Becoming Justified Before God

Let's get into Galatians chapter 2.

Galatians 2 · chapter mention

We're going to read from verse 11

The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy

so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.

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 are 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

not by the works of the law

because by the works of the law no one will be justified.

But even 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 die to the law

so that I might live for God.

I've been crucified with Christ

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.

And so Father it's our prayer

as we come to your word this morning

your living and active words

we pray that you would pierce our hearts

and our souls

and our minds

and our intentions.

Lord may we leave here this morning

with a bigger view of who you are

and a bigger appreciation

and affection for your Son

in whose name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Well there's a meme that so often

every so often

it surfaces on my social media feed.

I wonder if you've seen this.

It's the famous scene

painted by American Norman Rockwell

of a man standing up

and speaking

at a town meeting.

And it always makes me think of that saying

that we so often use in our culture.

See if you can complete it for me here.

We use this phrase

it goes like this

that's not a hill

that I'm prepared to

die on.

Which invites the question

like the man in the picture

doesn't it?

Which hills

are?

Here's what you need to know

about Galatians chapter 2 today

Galatians 2 · chapter mention

the second half.

This

is

Paul's

hill.

and it comes

it presents itself

at an absolutely

critical junction

in the life

of the

early church.

And by the end of this

friends

we're going to be

so glad

that he did.

And just in case you're here

and you're thinking

he's talking about what

this morning?

Hardly understood

understood about 60%

of the words

in that reading.

What on earth

is going on?

A church squabble?

Do me a favour.

Let me engage you

for a minute.

Here's why I love you

whoever you are here today

whatever you think

about the God

of the Bible

we love that you're here.

Here's what I'd love

to engage you with

this morning.

The cash out

of this

if you hang on

in there

is the very

thing that

this week in

particular

has made

us long

for.

The very

thing that

our multicultural

multi-ethnic

hostile

and fractured

world

strives

and longs

for

but for

all the money

and all

the talks

in the world

cannot seem

to achieve.

Do you know

what it is?

It is unity

in

diversity.

If you're just

joining us

in this series

this is a great

one for you

to tap into

maybe you think

I've missed

the first couple

of chapters

you can go

back and listen

to that on

the website

if you'd like

but let me

tell you why

we thought

this was a

great one

to do

this Sunday

to get us

back into

this letter

particularly

if this is

your first

one in

this series.

What we're

taking in

this morning

is the

theological

heart

centre

of this

letter.

If you like

verses 15

and 16

have a look

at it

there.

This is

the middle

of the

Galatians

mind map.

Mind

Now I ran

that past

Bogdan

during the

week

he says

people today

don't talk

about mind

maps

is it

more

vision

flowing

statements

I don't

know what

they call

them these

days

but you

can tell

I'm a

millennial

mind

maps

okay

I still

draw in

mind

maps

verses 15

and 16

this is

the middle

of the

Galatians

mind

map

and if

you're

like our

family

you love

to watch

that TV

game show

called

catchphrase

you'll know

that the

middle

solves the

riddle

the middle

solves the

riddle

okay

always a

great thing

to look

for if

you're

coming to

a book

of the

Bible

no matter

how long

or short

that will

help you

understand

what it's

all about

the middle

solves the

riddle

if you

can get

to the

why

the purpose

the big

idea

you get

to that

everything

else will

begin to

fall into

place

the middle

solves

the riddle

15 and

16

are the

middle

of the

riddle

because

here is

the debate

up for

grabs

in Galatia

there's the

region on

the map

that Paul's

writing to

here's the

question

how is

somebody

made right

with God

how is

somebody

made right

with God

and

these

Judaizers

Paul calls

them the

circumcision

group here

have

waltzed

into

these

churches

in

Galatia

and they

are saying

how is

someone

made right

with God

it is

Jesus

plus

what we

do

it is

Jesus

plus

obedience

to the

law

it's

Jesus

plus

circumcision

and Paul

responds

in true

parent

style

do you

see how

in these

verses

he doesn't

say his

answer

once

he doesn't

say his

answer

twice

he says

his answer

three times

do you see

it there

we are

justified

before God

and that

word if you're

new to it

this morning

it just

means to

be declared

right in

the sight

of

we are

declared

justified

in the

sight of

this God

not by

works of

the law

or our

efforts

we are

declared

justified

by

faith

in

Jesus

Christ

we are

saved

and this

is what

we've been

saying over

the last

number of

weeks

the

reformation

mantra

we are

saved by

grace

alone

grace

just that

word meaning

God's

undeserved

favour

right

grace

alone

through

faith

alone

we'll

come back

to that

word

in a

minute

grace

alone

faith

alone

in

Christ

alone

there's

one

way

to be

right

with

God

and what

this

does

when we

really

get it

it

both

humbles

the

proud

and it's

also great

news for

those who

are at

rock

bottom

and think

no way

could I

ever hope

to know

the God

of the

universe

the three

in one

God

that

Sam

was telling

us about

a minute

ago

do you

see what

it is

it humbles

the proud

it is

good news

for those

at rock

bottom

because it

raises

us up

the gospel

is not

that Jesus

has done

something

no through

his life

and his

death on

the cross

Jesus

has done

not

something

but

everything

and like

one of

those crazy

fall

backwards

trust

exercises

that you

used to

do in

team

building

days

when I

was

a young

person

trying to

get through

the workplace

the gospel

call

is to

trust

fully

in

and

collapse

totally

into

the arms

of an

all

sufficient

Jesus

and that's

the hill

that Paul's

willing to

die on

15 and

16 friends

are the

middle of

the riddle

now here's

two things

that we're

going to

take and

learn from

this passage

this morning

as we think

about how we

apply this

theological

centre to

our lives

here's

number one

here's the

big

two big

lessons

that we

learn here

number one

is this

Jesus died

so that

there would

be

one

church

he died

so that

there would

be one

church

come with

me to

verse 11

just in

case you're

confused with

the language

there

Cephas

is Peter

it's the

same guy

and Peter

is someone

who Paul

has just

esteemed

back at

verse 9

of chapter

2

as one

of the

pillars

of the

early

church

do you

see him

call him

that

a pillar

because

his

eyewitness

testimony

to Jesus

and his

teachings

who he

was up

and saw

everything

close and

personal

for three

years

this is

the bedrock

on which

the witness

of the

church

is built

Peter

Cephas

has made

his way

to where

do you

see the

place

the geography

he's made

his way

to

Antioch

now

Antioch

is important

in the

life of

the early

church

because it

is if

you like

the base

of the

international

spreading of

the gospel

to the

nations

it's also

the place

where people

are first

called

Christians

and I

love that

because

according to

the Bible

a Christian

is not a

box that

you tick

that is

not what

it means

to be a

Christian

a Christian

is a

nickname

that you

get

because of

the kind

of life

that people

see that

you live

to be a

Christian

if you want

to be

technical

it literally

means

little

Christ

and so

that's

what people

in this

city

this

multicultural

Gentile

city

of

Antioch

they

looked at

the early

Christians

and they

gave them

that name

you are

little

Christ

and it's

Peter's

behaviour

there

in that

city

that's

caused

the issue

come with

me to

verse 12

do you see

Peter was

eating

with the

Gentiles

now the

Greek

grammar

of that

word

suggests

that this

wasn't

just

a

one-off

thing

this was

something

that he

had done

on a

regular

basis

he was

eating

with them

now that

might not

appear a

big deal

to us

but can

I just

maybe

slam on

the brakes

for a

minute

and help

us see

that that

is

massive

it is

massive

to eat

with someone

in this

day

kind of

still is

today

but much

more

in that

day

is to

welcome

somebody

into your

life

and even

approve

of somebody

and that's

why you can

make a good

case in Luke's

gospel that is

exactly why

Jesus is

killed

because he's

eating

with the

wrong

kind of

people

eating

with somebody

in this

day is

a

massive

thing

and Jews

didn't

eat

with

Gentiles

but Peter

has this

vision in

Acts chapter

Acts 10 · chapter mention

10

you can

maybe

scribble

it down

and look

at it

in your

own time

of a

sheep

coming down

from heaven

and this

sheep

is full

of all

sorts

of

different

animals

animals

that a

Jew

in Peter's

day

would

never

eat

but the

voice comes

from heaven

saying

rise

Peter

take

and eat

and again

doesn't say

it once

says it

doesn't say

twice

says it

three times

because this

is so

radical

the old

distinctions

are now

gone

Jesus has

smashed

the dividing

barriers

down

and the

way of

salvation

they offer

a faith

is to be

offered to

the peoples

of the

world

and so

Peter's

in Antioch

back in

the

context

he's

eaten

with the

Gentiles

massive

deal

that is

until

certain men

come from

James

do you see

that

so

certain

men

James

it's hard

to know

whether

they're

legit

or not

but they

have

come

from

supposedly

from

James

who's

in

Jerusalem

Jewish

teachers

have come

up from

Jerusalem

and they

take one

look at

what Peter

is doing

eating with

the Gentiles

and they

disapprove

massively

and in

response

do you see

what Peter

does

he doesn't

just keep

on going

he stops

eating with

the Gentiles

and he

distances

himself

from them

now

if you're

feeling

in a good

mood

and you're

gracious

it's

possible

that it's

because he

didn't want

to cause

immediate

offense

to the

Jews

as they

react

to this

I think

if you're

you're on

good ground

however

if you think

much more

likely

is that

he's just

scared

that these

Jews

will look

on at

him

and somehow

think

less

of him

so

reputational

damage

I think

is the

thing

that's

causing

Peter to

act like

he does

and what

would suggest

that is

the word

at verse

12 that

Paul uses

and it's

the word

you see

it

afraid

so Peter

withdraws

and because

Peter withdraws

the esteemed

pillar

do you see

Barnabas too

watches this

verse 13

he does

the same

so Peter's

sin here

is not

heresy

he's

all on

board

with

faith

alone

he's

a

card

carrying

justification

by faith

guy

he's

all

in

with

Jesus

if ever

there was

a guy

who knows

what it

is to

have your

failures

covered

by Jesus

it's

Peter

Peter's

sin here

is not

hypocrisy

sorry

Peter's

sin here

is not

heresy

Peter's

sin here

is

hypocrisy

so it's

an inconsistency

between what

he believes

and how

he acts

if I was

to phrase

this another

way

do you

know what

this is

this is

really

simply

fear

of

man

something

that Paul's

already

alluded to

at verse

10 of

chapter 1

fear of

man

when

we're

more

concerned

about what

people think

of us

than about

what God

thinks of

us

and that's

Peter in

this moment

he's more

concerned

about saving

face

and reputation

than he

is about

being true

to the

gospel

and so

Paul

sees this

happening

he sees

what the

stakes are

here if

this remains

unchallenged

now have a

think about it

if this remains

unchallenged

what is

likely to

happen

the very

real possibility

that there

may end up

being two

churches

not one

a Jewish

church

and a

Gentile

church

that the

barriers that

Christ has

shed his

blood on

the cross

to smash

down

that mankind

will raise

them back

up

and the

unity that

he shed

his blood

to achieve

in his

people

because we

all come to

faith by the

same way

that unity

will be

thwarted

and it

all hinges

on how

this moment

goes

and that's

the hill

that Paul

is willing

to die

on because

that's never

been God's

heart

to churches

God's

heart is

that there

would be

one

church

one

church

now just

notice in

passing

this is

secondary

but I

think it's

really

important

that we

see it

notice in

passing

what this

teaches

about how

Christians

do

conflict

maybe just

going for

this because

of particularly

what we've

seen this

week

see what

this teaches

us about

how Christians

do

conflict

what has

Paul just

called Peter

at verse

nine

come and

see this

he's called

him

an esteemed

pillar

do you see

how Paul

praises Peter

behind his

back

you see

it

and how

he challenges

him

to his

face

friends

what are

we so

tempted

to do

when it

comes to

conflict

and challenge

we are

tempted to

do it

the other

way around

what comes

naturally

to us

is to

praise

someone to

their face

and yet

challenge them

behind their

back

and see

that this

is not

how the

spirit of

God

would

have

us

do

it

you know

I had a

lecturer at

uni

he always

said this

and I've

never

forgotten

it

he always

said it

is possible

to do

Jesus

like

work

in

non

Jesus

like

ways

think

on

that

it

is

possible

to do

Jesus

like

work

in

non

Jesus

like

ways

so

true

so

true

I've

been

praying

this

week

in

my

own

heart

and

the

life

of

ours

is

one

body

that

God

would

convict

us

of

the

times

when

we

fall

foul

of

this

when

we

speak

well

of

people

to

their

face

and

we

speak

poorly

of

them

behind

their

back

we're

speaking

about

others

in

a

way

that

just

isn't

honouring

to

God

you know

Erin

about

a

new

generation

and

she

said

what

do

people

crave

these

days

more

than

anything

else

she

said

one

word

she

said

authenticity

and

even

this

week

with

Charlie

Kirk

has

reminded

us

of

our

culture's

inability

at

times

to

handle

conflict

and

Paul

models

for

us

here

how

to

be

someone

with

both

deep

conviction

!

hard

deal

it's

not

a

50

50

deal

we

need

to

be

people

of

both

conviction

and

character

they're

always

going

together

always

going

together

and

just

while

we're

there

on

this

whole

fear

of

man

thing

friends

I'm

so

conscious

that

for

many

of

us

this

is

a

time

of

new

starts

right

new

term

new

job

new

school

year

new

neighbors

new

friends

new

flatmates

in

terms

of

nailing

your

colors

to

the

mast

for

Jesus

do

you

know

what

life

has

taught

me

over

the

years

is

that

the

first

chance

you

get

is

the

best

chance

you'll

get

speaking

of

someone

who's

made

so

many

mistakes

over

years

the

years

the

first

chance

you

get

is

the

best

chance

you'll

get

so

be

brave

trust

the

spirit

and

take

the

opportunity

Jesus

died

friends

so

that

there

would

be

one

church

one

church

and

second

from

verse

17

Jesus

died

so

that

there

would

be

a

new

you

a

new

new

and

it's

almost

as if

Paul

having

laid

out

the

middle

the

middle

of

the

riddle

he

gets

out

ahead

of

an

objection

that

he

can

see

coming

because

he

knows

at

verse

17

and

that's

what

the

speech

marks

are

he's

quoting

what

someone

might

say

he

knows

that

people

might

say

Paul

your

gospel

man

is

way

too

easy

way

too

easy

if

it's

simply

a

case

of

putting

your

faith

in

Jesus

and

not

doing

anything

then

what

on

earth

is

the

motivation

for

obedience

legitimate

question

have

you

not

heard

of

Pavlov

and

his

dogs

probably

went off

because

it's

a bit

ahead

of

his

time

but

you

get

what

I'm

saying

have

you

not

heard

of

Pavlov

and

his

dogs

do

you

not

know

how

human

beings

work

Paul

your

gospel

is

all

carrot

and

no

stick

that's

the

accusation

to

which

Paul

says

come

with

me

to

verses

19

and

20

which

are

some

of

the

most

treasured

!

verses

in

all

of

the

Bible

Paul

says

that's

what

you

think

then

you

haven't

understood

just

how

deep

a

transformation

the

Holy

Spirit

brings

about

in

someone's

life

now

you

remember

this

guy

Paul

back

at

chapter

1

verses

13

to

17

he

gave

us

a

little

bit

we

thought

about

this

a few

weeks

ago

a

little

bit

of

his

story

and

we

thought

about

the

fact

that

there's

nothing

that

explains

a

U-turn

quite

like

that

other

than

this

gospel

being

true

friends

this

is

all

about

what

we

understand

a

Christian

to

be

these

verses

and

if

your

faith

is

in

Jesus

today

no

matter

what

you've

come

in

here

with

no

matter

how

you're

feeling

no

matter

what

life

is

throwing

!

about

you

right

now

then

this

tells

you

the

purpose

that

God

has

for

your

life

a

Christian

and

maybe

I'll

put it

like

this

maybe

just

a

little

bit

different

to

help

us

think

about

just

what

he's

saying

here

come

with

me

okay

a

Christian