OUR ROAD TO VICTORY IN CHRIST
Detouring Us Off The Freeway
“Foolishness made Christ our curse before He could be our Redeemer”
Galatians 3:1-14 -- Matthew 7:13-14
INTRODUCTION: Easter is marked by many changes. This time of year brings the tempering of the weather and the daffodils bursting from the ground. For the most part the threat of snow has passed, and the pastel colors are coming out. Easter for the body of Christ is also a season for remembering all that Christ accomplished for us on the cross. This year in particular, many have viewed the film, the Passion of Christ. One cannot walk away without the realization the love God had for us as his own son paid the penalty for our sin.
Scripture makes it vividly clear that this event – the crucifixion of Christ was no accident. Luke 9:51 declares, “As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.”
In the song, “The Measure of a Man” the second verse reads like this:
Well you can doubt your worth And search for who you are And where you stand
But God made you in His image When He formed you in His hands
And He looks at you with mercy And He sees you through His love
You’re His child And that will always be enough
For there’s more to what you’re worth Than you could ever comprehend
So, over the next few weeks, as we approach Easter, I would like to look at our worth demonstrated by some of the things Christ did for us as He “resolutely” set out for Jerusalem.
TRANSITION: the Scripture tells us that without Christ we are all on the wrong road -- Matthew 7:13-14 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
It is only through a “Divine Detour” that we succeed in getting off the freeway headed towards destruction.
And we needed the detour because of ….
I PERSONAL FOOLISHNESS – Galatians 3:1-9
A It is foolishness to turn back time
1 The Galatians were allowing itself to be deceived and fascinated by teaching they knew to be false.
2 The Galatians were forgetting everything Christ had accomplished for them
3 The Galatians were becoming disobedient by following something different than they knew to be true.
THEY WERE TRYING TO TURN THE CLOCK BACK – RETURNING TO THE LAW AND AWAY FROM GRACE!
B It is foolishness to try and get what you already have
1 They already had the Spirit of God
2 No need to “get it again”
a The Spirit of God is not given based on what you are doing.
b The Spirit of God is given based on what you believed.
Its like paying more for something than you previously negotiated. When was the last time you bought a car and said to the salesman – “Hey, you $20,000 is not enough for this fine machine, I think I should give you $22,000 for it!” If you bought a car like that, you would be on his list!
C It is foolish to deny the influence of the past
Charles Caleb Colton once said, “To look back to antiquity is one thing, to go back to it is another.”
1 Paul encourages the Galatians to consider Abraham.
a They were not!
2 Abraham’s righteousness was based on his faith in God.
a Abraham acted out of faith and was righteous
b Abraham was not righteous because he acted out of faith
c There was NO way Abraham could have kept the Law – IS WAS NOT EVEN WRITTEN YET!
3 Righteousness still comes the same way
IN THIS SENSE FOOLISHNESS CAN BE DEFINED AS ACTIVITY PRECEDING FAITH.
FAITH MUST ALWAYS PRECEDE OBEDIENCE IN ORDER TO BE A BIBLICAL FAITH!
We also needed the detour because of ….
II SPIRITUAL FOOLISHNESS – Galatians 3:10-12
A It is foolish to try to earn our salvation through works.
1 We must do it all right all the time
2 The fact that we are incapable of doing right all the time destines us to hell.
B To live “biblically” by “doing” is also spiritually foolish
1 Works based Christian living is only a good coating
2 To be justified in the sight of God is to be freed
3 God will never view us free apart from faith
a Faith freed us to attain the Christian life
b Faith freed us to maintain the Christian life
C His curse for our foolishness
1 No one makes it living by doing
a All are under the curse – vs. 11
2 Everybody fails by doing
D Christ became our curse
1 Cursed for me personally
2 Cursed for all people
Finally, we see the results of our detour in that
III CHRIST WAS CURSED FOR MY REDEMPTION – Galatians 3:13-14
A The reason Christ redeemed me (by going to the cross)
1 I needed to be liberated from sin if I was ever to get to heaven
2 I did not have the ability to liberate myself
3 God desired to do for me what I could not do for myself.
John 3:16 "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.
B The product of my redemption
1 I have been redeemed out of sin
2 I have been redeemed into heaven
C The benefit of my redemption
1 I have a divine nature
2 Peter 1:4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
2 I have a new birth
John 3:3-6 In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
4"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!"
5Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.
3 I am a new creature
2 Cor. 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
4 I am a new man
Ephes. 4:24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Pausing for just a moment to think, that apart from the work of Christ on the cross, each of us would still be on a freeway destined for eternal punishment in hell.
It was only the cross that provided the means for our detour – our redemption.
As we continue heading towards resurrection Sunday 2004, let us not forget that it was the defining work of God on our behalf which allows us to receive all of the benefits represented in the empty tomb!
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