All right, if you take your Bibles
now and turn them into Galatians. Galatians chapter 2. Text will be found in verse 19. Galatians chapter 2. Title of this message, Justification. Not by the law, but through the
law. Justification not by the law, but through the law. I hope the Lord will open our
understanding to see what Paul means by this in verse 19. Look
at what he said. He's talking about justification.
He tells us in verse 16 that we are not justified by the works
of the law. Well, how then is a man justified,
Paul? He said, for I through the law,
I through the law am dead to the law. Justified. Completely
justified. What does a justified man have,
what does the law have to do with a justified man? Nothing. He satisfied it. How? By being dead to it. For this purpose that I might
live unto God. Leading up to this, leading up
to this, we see in verses 11 through 13 that the apostle Peter
came to the church of Antioch. He came to the church of Antioch,
and they had a disputation. Something happened here, and
Paul says, I withstood Peter to the face because of something
that he had to be blamed for. We see here that Peter was eating
and fellowshipping with these Gentile believers. Somebody said he had a bacon
sandwich, pork sandwich. And he was enjoying fellowship
with them until these Jews came. He said in verse 12, for before
that certain Jews, the certain came from James, He did eat with
the Gentiles, but when they were come, he withdrew himself and
separated himself, fearing them that were of the circumcision. He was enjoying his fellowship
with the Gentile believers, but these Jews, he committed a great
error. He committed a great error in that he moved away from them.
Verse 13, and the other Jews, The other Jews dissembled likewise
with him, insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with this
dissimulation. So these Jews came in, saw him
eating that pork sandwich, and he, fearing them, got up and
moved away from the Gentiles and went to the Jews. And this was a great error, in
that not only the other Jews followed him, but Barnabas, who
preached with Paul for many years, was caught up in this error. He was acknowledging he who was
free from the law, he who knew that he should not be justified
by the law, gave homage to the law. And by doing so, he caused
other believers to err. And I think by this we should
learn to be careful concerning our conduct and the doctrine
that we hold. We ought to be careful that our
doctrine and our conduct match up, that what we profess to believe
that we should also manifest in our actions so that other
believers are not drawn away by our error. And that's exactly
what happened to Peter. And so in verses 14 through 21,
the apostle Paul reviews Peter for this. And look at this in
verse 14. I'd like you to see how he starts
out his rebuke. He starts out with a question.
He says in verse 14, But when I saw that they walked not upright
according to the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before
them all, here's what he said, a question. He said, If thou,
being a Jew, livest after the manner of the Gentiles, and not
as do the Jews, why compelst thou the Gentiles to live as
the Jews. I'll tell you this, if we are
ever in a situation where we must rebuke our brethren, that's
a good way to do it, simply by asking a question, not by calling
names or pointing fingers. It's asking a simple question.
This is a question that's very simple that Peter could answer.
And why did Paul rebuke him? It's not for preeminence. Paul
did not desire the preeminence, but the gospel was being neglected
the truth of the gospel was being set aside. And so he wanted the
preeminence of the gospel. He desired the truth to be declared. And so he did it in love. He
did it in love for Peter and for the brethren. And Paul asked
that question. He says, Peter, if you've been
taught by the Holy Spirit that all things are clean, And remember,
Peter had that vision of the angel in Acts, that all things
are clean, that God is not a respecter of persons. Now, Peter, you've
been taught that, that God is not a respecter of
persons, but has come to seek and to save that which was lost,
Jew or Gentile. If you have also, by your rightful
actions, abandoned the law, you've abandoned the law as any part
of your salvation. Then. Why do you separate yourselves
from the fellowship and compel others to go back under the law?
That's what he was doing. He was compelling those Gentile
believers to go back under the law. He said, if you being a
Jew. You being a Jew livest after
the man of the Gentiles, in other words, you you're free from the
law. The Gentiles didn't have any
understanding of the law. They didn't know anything at
all about the law. Why the uneven conduct, Peter? Why are you giving
consent to the law of Moses to put this yoke on these believers? In verse 15, he makes a practical
experience, turned a practical experience. He said, we who are
Jews by nature are not sinners of the Gentiles. I like this
for being said we. That's a good way to do it as
well, isn't it? Not only asking questions, but
in a manner of saying, look, this is personal. We both had
this. We both being Jews by nature. We understand the law of Moses
better than anybody. You see, Peter and Paul were
Jewish men. They were under a formal education of the law. They knew
personally. The law of Moses. They were taught
this from their youth. These two men were required every
year, three times a year, to go to Jerusalem, and they watched
their fathers present sacrifices to the priests and make offerings. They were taught to read and
write by the law. The law was ingrained in them
as Jews. If we, being Jews, who know the
law, who have read the law, who understand the law, But he said,
these Gentiles, they were not born under the law. We were not
born pagans like them. They didn't have any idea what
this law is. They have no idea what it's like
to live under the bondage of the law. But we do. We know, and this
is what we know, we being Jews, we're not like those, the Gentiles
who were lawless. But what do we know about the
law? Look at verse 16, knowing this, that a man is not justified
by the works of the law. That's what we know. We who have
been saved, Peter, he said, we who have been saved by the power
of the Holy Spirit, our eyes have been opened, we know this,
that nobody is justified by the law. Why then would you compel
them to go back under the law? You see the great error of Peter
in dissimulating. Now this is the first time in
this book that this word justified appears. Justified. Knowing we are not justified
by the works of the law. What is it to be justified? Now
listen very carefully. It's a judicial term. It just
means this. Innocent. That's what it means,
innocent. If a man is justified, he is
declared in truth to be innocent of all charges. If I was driving 55 miles an
hour in a 55 mile an hour zone and I get clocked by a cop whose
radar gun is wrong, shows me a 56 and he gives me a ticket.
And I take it to court, and it's found out that his gun is not
right. I would be then justified. Why? Not that I broke the law. I was
innocent. I was justified. I was proven. Now, in this matter of the law
of God, this is a very serious thing. The law of God is very serious
in this charge. The charge that has been brought
upon all men, that all men by nature have broken the law of
God. All men by nature. Paul says
in Romans 3 that all have sinned. And the result of this is we
have come short. You've come short of the glory
of God. Come short of righteousness.
Come short of holiness. that all men have been charged
in the law of God, having lack of love for their
Maker and their fellow man. The law then was given on tables
of stone to the Jews. But we as Gentiles know this,
that that law was not only given to them on stone, it was given
to us in our hearts. That law was written in the hearts
of all men. Paul tells us this in Romans
chapter 1 concerning the Gentiles. He tells us the Gentiles who
were not given the law of Moses were still guilty, in that that
law was written on their hearts. All men know that God is, that
God has created all things. Look at creation. And it condemns
men because man Knowing God is the Creator of all things, yet
He abased God and made Him to be like the four-footed beast
and creatures of the world. They knew in their hearts that
truth was right, lies were wrong. They knew that Adultery is wrong. Fornication is wrong. Homosexuality
is wrong. These things are written on the
hearts of men. Paul says in Romans chapter 1
and verse 32, he says, Who, knowing the judgment of God, that they
that commit such things, what things? Wickedness, covetousness,
maliciousness, envy, murder, deceit, debate, whispers, backbiters,
covenant breakers. They know this, the judgment
of God. that they that commit such things are worthy of death.
And listen, they not only do the same, but we had pleasure
in sin. We as Gentiles, knowing in our
hearts that these things were evil, yet we still did them.
The Gentiles still did them. Now, were the Jews any better?
No. No. Matter of fact, I think it's
Romans chapter 2, this next chapter, Paul says this, Therefore thou
art inexcusable, O man, whoever you are, Jew or Gentile. He says in chapter 3, What then? Is it better to be a Jew? Is
it better to be a Jew who had the law of Moses? He said, No. No. In no wise we have proved,
both Jew and Gentile, that they are all under sin. As it is written,
There is none righteous, no. not one. Therefore, the law condemns
all men. The law of God condemns all men. The charge of God is clear that
all men are guilty before God. That we have all broken the law
of God. Does anyone think that they should
escape the judgment of God? How foolish is man to think he
should escape the judgment of God? You live a thousand years,
you're still going to face God. At the end of that time, you're
going to face the judgment of God. Does anyone think they should
escape? Does anyone think they can justify
themselves? Can anyone prove they are innocent
of all charges? Can you prove your love for God? Is your love for God sufficient
to satisfy the law of God? Can you show that you've never
lied, lusted, stole, or neglected the things of your neighbor?
No. If we're honest, we must then
confess our guilt. We must confess our guilt. This
is proven not only in history, but by our experience. Even more so with. Our conscience condemns us. That
we have broken the law of God, so that if we have done these
things. Can we justify that we were right
to do them? No. Yet man by nature rails against
God's law. The natural, the carnal mind
is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the things
of God, neither indeed can be. It defies, it hates the law of
God. The natural man hates God's demands. God demands perfection. And what
does men do? They try to throw off his cause. They say, well, there is no God. They try to escape the judgment
of God by just denying his existence. Man is so depraved that he would
set himself up to be sovereign. Well, God You know, God doesn't
have a right to infringe upon my will. How foolish. How foolish. They believe that man has a right
to determine in himself what is right and wrong. We live in
a relativist society. Well, that's just your opinion
of what's right and wrong. No, your conscience tells you
it's wrong. If you'd just be honest for just a single moment,
you would understand what you're doing is evil. Man by nature, he comes to legal
matters as a relative, but listen, God is not a relativist. Matter
of fact, the scripture tells us he has no respect for a person.
He doesn't care who you are. The law of God does not care
who you are, what race you are, what color you are, what gender
you are, how old you are. It doesn't matter. The law of
God, God is no respecter of persons. His justice is truly blind to
the person being condemned. The proof of this is the cross.
You want to see how God looks upon sin? You go to the cross.
Don't look at hell. When God made Christ to be sin
for us, how lenient was the law of God concerning the death of
Christ? There was no mercy. That shows
you God's law is not a respecter of persons. And whomever sin
is found, he will be condemned. So then there is no excuse for
our sins. We as creatures of God are subject
to our maker. He is by divine right and power
demands his creatures obedience. He doesn't ask your obedience.
His law demands your obedience. This is the fact that Paul is
relaying to Peter, we know. We know this, that by the deeds
of the law shall no flesh be justified. Why? Because we're
already guilty. You're already guilty. You're
guilty when you were born into this world. You were conceived in sin. You are already condemned. Therefore,
we cannot ever ever be justified by further obedience. A man commits
murder, he goes to the judge and says, well, I won't do that
again. Well, that's fine and good, but
you're still going to die. You're still going to die. A man says, I know I'm guilty
before the law of God, but you know what? If I just make the
law a rule of life from now on, then God will overlook my sin.
No. No, He won't. That's the law
of God. The law is just and blind to
whoever He condemns. God has condemned us all to eternal
death. We are all guilty and stand in
need of justification. But how then can God be just
and justify us? Well, let me tell you, in the
negative, it is not by the law. What is then the purpose of the
law? Why then did God give the law of Moses? Well, in that passage
in Romans chapter 3, after Paul condemns the whole world and
says we are all guilty, No better to be a Jew than is a Gentile.
You're all under sin. He tells us Romans three and
verse 20 says, therefore, by the deeds of the law shall no
flesh be justified in God's sight. Here's the purpose of law for
by the law is the knowledge of sin. The only purpose of the
law is never to justify you. It is only to condemn you. With that in mind, does anybody
seek to be justified by the law this morning? I hope that that's
clear to you. There is no possibility. When
a man says, well, you know what? I don't say that I'm justified
by the law, but the law is a rule of life. Listen, if the law is
a rule for your life, then you are ruled by the law. If the law has any part, any
measure, then you are still under the law. Cursed is everyone that
continueth not in all things written in the book of the law
to do them. Well, I just won't obey the Ten
Commandments. No, you don't get to decide which
parts of the law you obey. If you are under it for a rule,
you do the whole thing. And if you do one thing, you
are condemned by all of it. So then the question is that
if a man's convicted of this, if a man understands his condemnation,
if a man understands his sinful nature, then what he longs to
know is how can I be justified? If not by the law, then how?
If I'm not justified by the law, by my obedience to the law, then
how can I be justified before God? Here's our text. Paul tells us how. Paul says,
I'm living under God. Well, how in the world could
you do that, Paul? Only a justified man can live under God. That's
right. Listen, he said this, for I,
through the law, am dead to the law. The only way a man can be justified
is not found in himself or in his righteousness, a man can
be justified only if the law's demands are
completely satisfied. The only way the law can look
upon you as holy and righteous is this, the law's demands must
be satisfied. But I've already shown you they
can't be satisfied in you. This is the gospel. This is the
gospel is that the law is satisfied through another. The just demands
of the law have been satisfied by one man. Jesus Christ alone. This is the hope of the gospel.
This is how. This is hope for those who can't
justify themselves. Paul says this. Look back in
verse in your text. Look back in verse 16, knowing
that a man is not justified by the works of law. But how is
a man justified, Paul? Listen, by the faith of Jesus
Christ. By the faith of Jesus Christ. Now, the word faith. Is not just speaking of Christ
faith. Is there any man who had greater
faith in Christ? No. He trusted God in every part
of his life. With every ounce of his being,
he believed God. But it also has to do with his
faithfulness. A man who believes, who has faith,
is also faithful. Therefore, by the faith and the
faithfulness of Jesus Christ, we may be justified. This word there could be translated
either faith or faithfulness. I think both are applicable.
Both are good. So then I, through the obedience,
through the obedience of Jesus Christ to the law, I am now justified. First of all, the faithfulness
of Jesus Christ in our justification, the faithfulness of Christ in
his obedience to the law. This man, Jesus, who is God manifest
in the flesh, has come for this purpose, to establish the law. To honor the law. When Christ
came as a man, he came under the law. He says in Matthew chapter 5,
think not, I am come to destroy the law. I come to it. I wrote it. It's mine. I didn't come to destroy it.
What do you do? I come to fulfill. Fulfill, for verily I say unto
you, till heaven and earth shall not pass away, not one jot or
tittle shall pass away of the law from the law till when? all be fulfilled. He came to fulfill the law by
obeying the law. He came to fulfill all that the
law required. He, as a man, by His righteous,
His active obedience, He did what the Scripture said He would
do, magnify the law and make it honorable. Look at
that in Isaiah chapter 42. Isaiah chapter 42. Look at verse
19. See what he said when when Christ
should come into the world. What should he do? What is the
work that he should accomplish? You know, this is the. Isaiah
42 is the message of God's servant. Behold, my servant. My uphold,
mine elect and whom my soul delighted. Look at what the servant of God
is going to do. He said this who is blind. But
my servant. or deaf as my messenger that
I sent, who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the
Lord's servant." What does this mean? Which of you convinces
me of sin? Can you make a blind man see?
No. Could you convince Christ to
see it? Was there anything in Him that
compelled Him to sin? No. He was blind to it. He was deaf to it. He didn't
have any enticement to it. And look what he's going to do.
Seeing many things, but thou observest not opening the ears,
but thou, but he hearest not. The Lord is well pleased for
his righteousness sake. He will magnify the law and make
it honorable. That's what Christ Jesus came
to do. Magnify the law, make it honorable, and by his obedience,
Listen, you who believe, listen to this, by His obedience to
the law, you and I were represented. You see how I was justified?
I was justified through obedience to the law, just not mine. It was my representative's obedience.
He obeyed the law in the stead of all His people. Therefore,
His righteousness is now ours. That's how I'm justified. That's
how I'm made righteous. By the righteousness of another. Second of all, the faithfulness
of Christ, not only in obedience, but in death. In death. For Christ to honor the law,
it was not enough for Him to just obey the law for us. It was necessary that Christ
also satisfy the just demands of the law, which is death. I, through the law, Paul says
in our text, am what? Dead to the law. How in the world
could we be dead to the law? Only through the death of Christ. That very next verse, for I am
crucified, with Christ. Death and until that is carried
out, the justice of God cannot demand that you be just. It cannot
declare you're justified. Except you die. Therefore, Jesus
willingly out of love and grace for all of his elect, he took
our sins upon himself. God made him to be sin for us. In Calvary, God made him to be
sin for us. Who knew no sin? Otherwise, you could not be made
the righteousness of God. That is the only way we could
be made righteous, through His death. That hymn writer wrote, He bore,
he took our sins and our sorrows and he made them his very own.
He bore the burden to Calvary and suffered and died alone. He is the great high priest who
offered himself as a spotless lamb to God. Yet in justice, our sins were
so much imputed to him that they became his own. That's the only
way justice can be satisfied. It's one of the greatest mysteries
of justification. Is that the sinless Son of God
bore our sins in His own body. And though He bare our sins,
so much so that God's justice was right to kill Him. Yet He
still was spotless. I don't dare explain it. I know
it was so. He felt no sin, he thought no
sin, and yet he was made sin. How could that be? Well, all
you think is sin, and yet you've been made righteous. That's a
mystery, isn't it? It is a mystery. Scripture says, "...he being
found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross." Jesus Christ, this
man, Jesus Christ, has justly paid for the sins of all His
people by passive obedience. By the passive obedience of the
cross. He endured the wrath of God that
was due all of our sins. He suffered under the justice
of God in the stead of his sheep. He said this, I am the good shepherd
and the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. You want to know how an unjust
man could be justified through the law? By Christ's obedience
to the law and Christ's suffering under the just sentence of the
law. And what is the result of his
suffering? What is the result of his obedience? The scripture
said, God hath highly exalted him and given him a name that
is above every name. How do I know that he was successful?
If the only way a man could be justified is through the obedience
and the suffering of Jesus Christ, how do we know he was victorious? How do I know my sins were put
away? How do I know that his death
was enough? other than the multitude of scripture
that tells me so. Simply this, God raised him from
the dead and sat him down on the throne of God. God says,
I'm satisfied with that man. And I'm satisfied with everyone
that man represented. His faithfulness. We see His
faithfulness accomplished the justification of all who believe
in Him. All who know this to be true. We know this to be true because
God raised Him from the dead and now He's seated on the throne.
And what is He doing? He is calling His people. He
is experimentally justifying them. He has already justified
them. They didn't know anything about
it. Did you know anything about your justification before God
came to you? No, you're still trying to earn
it. But when he came to you, what
do you do? You stop trying. Impossible. I can't earn. I can't justify
myself. I know this. He justified. And this justification, then,
by the faith of Christ also means that he who justified us gives
us faith. Look at back of your text, go
back to your text, look at this. He says in chapter, in verse 16,
he said, we're not justified by the works of the law, by the
faith of Jesus Christ, his obedience and blood. Even we have believed
in Jesus Christ. Now there's our faith. that we might be justified by
the faith of Christ. What is our faith in? How do we know we're justified? We believe we are justified by
the faith of Christ. And this faith that we have is
given to us. Now, faith. Faith is necessary. Without faith, it's impossible
to please God. That's simple, isn't it? You cannot be justified
without faith. A man who has no faith in Christ
and does not believe in Christ is not justified. He has no right
to claim he is justified. And if he continues in that unbelief,
it just proves that he never was justified at all. But faith is necessary. But let
me tell you this. Our faith is not the source of
our justification. It is not the cause of our justification. In fact, faith is not even of
ourselves, is it? You that have faith, where did
you get faith? Where did that come from? It came from the same
source as justification. For by grace you are saved. I like that. Don't you? By grace,
you are saved. You didn't do anything to earn
it. Didn't do anything to merit it. It was done for you. It was
done by grace. You're saved by grace. And how? How do you know you are saved
by grace? Through faith. Faith is the evidence of our
salvation. But where'd that come from? It,
faith, is a gift of God. This morning, you still believe.
You don't have to wait for Christmas to get this gift. Every moment
of every day, you are gifted if you believe it is a gift of
God. And we who have been gifted say
this, it is not of works. It is a gift of God, not of works. Not of my will. That's not where
it came from. I'm willing. That's not where
it came from. It is a gift of God, not of works. That's what
any man should boast. And so faith is necessary for
justification, for no one has ever not believed on the Son
of God, cannot claim to be justified. He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be
damned. See, Jesus, by His faithfulness,
by His faithfulness, not only honored the law, justified us
before the law of God, but listen, He has become the rightful author
and finisher of our faith. This is what he has become. Looking
unto Jesus, Paul said in Romans 12, the author and finisher of
our faith. To all those who do not believe
on the Son of God, you have no right to claim you've
been justified. To all who would say they believe
on Christ, but add their works or will to justify them. You are not justified. As a matter
of fact, in Galatians 5, Paul tells them this. He said, Galatians 5, Galatians 5, there
it is, Galatians 5, he said this, Behold, I, Paul, say unto you,
If you be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. I testify
again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to the whole
law, and Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever
you are that are justified by the law. You take one thing and
you add it to Christ, you are not justified. You have defiled
the sacrifice. But all who come by faith in
Christ alone, all who look to Him to be justified by His obedience
and blood, listen, you are justified in His sight. I'll tell you this, when I look
in the mirror, do I see a justified man? Do you feel justified? I'm glad the scripture doesn't
say you need to feel justified. 99.9% of the times, a believer
does not feel righteous. In fact, the more we grow, the
more we feel our sin, the more we know, I can't be justified
by the law. But here's my hope, that by Christ,
through the law, not around it, not over it, not under it, not
skirting it, but through it, he obtained all the law required
of me. Therefore, I am dead to the law. That's simple. What does a dead
man have to do with this world? When he dies, he's a corpse.
Nothing in this world has any effect on him. He's dead. Therefore, because I am justified
through the law by Christ, I am dead to the law. And it has no
hold on me whatsoever. The law is for the transgressor.
I'm justified. I have no need of the law. Law has no hold on me. I am dead
to the law for I am dead through Christ. I am crucified with him. Therefore, Paul says, I live
unto God as a justified man, as a righteous man. I got many other things to say.
I want to close with this illustration, and I thought it was a good one,
I've used it a couple of times before, of how Christ justified
us. He made us righteous. You who
believe on Christ, I want you to know this, I want you to embrace
this, by faith that the law has nothing to say to you. The law
is not your rule of life. Faith is. Faith and love. You have a law? You're not lawless,
are you? You have a law? Believe. Trust Christ in everything. Love Christ in everything. Is it not the love of Christ
that constrains us from sin? It is. It's not the law. The
law only stirs up sin. It doesn't help. We who have been justified. There
was an illustration, I like to use this one, of our justification. There was an Indian chieftain
of a native tribe. He was a good leader, a good
man to his people. And there was a standing law
that if anyone was caught stealing, they were to be tied to the post
in the center of the village and be whipped with a hundred
lashes. When it was found, there was
a thief that was running through the tribe. And they had found
the thief, and the thief happened to be the mother of this chieftain. His loving mother, the one that
gave birth to him, the one that taught him to be a just man,
the one that loved him as a child and taught
him. But because he was a just man,
he did sentence his mother to the whipping post. But his mother, who was now old,
this meant certain death. She would not survive. So the morning came, she was
stripped, tied to the pole, chieftain sitting on his throne, commanded
the whip to be raised. But once it was raised, he commanded
it to halt. He laid aside his royal robes. He went down to the post and
wrapped his arms around his mother. And he commanded the man to begin. And he bore the hundred lashes
in the stead of his mother. He was guilty. But he bore it for her that she
might live. Is that not what Christ has done
through the law? He honored it. He magnified it. And he died under it. Why? That we might be justified. that we might live under God. You have so much to be thankful
for. You who believe. Why do we spend so much time
murmuring? I think it's in Job, it asks that
question, why did the living man complain? been justified. You've been sanctified. You've been made righteous. You've
been redeemed by the blood of a most precious Savior. Now you are free. Free from the
low, happy condition. Jesus is bled and there is remission.
Cursed by the law and bruised by the fall, Christ hath redeemed
us once for all. Our gracious Savior, thank you
for your mercy. Thank you for that redeeming
blood. Thank you for your mercy in sending
your spirit to teach us that we have not been justified by
the deeds of the law, but only through the law, by the obedience
of Christ, by the faith of Christ. Thank you for giving us such
faith. Continue, I pray, to give us this faith until it's lost
in sight. Lord, I do pray for those that
are lost that by grace you might send them faith and life, that
they may see the justification accomplished by Christ. And I
ask you to do this for your own glory. In Jesus' name.