233 – THE GRACE WAY OF LIFEJune 25, 1961
HENRY F. KULP
Galatians 3: 10 - 12 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.
We have been speaking to you on the book of Galatians on law versus grace, and here in this chapter—the 3rd chapter of Galatians, Paul uses three arguments to prove his Gospel, and to prove that it is the right Gospel. First of all he goes by their experience. Were they saved by the Gospel he preached? And he asked them five questions, and of course, these questions prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that they believed just in grace for salvation. Then he turns to the example of Abraham, and that is what we are studying at this time. What did Abraham find out according to grace? Was he saved by law or by grace? Of course he was saved by grace, because law did not come until 430 years after Abraham.
1/ Last week we preached to you concerning the Gospel of Grace that was preached to Abraham. It was preached to him about his son—the miraculous birth, the death and resurrection of his son—all pointing ahead to Jesus Chris
2/ Galatians 3: 10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
Notice what it says here—for as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse. What is a curse? The Ten Commandments cannot be the curse, for they embrace the very highest moral and ethical standards for regulating human life.
Deuteronomy 27: 1 And Moses with the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandments which I command you this day.
Deuteronomy 28: 15 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
He is clear that the curse of the law was God’s penalty for breaking the law, and the penalty is death—that was to be enacted upon any man who did not keep all the commandments.
Then you’ll notice in Galatians 3: 13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: does all this mean?
The Jews put the law-breaker to death by stoning. For example, if one gathered sticks on the Sabbath, he was to be stoned.
Numbers 16: 32 - 36 And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation. And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also. And there came out a fire from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,Then if one blasphemed the name of God, he was to be stoned.
Leviticus 24: 16 And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death.
Then you will remember, when they brought the woman taken in adultery to Jesus Christ.
John 8: 3 - 5 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
Deuteronomy 21: 20, 21 And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
They said Moses said she should be stoned, and then you go back to a man who had a rebellious son was to bring him to the elders and then he was to be stoned. That is the curse of the law—death—and it was brought about by stoning—but then notice where the law-breaker was stoned, but then his dead body was hung on a tree. And he was considered accursed of God. He was under the curse of the law.
But isn’t it wonderful to know, Galatians 3: 13 That Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.
3/ Galatians 3: 13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
Redeemed from the curse of the law. The curse of the law is the penalty which is death. The law without penalty is powerless. The only thing which makes a law something to be feared is the fact that it demands punishment, and through this punishment, the law is feared—but if the law cannot punish, that is if the penalty is gone, the curse is gone. That is what legislators mean when they say putting teeth into the law—making the penalty so severe that men will be forced to keep it—but when the penalty is removed the teeth are taken out. And that is exactly what has happened to the believer. The curse is gone, and the law can’t touch us, because the penalty of the law, the curse of the law has been paid by Jesus Christ.
4/ Take the matter of death—murder. How many people would murder if it wouldn’t be that the law says that the murderer should be put to death. There are many foolish people today who want to do away with the death sentence for a murderer—but they are stupid, they are rebelling against God. But if that curse was taken out of the law, the penalty of death—how many more people would commit murder? It is just the fact that they know they can be caught and be put to death which keeps them from murdering other people. But once the penalty, the teeth are taken out of the law, than men no longer fear the law.
5/ We do not fear the law because the curse has been removed by Jesus Christ. He hung upon a tree, and he paid the price, the curse, the penalty of the law for us.
6/ But then a great question comes up. If we are saved by grace, and the law has no dominion over us, and we do not live by the law. The believer is secure and cannot be lost, and he can do anything he wants and not suffer penalty. What does God’s Word say on the subject? There is a statement in verse 11 which is very important to us, and I refer to the words, “The just shall live by faith”. This is a tremendous statement, and twice more in the New Testament.
7/ But let’s analyze the Scripture for just the next few moments. Notice the first two words. The just. Who lives by faith? Anyone at all? No. Just those who are just—those who are perfect in God’s sight. The just shall live by faith, and none but the just. The unbeliever cannot live by faith, and none but the just. The unbeliever cannot live by faith simply because he is not just.
Notice, Romans 5: 9 Much more then, being justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
We are made just through the blood of Jesus Christ when He was made a curse for us.
We are made just. Now we can live by faith. Now place the emphasis upon the two middle words of these six word—shall live. If we are saved by grace how do we live? By going back under the law? By keeping the law? Oh no, the just are declared righteous by faith, and they live apart from works. And then the last two words—by faith—not by works but by faith. How wonderful this all is.
8/ Immediately the question arises, can we do anything we want? We can live and do anything we want. They think this is a license for sin.They are afraid this causes a looseness of living. Now notice what God says about the believer and sin.
I John 1: 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Then the second chapter of this same Epistle continues—My little children these things write I unto you that ye sin not and if any man sin we have an advocate with the father, Jesus Christ the Righteous.
Now those who say that the believer can say, I am saved by grace, I can live anyway I want, this is an excuse for sin, this is a license for sin, this is permission to sin—they fail to recognize that God will not overlook the fact that they failed to confess their sins and forsake their sins.
Do you think that God is going to take it lightly that they ignore I John 1: 2 of course, not.
(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)
Go to I Corinthians 11: 30, 31 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
Don’t ever imagine that the believer can make the grace of God an occasion for careless living. If you say, Let us sin that grace may abound, you are inviting the judgment of God. Sooner or later, God will send weakness, sickness and chastening and perhaps death if you continue.
9/ Now let us look at another Scripture that teaches this very first thing. If you live in sin, something is going to happen to you.
Romans 6: 1, 2 Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Let us illustrate what I mean here. You cannot live in the element of water, you can live just a few moments, and it won’t be very long before your life is snuffed out because that is not your element. You have a life which desires air, which is oxygen and nitrogen, and water is oxygen and hydrogen. There is a life that lives in the water, and that life that lives in the water cannot live on the land. The two elements are different. The element of water means death to you, and you who are now saved and live in a new element in Christ should not live in sin, because sin will mean death to you. SIN IS SOMETHING YOU CAN’T LIVE IN.
That is exactly what Paul means here. You can fall into sin as you fall into water, but you can’t live in it. You may have to be rescued, and you have to be rescued if you fall into water, and you have to be rescued from falling back into sinful ways, but if you live in the wrong element, something is sure to happen to you.
10/ But those of us who preach the free grace of God and salvation by faith and freedom from the law and its curses are constantly accused that the teaching of grace makes for looseness of living—it is a license to sin. But I always have a consolation—I am not the first to be so accused—for Paul already had to face the same false charge, because he too, preached the grace of God.
Romans 3: 7, 8 For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner? And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.
Notice, Paul says here—it is slander when men say that the preaching of grace makes for evil and sinning, and then Paul calls down damnation of God upon these who are slanderers of God. It is a serious thing to make this charge, that the grace of God teaches a license for sin. Paul says the people who do this are slanderers of God, and the damnation, the judgment of God shall be called down upon them.
11/ Here we have an attack upon the doctrine which was preached by Paul, and this is the criticism—it gives an excuse for sinning. I can understand the thought of Paul by looking into his own experience and understand the bitter reactions to my own preaching of Paul’s doctrine of salvation by grace. I know how people have hated it—the letters I have received and the things folks have said to my face. Notice Paul says that the damnation of this group is just—read this Scripture carefully. The damnation that is announced here is for those who slander Christian doctrine.
12/ Have you ever considered the motives that are back of a slanderer against the truth? What is in the mind of a man that accuses God of injustice, and he does that when he makes slander against this doctrine, for the Bible teaches it.
I had a man say to me once, a preacher—a preacher who evidently loved the Lord. He said, I realize that the Bible teaches the Gospel of grace, this eternal security, but he said, it is a vicious teaching and I am afraid of it and I would never preach it. What was in the mind of this man? It was the sin of Satan who wished to exalt himself into the place of God. Satan’s sin was not a request for God to share his throne with Satan, but a request to abdicate His throne and let Satan move in. Why? Because Satan in his mind thought he could carry on better than God Almighty. When people say, No, the doctrine of grace is evidently taught by the Bible, but I don’t believe it, I think it is vicious, I think it is a license to sin, you know what they are doing? They are saying, I know better than God. My standards are better than the standards of God. God’s thoughts are inferior to my thoughts, I am glad to realize in this case that the disputer is arguing against God, not against me.
13/ There is a verse in the Old Testament which has a principle which runs throughout the whole Bible.
Isaiah 54: 17 Here it says, No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shall condemn.
This verse does not mean merely that every tongue that shall rise against thee shall be condemned at the time of rising. But it means that every tongue that shall rise against all who are saved shall be condemned in the ultimate day of Judgment. Why? Because we are joined to the Judge in the giving of His decision.
As we brought out a few Sunday nights ago. We are going to be helpers of God in His judgment. We shall judge the world, we shall judge angels. Someone lies about you, or the doctrine you are preaching—salvation by grace. Rest patiently in the Lord. The day will come when God will put His arm about you and draw you to the seat of honor on the judgment bench of eternity and bring your accuser before you, and you will sit on the throne of God while your accuser will stand in the place of condemnation and will be forced to acknowledge that he was wrong before he will be sent into the lake of fire.
14/ This principle is brought out in Revelations 3: 9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
Notice this Scripture, Behold I will make them of the synagogue of Satan which say that they are—and that means God’s people, and they are not to lie—behold I will make them to come and worship before thy feet and to know that I have loved thee.
The same truth is brought out here. The men who reviled Noah will be forced to stand before God and Noah and then bow before God, before they are sent to the lake of fire. The men who killed the prophets will be forced to stand before God and the prophets and will be thrusted to their knees and confess that they were wrong, then will be cast into the lake of fire. And those who slander the Gospel of the Grace of God and those who preach it will bow before God and the one they slander with their lies and they will confess they are wrong, and then they will be cast into the lake of fire. The modernistic leaders, and those who follow the modernists, will have this same future. There is a great day coming.
15/ Yes, Galatians 3: 11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
The just shall live by faith, not by law. But do remember, if you slander God you will pay the price, and if you as a Christian, do live in sin, you are living in death, and you will reap the benefits and the profits and the rewards of death.
AMEN
Ref: 06/25/1961 / 233 - THE GRACE WAY OF LIFE / 04/02/2021
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