“LIVING THE CRUCIFIED LIFE” Gal. 2
INTRO – Memorial Day is a time of remembrance of those who gave their lives in the service of our country, paying the ultimate price for what? Our freedom. Whether in the frozen forests of Europe, the windswept islands of the Pacific, the mountains of Korea, the sweltering jungles of Vietnam, or the deserts of Iraq, hundreds of thousands of men and women have fought against the enemies of freedom. Many of them died. And we owe a great debt of gratitude to them.
One author wrote about Memorial Day:
"These heroes are dead. They died for liberty-they died for us. They are at rest. They sleep in the land they made free, under the flag they rendered stainless, under the solemn pines, the sad hemlocks, the tearful willows, the embracing vines. They sleep beneath the shadow of the clouds, careless alike of sunshine or storm, each in the windowless palace of rest. Earth may run red with other wars-they are at peace. In the midst of the battles, in the roar of conflicts, they found the serenity of death." (website www.jeannepasero.com)
The book of Galatians shares something in common w/ these heroes. It is a book about freedom. In fact, it is often called the charter of Xn freedom. All throughout this powerful book, P proclaims the reality of our freedom in X – freedom from the law and the power of sin, and the freedom to serve our living Lord.
Written in about 49 AD, Galatians emphasizes 2 major doctrinal issues:
- Justification by faith in X
- Justification in X enables believers to serve G, others, and themselves with love in the Spirit.
Our justification by faith in X is the heart of the Gospel message. This powerful doctrine tells us of the completeness of X’s work on the cross. Our sin problem was dealt with completely on the cross. We can have perfect assurance of our sins being completely forgiven b/c of the cross. We are new creations b/c of the cross. This salvation is available to anyone b/c of the cross. When we believe that Jesus X died on the cross and place our faith in Him and Him alone for our salvation, we are declared justified in the eyes of G. Joe Shelton song: “Just if I’d never sinned.”
Our justification in X sets us free to serve G, others, and ourselves in the Spirit by love. Now that we have been pronounced justified by G, we are freed to be new creations that produce the fruit of the Spirit. This fruit enables us live as G desires for us to live, to be the people that G desires for us to be, and frees us from the powerful grip of sin. We are free to serve G w/out being encumbered by guilt b/c we’ve been justified. We are free to serve others b/c we have the fruit of the Spirit available to us.
P also emphasized some other important subjects:
Believers should love people even when they are caught in sin. Gentle, loving confrontation of a fallen brother or sister who has fallen into sin is done so that the Gospel can be defended.
Believers should seek diligently to understand the fundamental and foundational truths of the Gospel and the Xn life. P led out in this letter by defending major truths that centered on the worth of the crucifixion of X.
Believers should speak up vigorously for the truth. We need to be trained so that we will know what the truth is. We need to be studying so that we will know what the truth is. We need to be ready so that we will be able to speak up for the truth and against the false teachings that the world’s system is preaching every day.
In ch.1, we’ve already seen P’s personal testimony of the power of the changes that X brought to his life. We’ve seen his great concern that the message that will change a person’s life forever not be changed or altered in any way. He has come out swinging against those who would take the true Gospel message – “it is by grace you have been saved through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of G – not by works so that no one can boast” – and add to it the requirements of adherence to a set of rules and regulations that are burdensome and useless.
As we move into ch. 2, P continues his defense against the claims and attacks of the Judaizers, that group of false Xns who were attempting to add to the message of the Gospel by saying that the Gentiles who were being saved had to be circumcised and follow all the Jewish laws and customs in order to be saved. Basically, they were saying that any Gentile who wanted to be a Xn had to first become a Jew.
The foundation of P’s arguments against the Judaizers – in fact, the foundation for his entire life and ministry – was the foundation of the crucifixion of X. It was the foundation b/c in it:
- G showed His amazing grace – Man deserved death and hell, and still does. But in the cross, G showed His grace in an incredibly powerful way – at the expense of His own Son’s life. He gave all He could give so that we could have eternal life.
- G showed His amazing power – Man could not save himself, no matter how hard he tried, and we still can’t. But in the cross, G showed His power to save man, His power over Satan, His power over sin and death.
- G showed His amazing love – Man was an enemy of G, and still is. Man was a total rebel, and still is. Man was so depraved, so despicable, so determined to do things his own way. We are still so depraved, despicable, so determined to do things our own way. We are so unlovable. But in the cross, G showed us just how far He was willing to go to let us know that He loves us with an everlasting, unconditional, “furious” love.
In 2:20, P makes a statement like no one had ever made. He states that he has been crucified w/ X. What does that mean? Are we supposed to live a crucified life, too? If so, how do we do that?
I. TO BE CRUCIFIED W/ X MEANS THAT WE ARE NO LONGER CONDEMNED.
A. Right now, there are 68 people sitting on death row in the state of Ms.
i. 68 people who have been condemned to die for crimes they have committed.
ii. 68 people who will die unless through the appeals process they are granted a reprieve.
iii. 68 people who will die unless someone who is in an authority position pardons them and lets them live.
B. You and I were sitting on death row. The moment that we committed our first sin we were condemned to die. It was just as if we had broken every one of the 10 commandments and every other law, every other rule, every other regulation, and every other requirement that had been written in the Bible.
i. “Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” (James 2:10)
ii. We hear news reports of folks like Carlene Hagood.
1. She is a woman in CA who pushed her 89 yr-old wheelchair-bound mother onto a sidewalk, then got into her van, gunned the engine, jumped the curb, striking her mother and pushing her 25 feet across the lawn until she pinned her against a tree and killed her.
2. We think, “How terrible! She should get the death penalty! She should be condemned to die!”
C. As horrible as that crime is, you and I were criminals, too.
i. We were condemned to die for our sins, even if in our own eyes and estimation, they were not nearly as bad as murdering your own mother.
ii. We were guilty of breaking G’s law, which carries an automatic death penalty.
iii. We were dead in our trangressions and sins, living as children of the devil, bound for hell for all eternity.
D. But through the crucifixion of X on the cross, G looks at us as if we had died w/ X.
i. “You were dead b/c of your sins and b/c your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then G made you alive w/ X. He forgave ALL our sins. He canceled the record that contained the charges against us. He took it and destroyed it by nailing it to X’s cross. In this way, G disarmed the evil rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by His victory over them on the cross of X.” (Col. 2:13-15 NLT)
ii. Though we were on spiritual death row, the only Authority in the universe who could pardon us did so through the death of His own Son on the cross.
1. He forgave ALL our sins.
2. He canceled the record that contained the charges against us.
3. He destroyed the record by nailing it to the cross.
4. He gave us victory.
5. We are off death row.
6. We are no longer condemned.
7. We’ve been pardoned.
II. TO BE CRUCIFIED W/ X MEANS THAT WE ARE NOW FREE TO LIVE FOR HIM.
A. A person who has been pardoned and taken off death row would never want to go back there.
i. Would not want to lose the freedom that had been granted to them.
ii. Would want to be reformed so that they could live a useful life.
iii. Would want to show their gratitude to the one who had pardoned them.
B. You and I can never lose the salvation that has been given to us as a free gift.
i. After all, we couldn’t do anything to get ourselves off our spiritual death row.
ii. It was G who saved us. It was G who set us free. It was G who canceled our record of sin. And it is G who will keep us saved and free for all eternity.
iii. It’s all about Him and nothing about us.
C. Being crucified w/ X means that we are now free to live for Him.
i. Though we can never go back on death row, we should have a deep desire to live a transformed – not reformed – life for Him.
ii. We should have a deep desire to live for Him out of our deep gratitude to Him for what He has done to purchase our pardon and our freedom.
1. “The surpassing motive…for all spiritual devotion and obedience is gratitude to the sovereign, gracious Lord.” (MacArthur, pg. 60)
D. To live for X, we must daily die in order to live.
i. We must regularly crucify sinful desires that keep us from following Him.
1. “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, should your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life.” (Lk. 9:23-24 NLT)
2. We must daily crucify our pride.
3. We must daily crucify our own agendas.
4. We must daily crucify our lust.
5. We must daily crucify our unrighteous anger.
6. We must daily crucify our unforgiving spirit.
7. We must daily crucify our gossiping mouths.
8. We must daily crucify our greed.
9. We must daily crucify our pursuit of the world’s happiness.
10. We must daily crucify our sinful nature that seeks to rear its ugly head in our lives time and time again.
a. “Consider yourselves dead to sin and able to live for the glory of G through X Jesus. Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to its lustful desires. Do not let any part of your body become a tool of wickedness, to be used for sinning. Instead, give yourselves completely to G since you have been given new life. And use your body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of G. Sin is no longer your master, for you are no longer subject to the law, which enslaved you to sin. Instead, you are free by G’s grace.” (Rom. 6:11-14 NLT)
E. To live for X, we have His resurrection power available to us.
i. G doesn’t save us, pardon us, set us free, and then say; “Now go and do the best you can do in your own power and strength. You’re on your own now.”
ii. How ridiculous it is for us think that way!
1. It was the power of the crucifixion that saved us.
2. It is the power of the resurrection that empowers us to live for Him now.
a. “I pray that you will begin to understand the incredible greatness of His power for us who believe in Him. This is the same mighty power that raised X from the dead and seated Him in the place of honor at G’s right hand in the heavenly realms.” (Eph. 1:19-20 NLT)
3. It is G’s grace that saved us. It is G’s grace that empowers us to live for Him now.
a. “For the grace of G that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say, ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.” (Titus 2:11-12 NIV)
4. It is the faith that G gave us that saved us. It is the faith that G gives to us daily that empowers us to live for Him now.
5. We died w/ Him. He lives through us now as we daily crucify our sin and self and submit ourselves completely to Him.
CONCLUSION – Listen to these names:
- Army Spc. Edward Anguiano, of Los Fresnos, TX
- Marine Lance Cpl. Michael J. Williams, of Phoenix, AZ
- Marine Maj. Jay Thomas Aubin, of Waterville, ME
- Army Capt. James F. Adamouski, of Springfield, VA
- Army Spc. Donald Samuel Oaks, of Harborcreek, PA
- Army Pfc. Diego Fernando Rincon, of Conyers, GA
- Army Pfc. Lori Piestewa, of Tuba City, AZ
All of these have died in the name of freedom over the last few months in the deserts of Kuwait and Iraq. What an incredible sacrifice! Our hearts go out to their families on this Memorial Day weekend.
But listen to this name – Jesus Christ of Nazareth. He, too, died in the name of freedom:
- Our freedom from sin
- Our freedom to serve Him
- Our freedom to live for His glory and honor
May we live the crucified life so that we might live for Him!
(Song – “Crucified with Christ”)
