Faith or Law?
Pastor Bill Nichols - September 27, 2009Introduction
How many of you have seen the commercials for the Rosetta Stone method of learning a new language? Becky has a copy of the Spanish language, and she was using it for a while to learn Spanish. I had the opportunity to try it out too. Basically, the program is based on learning through repetition. You learn words then you repeat them by looking at pictures that capture the meaning of the words and hearing the pronunciation. Then you begin to use them repeatedly in simple sentences. I have heard it said many times that a person must hear something seven times before they remember it. Again, that is why TV commercials repeat the key points and or phone numbers, over and over and over.
The same concept is true in studying the Bible. So once again this morning, let me remind you that in chapters one and two of Galatians, Paul first defended his apostleship and then he admonished the Galatians for deserting the gospel. As we get into chapter three, we see that Paul again has a harsh message to the churches in Galatia concerning their faith.
Galatians 3:1-5
"You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Have you suffered so much for nothing - if it really was for nothing? Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?"
I. Do Not be Fooled
Paul immediately gets the Galatians attention by calling them foolish. The word used here means senseless; not applying the mind. He did not call them foolish because they were mentally deficient, but because they had been so easily deceived by the false teachers. Who has bewitched you? The word "bewitched" comes from a root word meaning witchcraft, and means to "lead astray by evil arts." In other words, Paul was saying that the Judaizers, or false teachers, had an evil intent in preaching this false gospel, and the believers there were foolish in following them.
Next Paul reminds them of how they were saved through the preaching of his gospel, not the false teacher's gospel. Paul preached to them Jesus Christ crucified. He described the crucifixion in such detail that they were able to picture it. The word, "portrayed", means to post on a placard. It would be similar to painting a word picture for them so they could see and understand.
Paul asked them, did you get saved by obeying the law of Moses, or were you saved by what you heard from me preach concerning the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ?
Think back for a moment to when you were saved! Close your eyes if you need to, and visualize your own salvation experience. Did you become a Christian by obeying the teachings of the church? If that teaching was a belief in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, then you were saved by grace through faith. But if you were baptized simply because you thought that was what you needed to do to be saved, or because your mother thought it was time for you to get baptized, or for any other reason than a belief in the true gospel, then you had better rethink your salvation. Salvation comes by hearing the gospel message and believing it.
Romans 10:17 states:
"faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ."
Do not get me wrong. I feel very strongly about baptism. But baptism without faith is useless.
In verse three, Paul asks, "are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?"
I would ask you the same thing this morning. Are you living by faith, or are you striving by human effort to attain your salvation?
Verse five is pretty fascinating in that Paul infers that the miracles the Galatian believers were experiencing was a result of what they had believed and heard, and not because of what they were doing in observing the law. I believe that as they deserted the true gospel, there was a correlating decline in the miracles they saw. I have to wonder if that is one reason why we do not see God working as many miracles in believer's lives today. Have Christians deserted the true gospel of faith for a false one of works? I can not help but wonder how powerfully God would be working in the church today if all believers strived to live by faith, and not by our own efforts and the things the world offers?
II. The Example of Abraham - Verses 6 - 9
In verses six through nine, Paul uses the example of Abraham as an example of one who was saved by faith.
Galatians 3:6-9
Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. The 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." So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
How many of you believe that Abraham was called righteous because of his obedience to the Mosaic law? That was a trick question because Abraham lived 430 years before the law. Read Galatians 3:17 So then, what was it that made Abraham righteous before God? Look at verse six. He believed God, and it (his belief) was credited to him as righteousness. God promised Abraham that all nations would be blessed through his seed. Abraham believed God, and that belief was credited to him as righteousness.
Paul says that those who believe the gospel message are children of Abraham because they too are blessed because of their faith.
Did Abraham understand all that God had in mind to do through His son Jesus? No, he only understood what God revealed to him. The gospel is a progressive revelation. Sometimes I hear people say that they do not understand enough about the gospel to make a decision for Christ. They need to know more. They want to understand everything before they can come to such an important decision. This reminds me of the people Paul talks about in Second Timothy 3, people who Paul says, in the last days, will have a form of godliness, but deny its power. Paul says of them that they are "always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth."
Friends, God designed salvation by faith, or belief in the gospel to be so simple that even a child can understand it. The truth is that you do not have to know all the doctrines of the church to be saved. You just have to believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
III. The Curse of the Law. Verses 10 - 14
In Galatians 3: verses 10 through 14, Paul contrasts the law with faith, and he proclaims that everyone who relies on the observance of the law is actually under a curse. Why? Look back with me to Deuteronomy 11:26-28. To obey God's commands (Law of Moses) would result in blessings. To disobey God's commands (Law of Moses) would result in a curse. Paul carries that argument over into the church when he states "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law."
Verse: 10
Abraham was justified by faith. The law is not of faith. If you choose to live by the law, you will be cursed if you break even one of them. If you choose to live by faith in Christ, you will be blessed, because Christ redeemed us from the law that we might receive the same blessing as Abraham.
This word "redeemed" here means to buy with a price or to pay a ransom. Christ died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin in order that we too might receive the blessing of Abraham by faith. Christ became a curse for us when He hung on the cross, thereby giving us Abraham's blessing which includes the gift of the Holy Spirit that Christ promised His disciples. John 14:16 & 26
Conclusion
So what? You might be wondering to yourself, how does this affect me today? Two thousand years have gone by since Jesus lived and died. Humanity has become more enlightened than it was back in those days. There are many religions that claim to have a pathway to God.
Let me remind you of Paul's words to the churches in Galatia in Chapter 1, verse 8.
"But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned.
Hebrews 10: 12-14, referring to Jesus says,
"But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time He waits for His enemies to be made His footstool, because by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy."
You do not have to look any farther than Jesus. The gospel that Paul preached is the same gospel that will save you today. Not by works, but by faith in the Son of God.
Prayer & Invitation