Sunday March 3 2024 - Galatians 3:1-9 - The Price of Grace
In previous weeks about an easy acronym for remembering what Grace is is God's riches at Christ's expense. It's a five-letter word comes out pretty well numerically when we see the number five symbolically throughout scripture is always a Ematic of Grace very briefly. The outline their late forties. ATP is most likely the time frame it's written we're in this section dealing with justification by faith and that comes only through the grace of God and we're going to look at that in a little more detail this morning here going through the gospel of grace our text for this morning starts Galatians 3:1. Oh foolish Galatians who has Bewitched you that you should not obey the truth before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you with crucified. It's only I want to learn from you. Did you receive the Spirit by The Works of the law or by the hearing of Faith? Are you so foolish having begun in the spirit? Are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain if indeed it was in vain therefore he who supplies the spirit to you and works miracles among you does he do it by The Works of the law or by the hearing of face just as Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness there for no. That the only those who are our faith are sons of Abraham and the scripture for seeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith preach the gospel to Abraham beforehand saying in you all the nations shall be blessed. So then those who are up face are blessed with believing Abraham. last week Pastor Jared took us through the end of chapter 2. And we were looking last week at the problem with Grace and there are many people who have a problem with the doctrine of grace. But the real problem is not with grace us with their understanding and their acceptance of this because the doctrine of grace is clearly taught. We closed last week with this verse from chapter 2. I did not set aside. The grace of God pretty fractiousness comes through the law. Then Christ died in vain and we're going to see this concept again this week about vanity of works.
Grace God's riches at Christ's expense the easy way to remember it. If you want more information on Grace, it's undeserved honor and favor or kindness the Greek word. There is Karis. Is that what you for the pleasure to light sweetness charm loveliness Grace of speech Goodwill loving-kindness favor in general, but in the specific, it's at the merciful kindness by which God exerting his holy influence upon Souls turns them to Christ keeps them strengthens increases them and Christian faith knowledge affection and Kendall's them to the exercise of Christian virtues. That is the mechanism by which salvation is achieved. It's by the grace of God and unfortunately for the churches in galatia, there had been many who would come in and who had brought false Doctrine false teaching.
They were trying to get the Galatians to come under the law. Hey that Jesus is great. Yep. We're safe to we're glad you know Jesus but really you need Jesus and the law you need Jesus and circumcision. You need Jesus and the feast Jesus and the festival's really you can't even have Jesus unless you were do first. So how about we get you to convert to Judaism and then you can be really saved. You can really have favor with God because you'll be following the law. You'll be Jewish.
Paul is reminding them that that is not the gospel. He presented that's not the gospel. They received that's not the truth of the word of God and he makes that painfully clear here in verse 10 foolish Galatians. You guys just don't get it. You're a little slow on the uptake. What's wrong with you? Some translations say this thoughtless or senses one translator brought it to rent a rendering of oh you dear idiots of galatia.
No, this is not what you would think of as a moral or mental deficiency that word in the Greek would be more of us where we get our word morons. He's not calling the morons here. It's actually worse. This is a no antos which is the idea that someone knows better. They're smarter than that. They they've had the truth, but they're choosing to believe a lie. They're not engaging their mental faculties. They're they're being deceived even though they already know better. You're not operating at full capacity. They're sort of sleepwalking through this all sounds good, but they're not doing their due diligence.
You guys just don't get it who has Bewitched you?
In their culture in that region of Glacier, they very much were into Pagan idolatry. They very much we're into the practices of curses and hexes in this is the idea of the evil eye that someone would turn the evil eye on you in and capture you or hypnotize with you with your gaze and then put you underneath their power like casting a spell sort of like a serpent mesmerizes pray before it attacks. And Paul is not saying that they have been cursed or that someone's bewitch them. He's saying they have acted as if that were the case they're acting in the manner of which that would be true. Scott literally saying they're underneath the spell. He's just saying they're behaving like it using a metaphor. They would understand who has Bewitched you who's put their evil eye on you. Who is it? That's causing you to believe the lie and not the truth.
Who has Bewitched you that you should not obey the truth? We're not even halfway through the first year in Paul's hitting them hard with both barrels. What can we take from this one? There is such a thing as truth. We live in a world of moral relativism where everything's well. That's your opinion or that's fine if that's good for you. I'll do what's good for me and who's to really say we talked about this at length before there are subjective truth claims, which you're fine. You're entitled to your own opinion no matter how wrong you maybe that's a subjective truth claim but subjective truth claims have no bearing on a ejected fax reality always wins in the end. I will give you the most common reference I use for this illustration. If I set the thermostat in my house to 68°, my wife said that's terribly too cold. I say that's perfectly just fine. Those are subjective truth claims. Although one of us is right. Objectively, it doesn't matter. It's 68 degrees Fahrenheit. What's the objective truth of the matter regardless of your opinion always saying you have been given the objective truth of the mechanism of Salvation and you're choosing to believe lies instead of the truth. You should know better you've acting like you've been Bewitched and you're not obeying the truth, which is objective. The second thing we can draw from this there is objective truth to you have an obligation to it. You are morally culpable to obey me the truth. It's moral and it's personal responsibility. There is truth. You have an obligation to it. That brings up the third question. What is the truth specifically regarding salvation? Before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified. Jesus Christ and him crucified that is the price of salvation.
Wherever Paul went he preached the same message. He used different illustrations. He use different cultural references. If one place he says, I became as a Jew to the Jews as a heathen to the heathens that I might win the more but his message never faltered. It was culturally reference that was framed in a light. They can understand but it was always the same Jesus Christ and him crucified from 1st Corinthians 2, and I brother and when I came to you did not come with Excellency of speech or wisdom of declaring to you the testimony of God for I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified, but God forbid that I should boast in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ by whom the world has been crucified to me. And I to the world. What is the truth? What are we morally accountable to? Jesus Christ and him crucified is the only means the only mechanism of Salvation or just as Paul said back in the end of chapter 2 21, if you can be justified by works of the law, then Christ has died in vain. There's two this only I want to learn from you. Did you receive the Spirit by The Works of the law or by the hearing of faith? All right, guys, you have to remind me again. I'm getting a little older. I'm having trouble remembering. So remind me now when I came to you and you received the Holy Spirit and it was just great life changing moment for you that very first time when you experienced it. Did you earn it you cleaned yourself up? You started obeying the law and then God said oh, oh, you're getting it. Now. I'm going to bless you. I'm going to give you my spirit. Is that how you won favor with God by being more righteous by being less Pagan. Did it have anything to do with your efforts your Works in any way shape or form?
No, it's a rhetorical question. It has nothing to do with your works and has everything to do with the grace of God. Even if you had somehow miraculously been able to clean yourself up and begin at One Moment In Time To Live perfectly for that's the holy standard to Allah be perfect as I am perfect. Even if you had even that wouldn't be of yourself because the very breath you draw is a gift from God your physical stature your strengths or abilities your gifts your attributes. They are all given to you by God then if themselves or nothing from you. Paul says, oh wait, I remember It's All Coming Back to Me Now. It wasn't by your works. It was by faith, silly me. Are you so foolish having begun in the spirit? Are you now being made perfect by the flesh? So it wasn't about you in the beginning. It didn't have anything to do with your works. You didn't learn any of it. It was not about you and that's how you started. But now that you've received the spirit. We're going to be perfect by our works. No, again, that's foolish. You should know better, but you're not thinking straight. You're not thinking clearly.
The idea here is that well, God got me started. He he must have pushed Us in the right direction. Thanks God. I got it from here. Now. It's up to me. I'm going to work really hard. I'm just going to will myself to live perfectly. I'm never going to send again. Good luck with that. I would say good luck with that going read Romans 7 sometime.
It's not how that works.
He reminds Titus here in Titus 3 when the kindness and the love of God our savior toward man appeared not by works of righteousness, which we have done. But according to his Mercy he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit whom he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ Our Savior, but having been justified by his grace, we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. We are saved by grace. That's how we begin were sustained by Grace by the working of the Holy Spirit within us. And ultimately we are brought into completion by the grace of God into eternal life. You can go back and listen to the study on that Romans 1 through 8. It'll take you a little bit to get through it.
Paul continues on here asking again some rhetorical questions Have you suffered so many things in vain if indeed it was vain? Vanity, it's to be empty of value meaningless without having worth. Paul asked them. Have you suffered so many things in vain? It's clear that Paul suffered. You can go back and read about his first missionary journey going through the region of galatia. He's stoned and left for dead at one city. He's constantly harassed by the Jews. He's driven out of town There's riots. He's imprisoned Paul suffer greatly, but apparently these churches that he established in galatia also suffered. These two experienced some of this fall out after Paul comes through after the storm after the great turmoil from his presents from his ministry from his preaching Jesus Christ and him crucified the churches that were left behind also suffered.
Pause asking them. What was the point of all that suffering guys? Was it just in vain if all you had to do was just do what the judaizers wanted you to do? Why don't you just do that in the first place? Why did you suffer with me? What was all this suffering for? It's meaningless. It's worthless. If you're just going to cave and give me in at the end. Anyhow. What's it all in vain?
Therefore he who supplies the spirit to you and works miracles among you. Does he do it by The Works of the law? or by the hearing a face
How was it? that God performs this
busy wait for you to get right to get the works of the law figure it out. Did you conjure up all of this on your own?
Why are you trying to take credit for this? Why are you trying to be perfect in your salvation of your own strength? You didn't begin that way. That's not the source. That's not the origin nation of this miraculous life-changing presents.
It's not about you. It never has been the fact of the matter is it's not about us either. It's about God's Great Love For All Mankind. We saw that verse this morning up on the slide as we were playing through for God so loved the world that he gave his only son. Whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.
He gave his son. Jesus laid his life down. He said No, man takes my life from me. But I lay it down of my own accord. And if I lay it down I have the power to pick it up again. He paid the price. He laid his life down. He cried out on the cross to tell us die. It is finished. It is paid in full that debt that he did not owe that he paid on our account. Deemed us. He brought us back. He is the source. He is the one who sustains us and enables us and equips us. And motivates us Paul writes about this in Philippians chapter 2 for it is God who works in you both to Will and to do for his good pleasure. It's not about you. It's not about your effort your strength. It's not about your faithfulness. I hate to break it to you. If it was up to me, I'd fail 10 times out of 10, but the good news is it's not about me and it's not up to me. It's up to God and he is faithful.
Therefore he who supplies the spirit to you and works his miracles among you does he do it by The Works of the law or by the hearing of faith? You started in faith you started in the spirit. Are you going to be now made perfect in the flesh? Remember going through Romans. We talked a lot about the flash specifically 5 6 and 7 hit the flesh pretty hard Paul rendered The Flash is a corpse chained to his ankle that he had to drag around. Romans 7. I know that in me that is in my flesh. Nothing good dwells for to will is present with me but how to perform. What is good. I do not find if you're counting on your flesh to save you. You're looking in the wrong spot. You're looking in the graveyard. There's no life. The flesh is a dead man. It's been rendered paralyzed. There's no ability. There's no life. How the end of the world are you going to be saved by works? You can't be it's impossible. It is impossible to please God.
The good news for us is it's not about our works. Ephesians 2:8 through 10 for by Grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. Not of Works lest anyone should boast for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. now we talked about this enrollments a bit. We talked about it when we went through James don't mistake the good works that follow saving Faith with good works earning salvation. That's a non sequitur. That is not what Paul saying. That's not what James is saying. They're not arguing with each other no matter how hard people want to try to put them at odds with each other. That is not the case. salvation comes By grace through faith Grace the vehicle Faith the mechanism, it's God. It's all God. It's all his grace God's riches at Christ's expense given to you. Freely. You receive it. You accepted you and Brace it by faith vehicle mechanism. That's it. No Aunt no, but no. Well, that's the starting point and then know by grace through faith. But what follows a saving Faith what follows a renewed relationship with God there's no works that saves us no one's boasting. No one's saying hey look at me. I did it myself, but we are his workmanship where a new creature were a new creation. We've been metamorphosed. We talked about in Romans 12 week. We've been transformed by the renewing of your mind. We're a new Creation in Christ Jesus he created us for a purpose to do good works, which he prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. But even those good works aren't done in the power of our own fresh. They're done in the power of the spirit again go back and listen to the study from Romans 8. I would love to detour there and hit it this morning.
Got to save that for another day. Do you need to understand? It's by grace through faith and good works follow as a natural result by the Holy Spirit dwelling and empowering and emboldening and pushing us forward and driving us on into good works the good works. Follow a Saving Face. This is a logical progression. It's not works save us we are saved and then good works follow. That's the fruit. That's the evidence. That's the growth in the new believer.
Paul continues on and if we were having a debate if if the judaizers were present when this letters read or if they were listening to Paul in a public debate, they would be astonished that he takes this seemingly left turn. Just as Abraham believed God it was accounted to him for righteousness. Therefore know that only those who are of Faith or sons of Abraham know Abraham Abraham's the guy we were using for argument points. We said were the sons of Abraham and the sons of Abraham later received the law but God establish the law through the descendants of Abraham, and now all those who are descendants of Abraham have to keep the law where in the world is Paul bring it up Abraham But that's our Point that's argument. He's on our side now. I don't get it. No, that's exactly the point. Abraham the father of Faith why is he bringing him up?
Paul is establishing and will elaborate further over the next half of chapter 3 and into chapter 4. How Abraham's justification is solely by faith and not of works. Now Abraham's works are the evidence of his face. Remember Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness Ben Abraham put his belief into action by obeying the voice of God. And this is where anybody who's ever read that from Genesis about 12 to 15. There's a significant period of time that elapses Abraham. Obey eventually partially kind of sort of imperfectly and that's the guy that the judaizers was going to hold up and say see his work saved him know his Works were terrible. They were just a tiny scene of face, but the thing that saved him thing that made him a friend of God would that he believed God and ultimately eventually imperfectly poorly his life started to Bear the fruit of his belief and trust in God and that's why Abraham is the father of faith. Yes Abraham, the father of Faith shows us the means by which we enter into relationship with God. Call the interns from the authority of Abraham the father of Faith to the authority of the scriptures themselves and the scripture for seeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith preach the gospel to Abraham beforehand saying in you all nations shall be blessed. Paul here turns to scripture
What is it that separates the Bible? From all other religious books is one thing. One thing Above All Else and that is prophecy. The Bible is the one book that dares to declare future events in advance. The Bible is the one thing that dares to declare what will happen in the future. the Bible speaking prophetically God uses to tell Abraham and the nation of Israel that Gentiles will be saved and he talks about this specifically. This is a promise is reiterated three times to Abraham in you through you all nations of the Earth shall be blessed but it's later expounded on in the giving of the law and Deuteronomy 32. They have provoked me to jealousy by what is not God. They have moved me to anger by their foolish idles, but I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation. I will move them to anger by a foolish Nation. And you say well Brian that seems a little vague. Are you sure you're not stretching that one a little bit? Absolutely Paul explain this and Romans 10 speaking specifically about God restoring the nation of Israel one day in the future again speaking prophetically quotes this very passage. I say have they not heard yes indeed their sound has gone out to all the Earth and their wins to the ends of the world, but I say did Israel not know first Moses says, I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation. I will move you to anger by a foolish Nation. But Isaiah is very bold and says that was found by those who did not seek me I was made manifest to those who did not ask for me, but it is real. He says all day long. I have stretched out my hand to a disobedient and a contrary people a little bit later Romans 11. David says let the table become a snare to trap a stumbling block and a recompense to them that their eyes be dark. And so that they Not see him bow down their back always I say that have they stumble that they should fall certainly not but through their fall to provoke them to jealousy salvation has come to the Gentiles. See all of this in advance. God is using salvation coming to the Gentiles as jealous provocation to draw the nation of Israel back to himself. We talked about this a little bit on Wednesday night. We saw a picture type of it in Exodus 18. You can listen to that as well. This is not by accident. The longer I live the more I am convinced that there's no such thing as coincidence in the kingdom of God.
It was all seen beforehand. So then those who are of Faith are blessed with believing Abraham. I know there's a couple different ways. You can read that it would depend on the emphasis you put And really it would fit either way those who are of Faith are blessed with believing Abraham. Meaning they saw what Abraham did they heard the story of Abraham? And yes, they believe that Abraham was also saved by righteousness. Sure. Probably more fitting is those who are a face are blessed with believing Abraham. Yeah member Abraham who was a friend of God. Remember how he was saved. He believed it would have believed God and it was credited him to righteousness to those who are of Faith are blessed alongside Abraham in the same. Mechanism. Abraham was blessed with by faith It's Always by faith Old Testament by faith New Testament by faith. It's by faith.
Again, please just 289 by Grace. You've been saved through faith. Not of yourselves as gift of God. Not of Works lest anyone should boast. We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
We are here for a reason we're here for a purpose. We have received the grace of God through faith. And there are works that God has prepared beforehand for us to walk in them. Not in our own strength not in our own power, but by the power of the spirit of God. Now there are some.
well-meaning misguided unfortunately
brothers and sisters Do we call this cheap Grace?
Brian you can't say that. Because people are going to hear that your congregants are good to hear that the world's going to hear that and they're going to view salvation is just their fire insurance card their get out of hell free there what time Runs Out you possess this card and you get a pass go and collect $200 and enter into heaven. It's just cheap Grace.
And that is a horrible. horrible misconstruing of the doctrine of grace
just because something's free. Does not mean it's cheap.
It's free to you. They have to be free to you because you can't pay enough to ever get it. You owe a debt that you cannot pay. It is physically impossible. It's theoretically impossible. There's no possibility that you could ever pay this debt. So for you it has to be free, but the debt still has to be paid. It must be paid in full completely totally. The full magnitude of sin was recompensed fully paid for on the cross at Calvary. Yeah, it's free. What is the most costly thing? in the universe Never forget the price of Grace never forget the price that was paid.
Colossians tells us that Jesus the image of the invisible God the firstborn over all creation by him. All things were created things that have been things on earth visible and invisible with their Thrones Powers Brewers authorities. All things were created by Him and for him. He is before all things and in him all things hold together and he is the head of the body the church the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead and everything. He might have Supremacy for God was pleased to have all his phone as well in him and through him to reconcile himself to all things with a things on earth or things in Heaven by making peace through his blood shed on the cross.
The image of the invisible God the firstborn over all creation the second person of the Trinity co-equal with God.
Chose to step out of Eternity and enter end to our time domain do identify with us in our sin. Jesus told Nicodemus that as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness. So must the son of man be lifted up the Brazen serpent on the tree curse. It is everyone who hangs on a tree the symbol of their sin raised high in the wilderness. He chose to become sin. He made him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. That's the price of Grace cheap. hardly
We're going to have the worship team come up. We're going to prepare to take communion. We practice an open communion here. You don't have to be a member of the church. But we would ask that you have made a profession of faith that you've accepted Jesus as your savior. If you've never done that you can do that right here this morning. Now you say God. I know I'm a sinner. I know I can't do it on my own. I need Jesus and accept him into my life. If you've done that even for the first time this morning, we invite you to partake of communion with us. For those of you that have made that decision. Take this as an opportunity to reflect on the price of Grace that was paid for you and for me.