Freed from the Law, for the Law, Part 2

The MetLife with Judy Greer being called by the righteousness of Christ according to the promise of God which would give you freedom to try to close yourself through abuse of a law that makes you a slave to the wall what that looks like you get really technical and legalistic and judgmental about what it's gonna look like and others who are doing it we become really paranoid about. Are you abandoned enough. As always, I'm your host Molly that events you doing today in the middle of the teaching series called freedom in the in between and less time on the program. Pastor Judy started tackling an issue that's critical to understanding the gospel the relationship between grace and action. If you missed the first part of this message, be sure to visit Judy Greer.com where in Galatians chapter 3 continue answering the question. If received by grace things that grab your Bible and a pen and let's get started. Here Paul gives his answer started verse 19 why there was a law given, it was added for the sake of transgressions, until the seed, the promise was made, is the law. Therefore, contrary to God's promises, absolutely not.

Verse 22 the Scripture in prison for the law everything under since power so that the promise might be given on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ to those who believe the log manager keyword was our guardian. I was our guardian until Christ so that we could be justified by faith. Verse 25 but since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian for through faith. You are all sons of God in Christ Jesus. The key where there is guardian.

Some translations will say tutor schoolmaster three ways. Paul says the law is like our guardian or tutor, or maybe your schoolteacher and these are the three ways by the way, the ongoing uses of the law in the life of a believer. Okay three ongoing uses of the law by laws being God's commands about what we should and shouldn't do with him or talk about 10 Commandments, or come to church and why dimers of the like that first law is a curb through threats of punishment or consequences.

The law keeps our simple majors and check we obey. Sometimes a bit because were scared of the consequences, forcing ourselves to obey the wall does not erase the presence of sin in our hearts by obeying the law to keep us from the further damage that is caused by acting on sin. The first thing it does is it curves the effect of sin number two. The loss for us as a mirror below reveals to us as if looking in the mirror how simple our heart actually is.

The wall reveals to us what a righteous heart is supposed to look like, and when we look in the law, we see what our heart does look like, and it leads us to despair is resealed twisted heart is not just we are for Savior.

Thirdly, it is false as a guide, it is a guide or a compass or a map after being saved.

The loss shows us the best way that we can please the God we now love you see the law perfectly reveals God's character to us and shows us what a life that is pleasing to God look like railroad tracks can point to the direction that you're supposed to go by the railroad tracks are powerless to move the freight along the tracks right, you need an engine to move freight along the tracks. The gospel is the locomotive that moves the freight of your obedience along the tracks go to the three ongoing uses of the wall for the Christian, you see, it's a curb is a curb that keeps us from the further damage that sin would cause in our lives is a mirror that shows us how simple we are not desperate. We are for Savior brings us to call out to Christ for mercy and then it is a guide showing us how to act in order to please the God who has saved us and how to bless others the power to actually change the heart status of the key. The power to ascertain the heart the power to produce righteous desires of the heart is only found in the finished work of Christ and only back that can only come by the power the resurrection that is released only by faith in God's promise, not by obedience or resolution that you're going to do better in chapter 4 Paul continues his thought thought you there for us when he said now I say as long as there is a child a difference in the way from slave was the owner of everything other words, you can slave growing up and how someone owns everything one Dutton but for the time being when their immature kids are both under the law, even the ones in charge. Instead he's under guarantee guardians and trustees of the time set by his father in the same way. We also when we were children were in slavery under the elements of the world.

In other words, before we came to maturity in Christ. That is, before righteous desires are fully formed in our hearts we need the law.

Sometimes we have to be told what to do. Sometimes we are force ourselves to do the right thing even when we feel otherwise. So verse four Paul goes on when the time came to completion. God sent his son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons, God wanted to transform us into sons who wanted to obey you, not what they want us to remain a slave were forced to obey, so he redeemed us, and because you are sons Paul said God sent the Spirit of his son into our hearts cry daddy. My father, my father after God cleared our sin debt to Christ. He put Christ, his son spirit into you so that you would start the love and trust God just like Jesus did.

Verse seven. See you are no longer a slave, he says you are a son, and that makes you free.

No longer do we live under a law that forces us to do what you don't want to do my spirit comes in dies and changes our desires so that obeying the law is what we desire to do here is an illustration I used before for to give you a picture of this for the law. Some of you love this illustration and some of you hate this illustration I got conscious to crude but you know what if Paul can talk about circumcision way that he did this illustration. Okay, I described like this before. Michael say the right before worship started for the service toward one of our worship leaders from right here.

Got sick and just vomited everywhere on the floor. I know it's gross with his bow and we was so close service on we have time to clean it up now on we would not have to nobody would have to get up here. Another came as pastors and would say now I'm really serious is against the rules of the summer church for you to come out here look at this moment. That is a very serious offense. We take it you will throw you out here looking to put two middle guards right Saba Saba baseball bats and if you come down here and try to look at this vomit there to throw you out. Nobody needs to hear that right. Nobody's like all the other much chance of getting free bonding amazing to say that right because vomit is disgusting to you therefore you don't need the law. Now that would be different if you were a dog. If your dog yahoo warm vomit have eaten hot dog. Awesome you know so you be down here and the moment but one because the state is not looking looking up your dog. The dog does need the law.listen, God does not want spiritual dogs in heaven who only obey God because you're afraid I got a come along with a stick and beat them if they don't, God wants people in heaven who think of sin as disgusting as he thinks sin is to avoid sin, because they ate sin because they have the heart of the Holy Spirit that bind sin so disgusting that they can't even look at it. That's what God is going to produce and you and the law can't do that no matter how big the guy is with the stick. The gospel changes your heart so that you desire to do what God's law tells you that you should do.

In other words, the gospel stories eyes to obey God. Now when I say frees you to obey God.

To many people in our culture that sounds totally strange or nonsensical. Even because our culture celebrates freedom has the ability to throw off all rules and then define your own existence and do whatever you want.

This is how the very Supreme Court of the United States define freedom in a pretty famous ruling in 1992 Planned Parenthood versus Casey Justice Anthony Kennedy. Here's what he said wasn't it the heart of liberty. The essence of limiting it to define one's own concept of existence and the meaning of the universe. What needs to be free is to think. I have no purpose and I just can't figure out what my purpose is. On a more popular level in 2004.

Will Smith started a movie called I robot you see them, but the basic gist of the movie is that there's robot named Sonny whose purpose is to stave off a plot to destroy the human race by other robots will after Sonny succeeds in saving the human race if you like you're totally blown the moving force you know what can happen to the Fresh Prince of Bel Air always succeeds.

Whatever he does.

So after Sonny saves the human race. He tells Will Smith the end of the movie that he's depressed now because now you know what to do himself now that his purpose in being created has been to fill what will Smith ever. The insightful philosopher tells him well Sonny I guess now you're like the rest of us free to make your own way and free to figure out what your purpose is to that's our culture views freedom, you're free to find and define your own purpose. The Bible would say that is not freedom at all. Imagine a fish that develops a psychological disorder in a psychological disorder makes him think that he was to hop out of the water and onto dry land, so the fish doesn't he start flopping around the doctor. He thinks free time free on the longer constrained by that restrictive ocean is not to be free for very long.

He's going to be dead because he is designed to be in the water and therefore he will only thrive when he's in the water.

You and I are created for God and we will thrive only when we are in right relationship to God and we will find true freedom only when we are living according to the purpose for which we were created in those by people, by the way who or what we got safely for many years will tell you from personal experience of that is true I will tell you and I often explain this to my kids having what would God now only really a couple of decades.

I tell my kids and say if I had to thousand lives to live. I would every single one of them for Jesus Christ because of the joy that comes from knowing him. Life is hard, but God is good and I know that one day when I been there 10,000 years, bright shining as the sun time to be as energetic and is overjoyed to get up in the morning and serve God as I am today because there is no less days to sing God's phrase that went. I first begun time created for God and that's why found freedom per se, but in the passage you didn't know God, you were insulated things are by nature are not really gods. In other words Paul save total freedoms of myth because were not God created to depend on a God and if we don't depend on God to depend on something in the place of God to the question is are you a worshiper. The question is simply what you are worshiping because deep down we know we need security we know that we know deep down we know how fragile we are powerless to stop a meteor from slamming into the earth and kill the soul. We know that the sun heats up or cool down by 5� or 5% been were all goners. You know that we need security from somewhere. We know we need something beyond ourselves to be happy right so we identify something that we need to be happy. Maybe that's money or romance or to a certain standard of living here popularity your good health. God is supposed to be that fake and we got is that thing we experience freedom because were created for God, but we choose something besides God to be our primary source of security or happiness. Not only are we not fulfill. We become enslaved to that thing again.

The question is out of your worshipers. What are worshiping. For example, if you depend on money for security and fulfillment and happiness that you become really obsessed about money and you're worried all the time about getting in or losing matter not having it. You become really stingy you become a workaholic. If you think romance is what will make you happy then you become desperate for romance you depend on it.

You become really fearful about being alone. You're just paralyzed by this idea that you grow up single or you're never going to find happy marriage or when you get into a relationship you become codependent told you. Most people approach romance, like a drowning man approaches a life preserver got a guy drowning in a sea of loneliness and despair, low self-esteem and insignificance and along by foot to 5 foot two blonde had a life preserver. What a drowning man duly sees life preserver clings to any claim 20 suffocates the life out of her because he is looking is depending on something from her. She wouldn't designed to give Matt Dillon the actor said he realized that he was a relationship junkie he needed in the new head of a new romantic relationship every few months. The feel alive.

Some of you are in that same category. I need that death is about this morning. I'm not really going to feel like a real person.

If you need family to be secure and fulfilled and you become really controlling and possessive of your family. You need your kids to turn out well because your kids turn out well will be a validation of you and you become really controlling of them in the future, because you need them close by and you need to be doing things that make you proud because your kids you depend on them for life and securing us security and happiness. If you look to the approval of others to be happy and you become a slave to other people's opinions you live and die by what they say about you. Like Bob Dylan says you live your rock 'n' roll attic prancing on stage United drugs in your command women in a cage may be a businessman or some high degree faith to make all your doctor.

They may call you cheap, but you can have to serve somebody might be the devil or in my be the Lord, but you're gonna have to serve somebody friends when the apostle Paul and Bob Dylan agree on something, it is settled in heaven a man, a man I everybody serve something you gotta serve something will the same thing is true when you turn to obedience to the law to try to save yourself rather than being closed by the righteousness of Christ according to the promise of God which would give you freedom you try to close yourself to obedience to the law and that makes you a slave to the law and what that looks like you get really technical and legalistic and judgmental about what it's gonna look like and others who are doing it we become really paranoid about. Are you abandoned enough and you become like Martin Luther about beta not like the church.

Another be my Bible enough that I can fast enough and you're constantly paralyzed and enslaved by obedience to the wall. Paul says, but now, now, since you know God by the way, the corrections of these are usually new God and we think it is known by God is his power his gift of righteousness.

All you do is receive it. How could you turn back again. Having experienced God and the promise to awaken worthless elements.

Why would you do that you were created by God for God in the gospel you found what you were looking for your United to him you were closed and his righteousness, and filled with this power by him by the gift of the promise. Do you really want to turn back again to yourself for clothing and acceptance verse nine. Do you really want to be enslaved to those things all over again. God wants to make us into sons and daughters does that only by the power of the spirit and the power of the spirit is released only in our lives through faith in the gospel. The first time, we believe the words it is finished. We were released from the penalty of sin.

It is as we continue to believe the words it is finished.

Again and again and again that we are released from the power of sin. It is the words it is finished that change the heart of a slave to the heart of the sun and the reason some of you so struggle to obey God, is that it is finished. Part of the gospel has never transformed its become your forgiveness. It is not yet become your power for change in the fourth grade. My mother commenced several years of rather cruel and unusual rigorous piano lessons in my life because she thought that it would add a lot of cultural richness to me. It was a desire in a vision that I did, I did not share. So I dreaded that moment, I dreaded that moment in the afternoon because my mother it was nothing if not self-discipline when I will be out in the yard playing football or soccer or basketball and the door would open and JD it's time to come in and practice your piano and I was like mom always come up with a code word for don't all the kids in the neighborhood going to play the piano just come up with like stop your medicine or something. Whatever. But you know it.

So every day for Claudette head and parents had always try to start it for about four foreground that back before then. I try to be done before 26 and rounded down to 430 take at least seven or eight potty breaks in the middle that half-hour so actual piano, practicing time is about nine minutes. The worst me was always the recital never really understood the recital good by the time the recital came around my parents heard me calling out for at least about 3000 times. The only difference here at this time as I was out dressed up and was uncomfortable close in a room full of total strangers waiting to humiliate myself.

The only bright spot in the whole evening was the dim hope that somehow I got through it. They might buy me a snow cone afterwards, and finally about the six grade.

My mother released me from that tyranny of my piano lessons and I was a good riddance for me it was in the rearview mirror, but then the strangest thing happened when I got to college, I started to really admire people who had musical talent and I love to hear them play, especially if they could play in they could leave and worship and so I sat down I try to pick out a few of the teams that actually got pretty decent. Played a few songs. I think five of them was the total that were in my repertoire.

At one point I could play five songs pretty well. Well, me and my friend Eric college at night. Deal worked out that whenever we were somewhere in those piano and the girls around how to gonna play one of my five songs and it will go. You play the piano was. Oh yes I do and I can play anything just made a request at that point my friend on queue jumping to get up layout faithfully by journey.

Since I sit down, not to get the key event and I would play like they were so impressed with everything or maybe they were the least of all their work nights.

I really got into it and so strangest thing happened with that is I started to go back to my old piano training in all the things I used to hate to do now. I started to want to do and I was like my maternal aunt to do is figure Rosalie Trotta learned there's chord charts and the very things that had once been a source of bondage to me now became a source of liberation of doing the thing that I now loved Paul is saying that many of us view the commandments of God and fellowship with God like I used to view the piano which bondage and that's because you don't love him is because you have the heart of a slave. God wants to give you the heart of the sun and that change can only happen listen through the gospel.

Many of you cannot love God because you're trying to do so in the power of your flash which is bent in opposition against God, and nothing you can do can change that. No matter how sincere you get more help many resolutions you make or how much you come to church and deep down you only think of God is the judge to punish you for doing what you really want to do that and bring you closer to God like Martin Luther. It makes you hate him, and the more you were commanded to love them, the more you hate him, and the more you resist them in your present him when my kids think I'm mad at them. They avoid me when my kids know that I love them and I cherish them to make love to be around me with you, so listen to salt this weekend with you Saul that even in your sin. God was not angry at you but he was calling out to you like the father calling to the prodigal son safe.

I see your messed up part I see it see that you don't really desire me see that you desire 100 other things in front of me and I see that deep down you hate my wall and I'm not telling you that you have to change that in order for me to accept you not telling you that you gotta try to pretend that you're somebody that you are because you can't do that you can't change your heart. But I'm telling you is that if you come to me, I'll change your heart into that, I'll do it. All you have to do is submit to me and believe that all doing work on your hard gospel is not change and I will accept you.

The gospel is admit that you need to be changed and it submit to God and trust him to do it like he said he would and he will change you.

They can give you the heart of a son who desires to be around and to be like their daddy. That's what God is calling out to many of you today. I know it's my voice and it's my words with the Holy Spirit speaking to you. Listen to this is saying to you right now I want to be your daddy, you'll have the heart of the sun. Yet I know that but I still want to be your daddy and I can give you the heart of the sun come to me in trust before not give it to you. You don't do anything or my approval given that as a gift to Christ.

You just have to receive you to do anything in your own power to change our that's something I'll do the power my spirit when you trust in the finished work of Christ to change in have you been released from the law and begun to find salvation and growth in Christ to Christ because that's where it begins in your sin he send you see how messed up you are yanking change in the knowledge that I'm telling you just come to me as messed up as you are and say I want you to change me and what you do into a power that doesn't come from man's power that comes from an empty to comes from our subject today on some at length with Jeannie Greer never experienced that power and been transformed by the blood of Jesus swear to get in touch today we'd like to get you more information or pray with you as you take the next app.

Give us a call at 866-335-5220 and when you just embrace the gospel for the very first time, or if you've been a believer for years with here to say that the Bible is the best resource for understanding God's plan for the purposes for our lives. I recently sat down and asked Pastor Janie about whether there's a special way to read the Bible will help us understand and apply a pattern is what he shared with me the way that God speaks besting he was when you get the accurate sense of what he is saying both to the original audience in the what it means for your life.

Sometimes there are things in the Bible that are just stories being told mom I will. This is a warning guy. God doesn't want me to do this so so one of our our our burdens here at Summit life is not just on earth random phrases and promises of what you come up with ways to apply these worse your life is to help you see what is in the original context we use a method here and we talked about at some life here highlight this is where you take promises and your responding is examining that's the aspect of like how does this fit into the overall biblical picture with a history or what was going on a is apply. That's where you bridge the gap in your life and ours respond to this Bible that we are offering small compact taking church put your personal in the backpack. It will help you with the examination and application.

It will be able it will help fill the gap of those two things so that you can read and understand the Bible better and ultimately know God and his will for your life. Life Bible comes with our thanks when you donate to support this ministry suggested level of $25 or more, you are giving no matter the amount helps us reach people with gospel centered, Bible teaching and were so grateful for your partnership. When a college student attends and to stay rooted in the gospel in a secular campus or when someone hears the gospel for the very first time you joined the team today by committing to monthly giving has a gospel partner make a generous one-time donation and remember to me Bible, 866-3550 team training easier if you can get online or mail your donation, address it Jeannie Greer ministry, PO Box 123, North Carolina 77 hi Molly if inviting needed to continue our series between the Senate. My team Greer ministry