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[Music] pra the of the Lord and ser with the is good his PR his the [Music] and forever your is the is [Music] be are by there and their eyes are [Music] BL are all bless foress [Music] [Applause] [Music] bless the are the sing hallelu praise the [Music] Lord can turn in your Bibles with me to the Book of Joshua excuse me the Book of Judges we started the Book of Judges last Lord's Day evening as we're reading consecutively through the Old Testament we're now at judges 2 I'll read the entirety of Judges chapter 2 once again the word of God then the angel of the Lord came up from gilgal to bakam and said I led you up from Egypt and brought you to the land of which I swore to your fathers and I said I will never break my Covenant with you and you shall make no Covenant with the inhabitants of this land you shall tear down their altars but you have not obeyed my voice why have you done this therefore I also said I will not drive them out before you but they shall be thorns in your side and their gods shall be a snare to you so it was when the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the children of Israel that the people lifted up their voices and wept then they called the name of that place Bim and they sacrificed there to the Lord and when Joshua had dismissed the people the children of Israel went each to his own inheritance to possess the land so the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua who had seen all the great works of the Lord which he had done for Israel now Joshua the son of nun the servant of the Lord died when he was 110 years old and they buried him within the border of his inheritance at uh at Timnath Harris in the mountains of Ephraim on the north side of Mount gash when all that generation had been gathered to their fathers another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which he had done for Israel then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Bales and they forsook the Lord of uh the Lord God of their fathers who had brought them out of the land of Egypt and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them and they bowed down to them and they provoked the Lord to anger they forsook the Lord and served Baal and the ashars and the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel so he delivered them into the hands of plunderers who despoiled them and he sold them into the hands of their enemies all around so that they could no longer stand before their enemies wherever they went out the hand of the Lord was against them for Calamity as the Lord had said and as the Lord had sworn to them and they were great greatly distressed nevertheless the Lord raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them yet they would not listen to their judges but they played the Harlot with other gods and bowed down to them they turned quickly from the way in which their fathers walked in obeying the Commandments of the Lord they did not do so and when the Lord raised up judges for them the Lord was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge for the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed them and harassed them and it came to pass when the judge was dead that they reverted and behaved more corruptly than their fathers by following other gods to serve them and bow down to them they did not cease from their own doings nor from their stubborn way then the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel and he said because this nation has transgressed my Covenant which I commanded their fathers uh and has not heeded my voice I will I also will no longer drive out before them any of the Nations which Joshua left when he died so that through them I may test Israel whether they will keep the ways of the Lord to walk in them as their fathers kept them or not therefore the Lord left those Nations without driving them out immediately nor did he deliver them into the hand of Joshua amen well let us pray Heavenly Father we thank you for this the reading of your your holy word we thank you for what it discloses to us concerning your perfect faithfulness and um in Covenant keeping for what it discloses with regards to the sinfulness of man and for what it points us forward to that that perfect judge that glorious one and champion of the Covenant the one who never fell the one who never broke Covenant the one who never sinned and who did all of this substitution arily for his people we thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ to whom the scriptures point and we pray as we continue in worship that our saving Lord would be exalted upon the Praises of this assembly and we pray in his most high name amen will you can stand with me and sing our final hymn which is 172 let's stand and sing 172 together as a church e e e e e you can turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Galatians Galatians Chapter 2 we've been working through 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 uh speaking against the the chronology the the flow of time as if Paul was a reformer but if he was in the S 16th and 17th century no doubt he'd be a reformer but the doctrine of justification by faith alone is is simply that and it is a biblical doct we don't wait you know 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 justifi justified in the sight of God uh 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 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 uh that casts into the mud the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ and so the Apostle Paul is bringing many words uh 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 to6 so once again the word of God then after 14 years I went up at 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 seemed 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 sephus and John who seemed to be pillars perceived the grace that had been given to me they gave me and barnabus 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 would be uh the word would be opened up a right that for Saints gathered here this evening it would be uh for uh 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 uh 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 we sort of asked asked the question in the course of the sermon what why is Paul doing all of this and we could ask the question why why are the Apostles doing all that they do in the pages of the book of Acts for example and in their Epistles as they're 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 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 uh 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 we'll do it together as an exercise right now go back to verse six of 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 like to suspect that as the Apostle Paul was writing this epistle he he kept having in mind this language of verse six 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 one he'll use the language oh foolish Galatians who has Bewitched you it's 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: 11-16 we see first off this Apostolic confrontation a brief um inter a brief Interruption could I have a deacon perhaps bring some uh Kleenex for me if that's uh that's okay as much as I could continue the the sight of anything fating from my nose would probably be not unto edification thanks Doug so the the apostolic confront ation the first thing we want to see here is Peter's hypocritical withdrawal thank you Peter's hypocritical withdrawal we we want to first see here though the or note the timing the timing and the location uh of this particular event last time I last time I didn't note that the the matching to the book of Acts was most likely acts 11 remember as we were working through this AO biographical defense we noted as 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 chap 2 1 through verse 10 that probably has to do with or connects to the timing of the uh the famine relief visit at the at the end of Acts chap 11 remember that all of this according to uh according to our particular 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 uh with regards to people who were troubling uh Gentiles and affecting the doctrine of justification as we get here to Galatians 11 the the proper address of Holy Scripture that this no doubt corresponds with is acts 14 26-28 and you can 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 uh where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work which 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 barnabus are there in Syrian Antioch not pidan 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 but not only uh 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 and Antioch and we not we want to notice now Paul's stand against Peter's duplicity duplicity has this idea similar to what what we read later in verse 13 regarding hypocrisy a a double faed one thing to one people you know another thing to 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 uh 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 uh 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 uh Paul boldly stands against the duplicit 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 you know sometimes there can be a grandstanding in a in a lot of context 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 in truth but it's done uh 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 uh he remarks uh 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 now that was right for Peter to do so there as we'll see in a in in a number of uh in a number of verses and paragraphs and 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 the duplicity and Paul speaks to that in verse 13 and the 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 I think this this ought to be sobering for the people of God we we're not to stand as judges behind the shoulders of uh of you know of Peter and Barnabas here and you know pointing the finger sort of how dare you I think we're we're we're all in our remaining corruption susceptible to being stolen away from not salvation but from a proper stand on 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 uh what we are to do with regards to holding upon to holding upon with an unswerving grip the truth of the Gospel uh were no doubt uh 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 chap 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 notice what we see in Acts chap 10 and when you get there you can turn to verse n 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 sheep bound at the for 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 must not you must not call common this was done three times and the object was taken up into heaven again now it's a it's very interesting as we read uh as we read this that the the the Apostle Peter and his measure of stubbornness as he opposes the truth it he's saved of course he's a Christian he cannot fall from that blessed State of Grace but sometimes that the remaining corruption brings up the former Peter you you'll remember in his life as a 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 a Zeal not tempered by knowledge disposition verse 14 not so Lord 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 is telling him not simply I'm giving you food to eat but that the Mosaic ceremonies that the mosaical institutions have been abated or have been fulfilled in Jesus Christ there is no longer 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 the perpetuation of Mosaic ceremonies the uh the carrying on of dietary laws the the 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 uh 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 duplicit duplicitous offense is stated the Apostle Peter beforehand ate with Gentiles but because of the fear of those who were of the party of the circumcision when they come he separates himself therei there thereby bringing uh bringing um uh 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 come come comes to Antioch but withdraws from eating with Gentile Believers and you know as as Pastor Butler was preaching this morning um uh my mind was drawn to a bit of a connection here occasionally my mind works and works just a little bit but it was drawn to a connection um Peter here I I wonder as Paul is rebuking him I if Peter is recalling how his Lord sat with tax collectors and Sinners and ate with them you know 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 a phrase that's used with regards to the Gentiles they're Sinners not so much in the sense that they are obviously universally uh condemned for uh their uh for their moral state of total depravity before God but more ceremonially because they stand outside of the Commonwealth of Israel they are clean they are the the Sinners of the Gentiles so I wonder if as Paul is rebuking Peter here you know he he gets a little bit of that that stare of the Lord after his denial of the Lord on the night before the crucifixion where he's he's he's found out and he's reminded you know what my 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 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 to Paul's rebuke of Peter notice we have this in verse 14 Paul's rebuke of Peter and there's an interesting there's an interesting word that's used here with 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 the word the word is uh orthopod where we get uh 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 a right with the feet of Faith Matthew P 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 um of lack of error of 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 a right 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 the of Jesus Christ they did not oppose it but in their actions they they affected its truth and its proper reception and its proper maintenance so Paul observes this this uh 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 kind you see the logic there beforehand he was living and he was living as a gentile and and eating as a gentile that is with the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and the 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 and 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 the the the stuffen substance of the book of Hebrews the 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 loneliness of Flesh in order to perfectly execute the 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 SE 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 substan has come you want to go back to the signal and the thing that's 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 not 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 next time we come together for this study in Galatians we'll have just we'll have a an excursus on the doctrine of justification a little more extensive treatment of the stuff of verses 15 and 16 primar early 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 our question 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 is one of those when we when we look at the Cardinal doctrines the banner doctrines of 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 in 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 to 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 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 opposeed the Apostle Peter for bringing uh 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 continu 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 excuse me Paul's uh Paul's rebuke of Peter um 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 and quote um but we see here in the new King King James and the King James tradition and in and in other versions the quote continues all the way to the end of the chapter to the end of verse 21 so the idea in the other view would be um where it stops fast at the end of 14 that now Paul is getting into you know theological Exposition opening up in with some explanatory language uh regarding justification by faith alone uh but I think we can see it here as this is this is Paul's rebuke it continues past the end of verse 14 all the way to this 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 this 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 the the covenants and all of these things we who are uh 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 uh in that yoke uh from which they were eventually of course freed that that burden of the ceremonial law we who were once uh entrenched in these Mosa 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 not by obedience to precepts but by virtue of Jesus Christ gil on this on on the idea of Paul demonstrating the the madness the Ridiculousness of requiring ing Gentiles to judaize since they 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 holy 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 uh when you who had observed it have abanded 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 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 fivefold reiterative emphasis that just means repeated statement this five-fold reiterative emphasis marking the importance of 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 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 what are you what are you trying to say Paul what what's your point could you repeat that Paul is making pains uh uh 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 in that it is by justification uh 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 uh 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 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 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 and all you romanist 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 in all the faculties of body and soul and yet God reached down and plucked me from out of the myy pit of death and salvation and Damnation the the one is a theologian Brethren whether you're a you know a prince or a popper or a you know 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 just ified 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 I think our confession does a good job in summarizing this it's not it's not by the Deeds of the law that's that's excluded uh 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 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 Wonder 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 to justification by fa faith alone casts into the Meer 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 the doctrine of justification by faith alone notice in Proverbs 17:15 and there's a 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 so what's the answer here if God was to just a a as I Pastor Butler mentioned maybe it was this morning or he's done it perhaps more than once if he's just if he just just snaps his finger and justifies a sinner well that's a very that's 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 uh imputation of his righteousness by virtue of his act of obedience as our confession says the act of obedience his act of obedience in his death and uh his active obedience in his life and his passive obedience in his death these things these things are so absolutely vital to the Christian hope and the Christian peace I I again if we're to find peace in anything other than lasting peace true peace Everlasting peace Eternal peace and any anything other than the Lord Jesus Christ uh we're hopeless and Will O 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 there is no uh therefore no more condemn 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 a a one-time Everlasting declaration that the sinner is righteous by virtue of the complete work of the Lord Jesus Christ we I noted earlier that condemnation and justification there's a there's a a juxtaposition there's a 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 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 of of a judge and the hammering down of a gavel as the gavl strikes there's a declaration made and it's either condemn or justification we're condemned in unbelief when we oppose the gospel we raise our fists in in uh IND damnable total depravity and 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 as gavl 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 what a blessed savior we have and what a what a blessed religion we have in Christianity you've no doubt heard before th this is one of the the 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 a a level of pagan deity to say that we as man can somehow Merit salvation and Redemption to say that our our Eternal our Eternal Bliss rests upon our own performance is to bring the Perfections of God down from their Majestic Place uh to the me of pagan idolatry to oppose the doctrine of justification is likewise to decrease to diminish to 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 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 the the 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 the the 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 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 to treat some Modern departures historical departures from the doctrine of justification but also some Modern departures we we need to be on guard with regards to the 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 the doctrine of God and the doctrine of Christ they're they're 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 it's not simply a reformational reformational principle or something that was confined to the 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 for Saints this evening that you'll leave this place and not not not cut off the reflection of on justification by faith alone as 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 that your 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 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 uh but to to as much as we are POS as much as it is possible by your spirit to to to 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 let's stand together and sing a doxology and we're going to sing 564 in the Trinity Himel 564 let's stand and sing together [Music] GL [Music] glor for to all et his glory will [Music] glor now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy to God our savior who alone is wise be glory and Majesty dominion and power both now and forever amen well please be seated we'll have a brief time of prayer when the piano's finished your dismissed e e e e