Justified by Faith!

Faith and Confrontation Sermon

Overview

Pastor Terry recounts early ministry experiences, including a missed opportunity to accept a coconut cake and refusing to address a woman's attire. He transitions to discussing Paul's confrontation with Peter in Galatians 2:11-21, highlighting the importance of grace over works. Paul criticizes Peter for hypocritically adhering to Jewish laws, emphasizing that salvation is through faith in Christ, not works. Pastor Terry underscores the necessity of standing firm in faith principles, even when faced with peer pressure or external influences, and stresses the critical nature of living by faith in Christ.

Outline

First Church Experiences and Initial Challenges

Pastor Terry shares a story about their first church experience, where a woman offered a coconut cake, which he declined due to a personal dislike for coconut. He reflects on the incident, noting that they should have accepted the cake to make the woman happy, but he was unaware they were in a confrontation.

Another story involves a woman singing inappropriately dressed in a rural part of Middle Tennessee, and Pastor Terry refuses to address the issue, preferring a deacon to handle it. He discusses the importance of deciding when to confront issues, noting that the coconut and clothing issues were not worth fighting over.

Paul's Letter to the Galatians and Grace

Pastor Terry transitions to discussing Paul's letter to the Galatians, focusing on chapters 1 and 2, where Paul addresses the issue of grace versus works.

He explains that some Christians were teaching that one must become a Jew to be a Christian, which contradicts the concept of grace.

The discussion highlights the importance of grace and faith alone in salvation, without the need for adherence to Jewish law.

He emphasizes that being Jewish is part of one's culture and identity, not a requirement for faith.

Paul's Confrontation with Peter

Pastor Terry describes Paul's confrontation with Peter, who was influenced by the Judaizers and began to separate himself from the Gentiles.

He explains that Peter's actions were hypocritical and contradicted the message of grace and faith.

The conversation touches on the importance of standing firm in one's faith principles, even when faced with peer pressure or intimidation.

Pastor Terry uses personal anecdotes to illustrate the challenges of maintaining faith in the face of external pressures.

Living by Faith and Avoiding Hypocrisy

Pastor Terry discusses the importance of living by faith, not by works, and avoiding hypocrisy in one's faith practice. The conversation includes a personal story about a deacon suggesting ignoring a moral issue, but Pastor Terry insists on addressing it. He emphasizes that confrontation can be done respectfully and without raising voices, but it is necessary to address critical issues.

The discussion highlights the importance of being honest and forthright in theology and faith practices.

Paul's Argument Against Works and Justification by Faith

Pastor Terry reads from Galatians 2:11-21, where Paul argues against justification by works and emphasizes faith in Christ.

The conversation includes a detailed explanation of Paul's argument with Peter, highlighting the importance of living by faith.

He explains that justification is a gift of grace, not something earned through works or adherence to the law.

Or by our looks or by our name or by our education or by our wealth, we cannot please God with anything, but Christ lives in me in the life which I live now in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God. 

So conversion is an experience, it's a moment in time, and when we confess with our mouth, as Romans says, when we confess with our mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead, and we confess our sins before God, He forgives us, and at that instant the Holy Spirit of God enters into us, and by faith we have been saved, we've saved by grace through faith, that's an instantaneous thing, but our faith continues. 

Our life is lived by faith. It's not just a single act, and then we go back to the law, or we go back to our own practice. We constantly and continually, through the power of God's grace and through His Holy Spirit, we live by faith every single day, so as a believer in the Lord Jesus, if we are living our life according to His word, and we have a genuine relationship with God through Jesus, we are living by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me, my flesh died on the cross, and now I live in faith with Christ and the Holy Spirit in me. 

Paul finishes in verse 21 with more testimony. "I do not nullify the grace of God. For if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died needlessly." If you believe that grace is not enough, and you need something else, you need a grace plus experience, if I can use those terms. You are in essence saying that Jesus is not enough, that his death on the cross is not enough, but Paul is reminding Peter that the death of Jesus on the cross is enough, and that it's not only enough, it's all that we need, and that when we live our life past that experience, we are living in faith, and we live in faith to honor and to serve the Lord, because we love Him. 

I hope that if you're here this morning, and you're trying to do your very, very best to please God without a relationship to Him through Christ, you are spinning your wheels, you're not going anywhere, you can't do it. You may ask the question, well, what about my life after my conversion experience? What do I do? Is what I do considered plus? 

Do you know why that Jesus said, 'If you love me, you'll keep my commandments." That should change your mindset about your relationship to the scripture after your conversion experience. 

We do things we are obedient to the word of God, after our conversion experience, not to maintain it or to earn it. We do it because we love Him. 

I use a simple example. I love my wife, and we may or may not do everything that we ask each other to do, but I do the things for her that she asked me to do, because I love her. It's not a burden. I don't begrudge it. I do begrudge walking the dog all the time, though. 

Anyway, do you keep the word of the Lord because you love Him, or do you do it because you don't know if grace is sufficient? Let me assure you, grace is sufficient.

 Conclusion: Faith in Christ is the only way to please God, not through personal qualities or works. Conversion is an instantaneous experience of faith through grace, but faith is a continuous act. The speaker argues that grace is sufficient for salvation and that obedience to God's commandments should come from love, not a need to earn salvation. The speaker uses personal examples to illustrate this point, suggesting that believers should live by faith out of love for God, not out of doubt in grace's sufficiency. The sermon concludes with a prayer for continued understanding of God's grace.