Faith Over Works: The Heart of the Gospel

Bible Passage: Galatians 3:1–9

Big Idea: The big idea conveyed is that our standing before God is determined by faith in Christ, not by our adherence to the law, asserting that grace leads to true spiritual freedom.

Galatians 3:1–9 “1 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”? 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.”

Introduction: That negative person that gets into your ear…

They exploit a situation and start to work not only on your mind, but also on your heart.

They [Heart and Mind] are so intrinsically connected, and you have to acknowledge that the brain we have can at times become decieved and shift our hearts in such a drastic way that doubt, anger or burden begins to thrive.

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Five: Bewitched and Bothered (Galatians 3:1–14)

He begins with the personal argument

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Five: Bewitched and Bothered (Galatians 3:1–14)

Then he moves into the scriptural argument (

1. Foolishness of Forsaking Faith

Galatians 3:1–3 “1 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?”

Q: What did the beginning of your faith walk look like?

Do you remember Holy Spirit grabbing you? Your heart broken in half, exposed to the Holiness of God and such a draw to feel His mercy fully and completely?

Hold onto this thought!

It is through faith that Almighty God has justified all that have been from the beginning of time.

Clement of Rome

2 Corinthians 5:7 “7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.”

When Moses encountered God in the burning bush, he was just a shepherd in the wilderness, hiding from his past. God met Moses right where he was—scared and alone—and called him to lead His people out of slavery. This shows us that no matter our status or situation, God reaches out to us to transform our lives and give us purpose.

Better than a burning bush, we have the Word proclaimed, the Holy Spirit actively at work in the minds and hearts of His people.

Genuine conversion….

Every story of conversion is the story of a blessed defeat.

C. S. Lewis

John 3:1–10 “1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?”

VS 3 Foolish = Spiritually Dull

Galatians 3:3 “3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”

We are called to be confident, not reckless. But the moment you start to lean upon your understanding is the moment you begin to inject the “how I feel.” instead of the “It is written.”

Called to Hear and Believe.

Perfection is only found in Jesus.

Don’t try to work your way into HEAVEN.

Born again means a new life.

Q: Can you share a time when you felt the transformative power of faith in a challenging situation?

Shame creates a withdrawal from the King.

Sanctification causes a closer drawing near to the King.

2. Fruitfulness from Faith Alone

Galatians 3:4–5 “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—”

Q: In what areas of your life do you find yourself relying more on works than on faith?

Paul is reminding Galatia that the power of hearing and the gift of faith is sufficient.

To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the spirit of the world.

Karl Barth (Reformed Theologian)

We must crave and call out in prayer each and everyday.

Romans 8:9 “9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.”

What does the Christian life actually look like?

I never have any difficulty believing in miracles, since I experienced the miracle of a change in my own heart.

Saint Augustine of Hippo

I believe in the miracles of God! I believe that God is active and capable of doing whatever He wants whenever he wants to do it.

I believe that God can restore families.

That God can cure an illness.

That God can cause the blind to see, lame to walk and the dead to rise again.

And most importantly, I believe that God has the ability to take a person who is completely dead in their sin and bring them to life.

And, Each of you is the potential vessel to deliver that news to the person that he will bring to life. You have to be willing to share.

Illustration: Cartoon Caricature profiles.

Upload the image.

Ask AI to gather all data it knows about you.

We giggle and share it. Or.. We refine the image to what we want it to look like and then share it.

My feed is full of them, and I love it.

We trust the ability of Chat GPT to provide us a moment of satisfaction, and we share it with the web of friends we have, craving their affirmation in doing something well, and hope that those attributes we highlighted are validated. Right?

Jesus is better than Chat GPT.

He knows everything about us, and is creating an authentic image of himself within us through the power of the Holy Spirit…

We are met each day with the opportunity to grow in our faith and depend on the strength he gives through the Holy Spirit to life an authentic Christian life.

I am so thankful to so many of you for your willingness to serve within our church.

Galatians 3:5 “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—”

I know that there is no such thing as a spiritual flatline EKG for a follower of Jesus.

3. Faith and the Family of Abraham

Galatians 3:6–9 “6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? 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.”

Chapter and Verse

Genesis 15:6 “6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.”

Romans 4:3 “3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.””

Romans 10:17 “17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

This is the power to take a flatlined dead heart and bring it to life.

Luke 19:10 “10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.””

Who is lost? EVERYONE without Jesus.

Believer, stay steadfast.

Unbeliever, this is that shock to the heart. Let go of this world, and Let the Holy Spirit lead you in a powerful way to a life filled with Joy.

It has always been the plan. To redeem you and to place you into a right standing before God.