Watch as Ray David unpacks Galatians 2:11-21 and shows us how the Gospel + Nothing = Freedom in Christ.
Play-Acting
As a Christian, if you try to safeguard religion outside of the Gospel, you are actually just a play-actor, and a hypocrite. Too often we live the Gospel until other religious folks show up, and then we begin to act differently. Our role is to model a life consistently shaped by the Gospel of grace. Figure out what the Gospel says to a situation and walk in it, not matter who’s watching.
Gospel Freedom
Our Gospel freedom is not something of our own doing – it is rooted in Christ. The Gospel brings freedom in your life because it shifts the focus off of you and on to Christ. The most important thing in your life is not what you do for God, but what God has done for you in Jesus.
We stand justified before God, not because of anything we have done or believed, but because of the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. The object of our faith is that Jesus was perfectly faithful to the end – He never wavered. You are not justified by what you do or don’t do, you are justified by the faithfulness of Christ, and by faith in His faithfulness.
The Law
The law shows us God’s ideal for the world. It reads as God’s condemnation. It strips us of any sense of righteousness. It leaves us completely hopeless and helpless before God. When we read the law, it shows us our need – not just for a teacher and moral guide, but for a rescuer and a saviour. Only when you have been fully stripped of any sense that you can do it on your own will you truly throw yourself upon the mercy of your Saviour. As long as you think you can contribute something to the Gospel, you will inoculate yourself against grace.
A New Life
The Gospel brings freedom – no condemnation.
The Gospel brings the kind of freedom that changes every single thing about your life. In fact in biblical terms it doesn’t just change your life, it gives you a new life.
The Gospel says that God fully and completely approves of you – just as you are. You bring nothing to sway His approval. But the Gospel also says that God loves you so much that He isn’t going to leave you as you are. He is going a give you a new life that is no longer marked by your failures – a new life that is in Christ.
Who Am I?
The single most question in your life is not “Who am I?”, it is “Who am I becoming in Christ?” The Gospel changes you and forms you so that your life looks more and more like Jesus. Your old self has died – it was crucified with Christ. You have been given a new life – not a second chance to get it right, but a second Adam who got it right on your behalf. You are a new creation, a new creature and your life is hidden in Christ.
Your new life in Christ is shaped and formed, not by trying, but by fixing your gaze on Him – moment by moment returning to, rehearsing, and preaching to yourself the Gospel of grace. Remind yourself that you are no longer that old person. God has given you a new life.
Integrating Your Life with the Gospel
The first essential step to allowing the Gospel to shape your life is letting God’s preemptive love bring your guard down so that you can admit that you were wrong.
The Christian life is all about integrating your life with the Gospel. The Gospel says that Christ has done everything for you – or nothing. The Gospel says you cannot combine merit and grace.
