The Need to Confront Sin (Part 2)

TRANSCRIPT

I greet all of you in the blessed name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Our text for this morning’s message is taken from Galatians chapter 2 verse 14 to 16. We will continue with the theme, “The Need to Confront Sin (II)”. Firstly, let us establish the background of this passage. Remember the Apostle Peter had been in Antioch for quite some time and during that time he used to eat with the Gentile believers – he had no problem eating and mingling with them. Then certain men came from the Jerusalem church to Antioch, and they were described as “of the circumcision” (verse 12) because these were men who were advocating a false gospel that circumcision was necessary for salvation. They were the ones who taught that the Gentiles must first be circumcised. In other words, the Gentiles must first become Jewish before they could be Christians.

The moment Peter saw these men, all of a sudden, he withdrew from the Gentile believers because he was afraid to offend these men; most likely, they were prominent leaders or members of the Jerusalem church. But actually, they were Judaizers pretending to be Christians. This sin of hypocrisy that it not only spread to the other Jews who immediately behaved like Peter, but even Barnabas – who was known as someone always encouraging others – he was affected and he was carried away by that hypocrisy too. That is the background of this text.

We are living in a time when most people do not want to confront. Most people do not want to stand for anything. The vast majority believe that we should not be dogmatic on any point. We should never say this is right or this is wrong because people believe that there are no absolutes. Rather we should just agree or disagree. But we all know that that is not true because we have the Bible as a yardstick to help us to judge what is right and wrong; what is truth and error.

Some people may say, ‘Even if we need to confront someone, we should not do it publicly.’ Is it really necessary for Paul to confront Peter publicly? The Apostle Paul had no desire to disrespect Peter. He was not trying to build up his own reputation by putting him down. His motive was not to humiliate Peter but to correct him because this is a serious sin that had caused the other brethren to be stumbled. The issue was doctrinal, not personal. That was the reason why Paul, he rebuked Peter based on the doctrines.

I. The Stumbling Block

This is what we want to learn today, and there are two points in our message: (1) “The Stumbling Block” and (2) “The Theological Issue”. Let us first look at “The Stumbling Block”. Verse 14, “But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all”. The original word for “uprightly” is from where we get the English word for “orthopaedic”. It is about dealing with the bones or muscles. Just like when the foot is not walking straight and upright it has to be corrected, otherwise the whole physical body will suffer, right? When the believer is not walking straight or uprightly according to the truth of God’s Word, he or she needs to be corrected otherwise the church, the whole body of Christ, will suffer. So that is a very interesting word to use.

When Peter separated himself from the Gentile believers, he was not living straight, as in according to the truth of God’s Word. So when Paul saw that this sin of hypocrisy had affected the rest of the brethren, he immediately reacted by confronting Peter before everyone. Some people may ask, ‘Why didn’t Paul just approach Peter privately instead of publicly? Isn’t it better to confront him privately?’ In our previous message from 1 Timothy 5:20, “[the elders] that sin rebuke before all,” so “that others also may fear.” Why? Because the sin of the church leaders, the elders, can have a very devastating effect on the ordinary members. Therefore, it has to be dealt with openly. Some members may think, ‘If the elders can do this, if the elders can do that, then it is alright. So can we.’ That is the reason why when elders fall into sin, it has to be dealt with openly.

Now there’s another thing we must bear in mind: Peter’s sin was public. Every believer at Antioch would know that Peter was withdrawing and separating himself because of the Judaizers. There’s a difference between how we confront a private sin and a public sin. When you know of a brother or a sister in Christ who has committed a private sin – let’s say he has been secretly gambling on the internet. Somehow you knew about it. What do you do? You apply the biblical principle in Matthew 18 verse 15 to 17. You go to him one-on-one, and confront him privately. If he does not listen to the counsel, you bring one or two more witnesses with you to confront him. The purpose is for him to be restored.

If he still does not listen to the counsel then you bring the matter to the church, as in it is now made public. Probably some form of church discipline would be exercised. Hopefully he would repent. But if he still does not repent, then the fourth step, according to Matthew 18, would be to exercise excommunication. Treat him like a publican. Treat him like an unbeliever. That is for the purpose of protecting the church and keeping it pure.

But what about public sin? For example, someone teaches a strange doctrine, a heretical doctrine. Everyone hears it; the whole church is affected. It is not helpful to deal with a public sin privately – it is even counterproductive. Let’s say you deal with the heretic or the so-called false teacher privately, and that person acknowledges his mistake. What about the rest of the people who have heard the unbiblical message? They will walk away thinking it is true. It is not helpful at all! A public sin has to be dealt with publicly. Augustine, the church father, said this: “It is not advantageous to correct, in secret, an error which occurred publicly.” By “public” we mean everyone knew it and were affected by it.

Take a moment and consider this. If the public sin of a believer is not dealt with publicly, what would happen? Firstly, the people would think that the church does not take sin seriously. ‘Everyone knows about it, yet the pastor and the elders still do not do anything about it. This must be a church that does not take sin seriously.’ Secondly, they would think that the church approves of that kind of behaviour. ‘If the church does not deal with it, maybe it is alright. Maybe it is acceptable.’ Thirdly, they would think that the church does not discipline the person because he is a prominent member. ‘Maybe because he is an elder, or he is a deacon, or he is a fellowship leader, just like Peter who was an apostle. So because of that prominence, people are afraid to confront that person.’

When a church does not exercise public rebuke, she will lose her credibility. She will undermine the biblical doctrines and standards that she has been trying so hard to preach to the people. Everything will be wasted. Just like a child who is not disciplined when he does wrong. Soon he will come to the conclusion that: ‘My parent’s standards are not really very important. Why? Because they are not enforced. Well, my mum and dad always warn me against coming home late, but I have been doing that all the time. And they did nothing to stop me. They did nothing to discipline me, so it must not be that important.’

Soon people will come to the conclusion that you may preach all you want but it is not that important because things are not enforced. So it must be dealt with publicly if it is a public sin. The fact that Paul rebuked Peter who was an apostle publicly showed that no Christian leader, no matter how prominent that person could be, was beyond discipline in the church. And we must always apply this principle in our church too. No one, whether it be the pastor, elder, deacon, Sunday school teacher, fellowship leader, is beyond discipline in our church.

Paul went on to say (verse 14), “If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?” Allow me to explain briefly this verse. You see, the Jews were known throughout the whole world for their separation. Under the old covenant, God had given them certain dietary laws and other restrictions to separate them from the pagan Gentiles, so that they would not be corrupted by the idolatries and immoralities. On top of that, the Jewish Rabbis would add extra restrictions onto all these biblical regulations. So Paul was reminding Peter, ‘When you first arrived at Antioch, you were freely fellowshipping with the Gentile believers. You were eating with them frequently. You openly visited their homes. You joined them in the Love Feast and Holy Communion with no evidence of legalism and separation. You lived like the Gentiles, not like the Jews because the Jews were known for their separation and legalism.’

Actually, God had taught Peter not to separate from the Gentiles in a vision. In you have your Bibles, please turn with me to Acts chapter 10. Acts chapter 10, look at verse 10. One day, Peter was very hungry and he was in a trance. Now this word “trance” should not be understood like the trance you see in some of the pagan temples. This is a reference to the Apostolic experience of being transported beyond the normal, physical senses to the supernatural realms to receive divine revelation. So Peter was in a trance to receive a divine revelation.

What was this divine revelation? Look at verse 11, “And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.” Verse 13, “And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.” As a Jew, he has always separated himself from all those unclean food. Verse 15, “And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.”

Verse 17 tells us that Peter was wondering what this vision was all about. Then suddenly, the Roman centurion Cornelius came looking for him. If you look down to verse 28, “[Peter] said unto them,” – referring to Cornelius and his people. This is what Peter said, “Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation;” – referring to the Gentiles; there must be this separation between the Jews and the Gentiles – “but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.” In other words, Peter understood the meaning of the vision. That even the God-given ceremonial separation from the Gentiles which was taught in the Old Testament: it was no longer valid. From that day onwards, Peter no longer lived like a Jews. Which means he no longer practiced separation from the Gentiles which the Jews used to do.

That was the reason why when he first arrived at Antioch, he freely ate at Antioch – the Gentiles. But the moment he saw the Judaizers, he stumbled. And then he slipped into the old ways again. And behaved like the Jews, separating himself from the Gentiles. That was the reason why Paul was rebuking Peter for his inconsistency. ‘One moment you are living like the Gentiles who were not known for their separation. (Gentiles do not practice any separation.) Then the next moment you are living like a Jew. (The Jew would be known to practice separation.) Very inconsistent.’ By his behaviour, by his action, he was like forcing the Gentiles, compelling the Gentiles to do the same thing like the Jews: practice separation. That is what this verse means.

My friends, if it is possible for Peter to stumble, most certainly it is possible for you and I to fall likewise, especially in moments of temptation and weakness. Maybe we were strong in the past, but that is no guarantee we will be strong consistently. The moment we take our eyes away from God and His Word, we will always be focusing on the situation. And when the situation is adverse, when it is intense, we will be overwhelmed just like Peter when he looked only at the situation. He saw the Judaizers – what happened? He became afraid.

When you and I look at the situation, whatever it may be. It may be adverse circumstances, persecutions, hostilities. It could be wicked men, or the majority, or the people are against the preaching of the Gospel. It could be our frailty. It could be physical afflictions. Anything. And then we take our eyes away from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, surely, we would stumble and fall. The only way for us to remain steadfast, is to look to Jesus, the Author and the Finisher of our faith. And to be focused on His Word. Otherwise we will always fall.

So the first reason why Paul had to correct Peter, was because he was a stumbling block. His behaviour had affected the rest of the Jews, and Barnabas, and now even the Gentiles were affected.

II. The Theological Issue

The second reason was because there was “The Theological Issue” related to his behaviour. Let us move on to verse 15. “We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,” here he was speaking like a common Jew. The Apostle Paul, the Apostle Peter, James the elder and Barnabas were all Jews. They were born Jewish. The Jews were very proud of their religious beliefs. They believed that they were automatically right with God because they were born Jewish. In fact, that was the argument they quoted against Jesus when they told Him that they did not need to believe in Him – why? ‘Because we are Abraham’s descendants.’ You can read about that in John chapter 8.

So Paul was saying, ‘We, who are Jews by birth, we think we are the most religious people on the face of the earth. We are the only ones who have the law. We know the law by our way of life. We know the rituals and traditions and regulations of the law. We are not like the Gentiles.’ The Gentiles did not have the Law to guide them in the right way, to live their lives and please God. So in the eyes of the Jews, the Gentiles were sinners. They (Jews) were righteous, others were sinners. My friends, it is not only the Jews who have this kind of mentality. Today, there are many people who think of themselves as righteous and religious. By righteous, I mean self-righteousness, including people in the church.

Perhaps you are very devoted and committed to the church; you are very active in all the spiritual activities; you have been faithfully attending the worship services and giving your tithes and offerings; you have been serving in the different ministries in the church – because of all that you think you are better than the rest. You are religious while the rest are sinners. Do you have this kind of attitude? This is a most carnal and foolish mindset. The truth is that we are all sinners. Whether Jews or Gentiles. Whether we are born in Australia, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and so forth. We are all sinners.

Man is totally depraved. Our problem is that we are incapable of overcoming our sinfulness that separates us from our Holy God. The fundamental question is this: how can a guilty and condemned sinner be made righteous and be acceptable to God? Is it by our works? Can our works save us? The psalmist says in psalm 143 verse 2, “for in thy sight” – in God’s sight – “shall no man living be justified.” By man’s own strength, by man’s own ability, no one can be justified.

So how can a man then be justified? Well the answer is found in Habakkuk 2 verse 4, and Galatians 3 verse 11, “The just shall live by faith.” The word “just” or “justified” is a legal term used in a court of law. It speaks of a judicial declaration. Let me give you an illustration. Some of us are familiar with O. J. Simpson. Right? The one who was declared by the court, not guilty of killing his wife and the man who was with her. It was a judicial declaration by the court. It did not mean he was innocent. It did not mean he was a good man. It did not mean he was a righteous man. It simply meant he was judicially acquitted. That is the idea of being justified.

When a person is justified, it means God has made a judicial declaration that this person is righteous; in His eyes this person is righteous. Therefore, he is acquitted of all guilt and condemnation. Before the sinner trusts Christ, he stands guilty before God. The moment he trusts Christ, he is declared ‘Not Guilty’, and he can never be called guilty again. Once you have been judicially declared ‘Not Guilty’, forever and ever you are declared ‘Not Guilty’.

Romans 5 verse 1 says this, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”. The literal translation is this: ‘Therefore being once and for all justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ In other words, it was a once and for all act of God. Think about this: if you and I are justified by works, it is not a once and for all act; it would be a gradual process. It would be a never-ending process because we would always be working for our salvation. We would never be very sure – are we saved or not? Are we justified or not? It is never-ending. We have to work for it. But the Bible tells us that it is a once-and-for-all act of God.

The question is: what must we do in order to have God justify us? Paul went on to say in verse 16, “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ”. In other words, we all know that a man is not justified, he is not declared righteous before God, he is not acquitted of all guilt and condemnation based on the works of the law, or the keeping of the law. No man can keep the laws of God perfectly – we break them all the time. We must bear in mind that God’s standard is perfect. If we were to miss any commandment one time, we have fallen short of God’s perfect standard of righteousness. Even one time! That is why James 2 verse 10 says this, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”

How many of God’s laws have we broken? Even this morning before you came to church, perhaps you have already broken a few of God’s laws. Isn’t it true? Out of the ten commandments, even if you were to keep nine of them and just break one, you are still guilty. We are all guilty. Donald Grey Barnhouse, the theologian, gave this illustration: if you put us all in a swimming pool and said, ‘Swim to the other side’, depending on who are the great swimmers, some would get there first and they are better than the rest. But if you took all of us out in the middle of the ocean and said, ‘Swim to shore’, we would all drown. I don’t care how good you think you are: we are all drowning in sin. We cannot save ourselves by our works or keeping the law – that was Paul’s point.

There was only one person who had kept the laws of God perfectly. And it was none other than Jesus Christ who came into this world, He kept the laws of God perfectly, one hundred percent on our behalf, which otherwise we could not keep. He bore our sins on the cross, He suffered, He was crucified, He shed His precious blood, He died and was buried. But on the third day He rose again from the dead for He alone was the Resurrection and the Life.

Therefore Paul said, “but by the faith of Jesus Christ”. In other words, by believing in who Jesus was and what He has done for us, we are justified. “even we have believed in Jesus Christ” – the word we is a reference to Paul himself, plus Peter, Barnabas and all the rest of the Jews who had believed in Jesus Christ. We are all justified. We are all declared righteous. Not because of our works of righteousness or the works of the law. Because no man can be saved by keeping the law. No man can keep the law of God perfectly. That is what “for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified” means.

But why did Paul talk about all these things? Remember, it was a theological issue. Why was it a theological issue? When Peter withdrew and separated himself from the Gentile believers and turned to the Judaizers, he gave the impression that he was returning to Judaism. And Judaism was the opposite of justification by faith. Judaism believed that through the works of righteousness ­– through a system of legalism – one can be made right with God. So Peter by his actions, by his behaviour, by his hypocrisy, he was giving this impression that Judaism could be right, and he was returning to the Judaizers.

Therefore, in a sense, Paul was saying, ‘Peter I am rebuking you because you are violating the fundamental truth of Christianity. By your behaviour, by your actions you are declaring that we Jews are different from the Gentiles, we are better than the Gentiles.’ But the reality is that both the Jews and the Gentiles are all sinners. We can only be saved by faith through Jesus Christ. There’s no other way.

My friends, what about you? Have you been justified? Are you assured of your justification? Have you truly believed in who Jesus is and what He has done for you on the cross of Calvary? If you have truly be justified, forever and ever you are justified, you are not guilty, and you can never be called guilty again. That is how blessed the doctrine of justification is. But if you are still relying on your own abilities, on your own strength, on your own achievements, on your own righteousness, if you are still relying on the church, if you are still relying on the things you do, and the things you have not done – my friends, you are thinking that you can save yourself. And by that, you are still in your sins. You are still guilty before God. You are still eternally lost.

The only way to salvation is that we must totally and completely rely on Jesus Christ to save us. Nothing of ourselves! Only Jesus saves. Only by believing in Him. Have you done that? If not, today is the day of salvation. Cry out to the Lord with all your heart, cry out to Him, ‘Lord Jesus, I am a sinner. I am condemned. I am guilty. You are the only One who can save me. You are the only One who can justify me and declare me righteous, and equip me that I may be not guilty, that I would not stand condemned. You are the only One who can wash away all my sins. Come, and save me. Come into my life and be my Saviour.’

Just like the thief on the cross, at the last moment he said to the Lord Jesus, “Lord remember me, when thou comest into thy kingdom” (Luke 23:42). Our Lord Jesus will say to you, “Today shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). My friends, believe in the Lord Jesus. He’s the only One who can save you before it is too late. Once you draw your last breath and swing into eternity it will be too late. Today is the day of salvation. Let us pray.

Father in Heaven, we thank Thee for these three verses that we have considered. Indeed, there are so many lessons for us to learn. Thou has taught us this blessed morning the difference between confronting a private and a public sin. It is not personal; it has to do with Thy Word, it is doctrinal. Thou has given to us the biblical principles in the Holy Scriptures, how we ought to approach a private sin so that the person who has sinned may repent and be restored. But for public sin, we know that it is important that it be dealt with publicly, not privately because everyone knows and everyone is affected by it. And Thou has given to us this exhortation just as Paul confronted and rebuked Peter in front of everyone.

We know that it may be difficult especially in such times like this where people do not want to confront, where people do not want to stand for anything. Help us, that we will always apply Thy truth into our lives for Thy church that Thou has established in such times like this. We will apply Thy truth into this church so that this church will be kept pure, preserved, looking unto Jesus for His soon return.

And we pray that for those that are still lingering outside Thy Kingdom, oh Lord, those who are trusting in their own strength, their own achievements, their own abilities, thinking that they are righteous, they are religious. We are all sinners, guilty and condemned. The only way to salvation is that we must be justified. And the only way we can be justified is by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. There’s no other way. Help us, oh Lord, that we will turn to Thee. This is a spiritual work that no man can do. Salvation belongs to Thee and Thee alone. For those who are still outside Thy kingdom, may Thou convict their hearts of their sins, that they will turn to our Lord Jesus knowing that no one can save them except Jesus alone. And we pray that we will always share the gospel – preach Christ – that men and women will be justified.

And Thou has encouraged our hearts this blessed morning. For those of us who truly believe in Thee, difficult times may come, troubles may come, persecutions may come, but our hearts are comforted for we are justified. Forever and ever we are justified. Forever and ever we are not guilty before Thine eyes. And we can never be called guilty again. This is the blessed doctrine of justification. Blessed be Thy name. We give Thee thanks, and we pray all this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

SERMON OUTLINE

• I. The Stumbling Block
• II. The Theological Issue

THE BOOK OF GALATIANS

A Letter To The Galatians

A Letter To The Galatians

Galatians 1:1-5

The Danger of Preaching Another Gospel

The Danger of Preaching Another Gospel

Galatians 1:6-9

Be a God-pleaser, not Men-pleaser

Be a God-pleaser, not Men-pleaser

Galatians 1:10-12

But When It Pleased God

But When It Pleased God

Galatians 1:13-24

Standing for the Truth of the Gospel

Standing for the Truth of the Gospel

Galatians 2:1-5

One Gospel, Different Ministries

One Gospel, Different Ministries

Galatians 2:6-10

The Need to Confront Sin (Part 2)

The Need to Confront Sin (Part 2)

Galatians 2:14-16

The Need to Confront Sin (Part 3)

The Need to Confront Sin (Part 3)

Galatians 2:17-19

Dead, Yet Alive!

Dead, Yet Alive!

Galatians 2:20-21

Remember How You Were Saved!

Remember How You Were Saved!

Galatians 3:1-5

Saved by Faith

Saved by Faith

Galatians 3:6-9

The Age Old Promise of the Gospel

The Age Old Promise of the Gospel

Galatians 3:6-18

Christ Bore Our Curse

Christ Bore Our Curse

Galatians 3:10-14

Will God Keep His Promise?

Will God Keep His Promise?

Galatians 3:15-18

Why Then Have the Law?

Why Then Have the Law?

Galatians 3:19-22

What the Law Meant to Us?

What the Law Meant to Us?

Galatians 3:23-29

The Son of God Became the Son of Man

The Son of God Became the Son of Man

Galatians 4:1-7

No More a Servant and Child, But a Son

No More a Servant and Child, But a Son

Galatians 4:1-7

Until Christ Be Formed In You

Until Christ Be Formed In You

Galatians 4:8-20

Freedom in Christ or Bondage to Works

Freedom in Christ or Bondage to Works

Galatians 4:21-5:1

By Faith Or By Works!

By Faith Or By Works!

Galatians 5:2-6

The Dangers of False Teachers

The Dangers of False Teachers

Galatians 5:7-12

The Christian Freedom

The Christian Freedom

Galatians 5:13-15

The Works of the Flesh

The Works of the Flesh

Galatians 5:19-21

The Fruit of the Spirit (Part 2)

The Fruit of the Spirit (Part 2)

Galatians 5:22-25

Restoring the Sinning Brother

Restoring the Sinning Brother

Galatians 5:26-6:5

Restoring the Sinning Brethren

Restoring the Sinning Brethren

Galatians 5:26-6:6

You Shall Reap What You Sow

You Shall Reap What You Sow

Galatians 6:7-10

Living for the Praise of Men

Living for the Praise of Men

Galatians 6:11-13

Living for the Glory of God

Living for the Glory of God

Galatians 6:14-18