How can I be sure that I am Saved?

Introduction: Two brothers who come from a football family had completely different interests. The oldest brother was extremely athletic and an absolute beast on the field. The younger brother was a singer, into art, and books. Many people from the community would tell him that he wasn’t truly apart of the Smith lineage because playing football was like a right of passage. One day the younger brother, who was always anxious and striving to fit in, had the courage to tell people who made those comments that He was a true Smith not by his abilities but by carrying the name.

Many believers in Christ, are living their lives anxious because they do not know where they stand with God, as if they are striving to be apart of his family. In Our Series on the book of Galatians, we are learning that the church in Galatia is receiving pressure from Jews who converted to Christ, to be circumcised in order to be considered true Christians.

Every Christian can be confident that they are justified by faith in Christ. If you are anxious about where you stand with God, today you will be equipped as we learn what it means to stand on God's grace.

Galatians 2:15–21 NRSV

We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law. But if, in our effort to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have been found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! But if I build up again the very things that I once tore down, then I demonstrate that I am a transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is 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. I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

v.15- I love how Paul words verse 15. He is basically saying that Jews and gentiles are slaves to sin and God is not considering one more holy than the other.

ILLUSTRATION: I went to have dinner with a friend and his pastor's friends and family. The pastors wife, The First Lady, looked me up and down, as she scanned my low quality outfit. I was comfortable, wearing a beanie cap and some workout clothing. She scrunched her lips like she just ate something sour, raised her eyebrows, rolled her neck and asked me “are you the organ player”, as if I did not deserve a seat at the table. I said, “ no I am a friend of -I will not mention his name-. I do this thing where when I am around a group of ministers or even chaplains, obviously not in uniform, I introduce myself as simply Donte, because I do not want people to respond positively to my title. If my title makes you open up to me and not me just being me, then I have the answers I need to know. My friend, attempting to override my humility, introduced me by my title and the entire table changes their posture towards me. Here is the point, we are all in the same boat sinners before God in need of the grace of God. Our nice titles and christian resume do not make us better in the sight of God.

v.16- Paul seems to argue against the Jewish community that is preaching justification by the works of the law. This is interesting because Israel, God's chosen nation by whom the Anointed One (The Messiah) would come, did not subscribe to justification by works of the Law alone. Paul also says, Romans 4:11 “He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the ancestor of all who believe without being circumcised and who thus have righteousness reckoned to them,”

This was a self righteousness generated by a people who were preaching a false gospel that is contrary to what the Apostles preached.

The word here for “justified” means to have a favorable verdict. A justified believer in Christ, is not guilty of sin in the eyes of God. Paul says, Romans 3:20 “20 For “no human being will be justified in his sight” by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin.”

Simply keeping the 10 Commandments does not justify a person before God. In our context, that would be simply being a good person. There is no one good in the sight of God, not matter how many humanitarian projects they lead. No matter how many homeless people they feed. No matter how great of a Soldier you are. No matter how many sermons a chaplain preachers or counselings they conduct. We are all enslaved to sin and only by faith in the finished work of Jesus can we be redeemed.

Paul continued, Romans 3:21–26 “21 But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, 23 since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24 they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; 26 it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.”

ILLUSTRATION: I was 18 years old, a football player at East Carolina University, and on fire for Jesus. I was a legalistic Mormon whose life was filled with anxiety and fear. I thought that at any moment, God was going to strike me down because I wasn’t doing anything right. I couldn’t read or pray enough to sooth my fears because my spiritual disciplines were motivated out of fear. I was trying to earn enough points with God so that he could be cool with me. Since my salvation, my desire was to abstain from sex until marriage, but that did not happen.

The girl I was dating did not want to be the person to have my virginity outside of marriage but temperatures started flaring and I no longer had my V-CARD (Is it still called that today? LOL). She rolled over and looked at me, from what was a disappointing 2 minutes, and said, “Don’t worry, you are not going to go to hell.” I never wanted to hurt anyone in my until that moment. But someone preached the true gospel to me, and I was set free from my fears because I finally realized that I will never be saved by my good works. We are saved because of what Jesus did for us at the cross.

v.17- Paul addresses the rhetorical about a person who is seeking to be justified by faith in Christ, but remains a sinner. Does Christ then serve sinners? In other words, does this mean anything to Christ? Should a person just receive forgiveness from Christ and live how they want?

v.18- If a person returns to their old way of living, namely one who lives selfishly without any regard to God, then they have proven that they were never changed. Paul is basically saying that Christ makes people who trust in Him new. They forsake their way of living to serve God. The biblical word for this event is repentance.

v.19- If Paul died to the Law, then what governs his life? How does he know what is the right or wrong way to live. If he died to the law, does he now have permission to live how he wants to live without any regard to God?The next verse, expands on verse 18.

v.20- Paul is so united to Christ and his cross, that even though he died to the law, Christ lives in him. Christ becomes the GPS that guides and directs his live. If Christ lives in me and is directing my life, then there is no need for rules and regulations on how to live, because I have a marriage covenant with the One who made the Law.

v.21- If we can be saved by our good works, the Christ died on the cross for nothing.

The gospel unites us with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

In Him, our sinful nature that we inherited in Adam, was crucified, buried with Him in death, and now we are risen with Him in the newness of life.

Romans 6:4–11 NRSV

Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.