Crucified With Christ

“Crucified with Christ”

Galatians 2:20

Easter 2026 week 1

Does it surprise you that Easter is in 3 week?

? and this is the first of 4 sermons leading into Easter.

? All will be based off Galatians 2:20

A man met with his friend one morning and greeted him with:

"Say, Sam, have you seen Melvin lately? I’ve been looking high and low for him."

"Well," said the friend, "those are the right places to look. He died in January."

A man once told his preacher,

“I’ve decided I’m going to turn over a new leaf.”

The preacher smiled and said,

“That’s good… but God didn’t send Jesus so you could turn over a new leaf.

He sent Jesus so you could get a new life.”

A lot of people think Christianity is about self-improvement:

? Be a little nicer

? Try a little harder

? Clean up your habits

But the message of the gospel is far more radical than that.

God is NOT trying to improve the old you.

He IS trying to replace the old you.

That’s exactly what Paul says in Galatians 2:20:

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”

Christianity is NOT just about believing something about Jesus.

It is about dying with Jesus so that He can live in you.

Jesus’ cross meets our greatest need…the forgiveness of sin

The Bible tells us that:

­ ALL of US have died to something.

­ Before Christ, we were “dead in transgressions”

­ Separate from God and without hope

Ephesians 2:1-3; 12 clearly describes OUR situation OUTSIDE of JESUS:

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath…..12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.”

Apart from Christ:

­ We are all dead IN OUR SIN

­ But when you become a Christian

­ you are dead IN CHRIST.

Galatians 2:20 tells us…

“I (PAUL) have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

We live in an age of identity theft:

­ where someone can steal your name,

­ your credit, and

­ your reputation in a few clicks.

But Galatians 2:20 describes a different kind of identity theft—a holy one.

Paul DOES NOT say he’s trying to:

­ be a better version of himself.

­ He says the 'old Paul' is gone

­ executed on a Roman cross years ago.

Paul is claiming that:

? The most important thing about him isn't his DNA,

? his resume, or his past mistakes

The most important thing about Paul:

? is the fact that he is currently

? being 'occupied' by the Resurrected King.

Today, we aren't just looking at an empty tomb;

­ we’re looking at how that empty tomb

­ empties us of our old selves

­ so Christ can move in."

Before we can experience resurrection life, the old self must die.

1. The Cross is PERSONAL

“I have been crucified with Christ…”

- Galatians 2:20a

Paul does not only say that Christ died for him:

­ he says he died with Jesus.

­ Salvation is not a spectator sport;

Salvation is a total identification with the Savior.

The original word “crucified” in Galatians 2:20:

- is the same word which described

- the 2 criminals “crucified with” Jesus (Matt 27:44),

- Paul says WE are also put to death.

The LAW demands a death sentence for our sin:

? When Jesus died as our substitute,

? the Law "carried out" that full sentence on Him.

When we are united with Christ:

? The Law views us as having already served our sentence.

? A dead man is beyond the reach of the law; therefore,

? the Law has no more legal standing to condemn you.

Romans 6:3-4 (NIV):

"Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."