Because of some things I was studying this past week, and partly for this message of curiosity, I searched this question, what is the biggest problem faced by humanity? Just to get an idea of what the world would say, the biggest problem faced by humanity. Most of the answers I saw started with something about climate change. Nobody asked my opinion but I thought it was plenty cold this past week and I don't think a little global warming would be all that bad. I skimmed through an article that had the title of the greatest long-term threats facing humanity and this article listed the top six areas of concern the greatest long-term threats facing humanity. Coming in at number three is that in about 5 billion years, people are going to have to find a new solar system to live in because our sun, they say, will get too big and too bright just before it collapses in on itself and gets too dim and too cold. My recommendation is don't pack your bags quite yet. Because even though this article didn't say so, surely science and technology will get advanced enough to fix that problem very soon, don't you think? Just as soon as they get daylight saving time fixed, then they can get to work on fixing the sun. Fix the daylight problem, then fix the sun. The one thing I didn't see in my searching, as far as I looked, was the right answer. to the greatest problem, biggest problem faced by humanity. Because the actual biggest problem faced by humanity is this. God is holy and we are not. That is the biggest problem. There is a problem between humanity and our Creator. The problem is sin. This is a problem that so few people take seriously. But the consequences of this problem are greater than if the sun did burn up and then burn out. I'm not exaggerating that either. This problem is bigger than if the sun stopped shining or burned us up. That problem would only result in physical death. And if it's in five billion years from now, none of us are going to live to see it anyway on this earth. Who cares? The problem of sin against a holy God results in eternal spiritual death, eternal separation from God, eternally facing the wrath of a holy God. The problem of sin against a holy God is the reason for physical death. It's the reason the sun might, well I don't know, there are problems in creation because of sin against the Holy God. Every problem there is in creation is because of sin against the Holy God. So the real question everyone should be asking and seeking the answer to is how can a person be made right before a holy God? Most pressing question. How can a sinner be made right before a holy God? There is an answer to that question. There is a solution to that problem. And it is what the Apostle Paul risked his life to travel around that region of Galatia almost 2,000 years ago to tell people. Many others have risked their lives. Some have given their lives to proclaim that truth about the answer to that most pressing problem. Because it is the solution to the biggest problem faced by man, it is the most important message that has ever been transmitted. And it is why the Apostle Paul was so troubled that people would try to change it or confuse it. It is why the Apostle Paul said in Galatians chapter 1 verse 8, but even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed. It is so important. If anyone messes it up, misleads people on the truth of the gospel, Paul says, even if it came from me, I should be accursed. Even if the Apostle Peter would confuse some things for some people about the sufficiency or the power of the gospel by his actions then Paul would get in his face and correct him no matter what reputation Peter may have because the truth of the gospel is that important Paul would not just let that go and that's what we began looking at last week in Galatians chapter 2 in verses 11 through 14 We saw that there were some believers, the Church of Antioch, Jews and Gentiles. Peter came to Antioch to visit. And initially, Peter was enjoying fellowship with all of the believers of the Church of Antioch. They were eating together, they were worshiping together. But when a group of Jews came from Jerusalem, from the Jerusalem church, And Peter pulled away from the Gentiles. Then all the believing Jews in Antioch started to pull away from the Gentiles. Then even Barnabas, to Paul's amazement, even Barnabas started to pull away from the Gentiles. To where it turned into the Jews worshiping in one place and the Gentiles worshiping in another place. And the Jews would not have fellowship with the Gentiles because the Gentiles were not keeping the Law. They ate some things that the Jews under the Law were commanded to not eat. Now they all should have known. We know that Peter knew. He knew better. We know that Barnabas knew better. That the Old Covenant, which was the Law of Moses, had come to an end, because it had been fulfilled by Jesus. And when Jesus died on the cross through the shedding of His blood, the new covenant began. That means that Jews, nor the Gentiles, had to live by the rules of the old covenant. They also knew that the death of Jesus on the cross was sufficient. to cleanse all who put their trust in the Lord Jesus of their sins. They knew, we know Peter knew, we know Barnabas knew, that no efforts of man could help make them more acceptable to God. So their refusal to fellowship with the Gentiles, because the Gentiles were not following the law, was not being straightforward about the gospel, And that's serious. Paul would not just let that go. And what follows, verses 15 to 21, is either a recounting of what Paul said to Peter, or an explanation to the Galatians about why it was wrong for Peter to do what he did when he pulled away from the Gentiles. Either way, it does make a lot of difference. This is why what Peter and the rest of the Jews did was wrong. That by their actions in pulling away from the Gentiles, refusing to fellowship with the believing Gentiles, they were giving the impression that some part of justification, some part of being holy and righteous before God was achieved by their works through the law. Paul wants to be very clear about how justification is really received. So he says, verse 15, we are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles. Now Paul was probably saying this with a bit of sarcasm. He's been using some sarcasm already. Some of the verses that we've been looking at recently This is the way that Peter and the other Jews were acting. This is how a lot of Jews thought about the Gentiles at that time. To be a Gentile was basically synonymous with being a sinner. You could say those sinners over there and mean those Gentiles over there. It was basically the same thing. And yet many Jews thought of themselves in a much more gracious way. because we're God's people, they thought. We are keeping God's law, they thought. In reality, the Jews were in a very favored and blessed position because they were God's chosen nation. That is true. They were the people that God primarily worked with and through in this world. The scriptures came through the people of Israel. That is a huge blessing that they had. The prophets, the priests were all Jews. The promise of the Messiah was given and came through the Jews. No one else on earth, no other nation had as much truth or privilege as the Jews. And that was all by grace. because they didn't deserve it. God didn't work with them and show them so much truth because they deserved it. It was grace. No other nation on earth deserved it any more or less than the Jews because all are sinners. Jews and Gentiles were sinners. But in that favored and blessed position, And even though many Jews thought so highly of themselves because of that position. Verse 16. Nevertheless, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law. And notice Paul is saying, we know this. We know this is true, Peter. We know this is true, Galatians. Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law. but through faith in Christ Jesus. Even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law. Since by the works of the law, no flesh will be justified." Peter knew that. Barnabas knew. All the Jews who had been a part of the church at Antioch, they knew. The people of the churches in Galatia, they claimed to have believed. It doesn't matter what your position is. It doesn't matter what titles you may hold or what you think you have accomplished in your life. A man is not justified by the works of the law. Paul says that same thing three times in different ways in this one verse. Do you see that? A man is not justified by the works of the law, he says toward the beginning of verse 16. Closer to the end, he says, not by works of the law, then write at the end, and since by the works of the law, no flesh will be justified. Could it be any clearer? By the works of the law, no flesh will be justified. We should maybe ask, what does it mean to be justified? It's a pretty important word. This means to be made right. Because God is holy and we are sinners, the relationship between God and man is not right. We are separated. There is a wall of separation between sinful man and holy God. So to be justified means to be brought into a right relationship with God. It can also mean to be pronounced righteous. To be justified means starting as a sinner and then to be given a pronouncement of now you are righteous. You are no longer considered to be a lost sinner. If you are justified, you are seen now as righteous. Now that is necessary because we must be righteous in order to have a relationship with a righteous God. to be justified, takes care of the problem of sin, so we can be brought into God's family, where we can pray to God as our Father, to be His children. We must be justified. The relationship between us must be fixed. When we are justified, sin no longer stands in the way. To be justified is to be made worthy of being in God's presence. So is it possible for anyone to do well enough at following a list of rules or demands of any law to be justified? Well, some of the Jews were pretty good at following quite a bit of the law that God gave to them. And you can put Paul at the top of that list. He tried really hard. to keep God's law, and he did fairly well at it. He explained in his letter to the Philippians that he did pretty well at keeping the law. In Philippians 3, verse 4, he said, If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more. And he lists several things of his Jewish credentials, things that he had accomplished as a Jew. And he says in verse 6 of Philippians 3, as to the righteousness which is in the law, found blameless. And nobody could come and cross-examine Paul and say, well, you forgot this part. You left this part out. You're not covering this part of the law. Paul was thorough. He tried hard. As good as anyone could be through trying, Paul was there. He tried harder than anybody. But he had to realize, a man is not justified by the works of the law. Paul had to realize that it did not work, even for him. Because as hard as he tried, he had already failed. Now just suppose, from this day forward, you'd stop sinning. From this day forward, you put yourself under the law and you do it perfectly. As perfect as can be done. From this day forward. Could that make you righteous? No. For lots of reasons. One reason, what about yesterday? What about the day before that? You sinned. You didn't keep God's law then. You've already failed. You're already a sinner. Even if Paul started when he was 15 years old, did as well as he could do at keeping the law, what about the day before? He had already sinned. He was already not righteous. If it didn't work for Paul, it's not going to work for anyone else either. If it didn't work by trying to keep the law that God gave people to live by, it's for sure not going to work by trying to keep laws that we make up. Just try your hardest to be a good person. That's a law that man has made. That'll be good enough. That'll get you in with God. Just try to follow the golden rule. That should be good enough to get you in with God. Keep the Ten Commandments. Be baptized. Take communion. Join the right church. None of these things will save a person. These things, even though they all be done, and try it as hard as you can, they will not add an ounce of holiness to a sinner. Because we're already sinners. We've already failed. Paul says that three different ways. By the works of the law, no flesh will be justified. By the works of the law, no flesh will be brought into a right relationship with God. What about this person? No flesh. Nobody will be made righteous. Nobody will be justified by the works of the law. So then, how can anyone be justified? That is the most important answer to find in all of humanity. How can a sinner be brought into a right relationship with a holy God? Well, Paul gives the answer three times in verse 16. but through faith in Christ Jesus. Even we have believed in Christ Jesus so that we may be justified by faith in Christ." It's almost like he didn't want us to miss it. He says the negative way three times and the positive way three times in this one verse. He's saying, even Peter, even Barnabas, even all the Jews who had been a part of the church at Antioch, and even Paul, whatever advantage they had had as Jews, the only way they could be justified was through faith in Christ Jesus, not through the law. And he says that they knew that. Verse 16, knowing these things. You know this, Peter. You know this. Barnabas They knew the only way they could be justified was by faith in Christ They knew the law Did nothing to help justify them? So they were being hypocrites by separating themselves from the Gentiles by acting like the Gentiles who had been justified by faith in Christ that they need a little extra help from the law and to try to put them back under the law. Paul says, we know this. There's just one thing. One thing that makes the difference between saved and lost. There's one thing that makes the difference between justified and condemned. One thing that makes the difference between being a child of God and a child of the devil. One thing that makes the difference between eternity in heaven and eternity in hell. The one thing. Faith in Jesus Christ. Now that being that important, what does it mean to have faith in Jesus Christ? There's a common illustration It's used to describe what faith is. You've probably heard it before. So use a chair. It's kind of convenient that you're all sitting in chairs right now. If you have faith that that chair that you're sitting in right now will hold you, then all your weight is in that chair. And you're not nervous that that chair might fail and drop you. Now you probably didn't even think about that possibility until I brought it up. Right? Because you trust the chair you're sitting in. Sometimes chairs have failed. These chairs, honestly, are getting kind of old. But I'm guessing that all of you trust the chair that you're sitting in right now to hold all of you. I'm guessing that if the need arose and you're able to do it, You could even pick up your feet. And so your chair is holding all of you because you trust it. You can do that. If you did not fully trust that chair, you would try to hold up some of your weight yourself. Be sitting on the edge of it with your feet under you just in case. You might add some extra supports to your chair. You may bring with you next Sunday a set of jack stands to put under your chair if you didn't trust it. If you didn't have faith in the ability of your chair to hold you up. Now, there's lots of ways we could take that illustration too far and get off into the weeds, but the general gist of it is kind of like if we were to try to add any works of any kind. It's like we're trying to prop up Jesus. We don't trust Him. He's just not quite enough. We've got to support the Gospel. His death on the cross is maybe just not quite enough, so we need to add something to it. That is not having faith in Christ. But, if we lean all of our eternal soul's weight on Jesus. We put our eternity into Jesus' hands, depend fully on Him. We depend on what the Bible tells us is true about Jesus and what He accomplished through His death on the cross, His burial and His resurrection. We depend fully and only on that to make me okay with God. If I believe that only Jesus can help me, only Jesus can save me, that He is my only hope, there is nothing I can add. There is nothing anyone else can do. It's only the Lord Jesus Christ. We cast ourselves on His mercy alone. That's what it means to have saving faith. That's how we are justified. I'm not propping it up. I'm not adding my own works. I'm not supporting the gospel in any way. It's only Jesus. Only Jesus can save me. And we're trusting Him. Trusting Him alone. That's saving faith. That is the main gist of this passage. You could even say it's the main gist of the book of Galatians. not by the works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ. What we see in the rest of the verses in this passage supports or further explains that truth. We are not justified by the works of the law, but through faith in Christ Jesus. Now there are some parts of verses 17 through 19 that can be a little confusing. I think it helps if you imagine this being a conversation from Paul to Peter. Paul saying these things to Peter. Verse 17. But if while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be. Paul is saying, if you and me, Peter, have stopped trying to earn our justification through the law. And we both, Peter, you and me, have realized that we can only be justified in Christ. We have recognized that we are on the same footing as everyone else. We need salvation through Christ in the same way as those sinful Gentiles, because we all are sinners. And the law wasn't changing that. The Law did not stop us from being sinners. So if we are trusting in Christ alone to save us, instead of good works, does that mean that Jesus is opposed to good works? And does He encourage sin? The concern of the Judaizers, one of their concerns. Maybe some of those Jews who had a hard time letting go of some parts of the law. If salvation is just through faith in Christ and not by good works, then people are going to get the idea that sin is okay. That they don't need to try to be good people. They may throw off all restraint and become even more evil. So they were saying that's why, that's one of the reasons why we need to keep doing some of the law and bring the Gentiles under the law. That was part of their reasoning. But Jesus taught salvation comes through grace and by faith. God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten Son. Whoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life. Salvation is a gift. It is received by faith. Does that mean Jesus promotes sin? Paul's answer? May it never be. Absolutely not. It's obvious. That's a foolish thought. Of course not. Verse 18 looks at it back the other direction. For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor. So here Paul is saying, if I try to put people under the law, who don't need to be under the law, because the law does nothing to save them, and we know that, remember Peter, we know that to be true, because you and I, Peter, We tore that down when we put our faith in Christ. We stopped having trust in the law to save us. And those Gentiles who have trusted in Christ and are fully saved by Him, if I try to make it out that they now need these things of the law to be more right with God, to finish their justification, then I'm the one promoting sin. I'm being legalistic and telling lies about the gospel. Being a hypocrite by trying to put them under the law to make them more righteous. I'm the one sinning if I do that, not Jesus. For His gospel of grace. In verse 19, for through the law I died to the law so that I might live to God. What did the law do for us, Peter? What good did the law do for us? Well, it did do some good. But what it did was showed us our sin. It showed us how far short we fall. It made us more accountable to God. It showed us God's holiness and our lack of holiness. What the law did to us, Peter, was killed us. That's what the law did, it killed us. The law brings death because it shows us how much we've failed. And when Paul and Peter learned that, they died to trying to earn God's favor by keeping the law. They died to the law. This is not going to bring me into a relationship with God. I can't do that anymore. I can't trust in that law to earn my way to God. It doesn't work. I'm done with it. I died to the law so that I might live to God. So life, a relationship with God, you don't find that in the law. Only death is found in the law. So verse 20, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live. but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me." Now, being dead to the law doesn't mean antinomianism or licentiousness, which is what the Judaizers were afraid of and accused Paul of teaching because of his gospel of grace. Now, antinomianism, if you're not familiar with that term, It means without law. It's the idea of there being no standards. Sin doesn't matter. Just live however you want. There's no law. That's not what Paul is saying. That's not what he believed. That's not what he taught. Licentiousness means to believe that if we are free from the law and free in Christ, we have a license to do whatever we want to do and dive into whatever sin pleases us. It's not what Paul is saying. It's not what he believed. That's not what he taught. It is true that the law of Moses, the old covenant, is done, has been replaced by the new covenant. That doesn't mean that God has no law and that in Christ we are are free to be lawless hooligans. There is a law of God. Sin is still bad. There are commands to obey. We find them all through scripture. But in Christ, our relationship to the law has changed. Paul says, I have been crucified with Christ. He explains in Romans chapter 6, when we are saved, the Holy Spirit baptizes us or immerses us into Christ's death so that His death on the cross becomes our death on the cross. We have died to sin, Paul explains in Romans chapter 6, because we've died with Christ. Through being baptized into Christ's life, baptized into His resurrection, as Paul explains in Romans 6, we have Christ in us now. The Holy Spirit is in us. God the Son is in us. So we are no longer who we once were. We have been changed. We are no longer just operating by our flesh as believers in Jesus Christ. We've been changed. And that's what he means by, it's no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. Through Christ, and living by faith in the Son of God, Paul is now able to live for Christ, through the power of Christ, not through the power of the flesh. He is free to now not live selfishly, and to live for God's glory. in ways he never could before. And he wants to. Because he loves his Lord. Because his Lord loved him and gave himself up for him. Paul is saying this is a whole new life in Christ. This is a life of the believer. Christ is now in me. I'm not who I once was. I want to live for my Lord. I want to serve Him. I want to obey Him. Verse 21, I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died needlessly. Now those Judaizers did nullify the grace of God, because they taught that at least some righteousness comes through the law. Now if that is the case, that some righteousness could come through the law, then Christ died needlessly. The reason for that is if you can get some righteousness through the law, then try harder and get the rest. If you can get some righteousness through the law, then why stop there? Do better. Try harder. Get the rest of the righteousness you need. But it's not possible. The righteousness we need is, it's a heart change. not just a change in behavior. The law can have an effect on behavior. It can't change the heart. No righteousness can come through the law because it is powerless to change a man's heart. Peter, Barnabas, all the other Jews in Antioch, by their legalism, were heading in that direction like the Judaizers had gone. giving the impression that they believed some righteousness was achieved through the law. That is, telling lies about the gospel is diminishing the importance of Jesus' death on the cross. If you keep going this way, Peter, you're telling people that Christ died needlessly. You don't want to go that way, Peter. I brought up Romans 11.6 a few weeks ago, where Paul says, But if it is by grace, It is no longer on the basis of works. Otherwise, grace is no longer grace. Salvation is either all by grace, or it's not by grace. If it's not by grace, then you have to earn it yourself. And you can't. You never will. You cannot make yourself righteous because you're already a sinner. God is holy. We are not. The most important question facing every individual is, how can a person be made right before a holy God? If your answer to that question has any merit or goodness of your own in it, it's the wrong answer and it will not save you. A person can only be made right before a holy God. A person can only be justified by grace alone, through faith alone, in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. So the worst problems facing humanity, the worst problem, God is holy, we are sinners. There is one solution to that problem. faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no other hope. We are given that message to proclaim and to rejoice in. Let's do that.