Freedom to Live.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] Good morning. Have a seat. [0:03] My name is Steve. I am one of the pastors here at the village. [0:07] Thanks for coming. If you come here on most Sundays, you’ll probably see me up here. [0:12] I do most of the teaching probably 80% of the time. The other 20% of the time [0:16] I just stay home and take a day off, I guess. [0:19] But just kidding, I’m here every Sunday. Except for when my wife has babies and then I typically do have to take a week off.

[0:27] But we’re in the book of Galatians right now as a church and we’re making our way through and this is your first Sunday here with us. [0:34] That’s pretty much how we go through the Bible. We’ll pick a book of the Bible. [0:39] And we will go through the whole thing and we will study it together so that we don’t just get [0:44] one snapshot of what God is revealing to us, but rather we will get the whole [0:49] landscape in view and we will see the whole message that God has for us. [0:53] Right now we’re about halfway through the book of Galatians. We’re gonna finish up chapter 3. Let me just kind of

[1:00] put a little preface on it today [1:02] just in case you don’t know where we are. The book of Galatians was written by the Apostle Paul. [1:07] And what Galatians is about is, Paul is going through the world and he’s telling people the message of Jesus Christ that leads to [1:14] salvation. And what is happening is there is this group of people that are called the [1:20] Judaizers or the circumcision party as they’re referred to in the New Testament that are basically following him. [1:27] Paul will plant a church, he will raise up leaders, and then when he leaves and he moves on to a different place to plant

[1:34] another church, these Judaizers will come into the church and they will try to disrupt everything that Paul has done. [1:42] And what they have done in the church at Galatia is they have come in and they have said, [1:46] Paul told you about Jesus? Well, that’s great. Salvation comes through Jesus. [1:51] But there’s one more thing that you need to have. And whenever you have Jesus plus anything, [2:00] then it’s ruined. And what they do is they come in and say, well, not only do you need salvation through Jesus, [2:06] but in order to be fully saved and fully accepted by God, you need to also

[2:12] follow the Old Testament law. You need to be circumcised. You need to become a Jew like us. [2:19] And then you will have acceptance by God. Because by and large these people were not Jews. [2:24] This was a church of what is known as Gentiles. [2:27] These were people that didn’t follow the Old Testament law like they did in Jerusalem in the first century. [2:34] So Paul writes this letter to Galatia because word has come to him and he says, no, this is absolutely wrong. [2:41] And in chapters 1 and 2 he lays down the groundwork and he says, if you follow what they say, you will be damned.

[2:50] That is basically the tone that Paul takes. And then he also says, if anyone adds to this gospel that I have brought to you, [2:57] let him be cursed. And that is another word in Greek for let him be condemned or damned. [3:07] In Greek they don’t have cuss words, so he uses stuff like that.

[3:13] So Paul is writing this letter and right now we find ourselves at the end of chapter 3. [3:18] And throughout chapter 3, Paul has laid the groundwork using the story from the Old Testament of Abraham [3:24] to show that no one who has followed the Old Testament has ever gotten to God through the works that they have done in accordance to the law. [3:35] But rather, it has always been a life of faith, believing God will do what he says he will do, believing that God will fulfill his promises, [3:47] and following God by that faith, that is what brings the righteousness of God into our lives. [3:54] That even before Christ came, it was not the works of the law that saved anyone.

[3:59] And he points out very interestingly that the law of God came 430 years after the promise of God to Abraham. [4:08] So how could possibly this law bring us salvation when for so many hundreds of years it was through trusting the promise of God. [4:16] Abraham was not justified by his works, rather he was justified by his faith which brought the righteousness of God into his life. [4:27] And last week we kind of wrapped it up by showing that the Ten Commandments that God gives in the book of Exodus, [4:35] that following these Ten Commandments has never been the path to God. [4:41] No man has ever gotten to God through obeying the Ten Commandments.

[4:46] Rather, the Ten Commandments serve as God making a revelation to us of our dependency upon him. [4:54] And that the Ten Commandments show us our sin and show us how we fall short where God is concerned, [5:03] and should make us more dependent on God rather than dependent on ourselves. [5:08] And Paul basically puts it this way, that if righteousness were to come through the law, then you would in no way need to trust in God at all. [5:17] You could simply trust in your own works. [5:20] So this week we’re picking right up in Galatians chapter 3 verse 21.

[5:27] I want you to go ahead and join me there as we begin reading.

[5:34] Galatians chapter 3.

[5:37] Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? [5:43] Because that’s kind of what would be kind of the objection to us. [5:46] How do they fit together? [5:48] What’s the point of the law if it doesn’t bring righteousness? [5:53] What purpose does it serve? [5:55] Did God throw it in there to be contrary to his promises?

[6:00] Because kind of believe it or not, even in this day and age, there is this concept that if Israel, [6:07] and if the people of the world in that time had been obedient enough, [6:11] if they had been able to live by the law of God, then Jesus wouldn’t have needed to have come and died. [6:20] So the sacrifice of Jesus was put in place because we were so disobedient to the law. [6:27] And what we’re going to see today is that that is completely contrary to the promise of God. [6:33] Verse 22.

[6:36] Excuse me, halfway through verse 21 I think. [6:38] For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. [6:47] But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, [6:52] so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. [7:01] The journey we’re going to take today is going to be sort of an interesting one I think. [7:07] I think one of the greatest misunderstandings where the Bible is concerned,

[7:14] especially in kind of modern day Christianity, is that we kind of misunderstand the scope of God’s law. [7:21] We sort of have a misunderstanding of the purpose of God’s law and why he gave it. [7:26] So the first thing I think I need you to understand today is that the law of God is a prison. [7:33] The law of God in no way brings you freedom. [7:36] The law of God brings you nothing but imprisonment. [7:41] The law of God is not liberating.

[7:45] It is condemning. [7:48] And there was a purpose to that condemnation. [7:52] That purpose was Jesus. [7:55] Understand that if you have an understanding that the law is something that we can follow, [8:01] the law is something that brings us closer to God, [8:04] and even in the Christian life, God loves us or kind of separates himself from us based on our obedience to the law.

[8:11] That’s somewhat different from what Scripture says. [8:14] Notice back in verse 22, [8:16] the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, [8:19] so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. [8:28] If God had made a plan that the law would be a way to get to him, [8:35] he brings Moses up on the mountain,

[8:37] and we’ve probably all seen the Charlton Heston movie, [8:40] where God brings him up onto the mountain and gives him this law, [8:43] and then Moses comes down after being in the presence of God, [8:46] and he gives the law to the people, [8:49] and they change everything they do, [8:51] they no longer follow the golden calf that Aaron has made,

[8:56] they’re now like, oh, okay, we weren’t supposed to have idols before God, [8:59] we weren’t supposed to create a graven image, [9:02] oh my goodness, I shouldn’t lie, I shouldn’t steal, I shouldn’t murder, [9:05] I shouldn’t do all of these things, [9:06] and they repent of all of that, [9:08] and they say, nope, we’re not going to follow our old law,

[9:11] but rather we’re going to follow this law, [9:13] so let’s just muster up the strength and the energy to be as obedient as we possibly can, [9:19] and we’re now going to forge a new path through the law of God. [9:23] And our senses sometimes tell us, [9:26] because of the way we view morality in the church, [9:29] that if they had done that,

[9:35] history would have been completely different.

[9:41] But understand, there’s two important words in verse 22 [9:45] that you have to kind of grasp ahold of [9:47] to understand that that was never going to happen. [9:53] God in His sovereignty had a plan that man’s sin would lead to. [10:04] Verse 22.

[10:07] The Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, okay, [10:10] the law is a prison in this metaphor,

[10:16] so that, [10:17] those are the kind of words we kind of skip over sometimes, [10:20] because they’re not like, you know, the noun or the verb.

[10:24] So that. [10:27] What Paul is saying is the law of God was given

[10:33] so that Jesus would be needed.

[10:40] God’s plan for all time was to give a law [10:45] that would rather than liberate us if we follow it, [10:48] will condemn us because we won’t follow it. [10:54] So in the law, you have this amazing beacon [10:59] of the gospel of Jesus Christ laid at our feet and shown to us. [11:05] Why is the law a prison?

[11:09] Did the law fail? [11:11] And because of the failure of the law, Jesus needed to come.

[11:17] Paul’s speaking there is certainly not. [11:19] In the Greek, that term is me gnoito, [11:23] or that could never even be a possibility.

[11:28] God forbid that be a reality, [11:31] because then we could take credit for our own salvation, [11:34] but God sent the law to condemn us [11:38] so that we would understand that God has every right [11:43] to have His wrath burn hot against us.

[11:48] This is not something that makes you feel good about yourself. [11:52] This is something that makes you feel pretty crummy.

[11:57] You know, if you hang the Ten Commandments on your wall, [12:00] you’re not supposed to look up there and say, [12:02] well, I’m measuring up pretty good today. [12:04] Eight out of ten isn’t bad. [12:07] Not too shabby. [12:10] I’ve got your acceptance today, God.

[12:14] But I think very often that’s the way we look at it. [12:19] Well, I certainly haven’t murdered. [12:21] I may have lied, but I didn’t murder. [12:25] You know, and sometimes we look at the law and it’s like, [12:27] well, I haven’t built, you know, a golden calf in my backyard. [12:31] I guess I’m measuring up all right.

[12:35] That’s not the purpose. [12:37] Look at what Paul is writing. [12:40] Paul calls the law of God a prison. [12:44] Something that you can in no way escape from. [12:48] The law brings a condemnation that leads to death. [12:53] Have you ever read through the New Testament

[12:56] and noticed just how many times, [12:58] especially in the books that Paul writes, [13:02] he uses death as a way to describe what we’re like without God.

[13:08] The wages of sin is death,

[13:13] but the gift of God. [13:16] [13:18] Paul brings another striking example elsewhere where he says, [13:22] if the law had never come, [13:25] we wouldn’t notice that we were sinners.

[13:30] In other words, if God never said, don’t do this, [13:33] how would we know that it was wrong?

[13:37] The scriptures never look at the law and say, [13:40] because of the law, we know what is right.

[13:46] There’s always a negative bent in the scripture about this. [13:50] The law brings with it an accompanying death.

[13:55] Because of our failure, [13:58] which was understood from before time even began, [14:01] the first thing that God says don’t do in scripture [14:04] is eat of a tree when there are probably hundreds of other trees around it. [14:09] One of the first things in recorded human history [14:11] is the fact that we can’t even obey don’t eat a tree,

[14:15] excuse me, the fruit that comes off of a tree, [14:17] but rather Adam and Eve run headlong and say, [14:20] well, all right, I’ll eat it. [14:21] Doesn’t even take much convincing.

[14:26] And so from the get-go, [14:28] we are shown this drastic example of how disobedient we are [14:33] in light of the rules and the regulations and the standards [14:37] and the laws that God gives.

[14:42] What does that mean about us? [14:46] It means that we are fully incapable of following God.

[14:54] We cannot muster up enough strength inside of us [14:58] to follow a path that leads to life.

[15:03] If you accept the words of scripture, which you may not, [15:07] but if you do, [15:09] then what scripture reveals to us is that [15:12] based on morality,

[15:16] we are in deep trouble.

[15:20] You can never wash yourself in enough morality [15:24] to remove the stains that sin leaves behind. [15:28] Because if you go through the law, [15:31] sure, you may not be guilty of some of the more culturally unacceptable laws, [15:37] but even the ones that are culturally acceptable are in there [15:40] and you are guilty of them.

[15:47] The book of James puts it this way. [15:49] The book of James says, [15:51] if you are guilty of even one of these laws, [15:54] which by the way, there aren’t just ten, [15:57] there are 639.

[16:00] If you are guilty of even one of these things, [16:04] it is as if you have broken them all.

[16:10] 1 John puts it this way. [16:12] If you have looked at a brother with hatred in your heart, [16:15] it is as if you have killed him. [16:17] And I admit this morning fully that I have hated.

[16:21] And I am certain you have as well. [16:24] Jesus says in the book of Matthew that if you have ever looked, [16:28] and he uses the masculine side of this, but the feminine side also applies. [16:32] He says that if you have ever looked at a woman with lust in your heart, [16:36] it is as if you have committed adultery with her already.

[16:40] And I am fairly certain I just nailed at least all the guys in here.

[16:47] But you know, you girls aren’t fooling me either though.

[16:53] You know, you look at these Brad Pitt movies and it isn’t just dudes going to see them. [16:59] You know, name that actor, I don’t know, but you know, [17:04] I don’t know what I mean. [17:06] Alright, I don’t think I need to go any further than that. [17:10] I could though, but I am not going to. [17:14] Alright, so there is just this universal truth about us that says

[17:20] we can try to be as moral as we want to, [17:23] but deep down inside there is something inside of us that says sin, do it, love it, live it. [17:31] And in Romans chapter 5, Paul writes again, and he says, [17:35] the reason for this is when Adam sinned in the book of Genesis, [17:41] everyone that was born from his seed, which if you don’t understand, that is all of us, [17:47] we all came from somewhere and that is where we apparently came from,

[17:51] everyone born after that was born into sin. [17:54] That means as soon as we were born, there was this leaning in us towards disobedience.

[18:05] If you have children, you know what I mean.

[18:09] Mine is five weeks old, I haven’t seen that part of him yet, [18:12] but according to scripture it is in there and it will reveal itself to me. [18:15] Now when he cries in the middle of the night, I want to see that as evidence of his sinfulness. [18:20] My wife says it is just his way of communicating. [18:23] Women have this strange way of prettying things up and be like, [18:28] no, that is just his communication, it is joyful.

[18:34] Not when I am trying to watch the game. [18:37] I can’t hear the commentators. [18:39] And of course I can’t look at her and be like, can you take them in the other room? [18:42] That would be fully unacceptable. [18:44] And of course showing of my sin because I love TV too much more than my son. [18:53] But it is just kind of these silly sinful things that come out of us

[19:00] that show that we have a bend towards sinfulness that the scripture says is imprisoning. [19:07] It is condemning rather than having this bend towards a liberating life of absolute freedom. [19:16] We all have vices in our lives that the law of God shines a bright light on [19:23] and says you are sinful, you have sinned. [19:29] And this law says it is unacceptable to God. [19:33] Because through the law comes this understanding of death.

[19:43] So that there could be life.

[19:48] And you say, it doesn’t make any sense.

[19:52] Think about it this way. [19:55] When we are born, we begin this process of growth. [20:00] And then somewhere around 25, because that is when it all started falling apart for me. [20:07] Somewhere around the age of 25 we hit this wall.

[20:11] And it is all downhill from there, folks. [20:14] If you are in here and you are like 24, you have one year left. [20:18] Then basketball is hard, football is hard. [20:21] It has always been hard for me. [20:22] I have always been this size. [20:24] When you are this size, it is like you have a 3-inch vertical and you can’t get over that.

[20:28] I started running a couple of weeks ago. [20:36] And some of you are like, you know what, that must be an interesting sight. [20:40] And it is. [20:44] When I run, it is a little faster than walking. [20:48] So if you are really skinny and you have a real brisk walk, you may pass me. [20:52] And that is a full out sprint for me.

[20:54] Especially after about a quarter mile. [20:58] And you might be with me in this category. [21:01] But when I am running, I feel so awkward. [21:08] And I have never felt imprisonment like that before. [21:13] Because what running says to me is, hey Steve, you used to think you were immortal, didn’t you? [21:19] This is the sign of mortality.

[21:23] That other people can run like 26 miles. [21:28] Or however long a marathon is. [21:30] And I was so excited because Wednesday morning I made it a mile. [21:34] I am not even kidding. [21:35] Rocky music was in my head. [21:37] I was lifting my arms up in the air.

[21:39] I think a tear came out. [21:41] I was like, I have never done that before. [21:44] Ever. [21:45] And I was so excited. [21:47] But I understand in these things, trust me, if you haven’t run in a while, [21:51] Go do it this afternoon.

[21:53] Tomorrow you are going to hurt. [21:55] Like I can barely stand right now. [21:57] I almost brought a cane with me this morning. [22:00] And it is only because I ran a mile yesterday morning. [22:04] And some of you are like, I bet I could do it. [22:08] Trust me, if you are 280 pounds, it is a feat.

[22:12] It is like you have truly accomplished something. [22:15] And then when you are done, it is like you just need to go to Golden Corral or something. [22:19] Because you have burned everything that was ever in you. [22:23] Even if there was like a donut from five years ago stuck in your intestine somewhere, it is gone. [22:30] Which really hampers the weight loss. [22:32] Just so you know, because it is like you have this massive need to refuel.

[22:36] But in these types of things, we see that we are completely mortal. [22:42] And the scriptures show us that because of sin, that is what brings our mortality. [22:48] That as soon as we are born, our time is limited and we are headed directly towards death.

[22:57] But that condemnation, that imprisonment, that death sentence exists.

[23:06] So that, those two important words, God could bring us life. [23:14] Now open your scriptures back up and let’s join in verse 23.

[23:19] Now before faith came, so Paul is taking us back and saying there was a time before faith. [23:28] Before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. [23:38] So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came in order that we might be justified by faith. [23:48] So what the scriptures are saying is that this death is necessary for God to bring life.

[23:57] And he uses this term in the Greek. He calls it a guardian. [24:01] He says the law was a guardian to keep us in our death and in our prison until faith in Jesus Christ could justify us. [24:11] That Greek word there is translated in the King James version. [24:14] That the law was our school master to teach us and to discipline us until the coming of Jesus. [24:22] But literally what that term means is that the law is a task master. [24:28] He is the one, excuse me, the law is the one that stands in front of our prison and will not allow us to exit it.

[24:37] So scripture has this mentality about the law, yet we have the mentality of if we could just make the world moral enough.

[24:50] You can’t clean death through action.

[24:56] Death does nothing to save itself. It just is.

[25:05] Death is the end. Death is inescapable. [25:09] If you are dead, you can do nothing to redeem yourself. [25:15] And Paul is saying through the law we are dead.

[25:21] But there is that important so that again. [25:26] That the law was our guardian to keep us until Jesus Christ would save us.

[25:39] So where is this life?

[25:43] Because there is one thing I know about us, human beings at least. [25:49] Is that we carry a lot of guilt. [25:51] I think the law is obvious because if you talk to anyone, you are going to see a lot of guilt. [25:58] You are going to see a lot of baggage. [26:00] If you have lived any type of life, you are going to come into it with some hang ups. [26:05] If we really get transparent, if we are really authentic with each other.

[26:10] Life probably hasn’t been what we wanted it to be. [26:15] I don’t play first base for the Oakland A’s. [26:19] So life did not end up what I wanted it to be when I was 12.

[26:25] There are these things inside of us that have been completely unfulfilled. [26:30] And through that we have done things to make ourselves feel better that bring guilt. [26:35] Other people have done things to us that have made us resent other people. [26:41] That have taken us out of relationships. [26:44] And we go through life with baggage. [26:46] We go through life with hang ups.

[26:48] I think we go through life with a fairly good understanding of what death is.

[26:55] Death is emptiness. [26:58] And I think we have a grasp on that if we are really honest with ourselves. [27:02] But the problem with the way we try to get to God is, [27:06] is we are just like the Galatian church and what the Judaizers said. [27:10] We want a salvation that is free from Jesus. [27:13] But then when we get up and we try to walk the Christian life,

[27:16] we still live it condemned by the law with guilt, with baggage, [27:21] and with hang ups, and with resentment towards God and other people. [27:26] And the message that Paul is giving to the church at Galatia, [27:29] is that is no way to try to follow God.

[27:35] The law shows our need for Jesus. [27:39] And when Jesus came, He took all of our guilt, all of our sin, [27:46] all of our hang ups, our baggage, our resentment, our unforgiveness, [27:51] our anger that burns hot towards God and others. [27:55] Jesus came and took that to the cross. [27:58] And He let God lay that stuff on top of Him,

[28:02] and then give Him the penalty, then pour out the wrath, [28:06] and Jesus died for that. [28:09] The just for the unjust.

[28:14] 2 Corinthians says, [28:16] He who knew no sin became sin on our behalf, [28:19] so that we might become the righteousness of God. [28:22] But understand this and hear this, [28:24] this may be different than what you understand. [28:26] Jesus Christ fulfilled the law completely,

[28:30] and for the follower of Jesus, [28:33] you are not bound to the laws of the Old Testament whatsoever.

[28:43] You’re not.

[28:46] That may have maybe raised some eyebrows. [28:50] Because you’re like, well does that mean I can just go out and start murdering?

[28:56] If that was really what you said, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to mock your voice. [29:00] But I don’t even know if that’s what you sound like. [29:03] But no, what that means is, [29:05] if you want to live a life and you’re bound to the law, [29:10] you’re like, you know what, Jesus came and He forgave us, [29:13] and then He said, now you can obey those laws.

[29:16] Good luck, go back to the laws, at some point you’re going to break it again.

[29:21] So what then? [29:22] Because if you are bound to the law, [29:25] you’re still condemned by the law. [29:29] Paul says that if you live your life based on these laws, [29:33] you will be judged by these laws. [29:37] And trust me, none of us want that.

[29:41] None of us. [29:42] Because what we say practically sometimes with our lives is that [29:45] the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus [29:47] is effective enough to save me and get me into heaven, [29:50] but it is not effective enough to take me through this life. [29:53] I still need an outsourced guide.

[29:57] When Jesus all the time is saying in the book of John, [30:00] I’m leaving so that another one can come. [30:03] The Comforter, the Guide. [30:06] You see, when you have Jesus, you no longer follow the law, [30:10] because God Himself comes and He resides in you.

[30:15] You see, Jesus came as a force of redemption. [30:21] The law did not.

[30:24] Jesus came to forgive all of the sin that the law found inside of us.

[30:31] And when He redeems us from that law, He redeems us fully. [30:36] Not that the law is unjust. [30:38] Notice that in this passage He says that the law is not contrary to the promise. [30:44] The law leads us headlong into the promise of God. [30:51] Because Jesus fulfills God’s covenant with Abraham in the book of Genesis. [31:00] Jesus is the great nation that God is going to raise up out of Abraham.

[31:11] It’s not about 15 acres on the West Bank. [31:13] It’s about Jesus.

[31:18] Jesus, like we talked about last week, 2 Corinthians, [31:22] every promise of God finds its yes in Jesus.

[31:31] So if you are living a life condemned by your shortcomings, [31:36] condemned by your sin, [31:38] understand that redemption can be found nowhere except for in Jesus. [31:46] And that’s about the moment of salvation and every moment after that. [31:53] Because Jesus is our great redemption. [31:59] It’s found nowhere else.

[32:02] Verse 25.

[32:06] But now that faith has come, [32:09] and hear this this morning, [32:12] now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

[32:21] So if you think that Christians are bound to the law still,

[32:28] these aren’t the words of Steve, these are the words of Paul. [32:31] If you are in Jesus, you are no longer under a guardian.

[32:39] Because a guardian is no longer necessary. [32:42] Because who has you now?

[32:46] God fully accepts you because that guardian, the law, was so condemning. [32:51] But the book of Philippians says, [32:53] it’s not the condemnation of God that brings us to repentance. [32:56] It’s the kindness of God that brings us to redemption, brings us to repentance. [33:03] John chapter 3, Jesus says, [33:04] I have not come into the world to condemn the world,

[33:08] but that the world through me might be saved. [33:13] See, because the world is already condemned, so why would Jesus need to condemn it? [33:17] The law did that. [33:19] The law came from God, and God said, look, you are condemned. [33:22] You can’t do this. [33:24] You are not good enough.

[33:27] You are not obedient enough. [33:29] You are disobedient. [33:32] And that law came to guide us into Jesus. [33:35] And then in verse 26 it says, [33:36] For in Christ Jesus, you are all sons of God through faith.

[33:47] Not your works.

[33:52] For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. [34:02] Here’s the drastic misunderstanding. [34:04] Here’s the step that we need to take.

[34:08] If we were to find redemption in the law, Jesus would not be necessary. [34:15] Okay? [34:15] But fast forward. [34:16] If we find redemption in Jesus and still think that the law is our guide, [34:21] then we have not put on Jesus. [34:24] Why is the law not binding to the New Testament Christian?

[34:28] You may ask me. [34:29] Well, if it’s not binding, then can we go out and break it?

[34:37] Because some of you may want to take that as the license to go out and live a life, [34:41] however you want to, by your own rules, [34:43] and say, you know what, I’ve been freed from the law, [34:46] so I’m going to go murder, I’m going to go steal, I’m going to go lie, [34:48] and then Jesus will just take it all onto himself, [34:51] and that’s the kind of life I live.

[34:53] I would say you have a serious misunderstanding of the word redemption.

[35:01] That’s what I think. [35:03] Because doesn’t that text say, [35:07] check it, in verse 27, [35:08] as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ?

[35:14] Remember back in Galatians chapter 2, [35:18] I don’t know why I made that W active in that word, I don’t know why. [35:23] In chapter 2, verse 20, when Paul writes, [35:27] I have been crucified in Christ. [35:30] It’s no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me, [35:33] and the life I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me.

[35:38] And gave himself for me. [35:40] Fast forward, chapter 3, verse 13.

[35:44] Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. [35:50] And then in chapter 3, at the very end right there, [35:53] he says, as many as have come to faith in Christ, have put on Christ. [35:58] What Paul is saying here is that when God redeems us from this curse, [36:02] when he takes us out of this prison, that makes sin continual, [36:06] makes sin repetitive, makes sin our master, and the law is just so condemning.

[36:11] When we’re taken out of that, what happens in our lives is we put on Christ Jesus, [36:16] and we now have the freedom to live life the way that God designed it to be. [36:24] Jesus comes as a force of redemption, [36:27] and then what redemption does is redemption frees us unto a life [36:33] that is transformed into a mission.

[36:40] You have to have the whole story, [36:43] because remember back in the book of Genesis I said that promise that God made to Abraham, [36:48] that was a little snapshot, that was like a polaroid picture, [36:51] and then throughout the history of the Bible, [36:54] you have one continuous story of God widening that lens, [36:59] of the landscape getting a little bit bigger, and a little bit bigger, and a little bit bigger,

[37:04] and then the law comes and God says, you can’t fulfill my promise, [37:08] I have to because you’re a sinner, and it gets a little bigger, [37:11] and then Israel stands condemned because they cannot follow the law, [37:15] and then in the book of Isaiah, if you’ll remember last week, [37:18] God says, you can’t be obedient, but I’m going to send one who can be, [37:23] and his name will be called Emmanuel, or God with us,

[37:29] behold a virgin shall conceive.

[37:33] So it gets a little bigger, now they’re like, well there’s going to come one that will save us,

[37:39] then at the very beginning of the New Testament, [37:42] Jesus is born, and Jesus lives his life, and he fulfills every prophecy, [37:47] he fulfills every commandment, and he fulfills every promise that God ever gave, [37:54] so what does that mean to us? [37:56] What that means to us is that we now, through him, can have his righteousness laid directly on us, [38:03] and we now have the freedom to live.

[38:07] Look at the freedom in these verses as we finish out in verse 27, he says, [38:13] Verse 28, [38:13] For as many of you as were baptized in Christ Jesus have put on Christ, [38:18] verse 28, [38:19] there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, [38:26] there is no male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus,

[38:33] and if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.

[38:43] What this means is that once we are redeemed, once we are in Jesus, [38:48] we see the whole panoramic shot, we see the landscape of what God is doing, [38:53] God is building himself a great nation, and he fulfills that promise, [38:57] and he fulfills the law that he gave later, through his son Jesus, [39:01] and what is the Christian supposed to live like? [39:05] And then you might say, well I’ve always been taught that the Christian is supposed to have a life that reflects obedience to the law of God.

[39:16] The Christian will have a life that reflects God, [39:23] but if you are focused on those laws,

[39:28] you are completely focused on the self. [39:31] I don’t lie, I don’t commit adultery, I don’t murder, I don’t steal, I don’t covet unless it’s Thursday.

[39:43] I, I, I, God says the purpose of the law is to show the death of I.

[39:54] Through his son we now have this panoramic shot of the kingdom of God. [40:02] When you put on Christ, you put on God’s desire, and if you read through the scriptures, [40:06] God’s desire is to build for himself a kingdom of people who will worship him forever and ever before his throne.

[40:15] Completely free, completely loving, [40:20] completely honoring to God, completely glorifying to God, [40:23] that this redemption gives you a mission, and the mission of Jesus was to take the message of redemption to all those who are still imprisoned by the law.

[40:39] And if you’re in here this morning, and you’re imprisoned, [40:43] and you say, but that, when you talk about being in prison, when you talk about condemnation, [40:50] when you talk about guilt, when you talk about baggage, that’s all that I feel.

[40:56] And then you may have this understanding, but I thought I knew Jesus. [40:59] But let me tell you this, if you live that type of life, are you experiencing Christ?

[41:07] Are you experiencing the freedom to live the life that God gave you, that God meant for you to live? [41:14] Are you experiencing this freedom? Are you experiencing a joy that Peter tells us in 1 Peter? [41:20] He says that when you are in Christ, it is like you have a joy that you cannot even put into words. [41:27] Are you experiencing a life of mission? [41:30] Where you think that the Kingdom of God is the greatest thing that you could ever give your life for, [41:35] or are you so self-focused and so self-centered that life is about building your kingdom?

[41:44] See, these are the questions that I have to ask myself.

[41:49] These are the questions that we have to look in the mirror and be really honest with ourselves, [41:53] because we are not supposed to experience the negatives, we are supposed to experience the positives. [41:58] Because all of the positives of life are found in Jesus, and everything else will be found bankrupt. [42:05] Everything.

[42:07] At the end of your life, if you build your kingdom, it dies with you. [42:15] It does. That is sad.

[42:18] Which is why God designed life to be about building His kingdom. [42:22] Because at the end of my life, the only thing that I know will endure forever is the Kingdom of God. [42:32] So through that freedom to live that God gives me, where I put on Jesus Himself, [42:38] where He puts His Spirit in me and will guide me through life, I have an understanding that is impossible to have elsewhere. [42:45] Anyone can watch themselves and try to be moral, but only those who have Jesus can build the Kingdom of God. [42:52] So I want to go through my life building the Kingdom of God because I know it will endure past my life.

[43:00] That is what redemption leads us to.

[43:05] So if you are in here this morning and you are burdened with guilt,

[43:09] you are burdened with an ordinary life that is just based on you getting up in the morning, [43:14] going through every day with a less than mentality. [43:21] You can only have the life you were created to have through Jesus Christ. [43:27] We have the elements here. The Lord’s Table. [43:31] It represents the body and blood of Jesus that were broken for us.

[43:37] That He shed for us. [43:40] So that we could have life. Because blood represents life leaving the body. [43:46] Brokenness represents the effect of sin on the body.

[43:51] Here is the key I want you to understand this morning. [43:55] What taking these things represents is the life of Jesus in your life. [44:01] It is a picture of that. But for it to have any point, you have to believe. [44:07] You have to have faith. You have to have a trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins. [44:14] So our response as a church, our practice as a church is to respond [44:18] through proclaiming the Lord’s death until He comes by partaking of communion.

[44:25] If you are not a believer this morning, we just ask that you don’t partake. [44:30] You don’t have to be a member here to partake. [44:32] But we do ask that you only partake and you only reflect on this if you are a believer in Jesus. [44:39] If you have experienced transformation in Jesus. And only you know that.

[44:45] This is our response. Because this is us proclaiming the Lord’s death until He returns. [44:52] What that does is it says I don’t live for this kingdom or my kingdom. [44:57] I live for the kingdom of God.

[45:02] So I ask that you take these next few minutes and reflect on the cross of Christ. [45:07] You reflect on all that He has done for you. [45:10] You ask yourself the question, have I put on Christ? [45:14] And if you haven’t, you can today. [45:17] A couple of us will be standing back there. [45:19] We would love to talk to you. We would love to pray with you.

[45:23] If you have a burden, if you have anything, come back and see me. [45:27] And then we can come up here together. [45:29] And we can really rejoice in communion as followers of Jesus. [45:35] So just take a minute and pray. And whenever you are ready, come forward and reflect on the cross.