2011_07_12 Grace Pt2 What Grace is Not by Estuary Elim Church

What Grace is not Faith Service Worship Vision

Galatians 2:1-21

12 July 2011

In our last study we began to look at Grace and the book of Galatians. We saw that Paul had started the churches in Galatia and then some people came in claiming you had to do more than just receive Christ as Saviour, that it was more than just grace. We saw that the gospel Paul preached was a gospel of Grace. Paul goes on in Chapter 2 to show by his actions and statements what the gospel of Grace is not and that is what we are going to look at in this study.

Why is it important to understand what Grace is not? This is important for us because we always need to have

proper perspective and understanding if we are going to be effective servants and communicators of the gospel and to be able to live a life full of grace.

Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. 2 I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain. 3 Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. 4 This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. 5 We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. 1

As for those who were held in high esteem—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favouritism—they added nothing to my message. 7 On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised [Gentiles], just as Peter had been to the circumcised [Jews]. 8 For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised [Jews], was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles. 9 James, Cephas [Peter] and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised [Jews]. 10 All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along. 6

When Cephas [Peter] came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.

When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas [Peter] in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? 14

“We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles 16 know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.

“But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! 18 If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker. 17

“For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (Galatians 2:1-21)

There are some powerful statements in this chapter of Galatians. Let us see if we can look at some of this and see for ourselves what the Gospel of grace is not and apply these things to ourselves.

The Gospel of Grace Is NOT Enslaving (Galatians 2:3-5)

When you pray do you tell God how you feel? When you pray do you tell him your concerns When you pray do you tell Him how much you need his strength?

These are the Judaisers that Paul is talking about trying to enslave the people once again by the law.

When you pray do you tell him you want to experience His presence?

They were adding circumcision and obedience to the Law to the grace of God for salvation.

Be in relationship with Him and be free!

It is only God’s grace that brings salvation and that sets us free apart from the law. He tells us we are free. Gods grace has set us free.

The Gospel of Grace Is NOT Just Spiritual or Physical

In our last study we discovered that we need to tap into God’s grace everyday. While it is a one time event that saves us by his grace, it is a daily event to receive His grace for daily living.

All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along. (Galatians 2:10)

When we don’t do that, we tend to become enslaved again to working in our strength to try and please God. Draw close to Him everyday and experience that freedom everyday.

Have you heard the phrase that a person can be so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good?

If a persons focus is truly upon the Lord and growing in Him, they will be living that out in their actions.

Why do we need to take time each day to just be with the Lord? Be with Him like you would be with a close friend. That is what relationship is all about

The Gospel of grace changes us. It changes us inside first and then as we grow those changes manifest themselves in us physically, in the things we do and the way we do them.

What do you do to deepen your relationship with God? What could you do more?

How has His grace affected you spiritually and physically?

How can we experience joy in being obedient to God? First you are going to be empowered to do it. Second

We create a false dichotomy sometimes between the spiritual and the physical. We are one person. We are spiritual and physical. Everything we do affects all of us.

the more we do it the more we enjoy it. This is what Freedom really is. Being obedient is not going to earn us God’s grace. It is drawing on God’s grace that will enable us to be obedient.

James tells us some of the same things. When we read James sometimes, we can think that He and Paul were preaching 2 different things, but they weren’t.

How does the experience of God’s grace bring freedom and joy everyday? We often don’t realise it but when we are in sin, we become enslaved to it. Peter tells us that “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.” (2 Peter 2:19)

James tells us that faith without works is dead. (James 2:26)

Freedom enables us to choose righteousness

There were those even in Paul’s day that said that he tried to create this dichotomy between the spiritual and the physical. And some that said we should sin more so we could get more grace.

Paul tells us that we have been created in Christ to do good works (Ephesians 2:10)

We only have this power when we are continuing in the grace of our Lord. We lose the power to truly be free in this life when we are not continuing in God’s grace and we become enslaved again by the deception of sin.

Paul said “By no means!” (Romans 6:2). We get more grace by continuing on with the Lord every day (Colossians 2:6) and that grace will bring us freedom to be righteous and leads to holiness (Romans 6:22).

Don’t be enslaved to the path of destruction. Sin is deceptive. It blinds us to the destruction it will bring and only lets us see the momentary pleasure it may bring.

Why do we need to ensures both our spiritual and physical lives reflect Holy living? We need to ensure our

Don’t be deceived, don’t be enslaved, be free

lives are balanced.

Free to live righteously and enjoy its blessings by continuing on each day in the grace of the Lord.

Our spirits draw close to God’s Spirit by His grace and our bodies seek to be obedient and do good things. We give to the poor, as Paul and Barnabas did when they took funds to the Jerusalem church in Acts 11.

Are you willing to set aside 15 minutes a day over the next 6 days and just be with the Lord? 2

We could help out others in need with money, but we can also demonstrate God’s love by helping others by being there for them.

They have been saved by Grace. God did not require Titus to first become a Jew, to receive God’s grace. It is the same today. God does not require blacks to become white. He does not require Asians to become black. He does not require old to become young. He does not require young to become old.

Why do we experience joy when you serve others? If we are doing things begrudgingly, that should be a warning to us that we are not drawing on God’s grace as we should be.

Why does none of this matter when it comes to the gospel of Grace?

This doesn’t mean that we have to be at the church 24/7. Or say yes to everything that is every asked of us. But it does mean we don’t say no to everything that is ever asked of us and that we seek the Lord’s counsel through prayer on what He wants us to be doing.

We don’t have too much problem with those but we do have sometimes our own issues. He does not require one culture to become another culture. He does not require older people to like newer musical styles and does not require younger people to like older musical styles.

Then there will be no difference between what is happening to us spiritually or physically because both will be glorifying the Lord.

God does not discriminate and nor should we

The Gospel of Grace Is NOT Discriminatory (Gal 2:1-2, 6-9, 11-21)

What matters is that our heart is prepared to receive Christ as Saviour. And it is prepared when we recognise our need. Let’s read the last part of this chapter again about the situation with Peter. 11 When Cephas [Peter] came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.

Paul took Barnabas and Titus with him. Barnabas was a Jew and Titus was Greek. The Gospel is not just for the Jews or just for the Gentiles. It is for everyone that places their trust in Jesus as Saviour and Lord. 1 Timothy 2:4 says that God “wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” Not just some, but all. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:2)

Jesus died for the sins of everyone. Now for that to become valid for your life, you must receive the gift by receiving Christ as your Saviour, by believing in Him completely.

God does not judge by external appearance

God does not discriminate based upon how we look or what colour our skin. He looks squarely at our hearts. Each human being has been created in God’s image. We look at the external appearance often and we see differences. God does not look at the external appearance.

When God looks at your heart what does He see? Does He look your heart and sees his own image? Now it is distorted due to our sin, but his image is still visible in each of us. When Samuel was told to go and anoint one of Jesse’s sons as the next King, Samuel began by looking at how Jesse’s sons looked, at their stature.

But God said this to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)

Peter is eating with the Gentiles but when some other Jews come, He becomes fearful that of what they may say.

So, Paul brings Titus the Greek and Barnabas the Jew and says God has worked in both of these peoples lives.

Peter. He can be so courageous at one moment and so fearful the next. We see Him walk on water and then sink.

Recognise that it is only by God’s grace that each of us have been saved. And live each day by “continuing on in the grace of God.”

We see Him proclaim his allegiance unto death to Jesus and then later that night deny Him 3 times.

Do you ever have a little Peter inside you? Are there specific situations when he appears in your life? Many people are like that, strong at one moment and weak the next. This underlies the great importance of God’s grace. When we are not drawing on God’s grace each day, we begin working things out in our own strength, and we get fearful because we fail to leave God in control. When Peter was walking on water, he took his eyes off of Christ and sank. When Peter denied Christ, He was thinking only about how to save himself. When Peter separated from the Gentiles, He was thinking how to save himself some possible disagreements with the other Jews, not thinking of what He was saying with His actions. Many of us have probably done brave and courageous things for Christ, but the moment we take control from the Lord is the moment we set ourselves up to let Him down.

Do you discriminate between your brothers and sisters in Christ? When is it right to say to another believer “you can’t do this or that” if you are a Christian? Anyone who is a Christian has been saved by the grace of God and we all have issues that God’s grace covers. BUT, we should avoid doing or saying things that bring dishonour to God.

If you are honest with yourself, in the light of God’s grace and His word, what do you do or say that you should not? Paul goes on to ask rhetorically “if God’s grace covers sin, does that mean that we are encouraged to sin?” Absolutely not, Paul says. We have no encouragement to sin and yet none of us are free from sin. That is why Paul says that he does not set aside the grace of God. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. (Romans 7:24-25) None of us can attain righteousness by our actions. If we could, then Christ died for nothing.

How can we not discriminate against others? Don’t be enslaved. Let God’s grace seep out in your actions. Don’t expect people to conform to YOUR cultural standards.