I've entitled this message this
morning, Liberty in Christ. The Apostle Paul had spoken of
that liberty throughout this short epistle. He concluded chapter
4 by saying this in verse 31, So then, brethren, we who are
in Christ, who know him and trust him, believe in him, rest in
him. We're not children of the bondwoman, children of bondage,
but we're children of the free. It speaks of freedom, liberty. He'd proven that we're children
of the free. And this liberty is so precious.
I sometimes wonder if we realize and understand the fullness of
this liberty, freedom. What is it talking about? Free
from the law. We sing that song, free from
the law, O happy condition. Jesus hath bled, and there is
remission. What that means is this, the law cannot condemn
us. Now, that's an amazing statement, because who are we talking about
when we say the law cannot condemn us? We're talking about sinners,
aren't we? How in the world can it be that
the law cannot condemn us? Do you hear what I said? The
law cannot condemn us. We're born condemned, born in
Adam into this world in sin, under the sentence of death.
Now we can say the law cannot condemn us. How is that so? We talk about the laws of the
land today. We want the laws of the land
enforced, and then we make it so hard for those who are in
the service of the government to enforce them. We hear about
people getting off of crimes that they're guilty of. The law
won't condemn them, the law won't pronounce them guilty, but we
know that's not right. But here we're talking about
the law of God, the God who sees all, who knows all, who looks
into our hearts. He knows our frame. He knows
us better than we know each other, and he knows us better than ourselves.
And we're talking about his law cannot condemn us. Now, that's
an amazing statement. Well, how is that so? God is
just. God is holy. He cannot just let
it go. He cannot just look over it.
Well, that's the liberty I'm talking about. What does it involve? We're talking about freedom from
the curse of the law, freedom from sin. What does that mean,
freedom from sin? We're going to talk about that.
Freedom from death. Does that mean I'm not going
to die? Well, physically I will, but not eternally and not spiritually. So what are we talking about?
Well, the first thing that he brings forth in this passage,
Relations 5, is a commandment. A commandment, verse 1, stand
fast. Let me tell you something, that's
just as much a commandment as thou shalt not kill. Did you
know that? Sometimes we look upon things
in the Old Testament as if those are commands. But the things
in the New Testament, they're optional. Not so. Listen, if God says it, it's
a command. There's no choice. There's no
option here. There's no take it or leave it. This is not supermarket
religion. The Bible's not like Wal-Mart.
You go in and you make your choice. No, it's all the word of God
from Genesis to Revelation. So here's the command. Stand
fast. That means stand firm. That means
don't be moved away. That means be solemnly, and we
don't like this word today, but I guess it's a good word, dogmatic.
Nobody can change your mind or divert your mind away from this,
your heart. Stand firm, like in concrete. Set your face like a flint. The
Bible says the Lord set his face like a flint toward doing the
work that the Father gave him to do. You stand fast. Stand fast therefore. Because
of what Paul had written up to this point concerning law and
grace, concerning how God saves sinners, stand fast therefore. In what are we to stand firm?
In the liberty, this liberty. And what liberty is it? He says
it's liberty, now listen to this, wherewith Christ hath made us
free. This is liberty we have only
in Christ. This is not liberty as most people
think of liberty today. A man in jail can have this liberty. A man in bonds can have this
liberty. A man in the grave can have this
liberty. This is liberty wherewith Christ
has made us free. And he says, and be not entangled
again with the yoke of bondage. This is the liberty of full salvation,
complete salvation. in Christ and in him alone. Now,
that's what it is. Let me show you this liberty.
Go back to John chapter 8. He says it's liberty wherewith
Christ has made us free. We didn't make ourselves free.
We didn't earn this liberty. We didn't deserve this liberty.
We're sinners and deserve in ourselves nothing but condemnation
and bondage and death. By nature, the law has a hold
on us, has a matter against us, but now we're free. Now we're
free, and this is liberty. Christ told his disciples in
John chapter 8, look at verse 32. He says, You shall know the
truth, and the truth shall make you free. Now, what does that
mean? Well, it's the truth of the gospel, the gospel of free
and sovereign grace, of how God saves sinners and sets sinners
captive at liberty by his precious work on the cross of Calvary.
as he paid our debt. That's part of this liberty.
It's freedom from debt. Think about that, being free
from debt. Do you ever think about being in a position in
this life where you don't owe anybody one penny? You know,
for most of us, that's almost unimaginable. Isn't it? That'd be something. You don't
owe anybody one penny, as far as money goes. But now here we
have a liberty in that our debt has been paid in full to God. I mean, it's paid in full. Now,
most people don't believe that, even though they sing it. They'll
sing an hymn, Jesus paid it all. They don't really believe it.
You've got to pay, too. Well, what do you have to pay?
Well, it depends on which brand of religion you're with. Depends
how much and how often you've got to pay it. But Nosa, this
is liberty. And he says, this truth will
make you free. Now look at verse 33. He says,
they answered him. Now, the Pharisees answered him.
They said, we be Abraham's seed. Now, that's our hope of salvation.
We're physical descendants of Abraham, they're saying. All
right? And that's got to count for something here now in this
thing, you know? And he says, they say, we were
never in bondage to any man. All right? How sayest thou you
shall be made free? And Jesus answered them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant
of sin." Now, what he's talking about there is not just sinning. We're all sinners, but he's talking
about those who are in bondage to sin. He's talking about one
here. This whosoever committeth sin
there is one who still owes a debt to God's law and justice. His
sins are not paid for. You see what I'm saying? He's
still in bondage. He still owes a debt to God's
law and justice. He commits sin in the sense that
he's condemned. That's what that means. He's
condemned. And he's the slave of sin. He's
a slave. Now, he may be like these Pharisees.
He may not know it. He may think he's free. Because,
you see, a lot of people think they're free when they're not.
There's a lot of people who are in bondage who think they're
free. And what's the problem? Well, they think they're liberated
by something other than Christ and what he accomplished in his
obedience unto death. You see, if you think you're
free because you've been baptized, you're still in bondage. If you
think you're free because you've been circumcised, you're still
in bondage. You just don't know it. You see,
we don't know where in bondage until we're made free. Because
it's the truth that makes us free. If you think you're liberated
by your profession, or whatever you point to, if it's anything
other than or outside of Christ and him crucified, you're in
bondage. You just don't know it. Just
don't know it. You're in jail and don't know
it. So he says, whosoever commit a sin is the servant of sin,
the slave. He's in bondage. Verse 35 of
John 8. And he says, and the slave, the servant, abideth not
in the house forever. In other words, he has no permanent,
abiding, lasting position in the household. Why? Because he's
a slave. He's a slave. And as long as
a slave is in the household, he owes a debt to his master,
and his position in the household is always conditioned on his
doing the service of his slavery. If he ever stops doing the service,
he's a goner, as they say. So the slave, the bondman, the
one who is in bondage here, he doesn't abide in the house forever.
But look at the next line, verse 35. But the son abideth ever. Why? Because he's a son. And
who is the Son here? That's Christ. Well, in my Bible, you've got
to turn the page. You may not in yours. But look at verse 36.
Now, look here. If the Son therefore make you
free, that's Christ. If He makes you free, if the
Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. That means really free. And it's
not just an imagined thing. It's not that you think you're
free. No, if He makes you free, you're free indeed. You're really
free if He made you free. Now, what Paul is saying in Galatians
5, verse 1, "...stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ
hath made us free." Because if He's made us free, we're free
indeed. We've been liberated, folks. We're at liberty. The jail has
been opened, and we've been set free. Because Christ has made
us free. If he's made us free, we're really
free. And then I want you to look over at Romans chapter 6.
Turn over there with me. It's liberty. Now, if you made
yourself free, you're not free indeed. You just think you are. But if Christ has made you free,
you're free indeed. Well, what is this liberty? What
is this freedom? Let me give you several things
here. First of all, it's the freedom and liberty, and I'm
talking about its scope. It's the freedom and liberty
of knowing that my whole salvation was conditioned on Christ and
on him alone, and he's fulfilled all the conditions. He's met
all the requirements. Everything that God requires
of me, I find complete in Christ. If God requires of me wisdom,
then I find my complete wisdom, not in myself now, I do a lot
of foolish things, but I find complete wisdom in Christ who
is my wisdom. If God requires of me righteousness,
and he does, I find in Christ completely all the righteousness
that God requires and that I need. Don't find it in myself now,
find it in him. If God requires of me holiness, sanctification,
I find it completely in him, already taken care of. Not in
me, but in him. And if God requires of me redemption,
the price of redemption, I find the complete price paid in Christ."
Now, that's what it means. Now, look here at Romans chapter
6. He's talking about being baptized into the death of Christ. Now,
what does that mean? That's what he says in verse
3 of Romans 6. Know you not that so many of
us, as were baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into his
death?" Now, that's not talking about water baptism here. That's
talking about our union with Christ as he is our representative
and our substitute and our surety. And that means this. When Christ
obeyed the law, and he did, the perfect Son of God, The Lamb
without blemish and without spot. He who did no sin and knew no
sin. When he obeyed the law, everyone
whom he represented is considered by God to have obeyed that law. Now, that's what that means.
Are you in Christ? Well, when he obeyed the law,
you did. You didn't do it personally,
and you still don't do it. I didn't do it personally, and
I still don't do it. But he did, and he's my representative. He's
my substitute. He's my surety. When he suffered,
we suffered. When he died, we died. He paid the penalty for us. He
died for our sins. Our sins were laid upon him.
He suffered, bled, and died, not for sins that he committed,
but sins that we committed. And even the sin of Adam charged
us, original sin. He took care of it all. And we
were baptized into him when he suffered bread and died. When
he was buried, we were buried. When he arose again the third
day, we arose again the third day. Now, that's what we testify
to when we're baptized. Every believing sinner ought
to be baptized to identify with this death that we've already
experienced in Christ, this legal death. Confessing before the
world, publicly identifying with him, not in order to be saved. If this sets you free, you're
not free. You better get back in there. Better do it every
day. Still won't do it, though. The
waters of baptism will not wash away sin. What can wash away
my sin? Nothing. Nothing but the blood
of Jesus. What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus. This is all my hope and peace.
Nothing but the blood of Jesus. This is all my righteousness.
Nothing but the blood of Jesus. If the Son, therefore, hath made
you free, you will be free indeed." Look at verse 5 of Romans 6. He says, for if we have been
planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also
in the likeness of his resurrection. If we died with him, we are going
to be resurrected, knowing this, that our old man is crucified
with him. That old man there is our state
in Adam. It died with Christ. We are no
longer condemned in Adam. We still have the flesh. We're
going to talk about that. We still have that struggle,
the flesh and the spirit. Paul talks about that later on.
But that old man is crucified with him, that old man here.
"...that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth
we should not serve sin." Remember what he said? He that committeth
sin is the servant of sin. He's in bondage. What he's talking
about here is that that body of sin was destroyed in Christ,
that we should not be slaves to sin. We're not under bondage.
We don't owe a debt. It's been paid. We're not condemned. Verse 7, For he that is dead
is freed from sin. Now, in your concordance there
in your Bible, that word free is justified in. That liberty that we have in
Christ is the fact that we've been freely, totally, completely,
and eternally justified in him and by him. We're declared not
guilty. Not guilty. When God opens up
the law books and has our names there, there is nothing against
us in God's law book. He has remitted our sins. It's
been done away with. He said, I've cast it as far
away from you as east is from the west, cast it into the depths
of the ocean. It cannot be found. And even
to the fact that God says, I will remember them no more. They're
not there. That's freedom. They're not there. You stand
before the judge of the universe, he opens the book, and there's
your name, and there's no sin against you if you're in Christ. That's true of every sinner who's
in Christ. Now, if the Son has made you free, justify. You see,
three things must be done if we're to enter heaven's glory.
First of all, we must be justified from all sin. We must be delivered
from condemnation. That's what he's talking about.
For he that is dead is justified from sin. He's freed. He cannot
be condemned. There is therefore now no condemnation
of them who are in Christ Jesus, Romans 8.1. Isn't that right? Who can condemn us? Who shall
lay anything to the charge, to the account of God the elect?
It's God that justified us. Who can condemn us? It's Christ
that died, yea, rather than risen again, seated at the right hand
of the Father, making intercession for us. He's our advocate. When
Satan hurls his charges against us, when men hurl their charges
against us, it falls on the ground, doesn't reach us, because the
blood of the Lamb turns it back. God said, when I see the blood,
I'll pass over you. Do you notice there, it doesn't
say when God sees the blood, he'll look over you? You know,
in our children, they'll do a lot of bad things, and sometimes
we'll just look over it. Won't we? Maybe other people
won't, but we will. But that's not the way God does.
He passes over it. In other words, there's no judgment
to be found there. It's in the blood. And he says,
when I see it, I'll pass. What is that blood? It's not
the blood of an ant. It's the blood of Christ, the Lamb of
God. Justify. Secondly, in order to
enter heaven's glory, we must be freed from the power of sin.
Now, I want you to look at this. Go down to verse 17 in Romans
6. He says, but God be thanked that
as you were the servants of sin, you were in bondage. That's what
that means. You were condemned. You were an Adam, lost, defiled
by sin. You were servants of sin, slaves,
but you have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which
was delivered you. That's the gospel and the power
of the Spirit who has given us a new heart to receive Christ
and believe him and trust him and rest in him. You've obeyed
from the heart. It's not just head knowledge,
it reaches the very heart. Now, look at verse 18. Being
then made free from sin, you became the servants of righteousness.
You became bond slaves to righteousness. Now, that word free there is
a different word than over in verse 7. Over in verse 7, it
means justified. It's a legal matter where God
wipes the books clean because of the blood of Christ. On the
cross of Calvary, that was taken care of 2,000 years ago in Christ. But in time, as the fruit and
result of what Christ did on the cross 2,000 years ago, he
sends his Spirit and gives us ears to hear, eyes to see. That's
what verse 18 is talking about. That word free there is liberated. And what it means is this. What
Christ did 2,000 years ago to make you free legally, now you've
come to see it. Now you've come to realize it
in your heart. Now you know about it. Now it's
part of you. You've been liberated by the
Spirit of God. Now, that freedom from the power
of sin doesn't mean that we quit sinning. It doesn't mean freedom
from the power that keeps us from sinning. We're still sinners. And as I said, Paul's going to
talk about that over in Galatians 5, beginning in verse 16 and
17, the warfare of the flesh and the spirit. You still have
a warfare, even though you've been freed from the legal debt
that you owe, condemnation, free from condemnation, even though
you've been free from the power of sin. It doesn't mean you stop
sinning, and you won't, not until you leave this life. So how are
we free from the power of sin? We're free from the power that
sin has over us. to keep us from Christ. That's right, to keep us from
looking to him, coming to him, resting in him, hoping in him,
finding him. That's what it's talking about.
Free from the power of unbelief to keep us in a state of condemnation
and ignorance, lost in our sins. Oh, we still have unbelief in
us, but it doesn't control us now. We look to Christ. If you can look to Christ now,
even though you have those struggles, then you've been liberated. How
do I see that liberation? Looking to Christ. That's it.
You say, well, I stopped this and started that. That's not
liberation. You say, well, I used to taste
such and such. I don't taste it anymore. I used to touch such
and such, and I don't touch it anymore. I used to handle this,
and I don't handle it anymore. Well, that's not liberation.
That's bondage. Now, let me tell you, if you
think that recommends you unto God, this power from sin, this
freedom from the power of sin, is only found in one way. Are
you looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith? Do
you see your sinfulness to the point that you have no other
hope but in him? That's what this liberation is.
And you become servants of righteousness. Now you look unto Christ. That's
what that means. To be a servant of righteousness
means you look to him as the Lord your righteousness. You
seek to follow him, not in order to be served, but because you
already have been. Not in order to be set free,
but because you already are. Now, the third thing that's needed
to enter heaven is freedom from the very presence and influence
of sin in our lives. And that hasn't happened yet
in our experience. It hasn't happened yet in our
experience, but it will. It will. Why? Because Christ
has set us free. He determines it. He assures
it. My complete and final glory in heaven is assured because
of Christ. Now, that's so, isn't it? Look
back at Galatians 5. Now, that's the freedom. Oh,
my soul, think about it. We're forgiven of all our sins,
past sins, present sins, future sins. by the blood of Christ.
We are justified and entitled to all of grace and glory and
inheritance based on his righteousness imputed. Listen to me. Sin, I'm a sinner, but sin cannot
bring me under condemnation. Now, that's freedom, isn't it?
Now, he says back here, look here now, he says, wherewith
Christ is made us free. Now, he says, be not entangled
again with the yoke of bondage. What is that bondage? Any notion,
now listen to me, it's been under the law, but bondage is any notion
of salvation, any part of it, at any stage, any degree of it,
conditioned on the center, based upon our law keeping, that we
think so highly of by nature. And the command is, don't get
entangled with that stuff. Don't let preachers drive you
into that stuff or turn you away from Christ. Stand firm in this
liberty wherewith Christ has made us free. We know that false
preachers can be so subtle because Satan is subtle. He can disguise
himself as a minister of righteousness and make you think that he's
honoring and glorifying God, but he says, be firm. Be discerning
in this, stand firm in that liberty wherewith Christ alone has made
you free. Don't you turn your eyes inward
or outward, you look upward to him. Keep on that simplicity
that's in Christ. Well, the next point here is
the consequences. Now, somebody asked me one time,
said, why do you preach such a narrow gospel? A narrow gospel. I mean, it's like if what you
say is not true, nobody can get in, you know. And I told him,
I said, well, I said, I imagine we could open the door a little
bit wider and give some leeway, but there's one thing stopping
us, and that's God's glory. God must be glorified. God's
word. How narrow is this? Well, the
gospel is a narrow way. If the Bible says that, straight
is the gate, narrow is the way, and few there be that. If you
want to be saved God's way, you're saved. However many that is, that narrow
way, it's big enough to bring everybody who wants to be saved
God's way. The problem is, by nature, none
of us don't want to be saved God's way. We want to be saved
our way. or grandma's way, or grandpa's
way, or our denomination's way. Now, that's our problem. Or the
way that we think is right. But see, God has one way, and
he will save no sinner but that one way, and that one way is
Christ and him crucified. Any deviation from that message
of grace is deadly. That's the consequences of disobedience. Look at it. He gives three things
here. Look at verse 2. He says, That
means pay attention. You pay attention to what I'm
telling you. I, Paul, say unto you that if you be circumcised,
Christ shall profit you nothing. Now, first of all, he's speaking
to people who claim that Christ was their salvation. If it hadn't
been, he wouldn't have said, Christ will profit you nothing.
They'd say, well, what do I care about that? They were naming
the name of Christ. But they had been swayed by false
preachers into thinking that something had to be added to
him, something added to his blood, his righteousness, what he did
in order to make you saved, more saved, or holier, or more complete,
or more free. Something Christ-plus. And here
was circumcision. Now, that was an issue among
the Jews because of the commandment God gave to Abraham, and under
the law of Moses, every male was to be circumcised on the
eighth day after their birth. And the Bible is very plain.
In the Old Testament, that physical circumcision was a sign of the
covenant with Abraham and obedience to the law of Moses, and it was
necessary for their position in that nation. But that was
a physical covenant. That was bondage, you see. Circumcision
had nothing to do with eternal life. Physical circumcision had
nothing to do with spiritual forgiveness of sins. Physical circumcision had nothing
to do with being a spiritual child of God. Let me show you
that. Look over at Romans, chapter 2. Physical circumcision was required
under that earthly covenant, physical covenant. But you see,
that's done away with, that's over with. And even under that
physical covenant, it had nothing to do with eternal life and salvation. Nothing. The majority of those
who were physically circumcised, even under that covenant, perished
in unbelief, the scripture tells us. So it had nothing to do. So he says in Romans chapter
2, the last few verses here, verse 28. He says, for he is
not a Jew which is one outwardly, that is physically, neither is
that circumcision which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew
which is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the
spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men but
of God." That's speaking of spiritual circumcision. What is spiritual
circumcision of the heart? That's the work of the Holy Spirit.
the cutting away of the filth of the flesh spiritually to show
us our sinfulness and drive us to Christ for all hope and salvation. How do you know? Listen, spiritual
circumcision happens to both men and women. You women who
know Christ, your heart has been circumcised. So it has nothing
to do with physical circumcision, you see. And that's not the ground
of your salvation. Spiritual circumcision of the
heart is not the ground of your salvation. It's the fruit. It's the result. What Christ
did on the cross is the ground. What Christ did on the cross
2,000 years ago saves me, keeps me, and will bring me to glory.
Now, how do I know I have an interest in him? How do I know
that he died for me? The spiritual circumcision, the
work of the Spirit in me that drives me to him, shows me that
he died for me. And then look at Romans chapter
9. You see that? But now these false preachers
were coming into the churches of Galatia, and they're saying,
now wait a minute, I know Christ is your hope and your salvation,
but you've got to be circumcised physically, you men, in order
to be really saved, really liberated, to be holy. Look here at Romans
9 and verse 6. He's talking about how the majority
of the nation of Israel rejected Christ, and he says, it's not
as though the word of God hath taken none effect, for they are
not all Israel, which are of Israel. Neither because they
are the seed of Abraham are they all children, but in Isaac, the
child of the seed of promise, shall thy seed be called. That
is, they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the
children of God, but the children of the promise are counted for
the seed." That physical connection by birth and by circumcision
to Abraham had nothing to do with salvation. So go back to
Galatians 5.2 now. Now what's Paul saying here?
He's saying this. If you submit to physical circumcision,
thinking that it will gain you favor with God, thinking that
it will recommend you unto God, or thinking that it will make
you holier or more saved or freer, Christ will profit you nothing.
You have made that circumcision a rival to the person and work
of Christ, and that's Now let me tell you something, you can
take any act of obedience and put it in that verse there. I can say it this way, if you
be baptized for that reason, thinking that it will attain
salvation or maintain it or earn your rewards. Bible says baptism
is the answer of a good conscience. What does that mean? That means
that when I'm baptized, I know and I'm confident that I follow
God's command. That issue's settled in my mind.
It has nothing to do with my salvation. What saves me, what
keeps me, that's by the sovereign grace of God. It's not the waters
of baptism, it's the blood of Christ that washes away my sins.
Now, if I think the waters of baptism has anything to do with
attaining or maintaining salvation or entitling me to heaven, Christ
will profit me nothing. Giving. Working, doing good works,
anything. If you think they recommend you
unto God, if you think that's what makes you holy, if you think
that's what gives you a right standing before God, Christ will
profit you nothing. You see, that's rejecting him. Look at the third verse now.
Here's the second consequence. He says, for I testify again
to every man that is circumcised for that reason. You see what
I'm saying? For that reason. If that's why
you're doing it, He's a debtor to do the whole law. Now, those
who do that are saying in their minds, I owe a debt to God's
law and justice. Well, you've got it all to do.
In other words, in being circumcised or performing any act of obedience
for that reason, what you're actually saying is that Christ
didn't pay the whole debt. He didn't do it all. There's
some left for me to do. And Paul says, well, if that's
the case, then you've got it all to do. If you've got it,
listen, if you've got any of it to do, then you've got it
all to do. That's what he's saying right
there. He said that back over in Galatians 2 and verse 21.
He said, I do not frustrate the grace of God, for if righteousness
come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. If what Christ
worked out on the cross of Calvary to establish righteousness for
us, if that didn't do it all, and we have to add our works
of obedience to it, and he died in vain. That's what you're saying. No, he didn't die in vain. But
that's what the false religion is saying. I even heard a preacher
say one time when he was given an invitation. Now, you know,
people have asked me, say, how do you join this church? Well,
if you want to be part of this church, just come and tell me.
That's how you join us. I don't put you in here. God
adds to his church, and you just come and tell me. But I don't
give an invitation now and stand down here and beg people to make
a decision. But I heard a man who did that.
I used to be pretty skilled in doing that. Really now, I used
to. I heard a man say one time, he
said, never close your Bible before the invitation, and never
say, and in conclusion. Because he said, if you do, you
give people time to resist the Holy Spirit. I mean, methods
of religion. But I heard a man say, he said,
now Christ died for you. He said, did he die in vain for
you? Now, what he meant by that is,
look, if you don't make your decision and accept him as your
personal Savior, then he did die in vain for you. And that's
not what happened, folks. He did not die in vain for anybody. When he died, when he shed his
blood, law and justice was satisfied, righteousness was established,
and our position in heaven was made sure. Right then and there. You say, well, how do I know
if he died for me? You come to him and look to him. Rest in
him. Don't join the church. Don't
join the denomination. Because you see, if you come
to him, you're already the church. Isn't that right? You're already
in the church. What is the church? The redeemed
of the Lord. The Bible says the church was
redeemed with his precious blood. Isn't that right? And they're
called to him. Have you been called by the Holy
Spirit? Well, you'll answer the call.
You won't have to get me to beg you. In fact, if I walk away
from you, you'll run after me and grab me by the coattails.
You won't keep You won't keep a mercy beggar from coming to
the seat of mercy. Is that right? You won't keep
him from it. He or she, they have to get to Christ. They're
like Jacob, wrestling with the angel. I'm not going to let you
go until you bless me. They're like that woman of Christ when
the crumbs fell off the table and she come in and she said,
I give the children's bread to dogs, and she said, truth, Lord,
I'm just a dog, but can I have these crumbs? Just give me the
crumbs. I've got to have at least crumbs."
And that's the way it is. But he says, if you do anything
thinking that it will recommend you unto God, whatever it is,
circumcision, baptism, whatever, you're a debtor to do the whole
law. You owe a debt. You're still in bondage. Look
at the next one, verse 4. He says, "...Christ is become
of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified, declared
not guilty, and made righteous by the law. You're falling from
grace. What he's saying there is this.
You who claim that Christ is your hope and salvation, his
work, his blessings, his blood is of no effect to you because
you're denying him. That's what he means there. If
you're justified by the law, if you're declared not guilty
or made righteous by anything done by you or in you or through
you and not totally by what Christ did, And you're falling from
grace. You're denying grace. Now, he
doesn't mean you've lost your salvation there. Being fallen
from grace, listen, falling from grace does not mean that you've
lost salvation. It means you deny grace. You
deny what you claim. You claim salvation by grace,
but you're denying it. We know that nobody who's saved
can lose that salvation. The Bible teaches that. If anybody
who claims to believe grace, any of you sitting here today
who claim to know the Lord, if you ever leave him and apostatize,
what does the Bible say about you? It says you never knew him. It says you never were saved
to begin with. You just proved out what was
always true. That's what it says. But here he's saying you're denying
grace. Now look at verse 5. Now that's the consequence. Now
here's the conclusion. He says, for we through the Spirit,
that's the Holy Spirit, The Holy Spirit, what is his work? He
causes us, he indwells us to wait for the hope of righteousness
by faith. That is, we look for our righteousness
not in the law, but in Christ. That's where we look for it.
We wait for the hope, the certain assurance of righteousness by
faith, that is, by looking to Christ. You want to know if the
Holy Spirit has done a work in your heart? Here it is, right
here in verse 5. Are you waiting for the hope of righteousness
by faith? In other words, I'm already made righteous in Christ.
I'm already not guilty. What am I waiting for? I'm waiting
for that hope. What is that hope? That's final
glory. That's the certain assurance
of the completion of this whole thing in Christ. Righteousness by faith. In verse
6. Now, what does that mean? In
Christ Jesus, if I'm by the Spirit of God waiting for the hope of
righteousness by faith, then in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision
avail of anything nor uncircumcision, I don't care. Those things have
nothing to do with my salvation, whether I'm circumcised or not.
All of these things that men try to put on you in bondage
that they say will recommend you unto God, they mean nothing
to me. The only thing that means anything to me is Christ and
Him crucified in Him. That's it. Then he says, but
faith which worketh by love. Now, somebody asks, well, what
place do good works have in the scheme of salvation? I'm going
to deal with that more tonight. But here we see that faith, now
what is faith? Faith looks to Christ. Faith has an object. Any faith that doesn't look to
him, rest in him, and see our liberty and completion in him
is not saving faith. What does faith do? If there is true faith, there
will be good works, there will be obedience to some degree.
But how does it work? By law? No, by love. There's the motive. Faith works
by love. In other words, we're to be obedient,
we're to seek to be conformed to Christ, we're to treat each
other right, we're to grow in grace and knowledge, but not
to be saved. You see that? Not to earn God's
reward, but by love. Why? Because you love Him who
first loved you. That's it. Because we love each
other. Because we love God. Do it out
of love. Somebody said, well, then why
should I obey? Well, how about this? Because God said to. Is
that enough? Is He your Redeemer? Is He your
Lord? Is He your Savior? Does he love
you? Well, isn't it enough just to
do it because you love him? What, do you need me to dangle
a carrot at the end of a pole to get you to run? Well, you
know what you're going to do if I dangle the carrot? You're
going to look at the carrot. That's what your eyes are going to be
fixed upon. You're going to be running after the carrot. How does the
Bible say run? Look unto Jesus, the author and
finisher. Look to him because it's already
finished in him. All right.