Straightening Out A Hypocrite…Just Like Me! Galatians 2:15-21 Dr. Jim Cecy

Introduction: “The only completely consistent people are the dead.” (Aldous Huxley) Sometimes our hypocrisy is the only Christianity people see!

Review of “The Diagnosis and Treatment of Hypocrisy” (Galatians 2:11-14) (cf. www.campusbiblechurch.com) Gal. 2:14 “But when I saw that they were not straightforward (i.e. not walking in a straight line/uprightly) about the truth of the gospel…”

Now in today’s study… Galatians 2:15-21 “We are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles; nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified. But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be! For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; and 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 up for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.” Straightening out our inconsistencies….

#1

By Remembering Who We Were Before

Galatians 2:15-16a “We are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles; nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law…” Group #1 - Those to whom God directly revealed the Law - i.e. the Jews, who received the Law through Moses, one of their own Group #2 - Those to whom God did not directly reveal the Law - i.e. the Gentiles who the Jews called “sinners” (people who had “missed the mark” because they had not received the Law) The Gentiles, who didn’t have the Law, chased after foreign gods; the Jews, who had the Law, had come to miss the point of the Law. Gal 3:24 “…the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.” Remembering the “not-so-good old days” Acts 15:10-11 “Why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they [the Gentiles] also are” Our Assignment: Reflecting on the futility of our lives when we were trying to earn our salvation…

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#2

By Reflecting On Who We Are Now

Gal. 2:16 “…nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.” Rom. 3:28 “For we hold that a person is justified by faith apart from works prescribed in the Law.” Rom. 5:1 “Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Job 9:2 “How can a man be in the right before God?” Psalm 143:2 “For in Thy sight no man living is righteous.” (cf. Romans 3:23; 6:23) Job 25:4 “How then can a man be just with God? Or how can he be clean who is born of woman?” God solved the problem by sending his Son to bridge the gap between man and God Justified by Faith • made righteous in God’s sight • acquitted and declared ‘Not guilty!” • no longer condemned to be separated from God • treated as if we had never sinned

• etc.

“There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus” (Blaise Pascal)

#3

By Refusing To Go Back To What We Were Before

Gal. 2:17-19 “But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be! For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God.” “Your ‘faith plus works’ mentality is man’s plan of salvation; not God’s. Don’t blame Christ for that which He didn’t create, but in fact, came to destroy.” Colossians 2:20-23 “If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.” • “I refuse to return to trying to be right with God in my own power.”

• “I refuse to rebuild the life of works I once destroyed.”

• “I refuse to resurrect a system of rules to earn my place in heaven.”

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#4

By Rehearsing How To Live Now

Gal. 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and 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 up for me.” The Three Declarations of “The Exchanged Life” Declaration #1. “I have been crucified with Christ” Romans 6:1-7 “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.” Declaration #2 “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” Col. 3:3 “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Declaration #3 “I live by faith in the Son of God.” Gal. 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and 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 up for me. ” (cf. Gal 5:22-23 – the evidence of the indwelling Holy Spirit of God making us more like Jesus)

#5

By Refusing To Disregard The Grace Of God Ever

Galatians 2:21 “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.” nullify = Gk: atheteo = set aside, disregard, make void and meaningless When we live in a way that is inconsistent with who we are in Christ, it spreads a false gospel, disregards the amazing grace of God and makes the death of Christ worthless. The Gospel of Grace: No work of mine can earn it. No failure of mine can lose it.

Concluding Challenge: Lessons from Paul, the Life Coach regarding Living the Straightforward Truth of the Gospel of Grace #1

By remembering who we were before

#2

By reflecting on who we are now

#3

By refusing to go back to what we were before

#4

By rehearsing how to live now

#5

By refusing to disregard the grace of God ever

© 2009 Dr. James M. Cecy, Campus Bible Church, Fresno, CA. 93726 www.campusbiblechurch.com 

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