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You can turn with me in your 
Bibles to the book of Galatians, Galatians chapter two. We've been working through the 
book of Galatians on the occasional Sunday evening here as we see 
Paul's defense of the doctrine of justification by faith alone. And we don't by that mean that 
we're speaking against the chronology, the flow of time as if Paul was 
a reformer, but if he was in the 16th and 17th century, no 
doubt he'd be a reformer. But the doctrine of justification 
by faith alone is simply that, and it is a biblical doctrine. 
We don't wait 1600 years for this doctrine to be put forth 
by Protestants as if rubbing against the flow of history, 
but rather this doctrine comes from God through divine revelation 
as the only way by which anyone was ever justified in the sight 
of God. From Adam to the last breathing 
elect individual, sinners from every tribe, tongue, and people 
and nation are saved by virtue of the perfect work of Christ 
imputed to them. and received by faith alone. 
And the Apostle Paul, we have been in this section where the 
Apostle is giving an autobiographical defense of the true and saving 
gospel. The true and saving gospel was 
being perverted by those who were preaching another gospel, 
or as Paul says, no gospel at all. One that destroys the perfections 
of God, that casts into the mud the finished work of the Lord 
Jesus Christ. And so the Apostle Paul is bringing 
many words, is spilling much ink in order to assert the proper 
doctrine of Christ and salvation by him. And so I'm going to read 
Galatians 2, the entirety of the chapter, and our focus this 
evening is going to be verses 11 to 16. So once again, the 
Word of God. Then after 14 years, I went up 
again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and also took Titus with me. 
And I went up by revelation and communicated to them that gospel 
which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those who were 
of reputation, lest by any means I might run or had run in vain. Yet not even Titus, who was with 
me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. And this occurred 
because of false brethren secretly brought in, who came in by stealth 
to spy out our liberty, which we have in Christ Jesus, that 
they might bring us into bondage, to whom we did not yield submission 
even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue 
with you. But from those who seem to be something, whatever 
they were, it makes no difference to me. God shows personal favoritism 
to no man. For those who seem to be something 
added nothing to me. But on the contrary, when they 
saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as 
the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter, for he who worked 
effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised 
also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles. And when 
James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived 
the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas 
the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles 
and they to the circumcised. They desired only that we should 
remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do. 
Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, 
because he was to be blamed. For before certain men came from 
James, he would eat with the Gentiles. But when they came, 
he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the 
circumcision. And the rest of the Jews also 
played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried 
away with their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were 
not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to 
Peter before them all, If you, being a Jew, live in the manner 
of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to 
live as Jews? We who are Jews by nature and 
not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified 
by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, Even we 
have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by 
faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, for by the 
works of the law no flesh shall be justified. But if, while we 
seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, 
is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not. For if 
I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a 
transgressor. For I through the law died to 
the law that I might live to God. I have been crucified with 
Christ. 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 for me. I do not set aside the grace 
of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ 
died in vain. Amen. Well, let's go to God in 
prayer. God, we thank you for this time in your word. We thank 
you for the preaching of your word. We pray that you would 
be with us, that you would be honored and praised. We pray 
that the word would be opened up aright, that for saints gathered 
here this evening, it would be for measures of edification. And Lord God, for any sinners, 
for those outside of Christ who came in in unbelief, we do pray 
that they would leave by the power of the Holy Spirit. and 
the glory of your word that they would leave this place singing 
your praises. Do be honored and praised in this place, and unto 
that end, we pray again for your spirit. In Christ's name, amen. Well, we're just going to look 
at two things this evening, the apostolic confrontation and the 
apostolic doctrine. You'll remember last time we 
sort of asked the question in the course of the sermon, why 
is Paul doing all of this? And we could ask the question, 
why are the apostles doing all that they do in the pages of 
the book of Acts, for example, their epistles as they're coming 
against error, as they're coming against persecutors, as they're 
coming against opposers to the truth, why are they doing all 
of this? And we answered that question 
by noting verse 5b of Galatians 2, to whom we did not yield submission 
even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue 
with you. Apostolic energy and apostolic 
striving is exerted unto this end, that the truth of the gospel 
might continue with you, with us, with the people of Christ. And so, As we now move to Galatians 
2, 11-16, we're going to see that this same thing obtains, 
that the Apostle Paul is seeking, continuing this autobiographical 
defense that is writing about his own history, a defense by 
virtue of writing about his own history, to exalt the doctrine 
of justification by faith alone, and to cast down into the mud 
of error and heresy anything that would prop up man's deeds 
and man's works and man's obediences in any economy of salvation. And we have this confrontation 
that we see here first. I think as we as we move along 
through this hopefully your your minds perhaps and if they're 
not we'll do it together as an exercise right now go back to 
verse 6 of chapter 1 because as No doubt as Paul is well I'm 
not going to say no doubt because I don't know the mind of Paul 
but I'd like to suspect that as the Apostle Paul was writing 
this epistle he kept having in mind this language of verse 6 
of chapter 1. I marvel that you are turning 
away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ to 
a different gospel. In Galatians 3 at verse 1, He'll 
use the language, O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? It's amazing 
in the mind of the Apostle Paul that these had so swiftly turned 
from the glory of justification by faith alone unto some idea 
that the cutting off of the flesh, of the foreskin, and obedience 
to dietary laws, and the Mosaic institutions, all things remember 
that Christ put away with his coming, that these things would 
somehow enter into the minds of professing believers as things 
which commend themselves to God savingly. I marvel that you are 
so soon turning away from the grace of Christ to another gospel. And we see here then in Galatians 
2, we see first off at Galatians 2 verses 11 to 16, we see first 
off this apostolic confrontation. A brief Our brief interruption 
could I have a deacon perhaps bring some Kleenex for me if 
that's that's okay As much as I could continue the the sight 
of anything fauceting from my nose would probably be not on 
to edification Thanks Doug so the the apostolic Confrontation 
the first thing we want to see here is Peter's hypocritical 
withdrawal. Thank you Peter's hypocritical 
withdrawal we want to first see here though the or note the timing 
and the location of this particular event. Last time I didn't note 
that The matching to the book of Acts 
was most likely Acts chapter 11. Remember, as we were working 
through this autobiographical defense, we noted as Peter is 
first starting with his own conversion and his call to the ministry, 
much of what that corresponds with is in Acts chapter 9. In 
Acts chapter 2, one through verse 10, that probably has to do with 
or connects to the timing of the famine relief visit at the 
end of Acts chapter 11. Remember that all of this, according 
to our particular position, is occurring prior to the Jerusalem 
council in Acts 15. This isn't after, but prior to 
that declaration by the Jerusalem Council with regards to people 
who were troubling Gentiles and affecting the doctrine of justification. As we get here to Galatians 11, 
the proper address of Holy Scripture that this no doubt corresponds 
with is Acts 14. 26 to 28 and you can turn there 
just so that we can see the harmony of the timeline the the connectedness 
the Consent of all the parts if you will as our confession 
uses that language so in Acts chapter 14 Notice at verse 26 From there they sailed to Antioch 
where they had been a where they had been commended to the grace 
of God for the work which they had completed. Now when they 
had come and gathered the church together, they reported all that 
God had done with them, and that he had opened the door of faith 
to the Gentiles, so they stayed there a long time with the disciples. So Paul and Barnabas are there 
in Syrian Antioch, not Pisidian Antioch, but Antioch in Syria, 
And that is probably where this occasion, this confrontation 
with Peter occurred. Well, it says here, when Peter 
had finally came to Antioch. But not only that, that's probably 
where the Apostle Paul wrote this letter. to the Galatians. So getting back to this confrontation, 
the time and location, this corresponds with Acts 14 prior to the Jerusalem 
Council, and it's in Syrian Antioch, and we want to notice now Paul's 
stand against Peter's duplicity. Duplicity has this idea, similar 
to what we read later in verse 13 regarding hypocrisy, a double-facedness. One thing to one people, another 
thing to another people. We see that as we get into verse 
12. Peter had beforehand eaten with 
the Gentiles, but then these men come from James, these Jews 
come from James, and he departs from the Gentiles and only communes 
and eats with these visiting Jews who come from James. So 
Paul withstands this duplicitousness. The language that we read here 
is, I withstood him to his face because he was to be blamed. 
Thomas, in his commentary, cites one author, and then he cites 
a verse in Leviticus, and he combines them together, saying, 
Do not reverence your neighbor in his fall, and do not refrain 
to speak in the time of salvation. And then from Leviticus, You 
shall not hate your brother in your heart, but reprove him openly. Paul boldly stands against the 
duplicity of another apostle who is affecting the very doctrine 
of justification. He may not be openly denying, 
and he's not, openly denying the doctrine of justification 
by faith alone, but by his actions he is compromising that very 
doctrine and that very truth of the gospel. And so Paul rightly, 
not in order to prop up himself, know, sometimes there can be 
a grandstanding in a lot of contexts, but very often it can obtain 
even within Christ's professing church that people will grandstand 
in order to oppose others. And very often it's done not 
for the cause of God and truth, but it's done for themselves, 
for their own audience, for for clicks and for likes and for 
little red hearts that bounce up on their social media accounts. 
That's not why Paul is doing this. Paul is doing this for 
the very faith of the gospel. He's doing this so that, verse 
5 of chapter 2, the truth of the gospel might continue with 
us. So he withstands Peter to his 
face because he was to be blamed. And we see next then the duplicitous 
offense stated. Why is it that the Apostle Paul 
withstands him to his face? Why is it that he remarks with 
this language because Peter was to be blamed? Well, verse 12, 
for before certain men came from James, he would eat with the 
Gentiles. That was right for Peter to do 
so. As we'll see in a number of verses 
and paragraphs and chapters here, we see the language of there 
is neither Jew nor Greek for all are one in Christ Jesus. The same author, the Apostle 
Paul, said that there is one new man made from the two, Jew 
and Gentile. And so it was right for Peter 
to eat with the Gentiles, but the offense is stated here, but 
when they came, that is, certain men from James, he withdrew and 
separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. 
And so, that's the duplicity, and Paul speaks to that in verse 
13. And there is a compounding of 
the offense, because it didn't just affect Peter, it wasn't 
only Peter, but notice, and the rest of the Jews also played 
the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away 
with their hypocrisy. I think this ought to be sobering 
for the people of God. We're not to stand as judges 
behind the shoulders of Peter and Barnabas here. And, you know, 
pointing the finger, sort of, how dare you? I think we're all, 
in our remaining corruption, susceptible to being stolen away 
from, not salvation, but from a proper stand in the truth of 
the gospel. Unless we're watchful, unless 
we tend to the means of grace, unless we do according to the 
Spirit, what we are to do with regards to holding upon with 
an unswerving grip the truth of the gospel, we're no doubt 
liable to the same duplicity. But the offense is stated, and 
it is remarkable because if you'll turn with me to Acts chapter 
10, it was eight years prior to this approximately, eight 
years prior to this confrontation between Paul and Peter, that 
Peter received this vision with respect to Gentile inclusion 
and the cleanness of animals with reference to the ceremonial 
law. Notice what we see in Acts chapter 
10, and when you get there you can turn to verse 9. This has to do with Peter's vision. 
Notice, the next day as they went on their journey and drew 
near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray about 
the sixth hour. Then he became very hungry and 
wanted to eat. But while they made ready, he 
fell into a trance and saw heaven opened and an object like a great 
sheet bound at the four corners descending to him and let down 
to the earth. In it were all kinds of four-footed 
animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of 
the air. And a voice came to him, Rise, Peter, kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord, 
for I have never eaten anything common or unclean. And a voice 
spoke to him again the second time, What God has cleansed you, 
you must not call common. This was done three times and 
the object was taken up into heaven again. It's very interesting 
as we read this that the Apostle Peter and his measure of stubbornness 
as he opposes the truth. He's saved, of course, he's a 
Christian, he cannot fall from that blessed state of grace, 
but sometimes that remaining corruption brings up the former 
Peter. You'll remember in his life as 
a disciple with The Lord prior to the Lord's death resurrection 
and ascension He had this same measure of a of a zealous an 
overzealous or a zeal not tempered by knowledge disposition verse 
14 not so Lord and for I have never eaten anything common or 
unclean." And this statement is repeated three times, what 
God has cleansed, you must not call common. But all of that 
to come back to this, why was Peter eating with the Gentiles 
before these men came from James? Because God had met him in a 
vision, and is telling him not simply, I'm giving you food to 
eat, but that the mosaic ceremonies, that the mosaical institutions 
have been abrogated or have been fulfilled in Jesus Christ. There are no longer to be observances 
of Jewish meals, of Jewish dietary laws, of the ceremonies of Moses, 
because Christ, the substance, has put an end to the shadow. 
the perpetuation of mosaic ceremonies, the carrying on of dietary laws, 
the grossness of mutilating the foreskin as a religious exercise 
to be justified by God, these are horrors and offenses to a 
finished and a complete gospel. That's why Paul brings the weight 
of confrontation. That's why Paul, as we find our 
way back to Galatians 2, that's why the Apostle Paul opposes 
this duplicity on the part of Peter. Now, we are to believe 
and we are to understand that Peter receives it well. But we're not there yet. So, 
this duplicitous offense is stated. The Apostle Peter beforehand 
ate with Gentiles, but because of the fear of those who are 
of the party of the circumcision, when they come, he separates 
himself, thereby heaping dirt, if you will, upon the glory and 
perfection of the gospel and Gentile inclusion in the covenant 
of grace. And so Paul describes how Peter, 
comes to Antioch, but withdraws from eating with Gentile believers. 
And as Pastor Butler was preaching this morning, my mind was drawn 
to a bit of a connection here. Occasionally my mind works and 
works just a little bit, but I was drawn to a connection. 
Peter here, I wonder as Paul is rebuking him, if Peter is 
recalling how his Lord sat with tax collectors and sinners and 
ate with them. That language of sinners is used 
later here by the Apostle Paul with regards to Gentiles. He 
says, sinners of the Gentiles. That's a phrase that's used with 
regards to the Gentiles. They're sinners, not so much 
in the sense that they are obviously universally condemned for for 
their moral state of total depravity before God, but more ceremonially 
because they stand outside of the Commonwealth of Israel. They 
are unclean. They are the sinners of the Gentiles. So I wonder if, as Paul is rebuking 
Peter here, he gets a little bit of that stare of the Lord 
after his denial of the Lord on the night before the crucifixion, 
where he's He's found out, and he's reminded, you know what, 
my Savior sat with tax collectors and sinners and ate with them, 
and I separated myself from them, I departed from them in order 
to have good optics before those who were of the circumcision. So it is a very serious thing 
that happens here with regards to Peter's separation from the 
Gentiles and his fear of the party of the circumcision. Now, we move on then to Paul's 
rebuke of Peter. Notice we have this in verse 
14. Paul's rebuke of Peter. And there's an interesting word 
that's used here when we get there, the word straightforward. But notice the language here. 
But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the 
truth of the gospel, I said to Peter, before them all, if you, 
being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, 
why do you compel Gentiles, literally, to Judaize? Why do you compel 
Gentiles to live as Jews? So the first thing we see here 
is this important observation on the part of the Apostle Paul, 
when I saw, he observes, when I saw that they were not straightforward 
about the truth of the Gospel, Peter, the rest of these Jews 
who played the hypocrite, and Barnabas. They were not straightforward. The word is orthopodeo, where 
we get orthopedic from. You know, an orthopedic specialist 
is one who helps our feet walk straight. They were not straightforward. They were not walking straight. 
They were not walking aright with the feet of faith. Matthew 
Poole wrote, he showed a crookedness in his feet. Speaking of Peter, 
he showed a crookedness in his feet. He did not walk with a 
foot, plain and straight in the truth of the gospel. And so Paul 
sees this, he observes Peter's failure here, and he withstands 
him to his face. when I saw that they were not 
straightforward about the truth of the gospel. And remember now, 
that they're not openly opposing the gospel, they're Christians. 
They, in their remaining corruption, have this brief season of lax, 
of error, of separateness and departure, but they're not openly 
opposing the gospel, and nevertheless, the languages being used here, 
they were not straightforward, they were not walking aright 
with regards to the truth of the gospel. I believe this highlights 
for us the importance of the gospel. Not only is impropriety 
an error, but so is the appearance of impropriety, or actions that 
bring into disrepute or can bring into disrepute the very gospel 
of Jesus Christ. They did not oppose it, but in 
their actions they affected its truth and its proper reception. 
and its proper maintenance. So Paul observes this crooked 
walking, and then notice this courageous rebuke that we have 
in this language. If you, being a Jew, live in 
the manner of Gentiles and not as Jews, why do you compel Gentiles 
to live as Jews? Hopefully you see the logic there. Beforehand, He was living, and 
he was living as a Gentile and eating as a Gentile. That is, 
with the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and the putting away of 
the shadows, when the substance had come, as Athanasius says, 
what further need was there of the shadow? So, when the substance 
had come, the shadows of the mosaical ceremonies were put 
away and complete and fulfilled in him. With that truth in view, 
Peter was living in the manner of Gentiles and not as Jews. 
So Paul rightly asks the question then, why are you then compelling 
Gentiles to live as Jews? And this is the problem. They're 
going backwards in redemptive history. This is the stuff and 
substance of the book of Hebrews. The glorious One has come, the 
Son of God, has taken to Himself man's nature with all of the 
essential properties and the common infirmities thereof, and 
yet without sin, He has assumed the lowliness of flesh in order 
to perfectly execute the obligations laid upon Him by the Father, 
in order to live a perfect life of substitutionary obedience, 
for all who believe in his name in order to die a perfect and 
glorious and bloody death upon calvary's cross to perfectly 
secure the salvation of a multitude which no man can number he has 
been raised victoriously he ascended to the right hand of the majesty 
on high he now ever lives to intercede for his people and 
you want to go back to the shadows You want to go back to the copies 
of the true when the true has come. You want to go back to 
the shadows when the substance has come. You want to go back 
to the signal and the thing that signified when the one to whom 
those things pointed has come to perfect redemption. It's madness 
to go back in redemptive history. It is madness, and not simply 
to go back in redemptive history, but to pervert the gospel, not 
simply taking upon themselves these ceremonies in some sort 
of cultural way, but taking upon them in the sense that they're 
leaning upon these things to be justified in the sight of 
God. And so Paul rightly rebukes Peter. This sharp rebuke exposes Peter's 
inconsistency. He had himself abandoned these 
strict Jewish customs, but was now pressuring Gentiles to observe 
them out of fear. This brings us then to the apostolic 
doctrine. Next time we come together for 
this study in Galatians, we'll have a an excursus on the doctrine 
of justification, a little more extensive treatment of the stuff 
of verses 15 and 16, primarily verse 16, but we want 
to, of course, spend some time here in this because it's in 
our text and the doctrine is glorious. Notice the apostolic 
doctrine. If we ask the question, what 
are the central tenets of Christianity? You know, there are those things 
that are non-negotiable in our Christian profession, and justification 
by faith alone is one of those. When we look at the cardinal 
doctrines, the banner doctrines of Christianity, we have that 
there is a triune God, that the one and only living and true 
God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That the Son of God, 
the second person of the blessed Trinity, being very and eternal 
God, the brightness of the Father's glory and the express image of 
his person, did in the fullness of the times take to himself 
man's nature for our redemption and recovery. that He is very 
God and very man, yet one Christ, the only mediator between God 
and man, and that in the perfection of His mediation, we are justified 
by virtue not of deeds of righteousness which we have done, not by virtue 
of a little Christ and a lot of us, not by virtue of a lot 
of Christ and a little of us, but by virtue of all of Christ, 
the perfection of His life, the perfection of His death, punctuated 
and testified by the glorious and victorious resurrection from 
the dead. Justification by faith alone 
is at the heart of Christianity, and hopefully we can see why 
the Apostle Paul takes pains, spills much ink, and historically 
opposed the Apostle Peter for bringing disrepute and confusion 
with respect to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. So, notice 
with regards to the apostolic doctrine, justification is by 
faith and not by the works of the law. So Paul continues, now 
I believe the ESV and perhaps some other versions end Peter's 
quotation at the end of verse 14. So as if to, as if to, or 
excuse me, Paul's, Paul's rebuke of Peter. In verse 14, so if 
you being a Jew live in the manner of Gentiles and not as Jews Why 
do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews stop and end quote? But we see here in the new King 
James and the King James tradition and in other versions the quote 
continues all the way to the end of the chapter to the end 
of verse 21 and So the idea in the other view would be, where 
it stops fast at the end of 14, that now Paul is getting into 
theological exposition, opening up with some explanatory language 
regarding justification by faith alone. But I think we can see 
it here as this is Paul's rebuke. It continues past the end of 
verse 14 all the way to this very solemn and serious and significant 
head that if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ 
died in vain at the end of the chapter. Let's go back to verse 
15. We who are Jews by nature and 
not sinners of the Gentiles. Let's just stop there for a moment 
because verse 16 doesn't exist in a vacuum where it's just theological 
declaration. It is that, but it exists in 
a context. So what is meant by we who are 
Jews by nature and not sinners of the Gentiles? is not Paul 
exalting the Jews and casting down the Gentiles, but using 
a contrast to demonstrate the madness of requiring the Gentiles 
to Judaize. In other words, we who are Jews 
by nature, we who have the oracles of God, we who have Moses, we 
who have the mosaical institutions, we who have the law, we who have 
the covenants and all of these things, we who are of the commonwealth 
of Israel and who have the blessings of the covenants, even we, even 
we who were so fastidious with the ceremonial law, even we who 
were entrenched in that yoke from which they were eventually 
of course freed, that burden of the ceremonial law, we who 
were once entrenched in these Mosaic institutions and in the 
doctrine of circumcision, in the calendar and in the dietary 
laws, even we had departed from that, even we were justified 
not by adherence to those laws, not by adherence to those ceremonies, 
not by obedience to precepts, but by virtue of Jesus Christ. Gil on this, on the idea of Paul 
demonstrating the madness, the ridiculousness of requiring Gentiles 
to Judaize. the apostles and others who were 
born Jews and so under the law of Moses, and until Christ came 
were under obligation to observe it, but had now relinquished 
it and wholly and alone believed in Christ for righteousness and 
life, then it was the most unreasonable thing in the world, by any means 
whatever, to lead the Gentiles who never were under the law 
to an observance of it. It's ridiculous. It's madness. Not only because of the fact 
that it would be ridiculous and it would be mad to obligate those 
who were never under it to now observe it when you, who had 
observed it, have abandoned and relinquished it, but of course 
by virtue of the fact that Christ in the perfection of his saving 
work fulfilled those things. Why go back to the shadow when 
the substance had come? And so we see then now this doctrine 
of justification set forth. And we'll close with a brief 
consideration of this and we'll open it up more fully next time 
we gather for the study in the book of Galatians. But notice 
that justification is by faith, not by the works of the law. 
The first thing we want to see here is that there's this five-fold 
Reiterative emphasis. That just means repeated statement. This five-fold reiterative emphasis 
marking the importance of justification by faith alone. Now we could 
say that it's three-fold, but it's really five-fold because 
there's a negative statement, positive statement, negative, 
positive, negative. Notice the language that we have 
here. We who are Jews by nature, verse 
15, and not sinners of the Gentiles, Knowing that a man is not justified 
by the works of the law, so there's the first one, but second one, 
by faith in Jesus Christ, third one, even we have believed in 
Jesus Christ that we must be justified by faith, fourth one, 
not by the works of the law, and the fifth, for by the works 
of the law no flesh shall be justified." What are you trying 
to say, Paul? What's your point? Could you 
repeat that? Paul is making pains, going through pains for the audience 
to understand. And in this case, the audience 
is Peter. Remember, this is still the quotation 
of him withstanding Peter to his face. But he's taking pains 
to communicate. the glory of the gospel of Jesus 
Christ, and that it is by justification, seen in justification by faith 
and not by the works of the law. For by the works of the law, 
no flesh shall be justified in his sight. Martin Luther wrote 
this in his exposition of this book, whoever knows well how 
to distinguish The gospel from the law should give thanks to 
God and know that he is a real theologian. Not that God is a 
theologian, but that the one who understands and distinguishes 
between law and gospel is the theologian. Whoever knows well 
how to distinguish the gospel from the law should give thanks 
to God and know that he is a real theologian. In other words, you 
papal antichrist, and all you Romanists are not theologians. The theologian is the humble 
one in the shop who has been saved by grace through faith 
in the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit can look at the 
scriptures, can look at his God, can look at himself and see his 
sin, can look at his Savior and know that it's not by anything 
that I've done. Because I was dead in my trespasses 
and in my sins. I was without hope and without 
strength in the world. I was wholly opposed to God and 
all the faculties of body and soul. And yet God reached down 
and plucked me from out of the miry pit of death and salvation 
and damnation. The one is a theologian. Brethren, 
whether you're a prince or a pauper or a peanut salesman, you're 
a theologian if you know the difference between the gospel 
and the law, the difference between being justified by faith plus 
works by a lot of faith and a tiny little bit of works, and being 
justified solely and alone by virtue of the perfect life, death, 
and resurrection of Jesus Christ the Savior. What does it mean 
to be justified by faith? I think our confession does a 
good job in summarizing this. It's not by the deeds of the 
law. That's excluded absolutely and outrightly and from texts 
such as this that bring a raging clarity to the argument. That 
we're not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus 
Christ. Our confession also acknowledges, 
with biblical warrant, that it's not the psychic act of believing 
that justifies us. That is not psychic to see the 
future, but the act of the mind. It's not our act of believing, 
our act of faith that justifies us. So what does it mean to be 
justified by faith? We have that wonderful catechetical 
answer. What is justification? Justification 
is an act of God's free grace wherein He pardons all our sins 
and accepts us as righteous only for the righteousness of Christ 
imputed to us and received by faith alone. It finds the sole 
ground and the sole foundation and the sole source of our justification 
before a holy God in the perfect and finished and complete work 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. That brings peace. If you're 
looking inwardly at the, you know, the doings of your own 
soul, if you're somehow trusting in yourself to the smallest degree, 
You're casting away the glory of Christ who solely and alone 
saves sinners to the magnification and the glory of the triune God 
That's why this is so serious the importance of the doctrine 
of justification is first seen in that A doctrine, any doctrine 
opposed to justification by faith alone, casts into the mire of 
error and grossness the very character and nature of God. 
You can turn with me to the book of Proverbs for a moment. Proverbs 
17. There's a divine principle resting 
upon the very immutable nature of God that opposes any other doctrine 
other than the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Notice in Proverbs 
17 verse 15. And there's an important juxtaposition 
here between condemnation and justification. But notice this 
proverb, this divine principle resting upon the immutable glory 
of the triune God. He who justifies the wicked and 
he who condemns the just, both of them alike are an abomination 
to the Lord. So what's the answer here? If 
God was to just, as Pastor Butler mentioned, maybe it was this 
morning, or he's done it perhaps more than once, if he just snaps 
his finger and justifies a sinner, well, that's an abomination to 
himself. He who justifies the wicked is 
an abomination. And so if God were to do that, 
that would be in opposition to and inconsistent with the perfection 
of his own character. So what's the answer? The answer 
is the imputation of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. How is it that 
God can be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in the 
Lord Jesus Christ? It is by virtue of the doctrine 
of the imputation of Christ's righteousness to us and the pardon 
of our sins by virtue of the perfection of His completed work. 
Our justification does not rest in the ether. It rests upon the 
very perfect work of the Lord Jesus Christ. His, the forgiveness 
of sins by virtue of His passive obedience and the imputation 
of His righteousness by virtue of His active obedience. As our 
confession says, the active obedience, His active obedience in His death 
and his active obedience in his life and his passive obedience 
in his death. These things are so absolutely 
vital to the Christian hope and the Christian peace. Again, if 
we're to find peace in anything other than lasting peace, true 
peace, everlasting peace, eternal peace, in anything other than 
the Lord Jesus Christ, we're hopeless and we'll only ever 
and always be disappointed. But when we find our peace in 
the one who the Apostle Paul calls peace itself, When we find 
peace in the Lord Jesus Christ and the perfection of His saving 
work, knowing that His life, death, and resurrection is the 
sole ground of our salvation, we have lasting peace. Therefore, 
there is no Therefore, no more condemnation for those who are 
in Christ Jesus, those who are justified by the Lord Jesus Christ. Have peace with God through our 
precious Savior. Justification is, as we move 
towards a close here, justification is not a process. Justification 
is a one-time everlasting declaration that the sinner is righteous 
by virtue of the complete work of the Lord Jesus Christ. I noted 
earlier that condemnation and justification, there's a juxtaposition, 
there's an antithesis between these two. Simply put, Everyone 
on God's good earth either stands in two positions. They're either 
condemned or they're justified. They're either saved by the grace 
of God or they are condemned under the wrath of God. There 
are not three, four, five, six positions, but rather there are 
two. We are either condemned or we 
are justified, and those who are justified enjoy the foundation 
of their salvation in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
You can think about it in the imagery of a judge and the hammering 
down of a gavel. As the gavel strikes, there's 
a declaration made, and it's either condemnation or justification. were condemned in unbelief when 
we oppose the gospel, we raise our fist in indomitable total 
depravity, in opposition to God, and in sinfulness and in transgression, 
we raise our fist in opposition to God, we stand justly under 
his condemnation. But when by grace we're given 
the gift of faith and justified by virtue of the finished work 
of Jesus Christ, we don't fear the dropping of a judge's gavel, 
In fact, we rejoice in it because that means for us the blessed 
imputation of the righteousness of Christ to us and the pardon 
of sin by virtue of Christ our Savior. What a blessed Savior 
we have and what a blessed religion we have in Christianity. you've 
no doubt heard before, this is one of the most remarkable and 
distinctive things that set aside Christianity as the true and 
only religion against all opposers, is that it is redemptive. It 
is found upon the blessed saving work of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
It's not found upon our obedience. That's to bring God down from 
the loftiness of his holiness to a level of pagan deity, to 
say that we as man can somehow merit salvation and redemption, 
to say that our eternal bliss rests upon our own performance 
is to bring the perfections of God down from their majestic 
place to the mire of pagan idolatry. To oppose the doctrine of justification 
is likewise to decrease, to diminish, to shrink the seriousness of 
sin that we have in opposition to a God who is glorious in his 
holiness. It brings down God and it exalts 
humanity to say that we can somehow merit our own salvation not only 
by deeds of righteousness, not only by works done in so-called 
holiness of heart, but by the cutting off of flesh. As if the 
cutting off of flesh can commend a person to a holy God. The madness, 
the marveling that Paul does should not be a mystery to us 
when these were these were proposing such a truth. The doctrine of 
salvation and the doctrine of Christ are cast into the mud 
of madness and ridiculousness when we oppose the doctrine of 
justification by faith alone or when we propose any doctrine 
other than that which finds our salvation resting upon the Lord 
Jesus Christ and the perfection of his salvation. Next time we'll 
open up this doctrine of justification a little bit more to explore 
a little bit with regards to what the Bible says and hopefully 
to treat some modern departures, historical departures from the 
doctrine of justification, but also some modern departures. We need to be on guard with regards 
to the doctrine of God, as we've noted many times from the pulpit, 
as Pastor Butler has been preaching through the Gospel of John. The 
doctrine of God and the doctrine of Christ, They've been in a 
bad place in our modern era. The departures from the doctrine 
of God and the doctrine of Christ are historical and they are modern. There are many and they continue. Well, same with the doctrine 
of justification. It's not simply a reformational 
principle or something that was confined to the 16th and 17th 
centuries. Today, even those who profess 
the reformed faith depart from the true and proper doctrine 
of justification. So it's vital for us to know 
it. And it's vital for us to glory in it. Not simply to have 
Christian heads puffed up in knowledge, but to rejoice in 
our God. To rejoice in the Christ of perfect 
salvation. To rejoice with hopefully humble 
Christian hearts in the knowledge that we're not saved by deeds 
of righteousness which we have done, but much rather according 
to the perfect work of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray for saints 
this evening that you'll leave this place and not cut off the reflection upon justification 
by faith alone as the piano finishes, or as you leave the door, or 
as you get into the car, but as you rest your heads on your 
pillows tonight, saints in Christ, reflect upon the peace that you 
have, the eternal peace that you have in Jesus Christ, that 
you are not condemned. That your future is not seen 
in the judgment of God in condemnation and casting you into the lake 
of fire reserved for the devil and his angels, but your future 
is the peace of heaven, is the joy of heaven, is the eternal 
happiness of heaven, singing with all the saints and with 
all the holy angels, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. And 
if you're outside of Christ this evening, if you're a sinner outside 
of Christ in unbelief, Your only peace and your only hope is not 
in yourself, but in the Christ who saves to the uttermost all 
who come to him in faith. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ 
and you will be saved. And with the saints in this place, 
you'll rejoice in a justification that rests solely and alone upon 
an exalted Savior. Well, let's pray. Heavenly Father, 
we thank you for your truth. We rejoice in your word to us. We thank you for what we see 
in this small section of Holy Scripture that our justification 
rests solely and alone upon the perfection of the work of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you for that work. We 
thank you for our Savior. We pray that you would always 
impress upon us the importance of the doctrine of justification 
by faith alone, that you would help us as we go about our Christian 
lives not to waver, not to stray, but to, as much as it is possible 
by your Spirit, to grip with an unswerving grip 
the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ and the doctrines so precious 
in the holy scriptures. Do go with us. Help us to reflect 
with great joy upon your truth and help us to go into this week 
by your spirit to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel 
of Jesus Christ, knowing that we're saved solely and alone 
by virtue of his work. And we do pray in his name. Amen.