Transcript for:
Galatians 2:11,21 -Frustrated Grace- Pastor Rick Beaudry 2025-08-03

Galatians chapter two verse 11 through 21, and please stand with me as we read God's holy word together. Galatians chapter two, beginning with verse 11. But when Peter was come to Antioch, I was stood him to the face because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles, but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews disassembled likewise with him in so much that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, Gentiles and not as do the Jews, why compelest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? Who we who are Jews by nature and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law. For by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. But if while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners. Is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I thought for I through the law am dead to the law that I might, live under God. Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God, for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. Heavenly father, we thank you so much for the finished work of Jesus upon the cross of Calvary. As he said, it is finished. And Lord, I pray that we could move and walk and live in that finality, Lord, that the if any man be in Christ, he's a new creation. The old things are passed away. All things have become new. And Lord, that we have a fresh new start. Your mercies are new each morning. And Lord, we don't need to live according to the law. We don't need to live in the bondage of the world, the flesh, the devil, and the law condemning us. We're free. We thank you for that emancipation. We thank you for the liberty, the freedom that we have in Christ that, Lord, we we start out by faith, and we continue by grace through faith. So bless, Lord. Pour out your Holy Spirit and teach us this morning. Be our teacher. In Jesus' name, amen. Would you please be seated? Paul seeks to illustrate from an encounter that he had with Peter at Antioch that legalism and grace don't mix. You can't mix the two. So, in fact, Paul argues, has an argument, proves that the frustration, effect of legalism upon grace. You can frustrate grace. So, the Galatians were being seduced by the Judaizers, those coming down from the James gang. The guys in Jerusalem, the heady guys, they're coming down and they're hearing of this big revival taking place in Antioch. And, so James and the boys are a little insecure and, so they send some of their heavies down there. And when they send the heavies down there, Peter who's been there previously is is mixing it up and having some bacon. He's going to the oak table and bacon and all that good stuff and and eating like a gentile and everything's cool until some Jews roll into town. And when these Jews roll into town, these heavies from James, the James gang, all of a sudden Peter's, I better only eat with Jews because Jews by the law aren't supposed to eat with Gentiles. I'll be defiled and be unclean. And it was so bad that even Barnabas got sucked up into it. So the apostle Paul, he's mad. He's mad because there's huge confusion here, and, he does not want the church going back into Judaism, the system of the Mosaic Law, the 613 precepts of the Mosaic Law, and, the law in the New Testament, all the 10 commandments are in the New Testament, and we're commanded to, you know, keep these commandments, if you will. But it's a standard of life described as love. The only one that isn't in there is the fourth commandment of that of keeping the Sabbath day. And so you and I, we meet on the first day of the week as the church is meeting first day of the week. And, and the Sabbath, obligation, if you will, from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday for the Jews, if you go to Israel, many of them are still observing a a Sabbath. And if we get into Hebrews, we discover that Jesus is our Sabbath rest, that we're able to rest in him, and that's what God was communicating unto us. But if someone were to say, hey, the law is null and void. You know, we don't have to live according to law. Well, the law is a standard, but the system of the law is null and void. We don't live according to the Mosaic system. But if I were to murder somebody, you know, if I were to lie, cheat, steal, then I'm violating one of the 10 commandments and really it's all summarized in love. Love is the fulfilling of the law. So it's not an external attempt to keep the 10 commandments. There's an internal work of the Holy Spirit where God's giving me a greater ability to love. And if I'm loving my my God, if I'm loving my neighbor, then I'm not gonna lie to him. I'm not gonna commit adultery. I'm not gonna murder. So you see there? So that's the that's the that's the other side of the fence where people say, yeah, we're not under the law. Well, then it can become an antianomianism which is anti law, which is licentiousness, every man doing that which is right in his own eyes. So we still have a parameter or a standard of behavior especially for unbelievers as Paul tells Timothy. That the unbelievers don't have that work in the Holy Spirit in their hearts and lives. So we need to chain them. We need to corral them and keep them in the boundaries in society that God has created. You know, he's created a marriage. He's created a family. He's created government. He's created these institutions along with a a Judeo Christian ethic that our culture is built upon where we'll know, what is right and what is wrong in addition to our conscience, in addition to the to God's prescribed word. And you and I haven't even so we say, oh, I'm under grace. I can do it. No. You have an even greater responsibility than the unbeliever to do what's right because you have the help of the Holy Spirit. And so, this is where they're at. The the Galatian church is being not brought under the system of the Mosaic system of the law, which has already been null and void, rendered null and void, not in not in, force anymore to condemn a person. A person shouldn't be implementing or utilizing the Mosaic law to try and be righteous, to be justified, to get to heaven, to get even for sanctification to make yourself even holy or not. So, Paul is saying you frustrate the grace of God. We're under grace. And so you're nullifying. You're frustrating the grace of God. So three ways legalism frustrates grace. Number one, inconsistent behavior. When you're living this way, now you're a hypocrite. Now you're like the Pharisees. Now you're playing games. Your emphasis is upon the externals of the law and you're trying to make everybody think that that you're really close to Jesus and getting closer to Jesus. And now you're comparing yourself to other people of how much of the law they keep and how much they don't keep and, you know, you're you're pretty much in there real real tight with God because look, he's prospered you and you're healthy, wealthy and wise and all these things. Well, what do you attribute to? Well, I just read more of the Bible than anybody else. I pray more than anybody else. I witness more than anybody else. I give more than anybody else. It's all you, isn't it? And so there's an inconsistent behavior here that of hypocrisy. And Jesus exposes those Pharisees, man. He says, you guys are white walled sepulchers. You take the whitewash and wash the outside, but inside of you are you're filled of dead men's bones, you know. Hypocrites, you know. And, you brood of vipers, you know. Who's gonna save you from the condemnation or the wrath of hell, you serpent, you brood of vipers and all? So he really challenged them in Matthew 23 and, just really rebuked them for their hypocrisy, emphasis upon the outward, keeping of the law. And so he says verse 11, but when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face. So he gets in his face. So conflict resolution. How do we resolve conflict in the church? Number one, Matthew 18, go to him privately. Go by yourself. Well, Peter's too heavy, man. People are getting healed just from Peter's shadow. You know, I really wanna go mix it up with Peter. I'm just puny little Paul. Well, Paul wasn't gonna have it at all. He knew what was at stake. He knew that the gentile believers need to sense that that same access to Jesus as the Jews thought they had, you know, and, that they this freedom they were enjoying of knowing that their sins are forgiven and all. And what? Now we gotta go be circumcised? Now we gotta become proselytes? Now we gotta be a sect, you know, of Judaism? You know, there's no way. So Peter Peter is caught up in this and and Paul goes right to his face because he was to be blamed For before that certain came from James. Oh, James sent down some heavies. And he did eat with the gentiles. But when they were come come, he withdrew and separated himself fearing them which were of the circumcision. So Peter, think of this. James is the brother of our Lord Jesus. He's not one of the 12. He wasn't there. He didn't believe in Jesus until after the resurrection. But James is heavy. He's got a lot of authority. What was it that Peter was afraid of? What is it Peter? What happened? I thought I thought that timidity that you had where the Lord said that you're gonna deny that you know me on three different occasions. And before the cock crows, Peter, that that fear there you you mean to tell me you have that fear once again? The fear of pleasing James? What what authority does he have? What is it he's doing that makes you so afraid? Aren't you free? I I mean, Peter, do you remember the night that you were warming yourself by the fire, you know, with the and they they said, your Galilean your Galilean, you know, speech betrays you. Oh, I know not the man. He began to curse in the whole thing, you know. So Peter, for some reason, the fear of man's a snare and he's fearing James. He's fearing these Jews coming down. Now Peter went as far as the house of Cornelius in Acts 10 and saw God, you know, don't call that which is clean unclean. You know, the Lord showed him. And, Peter's definitely should know that the Gentiles are gonna receive salvation the same as us. And in chapter 15, you remember we saw last week where Peter chimed in when they had the the, meeting there, among the elders, you know, that, why put a burden upon them that neither we nor our father were able to bear and they came up with a means of fellowship that they'd stay away from things, bloody and strangled and fornication and things like that, four different things. And, and that would be a means of fellowship where a gentile could fellowship with a Jew because of the Jews and and trying to eat something, you know, around the gentiles, the Jew would be stumbled. He's the one weaker in his conscience if he saw a gentile eating something, some meat that was from a pagan temple or that was improperly prepared and that it was strangled and and not bled properly. And, and also the fornication that the gentiles were involved in was really stumbling the Jews as if the Jews didn't do the same thing, you know. But, but in any event, that's what they came up in acts 15. But to be circumcised, to hold to the six thirteen precepts of the Mosaic law, no, we're not gonna impose that upon anybody because neither we nor our fathers were able to bear that. So it's by grace through faith alone, but somehow, Peter I don't know who these guys were, what they were gonna say back to back to James, but, you know, James had heard some really good things going on in Antioch, and, hey, we got the upper edge. We're the we're the true church in Jerusalem. We need to go see if they're doing it right. And Paul's not gonna not gonna deal with it. But when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. So how are you gonna react when you have your social credit score and they're using fear tactics, mockery, intimidation, shutting your bank account off. You gotta wear that mask if you wanna go somewhere. You gotta, you know, we saw it. It's there and they wanna re bring this back. And so the fear of man is a snare. You need to embolden yourself that, hey, if you're doing what God's called you to do, you keep doing what God's called you to do. If a James gang comes or any kind of religious hierarchy ever tries to steal your liberty away, you know, take your freedom away, you gotta you gotta even on a lower level as American citizen protected by your God given inalienable rights, you don't give in. You just don't give in. And, you do what's right. Even if you have to stand alone, you do what's right. You don't wanna violate your conscience, and you don't want to wimp out when the Lord's asking you to stand by faith, to continue to stand in faith rather than fear. We can't allow fear. Peter's filled with fear, fearing them which were of the circumcision. Verse 13. And the others were the other Jews dissembled likewise with him. So it's not just Peter. There's other Jews there. Even Barnabas. So Barnabas is the one that invited Paul to Antioch. Barnabas is the one from Jerusalem in acts chapter five that sold some land on Cyprus. He's a Cypriot, a Levitical Jew, and, and he brought the proceeds to lay them at the disciples' feet. So Barnabas is working with the church in Jerusalem, but Barnabas hears what's coming up happening in Antioch. He goes down there to help out, and and then it's so prolific that he goes over to the area of Tarsus, grabs hold of Paul, because Paul's been ministering for fourteen years, you know, there in obscurity. And he and he brings him in that he could help with this, ministering discipleship under the under the new gentile believers. And now now Peter comes down. He's sent down to see what's happening. And Peter's, drawn in and he's disassembled. He's acting like a hypocrite. And Barnabas is sucked into it. He was also carried away with their dissimulation. That word dissimulation means hypocrisy. Barnabas began to act like a Jew once again and have nothing to do with Gentiles. Legalism leads to hypocritical behavior. Peter, Barnabas, they cowered. The legalists are phony pretenders. There was a time in John chapter 12 where Jesus visited in Bethany to the house of, Mary, Martha and, Lazarus. And when we're there, Mary had a spiritual insight, the Lord had spoken to her, that Jesus was gonna be crucified. And a lot of other people couldn't connect with that. They didn't understand this. And so she proved she proved what she believed by taking an alabaster box of perfume, which was very, very expensive. And she anointed, you know, the feet and the body of Jesus. And she knew it was happening. Jesus knew that she knew it was happening. But Judas is there and Judas was indignant. This ointment could have been sold for so It was very expensive ointment. Could have been sold for so much and we could have fed the poor. Judas didn't care about the poor. He's a hypocrite. Judas was the treasurer. He was just mad that he didn't get his hands on that money to steal the amount of money there. And that's what it looks like a lot of times when people are pious and self righteous and hypocritical. This could have been sold for 300p and given to the poor. Oh, I care about the poor. And then the commentary there is, no. Judas was a thief, we found out later. He's the one that betrayed Jesus, we found out later. So secretly coveting the money for himself, this pious religious, thief, if you will. And, there's another instance of this and with Gehazi in second Kings chapter five when Naaman the Syrian came and went dipped in the river Jordan seven times and came out clean white, no more leprosy and all. And, Naaman, the Syrian wanted to give the captain of the guard for, Syria, wanted to give unto Elisha some gifts to show his appreciation for this and and Elisha refused it. Said, no. Freely we receive. Freely we're gonna give, you know, you keep it and all. So they were going away with the chariots and then Gehazi and his covetousness, he runs up to the chariots and and Naaman the Syrian gets down from the chariot. What's up? What's up? You know? And, he says, hey, a couple guys from the school of the prophets came down from the upper area, and they need some silver. They need some, you know, some garments, some clothing and all. They're really poor. And so Naaman gets some, two talents of silver and clothing and all and has his servants carry it over. And where does Gehazi go? Kinda like Achan. He takes it and he hides it underneath his tent. Right? You remember Achan. He's Achan because he took some of the Babylonians garments and stuff from AI or excuse me from Jericho when when the walls went down. And, so in any event, when Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, came back to Elisha, Elisha says to him, hey, Gehazi, where have you been? What what are you what are you up to? And he's all neither here nor there. And he says, did not my heart go with you? I can see what you're doing, Gehazi. I can see it. You're acting all self righteous and pious right here, but I see what you're doing. And he said, is this a time? They're living in a time of apostasy. Do you know what time it is, gang? Do you know the time we're living in? Is this a time to build vineyards and have men servants and maid servants and so he could see the covetousness of what Gehazi was envisioning to do with these monies and stuff? Is this a time for that? And then he said, behold, the leprosy of Naaman the Syrian is gonna be upon you and upon your family in perpetuity. And Gehazi left there, a leper. And so, man, you getting called out by a prophet like that, watch out. So she said, you white washed sepulchers, you hypocrites, you clean the outside of the cup, you know, but inside you're filthy, you know. And, if the Lord were to let us see within the hearts of many of the evangelicals, you know, what's there in our hearts, the hearts of deceitfully wicked above all things, you know, desperately wicked, and who can know it? Would you want your heart revealed to everybody? And what's interesting is the Lord knows my heart, and he still loves me. There's a part of me, an old Rick Nature that's just so incredibly filthy. The only prescription for that heart is it's it's gonna have to die. And God gives me a new heart. Right? And when I move and operate in that new heart, that new creation in Christ Jesus, where Jesus is living through me, then I get the victory and the joy and the blessing, the empowerment to love and to overcome my old fleshly sinful covetous nature. And, there's no law that can do that for me. There's no law that I can pose that can make me a better Christian that has to be a work of God's spirit. Verse 14, but when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel do you see people walking not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel? I said unto Peter before them all, So first he did it privately, Matthew 18. Then you go and you take a witness. Well, my witness believed with Peter. Barnabas went with him. So now I'm a have to do it publicly because Peter did this public. So now according to Matthew 18, you make it more public so that others can hear and fear because you don't want this thing. Once it once it comes into your church, into your fellowship, it can be like a little thing at first, and then it starts to spread. And you beg the people, please don't do this privately. You're begging them privately as a pastor. Please don't do this. Please don't go there. No, I don't want this in the fellowship. And here's why. And you explain to them biblically, why not? They persist anyway. And now it's spreading. What's the pastor to do? At a certain point, he's gonna have to make it public because he needs to warn everybody that a little leaven is gonna leaven the whole lump. But if a person would cooperate with you in the beginning, we can nip this in a bud on a Saturday and not have to deal with it for the next two, three months. Right? And so it's it's he's gonna deal with it publicly. And I don't like going the public part, being the heavy. I'd much rather do the private part and and, whew, we dodged a bullet, man, because inevitably, there's gonna be people that we lose in the fellowship because they believe the lie no matter how much we try to explain it. Because now they're gonna say, Pastor Rick's mean. He's mean. Well, how do you think Paul's talking to Peter? Do you think he's saying, hi, Peter. I've got a suggestion. You know, but that's how these fairies prance around. Like somehow, that's love. That's not love. You know? That was hard to do. I'm such a stud. Get that. And so Peter's getting it. And and, you know, you gotta love Peter because he humbles himself. Isn't that great that two brothers can disagree? And, Peter, I'm I'm Peter. Do you know who I am, man? You're nothing. You're Saul of Tarsus, man. He didn't throw that out of his face. Now tradition says, not the Bible, tradition says that Peter, when he would walk into a a village or a community, that the mockers were there. There's always gonna be mockers. They're gonna mock you. They're gonna mock you about prophecy and say, where is the promise of his coming? Everything continues as it always has. This rapture, I keep hearing about this rapture and the beast system and mark of the beast. No matter how much evidence you have, they're just gonna mock you. And Peter, he failed. He he denied the Lord three times on one night, and he had told Jesus, though everyone betrays you, not me, I'm Rocky, man. I'm gonna be there with you. I'm gonna take my sword. I'm gonna cut off Malchus's head. I'm here to the end. And Jesus puts the ear back on Malchus and said, Peter, you know, don't you know that I could call down 12 legions of angels if I want, you know? Peter, put your sword away. And, Peter later when the Lord appeared to Peter after the resurrection, Peter was still dejected because he he he denied the Lord on three occasions. Women made him afraid, Maidens at the where he's warming himself with the fire and and all. He totally went out. So what happened was that story stayed with him. When he'd go into a village, people would cock a doodle doo. They cock a doodle doo, and they'd remind him of his failures. Imagine that. So so he's on the one hand, the Lord's preparing him for greatness. How's he prepare him to empty him of his confidence in and of himself? And when he's emptied that confidence, now he can do all things through Christ who strengthens him. Right? That's why Paul said when we studied in two Corinthians 12 that, my grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength's perfected in weakness. So Paul had a physical infirmity that the Lord gave him as a gift so that Paul wouldn't be puffed up with pride with the great revelation, the great things God was showing the apostle Paul. I knew a man in the body, whether in the body or not, but caught up with the third heaven. You know, that that revelation was something that could really intoxicate a person. And man, you could get a lot sell a lot of books and movies and videos on that, you know, alone. You could make yourself really wealthy with those stories. But, Paul, saw it as, no, the greater thing that I'm gonna boast in is what I've been willing to suffer for the Lord's sake. The things that I've gone through that proves my character, that that proves that I love the Lord, that that, I'm willing to be beaten, I'm willing to be stoned and and keep at it, keep going at all. So here we have, you know, a a look at Peter that we didn't see before. And, and so he says to him, but when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, if you being a Jew Peter, you're a Jew. Yeah. If you live after the manner of the Gentiles, yeah, I had some bacon. Had some honey baked ham. Yeah. I like it. It's really good. I've never had pig before, but boy, they cook it right. It's really good. And not as do the Jews. Why compelest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? So don't frustrate the grace of God. Why do you want Gentiles living as do the Jews? And, when you saw the liberty that's ours in Christ that we're not under the Mosaic law anymore, and that God's looking at us as a, you know, male, female, barbarian, Scythian, bond, free that we all have the same access, whosoever will let him come. That Jesus didn't die just for the Jews. They may have the priority of the Jew first. They had the first chance, but they rejected their Messiah. But those that individually come to Jesus, like say, Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, Anna, Simeon, and the 12, and and the 120 that are in the room, and then thousands there at Pentecost. These are Jews and they believe in Jesus. Now what's forming, and Paul will teach us as we go into the book of Ephesians, he's teaching concerning this middle wall of partition that used to divide us as Jew and Gentile. It's knocked down. We don't have that middle wall of partition. This is a new entity. This is a new dispensation. This is the church. And this church is made up of Jew, Gentile, male, female, barbarian, Scythian, bond, or free. Made up of all of us. Does it mean that the Jew quits being a Jew? No, he's still a Jew. And if he wants to culturally observe the feast, the festivals, things like that, that's his liberty to do so. But he doesn't take that liberty and impose it upon a Gentile as obligatory, compulsory that you must, if you're a Christian, observe these things, you know. Nor is it, like we're seeing today, a means of greater spirituality. But, you know, I'm I'm hanging out with messianic Jews, and, you know, they, they're pretty heavy. And they've got a they've got a lot of, you know, hyper spiritual things I'm learning. I don't see that in the book of acts. I see just the church. I don't see even what we would call a messianic Jew. You get saved. You're a Christian. But your culture, culturally, yeah, but you don't impose it upon, you know, everybody else that this is this is the way to, mystical Judaism. And we're gonna incorporate all the the oral parts of the law and things that the rabbi saw and all that. Oh, we're gonna find things that nobody else saw in the Bible. You're going down a dangerous path when you do that. You just stay with the word of God. If Jesus wanted you to do that, he would he would have done that, you know? Just stay with the word of God. There's plenty here for you and I to learn. So don't frustrate the grace of God. And husbands, don't put your family under the law. I know you're the king of the house, king of the castle, you're the head, but really Christ is the head of your home. And, you know, one thing about being legalistic in your home, your kids know who you really are. When you impose this pious self righteous attitude and legalism, force, and cruelty, and, you know, obviously, we know we can't spare the rod, got a spank, got a discipline. But the key issue here is like Peter, model the Christian life. When you fail, confess your sin. Be real around your kids. They're gonna learn far more from you of how you live your Christian life than the law that you impose upon them. And, if you impose the law upon your family and you try to control them, you know, with the law without grace, without liberty, without freedom, the freedom to fail and still know you're loved, then the first chance they get as they get older, they're out of there. And they're they're feeling sequestered. They're feeling confined. Now, obviously, when they're real little, we gotta make sure they don't they don't hurt themselves. So the laws of pedagog are tutor while they're young. But, let me give you a for instance. If you don't like your kids using foul language, then you don't use foul language. That's one of the biggest hypocritical things in parents is, oh my gosh. You know what they said? Well, they hear that driving in the car with you every week. Live it. Don't impose upon them something that they're watching you violate. That's the law. You're putting them under the law and the Lord's exposing you. You know, if you do blow it, then say to me, I blew it. And you'll thank the Lord for the cross. Thank Jesus that he's forgiven us of these sins, you know. And, don't impose this this, hypocritical system upon them. And, if you've been through a divorce, you're free. Nobody can impose or condemn you about your past. It's over. There's no record of wrong. That's what we're gonna get into that in a minute here. That's what it means to be justified. So you don't keep bringing up wrongs. Love covers a multitude of sins. There's no record of wrong. That's condemnation. That's the law. So three ways legalism frustrates grace. One, inconsistent behavior. Number two, independent beliefs. Are you independent in your beliefs? 15. We who are Jews by nature and not sinners of the Gentiles, verse 16, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law. For by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. And so by the works of the flesh, both Jew and Gentile are justified by grace through faith alone. Works and faith are opposites. Now, when James says in James chapter two verse 20, faith without works is debt. What's he mean by that? When Paul says by the works of the law shall no play you know, person be justified. One is Paul's reference here, what he's speaking of, is working. Working to be justified. That you by working can have a just standard before God. What James says, James the heavy, he wrote the book of James. Right? Same guy we're talking about. James writes, faith without works is dead. He's really concerned that people would say they're saved and there's no proof. There's no Jesus would say you'll know them by their fruit. So when you hear James mentioned faith without works is dead, he said, alright, a person like in first John professes that they know God, professes that they're a Christian, where there should be the works of or the not working, but the fruit of, think about it, of repentance of a changed life. There should be the fruit of love that shows that this person's been transformed and changed, that they've experienced the conversion experience. Not that they're working. Faith without works is dead. So so like with Abraham, he would use an example where Abraham, you know, proved his faith by the way he reacted when God's saying, take your son, your only son, Isaac, to a mountain I'm gonna show you. Well, how do we know Abraham? He obeyed. He went there. No. He he trusted God that even when he raised the knife that God was gonna have to raise him from the dead we see in Hebrews 11. So the works are there. The proof is there. The fruit of his faith is easily seen. So Paul here saying by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. It's speaking of being like a, a Jew under the Mosaic law trying to work to gain a standing before God, to gain some righteousness before God. And, Paul saying, no, that's that's that's impossible. Works in faith in that regard are opposites, oxymorons as Kathy would say. So knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, so working speaks of what? Depending upon yourself. There's great pressure upon you to keep the 10 commandments. Great pressure upon you to keep the 613 precepts, to eat a certain way with certain people, to look a certain way, all the dietary restrictions and everything and Sabbath restrictions, all of it's upon you. And you're trying really hard to be a good, you know, Catholic. You're be trying really hard to be a good Jew or a Christian. And and so this dependence upon yourself to keep the law and gain a righteous standing before a just and a holy God. And so I blow up. What am I to do, priest? What am I to do? I'm in the cubicle and I'm confessing my sin. And he says, alright, Rick. Man, you know, you you went hard. You went hard, Rick. You went real hard. But, you know, I want you to go out there and say three Hail Marys and four our fathers and I want you to go out there and say these prayers and light a candle. It's works. It's a work system. They've got a formula for you, a formula for you to somehow get back in the groove again of acceptance before God, you know. So now you're out there, Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Bless you. I still got it down. I went to communion, you know. I made my first communion, but I never met Jesus. It never did a thing for me. Right? I I get those little wafers each week. Yeah. You know. And, never let me be an altar boy. I wish I could have been altar boy. There was a Christian band when I was first getting saved. They called themselves the altar boys. That was pretty cool. Pretty cool name. But, but in any event, we there's a whole system of working of do's and don'ts. And as we said last week, that's what Martin Luther stumbled upon before the great reformation as he as he realized, you know, he's working. And the Lord spoke to him as he's climbing the steps of the Sistine Chapel. The just shall live by faith, Martin. And Martin being a priest and a lawyer was very legalistic and wanted to be the best of the Catholics, maybe the next pope, you know. And, but the he was working and it was it was exhausting, huge burden. So that's why Peter said, why put a burden upon them that neither we nor our fathers were able to bear? Can't bear this burden. And that's why Jesus said, Matthew eleven twenty eight through 30, come unto me, not my formula, not my religion. Come into me all ye that labor and are heavy laden. What was he doing? He was showing that in Matthew five verse 20, except your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you'll know as enter the kingdom of God. So the people saw the Pharisees as experts on the external keeping of the law and Jesus exposed them by saying if you look upon a woman with lust in your heart, you're already guilty of adultery. You guys are the externals, but the law deals with the internals too. So if you're angry at your brother, you're already a murderer. So the intention of the law is to stop every mouth from boasting. People that try to do it themselves, stop their mouths. Stop them. So Jesus is stopping the Pharisees with painting this picture, their hypocrisy of being better than everybody else, and you gotta work at it harder than you know, as hard as I am. So in Luke chapter 18, Jesus wanted to illustrate this with a parable, and he said two men went up the temple to pray. One was and and the reason was because this person, saw himself as more righteous than other people and despised others. He saw himself as really righteous and despised others. And Jesus said, one was a Pharisee, one was a publican. The Pharisee prayed thus with himself. Praying with himself, he's it's not reaching God. He prayed thus with himself. We'll find out in the bottom verse why that is. But he says, I thank thee that I'm not like these other dregs. I'm paraphrasing. You know, I, I'm not unjust and I'm not an extortioner. And, I'm not even like this publican standing next to me here. I fast twice in a week, and I give tithes of all that I have. I'm better than everybody else, an independent means of keeping the law that somehow you think you're better, and you're always comparing with somebody else. And you know what's funny is when you're overweight, really overweight, why is it you feel good when you're around people that are even heavier than you? Wow, I'm pretty skinny. Look at that. You know? Always comparing. Comparing cars, comparing houses, comparing wives, all that stuff. Always comparing. Playing the playing the works trip, you know, that somehow we want to somehow be able to boast. And I'm a self made man. I independently did it myself. You know? Such boasting. Craziness. And people try to do that religiously, you know, in a religious system that I'm better. I gave more. I worked more. I donated more. I this, that, the other. No. God doesn't, God doesn't receive that. And so the publican standing next to him wouldn't so much as even lift up his eyes up to heaven, but smote his breast. He wouldn't even look up, but smote his breast and cried out, God be merciful to me a sinner. And Jesus said, this man, the publican the hated tax collector dude, this man went away justified just as if he never sinned. And Jesus gave the principle there. Whosoever exalts himself shall be abased, and whosoever humbles himself shall be exalted. So the true intention of the law is to stop your mouth, to show you your sin. You've sinned, come short of the glory of God. You can't get there. The Pharisee's boasting how great he is. He's not getting there. But the publican is because he's received the finished work of Jesus upon the cross. What must I do to be saved? The Philippian jailer said. Paul and Silas, believe. You and your whole household, believe is it. What's the works that we must do? In John six, this is the work that you believe on him whom he has sent. Salvation is by grace through faith alone, Ephesians two eight nine. So Paul is bringing home this point to Peter and to the others and to the churches of Galatia in the area there. And, don't be so independent in trying to do it yourself. Jesus already did it. It's already done. To tell us I paid in full, the work's done. There's no working. And so working speaks of dependent upon yourself to keep the law, to gain a righteous standing before a just and a holy God. Now, if we go to Isaiah, what does Isaiah the prophet say about our righteousness? You guys all know your righteousness is what filthy rags. The best day, the best day you've ever had is as filthy rags to God in comparison to the righteousness of his own son who kept the law, all 613 precepts. Now think about that James, his brother, the heavy, the James gang. Think of how Jesus lived in Nazareth as the carpenter's son. And James and Joses and he's got brothers and sisters all there. You know, think about Joseph, his father, and Mary. What's with this kid? You know, when he's 12 years old, he wanders off. He's lost. And he said, didn't you know I had to be about my father's business? Even in that, he didn't sin. You know? You can't find him doing anything wrong as a kid. How's how's that work? That'd be so strange, wouldn't it? So strange to be around somebody so perfect. You know? Now some of us guys may think we're like that, but again, you're fooling yourself, man. You're just, you're you're just no way. And so all six thirteen, he kept the law of the whole he was tempted in all points like we and yet without sin. Because he's just, he's holy. He's the last Adam. So God the Father is able to part his wrath upon his son, Jesus, upon the cross of Calvary as a substitute for you and I. So father, if you're willing, remove this cup from me, the cup of your wrath, but nevertheless, not as I will, but I will be done. If there's any other way to save these wretches, to save these people we love, these people that we made for the very, very purpose that they would know us, that we would love them and they would love us for all eternity. If there's any other way to redeem them, to pay for their sin, to make them right, let this cap cup pass from me. But nevertheless, not as I will, but thy will be done. And he prayed three times, sweating as there were great drops of blood, just in great agony. In Hebrews, there was strong crying in tears too. Agony. And we hear that agony in Psalm 22. We hear that agony in the gospels. My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from my roaring? Now, if you could be righteous by keeping the law, none of that would need to happen. Jesus wouldn't need to be scorched and crucified and the wrath of his father poured out upon him. If you and I could follow a system, a religious system that makes us whole, that makes us just, that makes us righteous, So by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. Not gonna happen. So why even try to reincorporate just even a small part of it? It's all null and void. That system as a standard of life, we're living out this life of holiness because of the power of the Holy Spirit described as love. Loving the Lord thy God with all of our heart, all our mind, all our soul, all our strength, and loving our neighbor as our cell. Love is the fulfillment of the law. And Jesus loved you and I to the uttermost. Right? Continue loving us. So no no working. There's great liberty. There's great freedom in this truth. And Paul doesn't want the church of Galatia to miss this, doesn't want Barnabas and and the heavies with James and Peter stumbling them that they think, oh, right. Now we gotta go out and be circumcised. Now we gotta join the church. We gotta give membership. We gotta we gotta tithe. We gotta this. We gotta that. We gotta fast. We gotta pray. We gotta all this list of do's and don'ts. When I got saved at Calvary Costa Mesa, it was so wonderful because there was not a nothing on the wall of do's and don'ts. There was nothing they passed out to me, do's and don'ts. They gave me a Bible and then they signed me up for a correspondence class. And so I'd read my Bible and I'd learn, and I'd send that in and they corrected or whatever and send it back to me. So they're discipling me by mail, but then I'm also attending church and I'm being discipled. I'm a I'm a I'm a learner now. And now I'm learning what it means to believe in Jesus. And I'm getting more and more excited because I'm free. And anytime the devil would try and condemn me and say, Rick, you're you're you're really not saved. You're a wretch. Look look at the thoughts you have. Look at your thought life. Look at what you've done in the past. Look at look at what you're doing now. I could hear the Holy Spirit say to me, and we're gonna get to this in a minute. Rick, you're dead. You're no longer living, Rick. You're dead. You're crucified with Christ. That's liberating. That old Rick's dead. It's Christ living through me now. So I can't let that devil, the accuser of the brethren, condemn me. If I'm in Romans seven, the things I wanna do, I don't do. The things I don't wanna do, I do. I'm I'm struggling in the flesh and the spirit war and trying to fight, trying to gain victory over the flesh and the spirit. Paul in the book of Galatians here, he's gonna bring us there in chapter five. If you walk in the spirit, you don't fulfill the lust of the flesh. Right? The works of the flesh are these, and he'll show you the works of the flesh. As James would say, faith without works is dead. But he'll show you the adverse parts of the works, the character, the terrible sinful things that we do as we yield to the dominance of the flesh in our life. We have a choice as Christians. We can allow the old fleshly nature to rule, or we can yield to the Holy Spirit, surrender the Holy Spirit, and allow the Holy Spirit to be dominant and rule in and through us. We're not there yet. We're pressing toward the mark, but we haven't apprehended. We're not there. We're not perfect yet. When we see Jesus face to face, then we'll be perfected. We'll know even as we are known. But presently, it's very, very humble humbling to be a human being, to be a Christian. Very humbling. Because we know better than anybody else as we draw near to Jesus, we know to an even greater degree, the closer we get to Jesus, what a greater sinner we are. The light that shines upon our lives exposes the darkness of who we are. If we live in darkness around dregs, around sinful people, like our old friends or whatever, then we feel pretty good. Man, I got a 2% body fat, man. I'm almost holy, you know. That's how the people look at it from the outward. It's like comparing the outward all the time. What about your heart? Man looks on the outward. God looks on the heart. What's your heart like? I was reading the book of Job this week. My dad, my brother Larry gave me my dad's Bible, and I've been enjoying, in the mornings, you know, reading from his Bible. And he's got an open Bible, and I've never had an open Bible. And these open Bibles, they've got, King James open Bible. They've got a lot of study helps and things. And I thought, you know, I wanna I wanna go back to the book of Job. I wanna read about my friend there, Job. And as I'm reading and and, studying, I began to follow the study notes and, all over the Bible with the study notes all over the place and comes back and there's one phrase that really stuck with me. And, as Satan is challenging God and saying, take away his stuff, take away his health, and he'll curse you to your face. And God's saying, go ahead. He's in your hand, but don't kill him. And God's proving proving that there are people out there that love him for who he is. And no matter what happens to him, they're gonna love him. They're gonna praise him. Naked came in the world. Naked, I'm gonna go. Lord, give the Lord, take away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this, Job sinned not with his lips. But here's what got me. When we're in trials, when we're experienced a time of suffering where God removes the hedge of protection, allows the devil to afflict us, the devil's hope is he wants to expose and bring the worst in you out. The worst of who you are out. Could be bitterness, anger, jealousy, envy, complaining, whining, whatever it might be. But God, at the same time, is wanting to bring the best of you out. God knows the best of you inside of you, who is forming you to be. And in those trials, he says, hey, Rick's ready for that trial. Watch this. He's not gonna quit. He's still gonna love me. And so Job's able to say, though he slay me yet will I trust in him. Job is able to say with faith, he knows the way that I take and when he strive him and come forth as gold. Job's like up and down like you and I as human beings, like Abraham and Sarah, lapses of faith, struggling with it all, and his his miserable comforters coming in there and trying to pernosticate and dial it in and explain what's happening, but they don't have a clue because they can't see behind the curtain. Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar. Who's the shortest man in the bible? Bildad the Shuhai. Right? And he wants a daysman. He wants someone to stand on the gap and represent him for a just and a holy god. He's pleading his case. I'm a good guy. You even bragged on me to the devil. Now he got all the why God questions. Can't go there. You're never gonna understand. And the closer Job gets to the Lord through the suffering, he comes to the conclusion I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes. He's a holy God. And as good as I thought I was, I'm not God. And God doesn't need to explain or ask for permission or to answer the questions why he's God. And we walk by faith and we trust in him. And the Lord is changed in us from glory to glory in the image of a son. And Jesus suffered more than any Job or any Paul or anybody ever. Jesus suffered more than any of us. And we see what came out of his heart. Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. He's the only perfect, perfect man. He's the God man, the son of man. And so this dependence upon yourself doesn't work. He says, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, faith means believing, complete dependence upon Jesus Christ. Legalism is independent belief system, a system of belief whereby man seeks to justify himself independent of God. Guys even make up their own religions. I'm the way, you know. Go this way. Go this way, Buddha. Go this way, Muhammad. Go this way, Confucius. Go this way, Joseph Smith. Here's a way. And Jesus has the audacity to say, I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. No man comes to the father but by me. That's a pretty bold statement. Destroy this temple. In three days, I'll raise it up proving I'm the only way. Why would you follow a pretender, an imposter? Why would you be independent and going a different way? Just follow Jesus. And so the very root of sin is independence saying, I can do it my way. I did it my way and I can make it into a song. I did it my way. How's that working for you, Frank? I can be his God. So the legalist remains in his sin, self deceived, pompous, self righteous, no rest from working, just working, working, working, trying to gain attaboys from the Lord. And salvation is freely given to those who depend upon God, trusting completely in his son who bore our sins upon the cross of Calvary. So where is boasting? There's no boasting. Our giving, our doing, our everything is an act of worship, Not work, but worship. We want to give back. We want to help. We want to do out of love. We're just so blown away that God would save us. Lord, what can I do? Here am I. Send me. In Isaiah six. And we have the blessing of finding where we fit within the body and we're not trying to gain brownie points or badges. We just want to bless Jesus and we want to bless his people. And we're connected with Jesus and it's an act of worship. We're worshiping and scribing worth. It's a heart of thanksgiving rather than boasting. We have no confidence in the flesh, only in the cross. That's the only place we can boast in the cross of Calvary. So three ways legalism frustrates grace. Number one, inconsistent behavior. How have you been inconsistent? Are you trusting or you trying? Are you are you opposer? Are you a hypocrite? Secondly, independent beliefs. Are you doing it on your own? Are you trying to make your own religion, your own way, go your own way, comparing yourself? You're not wise if you're comparing yourself with others. Thirdly, insufficient benefits. You're gonna die a pauper. Legalism can take everything from you. But walking by grace, there's great benefits. There's great blessings. He says verse 17, but if while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. So by embracing the law, you lose the benefit of God's forgiveness. You portray Jesus as the minister of sin, incapable of completely washing away your sins. Now I think this is a grave sin in the church today, the apostate church, where the gospel and Jesus are lived out or portrayed as being inadequate. Inadequate not only to save you, but to make you holy, to sanctify you. So now these problems you have as a Christian, the gospel is not powerful enough to transform and change you. You profess that you know him, but you're still a slave to sin. You're still a slave to the things that are holding you back. And you think, well, if I do these steps or I try harder or I do this or I go see this therapist, this doctor, this whatever. Well, does that mean Jesus is inadequate? Does that mean the gospel is inadequate? Does that mean that he can't take a drunk and make them sober? Does that mean he can't transform and change a person's heart? Is it so watered down, so lukewarm, so so bad that we've made a system out of it? We're imposing our own system and we're lacking the benefit of freedom, the benefit of victory, the vet the the the benefit of overcoming sin in our life. Am I still a slave to sin? Didn't did not God set me free from the tyranny and the bondage of sin? So now I need to go to a psychiatrist and have them analyze my mom, my dad, my upbringing, hugs, and drugs, and all that kind of stuff. Is really the gospel that inadequate? Are you saved or not? And so we read in second Peter one verse three, and I had to use this in my biblical counseling class because, the doctor that we had, he was presenting Christ as inadequate. And basically saying that we've learned a whole lot of things in two thousand years about the way the brain works and human behavior. So he's posturing himself saying, we're smarter than Jesus now. We we've got a better methodology to bring people to the place of making them whole. We incorporate the Christianity with what we've learned. We've got a better tool in the toolbox now. And I'm like, this is bogus. You're not doing this to me. You're not gonna cheapen my Jesus, cheapen what he's done for me. You're not gonna cheapen the gospel. I'm not told to go forth with your methodology, a whole new gospel and making people whole and sanctifying people. And so in second Peter one verse three, we're told that he's given us everything we need for life and godliness in those that get to know him. Just get to know him. Seek to get to know him in this love relationship, not working, but just getting to know him. In the reading of his word and prayer and supplication and worship and just get to know Jesus and watch how he brings healing to your marriage, healing to your soul. All those victimizations, all those things that you were a prisoner unto, they seem to just float away because the love is so much greater. His love is so much greater, and his healing so much greater. Why be a slave to the things of the world? For if I build again the things which I destroy, so now I'm gonna build it again. I'm saved, but now I'm gonna go back to the bondage I once was in. I make myself a transgressor. So you're rebuilding what was torn down negates the benefits of being debt free. You're debt free. All your sins have been paid for. The veil of the temple was written too. Are we gonna go over and try and sew it back together? We're gonna make a wall of partition where you don't have access to God in the Holy of Holies without doing these seven things? You're rebuilding that which was torn down. Why would you do that? Why would you impose that upon yourself? Why would you teach something like that? Well, we're just a little holier than everybody else. We're we we do the deep things of God, you hear these people say. Crazy. You guys are nut jobs. You were bankrupt. God forgave your debt. Now you want to reapply the debt, which speaks of transgressions, Debits against your account? The Lord blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was contrary to us and nailed it to the cross. All the charges against you were nailed to the cross. And Jesus died in your place. He paid for all those. Your salvation's past, present, and future. In the past tense, he saved you from all the past penalty of sin. There's no record of wrong. In the present tense, Romans six, he's given you the power to overcome sin. Sin shall not dominate you anymore. Salvation means deliverance and healing. He's delivered you and I from the power of sin to enslave us. So we're in Romans seven. Now we're in Romans eight. There's now therefore no condemnation of those who are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. The life of the spirit is superior to the life of the flesh. And we have access to be being filled with the Holy Spirit each and every day. The debts are gone. We're not gonna reapply the crazy debt that we once had. He says, verse 19, for through the law, for I through the law am dead to the law that I might live unto God. So the law condemned and killed me. Death frees me from the law. So you take this body, this guy that's dead, and you bring the corpse. You bring Hulk Hogan in there. He's a Christian. But you bring him in there into the courtroom of law. And certain people start to testify against him that he wronged them and he did this, he did that. You can't do that. He's dead. He's dead. It's over. He's not under the law anymore. Well, I'm still under the law. No? What happens if your spouse dies in your marriage? You're still bound by that marriage? No. The law is that marriage. And when that person died, the law died and you're free. And so the marriage is absolved at death. At death, the bound the binding of the law upon you. And then there's a laws of double jeopardy. You can never be brought by the devil back in to be accused by the devil to stand trial for sins that have already been paid for. That would be double jeopardy. But the devil's a liar and he keeps trying to impose upon you a works legalism, a legalism that condemns you. And you can hear your mom saying you'll never add up, hear your dad saying you'll never add up, hear your ex husband or wife saying you'll never add up. You hear these voices to all these people, but that's not the Holy Spirit. That's not God speaking to you. That's not who you are in Christ Jesus. He set you free. He's made you a worshiper. You know, you are free, and you don't need to receive. You have to learn to not receive that negativity, to not receive that condemnation. You You gotta recognize when the Holy Spirit's convicting, when we do wrong, the Holy Spirit very gently maybe Paul has to speak loud to Peter, but the Holy Spirit is showing us the cross, always reminding us of Jesus. The devil in his condemnation, not conviction, but condemnation is always showing you the pit of hell and recognize the difference. Don't receive the condemnation of the wicked one. Because if you do, then it negates you miss out on the benefits of all that Jesus has done for you. Don't do that. That's like your daughter, you know, connecting with a guy that's very, very abusive. God, if she just get away from that guy, we could help her get restarted. You know? She's got a very gracious mom and dad and family and support at the church that would help her. So why do you negate those benefits and keep going back to this condemnation, which really stems from the devil trying to destroy you. And we see that so often, don't we? And it breaks our hearts as parents. Paul argues this point. He says in verse 20, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live. So I'm I'm dead with Christ. When I when identification with Jesus, when Jesus died upon the cross, I'm identifying with him. I died with him. And yet I'm still alive, so I'm identifying with Jesus, the baptism, death, burial, resurrection, identified with the new life coming up out of the grave. I'm crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live. Yet not I, not me anymore, not the old Rick anymore. It's Jesus living through me by faith, by grace through faith. Christ is living through me. Yet not I, but Christ live within me. And the life that which I now live, I live in the flesh. I live by the faith of the son. I'm still in this flesh, but I'm not letting the flesh dominate. I'm body, soul, and spirit. I used to be body and soul, but when I was born again, Nick, you gotta be born again. I'm body, soul, and spirit now. There's a whole new nature warring with the old nature. I'm still in this flesh, but you know what? I'm reckoning the old man dead. I'm mortifying the deeds of the flesh. All Christy knows. She's a mortician now. These are terms of death. Wrecking the old man dead. I'm crucified with Christ. Mortify the deeds of the flesh. It's gotta die. There's no reform. There's no fixing it. There's no solution except death to the old life. There's no taking the old life and putting a chip in the brain. Not gonna work. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation, not transformative, not from the devil, not a false creation. A metamorphosis, a transformation takes place. A new person in Christ of the son of God who loved me, pointing back to the cross, and gave himself for me. So we are dead to the external rules of law and crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, but alive to the internal rule of Christ in my heart. Jesus ruling and reigning my heart. So much of what you and I do and don't do is prompted by the Holy Spirit saying, I love you too much. You're better than that. I don't want you going back to the pig pen. Do you wanna go back to the pig pen? No, lord. I don't wanna go back to the pig pen. I got something so much better for you. Why don't you trust me? Just trust me. Don't go there. Well, everybody's going there. No. But you're different. You're different in that you're mine. You're going down the narrow path, not the broad path. It's okay to be different. You don't need to be like the world. Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove was a good and acceptable perfect will of God. But alive to the internal rule of Christ in my heart, Jesus lives through me. It's the love standard, not the legal system. The legal system is dead, but there's a standard of love being lived out of me. Jesus living his life through me For your dead and your life is hid with Christ in God. Colossians three verse three. So we live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. And so notice here, we're always so concerned with how many people are here or there or whatever. And sometimes I hear people, they write me and they say, your church has fallen apart. You're the devil. You're a wicked evil man. And people are leaving there. And pretty soon, they're all gonna find out. People write me stuff like that. And we get so caught up in numbers, don't we? Like, somehow my value as a pastor is predicated on how many people are here or not here. And we can get fixated on who's not here and not enjoy the sweet time that we have together today. And so we we we can get so caught up in the numbers. Like, Jesus saved the whole world, but I'm insignificant. You know, when he told Abraham that your children, those who would come forth from you, the spiritual heritage would be numbered more than all the stars of heaven and all the sand of the sea. Now you in the midst of that one little grain of sand, you might feel very, very insignificant. Like, wow. God how can God even know me? I'm like a nobody pastor in a nobody place. And I'm a sing the song too. Nobody knows, you know, you get this big old thing. But notice what it says here. That is And gave himself for me. Jesus gave himself for me in the singular, for you. Nobody falls through the cracks. I'm a saved singular. Me in the singular. Jesus loves me. This I know, for the Bible tells me so. Legalism gives no glory to God. Legalism leaves a person dry, sterile, guilty, angry, and still in their sins. Legalism provides insufficient benefits. Verse 21, Paul says, I do not frustrate the grace of God. I do not nullify the grace of God. For if righteousness comes by the law, then Christ is dead and vain. The word frustrate means to make null or void or to negate, to annul. We're not gonna frustrate the grace of God. For by grace are you saved through faith, and that's not of yourselves. Why would you be remarried to the law when you can be married to Jesus? Why frustrated God's grace? Why live frustrated in God's grace being like a dog that goes back to its vomit? Or like a pig, like a sow in that old nature. You're not that person anymore. You've got a new nature. But that sow, that pig goes back to the pig pen because by nature, that's where the pig wants to be, back with the stuff. Why would you do that? Why would you negate all the blessings? The prodigal understood, man, my servants, the servants of my father are better treated than me. As I'm eating pigs food, you know, you come to your senses. Like father Abraham sending his servant Eleazar to go find a bride for Isaac. It's time. It's Genesis 24. It's time for Isaac because the promise, the Abrahamic covenant is gonna narrow down through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And Isaac, the seed of promise, the promised son that God promised to Abraham and Sarah, he's, it's time for him to get married and he's not gonna take a woman of the people where they're at. And so Eleazar, a type of the Holy Spirit sent by God the father to go find a bride, the church, Rebecca, for a type of God, the son, Isaac, which we just saw in Genesis 22. Right? The picture there. Jesus said, Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and he was glad. The gospel is before preached unto Abraham. So Isaac, a type of Christ, Eleazar type of the Holy Spirit is sent to go draw a bride. The Holy Spirit sent to draw a bride to Jesus. And what did Eliezer do when he finally realized Rebecca was this church bride? He lavished her with gifts. He pulled out a gold earring. He pulled out gold bracelets. He pulled out and he's saying, my master is a very loving and kind and rich master. And you by faith, are you willing by faith to come to him now to be his bride? And he's got such benefits. He's got such blessings awaiting you. This is just a this is just the earnest of the spirit. This is just the holy spirit, the engagement ring to seal you and to let you know you belong to him. But there is there's such incredible benefits awaiting you. Blessings, the riches that are ours in Christ Jesus, the inheritance that's ours. Why would you negate all that and go back to living according to the law, which produces no benefits, just condemnation? Your heavenly father has something so much better in our inheritance in Christ. The benefits the law cannot provide. Don't frustrate the grace of God. Let him bless you without giving Him a reason to do so. Can we do that? Can we really let God bless us without giving Him a reason to do so? Think about that. Think how prone we are to, Lord, I read my Bible today. Lord, I went to church today. Lord, I was nice to the dog today. I fed the dog. And I let some people drive faster than me. You know? I had a young girl pull out in front of me this morning, and and, she waited and waited and waited. And then right as I'm getting close to her, she pulls out in front of me. I thought it was an old person. Old people do that all the time. They're on meds, Kathy says. They're on meds. So I'm in the church van and the other day when I was in the Mazda, I was going to the gym and some kind of big trailer cut in front of me. And another car. So in the Mazda, man, I can I can nail it? So I nailed it and I'm getting around them and apparently I threw the harmonic balancer. I kept going to the gym. I didn't care. I got to the gym and the belt is out in the parking lot. I grabbed the belt and threw it in there, went and worked out, called Sean and he's too busy. Called Les Schwab, they wouldn't do it. So I let it cool down. I I'm gonna drive it home. So I drove it home. I could hear it boiling, all that. Pull over and let it cool and drive some more coasting. I got it home. And I've checked the oil. There's no water in the oil. It didn't burn a head blow a head gasket. But this morning, I'm in the church van, man. And Sean's over all day yesterday trying to fix my vehicles and nobody can come up with the parts, you know, can't get anything accomplished, you know. And, but got a lot done, but just got to finish it when parts come in. So this morning, I'm in a really good mood and I'm driving in and getting close to this car. And she pulls out in front of me. And if you're gonna pull out in front of me, at least hit the gas. Now I gotta almost stop. And so finally, we get the traffic circle, and we come around, and I just gun it. And I go around her, and I say, this young girl. And she's following the law, I guess. You know? And I've got Calvary Bremerton on the back of this van. You know? I'm heading to church in Jesus' name. And, I blow by her. And Kathy says, you make me so nervous doing this in this old van. You know? It feels like it could rattle and fall apart and all that. You know? And and I'm like, well, I'm not gonna be dead while I'm alive. I'm alive and I wanna live like I'm alive. You know? And I don't want grace frustrated. I don't want anyone to hold me back. I don't want any of the law restrictions or thing. I'm not lawless in that sense. But what I'm saying is is that live life to the full. Don't don't let people's fear and holding it out, hold you back. And I know I gotta follow the rules. I did it. I did it safely. I got pastored. It seems like I'm racing people home all the time now. So don't frustrate the grace of God. Let him bless you. And what reason, you know, so so I go and do something like that to that girl this morning. And now what? The rest of the day, am I supposed to condemn myself? Am I supposed to I I I don't think God's gonna bless me today. I sinned in the morning, and I'm a pastor. How can I preach a sermon after doing that to that girl? And, oh, what a bad witness. I I stumbled her. I stumbled her because, you know, it says Calvary Chapel Bremerton on there. You know? And I got a phone call one time back in the day when we first bought that van and we're down at the Roxy. And I got a phone call and a guy calls me up and says, you know, I seen you, your church man, your youth pastor driving along Trenton Avenue going really fast. And I said, oh, I'll talk to him for you. I'll talk to him. That was me. So I typically don't do any Christian fishes or bumper stickers on my vehicles. But that church fan, I really, really try. So today, is my day negated? Am I supposed to call it, I can't preach today. I sinned, you know. God's not gonna be able to bless people at Calvary Brampton because pastor Rick's such a big fat sinner, you know. I gotta give him a reason to do so. I gotta I gotta fast and then be perfect all day Saturday. I gotta roll in here without getting a fight with my wife, and then I can preach a good sermon. Somebody might get saved. You know, in spite of who I am, in spite of who you are, God wants to use your life because it's all by grace. All by grace. Fear not little flock for it's your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Benefits. Legalism frustrates the grace, leaving you with inconsistent behavior, independent beliefs, and insufficient benefits. For all, all means all in the Greek, in the Latin, the Hebrew, in the English. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Being justified just as if I've never sinned. Let me illustrate that a second. We'll finish with that. Just as if I've never sinned, it means no record of wrongs. So one of the guys I was reading, he described a guy over in France driving, a very wealthy man driving a Rolls Royce. And the Rolls Royce broke down. So he called the factory in London. They flew a guy out. The guy diagnosed the problem, kinda like Sean. He can fix anything. And then the guy flew back to London, got the part, flew back to France, fixed the car, and the wealthy guys off, you know, in this holiday driving his rolls. And time goes by and he contacted, wrote a letter to the factory and said, hey, where's my bill? Where's my bill? You know, you you repaired my my vehicle. And the factory said, we have no records of any repair or wrong. And that's what it means to be justified. If the devil or anybody tries to go into the records, there's no record. There's nothing there. Jesus blotted it out. He paid for it. To tell us I paid in full. There's nothing there. You're forgiven. So don't ever live according to the legalism of the law or let anybody condemn you according to the law because you're living under grace. And there's no record. Father, he's one of mine. He's mine. He's blood bought. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God being justified freely by his grace through the redemption, the blood, the redemption that's in Christ Jesus. If we can do it or add to it, then he should have never went to the cross. He should have never been crucified. Father, if there's any other way, let this cup pass from me, but nevertheless, not as I will, but I won't be done. Let's pray. Father, we thank you. And Lord, we thank you for the liberty, the freedom, the blessing. It's it's so in our nature to try and do good and then ask you to bless because we're doing better, doing good, or whatever. And, Lord, I pray that there just be that unconditional love that's operative in our life, that faith of a child that has a very short memory that just can be spanked or or dealt with, and then so quickly just jump on their papa's lap and love them and care and and just no record of wrong, no thought, no no holding a grudge or but we as adults, Lord, we become more and more adept at being evil and holding grudges and leveraging and exacting revenge from people, Lord. Even in Christian homes and families. Lord, we pray that the freedom that we enjoy in our relationship with you would would, Lord, spill over with a love toward the lost, a love toward Christians, a love toward the body of Christ, just an unconditional love, unconditional. Lord, let us walk in that liberty and that blessing. And, Lord, as you've told us, if we don't forgive, then we're gonna be given over to the tormentors. We're gonna be so tormented by bitterness and anger and envy and jealousy and all those. And just as the devil wants to expose the worst in us, Lord, you desire to use these things to transform and change us and expose and let people see Christ in us. So Lord, evermore may Christ be formed in us, Lord. May we live the Christian life in the power of the Holy Spirit and not in the arm of the flesh. And while your heads are bowed and your eyes are closed, if you don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior, if you don't have a relationship with Jesus, we wanna give you the opportunity. In John chapter one, we read that he came onto his own, meaning the Jews, and his own received him not. We also read that he was in the world. The world was made by him and the world knew him not. So those in the world didn't know that he's the creator. The Jews didn't know he's the Messiah. He went to Nazareth. The people in his hometown didn't know who he was. His own family members didn't know who he was until after the resurrection. But it says as many as received him, to them gave he the power to become the sons of God, even they that believe in his name. So this morning, are you ready to receive Christ into your heart and life? God wants to transform and change you. He wants to make you new. He wants to write his law upon the tablet of your heart. He wants to give you the power of the spirit to live the Christian life. Anyone here this morning? You want Christ. Now you have a choice. You can be a sheep or you can be you can open your eyes. Open your eyes. Or you can be a goat. It's up to you. Look at that goat. You don't wanna be a goat. You wanna be a sheep. You want your names written in the Lamb's book of life. It's one or the other. You're either for Jesus or you're against him. You're either gathering with him or you're scattering abroad. You're the saint or you're an ain't. There's nobody almost a Christian as if there's somebody almost pregnant. You either are or you aren't. What are you? Where are you today? Who are you? Do you know Jesus? Do you love Jesus? Are you in fellowship with Jesus? Lift your hand if you wanna receive Christ. Anyone here this morning? And on Facebook, in the feed and all, same thing. Where are you with Jesus? Where are you? Are you in the beloved? Are you in a place where God can bless your life? Are you standing outside still working, still trying to do it yourself, proving that you're better than everybody? Or is there that condemnation? Are you tired of carrying that burden, that weight of the law? Are you ready to surrender and cry out, God, be merciful to me a sinner like the publican? Jesus said, this man went home justified, just as if he's never sinned. Don't carry that burden. So father, thank you once again. Bless this time as we partake of communion, part your Holy Spirit afresh upon us and comfort hearts. Comfort us, Lord. Comfort this body of believers, many of whom are really suffering, hurting. Help us, Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen.