Galatians 3:1-9

Welcome to evening lunchtime talks.

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We have a slight problem.

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11. But did Cephas go up to the end of the chapter? That is the question. I was thinking

he did, but does anyone want to confirm or contradict? No? That's right, that confirms

I thought. Very good. Well, I will read and then pray. No, last week we did 2.11, the 21. So

we are starting at 3.1. Oh foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes

that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this. Did

you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish,

having begun by the Spirit? Are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many

things in vain, if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works

miracles among you do so by the works of the law or by hearing with faith? Just as Abraham

believed God, it was counted to him his righteousness. Know this then, that it is those of faith who

are the sons of Abraham. 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. So then those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham,

the man of faith.

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse, for it is written,

curse be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law and do them.

Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for the righteous shall live by faith.

But the law is not of faith, rather the one who does them shall live by them.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.

For it is written, cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree,

so that in Christ Jesus,

the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles,

so that we might receive

the promised spirit

through faith.

Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, we thank you that you are

the one true God, you are our God,

our covenant God,

and we bless you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We thank you for

your words,

your scripture,

the word of life.

We thank you that you led

Paul

to oppose those who would add something

to faith,

because it is through faith

in your grace,

in Christ Jesus,

that we are made right with you

and we have a proper standing before you.

And so we thank you

that because of our Savior,

we can have ready access now

into your presence.

We come to the throne of the King,

the King of Kings,

and rejoice.

And we pray,

Heavenly Father,

it's time that you would bring

the King of Kings,

and we pray that you would bring

But we pray that in the meantime,

you may still bless your word to us.

As you bless the Galatians,

bless us in healing, we pray,

for Jesus' sake.

Amen.

I'm still looking for him.

Still not found him here.

So, well,

what has been,

Paul been doing?

He's been,

speaking to the Galatians

because of their foolishness

of going away from Christ

as their only hope.

They wanted to add

something to the work of Christ.

Circumcision.

And Paul is at pains

to tell them

that if you add something

to Christ,

you're not really being

put right with God

through what the Lord

Jesus Christ has done.

Another way you could look

at what the Galatians

were doing

was they were really

requiring new converts

to become not only

Christians through Jesus,

but Jews through circumcision.

And Paul was opposed

to this.

He is telling them

that he is the apostle

to the Gentiles

and he knows

that Gentiles are received

as are Jews

through faith

in Christ Jesus.

This is God's way

of dealing with us now.

And even today,

anybody who wants to say

you are received

on the basis

of Jesus and,

whatever that and is,

a common and,

for example,

would be a certain mode

or time of baptism.

No.

The way we are accepted

through the Lord Jesus Christ

is through him alone.

And this is what Paul

is teaching

teaching to the Galatians.

And to add to that,

he talks to them

about how they have received

the Holy Spirit.

He doesn't mince his words.

At the beginning,

he talked about

those who preach

another gospel

should be accursed.

and you couldn't

have stronger language

than that.

Here he calls

the Galatians foolish,

bewitched,

that they have been

led astray.

But he reminds them

of how they have become

Christians.

It was before your eyes

that Jesus Christ

was publicly portrayed

as crucified.

Now there are some people

who reading that

would say,

well,

they must have had

some big crucifix

or something

put up in the church.

But we know

that that wasn't the case.

The way that Jesus Christ

was publicly portrayed

to the Christians

was through the preaching

of the word of God.

And we don't need

images of Jesus,

paintings of Jesus

as aids to devotion

in any way.

That's actually adding

something to faith

in Christ alone.

No, we need

the eyes of our heart

to be opened.

We need the scales

of sin

to be taken away

so that we see

Jesus spiritually

portrayed to us

as crucified.

And Paul reminds them

it is through

the crucified Christ

that they have received

the Holy Spirit.

Did you receive

the Spirit

by works of the law

or by hearing

with faith?

Well, he's reminding them

that the way of receiving

the Holy Spirit

is through the work

of the Lord Jesus Christ.

we know

how the salvation

history goes.

Jesus comes

into the world

having left

the presence

of God

his Father.

He's born

as a little baby

in Bethlehem.

He grows up

about the age

of 30.

He starts

his work

when he is

baptized

he goes around

filled with the

Holy Spirit

teaching

healing

miracles

and then

he's up to

Jerusalem

to die

on the cross.

And after

he dies

then the third

day he's raised

again.

He shows himself

to his disciples

by many

infallible

proofs.

After 40 days

he ascends

into heaven

they see him

go up

into the clouds

now a man

in the presence

of God Almighty

and they have

a promise

of his coming

again

but also

they are told

to wait

in Jerusalem.

For 10 days

later

on the day

of Pentecost

then the Holy

Spirit

is poured

out

upon the church

and the

apostles

who till then

had been

fearful

and faint

they are

transformed

into bold

preachers

of the gospel.

Now how have

they received

the Holy Spirit

at that point?

Is it by some

works that they

did?

No.

It was through

the work

of the Lord

Jesus Christ.

Jesus

his father

have poured

out the Holy

Spirit

on the church.

So Paul

says what's

this about

adding something

to the work

of Christ?

Is it by

something you've

added?

You've received

the Holy Spirit?

Not at all.

And then again

he says to

them

did you suffer

so many

things in

vain?

Why were you

persecuted

if it was

indeed

to no point?

No.

God who

supplies the

Spirit to

you

and works

miracles

among you

he doesn't

do it

in response

to the good

works

that you

do.

He does

it in

response

the way

you respond

to hearing

the word

of God

with faith

and trust

in the Lord

Jesus Christ.

That's

something that

we

must

take to

heart

today.

We don't

get the

blessings of

God and

the gifts

of his

Spirit

because we

work for

them.

No.

We get

them through

faith in the

Lord Jesus

Christ.

It's 100%

God's grace

unmerited

on our

part.

I was just

actually reading

this morning

a critique

of a man

called

Creflo

Dollar

an American

evangelist

who

well

he preaches

a prosperity

gospel.

If you

do

what he

says

claim

by faith

certain

promises

then God

will reward

you.

God

will bless

you.

And he's

doing very

well from

his

prosperity

gospel

big house

or two

private

jet

Porsche

cars

etc.

But this

is wrong.

God

doesn't

bless us

because

we

give so

much to

this man

of ministry

or to

that good

work.

No.

God's

blessing of

us

is in

response

to our

faith

and trust

in the

Lord

Jesus

Christ.

So we

don't need

to earn

God's

favour by

any works

we do.

We need

to believe

in God

and believe

in God's

promises.

Paul

goes

right back

to the

father of

the Jews

Abraham.

He says

Abraham

believed

God

and it

was

counted

to him

as

righteousness.

Abraham

was a

man of

faith.

The man

who trusted

in God.

And we

read that

God

reckoned

Abraham's

faith as

his

righteousness.

Brother

Capers

welcome.

Welcome.

We have

read

to

verse 9

of chapter

3

and I've

done some

exposition

to

verse 6

but it's

all up to

you now

what you

want to

do.

I'm

so sorry.

So Paul

found it

necessary

to address

the

challenge

that the

Galatian

Christians

had found

themselves

now facing.

Previously

he contended

with the

Jews.

He

debated

with the

Jews

and he

argued

against

the fact

that they

wanted

to insist

on the

Galatians

to put

on

lifestyles

that were

contrary

to the

grace

that God

had revealed

to them.

And he

found them

now

going into

the same

error.

He found

them

after having

been helped

to understand

that they

did not

need

circumcision

to be

accepted

by God.

They did

not need

to observe

the dietary

regulations

of Jews

to be

accepted

by God.

He

was

afounded

that they

would now

have been

revealed

to the

fact that

it is

grace

that leads

us to

salvation.

He was

disappointed

that they

would go

back to

trusting

in their

own

self-effort.

And he

considered

that an

act of

foolishness

which he

referred to

twice.

And I

think it is

very serious

if Paul

would twice

have to

say you

are being

foolish.

And he

said it

was an

act of

bewitchment.

So the

challenge,

the important

thing for

us is

what we

see in

verse 3

where he

says,

having begun

in the

spirit,

are you

now being

perfected

in the

flesh?

Having

started our

Christian

relationship

and our

Christian

walk with

God by

faith in

Christ,

by believing

in what

God has

done in

our lives

and by

the work

of

sanctification

going on

by the

power of

the Spirit

of God,

should we

now begin

to rely

on our

efforts?

So the

question to

us as

Christians

today is

how do

we grow

in our

Christian

faith?

How do

we progress?

Is it as

people who

now feel

we have to

do something

to add

to the

faith,

to the

work of

grace that

we have

received in

Christ Jesus?

Or should

we continue

to rely

on the

help that

comes from

God?

And the

challenge many

of us

encounter is

that there

are times we

feel dissatisfied

with our

Christian

walk.

There are

times we

feel am I

doing enough?

Am I

praying enough?

Am I

reading the

Bible enough?

Am I

being a

sufficient

witness to

the grace

of God

enough?

Am I

shining forth

the light

enough to

people?

And when

those thoughts

begin to

come, we

become disappointed

and sometimes

it causes

frustration, then

we begin to

think we

have to do

something.

I must do

something to

kind of

satisfy first

myself that

I am being

good enough.

So for some

maybe, it's

a faithful

attendance of

healing lunchtime

talk, faithful

attendance of

Bible study

meetings, faithful

participation in

prayer meetings,

faithful going

about from

place to

place to

witness, so

that when

you look at

a checklist

of those

things that

make you a

good Christian

and you

tick them

up and

you tick

them up,

then you

get to

feel good.

So for

some of us

then, our

salvation is

a factor of

how good we

feel about

what we are

doing and how

we are presenting

ourselves.

And Paul

says this is

also an act

that could lead

to foolishness.

Why?

Because we

didn't start

by works.

The salvation

that we have

received did

not come to

us because we

did anything

good.

Just like

Abraham didn't

have to do

anything good

before he

received of

the grace of

God.

So Paul

presents Abraham

as an example.

He says

therefore that

Abraham believed

God and

it was

counted to

him as

righteousness.

Not that

Abraham walked

hard for

the Lord.

Not that

Abraham impressed

God.

It was what

he did in

believing,

the only

walk,

we can call

it walk

of believing,

choosing to

place his

faith in

this God

whom he did

not have a

clear knowledge

of but whom

he had heard

and whom he

believed was

worthy of

submitting to.

So Abraham

believed God

and it was

accounted to

him for

righteousness.

In the same

way therefore

the apostle

Paul is

saying if

we, if the

Galatian

Christians for

instance would

find justification

and would

enter into

the walk of

being called

the children of

Abraham which

was the thing

that Jews

held as

something that

made them

peculiar because

they received the

covenant of

circumcision

from their

father,

they had

received the

covenant of

the different

promises from

their father

Abraham and

that made

them feel

they were

unique but

Paul was

telling them

no,

Abraham did

not become

a man approved

by God

because of

what he did,

it's because

of his faith.

so if you

want to be

children of

Abraham,

it is the

faith you

place in

God and

his finished

work for

you that

makes you

like Abraham

and it

compares to

what Abraham

did.

Abraham did

not find

approval by

works,

he found

approval by

faith,

therefore you

should struggle

to find

approval not

by works

but by

faith.

In verse

10 then,

he raises

what is

the problem

of trying

to depend

on the

law and

the things

we do.

He said,

for all

who rely

on the

works of

law are

under a

curse,

for it is

written,

cursed be

everyone who

does not

abide by

all the

things written

in the

book of

law and

do them.

Now,

this raises

the challenge.

If you

want to

believe in

works and

obedience to

the law as

the basis of

finding salvation

and grace,

then you

should be

ready to

obey

everything

that is

found in

the law.

Because in

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 27:26

27 verse

26 we are

told that

when Moses

presented the

law of the

Lord to

the children

of Israel,

he challenged

them that

everyone must

be willing to

obey everything

and they

answered

Amen.

So,

if we

will find

approval,

we should

be ready

to obey

everything,

every single

law.

But that's

quite a

difficult thing

to do because

whoever falls

short of

one law has

fallen short

of all the

laws.

And because

it's not

possible for us

to obey all

the laws,

Jesus now

became the

curse for us

because whoever

breaks the

law of God

becomes cursed

but Jesus

took that

curse on

himself and

died for

us so that

in him

we do not

need to

see the

obedience to

all the laws

as the

requirement of

acceptance with

God.

all we

need is

placing faith

in what

God has

done for

us in

Christ Jesus.

And when

you place

your faith

in Christ

Jesus,

before God

you are

now accepted

as righteous

in right

standing with

God,

you are

now no

longer held

to the

need,

you are

no longer

held by

the need

to obey

all the

laws because

in Christ

Jesus,

because you

place faith

in what

Jesus has

done,

you will

now become

accepted.

So,

whoever tries

to now

trust in

his works

to gain

salvation

is nullifying

like we

read last

week,

is nullifying

the grace

that has

come to

us by

virtue of

what Jesus

has done.

It's making

the death

of Jesus

of no

benefit.

It's making

the suffering

and the

sacrifice

of Jesus

of no

benefit.

But whoever

places his

faith in

Christ Jesus

and accepts

that,

he stands

accepted by

God only

by virtue

of what

Jesus has

done,

then you

will find

approval,

then you

will find

peace,

then you

will enter

into eternal

rest.

God only

will

be

so

does it

require

that we

just sit

idle and

not do

anything?

That's not

what scripture

is saying.

But scripture

is also not

saying rise

and walk.

But we

have an

encouragement

in Philippians

Philippians 2:13

2 verse 13

where Paul

himself says

it is God

who is at

walk in

us,

both to

will and

to do of

his good

pleasure.

Which means

as I

submit to

the Lord

and I

submit to

the Spirit

of God

with whom

I have

been sealed

from the

day I

repented,

from the

day I

placed my

faith in

Jesus,

as I

submit to

the Lord

in that

regard,

then it

is God

now who

will be

walking in

and through

me.

I do not

seek pleasure,

I do not

seek to

derive pleasure

or confirmation

by what I

do,

I only

avail myself

so that

the Lord

himself will

do what

he has set

out to

do in

and through

me.

We are

therefore

mere

extensions

of the

Lord,

we are

therefore

merely

instruments

that should

be made

available

to the

Lord,

so that

he can

walk in

and through

us.

When we

speak to

people,

it will

be the

Lord

speaking

through

us.

if we

do

anything

that

humanly

we

have

categorized

as

good

and

those

things

that

Christians

should

do,

we will

not be

seeking

approval

because we

have done

what Christians

should do,

but we

would be

acting in

grateful

response

by availing

ourselves

so that

the Lord

himself

will

honor

himself

in

and

through

us.

Therefore

we do

not put

confidence

in

ourselves.

Listen

to how

John

Piper

says

these

things

as he

addresses

the

challenge

of the

Galatians.

He says

the essence

of the

Galatian

heresy

is the

teaching

that you

begin

the

Christian

life

by faith

and then

you

grow

in the

Christian

life

by

works.

That

is

by

drawing

on

paths

in

yourself

to make

your

contribution

to

salvation.

One

modern

form

of

heresy

therefore

is

God

helps

those

who

help

themselves.

And this

is a very

popular

approach

that many

of us

have in

Nigeria.

In

Nigeria

the common

expression

would be

like

we say

it in

which

means

God

said

arise

so that

I will

help

you.

And

that

kind

of

falsifies

the

truth

of the

grace

of

God

because

whoever

receives

help

from

God

at

that

point

would

feel

I

contributed

something

at

least

I

did

the

rising

and

when

I

arose

God

saw

my

seriousness

God

saw

my

commitment

in

my

rising

and

he

went

on

to

help

me.

John

Piper

went

on

to

say

faith

is

the

only

response

to

God's

word

which

makes

room

for

the

spirit

to

walk

in

us

and

through

us

flesh

on the

other

hand

is the

insubordinate

self-determining

ego

which in

religious people

responds to

God's word

not with

reliance on

the spirit

but with

reliance on

self.

it

can

nullify

the

grace

of

God

and

what

the

Galatians

were

doing

here

in

now

beginning

to

think

what

should

help

them

is

they

were

making

useless

all

of

the

teachings

that

have

been

received

in

saying

circumcision

is not

the

basis

for

salvation

obeying

their

regulations

is not

the

basis

for

salvation

it

is

faith

in

Jesus

alone

that

helps

us

they

have

nullified

that by

beginning

to rely

on

their

self

effort

these

days

that's

the

same

challenge

we

have

that's

the

same

challenge

we

see

among

Christians

these

days

the

only

thing

many

of

us

have

to

boast

of

in

our

Christianity

is

the

fact

that

we

have

to

draw

people

to

our

churches

and

I

find

that

an

unfortunate

development

because

when

people

go to

evangelize

they

are

more

interested

in

getting

people

to

attend

their

churches

than

getting

people

to

develop

a

right

relationship

with

Jesus

and

to

seek

to

find

salvation

by

faith

and

several

think

it is

in

their

in

the

manifestation

of

their

spiritual

gifts

that

we

gain

a

right

standing

the

apostle

Paul

challenged

the

Galatian

Christians

when

you

receive

miracles

did

you

receive

miracles

because

you

walked

for

them

when

you

received

healing

was it

because

you

walked

no

it's

because

you

placed

your

faith

in

Jesus

brethren

if

the

Lord

will

be

glorified

in

our

lives

it's

not

going

to

be

through

the

obedience

or

through

the

walks

the

beautiful

wonderful

walks

we

do

it

will

be

because

we

have

chosen

to

place

faith

in

Jesus

and

we

have

allowed

Jesus

to

be

seen

and

to

be

experienced

by the

world

in

and

through

us

let

us

pray