We hear it, we know it, we sing it, we say it. But do we really live it? The moment we bury our old nature, it pops up again. Paul gives us checkpoints to remind us what drives our new life.
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Key Verse
I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Gal 2:20
Event Timeline of New Testament Books
Snapshot - No Longer I
- Introduction
- The Pure Gospel..
- No longer man’s gospel but Christ’s
- The New Life..
- No longer my life but Christ’s
- No longer my works but faith
- No longer my ways but Spirit’s
- No longer my glory but the cross
- The True Heritage..
- No longer a slave but a son
- No longer a Gentile but an heir
Introduction
Written by the Apostle Paul about 49 A.D. prior to the Jerusalem Council – 50 A.D.
- Possibly Paul’s first letter
- Jews were exploiting the popular wave to impose their traditions on Gentile believers
- Even apostle Peter got carried away and Paul opposed him.
The Pure Gospel - No longer man’s Gospel but Christ’s
Galations 1:6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—
11For I would have you know brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel.12For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
The Pure Gospel - Warnings, Discussion
Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ Galations 1:7
- What are deviations to the pure gospel in today’s age? How do we overcome them?
The New Life - No longer my life but Christ’s
“For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. Gal 2:19
The New Life - No longer my works but Faith
Galations 2:15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
The New Life - Not my glory but the cross
Galations 6:14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
The New Life - No longer my ways but the Spirit
The New Life - Beware
Galations 5:7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth?
8 That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.9 “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” 10 I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. NIV
The New Life - Beware
Galations 3:14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?2
You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified…. 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?
Discussion
- Discuss the following statements. How can we ensure that we are truly crucified with Christ?
We are our own greatest enemy
I’ve had more trouble with DL Moody than I’ve had with any man alive – DL Moody
A whole new generation of Christians has come up believing that it is possible to accept Christ without forsaking the world.” AW Tozer.
- Who “cuts in on us” in our lives? How can we ensure that that doesn’t happen particularly if they are leaders in the church?
The True Heritage - No longer a Gentile but an heir
Galations 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.
The true Heritage - No longer a slave but a son
Galations 3:24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian
Galations 4:7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
Not a slave but a son - Warnings, Discussion
Galations 2:4 Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery.
What is the danger that “false brothers and sisters” pose within the church?
They are influential and stir the crowds. How can we resist their influence?
Seeds we sow
Galations 6:7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Sow spiritual seeds Reap robust returns
In every thought and every action are seeds that will build our future.
Dicussion
- What seeds can we sow to protect
- The pure gospel?
- The new life (works, ways, glory)?
- The true heritage(child and heir)?
- What seeds endanger it?