Faith Baptist Church
10/04/26 Worship Service
John 21:17ESV
- Christ Is Sufficient
- Jesus Is All The World To Me
- He Will Hold Me Fast
- Our Great Savior
- Iceberg illustrationExplain:Context review:
Galatians 2:14 ESV 14 But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”Peter’s behavior- drawing back from the Gentiles when the members from the Jerusalem church came down to Antioch.Above the iceberg- Peter’s behavior- he separated himself.Below the iceberg- over one thousand years of culture and history of the Jewish nation. Peter was shaped and ingrained with certain values, beliefs, and worldviews from childhood.And even though Peter spent 3 years with Jesus as his disciple. Even though Peter was commissioned by the Lord and empowered by the Holy Spirit to be the Apostle to the Jews, Peter still struggled with these long held values, beliefs, and worldviews that produced behavior that was hypocoristical. It was not conduct that was in step with the truth of the gospel.How do you transform deeply instilled values, cultures, and worldviews? How do you change what is below the water of the iceberg in order to produce conduct that is in step with the gospel? Example? How can Peter and Paul boldly sit down for a meal with Gentile sinners and eat unclean food while the Jews are watching and judging them?Modern Day: How can a person who was baptized as a baby let go of their lifelong religious beliefs and worldviews and trust in Christ alone for their salvation? How can they follow the Lord in believer baptism and invite their friends and family to their Christian baptism?Paul wanted the Galatians to be so transformed by the gospel that their lives would be in step with the truth of the gospel.Friends, we must be so transformed by the gospel that we live in step with the truth of the gospel.What needs to change in a person for that kind of transformation to take place?Paul gives us three ways to live in step with the truth of the gospel.1. We need transformed thinking that leads to transformed trust (vv. 15-16)Our thinking must be radically changed by the gospel so that we choose to trust in Jesus alone for our salvation.Galatians 2:15 ESV 15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners;Can you hear all of the culture and history and values and beliefs that are layered in this one sentence?All Paul is doing is pointing out the Jewish mindset. Why does he do that?Galatians 2:16 ESV 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.You need transformed thinking that leads to a transformed trust.This is the power that can transform our worldview, and our values, and beliefs. This is what transforms the iceberg below the water. This is what Peter needed to be reminded of so that he could turn his back on Jewish law and live in step with the gospel!What needs to change in a person for that kind of transformation to take place?A transformed thinking that leads to transformed trust.2. We need to boldly work out the logical conclusions of our faith (vv. 17-18)Paul now points Peter to a conclusion that every true believer must acknowledge about themselves. And based on this conclusion it will lead Paul and Peter to bold conclusions.Galatians 2:17 ESV 17 But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not!What does Paul intend when he says, “we too were found to be sinners?”Two possibilities:1). Is Paul refuting the idea that he and Peter are sinners?2). Or is Paul eagerly admitting to the truth that he and Peter are sinners?But, if in our endeavor to be justified in Christ...What is Paul saying?In the process of learning how a person is truly justified in Christ- will that individual come to learn that he or she is a sinner?Is this essential to become justified in Christ? Absolutely!Paul is eagerly reminding Peter that in the process of seeking Christ we realized that we too were found to be sinners.Found- The word “found” has a legal meaning. It speaks of one’s standing before God as Judge and Lord of all. It refers to the verdict pronounced by the Divine Judge, whether one is “found” to be guilty or innocent.If you were to stand before God as divine Judge and Lord over all and He were to render a verdict based on your own righteousness how would you be found?Would God say, “I find the defendant to be guilty! He is a sinner!”I have been a pastor for 20 years. I can tell you without any hesitation that if I had to stand before God on the basis of my own merit. If God judged the works of my life I would absolutely be found guilty.Why? Because in my endeavor to be justified in Christ God has opened my eyes to just how sinful I really am.Friends, has God opened your eyes to how sinful you are?Romans 3:9 ESV 9 What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin,Romans 3:10–12 ESV 10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”Isaiah 64:6 ESV 6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.Illustration: polluted = menstrual impurityWhy do some people refuse to see themselves as sinners? Because they don’t understand how pure God is!Habakkuk 1:13 CSB 13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil, and you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.Psalm 145:17 ESV 17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works.Hebrews 7:26 ESV 26 For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.We don’t compare ourselves to the right source. Illustration: playing basketball against my 8 and 10 year old boys vs. playing against anyone in the NBA.Galatians 2:17 ESV 17 But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not!Sinners!Galatians 2:15 “15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners;”What is Paul saying? We are the same! We are just as much a sinner as any Gentile!Do you know how radical that admission is for a Jew? That is worldview altering stuff!But this is where we must get before we are ready to believe the gospel!Now all of this is key to the next part of Paul’s argument!If we are found to be sinners (like the Gentiles) and we are! then is Christ a servant of sin?Here Paul is refuting a charge of the false teachers in Galatia. The false teachers were saying that Paul was causing people to sin by preaching a gospel of faith alone apart from the works of the law.They were saying that when Paul abandoned the law he made himself a sinner and he makes everyone else a sinner because when they believed in Jesus they were abandoning the law. And to abandon the law, in the mind of a Jew, is sin!“Paul, when you preach your law free gospel you abandon the law, and those who follow your gospel abandon the law, thus you make Christ the one who promotes sin by removing the law.”So Paul is refuting this claim.When we trusted in Jesus alone, apart from the works of the law, when we acknowledged that we were sinners like the Gentiles and we stopped following the law like the Gentiles- does this mean that Christ serves the interests of sin? Is Christ, in this law free gospel, promoting sin? Is Christ encouraging sin by removing the law?How does Paul answer? Certainly not! Absolutely not! May it never be!Galatians 2:18 ESV 18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor.Here Paul flips the tables on his opponents. And he reminds Peter of the devastating consequences of his actions.For if I rebuild what I tore down. What is Paul referring to here? The Law. The Mosaic Law. How was the law torn down? Through Christ!Romans 7:4 “4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.”So If I rebuild what I tore down- if I put myself back under the law as a necessary part of my salvation- if I trust not in Christ alone, but also in my ability to keep the law- what happens? I prove myself to be a transgressor!To reach back to the law as grounds for his righteousness would in effect place Paul back under his sin. Why? Because to do so denies the righteousness that is in Christ!So Peter when you withdrew from the Gentiles, in effect you told them they had to obey the Mosaic law. I know you did that because you were afraid of being labeled a sinner.But when we found justification through Christ alone, we acknowledged that we were sinners just like the Gentiles. We acknowledged that our own righteousness was insufficient. We understood that we no longer needed to keep the OT law for our salvation. Christ did not promote sin when he set us free from the law. Actually, those who rebuild what Christ has torn down become the transgressors. We dare not, in any way, deny that our righteousness is in Christ alone!What am I trusting in?Jesus or the Law (works)Logical conclusions of my faith-If I am trusting in the law (my works) then I am looking to the law as the basis of my justification.God will accept me because I have been baptized. God will accept me because I partake in Communion. God will accept me because I go to a Baptist church, because I am a kind person.If I am trusting in Jesus, then I have abandoned my faith in the Law (in works).I believe baptism and communion are important, but they in no way have any bearing on my salvation. Jesus alone saves me.If I am trusting in the the Law, then I find my righteousness to be superior to others.V. 15- We are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners (the typical way Jews thought)Modern day- I am better than the drunk on the street, or the LGBTQ person in my school, or my liberal neighbor. Why? Because I keep the law. I actually obey God, I am way better than all those atheist sinners.If I am trusting in Jesus, then I have taken my rightful place as a sinner.V. 17- in my endeavor to be justified in Christ, I too was found to be a sinner.My righteousness in God’s sight is like polluted garments.If I am trusting in the law, then I need God’s grace, but I also need good works.video- 1 Protestant vs 10 Catholics.If God asked you why should I let you into heaven what would you say?Catholic woman- “I’m always trying. I go to confession. I keep His commandments. I honor Him on Sunday and also I believe that grace was a gift to us.”How many times does she use the word, “I”?Who is she trusting in? Herself.If I am trusting in Jesus, then I realize I am utterly in need of God’s justifying grace.Luke 18:10–12 ESV 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’Luke 18:13 ESV 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’What conclusion does Jesus come to?Luke 18:14 ESV 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”Application:What application should Peter had made from Paul’s logical conclusions of their faith?Peter- eat and fellowship with Gentiles! Don’t rebuild what the gospel has torn down! Do not act in any way that would cause people to think that their salvation is dependent on their own ability to keep law!Peter boldly work out the logical conclusions of your faith. Sit down with Gentiles and enjoy a pork sandwich. And don’t worry if the Jews are present or not. Actually its even more important to eat with Gentiles when the Jews are present because then you are walking in step with the truth of the gospel and you are demonstrating your faith in a truly dynamic and bold way.What about you? What are some ways you are tempted to rebuild what Christ has torn down through the gospel?Baptism and Communion are two obvious examples.I struggle with this- not in the realm of justification- but in the realm of sanctification. In my head, logically, I know that I am accepted before the Father because of Christ. Christ became to me wisdom from God, righteousness, and sanctification and redemption. I know that I will never be more or less accepted by the Father than I am right now and all because of Christ!Yet don’t you struggle with thoughts like, “God would love me more if I shared the gospel with 10 people per week.” “God would be more pleased with me if I read through the whole Bible 3x’s this year instead of just once.”Man do I forget quickly that I have been found to be a sinner. I have been justified by faith in Christ alone and not by works of the law. I can easily rebuild what I have torn down.So what do I have to do? I have to boldly work out the logical conclusions of my faith. God will never love me or accept me more than I am right now because of Christ. This frees me from serving God in a legalistic way out of fear. Instead my love for God abounds more and more and out of love I serve God and tell others about my faith. Out of love I desire to be in the Word regularly to know God and spend time with Him, and I don’t sweat on the details on how many verse I have read in a year- but I do read my Bible! I boldly work out the logical conclusions of my faith.And this principle holds in so may other areas of my life. What are the big areas of legalism we struggle with as conservative Baptists?Where do you struggle in blending works and grace together?We are sinners. Our justification is found in Christ alone! So don’t rebuild what Christ has torn down. Don’t depend on your own works. All that leads to is transgression.Paul wanted the Galatians to be so transformed by the gospel that their lives would be in step with the truth of the gospel.Friends, we must be so transformed by the gospel that we live in step with the truth of the gospel.What needs to change in a person for that kind of transformation to take place?We need transformed thinking that leads to transformed trust.2. We need to boldly work out the logical conclusions of our faith.3. We need to evaluate our vital union with our Savior (19-21)We must reckon the value of being united with Christ and everything that means for our faith and practice.Galatians 2:19 ESV 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God.Paul just said that if he, or Peter, or any genuine Christian rebuilds what was torn down- namely the Mosaic Law- then that one who rebuilds becomes a transgressor.Why? Because going back to the Law is contrary to the God’s will.What is God’s will concerning the Law?Paul says in v. 19- For through the law I died to the law.2 Options:What does Paul mean when he says “I died to the law”? In what sense did Paul die?The primary purpose of the law is to reveal the righteous character of God and to reveal to us how sinful we really are.Romans 7:7–11 ESV 7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. 10 The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.So when Paul says through the law I died to the law, he could be speaking in this sense. Sin not only revealed to him the righteous commandment of God, but also caused his sin nature to rear its ugly head and produce in him all kinds of rebellion and lawlessness against God.Through the law Paul was found to be a sinner. And he died. Because of his rebellion against God’s law the wages of his sin became death- eternal separation from God in the lake of fire.Paul could also be talking about dying to the law in this sense.Romans 7:1–6 ESV 1 Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? 2 For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. 3 Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress. 4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. 5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.Paul could be speaking of death to the law in this sense.Galatians 2:19 ESV 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God.I was release from the power of the law, so that I might live to God.An issue arises from this interpretation.Paul says through the law I died to the law.How can the law release anyone from the power of the law.It make sense to say through the law I died, in the first sense, in the sense that I became guilty before a holy God.But how can Paul say through the law I was released from the power of the law?Here is my answer- In these verse Paul is very much concerned with our identity in Christ. He is speaking about the believer’s union with Christ as we will see very clearly in v. 20.Paul is not only thinking about the believer's union with Christ in v. 20 (I was crucified with Christ), but also in v. 19.What do you mean?Galatians 4:4–5 ESV 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.What does it mean that Jesus, the Son of God, was born under the law? Jesus became a human just like you and I. And when Jesus entered our world and became like us, he also was born under the strict righteous requirement of the law.Jesus was required to keep God’s law perfectly. And not just externally, but internally as well. Jesus was the only human who was able to to be born under the weighty requirement of the law and keep every last letter of God’s law. Jesus never sinned. He never violated God’s law. He never let his frustration with his coworkers of his family produce hatred and rage in his heart. He never looked at a woman with lust in his heart. He perfectly kept the righteous standard of God’s law- why?To redeem those who were under the law! To deliver us from the burden of the law, of pleasing God based on our own righteousness, something we could never do.Galatians 2:19 ESV 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God.So it is in this sense- in our union with Christ who was born under the law and perfectly kept the law that we died, or we were release from the law, so that we might live to God.In either view the conclusion of the verse is what is important! Faith in Jesus Christ alone, justification by faith in Christ alone makes it possible to live unto God!Romans 7:6 “6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.”How is it possible for us- who were found to be sinners- to now live unto God? What kind of power is able to do that?It is not found in our own power to do good works! What power is able to release us from the law, and make us alive unto God?Galatians 2:20 ESV 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.It is Jesus! He is the only way! Listen to how Paul tries to encapsulate this glorious thought into human words.I have been crucified with Christ.Perfect, passive, indic, 1st, pl- used 5x’s. Of the robbers who were crucified with Christ (Mt. 27:44; Mk 15:32; John 19:32.In a transcendent sense- crucified with as in a figurative extension of the above uses (Ro 6:6; Gal 2:19).Romans 6:6 “6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.”Here is the glory of salvation. When you put your trust in Jesus you are untied with Jesus. You become one with Christ. That means we share all of the benefits of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.And in an attempt to explain this glorious spiritual truth- Paul says I have been crucified with Christ.It is as is my arms were place over his arms and my feet were placed over his feet and the nails went through both of our hands and feet together. I have been crucified with Christ.When Jesus died, I died. His death was my death. His payment for sins is my payment for my sins. And now all my sins are paid for. The righteous requirement of the law has been fulfilled. My debt is paid!Colossians 2:13–14 ESV 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.When I when I was a young man I struggled, as almost all men do, with lust in my heart. Men, the issue of lusting after the forbidden woman is one that plagues us all.Every lustful thought creates a record of debt against me. And do you know what that record of debt says- Jon Anderson justly deserves hell. And every sin I have ever commited creates a similar record of debt. And all of that stood against me with legal demands.God set all of my legal debt with its demands aside. He got rid of it! How? Sweeping it under the rug? No! He nailed it into the hands and feet of my Savior on the cross. And the blood of my Savior soaked into those debt records and wiped them away!Galatians 2:20 ESV 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.So Paul can say because of our union with Christ- I was crucified with Christ. His death is my death. And that is my only hope!Friends, do you know that kind of forgiveness? Have you had you sin debts canceled by the blood of Jesus? This is what it means to be justified by faith in Christ alone, not by the works of the law.So Paul concludes- It is not longer I who live, but Christ who live in me.I have been crucified together with ChristAnd I am living no longerbut Christ is living in me.My hope is in the LordWho gave Himself for meAnd paid the price of all my sin at CalvaryNo merit of my ownHis anger to suppressMy only hope is found in Jesus’ righteousness.And now for me He standsBefore the Father’s throne;He shows his wounded hands and names me as his own.Arise, my soul, arise, Shake off thy guilty fears; The bleeding sacrifice In my behalf appears; Before the throne my surety stands; My name is written on his hands.Five bleeding wounds he bears, Received on Calvary; They pour effectual prayers, They strongly speak for me; Forgive him, oh forgive, they cry, Nor let that ransomed sinner die.It is now longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me!So what does this mean for Peter and his fear of the Jews and rebuilding what Christ has torn down. How do you reverse a lifetime of culture, and worldview, and deeply planted values?And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.We need to evaluate our vital union with our Savior!That’s what Peter needed. That’s what it takes to live in step with the gospel.There Peter is eating pork with his Gentiles friends. All of the sudden some Jews from Jerusalem approach and Peter feels fear and doubts his decision to break the Law. What does he do? He remembers his vital union with his Savior. I have been crucified together with ChristAnd I am living no longerbut Christ is living in me.That’s my reality. My hope is in the Lord who gave Himself for me. My hope is not in the law! I have been found to be no better than these Gentile sinners. I am just like them. Yet, because of Christ I am free from my sin and the power of the law. I have been released from the law to live unto God. And it is all because of Jesus.And now the live that I am living in the flesh, this moment right now where I am afraid of what the Jews will think of me and the persecution that may come, right now I choose to live faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.And through faith I am going to respond in love and give myself to walk in step with the gospel. So let the Jews come! I’ll sit right here with my Gentile brothers and sisters living by faith in my vital union with Jesus!That’s the kind of power we need to transform everything below the iceberg!Then Paul makes one final point and summaries his argument in this section.Galatians 2:21 ESV 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.When Paul and Peter choose to eat with Gentiles and thus renounce the OT Mosaic food laws they are doing something very important. They are acknowledging their desperate need for God’s grace.Those who maintain that you must keep the law for salvation have in effect nullified the grace of God?How is that?If being declared righteous by God could come through our own ability to keep the law, through our own good works, then Christ died for no purpose.If you can obtain righteousness based on your own ability to do good works, then Christ’s death on the cross because unnecessary.Galatians Explanation of the TextAnd if the law suffices, grace is nullified. Righteousness is no longer given as a gift; it is attained by human effort. So, either Peter renounces the need to observe the food laws, or he renounces the cross. There is no middle way
Friends, we must be so transformed by the gospel that we live in step with the truth of the gospel.What needs to change in a person for that kind of transformation to take place?We need transformed thinking that leads to transformed trust.We need to boldly work out the logical conclusions of our faith.We need to evaluate our vital union with our SaviorHow about you? Do you living in step with the truth of the Gospel?What needs to change? Galatians 2:14ESV
Galatians 2:15ESV
Galatians 2:16ESV
Galatians 2:17ESV
Romans 3:9ESV
Romans 3:10–12ESV
Isaiah 64:6ESV
Habakkuk 1:13ESV
Psalm 145:17ESV
Hebrews 7:26ESV
Galatians 2:17ESV
Galatians 2:18ESV
Galatians 2:19ESV
Romans 7:7–11ESV
Romans 7:1–6ESV
Galatians 2:19ESV
Galatians 4:4–5ESV
Galatians 2:19ESV
Galatians 2:20ESV
Colossians 2:13–14ESV
Galatians 2:20ESV
Galatians 2:21ESV
- Arise, My Soul, Arise
