Living by faith in the Son of God

Text: Galatians 2:11-3:5

I. THE LAW CANNOT CLEANSE US FROM OUR SINS

A. The Judaizers said that Gentile Christians were not justified unless they kept the works of the Law. Judaizers put their trust in a bloody foreskin, Paul preached faith in Christ crucified.

1. Four friends took a paralytic and lowered him through the roof. Jesus looked at the paralytic and seeing his faith said, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” (Mark 2:1-12)

2. “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” (John 13:8-10)

B. The Judaizers stood under the same condemnation as the Pharisees Jesus condemned:

1. “You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence” (Matthew 23:25-26).

2. “You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean” (Matthew 23:27-28).

C. The only foundation of God’s acceptance of us is the work of Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection (Galatians 2:16; cf. John 6:28-29).

II. THE LAW CANNOT EMPOWER US TO LIVE HOLY LIVES

A. It took Peter a long time to realize that the law does not make us clean and that the law cannot empower us to holy lives (Acts 10-11). Peter did eventually embrace these truths (Acts 15:7-9).

1. In your struggle with sin don’t ever look to the law to justify you or give you strength in your struggle.

a. The Law is impotent.

b. The bloody male foreskin cut off in circumcision is impotent.

2. In your struggle with sin don’t ever look to the laws and rules and regulations of men or religion to give you freedom from sin.

3. Only faith in Jesus can set you free (John 7:37-39).

B. Strength in our struggle against sin comes through Christ living in us (Galatians 2:20; 3:2,5).

III. LIVING BY FAITH IN THE SON OF GOD (Galatians 2:20)

A. How do we experience the victorious Christian life now that Christ is in us?

1. Some Christians seek the victorious Christian life through Christian thrills, excitement and entertainment.

2. Other Christians seek the victorious Christian life through law.

“The grace of faith, whereby the elect are enabled to believe to the saving of their souls, (Heb. 10:39) is the work of the Spirit of Christ in their hearts, (2 Cor. 4:13, Eph. 1:17–19, Eph. 2:8) and is ordinarily wrought by the ministry of the Word, (Rom. 10:14,17) by which also, and by the administration of the sacraments, and prayer, it is increased and strengthened. (1 Pet. 2:2, Acts 20:32, Rom. 4:11, Luke 17:5, Rom. 1:16–17)” (Westminster Confession of Faith, “Of Saving Faith” XIV:1)

3. Other Christians seek the victorious Christian life through miracles and other extraordinary manifestations of the Holy Spirit.

B. We are to live our Christian life the same way we began our Christian life (Gal.3:1-5; Romans 1:17; Col.2:6). “The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God.” (Galatians 2:20)

1. Paul came to Christ through faith.

2. Paul continued in his Christian life through faith.

3. Christians live a Spirit empowered life by faith

However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. (Romans 8:9-10)

C. What does it mean that we continue in our Christian life by faith?

1. We came to Christ believing that “he who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35; cf. John 7:37-39). By faith we continue to feed upon Christ in the Lord’s Supper.

2. One of the ways that we come to Christ in faith is through prayer. Living by faith involves a Spirit-filled prayer life.

3. The Scriptures are instrumental for bringing us to faith in Christ (Galatians 3:2; John 6:44,45; Romans 10:12-17). If you are not feeding upon the Word of God, then you are fasting from your faith in Jesus Christ.

“The “means of grace” are such as Bible reading, private prayer, and regularly worshipping God in Church, wherein one hears the Word taught and participates in the Lord’s Supper. I lay it down as a simple matter of fact that no one who is careless about such things must ever expect to make much progress in sanctification. I can find no record of any eminent saint who ever neglected them. They [means of grace] are appointed channels through which the Holy Spirit conveys fresh supplies of grace to the soul and strengthens the work which He has begun in the inward man. Let men call this legal doctrine if they please, but I will never shrink from declaring my belief that there are no “spiritual gains without pains.” Our God is a God who works by means, and He will never bless the soul of that man who pretends to be so high and spiritual that he can get on without them.” (J.C. Ryle, Holiness: Its nature, Hinderances, difficulties and roots, p.20; emphasis added).

Q.88 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism

What are the outward means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption?

The outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption, are his ordinances, especially the Word, sacraments, and prayer; all which are made effectual to the elect for salvation. (Matt. 28:19–20, Acts 2:42,46–47)

[T]he devil knows that the Lord commonly blesses the assembly of believers, the ministry of the Word, and the partaking of the Lord’s Supper. Therefore, he goes along to church and will seek to implement his practices upon you there also. He may suggest reasons to you why you ought not to attend, suggest all sorts of thoughts to you, stupefy your mind with sleepiness (if he is permitted to do so), or do a thousand other things to rob you of the Word or to render it ineffective. Remind yourself of this, be acquainted with his devices, be on your guard, and out of hatred and enmity for him, do not in any way cooperate with him. Remind yourself that at such a moment you must do battle and strive for a victory. (a Brakel, W. The Christian's Reasonable Service, Vol. 4:240).

D. One doesn’t confess faith in Christ apart from the means of grace nor does one grow in Christ likeness apart from the means of grace.

E. Does an emphasis on the means of grace make Christianity a “works salvation”?

QUESTIONS FOR SABBATH DISCUSSION & MEDITATION

Take what you have learned this morning and make it into a prayer.

Why can’t the law cleanse us from sin?

If the law could cleanse us from sin then what purpose was the death of Jesus?

Why can’t the law empower us to live holy lives?

How do Christians find victory and the abundant life Jesus promised?

What are the “means of grace”?

What does it mean that we continue in our Christian life by faith? How do we now live by faith in the Son of God?

Why is lack of prayer evidence of a lack of living by faith?

What does it mean to “live by faith in the Son of God” in our homes?

The means of grace are the means by which we grow in Christ. They include baptism/church membership, reading/preaching of Scripture, prayer, the Lord’s Supper and fellowship with God’s people. How can you better utilize these means of grace?