Truth That Changes Lives

JP Jones: Take God at His word, whether it's about your marriage, or about your spiritual life, or about holiness in your life, or about sharing your faith, or about releasing your finances to God's kingdom, or it's about forgiving somebody who's wronged you. Whatever the issue is, believe God and you will step into His righteousness.

Guest (Male): Thank you for joining us on Truth That Changes Lives. Pastor JP Jones is the senior pastor of Crossline Community Church in Laguna Hills, California, and a professor in biblical studies at Biola University. Today on Truth That Changes Lives, Pastor JP will be giving us another message from a series entitled Galatians. Let's listen in as JP gives part two of It's All About Faith.

JP Jones: So Abraham uprooted his family and followed that revelation of God. He believed God. He accepted the message from God. He put his faith in God and he acted upon it. Abraham is presented as the example of what it means to live by faith, what it means to be accepted by God. You get a revelation from God, you get a truth from God, you get a word from God, you accept it, you believe it, and you act upon it. Paul says to his Jewish friends out there, "This is what we believe. It's not by works, it's not by the law. It's by faith."

He says, "Guess what? The promise was to bless all the nations." So way back there in the book of Genesis, God was saying it's not just for Jews, it's for Gentiles too. Everybody who believes just like Abraham is an inheritor of that same promise. Whether you're a Jew or a Gentile, the way you come to God is on the basis of faith because Abraham is this great example of what it means to be accepted by God on the basis of faith.

Paul is making an argument because the background of some of the things that Paul's been saying is to those people who would say you have to come to God on the basis of law and keeping rules and regulations. Or as Paul would argue with some people who would say you've got to become a Jew first and then you can become a Christian. In other words, you first have to submit to all the laws of Judaism and then you have faith. Some people would say it's all by law. Some people would say it's faith plus law. Paul is saying it's faith alone, and Abraham is an example of someone who demonstrates that for us.

Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. In Genesis chapter 12, it says this: "The Lord said to Abram, 'Leave your country, your people, your father's household, and go to the land I will show you. I will make you a great nation and I will bless you. I will make your name great and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and I will curse those who curse you, and all the peoples on the earth will be blessed through you.'"

God then repeats the promise again to Abraham in Genesis chapter 15: "Then the word of the Lord came to him: 'This will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir.'" God took Abraham outside and said, "Look at the heavens. Count the stars, if indeed you can count them." Then He said, "So shall your offspring be." Abraham believed the Lord and God credited it to him as righteousness.

The principle is this: when we believe what God says more than what we see, when we believe what God says more than how we feel, when we believe what God says more than what other people say, that pleases God. That's the basis for salvation and, Paul is going to argue further in Galatians 3, that's the basis for sanctification, for transformation, for growing in discipleship. It all comes down to this: Do we believe God more than we believe anyone else, ourselves included?

Because if we believe God more than anyone else, and that belief is acted upon, because that's what biblical belief is, that releases the transforming work of God in our life. That can be true for someone who's coming out of darkness into light at the moment of salvation. That can be true for someone who's already in the light but is struggling to figure out what the next decision and step is in their life. It's all about faith. Abraham is the example for the guy who did it.

Abraham is a prototype for all who would come to God by faith. God made a promise or a covenant with Abraham. This is a very important theological concept. You can get a doctoral degree in this kind of stuff. I'm not kidding because this promise of Genesis chapter 12 that was ratified in Genesis 15 when God restated it and actually established a covenant around it.

What God did in Genesis 15, we didn't look at it, but Paul's going to make mention of it later on in Galatians. God used the ancient custom of a covenant because in the ancient world, a covenant was ratified. A promise would be made, and then what are the contractual terms that this promise will actually be acted upon? They would take an animal and cut the animal in half and put the two halves on a side. Then both parties entering into the covenant would walk between the two halves. That was an ancient ritual that ratified, "I promise to keep this agreement, you promise to keep this agreement. Okay, deal has been struck."

In Genesis 15, God restates the promise and tells Abraham, "Go get some animals." He gets them and cuts them in half. Then God says, "You stay right there, Abraham." So Abraham stays there, and darkness starts to fall. In the twilight of the darkness, God walks through the two animals before him. The symbolism is this is not a bilateral covenant. This is an unconditional covenant of God's commitment to bless us. That's what makes the promise of the Bible different from every other religious agreement.

Every other religious agreement, whether it's Judaism or Buddhism or Islam or some sect of Christianity, is about God doing some stuff, but I've got to do my part too. Because I've done my part, now the deal is done. Paul says that's law, that's works. This is an unconditional covenant. It's all about God, period. Paul's going to draw back upon that experience and that example as he unfolds this principle of living by faith in the book of Galatians.

A Jewish audience would understand it, but Gentiles might not have much background, and us thousands of years later really have no background around it. The simple truth is this: it's all about faith. Abraham is the example of the person who lived by faith. You believe what God says, and if you believe what God says, he credits that to you as righteousness. It's the principle by which we come to God, and it's the principle by which we continue to grow in our relationship with God.

As a follower of Christ, the initial information we need to understand and believe is the gospel. Jesus died for our sins and rose again from the dead. Salvation's available. We need to believe that. When we believe it and act upon it, it's credited to us as righteousness. But what about how we live the Christian life? There's more than just the gospel. God's revealed more stuff and it's all right here. That's why Romans 10 says faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

The more we get into this book, the more we come to understand what God has promised. When we then believe those promises and act upon them, we experience the blessing of Abraham in our life because we're living just like Abraham did by faith. The first idea that Paul deals with is the example of Abraham. The second idea is the promise of God, because this term "promise" comes up a lot in this passage.

Galatians 3:16 says: "The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say 'and to seeds,' meaning many people, but 'and to your seed,' meaning one person, who is Christ. What I mean is this: the law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it is no longer depending on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise."

Is the law therefore opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not. For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. Paul is drawing upon the example of Abraham and he's relating these two ideas of faith and promise. His argument is this: the promise of God, or the covenant, the Abrahamic covenant, the promise of God supersedes the law.

The law, in this context, is the Law of Moses. What was communicated in the covenant of Sinai where God gave all these commandments? "If you do these things, I'll bless you. If you don't do these things, I'll curse you." There was a law that God gave as a revelation which has value and excellence because it's the expression of God. It's His holy standard, and it's the conditions by which His people were to live in a covenant relationship with Him. It's the moral will of God of how every person should live.

But what Paul is arguing here, it was never intended to be the basis for salvation. It came 430 years after the promise. From the time of Abraham to Moses, there was this 400-plus year period of time. Paul's argument and his logic in trying to make the case is, which came first? The promise. There was a purpose for the law and it continues to have a purpose, but its purpose was never to impart life. Its purpose was never to save someone.

Its purpose was never to make someone more holy, more spiritual, more Christlike. When you try to live by the law for salvation, it doesn't work. When you try to live by the law for sanctification, it doesn't work. How do you come to God for salvation and how do you come to God for sanctification? The promise. It's the promise. It's what God says He will do. It's not what we do; it's what God does.

This is such a liberating truth. It is such a life-transforming truth. But here's something I've discovered personally and in literally thousands of conversations both sharing my faith and counseling people who are believers. You don't really embrace this truth when you still think you bring something to the table. Because when you still think you bring something to the table, you think it's about me. It's about what I do, my discipline, my hard work, my character, my integrity, my religiosity, my something.

This reduces you to absolute humility. I bring nothing. It's not God plus me equals. It's God equals. Faith goes hand in hand with the promise. God made a promise to bless Abraham, and Abraham didn't do anything; he just believed it and he got the blessing. God makes a promise to save us. We don't do anything; we just believe it and we get saved. God makes a promise to make us more like Christ. We don't do anything; we believe it and we get saved.

That doesn't mean there was passivity. Abraham went through all kinds of life issues where he had to make choices and obey God. Every person who comes to faith in Jesus Christ and lives the Christian life has to make all kinds of decisions to put that faith into action and obey God. The point is, where's the driving force coming from? Is it coming from God plus us or just coming from God? It's not God plus us. It's just God, and that's what promise emphasizes.

So you've got the example of Abraham, you've got the promise, well then what is the purpose of the law? Paul addresses that in Galatians chapter 3. Galatians 3:10: "All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.'" Clearly, no one is justified before God by the law, because the righteous will live by faith. The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, the man who does these things will live by them.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." Verse 17: "What I mean is this: the law, established 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise."

What then was the purpose of the law? It was added because of the transgressions until the seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is one. Is the law therefore opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not. For if a law had been given that could impart life, then the righteousness would certainly have come by the law.

Before this faith came, we were held prisoners to the law, locked up until that faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law. What's the purpose of the law? Paul says if you try to come to God on the basis of law, you're cursed. Yesterday my daughter was watching the movie The Nativity. It's a really good movie about the birth of Christ.

A lot of great historical information there. In the course of watching this movie, I was just walking by and there was a scene where Joseph and Mary were on their journey and there was a tree and someone was hung on the tree. My daughter said, "What was that all about? What was that?" I said, "Well, in the Jewish religion, that was like the worst form of shame and contempt for a criminal. Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."

It was like when someone committed a crime of such offense and heinous impact, their death sentence was enacted that way to point out how despicable that person was and you don't ever want to end up that way. That was actually how Jesus died as a type in the New Testament, hung on a cross. So the Bible says cursed is everyone who's hung on a tree, but Jesus took that curse, the curse of the law, the curse of sin, for us.

He died for us. But when we try to live keeping laws, we are under a curse. It ends in death and guilt and shame and pride and alienation and hypocrisy and self-righteousness. Jesus set us free from all that because the law demands perfect and continuous obedience. The law is not like a professor who grades on a curve. The law is like a percentage-based grade and you've got to get 100 percent or you fail. Nobody can get 100 percent.

You've got to get 100 percent not just one time, but all the time. It required constant, continuous, perpetual obedience. The law brings a curse. Living by the law is in contrast to living by faith, and Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law. So then, why the law? The law represents the moral will of God, the law represents the holiness of God, but the law is a tutor to lead us to Christ. This is a great word.

It's the word paidagoge. There was a custom in the ancient world, in the Greek world, where the most valued servant in a household would be given the task of training the children. They were the constant companion. The child couldn't even leave the house without this paidagoge with them. The paidagoge would teach everything that they knew to impart a legacy to this child. But there came a point when there was a ritual and a rite of manhood for the male children where they actually became a legal citizen and adult.

There was a ritual where they left the paidagoge and now they were on their own, living responsibly as an adult. Paul uses that word and says the law was like a paidagoge for us. It was a tutor, a trainer, a mentor to do what? To lead us to Christ. Though they didn't really know it, the Pharisees didn't get it. The Sermon on the Mount pointed this out to them. They didn't embrace this truth, but Paul says in reality, the law controls sin in terms of order to society and the law reveals the moral will of God and the law shows us the holiness of God.

But the real purpose of the law was to show us we're sinners and can't save ourselves. In coming to that realization, we humbly cast ourselves before God and say, "Lord, save me." We're like the guy that Jesus said the Pharisee came to him and said, "God, you're pretty lucky to have me on your side. I do all these religious things." And the other guy just beat his breast and said, "Lord, have mercy on me, the sinner." Jesus said that guy went home justified.

Paul says here in Galatians 3 that the purpose of the law was to bring us to that point, to lead us to Christ. If you're trying to live by the law to be a Christian, it'll only end in death. If you're trying to live by the law to grow as a Christian, it'll only end in death. It's like a thermometer. When you're not feeling very good, you grab a thermometer. Whether you put it in your ear or in your mouth, what does it do? It tells you your temperature.

So if you're not feeling very good and you have a 104 temperature, you take the thermometer out and it tells you you are sick. That's what it was supposed to do. You don't go, "Oh, here's a thermometer. I think I'm going to chew this up and then get better." No, that would even make you sicker. A thermometer tells you what's really going on in your body. The law tells you what's really going on in your soul. You've got a sin problem.

The only salvation for a sin problem is Jesus Christ who redeems us from the curse of the law. Well, you guys didn't listen fast enough because I had one more point and we're out of time. The bottom line is this: we need to walk in the steps of our spiritual father Abraham because when we believe God, it's credited to us as righteousness. For some of us here this morning, it may be we need to believe God for the message of salvation that He's given to us in Jesus Christ.

Just accept it. Open your heart to Christ. Ask Jesus to be the Lord of your life. Identify yourself as a follower of Jesus, and God, based on your faith, will give you Jesus's righteousness and you'll be saved. Others of us who already are saved, we know Christ, we've believed that, somehow we've gotten back to this idea that it's a little bit of faith but also a little bit of works, a little bit of lawkeeping, a little bit of believing, and thinking somehow. No, it's faith and faith alone.

Take God at His word, whether it's about your marriage, or about your spiritual life, or about holiness in your life, or about sharing your faith, or about releasing your finances to God's kingdom, or it's about forgiving somebody who's wronged you. Whatever the issue is, believe God and you will step into His righteousness.

Guest (Male): What a great message for all of us today. Pastor JP provides us with great insight. That is why we'd like to make it available to you on CD. Just get in touch and mention today's date. We'll send it your way for just $5. Or if you'd like to support this ministry, you can write us at Truth That Changes Lives, 23331 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills, California 92653, or give us a call at 949-916-0250. That's 949-916-0250.

For your gift of $25 or more, we will send you a signed copy of JP's new book, Facing Goliath. Please join us every Sunday at 9:00 or 11:00 AM at Crossline Church in Laguna Hills. The address is 23331 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills, California 92653. Or check us out on the web at crosslinechurch.com. We're going to get to the address and phone number again in a moment, but before we do that, Pastor JP, do you have any insight from today's message?

JP Jones: Thanks, Greg. Galatians chapter 3 is emphasizing the faith walk of the believer. The whole book of Galatians is this: salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. In fact, Galatians says not only is salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, sanctification, transformation, is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. It's this faith dynamic that the Apostle Paul is emphasizing in the first part of Galatians chapter 3.

You see, Abraham is the example of a man who lived by faith. He is the Old Testament prototype of living by faith. It says of him in the book of Genesis that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. This becomes a theme of the book of Romans where righteousness is the gift that God gives to the person who puts faith in Jesus Christ. Here in the book of Galatians, Abraham's faith is used as an example for the person who lives by faith.

He not only takes a salvation step of faith, but takes multiple steps of faith based upon that salvation. It says this in Galatians chapter 3: "The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, the man who does these things will live by them. Clearly, no one is justified before God by the law, because the righteous will live by faith." You see, the righteousness that God gives us at salvation when we put our faith in Jesus Christ is a righteousness that we're to live in.

And we live in Christ's righteousness as we live by faith. The principle of believing what God says is true and acting upon it is the principle that should govern the life of every believer. We believe what God says is true about Jesus. We believe what God says is true about Christ's death and resurrection. We act upon it and we're saved. Now that principle is what is to apply to every other area of living: how we are to conduct ourselves as husbands and wives, how we're to conduct ourselves as parents, how we're to live as disciples.

How we're to deal with our finances, how we're to trust God with faith-challenging decisions, how we're to overcome temptation, how we're to be bold in sharing our faith. We believe what God says is true in the word and we act upon it. When we do that, we not only live by faith but we experience the righteousness of God released in our life. What challenges, what issues are you dealing with in your life? Believe what God says is true and act upon it.

Guest (Male): We want to help you in your relationship with Christ. Please get in touch with us at Truth That Changes Lives, 23331 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills, California 92653, or call us at 949-916-0250. On the internet, you will find us at crosslinechurch.com. We hope to see you at one of our services every Sunday at our new campus in Laguna Hills. For more information and directions, please go to crosslinechurch.com. Please join us next time on Truth That Changes Lives.