Is not that I did choose thee? Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Nyberg. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
9.45 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com. I've entitled this morning's
message, Galatians 2.16. I'm going to read this 16th verse
of Galatians, chapter 2, and I want you to notice the way
I read it. If you don't have a King James Version, It won't
read like this, and this is why I love the King James Version.
I think it's such a better translation. It's just a translation. It's
not inspired, but it is the best of translations. And here's why
I say this. Galatians 2, verse 16, Paul says,
knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but
by the faith of Jesus Christ. Now, if you don't have a King
James Version, it reads something like this, by faith in Jesus
Christ. But that's not what the King
James Version says, which is very true to the original, but
by the faith of Jesus Christ. Even we have believed in Jesus
Christ, there's the end, 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. Galatians 2, verse
16. Now, when you look at a ball
game on TV, or even being in a stadium, and people will quite
often put up John 3.16. And that is what everybody wants
to be read, John 3.16. And I love John 3.16. Great verse. God so loved the world that he
gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should
not perish but have everlasting life. I love that verse. But
do you know the gospel is not in that verse. That gives the
reason for the gospel, but the gospel is stated in the previous
two verses. As Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.
There's the gospel. That whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world. That's the reason behind the
gospel. Now in Galatians chapter 2, verse 16, we have the gospel
stated. And I believe this is one of
the most important verses in all the Word of God. Now this
is actually a continuation of Paul's rebuke of Peter. If you
heard the message last week, we considered why Paul rebuked
Peter for getting up and moving tables. He moved from the Gentile
table to the Jew table, and Paul called it. act of dissimulation. He rebuked Peter publicly and
he said they were not walking uprightly according to the truth
of the gospel. Now in verse 15, He says, we who are Jews by nature
and not sinners of the Gentiles. Now he's not saying Jews are
better than Gentiles. He's not saying that at all.
All are under sin. Paul said before we both proved,
Jew and Gentile, that they're all under sin. Jews are no better
than Gentiles. Gentiles are no better than Jews. You see, there's no difference
between men. You take the most moral man in the world and the
most immoral man in the world and there's really no difference. They're all equally evil and
sinful in God's sight. One might look better, but God
knows the heart. God sees what's really going
on. And not one group is better than another. So what Paul is
talking about, look in verse 16, he says, even we have believed
in Jesus Christ, even we Jews have believed in Jesus Christ.
Not just like, not just the Gentiles, we Jews are saved the same way
the Gentiles are. We're saved by the faith of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Now Paul begins verse 16 saying,
knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law. Now I'd like to do some definition
of terms in this verse. What does Paul mean by the works
of the law? He uses this twice, knowing the
man is not justified by the works of the law. And then he says
at the end of the verse, by the works of the law shall no flesh
be justified. What is meant by the works of
the law? Actually, the law is mentioned 29 times in the book
of Galatians. Now, sometimes the word law in
the Old Testament scriptures simply refers to the law of Moses
given to him by God on Mount Sinai. That has the Ten Commandments. That has the civil law, the laws
regarding civil duties. It's got the ceremonial law,
the sacrifices and feast days and types and dietary laws and
so on. That's the law of Moses. Now, that law can't be separated. Some people say, well, we're
still under the Ten Commandments. We're just not under the ceremonial
law or the civil law anymore. Well, that's not so. You can't
separate the law. If you have any part of the law,
you've got to have it all. But sometimes it means the law
of Moses, the law given on Mount Sinai. Sometimes the word simply
speaks of the conscience, the work of the law written in the
hearts of all men. You see, all men know the difference
between right and wrong. All men know it's wrong to lie.
All men know it's wrong to commit sexual sin. All men know it's
wrong to steal. We know these things. The law
is written in the heart of every natural man. Now, a man can,
through sinfulness, make his conscience numb so he doesn't
feel anything anymore and doesn't care, but still all men are born
knowing the difference between right and wrong, and that's why
all men are responsible for what they do and guilty when they
sin. Sometimes it's an internal principle spoken of. We read
of the law of faith or the law of the spirit of life in Christ
Jesus or the law of Christ or the law of liberty or the law
of love. It's an internal principle. In
Galatians, Paul uses the word primarily to refer to the Law
of Moses. Now, that is broader than you
may think. In Galatians chapter 4, this
same book, Paul says, Tell me you that desire to be under law,
do you not hear the law? You say you want to be under
law, don't you hear what it says? For it is written, and notice he
doesn't give the Ten Commandments, he says that Abraham had two
sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a free woman, but
he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh, but he
of the free woman was by promise, which things are an allegory,
for these are the two covenants. The one from Mount Sinai, which
genders to bondage, which is Hagar, for Hagar is Mount Sinai,
Hagar. Now, Mount Sinai is the place
where God gave the law, and this was before Moses was even born.
But he's giving the story of Abraham and Sarah, Hagar, and
Ishmael. God had promised a son to Abraham
through Sarah. Years pass. It doesn't take place. Sarah says to Abraham, God's
promise won't be fulfilled unless we do our part. So you go into
Hagar, you do your part, and we'll have a child so God's promise
can be fulfilled. Now Hagar has a child and then
Sarah has a child later on according to God's promise. Now Hagar represents
Sinai, man doing his part. Salvation by law is having any
part of salvation dependent upon you doing your part. That represents salvation by
law. If God does 99.99% and you do
1.01%, that's you doing your part, that is law. Now, the next
term I would like us to consider, justification. We read, having been justified
three times in this verse of Scripture. Now justification
means a perfect standing before God's holy law, the Ten Commandments,
the ceremonial law, the civil law. God's law looks you over
and finds no fault. You've never lied. You've never
stole. You've never committed sexual sin, not even in your
heart. You've been perfect. You stand
before God's holy law without fault and without blemish. That's
what justification means. And all three times it's spoken
in the passive tense. Just the fact that it's in the
passive tense lets us know that there's nothing that we can do
to obtain justification. It's the work of God. He justifies
us. It's God that justifies, the
scripture says. Justification is not God offering
you justification. Justification is God declaring
you to be justified through the person and work of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Now, it's one thing for me to
say I'm justified, and it's another thing for God to say I'm justified.
What a glorious thing that is to be justified. And we also
read the faith of Christ and faith in Christ, but two times
we read of the faith of Christ. Not faith in Christ, but the
faith of Christ. We're justified by the faith,
the faithfulness, the obedience, the law-keeping of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Now, don't we have to believe?
Yeah, we believe that. We believe that we're justified
by the faith of Christ. We believed in Christ that we
might be justified by the faith of Christ. Believing, my dear
friends, is more than believing in the existence of God. Believing
is trust or reliance. This trust must be total. It is a complete reliance upon
Christ for everything in my salvation. All my eggs are in this basket. Listen, watch this, listen. I'm
completely dependent that what Christ did, who he is, and what
he did is all that is required of me. It's not the minimum requirement,
although it is, it's also the maximum requirement. Christ is
all. He is all my salvation. Everything that God requires
of me, He looks to His Son for. God will not speak to nor be
spoken to apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul said, I know
whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to
keep that which I've committed to Him against that day. Now,
I've committed the entire salvation of my soul to Him. I don't have
a safety net. I don't have a plan B. If He didn't do it all, I
won't be saved. I'm completely trusting who He
is and what He did as all that's needed to make me just and holy
before God. Now, Paul begins this glorious
statement. We've considered these words,
um, the faith of Christ, the works of the law, justification. We've considered the meaning
of these words. Now let's read the verse. Paul says, knowing
for this word, this verse begins with knowing. And the word is
a participle, a little grade school grammar lesson, a participle
acts as both an adjective and a verb. Here is how a believer
can be described. Knowing. Knowing. He's not ignorant. God's taught
him something. Here's what he does. He knows. Now, there is no faith apart from
knowledge. I cannot believe what I do not
know. I cannot believe what I've never
heard. While we believe the mysteries
of the scripture, we don't believe in mysticism, the divine being
experienced independent of the senses, independent of hearing,
reason, thought, or understanding. I repeat, there is no faith apart
from knowledge. The Lord said, you shall know
the truth, and the truth shall make you free. There's no salvation
apart from knowledge. Acts 22, 14, when Ananias came
to Paul, he said, And see that just one, and hear the voice
of his mouth, for thou shalt be his witness to all men. of what you've seen and what
you've heard. Now, there is no salvation apart
from knowing. Knowing. Now, which of us have
not asked the question, is the knowledge I have mere assent
to some facts and propositions, kind of like believing something
you read in a history book and believing it happened, but it
doesn't really have any effect on your life. Is the knowledge I
have mere assent, or do I have saving knowledge? Knowledge that
God Himself has revealed to me. Now listen real carefully. I, with all my heart, believe
what is called the doctrine of grace. I believe it's what the
scripture teaches. Men are totally depraved, dead in sins. God unconditionally
elected a people to salvation. Christ died for the elect. God's
grace is invincible to them, irresistible to them. He overcomes
them, he saves them, and they shall be preserved. I believe
what is called the doctrine of grace. But you know what? That
doesn't make me saint. Doesn't make me sane. I know
the devil knows the Bible teaches that. You can't preach the gospel
and not preach that. You can't believe the gospel
and not believe that. But what does your knowledge
make you do? That's the question I have. That's
how I can know if my knowledge is saving knowledge. What does
it make me do? Does it make me cry for mercy?
If it does that, it's saving knowledge. God's really taught
me something. Has it shown me I'm nothing but a sinner and
my desperate need of Christ? Does my knowledge make me do
what Abel did and offer only that more excellent sacrifice?
He wouldn't dare come into God's presence in his own works only
through the sacrifice of the Lamb. Does my faith cause me
to do what Noah did? Get in the ark and find the only
place of safety is in the ark, which represents the Lord Jesus
Christ. The only place I want to be found is in that ark. And
he went into that ark before rain dropped down, believing
what God said. Does my knowledge cause me to
do what Moses did? He got in the house with the
blood over the door and he didn't want to be anywhere else. He
knew the only place of safety was in the house with the blood
over the door. He proved what knowledge he had,
it was saving knowledge because of what it made him did. I think
of Rahab the harlot. She says to Joshua, we've heard
what the Lord did for you all, how he dried up the Red Sea and
brought you in. We were scared to death. It made her ask for
mercy. Have mercy on me and my family.
It caused her to enter into covenant. What does your knowledge cause
you to do? Does it cause you to sue for mercy? Does it cause
you to bow the knee to Christ and say, God, be merciful to
me, the sinner? Does it cause you to look to
Christ alone for all your righteousness, all your salvation? Does it make
you say with Paul, oh, that I may win Christ and be found in him?
not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that
which is through the faithfulness of Christ, the righteousness
which is of God by faith. Now, there's no salvation apart
from knowing, and this knowing causes us to do things. It causes
us to really believe we're a sinner, and it causes us to really look
to Christ as all in our salvation. Now, here is what you really
know Here's what you're really assured of when God's taught
you. What's Paul say? Knowing that a man is not justified
by the works of the law. Now here is something that I
know. I cannot be saved. I cannot be
justified. I cannot be sanctified by the
works of the law. You see, I really believe that
I'm a sinner before God. I really believe I'm a lawbreaker
before God, and I don't have any personal righteousness before
God, and I really believe I can't be saved by my works. I really
believe that. I've seen something of who the
Lord is, and it's caused me to see something of who I am. What
Isaiah say, woe is me, after he saw the Lord, and not until
he saw the Lord, but after he saw the Lord, he said, woe is
me, for I am undone. I'm a man of unclean lips, and
I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for mine eyes
have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. If you find me a real
bona fide sinner, I'll show you someone who really believes that
they cannot be saved by the works of the law. Now, you know when
you really believe that you can't be saved by the works of the
law? When you quit attempting to be saved by your works. Hebrews
4.9 says, They that have believed do enter into a rest, for he
that has entered into his rest has ceased from his own works
as God did from his. Now, when did God cease from
his own works? when it was finished. After He
created the heavens and the earth, He saw it was all good and He
rested. There was nothing more to do.
You rest in Christ when you don't seek to be saved by your works. You know you're saved wholly
by His work and you're resting. There's nothing for you to do.
He did it all. We don't sing, Jesus paid a half
the other half I owe. We sing, Jesus paid it all, all
the debt I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow. We rest. We really believe we're
not justified by the works of the law, but here's what he says
next. Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the
law, do you know that? That you cannot, if salvation
is dependent upon you in any way to any degree, you won't
be saved. Every believer knows that. Knowing
that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by
the faith of Jesus Christ. Now, I said this initially, every
version that I know of, there may be some I don't know of,
but every version I know of, but the King James Version says
you're justified by faith in Jesus Christ. Now, my faith did
not justify me. Christ justified me. I believe
that. I'm justified by the faith of
Jesus Christ. I believe that. People talk about
we're justified by faith in Christ. Well, we believe we're justified
by the faith of Christ. We believe Christ is our justification.
We believe that. I'm not saying anything against
faith. You must believe the gospel. I must believe. But we're justified
by the faith of Christ. And this is a very important
distinction. If I really believe that justification
is God's reward for me for believing, It's what God gives me because
I believe. I don't believe in justification
by grace at all. I believe in justification by
works. I think God's giving me justification is his response
to something that I have done. I believe, therefore he has to
give me justification. No, no. God doesn't justify me
because I did anything. He justified me because Christ
died for me. and put away my sin, and gave
me His glorious righteousness, and I now stand before God justified. I'm justified by the faith of
Christ. I'm justified by His law keeping. I'm justified by
His obedience. I'm justified by Him. I love
being justified by the faith of Christ. It's not my faith
in Christ that justifies me. It's the faith of Christ that
justifies me. I believe that. We're justified
by the faith of Christ. You see, my salvation was accomplished
outside of anything I've done. II Timothy 1.9 says, He saved
us and He called us with a holy calling Not according to our
works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given
us in Christ Jesus before the world began. He saved us and
He called us. Which came first, the saving
or the calling? According to the text, He saved us. I was
saved completely outside of my personal subjective experience
and then He called me. He called me by His grace and
He revealed to me that He saved me. Even we're justified by the
faith of Christ. Let's read Galatians 2.16. 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. Now,
that wouldn't even make sense if you read it. Even we have
believed in Christ that we might be justified by faith in Christ.
That wouldn't even make sense. No, we believe in Jesus Christ
that we might be justified by the faith of Christ. Now, being united to Him, when He kept the law, I did too.
When He died, I did too. When He was raised, I was too. And I'm in Him, I'm justified
by His faith. He never sinned, yet He was nailed
to a cross. Why? There's only one reason
for death, sin. My sin became his sin. He bore our sins in his own body
on the tree. And beloved sin can't be two
places at once. If they were born by Him, I don't
bear them anymore. And the scripture says, He put
them away, and that's what justification is. He put my sin away, gave
me His righteousness. I am justified by the faith of
Christ. Well, don't you have to believe?
Of course you do. Of course you do. And this is what you believe.
Even we, Jews, even we who ever believe, we have believed in
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,
there shall no flesh be justified. I love being saved by the faith
of Christ. And that's what we believe. You
know, Romans chapter 15, verse 13 speaks of the joy and the
peace of believing. Now I can't express what joy it gives me. to know that I am justified by
the faith, the merits, the obedience, the righteousness, the law-keeping,
the doing, the dying of the Lord Jesus Christ. Being united to
Him, oh, what joy that brings my heart. All that God requires
of this sinner, He looks to Christ for, and how that rejoices my
heart. We read of the joy and the peace
of believing. Peace, what a blessed feeling.
The only thing that gives me peace is to know that Christ
did everything and that all that God requires of me, he looks
to his son for. Christ has made unto me wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Ephesians 2.14
says, He is our peace. Colossians 1.20 says, Having
made peace by the blood of the cross by Him, to reconcile all
things to Himself by Him, I say, whether they be things in earth
or things in heaven, and you that were aforetime enemies in
your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled in the
body of His flesh through death to present you. Holy unblameable
and unreprovable in His sight. By His blood He presents to God
every single believer holy and unblameable and unreprovable
in His sight, in God's sight. And how God sees things is the
way they really are. Now this is what gives me peace,
that He is my justification. at poor publican, beating on
his breast, God be merciful to me, thee sinner. The Lord said,
I say unto you, that man went down to his house justified rather
than the other. Now here's the gospel, here's
what you know, if God's taught you anything. 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 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. To request a copy of the sermon
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