La Gracia Cambia Todo, Enero 4, 2026

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ Good morning to all of y'all. It's an honor to be here with you. As our brother Jonas mentioned, my name is Douglas, or better said in Spanish, Douglas. As you can see, I'm not a native speaker of Spanish. My parents are from Scotland. And so it makes no sense that I speak Spanish. Yet here I am. I'd like to go ahead and get started because this is a very great passage we're going to cover this morning. Bueno, los evangelios cuentan una historia de un hombre rico que vino una vez a Cristo. The gospels tell the story of a rich man that came one time to Jesus. Y le hizo una pregunta. And he asked him a question. Y la pregunta era, ¿qué haré para heredar la vida eterna? And he asked, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Y Cristo le dio su respuesta. And Christ gave him his answer. Y cuando el hombre rehusó vender sus bienes y seguir a Cristo. And when the man refused to sell his possessions and follow Christ. Cristo dijo a sus discípulos que es imposible para los hombres ricos ser salvos. Christ told his disciples that it's impossible for rich men to be saved. Pero también dijo que Dios lo puede hacer. But he also said that God can do it. Esa pregunta es clásica. That question that he asked is a classic question. ¿Qué tenemos que hacer para ser salvos? What must we do to be saved?

Tendemos a creer que tenemos que hacer algo. We have the tendency to believe we must do something. De que es vergonzoso recibir algo completamente gratuito. That it's embarrassing or shameful to receive something freely. Nos gusta merecerlo. We like to deserve it. Pues en la iglesia de Galacia. Well, in the church at Galatia. Había unos maestros o predicadores enseñando que los gálatas debían aceptar la circuncisión para ser salvos. Some false teachers came and began teaching the Galatians that they must be circumcised in order to receive salvation. Es decir, que tenían que aceptar la señal de Abraham. It's to say that they had to accept the sign of Abraham. La señal que marcaba a todos los judíos. The sign that was a marker of all the Jews. No era suficiente el solo creer a Cristo. It wasn't enough to just believe in Christ. Sino que tenían que hacerse judíos también. But that they also had to become Jews as well. Tenían que identificarse con Jesús y con Abraham. They had to identify themselves with Jesus and with Abraham. Pues y tengo por entendido que ustedes han estado escuchando predicas en este libro, esta epístola de Galatas. And so what I understand is that you guys have been hearing messages preached from the book of Galatians. In which you've seen that the Apostle Paul is against that teaching. En nuestro pasaje de hoy, vemos como deberíamos responder al llamado a añadir algo a la obra de Cristo para ser salvos. Entonces la pregunta clave es esta. How do we respond to the teaching to add something to the call of Christ? And so because of that, we want to read Galatians chapter 5, verses 1 through 15. We'll read it all the way through to begin. It says, For freedom it was that Christ made us free.

Therefore be firm, and ye shall not be subject again to the yoke of slavery. Look, I, Paul, say unto you, if ye let yourselves be concited, Christ shall take you not at all. And I again say unto every man that is concited, that he is bound to obey all the law. Ye have separated yourselves from Christ, ye who seek to be justified by the law. Ye have fallen from grace. For through the Spirit we hope for faith and hope for justice. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor incircumcision means anything but the faith that works for love. Ye ran well. Who prevented you from obeying the truth? This persuasion did not come from him who calls you. A little yeast ferments the whole mass. I have confidence in you concerning the Lord, that you will not choose from another point of view. But he who disturbs you will bear his punishment, whoever he may be. But I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? In that case, the scandal of the cross has been abolished. I hope that those who disturb you will also be mutilated. For you, brethren, were called to freedom, but you did not use freedom as a pretext for meat, but served one another for love. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, in the precept, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, Be careful, lest ye devour one another. So if I were to summarize the principle idea of this whole passage, it would be the following. So if I were to summarize the principle idea of this whole passage, it would be the following. Let us stand firm together in Christ by faith. Let us stand firm together in Christ by faith. We can divide this passage into four sections to see how the Apostle Paul develops his response. We see the first section is Galatians 5, 1-3. We see the first section is Galatians 5, 1-3.

Read it with me. For freedom Christ has set us free, stand firm therefore and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Look, I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision Christ will be of no advantage to you. Look, I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. And so the title of this first point is the following. Let's remember that Christ saved us from slavery to the law. We can see here that Paul is fighting on behalf of the Galatians. He does not want them to submit into slavery. Christ has saved them from that. He tells them to stand firm. What that means is they should resist any teaching that commands them to add on to the teachings of Christ. Even if the particulars of this This situation seems strange to us, but we can also fall into the same temptation today. It's not an old problem, it's a current problem. Notice in verse one the purpose of the gospel. It's not to enslave, it is for the purpose of freedom. This serves as a contrast to the life under the law, prior to the coming of Christ. And so one of the purposes of the coming of Christ was to set us free. And so if they submit to the circumcision, they're submitting to this idea of returning to this slavery to the law. But the point of the law was to prepare them for the coming of Christ. So since Christ had already come, to accept circumcision would be to act as if they were still awaiting the coming of the Messiah. And that would mean then that we are still under our sin. And if we're still in sin, then the sacrifice of Christ didn't accomplish anything. And so that's why Paul teaches them that if they accept the circumcision, Christ is of no value to them.

And if He's of no value to them, they're dependent upon the law to be saved. But since the law was just there to prepare them for Christ, the law is now of no use whatsoever because Christ has already come. And so accepting circumcision was to just set your feet on thin air with no foundation. Brothers and sisters, we cannot accept slavery. To hear that we have to do something in order to be saved could appear adequate or reasonable or just, or appropriate, just. But it's a lie that will keep us lost in our sins. Because there's nothing we can do to deserve salvation. The law never saved. It didn't save way back then. And it doesn't save today. But only faith in God. And that's why Paul references Genesis 15.6, earlier on in the letter, where we see that Abraham was justified by faith. And notice that that's not in Romans, that's in Genesis, at the very beginning of the Bible. The law just reflected to us our sins. It taught us just how sinful we were. And just how holy God is. But it wasn't adequate to make us holy or allow us to please God. The law also included the system of sacrifices. As we read in Hebrews 10. Christ was the final sacrifice to end all sacrifice. He was the one-time sacrifice for all. And so if we accept any rule or law in order to be saved, for the smallest that it might be, we're replacing Jesus with another way of being saved. Let's remember then that Jesus saved us out of slavery to the law. Let's stand firm together in Christ by faith. And now let's look at the next section in verses four through six. You were severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law, you have fallen away

from grace. For through the Spirit by faith we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything but only faith working through love. And so our second point is this, let's remember that we are justified by faith and not by works. Here Paul continues to affirm and elaborate the same thing, that accepting the law is separating us from Christ. That salvation is not found through our works, but rather through faith in Christ. Our union with Christ is what saves us, not our works to make ourselves holy. It's not possible. We all need to be reminded how it is that we're saved. So that we can understand the difference between our works and the work of Christ. And this today for you all. For every individual. This can be a weight on your conscience, or it can be freedom for your conscience, depending upon your position before Christ. Paul speaks here in even stronger terms. For those that put their trust in circumcision, the works of the law, that they are separated from Christ and they have fallen from grace. It's not necessary to conclude that they were once saved and now they're not saved. But rather that those that don't put their trust in Christ are separated from Him. Even if they are a part of the church. They have fallen from grace, even if they are a member at a church full of Christians. They didn't reach grace. Even if they were at the point of gaining it. It's to say they were right there. They heard the gospel. But they didn't believe it. And that's why Paul makes a contrast between them and us.

We, Paul says, we wait in the hope of righteousness in two ways. First, through the Holy Spirit. Secondly, it's by faith. With respect to the first. una garantía de la herencia que recibiremos en el futuro. Christians have received the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of the righteousness that we will have in the future. El Espíritu obra en los cristianos para regenerarlos y santificarlos. The Holy Spirit works in the life of the believer to regenerate them and to sanctify them. Ellos no tienen al Espíritu. They do not have the Holy Spirit. Eso significa que los cristianos no contamos solamente con nuestro propio poder. That's to say that Christians aren't counting on our own power. Sino también con el poder de Dios mismo. But our hope is in the power of God. Con respecto a lo segundo, es por fe. With respect to the second hope, it's by faith. Eso significa que la justicia no es algo que alcanzamos por nuestras obras. That's to say that righteousness is not something we reach through our works. Sino que es recibida como un regalo. But rather it's received as a gift. Ser cristiano es ser justificado, declarado justo. To be a Christian is to be justified,

to be declared just, righteous. Pero no somos declarados justos por medio de nuestras obras. But we aren't declared righteous through our works. Sino por medio de nuestra unión con Cristo. But through our union with Christ. Si estamos en Cristo. If we are in Christ. Esperamos la justificación final. We await the final justification. Que se nos otorgará cuando comparezcamos ante Cristo. That will be given to us when we appear before Christ. Es decir que cuando morimos. That's to say that when we die. Y somos juzgados por Cristo. And we are before Christ. Y se nos pregunta por qué deberíamos de tener permiso para entrar al reino del cielo. And you were to ask, why should I give you permission to enter into the kingdom of heaven? Que responderemos? What will we respond? Diremos que es porque seguimos las reglas. Will we say because we followed the rules. O que nos portamos bien. Or that we behaved well. O que nos esforzábamos por obedecer a Dios. Or we worked really hard to try to please God. O que no éramos tan malos como los otros.

Or that we weren't so bad like others. O que fuimos bautizados. Or that we were baptized. O que siempre asistimos a los cultos. Or we always attended church services. Hermanos, ninguna de esas respuestas es adecuada. Brothers and sisters, none of those answers is adequate. La única respuesta adecuada a la pregunta. The only adequate response to that question. Por qué tengo el derecho de entrar al reino del cielo? Why do I have the right to enter into the kingdom of heaven? No está en mí. It's not in me. La única respuesta adecuada es decir que estoy en Cristo. The only adequate answer is to say I am in Christ. Yo no merezco entrar al reino de cielos. I don't deserve to enter into the kingdom of heaven. Pero sí, pero Cristo sí merece estar porque él es su rey. But Christ, he does deserve to be there because he's the king. Y él dijo que todos los que están unidos a él pueden estar con él en su reino. And he said that all who are in union with him can be with him in his kingdom. No comparezco ante el juez vestido de mis actos de justicia. I can't show up before the judge dressed in my acts of righteousness. Que la Biblia misma llama trapos de inmundicia. The Bible calls filthy rags.

Comparezco vestido de la justicia de Cristo. I have to show up dressed in Christ. En quien he confiado. Dressed in the robe of Christ in whom I've placed my faith. Entonces, ¿en qué está su confianza el día de hoy? And so, in whom have you placed your trust today? Si usted se muriera hoy mismo. If you were to die today. Y se le hiciera la pregunta de por qué se te deberían entrar entrar al reino del cielo. And Christ were to ask you the question why should I allow you to enter into the kingdom of heaven? ¿Cómo respondería? How would you respond? Antes de dar su respuesta, considere. Before finalizing your answer, consider the following. En Cristo Jesús, ni la circuncision ni la incircuncision significan nada. In Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything. Solo la fe que obra por amor. Only faith working through love. Cuando Pablo menciona que la fe obra por amor. When Paul mentions that faith works by love. Se refiere a una fe viva. He's referring to a living faith. Una fe que obra no por salvarse a sí mismo. A faith that works not. order to save oneself, but rather for the joy of the good of others. Faith that really means something is a faith that results in works that aren't for our

own good, but rather for the good of others. This radically changes the purpose behind our good works. So before good works were done in order to save us, now we do good works because we have been saved. They're works that express faith in Christ's ability to save. That Christ sets us free to do good works just for the sake of doing good to others. That's why God saves us. We are free now to love. Good works do not earn our salvation, but they're an expression of our salvation. What are good works then? They're free because we are free in Christ. Brothers and sisters, let's remain firm in Christ by faith. And now we come to the third section in verses 7 through 12. You were running well who hindered you from obeying the truth. This persuasion is not from him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. If I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case, the offense of the cross has been removed. I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves. And so the title for this section is Let's Remember That the Cross is Scandalous. In this section, Paul reminds us that the teaching that they're receiving in Galatia isn't coming from Paul, it's not coming from him, and it's not coming from Christ. Furthermore, obviously Paul is not in agreement with it. For those that were persecuting him would stop persecuting him. And Paul concludes with a curse against those who are preaching circumcision. For us, we need to be reminded of the fact that the message of the cross is offensive. If we preach a gospel that's not offensive, it's very possible that we are preaching a false gospel.

Consider the question Paul asks. He wants to know who is it that is preventing them from following the truth. Someone has taken them off course. Paul wants to know why are they going the wrong direction. That's not the path of Christ. But they're going along the path of salvation through works. That's actually a path towards condemnation. But he also expresses a confidence in them. That they won't continue along that path. on that path, but rather that they will maintain firm in the true gospel. How good it is to have that confidence. Can your pastors have that confidence in you, in this church, and you members? Maybe there are some people among us causing problems right now, those that maybe want to teach a different gospel, adding a little bit of their own information to the gospel. Remember this. If you accept another gospel distinct from that which is taught in the scriptures, you're accepting another Savior apart from Christ. But why is it that we're tempted to accept another gospel? Why is it that so many people want to preach a different gospel? It's because the true gospel, the gospel that Paul preached, is scandalous. It's offensive. It's insensitive to our sensitivities. Why? The gospel that Paul preached, he preached that salvation only came through Christ Jesus. That it has nothing to do with our good works, but rather with the works of Christ. He says the only way we can be saved is through faith in Jesus. We have to depend 100% on Him and reject any other hope we would have in ourselves. His gospel taught that only Christ was sufficient for salvation. It didn't matter where we lived. It didn't matter who we came from.

It didn't matter our nationality. It didn't matter how we dressed, not how we lived, or how we spoke, not even in who we knew, who we know, nor in how much we own. In other words, the gospel says what people will never like to hear. You are not enough. You are not good. You can't. We should focus on the beauty of the gospel. Or we tend to, sorry. We tend to focus only on the beauty of the gospel. Because we preach the beauty of Christ, the goodness of Christ, the sufficiency of Christ. But all of the gospel's beauty reflects our ugliness. All of His glory reflects our shame. All of His sufficiency reflects our insufficiency. The offense of the gospel isn't so much what it says about Christ, but rather what it says about us. Circumcision is meaningless, worthless. Our good works are worthless. Our personal goodness is worthless. Our personal efforts are worthless. Our generosity is worthless. Our righteousness, if we could call it that, is worthless. And so I hope that you can see why it is that Paul concludes with this curse. Those who are bothering the message of grace are not doing some small thing. represent a threat to the true gospel. It would be better, Paul says, if they were going to circumcise themselves that they cut it all off. You might laugh, but that's what it says. This is something that we can hardly imagine

Paul actually writing, but that's what it says. And let's think about this for a moment. What would be the consequence of that? If they mutilated themselves like that, they would no longer be able to have children. That's to say those that preach the importance of descendants from Abraham wouldn't be able to have their own descendants. The best interpretation of this curse from Paul is that it would be better for Abraham's genealogy to end with them. Or their line. For their line to end with them. Because their only value is to steer others towards hell. Those of us who are in Christ. We have exchanged our shame for glory. But those whose eyes are still closed cannot see Christ as the savior that he is. Because they don't recognize themselves as the sinners that they are. Brothers and sisters, let's remain firm in Christ by faith. And now let's look at the final division in verses 13 through 15. For you were called to freedom, brothers, only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. Porque toda la ley en una palabra se cumple en el precepto, amarás a tu prójimo como a ti mismo. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Pero si os mordéis y os devoráis unos a otros, tened cuidado no sea que os consumáis unos a otros. But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. Entonces en el cuarto lugar, recordemos que nuestra libertad es para servir por amor. And so in the fourth place, let's remember that our liberty is for serving through faith. And so Paul here finds himself before the possibility that Christians could take advantage of their freedom in order to satisfy their sin. But he reminds them that they were not set free in order to serve the flesh, but rather to serve others. In other words, I'm not saved to love myself, but in order to love my neighbor as I love myself. We need to be reminded of this, para que no caigamos en la trampa de ser salvos por el pecado solo para luego servirlo. That we might not be saved from sin only in order to go to hell. Pablo les advierte aquí que no malentiendan su mensaje. Paul wants them to make sure that they don't misunderstand his message. His message is not that to be free in Christ makes them free to sin. His message is that now that you are in Christ, you are free to love. The love of God doesn't serve the purpose

of serving our sin. He didn't save us to make us sinners, but to make us holy. Take note of this warning from Paul. I admonish you not to use your freedom as a pretext to sin. Instead of satisfying the flesh, we should serve each other in love. Remember that this is the point of it all, that our union with Christ would be a union with the Father and the Spirit as well. Through Christ we unite with the God, with the Trinity, in order to participate in union with God, to commune with God. And how is this communion described? It's described as love, that God is love. And later, with a little bit of irony, he reminds them of how the law is summarized. It's summarized with the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself, as Jesus summarizes the law in Matthew 22. And so ironically, the rejecting of the law as a means of salvation is what takes us to the ability to obey that same law. Let's keep in mind that the law is not a list of obligatory rules, but it's the revelation of the character of God. All of the law is summarized in two commands, that are related to love, the love to God with all of our being, and the love of our neighbor as we love ourselves. Love does not exist for the law, but the law exists for love. And so Paul finishes without any hypocrisy, that there shouldn't be any hypocrisy, that they need to be careful with the conflict between the members of the church. If they misunderstand the gospel, and they use it as a pretext for the flesh, it's possible that they would consume one another, eating each other. That is to say, they would be in continual conflict, always seeking out their own good, and never thinking about the good of others.

What a contradiction of the gospel. What a shame. What irony. For that, that's not why we were saved. We are set free, brothers and sisters. But we are set free in order to love, not in order to sin. Let's exercise that freedom then, that we would have in Christ. As Christ exercises his freedom, in love, not in hate. Remember that our freedom is in order to serve in love. Let's continue firm in the faith in Christ. And so, to conclude, let's think for a moment in that man who asked that question to Christ. What can I do to inherit eternal life? As some among the Galatians were saying that you must believe Christ and become a Jew. Paul says that that's not just a mistake. It's a different gospel. The true gospel is this. That Christ died for our sins, that He was buried, and that the Father raised Him on the third day. All that place their faith in Him, that call upon His name, shall be saved. Is that the gospel that we believe? Brothers and sisters, let's not add anything to the work of Christ. Let Christ be sufficient for our salvation, because that's the only gospel that saves. Let's remain firm together in Christ through faith. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I give you thanks for this passage. I give you thanks for the gospel. I ask for your blessing over this church, that all would believe in the true gospel, and that they would not go along any other path. In the name of Christ, amen. So let's take a moment to meditate on this passage and to contemplate these words before

we sing.