In Christ alone: Galatians 1v3-9

Verses 1-10

Paul, an apostle, sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father,

who raised him from the dead, and all the brothers with me.

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,

who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age,

according to the will of our God and Father,

to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ

and are turning to a different gospel, which is really no gospel at all.

Evidently, some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.

But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach a gospel other than the one we preach to you,

let him be eternally condemned.

As we have already said, so now I say again,

if anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you are accepted,

let him be eternally condemned.

Am I not now trying to win the approval of men or of God?

Or am I trying to please men?

If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Well, let's pray together.

Father, thank you for your word, the Bible.

Thank you that it is written in our language, that we have access to it.

Thank you that it speaks to us of your truth.

Truth we can trust.

Truth we can build our life upon.

Truth that brings life and life eternal.

And we ask, Holy Spirit of God, that you would give us understanding, not just with our minds,

but this truth about Jesus Christ alone,

would shape our hearts,

change us in a way that helps us see

that Jesus Christ is enough

for all life.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, I have a little equation for you as we start.

That's not minus Christ, by the way.

That's a little bullet point, so forget about the minus.

But Christ plus what

equals salvation?

Christ plus what

equals salvation.

Or, think of it in this way.

If you died tonight

and you found yourself standing before God,

and God asked you,

why should I let you into my heaven,

what would you say to God?

What's going to be your answer?

Well, if your answer starts with something like this,

because I,

because I have been a good person,

because I contribute to society,

then you are not guaranteed salvation.

But if your answer goes something like this,

because Christ,

because Christ died for me,

because Christ took the blame for my sin,

then you are guaranteed salvation.

You see,

the answer to this equation is,

Christ plus nothing

equals salvation.

In other words,

we're saying that Christ is enough.

Christ is sufficient.

That's what we've been singing and thinking about this morning.

Our salvation is not what I do,

it's not my performance,

or my work,

but what Christ has done for us.

So have a look at the reading

in Galatians chapter 1,

Galatians 1:3

verse 3.

Galatians 1, verse 3.

Galatians 1:3

Grace and peace to you

from God our Father

and the Lord Jesus Christ,

who gave himself for our sins

to rescue us from this present evil age

according to the will of our God and Father,

to whom be glory forever and ever.

Amen.

So in a very succinct way,

it's saying that Christ is sufficient.

What Christ has done is enough.

We've been thinking about the Reformation

and one of the Reformers,

Ulrich Zwingli, put it like this.

Through Christ alone,

we are given salvation,

blessedness,

grace,

pardon,

and all that makes us in any way

worthy or right

in the sight of a righteous God.

You see, if we're to try and earn our salvation,

it will only break us

and destroy us.

If we're living a life whereby we think

when we stand before God,

we answer something like this,

because I,

and it's all about what I do,

it will destroy you.

Martin Luther,

who we met last week,

one of the men responsible for the Reformation,

he started his young life out as a law student.

And in the grounds of the university

where he studied,

was a statue,

a great big statue of Jesus.

And in one hand,

Jesus is holding the weighing scales of justice.

And in the grip of his teeth

is the blade of a sword.

And this statue terrified Luther

as he walked through the university grounds.

He always felt like Christ was eyeballing him.

And it continually made him feel guilty

and under God's judgment.

Well, in fear of God's judgment,

Luther gave up studying law,

chucked it all in,

and he became a monk.

He hoped in some way

that this might please God

or he could somehow earn his acceptance

before God.

Reflecting back on his life many years later,

Luther wrote this.

He says,

I myself was a monk for 20 years.

I tortured myself with praying,

fasting,

keeping vigils,

and freezing.

The cold was enough to kill me.

So he would literally go out into the snow,

kneel down and pray in the freezing cold.

I inflicted upon myself such pain

as I would never inflict again,

even if I could.

He continued,

if any monk

ever got to heaven by monkery,

great little word that,

isn't it?

Then I should have made it.

If it lasted much longer,

I would have killed myself

with vigils,

praying,

reading,

and the other labours.

You see,

this young man,

Martin Luther,

tried to work

for his salvation

through praying,

through reading,

through all these different disciplines.

You see,

the church had been teaching him that,

yes,

Christ had died for our sins,

but it did not guarantee

your eternal salvation.

In fact,

the church taught

that you were somehow

suspended on the one hand

between the grace of God

and the judgment of God.

You swung between the two

depending on how good you were.

And the only way

to avoid God's judgment

at the end

was to work off your sins

through acts of confession

or receiving grace

through the sacraments

so that the more time

that you had communion

or mass,

well then,

the more likely

you were to be in favour

with God.

And Luther was so troubled

with his sins

that he spent hours

every day

in confession.

He feared

that he was overlooking

some sin

that he wasn't aware of.

At one point,

his superior,

who he used to go

confess to,

said this,

he was quite cross with him,

look here,

brother Martin,

if you are going

to confess so much,

why don't you do

something worth confessing?

Kill your mother

or father,

commit adultery,

stop coming in here

with such flumenry

or nonsense

and fake sins.

this man was plagued

so much with his guilt

that he was desperate

to try and find peace

with God.

But it wasn't until

he began to read

the scriptures

and study the Bible

for himself

that he came to see

that salvation

was guaranteed

not by his works,

but Christ's sufficient

work on the cross.

What he discovered

was not new,

it was a rediscovered truth

from the Bible.

By opening up the Bible

for himself

and reading what God

had said,

he came to see

it was all about

Jesus.

It's summarized like this,

it's in the news sheet,

you can read it there.

salvation

is according to

scripture alone,

maybe I have it here,

it is there,

salvation is according

to scripture alone

in Christ alone,

that's the part

we're going to look at today,

by grace alone,

through faith alone,

for the glory of God alone.

Of course,

this whole idea

of Christ plus works

or trying to earn

or work for your salvation

was nothing new.

The apostle Paul

had to confront it

in the church at Galatia,

which is why we read

from the beginning

of Galatians.

So let's turn there

to verse 6,

chapter 1,

verse 6.

Paul had come

to this church

in Galatia,

modern day Turkey,

and had been preaching

telling people

the good news

about Christ,

and it was just Christ

and nothing but Christ.

But something had happened.

Chapter 1,

verse 6.

He's writing to the church,

I am astonished

that you are so quickly

deserting the one

who called you

by the grace of Christ

and are turning

to a different gospel,

which is really

no gospel at all.

Evidently,

some people

are throwing you

into confusion

and are trying

to pervert

or twist

the gospel of Christ.

So there were people

who had heard

the good news

about Jesus,

but now they were

beginning to teach

the rest of the church.

So like a similar

situation to this,

the leader,

the pastor,

would stand up

and give a talk

and they were saying,

listen guys,

you've started

with Christ,

but Christ is not enough.

You need something more.

Christ will get you

so far,

but you need more

than that.

What you need to do is

you need to be

a good person.

You need to obey

everything that God

said in his laws.

So it was Christ

plus works

equals salvation.

Now this was far

too serious

to ignore.

So Paul writes

this whole letter

of Galatians

to address

the issue.

We pick it up again

in chapter 2

verse 6.

He wants to bring

them back

to the heart

of the truth.

So chapter 2,

sorry,

chapter 2

verse 16.

Chapter 2

verse 16.

He says,

we know

that a man

or a person

is not justified.

That simply means

not declared

right

before God

by observing

the law,

by doing

good things,

but by faith

in Jesus Christ.

So we too

have put our

faith in

Christ Jesus,

that we may be

declared right

before God

by faith

in Christ

and not by

observing the law,

not by doing

good things.

Because by

observing the law,

no one

will be made

right

before God.

So,

verse 21,

I do not

set aside

the grace

of God

for if

righteousness,

if right standing

before God

could be gained

through the law,

Christ died

for nothing.

If you

can go it

alone,

then the death

of Christ

is a complete

waste of time.

if you think

that you can

stand before

God and say,

because I

did

X,

Y,

and Z,

then

I will be

acceptable to

God.

If that's

true,

then Jesus

Christ died

for nothing.

He might

well not have

been born.

It's a complete

waste of time.

the point

is,

we cannot

earn

our acceptance.

Move on a little

bit to chapter 5,

verse 3.

Chapter 5,

verse 3.

Again,

I declare to

every person

who lets

himself be

circumcised,

so this was

one of the

laws of the

Old Testament,

one of the

clean laws,

that if you

were circumcised,

well then it

would give you

a right standing

before God

and acceptance

before God.

This is what

they came to

think.

He says,

if you let

yourself be

circumcised,

you're required

to obey all

the laws.

So if you

start out

life saying

it's about

being good,

then you

must be

perfectly good.

Verse 4.

You who are

trying to be

justified by

law have

been alienated

from Christ.

You have

fallen away

from Christ.

So to try

and earn

your way

before God

is to turn

away from

the very

person,

the only

one,

who can

give you

salvation.

Now you

might be

reading through

this and

you go,

no,

I don't

believe that,

or I do

believe it,

I know it's

all about

Christ.

But yet we

believe and

we practice

certain things.

So sometimes

we say,

yes,

it's Christ

plus

reading my

Bible.

Or Christ

plus so long

as I don't

get drunk

or don't

watch porn.

or it's

Christ plus

serving in

the church

or Christ

plus getting

baptized and

becoming a

member.

If I do

all of these

things,

then my

salvation will

be guaranteed

and then God

will be pleased

with me.

He'll look at

my life and

see that I'm

a good person.

But these

things, no

matter how good

they are,

and they're all

good and all

evidences of

someone who

follows Christ,

in and of

themselves,

they will

never ever

save you.

Which is why

chapter 6

verse 14,

almost the

whole letter

is concluded

here in

verse 14

of chapter 6.

verse 14.

He says,

May I

never boast

except in

the cross

of our

Lord Jesus

Christ.

So go

back to

that

illustration

at the

beginning.

If you're

standing there

before God,

what am I

going to

say?

What is

our boasting?

Is it

something I

have done,

something I

do?

or am I

going to

say it's

all because

of Jesus?

I will

boast in

nothing else

except in

what Christ

has done.

It's

Christ

plus

nothing

equals

salvation.

We're

going to

see how

this works

out in

more detail.

First,

the need

for Christ

alone.

The need

for Christ

alone.

Go back

to chapter

1,

verse 3.

Chapter

1,

verse 3.

Grace

and peace

to you

from God

our Father

and the

Lord Jesus

Christ

who gave

himself

for our

sins.

We need

Christ

because of

our sin.

Now most

of the time

we think

of sins

as a

weakness.

Really,

really bad

sins and

kind of

little sins.

They're

things that

we can

fix by

ourselves,

by being

better people

or by

trying harder.

We look

at our

life,

we see

things we

don't like,

we know

it's wrong

and we

say,

I can

change

that

myself.

I'm

able to

change

my own

life.

But sin

is not

a weakness.

It's not

a lack

of being

good.

It's not

about

trying

harder.

Sin

is a

nature

that we

have,

that we

are born

with.

Our

whole

life

is

corrupt.

In fact,

it's

rebellion

against

God.

Sin

is a

relational

problem.

It's

our

nature

which

is

in

conflict

with

God.

So we

don't

relate

to

God

as

we

should.

One

author

and

writer

by the

name

of

Mike

Reeves

paraphrases

something

that

Martin

Luther

said

and he

puts

it

like

this.

I

think

it's

quite

helpful.

Follow

along

with me

as I

read

it.

The

problem

of our

sin

goes

as

deep

in

us

as

it

possibly

can.

all

the

way

down

into

our

hearts

shaping

what

we

want

and

love.

As

a result

we

never

naturally

want

God.

We

freely

choose

to do

the

things

we

want

but

left

to

ourselves

we

shall

never

freely

choose

God

because

we

do

not

naturally

want

him.

that's

quite

a

statement

to

think

about

ourselves

like

that.

We

can't

even

if we

wanted

to

choose

to

follow

God.

Our

sinful

nature

is such

that we

are

in

conflict

with

God.

We

don't

have a

weakness

problem

something

we can

fix

ourselves

we

have

a

sinful

nature

that

wants

to

take

the

place

of

God

and

that

puts

us

on

a

collision

course

with

God's

wrath

or

God's

judgment.

So

have a

look at

chapter

3

and

verse

10.

Chapter

3

verse

10.

As

we go

through

Galatians

you're

getting a

big

overview

of what

the

book

is

all

about

the

letter

is

all

about

so

chapter

3

verse

10.

He

says

all

who

rely

on

observing

the

law

so

everybody

who

tries

to

earn

their

salvation

by

doing

good

things

or

everyone

who

thinks

they

can

fix

their

life

themselves

have

the

power

within

themselves

to

change

themselves

all

who

rely

on

observing

the

law

are

under

a

curse

are

under

God's

judgment

for

it

is

written

there's

a

quote

here

from

Deuteronomy

in the

Old

Testament

cursed

is

everyone

who

does

not

continue

to do

everything

written

in the

book

of

the

law

so

going

back

God

had

said

to

his

people

if

you

obey

me

you

will

be

blessed

if

you

love

me

as

you

should

and

do

everything

I

tell

you

to

do

I

will

accept

you

if

you

disobey

me

you

will

be

cursed

if

you

don't

love

me

as

you

should

I

will

judge

you

so

it

was

really

quite

simple

obey

God

and

you

will

avoid

judgment

but

the

problem

was

and

the

same

problem

exists

for

us

as

well

we

cannot

obey

God

fully

and

completely

we

don't

have

that

ability

within

ourselves

to

do

it

so

as

it

says

at

the

end

of

verse

10

cursed

or

judged

is

everyone

who

does

not

continue

to

do

everything

that

God

says

now

just

try

that

maybe

you're

thinking

here

well

you know

what

I

can

I

can

actually

be a

good

person

I

can

if I

put

my

mind

to

it

I

can

obey

God

and

do

everything

he

asked

me

to

do

well

just

try

for

one

day

to

be

a

good

person

that

means

a

whole

day

24

hours

without

thinking

saying

or

doing

anything

that

you

know

you

shouldn't

just

try

it

even

try

it

for

the

duration

of

this

meeting

but

you

can't

I'm

telling

you

now

you

can't

you'll

find

out

our

sinful

nature

our

inability

to

choose

and

obey

God

means

we

are

under

the

curse

of

God

we're

under

his

judgment

we

deserve

his

judgment

because

we

fight

against

him

we

want

to

replace

him

you

see

the

greatest

problem

that we

all

face

is not

unemployment

it's not

getting sick

it's not

our mortgage

repayments

our greatest

problem that we

can face

is God's

justice

because

God is

committed

to judging

sin

all the

evil

all the

wickedness

that we

see

and read

about

on our

news

and

and all

the things

we

hear

God

must

deal

with

that

he's

not

going

to

let

it

go

and

that

means

God

must

judge

my

sin

within

my

heart

and

because

I

have

a

sinful

nature

God

must

judge

me

sometimes

we hear

a phrase

like

this

you know

the

difference

between

the

sinner

and

the

sin

well

we

can't

really

separate

the

sin

from

the

person

we

have

a

sinful

nature

and

if

God

is

going

to

judge

sin

he's

going

to

judge

me

you

see

without

Christ

I

stand

under

the

curse

of

God

the

judgment

of

God

I

need

Christ

and

I

need

Christ

alone

second

the

sacrifice

of

Christ

alone

so

look

at

verse

13

we

get

this

wonderful

response

in

verse

13

wonderful

news

Christ

redeemed

us

from

the

curse

of

the

law

by

becoming

a

curse

for

us

he

became

a

curse

for

us

that

little

phrase

those

two

words

for

us

means

that

Christ

exchanged

places

with

us

Christ

becomes

my

sin

he

becomes

my

curse

my

judgment

man

I

want

to

read

a

couple

of

quotes

here

they're

quite

long

but

you

follow

along

with

me

they

come

again

from

Martin

Luther

who

wrote

a

commentary

like

an

explanation

of what

Galatians

is all

about

and here's

what he

said

on this

issue

follow

along

with

me

as I

read

all

the

weight

of the

matter

stands

on this

word

or phrase

for

us

for

Christ

is

innocent

as

concerning

his

own

person

so he's

never done

anything

wrong

he was

perfect

but

Christ

bears

all

the

sins

of

all

men

in

his

body

not

that

he

is

guilty

of

any

but

that

he

received

them

being

committed

or

done

by

us

and

laid

them

on

his

own

body

we

must

know

him

to

be

wrapped

in

our

sins

in

our

curse

in

our

death

and

in

all

our

evils

as

he

is

wrapped

in

our

flesh

and

blood

whatever

sins

I

you

or

we

all

have

done

or

shall

do

hereafter

they

are

Christ's

own

sins

or

else

we

would

perish

forever

again

let me

read

another

one

follow

with

me

our

most

merciful

father

seeing

us

to be

oppressed

and

overwhelmed

with

the

curse

of

the

law

and

that

we

could

never

be

delivered

from

it

of

our

own

power

sent

his

only

son

into

the

world

and

laid

upon

him

all

the

sins

of

all

men

saying

be

thou

Peter

that

denier

Paul

that

persecutor

and cruel

oppressor

David

that

adulterer

that

sinner

who

did

eat

the

fruit

in

Eden

that

was

Adam

that

thief

who

hanged

upon

the

cross

and

be

thou

that

person

who

has

committed

the

sins

of

all

men

see

therefore

that

thou

pay

and

satisfy

for

them

now

just

think

about

that

last

bit

where

he

begins

to

personalize

it

it's

like

saying

to

Jesus

you've

become

Peter

the

denier

Jesus

you've

become

Paul

the

persecutor

Jesus

you've

become

David

the

adulterer

now

put

yourself

in

that

situation

Jesus

doesn't

just

take

our

sin

he

takes

our

place

it's

like

he

becomes

us

in

love

Christ becomes sin for us.

But that means justice must still be done.

Sin must be punished.

The curse must fall.

Either it will fall on us

or it will fall on someone else.

So Christ becomes sin for us

and therefore he is cursed for us.

Verse 13.

Let's read verse 13 again.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law

by becoming a curse for us

for it is written

and again it's a quote from the Old Testament

cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.

So the curse, the judgment,

the punishment for not fully obeying God

and doing everything as God has said

is judgment.

It was death.

Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.

So in taking my sin on himself

Christ now becomes guilty

deserving of judgment.

And as Christ died on the cross

he is being treated as a sinner

because at that moment

Christ is a sinner.

With his arms nailed to the cross

his feet nailed to the cross

the curse falls not on us

but it falls instead on Jesus.

He absorbed the wrath

for my sin.

John's Gospel

that we read earlier as we were singing

at the end of the Gospel

where Jesus dies

John records there

that as Jesus died

he cried out

it is finished.

In other words

it's over.

At the cross

justice has been done.

Sin has been punished

once and for all.

There's nothing left

for us to do.

Let me quote again

from Martin Luther

on his commentary

in Galatians.

He says this

follow along with me

Let us receive

this most sweet doctrine

this sweet truth

so full of comfort

with thanksgiving

and with assured faith

which teaches

that Christ

being made a curse

for us

that is a sinner

under the wrath of God

put upon himself

our person

and laid our sins

on his own shoulders

saying

I have committed

the sins

which all men

have committed

because he has taken

upon himself

our sins

not by constraint

not because he was forced

but of his own good will

it pleased him

to bear the punishment

and wrath of God

not for his own person

not for his own good

but for our person

for our good

so making a happy exchange

with us

he took upon himself

our sinful person

and gave unto us

his innocent

and victorious person

wherewith we being now

clothed

are freed

from the curse

of the law

he's telling us

that the sacrifice

of Christ alone

is sufficient

to deal with our sin

and our deserved judgment

so when we stand

before God

it's not because I

it's because Christ

third the rewards

or if you're taking notes

you might like to change

the word rewards

to blessings

because I think sometimes

when you say reward

it's something you earn

or you're thinking you earn

so change that to blessing

so the blessing

through Christ alone

the blessings

that we receive

because of what Christ

has done

are told for us

in chapter 3

verse 26

look at chapter 3

verse 26

you are all sons

or all children

of God

through faith

in Christ

Jesus

by trusting

your life

to Christ alone

by boasting

in Christ alone

our life

is forever changed

our identity

changes

our future

changes

instead of receiving

curse

we now receive

blessing

two things

quickly

that we receive

two wonderful blessings

if our faith

is in Christ

alone

first we become

children

of God

by faith

in Christ

alone

I am adopted

into the family

of God

I become a son

or a daughter

of God

the barrier

of sin