“Freed through Faith” (Gal 2:11-21) - Galatians: Be Free III –

“Freed through Faith” (Gal 2:11-21)

- Galatians: Be Free III –

Why Powerless?

One of the most amazing truths and the greatest gifts in human history is that the eternal God became man in Jesus Christ and lives in us by his Holy Spirit. If Jesus, Almighty God, truly lives in those who believe in him, Christians should always live a victorious life. But in reality, so many Christians seem to live a joyless, powerless, and fruitless life. Have you ever wondered why? In John 2, Jesus was invited to the wedding with his disciples. Although Jesus was there at the banquet, everything didn’t go smoothly. The wine, a symbol of “joy,” was gone in the middle of the banquet. That was a very embarrassing situation. In John 21 Jesus’ disciples worked very hard to catch fish throughout the night. Jesus was right there and watching them, but they caught nothing. The same thing happens in our lives today. Jesus is here with us and lives within us, but there is a time when our joy is gone. And there is a time when we have no fruit even though we work very hard. So, why is this happening? Today’s scripture, Galatians 2, helps us answer this question. It shows us three different ways to live a Christian life. The first two pictures are the reasons why many Christians live a powerless life. And the third picture helps us to understand what it means to live a victorious Christian life.

“Legalism”: Right Behavior with Wrong Belief (2:1-10)

The first picture in verses 1-10 we see legalism, right behavior with wrong belief. In the Galatian churches at that time the most controversial question was this: “How are we saved?” “How do we please God?” Some false teachers were trying to please God by human effort (3:3). They were saying that in order to be saved, we needed to follow the Jewish law, particularly, the requirement of circumcision. So they argued that Titus, a Gentile believer, needed to be circumcised to be fully accepted by God. The rationale behind this is that one can earn merit before God by observing God’s law. In fact, the Bible says, “The law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good” (Rom 7:12). None of Old Testament laws are bad in and of themselves. But the problem is that laws become “legalistic” when we begin to believe that we can actually earn God’s favor by keeping the law. Today we easily fall into this legalism, right behavior with wrong belief category: having a quiet time, studying the Bible, avoiding certain sins, coming to worship, helping other people. All these are good things of themselves, but when we do them thinking that we are earning God’s favor, we are becoming legalistic. If we try to live a good life and to please God by our efforts, by doing certain things, we will always feel insecure and not enough.

In his early life Martin Luther became a monk because he thought the life of a monk would make him easier to attain salvation. He made every effort to do good works and serve others to please God. He devoted himself to fasts, long hours in prayer, and constant confession. But he had no peace with God. The more he tried to do for God, the more aware he became of his sinfulness. Later, while he was studying the Book of Romans, he discovered the truth that a man is justified only by the righteousness of Christ, not by our righteousness (3:26, 28). He said, “I felt that I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates.” So how do we please God? The answer is we can’t. We need Christ to please God. God’s pleasure in us is not based on our performance for him; instead, God’s pleasure in us is based on Christ’s performance for us. Legalism is the first stumbling block to living a victorious life.

“Hypocrisy”: Right Belief with Wrong Behavior (2:11-14)

The second stumbling block is found in verses 11-14. It is called, “hypocrisy”: right belief with wrong behavior. Peter knew the gospel and believed the gospel, but his actions didn’t reflect the gospel, so Paul confronted him. Peter used to eat with the Gentiles. But when the Jewish circumcision group came, he feared them and began separating himself from the Gentiles. The implication of Peter’s actions was that the Gentiles may not be fully acceptable before God. That was right belief with wrong behavior, hypocrisy. Today we find plenty of inconsistencies in our lifestyle that is not in line with the truth of the gospel. Most of the time we are even not aware of our hypocrisy just like Peter and Barnabas. Oftentimes we don’t live in line with the gospel because of our cultural pressure, peer pressure, group pressure, and family tradition. Particularly, we need to examine who we are at home, who we are to our spouse, who we are to our parents, and who we are to our children. For me personally, I see my hypocrisy and struggle most in my relationship with my children. What we need today is to pray that God may open our eyes to see our inconsistencies within us and give us courage and power to live in line with the gospel of the truth. Galatians reminds us how easily we drift toward both “legalism” and “hypocrisy.” On the one hand, we think that by doing good things we earn God’s favor, legalism. On the other hand, we claim to have the gospel of grace but live just like the rest of the world, hypocrisy. These two have in common that they live by the power of self and the flesh. They are the major stumbling blocks to living a victorious life.

“Faith”: Right Belief with Right Behavior (2:15-21)

And now we come to the third picture in today’s passage that shows us how to live a victorious life. It is simple and crystal clear. The Bible says, “By faith” we live a victorious life. Then, what kind of faith? It is the faith that we are dead to self and alive to Christ. In verse 20 Paul says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” For non-Christians, dying to self means the end of the world because self is the center of the universe. As for Christians, dying to self is the beginning of a new victorious life because self is a slave to sin (Rom 6:6). In the Book of Judges we see the vicious circle: The Israelites forget God. -> They serve other gods. -> They are defeated by enemies. -> They cry to God. -> God sends judges to deliver them. And they forget God and serve other gods again. At the heart of this vicious circle is the power of self and the flesh. Our old self – our knowledge, our affection, our will, and every area of self – is polluted by sin. At the end of the Book of Judges the author diagnoses the cause of the vicious circle in one sentence: “In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes” (21:25, NRSV). God was with the Israelites all the time, but the life of the Israelite was a mass, because they lived by the power of self, not by the power of God.

Then, how do we die to self? The Bible doesn’t say, “Try to die to self.” Instead, it says, “Consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Rom 6:11, NRSV). In other words, through baptism when Christ was crucified, our old self was also crucified with him. When Christ died, we also died and buried with him. When Christ was raised from the dead, we too may live a new life (Rom 6:3-6). By faith we have been crucified and died with Christ and by faith now we live a new life with Christ. This faith that considers ourselves dead to sin (our old self) and alive to Christ, is the key to the Christian faith. Only when we die to self with Christ, we live a new life with him. John Hyde (1865-1912) was an extraordinary man of God who became known as “Praying Hyde” in India. John graduated in 1892 and only months later he set sail for India. He was proud of himself by the fact that he was from a godly family and now became a missionary. On board the ship, he found a letter from a high respected family friend he greatly loved and admired. The letter was short and read: “I shall not cease praying for you, dear John, until you are filled with the Holy Spirit.” John’s pride was touched and he reacted in anger at the implication that he wasn’t filled with the Holy Spirit. Yet, the conviction grew stronger and after a few days he surrendered. He wrote, “At last, in a kind of despair, I asked the Lord to fill me with the Holy Spirit, and the moment I did this, the whole atmosphere seemed to clear up. I began to see myself, and what a selfish ambition I had… I was determined… that whatever would be the cost, I would be really filled with the Spirit… I was willing even to fail in my language examinations in India, and be a missionary working quietly out of sight… I would do anything and be anything, but the Holy Spirit I would have at any cost.” That day John (his old self) was crucified with Christ and was born again with him.

Freed through Faith  

George Müller cared for 10,024 orphans and established 117 schools in his life. Many people asked him, “What is the secret of such a fruitful life?” Pastor Müller shared his story with them and said, “There was a day when I died, utterly died . . . died to George Müller, his opinions, preferences, tastes and will— died to the world, its approval or censure— died to the approval or blame even of my brethren and friends— and since then I have studied only to show myself approved unto God.” The Apostle Paul pronounced his death day by day. In 1 Corinthians 15:31 he said, “I die every day! That is as certain, brothers and sisters, as my boasting of you--a boast that I make in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Let us pronounce the death of our old self everyday! Let us say, “Lord Jesus, I have been crucified with you. I died to my opinions, preferences, tastes and will. I died to the approval or blame of the world.” And we will live a new life, a victorious life, with Christ who loved us and gave himself for us. Amen.