North Anderson Baptist Church
Galatians 3:1-18 NIV
Galatians 3:1-5 NIV
1) Foolish to renounce the Gospel - Vv. 1-5
Foolish and bewitched Galatians? Wow! What words to use regarding those whom you know and those you love. Something must have happened in Paul’s absence that caused him to use such words. Yes it did. We have talked about those Judaizers coming along after Paul left and “preaching” that having faith in Christ alone to give them salvation was just not enough, they needed to be obedient to the Law of Moses too. That obedience came mostly in the form of being circumcised.
Here we have a subject that is extremely important to Christians everywhere. Getting our eyes off of the Cross and looking elsewhere for significance and truth of salvation. How many religions have either missed the truth completely or bent it to meet their needs? In this passage Paul is speaking of the evil that has come among the Galatians and have twisted the truth of how one is saved. He calls them foolish to believe the Judaizers and not stay with the truth that they had believed when presented by Paul, regarding faith in Jesus Christ alone to wash away their sins and grant to them eternal life through the cross and Christ’s resurrection.
Were these believers bewitched? There were many who practiced magic in those days and who tried to influence others to believe as they did. Had the evil one come to trick them to walk away from the truth, that one is saved through faith alone in Christ?
There are “contrary gospels” out there that seek to pull others into their false doctrine. Look around you and see if you can identify them.
World Religions And "What Do To Be Saved
How do other religions answer the cry of the Philippian jailer, "What must I do to be saved?"
The Muslim replies: "Repeat the words, 'There is no God but Allah, and Mohamet is his prophet'; pray five times daily; give alms to beggars; keep the fasts; read the Koran; and make a pilgrimage to Mecca."
The Hindu priest replies: "Observe the rules of the caste; worship the monkey and the cow; crawl through the dust like a measuring worm to some scared temple; bathe in the waters of the Ganges; erect a temple to one of the million divinities. You may escape rebirth as a reptile or a beast or a woman and become absorbed in the deity."
The Buddhist replies: "Forget that you have a body; become indifferent to pleasure and pain and you may attain to Nirvana—the state of extinguished flame."
The Confucian scholar replies: "Study the sacred classics, and learn the rules of righteousness. Confucius shows the path of duty but cannot help you to follow it. You must save yourself."
Contrast these with the simple, all-sufficient answer of Paul: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." (Acts 16:31) There is no requirement to understand the deep questions of theology or to perform impossible tasks. You cannot save yourself; Christ will save you.
—Pulpit Helps (Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations: Signs of the Times.)
Have you been “fooled” to think that surely that one could be true or that one over there can’t be wrong because they are so nice and sincere in what they say and who they are as people? These would be the “other theological” gospels. But there are different kinds of gospels. We see the gospel of “moralism,” “secularism” and “environmentalism.” These are all religions to many people just as Christianity is a belief system to those who follow Christ, these are truly belief systems and they have been brought about through the “bewitchment” of the one who hates Jesus and has sought to destroy Him and His church from the very beginning.
Paul asks the Galatians if they received the Spirit by the works of the law or by hearing of the faith? Had they turned to “another gospel?” You see, Paul had presented Jesus as the crucified and risen Lord, but now they are adding on something else beside the faith they once declared. And then he says, have you been perfected by law after having been saved by faith? Paul seeks to not only ask the questions that are relevant but he tends to answer them as well, hoping that they will see the error of their ways.
The apostle wants to know if they have suffered in vain. What had they suffered, these Galatian Christians? If we understand the times, we can see that those pagans, the Gentile believers, who left their lives of idolatry and worship of their families, began to suffer ridicule and separation from their loved ones. Some left all they knew and followed Christ and in their suffering found a new and life fulfilling existence. That is why Paul was so taken back by their so easily swayed by the Judaizers. Had that suffering they went through become in vain? Paul caps the questioning off with one last question; when they began adding onto faith, the obedience to the law, had they forgotten the miracles God had performed among them, and the Holy Spirit that was given to them by faith or did they now think all that was given to them came by the works of the Law?
Would we be foolish to believe a lie too? Is it possible to be taken in by the “evil one” who wants to destroy you, your faith and the church of Jesus Christ?
Galatians 3:6-9 NIV
2. Abraham’s Faith - Vv. 6-9
Remember Abraham? He once lived in a place called the Ur of the Chaldeans, and when his father moved to Haran that is where Abraham was called of the Lord to become the Father of the nation of Israel. (Genesis 12:1-5) “Paul begins by quoting Moses to show that God's righteousness was placed to Abraham's account only because he believed God's promise (Gen. 15:6). The words accounted in Galatians 3:6 and counted in Genesis 15:6 mean the same as imputed in Romans 4:11, 22-24. The Greek word means "to put to one's account." When the sinner trusts Christ, God's righteousness is put to his account. More than this, the believer's sins are no longer put to his account (see Rom. 4:1-8). This means that the record is always clean before God, and therefore the believer can never be brought into judgment for his sins.” (Warren Wiersbe, Be Series)
“Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to Him for righteousness.” Just like you and me, Abraham had no righteousness of his own but when he believed God, it was placed in his accounted as righteous. Are you saved today by works of the law or any other works? According to God’s Holy Word we are all saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Jesus is to be Lord over all we are, everything in life He is to be King, Master and “Boss.” Over your sin and mine, He is the Savior, who has washed those sins as far away as the East is from the West.
Why would Paul be talking to the Gentiles about Jewish history and religion? He uses these thought to help them to understand that God had set in His Word that “salvation by faith” would one day apply to them who were not Jews. He tells them that only those who are Abraham’s sons can be saved and called God’s children. Moses wrote years before about the life of Abraham, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” (Genesis 18:18) Paul says that only those who are of the faith are Abraham’s sons and since the Galatians have believed, then they too are sons of Abraham. Basically, Paul says that those Gentiles who have faith have joined with Abraham being blessed because of their faith and now are counted as righteous before the Lord!
Dear friends, these are verses in which you and I should be rejoicing because God has given to us faith and when we believe, then we are in the same company as Father Abraham! We are Gentiles, brothers and sisters, and because God counted Abraham’s faith as righteousness, our faith too is count to us, imputed to us, placed into our account as “righteousness” before God. Let us celebrate the salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ that has become ours through faith in Him and that He has given to us eternal life now and forevermore.
We have been saved from the penalty of sin, We are being saved from the power of sin and We will be saved from the presence of sin, one day in the Holy Jerusalem to which we are going!
There is a penalty for sin...that is everlasting separation from God in a literal hell of burning fire.(Rev. 20:14-15) There is a power from God to keep us from sinning on this side of heaven, He is the Holy spirit who lives in each of God’s children. The more we allow the Holy spirit to fill us and control our lives the less we will sin on our daily life.
One day we will know the wonderful bliss and joy of heaven where there is no sin. God may call us to Himself before He sends Jesus to redeem the chosen children of God or He may come to get His church, either way we will be in His house where there is no sin or evil and never will be again. Heaven is a pure and righteous place fill with the glory of God and His holy presence and we will live with him forever and ever.
Let’s praise the Lord together for all He has done for us and for the truth of our everlasting abiding place with the Lord Jesus Christ. Praising God is what we should do regularly; let us lift our hearts and our hands to the heavens, thanking Him for His love and grace which comes to each of us freely and yet at a great price paid by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Praise Him! Praise Him! By Fanny Crosby
1. Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Sing, O Earth, His wonderful love proclaim!
Hail Him! Hail Him! Highest archangels in glory;
Strength and honor give to His holy Name!
Like a shepherd, Jesus will guard His children,
In His arms He carries them all day long.
Refrain:
Praise Him! Praise Him! Tell of His excellent greatness;
Praise Him! Praise Him! Ever in joyful song!
2. Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
For our sins He suffered, and bled, and died.
He our Rock, our hope of eternal salvation,
Hail Him! Hail Him! Jesus the Crucified.
Sound His praises! Jesus who bore our sorrows,
Love unbounded, wonderful, deep and strong.
3. Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Heav’nly portals loud with hosannas ring!
Jesus, Savior, reigneth forever and ever;
Crown Him! Crown Him! Prophet, and Priest, and King!
Christ is coming! over the world victorious,
Pow’r and glory unto the Lord belong.