Salvation By Grace Through Faith In Christ

Q: What does the Bible say about salvation by grace?

The Bible teaches that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ, not by works. The Apostle Paul emphasizes in Galatians 2 that a man is justified not by the deeds of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. This crucial doctrine of salvation by grace alone is consistent throughout Scripture, as seen in Ephesians 2:8-9, which states that we are saved by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God. Salvation is entirely based on the work of Christ and is received through faith, eliminating any possibility for boasting in our own efforts.

Q: How do we know salvation by grace is true?

We know salvation by grace is true because of the teachings of the New Testament, especially Paul's letters. Paul provides four reasons in Galatians and other letters to affirm that salvation is by grace through faith. Firstly, the law itself requires perfect obedience, suggesting that no one can be justified by it (Galatians 2:16). Secondly, the Gospel proclaims that we are redeemed not by works but by the precious blood of Christ (Acts 13:38). Thirdly, our personal experiences reveal our sinful nature, confirming that our righteousness cannot merit salvation (Romans 7:18). Lastly, when we trust in Christ alone for our salvation, we find peace and rest, a clear indication of God's grace in our lives. Thus, these teachings underscore the truth of salvation by grace.

Q: Why is grace important for Christians?

Grace is essential for Christians because it ensures our salvation is based solely on Christ's work, not our own. Grace is crucial for Christians as it encapsulates the very essence of the Gospel. Without grace, we would be left in the despair of trying to achieve righteousness through our deeds, which the law cannot accomplish. Paul reminds us that if righteousness could come through the law, Christ died in vain (Galatians 2:21). The importance of grace lies in its role as God's unconditional favor towards us, granting forgiveness and acceptance solely through faith in Christ. This understanding liberates us from the bondage of legalism and self-righteousness, enabling us to live in the freedom of the Gospel.

Q: What is the danger of mixing works with grace?

Mixing works with grace undermines the Gospel and makes Christ a minister of law rather than grace. Paul warns in Galatians that if we seek to be justified by Christ while adding our own works, we inevitably turn Christ into a minister of sin, undermining the essence of the Gospel which proclaims salvation by grace alone. The danger lies in creating a religion that requires adherence to rules and regulations for salvation, which diminishes the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice. Instead, we are called to trust entirely in Christ for our acceptance before God. This is the core message of the Reformed faith, asserting that any addition to grace taints the purity of the Gospel.

Now, we have a television broadcast
down in Madisonville, Kentucky. It's over a local cable station. It's sponsored by Brother Maurice
Montgomery and Bible Baptist Church. A few days ago, a man
saw our program. It's on a couple of times during
the week, I believe. And he saw the program and heard
the message wrote me a letter and sent me a book which he had
written. It seems that this man, he's
a retired police captain, 20 or 30 years on the police force,
but he had been a member of a religious organization. I won't call the
name of it, no need. But a well-known religious organization. He had been a member for many
years. And God had delivered him from the bondage of this
group, and he wrote a book about it, about how the system works,
the terrible rules and regulations and bondage of false religion. I read the book, and I was amazed again, I'm more
and more amazed at the bondage that people will subject themselves
unto in the name of religion. I'm amazed at the rules and regulations
and laws that people will submit to rather than look into Christ. Instead of looking to Christ
Jesus for salvation and for justification and for redemption, They looked
to all of these rules and regulations. It's a horrible bondage, terrible
bondage. You know, the Jews were in that
bondage. That's what it's called, bondage,
the bondage of the ceremonial law. They made a bondage out
of it. Instead of seeing Christ, they
were subject to all of these Sabbaths and holy days and ceremonies
circumcision, abstaining from certain meats, the tithe, certain
head coverings, certain rules and regulations by which they
had to abide, and it carried over after our Lord was crucified
and buried and risen and the gospel went forth, the gospel
of liberty in Christ, deliverance from the bondage of ceremonial
law. Even after that, some of the
people who heard the gospel and tried to preach it insisted,
insisted that these laws be imposed also upon believers, that to
be carried over circumcision, Sabbath days, abstaining from
certain meats and holy days and tithing and head coverings and
all these things, be carried over in order to be saved. That's what you read about. It's
another gospel. It's not another gospel. It's
a perversion of the gospel. And they taught that you believe
Christ, but you have to do these other things in order to be saved. And today, this form of self-righteousness,
I read about it in this book this man sent me, this form of
self-righteousness. Self-affliction just takes a
different direction. Instead of circumcision, it's
sprinkling now of babies. It's the same type of ceremony
that makes them acceptable to God. Instead of Sabbath Saturday,
the Sabbath day is Sunday. The Christian Sabbath, they call
it. It's abstaining from certain meats. and certain drinks, coffee
and tea, even those things, are not permissible. And the man who wrote this book,
his religion forbade him saluting the flag, or pledging allegiance
to the flag, or serving in the armed forces, or keeping a holiday and from having a blood transfusion.
His wife had a hysterectomy and she was forbidden to have blood.
They were doing this in the name of God. And they were urged to desert
their families. If their families didn't approve
of their religion, desert them. Cast them off. And you see, all of this was to find favor with God, acceptance
with God. That just takes a different direction
with the same poison. It's a salvation by doing, and
or not doing, by abstaining or carrying out certain rules laid
down by these religious leaders. Now in Galatians chapter 2, that's
where I want you to turn now. And in this chapter two of Galatians,
which is before us tonight, Paul the Apostle, writing to this
church at Galatians, where these problems had risen, all these rules and regulations,
and man-made bondage and return to the ceremonial law, Paul insists
all the way through this chapter, on the truth of salvation by
grace, by grace alone, through Christ Jesus our Lord. Salvation
by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. He said in Ephesians 2,
for by grace are you saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves.
Even the faith is a gift of God. Even the goodness of God leads
us to repentance. And that not of yourselves, it's
the gift of God. It's not of works. Not of works.
Not of works. Not of any kind of works. Lest
any man should boast. Now let's look at chapter 2 of
Galatians. And the first thing we see is
a trip to Jerusalem. A trip to Jerusalem. A meeting
in Jerusalem. Galatians 2, 1. Then 14 years
after. I went up again to Jerusalem
with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also." This is Paul talking. This trip to Jerusalem is mentioned
in Acts 15. I want you to turn to Acts 15. Let's look and see what it was
all about. Acts chapter 15. Paul took Barnabas and Titus,
who was a Greek, an uncircumcised Greek, And he went up to Jerusalem
to meet with Peter, James, and John, and the apostles before
him. Acts 15.1. And certain men which
came down from Judea, down from Jerusalem, taught the brethren,
and said, Except you be circumcised after the manner of Moses, you
can't be saved. See what we're talking about?
Except you be circumcised, keep the Sabbath. Pay your tithes,
keep the holy days, be baptized, follow our regulations. Unless
you do these things, you can't be saved. When, therefore, Paul
and Barnabas, verse 2, had no small dissension, disputation
with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain
others of them should go up to Jerusalem and to the apostles
and elders about this question. What does a man have to do in
addition to Christ to be saved? That's the question. And they
went to Jerusalem to talk it over. Now, Paul had been to Jerusalem
three years after God saved him. Turn back to Galatians 1. Brother
Frank read this, verse 18. Three years after God saved him,
he said, I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and I bowed with
him fifteen days. Now, he hadn't been back for
fourteen years. And now he's gone to Jerusalem
with Barnabas and Titus. Verse 2, Galatians 2. I went
up by revelation. What does that mean? They didn't
send for me. God revealed to me that I was
to go. See that? I went by revelation. The apostles in Jerusalem didn't
send for Paul. They didn't call him on the carpet.
Paul felt led of God to go and talk to these men who were apostles
before him. And I went up by revelation and
I communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the
Gentiles." What gospel is that? The gospel of grace, faith. Summed up in this statement,
therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith and not
by the deeds of the law. That's my conclusion, that a
man is justified by faith in Christ. not by the deeds of the
Lord. And go on, verse 2. But privately
to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run
or had run in vain. If salvation of the soul is by
anything but grace, Paul said, then my ministry is in vain. I went up by revelation to Jerusalem
to sit and talk with men of reputation, men who were Peter, James, and
John were the three Christ took with him on the Mount of Transfiguration,
when he was transfigured before them. And Paul went down, went
to Jerusalem and sat down and talked to these brethren about
this matter, salvation by grace, apart from any deeds, any doings,
any works on the part of the sinner. He said, if this is not
by grace alone, then I've run in vain. Because that's been
my message, is my message, will be my message. All right, verse
3. But neither Titus, who was with
me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. In other words,
when Paul sat down with Peter, James, and John in Jerusalem,
there was such agreement among them. Such agreement. on this matter of salvation by
grace, the gift of God, apart from any doings or deeds, that
Titus, who was a Greek, an uncircumcised Greek, was accepted by these
men as a brother. That's what he said here, and
was not compelled to be circumcised. Titus, an uncircumcised Greek. I took him with me on purpose.
You see, the issue had been raised, that you had to be, believe on
Christ, but you had to be circumcised. So Paul gets a brother who was
uncircumcised, and goes right smack to headquarters, and sets
him down in front of these men of reputation. And he said, now
you going to accept him, or are you going to make him be circumcised?
And they embraced him. Don't have to be circumcised
to be circumcised. Don't have to do anything, believe on Christ.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. All
the wise men, isn't it? And he says, verse 4, he wouldn't
give in. And that because of false brethren,
unawares, brought in, crept in, who came in privately to spy
on our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might
bring us into bondage. to whom we gave place by subjection,
no, not even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might
continue with you. Paul said, I wouldn't give in
to these men, these false religionists, on this matter of circumcision,
on this matter of tatters circumcision. Now then, you who are familiar
with the scripture, I know where your mind is going
right now, Acts 16. Paul refused to have Titus circumcised
because the issue was raised that he had to be circumcised
to be saved. But in Acts 16, he had Timothy circumcised. Is he being inconsistent? Let's
turn to Acts 16, and let's see why Paul did this. Acts chapter
16. Like I said, he's such a wise
man. God gave him discernment and wisdom. Paul did what he did because
he was led of God to do it. He got his directions from the
Lord. And Timothy's father was a Greek,
and he wasn't circumcised as a lad. But he and Paul were going
out to preach to Jews, and Paul knew that weak brethren young
brethren, beginning brethren among the Jews would be offended
by this uncircumcised Greek preaching to them. So he had Timothy circumcised. Not in order to be saved, not
because the issue was raised, but he knew that Timothy must,
like him, become all things to all men. To those under the law,
as one under the law. To those without law, as one
without the law. Now look at Acts 16. Then came he to Derbe
and Lystra, and behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy,
the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewish, and believed that
his daddy was a Greek. He was well reported out by the
brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium. Him would Paul have
to go forth with him. I want to take you with me to
place the gospel. A gifted man, a saved man. A man dedicated to God. I want
to take you with me. We're going to preach the gospel
in synagogues all over this country. So he took him and had him circumcised.
Because of the Jews, the unbelieving Jews, which were in those quarters,
for they all knew his daddy was a Greek. And that would have
caused a problem. You see, there's no problem there,
is there? Nobody had a problem with that. Paul was a wise man.
And he realized that if this man was going to preach, the
gospel with him in these early days, that he'd just get this
out of the way now, and he'd be circumcised. But when he encountered
these men who said, this is essential to your salvation, he said, won't
do it. It's just like baptism or anything else. If a man's
going to lay it down as a rule for me to be saved, I'm not going
to do it. Just refused to do it. I'll do it in obedience to
Christ, I'll do it to set an example, I'll do it as a saved
man, but not in order to be saved. Now let us read on. Verse 6. But Paul said, Of these who seem
to be somewhat, whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to
me, God accepteth no man's person. These men were of great honor,
Peter, James, and John. That's who he met with, Peter,
James, and John. the inner circle of the Master
when he was walking the earth. But Paul says, in spite of their
authority, in spite of their honor, they add nothing to my
ministry. That's what he's saying. But
of these, verse 6, read again, who seem to be somewhat, whatsoever
they were, it make it no matter to me. God accepts no man's person.
The position a man holds doesn't impress God. Doesn't make him
right, either. For they who seem to be somewhat
in confidence added nothing to me. They added nothing to my
gospel. I respect these men. But they're not going to persuade
me to change my position. The same thing is true of any
man today of great honor and prestige and learning and truth
and whatever. Background is like Paul. God doesn't accept a man because
of his position or person or power or gifts. Our gospel comes from him. And
that's what he's saying with all respect. Honor to whom honor
is due. But he's saying these men don't
add anything to my ministry. Like a fellow said one time about
John, he said John Calvin didn't believe in particular redemption. That has no bearing on it whatsoever.
God does. The Word of God does. We respect,
highly respect, men of the past whom God used, but we don't follow
men. Follow our Lord. Verse 7, But
contrarywise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision
was committed to me, the gospel to the Gentiles, as the gospel
of the circumcision to the Jew was committed to Peter, For he
that wrought affectionately in Peter to be to the apostleship
of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles.
God sent Peter to Cornelius, to the band of Cornelius people,
Jews. He sent Paul to the Gentiles.
Same Lord who sent me to the Gentiles sent Peter to the Jews.
Alright, read on. And when James and Peter and
John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was
given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands
of fellowship, that we should go to the heathen, and they'd
go to the circumcision." Only, he said, you preach your
gospel, Paul, just like you're preaching. These are the elite. These are the apostles. They
embraced them and gave them the right hand of fellowship. Your
same message, only remember the poor, the same which I also was
forward to do. Remember those in need. Take
care of them. Help them. All right, that's
the meeting in Jerusalem. Now let's look at the supper
down in Antioch, starting at verse 11. They had a supper down
in Antioch. I'll tell you a little bit about
this supper, the gathering of Gentiles people down in Antioch. Evidently they had preached and
had fellowship and were having eating together. Peter was down
there visiting. This was after the meeting up
in Jerusalem. Peter was down there visiting in Antioch, and
they were having a meal. And something happened, now watch.
Verse 11, But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood
him to the face, because he was to be blamed. But before That
certain came from James. Now, here's some fellas. James is pastor in Jerusalem.
James the greater, James the less. James was pastor in Jerusalem.
And these fellas came from Jerusalem down to Antioch. From James. Some of the elders, some of the
leaders in the church at Jerusalem came down to Antioch. And when
they did, listen, when they would come, Peter withdrew and separated
himself from the Gentiles. He was eating with them. He was
fellowshipping with them. But when these fellows came down
from Jerusalem, from the church up there, Jewish men, he left
the table where the Gentiles were seated, fearing them which
were of the circumcision. He was eating with some circumcised
people, Gentiles. He got up and left. Now watch
how his behavior affected the other people. Or how we need
to put a watch on our lips and our feet, and when we are prone
to do something in the church, to do something, be careful because
you don't do it to yourself. It affects others. Now listen,
and the other Jews dissembled likewise with him. They got up
and left. This is Peter. This is the apostle Peter. This
is the man of God. And when he stood up and left
the Gentiles and went over there with these Jewish brethren, some
of the rest of them said, well, maybe I better get up too. And
lo and behold, listen, and the other Jews dissembled
likewise with him, so much that Barnabas got carried away with their dissimulation.
Even Barnabas. Even the fellow Paul took with
him to Jerusalem. He chose Barnabas to go with
him. And Barnabas heard the whole
discussion at Jerusalem. And the fact that circumcision
had nothing to do with acceptance before God or fellowship with
God. But Barnabas was slain. That's so sad. That's so sad, isn't it? Isn't
that sad? It's sad for Peter, and it's sad for... And I see
several things here. I see four things. I see four things here, and this
is for our learning. Number one, I see how deeply
ingrained the doctrine of works and self-righteousness is in
every one of us. I mean ingrained. Peter knew
better than that. It is high. He knows there is
no difference. All that is sent in comes short
of the glory of God. Peter knew that. But he made
a difference. He made a difference based on
who he was and what he was. He was a Jew, and his name was
Peter the Apostle. And he put a difference between
these Gentiles and him set before God. Secondly, I say this. The best of men, even apostles,
even leaders, are still men. And they are subject to bad judgment. Bad judgment. And the hurt of
those who follow. That is just bad judgment, Peter.
And when you did it, you led others away, and even Barnabas
was swayed by your dissimulation. And thirdly, oh, I see how Satan
hates the gospel of grace. Grace. Grace that everybody,
Jew, Gentile, male, female, old, young, rich or poor, learned
or ignorant before God, or sinners, saved by the grace of God. And that's where Satan, he hates
that pure grace, the gift of God. And here's where your tax,
our message, works. Isn't there something I must
do? No, it's Christ alone. Well, isn't there something I
must contribute? No, it's grace alone. Well, isn't there something
later that I must do? No, it's faith alone. Christ
alone, grace alone, faith alone, plus nothing, minus nothing.
That's a hated doctrine. And Satan attacks right there.
That's where he attacks. Right there. And fourthly, Paul was the only one who stood. See, so far as I know,
nobody else said anything, did they? But he dared. And here's the
fourth thing I say. Dare to stand firm. One hundred percent. on the truth
of salvation by the grace of God, not of works, even if it
means rebuking a close friend, a relative, or a preacher. Don't you move off Christ. It doesn't matter who you're
with, or where you are, or what it costs. or who it charges. Paul said, I withstood. You think
about this. I withstood Peter to the face.
And Peter was an apostle before Paul ever knew God. Imagine Peter
reminded him of that, but it didn't make any difference. It didn't matter to Paul who
he was. He knew he was wrong. He knew
he was off base. He knew that we had a crisis
here. It had to be settled right then.
Is it Christ alone? Grace alone? Faith alone? Or
the works enter in? Paul said, we're going to have
a Donnybrook right here. We're going to settle this thing. We were talking last night about whether or not whether or not that I would go
along with a person coming into the fellowship of this church
whom I knew didn't believe in particular redemption. And I said, no, not that I know
it. That's poison. And we don't need
any poison. We don't need dissension on critical
areas, do we? And that's the posture the watchman's
place. to keep out error. And that is what Paul is doing
right here, and he is willing to confront even Peter. And then let's see, thirdly,
we had the meeting in Jerusalem, we had the supper at Antioch,
now let's see what Paul said to Peter. It's got exactly what
he said. You know what the Apostle Peter
is doing here, and here is what Paul said to him, verse 14. that they walk not uprightly
according to the truth of the gospel. I said to Peter before
them all, if you being a Jew livest after the manner of the
Gentiles and not as do the Jews, why do you compel the Gentiles
to live as do the Jews? Let me put that in paraphrase. Peter, this is what Paul said,
if you who were born a Jew, brought up a Jew, obliged as a Jew to
observe the Levitical law, you had to be circumcised, you were
a Jew, you were born a Jew, I was too, Paul said. Kept the Sabbath,
that was our religion, we were under that Levitical law. The
Holy Days, the ten percent, the meats, the drink, you were a
Jew, you were born a Jew, you were raised under that, you were
obliged to fulfill it 100%. Now then, you no longer observe
those laws. You no longer feel in bondage
to those laws. You know in your heart that you're
free from those laws and that yoke, and your righteousness
is all in Christ. You're free from that law. Why
do you compel the Gentiles to submit to these laws, which our
Lord fulfilled, and took away, and you know it." That's exactly
what he said. Why compelest thou the Gentiles
to live as do the Jews, when you don't live that way? And
then in verse 15 he says, we, you and I, are Jews by nature. We're Jews by birth, by nature. And we're not sinners of the
Gentiles. That word sinners, a better word is heathens. We
were born Jews. We were brought up Jews. We're
not heathen as the Gentiles. We were included in the so-called
covenant. Now, turn to Ephesians 2. Let
me tell you why I've changed that word, sinners. Paul knew
he was a sinner. But he's talking about he was
a Jew and not a Gentile. Now, turn to Ephesians 2.12.
He's talking about this Ephesian church were Gentiles. Ephesians
2.11, wherefore remember that you being in time past Gentiles
in the flesh," Paul wasn't, they were, "...you were called uncircumcision
by that which is called a circumcision in the flesh made by hands. At
that time you were without Christ, you were aliens from the commonwealth
of Israel. You were strangers from the covenants
of promise, having no hope and without God in this world." He
said, that wasn't you and me. That was the agenda. We were
Jews. And we Jews, verse 16, we Jews
who have been brought out of that bondage and delivered from
that ceremonial law and delivered from that Levitical law, we know, we know that a man is not justified
by the works of the law but by the faith of Jesus Christ. We
know that. Do you know that? Do I know that?
I put down four reasons why I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that salvation is not by the
works of the law but by the faith of Christ Jesus. That's four
reasons why I am totally, completely persuaded that salvation is a
gift of God by grace through Christ without any doings or
deeds or works on the part of any man. Here are the four reasons. Paul said, I know that. Number
one. I know this from the law itself.
The law requires perfect obedience. And if justification were by
keeping the law, nobody would be saved. Isn't that right? You
that would be under the law, don't you hear the law? The scripture
says, Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things
written in the law to do them. So I know a man can't be justified
by the works of the law because I know the law. He can't keep
it. Impossible. It's an impossible
assignment. Secondly, I know a man not justified
by the law because I know the gospel. And the gospel says we're
not redeemed with corruptible things such as silver and gold,
but with the precious blood of Christ as a lamb without spot
of linen. That's what the gospel says.
Every foundation can no man lay than that which is laid. There's
none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must
be saved. Turn to Acts 13. We know the
gospel. Acts 13, verse 38. Listen to this. Here's a summary. Acts 13, 38.
Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through
this man Jesus Christ is preached unto you the forgiveness of sin,
and by him all that believe are justified from all things from
which you could not be justified by the law of Moses." So Paul
is saying, Peter, you're born a Jew. We grew up under the law. To us was committed the articles
of God, and the prophets, and the priests, and the law, and
all these things. We know that a man is not justified
by the law, because we know the law. We're not heathen like the
Gentiles. The Gentiles know nothing. They
haven't been taught anything. But we know. We've been taught. The law demands perfection. You
can't produce it. The gospel offers forgiveness
freely. not by works. The third reason
I know salvation not by works, but by faith, I know it by experience. I'm fully persuaded, like Paul
of old, of my own sinfulness, and the sinfulness of my righteousness. Turn to Romans 7. Is not this
a description of every one of us? Romans 7, verse 18. Is not this a description of
all of us? Romans 7, 18, for I know that in me, that is, in
my flesh dwelleth no good thing. To will is present with me. How
to perform that which is perfect, God good, I find not. The good
that I would, I do not. The evil I would not do, that's
what I do. If I do that, I would not. It's
no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find in
the law that when I do good, evil is present with me. Do you
know that? choice you to experience. And that convinces me that nobody
should come to me and tell me that I can gain acceptance with
God by something I do. Everything I do is wrong. Everything
I do is tainted with sin. God can't receive anything that's
not perfect. Fourthly, Paul said, I know a
man is not justified by works but by Christ. I know it because
I know the law. I know the gospel. I know what
I am by experience, and I know this, fourthly. I know from the peace and rest
that I have when I look to Christ. When I look to Christ for righteousness,
for sanctification, for redemption, I have peace and a rest and a
confidence and an assurance. When I start looking in here,
I lose that rest. I lose that peace. Religion can give a lot of things,
but it can't give peace. Only Christ can give peace. Religion
can give a man a whole lot of things, but it can't give a man
rest. Only Christ can give rest. They
cry peace when there is no peace. Now verse 16, I have to give
you this for a quick. Verse 16, we know that a man is not justified by the works
of the law, but by the faith of Christ Jesus. And even we,
Jews, apostles, even we have believed in Jesus Christ. That
we, you and I, 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. Now then, here's the danger,
Peter, of what you're doing. Listen to verse 17. Here's the
danger. If, while we seek to be justified
by Christ, we ourselves are found sinners, is therefore Christ
the minister of sin? God forbid. What's he saying
to Peter? Here's what he's saying. I'll
paraphrase it again. Peter, we know that a man is
not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of
Christ. And even we have believed in Christ. We have believed in
Christ and not by the works of the law. Now then, if we seek
to be justified by Christ and do not rest in him alone to save
us, but we seek to add our own works and our own duties and
our own obedience then the Christ which we preach, the message
which we deliver to sinners, that message, that gospel, that
Christ becomes a minister of law and not grace. And instead of
the minister of a perfect righteousness, Christ becomes the minister of
self-righteousness. And he said, God forbid. I come into this pulpit, this
is what he's saying to Peter, I come into this pulpit with
a message of grace, pure grace, free grace, redeeming grace,
all grace, grace from first to start. And then I bring in, but
you've got to do this in order to be saved, and you've got to
do that. Then I've made my gospel and
my Christ a minister of law. Isn't that right? It can't be
part grace and part law. If law is anywhere, it's law.
It's works. You see what he's saying, Jim?
He's saying when you do that, you make Christ the minister
of law. And by the law is the knowledge
of sin. The strength of sin is the law.
In the next verse he says, If I build again the things which
I destroyed, If I restore the Sabbath day and restore the tithe,
and I restore the holy days, and I restore circumcision, and
I restore all these things which I have preached Christ fulfilled
and put away, then I make myself an unjustified transgressor. I could not be otherwise. If
I require anything on your part or my part to make us acceptable
to God, I become a transgressor because nothing I do or you do
can make us perfect before God. That's what he said. I make myself
a transgressor. Peter, that's what you're doing.
You're making Christ the minister of works and yourself a lost
sinner. If you hold to this position,
anything is required out of you to make the work of Christ effectual.
Boy, that's dangerous. And verse 19, he says this, For
I through the law, through the law of Christ, I through the
law am dead to the law. What does that mean? By my marriage
to Christ, I'm dead to my first husband. The law. He's dead. I'm dead to the law. And through the law of Christ,
I'm married to Christ, married to him, that I might live unto
God. By my marriage to Christ and
my oneness with Him, I am dead to the law. Turn to Romans 7,
verse 4. This is what this is talking
about here. Romans 7, verse 4. Wherefore,
my brethren, you also are become dead to the law by the body of
Christ. See that? That you should be married to
another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that you should
bring forth fruit unto God. It is like when a woman's husband
dies, He's dead, buried. She's married to another. There's
no responsibility to him at all. We're married to Christ. He taketh
away the first, establishes the second. He fulfilled the law.
He fulfilled our righteousness. He put all these things away.
Don't dig them up. Don't dig them up. We're dead
to it. For I'm crucified with Christ,
I'm dead to the law. Nevertheless I live, yet not
I, but Christ liveth in me, Christ liveth in me. And 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." Isn't this a wonderful
message he's preaching to Peter? He riled up. Wonderful message. Now watch this last statement,
quickly. He says, I do not frustrate the grace of God. I do not compromise
the grace of God. I do not set it aside. I do not
treat it as something of minor importance. I'll tell you how
important it is. If righteousness comes by any
doings or deeds or works of the law, Christ died in vain. A powerful message. When you
see the setting of all this, and what brought it about, And
to whom he speaketh, I told you so many times, find out to whom
he speaketh. And the weight of it, awesome weight of it, everybody
stand around listening, the two greatest apostles who ever lived,
I reckon, are toe to toe, settling critical issues involving God's
glory, Christ's glory, and our salvation. He said, Peter, if righteousness come for the
Lord, he died in vain. The death of my Lord was to no
purpose and for no reason, and he died in vain. We need the whole religious world
here, don't we, to settle this issue. Settle this issue. But it will
never be settled. It will never be until he comes. All this will
never be rooted out. We've got to battle it again
tomorrow, the next day. It will for you who know Him. For you who know Him, it's settled.
We're not fighting any war on that battleground. We're fighting
wars not on that battleground. It's Christ, 110 percent. Let's sing that Christ liveth
in me, number 466.

Salvation By Grace Through Faith In Christ

What does the Bible say about salvation by grace?

How do we know salvation by grace is true?

Why is grace important for Christians?

What is the danger of mixing works with grace?

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Salvation By Grace Through Faith In Christ

What does the Bible say about salvation by grace?

How do we know salvation by grace is true?

Why is grace important for Christians?

What is the danger of mixing works with grace?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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