Alright. Let's take our Bibles this morning
and turn with me to the book of Galatians 2. Galatians 2. I'd like to read verses 16 to
21. Galatians 2. Beginning in verse 16, 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 the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law. For
by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. But if, while we seek to be justified
by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore
Christ the minister of sin? 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. I am crucified with
Christ, nevertheless I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me in the life which I now live in the flesh. I live by
the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for
me. I do not frustrate the grace
of God, for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ
is dead in vain. Let's pray together. Our Father, this morning, we
ask that you would bless the services today here. And Lord,
those services where you've raised up faithful preachers, Lord,
I pray for the comfort of your people, for the glory of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Have mercy. We ask these things
for Christ's sake. Amen. Justified by the faith of Jesus
Christ. Now, I'd like to deal with this
subject justification. There can be nothing this side
of eternity that would be more needful for
the child of God to understand and to know the sure ground of
acceptance with Almighty God. Can there be any subject more
needful to know? Here's the question that Job
asked. How should man be just with God? Now, we're coming to a point.
We're coming to a time. There's coming a day. when we're
all going to stand before God. We're going to stand before God.
And this is going to be the issue. Is a man just before God or is
he not? That's it. Everything else is
going to not matter. It has no significance whatsoever. For my comfort, my confidence
concerning eternal salvation, salvation in Christ alone, I
want to know what God has to say about being justified before
Him. This is the most serious of all
subjects. If we ever understand anything,
this is the issue right here. This is it. Now, the Apostle
Paul spoke in this passage that we just read. I'll start in verse
16 in just a second, but there's a statement that he made in verse
20 of Galatians 2. And he says this, the middle
of the verse, verse 20, "...and the life which I now live in
the flesh." Now we're here this morning, And we're physically
alive. All of us are physically alive.
And the life of being justified before God while we're living
in this life, I'm talking about right now, the life which I now
live in the flesh, Speaking of living in this world right now
and being justified before God right now, I need to hear again
about that life. About being just before Him.
And if I know Him, I can say just exactly what the Apostle
Paul said. Because the life of this apostle
and the life of every regenerated saint is the same life. Justification. Now here is a
word that we hear. We've heard it before. But let's
just consider again. What is that? What does it mean? to be justified before God. What does justification mean? Justification, first of all,
is something that is done for me and not by me. Justification before God has
absolutely nothing to do with something that the sinner can
do for himself. And justification is the declaration
of innocence, the declaration of pardon, declaration of holiness,
cleanness before God's law. It is the declaration of innocence
for pardoned sinners, and it is the non-imputation of their
sin before God and His holy law, based totally upon the merit
of Christ's blood, shed for God's people, paying their debt, without
any additional work of righteousness on the sinner's part. Justification
has everything to do with God Almighty doing something for
those that He has everlastingly loved. And them adding to His
work, nothing. Zero. God's people were justified
in the eternal purpose and will of Almighty God According to
His everlasting covenant of grace, they were justified freely with
no addition on their part. What could they add? If they
were justified freely according to that everlasting covenant
of grace, what could they add? They weren't here. Saving the
mind and purpose of Almighty God. Now this justification is
something that must be revealed. Almighty God, in regeneration,
gives them a new heart, a new mind, a new spirit. And He gives
them faith to believe it. Justification, when we say that
men are justified By faith. It's not their faith that justifies
them. They know it by faith. They know it within. They understand
it. But then James says they're justified
by works. But it's not their works that
justifies them. Works is the evidence of their
justification. Other men know it. The basis
of our justification is the blood of Christ. Before the foundation
of the world, Almighty God who beheld, who saw the Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world, justified us freely by grace,
based upon the merit of Christ's blood that He eternally beheld. You say it happened in time.
That's right. But it has eternally been done in God's mind, God's
will, God's purpose. And Almighty God gives faith. And God's people believe it.
And other people know it by the evidence of that justification. And then the Scripture says they're
justified by their words. Out of the abundance of their
heart, their mouth speaks. That's what justification is.
It has nothing to do whatsoever with men. It's a work of grace. All of grace. Alright, now let's
look back and just go over these verses for a moment. Galatians
2.16, knowing, and here's my first part, this life that Paul
says, I now live, it's a life justified without the deeds of
the law. 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 that
we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the
works of the law, for by the works of the law shall no flesh
be justified. The law of God demands absolute
obedience. The least deviation, the least
breach of man's obedience, whether it be the slight of a thought,
the look of disbelief, the slightest breach in any degree places a
man and makes him subject to the full penalty of God's law
because of disobedience. Ezekiel 18.20 says, The soul
that sinneth continues to sin. It shall die. And therefore,
knowing that all have sinned and come short of the glory of
God, it's absolutely clear that by the works of the law shall
no flesh be justified." Now remember, when we say justified, it is
the declaration of Almighty God according to His law that says
perfect. No charge. No breach. No disobedience. None. The law demands perfect obedience. Can we trust our works? The gospel declares that we're
complete in Him. Do we not believe God? By experience, You that are regenerated
by the grace of God and know this in truth, you know the frailty
of your flesh. Could you honestly say, and you
cannot, that I have obeyed God? That I have obeyed God perfectly?
No, we haven't. We know. By the grace of God
that we're justified totally in Christ alone. By the works
of the law, no flesh is justified. That is the message of this world's
false, free will, man-centered religion. That a man can do something. And when we talk about the works
of the law, let me tell you something. It's whatever you think that
you've done in order to make salvation to be real, to be established. Whatever you think you've done.
Well, I did this, or I did this, or I walked here, or I joined
this, or I did that. If you're trusted in your choice,
you're trusting in your faith, that works. That works. I'm telling you, salvation is
by the grace of God. And if you're trusting in something
that you've done, you're lost. You're lost. I'm going to show
you that in verse 21. That's what verse 21, when we
get there, that's what it says. So I know this, first of all,
that the life that Paul said, I live now in the flesh, it's
a life that's justified without or apart from the deeds of the
law. Thanks be unto God for that.
Secondly, this life right now that I live in the flesh, it's
a life with Christ being the only cause of my justification. Now let's look at verse 16 again
here. Let's read this very carefully.
Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but
by the faith of Jesus Christ. Now the Apostle Paul reiterates
this truth in verse 20, and he says, In the life that I now
live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God. Now let me tell you something
that will absolutely, you that know Him, is going to thrill
your heart. As the head, as the surety, as
the representative, of His people. The Lord Jesus Christ came into
this world made of a woman. He was made flesh. The Word,
God Himself was made flesh. He assumed, He took to Himself
flesh, a human nature. Perfect human nature. Not born with the blood of Adam,
but conceived by the Holy Spirit, God Himself moved upon a virgin
that never knew a man, a virgin, and conceived in this woman,
the Scripture says, this holy thing. God Himself united with
humanity. God-Man. Deity-Humanity. An Almighty God, born of a virgin,
came into this world and walked before God Almighty perfectly. He obeyed God. He walked by faith. The man, the Son of Man, an Almighty
God who beheld Him, gave this conclusion of the Lord Jesus
Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration and at His baptism. This is my
beloved Son. and whom I'm well pleased." You
hear Him. Now, you stop now. You realize that He obeyed. He walked by faith. Perfect faith. The Spirit of
God was given Him without measure. He obeyed God. And by His obedience,
in His life and His death, He earned, established, absolute
righteousness. In His obedience and in His suffering,
He suffered. He paid the totality of the penalty
of God's law, not for Himself. But he paid the penalty, being
made sin. He who was without sin. Perfect. Now you talk about a mystery.
The Lord Jesus Christ made sin. He was not a sinner. You remember, a sinner has to
do with disobedience. By one man's disobedience. Many were made sinners. He was
not made a sinner. He was made sin, being the perfect,
obedient Son. And suffered the penalty of God's
law. Broken laws. For all that the
Father had given Him, He was laying down His life for the
sheep. And here is the obedient Son
of God establishing righteousness by His faith. His faith. Ephesians 1-7 says, "...in whom
we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins
according to the riches of His grace by our union with Him." One with Him in electing grace. What He did, we did. What He obeyed, we obeyed. What He suffered, we suffered. Who He believed, we believed
in Him. Christ and His people in the
eye of God's holy law are one. He is our federal head. He is the head, we're His body.
What the head does, the body does. Christ is not divided. Now here's a great comfort for
God's people. What the head does for His people,
is accounted to the body. His faith, His faith as our federal
head is the faith by which we're justified. That's His obedience. This is the robe in which we're
enclosed. Robed in His righteousness. What right does a sinner have
to stand before God and be accepted on no other basis than that Christ
Himself established righteousness for me by His obedience, by His
faith, by His walk, and imputed it to me? and took the guilt
that belonged to me and made it himself, made it to be His. He put away my debt and established
righteousness for me. His faith. Knowing that a man
is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith
of Jesus Christ. Thirdly, I know this life that
we now live. I know that we are not justified
by the works of the law. I know that we are justified
by the faith of Jesus Christ. But this life that we now live
right now, we do live by faith. You say, well, wait a minute.
What do you mean? Well, now, we just read and considered
that a man is justified by the faith of Jesus Christ. That's
correct. But how do we know that? Let's
read again, verse 16. 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 that we might be justified
by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law. For
by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. Here's what happens. I know that
it is His faith by which we're justified. But Almighty God gives
us faith to believe that. The Lord Jesus Christ established,
earned the righteousness by which His people are accepted in Him. And then the just are given faith
to believe that Christ is their righteousness. We believe, not
as we would desire to, not as we would long to, Right now,
I'll tell you this, by faith we believe that it is His faith
by which we stand before God accepted. What we needed, Christ
supplied. I need to believe God perfectly. Christ is my perfect obedience
before God. And right now, I'm living in
this flesh right now. And there's an old man and a
new man. And they're struggling with each
other. But that new man knows. He knows God. And he believes
that Christ is all of his life. That Christ is his all and in
all. There's my fourth point right
here. The life that we now live in the flesh, that life that
knows that we're not justified by the works of the law. That
life that knows that we live by the faith of Jesus Christ.
This life right now that has faith to believe that our life
is in Christ alone. Here's the fourth thing. It's
a life that gives Christ all of the honor. Look at verses
17 and 18. But if while we seek to be justified
by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, Is therefore
Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. For if I build again
the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor."
What did he just say? He says that if we say, if we
say, if we say, that we seek to be justified by Christ, And
we're found trying to add our own works of self-righteousness. Is therefore Christ the minister
of sin? Or he's saying this, do we not
say, if Christ is our life, but we need to add our works to what
He's done to make it effectual. Are we then saying that His righteousness
is not enough? Are we saying that His death
did not put away our sins? Again, this is the preaching
of this world's false religion. Here's what this world says. Christ went to the cross and
made salvation possible. And by grace, the Lord offers
it. But you're going to have to accept
it. It's by grace. It's by the grace of God that
it's offered. But you're going to have to accept it in order
to make it effectual. That's what the world preaches.
That's a lie. That is a lie. Do we not then
say that He possesses an imperfect righteousness? An imperfect sacrifice? Are we saying that it wasn't
finished at Calvary? That's what you're saying now.
If you say that you have to add your work to it, that it's by
God's grace that He offers it, but you have to make. Paul said,
if I start building again, adding back those things which I once
destroyed, that is, works of the flesh, works of the law,
He said, I'm revealing that I'm an unconverted man. Let's read
this again. This is what he said. But if while we seek to be justified
by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore
Christ the minister of sin? God forbid, for if I build again
the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. Verse 19, For I through the law,
I'm dead to the law that I might live unto God. I, through the law of Christ's
obedience to the law, I through the law of Christ, I through
the law of free grace, I'm dead to the law of works. If you first
read it, you see, what does he mean? For I, through the law
of Christ's obedience to that law, I'm dead to the law that
still says to me, you owe. You must do. We don't seek life by keeping
the law of God. Christ is the totality of our
life before God. I'm dead to the law's demand
for obedience. And I'm dead to its penalty.
Now, we never preach when we said that we're dead to the law's
demand for obedience. We do not preach that men have
license to sin. Romans 6, 1 and 2. States clearly, what shall we
say then? Shall we continue in sin that
grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that
are dead to sin live any longer therein? God's people desire
obedience to Him. And it grieves them when they
see disobedience and inconsistencies in themselves. is our life. And we know that we are dead
to the law's demand for obedience from us. Thanks be unto God for
that. We're alive in Christ alone. And here's Paul's proof of verse
19. He said, I'm crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet not
I, but Christ liveth in me in the life which I now live in
the flesh. I live by the faith of the Son
of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. I am crucified
with Christ. When He died, I died as my mediator,
as my surety, as my substitute, as my representative. Part with
Him. Union with Him. I was crucified with Him. I was
there. What He did was for His people. As I said a moment ago, when
He obeyed the law, when He was suffering at Calvary, when He
was buried in the tomb, when He was raised from the dead,
when He ascended into heaven, where He's seated right now,
we're with Him. You say, how can that be? The
Scripture says it so. Seated with Christ in the heavenlies.
When He died, the totality of our sin was born in His body. The totality of God's wrath because
of that sin was spewed out upon Him and He made an end. to the penalty of God's law for
all that He represented. Our sins shall never be remembered
against us again. I'm crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Now, he's going to be talking
here in conclusion of himself. Nevertheless, I live. But that
I right there, that's the new me. That's the regenerated me. That's the alive me, spiritually. A new man. A new spirit of life
that now experiences and knows and believes what the Lord has
done. That new man does not believe
that he was justified by the works of the law. He knows that
was not so. He knows that he was not justified
by his ability, by his will. He knows that. No believer believes
that God Almighty has saved him, has regenerated him, has given
him life because of what he did. No believer believes that. The
life that I now live, I'm crucified with Christ. He put away my death. Nevertheless, I live. Yet, not
I, but Christ liveth in me. What do you mean, Paul? You just
said, nevertheless, I live. Yet, not I. Not that old man. This new man that lives, this
new man that's alive, That's not the old me that's been reformed. That's not the Pharisee that's
been cleaned up. It is Christ that liveth in me. That new righteous nature created
by the grace of God, implanted in me. Righteousness that has
been imputed to me. Christ is my Life, one with Him,
the life of a believer, cannot be separated from the life of
Christ. And the life which I now live
in the flesh, this new life, lived in this life on this earth,
I live by the faith of the Son of God. Life that is grounded
and established totally upon the merit of His obedience and
death. That life that I believe by faith
that He has given me as my surety and my head. This life that I
live right now by the faith of the Son of God who loved me Love
me eternally. Love me in particular. Love me
with an unchanging, an immutable love. Why? Because He chose to. Not because of what He saw I
would do. Not because of my best efforts.
Not because of my choice. He chose to love me because He
chose to love me. There is no other answer. And
gave Himself for me. Gave Himself in particular for
His people. Gave Himself into the hands of
the absolute justice of Almighty God. Made Himself an offering
and sacrifice to God to redeem those that He everlastingly loved. Verse 21 in closing, I do not
frustrate the grace of God. This is what he says, I do not
deny or cast away the blessed truth that salvation is by the
grace of God. I do not frustrate the grace
of God. I believe it. I hold it dear. God has taught me this. If righteousness comes by the
law, then Christ is dead and vain. If righteousness comes
by man's obedience to the law, then there was no reason whatsoever
for Christ to come into this world. There was no reason for
Christ to be made sin. There was no reason for the Father
to justly deal with Him as the Redeemer and the Substitute and
the Surety. What do you mean? If righteousness
comes by the law, the law was already here. If righteousness can come by
the law, then just obey it. If righteousness can be established
and obtained by your obedience and your faith and your work. It was here. God had given it.
Sinai. I don't frustrate the grace of
God. If righteousness comes by the law, by your will, by your
work, And Christ is dead in vain. He shed His blood for some that
are going to be lost. If it was left up to you, there's
going to be some that's in hell. And Christ died in vain. It would
be a mockery. That's a lie. That's not true. Salvation is by the grace of
God. Salvation is sure. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is believed by God's
people through faith, not by the works that they can do, but
what He's done for them in charge of their account. Salvation is
all of God's grace through faith, not of yourselves. Why? Because
we just boast in it. May the Lord bless these words
to our heart for Christ's sake.