The Christian's Identity

Galatians 2:15-21

INTRODUCTION

The concept of freedom is difficult for many of us to handle. Most of us tend to think of Christianity in terms of regulation and ritual. When you stop to look at the things that have divided churches in the past, it often came down to what we can and cannot do in the assembly. When you look at the frustration most often experienced by church leaders it comes down to the question, "How can we encourage our members to be more responsible?" As members, we don't seem to be asking, "What can I do?" so much as we ask, "What can I get out of? Why responsibilities can I bypass without risking divine retribution?" We are constantly asked the question, "What is binding and what isn't?"

We often think in terms of legalities. Some look for ways to reducing their responsibility and ask "Does the Bible really demand this obligation?" Others are heavily involved in the work of the church, but with an uneasy conscience because they don't feel like they have done enough and are afraid that God will be displeased with the shortfall in their performance. Then there are those whose primary emphasis is on the way others fail to measure up to their expectations.

Our text is odds with all these approaches to responsibility. It is a revolutionary way of thinking. It boggled the minds of those who first heard it and it no less difficult to accept in our world today. There are three basic principles we want to explore.

1. We cannot be justified on the basis of law keeping.
2. A trusting active faith secures our justification.
3. When Christ lives in us, we obey God because we want to, not merely because we have to.

LAW KEEPING

First let's look at law keeping. Paul made that point that we cannot be justified by law keeping more than once in this text.

• Verse 16. "a man is not justified by observing the law."
• Also in verse 16, he said, "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 verse 19, he said, "For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God."
• Then in verse 21, he said, "I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" But you heard me precede these verses with the comment that we cannot be justified on the basis of law and so it's easy to jump to the conclusion the contrast here is between the "law of Christ" and the "law of Moses." As a matter of fact, if were to move forward in the text of Galatians, you would hear Paul say in Galatians 6:2 "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."

MEANING OF LAW

What does the term law mean as Paul uses it here? The term has several different meanings in the New Testament. Sometimes it refers to the entire Old Testament. There are times when it refers to the commands given at Sinai. In Galatians 3:18, Paul speaks about Abraham and then mentions the law that was given 430 years later. Sometimes the law means any expression of God's will. For example is 1 Timothy 1:8-9, Paul said "We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that law is not made for the righteous, but for lawbreakers and rebels. . ."

top of page    next page