All right, that text again was
Galatians chapter 2 verse 19, reading on through chapter 3
to verse 12. Now watch Paul as he says here. I believe he's still speaking
to Simon Peter, though there is a dispute about that. He says
in verse 19, after all this that he said, for I, through the law,
am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified
with Christ, Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ lives 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 do not frustrate the grace
of God, for if righteousness come by the law, then is Christ
dead in vain. And then he turns his attention
and his words to the Galatian assembly. O foolish Galatians,
who hath bewitched you that you should not obey the truth before
whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified
among you? This only would I learn of you. Received ye the Spirit by the
works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish,
having begun in the Spirit, are you now made perfect in the flesh? Have you suffered so many things
in vain, if it be yet in vain? He therefore that ministereth
to you the Spirit, and works miracles among you, did he do
it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? even as Abraham believed God,
and it was accounted unto him for righteousness. Know ye therefore
that they which are of faith the same are the children of
Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing
that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before
the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be
blessed. So then, they which be of faith
are blessed with faithful Abraham. For as many as are of the works
of the law are under the curse, for it is written, Cursed is
everyone that continueeth not in all things which are written
in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified
by the law in the sight of God, it is evident, for the just shall
live by faith. And the law is not of faith,
but the man that doeth them shall live in them. Now, let me begin
with this introduction. That is, if the subject be puzzling
or if it seem unclear, then let us define up front and forward
what we mean by the name that we have given unto our study. Well, there's no intent to obscure
or to be mysterious about the thought that are before us this
morning. By believers, of course, we make
reference only unto such as are true believers in the Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ, who have believed upon Him unto the saving
of their soul, Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 39. who have the
faith of God's elect, Titus chapter 1 and verse 1, and who are those
that are the called according to the purpose of God. In other
words, we do not speak of the whirling who professes one thing
and then lives another. We're not talking about the empty
hypocrite, no. We're talking about the believer's
rule of life. And then by the rule of life,
we are asking the question What then is the influence that guides
the children of God, the believer? What is the rule of life and
what defines their code of moral conduct? Which is the guiding
principle that influences them as they live out this life in
the world? The question is, What is the
Christian's rule of life as a believer and a follower of the Lord Jesus
Christ? What does the Lord require? What
path does he set us in? What is the guiding rule of their
conduct? Is it the free grace of God in
the Lord Jesus Christ and the indwelling and the work of the
sovereign Holy Spirit and the truth of God's blessed and inspired
and infallible word? Is that the guide and the principle
of life to the believer and the elect? Or, on the other hand,
as many say, is it the law? Is it the moral law and the Ten
Commandments that is the rule of life for the children of God
and of the believer? Now you may well recognize that
this issue was a source of major contention throughout the history
of Christendom. Many, in fact, if not most, insisting
for the latter. That is that the moral law is
yet the rule of life for those that are Christian and name the
name of Christ. and particularly will you meet
with it again and again and strongly in the reading of the Puritan
and in the reading of many of them that answer to reform. Now in this study, I will tell
you that I will attempt to make the case That the believer is
free from the rule of the law through the death and blood and
sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. That he is dead to the law as
we will see in Romans 7 verses 1 through 4. And that grace,
the grace of God, has set up rain in the believer's heart. That the grace of God is raining
there, raining under righteousness and unto eternal life by Jesus
Christ our Lord, Romans chapter 5 and verse 21. And that they
walk by faith before their blessed God and Savior, and that they're
not without guides and influences and codes and such like, that
they have two infallible guides to lead them in the good path. They have the Holy Spirit of
God. permanently indwelling in them,
leading, guiding, teaching, convicting, and such like. And B, they have
the inspired, infallible Word of God, so that their rule of
life It actually comes under a four-fold event. There's the
grace of God, there is faith created in them by the Lord,
there is the Spirit of God that lives in them, and there are
the sacred scripture that guides the life and the conduct of the
children of God. But I must tell you that that
requires a new heart. That God must give a new heart. That God takes away the old heart,
the stony heart, and gives them a heart of flesh. Now, before
we pursue that any further, we will hear Paul's instruction
to the Galatians on this matter. One great problem, and it was
a problem in many places at Galatia, and it concerned false teachers
seeking to persuade them to return again to the legal institution
and the Jewish or Abrahamic circumcision and such things as that. And
you see that in chapter 6, verse 12 through 15, what Paul called
in Galatians 4 and verse 9, the weak and beggarly elements of
the world wherein you desire to be again in bondage. Some were desiring to be under
the law, Galatians 4 and verse 21, which he answers with that
great allegory concerning the two wives and the two sons of
Abraham. They were being moved from the
gospel to another gospel than that which Paul had preached
unto them, but which was not another gospel at all. And then they were allowing or
seeking to allow themselves to be brought again under the law. So here in chapter 3 that we
have read, and the first few verses, he appeals to their experience,
and that's very important. Let's not forget it, or let us
lose sight of it. He appeals to their experience. That is, when he came among them,
preaching the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. So, we have read
the last verses of chapter 2. Now, let's come to chapter 3
and look as Paul begins to catechize them concerning the experience
that God had brought them through. Paul's confession and position
against the action of his fellow apostle Peter in Antioch amounted
to building up again what had been torn down. What Peter did
was, in effect, building up again what had been torn down. And
Paul, in those last few verses there, uses the word I, referring
unto himself, ten times in the last four verses of chapter 2
concerning his relationship to the law and to the gospel of
Christ. And then in chapter 3, 1 through
5, he turns it on the Galatians for allowing themselves to be
misled after Christ had been so clearly preached or play-carded
among them in their hearing. He had been preached among them
as crucified. The Lord had crucified his son. And Paul concedes them to be
believers. In verse 2, he says unto them,
Tell me this, He would require something of them. Answer me
then, or let me ask you this, as we sometimes say, this would
I know. This would I have you to answer
and to consider. Verse 2, did you receive the
Spirit, that is the Holy Spirit of God, Did you receive that
spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? In other words, the question
is simple. Was the spirit given in conjunction
with the preaching and the practice of the law or with a hearing
of faith? There can only be one answer. Paul knows that for sure. And
then in verse 3, another part of his catechism, are you so
foolish having begun in the spirit Will you now be perfected in
the flesh? And if the spirit set you in
the gospel way, if it was the spirit that calls you into this
relationship, can you then expect to reach your end by finishing
up in the flesh? Will you switch from faith unto
the flesh? Will you switch from faith back
unto the flesh? Is this reasonable? Is it even
possible? Now I suppose that by flesh he
does not refer to open carnality, but carnal or fleshly ordinances
which had been done away in the Lord Jesus Christ. Then verse
5, notice, he asks them further, the one ministering to you, the
Spirit of God, The one working miracles among you, too strong
to be denied, meaning not Paul or a minister, but the Lord God
or Christ himself, who worked miracles among you. Is this,
was it by the works of the law or was it by or in conjunction
with a hearing of faith? Did it come when you heard or
when you did or when you practiced the law or did it come when you
heard believe the gospel of Christ and the doctrine of justification
by faith. Now again there is in their case
only one possible answer. None of that came in conjunction
with the law. It all came in conjunction with
faith or with Christ preached as crucified. Now in order to
confirm that that that is a sound position, Paul invokes the experience
of men, a man that they revered greatly, and that man was Abraham. And you'll find that in verse
6 and following. We read it and will not read
it again. If I might plagiarize and paraphrase
another author. Paul would remind them that as
it was with Abraham, so it is with his spiritual seed. Abraham was justified by faith
and righteousness was imputed to him, not only apart from the
works of the law, but before the law was ever given. That's important, not only apart
from the law, but before the law was ever given. And prior
to his being circumcised, Abraham believed and righteousness was
imputed unto him. So hear this point, that the
case of Abraham, who is the father of all of them that believe,
Romans 4 16 and Romans 4 and 11. Here is the thought for us
to ponder. The justification of Abraham
by faith and the imputation of righteousness unto him. And by
the way, that is the model for all others as Paul shows in Romans
chapter 4. That absolutely takes law, whether
moral or ceremonial, out of the equation altogether with regard
to Abraham. It takes it out of the equation
altogether. Abraham being justified before
either of them were given. before the moral law was given
and thundered out at Sinai, and before the ceremonial law was
given unto Israel in the days of Moses. Now granted, there
are many in our day who indeed do preach salvation, justification
by the grace of God and through faith. that we're cleansed and
that we're justified by the blood of Christ without works or deeds
of law and by grace alone. There are many, and thankful
that they do, preach that grace is by the free, sovereign benefit
of Almighty God. By grace alone, so they say. But then they do, I think, a
terrible thing. They say, salvation is by grace. Yes, it is by grace and through
faith. Who then turn around and bind
the yoke of the law upon their converts, and that very firmly,
telling them that they are under the law again as a rule of life
and of duty. Usually, it will be expressed
along these lines. You are not under the law as
a covenant. You're not under the law as to
the saving of your soul, but you're under the law as a rule
of life. That is, the law is become the
Christian's rule of law. And while you are free from the
wrath and the curse of the law, while you are free from the condemnation
of it, you are yet under it as a rule of life and of duty, making
it, as it were, the instrument of your sanctification and of
your righteous walk before God. Now, as for this distinction,
that the Christian is free from the law as a covenant, but is
under it, on the other hand, as a rule of life and duty, consider
two points. Think about these things, let
them all over in your mind. Number one, as William Huntington
put it, one would find it impossible to prove this from the scripture. They would find it impossible
to go to this distinction made in the scripture, that you're
not under the law, you're under grace as to salvation, but under
the law as to a rule of life. And secondly, and think about
this, this is not a distinction which we find Paul making in
his epistle. He is constantly speaking, he
is constantly insisting on the believers' complete freedom from
the law. We will consider some of those
places later in our study. Now, let's do something that
I think might be a point and help us to understand and see
these things. And that is, let's consider the
case of the saints before the giving, either of the moral or
of the ceremonial law. That is, let's consider those
who lived, who believed in God, who were children of God before
the giving of the Ten Commandments or the institution of the ceremonial
or the Mosaic law. And the question that I want
to raise is, what was their rule and guide of life? Certainly
they were not without one, for all the children of God have
a rule and a guide of life. Did they have a rule of life
or a guiding principle that directed their step, their walk, and their
worship unto God? It was not the law, for it was
not yet given. Now, I know some might argue
the law of conscience or the law of the heart. We understand
that. But as one man asked, what rule had those glorious pilgrims
to walk by, unquote? That is, those men and women
who lived before the giving of the law. Now, who can deny they
live godly lives before the Lord? They are commended in the scripture
for living their godly life before the Lord. Abel, for example,
who obtained witness that he was righteous, Hebrews 11 and
verse 4, but without a law, either moral or ceremonial. And the
Lord had respect unto him and unto his offering Hebrews chapter
4, Genesis chapter 4 and verse 4. And what about Enoch in Genesis
5 and verse 29? He walked with the Lord and he
was not for he was translated for the Lord took him. having
the testimony that he pleased God. Hebrews 11 and verse 5. How about Noah who obeyed God
and by faith built an ark and became heir of the righteousness
which is by faith and condemned the world of his day. And then there's Abraham, who
believed God, he obeyed God, God spoke, Abraham believed it,
righteousness was imputed unto him, he left his country and
went out knowing not whether he went, took his son to a mount
to offer him up before God. What about Moses, who forsook
the pleasure of Egypt and such like? Now all of those saints
and others that are unknown unto us in that age. We ask of those
who say that the saints' rule of life is the law. What rule
of life had these before the law was ever given? The answer is this. There is
one common rule that they all had, and that is by faith. They did these great things before
their God, and they walked before their God by faith, and they
were blessed by God. And each one of them we read
distinctly in the scripture, particularly in Hebrews chapter
11 by faith. By faith they did this or that
or the other. Faith regulated and faith guided
their life. Their rule of life was faith,
not law. And they're set forth for an
example unto us in that great chapter 11 of the book of Hebrews. Would you turn with me, if you
like, to the book of Acts now? Let's take a long jump. from
the history before the law until after the law, and in Acts chapter
15. Let me, while you're turning
there, get you up to speed. There was a great contention
that occurred in Antioch, as some came down and they said,
look, except these Gentiles be circumcised and keep the law,
they cannot be saved. Now this is very relevant to
our present inquiry as to whether or not the law is the rule of
life for believers. where the believers must be put
under the law as the Jews insisted that the Gentiles be subject
to circumcision, Acts 15 and verse 1, and to keep the law
of Moses. to be circumcised and to keep
the law of Moses as a part of their salvation. They insisted
that be a part of salvation and that it be their rule of life
before God. What did the council decide? This is very important. The council
in Acts 15 in Jerusalem. And I'm just going to read three
verses. Chapter 15, that will be verse
24, 28, and 29. After the council had heard all
and had rendered or had made their decision, they wrote and
in secular letter to the churches regarding the matter. Now, verse
24, Acts 15. For as much as we have heard
that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words
subverting your soul, saying you must be circumcised and keep
the law, watch, to whom we gave no such command. Now look at
verse 28, for it seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us to
lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things,
that is, those in verse 29, that you abstain from meats, Offer
to idols from blood from things strangled from fornication from
which if you keep yourself Ye shall do well fare you well now
two points are here number one Paul and others considered this
a major victory for the gospel and the three grace of God and
the second point is this how can you evade it if the law if
the law Whether ceremonial or moral, be the rule of life for
the saints of God, and all believers are under those laws or under
the Ten Commandments as the rule of life, then consider two things
if you would. This turmoil presented the perfect
time and the perfect opportunity to set this matter clear and
straight once for all, and to enforce the law as the rule of
life, if it be so. That would never be a better
situation to settle the question than right here in Acts chapter
15. Instead, we notice that Peter
gives testimony in verses 7 through 11 saying, and look at verse
9 of that chapter, and put no difference between us and them,
purifying their hearts by faith, Peter said. That's what he did
to the Gentiles. Look at verse 11. But we believe
that through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be
saved even as they. Now, B, if the law, whether ceremonial
or moral, be a necessary part of salvation and the believers'
rule of life, then I would say that Peter and James are what
some today would call stinking antinomians, for they set aside
the law as the rule of life." They were both guilty of antinomianism
if the law is the rule of life, of setting aside the law, of
counseling the believers concerning the rule of life. Now granted
those who contend that that the law is the rule of life will
say, no doubt, that Acts 15 only has to do with the ceremonial
law and leaves intact the moral law as the guiding rule. But we would then ask, did not
the Lord's death free from both of them, putting an end unto
them and change the relationship of those believers unto them. So let's hear Paul on the subject,
for he has much to say on the matter being free from the law
and that believers are indeed free from the law in Jesus Christ,
and I think that it would be a dishonest stretch to restrict
his words to simply the ceremonial law only, though there are still
those in places that would bind parts of the ceremonial law on
present day Gentiles and Christians. It was only for the Jew, that
is, the ceremonial law, and was abolished when Christ died because
it was typical, it was shadows of things that were to come.
But now we're going to ask, excuse me, we're going to Romans. chapter
6 and chapter 7 for a bit. First of all, he rebukes the
claim of legalists that free justification without the deeds
of the law, if believed and if practiced, will be used as a
license to sin. And he does that in chapter 6,
verse 1 of Acts. The same argument, I remind you,
is used even today against the doctrine of the saints' perseverance
or preservation. That if the saints believe, once
saved, always saved, they will use it as an occasion unto sin,
and some have, and some do. But they are corruptors the truth
and enemies of the gospel but that a doctrine can be perverted
that a doctrine can be twisted and perverted and deluded does
not mean that it is wrong or bad doctrine and that it should
not be taught so how does Paul in Romans chapter 6 as John Gill
put it clear the doctrine of grace from licentiousness." Well,
he says in Romans 6, 1 and 2. Shall we continue in sin that
grace may abound? God forbid! How shall we that
are dead to sin live any longer therein? Now we should note here
that the apostle takes up the subject of sanctification at
chapter 6 of the Roman epistle. And he shows that it also is,
number one, a work of grace, and two, that it is to be rooted
in the cross and the death of Christ our Lord. Now, inseparably
connected to the believing elects death to the law through Jesus
Christ. Nowhere in this discussion are
we told that the believer's rule of life is the law as to his
sanctification and to his God. However, Paul saying we're dead
to the law needs to be clearly explained and understood. Or how died they on the sin? In what way are the believers
dead on the sin? What is implied that the believer
is dead on the sin? What does this involve? And what
is the new way of life? Look at verse 7, just real quickly,
chapter 6, verse 7. He that is dead is freed from
sin. Look at verse 6. Knowing this,
that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin
might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. Look at verse 8. Now, if we be
dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with
him. Look at verse 11. Likewise reckon
ye yourself also to be dead indeed under sin, but alive under God
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now, it's not dead to sinning. We're not dead to sinning or
we sin every day. There is a sense in which we
are dead to sin, therefore free and immune to the guilt and the
condemnation of sin. And this being dead to sin is
mirrored in the death of Christ. as seen in verse 9 and verse
10, knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dies no
more, but in that he lived, he lived under God. Likewise, reckon
ye also yourself to be dead indeed under sin, but alive under God
through the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 11, you are to reckon,
you are to count, You are to consider yourself to be dead
indeed unto sin, but alive, alive unto God through the Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. Then let's come to one of the
most profound verses in the New Testament and in Paul's writing. Romans 6 and verse 14. For sin shall not have dominion
over you, That's a wonderful promise and a great assurance. But notice the reason. For ye
are not under the law, but under grace. Put them together. Sin
shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the
law, but under grace. Robert Halliday noted in his
commentary on the Book of Romans that there are two fours. F-O-R-S in verse 14, the first
confirming why believers can and should practice sanctification. For sin shall not have dominion
over you. not rule you, not lord it over
you, not have the mastery of you, or exercise bondage over
you. But the second floor, in verse
14, gives the ground for the inability of sin to dominate
the believer. You are not under the law, but
under grace. And no, verse 15 is not a license
under sin. The implication is if you are
under the law, you are under sin and vice versa. that sin cannot have mastery
over you because you are not under law. I don't think there's
an article here, the law, because you are not under law. For in 1 Corinthians 15 and verse
56, the strength of sin is the law, that the law is spiritual,
but we are carnal, says Paul in Romans 7, Now can the law
finish what grace has begun? That's the question that Paul
is putting to the Galatians in our opening text. Can the law
finish what grace has begun? Can what grace begun be completed
by law? Does grace justify and then remand
us again back into the custody of the law for our sanctification? Sense Titus 2 and verse 11 and
12. The grace of God that brings
salvation hath appeared unto all men, listen, teaching us
that denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live
soberly, righteously, and godly in this world. What teaches us
that? The grace of God that has appeared
in not only salvation, but also in the gospel. Why then must
we first go to Calvary and then back on to Sinai? Why must we
first embrace Christ and then go and hug Moses? Now, over in chapter 7 of the
Roman Epistle, we have a great Christian view of the law and
of believer, beginning with this premise, and it is a true, unrevocable
one. The law lords it over a man so
long as they live. The law has dominion over a person
so long as they are alive. So long and no longer. Does the
law have dominion over them? When they are dead, it loses
that dominion. Then we have here that wonderful
illustration from Paul of a wife under the law of her husband
in verse 2 and 3. But the death of the husband
frees her from that law of him that she might be married unto
another and then in verse 4 he sums it up Romans 7 wherefore
my brethren ye also are become dead to the law by the body of
Christ that you should be married unto another even to him that
is raised up from the dead and that we should bring forth fruit
unto God. You are become dead to the law,
you died to the law, you did that by the body of Christ with
Christ in order to be married or to be joined unto him and
to bring forth fruit therefore unto God. Here Paul, in Galatians
2 verse 19 again, relating to his confronting his fellow apostle
Peter. For I, through the law, am dead
unto the law. Catch every word of it. I, through
the law, am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. Again, in Galatians 3, 19. through four and seven, Paul
likens or he pictures the law as a pedagogue. That is a child
trainer, one who oversees a child in his infancy until he comes
of age. And he said that it was a child
trainer, a pedagogue, a schoolmaster unto Israel. To what purpose? To shut them up and ready them
for faith or for the Lord Jesus Christ and he tells them in the
third chapter there, and verses 23, that if you be of Abraham,
then you are of his family. Chapter 3 of Galatians, and looking
at verse 23. But before faith came, we were
kept under the law, shut up under the faith which had afterward
be revealed. Then look at verse 25, but after
faith is come, we're no longer under a schoolmaster. Now, J.C. Philpott said it plainly,
writing on the very subject that I'm speaking about this morning. He said this, quote, the gospel,
not the mosaic, is the believer's rule of life. And in a moment,
I'll have a closing quotation from the good man. Now, the believer's
rule of life is by the faith of Christ. For we walk by faith. 2nd Corinthians 5 and 7 the just
shall live by faith from Habakkuk we have that three times in the
New Testament and Whatsoever is not of faith is sin Romans
14 23 Galatians 3 to the law is not of faith but works and
doing. Galatians 5 and 18, if you be
led by the Spirit, then are you not under the law? If the Spirit is in you and leading
you, you're not under the law. And Romans 8, by the way, deals
at length with living life in the Spirit. Verses 1 through
4 providing the lead-in for Paul in that great chapter. What the
law says? It says to them who are under
the law, Galatians 3.19, Romans 8 and 2, the law of the spirit
of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of
of sin and of death, and in verse 14, as many as are led by the
Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. So those who put believers
under the law as their rule of life but surely think that they
honor the law in doing so by making it the rule of life, or
they may not trust the gospel precept. They may not fully trust
the death and the blood of Christ to secure the sanctification
of that elect believer, and therefore the believer has four powerful
principles that are the rule of their life. Number one, the
faith of Christ. You live by the faith of Christ. The life I live, I live by the
faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for
me. Number two, the work of grace.
in their soul and in their life. Grace is reigning. It has set
up reign in the heart of the converted. Number three, the
indwelling of the Spirit of God that leads and teaches and convicts
and guides and such like. And number four, the Word of
God. Right here in the scripture is
a rule of life for us. They have great animosity against
any who reject the law as the rule of life, calling them, as
they did William Huntington, a stinking Armenian. Yet, my
brother and sister, when you look at the life of these men,
these men who held that we were free from the law and that it
was not our rule of life, these men lived impeachable They lived
godly and holy lives before the Lord. They were not libertines,
they were not carnal, they were not worldly, and they were not
corrupt in their life. They lived honorably before the
Lord our God. Now here's that quote from Philpott
in closing. We have a divine, authoritative
rule and life of a minute character, sufficient to regulate and control
every thought, every word, every action of our life, flowing from
the eternal wisdom of God and sealed and ratified by the blood
of the Son, inspired and revealed by the Holy Spirit of God." And
again, I close with this reminder, it requires a new heart, which
is given in regeneration, putting the fear of God. He that has
the heart controls the person. He that can control the heart
can control the person. And that's the mighty grace of
God in Jesus Christ.