By Faith

Good morning! Charles Spurgeon always said that it was good to occasionally speak on those text in the Bible that seem to tower over others. All of the Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of God. As Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16, , All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. However, there are undoubtedly some texts that seem to stand out, grab on to us, and become words from God that we tend to lean on more than others. The text this morning is one of those, and one of those for me.

Before we begin, let’s pray.

Our text this morning is from Paul’s letter to the Galatians. As I am fond of saying, never read a Bible verse. Always read the paragraph…. So let’s read the text this morning, but we will focus on one verse in particular. Starting in Galatians chapter 2:15, Paul is continuing his rebuke of Peter, who was a Jew but was eating and hanging out with Gentiles. This was a big no-no under Jewish law. Some Jews were coming to their church and claiming that one had to believe in Christ AND be circumcised in order to be saved. To have faith in Christ and do works of the law. It was throwing the whole congregation into turmoil, and even Peter was confused by their teaching. Paul spends this entire letter to the Galatians preaching against the false gospel of works and shows in no uncertain terms that justification, being set right before a holy God by forgiveness of sins, or basically a Christian’s judicial acceptance by God as not guilty because his sins are not counted against him, is by faith and faith alone in Christ, without any work done by us. So he rebukes Peter’s hypocrisy, beginning in Galatians 2:11. Let’s pick up at verse 15.

15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

17 But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

We are going to focus on verse 20 this morning, and there are three aspects of a Christian I want to bring out from this verse.

1. We are SAVED BY FAITH

2. We LIVE BY FAITH

3. We WALK BY FAITH

However, these three points this morning beg a question. What is faith? If we truly are saved – justified – by faith, live by faith, and walk – live out our daily lives – by faith, then we really need to make sure we know what faith is! Hebrews 11:6 states that And without faith it is impossible to please him… him meaning God. So knowing what faith is, is very important, CRITICAL, to our eternal life. John Calvin said in one of his sermons on our text this morning, “The term faith is often misunderstood because men do not consider what faith involves. In fact, almost everyone refers to himself as a believer, yet you would be hard pressed to find even one out of a hundred professors of Christianity with an ounce of faith!”

So bear with me, but let’s look at what faith is before we dive into our three points this morning.

In order to understand better what faith is, let’s briefly show what faith IS NOT.

1. Faith is not the opposite of reason, sensory perception, or facts. Really, faith is the opposite of superstition. Hebrews 11:1 states, Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Can we be assured in something we hope for, if we don’t KNOW or believe to be true that thing in which we hope? How can we be convinced of something that, while we may not see it, we have been told about it? Faith has some substance in facts, reason, and sensory perception. We are told things about Jesus in the Bible. Evidence backs those statements, miracles back those statements, and other witnesses back those statements. However, superstition has none of those aspects. Superstition says all you have to do is pray this short magic prayer and you will be saved. Superstition says pay the TV preacher $1,000 for an anointed handkerchief, put it under the chair of your husband, and he will be saved. These are not faith.

2. Faith is not a force. Many in the prosperity heresy today say that you can use faith as a force to call into existence those material things you desire: that raise, or that healing, or that new house, or that new car. This is not Star Wars and faith is not a force.

3. Faith is also not a feeling, a rumbly in your tumbly as Winnie the Pooh Bear used to say when he got hungry. You don’t have faith in something because you have a good feeling about something that you don’t know anything about. Mormons call this a “burning in the bosom.” They believe that Mormonism is true because they have a good feeling about it. This is not faith.

So what is faith? Without going into all kinds of details, which you can ask me about later, historically the Bible and orthodox Christianity define faith as having 3 elements:

1. Data, or facts. This parachute has a safety rating on a label that indicates it will work properly. Whether it is true or not is irrelevant at this point. The label is there.

2. The belief that something is true. I believe the safety rating on the parachute indicating it will work properly as I strap it on and get into the airplane, is true. But this has no affect on me personally at this point.

3. Trust in these things personally. As I jump out of the plane, and my parachute deploys, I am now TRUSTING with my life that the parachute will work properly. Faith has an object of trust. More on this later.

So now let me give you a Biblical example. People may say, all of that is faith? But what about the thief on the cross? He didn’t have time to do all of that! Well, all of these are exhibited in that incredible story. How so? Let’s look quickly. The thief knew some facts about Jesus, and believed them to be true. He knew Jesus had done nothing wrong. He knew Jesus’ name. he knew Jesus was a king, coming into a kingdom. He related God to Jesus, when he rebuked the other criminal. He asked Jesus to remember him, trusting that Jesus would remember him. He trusted Jesus would not die on the cross and indeed would come into his kingdom. Otherwise why ask Jesus to remember him? His trust was confirmed in Jesus’ reply. Faith always has an object, and there is no greater object for faith than the Triune God.

So if faith has three components, facts, belief in the truth of the facts, and trust those facts apply to me, let’s keep these in mind as we now look at our text in Galatians this morning. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

We are SAVED BY FAITH. Paul spends this entire letter convincing the Galatians that justification is by faith, and faith alone, not by works of the law. The law condemns us, as Paul in 2 Corinthians 3:7 states, it is the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone. Paul also says in Romans 7 the law was righteous, and without the law, we would not know sin. But the law condemns us to death. The law holds up our sin, our rebellion against God, our disobedience before him, before us. God’s law is perfect, but none of us are. We are therefore subject to His wrath and punishment. After all, if you break the law even here, there is punishment.

But the Scriptures tell us that justification – again, this time from William Bridge, “That act of God’s grace, whereby through the imputation of our sins to Christ, and Christs righteousness unto us, God the father doth pronounce us righteous in his sight,” is by faith and faith alone in what Christ has done for us, in his life and death and resurrection. Our text says this: For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. In Romans 7:1-6, Paul explains it this way. The law is binding on a person as long as they live. My wife and I are married, by God’s grace and by law. But if, God forbid, my wife dies, I am released from the law of marriage. I can go and unite with someone else, legally and morally. In the same way, Christians have died to the law through Christ, so that we are released from the condemnation of the law and now, forgiven our wrongdoing, we can be united with Christ and live to God. We are spiritually crucified with Christ so that our body of sin is put to death. Romans 6:7 For one who has died has been set free from sin.

But the question is, how do we know this? The Bible tells us in many places, throughout the New Testament. So we can know what the Bible says, and we can even believe it to be true. Yes, I believe to be true that Jesus died for sinners. Yes, I believe that justification is by faith. Yes, I believe it to be true that Jesus Christ paid our debt to God because we could not keep our obligation to obey God’s laws. BUT… what is that to me? Even the demons know that Jesus is the Christ and that he died to save sinners. Is this forgiveness of sins and dying to the law so I can be forgiven by Christ something I can see? Or is this something that Christ has done for me in the physical and spiritual realm that I must trust that he has done for me? Through God’s grace, his calling and drawing us to Christ through the Holy Spirit, we then are able to TRUST that Christ has accomplished all He has intended to do for each of us, and that we are truly set right before God.

If we were justified and saved by our own works, then it would not be by faith. Why? Because it would all be visible. The law said this. I did this. Therefore, there is no condemnation for me. I met the criteria of the law. It is plain as day. But we cannot meet the criteria of the law of God. But I have never committed murder! But have you gotten angry at someone on social media because they said something? I have never committed adultery! But those Victoria Secret commercials… Lust in my heart. What is coveting if not stealing in your heart? It must be by the person and work of Christ on the cross. Therefore, it is by faith, because we trust what the Scriptures tell us about Christ and trust that Christ has accomplished all of it. The object of our faith is the Triune God, and there can be no better object in which to place our faith. We read the Scriptures and know the facts – what the Bible says – about God, Christ, the Spirit, salvation, and sin. We believe what the Bible says is true. But then, by the grace of God and the Spirit working in us, we trust what the Triune God has done for us. As Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Next, we LIVE BY FAITH. Paul writes, It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. Since we are saved by faith, we now live by faith. Or let’s say it this way – we are alive by faith! What does Paul mean by this? Terry Johnson, a commentator, writes, “This is a fundamental fact of the Christian and the first principle of the Christian life.” Let me explain. Essentially what happens here is our “want to’s” are changed.

So before we were saved by God, we had an old self, an old nature. Paul refers to this condition in several places, in Ephesians 4, in Colossians 3, in Romans. Colossians 2:13 says, And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh… Two things here – sin and our sin nature. When Adam disobeyed God and ate the fruit, he sent shockwaves of corruption throughout the entire human race. Everyone born in the natural way from Adam and Eve – all of us – have inherited this corrupt nature. We are called “dead in sin” in the Bible.

Paul writes in Ephesians 2:2 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. Ok, that’s a sad state of affairs.

So essentially, due to this radical corruption in our nature, we live in the passions of our corrupted self. And while this is bad, it is even worse, as Paul says in Romans 8:7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. So we cannot – we do not have the ability – to please God because in our corrupted nature, we are hostile to God. We have a will, but our will, our want-to’s, are corrupted. Turn on the TV, or get on social media. Our corrupted nature is immediately evident. So after Adam’s disobedience corrupted all of humanity, our minds are fixed on “the flesh,” meaning we are what Jesus called sons of the devil. There are two states for human beings: of the flesh, where we are slaves to the devil and our corruption in sin, and of the Spirit, where we are children of God, and slaves to Christ and his righteousness. We are one or the other, and the default state is a child of the devil.

BUT there is hope! Our text says, It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. Colossians 2:13-14 says, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. Colossians 2:13-14 is another text that towers over many others. God elects, God calls, and God draws to Himself. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ… In our old corrupted nature, we were dead. Stone. Cold. Dead. What can dead people do? Nothing! But God awakens us and makes us alive! This is the new birth. Our old nature is put away, and we receive a new nature. We are no longer slaves to our old nature, hostile to God, unable to do anything good in His sight. We are now in Christ, our eyes opened, our hearts changed, and now we have completely different “want-to’s.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. With the new nature and indwelling of the Spirit comes the ‘fruit of the Spirit’ and the transformation of behavior: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22–3).

So we are saved by faith, and we are alive in our new nature by faith. These two changes lead to the third: We WALK BY FAITH. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Because our “want-to’s” have changed, we can now live our lives to God, with new heaven-ward desires and goals. This is really our application piece this morning. In faith we have trusted the LORD to save us, and to make us alive in Christ. But faith also characterizes the Christian life. By faith I am now able to live according to what Christ has promised and has commanded. William Perkins wrote a long time ago, “The child of God lives a double life in this world: a spiritual and a temporal.” It means living not for the world, for this temporary life in the here and now, but living for Christ, with an eternal perspective.

A couple of thoughts on living out this new life.

1. New desires lead to new approaches to living. We no longer desire, or want the same things as the world. Our whole outlook on life will start to change, and continue to change. Yes, it will take time, but our new nature will take over by the power of the Spirit of God. What was important to us before, is now no longer important. We don’t kill ourselves for that next raise, but we learn to live contented lives. We don’t get angry at that comment on FaceBook or Twitter. We learn to calm down or even just to turn off social media. Imagine that! We have new priorities, such as God’s Word, family devotions, heavenly things! We strive to grow in holiness rather than in wealth or prestige or material stuff.

2. New desires lead to fleshly conflicts. So, the life we now live IN THE FLESH… we still live in the world, and while we have a new nature, we still inhabit this good looking body of flesh and bones. This means that while my want-to’s have changed, my fleshly body has not. So I must be constantly at war with my flesh, putting to death those left-over fleshly desires, passions, and inclinations. But I don’t have to do this out of my own strength. I can do this by faith, trusting the LORD has given me the Spirit, the strength, and the desire to do what is right.

3. New nature leads to new abilities in faith. With our new salvation, and our new nature, we CAN please God by faith. We can obey his commands, not out of any attempt to earn his mercy and grace and forgiveness, nor out of some desire to pay Him back for what He has done. BUT out of love to Christ. We can, by faith, actually grow to love those who persecute us on social media for our beliefs. We can, by faith, love our neighbor as ourselves. We can, by faith, be honest even when it means we take the blame. We can no longer desire to keep up with the Joneses. How? By this same faith, out of love for Christ.

So in conclusion, let me say this: Some of you may say, I have never experienced this new of life. I have been a Christian all my life. I have gone to church, and even prayed the magical sinner’s prayer. Yay! But I have the same motives and conduct myself in all the same ways as I always have. I must ask you, then, to examine yourself. Look in the mirror and ask yourself, whether you are truly saved by faith and united in Christ through faith with a new nature. If you tend to have no interest in spiritual things, no interest in the Word of God, no desire out of love for God to grow in holiness and obedience to his commands, then examine yourself. How much time do you spend with your job, sports, hobbies, even kids, family, and friends? Do spiritual things get any attention, or more than just a few minutes here and there?

These questions are of eternal significance, and if you are feeling convicted, that is the Spirit at work in you. Cry out to Him. Get alone with God and ask Him to truly convict you of sin. Repent, and ask Him to exchange your disobedience, debt and guilt with Christ’s obedience and perfection. Wrestle with God and this conviction, and beg God to give you a new life, born again with a new nature, and to throw away the old nature. To give you the faith to live your life looking above at spiritual things rather than here to worldly things. To give you new want-to’s that point to Christ and eternity, not desiring all of the temptations here that are merely temporary. Take hold of Christ. Wrestle with the Holy Spirit. The old Puritans called it taking heaven by storm! Christ freely gives it, if you ask Him.