All right, if you wish to follow
along, turn to Galatians chapter three. Galatians chapter three,
I'm kind of continuing where we left off a couple weeks ago.
Galatians chapter three, I want to read four verses just to give
us some of the immediate context, but my main thought that I have
for this morning is from verse 29. And of course the Apostle
Paul here is continuing, but he, in verse 26 is where I will
begin reading. He says, for ye are all the children
of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been
baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew
nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, and notice he keeps,
there is this emphasis by the Spirit of God, there is before
each one, so that one doesn't take precedent over the other,
so you understand that. There is before each one, there
is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, for
you're all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ, here's my
actual text. And if ye be Christ, then are
ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. Now, just four
things briefly before I get into the message in earnest as I sometimes
say. First of all, faith in Christ
alone brings our experienced union with God as his child.
As we will see, Lord willing, maybe next Sunday or whenever,
when I get to chapter four, Paul, gives an illustration which lets
us know that, and of course the whole testimony of scripture
lets us know, God has his people chosen in Christ before the world
began. And they are, in a true sense,
his children eternally, before any of us ever existed. But we
are not born the sons of God. We're born the sons and daughters
of Adam, and then there is this adoption that takes place where
we come into our Sonship if you will so first of all faith in
Christ alone brings our experienced union with God as his child God
in other words God united with us in eternity and We were not
united to him. We didn't even exist and then
when our Mother and Father Adam were born. They, through the
fall of Adam, they plunged us all into separation from God.
But God was still joined to us, but we were not joined to him.
So secondly, secondly, submitting to water baptism manifests heart
submission to Christ in faith. Any person who says they have
submitted to Christ, believed on Christ, have trusted Christ,
Knows of water baptism in his name in the name of the Father
Son the Holy Ghost and has refused To be baptized no matter what
the reason they truly were not submitted to Christ This is right
here in our text for as many of you as have been baptized
into Christ. You have put on Christ That's
just the way it is now that's not to say that people who made
a profession of faith and then are baptized much later are not
saved, but they were not saved when they thought they was, way
back yonder. If they do not submit to, that's
the first commandment of Christ that we submit to outwardly and
publicly, being baptized. The Ethiopian eunuch, he didn't
even hit a beat. He said, here's water. Here it
is. So clearly Philip had mentioned
it to him, right? Clearly he had. He was preaching
to him Christ from Isaiah 53, but clearly somewhere he had
mentioned, and everybody who believes on him are being baptized.
And when that eunuch seen water, he said, here it is. What doth
hinder me? And Philip basically said nothing.
If you believe on him with it. Here's the thing, with all your
heart. That's the second thing. Thirdly,
faith in Christ only is our equal standing before God. Yea, it
is our unity as one with Christ. That's faith. Nothing else. Jack, we don't begin to become
united to Christ by faith. and then engage in other things
and become more united to him. That's what I'm trying to point
out. So remember that third one. Faith
in Christ only is our equal standing. It is, not it begins it. And we can progress. And I'm
not even talking about the era of progressive sanctification,
though I'm sure, Ellen, that applies in some degree. In Christ,
when we believe Christ, we are in Christ. And being in Christ,
we are one with him, as full as we will ever be. Now, we may
experience it more fully as time goes on, but sometimes that kind
of flees. Sometimes we lose that. But one
day, we won't lose it. One day all this will be over
and we'll realize that in its fullness. That's one, two, three
things. Here's number four. Apart from
faith in Christ, don't hang on election. Don't
hang on election. Thank God for it. Thank God for
it. Rest in its whole, what election
was for. It was unto salvation. Men and women are not saved simply
because they're elect. When we're born into this world,
we're born lost outside of Christ. He may had a relationship with
us, but we have no relationship with him by nature. And God's
ordained through the election of grace to join us in that union
where we unite to him. So again, fourthly, Apart from
faith in Christ and him only no one has any standing before
God thus. This is my title This is my title. Oh to be one with Christ Okay
now Election didn't make you one with Christ. It made Christ
one with you. I But it didn't make you one
with Christ. Because in Adam, in our flesh,
in our unregenerate lost state, we had no union to him. We were
opposed to him. We were the enemies of him. So
do we understand that? Do we understand that? I think
we do. At least those of us who are here. Oh, think of it, to
be one with Christ. My dear brothers and sisters,
My dear brothers and sisters who are of faith, of faith. You've not just made a profession,
though made a profession you have. Pray God Pam we continue
to make a profession of faith in Christ as we go through this
world But my dear brothers and sisters of faith in Christ Our
blessed state is this and I'm not going to deal with these
two in great detail. I'll kind of summarize them Here's
what we see in our text one. Our blessed state is this we
We those who believe Those have been brought to faith by the
preaching of the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit. We
are Abraham's seed. That's what it says right here,
doesn't it? And if you be Christ, you see
it? Then, and that has to do with
once you're Christ, that is in this experience of union to him
by faith. That's the context. Right here,
we're not dealing about jack election or predestination. We're dealing with what happens
through the preaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And if ye be Christ, then are ye Abraham's seed. And it's clear from the prior
statement by Paul that this has to do, it's neither Jew nor Gentile. That's not the application. All
Jews, and I'm gonna put it this way because of Romans 11, all
Jews had a corporate election by God as a people. But even
in that time when only the Jews had a corporate election of God
as a people, as a nation, even then in that elect nation, Jack,
there was an elect remnant unto salvation. Just being an elect
Jew did not mean you was elected to salvation in the Messiah.
And this is not just a New Testament doctrine. This was clear in the
Old Testament. I don't have time. I don't have
time. Even Isaiah was told not everybody's
gonna believe you when you preach the gospel. And he was the preach
mainly to his people, the Jews. Those of us who believe, think
of it, we are Abraham's seed. Paul says it, we are Jews indeed. We're Jews indeed. Being Jewish
in reality, that is in Christ, in Jesus Christ, doesn't have
to do with outward circumcision or some Jewish background. It has to do with a circumcision
in the heart. Paul said, this is a true Jew.
We truly are the Israel of God. Yes, there is that corporate
Israel, but remember, have God, I gotta say it, I gotta mention
it, Romans 11, have God cast away his people, which he foreknew? God forbid, but he has cast off
the unbelieving Jews. He broke them off, doesn't the
book say that? Now, I wasn't taught that when
I was way back here on religion, but these are the facts. We are
Abraham's seed. We're Jews indeed. We're the
Israel of God. We are God's redeemed people. All of the Jews, especially,
let's say, Jack, when they were in Egypt, they experienced a
redemption, but that's not the redemption of God in Christ.
It typifies it, it exemplifies it, but it's not the same thing.
Secondly, we are heirs according to the promise. Know what it
says? We're the heirs, we're the ones
that God meant when he spoke of way back yonder. We're the
ones, those who believe. Think of it, we, that is, believers
in Christ only, we are the actual intended objects of the promise
and beneficiaries of God's blessings. We're the ones God was talking
about to Abraham even way back there. We're Abraham's seed. We, that is, believers in Christ,
who reject, and this belief is specific, It's not just some
general belief. It's not just some academic or
scholastic belief in Jesus. We, that is believers in Christ,
who reject our own deeds. That's not something you add
to faith. That's included in believing Christ. Do you get
that? It's not something that's added
to our believing in Christ. It's a part of our believing
in Christ, that is we reject our own deeds. We reject our
own righteousness. We reject any supposition of
merit before God in any aspect of our salvation and of our lives,
save in the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. We, that
is believers in Christ, who reject self and rest wholly in Christ,
We are one. Now do you hear me? I did not
say we're supposed to be one. And we'll look at the passage
of scripture that shows that in a moment. We, believers in
Christ who reject self, who reject self, we rest wholly in Christ. We are one. We are unity itself
because we're Christ. We're a part of his body. It's
not just Jesus here and us over here and there's some kind of
relationship. We're like this. We're what? We're one body. This is not one
body here. It may be a local body. There
is one body of Jesus Christ, one head and one body, and that
body comprises every believer of the Lord Jesus Christ, every
believer who rejects their own way and is bowed down to God's
way in the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me move on. We, that is believers
in Christ, who reject this self, we have this oneness. It is oneness
itself. by faith only. Now look at Ephesians,
this is the passage. referred to a moment ago, Ephesians
chapter four. And I do, I won't say vividly
remember, but I do remember the first time that God really opened
my eyes to this, as Earl preached years ago. And I'm sure, Linda,
that he mentioned it other times, and maybe even before it dawned
on me. But he mentioned this, what I'm
talking about here. And let me just go on for the
sake of time. Ephesians four, verse one. I therefore, the prisoner
of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation
wherewith you're called, with all lowliness and meekness, with
long-suffering, forbearing one another in love. Why? Because
we need to be forborn with. We're hard to deal with. We're
hard to put up with. At our best state, we are what?
All together vanity. Apart from what God does when
he works in us both the will and to do his good pleasure We'll
we're still pardon the language folks on tv. We're still shot
full of hell We'll still shot full of hell Forbearing one another
in love now. Here's the passage Endeavoring
to keep the unity of the spirit. Do you see it? The unity is that
we're not making the unity we're to endeavor to keep The unity,
because the unity is not comprised of us and what we do, it's comprised
of us being joined to Jesus Christ by regeneration and conversion
by the gospel. Endeavoring to keep the unity
of the spirit, and here it is, in the bond of what? Because
this ain't always easy. This ain't always easy, that's
why we gotta forbear one another. Endeavoring to keep the unity
of the spirit in the bond of what? Peace. Look, there is,
now I know that's in italics, but you could read it from the
Greek, one body. It's a definite statement. Do
you see that? One body and one spirit, even
as you're called in one hope of your calling, and he don't
stop. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of
all, who is above all and through all and in you all. And I will
add to that, amen. That's what I'm talking about
here. That's what Paul's talking about here. But Jody, he just
put it in real brief words. And if ye be Christ, if ye be
Christ, then are ye Abraham's seed. And it don't matter whether
you're a Jew or a Greek. It don't matter whether you're
a slave or whether you're a free person. It doesn't matter whether
you're a male or you're a female. You're all one in Christ Jesus
if you're a believer. And if you're a believer, you'll
reject your own works and you'll submit to the ordinance of baptism. That's what he says here. That's
what he says here. Now, let me move on. Now I have
just a few statements to make. I may refer back just to remind
us of what I've said already. Now think of this. We are not
one because we believe and when we do not sin. We are one because,
and I've gotta put the emphasis here right, we are one because,
now here's the statement I'm making, we are one because we
believe even when we sin. Now, do you see the difference?
Now, I know not everybody will be able to get that difference.
They'll say, I don't understand what you're talking about, and
I understand. They don't understand what I'm talking about, but you
never will until God does something for you first. You never will. It's not an excuse to see a jacket.
It's just the reality. It's just the reality. We are
one because we believe even when we sin. Here's another thought.
We are not one when we believe and because we confess our sins We're not one when we believe
and because we confess our sins If I'm not one when I believe
and believe only even when I see and I never had any oneness with
Christ I It is even if any man sin, we have an advocate with
the Father, not when any man confesses. You see that? That's what it says. If any man
sin, now that is a believing man or woman, a believing Jew
or Gentile, a believing slave or a believing slave owner, for
that matter, especially back in that time, okay? We are not
one when we believe and because we confess our sins, we are one
as we believe and thus we confess our sin and our sins. This is what all these religious
professors of Christianity, put that in quotes, those who've
walked the aisle, prayed the prayer, maybe been catechized
and then answer all the questions, whatever it is that particular
denominations do, and they think themselves, I'm in the ship of
grace. Okay, I'm in now, I'm okay now. This is one of a couple
ways that a lot of people do, but we confess not just our sins,
they confess their sins. Some of them will go to a booth
and confess it to another fallen human man, right? Some of them
will walk aisles and get at some so-called altar, and then afterward,
they're even encouraged to turn around and tell everybody what
they've done. Am I building a straw man this morning, or is that
just the facts? Is that what some people, not all people,
but that's what some do. No. We're not one when we believe
and because we confess our sins. We're one as we believe, and
thus we confess our sin and our sins. We confess that our sins,
what we think and what we do, flows from a rotten source. Our
sin, singular, it's a condition, it's a state, it's a place of
being. All men are in that, but not
all men and women see that. And God's people not only confess
their sins, they confess their sin, sin. Somebody says, oh,
does this really matter? It does if you're a sinner saved
by the grace of God, it does. This helps, huh? This helps. Let me move on. We are not one
because we all, now listen to me now, we are not one because
we all believe the same things. And I even said things. We don't
all believe the same things. We don't all believe everything
the same way now, do we? We are different people with
different needs, different difficulties, different zeal, everything. We're
not one. Let me get back to where I was
at here. We are not one because we all
believe the same things. We're all one because we believe
the same person, Jesus Christ the Lord. And not all of us know
everything about him, Strike that. None of us know everything
about him, but some of us know more about him than others do.
But we still all know the same person. And God in his grace,
as time goes on, teaches us all a little more about him, and
a little more about him. And we're still knowing what?
The same person. If we're ever going along and
all of a sudden we realize, whoa, I didn't know him, then we need
to forget all of that that's behind. and flee to Him right
then. Let that go, let it go. Let that
old profession, let that old baptism, let all that old soul
winning, and I'm not doubting any of those things. Let all
that choir sing it, let it all go, right? And flee to Him. Flee to Him, because again, it's
not we're all, we're not all one because we believe the same
things. We're all one because we believe the same person, Jesus
Christ the Lord. The one object, of the one faith
we all have is the only one we have any confidence in. Do you understand what I just
said? I said the only one that we all have confidence in. What about ourselves though?
What about amongst ourselves? We have confidence, now listen
to me now. We have confidence in each other
because we all confess our one united guilt in our flesh. Don't you put your confidence
in me. I have, I can, and probably if
God leaves me alive very much longer, I will fail, I will sin,
I will foul up. You can have no confidence in
me, but we can have all, we all can have all confidence in Jesus
Christ. He never fails. He never fails. You see, self-justification from
anyone, now from anyone for that matter. But think about it, self-justification
amongst believers? And how many have done that?
You don't have to raise your hand, but I'll raise mine. Come on now. Self-justification
from anyone, from anyone's bad. It'll condemn you. But think
about it, for believers, self-justification is an insult to grace justification. Is it not? You see, grace doesn't
seek to justify us in our sin. It seeks and did justify us by
Jesus Christ, even in spite of our sin and our sins. and the fact that we continually
have sin and do sin. Can't you say this morning, thank
God that we're one in Christ, that that's where the oneness
lies? Now, look back just briefly,
I got a few moments left. We're all one as Abraham said. Again, it doesn't matter whether
you're of Jewish descent or of Greek or Gentile descent. It
doesn't matter whether you're bond or free. Now, let me say
this, I abhor slavery as we think of it, and especially as slavery,
Ellen, the way it started in this country, I abhor it. I just
abhor it. But it's been a reality for many
people that they couldn't escape. You understand me? It was in
the past, and it still happens today in some places. But in
Christ, that's abolished. Even if you're still a slave,
and you have a master, a person who owns you, maybe somebody
out there, Jack will hear this somewhere, I don't know. Know
this, that if you and your master both are in Christ, you'll love
one another. That's right, you'll love one
another. And the master will treat you as a brother or sister in
Christ, as an equal in Jesus Christ. And you'll treat that
master with respect. And I am not taking up for slavery
in any way, shape, or form. But aren't you glad God gave
us provision even when we're stuck where we are? Huh? Aren't you glad you don't have
to overcome old age to still be in Christ Jesus? and all of
its frailties and difficulties. Ah, but even more, aren't you
glad that that unwarranted, unfocused zeal, God forgave us of it when
we were young. All of that zeal that we just
thought we had to, what is the old saying? That we had to pull
by the tail on a downhill pull. No, we're all one in Christ Jesus. We are what? Abraham's seed. When God said to Abraham, Penny,
there was a time when God actually spoke to Abraham and said, in
you shall all the peoples, all the nations of the earth be blessed. God was thinking about us when
he said that. This little group right here,
huh? Those out there who believe Jesus Christ, he was thinking
about us. And then when Paul says, we are
heirs according to the promise, look back at all those promises
to the Jews. Some were conditional, and the
Jews failed under every conditional promise. Every one, the Jews
failed. But never once did a promise
of God based upon the person of Jesus Christ, never has it
failed, it is not failing now, and it will never, ever fail. Isn't that what he's actually
already established? Brethren, I speak after the manner
of men, though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed,
no man disanloyeth, and no man addeth to. Now to Abraham and
his seed were the promises made. He saith not unto seeds as of
many, but as of one, and to thy seed, which was in Christ. In
this I say that the covenant was confirmed before of God in
Christ. The law, which was 430 years after it, cannot disanloy
or make the promise none effect. Aren't you glad for that this
morning? That means that even my failures Jack can't push that
to the side Praise be to God Heavenly Father our Lord Jesus
Christ Lord help us as a fallen people strengthen us by your
grace Lord as we go through this life and we simply, things just
become more difficult and more difficult and eventually, Lord,
many things become impossible. We know, Lord, that your promises
will never fall to the ground. We praise you in Christ's name,
amen.