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Galatians chapter 2, just to 
remind everyone the particular context that we find ourselves 
in. It's been a few weeks since we looked at this. Remember that 
the Apostle Paul is sort of, not sort of, but he's engaged 
in a defense of the divine origin of both his apostleship and of 
his gospel. enemies of the cross, those who 
had opposed the apostle and his message had come to the churches 
of Galatia and said that Paul's gospel, Paul's message in terms 
of faith in Christ is good as far as it goes, but you also 
must submit yourself to the ceremonial laws of Moses. You must be circumcised 
in order to be saved, in order to be justified. And they had 
usurped Paul's authority and said that he was not a first-rate 
apostle. So, he spends a lot of time defending 
that position or defending the divine origin of his apostolic 
ministry and of the gospel that he received. And then in chapter 
2, he highlights his second post-conversion visit to Jerusalem in verses 
1-10 to show that he did not receive his gospel from those 
pillars in Jerusalem. Rather, they recognized that 
what he was preaching was in fact the truth. And then in chapter 
2, verses 11 to 16, the apostle shares that conflict in Antioch 
that he had with Peter. Peter, if you remember, was at 
one time eating with the Gentiles as if there were no social distinctions. But then when certain men came 
from James, from the Jerusalem church, Peter removed himself 
from that position. And Paul saw in that a compromise. 
Paul saw in that hypocrisy. Peter affirmed and believed the 
truth of the gospel, but by his actions he was playing the hypocrite. 
So the apostle reproved him and rebuked him. for that. And that's 
where we find ourselves this evening, after he has mentioned 
the fact of justification by faith alone, he then defends 
that in verses 17 to 21, which we'll take up tonight. But I'll 
just read beginning in chapter 2, verse 11, just so we are in 
the larger context. 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. And 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. In 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. Let us pray. Our Father, 
we come to you now and we ask for the ministry of your Spirit. 
We pray that you would guide us in this portion of Holy Scripture, 
that you would give us clarity in our understanding and just 
give us the grace, God, to receive the message of grace, to delight 
in your sovereign dealings with your people, to rejoice, Lord 
God, that our salvation is tied up in the finished work of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, that we have so great a salvation, that we 
have a righteousness not our own, but we have been blessed 
immeasurably by the triune God of heaven and earth. Do forgive 
us now for all of our sins and its influence in our minds and 
hearts, and cause us to receive with joy Your wonderful Word. 
And we pray through Christ the Lord. Amen. So essentially what 
Peter was doing in his actions was telling the Gentiles that 
believing on Christ was good, but they also needed to participate 
in being Jews. Whether he said that verbally, 
he definitely said it by his actions. And I think John Eady 
captures well what Peter did. He says, Peter certainly had 
not renounced faith in Christ, but he had given occasion for 
others to suppose that he regarded legal observance to be either 
the essential complement of faith or an indispensable supplement 
to it. Steve Lawson told me there's 
a man preaching on Galatians, and he subtitled a particular 
message, or perhaps the whole series, on no additives and no 
preservatives. We like to look for food that 
has no additives and no preservatives. Well, according to Paul, we need 
to look for a gospel that has no additives and no preservatives. We don't supplement the message. 
We don't add to the message. Obviously, we try to preserve 
the message. We don't try to complement faith. 
We simply believe, by God's grace, to the saving of our souls, the 
justifying of ourselves before God. Now, when we come to verse 
17, I don't believe that Paul is countering Peter at this particular 
time. I don't think that this rhetorical 
question of Paul in verse 17 is something that Peter brought 
up. Rather, Peter's hypocrisy at Antioch and Paul's refutation 
of it are one example of a departure from justification by faith alone. This particular question that 
he poses in verse 17 was another departure that no doubt Paul 
had heard from the enemies of the gospel. So he seizes upon 
this opportunity to deal with this particular issue as well. 
Tonight we're going to consider verses 17 to 21, which I must 
say at the outset, there's some difficult stuff in this section. I would really ask that you pay 
attention, not because I got it all right, but it helps me 
if I know that people are with me. If I'm wrong, obviously tell 
me that. There's going to be several quotes 
from other men because I think they've said it better than I 
do. But there's some interesting turn of phrase in specifically 
verses 17 to 19. And I think it does demand our 
careful attention. But I think as we understand 
and appreciate it in the context, It will cause us to admire that 
much more the grace of God in the gospel. So we'll look at 
this section of the three considerations. The first is the explanation 
concerning the law in verses 17 to 19. Secondly, the experience 
of the Apostle Paul in verse 20. And then thirdly, the exclusivity 
of grace alone in verse 21. As Machen says with reference 
to verse 21, this verse is the key verse of the epistle to the 
Galatians. But as we come to consider the 
role of the law, we already noted that verse 17 is a question. 
He says, but if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we 
ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister 
of sin? It's an interesting statement 
that the Apostle presents there. And I believe the idea is, is 
that when the Jews, Paul and Peter, others who have believed 
on the Lord Jesus Christ, When they go to Christ for justification, 
rather than the law, the enemies suggest, or the enemies submit, 
that Christ is then a minister of sin. In other words, he puts 
himself on the same place as Gentile sinners. Look at verse 
15 in Galatians 2. We who are Jews by nature and 
not sinners of the Gentiles. So when he says in verse 17, 
if while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also 
are found sinners. The idea is the level of the 
Gentiles. Not seeking our right position 
with God via the law, but rather seeking right position with God 
via Christ. The enemies would then suggest, 
if you don't look to the law and its resources, then you're 
a sinner. And if you don't look to the 
Law and its resources, then your Master is ministering sin. He is abetting you. He is aiding 
you. He is alongside of you. Some 
people take this particular statement and suggest it's parallel to 
what we find in Romans 6. What shall we say then? Shall 
we continue in sin that grace may abound? May it never be. 
I think that's a sanctification reference. Remember, the context 
here is very specific in dealing with justification. I think Vincent 
Chung explains this a whole lot better than I'm doing. He says, 
if the word sinners is used in the same sense as it is in verse 
15, then it is not mainly referring to sinners in a broad sense, 
but in the narrow sense. as these Gentiles who do not 
follow Jewish laws and customs. Thus, the objection is that if 
Christ instructs men to stop observing the law, that's the 
implication. They're saying that Christ is 
telling you not to pursue the law. So, if Christ is telling 
you not to pursue the law, ergo, Christ is a minister of sin. That's the objector. That's what 
Paul is refuting. Chung goes on to say, it seems 
to follow that Christ encourages them to sin. The doctrine of 
justification by faith, therefore, permits Gentiles to remain sinners 
and even Jews to become the same. And that is absolutely untrue. Paul says as much. Look at how 
he answers. It's literally Meganoita in various 
translations. It's God forbid. It is a strong 
affirmation of the opposite. God forbid that this is the case, 
that Christ would ever be a minister or an aid or an abetter to our 
sin. Because we do not pursue righteousness 
via the Law, but rather we pursue righteousness via the One who 
kept the Law fully, it doesn't follow that Jesus is a minister 
of sin. He's refuting the objection that 
Christ has become an aid in those who do not follow the Mosaic 
Law for salvation to be sinners. And then notice in verse 18, 
he says, For if I build again those things which I destroyed, 
I make myself a transgressor. I believe this means to seek 
justification through the law. And in a sense, Peter did this. He had destroyed this social 
distinction when he believed the Gospel. Remember, Peter was 
given a vision in Acts 10 that he was to regard no man as unclean. He was to go and preach to the 
Gentiles. So, he went to the household 
of Cornelius and he brought the Word. He had saw the Spirit fall 
upon these men. He baptized them. He saw that 
Gentiles were included in these covenant blessings. So in the 
one sense, that whole idea of social distinction was obliterated. It was destroyed. But when Peter 
made that crucial error of withdrawing from the Gentiles, it's as if 
he is rebuilding. It's as if he's putting into 
place that wall of partition, that wall of separation, that 
distinctiveness, that fact or that desire to be Jewish trumped 
the idea of believing in Christ alone. Paul is saying, if I build 
again those things which I destroyed, if I take the law and make it 
a means of justification before my God, then I have become a 
transgressor. Very interesting. The objectors, 
the enemies, would accuse Jesus of being a minister of sin for 
condoning justification by faith alone. But notice what Paul says. The real sin is legalism. The 
real transgression of God's law is to use God's law improperly. To take God's law and try to 
make it do something it was never intended or designed to do. The 
law had a particular use. We considered that a few weeks 
ago. You have the civil use, where the law is given to restrain 
the corruption of man in society. You have the pedagogical use, 
where the law is our schoolmaster or our child tutor to drive us 
to Christ. And then with reference to the 
believer, the law functions in a normative sense, where it defines 
for us the pattern of holiness and righteousness and godliness 
that Christians are to pursue. The law was never meant or intended 
to justify. In fact, look at Galatians chapter 
3 and verse 21. Is the law then against the promises 
of God? Certainly not. There's that Meganoito 
again. For if there had been a law which 
could have given life, surely righteousness would have been 
by the law. The law was not given for eternal 
life. The law was given for those particular 
purposes. And we transgress. We sin when 
we take that law and we add it to faith in order for salvation. We transgress the law when we 
take the law and put it before unbelievers and say, do this 
and live. Brethren, that is the real sin 
involved here. That's why some in the Reformed 
world get upset about the new perspective on Paul. They get 
upset about federal vision theology. They get upset and stay upset 
about Roman Catholic theology. Because all of those systems 
take grace and add to it works. All of those systems take faith 
and combine works. And thus, they are invalidating 
the very grace of God itself. It is to transgress. It is to 
sin. It is to break the law when we 
use the law unlawfully. The perversion of God's law is 
a transgression of God's law. An unlawful use is to sin against 
our God. And we note this. We know that 
verse 18 is speaking about the law because Paul then says in 
verse 19, which is an explanatory statement, For I, through the 
law, died to the law, that I might live to God. The law does its 
job. It has no power to justify. It 
has power to kill. It has power to convict. It has 
power to show you for the wretch, rebel that you are before a thrice 
holy God. The law does its job. Its purpose 
is served when it kills the sinner. But it does not have the power 
to make the sinner alive. That comes by crucifixion with 
Jesus Christ. Verse 20 begins, I have been 
crucified with Christ. That probably belongs to verse 
19. The way we die to the law is 
through death with Christ. The way we die to the killing 
power of the law is by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. John 
Eady again says, the law itself was leading on to faith in Christ. That whole old covenant system, 
as we've seen repeatedly on Wednesday night in our studies in Hebrews, 
it was a temporary provision. They knew it then. There was 
a Levitical priesthood in place. There was a tabernacle. There 
was a temple. There was a place of approach. But even in the 
midst of that arrangement, Psalm 110 comes along and David by 
the Spirit speaks of Jesus Christ who would come as a priest of 
the order of Melchizedek. The people in the Old Covenant 
were taught to look forward to the coming of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. such that when He came, the Baptists 
said, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the 
world. He didn't have to explain Himself. He didn't have to teach 
them all about the Old Covenant. They knew those types and those 
shadows had come to fruition in the person and work of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. The law was temporary as an arrangement 
under God. Edie says, from its very form 
and aspects, it taught its own typical and temporary character, 
that it was an intermediate system, preparing for Christ and showing 
the way to Him. And in serving such a purpose, 
it indicated its own super sache. It's all in temporary nature. 
I mean by that, a covenantal arrangement. The law remains 
in that normative aspect for the believer as a pattern of 
life. We're dealing with justification and our righteousness before 
God. John Gill explains this death to the law. He says he 
owns, he was dead unto it. Not in such a sense as not to 
regard it as a rule of walk and conversation, that normative 
use. Not dead to it in terms of don't 
murder, don't commit adultery, don't lie, don't steal, honor 
the Lord your God, keep the Sabbath day holy, honor lawful authorities. 
That's not how he's dead to the law. Paul's not an antinomian. 
He's not going to go out and live like a wretch. But in terms 
of conveyance of life, he goes on to say, but so as not to seek 
for life and righteousness by it, nor to fear its accusations, 
charges, menaces, curses, and condemnation. He was dead to 
the moral law as in the hands of Moses, but not as in the hands 
of Christ. And he was dead to it as a covenant 
of works, though not as a rule of action, and to the ceremonial 
law even as to the observance of it, and much more as necessary 
to justification and salvation. So Paul is saying that the law 
specifically had a function. The law was limited, however, 
in its capability. The Law does what we've already 
outlined. It restricts the people of God, 
or it restricted the people of Israel. It was a pedagogue to 
lead them unto faith in Christ, and it had a normative function. 
It was never designed to save people. The Law of God was never 
designed as a means of justification. And there are some today who 
think that if they just do enough good things, if they stop doing 
enough bad things, they'll earn their way with God. Well, that's 
a fundamental flaw in man's reasoning. It does not take into consideration 
sin. Sin is a big problem. Sin is 
a huge problem. That's what Paul is saying. For 
if there had been a law given which could have given life, 
truly righteousness would have been by the law. But the sin 
problem. Man doesn't keep the law. Man 
rejects God's law. Man despises God's law. God says 
something's good, we call it bad. God says something's bad, 
we call it good. God lays out ten rules for our 
lives. We busy ourselves breaking every 
single one of them. Not the wretches out there, but 
the wretches right here. We all have an axe to grind with 
the living and the true God. And so, far from Jesus being 
a minister of sin by blessing those who pursue righteousness 
in Him, far from erecting again this system of righteousness 
through law, far from that, Paul says, I through the law, died 
to the law that I might live to God. It's killing and convicting 
ability brought Him to an end in Himself. Remember in Romans 
7, He said, I would not have known covetousness or lust if 
the law had not said, do not covet. The law serves its purpose 
in laying us before a holy God, but the law cannot make us alive. 
But the law, as he says here, notice in verse 19, I through 
the law died to the law that I might live to God. And that 
living to God comes through faith in the crucified Savior. Verse 20, I have been crucified 
with Christ. That is the means. That is the 
reason. That is the way by which men 
live to God. It is by virtue of Christ's work, 
by virtue of Christ's death, by virtue of Christ's resurrection. 
If we believe in that, we die to the law, we are alive to God, 
we have communion with God through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. That's the thrust of what the 
Apostle is saying in verses 17 to 19. Again, probably not the 
clearest explanation, but it's the best I got. So let us move 
on to point two, the experience of the Apostle Paul. Notice this 
great statement that he says, I have been crucified with Christ. He speaks of this in Romans chapter 
six, verses one to four. In fact, you can turn there. 
Romans chapter six, the statement concerning justification is the 
foundation upon which his discussion of sanctification follows. Chapter 6 of Romans, verse 1. 
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that 
grace may abound? Certainly not. How shall we who 
died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as 
many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into 
His death? Therefore, we were buried with 
Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised 
from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should 
walk in newness of life. Baptism pictures that blessed 
transaction. We die with Christ. We're buried 
with Christ. We're raised in newness of life 
with Christ. The old man is dead. Very often 
in Christian theology we mess up on this point. We say the 
old man still rears his ugly head. Not according to the Scripture. 
The old man has been crucified with Christ. The problem is your 
new man isn't living consistently. Don't blame the old man. Repent 
as a new man and seek by God's grace and the provision of His 
Spirit to live consistently with His Holy Word. But as Paul says 
this, I have been crucified with Christ. He has found a definitive 
breach with the law as a means of life. He has found a definitive 
breach with the law as the means of life. It's no longer up to 
Paul to work himself into heaven. It's no longer up to Paul to 
boast in his blamelessness or to be that Pharisee among Pharisees, 
to pursue actively that rule which he thinks will secure life 
for him. And such is the case with all 
of us. We do not seek to keep God's 
law as a means of life. We seek to keep God's law as 
a means of God's grace upon us. Not even to get God's grace, 
but because God's grace is operative in our lives, we seek to obey 
Him. We seek to honor Him. We delight to do the will of 
God in the inner man. Paul found a definitive breach 
with his own sin. I have been crucified with Christ. Later on, in Galatians 6, verse 
14, he says, God forbid that I should boast, except in the 
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world has been 
crucified to me, and I to the world." There was a definitive 
breach with sin. As well, there is a release from 
the bondage of sin. We refer to this as redemption. 
When we have been crucified with Christ, we have been redeemed. 
We have been purchased out of the slave market of sin. He has 
as well been released from the kingdom of darkness. Remember 
that statement in Colossians chapter 1, where he speaks of 
God, or Christ, having transferred you from the kingdom of darkness 
into the kingdom of the Son of His love. There has been a break 
on Satan's power. There has been a break on Satan's 
rule. Satan's dominion has been broken 
at the cross. Jesus has disarmed principalities 
and powers. Jesus has secured freedom for 
His people. The reception, in short, of every 
spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ comes as a result 
of having been crucified with Christ. It's a beautiful statement, 
a beautiful summary, a beautiful word concerning Paul's experience. And when Paul shares his experience, 
it's a little bit more Well, it's a lot more weighty than 
if we share our experience. You know, you've gone to those 
testimony meetings. Testimonies aren't always bad, but it's by 
the will of God, or of His own will, by the Word of Truth that 
He brings us forth. God used Paul. God gave Paul 
this very thing so that he could tell the people of God what it's 
about to having been crucified with Christ. Notice, he speaks 
of his life in the flesh. Notice in verse 20, it is no 
longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. It is no longer 
I who live, but Christ lives in me. This has been a playground 
for mysticism. Mysticism is that view that God 
reveals himself directly to a person. He doesn't use his word, he speaks 
right to you. And mysticism often gets involved 
in this whole sort of higher life approach, and here it's 
not really me who's living, it's Jesus who's living in. The idea 
in this statement is not mysticism. Justification by faith alone. 
Ronald Fung, not Vincent Chung, but Ronald Fung defines it this 
way, and I think this is the best Short explanation of this 
phrase I have ever read outside of the Scripture. It is no longer 
I who lives, but Christ lives in me. Are we to understand there 
is some passive Christianity where we let go and let God? Where we just lay on our couch 
and expect Him to live through us? Where we, if we have the 
whim, will go to work because Jesus is living through us? Is 
that Paul the mystic? No. This is Paul the justified 
by faith alone man. Fung says, as a result of his 
participation in Christ's death on the cross, Paul now explains, 
the life he now lives is not lived by him. The eye of verse 
19. The self-righteous Pharisee who 
based his hope for righteousness and salvation on strict observance 
of the law. But by Christ, the risen and 
exalted One who dwells in him. This is not mystical, Paul. This 
is justified by faith alone, Paul. It's the eye. Not the self-righteous 
Pharisee who based his hope for righteousness and salvation on 
strict observance of the law, but by Christ the risen and exalted 
One who dwells in him. It is no longer I who live. The self-righteous Pharisee. 
But Christ lives in me. The justified by faith alone 
man. This is not mysticism. This is 
forensic justification. This is legal. This is declarative. This is the law court. As much 
as N.T. Wright does not want to admit 
that, that is precisely what the Apostle is speaking about 
here. And then notice, his gospel-oriented life. And the life I now live, 
he says, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave 
Himself for me. I always used to think this was 
the sanctification paragraph. Or this was the section in this 
paragraph concerning sanctification. I've been justified. by faith, 
and now the life that I live." He's going to deal with sanctification 
by the Spirit and grace later. I believe he's still dealing 
with justification. He's reveling in his status before 
God. He's delighting in the fact that 
though the law only killed him, Christ makes them alive. And 
the life that I now live, I live by faith as a justified man. And I do so by faith in the Son 
of God, that One who loved me, that One who gave Himself for 
me. It is a Gospel-oriented life. It is a life lived in conscious 
realization that it's Christ alone upon whom we lean. And 
then finally, notice the exclusivity of grace. Verse 21, I do not 
set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through 
the law, then Christ died in vain. That statement actually 
doesn't need any explanation, but I'll give it a shot. First, 
he highlights the sufficiency of grace. He constantly relies 
on it. I do not set aside the grace 
of God. Why would anybody do that? Why 
would these Judaizers set it aside, add circumcision, and 
then try to complete the package? Why would any of you who have 
a saving interest of Christ think that you can supplement it, think 
that you can add to it, think that you can improve upon it? 
No additives, no preservatives, no betterments. You can't make 
the best better. This is as good as it gets. Therefore, 
he says, I do not set aside the grace of God. He refuses to abandon 
it. He refuses to turn from it. He refuses to reject it. He is 
a constant debtor to grace. Oh to grace, how great a debt! How great a debtor I am constrained 
to be. Had it in my mind. I want to 
read it. O to grace, how great a debtor daily I am constrained 
to be. Let that grace like a fetter 
bind my wandering heart to Thee. Prone to wander, I feel it. Prone 
to leave the God I love. Here is my heart, O take and 
seal it. Seal it for Thy courts above. When you looked at Paul, 
he was a man living by grace. We talk a lot about grace. Do 
we live by grace? I don't mean we lay down on the 
couch and let God's grace deal with us. But we live in constant 
dependence upon the grace of God. I do not set it aside. If 
for a moment my status with God depends on me, I'm lost. I'm 
gone. I'm dead. I rely on grace. It is by grace we are saved. 
It is by grace that we stand. He highlights the inability of 
the law. He says, for if righteousness 
comes through the law, the implication, of course, is that it doesn't. 
But he rejects works righteousness. You cannot come away from the 
New Testament and say, well, you know, this apostle Paul, 
he believes in faith plus words. No, he doesn't. That's why he's 
not the favorite theologian of the Church of Rome. That's why 
they try so busily to pit James against Paul. That's why they 
go to James all the time. James says it's faith plus words. 
Therefore, whatever Paul was saying, James supplements that 
for us. It's a misunderstanding of James, 
and it's a misunderstanding of Paul. Paul was not going to concede 
anything towards righteousness. He identifies the inability of 
the law, and he realizes what is needful. Look at that. For 
if righteousness comes to the law. Isn't that what it's about? 
Isn't that what the gospel message is? Isn't that what the entirety 
of the Bible is for? It's not so that you can be happy. 
It doesn't set out principles for successful living. It isn't 
the textbook for seven principles of highly effective people. That's 
not the interest of the Bible. The interest of the Bible is 
not your prosperity. Not your health. Not your wealth. Not your inner peace. Not your 
inner child. Not your tranquility. The concern 
of the Bible is righteousness. How you, a sinful man, a sinful 
woman, a sinful boy or a sinful girl, is going to be right before 
God. That's what Paul says concerning 
the whole thing. For if righteousness comes through 
the law. That's what controls this entire 
section. It is the appropriation of a 
righteousness that avails with God. That's what the Gospel answers 
to. When Paul in Romans 1 says, I 
am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God unto 
salvation for everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to 
the Greek, he then says, for in it, for in the Gospel, the 
righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. The righteousness 
that God demands and the righteousness that God supplies. That's what 
the Gospel is all about. Beware of modern preservatives 
or additives. Search the Bible, how to be healthy, 
how to be wealthy, how to be wise. You search the Scriptures, 
for in them you have eternal life. You find the righteous 
one, the Lord Jesus. You believe on Him and you will 
be righteous by imputation. And then finally, notice the 
horrific implication that Paul draws out. sets forth a beautiful 
syllogism. I do not set aside the grace 
of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ 
died in vain. That's the implication. If righteousness 
comes through the law, then Calvary was for naught. Who are you going 
to stand up and say, well, I don't think Calvary was sufficient? 
Who's going to stand up and say that transaction conducted on 
that holy mount was for nothing? Because you see, I have the ability 
to earn my place. I have the ability to earn my 
keep. I have the ability, based on my hands, based on my feet, 
based on my heart, to save myself before a thrice holy God. That's 
a horrific and an abominable declaration. If righteousness 
comes through the law, then Christ died in vain? Do you remember 
what they did to Jesus? Do you remember that this righteous 
man stood before unrighteous men? And he heard a whole mob 
and a whole crowd say, Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him! These rebel, wretched, God-hating, 
apostate people said, Give us Barabbas! Barabbas was an insurrectionist 
and a murderer. Barabbas was an enemy of the 
state. Barabbas was a notoriously wicked 
man. And they say, give us Barabbas. What shall I do with this Jesus? 
Away with Him. Crucify Him. Are you prepared 
to say that was for naught? It was for no reason? And then 
what did they do to Him? They clothed Him in that mock 
robe. They put the crown of thorns 
on His head. They beat the Son of God with rods. One of the 
soldiers, one of the men in the trial slaps His face. They spit 
all over Him. Do you see that if you think 
you can secure your place in heaven by your righteousness, 
you say those slaps, that spit, all of that, eh, no big deal. 
You know, unfortunate things happen to good people in this 
world. It's just the way it goes. That's a horrific implication. 
What about the carrying of the cross, the Son of God? Taking 
it all the way up to Calvary. being nailed to the cross, being 
crucified. Do you know crucifixion was the 
worst form of capital punishment? I think it was just in Utah, 
a man took the firing squad. He had some options there. He took the firing squad. This 
was just recently, capital punishment in Utah. Well, crucifixion, they 
wouldn't even crucify Roman citizens unless the emperor okayed it. 
It was that bad. We're not going to do that to 
our own citizenry. It was only for the really notorious criminals. Christ is crucified. Christ is 
hung on the cross. Men are making fun of Him and 
mocking Him, saying things like, He saved others, let Him save 
Himself. Ironically, at that time, He's 
saving the thief on His right hand. All of that, brethren. If we say that righteousness 
comes through the law, That was just an unfortunate event that 
happened to a good man. That's a wretched implication. 
The New Perspectivists are right. The Federal Visionists are right. 
If Rome is right, if man in his sinful nature is right, then 
that whole spectacle at Calvary was for nothing. Who of us is prepared to say, 
yeah, that's right. I could do it. I just need a 
little more education, a little more encouragement, a little 
bit more money, and I'll secure my place in heaven." If righteousness 
comes through the law, Paul says, then Christ died in vain. But 
you see, all of that stuff that happened to Jesus was not the 
primary point of his suffering. It wasn't in the midst of all 
of the animosity of men that the Son of God cried out. The 
Son of God cried out when the Father of the Son turned His 
back on Him. It was when the Father poured 
out His wrath upon the Son that the Son said, why hast thou forsaken 
Me? John Murray in his Redemption 
Accomplished and Applied, you ought to really read that section 
where he speaks about that transaction and about God the Father turning 
away from God the Son. If righteousness comes through 
the law, that was just an unfortunate event in the history of the world. 
It's a sad thing, but sometimes God even turns away from good 
men. I knew a guy, he was a pretty good guy, but everything just 
went wrong with him. Is that what we're to make of Calvary? 
Is that how we reduce that? Is that when we take the event 
of the events that have ever taken place and say, you know, 
it was just an unfortunate act? Well, if for a moment you think 
that your righteousness secures your status in heaven, then Jesus 
died in vain. That's what Paul says. That's 
the implication. That's where this whole argument 
ends. Machen said, as I mentioned before, 
this verse, is the key verse of the epistle to the Galatians. 
It expresses the central thought of the epistle. The Judaizers 
attempted to supplement the saving work of Christ by the merit of 
their own obedience to the law. That, says Paul, is impossible. Listen to this. Christ will do 
everything or nothing. Earn your salvation if your obedience 
to the law is perfect. Or else trust wholly to Christ's 
completed work. You cannot do both. You cannot 
combine merit and grace. If justification, even in the 
slightest measure, is through human merit, then Christ died 
in vain. Calvin said, for if we do not 
renounce all other hopes and embrace Christ alone, we reject 
the grace of God. And then Luther, for whoever 
seeks righteousness apart from faith in Christ, whether it be 
through works or satisfactions or afflictions or the law of 
God, is nullifying the grace of God and despising the death 
of Christ, even though he may speak otherwise with his mouth. 
Very few men out there will say, my system promotes the idea that 
Christ's death was in vain. They won't admit that. They won't 
pony up. They won't have the courage and 
the boldness to claim as much. But Paul puts them in a corner. 
It's either all of grace by faith in Jesus Christ, or it's not. You cannot marry the two. You 
don't pick a little grace and a little words. A little faith 
and a little merit. That's to nullify the very grace 
of God itself. This is the grand design. This 
is the way it's set up. This is the way God's ordered 
it. So that, as we come in faith, all glory, all praise, all honor 
goes to God in the saving of sinners. There is no room for 
boasting on any of our behalf. Well, brethren, that is hopefully 
an exposition of those particular verses. We've seen something 
of God's law in this situation. The sin of legalism. I think 
we ought to dwell on that whole idea. If I build again those 
things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. If I, 
in my Christian life, say that I believe on the Lord Jesus and 
I do thus, therefore, I'm saved. I'm a transgressor. I am a wretch. I am communicating a false gospel 
to sinners. If we as a church establish a 
Christ-plus mentality, we are committing sin. We are transgressing 
God's law. If we take our preferences and 
elevate them to the place of necessary for salvation, we have 
nullified the grace of God. Again, I realize we don't always 
do this vocally. We always don't do this consciously. 
But we have our shibboleths. We have our additives. We have 
our preservatives. We have those things that we 
think are intrinsic to being a Christian. You know what being 
a Christian means? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ 
and you shall be saved. Not believe and go to this school. 
Not believe and don't go to this school. Not believe and go to 
this church. Believe and, believe and, believe 
and. It may seem harmless. It may 
seem like we're really not doing that big of a deal. But I'm sure 
in Peter's mind, when he withdrew from table fellowship, He wasn't 
thinking of compromising the Gospel. And if, as we sought 
to explain it, his fear was for the physical safety of believers 
in Judea, he actually had good motive. He had a good motivation. Bad conduct, bad hypocrisy, all 
of that. But in his mind, he thought, 
if I withdraw from these Gentiles so that the report goes back 
that there is this social distinction, I keep the heat off my brethren 
in Judea. Paul says, no. You don't for 
a moment reconstruct something that has been destroyed. You 
don't, for a moment, introduce law as a means of justification. You don't supplement. You don't 
preserve. You don't add to it. The Gospel 
is pure. And it is good. And it is going 
to accomplish the purpose for which God sent it. He doesn't 
need your additives. He doesn't need your observances. He doesn't need your preferences. 
We're saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. I want to end on this statement. If you look at that verse 20, 
the statement that Paul says here is beautiful. And I hope 
all of us can say this. The life that I now live in the 
flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God. What does He say? Who loved me. Who gave Himself 
for me. Christianity is the religion 
of personal pronouns. I realize today we don't like 
to call Christianity a religion. It is a religion. And it's a 
relationship. Whatever. But it is a religion 
of personal pronouns. What does Thomas say when he 
gazes upon the resurrected Christ? He says, my Lord and my God. Paul says, who loved me and gave 
himself for me. You know, elsewhere Paul describes 
his former conduct. He tried to destroy the church 
of God. He tried to get rid of this sect 
of the Nazarenes. He wanted to kill Christians. 
He wanted to see them in prison. He stood by while Stephen was 
being stoned to death, giving his hearty consent and his approval 
to the whole entire affair. And now he says, this Christ 
loved me and He gave Himself for me. Calvin said, no words 
can properly express what this means. For who can find language 
to declare the excellence of the Son of God? Yet He it is 
who gave Himself as a price for our redemption, atonement, cleansing, 
satisfaction, and all the benefits which we derive from the death 
of Christ are here represented. The words, for me, are very emphatic. It will not be enough for any 
man to contemplate Christ as having died for the salvation 
of the world unless he has experienced the consequences of this death 
and is enabled to claim it as his own. You see what the Reformer 
is saying. It doesn't do you any good to 
say, yes, Christ is the Savior of the world. Yes, Christ is 
going to redeem men from every tribe and tongue and people. Christ is a real Savior for real 
sinners. Calvin says you need to be able 
to say He gave Himself for me. He loved me and gave Himself 
for me. We'll end on that tonight. Can 
you own Jesus Christ as your Lord and your Savior? We've talked 
a lot about justification. We've talked about the law. We've 
talked about some intricacies. in terms of soteriology, which 
is the doctrine of salvation. But you need to think about this 
tonight. Is Christ your Savior? Is Jesus your Lord? Is Jesus 
the one upon whom you have staked everything? If that is not the 
case, then I bid you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn 
from your sin. It will only lead to destruction. 
It only leads to hell. There is no good end in a life 
of profligate sinning. The way to life is faith in Christ. Do not leave. Do not pillow your 
head tonight until you can say, Who loved me and who gave Himself 
for me. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank You for the Holy Scriptures. We thank You for the Gospel, 
the Gospel of grace. And I pray that this Gospel would 
be proclaimed throughout the earth, Lord God, that Your Word 
would run swiftly and be glorified. God, I pray that You would just 
move Your people to a fresh appreciation of justification by faith alone. I am convinced that the only 
way to holy living and an active Christian life is by understanding 
this great truth. I pray, Father, that you would 
guard each of us from introducing an element of works righteousness. For we know that if righteousness 
comes through the law, then Christ died in vain. God, may it never 
be the case that we would be guilty of such transgression. 
Keep us, Father, and cause us to reflect upon sound doctrine. 
to learn good theology and to put it into practice in our lives. 
We ask that you would go with us now. We pray that you would 
watch over us in this coming week. And we pray that you would 
go with your people and grant us peace. And we pray through 
Christ our Lord. Amen.