GALATIANS 1:1-102005 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Galatians 1:1-10

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2005. As we start off the book of Galatians, Paul says in verse 1, he introduces himself. He says, Paul, an apostle that's not from men nor through men, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead.

Paul the Apostle. Now, originally, we know his name was not Paul, but it was Saul. And we knew him not as the Apostle, but we knew him as the persecutor of the church. We find that in the book of Acts.

We see the Apostle Paul, before he was the Apostle Paul, he's persecuting the church, causing people to renounce the name of Christ, to blaspheme the name of Christ, to reject Christ. He's doing everything he can, killing and persecuting, hurting and maiming those who say that they believe in Jesus Christ. But of course, in Acts chapter 9, we know that God got a hold of his life and God introduced himself to Paul first.

and changed his name to Paul at a later time. And now Paul introduces himself as an apostle. An apostle is one who is sent, is what the word means. And he introduces himself now, not Saul, the persecutor of the church any longer, but now Paul, one who is sent by God, not from men, not through men, not anything to do with men, but commissioned by God, sent by God on God's authority and by the power of God.

And we see the dramatic change in the Apostle Paul's life as we read through the book of Acts and the missionary journeys that he went on. At least three that are recorded there in the book of Acts. And all the ministry that we see taking place in the churches that were planted. The books of the New Testament that we have before us. Thirteen of them out of the twenty-seven are written by the Apostle Paul.

This great man of God, sent by God, having nothing to do with men. He wasn't sent from men. The apostles didn't get together and send out Paul, but it was God who did this work in Paul. And Paul makes sure to point this out. He was not sent from men or through men. It's God who sent him. It's an important thing to know. It's a good place for you and I to be as well, confident that we are in God's will.

We're right where he wants us. And therefore, everything is his doing and not man's doing. That's a place where you and I need to be. In the center of God's will. So that we can say our name. Our occupation. Not because man said so. Not because of anything that man did. But because God put me here. Evangelina Ochoa. Sunday school teacher. Not from men or by men. But through Jesus Christ.

David Witherby, police officer. Not from men or by men, not through men, not about men, but by Jesus Christ. Whatever your ministry, whatever your occupation, whatever your place in your role in life, to be in the center of God's will. That you can say, I'm here by God's will. God sent me here. God placed me here. And it's not because man had anything to do with it. So Paul says, I'm an apostle. I'm sent by God.

Verse 2, he goes on to say, And all the brethren who are with me to the churches of Galatia. And so Paul says, Hey, me and the guys, me and the boys, we greet you. We wish you the best as we write this letter to you, all of you churches in Galatia. Now, Galatia was not a particular city, but it was a region. It was in the central area of Asia Minor there in Galatia.

the Roman Empire, right above the Mediterranean Sea. It was the central area of Greece. And so Galatia was this region. It's kind of like saying the Inland Empire of the Greek region or the region of Greece. And so the Inland Empire, just like we have the Inland Empire, it's writing to all of these churches, this whole region, the ministries and the bodies that fellowship there. Paul visited this area on all

three of his missionary journeys that we have recorded in the book of Acts. His first missionary journey probably happened about 47 to 48 AD. His second a couple years later in AD 51 and the third about a year or two later in AD 52 or 53. And so Paul goes there the first time, establishes the churches, and then as he goes on again, it's right there centrally located. So he passes through them to get to his other places as well and ministers there again.

The principal cities, kind of the main cities that you would know from the book of Acts are Antioch, Lystra, Iconium.

and Derbe. Now you might remember Lystra, we talked about it just back a few weeks ago in 2 Corinthians when Paul was stoned to death and drug outside of the city that was found in Acts chapter 14 in the city of Lystra. So some of the areas that Paul ministered to and you can read about that his first time through in Acts chapter 13 and 14.

It's not exactly clear when Paul wrote this book, and it's not necessarily that important, but some believe that he wrote it after his first missionary journey, about A.D. 49, and some believe that it was after his third trip, or some other time, between 53 and 56 A.D. It's believed possibly to be written from Corinth, Antioch, or Ephesus.

But as Paul is writing to this church, why is he writing to them? Well, he goes on in verse 3 and he says, He greets them now with his common greeting. He opens all of his letters this way, It's such a wonderful word, one of my favorite words, a word that God continually brings up and teaches me about.

Paul always used it in his greetings, and it would be good for us, well for us, to do the same, to greet one another with this word, grace. What does it mean? Well, we know it to mean undeserved favor and kindness, but that doesn't mean a lot to us, and so I like to think of it this way. Paul is wishing upon the Galatians. He's saying this, may God give you wonderful things that you do not deserve.

Wonderful things that you do not deserve. That's what I'm asking God to give to you. What a wonderful way and attitude for us to have towards one another. That God would bless each other and bless those around us with wonderful things that they do not deserve. And Paul says, I'm wishing this upon you. This is what I want. This is what I'm praying to God for you. That he would bless you in mighty and wonderful ways.

Not only that, but he says peace from God. Now, peace, of course, describes satisfaction or quietness of the soul. It can only come from God. We've talked about that as well in the past few weeks, talking about the thirst that we have and the need for God.

And how it can only be satisfied by God. Grace and peace are things that only God can give and God desires to give. Going on to verse 4, he says, Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father.

As Paul goes on, he reminds them now of the gospel message. As he wishes them grace, wonderful things that they don't deserve, and peace, the satisfaction that comes from God, he reminds them how that's attained, how they receive that, and it's through the gospel message. What is that message? Well, he reminds them about what Jesus did. What did he do? He gave himself for our sins.

He gave himself. He wasn't forced to die. He wasn't taken captive against his will. He willingly gave himself when the guards came. He willingly gave himself. As he was on the cross, he willingly released his spirit. He willingly died for you and I. And Paul reminds them, as you read,

Receiving grace and peace. It's essential. It's important. In fact, this whole book is about this message, the gospel message. Jesus Christ died for us. It's about what he did for us. He gave himself to deliver us from this present evil age, the corruption that's in our hearts, the sin that's in our lives. He gave himself to deliver us from these things. And so Paul says very well in verse 5, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

He gave himself, so to him be glory. It's all about him, so to him be the glory. Let him be glorified forever and ever. It's all about him. Paul always wanting to bring glory to God. That was his goal because of what Jesus Christ has done for us. Now as we head into...

verses 6 and 7 and going on, Paul doesn't waste much time. He gives his greeting here and tells us who it's from and who it's to and wishes them grace and peace and reminds them of the gospel message. But then he gets right down to business here. In verse 6, he says this, I marvel that you are turning away so soon from him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel, which is not another, but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.

He gets right to the point, doesn't waste any time, and he says, I can't believe you're walking away from the gospel message. I can't believe you're turning away so quickly from he who called you by grace.

By the grace that's in Christ Jesus. The word there, he says, I marvel, which means to be in wonder or amazement. You might remember the story of Matthew chapter 8 as Jesus is on the Sea of Galilee with his disciples and he's asleep there on the boat and the waves begin to mount up and the wind's blowing like crazy and water's spilling into the ship and all these seasoned fishermen are fearing now for their lives. And they wake Jesus up and they say, hey, don't you care that we're perishing?

Jesus says, oh, you have little faith. And he stands up and he rebukes the wind and the waves. And then it says the disciples marvel. They wonder, they're amazed. How can this guy, how can the wind and the waves, wow, it's amazing, even those obey him.

The same word, Paul is saying, I'm amazed. I can't even understand it. I can't fathom how you're turning away so quickly from the gospel of grace. Turning to a different gospel which really is not another. Because of course there is only one gospel.

Paul says there's people there who are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. Now, this may sound familiar to you because we've just come from 2 Corinthians. And there in 2 Corinthians, Paul has been dealing with a group of people called the Judaizers who came in and were distorting the gospel and leading the Corinthians astray. This same group, these Judaizers,

Not necessarily the same individuals, but the same spirit, the same type of people are here in Galatia. And they're doing the same things, leading people away into a works relationship, a gospel message that's based on works and what you do and how you live, as opposed to a gospel message that's based on what Jesus Christ has done for us. And so Paul is dealing with a similar group here in the region of Galatia. They're perverting the gospel, changing it.

to being based on works, being based on the flesh. The Judaizers believed in Jesus, but they also believed that in order to be saved, you had to continue practicing the law. You had to continue practicing the Old Testament, the Levitical law. You had to carry them out to the letter. It was an important part, an essential part of your salvation.

But Paul is writing this letter to deal with this false doctrine. And so we'll look more at that doctrine in a moment. Verse 8, as we go on though, he goes on to say, But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you, then what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so I now say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you, then what you have received, let him be accursed.

Now, we can fight this all that we want. We can try to twist the scriptures or interpret them differently, but it's very clear time and time again. We see it spelled out. There is one God, one Savior, one gospel, one way to heaven, and that is through Jesus Christ. There's no other way. There's not many roads that lead to heaven.

Paul repeats himself to make sure they understand. I want to make sure this is clear. Listen, if anybody else preaches to you a different gospel, let him be accursed. If anyone preaches to you a different gospel than what you originally received, let him be accursed. If it's different than what we originally preached, then let him be accursed. I want to make sure it's crystal clear. Why is it so important?

Well, this word of curse, it means to be given over to the worst woes. The sorrow of sorrows. It's the opposite of grace, wishing the worst woes upon someone. Paul says, I wish the worst woes upon anyone who would come and preach a different gospel. I know it's harsh language, but it's not without reason. Because these Judaizers and anyone else who preaches another gospel, what they're actually doing is they're deceiving people and leading them to hell.

Because there's only one way. There's only one gospel message through Jesus Christ. It's not found through one church. It's not found through one doctrine or religion. It's found through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

That is the only way that you and I can experience eternal life. The Judaizers, with their emphasis on works, teach people to trust in their works instead of Jesus Christ. And so Paul comes against them very strong and says, listen, let them be accursed if they preach anything different than the grace of Christ. Let them be accursed. Not a good thing. As we saw in 2 Corinthians.

Those who teach a different gospel, teach a different spirit, and therefore teach a different Jesus. Another, numerically, meaning there's more than one, and there's only one that leads to salvation. Therefore, the one that they teach, the one that they preach that's different than what the scripture presents is not valid.

It's not genuine. It's not able to save. Salvation is only found through Jesus Christ. Now you might say, Jerry, you might say, Paul, come on. This is very harsh. People don't want to hear this. I don't want to hear this. It doesn't bring comfort to me. I thought we're supposed to be tolerant. I would read verse 10 in response. For do I now persuade men or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.

Paul says, who am I trying to persuade? Is it man or is it God? Well, of course it would be foolish to try to persuade God because he's God and he's right. Paul is trying to persuade men. Who's he trying to please? Who is he seeking to please? He's not seeking to please men. He says very clearly, if I wanted to please men, then I wouldn't be a servant of Christ. Why is that? Well, Jesus said, hey, the world hated me. They're going to hate you as well.

Seeking to please men, you will not be a servant of Christ. Seeking to please God, you will not always find yourself in favor with men. Some will not like the message. Many will hate it. But Paul says, my goal is not to please them, but to persuade them. This is the truth. This is what's real. This is what saves. Jesus Christ is the only way. I'm trying to please God and not man. His opinion of me is what matters most. He's most important to me.

And so I'm seeking to please Him. If my goal was to please man, I would not serve Jesus. And this is an important statement for us to meditate on. Because who are we trying to please? Who am I trying to please? Am I seeking to please God? Is His opinion, His thoughts toward me, what matter most? Or am I trying to please man? And just to have friendly relationships with everybody. I need to please God first and foremost, that He would be first in my life. Now, as we go on,

and look at the rest of the book of Galatians. What is it that the Galatians are turning to? Paul says, I can't believe it, you're turning away.

What are they turning to? What is the situation that's going on there with these Judaizers and what they're turning to? It's very clear as we take a look at the book of Galatians as a whole. And I would encourage you to spend some time, set some time aside to sit down and read the book of Galatians in one sitting all the way through. It's not very long. It takes you about 20 or 30 minutes depending on how fast you read. But to get an idea and understanding of what Paul is saying, he makes it so clear.

It's very similar to the book of Romans and many of the truths and the things that he shares there in the book of Romans. I'm going to take you through a couple of verses this morning, and then, of course, we'll continue to go verse by verse as we move on in the coming weeks. But a couple of verses from each chapter to give us a good idea of what Paul's message was in the situation that was going on. What was the gospel message that they were turning to? Well, it was a gospel of works.

It was the gospel of works. Believe, they would say, yes, that's good, but you also must keep these things in order to be saved, in order to have right standing with God. And the first step, the first step these Judaizers would teach is you need to get circumcised. You need to be circumcised. You need to become a proselyte, become a Jewish person in that sense.

You need to fulfill the law, and the first part of that is to be circumcised. And you might wonder, well, why were they so easily, so quickly turning to that when that's not a fun thing? It doesn't seem like the law is a fun and carefree message then. It sounds painful and harsh. These Judaizers would come in and preach this message, and the Galatians were receiving it. Paul says, just like you readily received the gospel message when I came.

You're readily receiving, rejoicing and saying, hey, bring it on. Okay, we'll receive it. And Paul says, I don't understand it. I can't believe it. Why would you turn from the grace of Christ to that law, which is hard and difficult, which is painful and it cannot be kept? Paul says, I marvel. I'm amazed. So why would they readily receive the law?

Why were they so eager to receive the law? Well, it's a very easy trap to fall into. Because the law in our hearts and in our minds, the law sounds so good. It really does. It sounds so good. By a show of hands, I just want to take a quick survey. How many of you in this room struggle with sin? You can just show your hands. Okay, good. So...

You have a good understanding then. It'll be easy to put yourself in their shoes and to find out what they were going through. Because they received the message that Paul taught. They heard the gospel. They rejoiced. But they find themselves still struggling financially.

In sin. Having problems with the flesh. They still sinned. They still had sinful cravings and desires. And of course, you know how it is. They never bothered us before, the things that went through our minds and our hearts and the things that we desired. But as a Christian, now they can be very frustrating.

As our flesh still longs and craves for these things. Frustrating to the point like the Apostle Paul says in Romans 7, the things that I want to do, I don't do. And the things that I don't want to do, that's what I do. And he goes back and forth and confuses us like crazy because that's what goes on in our hearts and in our minds in the struggle that takes place within us. And we begin to condemn ourselves saying, why do I still struggle with this? Why do I have to fight with this or wrestle this thing? I can't believe I sinned that way or

Still continue on in that. And it can become very depressing and frustrating. And so these Judaizers come in. They say, hey, you're frustrated, aren't you? Oh, yeah, man, I'm still struggling in sin. And they said, well, you know why? And they would begin to teach their false doctrine. They would say, Paul's message is good, but it's not complete. That's why you still struggle with sin. If you really want to be done away with sin, then here's what you need to do. Apply the law. Impose the law.

And then you'll be good. Then you'll be spiritual. Then you'll be saved. Then you won't have to worry about that any longer. The law appeals to us. It sounds good. It makes so much sense. It sounds so right. And you might be thinking, what are you talking about? No, it doesn't. The law doesn't sound good. Well, think about a couple of examples with me. If you are struggling in your walk with the Lord, or maybe you run into someone, you meet someone who is not walking with God or was at some time, but

gone away. What do we do? Very often, we begin to impose some laws. Law number one, go to church. If you're struggling with your relationship with the Lord, with your walk with the Lord, you need to go to church. You need to be at Bible studies. You need to be there week in and week out.

Law number two, read the Bible and pray. You've got to read the Bible. If you're struggling, you need to read the Bible. If you don't have much of a walk with God, you need to read the Bible and you need to pray. Law number three, you need to give more. Law number four, you need to be involved in serving in some way. And we begin to impose these laws upon laws upon laws. Here's what you need to do. It's all crystal clear, cut out. All you need to do is do these laws and then you'll have your walk with God back.

Is that really true? Is that the case? Paul will go on to tell us, no, it's not. But that is very quickly, very easily what we jump to. The law. Another example. Say there's a dating couple you're familiar with or you know. And they struggle with sexual temptation just like all dating couples do.

What do you do? What do we do? Well, very often, again, we impose some laws. Here's what you do. Number one, you can only hold hands. You can't do anything beyond that. Because it makes sense to us, right? Hey, if you only hold hands, you're not going to do anything else, and then you won't have to worry about that. Law number two, don't be alone together after certain times. Law number three, don't be places you should not be. All good things. These things here, the things, going to church, reading your Bible, they're wonderful things. They're good things. They're things that we should take into consideration and be involved in. But,

Imposing the law is not effective. It sounds so good to us. It sounds so right. It makes so much sense. You name the sin, we have the laws to put in place for it. But the thing that we need to get through our heads is that the law is powerless. The law is power. It has no power. It's not effective.

It's not effective. It's not powerful in our relationship with the Lord. It's not effective or powerful in helping us walk with the Lord or keeping us close to the Lord or making us more like Jesus Christ. It's not powerful. Sure, it sounds right, makes sense, but it's not effective. It does not keep us from sin.

The law, it's powerless. And I know it may sound crazy, but that's Paul's message here in the book of Galatians. And so let's take a look at some of the verses as we travel through the book of Galatians and get an overview and let Paul explain it to us. The law is powerless. We start out Galatians chapter 1 verse 12.

A couple of verses down, Paul says, For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ. The first thing we see here from the Apostle Paul is the revelation of the gospel to him.

Now, he spends the first chapter all the way up to verse 10 of the second chapter proving that the gospel message he received came directly from Jesus Christ. It did not come from man. And by this, he proves the validity of the gospel message because he didn't receive it from man. He didn't sit down or go to school or sit down with the apostles and receive it that way. He spent time with Jesus Christ. Jesus gave him the gospel message. Yet when he was united with the apostles at a later date,

Their message was exactly the same. It was the gospel of grace. And so Paul spends considerable time here in the beginning to show and to prove, to demonstrate, listen, this was revealed to me by Jesus Christ. It's not some deception. It's not something that man gave to me. This is something that God revealed to me. And that's why he's marveling. He's so amazed that they are turning away to a different gospel.

I received this from Jesus Christ. It's the true gospel. It's the right message. The grace of Jesus Christ extended to you and I. Jumping now a little bit farther, chapter 2, verse 16. Paul is talking to Peter and dealing with some hypocrisy that was going on. But in Galatians chapter 2, verse 16, he says, Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ,

Even we have believed in Christ Jesus that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law. For by the works of the law, no flesh shall be justified. That word justified used three times in this verse. What does it mean? Well, it's just as if I'd never sinned. It means that God wipes the slate clean, brings us into right standing with him, right relationship with him. We have peace with God.

Paul makes it very clear in chapter 2 as he's talking with Peter that this work, justification, having right standing with God, is not accomplished by the works of the law. It's not accomplished by obeying the law. It's accomplished by simple faith in Jesus Christ. It's accomplished by what we believe.

What must I do to be saved? Acts 16.31 Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. It's what's necessary. It's what brings us to right standing with God. Our faith in what He did. Romans 3.28 says, Therefore we include...

We conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. It's not about the law. It's not about the works. In fact, those things have no bearing on our relationship with God whatsoever. They have no bearing on our standing with God whatsoever. We approach Him not based on anything we've done, good or bad. We approach Him based on what Jesus Christ has done for us.

That's the gospel of grace. We have free access to him because of Jesus Christ shedding his blood on the cross. Not because we've been good or we don't stay away because we've been bad. Regardless, Paul's point is we're not justified by the worst. We're not justified by what we do. We have right standing with God because of what Jesus Christ did. By faith in him, I have right standing with God.

So jumping down to verse 20 of Galatians chapter 2, he goes on to say, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Not only am I justified by faith, but I live by faith. I've died to my old nature, to the law, and now I live by faith in God. Just as I've

been justified. I live. I was included with Christ when he died on the cross. I've died now to the law, to the sin, to the flesh, to the old nature. And now I live same way I was saved, same way I was redeemed by faith, not by works, not continuing on in the law, but by faith. I live and have relationship with God by faith. It's all about our faith in what Jesus did for us.

That's why Paul asked a question in Galatians chapter 3, verse 3. He asked them, are you so foolish? Having begun in the spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? You began in the spirit and you were justified by faith. Paul says, I continue to live by faith, but are you so foolish that you think that now that you've been justified by faith, you can continue on and be made perfect by the flesh or by obeying the law?

By imposing the law upon yourself, do you think now you can add to your salvation, add to your right standing before God by what you do? That you can be made perfect through the law. The law cannot perfect you. The works of the flesh are not how you deal with sin and temptation. The works of the flesh, the law, that's not how you grow in your walk with Jesus Christ. The law, legalism, does not draw you close to God.

It does not make you more like God. If you think that the law can make you perfect, think about this, answer me this. Why did God include sacrifices as a part of the law? He included sacrifices as a part of the law because he knew you and I, we cannot keep the law. The law is perfect, the law is good, but we can't keep it until he made provision for us to have right standing through those sacrifices.

foreshadowing, picturing for us the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus Christ, the once and for all sacrifice that you and I can have right standing before God. The law is powerless to make us perfect. It's powerless in our spiritual life. The law is powerless. What's the point of the law then? Why have the law? What's the purpose of it? If it's so powerless, if it's not effective, then why have the law? Why do those things sound good and make sense? Jump down now to verse 24 of Galatians chapter 3.

Paul makes it clear for us. He says, The law is powerless, but it is not pointless. It's powerless, but it's not pointless. It's pointless.

is to point us to Jesus Christ. Oh, it is powerless, to be sure. It's not effective in justifying us. It's not effective. It's powerless in drawing us close to God. But it is not pointless. The point of the law is to point us to Jesus Christ. Why? He goes on to tell us that we might be justified by faith. The purpose of the law, then, is to drive us, to send us, to point us to Jesus Christ. That we, again, might be justified by faith.

Having nothing to do with ourselves, our works, or the law, anything like that, but simply believing in what Jesus Christ has done for us. In other words, the law is an indicator. It's a warning sign that something is wrong. And if something is wrong, it's my heart that is wrong. Jeremiah 17, 9 tells us, the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked above all things. Who can know it? I'll tell you who can know it. The law. The word of God. It's able. It's able.

To divide between joints and marrow, the thoughts and intents of the heart. The Word of God, the law, brings out, brings on the warning lights, throws the indicator up. There's something wrong. Your heart is wrong. There's something wrong in your life. It's like a stop sign. Chances are this morning as you drove to church, there was at least one or two stop signs on your way.

Now, the interesting thing about a stop sign is it doesn't actually stop me. It doesn't cause my car to come to a complete stop at the line. It sits there and warns me and tells me I'm supposed to stop, but it doesn't do anything to actually make me stop. All it does is it shows my heart regarding traffic laws. It shows my heart. What do I believe?

And so I can see that sign and I can come to a complete stop and show I have great regard for the traffic laws. Or I can kind of do a California stop or a no cop, no stop and show what my heart really says and feels about traffic laws. If I disregard that law, the stop sign is not going to stop me. But if I disregard that law, it's there to warn me if I disregard it, there's destruction waiting for me.

In the form of a ticket, in the form of an accident or something devastating. There's destruction for me if I don't heed that warning sign. If I don't follow that law. And so that's what the law is for. In the same way in our lives. Anger, greed, lust, pride. The things that go on within our hearts, they're against God's law. They're illegal. But it doesn't stop us. The law is there. It doesn't force us to stop.

It just serves as a warning, an indicator. And if we disregard it, if we don't run to Jesus to deal with that part of our heart, understand destruction is waiting for us. In the same way, if I disregard traffic laws, if I disregard God's laws, destruction is waiting for me. And so he goes on in chapter 4, verse 9. You can turn there with me. And he asks another question.

Galatians chapter 4 verse 9, he says, Since the law is just a warning sign, since it's powerless, Paul says, why are you holding on to it? It doesn't help you have right standing before God. It's weak. Now, can you imagine that?

I disregard the stop sign. I get pulled over. I get a ticket. And I decide, well, I'm going to contest it. I'm going to fight it. So what I do is I take the stop sign and I hold on to it. And I take it before the judge and I say, judge, I did not run this stop sign. That doesn't help me at all. In fact, it just makes it all the easier. The cop can say, yeah, that's the one that he ran. It points out very clearly, this is the one. This is what I did.

Holding on to it doesn't help me at all. If I take the California penal code and I throw it before the judge and I say, look, here's the code. And the judge says, yes, look right here. This is the one that you broke. You're guilty. The law, it doesn't help me. If I hold on to it, if I bind myself, it doesn't help me become justified before God. It helps condemn me before God, but it does not help justify me before God. The law, it doesn't help me.

So Paul says, why are you holding on to it? Why do you want to go back to those things that are weak, that are beggarly? They don't help you. They're powerless. All they do is put you in bondage and make you miserable. It doesn't justify you. It doesn't help you. All it does is it shows your attitude and your heart regarding the law, regarding what God says. Going on to Galatians chapter 5 verse 1.

He says, Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty by which Christ has made us free. And do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Since the law is powerless and weak, he says, stand fast in the liberty. What God has done for you, what Christ has set you free, don't become enslaved again by that law. Because now it's powerless. He's ruined it.

In a sense, he's disabled it. It's not powerful any longer to condemn you because of what he did on the cross. You have complete forgiveness. You have right standing before God. The law is powerless. The grace of Jesus Christ sets us free, gives us liberty that we do not approach God based on what we do or how we live. We approach God based on what Jesus Christ did for us. The law is powerless. So Paul says, don't hold on. Why are you holding on to that? Why are you trying to go back into bondage to that?

Stand fast instead in the liberty and the freedom that He gave you so that your works don't dictate your relationship with God. They don't. They're not taken into consideration when you go before God and into His presence. Your relationship with God has nothing to do with your works. So then some would ask, well,

Why not just do whatever I want then? If I don't have to be worried about what I do, why not just continue on in sin and live the way I want to live? Okay, I believe in Jesus. Now I can sin and do whatever I want. No. Paul goes on in verse 13 of Galatians chapter 5. And he says, For you, brethren, have been called to liberty. Only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh. But through love serve one another. You've been set free. Your salvation is not based on your works or what you do.

But that does not mean that you just live in sin how you want to live. The Bible is very clear on that. Check out Romans chapter 6. Paul makes it very clear to us. I was listening to Brian Broderson last night on the radio, and he said the same thing. He said, look, if a person believes in Jesus Christ but continues in sin, there's a major problem. There's a major problem. Now, what was the problem with the Galatians originally? Man, I still struggle with sin.

What's the answer? Well, we discover Paul is making it very clear to us. It's not the law because the law is powerless in our struggle against sin. So what is the answer? How do we deal with this sin? God has set us free not to continue on in sin, not to use our liberty as opportunity for the flesh. So how do we deal with this problem, this frustration and the sin in our lives?

Well, he tells us in verse 16 of chapter 5. He says, I say then, walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. The answer is to walk in the Spirit. Because when you walk in the Spirit, then you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. The sinful cravings, the struggles that you have, walk in the Spirit, you will not fulfill them. We do struggle and we do sin. The law, when we sin, when we struggle, points it out.

And points us to Jesus Christ. That we might be justified by faith. We run to Jesus Christ and He does the work in us by His Holy Spirit. By the power of His Spirit. It's not about us imposing laws upon ourselves. It's about us running to Him and Him giving us His Spirit to walk with Him. It's the power of the Spirit. Now the law is powerless, but the Spirit is powerful. Jesus said, hey, you'll receive power when my Spirit comes upon you.

Dynamic power. In Luke chapter 11, he draws the illustration of an earthly father versus the heavenly father. And he says if an earthly father knows how to give good gifts to his sons, even though the earthly father, he's corrupted, he's evil, he's wicked. Even though earthly fathers are in this way and they know how to give good gifts to their sons, how much more, the perfect heavenly father, how much more will he give the Holy Spirit to those who ask?

The answer is not to impose laws upon ourselves and to live by legalism or the law, but to live in relationship with Jesus Christ, asking him for the power of his spirit that we might walk with him. The answer is to stay close to Jesus, to take each step with him. And of course, yes, we will stumble, we will fall.

And the key is not to impose more laws, but to let the law point us back to Jesus Christ where we run back to him and find forgiveness, grace, and mercy in time of need. The answer is staying close to Jesus Christ and the power of the Spirit will be working within you to keep you from sin. Within you. That's the key. He works from the inside out. Imposing laws is from the outside trying to conform the inside. It doesn't work. In fact, ask any of you. You remember when you were teenagers and your parents imposed laws

It doesn't change within you. All it does is make you more creative on how to get around it. But the Spirit works the opposite. Not from the outside in, but changes you from the inside. Yes, those laws are good and those things, yes, you should keep them. But not because that makes you right with God. You should be right with God. And He will enable you to walk the way that He's called you to walk. He will empower you.

to be the person that He's called you to be and to overcome the sin that's in your life. It's not by the law. It's not by imposing the law. It's by the grace, the forgiveness, the mercy that comes from what Jesus did on the cross for us. And so we have the choice. What is the choice? Galatians chapter 6, verse 7 and 8 gives us the choice. Paul says this, Galatians chapter 6, verse 7, Do not be deceived. God is not mocked.

For whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. The choice is yours. He says, don't be deceived. Don't be fooled. Don't think that you can live however you want. You can sow to the flesh and not reap destruction. No, if you sow to the flesh, you will reap destruction. That's the problem with sin. That's the problem.

with our hearts that continually wander and go astray. The law is powerless to keep you from sowing to the flesh. But don't be deceived. When you sow to the flesh, you will reap from the flesh. Just like when you plant corn, you sow those seeds, you're going to reap. It's going to produce corn. If you sow to the flesh, you will reap corruption. And imposing laws, applying legalism, does not keep you from sowing to the flesh. So what's the answer?

relationship with Jesus Christ. Because by the power of the Spirit, He enables you to sow to the Spirit and reap, instead of corruption, everlasting life. It's found in a relationship with God. That's the simplicity, the beauty of the gospel of grace. It's received by faith and not by the law, not based on works, not based on what we do or how we live. As we understand what Paul is saying to the church in Galatia, or the churches in Galatia,

As we look at this idea this morning, it's the perfect time then to celebrate communion. As we look at the bread and the cup and realize it represents Jesus' body that was broken for us and His blood that was shed for us, that we might have right standing with God. That we might approach God and have relationship with God. That He might enable us by His Spirit to walk uprightly and to do the things that He's called us to do. That we would be able to say,

Our name sent by God to do this thing, to be where we're called to be. It's all about relationship with Jesus Christ. And as we come to the Lord's table this morning, we need to remember what he did in shedding his blood and dying for us. Remember the work that he did so that we're no longer bound to the law, subject to the law, which we could not keep. But now we have been set free.

to have complete access to Him, relationship with Him. And that's what communion is all about, the fellowship, the relationship that we have with God. As we come to the table this morning, I would ask you, have you been struggling in sin? Have you been going places that you should not be going? Have you been fulfilling desires and lusts of the flesh that you should not fulfill? Have you been involved and struggling in sin? Understand that the law is powerless. What you need is to come right here to this table.

To spend time with God. We find everything that we need for life and godliness in our knowledge of Him. As we get to know Him. As we spend time with Him. We need to come back to the gospel of grace. To a relationship with Jesus Christ. What we need is more of God in our lives. You know every problem in our life. Every problem. The root of it is right here. Our relationship with God. You have problems at work? Stems from your relationship with God. Problems within your marriage? Go back to it.

stems from relationship with God. Within your family, on the road, wherever the case may be. The problems in our lives are because our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked and we need more of God. We need relationship with Him. We need time with Him. And the wonderful thing is He doesn't make it difficult. He doesn't say, okay, here's the law. It's impossible, but keep it. And then you can come to me. He says, no, I kept the law and I died for you

So that you can come to me regardless of your sin. Regardless of your failures and shortcomings. Regardless. Come to me and find forgiveness. Find grace. Find mercy. Find relationship with me. Grace and peace. Wonderful things that you do not deserve. Find them in me because of what I've done. And it's not based on anything that we do any longer. Our problems? It's because we need to spend more time with Jesus and become more like Him.

And so we want to do that this morning as we partake of communion together. The worship team is going to come up and prepare as well as the ushers. And I would encourage you as we spend time in worship and as they pass out the bread and the cup, you can hold on to your portions. We'll partake of both together at the end. But as we worship the Lord and as you hold on to your portion, meditate on what is represented here, the body of Jesus Christ.

His blood that was shed and the work that he did on the cross. Meditate on what he did in giving you full access to God and receive it. It's not by applying the law that you receive it, but simply by faith. Believing and receiving what Jesus did for you. Just as they'll pass the bread and the plates will be there, but you don't actually get to partake of it unless you grab hold of it. Salvation.

Relationship with God. Access to God. It's there. It's right here on the platter for us. The question is, will you reach out and grasp it? Will you by faith enter into God's presence and ask God to be a part of you and to wash you and cleanse you? Will you ask Him to change you and to do a work in your life? Will you ask Him to fill you with His Holy Spirit that you might walk with Him and stay in the Spirit and draw close to Him and be more like Him? It's there. It's available.

If you're here this morning and you've never received Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, you've never received or believed this gospel message. It's the only way. You can do it this morning simply by receiving it, by faith, and asking God to come in and to change you and to do a new work in your heart. And I would encourage you, if that's your desire, if that's your heart, partake of communion. Take the bread and the cup this morning with us and receive Jesus Christ.

The symbolic elements here, the cracker and the juice, they represent to us and remind us what he's done for us so that we have relationship with God, not based on what we do, but based on what he's done. So let's have communion with him this morning. Spend time in the presence of God. Come to him and let's receive the grace and forgiveness that he offers and ask him to make us more like him. Let's worship the Lord together.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.