Keep In Line With the Gospel

Now, can you turn in your Bibles to the book of Galatians, chapter 2? I'm going to read from verse 11 to 21.

Galatians 2 · chapter mention

We're looking at this letter as a church, seeing how Paul time and again says to his readers,

there is no other gospel other than the gospel of grace.

And here in this section, he speaks to Peter and he speaks to us saying, keep in line with the gospel.

So Galatians 2 and at verse 11.

Barnabas was led astray.

When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all,

you're 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 Gentile sinners know that a man is not justified by observing 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 observing the law.

Because by observing the law, no one will be justified.

If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners,

does that mean that Christ promotes sin?

Absolutely not.

If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am 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 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.

Amen.

So keeping in line with the gospel or keeping our gospel balance,

that's what we're thinking about this morning.

I don't know whether you are one of those people that finds balance naturally an easy or a hard thing.

Having taught two boys to ride bikes, I developed something of a mantra as they were getting started to help them with their balance.

Tell them to get their eyes up and look straight ahead as quickly as possible.

Because that was key for balance rather than veering off one way or the other.

And it was really important for safety.

Because when you're on narrow paths and you've got cars on one side and you've got people and you've got bins

and you've got holly bushes on the other side, you really want to be able to go on that straight path.

Balance is important.

Following the right path is safety.

And that brings us to what Paul is talking about to Peter and to the others gathered.

In verse 14, he confronts Peter and says,

you're not acting in line with the truth of the gospel.

So his idea is the gospel is a straight path to walk on, but it's possible even for Christians to veer off that.

The word that Paul uses is the word ortho, which we recognize from orthopedics,

where people align our skeletal system or an orthodontist, where people straighten teeth.

Galatians is a book all about laying out the straight path of the gospel.

So let's just remind ourselves what we have discovered about that so far.

We've discovered that it's good news.

And it's good news that comes from Paul directly from Jesus.

So when he brings the gospel of grace, it comes from Jesus.

He tells us that in chapter 1.

Part of that good news invites us to reflect honestly on ourselves.

So Paul will say that we are sinners, that we are lost and we are unable to rescue ourselves.

That before a holy God, we stand guilty and condemned before him.

Which sounds like bad news, except for the fact that God has made it possible for us to be accepted,

despite all of our sin, because of his great grace and goodness towards us.

That Paul says because of Jesus' death on the cross, because he's come to live perfectly when we couldn't,

and because he's come to die as the perfect sacrifice in our place for our sins,

it is possible for us to be accepted by God.

Not because of our merit, not because of our law-keeping, not because of our religious performance,

purely because of God's grace in Jesus.

So that's the straight path of the gospel.

But this passage shows us there's two ways that we can veer off that.

The first is Peter's error, where we see him implying the need for extra laws in order to be accepted by God,

sometimes known as legalism.

You need to do certain things in order for God to accept you.

Or the accusation from verse 17 onwards of Paul's opponents,

that preaching the gospel of grace will lead to lawlessness.

So there's this other way to get off the gospel.

It's like, Jesus saved me so I can do whatever I want.

That's the mindset that some people had when they heard Paul's teaching.

And the answer to both of these mistakes is the gospel of grace.

It's the straight path that stops us from falling into either of these ditches.

So Paul is going to speak to Peter about stuff that he knows.

He's going to remind him about gospel balance.

So I want to just draw three different things that Paul invites us to remember.

Firstly, remember that hypocrisy is horrible.

And when we think about the confrontation that happens in verse 11 to 14,

we see the danger of hypocrisy.

Quick recap, because some of us weren't here last week.

In Galatians chapter 2, verses 1 to 10, we've got a meeting that happens in Jerusalem.

Galatians 2:1–10

Paul and Barnabas and Titus go and they meet Peter and James and John,

the pillars of the church, and they come to agreement on what is the gospel.

So they shake hands on this reality that you're accepted by God

through putting your faith in the Lord Jesus alone.

You don't need anything else.

Gentile people don't need to become Jewish.

So they agree to that.

And one of the implications of that is that then it's possible to enjoy sharing meal,

having fellowship, sitting down at a table with any other believer,

regardless of their background.

So they have shaken hands on that.

But now Peter and his friends have returned to Antioch.

Paul and his friends have returned to Antioch.

Peter comes to visit, and now there's confrontation.

Let's see why, verse 11, let's see why Paul has to oppose Peter to his faith.

In verse 12, we read, before certain men came from James,

Peter used to eat with the Gentiles.

Okay, so that was the situation.

He understood the gospel gives me this freedom to say,

we're all one in Christ Jesus.

It doesn't matter what your background is, so they're having meals together.

But then, when people came from James, from Jerusalem,

he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles.

So now this other group comes, and he begins to feel pressure.

What will they think of me?

What will they think of me sitting down to eat with these people in this way?

So he draws back.

So now you've got a situation where it's Jews over here and it's Gentiles over here.

And we're told why he does that.

End of verse 12, he does it because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.

So we've met these guys before.

They're religious leaders, sometimes known as Judaizers.

They've got this slogan, unless a person is circumcised and keeps the ceremonial laws of Moses,

they cannot be saved.

Peter's had trouble and hassle from these guys before,

and so he pulls back to avoid having that confrontation again.

But the impact of that is serious.

Verse 13,

The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy,

so that by their hypocrisy, even Barnabas was led astray.

So the problem here is hypocrisy.

We talk about a failure to practice what we preach,

and in a sense, that's what's happening with Peter.

The word is drawn from the theater.

When an actor would put on a mask in order to play another character,

to hide his own identity in order to play a part,

that was known as hypocrisy.

Being two-faced.

What's happening here,

the reason why Paul confronts Peter is that Peter is masking his Christian convictions.

He is masking his true identity as a follower in Jesus.

He's playing the part of an unbeliever in the gospel.

The gospel says we're all one in Christ,

but Peter, by his actions, is saying,

well, actually, no, we're not,

unless you start to keep our Jewish laws.

And because of fear of others,

because of people-pleasing,

there is this massive impact.

So the other Jews in Antioch,

they're led to follow Peter,

and even Barnabas,

the leader of the church in Antioch,

is led astray.

So here is a warning to us.

Hypocrisy spreads like a virus.

And so we need to be aware of the influence that we have on others.

As parents, for example,

we need to be aware of the influence that we have on our children,

our children who see the true us.

Do our thoughts, do our words, do our actions,

do they convey the gospel of love and grace,

or do they convey something else?

We need to be aware of the influence that we can have on our family and our friends,

because that can be a positive,

but as in Peter's case, it can become a huge negative.

As Christians, we're encouraged not to mask who we are

and what we believe as the people of God,

to not try and lead some kind of a double life.

I remember one of the first jobs I had after graduating.

I was working in a call center,

a fairly large team,

and one of the members of that team,

his language was appalling,

but worse than that,

he would often make really crude and really racist jokes.

I was new,

and I was young,

and I didn't know how to handle that.

I didn't know how to have that conversation,

and so what did I do?

I masked my convictions.

I was guilty of hypocrisy,

failing to live out what I believe.

And we can all find ourselves tempted to do that,

can't we?

If we're here and we're new students,

one of the best advice that I could give if you're a Christian

is get that out there.

Get the fact that you're a Christian out there.

Don't try and hide it,

because it only becomes more difficult

to maintain a consistent witness

if you're pretending,

trying to lead some kind of double life.

So what we see from Peter's example

is that hypocrisy is horrible.

It's dangerous.

And Paul responds,

a public scandal is being created.

So verse 14,

Paul confronts Peter publicly.

When I saw that they were not acting in line

with the truth of the gospel,

I said to Peter,

in front of them all,

this is a public thing,

and notice he says to Peter,

look, you're out of line,

not because you're being rude and unwelcoming

and perhaps racist,

which he is by his actions.

He's saying you're out of line with the gospel.

Because whereas faith in Jesus

should be the basis of church unity,

Peter is implying that it's faith in Jesus

and faith in these religious ceremonies

that's the basis for church unity

because that's the way to be accepted.

So he's going into legalism

and he's leading people astray.

And so Paul is going to call him back

to the gospel

because the key to balance, of course,

as we're looking up

and as we're looking ahead,

if we don't want to veer off,

we need to be looking straight ahead

and we need to be looking to Jesus.

Not looking at the opponents

who might make us quake in fear

to keep looking to Jesus.

And as we remember the gospel,

we remember that we're accepted by Jesus

while we were his enemies.

When we think about divisions

that exist in society,

Jew, Gentile,

nothing was bigger than the division

between a holy God and us as sinners.

But yet God was reconciled to us

through the sending of Jesus,

through his sacrifice.

So we've been accepted by Jesus

while we were still enemies.

Therefore, we can and we should

welcome anyone in Christ

who has faith in Christ.

We shouldn't add extra barriers

as Peter was doing.

And in response to the fear

that he feels

and sometimes that we feel also,

there's that reminder

that in Christ Jesus,

we have the acceptance

and the approval of God.

And as we reflect on that

and as we think,

well, what approval could possibly matter

more to us than that,

there's how we'll be able to stick

to the reality that we're saved by grace

and by grace alone.

So that's the first thing to remember,

that hypocrisy is a horrible thing.

Second thing to remember

from verse 15 and 16

is that we are justified in Jesus.

Let me read verse 15,

the beginning of verse 16 again.

We who are Jews by birth

and not Gentile sinners,

notice that's inverted commas,

that's the way Jewish people

would talk about Gentiles,

very derogatory way of talking,

know that a man is not justified

by observing the law,

but by faith in Jesus Christ.

So here is our first mention

in this letter of the word justified

and the idea of justification.

And again, take us back

to Martin Luther,

the great reformer.

He says that if the article

of justification be once lost,

then is all true Christian doctrine lost?

This is a big deal idea.

So let's walk closely

and carefully and slowly

through this idea

and to see what is justification

and also to see what does it have to do

with walking in line with the gospel.

So first of all,

what is justification?

Well, J.I. Packer,

the Bible scholar,

is very helpful in this.

He says it's a legal term.

So it's drawn from the courtroom

and it's the idea of a judge

who declares of a man on trial

that he's not liable

to the penalty of the law,

but rather is entitled

to all the privileges

due to those who have kept the law

as he receives the verdict

that is the opposite

of being condemned,

being acquitted,

being declared to be not guilty.

So Paul is taking us

into God's courtroom

and Paul will say,

Peter, remember.

Remember that you and me,

remember that everyone

were justified by faith

in Jesus alone.

And because of that,

let that shape how you live,

let that shape how you treat

other people.

Just to take a step back,

if we were to ask the question

of people,

what's the biggest problem

that we face as human beings?

Perhaps our answer in here

might be different

to the answer

that we would find on the streets.

Many people would answer

terrorism,

Brexit,

and economic fear,

disease,

injustice,

pollution,

those kind of things,

which are obviously

significant issues

troubling us today.

But biblically,

the big problem,

the big question

that we all need

to find an answer to is,

how can I be right with God?

And even more pointed

than that,

how can I,

as a sinful person,

be right with a holy God?

When Jesus was on the earth

and he was teaching,

he reaffirmed the two

great commandments

that we find in the Old Testament,

summaries of the Ten Commandments.

So Jesus said,

the great commandment

is to love God

with all your heart

and soul

and mind and strength.

And the other great commandment

is like it,

love your neighbor

as yourself.

So with all of our heart

and all our desire,

with all of our mind,

all of our motivation,

with all of our actions,

we are to express love to God

and love to others.

Not just sometimes,

but always.

Not just to some people,

but to all people.

And when we start

to reflect on that,

when we start to allow

our conscience to kick in,

I'm sure, like me,

you recognize

that we stand guilty

of breaking those two commands.

And so there is for us,

therefore,

a serious problem.

We've got a God

who is perfectly holy,

a God who hates sin,

a God who calls us

to this perfect standard

of perfect love,

and a God who is

the judge of us all,

and then there's us

who have broken

his perfect law.

So one of the things

that justification

reminds us of,

and it's really important,

I think,

to be reminded of this,

it reminds us

that we will all be

in God's courtroom one day.

For some of us,

we may feel like

that's years and years

into the future,

but one day,

we will all stand

in the dock before God

to give an account

for our lives.

And so the question for us

is on that day,

how can we hear

a verdict of not guilty,

given what we know

about God,

given what we know

about ourselves?

How can we escape

the guilty verdict?

How can the breach

in the relationship

be fixed?

And what we discover

in this passage,

and what we discover

as we listen to

all the voices around us,

that there's really

two alternatives

that are suggested.

How can I be accepted

by God?

Well, it's either

by our work

or by faith in Jesus

and His finished work.

There really are

no other alternatives

suggested.

And Paul uses

three different ways

to drive us

to the reality

that we are justified

by faith in Jesus alone.

There is no other way.

So he begins

with that general observation

that we read

in verses 15

and into verse 16.

So this is something

that Jews had discovered.

Jews,

with all the privileges

of God's law

and God's promises,

being God's people,

living in God's place,

Paul can say,

as a Jew,

I know

that the only way

anyone

can be right with God

is through trusting

in Jesus,

not by trying

to keep the law.

The law

is there

to remind us

God is holy

and we are not.

The law is there

to remind us

that we need

a Savior.

So we've got

that general observation,

but remember

he's speaking

to Peter here

and he makes it personal.

In the second part

of verse 16,

he says to Peter,

so we too

have put our faith

in Christ Jesus

that we may be justified

by faith in Christ

and not by observing

the law.

So he turns to Peter,

you and me,

Peter,

this is true for us.

We didn't put

our faith in Jesus

so we could have

a spiritual top-up,

so we're kind of

trusting in Jesus

but kind of trusting

in the law.

We trust it in order

that we would be justified.

Peter,

you know as well

as I do,

the only way

that anyone

can be saved

is through trusting

in Jesus.

And then to drive

it home further,

he reminds Peter

that this is what

was taught

in the Old Testament.

So the last part

of verse 16

is a reference

to Psalm 143

in verse 2

which we sang earlier

because by observing

the law

no one

will be

justified.

One point made

three ways.

We can never

ever by ourselves

be good enough

for God

to declare us

not guilty.

So Peter

is damaging

the message

of the gospel

by implying

that people

need Jesus

plus

ceremonial law

in order

to be saved.

We do damage

the gospel

whenever we suggest

that we need

anything other

than faith

and trust

in the Lord

Jesus

to be saved.

To be justified,

to be declared

innocent,

we need

Jesus.

We need

the great

exchange

that happens

at the cross.

What is it

that happens

at the cross?

We have Jesus

the one who comes

as our representative,

the one who

lives in perfect

obedience

to the extent

that he obediently

goes to the cross

to be

the sacrifice

and the savior

that God

had promised.

So there

on the cross

the law

keeper

dies

for law

breakers.

And what happens

is that

God,

when we put

our faith

in Jesus,

God declares

us to be

righteous

because the

righteousness

of Jesus Christ

is credited

to our account

just as

Jesus takes

our guilt

and sin

and dies

for it

on the cross.

So he

gifts

us

his record

of righteousness

so that we

can be declared

by God

justified.

And there's

wonderful assurance

for our faith

in this.

As John Murray,

the Scottish

theologian,

puts it,

God must

accept

into his

favor

those who

are invested

with the

righteousness

of his

own son.

Let's use

an analogy

of a

bank account.

So imagine

that you

are somebody

who is in

a huge

amount of

debt.

Monday

morning

rolls in,

you wake

up,

terrified,

how am I

going to

pay off

all these

bills?

Posty

delivers

some letters,

got some

more credit

card debt

that's

mounting up,

you got

payday loans

that you need

to pay back,

you've got a

letter from

the bailiff

saying that

he's coming

to take

your possessions

unless you

can pay

and you

have nothing

so you

are about

to lose

everything.

So you're

in that

position of

guilt and fear

and anxiety,

you get no

idea where

to turn,

you get no

hope and

then you get

a message,

a phone call

from your

bank manager

to say that

somebody has

come into

the branch

and he's

paid off

all those

payday loans

and he's

paid off

all the

credit card

debt and

he's satisfied

the demands

of the bailiffs

and so you

have no more

debt and not

only that,

he's placed

a vast

fortune into

your account.

Now that

is what

God has

done for

us in

the gospel

of grace.

Jesus has

cancelled

the debt

of our

sin and

he's given

us his

perfect

righteousness.

That's the

only way

that we

can ever

possibly be

declared not

guilty before

a holy

God.

So to

keep our

gospel

balanced,

to stop

veering off

into legalism

where we

think we

need to add

to our

salvation or

we need to

contribute in

any way,

we need to

remember this

truth, that

we are justified

in Jesus

and Jesus

alone.

If we're not

a Christian,

here is truth

for us to

receive, that

bearing in mind

that one day

we'll all stand

before God in

the dock, let

Jesus be a

representative.

Let him be

the one whose

record you

place your

hope in rather

than your own

because he is

willing to

save you and

to credit his

righteousness to

your account so

you can be in

the family of

God.

And for us as

Christians, let's

represent this

unlike Peter who

falls off into

legalism and

pulls the church

astray.

Let's avoid

things like being

judgmental or

being full of

pride or maybe

making our

salvation really

centered on

ourselves so if

we're having a

good day we

feel really good

and think that

God's bound to

be pleased with

us whereas if

things go badly

we start to

have all kinds

of doubts and

fears because

we've made it

more about us

rather than we

have about

trusting in what

Jesus has done

for us.

So remember that

we are justified

in Jesus.

The third thing

to remember from

Paul's confrontation

with Peter is

remember that the

cross is central.

Now verse 17

is a complex one

I think it's hard

to exactly see

what's going on

but let's read it.

If while we seek

to be justified

in Christ it

becomes evident

that we ourselves

are sinners

does that mean

that Christ

promotes sin?

Absolutely not.

Now this seems

to come from

an accusation

and Paul is

getting lots of

accusations from

the other false

teachers and it

seems to be the

accusation that

that the faith

in Christ alone

for God's acceptance

is a dangerous

thing to teach

because they

imagine that it

will encourage

people to then

abandon God's law.

People will get

the idea oh great

I just need to

trust in Jesus

and then I can do

whatever I want

and I'll be

absolutely saved.

And so people

are saying Paul

that's what your

gospel is going

to lead people to

and Paul responds

at the end of

verse 17

absolutely not

God forbid.

And the big point

of verses 17

to 21 is that

the gospel of

grace does not

lead us towards

lawlessness because

as he makes clear

in the gospel we

are united to

Jesus Christ.

That we have been

crucified with Christ

we are made new

creations in Christ

Christ lives in

us and because of

that we have new

power new desire

for holiness

we've got this new

identity

we've got a new

motivation for

obeying the law

not out of fear

but out of gratitude

because of what

Jesus has done

for us.

So the gospel of

grace does not

lead to lawlessness

because it connects

us to the perfectly

holy and obedient

one.

And Paul uses

dying and rising

language to make

that point and to

show that the

transformation that

happens in the

gospel.

So in verse 19

for example he

says,

For through the

law I died to

the law so that I

might live for

God.

What does he mean

there?

He means that he

died to the law as

the way to be right

with God.

He died to trying to

use the law to earn

his way to God.

And in actual fact

the Old Testament

law was what

showed him that

that was pointless

and wrong.

That he could never

meet the standards

of a perfectly

holy God.

So that now he's

trusting in Jesus

he can live by

faith.

Trusting in the

death of Jesus

as his source of

salvation.

Not trying to

trust in himself

and his own

ability to perform.

And that brings

all the difference

in the world.

Verse 20.

I have been

crucified with

Christ and I

no longer live

but Christ lives

in me.

So when a person

becomes a Christian

when by the Spirit

Jesus comes to

dwell in us

the perfect one

comes to dwell in

us.

The holy one

comes to dwell in

us.

Therefore there is

a new ability

and a new desire

for holiness.

A true Christian

is never going to

say I have no

interest in obeying

God.

Jesus said many

times you will

show love by

obeying.

And then he goes

on to say the

life I live in

the body I live

by faith in the

Son of God who

loved me and gave

himself for me.

Not trusting my

work Paul says

trusting in his

finished work.

Living in

obedience out of

gratitude for the

costly salvation.

salvation that he

has received.

And as he ends

his confrontation

verse 21 he

reminds Peter once

again that it's

all down to

grace.

He says I do

not set aside the

grace of God

for if righteousness

could be gained

through the law

Christ died for

nothing.

Peter remember

that.

Church remember

that.

if there was any

other way to be

saved why would

God have sent his

son Jesus to die?

That just makes

Jesus' death a

pointless tragic

waste if we by our

own steam can find

our way into God's

acceptance.

sins.

We can think about it

like this.

Now imagine a man

who comes home one

evening and he turns

the corner of his

street and he sees

his house is up in

flames and he begins

to run towards the

house and he hears

the sirens but they're

in the distance.

They're still going to

be a wee while and he

charges into the house

and he gets his wife

and his children out of

the house.

So they're safely on

the street and then the

fire engine arrives, the

fire crew come out and

the first fireman rushes

into the blaze and

perishes.

Now if we were to hear

that kind of story we'd

say that's a pointless

waste.

He didn't need to go and

risk everything because

everybody was safe.

But when we think about

another story, same man

coming home from work,

turns the corner of his

street, house is ablaze,

he runs to his front door

and he can't get in the

front door because of

the flames and he sees

his wife and children on

the second floor and he

can't reach them.

Then he hears the sirens,

then the fire crew come

with their ladders and

then a fireman risks his

life and gives his life in

order to rescue.

Changes everything,

doesn't it?

Now the man has seen what

true love is, seen true

rescue.

And Paul says to Peter and

says to us, remember, Jesus

came on a real rescue to

rescue us in our need, in our

helplessness when we could not

save ourselves.

He gave himself to death to

rescue us and all because of

his love and his grace.

And it's as we remember that,

as we remember the cross as

central, as we remember that

reality, that's the antidote to

the virus of hypocrisy.

Remembering what Jesus has done

for us.

It's the answer to the false

paths of legalism and lawlessness

to reflect with gratitude on the

Son of God who loved me and gave

himself for me.

It's the key to gospel balance,

to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus

and his finished work on the cross.