Faith That Frees: Living in the Promis

Anchor Phrase: God’s promise is greater than man’s performance. Text: Galatians 3:1–29

Big Idea

Faith in Christ frees us from the curse of performance, fulfills the promise of grace, and makes us sons and daughters of God.

Introduction – From Performance to Promise

“Who has bewitched you, O foolish Galatians?” (v.1)

Paul isn’t insulting them; he’s awakening them. They’d started strong in the Spirit but drifted into performance — the same trap many believers fall into today.

They began by faith but tried to finish by works.

Paul reminds them: The gospel that saves you is the same gospel that sustains you.

Just like them, we need to be reminded that our worth and righteousness come not from what we do for God, but from what God has done for us through Christ.

Transition: Paul shows us four realities of faith that free — truths that move us from performing to resting, from striving to belonging.

Point 1 — Faith Reminds Us Where We Began (3:1–9)

“Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by hearing with faith?” (v.2)

A. The Rebuke of Forgetfulness (vv.1–3)

Galatians 3:1–3 NIV

You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?

“Foolish” (Greek: ἀνόητος, anoētos) — “not using your mind.”

They knew Christ crucified but started living like He wasn’t enough.

Paul says, “You began by the Spirit — why are you now trying to finish in the flesh?”

Application: How often do we start by trusting God, then slip back into earning His love through busyness, guilt, or comparison?

B. The Reminder of Faith’s Example (vv.6–9)

Galatians 3:6–9 NIV

So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

Paul anchors his point in Abraham: “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

Abraham lived 430 years before the Law — he was righteous by faith, not rules.

True sons of Abraham are those who share his faith, not his bloodline.

Key Truth: Faith isn’t about what you bring to God; it’s about trusting what God has already promised.

Anchor: Faith receives what performance can never achieve.

Point 2 — Faith Redeems What the Law Condemns (3:10–14)

“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us.” (v.13)

A. The Curse of the Law (vv.10–12)

Galatians 3:10–12 NIV

For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.”

The law demands perfection: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things…”

Break one, you break them all (James 2:10).

James 2:10 NIV

For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

The law is like a mirror — it can show you your dirt but can’t clean you.

Illustration: Trying to clean yourself with a mirror is absurd — yet that’s what we do when we try to earn righteousness through performance.

B. The Cross of Christ (vv.13–14)

Galatians 3:13–14 NIV

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

Jesus became the curse for us. The One who knew no sin became sin (2 Cor. 5:21).

2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

“Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” — the curse fell on Christ so the blessing of Abraham could fall on us.

The cross wasn’t just substitution — it was reversal. → He bore our curse, that we might receive His Spirit.

Application: Faith frees because Christ finished. Stop striving for what’s already been secured.

Anchor: Faith rests in what Christ has already redeemed.

Point 3 — Faith Replaces the Law With the Promise (3:15–25)

“The law was our guardian to lead us to Christ.” (v.24)

A. The Priority of the Promise (vv.15–18)

Galatians 3:15–18 NIV

Brothers and sisters, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say “and to seeds,” meaning many people, but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ. What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.

God’s covenant with Abraham came before the Law — 430 years earlier.

The promise was made to Abraham’s Seed (Greek: sperma, singular) — meaning Christ.

God’s promises are irrevocable; the law didn’t replace them, it revealed the need for them.

B. The Purpose of the Law (vv.19–24)

Galatians 3:19–24 NIV

Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. A mediator, however, implies more than one party; but God is one. Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith.

Paul explains three purposes of the law:

It Explains God’s Standard (v.19) — shows His holiness.

Galatians 3:19 NIV

Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator.

2. It Exposes Our Sin (v.22) — reveals how far short we fall.

Galatians 3:22 NIV

But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

3. It Escorts Us to Christ (v.24) — leads us to grace like a tutor (paidagōgos).

Galatians 3:24 NIV

So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith.

Illustration: The law is like a guardian walking a child to school — it guides you until you meet the true Teacher, Christ Himself.

Application: Don’t let the guardian become your master. The law shows the way, but Christ is the Way.

Anchor: Faith follows the promise, not the procedure.

Point 4 — Faith Reframes Our Identity (3:26–29)

“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” (v.26)

A. Adopted by Faith (vv.26–27)

Galatians 3:26–27 NIV

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Faith doesn’t just free us; it redefines us.

“Clothed with Christ” — means covered in His righteousness and belonging to His family.

Baptism symbolizes that new identity — not just washed clean, but wrapped in grace.

B. United in Christ (vv.28–29)

Galatians 3:28–29 NIV

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

In Christ there is no division — not Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female.

Faith erases hierarchy and builds unity.

“If you belong to Christ, you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise.”

Application: Stop living like an orphan trying to earn your place at the table. You belong because of faith, not because of performance.

Anchor: Faith makes us family in the promise of God.

Conclusion – Faith That Frees

The Galatians tried to turn grace into a checklist.

Paul says: You can’t earn what’s already yours.

Faith doesn’t just save us — it keeps us free.

Summary Flow:

Faith receives → not performance.

Faith rests → in redemption.

Faith follows → the promise.

Faith belongs → in God’s family.

Landing Line:

“God’s promise is greater than man’s performance and faith is the key that unlocks the freedom of His grace.”

Gospel Invitation

If you’ve been living under the weight of “doing more,” today Jesus offers you freedom.

Faith says, “It is finished.”

Trust in the One who became the curse so you could become a child.