The Epistle to the Galatians
The Epistle to the Galatians
By Richard St.James
Bible 1611.Com / Old Paths Baptist Mission © 2025
Chapter two:
Verse
one: “Then fourteen years after I went up again
to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with
me also.”
Now, fourteen
years is a long time in a man’s life.
The case here is now building. It is
getting increasingly clearer, and clearer
with each line of the Scripture that we read
in this epistle as to what we are
seeing.
We are seeing increasing
evidence that Paul’s gospel was not the
same gospel that the apostles in
Jerusalem preached to the souls in Jerusalem, in
Judea, and in Samaria.
Question: What is going
on here? Paul explains [in the Holy Spirit]
in our next verse.
Verse
two: “And I went up by revelation, and
communicated unto them that gospel which I preach
among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were
of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or
had run, in vain.”
There are four
things that should be noted here, in verse
two:
1.
Paul went up to Jerusalem by
revelation. By revelation, God had told
him to go up!
2.
Paul went up to Jerusalem with
purpose, to state his case. He
desired to make a full accounting of his
doctrine, and of all his actions. He had a
complete intention to make this an able defense of “that
gospel” to a very select group of the
brethren in Jerusalem.
3.
The words “that gospel”
sets it apart from some other gospel.
Paul was preaching to the Gentiles “that gospel.”
4.
Paul made this defense privately
to those that were of reputation.
Question: Why did
the LORD tell Paul, by revelation, to go up
to Jerusalem?
Answer: Because, there
was a present and on-going dissension,
concerning what was being preached to the
Gentiles, as opposed to what was being
preached to the Jews [as a nation].
For this, we will need to
turn to the book of the Acts of the Apostles,
chapter fifteen, to see the background to
this controversy:
Acts 15:1-2: “And
certain men which came down from Judaea taught the
brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised
after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.
When therefore Paul
and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation
with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas,
and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem
unto the apostles and elders about this question.”
Notice: These certain
men, were also, saved men. This is
shown to us, in verse five:
Acts 15:5: “But there
rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which
believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise
them, and to command them to keep the law of
Moses.”
Note: This certain
sect of the Pharisees, were in fact,
believers themselves in the LORD Jesus Christ.
They were saved men!
But these same saved
brethren thought it necessary for the Gentiles
to be circumcised also, if they were to
be saved. More completely,
these same brethren were convinced that these
Gentiles also, needed to keep the law of
Moses for their salvation.
Please pay attention:
The LORD, HIMSELF, will make known His will
here, through all these proceedings, as it
is narrated by the Spirit of God in the 15th
chapter of the book of the Acts of the Apostles.
God will clear things up for the brethren [as
concerning “that gospel” which was preached
by the Apostle Paul].
We are now ready for our
next verse, in Galatians, chapter two.
Verse
three: “But neither Titus, who was with me, being
a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised:”
The question in
the mind of the Jewish believers in Jerusalem was
this. We’re not the Gentiles to be
saved, with the same requirements, and in
the same way, as they were required in order to
be saved.
Now, keep this question
in your mind, as we read our next verse, verse four.
Verse
four: “And that because of false brethren
unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out
our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they
might bring us into bondage:”
Now, we find here, a very
heavy weight label put on the neck of
these men. Paul is unconditionally
calling these certain men who came in
unawares, false brethren.
So, what do we
have here? What are these men?
Are they truly false brethren, or are
they, in fact, saved men, as elsewhere
clearly stated in the Scripture, [in Acts
15:5]?
Is what Paul
saying in Galatians, chapter two, verse four,
contradicting, what the Bible says, in the book
of the Acts of the Apostles, chapter fifteen,
verse five? Are these men false
brethren, or are they saved brethren?
Warning! There is
no room to be made for “the critical heart”
in studying the Bible. Watch out for that
“critical heart” analyzing by the means of finite
human reasoning, and thereby, trying to critique THE
BOOK of an infinite GOD.
The BOOK, which I am
referring to…is the Authorized Version of 1611,
or any of its editions, contains no errors.
“Contradiction! No,
there is no contradiction. There is an
apparent discrepancy...because of the stupidity of
the reader.” said an old preacher
of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Now, the believing
heart, which is in opposition
to the flesh, is depending on the inner
man having the illumination of the Spirit of
God:
“Howbeit when he, the
Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all
truth” [John 16:13a].
The apparent
contradiction between two verses in the Bible
will now vaporize away, like this one does, as
found in the following example.
The Apparent Contradiction
as Explained by an Old Bible-Believing Preacher:
First verse: 1 Kings
4:26: “And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of
horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand
horsemen.”
Second verse: 2
Chronicles 9:25: “And Solomon had four thousand
stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand
horsemen; whom he bestowed in the chariot cities,
and with the king at Jerusalem.”
Solomon had forty
thousand stalls for his horses. Note: in the
first verse: “stalls of horses for his
chariots.” Fact: Solomon had four thousand
stalls for his chariots.
Note: in the second
verse: “horses and chariots.”
Note: There were ten horses for each chariot.
Therefore, there were
ten times the number of stalls for the horses
as there were for the chariots themselves.
See: It was only an apparent
contradiction. The “believing” heart,
and not the “critical” heart, will be needed
to approach God's Book to please God.
Now there is something
else here. Could anyone take a King James
Bible to a court, and prove, beyond a shadow
of doubt, that these verses contradict
each other, and thereby prove there is an error in
the King James Bible? I trow
not! [Like the trow not, in Luke 17:9].
Now, why cannot one instead, believe the explanation that ten horses were designated for each chariot?
Think, and pray, on
this for a while.
The army of Israel had made provision for ten horses to be lashed up to one chariot, or allowed, “spares” [if the number of horses used at any time was less than ten] in case a horse was fatally shot-out from under the rider while in the line of fire. It just militarily makes common sense!
A Rule of Thumb!
ALWAYS ASSUME THE KING
JAMES TEXT IS CORRECT 100% OF THE TIME, WHENEVER YOU
SEE WHAT YOU THINK IS A CONTRADICTION OR AN ERROR.
You heard me! You
will eventually find out how to reconcile every
“apparent” contradiction through the Spirit of
God, while you are on this earth, or if not now,
HE will “straighten” you out later when you get to
Heaven.
The Exhortation of the old Preacher remains!
Remember what the old
preacher said:
“Contradiction! No,
there is no contradiction. There is an
apparent discrepancy...because of the stupidity of
the reader.”
An infinite God
has penned this BOOK! Something else is here,
we are finite men! We are many times just
blockheads concerning understanding this
BOOK! Always approach God this way,
concerning HIS BOOK, and you will never go wrong:
“Blessed art thou, O
LORD: teach me thy statutes. With my
lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth.
I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as
much as in all riches. I will meditate
in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. I
will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not
forget thy word.”
Now back to our target
verse in the Epistle to the Galatians, and to
the cross-reference verse that is found in
the book of the Acts of the Apostles, chapter
fifteen, verse five.
So, what are
these men? Are they false brethren, or
are they saved men?
Answer: Both
statements are true, as we shall see
later. Be patient now.
Verse
five: “To whom we gave place by subjection, no,
not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might
continue with you.”
The General Rule:
Wherever possible we, as
Christians, ought to give place to one
another, and to prefer one another.
The word of God affirms this truth in the
First Epistle of Peter:
1 Peter 5:5:
“Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the
elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to
another, and be clothed with humility: for God
resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the
humble.”
Finally, it all fits
together in the book of the Proverbs:
Proverbs 22:4: “By humility
and the fear of the LORD are riches,
and honour, and life.”
Humility sweetens the
body of Christ!
The Exception to the
Rule:
Exception:
Whenever the truth will be harmed, or will be
maligned in some way, by our voluntary submission
to one another, we ought rather, [in all
humility, and with all gravity] to defend the BOOK,
for the purity and the furtherance of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
There will be times where
it will be necessary to contend for the
faith:
Jude 1:3: “Beloved,
when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the
common salvation, it was needful for me to write
unto you, and exhort you that ye should
earnestly contend for the faith which was once
delivered unto the saints.”
Paul knew by the
Spirit of God, that this was not the time to
submit to the brethren concerning this matter.
And, why? Well, because the
truth of the Gospel was at stake.
Verse
six: “But of these who seemed to be somewhat,
(whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me:
God accepteth no man's person:) for they who seemed
to be somewhat in conference added nothing to
me:”
God is no
respecter of persons.
Acts 10:34: “Then
Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth
I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:”
Paul could not know
the brethren’s thoughts, or the intents
of their heart. He could only act on
the outward, on what they said, or
what they did [as shown by their actions].
As men, we cannot know
for certain what another man’s true state is before
God. Whether, or not, someone is saved cannot
be positively determined by another man.
We have only their testimonies; or what
they affirm.
Ultimately, my friend,
only God knows the thoughts and the intents in the
hearts of men.
Acts 15:8: “And God,
which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving
them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;”
The word of God
alone is the true discerner of the thoughts
and intents of the hearts of men:
Hebrews 4:12: “For the
word of God is quick, and powerful, and
sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to
the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the
thoughts and intents of the heart.”
The rest of us
must rely on what we hear, and what we see
what another man does, on the outward.
We can only judge them by their fruits:
Matthew 7:20:
“Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”
Now, Paul knew
these men, by what they taught, in other
words, by their doctrine.
Here we must stop for
a reason. The reason is this.
In the next verse [verse seven] is one of the
salient verses in the Bible.
SA'LIENT, a. L.
saliens, from salio, to leap or shoot out.
2 Corinthians 2:17 “For we are not as many, which
corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as
of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.”
Warning: We must not
never corrupt God’s word to produce
some desired preconceived notion of a
doctrine. It is better to believe
God’s words, and leave God’s words where
they are, and as they are found in the
Bible.
Please notice: Even a
preposition is very important to preserving
the meaning and the sense of the word of God.
In verse seven, we must notice the presence or
the absence, or the use of three
prepositions:
1.
Of
2.
To
3.
Unto
First, we will quote from
the New American Standard Bible by the
Lockman Foundation, 1960., Galatians 2:7:
|
7 “But
on the contrary, seeing that
I had been entrusted with
the gospel to
the uncircumcised, just as Peter had
been to the circumcised” |
Do
you see the corruption with the preposition: to?
It
changes the meaning of verse seven.
Somebody here [Satan] does not want you have,
or know, or believe God’s words.
Special note: Beware
of the New American Standard translation [NASV] [and
all the other New-Age Bible translations].
They have been corrupted by the dupes of the
Devil, the scholars.
Now, we are ready to read God’s words
from the Authorized Version of 1611, or
from anyone of its editions.
Verse
seven: “But contrariwise, when they saw that the
gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me,
as the gospel of the circumcision was
unto Peter;”
·
The gospel of the
uncircumcision
·
The gospel
of the circumcision
|
Galatians 2:7 |
“the gospel of
the uncircumcision” |
|
Galatians 2:7 |
“the gospel
of the circumcision” |
The Two Gospels…in the
Epistle to the Galatians!
There is more than one
gospel! The Apostle Paul himself in
his Epistle to the Galatians
identifies these two gospels:
·
The gospel of the
uncircumcision was committed unto Paul.
·
The
gospel of the circumcision was
committed unto Peter.
Do you see them?
There is:
1. The gospel of
the circumcision
2. The gospel of
the uncircumcision
Two different
things are not the same thing.
They are not equal!
These two gospels
are not the same gospel.
Now, question: Who is
the uncircumcision?
And who is the
circumcision?
The uncircumcision
are the Gentiles [the nations of this world].
And the circumcision
are the Hebrews, or the Jewish nation [Israel].
Peter was the apostle
to the circumcision, and Paul was the
apostle to the uncircumcision.
Peter preached the gospel
of the circumcision, and Paul preached
the gospel of the uncircumcision.
Verse
eight: “(For he that wrought effectually in Peter
to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was
mighty in me toward the Gentiles:)”
Now, God’s stamp of
approval was on both men. God sent
Peter to preach to the Jewish nation, and God
sent Paul to preach to the Gentiles.
Verse
nine:
“And when
James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars,
perceived the grace that was given unto me, they
gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of
fellowship; that we should go unto the
heathen, and they unto the circumcision.”
Sweet is the unity in
spirit among Christians.
It is good for the brethren to be “in agreement”.
Again, we now refer back
to the book of the Acts of the Apostles,
chapter fifteen, to see the resolution for all this
dissension:
Acts 15:22: “Then
pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole
church, to send chosen men of their own company to
Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas
surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the
brethren.
And they wrote
letters by them after this manner; The apostles
and elders and brethren send greeting unto
the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch
and Syria and Cilicia:
Forasmuch as we have
heard, that certain which went out from us have
troubled you with words, subverting your souls,
saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the
law: to whom we gave no such commandment:”
Comment: So, we see here,
that the apostles in Jerusalem never did order that
the Gentiles needed to be circumcised, or to
keep the Law, in order, to be saved.
The requirement was only meant to be placed on
themselves [the Jews]. We will now continue:
Acts 15:25: “It seemed
good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to
send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas
and Paul,
Men that have hazarded
their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We have sent therefore
Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the
same things by mouth.
For it seemed good to
the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no
greater burden than these necessary things;
That ye abstain from
meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from
things strangled, and from fornication: from which
if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye
well.”
The requirements to be
placed on the Gentiles were:
1.
To abstain from meats offered to
idols,
2.
To abstain from blood, and
from things strangled,
3.
To abstain from fornication.
So when they were
dismissed, they came to Antioch: and when they had
gathered the multitude together, they delivered the
epistle:
Which
when they had read, they rejoiced for the
consolation.
And Judas and Silas,
being prophets also themselves, exhorted the
brethren with many words, and confirmed them.”
The Change of the
Guard:
Chapter fifteen, in the
book of the Acts of the Apostles, can be
summed up as describing…a change of the guard!
The changing of the
guard is only figurative, concerning the
events, which occurred in that chapter.
These events depict a change in God’s
administration, though God, Himself, does
not ever change:
1 Corinthians 12:5-6:
“And there are differences of administrations, but
the same Lord.
And there are
diversities of operations, but it is the same God
which worketh all in all.”
This change of the
guard represents a hand-off in leadership
with a significant change in the nature
of the gospel that was to be preached.
The Explanation to the
Mystery:
In the Epistle to the
Romans, chapter eleven, in verses eleven,
seventeen, twenty-four, and twenty-five, we will
read the following:
Eleven:
“I say then, Have they stumbled that they should
fall? God forbid: but rather through their
fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for
to provoke them to jealousy.”
Seventeen: “And if
some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being
a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and
with them partakest of the root and fatness of the
olive tree;”
Twenty-four, and
twenty-five: “For if thou wert cut out of the
olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed
contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much
more shall these, which be the natural branches,
be graffed into their own olive tree?
For I would not,
brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this
mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own
conceits; that blindness in part is happened to
Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come
in.”
Now, by carefully
considering the events in the book of the Acts of
the Apostles, chapter fifteen, we will find a
complete explanation to the mystery:
Here is the summation
of all the events:
1.
Peter
preaches the gospel of the circumcision,
[Acts 1-6].
2.
Israel stumbles and falls,
[Acts 7]
3.
Israel is diminished, and their
branch is broken off the olive tree.
4.
Paul preaches the gospel of the
uncircumcision, [Acts 9].
5.
The Gentiles are graffed into
the olive tree.
6.
When the fulness of
the Gentiles comes, [the
translation of the body of Christ, the church
occurs].
7.
Israel will be graffed
back into the olive tree.
There is now one more
additional requirement to be placed on the Gentiles
believers in Jesus Christ to obey:
Verse
ten: “Only they would that we should
remember the poor; the same which I also was forward
to do.”
In this world we will
find both, the poor in spirit, and the
poor in this world’s goods. God has made
special provision for both.
First: There is a
promise, made by the LORD Himself, to those
who are the poor in spirit.
We will see this
provision on full display in the Gospel,
according to Matthew. It occurs while the
disciples sat before HIM. Jesus Christ looked
out, and saw the multitudes, and was moved
to teach them the verity of the Gospel of the
Kingdom:
Matthew 5:3: “Blessed
are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.”
The poor in spirit
are destined to receive the millennial reign of
Jesus Christ in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Observation: A person
who is humble; contrite, and abased
in one's own sight is poor in spirit,
and is ready to be saved!
Second: For those who are
poor in this world’s goods, the word of God,
has also made very ample considerations.
For example, see now this, in the book of the
Proverbs:
Proverbs 22:9: “He
that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he
giveth of his bread to the poor.”
Now, tie this
verse, in the book of the Proverbs,
chapter twenty-two, verse nine, with the epistle
of James in the New Testament.
The brethren of the
circumcision were already instructed in the
General Epistle of James to not have the
faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, with respect
of persons. Let us now read from there, in
chapter two, starting with verse one:
James 2:1-9: “My
brethren, have not the faith
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory,
with respect of persons.
For if there come unto
your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly
apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile
raiment;
And ye have respect to
him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him,
Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor,
Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:
Are ye not then
partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil
thoughts?
Hearken, my beloved
brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world
rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he
hath promised to them that love him?
But ye have despised
the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you
before the judgment seats?”
The bottom-line
here is this. The apostles in Jerusalem also
wanted, the Gentile believers, to remember
the poor.
Summary: Here are the final requirements
to be placed on the Gentile believers in the Body of
Christ:
1.
To abstain from meats
offered to idols,
2.
To abstain from blood,
and from things strangled,
3.
To abstain from
fornication.
4.
To remember the poor.
Verse
eleven:
“But
when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to
the face, because he was to be blamed.”
You might say, that Peter
was found out! What Peter did before
all these Gentile believers was to display a
hypocritical spirit, which in turn, caused the
occurrence of a major offense to the
Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Now, when a believer in
Jesus Christ causes an offense to many, he
will certainly bring blame, and hurt, to the
ministry of God’s word. Peter had failed the
LORD in this instance according to the
Scripture. The following is the command
concerning offenses:
2 Corinthians 6:3:
“Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry
be not blamed:”
Warning: Brethren, we
need to put a check on ourselves, on our actions,
on our behavior, before all others, so as, to
not unnecessarily offend one another, and
thereby, cause damage to the ministry
of God’s word in this world. We ought
rather to take heed of what it says in in the
Gospel, according to Matthew, chapter
eighteen:
Matthew 18:7: “Woe
unto the world because of offences! for it must
needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by
whom the offence cometh!”
Please take heed!
Verse
twelve: “For before that certain came from James,
he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were
come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing
them which were of the circumcision.”
The Scene before us:
Peter was relaxed, and
very comfortable fellowshipping with these
Gentile Christians, that is, until his brethren
from Jerusalem showed up on the scene.
Then, what happened? Well, upon
their presence, a great fear came upon him.
Now, this fear of man
is a very powerful thing. Let us pause here,
for just a moment. And, let me ask you this
question. What does the fear of man do to
us? Well, the fear of man will
tend to control us, and to put us into the
bondage of these men.
The Result: The
fear of man, when it is submitted to,
will bring a snare to the soul. What we
should rather do is to believe what the
Bible says in the book of the Proverbs:
Proverbs 29:25: “The
fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his
trust in the LORD shall be safe.”
Either a man will submit
to the fear of man, or he will choose
to put his trust in the LORD.
Which way will you go, my friend?
Verse
thirteen: “And the other Jews dissembled likewise
with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried
away with their dissimulation.”
This sin of hypocrisy
occurs when we dissemble.
And when we dissemble,
it results in
dissimulation.
Now, the word
dissemble means to be two-faced to
others. We are guilty of dissembling
when we assume a false appearance, in order, to
fool others, as to our true motives.
In other words, we might
say that dissimulation is a concealment of
our true opinions, sentiments, or purpose. This is
achieved by our assumption of a false or
counterfeit appearance so, as to hide, or
conceal our real opinion or real purpose in our
relations with others.
Brethren, we ought rather to run from dissimulation, and to be true in our dealings with all the brethren, and in deed, with all men.
Let our Love be
pure!
Brethren, it would
behoove us, therefore, as believers in Jesus
Christ, to obey what the Spirit of God has said
through the Apostle Paul, in the Epistle to the
Romans:
Romans 12:9: “Let
love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is
evil; cleave to that which is good.”
Verse fourteen: “But
when I saw that they walked not uprightly according
to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before
them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after
the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why
compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the
Jews?”
Peter and Barnabas’s
behavior before all, exuded and reeked
with the sin of hypocrisy. Note: Peter
had a hypocritical spirit, which in turn,
caused the occurrence of a major offense to
the Gospel of Jesus Christ. A rebuke
was now certainly in order. And Paul let them
both have double barrels!
My Gospel:
Now, take stock of
this: Paul’s gospel is called “my gospel” in
the Epistle to the Romans, chapter sixteen,
verse twenty-five:
“Now to him that is of
power to stablish you according to my gospel, and
the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the
revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret
since the world began, [Romans
16:25].
Paul’s gospel was
of a salvation that comes purely by the
justification by faith without works.
This revelation of the mystery of
this gospel was made at first, only to Paul,
and not to Peter, or to the other eleven apostles in
Jerusalem.
Recall: The “they”
in our verse [verse fourteen] includes Peter,
Barnabas, and certain brethren that came from
James. “They” [in our verse] were
preaching a salvation that comes by a
justification by faith with works
[by the keeping the Law].
Now, something is
rotten in the state of Denmark! Paul saw that
something was wrong with these men’s walk.
These brethren were not preaching the
salvation that was according to the
revelation that God had given to Paul.
We are now at the point,
where Paul rebukes Peter.
Is there a lesson
to learn here?
The lesson:
“But to them that rebuke him shall be
delight, and a good blessing shall come upon them.”
[Proverbs 24:25]
Verse fifteen: “We
who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the
Gentiles,”
Doctrine: The Jews, and
the Gentiles, are two different peoples.
Things that are
different are not the same. In the
next verse, [verse sixteen] we will see the Apostle
Paul clearing the air as he reveals that men are
justified only by the faith of Jesus Christ.
Let us now launch into this faith.
Verse sixteen:
“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of
the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we
have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be
justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the
works of the law: for by the works of the law shall
no flesh be justified.”
The Gospel of the Uncircumcision:
Upon reading this
bombshell of a statement we should immediately
recall what the Spirit of God has recorded
through the Apostle James Zebedee in the
General Epistle of James:
James 2:21-24: “Was
not Abraham our father justified by works, when he
had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
Seest thou how faith
wrought with his works, and by works was faith made
perfect?
And the scripture was
fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it
was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was
called the Friend of God.
Ye see then how that
by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.”
This is then, a very
clear statement in the Bible! It certainly
could not be made any clearer [even as clearer
than the nose on your face]: Salvation for the
circumcision is a hybrid of faith and
works.
However, the Apostle Paul
reveals through the self-same Spirit, that
works never enter into the salvation for
the Gentiles. To the Gentiles justification
is by Faith ONLY! Paul now continues his
argument, in verse seventeen.
Verse seventeen: “But
if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we
ourselves also are found sinners, is
therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.”
Question: Are we seeking
the justification that only comes by Jesus
Christ? Then, we should eschew are own filthy
rags of our righteousness, which comes from all our
own works. Friend, consider what the
Scripture saith in the book of the prophet Isaiah,
chapter sixty-four:
“But we are all as an
unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses
are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a
leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken
us away.” [Isaiah 64:6]
Bottom-line: We Gentiles
cannot be justified by works, rather, we
Gentiles are to be justified by the work
performed by Jesus Christ, and this work of
Jesus Christ is placed inside of us.
Conclusion: A Jew
in the nation of Israel was to be
justified by faith and works, as
it is clearly shown in the General Epistle of
James. Both Jews and Gentiles, as
individuals, in the church age are
justified by faith ONLY.
Caution: It would behoove
us to remember, that at this point [in Acts 7], that
the nation of Israel had rejected Jesus Christ, and
will soon cease as a nation.
Verse eighteen: “For
if I build again the things which I destroyed, I
make myself a transgressor.”
To be justified by
Christ leaves no room for the works of men.
For one to press for the requirement of works
to be necessary for our salvation will make one a
transgressor against GRACE:
“For by
grace are ye saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of
God:
Not of works,
lest any man should boast.” [Ephesians 2:8,9]
Now, what a mess we all
get into, when we, as Gentiles, who are of all the
nations of this earth, oppose the doctrine of the
justification by faith.
We, the nations of all
peoples, are therefore, a most miserable lot for
seeking our own salvation by good works, and
thus, applying our own solution to the perplexing
problem of the quagmire of SIN.
Both, Israel, and us, the
Gentiles, can never satisfy the demands of the LAW
[in order] to be saved.
Therefore, we are all
DONE! The consequences of our sin will
be the just wages for our sin. These wages
are most certainly coming to us, which wages are
DEATH, JUDGMENT and HELL.
Romans
6:23: “For the wages of sin is death; but
the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord.”
But there is a
solution! The solution is before us!
The solution to
escape Death, and Hell, is by going
through the blood of Jesus Christ, which was
shed on the Cross of Calvary…to obtain
eternal life for us.
Verse nineteen: “For I
through the law am dead to the law, that I might
live unto God.”
The old schoolmaster
[Galatians 3-24-25] now, appears here on the scene.
He is here to bring the following testimony
to us:
“Testifying both to
the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward
God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”
[Acts 20:21]
And once this
schoolmaster, by the Holy Ghost, is done
with us, by working inside us [by reproving
us of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment
[John 16:8], if haply we might feel after him
[Acts 17:27], we will be on the path to a
true repentance toward God, and faith toward our
Lord Jesus Christ, which comprises the true
salvation: called justification by faith.
We are now ready to reach
for the pinnacle, the high point, in the
Epistle to the Galatians.
Verse twenty: “I am
crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not
I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now
live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of
God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
This heavy weight
verse encapsulates all the following marvels
that occurs when a person truly gets saved.
The following five-fold event
occurs each time in the moment of time,
when a person is born of the Spirit.
Spiritually:
1.
He is crucified.
2.
He is resurrected from the
dead.
3.
He receives new life in
Christ even while he still is yet in his
flesh.
4.
He begins to live and walk by the
faith of the Son of God.
5.
He now experiences day-by-day
Jesus Christ’s true love.
Now, let me try to
explain this miracle of this new birth in
Jesus Christ. In the First Epistle to the
Corinthians, chapter fifteen, verses forty-two,
through verse forty-four, we will find the
supernatural embedded within the wondrous
marvel of being born of the Spirit:
“Marvel not that I
said unto thee, Ye must be born again.”
[John 3:7]
Now, this means we are
now first changed and made alive
spiritually. Then later our physical
bodies will also, be changed. These
changes are called translations:
“Who hath
delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath
translated us into the kingdom
of his dear Son:” [Colossians 1:13]
Moreover, there will be a
physical translation of the church,
which is the body of Christ, at the end of
this age, as prophesied in the First
Epistle to the Thessalonians, chapter four,
verse fifteen, through verse seventeen:
“For this we say unto
you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive
and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall
not prevent them which are asleep.
For the Lord himself
shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the
voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God:
and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are
alive and remain shall be caught up together
with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the
air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
[1 Thessalonians 4:15-17]
The believers in Jesus
will all GO UP! Amen!
The pattern is shown here in these
following verses:
“So also is the
resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption;
it is raised in incorruption:
It is sown in
dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in
weakness; it is raised in power:
It is sown a natural
body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a
natural body, and there is a spiritual body.”
This is figurative:
There is a death,
there is a burial, and there is a
resurrection, which occurs whenever a
man, or a woman, is born of the Spirit.
John 3:6: “That which
is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is
born of the Spirit is spirit.”
Next, we need to see this
truth. There are really, only two
categories of people in this world. Now,
does that surprise you? There are those who
will choose to increase, and there are those
who will choose to decrease. Let me now
explain. One of them is a spiritual
man, and then the other man is the natural
man.
Let me expand on this
more. There are those, who want to promote
themselves, and there are those who want to
promote Jesus Christ. Every person
must make a choice. Every man has a “freewill.”
That a man has a “freewill” is clearly shown,
in both testaments of the Bible, first,
in the book of Ezra in the Old Testament, and
second, in the New Testament in the Second
Epistle to the Corinthians:
Ezrah 7:13: “I make a
decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and
of his priests and Levites, in my realm,
which are minded of their own freewill to go up to
Jerusalem, go with thee.”
2 Corinthians 9:7:
“Every man according as he purposeth in his heart,
so let him give; not grudgingly, or of
necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”
We all have a
freewill! We all make choices!
And we all, are responsible for the choices we make
in life!
Further, we must now
consider a phenomenon found in life, which
deals with the matter of increasing and
decreasing.
Consider what John the
Baptist had said in the Gospel according to John,
chapter three, verse thirty:
“He must increase, but
I must decrease.”
Now, John
the Baptist had it
right! And the men of this world,
have it all wrong! John the Baptist had it
nailed down right, as they would say.
Phenomenon: To have Eternal Life one must
decrease, and Jesus Christ must increase.
In the Gospel,
according to John, chapter twelve, the
formula is given for all of us living in this
age [which is the Church] to understand,
and to make application to ourselves, as
the members of the body of Christ.
Remember [The church
is the bride to Jesus Christ.]
Now, go to verse
twenty-three:
“And Jesus answered
them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man
should be glorified.
Verily, verily, I say
unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the
ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it
bringeth forth much fruit.
He that loveth his
life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in
this world shall keep it unto life eternal.”
[John 12:23-25]
To understand this
scripture, one must be spiritually alive, or
QUICKENED. And why? Because to an
unsaved man, woman, or child, this whole thing
will not make any sense at all. The
old man in us just says this: For the
corn of wheat to live … it must promote itself, feed
itself, and exalt itself.
After all, the corn of
wheat must take care of itself … UNO, NUMBER
ONE … [in order] to LIVE.
Mind you, Me First lives inside of us all.
This is the way we were born. We are
born of Adam.
In the understanding of
someone who has not been born again,
for a corn of wheat to be put into the ground … is
not for the corn of wheat’s good.
Again: “Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall
into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it
die, it bringeth forth much fruit.”
Likewise, for us [to the
un-saved] to seriously consider dying [in order] to
bear fruit is an ABSURDITY!
To DIE [in order]
to LIVE is an absolute crazy man’s LOGIC
[the reasoning of the natural man]. The
old man will just REBEL completely, and
will always say, NO to all this foolishness
and silly talk! [The Bible]
Thus, the NATURAL MAN …
the sons of Adam … cannot, and will not, comprehend
the LOGIC of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, in
both, of these two passages, here in the Epistle
to the Galatians, and in the Gospel according
to John:
Again, let it rip:
“Verily, verily, I say
unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the
ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it
bringeth forth much fruit.”
Can this thing be true?
But this is exactly
what GOD is telling us.
You must decrease, and Jesus Christ must be
increased. The Apostle Paul expands on
it in the Epistle to the Galatians:
“I am crucified with
Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the
flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who
loved me, and gave himself for me.”
Verse twenty here,
explains the meaning of the Gospel according
to John, chapter twelve, verse
twenty-four. And
with much repetition, the truth may finally
come through to us, and reach down deep into
our hearts, forever to remain:
“Verily, verily, I say
unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the
ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it
bringeth forth much fruit.”
In parallel, the corn
of wheat, in verse twenty-four, of the
Gospel, according to John, explains what we have
here in our Epistle to the Galatians.
“I am crucified with
Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the
flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who
loved me, and gave himself for me.”
What is shown here is a
supernatural operation of the Holy
Spirit.
Friend, you cannot
receive what I am saying here, unless you
receive it from heaven above through faith.
For the truth of this, see the
Gospel according to John, chapter three, verse
twenty-seven:
“A man can receive
nothing, except it be given him from heaven.”
Now keep verse
twenty–seven, in mind. Lock it in, my friend!
When a person comes to Jesus Christ, and receives
HIM, he receives POWER to become a
son of God, which involves his death, his
burial, and his resurrection to new life.
“But as many as
received him, to them gave he power to become the
sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”
[John 1:12]
By trusting in
Jesus Christ … thus,
RECEIVING Jesus Christ … you die to self, and
thus, gain LIFE.
Now, men want to follow
their own natural logic, but what men really need to
do … is CHUCK OUT that old natural
logic [of the un-saved man] and TRUST in the
LOGIC of this OLD BLACK BOOK.
If you, and I, would just
do this thing, then we will be enabled by the
HOLY GHOST to say, as Paul said, in the
Epistle to the Philippians chapter one,
verse twenty-one:
“For to me to live is
Christ, and to die is gain.”
Then, we would be all at
the same point, as John the Baptist was, when he
said in verse thirty of our chapter in John:
“He must increase, but
I must decrease.”
Conclusion:
I must decrease, and
Jesus Christ must increase … for me to have
life.
And this is eternal
life!
“And this is life
eternal, that they might know thee the only true
God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
[John 17:3]
Friend, you must
decrease, and Jesus Christ must increase
… for you to have life.
And this is eternal
life:
“And this is life
eternal, that they might know thee the only true
God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
[John 17:3]
Earlier I said that there
are only two categories of people in this whole
world. There are those who want to increase [LIVE
IT] and there are those who want to decrease [DIE
TO LIVE]. Where are you in this matter, my
friend?
In the last verse of our
text [in verse thirty-six] these two categories of
people can be seen clearly.
“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
The Two Groups of People:
There are those that
believe on the SON, and are those that
believe not on the SON.”
“He that loveth his
life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in
this world shall keep it unto life eternal.”
[John 12:25]
There are those who
choose to live [refusing to die to self],
and there are those, who choose to die [in order]
to receive life eternal.
Now, turn with me to the
Gospel according to Luke chapter nine, verse
twenty-three, and see:
“And he said to them
all, If any man will come after me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
For whosoever will
save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose
his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole
world, and lose himself, or be cast away?
[Luke 9:23-25]
“He that hath the
bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the
bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him,
rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice:
this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must
increase, but I must decrease.”
[John 3:29-30]
An Invitation:
Trust Jesus Christ now for your
salvation! Receive Jesus
Christ, as your LORD and SAVIOR.
Amen!
Verse twenty-one: “I
do not frustrate the grace of God: for if
righteousness come by the law, then Christ is
dead in vain.”
Conclusion: The LAW will
faithfully take you to GRACE. And
GRACE will then show you of your need to
receive by faith the righteousness of another, even
Jesus Christ.
Next - Galatians Chapter Three
Friend
If you
know the Bible Is True,
And you
never received
Jesus
Christ as your personal Lord and Savior...
And you
want to come to Him for Salvation now ... Then:
1. Admit
... To God that you are a Sinner...
Deserving Hell Fire...
2. Believe ... that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God...
Who died on the Cross for
You! ...
3. Repent! ... Ask
Him to Forgive You of Your Sin...
4. Receive Him... By
Asking Him to come into Your Heart...
And You
Will Receive the Gift of Eternal Life!
Born of God! You
Are in The Narrow Way ... To HEAVEN!