Free From Christian "Extremism" 07/04/21

Is free from Christian extremism. You say well, what is Christian extremism? You can't get to it strange when you talkin about Jesus, can you? Well, you can, and we're going to talk about that today and I want to give you 2 deadly. Insidious doctrines. That many Christians have fallen into and then at the end I'm going to show you what the real gospel says and why we are free in the real gospel. So free from Christian extreme, Muslim Galatians chapter 5 and I'll read verses 1 through 6. In the Bible says here Stand Fast, therefore in the liberty or the Freedom by which Christ has made us free and do not be entangled again with the Yoke of bondage in D. Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised Christ, will profit you. Nothing and I testify again to every man who become circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. Well, they were some if you go to accept 50, I believe it's verse 1. Some people came to galatia some false teachers and said well let me tell you this. If your not circumcised, you cannot be saved. You say one who in the world would say something like that? Well, it's the same people today, that says, if you're not baptized, you can't be safe. Now should a man or woman boy girl? Be baptized. Yes, just baptized but this bad pistol save, you know, just an outward expression of an interchange. That's all it is. Okay, you can pour water on you or sprinkle water, whatever you want to do, it's not going, it's not going to save you. That's not but there's plenty of people in churches today. Or do you have to be baptized? Oh, you have to, you have to preach. You have to read from the King James version, if you don't bad bad, there's people that say that, Well, I'm here this morning to the bunk, all of that verse 3. I testify again to every man who become circumcised that he is dead her to keep the whole law. Paul says, all right, go ahead and believe that. If you want to get circumcised, that's fine. But you got to keep the whole law. You can't just follow that. You got to keep it all. Looking verse 4, You have become estranged from Christ. That means, severed that word estranged. It means you have become separated severed from Christ. You who attempt to be justified by law. You have fallen from Grace. For we, through the spirit. Eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith and then verse 6. For in Christ. Jesus neither circumcision or uncircumcision avails anything. But Faith working through love. I've got three points today. And I'll try to finish as quick as I can, but there's so much in the six versus. So let me give me the first point that we're going to talk about. We're talking about being free from Christian experience Point. Number one, the gospel frees us from what I call suffocating Christianity. Now, the technical term for that is legalism. Living by do's and don'ts you have your list of what you can do and what you can't do, how often you need to go to church house and you need to pray and how much money you need to give, how many people you need to feed. How many times you need to give to charity and how often you need to go to the soup kitchen and feed the Homeless. All of that based on this is what God is going to be pleased with. This will put me in right standing with God friends. That is a dangerous, lethal doctoring, the gospel frees us from this suffocating Christianity. Now, the judaizers of course had come, And they had said to wait a minute, you Paul. You cannot preach this gospel of grace because if you do people's going to say, well, I can just live the way I want to. We'll talk more about that and I'm almost there in about 5 minutes on that. But I'm going to spend about 40 minutes on legalism because I think it's more prevalent. But they said, look, you can't. If you do that, you going to replace the law with license and people just think they can get away and do anything they want to. Well, these judaizers are not the only ones afraid to depend on God's grace. There are those in the church. Today, we would call legalist Who dare not teach about the Liberty that we have in Christ, because they're afraid that if you do that, that people just live the way they want to. So, to them, you got to live by dues and don'ts and you have to have all these rules and regulations like the Pharisees did. And basically, you just have to be a miserable Christian. Why miserable because if you live under the law, you are miserable Christian because you can't keep the law. And, you know, you can't keep the wall. And so we become angry and bitter, and we just miserable. And we start comparing ourselves to other people. And then we say, we look I'm more spirits on this is this person been saved and I have I go to church more. They do. I read my Bible more than they do. I'm more spiritual than that. And also we start comparing ourselves to other people. That is a miserable life. It's a miserable life. So no man could become a rebel. Who depends on God's grace. No man. Will become a rebel who gills to God, spirit and list for other and seeks to glorify God. You will not become a rebel. You see the legalist, they're the ones who eventually become Rebels, because they're living in bondage, depending on the flash living for self seeking for the praise of men. And not, the glory of God, remember the Pharisee when he walked in the temple and he saw the Republican, he said, Lord, I thank you. I'm not like this man. He says, I prayed 3 times a day. I give my money. I serve you. Thank you that you didn't create me to be like this person. Don't you? Wish more people were like me. You see? This is what legalism does. Look at it again and verse 1. Standfast Paul says, therefore in the Liberty by which Christ has made us, free do not be entangled. again, with the Yoke of bondage, you say Paul's doctrine of Christian Liberty That's not the problem. The problem is the doctrine of legalism, that's the problem there. Why? Because legalism attempts to do the impossible, it attempts to make the old nature of a and friends. We can't do that. This old Nature has passed away. The Lord has given us a new heart, we have the Holy Spirit living on this side. We have a new nature. Don't try to make the old nature obey. You will never be able to do that, but that's what legalism duck. Now, that can succeed. For short time, you can make all these rules and regulations and you can keep them for a little while. But then after that, the flash takes over and all of a sudden you're just a defeated disgruntled Christian, because I just can't live by the law. No matter how hard. How hard we try. Let me give you some things. That a person who lives under grace, let me give you some things to that person may say they're saving. They'll say, you know something, I've been set free by Christ. I am no longer in the bondage of law, but I know that I'm still a sinner and I need something or better yet. I need someone to control my life from within. Well that's exactly why the Holy Spirit was sent to live on the inside of me and threw his love. You know, something I have a desire, not only to love others but the sub serve others and not serve myself. All this life of Liberty is so wonderful. I want to live my life so then it will glorify God because he's the one that's made it possible. That's living on the grass. That's what you say when you live under grace. But let me tell you what the legalists says. Well, if I babies rules, I'm going to become a more spiritual person. And you know, there's a religious leader or preacher or Pastor or someone that I like and I'm going to follow his system, I'm going to mimic him, I'm going to imitate him, you know, I think that I have the strength Within Myself to a bay and to improve myself. If I do what I'm told, I think I can meet the standards that I have set for me, that's what the legalist say it. I'm making progress, I don't do some of the things I used to do by the fact. A lot of people compliment compliment me on my obedience and my spirituality and I believe that there's a lot of people out there that wishes they were exactly like me. That's the legal. That's what living under the law of do's and don'ts. That's what it will do to your life. And I just wish there was more, people like me, legalism is Insidious. It is a dangerous enemy and let me say this. There's a part of legalism, that lurks in the hearts of every single one of us. Because we've always been told to work hard to do your best. It's all up to you, give yourself a pep talk, you need to do this, you can do anything, you set your mind to, you can do. So we've all been taught to rely on self and so we get Sade. What are we do? We work ourselves to God. Oh God. I know you saved me but I'm going to work and I'm going to do the best that I can't. And I'm going to make you proud and you going to accept me because of what I do here on Earth friend, that is a very dangerous Doctrine to believe. Let me tell you two things that you lose when you are legal. It's number one, you lose your Liberty. We saw that in verse 1. He says in verse 1, do not be entangled again with the Yoke of bondage, joke. Well, it represents slavery. It represents surface to someone else. You're controlled by someone else. You see when God delivered Egypt, Israel from Egypt. He benefits says that he broke the Yoke of bondage that Egypt had over Israel. And so, when Believers trust in Christ, we lose the Yoke of servitude to send. We have a yoke of seeing around our net. But when we say we lose that and we put on the Yoke of Christ, not the Yoke of bondage. Living under the law, is the Yoke of bondage, living under grace is the Yoke of Christ. The Yoke of religion is hard, the burden is heavy. Cry said my yoke is easy and my burden is light. You see, that's what we need to be under the Yoke of Christ frees us to live in his wheel. While the Yoke of the law and slaves. Us to make to-do lists and not and do I can't and won't, and should, and ALT List It. Frees us from all of that. You see, Christ has made us free from the bondage of the law. He freed us from the curse of the law. When he died on the tree, we're no longer under the law. We are under grace. What does that mean? It simply means this that we no longer need the external force of the law. We no longer need that to keep God's will. Because we have this internal leading of the Holy Spirit, that's what it means to live under grace. So that's why Paul says, take your stand for Liberty. So you lose your freedom. Also, if you're legalists, you lose your well. Now, I'm not talking about material wealth. I'm talking about spiritual wealth. Look what Paul says, in verses 2 through 4, and I want you to look at a couple of these phrases here. He uses three phrases to describe what we lose. Look at verse to ndi Paul. Say to you that if you become circumcised, if you believe, you have to be circumcised be safe, Christ will profit you, nothing. So, you lose the power of Christ Christ is not going to profit you, anything? Alright, then look what else? He says, in verse 3 and I testify again to every man who become server-side that he is a debtor to the whole wall. So not only do you lose your spiritual riches. Now, you become a debtor again, just like you were before, you were saying, you say, we all had a dance and that that we couldn't pay the price, paid it on the cross. But now, if I'm going to go back and live under the law, I'm a dad or to the lol again. I'm not living on the grace. I'm living under law and then look what he says in verse for you have become separated from Christ severed. You have fallen from Grace. That's the sad conclusion to it all. Christ becomes no effect for you because you have been separated from him is bad enough? That legalism robs us of our Liberty but it also robs us of our spiritual wealth in Christ. We are living under law and we become a bankrupt slave. Now, you say well, not many people do it. There's a lot of people in our churches today, who live a life of a bankrupt slave because they're trying with good intentions to please. And good intentions, and come to church and do everything they supposed to, but they're living under the law and not under grace. You say what, how can I tell if I'm living under the law? I've got one test that you can give yourself that will automatically tell you and that is the joy test. Do you have any joy in your life? Because I can tell you a legalist has no joy. They're bitter. They're angry, they can't keep the law, they compare themselves to other people. They are selfish and all legalism leads to is pride because if I think that I'm more spiritual than someone else, I just bubble over with pride, you live under the law, you going to be a joyous Christian. So ask yourself this morning, do I have joy in my life? Where you remember when Jesus talked about two men who owed a debt and OneNote about 10 more times than the other and the Creditor said, well, neither one of you can pay you back. So here's what I'm going to. I'm going to forgive both of you. That's a picture of what God has done. He's forgiven. All of us when he forgave are seeing you say was, so, and so's a murderer or rapist. I really would not bad friend. It took just as much grace to say I do, is it does a murderer or rapist or anyone else just as much grace. So the Creditor forgave both men, you see, God in his grace because of the work of Christ on the cross, is able to forgive Sinners no matter how large a debt, no matter how you live in your life. You see, when we trust Christ, we become spiritually Rich. Ephesian says, we share in God's grace, The Riches of his grace Ephesians also says we share in The Riches of his glory. Roman says that we share in The Riches of his wisdom and then Ephesians against talks about, we share in The unsearchable Riches of Christ. You see, once a person is in Christ, he has all he needs to live a Godly life or the legalizers. The beauty out of said, oh no, no, no, no, you can be more spiritual than what you are. You can do more, you need to add something to it. And Paul says here, nothing can be added to it. Instead, the law is a thief. It will rob you of your spiritual riches. It puts you into bankruptcy and then it puts you to be responsible for the debt. Again, that you cannot pay your right back to where you started before you were saved. Now, let's talk a little bit about the church.

You know, I've seen churches split over whatever translation that you ought to preach from. I've seen churches split over the color of the carpet. Have a fossil color carpet. I heard about a church that had a big fuss whether or not, they should put 20-year shingles or 40-year shingles on top of the shirt. And they had a big falling out because of that. We all, here's what we do. We all take secondary things and we put them as primary things. I've seen, churches split over whether a woman should be a deacon or not. No reason to split. You can talk about it, you can discuss it. There's no reason to get so upset and it split over something like that. I've seen churches split over. Should we seen him or do we need contemporary music? And they split over something like that, which that's taken something secondary and putting it up at the primary level. You see in this is the point the legalist reveal their hypocrisy because they may keep certain things, but they can't keep the whole law. All, look what the Bible says in 1st three. He says I testify again to every man who become circumcised, he is a dinner to keep the whole law. He says, you've got to keep all the law. You can't just keep some some of the latest, what they look at. Living the Christian Life. Like we do, if we go to K&W Cafeteria, when you go in J&W, see, all these meats, there are, how many do you normally get? You get one, you get a couple of vegetables. You may get a piece of dessert, you may get a roll or biscuits something to drink. When you go sit down, you see this is this is the way the legal is due. They just pick and choose what they're going to a bay. But yet the Bible says here, but if you obey that she's got to keep all of it, you've got the key, the whole, Now you cannot mix Grace and law if you decide to live in the realm of the law then you can't live in the realm of Grace. So what happens is is that we get food thinking that if I do this and do that Christ is going to be He's going to approve of me, it's like me if I go down here, go to Durham. And if I run a red light on purpose and I get pulled and officer comes up to me and says Sorry, I need to see your license, I said, and it. What would he say if I said that, sir. I know. I just ran a red light, but let me tell you something, I've never committed adultery. I've never robbed anybody and I've never cheated on my taxes. What would he say to me? He say why, I'm glad that. You have kept the law over here, but you just broke the law because you ran a red light friends. If you going to keep part of the law, you have to keep all of the law. This is what Paul is saying, here. You can't mix it. Well, these believers they were listening these false teachers disobey in the truth. And now they had turned back and they were living under the law. Again, entangled in the Yoke of bondage. So the believer who chooses legalism, Rob's himself of his spiritual Liberty and spiritual wealth and we deliberately put ourselves back into bondage and back into bankruptcy friend. That is a terrible way to live. So the first point is simply this the true gospel. frees us from suffocating Christianity, which is legalism port number to almost there in about 4 minutes on Number to, the true gospel frees us. From what I call sloppy Christianity in that is Hedonism. You say well what is hedonism. Is the doctrine that says, pleasure or happiness. Is the sole purpose of life. Now, you have these who say this today? Well God knows that I'm a sinner and even though I'm saved I still send. Is that true? Well since I still sin and since I'm going to send What I can do is I can just go out here and just live it up and do what I want to live the way I want to. And then in the end, I can ask God to forgive me, and God will forgive me. You see the legalist reject the grace of God? No, I don't need God grace. I need to do it myself, he rejects the grace of God, where the hedonists presumes on the grace of God. I just live the way I want to. I can do anything that I can just live, like the world and then in the end, I can ask for forgiveness, and God will forgive me? Well, will he forgive us? If we confess our, yes, he will. When he cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Yes, he will. But he says, well, then I have a license. I'm saved. So I have a license to sin. I presume on the grace of God. I use God's grace, as a crutch to justify the way I want to live. I can go out here and party, I can go out here and live with my girlfriend. I can go. I can just live, like the world us, it doesn't matter because in the God's going to forgive me friend that is just as dangerous as legalism you are presuming on the grace of God. That's what the devil did. When he tempted, Jesus air jump now.

Do cat. Just presume go out here on the road and stand in front of a truck going, 60 miles an hour. It's not your time to die. You won't die. You'll be a wet spot right out here in road, is what you'll be. That's just crazy. That's presuming on the grace of God and these folks will go to church. And they'll post scripture on Facebook, but they're going to live, just like the world. Does their attitude is eat drink and be merry. And in the end, God's grace will save me. That is a dangerous Doctrine to live by. Well, what are we talked about so far? We looked at two of the doctor. Number one suffocating Christianity do's, and don't do this, don't do that. It's just a Terra legalism. Then we looked at sloppy, Christianity Hedonism, just live the way you want to do. What you want to do in the end. God will save you. Well, let's think about this. The gospel frees us from suffocating Christianity. Number one, it frees us from sloppy Christianity, number two, and number three. The gospel focus is us on solid Christianity, and under solid Christianity, you'll see faith and love, and I want to spend a few minutes on this and this is what we would call fizzle. You see? Nothing is more important than Crystal clarity. On what ultimately counts in life. You see, we stand firm in Freedom and it will do that will avoid the slavery of legalism and hedonism But whenever we lose sight of what's important spiritual slavery is right around the corner. So Paul couldn't be more clear with the glaciers here on what ultimately counts and what doesn't and I want you to look at it and verses 5 and 6. He says, for we through the spirit, eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. Now, if you're saved today, you have been closed. In the righteousness of Christ. So what is Paul talking about here? We eagerly. Wait for the hope. Because one day when the Lord comes back will be clothed in the righteousness of Christ and we going to live for him forever and we're not going to have any sin nature whatsoever and we're going to live the perfect life that many of us want to try to live here on Earth but that's not going to happen until the Lord comes back and takes us to have. It will have our glorified bodies will be in complete righteousness. What Paul is saying here is just wait. Look at your life with from an eternal perspective. For when you're going to stand before the Lord in judgment, this is what he's saying. And look what he says in verse 6 for in Christ. Jesus, neither circumcision or uncircumcision avails anything. Only one thing counts. What is it? Faith working through? Love you. Notice what? He said, Faith working? What did James? Do you have a faith without works? What type of face do you have, you have a dead face fate working through love. So he has this specific contest contacts here. When we at the last day when we stand before the Lord, in other words, what ultimately counts in this life is what ultimately matters on the day of judgement. And what is it? That ultimately matters are fake. You say well, I have faith. Let me ask you something.

What type of Fate do you have? Now, I'm going to tell you something that I believe, and I want it, I want you to tell me if I believe this if I'm saved. Okay, so here goes, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I believe he walked this Earth. I believe he lived a sinless life. I believe he died on Calvary cross, I believe he died for the sins of mankind, not only that I believe in three days, he rose from the tomb and he defeated death, hell and the grave and for 40 days, he presented himself and then he'll send it back to have an I tell you something else. I believe, I believe that he is going to come back and get his people tell me if I believe that a, my saved. Okay.

Well, let me tell you, someone who does believe that.

The demons. if you ask any demon, Jesus Christ. The son of God did he die for the sins of man? Did he really resurrect? Did he really is? He really coming back? You know what, every one of them. Yes. Look at James chapter 2 verse 19.

You believe that there is one God. You believe that Jesus is the son of God that he died from an saying that he was buried and he was crucified on the cross and come out of that tomb and ascended to Heaven. He's coming back. You believe that. You do well. Even the demons believe and tremble.

So it's possible for me to believe everything that I just mentioned you and not be saved. You say, how can that be? Because I can believe it with an intellectual factual. Knowledge, but is never touch my heart. I can't believe the facts of the Gospel, I can believe that Jesus is exactly who he said he was, but that doesn't mean that I'm saved. That mean, if I have just only an intellectual knowledge, that does not tell me that I'm saved. The kind of faith that we need. Is not an intellectual fate, is the Fate that we are justified by is not what the demons possess is. The Fate that says, I Believe In Christ, that he's the son of God and I believe in him and him only for my salvation. It is a living faith. Not an intellectual Faith. I've asked people for. Do you believe the plan to solve a hole? Yeah, I'm saying because I believe Plan of Salvation free and you're not say by, Believe In The Plan of Salvation, your saved by believing in the man of Salvation. Jesus Christ. There's a lot of things you can believe in, but it's got to be a living faith. It can't be an intellectual face. You see it's the kind of faith that so trust in Jesus that it will Express itself in love for God and love for others. That's the faith. What did he say? What did Paul say here? 46 Faith working through. Love, is that Faith, you can love a lot of things but it's the Fate that you trust in Jesus and he will overflow your heart with love for God and love for others. This is the only kind of faith that will count on the last day. It's the only thing that ultimately matters faith in Christ expressed in, love to God and others. You say what? Why you going through all that? A lot of people believe that most Christians, everybody believes that well, how about to be baptized How about those? What have I said? You got to have a certain political view, do not have the right? Political view. You're not right with God. Or some other Doctrine. You're not right with God. How about premillennial? I'm a free Millennials. How about those who are all Millennials? What counts? What ultimately count say. I hate working through. Love you say why? I'm a calvinist somebody that not count for something? The only thing that counts is Faith. Working through, love Lima Baptist, how about a presbyterian? How about a Catholic? How about a Methodist doesn't matter when you stand before God at the judgement seat of Christ? The only thing that will matter is a living faith working through. Love, how about traditional music contemporary music? How about Bible translates, how about the King James new King James, do you at the nasb? How about all of them? The only thing that will matter is Faith working through. Love, how about me? I abstain from all alcohol. I'm a Christian, I don't drink alcohol, I don't do in it or you can say. Well, how about me? I have a glass of wine every now and then I drink a little bit. What about that? Only thing that matters is Faith working through, love a living faith, working through, love that matter fuel republican-democrat, fat thin, black or white is none. None of that will matter when you stand before almighty God, the only thing that will matter is Faith working through love, that's what is going to matter. And we need to apply this test States working through love to everything. But we believe in everything that we do and that will help us to stand firm in the freedom that we have. You see, we often treat good things. As though, they were ultimate things. And churches have split over good things that they've made ultimate thing. You know what a legalist really is illegal. It really is someone who has personal convictions that apply them to everybody else. I don't drink. And if you do, you're not as spiritual as me. I pray to three times a day if you don't, you're not as spiritual as me. I appreciate the King James. If you don't, you're not as spiritual, we take secondary things and put them in primary places whenever we take something good, then begin to think that it puts us in a right relationship with God. We are in dangerous territory. That is a dangerous place to be what the Bible says. That God puts us in the right relationship with him. When we place our faith in Jesus Christ in him alone, that's why we live by faith. Trusting in God promises and why we live and walk in the spirit relying on God's power. That's why we do what we do. You see the legalist? They have no hope. They can't wait on God. They can't trust in the promises of God and they will not rely on the power of God. Illegalist will weary and said to wait till strive, instead of rest will depend on his own resources instead of the sufficiency of Christ with friends. When our faith, when are living faith, not an intellectual Faith but a real faith is rooted in the gospel. You will realize that Faith working through. Love is what ultimately counts and what ultimately matters to God. And what ultimately makes a difference on the day, a job Fran, this is what solid Christianity is Faith, working through love and it will free you from suffocating Christianity, legalism, it will free you from sloppy Christianity Hedonism that great this morning to be free, aren't you glad that you're no longer under the law that you can live under grace? Amen. All right. Let's pray. Father, we do. Thank and praise you. Love you today, Lord For What the gospel means to us. Lord, we just thank you today. That we are free. Or we don't have to have a to-do list, we don't have to make up all these rules and regulations to live by. Lord, our life is all about you. Our life is place in fate and trusting you to take care of us. And then working out our faith in love Lord, I pray for the one here today. That is saved but they have no joy. or their life is just Up and down, Mountain and Valley. They feel as if they can't live the Christian Life, Lord show them today. That what the problem is that they're living under the law, show them that they are free. By your grace, not to be a rebel, not to fall into Hedonism but to love you because you first loved us, Lord, we thank you for this. We thank you for this teaching today and help us all Lord to stand firm in the Liberty that you have given us and that Liberty is the gospel in Christ name. I do pray. Amen. All right. Well thank you for

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