall before his own master. The Lord is our master. Aren't you glad? Aren't you glad? And so in our text, he says,
and now look how serious this is, how serious is this mixing
works in grace, the law on grace. The last verse of chapter 2,
Galatians 2, verse 21. We're just looking at two or
three verses here. Galatians 2, 21, Paul said, I
do not frustrate the grace of God. I'm not confusing this thing. I'm not mixing anything here. Salvation, he went on to say,
is by grace. Over in Ephesians 2, he said,
by grace you say. And he said it twice. Said it
twice, in case you didn't hear it the first time. Oh yes, it's
by grace you say. I mean 100% a gift. Everything's a gift. From the
calling to the giving to the keeping. I do not frustrate the
grace of God. He says, if righteousness That
means that you're accepted by God, you're considered holy.
If that comes by the law, now here's how serious it is. If
it comes by keeping the law, Christ died in vain. Jesus Christ didn't need to come
here and die. That's how serious it is. It's
not just a little question of doctrine here. It's just a question
of semantics. That's not it at all. And it's
subtle. It's real subtle. It's subtle. So that's how serious
it is. He said Jesus Christ didn't need
to come here and die. Turn with me to Psalm 24. Psalm
24. What does it take to be to go
to heaven. What does it take to get into
heaven? For God Almighty to accept that,
be pleased with that. What does it take to get into
heaven? Well, here's what it says. Psalm 24. All right? Psalm 24, verse 3. Who shall ascend into the hill
of the Lord? He's talking about heaven. Who
shall stand in His holy place? All right, here are the qualifications.
He that hath clean hands. That means that you've never
committed one act of sin. Read on. And a pure heart. Hold on now, God looks on the
heart. You've never had an evil motive, never had a sinful thought,
ever. Read on. Who hath not lifted
up his soul unto vanity." In other words, you've lived all
your life for the glory of God and never let one thing on earth,
not one thing on earth has attracted you. It's vanity of vanity. It's
all vanity. Not one thing have you set your
heart on. Read on. "...and nor sworn deceitfully."
There's never been one word come out of your mouth Not one lie,
not one deceitful, not one curse, no bitterness whatsoever. None.
If you can say that, the gates of heaven, the doors of heaven
will swing open to you. You can go up and knock on it
and they'll swing open, come on in. One man who ever lived on this
planet could say all those things. And it goes on there in Psalm
24, and that's not my text, but it says, the gates of heaven
swung wide open to Him. Who? Jesus Christ. Well, how
do we get in? On His coattail. In Him, by faith
in Him. All right, go back to the text.
These two words, listen carefully, two words, these old gospel words,
two words sum up the gospel. Substitution and satisfaction. I told you
this is an old foundational message. Substitution. Jesus Christ, when
He came down here and lived that perfect life, it's called establishing
righteousness, proving He's righteous, holy, acceptable, accepted by
God, the Holy One. Why did He do that? To show us
how? Well, He is our example. He is
our example. We do want to emulate Him. But
that's not why He did it. He did it for us. As a substitute. We couldn't do it. He could. He did. And the mystery, and
we'll never understand it, is how that God Almighty switched
places with us. How that what Christ did God
Almighty charged that to us. What he did, he did it for us
and God, that's, we did it in God's eye. And what we did, all
the sin, and here's the next word, satisfaction. What does
it take to, God is holy, God will by no means clear the guilty.
That's what Scripture said. In the law, in Exodus, when God
began to write the law and give it to you, He said, I will by
no means clear the guilty. And all are guilty. What thing soever the law saith
that saith to them that are under the law, that every mount may
be stopped, and all the world become guilty. Has charge. And God will by no
means clear the guilty. Too strict? No, I've given you
the illustration before of a sterile operating room. Is it too demanding,
too strict of the surgeon to want it sterile and no germs
to enter? One staph germ will wipe out
everybody. One sin entered into this world
and by that man's one sin, death passed upon this world. And all
the corruption that is in this planet, one sin. And God says, I'm going to create
a new heaven and a new earth, and not one sin is going to get
in. Ever. I'm going to wipe it out
forever. How? Well, Jesus Christ, and
now God is holy, and God says there's one thing, there's only
one way to put away something completely. Kill it. Right? Kill it. And when Jesus Christ went to
that cross, and this is a mystery. It's just too, I'm speaking things
too wonderful for me. But when He went to that cross,
I was in Him. He was made sin for me. I was Him. I was being killed. Old man, all of God's people
were in him. And God Almighty killed him. I reminded you last Sunday how
that Christ said, He that liveth and believeth in me shall never
die. Never die. Believers are not
said to die. They're said to sleep. But it's
said of Christ, He died. Didn't He? The soul that sinneth,
it must surely die. Now I don't understand that,
do you? This is way beyond me. But it says he died. So we don't
have to. God killed his son. And he killed
many. And justice. That I sinned against God? God
said, you must surely die. I died. God will by no means clear the
guilty. It must be punished. Christ was
punished. He was punished. And now look
at our text. It says in verse 19, I through
the law am dead to the law. The law came, Christ in my stead,
my substitute, the law came, There I am, hanging on the cross
before God, guilty, in crime. And the law says you must die
for your sins. And I died. You don't understand that, do
you? I don't either, and I'm preaching. He said I died. I, through the law, am dead to
the law. and no more demands. No believer
in Christ, no one for whom Christ died is going to stand before
the judgment seat of God to be judged for their sin. They've
been judged. There is therefore now, right
now, not only then, but now, no condemnation to them which
are in Christ Jesus. It's like a man who has served
his sentence completely. And the law says you're free. He cannot, he will not be tried
for those crimes again. And our God, here's the good
news of the gospel, our God says the iniquity of Israel shall
be sought. The record, all that record against
us, and it will not be found. Not be fancy. Gone. Faithful.
Like that story of you. When they couldn't find a record,
you're free to go. The law demands it. Well, you see, but this is more
than just a doctrine. We're talking about somebody.
A person. Substitute. And then He is our
satisfaction. God poured out on him his wrath. God put on him the iniquity of
us all. That's why it can't be found,
because our hit man, our scapegoat, took those sins. Where Christ
went when he died, we don't know. But he took our sins somewhere
and put them away. All right. So he said, now I
might live unto God. You're dead and your life is
hid with Christ in God. That I might live unto God. Right
now, I live before God. Loved by God. Accepted by God. How? In the beloved. By faith in Him. Now, verse 20,
he said, I'm crucified with Christ. That's what he means by that.
I was killed with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. I live.
Now, notice carefully what he's saying here. I am crucified with
Christ. Nevertheless, I live. This is
me. Yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me. Now, I'm really going to get
on something that I can't explain. I can only declare it. Jesus Christ is seated in the
heavens, isn't it? When he arose from the grave,
he was in a body, wasn't he? A glorified body. And what does
scripture say? He ascended to the right hand,
where he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high.
Isn't that where he is right now? Reigning in the room, seated.
Well, how can he be in me and be there? That's what it says. He says,
yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. Look over at chapter 4.
Paul deals with it in verse 19. Chapter 4, verse 19. He says,
My little children, of whom I prevail in birth again until Christ be
formed in you. This is talking about the new
creature created in Christ Jesus. Now, it's His workmanship. We're
His workmanship. It's not something we do. This
is the new birth. This is the child of God, born
of God, a new creature created in the image of Christ Jesus,
Christ in you. Is that right? That's right. Just like there
was a new baby born, never been around before, to the two parents. The father sired that child and
the mother gave birth to it, prevailed in birth until that
child was born, a brand new creature named Isabella Marie Stoniker.
Never existed before. Brand new. That's Gabe, isn't
it? Look at her. It's Gabe. It's
Gabe in her. It's Hannah in her, isn't it? It's her, but it's him. Am I making sense here? That's
just the best I can do with it. I live. This is me. It's not
me. I have nothing to do with this
new me. Saul of Tarsus didn't exist anymore. Well, he's back there. He's this
old man, you know, and he's plagued. Paul said, Oh, wretched man that
I am. This old Saul of Tarsus rears his ugly head, but God
said he's dead. But there's this new man called
Paul. Old Saul, a blasphemer, a persecutor, an injurious, hatin'
God, hatin' Christ, but this new man, Paul, Christ-like man. Christ in him. The hope of glory. New creature. That's right. A new creature. A brand new man.
I can't, you know, because we can't, well, what about this,
what about, what about what? I mean, that's just the way it
is. You know from experience that's the way it is. Like old
John Newton said, I'm not what I ought to be. I'm not what I
want to be. I'm not what I'm going to be. But thank God, I'm
not what I used to be. There's a new person. I can't
explain it. It's just the way it is. Paul
said to the Corinthians, No, you're not your own selves. How
that Christ be in you, except you be reprobated. There's an old man there that
I wish he was dead. He is. Good as dead. And someday
we're going to lay him down forever. And this new man that was created, He's going to live forever. It's
me, yet not I. Does that make sense? It's as
good a sense as we can make of it. And the life I live, he said,
in the flesh, you see, it's me. I live by the faith of the Son
of God who loved me and gave himself for me. It's not only
faith in Christ, faith toward Christ, but Christ is the author
of it. Christ said over in John 15,
He said, I am the vine, you are the branches. If you abide in
Me. Christ like that Father and Mother. This is the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit. Born of God means born of all
three. The Holy Spirit. Christ travailed
and birthed. Blood and water and so forth.
God the Father sent His seed. The Word. The incorruptible Word.
The Word of Life. And the Holy Spirit brings it.
Like in Elizabeth and Mary, this holy thing. It's a new creature,
but it's of God. It's not of you. It's of God. It sends this gospel, this Word,
and puts it in the heart and the soul, and a brand new creature
comes in. A brand new creature. And it's of God. It's the Son
of God. Christ. He's the author of it,
the finisher of it, the object of it. So, and the source of
it. He's the source of it. In Him
we live and move and have our being. Okay? So, that's the life
I live. This new life. It comes from
God. From the Son of God. Verse 21. Now, he said, I do not frustrate
the grace of God. You don't live. You're not justified. You're not accepted. considered
holy, the law doesn't do any of those things. Is it very clear where life and
pardon and justification and acceptance and all that comes
from? By the grace of God. Remember in chapter 1 he said,
I marvel at you so soon removed from the The grace of God, the
grace, the gospel which God called you under, the grace of Christ,
the gift, the free gift.