knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law, but by the Faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we 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 (Gal. 2:16). The statement that Paul makes here is exactly what he told Peter and Barnabas that day, along with the Jewish Preachers who had been sent from Jerusalem by James, and all the other Jews in the Church at Antioch. It seems that the Church at Antioch was pretty well divided between Jews and Gentiles, all having accepted Christ, which was the Message of the Cross. Paul’s standing up to Peter, as is recorded in Galatians 2:11–14, no doubt saved the Church at Antioch and possibly the entire Work of God. Paul now makes a bold statement about what Salvation and Sanctification really are. He emphatically states that “a man is not justified by the works of the Law, but by the Faith of Jesus Christ,” which automatically places every Believer in one of two categories. The True Way is “the Faith of Jesus Christ,” which refers to what Christ did at the Cross. But if a person doesn’t accept that wholeheartedly, then they are trying to justify themselves by “works of the Law,” whether they understand such or not. Every person in the world, in fact, is either under “law” or “Grace.” All unbelievers are under Law, even though they do not understand such. Unless they come to Christ, they will be judged by that Law, and we speak of the moral law, as outlined in Exodus, Chapter 20. When the person comes to Christ, the broken law of which all are guilty is set aside as paid in full, done so by what Christ did at the Cross (Col. 2:14–15). Now the Believer has the privilege of living under “Grace” (Rom. 6:14). However, the Believer must also understand the Cross as it refers to Sanctification, meaning that we live a sanctified life strictly by Faith in Christ and what He did for us at the Cross, which then gives the Holy Spirit the latitude to work within our lives, bringing about His Fruit (Gal. 5:22–23). However, most Christians don’t understand Grace, which means they don’t understand the Cross, so they try to live this life “by works of the Law,” whether they understand such or not. If the Believer doesn’t understand the Cross, then there is nowhere else to be but “Law,” which is going to bring tremendous trouble, as described in the Seventh Chapter of Romans. The argument of Verse 16 is: Man is guilty and needs a spotless Righteousness. This Righteousness cannot be obtained through law-keeping, but only through Christ and what He did for us at the Cross and our Faith in that Finished Work. The entirety of the Book of Galatians deals with the Sanctification of the Saint. It is through Christ and what He did at the Cross—and through that alone! The Church basically has three problems. They are: 1. Antinomianism: The word means “anti-law.” This describes those who claimed that inasmuch as Grace was greater than sin, then it didn’t really matter how much they sinned. Paul answered that by saying, “God forbid. How shall we, who are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Rom. 6:2). 2. Legalism: This refers to Salvation by works, which actually is impossible (Rom., Chpts. 4–5). 3. Galatianism: This was the problem with the Galatians and is still the problem with most presently. This is, in fact, the most severe problem in the Church and always has been. It pertains to Believers who are saved by Faith, but try to bring about Sanctification by “self.” As Salvation comes by Faith in Christ and what Christ did at the Cross, likewise, Sanctification comes by Faith in Christ and what He did at the Cross. The Cross is the only way! The Expositor’s Word For Every Day,
Posted on: Thu, 10 Oct 2013 15:13:57 +0000
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