Sermon Notes
Sermon: Freedom in Justification by Faith by Rev. Jessica Johnson
Date: June 23, 2019
Key Scripture Passages: Galatians 2:11-3:29
Sermon Notes:
Freedom from Law – Gal. 2:11-21
I can imagine the apostle Paul as he writes his letter to the Galatians. Paul is on a rant. Last week, in our discussion on Galatians chapter one, we notice that his greeting is not as warm as his letters typically are. He skips over his normal thanksgiving section and all small talk. Paul jumps right into rebuking the Galatians for allowing others to infiltrate their church with false teachings. In Galatians 1:8, Paul writes, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” And then he goes on to assert his authority. One of his pieces of evidence is that when he met with Cephas, otherwise known as the Apostle Peter, Paul states that what he was preaching was the same as what Peter and the other apostles are preaching, because their Gospel was from Christ and nothing man-made. Keep these things in mind as we dive back into Galatians 2, because this warning of false teachings and this assertion about teaching the One Gospel, the same as Peter, collides in verse 11.
Galatians 2:11 (ESV): “But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.” Now, I don’t know about you, but I would have loved to have listened in on that argument. On one side, you have the Apostle Peter, who Jesus Himself said was the rock on which He would build His church. And from many other accounts, we know Peter to be rash, brazen, and temperamental. Then, on the other side, you have the Apostle Paul, who was zealous in his faith and extremely knowledgeable. Paul was zealous as a Pharisee and zealous as a Christian. I would say he had a bit of a temper himself. Here in verse 11, Paul opposes Peter to his face. Why? Just a moment ago, he was writing about how they were in agreement, and a few verses later, Paul shares how he opposes Peter.
Paul goes on to explain the argument, which they did eventually resolve. And, honestly, it is still a conversation that we have today. It is an argument of law versus faith, Old Testament versus New Testament, and faith versus works.
The 12 disciples of Jesus, most of Jesus’s followers, and even Paul himself were Jews. They were Jews by culture and ethnicity as well as religiously. As Jews, they were subject to Old Testament Law. It was not just a religion; the Jews lived by the Law. It was how their society functioned. As the Christianity spread, it began branching out to Gentiles, who were not under Jewish Law. Peter and some of the other apostles wrestled with the question: Did new converts who were not Jewish have to become Jews before they could become Christians? Were they to be held accountable to Jewish Law? Some of the specific things that were brought up were the food laws, the purity laws, and the requirement of males to be circumcised. The reason that Paul was upset with Peter was that he called Peter out on his hypocrisy of acting one way with the Gentiles when he was there on his own, but separating himself from them when other Jews were around.
Let’s put it in today’s terms. Do you act differently around your non-Christian friends then you do your Christian friends? Or when it is just you and your non-Christian friends do you act one way, but if a Christian friend also shows up do you act a different way? Here’s another example: Do you hold your Christian friends and your non-Christian friends to different standards or the same standard of behavioral expectations?
Galatians 2:12-21 states:
15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
17 But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
Basically, Paul is saying, “Peter, we were saved by our faith in Christ and His grace towards us. We did not find salvation through the Law. So, then why would you turn back to the Law? Why would you expect the Gentiles to live under the Law rather than under the Gospel of Christ, when you no longer live under the Law?” Christ commanded His followers to go and spread the Gospel, not the Old Testament Law. Now, this is not to say that the Old Testament Law is not important. It is important, but it is not what brings about our salvation. Only Christ can do that.
Within the Gospel, there is freedom. Paul’s letter to the Galatians is called the “Magna Carta of Christian Liberty”, because he spends most of it talking about the freedom that we have in Christ. Many times, we refer to that freedom as freedom from sins or the burdens of sin. Here in this passage Paul is talking about freedom from the Law. For Peter to go back to the Law, this demonstrated legalism at its best. It was works-based rather than faith-based, and it focused on the Law rather than on Christ. It set up a false idea of requirements to be met before salvation could be received. The Judiazers, who had infiltrated the church in Galatia, mixed the messages of Law and grace. Through grace, all people are sinners, but all can be saved through faith in Christ. Under the Law, it states that the grace of God is not sufficient enough for salvation. While the Judiazers stayed consistent in their legalistic attitudes and teachings, Peter did repent and correct his actions and teachings towards the Gentiles.
In his letter to the Galatians on this matter of law and faith, Paul, then, proceeds to lay out 6 arguments that Christians are saved by their faith in Christ rather than their works under the Law.
The Personal Argument – Gal. 3:1-5
The first argument is the personal argument in Galatians 3:1-5. Paul encourages the Galatians to consider their own personal experiences with Christ when they repented and turned to Christ. Arguing something from experience can be risky, because experience can be subjective or misinterpreted. However, we should not underestimate experiential faith, what we have personally experienced from God in our lives. Personal experience can be a powerful testimony or motivator. Paul felt freely to draw on the personal experiences of the Galatians when they first converted to Christ, because Paul had been there when it had happened. He had witnessed God working in their lives and their transformation under Christ. The primary piece of evidence of salvation is the gift of the Holy Spirit, and Paul reminds the Galatians that they had received the Holy Spirit through their faith not through the Law.
The Scriptural Argument – Gal. 3:6-14
The second argument is the scriptural argument that Paul lays out in Galatians 3:6-14. Now, we often think of the new covenant of Christ only being in the New Testament, but Paul quotes 6 Old Testament passages to prove his point. Since the Judiazers were pushing the Galatians to the Law, Paul used the Law to counter the false teachings of the Judiazers. Here are the 6 quotes:
Jesus redeemed us and freed us from the punishment of sin, which is death. He freed us from the burden of the Law and the punishment for not following the Law by fulfilling the Law Himself. Paul could not understand why the Galatians, having experienced the freedom found in Christ, would want to become imprisoned under the Law. Now that Paul has grounded the personal experience of the Galatians with Christ in Scripture, he moves on to his Logical argument.
The Logical Argument – Gal. 3:15-29
The third argument is the logical argument found in Galatians 3:1-29. With this point, Paul appeals to their reason and logic by explaining what a covenant is and how one works. A covenant, especially one with God, is the promise of all promises, because it is a promise that cannot be broken. God has promised salvation for all through faith. He made this promise with Abraham. The Law cannot change that promise, and the Judiazers cannot change it.
The Law is not greater than the promise. The Law was meant to be temporary until the Messiah (Jesus Christ) came. The Law required a mediator, such as Moses. But when God made the covenant with Abraham, He spoke to him directly with no middle man.
The Law was not contrary to the covenant. In fact, it had a different purpose. The Law did not provide life, only God can give life. The purpose of the Law was to reveal sin. It demonstrates why we need Christ and His grace. The Law was given to prepare the way for Jesus, the Messiah, the Savior to come. The Law cannot and was never mean to do what the covenant would do. Through the covenant, all people are saved through Christ, and all Christians are heirs to God, a part of God’s family.
Final Thoughts
Next week, we will cover the other 3 arguments that Paul writes to the Galatians about why faith in Christ is the way to salvation. But to share one final thought: through Christ, we also have freedom of thought. C.S. Lewis mentions this in Mere Christianity:
I have been asked to tell you what Christians believe, and I am going to begin by telling you one thing that Christians do not need to believe. If you are a Christian you do not have to believe that all the other religions are simply wrong all through. If you are an atheist you do have to believe that the main point in all the religions of the whole world is simply one huge mistake. If you are a Christian, you are free to think that all these religions, even the queerest ones, contain at least some hint of the truth.
When I was an atheist, I had to try to persuade myself that most of the human race have always been wrong about the question that mattered to them most; when I became a Christian, I was able to take a more liberal view. But, of course, being a Christian does mean thinking that where Christianity differs from other religions, Christianity is right and they are wrong. As in arithmetic—there is only one right answer to a sum, and all other answers are wrong: but some of the wrong answers are much nearer being right than others.
As an atheist, Lewis was imprisoned by his legalism. And it was legalistic thinking that everyone else was wrong in every single aspect. For the Jews, if one broke any aspect of the Law, then they were condemned under the Law. For the atheist, if they admitted that any other religion had a hint of truth to it, then their whole worldview would crumble. However, for the Christian, they have freedom of thought because of grace. We are free to recognize that we do not know everything and that we do not have it altogether. If we get one aspect of our faith wrong, that doesn’t mean all of Christianity will fall apart.
This does not mean that all religions are truth and all lead to salvation. For as Lewis said, there is only one right answer. The one and only way to salvation is Jesus. But God is everywhere, and Christianity does not crumble if a kernel of God’s truth is found elsewhere. Because we are given grace and live under God’s grace and His Spirit, we can approach others with grace. There is freedom to be found in a life under Christ, and we can share that freedom with others.
Sermon: Freedom in Justification by Faith by Rev. Jessica Johnson
Date: June 23, 2019
Key Scripture Passages: Galatians 2:11-3:29
Sermon Notes:
Freedom from Law – Gal. 2:11-21
I can imagine the apostle Paul as he writes his letter to the Galatians. Paul is on a rant. Last week, in our discussion on Galatians chapter one, we notice that his greeting is not as warm as his letters typically are. He skips over his normal thanksgiving section and all small talk. Paul jumps right into rebuking the Galatians for allowing others to infiltrate their church with false teachings. In Galatians 1:8, Paul writes, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” And then he goes on to assert his authority. One of his pieces of evidence is that when he met with Cephas, otherwise known as the Apostle Peter, Paul states that what he was preaching was the same as what Peter and the other apostles are preaching, because their Gospel was from Christ and nothing man-made. Keep these things in mind as we dive back into Galatians 2, because this warning of false teachings and this assertion about teaching the One Gospel, the same as Peter, collides in verse 11.
Galatians 2:11 (ESV): “But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.” Now, I don’t know about you, but I would have loved to have listened in on that argument. On one side, you have the Apostle Peter, who Jesus Himself said was the rock on which He would build His church. And from many other accounts, we know Peter to be rash, brazen, and temperamental. Then, on the other side, you have the Apostle Paul, who was zealous in his faith and extremely knowledgeable. Paul was zealous as a Pharisee and zealous as a Christian. I would say he had a bit of a temper himself. Here in verse 11, Paul opposes Peter to his face. Why? Just a moment ago, he was writing about how they were in agreement, and a few verses later, Paul shares how he opposes Peter.
Paul goes on to explain the argument, which they did eventually resolve. And, honestly, it is still a conversation that we have today. It is an argument of law versus faith, Old Testament versus New Testament, and faith versus works.
The 12 disciples of Jesus, most of Jesus’s followers, and even Paul himself were Jews. They were Jews by culture and ethnicity as well as religiously. As Jews, they were subject to Old Testament Law. It was not just a religion; the Jews lived by the Law. It was how their society functioned. As the Christianity spread, it began branching out to Gentiles, who were not under Jewish Law. Peter and some of the other apostles wrestled with the question: Did new converts who were not Jewish have to become Jews before they could become Christians? Were they to be held accountable to Jewish Law? Some of the specific things that were brought up were the food laws, the purity laws, and the requirement of males to be circumcised. The reason that Paul was upset with Peter was that he called Peter out on his hypocrisy of acting one way with the Gentiles when he was there on his own, but separating himself from them when other Jews were around.
Let’s put it in today’s terms. Do you act differently around your non-Christian friends then you do your Christian friends? Or when it is just you and your non-Christian friends do you act one way, but if a Christian friend also shows up do you act a different way? Here’s another example: Do you hold your Christian friends and your non-Christian friends to different standards or the same standard of behavioral expectations?
Galatians 2:12-21 states:
15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
17 But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
Basically, Paul is saying, “Peter, we were saved by our faith in Christ and His grace towards us. We did not find salvation through the Law. So, then why would you turn back to the Law? Why would you expect the Gentiles to live under the Law rather than under the Gospel of Christ, when you no longer live under the Law?” Christ commanded His followers to go and spread the Gospel, not the Old Testament Law. Now, this is not to say that the Old Testament Law is not important. It is important, but it is not what brings about our salvation. Only Christ can do that.
Within the Gospel, there is freedom. Paul’s letter to the Galatians is called the “Magna Carta of Christian Liberty”, because he spends most of it talking about the freedom that we have in Christ. Many times, we refer to that freedom as freedom from sins or the burdens of sin. Here in this passage Paul is talking about freedom from the Law. For Peter to go back to the Law, this demonstrated legalism at its best. It was works-based rather than faith-based, and it focused on the Law rather than on Christ. It set up a false idea of requirements to be met before salvation could be received. The Judiazers, who had infiltrated the church in Galatia, mixed the messages of Law and grace. Through grace, all people are sinners, but all can be saved through faith in Christ. Under the Law, it states that the grace of God is not sufficient enough for salvation. While the Judiazers stayed consistent in their legalistic attitudes and teachings, Peter did repent and correct his actions and teachings towards the Gentiles.
In his letter to the Galatians on this matter of law and faith, Paul, then, proceeds to lay out 6 arguments that Christians are saved by their faith in Christ rather than their works under the Law.
The Personal Argument – Gal. 3:1-5
The first argument is the personal argument in Galatians 3:1-5. Paul encourages the Galatians to consider their own personal experiences with Christ when they repented and turned to Christ. Arguing something from experience can be risky, because experience can be subjective or misinterpreted. However, we should not underestimate experiential faith, what we have personally experienced from God in our lives. Personal experience can be a powerful testimony or motivator. Paul felt freely to draw on the personal experiences of the Galatians when they first converted to Christ, because Paul had been there when it had happened. He had witnessed God working in their lives and their transformation under Christ. The primary piece of evidence of salvation is the gift of the Holy Spirit, and Paul reminds the Galatians that they had received the Holy Spirit through their faith not through the Law.
The Scriptural Argument – Gal. 3:6-14
The second argument is the scriptural argument that Paul lays out in Galatians 3:6-14. Now, we often think of the new covenant of Christ only being in the New Testament, but Paul quotes 6 Old Testament passages to prove his point. Since the Judiazers were pushing the Galatians to the Law, Paul used the Law to counter the false teachings of the Judiazers. Here are the 6 quotes:
- Abraham was saved by faith (vs. 6-7) – “And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.” Genesis 15:6 ESV. The Jews took great stock (and still do) in being the descendants of Abraham, but Abraham lived before Moses, and therefore, lived before the Law was given to the Jews. Later, in the New Testament, the writer of Hebrews also commends Abraham because of his faith in Hebrews 11.
- This salvation is for the Gentiles (vs. 8-9) – In Genesis 12:1-3 is the covenant that God makes with Abraham. In the last line, it states: “I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Genesis 12:3 ESV. God’s covenant is not just for the Jews, but it is for all people of the earth.
- This salvation is by faith, not Law (vs. 10-12) – Paul quotes Deuteronomy 27:26, “‘Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’” The Law demands obedience in all things. Then, Paul quotes Habakkuk 2:4, “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.” Paul’s letter to the Galatians, Paul’s letter to the Romans, and the book of Hebrews all have this as a major theme, that “the righteous shall live by faith”. Then Paul quotes Leviticus 18:5, “You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.” The Law says that a person must do the Law to live, but Grace says that a person must believe in Christ in order to live. The Judiazers preached a works-based, legalistic faith. But Paul wanted the Galatians to experience the freedom and joy of being in a relationship with Christ. Faith without works is dead, because good works is a natural outcome of faith in Christ. However, works without faith is mere charity. Salvation comes from faith in Christ, not works.
- This salvation comes through Christ (vs. 13-14) – Paul again quotes from Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy 21:23, “his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.” The Jews did not crucify criminals, but they would stone them to death. However, in cases of extreme violation of the Law, the body was hung on a tree for all to see. Then it would be taken down and buried. This would have been a great humiliation for the criminal and their family, because normally, the Jews would have taken great care in their treatment of dead bodies. Of course, Paul specifically wanted to reference a “tree”, because Jesus died on a Cross. Again, Paul is attempting to turn the Galatians back to Christ and His Gospel. Jesus bore the curse of the Law for all of us.
Jesus redeemed us and freed us from the punishment of sin, which is death. He freed us from the burden of the Law and the punishment for not following the Law by fulfilling the Law Himself. Paul could not understand why the Galatians, having experienced the freedom found in Christ, would want to become imprisoned under the Law. Now that Paul has grounded the personal experience of the Galatians with Christ in Scripture, he moves on to his Logical argument.
The Logical Argument – Gal. 3:15-29
The third argument is the logical argument found in Galatians 3:1-29. With this point, Paul appeals to their reason and logic by explaining what a covenant is and how one works. A covenant, especially one with God, is the promise of all promises, because it is a promise that cannot be broken. God has promised salvation for all through faith. He made this promise with Abraham. The Law cannot change that promise, and the Judiazers cannot change it.
The Law is not greater than the promise. The Law was meant to be temporary until the Messiah (Jesus Christ) came. The Law required a mediator, such as Moses. But when God made the covenant with Abraham, He spoke to him directly with no middle man.
The Law was not contrary to the covenant. In fact, it had a different purpose. The Law did not provide life, only God can give life. The purpose of the Law was to reveal sin. It demonstrates why we need Christ and His grace. The Law was given to prepare the way for Jesus, the Messiah, the Savior to come. The Law cannot and was never mean to do what the covenant would do. Through the covenant, all people are saved through Christ, and all Christians are heirs to God, a part of God’s family.
Final Thoughts
Next week, we will cover the other 3 arguments that Paul writes to the Galatians about why faith in Christ is the way to salvation. But to share one final thought: through Christ, we also have freedom of thought. C.S. Lewis mentions this in Mere Christianity:
I have been asked to tell you what Christians believe, and I am going to begin by telling you one thing that Christians do not need to believe. If you are a Christian you do not have to believe that all the other religions are simply wrong all through. If you are an atheist you do have to believe that the main point in all the religions of the whole world is simply one huge mistake. If you are a Christian, you are free to think that all these religions, even the queerest ones, contain at least some hint of the truth.
When I was an atheist, I had to try to persuade myself that most of the human race have always been wrong about the question that mattered to them most; when I became a Christian, I was able to take a more liberal view. But, of course, being a Christian does mean thinking that where Christianity differs from other religions, Christianity is right and they are wrong. As in arithmetic—there is only one right answer to a sum, and all other answers are wrong: but some of the wrong answers are much nearer being right than others.
As an atheist, Lewis was imprisoned by his legalism. And it was legalistic thinking that everyone else was wrong in every single aspect. For the Jews, if one broke any aspect of the Law, then they were condemned under the Law. For the atheist, if they admitted that any other religion had a hint of truth to it, then their whole worldview would crumble. However, for the Christian, they have freedom of thought because of grace. We are free to recognize that we do not know everything and that we do not have it altogether. If we get one aspect of our faith wrong, that doesn’t mean all of Christianity will fall apart.
This does not mean that all religions are truth and all lead to salvation. For as Lewis said, there is only one right answer. The one and only way to salvation is Jesus. But God is everywhere, and Christianity does not crumble if a kernel of God’s truth is found elsewhere. Because we are given grace and live under God’s grace and His Spirit, we can approach others with grace. There is freedom to be found in a life under Christ, and we can share that freedom with others.
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