Justified By Faith
Confrontation. When I say that word, most people cringe at it. Anxiety ensues, nervousness, blood pressure raises, maybe you even start getting mad because you’re picturing a certain situation.
Today is the 4th of July; Independence Day. 234 years ago, men gathered because they were tired of taxation without representation, religious persecution and various other reasons. They had the courage to confront the British Government, make them aware of what they were doing wrong; they called them out on their sin. Unfortunately, it led to war between the two countries. There is debate among theologians whether or not the U.S. committed a sin in rebelling against the government God put in place, but that issue is for another sermon…or two. The point is that the men who founded the United States of America had the courage to call out their brother in his sin.
In Galatians 2:11-21 Paul does just this. Paul calls out Peter in a blatant sin. Let’s read.
11 When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. 12 Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.
14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?
15 “We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’ 16 know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.
17 “If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! 18 If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. 19 For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
At the very beginning here, Paul calls out Peter in his sin. Peter has been living a double standard. Apparently, Peter has been living like a Gentile even though he was by birth a Jew. However, Peter was requiring that Gentiles who were following Christ follow Jewish customs as well. The most famous argument was over whether or not the Gentiles should become circumcised. Today we would call this hypocrisy.
Today, people claim Christianity even though they really aren’t dedicated to it. This has given Christians a bad name in the world today. We must be cautious on how we label ourselves and carry ourselves in the world. What we do and how we carry ourselves has an effect on how non-believers see the Christian faith. If we are to claim the name, we must walk the walk, not just talk the talk.
A Redneck from Morgantown, West Virginia walked into a bank in New York
City and asked for the loan officer. He told the loan officer that he was
going to Paris on an international redneck festival for two weeks and needed to borrow $5,000 and that he was not a depositor of the bank.
The bank officer told him that the bank would need some form of security for the loan, so the Redneck handed over the keys to a new Ferrari. The car was parked on the street in front of the bank.
The Redneck produced the title and everything checked out. The loan officer agreed to hold the car as collateral for the loan and apologized for having to charge 12% interest.
Later, the bank's president and its officers all enjoyed a good laugh at the Redneck from the south for using a $250,000 Ferrari as collateral for a $5,000 loan. An employee of the bank then drove the Ferrari into the bank's private underground garage and parked it....
Two weeks later, the Redneck returned, repaid the $5,000 and the interest of $23.07. The loan officer said, sir, we are very happy to have had your business, and this transaction has worked out very nicely, but we are a little puzzled. While you were away, we checked you out on Dunn & Bradstreet and found that you are a highly sophisticated investor and multimillionaire with real estate and financial interests all over the world. What puzzles us is, why would you bother to borrow $5,000?'
The good 'ole West Virginia boy replied, 'Where else in New York City can I park my car for two weeks for only $23.07 and expect it to be there when I return?
How the world sees us and how we really are differ greatly. These guys as the bank were astounded when he had a Ferrari and multiple financial assets across the world. Redneck and Rich are not usually used in the same sentence.
Going back to Paul and Peter, throughout the NT, countless verses refer to circumcision. Remembering back to the covenant with Abraham, circumcision was the mark of God’s people. Imagine yourself a Jew in the early New Testament times. You were raised in the Jewish customs, circumcision was a part of life as was making sacrifices, pilgrimages, and so forth. Now, this Jesus has come and fulfilled the law and things are totally different than they were. It would be notoriously difficult to break away from all of the mundane traditions that had been in place for years. This is the problem that they are facing in their day.
In modern day terms, it is the battle between older style traditional music like we worship to, or the newer worship band, contemporary Christian music worship style. Neither one is bad, they’re just different and it goes by preference.
As many know, churches across our country have literally split up over this very issue. Minor disagreements such as worship music or any issue for that matter, should not prevent us from communing with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Paul goes on to state one of the strongest Biblical truths. Paul explains that we are not justified by looking at the laws and obeying them. We are only justified by our faith in Jesus. Let’s think of this in today’s terms; it’ll probably be easier.
How many times have you heard at a funeral, he was such a good man, never got into trouble with the law, was good to other people, but never accepted Christ as their savior and didn’t go to church, but yet, everyone still thinks he went to heaven because he was a “good person”. Friends, you and I know better, even though this seems harsh, it is the Truth; following the laws and being a good person is not good enough for heaven. Paul states directly in the second half of verse 16 that “because by observing the law no one will be justified.”
So…the question is left, what IS good enough? My friends, only by faith in Christ can we be justified enough to gain entrance to heaven.
This next part makes me laugh. Paul, playing the part of Captain Obvious adds a little humor and sarcasm in his letter to the Galatians. Paul says if while we are looking for justification through Christ we discover that we are sinful, which we will eventually. We all come to the realization that we are sinners. So if we realize this, does this mean that Christ promotes sin?? I just wanna say, WELL DUH!!! NO!!!! Paul does it in his own way and says “Absolutely not!!” Of course Christ does not promote sin…he died to relieve us of the burden of sin!
Paul makes a warning here to be heeded. Through the law, we died to the law when we accepted Christ and were baptized. So, if we rebuild what was destroyed, we only prove to be lawbreakers. However, my friends, we were crucified with Christ, Paul says and we no longer live, but Christ lives in us…in other words, we must allow Christ to live in us so that we don’t have to live by the law anymore, Jewish or our Modern American law. When we live our life for Christ, follow the two Great Commandments given by Christ, Love God, and Love others, every law in the history of the world can be boiled down into one of these two categories. When we follow Christ and make our best attempts at it, we don’t have to worry about the worldly laws, following them will just come naturally. It is by the grace of God only that we are even able to accept Christ as a substitution for our sin.
So let’s start putting this together. Even though this message was intended for the Galatians back in the 1st century, there are some good lessons here today. The 2 biggest lessons today are justification by faith only and confronting our brothers in their sin.
Confronting like Paul did with Peter is never an easy thing. It should be done with heavy amounts of prayer and guidance from God. It should be done with love and through love to get them back on the track they need to be. Consult the wisdom of God in these areas most of all.
As far as justification by faith, no matter the current state of our country, we never have to worry about following the law because living for Christ is our first priority, following the law will come naturally once we do this.
There’s a story of a boy from the Tennessee mountains that wanted to go to Nashville to work. Naturally, his father was not for this. The boy pleaded to his father, “But what chance do I have here, paw? Nothing for me here but being poor and dirty all my life!”
Naturally, the father answered, “What chance??? Why look at me, son. When I come here from Kentucky 20 years ago I didn’t have a dime to my name. Now I got 13 kids and 11 dogs!!!
You see, the father had led by example. My friends, OUR father has led by example. That example is personified in our Savior Jesus Christ. As we live our lives, we MUST live by example. Whether Christianity is outlawed or not, we need to work on changing the face of Christianity back to what it used to mean. I’ve heard modern Christians abandon the name Christian and merely call themselves Christ-followers. It means pretty much the same thing to you and me, but to the secular world and non-believers, they are two different things. There are a lot of people in the world who don’t go to church or follow Christ’s teaching, but claim the name of Christ in vein. We have to work to lead by example, in order that the face of Christianity can be returned to what it should be. Living for Christ and not concerning ourselves with the outside, worldly laws…concern yourself with following Christ, confronting our brothers and sisters in their sin privately where necessary, and obeying laws will come naturally afterward.
The only thing that would prevent us from naturally following the law would be if they outlawed Christianity, and then it would still be our duty to still follow Christ. So, the ultimate question is, IF Christianity were outlawed, would you still be a Christian? Would you still live your life for Christ?
Today is the 4th of July; Independence Day. 234 years ago, men gathered because they were tired of taxation without representation, religious persecution and various other reasons. They had the courage to confront the British Government, make them aware of what they were doing wrong; they called them out on their sin. Unfortunately, it led to war between the two countries. There is debate among theologians whether or not the U.S. committed a sin in rebelling against the government God put in place, but that issue is for another sermon…or two. The point is that the men who founded the United States of America had the courage to call out their brother in his sin.
In Galatians 2:11-21 Paul does just this. Paul calls out Peter in a blatant sin. Let’s read.
11 When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. 12 Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.
14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?
15 “We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’ 16 know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.
17 “If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! 18 If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. 19 For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
At the very beginning here, Paul calls out Peter in his sin. Peter has been living a double standard. Apparently, Peter has been living like a Gentile even though he was by birth a Jew. However, Peter was requiring that Gentiles who were following Christ follow Jewish customs as well. The most famous argument was over whether or not the Gentiles should become circumcised. Today we would call this hypocrisy.
Today, people claim Christianity even though they really aren’t dedicated to it. This has given Christians a bad name in the world today. We must be cautious on how we label ourselves and carry ourselves in the world. What we do and how we carry ourselves has an effect on how non-believers see the Christian faith. If we are to claim the name, we must walk the walk, not just talk the talk.
A Redneck from Morgantown, West Virginia walked into a bank in New York
City and asked for the loan officer. He told the loan officer that he was
going to Paris on an international redneck festival for two weeks and needed to borrow $5,000 and that he was not a depositor of the bank.
The bank officer told him that the bank would need some form of security for the loan, so the Redneck handed over the keys to a new Ferrari. The car was parked on the street in front of the bank.
The Redneck produced the title and everything checked out. The loan officer agreed to hold the car as collateral for the loan and apologized for having to charge 12% interest.
Later, the bank's president and its officers all enjoyed a good laugh at the Redneck from the south for using a $250,000 Ferrari as collateral for a $5,000 loan. An employee of the bank then drove the Ferrari into the bank's private underground garage and parked it....
Two weeks later, the Redneck returned, repaid the $5,000 and the interest of $23.07. The loan officer said, sir, we are very happy to have had your business, and this transaction has worked out very nicely, but we are a little puzzled. While you were away, we checked you out on Dunn & Bradstreet and found that you are a highly sophisticated investor and multimillionaire with real estate and financial interests all over the world. What puzzles us is, why would you bother to borrow $5,000?'
The good 'ole West Virginia boy replied, 'Where else in New York City can I park my car for two weeks for only $23.07 and expect it to be there when I return?
How the world sees us and how we really are differ greatly. These guys as the bank were astounded when he had a Ferrari and multiple financial assets across the world. Redneck and Rich are not usually used in the same sentence.
Going back to Paul and Peter, throughout the NT, countless verses refer to circumcision. Remembering back to the covenant with Abraham, circumcision was the mark of God’s people. Imagine yourself a Jew in the early New Testament times. You were raised in the Jewish customs, circumcision was a part of life as was making sacrifices, pilgrimages, and so forth. Now, this Jesus has come and fulfilled the law and things are totally different than they were. It would be notoriously difficult to break away from all of the mundane traditions that had been in place for years. This is the problem that they are facing in their day.
In modern day terms, it is the battle between older style traditional music like we worship to, or the newer worship band, contemporary Christian music worship style. Neither one is bad, they’re just different and it goes by preference.
As many know, churches across our country have literally split up over this very issue. Minor disagreements such as worship music or any issue for that matter, should not prevent us from communing with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Paul goes on to state one of the strongest Biblical truths. Paul explains that we are not justified by looking at the laws and obeying them. We are only justified by our faith in Jesus. Let’s think of this in today’s terms; it’ll probably be easier.
How many times have you heard at a funeral, he was such a good man, never got into trouble with the law, was good to other people, but never accepted Christ as their savior and didn’t go to church, but yet, everyone still thinks he went to heaven because he was a “good person”. Friends, you and I know better, even though this seems harsh, it is the Truth; following the laws and being a good person is not good enough for heaven. Paul states directly in the second half of verse 16 that “because by observing the law no one will be justified.”
So…the question is left, what IS good enough? My friends, only by faith in Christ can we be justified enough to gain entrance to heaven.
This next part makes me laugh. Paul, playing the part of Captain Obvious adds a little humor and sarcasm in his letter to the Galatians. Paul says if while we are looking for justification through Christ we discover that we are sinful, which we will eventually. We all come to the realization that we are sinners. So if we realize this, does this mean that Christ promotes sin?? I just wanna say, WELL DUH!!! NO!!!! Paul does it in his own way and says “Absolutely not!!” Of course Christ does not promote sin…he died to relieve us of the burden of sin!
Paul makes a warning here to be heeded. Through the law, we died to the law when we accepted Christ and were baptized. So, if we rebuild what was destroyed, we only prove to be lawbreakers. However, my friends, we were crucified with Christ, Paul says and we no longer live, but Christ lives in us…in other words, we must allow Christ to live in us so that we don’t have to live by the law anymore, Jewish or our Modern American law. When we live our life for Christ, follow the two Great Commandments given by Christ, Love God, and Love others, every law in the history of the world can be boiled down into one of these two categories. When we follow Christ and make our best attempts at it, we don’t have to worry about the worldly laws, following them will just come naturally. It is by the grace of God only that we are even able to accept Christ as a substitution for our sin.
So let’s start putting this together. Even though this message was intended for the Galatians back in the 1st century, there are some good lessons here today. The 2 biggest lessons today are justification by faith only and confronting our brothers in their sin.
Confronting like Paul did with Peter is never an easy thing. It should be done with heavy amounts of prayer and guidance from God. It should be done with love and through love to get them back on the track they need to be. Consult the wisdom of God in these areas most of all.
As far as justification by faith, no matter the current state of our country, we never have to worry about following the law because living for Christ is our first priority, following the law will come naturally once we do this.
There’s a story of a boy from the Tennessee mountains that wanted to go to Nashville to work. Naturally, his father was not for this. The boy pleaded to his father, “But what chance do I have here, paw? Nothing for me here but being poor and dirty all my life!”
Naturally, the father answered, “What chance??? Why look at me, son. When I come here from Kentucky 20 years ago I didn’t have a dime to my name. Now I got 13 kids and 11 dogs!!!
You see, the father had led by example. My friends, OUR father has led by example. That example is personified in our Savior Jesus Christ. As we live our lives, we MUST live by example. Whether Christianity is outlawed or not, we need to work on changing the face of Christianity back to what it used to mean. I’ve heard modern Christians abandon the name Christian and merely call themselves Christ-followers. It means pretty much the same thing to you and me, but to the secular world and non-believers, they are two different things. There are a lot of people in the world who don’t go to church or follow Christ’s teaching, but claim the name of Christ in vein. We have to work to lead by example, in order that the face of Christianity can be returned to what it should be. Living for Christ and not concerning ourselves with the outside, worldly laws…concern yourself with following Christ, confronting our brothers and sisters in their sin privately where necessary, and obeying laws will come naturally afterward.
The only thing that would prevent us from naturally following the law would be if they outlawed Christianity, and then it would still be our duty to still follow Christ. So, the ultimate question is, IF Christianity were outlawed, would you still be a Christian? Would you still live your life for Christ?
Comments
Post a Comment
Please understand that the subject contained on my blog are of a religious nature, which sometimes spark strong feelings. Please keep it clean and in a Christian manner. I will delete any comments that I deem aren't appropriate.