Sermon -- 4th Sunday after Pentecost (July 3, 2022)

GALATIANS 2:11-21

WE ARE JUSTIFIED BEFORE GOD BY FAITH. 

In the name + of Jesus.

     Last week we had considered Paul’s defense of his authority as an apostle of Jesus Christ.  Paul assured his readers that the Gospel he preached he received directly from Jesus, and that it was not in opposition to anything the other apostles were teaching.  Our reading through Galatians skips over Paul’s meeting with the apostles in Jerusalem.  There, they confirmed Paul’s faithfulness to the Gospel.  Paul was regarded as neither a rival nor a threat by the apostles.  Then, Paul related an incident when he had to confront Peter because Peter’s sin did threaten the Gospel. 

     Paul recalled that “before certain men came from James, [Peter] was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.  And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy” (Galatians 2:12-13).  Peter had reverted back into Jewish ways and Old Testament customs. 

     Jewish culture and customs had been directed by God’s commands to keep the Jewish people distinct from all other nations.  This was done to preserve the nation so that the Messiah would enter the world through them.  But now the Christ had come and had fulfilled all that he was given to do to win salvation—not just for the Jews, but for all nations.  Since the Messiah had come, there is no reason to keep preparing for him with all the ceremonial laws such as keeping separate from Gentiles or eating only kosher foods.

     Now, if this were simply a matter of Peter being rude, Paul would not have rebuked him publicly.  Love would seek to preserve the honor of a chief apostle.  Paul would have pulled him aside and said, “Stop being such a jerk!”  But this was not about bad manners.  Paul recognized that Peter’s actions were a threat to the faith and salvation of all the Christians in Antioch. 

     Peter was giving the impression to the Gentile Christians in Antioch that the old ceremonial laws still had to be observed, that to be a real Christian, you had to live like an Old Testament Jew.  But if keeping those laws were necessary to be justified, then Jesus’ life and death were a waste of time.  It would be telling people, “Yes, Jesus suffered and died to pay for your sins, but it is still on you to observe Commandments and customs to be saved.”  If being justified is still your responsibility, then you are lost.  For, as Paul noted, “by works of the law no one will be justified” (Galatians 2:16). 

     You are not justified because of your bloodline or ethnic background.  The Bible reminds you: “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.  Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Peter 2:9-10).  You are a holy people because you have received mercy and salvation through Jesus.  You have been set apart from sin so that it does not condemn you.  You have been set apart from death for the resurrection to eternal life.  You have been set apart from the devil so that you are now the people of God who are to honor him with godly lives.  This holy nation is established by faith in Jesus Christ, regardless of ethnicity, family ties, or social status.  We are justified before God by faith.

     Now, we don’t face the same issue Paul had to address.  We don’t care who we eat with; we enjoy the company of many kinds of people.  We don’t observe kosher laws; we know the tasty pleasure of pulled pork sandwiches and baby back ribs.  But Paul’s comments still apply to us.  Like Peter, we are still drawn to the idea that faith alone is not enough to justify us.  We keep on falling back into thinking that we have to add something to faith in Jesus to be assured of our salvation.  We still want to claim that we are justified because of us—that we are saved because we got something right, that we played a part, that we did it.

     Consider the Christian funeral for a moment.  People like to eulogize the deceased.  Chances are, you have wondered about your own funeral and what your friends will say about you when you are gone.  First of all, know that your friends like you.  They formed a bond with you for good reasons.  They will have fond memories of you.  They will have stories to share.  There is nothing wrong with having fond memories and close bonds.  These are gifts from God, and we are always thankful for God’s gifts.

     But eulogies often go beyond story-telling.  In order to achieve some consolation that our loved ones have a place in heaven, we turn eulogies into resumes.  We hear such things as, “He was a wonderful father and husband, a hard worker, kind-hearted, funny, and generous.”  We like to offer these as proof that our loved one is in heaven.  While we are grateful for the blessings we enjoyed by someone’s life, those deeds do not save.  God gives us our vocations so that we can serve others in them, not so that we would be saved by them.  Even people who despise Jesus can be good at their vocations.  We are not justified because we did enough good things to be remembered.  The apostle Paul states it bluntly to the Galatians among other places: “by works of the law no one will be justified” (Galatians 2:16). 

     You are justified before God by faith in Jesus and by faith alone.  There is no greater comfort than this, especially when you are vexed by your conscience.  The devil would always have you take stock of your goodness and put your trust in that.  But “by works of the law no one will be justified” (Galatians 2:16).  Notice that St. Paul does not say that sins against the Law will condemn us, although that is true, too.  He says that doing the good works of the Law cannot save us.  For, we have not done all the good according to all the Law all the time.  Our consciences testify that this is true.  God will not be moved by any eulogy, no matter how lavish in praise it is.

     Some might protest, “We aren’t saying that we have to work our way into heaven.  Jesus suffered and died for our sins.  We know that.  But we have to live good lives to be sure we are saved.”  This makes no difference.  Peter did not deny that Jesus paid for the sins of the world when he separated from the Gentiles and resumed Jewish customs.  His actions declared that Jesus’ work was insufficient, that it was not enough for the Gentiles to believe God’s promises but that they had to adopt Jewish culture to be justified.  The same is true if we insist that our own godly lives need to be added to Jesus’ work for our salvation.  Jesus’ work was done perfectly, but yours never will be.  If you must do the works to be justified, then “Christ died for no purpose” (Galatians 2:21).

     St. Paul wrote, “We know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified” (Galatians 2:16).  We are justified before God by faith in Jesus and by faith alone.  This is endless comfort and perfect hope.  Jesus has done everything to justify you before God the Father.  If you want to stand before God without any fear, you must be without sin.  Sin provokes God’s wrath; therefore, sin must be removed.  Jesus Christ has taken your sin—all sin and guilt—from you.  He endured God’s wrath for you at his crucifixion.  He has satisfied the judgment of the Law for you.  If you want to dwell in God’s presence and have eternal peace with him, you must be holy.  Nothing sinful can dwell in God’s holy presence.  So, Jesus supplied the holiness you need.  Jesus at all times did all the good of all God’s Law.  When you were baptized, Jesus clothed you with his own righteousness.  Therefore, you have peace with your God and solace for your conscience.

     We are justified before God by faith in Jesus.  To be justified means to be found “Not guilty.”  It is a court room term and an official sentencing.  Jesus Christ has done everything so that you stand guiltless before God.  Your sins have been taken away.  You have been given a robe of righteousness to wear, which is your baptism.  You don’t have to find ways to convince God that you are good enough.  You don’t even need to do the works for salvation.  Oh, the works need to be done; but the works have been done.  By faith in Jesus, you receive the credit for his works.  You don’t need a resume or a eulogy.  You need the Savior, and you have him.  Jesus answers for you and issues his divine sentence: “Not guilty.  Fully pardoned.  Free.”

     Lutherans have been accused of teaching that being justified by faith also means it does not matter how we live—as if free forgiveness means freedom to sin.  This is a terrible misrepresentation of our teaching.  How we become God’s people and how we live as God’s people are two very different topics.  How we become God’s people is this: We are justified by faith and are dead to the Law, which means the Law does not condemn us.  Jesus has set us free.  But in regard to how we live as God’s people, St. Paul says this: “I have been crucified with Christ.  It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.  And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). 

     The life we live by faith is not a life lived in order to be saved; rather, Christ lives in us to think and to act according to his word because we are saved.  A living faith will produce good works and a godly life.  We live for the good of our neighbor and for the honor of God.  We don’t live a godly life in order to be saved; we do it because we are saved.  We don’t do good works in order to be justified, but because we have been justified.  We strive to live as God’s people because God has made us his people—“a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession” (1 Peter 2:9).

     If you should find yourself on your death bed and reviewing your life, the devil will remind you of everything you did wrong or should have done better.  Fear not.  You have a Savior who says, “Everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:40).  Jesus tells us to look to him, not to ourselves.  We do not need anything else.  Nothing else will help, and nothing else can.  We are justified before God by faith in Jesus Christ.  Jesus is the Savior, and we are his saved. 

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.