Well do take your Bibles in hand please and turn with me once again to Paul’s letter to the Galatians as we come to Galatians chapter 3, page 973 in the church Bibles. This is, as we mentioned, Reformation Sunday. It is fitting that we should be in this part of the letter, actually in the book of Galatians but in this particular section of Galatians, because as you will know, the recovery of the doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone in the finished work of Jesus Christ alone was the spark that kindled the fire of the Protestant Reformation and is very much at the heart of the teaching of these verses.
You will remember the situation. Paul is alarmed by legalistic false teachers who have begun to persuade the Christians of Galatia that faith in Christ, while necessary, is not enough; it is inadequate. What you really need if you are going to find acceptance with God is faith and the works of the law. You had to be circumcised. You had to observe the dietary and ceremonial requirements of the Mosaic law. You had to combine faith plus morality, faith plus religious ritual, faith plus observances, faith plus work if you wanted to be justified in the sight of God. And Paul is writing this letter – we’ve seen already, we’re going to see again with renewed clarity here in chapter 3 – he is writing this letter in some considerable frustration motivated by the depth of his love and concern for his Galatian brothers and sisters. And he is using every tool at his disposal to try and get through to them and to win them back. That comes out especially clearly here again in chapter 3.
We’re going to look at Galatians 3, verses 1 through 14 this morning, under two headings in particular. First of all, verses 1 through 5, we’ll see how Paul marshals their personal experience in order to contrast faith and works. He marshals their personal experience to contrast faith and works. He reminds them in a series of rhetorical questions of what they themselves had experienced when they believed the Gospel. He marshals their personal experience to contrast faith and works. Then 6 through 14, Paul marshals the Scriptural evidence to contrast blessings and curses. He marshals the Scriptural evidence to contrast blessings and curses. He dives into the Old Testament scriptures to show the Galatians where attempts to keep the law for justification will lead compared to where faith in Christ alone will bring them. And so those are the two points. I hope you’ve got them. Paul marshals their personal experience to contrast faith and works – that’s verses 1 through 5. And then Paul marshals the Scriptural evidence to contrast blessing and curses – verses 6 through 14. In a moment we are going to read the passage together; before we do that, let’s pause again and pray. Let us all pray.
Open our eyes, O God, we pray that we might behold marvelous things from this portion of Your holy Word, for the glory of Jesus in whose name we ask it. Amen.
Galatians chapter 3 at verse 1. This is the Word of God:
“O 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 works of the law, or by hearing with faith—just as Abraham ‘believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness’?
Know 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, ‘Cursed 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.”
Amen, and we praise God for His holy, inerrant Word.
Well as you read the opening words of chapter 3, you really do get a feel, don’t you, for just how wound up the apostle Paul is. After chapter 2 closes where he is engaged in some autobiography, he’s done talking about himself, now he returns to addressing the Galatians directly and he doesn’t ease back into the conversation, does he? Look how he speaks to them in verse 1. “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?” That word, by the way, translated as “bewitched” is interesting. It was used of someone falling under the evil eye, someone being jinxed, someone falling under a spell.
Franz Mesmer was a German physician in the 18th and 19th centuries who first developed the practice of what we now call hypnotism. Back then it was called mesmerism. We get the word “to mesmerize” from his name. When Paul thinks about what’s going on in Galatia he can only conclude the Galatians have fallen under someone’s spell, under the influence of irrational thinking, under the spell of the legalists. They’ve been mesmerized by them and their spurious arguments. It’s not wisdom, it’s not rationality, it’s not logically consistent. It is irrational, it is folly, it is foolishness, Paul says, that has overtaken them.
After all, verse 1, “It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.” The word for “publicly portrayed” that really could be translated “placarded.” Paul’s preaching didn’t just describe the cross; it set Christ and Him crucified on a great big billboard that no one could miss for all to see in detail and vivid color. It was so clearly portrayed in Paul’s ministry among the Galatians that every facet of it was clearly perceived by them. He showed them its barbarity and brutality. He showed them Christ’s love for sinners to go to the cross on their behalf. He showed them the wrath of God falling upon His Son instead of upon them. He showed them God’s justice satisfied by the willing sacrifice of Christ our substitute. He showed them the cross in minute, exacting detail in his faithful preaching ministry as the great foundation and fountainhead from which alone flows all our salvation. “Jesus paid it all,” he wanted them to be able to sing along with us – “all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain and He washed it white as snow.” It was crystal clear in Paul’s ministry to them. That’s what they saw and heard and understood in Paul’s faithful exposition of God’s Word.
And that’s why it was so utterly perplexing to Paul that they should now entertain the possibility of adding to the cross of Christ anything at all, especially not works of their own doing. It was folly, foolishness. They had been bewitched, mesmerized by doctrinal and spiritual illogicality. Either Jesus was wrong when He said from the cross, “It is finished,” and there is therefore still work for us to do to contribute to our own salvation, or Jesus really meant what He said and everything has been accomplished that is necessary to save any sinner, anywhere that seeks the mercy of God in Jesus Christ. Those are the only choices. The first option is that Jesus did not mean what He said and His work is insufficient to be topped up by labors and works of our own. That is pure blasphemy. And the second option that Jesus was right to say, “It is finished,” that is your only hope. Those are the only choices. And so with that in mind, the apostle sets out in these verses to expose their foolishness and to call the Galatians back to correct conclusions about the Gospel.
Paul Marshals their Personal Experience to Contrast Faith and Works
And he starts, you’ll notice, in verses 1 through 5 by marshaling their personal experience to drive home and highlight this contrast between faith and works. He points to their own experience. He asks, essentially, four rhetorical questions. Do you see them in the text? Four questions, each designed to push us back to reflect on our own story. In verse 2, he asks about Christian beginnings. Christian beginnings. “Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?” He reminds us of the Holy Spirit’s gracious work in converting us at the very start of our walk with the Lord, working faith in us, enabling us to believe the Gospel. That didn’t happen in response to some work of ours by which we earned or qualified for the Spirit’s ministry, did it? No, you did not deserve His operations in your heart. Quite the contrary, you are dead in your sin. You were hard-hearted. You were rebelling against Him. You only deserved the wrath and curse of God and He broke in upon you and rescued you and showered mercy upon you, gave you saving faith, united you to Christ and gave you life. It was all a gift received by hearing with faith. Christian beginnings.
And then he asks about Christian progress. Verse 3, “Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” So if the Spirit broke into our lives as a gift of grace, do you really believe that you can now advance in the Christian life by relying on your own works righteousness to make progress? It’s not consistent, is it? It’s not logical. It’s not coherent. Christian beginnings, then Christian progress. You go on just as you began – by relying on the grace of God and the help and power of His Spirit through faith alone. Christian beginnings. Christian progress.
Thirdly, verse 4, he asks about Christiane experience. Christian experience. “Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?” If you look closely at your English Standard Version, you’ll notice there is a little footnote next to that word “suffer” in verse 4 that tells you the word can also be translated as “experience.” “Did you experience so many things in vain?” The point Paul is making is that the Galatians enjoyed many rich blessings from the ministry of the Spirit of Christ in their lives. They experienced much of the favor of God. And all of it was given to them, all of it happened in their lives as a gift enjoyed by faith. But now Paul asks if a works principle dominates how we live and no longer a faith principle, then surely it will all have been for nothing. So he reminds them of Christian beginnings, Christian progress, Christian experience.
And then finally in verse 5, he reminds them of Christian power. “Does He who supplies” – present tense, “supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?” They had seen miraculous signs performed among them, validating and authenticating the ministry and authority of the apostles and their message. They had been recipients of the supply of the Holy Spirit in their own lives and in the midst of their fellowship as a church, but the Spirit’s mighty works among them had not come on the basis of their worthiness. They didn’t deserve them. It did not happen because of their religious or moral or ritual or ceremonial rights. It wasn’t that they deserved it. Instead, it came as they trusted in the finished work of Jesus and not by works of the law but by hearing with faith.
All four questions in the end really just boil down to one big point. I hope you can see it. Everything you are, everything you have, everything you enjoy as a Christian, from the beginning to the progress to the power to live the Christian life, all of it, start to finish, is the work of the Spirit of God in you. And His ministry in you and among us has not come to us because we’ve measured up somehow and passed the test and jumped through the necessary religious hoops and qualified for special favor. No, His ministry was given to us because even though we deserve none of it, God has been merciful to us as we’ve trusted in His Son. You didn’t convert yourself, did you? You don’t sustain yourself, do you? You can’t sanctify or slay your own sin in your own power, can you? And you will not glorify yourself, will you? That’s what Paul is asking. Well then, stop relying on yourself, why don’t you. You can no more be perfected by the flesh than you can be converted by it. If you’re a Christian, it’s because you’ve been circled about, hemmed in, swept up by the all-encompassing wonder of the grace of God who has poured out His Spirit upon you and made you His dear child.
It’s a powerful argument from experience and it’s one actually we need to learn to marshal for ourselves whenever we are tempted to spiritual pride. That’s what legalism is, after all, isn’t it? Spiritual pride. It’s the sometimes unspoken belief that God must be impressed by my performance. It is the subtle conviction that if we do more for Jesus, Jesus will do more for us. Of course legalism like that requires the presupposition that I am essentially already pretty good and Jesus’ standards are necessarily pretty low. Otherwise, there would be no possibility of ever earning His favor. But if I believe I am excellent and Jesus is a pushover, well then I can persuade Him to accept me and forgive me and love me and give me His blessing and favor. And that, sadly, is all too often how I think we operate. I am excellent and Jesus is a pushover. Isn’t that the truth? If your heart is anything like mine, you constantly overestimate your own goodness and spiritual ability and underestimate how exacting the standards of the Lord really are.
And Paul knows full well how twisted our hearts can be and he offers us here a strategy to use on ourselves as we start to drift back into that kind of legalism. We need to be asking ourselves, “How did I become a Christian? Did I convert myself? Did I save myself? No, it was the work of God by His Holy Spirit. “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost and now I’m found, was blind but now I see. He did it.” It was grace, not my works.” And think back over your progress as a Christian and recognize, “Sure, there is much still to grieve over, many places where I’ve gone astray, but I’m still walking with the Lord despite it all. Isn’t that marvelous? He’s kept me and led me and grown me and by His grace I am not today who I once was. And so given all of that, can I take credit for any of it? Can I boast in any of the progress that I have made? Of course not! “Through many dangers toils and snares I have already come. Twas grace that taught my heart to fear and grace will lead me home.” There’s no part of your Christian life, no point in the storyline of your experience, where you can say, “I did that and therefore God has been compelled to favor me.” No, it was all grace from the first moment until now.
The hard truth is, we are, all of us, charity cases. You are a charity case. And we must kill our pride and come in that spirit, a spirit of utter dependence on the charity of divine grace for life and breath and blessing. You must come empty handed to Jesus. You must come looking to the Holy Spirit for help. You must come crying to God the Father for mercy. It’s the only way to begin and it’s the only way to go on living the Christian life. And so Paul marshals their personal experience, do you see this, to contrast faith and works. And we need to do the same with our legalistic hearts every single day, every day.
Paul Marshals the Scriptural Evidence to Contrast Blessing and Curses
Then look at verses 6 through 14 with me please and notice how, in the second place, Paul marshals Scriptural evidence to contrast blessings and curses. Verses 6 through 9 first of all. Here’s the path of blessing. He starts in verse 6 by appeal to the example of Abraham, quoting from Genesis 15 verse 6, “Abraham ‘believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness’” So how was Abraham counted righteous according to Scripture? Not on the basis of his legal obedience but on the basis of faith alone. Abraham was justified by faith, that’s very clear here, isn’t it? And verses 7 through 9 expound the significance of that fact. You will remember from chapter 2, I’m sure, that Paul’s legalistic opponents wanted to re-impose the restrictions of the law of Moses on every follower of Jesus which, when they showed up in Antioch, had the effect of restoring the breach between Jews and Gentiles. It fractured the congregation between the Jews who withdrew and the Gentiles who professed faith in Jesus.
But here, Paul is saying the real sons of Abraham are not those who keep the distinctive ceremonies that distinguished the Jewish people from all the rest, but rather the real sons of Abraham are those who share his spiritual DNA. Those are his real children. Verse 7, it is “those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.” This was God’s plan from the very beginning. Sometimes I run into people who think that the Jews were saved by law keeping in the Old Testament and we are saved by faith in Jesus in the New Testament. The New Testament is new, they suggest, because God has a completely different plan of salvation than He used to. But that’s not at all the teaching of the apostle Paul here, is it? There’s only ever been one way of salvation, only ever one way of salvation, all across human history since Adam was ejected from the garden. Look at verse 8, this time quoting from Genesis 12:3, “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.” You see the point? The way of blessing, of being right with God, is not the way of works; it is the way of faith. It was that way for Abraham; it is that way for everyone ever since. It’s always been that way. It must be that way for you.
And then look at verses 10 through 14 on the other hand and notice the way of cursing. The way of blessing is the way of faith, now we learn the way marked by the works of the law is a way that leads only to divine curse, divine judgment. Look at verse 10. Paul quotes this time Deuteronomy 27:26, “All who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.’” If you try to live your life on the basis of legal observance, you had better do it perfectly or else the curse of divine wrath will certainly fall upon you. And so really there are only two ways to live. You see the two paths set, both of them, before you? Verses 11 and 12 actually contrast them directly one with another. Look at verses 11 and 12. “It is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for ‘The righteous shall live by faith’” – quoting Habakkuk 2:4. On the other hand, “The law is not of faith, rather ‘The one who does them shall live by them’” – Leviticus 18:5. The point is, there are two ways to live – either the way of faith or the way of law – and they are opposite, mutually exclusive. It is one way or the other. The way of faith is the way of life and blessing, finding acceptance with God, and the way of the law leads only to the wrath and curse of God.
Which means, of course, the stakes are really high. The stakes are really high. I hope you can see that and begin to feel it. You can’t shrug it off and go on trusting your own goodness, your own religious performance, and tell yourself, “It doesn’t really matter. Look, I’m in church, aren’t I? I’m praying, I’m a nice guy, I’m doing all the things. What do you want from me?” Well here’s what I want. Here’s what Paul wants. I want you to realize that you are, right now, if this is your way of thinking, you are right now on a path that will lead you to destruction. It is a road that ends in the wrath and curse of God. If you continue salving your conscience with a nice dose of religion now and then, if you think God will accept you because you are a good person, well then, dear friend, you are living today already under the curse. That’s what Paul says. “All who rely on the works of the law are under a curse.”
But there is another way. Look down at verse 13. “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.” The curse for our lawbreaking fell on Christ. Christ was cursed with the wrath and judgment of God at Calvary. “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree,” Deuteronomy 21:23. He was cursed with the curse I deserve because try as I might to keep the law, I just can’t do it, and neither can you. Instead, when we rest our faith on Him to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves, to obey in our place, to make satisfaction in our place for all our disobedience, when we do that, He bears the curse so that we can receive the blessing. That’s the Gospel. It’s so simple. Isn’t it wonderful? My sin falls on Jesus Christ and His righteousness is counted as if it were mine. And it happens not by some work that I do, but simply as I trust in Him.
We have an evangelism group here at First Presbyterian Church that ministers in the Rankin County jail. And they’ll sometimes ask prisoners the old evangelism question, “If you were to die tonight and stand before God and He were to ask you why He should let you into His heaven, what would you say?” It is amazing how many people, when they are asked that question, instinctively answer by saying something like, “Well I hope I’ve done enough. I think my record is pretty clear that I am a good person. I’ve tried hard in my life to be kind and generous and make a difference.” That’s the kind of thing that they say, even people who have been in church all of their lives. I wonder what you would say? What would you say? Because Paul is telling you here very clearly if you are trusting in your own “good-enough”, in your doing, your religion, your kindness, your record, if that’s where you pin your hopes today, you stand right now under the wrath and curse of God. The path of salvation – do you see this – it has nothing to do with what you have done or could ever do. It rests entirely, solely on what Jesus Christ has done. On Christ and Him crucified. He became a curse for all who believe that simply by believing we might receive the blessing of God.
So what do I want for you? I want you to turn away right now, right now, from all confidence in yourself, in your piety, in your works. They can do nothing but destroy you and damn you in the end. I want you to hear the summons of Jesus Christ that comes to you this morning to turn only to Him for hope and peace and acceptance with God. You need to come now to Jesus and say, “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling. Naked come to Thee for dress, helpless look to Thee for grace. Foul, I to the fountain fly; wash me, Savior, or I die!” It’s the only way. May God help you to do it, right now. Let’s pray together.
Our God and Father, as we bow before You, we ask for that ministry of the Holy Spirit of which Paul has been reminding us. Those of us who are Christians are Christians because He broke in upon us and we heard the Gospel and believed and were saved by His mighty work. Do that work anew today in the hearts of those who hear, who do not yet know Your saving mercy. Bring them now to repentance and faith in Christ. And we, all of us who have been walking with you for years, we know our hearts are still so prone to look back again to boast in our own righteousness. Help us to tear from our hearts every competitor to Jesus Christ and His righteousness alone and there set apart Christ alone as Lord once more. Do it, we pray, for Your honor and glory, in Jesus’ name. Amen.