First Baptist Church of Minneola
FBC October 27, 2019
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        Kairos Weekend

        October 24, 2019 - 12:00 PM - October 27, 2019 - 12:00 PM
        Kairos meets at FBC Minneola and uses the location as their landing pad. They meet, eat, pray, and then visit with inmates at the Lake County Correctional Prison to share faith and worship with people.
  • We’ve worked through Galatians and along the way wrestled with what it looks like to live a gospel-rooted life. In today’s passage we will zoom in on what a Christian life, one focused on the gospel, exactly what that means. Paul presents a wonderful picture of a Jesus-connected life.
    We’ve noted Peter’s hypocrisy in Antioch which landed him strong rebuke by Paul. At the same time, Paul addressed the Galatian problem of turning from the true gospel to one that is no gospel at all.
    We noted last week’s passage was a continuation of Peter’s rebuke and, at the same time, an opportunity for Paul to speak on justification.
    In our passage this morning, Paul brings a positive message; he describes a well-lived Christian life.
    To get us started, we might consider Paul’s own words:
    Galatians 2:20 NASB95PARA
    I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
    In the center of the Christian life is the idea of being crucified with Christ. The book of Galatians is saturated with references to the crucifixion. There are easily 13 references within the short confines of this letter.
    Galatians is firmly anchored on the truth, the factuality, of the death of Jesus on the cross. Jesus is the number one example of suffering and persecution. Paul notes his suffering and persecution while all along pointing to Jesus’ most excellent example, of the type of suffering and what all Christians must consider in order to be a true follower of Jesus.
    When you place the suffering of Jesus before, anticipate your own possibility to suffer for the sake of others, you willingly pick up your cross to imitate Jesus. If the gospel message is truly in your heart, God will not allow you to conform to the pattern of this world, but will transform you into the likeness of Jesus:
    Romans 12:2 NASB95PARA
    And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
    What does this mean?
    Your life will increasingly become known for selfless giving of yourself and everything at your disposal for the sake of others.
    Your life will transform in to a gorgeous gospel garden blessing all who enter.
    TRANS - Let’s begin with vv.17-18.
    Galatians 2:17–18 NASB95PARA
    But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be! For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor.
    PRAY

    Christ is no minister of sin.

    Catch that, “is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be!”
    Paul pursues sharing the gospel while all along keeping the cross of Jesus first, foremost, and center in his life. Paul is concerned with telling the Gentiles the great good news about Jesus. But catch this, in order to tell folks about the gospel, Paul knows he must live among them and build relationships with them.
    Recall how Paul put this over in the book of 1 Corinthians:
    1 Corinthians 9:21 NASB95PARA
    to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law.
    Another way to say that: eat, play, and share in life with others in order to share the gospel with them.
    There is something else happening here. Paul is making the Jews mad. Some of the Jews even dare say Paul is going too far. They say Paul is hanging with Gentiles and starting to act like them. They build on their own line of thinking to conclude that makes Jesus, Pauls messiah, an accomplice to sin.
    You know Paul, like Jesus, had to put up with this sort of treatment from the pious one on a regular basis. Look again at v.17:
    Galatians 2:17 NASB95PARA
    But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be!
    You know what is interesting, Paul doesn’t recoil like Peter nor does he try to defend what he is doing. Instead, Paul, loudly I imagine, denies that his behavior makes Jesus a servant of sin. Look again at v.18:
    Galatians 2:18 NASB95PARA
    For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor.
    The only way Paul goes backward, goes against God, is if he does what Peter had done in Antioch. If Paul were to stop ministering among the Gentiles he would started up again what Jesus stoped. He would rebuild the wall that divides the Jew from the Gentile the “dividing wall of hostility” as noted in Ep. 2:14. Contrary to what the Jews claim, Paul in not violating the Law of God; he is magnifying it among the Gentiles (v.21).
    TRANS - Let’s now turn our attention to vv.19-21a
    Galatians 2:19–21 NASB95PARA
    For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”

    Ministry has a cost.

    Paul knows the Jews could label him a sinner. He knows the price he pays to do his ministry. His ministry to the Gentiles leaves him open to an attack by the Jews. They simply need say he claims to be a faithful Jew, but is a sinner with the Gentiles.
    Paul was open to attack and could be punished if labeled in violation of the Law. That is why he’d visit a synagogue only to be flogged based on charges raised by the Jews. Recall Paul’s word to the Corinthians:
    2 Corinthians 11:24–25 NASB95PARA
    Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep.
    Makes it a bit hard for us to complain about being mildly inconvenienced when serving Jesus.
    Look again at v.19. Note how Paul speaks about being marked by death:
    Galatians 2:19 NASB95PARA
    For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God.
    Paul has to pay a big price to do ministry.
    The price may be his own life. But note this, the Law, the Jews, the fear, none of that had the hold on Paul’s life. Paul remained true to Jesus and no longer feared other people. Unlike Peter who withdrew at the mention of the Jews showing up, Paul stood his ground and proved his faith genuine.
    Paul lived a life of firm conviction as we note in v.20:
    Galatians 2:20 NASB95PARA
    I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
    Paul lives a life as one crucified with Christ. On trial, charged falsely, and like Jesus punished as a transgressor. Paul reminds us the student is not above his teacher or a servant above his master.
    The cross bearing, Christ-centered, price paying life is intended for every Jesus follower. Don’t be surprised if you suffer a little. The is a price to pay for your ministry. You are unlikely to see the gospel advance through your life unless you come to terms with the cost you must pay. You must be conformed to the life of knowing you are crucified with Christ.
    God works though people who are crucified with Christ. It is this sort of life that grows the flowers of the gospel garden. It was God who raised up Howell Harris, George Whitefield, John Wesley, Billy Graham, and Adrian Rodgers. These men died to Christ in order to life for Him.
    How is your gospel garden. Is it alive with blooms or a field of dead flowers? You can chose to restore it to life, keep it green and blooming, or let it dry up and die.
    TRANS- Let’s move to our next point and consider what living for Jesus looks like in the this garden.
    First, look with me, if you will, at our last two verses vv.20b-21
    Galatians 2:20–21 NASB95PARA
    I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”

    Living the Resurrection Life

    Last week we discussed how we place our faith in Jesus’ faithfulness. We noted Paul’s literary pattern of building up, one thing upon another. We noted the Bible’s treatment of justification through faith. Jesus took all sin to the cross and our part is to trust in what He did, His faithfulness to obey God, and that makes our lives sooo much better.
    Once we are dead to sin and alive in Christ, we have new lives. We get to live the “Resurrection Life.” This is how Paul stands unafraid before the crowds. This is why Paul in not intimidated by the opinions or what others say. Paul is not consumed with what others think; their approval or disapproval does not prevent Paul from sharing the gospel.
    When comes to the Law:
    Paul is not afraid because he knows that Jesus endured the curse of the Law when He was on the cross.
    We’ll discuss that more when we get to chapter three. For now consider Gal. 3:13:
    Galatians 3:13 NASB95PARA
    Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”—
    Christ was both banished from God and recieved vindication from God; He took our punishment and recieved approval because He is righteous.
    Paul got what Jesus did on the cross. That is why Paul tells us it does not stop at death. Paul goes on to describe the resurrection; the reason for why he lives as he does. Look again at v.20:
    Galatians 2:20 NASB95PARA
    I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
    Like Jesus, Paul is tired, executed, raised, and lives to honor God. Paul’s life bears the mark of the cross and is sustained by the power of the resurrection.
    You should know that a gospel-rooted life puts the cross first; before the person’s own self-interests. The gospel-rooted person is constantly crucifying, dying to sin. No true Christian experience comes without living a sacrificial life that involves some suffering. We must die in order to live. Unless we do that, there is no gospel in our lives.
    Don’t stop there. Take assurance in the rest of what the gospel offers; resurrection life. Once dead to sin and alive in Christ, Jesus’ life takes over:
    Romans 6:11 NASB95PARA
    Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
    We die to the world and live to God. We live for God, the same one who raised Jesus from the grave. It is God who raises up those who live to serve Him.
    All this is why we can only approach this life in faith. Not living by faith, then you are not pleasing God. Without the cross and a gospel-rooted lifestyle, there are no marks of a new life. New life is not some obscure thing. It is an obvious transformation, a translation, a brand new way of being that bears fruit. Faith lives for the one who “loves me and gave Himself for me.”

    Conclusion

    We see how the Paul grew his gorgeous gospel garden. To use the words of the classing children’s poem, “Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow? In what condition is your gospel garden?
    Are the weeds of sin wondering?
    Is it costing you time and/or money to continue?
    Is your garden full with beautiful blooms of a resurrection life?
    As people see you are, do they see the cross? Gospel-centered living does not conform to the pattern of the world, but to the cross of Jesus.
    Our call is to the cross and discipleship in step with the truth of the gospel:
    Luke 9:23 NASB95PARA
    And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.
    If you want others to see Jesus, think what it is that you can sacrifice for their good.
    Live your life, surrendered to the cross, gospel-centered, and see that gorgeous gospel garden grow.
    (end)
    ​

      • Galatians 2:20NASB95

      • Romans 12:2NASB95

      • Galatians 2:17–18NASB95

      • 1 Corinthians 9:21NASB95

      • Galatians 2:17NASB95

      • Galatians 2:18NASB95

      • Galatians 2:19–21NASB95

      • 2 Corinthians 11:24–25NASB95

      • Galatians 2:19NASB95

      • Galatians 2:20NASB95

      • Galatians 2:20–21NASB95

      • Galatians 3:13NASB95

      • Galatians 2:20NASB95

      • Romans 6:11NASB95

      • Luke 9:23NASB95

  • My Jesus I Love Thee

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