Justified

Justified | Galatians 2:11-21 September 17, 2023 Good morning, we're back in Galatians 2 this morning. We'll pick up in verse 11 through verse 21. I came across this story this week that perfectly addresses the topic of our text this morning: Imagine a man before a judge who has been given the choice of paying $100 or serving 90 days in jail. The man doesn't have any money, but does have a invalid wife and five hungry children at home who are depending on him and him alone. He tells such a heartrending story that the courtroom spectators are moved with pity and take up a collection to help pay the man's fine. Although it is unlike him, even the judge chips in. Altogether they raise $99.95. Even though they are only five cents short, the judge declares that the entire $100 must be paid, and orders the bailiff to take the man to jail. He dejectedly walks out of the courtroom, thrusting his hands deep into his pockets...where he finds-A nickel! Elated, he rushes back into the courtroom and slaps it on the bar before the judge, declaring "I'm free, I'm free!" In his mind, what saved him"? The $99.95, or the five cents? If we did anything to merit our salvation, we would be forever boasting about it in heaven. The fact is that we could do nothing, so Jesus paid it all. This is effectively what Paul will be addressing this morning, once again in his defense for his gospel. Let's begin by reading our text this morning (Galatians 2:11-21): 11 BUT WHEN CEPHAS CAME TO ANTIOCH, I OPPOSED HIM TO HIS FACE, BECAUSE HE STOOD CONDEMNED. 12 FOR BEFORE CERTAIN MEN CAME FROM JAMES, HE WAS EATING WITH THE GENTILES; BUT WHEN THEY CAME HE DREW BACK AND SEPARATED HIMSELF, FEARING THE CIRCUMCISION PARTY. 13 AND THE REST OF THE JEWS ACTED HYPOCRITICALLY ALONG WITH HIM, SO THAT EVEN BARNABAS WAS LED ASTRAY BY THEIR HYPOCRISY. 14 BUT WHEN I SAW THAT THEIR CONDUCT WAS NOT IN STEP WITH THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL, I SAID TO CEPHAS BEFORE THEM ALL, "IF YOU, THOUGH A JEW, LIVE LIKE A GENTILE AND NOT LIKE A JEW, HOW CAN YOU FORCE THE GENTILES TO LIVE LIKE JEWS?" 15 WE OURSELVES ARE JEWS BY BIRTH AND NOT GENTILE SINNERS; 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. 17 BUT IF, IN OUR ENDEAVOR TO BE JUSTIFIED IN CHRIST, WE TOO WERE FOUND TO BE SINNERS, IS CHRIST THEN A SERVANT OF SIN? CERTAINLY NOT! 18 FOR IF I REBUILD WHAT I TORE DOWN, I PROVE MYSELF TO BE A TRANSGRESSOR. 19 FOR THROUGH THE LAW I DIED TO THE LAW, SO THAT I MIGHT LIVE TO GOD. 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. 21 I DO NOT NULLIFY THE GRACE OF GOD, FOR IF RIGHTEOUSNESS WERE THROUGH THE LAW, THEN CHRIST DIED FOR NO PURPOSE. Let's discuss two items here before we get into the main idea and pull out some application from this text. First, let's return to two verses from our passage from last week to put things into their proper place. Earlier in chapter 2, verse 6 Paul writes: AND FROM THOSE WHO SEEMED TO BE INFLUENTIAL (WHAT THEY WERE MAKES NO DIFFERENCE TO ME; GOD SHOWS NO PARTIALITY)-THOSE, I SAY, WHO SEEMED INFLUENTIAL ADDED NOTHING TO ME. Then, in verse 9, we read: AND WHEN JAMES AND CEPHAS AND JOHN, WHO SEEMED TO BE PILLARS, PERCEIVED THE GRACE THAT WAS GIVEN TO ME, THEY GAVE THE RIGHT HAND OF FELLOWSHIP TO BARNABAS AND ME, THAT WE SHOULD GO TO THE GENTILES AND THEY TO THE CIRCUMCISED. So, in Jerusalem, when Paul met with Peter, and the other two, they were first in full agreement with the Gospel that Paul preached, and second, they were in fellowship with one another. Now, Paul and Peter have this confrontation in Antioch, as he reveals here. Now, it is difficult to tell when this confrontation occurred, but as we saw last week, that isn't exactly the main purpose of Paul sharing this with the church. If we take a step back and view this passage in light of the whole book, we can see that Paul is still defending the Gospel of grace and peace. So, he uses this story as an illustration first of his defense of the Gospel, but also his willingness to oppose even Peter in respects to his defense. The scene here is that Peter was fellowshipping with both Gentiles and Jews at the table. Generally, when Christians gathered during this time, it usually included the Lord's Supper, or it may also have included some sort of Jewish ceremonial meals. The problem was not that he observed this fellowship with the Gentiles, or that the Jewish Christians also participated, it was that when certain Jews "from James" (which many believe that this refers to Jews from Jerusalem) came Peter separated himself from the Gentiles because of fear from the "circumcision party." Now, I don't know about you, but I personally would also fear the circumcision party - it sounds painful ... nevertheless, Paul - in verse 14 - specifically spells out the error: [Peter's] CONDUCT WAS NOT IN STEP WITH THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL, namely the Law's place in fellowship, instead of staying close to the Gospel. This leads to the second item to discuss before we dive in: the introduction to the doctrine of justification. I say "introduction" because most agree that Galatians was likely the first letter written by Paul. If that is the case, then the mention of "justified" in verse 16 is the first usage of this very important term in the New Testament. The simple definition of this word is to be "declared righteous." It's actually a legal term to declare someone innocent or not guilty. Let's jump on Romans road for a brief moment, Romans 3:10 reminds us, NONE IS RIGHTEOUS, NO, NOT ONE. Romans 3:23 says: FOR ALL HAVE SINNED AND FALL SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD, but what does the next verse say? AND ARE JUSTIFIED BY HIS GRACE AS A GIFT, THROUGH THE REDEMPTION THAT IS IN CHRIST JESUS, (Romans 3:24). The Bible is clear in its teaching that we are born into sin. Here, we are reminded that when we are declared righteous before God, we receive the free gift of God, eternal life in Christ Jesus, as Paul says in Romans 6:23. So, Paul says here in our passage today, "Peter, you and I have been in agreement that we are saved by grace, justified by faith in Jesus Christ, why are you bringing the Law back into this?" The word that Paul uses to describe Peter's actions which led to others doing the same is "hypocrite." That word describes a "play actor," or literally, "played false." The reason for Peter's actions was "fear." Isn't it true for us as well? Don't we fall into the same trap of fearing what others may say, think, or do? In the movie "God's Not Dead," a college student's philosophy teacher makes the entire class write on a piece of paper "God's Is Dead," so they may pass the class. All but one writes this down. Even his Christian girlfriend told him to write it down, even though he doesn't believe it or agree with it, because it's easier to do that, than it would be to fail the course. Paul publicly rebukes Peter because Peter publicly got out of step with the Gospel. In a few moments, we're going to see what we can learn from this passage, and from Peter's misstep. We'll start with our main idea: Justification is in Christ alone. It's important to note that Paul isn't changing course exactly, rather, Paul is continuing his defense, here by speaking on the topic of justification. In this sermon series title, we've identified the primary theme of the book of Galatians as "No Other Gospel." So, when Paul mentions justification, he's not adding to the Gospel, he's including this in the Gospel. He's saying that in Christ, through faith, we are declared righteous before God. Not works. Not religion. Not your political affiliation. Not your socioeconomic status. Not your race. Christ alone. The question is. Are you justified? If you have placed your faith in Jesus, then the answer of that should be yes. If you have not placed your faith in Jesus this morning, I highly urge to do so today. As I share these next several things, you will hopefully see what this looks like in the life of a Christian. Because, for the rest of our time this morning, I want to show and illustrate with this passage: HOW TO LIVE JUSTIFIED: There are at least five things that, as a response to God's grace, we will do in our Christian walk. Of course, I'm not teaching works, as you will see from these five things, because these five things won't save you. They are activities that you participate in as a response to faith in Jesus. First: * Defend the Gospel (11-14) o That's really what Paul's doing here. o Even though his opposition was not coming from Peter, he says here - boldly - "I don't care who is diluting the Gospel, I'm going to defend it." o Husbands, think about it. Would it matter who it is that's threatening your wife? For me, nope. I'm going to defend her, no matter who it is. o Years ago, early in our marriage, a family member of Natalie began to insult her and speak against her, and I stood up to him in their home and put a stop to it. o That's why Paul says at the beginning of Romans, I AM NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL, FOR IT IS THE POWER OF GOD FOR SALVATION o Paul didn't care if people liked him, he cared only for the Gospel message. o We see this too in Paul's second letter to Timothy. 1 2 Timothy 2:9, he says that the Word of God is not bound, even though, Paul literally was. o Paul is teaching us - even today - that no matter what, and no matter who against, we must defend the Gospel. o That's God's plan. We must defend it. o Next, we must ... * Value faith over works (15-16) o By the way, when we talk about works, it alludes to having to "do something" to earn salvation or to be made "right" with God. o Jesus said that faith can move mountains. o Jesus told the man on the cross that he would be with Him in paradise ... why? Because of his faith. He knew that Jesus was Lord. * I love that story. * Especially when it comes to defending the Gospel against a works-based salvation. * This man did nothing to earn salvation. In fact, he was a criminal, a sinner. Worthy of death, unlike Jesus. But, in his last moments, had faith in Christ. * He couldn't join a church. * He couldn't get baptized. * He couldn't take the Lord's Supper. * He didn't even say "the prayer." * So, when someone says that faith is not enough, how can they explain this? o For us, it's hard to comprehend that faith is enough. That's why people add to it. It couldn't be that simple, right? Yes. Yes, it is. o Part of this requires our need of a savior. We can do that by doing this next step: * Acknowledge your sin (17-18) o Paul's discussing sin in this section. Our need of a savior. Our need to be justified before God. Our transgressions. o Unfortunately, some people, when sharing the Gospel, leave sin out of it. They leave the entire basis of the need for a savior out of the message. o That's really - what we call - a stumbling block for many people. The idea that they are sinners. The word sin means to "miss the mark," to "miss the target." No one likes to be told they are wrong. No one likes to be told they are failing at something. Then worse than that, that they can't do anything about it! Only Christ can do something about it! o So, Paul - adamantly - says "stop depending on the Law!" Later, Paul will reveal that the Law was put into place until Christ came. It was never intended to be a permanent solution to the problem of sin. And, it was designed in a way that required repetition, a continuance of actions needed to appease God. It could never be done just once ... until Christ. That was the whole idea. The purpose of it. To show us that, humanly, it is impossible to please God in our sinful state. But in Christ, we can be made clean. o It begins with understanding that sinners die. And we must be born again into life, with Christ, by Christ. o Part of that death, requires that we ... * "Die" to the Law (19) o In verse 19 Paul says "I DIED TO THE LAW, SO THAT I MIGHT LIVE TO GOD" o What does that mean? o It means that we must denounce all the preconceived ideas of the world, and its systems. o It means that we denounce what we understood to make us right with God and replace that with faith in the Son Jesus. o Let me give you an example from the Old Testament: * In 2 Kings 22-23, we read of the story of King Josiah. There, we read that the high priest brings the book of the Law to Josiah, and out of response to the Law, Josiah destroyed the idols and the altars and restored the Passover to Israel. o The Word of God changed Josiah's heart, and in response, he got rid of all the idolatry that turned the people of God away from God. o By dying to the Law, we're not saying the law is "bad," but rather that it is not going to save us. It will not and cannot justify us. o For us today, maybe that means we put away tradition that we may have learned at church when we were younger. o Maybe more broadly, it is putting away the bad habits that we have in our lives. Those things that pull us away from our relationship with the Lord. o Finally, Paul says we must ... * Be crucified with Christ (20-21) o The term "born again" states that a new life has begun. o 2 Corinthians 5:17 says: THEREFORE, IF ANYONE IS IN CHRIST, HE IS A NEW CREATION. THE OLD HAS PASSED AWAY; BEHOLD, THE NEW HAS COME. o This means that the old person, the one we were before Jesus, is dead. o So, figuratively, that old person was crucified with Christ, and is no longer who we are, because our identity is now in Christ. o Here's an example. * Let's pretend your previous romantic relationship was bad. Maybe they had high and unrealistic expectations of you. So, you finally had the courage to end it. For me, that would mean that I've moved on to my wife of 16 years, my two beautiful daughters, and everything is good. I'm a new person. That old me in that old relationship is gone. I am now joined together with my wife. She and I are one. She is part of the new me. o So that old us, in that old relationship before Jesus, is no longer who you are. o Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans that we are to abhor evil. o James tells us in his letter that we should mourn over our sin. o Isaiah warned us that evil justifies their evil and they call it good. o That's the old person. o The old life. o We should not want to return to that old, sin-filled life. By default, we do what it called right by God, in our state of being made right. o In other words, we keep the law, we do good works as a response to the Holy God for saving us in His Son's work. Remember what we said earlier: Justification is in Christ alone. Anytime we try to do good to earn our own justification before God, we are missing the mark. Jesus said to follow Him. He didn't say to follow the Ten Commandments, then follow Him. Simply, follow Him. Who are you following? When we follow Jesus, we stand firm for the Gospel of grace and peace. We stand firm for faith over works. We praise God for saving a sinner like you and me. We live in Christ and are dead to the old self. A new life has begun. And it's a glorious one, one that deserves our praise and thanksgiving. Will you join me in doing that? Let's pray. 2