Ralph Porter

© 2003

    About the time we get to this point in our study of Galatians, some people start to get a bit nervous. One night when I finished preaching a message concerning the fact that we aren't declared righteous in God's sight by doing good works and by obeying the law--one of the key doctrines of the faith--a church leader came up to talk to me. He commented, "Brother, you shouldn't preach like that! It's too dangerous! People will get the idea that they can go out and do whatever they feel like doing!"

    Over the years of ministry, every time we've started preaching about salvation by trusting Christ alone, and godly living based on walking by faith, without the obligation to obey anybody's rules, somebody will accuse us of preaching a dangerous message. People think that if we don't include along with the gospel a strict standard of discipline, people will believe they can do whatever they want to do.

    It's important to observe that after chapters three and four, which defend the doctrine of our freedom in Christ, come chapters five and six, where Paul talks about standards for Christian living. Merrill Tenney rightly called Galatians "the Charter of Christian Liberty." But Paul isn't proclaiming a message of libertinism, or license to do whatever we please!

    If we put too much emphasis on salvation and godly living based on faith alone, we run the risk of looking at just one side of the coin, at the expense of the other side, which is also important! If you're not planning to stick around for the rest of the story, you'd better be sure to study what it looks like when Christ lives His life in us (2:20), and what Paul says about how we ought to live in chapters five and six.

    However, these standards should never be applied in such a way as to confuse the central message that Paul is affirming in Galatians. We're never accepted by God on the basis of obeying the rules, neither before, nor after we're saved! Law always ends up condemning us. Law never makes us acceptable to God!

    What is the prerequisite for enjoying life and pleasing God? What is the key for an authentic Christian to enjoy God's blessing in his or her life? World religions will gladly provide rules for us to live by: "Do this or that, to enjoy God's blessing!"

    Bible-believing churches sometimes fall into that trap! Some groups say it's wrong to play soccer--at least on Sunday. Some say, "Don't dance!" "Don't drink!" "Don't smoke!" or similar rules. Some churches provide a more positive list, "Read your Bible!" "Pray every day!" "Hang out with other believers!" There's nothing wrong with the things they're recommending. All of these things are good counsel. But that's not the key to enjoying the spiritual life and pleasing God! Although all these standards have value for our lives, and most of them reflect biblical concepts, we don't do them in order to earn points with God or become "spiritual!"

    Paul addresses the false underpinnings of this concept by explaining how we do enjoy life and experience God's blessing (3-4).

    Enjoying God's blessing doesn't depend on obeying any system of laws, no matter how biblical the system may seem to be. God's blessings are the result of Christ's work, not our works.

    Legalists, like the Judaizers of Paul's day, suggest that for salvation, I have to do something in order for God to accept me into His family. Paul responds that salvation is based on trusting Christ alone. We can't add anything to what Christ has already done on our behalf. 

    When it comes to godly living also, after we have received God's gift of eternal life, legalists, like the Judaizers, insist that we have to do something in order for God to accept us, and to enjoy His blessing. Again, Paul responds that godly living which pleases God is also based on trusting Christ alone.

    You can't reconcile salvation by faith with walking by law! Everything is based on faith, or everything is based on law! It's all grace, or it isn't grace at all! Our walk with God is never based on our effort and performance! It's always based on what Christ has done. We have everything we need because we are in Christ!

    In the first major division of the letter, Paul uses his own experience to demonstrate the source and authority of his message, and to verify his message (1-2). The second major division of the letter presents the theological basis for justification and for walking by faith (3-4). Paul uses the experience of the Galatians themselves, combined with truth from the Old Testament, as the basis for his argument.

    Most of the doctrinal discussion is based on the Old Testament, which the card-carrying, rule book-toting, Judaizers claimed as the basis of their legalistic system. However, before dealing with that theme, Paul begins with a series of rhetorical questions they all know the answers to, based on their personal experience.

    How did it all start? Paul begins with their experience when they received the Holy Spirit (3:1-5). How did we receive Him? He assumes we realize that we received Him by faith.

    While Paul isn't discussing the doctrine of justification, God's work in declaring us righteous is part of the basis for demonstrating the doctrinal issue Paul does want to clarify. He assumes we have been justified and received the Holy Spirit. Since we had to begin the Christian life by faith, how could we expect to grow spiritually and finish the course by works?

How could we turn away from the crucified Christ we trusted in the beginning?   1

        "You foolish Galatians, who bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was 

    publicly portrayed as crucified?"

    Introducing the doctrinal argument, Paul asks: "Who bewitched you?" What in the world could have convinced you to turn away from that clearly proclaimed base of trusting Christ? 

    He refers to them as "foolish." They should've known better than to listen to these false teachers. Their conclusion doesn't show much understanding of the gospel. It would make more sense if they'd been bewitched by some magical spell put on them to distract them and lead them astray.

    The false message they bought into goes against the revelation concerning the death of Christ and the gospel they received previously. They had seen the truth of Christ crucified "publicly posted" as on a billboard or public bulletin board, so that no one could miss it--or misunderstand it! They had seen a vivid portrayal of Christ's death and its significance. How could they then be led away from that truth?

    Paul suggests that perhaps someone has given them "the evil eye." They started out well. What happened to them? How could they suddenly be so confused? Someone must have bewitched them! Otherwise it seems impossible to believe they could have been led astray! The message they're flirting with contradicts the revelation of Christ's crucifixion they received.

Did we start out by obeying law or by believing what we heard?   2

        "I just want to find out one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by obeying 

    law, or by hearing with faith?"

    Paul refers to our experience when we received the Spirit. All who have received eternal life have received the Spirit! In Acts 19:1-2, Paul asks his listeners, "Did you receive the Spirit when you believed?" That was the key question to evaluate the reality of their spiritual experience. In Romans 8:9 he affirms, "If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ." In Romans 8:16 he adds, "The Spirit testifies with our Spirit that we are sons of God."

    Paul has no doubt that the Galatians have received the Spirit. The question is "How?" "How did you receive Him?" "Did you receive Him by trusting Christ, or by your own efforts?" He assumes we'll realize that we received the Spirit by trusting what Christ did for us. He supposes the answer to his question would be evident. When they received the Spirit, something notable happened. Was that experience based on law, or on faith?

Can we finish by our effort what the Holy Spirit started?   3-5

        "Are we so foolish? Having started out by Spirit, are we now going to finish by our 

    own effort? Did we suffer so many things for nothing--if it really was for nothing? 

    Does He then, Who lavishly provides us with His Own Spirit, and Who accomplishes

    miraculous things we could never pull off on our own, does He do it because we 

    work so hard at it? Or does He do it because we trust Him to do what He said He 

    would do?"

    We received the Spirit by faith, not by law (2-3). How could we hope to walk by law? If we began by the Spirit, how can we now walk trusting in the flesh, that is, trusting our own efforts? Can't you see that this takes us back to the same old problem? The two systems can't coexist! They contradict each other. Having begun our Christian experience by trusting Him, how can we expect to finish it by our own effort?

    The question concerning "suffering" in verse four could reflect either a negative concept related to the suffering they had endured. The Christians in Galatia suffered much because of their faith in Christ. Their affliction came mainly at the hands of the Jews because of the message of salvation by faith in Christ alone. How could they abandon the gospel now and acknowledge that all the suffering they went through was for nothing (3:4)?

    It is also possible that his question could be related to the positive experiences they had discovered since coming to Christ, that he has already referred to in the previous verses. He could be asking them, "Haven't you learned anything from all the things you've experienced?" Either way, going back to the law makes no sense! Trying to make it on our own gets us nowhere!

    So where does all their experience lead? All that God has done for them, what was it based on? There's no question that God is at work in them (5). God's supernatural work among them is obvious. The question is "How?" Was it based on law, or on faith in Christ (3:5)? What has "triggered" the evidence of God's power among them? Is God working among them because they're working so hard at being good? Or, is God working among them because they're trusting Him?

    As in Abraham's case, their faith has been counted as the basis for attributing righteousness to their account-not works of the law (6).

        "Consider Abraham: 'He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness'"

    God will finish what He started! If He started by faith, He'll finish the same way! 

    So what does all this say to us today? How did we start our walk with Christ? If we started by faith, how should we walk now?

    Andrew Murray spoke to this question: "I have often been asked by young Christians: 'Why is it that I fail so? I did so solemnly vow with my whole heart, and did desire to serve God; why have I failed?' To such I always give the one answer: 'My dear friend, you are trying to do in your own strength what Christ alone can do in you.' . . . Oh, this perfecting in the flesh what was begun in the Spirit runs far deeper through us than we knew."

    Paul brings us back to the same fundamental pillars of the gospel. We can't get into heaven by obeying the rules. We can't enjoy godly living by obeying the rules either! We must trust Christ to receive eternal life! Therefore, we must also trust Christ to enjoy walking in fellowship with God! We can't get their by our own efforts.

    Who are YOU trusting this morning? Are you trusting Christ? Or are you trusting yourself. Eternal life is obtained by trusting Christ! Joyful living is also obtained by faith in Him!