Crucified with Christ: Living by Faith in Jesus

Paul frames the gospel as rescue, not self-improvement. Jesus does not merely toss a life preserver to somebody who can still swim. Jesus finds people face down, dead in sin, resuscitates them, and brings them somewhere new. The gospel therefore includes the sinless Son of God, his death, resurrection, and lordship, because a random religious teacher cannot save anybody.

The gospel also refuses every attempt to mix Jesus with other gods, spiritual practices, or personal self-made religion. Syncretism puts a little Jesus, a little astrology, a little manifesting, and a little whatever else into one pot, but the first commandment leaves no room for that kind of worship. American individualism and self-reliance can also skew the gospel, because grace says salvation cannot be earned. Jesus, not America, is the hope of the world.

Paul uses his own story in Galatians to show that his gospel did not come from people or from Jerusalem. God set Paul apart, called him by grace, revealed his Son in him, and sent him to preach Christ among the Gentiles. Paul’s changed life becomes evidence that the faith he once tried to destroy now lives in him. Testimony matters because it shows the difference Jesus makes, but testimony is not itself the good news. Jesus is the good news.

The contrast between a real testimony and a bad one comes down to whether Jesus stays at the center. A story that makes following Jesus sound like a pathway to a better Instagram, more money, a hot spouse, or an easier life is not the gospel. Christ may make life harder by calling people to stand up, lose approval, and trust him in painful places. A testimony should stay real, short, and about Jesus, showing what life looked like before Christ, how Christ met the person, and what Christ is doing now.

Paul also refuses the false believers who want to make Gentile Christians become Jewish in order to be saved. The law cannot justify anyone, because nobody has kept it perfectly. Justification means that condemned sinners stand in court, and Jesus takes their punishment. Christ’s death does not merely treat people as if they had never sinned. Christ also lives in them, gives resurrection power, and begins to change how they live.

Paul’s words, “I have been crucified with Christ,” bring the whole argument together. The old life no longer gets to run the show, yet believers do not become zombies waiting for God to pick their socks. Christ lives in them so they can live by faith, with less ego, less striving, and more trust. Grace never makes good works the price of salvation, but grace does produce love for the poor, forgiveness for others, and fruit that shows Christ is truly at work.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Jesus rescues dead people, not helpers [01:03:43] The gospel starts with inability, not human effort. Jesus does not come alongside a basically healthy person and offer a boost. His grace reaches people who could not save themselves and gives them new life. Repentance and obedience follow rescue, but they never purchase it. [63:43]
• 2. Testimony points past itself to Jesus [01:16:25] A personal story can open a door, but no person’s story is the gospel. Testimony becomes spiritually clear when it names Christ’s death, love, rescue, and present work. A life story that mainly sells success, comfort, or excitement can leave Jesus strangely absent. Christ must remain the center, not the improved version of the person speaking. [76:25]
• 3. Freedom rejects both sin and legalism [01:24:20] Legalism tries to make people slaves again by adding requirements Christ never gave. License twists grace into permission to keep serving sin. Christ’s freedom does neither, because his grace releases people from earning salvation and empowers them to walk differently. Freedom requires wisdom, honesty about weakness, and a willingness to test convictions by Scripture. [84:20]
• 4. Justification includes Christ living within [01:31:53] Justification means Jesus took the judgment sinners deserved. The cross removes condemnation, but the risen Christ also gives a new life that can bear fruit. Grace does not leave a person untouched year after year. Love received begins to become love given, forgiveness received becomes forgiveness offered, and mercy received becomes mercy toward others. [91:53]
• 5. Christ in believers changes everyday life [01:35:30] “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” does not erase personality or ordinary decisions. Christ’s presence changes the center of life, especially in moments of control, disappointment, waiting, and insecurity. Faith learns to stop striving for every outcome and to trust that Jesus knows what is best. Sanctification looks like less ego and more room for Christ to work.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [63:43] - The Gospel as Rescue
• [64:48] - Questions About Salvation and the Spirit
• [67:33] - Syncretism and American Individualism
• [70:36] - Legalism Versus Grace
• [71:51] - Paul’s Conversion and Calling
• [75:15] - Sharing a Clear Testimony
• [78:34] - Bad Testimonies and False Gospels
• [84:20] - Defending Freedom in Christ
• [86:15] - Grace, Good Works, and Caring for the Poor
• [90:34] - Justified by Faith, Not Law
• [95:30] - Crucified With Christ
• [101:15] - The Gospel Prayer and Closing Prayer

Bible Reading

Galatians 2:20
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” [01:35:30]

Galatians 1:11-12
“For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.” [01:11:51]

Galatians 2:16
“yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” [01:30:34]

Observation questions

1. In Galatians 1:11–12, what does Paul say about the source of the gospel he preached, and why does that matter for his argument?
2. What details from Paul’s former life and changed life show that Jesus, rather than human effort, transformed him? [01:12:30]
3. In Galatians 2:16, what two ways of seeking to be right with God are contrasted?
4. According to Galatians 2:20, what has ended, what is now true of the believer, and how is the believer to live? [01:35:30]

Interpretation questions

1. Why would Paul’s claim that the gospel did not come from human beings protect the Galatian churches from adding cultural or religious requirements to faith in Jesus? [01:13:34]
2. Paul’s story includes both rescue and a calling to preach Christ among the Gentiles. How does this show the difference between a testimony being about personal improvement and being about Jesus?
3. Paul says that no one is justified by works of the law. Why does this free believers from trying to earn God’s love while still calling them into a changed life? [01:31:53]
4. Paul says that Christ lives in believers, yet believers still live in their bodies and make ordinary choices. What does this mean for daily faith without turning Christians into passive people? [01:36:39]

Application questions

1. Where is the temptation strongest to treat the gospel like self-improvement—trying to become good enough, successful enough, spiritual enough, or put together enough for God? What would it look like to receive Jesus’ rescue instead of striving to earn it? [01:03:45]
2. Are there any beliefs, practices, or sources of guidance that compete with trust in Jesus—such as astrology, manifesting, psychics, self-made spirituality, or the approval of others? What would wholehearted worship of Jesus look like in that area? [01:07:33]
3. If someone asked for a three-minute testimony, how would the story describe life before Christ, how Jesus met the person, and what Jesus is doing now? Does Jesus stay at the center of that story? [01:16:25]
4. When has following Jesus cost something—approval, comfort, a relationship, a habit, or an easy path? How can the group encourage one another to see Jesus himself as better than those losses? [01:21:08]
5. Is there an area where legalism is creeping in—judging others by rules God has not made, or measuring personal worth by religious performance? What truth about grace needs to replace that pattern? [01:11:00]
6. Because grace produces fruit rather than earning salvation, what is one tangible way to show received love, forgiveness, or mercy to someone this week—especially someone in need or someone difficult to forgive? [01:34:02]
7. In what current situation is there a strong desire to control the outcome—waiting, disappointment, insecurity, conflict, or an unmet hope? What might it look like to live by faith and make more room for Christ to lead there? [01:38:44]