Justified by Faith in Christ
Galatians 2:15-21
International Sunday School Lesson
February 5, 2012
Commentary
By
Jed Greenough
Have you ever, despite your better judgment, felt pressured to do things by people within the church? What happened? Did you go with your own Spirit provided gift of discernment or did you cave? Maybe you have a spotty record in this regard, if so you would be in pretty good company counting the Apostle Peter among your ranks.
This caving in is something that yes, even Peter did and why Paul, in the verses not included in ours today, used to include an Apostle as an example that it can happen. If you look at these verses that precede those we have for today, Peter was living like a Gentile with regard to the Law himself but he had given in to those that Paul referred to as the circumcision group with regard to how new Gentile Christians should behave.
What resulted was opposing views, disorder and confusion and why Paul was so adamantly trying to bring clarity back to those people and even to us today if we let him. Today just as then Paul knew that instead of unity there would be unnecessary division as we can see by just looking around.
Today we have the multitude of denominations as part of this division as people have not stood up to use the discernment that God has given to them. Among these divisions are examples where somewhere at some point a group of people who worshiped together decided that there were some aspects of the Law that were always to be observed. And out of that group there were those that did not listen to the Holy Spirit’s urging that it is, “by faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.” Instead they caved, they went along. Yes, Peter caved, but thankfully Paul called this great Apostle on this and if we use that courage as our example we can stand fast as well. Use Paul as your example; listen to the voice within you.
I would be remiss, I feel, if I did not stress that just like you and me and Paul, Peter and the circumcision group, Jews who worship God and people who have decided to follow certain aspects of the law all love God. Let’s state that again, just like us those that worship God be they Jew or those who just follow certain aspects of the law, they passionately love God.
I feel strongly that it is this passion for Him that has lead people in their exuberance to go off track. If you consider for instance the faith of Jews who are actively worshiping God you would see that the Law that they follow governs all facets of their life from what they wear, what to eat, how to communicate with others and how they should worship. The devout practitioner is consumed by their passion for Him and the more they are consumed the more rules they follow. But if they fail in just one aspect of this Law they have sinned and the rest of what they have done has come to naught. That is what Paul is teaching us so poignantly today and elsewhere such as in Philippians 3 and most famously Romans 3 that this act of going backwards to the law “sets aside the grace of God” and says that “Christ died for nothing!”
Not one of us who believes in Christ would willingly say that nor do we believe in it so why don’t we do a better job of standing our ground when the moments for discernment arise? We know what those Jews that love God haven’t learned that the law showed, nay screams for the necessity of Christ. Similarly, like the devout Jew who follows all the Law and fails so is the Christian that follows just one or some aspects of the Law but fails to follow them all. We all will still sin. When we finally realize that and accept through faith Christ’s sacrifice then we will be able to stand firm and then Christ will truly live in us. If you don’t accept that, you haven’t accepted the gospel.
For Discussion:
1. Discuss what Paul means by Gentile Sinners in verse 15. He was not calling Gentiles a name which would be easy to interpret. Rather he is explaining that their behavior with regard to the Law is like the Gentiles though they were born Jews, they too have put their faith in Christ. This goes part and parcel with the discussion of justification by faith and not law which would include things normal Jews would follow but not Gentiles such as Sabbath observance, dietary restriction, and circumcision and so on.
2. Discuss how people will twist what the Law is to justify their position but that faith in Christ trumps all.
3. Those that follow the Law are not just following what you can read in scripture but also tradition that has passed down as well as the teaching of Rabbis.
4. Those that follow the Law as strictly as they can, obviously cannot follow much of what is in scripture as it deals with sacrificial requirements. Discuss that issue.
5. From Galatians 3:1-3, “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?
6. The best way to consider verses 17-21 is to do so in tandem with Romans 6.
7. Have people share examples of discernment success as well as failures.
Upcoming Adult Sunday School Class Commentaries
2-12-12: Freed from Law through Christ (The Blessing for All) Galatians 3:1-14
2-19-12: Heirs to the Promise (Inheriting Abraham’s Promise) Galatians 3:15-18, 4:1-7
2-26-12: Fruits of Redemption Galatians 5:22-6:10
3-4-12: Wisdom’s Part in Creation (Wisdom’s Origin) Proverbs 8:22-35
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment