Protecting the Pure Gospel, Part 3

Today we will look at chapter 3 of the book of Galatians.  Up till now in this letter, Paul has made the point that man received the Gospel of Jesus through revelation rather than through human reasoning.  Jesus was God himself (not just a human prophet) revealing to us the perfect truth of God.  However the Galatian believers were beginning to listen to human reasoning that led them away from the revelation of God.  In a sense Paul is saying, "I have given you the truth.  So hold on to it and don't let it go.  Don't try to improve it through additions, deletions or both."

Too often people try to pit reason and revelation against each other.  But it is not intended to be so.  They do not cancel each other out.  In fact in chapter 3 Paul continues to reason with the Galatians, but he reasons within the bounds of God's revelation.  So here is the key.  We cannot reason our way into new revelation.  We can only reason within the boundaries of the revelation given by God.  When reason goes beyond the revelation of God it quickly goes astray whether through the good motivations of the righteous or the bad motivations of those who do not believe the revelation of Jesus.  Human reasoning should be restrained like a horse with a bit in its mouth.  When it is unrestrained it can cause all manner of damage and harm.

The Spell-bound Galatians

Paul rhetorically asks who has bewitched them, not because he seeks the identity of the false teachers but to contrast them to the source of the Gospel, Jesus.  You received the gospel from Jesus, but, who has bewitched you.  They are like a snake that has been charmed by some piping professor and, in fact, they are being foolish.  They are acting like they have no understanding of the gospel.

This foolishness has led them to be dissuaded from the truth.  They are no longer obeying the gospel.  A wicked person who enjoys doing wrong is a bad thing, but even worse is a person who does the same and believes they are doing good.  At least the previous person is not deceived about what they are doing and can perhaps be persuaded.  But those who believe they are doing good are difficult to persuade.  They have been dissuaded and are deluded.  That is why Jesus dealt more severely with the Pharisees who thought they had no sin than he did with the woman caught in the act of adultery.  She not only knew she had sinned but was humiliated by it.  She could receive the gospel, but the pharisees, by and large could not.  It is foolish to think that we need more than the gospel, it is the power of God for us, which brings salvation into our lives.  Paul now continues to lay Arguments for why their current position is error and foolish.

Reasoning #1, The Giving of the Holy Spirit

When there is a disagreement about one thing it is often helpful to move to an issue that is not under contention and then compare.  Paul does this by bringing up the giving of the Holy Spirit.  Both sides of this issue accept and agree on the giving of the Holy Spirit.  Thus Paul points out that it was not great performance of the Law that brought about the giving of the Holy Spirit.  Comparitively it wasn't performance of the law that brought about the gospel.  Those reading Paul's letter can remember a time when the Holy Spirit had not been poured out upon them.  The reminder from Paul is that the gospel came to them in the same way as the gift of the Holy Spirit, by their faith in Jesus, and through the means of grace.  Neither did the Holy Spirit/Gospel go out to Israel or the Gentiles because of great performance of the Law.  Quite the contrary, Jesus publically undressed the Pharisees and their false righteousness to demonstrate that they did not "deserve" the Anointed One of God nor the Truth he came to reveal.

The Holy Spirit was poured out on the faithful in spite of national and personal failure.  The apostles all testified to this when they were in the Acts 15 Council.   The Holy Spirit was sent to whosoever would believe regardless of past performance.

In verse 5 Paul contrasts the works of the law with the hearing of faith.  Even the action of this phrase is passive, hearing.  Hearing must be actively mixed with faith or belief.  It is not just hearing which supplies the Spirit, or salvation for that matter.  But the hearing that then mixes it with faith.  There is a mystery of those who hear the same message, but not all mix it with faith.  We must be careful that we do not share the Gospel with only those people "we think" are ready or deserve it.  Many who are steeped in great sin will hear and believe.  Likewise many who are very righteous by the world's standards will hear, but never believe.  The Spirit/Gospel has been made available to all, but only received by those who believe what they hear.

Reasoning #2, Abraham was Justified by Faith

Abraham is not shown to be perfect.  In fact, even his trust in God is mislead by Sarah's plan to have a "Promised Child" through Hagar her maidservant.  Now Abraham, like the Holy Spirit, that both sides were quick to embrace.  Thus Paul takes them back to the Law that they cling to and shows them that Abraham was justified by grace through faith.  He quotes Genesis 15:6 to show that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.  Yes, Abraham did some works and even circumcised himself and his child, but it was his belief that was credited as righteousness.  Otherwise we would have to talk about Abraham's slip up with Hagar a different way- "Abraham trusted Sarah and it was debited from his account as unrighteousness."  In fact, none of the patriarchs and godly kings were depicted as perfect law performers.  David's Psalm 51 forever stands as a tribute to his understanding that if it wasn't for the grace of God he would be lost.

If you want to be a "True" son of Abraham who is to inherit the Promise then you need to believe God's testimony about Jesus.  So the question, can we take over for God and perfect ourselves?  It is the Holy Spirit that works within us to perform sanctification over the top of the struggling of our flesh, which we are called to kill daily.  My hope is not that I can now fix myself, or that now that God has set me free from my sins I can do it myself.  My hope is that the Spirit of God will complete that work of making me over into the image of Jesus and that when I see him in the future, I will be like him. 

Reasoning #3, The Law can only Curse People.

Now Paul presses the point home.  The law that they are being told to lean on is quoted in order to demonstrate the curse that is on them.  In other words the very thing they are beginning to trust in is the thing that is condemning them before God.  Quoting from 4 different places in the law he points out that he who embraces the law must perform it completely to live.  But if you fail to keep all the law you are under a curse.  This highlights Jesus statement to those who wanted to stone the adulteress, "He without sin may throw the first stone."  The Prophets that they claim to believe testified that the "just shall live by faith."  If it was up to the law they were all condemned under a curse.  In fact the gospel says that not only shall the just live by faith, but they are the "just" precisely because of their faith in God.

The law operates much like a ratcheting system.  We use that system to tighten bolts or screws and to also loosen them.  Notice that the ratchet moves easily one way but takes force, power, to move the other direction.  Our sin problem causes the laws punishments to ratchet easily against us, but then we are powerless to force it back.  We keep being locked up under the curse and doom of God's wrath, tighter and tighter and less and less able to force it back.  Even our "self-righteous" actions are like filthy rags, unacceptable.  It is precisely this situation from which Christ freed us.  He bought us back from the prison of the laws judgment.  Here is the problem.  Paul tells them that they were under a system that treated them harshly and only condemned them, even when they tried to do good.  It enslaved them and cursed them.  Jesus set them free from it, why, then, would they go back to the law?

Do Christians still do this today?  Let me ask you, have you ever felt that if you did the right things or prayed the right prayer surely God would give you the miracle or answer to prayer you want?  Have you ever contemplated what good things you should do in order to get what  you want from God?  This mentality is contrary to the gospel.  Paul, elsewhere, says that this type of thinking has an appearance of godliness, but it denies the power of God.  You see God loves faith and honors it.  He does not love smug pride in our own performance.  It may look godly to others, but it leaves a foul taste in the mouth of God.

Reasoning #4, The Promise to Abraham vs. the Law.

God made a promise with Abraham and his Seed.  This seed was the Messiah, Jesus, who was to come.  Notice that the Promise was given 430 years before the law.  God did this on purpose to demonstrate that the Promise was superior and not impacted by the law.  The law was not replacing the law nor being added to it.  Next time we will answer the question, so why was the law given? 

Abraham was not called the father of Faith because he performed the law.  Neither did he receive the Promise because of his great law keeping.  God's Promise was for those who believed him like Abraham did.  In fact, it is not the biological blood of Abraham that makes one a child of Abraham and thus inheritor of the Promise.  Rather, it is the spiritual blood (life) of Abraham found in believing God that makes us a child of Abraham.  That's why Jesus charged the Pharisees of being children of the devil, not Abraham in John 8.

Let me ask you, are you a child of God?  It is not by how well you keep the law that makes you a child of God.  It is a combination of God's will and your faith.  God chose to send his son Jesus to reveal the gospel.  If you will embrace that in faith then you will become his child and inheritor of the Promise.

Christian, are you walking by faith in God over the top of your outward circumstances?  Our challenge today is not to make Jesus into the image with which we are comfortable.  We cannot make Jesus into what we want.  Rather we must receive him as he is, and he is the crucified savior.  Yes, he perfectly fulfilled the law, but then was crucified to the things of this life that he might live to God.  We will not follow him by exalting our actions of the flesh.  Rather we follow him by dying to the pride of our flesh and embracing the power of the Spirit made available through the grace of the Gospel.