Salvation

[This Sunday's sermon is a new direction than originally intended. Due to conversation with members of the congregation, it was clear that I had made a wrong turn in my ongoing preaching plan. I have learned a great deal from reactions concerning the sermons on the Kingdom of God, and this will be ongoing study for my personal time. Future posts, in addition to regular Sunday and Wednesday studies, will be on the topic of the Kingdom of God.]

Galatians 2:20-21

20 "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.

21 "I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness {comes} through the Law, then Christ died needlessly."

Fallen Condition Factor(what is this? read this book.): Living in the Strength of the Flesh

I must die to myself.

Illustration: Miracle: the players had to learn that they were not individuals but their identity was tied to the team and the nation they represented.

Argumentation: Luke 9:23 ¶ And He was saying to {them} all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.

Application: Are you willing to go and tell those you most despise the gospel? Are you willing to love those you most despise?

My life now is faith in Christ.

Illustration: Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).
The life of Wilma Rudolph, the great Olympic sprinter, is a remarkable story of faith. Wilma was born with health problems that left her crippled. "Will I ever be able to run and play like the other children?" Wilma asked her parents.
"Honey, you have to believe in God and never give up hope," they responded. "If you believe, God will make it happen." Taking her parents' counsel, she painfully struggled to walk. By the time she was 12, to the delight and surprise of many, Wilma no longer needed her braces. She went on to play basketball on her championship high school team and win three gold medals in the 1960 Olympics.
When you hear inspiring stories of faith like Wilma Rudolph's, do you sometimes wonder, "What could I accomplish if I took God at His Word?" Faith is the foundational principle of the Christian life. Believing who God is, what He says, what He has done, and what He will do defines the kingdom of God.
Furthermore, faith is the essence of the Christian's day-to-day activity. Paul wrote: "As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him" (Colossians 2:6). How did you receive Christ? By faith. How then are you to walk in Him? By faith. In Scripture, walking refers to the way you conduct your everyday life. Victorious Christian living and spiritual maturity are determined by our belief in God.
We tend to think of faith as some kind of mystical quality which belongs only in the realm of the spiritual. But everybody walks by faith. It is the most basic operating principle of life. The question is, in what or in whom do you believe? We are challenged to believe in God and take His Word seriously.

Dr. Anderson, Freedom in Christ and Harvest House Publishers www.ficm.org

Argumentation: Hebrews 11:6- And without faith it is impossible to please {Him,} for he who comes to God must believe that He is and {that} He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

Application: If you were on the brink of bankruptcy and you sensed the Lord leading you to start a new job without any leads in a specific city, would you go? If you were an employee at a company and you knew your superiors were practicing business in an unethical manner, would you tell their superiors knowing your job may be gone? If you were at school and you knew that a teacher was giving extra credit by watching and reviewing a movie you knew your parents wouldn’t let you watch, but you were failing the class and then would help you pass, would you goto a friend’s house and watch the movie? Matt 7:13-14 "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. "For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Christ’s death is my righteousness.

Illustration: They who are blind can see and they that see are blind, for they that are blind trust in the Lord for guidance and protection. By hearing they believe and are strengthened in faith. They believe AND THEN they see in spirit. But they who see are blinded by vanity and distractions. They assume they know so much, but really they know so little. They believe not unless they see, and for that reason they WILL NOT see. Therefore they are blind

Argumentation: Heb 9:28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without {reference to} sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

Application: Whose righteousness do you live by? Is it your personal list or is it the perfection of Christ? How do you know that you are holy because Christ truly rules in your heart or because you don’t do what those people do? Compare yourself to Christ and then grow by the power of the Spirit?