Freedom From Approval
Sermon Audio
Sermon Notes
Intro:
Hey everybody my name’s Louis I’m the lead teaching pastor here at City Awakening, it’s great to be with you this morning. Today we’re continuing our series on a book of the bible called Galatians, and it’s about why life with Jesus is so freeing. We’re exploring why life with Jesus is so freeing, why life WITH Jesus is so much greater than life WITHOUT Jesus, and today we’re gonna talk about how Jesus can free us from performance approval. He can free us from this feeling we sometimes have to perform, to work to gain the approval of others.
For example some people work hard to gain the approval of the guy or the girl they want to date. I mean nobody goes on a 1st date with bed head and dragon’s breath...But the reason you brush your teeth, do your hair, put on some makeup, Old Spice it up, get all fit and bronze is to turn some heads. It’s to gain the attractive approval of the guy, the girl, your spouse, or others you know...Some people work hard to gain the attractive approval of others, but some work hard to gain the success approval of others. They might be working hard to prove they’re a success to their parents, their employer, their co-workers, their peers. Personally this is one I struggle with sometimes because my whole life I’ve been told I’ll be a success in whatever I do. So at times I find myself working hard to not let those people down, to not let myself down, to prove that I actually am a success...Look my point is everybody wrestles with performance approval in some way or another. Everybody wrestles with trying to gain the approval of others, and today we’re gonna talk about how Jesus can free us from this performance approval, especially when it comes to working to gain the approval of God. So let’s turn to Galatians 2:11-21 and get into it. The title of today’s message is Freedom From Performance Approval, and here’s the big idea. Jesus can free us from performance approval...Jesus can free us from performance approval.
Context:
Here’s your context. In Galatians ch. 1-2 we learn three primary things. The 1st thing we is learn Paul, the author of this letter, is an apostle, meaning Jesus hand selected him to bring the Galatians the gospel message of Jesus. The 2nd thing we learn is what that true gospel message is, it’s that Jesus gave himself up for our sins. Paul says if we add anything to that message, it’s a distortion of the gospel. The 3rd thing we learn is there’s a group of people called the Judaizers who are leading the Galatian Christians astray, by adding to the gospel saying the Galatians need to live out Jewish laws to have a relationship with Jesus. It’s the primary issue Paul’s addressing in Galatians, it’s that the true gospel is about faith in Jesus giving himself up for our sins, but the Judaizers are trying to add to that message saying it’s Jesus + something else, it’s Jesus + living out Jewish laws. So Paul confronts this false teaching head on in ch. 2. Let’s check it out.
The Word:
Galatians 2:11-21 states, “But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.” Notice Cephas, who’s also known as Peter, is seeking the approval of “the circumcision party,” which is a group of Jews who converted to Christianity. He’s afraid of what they’ll think if he sits and eats with non-Jewish Gentile Christians. He’s been eating pulled pork sandwiches and bacon with Gentile Christians for several years, but now he’s withdrawing from eating such foods and hanging with Gentile Christians. Peter’s enslaved by a fear he won’t be approved of by these Jewish Christians, and that fear’s robbing him of some of the freedoms the gospel’s given him to enjoy, like hanging with his Gentile Christian friends and eating BBQ and bacon. What in the world’s he thinking? I mean everybody knows once you’ve had BBQ and bacon, you don’t go back to the enslavement of eating Brussel Sprouts...unless you put bacon on them, then it’s back to freedom again...It’s all madness...Peter separating from the Gentile Christians to gain the approval of the Jewish Christians is madness, and Paul’s about to call him out on this madness.
Vs. 13, “And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, ‘If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?’” Okay so we’re dealing with two issues here, one’s explicit, the other’s implicit. The explicit issue is hypocrisy. Paul’s calling Peter out on his hypocrisy, and this is something Christians often get accused of, so let’s just clear the air. Everybody’s a hypocrite...Christians aren’t the only hypocrites in the world, everybody’s a hypocrite...Everybody has moments where they don’t practice what they preach, and so if you’re a Christian don’t get offended if somebody accuses the church of being full of hypocrites. Instead admit it’s true, then invite them to church, because they’re hypocrites too they’ll fit right in...You also don’t need to get offended if somebody personally calls you a hypocrite. Instead humbly admit it and apologize for your hypocrisy misrepresenting Jesus...The point is everybody’s a hypocrite, and we should be honest like the bible admitting our hypocrisy. I love how honest and trustworthy the bible is, because it’s even recording the hypocritical sins of some of the greatest Christian leaders in history, Peter and Barnabas. Even Peter and Barnabas had their moments of hypocrisy, but that doesn’t mean hypocrisy’s okay. Paul’s confronting their hypocrisy because it’s not okay, and this leads us to the implicit issue we’re dealing with.
The explicit issue is hypocrisy, but the implicit issue is performance approval. It’s that Peter’s working hard to gain the approval of the Jewish Christians, and his actions are out of step with the truth of the gospel like Paul says in vs. 14. That’s the bigger issue for Paul. It’s that Peter’s actions aren’t in step with the true gospel and his actions are implicitly supporting the teachings of the Judaizers. His actions are basically saying the Gentile Christians need to follow Jewish laws, including their dietary laws, to be considered true Christians and welcomed at the dinner table. His actions are teaching a false gospel, they’re teaching it’s Jesus + something else, it’s Jesus + following Jewish laws that’ll save you, make you a Christian, approve you for a seat at the table. Paul’s highly concerned about this because like the text says, it’s leading other people astray from the true gospel message of Jesus. So he confronts Peter not to be harsh, but because what’s at stake is a distortion of the true gospel message of Jesus.
Vs. 15, “We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” Paul says “no one will be justified” by works of the law, by works based performances, because nobody can perfectly live out the laws of God. Remember we’re all hypocrites, we all fail to practice what we preach, meaning God’s not justifying or approving anybody based on their works. It’s what makes the gospel of Jesus so great! It’s that God knew we’d fail to live out His laws, so Jesus comes to perfectly fulfill all the requirements of the law for us, and then dies the death we deserved to die for our sins. Paul says repeatedly in vs. 16 it’s about faith in that message that justifies and approves us. Vs. 16 is huge in understanding all this and was used frequently in the Protestant Reformation. Paul says three times in vs. 16 it’s about faith in Jesus, faith in Jesus, faith in Jesus. You’re justified, approved, saved by FAITH in the work of Jesus on the cross. God’s more gracious to you than the Judaizers and society are!...God’s way more gracious to you than the Judaizers and society are...I mean the Judaizers put the pressures of the law on you, and society puts the pressures of perfection on you making your approval about things like beauty, success, and popularity. But God’s more gracious than the Judaizers and society because He makes your approval and relationship with Him not about your works and perfection, but about faith in the work and perfection of Jesus.
Now like Alex said last week this is where we need to be careful, because the gospel doesn’t free us from living out good works, it frees us from living out good works for our justification, approval, and salvation. Alex said the order of those things is important, because it’s the difference between a false gospel and the true gospel of Jesus. A false gospel like the Judaizers says you need to work FOR your justification, approval, and salvation. But the true gospel of Jesus says you don’t work FOR your justification, approval, and salvation, you work FROM those things. So we need to avoid two extremes. We need to avoid thinking “Well since I’m already justified, approved, and saved I guess I can do whatever I want. I guess it doesn’t matter what I do.” We know that isn’t true because Paul confronts Peter on his hypocrisy which tells us God cares about what we do. So we need to avoid being flippant about how we live our lives, but we also need to avoid thinking like the Judaizers. “Well since God cares about what we do, I guess that means I need to do something to gain my justification, approval, and salvation. I guess I need to read my bible, go to church, say 10 Hail Marys, 5 Our Fathers, do the ChaCha Slide, turn my life around, before I can come to God.” We know that’s not true either, because Paul says it’s not about your works, it’s about faith in the work of Jesus. We have to get the order right, so we don’t follow a false gospel like the Judaizers. It’s about faith in Jesus first, then we do good works in response to the great love we received from Jesus. It’s about faith.
Vs. 17, “But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ.” Paul says “I’ve been crucified with Christ,” and it’s such a powerful phrase, because in the original Greek it’s written in what’s called the perfect tense. The perfect tense means it’s an event that took place in the past, but has present and ongoing implications. So Paul’s saying the crucifixion was a one-time event in the past, but it has present and ongoing implications. It’s continually justifying, approving, saving, changing, empowering us right now, in the present! But my problem, and the problem a lot of Christians have is we don’t always view our relationship with Jesus like this. We don’t always view it in the present tense, we tend to view it in the past and future tenses. We’re like “Jesus died for my sins WAY back then, there’s hope coming WAY in the future after we die.” That’s all true, but Paul’s saying Jesus paid for our sins past, present, and future. Jesus gives us hope for our past, present, and future. So the gospel, our relationship with Jesus isn’t just about living by faith in Jesus who died for our sins in the past. It’s not just about living by faith in Jesus who rose from the dead giving us hope for the future. It’s about living by faith in Jesus for our past, present, and our future! It’s about living by faith in Jesus who’s alive right now in the present, and can give you everything you need to live a free, joyful life today, tomorrow, and every day of your life, which Paul talks about next.
Again vs. 20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Paul’s saying Christ is living in him, working in and through his life daily. We have everything we need to live a free, joyful life right now in the present, because Jesus is alive right now working in and through our lives daily, in the present! “Yeah but if that’s true, then why do we still have sinful hypocritical moments like Peter? Why don’t we always feel free and joyful in the present?” It’s because we sometimes rely on our past and future tense relationship with Jesus, instead of our present tense relationship with Jesus. We sometimes rely on ourselves in the present, instead of relying on Jesus. But Paul’s saying we need to rely on Jesus daily. We need to rely not on our own works, but on the work of Jesus for our past, present, and future.
One of the things you’ll hear us say often at City Awakening is put on your gospel glasses. It’s because the gospel’s more than a way to eternal life, the gospel IS our life. Jesus affects every aspect of our lives past, present, and future. So we want to be a church that puts on our gospel glasses daily, viewing every aspect of our lives through the lens of Jesus. We want to be a church that’s not self-reliant, but Jesus reliant, seeking the guidance and help of Jesus for every aspect of our lives. It’s because that’s where the power to transform our lives and city comes from. Paul says it’s no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me, it’s Christ who’s working in and through his life daily. City Awakening if we truly want to see transformation in our lives, marriages, families, work places, schools, and city we need to do the same as Paul. We need to become less self-reliant and more Jesus reliant, daily seeking the guidance and help of Jesus in every aspect of our lives, because that’s where the power to transform our lives and city comes from. It comes not from relying on ourselves, but from relying on the one who had the very power, to rise from the grave. You and I don’t have that power, but Jesus does. He had the power to rise from the grave, which means he has the power to transform your life and our city. If only we’d put on our gospel glasses, rely on his power daily, we’d see that transformation.
Again vs. 20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.” Again Paul says in vs. 20 it’s about faith. He says he’s living “by faith in the Son of God,” by faith in Jesus. Our justification, approval, salvation, everything we need to live a free, joyful life comes by faith in Jesus. The question is whose works have you been relying on for your past, present, and future? Who’s works will you CONTINUE relying on?..Will it be your works, or the work of Jesus?
The Big Idea:
Let’s have the worship team come up and get to the big idea. Here’s the big idea. Jesus can free us from performance approval...Jesus can free us from performance approval...Look nobody’s approval for your life is more important than God’s. Once you have God’s approval, you don’t have to worry about the approval of others. You’re free to live as God designed you and desires you to live. The work Jesus did on the cross frees us from having to gain the approval of God or anyone else, and it even frees us from the fear we get when we sin. It’s the fear of losing our justification, approval, and salvation, the fear of losing God’s love.
See in vs. 16 the Greek word for justified means to declare righteous. It doesn’t mean to be MADE righteous, it means to DECLARE righteous. This means the very moment you believe the gospel message, the very moment you have faith Jesus gave himself up for your sins, he makes a thunderous declaration over you. It’s a thunderous declaration heard throughout heaven and hell echoing for all eternity. It’s a declaration where he says “You’re righteous!..I know what you’ve done! I know how messed up, jacked up, sinful your life’s been! But I died for your sins so I declare you as righteous, justified, approved, saved, loved by me!” It’s a declaration that’s echoed for all eternity, because when God makes a declaration over you, it sticks...It sticks...It sticks regardless of your works, because it’s all about His work...So put your faith in Jesus, and rest in his declaration over you today, present tense...Put your faith in Jesus, and rest in his declaration that you’re justified, approved, saved, have an eternal relationship with him and daily access to his transformative power for your life and our city...Then let’s go into our city and set other’s free, by loving a few people so well they can’t ignore the love of Jesus for their lives, and sharing the gospel with them so that these declarations can become their declarations too...City Awakening let’s stand and worship Jesus for his declaration over us today, in the present tense, then let’s rely on him to set us free daily, and go set other’s free in our city. Let’s worship him.