I'd like for you to take your
Bibles this morning and turn with me to Galatians 2. The title
of my message is, Nevertheless, I Live. There will, until the
end of time, be those who are ignorant of
salvation in Christ by the free and sovereign grace of Christ.
They've been here since the beginning, and they'll be here until the
end. They'll stand on their soapboxes and cry from their pulpits the
free will of man, the free agency of man, to everybody that will
give them an ear. Yet nothing is more contrary
to the scriptures than man's free will and so-called good
works. Concerning the salvation of our
souls by the sovereign mercy and grace of God, Paul says in
Romans chapter 9, so then, so then, it is not of him that willeth. Are you listening? It's not of
him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that
showeth mercy. Those given power. That's Romans
9.16. But over in John 1, he tells
us, those given power to become the sons of God, power to believe
on His name, were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. That's John 1, verses
12 and 13. It's nothing but a satanic delusion
to talk about man's goodness and righteousness by his own
works. The Bible says all our righteousnesses,
all of them, are as filthy rats. And those rags are in allusion
to a woman's menstrual cloth or that pus-covered rag that
the leper wore over his mouth, crying, unclean, unclean, unclean. That's our righteousnesses before
God. In Romans chapter 3, describing
both Jews and Gentiles who were both under sin, Paul said, there
is none righteous No, not one. There is none good. No, not one. Yet the Bible speaks of men and
women who are righteous. The Bible declares that some
are righteous. Lot was called in the Scriptures
that righteous man. Isn't that what it says? that
righteous man. Abel obtained witness that he
was righteous. And Enoch, before his translation,
had this testimony, he pleased God. Now the Scriptures speak of a
holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. So then,
if man is fallen in his nature and spiritually dead, and unable
to produce what God demands, how can this man be righteous? How can this man be saved? How
can he be saved? There's only one answer to the
question. Search this book from cover to
cover. You're going to find one answer
to that question through the person and work of a God-ordained
representative and substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ. Man cannot
produce it. I don't care how determined he
is. I don't care how willing he is.
I don't care how dedicated he is. He cannot produce what God
demands. Only by way of a God-given and
ordained representative and substitute, our Lord Jesus Christ, can this
righteousness be had. And this is Paul's message to
the saints at Galatia and to all the churches of the living
God. And any man anywhere at any time who preaches another
gospel, he said, let him be accursed. Let him be accursed of God. He's
not God's servant. He's not God's helper. He's not
God's messenger or God's means of doing you a little bit of
good. Somebody said, well, it's better for them to go somewhere
than nowhere at all. Oh, I beg your pardon. I beg
your pardon. I'd rather they be down at the
beer joint somewhere than be over here listening to a false
prophet. Our Lord said, they be blind, leaders of the blind,
and if the blind lead the blind, they'll both fall in the ditch.
He called them a generation of vipers. And He said, how can
you being evil speak good things? He called them an evil and adulterous
generation seeking after signs and evidences. He said of them,
it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah
in the day of judgment than for you. He said of all their proselytes,
when they make a proselyte, they search sea and land to make one
proselyte like unto themselves. And when they made him, they
made him twofold more the child of hell than they were. and he
called them the children of their father, the devil." I'm telling you, it's a satanic
delusion to believe in any preacher who talks about man generating
some kind of a righteousness that will win God's approval. Beloved God has a people in this
world which He lovingly calls His church. And they are, he
said, the pillar and ground of the truth. His gospel has been
revealed to them and committed to some in their midst as stewards
of the manifold grace of God. And this world is full of preachers. It's full of preachers. Somebody
said, y'all drive 45 miles over there to go to church? There
are lots of churches between here and there. The world is
full of preachers. Some of them are sin of God. The world's full of ministers.
Some of them minister the gospel to chosen sinners. And this world
is full of ambassadors. Some of them are ambassadors
of God. How can you know which is which? How can you know which is which? The best answer to that question
is you never will apart from the grace of God. But the second
answer is this. Those who are ambassadors of
God preach Christ alone. Christ alone. They don't preach
Christ and your good works. They don't preach Him taking
the first step and you taking the rest. They preach Christ
alone. They preach salvation in Christ
alone, and they preach salvation by the representation and substitution
of Jesus Christ. They preach that there's none
other name given among men whereby we must be saved. God outside
of Christ is a consuming fire. I don't care if you're religious.
He's a consuming fire. Alternatives. There are no other
options. Peter said, neither is there
salvation than any other. If you look with me this morning
at Galatians chapter 2 and verse 20, I think I can show you what
I've been talking about in these two verses of Scripture. These
men had come in to to the Galatian area. There were churches all
over there. The letter that he writes here is to the churches
at Galatia. There was a lot of churches,
little churches scattered around. And some men had risen up in
their midst or came there from somewhere and came in unawares,
as John tells us over in the latter parts of his book. And
they crept in unawares. But these men had come in and
they began to mix works and grace. They began to preach a gospel
that was a little bit of one and a little bit of the other.
And Paul said, if any man comes to you and he preaches anything
other than salvation and Christ alone, let him be accursed. I
don't care who he is. He said, I don't care if he's
an angel from heaven. Now watch this here in Galatians
2, verse 20. Paul said, I am crucified with
Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth
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 Christ
is dead and vain." Now let me show you four things about the
hope of God's elect and what takes place in their minds and
hearts. First of all, Paul speaks of himself. Himself the sinner. The sinner. He said, I'm crucified. with Christ. My friend, God is
who He says He is. He's not who men imagine that
He is. My God just wouldn't do like
that. That's the God of your imagination. You don't know anything
at all about God except what He's revealed to us in this book.
You're not born with any innate knowledge of God. You have a
conscience which you can't explain, which convicts you of right and
wrong. And you have creation that bears
witness that there is a God who sits on the throne, who made
all things. And everybody in this planet
is responsible to him. Creation will tell you that. My generation speaks of a God
who accepts men by compromising his character. He'll compromise. what He says in here about His
righteousness and His justice and His holiness. They preach
a salvation where God compromises. He is willing to compromise Himself,
compromising His justice and righteousness. The way of forgiveness,
the way of favor and everlasting life, Paul said, comes through
the cross. He said, I am crucified. with
Christ. Preachers are telling men and
women, by the thousand, if they do the best they can do, God
will be satisfied and show them mercy and blessing. You just
do the best you can, you'll be alright. My mother went out to
face God believing that very thing. No matter what we told
her, no matter how many of us told her, it didn't make any
difference. I've seen the hypocrisy down there in that church. I've
seen what men say and what men do. And I just believe that if
you just do the best you can, God will accept you for what
you are. Oh, He'll let you know exactly what you are. And He'll
treat you for exactly what you are. And you'll be judged and
suffer in that everlasting hell for what you are. The Scriptures
say, the soul that sinneth shall surely die. It didn't say it
might die. It didn't say it's in danger of
death. The soul that's in it shall surely die. The Scripture said, Cursed is
everyone who continueth not in all things written in the book
of the law to do. We want to call ourselves righteous
because we attend church on Sunday morning. Some men want to call
themselves righteous because they attend church on Easter. Cursed is everyone who continueth
not. Is that how you're going to approach
God? Is that your hope before God? Is that your hope before
the judgment? You better keep that law from
beginning to end, every precept of it. I think there's 437 precepts.
You better get you a lamb and slay it and offer it. You better
get a priesthood organized. You better get a high priest.
Better build you a tabernacle. And you better take that blood
and offer it exactly as he said. And even that's not going to
save your soul. Because all that had to be done
by faith. Looking to the one who would
come and fulfill all those things. And he tells us in Hebrews 2,
verse 2, for if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, what's
that mean? He's fixing to tell us. And every
transgression and disobedience received a just recompense and
reward. Everything those angels told
us, and we went contrary to it. Every transgression and disobedience
received a just recompense and reward. How are you going to
escape if we neglect so great salvation which was preached
first by our Lord and then by the apostles, God confirming
both by miracles and wonders and signs? My friend, Paul says, I'm crucified. This
is my hope. I'm crucified with Him. I'm crucified
with Him. God's justice demands the death
of the sinner, and there's no other way for God to save His
soul without compromising His character. In Adam, all die. If He's going to save my soul,
He has to kill me first. He has to satisfy His justice
first. And this death is not what men
would call humane. Anybody who talks about the death
of Christ and cleans it up and makes it look like something
humane is a fool. God's justice demands suffering. He must be humiliated. He must
become a laughing stock. He must be numbered with the
transgressors. He must die the death of a felon. He must hang up there between
two thieves, two murderers. Die the common dead. They all
came out there like you see these old westerns. They come out and
hang somebody. And everybody got there and had a big picnic
around and watched this man hang on the pole. It was a public
condemnation, public suffering, a deterrent for whatever crimes
they were hung for. And hanging in the middle of
those two thieves was the Lord Jesus Christ. Crucified with
Christ. Crucifixion is a punishment for
crimes, not just an end of life. If I'm to have any hope before
God, I must come by way of representation and substitution. That's my substitute
dying on the cross. What's that mean? I'm in Him. You hear what Paul said? I'm
crucified. God's justice is satisfied on
my account. I'm crucified in Him. I died
in Him. How'd you get in Him? God put
me in Him before the foundation of the world. I'm crucified with
you." And judgment was passed, and the sinner must suffer until
he exhausts the judgment and wrath of God against sin. Paul
said, I preach to you, first of all, how that Christ died
for our sins according to the Scriptures. And all those who
were not crucified in Christ have a judgment yet to face and
a death yet to die. And then secondly, he tells us
this. Nevertheless. Nevertheless. Oh, what a word. I found eight or nine places
in the Bible. I read one of them to you a while
ago. But he tells us over there, I think it's in 2 Peter, when
he's talking about God preserving this world, God not willing that
any should perish, but that all should come under repentance.
Talking about His elect. And he said, nevertheless. Oh, my soul, what a word. Nevertheless,
Paul said, I'm crucified. I'm put to death. I made a laughing
stock. I suffered the wrath of God,
but I did it in a substitute. Nevertheless, I live. I live. In my substitute, I suffered
and died. God's justice was satisfied,
and His righteousness remains intact. Now, listen to what happens
next. Romans 4.25 says he was delivered
for our offenses, now watch this, and raised again for our justification. Were it a matter of Christ's
justification alone, he might have merely ascended straight
into heaven from the tomb. Rocks and seals and guards have
nothing before the power of God. He didn't have to roll a stone
back or come out of that grave or be sinned by anybody if it's
just a matter of justifying His Son. But Christ didn't die for
His sins. He had no sin. He did no sin. He thought no sin. But He bore
our sins in His own body on the tree. That's my substitute on
the cross. And as the whole of Israel waited
on the high priest to come out of the tabernacle, having offered
the blood atonement and blessed the people, so our Lord must
be raised up and seen publicly to declare their justification."
It says in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, he was seen of his apostles,
he was seen of some of the women, and he was seen of over 500 people
at one time. He stayed here over a month after
his resurrection in this world, being seen of believers. Believers,
Peter tells us, are begotten again unto a lively hope by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. I am crucified
with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. I live. If I'm not in God's representative
and substitute, then I stand alone before God. I stand alone
before God. I've got no providence to steer
my course, no angel sent to minister to me, no representative to take
my place under the law, no substitute to die in my room instead. And
His resurrection has no bearing on me at all except just to tickle
some sick emotions watching some little kids on Easter go around
gathered up collared eggs. I'm crucified with Christ. Nevertheless,
I live. I live. Now watch this. Here's
the third thing. Yet not I. Yet not I. But Christ liveth
in me." Men and women spend their lives hunting and searching for
some evidence of eternal life. They examine their experiences.
They examine their sincerity. They examine their lives. They
examine their service to God. To have life eternal, are you
listening? To have life eternal is to have
Christ in you, the hope of glory. Is Christ your hope? All your
hope. Huh? You see what Paul is saying
here? Nevertheless, I live. But he
said, wait a minute. Not that old I. Not I. But Christ liveth in me. I have something that was never
there before. I have something in me that wasn't
there before. I've been born of God. I have
a hope in me, and that hope is Christ alone. I hope in Him. I don't hope in my efforts. I
don't hope in my dedication. I don't hope in my service. I
want to serve God. Who don't? I want to love God with all my
heart, soul, mind, and strength. Who don't? But I tell you what, there ain't
any hope in that. You start looking at your dedication,
start looking at your hope, you're going to come up short. You're
going to come up short. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. Where is this hope? It's in Christ
alone. Isn't that what Paul's saying?
It ain't just old I reformed. It ain't this old I been made
better. It ain't this old I that made
some decisions and dedicated himself to Jesus and accepted
Jesus as his personal Savior and all that other Tommy Rot.
It's a new I. It's not I, but it's Christ that
liveth in me. To have life eternal is to have
Christ in you, His person and work alone, His offices and appointments
alone, His death, His resurrection, His ascension, His reign alone. All your hope is in Him. All
your righteousness is in Him. He is your life. He is your hope.
He is your rest. That new man born of God is Christ
in you. And that new man glories in Christ
alone, rejoices in Christ alone, rests in Christ alone, and waits
for His return. I've told you this many times.
Assurance is not being confident in your confidence. It's being
persuaded that He's able to keep you from falling and to present
you faultless before the presence of His glory. It's being persuaded
that He's able to keep that which you've committed unto Him against
that day. And when God's Gospel comes in
the power of the Holy Ghost, Paul said it comes with much
assurance. Assurance in what? In you? No. Assurance in Him. In Him. It leaves us hoping and trusting
in Christ alone. Years ago, down in Ball, Louisiana,
one of our members had a seafood restaurant. And it was a pretty
simple thing, looking back on it. It just had this little short
thing, probably from here to the wall. And you walked down
through there and they had shrimp and shrimp casserole and all
kinds of things. But they had this one big tray.
And it had these ears, these little half ears of corn would
stick in them. And they were in some kind of
spiced butter. I couldn't tell you what he put
in that. But that was the best corn you ever put in your mouth. And we were all in there one
Friday evening, and this family over from us had a little one,
about like this little one back here. He was just learning to
walk. And they set him up there in the chair and belted him in.
They gave him this little half-ear corn. And he had it from the
top of his head to the bottom of his feet. He was covered in
that buttered corn. He had it all over his arms.
And he was hanging on to that cob with both hands, and the
corn was gone. He done ate the corn, but he
was still chewing on that cob. And it come time to go home.
And so they got up, and Mama got a napkin, getting ready to
wipe him off. And, of course, he had to let
go of that corn, and he wasn't going to let go of that corn.
Boy, he held on to that corn. And she tried to take it from
him, forcefully, just take it. Oh, he screamed at the top of
his lungs. Everybody in the restaurant turned
around and looked. So she stopped that. It sounded
like she was beating him to death. And then she threatened him.
And that didn't work. He just held that coin. He was
shaking all over. And they tried everything. And
we were sitting over there watching, because we had some little ones
too, just like that. And we were sitting over there
watching all this. And finally, The owner of the restaurant come
over and he said, do you mind if I try something? I said, no. We've tried everything we know.
We can't get him to let go of that corn. He pulled out a Hershey
bar. As soon as he did, boy, he turned
loose of that corn and he reached for that Hershey bar. That's
what I'm trying to tell you. Right now, religion satisfies
you, don't it? Pumps you up a little bit. They
get you inspired, and you hear the music, and you're feeling
good, and you go home. That lasts about 20 minutes,
and it's gone. All these things suffice until
you learn what you are and who you are. When you learn that
and learn what God demands, and then you see Christ, you see
something better. You see something better. And
you drop this and reach for that. Oh, my soul. When we going to turn loose of
this old vain religion? Quit eating on an empty cob when
we see something better? Paul said, it's not I. It's not
the reformed I, the dedicated I, the cleaned up I. It's not
I, but it's Christ that liveth in me. And then fourthly, the
life which I now live in the flesh. Each one of us has a life. Those of you who truly believe,
you have lives to live. And Paul said, the life which
I now live in the flesh. You still in the flesh? Huh? You still in the flesh? Listen to what Paul says over
here in Romans chapter 7. Old wretched man that I used
to be. That ain't what that says. That
says old wretched man that I am. Ain't that what that says? Oh my soul. We're talking about
an apostle. We're talking about a man who sold out to his Savior. We're talking about a man who
was serious and sincere. If any man had an experience,
he had one. And this man is crying before
God, O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from what? This body of death. That's that
old eye. I thank God through Jesus Christ
our Lord. So then, he said, with the mind,
that is, the mind of Christ, and by faith, with the mind,
I myself serve the law of God. That is, in Christ, I've honored
that law, exalted that law, and kept it perfectly. In Christ,
my substitute, I've honored that law and died in Him, satisfied the justice of God.
With the mind, that is the mind of Christ, the mind of faith,
I've honored that law. I keep that law. I serve that
law. But with the flesh, the sinful
nature, this old man of sin, he said, I serve the law of sin.
That's what it does. That's what it does. And then
in Romans 8.1, he said, there is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus. Now watch this. who walk not
after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit
of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of
sin and death." Who is going to deliver me from this body
of death? Christ. Christ alone. And my friend,
there is only one way to walk with God in true godliness and
holiness, and that is by faith in Christ. He says of Enoch,
before his translation, he had this testimony that he pleased
God. And in the very next verse, he
said, but without faith, it's impossible to please God. Impossible. Paul said, I live by the faith
of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. He calls
it the faith of Christ because He's the author and finisher
of it. He calls it the faith of Christ because it's freely
given to us by Him. He calls it the faith of Christ
because He's the object and He's the end of it. Let me just read
this next verse and I'll close. Based on what I've said, Paul
said, I do not frustrate the grace of God. Anything other
than Christ alone frustrates the grace of God. Paul said,
I don't frustrate the grace of God. If righteousness come by
the law, Christ is dead in vain. If you're clinging to any kind
of hope other than Christ alone, you have a hope that declares
the death of the Son of God to be of no benefit. May the Lord
be pleased to shut us up to Christ. And those of you whom He gives
ears to hear, to shut you up to Christ alone.