Pre-Review
We are looking for sermon transcribers/transcript reviewers.
Email [email protected] to serve or to report transcription errors.
 

We are continuing the book of Galatians and if you're joining us today for the first time, we are at chapter 2 and verses 15 to 21.

A story is told of a lady who went to a pastor saying to him, pastor, can you help conduct the funeral service for my husband? Just one condition, when you conduct that service, please mention that he is a righteous man. The pastor looked at her and said, you know, ma'am, I know your husband and he's far from a righteous man. He's a cheater, he's a liar, he's unfaithful. I'm afraid I can't say what you told me to say.

The lady then said, but pastor, if you just say that he's a righteous man at his funeral service, I will write you a check of $50,000. So on the funeral day itself, the pastor was there and he said, John has just passed away. I know him to be a cheater, a liar, and unfaithful man. But compared to his wife, he's a righteous man.

Well today we're going to look at a subject of righteousness. Righteousness is not comparing yourself with another and say, I am better. Righteousness in the Bible is to be right with God. It's to have that right standing with the Holy One. So righteousness is really mission impossible, because as we all say, nobody's perfect.

The Bible declares all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Now that's why the Bible's message is absolutely stunning. The Good News of the Bible is that Jesus Christ has suffered and died and paid for our sins so that we might receive His perfect righteousness. So the message of the Bible really is that the Lord Jesus Christ is the righteousness of those who would believe in Him.

This is Paul's message. This is God's message. Jesus alone gives us that perfect righteous standing before God.

Unfortunately, during the days of the Galatians, there were false teachers who have come in and said, no, Jesus alone is not enough. You need to add circumcision. You need to add the dietary laws. You need to add the festivals. So their message is Jesus plus something, to which Paul now writes the book of Galatians to tell them, no, not at all. The Lord alone is our righteousness.

So for the first one and a half chapters, the Apostle Paul wrote about the personal defense of the message he preaches, that the message he has is not from man, but a direct revelation from Jesus Christ.

But now we change gears, because in chapter 2, verses 15 to 21, we're going to see Paul, in a sense, tell us the main content of the book of Galatians. This is like the great propositional statement of the book. It's the summary statement of the book of Galatians.

So you'll realize that the statements here are brief, but comprehensive. They're not easy to decipher, because they are brief. And the arguments are to be unpacked from chapter 3 onwards, all the way to chapter 6. But here is that nutshell, the message in a nutshell.

So if you're joining us today for the first time, great week. You're wise to choose this week to join us. Now, I'd like us to see three things from these seven verses. Not easy verses. There are many scholars and commentators who have spilled lots of ink trying to figure out exactly what these words mean. I hope I'll do them some kind of justice and share with you in a very simple, I hope digestible way, that you can not just understand, but obey in your lives.

1. The Principle

Three things. Number one, let's observe a certain principle about righteousness in Christ alone. Paul tells us, in essence, the summary of righteousness in Christ alone is this. A right standing before God is not achieved by works of the law, but received by faith in Jesus Christ. Let me say this again. A right standing before God is not achieved by our own efforts or own works of the law, but received freely by faith in Jesus Christ.

Let me play a game, not a game, but get some audience participation if I can. I'll say the first line and the group on the right will be responsible for the second line and the group on the left will be responsible for the third line, can? When I point to you, you just say your line. And I can point any direction, ah? You have to say your line. Don't, don't, don't go and crisscross, ah, because first service, they crisscrossed. So let's try.

A right standing before God is not achieved by works of the law, but received by faith in Jesus Christ. Wah, second service is excellent. Very well done. Let me try this again. A right standing before God is not achieved by works of the law, but received by faith in Jesus Christ. Is the IQ here very good or what? You get it absolutely spot on. This is absolutely correct.

So a right standing before God is not achieved by our own performance or our own ability to keep the law, but it is received freely by faith in Jesus Christ who paid it all for us.

That's what Paul says in verses 15 and 16. We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners, yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ. Now, Paul says we ourselves. Now, to identify exactly who the we here are, is a bit difficult. Some say it's just Paul speaking about Peter and himself because that's the story that preceded this passage.

But it could also mean in a more general sense, the Jewish Christians. So he says we, Peter, Paul, or we Jewish Christians are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners. Now you read this, you may almost think is Paul saying Gentiles are sinners and Jews are not? I don't think that's what he's saying.

He's saying using the familiar terms of his opponents, of the false teachers. The false teachers are saying the Gentiles are sinners. They need to be circumcised and so on and so forth. So I think what Paul is really saying here is we who are Jews who have the law are not like the Gentiles who do not have the law and are therefore considered sinners in that sense.

So Paul says we who are Jews who have the law, even though we have the law, we know that a person is not justified by the works of the law.

He's very emphatic here. We who have the law, do not rely on the law because we know that a man is not justified by the works of the law. The word justified in the Greek means to be made or declared righteous. And as I've explained, righteousness is being of the right standing before God.

So Paul says a man is not justified, is not made righteous by his own efforts in keeping the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. He adds on, in case we don't get it, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus in order to be justified by faith in Christ. And just in case you still don't get it, he repeats it a third time in these two verses and not by works of the law because by the works of the law no one will be justified.
How come, no man can be justified by the works of the law? Simple reason, no one can keep the law. No one can be able to fulfill the law to its full intent and extent, which is the requirement before a most Holy God.

Suppose today I get some of you up. I won't do that because it takes too much time. And we have a jumping..., jumping competition. Let's see who can jump the highest. Some of you may be not so fit, you jump just a little bit. Some of you are fitter, you jump a bit higher. And some of you are super strong with super huge legs, wah you jump very high.

But what if I tell you the winner of this competition is not the man who can jump highest, but the man who can touch the ceiling? You say siow ah you. Who in the world can jump and touch the ceiling without any assistance? But what if I tell you the goal is not for you to touch the ceiling but to touch the skies or to reach to the skies? You see that's totally impossible but that's exactly the point.

We like to think we are better than someone else therefore we win the prize, we will be part of the kingdom. But God's kingdom is not arrived at those, for those who seem to be better than another but for those who are in absolute perfection.

So if you want to be justified by the works of the law, you're barking up the wrong tree, because all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There is none righteous, no, not one.

By the way, this phrase is a quotation from Psalm 143 and verse 2. It's a loose quotation, but I think Paul is here saying, you know, this is well established. From the Old Testament we are already familiar, we are already told actually that no one can be good enough for God in his own effort to keep the law. We can only depend on the mercy and grace of God and that is found in the gift of His Son Jesus Christ.

So, the principle is a right standing before God is, see, I knew there would be a problem. Let me try this again. A right standing before God is not achieved by the works of the law but received by faith in Jesus Christ. This group better hoh? Well, a right standing before God is not achieved by works of the law, but received by faith in Jesus Christ.

2. The Paradox

Now if we preach this correctly and if we understand Paul correctly and if Paul is understood correctly, then we will come into verse 17 which presents to us a certain paradox. It comes from this question, if in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin?

This sounds a little bit difficult for us in English and actually even for the Greek scholars it's not so straightforward, there are several views, but I think this is the best way to understand this.

Paul is saying if in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, in other words he's saying if we understand, it is not by the works of the law, therefore I'm not going to depend on the works of the law, I'm not going to be obligated to the works of the law, but it's to be found in faith in Jesus Christ, then wouldn't that mean that I would turn from the restraints of the law and look to Christ alone?

And if you take away the restraints of the law, like I don't have to be circumcised, I don't have to keep the feast days, I don't have to ah fast and so on, wouldn't that mean that I would be found to be a sinner, like I neglect the law? The word sinners here reminds us of Gentile sinners in verse 15, a lawless people.

So if I seek to be justified in Jesus, it means I'm lawless or at least I'm not under the obligation of law, then I would live in more sin. And so what you're saying is that when you turn away from the law and to Christ, Christ makes me a sinner. You get the logic? I put it this way, does turning to Christ and not the law result in more sin? That's a good question.

If you really understand justification by faith in Jesus Christ, if you understand grace, then it should lead us to the natural question here, does trusting in Christ and turning away from legalism or the law promote licentious or sinful living? Because we think about it, it's true in normal society. If let's say the government say, no more laws today, we will not enact any laws today, no policeman will catch you, you guess what's going to happen in Singapore? Less sin? No way. 100% more crimes, right? No one will anyhow drive on the road, I will steal from your wallet, I will rob your homes. Why? Because no law, no punishment.

Imagine today you go to, tomorrow's school opening ah, very sad hoh, all the students. Tomorrow you go back to school and your, your principal says, today is a no law day. No rules in school, wah, siow leow, 100% the students are going to run amok. So we are used to the fact, we need laws to restrain sin.

Paul is saying righteousness is not via the law but by Jesus Christ. But their question is, hey, but if you take away the law, won't we be found to be sinners? We break all kinds of laws, we don't have to be circumcised and so on. Then Christ will be a servant of sin, He makes us sin more.

The assumption is not tied to the law equals to more sin. What does Paul say? He gives a paradox. He says no, while that's a good question, that's not the right answer. He says certainly not. Coming to Jesus is not going to lead you to more sin because, he's going to explain later, Jesus will utterly change your life.

And so the reality is quite opposite to the assumption. We think, turning away from the law as a means of justification is going to cause more sin. Paul says based on the Gospel, based on grace, based on a right relationship with Jesus Christ, it's not going to lead you to more sin.

I know it's still confusing, so let me give you an example. Can I be geeky a bit? A bit nerdy because that's what I used to study. U, and so humor me. We all know the use of antibiotics. If you're sick, you're strickened with a bacterial infection, you take antibiotics. So let's say you have diarrhea, you have a bad case of food poisoning, sometimes you take antibiotics to cure yourself.

But there is a certain kind of diarrhea that happens when you take antibiotics for too long. When you take too much and too long a, a course of antibiotics, you actually develop more diarrhea. Because what happens, is that all the antibiotics will now wipe out your bacterial flora in the gut.

And because there's now very little competition, a kind of bacteria called Clostridium difficile, okay, don't bother about the name, but Clostridium difficile would have a heyday in your gut. No competition, it colonizes your gut and it produces a toxin that results in quite bad diarrhea.

So, it's paradoxical. I thought antibiotics cure diarrhea. Nope, in this case, more antibiotics make you have more diarrhea. So let me just show you a picture if you still cannot get it. The, sorry ah, anatomy class uh or physiology or ID (Infectious Diseases) class.

Now, this is a picture of your intestines and this is the surface of the intestines. Usually in your gut, in your colon, there is a healthy growth of bacterial flora. That's why you drink Yakult lah, balance ah, so that you don't get stomach upsets and so on, or intestinal upsets. When you have plenty of normal bacterial flora, Clostridium difficile, that bacteria, has no chance. Not enough space. All crowded already, property full. So the Clostridium difficile cannot come in.

But when you give a lot of antibiotics for a long time, it wipes out your normal flora and now Clostridium difficile has a wonderful time. It colonizes you and it causes all kinds of toxins to be produced and you have a severe diarrhea.

So, again, normal bacteria, flora, antibiotics, wipe them out. You get C. difficile infection and it is not quite what you expect. You thought antibiotics is going to work, but it actually worsens.

If you still don't get it, I know you're not medically trained, so let me say this again in another way. The assumption for us is when we give more antibiotics, there will be less bacteria and therefore less diarrhea, correct? That's the assumption. But in some specific cases, the reality is when you give more antibiotics, it will result in more C. difficile bacteria and that causes more diarrhea.

So what's the solution? What's the cure? Take more antibiotics? No, kao liao you say, what do you do? You stop the antibiotics. You cut the antibiotics. Why? Because you allow now the normal flora to come back to be the competitor to C. difficile and when it's less C. difficile, you will have less diarrhea. Can? Yeah, job's done. Sermon over. No, of course not. I'm not here to teach medicine.

Why do I mention this? Because I think in a very similar way, we assume that more law equals less sin. But the reality is more law to an unregenerate heart, actually causes more sin. Reason is because it just creates self-righteousness. It just allows clostridium difficile to grow in your life.

So the cure to it, is not giving him more laws. The cure to your children's disobedience is the Gospel and not the law. The cure to human society's sin is not more law but the Gospel. That's why we must teach and preach the Gospel because the law can never lead you to true righteousness.

So we say no to legalism. Now I'm very careful here to say the law is not the problem. Don't blame it on the law. The law is a good thing. But when you use it as a means to justify yourself before God, if you depend on your efforts to obey the law, to earn favour with God, that becomes bad. That's called legalism.

Legalism is obeying the law in order to earn favour before God. You've got to cut legalism. We've got to go against legalism so that people are not wrapped up in self-righteousness.

You know when Jesus was walking on planet Earth, He said that the prostitutes and the tax collectors will get into the Kingdom of heaven before the religious leaders. Why? Because the religious leaders are filled with self-righteousness. It's a deadly bacteria of the soul. It's deadly. So, no legalism, no self-righteousness, less sin if you are now connected. You've turned from legalism to the Lord Jesus Christ.

I think that's what Paul was saying when he says, you know, if you really understand grace, if you really understand justification by faith, I know you have this question. Does it mean that if I turn to Jesus away from the law, it makes me more sinful? I know why you ask this question, because you have the assumption that being tied to the law means less sin.

But let me tell you the paradox. Obviously, no. Not at all. It doesn't lead you to more sin. And he says why. He explains more here in verse 18. For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. What has he been tearing down all this while? He's been tearing down legalism.

So he says, if after I've torn down legalism, I now come back to it and say, you are justified by the works, it just makes me a greater sinner, isn't it? Because there's no power in the law.

So if I return to legalism, that is obeying the law to earn God's favour, I make myself a transgressor. Why? For, because through the law, I died to the law that I might live to God.

Now, a few terms here. He says, through the law. I think what he means here is, I am condemned when I see the law. The law allows me to see how sinful I am. I despair, therefore, of my self-efforts to get right with God. Through the law, I see the hopelessness of it, and therefore, I now die to the law.

The idea here is to be cut off from the law, to be severed from the law, to be no more under the dominion and the bondage of the law. I turn to Jesus. I don't turn to the law anymore. I died to the law. And it's only when I died to the law and I turn to Jesus, faith in Jesus, that I might now finally truly be able to live to God.

So legalism, Paul says, does not allow us to live to God. It does not make you godly. It does not make you more spiritual. It does not make you righteous in practice. It does not lead to true righteousness, because the Lord alone, Jesus Christ alone, is our righteousness.

When did Paul die to the law? In verse 20, he says, I have been crucified with Christ. When did you die to the law? Paul says, I died to the law when Jesus Christ was crucified. And in an amazing, mystical way, when Jesus died, I died with Him. I died to the law when Jesus died on the cross.

This is one of the secrets, not secrets, but one of the theologies of the cross, which I've mentioned in this church a few times. We are all very familiar with the fact that when Jesus died, Jesus died for me, correct? He died on my behalf. He paid for my sins. And that's a wonderful, substitutionary reality.

But the Bible here, and elsewhere, equally says that when Jesus died, not only did Jesus die for me, but I died with Jesus. It's not just substitution, it's also identification. That union with Christ says that when He died, I died. And when He rose, I'm given new life. It's a wonderful, scriptural reality.

So I'm now no more under the obligation of the law. I'm no more condemned by the law, not just because Jesus paid for my sins, and my penalty under the law, but that I'm also, at the same time, set free from the bondage because I've died.

For example, suppose today, you went punching someone and you are fined a thousand dollars. The police are out to catch you and they want you to pay the fine, but the next moment, you were knocked down by a truck and you died. Can the government come and say, eh, you, pay me one thousand. Don't act dead ah. Oh, you're really dead ah? Pay me still. Would the government say that? No. The law has no more claim over a dead man.

So if I died with Christ, I'm no more under the bondage or dominion of the law. So I'm really free to live unto righteousness and not slavishly do mission impossible that is to earn God's favor by my own efforts. I'm free. Not only are you dead to the law, not only did Jesus Christ die for me and I died with Jesus, Paul went on to say, it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.

Wow, Jesus died for me, I died with Jesus, and Jesus rose again and lives in me, I believe, through the person of His Holy Spirit.

So the beautiful thing here, I think, is that the Christian life is not just about a positional righteousness or about standing, but there is practical righteousness about your living. And it's saying, because of this reality, that I died when Jesus died and that Jesus now lives in me, I have both the right and the might to live a righteous life. I can truly live a righteous life now because I died with Jesus and I can truly live a righteous now, life now because Jesus lives in me. I have the position and the power to truly live unto God, to truly live in righteousness.

So we see the paradox. I thought being freed from the law means more sin. No! Being freed from the law and to be connected with Jesus means you can now truly live in righteousness. It is not the law, but it is the Lord who is our righteousness.

So let's recap. Paul is giving a propositional statement, the, the book of Galatians in a nutshell in these seven verses. He tells us the principle of righteousness, or being declared righteous before God, oh, I don't show you first. A right standing before God is? Okay, it's not achieved by the works of the law, but? received by faith in Jesus Christ. Thank You very much. This is the principle.

And if we understand this principle, it presents a paradox. A paradox that says turning from the law does not cause more sin. Why? If we turn to Jesus our Lord. He is our righteousness. Because He freed us from the law and because He now lives in me. And we understand that grace is not just pardon, it's power, according to the words of John Piper.

Now, I know it's complicated so far, it's not easy. So, just to make it clear, I hope, let me present two scenarios or two questions I received this past week.

I meet with our CG leaders on a weekly basis on Tuesday nights, and we were talking about this passage, and we had this question in our Zoom session. I was asked, Pastor Jason, how do you balance preaching the message of grace while also encouraging holy living and obedience to God?

This is absolutely in sync with what we are considering this morning. I think there's an underlying assumption in this question, don't you think? The assumption is if we preach a message of grace, therefore telling people you are no more under the law, this will likely lead to careless bochap, sinful living.

Therefore the person asks, how do you balance this preaching and also encourage? Because to him, this seems opposite. But according to Paul, it's really not opposite, it's in line. Now, if you still don't understand how this grace leads to careless, sinful living, let me give an example.

I ask God for a bike, but I know God doesn't work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness. Since God is a God of grace, then let me do whatever I want and God will forgive me, right? So grace in people's mind will lead to careless, sinful living. But this is the paradox, if you have understood what we have been looking at so far. The paradox is, no, grace does not lead to careless, sinful living. Grace properly received into the human heart leads to righteous living.

Why? Because when you understand grace, you are freed from the bondage of the law and Jesus now comes to live in you. You are a new creation, you have a new heart, God's laws is written in your heart and you would want to and you would definitely show progress in righteousness.

In other words, what I'm saying is, those saved by grace will be changed by grace. And if you have never been changed by grace, my conclusion is, you were never saved by grace in the first place. Because grace is not just pardon, it is power. You can't have one without the other.

So examine your own hearts, because we know there are so many people across the world who satisfy themselves with just the fact that they go to church. I'm a Christian, doesn't matter how I live, doesn't matter I've been the same guy 10, 20 years ago, I'm a Christian because I come to church. Really? No.

If you have been saved by grace, you'll be changed by grace. We're not saying sinless perfection, but I believe the Bible teaches sincere progression.

Another example, I was meeting with a certain attendee in our church, and she was telling me before I speak further, she said, I have a question from a friend who asked me to ask you. Actually, the friend also in our church, I said, why don't you just ask me? My email, my WhatsApp, very easy to find one. And I welcome the questions, but in any case, I answered her the question and I'll answer it here.

The question essentially is this, are we really saved by faith without works? Because it seems too good to be true. You mean you can just tell people the Gospel is, believe in Jesus Christ and all your sins are forgiven. So easy ah? The concern again is some people believe, but their lives remain unchanged. Are they really saved?

To which my response remains pretty much in line with what we've been looking at so far. I said to her, we are saved by faith without works. It's not Jesus plus something. It's not grace plus legalism. No, we are saved by faith without works. But we are saved by a faith that works.

Again, if we understand grace, grace leads to righteous living. Those who are saved by grace will be changed by grace. Again, grace is not just pardon, it is power.

So the paradox really is, turning from the law does not cause more sin if we do turn to Christ our righteousness. Both in position and in power, both in right and in might, grace is not just pardon, it is power.

3. The Price

My time is almost up, finally. I'd like us to see the third thing in this text, and it's a short one. It's the price. You say, it's too good to be true. It is really good for us because Jesus paid it all. He paid for what is needed to give to men and women today true righteousness before a most Holy God.

The text tells us, I've been crucified with Christ, meaning Christ was crucified for us, Christ gave Himself for me. Why did He do that? Because He loved me. Why would a Christian want to live a holy life? Because we love Him, and we love Him because He first loved us. You know, God's love is not given so that you may be healthy and wealthy, which is sadly the wrong message sent out by many Christians and many churches today. It absolutely, as I've said it many times, cheapens the Gospel of Jesus Christ, because the Gospel is not given to make you healthy and wealthy primarily, it's given to make you holy, to make you righteous. Something all the money in the world can never buy, it's only by the blood of Christ.

This is how He loves us. He gave His life for us. I like what Luther had to say, Martin Luther. He wrote, did the law ever love me? Did the law ever sacrifice itself for me? Did the law ever die for me? On the contrary, the law accuses me, frightens me, drives me crazy. It just condemns me, shows me my total impotence and inability to keep the law. But somebody else saved me from the law, from sin and death unto eternal life. That somebody is the Son of God to whom we praise and glory forever.

And that's why we worship Jesus. That's why we worship the Lord. He died for us. He gave Himself for us. He loved us. So now Jesus is our righteousness because He gives us the right position. He gives us the power and He is our passion. Freed from the law doesn't lead to more sin. Connected to Jesus leads us to less sin.

So he says, it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. The power to live the Christian life does not come from me. The power to live the Christian life comes from the Spirit of Christ who lives within me. There's a tremendous power that none of us or most of us have not really tapped upon. Day by day, He's here to enable you to live that holy life.

Just in case you think, oh, it's let go and let God, Paul balances it out when he says, and the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God. It's active, trusting, depending, obeying. But this is the miracle of the Christian life. Christ lives in me and this life I live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God.

I pray Gospel Light will be, not, will not be a law-centered people, but a Lord-centered people. There is a function, there is a purpose for the law, but it is never meant to save you, it is never meant to make you righteous. Only Jesus can. He died to save you from your sins. He died to live in you, to enable you to live in righteousness. What a Savior. This is Galatians in a nutshell.

Let's bow for a word of prayer together. Father, we thank You this morning for Your great love for us in giving Jesus, who not only died for us, but that we died with Him. And not only that, but He rose again from the dead to now live in Your church by the Person of Your Spirit.
So we thank You because from the beginning to the end, our righteousness is secured not by our own frail efforts, but in the strong and finished work of Jesus Christ.

For those here, dear Lord, who are deluded or maybe deceived or maybe complacent that they are Yours when they really are not, please awaken them to the reality those who are saved by faith must be changed by grace. I pray that perhaps this morning they may find humility and conviction to truly repent and find salvation in Jesus Christ, Your Son.

Lord, I pray for those who are new, those who are not Christians, those who are seeking, I thank You for their presence here. And we all pray for their souls, that they will see, self-righteousness will never make it. Every religion in the world is about self-righteousness, but Jesus and the Gospel of Jesus is that bright, shining Good News, Your Son has paid it all. So dear God, open their eyes that they may turn from sin and believe in Him.

Maybe some of you here are saying to yourself, I want to be a Christian, I know that Christ is the only way, but there is no way I can give up my sins, there's no way I can give up the world. I say to you, you can't. But if you believe in Jesus Christ, He will live in you and enable you to do so, just like how River Jordan is parted only when the feet step in.

The grace to obey God floods into your life when you step in by faith. Jesus Christ is our righteousness. Look to Him alone. Father, give us grace once again as a people to live in dependence upon Your Spirit, to walk in obedience to Your Name. Yet not I, but Christ through me, may we worship You with our lives in righteousness and holiness. We ask all this in Jesus' Name, Amen.


 

We are looking for sermon transcribers/transcript reviewers.
Email [email protected] to serve or to report transcription errors.