Introduction

I’d like to revisit our theme for the year, “Devoted to God.” Remember that we are emphasizing the fact that when Christ purchased us on the cross, he set us apart from the world to be his special people. As a result, we must glorify the Lord by living holy lives of obedience.

But have you ever wondered what makes our holiness different from the religious devotion of other faiths? Is there something truly different, or are we just another group of religious zealots who are trying to be spiritual?

This question really struck me when I took my first ministry trip to Utah. When I was at Inter-City, we had a church planter in an area of UT, where pretty much everyone was a devout Mormon. It was a fascinating place to visit because on the surface it felt like I was stepping into a world of Christian conservatism.

For example, it was fascinating to people watch at Wal-Mart. Most people looked like they were following the dress and modesty standards of a Christian college. Everywhere I looked, there were clean-cut men and women followed by three or four well-behaved children. That’s not normal for Walmart!

Then we went to the Temple Square in SLC, and once again, we meet people who look like us and talk a lot like us. We even got to hear to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir rehearse, and it was fascinating to hear them sing traditional Christian hymns like “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty,” and “Come Thou Fount.”

It challenged me to ask what makes us different from the Mormon population in Utah, because on the surface there doesn’t appear to be much difference at all. If there is a difference, what exactly is it?

There are several answers I could give, but our text provides the fundamental answer. We are united to Christ. Christianity is not merely an external code based on discipline and social pressure. Instead, Christianity is a supernatural religion, grounded in Christ’s life and power.

This fact is essential to our theme, because if you are trying to be devoted to God the same way a Mormon is, you will miss the mark. We must pursue godliness with the perspective of our text (read). My title is “The Engine of Our Devotion,” and my outline is built on 3 ways that Christ has transformed our devotion.

I.  The Christian serves a different master (v. 19).

I must say that our text arises from a significant confrontation between Paul and Peter. To understand it, we need to back up and read vv. 11–18.

The church at Antioch was a big deal, because it was the first Gentile congregation in church history. And when Peter first visited this incredible new church, he rightly greeted the Gentiles as equal members of Christ. Afterall, the cross had eliminated the distinction between Jews and Gentiles and made them equal before the Lord.

But then other Jews arrived from Jerusalem and pressured Peter to stay faithful to his Jewish roots. He capitulated and withdrew from the Gentiles.

Paul was furious, because regardless of Peter’s intent, his behavior contradicted the radical change the gospel had brought. Therefore, the text describes how he openly confronted Peter.

This is important context because it means that our text is especially confronting Jewish legalism through the lens of Paul’s personal testimony. So, Paul’s old master as a former Pharisee was the…

Law of Moses: Paul states in v. 19 that before Christ, he served the Law of Moses. It controlled very aspect of Paul’s life—what he ate, what he wore, and who his friends were.

I want to be clear that the Law itself was not inherently bad. It was a good gift of God, and when it was rightly used it brought Israel near to God and led them to Christ. But it could never save because no one can keep the law perfectly. And sinners often manipulated the law into a means of self-righteousness and self-glory.

But Paul rejoices that Christ changed everything. Paul says, “I through the law died to the law.” This statement looks back on the fact that Christ redeemed us from the Law on the cross (4:4–5). Paul says that when Christ became a man, he submitted to the law, and he perfectly fulfilled the Law. As a result, he was able to “redeem those who were under the Law.”

That’s what Paul means in 2:19. Through Christ’s obedience and death, he provided for Paul to “die to the law”—to be freed from its domineering power. And then in the simplest of terms, Paul mentions his new master.

God: We may find this to be a curious distinction. Afterall, didn’t God give Israel the Law? So, when they obeyed the Law, weren’t they obeying God? In Romans 7:4–6, Paul explains what he means (read).

Verse 5 is important, because it exposes the weakness of the law. In the hands of sinners, it could never give life, only condemnation. This is because we can’t possibly obey it. However, Christ freed us from the condemnation of the law through his death on the cross.

Not only that, v. 6 says that he gave us the indwelling Spirit, so that we can now serve God in his strength. As a result, v. 4 says, “You (have been) married…” In other words, by the power of the Spirit, I have a new master, and I can pursue a genuine righteousness that the Law could never produce. Because of Christ, I can “bear fruit to God.” I can please the Lord.

And Christ also revolutionized why Paul pursued righteousness. Specifically, he was no longer trying to earn God’s favor or escape his condemnation, because he was already secure in Christ. Therefore, he served God from a position of security because he loved him and trusted him. He no longer served a law; he served God.

This security and new motivation makes a huge difference. Something that really stood out to me the first time we visited UT was learning that the area where the Ortegas served was known as “Happy Valley” because of the incredibly high number of people on anti-depressants. In fact, the numbers there are some of the highest in the country. As well, more plastic surgeries are done per capita in Utah than in any other state.

What does that tell you? It tells you that these people feel an extreme amount of external pressure. They look a certain way and live a certain way, not because they love God and are secure in him, but because of fear. They serve a law, instead of serving God in the strength of the Spirit.

But not us. We know that our salvation is secure and that we don’t have to live in fear. Instead, we serve the one who has already secured every blessing and whom we love for all he has done.

This change makes all the difference in the world. For example, we are working our way through a hard section of the Sermon on the Mount. If I battle anger simply to meet a standard, I’m either going to get discouraged or self-righteous very quickly.

But if I’m focused on pleasing the Savior, not to earn his salvation but because I already have it, it becomes a labor of love and joy, not a laborious burden. It is so important that we approach spiritual growth with this perspective. We must look past God’s commands and see God himself and the joy of serving the Sovereign Lord who has done so much for us.

So, v. 19 provides an important perspective for our theme, “Devoted to God.” By God’s grace, we are not merely devoted to a standard; we are devoted to a person. The 2^nd way Christ has transformed our devotion is…

II.  We serve in a different power (v. 20a).

Before Christ, Paul says it was “I who live(d).” So, Paul’s old power was…

Human Power: In other words, before Paul was born again all his efforts to obey the Law were about Paul improving himself. He did not depend on God’s divine power.

That’s not to say that divine enablement was not available to OT saints. God strengthened Abraham, David, other justified OT saints to love his Word and obey his Word. But Paul wasn’t a justified OT saint. He was trying to earn salvation through his righteousness.

Of course, that’s what most Mormons, Catholics, Muslims, and others are doing. They are looking to themselves for power to keep a set of standards that they think will earn them salvation. But then, Paul was born again, and he received a new and far superior power. He now served in…

Christ’s Power: Verse 20 makes a succinct but important statement about union with Christ. When Paul got saved, he didn’t just get a ticket to heaven; he was united to a person and especially to his death and resurrection.

First, he says, “I have been crucified with Christ.” As a result, “It is no longer I who live.” Paul is talking about his old life before the new birth. The Bible teaches that we are born enslaved to sin. It blinds our eyes and dominates our passions. We can’t please God, and we certainly don’t love him and worship him as we were made to do.

Now, unbelievers may have plenty of religious passion, but it’s always about me, my effort, and my ability to make myself acceptable and praiseworthy. And these things alone will never produce the true righteousness we have been learning about in the Sermon on the Mount.

But then Paul was born again, and his old life of sin and legalism was “crucified with Christ.” In other words, his old life of sin and self-righteousness died with Jesus. Paul was not the same person anymore.

Instead, he states, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” In other words, Paul was raised with Christ from spiritual death. He shared in Christ’s resurrection life. Now, he says, “Christ lives in me.”

Just to be clear, Paul is not saying that Christ took over his body and transformed Paul into a mindless robot. We aren’t robots, and God is not sitting in heaven with a remote control dictating every move.

No, he’s talking about union with Christ. The point is that Christ’s resurrection life empowered Paul new pursuit of righteousness. You could say that he had a new engine. Instead of pedaling his own bike, he was sitting on supercharged engine of divine strength. And since Christ is a person, he didn’t just provide power; his divine will became Paul’s will.

This is the most basic reality that sets me apart from Mormons, Muslims, and Catholics. My pursuit of righteousness is not merely about me bettering myself; instead, it is about the new life of Christ manifesting itself through me and progressively transforming me.

And this fact is vitally important for how we think about our theme. If you are saved, you are already devoted to God through Christ. Therefore, the engine that drives my ongoing work to be sanctified or set apart from the world is not primarily me but Christ. So, before we move on, I want to emphasize 2 important applications of the new power with which we serve.

Walk in the strength that Christ provides (John 15:4–5). Jesus is clear that spiritual growth is not simply about trying harder. Rather, he warns, “Apart from Me you can do nothing.” Therefore, true spiritual growth begins with abiding in Christ.

In other words, we know Christ through the gospel, and we lean on the means of grace that he has provided. We strive to know him in the Word, we meditate on his nature and work, we talk to him in prayer and ask him for grace, we consciously walk in his strength as we battle sin, and we run to him for forgiveness when we fail.

Christian, abide in Christ. “Walk in Him” (Col 2:6). Do not let your devotion to God spiral into the man-centered self-improvement of legalistic faiths. No, walk in the strength that Christ provides. A 2^nd important application is…

Recognize the radical difference Christ must make. Again, when Paul says, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me,” he does not mean that I am a mindless robot. The primary point is that Christ empowers my pursuit of godliness.

But while this is so, we shouldn’t miss the fact that Christ must be in the driver’s seat of my heart. He bought me on the cross, and I belong to him.

Therefore, I am already devoted to God, and I must glorify the Lord in all that I do by submitting to his will and pointing all attention back to him. I must live every day of my life conscious of the fact, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” We serve in a different power. The 3^rd way Christ has transformed our devotion is…

III.  We serve with a different focus (v. 20b).

Paul does not explicitly state what his old focus was, but I believe we can safely infer that Paul’s old focus was…

Faith in Myself: I say that, because Paul concludes the verse by emphasizing his newfound “faith in the Son of God.” So, before Paul came to Christ, his faith was in his own ability to keep the law and to earn righteousness. He looked at the law and he thought, “I can do this.”

And he deluded himself into believing that he was achieving that righteousness. In Philippians 3:4–5, Paul remembers his perspective prior to his conversion. “If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, Imore so:circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.”

Paul thought he was something. But then he met Christ on the Road to Damascus, he understood for the first time how sinful he was, and he was born again. As a result, he stopped trusting himself; instead, he put his…

Faith in Christ: Paul says, “And the life which I now live…” It’s important that we appreciate the two aspects of Paul’s faith.

First, he had trusted in Christ for justification. That’s a big change, because before Christ, Paul trusted in himself to earn acceptance with God through his good works. But now he understood that only Christ can justify (v. 16).

Paul tells us 3xs in this verse that there is no justification or righteousness in my works. I can only be declared righteous through faith in Christ.

Maybe someone here has been trying your whole life to earn salvation through your good deeds and religious background. You believe you are going to heaven, or you hope you are because you were raised Christian, you’ve been baptized, you believe in God, and you’ve done lots of good things.

I hope you’ll see that you can never do enough. Paul couldn’t be clearer, “By the works of the law, no flesh shall be justified.” You will always fall short of God’s glory. Therefore, you need to put your “faith in the Son of God…”

Paul reminds us of the fact that Christ demonstrated incredible love when he willingly gave his life for us on the cross. He took our punishment in his own body. He suffered excruciating pain on the cross, and he endured God’s wrath against sin.

He did so that you would never have to face that wrath yourself. And the gift of salvation can be yours if you will put your “faith in the Son of God.” Trust in him and in him alone for your salvation. You can do that right now, or we’d love to talk with you afterwards. Please settle it today.

So Christian faith is first about trusting wholly in Christ for my salvation. But that’s not primarily what Paul is talking about in v. 20. No, the 2^nd aspect of Paul’s faith is faith in the power of Christ to live out the Christian life in a way that glorifies the Lord.

So, Paul is saying that his “life in the flesh” (by which he simply means life in this world) is a life of faith. He wasn’t focused on worldly goals or worldly strength. Instead, he was focused on the Son of God who made the ultimate sacrifice for Paul. Jesus had “loved” Paul, and Paul was amazed that Jesus “loved me and gave himself for me.” I hope you hear the emotion in Paul’s voice.

Furthermore, Paul trusted Christ to strengthen him for Christian living in a way that he could never strengthen himself.

Paul didn’t believe, like we sometimes do, that we are saved by faith and then we live by personal grit. No, faith played a vital role in every aspect of his life. Specifically, he trusted Christ to strengthen him to live a godly life that pleased the Lord.

That may sound like a minor shift, but it makes all the difference in the world, especially when I fall. So often, when we sin, we turn inward, we focus on how terrible we are, and we lose hope of change, because we think it’s all about me. But if my faith and focus are on Christ, I know that’s not true. I can get up, and I can make progress, because Christ lives in me.

So, make sure that as you seek to live a life devoted to God that you do so by faith in the Son of God. Look to him to do for you what you can never do for yourself. Make a conscious choice moment by moment to abide in Christ.

And make sure that you do so with the joy that is at the heart of this verse. When Paul was trying to earn the favor of God, he served him out of fear, but now he served the one “who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Paul was happy to serve Christ based on all he had done for Paul. Praise God.

Conclusion

So again, my title today is “The Engine of Our Devotion.” What is it that inspires and empowers your pursuit of holiness and all of your good deeds? Are you simply trying your best to meet a standard and to pick yourself off the mat when you fail?

Or has God provided something better? This text declares that the engine of our devotion is union with Christ. In him, I have a security that no other religion enjoys. Therefore, I am inspired not by the fear of hell but by the love of Christ. And I have strength to make genuine progress through his resurrection from the dead.

Therefore, do not let your Christian life spiral into the legalistic spirit of every other faith. Keep your eyes on Christ, walk in his grace, and watch him transform you from the inside out.