Feb. 13, 2022 - By Faith
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If you were with us last week - we closed out chapter 2 of the book of Galatians...
Where we saw the Apostle Paul APPROACH Peter in a certain way...
If you remember, Paul was reminding the Galatians of when he opposed Peter publicly - in order to REBUKE Peter’s actions...
in drawing back
in separating himself from the Gentiles while eating
Peter’s actions had taught ALL the Jews around Peter - to do the same...
And those actions were classified this way in our text...
13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.
Peter’s actions DISPLAYED - a false gospel...
and so Paul addresses it!
And he did so last week by - laying out before Peter - the IRONY of REBUILDING the law between Jew and Gentile - in order to avoid becoming a “SINNER” like the Gentiles...
The irony being this...
18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor.
Paul’s saying - If WE - as JEWS - rebuild what Christ tore down (the wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile) - then we PLACE OURSELVES - UNDER the LAW!!
Which means - we then STAND CONDEMNED!!
And as we know - Where there is a distorted Law, there will be a distorted Gospel!
And so TODAY - Paul will continue to address the connection between FAITH and the LAW...
1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.
2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?
3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?
5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith—
6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?
Today - Paul continues to PRESS the Galatians - in their embrace of the FALSE TEACHINGS that had infiltrated the churches of Galatia...
And Paul DOES SO - in this passage - by asking QUESTION after QUESTION after QUESTION...
5 questions in all...
And it’s IN these questions that Paul HIGHLIGHTS - that which the Galatians had TURNED AWAY from....
The Gospel!
Sounds serious?!!
No??
Well - it IS serious…and Paul responds accordingly!
1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.
So Paul here - thinking about a PEOPLE - who had been SHOWN TRUTH...
YET NOW - embracing error of the highest degree!
And as we heard from Paul in Chapter 1 - Paul is UTTERLY shocked by this...
And his choice of words here - points to the FALSE TEACHERS themselves...
He says - “O foolish Galatians! Who has BEWITCHED you?!!”
Paul uses the language of PAGAN MAGIC… to describe what he thinks about these False Teachers - and what he thinks about this false teaching!
To PAUL - it’s as if the Galatians have been put under a SPELL...
THAT’S HOW SHOCKED Paul is - that this is happening…!
He says - “It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified!”
Now it sounds like Paul is saying that these people were all THERE at the crucifixion of Christ...
But this word he uses here - the word - PORTRAYED - it means -
to DESCRIBE VIVIDLY...
And so Paul is pointing back to his PRIOR PROCLAMATION - TO the Galatians...
- of Christ as being crucified!
He’s saying - MY declaration of Christ’s work on the cross - was SO CLEAR -
it was as if you WITNESSED it yourselves!!
AND NOW??? - you’re turning from this CLEAR truth?!!
WHO has bewitched you??
And then - from HERE - Paul begins the onslaught of questions… and in ASKING these questions - we see clear truths of the GOSPEL - that the Galatians had turned from...
2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?
And what we see from this question is this…
SLIDE: By Faith: Gospel Life Begins
By Faith
By Faith
I think the sheer fact that Paul asks this question – points to the reality that the PEOPLE KNEW the answer.
Just like we talked about last week where we will often have to address our kids in the car…
In that while they’re arguing and bickering with each other… AT THE SAME TIME… They’ll be singing songs about Jesus…
And we try to teach them in a certain way….
Paul’s using a tactic here that I implement ALL THE TIME – with my kids…(and adults for that matter)
Asking questions that you know the other person knows… To then help them SEE the truth you’re trying to highlight!
It’s no different than in a courtroom.
What do Lawyers do?
They ask QUESTIONS…in order to walk you down a road they want to walk you down…
Paul does the same thing here!!
He knows that the Galatians would respond to this question – by saying – We RECEIVED the Spirit – by FAITH…
And they would be – RIGHT!
13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
Upon FAITH, we receive the Holy Spirit!
And so - UPON FAITH - we go from BEING Spiritually dead - - to being Spiritually ALIVE!
A supernatural HEALING takes place - UPON faith in Christ...
And Jesus tried to TEACH us this when He walked this earth!!
2 And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.”
3 And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.”
4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?
5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?
6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.”
7 And he rose and went home.
A paralytic man is brought to Jesus - And Jesus looks at the man and says - Your sins are forgiven!
Well - some scribes heard this and claimed Jesus was a blasphemer...
WHY?
They thought - Who are YOU to forgive sins?
And Jesus responds - Which is easier - to say - “your sins are forgiven” OR to say...
“Rise and walk”?
v6 - But so that you may KNOW that I (the SON of MAN) have authority on EARTH to forgive SINS…i say to this paralytic - “Rise - pick up your bed and go home!”
a SUPERNATURAL - PHYSICAL healing...
that REPRESENTED the SUPERNATURAL Spiritual HEALING…that took place...
And what was it all BASED on?
2 And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.”
3 And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.”
4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?
5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?
6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.”
7 And he rose and went home.
Another example?
Same chapter!
27 And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.”
28 When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.”
29 Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it done to you.”
30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, “See that no one knows about it.”
- Again - a SUPERNATURAL - PHYSICAL healing...
that REPRESENTED the SUPERNATURAL Spiritual HEALING - all based on FAITH!
Back to our text...
2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?
Upon FAITH - we receive the Holy Spirit…!
And the Galatians KNEW this...
So Paul CONFIRMS that they know this - to REMIND them of this reality...
And this first question - LEADS directly to the 2nd and 3rd question!
3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
So Paul here - ANSWERS his first question - JUST IN CASE - some reading this DIDN’T know the answer...
And here is where i think WE - here today - can often get TRIPPED up in our own walks of - Faith...
I think too often - the Gospel, even within these circles - is viewed as that DOOR to salvation -
that after we WALK THRU IT - we close that door and get on to OTHER THINGS!!
I’m not sure we’re fully convinced of our NEED for the GOSPEL - POST salvation!
I’m not sure we’re fully convinced that we NEED the Gospel once we’ve USED it to GET SAVED!
Reality is - the Gospel IS the doorway to salvation - AND it’s the ground upon which we walk!
If we look at the life of Christ - and in HIM we see an example for US...
Then we need to KNOW - how He lived His life...
And so we see that the Holy Spirit - POWERED the ministry of Jesus from beginning to end...
From His:
Birth
Baptism
Temptation
Public Ministry
Miracles
The Resurrection
All of these things - EMPOWERED by the Holy Spirit!!
And this is what Paul is trying to get across to the Galatians...
READ VERSE...
Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit are you now being perfected by the flesh?
Paul wants the Galatians to know…
SLIDE: By Faith: Gospel Life is Empowered by the Holy Spirit
By Faith
By Faith
The Gospel is NOT that door that we walk through at the moment of Salvation – to then CLOSE and walk away from…
SLIDE:
The Gospel is the ground upon which we walk as Christians!
And you might think – so what – How does that impact my WALK?
Well – How did the Gospel COME TO HAPPEN?
The Gospel is the LIFE, Death, burial and Resurrection of - WHO? - Christ…
Well – here’s how it happened! (*LIST of Spirit verses)
LIFE of Christ:
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.
The life of Christ came about by the power of the Holy Spirit.
MINISTRY of Christ:
14 And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country.
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
The earthly ministry of Christ was – empowered by the Holy Spirit
DEATH of Christ:
24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them,
25 who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “ ‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’—
27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,
28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.
The death of Christ – predestined by the plan of God
RESURRECTION of Christ:
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,
By the power of the Holy Spirit – Christ was raised from the dead…
So what does all this mean?
The Gospel happened – it took place – IN THE POWER of the Holy Spirit
And SO – if the Gospel IS the ground upon which we WALK as Christians…
Then we are CALLED to walk – how?
IN the power of the Spirit!
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
We are called to WALK in the Spirit…continually...
And I think we see this IN OUR TEXT today...
3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?
5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith—
Paul here - POINTS to the CONTINUAL supply of the Spirit…to CHRISTIANS...
“Does he who SUPPLIES (present tense - active - continual - VERB) the Spirit TO YOU....DO SO by works of the law, or by hearing with Faith?”
Well - What’s BEING SUPPLIED to us - BY WAY of FAITH....as Christians?
Let’s JUMP ahead in this book of Galatians to see...
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
And so - NOW APPLY these fruits to PETER - when he SEPARATED himself from the Gentiles...
WHICH of these FRUITS - were FORSAKEN by Peter when he drew back from the Gentiles?
Love? - Yes
Joy? - Yes
Peace? - Yes
Patience? - Yes
Kindness? - Yes
Goodness? - Yes
Faithfulness? - Yes (how? - Peter’s faithfulness to the Gospel was forsaken)
Gentleness? - Yes
Self-Control - Yes
Wow - each one of these FRUITS - forsaken by Peter!
NOW - know this - these FRUITS are SPECIFIC in nature!!
The love that was forsaken wasn’t just ANY kind of love....
It was the LOVE of CHRIST that was forsaken!
Joy - IN CHRIST - that was forsaken!
And so - when OUR Christian lives - forsake the Fruit of the Spirit - That’s when we KNOW - we’re NO LONGER displaying the GOSPEL!!
WHICH means - we’re NO LONGER walking IN the Spirit!
[Read end of verse] - against which there is NO LAW!
What if I say - OK, next week - ALL NON-Water Baptized members will sit together - BACK THERE…and all water-baptized - people can sit anywhere else!!
Well - what am I doing at that point?
I’ve just constructed - a WALL between us!
And I’m no longer WALKING IN THE SPIRIT!
And Jesus looks at them and says - I’m LOVING this man! There’s NO LAW against THIS LOVE!!
And so - BACK TO PETER - … When Peter decided to DRAW BACK and separate himself from the Gentiles…due to the FEAR OF MAN…
He was choosing to NOT walk in the Spirit….
He was choosing to walk according to the LAW…
He rebuilt the wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile…
And Peter – in his heart – UNDID the work of Christ in tearing DOWN that wall….by rebuilding it himself
And when he did that – he stopped DISPLAYING the Gospel!
Peter – in that MOMENT – showed to be MISUSING the law
And we see other examples of this in Scripture…where Christ speaks against that mindset!
Jesus goes to Jerusalem - the pool of Bethesda...
He finds a man there - paralyzed for 38 years...
And HEALS him!
OH WAIT - it was on the sabbath!
The pharisees come by and say...
10 So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.”
How could these Jews have said this? AND MISSED the absolute LOVE of Jesus in healing this man?
Here’s HOW - - the Law was their God!
And here’s what we need to know about this mindset...
SLIDE:
When the Law is your god, your self-righteousness will be your savior.
Listen - Self-Righteousness is NO savior...
We must LIVE our lives - walking in the Spirit!!
EMPOWERED by the Spirit!
6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,
And we CAN walk in Him - by FAITH…AND DO SO - with ultimate HOPE...
WHY?
Because BY FAITH - we know this is true!
SLIDE: By Faith: Gospel Life is Sealed Unto Glorification
By Faith
By Faith
v5-6
5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith—
6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?
Abraham had FAITH in GOD - and that FAITH was CREDITED to him - as RIGHTEOUSNESS!
Again - who’s righteousness??
The righteousness of Christ!!
the PERFECTION of Christ - APPLIED to Abraham’s account!!
And so - let’s think thru this...
There are MANY people who believe that we CAN LOSE our salvation....
AND SO - they believe that they must WALK IN THE FLESH....
IN order to MAINTAIN their salvation…by obeying the LAW...
- SO - in response to that BELIEF - here’s my question:
SLIDE: Question
If I received the Spirit by faith and not by adhering to the Law (because the Law (self-righteousness) can’t save), then how can not adhering to the Law cause me to lose my salvation?
- Basically - If the Law can’t save me - then how can it UNSAVE me?
The point is - WE CAN”T LOSE our salvation!
BY faith - Gospel life is SEALED UNTO glorification!!
28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.
13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Peter would have done well to embrace this truth as opposed to building that wall of division...
And this TRUTH - that the Holy Spirit SEALS believers - UPON faith...
Would have IMPACTED Peter in 2 ways...
It would have emboldened him to NOT GIVE IN to the fear of man...
helping him to NOT EVEN separate from the Gentiles to BEGIN with!
When we REALLY trust that our Eternity is SECURE - IN CHRIST...
And that The Spirit of God REALLY does DWELL IN US...
We can be emboldened in the face of PRESSURE to HIDE the Gospel in our lives...
And instead - DISPLAY the Gospel
This TRUTH would have also HELPED Peter - VIEW the Gentiles in a more ACCURATE light!
Instead of viewing the Gentiles as - OUTSIDE of God’s household...
He would have SEEN them - as Brothers and Sisters in Christ!!
He would have VIEWED them as FELLOW HEIRS - with Christ…ALSO sealed unto final glorification!!!!
And so what have we seen today?
SUMMARY
BY FAITH (not by WORKS)
Gospel Life Begins
Gospel Life is Empowered by the Holy Spirit
Gospel Life is Sealed Unto Glorification
Empowered by the Holy Spirit - RESTING in Christ - as we bear FRUIT of the Spirit...
Love
Joy
Peace
Patience
Kindness
Goodness
Faithfulness
Gentleness
Self-Control
Truly believing that Our Eternity is SECURE/Sealed by the Holy Spirit...
emboldening us to LIVE for Christ in the face of persecution...
AND
embolden us to see ALL believers as worthy of our time
Let’s pray!