Please read again Galatians 2:16-17: "And knowing that a man is not justified out of works of law, but through faith in Jesus Christ, we also have believed into Christ Jesus that we might be justified out of faith in Christ and not out of the works of law, because out of the works of law no flesh will be justified. But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves also have been found sinners, is then Christ a minister of sin? Absolutely not!" The book of Galatians shows us that some in Galatia contended that even though man was justified through faith in the Lord Jesus, it was not enough; he still had to keep the law. They were not saying that a man should not believe. They recognized that a man was justified in Christ. But they were saying that one still needed to keep the law. Paul said a very strong word here. He said that if while seeking to be justified in Christ we have been found sinners, it meant that after we have believed in the Lord Jesus, we are still not justified, that we are still sinners, and must still keep the law before we can be saved. For example, suppose that I am sick, and I spend ten days with one doctor. Afterwards, because the sickness is still present, I have to consult another doctor. If I seek to be justified in Christ, and at the same time try to keep the law, it means that I am still a sinner and have not yet been saved. If I am no longer a sinner, then I should not need to keep the law anymore. If I am still a sinner, is Christ a minister of sin? Paul asked that if he was not justified after he had believed in the Lord Jesus, did that mean that Christ is a minister of sin? The answer is, "Absolutely not!" In the New Testament, Paul said "absolutely not" many times. In Greek, it is an idiom. It is translated in the King James Version as "God forbid." It is equivalent to the expression "heaven forbid," a very strong word. This means that even heaven would reject this. There is no reason under the sun that this should be so. Hence, one can see that a man cannot have faith in Jesus and at the same time keep the law.

In Romans 3, Paul made another clear statement. Verse 28 says, "For we account that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law." This is a conclusive statement. Now it is a matter of faith. It has absolutely nothing to do with the law. Thank the Lord. Jesus is enough. When the Bible pays attention to faith, it pays attention to God's grace. This shows us that everything comes by receiving. Some like to exalt men in their gospel preaching. But if we know the Bible, we will see that apart from God, man is absolutely helpless. Please remember these two sentences: man is not saved by the law, and neither is he saved by faith with the law. This is the first and most common mistake of man. Man has mixed faith with the law.