In Christ Alone - (Part I)
Galatians 2:15-21
“In Christ alone, I place my trust”
”And find my glory in the power of the cross”
”In every victory, let it be said of me”
”My source of strength, my source of hope is Christ alone”
It is because of Jesus Christ we can have hope today!
Theologians tell a story to illustrate how Christ's triumph presently benefits our lives: Imagine a city under siege. The enemy that surrounds they city will not let anyone or anything leave. Supplies are running low, and the citizens are fearful. But in the dark of the night, a spy sneaks through the enemy lines. He has rushed to the city to tell the people that in another place the main enemy force has been defeated; the leaders have already surrendered. The people do not need to be afraid. It is only a matter of time until the besieging troops receive the news and lay down their weapons. Similarly, we may seem now to be surrounded by the forces of evil -- disease, injustice, oppression, death. But the enemy has actually been defeated at Calvary. Things are not the way they seem to be. It is only a matter of time until it becomes clear to all that the battle is really over. - Richard J. Mouw, Uncommon Decency, pp. 149-150.
Jesus is the ultimate conqueror. He said Himself in - Revelation 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.Jesus was victorious over Death, Hell & the Grave. Jesus has defeated sin and Satan! And through faith in Christ WE can experience victory over death, hell and the grave and WE are delivered from the power of sins & Satan. I would like to look at Galatians 2:15-21 and see just a few of the many things that Jesus Christ secured for us at Calvary. Join me as we consider the thought “In Christ Alone”
We will see that:
i. We Are Justified Through Christ Alone
ii. We Are Accepted Through Christ Alone
iii. We Are Free Through Christ Alone
iv. We Are Victorious Through Christ Alone
I would like to begin in verse 16, which is a continuance of Paul’s account of his confrontation of Peter. Peter had joined Paul at Antioch and enjoyed food and fellowship with the Gentiles, then some of the Jews came from Jerusalem and Peter retreated from the Gentiles. Paul has boldly called Peter out and confronted his hypocrisy. As we rejoin Paul, he shares a common theme throughout Galatians and that is the difference between the Law and Grace. We see much about what the law couldn’t do and then we see that Jesus did what NO ONE ELSE COULD DO!
* Look with me to verse 16 as we see that:
I. WE ARE JUSTIFIED THROUGH CHRIST ALONE- v16
“Justification” is the judicial act of God, by which he pardons all the sins of those who believe in Christ. Through “justification” we are declared righteous in God’s eyes. Justification puts us in a right relationship with God. Someone has said that the word Justified defines itself - “Just-as-if-id-never sinned”
* This process could not happen through the Law, it comes through CHRIST ALONE! Notice:
A. The Law Was Not Sufficient To Save Us - v16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law… v16c …for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified
Paul had a very important message for Peter, the Jewish believers, the Judaizers, the people of Galatia and for us as well. Notice: He says that “a man is NOT justified by the works of the law”
- We are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners
We did not come into this world pure and then begin to sin over time. We were born sinners and our sinful behavior is a manifestation of our nature. Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
The root of sinfulness is in man’s heart, not his actions! The Mosaic Law only served as a mirror to reveal sin, it was not a cure for it. Even if you could keep every aspect of the Law (which you can’t) it would still not be an acceptable means of salvation. By the law, no one would be saved, because all have sinned and deserve death.It is clear that “The Law Was Not Sufficient To Save Us” but verse 16 also contains much hope. Notice:
B. We Are Justified By Faith In Christ - “but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ”
Paul reminds Peter that even though they had been born Jews, they came to Christ through faith. It was not their works or their righteousness that saved them... IT WAS THE BLOOD OF JESUS! This brings to mind an important question… How were those who lived before Christ saved? They were saved BY FAITH IN CHRIST!
Paul says in Galatians 3:6 “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness”
Abraham did not know the 10 Commandments… He did not know what the church was…He never heard the name Jesus Christ… If that is the case then how was he saved…? BY FAITH! The Lord called Abraham to step out on faith - Genesis 12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him;
We are blessed with 66 Books in the Bible and thousands of years of history. Abraham did not have any of this information… But he did have faith in God’s promises. Jesus went to the cross around 2,000 years ago… We are saved by faith, looking back at the cross. Abraham was saved BY FAITH looking forward to the cross. In Hebrews Chapter 11 in the “Hall of Faith” there is a long list of Old Testament Saints. The scriptures mention men and women such as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Sara, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Samson, David and others…All who lived long before the arrival of the Messiah, they were all JUSTIFIED BY FAITH! These saints were not perfect… they were sinners but they were JUSTIFED!
The sacrifices in the Old Testament were performed over and over, year after year. But those sacrifices were not able to provide perfect cleansing for the people. The sacrifices actually reminded the people of their sin and guilt. Hebrews 10:4 (says that) it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. - Because of this Jesus came into the world to do the Father’s will. It was God’s will for us to be JUSTIFIED by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ offered Himself to God as THE sacrifice for our sins… ONCE AND FOR ALL! The Old Testament saints & the New Testament saints are JUSTIFED THROUGH CHRIST ALONE!!
> Dr. Roy Gustafson has the finest illustration of justification I have ever heard. It seems that there was a man in England who put his Rolls-Royce on a boat and went across to the continent to go on a holiday. While he was driving around Europe, something happened to the motor of his car. He telegraphed the Rolls-Royce people back in England and asked, "I'm having trouble with my car; what do you suggest I do?" Well, the Rolls-Royce people flew a mechanic over! The mechanic repaired the car and flew back to England and left the man to continue his holiday. As you can imagine, the fellow was wondering, "How much is this going to cost me?" So when he got back to England, he wrote the people a letter and asked how much he owed them. He received a letter from the office that read: "Dear Sir: There is no record anywhere in our files that anything ever went wrong with a Rolls-Royce." That is justification.
For those who are “in Christ” there is no record of our wrongs because they are under the blood of Jesus!!! - Romans 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.
Just as the “blood of bulls and goats” was not enough to save those in the Old Testament, circumcision and Jewish rituals could not benefit the believers at Galatia. True also is the fact that your “works” will never be enough to save you! There may be someone here today and you think that you are going to make it to Heaven because of things that you do or things that you don’t do!
1) You will not get to Heaven based on the things that you do!
- Being a good person is not enough
- Baptism is not enough
- Church membership is not enough
- Tithing is not enough
- Helping others is not enough
You can never do enough to earn your way to Heaven. If you could, God wouldn’t have had to send His only Son, but He did send Him to do what you couldn’t!
2) You will not get to Heaven based on the things that you don’t do!
Some think they will get to Heaven because they “don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t chew or run with those who do”. You may have fallen for the common misconception that when you die that God is going to weigh all of the good that you have done against all of the bad and if the good outweighs the bad then He will let you in to Heaven! That is a lie straight from the pit of Hell!! The Bible says that “no one is good, no not one… there is none righteous!”
Based on God’s standards the best person you know is a vile wretched sinner! And apart from Christ “our righteousness is as a filthy rag” (Isaiah 64:6) - If you get to Heaven it will be because you have put your faith in THE FINISHED WORK OF JESUS CHRIST!
Jesus illustrates salvation in black and white terms in John 3:18
i. Jesus Tells Us Who Will Go To Heaven - v18 He that believeth on him {Jesus} is not condemned:
He that “believes”…this means to entrust. This carries the idea of surrendering your life to Christ! Jesus says if you will “believe on Him” you will have everlasting life! Romans 10:9 if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. - Will you trust in Him today???
Jesus goes a little further in John 3:18. Notice:
ii. Jesus Tells Us Who Will Not Go To Heaven - v18b but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
This is the direct opposite of what we have just seen. This speaks of those who refuse to trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ! This describes those who think they can do it all on their own. This speaks of those who are headed for an eternity in a Lake of fire! Remember the definition of “Justification” is the judicial act of God, by which he pardons all the sins of those who believe in Christ
No matter where you have been or what you have done… JESUS HAS PAID THE PRICE TO RANSOM YOU! Your sins can be forgiven today! You can receive JUSTIFICATION and the promise of ETERNAL LIFE if you will “believe on the only begotten Son of God!”
You may be saying I am waiting until the “right time” to be saved! Friend, if Jesus is calling you better answer while there is time. - 2 Corinthians 6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
You can experience salvation and justification right here right now! And if you are to be justified it will be IN CHRIST ALONE!
"On that cross as Jesus died”
“The wrath of God was satisfied”
“For every sin on Him was laid”
“Here in the death of Christ I live”
There is much more that we will see in these verses, tonight we will continue to walk through these verses and see what happens IN CHRIST ALONE (Part II)
