08 - Amazing Grace 2008

“Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith.

2 Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved. 3 For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort…”—Phil. 3:1-3

Judaizer: Someone who teaches others to adopt the Jewish religion and Jewish cultural practices.

Now, keep in mind that Paul had been the best of the best in his Jewish, O.T. religion. He wrote:

“If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.” Phil 3:5,6

But when he found faith in Christ, he was delivered of works righteousness. This became Paul’s life message. It is best summarized in Eph. 2:8

“Saving is all God’s idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It's God's gift from start to finish! We don't play the major role. If we did, we'd probably go around bragging that we'd done the whole thing!

No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving.”

The Problem: The Judaizers were running around teaching that it took both faith and works to be saved. They taught you had to mix circumcision with faith to experience salvation.

Circumcision was the sign God gave to Abraham of His covenant with him.

Gen. 17:10-14 “This is the covenant that you and your descendants must keep: Each male among you must be circumcised. From generation to generation, every male child must be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth.

This applies not only to members of your family but also to the servants born in your household and the foreign-born servants whom you have purchased. All must be circumcised. Your bodies will bear the mark of my everlasting covenant. Any male who fails to be circumcised will be cut off from the covenant family for breaking the covenant.”

This was the covenant God cut with Abraham and his descendants. It was a sign of faith toward God.

But when Christ came, this sign was no longer necessary. Paul tells the Romans:

“When Christ died he took that entire rule-dominated way of life down with him and left it in the tomb…

Now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.” Ro. 7:6

So when these Judaizers tried to bring the church back into bondage to the law, Paul went ballistic!

To the Galatians he wrote:

“Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. How foolish can you be?

After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?” 3:1-3

And he says again in Chapter 6:

“So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.”

2 Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you.

6 For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.” Gal. 6:1-2, 6

His strongest language is found in vs. 11-12

“As for the rumor that I continue to preach the ways of circumcision (as I did in those pre-Damascus Road days), that is absurd. Why would I still be persecuted, then? If I were preaching that old message, no one would be offended if I mentioned the Cross now and then—it would be so watered-down it wouldn't matter one way or the other. Why don't these agitators, obsessive as they are about circumcision, go all the way and castrate themselves!”

Bottom line? Salvation is by FAITH ALONE. It can’t be added to or taken away from.

Christianity is not our learning how to behave a certain way in order to be saved; it is putting our faith in what Jesus has already done!

So when you and I sin, we are not repenting to get our salvation back. We’re repenting to restore our walk with Christ.

If works can’t save you, works can’t unsave you!

What is the truth about works? We aren’t saved by works, but we are called to works once we’re saved.

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good works he planned for us long ago.” Eph.2:10

It is the pride of the flesh to think that you and I can have anything to do with our salvation.

Christianity is not a performance religion, it is faith in a Person.

We don’t work to get saved, or work to stay saved. We work righteous works because we are saved!

So Paul says, BEWARE of anyone or anything that takes you away from that simple but crucial truth!

“I once thought these things (getting your righteousness from works) were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.

Positional Vs. Experiential Truth

The N.T. deals with two kinds of truth: Positional and experiential.

Positional truth: What God has done for me.

“AND YOU He made alive, when you were dead (slain) by [your] trespasses and sins.”—Eph. 2:1

“For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.”

All of these things—raised from the spiritual dead, seated in heavenly places in Christ—were done by God for us. These are positional truths.

Experiential truth: What happens to me in the framework of time. My earthly experience with God.

“For we are (right now, in this life) God's handiwork, His workmanship, recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may (right now in this life) do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us, that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].”

This verse is all about our experience with God in our brief lifetime on earth.

Positional truth looks back to what Christ did for us.

Experiential truth looks forward to what Christ is going to do in us!

Principle #1: Positional truth doesn’t change. You ARE saved. You ARE forgiven. You ARE seated with Christ in heavenly places. You ARE children of God. It’s what God has done for you!

Experiential truth does change.

Some days you walk in the Spirit, while other days you may vacillate back and forth.

Some days you have victory, other days you may experience defeat. Experiential truth wears a sign:

“Please be patient, God’s not finished with me yet.”

Experiential truth says we are all under construction, all in the process of growing.

Principle #2: Experiential truth does not affect Positional truth!

Your child may some days greatly please you, and on other days greatly disappoint. But they are always your child! So it is with God.

If you fail God and sin, you don’t repent to get your salvation back. You repent to restore your relationship with Christ.

Principle #3: Positional truth is set in theological cement. Experiential truth does not alter Positional truth. What God has done for us will remain.

Experientially we are seeking as Christians to produce the fruit of the Spirit, walk in the good works God ordained for us, and to reach our world with the Gospel.

Positionally we are in heaven.

Let’s try something. I will read a verse. Then you shout out whether it’s a Positional truth or an Experiential truth:

12[Remember] that you were at that time separated (living apart) from Christ [excluded from all part in Him], utterly estranged and outlawed from the rights of Israel as a nation, and strangers with no share in the sacred compacts of the [Messianic] promise [with no knowledge of or right in God's agreements, His covenants]. And you had no hope (no promise); you were in the world without God.

13 But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were [so] far away, through (by, in) the blood of Christ have been brought near.

14 For Christ himself has brought peace to us…”

17 He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near.

18 Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.

19 So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.

20 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.

21 We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.

22 Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.