I want to make a point as we begin today – and that is that there is often more than one way to do some things. The following test is used by Anderson consulting to see if people are qualified to be a “professional.” There are only 4 questions. See how you do…
1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?
The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe and close the door. This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.
2. How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?
Wrong Answer: Open the refrigerator, put in the elephant and close the refrigerator.
Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door. This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your actions.
3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend except one. Which animal does not attend?
Correct Answer: The Elephant. The Elephant is in the refrigerator.
This tests your memory. OK, even if you didn’t answer the 1st 3 questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your abilities.
4. There is a river you must cross. But it is inhabited by crocodiles. How do you manage it?
Correct Answer: You swim across. All the Crocodiles are attending the Animal Meeting. This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.
The point is that there’s more than one way to do some things. And, I want you to realize this morning, that you get to choose. There are 2 ways you can make it to heaven! Really!
The oldest way is the most popular; the way of all religions of the world, except for Christianity. It’s the way of law-keeping. The text we’re looking at today reminds us of it: *v12 (Lev 18:5).
Keeping God’s law as a way to go to heaven is called “legalism.”
So, if you’re a legalist, this message is for you today.
Through this passage, and most of the book of Galatians, when Paul talks about the Law, the word “the” isn’t there – like in v10: “People who depend on following (the) law to make them right are under condemnation.” He’s speaking about something broader than just the OT Law. He’s referring to a whole approach to God – the way of the legalist.
-To quote John MacArthur: “there are 2 religions: the religion of divine accomplishment, which is biblical Christianity, and the religion of human achievement, which includes all other kinds of religion, whatever names they may go under."
If you’re a legalist, you’ve chosen the most popular way to make it to heaven. Really, you could potentially never fear hell, never worry about the wrath of God, never fear death – if you just perfectly keep God’s law. That’s what it takes. Are you there?
One guy was! *Lk 18:18-21 Amazing, isn’t it? From his boyhood, right though the teen years, into adulthood, this guy had done everything God commanded. At least, he said he had. Strange, he still felt he needed something else.
So, for centuries, people have been asking: What do I have to do? If heaven is real, and I have to do something to make it there, what do I have to do? And religion’s answer has been the same: Do the law. Keep the Law, escape the punishment. That’s how law works.
So you can make that choice. You’re free to choose how you’ll be saved. But know this, that your choice comes with consequences. In fact, choose wrongly, and you’ll lose some very precious things. Not only is that true, but you’ll also be classed with the people who received this letter from Paul. The Phillips translation puts v1 this way: “O you dear idiots of Galatia!” Harsh words, but someone really needed to rattle their cages.
They needed to hear what it meant to choose the way of law as a way of being right with God.
Now, right away, there’s people here this morning who need to hear it too.
For instance,
-you’ve been a Christian for a long time, and it makes you uneasy to have someone saying “Being good doesn’t make you right with God”
-Or if I were to ask you this morning if you’re going to go to heaven, your answer would include something about how good you are or how you try to do what’s right
-Or you’re someone who’s here for appearances, and deep down inside you’re convinced that you’re really not a bad person, and in pretty good shape when it comes to heaven and all.
- Or you’re someone who’s hit bottom, and you’re so convinced that you’re lost that you seriously wonder if there’s any hope for you all.
Listen, this morning, to God’s word. You have a choice about how you’re going get right or stay right with God. There’s a right way and a wrong way.
First, listen to what the way of legalism gets you: *vv1-5
I. Try to Keep the Law, Lose the Holy Spirit
Paul wants to know “one thing” – then he asks 4 questions! They all basically mean one thing: The things that you have in Jesus – the things that are making you into better people for Him – did you get those by keeping the Law, or by having faith in Jesus?
How did the HS come to you? Since you started with Him changing you, are you now going to do it on your own strength? Does God give you the Spirit because you follow the Law?
Think about it: Where, under the OT arrangement, did the HS ever come to anyone and stay? Take the very best of the heroes of the OT. Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah – to which of them did the HS ever come and stay?
The point is, the process of making us into “good people” doesn’t happen because we turn to legalism. Law doesn’t bring out our best. It restrains our worst. You can have all the Law you want; it doesn’t make you a good person, because it doesn’t change your heart.
(Col 2:20-23) “Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.” As the SEB puts it, “They don’t help control physical desires at all!”
Are you trying to keep God’s commands? Good for you!
Need any help with that? I do! I need more than just rules and regulations. I need help keeping them! I need the Spirit of Jesus to come live inside me to help me become the right kind of person. And by trying the way of legalism, I lose the HS.
The life-giving, comfort-giving, heart-changing, prayer-assisting, adoption-confirming HS doesn’t come live inside of us by Law-keeping.
II. Try to Keep the Law, Lose the Promise (6-9)
Ill – 1963, US President John F. Kennedy gives an impassioned speech at the Berlin wall. In an effort to identify with the people of Berlin, the president tried to say to them, “I’m a Berlin-er”: “Ich ben Berliner.” Instead, he added the definite article and changed it to “Ich ben ein Berliner” and the President of the United States proclaimed to the people of Berlin “I am a jelly donut.” Classic blooper! Just the same, the people of Germany appreciated his efforts to associate himself with them. It was a goof, but it was good politics to say “I’m a Berliner…I’m with you.”
You want to associate yourself with the right people, where that’s appropriate. In the 1st century Jewish world, that meant being an “Abraham-er.” The indignant Jewish leaders told Jesus, “We have Abraham as our father.”
Let me suggest to you this morning that we all need to go back some 4,000 yrs and identify ourselves as “Abraham-ers.”
-God made wonderful promises to Abraham. He told him (Gen 18:18) “Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.” He also told him “through you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” I’m one of those families, and so is your home.
-Zechariah, in Lk 1:72-75 was looking for the fulfilling of the oath that God “swore Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear…”
-Ro 4:13 says Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world.
With promises like that, is it any wonder that the Jews really hung onto their claim as the children of Abraham by birth? Those were great promises God made to the children of Abraham. They weren’t about to let them go. Would you?
(vv6-9 SEB) “The Scriptures say the same thing about Abraham: “Abraham believed God, and so God declared him a righteous man.” So, you should know that the true children of Abraham are those who have faith. The Scriptures told what would happen in the future. These writings said that God would make non-Jewish people right – through their faith. The Good News was told to Abraham long ago: “Abraham, God will use you to bless all people on earth.” All people who believe are blessed in the same way that Abraham was blessed for his faith.”
All people who what? Believe!
Nationality doesn’t matter. Having the Law, or keeping it doesn’t make the difference. The true children of Abraham are those who have faith, just like Abraham did.
*Ro 4:13-16
So, being an “Abraham-er” isn’t just a Jewish thing. In fact, that’s the point of vv6-9. Doing the Law doesn’t make someone an Abraham-er. Try to keep the Law, rely on that to be righteous, and you lose God’s promised inheritance. Abraham himself received it by faith, not by law-keeping.
So, you can try to keep the Law as a way to receive God’s promises. After all, God made great promises to anyone who’s an Abraham-er. But not even Abraham received those promises because of keeping the commandments. He was declared a righteous person because of his faith, not his law-keeping ability. “Abraham believed God and so God declared him to be a righteous man.”
Let’s read on - *vv10-12
-To fully appreciate it, you about have to turn back to Dt 27:9-26. There’s actually a list of 11 curses there: …cursed is the man who carves an image or casts an idol and sets it up in secret; cursed is the man who dishonors his father or mother; cursed is the man who moves his neighbor’s boundary; cursed is the man who has sexual relations with an animal; cursed is the man who kills his neighbor… and v26 is a summary of the whole thing: ”Cursed is the man who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out.” 11 different sins are mentioned there, but there’s only one “curse,” not 11 different ones. In other words, whoever does one of these things is just as “cursed” as whoever does another.
(Jm 2:10-11) For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
It doesn’t matter which law. The moment you break one law, you’re a law-breaker.
Ill – If a policeman pulls you over, go ahead, show him your license, point out that your registration is current, show him proof of insurance coverage, show him that you’re wearing your seatbelt, show him that you’re wearing corrective lenses according to the restrictions on your driver’s license, but mention that the car you’re in is stolen, and you’re going to be considered a lawbreaker. It won’t matter how many of the laws you didn’t break. You only have to break one to be a lawbreaker!
So you can choose legalism as a way of life, as a way to be saved, a way to make it to heaven. Keep God’s law, escape the penalty. That’s how law works. Many have tried. Many still are. Many are sitting in this building. And Paul says, if that’s where you’re at now, you’re under a curse, because everyone, at some point, has violated God’s standard of perfection. You can try, but it’s too late. We’ve already failed at it. Try to keep the Law, lose the HS, lose the promise and inheritance of Abraham.
The good news is that God has made another way! The other choice you have is to…
III. Let Jesus Redeem You From the Curse, Gain Everything (13-14)
This is the other way to live – oh, and the only way that anyone will ever make it because everyone has blown the law-keeping approach.
It’s the only way to receive the blessing promised to Abraham; the only way to receive the HS, and Jesus wants those things for you. That’s why He did it for us. *v14
How He did it for us is in *v13. He did it by standing in our place.
OK, so what do I do about it? Let me suggest 2 specific applications to DO…
1. Choose faith in Jesus over legalism, and stay with it!
-Stop relying on your own goodness. When someone asks you if you’re going to heaven, don’t start trying to think of the list of good things you’ve done. If you’re feeling confident in yourself, stop it! You’re a lawbreaker. You don’t need a good lawyer. You don’t need a CPA. You need a substitute to pay for your crimes. And the only One Who’s eligible and willing is Jesus.
2. Love Jesus with the kind of love you can have only for a person who has loved you so much.
One of the reasons it’s so important to get familiar with Jesus and to nurture your relationship with Jesus is because of how it will be what motivates you to serve Him.
-I could give you all kinds of reasons to be a Christian and to live like a Christian today – blessings, hope for the future, security, purpose to face each day – but the best reason I can give you is Jesus loves you and has done such a great thing for you.
-I could give you reasons to obey His commands today – they work; it fits us; we should fear hell – but the best reason to obey Him is that Jesus loves you and has done for you what you could never do for yourself.
What a great choice – to break the law, and escape the penalty! Rather than trying to keep the Law and losing blessings, let Jesus redeem you from the curse, and gain everything!
Conclusion:
Ill – Years ago, there was a Disney movie about a science teacher who invented a bouncy substance called flubber. It starred Fred MacMurray, and it was an old black and white – what was the name of that movie? “The Absent Minded Professor” Oh yeah, that’s it!
Well, anyway, there’s a big basketball game, and his school’s team isn’t doing so well. They’re all short, scrawny guys, and the team they’re going up against is huge. They start out the first half of the game getting creamed. No matter how hard they try, there’s no way they could possibly win.
Then, at half-time, the professor somehow gets a hold of their shoes and irons this flubber onto the bottoms of them. When they come back out, the team quickly discovers they can bounce way into the air. Soon, they’re bouncing down the court, over the other players’ heads, turning summersaults in the air, making slam dunks from the ceiling. Everything is changed. Now there’s no way they can lose. Which would you prefer?
Your choice. You can either continue to use law as a way to heaven that will never be enough or you can take the way of faith that can’t lose.
Your choice. However, you do have to choose one or the other! You’re either relying on Jesus to do something for you that you can’t do for yourself, or you’re counting on yourself to be all you need.
