In Christ Alone (Part IV)
Galatians 2:17-21
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In one of his meetings, D.L. Moody was explaining to his audience the truth that we cannot bring about spiritual changes in our lives by our own strength. He demonstrated the principal like this: “Tell me,” he said to his audience, “how can I get the air out of the tumbler I have in my hand?” One man said, “Suck it out with a pump.” But Moody replied, “That would create a vacuum and shatter it.” Finally after many suggestions, he picked up a pitcher and quietly filled the glass with water. “There,” he said, “all the air is now removed.” He then explained that victory for the child of God does not come by working hard to eliminate sinful habits, but rather by allowing Christ to take full possession. (Today in the Word, September, 1991, p. 30).
In our text Paul states that he had been “crucified with Christ”. No longer did Paul live, but Christ lived in him. He also explained the process of the victory that he possessed - “the life which I now live, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me”. - Jesus didn’t just come to deliver us from sin and Satan; He came in order for us to have an abundant victorious life - John 10:10 … I am come that {you} might have life, and have it more abundantly.
Heaven is a wonderful place, but you don’t have to wait until you get there to experience victory!! Jesus has secured the victory and you can experience it here and now!! When we come to a place where we surrender to Christ and allow Him to take full possession of our lives THEN we will experience a victorious life that we never could have imagined!
For the past 3 weeks we have been examining several of the benefits that we are available “In Christ Alone” We have seen that:
i. We Are Justified In Christ Alone
ii. We Are Accepted In Christ Alone
iii. We Are Free In Christ Alone
Today I would like to conclude this sermon by examining that:
iv. We Are Victorious In Christ Alone
There are times that we must realize and admit that there are some things that we can’t accomplish on our own.
> Richard Childress began racing in the early 70’s. He was an average driver with 76 top ten finishes and 6 top fives. But his best career finish was 3rd place. Though he gave it all he had he never experienced that 1st place victory that every driver longs for. In 1981 he retired from driving and took on the role of team owner. He eventually hired driver Dale Earnhardt and over the next 20 years, the combination won over 70 races and 6 NASCAR Championships. Because of this alliance, Earnhardt supplied Childress with the success and victories that he had long worked for yet couldn’t attain on his own.
- Friend, there are some things that you will never accomplish on your own! And in order to experience victory you must let Christ do what you can’t!! There are some people today who are seeking to attain peace, joy and happiness and continuously fail! There are many who are working hard to achieve victory over sin, and they will never achieve that victory on their own. There are some who are trying to fight Satan, and they are perpetually defeated! Many are trying to get to Heaven based upon the way they live their lives! Friend, you will never experience victory based on your works. But because of Christ’s finished work you can experience victory IF (and only if) you TRUST in HIM! - I would like to rejoin The Apostle Paul as he continues to address the believers at Galatia and examine the fact that:
I. WE ARE VICTORIOUS IN CHRIST ALONE - v20 I am crucified with 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. 21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
As Christians, we should desire to be in the center of the Father’s will. This verse tells us how that is possible. We can walk like Jesus each and every day! And the way for us to walk like Jesus is to allow Him to live in and through us! And when we fully surrender to His will then we can experience VICTORY! Notice:
A. We Have Victory Because Of Christ’s Power - v20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:
We could not have ever attained victory on our own. But Jesus came and conquered death, hell and the grave and THROUGH FAITH we can share in HIS VICTORY!
1) We Share In The Death Of Christ - “I am crucified with Christ”
Like Paul, we are “crucified with Christ” Those who are in Christ were crucified when Jesus was crucified. - Romans 6:6 knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
When Jesus died, we died with Him! Last week we examined the fact that there is no need for the Christian to fear death. Because of Jesus’ Victory over death, death’s sting has no power over us! - 1 Corinthians 15:20 ¶But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept. 21 for since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
Paul states that “the Old Man is dead” he was “crucified with Christ”. But he goes on to say that he is alive “nevertheless I Live”. Through our faith in Christ the “old man died” and we were “born again” (John 3:3). At the moment of this “new birth” our eternal life began!
2) We Share In The Resurrection Of Christ - “nevertheless I live”
As a result of Christ’s work we have gone from “death unto life”. Paul says that “Christ liveth in me”. At Calvary, after all things were accomplished Jesus cried “it is finished”, He then “bowed His head and gave up the ghost”. They took His broken, bloody dead body and placed it in a borrowed tomb. 3 days later Jesus victoriously walked out of that tomb alive forevermore! The entire Christian faith revolves around the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
If Christ did not rise from that tomb, my preaching is pointless, your faith is futile, and we are all wasting our time! - Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, that “if Christ was not risen then we would still be lost in our sins!”
If Christ is not risen from the grave then all who have died believing in Him died lost in their sins! But praise God Jesus was VICTORIOUS OVER THE GRAVE!!! The Angel said to the women at the tomb “HE IS NOT HERE…HE IS RISEN!!!” (Mark 16:5)
Through Christ we have died, we have been resurrected and now we can LIVE!! And it is the desire of our Savior for us to have an ABUNDANT… VICTORIOUS LIFE!!
3) We Share In The Life Of Christ - “I live”
Paul asserts that though he “was crucified with Christ”, he was more alive than ever! Before his conversion he was a persecutor attempting to destroy the church. Now he lived to spread the gospel of the same Jesus that he once persecuted! Paul also shares how this “new life” is possible - (Because) “Christ liveth in me”
There was a vast difference between “Saul of Tarsus” and “Paul the Apostle”. His life is one of the greatest examples of what can happen in the life on one who has been “crucified with Christ” - Jesus brings a transformation in our lives at the point of salvation - 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. - I don’t know about you, but that sounds like victory to me!!!
- Christ died… WE DIED!
- Christ arose… WE AROSE!!
- Christ lives… WE ARE ALIVE THROUGH HIM!!!
>During the Welsh revival a man was converted who had been a notorious drunkard. His conversion made him a sober and respectable man. The publican was angry to lose such a good customer, and called out to him one day as he passed the public house: "What's gone wrong, Charlie? Why do you keep going past instead of coming in?" Charlie halted for a moment, then with a skyward glance and a grateful tear glistening in his eye, replied: "Sir, it is not just that I keep going past; We go past! Ah, yes, that is the secret! We go past—Jesus and I." Faith unites me to the living Christ, so that His life flows to me, and I can sing—Moment by moment, I'm kept in His love; Moment by moment, I've life from above.—Sunday School Times.
The Christian life is a life of VICTORY and the victory that we possess in this life is supplied through Him alone!! Let’s dig a little deeper into this subject and consider that:
B. We Have Victory Because Of Christ’s Presence- “Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me”
> I like what the old hymn says - “What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought since Jesus came into my heart”
We have seen that Jesus transforms us at the point of conversion. But He also abides within us in the presence of the Holy Spirit In John 14, After He had delivered the tragic news of His impending death to His disciples, Jesus promised that He would send them “another comforter” - This “comforter” that Jesus spoke of was the precious Holy Spirit!
- Let’s look for a moment at some of the ways that the Holy Spirit impacts our lives as believers:
1. The Holy Spirit Guides Us - The Holy Spirit guides us into the truth. He leads us in the proper direction…He points us toward the things that will please the Father!
2. The Holy Sprit Teaches Us - In John 14:26 Jesus promised His followers that the Holy Spirit would teach them everything they needed to know. That is a work of the Holy Spirit that we benefit from as well.
Have you ever been reading the Bible and all of the sudden the truth of the scripture was revealed to you in a real and powerful way? Isn’t it exciting to grasp the lesson that the Lord has for you in that portion of scripture? This doesn’t come through human wisdom it is the Holy Spirit teaching you!
- Not only does the Holy Spirit guide and teach us…
3. The Holy Spirit Reminds Us - Jesus also promised His disciples that the Holy Spirit would remind them of the things that He had taught them. There are situations that we face and the Holy Spirit will remind us of truths that we have been taught from the Word of God!
- Have you ever been wronged by someone and you began to plot revenge in your mind… and then it happens! The plotting and planning is drowned out by the scripture that says - “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” - This happens in many different situations, the Holy Spirit is a constant reminder of the things of God!
4. The Holy Spirit Enables Us - The only way that we can be successful concerning the things of God is if we are enabled by the power of the Holy Spirit - Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Have you ever witnessed to someone and when you were finished you walked away and said: “how did I do that?” “How did I answer those questions?” “How was I able to be bold enough to tell that individual about Jesus”? You were able to do these things because the Holy Spirit enabled you to!
5. The Holy Spirit Comforts Us - Troubles will come in this life…And those troubles can cause us great discouragement. And troubles can often distract us from the work that God has for us to do! It is in those times that the Holy Spirit will come and bring us comfort that we couldn’t find in anyone or anything else!
6. The Holy Spirit Convicts Us - This goes along with the fact that the Holy Spirit leads us. When there is sin in the life of a believer, the Holy Spirit will point that sin out and lead us to turn from it! The Holy Spirit shows us the things that we are doing that we should stop doing. The Holy Spirit shows us the things that we aren’t doing that we should start doing. Through the work of the Holy Sprit we are able to accomplish what would otherwise be impossible!
The fact that Jesus is within us is the only thing that makes the Christian life possible And His indwelling Spirit is what makes it possible for us to be VICTORIOUS! And this great victory that we possess is ours “IN CHRIST ALONE”!
- We Have Victory Because Of His Power… We Have Victory Because Of His Presence and as we move further we see that:
C. We Have Victory Because Of His Passion - v20 "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"
Throughout this entire sermon (that has taken 3 weeks and 4 services to complete) we have seen some amazing privileges possessed by the believer. We have seen that we are Justified, Accepted by God. Free, Filled with the Holy Spirit and we are victorious over Death, Hell and the grave. All of this and much… much more is possible because of Jesus’ sacrifice at Calvary! Simple stated it is all possible …IN CHRIST ALONE!!
We know that Jesus went to the Cross, but the reason is so amazing…Jesus went to the cross because He loved you and me!
- Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
- John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Jesus knew us, and HE loved us anyway! He knew our faults and failures, He knew our deepest darkest sins, Knowing every aspect of our lives, He loved us enough to lay down His life for us. Let us never forget the process of Grace! - Paul says in verse 21 “I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain”
Don’t trust in the Law… Don’t trust in your works… Don’t trust in anyone or anything other than CHRIST ALONE! If any other way was sufficient then Jesus wouldn’t have had to die on the Cross. Paul says if there is any other way, “then Christ died in vain”
Let me refer to D.L Moody once again. He shares a story about being in a testimony meeting and a man stood up and said that he had spent 42 years learning 3 things. Moody said to himself “if this guy has spent 42 years learning these truths I must pay attention” Here is what the man said he had learned:
1) “I can do nothing to earn salvation”
2) “God doesn’t require me to do anything to earn salvation”
3) “Jesus has done everything needed for salvation”
These are some great truths, but you don’t have to take 42 years to learn them. It can be summed up in the words… “In Christ Alone”. It has taken us 3 weeks and 4 sermons just to begin to scratch the surface of what we possess “In Christ Alone”
1. We Are Justified In Christ Alone
2. We Are Accepted In Christ Alone
3. We Are Free In Christ Alone
4. We Are Victorious In Christ Alone
Are you justified, accepted, free and victorious? Do you know Jesus today? If you don’t I would like to introduce you to Him right here, right now. You can be born again and receive the gift of eternal life… “IN CHRIST ALONE”
