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Questions About Growing in Christ (Galatians 3:1-5)
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Questions About Growing in Christ (Galatians 3:1-5)
Galatians: The Truth of the Gospel :: A Study of Galatians
Sunday Message recorded 10 October 2021
by Pastor Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church
1700 Milam
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
http://fbccolumbustx.org/
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Transcript
Introduction to Ministry
00:00:08
Speaker
Welcome to Growing in Grace with Pastor Victor Morrison. This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milan Street, Columbus, Texas. We are praying that God will bless you as you listen to this message. If you would like additional information on worship times and ministries at FBC Columbus, you can find out more at our website, fbccolumbustx.org. And now take your copy of God's timeless word as Pastor Victor gives today's message.
00:00:43
Speaker
Good morning. Thank you, Marsha and company for the wonderful worship already. I was hoping I didn't blow a vocal gasket singing. It was so exciting there.
Galatians and the Gospel Message
00:00:54
Speaker
But anyway, praising the Lord, it's such a joy to come into his house and to lift up his praises. I want to invite you to turn with me to Galatians chapter three. Galatians chapter three, verses one through five.
00:01:09
Speaker
The theme of this book of Galatians, we've said over and over again, is the truth of the gospel. Would you stand in honor of God's word? Let's look at Galatians three, verses one through five. Old foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.
00:01:36
Speaker
Let me ask you only this. Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish, having begun by the Spirit? Are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain, if indeed it was in vain?
00:02:06
Speaker
Does he who supplies the spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law?
00:02:16
Speaker
or by hearing with faith. Let's just stop right there.
Prayer and Spiritual Growth
00:02:21
Speaker
The Lord will have more to say as we continue our journey, but we're going to look at these five questions and these five verses. Let's ask Him to speak to us one more time. Oh Lord, we just want to bow our hearts before You and ask that we could hear Your voice
00:02:37
Speaker
Lord, if I know this congregation, the desire of many of them here, they want to keep growing. And so help them continue to grow in Christ. Give them the food that they need, the nourishment they need from this passage, and other related passages that we'll look at.
00:02:54
Speaker
Others may not have actually started that journey of trusting Christ and trusting you as they follow you as a disciple. And so for them, we're waiting on them. We're cheering them. We're praying over them each week that they might trust you as Lord and Savior and begin to grow in Christ. So Lord, take us through this. Help us be honest. I pray that your spirit of truth would speak to us this day. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
00:03:23
Speaker
Thank you, you may be seated. Those of you who know my style will know that usually I use alliteration. The first letter always matches up, so I want you to know that today's gonna be cute. Question number one, question number two, question number three, number four, number five. No, no, we're beyond that. Let's look at the
Overcoming Hindrances
00:03:45
Speaker
text. Okay, the first thing I wanna ask is, and I think this is based on verse one, is there a hindrance
00:03:53
Speaker
Right now, 2021, is there a hindrance
00:03:58
Speaker
in your spiritual growth, in your growth in Christ. O foolish Galatians, Paul says, who has bewitched you? They were starting right. He's not gonna question their salvation. He was there, remember? They placed their faith and trust in Christ. So this is not about the assurance of their salvation and saying, I don't think you're really saved. That's not what he's saying. I think what he's saying is, I saw you start right.
00:04:26
Speaker
So why are you now letting somebody cause you to veer off? When he calls them foolish Galatians, I know how that sounds, but I want to clarify something. He's not trying to be rude. He's not trying to be critical. He's not talking about mental deficiency. I'll tell you what he's talking about, mental laziness. He's saying, come on, you're not thinking about this. You're being careless about that.
00:04:54
Speaker
Whenever he says, oh foolish Galatians, I want you to know there's love mixed in there. There's shock mixed in there. There's anger mixed in there. Have you ever seen anybody trust Christ when they were younger? And then you watch them grow up and you're saying, what is going on in your life? You're totally turning your back on everything that you believed. And then when he says this word about bewitched,
00:05:19
Speaker
He says, who has bewitched you? It can be the word hypnotized. You ever been hypnotized? You know, you're feeling very sleepy. No, don't do that. Don't go sleep. But they're like charm. They're flattered. Someone's misleading them. Someone is hindering them.
00:05:38
Speaker
Do you know the word hinder is mentioned in the New Testament nine times? There's so many things that can hinder us from following Christ. Sometimes it's a person. That's why Jesus said quite clearly, you don't want to be a stumbling block. And you certainly don't want to be a stumbling block to the little ones, to the children, to the youth. Don't be a stumbling block. Be a stepping stone. Say, Lord, help me be an example that would point them in the direction of Christ.
00:06:09
Speaker
You see what's happening, they're being unreasonable, they're being irrational, their minds are confused. What is it that could possibly clarify confusion? If you'll hold your place there and turn back just one book, right before Galatians is 2 Corinthians. Look with me at 2 Corinthians chapter 4, 2 Corinthians chapter 4 verses 3 through 6.
00:06:34
Speaker
because there is something, and Paul's about to tell them what clarifies the truth. When your mind is like so confused and it's dark in there, and you're saying, I can't seem to find the truth, this is what Paul says in 2 Corinthians chapter four, verses three through six. This is what will bring clarity. And even if our gospel's veiled,
00:07:02
Speaker
It's veiled to those who are perishing. In their case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel, of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. So what is needed whenever that's happening? Proclamation, verse five, for what we proclaim is not ourselves.
00:07:33
Speaker
but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake, for God who said, let light shine out of darkness has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. There's only one message that can open up a dark mind
00:07:59
Speaker
that's so depressed and so burdened under the guilt of sin. You know what it is? It's the gospel. So go back now to Galatians 3 verse 1, who's bewitched you? And listen to what he says. He says, I was there. It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. You know what he's referring to? Every time he preached the gospel, every time he taught them,
00:08:29
Speaker
You know, you've had parents, you've had grandparents, you've had Sunday school teachers, you've had pastors and preachers and evangelists from the past, you've had camp leaders. So many people in your life, what have they done? This word means to put up a placard, a poster, a billboard, if you will. That's what he's saying. I put the cross of Christ on a billboard for you every single day, every single week.
00:08:59
Speaker
He said, I explained to you how Jesus died on the cross. Why would you turn from grace back to legalism, back to law? Why would you trade that?
00:09:10
Speaker
You know, I'm told that in Times Square, there's this big digital billboard that's 125,000 square feet. Can you imagine a sign that big? 125,000 square feet. I remember when Jody and I served as missionaries in Tokyo, we would go to a place called Shibuya Crossing, and I think Linda Cates has been there, but at Shibuya Crossing, 2,500 people wait.
00:09:37
Speaker
to cross the street at the same time. And it's like, I don't know, it's like a spaghetti bowl with all these different crossings and so forth. But all around there, there's over 20 different digital billboards that are constantly bombarding people with these advertisements.
00:09:56
Speaker
That's what you are. That's what I am. That's what we can do in Columbus, in the United States, in Texas, around the world. We can tell people it's through Christ. So we have the message. We have the truth.
Beginning Spiritual Growth
00:10:11
Speaker
So put it on the billboard. Let the people know that, hey, I'm not going to let anything hinder me from following Him because He's worth it.
00:10:20
Speaker
Well, let's look at the second question because he doesn't stop there. He's got another question he wants to ask them. The first one was about hindrances to their growth in Christ. The second one is about the entrance into growth in Christ. How do you get started? Maybe someone here say, I've never even started growing. Let me ask you only this, Paul says, did you receive the spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?
00:10:49
Speaker
Did you receive the Spirit? Let's just stop there. Did you receive the Spirit? Do you know that when you become a believer in Jesus Christ, you're given a precious gift, the precious gift of the Holy Spirit. Paul refers to the Holy Spirit 18 times in the letter to Galatians. And I think what he's trying to say here is one thing, get this.
00:11:14
Speaker
The evidence that you and I have come to faith in Christ, the evidence that we know Christ personally, the evidence that we're in his family is the presence of the Holy Spirit. God's Spirit comes to help us walk with Christ and follow Christ.
00:11:33
Speaker
You see, the way to enter into new life in Christ is going to begin with the Holy Spirit and it's called conviction. Some of us want to skip conviction. We don't like to feel that miserable feeling inside, but if you read in John chapter 16 verses seven through 11, you'll find out that one of the responsibilities of the Holy Spirit is He convicts us.
00:11:59
Speaker
He convicts us. He squeezes us. He says, you're guilty. And what does he say we're guilty of? Sin. And so he also says, but what you need is righteousness, because your righteousness is not going to be good enough to get into God's holy presence. We won't make it. No matter how many times we come to church, you'd say, I've been to church 253 times. That's great.
00:12:23
Speaker
But that's not enough to be in God's holy presence. You're going to need more righteousness than that. You need, and I need, we need the righteousness of Jesus Christ. That's it. That's all there is. And that's where the Holy Spirit starts. He convicts us of sin. He convicts us of that need for righteousness. And if we want to reject Him, He says,
00:12:44
Speaker
There will be nothing left with judgment. Sin, righteousness, judgment. Sin, righteousness, judgment. That's what the Holy Spirit who tells us the truth, that's what He's saying to us constantly. That's where the Christian life will begin. He convicts us, but that's not where it ends. It would end hopefully with conversion if we don't resist Him.
00:13:09
Speaker
I did want to point out that there are verses like Acts chapter 7 verse 51 that tell us that we can and others have in the past because we know when Stephen was right there and they were going to throw the rocks at him for his witness for Christ.
00:13:25
Speaker
He says, you have resisted the Holy Spirit. It's possible every Sunday God's Spirit is speaking to you. He's drawing you. He's saying, come to Christ. And you're just saying, no, no, not this Sunday. No, I'm not going down there. I'm not going to stand in front of other people and profess faith in Christ. I don't want to humble myself.
00:13:48
Speaker
Everyone else did. Every one of us at some point in our life, we humbled ourselves. And we said, I need Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the cross publicly, remember? In front of others. And so when the Holy Spirit comes, you know what he does if we say, yes, you get a new start. You get a new life. That's why John 3, whenever Jesus was talking to a religious man, his name was Nicodemus. He was a very influential man.
00:14:17
Speaker
But you know what, Nicodemus, with all that he had going, he was not born again. And Jesus said, you need to be born again. And it's like he couldn't wrap his mind around. What does that mean to be born again? It just means that the Holy Spirit makes you someone new. He gives you a brand new start. He wipes away all of your sins, gives you a new identity as a child of God. Who wouldn't want that?
00:14:45
Speaker
Sometime I hope you'll read Titus 3, verses 3 through 7, because it walks us through the entrance into Christian life. The Holy Spirit is right there. It says that He regenerates us. It means He gives us new life. As a matter of fact, in Romans 8-9, the Apostle Paul, actually, he just gets point blank and says, look, if you don't have the Spirit, then you don't belong to Jesus.
00:15:16
Speaker
So I'm just thinking, wow, isn't that something? The occupancy of the Holy Spirit in your life is confirmation of the ownership of Jesus Christ. You belong to Jesus if the Holy Spirit gets after you or if He strengthens you, if He guides you and leads you and so forth. Well, let's move from the second question now to the third question.
00:15:41
Speaker
You know, the second question affirmed to us that grace is the way to life. It's only through grace. And that's why God gives us His Spirit, not because we deserve it, not because we earned His Holy Spirit, but He gives us grace. He gives us the spirit of grace because He said, this is the way to life. That's how you get in. But the third question is grace
00:16:07
Speaker
is the way of life. It's the way
Advancing in Spiritual Growth
00:16:11
Speaker
of life. The way we grow in Christ is also of the Holy Spirit. So this third question is going to be this, how do you advance in growth in Christ? Definitely we're moving from justification, how God says it's just as if you'd never sinned. The day you pray to receive Christ, it's like he wipes it all away and you get a brand new start and it's like,
00:16:34
Speaker
It's just as if, that's what justification means. But now we're moving into sanctification in verse 3 because he said, are you so foolish having begun by the Spirit? Are you now being perfected by the flesh? Is this just you? You're going to try your best to live the Christian life.
00:16:57
Speaker
Listen, our weak, imperfect, sinful flesh cannot improve anything spiritually. Romans 8, 8 actually says, in the flesh, I can't even please God. I can try so hard everything I've got. And God said, no, but you know what? The day you say, okay, Lord,
00:17:17
Speaker
I can't live the Christian life. I keep blowing it in this area or that area, my attitude, my words, whatever. Do you know that the Lord will say, just relax in the Holy Spirit, let me be the strength of your life. I wanna show you another verse, it's a cross reference, Colossians chapter two, verses six and seven. I remember when I was a college student, this really dawned on me because I had just come to know Christ the year before.
00:17:45
Speaker
And Colossians 2, 6 told me, I didn't just get a ticket to heaven. Man, I am on a journey. And so Colossians 2, verse 6 says, therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord,
00:18:01
Speaker
So, the same way, so walk in Him. So the way you start is the way you go on, the way you move forward. Therefore, as you have 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, abounding in thanksgiving. Wow.
00:18:24
Speaker
That's powerful. But you see, they were missing all of that. They're not growing. This is a congregation in Galatia. They weren't growing. And so that's why he says, what is happening here? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected? Are you growing? Are you maturing? By the flesh, you think that you're gonna be able to complete what God's will is for you in the flesh.
00:18:50
Speaker
I like what he says also in another cross-reference, Philippians chapter one, verse six. I believe every Christian ought to know this promise. Philippians one, six said, Paul says, I am sure of this. What are you sure of Paul? What do you have assurance of Paul? I'm sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
00:19:17
Speaker
From the day you trusted Christ until the day Christ comes back or you go home to be with him, I want you to know the Lord's never gonna give up on you. He will not give up on you. He says, I am going to complete what I started in your life. And so that's what he's trying to say to them. He said, are you so foolish having begun by the Spirit? Are you now being perfected by the flesh? Couple of quotes and then we'll move to the fourth question by John MacArthur.
00:19:46
Speaker
John MacArthur wrote this, at no time before salvation can a person have the indwelling spirit.
00:19:55
Speaker
And at no time after salvation can he not have him." You see? You can't have the Holy Spirit before you trust Christ, but the day you trust Christ, from that point on, you'll never not have God at work in your life. A second quote he says is, the Holy Spirit is not the goal of the Christian life.
00:20:18
Speaker
The Holy Spirit is its source. That's where you get the strength to live the Christian life. He's not the product of faithful living. He is the power behind faithful living. A higher level of living does not bring the Holy Spirit into your life, rather submission to the Holy Spirit, who already indwells the believer, includes a higher level of living.
00:20:45
Speaker
See what I'm saying? See what Paul is saying? He's trying to tell the Galatians, I've got this. If you'll just keep trusting me, keep looking to me. Let's move to the fourth question. The fourth question relates to something they were overlooking. I believe they were overlooking the significance of all the ground that God had covered in their life. They were overlooking the significance of growth in Christ.
00:21:12
Speaker
He said, did you suffer in the past? Did you suffer so many things in vain? If indeed it was in vain,
00:21:22
Speaker
Let me just throw out three references to you real quick, rapid fire. These were three of the churches in the area called Galatia, okay? Paul took the gospel to a place called Pisidian Antioch. There are two Antiochs in the Bible. This one was Pisidian Antioch. In Acts chapter 13, verses 48 to 51, guess what happens?
00:21:46
Speaker
They stir up some very influential women in the community, and Paul basically is told, you gotta leave. So he says, okay, you don't want the gospel, I'll go to Iconium. But some had prayed to receive Christ in Pisidian Antioch. So then he goes to Iconium.
00:22:02
Speaker
A lot of people pray to receive Christ, but then they upset some people. And so Acts 14 verses one through six, Iconium says, you know what? We're gonna stone you if you stick around here. So he said, I guess I'll be moving on down the road. So he goes down to Lystra in Acts 14 verses 19 and 20. It says they stoned him when he got down to Lystra.
00:22:25
Speaker
So what he's saying is, have you forgotten all that we've been through? Have you forgotten the persecution? Have you forgotten the suffering that got us to this point in our lives?
00:22:38
Speaker
And so what really shocks me, this is really amazing, is Acts 14, 21, 22, and 23, because after he's been stoned, have you ever had rocks thrown at you? I mean, this wouldn't be fun, you know. I mean, my brother and I used to throw dirt clods at one another in the garden till my dad had a word with us and then we said, okay, let's don't do that anymore. But anyway, a rock, I mean, rocks hit him. He actually had passed away and the Lord raised him back up.
00:23:10
Speaker
But he says, let's go back. Let's go back and let's encourage those disciples. Let's go back to Lystra, Iconium, Pisidian Antioch, the terrible three, right? The terrible three. He said, let's go back there and let's go back and strengthen them and let's tell them, get this,
00:23:32
Speaker
that to go to God's kingdom, you're going to have to go through some tough times, some tribulation, some suffering. Everybody does. So I thought, man, oh man, but he says it.
00:23:45
Speaker
If you don't remember all that's happened, then is it gonna be in vain? He says the word vain twice, right? Two times he brings up vain. It means to be empty, to be devoid of value. It means to be without purpose, without results. Insignificant. And so he says, have you forgotten all the ground that we've covered together? Paul used in vain in two ways, in his letters.
00:24:15
Speaker
You can check me out on this in Galatians 2, 2, and also in Philippians 2, 14 through 16. He said, if I don't keep living for the Lord, it's gonna be in vain. I'm gonna miss what God had for me if I don't live for the Lord. But the second one was, he often asked, is my labor, is my ministry, is all that I'm volunteering and doing, is it all for nothing?
00:24:41
Speaker
Galatians 4, 11, 1 Thessalonians 3, 5. So those were two uses that he would ask people, did you live in vain for Christ? Did you labor in vain for Christ? And I like 1 Corinthians 15, 58, because he says quite clearly, knowing that our labor is not in vain in Christ. It's not in vain. But they were acting as though it was not important. It was not valuable.
00:25:09
Speaker
So let's close with one last question. Verse five, does he who supplies the spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law or by hearing with faith?
Faith and the Holy Spirit
00:25:20
Speaker
I believe the question is about reliance.
00:25:24
Speaker
Reliance, do you say, okay, I needed the Lord when I got in, but man, I've got this now. I've got enough commitment, I've got enough determination, I know how to live the Christian life on my own. So the question is, upon whom is your reliance, your dependence for growth in Christ? And so what he says is, does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law?
00:25:52
Speaker
or by hearing with faith. Wow.
00:25:57
Speaker
Think about who gave the Spirit. Who is it that sent the Holy Spirit? Does he who supplies the Spirit? Do you know that if you put question one, two, three, four, and five together as a set, you know what you have? You have the Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All three are so involved in bringing us to Christ, in helping us become more like Christ as we grow.
00:26:27
Speaker
And so what we have to remember is it's only through Him that we have the power, the power, the miracles there that He refers to. Does He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Do you know miracles there is dunamis. Does that sound like anything you've ever heard of? Dunamis? Dynamite?
00:26:49
Speaker
Yeah, God's powers. Man, it's so much more than your flesh and my flesh, than our energy, than our personality. And so what he's saying is the Father is the one who sent the Spirit. The Father is the one who accomplishes great works. And when he says the word supplies there, he doesn't supply just a trickle. Oh no, it's an abundant, it's a generous supply.
00:27:16
Speaker
You see, God's aspiration, His will, His plan, is that you would come to know Him intimately through His Son by trusting in the finished work of Christ. But that's not where it ends.
00:27:28
Speaker
He also, it's His will, it's His aspiration, it's His plan that you would grow in conformity to His Son continually by relying upon the power of the Holy Spirit. You see, we will not come to know Christ by works of the law, but by faith in Christ. That's the only way we'll come to know the Father. We will not continue to grow in Christ by works of the flesh, but only by yielding to the work of God's Spirit within us.
00:27:58
Speaker
So the five questions come back to us before we sing Amazing Grace. Is there anything, is there anyone that's hindering you, not someone else, let's talk about you. The Lord is burdened, He loves you. Is there anyone or anything hindering you in your growth in Christ? Number two, do you know for certain that you have entered into God's family by faith in Christ?
00:28:27
Speaker
because you know the Holy Spirit's in your life. That's evidence. Are you moving forward by the assistance of the Holy Spirit, becoming more like Christ, or would you say, no, if I'm honest, I'm not moving forward. I'm moving backwards. I'm going backwards.
00:28:47
Speaker
Have you been overlooking the value and the importance of personally living for Christ, of personally laboring for Christ? Are you serving the Lord? Are you doing something with those gifts God has entrusted to you? Are you relying upon the fullness of God's power? Or are you depending upon your own personality and growing in Christ? There's a difference.
00:29:13
Speaker
Those are the questions if you're going to grow in Christ. Let's pray together. Lord, we've given this
00:29:20
Speaker
Time to you, we ask your Holy Spirit to speak through your living and active word. We know that it's pretty sharp. It goes down deep. It can penetrate. And so Lord, I pray your word penetrated today. And so whatever you've been saying to us, I pray that we would yield to it, surrender to you. I pray that you're worth all of that we go through, all the things we go through in order to grow in Christ. Thank you so much for providing the finished atonement.
00:29:49
Speaker
We know that we don't grow, so we'll be accepted. We're already accepted. We're accepted because of the finished work of Christ. But that ought to make us want to grow more than ever. And so Lord, help us to stay moving forward in our Christian life and not plateau or grow stagnant. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.