I want us to look this morning
in the book of Galatians, and I've been thinking about this.
Brother Jim had asked, we were talking about what we would do
in the 10 o'clock hour. I know up to this point, I believe
that y'all have been watching the videos that I've been preaching,
I think through the book of Jeremiah, and we have I think we have most
of those tapes. If we don't, we can get them,
the CDs where I covered the book of Jeremiah. But what I want
to do this morning is begin in the book of Galatians. And I'm
going to let this message serve as sort of an introduction. I've entitled it Liberty or Bondage. Liberty or Bondage. And if I
had to state the theme of the book of Galatians, it would be
from these verses right here. Look at verse 1 of chapter 5.
Paul writes, Now that's basically a statement of the theme of the
book of Galatians. Let me begin this way to understand. You know, since the fall of man
and Adam, sinful man has always sought
in some way to interject his own works or his own will into
the matter of salvation as to attaining or maintaining salvation. Always. And in this way he can
claim, and this is all of us by nature now, I'm not just pointing
fingers at other people, this is what we are by nature, born
dead in trespasses and sin. In this way, man can claim something
of his own glory and abilities, at least in his decision making.
That's probably the most popular heresy of today is decisional
regeneration. You decide, you accept, you do
this. And that's what sets him apart
from others who either do not work as hard as he does or at
least who make the wrong decisions. gives him something to boast
in, something to glory in. And the idea is that God saves
sinners because they work harder, or because they're less stubborn
or less rebellious, or they make the right decision for Christ.
That's what people think anyway. And that just fits right well
with sinful man's pride, with his lack of humility. And of course what it does, the
whole scheme of religion that calls itself Christianity and
the whole atmosphere is a system of teaching that reduces the
blood of Christ, the death of Christ, to a mere possibility
of salvation for those who do whatever their religion commands
them to do. those who are less rebellious
or less stubborn. And so the blood of Christ in
that system really saves nobody. It really doesn't save anybody.
It secures salvation for no one. It only makes salvation possible
salvation possible if you'll do the right thing, whatever
the right thing is according to the denomination or according
to what people think. And it's faith and repentance
of sinners that saves them, not Christ, but it's what you do
for him. I heard a reading last week and
I was studying on this, and I heard an example statement of this
kind of works or will system of man. And the fellow said this,
listen to this, he says, your conversion earns you salvation,
but you need to grow in grace by the spirit of Christ to be
clothed in his righteousness. Now that's heresy. That sounds
good to the natural man. Your conversion earns you salvation. My friend, the only thing that
earns salvation, is the death of Christ. There's no earning
salvation when it comes to man. The wages of sin is death. The gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord. The Bible is very clear. Salvation
is never by the works of man or the will of man. It's totally
by the work and the will of God in Christ. It's by Him. Romans chapter nine and verse
15, let me just read it to you. For he saith to Moses, I will
have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. So then, it's not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth. Now running there is a metaphor
for works. It's not of him that willeth,
nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. It's
mercy and grace. It's not willing and running.
It's not working. And the Bible's clear that man
is totally depraved. And how many times have I said
this? That means he has no righteousness. It means, secondly, he has no
ability to work righteousness or attain it by his works. And
then thirdly, and this is what most people will deny today,
is that total depravity, the reality of sin in the scripture
teaches us that man by nature has no desire for righteousness
God's way. Now man desires righteousness
or his idea of righteousness, let's put it that way, and it's
a lower standard, do the best you can kind of thing. And of
course what the Bible says about that is man at his best state
is altogether what? Vanity. When you take the best
man in the best environment and he still doesn't have a righteousness
that is eternal and everlasting. Put Adam in the garden before
the fall and he fell. But man has no desire for righteousness
God's way. Now God's way is the way of righteousness
by his grace in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. That's God's
way. And so by nature, man wants,
he does not want to admit this at least to this degree, at least
to that degree. We want to retain some goodness
or some spark of goodness. You know, preachers and evangelists
are sent not to proclaim The holiness of God and the sinfulness
of man and the only way of salvation by God's free and sovereign grace
based on the righteousness of God in Christ. Evangelist and
preachers are sent just to fan that spark or fan that flame. And they do it by emotional appeals
and psychological, uh, uh, messages, but we want to retain some goodness.
at least to contribute in some way to our salvation and the
attaining of righteousness and salvation. And it's this very
prominent heresy against which the Galatian letter is aimed.
This is what Paul's talking about. And the heresy comes in the form
of Jewish legalism, which insisted on physical circumcision and
keeping certain holy days for a person to be saved or to be
righteous before God. And incidentally, I thought about
this, too. It's very common. I heard a fellow say this several
years ago, and it's kind of taken on its own life. But you may
have heard this, too. You know, there's a movement
called Christians and Jews Together. You may have heard of that. And
one of the tenets of that movement is this. They'll say this. They'll
say Christianity has its roots in Judaism. Now my friend, that's
not true. Christianity does not have its
roots in Judaism. Now it's true. that the Lord
Jesus Christ, the savior of sinners, came through the Jewish nation
according to the flesh, but he didn't come out of Judaism. Judaism
is a false religion. It's a religion of righteousness
by works. That's what this book is about. That's what Galatians is about,
or what Paul is combating. Righteousness by the works, the
will of men, rather than righteousness by the grace of God in and through
the Lord Jesus Christ. But let me just say this, Christianity
existed well before Judaism. Well before Judaism. In fact,
Judaism is a perversion of Christianity. Now you think about it. Paul
spoke of, in 2 Timothy chapter 1, of a salvation that was given
us in Christ Jesus, when? Before the world began. The first
promise of the Messiah, the Christ, is Genesis 3.15, the seed of
woman. The first message of how God
justifies sinners is given in the establishment of the sacrifice
in Genesis 3.21 when God slew an animal, which I believe was
a lamb, and made coats of skin. That's an emblem of the imputed
righteousness of Christ, the grace of God. Think about it. Abraham was a Christian. How
do I know that? Well, read John chapter 8. Abraham
rejoiced to see my day. And he saw it and he was glad.
That's what Christ said. So how can you say Christianity
existed before Judaism? Christianity is more than 2,000
years old. It's eternal. It's the product
of the everlasting covenant of grace. The preaching of the gospel
of God's grace in Christ is the preaching of the terms of an
eternal, everlasting covenant. all conditioned on the Lord Jesus
Christ. How can you say that Judaism
is a perversion of Christianity? Remember what Christ said in
John chapter five and verse 39 when he was talking to the Pharisees
and they're talking about their Judaism? He said, you search
the scriptures, you think they are they which have eternal life
and they are they which testify me. And then he went on to say,
he says, you follow Moses, you claim Moses, he'll be your judge. Moses wrote of me, Christ said. So don't let anybody ever tell
you that Christianity has its roots in Judaism. Judaism and
Christianity are opposites, just like any other false religion.
Here's righteousness by the grace of God in and through and by
the Lord Jesus Christ. That's Christianity. The God
man. God in human flesh. And here's
righteousness by the works of man. That's Judaism. And they
cannot meet. Well, we make a very serious
error if we restrict this kind of heresy only to the Jewish
legalism. You see, legalism has a lot of
different faces, and it comes in many different forms. It has
to do with salvation. Now listen to me. Legalism has
to do with salvation in some way, condition, to some degree,
at some stage, upon the sinner. That's what legalism is, whatever
the condition is. Some say the condition is accepting
or deciding. Some say it's baptism. Some say
it's faith and repentance. Some say it's leading a good
life or joining a church. There's all kinds of different
conditions that people put upon each other as far as attaining
or maintaining salvation or making themselves righteous or dealing
with the matter of sinfulness. And it's all legalism. It all
has to do with the do's and the don'ts of the sinner. And I said
those conditions vary, but it's all bondage. Now that's what
Paul wrote here, stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ
is made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
It's all bondage because it binds the sinner, that's what reason
it's called bondage, it binds the sinner It binds the sinner
to his own will, his own works, to establish righteousness, which
he cannot do, which you cannot do. And it's also a denial of
the gospel of salvation by God's free and sovereign grace in the
Lord Jesus Christ. Now let me show you that. Look
at Galatians 5. The first thing I want you to understand is what
is this liberty? He says, stand fast therefore
in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free. Now, what
is that liberty? Well, that liberty, turn to Romans
chapter eight, that liberty is freedom from condemnation. In Romans chapter eight, we read, he says, verse one, there is
therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Now to
walk after the flesh is to seek righteousness by the works and
the will of men. To walk after the Spirit is to
seek and find righteousness in the Lord Jesus Christ. And there
is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ. There's
freedom from condemnation. You cannot be condemned if you're
washed in his blood and clothed in his righteousness. That's
right. You're justified. Look across
the page there to verse 31. of Romans 8. He says, what shall
we then say to these things? Now the things that he's talking
about is the things of the gospel of God's grace in Christ. If
God be for us, who can be against us? Well, how can I know that
God is for me? How can I know that God is for
me and not against me? Well, look at verse 32, he that
spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, and the all
there refers to all who are in Christ, how shall he not with
him also freely give us all things? In other words, if we have Christ,
we have all things that are necessary to save us and to keep us and
to bring us to glory. And so he says in verse 33, now
look at this, who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? Who can impute sin to God's elect?
It's God that justifies. If God's justified me, based
on the righteousness of Christ imputed, charged, accounted to
me, who can charge me? Who can impute sin to me? Blessed
is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity. It cannot be done. He says, who is he that condemneth? It's Christ that died. The lack
of condemnation is based on one thing. Christ died. Christ established justice. Christ
paid the debt. Christ established righteousness.
And he says it's Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen
again. That's the proof that he accomplished redemption for
his people. That's the proof that in his
death righteousness was established. He arose again. who is even at
the right hand of God who also maketh intercession for us. In
other words, we're free, that liberty, free from condemnation
because we cannot be charged with sin. It was charged to Christ
and he put it away, he paid for it, we have righteousness imputed
to us. That's liberty, liberty. Look back at Romans chapter 6.
What is this liberty we have in Christ? This liberty is freedom
from darkness. Back in Romans chapter 6, look
at verse 17. Paul writes, but God be thanked
that you were the servants of sin. Now to be a servant of sin
here in the context is to be an unbeliever, an unregenerate
unbeliever. dead in trespasses and sins,
in darkness of ignorance. And he says, but you have obeyed
from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. That
form of doctrine there is the gospel of God's grace in Christ. It's the gospel of no condemnation
in Christ Jesus because righteousness has been established and charged
to your account. That's what it is, the righteousness
of God. And you believed it from the
heart. Now, what kind of heart believes? Well, that's the regenerate
heart. That's the circumcised heart. That's the new heart,
the scripture talks of. And he says, which was delivered
you. Literally that should read, which you were delivered to.
You were delivered to it. Now it was preached to you. because
it pleased the Lord by the foolishness of preaching to save them that
come unto God by him. But you were delivered it, God
providentially brought you under the preaching of the gospel.
I can remember when it happened to me. And I'll tell you what,
it wasn't an immediate love for me. In fact, it was an immediate
hatred. Because I didn't like it. But
then the Lord intervened. And he regenerated this sinner,
gave me life, quickened me. And I believe from the heart.
Now look at verse 18. Being then made free from sin,
that word free there is liberated. liberty, being made free from
sin, you became the servants of righteousness. See, this liberty
we have in Christ, it's freedom from condemnation, it's freedom
from darkness. Remember in 2 Corinthians chapter
4, it speaks of how Satan's desire and goal is to keep men and women
in darkness, ignorance, in unbelief. But God in his providence, he
brings his people that God who calls light to shine out of darkness
has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. When that happens,
we're free from darkness. That doesn't mean we know everything,
but it does mean we know everything we need to know concerning how
God saves sinners. We know Christ. This is life
eternal that they might know Thee, the only true God, and
Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. And then this liberty we have
in Christ, Paul says stand fast, that means be dogmatic, that
means be firm, don't move away from it, don't give in, don't
compromise it. This liberty that we have in
Christ, it means freedom from condemnation, it means freedom
from darkness, it means freedom to serve God as a willing, loving,
bond slave of Christ. Look at Romans chapter seven. Look at verse four. He says,
wherefore my brethren, you also are become dead to the law by
the body of Christ. Now to be dead to the law means
exactly what we've been talking about, no condemnation. The law
cannot kill me. The law cannot condemn me. because
I'm in Christ. I have a righteousness that answers
its demands, its conditions. Now what is that? It's Christ,
the Lord, my righteousness. It's his righteousness imputed
to me. And all that came about not by my works and my will,
it came about by the body of Christ. Christ offering his body,
that's what he said in the Lord's, this is my body which is given
for you. That's his death. You see, his
death was an act of his entire person as God-man, but it's to
be attributed to his humanity, his body. So you become dead
to the law by the body of Christ. It's all by his death, his blood.
And he says that you should be married to another, united to
Christ in a spiritual marriage, even him who's raised from the
dead, that what? That we should bring forth fruit
unto God. Now that fruit unto God has to
do with what Christ produces within his people to the praise
of his glory. It's kind of like John chapter
15. He says, I'm the vine, you're the branches, and every branch
in me brings forth fruit. And that's fruit of service,
fruit of obedience, fruit of praise. It doesn't mean sinless
perfection, because once God saves us, and brings us out of
that darkness, we're certainly not sinlessly perfect in ourselves.
We are in Christ. We have his righteousness charged
to us. We're sinlessly perfect in him,
but not in ourselves. But look at verse five. He says,
for when we were in the flesh, that means when we were dead
in trespasses and sins, when we were unbelievers, unregenerate,
the motions or the passions, that's what that word is, the
passions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members,
the members is our physical body, our eyes, our ears, all of that,
which were in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
And there's two ways that that manifests itself in unregenerate
human beings. It's either abject rebellion
against everything that God says or God commands, and we can see
that in the immorality that pervades our day. Not only our day, you
know, people talk about like this day is the worst day ever.
I mean, it's always been that way. People who are just rebels,
out and out rebels against anything, anything even religious. Or it
shows itself in the religion of self-righteousness, legalism
works. That's a rebellion. Listen, all
of that is the passions of sin. When a sinner, let me put it
to you this way. When a sinner seeks salvation or seeks to make
himself righteous by his works, that's a passion of sin. Now that's what this world will
not accept. That's what the religious world will not accept. It's fruit
unto death. One of the best examples of that
is Matthew chapter seven, verses 21 through 23, when Christ said,
not everyone that said, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom
of heaven. Many shall come and say, Lord,
haven't we preached in your name? Haven't we done many wonderful
works? Haven't we cast out demons? Only
to hear him say, depart from me, I never knew you, you that
work iniquity. And what he's saying there, you
know, people go to those verses like that, and they'll come up
with all kinds of reasons. that separate themselves from
such people like those described in Matthew 7, 21 through 23.
And the reasons always exalt the sinner. Well, they weren't
sincere enough, but I am. They weren't really serious about
their religion, but I'm serious about my religion. Let me ask
you a question. I believe everyone in here this morning is sincere.
But is your sincerity enough to make you righteous before
God? If you think it is, my friend, you're of that number that Paul
speaks of in bondage. I believe you're serious about
what we're doing here. I don't believe we're just playing
church today. I don't believe we're just playing games. I believe
you're serious. But is your seriousness enough
to make you righteous before God? I preach in his name. Now remember what the, in Matthew
7, 21, he said, haven't we preached in your name? I preach in his
name. I'm not preaching in my own name.
I'm not trying to point you to Bill Parker. I'm not trying to
gain a following for myself. In fact, I've said, I think that's
the worst thing that can happen to any preacher when he gains
a following for himself. I don't want that. I want you
to follow Christ. I believe in the John the Baptist
school of preaching. I must decrease, Christ must
increase. But I'm preaching in his name.
Now, I've done this for over 30 years now. Now, all the messages
put together that I've preached in his name, are they enough
to make me righteous before God? And the answer is no. When I
stand before God, am I going to say, well, I preached in your
name? No. Now what will make a sinner righteous before God?
Christ. His blood. His death. His righteousness
imputed, you see. And that's the issue. Now, anything
that a sinner does aimed at attaining and maintaining salvation by
his works is fruit unto death. It's iniquity, it doesn't measure
up to the requirement of what God says. But look at verse six
of Romans seven. He says, but now we're delivered
from the law, that being dead wherein we were held, now we
were held in bondage, that we should serve in newness of spirit
and not in oldness of the letter. Now we serve in newness of spirit.
Now what is that? That's the obedience of a son
or child of God. Motivated by grace. Motivated
by love. Motivated by gratitude. Not trying to earn your way into
God's favor, but because you've been graced by God. He's had
mercy on you through Christ. You see that? That's freedom,
that's liberty. Now go back to Galatians 5. He
says, stand fast therefore in that liberty. Don't let anybody
come and challenge that liberty. Don't you compromise that liberty,
not even for your nearest and dearest. That's compromising
the gospel. Don't give in, don't give way
to them. Don't agree with them. And he says, be not entangled
again with the yoke of bondage. Now what is that bondage? Well,
as I said, it's any notion of salvation. at any way, any part,
any stage, to any degree, conditioned on the sinner. That's bondage. Now why is it bondage? Because
it binds sinners to do something we cannot do. Now Paul, look at Galatians chapter
2. Listen to what he says. And this is another, verse 19
we'll start with. This is another statement of
the theme of the book of Galatians. And he says this, he says, for
I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto
God. Now how am I through the law?
Christ kept the law for me. In order to save me, Christ didn't
deny the law, he didn't ignore the law, and he didn't pervert
the law, and he didn't break the law. It was through the law
being kept, being fulfilled by Christ. that I'm dead to the
law. Justice had to be satisfied.
The law demands. This is God's law now. Not man's
law. And God's law must be kept. It must be fulfilled. God is
holy. He must be just when he justifies. So it's through the law. that
I'm dead to the law. I'm not condemned because Christ
kept the law. I'm not condemned because Christ
died the death that I earned and deserved under the law. I'm
dead to the law because Christ worked out a righteousness that
equals the demands of the law and it's imputed to me. So he
says in verse 20, this is how it happens. I am crucified with
Christ. He's my representative. He's my substitute. He's my surety. He died for me. Nevertheless,
I live. I'm alive. Yet not I. Now what's going on there? Is
he talking out of both sides of his mouth or just talking
in paradoxical language, just trying to confuse us? No. What
he's saying is, I live, but I'm not the source of that life.
It wasn't, my salvation is not the result of some spark of life
or goodness that's in me that some persuasive preacher came
along and fanned in a revival meeting. I'm not the source of
it. Yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me. Christ is the source of that
life and he lives in me by his spirit and by his word and it
says in the life which I now live in the flesh, that means
in this physical body, I live by the faith of the Son of God,
by Christ's faithfulness to do for me what I could not do for
myself. And he loved me and gave himself
for me. Now look at verse 21, he says, I do not frustrate the
grace of God. For if righteousness come by
the law, then Christ is dead in vain. What are the consequences of
this bondage that Paul's talking about? He says, don't be entangled
again with the yoke of bondage. This yoke of bondage is a denial
of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's how serious this is. This
is not just different denominations. We all believe the same God,
we're just headed different roads, no. This bondage of legalism
is a denial of Christ. If righteousness come by the
law, listen, if you can be righteous
based on your law keeping, you don't need Christ. He died in
vain. He died for nothing. And then
look back at Galatians five. Listen to this in verse two.
Here's the consequences. Verse two, he says, behold, I,
Paul, say unto you that if you be circumcised, Christ shall
profit you nothing. These Judaizers, these Jewish
legalists, were claiming that yes, here's what they would say,
something like this. Yes, salvation is by grace, but
you've got to be circumcised to really be saved, to really
be righteous. And it's like people today. Oh, everybody says salvation's
by grace. Everybody sings Amazing Grace,
don't they? But they'll add things, it's
Christ plus this, Christ plus that, baptism or whatever, whatever
it is. In fact, you can take any work
of men and put in the place of that word circumcised. If you
be baptized, Christ will profit you nothing. Well, now wait a
minute. Doesn't the Bible, doesn't Christ command us to be baptized?
Yes, but not in order to be saved. Not in order to be righteous.
Baptism is a confession that we are saved and made righteous
in him and in him alone. You see the difference? But if
you be baptized, if you be circumcised, if you do anything thinking that
it saves you or makes you righteous, Christ will profit you nothing.
I don't care how many times you say Jesus or sing Amazing Grace. Verse three, for I testify again
to every man that is circumcised, that is for that reason, He's
a debtor to do the whole law. In other words, if anything you
do or don't do makes you righteous, then you have it all to do. You're
a debtor to keep the whole law. What does it say back there in
Galatians 3 in verse 10? For as many as are of the works
of the law are under the curse because it's written, cursed
is everyone that continueth not in all things that are written
in the book of the law to do. You see that? Verse four, Christ
is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified
by the law, you're fallen from grace. Now the reason he's put
it in that language as he's inspired by the Holy Spirit is because
he's talking about Judaizers, legalists, who claim to believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's who we have to deal
with today, isn't it? They're not Jews, necessarily. But just
about everybody I know claims to be Christian, claims to believe
in Christ. But he says this, if you think,
or if you believe, or if your religious pursuits have anything
to do with righteousness by your works, then your claim of Christ
and your claim of belief, it's of no effect to you. It's no
effect. If you're justified by law, you're
fallen from grace. Now to be fallen from grace doesn't
mean that you were saved and then lost, like some people say.
It means you deny grace. You claim to believe grace, you
sing amazing grace, but your belief system, your religious
activity, you deny grace. That's the effects and the consequences
of bondage. But what are the fruits of liberty?
Now look at verse five. He says, for we through the Spirit,
that's the Holy Spirit, wait for the hope of righteousness
by faith. Now what does that mean? That
means we look to Christ for all righteousness. That hope, what
is hope? It's a certain assurance of salvation. It's a certain assurance of acceptance. It's a certain assurance of final
glory. What is the ground of our hope?
Well, I'm gonna be better this week. Well, go ahead and try. That's okay. But I hope that's
not the ground of your hope. What is the ground of our hope?
By faith, what do you do by faith? We look to Christ. We rest in
Christ for all salvation, for the forgiveness of our sins,
for righteousness. And then look at verse six. He
says, for in Christ Jesus, or in Jesus Christ, neither circumcision
availeth anything nor uncircumcision. You see, circumcision, it doesn't
matter whether you're a Jew or Gentile, the works of man, but
faith which worketh by love. Looking to Christ, serving him,
in love. That's the consequences of the
liberty of God's grace in Christ.