Chapter 9

PAUL'S BASIC TEACHING

(Galatians 2:15-21)

Before we begin our study of Paul's basic teaching let us pray,

Dear Heavenly Father,

Holy Father we come before You in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Please Father, grant us the spiritual wisdom to better understand and comprehend what You are saying to us through Your servant Paul. Please help us to not only hear and listen to Your teaching but also help us to follow it.

Amen

In the previous three chapters we saw how the Holy Spirit defended or confirmed Paul's position and authority as an Apostle of Jesus Christ. With his position and authority established, we will now explore a summary of what Paul preached and taught. This summary is recorded for us in,

Galatians 2:15-21

""[15] We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' [16] know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified. [17] "If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! [18] If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. [19] For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. [20] I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. [21] I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!""

To better understand what the Holy Spirit is teaching us through the writing of Paul, let us go back and explore each verse in a bit more depth.

GALATIANS 2:15

""[15] We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners'"

Question: What does it mean to say Jew by nature or by birth?

Born of Jewish parents.

Question: What does it mean not "Gentile sinners?"

Perhaps the best way to answer this question is by reading from,

Ephesians 2:11-12

"[11] Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)-- [12] remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world."

The Holy Spirit is telling us that before the time Jesus Christ came to this earth, the Jews, that is the circumcision, were God's chosen people. At that time the Gentile, that is a person who is not Jewish, was considered to be a sinner or stranger to God's promise. For the Gentile, to enter into God's covenant they had to become a proselyte, that is convert to Judaism. If the person was a man, that meant he had to become circumcised.

With this in mind let us read from,

GALATIANS 2:15-16

""[15] We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' [16] know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified."

To expand upon verse 16 a bit more let us begin by reading the first portion of it, which is,

Galatians 2:16(a)

"… a man is not justified by observing the law…"

According to W. E. Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words the phrase "to be justified" means that in the sight of God, a person is declared to be righteous or free from guilt. Thus, this portion of verse 16 is teaching us that no person is free from guilt by trying to observe the Law. The question arises as to why? Why is this the case? The answer is clearly provided to us in,

Romans 3:23

"[23] for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"

Let us now read a little bit more of verse 16,

Galatians 2:16(a & b)

"… a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ..."

In other words the Holy Spirit, through the Apostle Paul, is teaching us that the only way we can be justified or declared righteous before God is through faith in Jesus Christ and the atonement He made for us for the forgiveness of our sins.

With this in mind let us now read verse 16 in its entirety,

Galatians 2:16

"… a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified."

In other words, since no one can be justified in front of God Almighty by trying to observe the Law, even the born again Jew or Israelite placed their faith in Jesus Christ. This included such notable people such as Peter, James, John and Paul. They did this so that they could be declared righteous, that is free from the guilt of their sons, through the saving work of Jesus Christ.

Let us now move on to,

GALATIANS 2:17

""[17] If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not!"

Question: What is the Holy Spirit teaching us? What is He saying?

I believe that He is teaching us that as we come closer and closer to God we discover just how sinful we are.

Now one may ask as the Scripture indicates, "Does this mean that Jesus is ministering sin or encouraging it?" The answer to these questions is a resounding NO! What is happening is that as we come closer to Jesus we become more and more aware of our sin and sinful ways.

To see this let us look to the example of Peter when Jesus called Peter to be a disciple. The incident of interest is recorded for us in,

Luke 5:1-9

"[1] One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, [2] he saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. [3] He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. [4] When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch." [5] Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets." [6] When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. [7] So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. [8] When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" [9] For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken."

As one reflects upon this incident one may wonder as to what had happened? And why did Peter react the way he did? Wasn't it because he just realized who Jesus was? Didn't the light of Jesus just shine on him? Wasn't it because Peter just came to the terrifying reality that in front of God he was a sinful man?

With these thoughts in mind let us now read how Jesus responded to Peter.

Luke 5:10

"[10] ... Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men.""

As a result of this incident Peter along with James and John tied their boats up on the shore and followed Jesus.

Luke 5:11

"[11] So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him."

Question: What about us? What about you and I? As we come closer and closer to Jesus and our sins become exposed, what do we do? Do we as Peter confess our sin and follow our Lord or do we as the rich man, when Jesus showed him that his money was an idol to him, walk away (see Matthew 19:16-22)?

Let us not forget what Jesus once said to the Pharisees who were questioning the fact that He was spending time with the "sinners." To refresh our memories let us read about that conversation in,

Matthew 9:9-13

"[9] As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. [10] While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. [11] When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?" [12] On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. [13] But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.""

With all this in mind let us now return and read from,

GALATIANS 2:17-18

""[17] If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! [18] If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker."

Another way to read verse 18 would be in the form of the following question: "When He, the Holy Spirit, begins to expose sin in our life do we try to clean it up by going back to the Law, that is try to stop sinning in our own will power and strength?" For if we do, we would then be rebuilding what was destroyed. Namely, we would be reactivating or energizing sin, that is our sinful nature. We must remember that sin is a power, just as love is, and that the power of sin is the Law. To see this let us read from,

1 Corinthians 15:56

"[56] The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law."

Question: What does this mean that the power of sin is the Law?

To find out let us read what the Holy Spirit wrote through the Apostle Paul concerning the relationship of sin and the Law in,.

Romans 7:7-8

"[7] What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "Do not covet." [8] But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead."

Let us notice the following verses,

7 … In other words the law reveals to us what sin is. It is through the precepts and commands of the Law that the Holy Spirit reveals to us when we are sinning.

8 … Unfortunately, once we know what sin is, it produces within us the desire to do it, that is our sinful nature is energized. In other words, when we are told not to do something the desire to disobey and to do it is activated. To see this let continue our reading from,

Romans 7:9-11

"[9] Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. [10] I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. [11] For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death."

Let us notice the following verses,

9-10 … In this verses we find a paradox. Because of Israel's disobedience and sin during their exodus from Egypt, God, through Moses, gave them and us His Law. He said that if we would follow the Law we would be declared righteous and therefore justified in His eyes, that is receive eternal life with Him. Unfortunately, because of our sinful nature, instead of life, the Law actually brought death. Why?

11 … Sin deceived us. How? Instead of trusting in God to keep us away from sin and its resultant penalty, we were deceived into believing that we could do it on our own and hence earn eternal life for ourselves. Unfortunately, the demands of the Law dictate that if you sin you must die (Romans 6:23). Thus, the moment we failed to keep every jot and tittle of the Law we were sentenced to death.

This does leave us with several questions. First of all, why can we not keep the Law? The answer to this question is because the Law is spiritual and we are by Adam's nature carnal, that is unspiritual.

Romans 7:14

"[14] We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin."

Consequently, when we try to follow the Law in our own will power we are trying to comply with spiritual principles and laws with carnal or unspiritual power. Hence we are destined to fail.

This now brings us to the second question of why? Why did God institute the Law knowing that we could not obey all of its demands? The key to the answer of this question lies in the response Paul gave when he also asked a similar question. The response is recorded for us in,

Romans 7:24-25

"[24] What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? [25] Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! ..."

Thus we find in God's Wisdom He gave the Law to lead us to Jesus Christ. It is through faith in Jesus Christ and what He did we are saved from our own sinful nature, justified and receive eternal life. To see this consider,

Galatians 3:24

"[24] So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith."

Thus, we find that once we become born again believers and try to justify ourselves by works of the Law, we start up the whole process over again and prove once more that we are sinners. This is exactly what the Holy Spirit told us in,

Galatians 2:18

"[18] If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker."

This now brings us to the wonderful conclusion of Paul's basic teaching, that is,

THE BORN AGAIN BELIEVER IN JESUS CHRIST IS A NEW CREATION; OLD THINGS HAVE PASSED AWAY; BEHOLD, ALL THINGS HAVE BECOME NEW (2 Corinthians 5:17)

When we became a born again believer in Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ destroyed our old self, that is our sinful nature. In other words, when our Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross and was crucified, our sinful nature was also crucified with Him. To see this let us consider the following,

1 Peter 2:24-25

"[24] He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. [25] For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls."

Let us notice the following verse,

24 … Jesus took upon Himself our sins in His body. The reason He did this was so we could now live for righteousness.

In other words, when we became born again believers our old self, that is our sinful nature, was also crucified. Then, in baptism we buried it and rose up out of the water to a new life in Jesus Christ. To more clearly see this let us prayerfully read from,

Romans 6:3-7

"[3] Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? [4] We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. [5] If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. [6] For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-- [7] because anyone who has died has been freed from sin."

With all the above background let us now read how the Holy Spirit summarizes Paul's basic teaching from,

Galatians 2:19-21

"[19] For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. [20] I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. [21] I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!""

CLOSING

As we reflect upon all that we have learned how can we not stop thanking Jesus Christ for the gift of life He purchased for us. Since on the cross He offered His body and blood on our behalf we are now justified in God's eyes, that is we have been forgiven for our sins and declared righteous. In addition, through faith in Jesus Christ He now lives within in the born again believer to bring forth from within them the fruits of righteousness and love.

So in closing let us read and offer Him the following psalm of praise.

Psalm 145:1-21

"[1] I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. [2] Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. [3] Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. [4] One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. [5] They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works. [6] They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds. [7] They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness. [8] The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. [9] The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. [10] All you have made will praise you, O LORD; your saints will extol you. [11] They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might, [12] so that all men may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendor of your kingdom. [13] Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. [14] The LORD upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. [15] The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. [16] You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. [17] The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made. [18] The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. [19] He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. [20] The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. [21] My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD. Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever."

Amen and Amen

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