Sermons from the Epistle to the Galatians

JUSTIFIED BY FAITH (II)

GALATIANS 2:15-16

MARCH 29, 1998

When we encounter the words "justification" or "righteousness" or any of their synonyms, we are not brushing past obscure biblical ideas. We are facing the heart and soul of biblical teaching concerning our standing with God.

While Christianity and the message of the Bible has been made to emphasize an array of subjects over the past century, its central message has not changed. The message of the Bible is about how sinful men can be brought into a right standing with God and be accepted by Him as righteous.

We can spend our time on other issues that are not central to the Bible. Certainly many of these issues are important and worthy of intense investigation. But everything palls in comparison to this truth of justification by faith. We can master the subject and practice of spiritual gifts, Christian service, loving our neighbors, caring for the needy, and church polity; but if we fail to understand justification, we have missed the central teaching of Scripture and the primary article of the Christian faith.

The age-old question confronts us: how can a sinful man be accepted by a holy, righteous God? Men have attempted to put themselves into a right standing with God through a multitude of ingenious ways. But none of them has worked. The only way to a right standing with God is the way He has provided through faith in Jesus Christ.

How can a sinner be justified before God? That is the concern of the Apostle Paul in this epistle as he defends his apostleship and more importantly, defends the truth of the gospel of grace. We have seen a blending of the historical and the theological in Paul's defense of the gospel. Now he sets forth the great doctrine of justification by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. Let us see how he sets forth justification.

I. Justification in general terms

When we use a term like "justification," we may be walking in unfamiliar territory. Some evangelicals go so far as to say that we should not use terms like "justification" or "righteousness" because they are unfamiliar to the modern mind. They suggest that the modern mind is not concerned with such strong theological terminology, so we must find some other way to convey the message of Christianity. But I remind you that this term was not common in the Galatian region of the first century either. As one scholar put it, "It is often said that to speak of "justification by faith" is to use language which, to the modern man, is meaningless. What is as often forgotten is that such language was as meaningless to ancient man also, apart from the Gospel which gave it significance" [G. O. Griffith, quoted by Leon Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross, 287].

It is interesting that the two Pauline epistles that deal most thoroughly with the subject of justification were predominately Gentile and nowhere near the heart of Judaism! The language used was likely offensive to the first century hearers just as it is to those near the 21st century. But that made no difference to the Apostle Paul. His concern was to declare the gospel with clarity. And to do so meant an explanation and a defense of the doctrine of justification by faith.

Here Paul uses forensic language or legal, court-room terminology. There is no gushy, feel-good notions for him in the message of the gospel. He is concerned to show that no man is acceptable to God on the basis of his own merit, but only through faith "on the grounds of God's own action in Christ" [Morris, 287]. God's action involved the penalty of His wrath focused upon His Son in order to justly acquit sinners and declare them righteous. In his commentary on Galatians, John Stott explains that "Justification is a legal term, borrowed from the law courts. It is the exact opposite of 'condemnation'." He goes on to explain that "'To condemn' is to declare somebody guilty; 'to justify' is to declare him not guilty, innocent or righteous. In the Bible it refers to God's act of unmerited favour by which He puts a sinner right with Himself, not only pardoning or acquitting him, but accepting him and treating him as righteous" [The Message of Galatians, 60].

To accomplish this explanation of justification, Paul states the same truth three times within verse sixteen, offering a different shade of application in each phrase. Let us see what he explains.

1. Elimination of a preposterous teaching

To begin with, Paul knew that he had to eliminate the preposterous teaching that a man is justified by the works of the law. He has already effectively explained this in his narrative of chapters one through two. He explains that his gospel came via revelation, rather than a second-hand message passed along by others. He had the concurrence of the "pillars" of the church in Jerusalem who stood in full agreement with him on his gospel of grace. They added nothing to what Paul understood about the gospel. They all agreed upon the sufficiency of the work of Christ on behalf of sinners and the necessity of faith alone as the means to receive what Jesus Christ has already secured through His death and resurrection.

But the Galatian church was being troubled by those who wanted to add something to the work of Christ and the necessity of faith alone in Jesus Christ. These Judaizers sought to encumber the Galatians with the ceremonial law and adherence to circumcision. They said that Christ began the work, but you must finish it by adherence to the Jewish law. To this, Paul points out that it is okay for a Jew to practice his Judaism as part of his national heritage; but it is wrong to see this practice as part of anyone's justification before God. It is doubly wrong to impose Jewish nationalistic practices upon Gentiles as the means to be justified before God. Paul expresses this when he wrote, "We are Jews by nature, and not sinners from among the Gentiles." 'We can act like Jews since we are Jews. That is all right. You do not need to quit being a Jew to be a Christian. But you do not need to become a Jew or practice Judaism in order to be a Christian!'

The Judaizers were putting the pressure on the Gentiles to conform to Judaism in order to be justified before God. So Paul states it with amazing clarity: "nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified."

How can a sinful man justify himself anyway? Paul's argument is that he cannot. The Jews of the first century had inherited a teaching of self-justification through adherence to the law. For several hundred years the rabbinical scholars had taught the Jewish population that they could acquire merit in God's eyes by certain works of righteousness. They had essentially created a balancing scale model of justification. The works that were accounted as righteous would be added to the merit of a person's life, while their failures would become demerits. In the end, the weight of the balance would determine the person's standing before the judgment of God. There was no assurance for a man that he had more merit than demerits. If there was a tie between a man's merits and demerits, then God would show mercy and press on the merit side of the scale.

This is not far from the thinking of most people in our own day. Most view their standing with God based upon the positive addition of merit by good works outweighing their demerits. Normally people have elevated views of their merits! They cannot even begin to fathom that they have enough flaws to sink the balance of the scale out of their favor. But the apostle states categorically, "that a man is not justified by the works of the Law...since by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified."

2. Establishment of a proper teaching

Just what is justification anyway? We can spend time discussing what will and will not justify, but what does it imply? Throughout the Bible, the basic idea conveyed in the word "justify" or "justification" or "righteousness" is that of a legally right standing with God. The word is heavily weighted on the side of the forensic, though it does carry some ethical connotations too. But the ethical follows the forensic (legal), not vice versa. Paul writes, "Nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus...." He is speaking of a person's legal standing with God being declared right.

We find this to be a vital matter when we consider the character of God. Whether we look in the Old or New Testaments, we always find God consistently righteous. "The Lord is righteous..." (II Chronicles 12:6; Lamentations 1:18). "O Lord God of Israel, Thou art righteous..." (Ezra 9:15). The Psalmist explains that even the legal decisions of God, those based upon His written Law or the law expressed by the righteousness within His nature, are always righteous: "The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether" (Ps. 19:9). If we could somehow measure infinity then we could begin to explain the extent of God's righteousness, goodness, holiness, and justice. He is altogether pure; He is holy, holy, holy; He is light without even the least trace of darkness. Leon Morris explains that the Hebrew view of God as righteous carried with it forensic ideas.

To the men of the Old Testament God was a God of law, and a very great deal in their religion cannot be understood if this is lost sight of....Yahweh's actions were always in accordance with law. He could be depended upon to act righteously. And because He was righteous He demanded of His people that they should also act righteously, act in accordance with ethical law. If they did not, then this same ethical nature of Yahweh demanded that He should punish them. It was inevitable that the wrath of God should be the divine reaction to all sin [The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross, 253].

As a righteous God, the Lord has responsibilities that go along with His perfect righteousness. One of those is to deal justly with those who break His Law or those who have any rebellion in their natures against His authority. He cannot not be just. He cannot overlook sin without dealing with it judicially or legally. It is part of His whole nature as God to apply justice to His creation.

We sometime bemoan the crooks and criminals who seem to get away with all manner of lawbreaking. They violate every standard of law and order, yet they seem to never be held accountable for their actions. We are reminded when we consider the nature of God that He will not allow any injustice to ultimately survive His creation. We may not personally see the justice take place, but we are assured, "Each one of us shall give account of himself to God" and "they shall give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead" and "never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord" (Romans 14:10; I Peter 4:5; Romans 12:19).

The nature of God demands that each sin and each sinner be dealt with legally. The law of God that is bound up in His nature requires that each offense be paid accordingly. What can compare to breaking the law of God? A traffic violation where we receive a citation and pay a fine? No, that is far too light. A criminal violation in which we are sentenced to 30 years in jail? That is far too light as well. Perhaps a capital offense in which we are sentenced to die physically in an electric chair? Would that be a good comparison? No, even that type of sentence cannot compare to the demand of justice bound up with God's laws and His nature.

The nature of our offense against the righteous standard of God demands nothing less than the eternal measure of His wrath. You ask, "Why so severe? Is God not a loving, kind God?" Indeed, we must rejoice that He is a loving, kind God or there would be no chance for mercy! But the severity is found in the nature of our offense. We are not breaking a human law and thus offending only mortal creatures. We have broken divine laws and have infinitely offended the nature and character of God!

God's justice requires that He punish every offender. That includes all of us. Romans 5:12-20 expresses the breadth of our fall in sin and the consequent condemnation like this. "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned...for if by the transgression of the one the many died...for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation...for if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one...so then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men...for as through one man's disobedience the many were made sinners...." With our fall being so great and our spiritual condition being so severe, it is no wonder that the Apostle wrote, "that a man is not justified by the works of the Law." It is wonderful that a man tries to do good things and to improve his lot in society. But all manner of good works on his behalf does not remove his offense against God. There is no balancing the scale in sight! It is a matter of being at enmity with God because of the greatness of our offense as sinners.

Can God make light of His moral demands and still remain just? Can He be frivolous with what He has required of humanity by overlooking our sin and enmity, requiring nothing to satisfy His justice? P. T. Forsyth captures this whole question:

[God] could not trifle with His own holiness. He could will nothing against His holy nature, and He could not abolish the judgment bound up with it. Nothing in the compass of the divine nature could enable Him to abolish a moral law, the law of holiness. That would be tampering with His own soul. It had to be dealt with. Is the law of God more loose than the law of society? Can it be taken liberties with, played with, and put aside at the impulse even of love? How little we should come to think of God's love if that were possible....God's holy law is His own holy nature. His love is under the condition of eternal respect. It is quite unchangeable [quoted by Leon Morris, Apostolic Preaching of the Cross, 294].

If we cut through all of the language and all of the theology, the crux of the issue is this: how can I, a sinner, be in a right standing with an infinitely holy God? If we can imagine a judicial scene for a moment and God as the Judge; we are brought before Him clothed in nothing but our own attempts at merit. How can we stand before His searching gaze? Dare we think that we can put forth all of the wonderful accomplishments of our lives, yet keep secret the darkness of our souls, the impurities of our thoughts, the greed, the hatred, the jealousy which has plagued our lives? Does God see only the good things and overlooks the sin of our lives? Can we make excuses to Him who declared, "Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect?" (Matthew 5:48).

He knows all things. "And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do" (Hebrews 4:13). With our lives laid bare before Him, what we deserve, what His justice requires, is all too clear. Condemned! Divine judgment! Wrath! The Judge exercises His office with perfect wisdom and justice. He will not condemn the innocent nor overlook the guilty. For His judgment is carried out according to the perfections of His nature. Mistakes in judgment are impossible for Him.

Now, how will you stand in righteousness before this all-seeing, all-knowing Judge? With Paul we must agree, "that a man is not justified by the works of the Law." And with him we must also give thanks for our solitary hope! "Nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus!" Now the apostle begins to unfold for us this wonderful, central message of the Bible. It is the fact that guilty sinners are brought into a right standing with God through faith in Christ Jesus.

II. Essence of Justification by Faith Alone

Here is where the message of the cross of Jesus Christ takes on light! For we have seen that God's whole nature as a righteous God requires justice on His part for every sinner. Because He is gracious, full of mercy, and out of the abundance of His love, God has provided two important things: (1) the solitary way for sinners to be declared righteous before Him and (2) the solitary way for God to be just in declaring sinners righteous.

The solitary way for God to be just in declaring sinners righteous

Let me begin with the latter statement. God would be unjust to grant forgiveness to anyone of us apart from His divine justice being satisfied. This is where some well-meaning people err in seeking forgiveness. They appeal to God's mercy and love for forgiveness. But they do not do this on the basis of the justice of God at the cross. They believe that they are sinners and they believe that God is indeed merciful and loving. So they appeal to God to grant them forgiveness without reference to the work of Christ. They ignore the need for divine justice. They ignore the fact that God is righteous and just; that forgiveness is not granted simply on the basis of God's love. The most-quoted verse in the New Testament attests to this fact: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but might have eternal life" (John 3:16, italics added for emphasis). Because of God's love He gave His Son as a satisfaction for sin, so that all of the judicial (forensic) requirements for righteousness might be provided for undeserving sinners. His love does not forgive apart from His justice being fully satisfied.

Yet this is where you find much of the religious world. They appeal to a God who has no concern for justice. They approach Him as if He was a kindly, old grandfather figure who just needs to be asked and He will always respond. They shun the necessity of the cross of Christ. They are appalled at the idea of a bloody, substitutionary death for sinners to satisfy the righteous demands of a just God.

Could it be that you have appealed to God for forgiveness, but without thought of the cross of Christ? Have you then trusted in your own vision of God or your own prayer to God, rather than trusting in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for you? I don't believe this is splitting theological hairs in the least. For there are a multitude of substitutes for trusting in Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Some will go even to the point of praying, even pleading with God to save them, but the whole basis of their salvation is in the prayer they have prayed and not in the work of Christ--and their faith is not in Christ Jesus alone. They appeal to God's love and even to His mercy, but they give no consideration to God's justice wrought through Jesus Christ at the cross.

Look again at the emphasis Paul makes in this text, that we are justified "through faith in Christ Jesus." When He refers to faith in Christ Jesus, he is pointing to Jesus Christ in the full revelation of Himself as our Prophet, Priest (Mediator), and King (Lord). He points to all of the mediatorial work of Jesus Christ on our behalf so that we might be justified apart from the works of the Law.

Let's go back to the courtroom scene for a moment. Here you stand before the Eternal Judge who knows everything about you. You attempt to plead your case, but one glance at the Judge silences your sinful lips so that you cry out, "Woe is me! For I am undone!" What hope do you have? Can you offer anything to God out of the entirety of your life that will be sufficient to satisfy His justice and righteousness? The scene in the courtroom looks bleak and hopeless. And apart from Jesus Christ it is!

Because God is merciful, gracious, and loving, He provided the means to satisfy His own righteousness and at the same time, declare undeserving sinners to be "Not guilty" for all eternity. The way our gracious God accomplished this was by transferring our guilt to His own Son. Our sin was imputed to Him at the cross. As Paul expressed it in II Corinthians 5:21, "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." The sinless Son of God took on the weight of our sin and guilt before God. He stood between us and the full measure of the divine wrath as our Mediator. As one writer put it, "He suffers what God does to sin, and makes visible what happens when man has God against him" [A. Schlatter quoted by Leon Morris, Apostolic Preaching of the Cross, 298]. The fury of divine justice was aimed at Jesus Christ. All of the requirements of divine justice toward sinners was fully satisfied in Jesus Christ! The wonderful term used to describe this is propitiation. No passage declares it any more beautifully and fully than Romans 3:23-26.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

The solitary way for sinners to be declared righteous before God

Paul tells us in this text that in order for God to be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus, that Jesus Christ had to take on our sin and had to suffer on our behalf and had to satisfy God's justice through His bloody death. God was publicly vindicated in saving sinners! For Jesus Christ's death was open for the world to see. The justice of God in forgiving sinners past, present, and future took place at the cross. You see, at the cross, God not only justified actual sinners, but He also justified Himself in declaring sinners to be righteous. Because of the substitutionary work of Christ, God can pardon you, declare you righteous, and adopt you as His child. And He does this without in anyway violating His own righteousness, for Jesus Christ satisfied all that God's righteousness requires for Him to declare sinners to be righteous before Him.

For whom is this justification provided? It is for those who have faith in Jesus Christ: it is trusting in Jesus Christ, that as our Mediator He did indeed satisfy all that God demanded of me as a sinner; that all of the justice required for me was fully met by Jesus Christ, so that my confidence for eternity rests wholly in Him. It is not because I pray a certain prayer that He saves me. Nor is it because I go through a rigorous religious practice. Nor is it because I have boldly admitted before others that I need to be saved. It is through faith alone in Jesus Christ that I am justified, declared righteous before God.

Back to the courtroom again, you find yourself standing before the Judge with nothing to commend yourself to Him. You are obviously guilty as a son of Adam. You have broken God's law and offended His righteousness countless times. But you "have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (I John 2:1). He who is perfectly righteous has mediated for you before God. It is not a matter of negotiation that grants you acceptance before God. Instead, it is a matter of propitiation. "And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins" (I John 2:2). This means that from a legal perspective, everything God requires to satisfy His justice concerning His judgments against you as a sinner, has been fully satisfied by the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ. Now God does not condemn you! Nor does He rail at you for being such a horrible sinner! But He welcomes you as a beloved child. He accepts you fully and freely because of the merits of His Son which you received by faith in Jesus Christ. Your standing before God is one of perfect righteousness, because all of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, who fully obeyed God's law, has become yours.

Conclusion

All that the Judge of the universe requires for you to have a right standing with Him, He has provided through Jesus Christ. All of the merits of Christ to justify you before a righteous God are not obtained by the works of the law, but only through faith in Jesus Christ. Are you trusting fully in Jesus Christ and His merits for your standing with God? He is ready to receive all who will come to Him by faith alone. That kind of faith turns from sin and self-dependence. It is a faith that follows after Jesus Christ. It is a faith that clings to Jesus Christ and Him crucified and raised from the dead.

Next message:

II. Justification in personal terms

1. A joyful confession

2. An eternal necessity

III. Justification in review

1. A universal statement

2. An authoritative declaration

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