Doing What God's Law Requires Will Not Save Us

Peter had spent 3 years with the Lord after being converted on the road to Damascus. He was not taught the gospel by anyone other than the Lord himself. As we look at Galatians, we find both Jews and gentiles had come to faith in Christ. False Jewish believers were trying to get the new Christians to go back to observing rituals. 

Galatians 2: ISV

1Then fourteen years later, I again went up to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus with me. 2I went in response to a revelation, and in a private meeting with the reputed leaders, I explained to them the gospel that I’m proclaiming to the gentiles. I did this because I was afraid that I was running or had run my life’s race for nothing. 3But not even Titus, who was with me, was forced to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. 4However, false brothers were secretly brought in. They slipped in to spy on the freedom we have in the Messiah Jesus so that they might enslave us.5But we did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might always remain with you.

Moving forward to verse 11

11But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly wrong. 12Until some men arrived from James, he was in the habit of eating with the gentiles, but after those men came, he withdrew from the gentiles and would not associate with them any longer, because he was afraid of the circumcision party. 13The other Jews also joined him in this hypocritical behavior, to the extent that even Barnabas was caught up in their hypocrisy. 14But when I saw that they were not acting consistently with the truth of the gospel, I told Cephas in front of everyone, “Though you are a Jew, you have been living like a gentile and not like a Jew. So how can you insist that the gentiles must live like Jews?” Please note that Cephas (Peter) is found sinning because he was afraid. Paul boldly rebukes him in front of everyone. Jesus is not building his church on Peter as the Church in Rome teaches and claims Peter was the first Pope. The Popes have no biblical authority. Their very title of “Vicar” is blasphemous. Vicar means “in the place of” or “antichrist” or “in the place of Christ”. Jesus is building his church on himself. Pray for the believers in that church.  

15We ourselves are Jews by birth, (Paul a Jew, talking to Jews) and not gentile sinners, 16yet we know that a person is not justified by doing what the Law requires, but rather by the faithfulness of Jesus the Messiah. We, too, have believed in the Messiah Jesus so that we might be justified by the faithfulness of the Messiah and not by doing what the Law requires, for no human being will be justified by doing what the Law requires. 

Following we see Paul a Jew, talking to Jews, some of which had possibly been walking in true faith in God, but now see the Messiah Jesus had come to pay for sin. The following passages also apply to gentiles who are also born spiritually dead and have broken God’s laws.

17Now if we, while trying to be justified by the Messiah, have been found to be sinners, does that mean that the Messiah is serving the interests of sin? Of course not! 18For if I rebuild something that I tore down, I demonstrate that I am a wrongdoer. 

·         19For through the Law I died to the Law so that I might live for God.

·         I have been crucified with the Messiah. 

·         20I no longer live, but the Messiah lives in me,

·         and the life that I am now living in this body I live by the faithfulness of the Son of God, 

·         who loved me and gave himself for me. 

21I do not misapply God’s grace, for if righteousness comes about by doing what the Law requires, then the Messiah died for nothing.

Brothers and sisters, this is where most of the modern gospel preachers end it, if indeed they read this many verses. They do not give the whole counsel of God. They do not warn, but tickle the ears. We are not to continue in willful sin which leads to death. What if we do? If we truly believe Jesus paid for our sin by willingly taking the wrath of his Father on the cross and if we truly believe he is the very source of love and truth, how could we? How much death do we want in our lives? Do we want to find out if it is possible to fall away and go to hell? If you are in willful sin and do not repent at this moment, you may never come back to Christ, but die in your sin.

The Holy Spirit said through the Apostle Paul in Romans 6: “15What, then, does this mean? Should we go on sinning because we are not under Law but under grace? Of course not! 16Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 

Jesus said in John 14:15 “If you love me, keep my commandments”.