We Are To Vote No On Religion Because Religion Can Only Reveal The Problem...

This week, we have been looking at a section of a letter in the bible called the book of Galatians, where two of the greatest leaders in the early church, became engaged in a major conflict over living a religious centered life instead of a gospel centered life. Wednesday, Paul revealed the reality that there is nothing that any human being can do that can cause us to be not guilty when it comes to having a problem with God. And that, as we previously discovered, is the definition of religion. Religion is man’s attempt to do things for God in order to be right with God. The religious centered people of Paul’s day then accused Jesus of being a patsy that was used by sin in order to cause people to fall into sin. Paul responded to this accusation with the strongest negative response that is possible in the language that this letter was originally written in. Today, we will see Paul provide the reason why Jesus is not the agent of sin and reveals who is responsible for sin in verse 18:

"For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor. "For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God.

To understand what Paul is communicating here, we first need to answer the question “what is being rebuilt that was once destroyed?”  Paul actually provides us the answer to this question in verse 15, when he stated “knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus”. Paul here is revealing for us the reality that Jesus life, death, and resurrection tore down and destroyed the Law as the means by which one was to be declared not guilty of having a problem with God. Jesus destroyed that it was what you did for God that made you right with God.

However, if we try to rebuild what we, through faith in Christ destroyed; if we try to live a religious centered life that calls for faith in Christ plus works for God in order to be right with God, Paul says we prove ourselves a transgressor. In other words, we demonstrate and provide evidence that we are guilty of having a problem with God as a result of our selfishness and rebellion.

Paul reinforces this reality in verse 19: "For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God.” But what does that mean? Paul’s point here is that it was the Law that showed him his need for rescue and forgiveness that could not be obtained through the Law, but only through faith in Christ. It was the Law that revealed his selfishness and rebellion. It was his inability to follow the Law, his list of religious rules that revealed his desperate need of rescue. And it was his inability to keep the Law and his list of religious rules that drove him to Jesus. This is why Paul says what he says next in verse 20:

"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. "I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly."

Now if you were to ask me to pick a single verse that serves to drive how I live my day to day life as a follower of Jesus, Galatians 2:20 would be that verse. Paul is explaining that he has been crucified with Christ; in other words Paul is saying “I no longer place my confident trust in what I do for God to make me right with God. I place my confident trust in what God has done for me through Jesus death on the cross for my selfishness and rebellion. I do not experience eternal life with God because of what I did for God but because of the fact that I have Christ as Lord of my life. And I live my day to day life in a state of devotion to Christ based on my confident trust in Christ, who loved me and allowed Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives, so that God the Father could treat me as though I lived Jesus perfect life”.

Paul then unpacks the reason that a gospel centered life that was driven by His trust in Christ was the driving motivation for his life in verse 21. When Paul uses the word nullify, this word literally means to reject something as invalid. Paul explains that he does not reject God’s transformational intervention and activity in the world as being invalid, because if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly. When you see the word righteousness in the Bible, here is a simple and accurate definition of this 50 cent word; righteousness is the quality or state of being right. Paul’s point here is that if a person was able to be right with God based on what they did for God by keeping a list of religious rules, the Jesus Christ death would be without purpose. Jesus death makes no sense; Jesus death would be in vain and would be needless if I could live a religious centered life and be right with God.

And it is here that we see Paul reveal for us a timeless reason why we are to vote no on religion. And that timeless reason is that we are to vote no on religion because religion can only reveal the problem. Paul’s point in this section of the letter is that while a religious centered life can reveal the problem that you have when it comes to a relationship with God, a religious centered life does not provide the solution to the problem that you have with God. Religion can diagnosis the problem of our selfishness and rebellion, but religion cannot treat or cure the problem of selfishness and rebellion.

The winter of 1997 was an extremely active time in my life. I worked a high energy job as a probation officer supervising prison bound teenagers. I worked out six days a week. I played on an extremely competitive flag football team that finished 16^th in the nation in our division. I was also playing in a city basketball league. In late January I tweaked a hamstring that just would not get better.  I hit a plateau in my workouts and just felt tired. So, naturally, I assumed that I was tired because I was too busy, so I decided to take a week off of working out and just be a couch potato.  During that week, I lost 15 pounds and my vision went from 20/15 to 20/50. I was always hungry, always thirsty, and always going to the bathroom.

On a Sunday afternoon, I went to play basketball with some friends, but could hardly see the rim; everything was blurry. And I began to freak out; what is wrong with me. On the advice of some friends, I went to an urgent care facility and explained what was happening to me. The doctor on duty explained that I was not to eat anything for the rest of the day or that evening, and then they would run a test the following morning to try and diagnose what was wrong. The next morning, I went and took the test. That afternoon, I discovered that I had been diagnosed as a diabetic. The blood test revealed the reality that I was gravely ill and would die without intervention.

But here’s the thing, while the blood test revealed my problem, the blood test could not solve the problem. While the blood test diagnosed my problem, the blood test could not treat my problem. And that is exactly how a religious centered life functions. A religious centered life that follows a list of rules can reveal our problem; a religious centered life that follows a list of rules can diagnose the problem.

Religion reveals the problem because every human being on the planet ends up breaking a rule on their religion’s list. Even when we try to make up our own religion, we end up breaking a rule on the list. Religion can reveal and diagnosis the problem of our selfishness and rebellion, but religion cannot provide the solution or cure the problem of selfishness and rebellion.

It is only the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel that can provide the solution or cure the problem of selfishness and rebellion. The message that reveals that God responded to our selfish rebellion and sin by sending His Son Jesus, God in a bod, who entered into humanity and allowed Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives so God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life. The message that provides the opportunity for all humanity to receive the forgiveness of sin and enter into the relationship with God that we were created for not by what we do for God, but by placing our confident trust in what God has done for us by believing, trusting and following Jesus as Lord and Leader.

So where are you placing your confident trust when it comes to having a right relationship with God? In living a religious centered life that trusts in what you do for God by keeping a set of religious rules? Or in living a gospel centered life that trusts in what God has done for you through Jesus.