Latest / Providence Baptist Church - Sermons / Galatians 5:1, 13-25

Transcript

Galatians 5:1, 13-25 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

0:00
This morning, if you will open up with me to your copy of God's Word.
0:03
We're going to be in Galatians chapter 5.
0:11
Galatians chapter 5.
0:12
Our main text today will be from verse 1, and then we'll also be reading verses 13 through 25.
0:23
I'll remind you, this is the Word of God, and it reads,
0:26
For freedom Christ has set us free.
0:30
Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
0:34
And then skipping down to verse 13.
0:36
For you are called the freedom brothers.
0:39
Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
0:45
For the whole law is fulfilled in one word.
0:47
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
0:50
But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.
0:55
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
1:00
For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh.
1:05
For these are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
1:10
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
1:13
Now the works of the flesh are evident.
1:15
Sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger,
1:23
rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.
1:29
I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
1:34
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
1:43
Against such things there is no law.
1:46
And those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
1:51
If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
1:56
Amen.
1:56
Amen.
1:57
So if you had one guess, or maybe even five guesses, as to what passage you would hear as we study the Advent topic of love,
2:04
I doubt that you would have guessed this text.
2:07
Maybe you would have chosen the classic marriage passage on love, that love is patient, or love is kind, it does not envy or boast.
2:14
Or maybe the story of six-pound, eight-ounce, baby Jesus lying in a manger,
2:19
combined with some Old Testament prophecy, Emmanuel, God with us,
2:24
the wise men giving him gifts that represent both his kingship and his destiny to die as a sacrificial lamb of God.
2:31
Christ is indeed the culmination of God's love for his people.
2:34
And certainly the Christmas story leading to the Easter story is what we celebrate.
2:39
But this morning I'd like to draw our attention to the effects of God's love in Christ,
2:43
rather than primarily the display of God's love in Christ.
2:48
It's far too easy in a culture of cheap grace and easy believism
2:52
to get so caught up in the love of God for me,
2:55
that we miss the call of his love to take up our cross,
2:59
our lethal injection, our electric chair, or our firing squad daily in order to follow him.
3:06
Hopefully as we walk through our text today, we'll see God's love as a central force behind every aspect of the Christian life.
3:13
And we'll see the Christmas story not only as a display of God's love, but a call to action.
3:18
Our text today establishes and supports a pattern found throughout the scripture,
3:23
which is essential to understanding and practicing holy living.
3:27
Our obedience, that pattern being our obedience, summed up as loving God and loving others,
3:33
is a result of the activity of the Holy Spirit,
3:35
as he stirs our hearts with affection for God,
3:38
by pointing to the person and work of Christ on our behalf,
3:41
causing us to love the things he loves and participate in the work that he is doing.
3:46
So, summed up, the Holy Spirit helps us to love God by exalting Christ,
3:51
which is God's greatest display of love to us,
3:54
causing us then to love what he loves and do what he does.
3:59
So today, our text, through our text, we'll see together how God's love,
4:05
and this will be our four main points, so I'll go through them as we're going,
4:08
how God's love causes freedom in Christ,
4:11
causes obedience to God's commands,
4:15
gives us the model for love,
4:17
and gives us the means of our love.
4:20
So first of all, if you will look with me at our first main heading,
4:24
freedom in Christ.
4:25
So God's love gives us freedom in Christ.
4:29
So verse 1 says that Christ has set us free,
4:32
and Paul gives us an encouragement not to submit again to a yoke of slavery.
4:37
And this one verse is disconnected in proximity to the other verses that we're reading,
4:43
but I do want to start here because Paul refers back to it then in verse 13.
4:48
So I want to start here by way of introduction to our primary topic of love,
4:51
because I believe Paul is here establishing a link
4:54
between understanding the peace that we have with God,
4:57
which Caleb talked about last week,
4:59
and what he goes on to teach,
5:00
that the whole law is fulfilled in loving our neighbor as ourself.
5:05
And that's going to be like our primary thing that we're going to be looking at.
5:08
How is it that the law, the whole law is fulfilled in us loving our neighbor as ourself?
5:14
So if you look with me, Galatians 5, verses 2 through 12,
5:18
I'm not going to read it,
5:18
but Paul explains the point of his whole letter to the Galatians,
5:22
and this will be some context that we're moving out of today.
5:25
So peace with God or our salvation comes by grace alone.
5:30
In any attempted addition to Christ's finished work,
5:33
his perfect life, death, and resurrection
5:35
is a subtraction from the efficacy of Christ's work on our behalf.
5:40
So in other words, when we try to add works to Christ's already finished work,
5:44
we're actually subtracting from the value of Christ's work.
5:49
So Paul here was pushing against a heresy
5:51
which had arisen from a group of people called the Judaizers,
5:54
who taught that someone had to believe Christ as Lord
5:58
and be circumcised in order to be a true believer.
6:01
In other words, they said that Christ's work wasn't enough for salvation,
6:05
but works must be added to it in order to be righteous before God.
6:09
And while most of us wouldn't say that Christ's work wasn't enough,
6:13
we often live as though it wasn't.
6:15
And this can be demonstrated in a bunch of different ways.
6:18
I find it personally, and what I see in others,
6:20
it can be demonstrated through shame,
6:23
prolonged unnecessary guilt,
6:25
pride, self-pity,
6:26
and working our way to a perceived higher status before God.
6:32
Often when we sin, we act as though we are no longer deserving of God's love,
6:36
which carries with it the assumption that at some point
6:39
we were good enough to deserve God's love,
6:41
and now I feel bad about myself because I've now done something wrong.
6:44
But this is not what grace in Christ looks like,
6:47
and this is what Paul is teaching against here,
6:50
and it's also what Caleb taught on last week.
6:52
So I think there's a really clear connection.
6:54
All of our Advent topics mesh together,
6:56
but there's a clear connection in understanding the peace that we have with God
7:00
and the great love of God in Christ.
7:03
So peace with God means that we no longer have to prove ourselves to God,
7:08
we don't have to prove ourselves to others,
7:09
and we don't have to prove ourselves to ourselves,
7:12
but we can live in the freedom of the cross,
7:14
no longer under a covenant of works,
7:17
which says we must be good enough to be God's child,
7:20
under which we all fall short.
7:23
But now we live under a covenant of grace,
7:25
which tells us you're not good enough,
7:28
and that's kind of the point.
7:29
But Christ is.
7:30
He fulfilled the covenant of works.
7:32
He took our punishment on the cross.
7:34
So as we surrender our meager attempts at righteousness
7:37
and accept His grace to us,
7:39
we through faith alone receive the righteousness of God.
7:43
And this is the old covenant, new covenant.
7:45
This is what God promised Israel in the Old Testament,
7:48
and then what the prophet says we'll look at in a minute,
7:51
promised the new covenant would be in the New Testament,
7:54
that we're no longer under a covenant of works,
7:56
but under a covenant of grace.
7:59
So there's a story I'd like to reference that Nathan has talked about before,
8:02
about pastor and Puritan John Bunyan,
8:05
author of Pilgrim's Progress.
8:07
And this story kind of provides an applicable commentary on this topic.
8:12
Eric Geiger records this particular account.
8:16
It says,
8:17
Bunyan continually preached grace,
8:19
constantly reminding people that Jesus' perfect obedience was theirs,
8:23
that His righteousness was freely given in exchange for their sins.
8:27
Some religious leaders were concerned that the emphasis on grace
8:30
would cause people to live however they want and do whatever they want.
8:35
They feared an emphasis on Jesus' performance
8:37
instead of our performance would cause people to sin,
8:40
to live unguarded lives,
8:42
and to lose a sense of responsibility for personal holiness.
8:46
Thus, some religious leaders told John Bunyan,
8:48
if you keep preaching free salvation in Jesus,
8:51
based off of His performance and not theirs,
8:53
Christians are going to do whatever they want.
8:56
And Bunyan's response was beautiful.
8:58
He insisted,
8:59
if I keep preaching free salvation in Jesus,
9:01
based off of His performance and not theirs,
9:03
Christians are going to do whatever He wants.
9:07
Grace, not law, empowers us to obey Him.
9:10
Grace can do what the law cannot do,
9:12
create a new heart,
9:14
a heart that obeys out of love
9:15
and not out of fear or an attempt to earn a favor.
9:19
So Paul here in verse 1 pleads,
9:21
Caleb pled last week,
9:22
and I plead with you now,
9:23
do not submit again to a yoke of slavery,
9:26
of having to prove yourself to God,
9:28
but walk in the freedom of Christ's perfect obedience imputed to you.
9:33
Paul continues on in verse 13
9:35
on what this true freedom looks like,
9:37
which brings us to our second point.
9:39
The love of God causes obedience to God's commands.
9:43
So at this point,
9:44
some of you may question my use of the word cause in this context.
9:48
Before you jump to this conclusion that I'm wrong
9:50
and therefore deserve to be tuned out,
9:52
allow me the opportunity to demonstrate this pattern from our text,
9:56
from the Old Testament prophecy,
9:57
and from Christ's teaching.
10:00
So we're going to return,
10:01
we'll flip around to a couple places today,
10:02
hopefully not too many,
10:04
but Galatians 5,
10:05
where we are,
10:06
verses 13 through 16,
10:08
let me read those.
10:09
It says,
10:10
For you were called to freedom, brothers,
10:12
only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh,
10:16
but through love serve one another.
10:18
For the whole law is fulfilled in one word,
10:21
you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
10:23
But if you bite and devour one another,
10:25
watch out that you are not consumed by one another.
10:28
And then in verse 16,
10:29
that I say,
10:30
Walk by the Spirit,
10:32
and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
10:36
So verse 13 says that freedom from the law was given to us
10:40
so that we would love and serve one another,
10:42
not so that we could use our freedom that we've been given for our own pleasure.
10:46
So there's a purpose behind the freedom that we have in Christ.
10:50
We're going to tackle verse 14 in a bit.
10:53
Like I said,
10:53
it's kind of the main driving point that takes a little bit of unpacking.
10:57
But skipping down to verse 16,
10:58
if we do something called walking by the Spirit,
11:01
Paul tells us that we won't gratify the desires of the flesh.
11:05
In other words,
11:05
walking by the Spirit is the means or the way in which we obey God's commands.
11:11
Walk by the Spirit,
11:12
and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
11:15
The Old Testament prophets told of a time
11:16
when God's people would live under this new covenant of grace
11:19
and have the effect that it would have on them.
11:22
Listen to the words of Jeremiah in chapter 31, verse 33.
11:26
Speaking of this new covenant of grace, he says,
11:29
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord.
11:34
I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts.
11:38
I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
11:40
Ezekiel expounds a bit more on this point, even more compellingly, in chapter 36, verses 25 through 27.
11:47
He says,
11:48
I will sprinkle clean water on you,
11:50
and you shall be clean from all your uncleanliness,
11:53
and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
11:55
And I will give you a new heart and a new spirit I will put within you.
11:58
And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh,
12:01
and give you a heart of flesh.
12:03
And he says,
12:03
And I will put my spirit within you,
12:05
and cause you to walk in my statutes,
12:08
and be careful to obey my rules.
12:10
Again, he says,
12:11
I will cause you to walk in my statutes,
12:14
and be careful to obey my rules.
12:16
God promises here that under the new covenant,
12:19
the people of God would be an obedient people,
12:22
because of his spirit living inside of them.
12:25
Christ teaches similarly in John chapter 14.
12:28
So if you guys will,
12:29
flip with me there.
12:30
Again, that's John chapter 14.
12:33
You can keep your finger in Galatians.
12:35
We'll be flipping back and forth between these two chapters a couple times today.
12:46
I'm going to be skipping around a little bit.
12:51
I'll try to call your attention to the specific verses.
12:54
So John 14, 12 says,
12:56
Truly, truly, I say to you,
12:58
whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do.
13:03
Verse 15,
13:04
If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
13:07
And then in verse 16,
13:08
we see that he promises the spirit would come as a helper.
13:13
It says,
13:13
And I will ask the Father,
13:15
and he will give you another helper to be with you forever,
13:17
even the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive.
13:21
So again, this tied together,
13:24
obeying God's commandments and the spirit of God given.
13:27
In verse 21, he goes back.
13:29
Again,
13:29
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them,
13:32
he it is who loves me.
13:33
In verse 25,
13:34
again,
13:35
the promise of the spirit who would help us people remember all that he had taught.
13:39
It says,
13:40
These things I have spoken to you while I'm still with you,
13:42
but the helper,
13:43
the Holy Spirit,
13:44
whom the Father will send in my name,
13:45
he will teach you all the things,
13:48
all things,
13:48
and bring you,
13:50
bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
13:53
Okay,
13:53
so,
13:53
so far,
13:54
we can see that under the new covenant,
13:57
we will be free in Christ because of our peace with God
14:01
and obedient to his commands because of his spirit working in us.
14:05
But this might be a little bit confusing to us.
14:09
How does this make sense in light of the choices that we have to make every day?
14:14
Because it kind of seems like this is robotic,
14:18
and it kind of seems like God is just putting his spirit,
14:20
zapping us,
14:20
and then automatically we obey his commands.
14:23
And when we see things like this that appear to be contrary to what our experience is,
14:29
we don't need to just ignore them,
14:30
but we need to take a little bit deeper of a look to see how these things are actually going together.
14:36
And so,
14:36
this morning,
14:37
I don't pretend,
14:37
and I don't think anyone here would pretend,
14:40
that we totally understand how God's sovereignty and man's will or man's choices work out together.
14:47
But there are attributes of those two things,
14:50
God's sovereignty and man's will,
14:51
that are revealed in Scripture,
14:52
that are important for us to understand what obedient Christian life looks like.
14:57
So,
14:57
this is a hard,
14:58
but very important question to answer,
15:00
how these two things work together.
15:02
And I believe if we understand verse 14 of our text,
15:05
we'll come to a greater understanding of the law,
15:08
and how it works together through us to prompt obedience.
15:14
This is why I have a backup,
15:17
in case my computer goes bad.
15:19
Give me a second.
15:29
Okay.
15:32
So,
15:32
like I said,
15:33
it's a hard,
15:34
but important question to answer,
15:35
and I believe if we can really understand verse 14,
15:38
how the whole law is fulfilled in one word,
15:41
you shall love your neighbor as yourself,
15:42
we'll come to a greater understanding of how these two things work together.
15:46
So,
15:46
how could this be possible is the question that we're trying to answer.
15:49
How is it that by loving someone else,
15:52
which is not necessarily one of the Ten Commandments explicitly,
15:56
how is it that by doing this,
15:57
we fulfill the Ten Commandments,
15:59
which are a summation of the moral law that God expects from his people.
16:04
So,
16:04
to understand this saying,
16:06
we must first understand two things.
16:08
First,
16:09
how do you love your neighbor as yourself?
16:11
And secondly,
16:12
how do you love your neighbor as yourself?
16:14
And so,
16:14
what I mean,
16:15
first we have to understand,
16:17
in what way,
16:18
or how do you love your neighbor as yourself?
16:20
How are we expected to love our neighbor as ourself?
16:22
And then,
16:23
by what means?
16:24
How do we actually do it?
16:25
What gives us the power to love our neighbor as ourself?
16:29
And if we understand the answers to these two questions,
16:31
I believe it'll be clear what Paul means by this challenging statement,
16:35
that we fulfill the law by loving our neighbor.
16:38
So,
16:38
we're going to move on to our third main point today,
16:42
that God's love is a model for our love.
16:45
So,
16:45
we'll be looking at answering the question,
16:48
how do you love your neighbor as yourself?
16:49
In what way are we expected to love our neighbor?
16:53
Now,
16:53
the short answer to this is simply how Christ loves us.
16:57
This is our standard.
16:59
It's given to us in a couple of places that we'll look at.
17:01
But our standard is not simply loving other people better than other people love us,
17:07
or meeting some standard that we make in our own mind,
17:10
or when it's convenient for us,
17:12
but how Christ loves us.
17:15
So,
17:15
John 13,
17:16
verses 34 through 35 says,
17:19
a new commandment I give to you,
17:21
that you love one another.
17:22
Just as I have loved you,
17:23
you also are to love one another.
17:26
By this,
17:26
all people will know that you are my disciples,
17:29
if you have love for one another.
17:31
He then repeats this command in John chapter 15,
17:34
verse 12,
17:35
this is my commandment,
17:37
that you love one another as I have loved you.
17:40
Greater love has no one than this,
17:44
that someone lay down his life for his friends.
17:47
And of course,
17:48
we know,
17:48
they didn't know this time,
17:49
but that's what Christ did.
17:52
He laid down his life for his friends,
17:54
and so our standard is to lay down our lives for one another.
17:59
So,
17:59
we could spend a whole lot of time talking about what it means to love other people,
18:03
like Christ loved us,
18:04
but I want to hit a couple of points today.
18:07
So,
18:07
firstly,
18:08
we need to love each other sacrificially,
18:11
in a way that hurts,
18:13
to where we actually have to give something up,
18:16
to love someone else,
18:17
putting away our own wants,
18:19
desires,
18:20
dreams,
18:21
finances,
18:21
all for the needs of others.
18:24
Secondly,
18:25
we need to love each other unconditionally.
18:27
And so,
18:27
we can get into a whole tizzy,
18:29
trying to understand the word,
18:31
or unpack the word,
18:32
unconditional love.
18:33
We know that God's love for us,
18:35
is conditional on us having faith in him.
18:38
So,
18:39
it's not unconditional in that way,
18:40
but it is not contingent on works,
18:43
as we see in scripture.
18:44
So,
18:45
what I mean by unconditionally,
18:47
is not expecting that someone will be able to return the favor.
18:50
That we don't love other people,
18:52
just so that they love us back,
18:54
but instead,
18:55
we love each other,
18:57
knowing that they may not be able to return that favor.
19:07
I'll figure out my ups in a minute.
19:08
So,
19:09
it's easy to love those who are easy to love,
19:10
but Christ calls us to love our enemies,
19:13
to sacrifice for those who cannot pay back.
19:16
So,
19:16
I want to read really briefly,
19:18
the text that Caleb preached from last week,
19:20
I think is a really good reminder,
19:22
a really good model,
19:23
of the way that Christ loved us.
19:25
So,
19:26
this is going to be Romans 5,
19:27
verses 6 through 11.
19:30
And it says,
19:31
For while we were still weak,
19:32
at the right time,
19:33
Christ died for the ungodly.
19:36
For one will scarcely die for a righteous person,
19:39
that perhaps for a good person,
19:41
one would dare even to die.
19:43
But God shows his love for us,
19:45
and that while we were still sinners,
19:47
Christ died for us.
19:49
Since therefore,
19:49
we have been justified by his blood,
19:52
much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
19:55
For if while we were enemies,
19:57
we were reconciled to God by the death of his son,
19:59
much more now that we are reconciled,
20:02
shall we be saved by his life.
20:04
More than that,
20:05
we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
20:08
through whom we have now received reconciliation.
20:11
So,
20:12
God's standard of love is dying for enemies,
20:15
dying for those who couldn't pay him back,
20:18
but simply loving for the sake of loving.
20:22
And then,
20:22
Ephesians 2,
20:24
a very classic verse that explains this concept.
20:27
Ephesians 2,
20:27
I'll be reading verses 1 through 11.
20:30
I know it's a big chunk,
20:31
but stay with me.
20:32
It says,
20:33
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
20:35
in which you once walked,
20:37
following the course of this world,
20:39
following the prince of the power of the air,
20:41
the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience,
20:44
among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh,
20:47
carrying out the desires of the body and the mind,
20:49
and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind.
20:53
So,
20:53
this is our status before grace.
20:56
And in the glorious words,
20:57
But God,
20:58
being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us,
21:01
even when we were dead in our trespasses,
21:03
made us alive together with Christ.
21:05
By grace you have been saved,
21:07
and raised us up with him,
21:08
and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
21:12
All of this,
21:13
so that in the coming ages he might show
21:16
the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness
21:19
towards us in Christ Jesus.
21:21
For by grace you have been saved through faith,
21:23
and this is not your own doing,
21:24
it is the gift of God,
21:26
not as a result of work,
21:27
so that no one may boast.
21:29
For we are his workmanship,
21:30
created in Christ Jesus for good works,
21:32
which God prepared beforehand,
21:34
that we should walk in them.
21:36
So,
21:36
Christ loved us when we were dead,
21:39
when we were opposed to him,
21:41
when we were his enemies.
21:42
How much is it to ask for us to love others in the same way?
21:48
So,
21:48
simply but profoundly,
21:49
then,
21:49
the more that we know,
21:51
both cognitively and experientially,
21:53
the love of Christ,
21:55
the more we'll be able to reflect and display that type of love for others.
21:59
So,
21:59
a very simple application at this point
22:01
is to know,
22:02
get to know,
22:03
experience the love of Christ,
22:05
so that we have a model for how we are to love other people.
22:09
And then lastly,
22:10
and this is where we'll spend most of our time today,
22:12
experiencing God's love is the means of loving others,
22:17
or the way in which we love others.
22:22
So,
22:22
several other passages speak to this point using similar language,
22:26
which can help us understand exactly what Paul is teaching in verse 14 of our text,
22:31
by saying that loving your neighbor as yourself fulfills the law.
22:35
So,
22:35
we're going to look at a couple of these passages together,
22:37
and hopefully it'll give us a better understanding.
22:40
So,
22:40
Paul,
22:41
in Romans 13,
22:42
8,
22:42
and following explains,
22:44
Oh,
22:44
no one anything except to love each other.
22:47
For the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
22:50
For the commandments,
22:52
you shall not commit adultery,
22:53
you shall not murder,
22:54
you shall not steal,
22:55
you shall not covet,
22:56
and any other commandment are summed up in this word.
22:59
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
23:02
Love does no wrong to a neighbor,
23:04
therefore,
23:05
love is fulfilling the law.
23:07
So,
23:07
this makes sense,
23:08
right?
23:08
If you love someone else,
23:09
you're not going to be stealing their stuff.
23:10
You're not going to be coveting what they have.
23:12
You're not going to be unfaithful in marriage.
23:15
But,
23:15
this only knocks out six of the ten commandments.
23:18
Loving other people,
23:19
the other four are directed at how we are to interact with God.
23:23
So,
23:24
let's look at some more passages.
23:25
Maybe Jesus' teaching can clear it up for us.
23:28
Okay?
23:29
So,
23:29
we're going to look at Matthew 22,
23:31
verses 34 through 40.
23:34
And it reads,
23:35
But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees,
23:38
they gathered together.
23:39
And one of them,
23:40
a lawyer,
23:41
asked him a question to test him.
23:43
Teacher,
23:43
which is the great commandment in the law?
23:46
And he said to them,
23:47
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
23:49
and with all your soul,
23:50
with all your mind.
23:51
This is the great and first commandment,
23:53
and the second is like it.
23:55
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
23:57
On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.
24:00
So,
24:01
somehow,
24:02
Paul says that loving your neighbor fulfills the law,
24:04
but here,
24:05
Jesus says that loving God and loving your neighbor fulfills the law.
24:09
So,
24:09
how can both of these things be true at the same time?
24:13
Hopefully,
24:13
you know where I'm going at this point.
24:16
Experiencing God's love,
24:17
and then loving God,
24:19
is the means of loving your neighbor as yourself.
24:22
So,
24:22
you can't do one without the other.
24:24
I hope that you see it so far from our text.
24:25
I think something that will really clear it up for us,
24:28
is found in 1 John chapter 5.
24:30
So,
24:31
if y'all will turn there with me.
24:33
Should be the last place we turn,
24:35
other than our main text.
24:41
In case you were tempted not to turn there with me.
24:49
This is 1 John 5.
24:52
We'll be reading verses 1 through 3.
25:04
It says,
25:05
So,
25:26
it's really important that we understand what's going on in this text,
25:29
and we see the different parts about what it means to love other people,
25:33
what it means to love God,
25:34
what it means to obey God's commandments.
25:36
John here explicitly equates loving God,
25:40
loving God's people,
25:41
and obeying God's commandments.
25:43
In other words,
25:44
you cannot have one without all three.
25:47
So,
25:47
if you don't believe me,
25:48
look back.
25:49
In verse 1,
25:50
we see,
25:51
everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ isn't born of God.
25:55
Everyone who loves the Father,
25:57
loves those who have been born of Him.
25:59
So,
26:00
if we love God,
26:01
we will love believers.
26:02
We will love the church.
26:04
And then it says,
26:05
an indicator,
26:06
by this we know that we love the children of God,
26:09
when we love God,
26:10
and obey His commandments.
26:12
And then it says,
26:13
for this is the love of God,
26:14
that we keep His commandments,
26:15
and His commandments are not burdensome.
26:17
And so,
26:18
just in case,
26:19
that we wanted to try to work really hard,
26:21
to love other people with all our might,
26:22
but still hold resentment on the inside,
26:25
John gives this really helpful,
26:27
but also kind of convicting tag onto the end.
26:31
He says,
26:32
for this is the love of God,
26:35
that we keep His commandments,
26:36
and His commandments are not burdensome.
26:39
So,
26:40
many in the church today,
26:41
live as though God's commands,
26:43
especially loving others,
26:45
with the standard that we've just set for ourselves,
26:46
that we are supposed to somehow love each other,
26:49
in the same way that Christ loved us.
26:51
Now,
26:51
this may seem like a burden,
26:53
that's been tied up nicely,
26:54
so that you can bear it for the rest of your life.
26:56
But this is not the point of God's commands.
26:59
He has commanded what is best for us.
27:03
Many in the church live today,
27:04
as though God's commands are burdensome,
27:07
which probably contributes to the world's image of the church,
27:09
as miserable rule followers,
27:11
instead of joyfully obeying God's commands,
27:14
which are designed to promote human flourishing.
27:17
He has commanded what is best for us.
27:19
And when we don't believe this,
27:21
we fall into sin.
27:22
Was this not the original sin?
27:24
Adam and Eve in the garden,
27:25
doubting God's intent,
27:27
behind the command that he had given.
27:30
We do the same thing,
27:31
every single day,
27:32
when we believe that his commands,
27:34
are a burden upon our shoulders,
27:35
rather than a privilege,
27:37
to walk in the way,
27:38
that he desires us to do so.
27:41
So,
27:41
recall Christ's teaching in John 14.
27:44
I lied.
27:44
We are going to turn back to John.
27:46
So,
27:46
if y'all will turn with me to John 14,
27:49
we're going to recall,
27:50
and then keep moving with this teaching.
28:06
So,
28:07
recall with me,
28:07
in Christ's teaching,
28:08
in John 14,
28:09
he already said,
28:10
if we love him,
28:11
we will obey his commandments.
28:12
And then we saw,
28:14
that he will give his spirit,
28:15
to help us to do so.
28:17
In chapter 15,
28:19
Jesus goes on to explain,
28:21
the means by which,
28:22
we obey the commands of God.
28:24
And really simply,
28:26
this means,
28:26
abiding in God's love.
28:29
So,
28:29
we're in chapter 15 now.
28:32
Very common passage,
28:33
but important,
28:34
in link to,
28:35
or in tandem with,
28:37
obedience.
28:37
So,
28:38
it says,
28:38
abide in me,
28:39
and I in you.
28:41
As the branch cannot bear fruit,
28:42
by itself,
28:43
unless it abides in the vine,
28:45
neither can you,
28:46
unless you abide in me.
28:49
I am the vine,
28:49
and you are the branches.
28:51
And then,
28:52
verses 9 through 10.
28:54
As the Father has loved me,
28:56
so I have loved you.
28:57
Abide in my love.
28:58
If you keep my commandments,
29:00
you will abide in my love,
29:01
just as I have kept my Father's commandments,
29:03
and abide in his love.
29:05
As we read earlier,
29:06
he then repeats the commandment already given,
29:09
in chapter 13,
29:11
34,
29:12
also found here.
29:13
This is my commandment,
29:14
that if you love one another,
29:16
as I,
29:16
that you love one another,
29:17
as I loved you.
29:19
And then finally,
29:20
in verse 17,
29:20
he says,
29:21
these things I command to you,
29:23
so that you will love one another.
29:25
So,
29:25
if we look at chapters 14 and 15 together,
29:28
a summation of Christ's argument,
29:31
is as follows.
29:32
Whoever believes in me,
29:34
loves me.
29:35
Whoever loves me,
29:36
will keep my commandments,
29:38
chiefly loving one another,
29:40
all of which are done,
29:41
through abiding in his love,
29:43
by the Spirit,
29:44
who will help us to do so.
29:45
So,
29:45
you can't do any of these things,
29:47
without the other.
29:49
Paul further establishes this point,
29:51
to the Corinthian believers,
29:53
in 2 Corinthians 5,
29:55
verses 14 through 21.
29:58
You can just jot that down.
30:00
Listen,
30:00
for the love of Christ controls us,
30:03
because we have concluded this,
30:04
that one has died for all,
30:07
therefore all have died.
30:08
And he died for all,
30:10
that those who live,
30:11
may no longer live for themselves,
30:14
but for him,
30:15
who for their sake,
30:16
died and was raised.
30:18
From now on,
30:19
therefore,
30:19
we regard no one according to the flesh,
30:21
even though we once regarded Christ,
30:23
according to the flesh,
30:24
we regard him thus,
30:26
no longer.
30:27
Therefore,
30:27
if anyone is in Christ,
30:29
he is a new creation.
30:30
The old has passed away,
30:31
and behold,
30:32
the new has come.
30:33
All this is from God,
30:35
who through Christ,
30:36
reconciled us to himself,
30:37
and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
30:41
That is,
30:41
in Christ,
30:42
God was reconciling the world to himself,
30:46
not counting the trespasses against them,
30:48
and entrusting to us,
30:49
the message of reconciliation.
30:52
Therefore,
30:52
we are ambassadors for Christ.
30:54
God making his appeal through us.
30:58
We implore you,
30:59
on behalf of Christ,
31:00
be reconciled to God.
31:02
For our sake,
31:03
he made him to be sin,
31:05
who knew no sin,
31:06
that in him we might become
31:08
the righteousness of God.
31:10
So,
31:11
Paul here teaches that Christ died
31:13
so that we would live
31:14
for his sake
31:15
as new creations.
31:17
Ministers of this message of reconciliation.
31:20
Not for us to sit on the sidelines,
31:22
but for all of us to engage
31:23
a lost and dying world.
31:26
So,
31:26
if our standard of love
31:27
is the way that Christ loved us,
31:30
how can we then claim
31:31
that we love others
31:32
when we know the fate of their souls,
31:34
which is the same as what you and I deserve?
31:37
An eternal inheritance
31:38
bought with our sin
31:40
of the wrath of God.
31:41
How could we say that we love them
31:43
and stay silent
31:44
about that message?
31:47
How unloving would it be
31:48
for us to know someone dying
31:50
of a treatable illness
31:51
and to withhold treatment?
31:52
Now,
31:53
if you told them
31:54
that there was a cure
31:55
and they just didn't believe you,
31:57
well,
31:57
their blood is on their own hands,
31:59
right?
32:00
No.
32:00
If you just tell someone
32:01
and they don't believe you,
32:02
you don't stop there.
32:03
You continue to press.
32:05
You continue to convince
32:06
until they understand
32:08
they're dying.
32:11
We would do everything we could
32:12
to convince them
32:13
that they were wrong.
32:14
And yet,
32:14
when it comes to eternal damnation
32:16
and suffering beyond comprehension,
32:18
we are content
32:19
to stay silent
32:20
and acquiesce
32:21
to the world's demands
32:22
to keep our faith private.
32:24
How silly is this?
32:27
The minute percentage
32:28
of claimed believers
32:29
who actively share
32:30
their faith in America
32:31
provides a scathing commentary
32:33
on our selfishness
32:34
with our own time,
32:36
energy,
32:36
and effort.
32:37
And I hope
32:38
that this hurts
32:39
a little bit,
32:40
especially if it's true.
32:42
But I know for many,
32:43
including myself,
32:43
that the problem
32:44
isn't merely
32:45
not caring.
32:46
Though sometimes it is.
32:48
A lot of the times
32:49
we are simply
32:50
forgetful people.
32:51
We get stuck
32:52
in a fishbowl
32:53
of only interacting
32:54
with what we can see
32:55
and feel around us.
32:57
But I hope
32:58
the Word of God,
33:00
Christ coming to earth,
33:02
is a wake-up call
33:03
for us.
33:04
We've been given
33:05
marching orders,
33:06
and this is why
33:06
we need daily mind renewal
33:08
to set our minds
33:09
and hearts
33:09
back on the things
33:11
of above
33:11
where they belong.
33:14
So,
33:14
as we remember
33:14
the peace of God,
33:16
the peace that we have
33:16
with God,
33:17
not because of our works,
33:18
but because of His great love
33:19
to provide a sacrifice
33:20
through the atoning
33:22
blood of Christ,
33:23
we have a hope
33:25
and a life
33:25
that is to come
33:26
which enables us
33:27
to give up our lives
33:28
now for the abiding
33:30
reward in heaven.
33:31
We have the joy
33:32
of salvation
33:33
and contentment
33:34
with whatever comes
33:35
into our path,
33:36
and we have love
33:38
for one another
33:38
as God's love
33:40
overflows
33:41
through us.
33:42
Our experience
33:43
of God's love
33:44
is not merely
33:45
a cognitive ascent
33:46
or something
33:47
that happens
33:47
in our minds,
33:48
but it always
33:49
works itself out
33:50
in the way
33:51
that we treat others.
33:53
In other words,
33:54
it produces fruit.
33:56
So,
33:56
our text continues
33:57
if we look back
33:58
at Galatians 5,
34:00
starting in verse 16.
34:01
It says,
34:07
But I say,
34:08
walk by the Spirit
34:09
and you will not
34:10
gratify the desires
34:11
of the flesh.
34:12
For the desires
34:13
of the flesh
34:13
are against the Spirit
34:14
and the desires
34:15
of the Spirit
34:15
are against the flesh.
34:17
For these are opposed
34:18
to each other
34:19
to keep you
34:19
from doing the things
34:20
that you want to do.
34:22
But if you are led
34:23
by the Spirit,
34:23
you are not under the law.
34:25
Now the works
34:25
of the flesh
34:26
are evident.
34:27
Sexual immorality,
34:28
impurity,
34:28
sensuality,
34:29
idolatry,
34:29
sorcery,
34:30
enmity,
34:30
strife,
34:31
jealousy,
34:32
fits of anger,
34:32
rivalries,
34:33
dissensions,
34:33
divisions,
34:34
envy,
34:35
drunkenness,
34:35
orgies,
34:36
and things like these.
34:37
I warn you
34:38
as I warned you before,
34:39
those who do such things
34:40
will not inherit
34:41
the kingdom of God.
34:42
But the fruit of the Spirit
34:43
is love,
34:44
joy,
34:45
peace,
34:45
patience,
34:46
kindness,
34:46
goodness,
34:47
faithfulness,
34:48
gentleness,
34:48
self-control.
34:50
Against such things
34:51
there is no law
34:51
and those who belong
34:53
to Christ Jesus
34:53
have crucified the flesh
34:55
with its passions
34:56
and desires.
34:57
If we live by the Spirit,
34:58
let us also walk
35:00
by the Spirit.
35:01
So we must ask ourselves
35:02
a question at this point.
35:05
Which of these lists
35:06
characterizes the pattern
35:07
of my life?
35:09
According to this definition,
35:10
if this is what it looks like
35:11
to walk by the Spirit
35:13
and to live in obedience,
35:15
which are you pursuing?
35:17
Do you walk in the flesh
35:18
gratifying its desires
35:20
or do you walk by the Spirit
35:21
of God pursuing His desires?
35:24
Belief produces action
35:25
always.
35:26
So,
35:27
what do your actions
35:29
say about your beliefs?
35:32
The great American mind,
35:33
Jonathan Edwards,
35:35
once wrote,
35:36
in a quote,
35:36
that's on the front
35:37
of your bulletin,
35:37
if you want to turn there
35:38
with me.
35:42
He once wrote,
35:43
all the fruits of the Spirit,
35:46
which we are to lay weight upon
35:47
as the evidence of grace,
35:49
are summed up in charity
35:51
or Christian love,
35:52
because this is the sum
35:54
of all grace.
35:55
And the only way,
35:56
therefore,
35:56
in which any can know
35:58
their good estate
35:58
is by discerning
36:00
the exercises
36:01
of this divine charity
36:02
in their hearts.
36:03
For without charity,
36:04
let men have
36:05
gifts you please.
36:07
They are nothing.
36:09
In other words,
36:10
if you don't love others,
36:11
to some increasing degree,
36:13
in the way
36:14
that Christ has loved you,
36:16
then you simply
36:17
don't love God
36:18
in the way
36:19
that He has told us
36:20
to love Him.
36:22
So,
36:22
we have to have
36:24
love for one another.
36:25
So,
36:25
this morning,
36:26
maybe you find yourself
36:27
never having experienced
36:28
the transforming love
36:29
of God
36:30
in a way
36:30
that causes you
36:31
to give up
36:32
your own life daily
36:33
for the sake of others.
36:34
after seeing
36:36
from God's word
36:36
that the real experience
36:37
of God's love
36:38
produces obedience,
36:40
the fruit of the Spirit,
36:41
chiefly a deep,
36:43
abiding love for others
36:44
and a desire
36:45
for them to know
36:46
this love of God,
36:47
you may now see
36:48
that God's love
36:48
had only been information
36:50
that you had been taught
36:51
rather than a life-altering relationship.
36:53
So,
36:53
the call to you
36:54
this morning
36:55
is simple.
36:56
Repent
36:57
and believe.
36:58
Turn away
36:58
from your self-focus,
37:00
life,
37:01
and slave to sin
37:01
and turn
37:02
to Christ's love.
37:03
Throw yourself on Him
37:05
is the only chance
37:06
at righteousness
37:07
before a holy God
37:08
and walk
37:09
in the freedom
37:09
of His love.
37:12
For many of us,
37:13
the love of God
37:13
has grown cold
37:14
in our hearts.
37:16
We know that we ought
37:16
to love God deeply
37:17
and love others genuinely,
37:19
but the commands
37:20
that God has given
37:21
may seem like
37:22
a burden to bear
37:23
rather than a privilege
37:24
to live
37:24
as God has designed
37:25
us to live.
37:26
And the call to us
37:27
is the same.
37:29
Don't turn back
37:29
to the slavery
37:30
of working
37:31
to be in right status
37:32
before God.
37:33
seeking to prove
37:34
yourself through
37:34
your love
37:35
for others.
37:37
Some of you
37:37
may find yourselves
37:38
tempted to desire
37:39
and pursue the things
37:40
of this world.
37:42
Money,
37:42
love,
37:43
being liked by others,
37:44
sin,
37:45
apathy,
37:45
and your faith.
37:47
Remember this morning
37:47
that the commands
37:48
of God,
37:48
avoiding sin,
37:49
pursuing righteousness,
37:51
loving others
37:51
in the same way
37:52
that Christ has loved us,
37:54
have been given
37:54
as a gift
37:55
and are not meant
37:56
to be burdensome.
37:57
Fight this temptation,
37:59
rely on the Spirit
38:00
of God
38:00
and equip
38:01
for this daily battle
38:02
against your flesh.
38:04
If you find yourself
38:05
not loving others well,
38:07
living or loving selfishly,
38:09
having trouble dying
38:09
to yourself,
38:10
the answer is not shame
38:12
and it's not guilting yourself
38:13
into action
38:14
by trying harder.
38:15
Rather,
38:16
it's experiencing
38:17
and being fully satisfied
38:18
in God's love,
38:20
allowing it to overflow
38:21
in you to others.
38:23
If our love for others
38:25
is a measure
38:26
of our concept
38:26
and experience
38:27
of Christ's love,
38:29
then if you are struggling
38:30
to love others,
38:31
you need to pursue
38:31
a deeper understanding
38:32
of the reality
38:34
of the depth
38:35
of this great love.
38:36
Remember the message
38:37
of the Gospel.
38:39
So simply,
38:39
this is done
38:40
through participating
38:41
in the means of grace
38:42
given to us,
38:43
pursuing Him
38:44
and His Word,
38:44
spending time with Him
38:45
in prayer,
38:46
encouraging and being encouraged
38:47
through the fellowship
38:48
with other believers,
38:49
and allowing the preaching
38:50
of God's Word
38:51
to soften hard hearts,
38:53
singing true songs
38:54
with one another,
38:55
and letting your affections
38:56
be turned again to Christ.
38:58
So together,
38:59
let's rest
39:00
in the finished work
39:01
of Christ this Christmas season
39:02
and live freely.
39:04
Go to Him daily
39:04
in His Word
39:05
and in prayer
39:06
as a source
39:07
of your love for others,
39:08
and behold the great love
39:10
of God,
39:10
allowing it to push you
39:11
on to greater love
39:13
and good works
39:13
as we set our eyes
39:14
to Christ,
39:15
the author and perfecter
39:17
of our faith.
39:18
Let's pray together.