True Difference

Q: What does the Bible say about justification by faith?

The Bible teaches that justification comes through faith in Jesus Christ, not by works of the law. Scripture consistently asserts that we are justified by faith alone in Jesus Christ. As Paul states in Galatians 2:16, 'a person is not justified by the works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ.' This signifies that our standing before God does not hinge on our adherence to the law, but rather our faith in Christ and His sacrifice. The doctrine of justification by faith emphasizes that our righteousness before God is based solely on the finished work of Christ, and not on our efforts to keep the law, as noted in Romans 3:28.

Q: Why is the cross of Christ central to Christian faith?

The cross is central because it represents the sacrificial death of Christ, which is the foundation of our salvation. The cross of Christ is the cornerstone of Christian faith as it symbolizes the complete sacrifice made by Jesus for the redemption of sins. Paul emphasizes in Galatians 6:14 that he glories in the cross, indicating that through it, both believers and the world are crucified to each other. This signifies a complete break from reliance on law-based righteousness. The sacrificial love demonstrated at the cross assures believers of their acceptance before God and affirms that true freedom is found solely in Christ. It is through the cross that we are reconciled to God, illustrating that salvation is a gracious gift, independent of our works.

Q: How do we know that salvation is through grace alone?

Salvation is through grace alone as affirmed in Ephesians 2:8-9, which states it is a gift from God, not a result of works. The assurance of salvation by grace alone is rooted in several key scriptural passages. Ephesians 2:8-9 explicitly teaches that we are saved by grace through faith, and this is not of ourselves; it is the gift of God. This underlines that our ability to achieve righteousness is insufficient, and all glory for salvation belongs to God alone. Additionally, Romans 11:6 complements this by affirming that if salvation were based on works, grace would no longer be grace. This foundational truth encourages believers to rest confidently in the finished work of Christ, free from the burden of law-keeping for salvation.

Q: What does Paul mean by 'this present evil world'?

Paul refers to 'this present evil world' as a system that opposes the grace of God and seeks to bind believers under the law. In Galatians, when Paul speaks of 'this present evil world,' he is specifically addressing the religious system that distorts the gospel by placing believers back under the law. This system seeks to undermine the liberty that Christ has granted through His death and resurrection. Paul critiques those who preach a message that adds works to faith, declaring them to be accursed. This world, as described by Paul, is not merely a social or political entity but includes a religious dimension that attempts to enslave believers by insisting on following the law for justification, thus diminuting the work of Christ and the message of grace.

Q: Why should Christians reject legalism?

Christians should reject legalism because it undermines the grace of God and the sufficiency of Christ's work on the cross. Legalism poses a direct threat to the gospel by suggesting that human effort can contribute to our standing before God. In Galatians, Paul strongly rebukes those who teach that adherence to the law is necessary for salvation. He warns that such teachings distort the true gospel, which declares that we are justified by faith alone. When believers embrace legalism, they risk falling from grace, as Paul states in Galatians 5:4. The gospel liberates us from the bondage of law and grants us freedom in Christ, calling us to rely solely on His merit for righteousness.

I invite your attention back
to Galatians chapter 6. This is the final chapter in Paul's letter to the churches
at Galatia. And this chapter is the conclusion
of the matter that he has been dealing with in these first six
chapters. And it is the conclusion of his
teaching, or the teaching of the Holy Spirit through him,
that calls to account any doctrine that is not founded completely
upon Jesus Christ and Him crucified. It is the conclusion of the doctrine
that disallows any salvation but that which is accomplished
by Jesus Christ and Him crucified. These words are a final blow,
if you will, dealt to what Paul calls in chapter 1 this present
evil world. Look back at chapter 1 and verse
4, speaking of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ and what He
delivered us from as children of God, who gave Himself for
our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world
according to the will of God our Father. This present evil
world. Now, we live in a day that this
term, the present evil world, may take on a whole lot of meaning,
especially today's religious and political climate. It may
mean varied and many things. Paul, however, is not talking
about the realm of Islam. He is not talking about Catholicism. He is not talking about the evil
axis. He is not talking about bars
or bordellos. He is not talking about crack
houses or the dark corridors where political self-indulgence
is practiced. When Paul speaks of this present
evil world, he means one thing. One thing. and one thing only
when he speaks of this present evil world. The Holy Spirit inspired
Paul to pen these words in reference to those who would bring anyone
who trusted Christ for their entire salvation under the law
of Moses for justification and righteousness. Paul is not talking
about societal evils here. He's talking about a religiously
evil world. Read the book of Galatians, you'll
find out that that's the fact. Now, Paul described them and
what they preach as this present evil world. He says of such that
they will be accursed when Jesus Christ comes. Because they preach another gospel
that is not the gospel. They preach another gospel. And
he says it is a polluted gospel that they preach. Turn back to
Galatians chapter 1 again. Verses 6 through 9, Paul says
to the Galatian church, that ye are so soon removed from Him,
that is, God, who called you unto the grace of Christ, I'm
so amazed that you've left that for another gospel. So this tells
you what the gospel is. First of all, it tells you that
the gospel is a person. You're so removed from Him to
another gospel. The gospel is the Lord Jesus
Christ. He says, But this gospel is not
another, but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert
the gospel of Christ. And the word pervert there is
pollute or poison. And we know that all you have
to do is add one little thing to the gospel of yourself, and
you've poisoned the gospel. I drop a drop of strychnine to
a cup of tea, it is no longer a cup of tea. It is deadly poison. And so Paul says these pervert
the gospel, and the way they pervert it, he describes as the
evil of this present world. He says, But though we, or an
angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that
which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. In modern vernacular, Paul would
be saying, if someone comes to you and preaches a gospel that
I have not preached to you, let him go to hell. That is what
he is saying. Let him go to hell. And just in case you did not
get it the first time, God doubles up by His inspiration in verse
9. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach
any other gospel unto you than that which ye have received,
let him be accursed. And the language there is amethyma. Maranatha, which means let him
be accursed when the Lord comes. Paul said those who practice
this evil religion, and it ain't witchcraft, though Paul calls
it witchcraft, not witchcraft like we see, like we hear about,
good witches and bad witches and spells. The word witchcraft
in Scripture in the Greek language is pharmakon, get our word pharmacy
from it. And he says to these Galatians,
what these fellows are doing for you, doing to you, preaching
this perverted gospel. You're like you've been drugged,
like you're out of your head. And he says of these people that
they are sneaky spies. Chapter 2 and verse 4 says, And
because of false brethren, and notice how he says it. He calls
them brethren. Why? Because that's what they
call themselves. They came into Antioch and said, We're your
brothers. We're your brothers. We believe in Jesus too. But
you know, you've got to be circumcised. You've got to keep the law to
be righteous before God. These false brethren, unaware,
sneakily brought in who come in privily or privately or under
the guise of sheep while they are actually wolves in sheep
clothing, privily to spy out our liberty. which we have in
Jesus Christ. Why? So they can bring us back
into bondage. They want us in chains. They
want us in fetters. Because they can control if they
do. The Gospel doesn't speak of chaining
up people. The Gospel doesn't speak of bringing
anybody into bondage. The Gospel speaks of opening
up the jail cell and setting the prisoner free. of putting
clothes on those that are naked, and feeding those that are hungry,
and breaking every bond that fetters us. But this present
evil world, this religion that Paul is talking about, seeks
to spy out your liberty. They want to catch you in what
they believe is breaking or transgressing some law, and that way they can
call you on the carpet and give you a hard time. But you are
free, free as a bird. free by the blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Paul also said that he would
not give these folks the time of day. Look at verse 5 of chapter
2. To whom we gave place by subjection,
no, not for an hour, not for an hour, that the truth of the
gospel might continue with you. He said if we had listened to
them and we had given them the time of day, it might appear
that we agreed with them and so we are not even going to give
them the time of day so the gospel will continue with you, the good
news of salvation by the grace of God. Paul declared that such
were cursed and were not believers. Look over at chapter 3 and verse
10. It says this, For as many as are of the works of the law
are under the curse. What is the curse of the law?
Death. That's the curse of the law. For it is written, Cursed
is everyone that continueth not in all things which are written
in the book of the law to do them. Then in verse 12, And the
law is not of faith. That's a pretty astounding statement. And the law is not of faith. But the man that seeks to keep
the Law, he's got to live that way. He's got to live that way. And it ain't going to do him
a bit of good. It ain't going to do him a bit of good. This
present evil world is the world where religious men try to get
believers to give up their liberty in Jesus Christ and go back under
the bondage of the Law. That's that present evil world.
This present evil world is a world where religious men teach that
people may believe in Jesus Christ, but that's not enough. That's
not enough. They must also, with their own
works and by their own abilities, produce a righteousness that
is acceptable to God. This present evil world is a
world where religious men make the cross of Christ to be ineffectual
unless men give their affirmative vote and follow up with a life
worthy of God's acceptance. Listen to men preach on TV today.
This book has become a self-help book. Listen to them. They don't
talk about Christ. They don't talk about justification.
They don't ever discuss how a man can be just with God, and that's
only by the blood of Christ. They use this book as a book
of mottos and a book of quaint sayings and stuff you can put
on a bulletin board and on a bumper sticker and everybody says, oh,
that person's a Christian. This book is the Word of God. This book is the last thing God's
going to say until He speaks the next time. And the next time
He speaks, He's going to wind this whole thing up. This is
God's Word, not a self-help book. It wasn't written by Dr. Field.
It was written by God Almighty. In our text here that we are
going to look at this morning in verses 12 and 13, Paul calls
them out for what they are and for what they glory in. Because I know this about everybody,
they glory in something. They glory in something. Paul
knows that too. And it is no surprise to those
who have read this epistle that these are what we would call
legalist religious folk, folks who apply to the law and look
to the law and would have you under the law. And it is no surprise
that these have no interest in anything spiritual. Anything
spiritual. As all legalists, they do what
they do so somebody will see them. Somebody will see them. I was out with a fellow several
A couple of years ago, he took me out to lunch on a Sunday.
We was at a restaurant, and he bowed his head to pray, and I
just started eating. He says, aren't you going to
pray? I said, how do you know I didn't? What he was talking about was
posture, form, bowing your head, closing your eyes, putting your
hands together. Praying is communicating with God Almighty from your heart
to Him. And you don't have to bow your
head to do it. If you can, that'd be fine. But just because you
bow your head, that don't mean you're praying to God. I was
driving up Soco one day at sunset and this Islam guy got out of
his car and put a mat down on the side of the road and he prayed
to Mecca, to Muhammad. He bowed his head five times
on that mat. He was praying. He wasn't praying
to God. But everybody would say, there's
a prayerful man. He was lost as a goose in a snowstorm. But he was praying. What is prayer?
Speaking to God. And if you love Him, you'll be
going down the road praising Him or thinking about Him or
saying thank you to Him for what He's done for you, what He continues
to do for you. That's praying. That's praying. Men in religion do what they
do so somebody will see them do it. It means a lot to them
to be seen because that gives them a sense that they've been
recognized and therefore whatever they did was of some value. But
let me tell you about what you and I do. The very best we can
do, the very best thing we can do is so full of sin and self
that were it not for the grace of God, it would send 10,000
worlds to hell. We can do nothing. except we
be tied to the vine and the mighty power of God flow through that
vine Jesus Christ into these poor weak branches and produce
fruit and the praise is going to the
vine and not to the branches Christ said without me you can
do nothing in Matthew chapter 23 listen how our Lord describes
those Religious folks whom Paul says here is this present evil
world in Galatians. In Matthew chapter 23, our Lord
says of the Pharisee, But all their works they do for to be
seen of men. They make broad their phylacteries,
and phylacteries were little square boxes that they hung on
their garments. They were full of Bible verses
that they had written down and memorized. And the bigger your
phylactery, the more Bible verses you'd remember. And they did
that so somebody could say, wow, that guy's got some big phylacteries.
He really must know the Scripture. They enlarged the borders of
their garment. On the borders of their garment,
there was a blue ribbon It's spelled R-I-B-A-N-D in the scripture,
but it's ribbon, R-I-B-B-O-N. And that blue ribbon down at
the feet, hung near the feet at the bottom of the garment,
it spoke of obedience to God. My walk, the word, the color
blue had to do with heaven. My walk is before heaven. That's
what they said. Now if you was really, really
a holy guy, you'd make that ribbon wider and wider and wider and
wider. So when you walk down the street and everybody sees
that big flash of blue, they think they're looking into heaven
altogether. They say, my, that fellow is a holy man. Why did
they do that? He said, they do it to be seen
of men. This is our Lord speaking. He says, they love the uppermost
rooms of the feasts and the chief seats in the synagogue. And they
love to be greeted in the marketplace and be called Rabbi, Teacher. There's the teacher! I know many
like to be called reverend. People call preachers reverend.
Reverend is the Lord's name. Holy and reverend is His name.
Reverend means to be revered. And I'm telling you this, what
I know about preachers, speaking of this one personally, don't
revere me. If you knew what I was really
like, you'd shoot me and put me out in a creek somewhere. I expect I'd do the same for
you, probably wouldn't. Reverend? Well, there's the reverend. Hey, Rev! Every time somebody
does that, I want to go, rev it up. They do what they do to be seen
of men. It has to do with how I do what I do so it'll make
me feel better about myself, not about my Savior. They desire, Paul says, to make
a fair show in the flesh. That's what he says. Look at
verse 12 of our text. As many as desire to make a fair show
in the flesh. What did our Lord say to Nicodemus,
who really understood the flesh, but was not a spiritual man?
Didn't understand the things of the Spirit. Our Lord says,
you're a man renowned in Israel, you don't understand these things.
He was a man of the flesh, because when our Lord says you must be
born from above, or born again, He says, shall I enter again
into my mother's womb and be born again? He's talking about
flesh. Christ was talking about spirit. Our Lord says that which
is born of the flesh is flesh. It will never be anything other
than flesh. And that which is born of the spirit is spirit.
And it will never be anything other than the spirit. And these
two are contrary to each other all the time. So you can never
do what you would, Galatians 5.19. Romans 8 says, They that are
in the flesh do mind, pay attention to, seek after those things that
are in the flesh. They that are in the Spirit do
mind, seek after, pursue those things of the Spirit. The flesh and the Spirit will
never be combined. Never be combined. These that
Paul speaks of as this present evil world want to the praise
of their fellow religionists. for bringing believers under
the law is successful, they would succeed in doing two things.
They would effectively discount the ministry of the gospel, which
declares that you are free and not under the law. And secondly,
they would put Paul and every preacher whom they considered
a traitor out of business. As many as desire to make a fair
shoe in the flesh, They constrain you to be circumcised. They constrain you to go under
the law. They constrain you to go to the
Ten Commandments. They constrain you to go to the
ceremony. They constrain you. They would
have you under the law. If they were able to do that,
with that victory under their belt, they would no doubt gain
fame among their peers. Make no mistake here, those who
are operating in this present evil world that Paul says we
are freed from and delivered from by the blood of Christ,
they do what they do without any interest in anyone but themselves,
but themselves. Look over at Luke just for a
moment. Our Lord is speaking of such
in Luke chapter 18 and verse 9. He's about to speak the parable
of the Pharisee and the publican. In verse 9 he says, And he spake
this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves, that they
were righteous, and despised others. And if your righteousness is
not the righteousness of Christ, if it's self-induced and self-brought
about, you're going to be one hater of people. You're going
to despise people. And these did. These did. They despised people. They constrained
you to be circumcised to keep the law. Their design is to control
you by legal means. Freedom and liberty are the Father's
things from their mind. Their truth will not ever set
you free, but rather will bring you into abject poverty and slavery. Their truth is not the truth. The truth is Jesus Christ. He's the way. the truth and the
life. And if the truth shall make you
free, ye shall be free indeed. Ye shall be free indeed. Now
these do not really even have an interest in the law which
they claim to have people, to bring people under. They are
seeking to have men follow them. They are looking for results. One of the sad things in this
world today is that so many churches and preachers are looking for
some results. How many converts? How many people
in church? How many of this? How much was
given? How many Bibles brought? Something that we can brag on.
The minister of the gospel is really only interested in one
thing. If by the miracle of grace God calls one to himself and
saves him, we do rejoice. and thank God for it. But the
preacher of the gospel, his single job in this universe is to declare
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And let come
what may. The gospel is going to do its
work. Paul said we are always victorious in Christ who preach
the gospel. Now to some we are a savor of
life unto life. We smell like life. What we are
talking about smells like life. But to others we are a savor
of death unto death. And who is sufficient for these
things? When we preach the gospel, things happen. Things happen. The gospel is the power of God
unto salvation to everyone that believes. This world is upheld
by the Word of God's power, the gospel according to Hebrews chapter
1. These here, they don't have an
interest in what they are speaking of. They want men to follow.
They want results. They deceive themselves and their
deceit is so subtle that they are not even aware that they
are not keeping the law themselves. That is what it says here. Verse 13, For neither they themselves,
who are circumcised, keep the law, but desire to have you circumcised,
that they may glory in your flesh. Such as these equate the results
of their so-called ministry, bringing people under the law,
controlling people's lives with fear of wrath and censure, And
by keeping them in a constant state of doubt and guilt, by
preaching men's duty before the law, they keep people in line. I've said this over the last
30 years that I've been preaching. That's how many years I've been
preaching. This month, by the way. You called me pastor October
28, 1978. This month will be 30 years.
I've said for these 30 years. If you could remove the concept
of guilt from the churches today, most
of them are folded up. The only way to keep people doing
things is to keep them guilty. But I'm here to tell you this.
If you believe the Gospel, according to Hebrews chapter 10, you have
no sense of guilt before God because Christ has made you accepted
in the blood. You're accepted. Not acceptable. You'll never be acceptable. You're
as rotten as all get out. But you're accepted. Christ has
made you accepted. And if you're guilty, God can't
accept you. He can't accept somebody that's
guilty. He accepts those who are not
guilty. And they're not guilty because Jesus Christ paid their
sin debt and removed their guilt and removed their shame. And
they stand not as servants, cowering in slavish fear before God, but
they come to Him crying as adopted ones, Abba! Father! Papa! Papa! That's the language of Scripture.
That's the language of Scripture. But if people can make someone
else appear under the thumb, or make someone leave the Gospel
for a legal life, They think themselves righteous for doing
so. Jimmy Swaggart used to like to preach against pornography
and like to preach against them whores down on such-and-such
street in Louisiana. Oh, he'd get on them. He'd talk
about them girls, the way they dressed. He ended up in the motel
with them. Why? Why? Because he felt like, though
these things were his life, he wouldn't admit it. If he could
keep you from doing it, he'd be righteous before God. That's
what these do. They do what they do to be seen
of men and they do it so they can glory in your flesh, in controlling
your flesh. And Paul calls that this present
evil world. The root of their desire is to
glory in your flesh and it's to avoid the persecution that
comes with preaching the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. They
fear the censure of their fellow religious practitioners more
than they fear God. Up in Iowa, most of the churches
up there are Netherland Reformed churches. That's an old Dutch
Reformed church. Boy, they're tough. They're legalists
to the core. And the people live in fear.
But it's such a sham thing because the deacons will come around
to the house to inspect people's lives. And you know what the
people do? They ain't supposed to have TVs.
The deacons know they have TVs. But what they do when the deacons
come in, they put a towel over the TV. This is true. So the
deacons say, well, I didn't see no TV in their house. And they think that's righteousness.
We like to hand that before God, stand before the judgment of
God and say, Lord, I put a towel over my TV. Don't that count
for something? They don't count for anything.
Our righteousnesses are filthy rags. And that word is minstreless. Filthy, minstrous rags. That's what we have to show to
God. That's what we have to honor God with if we're going to produce
it. Filthy, minstrous rags. When
a woman was going through her cycle, that is very particular
language in Scripture. She had to be put out of the
camp for those days she was in her cycle, and she could not
come back into the camp unless a lamb was slain and blood was
shed. What it says, our righteousness
needs to be atoned for. Our righteousness needs to be
put away or else we are not welcomed in the camp of the Lord. These
fear the plain preaching of the cross because it is censure.
You mean, preacher, that you are saved by grace? You did not
do nothing? That is exactly what I mean.
You mean God saved you of His own free will? That's exactly
what I mean. You mean God saved you simply
because He would save you? Exactly. You mean He's not going
to get anything out of you? What could He get out of me? What can I do that is worthy
of praise? Nothing. You can't get nothing
out of me. I'm a greasy spot on history.
Heck, I ain't even a greasy spot on history. I'm nothing and nobody. Add me up to zero, you've gone
too high. God is all. Christ is everything. That's
what I'm talking about. And that's what these fellows
fear more than anything else. Why, if you preach that, if you preach
salvation complete by grace, people just go hog-wild. Listen,
they go hog-wild anyway. But it ain't the grace of God
that'll cause them. I know this about being sick. When I got better, I never wanted
to be sick again. I'm not going back to that old
mess. I don't want it. I know what the pain and trouble
it caused. They know that to preach Christ
alone, by grace alone, according to the Scriptures alone, will
cost them their religion, and they're correct. You see, the
Gospel not only saves the lost, it also destroys any hope in
anyone or anything other than Jesus Christ. And obviously,
these legalists did not, in their pulpiteering, discount the cross
altogether. People don't say, well, Christ
is nothing. These fellows talk about Christ a whole lot. But
they do it in an interesting way. They refuse to preach it
as that which renders the law useless in justification for
men. They preach the salvation accomplished by Christ as, at
best, a partial accomplishment that waits on men for it to work.
They preach the salvation as a starting point. This is where
you start, and then the rest of it is up to you. Paul dealt with that very theme
here in this book. Did you know that? Because they felt like,
well, we believed on Jesus, now we go to the law for our righteousness
and justification. That's the way it ought to be.
Paul said this in chapter 3, verses 1 through 3, Oh foolish
Galatians! Who hath drugged you, bewitched
you, that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes
Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth crucified among you?
This only would I learn of you. Did you receive the Spirit by
the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Which one of
those? Are you so foolish then, having
begun in the Spirit? Are you now made perfect in the
flesh? How stupid is that? He said that's
like being on drugs. It's like being on drugs. Such
take the unsearchable riches of Christ and call them a simple
plan of salvation. Show me that in Scripture. Show
me anywhere in Scripture that the plan of salvation is called
a simple plan. They really show me the phrase plan of salvation.
It's not there either. These feel that it is of paramount
importance to destroy the gospel, to diminish the gospel, to diminish
the work and worth of the Lord Jesus Christ by winning man's
mind to the law. And to not do so would mean that
their own religion would persecute them. This is the glory of the
legalists. This is the glory that they seek
after. This is the glory of that world,
that present evil world. Paul said in chapter 5 and verse
11, he says, ìI, brethren,î they were accusing him of being a
legalist himself, and he said, ìIf I preach circumcision, if
I preach that a man ought to go into the law, how come I'm
getting beat up for it?î He said, if I preach those things, then
the offense of the cross would cease. How do I pull away or
remove the offense of the cross? Because it's offensive. Because
it puts all of your salvation in God's hand and none in yours.
That's offensive. Offensive man's intellect. Well,
I ought to be able to just study the Bible and learn stuff. You
can't learn nothing in this Bible. This Bible is a revealed book.
is spiritually discerned and spiritually understood, and only
that by being born of the Spirit, by the Word, through the preaching
of the gospel. He defends man's pride. Well,
look, I'm not as bad as other people. I know I ain't perfect,
but I ain't like old Joe so-and-so down there that lays in the gutter
drunk in his own vomit. I'm like him. There you are. You're worse
than you are because you think you're better. You're worse off. I'd rather be a drunk than a
self-righteous man, I'll be honest with you. There's some hope for
a drunk. But self-righteousness burns
in God's nostrils according to His Word. But Paul says the believer does
glory. The believer glories. He glories. And Paul finds the
believers glorying in no uncertain terms. Three times he makes reference
to the cross. Those legalists despise the cross,
want to do away with the cross, can't stand the persecution of
the cross, but the believer just loves it when he speaks of the
cross. Now, he's not referring to that
wooden pole that Jesus Christ hung on. Neither is he referring
to those little religious trinkets that people adorn the steeples
of their churches and religious buildings or dangle them from
the earlobes of their necklaces. He's not talking about that.
When he speaks of the cross, he's speaking of the crucifixion
of the Lord Jesus Christ, the crucifixion of the Lord, and
the Lord who was crucified. And he speaks in the singular
manner that is the hallmark of his ministry throughout. Read
Paul's writings from his first book to his last, and you'll
find this one thing. He brings it all back to the
Lord Jesus Christ. He said, I determine to the Corinthian
church, I determine to know nothing among you say Jesus Christ and
Him crucified. I'm determined on that. The gospel
that he preaches guarantees persecution from religion. We just read that
in chapter 5 and verse 11. Paul does not avoid preaching
it. In fact, it is the source of his glorying. He does not
glory in men's flesh. He glories in the crucified Christ. He declares that God forbids
glorying in anything but the cross. God forbid that I should
glory save in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. This word
glorying does not enter much into common vocabulary today.
Though its meaning to us, glory means boasting, pleasure, satisfaction,
rejoicing, exaltation. God forbid that I should boast
in anything but Christ. God forbid that I should have
pleasure in anything but Christ and Him crucified. God forbid
that I should find satisfaction in anything other than Jesus
Christ. God forbid that I should rejoice in anything other than
the cross of Christ. God forbid that I should exult
in anything other than Jesus Christ. It means that the heart
and the mind of the glory are here, is so taken up with the
thing that the person himself is lost in the contemplation
of it. The believer glories in the cross and has no confidence
in the flesh. He is where anybody else is.
And Paul was a humanly gifted man. Did you know that? Saul
of Tarsus. He didn't come into Cherokee
on the back of a turnip truck. This guy was something. He was
something. Humanly, he was very gifted.
He was educated at the feet of Gamaliel in the legal profession. He had great writing ability.
He went on many missionary journeys and had the esteem of many believers,
yet those were never a source of his glory. Well, you know,
I've been to college. I've got a degree. I've heard
preachers say, I'm a doctor. I tell them I ain't even a good
nurse. I'm a doctor of divinity. So
what? You know what a degree is? Look at a thermometer. Is it all the thermometer? It's a degree. Smart men came
up with that idea, years and years ago. Men who understood
that education goes on for the rest of a person's life. Said,
we're going to give you a piece of paper that shows that you
have one degree of education. That's the little education.
The rest of life you're going to be spending learning, you
just got a little degree. Smart men came up with that.
They are wise men who knew that men would look at that and say,
I'm somebody. The Lord was said to be an unlearned
man. That's what they called Him.
All His disciples were a bunch of fishermen and tax collectors,
and they didn't have no education. In fact, it astonished the people
that listened to Him. They said, how do these men speak
this way, having no learning? They spoke because it's taught
of God. And what they said, nobody understood anyway, except those
who believed. Paul said, of all that he was, he says, you have
reason to boast of the flesh, I have reason more to boast of
the flesh. In Philippians chapter 3, he says, I was a Hebrew of
Hebrews, tribe of Benjamin, Pharisee, touching the law, I was blameless.
He said, on account of all that manure, here's what I want, that
I may know Christ and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness,
which is of the law, but the righteousness which is the faith
of the Son of God. That's what I want. That's all I want. He glorified in the crucifixion
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He gloried in the cross because
the work of Christ was effectual, successful, and accomplished
the redemption and salvation and justification of God's people,
none of which could be accomplished under the law. The righteousness
of the law, no flesh shall be justified by the works of the
law. Paul says in chapter 2 and verse 16 of this book, the work
of Christ crucified. crucified the world to Him, this
world, this evil world, this world of legalistic religion.
He said, That's dead to me. It's dead to me. And it crucified
Him to the world. This world He speaks of is that
world that glories in the flesh, that world that would bring men
under the law, this present evil world. The crucifixion of Christ
killed every interest he had in that religious world he knew
before he was apprehended by Christ on Damascus Road. Likewise,
to those who yet practice the world's religion, the preacher
of the gospel, the believer of the gospel is a dead thing. They
don't think you really matter to them, do you? Especially if
they can't put you under their thumb, you don't matter to them.
You're chaff to them. You're something to be carried
away with the wind. But I tell you what, God loves you. I'll
tell you why. He's invested Jesus Christ, His
Son, in your salvation. That's a pretty good indicator.
He's invested so much that He can't let you go. He can't let
you go. When Paul says, I am crucified
to the world, the world is crucified to me, these are not negative
things. They're very positive things. They are the result of
identification with Jesus Christ and His substitutionary sacrifice
on the cross. And these are a source of great
joy and satisfaction to every believer. When a believer is
baptized, he confesses that he died when Christ died. God forbid
that I should glory save in the cross for Christ. When the believer
takes the Lord's table, he testifies of the Lord's death until he
comes again. God forbid that I should glory
save in the cross He glories in the cross because by it the
world is crucified to Him and He is crucified to the world
and that is ample reason to glory. The world, this present evil
world, means nothing to the believer. It upsets him every once in a
while, aggravates him, but he doesn't hold that it means anything,
that it counts for anything. And when that world looks at
the believer, what is that? That guy believes you're saved
by grace. He don't believe in living by the Ten Commandments.
He don't believe in going back under the law. Don't. Dead to
that world. Dead to that world. God forbid
that I should glory in anything or anyone else than Christ and
Him crucified. Worth glory, then. Worthy of
praise. One day, according to the fifth
chapter of Revelation, that will be our song. That's what we'll
sing. That will be our closing hymn
every time we speak in glory. We'll sing, Worthy is the Lamb
that was slain, and has redeemed us by His blood out of every
kindred, nation, people, and tongue upon the earth, and has
made us kings and priests unto our God. Worthy, worthy, worthy
is Jesus Christ. John said it this way, John the
Baptist, He must increase, I must decrease. Father, bless us to
our understanding, we pray in Christ's name. Give us a heart
to glorify Jesus Christ and honor Him for all that He's done. Cast us down in the dust where
we belong so we'll dare not glory in ourselves and in our flesh.
Let us ever be mindful that we are what we are completely and
wholly by the grace of God and nothing else. It's in Christ's
name. In that glorious name we pray. Amen.

True Difference

What does the Bible say about justification by faith?

Why is the cross of Christ central to Christian faith?

How do we know that salvation is through grace alone?

What does Paul mean by 'this present evil world'?

Why should Christians reject legalism?

Sermon Transcript

About Tim James

Comments

Joshua

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

True Difference

What does the Bible say about justification by faith?

Why is the cross of Christ central to Christian faith?

How do we know that salvation is through grace alone?

What does Paul mean by 'this present evil world'?

Why should Christians reject legalism?

Sermon Transcript

About Tim James

Comments

More from Tim James

Related Sermons

Same Scripture

Articles by Tim James

Books by Tim James

Joshua

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book