Let's turn in our Bibles to Galatians chapter five. I'll begin by reading the text where the apostle Paul is inspired by the spirit to write to the Galatian churches, professing believers who had heard the true gospel and who'd been brought out from false religion and set free, and that's what we're gonna be talking about, free to serve Christ, freedom to serve Christ. And he says in verse one, stand fast and firm, therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I, Paul, say unto you, that if you be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised that he's a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law. You are fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision, but faith which worketh by love. You did run well. Who did hinder you that you should not obey the truth? This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. I have confidence in you through the Lord that you will be none otherwise minded, but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be. May the Lord bless His word in our hearts. I know that you've studied these verses before. I've preached on them many times before. But in light of what the Lord has led me to preach in these last few messages, I thought this would be a sort of a good conclusion to, if you want to call it a series. I didn't tell you, Kristen, to keep it in a series like that, but that's okay, don't worry about that. But one of the basic, most fundamental truths concerning the issue of good works, and like we've talked about, we've talked about what good works are, how they are the acts of devotion, acts of self-denial, acts of charity, worship, all of that, that are done by a justified person, a sinner saved by grace, who has been redeemed by the blood, who has been regenerated by the Spirit, born again by the Spirit, and who, by God-given faith, looks to Christ for all salvation. looking nowhere else. You don't look to yourself. You don't look to the law. You don't look to the church or the denomination or any hierarchy. You look to Christ, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Isn't that a glorious thing? And that's the liberty that bolsters and motivates God's people in good works. In fact, there are no good works without the assurance of salvation that comes from Christ. If your assurance of salvation is based upon what you have done or something in the past or something you are doing, there can be no good works, there can be no faith. I heard a message one time by a preacher, claimed to be a Sovereign Grace preacher, He said faith and assurance are not the same thing. Well, I beg to differ. To believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that's God-given faith now, you understand that didn't come from us naturally. It's the gift of faith, for by grace are you saved through faith, that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God. It's the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ is to have the assurance of salvation and final glory in Him. This preacher said faith comes first and then assurance may come later, may not come at all. Well, that's not true. That's what the book of Hebrews talks about in Hebrews 12 to looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith. Now faith grows and even our assurance can grow. As we learn, as we grow in grace and in knowledge of Christ, as we learn more and more that it's not good to look to the world and the circumstances, we don't get our assurance of salvation by reading the headlines. We don't get our assurance of salvation by trying to look within ourselves to see if we measure up. You see, our measuring up is not within ourselves. Our measuring up is in Christ, by whose blood our sins are forgiven, by whose righteousness we're justified, made right with God. And how can a sinful person do that? Think about that. Because I'm a sinner and you're a sinner, only a sinner saved by grace. Well, we see by God's word in the gospel, looking unto Jesus, that all charges against us have been dropped. Anything that could be chargeable to us. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. They've been charged to Christ. And so we have charged us His righteousness. Well, that frees us up. And so look at verse 1. He says, stand firm, stand fast. This is a dogmatic position now. and don't be moved away. Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and don't be entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Now that yoke of bondage had to do with false preachers who had infiltrated the Galatian churches, preaching this, that even though you're saved by grace, you're made sure and kept by your works under the law. And the first thing they would tell the men, the Gentile men who claimed to believe the gospel, is you've got to be circumcised, physically. You've got to be circumcised in order to please God, in order to be sure of your salvation, in order to be really righteous. And this is what Paul was talking about here in verse 8. Look down at verse 8. This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. That kind of preaching that tells a believer who's looking to Christ as the author and finisher of his or her faith, that kind of preaching that tells you to look elsewhere for your assurance or elsewhere for your righteousness or to make you more righteous, that didn't come from God. That comes from sinful men and women who don't know Christ. And he says, a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. In other words, it just takes a little bit of that. You know what leaven is, it's yeast. You put it in the flour and it spreads out through the whole lump. And that's what they were doing. They were just putting in a little bit of works. You're saved by grace, but you're kept by works. You know, there are denominations today who claim to be Christian. They say you can lose your salvation if you don't do your part. Well, that's a little leaven. and it'll corrupt the whole lump. Leaven in the Bible is, most of the time, it's a type of sin. And so he says, a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. It's like those in 2 Corinthians 11 whose minds have been corrupted from the simplicity, the singularity that is in Christ. All my salvation in one person by one offering. the Lord Jesus Christ. And he says in verse 10, I have confidence in you through the Lord that you will be none otherwise minded. Paul had confidence that he would bring them back from this error, recover them. He said, he that troubleth you will bear his judgment, whosoever he be. These false preachers who put this leaven in, they'll be judged by God. These legalists, Well, that liberty is the freedom that God has brought his people to in Christ. He made us free. Now, don't be entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Don't let somebody come in and put you under the yoke of the law. You remember Christ talked about a yoke. He said, come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. He said, my yoke is easy, my burden is light. His yoke is freedom. liberty, not bondage, the bondage of the law. Turn back to that passage in Romans 6 that I read at the opening. I want you to see, I refer to this quite often because you see two types of liberty here, two types of freedom. One is our legal freedom that we have in Christ. That's our justification. What is it to be justified? It's to be forgiven of all of our sins on a just ground. And what is the just ground? The blood of Jesus Christ. It's to be declared righteous in God's sight on a just ground. And what is a just ground? The imputed righteousness of Christ. That's our legal freedom. That means all charges have been dropped and we've been made righteous in God's sight. And then there's a spiritual freedom that comes when the Holy Spirit gives us life from the dead, a new heart in the new birth, changes our mind, our thinking with the gospel of freedom, the liberty of the gospel. James, in James, I think it's chapter one, verse 25, called the gospel the perfect law of liberty. I love that. But look at Romans chapter six, verse seven. He says, for he that is dead is freed from sin. Now, what does that mean? Well, that word free is literally the same word that the Bible translates often as justified. That's our legal freedom. Somebody brings a charge against us. That charge cannot stick. Romans 8, for who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. God does not charge us with sin. With our sins. And we do sin. We are sinners. Well, how can God do that and not be a just God? You know, if we're really sinners, which we are, and God decides not to charge us with sin, how can He do that and still be holy and just and right? Well, there's only one way, and that's the Gospel way. That's the way of salvation through our surety to whom our sins have been charged, and he willingly took that on. Through our substitute, that's Christ, who took our place under the law and died for our sins, shed his blood, and that's Christ as our Redeemer. He paid the debt. The sin debt that we owe to God's law and justice, Christ fully paid. That's our legal freedom. Legal liberty. And as a result of that comes spiritual liberty in the new birth. Look down at verse 17 that I read earlier. But God be thanked that you were the servants of sin. A servant of sin is an unregenerate, unbelieving person. Because all that person can do in the sight of God is sin. Now he may be religious, he may be moral in the eyes of men, he may appear righteous unto men, but in God's sight, It's all sin, iniquity. But you have obeyed from the heart. Now who gives us the heart to obey? God does. That doesn't come to you naturally. If you're in obedience to God's word, that's a gift from God. And it's because you've already been justified. He says you obeyed from the heart, that form of doctrine, that teaching. What is that teaching? The gospel. The gospel of freedom, that perfect law of liberty that shows us that Christ was appointed by the Father before the foundation of the world made our surety. We're chosen in Christ, given to him before the world began. And that he came and became a man, God manifest in the flesh. And as the perfect God-man, he obeyed the law and died on the cross and redeemed us from our sins. What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. And this is all my hope and peace, this is all my righteousness. Nothing but the blood of Jesus. You see that? Now we sing it, now we know what it means, see? We know what the reality of it. So you've obeyed that form of doctrine, and it says which was delivered you, and most times when preachers preach, they say which was preached to you, and it is preached to you. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. But that literally says which you were delivered to it. God in time, if you're one of his chosen people, he takes you and delivers you where the gospel is preached or communicated in some way. Now look at verse 18. Being then made free from sin. Now the word free here is a different word than the word freed in verse seven. Again, the word freed in verse seven means justified. That's our legal freedom. Absolved of all charges. Declared righteous in God's sight legally. The word free here in verse 18 is the word liberated. It's like being put out of jail. Released from prison. The prison of our mind. The bondage of sin and Satan and the law. that kept us in bondage trying to establish a righteousness of our own. But we're free now. We're made free from sin. And we become what? Servants of righteousness. What is a servant of righteousness? It's a servant of Christ. And that's the kind of liberty that he's talking about over here in our text, chapter five. Well, look back at that. Verse two, listen to what he says. Behold I, Paul, say unto you, that if you be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. What he's talking about is the Jewish requirement of the law that was given to Abraham that every male in the Jewish family was to be circumcised physically. Now that never was given to Israel, to the Jews, for salvation. It was a physical sign of their connection with Abraham. The unbelieving Jews turned it into a legal thing, saying that you must be circumcised or you can't be saved. And Paul's saying this, if you be circumcised for that reason, Christ will profit you nothing. You men, if you're circumcised thinking that that makes you righteous, that that saves you or contributes to your salvation, your profession of Christ is nothing. It's nothing. He'll profit you nothing. You say you believe in Christ. You say that you're resting in Him. You say that your hope is in Him, but you say, oh, but you've got to be circumcised to be saved. You've just denied Him. See how meticulous this is? And he says in verse three, for I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that is, for that reason, that he's a debtor to do the whole law. James said this. He said, here's how tight and united the law of God is. To offend in one point is to be guilty of all. Think about that. And to seek salvation by that same law that you have broken, to seek salvation by that same law is bondage and to be under the curse. But if you're one of God's children, Christ was made a curse for you. And that curse was removed by him, by his death. But if you're trying to be saved, trying to be righteous, trying to be forgiven, trying to be assured by your deeds of the law, then you're a debtor to do the whole thing. You've got to keep it perfectly, and I've got news for you. You got a bad start. If you could keep the law right now perfectly for the rest of your life, that still wouldn't make up for the sins you've already committed. You agree with that? It's true. You see, as far as salvation by works is concerned, it's impossible. What did Paul write over in Romans chapter three when he was actually bringing in the whole world as guilty before God by their works. He says in verse 19 of Romans 3, now we know that what things the law, soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God, subject to the judgment of God. Based upon our works, the only thing that we can earn and deserve is condemnation. You see what I'm saying? So he says, Therefore by deeds of law shall no flesh be justified in God's sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. Where's our hope? Verse 21, But now the righteousness of God without the law, without our obedience to the law, is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God, which is by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. And it's unto all and upon all them that believe, for there's no difference. Back in Galatians 5, he says in verse 4, Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law, you're fallen from grace. Now to say you're fallen from grace does not mean you've lost your salvation. It means that your profession of salvation by grace is no good. If you claim to be justified, made right with God by your works, whatever those works are, and you claim to be saved by grace, you're denying what you claim. You're exposing that your claim of grace is no good. He doesn't mean you've lost your salvation, because that's impossible. Once God saves a sinner by his grace, that sinner is always saved. That's the assurance of salvation that comes from looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. And that establishes the very motive of good works. To try to do good works without that assurance of the grace of God in Christ is empty. It's an impossibility. And so what does he say? Verse five, for we through the Spirit, that's the Holy Spirit, we wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. What is that hope? That hope is the certain assurance of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ. Now there's the motive. What are good works? They are works that are motivated by grace, by love, by gratitude, not by legal threats, not by mercenary promises of earned reward, but by grace. God has freely and fully given me all spiritual blessings, every bit of it, by His grace. none of which I've earned or deserve, but in the Lord Jesus Christ, by virtue of the merit of his obedience unto death. Now, do you really believe that? Well, thank God. And you thank him not just by looking up in the air and saying, thank you, Lord. It's okay to do that, but you thank him by serving him. servants of righteousness, servants of Christ. In other words, you're serving not to make yourself righteous before God, but you're serving because Christ has already been made your righteousness. That's the liberty. That's the freedom to serve Christ. It's not freedom to sin. You know, the natural man, a lot of times, unbelievers, when they hear us preach like this, they say, well, if I believe what you believe, I just go out and sin as much as I want to. And what you realize about somebody like that is they've not been set free. They've not understand not only the doctrine of grace, but the power of grace. What does God say? We read it last week in Ezekiel chapter 36, where he said, I'll put my spirit within them. I'll give them a new heart. I'll cause them to walk in my statutes. Ephesians 2.10, for we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, not because of, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. It is God that worketh in us to do His will and His good pleasure. That's the power of grace. So we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. That's righteousness in Christ. His righteousness imputed. And verse six. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision, but faith which worketh by love. Serving God, not because of what you can earn, but serving God because you love him. I've often used the illustration about parents and children. You parents, would you rather your children Obey you because they love and respect you? And because you've cared for them and taken care of them? Or do you want them to obey you because they're afraid you'll kick them out of the family? See what I'm saying? We want them to obey us because of our love for them and because of what we've given them and we care for them and we'll do whatever is needed to help them. Look over across the page at Galatians chapter six. Here he talks about salvation and the results of it. And look at verse seven. He says, be not deceived, God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Now that's not teaching salvation by works. That's simply teaching what you sow, you're going to reap. What do we sow? You know, a lot of times in the Bible, the gospel, the preaching of the gospel is illustrated by sowing seed. That's what we're sowing. We're sowing the gospel. We're sowing the word of God. And that seed is implanted by God to his people within their hearts. Remember the parable of the seed and the sower? Some seed fell upon thorny ground and stony ground and by the wayside, but the seed that fell upon the good ground. That's the heart that Paul spoke of in Romans 6, 17. You've obeyed from the heart. That's the new heart. That's a gift from God. That's the power of God. That didn't come to you or me naturally. Our natural hearts are deceptive. Desperately wicked, Jeremiah called it, Jeremiah 17, 9. So what you sow, so shall you reap. If you sow grace, you reap grace as a gift from God. If you sow works, you'll reap condemnation. And it says in verse eight, for he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption. What is it to sow to the flesh? It can be anything that has to do outside the gospel of God's grace. You take people who live a totally, totally immoral life, with no thoughts towards God or the good of the people, just totally selfish, immoral life. What are they going to reap? They're going to reap corruption. But this is just as true in false religion. Those who sow salvation by works, what are they going to reap? Corruption. Because that's all that there is. But he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. What is it to sow to the Spirit? It's to believe in Christ, it's to rest in Him, it's to plead His blood and His righteousness alone for all of salvation. And then he says in verse nine, look at this, Galatians 6 verse nine, let us not be weary in well-doing. In other words, this notion, this great truth of salvation by grace, of being liberated, the liberty, free from sin, free from judgment, all of that, it doesn't inspire God's people to sin more. It doesn't inspire God's people to throw caution to the wind. It doesn't inspire God's people, motivate them to live like the world. It inspires us not to be weary in well-doing, serving Christ, Freedom to serve Christ. For in due season we shall reap if we faint not. We don't quit. And the reason we don't is the power of God. And as we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. We're to be servants of righteousness, servants of Christ, and to do good to everybody, even our enemies, but especially to our brethren. It's kind of like your family here on earth. You could say, well, I'm going to help people, but I'm especially going to help my sons and my daughters, my wife, my husband, all of that. We have a, he says, them of the household of faith. He says in verse 11, you see how large a letter I've written unto you with mine own hand? Paul was so concerned about this that he didn't have his secretary write this down, he wrote it personally. And he said, and as many, verse 12, as many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. Some were giving in to these Jewish false preachers. because they didn't want to be persecuted by unbelieving Jews. Paul calls that the persecution of the cross, standing fast in our liberty, standing fast firmly in the cause of Christ. But verse 13, he says, for neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law. They may be circumcised physically, but they don't keep the law. But desire to have you circumcised that they may glory in your flesh, Oh, we've got a convert. But God forbid that I should glory, that I should boast, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. That's freedom. That's liberty to serve Christ. to be a servant of righteousness. And that didn't come about except to those who are justified before God, based on Christ's blood and righteousness imputed, and those who have been born again by the Spirit and given a new heart of grace, liberty, freedom to serve Christ. Isn't that a beautiful thing?