Crucified with Christ 1. Gal.

2:20: Although Paul did not speak literally, he described something very real in his life; Crucified with Christ. 2. To be crucified with Christ is essential to salvation & being His disciple. I. CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST. (I have been crucified with

Christ)

A. The Symbolism of Crucifixion. 1. Crucifixion was death by torture; Painful (excruciating, out of the cross). 2. Paul speaks of a real death that can be excruciating as we put ourselves to death for the sake of Christ; pain involved, Phil. 3:4-8.
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though I myself have reasons for such confidence.

If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more:5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.
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But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 3. Some want a painless Christianity That is not the Christianity of the apostle Paul. B. Death with Christ (Rom. 6:8): 1. Death of the old man of sin, Rom. 6:2, 5-7. a. No longer in bondage to sin, Rom. 6:6. Choice we make. b. Of the flesh, Gal. 5:24. Rom. 13:14

c. To the world, Gal. 6:14; Col. 2:20. 2. Death of self, 2 Cor. 5:14-15 (Lk. 9:23). For Christs love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. a. Cf. Pride, Gal. 2:11-13. The fear that motivated Peter was an expression of self-preservation rather than self-sacrifice for the sake of truth. b. Transgression, Gal. 2:18 (11, 14). 3. Death to the law, Gal. 2:14-21 (as means of justification from sin). a. Self, by means of law keeping, can never free us from our sin. b. This is establishing their own righteousness, Rom. 10:3. c. Can never save; makes the death Jesus useless! (2:21) C. This Death to Sin Occurs when we are Converted to Christ. 1. By means of baptism, Rom. 6:4. 2. WITH the prerequisites of belief, confession of faith & repentance. 3. United with Him in the likeness of His death, Rom. 6:5.
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II. IT IS NO LONGER I WHO LIVE, cf. Rom. 6:4-5.

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We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
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For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. A. Justification from Sin, Rom. 6:7-8, 11.

1. Spiritual life out of sins death (Eph. 2:5); new creation, 2 Cor. 5:17. 2. Forgiveness of sins, Col. 2:12-13. B. Christ Lives in Me. 1. Personal relationship & identification with Christ, Eph. 3:17.
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a. Christ is seen in the Christian, Lk. 6:40. b. Taught & trained by Christ. c. Influenced by Christ, Jno. 8:31-32 (truth; Eph. 4:20-21). d. Fellowship with Christ, Jno. 14:21, 23; 15:4-5. 2. We now live a life unto God, not unto sin, Rom. 6:9-11.
II. A LIFE IN WHICH CHRIST LIVES IN ME (20b)

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,

A. HOW DOES CHRIST LIVE IN ME...? 1. It is like electricity a. I may not comprehend how it works b. But I know how to get it working! 2. We are taught how to make sure that He will abide in us a. By Jesus Himself - Jn 14:21-23; 15:9-10 b. By His beloved disciple John - 1Jn 3:24 -- As we keep the commandments of Christ, we are assured that He lives in us! B. WHAT BENEFITS COME FROM CHRIST LIVING IN US...? 1. The wonderful love of the Father and the Son - Jn 14:21 2. There is fulness of joy - Jn 15:11 3. There is peace, even in the midst of tribulation - Jn 16:33 4. There is the hope of being with Jesus and beholding His glory - Jn 17:24 -- These are just a few of the many blessings of a life in which Christ lives in us!

[Paul has more to say about "the life which I now live". It should be...]

III. LIVING BY FAITH (the life I now live in the flesh). A. By the Faith, We Obtain Life (the objective standard). 1. The gospel gives life, Gal. 2:16; Rom. 1:16-17. (By obeying the gospel, one obtains life out of the death of sin.) 16 know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in[a] Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified 2. Why Paul withstood every error that would corrupt it, Gal. 1:612; I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who
called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under Gods curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under Gods curse! Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
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Paul Called by God

I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
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3. Why we must, too! B. Personal Faith in the Son of God.

1. The objective standard produces personal faith, Rom. 1:17 (10:17). 2. Active faith, 2 Cor. 5:7; Heb. 11:6. 3. Practical applications, Col. 3:1-3 (3:5-4:6). IV. WHY BE CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST & LIVE BY FAITH? A. Because Christ Loved Me. 1. He acted in my best interest, 2 Cor. 8:9
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For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

2. He loved me so that I may live, 1 Jno. 4:9-10. B. Because Christ Died (was Crucified) for Me, Gal. 3:1; Rom. 5:611; Isa. 53:4-6. Conclusion 1. Have you been crucified with Christ? Is your old man of sin dead? Has self been abandoned for the will of Christ in your life? 2. If so, is Christ living in you? Is He seen in you? Is He influencing you (i.e., are you living for God & not for sin)? Are you living in & by His word? 3. If not, then be crucified with Christ now.