Monday, October 18, 2010

Frustrating the Grace of God

Galatians 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

Paul, Barnabas and Titus (a gentile) went up to Jerusalem and preached the same gospel to the Jerusalem church as he had among the Gentiles. Titus, the Greek Christian, was not forced to be circumscised to be among the predominantly Jewish church.

There were some false preachers who had slipped into the church, to spy out the liberty in Christ the believers had, intending to enslave them again into the bondage of the law.

Gal. 2:5 To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. (in other words: Didn't yield for even an hour for the truths sake)

These men seemed to be influential among the brethren. Paul didn't care who they were, and whatever they were didn't make a bit of difference to Paul because God isn't a respecter of persons and doesn't show partiality, so he didn't care what they thought of him or said. And Peter James and John saw that Paul's gospel and ministry were of God, they gave them the hand of fellowship.

When Peter later on, went to the church at Antioch, he ate with the Gentiles, until these so-called influential Jews showed up, and then Peter separated himself again. Paul saw that Peter was afraid of these Jews, or at least was so concerned about what these influential men thought that Peter bowed to them, and in order to appease the false teachers he fell under their influence. The situation was so bad that even Barnabas followed with these false teachers. Peter went back to the separation and dietary laws, that said the Jews and Gentiles couldn't eat together. Peter fell to these so-called important men, even after God himself had explicitly told Peter in Word, showed Him in both vision and in practice that ...What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. [Acts 10:15].

Paul confronted Peter face to face before everyone and told him he was wrong. ..."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?" Gal 2:14

This brings us to our text. I think that Paul gave this message at Antioch, and is giving it again to the churches in Galatia. They were having the same problems. There were false teachers about who would sneak into churches and try to put men back under the law in order to be saved.

Galatians 2:14-21 is a logical and theological proof that we must be saved by Grace or we won’t be saved at all. The only hope of salvation, forgiveness and pardon to guilty sinners is by faith in Jesus Christ; all other ways will break down and ultimately fail, resulting in eternal punishment for sins.

Frustrate means, to break or interrupt; hence, to defeat; to disappoint; to balk; to bring to nothing.; or to abrogate. Christ abrogated the ceremonial law by fulfilling it in full. Christ frustrated the law, I am not going to frustrate the grace of God.

We are justified by faith in Jesus Christ
i. Substitution - took our place on Calvary, paid the penalty
ii. Imputation of sin to Christ -- our sin became His, He paid it
iii. Imputation of righteousness to us – His right. Is ours, we are righteous
iv. Satisfaction – Father’s wrath, law’s penalty satisfied on the cross
v. Justification – as if we had never sinned. Our sin is paid for and we are hidden in Christ, clean, forgiven and righteous.

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