I can't help but say it's great to have Don and Mary here. Galatians chapter 6, verse 16. and as many as walk according to this rule. Peace be on them and mercy and upon the Israel of God. The Christians rule of life. Let's pray. Lord, we come into your presence in the name of thy blessed son. And Lord, how we thank you for him, how we thank you for his glorious person, your son, the second person of the one God three divine persons, how we thank you for his life, his perfect obedience, how we thank you for his death and the accomplishments of it, how we thank you for his resurrection, how we thank you for the salvation that's in him. Lord, we ask that we would have your blessing and your presence, that you'd meet with us and reveal yourself to us according to your will. Forgive us of our sins. Be with all your people wherever they meet together. Accept our thanksgiving through him, in his name we pray, amen.

As many as walk according to this rule, this is where we get the word canon from. You've heard of the canon of scriptures, this rule, this canon. It means a ruler for measurement, a carpenter's rule. Now, think of the significance of this. It's how you measure. As many as walk according to this rule, it means a definitely bordered and fixed place within the limits of which one's power or influence is confined. As many as walk according to this rule, this standard of measurement. Now, I don't know if you've ever heard of this, but the Puritans used to say, we go to Christ for justification, and Christ sends us back to the law for sanctification. That's our rule of life. That's our standard of measurement, the law.

Now, I love God's law. but that's just not true. It's not what the scripture teaches. Now, as I said, I love God's law, but if the standard of measurement for me is how I measure up to the law of God personally, what that means is I'm not saved because I have not kept one commandment one time, nor have you. Not once. As a matter of fact, the only purpose for God's law is to expose sin. That's all it does. By the law is the knowledge of sin.

Romans 3 19. Now we know that whatsoever things the law saith, it saith to them that are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped and all the world become guilty before God. If you can look at God's law and think, well, on some measure, I measure up.

You don't really know what the law is. I love the scripture. The law was not made for a righteous man. If you need law, all you say about yourself is, I'm ungodly and a sinner. That's the only way I can be described. The law is not our rule of life. It only has one function, to expose sin.

So what's Paul talking about when he says, as many as walk according to this rule, this standard of measurement? This is the way you can measure as to whether or not you have life. As many as walk according to this rule. Now, let's look in the context of what he's saying. He says in verse 14, but God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, And I unto the world, now look in verse 15, four, it's a conjunction, by the rules of grammar, the thought of verse 14 is not finished yet. Four, in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. As many as walk according to this rule. Now here's the believer's rule of life.

Number one, the work of Christ for you. The cross. Number two, and these things can't be separated, the work of Christ in you. The new creation. Now this is the believer's rule of life. The work of Christ for you. The cross. As Paul said, glorying only in the cross and the work of Christ in you, a new creation.

Now as many as walk according to this rule, and look at the phrase as many as. I love this phrase, as many as. The pronoun as many as means all in this group and none outside this group. As many as walk according to this rule, these are the only people who are gonna have peace, real peace.

You can say you have peace and not have peace. Oh, I've got peace. Well, good, but that doesn't mean you do. But if you do walk according to this rule, you have peace. And the reason you have this peace is the mercy of God is on you. It's of the mercies of the Lord that you walk according to this rule. If you're a believer, this is the rule of your life.

And this is the true Israel of God. The true Israel is not the nation of Israel where war's going on all the time and that real estate where the Lord walked when he walked upon this earth. That's not the true Israel. The true Israel is all the elect of God. every believer, they all walk according to this rule.

As many as, verse 16, as many as walk according to this rule. Now this gives us the idea of limitation. There is no mercy, there is no peace, there is no Israel of God except those within this boundary. as many as. As many as are of the works of the law are under the curse.

Galatians 3.10. There's that pronoun as many as. If you're in this group who are of the works of the law, you're under the curse. Everybody is under the curse that are of the works of the law that you think salvation has something to do with what you do. I love this scripture.

Acts 1348, as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. Who are those who believe? It's limited to this, as many as were ordained to eternal life. They are the ones who believe. The Lord says, as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. As many as I love, these are the people that I rebuke and chasten. As many as received him, To them gave you the power to become the sons of God, as many as are led by the Spirit. They are the sons of God, as many as. I like that phrase, don't you? As many as. It tells us exactly what's being said. There's no question, only the people in this group. So as many as walk according to this rule.

Mercy, you are the Israel of God. Now this is the Christian's rule of life. This is the standard of measurement. This is how you can see if you are in fact a child of God. If you're a member of that great Israel, all of God's elect, if God has given mercy to you, you'll know if you walk according to this. rule. Now look back up in verse 12 of Galatians chapter 6. Now here's some people who are not walking according to this rule. Verse 12, as many as, there it is again, all who are in this group, as many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh.

Now that is a pretty comprehensive Summary of human religion. It's about appearance. It's about how I look to you. I want to make a fair show in the flesh. I want you to be impressed with me. I want you to see how godly I am. I want you to see how obedient I am. I want you to see how God's hand is upon me and he's using me. Oh, a fair show in the flesh. Look how influential I've been. Human religion, all their works, they do to be seen of me. That's what the Lord said.

That's this fair show in the flesh. Now, everybody whose religion is about appearances, they constrain you to be circumcised only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law. They say you need to keep the law. They don't. But they desire to have you circumcised that they may glory in your flesh.

Look how I've influenced this person. What a blessing I've been to this person. But now here is the Christian rule of life. But God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now here is the standard of measurement. Glorying, rejoicing, have confidence only in who Christ is and what he accomplished on Calvary's tree. You glory, you rejoice, you have confidence only in what he accomplished on Calvary's tree. And if I have confidence in anything else, I'm not walking according to the rule of every believer. I don't have any peace. and I don't really experience the mercy of God and I'm not a part of the Israel of God.

Now the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, I love saying this, the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ is the whole counsel of God. It's God's eternal purpose. The reason for your existence, has something to do with the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, either to glorify his saving power or to glorify his justice in passing you by. You have something to do with the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, whether you believe or not. Your purpose for existence is to glorify God either by way of his justice in the cross or his justice in condemnation. But that is the purpose for everybody because this is God's eternal purpose.

Christ is called, I love this, Revelation 13, eight, the lamb having been slain from the foundation of the world. Now, the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ that Paul is saying he is glorying in, he's not talking about the wood. Listen, if you had some of the wood that came from the very cross itself, it wouldn't do you any good. There's no saving power in anything like that. He's talking about what Christ accomplished on Calvary's tree.

Turn back to 1 Corinthians 1. Verse 22. In verse 22, he talks about the Jews and the Greeks. The Jews and the Greeks, that covers everybody. The Jews and the Gentiles, the religious and the unreligious. Now the Jews, verse 22, require a sign. I cannot believe that my salvation has nothing to do with any of my works. I just can't believe that. a sign. I need something I can see, something I can put my finger on. To think that my standing before God has absolutely nothing to do with me. I can't go there. I need a sign. I need to see something. I need some visible evidence.

The Greeks seek after wisdom. I want to know how to make this world a better place. I want wisdom to improve the education, make people's lives better, improve the healthcare system, improve the economy, make this world a better place. I understand that. The Greeks seek after wisdom.

Paul says in verse 23, but we preach Christ crucified. That is our message. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, nailed to a cross, and all that that represents, God's way of being just and justifying the ungodly by giving his Son to be a sin-bearing substitute, nailed to a cross, suffering and dying, raising from the dead. We preach Christ crucified now to the Jews.

This is a stumbling block. You mean to tell me that all my works count for nothing? And the only way that I can be accepted is because of what somebody else did in my behalf, Christ Jesus the Lord? Well, you're not giving me any motivation for good works. You're saying my works count for nothing. I reject that. I stumble at that. The Greeks, Say, why? How's that gonna improve the economy? How's that gonna improve education? Why, that's foolishness.

Verse 24, but unto them which are called. Oh, to be called of God. Remember that as many as? Here's another scripture where that is used. When Paul or Peter sat on the day of Pentecost, but to the promises to you and to your children, and to all that are far off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." It's limited to that. Now that's, it's to you, it's to your children, everybody that's far away, but note the limitation. As many as the Lord our God shall call, whom he did predestinate, them he also what? Called.

Now, if you're called of God, here's how you're going to see the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Back to 1 Corinthians 1. But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, and Christ, the wisdom of God. You see in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, the very power of God into salvation. You see that. You see that your salvation was accomplished by almighty power through what Christ did on the cross, where he made your sins to be no more. Christ, the wisdom of God, he's a demonstration of how God is so wise that he's made a way to be just and absolutely righteous, and yet justify somebody ungodly like me or you. Oh, Christ, the power of God. Christ, the wisdom of God.

And we take it this far. This is our only message. Paul said in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 2, I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified. Nothing else counts. There is no other message. Now that's what it means to glory in the cross.

You find all your salvation in him. Philippians chapter 3, verse 3, and here's a very similar scripture. I love this scripture. As a matter of fact, turn there with me so you can see it. Philippians 3, just a few pages over. Verse 1 of chapter 3, finally my brethren rejoice in the Lord, to write the same things to you, to me, indeed is not grievous, But for you, safe.

Beware of dogs. Now, you know he's not talking about canine. He's talking about false prophets. He calls them dogs. Beware of dogs. Beware of evil workers. Beware of the concision. This is a play on words. He doesn't use circumcision, he calls them the mutilators. Beware of the concision. Paul invents this word to describe the circumcision. It's not kind. Beware of the concision.

For we are the circumcision. We're the true Jews which worship God in the spirit. The only way you can worship God is if you have a spiritual nature. given to you in the new birth. It is impossible for one who has not been born of the Spirit to worship God. It's just impossible. We are the true circumcision which worship God for who He is, and the only way you'll do that is in the Spirit.

And rejoice, here's the second mark. Here's what happens, or here's what somebody does who worships God spiritually. They rejoice in Christ Jesus. That's the same thing as glory in the cross. You rejoice only in Christ Jesus. You look to him only as everything in your salvation. You look away from yourself. You look to him only. Now this is the rule of the believer's life. Glory in the cross. You rejoice in Christ Jesus. And you know what happens when you rejoice in Christ Jesus? Look what verse three says. You have no confidence in the flesh. None. Not your flesh, not anybody else's flesh. If your fingerprint's on it, it's no good. You believe that from the depths of your heart. Now this is the rule of the life for every true believer.

You glory only in the cross. But look back into our text. Do you know that you only have peace if you glory only in the cross? If you find peace somewhere else, it's a false peace. It's something you've manufactured, made up. It's not real. You're gonna find out it was no good on judgment day. The only peace there is is the peace He worked out. He is our peace.

But notice verse 15. begins with the conjunction for and by rule of grammar, that means verse 14 is not over. For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision avails anything nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. Now, the cross is the work of Christ for you. This new creation is the work of Christ. in you, and it is clearly seen to be the work of God alone.

First creation. How much did you have to do with that? Nothing. You weren't even around. The second creation, the new birth. How much did you have to do with that? Absolutely nothing. How much do you have to do with maintaining it? Nothing. This is the work of God. You're not looking to yourself in that either. This is the work of God. If any man be in Christ, he's a new creation. Something there that wasn't there before. And you know if you're a new creature, the reason you're a new creature, it's God that did this, not you. You had no hand in this. You had no part in this. Having begun in the spirit, are you now made perfect by the flesh? You know you don't maintain it.

You don't look to the law as your rule of life. You look to the cross of Christ, the work of Christ for you. You look to the new creation, the work of Christ in you. That is why you're a new creation, because it's something he did. You don't have any part in that. If any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new.

Does that mean I don't sin? Does that mean my, if all things are new, does that mean I don't have the old nature anymore? You know, I can answer that real simply. Do you still sin? Then of course you have your old nature. Of course you do. But you have something that wasn't there before. You're a new creation in Christ Jesus. You have a new nature. I love the way Peter calls it, the hidden man of the heart, which is not corruptible. He's hidden. You can't see him. You can't say, well, that came from the new nature and that didn't.

No, you have these two natures coming through one consciousness. And that's so important. It's two natures. If you're a believer, if you're an unbeliever, you only have one nature. You've got the nature you're born with. If you're a believer, you have two natures, the one you were born with and the one when God birthed you again into his kingdom. But they both come through this one consciousness.

And here's the rule of your life. This is the standard of measurement. This is what tells you if you have life. You're only going to have peace with this. This is the result of God's mercy to you. This means you're a member of the true Israel of God. You glory only in the cross. And you know that his work in you is his work alone. And it has nothing to do with your works any more than creation had anything to do with your works.

Now as many as walk according to this rule, this is the rule of a believer's life. What? Peace be on them. This is the result of the mercy of God toward you. That's why you're doing this. God's mercy toward you, you. We're not talking about somebody else, you. You are a member of that great chosen nation, the Israel of God. Amen.