GALATIANS 2:3-212005 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Galatians 2:3-21

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2005.

We continue on through the study of Galatians, and we're picking it up now in chapter 2. If I may remind you of the past couple weeks, what the Lord has been saying to us. We started out looking at verses 1 through 10 of Galatians, where Paul told the Galatians, he greeted them and didn't waste much time, but jumped right in to asking them and sharing with them how astonished he is

and wonderment at their turning away from the gospel. He says, I can't believe it. I marvel that you're so quickly walking away from the gospel message that I preached to you. The message that I gave to you while I was there, you're turning away to a different gospel message. And of course, as we looked at the rest of the book of Galatians, we understood what gospel were they turning to? Well, they were turning to a gospel of works and not grace. They were turning to a gospel that...

You are pleasing to God based on what you do and how you live and what you stay away from rather than based on what God did for you on the cross at Calvary. And so they were turning away from the gospel of grace and

to the gospel of works. These Judaizers, that's what they were called, they were Jewish believers who taught that you have to be circumcised in order to be saved. You have to keep the law and keep all of the commandments and follow the traditions in order to be saved. And Paul is writing astonished. I can't believe, he says, you're turning away to this.

And he shares with them, as we looked at last week, the gospel message that he preached to them was not something that was taught to him by man, but the gospel message that he preached was revealed to him by Jesus Christ personally.

Paul was converted on the road to Damascus while he was persecuting the Christians. And he goes away to Arabia, to the desert for three years. And he spends time alone with God, hearing from God, receiving from God, searching his scriptures and discovering God's gospel message, the message of grace, the gospel of grace.

What God has done for us and not what we do for God. His point, as we looked at last week, was he received it independently. He wasn't taught...

this gospel message by man, yet 14 years later, when he comes back to Jerusalem and comes into fellowship with the apostles that walked with Jesus, the message that they had was identical. It was exactly the same, thereby proving two or three witnesses, it's confirmed. God independently revealed it to them, and the message was exactly the same. Well, as we continue on this week, we'll be looking at chapter 2, and

Looking at and exploring this a little bit further, this gospel of grace, this message of grace that Paul is defending and Paul delivered there to the churches in Galatia. It's very applicable to us today because as we shared two weeks ago, it's very easy for us

to digress back to a relationship of works with God, relying upon our works or looking to our works, relating our blessings from God, our relationship to God, to how well we've been doing as a Christian or how many times we've stumbled or fallen as a Christian. And we very easily go back and look and rely upon those things rather than the work of Jesus Christ at the cross. I received an email this last week of questions

A man who, he sent out a mass email to a bunch of Calvary chapels and a bunch of pastors. And this man is struggling with this issue, though he doesn't know it. He's dealing with this same thing. And you can imagine this email, it was five pages long with complete text. I mean, he didn't add spaces. Everything was just, it was just solid words for five pages in this email that he wrote.

And he's writing about, and I'll share with you a little bit of the excerpts from it. I won't read the whole thing to you and torture you in that way. But he's struggling with, he's fallen into this area of legalism. And he's bound up in it, and he doesn't even know it. I'd like to read to you just a little bit, so you can get a glimpse of what happens when we resort to, when we head back to a relationship with God that's based on our works. He says, He says,

I am a former member of the Calvary Chapels in Southern California. And then he starts on. Most pastors are going against the work that the true Jesus is trying to do. Jesus has a word for you, pastors, and it's Matthew 18, verses 6-9.

Isn't God trying to deliver many teenagers from worldly passions, he puts idols in parentheses, such as Star Wars, American football, ESPN sports, TV, basketball, surfing at the beach, and all kinds of self-pleasure? Why then are pastors allowing the children to get hooked on these things?

Most pastors are quenching and resisting the holy work that God is trying to do in these children. God is trying to deliver many people from their love of sport legends and stars and love of daredevils and circus stars. God is trying to deliver people from... Don't make me laugh. God is trying to deliver people from their bondage to showbiz and their rejoicing in human glory and pride. And he put in parentheses sports.

But Calvary Chapel and evangelical pastors are telling people they can have fun. Therefore, people have all kinds of idols in their hearts and God is not pleased with them at all. This is how he introduces this email and it continues on very similar language for five pages. Going on about the evils of fun and pleasure and all the things that people can be involved in.

This is what legalism does to you and I. This is what basing our relationship with God on works, on how we do, how we perform. This is where it takes us. This is where it leads. Now, in some cases, you might look in some things. Yes, he might have some good points, might have some good ways, stuff to think about, things that we should consider. In fact, one part of it sounds very good. He goes on to say, be careful that you don't call practical holiness legalism.

And you read that portion and you go, okay...

Maybe a little bit off, but it sounds pretty good. I mean, it sounds really right. Yeah, free work on our behalf and God's, that sounds like grace to me. But notice he goes on to say that we must. And he begins to do the same thing that the Judaizers were doing back in the churches of Galatia.

You believe in Jesus Christ, but you also must add on to these things over here and you must not do these things over here. There's these additional things that also need to be in place in order for you to be saved that you must also do or also must not do in order to be saved. Now, what has brought this gentleman to this point? Why is he to this point that he's against everything, against anything that might be pleasurable or might be fun or against anything that that.

Many of us might be involved in. Why? What has done this? Well, remember, a couple weeks ago, as we started the book of Galatians, we learned that the law was powerless, but it's not pointless. It's powerless in that it cannot keep us from sin, but that is where we often go. Someone's struggling in their walk, well, here's the laws. Go to church, read your Bible, pray,

Dot, dot, dot. Here's what you do. Someone's struggling with sexual temptation. Well, here's the law. Apply this law and then you won't have to struggle. You won't be involved in that sin any longer. But we know from the Word of God that the law is powerless.

and keeping us from sin. Adding on laws and piling on laws does not keep us from sin. The root of this man's problem is sin. He goes on in another portion. He says, Many of us are very weak. We struggle with sin. Therefore, we cannot afford using our free time for fun and self-pleasure rather than using our free time to strictly draw near to God in quietness.

in His Word and in prayer so that we can be more victorious over sin. The emphasis that I'm putting on some of these words, these are His. He's capitalizing them, bolding them, making sure, hey, in strictness and in quietness, it has to be this way or it's not a real relationship with God. It has to be in strictness. It has to be in quietness. And if it's not, if there's any pleasure, if there's any self-indulging things, then that's it. You're not saved. It's not a relationship with God.

boils down to, started with, many of us struggle with sin. We're weak. And here's the problem. This is why, yes, parts of this can be humorous, but at the same time, here's this man struggling with sin. It's a real problem. He sins. He's not enjoying the sin. He's not trying to indulge the sin. But in dealing with it, instead of looking to the grace of God, piling on, adding on laws, legalism, looking to those things. And as a result,

We see the things that he is writing. This is where legalism will take us. This is where if we look to our works and our relationship, it will take us. But not only that, not only does it affect our relationship with God, it also begins to overflow in our lives and begin to affect our relationship with everybody else. The way that we look and see people around us. Another portion that he says, Pastor Brian Broderson of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa.

spoke good of Mel Gibson, knowing that Mel could very well be a Catholic. And he even justified Mel Gibson's Catholic effort even before the movie came out. Pastor Brian did this over the air on K-Wave 107.9 FM. Only God knows how many people all over the world that these pastors are leading astray slowly but surely.

Surely. So now, not only is it affecting him and his relationship. Okay, here I've got this sin. I've got to deal with this. Add on these laws. Don't do this. Do that. And I'll be okay. I'll have right standing with God. But now, because of these laws in place in his life between him and God, now they're overflowing. Now he's looking and judging and condemning everybody else. Pastor Brian Brodison, Mel Gibson,

And he points out, knowing that, Mel could be a Catholic, as if you could not be saved. Now listen, salvation is by grace through faith. That's it. There's no other requirements. It's not based on any type of religion or teaching or where you live or your nationality or anything else. It's based on your faith in Jesus Christ.

But these laws and regulations, these rules that he's applied to himself now begin to overflow so that everybody else around him is now condemned because they don't adhere to the standards that he's placed. And so he's found himself in a place and the whole point of this email, the subject is where can I go to church? And so he says, I'm looking for a place of fellowship and he'll go on to describe his idea of the perfect church. And I'd like to share this with you. And

If you know of one, then you can try to stay away from it, okay? But he says, listen, if you know of one, a group that I'm about to describe, just please let me know. This is his idea of a perfect church. If you know any group where the leading brothers preach that politicians in the 21st century are not a Christian, please let me know. A people who know that Jesus is the only God with his Father and his Spirit.

A place where the leading brothers discourage their people from receiving anything from Hollywood. A place where leading brothers discourage the people from sitting down before TV and music shows and entertainment. A place where the leaders discourage their people from having fun with American football, basketball, baseball, surfing the ocean, and so on. A place where the leaders discourage the flock from merrymaking during the special times in which the world eats, drinks, and is merry.

a group with leading brothers who will not allow their high school to have legends or sporting teams like soccer, American football, basketball, and baseball. Probably such a group will not be big enough to have a high school, which he's right. But please contact me if such a group, even if it's just a small house gathering.

A place that will not allow anything from Hollywood, especially the spiritual things from Hollywood, the best of Satan's deception, like the passion by Mel Gibson of Hollywood. A group that teaches that Hollywood is ruled by Satan, a group that does not approve of preachers that have become the bride of politicians. Many preachers, like Billy Graham, and many churches have become the bride of politicians.

a group that the surrounding culture and most Christians consider to be strict. Please let me know if you suspect any group, even if you don't like them. Please, just let me know so I can go and talk with them and probably join them.

A group that does not display any images or logos such as the national flag or image of a dove, fish, or fire, but simply has precious words of God largely written on their doors and on their walls. A group that teaches American founding fathers were not Christians, but politicians and false religious men because a Christian does not kill Native American Indians to take away their land from them. And a true Christian cannot be racist against Africans or any other race.

A group who knows that Israel alone is the only physical people and land of God on this earth. And of course, a group holding fast to the whole counsel of the Jewish scriptures, both old and new, the word of God. The perfect church. So I replied back to him and I said, well, hey, we've got the perfect thing, Pastor Pooley, and the children's ministry runs it just like this. And you can, no, I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. Legalism.

This is what Paul is battling there in the church. This is what's going on. This is where it leads. This is why it's so dangerous and so important for us to understand the grace of God. He goes on in the email and he talks about pretty much everything you can imagine. Halloween, Disneyland, having pets, Christian radio, Mel Gibson, George Bush. You heard of Billy Graham. I mean, just everybody is condemned under these rules and regulations.

The problem originally, we're weak, we struggle with sin. But the answer is not found in laws, in works, in adding more things like that to our lives.

This is what's going on in Galatia. False brothers coming in, demanding circumcision and the lie. It must be done in order for you to be saved. And that's why Paul, writing Galatians, is all about the gospel of grace. In fact, you'll probably get tired of me talking about it as we study through the book of Galatians. But that's okay. We need to get it through our heads. The gospel is about the grace of God.

Not works, not the law, not anything that we have to offer, but all what Jesus has done. We approach God based on what He has done for us, not what we have done for Him. It is important that we know and understand this because it affects our relationship with God, but it also affects our relationship with others. And that's what we see here in Galatians chapter 2. Because on Wednesday, you might remember, we learned that we become like the God that we worship.

Whatever God we worship, we become like that God. And so if we see God as a legalistic God, then we will then have a legalistic attitude in relationship with those around us. The way that you believe God relates to you is the way that you will relate to others. Legalistic? Well, then you're going to look at others and have this perspective on people.

Based on your perception of whether or not they adhere to the standards that you have set. I can't be around this person. I can't talk to that person. I can't say hi or fellowship or talk to or minister to. I can't do anything around these people or this type of people. Oh, you listen to that kind of music. Oh, all the regulations and rules and things that we could set up and might sound good and our hearts agree. And it's so easy and so tempting to lean towards those things. But what it does then...

Because it affects our relationship with others. And we become judgmental and critical. And we don't have fellowship with others because they don't meet the standards that we have set up. However, if you believe that God relates to you by His grace, then you will be gracious to those around you. People who have a gracious God are so easy to be around, aren't they? People that love you and are just warm and friendly and will minister to you and pray with you and encourage you and talk with you.

Help you through the hard times. Help you through the temptations and struggles by grace. Simply by grace without looking towards legalism. Now, we see this modeled in this email, but we also see it in today's passage as we look at chapter 2. We'll see two examples of relationships based on the way that they viewed God relating to them. So let's look at it together. Galatians chapter 2, starting in verse 1, it says this.

Then after fourteen years I went up 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 are 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 seem 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, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas 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. Verse 11. 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 if he is not justified by the works of the law,

Even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law. For by the works of the law, no flesh shall be justified. Verse 17. 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. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. And Lord, we do thank you that...

You call us to come to you, not based on what we do, how we live, not based on laws and regulation, not based on our works. But Lord, you call us to yourself simply by your grace, that by faith we receive the work that you did on the cross and have full fellowship with you. And so God, we ask that you would meet us here in this place. Lord, we ask that you would minister to us, that you would speak to our hearts, that you would draw us close to you.

Lord, I pray that you would establish these things in our hearts, that we might have full access to you and walk with you. Lord, may your presence be known and may you be glorified this morning through your word. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So Paul, he's continuing his story that he has been sharing in Galatians chapter 1.

about how he was converted and where he went. And he didn't receive the gospel from any man, but went on his own and heard from the Lord, received from the Lord by revelation.

And then in chapter 2, verse 1, he says, So Paul, 14 years, comes to Jerusalem after his conversion. And...

He grabs aside some of the leaders, those who seem to be pillars, which are probably James, the Lord's brother, and Peter and John, and he shares with them his gospel message. He goes up to Jerusalem. Now, why did he go? Well, we find the context back in Acts chapter 15.

And it's where Paul and Barnabas, they go to Jerusalem because as they are ministering in Antioch, the same people or same group that has gone into Galatia went to Antioch. And they were preaching among those who were being saved. God was doing a great work. And many of the Gentiles, the Greeks, they were being saved.

And as they were being saved, then these false brethren would come in and they would say, well, now that you're saved, that's good. You believe in Jesus Christ. But now you also need to adhere to these things. You need to be circumcised. You need to keep the law in order to continue on in your salvation, in order to continue on and that God would be pleased with you and that you could be blessed. And so Paul and Barnabas came against these guys very hard.

And there was a big dispute there in Antioch. And so they decided, hey, let's go back to Jerusalem. It's where those guys claim to come from. So Paul and Barnabas said, let's go and get this settled. Let's go and get this taken care of. Make sure, because this is not a requirement for salvation. And so they go to Jerusalem. And the apostles at Jerusalem said,

The council there at the church, they have a meeting, a council together, and they hear what's going on. What's the big dispute over? What's taking place? And they share and they understand, okay, it's about circumcision. And the apostles come to the conclusion, they announce, they pronounce that, no, it's not necessary for people to be circumcised or to keep the law in order to be saved. So, Paul and Barnabas. Now, Barnabas...

He was a companion of Paul. His real name was Joses. But they called him Barnabas, which means son of encouragement, because he was a great encourager. And he's actually the one who sought out Paul as Paul was in his hometown in Tarsus after he'd been saved many years. But Barnabas goes and seeks him out and takes him to Antioch where God is doing a great work.

When nobody else wanted to be around Paul, Barnabas was the one who was there to encourage him, to lift him up. He was the one who introduced him to the apostles. And so Barnabas is called the son of encouragement. But he's also with Titus as they go to Jerusalem. Now, Titus was a Greek man who was converted under Paul's ministry.

And so they take him along in almost sort of an exhibit there before the council because here's Barnabas, this Greek believer. He's not Jewish. He's not circumcised. He doesn't keep the law. And the question is, does he need to keep the law? Does he have to be circumcised or keep this law in order to be saved?

And so in verse 3 through 5, Paul goes on to share what the verdict was. In verse 3 he says, What happened? He says, Now, you would think...

If it was going to be anywhere that someone would be forced to be circumcised, it would be there in Jerusalem before the apostles. Jerusalem. It was the center of Judaism, the Jewish religion, because the temple was there. That's where all of Jewish religion centered around. It's where the priests were. It's where God spoke to his people. It's where you brought the sacrifices. It was the center of worship there for the Jews.

And so if you're going to be worshipping with the Jews, there's going to be the law that's applied. And so if anywhere it's going to be forced that someone be circumcised, if anywhere it's going to be mandated, yes, in order to be saved you have to be circumcised and follow the law, then it's going to be there at Jerusalem, the center of worship for the Jewish people.

Not only that, but they came before the apostles. The apostles were those who walked with Jesus. Yes, they were Jews. Yes, they were keeping the law. Of course, they broke it just like all of us, but they were Jewish people walking in the law before Jesus came. They walked with Jesus. They were given the charge to make disciples of all nations and establish the church. If anybody was going...

to pronounce that someone needed to be circumcised and keep the law, it would be these. If anybody had the authority, it would be these apostles here. This is Paul's point. He was in the perfect place to be circumcised. He was under the perfect leadership to be circumcised if they were going to require it. They had the authority. They walked with Jesus.

But they did not compel Titus to be circumcised. They did not compel him to keep the law. If there was ever a place where the law would be laid down, it would be right there. If there was ever a time, it would be right then under those apostles. But the council decides, no, it's not about the law. They pronounce grace, grace. And that's what we find in Acts chapter 15, verse 7 through 11.

In verse, well, the first thing, one of the things that they see there at the council, they come to the conclusion, hey, God acknowledged the Gentiles by giving the Holy Spirit. Now, Jewish people were pretty prejudiced at that time and they were against the Gentiles. They didn't feel like the Gentiles could be saved or even should be saved. But they had to admit, hey, God gave His Holy Spirit to the Gentiles. And so we know, God wants to do a work with the Gentiles. He wants to save them. He confirmed it, acknowledged it by giving His Holy Spirit.

The second thing that they recognized there at the council was that He purifies their hearts by faith. And it wasn't by the law. They didn't have the law. They didn't keep the law because they weren't Jewish. And so it was by faith that their hearts were purified. It was by faith that He gave the Holy Spirit. And so the third and final conclusion is that it's through the grace of Jesus that we are saved. Through the grace, that's what they proclaimed. It's through the grace of God. It's not about the works.

Now Paul says in verse 4 that false brethren came in. This happened because false brethren came in. The issue came up, the dispute came up because of these false brethren. There were these guys who came in the church pretending to be brothers. Pretending to fit in. Hey Christian brother, they had the language down, they had the look down, they had their Bible in their hands and they went there. But they came with false pretense. They came with false motives. They were false brethren, Paul says.

pretending to be brothers and sisters in the Lord, but they were there to promote their own teachings. They were there to lead people astray and lead people and convince people to their own way of thinking. And that is often how cults and people who teach false doctrine often work. They go amongst the believers, they fit in, they hang out, but then...

They begin to call people aside. They begin to say, hey, they teach pretty good or whatever, but man, if you really want to be spiritual, if you really want to be saved, if you really want to make sure, deal with your sin or whatever the case may be, then here's what you need to do. And they lead people astray in that way. And so we need to watch out, to be on our guard and to watch out for the woes of the flock. But Paul says in verse 5,

We didn't yield submission even for an hour. They came in, they tried to deceive, they tried to rip off, but we didn't give in, even for a moment, even for an hour. We didn't have to stop and think, oh man, I wonder if they're right. I wonder, maybe they are. No, they didn't have to consider it upon it. We didn't even give in, Paul says, not even for an hour, not even for a moment. It was not part, it is not part of the gospel message. It's proven there at the council. It's proven there in Galatia as well.

Now, in verse 6, he goes on to say, 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 seem to be something added nothing to me. So he's brought the leaders aside and he's shared the gospel that he's been preaching with them. He says, look, this is what the Lord revealed to me. This is the gospel that I've been preaching. These leaders that he pulled aside are James, Peter and John.

He says, they seem to be something, but, you know, whatever they were, it makes no difference to me. God doesn't show favoritism. It doesn't matter. James, the Lord's brother, Peter and John, pillars in the church. But he says, they added nothing to my message. The Lord revealed it to me separately, independently. I didn't learn it from them. Yet, the message was the same. They added nothing to it. They didn't have to make some corrections. They didn't have to stop and say, well, okay, but you need to consider this or take this into account.

Remember Apollos in Acts chapter 18? He was a man who was mighty in the scriptures and he was teaching the word, but it wasn't exactly right. And Priscilla and Aquila grab him and pull him aside and say, hey, there's a couple of areas, there's a couple of things. They further expounded upon the truth so that he was able to preach the whole gospel. But in Paul's case, that didn't happen. They were there and it was the same message. It was the gospel of grace. Their messages were the same.

So instead of having to dispute Paul's message, he goes on in verse 7 and says, 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, going on verse 8, for he who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles.

Now, uncircumcised, it's a reference to the Gentiles, those who are not Jewish people of Jewish descent. Circumcised, of course, it's referring to those who were Jews. That was their covenant with God.

But Paul says, instead of adding to my message, they realize we have the same message. It's exactly the same. The difference between us then is not the message, but the difference between us is the calling. We have the same message, but we've been sent to different people, to different groups. It says that they saw that Paul had been committed with the gospel to the uncircumcised, to the Gentiles, the people who were not of Jewish descent.

Well, they knew Peter was called to the Jewish people. How did they see it? Well, in verse 8 it tells us very clearly they saw the effective work of the Holy Spirit. They saw how the Holy Spirit works through Peter and brought many to salvation. The Holy Spirit works through Paul the same way. Peter there at Pentecost as the Holy Spirit descended and Peter preaches and 3,000 get saved and a couple chapters later another 5,000 get saved when he shares another sermon.

And so they've seen the work of God through Peter, the effective working of the Holy Spirit. And now as Paul is sharing with them, as Paul has brought Titus as an exhibit, as an example of God's work, they realize the same Spirit is at work. The same Spirit that was working in Peter was working in Paul in changing people's life. They had the evidence right there, the testimony of lives that had been changed by the power of God.

And that's the way to tell if a ministry or a minister is valid or not. Watch the fruit. Look for the fruit. Wait and see. What is God doing? Is the power of God being manifest, changing lives? Is the Holy Spirit at work? Now, Peter was sent to the Jews. Paul sent to the Gentiles. But they had the same exact message. And that's how we are here today.

We have the same message, the gospel of grace, but God has sent us. We're ministers of reconciliation. We're called to bring others around us close to God. And you and I, we've been sent to different groups of people. The Holy Spirit works in us towards different groups of people. There was a man that I met and went on a mission trip with and he joined us.

over to Hawaii. His name is Aaron DeLeon and you can pray for him, man. He's an awesome man of God, serving the Lord. But he felt, as I met him, he felt that God had called him to minister to the Japanese people. And so he was endeavoring to learn Japanese. He hadn't been speaking it very long or practicing it very long, but God was blessing it and he was learning Japanese. And I can bear witness because he said, Hey, I just believe God's called me to minister to the Japanese.

And right now I can say this, that I bear witness. Just like Peter was sent to the Jews and Paul to the Gentiles, Aaron is sent to the Japanese people. How do I know that? Well, everywhere we went, and I don't exaggerate, I do exaggerate, but I'm not exaggerating now. Everywhere we went...

Whether it be a restaurant, or the beach, or the airport, on a plane, wherever the case, he would meet someone, guess what? They would be Japanese, he would practice his Japanese with them, share the gospel message, and they would get saved in Japanese, although he was barely learning the language.

Everywhere we went, he'd always be coming back and saying, hey, I can't believe it. God, man, I was just talking with them and practicing Japanese and we were going back and forth and then I got to share the gospel and they prayed with me and they got saved right there. Even to the point, we were on a, it was kind of a day off. It was a Saturday and, and,

Pastor Tom and Aaron and I, we went surfing. And so Tom and Aaron, no, me and Tom, we're out in the water, we're surfing, and pretty soon we're looking out, where's Aaron? He was with us, where'd he go? And we turn around, and there Aaron, right there in Waikiki, in the middle of the beach, on the ocean, sitting on top of his surfboard,

next to another guy on top of his surfboard. Mind you, we're in the water, okay? There's waves crashing around, everything. He's there praying for a man who is Japanese, in Japanese, because he is accepting the Lord as his Savior. Thank you.

incredible. And we can bear witness and we go, yeah, he's sent to the Japanese. Man, God is effectively working through him. And that's what was happening there at the council. They said, hey, we saw this in Peter. Now we see it in Paul to the Gentiles. It's amazing. God's at work. And so they agree. Yeah, man, it's the same message. Exactly. Same exact message, but he's just called to a different people.

And so their response then in verse 9 was that they gave them the right hand of fellowship. The apostles determined, hey, it's the same message, just different callings. And so they enjoyed sweet fellowship together. And that's how we as a church are called to be. Loving brothers and sisters of the Lord, great fellowship. Same message, yes, different callings, different ways we minister, different groups of people we minister to, different gifts, but such great fellowship.

I'm not called to those people like you are, but man, I can love you. I can encourage you. I can spend time with you and fellowship with you and have relationship with you.

There is a problem. If the message is not the same, that's the problem when you try to get all churches together. If the message is not the same, there's only one gospel, only one way. Jesus said, I'm the way, the truth, and the life. And so if it's the same message, if it's the gospel message, oh great, we can have sweet, wonderful fellowship. You minister where God's called you, I minister where God's called me. We can share with one another, encourage one another, pray for one another. And that's what they had there in Jerusalem.

It's the same gospel message, so we can have fellowship. And here's where we see the first example of relationship that I was telling you about. Because the way that we believe God relates to us is the way that we will relate to others. Here they come to the conclusion, it's by grace.

It's all about grace. It's God's grace. We relate to God by grace. You don't have to have works or circumcision or the law or anything else to be saved. It's just simply by faith through God's grace. And so the council agrees it's God's grace, it's not works, and as a result, they're gracious to one another. Receiving one another based on Jesus' work at the cross. Not worried about their differences or anything like that, any technicalities whatsoever.

They just have sweet, wonderful fellowship. They give Him the right hand of fellowship. People who would never get along in the world should have great fellowship in the church because we have the same message and we have a gracious God. And the way that we relate to others is the way...

that we believe God relates to us. People who have a gracious God are so easy to be around because they just love you no matter what. They enjoy your presence no matter what. You don't have to worry about what they're thinking or if they're going to say something else or do something else or go behind your back. People who have a gracious God, oh, they're so easy, so wonderful, warm and friendly, loving. Oh yeah, they correct you when you need it and they encourage you when you need it. But you know it's all in love and it's in the grace of God. It's not...

in legalism or laws. Going on in verse 10, he says, They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do. So the only thing Paul says they encouraged me to do was to remember the poor. And Paul says, Hey, no problem. I'm already doing that. Love to do that. Eager to do that. Not a problem. They had great fellowship together. Now, this was Paul's trip

to Jerusalem. And so here we see the first example of relationship. Now, as we move on, verses 11 and following, we see Peter now goes to Antioch. So the council there is done. Paul and Barnabas, they go back to Antioch to continue the work. And now Peter comes and joins them. He's

Probably wanting to check out what's God doing. Let me see what's been taking place. And so as Peter comes to Antioch, now we see the second relationship example on the grace of God versus the legalism of God and how that affects our relationship with others. Verse 11 goes on to say, 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.

Even great men of God make mistakes. There's none of us that are perfect. None of us in this room. None of us in this world. We make mistakes as human beings. We fall short. And here's

what we see in Peter, a wavering in Peter. Sometimes it's hard to let go of the attitudes in our heart. And oftentimes, we don't even know that they are there. Last night, I was on the way home from the marriage study and I began to share with my wife because yesterday, God was really dealing with my heart.

And He showed me things, He revealed things to me that I didn't even realize were there. I didn't even know I had that attitude. I didn't even know that I had that thought or that mentality. And God says, look it. And then, of course, once He shows you, then it's like, oh yeah, it's real clear. It makes sense now. Oh, no wonder I've been thinking like that or acting like that or feeling that way.

And so I began to share with her because I didn't know it was there until God revealed it to me. And that's what happens here. Peter, he wasn't even aware. He didn't even know this attitude was there until Paul brings it up. And Paul calls him on it there in Antioch. Here's the situation.

Peter would eat with the Gentiles. Now, under Jewish tradition, that was not to be done. A Jew would not take part in any meal with a Gentile because the Jews were God's people. They were to be set apart. They were to keep the law. The Gentiles were unclean because they didn't have the law. They didn't keep the law. And so the Jews would not associate with the Gentiles, especially for meals. Now,

Peter, of course, he's saved. He comes and they have agape feasts, much like we have potlucks and things today. So they're fellowshipping, hanging out, eating, having a great time together. And Peter just jumps right in. He's joining them. He's having a great time with them, fellowshipping with them, encouraging them. They're encouraging him. That's what the church is about. That's what we do as believers amongst one another.

But then what happens is men from James come. Now, James is there back in Jerusalem. He's the Lord's brother pillar in the church. And men from James come. Hey, we want to see what's going on, too. And now Peter changes. He has a change of heart. He begins to act a little differently. Now he only associates with the Jews once more. He goes back. I'm only going to fellowship with the Jews. It comes to mealtime. OK, the Jewish tables over here. I'm going to be over here, guys. I'll see you later.

And so he goes and he does this. And Paul calls it hypocrisy. Acting this way only when certain people are around. And Peter demonstrates for us the fear of man and the danger that it is. What if they tell James what I've been doing or that I was doing this? Or what are they going to say when they go back to Jerusalem? And what are the people going to think about me? The fear of man.

Proverbs 29, verse 25 tells us that the fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe. It's a dangerous thing for us to have the fear of man more than the fear of God. We need to fear God first. And so Peter here, he's involved in this hypocrisy. He's going, kind of switching sides now and saying, okay, well now I'm just going to be Jewish again. I'm not going to fellowship with you Gentiles.

But in verse 14, Paul doesn't stand for it. He says, 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?

Paul challenges them. He says, look, you didn't go back to the law completely. You're not following all the legalities. You've been walking with the Gentiles, fellowshipping with the Gentiles, and so you have not gone back under the law. So being a Jew, you still live in the manner of the Gentiles in the same way you're still living, even though you don't associate or eat with at the moment, but you still live in the manner of the Gentiles. So why, if you do this,

are you now requiring the Gentiles to live as Jews? You won't eat or associate with anybody. Now you're telling them, and probably he's not standing on the table proclaiming this, but his actions, his attitudes are telling people this. Okay, now if you want to fellowship with me, if you want to join us at this table, here's what you need to do. You need to be circumcised, and you need to keep the law, and you need to be legalistic and be concerned about your works, and then you can fellowship with me. You need to...

Reach my level in order to have fellowship with me. And Paul calls him on it. He says, look, you're not being truthful. You're not being truthful. You're being a hypocrite. You don't follow the law anymore, but now you're requiring the Gentiles to follow the law in order to have fellowship with you. It's so easy for us to slip back into a workspace relationship with God. And that's why this is important to us, that we guard ourselves against a legalistic relationship with God.

And it's here that we see the second relationship example. Again, the way that you believe God relates to you is the way you will relate to others. Peter, becoming legalistic again, now has the attitude, okay, if you want to fellowship with me, you've got to come to my level. You've got to attain and reach these standards and follow this criteria if you believe.

wants a fellowship with me. It's no longer, hey, we got the same message. We can have great and wonderful, sweet fellowship. Now it's based on how he perceives you to be adhering to the standards that he keeps. And that's how he can base it. He can have fellowship relationship with you or not. If you believe that God accepts you based on how you live, it will affect your relationship with God first and foremost. And we'll often see it manifest. In fact, that's how we can tell

Do I have a legalistic relationship with God? Well, how do I view others? And do I have great fellowship with them just simply because of the same message, the grace of God? Or do I stay away from, do I hold people to some set of standards or rules? Because when we have that legalistic impression, now we come to God based on our works, then we transfer that and judge others by the standards that we think God is looking for. But people who have a gracious God

They're very easy to be around. They're people who love you no matter what, relationship no matter what.

People who are legalistic, they're very difficult to be around. Because what happens when we become legalistic? Well, we end up being critical of everything, complaining against everything, talking about everybody. And we're not afraid to say it. And I don't care. I don't care what, you know, I'll just say it through their face, man. Look at what you're doing. And all the things that go on in our hearts when we become legalistic and have a works-based relationship with God. And that's what this guy experienced here as he's writing the email. That's what Peter experienced.

Back, okay, now you guys, you have to follow these rules, these standards. Can't have fellowship with you otherwise. Not afraid to say it, man, you need to get right. You need to be circumcised. You need to keep the law, whatever the case may be. Paul says it's not right. So then I would ask the question, how can we be sure that we keep our relationship with God based on His grace and not by works? How do we be sure? How do we make sure that we stay in a grace-based relationship with God?

Well, what do we do? What steps do we take? Well, Paul will go on now in the remaining portion of the chapter and he'll give us the doctrine. He'll give us the truth about our relationship with God. Five points for us to remember and believe that we keep grace at the center of our relationship with God. Starting in verse 15 and 16, it says this,

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. Point number one. What's the first thing I need to do? Here's this first point. I'm not justified by the works of the law. That's what you need to know.

That's what I need to believe. This is what needs to be the basis of our relationship with God. The understanding, I am not justified by the works of the law. He says it several times here in verses 15 and 16. Man is not justified by the works of the law. Not by the works of the law. For by the works of the law, no flesh shall be justified.

We're not justified by works. Keeping the law, being good, adhering to some standards, that cannot justify a person. What does it mean to be justified? I've shared it with you often. To be justified, it's just as if I'd never sinned. God wipes the slate clean, gives us complete holiness and perfection. If you want God to relate to you as if you had never sinned, now,

Think about that for a second. As if you had, for 27 years, I haven't sinned, God. That's how I want you to relate to me. How do I do that? Well, Paul's first point is it's not by works. If you want him to consider you completely pure, then you need to know it's not going to be by the law. It's not going to be based on your works or how you live. 16, I am justified by faith in Jesus Christ.

That's point number two. I am justified by faith in Jesus Christ. He says it several times. By faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus that we might be justified by faith in Christ. We're justified, completely righteous, totally pure, unspotted, uncontaminated, unpolluted, untainted, absolutely clean, and without sin by faith in Jesus Christ, by simply believing in Him, His work on the cross for us. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less. We stand before Him righteous.

Because of our faith and what He did for us. And God sees me righteous because I believe in Jesus. Simply that. There's no additional works. There's no additional thing that's necessary for salvation. To be right standing with God. To have full relationship with God.

So point number one, I am not justified by the works of the law. But point number two, I am justified by faith in Jesus Christ. What's the third point? We find it in verse 17. 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? And he responds, certainly not. Point number three, I will still sin.

I'm justified by my faith. I'm, in God's eyes, right standing before Him. But I will still sin in this life. That word found, as in we found sinners, it's the idea of searching out by inquiry. Investigating. If people investigate or we investigate our lives and find that we're still in sin...

What does that do? What does that mean for found sinners while we seek to be justified by Christ? Well, absolutely nothing as we'll see. Number one, because we look back and we say, hey, I've been justified by my faith in God. And then as we look forward at point number four, we learn that I died to the law.

I died to the law. And so, someone finds out we're still in sin, does that make Christ a minister of sin? No way, certainly not. We continue on in sin, we will stumble, we will fall, we will fall short, we will sin. But, by faith in Jesus Christ, we're righteous in God's eyes. It's by our faith and only our faith, we have perfect relationship with Him. In other words, I stumble and fall and then boom, now blew it. Man, can never be saved now. But now I gotta come back. No, you have faith in Jesus Christ and His work at the cross.

And so you can't take away from the salvation that He has offered to you, the relationship that He offers to you because it's by faith and not by works. We will continue to stumble and fall. We will continue to struggle because our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked. Jeremiah 17.9 spells it out for us very clearly.

But in verse 18 and 19, we find point number four. He says, 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. And so point number four, helping us keep grace at the center of our relationship with God.

I died to the law. Now, the punishment for breaking God's law is death. So if you've ever broken any law of God's, then you deserve death and you deserve God's judgment. And that's the place that I stand. I deserve it. But Paul's point is that I've died to the law. And Jesus Christ...

He took the penalty. And He paid for it on our behalf when He died for us. So the requirement of the law has been met and we have died with Him, as I'll go on to say in verse 20, that we've been crucified with Christ. So yes, I will still sin, but I'm dead to the law and therefore cannot be prosecuted by the law any longer. Just like the laws of this country or any other country, you cannot prosecute someone who has died. Does it make sense? What would you do? There's no penalty there because you've died.

And Paul says, I've died to the law. I can't be prosecuted by it anymore. I'm not bound by it any longer. I'm not restricted to it any longer because of my faith in Jesus Christ. So I'm not justified by the works of the law. I'm justified by faith in Jesus Christ. But I will still sin. So it's a good thing I've died to the law. And fifthly, we find in verse 20, he says, 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. The fifth thing that we see in keeping ourselves in a grace-centered relationship with God is I live by faith in the Son of God. By faith. We're justified by faith. Paul says, I live by faith. It's a continual thing. Faith in the Son of God.

I was included with Him on the cross. I'm dead by faith. It didn't actually happen. I wasn't there on the cross with Him, but by faith. That's what God's Word says. That's the relationship, the position that I have in Christ. That's why 2 Corinthians 5.17 says that we're a new creation in Him. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things become new. No longer are we bound to our culture, our upbringing, our family heritage, our sin. We're dead to it all. We live our new life by faith in God.

And we might not see it. We often walk under the old rules and continue in those things. Oh, you know, I sinned. I couldn't help it. It was too powerful. You know, I just... That's not right. That's not according to the Bible. That's not according to God's Word.

He gives us strength. He's freed us from the bondage, the power of sin. Oh yes, we still sin because our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked. And that's why we need to run to Jesus Christ and receive the grace that He has to offer. And so I live by faith in the Son of God that I'm not bound to those old things any longer. Oh, you know, I have an Irish temper and so that's why you're not bound to those things any longer. Oh, I have, you know, this type of pride. You're not bound to those things any longer.

Paul says, I live by faith in the Son of God. I have my father's habits, or my mom, you know, she always did this. I live by faith in the Son of God. The old life, it's dead, it's gone. Christ has set us free from it. Faith and belief in God. We're set free in Him, justified in Him. We're pleasing to Him by our faith, and not by our works. There's nothing more that we can do to be more pleasing to God, but simply to... And if you do, then you have full fellowship with God.

And he says, I do not set aside the grace of God. For if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain. How do I keep at the center of my relationship with God? By realizing, by believing, justified by the works. I'm justified by faith. And yes, I will die to the law. So I live by faith in the Son of God.

Five things. This is the doctrine of grace. This is the grace of God. I do not set it aside. I don't lay it aside. I hold on to it. I believe it wholeheartedly. And to believe anything else is to say that Jesus Christ died in vain. Because if there's another way that I can be made righteous, if there's another way that I can have light standing with God, then He died for no reason. But it's because I could not keep it. He's pleased with me because I do this. But that is not the gospel of grace.

This morning I want to encourage you. I don't know how you walked in this place, but God loves you. And He extends to us this morning His grace. And He says, you can be in full relationship with Me, perfect peace and harmony with Me, considered totally righteous in My sight, simply because of what I did for you on the cross. Just believe and have faith in that. You can be forgiven of your sin. You've been running, you've been stumbling, you've fallen back into legalism, whatever the case is.

You have full access to God. You don't deserve it. I don't deserve it. But He extends it to us. And I want to encourage you this morning to take hold of the grace of God. Believe in the work of Jesus Christ. He sets you free. He desires to work in you and to fellowship with you and have relationship with you. Take advantage of the grace of God. Oh man, He is so good. He is so amazing. And the second thing I would encourage you in is then extend that grace that He gives to you to those around you.

Let them have it. They don't deserve it. They don't deserve the love. They don't deserve the fellowship. They don't deserve the encouragement. They don't deserve it. None of us do. But the way that we believe God relates to us is the way that we will relate to those around us. So accept and receive the grace of God and share that with those around you. Bless them. Love them. God does. That's what He's called us to. We're ministries of reconciliation.

bringing back into fellowship, bringing back and restoring relationships between each other and between primarily them and God. That's what God wants to do, our relationship with Him. And so the worship team is going to come up and I would encourage you, just take the next few moments, experience, enjoy the presence of God by His grace. Receive it, believe it, trust in Him.

And if there's areas where God needs to deal with our hearts because of relationships that we have with others that are based on the law, based on requirements and legalism, let's deliver those things up to God and extend to those around us the grace of God because that's how He deals with us. I'm not justified by the way that I live. I'm not condemned by the times that I fall. But I'm justified by my faith in Jesus Christ. And I walk by faith

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your grace that You extend to us, God. And Lord, You know, we know we don't deserve it. Lord, You're such an amazing God that You would offer to us complete, perfect relationship, communion with You. Lord, at no expense of ours. Lord, when people hurt us and we cause pain in others' lives, Lord, we require each other to suffer. We require each other to meet certain expectations in order for us to...

Have a relationship with us, Lord. But Lord, You're not that way. Thank You, God, that You don't require us to meet some standard that we could not meet. But Lord, You offer to us by Your grace complete fellowship, peace with You because of Jesus' work at the cross. So Lord, right now we take hold of that. Lord, we believe in You. Your blood that washes and cleanses us. Your grace that pours out upon us to forgive us, to restore and heal us.

Lord, Your presence, which is so powerful. We love You, God. You're amazing. And so, Lord, we ask in light of Your grace and in how You relate to us, help us, Lord, with those around us, with those maybe that have offended us. Lord, that we would extend to them the grace that You extend to us. Lord, that we would pour out Your love into the lives of those around us. Lord, we would be ministers of restoring relationships between us and You and between each other.

God, that we would have great, wonderful, sweet fellowship because of the grace that you deliver to us. We thank you, God. You're amazing, and we worship you. Let's worship the Lord together. Enjoy his presence. He's here right now to minister to you. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.