In life, if you see something that you really want really bad, there are two basic ways to get it. Way number one is how we get most things, and this is do something. Get a job, make an argument, to get something from somebody else, do something nefarious, rob somebody, take their stuff, write a fake check, fraud. I don't know. There's a lot of ways, both honorable and not honorable, both shrewd and unshrewd, both efficient and inefficient, to get something in the world that you want that involves doing something. But the other way that you can get something that you want, or might get something that you didn't even know you wanted, is just to have somebody give it to you for no apparent reason. Or maybe an apparent reason. But either way, in this scenario, you didn't do anything, somebody just gave you something. Both of us have experienced both of these things. I would say the ratio is probably massively in life in favor of the former over the latter. And most of the time when we get stuff, it's because we did something, but we can envision not doing anything and getting a thing as a result of the generosity of somebody else. Absolutely no strings attached. Well, likewise in the New Testament, there is this prize, this treasure, this pearl of great price, this incredibly valuable thing that is out there that is constantly being discussed and pursued by characters in the New Testament. And that thing is right standing with God, a right relationship with the maker of all things. And, well, what do you know? People see a thing that they really want. How are they going to come at that? Like they come at everything else in the world. They're going to think to themselves, well, how do I get everything else? Well, I do things. That's the most reliable way to get something I want that I don't have. I do stuff, I take action. And so unsurprisingly, throughout the Bible, Old Testament and New, there is a whole lot of attempting and speculating and theorizing about doing stuff to gain this treasure. That is rightness with God, the forgiveness of sins, eternal life. But counterintuitively, the more you work through the Bible, the more you realize, dang, this is different than other stuff that I get. This is the one thing, the treasure that I most need, but weirdly can't earn. If I get this, it has to be because of God. It's just gonna have to be because of his character and his generosity and his grace. And what do you know? This whole season that you and I are doing right now in the book of Galatians is all about a situation where a group of people initially came to understand that the way you get right standing with God is by the mercy and grace of God. It is the gift of God. And it's not by works, so that nobody can boast that you went and did all this great stuff or had a clever plan to wrench it out of God's clenched fist. Nope. He gives it by his grace, full stop. And initially, this group in Galatia, they all accepted that. And they're like, this is amazing. And God did amazing things in their midst, and it was awesome, and all these churches cropped up. But then, of course, somebody else came along and they were like, no, actually, it's the other way. That's how you get this great treasure. You earn it. It's like anything else. It's like if you wanted a candy bar or an iPhone or a new car or a better house, like you go out and you do stuff and you earn it. And it wasn't very hard to get people to buy that because that's how everything else in life goes. And so it kind of stuck and it quickly threw the churches in Galatia into confusion. And then Paul has to come along and write this letter that we're basically two chapters into to say, you picked the right way the first time, you understood it initially. This is free gift of God, faith in Christ, that's it. Believe the one who's given you the gift that he is giving you the gift. That's it. But now you're back to option number one, which is really no option at all. We've tested this, we've tried it. It doesn't work. Human effort and self-discipline and behavior is not good enough to undo imperfection, because it really doesn't take much getting it wrong to take something from perfect to imperfect. Maybe if we're grading on a curve, that would be different, but it's not the case. It's a one or a zero, perfect or imperfect. And so Paul has been going on and on about how the Old Testament system of the obeying the law and doing a bunch of things is not going to get that done. You can't do stuff to gain this one particular treasure. It's a different kind of treasure that's given only in this one way. So here in Galatians 2, Paul is trying to spell this out in the simplest of terms. And he's already made this point. I mean, come on, folks, six, seven times in just the two pages we've covered so far in Galatians. But now, in the closing words of Galatians chapter two, he is pounding this concept. There's only two proposals for how to get this treasure, and only one of them works. And it's the second one. So he says this we are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners. Know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. Did you catch it? There's your option one, and there's your option two. Paul could not be more explicit in saying, the thing where you do stuff does not achieve this. It is the second thing. Now look, uh, there are people who might debate the finer language of this and be like, well, isn't having faith kind of doing stuff? Well, but then you read through the rest of the New Testament, and it kind of looks like where that faith comes from is also the gift of God. So Paul's being super clear. There are two ways. Way number one, isn't it? Man is not justified by observing the law, doing stuff, but by faith in Jesus Christ. He's gonna double down now in the second part of Galatians 2, 16. So we too have put our faith in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ. So now he's saying it's number two, it's the second one, second option. We're trusting the gift giver. We believe that this gift is real, this treasure of rightness with God, forgiveness of sins, eternal life. We are in a state of complete vulnerability and helplessness here, dependent on Jesus, believing that this gift is real. He's saying, that is the way we do that. So we too have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not, now we're back to the other hand, to number one, by observing the law. And now he's gonna double down on that, saying it isn't doing stuff that gets this done, because by observing the law, no one will be justified. And maybe somebody would read this and be like, oh, well, this is a very emotional moment for Paul. The meaning seems really clear here, but maybe it's hyperbole, and maybe it's a little bit of both. And maybe the way somebody is declared righteous before God, justified before God, is sort of from the law, and a little bit because of things they do. Well, okay, let's go look at another part of the Bible where we're talking about the same exact material. Romans 3, verse 21. But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known, to which the law and the prophets testify. So the point here is all the law and the prophets and all of this stuff, it's not useless. It's all pointing toward this truth that I'm about to tell you. Ready? This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. So maybe at this point you're cruising along, you're like, I'm really trying to track with Paul. I can tell this is very, very important, but things still cost something. That iPhone and that hypothetical earlier, it's somebody made it. It took human capital, somebody had to invent it and get the parts for it and mine the rare earth materials to make the battery. Somebody had to do all of that. Somebody bought the phone. So wouldn't it be the same with this great treasure we're talking about in the New Testament? I mean, somebody had to earn it, right? And that is what gets covered next as we read forward here in the book of Romans. Verse 25, Romans 3, 25. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished. He did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Did you catch it? Somebody did pay for it. Somebody paid a great price for this great treasure. Somebody paid a great price for the ability to declare that a sinner, a human being, could have right standing before God, it was Christ who paid that price. And I referenced it earlier, and I've referenced it a couple of times before, but Paul, the same guy, is drilling home the same point in Ephesians 2. For it is by grace, that second option given, that you have been saved through faith. And this is not from yourselves. It is the gift of God. Do you catch that? So anybody who would read this and be like, Yeah, but isn't faith, isn't that doing something? Well, Paul right here apparently had been asked that question too, and he's clarifying it in Ephesians 2, and being like, No, even that is a gift from God. And then he goes on to say that, you know, for it's by grace you've been saved through faith. And this is not from yourselves, it's a gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. The same thing, it's the same contrast, it's the same dichotomy. Paul is, and yes, I'm pounding the table with both hands. Throughout the New Testament, we have these two ideas that are pitted against each other. One seems like the way that would work, because it's what works in the world when you want to get something, but it leads to death and separation from God, and it doesn't work. There is no true rightness, right standing before God or righteousness in it. And now I'm pounding the table with my other hand. And then there is option number two, which is the only option, and this one is given. It's by the grace of God, not from ourselves. It is the gift of God. Now look, I know that through the centuries, and even today, there are people who look at the New Testament, they're like, no, it it's still option number one. It's still you do stuff, and yes, God is very gracious, but you do stuff. Look, I I get, I mean, it doesn't surprise me at all that that is the case. It was very hard for people back then to accept that during the time of the New Testament, what Paul is talking about here, to accept that no, it's just from God, that he just does this. That's disorienting, that's confusing, that raises a lot of questions. That isn't how things work. And well, what does that mean for me if I didn't do anything? I get it. This is hard. It was hard for them, it's hard for me, it's hard for people now. And so it isn't weird or surprising to me at all that so many people look at the New Testament and are like, uh, I like Jesus and I like Paul and the Bible and everything is great, but also it's kind of number one plus number two. It's the grace of Christ plus some stuff that I do. But in making that very understandable mistake, any of us who do so are making the exact same mistake that the Galatians got duped into that resulted in the writing of this letter. There's a big, obvious question that comes out of this, that Paul knows comes out of this, and that we're gonna look at because it's the very next thing in the text, Manana. All right, that's good for now. I'm Matt, this is the 10 Minute Bible Hour Podcast. Let's do this again soon.