Galatians 5, I'm reading the
first six verses. I remember the man who wrote
these words, the man whom God used to write these words, the
Apostle Paul, was at one time the champion of salvation by
work. He was the champion of self-righteousness. He was the strictest of Pharisees,
a legalist. And as he said, he had much in
which to glory. If any man thinketh he hath whereof
to glory, he said, I am old. And he began to give his credentials. He would have taken his place
beside the Pharisee in the temple. I thank thee, Lord, I'm not like
other men. I fast twice a week. I'm tired
of all that I possess. I give alms to the poor. I'm
not an adulterer. I'm not an extortioner. I'm not
even like this publican. But by the grace of God, he became
the champion of salvation by grace. Justification by faith. Listen to him. Stand fast, therefore,
in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not
entangled again with the yoke of bondage." Paul knew something
about the bondage of the law. He knew something about it when
he was in it. He knew a whole lot more about it when he was
delivered from it. But Paul knew the bondage to slavery, to customs,
to ceremonies, one ceremony after the other. He knew the slavery
and bondage to the special holy days and peace days and Sabbath
days. How you could just walk so far
on the Sabbath day and do certain things, really nothing much at
all. He knew the bondage of the sacrifices. You had to have a sacrifice for
the morning, and one for noon, and one for the evening. You
had to have the atonement once a year. When a boy reached a
certain age, a few weeks from the womb, had to have a sacrifice. When a girl reached a certain
age, just another sacrifice, and turtle doves, rams and bullocks
and sheep and goats. He knew about all the duties
of religion, couldn't eat certain meat, had to pay a tithe on everything. You had to, even on your crops,
on the spices, on the money, everything had to be strict tithing
and tradition. He had no rest, no peace. No joy of assurance, bondage,
bondage. Over there in verse 21 of chapter
4, he said, tell me, come on, tell me. You that desire to be
under this bondage, this law, do you not hear it? Do you not
hear the law? He heard it, he knew it. He knew
something about that bondage, and therefore in verse 1 of chapter
5, He cries out to the Galatians, stand fast, hold on, be diligent,
therefore, in this glorious, wonderful liberty, wherewith
Christ hath made us free, or the Son shall make you free. Not just free from the curse
of the law, but free from the duties of it, the doings of it. Free from the traditions of it. Free from the bondage of it.
Free from always being concerned whether you've done enough. Don't
sit here. Don't sit there. Don't do this. Don't do that.
Don't go here. Don't go there. Don't eat this.
Don't eat that. Touch not. Face not. Handle not.
Drive you up a wall. Bondage. That's what it is. Bondage. Ah, stand fast, if the sun makes
you free, you're free indeed, free indeed. And don't, don't
become entangled again with that yoke of bondage. Therefore, being
justified by faith, we have peaceful life. Ah, the peace that passeth
understanding. Don't be entangled again. Look
back here at Galatians 3 and hear him here. That's what this
book of Galatians is all about. Some of these folks, these folks
that heard the gospel and believed the gospel, and Paul had preached
the gospel to them and others, and then other preachers had
come in and said, now, you've got to be circumcised. That's
right. Every male that openeth the womb,
that's what the Bible says. be circumcised. Got to keep the
Sabbath. That's right, the Sabbath goes
clear back to creation. One day out of seven, got to
rest. Can't do any work, got to follow the Sabbath, got to
tithe. Start with your babies, with your infants and whatever
they have, whatever possessions, take a tenth out, that's not
yours, that's God's. Strict tithing. Watch your diets,
you can't eat this, you can't eat that. All these things, and
these things had brought it back in, they brought it into the
church. Brought it into the church. Easter, special holy day, Lent,
Christmas, candles, rigid rules and regulations,
touch not, taste not, handle not. And then he says in chapter
3, verse 1, "'O foolish Galatians! Who hath bewitched you? Who hath
deceived you? Who has come in and pulled the
wool over your eyes, that you should not obey the truth? Therefore
whose eyes Jesus Christ has been evidently set forth, crucified
among you, paid the debt, Satisfied the
law? Put away the bondage, deliver
us from the curse? This only would I learn of you.
Did you receive the Holy Spirit by the works of the law? No. By the hearing of faith. That's
how you receive the Holy Spirit. That's how the joy of Christ
and the peace of Christ and the rest of Christ. Now, are you
so foolish Having begun in the Spirit, are you now made perfect
by your deeds and duties and works and law? Did God save you
by grace and perfect you by works? Did God redeem you by love and
perfect you by your duties? Have you suffered so many things
in vain? Don't, at verse 1, stand fast
therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free." Don't
become entangled again with that yoke of bondage. The hymn writer
put it this way, it's not the labors of my hands can fulfill
the law's demands. Could my zeal know respite? No. Could my tears forever flow
all for sin? Could never atone. Christ must
say, Christ alone. Nothing in my hands I bring,
not a tithe, not a sabbath, not a circumcision, not a duty, not
a deed. Nothing in my hands I bring. Simply to the cross of Christ
I cling. Vecchia, come I to thee for dress. Helpless, look I to thee for
grace. Foul, I to the fountain fly. Wash me, Savior, or I die. Jesus Christ alone by himself
purged our sins. He alone is the complete, all-sufficient
Redeemer and Atonement. And he that believeth on Christ
and Christ alone is forgiven. Be his sins ever so many. And he that believeth not on
Christ is damned. Be his sins ever so many." Now here in verse 1, stand fast
in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and don't
become entangled again in this yoke of bondage. You see, under
the law, the Jewish male had to be circumcised. That was the
mark of the covenant. That was the sign of Israel.
That was the sign of an Israelite, his part in the covenant God
made with Israel. Under the law of the Sabbath,
they had to be rigidly kept. the seventh day, rigidly kept. Under the law, the tithe had
to be rigidly paid. That was a duty. It was a tax. It had to be paid. Under the
law, there were certain washings, certain washings that had to
be done. This is all pictures of Christ. These are all shadows
of Christ. These are all preparations for
Christ to show us what God requires and what God demands and what
we must produce. and what Christ will fulfill.
But they were watching. There were purifications, all
manner of purifications, all manner of diets. There was a
touch not, and a taste not, and a handle not. And under the law,
all the sacrifices must be made just exactly as God ordered Moses
to make them. All the feast days and holy days
must be kept. Men had to go to these things. Women didn't have to, but the
men did. Do you not hear the law? Circumcision Christ fulfilled. Circumcision is of the heart,
not the flesh. It's the heart. God gives us
a new heart, a new nature. That's the mark of true Israel. They worship God in spirit, and
they have no confidence in the flesh, and they love Christ Jesus.
It's a mark. God cuts the heart. Operates
on the heart, not the flesh. Christ is our Sabbath. We enter
into His rest. We cease from our labor. He's
our Sabbath. He's our altar. We have an altar. He washed us. He said, David
prayed, Lord, purge me with hyssop, wash me. All those washings and
baptisms and purgings and purifications are fulfilled in Christ. It is not that which goeth into
the mouth that defileth me, it is what comes out of the heart. You cannot defile a perfect heart. Through something from without.
No more sacrifice for sin. No more atonement. Christ paid
it all. All the debt I owe. Free from
the law of duty and deeds and ceremony and sacrifices and circumcision,
tithes and Sabbath days and holy days. Free! Free. Don't let anyone, I don't care
how pious he is, Don't let him, that's, don't do it, he said,
oh foolish Galatians, don't be bewitched, don't be deceived,
don't let anybody come in, slip in, creep in, and entangle you
again in these things. Circumcision. Sabbath keeping. Tithing. Oh, they'll make it
sound good. They'll make all kind of promises. They'll have you driving a bargain
with God. I'll do this, God, if you do
that. I'll pay off if you pay off. Don't get in that business.
I'll keep one day and forget the rest of it. Be careful now.
Be careful. Certain foods, everything is
to be received with thanksgiving. Blessed of God. Holidays, Easter,
I've often thought I'd left the council services here on Easter
Sunday morning and go fishing. Everybody in this church just
go fishing. Walter does that in Mexico because they put so
much emphasis. He says, I don't have special
services on that time because they're doing it and they say
there's something to it. We're going to do the opposite.
Let's just close up and go fishing and let the whole world see we
don't believe in a day, we believe in a person. We don't worship
the day he arose, we worship him who arose. Every day is the
Lord's day. Every day. Shut her down. I think it would be a good idea
to just let the world know, oh, that's horrible. It's more horrible
to be entangled in duties and deeds and think God owes you
something for being nice on Sunday morning, resurrection morning. Lent, that's blasphemy. Christmas
is a joke. That's right, the priesthood. Confession, all of this sort
of thing. I don't need, I have a high priest. I don't need any human being
to intercede for me. I've got the advocate, the mediator,
Christ the Lord. And I hold in utter contempt
his so-called holiness over there and everybody that's identified
with him or associated with him or supports him. I hold them
in utter, absolute contempt because they're not the vicar of Christ.
Vicar substitute, isn't it? Take somebody's place. That's
a horrible thing for a man to call himself a vicar of the Son
of God. He's our vicarious one. He's
our vicar, Christ is. Don't tell anybody. Don't let
them influence you. Don't kneel with them and don't
cross with them and don't take your hat off with them. Keep
your hat on your head when he walks Show your, don't you let
anybody, behold I Paul, look at verse 2, behold I Paul say
to you, and like I told you, this man knows what he's talking
about, he was in this mess. That's right, he was in it lock,
stock and barrel, trying to find acceptance with God by what he
did, and that is a mess. These things serve their purpose
if they'd have been received like they should have been. Types
and pictures and not means. And he ends, Behold, I, Paul,
say to you, if you be circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing."
What's he saying there? If you do any act of religious
tradition, custom, or duty to be accepted of God, if you do
anything, whether it be circumcision, or Sabbath-keeping, or tithing,
and say, now God's going to bless me if I do this, watch out. Watch out. Careful. If you do anything in order to
be accepted of God and feel that in that duty and in that deed
and in that sacrifice that it makes you a little more holy
in God's sight and acceptable in His presence, Christ profits
you nothing. Now, that's serious. His death
means nothing. His blood means nothing. His
burial means nothing. His resurrection and His intercession
mean nothing if I'm going to add anything to it, even the
least of doings. That's what he said. Because,
verse 3, he says, I'm going to tell you the road you're walking
in. I testify again to every man
that is circumcised. That is, as a religious act,
or keeps the Sabbath, as a religious duty, or tithes because it's
required, or eats certain food, or keeps certain days because
he feels like it makes him more holy to God or before God. Any
man that does that, he's a devil to do the whole lot. Let's go
back now and start sacrificing again. Let's go back and keep
the seventh day. Now, not the first day of the
week. That ain't the seventh day. Let's keep the seventh day. Let's do it in detail and duty
and all the rest of these laws. Let's forget Christ and go back
to the law. Oh, no, preacher. That's right.
Oh, no. Oh, no, for listen. Verse 4,
"...for Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever you
are that are justified by law, by duties, by deeds." You've
fallen from grace. You've departed from salvation
by grace. You're going to stand before
God on your works alone because you've deserted the rock of ages,
the hiding place, the foundation, the tried stone. You've gone
back to your works. Christ is of no effect. You've
fallen from salvation by grace. And now, you must be judged by
works alone. Because there's no cooperation
between works and grace. Now, let me show you that in
Romans. Turn to Romans 11. Romans 11. Oh, this is so clear. Romans 11, verse 5. Let's look
at this. Even so then, at this present
time also, there's arraignment according to the election of
grace. And if by grace, there's no more works, no more. Otherwise, grace is no more grace. Grace has got to be pure grace,
all of grace, or not grace at all. But if it be of works, It's
no more grace. Otherwise, work is not work. Now, here's where I want to get
to, verse 5 and 6. For we, we who believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ, that's who he's talking about, we. Not what these hands have done
can save my guilty soul. Not what this toiling flesh has
borne can make my spirit whole. Not what I feel or do can give
me peace with God. Not all my prayers and sires
and tears can bear my awful load. Thy work, O Christ, alone. can take away my sin. Thy blood,
O Lamb of God alone, can give me peace within." That's the
we there. For we who believe on Christ,
who rest in Him, who trust Him. Secondly, through the Spirit,
through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit regenerated us.
The Holy Spirit called us. The Holy Spirit came and delivered
us out of the sin sinful religion and darkness of ignorance and
works and deeds and translated us into the kingdom of the Son
of His love. The Holy Spirit did that. We,
not... Of course, we're smarter than
other people because we know more. We, through the Spirit,
through the revelation and regeneration and calling of God's Spirit,
watch it now, we wait. But you wouldn't it be better,
I don't know, I just feel like we ought to say we work. We ought
to say we're all working for the same place. I'm not. I'm
not working for anything. It's not a blessed thing. I have
everything. It's a free gift. Yeah, but I
know what you mean, do you? We don't work, we wait. We cease
from our works, we cease from our labors and enter into His
rest. We who believe through the Spirit, wait. One fellow wrote one time, he
said, to complete this living temple of God, we have nothing
to do, but wait. To the garment of righteousness,
we dare not add a thread. But wait. To our acceptance with
God and our inheritance reserved in Christ, we add nothing. We're waiting. To the atonement of Christ and
his blessed offering for sin, we contribute nothing. It's finished. What are you doing? I'm waiting
for the redemption of God's people. I'm waiting. We, through the Spirit of God,
wait. What are we waiting for? I'm
waiting for the hope. What's the hope? If the hope's
not in the law, hope's not in our works, there'd be no hope.
But this hope is expectation based on His Word, His promise,
His power. We wait. Christ in you. That's the hope. We wait for
that hope. It's a hope of the glory of God,
Paul said. It's a good hope. Because it's
through grace. It's a blessed hope. It's a better
hope. It's a living hope. It's a hope
of expectation at any moment based on His promise. Oh yeah,
I believe in salvation by works. He is. Not mine. And when he said, I finished
the work you gave me to do. Now glorify your son. Let your
son may glorify thee. I finished the work. And here
I come along with my little tithe and say, well, just add this
to it. And some preacher says, well,
let's all keep the Sabbath day, you know. Let's all be careful
not to eat any pork anymore, because that won't purify you. You've got to purify your body,
you know. Purify, whoo, this thing. It needs purifying, doesn't
it? But my soul is purified by Christ. You're just getting that old
body fixed up to stick it in a grave and let it go back to
the worms and the dust. We wait for that hope of righteousness. That hope of righteousness. How?
By faith. By faith. Now watch this verse.
For in Jesus Christ, in the religion of Jesus Christ, in the hope
of Jesus Christ, in the kingdom of Jesus Christ, word it like
you want to, In the body of Jesus Christ, in the church of Jesus
Christ, neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision. Now, in Moses' law it did. There was a time in Moses' law
that circumcision had its place. Sabbath. keeping had its place,
tithing had its place, customs, duties, sacrifices, washing,
purification, all of some consideration under Moses' law. But we're not
under Moses' law. Christ has fulfilled the law. And circumcision in Jesus Christ,
in the kingdom of Christ, in the work of Christ, in the In
the person of Christ, in the church of Christ, circumcision
doesn't avail you anything. Or anything goes with it. But
now, wait a minute, neither does uncircumcision. Circumcisions of no avail, but
uncircumcision not either. A fellow says, I keep the Sabbath. It won't help you. Another fellow
says, well, I don't keep it. Well, that won't help him either. The fellow
says, I'll tithe. That won't help you if you don't
have Christ. The fellow says, well, I don't
believe in tithing. Well, he ain't going to be helped
either. I mean, come on. The fellow says,
well, I'll celebrate the day. Well, I don't. Well, you're both
in bad shape. I have a day of Christ. I have
an altar of Christ. I do have a Sabbath. I do have
a priest. All of these things have been
fulfilled by Christ and abolished by Christ, as far as salvation
is concerned. You see what he's saying? In
Christ, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision, neither Sabbath-keeping
or refusing to keep it. Neither one profits anybody anything.
Listen. What does? Watch it now. that
worketh by love." Preacher, you've been saying works have nothing
to do with the salvation of our souls. You're right. Our works
don't. Christ works them. But that faith that sees Christ,
that faith that believes Christ, that faith that embraces Christ,
that faith that keeps coming to Christ, that faith that rests
in Christ, that faith that finds its fulfillment in Christ, is
what kind of faith? of faith that worketh by love. It does work. But it doesn't
work by law. It works by love. It doesn't
do anything because it has to. It does it because it wants to. You're one preacher to talk about
not keeping a Sunday when you're here all day long on Sunday.
I'm here because I want to be, not because I'm commanded to
be. And you are too. Some of you are here every time
the door is open. And you give generously. Why
do you give? You give not by law, you give
because you love. We pray for one another. We were
praying for Ken a while ago. Our hearts go with him as he
goes from here and as he preaches over there and as he bears the
sacrifices and these things. Why are we praying for him? Because
we have to know God will deliver us. Because we want to. Because we want to love Him.
You can't bear the thought of anything happening to him, you
know. Love him. Why do we exhort one another
and encourage one another? We love each other. Why do we
give? Because we want to give. Why
do we forgive? Because we want to. We're ashamed
when we don't. Why do we support the gospel?
Because, like Frank prayed, make us cheerful givers. What a prayer! Make me a cheerful giver. And
I tell you, this faith here has learned that it's more blessed
to give than to receive. It's more fun to give than to
get. That's right. It's more fun. It's more joy. It's a happier
experience to be able to share than to receive. That's right. You know that. That's the kind
of people you are. We help the missionaries. Why?
We're supposed to. No, I don't do it because I'm
supposed to. Don't give me something I'm supposed to do, because I
want to. God gave me the want. You see,
God gave you the want. Faith worketh by love, not by
law, not by duty, not by requirements, not because I have to, because
we want to. Love! No, sir. Love. Yes, sir. We serve, we attend
services. These men keep this building
beautiful. The ladies do their work. People
play the instruments and sing and all these things. Why? Well, we got to work our way
to heaven. No, sir, we already got the inheritance.
It's ours. It's reserved in heaven for you.
Do it because it's just exactly what we want to do. Love to. See that? Faith worketh by love. That's the kind of faith. And
don't. Don't let anybody, I know you
won't, but some of us are not going to be here always. And
don't let anybody come in here and sneak around and tell you
that you can be in better shape with God by doing certain things,
you know. And you do it for that reason.
Christ prophets you nothing. But they can come Preach Christ and that will motivate
us. Love Him. Love. Love Him.