Scripture: Galatians3:1-5, Galatians 3:6-14, Galatians 3:15-18, 21-22
In
today’s readings, Paul continues in his criticism of the practice of putting trust
in the law of Moses, ahead of faith in the commands and way of Jesus
Christ. The Lord never suggested that
the Commandments that God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai be changed (Exodus 20:1-17), but He did teach us that the additions
that men added to the Father’s law were burdens that would certainly break us.
(Luke 11:45-47)
Paul
also understood the difference between the Commandments of God and the rules
that were added by the elitists of Israel, and he would never make an exception
for any of the man-made laws ever again.
Of course, in his previous life as a Pharisee, the laws of Moses were
all that he ever found value in! But
now, faith had supplanted it all.
Read Galatians 3:1-5
The
apostle begins this portion of his letter by accusing the Galatians of
essentially becoming absent minded and forgetting everything that they once knew
about Jesus! He called them foolish,
deceived, bewitched, forgetful, and was probably thinking of several other
characteristics that he decides not to mention at this time!
He
had become extremely disappointed in them, as he knew quite well what he had taught
them about Jesus and His Good News when he founded the churches in Galatia
several years before. Since then, the people had been fooled into believing
false claims about faith that should, instead, have been centered in the
teachings of Jesus Christ, and now they were moving far away from the truth
that they once had embraced.
So
Paul began to test them on what he had taught them before, to see if they
actually remembered anything that they had received and accepted during his
first missional journey. He asks them
about the work of the Spirit in their lives, versus what they now are believing
through false teaching. He reminds them
that in the beginning of their walk in faith, that the Spirit of God had worked
wonders within them, but now they are turning toward what they can do all on
their own through personal works in legalism.
The
evangelist is hurt spiritually by their believing the lies that they had blindly
accepted as a truth. He is disappointed
that all that he had taught, all that he had shown them in love, all that Jesus
had done for them, was now being wasted in the misplaced trust that they were living
through their own poor understanding!
Remember
Peter’s experience that we talked about last week at the house of
Cornelius? The Spirit had come to rest
on all who had heard the truth of Jesus that day, and here the Galatians had
apparently received that same blessing on their lives. But now it seems that they have turned their
backs on both Jesus and the Holy Spirit, in favor of the law that had been set
down by the Pharisees!
Shame
is about the only way to describe Paul’s disappointment in the people of
Galatia.
Read Galatians 3:6-14
So
why is Paul’s heart so troubled for the Galatians? Because they have put their confidence in a system
that will bring a curse down upon them, even though they had been taught better!
Abraham
trusted God, and was seen as righteous.
Obedience to God’s ways brings blessings, and that Abraham’s
descendants, and we, are to use those blessings to bless others! (Genesis12:1-3)
And it all comes to
those who trust in God through a faith that is like that which Abraham showed
to the Lord.
The
problem with the law is that its justification will only come to those who obey
every single command that it proclaims! (Deuteronomy 27:26) No
one has ever been able to accomplish that, and no one ever will! Faith and trust in God is the only hope that
anyone will ever know.
Paul’s
point is that justification through the law is based on what we
accomplish, and is seen solely as a test of our own abilities, while justification
by faith is based in the grace of God alone.
Failure to adhere to every aspect of the law is condemnation, for there
is no exception in the law. But failure
in faith, which is sin, can always be resolved through our repentance and God's forgiveness. Condemnation through the law is all on us,
but forgiveness of sin by faith in Jesus Christ is all in the ways of God at
Calvary!
As
Paul puts it – redemption that comes to us by faith in Jesus is only possible
since He took our condemnation in sin to the cross with Him, leaving it there,
nailed to the tree of judgment and death.
But in His resurrection, all who would love Him and trust Him, would
find life once again, within the eternal life that He had received.
Read Galatians 3:15-18, 21-22
For
anyone who might suggest that the law could supersede and overturn the grace
that the Lord would show to the faithful of Christ, Paul reminds us that the
human additions to the law, first of all, does not receive this level of authority,
and second, could never have the authority to disallow the word of God that
comes to us through the life and word of Jesus Christ.
Faith
in the Son of God guarantees the only eternal, unchanging, perfect, and loving
assurance that the world will ever know through their way! And there will never be anyone who has the
right to change the covenant that the Lord has set down, and neither can they
ever change the truths that Christ has brought to our lives.
The
power of God – Omnipotence - is limitless.
The
wisdom of God – Omniscience - is far greater than anything that we can ever hope
for or understand. (Isaiah 55:8-9)
And
the love of God is proven through Christ’s sacrifice at Calvary, which gained His
eternity for all who are faithful toward Him.
And as our love for Christ grows, we begin to discover all the ways that
the Lord works within, and on behalf of, those who will love Him.
And
unfortunately, the world will, one day, discover that they will never know that
love through the ways that they follow and profess. And
that will be the greatest shame in their entire lifetime!
