Galatians Part 4

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Chapter one of Galatians we saw that Paul was astonished by the Galatians but in order to be able to correct them and speak to them he needed to prove himself to them

So he proves that his apostolic authority, position, message, and mission was all divinely given

Last week we walked through chapter 2 and Paul began to unravel the Galatian situation and had a lot to do with their beliefs and behavior

So through the right understanding of what justification is it motivates and drives us to live how Christ has called us to live

So, we understand that justification is the gracious act of God by which God declares sinners righteous solely through faith in Jesus Christ

And when we understand that properly it should drive who we become or how we behave which Paul talks at the end of chapter 2

We die to self and live in Christ, through Christ, and with Christ in me

We saw that not only does God declare what we are not, but He also declares what we are

This week we will begin chapter 3. And let me just say that we have some work to do

Climbing to see the waterfall

Galatians 3 is a lot like this except really it’s like 3 mountains we have to climb

But by the time we get to the last one I think that we will say that it was well worth the effort

If you are looking for a quick and easy help me live a better life passage then chapter 3 probably isn’t for you

But if you truly want to know God more than this passage will be just what you’re looking for

The first mountain that we have to climb deals with Abraham, the second mountain deals with Moses and the law, the third may be the most difficult but it will lead us to Christ

Paul will take us through a historical journey

Today, lets tackle the Abraham mountain.

We ready?

Galatians 3:1–14 NIV

1 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? 4 Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? 5 So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? 6 So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 7 Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. 8 Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” 9 So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. 10 For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” 11 Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” 12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” 14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

Mountain one: Abraham

Paul begins to talk about the covenant made between God and Abraham

And the point he is trying to make through all of it is that God’s promise is made possible for us through faith

And that it is carried out in us or brought to completion by the power of the Holy Spirit.

If you were here when we walked through Genesis we talked a little about the trinity. God being one in 3 persons. The Father, Son, and Spirit

None being greater or less than the others

And we talked about how to better understand them we can think about them in the way they operate or the roles they play throughout Scripture

And here is how we normally see it

God the Father initiates - The father initiates creation

God the Son accomplishes/mediates - Creation is then accomplished through the Son

God the Holy Spirit applies/completes - It is completed or applied by the power of the holy Spirit

Here in Galatians Paul is proving to us those very same roles

He’s saying God the Father initiates the relationship

The Son makes it possible or mediates it

The Holy Spirit applies it to our lives and/or brings it to completion

We see this truth in phil 1:6

Philippians 1:6 NIV

6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

If we view this passage in that light, what Paul is accusing the Galatians of, is replacing the Holy Spirit with the law

And when we look at it that way you can see how silly it seems and why Paul is so astonished that they would try to bypass a person and power of the trinity for a feeble, fleeting, impossible endeavor in completing their salvation through the law

WE CAN NOT BE GUILTY OF REPLACING THE SPIRIT OF GOD WITH RULES AND RELIGION

If we remember, Paul is talking to a church who is being deceived into thinking that faith isn’t enough

Paul comes and preaches right and true justification

And then men come behind him and at the very least are teaching them that faith may get you started but the way you seal it or bring it to completion is by obeying the law.

They needed to be circumcised

So Paul introduces justification in chapter 2 and now he is going to defend it in chapter 3

He begins by asking 6 rapid fire questions which can be summed up by verse 2: “did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you hear?”

To demonstrate this Paul uses the most iconic OT figure

Abraham was who God establishes his first covenant with, so he is the first man that was circumcised (the very thing they are debating over)

Paul quotes Gen 12:3 so let’s go back and look at that text

Genesis 12:1–3 NIV

1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

God promises to bless Abraham

But remember, Abraham had done nothing to deserve this

What we see is that Abraham doesn’t go and make a covenant with God

He didn’t say, you know what I’m a pretty good guy

I think God should let me create a nation of people that He calls His and blesses me over and over because of it

Abraham doesn’t go and make a covenant with God, God makes a covenant with Abraham.

We see this even more clear through the other text Paul quotes which is Gen 15:6.

Genesis 15:1–6 NIV

1 After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” 2 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.” 4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” 5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

God blesses Abraham by grace alone

And this grace is expressed in radical promises

God says go out and count the stars, that’s how numerous your offspring will be.

That is a radical promise, especially considering that Abraham had no heir was almost 100 years old at the time

Now, this covenant made between God and Abraham we don’t really understand in the same way they did

We make a lot of contracts with people and there’s contingencies and if you break your end of the deal then I have the right to break any type of relationship with you moving forward.

We will get a contract, sign it, and move along

Back then when they would make a covenant, the way that they would confirm an oath to someone is they would both take an animal sacrifice and they would cut them in half and they would lay them in a row with space in between and then they would both walk through it

When we read Gen 15 and this covenant that God made with Abraham what we see is that Abraham doesn’t do that.

He cuts the animals up but Abraham doesn’t walk through

In fact, when God establishes the covenant Abraham was asleep.

God walks through the pieces and He did it based on His grace, not Abrahams works

And Abraham’s righteousness was credited to him

What we see is this, grace cannot be earned. If it is earned it is no longer grace.

Abraham simply had faith in God

He believed him. He believed that he would one day have heirs as numerous as the stars

He believed that God would radically bless him

He believed God and through his faith alone Abraham received his blessings

It is through faith alone that we receive the radical promises of God!

In Romans 4, which acts almost as a commentary to this chapter, Paul asks: was Abrahams righteousness credited to him when he was circumcised? No! only through his faith!

Paul is trying to show the Galatians and us that Abraham’s faith was the crucial point. It’s always been that way! From the very first covenant to the one we are under now.

It is not a works based salvation, it is a faith based salvation

Hebrews 11:4 NIV

4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.

Hebrews shows that by faith Abel’s sacrifice was more acceptable.

We see it through Enoch, Noah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, godly judges, kings, prophets, and other all throughout the OT. God’s promises and blessings are credited and given to us through faith and faith alone

We spoke last week about how we may not be able to earn God’s grace but there is an opportunity for us to live in a way that is pleasing to God

Hebrews 11:6 NIV

6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

You want no chance at pleasing God, then have no faith!

Faith in God makes saving grace from God possible

Now, I know the concern right now. Especially if you have grown up in church.

The concern is: pastor are you telling everyone that they just need to believe that God exists and that’s enough? They can just go and do what they want? Are you promoting a non-moral lifestyle?

I get it! Trust me.

Here is what I’m saying, or better yet here is what Paul and the Scripture is saying

We become righteous before God through faith alone

Through grace alone by faith alone God promises us radical blessings.

But, our faith is always expressed in radical obedience.

Looking back to Gen 15 what happens after Abrahams faith was credited as righteousness?

He ends up getting circumcised. He obeys because of his faith

So yes, you are justified by faith in Christ alone, but you also begin to live obediently by faith.

Abraham does this over and over. He leaves everything he knew because he had faith.

He plans to kill his own son because he had faith.

It was Abraham’s faith that drove him to radical obedience

But God promises to bless Abraham because of his obedience right? So how does that fit in?

Do we receive God’s promises and blessings through grace or through obedience?

Here is the formula: God gave Abraham the promise by grace, and Abraham trusted that promise through faith, and that faith led Abraham to radical obedience.

Grace with Faith = radical obedience

When you truly trust God, you are going to do things that seem radical to the world.

And you’re not doing it to earn your salvation

But simply because you believe God!

It’s the whole point of Hebrews 11 that we talked about earlier

The author of Hebrews lists all theses giants of our faith and talks about some of the things they accomplished because of it and then he says

Hebrews 11:32–40 NIV

32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. 39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

These men and women were praised for their faith

And it was their faith that drove them to radical obedience which produced radical outcomes

The truth of the matter is: we often don’t live radical lives because we allow fear to overcome our faith

We get so worried about the the things of this world, what people might think of us, we aren’t good enough, adequate enough, smart enough and the reality is, is that none of those things are the problem

The real problem is our faith isn’t big enough

People who are saved by grace alone through faith alone don’t sit back and indulge themselves the way the world does

Because people who are saved by grace through faith also understand that they are just saved by it but they also live by it

And people who live by it would risk it all because they know that God is truly good

That He is all they really need

And that He satisfies

Abraham knew it, Paul knew it, the saints of Hebrews 11 knew it

And so my question for you this morning is: do you know it?

And i’m not asking do you believe that there is a God

I’m asking do you believe God to be who He says He is, do you believe He done all that He’s said He’s done, and do you believe He will do what He says He’s going to do?

If you don’t then you’ve got some wrestling to do

If you do, you’ve got some radical living to do