Title Galatians 02:15-21 By faith alone
Content Main text: Galatians 2:15-21
Title: Only by Faith
[Introduction]
In the fairy tale of creation there is "The Elephant's Complaint". One day the animals had a running competition. Giraffes, lions, tigers, zebras and deer... lined up and started running to the trees on the hills in the distance. As a result of the run, the largest elephant arrived last.
The elephant was embarrassed. The elephant complained. "Why did God make me so big and heavy so that I couldn't run well?" murmured.
The next day, however, there was a tug-of-war competition. It was a contest to see who was the strongest. This time the big elephant won. This time, I thanked God for making me the strongest of the animals. Even now, the most powerful beast on earth is the elephant. It is the grace of God that the elephant is strong.
Believers sometimes complain to God.
This is because there are many restrictions in order to live properly by faith. You shouldn't even drink alcohol. You shouldn't smoke either. can't even lie you must not sin I can't play golf on Sundays. They can't even do business...that's why people who believe are complaining that they are falling behind in society.
However, faith overcomes sin, overcomes Satan, overcomes the world, and finally gives us victory. It is a special grace and blessing of God to say that among 6 billion people have faith. It is because of faith that those who believe have the ultimate victory. Therefore, we should thank God for giving us faith.
[Text Background]
Apostle Paul went to Galatia and preached the gospel
built a church. When Paul left for another place, strange people sneaked into Galatia and deceived the church members. Two kinds of false teachers also came in.
The first was a Jewish Christian teacher.- They taught that people cannot be saved just by believing in Jesus, and that they must be circumcised and keep the law like a Jew.
The second was a Gnostic teacher they taught that Jesus had no body, only a spirit. He also denied the death and resurrection of Christ on the cross. And the saints taught a false dualism that it has nothing to do with sin in the flesh because the spirit is saved through faith in Jesus.
These two false teachings disturb the Galatian church. Thus, the Galatian church was in chaos. It is Gnosticism and Malcionism that spread this root and made the whole church in Asia sick in the 2nd century. In the end, the Asian church, which had lost its strength due to the attacks of heresy, collapsed without strength.
Even now, there are impure people in the church on earth. Please do not be deceived by such a person. Things that the Church does not officially teach are things like lead, crabs, and flagpoles, so be careful. Not all church teachers and office bearers are the same. For example, there are many different interpretations of the Bible between the Jesuit Presbyterian Association on our side and the 00 Presbyterian Church. There are also Presbyterians who do not believe in the virgin birth and do not believe in the resurrection of Jesus. Therefore, saints, you must be careful.
main text
Even now, like the early church, Satan's temptations and unwholesome forces are attacking the church to threaten the essence of the gospel and to overthrow the saints. Therefore, we have the gospel
We must be armed with faith and be vigilant. Today's text teaches three things.
1. We are saved through faith alone (16).
It is said that a person is not justified by keeping the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. In other words, people are saved by faith. Some people claim that there is no need to keep the Old Testament law because we are saved by faith, but that is not the case. It is through faith that sinners are saved, but it does not force them to forsake the law. Heavenly citizens who have been saved by faith - must also keep the law. We are wary of legalism, that one must obey the law to be saved, we do not teach that the law must be abolished.
On September 7, I took the train from Seoul Station to Daejeon at 8:30 in the morning to organize the General Assembly Standing Department, and a lady in her 40s sat next to me. I greeted him. The lady took a cell phone from someone and made a long phone call saying who's grades were and who was first.
Just in case, I asked again, "Butler, do you believe that you can go to heaven even if you die today?" I expected him to answer confidently, "Of course," but unexpectedly, the
?쏰kay,??he tilted his head and replied, ?쏧?셫 not sure.??He was a professor at a certain university in Daejeon, but he had committed too many sins. He is a deacon of a large church in Seoul and serves as a choir, but I was surprised that he still does not have the assurance of salvation. I taught him the truth of Christianity in which salvation comes through faith. He said he had never studied the Bible before because he was busy and thanked me.
At the same time, I was worried that there might be deacons, choir members, or alumni like Deacon Lee in Hongseong Church who are not sure of salvation. Let me ask you.
Dear saints, Do you believe that you can definitely go to heaven even if God calls you today? Amen? Amen! Thank you for having the assurance of salvation.
False teachers who sneak into the Galatian church cannot be saved by believing in Jesus.
He taught them to be circumcised and keep the law
In fact, before meeting Jesus, Paul struggled to keep the law. He was a law scholar. Not only did he live by the law, he took the lead in executing Stephen, who challenged the authority of the law, and became a new man after meeting Jesus on the way to Damascus to punish those who believed in Jesus.
The Apostle Paul realized the truth that it is through faith in Jesus Christ that a person is saved. For there is no flesh in the world by which the works of the law would be justified (v.
That is why he said in the text, ?쏝ecause we know that a man is not justified by works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also
We believe in Jesus, that we might be justified, not by works of the law, but by faith in Christ??(verse 16).
Because Jesus died on the cross and died as a substitute for Him, all sins are forgiven and those who believe in Him have been saved. So, believers who believe in this fact can go to heaven. I hope that you will become saints who have this assurance of salvation! Amen!
When we dedicate ourselves to God, serve in the church, and go out into the world to live as light and salt, it is not in order to be saved, but in gratitude for the grace of the Lord who saved us freely.
When we realize God's love and grace, we have nothing to waste even if we give our all.
2. I must die with the Lord.(20)
One day, I had a serious argument in the car and said hurtful things because I couldn't fight while watching the children in the house. The housekeeper was very sad. After seeing that scene, my heart ached, and while praying in the prayer room, I heard a small voice saying, ?쏝ecause of you, I will die on the cross again.??I repented.??And he decided to kill me. In the future, I promised myself that I would lose to my family as a dead person. As long as it was not a matter of truth, I promised myself that I would lose to others.
[Yes]
In Numbers 20, Moses received God's command in front of the Israelites who grumbled and complained that there was no water. ?쏷ake the staff and assemble the congregation together with Aaron your brother, and command the rock to bring forth water in their sight??(Numbers 20:8).
But when Moses heard these words, he did not obey the word of God, but gathered the congregation together and said, ?쏬isten, you rebels,??and ?쏦e struck the rock twice with his staff??(Numbers 20:11).
For this, God rebuked Moses. "Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "You will not bring this assembly into the land I am giving them, because you have not believed in me, and have not sanctified me in the sight of the children of Israel" (Numbers 20:12).
Moses thought that the people's actions were wrong, so he struck the rock with his staff, and he was furious as if he was pouring out water with his own power. This was a very risky move. In the end, Moses was not able to enter the land of Canaan.
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:4, ?쏷hat rock was Christ.??As the rock broke and water came out, just as Israel drank, Jesus saved us by shed His blood on the cross.
It is a sin to bleed our blood and nailing Jesus to the cross again.
As the Apostle Paul confessed, ?쏧 have been crucified with Christ??(verse 20).
We must die on the cross together.
If I do not die, I will be unhappy, my family will be unhappy, and the church will be noisy. So first I must die. We must die with Christ. I cannot fully stand as a Christian unless I die.
3. We must live in faith.(20)
The Christian must live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
At home or at work, there are church members who cannot even call it the life of a believer. Because the old man is not dead.
[Yes]
Last week there was a board meeting of 00 Church. While presiding over the meeting, the members of the staff suddenly had two of the members of the party being self-righteous and stubborn, so they had not been able to meet the chairman of the party for 18 months. So the two of them came out and reconciled. In any church, the church cannot be at peace if its members or members are self-righteous and stubborn.
The reason that the apostle Paul could be a great apostle, as verse 20 says, was that he died and only Christ lived in him.
Self-righteousness, stubbornness, my assertion is dead, instead the will of Jesus,
We must live by the words of Jesus.
conclusion
The crab pushed out. Because he had already been crucified with Christ and died, he decided to live only according to the will of Christ who lived in him. But his business continued to prosper.
This is the way to live by faith. Faith is manifested in works. We are saved by faith. We are dead with the Lord. We live by faith. according to the will and words of Jesus
one who lives.
So I hope that the families of the members will live, the Hongseong Church will live, and the Korean Church will live. Amen!