Stand Firm In Your Freedom

I pull it up to the house with the keys in it.

I go inside, I grab him, I pull him outside,

and I show him the new car.

I say, all right, pal, it's all yours.

Take her for a spin.

Enjoy your newfound freedom.

But instead of hopping in and peeling off,

let's just say he looks at me and he says,

thanks, Dad, could you give me a ride

to the movie theater in the van, please?

If not, that's fine, I can walk.

I give him a puzzled look and I say,

but I don't think you understand.

I bought you a car.

It's yours.

I got it so that you can use it and enjoy it

and help others with it.

You have a car now, so get into it and drive it.

Why are you choosing not to experience the goodness

of the freedom that I've given you?

Now, you might be thinking,

that is the most unrealistic story ever.

No 16-year-old would receive such a gift

and not enjoy it.

And you would be right.

But unthinkably,

we as believers

can often miss out

on the goodness of a much greater gift

of freedom

that we have been graciously given.

Like Samuel,

in my rather ridiculous story,

those of us who have trusted in Jesus

have been given a marvelous gift

of freedom.

And just as Sammy chose to receive it,

but not enjoy the full experience of it,

we can do the same.

Believers in Jesus

can possess the gift of freedom in Christ,

but not hop into it,

not stand firm in it,

not embrace it,

and enjoy it,

and use it to the full.

And that is Paul's major concern

in Galatians chapter 5.

Galatians 5 · chapter mention

And actually,

it's one of his major concerns

in the whole letter.

He is simply flabbergasted

that these dear people

would retreat away

from the most precious thing

they have ever been given

and choose not to fully embrace it

and stand firm in it.

So to boil the passage

we're about to dig into together

down to a sentence,

this is what the Spirit of God

is saying to us.

If Jesus has set you free,

stand firm in your freedom.

If Jesus has set you free,

stand firm in your freedom.

Well, let's unpack that sentence

in the three main parts of this passage.

In verse 1,

it's the main point.

It's the command.

Stand firm.

So we're going to look at that briefly.

The command.

And then the next two sections,

verses 2 to 6

and verses 7 to 12,

there are two ways

that Paul is giving us

to live that command out

in real life.

To flesh that command out.

One of those ways

in verses 2 to 6

has to do with our hope.

And the other way

in verses 7 to 12

has to do with truth.

So the command,

something that has to do with hope,

and then truth.

So let's start in verse 1

by looking at this command

to stand firm in our freedom.

For freedom,

Christ has set us free.

Stand firm, therefore,

and do not submit again

to a yoke of slavery.

So Paul gives a command here.

Actually, it's two commands.

They're really just two sides

of the same coin.

Stand firm,

do not submit again

to a yoke of slavery.

But before we kind of

dig into that command,

we need to back up

and hear the statement

that provides the basis

for the command

at the very beginning

of the verse.

For freedom,

Christ has set you free.

Now as 21st century Americans,

we hear the word freedom,

and we either think

of William Wallace

riding back and forth

on his horse

telling the Scottish freedom,

or we think of

fluttering American flag.

We think of human rights,

of democratic liberty

for individuals.

That's what we think of

when we think of freedom.

That's not what Paul's

talking about here.

How do we know that?

Well, this statement

is not just coming out

of nowhere.

Paul has been mounting

a theological juggernaut

of an argument

in chapters 3 and 4

that he's been building

momentum towards this point

for two chapters

that talk about slavery

and freedom

in a very specific way.

It doesn't have to do

with democratic human rights.

As important as those are.

Remember,

the whole issue

for the Galatian Christians

was that some influential

Jewish people

have been making their rounds

in the region of Galatia

and the churches there,

and they have been

patting the backs

of the newly minted

non-Jewish Christians

and saying,

oh, I am so happy

that you are believing

in the God of Israel

and his Messiah, Jesus.

This is wonderful.

Now, you're almost there.

You have nearly become

a part of God's covenant people,

but you're missing something

to really be in

in order to really join the club

and really be okay with God.

You need to observe

the law of Moses

to its full extent.

You need to celebrate

the Jewish Holy Days

and eat kosher food,

and if you really want to belong,

guys, I'm sorry,

but you've got to get circumcised.

Then you'll have

complete confidence

that you are righteous before God

and that he approves of you.

That's how you're fully in.

Well, all of this

actually sounded

kind of appealing

to the Galatian Christians

in one sense.

They were leaning towards it

because those are practical,

visible things

that you can check off a list

and say,

okay, I'm good.

I know I'm okay

because of what I've done

to make sure I'm good with God.

But the problem with this

is that it turns back the clock

on what Jesus has done.

The whole reason Jesus came

was that human beings

have never been able

to keep God's holy law

that he gave to Moses.

Israel never once came close

to achieving the standard

of holiness that God requires.

Look back at chapter 3,

verse 21.

Chapter 3, verse 21.

Is the law then contrary

to the promises of God?

Certainly not.

For if a law had been given

that could give life,

then righteousness would indeed

be by the law.

So Paul's saying here,

the law's not bad.

It's not an evil thing.

It simply has no power

to make you righteous.

It can't give you life.

It can't give you

a right standing with God.

In fact,

all those who relied on the law,

according to chapter 3,

verse 10,

for all those who rely

on works of the law

are under a curse.

For it is written,

cursed be everyone

who does not abide

by all things written

in the book of the law

and do them.

No one can actually

keep the law

and so all those

who rely on the law

were cursed,

were doomed

to be unrighteous

in the law's sight.

But when Jesus came,

as chapter 4,

verse 4 puts it,

he was born of a woman

and he was born

under the law,

under which he actually

kept it.

He's the only one who did.

And then he willingly

became a curse-removing

substitute

for those of us

who broke the law.

And by doing that,

he released all of us

who were under

the curse of the law,

who were enslaved

under the law,

and set us free

from its shame

and its condemnation

and the futile attempts,

the hamster wheel

we have effect

of trying to be right

with God on our own.

And in the passage

immediately before ours,

as Pastor Mack

preached last week,

the Galatians,

by trying to go back

to the law

as a way to be right

before God,

were denying

their true identity

as free sons

and daughters of God.

And they were going

back to slavery.

So what's the freedom

that Paul's talking about?

What's the freedom

for which Christ

has set us free?

It's freedom

from depending

on our own moral efforts

to get right

and stay right

with God.

We're free from that.

Free from any need

to get right

and stay right

with God

on our own,

through our own effort.

And notice what Paul says.

It's for this freedom

that you got set free.

I mean,

it's kind of a

redundant statement.

He doesn't,

it's kind of a duh.

You didn't get set free

to go back to slavery.

You get set free

to be free.

You are to remain free,

to stay free,

to fully experience

the goodness

of that freedom

that Jesus purchased

for us.

It would be unthinkable

to go back.

So that's what the therefore

in verse 1

is there for.

Because Jesus set you

free by grace

so you can actually

remain free

and not return

to your own efforts

as a way to get right

with God,

stand firm.

Stay in it.

Don't go back

to a yoke of slavery

when Jesus has removed it.

So we are free

from depending

on our own efforts

to be right with God

and we must stand firm

in that freedom

and not go back

to slavery.

That's the command.

That's just pretty plain

and simple

and kind of obvious.

But perhaps you're thinking,

okay,

I think I got that.

That makes sense.

What does that look like?

How do I do that?

How do I stand firm

in my freedom

that Christ has purchased

for me?

For the rest of the passage,

Paul gives us two ways

to stand firm

in our freedom.

First way has to do

with hope.

Second way has to do

with truth.

The first way

is in verses 2 to 6.

It's this.

Don't hope

in your visible

human effort.

Hope

in Christ's

unseen righteousness.

Don't hope

in your visible

human effort.

But rather,

hope in Christ's

unseen righteousness.

Right in verse 2,

the big issue

comes out.

for the first time

since chapter 2

of Galatians,

circumcision

gets mentioned.

And apparently,

a whole bunch

of the hullabaloo

going on in Galatia

had to do

with this very

specific,

concrete

ritual

of getting

circumcised.

circumcised.

The non-Jewish

believers

are not

circumcised.

The Jewish

people influencing

them to get

circumcised

were saying,

in order to

really be in,

you've got to

get circumcised.

You've got to

go under the

knife.

At least all

the men

needed to.

But look at

Paul's sharp

warning in verse 2.

If you get

circumcised,

then Christ

is of no

advantage to you

at all.

The false

teachers are saying

they could somehow

mix the grace

of Christ

with human

effort to

produce a recipe

of getting

right with God.

And Paul says,

nope.

God does not

share his glory

with human effort.

It's either

all of grace

or not at all.

It's all of works.

And this is why.

Look at verse 3.

He gives us the reason.

If they get

circumcised as a way

of getting right

with God,

what does he say?

You're obligated

to keep the whole

law.

It means you

have to submit

yourself through

the entire system

of the law

of Moses,

which requires

that they

perfectly obey

the whole law

in order to be

righteous before God

and no one

has ever done

that except

Jesus,

which is the point.

It's got to be

by faith in him.

And he puts it

really starkly

in verse 4.

If you're trying

to get right

with God

through your

obedience to the law,

then you're

severed from Christ.

You're fallen

away from grace.

You've fallen

off the grace train.

The only one

who can save you

then is you.

And then you're

up a creek

because you can't.

You know,

sometimes Paul

is a little bit

hard to understand.

Not here.

It's super clear.

He's repeating

himself over and

over and over again.

It's like,

grace or not grace.

I don't think

you guys get it.

It's this or this.

You either go back

to a slavish dependence

on your own ability

and your own effort

to get right with God

and you hope in that.

But if that's true,

then you have nothing

to do with Christ.

One writer

puts it this way.

If the Galatians

get circumcised,

they are crossing

a border

into occupied territory

where the law

rules

and not Christ.

The Galatians

were in grave danger

of seceding

from the kingdom

of grace

and therefore

removing themselves

from the blessings

of the king

of grace.

So basically,

Paul's saying,

don't hope

in your human effort

to get right with God.

If you bank

on your moral performance,

you're sunk

because it cuts you off

from the only true hope

you have,

which is Christ.

And that's now

where he turns

in verse 5.

He shifts gears

and he starts looking

at our true hope.

Paul throws

the drifting Galatians

a rescue line

of appeal

in verse 5.

For through the Spirit

by faith

we ourselves

eagerly wait

for the hope

of righteousness.

Notice how he

goes from talking

directly to the Galatians

with you,

the you pronoun,

and then he shifts

by using we.

He's inviting them

to rejoin

the we

of all those

who have trusted

in Christ alone

for true righteousness.

Don't you love

what Paul's

implying here?

He's saying

that our hope

is not in a checklist

of visible

human effort,

but in an unseen

reality

that we participate in

and wait for

by faith

through the Spirit.

Let's unpack that

for a moment.

when you realize

that you could

only be right

with God

through Jesus'

work on your behalf

and you trusted

in Jesus,

then God

effectively

and eternally

pronounced you

to be righteous

in his sight.

it was a

verdict

that was

pronounced

in eternity

and it was unseen

in one sense

in this world.

But one day

it is our

certain hope

that our

very real

righteousness

which we

is still unseen

and we

partially experience

now in terms of

seeing that

worked out

in our lives,

one day

it will be

on full display.

it's totally

ours.

We have it.

We are declared

righteous,

done

from now

and forever.

And that starts

gradually getting

worked out

in our lives

from the present

all the way

into the future.

Let me illustrate

it this way.

People have often

said I look

like my dad.

Now my likeness

to my dad

in one sense

it's always been there

ever since I was a baby.

You would probably

be able to spot

some similarities

perhaps to my dad

and my baby pictures

and elementary

school photos

but I was a baby.

I was a little kid.

I wasn't a spitting

image of him

as he is now.

But as I've grown

and matured

that likeness

has increased

in more ways

than one.

I've taken on

his physical

characteristics.

I'm taller.

I'm losing my hair.

I even cough

like my dad.

We have the same

cough.

It's weird.

But also

in our character.

I've begun

to become

more and more

like him.

I'm more patient

than I used to be.

I hope.

I'm wiser

than I used to be

I think.

And in that sense

that likeness

was slow

to emerge

and I'm certain

though

that when I'm 60

I will look

even more like

my dad

than I do now.

It's in my DNA

to become

more and more

like my dad.

That's

the hope

of our righteousness.

It's in our

spirit encoded

DNA

that we are

are becoming

and forever

will be

righteous

as Jesus

is righteous.

That's our hope.

And it's not a

I hope

it's a maybe hope

it's a certain hope.

it's happening

now

and it will

happen

in the future.

So we wait

for it

patiently

eagerly

expectantly

actively

and Paul

clenches it

in verse 6

for in Christ

Jesus

neither

circumcision

nor uncircumcision

counts for

anything

but only

faith

working through

love.

So

he's saying

here

whether you're

a circumcised

Jewish person

or an

uncircumcised

non-Jewish

person

that's

pointing to

whether you

make this

religious

checklist

or not

the only

thing that

actually brings

about righteousness

is not the

visible human

effort

but faith

and genuine

faith in

Jesus

faith that

justifies

also brings

about the

evidence

of righteousness

which is

love.

As someone

else has

said

we are

justified

by faith

alone

but not

by faith

that remains

alone.

As we

continue to

trust in

and rest in

and value

and get to

know Jesus

by faith

then the

family resemblance

of truly

belonging to

Christ starts

to emerge

in the form

of love.

I'm not

going to

steal much

from Pastor

Mike's

sermon next

week in

verses 13

to 15

but it's

helpful

that Paul

right here

doesn't want

the Galatians

to think that

human effort

doesn't have

a place.

Oh it has

a place.

We don't

just say

I believe

and then we

sit back

and do

nothing.

No we

say I

trust in

Christ alone

for being

made right

with God

now and

forever.

It's nothing

I do

at all.

that makes

me right

with God.

It is only

what Christ

has done

and therefore

because of

what Jesus

has done

I'm going

to expend

all my

energy

in gratitude

fueled

obedience

to the

God of

grace

by loving

the people

around me

for Jesus

sake.

So if

love is

the fruit

then faith

in God's

grace

is the

root.

Our hope

is not

in the fruit

not

in what

we do.

That's not

our hope

for getting

right with

God.

But in

the reality

of righteousness

that God

has granted

us by faith

and through

the operation

of the Spirit

in us

to bring out

that righteousness

DNA.

Isn't the

irony of

this verse

beautiful?

Our

unseen

righteousness

shows up

visibly as

love.

love.

And it's

only possible

through the

non-effort

of faith

in the

effort

of another.

As the

hymn says,

my hope

is built

on nothing

less than

Jesus'

blood and

righteousness.

I don't

trust the

sweetest

frame,

but wholly

lean on

Jesus'

name.

Our

true hope

of being

one with

Jesus by

faith,

justified

both now

and forever

is too

precious a

thing to

lose.

And Paul

is warning

us here

that if

we embrace

our own

human effort

as our

hope,

then we

lose our

only certain

hope of

experiencing

true

righteousness.

Well,

we're not

Galatians,

we're

Kenosians,

so how

does this

fit with

us?

How do

we respond

to this?

Do we

just say,

oh,

glad circumcision

isn't a

thing anymore?

No.

We must

not distance

ourselves too

quickly from

this text just

because of the

circumcision language.

There's a very

important principle

here that we've

been working on.

It's not human

effort,

it's Christ's

grace.

And it needs

to strike us

as bluntly as

it struck the

Galatians,

because we too

are very prone

to rely on our

moral performance

and our human

effort just as

much as they

were.

How do we

do that and

why do we

do that?

Well,

it's because

moral performance

is our

default.

We know

we're not

okay.

Everyone

alive has

this sense

of,

eh,

I'm not

alright.

We do

things that

are wrong,

we feel

the shame,

and then

what do we

do with

that?

We have

this sense

of,

I'm not

complete,

I'm not

okay,

there's

something

missing.

Why am

I not

okay?

It's down

on the

inside of

us and

we can't

escape it.

So what

did our

ancestors do?

Well,

Adam and

Eve in

the garden,

they messed

up,

their shame

told them

that something

was wrong,

something was

off,

they weren't

okay,

told them

that they

were naked,

so what

did they

do?

They stitched

some fig leaves

together,

they covered

themselves up,

it was a

self-salvation

project based

on human effort

and it

failed miserably.

In our

American culture

in 21st

century,

we are

exactly the

same.

We are

all about

helping

ourselves,

becoming the

best version

of ourselves,

giving ourselves

self-care and

self-love to

try to address

the deep down

sense that

we're not

okay.

That's why

Oprah is

rich,

it's the

gospel she

preaches.

But the

fact is,

we aren't

okay.

And no

amount of

telling ourselves

that we

are okay

and we

got this

can make

us okay.

If we put

our hope

in ourselves,

we lose

our only

true hope,

which is

our true

righteousness

that we

have by

faith in

Jesus Christ

who loved

us and

gave himself

up so we

can be

okay.

So dear

friend,

what are

you hoping

in?

Where is

your hope

that you're

going to be

okay somehow?

are you

assured of

and hanging

on to

the certain

hope of

righteousness

that Jesus

accomplished

for you?

Or are

you hoping

in a

hamster

wheel of

a maybe

hope?

Maybe if

I run

hard enough,

maybe if

I do

well enough

today,

I don't

know about

you,

but I

wake up

as this

is my

default.

default.

I wake

up with

this sense

of,

okay,

I've got to

make sure

I get

things in

order.

However that

manifests itself,

whether it's

in having a

long enough

devotion,

or I'm

praying enough,

or whether I

do a great

job as a

dad that

morning,

or if I'm

loving toward

my wife that

morning,

but I get

this sense

default in

me,

I might be the

only one in the

room,

I don't know,

but I get this

sense of like,

I've got to make

sure I'm okay.

But what I

have to do

every morning

is I have to

say,

I'm okay,

now and

forever,

because of

Jesus.

That's where I

rest.

It's a deep

level sense

of trust.

It's extremely

hard to live

there.

Depending on

who you are,

I don't know,

that's how it is

for me.

You might be

trying to be

okay or stay

okay on the

basis of whether

you're succeeding

in your job,

or whether

people approve

of you,

whether you're

being the best

version of

yourself today,

or whether

you're a good

parent,

or whatever

it may be,

we all want

to be okay,

but the fact

is we're not.

And Jesus

has secured

our only hope

of making us

okay through

his death and

resurrection.

So rest.

Rest in this

certain hope

with the Spirit's

help and get

off the hamster

wheel of

human effort.

But maybe

for some of you

you've been

listening and

you're like,

that isn't me

at all.

I'm not feeling

that.

Well,

maybe the other

side of the

coin that Paul

points out in

verse 6 needs

to hit you.

Perhaps your

faith is too

casual.

Perhaps your

faith is flippant

and it's not

showing up as

love.

You're not

taking sin

seriously.

You are

centered on

self and

you're okay

with that.

This is not

standing firm

in freedom.

Being free

in Christ

doesn't mean

you're free

to do

whatever you

want.

It means

you're free

to not

sin.

We need to

stay away

from the

slavery to

sin just as

much as

the slavery

depending on

our human

effort.

So if you're

not taking

sin seriously,

then it's

worth examining

your faith.

Is it a

true and

repentant faith

that gets

worked out

into love?

Not perfectly.

Don't be under

a sense of

condemnation here

if you have

true faith,

but it is

worth asking,

is my faith

sincere?

Is it getting

worked out in

love toward

God and

toward others

in my life?

Is it

producing the

fruit of the

righteousness that

God requires?

Only genuine

faith latches on

to our true

hope of being

right with God.

Flippant faith

will ultimately

not produce the

fruit of

righteousness.

So if that's

you, then hear

and obey Paul's

words to

Timothy and

2 Timothy 2.

Flee youthful

passions.

Pursue

righteousness,

faith, love,

and peace along

with all those

who call on the

Lord from a pure

heart.

So that's the

first way that we

can live out what

it means to stand

firm in our

freedom.

We have to latch

on to the only

hope of Christ's

unseen righteousness

both now and

forever.

So what's the

second way?

The second way

that we can stand

firm in our

freedom in Christ

that Paul points

us to is this,

has to do with

truth.

Zealously hold to

the exclusive truth

of the cross.

Zealously hold to

the exclusive truth

of the cross.

look at verse 7.

You were running

well.

Who hindered you

from obeying the

truth?

Something had

happened to the

Galatians.

They were on a

good course.

They were running

the race well,

but someone got in

their way.

And instead of

pushing them over

and keep running

the right way,

they diverged.

Paul wants to

know who is

responsible for

hindering them

from following

the truth of

the good news

of the gospel

of the cross.

And it's not

because he's

curious.

It's because he's

ticked.

In fact, this

whole section on

the surface,

Paul's kind of

off his usual

style.

It appears a

little bit like

disjointed at

first.

It's not his

kind of usual

steady logical

self.

As one writer

puts it, it's

like Paul is

uttering snorts

of indignation.

His temperature

is running

hot, but it's

not the

Galatians.

It's at those

who steered

them away from

the truth of

the cross.

Paul wants

them to know

in verse 8

that this line

of thinking,

this persuasion

that they need

to get circumcised

to get right

with God,

it's not from

God.

It's not from

him who calls

you.

God called

them to be

free from

the curse of

the law,

free from

futile,

hamster wheel,

human effort.

God called

them to

experience and

to enjoy and

stand firm in

the freedom of

a right

relationship with

God through

faith in

Christ.

He did not

call them to

go back into

slavery again.

He called

them to hop

into the car

and take

off.

And in

verse 9, we

see that this

thinking has the

potential to

spread and

corrupt the

whole region of

Galatia and

affect all the

churches there.

And the

Galatians need

to be aware of

this.

A little

leaven leavens

the whole

lump.

Almost in

the same

breath in

verse 10, he

appears to

calm down and

communicate a

real confidence

in the Galatians.

You can tell

of his affection

for them.

He is not so

concerned about

them that they

are going to

abandon their

freedom in the

end.

He is persuaded

in the Lord,

helpful phrase,

in the Lord,

that their

thinking will

line back up

with the truth.

That phrase in

the Lord is

very helpful.

Paul isn't

necessarily

confident in

the Galatians

themselves, but

in God's

ability to

protect his

people from

error and

to persuade

his people of

the truth from

the heart.

But the

opposite is

true for

those who

are persuading

his people to

abandon their

freedom.

Look at the

last half of

verse 10.

And the

one who is

troubling you

will bear the

penalty, whoever

he is.

This is a

reference to

God's judgment

judgment.

In the end,

those who

persist in

persuading God's

people away

from the truth

of the cross

will be the

recipients of

God's hot

judgment.

This is a

big deal in

Paul's mind.

And we get to

the crux of

the matter in

verse 11.

Apparently,

these false

teachers were

saying that

Paul himself

was preaching

that circumcision

was a way to

get right with

God.

I guess,

even though

this is a

flat lie,

perhaps it

was potentially

to add more

credibility to

what they

were saying.

And Paul

totally denies

this, but he

gets at the

heart of the

issue as

well.

If I still

preach circumcision,

why am I

still being

persecuted?

Later on in

chapter 6, he's

saying, I bear

on my body the

marks of Jesus.

Let everyone

else leave me

alone.

He's like,

my message of

the truth is

real, and I

have the marks

to prove it.

These false

teachers were

offended by

the cross.

They did not

like the idea

of being

persecuted, and

so therefore

they watered

down the

message, the

exclusive truth

of the cross.

Look at that

in verse 11.

In that case,

the offense of

the cross has

been removed.

Apparently, they

were okay with

the crucified

Messiah, but

they didn't like

the fact that it

was grace and

grace alone that

justifies a person

through the cross

of Christ.

They were

offended.

They couldn't

add to the

cross.

And here's where

we come to the

heart of all

kinds of false

teaching.

There have been

scores, hundreds

perhaps, of

deceptive false

messages, false

gospels, which

sound very similar

to true

Christianity from

the very first

century all the

way to now.

How are you

supposed to tell

the difference?

What's at the

heart of all

false teaching?

Well, it's

verse 11.

It's any

teaching that

takes offense

at the

exclusive claims

of a crucified

Messiah.

That's how you

can tell false

gospel from real

gospel.

Anything that

says,

eek,

crucified Jesus,

I have to

follow him?

He's the only

way?

He paid it

all?

Eh.

Anything that

flinches in the

face of the cross

is false teaching.

So whether it's

Jehovah's Witnesses

teaching or

Mormon teaching or

Roman Catholicism or

the prosperity gospel

or the self-help

gospel, they all

have one thing in

common.

That the message of

Christ crucified is

not enough to

justify a sinner

before God.

All of them

smuggle in some

form of human

effort as a

condition to

benefit from God's

grace to us in

Christ.

And in case we

were in any doubt

how Paul feels

about this.

Look at verse

12.

I wish those who

unsettle you would

emasculate themselves.

Wait.

Did Paul just say

that he wished these

false teachers would

castrate themselves?

Yes.

Yes, he did.

He just said that.

That's in our

Bible.

You think reading the

Bible is boring.

No, there's

castration in the

Bible.

Wow.

Why is he saying

that?

Well, as we've

said before, he's

ticked.

He's feeling pretty

hot under the

collar here.

There is righteous

anger in Paul

towards these false

teachers.

And he's basically

saying this.

If these guys are

so obsessed with

cutting off pieces

of flesh from that

part of the body,

then why don't they

just go all the way

and cut everything

off?

At least that would

expose them for the

frauds that they are,

thinking that the more

they cut off, the more

righteous they'll be.

I just love that this

is part of my Bible.

But let's feel how it

hits us.

If Paul took this so

seriously, and he was

so zealous for the

truth of the cross, and

for God's people's

trust in that message,

then how much more so

does God take it

seriously when people

mess with his gospel

and with his bride?

We must zealously hold

to the exclusive truth

of the cross.

Because any other

persuasion is false.

And it's opposed not

only by Paul, but by the

God of truth.

And he fiercely loves

his church.

This is how to stand

firm in our freedom.

By assuming a firm,

defensive position around

the exclusive truth of

the cross.

Like Matt said last

week, like a coach,

football coach, holding

up a blocking pad, and

with a good physical

firm stance.

We need to do that

around the truth of

the cross.

Well, how should we do

this?

Well, personally, we need

to savor the cross.

We need to ask ourselves

the question, what if

there was no cross?

What if Jesus had said

no to the Father in

Gethsemane?

What if Jesus had never

gone to the cross?

What would that mean for

my current relationship

with God?

The answer to that is

chilling.

It would mean that I

would be under the

righteous wrath of God

now, in real time,

because of my rebellion

against him.

Because my sin is that

bad, and God is that

good.

It would mean there

is no way out.

There's no other way

out except through the

cross.

It would mean that God

is against me, not for

me.

It would mean that I

await an eternity of

experiencing God's holy

anger and hot judgment.

We need to savor the

cross.

And that would make us

assume a firm defensive

stance against it.

But not only should we

seek to zealously hold

fast to the truth of

the cross personally,

but we should also,

as the church, take the

truth very seriously.

It's truth that's built

around the cross.

In verse 7, it's evident

that Paul was ticked,

really ticked, about how

this twisted teaching of

self-salvation had

infiltrated the church and