Let me begin this morning by asking you a question: are you justified by works or by faith? Every two years Ligioner ministries, which was founded by R.C. Sproll, complete’s their State of Theology poll which examines what Americans think about Jesus, the Bible, truth and ethics.
In March 2020 they began conducting a new poll, which was published in August of 2020, and as I said a moment ago, one of the topics that Ligionier looked at was what Americans think about Jesus. The survey revealed that 52% of American adults believe that Jesus was a great teacher and nothing more. In other words, the majority of America disbelieves that Jesus is the Messiah.
How did we come to have this problem in the United States of America where preaching and teaching is so easily accessible and the Bible so readily available? I have four answers: 1) Most sermons are centered around men and not Christ; 2) Most sermons are focused on self-help and not Christ; 3) Lack of faithfulness to the Scriptures; 4) Christology is not readily preached from the pulpit.
What is Christology? Christology is the study of Jesus Christ. That involves the study of the nature of Jesus Christ, the deeds of Jesus Christ, and the person of Jesus Christ. And I think because there is little study, preaching, and teaching on the person of Jesus Christ from the pulpit in the 21st century church, the majority of American adults believe Jesus is nothing more than a good teacher.
This poses a problem, why? If Jesus was a great teacher and nothing more then we should question everything Jesus said, especially concerning salvation. If Jesus is nothing more than a good teacher and not the Messiah, we cannot believe that we are justified by faith alone in Christ alone.
In fact, this tension shows in a study conducted by Barna Group. According to Barna Group, people are conflicted between Jesus and good deeds as the means to be saved. The majority of Americans believe they will go to heaven as a result of their good deeds. And I think this conflict arises because many Americans believe Jesus is nothing more than a good teacher.
This is also the central issue that Paul deals with in his letter to the Galatians. They were turning away from the gospel of Jesus to a different gospel, and the gospel the Galatian believers were turning to was a works based gospel, and it would seem, based off the polls, many Americans today, even in the church, are doing the same. This is why, over the next few blog posts, we are going to answer the question – are we justified by works or by faith? We are going to do that beginning with Galatians 2:15-16. My hope over these next few blog’s is that you will become more confident that salvation is by faith alone and in Christ alone, not good works.
We begin in Galatians 2:15, “We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners.” Paul is not only addressing the churches of Galatia here, he is also addressing this statement to Peter, who Paul opposed to his face for his hypocrisy among Gentiles. What Paul is saying is that He and Peter were born Jews and “not Gentile sinners”. Why does Paul call Gentile’s “Gentile sinners”? You need to understand how ancient Israel believed. Jews believed they were righteous, because they lived according to OT law.
Paul goes on to say (Gal. 2:16), “yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law…” What is Paul talking about when speaks of justification? What does justified mean? Justified means that a person is declared innocent from sin. Justified means that a person is no longer guilty because of the sins he or she has committed. Justified means to be right or acceptable in the sight of God.
How are we justified? Notice how Paul begins to answer that question. He begins by explaining how we are not justified. Paul says, “we know that a person is not justified by works of the law”. In fact, he says it twice in the same verse, “by works of the law no one will be justified.” So, Paul is saying to the Galatian believers, you know that a person is not made right with God by obeying the law. You and I both know, that no one is declared innocent of their sin by law-keeping. You and I both know, God accepts no one simply because they are obedient to the Old Testament law.
What law is Paul referring to? Paul is referring to God’s moral law called the Ten Commandments. What are the Ten Commandments? Here they are: 1) “You shall have no other gods before me”; 2) “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth”; 3) “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain”; 4) “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy”; 5) “Honor your father and your mother”; 6) “You shall not murder”; 7) “You shall not commit adultery”; 8) “You shall not steal”; 9) “You shall not bear false witnesses against your neighbor”; 10) “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his femal servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbors.”
So, what Paul is saying to the Galatian believer’s is this: You know that a person is not made right with God by obeying the Ten Commandments. Nobody is made right with God because they are faithful to their spouse. Nobody is made right with God because they keep the Sabbath day. Nobody can be made right with God by honoring his or her parents. Nobody can be made right with God by not murdering somebody. Nobody can be made right with God by not stealing their neighbors stuff. Nobody can be made right with God by being honest. Nobody can be made right with God by not desiring what his neighbor has.
In addition, not only are we not saved by the law, we are not saved by merit altogether. What do I mean by merit? What I mean by that is that a person is not saved because they are deserving. A person is not right with God because they think they are a good person. A person is not made right with God by being raised in church or how frequent you attend church. You are not made right with God because of who you are or who your family is. You are not made right with God because of the job you have or because you make a lot of money. You are not made right with God by how much you pay in your tithes and offering, or how much you give to charity. You are not made right with God because you go on mission’s trips. You are not made right with God because you are a preacher, a deacon, a sunday school teacher, a children’s church teacher, a praise & worship singer, or a ministry volunteer. You are not made right with God by how frequent you pray or how well you pray. You are not made right with God because you read your Bible everyday or because you know the Bible really well or because you can quote Scripture. You are not made right with God because you have a degree in Biblical studies. You are not made right with God because you planted a church. You are not right with God because you can preach or teach well. You are not made right with God because you are the head of a denomination.
None of what you do, who you are, who your family is, or how significant you think you might be makes you right with God. There are people everyday who think they are going to go to heaven because they think they are a good person. You are not going to go to heaven because you are a good person, you are going to go to hell because you think you are a good person.
Does this mean we should ignore the Ten Commandments? No. In fact, the Ten Commandments play an important role in the life of the believer. How do the Ten Commandments play an important role in the believers life? There are three roles the Law plays in the life of the believer: Role 1) The Ten Commandments guards us against committing sin, because it teaches us what sin is. We would not know what sin is, if it were not for the Ten Commandments. Role 2) The Ten Commandments helps us to realize that we cannot save ourselves. No one can save themselves, because no one can perfectly keep the law. As hard as we might try to obey it, we simply can’t. The reason we can’t is because we are immoral people who love our sin. Even as a saved person, you are not able to perfectly obey the Law. And it’s not that Law is broken, it’s that we are broken. Role 3) The Ten Commandments help us to see our need for Jesus. It helps to see how imperfect we are and how perfect Christ is. Therefore, Paul is saying to Peter and the Galatians: You guys know it is impossible to be saved by law keeping. You guys know the law can never make us acceptable unto God.
If we are not justified by works of the law or by merit then, how are we justified? How are we made right with God, and how are we acceptable unto God, if it is not by works of the law? Paul explains in Gal. 2:16, “yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith…” There is only one way to be justified and that is by faith. By faith you are acceptable unto God. By faith you are made right with God. And by faith you are declared guiltless and innocent from all your sinning.
By faith in what? By faith in who? Paul answers that question saying (Gal. 2:16), “…through faith in Jesus Christ…” It is by faith alone in Christ alone, that a person is justified. It is by faith alone in Christ alone a person is made right with God. It is by faith alone in Christ alone a person is acceptable unto God.
You can do all the good you want to do, you can pay all the tithes you want to pay, you can volunteer as much as you want to volunteer, you can attend church as much as you would like, you can sing all the Christian songs you would like, pray as much as you like for as long as you like, you can be involved in ministry as much as you want, and you know the Bible like the palm of your hand, but if you don’t have faith in Jesus Christ, then you are not right or acceptable in the sight of God, and your sins will be held against you.
How do we put our faith in Jesus Christ? If we are justified in the sight of God, made right in the sight of God, made acceptable unto God, and declared innocent by God of all our sins through faith in Jesus Christ, how do we put our faith in Jesus? Here’s how Paul would answer that question in Gal. 2:16, “…so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” Here’s the answer: Believing. You put your faith in Jesus Christ by believing in Jesus Christ, because attempting to save yourself by good works will not work. Paul says decisively, “by works of the law no one will be justified.” In other words, no one can be made right with God by law keeping.
How do I believe in Jesus Christ by faith? What am I supposed to believe about Jesus in order to be made right with God? What am I supposed to believe about Jesus in order to be acceptable unto God? Again, here’s how Paul answers those questions according to 1 Cor. 15:2-4 & Rom. 10:9 – in order to be saved, in order to be justified, in order to be right with God, you must, by faith, believe in your heart that Jesus died, Jesus was buried, and that God raised Jesus from the dead for the forgiveness of your sins. It’s all about belief in Jesus, not works. Paul said in Acts 16:31 to a Philippian jailor who asked him how to be saved, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved”.
In summary, are we justified by faith alone in Christ alone? My answer is yes. We are justified by faith alone in Christ alone because the Moral Law, which we call the Ten Commandments cannot save us. The reason the Ten Commandments cannot save us is because it is impossible for any of us to perfectly keep the law. The reason we cannot perfectly keep the law is because we are sinful people who love our sin. And because we are people who cannot keep the law and love sin, we are morally imperfect people who are not right or acceptable unto God.
This is why we need a Savior, because we cannot save ourselves. This is why we must look to Jesus. God sent his only begotten Son, who was perfect and sinless, to save sinful, morally corrupt, and imperfect people, like each of us. Christ Jesus came into this world to lay down his life for sinners, and the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross was and is sufficient to forgive every human being of their sins.
All we must do is believe in Jesus Christ. Jesus himself said (John 3:36), “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life.” Believe Jesus is the Son of God, believe that Jesus died, believe Jesus was buried, and believe Jesus was raised by the power of God for the forgiveness of our sins. If you want to be saved, stop trying to achieve it by merit or good works; you are going to fail. If you try to achieve salvation by good works, you will go to hell. You can only be saved by faith alone in Christ alone.