Freed through Faith

Introduction

Introduction

Right Behaviour with Wrong Belief (1-10)

The important part to remember about this section is what is happening.

vs 1. - “taking Titus along with me” = daring move. Because he was a Greek rather than a Jew, Titus was uncircumcised. And if anything was bound to enrage the Judaizers, it was bringing an uncircumcised man into their holy city! Circumcision meant everything to the Jews. It was the sacred mark of Jewish identity, the symbol of salvation. Since the days of Abraham,it had been the visible sign of belonging to God’s people. According to the command of God (), circumcision determined whether someone was inside or outside the covenant.

Taking Titus to Jerusalem was a daring move. Because he was a Greek rather than a Jew, Titus was uncircumcised. And if anything was bound to enrage the Judaizers, it was bringing an uncircumcised man into their holy city! Circumcision meant everything to the Jews. It was the sacred mark of Jewish identity, the symbol of salvation. Since the days of Abraham, the removal of the male foreskin had been the visible sign of belonging to God’s people. According to the command of God (), circumcision determined whether someone was inside or outside the covenant.

In the past, if a Gentile decided to become a Jew, he had to be circumcised. This was what the law required. Then Paul came along with his law-free gospel, preaching the good news of the cross and the empty tomb. He said that Jesus Christ had already met the requirements of the law, so that circumcision didn’t even matter. All it took to belong to God was faith in Jesus Christ. Titus served as the perfect test case for the freedom of Paul’s gospel. Here was a man who had received Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Did he or did he not also have to meet the requirements of the law, epitomized by circumcision?

The issue whether Gentile believers should be circumcised could not be discussed simply in the abstract because Titus was in their midst: Was he to be welcomed as a brother in Christ or told that he needed to be circumcised?

Ryken, P. G. (2005). Galatians. (R. D. Phillips, P. G. Ryken, & D. M. Doriani, Eds.) (p. 43). Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing.

Moo, D. J. (2015). The Letters and Revelation. In D. A. Carson (Ed.), NIV Zondervan Study Bible: Built on the Truth of Scripture and Centered on the Gospel Message (p. 2385). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

4 - “False brothers” These false teachers were saying that Titus had to be circumcised. An action that was done in order to be made right before God.

Big blow to the gospel if he had been since it would be adding human requirements as necessary for salvation. Titus wasn’t compelled.

More than that, the leaders in the church in Jerusalem not only agreed that Paul was an apostle, but that his gospel that he had been proclaiming 14 years before was right.

Flash back to a few sermons ago. We looked at how legalism was defined as working in our own power according to our own rules to get God’s favour.

The false teachers were advocating for “good” things, which is why we’ve in this point we’ve called their actions as right behaviour with wrong belief. circumcision was an important part of Jewish life. Not only that, but there were additional other rules that were given to Israel to follow. As part of God’s word, none of the Old Testament laws were bad in and of themselves. But laws become legalistic when we do them to try and win brownie points with God.

Circumcision is no longer a hot topic for the church, but the deeper issue here is still relevant. Paul regarded circumcision as a synecdoche for the entire law (see ); it represented law-keeping in general. Thus the apostle was fighting for something fundamental to Christianity at all times and in all places: What does it take to become a first-class member of God’s family? Is it simply a matter of faith in Christ, or is there something else, too?

Our problem may not be circumcision or jewish law, but there’s a host of things we might do that fall into this right behaviour with wrong briefs category: having a quiet time, studying the Bible, avoiding certain sins, coming to worship, helping other people. All these are good things, but when we do them thinking we are earning God’s favour, we are becoming legalistic. We are all born with a sinful nature, thinking we can earn our was to God; this legalistic mind-set carries over even after God saves us. We need to fight it by daily reminding ourselves of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Galatians Titus: A Test Case

Circumcision is no longer a hot topic for the church, but the deeper issue here is still relevant. Paul regarded circumcision as a synecdoche for the entire law (see Phil. 3:2–9); it represented law-keeping in general. Thus the apostle was fighting for something fundamental to Christianity at all times and in all places: What does it take to become a first-class member of God’s family? Is it simply a matter of faith in Christ, or is there something else, too?

The answer is that there are no second-class Christians. How could there be? Every Christian is saved exactly the same way: by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Therefore, there can be no discrimination in the church. The church cannot exclude people from salvation on the basis of race, gender, class, age, or anything else. The church cannot even discriminate on the basis of relative righteousness. Christians have a way of ranking sins. If someone is struggling with pride and lust, that’s okay. Who isn’t? But someone who is battling with depression, or whose marriage is falling apart, or who is tempted to commit homosexual sin, or who is addicted to drugs had better keep it quiet. Otherwise, people will know that he or she does not really belong in the church.

This seems to be the way that some Christians think, but it is not the way God thinks. Christians have different gifts, of course. We have different backgrounds. We have different cultures, in some cases. We have different ministries and callings, so there is order in the church. We have different trials and temptations. But there is no difference in our standing before God. And if there is no difference in our standing before God, there should be no differences in our standing with one another.

When we loose sight of the gospel, we treat others as second-class citizens in the kingdom of God. But the answer is that there are no second-class Christians. How could there be? Every Christian is saved exactly the same way: by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Therefore, there can be no discrimination in the church. The church cannot exclude people from salvation on the basis of race, gender, class, age, or anything else. The church cannot even discriminate on the basis of relative righteousness. Christians have a way of ranking sins. If someone is struggling with pride and lust, that’s okay. Who isn’t? But someone who is battling with depression, or whose marriage is falling apart, or who is tempted to commit homosexual sin, or who is addicted to drugs had better keep it quiet. Otherwise, people will know that he or she does not really belong in the church.

This seems to be the way that some Christians think, but it is not the way God thinks. Christians have different gifts, of course. We have different backgrounds. We have different cultures, in some cases. We have different ministries and callings, so there is order in the church. We have different trials and temptations. But there is no difference in our standing before God. And if there is no difference in our standing before God, there should be no differences in our standing with one another.

This is an example of right behaviour with wrong beliefs. Faith in Jesus Christ alone will bring about the right behaviour.

Transition: You can’t discount it behaviour though. a true faith in Jesus Christ will bring about the right behaviour as the Holy Spirit continues to work in you.

Introduction

Right belief with wrong behaviour (11-14)

Peter had forgotten that he has been saved by grace. This is the reverse picture of what happened above. This is a picture of right belief with wrong behaviour.

Intense moment in the church. Think about it, two heavy weights walking in the ring. Paul walks up to Peter and in front of everyone says, “If you, though a jew, live like a Gentiles and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

This is what you need to understand so you get the full picture of what is going on.

The church in a town called Antioch was made of people who were Gentiles, not Jews. d

Right belief with right behaviour (15 - 21)

Loosing focus of the gospel will bring wrong beliefs.  (1-10)

A wrong view of what the gospel is produces wrong motives.

Application, so what?:

This comes out in what we do. Look, if you are serving in the church based on a sense of duty, it comes out. The gospel reorients our serving, our actions, our interactions in light of the what God has done for us by his grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

passionless church

harsh with each other

serving out of duty

The important part to remember about this section is what is happening.

But when we have the right belief with the right behaviour which comes out of faith in Jesus Christ, everything begins to change.

vs 1. - “taking Titus along with me” = daring move. Because he was a Greek rather than a Jew, Titus was uncircumcised. And if anything was bound to enrage the Judaizers, it was bringing an uncircumcised man into their holy city! Circumcision meant everything to the Jews. It was the sacred mark of Jewish identity, the symbol of salvation. Since the days of Abraham,it had been the visible sign of belonging to God’s people. According to the command of God (), circumcision determined whether someone was inside or outside the covenant.

In the past, if a Gentile decided to become a Jew, he had to be circumcised. This was what the law required. Then Paul came along with his law-free gospel, preaching the good news of the cross and the empty tomb. He said that Jesus Christ had already met the requirements of the law, so that circumcision didn’t even matter. All it took to belong to God was faith in Jesus Christ. Titus served as the perfect test case for the freedom of Paul’s gospel. Here was a man who had received Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Did he or did he not also have to meet the requirements of the law, epitomized by circumcision?

The issue whether Gentile believers should be circumcised could not be discussed simply in the abstract because Titus was in their midst: Was he to be welcomed as a brother in Christ or told that he needed to be circumcised?

4 - “False brothers” These false teachers were saying that Titus had to be circumcised. An action that was done in order to be made right before God.

Big blow to the gospel if he had been since it would be adding human requirements as necessary for salvation. Titus wasn’t compelled.

More than that, the leaders in the church in Jerusalem not only agreed that Paul was an apostle, but that his gospel that he had been proclaiming 14 years before was right.

Flash back to a few sermons ago. We looked at how legalism was defined as working in our own power according to our own rules to get God’s favour.

Because they had lost focus of the gospel, it came out in their beliefs. Their beliefs created second class citizens of the kingdom of God.

Circumcision is no longer a hot topic for the church, but the deeper issue here is still relevant. Paul regarded circumcision as a example for the entire law (see ); it represented law-keeping in general. Paul isn’t fighting against circumcision because he was fighting for something fundamental to Christianity at all times and in all places: What does it take to become a first-class member of God’s family? Is it simply a matter of faith in Christ, or is there something else, too?

Circumcision is no longer a hot topic for the church, but the deeper issue here is still relevant. Paul regarded circumcision as a synecdoche for the entire law (see ); it represented law-keeping in general. Thus the apostle was fighting for something fundamental to Christianity at all times and in all places: What does it take to become a first-class member of God’s family? Is it simply a matter of faith in Christ, or is there something else, too?

Application: Our problem may not be circumcision or jewish law, but there’s a host of things we might do that fall into this right behaviour with wrong briefs category: having a quiet time, studying the Bible, avoiding certain sins, coming to worship, helping other people, serving in the church. All these are good things, but when we do them thinking we are earning God’s favour, we are becoming legalistic. We are all born with a sinful nature, thinking we can get better standing before God. And we still struggle with this even when God saves us by his grace. How many times have you read your Bible to simply check it off your list rather than be reminded of the good news of Jesus Christ? We need to fight it by daily reminding ourselves of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

When we loose sight of the gospel, we treat others as second-class citizens in the kingdom of God. But the answer is that there are no second-class Christians. How could there be? Every Christian is saved exactly the same way: by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Therefore, there can be no discrimination in the church. The church cannot exclude people from salvation on the basis of race, gender, class, age, or anything else. The church cannot even discriminate on the basis of relative righteousness. Christians have a way of ranking sins. If someone is struggling with pride and lust, that’s okay. Who isn’t? But someone who is battling with depression, or whose marriage is falling apart, or who is tempted to commit homosexual sin, or who is addicted to drugs had better keep it quiet. Otherwise, people will know that he or she does not really belong in the church.

This seems to be the way that some Christians think, but it is not the way God thinks. Christians have different gifts, of course. We have different backgrounds. We have different cultures, in some cases. We have different ministries and callings, so there is order in the church. We have different trials and temptations. But there is no difference in our standing before God. And if there is no difference in our standing before God, there should be no differences in our standing with one another.

The false teachers had lost focus of the gospel and it came out in their beliefs.

vs 9 - “They gave the right hand of fellowship” The false brothers message was not what the other apostles preach. (ESVSB): This is significant, because it shows that neither Paul nor the Jerusalem apostles had to change their gospel message, but they were fully in agreement, and this “right hand of fellowship” gave clear expression to that agreement.

›This is an example of right behaviour with wrong beliefs. Faith in Jesus Christ alone will natural come out in our actions.

Vs. 10 - ”Remember the poor” Paul’s concern for the poor as evidenced here is in accord with the broader principle demonstrated throughout Scripture that genuine preaching of the gospel in every age must be accompanied by the meeting of physical needs as well, just as Jesus healed the sick and cast out demons along with his preaching ministry.

When we loose focus of the gospel, it gives us the wrong perspective and have the wrong beliefs.

Transition: You can’t discount it behaviour though. a true faith in Jesus Christ will bring about the right behaviour as the Holy Spirit continues to work in you.

Loosing focus of the Gospel will bring wrong actions.  (11-14)

Peter had forgotten that he has been saved by grace. This is the reverse picture of what happened above. This is a picture of right belief with wrong behaviour.

Intense moment in the church. Think about it, two heavy weights walking in the ring. Paul walks up to Peter and in front of everyone says, “If you, though a jew, live like a Gentiles and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

This is what you need to understand so you get the full picture of what is going on.

The church in a town called Antioch was made of people who were Gentiles, not Jews. When Peter came to this church, he began eating and spending time with these people. That may not really seem like a big deal, but it was for a Jewish man like Peter to be hanging out with non-Jewish people. For centuries, Jews were not allowed to be around non-Jews. There were dietary laws and other commandments intended to keep Jews from intermingling with Gentiles and being corrupted by their ideology and immorality.

Gentiles ate stuff that Jews weren’t, like bacon. Even sitting at a table with a non-Jew was sometime considered unclean. Jesus got into trouble with this in when he was eating with tax collectors.

For Peter the story starts in where God tells Peter to go and meet with a guy named Cornelius. God tells him to do it by giving him a dream of a blanket of what was considered unclean food. Jesus tells him a few times, “What God has made clean, you must not call common.” This happened three times. So Peter goes and visits Cornelius, preaches the Gospel, and the Cornelius’s whole family got saved. The Holy Spirit was poured out on the Gentiles. Even back then in the church, people weren’t happy about what Peter had done, but Peter explained that when the Gentiles believed in Jesus Christ, the Gentiles received the Holy Spirit.

You know what the reaction was to Peter’s comments? says, When they heard this they become silent. Then they glorified God, saying, ‘So God has granted repentance resulting in life even to the Gentiles!”. It’s with this in mind that Paul says what he says in verse 11 to 14.

vs. 11 - Galatians 2:11–12 (ESVSB): Paul saw that Peter’s behavior threatened the gospel of justification by faith alone because it implied that all Christians had to “live like Jews” (2:14) in order to be justified before God.

Vs. 12 - Peter used to eat with the Gentiles, but stopped. This was the same guy who preached the gospel to them. Other Christians started following Peter’s lead.

Vs. 14 - “But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth...” This is the right belief with the wrong behaviour.

Peter had lost focus of the Gospel that had saved him and it was coming out in his actions,

Application: We don’t have the same issues, but do you see what happens when we loose sight of the Gospel? When we loose sight of the gospel, it changes how we treat one another. There is a lot that is our wealthy, self-indulgent lifestyles that is not in line with the truth of the gospel. If someone came to preach the good news of the gospel of to the poor and the powerless, but then ignores the poor and the powerless, that’s out of line with the gospel. I true belief in the gospel creates consistency in ones life, not hypocrisy. If someone is a follower of Jesus but is still living in sexual immorality, there’s hypocrisy, because it is out with the good news of the gospel and actually says it isn’t so good. Or talk and teach about the love of Christ but not love your brother or sister in the same way that you have been loved.

I hope you see that there is a direct correlation between your profession of faith and your expression of grace to the hopeles.

It’s not legalistic for Christian to confront sin and hypocrisy that, even if it’s the Apostle Peter who needs to be confronted.

When we loose focus of the gospel, it gives us the wrong perspective and have the wrong motives.

Having the gospel in focus gives us the right  belief  with right beliefs and actions.  (15 - 21)

A wrong view of what the gospel is produces wrong motives and beliefs. Keeping the gospel in focus gives us the right perspective so that we will have the right beliefs and motives.

With a focus on the gospel we will see that it is only through Faith in Christ, we are accepted before God.

Vss. 15 - 16 - How can anyone, Jew or Gentile, be found righteous in God’s eyes (as any must be who would belong to God’s people)? Because as verse 21 says, if salvation comes through our actions, Christ’s death was “for no purpose.”

Vss. 16-17 - We are justified by faith.

Paul is being forceful here. He is driving home the point that justification is indispensable in terms of how we think of the gospel and the Christian life.

—> Justification is the gracious act of God by which God declares sinners righteous solely through faith in Jesus Christ.

The gospel bring the right belief with the right behaviour because it reminds us that we are justification is the gracious act of God.

Psalm 143:1–2 ESV

Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my pleas for mercy! In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness! Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.

The Gospel brings the right belief with the right behaviour because it reminds us that justification is the gracious act of God by which God declares. Word picture of judge declaring his judgment. You know you’re guilty. Judge says your guilty. But ands the end.

In justification, God takes a sinner, a guilty sinner, and declares him righteous.

The Gospel brings the right motive because justification is solely through faith in Jesus Christ. There’s a great book that asks this questions: Hoiw are you righteous before God?

Only by by true faith in Jesus Christ. Although my conscience accuses me that I have grievously sinned against all God’s commandments, have never kept any of them, and am still inclined to all evil, yet, God, without any merits of my own, out of mere grace, imputes to me the perfect satisfaction, righteous, and holiness of Christ. He grants these to me as if I had never had nor committed any sin, and as if I myself had accomplished all the obedience which Christ has rendered for me, if only I accepted this fit with a believing hearts.

Vss. 18-19 - The Gospel bring the right belief with the right behaviour because it reminds us that through faith in Christ, we are alive to God. Not only are we justified by faith, but we live by faith. There isn’t any room for praying a prayer, supposedly trusting in Jesus, and then living your life the same after that. FAITH ISN”T JUST FOR RECEIVING SALVATION; IT”S ALSO FOR ENABLING US TO LIVE OUT SALVATION.

Vs. 20 - We living every day, every moment, by faith. Verse 19: Dying to the Law; Verse 20: Live by faith

So what?

This comes out in what we do. Look, if you are serving in the church based on a sense of duty, it comes out. The gospel reorients our serving, our actions, our interactions in light of the what God has done for us by his grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE LOOSE FOCUS OF THE GOSPEL?

passionless church and passionless service

harsh with each other

We complain about things that either don’t matter or are actually counter to the gospel.

But when we have the right belief with the right behaviour which comes out of faith in Jesus Christ, everything begins to change.

There’s passion, because we remember that everything we are doing is not for us, but for the God who called us out of darkness into his marvellous light. From objects of wrath to children of God.

We treat each other as God has treated us. We love each other as we have been loved.

There’s nothing to complain about because we have the best gift already.

HOW DO WE KEEP THE GOSPEL IN FOCUS SO THAT WE WILL HAVE THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE

By being in the gospel yourself. Immerse yourself in the Bible. There are great resources to help you with that. Two of my favourites are Youversion and

By being in the gospel yourself. Immerse yourself in the Bible. There are great resources to help you with that. Two of my favourites are Youversion and PrayerMate.

PrayerMate.

Gathering together as a community to preach and sing the gospel

Have relationships with others that point you to the gospel and encourage you with the gospel. Be in community that is centred around the gospel.

Go out and share the gospel with others. This isn’t rocket science, there is no tricks or gimmicks. This is how God has planned for us to grow in our relationship with him and to keep our focus.

Get into the Bible and read It, because do you feel like your faith is weak? It is owing to the fact that you don’t know the object of your faith well enough. But when Jesus Christ becomes progressively bigger, or better yet, your understanding of who is progresssivly conforms to reality, your faith will become increasingly stronger. But how does that happen? By immersing yourself in the faith-arousing Word of God. Read of Jesus Christ!

The same powerful Word that long ago brought the universe to life is the same Word that can bring you to life and furnish you with a faith that is truly and authentically Christian.

Keeping the gospel in focus gives us the right perspective so that we will have the right beliefs and motives.

GO BACK OVER THE POINTS!!!!