Sermon Cloud

Introduction

I could barely stand as I awaited the judge’s verdict.  My heart beat so rapidly it seemed like the whole courtroom could hear it, sweat filled my palms, and my legs shook beneath me.  As the judge asked me questions I tried my best to respond but my voice could barely be heard.  I tried to speak up to defend myself but even when my words were audible they were powerless.  This woman, clothed in a long robe and seated behind an exalted bench, held all the power over my life.  She had the power to imprison me and the power to free me.  The choice was hers.       

I’m sure most have you have never stood before a city judge with your freedom on the line.  But I bet most of you can relate to the fear and the discomfort of standing before someone in authority, knowing they are judging you.  Maybe it was your boss at work, or your parents at home, or the police officer who pulled you over for speeding.    We have all had to stand before someone with more authority and more power than us and be judged in some sense. Sometimes it makes you nervous, other times it makes you downright scared.  It always makes you uncomfortable.  And that’s the case whether you’re innocent or guilty, whether the one judging you is fair or unfair.

If we feel that uncomfortable even when we’re innocent, if we feel that uncomfortable standing before a judge who is human just like us, if we feel that uncomfortable standing before a judge with limited power and limited knowledge -- how would we feel standing before God?  How would we feel standing before the One with all power?  The One who is absolutely just?  The One who knows every thought, word, and deed?  The One who is perfectly good and is not guilty of a single offense or flaw?  And add to that the fact that we know we are very, very guilty.  And we know that he knows too.  This is not just a recipe for discomfort or fear, it is a recipe for sheer terror.

Because the truth is that all of us, all of humanity, stand equally condemned before a holy, just, all-knowing, and all-powerful God.  Some of you may be very aware of your guilt and very aware that you stand condemned.  Perhaps you are burdened by it. Others may find that statement very offensive.  Perhaps you believe that you are not worthy of God’s condemnation or that you don’t want to worship a God who would condemn you.  I ask both groups of people to hear me out.  I will show both from Scripture and from reason that we are all guilty of evil and all of us have been bound in condemnation and judgment.  I will also show that there is freedom from condemnation, but it is not where we often look.  Through all of this it is my prayer that we will leave with a better understanding of who God is and who we are.  

Theme Revisited

Turn with me to the Book of Galatians, chapter 3.  Last week we read verses 1-14 together.  We talked about the fact that we live in a world of slavery -- slavery to nationalism, racism, and classism; slavery to the pressure to perform well for ourselves, for others, and for God; slavery to the evil within and the evil without; slavery to external control; slavery to our past, the things we’ve done and the things done to us.  We admitted that all of us long for true freedom from these and other restraints.  What we discovered was that freedom is available but that there is very little we can contribute to our freedom.  We cannot earn God’s favor, we cannot work our way to redemption, we cannot do enough good deeds or be good enough people to earn our liberation.  All we must do -- in fact, all we can do -- is put our faith in Jesus Christ and his cross.  Our freedom is bought by Jesus at the Cross and is realized by us through our faith.  Our freedom comes through the Cross and faith alone.  

This, of course, is contradictory to the way humanity has historically tried to find freedom.  Historically we have tried to find freedom through our own efforts: if we can just be good people, if we can just be loving people, if we can just keep certain moral standards, or perform certain religious rituals then God will accept us and free us from all that imprisons us.  Of course what we have failed to realize is that in doing these things we become even more enslaved.  We become slaves to good works, slaves to moral standards, slaves to religious rituals, slaves to the pressure to perform well.  This is what was happening with the Galatians.  These former pagans had found freedom through Jesus Christ and his Gospel.  But now they were turning back to slavery by embracing the message of the Judaizers.  The Judaizers told the Galatians that in order to truly be part of the people of God they would have to first, embrace Jesus Christ, and second, convert to Judaism.  They would have to become Jews and obey the Law of Moses, follow Jewish customs, and keep Jewish feasts and holy days.  

Paul writes this letter to warn the Galatians that they are trading their freedom for slavery.  Freedom has never come through obeying rules and regulations, he tells them, it has always come through faith and faith alone.  Read with me beginning in Galatians 3 verses 15-18.  God has always dealt with his people on the basis of faith and faith alone.  This goes all the way back to the time of Abraham, who is considered the father of the Jewish religion, the Christian religion, and of Islam.  Abraham was accepted by God through faith.  When Moses gave the Law 430 years after Abraham it did not replace what God had previously done.  The Law did not replace faith.  Faith, and not obedience to rules or regulations, is and has always been the key to our freedom and our relationship with God.

Why then the Law?

So why, then, the Law?  If God has always freed and accepted people based on their faith, why did he give the Jewish people the Law?  And why do Christians still reference it?  That’s a good question.  It’s a question that the Galatians were asking.  It’s also a question that Christians have been asking for the past 2,000 years.  What is the role of the Law in the life of a Christ-follower?  There have been several answers proposed.  One perspective is that we are to still use the Jewish Law as a moral check and guideline for civil law.  Those who take this perspective believe we ought to use our political power to make the laws of our society reflect the moral laws of the Old Testament.  Another perspective is that the Old Testament Law serves as a guideline for the personal and corporate ethics of Christ-followers.  Those who take this perspective do not believe the Law should be used to shape our society, but that it should direct Christ-followers in their own ethical decisions.  Now, for the most part, these are the two stances most Christians adopt and live out practically.  They see the Law as a guide for their personal ethics or for civil law.  But both perspectives actually miss the point.  Let’s read Galatians 3 verses 19-22.

Most Jews thought that the Law was their means of earning freedom and  God’s favor.  But the Law was never intended to be used like that!  In verse 19 we see that the purpose of the Law was to reveal God’s holiness and our ugliness.  It showed us which words, thoughts, and deeds are consistent with God’s character and which words, thoughts, and deeds are an offense to God.  When we look at the Law we see a God that is wholly and fully good.  He is without moral stain, without a single flaw.  He is a God that is totally unlike us - he shows no favor to the rich and powerful; he defends the cause of the poor and weak;  he loves even those who curse him and despise him; he shows mercy to those who have earned judgment, and grace to those who have failed miserably; he speaks only what is true; his judgments are accurate and fully just; he is all-powerful; he is all-knowing; he is present everywhere; he is totally self-sufficient; he created and sustains the entire universe; he is sovereign, and eternal, and infinite.   And when we see him properly we see that we stand condemned.  Because when we look at the Law we see our own inability to keep it.  It says, “do not lie,” but we do.  It says, “do not covet,” but we do.  It says that God hates pride, but we are puffed up with it.  It says that God hates selfishness, but we are filled with it.  It says that the righteous clothe the naked and feed the hungry, but we ignore them.    It says that we must care for all that God has created, but we abuse his creation and misuse its resources.  It says we ought to be generous and give liberally as God does, but we gather everything unto ourselves, go to great lengths to protect it, and remain stingy with it.  It says that sex is sacred but we pervert it and treat it as a common thing.  Worst of all, it says that we must worship nothing and no one above God, but we devote ourselves to other people, other things, other causes more than to God himself.        We look to the Law and we see that we stand condemned before a holy, just, and perfect God.  From Adolf Hitler to Mother Theresa and everywhere in between, we all stand condemned.  That is the purpose of the Law -- to reveal God’s holiness and our ugliness.

What if I don’t accept the Law?

“But wait!,” you say, “I am not a Jew and I don’t accept the Old Testament Law.  How can you say I am condemned by a Law that is not relevant to me?”  That’s a reasonable question and I think there is a reasonable response.  

First, I would say that whether or not we accept a law or are aware of a law does not protect us from being judged by it.  Some people do not accept Oregon’s law against driving under the influence -- but they will still be judged by it.  Others do not know that it is illegal to take a u-turn on most streets -- but they will still be judged by it.  Likewise, we will be judged according to the standards of God’s character whether we are aware of God and his character or not, and whether we accept his standards or not.  

Second, we can take Old Testament Law out of the equation all together.  We can pretend it doesn’t exist.  Yet we still stand condemned.  We stand condemned by our own conscience.  Whether we accept any particular religion or any particular moral code is irrelevant.  Because all of us accept the testimony of our conscience.  And all of us, every single one of us, has repeatedly violated our own conscience.  We have said things that we know we should not have said, and we have not said things we ought to have said -- and we feel guilty about it.    We have done things that we know we should not have done, and we have not done what we ought to have done -- and we feel guilty about it.  We have thought things that we know we should not have thought, and we have not thought what we ought to have thought -- and we feel guilty about it.  None of us can hide from that guilt but most of us try to repress that guilt because it is very uncomfortable for us.  It is difficult, painful, even frightening, to look at ourselves in light of our conscience.  We see that we have failed to meet even our own standards.  With or without the laws of religion, we stand condemned by our own conscience.   

We also stand condemned by the words from our own mouth.  Without exception, each of us has criticized, judged, or condemned another human being for some mistake in thought, word, or deed.  Out of our own mouths we have judged by a variety of standards.  We have verbally condemned people for lying, stealing, cheating, gossiping, being arrogant, being selfish, being intolerant, being lazy.  We have verbally judged people for their failed interpersonal relationships, their inappropriate sexual relationships, their bitterness, their impatience and on and on and on.  Every time we verbally criticize another we make ourselves subject to the same standard.  By holding others to the standard it shows that we do believe that there are, in fact, moral standards. Think of the types of things you criticize others for.  What have you criticized others for in the past week?   Now, if we are honest, we ourselves have not lived up to the standards we set for others.  We have failed in thought word and deed.  With or without the laws of religion, we stand condemned by the words of our own mouths.

This does not mean that we are not relatively good people.  It does not mean that we do not do many good things.  But no matter how much good we do it does not make the bad disappear.  The State will condemn even the finest of its citizens for one violation of its laws.  How much more will a perfect God condemn us for a lifetime of offenses?  More times than we can ever count we have done what we ought not do and we have failed to do what we ought to do.  For God to simply overlook these offenses would be unjust.  If our city judges began setting repeat offenders free we would be outraged!  Inside each of us is an innate sense of justice.  We believe that good must be rewarded and evil must be punished.  I love that belief and that sense of justice until the person on trial is me.  Then I want anything but justice.  I want anything but for evil to be punished.  Because I know that I stand condemned.  I stand condemned before a perfect and holy God, I stand condemned by my own conscience, and I stand condemned by my own words.

What if I do enough good?

That is the purpose of the Law of Moses and the purpose of the law that God has written on our hearts (our consciences).  It reveals God’s beauty and our ugliness.  Once we see these things clearly we see that we do stand condemned.  But what we want more than anything is to be free from this condemnation.  The ironic thing is that once the law of Moses or the law on our hearts shows us that we are condemned we try to break free from condemnation by relying on those very same laws!  The Galatians tried to break free from condemnation by making themselves slaves to the Jewish law.  We often try to break free from condemnation by making ourselves slaves to our own moral standards.  We exert all of our energy and effort trying to earn God’s favor and God’s forgiveness.  We strive to be good people.  If we can just do enough good, if we can just be loving people, surely God will forget all of our offenses, surely our consciences will be cleaned!  

Most of us should have learned from experience that this does not work.  If not, we can certainly learn that from the Scriptures.  The Scriptures tell us in Isaiah 64 that in the eyes of God, even our most righteous acts are like filthy rags.  This is a strong statement on the surface but it is even stronger than it seems.  The “filthy rags” that Isaiah is talking about are menstrual cloths.  All of our righteous thoughts, words, and deeds are as worthless as a menstrual cloth.    If this is what God thinks of our righteousness imagine what he thinks of our sin!  We can never produce enough righteousness to make up for all of our offenses.  What we need is a righteousness that is greater than our unrighteousness, a righteousness that perfectly matches God’s righteousness, a righteousness that is unstained by unrighteous thoughts, words, and deeds.  To think that we can achieve this, to think that we can do enough good to earn the favor of a perfect and just God, is not only incorrect, it is the supreme arrogance.  We must look outside of ourselves for such righteousness.  

Where is freedom found?

Let us read verses 23-25.  According to the Scriptures, this righteousness is not found in ourselves and not found in the Law.  It is found in Jesus Christ.  We saw in verse 19 that the Law was never intended to be permanent - but temporary.  It was to accomplish its purpose of revealing God’s beauty and our ugliness only until Messiah came.  The Messiah, of course, is Jesus.  Apart from Jesus we remain slaves to the condemnation that comes through the Law, and our conscience, and our own words.  We cannot escape it through our own efforts, our own righteousness, or by hiding from our guilt.  But in Jesus we have freedom from this condemnation.  Paul tells us that through Christ we become justified by faith.   To be justified is to be declared “not guilty” in spite of our guilt.  When  I stood before that human judge who had the power to free me or imprison me I was allowed to go free.  But it was not because she found me innocent.  It was because of a plea bargain.  God does not accept plea bargains per se, but he declares even the most guilty of us to be “not guilty”  if we place our faith in Jesus Christ.  When we put our faith in Jesus we are justified and freed from condemnation because Jesus does possess a righteousness greater than our unrighteousness, a righteousness unstained by unrighteousness, a righteousness that perfectly matches God’s righteousness.  When we place our faith in this Jesus, God releases us from our condemnation because Jesus became condemned in our place.  We are no longer condemned by the Law, or our consciences, or our words because Jesus has absorbed our condemnation for us.  He has taken our rebellion upon himself and died the death of a condemned criminal as he willingly hung from the Cross naked, weak, and suffocating. Just as our condemnation has become his condemnation, his righteousness becomes our righteousness through faith and faith alone.    

Conclusion

We need not fear condemnation, though all of the evidence says we should.  We can be freed from all condemnation.  It is not that we have not done anything worthy of condemnation -- we have done many things worthy of condemnation -- but Christ has become condemned in our place.  Just as God’s perfect goodness makes him a righteous judge, God’s perfect goodness also makes him gracious and merciful.  And you and I are set free from condemnation.  

If this is true it has very serious implications for us.  It means that if you are a follower of Christ you  can no longer condemn yourself, for you have been freed from condemnation through  Christ.  If you are a  follower of Christ it means you can no longer condemn other men and women who are in  Christ.  They have been set free from condemnation through Christ.  It means that we have to stop trying to avoid condemnation through ways other than the Cross.  We have to stop trying to do enough good to make up for our wrongs, we have to stop acting as though we have not done anything worthy of condemnation (we all have), we have to stop hiding from our guilt. The only freedom from condemnation comes through the Cross.  

When we embrace Jesus and his cross we are completely released from both condemning and being condemned.  We are now free to do good and to fulfill the law by loving God and loving our neighbor.  Now our righteous acts, which used to be as filthy and useless and menstrual rags, become acceptable to God.  The actions themselves have not changed.  But they have become acceptable to God because they are given through Christ.  We no longer do these things so that we and others will believe that we are good people.  We are no longer condemned men and women trying to earn God’s favor and forgiveness by our righteousness, we are now free men and women rejoicing in God’s grace and goodness.  What used to be an act of self-protection becomes an act of worship and God himself receives all the glory.