Pastor’s Pen Pulpit Series: Truth for the Heart

March 6, 2005

A PHILOSOPHY TO LIVE BY

Galatians 2:19, 20

Part Two

“For through the law I died to the law, that I might live to God. 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 delivered Himself up For me.”

Today we take up part two of a Philosophy to Live By. We saw in our last pen pulpit that this philosophy is centered in the Cross - the philosophy of Jesus Christ. We saw in verse nineteen that the cross resolves the claims of Divine Justice. In this pen pulpit we shall see in verse twenty that THE CROSS PROVIDES THE BASIS FOR A LIFE THAT SATISFIES BOTH GOD AND YOU.

1. Based on the principle of identification with Jesus Christ

The first “I” in Galatians 2:20 is indeed the first “I”. It is the “I” – the self, the ego, the “me” that is connected up with the first Adam – the natural man.

*The “I’” of prominence.

*The “I” that says “the world must revolve around me.”

*The “I” that says “I am the most important person in my life.”

*The pagan “I” that says “I don’t need God nor His Word – I’ll carve out

my own philosophy of life.”

*Or the religious “I” that says “if its performance you want – then I’m your

man. I can perform with the best of them.” (cf Philippians 3:4-6).

*The “I” that can stoop to be a criminal or rise to be a judge.

This is the first “I” – but it is the “I” that God has nothing good to say about. The “I” that has no connection with God; the “I” that is blind to God’s Word.

Thus the only way that this first “I” can connect with God is through the Lord Jesus Christ! The Cross is the connecting point. The first connection of this first “I” with God is in death. This “I” with all of its variations of wickedness and human morality is a bulls eye for God’s wrath. (Note Paul’s enlightened assessment of this first “I” in Philippians 3:7, 8). The only possible way that God can touch this “I” is in judging it. That’s exactly what He did (verse 19). Galatians 2:20 is a capsule summary of the sixth chapter of Romans. It provides us with a complete view of what happened on the cross. Christ paying for our sins.

God judged the first “I” in connection with Christ! Thus our identification begins with Christ in death---but it doesn’t end there. Emerging from that solid connection with Christ, the Last Adam, in death and resurrection is the new “I”- the new self – the regenerated self. This new self has been given a new philosophy. That philosophy is grounded in none other than The Lord Jesus Christ.

CHRIST LIVES IN ME – Jesus Christ introduced a new and strange teaching to His disciples: HE WOULD BE IN THEM! THEY WOULD BE IN HIM! Complete identification (John 14:20; 17:21-23; Colossians 1:27).

His life (Colossians 3:4); His love (Ephesians 3:17); His mind (I Cor. 2:16); His power (Philippians 4:13); His attitude (Philippians 2:5).

THIS TRULY IS THE CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY! THE PHILOSOPHY TO LIVE BY! Paul sums it up in Philippians 1:21. “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

2. Lived on the basis of faith in Christ

Faith is only as good as its object. A rope is only as strong as the object it’s tied to! In walking by faith we govern our lives according to eternal values (II Corinthians 4:16-18). We live by faith in the present absence of Jesus Christ – (II Corinthians 5:7).

Living by faith is like flying a plane on instruments: You can’t see what’s ahead of you or what’s around you. But you can see the instrument panel and you trust its reliability (landing a plane by ground control’s directions). Faith is central to all of life. For example, you go to a doctor whose name you can’t pronounce and whose degrees you have never verified. He gives you a prescription you cannot read. You take it to a pharmacist you have never seen before. He gives you a chemical compound you do not understand. Then you go home and take the pills according to the instructions on the bottle - all in trusting, sincere faith! WHY and HOW can you do that? Because, overall, you have confidence in the medical profession.

In the same way we come to a God we have never seen (John 1:18); we trust and love a Savior whom we have never seen (I Peter 1:8); we trust Him to deliver us from an eternal punishment that we have only read and heard about. We order our lives according to a Book that claims to be self-affirming – it requires no other source of authority – no references to confirm its reliability. Multitudes have died to defend the eternal values inscribed in this book. HOW and WHY can we do this? BECAUSE WE HAVE UNSHAKABLE CONFIDENCE IN THE SOURCE OF ETERNAL THINGS – GOD HIMSELF! This is indeed a philosophy to live by! God bless.

In His Name,