On Justification

Galatians 2 and the False Gospel in Galatia

All right gentlemen take out your Bibles. What Galatians. Galatians chapter 2 we're in the same passage. We've been in for the last three weeks. What did I say about this passage? One of the most important paragraphs in the whole Bible I know it's I have to say it's it's certainly one of the most important passages that Paul has written.

And then by virtue of that it's one of the most important passages in the whole of Scripture. So we're going to read Again verses 15 and 16 for those of you who haven't been here because I know there's some of you who are new Galatians is the Apostle Paul's letter to a Group of churches that are in an area called Galatia.

It was where modern Turkey is and he had established these churches he had founded these churches and After he had departed from them some other teachers had come in and begun to preach a false Gospel, and so the problem was you've got good teaching that has left and bad teaching that has arrived and the Galatians have Accepted this bad teaching and Paul is challenging them and he's telling them you can't have another gospel.

There is only one gospel. You remember the first chapter he said I'm astonished that you've departed from The gospel and have gone after another gospel and and so he defends his own message and he defends his own Position as an apostle and he defends his own integrity.

That's all in chapter 1 then in chapter 2 he continues that defense by saying and I went to Jerusalem and I spoke to the Apostles and the Apostles affirmed what I said. Not to say that if they didn't affirm it I would have been wrong because I got my message straight from Jesus.

This is what Paul says. He said I got my message from Christ. I wasn't going there for their approval. I was going there to make sure that we weren't running in opposite directions. He said we're not we.

I don't want to be fighting these guys. I want to make sure we're all on the same page. We're not and he says it this way says I want to make sure I was not running in vain. Meaning to make sure I wasn't wasn't beating against My head against the rock as it were so in the midst of this he tells a story.

He says and there was a time when the Apostle Peter Made an error. What was the error? Well Peter was in The Galatian or rather he was in the Antiochian community and he was eating with the Gentiles. But when the Jews would come he would separate himself because he didn't want to be seen eating with the Gentiles and Paul said that's wrong.

That's hypocrisy. If God has saved the Gentiles the same way he saved the Jews. How can you separate yourself from the Gentiles? And he and he said I I I wish I withstood him to his face. So Paul got in Peter's face as it were and this statement Verses 15 and 16 is the risk is the follow-up to that conversation and I believe it's a continuation of the conversation.

He says we ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners. Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. So we also Who excuse me? 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.

Prayer for Illumination and Growth in the Gospel

All right, let's pray father. I thank you for your word Lord as we Continue to break down faith works of the law and today Lord Justification. I pray Lord first that you would keep me from error. For the sake of your name for the sake of my conscience for the sake of these men And their hearts.

Lord, I care about them and I want them to know the truth. And I pray that you would keep me from error and I pray Lord as the as the Word of God is Expounded and explained. I pray that you would open their hearts to it Lord.

For those who are believers today Who already know the Lord? Father that today would be to them an opportunity for growth better understanding of the gospel better understanding of the truth and Lord for those who do not know Christ.

For those who are here today and Are still dead in their trespasses and sins. Lord, I pray that by the mercy of God. That you would give to them the gift of regeneration. That's leads to life that they would repent of their sins and that they would trust in Christ.

And I pray Lord all this in Jesus name. All right. Now I have said I have said This is the most important passage in Paul's writing and the reason why I say that is not because it's necessarily Unique Paul says these things in other places but this particular paragraph is a.

It's like it's like a condensing of Paul's theology. It's it's it's a pressing it in and showing exactly what his point is. And it is very clear and over the last several weeks. I'm gonna oh my words are still up here.

Okay. We're gonna race this. But I'm only gonna I'll tell you what I'll race to you and we'll come back. Ain't no use in the race in that because that's what I was going to write anyway. That was yes that was predetermined of the Lord it was decreed by Almighty God that it would be that way all right so in the 15th and 16th verse Paul says we ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners.

He's talking to Peter and he's talking about the difference between them and the Gentiles and he says we're Jews by birth meaning we have a certain a certain positional Blessing that comes with being the covenant people of God.

And if you want to know what that blessing is you go over and read the book of Romans and Paul asks a question. What benefit has the Jew? Paul says much in every way for they were entrusted the oracles of God.

What are the oracles of God? Well, that's the scriptures. He says the Jews were entrusted the oracles of God. That's a that in and of itself is a blessing. I Don't know if you realize this or not. But no matter how hard your life has been.

The fact that you have a Bible on your lap Puts you in a position of blessing that many people around the world do not have. If you go over to China You can't just have a Bible like you have right here in fact.

There's a there's a there's a video online of a of an underground church in China that received a box of Bibles. And they were crying and they were they were passing them out and people were grabbing them and hugging like a child.

Like a like like when I remember when my baby was born, you know. When they come out and they clean her up and they hand her to you and you hold her like she's brand new and you love Her to death that very moment.

That's the way they see the Bible and and to them and to us, you know I mean, I I grew up four or five Bibles on the shelf different translations of the Bible. I could go to a Bible bookstore anytime I wanted to and I could buy Bibles and commentaries.

I mean we are flooded with blessings. So just a point when Paul says what was the blessing that the Jews had they have the oracles of they had the Word of God. That was a blessing that not other other nations didn't have that wasn't that was a blessing that other people groups didn't have and Paul said So there's a great blessing in that.

There were other blessings to God had not only given them his word. But God had given them his love. Amos chapter 3 verse 2 speaking of Israel. God says You only have I known of all the nations of the world and you say well, what does that mean?

Well, the word know there means love. Doesn't just God doesn't just know Things because God knows everything. When he says I know you that means I love you. Think about when Jesus said depart from me.

I Never knew you means I was never in a relationship, right? That's Matthew chapter 7, right? That's relationship. You go back to Adam and Eve. It says Adam knew Eve and and they conceived and bore Cain.

So that's a more intimate type of love. That's a sexual Knowledge we call that carnal knowledge, right? So knowing is a is Relationship. So when God says to Israel you only have I known of all the nations of the of the world.

It's saying you are the one I chose and remember what God says to Israel in the Old Testament. He said I didn't choose you because you were the biggest. I certainly didn't choose you because you were the most righteous.

Because Israel had many many Unrighteous, but he had chosen there the nation To be The object of his blessing now, this is the Old Covenant. This is the Old Covenant promises. We now have the New Covenant where Jesus Christ says that that blessing is no longer held just within the nation the Jews.

But it's gone to all people and that's what the gospel does the gospel expands the promise the gospel expands the the love and the and the Acceptance and the and the the willingness to reach out. That's why the the first century Jews were having such a problem.

They they had been brought up with this idea that they were God's people and that was it. And Paul was saying no God has brought the gospel to the Gentiles and that's what he's saying right here. He's saying he's saying look Peter.

We know our we are Jews by birth. We're not Gentile sinners yet. We know That a person is not justified by works of the law. But through faith in Jesus Christ, why would he say that he's saying he's saying you're not justified because you're a Jew.

Because the Jews were the ones who had the law the Jews were the ones who were supposed to have kept the law. They didn't but they many of them thought they did. He says but you're not justified by that.

You're justified by faith. And he goes on to argue if we're justified by faith and they're justified by faith. Everybody's justified by faith. Nobody is justified by works of the law. In fact, that's what he says in verse 16.

He says by works of the law. No one will be justified so that's the Context over the last three weeks. Two weeks maybe we have looked at Two phrases from this statement. We've looked at first the word faith.

What does the word faith mean? It's thrown around a lot people say it a lot people say you need to have faith. People say you need to you need to be faithful and they use that word in the Bible the word is.

It's either translated as faith or belief. But it's the same Greek word and the word in Greek is pistis or pistou. Oh, and it's it's the same word. So when you read in John 3 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him Will not perish but have everlasting life, right?

That word believeth is the same word for faith. It's the word pistou. Pascha pistou, huh? Oh the Greek word. Well pistis is p-i-s-t-i-s and. Then the pistou is a is a just a different ending. So it's p-i-s-t-e p-i-s-t-u-e-u-o.

You I think would be how it would be in English because I'm transliterating it I'd have to look at the Greek to give you the The Greek spelling the letters but You have pistis is the root pistou is because in that it's believing ones pistou Oh refers to the believing ones.

So the one believing so if I said if I said believe that's pistis if I said believer. Pistou of. Yeah, those who believe yeah. Yeah, so that's just in the ending sort of adds that idea of the one who's believing but again, it's the same word, right?

So when we say what is faith, we say there's three different ways to describe faith. But only one of them is saving faith. The first way we describe faith is to understand something or to know something that we call that gnosis.

If I say to you something if I say Jesus Christ died Was buried and Rose again on the third day and you say I understand what you mean by death burial and resurrection that is Gnosis, you know it, you know what I'm saying, and you understand it make sense.

That's the first step. You can't have faith without knowing what you believe in if anybody ever tells you what just believe. And you say well, what am I supposed to believe in it don't matter just believe that's stupid I Mean that really is there's no such thing as faith without an object.

You got to know what you believe in or whom you believe who you believe in. People say well, I just have faith. I always have the very next thing if somebody says well, I just have faith. I say in what?

Well, I just believe in what. You got to know what you believe. Well, I believe in Jesus. Why what do you do? I don't know. Yeah, I heard people say I don't know I Used to work at a high school, and I did security for First Coast high school, and I I worked with kids that had learning Disability so I had two different jobs.

I'd worked security in between classes and during lunch and and and I'd work in the classroom with the students during class and and and a lot of those kids. You know I'd say I'd just ask him. I say what do you go church anywhere?

You know because I was at that time I was youth leader, and I say you're welcome to come to our church. You know kind of just talking and they say oh, yeah I believe in Jesus. Great. What do you believe in Jesus?

I? Don't know. He died on the cross. Why you know I don't know I Sound like a bad time to me. So gnosis is the content of The claim and you got a note so I so that's why I always put that one first if you don't know the claim.

You can't believe and trust in the claim. You can't you guess you got to start out with knowledge. The second one is These are Latin words a census a census means to agree with the claim. So Jesus died.

He was buried and he rose again. You say I agree to that. I agree. That's true. I agree that he was dead. That they stuck him in the heart with that spear that out of his side poured out blood and water which Demonstrated that he was be a be dead and Yet, they pulled him off the cross put him in the tomb and three days later The dead body came back to life and Jesus Christ walked out of the grave no Problem he wasn't limping and he weren't bleeding.

He was perfectly Restored the only thing he kept was the scars in his hands. To demonstrate the work that he had done. On this side the other scars in his hand aside to demonstrate the work that was done otherwise glorified perfect.

So You say I believe that I agree that that's true. Is that saving faith now some people would say it is some people would say that's all you gotta do is agree with the claim. But that is not What the Bible means when it says believe?

Because the Bible when it says believe is referring to what we would call in English trust. Now in the great in the Latin is fiducia or fiducia. It's trust and You've all heard it. Well, some of you haven't because some of you knew I Use a parachute as example.

I say I know what a parachute claims to do if I step out of an airplane it claims to be able to catch me And take me to the ground. I believe it will work. I Believe if I put a parachute on step out of an airplane It will catch me and take me to the ground, but I ain't stepping on no planes.

So I don't trust it. That's the difference. That's the step. So faith is trust. That's the best word. I don't think believe really does the justice. It's trust. It's the willingness to put ourselves into the hands of Christ and say I don't have any other hope.

But you you know if I was falling out of an airplane, I would hope I had a parachute. Even though I'm not going to jump out willingly if I was on a plane that was going down. I would hope there was a parachute.

Right because I do believe at that moment I would have to trust it. Here's the point every one of you are going to die one day. I've been at the fair all week this week. We've been doing our evangelism.

We've put up a booth and we hand out gospel tracts. Most people take them and they're very nice. Every once in a while you get people. Oh, I don't believe and they'll walk on they don't want to listen.

Someone at one old boy told me he was an atheist. And I said, well, you're really not. And he kind of looked at me. I said, can I prove you're not an atheist? He said, sure go ahead. You want to know how I did it?

If somebody tells me if somebody says they're an atheist I say okay imagine this circle is all the knowledge in the world. How much do you think you have of all the knowledge that exists and all the universe?

How much do you think you have and he said well, maybe 1 I said, okay. So you're telling me that in the 99 of what you don't know God cannot exist. And he said well I said so you're really not an atheist.

You're a diagnostic you don't know. Atheist says he knows God doesn't exist. You don't know that. I said you're hedging your bets on something. That's pretty serious. About something you don't know. I said here's the reality.

You do know God exists. Romans 1 tells me that every man knows in his heart that God exists and will be Responsible for him on Judgment Day because when you stand before God in judgment He's going to say you were without excuse because he has given you not only the conscience within you to know that he exists.

But he's giving you the world around you to bear testimony to his existence. The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament above his handiwork. There is no man who can justly call himself an atheist before Almighty God.

Had your hand up brother. Romans 18. Romans 1 18 to about verse 24 I think goes it goes down to 21. But it goes on because it goes on to talk about sins, and I think it's 18 to 24. I have to look he had a hand at first, but I get you yes, sir.

Yeah, we agree yeah, yeah, it is it's same idea. It's with a scent. We're all agree. Say that yeah, that's true. Well. You know what con when you put the con at the beginning. That means we're coming together like Congress.

That's it. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Consensus is a coming together in agreement absolutely yes, sir. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yep, and I and I want to amen and I want to add just Piggyback on what you're saying faith that is real faith changes the way you live.

That's James's whole point. James to faith that doesn't show itself in a changed life is not real faith. It's dead faith right faith without works is dead right. That's a simple way of James saying it's going to change your life.

It's a changed life a life of faith is a changed life. I agree. Oh, no, absolutely and I. That's a good point. I ain't saying you're perfect. I am saying you're near perfect. You are in you're in Christ who is perfect, but but you'll look at the world different.

You know my one of my old professors said this and it was a. He said he said when you are born again. You get a new wanna. And you say what's that he said well, I used to want to do this. Now I want to do this.

I Used to want to serve self now. I want to serve Christ. I used to want to serve sin now. I want to serve righteousness. I used to want to serve the world now. I want to serve the one who created the world so my so my wanna.

Changes and and again, it's not that I don't do some of those things that the world wants me to do. It's not that I don't fail every day, but I want to do what's right? My heart has changed and so that is faith.

Yeah. And I would I would take that back up to the gnosis part that's why he says faith comes by hearing because we got to know what the Content is before we can trust in it, and then when we trust in it we grow in that content.

That's what you're talking about renewing the mind Romans 12 1 2 3 where we're growing every day by renewing the mind absolutely. Yeah. All right, so now back to. Let's look now. We've talked about faith last week.

I talked about works law and I spent a lot of time on. I don't want to spend a lot of time on this week. What I basically sought to prove last week is this works of the law is not limited only to the few things that Paul addresses in Galatians which are Sabbath keeping circumcision and Dietary restrictions.

Those are the three main things Paul deals with in Galatians. But that's not all the works of the law that Paul's talking about. Paul is saying you're not saved by works of the law. At all any works of the law and why not?

Because your sin is breaking the law and keeping the law. Doesn't make up for breaking the law and I use this illustration last week. But again some of you weren't here if I stand before a judge and the judge says you have committed murder.

And I say yeah, but every other day of my life I didn't commit murder every other day of my life I kept that law and he said yeah, but that one time means you a lawbreaker. Right that one time makes you a murderer.

How many times you got a murderer to be a murderer? How many times you got a lot to be a liar? Well you got a lie to be a liar one time and what is the revelation. 21 8 say. All liars will have their place in the lake of fire.

Yeah, it is. We sin and our sins cannot be Fixed by the law all the law can do is condemn. It cannot say right see we think about like The judges that we have today. What's their job? Their job is to execute Justice.

You come before them you're either guilty or you're not guilty and they render a verdict. The verdict is guilty or Not guilty right and once that verdict is rendered once that verdict becomes a product of public record.

Can't be changed. Less a higher court comes in and shows that there was some malfeasance or something like that. But once that verdict is rendered you can't be judged again for the same crime. They call that double jeopardy right because the the verdict is in the determination.

Has been made right you guys know this this is what the verdict is and it's based on. Not the works that you've done, but by the crimes you've committed. So that's Paul's point. You can't be justified by the works of the law because the works of the law are what condemn you.

They're not what save you they're what condemn you and every time we've ever broken one of God's laws. We have just Proven our own condemnation. Every time you break the law of God you show yourself to be in agreement with Adam.

Who's Adam. Adam was the first man ever made? When God made Adam God gave Adam one law. It was very simple law if you think about it I have given you all the trees of the garden from which to eat. But do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil for on the day you eat of it you will surely Die.

That's right, so he not only gave him the law. But he gave him the consequence. So Adam chooses to break God's law. Now we could go into the the devil bringing temptation on Eve and her being deceived and her.

Her going and encouraging her husband and even Adam tries that I don't remember the story. But Adam says the woman who now has given me. She gave me the fruit to eat right he blames her. God don't take that.

It's this woman that you gave me she is defective. That's that's kind of what he said actually what he did was he accused God. Because he says the woman you gave me that you gave me the woman. So he points a finger everywhere, but at the one who was responsible for breaking the law now.

Here's the thing everybody looks at Adam and says oh, what a fool. What a fool to have all of the garden to have a place where you can be naked and unashamed. To have a place where you can run free and frolic with what must have been the most beautiful woman that ever Existed because she was created by the hand of Almighty God within without any imperfections and.

And you can run free and eat from the trees, and yes, you're going to be a vegan, but that's okay. Because you don't know no different. At that point ain't nobody had a steak dinner. But you're going to eat from the trees, and you're going to have this life.

Everything's going to taste good. Everything's going to feel good, and you're going to be in this point of joy or you're going to eat of this one tree and everything's going to end and You're going to be under the curse of God.

Every one of us is what a fool. But Every time we sin we agree with that. You were right. What fools we all are right. The law does not save the law only condemns so Paul says you're not justified by the law.

Justification as a Legal Declaration of Righteousness

Now we're going to talk today. We've talked about faith. We've talked about faith we've talked about works of the law like I said if you know last week. We went over that more, and I don't want to dive into that again because I take all my time.

We're going to look today at the word Justified we're going to look at justify. And this is an important word in fact if in two weeks I'm going to preach a special message. Two weeks from today is October 31st.

Most people think Halloween and if I come in and y 'all are in costumes, that'd be fine. No. Next in two weeks from now is Thursday is October 34. I've been thinking about this for several weeks because I saw that the date that I'm going to be here falls on the 31st.

Everybody associates that with Halloween and that's fine. But it's actually a more important day in history. October 31st. 1517 is the day Martin Luther not Martin Luther King not the guy from the 60s civil rights movement.

But in the sex of the 1500s. This was Martin Luther in Germany began what was called the Protestant Reformation and He started the Protestant Reformation because the Roman Catholic Church had become Corrupted and were selling something called indulgences, and I'm going to explain two weeks I'm going to really tell the story and explain it more, but basically what an indulgence was like a certificate of salvation.

Yeah, okay, so you guys would know some of it. Yeah, and that's good, and I'm going to talk about that some of it. You'll already know and Martin Luther's one of my heroes. I talk about him all the time anyway but anyway Martin Luther Stood against the Roman Catholic Church, and he began to Teach that you were not saved by these certificates these indulgences, but you were saved by faith alone and So he he coined this phrase Sola Fide.

Which means faith alone, and he began to proclaim this truth of salvation by faith alone but if you actually study the writings of Luther and Calvin and the other reformers. You will learn that actually what they were saying is not salvation by faith alone.

But they were saying justified. By faith alone, and you say well, what's the difference? Well? That's what I want to talk about today for the rest of our time I want to break down what the word Justification means because it does have a very particular Meaning that we need to understand.

And I've already mentioned being in the courtroom with the judge with the verdict there was a reason for that because I'm going to bring that back up in a minute because justified actually refers to a legal position a legal position with God.

But let's first look at This idea of salvation because people say we're saved by faith alone, so let's for a moment break this. When we talk about the word salvation There is so much that that word can be referring to.

There's a passage in first timothy 2 that says women are saved through childbirth. And you say does that mean a woman gets saved just because she has a baby. No. But that's what it says. Because the word saved there is not talking about salvation of the soul.

It's actually referring in that particular context to a woman's dignity. Where she's not to be a leader in the church. But she has children and she's a leader in the home and so there's a dignity that is is Preserved for her in the bearing of children.

Who's the most important person in your life first for you first mama right? So there's a dignity that is preserved or saved in Childbirth even though a woman can't serve as a pastor. She certainly can serve as a mother and that's her job.

So that's what that passage is referring to and so that's where the word saved can have many different meanings, right? Even when it talks about our salvation the Bible talks about salvation in three ways it says we have been saved.

It says we're being saved and it says we will be saved. So which is it. Is it past tense? Have been Present tense our being or Future tense will be. Well, the answer is all three. You have been saved.

You are being saved. And you will be saved and so salvation can have various nuances of meaning and If somebody says pastor do you believe in salvation by faith? I? Would say yes. But I would say salvation is is all encompassing because salvation not only includes what we call Justification it does and that's what I would say.

If somebody says have been saved we have been saved have been justified because that's a one-time legal declaration. But also we are being sanctified. What is sanctified mean that means we're being conformed to the image of Christ every day.

What you tell me walking with Christ and being changed and I would say that now in my my Christian walk. That God has brought me through many things. I've been a Christian for 20 years and in 20 years.

That's a when I was 19. That was 20 years ago. I Would say in my life. I understand more about the word. I understand more about the gospel. I understand more about my own sin than I did when I was 20.

I care more about the word and the gospel and my own sin than I did when I was 20, and that's the process of Sanctification and that's the being saved see that's the that's the process that's that part right and so that's That that's that's happening and I tell you I hope that in 10 years.

I'm more sanctified than I am today. I'll tell you this though the more sanctified you become the more you are aware of your own sin and the less sanctified you feel. Because you when I was 20, I felt pretty good about myself now that I'm 40.

I feel pretty awful I look at my sin. I say why do I still do that? Why do I still fight that battle? Why do I still have that struggle? Why am I still dealing with that sin see even though? I'm probably Progressively more sanctified.

I feel like I'm like because I know more now about my sin. Yeah, my standards going this way and and that makes me feel like I'm going this way. It is and the more the further you go in Christ the more you realize how desperate you are for Christ.

That's what I mean, yes, yes the third part of salvation I would say is what we call glorification. So we have justified Sanctified that's the process and then glorified. That's the day when I am Dead, it's all over take my last breath heart stops beating or Jesus returns.

Because he could return before I die. He could return before this day ends. I always remember that. But if he returns before I die, I don't have to die. I just get to go right into glory praise the Lord.

That'd be great. Yes, that's what that's the well done my good and faithful servant. That's what you want to hear right and that's when I change my body becomes a new glorified body. I'm in a new place new Jerusalem new heaven new earth.

Everything is new so that salvation in its parts you got Justification that was that was what happened when when God legally declared me To be righteous. By the way, that's the definition of justification.

It is a legal declaration of righteousness. Justification is a legal declaration of righteousness. Because here's the thing I stand before God on my own as legally guilty. I mean if I if I if I took all my sins and just regurgitated them on a table or if somebody put a Jump drive in my brain and pulled out all my thoughts and all of the 39 years of sins.

Put them on a video screen and played them back. One at a time here was when he sinned here and when here's what he sent in here's when he did this I Wouldn't have no more friends. If they I mean honestly if God took just the just the mental images you've been able to produce in your life the thoughts you've had the angers that you've that you've come up with and you Fantasized about the sexual perversions and all the other things and he put that all on a big screen.

And he showed it to all the friends and family. He'd be in bad way. I would. Yeah. Had to have many many terabytes of data right. So that's so I stand before God and he's the only one who knows Who I really am.

Yeah, I Don't even know who I really am. I know what I think I am. And most men think better of themselves than they ought to. You know, that's what Charles Spurgeon said this he said if you ever get mad that somebody's talking bad about you.

He said just let it go because they don't know the half of it. He said if somebody's talking bad about you let it go because they don't know the half of it. Yeah, you're worse than they could even ever say.

So here is my sin I am I am guilty before the judge of the universe and I'm standing there absolutely Guilty. The verdict is in the gavel is about to fall and In comes My defender Jesus Christ. And he Has no sin.