Galatians
2:15-21
Introduction: Bible reading is a little like
the game show Jeopardy! What? We have the answer, what was the question?
The New Testament epistles were written to address specific historical
situations, while at the same time, under the inspiration of God, the writers
were giving principles for Christian living that apply to every age. One
problem in reading a letter like Galatians is that we have the answer the apostle
is giving to some specific pastoral situations which the original readers were
experiencing. They knew to what he was referring, we have to infer the questions
from the answers! I think it is fair
to say that Galatians is the most urgent and the most direct of Paul’s letters.
There was no time for pleasantries, no commendations or thanksgiving. From the opening
lines, he gets to the heart of the matter. Some false-teachers had begun to undermine
the message of the Gospel, and in the process were challenging Paul’s apostolic
authority.
We’ve seen in this letter Paul recall
his call and commission by Christ Himself. He made it clear that the message he
preached to the gentiles was recognized by the Jerusalem apostles as the same
message, the Gospel, that they preached. The Gospel is the unshakable
foundation, and the empowering motivation of the Christian life. Tim Keller affirmed
that idea when he said that…
…since
we live in the world, we have embraced many of the world’s assumptions.
Christian living is therefore a continual realignment process—one of bringing
everything in line with the truth of the gospel…
Here in Galatians 2:11ff, as we saw last
week, Paul described not a conflict in doctrine, but a conflict in practice, between
Peter and himself. The issue was the application of the Gospel to life. The question is not whether Peter believed
and preached the same Gospel as Paul.
We’ll see several hints here as we have earlier in the letter that they
were solidly on the same page theologically. Paul here is referring to an
example from the past when Peter came to Antioch, and, for a time at least, was
not living consistently with the truth of the Gospel that he professed. We are saved by grace through faith in Christ - how then must we live? He preached Grace, he lived under Grace, but
then, in order to win the favor of some fellow Jews, for a time, Peter was
acting hypocritically, not living consistently with the truth of the Gospel. There
was a sort of “cultural peer-pressure” as Peter suddenly withdrew from
fellowship with the gentile believers, no longer taking meals with them,
apparently to appeal to the cultural sensibilities of some Jewish Christians
who had come to Antioch. He preached grace, but his conduct was implying that
something more was needed, that tradition and law were necessary supplements to
grace, and so, the separation between Jew and Gentile prescribed by tradition
and the law needed to be maintained. Peter knew better, and Paul reminded him
of that.
The Maine* Idea: As we saw last week, is that the
Gospel of Grace should result in a changed life as Christ lives in us and through
us. Again, we’ll approach that big idea
from three perspectives, 1) The Possibility of Reconciliation: Justification
by faith alone in Christ alone is the only way to be right with God; 2) The Peril of inconsistency: Right doctrine should
result in right living; and 3) The Power for Christian living: that
is, unity with Christ in his death and resurrection.
I. The Possibility of
Reconciliation: Justification by faith alone is the only way to be
right with God (15-16). Grace Precludes “works” as a means of
justification: Reflect
on the implications of Grace. We need to live “gospel-center” lives.
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… (Galatians 2:15-16).
“Law” could not save the Jews, how could
it possibly save Gentiles? The issue is highlighted by the repetition of some key
words in these verses. Paul uses the verb “justify” three times in v.16. He
also contrasts “faith [in Christ]” with “works of the law.” Faith,
not works, is the way to God. Paul said much the same thing in Romans 3:19-22…
19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under
the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held
accountable to God. 20 For
by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since
through the law comes knowledge of sin. 21
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law,
although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it- 22 the righteousness of God
through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.
I
like the way John Stott summarizes this issue…
…there
are at least two basic things which we know for certain. The first is that God
is righteous; the second is that we are not. And if we put these two truths
together, they explain our human predicament, of which our conscience and experience have already
told us, namely, that something is wrong between us and God… (Stott, The Message of
Galatians, p.60).
In
our context, Paul is telling Peter that the message of the Gospel, which they
both believed, by which they were saved, should be reflected in how we live our
lives. Admittedly, it is often hard to tell in the Bible where a quotation
ends, and the narrator turns to talk to the audience. There were no quotation
marks in the original manuscripts! I think Paul is still talking to Peter here in
Galatians 2:15-16, essentially restating what they both know to be true. This
is how J. Gresham Machen, one of the founders of Westminster Seminary, paraphrases
the sense of these verses…
“You
and I,” said Paul to Peter, “were Jews by nature; we had all the advantages
which the law could give. Yet we relinquished our confidence in all those
advantages, so far as the attainment of salvation was concerned, by seeking our
salvation in exactly the same way as that in [which] it is to be sought by
despised Gentile ‘sinners’ – namely, by the free grace of Christ received by faith
alone.” (Machen’s notes on Galatians, p. 148-149).
Peter
and Paul agreed on what it meant to be “justified”. There is only one way we can stand before a
holy God. Most people have an idea that faith plus obedience gives us a right
standing before God, don’t they? It seems logical, but there is something skewed in that
understanding. It is by faith in Christ that we are justified, that is,
declared “right” with God. Our sin was imputed to Christ. He bore our sins, taking
the punishment that we each deserved. By grace, through faith, His
righteousness is imputed to our account. So, when the Father looks at us, we
are in Christ, and He sees only the righteousness of Jesus. Therefore, for we
who are His, the Temple veil is rent, and we can come to Him directly and
boldly.
The words “just” or “right” in the Bible
are from a root word meaning “conformity to a standard.” However,
“justify” does not mean we are made righteous or good. Because of
God’s presence in our life we are saved “unto good works” but not
because of being good or righteous… Rather, in legal language, we were
condemned sinners (Eph 2:1,2) deserving judgment, under God’s wrath, BUT
because of God’s intervention in our lives, by means of faith in the
substitutionary death of Jesus, we are declared “not guilty,” that is, we are “justified.”
Allow me to quote Spurgeon again, “Morality may keep you out of jail, but
it takes the blood of Jesus Christ to keep you out of hell!”
Legally speaking, we who are “justified”
are not judged by the merits of our case, in fact we are not judged at all,
because Christ was judged in our place (Isa 53:4,5). It’s a good thing we are not judged on the
merits, according to Galatians 2:16, “…by
the works of the Law shall no flesh be
justified…” Paul is saying that even we who are Jews know the Law does not
justify! He’ll develop that more in chapters 3-4. The impossibility is made
clear in James 2:10, “For whoever keeps
the whole Law, and yet stumbles in one point, he is guilty of all.” Even
one little infraction and that is it, we are guilty? Does that seem too harsh? We
don’t grasp how offensive sin is to God. The fact is, we all know that we
sin. Like the story of Arthur Canon Doyle, who supposedly, as a prank, sent
identical messages to twelve acquaintances, some of the most prominent men in
England. It simply said, “All is discovered! Escape while you can!” All twelve
promptly left town! We know we are guilty! The question is, how can we get
right with God? Our only hope is the grace of God applying to our lives the
righteousness of Christ—justification by faith. Christ alone, by grace alone,
through faith alone.
There are basically only two ways humans
try to approach God: trying to make themselves good enough – no one can do it –
or trusting in Jesus and his finished work on our behalf (Eph 2:8.9; Rom 6:23).
Most religions of the world are based on works. The Bible teaches grace, God’s
unmerited favor. Sadly, many professing Christians start there, then add to the
Gospel. They affirm salvation by grace through faith, and then think that adding
good works or human traditions is what makes them acceptable to God. The
gospel is Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone. He took our
sin. We receive his righteousness. If you are His, you are forgiven! Am I
saying all you have to do is say you believe? No. All you have to do is believe,
rightly, who Jesus is, trusting in what he did for you. The result will be a changed
life that longs to obey Him our of love. You are saved “…unto good works,
which God before ordained that you should walk in them.” The Gospel of Grace should result in a changed life, as Christ lives in us and through us.
II. The Peril of inconsistency (2:17-19a). Right doctrine should result in right living. Remember
a few verses back that Paul rebuked Peter in front of them all because, “his
conduct was not in step with the Gospel.” The details in these verses are
not easy to follow, but the main idea seems clear enough. I don’t want to get
lost in the minutia, let’s focus on what is clear.
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.
Humans tend to easily take a couple of
wrong turns when we start talking about grace. One interprets it as a license
to sin, another begins to add “rules” that we must keep in order to earn God’s
favor, in other words, faith plus works makes us right with God. Paul is
saying, “Look Peter, we both recognize that we who were born Jews, people like
you and me, are no different than gentiles. Our only hope is in Christ alone,
by grace alone, through faith alone. If I admit that for myself, how could I add
to it requirements for gentile believers?”
Liberty in Christ does not mean
license to sin (17-18). How can “faith alone” justify us if Christians
still sin? Or worse yet, why can’t I believe and then do whatever I want? If
God justifies sinners, what is the sense in being good? Does that mean Christ
is advocating sin? Paul addresses that directly in Romans 6,
What shall we say then? Are we to
continue in sin that grace may abound? 2
By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
Most people don’t recognize the
seriousness of sin – that it separates humans from a Holy God. For the Christian,
we are positionally “righteous.” Practically, we are learning and growing as
our life comes increasingly under the Lordship of Christ. That is why, inevitably,
confession is something that lies at the heart of our Christian life (I Jn
1:8-10). Believers are convicted when
they sin, they know that it was for them Christ died. How can we who died to
sin still live in it? The implied answer to Paul’s question is that we
cannot! And so, we confess, and experience the grace of God’s forgiveness. We are
reminded, as Paul wrote to Titus,
…he saved us, not because of works done
by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of
regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our
Savior, 7 so that being
justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal
life… (Titus 3:5-7).
How then, shall we live? Or better, how
then can we live? If we are declared righteous by grace alone, how does
the gospel become the foundation and the fuel for
Christian living? Remember the Maine* Idea: The
Gospel of Grace should result in a changed life as Christ lives in us and through
us. That becomes clearer as we look at the third point…
III. The Power for Christian living: unity with
Christ in his death and resurrection (2:19 b-21).
I have been crucified with Christ. 20 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 justification were through the law, then Christ died for no
purpose.
If you only have time to memorize one
passage from Galatians, maybe this should be the one. It really describes the dynamic of the
Christian life, in Christ, dead to the power of sin and Satan, alive to God. Vv.19b-20
I have died to the Law—I was united with Christ in his death on the cross—“I
have been crucified with Christ…” Imagery of baptism in Romans 6:3-6
develops this idea further…
3 Do you not know that all of us who have been
baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with
him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the
dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with
him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a
resurrection like his. 6 We
know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin
might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.
If we are united with Christ in his
death, we are also united with him in his resurrection (Col 1:13 ; 2 Cor 5:17 ). This
is our power and motivation for godly living – our salvation is wholly of Him. The
basis of Paul’s statement is our union with Christ. We are “in” Christ,
and He is in us, as Paul writes in v.20c, “…but Christ lives in me…”
And so, “The life that I now live, presently, I live by faith in the Son of
God… who loved me, and gave himself for me…” So, the Gospel is the foundation,
and the fuel, of the Christian life.
Paul makes a final statement in v.21 that
lays waste any idea that “works of the Law” were necessary for salvation,
or even necessary to complete it. He says, “…if righteousness could be
gained through the law, Christ died for nothing…” If human effort could justify us before God,
if there was some other way, something less than the humiliation and horror of
the passion and the death of the Son, why did He do it? Why did He spare not
the Son, but deliver Him up for us all? God is Just, and Holy, and it was the
only way that a just and holy God could pardon sinful humans. There had to be
a substitute. This is how God showed His love among us: He sent his one
and only Son into the world, that we might live through Him (I John 4:9).
What is God saying to me in this passage? So, we see the possibility of
reconciliation with God, being justified by faith in Christ alone, the peril
of inconsistency and presumption. The Gospel is about knowing Jesus, and
trusting in His finished work as our only hope of salvation. When we do that,
we have the power to live differently because of Christ in us. That’s
the Maine* Idea: The Gospel of Grace should result in a changed life as Christ lives
in us and through us.
What would God have me to do in response to this passage? We’ll see in
this letter that people easily drift in their understanding and application of
the Gospel. Some embrace the idea of grace, and then think “I’m free! That
means I can live any way I want!” Paul says, yes and no. Are you still living
like the world? If you truly believe, there will be fruit as God’s
Spirit works in you (Eph 2:10; Phil 2:12).
You have a new heart, and you will more consistently choose things that
align with God’s will. Easy-believism is not biblical. Neither is legalism.
Many start with grace through faith, as
did the Judaizers who were influencing the Galatians, and then begin to add
things, their church’s thinking about what Christianity should look
like. Believe in Jesus and do these things (or usually, don’t do them!)
and you’re in! Paul will get to that
present crisis in Chapter 3! (Read 3:1-3!). Grace plus works is not the gospel.
When we are justified the perfect righteousness of Jesus is reckoned to
our account. We are saved. Then we begin to live differently, as the Spirit
exposes different areas of our life and brings them into the light of the
Gospel. God’s love constrains us, God’s Spirit convicts us and guides us. That
is Good News! And that is truly amazing grace!
AMEN.
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