Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #14809 - The Just Shall Live By Faith - Galatians 3:10-14

Transcript

#14809 - The Just Shall Live By Faith - Galatians 3:10-14 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

0:03
Welcome to the study of God's Word with pastor and author Ed
0:07
Taylor, recorded live at Calvary Church in Aurora, Co.
0:11
To learn more about the many resources available through
0:13
Abounding Grace Media or to tune into our live stream services,
0:17
visit us online at Calvary Co dot Church or download our free
0:22
Calvary Church app. Now.
0:24
Here's Pastor Ed to take us into our study.
0:28
Open your Bibles with you to Galatians chapter 3.
0:31
We're going to pick up where we left off last time studying
0:34
verse by verse through the Bible, Galatians chapter 3 and
0:39
I've been taught our Bible study.
0:41
The just shall live by faith. Say with me church, the just
0:45
shall live by faith. So important because today you
0:50
that are born again are the just you have been justified in
0:55
Christ and in your life. The life that we live, we learn
0:59
in Galatians 220. Remember, go back to Galatians
1:02
220. It says I have been crucified
1:06
with Christ. It's no longer I who live, but
1:09
Christ lives in me and the life that I now live in the flesh.
1:15
Mark that phrase. I live by faith in the Son of
1:19
God who loved me and gave himself for me.
1:22
And now to now, as we Fast forward into chapter 3, Paul is
1:26
going to remind the believers in Galatia as he's building this
1:30
argument of why would you possibly why would you think
1:34
it's OK to leave grace? He emphasizes this fundamental
1:39
truth that the just shall live by faith.
1:43
Now the message of the gospel is very simple or or you can even
1:46
reduce the message of God to you and me is very simple.
1:51
This is what he wants you to believe and receive personally
1:55
for you and your relationship with him.
1:58
God's message is simple. It's this you ready.
2:00
It's like God would be here today saying I love you and I
2:04
want you to trust my love. I love you.
2:08
I want you to trust me on that. God would say, I want you to
2:12
believe in my love, that I will do for you what you cannot do
2:17
for yourself. I'm for you, not against you.
2:23
The grace of God. I mean, think about step back,
2:25
the grace of God demonstrating his love on the cross, proving
2:31
it from the resurrection. God reaches down to us in his
2:35
mercy through the blood of Jesus Christ.
2:39
He is finished. Work on the cross is sufficient
2:42
for you, His finished work. It's not partial.
2:46
It doesn't need to be finished. It is complete.
2:50
The gospel is complete. Jesus displayed God's love for
2:54
us on the cross. If you have ever have any
2:57
doubts, you look to the cross, it's empty.
2:59
You look to the grave, it's empty.
3:02
As Jesus Christ rose again from the dead and his promise to
3:06
return, this is the reminder that Paul gives to the
3:09
believers. The decision you've made is
3:11
worth it. The life you've chosen is worth
3:14
it. You have responded to the love
3:16
of God, His true care of all the imperfect examples you've been
3:22
given in life, all the imperfect love or lack of love that you
3:28
have received and not received. God says I love you.
3:30
I want you to trust me. Your whole life will change if
3:33
you will just believe what I say to you.
3:36
Now notice in verse 10 Paul is writing to the Galatians and
3:41
it's almost like he pauses and says, do you have any idea what
3:44
you're doing? Notice what he says.
3:46
For as many as of of the works of the law are under the curse,
3:52
for it is written. Cursed is everyone who does not
3:55
continue and mark this phrase in all things.
3:59
Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are
4:04
written in the book of the Law to do them.
4:08
But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is
4:12
evident. And there's that phrase for the
4:14
just shall live by faith. Remember, we're seeing the
4:21
significance and learning the significance of the grace of
4:24
God, His work, His finished work, the life of the great
4:29
exchange. When you and I were born again,
4:32
there was a tremendous exchange that took place.
4:36
God's perfect righteousness in Christ now becomes our
4:39
righteousness and our imperfection is done.
4:41
Away with our sins forgiven by Christ's perfection.
4:46
And ask for the keeping of the law, which you and I could never
4:50
do and have never done. Jesus did.
4:56
The only human ever live to ever live to keep the complete law is
5:01
God in human flesh so that when you place your faith in Him, the
5:05
law is fulfilled because He fulfilled it.
5:09
And it's like Paul's telling the believers in Galatia, you want
5:11
to go back to the law. Do you know what that means?
5:16
What a poor, unwise choice you are making.
5:20
In Deuteronomy chapter 27 and verse 26, it says cursed is the
5:24
one who does not. Cursed is the one who does not
5:29
confirm all the words of this law by observing them.
5:34
And all the people will say Amen.
5:36
When you don't keep the whole law, you live under a curse.
5:39
That's what Paul is saying. Going back to the law will only
5:42
condemn you. You're placing yourself under
5:45
the curse under which Jesus has delivered you.
5:49
You're going backwards. All who rely on the works of law
5:53
are under a curse because no one can obey the law perfectly and
5:58
because breaking even 1 commandment brings a person
6:01
under condemnation. Do you want to know that you
6:04
learned this at a very young age?
6:07
You learned your inability to keep the law at a very young
6:10
age. The very first time you looked
6:13
at your parents and said, no, I will not do that, you revealed
6:19
that you were a little Sinner right then and there.
6:22
That failure, that failure, the failure that your memory can
6:26
think back to, revealed your inability to live a perfect life
6:31
from a very, very young age. And of course, that's only been
6:35
ratified and affirmed as you've grown older.
6:38
This is not something I need to convince you of.
6:40
I know you know you're on adequacies.
6:44
I know my own inadequacies, so to think that going back to the
6:49
law will somehow justify you before God doesn't make any
6:53
sense at all. Trying to achieve salvation
6:57
through obedience to the law is a no win situation because no
7:02
one can perfectly observe and obey all the things written in
7:07
the book. Of the law now.
7:11
This is a very distressing passage of scripture to those
7:15
churches and those man made religions that require the
7:19
keeping of any law, keeping of any rule, keeping of any
7:23
regulation in order to be saved. It's very distressing.
7:28
Like for those churches that say hey, if you want to be saved you
7:31
must worship on the Sabbath on Saturday.
7:34
No, that's not what the Bible teaches.
7:37
The Bible teaches that the just shall live by faith, not by
7:39
rules. As a matter of fact, the Bible
7:42
teaches just the opposite, that we can worship on any day, that
7:45
even more so that we worship on every day, and that no day is
7:49
required to worship. Or I think of those churches
7:53
that would say you must be water baptized in order to be saved.
7:57
No, no, no, I mean you think about just in a small way the
8:01
thief on the cross. Jesus tells him today you will
8:04
be with me in paradise. Except we got a problem.
8:08
You need to get down off the cross, find somebody at water,
8:11
baptize you, get back up and nail yourself back to the cross.
8:13
Then we'll see you in paradise. Of course not.
8:16
Why? Because he's a great example of
8:19
someone that expressed faith in an instant, in the finished work
8:23
of Christ right there. He's watching with his own eyes,
8:26
seeing it all unfold right before him.
8:29
And the work that God was doing is complete as Jesus died on the
8:34
cross and was buried and rose again from the dead.
8:38
It doesn't matter what whatever rule isn't placed upon you, do
8:41
this give that if you want to be saved, you need to follow.
8:44
It's all taking your eyes off of Jesus and putting them on a man
8:49
on a religious system and it's not good.
8:53
This is a devastating passage to every believer individually that
8:57
places undue pressure on themselves trying to earn God's
9:01
favor by keeping the law. Or it's not so much keeping the
9:06
law today, actually, it's just a few rules and regulations.
9:11
To the man, the woman doesn't feel like they do enough.
9:14
To the man, the woman that lives under the perpetual condemnation
9:17
of failure for the man, the woman that is wrestling with
9:23
trying to keep a man made list or even a personal list.
9:28
The Bible says that if that's the path you want to go, then
9:31
you need to do it perfectly. If you don't do it perfectly,
9:35
then you live under the condemnation of failure.
9:38
You see, apart from Christ, nobody has ever kept the law
9:41
perfectly ever. Nobody even James said in James
9:46
chapter 2 verse 10, for who? Whoever shall keep the whole law
9:50
and yet stumble in one point, he's guilty of it all.
9:55
So let me just ask out loud, no need for hands, but just say yes
9:58
or Amen or whatever. How many of you have stumbled
10:00
lately? Yes, yes, all of us.
10:03
I mean those of you that. Said nothing, You just stumbled,
10:05
so you're with us. It's all of us.
10:07
Of course, I like the word that it's not like you completely
10:10
follow, but and he uses the word stumble in the context of your
10:13
mouth. How many of you made mistakes
10:16
with your mouth, said something you didn't lie said like
10:19
obviously we all stumble so that he says, look, if you can admit
10:23
right now that you've stumbled, then this truth is for you.
10:28
It's truth for all of us. If you stumble in one, you're
10:31
guilty of it all. You, you have become like, if
10:34
you break one law, you become a law breaker.
10:38
They go, oh, it's a little ones, a little.
10:39
OK, that's fine. But you're a law breaker because
10:41
you've broken the law. It's impossible for you to earn
10:46
God's love. He loves you supremely right
10:49
now. It's impossible for you to earn
10:50
that. He loved you in your worst
10:52
condition. He loved you when you were a
10:54
rebel, when you were fighting against him.
10:57
You can't create, It's impossible to create a list
11:00
whereby you will be righteous. For example, like, like you, you
11:04
get stirred up by a Bible study like this.
11:05
So you get stirred up. You're so confident you're just
11:08
going to go for it. OK?
11:09
I want to live a righteous life. I want to live a, a life that
11:12
honors and pleases God. So, so you start, OK, tomorrow
11:15
morning, tomorrow morning you get, you've decided you're,
11:18
you're going to wake up and you're just going to give this
11:20
affirmation today. I will keep the 10 commandments
11:24
and God will use me. Before your feet even hit the
11:29
floor, you got problems because inside of you the problem is
11:35
inside, not outside. A rule, a list of rules and
11:39
regulations always deals with the outside, the problems inside
11:42
you. It's called your flesh.
11:46
Like like you, you think of the the significance of, you know,
11:52
the first kind of worship of the Lord your God.
11:54
You have no gods before me. But then there's something that
11:57
you're worshipping so much, like something that's so important to
11:59
you, that's taking the place of God.
12:01
You're already thinking about it before you get out of bed.
12:03
You, you still you fail before you even get out of bed.
12:06
Like like maybe a self-imposed today.
12:09
I'm going to do it for you, Lord, And I'm just going to be a
12:11
nice person. I know I haven't been nice last
12:14
week, but today? I'm going to be nice.
12:16
And then you turn over and there she is or there he is.
12:25
And you didn't resolve the argument and you're already mad
12:28
again in your head and you're like, there you go.
12:30
You're you, you, you. It's you're not even, you still
12:34
have morning breath. You're still like, it's still
12:36
it. It doesn't work that way.
12:39
You have no power to be nice in and of yourself.
12:44
But as a born again believer, the Holy Spirit dwells in you.
12:48
You're a different person. We studied this not too long
12:50
ago. You're a different person.
12:52
Victory is yours. New life is yours.
12:54
New direction is yours. You're a new creation in Christ.
12:57
You've been crucified with Christ.
12:58
We've studied this in depth. You're a new person.
13:02
You have the power to live the Christian life because you know
13:08
Christianity. Listen, Christianity is not
13:11
something you do. Christianity is someone you are
13:16
you have a relationship with a person.
13:18
Let's let's go on notice with me now in verse 11, but that no one
13:23
is justified by the law. We've made that point.
13:25
No one, none of us can keep the law so we can't be justified by
13:28
it. No one is justified by the law
13:30
on the side of God is evident for the just shall live by
13:33
faith. The law is not of faith.
13:35
Verse 12 But the man who does them shall live by them.
13:39
Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law having become a
13:42
curse. For us, for it is.
13:44
Written cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree that just shall
13:48
live by faith, he says. Look.
13:50
The life that you and I live now, we live by faith.
13:52
This is the way. It's not by mourning
13:54
affirmations. It's not by trying harder.
13:57
It's not by creating a list or going to a church and asking
14:00
them what do I need to do? It's not that way.
14:02
It's by living by faith. And living by faith means
14:04
trusting God. You trust God, so the just the
14:08
born again believer now lives a life trusting God in what he
14:12
says. That's why it's so important.
14:14
Read your Bible every day, pray every day because that's how
14:16
you'll learn the heart and God. That's how you'll learn the
14:19
character of God. That's how you'll grow in your
14:22
relationship like any other relationship.
14:25
How do relationships grow? Time and testing and the time
14:29
that you spend with one another, talking, learning, growing, and
14:34
the tests of life, they build relationships.
14:37
The just shall live by faith is very important.
14:39
It takes us back to a time in the life of a man by the name of
14:42
Habakkuk. There's a Bible book in the Old
14:45
Testament. It's called Habakkuk.
14:47
It's actually the name of the man who wrote it.
14:49
He was a prophet or a messenger of God, and he was living in a
14:54
time of moral decline and religious decline in the nation
14:58
of Israel, and he was. Upset about it?
15:01
Even as many look at the condition of our country today
15:03
and get upset about it, that's where Habakkuk was on a
15:06
spiritual level. He looked at the leaders, he
15:09
looked at the people in the country and he's like, God,
15:12
don't you understand? Why have you abandoned us?
15:15
Don't you see the decay? Don't you see there a bunch of
15:18
liars? Don't you see the corruption?
15:21
Don't you see what's happening in the leadership?
15:23
God, you know it's bad and you're not doing anything about
15:25
it. You don't seem to care.
15:28
You don't you don't care about us anymore.
15:30
You've abandoned us. God was so gracious.
15:34
He didn't have to, but he did. He answered that.
15:36
Listen to what he said. You just jotted down Habakkuk
15:39
chapter one, verse 5. God tells him look among the
15:42
nations, look among the nations and watch.
15:46
Be utterly astounded, for I will work a work in your days which
15:51
you would not believe, though it were told you.
15:55
God is basically telling him, I know exactly what's happening,
15:58
I'm going to take care of it. You don't need anything to
16:01
worry. Just trust me, don't worry about
16:02
it. And you know what, Habakkuk?
16:04
I'm working something that if I told you, you wouldn't even get
16:07
it. You wouldn't even understand it.
16:08
And you know, God was very gracious to give him the plan.
16:12
You know what the plan was? God was going to use the nation
16:15
of Babylon as a tool of judgement against the nation of
16:18
Israel. He told Habakkuk, this is what
16:21
I'm going to do. I'm going to send Babylon, and
16:23
they're going to be judged. And you would think that's what
16:25
was on Habakkuk's heart, right? He wanted to know.
16:28
Well, now that he knows, guess what?
16:29
He's upset about it. You can read it for yourself.
16:32
He's upset. I can't believe it.
16:34
You're going to use Babylon. They're worse than us.
16:37
Why would you use them to judge us?
16:39
They're worse than us. And then he goes off to a tower
16:45
and he sits there and waits, and it's while he's waiting.
16:49
For what God's going to do that God speaks to him and the
16:54
understanding and revelation comes Habakkuk.
16:58
Here's what you're supposed to do.
17:00
The just shall live by faith. There is nothing you can do
17:06
about this. You're just going to have to
17:08
trust me, God says. And while it's very important
17:12
and relevant for our study today in choosing grace over the law,
17:16
I also believe it's a word from the Lord because we carry these
17:21
things. We carry these things in our own
17:24
hearts and sometimes believe falsely that God doesn't care or
17:28
believe falsely that God isn't going to act or he's abandoned
17:32
us. And so we cry out what's going
17:35
on? God, don't you know, don't you
17:36
see? We have these lapses of faith.
17:40
I had one yesterday. I've got an ongoing thing in my
17:43
life, been going on for 12 years now that.
17:45
You know, I, the Lord's given us strength.
17:47
I, I, I'm walking in faith on it and, and I'm listening to a
17:51
song. I'm just listening on my I'm on
17:53
my way to church listening to a song on my playlist.
17:56
Sometimes I choose songs, sometimes let my playlist play.
17:59
So it's just there. I've heard that song.
18:01
I don't know, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of times.
18:04
I love it. It's a beautiful.
18:05
It's why it's on my playlist and I'm listening and I don't know
18:08
where I was exactly on my way in, but this phrase just jumped
18:13
out. Like God used this song to show
18:15
me my Habakkuk unbelief. In some ways, I didn't even know
18:19
I was dealing with it in the moment.
18:20
I thought I was in a good space. But I mean, this is how good God
18:24
is. He'll reveal these things to us
18:26
as we're seeking him. Even though I'm not sitting down
18:28
in my car going, OK God, I'm seeking you 'cause I'm going to
18:31
church and I'm going to teach and I'm ready.
18:33
I'm just, this is my life, the atmosphere I want my car to be
18:36
filled with with the Lord. I want to listen to songs that
18:38
are going to build me up. And so I just want to read it to
18:41
you because this phrase, this phrase in because I, I jotted
18:45
down the lyrics, I went back, I looked up the lyrics.
18:47
So I could get the exact words and I think I might even I did
18:51
post it. But he listen, listen, listen.
18:53
This is the phrase. It's a great song.
18:54
But here's the phrase far be it from me to not believe when my
19:02
eyes can't see. And it just far be it from me
19:08
not to believe because I have to say in the last, I don't know,
19:12
maybe a couple weeks, I just, I know the situation and I just
19:15
think, ah, it's not going to happen.
19:17
It's just not going to happen. And I'm not really complaining
19:21
about it. I'm not, I, I mean, we, we've
19:23
gone through the ups and downs of this for so long.
19:25
Like I, but I just came to this, it's just not going to happen.
19:29
And I'm just going to have to learn.
19:30
And, and really what God was saying.
19:32
No, no, no. What's what's happening, Ed, is
19:34
that you don't believe me? Because on the other hand, God
19:38
has given us promises, me and my family's giving us promises.
19:42
I believe those promises. But for a moment, isn't that the
19:44
Lord? Isn't that the Lord?
19:47
Pastor Ed heading to church ready to.
19:50
Teach a Bible. Study on faith and at the corner
19:55
of, you know, Smokey Hill and Reservoir, he's the most
20:00
faithless man on the corner. Why?
20:04
Why would God do that? Because he lives inside me.
20:09
That's the power you have. He lives inside of you.
20:13
You don't need an external list of.
20:15
God, you know all my problems, you know all these difficulties.
20:18
No, God said in my car. Very, very simple way, he told
20:21
me. Ed that just shall live by
20:22
faith. And he used that song to remind
20:25
me. Just just shall live by faith.
20:27
Trust me, Ed, go back to a place of trust.
20:30
You're not in a place of trust in your heart right now.
20:32
Go back to a place of trust. Not striving.
20:35
You don't need to do anything. You don't need to make any phone
20:37
calls. You don't need to go take things
20:39
into your own hands. You don't need to do anything.
20:42
Just trust me, OK, Lord. And it was subtle.
20:47
It's good. It's a great song.
20:49
Couraging, faith affirming. And the Lord knows you.
20:53
And so this verse is revolutionary.
20:56
If you just believe this truth, it'll revolutionize your life.
21:00
It's what it did to a man by the name of Martin Luther.
21:04
Very faithful Roman Catholic priest dedicated to living his
21:09
life for God, going the extra mile.
21:12
He would beat himself, he would strive, he would read extra,
21:16
pray extra, do extra, and he was empty.
21:21
Something was missing and he was one of the few.
21:24
Listen, he was one of the few that could read and had access
21:29
to the Bible, and he began reading the book of Galatians.
21:32
Imagine that he's reading Galatians in his own life and he
21:36
comes to this verse and he's hit him.
21:40
It's a life of faith, not works. And it revolutionized his heart.
21:46
It started in the heart of Martin Luther, what we know.
21:49
Today as the. Great reformation.
21:54
Martin Luther went with these reforms to say this is wrong.
21:58
He nailed them up on the Wittenberg door.
22:00
This is wrong, this is wrong, this is wrong.
22:03
And the reward of religion is they kicked them out.
22:06
Get out of here, wanted to kill him, but there were many people
22:11
that were set free by the truth of the Bible that just shall
22:14
live by what church? Faith, faith.
22:17
It's very important. This truth can revolutionize
22:20
your life. It's not just for Martin Luther
22:23
3-4 hundred years ago, it's for you today.
22:26
Listen. So those of you that are
22:28
striving today to please God, struggling to keep a list of
22:33
laws or even the law, working to gain blessings and acceptance of
22:39
God, living in shame and condemnation because the cycle
22:45
of sin is so brutal. It beat you beat yourself up.
22:52
You shame yourself because you never really measure up to the
22:57
perfect standard. You know it, but you try.
23:00
But it's frustrating. The person that wakes up in the
23:02
morning with all these affirmations lives a frustrating
23:05
life because they can never do it.
23:07
So there's always Tuesday and there's always Wednesday.
23:10
Dude, you've been doing that for like 100 years.
23:12
It's time to live by faith. There's always today to choose
23:17
to yield your life to Him. Why?
23:19
Because you have a relationship with him.
23:21
You don't have anything to prove to God.
23:24
You don't have anything to earn. You don't have to earn like it's
23:27
like in our families, the best illustrations like for you
23:30
parents, grandparents, but even if you're not a parent or
23:32
grandparent. Yet you're you're a kid.
23:35
And, you know, Can you imagine making your kid prove to you
23:39
that they're your kid every day? I mean, you know, little Johnny
23:42
gets up and comes into your, you're there making your
23:45
affirmations in bed. Little Johnny comes up and you
23:47
open your eyes because you're. Yeah.
23:49
Who are you? I'm Johnny Dad.
23:52
Well, prove it to me. How do I know that you're Johnny
23:56
and he? Pulls out of his pocket I got.
23:58
The list Dad, I'm this. I'm this.
24:01
I'm this. I'm this.
24:02
You missed one. I know.
24:04
Come back tomorrow. Who does that?
24:07
If that's you as a parent, you need to come up after the
24:09
service because that is the wrong way of parenting.
24:13
Nobody does that. Johnny's your kid and he doesn't
24:16
need to prove it. He doesn't need every day to
24:19
earn your favor and honor. It isn't need every day to try
24:22
to somehow prove to you that there's a natural love.
24:26
Now, I apologize ahead of time because I know that not everyone
24:29
grew up in a home like that. And I'm sorry, but you have a
24:32
perfect heavenly Father who's ready to restore even what you
24:36
lost as a kid. You don't need to prove to God
24:38
that you're his daughter. You don't need to prove to God
24:40
that you're his son. You are by faith in Jesus
24:44
Christ. You are well loved and beloved
24:47
and accepted in Christ. And this is the result is to
24:53
live by faith. This is the verse that sets you
24:55
free. You believe what God says about
24:57
you. You don't need to prove it.
24:59
You don't need to pull out a list.
25:01
You don't need to work hard. I think of again going back to
25:05
the 10 commandments for a moment.
25:07
For those of you go, wait a minute, what about the 10
25:09
commandments? We'll just pick one of them.
25:10
Do not lie. Let's just say, OK, if you
25:13
approach the 10 commandments like that and say, well, you
25:15
know what, I'm going to take that one and I am not going to
25:18
lie. I'm not going to lie.
25:20
I'm going to make sure that today I will not lie, tomorrow I
25:23
will not lie. And actually I will.
25:25
I am not lying. And so how do you live your
25:29
life? You live your life so paranoid
25:31
that you're perfectly telling the truth in every situation
25:34
perfectly. You don't want to mess anything
25:36
up because you made the commitment not to lie.
25:38
You, you made it to yourself. And I will not lie, will not
25:41
lie, will not lie. And there's a lot of lies,
25:43
right? You can exaggerate, you know,
25:46
white lies, Gray lies, they're all the same, that you cannot
25:48
tell the whole truth. You can hold some.
25:50
There's a lot of different ways to lie.
25:52
So now that you've made that commitment, outwardly, you're
25:55
paranoid about it because you want to make sure that I keep
25:58
it. I'm not sure that I keep it.
25:59
That's all you're paying attention to.
26:01
You don't care about the person in front.
26:02
You don't care you're you're not really caring about the people
26:05
in your life. You're caring about the rule.
26:09
But there's a better way. Instead of living by the law of
26:12
do not lie, you live by faith that God lives in you.
26:18
See, when God lives in you, you don't need to worry about lying.
26:21
It is good to know. So I'm not advocating the
26:24
reality of not knowing what the Bible says.
26:26
Of course you need to know, but you don't need to worry about
26:28
it, because with God. Living in you.
26:30
You will not be a liar. That's God's gift to you.
26:33
You're not a liar right now. You're not a liar.
26:36
And if you do lie, you know what will happen.
26:39
The Lord will convict you. You go.
26:43
Oh, no, no, no. We don't lie.
26:46
Wait a minute. We.
26:47
What do you mean we? Yeah, exactly.
26:49
We don't lie. God lives in you.
26:52
You're in oneness with Jesus. Jesus doesn't lie, therefore you
26:59
don't lie. You don't even need to worry
27:00
about it because your heart and desire is in relationship to
27:04
please your Father. You don't even worry about
27:05
lying. You won't be a liar.
27:07
I'm not saying occasionally you might not lie, of course, but
27:09
then the Holy Spirit comes and says no, no, no, we don't do
27:12
that. Like, oh, I know we don't do
27:14
that. That's why it.
27:15
Used to be, it's not who I am. Lord forgive me.
27:18
And then you go make it right. I was just thinking last night
27:20
before I got saved, I didn't make anything right because I
27:23
didn't care. I didn't make anything right.
27:25
I didn't care if I lied to you, I took something from you.
27:28
I mean, whatever, It didn't matter.
27:30
I didn't make things right. But as a believer.
27:32
That's one of the first things you do when you recognize you're
27:34
wrong. You make it right.
27:35
You just want to make it right. Ask for forgiveness, forgive,
27:39
reconcile, whatever it is you want to make it right.
27:42
And the Holy Spirit leads you and guides you because it's
27:44
relational. Christianity is not do this, do
27:48
that, do this, do that, do this, do that.
27:50
And when you don't, you're toast.
27:52
That's not Christianity. Christianity is not defined by
27:55
what you do. Christianity is defined by who
27:58
you are. You just are.
28:00
You don't need to prove it. You're like little Johnny.
28:03
He doesn't need to prove it. Everybody knows.
28:04
Johnny is the son. Everybody nobody needs.
28:07
To prove it, Johnny can. And and as Johnny, if you're, if
28:11
you're the kid in the home, guess what?
28:12
You own everything that's in that home.
28:14
It's yours. It's your house.
28:17
It's your house, you know, Johnny and diapers, like Johnny
28:19
can't even change his own diapers for goodness sake.
28:20
He doesn't have a job, but he can go into the refrigerator and
28:23
drink milk out of the gallon, get in trouble for it.
28:26
But he does. It's his milk.
28:29
It's his food. It's his couch.
28:32
His. Television, Everything in the
28:34
house belongs to that kid. Why He's in the family, It's all
28:41
his. Just like you and me, that just
28:44
shall live by faith. It's so important that you grasp
28:47
this, which leads to the question that some of you are
28:51
asking, and I'm glad you are. But I'll also.
28:54
Ask and answer it for everyone. That's not very important
28:57
because if I've taught you well, I've brought you to this.
29:00
I brought you to this place and the question is this, are you
29:04
saying, Ed, am I hearing you correctly?
29:08
That the life by. Faith that the life by faith now
29:11
that I don't have to, I don't have to read my Bible.
29:18
And the answer is yes, that's exactly what I'm saying.
29:20
You don't have to read your Bible.
29:21
Wait, wait a minute. Are you saying that I don't have
29:24
to have morning devotions? That's exactly what I'm saying.
29:27
You don't have to have your morning devotions and you don't
29:30
have to read your Bible. Oh, wait a minute.
29:32
Let's keep going on the list then.
29:33
I don't have to pray. Nope.
29:35
Don't have to give. Nope.
29:36
Don't have to be in church. Nope.
29:38
To which everyone that's thinking that gets up and
29:40
leaves, but no, like, come back. No, you don't have to do any of
29:44
those things. You're using the wrong language.
29:47
You don't have to do anything. You don't have to do anything.
29:51
Or more appropriately, you don't got to do anything.
29:56
You don't got to do anything because the life of faith and
29:59
relationship is not a have to. It's a get to.
30:02
And that's a big change. Why would you get up in the
30:08
morning and have morning DeVos? Because you want to, not because
30:14
you have to, because you want to.
30:17
I mean, what kind of bad attitude are you going to open
30:19
up the Bible like this? And even if you do do it, but
30:21
like, OK, I'm going to do my divorce.
30:23
It's Sunday and I know I'm going to meet some Christian at church
30:27
because I guess I'm a Christian and they're going to ask me
30:29
something about the Bible and DeVos, so I better do my DeVos.
30:32
And so you open it up. Oh, I hate this.
30:37
I've been crucified by Christ. What does that even mean?
30:47
Just close your Bible. You don't need to do that.
30:52
It's not fun being in a relationship with someone like
30:54
that. If you don't want to do it, just
30:56
don't do it. Just be honest.
30:58
Better to be honest than be a poser.
31:01
Just be honest and expect the Holy Spirit to go.
31:04
Are you sure you don't want to meet with me?
31:05
What's your problem? Hiding some sin, whatever.
31:08
It could be a lot of different things, but you don't have to.
31:12
But you get to. It's kind of like hunger, you
31:14
know? You don't have to make yourself
31:15
hungry. When you wake up in the morning,
31:17
what are you hungry? Some of you get angry, but
31:20
you're hungry. You're hungry, you eat, you
31:23
don't eat. I think I'll be hungry today.
31:25
You know, like unless there is a medical condition, you're
31:27
naturally hungry. As a believer in Jesus, you're
31:31
naturally hungry for the things of God.
31:34
You love him, you care for him. That's real relationship.
31:38
You want to be fed, so no, you don't have to do these things,
31:41
but they're good for you. You want them.
31:43
God gives you new desires, He gives you new thoughts.
31:47
He gives you a whole new direction in life.
31:50
God inside of you longs to be with you, and you long to be
31:54
with Him. So you get up in the morning,
31:57
Lord, speak to me. You get up sometimes you don't
31:59
even know. You're not you.
32:01
You didn't even know lying was a sin until you read in the Bible.
32:04
You, thou shalt not lie. And you're like, oh.
32:09
No, I didn't grow up in a home like that.
32:12
I don't even grow up in a world like that.
32:15
But God, he's identifying something in your life that
32:18
needs to be forsaken, and now he lives in you.
32:22
So by faith, you become a person of truth because the Spirit is
32:27
the spirit of truth. You didn't have to do anything.
32:33
You don't have to read a book on lying.
32:36
You didn't have to read go to a seminar or a sermon series.
32:40
The Holy Spirit just said we're not going to do that.
32:43
That doesn't reflect my love and character to a lost world.
32:47
No, the life of faith has not got to but get to.
32:50
It's a whole different attitude. Grace says believe and then
32:55
you'll live. And what you believe is a matter
32:58
of the heart. And that belief will find its
33:01
way into your actions. It'll find its way into the
33:06
external life. But God, he doesn't, it's not,
33:09
it's not all externals. Externals are for people.
33:12
God's he's concerned what's what inside us.
33:16
So you learn the just lives by faith, not by religion, not by
33:21
religious activity, not by the law, not by rules and Reagan,
33:25
not by legalism, not by somebody coming up and go.
33:28
If you don't do this, you're not right.
33:30
No, you go. If you have the Holy Spirit in
33:32
you, you go to the Word and God says no, no, that guy, he
33:34
doesn't. He's not telling you the truth.
33:37
You don't listen to him because you and me, we see I've done
33:41
that work in you. I'm faithful.
33:43
I'll wash you, I'll cleanse you. I'll make you holy.
33:46
You're going to be holy like me. Now live like it.
33:50
So many get it all backwards. You, you, you're born again.
33:53
You get saved, you pray, you think, OK, now I need to change
33:56
my whole behavior and I'll work hard, work hard, work hard, work
33:59
hard. When the holy.
34:00
Spirit says just come to me, I'll identify.
34:04
You might want to work on this. Over here.
34:06
But the real issue is this one. You want to take the easy one,
34:10
but the easy one's easy. I want to go deep like well, OK,
34:13
I will never smoke cigarettes again.
34:15
Easy. How about this?
34:17
I'll never be angry again. I don't know.
34:20
Anger is kind of deep. I grew up in an angry home,
34:23
angry dad, angry mom. I've been angry.
34:25
It's just like my friend, the anger.
34:28
But you see, the Spirit of God in you is what gentleness.
34:34
If you believe God, he gives you gentleness.
34:37
You become him, lived out His characteristics in your life.
34:42
You become his character, his nature, his strength, His
34:48
identity is you now. You're a Christ follower.
34:51
It's not what you do, it's what He has done.
34:55
You don't need to prove your son or a daughter you are live that
34:59
way. We'll get into this a little
35:01
deeper next time, but notice a couple of things before we close
35:04
he he takes it in from verse 13. Christ has redeemed us from the
35:09
curse of the law. He became a curse for us for it
35:12
is written cursed as everyone who hangs on a tree that the
35:15
blessing of Abraham might be a come upon the Gentiles in Christ
35:19
Jesus that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through
35:23
faith. It's all by faith starts with
35:25
faith continues faith. It'll be faith to the very end
35:28
till we see Jesus faced face. The importance is is that the
35:33
curse has been removed by the cross.
35:36
That's important. He who knew no sin became sin
35:40
for. Us that we might become the
35:42
righteousness of God. He has done the work.
35:47
That's why you don't need a deliverance ministry.
35:48
Somebody come along and go. I'll deliver you from that.
35:51
You've been delivered live that way.
35:53
You don't need to be delivered. You are delivered.
35:57
You are in Christ. No part of your life can be
36:01
overtaken by a demon. Do you know that they can't just
36:05
kind of move, you know, get into in between your toes somewhere
36:08
and have a little place. Now you can give yourself to
36:10
your behavior to become a slave to sin, but you can break that
36:14
right away by repentance. But you have been delivered,
36:18
right? You don't need to go backwards.
36:20
You need to continue going forwards.
36:22
And how do you go forward? By faith, believing what God
36:27
said about you. And this all the way goes back
36:30
to Abraham. You remember, we've already
36:31
looked at this, but we'll develop it because that's what
36:33
Paul writes to the Galatians. But we've already seen this.
36:38
What was it that drew Abraham to God's attention?
36:41
It doesn't say he wasn't doing it.
36:42
He was a heathen. He was living in a Pagan home.
36:46
But God spoke to him. He responded by faith and what
36:49
it was accounted to him for Righteousness.
36:52
No work. His life was actually going in
36:55
the opposite direction, but he believed God got up, took his
36:58
family and left. OK, this is what you want me to
37:00
do. I believe you, God, I trust you.
37:03
And now Paul's tying it back to Abraham because he was so well
37:06
respected. Hey, look, just like the
37:08
Abraham's faith, that's how you live by faith.
37:11
The just shall live by faith. It says in verse 13 that Christ
37:15
redeemed us. That word actually speaks of
37:18
buying a slave into freedom, paying the price of freedom to
37:22
set a slave free in the 1st century.
37:25
He has brought us, He has bought us by His own blood from the
37:29
slavery of death and the curse of the law.
37:33
And as a result, we can be saved in Jesus today.
37:36
Let this truth spark a revolution in your heart today
37:39
and all that you're wrestling with, even things you don't even
37:42
know, you're wrestling. Only God can touch that stuff,
37:45
things you didn't even know, things that you had buried or
37:51
moved on or forgotten about. This book can spark a revolution
37:55
in your Christian experience as you no longer live of what you
37:59
have to do, but you rather live a what you get to do and you
38:02
enjoy it. It's a joy to follow the Lord in
38:06
His love. You get to do everything He
38:07
wants you to do. You see, when He wants you to do
38:11
something, it's matched with your desire, His desire, your
38:14
desire, and it just makes for the beautiful life, honoring and
38:18
pleasing God. Amen, Lord.
38:20
Thank you for your word as it speaks to us today and the
38:23
reality and significance of faith in our lives.
38:27
So true, so important, so vital. God, even even on the little
38:33
things, it's like Ed, you're just like a backup upset with
38:40
what I'm doing and not doing instead of enjoying me, I'm say
38:44
yes, Lord, thank you for reminding my that faith.
38:49
You've your word even says that you've given to us all measure
38:52
of faith. So thank you for that.
38:54
God, thank you for your faithfulness.
38:57
Set free your church today. God in some areas, set them free
39:01
from the bondage of shame and guilt and condemnation.
39:05
Set them free from the reality of the cycle beating ourselves
39:11
up because we never measure up. But in reality, God, you measure
39:15
up so we trust you. And maybe today's you're
39:19
listening to me in the room, listening live on the radio
39:22
right now. I mean, I think of you on the
39:24
radio just like a divine appointment of what God wanted
39:27
to say into your life. Wherever you may be, prison
39:30
cell, church service, doesn't matter.
39:33
You might be here and say I need this forgiveness of what you
39:36
speak at. I need and want to follow Jesus
39:40
with my life. I want you to respond to that.
39:46
I desire you to respond. You don't have a certainty that
39:52
Jesus is living in you. You don't have a confidence that
39:56
when you die you'll go to heaven.
39:58
You don't have the freedom of which we speak.
40:03
But today, God wants to set you free.
40:06
Bible says that we've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of
40:08
God and that the results of sin are just so damaging and
40:11
devastating. But the gift of God is eternal
40:14
life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
40:17
That today, if you'll confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus,
40:20
and you believe in your heart that God raised him from the
40:22
dead, you will be saved. If that's you today, would you
40:25
just stand to your feet? I want to help you pray and ask
40:27
God to forgive you. That today you will set the tone
40:31
for the rest of your life and all of eternity that you say I
40:35
need that forgiveness and I want to follow Christ.
40:37
If that's you, just stand on your feet.
40:39
I want to pray with you. Today's the day, now is the
40:42
moment. God bless you over here.
40:43
Who else would say that's me? This is it.
40:46
This is the time we invite you. God bless you guys in the back
40:49
into the family of God. You have nothing to prove, you
40:52
have nothing to offer. It's who you are.
40:55
God bless you. I see you back in the back.
41:01
Today is the day, now is the time.
41:05
God bless you guys over here as well.
41:11
Today, God bless you. You guys can move around and
41:18
find someone if you want over here.
41:21
Pastors are going to come up with you and just keep that holy
41:24
moment. Somebody's going to come up
41:26
alongside of you so that you know you're not alone.
41:28
And this is our way of following up with you.
41:31
We don't want you to fall through the cracks, Kenny, right
41:35
up here. Anyone else?
41:39
Today's a day. Now is the time.
41:43
God at work in your life, ministering His word into your
41:47
heart and into your mind. Just receive Him today.
41:54
God bless you in the back. I see you as well, that the Holy
41:58
Spirit would just encourage you and you can ask God to forgive
42:03
you of your sins right now. You could say forgive me.
42:08
Lord, I need you. I want to follow you with my
42:12
life. I'm a Sinner, but I know that
42:14
you're a savior. You died on the cross for my
42:19
sins. You rose again from the dead and
42:25
I choose to follow you today. I turn from my sin now and ask
42:32
you to help me. And I thank you for hearing this
42:37
prayer, God, and I thank you for answering it in Jesus name,
42:46
Amen. We pray that you've been
42:48
encouraged by this Bible study, delivered live from the
42:51
sanctuary of Calvary Church. For prayer, call us at 87730
42:56
Grace that's 877-304-7223. To listen to this message in its
43:04
integrity or to join us for our live stream services, visit us
43:08
online at Calvary Co dot Church or download our free Calvary
43:13
Church app. Be blessed as you worship Jesus
43:16
this week.