Getting the Gospel Right: Faith Alone!
Galatians 3:1-6
Introduction: Many years ago, Haddon Robinson told the story of a fire,
a burning apartment building in NYC’s Harlem. A blind girl was perched on a
window on the 4th floor. They
were unable to get a ladder to her since the alley between the buildings was
too narrow. They were trying to get her
to jump into a net, but since she couldn’t see it, she was afraid and clinged
to the window. Finally, her father
arrived, and he shouted to her, “It’s Daddy, there is a net, jump!”
Immediately, she jumped and was so relaxed she didn’t even strain a muscle in
the four-story fall. She couldn’t see, but
she heard her daddy’s voice, and she trusted him completely. She knew he
loved her, she knew what he was saying was best, and so she jumped, she did
what he said. Trusting Daddy, taking Him at His Word, entrusting ourselves
to Him. That is faith. The just shall live by faith!
Galatians is an urgent letter that
reminds us that we need to be on guard against any one or any teaching that
would undercut the truth of the Gospel. It also reminds us to consider the
implications of the Gospel in how we live. We must watch ourselves, that we,
personally, are living consistently with the truth of the Gospel. Theology is always practical! God’s truth is intended
to impact how we live. As Paul begins this chapter, he expresses his utter
amazement that the Galatians were turning from the truth (3:1, c.f. 1:6). “Oh,
foolish Galatians…” JB Philips is even stronger: “Oh you dear idiots of
Galatia… surely you can’t be so idiotic!”
How could it be that they had fallen so far so fast, leaning toward a
teaching that was so contrary to the Gospel message, so incompatible with their
experience of faith and the teaching of the Word?
After looking back on his experience of
faith, and theirs in 1-2, Paul now gets even more theological in 3-4, before emphasizing
the practical in 5-6. In this chapter the Apostle begins by asserting that as
they began the Christian life by faith, trusting in Jesus and his work on the
cross, believing what God says in His word, so we must live by faith. He
will argue from several perspectives that God saves sinners through faith in
Christ and not by works of the Law. Either we live through the Spirit by
faith, or in the flesh by works. Which is it? Paul here uses a series of
rhetorical questions to transition to the next section. Later, he’ll use several verses from Scripture
to prove his point.
Subjective experience must be tested
by objective truth. What does the
Bible say? Here, Paul begins with their
experience, reminding them of how they had encountered God through faith in
Christ. Now, seemingly, they were being
turned to another gospel. It was a message of justification by faith plus
works! Had they been hypnotized?
Bewitched? Had they so quickly
forgotten how they began? Let me ask, do you remember when you first
believed? You heard the message, and your heart was opened to it, you
believed, trusting Christ as your Savior and Lord. You heard, and you believed!
Paul’s point in these verses is that we are justified by faith, and we live
by faith! That is...
The BIG Idea: The Christian life is initiated by
faith in Christ, and lived by faith, as we trust God, taking Him at His Word.
I. The Christian Life is based on
the truth of the Gospel: the
substitutionary atonement of Christ.
They had heard and believed the straightforward Gospel message: Christ
crucified, risen, and coming again (3:1). Paul rebukes them by calling them to
remember where they came from! Remember
how you got here!
O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that
Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.
“You
foolish Galatians…” The paraphrase
of J.B. Philips says, “Dear idiots
of Galatia…” The Message reads, “You crazy Galatians! Who has put a hex on
you!” Paul was such a diplomat! You
get the idea. He is passionately calling them out for their spiritual
dullness. Jesus used similar language on
the road to Emmaus when he said, "O
foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have
spoken! 26 "Was it not
necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?"
(Luke 24:25-26). “Wisdom” is fearing God and receiving
His Word, “foolishness” is the opposite. It points to a lack of faith,
failure to take God at His word. The idea is being lazy spiritually, or “dull
of heart.” After years of operating heavy-equipment, I have a constant noise in
my ears (tinnitus). What things might “dull” our spiritual
sensitivity? Not only what we have been
exposed to, i.e. the moral “desensitizing” of the world, but what we
have neglected: prayer, fellowship, Bible reading.
“Who
has bewitched you?” or, as F.F. Bruce translates, “Who has hypnotized you?” Their behavior was so incredible, so
contrary to the Gospel of Grace which they had received, it was as if they were
under a spell or had been hypnotized! It is an even stronger way of expressing
what he said back in 1:5, “I marvel that you are turning away so soon
from Him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel…” He
is asking, “How could this be?!” We can get bad counsel from people that
might sound good, it might resonate with popular culture and seem to make sense,
but if it runs counter to biblical truth, it’s wrong. It’s sad enough for any
believer to begin turning from the truth, but these had been taught by Paul
himself, they had received clear, unambiguous teaching of the Gospel. Paul
makes the point in his next phrase which is followed by a series of rhetorical
questions framed to emphasize that very point.
First, Paul reminds them what they had heard
and believed. Before their very eyes Jesus was “publicly portrayed as crucified.” He is not saying they were
eyewitnesses to the crucifixion. The phrase “publicly portrayed” speaks
of something being as clearly presented and understood as a message posted on
bulletin board: You can’t miss it! We have a project to install a new sign for
the church. Why make that investment? The plan was developed and implemented
before I came, but it seems we want to make our church and ministries more clearly
visible to the community. Paul here is saying that the message of “Christ Crucified”
had been “publicly portrayed,” that is, clearly presented, there was no
doubt about the message of the Cross.
They had heard that simple message, Christ Crucified, the truth
of the Gospel, they believed it and received it. As a result, they were born into the family
of God. And now, incredibly, as though bewitched or hypnotized, they were
turning away. God gave us this Word to alert us to the danger of drifting off
course. We as a church are determined to stay centered on the Gospel, the
foundation and the fuel of our faith! That’s the BIG Idea: The Christian life is initiated by
faith in Christ, and lived by faith, as we trust God, taking Him at His Word.
II. The Christian Life is initiated
by faith: that faith begins the believer’s
experience with the Spirit (3:2-4). When facing doubt, or when confronted by
those who would add conditions to our salvation, we need only to recall our
conversion and ask, how did this new life start (v.2)?
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?
“This one thing…” If they conceded this, they conceded Paul’s
case: “Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with
faith?” It is a rhetorical question because the answer is obvious and
undeniable: they had heard and believed the Gospel! Like the gentiles in
the house of Cornelius in Acts 10, who had heard the message Peter
preached, and believed… and God poured out the Spirit on them. They took God at His Word, and God sent the
Spirit. When Paul asks the Galatians, “…did you receive the Spirit…” –
he is essentially asking them, “Were you saved by faith or by keeping the Law?”
In this age being indwelt by the Spirit is essentially synonymous with being
born-again. So, Paul could write in Romans 8:9, “However, you are not in the flesh but
in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does
not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.” In another passage dealing with the work of the Holy Spirit
in the life of believers he states in I Corinthians 12:13, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews
or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.”
And again, in Ephesians 1:13,14,
“In Him, you also,
after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation-- having
also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our
inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the
praise of His glory.”
The Spirit is the “down payment” or the
“pledge” of what we will inherit. The contrast is straightforward, was it “…by
the works of the Law” (striving, human effort) “…or by hearing with
faith…” (cf. Rom 10:17) you received the Spirit? Believing God—if He said
it, that settles it. C.H. Spurgeon said,
“Never put a question mark where God has put a period.”
So, in v. 3 he asks, “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the
Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” Having trusted God for
salvation, we should continue to live by faith—believing God’s Word is true and
that He will do what he promises. Paul
here uses “flesh” to refer to human nature in its fallen state. The old “I”
that cherishes independence, the presumption of autonomy. Paul is warning as he
does in Romans,
“…because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not
subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh
cannot please God” (Rom 8:7-8).
Contrast
Paul’s word in Philippians 1:6, “He who has begun a good work in you will
bring it to completion.” Man
believes, God works. The heresy was saying we begin our new life by grace
through faith, but we keep it by works. And the reference to suffering in
v.4? Paul said in I Corinthians 15:19
that if Christ is not raised, if this Gospel is not true, then we are of all
men most to be pitied. We read in
Acts that the apostles rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer for
the sake of Christ. Paul here is referring back to 2:21, if we are justified
through the Law, if human effort could somehow make us right before God, Christ
died for nothing. Jesus did it all. So, the Christian life is
initiated by faith in Christ, and lived by faith, as we trust God and take Him
at His Word.
III. The Christian Life is Lived
by faith: the believer’s experience with the
Father (3:5).
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…
“He
who [abundantly] supplies the Spirit…” The language here reflects an ongoing, present
reality. This idea of the “Spirit-filled
life” is really the key to authentic Christian living from Paul’s perspective.
This is the “Age of the Spirit”, He is the promised Comforter, the “power-giver”
that he spoke of, the Promised One whose coming was linked to the death,
resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. “He who abundantly supplies the Spirit…”,
the language implies an ongoing, present reality. Paul said as much in Eph 5:18, “Be filled
[be being filled] with the Spirit…”
There is an experiential reality to the Christian life, “His Spirit
bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God…”
He supplies the Spirit, “…and [constantly] works miracles among you…” dunamis, i.e.,
“works of power”; Paul may have been referring to miracles, as such were the
normal means God used to confirm the apostolic message in that day as the NT
was still being written (Acts 14:3). Perhaps the best application to this
age is the fact that God’s spiritual power is still abundantly evident in the
church as God brings people to faith in Christ! That is a miracle! God
demonstrates his power over Satan, sin, the world, the flesh, and human
weakness as He works in and through His people.
Do the blessings of the Christian life, the answers to prayer, the
comfort in tribulation, the peace in the midst of turmoil, come from human
effort or from hearing and believing God’s word and trusting in his promises? That
points us to the BIG Idea: The Christian life is initiated by faith
in Christ, and lived by faith, as we trust God, taking Him at His Word.
IV. An illustration of Justification
by Faith: Believing God, taking Him at His Word (3:6). Paul uses Abraham
as an example of authentic faith. This will continue next week…
“…just as Abraham "believed God, and it was counted to him as
righteousness"?
We’ll stop with verse 6 for now: “Even
so, Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness…” The
reference is to Genesis 15:6. Even though He and Sarah were too old, he
believed that God could do the impossible, and he took Him at His Word. As we hear, and “believe” the Word of God,
authentic faith will show itself by action, we’ll live like we believe
it! (cf. Gen 12:4, Jn 3:36; James
2:21). So, Abraham believed God, and he
lived happily ever after, right? Not
exactly! “Faith” doesn’t mean we are perfect.
Abraham’s faith faltered on a few occasions, in the face of famine (
Abraham’s faith had its up and downs,
but by Genesis 22 he had been molded and matured to the point that he was ready
to face his greatest test yet… As God
called on Abraham to offer up his only son, the son of promise, Abraham
recognized that God was able, if necessary, even to raise the dead (22:5, “we will return”). The Reformers
returned the church to a biblical perspective of faith. According to Luther, “Faith
is a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that a man
could stake his life in it a thousand times.” Calvin said:
“Faith… is a steady and certain
knowledge of the divine benevolence towards us, which, being founded on the
truth of the gratuitous promise in Christ, is both revealed to our minds, and
confirmed in our hearts, by the Holy Spirit.”
And so,
faith is a sure trust, an absolute confidence in God’s word. Like the little
blind girl who leapt at the sound of her father’s voice. We believe Abba,
we entrust ourselves to Him.
Biblical faith has three elements: knowledge,
assent, trust. Action demonstrates trust!
There are some things we need to know to be saved, who Jesus is, and
what He did for us in His death and resurrection. That is knowledge. Assent
means that we agree with what Christ accomplished on our behalf, that it is
what we need to be saved. And then we trust. We transfer our hope and trust for
salvation to Christ alone. Sometimes when we talk about salvation by grace
through faith, people think is sounds too easy. “Do you mean to say, all I have
to do is say that I believe and I will be saved?” No, that is not what we are
saying! Remember James 2:19, “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even
the demons believe- and shudder!” We are not saying that you just need to
intellectually agree to certain facts. It is not just “saying” you believe! You
need to know the truth, agree with the truth, and then put your trust in
Christ. Believing a chair will hold you up is one thing. Sitting on it,
entrusting yourself to it, is faith. You need to believe, believe who Jesus is,
and trust in what He did, entrusting yourself to Him!
What
is God saying to me in this passage? The
Christian life is initiated by faith in Christ, and lived by
faith, as we trust God, taking Him at His Word.” As John Stott said: We are
broken by the Cross, healed by the Spirit. There is no “I” in that message!
What
would God have me to do in response to this passage? Think back to last week’s message, chapter 2, verse 20, “I
have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives
in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live be faith in the Son of
God who loved me and gave himself for me.” Do you see how the Gospel is
both the foundation and the fuel of the Christian life? We believe God,
trusting in the finished work of Christ. When we grasp that He bore our sins
in His body on the tree, we are broken by the Cross! But we are then healed
by the Spirit—we are born again, we have new life, a life of faith—as the
implications of the gospel fuel every part of our life.
Do we worship Him with a heart filled
with gratitude, knowing that though our salvation is a free gift, it came at
such a great cost? Do we pray as though we are in His presence? Do we do our
work, as unto the Lord, trusting Him to meet our needs? Are our marriages
Gospel-centered? Does the grace of God infiltrate it’s every part?
Do we manage our finances from the perspective of faith? (OK, pastor,
now you’ve gone from preaching to meddling!). If we recognize all we have comes
from Him that should impact our stewardship! We really can trust Him to
meet our needs. The life of faith, learning to entrust ourselves to the God who
is—Blessed with Abraham, living by faith—that is the life for which we were
created! The just shall live by faith! AMEN.
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