A Faith that Works or a Working Faith?

Introduction:

Charles Spurgeon told a story about two men in a boat caught in severe rapids. As they were being carried swiftly downstream toward the perilous rocks and falls, men on the shore tried to save them by throwing out a rope. One man caught the ropes and was saved. The other man, in the panic of the moment, grabbed a log that was floating alongside. It was a fatal mistake! The man who caught the rope was drawn to shore because he had a connection to the people on land. The man who cling to the log was carried downstream by the rapids never to be found again. Faith is like grabbing that rope form the shore; it is our saving connection to Jesus. Good works, like grabbing onto the log, carry men to their doom.

Holman New Testament Commentary: Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians & Colossians I. Introduction: Raging Rapids

C. H. Spurgeon, the “Babe Ruth” of the Christian ministry, told a story about two men in a boat caught in severe rapids. As they were being carried swiftly downstream toward the perilous rocks and falls, men on the shore tried to save them by throwing out a rope. One man caught the rope and was saved. The other man, in the panic of the moment, grabbed a log that was floating alongside. It was a fatal mistake! The man who caught the rope was drawn to shore because he had a connection to the people on land. The man who clung to the log was carried downstream by the rapids … never to be found. Faith is like grabbing the rope from shore; it’s our saving connection to Jesus Christ. Good works, like grabbing onto the log, carry men to their doom.

The point Paul is trying to make, not only in the entire letter to the Galatians, but especially here in chapters three and four is just that. The “rope” of our salvation that brings us to eternal life is faith alone in Jesus Christ. The “log” that many of us try to grab on to is that of works trying to maintain our salvation, and this goes against what Paul is teaching to the churches.

Paul has now set down his authority and history of how he can speak on the subject matter at hand, and now starts to present his argument for the grace by faith discussion. In chapters three and four, the meat of Paul’s argument is presented and can be set out in six different arguments: (1) the personal (experiential) (3.1-5), (2) Scriptural (3.6-14), (3) logical (a reasoning based on covenants) (3.15-29), (4) historical (what the original purpose of the law was) (4.1-11), (5) Sentimental (calling remembrance to how happy they were at the very beginning) (4.12-18), and (6) allegorical based on the illustration of Abraham’s life (4.19-31).

This morning, we are going to look at the experiential argument that Paul is presenting so that we can truly understand that God is the originator of our salvation through Jesus Christ, and it is through faith alone apart from any works the we receive is, and it continues in us through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 3:1–9 ESV

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? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 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— just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 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.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

Jesus Christ is the originator of our salvation

Galatians 3:1-9

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Galatians 3:1-9

Paul opens this passage with some pretty harsh language. He calls the Galatians foolish. He also asks, “who has bewitched you?” This is the only this word is used in the entire bible. It gives us the idea that someone is put under a spell, and that is what happens with false teachings. It captivates people from the truth of the matter, and that is exactly what happened to the churches at Galatia. One commentary said it was the same as giving someone the evil eye. Paul then immediately brings their attention to the matter at hand: the crucifixion of Jesus as the source of salvation. The phrase for “publicly portrayed” gives us the idea of something that may have been acted out or put out for public display. We can deduce that Paul’s preaching was probably very animated and passionate that through his words he painted such a vivid picture of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus that the listeners could practically see it in their mind’s eye. Just like an author does that writes a novel that paints a picture with word so vivid that you could see the characters and events in your mind as you read.

Galatians 3:1–9 ESV

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? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 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— just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 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.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

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What Paul is saying here is, “Why are you being ignorant? You’re not ignorant people. You knew the truth from the very beginning. You know that Jesus is the crucified Christ,” and Paul is also wording this in line with his argument of the finished work of Jesus by using publicly portrayed as a one-time issue and not something that is a repeating issue. In other words, what Paul is saying that Jesus was crucified once, and nothing else has to happen after that in our salvation experience.

The entire Christian life is a life of faith and nothing else.

In verse 2, Paul begins a series of rhetorical questions to the readers. He begins with the initial conversion experience in verse 2 and continues with the experiential discussion with three other questions about the Christian life experience. He begins with verse 2 discussing the source of the initial conversion experience of the Galatians, and then moves into the growth of a christian in verse 3. After that, he then discusses the whole of the christian life in verse 4. Then in verses 5 & 6, he starts to make a transition to a deeper discussion and uses scripture to back up his discussion of living by faith alone, and in verse 7 he presents a summary answer for all of the questions he asks the Galatians.

We receive life through the power of the Holy Spirit

In verse 2, Paul opens the line of questioning addressing the source of our conversion. He asks the Galatians, “did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?” As we read it many of us are probably saying, “Duh! That’s a no-brainer!” We must take care to remember that these Christians were young and very impressionable, and the Judaizers had come in almost immediately after Paul left and started telling them they had to add works of the law in order to maintain their salvation.

Paul mentions the Holy Spirit 18 times in this letter, and that becomes foundational to his argument that he is making to the Galatians.

We live life through the power of the Holy Spirit.

In verse three, Paul asks a follow up question regarding the life of the believer. Paul is explaining that once the Christian life begins, a believer is filled with the Holy Spirit and that very same Spirit continues in the life of the believer to help bring them to maturity in Jesus. What the essence of Paul’s discussion is here is, “if you begin with the Holy Spirit, you cannot continue under your own power.” Paul makes a contrast between the beginning and the completed work by contrasting faith and the flesh. The flesh here is not fleshly desires but the power of human effort and our status as sinful individuals prior to our conversion.

In verse three, Paul asks a follow up question regarding the life of the believer.

We endure life through the power of the Holy Spirit

In verse four, Paul presents a question regarding the Christian experience. Many translations render this word “suffer,” but some render it “experience.” The contrast presented here is that of a person starts with the Holy Spirit, then one should continue with the Holy Spirit, and that it is not under our own effort that we continue through life. The word could go either way in this context in light of the age they lived in with such intense persecution of the church under Romans rule that the temptation to want to show they were as normal as the rest of the Jewish culture would ease the burden of persecution on the church, but Paul could also mean that the experience of salvation along with the blessings that come along with salvation had they turned to an adherence to the law would have rendered their faith invalid.

God’s grace provides us the power of the Holy Spirit

Paul then brings his argument back to where he started. He poses the question of how God supplies his power. Paul is basically saying, “does the power derive because you worked for it or because you believed?” The miracles spoken of could be both the actual miracles they saw happen through the apostles and the miracles that were performed in their own personal lives. Paul then creates a transition from the practical experiential argument to the scriptural argument now by bringing Abraham into the discussion by first quoting that Abraham’s faith is what saved him and not the law. He will point out in verse 17 that the law came 430 years later and even more specific than that, it was before the act of circumcision was established. It was strictly because of Abraham’s belief that God would follow through with His promise and that is what saved Abraham and not any action on his part.

Through faith alone, we are part of Abraham’s promise

Paul answers all of the questions he just asked in the form of a command by using the phrase, “know then”. It is faith alone that makes us righteous in God’s eyes and thus makes us part of Abraham’s spiritual family. In , God made a promise to Abraham that all nations would be blessed. Paul now makes the appeal to scripture to help solidify his argument for justification by faith alone. Paul is presenting a valid counterargument against the Judaizers claims that circumcision was a requirement in order to be accepted by God. The line of thought with the Judaizers was that in order to be accepted as a true son of Abraham, one must be circumcised. Paul basically shuts that argument down by stating back in verse 6 that it was his faith that God counted Abraham as righteous.

Paul then turns to the discussion of the inspiration of scripture in this discussion. We can see in this text that Paul is referring to how scripture speaks through God’s inspired word, and establishes authority for his discussion going forward. Paul is making an assertion that God’s plan of salvation for humanity predates even the law and circumcision in the original promise of Abraham.

We are indwelt by the Holy Spirit from the moment we place our faith in Jesus Christ

Arguably one of the most misunderstood things of the Christian life is how the Holy Spirit works in our lives and helps us mature and persevere until the very end and our ultimate redemption. The work of the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer is extremely important to understand, and it is only through this indwelling power that we can be victorious. The Holy Spirit is the only real evidence of conversion in a person’s life.

Romans 8:9 ESV

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.

The Holy Spirit convicts the lost of their sin

John 16:7–11 ESV

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

Acts 7:51 ESV

“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.

It is through the Holy Spirit alone that we become aware of our sin, and only then can we come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ through the special revelation that comes only through the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

We must also understand that a person can willfully reject the holy spirit:

Acts 7:51 ESV

“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.

On the same note, people can answer the call to accept the Holy Spirit’s call in their life. It has been said that in today’s society, it takes a person an average of 7 1/2 times to hear the gospel before they can even begin to accept or reject that call.

We are born of the Holy Spirit

Once we accept Christ in our lives, we become a part of a new family, a spiritual family: we are spiritual descendants of Abraham through God’s promise, and it is through that re-birth that we receive a new life.

John 3:1–8 ESV

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 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.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 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?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 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.”

We are baptized by the Holy Spirit

Once we receive that new life through the power of the Holy Spirit, we receive a regeneration through the Holy Spirit, and that regeneration brings us into the body of Christ, and we are then gifted for service to God.

1 Corinthians 12:12–14 ESV

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many.

This is a crucial part for Christians. There are denominations that teach that you are not “completely” saved until you receive all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We must understand that the process of sanctification in our lives is a process, we may not receive all of the gifts that are available, because we have a purpose in God’s kingdom, and we are equipped for that purpose.

The believer’s responsibility: Walk in the Spirit

Galatians 5:16 ESV

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Gal

Galatians 5:25 ESV

If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

God has graciously bestowed His Holy Spirit. As stewards of what God has given us, we are to use them wisely, and that means that in order to do that, we must abide in God’s word, commune with Him in prayer, and act in obedience to God’s will.

The Galatians failed to realize much of this. They had started to add a system of works to their faith which will never help a person achieve what God has set out for them. Believers will never be able to fully live up to what God has set our for them if they do not rely on the power of the Holy Spirit that comes only through faith in Jesus Christ and His death, burial, and resurrection.

Our salvation is not begun y anything other than the faith we place in the grace of God, and it will only continue if we constantly abide in that unending grace.