GALATIANS
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Please turn in your Bibles this evening to Galatians chapter 3 as we continue our study through the Word of God. As you remember from our previous studies, the churches in Galatia were moving away from a salvation that was based upon God’s Grace by faith and now embracing a salvation that was based on the Law and accomplished by works. Thus, Paul’s letter is a strong rebuke and a call to return to the faith that was entrusted to them! As we move into Galatians chapter 3 Paul continues to hammer them on this issue showing them that salvation by Grace through faith is not a New Testament idea but the prophets of old spoke of it and he will show us that by faith they too were saved! With that said, let’s begin reading in Galatians chapter 3, starting in verse 1 and see what the Lord has for us this evening.
When Paul calls the Galatians “foolish” or ANOETOS (an-o’-ay-tos) in the Greek, he is not saying that they had some kind of mental deficiency but they failed to use the brain that God had given them, they failed to use their spiritual minds to discern if these things the Judaizers were saying was true. Because of their mental laziness it clouded their judgment regarding salvation and Paul wants to know who has “bewitched” them or used flattering words to deceive them from the truth! No, it was not Samantha Stevens from Bewitched, but the Judaizers who were mixing them up, clouding their minds! Think about it, most people that are involved with cults, get sucked into cults are not stupid. They are very intelligent people who have been misled by people who appealed to their emotions; their feelings and they bought into those lies just as the Galatians were doing!
They did not see Christ crucified but they were taught these truths, saw these from the Word of God just as plain as a sign on a billboard! The word that Paul uses for “crucified” is in a perfect passive participle that means it was a historical fact and its results continue on but now the Judaizers were clouding this picture. They allowed their flesh, their pride to convince them they could work their way into heaven by keeping the Law but as William Hendriksen tells us, “A supplemented Christ is a supplanted Christ.”
Paul wants them to get their heads out of the clouds and think about how they were saved – by Grace through Faith. Now, after all that God has done for them, given them they think they can be more spiritual, they can grow in the Lord by adding works to Grace – not at all! It is foolish to think that way. Listen carefully to this, it is important. If your salvation is based on the Law then you are blessed and you will grow spiritually by EARNING and DESERVING it! You see, God owes you in a sense. On the other hand, under Grace, you are blessed and you grow by BELIEVING and RECIVING it! You see, we don’t deserve it, but God gives it to us freely!
“What are you saying Joe, that I don’t have to read my Bible, I don’t have to have devotions, I don’t have to go to church?” EXACTLY! You don’t have to but you get to read God’s Word! You don’t have to but you get to have devotions with Him! You don’t have to go to church, but you get to go to church! You see, you don’t earn blessings from God you receive them by faith! God can’t love you any more than He already does and He can’t love you any less! His love is unconditional!
Father Abraham was highly esteemed by the Jews. They believed that Father Abraham would pluck the worst Jew from the fires of Hell and that Hell was reserved for Gentiles! So Paul uses Abraham’s salvation to show these Judaizers their error, it is not the physical birth that saves you but spiritual birth, being born again. You see, Paul just finished showing the Galatians that they were saved by Grace through faith and now he shows them this is not a New Testament idea, that is how Abraham was saved!
Abraham was righteous before God because he believed God – FAITH. In fact, he was not circumcised for another 14 years (Genesis 17) after God gave him this blessing in Genesis chapter 15 and the Law was still over 430 years down the road! Paul makes this powerful point in Romans 4:9-12 as he tells us, “Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness. How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised. And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also, and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.”
This must have been a shock to them for the Rabbis taught that Abraham was saved by God because he kept the Law hundreds of years before the Law was given to Moses and Paul exposes the truth about Abraham’s salvation- it was by faith and not by works! You see, God’s provision and our appropriation – receiving and believing the free Gift of God into our lives by faith!
The salvation of Gentiles is not a New Testament idea or thought, but God spoke of it in the Old Testament, that we can become children of Abraham by believing by faith in what Abraham believed – faith in the coming Messiah for Abraham and for us, faith in the living Messiah – Jesus! It is as Paul said in Romans 2:28-29, “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.” It is as Luther said, “The faith of the fathers was directed at the Christ who was to come, while ours rests in the Christ who has come.”
Paul just finished speaking of Abraham, the father of the Jews, and how he was saved by faith. Thus, it would only make sense that the lesser, his descendants are not going to be saved by good works if Abraham wasn’t, but by faith as he was! That is what Paul is saying here. You see, living under the Law of Moses was not a path to blessings but it put them under the curse! The Law can’t justify, it can only condemn!
But what about the many Old Testament verses that seem to say there is a blessing in keeping the Law? There is Psalm 119:1-2 which says, “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, Who walk in the law of the LORD! Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, Who seek Him with the whole heart!” And in Psalm 1:1-2 we are told, “Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.” Please understand that keeping the Law doesn’t save us but walking according to God’s Word there is a blessing. Think of all the warnings that God gives to us not to hurt us but to help us and in following His Word is a blessing; it keeps us out of trouble!
If you think the Law can save you, you are right, it can! Before you start throwing your Bibles at me, listen to what I have to say, it will make sense. Paul is quoting out of Deuteronomy 27:26 which says, “Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words of this law . . .” Then in the New Testament James tells us, “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” James 2:10. Here’s the thing, if you want to be saved by the Law you need to be perfect from the time you are born until the time you die. If you break one Law, like lying, stealing, whatever it may be, then you are guilty of breaking all the Law! “You can’t do it!” you say! Exactly, that is the point that Paul is making and he will shed more light on this as we move on. It is as Calvin tells us, “The law holds all men under its curse. From the law, therefore, it is useless to seek a blessing.”
Paul also quotes out of Habakkuk 2:4, which says, “ . . . But the just shall live by his faith.” In this passage Habakkuk is reminded by God to look to Him rather than the circumstances that faced him and the nation, the Babylonian invasion of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. For us, the just shall not live by the Law but by faith. Don’t look at the circumstances but the Savior and you shall live! Think of it like this, if a ship is moored to a dock by a chain, as strong as that chain may be, if one of the links is weak, when a strong storm comes, it will break and the ship will break away and go out to sea. If you try to come to God by your own perfection, by works, that is a very weak link and it will break and you will be lost forever! That is the bad news; listen to the good news that Paul now shares with them.
Paul is telling the Galatians, and us that our hope MUST be in Christ and not the Law! The Law has us under the curse, the judgment of God, but Christ has brought us out from under the curse by paying in full the penalty for our sins! It is as Peter tells us in I Peter 2:24, “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness — by whose stripes you were healed.” The Amplified Bible puts this verse like this, “He personally bore our sins in His [own] body on the tree[as on an altar and offered Himself on it], that we might die (cease to exist) to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.” And in I Peter 3:18, again from The Amplified Bible, we are told, “For Christ [the Messiah Himself] died for sins once for all, the Righteous for the unrighteous (the Just for the unjust, the Innocent for the guilty), that He might bring us to God. In His human body He was put to death, but He was made alive in the spirit.”
What are the blessings of Abraham that He has given to us, “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, ‘In you all the nations shall be blessed.’ So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.” Galatians 3:8-9. The promise is RECEIVED, not EARNED!
Listen to what Cynddylan Jones says regarding what the Galatians believed and what Paul is saying here. We are told, “The Galatians imagined that Christ only half purchased them, and that they had to purchase the rest by their submission to circumcision and other Jewish rites and ceremonies. Hence their readiness to be led away by false teachers and to mix up Christianity and Judaism. Paul says here: (according to the Welsh translation) ‘Christ hath wholly purchased us from the curse of the law.’”
Paul now speaks of God’s unchanging nature in regards to His covenant with Abraham and to prove his point, he looks at human covenants that are made and how they are not broken or changed. And if that is true, for the most part with man, how much more with God!
Now some Jew’s feel that this promise made to Abraham and his descendants speaks of the nation of Israel, the Jewish people – the seeds! Not at all for Paul makes sure we don’t miss the point as he says “to your seed” or singular and if they still didn’t get it, he tells them that the seed is Christ, Jesus, the Messiah! Yes, the Mosaic covenant, the Law was a bilateral covenant, if you did this then God would do that. But the Abrahamic covenant was a unilateral covenant based upon the faithfulness of God and not man!
Yes, the Law came over 430 years later but it cannot invalidate a covenant that was previously ratified by God to Abraham! In Numbers 23:19 we are told, “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” In fact, the word “gave” in verse 18, CHARIZOMAI (khar-id’-zom-ahee) in the Greek, and it is based in the Greek word CHARIS or grace. You see, God freely gave Abraham this promise and this word is in the perfect tense, showing the gift is permanent; it can’t be voided or taken away! Praise God for that.
If this is all true, which it is, then why was the Law given in the first place? Great question and Paul is going to answer that question for us and I’m sure it was a question these Judaizers also had.
One of the reasons the Law was given was to show man God’s holy standard and in doing so it may restrain man from transgressing against God and ultimately destroying himself. Also, when a law is made we see the heart of man in rebelling against it. When you see a sign that says, “Don’t walk on the grass!” what do you want to do? You want to walk on the grass! Paul tells us in Romans 7:5-8, and this is from The Amplified Bible, “When we were living in the flesh (mere physical lives), the sinful passions that were awakened and aroused up by [what] the Law [makes sin] were constantly operating in our natural powers (in our bodily organs, in the sensitive appetites and wills of the flesh), so that we bore fruit for death. But now we are discharged from the Law and have terminated all intercourse with it, having died to what once restrained and held us captive. So now we serve not under [obedience to] the old code of written regulations, but [under obedience to the promptings] of the Spirit in newness [of life]. What then do we conclude? Is the Law identical with sin? Certainly not! Nevertheless, if it had not been for the Law, I should not have recognized sin or have known its meaning. [For instance] I would not have known about covetousness [would have had no consciousness of sin or sense of guilt] if the Law had not [repeatedly] said, You shall not covet and have an evil desire [for one thing and another]. [Ex 20:17; Deut 5:21.]”
Not only does the Law show us we are sinners, but Paul tells us the Law was only temporary, until the Messiah came! That means the Law is inferior to the promise, why? Because the Law was limited in what it could do, it can’t save us but only show us how far short we are to God’s standard of perfection. As we are going to see, the Law brings us to Jesus!
Does that mean the Law is bad or evil? Not at all! In Psalm 19:7-11 we are told, “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward.” You see, the Law is good; the Law is perfect. The problem is not the Law, but us, we are not good, we are not perfect, we can’t keep it! Thus, Paul tells us, “Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law.” Galatians 3:21. You see, righteousness doesn’t come by the Law, but by faith in Jesus as Paul said in II Corinthians 5:21, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” It is His righteousness that has been imputed into our lives by faith!
The Scriptures have confined us or put us in prison because of our failure to keep the Law perfectly! Morris puts it this way, “Sin is personified as a jailer, keeping sinners under its control so that they cannot break free.” How then can we get out? How can we escape? By faith in Christ, the finished work on the cross of Calvary that He accomplished for us. Again Morris tells us, “Far from being the gateway into a glorious liberty, it turns out to be a jailer, shutting people up. The result is that the only way of escape was through faith.”
In the previous verse Paul said, “Scripture has confined all under sin” or has confined us in prison. But here the idea is protective custody as Paul says the Law has us “under guard.” Yes, sin imprisons us under the Law but also the Law protects us if we walk in the ways of God.
Of this John MacArthur makes these interesting comments:
A paidagoegos (tutor) was not a teacher or schoolmaster proper (KJV) but rather a slave employed by Greek or Roman families, whose duty was to supervise young boys in behalf of their parents. They took their young charges to and from school, made sure they studied their lessons, and trained them in obedience. They were strict disciplinarians, scolding and whipping as they felt it necessary. Paul told the Corinthian believers – who often behaved like spoiled children – that, even if they “were to have countless tutors [paidagoegos] in Christ,” he would be their only “father through the gospel” (1 Cor 4:15). Continuing the contrast of paidagoegos and father, he later asks, “Shall I come to you with a rod or with love and a spirit of gentleness?” (v. 21).
The role of the paidagoegos was never permanent, and it was a great day of deliverance when a boy finally gained freedom from his paidagoegos. His purpose was to take care of the child only until he grew into adulthood. At that time the relationship was changed. Though the two of them might remain close and friendly, the paidagoegos, having completed his assignment, had no more authority or control over the child, now a young man, and the young man had no more responsibility to be directly under the paidagoegos. The sole purpose of the Law, God’s divinely appointed paidagoegos, was to lead men to Christ, that they might be justified. After a person comes to Him, there is no longer need for the external ceremonies and rituals to act as guides and disciplinarians, because the new inner principles operate through the indwelling Christ, in whom is “hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col 2:3). The law in the ceremonial sense is done away with, though in the moral sense it remains always an intimate friend that one seeks to love and favor.
Before Christ came, the law of external ritual and ceremony, especially the sacrificial system, pictured the once-for-all, perfect, and effective sacrifice of Christ for the sins of the world. When the perfect Christ comes into the believer’s heart, those imperfect pictures of Him have no more purpose or significance.
- John MacArthur
How does the Law drive us to Christ? By showing us that we are sinners separated from God. In Isaiah 59:1-2 we are told, “Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.” Just as Moses the Lawgiver couldn’t take the children of Israel into the Promise Land, neither can the Law lead us into the Spirit filled life – it can’t save us. Who brought the children of Israel into the Promise Land? Joshua or Jesus and Jesus leads us into the new life by faith! The Law could only take us so far; it is Jesus who brings us in!
How do we become sons of God? Paul tells us it is by faith in Jesus Christ, clothing ourselves with Him or putting on Jesus! Paul admonishes us in Romans 13:11-14 to, “ . . . do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”
John MacArthur gives us some insight into this as he tells us: “The ancient Romans had a coming-of-age ceremony called toga virilis, which was somewhat like the Jewish bar mitzvah. The ceremony signified a boy’s reaching the age of manhood (which varied between the ages of 14-17) and full Roman citizenship, with all its rights and privileges. He no longer had a paidagoegos, but was now a recognized adult, responsible for his own welfare and actions. ‘You have all experienced a spiritual toga virilis,’ Paul told the Galatian believers, in effect, ‘and in light of that stupendous truth, why would you consider going back under the tutorship of the law?’”
This was a radical statement by Paul for the Rabbis, in their morning prayers, would often pray, “I thank God I was not born a Gentile, a slave or a woman.” Paul says it doesn’t matter your background to God, in Christ we are all on the same playing field! Thus, don’t put up walls of division or draw lines of division because Christ has removed them. This is not some big ecumenical movement that Paul is speaking of but a movement that is based in a common denominator and that being Jesus Christ and our salvation by grace through faith, which is what unites us!
As I close this evening let me leave you with these words from John Stott that summarizes what we have been studying this evening. He tells us: “We cannot come to Christ to be justified until we have first been to Moses to be condemned. But once we have gone to Moses, and acknowledged our sin, guilt and condemnation, we must not stay there. We must let Moses send us to Christ.”
As Paul said, “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, ‘In you all the nations shall be blessed.’ So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.” Galatians 3:8-9. Praise God for His indescribable gift that He has given to us, a salvation by Grace through faith that is based in Jesus Christ His Son!