The Source of our Justification
Notes
Transcript
This morning we embark in part three of our study of Galatians 2. The last half of this chapter presents a great deal of information that simply cannot be covered in one setting. Paul unloads a truck-load of gospel truth within a few verses and this truth needs to be unpacked carefully.
Remember, the point behind writing this letter in the first place was to set the record straight. False truths were spreading and masquerading as the gospel message. Paul referred to this false message as no gospel at all. It was leading people away for the truth.
So far, this mini series has looked at some pretty loaded topics.
One, God does not judge by external appearances. God does not show favoritism. We saw this in Galatians 2:6-10. Such action
Two, Paul opposed Peter for his rejection of the Gentile believers. Out of fear of what “certain men” might think if he was seen with the Gentiles, Peter withdrew form fellowship. His self got in the way of his expression of gospel truth. And our main text, Galatians 2:14-21, comes from the rebuke given by Paul to Peter.
When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas 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?
“We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of 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 the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.
“But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker.
“For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
In this text we see a lot of talk regarding Jew and Gentile, law and sin, works and grace. It is all given to bring into the focus the topic on which I am going to preach today.
This topic brings up a reality that all believers live in and enjoy every day. Yet similar to what was going on in Paul’s day, we struggle to understand the fullness of the truth. We often limit its ability or add conditions to it from a lack of understanding. What we will unpack today is justification: Where our justification comes from and how this justification is received.
To set the groundwork for the message today… we need to talk about the basis of our salvation or… why and how is a person saved? What does it mean to be saved?
Sin is a problem that no one can overcome on their own. As God informed Adam in Genesis and Eve and as Romans 6:23 makes clear, the wages of sin is death. With sin comes the inescapable consequence of death.
Sin is disobeying the Lord - going against His Word and His way. Sin is not represented in the Bible as the absence of good, or as an illusion that stems from our human limitations. Sin is portrayed as a real and positive evil. Sin is more than unwise, inexpedient, disastrous behavior that produces sorrow and distress. SIN IS REBELLION AGAINST GOD’S WORD - THE STANDARD OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Because God is righteous and holy, He can have no association with sin. Therefore, where sin is present, there is separation from having fellowship with God.
The hard reality we must face today is found in Romans 3:23. This passage tells us a reality that every human being shares.
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
It is important to note GOD DID NOT CREATE US FOR SIN. According the verse we just looked at, God created us FOR HIS GLORY! We were meant for glory, not sin and hardship. God’s desire was to have forever fellowship with us!
Sin is a reality that we all know. We have all felt and experienced the effects of sin first hand. We cannot save ourselves from sin… therefore we were in desperate need for a Savior. We needed to be saved.
To be “saved” is to be rescued from a situation you could not overcome on your own.
Although there is nothing we can do to escape the consequences of our sin on our own, God provided a way… a means of forgiveness of sin that is powerful and complete. We know that way as salvation.
Jesus died for our sins on the cross. And because He was without sin, His blood has the power to cover ALL SIN. His death… becomes our death. His work on the cross was substitutionary meaning… He took our place. Isaiah 53:5 makes this very clear.
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
Jesus did for us what we could NOT do on our own. His blood breaks the power of sin for all who call on His name!
So with all of this in mind, let’s move to the topic of justification.
Where our Justification comes from.
Where our Justification comes from.
First off… what does this word justification mean and how does it apply to believers?
Justification is the process by which sinful human beings are made acceptable to a holy God. It is a process that we could not do for ourselves.
Once sin entered the picture, humankind was destined to be forever stained by sin until the payment or wages of sin had been satisfied. Death is the only satisfactory payment.
Therefore, because of His love for us, God sent His Son to do for us what we could not do on our own.
Our justification today comes from the love and grace of God.
Christianity is unique because of this teaching - justification by grace. Romans 3:24 makes this teaching very clear.
and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Justification is God’s declaration that the demands of His law have been fulfilled - COMPLETELY SATISFIED - in the righteousness of His Son. The basis for this justification is the death of Jesus Christ.
that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
This reconciliation spoken of covers all sin. Hebrews 10:14 reads,
For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
Justification is based on the work of who? on the work of Christ on the cross.
Watch this: When God justifies, He charges or places the sin of man upon Christ and credits the righteousness of Christ to the believer!
Thus, as Romans 5:18 says,
Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people.
Did we deserve this? NO! Was there anything we could do to earn this? NO! This was an amazing act of love and grace bestowed upon by our heavenly Father! Our being made righteous in the eyes of God required a tremendous sacrifice and a level of love this world had never seen before!
So… if Justification is an act of God’s grace, it it automatically applied to every person on earth?
God’s grace is offered to all… but not all will choose to receive it. In order to receive… in order to be made righteous in the eyes of God, a person must first choose to place their faith in Christ.
How we receive this justification
How we receive this justification
Paul gave the answer to this question in his comments to Peter.
Peter rejected the Gentile believers when “certain men” came into town. These certain men had bee circumcised but the Gentiles had not. These men were placing more emphasis on the work of circumcision instead of emphasizing the redeeming power of Jesus’ blood.
We are NOT justified by our works. We are justified by placing our faith in Jesus Christ.
Our righteousness is NOT obtained by keeping the law but is obtained through the new atonement which is the blood of the spotless lamb.
Although the Lord has paid the price for our justification, it is through our faith that He is received and His righteousness is experienced and enjoyed.
Let’s go back to Romans 3:25-30
God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.
Here’s the deal, when Peter and the Jews that followed him withdrew from the Gentile believers, they were somewhat boasting in their works and in a sense, placing themselves above them while forgetting the true gospel message.
Problem is… NO ONE can be saved by their works. NO ONE can be made righteous by their own actions. Consider the words of Isaiah for a moment regarding our works or “righteous acts.” Isaiah 64:6
All of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf,
and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
Move back to Galatians 2:21… and look what Paul has to say regarding the idea of being saved by works.
I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
If works are emphasized over faith church… we risk declaring that the work Jesus did on the cross was meaningless. Remember Romans 3:30… There is ONE GOD who justifies all BY FAITH!
Now I get it… all this talk of circumcision and Jews and Gentiles can seem somewhat foreign to us today… but church, there are many who still struggle with this concept.
We may not judge based off circumcision but we still have a tendency to build walls between believers based off “works.”
Here’s the deal, If a person is in Christ… they are a new creation. IF A PERSON IS IN CHRIST, THEY ARE A NEW CREATION. Jesus died so that walls could be torn down… not built back up!
Or how about this? We still believe the lies of the enemy when he tries to tell us we’re not good enough or we’ll never be seen as righteous in the eyes of God. Truth be told, NONE OF US ARE GOOD ENOUGH - that’s why this amazing act of grace is so amazing! But if you are in Christ, His righteousness has become your righteousness!
Your being justified as a believer has nothing to do with how good you are but has everything to do with how good God is! HEAR MY WORDS: GOD LOVES YOU and He gave His Son for you that you might spend eternity with Him!
Jesus’ righteousness will not become your righteousness… until you place your faith in Christ.
Place your faith in Jesus
Place your faith in Jesus
So how does a person come to making this decision?
First, we go back to what we talked about in the introduction. ALL of us have sinned and we cannot escape the consequence of our sin on our own.
We need to realize that our sin is an offense against God. Sin is rebellion. Sin is disobedience. Sin brings destruction to our lives and separates us from the presence of God.
We ALL need a Savior. We ALL need to be saved. There is no level of work a person can do to save themselves. There is no way a person can be seen as righteous in the eyes of God on their own. We all need Jesus.
All of us in this room are in the same boat. And for those who are saved, we acknowledge that salvation did not come through our works. We are a product of God’s love and grace.
And God wants to pour out His love and grace on everyone, but in order to be saved… in order to come out from the weight of your sin, you must place your faith in Christ Jesus.
This is a turning point. It is a choice to walk away from sin and to follow Jesus. When we call on His name, His blood is applied and His righteousness becomes our righteousness. This does not mean that we continue in our life of sin but rather it means we completely do away with sin as we come alive in Jesus! Romans 6:11-14 makes this very clear!
Today is all about coming alive in Jesus Christ. Today is all about no longer allowing sin to reign but instead giving all reign of our lives to Jesus.
Are you ready to be made new? Are you ready to be set free? Are you ready to place your faith in Him and receive?
PRAYER - Salvation