"Getting The Gospel Right
2/3/08 Galatians series AM R. Sams (Galatians)
BIG IDEA:
Know: If we focus on "God will always forgive me, that leads to life in the
flesh which is destruction. We often get fixated on our past failures when
we focus on our sins instead of the real life God�s Spirit is always leading us
toward.
SCRIPTURES TO VIDEOPROJECT (coded with P ): (Rom 3:10, 23, 8;
6:1, 15).
OTHER SCRIPTURES:
OTHER ITEMS TO
VIDEOPROJECT:
CALL TO WORSHIP: Rom 5:20-6-2 THEMES/SONGS:
GOSPEL/MISSION:
VISION/PRIORITIES:
ASSIGNMENTS: Bush
article 3/2/08 Review, Big Show video clip PASTOR�S MINI-LESSON:
BULLETIN BOTTOM, p. 1 I. This little video reminds us of a
big game (tonight). The really big game is 2/2 Bright Spot; the Super Bowl
of the Spirit. How are you faring in the game of life?
A. The
Patriots want to get it right tonight. The Giants want to get it right on
the biggest of all stages. But is that the biggest?
B. Paul
says life is the biggest stage, and getting the Gospel right is a key to real
life. It�s a key to connection, closeness with God.
C. Be
careful you get your snacking and shouting right. Because fresh studies
out, front page Thurs 1/31/08 Review, shows that heart attacks and other cardiac
emergencies often double during big national athletic contests. This
happened in Munich when that nation�s soccer team played world cup
matches. Almost all of that was attributable to wolfing down junk food,
hardly taking time to breathe, and STRESS; so not worth it.
II. In
Galatians Paul is passionate about "getting the Gospel right.
Why?
A. Because so many of us are NOT. We don�t really know
what�s at stake. We know Gospel means "Good News, but we�re not sure
it really sounds like good news to us, OR to people around us who are not
followers of Jesus, who told us the Good News first and best. I think many
of us have this secret fear the Gospel often just sounds like scolding, all the
things we�re not supposed to do if we�re going to be good people and go to
Heaven.
B. What�s at stake in the Gospel is having a relationship
with God where we actually EXPERIENCE His grace and peace (v 3). It�s more
than just a doctrinal belief in our head, We really "get the Gospel when
it has made the longest journey in the world: the 18 between head and
heart.
1. Getting the Gospel right means living the abundant life
HERE AND NOW that Jesus promised (Jn 10:10).
2. Read the various
translations (you�ll start to wonder if YOU have it right ("Life overflowing,
life to the full, abundant life, more abundantly, life in all its
fullness").
C. Paul spent this letter, and more, trying to help the
churches he�d started, his spiritual children, get the Gospel right. So
it�s worth our attention, eh? I think it�s worth our attention because I
have this nagging sense that SO many of us don�t have it right, meaning we�re
not experiencing the benefits of that kind of relationship with the Living God,
through Jesus, today. How about you?
III. Paul says it�s all
about "grace and "peace (v 3); twin truths he often greets his
churches with.
A. One of the problems of grace in our ungrace world
is people often react to it in one of two ways. The two ways are polar
opposites. Both place us in slavery.
1. There�s the bondage
of legalism: trying to earn or deserve your acceptance with God and abundant
life through your own performance/works, instead of the work of Jesus on the
Cross. It involves trying instead of trusting.
2. It usually
has three enslaving results in our lives that both Paul and Jesus really come
down hard on:
a. Comparison (2 Cor 10:12; Gal 5:25-26;
6:4)
b. Doing good things only for show (Mt 6:1)
c.
And never feeling like you�ve done enough, never feeling you�re quite good
enough for God or Heaven. To be truthful…you�re NOT. But Jesus makes
you good enough, makes you right with God. He died for our sins, our
falling shorts (Rom 3:10, 23 P Larry Lea story).
3. Paul talks a
LOT through this letter about the enslaving, life-sucking effects of
legalism.
B. But there�s another form of bondage just as deadly,
and that is "libertarianism or "licentiousness. When we try to teach
people the truth about God�s grace people will often accuse us of "cheapening
grace or "libertarianism.
1. That is the attitude that I
can do what I want and God will always forgive me. It does not encourage
holiness, it encourages licentiousness, abusing grace
2. Paul tackles
that head on in (Gal 5:13-26) and (Rom 3:8; 6:1, 15).
3. He says a
lot here. But here�s some highlights:
a. Don�t abuse God�s
grace (v. 13). Some people, when they hear about God�s grace, they
think it gives them license to do what they want, to indulge their sensual
desires and appetites. Paul knew this would happen (READ
ROMANS)
b. But if the Spirit of Jesus lives in you He�s constantly
inviting you to a better life, because your sinful sensual desires never really
deliver on their promises. Obeying the Spirit in you is truly satisfying
and truly life (14). The way of the flesh is death; either slow or quick
(15-18).
c. He then describes in gory detail what a life lived for
ourselves, following sinful, sensual desires, looks like (19-21).
4. He then describes the abundant life lived listening and obeying
God�s Spirit in you. He constantly speaks life vs death to us (Vs.
22-23). Look at the contrast.
C. I�ve got a question for
you. Who are you listening to? Who�s calling the shots (Rom
6)? Are you more a legalist, trying to be good enough for God? Or a
closet libertarian? There�s more than you want to admit you�re doing that
is not producing LIFE in you, but you�re excusing it because "I�m still better
than others (comparison), I still have WAY more good than bad (I can show), and
God will always forgive me. Friends, that�s real dangerous because of the
scarring, hardening of our heart (Rom 1:28-32; 2 Thes 2:10-12).
D.
Let me tell you there were many in Scripture that slipped into libertarianism.
1. David had to be excusing himself (self-deception is always
behind this) big time as we see him commit rapid fire sins: adultery, lying,
murder of a righteous man.
2. Moses could easily excuse his murder
of an Egyptian slave-driver. God was going to free his people from slavery
anyway. There will be many who get killed when they are freed. Why
not now? It�s easy to excuse our sin.
3. Then there�s Paul
who could clearly justify his killing Christians: "God will forgive me for
this. These Christians are teaching things contrary to the Law Moses
handed down from God, that we are only right with God through the sacrificial
system and obeying the Law.
4. There are all kinds of ways to
justify and excuse sin. Self-deception is huge in the Bible through story
and specific verses. That�s why Paul had to deal with it (Rom and Gal):
"The ends justify the means, my intentions are good, no one is really getting
hurt, we�re mutually consenting adults, no one will know, just this once,
God-you made me this way, but it�s an addiction,.
5. Paul
screams: "MAY IT NEVER BE! God says: "May it never be.
6.
I�m not sure it will turn out as big a story as it would have earlier in
Pres. Bush�s life. He only has 11 more months. But in last
nights paper he calls his problem with alcohol "an addiction. How many
addicts say "I have no control, responsibility, etc. God will forgive
me. I can do it over and over. It was at age 40 that he decided he
was an alcoholic. A conversation with Billy Graham showed him that he was
helpless to solve it on his own. He needed Jesus.
E. There is
something called a scarring, searing of our conscience that Paul warns against
in (I Tim 4:1-2). That will happen if we continue to abuse grace and say:
"God will always forgive me. Our conscience gets so hard we eventually
won�t say: "God will always forgive me. We won�t ask for
forgiveness. We won�t care. Don�t go there.
1. Turn to
Jesus BEFORE your conscience gets hard; before it�s too late. David
did. Moses did. Paul did. Their past didn�t determine their
destiny, and their failures didn�t become their focus.
2. I�ve seen
so many people focus on their failures and sins. They�re always thinking
about, talking about and consumed with what they�re going to stop doing.
Crippling.
3. DON�T! Focus on the real life the Spirit of
Jesus living in you is constantly pointing you toward. That life wars
directly against life in the flesh (5:16-17). This is NOT what you want;
NOT real life. Real life is (5:22-23).
IV. David saw he could
become a man after God�s own heart. Moses became Israel�s liberator.
Paul became a champion of the church instead of a destroyer of the church,
George Bush became President. All of this happened because they listened
to the drawing of God�s Spirit in them leading them toward true life. They
refused to get fixated on and frozen in their past failures, and what they
should stop doing.
Instead they followed the Spirit of God leading them
to true love relationship with Jesus and true life. Will you?
Closing song(s).