Remember How You Got In

Subject: How does Paul challenge the Galatians’ regression from faith to flesh?

Complement: Paul challenges them by appealing to their own experience of receiving the Spirit through faith, not through law-keeping.

Dominant Thought: Grow by the same power that brought you in.

Aim: That the congregation would recognize that spiritual growth and maturity come by the same Spirit received through faith—not by human effort or religious performance—and would actively depend on the Spirit for continued transformation.

Propositional Statement: Because the Holy Spirit was received through faith and not through works of the law, the believer must continue to grow and walk by that same Spirit rather than reverting to fleshly effort.

Big Idea: The Spirit who saved you is the same Spirit who sustains and grows you.

Sermon Thesis: Since you began by the Spirit through faith, you must continue by the Spirit through faith—because the power that brought you in is the same power that carries you forward.

Galatians 3:1–5 ESV

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—

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever watched somebody get a brand-new car—I’m talking fresh off the lot, still got the plastic on the seats, that new-car smell filling the whole cabin—and then three months later, they’re back to driving their cousin’s old hooptie? You ask them, “What happened to the new car?” They say, “Oh, I still got it. I just feel more comfortable in this one.” You’re looking at them like they’ve lost their mind. You traded leather seats for duct tape and a prayer? You went from Bluetooth to a radio that only picks up one station? That doesn’t make any sense.

But that’s exactly what the Galatians were doing—spiritually. God gave them something brand new. They received the Holy Spirit by faith. They experienced the power of God in ways they could see and feel. And now, after all of that, they were climbing back into the old car. They were going back to the law—to circumcision, to ritual, to human performance—as if the Spirit wasn’t enough to get them where they needed to go.

And Paul can’t believe it. He’s not calm in this passage. He’s not measured. He opens chapter 3 the way somebody opens a conversation when they’ve been holding it in too long: “O foolish Galatians!” That’s not an insult—that’s exasperation. That’s a pastor who loves his people and can’t understand why they’re abandoning the very thing that transformed them.

And his argument is devastatingly simple. He doesn’t give them a new theology lecture. He doesn’t quote a new set of Scriptures. He says, “Think back. Remember how you got in.” You didn’t earn the Spirit. You didn’t perform your way into God’s presence. You heard the gospel, you believed it, and the Spirit showed up. So why would you switch methods now?

This morning, Paul is going to walk us through three realities that will reorient how you think about your spiritual life. Three realities that will challenge everything you thought you knew about how spiritual growth works. If the power that brought you in is still available, why would you go back to what never worked in the first place?

I. YOU STARTED BY THE SPIRIT (vv. 1–2)

Galatians 3:1–2 ESV

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?

Look at verses 1 and 2. Paul writes, “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?”

Now notice Paul’s strategy. He doesn’t start with a doctrinal argument. He starts with their experience. He takes them back to the moment it all began. And he asks a question he already knows the answer to: “How did you get the Spirit?”

The word “bewitched” is baskainō in the Greek. It carries the idea of being placed under a spell, being fascinated by something deceptive. Paul is saying, “Somebody put something on you. Somebody got in your ear and talked you out of what you already knew was true.” It’s the language of spiritual seduction—not demonic possession, but intellectual and spiritual manipulation. Somebody convinced you to doubt what you experienced.

And then Paul brings it back to the cross. He says Christ was “publicly portrayed as crucified”—the word is proegraphē, which means to write beforehand or to publicly placard. Paul’s preaching was so vivid, so clear, that it was as if he held up a billboard of the crucified Christ right in front of their faces. They didn’t just hear about the cross—they saw it through the proclamation of the gospel. And when they saw it, they believed. And when they believed, the Spirit came.

That’s the order. They didn’t clean up first. They didn’t get circumcised first. They didn’t master the Torah first. They heard the gospel, they responded in faith, and the Spirit of the living God took up residence in their lives. That’s how they got in.

Illustration: Think about it like a hospital emergency room. When you come in with a heart attack, the doctors don’t hand you a nutrition plan and say, “Read this, change your diet, and come back when you’re healthy.” No—they stabilize you first. They put the paddles on your chest. They get your heart beating again. Then they talk about the lifestyle changes. The intervention comes first, and then the growth follows. God didn’t wait for you to get right before He gave you His Spirit. He gave you His Spirit to make you right. You didn’t earn your way in. You were brought in by grace, through faith.

Application: Some of you need to hear this today because you’ve been carrying guilt about where you were when God found you. You think, “I shouldn’t have received the Spirit that easily. Maybe I need to prove myself.” But Paul’s whole point is that the Spirit was never based on your performance. It was based on Christ’s performance on your behalf. Remember how you got in. You heard the gospel. You believed. And God showed up. Stop trying to retroactively earn what was freely given.

II. YOU CAN’T FINISH BY THE FLESH (v. 3)

Galatians 3:3 ESV

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

Now look at verse 3. Paul asks one of the most penetrating questions in all of Scripture: “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”

The word “perfected” here is epiteleō in the Greek. It means to bring to completion, to finish, to reach the goal. Paul is asking, “Do you really think the flesh can finish what the Spirit started?” And the expected answer is an emphatic no. That would be like hiring an electrician to wire your house and then saying, “Thanks, I’ll take it from here,” and plugging things in with extension cords and duct tape. You didn’t start the job. You can’t complete the job. The One who started it is the One who finishes it.

Notice the contrast Paul draws: Spirit versus flesh. This isn’t about the physical body. “Flesh” in Paul’s theology—sarx—refers to human effort operating apart from the Spirit of God. It’s the attempt to achieve spiritual results through natural means. It’s the mindset that says, “God got me started, but now I need to earn the rest.”

And here’s where this hits home. The flesh doesn’t always look like sin. Sometimes the flesh looks very religious. The flesh can show up to church every Sunday. The flesh can memorize Scripture. The flesh can tithe. The flesh can teach a Sunday school class. But if any of that is being done in your own strength, for your own merit, to earn your standing with God—it’s still flesh. It’s impressive flesh, but it’s flesh nonetheless. And flesh cannot finish what the Spirit began.

Illustration: I read about a man who tried to row across the Atlantic Ocean by himself. He trained for years. He had the best equipment. He was disciplined, determined, and committed. And he made it about 500 miles before the ocean reminded him that human effort has limits. The currents were stronger than his arms. He was rescued by a ship with an engine—a power source that didn’t get tired. His willpower couldn’t do what horsepower could. And your flesh can’t do what the Spirit can. You were not designed to row your way to spiritual maturity. You were designed to be carried by a power greater than your own.

Application: Let me speak to this practically. Some of us have reduced Christianity to a checklist. Did I read my Bible? Check. Did I pray? Check. Did I give? Check. And listen—those things matter. They matter deeply. But here’s the question Paul would ask: Are you doing those things in the power of the Spirit, or are you doing them in the energy of the flesh? Because the same Bible reading that draws you closer to God when done in the Spirit becomes dead religion when done in the flesh. The same giving that expresses worship becomes performance when it’s about earning points. You can’t finish by the flesh. The Spirit who brought you in must be the Spirit who carries you forward. So the question isn’t whetheryou serve, study, and give—it’s how. Is it Spirit-powered or self-powered?

III. THE SPIRIT IS STILL WORKING (vv. 4–5)

Galatians 3:4–5 ESV

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—

Now look at verses 4 and 5. Paul writes, “Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 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?”

Catch the verb tense here. Paul doesn’t say God supplied the Spirit—past tense. He says God supplies the Spirit—present tense, ongoing action. The word is epichorēgeō, and it’s a rich word. In the ancient world, a chorēgos was a wealthy patron who funded the entire production of a theatrical performance—the costumes, the actors, the stage, everything. The patron didn’t just get the show started and walk away. He funded the whole production from beginning to end. Paul is saying God is your chorēgos. He didn’t just fund your salvation and leave. He is continually supplying the Spirit to you. He is still underwriting the whole production of your spiritual life.

And notice—God is also “working miracles among you.” The Galatians had experienced the supernatural activity of the Spirit in their community. God was moving. God was active. God was doing things they couldn’t explain by human effort. And all of it—every bit—came by “hearing with faith,” not by “works of the law.”

This is Paul’s devastating conclusion: if the Spirit is still being supplied, and miracles are still happening, and all of it is still coming through faith—then why in the world would you switch systems? The old system never gave you the Spirit. The old system never produced miracles. The old system never transformed your life. So why go back?

Illustration: Imagine you’re in a house and the power goes out. Somebody hands you a candle. It gives you a little light—just enough to stumble around and not trip over the furniture. Then the power comes back on. The lights flood the whole house. You can see everything. You can cook, clean, charge your phone, run the AC. Everything works. Now imagine somebody walks up to you and says, “Hey, blow out the lights and go back to the candle.” You’d say, “Why would I do that? The power is on!” That’s Paul’s argument. The Spirit is on. The power is flowing. God is still supplying. Why would you go back to a candle when the whole house is lit?

Application: Here’s where this lands for us at Grace Baptist. The Spirit who saved you is the same Spirit who wants to grow you through the Word—not as a religious duty, but as a Spirit-empowered encounter with the living God. The Spirit who brought you into this church family is the same Spirit who empowers you to serve—not to earn favor, but because the chorēgos is funding the whole production and He wants to use your hands, your gifts, your time. The Spirit who gave you a new heart is the same Spirit who sends you out to tell somebody else what God has done—not because evangelism is a program, but because people who’ve been touched by power can’t keep quiet about it.

The problem is never that the Spirit stopped working. The Spirit is still working. The question is whether we’re still walking by faith or whether we’ve quietly gone back to the flesh—going through the motions, checking boxes, showing up without showing out for the Kingdom.

HOOP

Paul asked the Galatians, “Who bewitched you?” Who convinced you to abandon the power that saved you? Who talked you into going backward? But before you answer that question for the Galatians, you need to answer it for yourself. Because every one of us, at some point, has been tempted to trade the Spirit for the flesh. We’ve been tempted to stop walking by faith and start performing for approval.

But remember how you got in.

You got in because two thousand years ago, on a hill outside Jerusalem, Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified—not just painted on a billboard, but nailed to a cross. He took the sin you couldn’t pay for. He bore the curse you couldn’t escape. He absorbed the wrath you couldn’t survive. And when He hung there between heaven and earth, arms stretched wide, blood running down, He didn’t look at you and say, “Clean yourself up and come back.” He looked at you and said, “It is finished.”

They buried Him in a borrowed tomb. And for three days, it looked like the flesh had won. It looked like death had the last word. It looked like the candle was all we had left.

But early on that Sunday morning, the power came back on. God raised Jesus from the dead. And when He rose, the Spirit that raised Him became the same Spirit that was poured out on you. The same resurrection power that rolled the stone away is the same power that lives inside every believer in this room.

So why would you go back? Why would you trade resurrection power for religious performance? Why would you exchange the Spirit for the flesh? Remember how you got in.You got in by grace, through faith, by the power of the Holy Spirit. And you will grow the same way. You will serve the same way. You will give the same way. You will live the same way. By the Spirit. Through faith. All the way home.

Grow by the same power that brought you in. Because the One who started the work hasn’t stopped funding the production. He’s your chorēgos. And He finishes what He starts.

Let’s pray.