Galatians 3:1-5
A young couple invited their pastor for Sunday
dinner. While they were in the kitchen preparing
the meal, the minister asked their son what they
were having.
“Goat,” the little boy replied.
“Goat?” replied the Pastor, “Are you sure about that?”
“Yes,” said the youngster. “I heard Dad say to
Mom, ‘We might as well have the old goat for
dinner today as any other day.”
Two weeks ago we talked about Paul confronting Peter’s
hypocrisy. He called Peter out publicly because he was
giving up his freedom in Christ by returning to the law.
He did this to protect the church.
Paul also wrote about being justified through faith and
how he has been crucified with Christ.
In the next two chapters of Galatians Paul gets personal
and gives multiple OT references to support his point that
we are only saved by grace through faith. We are not
saved by obedience to the law or by circumcision.
Galatians 3:1-5
Pointed Questions to the Galatians
Do you remember how Paul started off this letter?
He writes that he is astonished at how quickly the
Galatians have turned away from the One who called
them by the grace of Christ to another gospel.
In Chapter 3 he refers to them as foolish Galatians.
Foolish doesn’t refer to a lack of intelligence, but rather a
lack of discernment.
They know the truth of the gospel. They have just failed
to stand up to the lies of the Judaizers. Paul stood up to
Peter face to face. He expects the believers in the
Galatian churches to hold fast to the doctrines of grace
and faith.
Paul gives a battery of questions to point the Galatians
back to the truth that they should already know.
Who has Bewitched You?
He first asks, who has bewitched them.
Bewitch means to charm or fascinate in a misleading way,
as by flattery, false promises or occultic power.
Of course it was the Judaizers who were teaching that
salvation could only come after circumcision. They
taught that Gentiles needed to become Jews in order to
be saved. This is totally untrue, yet the Galatian believers
weren’t Bereans. They didn’t check the teaching with
Paul’s teaching. We have to know the Scriptures so we
can tell when anyone is teaching contrary to the truth.
Paul reminds the Galatians that they witnessed with
their own eyes the public portrayal of Christ’s
crucifixion.
Paul has already stated in the previous chapter that he
has been crucified with Christ and it is no longer he who
lives, but Christ lives in him.
They didn’t actually see Christ on the cross, but they
believe that He died and was raised on the third day.
And they have seen Paul living a faithful life.
We should follow Paul’s lead and surrender daily to live as
the Holy Spirit directs.
Remember how Paul told the Corinthian church to be
imitators of him as he imitates Christ?
Can we honestly tell others to imitate us as we imitate
Christ?
Did you receive the Holy Spirit by Law or Faith?
Next, Paul asks them how they received the Holy
Spirit.
His point is that the Holy Spirit came at the moment they
received God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ.
The law never brought the Holy Spirit.
The law brought condemnation.
The Spirit comes by hearing with faith.
Romans 10:17 “So faith comes from hearing, and
hearing through the word of Christ.” Romans 10:17
Do you remember when the Gentiles received the Holy
Spirit after responding to Peter’s message in Acts 10? The
Spirit came upon the Gentiles just like He did to the Jews
in Acts 2.
The Holy Spirit comes to those who place their faith in
Christ.
There is no partiality. We are all one in Christ.
One thing is certain…
The law did not deliver the Holy Spirit.
Are you being perfected by the flesh?
Next, Paul asks the Galatians if they think they are being
perfected by the flesh after receiving the Spirit.
He knows the Judaizers were trying to convince them
that circumcision was the only way for them to be fully
saved.
That’s the problem with every religion outside of
Christianity, they are based on works.
Christians can even sometimes get caught up in this
erroneous thinking. What we do is part of the salvation
process. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Our
salvation is 100% the completed work of Jesus on the
cross. He suffered the wrath of God on our behalf. Yes
we have to have faith that Jesus is the Son of God and
that God raised Him from the dead, but the work is not
ours.
Grace comes from God and faith comes from
hearing the word of God.
We can’t complete our salvation by our works.
We will definitely do good works in order to show our love
for the Father and our love for our neighbor, but those
works do not save us. They are a love response to the
God who loved us and gave His Son for us.
Did you suffer in vain?
Next, Paul asks the Galatians if they suffered in vain.
The Galatians have likely already had to suffer for their
faith in Christ. Jesus said Himself “If the world hates
you, know that it has hated me before it hated
you.” John 15:18
Some Christians have a faulty view of suffering. They
think that suffering is negative.
Suffering is actually the thing that draws you closer to
God.
It’s during our times of suffering that He teaches us and
shows us His love for us.
Paul was no stranger to suffering. He had a thorn in the
flesh and asked God three times to remove it from him.
Three times God refused and finally He told Paul His
grace was sufficient for him.
How true is that? God’s grace is sufficient for each one of
us. No matter what we face. His grace is enough.
Did God give the Spirit because of the law or faith?
Finally, Paul asks if God gives them the Spirit and
works miracles because they observed the law or
because of their faith.
It’s possible that God had worked miracles through some
of the believers in the Galatian churches.
This isn’t something that keeping the law could produce.
God works through people to accomplish His plan.
APPLICATION
Our salvation is not because of our works, it is by God’s
grace and we receive it through faith.
Although we should be working for Christ using our
spiritual gifts, we should not think that our works in any
way have anything to do with our justification.
Jesus purchased our salvation by His blood on the cross
at Calvary.
Today we should be asking ourselves questions about
whether or not we are trying to maintain our salvation by
our works or resting in our faith
Rest in our Faith
We need to remember that Jesus paid it all.
We don’t have to earn His approval.
He can’t love us any more and He won’t love us any less
He has already done the heavy lifting.
We are saved and saved indeed.
Admonish Those who Teach Against the Gospel
Just like Paul, we should be on guard against false
teachers and be ready to defend the truth.
The church should not stand for corruption of the gospel.
We must be bold and confront untruth head on.