“DID CHRIST DIE FOR NOTHING?” Gal. 2:21-3:14
INTRO – Did Christ die for nothing? Of course, we know the answer to that question is a resounding, “NO!” He had to die. Scriptures clearly teach us this truth:
- “When we were utterly helpless, X came at just the right time and died for us sinners.” (Rom. 5:6 NLT)
- “I passed on to you what was most important…that X died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.” (1 Cor. 15:3 NLT)
- “Since we believe that X died for everyone, we also believe that we have all died to the old life we used to live.” (2 Cor. 5:14 NLT)
- “[X] died for us so that we can live w/ Him forever…” (1 Thess. 5:10 NLT)
- “…X died to set them free from the penalty of sins they had committed under the first covenant.” (Heb. 9:15 NLT)
- “X also suffered when He died for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but He died for sinners that He might bring us safely home to G…” (1 Pet. 3:18 NLT)
So why would P ask this question? He wants to make it absolutely clear that there is absolutely no other way that a person can be saved except through a faith relationship w/ X. Jesus Himself said, “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.” (Jn. 10:9 NIV)
- The Law cannot save.
- Keeping rules and regulations cannot save.
- Good works cannot save.
- Religion cannot save.
- No system of beliefs apart from a personal rel. w/ Jesus X and Him alone.
P said, “I do not set aside the grace of G.” KJV says it this way: “I do not frustrate the grace of G.” Word for “frustrate” means to void, invalidate, make ineffective, nullify.
- We void G’s grace – the undeserved gift of eternal life through His Son – when we try to be made righteous in any other way other than through faith in X and His atoning death on the cross.
- It is as if G’s grace does not exist any longer.
- It is as if G’s grace has been destroyed.
- It is as if G’s grace does not work any longer.
- It is as if G’s grace was not worth the sacrifice that He made.
But G’s grace DOES exist! It DOES work! It has not been voided. It has not been destroyed! It was worth the sacrifice! You and I are living testimonies to the power of G’s grace. His grace has changed us forever, and our lives should be a testimony of His saving, life-changing grace. We should show the power of our changed lives. His grace has made it possible for us to live a crucified life. His grace has given us the tremendous freedom to live the crucified life.
- We have been saved by His grace.
- We have been justified by His grace. Remember: “Just if I’d never sinned.”
o Wiersbe: “Just think: the righteousness of X has been credited to our account! G has not only DECLARED that we are righteous in X, but He deals w/ us as though we had never sinned at all! We need never fear judgment b/c our sins have already been judged in X on the cross.” (p. 696)
o Rom. 8:1 – “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in X Jesus.”
- We live by His grace.
o Brennan Manning – “Though lip service is paid to the gospel of grace, many Xns live as if it is ONLY personal discipline and self-denial that will mold the perfect me. The emphasis is on what I do rather that what G is doing. In this curious process, G is a benign old spectator in the bleachers who cheers when I show up for my morning QT…Our huffing and puffing to impress G, our scrambling for brownie points, our thrashing about trying to fix ourselves while hiding our pettiness and wallowing in guilt are nauseating to G and are a flat denial of the gospel of grace.” (The Ragamuffin Gospel, pg. 15-16)
- G saved us. We did not save ourselves. X died for nothing if we could save ourselves.
- G will keep us saved. We cannot keep ourselves saved. X died for nothing is we could keep ourselves saved.
- G will empower us to live for Him. We do not have the power on our own to live for Him. X died for nothing is we had the power on our own to live for G.
- G will fix us when we are broken. We cannot fix ourselves.
Reminds me of the story of the overly eager young man who had just received his plumber’s license and was taken to see Niagara Falls. Studied it for a minute, then said, “I think I can fix it.” X died for nothing if we think we can fix ourselves apart from Him.
So we go back to the original question: Did X die for nothing?
I. X DIED FOR NOTHING IF WE CLOSE OUR EYES TO HIS DEATH ON THE CROSS – 3:1
A. Advertising is big business. TV, radio, print, internet – all sorts of mediums for advertising.
i. One creative form of advertising that most of us have seen are the photos of lost and missing children on milk cartons.
ii. Church sign in AL – “Is your face on G’s milk carton?”
B. We even do a sort of advertising here within the church.
i. When you came in the building this morning, upcoming PK conference was advertised on posters at every entrance.
ii. Our evening service time change advertised.
iii. Bulletin boards throughout the bldg. used to advertise children’s events, youth events, VBS, missionary needs, and other important items.
C. What P is saying in this verse is that the death of X on the cross has been advertised right before our very eyes.
i. Barclay’s translation of v. 1 – “You before whose very eyes JC was placarded upon His cross.”
1. His crucifixion has been displayed right before us like an advertisement on a bulletin board.
ii. Gk. word for “placarded” means to “post a notice.”
1. In NT times, the word was used to describe what a father did when he proclaimed publicly that he would no longer be responsible for his son’s debts.
2. The message of the cross that has been posted on the bulletin boards of our hearts is not that our Father will no longer be responsible for our debts. Rather, the message is that through the crucifixion of His only begotten Son – His one and only, one of a kind Son – He has paid our debts.
a. Our overdue sin account was stamped “PAID IN FULL” through the death of X on the cross.
b. “Jesus paid it all. All to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow.”
D. When we close our eyes to the cross, either by rejecting X as our Savior, or by living our lives as if He is not our Lord, we become “foolish” like the Galatians.
i. We become lazy and careless.
1. Gk. word for “foolish” carries the idea of mental laziness or carelessness.
ii. We become idiots.
1. J.B. Phillips translation – “O you dear idiot Galatians!”
iii. We become stupid.
1. NEB – “You stupid Galatians!”
E. Those may sound like strong words, almost to the point of being offensive. But the truth is that it IS idiotic – it IS sheer stupidity – for Jesus to die on the cross for our sins – the most incredible act of love and grace that the world has ever known or seen – and for us to then go on living our lives in sin and rebellion!
i. You know, sometimes you just have to cut straight to the hard truth and say, “How can you be so careless, so stupid, so idiotic? Jesus loved you so much that He gave His life for you, and you just keep on rejecting Him, keep on rebelling against Him, keep on sinning?”
1. Most of the time you are saying that to yourself!
ii. Like he was holding a big sign on a picket line, P was holding high the wonderful good news of the cross of X right before the Galatians’ eyes. And some of them were foolishly and stupidly rejecting the Good News of G’s grace alone for a distorted gospel of “grace + works.”
1. Truth is that it is “grace + nothing = eternal life.” It is “the cross + nothing = eternal life.”
2. X died for nothing if we close our eyes to the cross.
II. X DIED FOR NOTHING IS WE KEEP THE GOSPEL TO OURSELVES.
A. P was in a battle. He was out to prove that salvation is by grace alone, and not by the works of the Law.
i. His opponents? The Judaizers.
1. Distorting the Gospel message.
a. Said P was perverting the truth.
b. Said P was a traitor to the Jewish faith.
c. Said P compromised and watered down his message for the Gentiles.
d. Said P was disregarding the law of Moses.
2. They had used every possible means to try to capture the churches of Galatia.
a. They had “bewitched” the Galatians.
b. Word means to charm or fascinate in a misleading way, as by flattery, false promises, or occultic power. Feelings are more important that facts. Emotions are more important than a clear understanding of the truth.
B. P’s main weapon in this battle w/ the false teachings of the Judaizers was the truth of the Gospel message.
i. It was the truth of the cross that was his main weapon.
ii. It was the truth of Jesus that was his main weapon.
iii. And he proclaimed the message of the cross every chance he had.
C. Over the last few months, the Iraqi military has discovered the power of one of our military’s main weapons, the M1A1 and M1A2 Abrams main battle tank.
i. Awesome technology.
ii. Awesome firepower.
iii. Awesome destructive capability.
iv. “Military Analysis Network” website:
a. “The M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank (MBT) is the namesake of the late General Creighton W. Abrams, former Army Chief of Staff and commander of the 37th Armored Battalion. It is the backbone of the armored forces of the United States military, and several of US allies as well. The purpose of this vehicle is to provide mobile firepower for armored formations of sufficient capability to successfully close with and destroy any opposing armored fighting vehicle in the world, while providing protection for it’s crew in any conceivable combat environment. It is capable of engaging the enemy in any weather, day or night on the multi-dimensional, non-linear battlefield using its firepower, manuever, and shock effect.” (www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/land/M1.htm)
v. Has the power and capability to fire off round after round of high explosive shells from its 120mm main gun that can destroy anything in its path. Can do it at high speeds. Can do it at great distances.
vi. In the hands of its capable, trained, and motivated 4-man crew, the Abrams is a powerful weapon, one of the most powerful in the world.
D. Our main weapon in the battle against the false teachings and false religions of our day is the truth of the cross of X.
i. It’s our main weapon against worldliness.
ii. …against secularism.
iii. …against moral relativism.
iv. …against the false teachings of the Mormons and the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
v. …against any religion or belief system that teaches that there is any other way to obtain eternal life other than the cross of X.
E. And like the Abrams tank crew, we must be capable, trained, and motivated, ready to share the truth of the Gospel at every opportunity.
i. X died for nothing if we keep our mouths closed.
ii. …if we don’t commit ourselves to the study of G’s Word so we will be capable, trained, and motivated.
iii. …if we don’t allow our hearts to be broken for those who are lost, blinded, deceived, and trapped by our enemy.
iv. …if we keep this wonderful, life-changing Gospel to ourselves.
III. X DIED FOR NOTHING IF WE LIVE LIKE UNREDEEMED PEOPLE – 3:11-14
A. Listen to these biblical facts:
i. X redeemed us.
1. Wd. for “redeemed” was a word that was commonly used of buying a slave’s freedom.
2. By His death on the cross, Jesus bought our freedom and gave it to us as a free gift.
ii. X gave us the Holy Spirit – 3:2-5
1. The moment we “believed what we heard,” we received His Spirit.
iii. The Spirit works in us to empower us to live a redeemed life.
1. “Men are redeemed in order to exhibit G’s majestic being before all creation. His supreme purpose is to demonstrate His glorious grace against the backdrop of man’s sinfulness, lostness, and hopelessness.” (MacArthur, pg. 79)
2. The HS is our power to live that redeemed life that exhibit’s G’s majestic being; that demonstrates G’s glorious grace.
B. But how often do we ignore the incredible gift of our redemption and live like we are unredeemed?
i. How often do we ignore the conviction of the HS that is w/in us?
ii. How often do we ignore the Spirit’s power to live a life that shows that we are redeemed?
iii. We sing, “I have a witness bright and clear, since I have been redeemed. Dispelling every doubt and fear, since I have been redeemed.”
1. But is it true?
2. Do we truly “glory in our Savior’s name”?
