Sola Fide part 3

Introduction

For many of the early years of my Christian walk, I struggled under the weight of a works based theology.

I was a born again Christian. I believed that Jesus was the only way of salvation. I put my faith and trust in Him.

However, I also believed that every time something bad happened to me it was because God was punishing me for something bad I’d done; in the past, present or future.

I lived in a constant state of self disappointment, believing that God must have saved me so He could have His own personal whipping boy. I was, in my mind, God’s living example of how not to live, because I saw myself as a worthless loser who couldn’t do anything right.

Thankfully, I grew out of that false theology. Well, for the most part.

To be honest, there are times that this stinkin’ thinkin’ creeps back into my mind.

In order to fight against it, I have to call it what it is: works based theology.

I imagine I’m not alone here. Maybe your works based theology is different, but my guess is that most of us struggle with some form of a works based theology at times.

Thankfully, even the great apostle Peter did. Paul’s words to Peter, the churches of Galatia and to all Christians throughout history who read this letter should speak volumes to each of us this morning.

Body: Galatians 2:11-21

Verses 11-14

At some point, Peter came to Antioch and was eating his meals and spending time with the Gentiles there.

However, when a contingent of Jewish Christians came from Jerusalem, Peter stopped eating with the Gentiles, caving to the peer pressure from the Jewish Christians, who wouldn’t eat with “unclean” Gentiles.

Peter example was followed by others, and soon the majority of the Jews in Antioch we disassociating with the Gentiles, particularly at meal times. Even Barnabas, Paul’s companion on the First Missionary gave in to the peer pressure!

Paul publicly calls this out as hypocrisy. How was it hypocrisy?

Because before the Jerusalem Christians came, the Gentiles were treated as equals because they were saved by faith, not works of the law.

But, when the Jerusalem Christians arrived, these Jewish men began treating the Gentiles like they were unclean sinners who might defile them if they ate with them.

Their earlier words said that people were saved by grace through faith, but their actions here suggest that people were saved instead by works of the law.

In verse 14, Paul lays it out for them:

“Hey, how dare you! You’ve been living like a Gentile before, but now you want to force these Gentiles to live like Jews? Hypocrites!”

Peter proves himself here to be a people pleaser.

I’m sure he didn’t set out to mistreat the Gentiles. In fact, God revealed to Peter that the Gentiles were not, in fact, unclean.

Acts 10:9–16 ESV

The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.

Acts 10:28 ESV

And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.

And yet, he decides that pleasing the Jewish Christians from Jerusalem is more important than the Gentile Christians in Antioch.

Why? People pleasing. It was more important to Peter to be seen the right way by the Jerusalem Christians then to treat the Gentile Christians as equals.

Notice that Paul calls Peter out publicly about this. Why not just pull him aside privately?

Because it had already infected the church in Antioch, so Paul needed to dress down Peter, but also the others as well.

What is Paul’s answer to correct this? The message of justification by faith.

Verses 15-16

Paul says “Gentile sinners” in this way in an ironic sense. Meaning, this is how they were treating the Gentiles.

In essence, Paul is saying, “According to you, we are God’s people because of our law keeping. But, we know, or at least we should know, that no one is justified by works!”

This is the key teaching point of the entire letter:

People cannot be made right before God by law keeping. It is only through faith in Jesus Christ.

This was true for the Jews, and it is also true for the Gentiles.

Verses 17-18

Here Paul addresses an attack that some used against justification by faith.

The idea is, that Paul was teaching a message of libertinism, meaning that people were free to sin all they wanted.

Thus, the rhetorical question, “is Christ then a servant of sin?”

Paul’s answer is: “Certainly not!”

If I just rebuild my sinful life then I was never really justified in the first place.

Verses 19-20

In fact, a justified person has died with Christ in order that he or she might now live in faith in Christ.

Paul’s point is, now that I have new life in Christ, I’ve died to the old life and now it is actually Christ Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, who lives in me.

Verse 21

Paul goes even further in his argument against the Judaizers. He bluntly states that if a person can be made righteous by the works of the law, then Jesus death was meaningless.

So What?

The message of justification by faith must be defended, even when it’s difficult.

While Paul often seems like an “in your face” type of person, I doubt this was easy for Paul. Not only did he respect Peter, but he risked being rejected by the other Christian leaders.

Simply stated, Paul could have given in to the same peer pressure and people pleasing that Peter had.

However, for Paul, the truth of the gospel of justification by faith was too important to not defend boldly.

By-in-large, the world today is works-based in their beliefs. Meaning, people believe that they are made right with God, the gods, or whatever their conception of divinity, by their own good works.

For others, they believe they are already good people because they don’t do any of the “big sins” or because their good characteristics and actions are greater than their bad.

Still for others, they believe that there really is no such things as good or bad…that is until something bad happens that effects them.

Whatever the case, Christians today are often tempted to people please by shying away from the exclusiveness of justification by grace alone through faith alone.

The world at large claims we are too narrow-minded, too limited, too judgmental. Why? Because we believe what Jesus said:

John 14:6 ESV

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

But the defense isn’t simply outside the church. Just as Paul struggled with those inside the church, so many today who want to stand for the Gospel face resistance inside the church.

For Paul it was against Judaizers. Today, the resistance often comes from those who want the church to simply cater to their wants and desires. Or those who refuse to make the Gospel the priority of the church. Or those who through unrepentant sin, rebuild what Christ Jesus tore down.

On we could go.

We, like Paul, must be bold and speak the truth, even when it is difficult.

The message of justification by faith does away with works based salvation.

This is the core teaching of the NT. Without this, as Paul himself states, Christ died for no purpose.

It is what separates the Christian faith from every other religion on the face of the earth.

In every other religion, man is made right with the divine if, and only if, he does certain acts to justify himself.

The Christian faith is different. For us, Christ Jesus alone justifies us before God because Christ Jesus alone was the perfect, sinless sacrifice for sins.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul puts it like this:

Romans 3:23–26 ESV

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

((Invite people to faith in Christ))

When we are justified by faith, good works will flow from our new life in Christ.

But what about good works? Good works flow from this new life.

See, as Paul says here, we have been crucified with Christ, meaning we’ve died to our old self and now live our lives to and for Christ. How? Because Christ lives in us through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

This tells us two important things:

If we are truly justified by faith, then good works will result.

What do you mean by “good works”? Does it mean being nice to people?

No, not really. We should be nice to people. But, the good works are the works that follow the example of Christ Jesus. Paul will articulate these later in the letter, but let’s get a taste right now:

Galatians 5:22–24 ESV

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

This also tells us that these good works are evidence of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Again, Paul will have much more to say about this throughout this letter.

But the greatest evidence of Christ’s presence with us is the new life He leads us to live.

When we are willing to sacrifice our own wants and desires for the benefit of someone else; when we have a strong desire to see others come to faith in Jesus; when we are willing to serve others, especially those who are in need; when live not as hypocrites, but as a people of faith in the Son of God.

This is the greatest evidence of Christ living in you and me.