Galatians 6:11 See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. I. To highlight human religion you need to obscure the cross.

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1 Text: Galatians 6:11-18 Galatians XXI The Braggart s Song 6/12/16 1 Big Idea: The gospel path is lit by the glory of the cross. Purpose: To magnify the glory of the cross of Christ. Galatians 6:11 See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. [OUTLINE & OVERVIEW] Galatians 6: It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. I. To highlight human religion you need to obscure the cross. Galatians 6:14 14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. II. When we magnify the cross, the world s influence is eclipsed. Galatians 6:15 15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. III. Our work doesn t tip the salvation scale because the cross balances it. Galatians 6: And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. 17 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen. IV. The standard of the cross lights up the night. Main Idea: The gospel path is lit by the glory of the cross.

2 2 [MANUSCRIPT] Introduction: 1. Hook: [Personal story about running gin the dark] 2. Need: It is hard to stay on the path in the dark. READ Galatians 6:11 See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. 3. Orient: Paul is signing the letter here. He does this in other letters, but never this extensive. Just like Galatians begins in a unique way not replicated in Paul s other letters, it ends in kind. This has been a book about the path of the gospel. (1:6-7, 4:8-9, 5:1, 5:7-10, 5:25). It is hard to stay on a path if it is dark. Here we see how the gospel path is lit. READ Galatians 6: It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. I. To highlight human religion you need to obscure the cross. A. Don t miss the character of the dead religion crowd. 1. They worship perception. (12a) 2. They run from discomfort. (12b) 3. They preach but don t practice. (13a) 4. They pad their ego by controlling others. (13b) APP: We have to spot this in our community. o Our belief system is either founded on human achievement/capacity or divine accomplishment. We will either be about what we can do or what God has done. Not both. Transition: The Jesus+ crowd in Galatia didn t want the cross. Because B. The cross spotlights the insufficiency of our salvation schemes. EXP: the message of the Cross o At its core, the cross says, there is no glory in human flesh; the moral height to which we can attain is radical corruption, dead in our sins, in complete need of God s miraculous grace to save us. APP: Our glory The cross

3 o The only way to put our glory in ourselves is to keep the cross out of the equation. Transition: This entire letter has emphasized the difference between the false teachers, who put the emphasis on human achievement, and Paul, who centers his life on the gospel? Charles Spurgeon called this next verse the theme of the Apostle Paul s entire life and ministry. READ Galatians 6:14 14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. II. When we magnify the cross, the world s influence is eclipsed. WS: far be it from me = I will never strongest possible Greek negative Transition: Why do you have boast at all? A. We re made to boast. (14a) APP: We are glory seekers. o We are going to pride ourselves in something. Most often: we pride ourselves in ourselves. WS: Boast = Glory in EXP: We were made to glory o Our propensity to glory in something is not wrong; it s just misapplied by nature. We re digging in the wrong place. o B. To boast in the cross is to magnify the gospel. (14b) EXP: The cross = o the instrument of Christ s death; the proof of the curse that Christ took upon himself. The blessed one hung there as the cursed one. APP: This means o I m hanging it all on Christ. Which means I m hanging none of it on myself. All my confidence and all my reliance are in Christ. o C. To boast in the cross is to live dead to the world. (14b) WS: World o world system, whose values, beliefs, and morals are marked by rebellion against God. (4:3) ILL: Two crosses: o The world on one, Paul on the other. It is dead to me, and I m dead to it. 3

4 APP: Are you alive to the world and dead to Christ? Or are you, like Paul, dead to the world and alive in Christ? Are you dead to the world? o The worlds view of success o The world s value of security o The world s idol of material wealth o The world s ideology of comfort-worship o The world s worship of physical gratification at any cost o The world s demand for self-determination o The world s bent toward self-exaltation 4 Transition: How does boasting in the cross change your perspective? READ Galatians 6:15 15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. III. Our work doesn t tip the salvation scale because the cross balances it. A. There is nothing else to be counted. EXP: Our accomplishments are nothing o Our achievement in religion counts for nothing, because what Christ has done in the cross counts for everything. You can t add anything to Christ because the scales are balanced in the cross, the equation adds up, the accounts are settled. WS: New: original, of a kind not seen before WS: Creation: o something brought into existence by the work of God. APP: Re-cycle vs. recreate o The world strives for a fresh look, but God makes a new creation. We can refashion and re-appropriate and re-tool, only God can re-create. B. The cross is the turning point in all history for God s re-creation. EXP/CXT: A new creation is the first fruits of the new creation. o This is the same forward looking, final day approaching perspective we ve had in the entire letter. The end is coming, God is making all things new, and those who believe the gospel are in on the first glimpse of the sunrise. Transition: Now we come to the end of this letter. Remember the context. These Galatians have been told they are second class Christians. The false teachers were hammering them: They aren t born Jews, so they aren t children of Abraham, so they aren t the true Israel: God s people. Here Paul hammers it home one last time.

5 READ Galatians 6: And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. 17 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen. 5 IV. The standard of the cross lights up the night. A. Those who walk in its light join the family of God. PRV: v. 16: this rule = o reference point, standard for which everything else is evaluated. EXP: The cross is our reference point. Everything is measured by the cross. EXP: Israel of God in contexto one final reminder that those who believe by faith are the sons of Abraham. Reminder to these Gentiles that the cross of Christ has qualified them as targets of God s grace and mercy. B. The cross marks the true Christian. PRV: Scars of Christ o Marks Don t bother troubling me, I m branded for Christ. EXP: Paul s meaning o Not: I m turning my phone off, so stop texting me. o BUT- don t bother troubling me, I m branded. Grace, mercy, peace holding him strong. Conclusion It s hard to stay on the path in the dark. The gospel path isn t dark. It s LIT UP. Big Idea: The gospel path is lit by the glory of the cross. This means: We stay on the gospel path by the light shed on that path through the cross. We don t begin in the Spirit only to be perfected by the flesh. We don t start based on God s gracious gospel and reach the finish line based on our solid efforts. We begin in grace, stand in grace, and end in grace. The cross lights up the gospel path by showing us: you can t ascend the ladder of religion to get to God, but you don t have to. Jesus descended to pay your debt on the cross. At the center of the Christian life is the gospel, at the center of the gospel is the cross, at the center of the cross is Christ. Stay on the path, glory in the cross alone.