La Gracia Cambia Todo, Noviembre 2, 2025

Amen. What a blessing to be together this morning. I love the time we were able to spend together at Family Fest last week. And even though it was a little cold, the hot dogs were really good. And so if you missed out, don't forget to accompany us next year. So that your children can have a wonderful time of fellowship as well. Today we continue in our series in the book of Galatians, the grace that changes everything. And it's interesting this morning that the passage we'll see this morning, that the passage we're going to look at this morning was a key passage in the Reformation that began in the 1500s. And the title of our message today is not by works, but through faith. And remembering a little bit about the event of the Protestant Reformation, we can be reminded that in the year 1517, a German monk nailed his 95 theses to the Wittenberg Castle in Germany. And at the center of that protest of believers was the idea that the maximum authority for believers was the Word of God, the Scripture. It wasn't the church. It wasn't tradition. It wasn't religious leaders. It wasn't the Pope. It was the Word of God. And underneath that was the way in which a man could be declared innocent before the eyes of God. That German monk was obsessed with obeying the commands of God, and the more and more he struggled to follow God's law, the more he saw himself as a sinner. And the more and more he had to go to confessional, and he went more and more often until he realized the truth of Romans 1, 16 and 17, that the righteous shall live by faith, that that righteousness that comes from God for man cannot be earned. You can't pay for it or earn it. It's pure divine grace.

And that's where the idea of only faith, faith alone, that in Latin is sola fide, only by faith. The Reformers gave their lives so that that truth would come back to the center of the church. Because this has been a problem the church has faced from the very beginning. And we'll see something very similar in the passage today. So join me in reading Galatians 2, verses 11 through 19. We'll read in English and in Spanish together. But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles, but when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, if you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews? We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners. Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. So we also have believed in Christ Jesus in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law, no one will be justified. But if in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners,

is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not. For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the law, I died to the law so that I might live to God. Let's pray. Lord, we come before you this morning so that you would work in our hearts, that you would open our minds to the truth of your gospel, and that you would bring to light all of those areas where we continue living according to the law and not by grace, that you would touch the hearts of those who have not yet known the infinite grace that you offer us, that you would be glorified this morning. In the name of your son Jesus, we pray. The first thing we can see in this text is that trusting in works brings severe consequences to the church. Remember that this letter is written to people who are already in Christ. In other words, these people have known Christ as their Lord and Savior already. But this is causing problems in the community at the church in Galatia. It's causing division in the community It's causing division in brothers. It's causing believers to fall into hypocrisy.

What's going on here? Remember that Peter had already handled this situation in Jerusalem. Remember, like Pastor Jay taught last week, Paul and Barnabas had gone to Jerusalem to ask Peter whether or not the new, the Gentile believers had to follow the Jewish customs. And Peter, along with James and other apostles, said no. The only thing that a person needs to enter into a relationship with God is a faith in the sacrifice of Christ Jesus. But the problem is that a lot of times there's a difference between what we believe and what we actually do. There's a reality that sometimes what we want to believe isn't in agreement with what we say and do. Because our actions in the end testify to what we really believe. And that's why the problem of our sin isn't to solve it from the outside in. But it's to be transformed from the inside out. Because my actions demonstrate that there is a problem in my beliefs. Peter, who had said that only faith in Jesus Christ, that's all that was necessary to have a relationship with Him, he's now falling into the legalism that he had previously said was not necessary. What does that teach you? That none of us are exempt from the possibility of falling into legalism. Look at what verses 11 through 12 say. But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles. But when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. Why is it that Peter, when these high-ranking and legalistic Jews came by, why does he move away from his Gentile brothers and sisters? It's that when we're living according to rules based on a law or norms and expectations, and our interpersonal relationships are based upon those laws, when the people around me don't adopt those good things that I see myself as doing, I start to move away from them. Because I start to have an internal dialogue. How could it be that they would do that? Look at all that I do.

They don't follow these laws. Surely they're not nearly as close to God as I am. And that internal dialogue becomes an external dialogue. And we start to say to others, oh, look what you're doing. Look, you're not following this, this, and that. And the law begins to produce separation. Because the law brings condemnation. When we have those types of reactions, it's impossible for our relationships to grow closer together. But not only that. What is it that Peter does? Let's look at verses 13 and 14. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, if you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews? When we start to see our relationship with God and our relationship with others as something based on the law, the natural thing that will happen is that we will fall into hypocrisy. Let me tell you why. Because when I begin to point at other people, what I'm saying with that is that I'm better than you are before God. Or I don't even see my own life, and it becomes so easy to see the sin in other people's lives, but I can't see mine. And so I begin to point out the sin of others, but I hide all of mine. And that takes me to pretend to be a person who I'm not. And that word, a hypocrite or hypocritus, that's the word that's used to describe Greek actors, those who would put a mask on that would show a happy face or a sad face or an angry face. And then the church becomes a place to hide yourself in a hypocritical way.

Because we become insincere with our real life. And we start to put on masks. Because with that type of mask, I can see other people's sin, but nobody can see mine. And the problem is that didn't just impact Peter, but it brought the other Jews along with him. And there's an important phrase there, even Barnabas. Pay attention to that phrase there. Because who is Barnabas? Barnabas was when everybody wanted to get away from Paul because Paul had persecuted the church. And Barnabas was the one who went and got Paul and brought him to the church at Antioch. And so even Barnabas didn't resist falling into hypocrisy. It's so easy to fall into hypocrisy. It's a battle that we have every day. There's no one here who is completely safe from falling into hypocrisy. Safe from pretending to be one person and actually being another. So how should we see other people? Verses 16 and 17 is going to explain it to us. And Paul is going to explain to us the only way in which we can draw near to God. Only salvation by faith gives complete glory to God and eliminates all boasting. Look at what verses 15 and 16 say. We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners. We have believed in Christ Jesus so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, for by the works of the law no one is justified. Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ. So we also have believed in Christ Jesus in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law. Because by works of the law, no one will be justified. What is Paul saying right there?

He says, I recognize that we are Jews by birth. I'm not going to pretend that we didn't grow up learning the laws from the time we were little children. And I know we didn't grow up in the same way that the Gentiles grew up completely just far away from understanding what God expects. What does that mean for us? For you, maybe you grew up in the church your whole life. Maybe you grew up outside the church your whole life. Maybe you were the best behaved in class. Or you were the one that got kicked out every year. What does Paul say? It doesn't matter. Because his salvation is not by works. There's nothing that you can bring from your side into this contract with the Lord. It doesn't matter if you grew up in the church or out of the church. It doesn't matter if you served the church or didn't serve the church. If your dad was a pastor, he wasn't. We all must believe in Christ Jesus in the same way. Someone once asked this question to a missionary. If you have four people in front of you, one is a Catholic, one is a Muslim, another is an atheist, and the other is someone who grew up in the church but hasn't accepted Christ as their Savior, who is closest to God? And so you already know the answer. We might be tempted to think that maybe it's the Catholic who grew up hearing God's Word or the child who grew up in the evangelical church, but they're all equally distant from God because they don't know Him. They're all dead in their trespasses and sin. There's no one who has little stars by their name before knowing Christ. That's the news of the gospel, that even yet while we were sinners, Christ died for us.

There's no one who has earned the favor of God. And it's so interesting how easily we can leave that truth behind to the point where we can start to struggle in our relationship with God. We can ask ourselves, am I doing enough for God? Could it be that God is disappointed in me? Do you see how we can talk to ourselves internally? But sometimes we say that even to others. We don't let the gospel of grace influence how we interact with others. Let's go to verses 17 through 19, say. But first let's look at the last point. If we try to justify ourselves by our own works after having trusted in Christ, then we are rebuilding a system that Christ has already destroyed. Dice así, versículo 17 al 19, si buscando ser justificados en Cristo, también nosotros hemos sido hallados pecadores, es Cristo entonces ministro de pecado? De ningún modo. But if in our endeavor, but if in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not. Porque si yo edifico lo que en otro tiempo destruí, yo mismo resulto transgresor. For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. Pues mediante la ley, yo moría la ley a fin de vivir para Dios.

For through the law, I died to the law so that I might live to God. Se está diciendo, si yo en Cristo, en la persona, en las obras de Cristo, en lo que Cristo ha hecho, soy justificado. If I in the work of Christ am justified. Y para recordar que significa ser justificado, es ser declarado inocente delante de Dios. And to remind you what it means to be justified, it means to be declared innocent before the eyes of God. Si nosotros hemos buscado esa justificación en Cristo, so if we have sought out that justification in Christ, al mismo tiempo, somos hallados culpables o pecadores, at the same time we are called sinners, entonces, ¿acaso Cristo nos salva para después condenarnos o es ministro de pecado? Could it be that Jesus saves us to later condemn us? Esa idea de que a veces decimos, bueno, ahora Dios te salvó, ahora te toca a ti. It's this idea that, well, now Jesus saved you, so now it's your turn to do your work. Ahora, asegúrate de ser bueno para que tengas el favor de Dios. Somebody might say to you, be sure to act good so you can earn God's favor now. Esa era la lucha de la iglesia en aquel entonces. That was the battle within the church at that time. Dios te deja entrar. That God lets you in. A través de Cristo.

Through Christ. Pero asegúrate de hacer esto, esto, y esto. But be sure to do this, that, and the other. Para que continúes recibiendo el favor de Dios. So that you can continue receiving God's favor. Así nos sentimos a veces, ¿verdad? That's how we feel sometimes, right? Así vivimos. That's how we live sometimes. Lo que está diciendo es que no puedes mezclar la gracia y la ley. And what Paul is writing, what he's saying is you can't mix grace and the law together. No puede decir que por un lado, Cristo me perdona completamente, y por otro lado, estoy aquí tratando de ganarme su perdón. You can't say that Jesus forgave me completely, but then on the other side say, oh, now I'm trying to earn his forgiveness. Él dice, ¿para qué voy a traer un sistema que ya fue destruido? He says, why would I bring back a system that was already destroyed? Porque el sistema sacrificial, la ley, no tenía el propósito de salvarnos. Because the sacrificial system, the law, did not have the power to save us. Solo mostrar nuestro pecado. It was there to show us our sin. Por eso muchos han estado por muchos años en la iglesia.

And that's why so many people have been so many years in the church. Y siguen intentándolo, intentándolo, intentándolo obedecer, y siguen en lo mismo. And they keep trying and trying and trying to obey, and they continue in the same path. Y tal vez no se han preguntado si han recibido el regalo de la gracia. And maybe they need to ask themselves if they've ever received the gift of grace. Porque lo que te está diciendo, la ley no era para transformarte. Because what you're saying, because the law isn't there to transform you. It's there to show you just how dead you are. Y por eso dice, mediante la ley, yo morí a la ley. And he, and that's why he writes that before the law, I died to the law. Esa idea, yo morí a la ley, es esa idea de que nosotros morimos en Cristo. And that idea of dying to the law, that's dying in Christ. Dejame simplificarlo un poco. Let me simplify it a little bit. La paga del pecado es? The payment, the wages of sin is death. Entonces, para que la ley fuera cumplida, tenía que haber? And so for the law to be fulfilled, there had to be what? Death.

Entonces, Cristo tenía que? And so Christ had to? Die. To fulfill the law. And so for us to say that we are in Christ, it's as if we also have received that condemnation of the law. But we also receive the forgiveness of God because the life of Christ is perfection from the beginning to the end. Everything that Christ did is now credited to my account. And everything that I have done has been credited to Christ. And so in that same way, I died. And have you seen that no one can be accused two times for the same crime. It's called double jeopardy. I'm not sure what that's called in Spanish. It's a legal term that says once you're condemned and you paid for your condemnation, they can't take you to another judgment and condemn you again. And so when Jesus dies and he takes the condemnation of our sin, there's no one who can take us before the judge again and make us pay for that sin that Christ already paid for. And so why would I take other people and treat them as if Christ didn't die for them as well? Have you ever noticed how Christ in the New Testament doesn't show up as our accuser, but rather as our lawyer, our intercessor, our helper? So why would we be people who accuse and reject and point the finger at others based on the sin of other people? We don't have the right to do that, church. Because we have received pure divine grace, and we should live in that same way. A book that I'm reading with my wife is about raising children with grace from the author William Smith. He asked some questions for reflection that I want to ask you this morning. When you are in the depths of your sin, what are the words that you hear?

When you're in a moment that you know is shameful, do you hear this? I believe that God is angry with me. I think I'm not really that close to God. When is God going to get sick of me just going through the same struggle time and time again? If you hear those types of questions in your heart, you've lost the notion of the gospel of grace. Because if you really want to listen to the voice of God as revealed in his word, this is what he says. When you were a sinner, I died for you. When you were in the worst of the worst of your sin, I sent my son to die for you. There is no one who knows you like I know you, and I have still chosen to love you. The love I have for you is not based on the works that you've done for me. It's based on the works that Christ did for you. You didn't love me first. I loved you first. We need the Lord to restore our minds and our hearts, that he would free us from hypocrisy and division, that he would free us from that idea that our works can earn his favor, that we would understand that our sins and our shame are not so great that his grace can't cover them, so that when I am handling the sin of others, I can see them in the same way that the Father sees me. And instead of moving away from them, I can do what the Father did with us, which is draw near to us. And with that church, let's stand, and we can sing with all we have because of that grace he's given us. Because that forgiveness and that battle has been won not because of our works, but because of the work of Christ. Because of the sacrifice on the cross of Calvary.