Death of Legalism | Sermon 04/13/2024

Alright guys My aim here today is to encourage us right through God's Word To help us understand the miracle that has occurred in our lives in which the gospel

Has truly set us free by the blood of Jesus Christ in that freedom

The spirit of life who is God now dwells Within us and he is the access the very access to the mind of God Not by man or precepts according to the law

But according to his spirit in which the flesh apart from God has no access whatsoever

You Christian if you sit here you have passed from death in to life

Yet you live a life in which in you right the heavenly reality of your salvation.

It's the here in not yet So so what do I mean by that?

What I mean is that we live in a fallen world and we have a body that is decaying because of sin, right?

We're not yet sinless Furthermore Christ has not returned yet Meaning that all things though being in subjection to him are not yet under his feet.

It's happening now psalm 110 1 His kingdom is still conquering through the power of redemption

So in this reality we live around fallen people who live according to the flesh and in every relationship

We have here on this side of glory sin has already tainted it and crept in Anger malice envy strife jealousy sexual immorality

Death sinful desire. These are all things in which our world and our relationships are a captive audience to Scripture highlights that we wants to walked according to the deeds of the flesh, but now

We have passed from death and into life So living in the here

We and the not yet. We are saved are being saved and will be saved

It's the threefold plan of salvation and we're going to talk about that today One Ephesians 2 8 states that we have been saved right you were dead

You were once dead in your trespasses and sins in which you once walked Falling the course of the world falling the prince of the power of the air, right?

But God has made you alive together in him meaning that death no longer has a hold on you

You have been saved by Christ from your sins and you are no longer

Condemned you have been declared righteous by the blood of Christ covering you For your sins and now you are indwelt by the

Holy Spirit who then sanctifies you in this fallen world Which means we are then being saved first Corinthians 1 18 points to that in our sanctification

Since we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit God begins a process in us in Which we were very first set apart from the world in sealed to God By God and for God to the benefit of our neighbors

To be what to be conformed not to the world But to the image of Christ in which the

Holy Spirit is at work in the lives of all believers Meaning that what God has started he will bring to completion

He tells us that in his word in Philippians 1 6 meaning that we are promised glorification

Through the Holy Spirit, which is what we will be saved We have a resurrection promised to us

Christ was the firstborn from the dead so that in all things he will be preeminent because of Christ's resurrection we have a hundred percent hope and certainty that one day we too will have resurrected bodies we

Will be saved in the future and that is that glorification in which we will be sinless and live within Resurrected glorified bodies in which

Christ again was the firstfruits from the dead So it's important to have this threefold

Understanding of our salvation we have been saved you are being saved and you are you will be saved

Because it can help us grasp that here and not yet in which we are living in Why because again we live within a fallen world that is being renewed by the power of Jesus Christ The hope is one that is also predicated not on things on earth but through a promise from heaven made known through the incarnation death burial and a resurrection of Jesus Christ not by the legal precepts of man

Okay, not through the law of men so the success of my salvation and the success of the gospel of the kingdom is predicated on the perfect completed work of Jesus Christ he is both the just and the justifier so understanding the gospel

We can understand the death of legalism and that is the title of this sermon today

And that's the first step to living in freedom Through God's Word understanding what it means to walk in the newness of life like we're told in Ephesians Because the truth is that the gospel is from God Whereas legalism is from man

So let me read our scripture that we're going to go over today and then we're going to pray So if you'd like in your Bibles, you can turn to Colossians 2

We're gonna be in verses 13 through 15 Here are the words of the living and true

God and you Who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh?

God made alive together with him having forgiven us all of our trespasses By canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands

This he set it aside nailing it to the cross He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them in him

Lord, uh, we come before you today humbly Knowing that there's nothing that we have done to deserve this salvation

Lord and We praise you for that God because if this was something that was attained through our own hands

We would have never obtained it Lord We were dead in our trespasses and sins in a position before you from birth as enemies of God Deserving of your wrath not deserving of your grace or your mercy

But father you loved us so much so that you had predestined us before the foundations of the earth

Adopted into the sons of God through the blood of Jesus Christ in that Christ You love us so much that you came to die for us

Lord to be obedient to the will of the father to humbly take your position away from heaven

Invade your glory in the form of a servant You were fully God and fully man in which you can be a propitiation

For our sins in your flesh by the blood that was spilled on the cross for us So we praise you

Jesus without you in your perfect work We would still stand condemned and without your resurrection from the dead without conquering the grave.

We would have no hope Because you wouldn't be God We trust in you

Jesus And we know the scriptures of old foretold the fact that you would rise from the dead and we have full

Certainty in who you are because there is an empty tomb Jesus And Holy Spirit we thank you for dwelling within us

Thank you for sealing us being that pledge of our inheritance to come For giving us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places because of our faith in Christ You testify to both the father and the son to us you have given us your word

So Lord, please illuminate our hearts and minds today so that we can love you

Lord Let us be challenged by your word Let us Lord walk away today

Knowing the beautiful work of the gospel in our lives, please Lord. Get me out of the way

Let your word shine true. I love you Lord, and I thank you. I pray that you bless everyone here through the reading and proclamation of your word in Jesus name

Amen, amen so the question we should first ask ourselves today is what is

Legalism. Have you ever thought about that to yourself? What exactly is?

legalism well legalism, it's a set of rules or Regulations from men given to men that they must follow in order to merit salvation and spiritual growth so in legalism

Salvation is something that you must work for in order to receive Christ made it possible to be saved, but you must fill in the blank right in order to merit

Salvation Jesus Christ made it possible. But in order to get to heaven you must obey some

Fundamental tenet the death of Christ wasn't enough in order to get to heaven.

You must bow down to the LGBTQ Society you must sacrifice parts of your body

In order to make yourself right with God, this would be a form of legalism, right?

Jesus Christ made it possible But in order to truly have a heavenly mind you must obey x y or z

Diets in order to drain your pineal gland of a certain substance that stops you from having a divine mind

Believe it or not people do believe that The truth is is that legalism has historically set itself in opposition to the gospel

Paul calls all religions or faiths that are contrary to the works of God Human precepts and teachings.

That's what he calls it in Colossians It's within human precepts and teachings that freedom cannot and will not be found

So In reality every single person in this room including myself. We have all come from some form of legalistic background

Take a look around you can see that there is no one in this room that cannot identify with some form of legalism

Whether it is coming from Mormonism Atheism agnosticism or even being raised in a

Christian Christian household prior to the saving faith that God has granted you Must have thought or once thought if it was being by me being good enough or doing good enough

Maybe I would have a right relationship with God In order to make ourselves right before God I must do

X Y or Z That's because the heart of man is deceitful

It has set itself up in opposition to the freedom that can only be found in Christ And what is found in Christ is not according to human precepts and teachings

But who is it from it's from the light who is the life of all men, which we've been going through so beautifully in John He was made known through the incarnation when

Christ took on flesh He accomplished his promise to Abraham in his death on the cross

He then sealed our salvation through the resurrection by giving us the gift of the Holy Spirit Again, who is now convicting the world of sin in righteousness?

And that's how God is conquering through the kingdom of the gospel by the power of redemption The Holy Spirit is convicting as we know it the world of sin and righteousness believe it or not

People are coming to faith in this very moment by the power of God This means that our salvation is fully dependent upon the perfect spotless righteous one

Jesus the Christ the God from everlasting to everlasting who took on flesh at one point in time

Heaven literally invaded earth and the impact of the cross shattered all bounds of the teachings of men

So I want to clearly set the parameters by scripture on what the gospel is and how we are saved and what occurs in our being

In order to live and walk in the newness of life. So Colossians 2 13 through 14 what did it say at first and you who were dead in your trespasses in the

Uncircumcision of your flesh God made alive together with him having forgiven us all our trespasses reality

You were dead in your trespasses, what can a dead man do in their trespasses?

Nothing, nothing at all. You're not somewhat alive. You're not sick. You are literally dead

You were dead, but God right made you alive with him by forgiving us all of our trespasses

So the question we should ask ourselves is well, then how I was dead in my trespasses

But somehow God made me alive with him by forgiving us all of our trespasses

Paul answers this He says by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands

So understand this we had a record of debt that did stand against us, but that surpassed even our own personal sin

We're not born tabula rasa. We're not born with a clean slate in Adam all die the scriptures clearly tell us that the record of debt against humanity started in the garden

Echoing David we were then conceived in iniquity with a nature hostile to God and his law

So think about the trespass that stood against us not even our own personal sin But humanity's grave sin through the representation of Adam We were dead before we were even alive in Adam all

Die and what is a trespass against God? What does that mean?

Well, it's not obeying his law Whether it be the first one that he gave Adam do not eat from the fruit

Or the tree the fruit of knowledge of good and evil don't eat of that. It's disobeyed to the law that we have today

There's one verse that I think clearly tells us what sin is what a trespass against God is.

It's first John 3 4 me read it to you Says everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness

Sin is lawlessness and I like how the KJV actually puts this verse where it says sin is the transgression of the law of God So lawlessness is acting not according to the law.

It's acting apart from God's law Doing what we will in our own being against the law of God Right.

Let us be like God knowing both good and evil from the garden The issue is is when man gets a knowledge of good and evil

We don't have the wisdom to discern between the two apart from God's revelation So we do what we want according to our flesh and that is sin.

That is lawlessness. It's acting Contrary to the law of God So, what do we know being dead in our trespasses and sins?

We're dead in Adam We're not born tabula rasa with a clean slate. Not only that Let's compound our sin.

We have personal trespasses a record of debt against God that has what? legal demands legal demands so as workers of righteousness the payment we ought to receive in Death in the flesh is death in the flesh in death of the spirit judgment.

So we are are working on righteousness There's legal demands for what we have done. We we deserve

Judgment, that's why the wages of sin is death. We're workers of unrighteousness in our trespasses

And I've heard I've said this before you've probably heard me say it quite a bit if you've heard me up here preaching before But you are not

Autonomous you are not an autonomous being there's only one autonomous being and that is

God. Let me let me give you an example. Why? The definition of autonomy is to be a law unto yourself

If you were a law unto yourself, you would be sinless You would be sinless.

All right, but the wages of sin is death and You have transgressed the law of God first John 3 4 and it's the very proof that you are not an autonomous

Being the only true autonomous being is God himself. You are under God's law

You ought to live according to God's law were made in the image of God. You are not a god, right?

God is truly the only autonomous being there is no one like him none before him none after him

He is immutable and unchanging Therefore we can trust that his law as a reflection of his character is also unchanging praise

God for that If we were a lot to ourselves or to the laws of others We are constantly changing what we think in terms of morality apart from God's saving grace, right?

No one would be able to live up to what we expect out of others or we even expect of ourselves

It's impossible, but God is unchanging and he's immutable and I can trust that his law will stay the same

It's a beautiful beautiful grace But understand this in our trespasses, okay

God Sees all and knows all every single thing that you've ever done every transgression against his law is known

Every little thing you ever did in secret every thought not held captive every quote -unquote good deed done for your own glory

Is a record of debt that stood against you Meaning your own life condemns you

There is nothing that you could do to get out of that debt It just keeps racking up every day racking up and racking up Hence being a slave to sin and being dead in your sin

There's nothing that you could do to please God. That's how God puts it in his word, right?

You once can carried out the desires of the body Being a child of wrath a child of the devil

That's how Jesus condemned those who said that they were sons of Abraham He said no your your father is not of the devil if you would have believed

In the words Moses wrote you would believe in me because Moses wrote about me.

That's what Jesus said They didn't have faith. They didn't have the faith of Abraham. They were legalistic pharisaical people

Again Totally incapable to please God apart from the grace of God.

It's impossible and inconceivable But remember Whose law was it that you broke?

Whose law that's the question. You should ask yourself to well The law of God you broke the law of the one who is just and this is a beautiful thing

This is this is where our salvation lies. Okay, we broke the law of the one who is just you did not break the law of Joseph Smith You did not break the law of Andrew Songkrant or the law of pastor

Wade Orsini or Jeff Durbin You broke the law of God It is the breaking of his law that requires punishment and the only one of whom we ought to fear

Yet in this as we read he did what he canceled the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands

By how though continuing to read on in Colossians 2 by nailing it to the cross

He nailed it to the cross. So think about this you had a record imagine a receipt Given to Christ he purchased something with his blood.

Okay, picture Christ being at a CVS and there you are He purchased you with his blood and you've been to CVS those receipts.

They give you are like 25 feet long That's your record of debt that stood against you that's legal demands I'm sure it was probably much longer than that if I'm thinking of myself

I probably got a massive CVS receipt But Jesus Christ purchased me with his blood takes that receipt goes in nails it to the cross

The just became the justifier for the one whose law I defied

Has now died for me had had died for you I'm so glad that the law that I broke

Was the law of God in the sense of my salvation because it's the God whose law I broke that died for me

Who upheld it perfectly not the law of men not human precepts and teachings, right? So what do the scriptures say about Jesus?

What happened when he nailed my record of debt with its legal demands to the cross? It says that he's actually the propitiation for my sins

He bore my sins on his body the one who knew no sin became sins that I might inherit the righteousness of God And then we're told by Peter in 1st

Peter 2 24 He he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness

By his wounds you have been healed beautiful Therefore the scriptures state in Romans 3 21 through 26 if you want you can turn there with me

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law

Although the law and the prophets bear witness to it The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe

For there is no distinction for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified by his grace as a gift

Through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus whom God put forth as a propitiation by his blood to be received by faith

This was to show God's righteousness because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins

It was to show his righteousness at the present time so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus Righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law

That is absolutely beautiful the Old Testament scriptures point to the coming one who would take away the sins of his people

We have Deuteronomy 18 the perfect prophet who is to come Isaiah 53 the suffering servant

Zechariah 3 that Eric read this morning, right? Joshua a picture standing before the angel of the

Lord with Satan to condemn him and the angel of the Lord says take off his Filthy garment put on this white spotless garment of mine

What did Joshua do to deserve that? Nothing, he wore someone else's righteousness.

It was manifested apart from the law and was always to be apart from the law The gospel of God was never a gospel of legalism.

That was the error of the Pharisees The sacrifices and the sacrificial system was supposed to point to the perfect Passover lamb that was to come

There were always to believe by faith Abraham believed by faith and it was what?

Accredited to him as righteousness pastor. He was beautifully explaining that after the catechism

So the question is when we're thinking about having our sins nailed to the cross the record of debt that stands against us with its legal demands

Who then can condemn you brothers and sisters who can stand before God and condemn you

No one Not one person This is the power of the gospel

Romans 8 1 through 4 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus For the law of the

Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death For God has done what the law weakened by the flesh could not do

By sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin He condemned sin in the flesh in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us

Who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit? Further explanation is in Philippians 2, right?

Though he found himself eternally in the form of God did not consider equality with God something to be grasped

Therefore he emptied himself taking the form of a servant and became obedient to the father even to the point of death death on a cross

That's where our salvation lies. That's where my freedom lies. It lies in the Son of God who?

perfectly fulfilled the righteous Requirements of the law so that I could be set free from the wages of sin and death it states in Romans that I Have died to the law in Jesus Christ.

I Have died to the law absolutely amazing Righteousness now has been manifested apart from works of the law in Jesus Christ He was the perfect righteous one according to the law not according to your works

The righteousness that you wear is the perfect completed work of Christ It is your faith your belief your trust in the person and work of Jesus that this righteousness is given

As Paul states just like the belief of Abraham. What does it say? Though your sins were scarlet as scarlet.

They are now white as snow If you believe this is this is the beautiful thing guys if you sit here in this room today

You believe that Jesus Christ is God That he took on flesh and died on the cross for your sins

That there's nothing you could offer the father better than what Jesus has accomplished on the cross as the sinless sacrifice

And that the grave couldn't hold him back that he resurrected from the dead conquering death and that he sits at the right hand of the

Father ruling and reigning from a throne not built by human hands. Then these scriptures are speaking about you

You need to believe that you need to believe that The record of debt that once stood against you has been nailed to the cross

And this is a doctrine which is from and predicated on a promise given from God Ratified by God on the cross not by human precepts and teachings of men

God wanted to make it fully known fully known That your salvation was dependent upon him

Not any work that you could do with your own hands he gets all of the glory And now this is key and herein lies the death of legalism and listen to this application of the gospel.

Okay? The commandments or legal demands of men are not revealed from God not the

Ten Commandments just man's commandments They do not condemn you or anyone for that matter

These are human precepts and teachings the Word of Wisdom for example from Joseph Smith Jesus Christ made it possible for you to be saved, but you must not drink hot drink

Going over the gospel just now doesn't that sound silly? But there's people who believe that they're enslaved to this false doctrine and just one belief like that can condemn you before God Because it's saying that Jesus Christ didn't do enough and he didn't work enough

That you have a righteousness external of Christ's that when you stand before the father you can present to him

Yes, Jesus Christ was perfect to the works of the law But here you go father. I didn't drink any hot drinks

It sounds silly right we our hearts must break for people that believe that Or we can think of Hindu diets or even breaking the law of wokeness, right

But the truth is your record of debt was canceled and it was a debt against God not a debt against man -made

Precepts or teachings you are now alive in Christ and free to what just abandon the law do whatever you want

So that grace may abound by no means you are free to up hold the law

Even in your failure of upholding the law you are not condemned. You're free in the cry through the blood of Christ Jesus That is the grace but in that change when

God saves you You want to obey him you want to obey him

It's beautiful Here's some more application you as free in Christ also have no right to condemn others according to your own law

Do not be a hypocrite of the gospel James states in James 4 12

There is only one lawgiver and judge he who is able to save and to destroy But who are you to judge your neighbor?

This does not mean Help your brother or sister if they're in it does not mean that you don't help your brother and sister if they're sinning against God Right, if someone is in sin, you want them to be restored

But what I'm saying is you do not create your own law and expect people to follow them

There is only one lawgiver and judge That's what James is speaking of and if you want to get a more in -depth example of that you can go into pastor

Wade's He did a whole series on the book of James. You can go into that. He talks about that in Depth.

So what ought we to do as Christians? We don't condemn people for not living a life that we expect of them to live in order to merit a good

Relationship with us or to assume it is with God Do not be a hypocrite of the gospel in your personal relationships with individuals

But what also does that mean? It means you must walk in grace with one another for is the glory of one to overlook a transgression

For we ought to forgive others as God has forgiven us And if you want a more in -depth look that look at that as well, you can watch the sermon series

There's just two sermons I did on the book of a Philemon. I Go in that pretty in -depth but here in this we just have discussed the good news the gospel and the reality is is it's not from man and This is a gospel given to us from God really hold on to that because legalism is from man

But the gospel and freedom is from God listen to this scripture here in Galatians 1 11 through 12

For I make it known to you brothers that the gospel which I am proclaiming is good news is not according to man

For I neither received it from man nor as I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ And what is

Paul talking about in Galatians, what is the point he's making all throughout the book of Galatians Do not let someone tell you that you must do

X Y or Z in order to inherit salvation You must do

X Y or Z in forms of commandments or principles Why the gospel is given to you from God it is not from man

And the revelation was the revealing of the following promise according to Galatians 3 6 in Galatians 3

Paul he tells us this about Genesis 15 5 through 6 Genesis 15 5 through 6 states and he brought him outside and said now look toward the heavens and number the stars if you are able to number them and He said to him so shall your seed be then he believed in the

Lord and he counted to it to him as righteousness so shall your offspring be that offspring in Galatians 3 is

Jesus Christ and the conversation happening here between is between God and Abraham in Genesis 15.

That was the promise. That was the covenant Salvation then has always been given by God through faith in the one who was to come

Believe me it's legal demands that condemn us But it's not obedience my obedience to legal demands that saves me that's legalism

It's God in Christ's perfect obedience That saves me

From the Old Testament into the new men were never declared righteous by the works of the law.

Praise God for that Praise God for that It is purely by the slavery of men to sin that they attached

Salvation to the works of the law which missed the fact that the law always revealed the need for what?

What did the law always reveal to men? They needed a Savior. They needed someone better than them who was to come and That was always through sacrifice blood was to be shed for the wages of sin is death

Romans 4 13 through 16 states this For the promise to Abraham or to his seed that he would be heir of the world was not through the law

But through the righteousness of faith belief trust For if those who are of the law are heirs

Faith has been made empty and the promise has been abolished The promise predicates that of even the law

For the law brings about wrath, but where there is no law There's also no trespass for this reason

It is by faith in order that it may be according to grace so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the seed

Understand guys if this promise was to be made through the works of the law, you would have no guarantee of your salvation

You're not perfect. You'll never be perfect. You're gonna sin until the day you die Sanctification is something that we go through all the way up until death.

You would have no guarantee No guarantee neither with the gospel of the kingdom There's no way we could actually do what the church ought to do if we're still condemned under the law

Not only to those it states who are of the law But also to those who are of the faith of Abraham who is the father of us all

And that's the point as well that Paul makes in Galatians He states that by belief we stand justified not by any external obedience to the law

Because that is the same faith that God gave Abraham He doesn't make void the promise

It's all reiterated on this promise So understand the failure failure of Israel was thinking that the law made them holy

Yet God never taught that the law saved them the twisting of the word Delivered by Moses.

That's what they did and the prophets was done by human precepts in teachings Where's the gospel from It's from God not from man remember

Galatians 1 11 through 12 For I make it known to you brothers that the gospel which

I am proclaiming is good news is not according to man For I neither received it from man nor was

I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ And I want to hit it something.

We're gonna start doing Mormon evangelism again coming this week and One key thing

I've been learning as I've been talking with our LDS neighbors is to ask them one simple question And I think it reveals everything

Ask them. What is the gospel? What is the gospel? The gospel is good news.

That is the definition of it, right? What I have found every single time I've acted asked an

LDS individual what the gospel is is that they said they say to me That Jesus Christ made it possible for me to obey his commandments

He made it possible for you to what Obey his commandments. What's their third article of faith?

We believe that through the atonement of Jesus Christ that all mankind may be saved By the obedience to the gospel ordinances and principles

My friends that's not good news That's not good news at all. If it's by obedience,

I've failed If it's manifested from the law, what is Paul say righteousness has nothing

It's made void Galatians 2 21 if the works of the law justified you then that then

Christ died for no purpose You have no sacrifice So if you're getting in conversations with your

LDS neighbors, I urge you ask them. What is the gospel get into it? We should be experts on the gospel.

We should be saturated with the gospel We should be living the gospel every single second of our lives

Because what you can do is compare and contrast for them Tell them what the true biblical gospel is through the

Word of God revealed from God Romans 1 says all know who God is but they exchanged the glory of the immortal

God for a lie and they worship Creatures and created things rather than the

Creator Human precepts and teachings a gospel contrary to God is a figment of Joseph Smith's imagination.

It is a creature Appeal to them to what God has revealed then ask them the question.

Here's the gospel according to the Bible Jesus Christ has set me free from the wages of the law

I am dead now and I've been brought back made alive The record of debt has stood it that stood against me has been canceled with its legal demands

It was nailed to the cross through Jesus Christ And that through my faith in him and my faith in him alone.

I stand justified before the Father, but you're telling me That Jesus Christ merely died

But in order for me to inherit salvation I must be sealed married in the temple for all time in eternity that I must be baptized

Right baptism is very important to us as a Christian. It's a commandment of God He says if you believe in him, you must be baptized

But we're talking about two different categories here ones to have salvation and ones in in form of obedience because we love

God All right, but then what that you must do X Y & Z Right be obedient to the gospel ordinances and principles put the two put the two up Right next to each other comparing contrast and ask them truly.

What sounds better to you? What sounds better? And you'll see that they have to really wrestle with that in their heads

I've noticed that and we want them to believe in Christ The gift and promise of the Bible is so much greater than that of Mormonism.

It's so much greater than that of Hinduism, right? You must let me use

Hare Krishna, for example, you must get like this rosary bead you must pray with each bead Say it.

I think it's like 60 or 70 times a day a prayer for each individual bead go around it That they're weird prayer.

I don't want to recite it And then in that you have a specific diet that you must adhere to and then one day you can end the cycle of death

And rebirth and go into some Sara to have To end some some sorrow which is cycle of death and rebirth to go to this form of Nirvana in a sense where you're one with a cosmic consciousness

What sounds better I think the gospel sounds better 110 %

So going through the gospel here first I said take a look around in this room every single one of us has come from a form of legalism apart from the saving

Grace that we have from God in our faith in Jesus Christ We once thought walking according to our flesh that something that we could do could please

God But now look around the room every single person in here If you are a Christian, you know, you believe in Christ You have inherited the blessings of the same covenant given to Abraham by God himself

And what this was not done according to man not according to your works But to the one who believes upon him who justifies the ungodly his faith is what?

Accredited to him as righteousness. So who nailed the record of debt that stood against you with its legal demands to the cross who did it?

Jesus whose law was it that you sinned? God's law Christ's law

You have been saved Christian. But again, let's remember that threefold salvation

You have been saved you are being saved and you will be saved in Adam All die in Christ all have been made alive in Jesus You have salvation held secure by the perfect righteousness of Christ and not according to your works

I know I've said it a thousand times. But again, we must be saturated in the gospel as Christians But now let's take a look at what we are now being saved means and remember

I read from our soul food Romans 830 We're gonna read Romans 8 29 through 30 right now

Because of those whom he foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son so that he would be the firstborn among many brothers and Those whom he predestined he also called and those whom he called he also justified and those whom he justified

He also glorified Notice in this passage. There is no distinction between the called and the glorified

If you were called you will be glorified and the reason that this is true Is that Christ is your propitiation for your sins?

He took your place on the cross and he is the firstborn from the dead We went over it earlier even in John 17

Christ is praying for his disciples And he says I have not lost one of them except the son of perdition whom it was predestined to occur

And then what does he say in the next paragraph just when you think he's only praying for the disciples He says I ask of this not only for my disciples, but for all who believe in me

John chapter 6 He won't lose one of his sheep Why because your salvation is not rooted in legalism or your perfect righteousness.

It's rooted in Christ There's no way he can lose you. He is the perfect shepherd. It's quite beautiful Your salvation is by the completed work of Christ on the cross

And this is the first step of living within a born -again Reality to walk in that newness of life.

You need to believe this. This is real This is part of what your faith and your trust in God is is to understand that you were once dead in your

Trespasses and sins, but now you have been made alive Together with him.

Do you believe that? If you believe that saturate your life with that forgiveness and extend that forgiveness to others as well

Because this very realization this is a miracle from God, right? this is a straight -up miracle our assurance of salvation is predicated on a heavenly promise and sealed for every

Christian with the gift of the Holy Spirit and That's how we are being saved.

We have the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. We all have a past right? We all have a past we're humans again.

We live in a fallen world and in that we have memories Okay, we have times of joy that we store in our brains recollections of bliss and ecstasy

Moments even tied to smells that trigger events in our past as humans

We have also experienced trauma in suffering Differing types as well in this trauma

It tends not only to just crystallize in our minds, but also in prints on our spirit, right?

Tangles our hearts it squeezes the life out of all experience and even trauma can be triggered in various types of ways

Meaning that even us as believing Blood -bought Christians we oftentimes struggle living within the health heavenly realm of salvation to which we do belong remember

You are dead now to sin alive in Christ, but we still struggle We're still being sanctified and sometimes we let our past Overlook the gospel that we ought to live in but here's the key here's the beauty

God gives us his word in order to navigate through our past and What will happen to us in the future?

What is that Romans 8 18? This is part of the Holy Spirit's word that ought to live in us renew our minds walk in the newness of life

This is how we battle the things that we go about in our daily lives Romans 8 18 Remember this store this in your heart

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us

No matter what you go through today This is just a drop in a bucket compared to the eternal weight of glory that you will have in in a resurrected body with your

Savior Apart from any work that you did to deserve it, but what Jesus Christ did on the cross for you

It's beautiful It's part of being a Christian right the glory that we will inherit comes after our death and in that death has no sting

It has no sting if you do not believe in Jesus Christ and you die apart from Christ Your eternal weight of suffering is eternal weight of suffering wrath and condemnation apart from God and you will be condemned

According to his law without a Savior It's the flip side for a Christian We have an eternal weight of glory purely through our belief in Jesus Christ It is in this hope that we have a hope that is not seen

In the one who sits in heaven which allows us to persevere to the end and to live in freedom

Through having a heavenly mind So if we have a heavenly mind and we put God's Word in front of us before our own feelings or expectations of life

We're able to navigate our circumstances of life while giving God the glory through suffering.

I Recommend a book guys. It's called holiness its hindrances and roots by JC Ryle And he actually gives a quote and he says we ought to as Christians use our faith as a telescope to look past our

External circumstances or our material circumstances in front of us to look up into the heavenly promises of God in order to navigate our lives

And I think that's a beautiful quote and I believe that that's what Scripture is for us It is that heavenly telescope that makes us look through the sufferings of our life and believe in the promises of God This word is from God not from man.

The question you should ask yourself again is do you believe that? Do you believe it? If you don't you to repent you to repent and put your faith in Christ It is it is here in his word where we should set our minds

Especially if we're coming from the bonds of legalism our freedom and our healing from trauma are

Found in Christ in Christ alone. It's the truth Listen to these words of the Apostle Paul in Colossians 3

Listen to this Colossians 3 1 through 4 you can turn there if you want states

If then you have been raised with Christ Seek the things that are above Where Christ is seated at the right hand of God Set your minds on things that are above not on things that are on earth for you have died in Your life is hidden with Christ in God When Christ who is your life appears then you also will appear with him in glory

Do you hear your threefold salvation there you have died? Right you have been saved and now your life is hidden with Christ you are being saved apart

You know from all of the works that stand against you the flaming arrows of the devil You're still hidden with Christ in God, but then when

Christ who is your life appears you will appear with him in glory It's right there. It's all over scripture saturate your lives with it

But here it is. This is how we ought to have a heavenly mind to operate within the being saved in a fallen world

Listen again to the first verse with that context think about it if then you have been raised with Christ Seek the things that are above Where Christ is seated at the right hand of God?

We are first told if then you have been raised with Christ in the previous chapter in the book of Colossians Paul tells the church in Colossae not to be fooled by the elemental spirits of the world

It's not be taken captive by philosophy empty deceit according to human tradition. Let's check this out guys.

This is quite amazing All right

So Colossians 2 starting in verse 8 states this See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit according to human tradition

According to the elemental spirits of the world and not according to Christ, but read right before that in verse 6

Therefore as you received Christ Jesus the Lord so walk in him rooted and built up in him and established in the faith

Just as you were taught doing what? abounding in Thanksgiving why Colossians 2 3 in Christ is hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge

Everything that we have in order to navigate this life is hidden in Christ in his word We need nothing more than to be saturated with Jesus Than anything and if we're not thankful for our salvation if we're not thankful for the gospel

What does Paul warn that you will be taken captive by philosophy and empty deceit according to human tradition according to the elemental spirits?

of the world if you don't want to fall prey to those things again Saturate your life in the gospel and never a stop abounding in Thanksgiving for what

God has done in your life I assure you if you stop being thankful for your salvation, you're going to fall prey to false doctrine

That's the truth. And now how do you keep your guard up? Renew your mind in the Word of God through the power of the

Holy Spirit Do not be taken captive By empty deceit according to human tradition.

Let's praise God. Let's be abounding in our Thanksgiving He then says what though he qualifies for the reader that these things are not from God their human precepts and teachings

He details the very fact that you are filled with Christ who is what in Colossians 2

Christ is the head of all rule and authority then it states and you are filled with him

There's nothing greater nothing greater this points to the Spirit of Christ to the

Holy Spirit There's nothing better than that. No elemental spirits demons, right?

False religion no human philosophy. None of those things are better than the fullness of God who now dwells in you

It is the salvation that you have which was given to you not from human hands

But God's circumcision of the heart and now you have been raised with him in faith

Which is a powerful working of God that raised even Jesus Christ from the dead

You have hope in that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead the very power that rose him from the dead now lives within you

It's the Spirit of God Therefore then if then you have been raised with Christ in Colossians 3.

This is your reality That's reality and in this you must seek the things that are above those things that are above are the very same

Heavenly reality of your salvation that we just went over right if we're coming from legalism or anything remember this

Your heart has been circumcised by God not human hands He doesn't want your flesh

You have been raised with Christ in faith, which is a work of God Therefore whomever

God has justified No man can undo no man can condemn

He will not undo the promise that he gave to you why it's predicated on faith

Not by works of the law. Let's get deeper though The book of Ephesians was written at the same time as Colossians.

You've probably heard me say this 6 ,000 times as well I just love Ephesians and Colossians They're considered sister letters

And when you have the time I urge you to read Colossians and Ephesians back -to -back chapter -to -chapter

Colossians will give more detail to things where Ephesians leaves out Ephesians leaves out and vice versa But let's listen to some of these heavenly things detailed in Ephesians that we must keep our eyes fixed on in Christ And this is actually something that uh, where is he?

I don't know Ryan's not in here He's probably like sitting out there with his Bible He likes to do that But this is something actually Ryan loves to do when he's doing evangelism because this is so beautiful guys in terms of what we're told in Ephesians With being indwelt by the

Holy Spirit. So go to Ephesians 1 we're gonna read verses 3 through 14 here

This is the heavenly reality in which you live in right now Let me drink some water first,

I always forget to drink water and I get like crazy thirsty Here it is

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in Christ With every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

That's past tense. We have it He has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world before the foundation of the world.

Could you work for it? No That we should be holy and blameless before him in love

He predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of his will

To the praise of his glorious grace with which he has blessed us in the beloved in him

We have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace.

Let me stop there Redemption means to be have something paid for for you right the wages of sin is death what

I worked for in my life was a debt that was Stacked up against me with its legal demands before God that I could never ever pay for But Jesus Christ redeemed my soul from the pit through his blood in order for me to have right standing before God So so amazing

According to the riches of his grace. Here's verse 8 Which he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will

According to his purpose with which he had set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time to unite all things in Him things in heaven and things on earth

In him we have obtained in inheritance. Are you dead yet?

Do you have that yet? You're not dead, but you you have it Having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will

So that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory in him

You also he's speaking to the Gentiles here in Ephesus when you heard the word of truth the gospel of your salvation and Believed in him when they believed in him.

They were sealed with the promise Holy Spirit Who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory?

So Paul he's talking to these pagan people in Ephesus if you read in Acts You can see that when they were coming to Christ They took all of their pagan occult books and burned them to the glory of God.

He's stating when you believed Jesus Christ not when you did

X Y or Z Not when you had your external works of righteousness, but solely through your belief in him

You were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire a possession of it praise

God Let let your mind live in this as we live in the here and not yet, right? The reality for you is that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places

Every single one We will be holy and blameless before God. That's a promise.

We have redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ He made known to us the mystery of his will We have obtained an inheritance you were sealed with the promised

Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance Amen, amen, if that wasn't true

The gospel of the kingdom of God would fail But it is true Jesus rose from the dead and we can have full hope in that in his word

We should not gloss over the fact that by being indwelt by the Holy Spirit This is indeed a miracle in the very foundation of the freedom.

We experience in Christ everyone guys understand We want miracles so bad in our lives, right?

And that's not a bad thing We should want God to perform miracles like if someone's sick, we pray for healing things of that nature

But we should never overlook that the biggest miracle is in front of us every single day

That he took people who were spiritually dead and brought them back to life in him the biggest miracle the biggest work of the

Holy Spirit that even Jesus tells us is that the Holy Spirit will convict the world of Sin in righteousness if you want to see miracles look around at one another

It's the biggest one and that was purchased through the blood of Jesus Christ To think that signs and wonders would do better You're forgetting that you cost the blood of Jesus and that he rose from the dead

It's the biggest miracle Freedom from legalism is by living in this law of the

Spirit of life who is the Holy Spirit Believing that abounding in Thanksgiving Paul exclaims in Romans 8 1 through 3 the following Hmm This is such an amazing section of scripture guys

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus For the law of the

Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death For God has done what the law weakened by the flesh could not do

By sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin He condemned sin in the flesh in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us

Who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit? So while we're being saved

We're no longer under condemnation But instead we have been set free from the law by the righteous requirement of the law being fulfilled in the perfection of Jesus Christ in whom we are then indwelt by the

Holy Spirit to be free to uphold the law without any Condemnation for we in our weakness are being perfected by Christ But notice

Paul states to walk according to the Spirit. He doesn't say walk according to the flesh Meaning that we need to set our minds on the things that are above like it says in Colossians 3

Not on the things that are on earth Through the power of the Spirit of Life who has set us free to live in a heavenly devotion to God without condemnation

Paul continues to state in Romans here in 8 that the mind set on the flesh sets their minds on things of death

Here's the truth all minds without Christ Without the Spirit of Life set their minds of things of the flesh

It is only through salvation that we can set our minds on the things of the Spirit And when we set our minds on the things of the

Spirit We are looking through the flesh of the death That plagues the world and are actually drinking from the fountain of living water that God offers through his

Holy Spirit in his word No one can know the mind of men.

We're told this in Corinthians. You can't know the mind of another individual No one can search and know the depths of God except God himself

And you have the Holy Spirit in you and his word so you can set your mind on the things of God He will make known the mystery of his will to you.

It's in his word through the power of the Holy Spirit Do you get that to know the mind of God you can know the mind of God?

But it took the death of Christ to do it don't forget that not the human precepts and teachings

Human law human precepts don't know the mind of God and neither will it make you sanctified

Not only that when we set our minds on the things of the Spirit We have the ability to understand that mind through the means of grace that he has given us to understand him

So understand that your past your present in your future can be understood not through your flesh, but through the

Spirit According to his word and that spirit brings life to the desert of death

What was once viewed in the lens of death can now be seen in life and garden

Your life is a garden guys Though things may have happened in your past though things may happen in the future

God is doing something beautiful with you You need to believe that believe him in his word Don't look at your current circumstance and base all of your life off of that.

Don't do it Believe what God says about you Freedom in the spirit of life is living a life in truth by understanding the mind of God through the

Holy Spirit It's amazing beyond what has occurred in your life in the past and what will occur in the future

These things that I've just told you are a promise from God for you So you could navigate your daily life in such a way where you can find freedom

By remembering and pursuing God and his promises. How do you slay sin by knowing

Jesus? By being saturated in his word being thankful for your salvation They have been revealed to you and for you by a grace from God Colossians 3 remember seek the things that are above You now in your salvation through the gift of the

Holy Spirit have the ability to actually seek those things That are from above remember the the mindset on the flesh cannot do it.

They cannot please God They can't seek him, but you can why won't you that's the question and And the word seek used in Colossians 3 means to actively pursue to look for to search after To be on watch for or what

I think is being stated here, too Is that actively with your heart set your heart your mind and your soul on?

The things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. So how do you pursue? How do you search after how do you look for God?

How do you search for the things that are above? It's right here. It's right here it's in his word and What are those things that are above right

Ephesians 1 blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places? Sealed with the Holy Spirit who is a pledge a guarantee of our inheritance to come that we are saved being saved and will be saved

It's absolutely amazing. It's absolutely amazing The things that are above are of eternal importance.

They are not of the temporal world in which we live. It's not human wisdom They are of the heavenly realities in which some were detailed in Ephesians 1

There's also in a 2nd Peter chapter 1 a section of the heavenly realities in which that we we live in today

I recommend actually going to read 2nd Peter 1. It's it's beautiful with that Some are detailed in Ephesians 1 and these promises are what it says seated with Christ.

They're seated with him on The cross when Jesus stated is finished It means that these blessings are things that we cannot lose when it is finished

Your salvation is held secure and you have these promises Therefore since we have an understanding of our hope of eternal glory as Christians living in a life

Within a world that is plagued with sin We must still actively pursue and understand these promises in Christ because they will make sense of our lives

Regardless of our own current circumstances. We have an inheritance Undefiled he nailed

The record the legal demands that stand stands against us. He nailed it to the cross In that he disarmed all rulers principalities and powers and put them to open shame in him

There is no longer any condemnation in Christ Jesus none whatsoever

They have no power no authority over you. You belong to Jesus. You have been set free by his blood

You have an inheritance you've obtained it. You'll get it. You have a seal who is the Holy Spirit who lives within you today

Nothing can stand against you nothing Amazing listen to this from 1st

Peter 1 3 through 7 According to his great mercy

He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

To an inheritance that is imperishable Undefiled and unfading kept in heaven for you who by God's power are being guarded

Through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time God is guarding you protecting you holding your inheritance

In this you rejoice remember abound in your Thanksgiving Though now for a little while if necessary you have been grieved by various trials

So that the tested genuineness of your faith more precious than gold that perishes though It is tested by fire may be found to result in praise in glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ Do you see that the believer in Jesus Christ?

These works not done his name may burn away Right, but you're not facing wrath

The ones that stand the test of time will be found to result in the praise and glory and honor of the revelation at Jesus Christ those without Christ that fire

Destroys them for all eternity Destroys them for all eternity. It refines you Christian.

It refines you But again, this does not mean though what happened to you in your past whatever you went through means nothing

That's not the point I'm trying to make I hope I haven't made light of what you've gone through But what

I want you to realize is this right now is that true freedom is to be free from the power of your past To focus on the heavenly things of God through the power of the

Holy Spirit in order to persevere into the end Do not let your past dictate your future.

We do not want to make all future decisions According to the dead men that we once were but instead to filter all of reality first through the heavenly promises of God That's the reality if we continue to live in the trauma or the suffering of our past and we think that by X Y and Z We can overcome it

You're gonna start putting those principles on others in your life You're not really gonna be able to truly love your brother and sister in Christ.

You need to be set free from what has hurt you God makes sense of it.

He promises you that these are the heavenly promises of God in order to think we must first think straight

That's the reality in order to be truly self -governing individuals the first sphere of sovereignty that God has given us

We must be saved by God Can't think straight without it What has happened to you in the past?

I don't know what it is. Whatever trauma it may be It's horrible, right but understand that there will be justice for every wrong that has occurred to you.

That's true. How do I know that? God said it in his word That's a heavenly promise of God In order to navigate your life trust in that When we live in our past we tend to make ourselves and our relationships around us the one to atone for the injustice of others

You can't atone for the sins of others Don't do it daily. Don't live in that past It's not going to help don't sacrifice yourself

Sin is distorted our own very concept of justice So much so that our trauma tends to cause us to harm ourselves and others for the sake of the one who caused us trauma

That's a vicious cycle and God does not tell us that he doesn't care about what happened to us instead He states these things

Genesis 50 20 as for you you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good That's hard thing to believe in the midst of trauma or understanding what's happened to you, but it's true

Romans 8 28 and we know that for those who love God all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose

That's true If you forget these things you tend to think that in order to have comfort in your life

You must sacrifice yourself in some way in order to have peace this my friends is the point that's legalism

It won't bring you peace It won't and then you tend to expect it from others that must be crucified with Christ in order to be set free

It's the truth Let's recap. We must as Paul states in Colossians 3 seek the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God we must set our minds on the things that are above not on things that are on earth and What are those things that are above guys number one

The gospel is not from man But it is of God Understand that any requirement placed upon you that you must meet in order to be saved is not the gospel

It's not the gospel Any requirement you place on yourself in order to understand what has happened to you in your past through your own personal sacrifices is not believing in God's Word It's not that's not freedom my friends

Rejoice in the gospel here. It is. This is what God says John 3 16 We all have this memorized for God so loved the world that he gave his only

Son that whoever believes in him should not perish But have what? eternal life what the text does not say is this for God so loved the world that he gave his only

Son that whoever believes in him and Has long hair should not perish but have eternal life It's not the law that's not the text says or whoever believes in him and wears only dresses

Should not perish but have eternal life That's legalism. There are of course good principles upon creation

That God gives us in his Word, but we're talking about our eternal life here The test simply and beautifully states that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life

Let's not confuse categories It's not confused categories therefore believe in Jesus Christ saves us a

Gospel, which is predicated upon a gift from God and his perfect obedience that justifies the ungodly

Not from my personal works, but from the perfect obedience in righteousness from the one who came from above in two

We have been raised with Christ and the most fundamental Aspect of being able to seek the things above is to understand that you have been set free

From the power of the things that are below Free to worship God in spirit and in truth being filled with him

Who is the head of all rule and authority to really know God like it says in John 17?

That's the prayer of Jesus Christ for you to know God. He prayed that for you.

You can do that This means that we have been raised with Christ we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places that the

Holy Spirit as Ephesians 1 states is the seal of your Inheritance to come and in that we will have resurrected glorified bodies in which we will be with God for all eternity

That's the beautiful hope of the gospel That is the death of legalism right for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God Let's pray

Lord thank you so much for your word Thank you for your truth Which cuts through us

Lord? It's so hard to understand the circumstances of our life apart from your word

We'll seek to understand it in any means according to the flesh necessary that we do but it doesn't bring peace.

It brings confusion Let our hearts rest in you our minds be renewed by your word

Let us be saturated in the gospel Lord every single day of our lives Let us rejoice and abound in Thanksgiving for what you have done for us

Lord Let us never trample foot upon the gospel and seek to make our lives better through the human precepts and teachings according to men

They won't save us They won't benefit us Lord Let us be saturated in your word

Let us walk in newness a life in life according to your spirit We love you

God, we can't do this without you Let us take hold of the means of grace that you have given us to teach our children to fear you

Lord But that they can have freedom in you According to your gospel according to your word, we love you

God and we praise you and thank you in Jesus name. Amen All right guys, so now it's time to come to the

Lord's table With the Lord's table. We are celebrating and abounding in Thanksgiving for what?