Don't Be Foolish: Adoption in Faith

Me

Being Distracted from truth

Wandering

We

God

Pray: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, O LORD our Rock and our Redeemer.

Galatians 3:1–9 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— 6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? 7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 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.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

Foolishness

Foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you.

Gal 3:1 “1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.”

This is not a light statement

Fools!

Who has bewitched you

Refers to casting a spell through the ‘evil eye’

This gives a sense there is no way you could be so foolish/stupid

Freedom, the false brothers previously mentioned trying to bring them back into slavery

Testimony in Christ

It was before your eyes that Jesus was publicly portrayed as crucified.

Publicly portrayed - this is likely referring to the explanation given.

This would mean the way Paul describes the cruxifixction in Christ and its meaning so clearly that they could have kept from being bewitched.

Application:

Illustration:

By Works or Faith

Is it by works or faith

Gal 3:2-5 “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—”

Paul puts forward a set of Rhetorical questions in rapid succession

Does God work by the works of the law, or the Spirit and faith

V2 - Do we receive the Spirit by works or faith

V3 - Having received the Spirit by faith are we sanctified in works

This would lead to an idea of loss of salvation

V4 - Did you suffer in vain

This is probably less suffer, as in persecution, and more experienced

As in have you experienced works of the Spirit by faith for nothing.

V5 - Does God who send the Spirit and works miracles according to the law, or the Spirit

Is God constrained by the law, or does he, did the law work according to His will

Miracles of Christ, there were no rituals it was by his will and in their faith

Application: We do works in faith not because of earning

Illustration:

Counted Righteous

Counted Righteous

Gal 3:6-9 “6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? 7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 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.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.”

Abraham was counted righteous not by works, but by faith

We should see him as an example in this

He was not saved by keeping the law. In fact, it was not revealed until much later

He was counted righteous by faith

Adoption in faith

We are told this is how the nations will be blessing in Abraham

Christ comes from Israel and through Christ we are adopted in faith

We are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith, by our faith.

Application: Adopted by faith

Illustration: Holy Week -> Christ did a work we could never match

Lords Supper, remembering our faith

End with question: Are you trying to earn blessing or do you trust that your blessings will come from God by faith along with Abraham

Those of faith are the sons of Abe

Gentiles are blessed by faith, as proclaimed in Abe, the nations shall be blessed in you.

So are you of those blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

You

We

Sproul, “What is wrong with you people”