Last week we took a look at Legalism and Freedom. In Paul’s
time they fought against too much legalism. Today the battle is the opposite
and people take way too much freedom. To many believe that they can have “fire
insurance” and live their life however they want.
Neither the ‘fire insurance’ type of life or legalism are
what Jesus had in mind when He died on the cross for you. He did not expect us
to earn our salvation through works, nor did He expect us to throw it away,
what He has always been looking for is for you to simply follow Him.
Paul is having a hard time repairing the damage caused by
these false teachers who have made their way into the Galatian church. These
false teachers came in and added to the Gospel. They made it seem that a person
would have a more complete salvation, could be made more holy, if they would
simply follow the Law. They taught that faith was great, but it was through
works, rituals, and actions that one was really saved. They essentially took
the gift of Jesus and destroyed it.
Based on what these false teachers were saying about needing
works to be saved, how would someone who accepted Jesus on their death bed be
really saved? They have not had the time to follow the law, that have not been
able to check any tasks off of a to do list. If someone had to earn their way
to heaven, accepting Jesus on their deathbed would be too late.
If we have to work for our salvation, what good was Jesus’
death and resurrection? What the false teachers were teaching did not add to
the work of Jesus Christ. It did not add anything to what Jesus did. Instead
they were replacing the gift of Grace with something else.
You cannot add anything to the gift given by Jesus. There is
only one way a person can be saved and that is by having faith in Jesus and
what He has done for you. Nothing else matters. It does not matter if you
accept Jesus as savior when you are just a child or the minute you go to
eternity. No other action is needed to be saved other than faith in our Lord.
Paul has addressed the origin of his apostleship and that he
has been teaching the true message of Christ. Now he turns to the Galatians and
the corrupted message they have been hearing.
Galatians 3:1
“3 You foolish Galatians! Who has
hypnotized you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was vividly
portrayed as crucified?”
‘You foolish Galatians!’ What were you thinking? How could
you listen to any of these crazy people feeding you a false message? Foolish,
Foolish, Foolish!
Do you think Paul was upset? He could not believe what he
was hearing from others. Having received the gift of Grace from Jesus himself,
Paul could not understand how anyone could be swayed as the Galatians had been.
What wisdom could lead them astray?
He goes on to ask them ‘Who has hypnotized them’ or as I
read in another translation who ‘bewitched’ them. Someone was pulling the wool
over their eyes and it made absolutely no sense whatsoever. They had learned
about Jesus from the apostle Paul. They would have seen his excitement when
talking about his personal experience. They would have received a message that
would have made it perfectly clear that Jesus was the only way to spend
eternity with God. There was nothing else but a crucified Christ.
These false teachers have lead them astray with some message
other than the true Gospel and the Galatians should have known better. Having
heard the message from Paul, they should have been wise enough to catch the
false teachings before being led astray.
Sadly, this problem happens today in churches all around the
world. People will think that if they are going to church and being taught by a
pastor that they are only hearing the truth. They trust that whatever is being
said is correct. They don’t take the time to study their Bible’s. They do not
make an effort to see if they are being taught correctly. They don’t question those
funny sounding things that have been said from the pulpit. Instead they become
the blind following the blind.
Yes, we are to follow Jesus. Yes, we are called His sheep.
Yes, pastors are supposed to feed their flock of sheep, but nowhere in the
Bible does it tell us to follow any man blindly.
When dealing with the Russians during the Cold War Ronald
Reagan said that we must “trust, but verify.” He wanted to work with the
Russians but was not sure that they would stick to their word.
That is the same for every one of us. If we are listening to
someone teach the Word of God, we need to trust, but verify. It does not matter
if it is a famous preacher on TV, a Sunday School teacher, the leader of our
denomination, or this fool standing in front of you. Trust, but verify.
Psalm 118:8
“It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in
man.”
Trust that we are trying to teach you correctly, but verify
that what we are saying is correct. If you find that someone is not speaking
the truth, turn away from them. Don’t let them feed you a false message. Don’t
follow them blindly like a sheep to the slaughter.
Acts 17:10-11
“10 As soon as it was night, the
brothers sent Paul and Silas off to Berea. On arrival, they went into the
synagogue of the Jews. 11 The people here were more
open-minded than those in Thessalonica, since they welcomed the message with
eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were
so.”
The Bereans wanted to believe what Paul and Silas were
teaching them and took the time to verify it. They opened up God’s Word daily
and verified that what they were being taught agreed with the Old Testament
scrolls.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
“16 All Scripture is inspired by
God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for
training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of
God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
We need to test everything we hear against God’s Word.
Comparing what one pastor says to another pastor, is not verification. Taking
one teaching and seeing if it agrees with what your friends think does not
verify anything. Checking to see if what you have heard fits with what you see
on TV or what society believes does not confirm it is true.
The only litmus test that matters is the Word of God. As
children of God we need to be diligent in making sure we are not being led
astray. Making sure that we are rightfully dividing the Word of God.
I have had conversations lately with people who tell me that
their pastor has told them they will see their pets in heaven. I asked him
where that is in scripture. I have had another conversation about a pastor
saying that God may be a female. I did not bother asking that time, I simply
said my Bible reads the Father and the Son. I have looked it up in the Greek,
Abba is pretty clear… it means father.
If you read or watch the news you will find pastor so and so
saying gay marriage is ok. I have yet to find where in the Bible it says that,
or where it counters where it says it is detestable in Leviticus 18.
I have talked to many people who say they are a Christian buy
they do not believe everything the Bible teaches. I heard at the recent SBC
Pastor’s Conference that one of the speakers did an altar call at a different
pastor’s conference and more than 30 pastors responded. Too often we accept the
labels of Christian or Pastors to mean we can trust what they are saying. What
we really need to be doing is comparing everything to God’s Word.
The Galatian church did not compare the teachings of the
false teachers to the teachings of Paul. If they had, they may have never been
led astray.
Paul has a few questions for the Galatians to think about.
Galatians 3:2
“2 I only want to learn this from
you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by hearing with
faith?”
Paul is asking them when did you receive the Holy Spirit?
Did you receive the Spirit when you believed that Jesus was God and that He
died for you or did you receive the Spirit when you finished off some of the
actions you are being told you need to do?
Paul knows the answer to this question. He was most likely
the one preaching when these Gentile believers accepted the message of
Jesus.
How about you? Did you receive your salvation the moment you
believed and asked for forgiveness or was it after you started tithing? Answer
is obvious isn’t it?
Galatians 3:3
“3 Are you so foolish? After
beginning with the Spirit, are you now going to be made complete by the flesh?”
How can a person become saved by faith and then be made holy
by works? We are saved, or justified, by our faith in Jesus Christ. That is
when the Spirit begins living in us and changing us. That is the process we
call, sanctification. It is where we start shedding the things of the world and
embracing the things of God.
We are not made complete by the rituals we follow. We are
not sanctified because we offer sacrifices and follow a list of rules. We are
sanctified by the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The Galatians probably
thought that keeping the Mosaic Law would aid them in their spiritual lives,
but in reality it is the opposite.
That is why we have to be careful with the rules we put on
ourselves and others. There is no magic checklist that makes us more spiritual
than the next person. We need to simply believe and let the Holy Spirit work in
us. He will change us, He will cut away our sin, He will guide us to what we
are supposed to do.
Saved by faith. Works are a byproduct of that salvation.
Galatians 3:4
“4 Did you suffer so much for
nothing—if in fact it was for nothing?”
It is believed that the Galatian church faced persecution as
new believers. If they are turning away from Grace and embracing Law that
suffering was for absolutely nothing.
No one is going to suffer persecution for a bunch of rules
that are hard to follow. You only endure persecution if you truly believe that
something is worth dying for. The Galatians would only have endured the
persecution if they believed that Jesus’ death and resurrection would truly
give them life in Heaven.
While we are not facing persecution of this level it is easy
for us to lose that fire, that urgency, that steadfast belief that we had early
on in our faith. As we lose sight of how amazing that gift of grace is we fall
into the same trap. We tend to focus on the actions of being a Christian not
the faith. We look at church attendance as a check mark on our weekly list
instead of an exciting time of worshipping God. We tend to look at throwing
some money in the offering plate as a chore that needs to be completed instead
of remembering that we are investing in the ministry of Jesus and the Kingdom
of God.
Faith slips away into a list of things we need to do.
Galatians 3:5
“5 So then, does God supply you with
the Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law or by
hearing with faith?”
God works in our lives, He heals, He provides, He gives
peace, He changes us and it has nothing to do with the works we accomplish. He
works in us because we have faith in Him and He loves us. We cannot earn it, we
do not deserve it, but He freely gives it if we follow Jesus.
Don’t let anyone lead you astray. Do not listen to the
teachings of the world. Do not be swayed by people or their titles. Don’t be
foolish.
Check everything you hear, everything you read, every
teaching, against the Word of God.
Trust, but verify.
Thanks for reading!
Robert
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