October 11, 2020 Traditional Service

HOW DO YOU KNOW? Galatians 3:1-14 October 11, 2020 One of the questions I am frequently asked is - how do I know I am saved? How do I know I am going to Heaven? It's not that I doubt Jesus. I am absolutely convinced Jesus is the way. But, I know I must place all my faith in Jesus alone. And, I'm not sure what that feels like. I believe I am a Christian. I do all the right things. I come to church. I pray. I read my Bible. I try to love God and be nice to people. But, how do I know if I'm doing those things to work my way to Heaven, or if I'm doing those things because I'm saved? How do I validate that my faith is real, and my salvation is assured? How do I know? That is not a new question. Christians have wondered exactly that for 2000 years. How do I know? And, the Apostles had a very simple straight-forward answer.1 If you have the indwelling Holy Spirit you are saved. If you don't, you're not. At the moment you accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit - the third part of the Triune God - enters your heart and stays forever. That's your guarantee. The book of Acts talks about Samaritans accepting Jesus. Of course, the Jews in Jerusalem hated the Samaritans. So, there was some real anxiety about whether or not they really believed. Peter and John make the trip and pray for the Samaritans to receive the Holy Spirit. They had been physically baptized. And, that's a good thing. Baptism shows the world what decision you have made. But, Peter and John did not equate baptism with salvation. They prayed over the Samaritans, placed their hands on them, and watched as they received the Holy Spirit. And, that was all the proof Peter and John needed to say that God loves Samaritans, and God saves Samaritans. If you receive the Holy Spirit, God has validated your salvation. And, no human being can argue with you. When Paul begins his ministry to the Gentiles, he is facing a similar situation. How do I know, if the men and women I am evangelizing are really being saved? How do I know if my ministry is real, or if I'm just fooling myself? Am I really good at bringing people to Jesus Christ, or is all of this fake? How do I know? And, the answer Paul settles on is - do they receive the Holy Spirit or not?2 God sends the Holy Spirit. God is not fooled. If God validates your salvation, you are saved. So - dog gone it - why are the Galatians trying to add extra steps? Paul writes an angry letter. Much of it is angry because the Galatians believe lies about Paul. The rest of it is angry because they are believing lies about salvation. In our text today Paul throws out a pretty big insult. He calls them 'fools'. The word he uses means a completely mentally incompetent individual. Typically it was someone who stood at the entrance to the public market, shouting gibberish, grabbing people as they walked by, drooling, unbathed, perhaps naked, creating trouble wherever he goes. This was a serious word to use against the Galatians. Now, why are they fools? Paul says because they saw the picture of Jesus' death. Let me explain that. The word he uses for picture is prōgraphēin, which means an auction poster.3 An advertisement for a really good bargain. When someone went into bankruptcy their estate was auctioned off. The posters were placed the morning of the auction. You could buy fabulous treasures for pennies on the dollar. And, all sales were final. No one could come to you the next day and ask for more money. Paul is saying, you found out that the death and resurrection of Jesus could save your souls. And, you believed. You paid the cheapest price possible - faith. You believed. The sale was final. The auction has been over for a month, and suddenly you're trying to pay more for what you already have. You own the thing you want. But, you're trying to pay more for it. Only a fool does that! Paul says look - you know you have the Holy Spirit. Did God give you the Holy Spirit because you obeyed the Law; because you followed every one of the rules in the Old Testament? No! Obviously not! You don't even know what the rules are. You're not Jews; you're Gentiles. You've never heard the rules. But, even if you had, it wouldn't have made any difference.4 No one can keep the rules. Paul is absolutely adamant about the anthropological impossibility of living perfectly according to the Law. Paul believes no human can run a two-minute mile, or throw a 150 mph fastball, or hold their breath for an hour, or live perfectly according to all the rules Moses handed down. It is physically beyond us. So, even if you knew every single rule, and even if you really, really wanted to follow every rule, you couldn't. So, clearly, you did not receive the Holy Spirit for following the rules.5 The Holy Spirit comes from faith, not from works. So, if you received the Holy Spirit already, why are you trying to do something else? Why are you trying to pay more? Now, the Judaizers have come to Galatia and told the Galatians only the children of Abraham go to Heaven. Only the descendants of Father Abraham are saved. So, if you want to go to Heaven, you need to be a child of Abraham. You need to become a Jew. Paul says, let's think about this. If Abraham's children all go to Heaven, then certainly Abraham is in Heaven - right? It doesn't make any sense for Abraham's descendants to be saved, if Abraham himself isn't saved. So, how did Abraham get saved?6 It wasn't from following all the rules Moses gave us. Because, Moses doesn't come along for another 500 years. Fortunately, Moses himself tells us how Abraham got saved. God told Abraham, one of your descendants will save the entire world. One of your children will save not only the Jews, but even the Gentiles. Paul says, it is as obvious as the nose on your face who that descendant is. It's Jesus.7 And then, Moses writes - very clearly - Abraham's faith in that promise is what saved him. Why is Abraham in Heaven? Because he believed in Jesus. He believed in Jesus when no one knew who Jesus was. He believed in Jesus almost 2000 years before Jesus was born. He believed in the promise of Jesus, when he didn't know exactly what Jesus would do. Abraham was not saved by his works. He was not saved by following the rules that still hadn't been invented. He was saved by faith in Jesus. And then, Paul said something that rocked all of Israel. And, he said it without checking with Peter, or James, or John first. He said it based on learning the Christian faith from Jesus. He said - the Judaizers are right about one thing. Only the children of Abraham are saved. The question is - who are the children of Abraham? It is not the Jews.8 If Abraham was saved by his faith in Jesus, then his children are the ones who are saved by their faith in Jesus. All those promises in the Old Testament are not for the Jews, they are for you and me. Paul says, how do we know that's true? Because God gives the Holy Spirit to those he saves. If you believe in Jesus, you have the Holy Spirit. If you try to follow all the rules, you do not receive the Holy Spirit. So, the Holy Spirit is the proof and validation of your salvation. Salvation is promised to the children of Abraham. So, Christians must be the children of Abraham. Understand, those are fighting words. That created outrage, anger, and even violent speeches against Paul. Paul says, don't be mad at me. Be mad at God. He's the one who saves you. How do you know you are saved? How do you know you are going to Heaven? You are saved if you have the indwelling Holy Spirit. The second question I am frequently asked is - how do I know if I have the Holy Spirit? Great question. When we get to chapter 5, Paul will give us a list of behaviors and emotions that indicate either the presence or the absence of the Holy Spirit. We will look through those lists and ask ourselves what that means for me. Another indicator is the receiving of spiritual gifts. When the Holy Spirit enters your heart you receive at least one spiritual gift. It would take 10-15 sermons to explain everything associated with spiritual gifts. That's another lesson for another time. For right now, if you know your gift, then you can be assured you have the Holy Spirit. But, I haven't really answered your question today, have I? So, let me give you this. More than anything else, the Holy Spirit prompts us to do the right thing, even when we really don't want to. It drives us to love God, and be nice to people. And so, when you feel compelled to do something good, something that should be out of character for you, that is evidence of the Holy Spirit. When you don't have a dime to your name, but you drop Christmas money in the Salvation Army red kettle, that's the Spirit. When you roll out of bed on a cold, rainy Saturday, and stand in the rain to give food to complete strangers, that's the Spirit. When you're walking into Walmart, and someone is acting like a biblical 'fool', and instead of walking past them you take the time to find out - are you alright? Do you need help? That's the Spirit. When someone you love creates drama and anger in your life, and they are clearly wrong, and you choose to let it go - forgive them - and love them unconditionally, that's the Spirit. When you do something that doesn't make sense for you, but it demonstrates a love for God and your fellow man, that's the Spirit. And, that is proof of your salvation. That's how you know. 1 NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016), 2046. 2 Stephen Kerry, "An Exegetical Analysis of Galatians 3:1-5, with Particular Reference to Pneumatological Themes that Relate to the Onset and Continuation of Christian Identity, with Respect to Law and Gospel." The Journal of Biblical and Pneumatological Research, 2 (Fall 2010), 57-86. 3 William Barclay, The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2002), 30. 4 J. Andrew Cowan, "The Curse of the Law, the Covenant, and Anthropology in Galatians 3:10-14: An Examination of Paul's Use of Deuteronomy 27:26," The Journal of Biblical Literature, 139 no. 1 (2020), 211-229. 5 William Barclay, 29. 6 R. C. Sproul, general editor. New Geneva Study Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 1851. 7 Jared M. August, "Paul's View of Abraham's Faith: Genesis 22:18 and Galatians 3," Bibliotheca Sacra, 176 no. 701 (January-March 2019), 51-61. 8 Frank J. Matera, New Interpreter's Study Bible (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003), 2048. --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ 2