The Reality of Legalism – part 2 (Galatians 2:15-21)
The Reality of Legalism (part 2)
Galatians 2:15-21
March 30, 2014
As you know we are studying the book of Galatians.
Paul is defending his gospel
And the main aspect he is defending is: “Justification by Faith”
This book teaches that salvation is the total work of Jesus,
And that since we are saved by Christ,
We are also made pleasing by Christ.
After the blood of Christ was spilled,
There is absolutely nothing else that must be done to please God.
His blood is perfect…
His blood is sufficient…
1 Peter 1:17-21 “If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you who through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”
And so we learn to fully trust Jesus in order to be made pleasing to God.
It does not make obedience void,
But most definitely changes the purpose of obedience.
Our obedience is not a means of salvation.
Our obedience is a fruit of salvation.
We don’t obey to earn God’s favor, we obey because we love God.
And this concept is absolutely foundational to the Christian faith.
And perhaps that is why Satan is attacking it.
He has sent his workers, the Judaizers,
To undermine, attack, and distort, the true gospel of God.
And so Paul is writing this letter
To set the record straight on this foundational truth of God.
But as you know, recently,
Paul has had to fight more than just the Judaizers.
Last week we learned that Paul
Had to oppose Peter in regard to this issue.
Peter believed just like Paul did, but Peter had allowed his walk
To veer away from the doctrine he taught.
Galatians 2:11-13 “But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.”
He allowed a test of fame and popularity to influence his Christian walk, and due to his “fear” his actions distorted the true gospel of God.
By one seemingly insignificant act,
Peter displayed legalism, and confused the church.
Last week we said that there were three immediate effects of legalism.
We say why legalism is so dangerous.
1) The Body was Divided
(13) “The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy”
In one swoop, the Church was once again divided along racial lines.
Regardless of what was taught, it became apparent that being Jewish mattered,
And those who were not were obviously “second class”.
2) The Gospel was Distorted
(14) “But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the gospel”
By their action, the Jews were giving a distorted picture of the gospel.
Regardless of what they may have preached, their actions taught
That there was some benefit in outward ritual.
3) The Rebuke was Deserved
(14) “I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
He was essentially asking Peter if you have to be Jewish to be saved.
If Peter said “Yes”, then Paul would ask him why he lived like a Gentile.
If Peter said “No”, then Paul would ask why he pulled away from the Gentiles.
But none the less, we saw those three IMMEDIATE effects of legalism.
It Divides the Body
It Distorts the Gospel
It Deserves a Rebuke
Tonight we see “PART B” of Paul’s sermon,
In which he reveals to Peter the INEVITABLE effects of legalism.
The immediate effects of legalism were bad enough,
But if Paul had not confronted Peter, this is where they were headed.
3 inevitable effects of legalism.
#1 SINNERS ARE DESTROYED
Galatians 2:15-16
Of course we bear in mind here that Paul is still addressing Peter,
But he is doing so in front of everyone.
Both Jew and Gentile alike are listening to Paul’s confrontation.
And here Paul simply gives Peter a theology lesson.
(15) “We are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles;”
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
“We are Jews by nature”
In other words, he is reminding Peter of their prestigious past.
1) We are God’s chosen people
2) We have the Law
3) We have the covenants
4) We have the patriarchs
5) We even have Jesus in the flesh.
A Jew had an inside track to the word of God.
Romans 3:1-2 “Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? Great in every respect. First of all, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God.”
In the world, Jews had an advantage when it came to finding God,
For God had revealed Himself to them greater than to anyone else.
“We are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles;”
We had an advantage. We were special.
And then comes a very important word to our text.
(16) “nevertheless”
In short Paul just brought up an obvious advantage,
And in one word rendered it useless.
The Jews may have had an inside track,
But that inside track was still not enough.
WHY?
“nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus”
Sure the Jews had the Law, but the Law could not save.
We may have been Jews with an advantage but we still needed Jesus.
Paul reminded Peter of this precious doctrine that Peter knew very well.
The only way for man to be saved is by faith in Jesus.
There is no other way.
John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
And that being the case Paul even continues and reminds Peter
That they had both acted upon that precious truth.
(14) “even we believed in Christ Jesus so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law;”
Still speaking with a hint of sarcasm Paul says, “even we”.
“Even us prestigious, all important, chosen Jews believed in Jesus, because recognized that He was the only way of salvation.”
And through Jesus we were “justified”.
WHAT DOES “JUSTIFIED” MEAN?
We are no longer guilty, we just in God’s sight.
And this does not come through works,
It only comes through Jesus.
No man can do enough to make himself just in God’s sight
Because 1 million good deeds cannot nullify one evil one.
And of course Peter knew this.
John 6:66-69 “As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. “We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”
Even at the Jerusalem council Peter said:
Acts 15:11 “But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.”
Peter had figured out that Jesus was the only way of salvation,
And Paul is simply reminding him of that here.
And then Paul throws the ultimate reminder on him.
“since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.”
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
It is the same thing Paul told the Romans.
Romans 3:19-20 “Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.”
No one, not even in the Old Testament,
Was ever saved by works of the Law.
AND THAT IS THE FIRST DESTRUCTIVE EFFECT OF LEGALISM.
It teaches people that they please God through works,
And that is impossible.
Therefore all it does is DESTROY SINNERS
By insinuating that there was value in being Jewish,
Peter was misguiding Gentiles as to the way of salvation,
And also giving false assurance to Jewish non-believers.
Peter was promoting legalism,
AND THAT NEVER HELPED ONE SINGLE SINNER GET SAVED.
It instead deceives them into FALSE ASSURANCE,
Thinking they are saved when they are not,
And works only to secure their destruction.
For what is more dangerous than a lost person who doesn’t know it?
What is more deceptive than to convince a lost person that they are saved?
If you want to see the horrid effects look to the sermon on the mount.
Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’
Those were people who had convinced themselves that they were saved
Because of something they had done.
And even Jesus had a tough time convincing them they were lost.
Their legalistic routine had actually secured their destruction.
That is what legalism does.
Instead of saving sinners, it secures them under wrath and destruction.
Sinners are destroyed
#2 JESUS IS DISPUTED
Galatians 2:17-19
Here, Paul asks Peter a question.
(17) “But if while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin?”
FOLLOW PAUL’S THOUGHT HERE.
We believe that a man is saved by faith apart from works.
Therefore we don’t concern ourselves with the old Law.
In fact Jesus taught us this.
Matthew 15:11 “It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”
Matthew 15:15-20 “Peter said to Him, “Explain the parable to us.” Jesus said, “Are you still lacking in understanding also? “Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? “But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. “These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”
Of course that was an incident
Where dietary restrictions were seemingly broken by Jesus.
The point is that in following Jesus,
We look like sinners to the legalist people of the world.
What Paul wants to know is if we are.
ARE WE SINNING AGAINST THE LAW BY FOLLOWING JESUS?
• We don’t worship on Saturday…
• We eat unclean meat…
• We don’t worship in the temple…
• We cut the hair on our temples…
Are we sinning against the Law by following Jesus?
And if so, “is Christ then a minister of sin?”
DO YOU SEE PAUL’S POINT?
Has Jesus only made us all bigger sinners?
Because Peter withdrew from the Gentiles,
It made it appear that eating with the Gentiles was wrong.
However, this was something that Jesus had taught him was ok.
(Remember Acts 10?)
Therefore Paul is asking Peter if Jesus actually encourages sin?
“May it never be!”
Jesus never taught sin, condoned sin, tolerated sin, endorsed sin, encouraged sin, or even tried sin.
We are not sinning against the Law by following Jesus.
Matthew 5:17-19 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
Through Jesus we fulfill the Law.
The Political Law
The Moral Law
The Sacrificial Law
Through Jesus we fulfill the Law, we don’t break it.
To see it illustrated by Jesus, listen to this incident.
Matthew 12:1-8 “At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat. But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.” But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions, how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? “Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent? “But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here. “But if you had known what this means, ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. “For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
Notice in this passage they are not accusing Jesus of sinning,
They are accusing Jesus of tolerating sin.
Jesus says they aren’t sinning against Me, and I am God.
“For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
The disciples weren’t sinning against God, because Jesus is God,
And to obey Him is to obey the Law.
You do not sin against the Law by following Jesus,
You would be sinning against the Law by failing to follow Jesus.
And that is Paul’s point to Peter.
“Peter you are making it look like Jesus told you to do something that is not ok.”
And then Paul goes further.
(18) “For if I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God.”
Paul reminds Peter of what salvation really is.
“through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God.”
The Law did not save us, but rather, the Law condemned us.
Romans 7:7-12 “What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.” But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead. I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.”
The Law showed up and showed me that I was a sinner.
This then led me to look for salvation, which I found in Jesus.
“through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God.”
But Paul’s point here is:
“If I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor.”
In other words.
I figuratively destroyed the Law as a means for salvation.
If I now return to the Law for salvation,
Then in essence I am saying that I was sinning to follow Jesus.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE?
If I follow Jesus for a little while,
And then revert back to that old form of legalism,
Regardless of what I say, my life indicates
That I thought following Jesus was sinful.
That is what Paul is revealing to Peter.
“Peter, you are accusing Jesus of teaching sin, and also saying that following Jesus is sinful. Otherwise, you would not have so quickly run back to your former way of life.”
AND THAT IS YET ANOTHER INEVITABLE EFFECT OF LEGALISM.
It DISPUTES the integrity of Jesus.
You cannot follow Jesus and legalism,
For they do not go in the same direction.
Is this not what the Pharisees deduced?
They chose legalism, and so they had no choice
But to condemn Jesus as A SINFUL LIBERAL
Who disregarded God’s Law.
He ate with sinners and tax collectors…
He ate with unwashed hands…
He healed on the Sabbath…
And because they chose legalism,
They condemned Him as a demon-possessed, law breaking blasphemer.
That is what legalism does.
It destroys sinners and it disputes Jesus.
Jesus certainly did not promote legalism.
If you do, then you must dispute Jesus as the Savior.
Sinners are destroyed, Jesus is disputed
#3 GRACE IS DISREGUARDED
Galatians 2:20-21
And here we have that famous quote by Paul.
As he stood in the midst of the assembly, in full view of Jew and Gentile.
“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
And one more time Paul reveals
Why we no longer seek to be saved by the Law.
WHY ARE WE NO LONGER UNDER LAW?
“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live”
Romans 7:1-6 “Or do you not know, brethren (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives? For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man. Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death. But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.”
When we trust in Christ, we are united with Him.
That means that His death became our death,
And the Law no longer had jurisdiction over a dead person.
Now we “live by faith in the Son of God, who loved [us] and gave Himself up for [us].”
That is the true gospel of God.
And Paul has just reminded Peter of the utter danger of legalism.
It is contrary to the true gospel of God.
The true gospel is that I am justified before God because of faith.
• When I trusted in Christ I shared in His death
• And then I shared in His resurrection
My sin was imputed to Him
His righteousness was imputed to Me
I don’t live by my works, I live by faith in what He did.
And then Paul gives the final point.
“I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
If you must earn your salvation by works of the Law:
• Then what is grace?
• Then why the cross?
Those who seek to live by legalism and endorse legalism,
Really have no need for the cross of Jesus.
AND THIS IS YET ANOTHER INEVITABLE EFFECT OF LEGALISM.
• Not only do sinners remain in their sin…
• Not only is Jesus eventually viewed as an enemy of the Law…
• But eventually grace and the cross vanish as unimportant…
And think about it.
When Peter left the Gentiles to join the Jews, what looked the most important at that point?
The cross of Jesus, or the circumcision of the Jews?
That is the effect of legalism.
And can there be anything worse
Than diminishing the sufficiency of the cross?
That is why Paul refused to just ignore Peter’s act,
And that is why Paul is writing this letter to the Galatians.
Legalism, even in it’s smallest forms, cannot be tolerated,
For it:
• Divides the Body
• Distorts the Gospel
• Deserves Rebuke
• Destroys Sinners
• Disputes Jesus
• Disregards Grace
Legalism cannot be allowed to endure.
