Seeking Justification

Notice vv.17-21, “But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” The bottom line is that righteousness does not come through keeping the Law of Moses. As a matter of fact, it is impossible to keep the Law of Moses. You and I simply cannot do it.

Now, some may be sitting there right now wagging their self-righteous heads and thinking to themselves, “I can keep the Law of God.” The Pharisees of Jesus’ day made the same mistake. They thought that as long as they physically kept the Law that they were okay. For example, if the Law says, “Thou shalt no commit adultery”; that meant that as long as they didn’t physically commit adultery they were okay. However, “window shopping” was okay. Then Jesus comes along and blows that view totally out of the water when he says, “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). That changed things considerably because who hasn’t looked with lustful eyes at another person?

That’s also why Jesus said in Matthew 5:20, “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” What Jesus was saying is that the righteousness of the Pharisees was just external while what they really needed was an internal righteousness. In other words, just keeping the Law externally (not physically committing adultery) while breaking the Law internally (lusting after others in our hearts) was still breaking the Law and thus, Heaven was not an option!

New Recordings

I have finally worked it out so that I can record my Sunday night teachings. Check it out under "Most Recent Studies". I would also like to invite you to come. We meet on Sunday evenings at 6:00pm in the Worship Center Balcony at First Baptist Church of Brownsville.

Why Do Bad Things Happen?

Why do bad things happen? In answering this question, I realize that there are many who have suffered a great deal of unexplainable troubles in this life and who, to this day, cannot figure out why. My attempt to answer this question is in no way intended to minimize the trouble many have endured. I’m just going to look in the Bible to see what it says about this subject. I believe these passages will explain many bad things that happen, but not all.

God allows bad things to happen for numerous reasons. One reason that they happen is so that God can demonstrate His power. A great example of this is found in the Bible in regards to the Egyptian captivity that the Israelites suffered for over four hundred years (Exodus 1-14). In speaking of this, the Apostle Paul said in Romans 9:17, “For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth." In essence, God allowed Pharaoh and the Egyptians to enslave the Israelites so that His power could be demonstrated in their deliverance. The longer Pharaoh hardened his heart and refused to let the people go, the more opportunity that God had to display His power to not only the Egyptians, but to the Israelites as well.
The bottom line is that we may have to endure something bad NOW (I.e. the Jewish captivity in Egypt), so that God can be allowed to demonstrate His power LATER.

As matter of fact, later when Israel had already been delivered from the Egyptians, they came to the city of Jericho and met a harlot named Rahab who told them, “I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you…and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites…And as soon as we had heard [these things], our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he [is] God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.” Joshua 2:9-11

How Do You Spend Your Time?

Someone has calculated how a typical lifespan of 70 years is spent.

Sleep................23 years...........32.9%
Work.................16 years...........22.8%
TV....................8 years...........11.4%
Eating................6 years............8.6%
Travel................6 years............8.6%
Leisure.............4.5 years............6.5%
Illness...............4 years............5.7%
Dressing..............2 years............2.8%
Religion............0.5 years (6 months) 0.7%

Total................70 years............100%

Justification By Faith

Let’s pick up our study in Galatians 2:16 where it says, “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” This is a clear cut presentation of justification by faith. It simply means that justification, or being made right before God, comes about only by faith and not by works. That means that there is absolutely nothing you or I can do to “earn” it. I find it interesting that Paul spent so much of his time on this subject throughout his writings. Obviously it was a major concern to him. Unfortunately, most today also believe that they have to do something to “earn” God’s love and forgiveness. Just ask anyone around you what they think that it takes for a person to go to Heaven. The answer will invariably be something like; “go to church”, “be a good person”, “respect my fellow man,” and the list goes on and on. Sadly, it is a sure sign that they haven’t got a clue about justification by faith.

Paul’s point in this passage is simple. If the Jew had to leave the Law behind in order to be justified by faith, why should the Gentile be brought under the Law? After all, it didn’t save the Jew and it certainly wasn’t going to save the Gentile either. Paul will later say in Galatians 3:11, “But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.” That very verse alone played a major role in the start of the Protestant Reformation.

The bottom line is that too many people are running around trying to gain favor with God. I must remind you that God said in Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags…” My friend, don’t continue to think that your salvation depends upon you. Nothing could be farther from the truth. God looked down through the portals of time, and out of love, decided to save you: not because of who you are but because of who He is!