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March, 2025 (Vol.59-No.3) |
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Preached by Dr. Gene Scott on June 24, 1990 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. Galatians 2:16 MARTIN LUTHER’S LARGE COMMENTARY on Galatians had a great influence on the history of the English Bible and the preaching that brought revival to England. This commentary was originally delivered as a series of lectures in 1531 and was translated into English in 1575 by an anonymous group of scholars. The preface to this work says that these scholars refused to be named, “seeking neither their own gain nor glory, but thinking it their happiness, if by any means they may relieve afflicted minds, and do good to the church of Christ, yielding all glory unto God, to whom all glory is due.” Among the “afflicted minds” to whom their translation would bring consolation were two men of towering genius: John Bunyan and Charles Wesley. John Bunyan testified that before he understood the gospel of God’s grace, he was so afflicted with guilt that he feared a church steeple would fall upon him. His great allegorical writings, including Pilgrim’s Progess, along with his spiritual autobiolgraphy, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, have brought encouragement to generations of readers. Bunyan’s writings remain among the greatest works that stand alongside the Scriptures for their influence on Christian devotion. Charles Wesley’s hymns have lifted the spirits of untold numbers of Christians. He, along with his brother John, started the Methodist movement and led a great revival. Charles had felt stricken with guilt and beaten down in his conscience, but his life was renewed after reading Luther’s Commentary on Galatians. I am preaching through the book of Galatians, and this is the fifth message in the series. Our text today is Galatians 2:16: “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” The church moves forward with vitality only when the apostle Paul’s message of salvation by grace through faith is rescued. Prior to the Reformation, there were brief times when a few preachers would catch a glimpse of the truth of Paul’s message. But the traditions of the church, along with the self-serving, flesh-satisfying, pride-directed efforts of men, have weakened or caricatured the gospel. Furthermore, there is something peculiary attractive about a religion based on works and applied willpower. A religion based on works give a portion of credit to the self. It is difficult for man to let all the glory go to God. Even in the early church, many forsook Paul’s teaching. By the time he wrote his last letter to Timothy, Paul said, “All they which are in Asia be turned away from me” and “Only Luke is with me.” In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he described a warfare between the Spirit and the devil, the prince of this world. The devil and his minions are called the “principalities and powers” who rule this present evil world. Satan became lifted up in pride and rebelled against God. Therefore, it is no wonder that activities that satisfy people so easily win the hearts of men. Such activities are often deemed “proper Christian behavior,” although they are usually judged as such by hypocrites who serve God with their own energy. God chose Paul to rescue the gospel, the good news of God’s own resurrection-life abiding in us. This new life is an implant of God’s own nature, which He freely gives us for our faith. Yet, even though God rescued His gospel through Paul, the traditions of men had so “won out” in Paul’s day that he ended his ministry with very few people standing with him. I want you to understand the difficulity of effectively communicating the truth of the gospel. If Paul himself could have his message overpowered, who am I, as a preacher of this message, to expect different results? Paul had risked his life to bring people the gospel, yet so many of those very people forsook him. Pressure often comes from the vested interests of the established church, which tries to keep us in bondage to its perverted message of legalism. There are people whose pride will not let them respond to the truth, although in secret, they know it to be true. In recent years, we have witnessed the toppling of a number of perfectionist preachers when their private lives were exposed. We have seen the hypocrisy of their puritanical self-righteousness. Such preachers use God’s laws like a club to beat us into slavery. But we often discover that the one holding that club has been less than adequate in living up to his own perverted message. And as the gospel of grace is preached from the book of Galatians, it results in new waves of persecution poured out on all who might listen and be set free. The gospel is the message of salvation by grace, You are no longer under the law. You move forward by acting in faith on God’s promises. This existentially removes you from the power of sin and death, and recreates a new life in you that changes you. It is a tragedy that the preaching of grace is so easily corrupted by shallow-minded, non-spiritual fools who turn grace into license, because their understanding of grace is not mixed with faith. A self-serving, licentious response to grace is as damning as a resentful response from people who seee their prideful self-righteousness eroded and their sense of superiority in the Christian kingdom destroyed. It seems as though only a handful of people will respond to the truth of the gospel that has set men free and preserved the true church throughout the ages. In Galatians 2, Paul described what happened when he went down to Jerusalem and took Titus with him. This occurred 14 years after the events described in Galatians 1. Titus was the Greek convert who was not “compelled to be circumcised.” Paul himself had been converted by the power of God, and he referred to himself as “one born out of due time.” Imagine if God had treated you the same way He treated Paul. God shined a light on Paul and selected him with a special calling. He convinced him by miraculously healing him from blindness, and led him into the desert, where he received private tutoring by the risen Savior. That is not a greater miracle than when the resurrected Savior appeared to Peter by the Sea of Galilee and told him, “Feed my sheep.” The main difference is that there were no witnesses to the Lord’s personally teaching Paul. Paul’s “witness” was his ability to unfold the truth of the gospel that had been enfolded into the Old Testament revelation. Paul explained its mysteries, of which Peter said even “the angels desire to look into.” Literally, the angels “bend down low to examine” these things. Paul went to Jerusalem to confer with the church leaders there. Many of those leaders had spent much time with Jesus during His earthly ministry. So Paul had hoped and expected to find them preaching the same message that he had been preaching. But to Paul’s surprise, they did not rejoice that Christ had appeared to him and instructed him directly. Instead, their biggest concern was whether Titus had been circumcised! In Galatians 2:6, Paul conveyed his disappointment. He said, concerning those apostles, “They who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me…” James, the so-called brother of the Lord, led the church at Jerusalem. James believe that Christians still had to keep the law and do good works to be saved. Imagine some of James’ follower’s thinking, “Here comes Brother Paul with a new convert from the Gentiles. Let’s see if his convert is really saved!” In the first-century church, it was the men who suffered the most at the hands of the legalists. Today, in traditional Christian churches, it is usually the women who suffer the most. Growing up in the church, I remember a number of fancy-suited, jewelry-bedecked evangelists whose harshest condemnation was always directed against women, specifically regarding how they dressed or adorned themselves. In New Testament days, the church at Jerusalem required Christian men to painfully conform to the law. Surgery in those days was very crude. Paul said that Titus was saved, but the brethren must have said, “We’ll see, won’t we! If he can’t prove he has been cut on and has borne pain, he must not be a Christian.” In addition to circumstances, the church at Jerusalem enforced their traditions by watching what people ate and observing how they behaved on certain days. They thought, “Yes, Jesus saves, but you must also keep all the Jewish feast days, you must undergo ceremonial cleansings, and you must not eat certain foods.” Today, the legalists do not require you to be circumcised to prove you are a Christian; rather, they invade your psyche, your home, your playtime, your business life, and every dimension of your behavior. They create a “Big Brother” atmosphere in which you must prove your Christianity to them by letting them “cut on you” in ways that do more permanent damage than the rite of circumcision. All that has been accomplished over the course of church history is merelly a more sophisticated application of pain. In Old Testament times, the rite of circumcision was an outward sign of an inward commitment to God. It was a symbol of accepting God’s covenant, and an acknowledgment of His ownership. It symbolized one’s acceptance of the conditions that God required in order to receive His promised blessings. Coformity to the law was the condition of receiving God’s life and life eternal, and circumcision was performed in order to bind that covenant. Today, circumcision in the Bible symbolically represents whatever churches require from us as an outward sign of conformity. Certain Old Testament practices appear very crude to us today. For example, when Abraham would make an agreement, the agreement had to be sealed. When Abraham made his servant swear by the Lord, he said to him, “Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh…” The Hebrew word translated “thigh” is a euphemism. To seal an agreement, one party had to lay their hand on the part of the body that was a testimonial to the acceptance of God’s law and His ownership. This is analogous to what goes on in modern-day courtrooms when people lay their hands on a Bible, which is a symbol and expression of God’s covenant. In the church’s early years, James was the most prominent voice in Jerusalem. There is no record that he ever accepted Christ as the Son of God during His earthly ministry. James and the apostles who were raised in Jewish traditions wanted to graft Jesus onto the trunk of the Old Testament faith. They believed that outward ceremonial expressions had to be added to the Christian faith. They did believe that Jesus died for our sins, that Jesus saves, and that God gives grace; but, they thought, if someone was really saved, he had to conform to the laws of Moses. So men came from James and told the Gentile Christians at Antioch that certain external behaviors must be added to their faith. In the minds of the Jewish believers, the law must invade the territory of grace. Paul sharply debated with them, and his reasoning could not be argued down. He even persuaded Peter to align with him at the first church council, which is recorded in Acts 15. James then compromised and agreed that while the Jews had to keep all the law, the Gentiles only had to keep a portion of it. Further, the council decreed that Paul could continue his ministry to the Gentiles, while Peter would go to the Jews. This first church council epitomized what the church has been doing for nearly 2,000 years. Church leaders who compromise remind me of Lot in the book of Genesis: they want the well-watered plains of Jordan, bult they end up in Sodom and Gomorrah. The traditional church will not let you break free from their traditions and move on into new life. They are forever monitoring the reality of your Christianity by sending their Peeping-Tom representatives. The main difference is that today, they are more sophisticated with their questioning. They ask things like, “Do you go to movies? Do you smoke?” They know they cannot find a verse of Scripture against smoking, so they always quote, “Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost!” I have met many fundamentalists who have ruined their health by their diet; they start the morning with sweet rolls and end the day with ice cream. They are as addicted to white sugar as some people are addicted to narcotics. Yet these same people have the audacity to tell us, “You shouldn’t smoke, because your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost!” I am not a proponent of smoking; I believe the evidence that chemicals in tobacco smoke produce an alarmingly increased risk of cancer. I also believe the research that has determined there is a cancer risk from inhaling “secondhand” or exhaled smoke. However, I do not know if smoking is worse for one’s lungs than breathing the smog here in Los Angeles. And I cannot help but notice that the very same government that bans the advertising of tobacco products also sprays insecticides from helicopters overnight without your permission. All I am saying is that you, as a free person, have the right to make your own intelligent decisions. I do not tell people how to live. Your lifestyle is between you and God. But the traditions of men make salvation dependent upon added external works. In some tradional churches, there are people who are like spies: they feel it is their duty to check you out from head to toe to find what must be “cut” from your life in order for you to prove to them, not to God, that you are really saved. Such people infuriated Paul. He described them as “false brethren unawares broght in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage…” There are relatively few churches today that are not trying to bring you into bondage. There are too many preachers whose message is, in essence, “Yes, grace is adequate. And yes, grace is abounding. But, if you are really saved, you will cut off this and cut off that. You will bear pain for Jesus’ sake!” Hebrews 4:13 says that all things are naked before God. Therefore, God did not need to send spies to find out whether Titus was circumcised; I am confident that God already knew. Titus could hide nothing from Him. But that was not enough to satisfy the false brethren at Jerusalem; they had to know for themselves. Titus had to prove to them that he had been adequately butchered, and Paul would not tolerate it. In Galatians 2:5, he said he refused to give place “by subjection” to these false brethren, not even for an hour. Why? “That the truth of the gospel might continue with you.” Concerning the apostles at Jerusalem, Paul went on to say, “But of these who seemed to be somewhat (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man’s person:), for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me…” Their credentials made no difference to Paul. Preachers like that can add nothing to you: they only want to cut things off and take things away. They say, “Are you divorced? Then you can’t marry again!” Some churches have effectively created two classes of membership: one for those who are divorced, and the other for those who have never been divorced. The latter are allowed to be officers and Sunday school teachers, while the divorced are not permitted to serve or teach. Indeed, when I was first asked to be pastor, I told the church board members, “Gentlemen, let’s get this straight at the outset: I am divorced. If you elect me, there will be no more discussion on the subject!” I tell people that when you come to this church, it isn’t any of my business how many past relationships you have had. Those matters are between you and God. The so-called important church leaders at Jerusalem did not impress Paul. He even had to rebuke Peter for his hypocrisy and dissimulation. Before the men from James arrived in Antioch, Peter freely partook of his meals with the Gentiles. But when the men from James arrived, Peter quickly separated himself, lest they see what he had been doing. Paul described these events in Galatians 2, beginning at verse 11: “But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.” There are preachers across this land who know the truth of the gospel. They know that only when this light has shone has the church moved forward. Yet they do not have the courage to identify with the message of freedom. They are afraid because “certain men” still come from James, 1,900 years later. Myriads of Christians go to churches every Sunday and have James crammed down their throats: the message they hear is “Thou shalt, and thou shalt not!” and “if you really are a Christian, you will do these works!” Paul said that Peter’s negative example started affecting others: “And the other Jews dissemble likewise with him; inasmuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel…” People have all sorts of ideas about what it means to “not walk uprightly.” Paul makes it clear that it does not mean “walking in freeom.” Rather, if you hypocritically separate yourself from free Christians, you are not walking uprightly. If you live in fear that legalists might find out you are not conforming to their rules, you are not walking uprightly. Never allow yourself to be intimidated by people who pervert the gospel, as they carry on with their dissimulation and their Peeping-Tom activities to determine whether you have been sufficiently cut on to pass muster with them. They only want the approval of those who come from James. You ought to withstand those kinds of people to their faces, because they are the ones not walking uprightly according to the truth of the gosepel! The Bible says we are justified by faith, not by works of the law. The word “justified” can be colloquially defined as “to be made or viewed as just like something else.” You are “justified” when God views you as being just like Him. The doctrine of grace teaches that God imputes this state to you, which is a judicial term. By analogy, if a court finds you “guilty” or “not guilty,” that does not mean you are actually guilty or not guilty; only you and God know the truth. It means you are imputed with guilt or innocense. The court has the power to treat you as though you are guilty or innocent. Once that judgment is pronounced, you must be treated thereafter as though you are “just like” a guilty person or “just like” an innocent person. In this respect, it does not matter whether you are actually innocent. Today, if the news media have decided you are guilty, they will keep treating you as guilty regardless of the court’s decision; however, only the state has the power to find you guilty or not guilty. And in our legal system, you cannot be tried a second time for the same offense. God, who has the power of eternal life, is the ultimate Justifier. To the Romans, Paul will say, “Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.” God has the power to impute godlikeness to you, to view you as “just like Himself.” He can treat you as a son of God, or He can treat you as a son of the devil who serves pride, self, and sin. God’s justifying act is not available to anyone by works of the law. What are works of the law? How did Martin Luther, the great reformer, define them? In his early lectures on Galatians, Martin Luther said the following: Above all, therefore, it is necessary to know that there are two ways in which man is justified, and that these two ways are altogether contrary to each other. In the first place, there is the external way, by works, on the basis of one’s own strength. Of such a nature are human righteousnesses, which are acquired by practice (as it is said) and by habit. This is the kind of righteousness Aristotle and other philosophers describe – the kind produced by laws of the state and of the church in ceremonies, the kind produced at the behest of reason and by prudence. For they think that one becomes righteous by doing righteous things, temperate by doing temperate things, and the like. This is the kind of righteousness the Law of Moses, even the Decalog itself, also brings about, namely, when one serves God out of fear of punishment or because of the promise of a reward, does not swear by God’s name, honors one’s parents, does not kill, does not steal, does not commit adultry, etc. This is a servile righteousness; it is mercenary, feigned, specious, external, temporal, worldly, human. It profits nothing for the glory to come but receives in this life its reward, glory, riches, honor, power, friendship, well-being, or at least peace and quiet, and fewer evils than do those who act otherwise. This is how Christ describes the Pharisees and how St. Augustine describes the Romans in the eighth chapter of the first book of The City of God. Strangely enough, this righteousness deceives even men who are wise and great, unless they have been well instructed in Holy Writ. I would rather be on the side of the great reformer than on the side of the perverts who populate so many of today’s churches. Righteousness by works is not available! Paul said, “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law…” The teaching that good works and traditions are necessary for salvation will damn people to hell eternally. Justification is solely by faith in and of Jesus Christ, “for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” God gives unmerited favor and eternal life only to those who act in faith on His word! Reprinted with permission from Pastor Melissa Scott  Luther was a German theologian whose writings inspired the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther was born on 10 November 1483 in Eisleben. His father was a copper miner. Luther studied at the University of Erfurt and in 1505 decided to join a monastic order, becoming an Augustinian friar. He was ordained in 1507, began teaching at the University of Wittenberg and in 1512 was made a doctor of Theology. In 1510 he visited Rome on behalf of a number of Augustinian monasteries, and was appalled by the corruption he found there. Luther became increasingly angry about the clergy selling “indulgences” - promised remission from punishments for sin, either for someone still living or for one who had died and was believed to be in purgatory. On 31 October 1517, he published his “95 Theses”, attacking papal abuses and the sale of indulgences. Luther had come to believe that Christians are saved through faith and not through their own efforts. This turned him against many of the major teachings of the Catholic Church. In 1519 -1520, he wrote a series of pamphlets developing his ideas – “On Christian Liberty”, “On the Freedom of a Christian Man”, “To the Christian Nobility” and “On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church”. Thanks to the printing press, Luther's “95 Theses” and his other writings spread quickly through Europe. In January 1521, Pope Leo X excommunicated Luther. He was then summoned to appear at the Diet of Worms, an assembly of the Holy Roman Empire. He refused to recant and Emperor Charles V declared him an outlaw and a heretic. Luther went into hiding at Wartburg Castle. In 1522, he returned to Wittenberg and in 1525 married Katharina von Bora, a former nun, with whom he had six children. Luther then became involved in the controversy surrounding the Peasants War (1524 - 1526), the leaders of which had used Luther's arguments to justify their revolt. He rejected their demands and upheld the right of the authorities to suppress the revolt, which lost him many supporters. In 1534, Luther published a complete translation of the bible into German, underlining his belief that people should be able to read it in their own language. The translation contributed significantly to the spread and development of the German language. Luther's influence spread across northern and eastern Europe and his fame made Wittenberg an intellectual centre. In his final years he wrote polemics against the Jews, the papacy and the Anabaptists, a radical wing of the reforming movement. Luther died on 18 February 1546 in Eisleben. https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/luther_martin.shtml | March, 2025 Wingspread | February, 2025 Wingspread | January, 2025 Wingspread | | Year 2019 Wingspreads | August, 2016 Wingspread | 2016 Wingspreads | 2014 Wingspreads | 2013 Wingspreads | 2012 Wingspreads | 2011 Wingspreads | 2010 Wingspreads | 2009 Wingspreads | 2008 Wingspreads | 2007 Wingspreads | 2006 Wingspreads | 2005 Wingspreads | 2004 Wingspreads | 2003 Wingspreads | 2002 Wingspreads | 2001 Wingspreads | August, 2001 Wingspread | November, 2001 Wingspread | December, 2001 Wingspread | 2000 Wingspreads | 1999 Wingspreads | 2015 Wingspreads | Year 2017 Wingspreads | 2018 Wingspreads | Year 2020 Wingspreads | Year 2021 Wingspreads | Year 2022 Wingspreads | Year 2023 Wingspreads | Year 2024 Wingspreads | Year 2025 Wingspreads | | Return Home | Current Wingspread | Wingspread Archives | Contact Us | |
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