UNDEFILED GOSPEL WHO ARE YOU WEARING? GALATIANS 3:25-29 APRIL 30, 2017

Transcription

1 UNDEFILED GOSPEL WHO ARE YOU WEARING? GALATIANS 3:25-29 APRIL 30, 2017 This year our theme is Go. And from the beginning of this year, every sermon has been presented in a way to help each and every one of us to not only go and make disciples, but to be a disciple. Remember, you can t make a disciple unless you are a disciple. In the New Testament, the word Disciple is used to describe the people who are committed to following Jesus Christ. Being a disciple of Jesus requires more from us than just turning up for a church service, God is meant to have the central place in our daily lives. Being a disciple of Jesus is more than just reading your bible once in a while or praying when you need something, it requires a real relationship with the God who loves you. Following Christ is meant to be the central purpose of our lives. A Christian who takes discipleship seriously is a Christian who takes Jesus and the Gospel seriously. It s been said, clothes make the man, but what about being a Christian? Paul writes, For you are all sons of God through

2 faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham s descendants, heirs according to promise. (Galatians 3:26-29NASB) In this text, Paul uses a different word instead of disciple. He simply says, For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. Did you catch the word? The NASB uses the word sons. Other translations use the word children. I have heard many people say, well everyone is a child of God. The truth of the matter is not everyone is a child of God. You see, before a person responds to the Gospel, they are not a child of God. Here is the principle. If I wanted to be a member of your family, I can t just say I m part of the family. Now, I could say that and I could even perhaps act like it, but as far as me being able to handle legal matters in your family I would have to become a legal family member, isn t that correct? The same is true in the family of God. I can hang around with God s people and I may even act like it from time to time, but when it comes to receiving a part of the inheritance as a family member, certain things have to be taken care of, correct? Paul informs us that in order to become a child of God, one must come to God through faith in Jesus Christ. Faith is the beginning process, the first step in a legal process that gets us into the family. If I simply said I have faith, but do not act upon it, then how have I demonstrated the faith I claimed to have? You see, God will do His part, but we must do our as well. Eugene Peterson in the Message writes this, But now you have arrived at your destination: By faith in Christ you are in direct relationship with God. Your baptism in Christ was not just washing you up for a fresh start. It also involved dressing you in an adult faith wardrobe Christ s life, the fulfillment of God s original promise. (Gal. 3:25-27 The Message)

3 This destination as Peterson puts it, means to be in Christ. It s a new life in Christ. It is legally joining God s family or as Jesus put it, being born again. To use the term that we have been using all year, disciple. Discipleship is the way we show that we take Jesus His Incarnation, His works, His words, His person, His exemplary life, His commands and His commissions seriously. Discipleship involves our deep commitment to our Lord and Savior, allowing His life to infuse our own, so that we become more like Him. Discipleship is an ongoing process that will last the whole of our lifetime and should touch every part of our lives. That s what it means to be in Christ. In Christ, our past has been erased. What does that mean? It means that God takes us in as if we had not sinned. You see, when a person comes to Christ, they are to remove themselves and put on Christ. It is true there may be some who never take their dirty clothes off. But if a person is genuine, when they stand before God, He doesn t see our sinful past. He doesn t see our filthy, tattered rags, for that person is now clothed in the righteousness of Christ. The Biblical concept here is called imputed righteousness. We are imputed with the righteousness of Christ. It is a legal term which simply means, His righteousness is credited to my account. So many people think that Jesus came to make bad people good. Ravi Zacharias said, Jesus Christ did not come to make bad people good, but to make dead people alive. When a person surrenders their life to Christ, they don t become good, they become alive! In Ephesians 2, Paul writes, And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. (Ephesians 2:1-3NASB) Christ didn t come to make you good. He didn t die to make you better. He didn t raise up from the grave to make you happy.

4 He came to make you alive in Him! And when you come alive in Christ, then there should be a difference. A difference in the way you think. A difference in the way you act. A difference in the way you spend your money. A difference in the way you treat your spouse, your friends and even your employer. There must be a difference. Your life will reflect who you are wearing, so who is it? Paul also informs us that we are all one in Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham s descendants, heirs according to promise. I want to make sure that everyone knows that Paul is not talking about roles and responsibilities within the church. He is not talking about ministry roles nor is he talking about status in society. He is talking about salvation! Now, when Paul wrote this letter, the Jewish people thought they were God s people simply because they were Jews. The Pharisee s would often pray something like this. O God I am glad that I am not like one of those Gentiles. Not only did he compare Jews and Greeks, but he also threw in slaves and free man, male and female. We can only imagine the bitterness between the slaves and those who owned them. Why did Paul write male and female? You see, during the time and culture that Paul wrote this, women were considered as property. Most of the time they were not even treated as human being, but God s Word states very clearly that women as well as all people are important to Him. May I remind all of us that Jesus came to redeem the world! He didn t come only for the Jews, the Greek, the slaves or free man, male or female. Jesus didn t come for the rich or poor, but God so loved the world. The cross is the great equalizer. Yes, we are all different. Different sizes, shapes, color and backgrounds, but Paul wrote, And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham s descendants, heirs according to promise.

5 All of the social barriers and prejudices that exist in the world are torn down, smashed on the rock of God s love. There is no room for prejudice in the church. You may have heard the story from the 60 s, when a young man with a peace sign T-shirt and jeans with holes in them, bare feet, walked into a church one morning. Everyone was in their Sunday best, and the pews were full. The young man walked down the center aisle, looking for a place to sit, and as he went, people s eyes followed him, wondering what he would do, this strange young man in their church. Since every seat was taken, he came to the front, and sat down on the floor to listen. All eyes were on him as people wondered what would happen. One of the deacons, an older man in a nice pinstriped suit, started down the aisle toward the young man sitting on the floor. Everyone knew what would happen, he would ask the young man to leave, after all, he didn t have any shoes on, his hair was a mess, he looked as though he hadn t had a shower in several days, we can t have these distractions in our worship service. The old deacon walked slowly, he used a cane because of arthritis in his knee. He got to the front, and slowly, slowly, he knelt down, then sat next to the young man with long hair so he wouldn t be the only one on the floor. The church is a place for love and acceptance for everyone who walks through that door. And whoever walks through that door is welcome here, no matter who they are. And if someone walks in as a guest, we don t tell them that the seat they are in belongs to so and so, we make room for them, we welcome them, we make them feel that they belong here, because if God draws them here, they do belong. Some of you have told me that if we get so many people in here that you will stand the entire time, get ready. You see, doing the right thing will be determined by who you are wearing. A story is told of a country preach who had a chance to see the king of his country. Now the preacher had received one set of fine preaching clothes. These clothes were nicer than anything he

6 could have afforded, and he only got one set. Word came one day that he was to have an audience with the King, an opportunity to preach a message in the Kings court, to the King himself. He prepared the finest message he could think clearly enough to write, and when the big day came, he headed off for the Kings castle. It was raining that day, and on the way his horse was spooked by a snake in the road, and the preacher was thrown from his horse into a mud puddle. He was covered in mud and filth, with no way to clean himself up before his appointment. He couldn t keep the King waiting, he had an appointment, and you don t keep the King waiting. So, he straightened himself up as best as he could and continued to the King s castle. Of course, he was stopped outside the throne room where he was told that he would not be allowed into the Kings presence in his filthy condition. This was his only chance, he had no way to clean his clothes, he only got the one set, and they were beyond any hope of becoming clean. There was nothing he could do. He was taken down a hallway to another room and he wondered what would happen to him. The King would not take a no-show lightly. Would he be imprisoned, would he be killed? As he was brought into a room and he realized he was in the chamber of the Prince. His heart was pounding, would the Prince judge him, would he meet his fate here, would he ever see his family again? The Prince came toward him, taking off his own royal robes, he said, here put these on you are expected before the King in a few minutes. The Prince traded clothes with the preacher, and they went together to see the King. The preacher was accepted in the court, well received, treated like royalty, for he had put on the clothes of the Prince. The Prince was still the Prince, he will always be royalty, he can easily overcome the preacher s dirty clothes. That is a picture of what Jesus does for us. (Adapted from R. C. Sproul) So, I must ask today, who are you wearing? Amen!