Witchcraft and the Gospel

INTRO

-Thanks to Cameron

Welcome and open your Bibles

Well, if you have not gotten the message from Paul that he is angry about the distortion of the Gospel, you will today. He just shared how he has the credentials of an apostle by sharing his transformational testimony. Now he is going to get into the face of the Galatian believers by asking them some questions. 6 important questions actually and then proves that these jewish leaders that are preaching a distorted Gospel actually don’t even know what they are talking about. And these 6 questions are easy for us to jump over and push aside as questions for only the churches in Galatia when they can actually be asked to us too. So lets read, talk, and take time to ponder these questions for ourselves and how they can help our own faith walk.

So let’s pray and jump into the message today.

BODY

English Standard Version Chapter 3

3 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— 6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

Questions are great ways to find answers, and they are also ways to point out things. Think about God in the garden after Adam and eve eat the apple. He comes to them and asks them a question that he already knows. “Where are you?” This is an opportunity for Adam and Eve to confess and come to their senses but they don’t. I believe Paul is doing the same thing here, trying to get the churches of Galatia, and us, to confess if they have forsaken the Gospel and to repent.

6 IMPORTANT QUESTION

WHO HAS BEWITCHED YOU?

In other words, who has cast a spell on you? Who has waved their magic wand over you and caused you to act this way? Why are you acting this way? Paul is not only insulting the jewish leaders of doing witchcraft (which was a huge sin in Jewish culture) but also accusing the Christians of Galatia to fall under this spell.

In it’s simplest form, this is what it looks like to believe a distorted Gospel, it is a change of not just believing, but also behavior. It looks like a form of godliness but it denies any power. Because it is all about control, selfishness, and pride. There are more things to do, more rules to follow but it is not deliverance and freedom, you are now under a spell of believing you have to do these certain things to be accepted by God. That’s what Paul is trying to get through their minds, that they are not find more acceptance in God through these rules but actually being controlled by witches.

So, are we brave and humble enough this morning to ask ourselves if we may be finding ourselves under a spell? Are there things that, if you don’t do them, you don’t feel like God loves you or accepts you? Oh I missed my quiet time because I slept in, that must mean God does not actually like me! Oh I didn’t go through my prayer list today, so God is probably mad at me. Oh I didn’t ____________ so God doesn’t accept me in his family anymore. That’s witchcraft. That’s a distorted Gospel. Anything that adds to your acceptance in Christ is witchcraft and is bringing you into bondage and deceiving you.

REPENTANCE

If you are finding yourself identifying the lie in your head, the only thing you need to do is confess it and turn to Jesus and believe in Him. Tell the Lord, I’m sorry for trusting this more than your sons perfect sacrifice, I put my trust in you.

Because look at what Paul states right after this question, It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Paul could have been there when Jesus was crucified, or possibly saw other crucifixions where he was able to describe in detail what happened to Jesus. And how his body, his blood was the perfect sacrifice that was needed so that we could be accepted into God’s family. REMEMBER THE GOSPEL IS JESUS. IT IS CHRIST CRUCIFIED that we put our trust in. Not our religious expeditions. Not our good morality. In Him. This is how we get shaken out of our spell, looking to Jesus. and when we see Him, we believe. Let’s look at the next question.

DID YOU RECEIVE THE SPIRIT BY WORKS OF THE LAW OR BY HEARING WITH FAITH?

When Paul preached the Gospel, people were filled with the Spirit. It always happened. It was not a preaching of the law, but of the Gospel that people were then filled with the Spirit. He reminds the Galatians here that they did not receive the Holy Spirit through their continual synagogue attendance, their torah memorization, or through their circumcision. It was when Paul shared with them about Jesus who was crucified for their sins and raised for their redemption. And when they believed, they were filled with the Spirit of God which gave them power to turn away from sin and gifts to build up the body.

It’s not because you have done more Bible studies than others that you have the Holy Spirit. It’s not because you are a pastor, or fasted x amount of days, or have been on 30 mission trips that fills you with the Spirit. It’s not church attendance, nor even your continual good morality that fills you with the Holy Spirit. It is believing the Gospel that fills you with the Spirit. Why? Because the Spirit’s main job is to exalt Jesus, and Jesus exalts the father by bring you into fellowship with him. Maybe, if your sitting here thinking, have I been filled with the Spirit of God? Or, why does it feel like I had a lot of the Spirit at one time but now it feels like I have less? Maybe it is as simple as you have forgotten Christ crucified and believed in Him.

Hearing the Word in faith is important. Anyone can hear the Word, anyone can show up to church and hear a message, but if you hear with faith there is connection and the Spirit fills you because you are not following this present evil age, but the age to come, the kingdom of God. Believing the Gospel and the filling of the Spirit are not distant cousins, they are married. They are together.

If you are realizing that, maybe you have not received the Spirit because you have believed a man made Gospel, don’t go out those doors kicking yourself with shame and condemnation. Don’t try to sweep it under the rug with a “well, maybe I just don’t get it like others” no the Gospel and the Spirit are for everyone (Sons and duahgters, young and old) who believes. It is important that we know that we have this, because as Paul will say here shortly, you can’t start in the Spirit and then finish in the flesh. We are to continue in the Spirit. If this is something that you want, tell him now in your own heart or, if you are really not sure about it, come up for prayer afterwards and we would love to pray with you and be filled with the Holy Spirit. But for now, let’s read the next question.

ARE YOU SO FOOLISH?

Are you idiots? Boy have you lost your mind because I’ll help you find it! You think this is wisdom from these Jewish leaders that they are giving you? No, it is foolishness. It is the opposite of wisdom to think that our works are better, or can somehow fulfill God’s perfect work in the cross. The proverbs, which are all about wisdom, or foolishness, states that there is a way that seems right to a man, but it leads to death. But the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Are you a fool today? Are you being a fool thinking that there is something that you can do, something that you can add to the work of the cross? It was a thought permeating through the church in Galatia and it can happen in any believer today if we are not careful. Wisdom is justified in its actions, and wisdom, according to Jesus, is believing Him and putting his words into practice.

HAVING BEGUN BY THE SPIRIT, ARE YOU NOW BEING PERFECTED IN THE FLESH?

Believers of Galatia, you started off with the Spirit of God, the same spirit that hovered over the waters in Genesis 1, the same Spirit that filled Moses, Joshua, David, Ezekiel, and all the prophets to speak God’s word. The same Spirit that filled John the baptist and the same Spirit that filled Jesus and raised him from the dead now lives in you. And you want to push that aside now and say, “I got this!” That Spirit was good for a while, but we are good now, we have more rules!

Man this is happening still today. Ya, the Holy Spirit back then was different than the Holy Spirit today. So the Holy Spirit isn’t God then? No, he is! But you just said that God changes. No, I’m just saying that he was more important to prove the message back then than today because you know we have a lot of books and stuff. So, you think the Holy Spirit, that wrote that book is now sitting back on the couches of heaven because we are more civilized and Christianity is somehow not in need of the Spirit.

Let’s just call it as it is, that is being perfected in the flesh. We need the Holy Spirit as much as the apostles, the early church fathers, and continually today just like they did. His gifts and his power is needed today. It’s either we are walking in the flesh or in the Spirit, there is no middle ground. Let’s realign our lives in the Gospel and be open to the power of the Spirit again please.

DID YOU SUFFER SO MANY THINGS IN VAIN?

Paul was not the only one who was persecuted for preaching the Gospel. People who believed Jesus as Lord experienced many different trials, whether from Jewish leaders or from Rome, were difficult. People lost their houses, they were kicked out of the synagogue, looked down upon in a culture of honor and shame, and even killed. But why? Because they were pursuing animosity? No, because they were believing in a crucified messiah that was offensive to Jews and a stumbling block to gentiles. Why worship a God who would lay down his life? Why worship a God who became a servant? Why follow this Jesus of Nazareth that had no riches, no social influence, and died a brutal death? Because he was resurrected to the right hand of God and speak a better word for me to the father so that I can have eternal life, right now. I’m not tied to the present evil age, I’m living for the age to come. These present sufferings don’t compare with the glory that will be revealed to me.

Maybe some of you have suffered things because of your “status” as Christian. Maybe in the past, or even maybe right now. Just know this, it is not in vain to suffer for bearing the name of Christ. Jesus told us about this, he actually called us blessed if we do suffer for his name. Why? Because we did not love our lives even unto death because this is not our home, we are citizens of heaven, and we have a better hope than anything this wold could give us. You are an overcomer, stand firm in the Gospel!

English Standard Version Chapter 3

DOES HE WHO SUPPLIES

In Acts 14:3 we read that God did mighty works by the word of his grace and provided signs and wonders to be done by the work of Paul and Barnabas’ hands. Now, what were these signs and wonders? Were they opening blind eyes, deaf ears, raising a crippled person or raising a dead person? We are not sure, although those things are recorded in the book of Acts. But Paul was reminding these believers that, just like the question before, is it the Spirit or your rule following that you are seeing miracles happening?

Once again, the Spirit of God that we received when we believed the Gospel, is the same Spirit that we need every day when we believe the Gospel every day. I wonder, if I’m able to wonder during a sermon, if we don’t see as many miracles among us because we are relying on the flesh rather than the Spirit. I wonder if our lives would really look miraculous if we were dependant on the Spirit and trusted him to do miracles among us? Because, as Paul is pointing out here that they had miracles occurring among them because of the Spirit, not through their diligent Torah reading. Not because they showed up to synagogue every sabbath.

I know it might rub some of us wrong or make us feel uncomfortable but isn’t that the point? Get us out of our comfort zone so that we can be dependent on the Comforter, the Holy Spirit? Just a thought.

So those are the six questions he asks to get the churches of Galatia, and us, out of believing the distorted Gospel. Now Paul is going to start a long argument to really drive home the point of faith. And he does that through the founding father of the Jewish faith, Abraham.

English Standard Version Chapter 3

7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

We are going to talk a lot more about Abraham next week and how that affects us today. However, the argument that Paul is confronting was that these Jewish leaders were pulling father Abe into the story saying that to be truly in the family of God, a child of Abraham, you needed to be circumsised and you needed to obey the law. But Paul points out here two important truths about Abraham that debunk their distorted Gospel.

Paul quotes from Genesis 12 and 15 to show that faith makes us children of Abraham.

Faith in what God said, not just in God, justified Abraham. There is a big difference in believing God and believing in God. James tells us that demons believe in a God, and shudder! But to believe what God has spoken, like Abraham did, puts us in the family of God. But for us, who are not like Abraham and believing for a child or land, what are we called to believe in? The full work of Jesus makes us righteous. You and I have a right standing with God that will never change in Christ.

I’ll make this as simple as possible for us today.

Believers, keep believing, if you don’t know God today is a great day to simply put your trust in what God said through his son. That he loves you, that he forgives you, that you are accepted and pure, holy and blameless before him. You receive his Spirit to have power to die to sin and live to righteousness. It is a transformation thing to be fully known (sin and all) and yet fully loved (accepted and enjoyed). That is what the Gospel does, it delivers you from self centered righteousness that you think you can earn, to receive a free gift that all you can do is say thank you, thank you, thank you, I believe.

Invitation to keep believing in faith, or to start believing. If you have never trusted Jesus for your salvation, to be delivered from your old way of life and to live in the new, would you do that today? if you find yourself like these Galatians where you have gotten off track and been bewitched and believing a different Gospel, would you turn back to Him?