By Faith

Introduction

This message is going to seem repetitive. It’s in there for a reason. Obviously Paul spent a lot of time warding off the Judiazers.

The main issue here is the issue of legalism.

Legalism

Legalism is acting with motive to establish or improve standing before God through personal acheivements.

Legalism isn’t biblical because God doesn’t determine His love for us based on our behavior. The reason that legalism works against the gospel is because the gospel of Jesus Christ says that we are saved by His work that He completed on the cross and by His resurrection from the dead.

The motto of legalism is, “Spiritual progress is earned and not recieved.”

The gospel says that everything we have, we receive.

John 3:3 NKJV

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

In that verse, the word “again” literally means, “from above.” So, the Bible makes it clear that everything that we receive comes from above. Unfortunately, we often reduce our walk with God to our ability to behave. But if it was all based on our ability to behave, then we would never earn the favor of God.

Legalism operates under two rules.

(1) That the external matters more than the internal thoughts, attitudes, and motives.

This is why legalists are “self-righteous.” Outwardly they pretend to be everything they are supposed to be, but they have attitudes that don’t reflect that. They turn their nose up at people for not following the rules.

(2) Legalists are motivated by a desire to appear spiritual in the eyes of others instead of being concerned with their relationship with God.

A legalist will try to do things to get status, when a spiritual person understands that status in the church is given.

For instance, Paul was given the office of Apostle, he didn’t take it or try to work for it, but it was given.

The summary of legalism is that there must be certain laws obeyed to establish a relationship with God. This is self-sufficiency, and it always comes up short.

The gospel relies on God’s free grace which we get from heaven because of God’s grace, not because anything we can do. And it doesn’t change when we are saved. Our performance doesn’t determine how God uses us.

Rahab was a prostitute and when she got saved, she repented and God chose to use her to bring forth Jesus.

Liberalism

On the other side of the coin is liberalism. This kind of thinking says, “I can live however I want to and God is ok with it.”

But that’s not correct either. The Bible very clearly tells us that we must deny ourselves and live for Jesus. To deny ourselves doesn’t mean to deny ourselves of something, but it means to deny us of ourself. Our passion, our will, our feelings or ideas and then to follow Jesus.

Paul’s Fight in Galatia

This letter written by Paul is a letter of correction, because the Christians that live in this geographical region are allowing these legalist (Judaizers) to come in to their churches and tell them that salvation and right standing with God comes by obeying the Old Testament law.

Not just the Old Testament law, but the Old Testament law in addition to the laws that people have created as well.

Now, the reason why the Bible deals with this issue time and time again is because legalism is still very prevalent today.

Most Christians understand that we cannot live however we want to, and that God has a desire for us to live holy lives. However, what we fail to keep ourselves from is this type of legalism that says, “If you’re not going to do it my way then it’s not right.”

The bottom line is that Scripture is our authority, not man’s opinion.

Tradition, while it can be good, does overrule Scripture and the will of God.

This is exactly what Paul is battling here and what we are going to find is that he is going to use the Old Testament to prove his case here in this third chapter.

Main Idea: When we have faith in Jesus Christ, then we are saved by Him, and there is nothing that we need to do to contribute to that salvation.

Paul is reminding them that their salvation has come to them by faith in Jesus and not by works.

What is faith?

Faith means to trust.

When we think of faith, we think that faith is the end, but faith is not the end, faith is the means. Jesus Christ is the end.

People can have faith in all kinds of things, but faith in the wrong thing won’t do us any good. We must have faith in the correct object. The object, the person rather, that we must have faith in is Jesus Christ.

(1) Some people believe the intellectual facts about Jesus, but simply knowing the facts isn’t faith.

(2) Some people understand that they are sinners, but simply understanding there is a problem isn’t faith/

The reality of faith is that we actively trust Jesus with our lives.

Charles Blondin

Charles Blondin walked over Niagara Falls on a tight rope.

He asked the crowd, “Do you think I can bring someone across this rope with me?”

The crowd yelled, “Yes!”

He said, “Do you really believe it!?”

They said, “Yes!”

He went and got a wheel barrow and said, “Who’s going to be the first to get in?”

Faith is more than just belief, it is more than just acceptance, it is trust displayed by taking action.

So, our relationship with God comes down to faith in the Lord Jesus, not in performance.

And when we come to Him in Faith, some things take place.

I. Spirit-Filled

Galatians 3:1–5 NKJV

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? 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?— 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 faith?

A. Evidence of Our Conversion

Romans 8:9 NKJV

But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

When someone has the Holy Spirit, they are saved.

How do we know we have the Holy Spirit?

If we have accepted Jesus on faith then we can know we have the Holy Spirit.

1. His Fruit

Once we have done that, if we will get serious about our walk with God, He will start to produce some things in us and through us.

Galatians 5:22–23 NKJV

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

We don’t get it all right all of the time, but we are certainly moving in that direction.

B. Accountability in Our Desertion

When we walk away into sin, the Holy Spirit is grieved within us.

Ephesians 4:30 NKJV

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

The reason that we grieve the Spirit when we are saved is because God lives in us. And we when make dirty what God has made clean, it is painful to Him. He cannot comfortably dwell in a dirty heart.

But, praise the Lord, when we desert Him, He doesn’t desert us!

John 14:16 NKJV

And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—

This means that once the Holy Spirit of God lives in us, He is with us forever.

C. Strength Over our Flesh

When the Bible uses the word “flesh”, it’s necessarily talking about the physical body, but it’s talking about the old way of living.

Galatians 5:16 NKJV

I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

The Bible says that when we are without the Spirit of God, we are hopeless in our battle against all sins. But, when we receive the Spirit, we have power over sin.

Now, the legalist would say, “You have to act right so that God will say that you are worthy!”

Spiritual people say, “God, you know I cannot do this on my own. Today and everyday I am relying on You!”

The Bible tells us to walk in the Spirit. The way for us to walk in the Spirit is to abide in the presence of God.

This means that we are praying to Him and reading HIs word.

II. Completely Justified

Galatians 3:6–9 NKJV

just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.

A. What is Justification?

To be justified means that we are “guilt free.”

How are we justified? We are justified by faith.

What is faith? Faith is trust that leads to action.

When we boldly declare faith in Jesus Christ, then God boldly declares us “not guilty!”

This is because Jesus paid the payment for sin that we owed to God. He paid our legal fine, and now the court of Heaven says we are “not guilty.”

B. The Sons of Abraham (v. 6-7)

Anti-Semitism

Replacement theology

Sons of Faith

Because we have faith, we are now considered a part of the family of God.

C. The Blessing of Abraham (v. 8-9)

The Bible says that through Abraham all the nations of the world would be blessed.

Jesus came through this promise

Jesus came to save the world, not just the Jewish nation.

III. Forever Redeemed

Galatians 3:10–14 NKJV

For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.” Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

A. Cursed Beginnings (v. 10)

We were all under the law and doomed to Hell

B. The Law’s Trap (v. 11-12)

The Law could never save, it was only made to reveal sin.

C. Christ’s Redemption (v. 13-14)

Redemption means to “purchase”.

We were under the curse of sin, revealed by the law.

We were legally purchased by Jesus through His blood. - He became the curse

We have recieved the promise of Heaven by faith, not by works.