“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."
We are baptized into the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus:
- our baptism is a funeral for our old self
o Paul doesn’t say Christ was crucified
o he says I was crucified with Christ
To be "crucified with Christ" means:
? the person you used to be
? no longer has a legal claim on your life.
Baptism is the "border crossing" where we move
from the kingdom of self to the kingdom of Christ.
Jeff Strite tells this story:
Years ago, when I was at Purdue:
A friend of mine took me on a tour of the morgue
they literally had dead bodies to examine.
It was NOT a pretty sight.
Now let’s say we took one of those bodies (one of a man):
and brought it here to the church and propped it against the wall.
Then, let’s say we brought in a scantily clad, voluptuous girl and
had her prance back and forth in front of him.
What do you think he would do?
HE WOULDN’T DO ANYTHING - HE’S DEAD!!
He wouldn’t stare at her, glare at her, peek at her.
Nothing. Because he is dead to sin.
That’s what Paul wants us to visualize for ourselves.
We have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
So, when did your death happen?
Paul tells us in Romans:
? it happened when you decided to become a Christian.
? When you believed, repented, confessed Jesus as your master, and
? buried your old man of sin in the waters of Christian baptism.
If we have been buried with Him, then:
the person we used to be
the person ruled by sin
no longer has a legal claim on our lives.
2. The DEATH of the OLD Self
“…and I no longer live…”
- Galatians 2:20b
In 2005 Carrie Underwood:
- released a song “Jesus, Take the Wheel”
- about a young mother who loses control while driving in a snowstorm
- and she cries out to Jesus for help…
The song uses that moment to picture surrender:
? letting God take control of your life
? when you realize you cannot handle
? it on your own.
Paul "no longer lives" as the CEO of his own life:
He has taken up his cross and
surrendered the "steering wheel."
Paul “no longer lives” in the sense that he controls his life:
? He has taken up his cross;
? he has denied himself; and
A dead man has not interest in:
- sin or selfish pleasures
- has no interest in self-rule
The death of our old self is the death of “SELF”:
- The question is not “what do I want?”
- Now the question is “How can I please God with my life?”
Christianity is not a "cleaner version" of your old life:
? The old self
? with its pride, sin, and self-rule
? must be nailed to the cross.
?
Christianity is not self-improvement—it’s self-denial
3. The NEW power SOURCE
“…but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God…”
- Galatians 2:20c
Imagine you own a car:
? Maybe it’s a classic you’ve poured years of effort into.
? But one day, while driving up a steep hill, the engine finally gives out.
? There’s a loud bang, a cloud of smoke, and the car grinds to a halt.
You take it to a mechanic, and the news is terminal: the engine block is cracked. It’s "dead."
You decide to fix the problem by focusing on the exterior:
? You have the car waxed and detailed.
? You vacuum the interior until it smells like new.
? You even replace the tires with expensive, high-performance rubber.
From the outside, the car looks "holy.":
? It looks like a "good Christian car."
? But when you get behind the wheel and
? turn the key, nothing happens.
Why?
Because you’re trying to make a car move using a dead engine.
This is what we do when we try to:
? "be a better person" without being "crucified with Christ."
? We change our habits, our vocabulary, and our Sunday routine,
But the "old self":
? the broken engine of our sinful nature
? is still sitting under the hood,
? powerless to actually move us toward God.
The mechanic tells you, "The old engine is junk. We’re going to pull it out and scrap it.":
This is the crucifixion of the old self:
? It’s messy, and it feels like a loss.
? But then, he lowers a brand-new,
? high-performance engine into the bay and bolts it to the frame.
Now, when you turn the key, the car moves and is powerful because it has a new power source!
Paul is telling us in Galatians 2:20 that:
? the Christian life is NOT a "tune-up" of your old engine.
? God doesn't want to fix your "old man"
God wants to replace the old man with Jesus in you.
The Gospel is:
? God pulling out the "dead engine" of your old nature and
? replacing it with the Resurrected Life of Jesus.
You aren't just a "fixed-up" sinner; you are a new creation being driven by a new Power.
In the book of Philippians, Paul is in prison:
- He is suffering, He might be executed
- but he is confident that God will use his situation for good.
- He says whether he lives or dies,
- Christ will be honored in his body.
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain”
- Philippians 1:21 (NIV)
Paul’s example shows us:
- that we are to be obedient to God
- to the point of our own physical death
- because we LIVE FOR CHRIST ALONE
4. SURRENDER Before CELEBRATION
“I 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.”
- Galatians 2:20
Paul reminds the Galatians of Jesus’ loving sacrifice:
- Trying to earn salvation through religious effort.
- Trying and failing to be righteous by their own strength.
- Forgetting that the "Old Engine" can’t be fixed by religious wax and polish.
But the gospel says salvation is NOT ACHIEVED, it is RECEIVED.
? Jesus took our death so we could receive His life.
? If we could save ourselves, there would be no need for the CROSS
? The only sin Jesus ever had was our sin
? the only righteousness we can have is His righteousness
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV):
"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
God’s love for you is:
- all the motivation He needed
- to send and allow His Son Jesus
- to die on the cross
John 3:16-17 (NIV):
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
Ephesians 2:4-5 (NIV):
"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
Easter is coming in just 3 weeks…
Easter is a celebration of a Victory:
? Jesus rising from the GRAVE but
? You only celebrate a victory if you were once losing.
? Outside of Christ we are ALL LOSING
We celebrate because:
? the "Execution" of Galatians 2:20
? led to the "New Creation" of the Resurrection.
? We celebrate because we aren't just "not guilty"—we are ALIVE.
Following Jesus always begins with surrender:
? Not partial surrender.
? Total surrender.
Jesus said in Gospel of Luke 9:23:
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”
The Trapped Monkey
In some parts of the world:
? hunters use a very specific and clever method
? to catch monkeys without using a net or a cage.
They take a heavy jar with a narrow neck and:
? fill it with bright, colorful fruit or nuts.
? Then, they stake the jar firmly to the ground and hide.
Eventually, a monkey comes along:
? He sees the fruit,
? reaches his hand inside the narrow opening, and
? grabs a fistful.
But here is the problem:
? while his empty hand could slide into the jar easily,
? his clenched fist—now full of fruit
? is too wide to pull back out.
The monkey is stuck:
? He pulls and pulls, but
? The opening is too small for his fist.
Now, the monkey has a choice:
? To be free, all he has to do is let go of the fruit.
? If he opens his hand,
? He can slide it out and run to safety.
But more often than not:
? The monkey is so committed
? to that handful of food
? that he refuses to let go.
He stays there, trapped by his own grip, until the hunter simply walks up and captures him.
We often live like that monkey:
? We are "dead IN our transgressions" because
? we are clutching onto the "fruit" of our old lives:
Surrender is not a loss.
The monkey thinks:
? letting go of the fruit means he will starve,
? but if he lets go,
? He lives and gains the entire forest.
When we "die" to our old selves:
? We are NOT losing
? we are finally freeing our hands
? to receive the Resurrected Life of Jesus.
Let’s review:
? Condition: "We were separate from Christ... without hope." (Ephesians 2:12)
? The Exchange: "I have been crucified with Christ." (Galatians 2:20)
? The Result: "The old has gone, the new is here!" (2 Corinthians 5:17)
? The Reason: "But because of his great love for us..." (Ephesians 2:4)
Right now:
- I want you to look in the mirror
- What part of the "old self" is still trying to grab the steering wheel?
Maybe it is sin you have never surrendered.
Maybe it is pride or control.
Maybe it is the fear of finally giving your whole life to Jesus.
Ask yourself:
• What part of the old self still wants control?
• Have I admired the cross from a distance without climbing onto it?
• Am I trying to live the Christian life in my own strength?
Because the message of Galatians 2:20:
? is NOT just something to admire.
? It IS something to enter into.
Paul said:
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”
That raises a very important question:
When does that death happen?
The Bible answers that clearly in Romans 6:3–4:
“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… we too may live a new life.”
The cross calls US to SURRENDER:
- Paul said he is crucified with Christ
- what about you?
The CROSS calls YOU and I to:
• believe in Jesus
• repent of our sins
• confess Him as Lord
• and be buried with Him in baptism
In that moment something powerful happens:
? Your old life dies
? Your sins are washed away
? and you are raised to walk in a new life with Christ living in you.
This morning you can let go.
This morning you can surrender.
Right now you can begin a new life.
In just a moment we are going to stand and sing:
? If you need to surrender your life to Jesus
? If you need to repent of sin…
If you are ready to be buried with Christ in baptism and raised to a new life…
We want to invite you to come forward:
? The water is ready
? Your church family is ready
? And Jesus is ready to receive you.
Come NOW and be crucified with Christ so that Christ may live in you.
