One Gospel (Part 2)

Transformation over Modification

Galatians 2:11-21

Scripture

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.[a] 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[b] 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[c] were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

Pray

God help us see our need not simply for good behaviour, but for a new heart

Story 1

Following a bad trend

Application 1

Last week we set up what was happening in the churches in Galatia. We said that there was this group of Jewish Christians who were saying that in order to be saved you had to follow all of the Jewish customs. Paul was writing this letter to the Galatians to address this issue.

Today, I want to continue through Galatians chapter 2, but I want to talk about what is going on at these churches when Paul shows up.

Think for a minute about how any trend starts. It starts as the result of one or more people, and then they influence someone else to take on the trend. Then those people influence others. And so on. This is the reason for Paul’s intervention in the first place. The people distorting the gospel had gained surprising influence.

This isn’t that surprising. This was not the first time that a bad idea had caught on and certainly wouldn’t be the last. In fact, society has a long history of this. And unfortunately for some of us, there is photographic evidence to prove it.

So clearly, Paul had to address the issue. As we read through chapter 2, we see how he addresses this. Paul addresses not just the guys who screwed up, but also urged the church to take care of the trend once and for all.

We must realize: our behavior impacts others.

Paul talks about this guy named Cephas. Some of you guys might have a version that uses the name that we know Cephas by: Peter. Paul says that he opposed Peter to his face! That is harsh. But, Peter got caught up in this “trend.” The guy who walked on water with Jesus was afraid of a group of Jews.

Paul explains why he opposed Peter. Peter was influencing other believers into hypocrisy. It is crazy how easily Peter was influencing believers away from the gospel. The same was true when he was with Jesus. Any time he, or we, take our eyes off Christ, we begin to slide. This is not just important because it affects you, but because what you do influences others, either toward Christ or away from Him.

Peter began to become more concerned about what people thought of him, and it led him to influence people into hypocrisy. This is why James tells us to check our motives when it comes to thinking we are wise.

Selfish ambition is demonic! This was Peter’s motive, and it becomes ours when we say that we care more about what people think of us than the gospel. But James goes on to describe the wisdom that comes from the gospel.

It is only given from a relationship with Christ. This is where transformation comes from. This is the transformation Paul talks about in Galatians.

We must know: People are transformed by gospel revelation, not behavior modification.

Paul calls Peter out! He tells him he is living like a Gentile. Now, the issue with this is that he is eating with Jews. So how is he living like a Gentile? Simple. He is allowing himself to be influenced by people rather than his faith. Jewish society was centered around the Law—around their faith—and the Law was supposed to have more influence than anything else.

Paul was being influenced by people, like a Gentile. Paul said, "Hey, you can’t even hold to a conviction, how is anyone else supposed to do better?" This is what we do when we look at the commands of Scripture and think we can do that on our own. Paul had to remind Peter that even he needed grace. We do, too, and we need God to be the one who makes the changes, not us. David realized this when he wrote Psalm 51.

David understood the difference between transformation and modification. He begs God to create in him a clean heart. This is something we can’t do. He calls God to do the restoration. This is the difference between transformation and modification.

We can accomplish modification on our own, but not transformation. This is what so many people forget, and as a result, they become legalistic. But, there is a problem with that.

Story 2

Hanging wrong signs for friends party so people got lost

Supporting Scripture

Philippians 3:7-9 (ESV)

7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.

Application 2

We must stop: Seeking to be justified by what points to the cure. (The Law points to our need for the gospel.)

Paul explains the original intent of the Law. The Law never made anyone reconciled with God. It allowed God to tolerate sin, but it never eliminated sin. It couldn’t. It was necessary to point out that we needed Christ, that we needed the work of the gospel to cure us.

When I was a kid, I broke my ankle on a trampoline. When I went to the doctor, they X-rayed it. What would happen if they didn’t do anything but X-ray it? It wouldn’t have done a thing! That is because an X-ray is not meant to heal a broken bone. It just tells you a bone is broken!

The same was and is true about the Law. It was meant to show us our need for the gospel, for Jesus.

Just before this Paul said, “If anyone could have been made right with God through the law, it would have been me!” But even he realized that was impossible. In fact, he said he counted a life justified by the law to be rubbish, or garbage. The word in the Greek is the same word we get "feces" from. He points to the gospel as the only justification we have.

We must believe: The gospel of Christ is our only justification.

Paul says that Christ died because the Law was incapable of paying for sin, and if we think it was, then Christ died for no reason. This is why we have to understand that Jesus is the only way to a relationship with our Creator.

He did this so we could be justified by grace; the very thing that the “trendsetters” in Galatia were trying to remove from the gospel. In and through Christ alone, we are justified, or made right with God. This is the one gospel we are called to follow.

Conclusion

Do you trust the gospel or your own works for salvation?