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Galatians 5:1-6 Stand Firm In Freedom

Sunday we begin the final two chapters of Galatians. Through chapter 3 & 4, Paul has made his case that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. He has shown that God’s covenant has always been through faith, even in Abraham’s day. At the end of chapter four, Paul used Abraham and his family to demonstrate that the Gentiles who trust in Jesus are themselves children of promise - children of the free woman (as Paul says in chapter 4.) As he begins chapter 5, he will show believers how we walk in the freedom Christ has given us. Sunday we will examine Galatians 5:1-6 and save 7-12 for next Sunday. Galatians 5:1 is a summary of what the whole letter to the Galatians is about. "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." (Gal 5:1). This is why Paul writes Galatians. To think that the gospel is not sufficient and to go back to seeking righteousness by the law is to return to slavery for sinners can never earn right standing by the law. We would have to keep it all perfectly for the entirety of our lives. In 5:1-6, Paul shows that even adding one tiny thing to "help" the gospel, is to return to the whole law. But Jesus has freed us. Sunday we will examine this freedom and see how we live in it.

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Galatians 4:21-5:1 Children Of Promise

Fathers’ Day is a wonderful day of thanksgiving and celebration as people thank God for the gift of our dads. It is a blessing from the Lord when a father leads his family in the Lord. Fathers’ Day is also a day of remembrance and mourning for those whose fathers have passed away. And Fathers’ Day is also hard for those who may not have had a close relationship with their father for one reason or another. Regardless of the memories and emotions Fathers’ Day brings, as believers in Christ, we have a perfect Father who loves us more than we can ever understand. We have a Father who gave His only begotten Son that we might be adopted into His family. In Galatians 4:21-5:1, Paul shows us that in Christ, we are children of Promise just as Isaac. This section of Galatians is the dramatic conclusion to Paul’s argument in chapters 3-4. From Abraham’s own sons (Ishmael & Isaac) Paul shows the Galatians that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of God’s covenant promise to Abraham. Therefore, those who come to God by grace through faith in Jesus are children of promise. This section is filled with Old Testament references and quotes, so I am praying God will make the text clear as we walk through it. Because time is always short and this text is very dense, try to read through Galatians 4:21-5:1 a few times before Sunday...and have a happy Fathers’ Day.

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Galatians 4:12-20 Until Christ Is Formed In You

Sunday we will examine Galatians 4:12-20. Paul has been arguing forcefully from the Old Testament Scriptures that God’s promise to Abraham is fulfilled to the nations by faith alone in Jesus Christ. He has defended salvation by faith against those teaching the Galatians that works of the law were also necessary to be right with God. We have taken note of the urgency and alarm in Paul’s words as he declared that anyone preaching another gospel is accursed. He also called the Galatians foolish twice in this letter. Paul is energetic in trying to persuade the Galatians to hold onto to the gospel truth. But in 4:12-20, Paul pauses his exposition of Old Testament texts and makes a personal, pastoral appeal to the Galatians. He reminds them of how they received the gospel message and Paul as the messenger, and he exposes the motives of those who are seeking to pervert the gospel. Paul, like the Judaizers, is trying to win over the Galatians. But his motive reveals his love and his heart for them. He not only loves truth, doctrine, theology and his mission - he loves these people. His desire for them is not that he would add numbers to his resume of converts. He desires them to follow Christ. He says "My children, with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you...(v.19). The message of this heartfelt pastoral section, is a call for the Galatians to flee back to the simple gospel of Jesus. Let us do that as well - daily - hourly - moment by moment - until Christ be formed in us.

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Galatians 3:25-4:11 From Slavery To Sonship

Sunday we will work through another section of Galatians. Last week we saw the relationship between the law and the promise in 3:15-26. Paul showed us that the law was never intended to give life but was added because of transgressions. He described the law as a guardian or disciplinarian that hems us in under the wrath of God and drives us to the savior in order that we might inherit the promise by faith. As we continue in 3:25-4:11, Paul will explain more fully who we are in the gospel of Jesus. It is the gospel alone in which we find our identity before God. The Galatians were falling into an all too familiar snare of many Christians. They were tempted to believe that their standing before God was dependent upon Jesus plus works of the law. Over the course of our study in Galatians, we have seen how easy it is for any of us to fall into this temptation. When we fail to walk in the commands of God that we love, our heart breaks and we feel that God has removed his loving presence from us. When we succeed gloriously in doing good according to God’s word, sometimes we feel that we have earned a higher standing than we had in the gospel. Paul shows us in this section that, in the gospel, if we have been born again - God eternally sees us in Christ - holy and blameless before Him. We cannot add to what he has given and it is the height of arrogance to think we can. We can easily see the folly of claiming an identity that doesn’t correspond with reality. We are seeing from the world during this month in particular. And we also know that the gospel is desperately needed by the world that embraces such sinful falsehood, in order to be brought to salvation and transformed to live for God. But as we seek to speak the truth in love and share the saving gospel of Jesus with the world, we also must hold fast to that gospel ourselves. In Jesus our identity is secure and perfect before God. Regardless of how we feel in the moment, that is reality. In the gospel, we have been saved from sin, and we have been transformed to live for sin no longer. That is the identity of the born again believer in Christ. We are:

I. United with Christ Through Faith (3:25-29) - and Paul lists the benefits of this union

II. Redeemed From Slavery & Adopted (4:1-7)

`And therefore we must:

III. Live As Children of God (4:8-11)

As we walk through the book of Galatians, the main point is repeated over and over again. Jesus is enough. Jesus is sufficient. We have all things in the gospel through faith alone. I know that the point of these messages in Galatians have been repetitive as we take the book in sections, but there is no greater truth that believers need to have repeated over and over. We must preach this to ourselves daily. The gospel is sufficient. The gospel is the grounds of our growth into maturity. The gospel is the hub around which the whole Christian life turns. We need the gospel more today than we ever have before - and tomorrow we will need it even more.

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Galatians 3:15-26 Why Then The Law?

This Sunday we jump back into the heart of Galatians 3 after a two week break. Remember that Paul is writing to refute false teachers claiming that Gentiles must trust in Jesus and submit to circumcision according to the law of Moses in order to be right with God. In 3:1-5, Paul began by reminding the Galatians that they had received the Spirit by hearing with faith, not by works of the law. Therefore, to think that works of the law could now perfect them is foolish. Then in 3:6-9, Paul showed them from the Scripture that God foretold the Gentiles would be saved by faith when he preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying "in you all nations will be blessed." And in v. 10-14, Paul said that those who try to live by the law are under a curse, and that the only way to be free of it is through Jesus who became a curse for us.

Now, in verses 15-26 Paul will show the relationship between the law and the promise. He does this to demonstrate that the law of Moses was never intended to nullify or alter the promise given to Abraham. In these verses, Paul gives an overview of God’s purposes in salvation history, and shows us how the epochs in the Old Testament fit together in the grand narrative of God’s gospel. This section of Galatians is very dense and complex. Paul’s argument is difficult to follow in a few places. Take some time to read 3:15-26 before Sunday to familiarize yourself with them. I hope to break them down into three headings.

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Psalm 127 - Unless The Lord Build...

There is quite a lot going on this Sunday. Of course it is Mother’s day; the day we celebrate God’s gift of our mothers. We are also having eight families which will participate in our Parent / child dedication service in the 11am service. And in addition to all that, we will begin our baby bottle project this Sunday to raise money in support of Kansans for Life & Embrace Crisis Pregnancy Center, in order to continue the fight against abortion and to help mothers who may think abortion is their only option. So because of this focus on the family, we will pause our study of Galatians and briefly look at Psalm 127. This is a psalm of ascent, meaning it was sung by those going up to the temple during times of worship. The Psalm is only 5 but it is significant in its application for parents and the family. The first two verses show us that unless the Lord is working, all our labors are in vain, and in the second part, the psalmist applies this principle to the raising of children and the family. Sunday as we celebrate our mothers, and the families committing to raise their children in the Lord, I hope that God’s word will guide us to commit ourselves to preparing the next generation to stand for the gospel in a culture that is continually moving away from the truth of God. This is important even if you don’t have children or your children are grown and have their own families. We will see 8 families committing to raise their children in the Lord and in the fellowship of FBC. Regardless of what season our own family is in, we can invest in making disciples of the next generation.

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Galatians 3:1-14 Faith From Beginning To End

Through the first two chapters of Galatians, Paul has given testimony of the origin of the gospel he preached, the authenticity of his call as an Apostle, and the authority of the gospel over even other Apostles. As we begin Galatians 3, Paul turns his attention back to the Galatians who are being tempted to follow after the false teachers who claim that Gentile Christians must adopt Jewish practices to be in covenant with God. Through chapters 3 & 4, Paul use many Old Testament texts to prove that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus alone. Sunday we will see the beginning of this presentation as Paul does for the Galatians exactly what he did for Peter in chapter 2. He calls them back to living out the truth they have believed in the gospel. As Paul presents the truth to the Galatians, we find those same truths calling us back to the gospel, when we are tempted to forget the promises of the covenant we have in Jesus Christ. Though we will probably not be faced with people telling us we must add traditional Jewish law to our faith in order to be righteous before God, we are continually barraged by messages from the world, well meaning religious people, and even our own hearts which tell us that Jesus has left something unfinished which we must complete. Paul addresses this head on, asking the Galatians (and us) "Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?" (Gal. 3:3)

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Galatians 2:15-21 A Call To Remember

Sunday we will jump back in to the middle of Paul’s rebuke of Peter. In verses 11-14, we saw that Peter was not walking in step with the gospel. He drew back from fellowship with the Gentiles because he feared those of the circumcision party. Paul called this hypocrisy and said Peter stood condemned. Peter believed the gospel but he was not walking in step with what he believed. His actions said that Jesus’ death and resurrection was not enough to cleanse his Gentile brothers and sister before God. As we walked through those verses, we noted how we often live out of step with the gospel. We often fall back into thinking that works of the law must be added to what Jesus accomplished. We do this in the way we respond to trials in despair; when we refuse to reconcile with other believers; when we act or think in ways that says Jesus has not given me all I need to satisfy my soul. Paul calls this hypocrisy. But to remedy the situation, Paul doesn’t give Peter laws or rules to follow. Instead, he reminds Peter of the gospel in which he believes. Sunday we will see how Paul does this and use this as a template to remind ourselves of the gospel when we walk out of step with it. Whatever we face, whatever pain we experience or trial we endure - Jesus is enough. He has given us all things. And that means he has cleansed our brothers and sisters in Christ as well. If Jesus is enough - then we must walk in that truth in our own lives and in our relationships with one another.

Verses 15-21 make up the central theme of the book of Galatians. I hope you can join us as we remind ourselves of the gospel so that we may grow to live more and more in step with that truth.

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Galatians 2:11-14 In Step With The Gospel

As we continue in Galatians Sunday, we come to the central passage of the book. In verses 11-21, Paul rebukes Peter for not walking in step with the gospel and then gives one of the clearest presentations of the gospel in the New Testament. Galatians 2:11-21 is a single unit, so we will read it in its entirety Sunday. But there is so much application throughout, we will exposit it in two parts. Sunday we will focus on v. 11-14 (though we will apply v. 15-16 as well) and then the following Sunday we will focus on v. 15-21. As we see Peter’s actions and Paul’s confrontation with him, we see the importance of thinking and living according to the truth of the gospel. In many ways, this could be the summation of growing in discipleship. When we bring all our life under the authority of the truth of the gospel; when we see our trials, our conflicts, our problems, our disappointments, and our brothers & sisters through the lens of the gospel. Though we are sinners and there is nothing good in us, Jesus has given us perfect righteousness before God. We are united with Christ and therefore with one another. And there is no higher standing before God than being in Christ. When we fail to respond, think, or act under the authority of that truth, we are not walking in step with the gospel. This affects every aspect of our lives from our marriages, relationships, occupations, trials, sufferings, and our fellowship with one another. The gospel is not just a message for unbelievers. It is for Christians as well. The gospel is our hope and our life. Sunday we will see what it looks like to live in step with who Jesus is and what He has done. 

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Galatians 2:1-10 Gospel Preserved For You

"...so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you" (Galatians 2:5)

This Sunday will be our first week meeting in the gym. As I write this, half the chairs are set up for the start of DNow. I am so proud of our staff who have worked diligently to make sure we are able to worship without hindrance in this new space. Because this is the start of a new adventure in the life of our church, I spent alot of time praying and trying to decide what we need to hear this week. But I realized that we are a people who need to hear from God so it doesn’t matter what I think we need to hear. Therefore, this Sunday we are returning to Galatians and picking up at the beginning of chapter 2. And once again, God has shown Himself faithful to speak exactly what we need to hear in this moment. In Galatians 2:1-10, Paul’s is continuing the testimony of his early ministry in order to show that he is preaching the true gospel which he received from Jesus Himself. At chapter 2 begins, he chronicles how he finally went to Jerusalem and set his gospel before the Jerusalem apostles, and he demonstrates that they affirmed his preaching and his mission to the Gentiles. They were all preaching the same gospel for there is only one true gospel. But as Paul makes his case, the truths we at FBC need to hear echo out from the text. The gospel is worth fighting for (v. 3-5), the gospel mission has been entrusted to us (6-9), and the gospel is what unifies us together (9-10).

As I prayed and prepared this text, the Lord has made it more abundantly clear that what we are building here is worth fighting for. It isn’t just a building - It is a culture of gospel saturated discipleship standing upon the inerrent word of God, and we must strive "so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you" [i.e. those who come after us].

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Romans 4:18-5:2 Raised For Our Justification

I am so excited to worship with you this coming Resurrection Sunday. Of course, we celebrate the gospel every time we gather, but this is the Sunday the church sets aside to specifically commemorate and revel in what Jesus Christ has done for us. Our Savior is alive and He as given us an eternal resurrection life! Romans 4:25 says, "[Jesus] was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification." So, this Sunday as we gather to worship, I hope to focus our hearts on what it means to be justified before God and how a sinner can be justified. We rightly give much attention to Jesus’ crucifixion when we speak of being justified before God. It is indeed there where the payment for our sin was made. (And we will of course speak much about it Sunday as well.) But the resurrection is also central to our justification. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul says if Christ has not been raised, our faith is futile and we are still in our sins. This Sunday we will talk about how the resurrection of Jesus applies to our justification before God. I hope to preach from Romans 4:18 - 5:2 in order to demonstrate this. I pray that God will use this Sunday to change hearts, draw people to Himself, and to deepen our love for His name. 

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Colossians 2:6-15 Walking In Christ

Although we have only completed the first chapter of Galatians, we will pause our study for the next two weeks. On Easter Sunday of course, we will focus on the resurrection and the gospel as we celebrate our risen savior. On Palm Sunday this week, I would like to focus our hearts more fully on what walking in the gospel entails, which is a theme we have seen already in Galatians. Being rooted and grounded in the gospel is the necessary and essential foundation for the maturing Christian life, and the life devoted to Christ’s commission to make disciples. As we drill down into this vitally important truth, I hope to draw our attention to a passage God used personally and powerfully in my life as I struggled to comprehend the growing Christian life - Colossians 2:6-15. I pray the Lord will use this text in your life just as He did in mine as we prepare ourselves for Resurrection Sunday, the transition of the building process, and our larger commission to make disciples of Christ.

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