[0:00] Galatians chapter 2, and yep, young people can be dismissed. My favorite part of Sunday school in church, watching them go, it's so cute.
[0:23] All right, Galatians chapter 2. We have been talking last week, Paul was giving a defense of grace.
[0:42] He was talking about the importance of grace. And today he's kind of continuing on with that, but he's doing it in such a way where he's talking about we're justified by faith.
[0:52] We're saved by grace and we're justified by faith. And look at chapter 2 beginning at verse 11. Verse 11.
[1:04] But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James. He did eat with Gentiles.
[1:15] But when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him, insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.
[1:31] But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of the Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compelst thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?
[1:49] We who are Jews by nature and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law.
[2:11] For by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. But if, when we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is there for Christ the minister of sin?
[2:24] God forbid! For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I, through the law, am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.
[2:40] Let's stop there and let's pray. Father, be with us now as we look at your word. Lord, open it up to us. Teach us from it. Lord, there are some things here for us to learn, some things that are applicable to today.
[2:53] Lord, we need to be reminded of some things that are in this passage. Lord, help us to have our minds and our ears open. Lord, help us to let the Holy Spirit work in our heart.
[3:07] Lord, I pray that you would do that. And the Holy Spirit would just work here in this church. We'd see you move through here, Lord, and we would be drawn closer to you. We would walk with you. We would show others Christ through our lives.
[3:20] Lord, use us today, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. We come to a portion here in chapter 2 where Paul is continuing to explain the difficulties with the law and why we don't follow the law, why we're not saved by the law, why we don't maintain our salvation by the law.
[3:42] He is still trying to counter the teachings that have been given by the Judaizers. We talked about who they were in past ones. He says, look, trying to do this thing with the law and follow the law is causing good men to stumble, causing good men to kind of hesitate in their walk with the Lord.
[4:04] Go back to chapter 1 there for a second. Chapter 1, beginning at verse 6. Notice what he said there at the beginning of this book. He says, He says, There are some out there who are trying to pervert the gospel.
[4:31] They're trying to get you to go backwards. He says, look, Satan is always trying to push us back. He always wants us to get us to go backwards. He says, he may use unbelievers.
[4:42] He may use backslidden believers. He may even use well-intentioned believers to get us off track and to get us to go the wrong direction.
[4:53] So, what does he tell us about? This is happening and these things are going on in that church in Galatia. And he says, look, first of all, let me tell you about a time I had with Peter.
[5:06] Remember, Paul has been trying to prove to them his apostleship way back at the beginning of the book when he starts off Paul an apostle. He's been trying to, those Judaizers keep questioning, keep trying to discredit Paul as being having any authority because he's not an apostle like the others.
[5:25] Paul says, yes, I am. And a matter of fact, Peter and I had to talk one day about some things because he was getting it wrong.
[5:35] You think about who Peter is. Peter's one of the original 12. Peter's one who walked with Jesus for three and a half years. Peter's one of the inner circle. Peter, James, John, he's one of the inner circle.
[5:48] And Paul says, I had to talk to Peter one day. But I want you to notice, he says, I withstood Peter. I had to come up against him. I had to resist him.
[5:59] I had to oppose him. Really? You went against Peter? Peter's also the one, remember at the beginning of the book of Acts, on the day of Pentecost, he preached a message and 3,000 people were saved.
[6:10] You're going up against Peter? He says, yes, I had to. I had to talk to him. But notice what he says. He says, I withstood him to the face. Catch that.
[6:23] I withstood him to the face. What does that mean? He says, I went and I talked to him. There was no backbiting, no slander, no gossip.
[6:39] No, I went and talked to him, face to face. He said, Peter and I had a problem, and I went and I talked to him.
[6:50] So often, that doesn't happen today. People do not talk to one another about things that are going on. If you've got a problem, go talk to the person. We'll talk about that in just a minute.
[7:03] I've been using some different commentaries. The main one I'm using is written by Paul Chappell. And in there, he had this little story. My name is Gossip. I have no respect for justice.
[7:15] I maim without killing. I break hearts and ruin lives. I am cunning and malicious and gather strength with age. The more I am quoted, the more I am believed.
[7:30] My victims are helpless. They cannot protect themselves against me because I have no name and face. To track me down is impossible. The harder you try, the more elusive I become.
[7:42] I am nobody's friend. Once I tarnish a reputation, it is never the same. I topple governments, wreck marriages. I make headlines and headaches.
[7:54] I ruin careers and cause sleepless nights, heartaches, and indigestion. I make innocent people cry in their pillows.
[8:07] Even my name hisses. I am called Gossip. Don't know who wrote that, but somebody did, and it's a pretty good description of what gossip is.
[8:20] I remember reading one time a story. I don't know if it's true or not, but a lady came to a pastor, and she was talking to him, and she said, I guess something has been bothering me.
[8:33] She said, I spread some gossip. I said some things about somebody that I shouldn't have said, and I want to get it right, and I want to take care of it. She said, but I don't know exactly how to, you know, it's out there in the community and people know.
[8:51] He said, here's what I want you to do. I want you to go home. I want you to find a feather pillow, and then I want you to come back here to the church, I want you to go up in the belfry.
[9:02] I want you to rip that pillow open and let all the feathers go. Okay. So she did that. She went home, came back, went up, opened the pillow, let it go.
[9:13] Then she came back down and found him, and she said, I did what you said. I opened the pillow, all the feathers. He says, now I want you to go pick up every feather. That's impossible.
[9:24] There's no way. Maybe they could fly off in the wind anywhere. They could be, and I don't know which feathers were all in the pillow and stuff. He said, exactly. Once you spread gossip, there's no way of bringing it back.
[9:40] You might try, you might talk to different people and things, but there's no way to get it all back. You need to be so very careful about that. Reminds me, I read a quote by a pastor evangelist by the name of Leonard Ravenhill.
[9:57] He's an old-time pastor evangelist, and he said this. He said, we never pray for folks we gossip about, and we never gossip about the folks for whom we pray.
[10:14] Think about that for a second. We never pray for the folks we gossip about, and we never gossip about the folks for whom we pray.
[10:27] Make sure you're praying for people, not talking about them. He says there in verse 11, that he went to him, face to the face, because he was to be blamed.
[10:45] He was to be blamed. It was his fault. It was Peter's fault. What was going on? He says, Peter was to blame for the circumstances and everything, and Paul went to him and confronted him face to face to deal with that problem.
[10:58] That's the biblical way. That's a biblical example of how to handle things when they come into your life. Most of you are probably familiar with Matthew 18. Matthew 18, verse 15, it says this, Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him, what's the next word?
[11:22] Alone. Go tell him between him, thee and him, alone thou hast gained thy brother. When you go and you talk to the person, don't talk to other people.
[11:36] Don't go say, Steve has been doing this and this and this. Margie, let me tell you about what Steve has been doing. Steve, ooh, it's bad.
[11:47] We need to pray for him, Margie. We do that a lot, don't we? We spread gossip in the form of, you need to be praying for so-and-so. You can be praying for so-and-so, there's an issue that needs to be handled, pray for it.
[12:03] You don't have to give all the details about everything. Be careful about how we handle the, if you go on, we don't, I don't have the verses up there, but if you go on, verse 16 says, if that doesn't work, take one or two people with you.
[12:20] If that doesn't work, then he says, then you bring it to the church. But he says, you go to him alone first. You don't spread it around. If I go and say, Josh over there, oh, I'm gonna, Josh, let me tell you about Josh.
[12:36] Well, does it really matter to you what's going on with Josh? It doesn't affect you in any way. It has nothing to do with you. So why would I tell you about what's going on with Josh? We need to be so very careful.
[12:50] The problem between Paul and Peter had to do with Peter's place with the Gentiles. Peter's place with the Gentiles. Look at verse 12. He says, for before that certain came from James.
[13:04] Now, who's James, remember? James is the head of the church in Jerusalem. Church in Jerusalem, Jewish. He says, before the certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles.
[13:15] Why wouldn't Peter eat with the Gentiles? Remember when the sheet came down, he was up on top of the house praying and a sheet came down and he got the message that he was supposed to go to Cornelius, a Roman centurion, to take the message of the gospel?
[13:29] And Peter's like, no, no, nothing unclean. If I ever, God said, what I call clean, don't you dare call unclean. And he sent Peter to Cornelius, a Gentile, to take the gospel to him.
[13:44] So here he says, Peter's been eating with the Gentiles. He's been spending time with the Gentiles. He says, but, middle of verse 12, when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.
[14:02] And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him, insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. He says, look, Peter's been fellowshipping with the Gentile believers there at the church in Antioch.
[14:16] Everything's been good until some Jews showed up from James and from the church in Jerusalem. and then Peter suddenly is going to separate himself from those different ones, from those Gentiles.
[14:32] And the effect was actually proving the point of the Judaizers. Yeah, yeah, we can't have anything to do with them. They're not doing the things like we're doing. They're not holding the law like we're holding.
[14:43] They're not doing the rituals like we're doing. And Paul's going to Peter and going, Peter, you can't do that. And he says, Peter, people are watching.
[14:58] Remember we sing a song here? I saw Jesus and you. Peter, they're watching. You're an example. You're teaching them by the lifestyle that you have.
[15:11] And they are separating themselves from the Gentiles. Others, not just you, but others are following you. Even Barnabas. Barnabas, who's been on a missionary journey with Paul.
[15:23] Barnabas, who went and looked for Paul and brought him to Antioch. Barnabas is even getting caught up in this. Oh, I can't spend time with the Gentiles. Not while the Jewish people are here.
[15:34] He says, no, no, no, no. He says there in the middle of verse 12, but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, he was going to be and separated himself, he was going to be and separated himself, fearing them of the circumstances. Paul has a problem with compromise.
[15:49] Paul has a problem with compromise. He says there in verse 13 about them dissimulation in verse 14, But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles and not as do the Jews, why compelst thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?
[16:18] When they weren't here, you were fine walking with the Gentiles. Now that they're here, you want the Gentiles to act like them. Why? So Paul's saying, No.
[16:30] And you're influencing those around me who have helped me take the gospel to the Gentiles. Second thing, Paul then makes a case for the gospel.
[16:41] He makes a case for the gospel. Look at verse 15. He says, We who are Jews by nature and not sinners of the Gentiles, Okay, so those of us who are Jews, those of us that follow the law, those of us who have gone through all the things it takes to be a Jew and do what God has told us to do, had told us to do.
[17:00] He says, We're not sinners like the Gentiles. We have a background. We know God. We know what God wants. He goes on, he says, Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, not by the works of the law, for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
[17:28] Paul says, Look, there's a way for justification. There's a way to be just as if I had never sinned. There's a way for me to be clean before God.
[17:39] And he says, First of all, it is not by works. It is not by works that we've done. Sometimes we fool ourselves into thinking that we have something to do with our salvation.
[17:52] Sometimes we fool ourselves and thinking that we play a part. You know, maybe we don't think we had a part in the salvation, but we have a part in maintaining it. We had people who came here for a while who believed that you get saved by Jesus, but you maintained your salvation by the works that you do.
[18:12] And, no, that is wrong. That is not scriptural. That is not according to what God's word says. Reminds me, I've read a story, a little girl. She was asked in Sunday school, who made you?
[18:30] She said, well, God did in part. God did in part? She said, yep, he made me little, but I growed for myself from then on. Okay, and it tells mine, I can see that.
[18:44] But, no, God did it all. Jesus paid it all. He did all the work. We don't do anything. Romans chapter 3, verse 20, it says this, therefore, excuse me, therefore, by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
[19:09] He says, the law doesn't save you. The law gives you knowledge of sin. Again, we're going to come to this as we go through Galatians, but the law is a schoolmaster. The law showed us that we were sinners.
[19:23] The law showed us that we could not keep the law on our own. The law showed us we needed a Savior. That's what the law's purpose was, not to save us, but to show us we need a Savior because we can't do it on our own.
[19:37] Titus 3, 5 says this, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, not by works of righteousness which we have done.
[19:55] We did absolutely nothing. Jesus paid it all. He did it all. He says, so it's not by works, it is by faith, by faith that we are saved.
[20:09] Going on in Romans chapter 3, verses 21 and 22, but now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God which is by faith in Jesus Christ unto all and upon all of them that believe, for there is no difference.
[20:33] He says we are all saved in the same way. We are all saved because of the righteousness of God that we have by faith in Jesus Christ.
[20:45] When Jesus comes into our life, we receive the righteousness of Christ. When Jesus comes into our life, we have him. The reason we are saved is because he has provided the way.
[21:01] John 14, 6, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. We go through Jesus Christ and him alone. So he talks about the way of righteousness which is through Jesus Christ.
[21:14] He also talks about the work of righteousness there in verse 16 when he talked about the fact that it is through faith in Christ that we have justified.
[21:27] 1 John 2, verses 1 and 2. My little children, these things write I unto you that ye sin not.
[21:39] And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. And he is the propitiation for our sin and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
[21:54] Jesus Christ is the propitiation. Jesus Christ is the covering. Jesus Christ is the one who takes our sin away. Jesus Christ took care of our sin.
[22:10] And it says not for ours only but he did it for the sins of the whole world. He did it for everyone who would come and trust in him. Everyone who would ask him to come and be their savior.
[22:21] There's an old hymn. Through the love of God our Savior. And in that hymn it says this. Precious is the blood that healed us.
[22:35] Perfect is the grace that sealed us. Strong is the hand stretched forth to shield us. all must be well.
[22:49] Precious is the blood that healed us. Jesus Christ blood shed on that cross gave us the forgiveness of sin that we needed.
[23:00] And then it says perfect is the grace that sealed us. God's grace God's riches God's redemption at Christ's expense sealed us. His blood saved us His grace sealed us and it says and strong the hand stretched forth to shield us.
[23:19] God's hand keeping Satan at bay keeping us in his hand he takes us and draws us in. Remember one part talks about the fact that in John we are in his hands and he is in God's hands.
[23:37] We are protected we are taken care it shields us. And it says all must be well. If you have Jesus Christ as your Savior if you have His grace surrounding you you have His hands over you all will you are taken care of you are protected.
[23:58] Then Paul gives a little bit of a commentary on this situation. He gives a little bit of a commentary and he says first of all Christ does not cause sin. Look at verse 17.
[24:08] But if while we seek to be justified by Christ we ourselves also are found sinners is therefore Christ the minister of sin?
[24:20] God forbid. We're saved. God has come. Jesus has come. We are saved. We are trusting in Him.
[24:31] Are we still going to sin? Yes. Because we have a sinful nature. But if we're in Christ and Christ is taking care of us we sin He must be the one causing it.
[24:42] Right? That's what some were saying. And he says no, no, no, no, no. God forbid. God can't be in the presence of sin. God can't have sin in His presence. Jesus came to take care of that.
[24:56] Don't ever say that God caused you. You know those of you who are older remember Flip Wilson the devil made me do it.
[25:08] Okay, that one I might be able to buy. Little theological problems were there but okay. I might be able to buy. But to say that God caused me to do something? No. God says no.
[25:19] Can't have sin in my presence. Can't have it. In 1 John chapter 5 chapter 3 verse 5 he says and ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins and in Him is no sin.
[25:37] He says He came to take away our sins. In Him is no sin. God is never going to cause us to sin. God is never going to cause us to go wrong. God is never going to lead us astray.
[25:49] He says because in Him is no sin. And going backwards going back to the law is sin because whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
[26:00] Romans 14 23 whatsoever is not of faith is sin. He says faith in God and Jesus Christ and Him alone. Jesus alone by His grace alone through faith alone.
[26:14] Nothing else. We don't want to frustrate the grace of God. We don't want to add things to the grace of God. We want God to be honored and glorified and lifted up.
[26:29] Jesus Christ did it all. And we must not cause doubt. We must not cause doubt. Look at verse 18.
[26:41] For if I build again the things which I destroyed I make myself a transgressor. For I through the law am dead through the law that I might live unto God.
[26:56] He says look I can't be saying you're saved by grace but add this. You're saved by grace so do this work. He said I taught you way back in chapter one.
[27:08] He says I taught you that anybody who comes to you and says that you have to add anything. Anyone who comes to you with another gospel. He says let that man be accursed.
[27:21] He says if I come to you and say I told you it's all by the grace of God but you know what don't forget to add this and this and this he says don't believe it don't buy it he says I told you the gospel through Christ alone.
[27:42] What happens if we start adding other things? Paul told the first Corinthians in first Corinthians in first Corinthians 14 8 he says for if the trumpet give an uncertain sound who shall prepare himself to the battle?
[27:57] He says if I come to you and I say you are saved by grace now just add this and add this and add this you'll be good. He says no no no no that's an uncertain sound that's not the sound that you want to hear you want to hear grace alone by faith alone through Jesus alone that's all he says you're given an uncertain sound if you do anything else he says look you can't force the Gentiles to observe laws that you couldn't keep yourself we talked about that last week so it's interesting he's confronting Peter because you remember last week we were talking about Acts chapter 15 Peter was the one who said we couldn't keep the law our fathers couldn't keep the law why would you add that to the Gentiles remember Peter's the one that said that in Acts chapter 15 and now
[28:57] Paul's having to confront him about that very thing he says look don't depend on the law today we don't have this issue with Judaism we know that you know you don't add the law you don't add the sacrifices you don't add all those things but we do have the same problem same problem just different terminology you have to come to Jesus Christ and know him and be saved by him and by his grace and you just accept all of that and be baptized doesn't say that you come to Jesus you accept his gift of grace to you by faith you trust in him and when you do you speak in tongues no it doesn't say that you come to him and you come to church or whatever you should come to church because the
[29:58] Bible says that we're going to get to that in Hebrews we're in Hebrews in Sunday school we're going to get to that next week but he doesn't say that either by grace through faith in Christ alone do not be adding anything to it do not go backwards he says we must hold the truth the salvation comes by grace alone so what do I take away from today when I'm sharing the gospel with someone I teach them about the grace of God and that alone Jesus Christ came he died he was buried he rose again he ascended back to heaven and is now sitting at the right hand of the father we talked about that in Sunday school this morning that's the gospel right there nothing else added to it we need to remember that and we need to remember the first part if you have a problem with someone like
[31:06] Paul did with Peter how do you you go to him alone let's pray dear father we thank you