Ralph Porter

© 2003

    All week long I have been bombarded by reminders of how important our study of Galatians is. The Thursday paper carried an editorial by Cal Thomas in which he refers to a recent book by Alan Wolfe, a Jewish, secular sociologist, who describes self as a nonbeliever: "Far from living in a world elsewhere, the faithful in the U.S. are remarkably like everyone else. . . . American culture has triumphed."

    Cal Thomas responded: "It was supposed to happen the other way, but too many people got comfortable with culture because it's easier to give in to the current and be carried along than to swim upstream."

    He continues to refer to the conclusions presented by Wolfe: "Talk of hell, damnation, and even sin has been replaced by a nonjudgmental language of understanding and empathy." He notes that even people who call themselves evangelicals increasingly dislike sharing their faith with others for fear that doing so might "make them seem unfriendly or invasive."

    Cal Thomas comments: "This is spiritual shoplifting. We want the benefits from God (good health, money, contentment) but are unwilling to pay the price (conversion, devotion, commitment). . . . "If the church loses its focus, how can it expect those it has been commissioned to reach to see clearly the path that leads to God?"

    Later that day, our staff was handed an Associated Press article referring to the same work by Alan Wolfe. He concludes: "America is a unified rather than a quarrelsome country." American religion is generally individualistic, uninterested in doctrine, distrustful toward tradition and institutions, practical, and "increasingly at home with the culture surrounding it."

    This article observes that "the culture has reshaped evangelicals more than the opposite because they try so hard to appeal to the largest number of potential followers. . . . Sermons have 'remarkably little actual content,' however dynamic the delivery. The Bible is invariably cited but rarely explored. . . . Fellowship and self-help trump doctrine and devotion. And though evangelicals believe they ought to present the Christian message to their neighbors, they don't want to be offensive."

    It's understandable that we might mistakenly conclude that this is a recent development. Henry Ironside described the same sad circumstances in his commentary on Galatians in 1941: "I have received letters from people who are indignant because I have said that salvation is through faith alone. It makes one start sometimes to find that after all our gospel preaching so many people who make a Christian profession have never yet learned that salvation is absolutely of grace through faith. . . . Can you not see how the Holy Spirit shuts us up to this, that salvation is either altogether by grace or it is altogether by works?"

    Ironside refers to an illustration which we have often heard people introduce in our day that was already familiar when he was preaching. The illustration compares salvation to a row boat that must have two oars for direction. The two oars are compared to faith and works. If you only have one of the two oars, the boat will just sit their, going around in circles. It takes both oars to get you where you're going.

    Ironside is obligated to respond, "And people say that is a beautiful illustration of the fact that salvation is by faith and works. It would be if we were going to heaven in a row boat, but we are not. We are going through the infinite grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and like that lost sheep that went astray and was found by the shepherd, we are being carried by the Saviour home to glory and it is not a question of working our way there."

    This week I was thinking to myself, I'm saying the same thing over and over, we'd better move on. And then yesterday one of our elders said to me: "This is the hardest thing you've ever preached!" This is the pure essence of the Gospel! How can so many of God's people find this so hard to comprehend?

    Why is this issue so significant in Warsaw in 2003? Last week our young people, and some of the adults from our church, participated in the "Battlezone" outreach ministry here in Warsaw. They used a questionnaire as a tool to enable them to share the gospel with people in our community. One of the questions on that questionnaire asked, "If you were to die tonight and stand before God, and He were to ask you, 'Why should I let you into my heaven?' What would you say to Him?" Here are some of the answers from our own community:

         "Because I'm a really good person."

         "I'm a hard worker."

         "I'm a good guy."

          "I hope I have lived the life I should from His teaching."

          "I tried to live a decent life, and believed in Jesus."

         "I feel like I'm a Christian."

         "I believe the things I'm supposed to believe."

    In answer to the question: "Why should I let you into my heaven?" one person responded, "You shouldn't"

    Another responded, "I would cast myself on God's mercy and say "please!"

    Out of approximately one hundred eighty questionnaires that we tabulated, twenty-four didn't know why God would or wouldn't let them into heaven. These are our neighbors! People in this community don't get it! They don't understand the good news that salvation has been given to us as a free gift, if we'll stop trying to earn our way to heaven by our good works, and trust what Christ did for us when He died on the cross.

    Some of life's issues have to be "either/or" issues. Some things can be "both/and" issues, but some have to be "either/or" issues. No matter how kind and understanding we want to be, you can't be both married and single at the same time. It's either one or the other.

    Similarly, eternal life must either be by faith or by works; it can't be both! Spiritual life either comes as a result of trusting Christ, or by working for it yourself and successfully accomplishing everything that God demands. They are mutually exclusive!

Other religions are "do-it-yourself" religions--you have to work to become acceptable to God. Only Christianity says you can't do it yourself--but what we could never do, Christ has already done for us. That can't be mixed with a "do-it-yourself" religion! It's all or nothing! No half-way compromises allowed!

    Many people try to live by the ten commandments, by the Sermon on the Mount, or by somebody's rule book. They think that if we're good enough, we'll get God to accept us. They don't realize that God's standards are absolute. You can't get there by "trying to do better next time!"

    Our salvation is either all by faith, or it's all works. It's all grace or it's not grace at all! That's the way it is with the Christian life also. It's either all based on trusting Christ--that God sees us in Christ--or it's based on our trying to do the best we can! It's all grace, or it's not grace at all!

    Paul raises that issue with the Galatian Christians. They started out in the Christian life, aware that they could never save themselves. They had to trust Christ in order to receive God's gift of eternal life. But, when the Judaizers came along, they convinced them that to enjoy walking with God they had to live by the rules. They had to obey the law.

    Last week we saw how in 3:1-5 Paul introduced the issue: Having begun our Christian experience by trusting Christ, how can we expect to grow to perfection by our own effort? He concludes with a question:

        "Does He then Who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, 

    do it by works of law, or by hearing with faith?" (3:5)

    The next section is intended to answer that question. Notice how he concludes 3:14 with a reference back to that same reception of the Holy Spirit:

        "So that the blessing God promised to Abraham has been made available to us 

    pagan peoples through what Christ has done, so that by trusting Him we might 

    receive the Holy Spirit God promised."

    Paul supports his premise from the Old Testament, providing proof from the blessing of Abraham. The Judaizers claim that the Old Testament supports their view. They consider themselves to be "sons of Abraham."

    Paul demonstrates that his view is confirmed by the very authority they claim to accept. Based on the clear affirmation of the Old Testament, Paul points out that even Abraham was justified by faith. So how did Abraham come to receive the blessing God promised him?

         "Abraham believed God, and that was credited to him as righteousness" (3:6).

ABRAHAM WAS ACCEPTED BY GOD BECAUSE HE TRUSTED HIM   6

    Paul then explains the relationship of Abraham's faith to us as pagan people.

        "Therefore, know that those who trust God are the real sons of Abraham. 

    And foreseeing that God would declare pagan peoples righteous on the basis 

    of their faith, the scripture proclaimed beforehand to Abraham that 'All the 

    pagan peoples will be blessed through you." So then those who trust God are 

    blessed with Abraham, the one who trusted Him" (3:7-9).

EVERYONE WHO TRUSTS GOD RECEIVES GOD'S BLESSING   7-9

    In contrast to the Judaizers' legalistic perspective the message of the Old Testament affirms that the true "sons of Abraham" are people who are identified with his faith.

    People who trust God are the true sons of Abraham (7). The real "sons of Abraham" aren't his physical children. The real "sons of Abraham" are people who trust God! It's not circumcision that sets you apart as Abraham's children! It's not obeying the rules or living by the law. It's trusting God that sets you apart as Abraham's children!

    People who trust God receive God's blessing (8-9). Pagans were promised blessing through Abraham (8). The principle of an inheritance based on faith extends to pagans also! Although the Jews considered them "pagans," God said He would offer that promise of blessing to all the pagan peoples, through Abraham. Therefore, everyone who trusts Him, whether Jew or pagan, will receive the blessing God promised, on the basis of faith, not on the basis of our good works.

    That blessing is received by faith, it doesn't matter whether you're Jewish or pagan (9)! People who want to be identified with Abraham have to follow in his footsteps. That goes back to the Hebrew idiomatic expression "son of . . . ." A "son of ____" is "a chip off the old block." He's like his "parent." "Sons of disobedience" are characterized by rebellion. "Sons of wrath" will be judged and receive the anger due. "Sons of Abraham" are a "chip off the old block"--they do what their dad does. They trust God!

    People who aren't like Abraham can't be "Abraham's sons," no matter what race they're born into! People who trust God are Abraham's sons. People who don't trust God aren't his sons!

    Blessing could not have come by obedience to the law. All the law can produce is a curse.

EVERYONE WHO DOESN'T CONSISTENTLY AND CONTINUALLY DO EVERYTHING THE LAW REQUIRES IS CURSED   10

         "For as many as depend on obeying the Law (on "playing by the rules") are 

    under a curse; for the law says, 'Cursed is everyone who does not continually 

    do everything written in the book of the law!'"

    The key to understanding the real issue in legalism--and what many fail to understand--is that those who depend on law will never receive God's blessing, but only condemnation. Part of this confusion comes from the fact that we haven't understood the seriousness of sin from God's perspective.

    Paul goes back to Deuteronomy 27:26: "Cursed is everyone who doesn't consistently and continually do everything written . . . ."

    James 2:10 repeats the same idea: "Whoever obeys the whole law, but only fails on one point, becomes guilty of breaking it all!"

    To become a criminal, you don't have to break all the laws! Any little sin will do! Rob one bank once--it doesn't matter if you kill anyone--you're still a criminal--a lawbreaker! To come under the curse of the law, any violation makes us a lawbreaker! Jesus says that from God's perspective even our thoughts count!

    Just one rotten egg will ruin the recipe for a good omelette--even with a dozen good ones! One bad egg will still destroy the whole batch. That spiritual principle explains why Paul says in Romans 3: "No one does good; not even one person!"

    From God's perspective there's no such thing as "big sinners" and "little sinners!" There are only condemned lawbreakers and those declared to be righteous--like Abraham--on the basis of trusting God.

According to the law, we're all condemned

because none of us obeys everything

written in God's law all the time!

    The curse is pronounced on everyone, because no one can keep all its demands all the time! Anyone who thinks they can live by any system of rules, is under the obligation to obey the whole law. When you fail at any point, you become a law breaker. It's impossible to completely live by that standard because we all fail at some point.

    The problem with perfectionists is that we're all imperfect! Perfectionists are just very clever at hiding their imperfections from the rest of us--sometimes they're even good at hiding their failures from themselves! We can't admit to failure , so we deny it, or call it something else. But our failures still make us all lawbreakers--no matter how hard we try to deny them! When we do fail, we all become members of the "Union of Guilty Sinners!"

    That's why Christ has such a struggle with the Pharisees. They never understood how serious our problem is. They could assure us that they never commit adultery. But they couldn't control the evil desires--what people pick up in the bookstores or on the internet! The law's curse applies to all of us, for the simple fact that no one can obey all its demands all the time!

    If you join a group known for playing by God's rules, hoping to earn God's blessing, beware! No one has ever succeeded in keeping all of God's demands! We aren't accepted by God because we play by the rules! We're accepted by God because we're in Christ! We trust what Christ has done--we don't put forth our best efforts to make ourselves acceptable to God. That effort leads to the curse: "Condemned!" "Guilty!" "Lawbreaker!"

NO ONE IS DECLARED RIGHTEOUS BY OBEYING THE LAW   11-12

         "It's obvious that no one is declared righteous in God's sight by obeying the 

    Law: for, 'Righteous people live by faith.' And law doesn't come from faith. 

    On the contrary, 'It's people who continually DO them that live by them.'"

    Law can't make anybody righteous (11). Paul emphasizes the positive side also. We aren't made righteous by law because, as Habakkuk indicated, "Righteous people live by faith" (2:4)! Even the Old Testament, that the Judaizers claimed as their basis, indicates that those declared righteous, aren't the law abiding; it's those who walk by faith!

    The law principle contradicts the faith principle (12). Faith doesn't depend on works. Works aren't based on faith. Faith has nothing to do with works! Eternal life is based on trusting Christ alone. Abundant life is also based on trusting Christ alone.

    The death of Christ freed us from the law's curse.

CHRIST PAID THE PRICE WE SHOULD HAVE PAID

TO FREE US FROM THE CURSE   13

         "Christ paid the price to free us from the curse of the Law, having become 

    a curse for us. For it is written, 'Everyone who hangs on a tree is cursed'"

    We can't solve the curse problem! Only Christ could solve that--and He did it! By becoming a curse for us, Christ bought our freedom from the curse of the law. His death frees us from the curse the law brings against us.

PAGAN PEOPLE WHO TRUST CHRIST

RECEIVE THE BLESSING GOD PROMISED TO ABRAHAM   14

        "So that the blessing God promised to Abraham has been made available to 

    us pagan peoples through what Christ has done so that by trusting Him we 

    might receive the Holy Spirit God promised."

    Through Christ we're able to receive the blessings promised to Abraham on the basis of faith. One of those blessings was the reception of the Spirit. We receive that blessing by trusting Christ, just as promised.

    The Judaizers claimed that to enjoy God's blessing we have to become "sons of Abraham." Paul says that those who have trusted Christ already qualify as "sons of Abraham." Therefore we possess the privileges of the heirs. The presence of the Holy Spirit confirms that position.

    We don't take the blessing God promised to Israel away from the true sons of Abraham within Israel! God has promised to restore them--to give them a new heart. There's plenty of blessing to go around! They will receive that blessing also. But, in Christ, it's possible for people like us, who used to be pagans--on the outside looking in--to be transformed into "sons of Abraham" by faith!

    According to Ephesians 1:3: "God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ." There's nothing left to go for! The Holy Spirit who lives in us produces everything we need to enjoy all God's blessings! It's all ours by faith--because we have trusted God's Son! We lack nothing!

    To go back under the law would be a giant step backward! Why would you go back to the road which leads to a curse, when we're already on the road that leads to blessing?!! We just need to enjoy what God has already given to us in Christ. Stop wasting your time trying to earn something God has already given us in Christ! We live by the Spirit, not by the flesh. We live by faith, not by works, nor by rules.

We're sons of Abraham.

We're heirs of God's promises!

We've received every spiritual blessing in Christ!

        We lack nothing!

Enjoy it!

Praise God for it!

    Warren Wiersbe helps us focus clearly on the implications of this message for our lives today:

          This raises an interesting question: how could these Judaizers ever convince 

    the Galatian Christians that the way of Law was better than the way of grace? 

    Why would any believer deliberately want to choose bondage instead of liberty? 

    . . . What is there about legalism that can so fascinate the Christian that he will 

    turn from grace to law?

         For one thing, legalism appeals to the flesh. The flesh loves to be "religious"

    --to obey laws. . . .

    Yes, there is a fascination to the Law, but it is only bait that leads to a trap; 

    and once the believer takes the bait, he finds himself in bondage. Far better 

    to take God at His Word and rest on His grace. We were saved by grace through 

    faith and we must live by grace through faith. This is the way to blessing. The 

    other way is the way to bondage.

    Philip Bliss got it right more than a hundred years ago, when he wrote:

         Free from the law, O happy condition!

         Jesus hath bled, and there is remission.

         Cursed by the law and bruised by the fall,

         Christ hath redeemed us once for all.