Let me ask you a question

Galatians Chapter 3

Paul ended the previous chapter by explaining that if we add anything to the finished work of Jesus Christ then we are frustrating the grace of God, and Christ has died in vain. In this chapter Paul does a beautiful job of explaining how an individual is saved. If you are saved this morning then you have been saved by faith in Christ alone.

Dr. Wiersbe was recorded as saying that the 60 verses that make up the third and fourth chapters of the book of Galatians are the strongest of all of Paul’s writings. This makes sense when we realize that he was in the middle of a war. These false teachers were using any means necessary to capture the churches in Galtia and therefore Paul cannot pull any punches. In these two chapters he proves the doctrine of salvation by faith and faith alone.

Paul begins chapter three by asking them several questions. I want us to look at the questions Paul starts the chapter with, and maybe ask ourselves the same questions. If you are thinking of leaving a church that is teaching and preaching the truth then you should definitely ask yourself these questions.

These people are being foolish and not using their mind. Verse one begins with our first questions. “Why aren’t you using your mind?” The root Greek word in this first statement is “nous” and it means your “mind.” Paul is saying you are not using your mind or your head.

He follows that question with another one. “What has gotten into you?” “Who has bewitched you?” Jesus Christ had been clearly presented to these people, they have trusted in Christ, and by so doing it has changed their lives. If what they believed changed their lives then what are they doing turning from that truth?

The same thing happens every day today. I once heard a false television minister make the statement that most of his followers were former Baptist church members. That is a terrible statement. This means that his followers are people who once heard, and knew the truth. These people have been “bewitched” into following someone else.

The same is true of the modern day movement. Most people you find in these movements were once found in a Baptist church. I believe there are several problems that contribute to this problem. I believe that many people have turned away from the truth because of a group of Pharisaical Baptist. This group has hurt an untold number of believers. These believers will no longer be a part of the Baptist church because of the way they were treated by these men.

The other problem is these people are leaving the truth they once held for something new and different. Everyone wants something new today. People are not satisfied with their homes, their cars, their cell phones and they certainly are not satisfied with their churches any more. It has become part of our culture to constantly want something different. It is my opinion that the church has to evolve over time, but should never change. We can’t be stuck in the days gone by, but at the same time should not be willing to change our standards to suit the times. Some sadly leave the truth in order to seek out something different.

In verses three Paul wants them to begin to think about what they are doing. If they were saved by faith in Christ, are they now going to be so foolish to turn away from what saved them? If they began in the Spirit then why not continue in the Spirit. When a human child is born they have all they need for life. The doctor does not say to that child, “You were born into this world but I’m going to need you to obey these rules to keep on living.” As ridiculous as that sounds it happens in churches every Sunday.

“I know that you were born of the Spirit, but I need you to follow these rules to stay saved.” This message has been proclaimed from many pulpits across America. The trouble is that my flesh has never done anything but let me down. If you are honest you will say the same thing. In fact if you differ you are a liar according to 1 John. This church was made up of sinners and they could not live up to the standards God had set forth. So are they now on some higher plane that they are going to be capable of doing what they could never do before? Of course not!

Next we see that this church had suffered for their salvation. In these days it cost you something to be saved. If they turn their back on what they believed now then all of that suffering would be for nothing. “Did you suffer in vain?”

Paul now asks in verse five, “What about the miracles that were done among you?” Paul had preached among them the gospel. Paul was an apostle, and as such had performed miracles among them. Did Paul do this by the power of the Holy Spirit or by the Law?

The truth is that the reason these men were able to perform miracles was because God was giving them signs to prove their message was true. You have to understand that the people that Paul preached to were in many cases Jews who keep the rituals of the Law. Now a missionary was telling them that what they had done for generations was null and void. This was hard to swallow therefore God would allow them to perform miracles to prove their message was coming from God.

This is not the case today. In fact it seems that most of these sign gifts began to fade with the fading of the apostles, and with the writing of the New Testament. This does not mean that we are not seeing miracles performed every day. God is still performing miracles within lives.

“Do you really believe the miracles in the bible?” a skeptic asked a new Christian who had been a terrible drinker. “Of course I do!” the believer replied. The skeptic laughed. “Do you mean that you really believe that Jesus could turn water into wine?” he asked. “I sure do! In my home He turned wine into food and clothing and furniture!”

These people knew all of these things. They had trusted Christ. They had believed the report of Paul. They had seen the miracles. In spite of all of this they were contemplating turning back to the Law. No wonder Paul asked “What has gotten into you?”

So, that is my question to you today. Those of you who are thinking of leaving the truth that changed your life. Are you willing to turn your back on the truth?

In the remainder of the chapter Paul will use the example of Abraham to show them once again that they are saved by faith and faith alone. In our next blog we will look at these verses.

The Fight for Faith. A Journey through Galatians (Chapter 2 b)

Galatians Chapter 2

Paul’s experience in Antioch

The church in Antioch was different from the one in Jerusalem in that it was a mainly a Gentile church. I want to explain something before we move forward that I think is important. It was the tradition of many churches in this day to have a feast before they celebrated the Lord’s Supper. (You might remember that Paul had to fuss at the church in Corinth because of the way they were acting at this feast.)

In any case these people would get together and eat. It seems that there were two tables at the feast. One was the Gentile table and the other was the Jewish table. The difference being that the Gentile table had things on it like meat that had been offered to idols. It also had things like pork and other animals that Jews did not eat. The Jewish table would be kosher.

There was absolutely nothing wrong with the things that these Gentiles were eating. In Jesus Christ they had the liberty to eat what they pleased. The Jews however were not able to break away from the days when they were in bondage to the Law of Moses, and because of this weakness they could not enjoy their liberty. The reason I know that the Gentile table was okay was because that is where Paul ate.

Well one day Peter comes to visit the church in Antioch. At the feast Peter is presented with something that he has never really had before, Gentile food. I believe Peter was one of those who were still living in a certain amount of bondage.

In my mind I can picture Peter trying pork chops and bacon for the first time in his life. I bet he loved them. Who doesn’t love bacon? Everything is better with bacon. Peter is really enjoying himself eating with Paul and the Gentiles.

The problem is that one day some of the Jews came down to visit, and when they showed up Peter stopped eating with the Gentiles and returned to the Jewish table. He was ashamed of the liberty he had been enjoying thereby setting a double standard before these believers.

By returning to the Jewish table he was saying that living in the liberty of Christ was wrong. When this happened Paul says that he confronted him face to face.

Before I move on and we beat up on Peter too much let me ask you a question. How many of us are truly living examples of what we know as bible doctrines? Peter stood up for this type of living in Acts 15. After his experience in Acts 11 at the house of Cornelius he was called on the carpet before the Jews and he defended himself. The problem here is that Peter’s freedom was threatened by Peter’s fear.

Peter was a very impulsive man. One moment he is cutting off a soldier’s ear for trying to arrest Jesus and the next he is denying he even knows Jesus. Peter could walk on water one moment and be drowning the next.

For Peter to fear was one thing but for his fear to be brought out in the public was another. If Paul had not confronted him these false teachers could have used this as an example of proof for their false teaching.

It is funny how people teach and preach that a man or woman must keep the law or live without sin in order to maintain their salvation. The reason this is funny is because outside of Christ no one has ever been able to keep the law. These Jews were teaching a works salvation, but they were not able to keep the law themselves.

“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law.”

This includes the Law of Moses as well as any other legal system. If a person says that you have to join a certain church, speak in tongues, be baptized or any other work in order to obtain salvation they are preaching a false doctrine.

In Hebrews we are given a record of Christ offering his own blood upon the mercy seat in heaven. Let me point out a verse to you.

“When he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”  Hebrews 1:3

The fact that Jesus sat down after presenting his blood tells us that the work was finished. If there was more work to be done then Jesus would not have sat down, he would have kept working. When Jesus died for you He did everything necessary to purchase your salvation.

Paul even says that “we” had to leave the law in order to be justified by Christ. The “we” in this verse are the Jews. The Jews had to turn from their works to faith so that they could be saved.

The Paul finishes with a pretty clear statement.

“for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”

The word “justified” means to declare a person right. Let me give you a definition of this word. “Justification is the act of God whereby He declares the believing sinner righteous in Jesus Christ.”

We are declared right by Jesus Christ. The wonderful thing about Christ is that when He saves us He not only removes our sin, but He also adds His righteousness to our account.

If God could have saved us by any other means then He would have done so. The fact is that the death of Christ was the only way for us to be justified.

In the garden Jesus prayed “if it be possible let this cup pass from me.” There was no other way therefore He willingly laid down his life so that you can live. That was enough for God and it should be enough for us.

In the next chapter we will be given a biblical example of a man who was saved apart from the works of the Law. This man simply placed his trust in God. By doing so God placed righteousness on his account.

The Fight for Faith. A Journey through Galatians (Chapter 2 a)

Galatians 2

Paul in Jerusalem

In chapter two the main theme is the oneness of the gospel. Today there seems to be different teachings when it comes to the gospel. One church will preach one gospel with one way to Christ, and the church down the street will preach another gospel with another way to Christ. The trouble with this is that there can only be one gospel, and there is only one way to Christ. Someone must be right and someone must be wrong.

This controversy is something that Paul had to deal with in this early church. Was Paul’s gospel right or was these legalistic Jews gospel right? We will see in this chapter that the gospel Paul preached was right, and he was willing to confront those that opposed it.

Beginning in verse one Paul retells the story of Acts chapter 15. In Acts 15 we see a council taking place in Jerusalem. At this council the apostles meet together with one topic on their mind. They wanted to determine if all of them were preaching the same message, and if God was saving in other area by faith in Christ.

Paul tells us that when he attended this council he took Titus with him. The reason this is so important is because Titus was a Greek. At this council Titus was “exhibit A” and became an example of a person saved apart from keeping the Law.

From the way this chapter progresses it would seem that there were some false believers coming into the churches where Paul preached and spying on him. They had noticed that this young man Titus had professed Christ, but Paul at no time after his conversion compelled him to be circumcised. This was a topic these false believers brought up over and over trying to discredit Paul.

Circumcision was a rite of passage under the Mosaic system. Circumcision actually began with Abraham in Genesis 17. For a person to submit to circumcision meant that they were submitting to the entire Jewish law. What the Jews forgot was the circumcision was an outward expression of an inward experience. The same is true today with baptism.

Paul states that when he took Titus to the apostles in Jerusalem they did not compel Titus to be circumcised. They did not listen to these false believers. Under the leadership of the Holy Spirit these men rightly decided that they had no right to place someone under the bondage of the Law. In Jesus Christ there was liberty and they were not going to take that away from Titus.

If a person had to be circumcised to be saved then that meant Titus was lost. The fact is however that Titus had been saved by the grace of God, and by grace alone. There was no need to impose on him, or any other believer for that matter, something that Christ had delivered him from.

You may not see the importance of all of this. Let me bring it out in this light. These men were living in the very early days of the church. They did not have a complete copy of the New Testament. They were preaching things that were not only new to the congregation, but new to them as well. God was revealing new things to his men, and those men in turn were revealing these new things to the people. The reason that these men got together was to confirm that what they were being revealed to was the same as what everyone else had been revealed.

Today we don’t need a revelation from God. We have a bible that teaches us completely the will of God. If we want to know the mind, will, or plans of God we simply have to read His word. These men did not have this luxury.

No doubt it was a time of great rejoicing when they compared notes and saw that they were preaching the exact same thing and that God was blessing their works.

In the end of chapter three we see this principal put into action through an experience in Antioch. In our next blog we will look at an experience that took place between Peter and Paul. 

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The fight for faith. A journey through Galatians.

Galatians Chapter 1

You and I live in a world that is rapidly leaving the principals of the scriptures and turning to false doctrines. In the scriptures God has laid out a plan for salvation, but many are guilty of teaching and preaching that God’s plan isn’t enough. Throughout America men stand in pulpits and teach and preach to their congregations that the death of Jesus Christ just isn’t enough for salvation.

This was the problem in the Galatian church. This church was founded by the apostle Paul on his first missionary journey. They heard the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ, placed their faith in this message, were saved, and as a result saw their lives changed. This was a wonderful time in their lives. The trouble is that sometime after Paul left a group of false teachers came into the church and began to distort what Paul had taught. These men did not deny the gospel they just taught that the gospel wasn’t enough. Their message was that in order to be saved, or to be right with God, a person had to not only accept Jesus by faith, they also had to keep the Law of Moses.

This message of the gospel plus something is one that is not new to us. Today men preach the gospel plus baptism, the gospel plus a work of grace, the gospel plus good works. Just like the people of America today these people in Galatia were very fickle and were contemplating following after these false teachers.

Let me give you an example of the way these people acted. In the book of Acts we read that when Paul came to Galatia the people wanted to make him a god. The bible also tells us that the day after they wanted to make him a god they stoned him. They easily went from one extreme to another.

Paul begins this epistle by stating his apostleship. The word “apostle” means “one who is sent on a commission.” Jesus had several disciples which literally means “learners” but he chose twelve apostles. After stating his authority as an apostle he gives a quick greeting then gets into the meat of the epistle.

Paul begins his argument by presenting the gospel message. It is this message that these Judaizers are trying to change. Paul shows us the person of the gospel which is Jesus Christ. Paul shows us the price paid for the gospel in Jesus giving his life. We even see the purpose for the message which is to deliver sinners from bondage.

Notice that Paul states plainly in that Jesus Christ gave himself for our sins. There is nothing that a person can do to add value to this sacrifice. When a person gives themselves, as Christ did, they have given everything they can. When you give yourself you are giving your time, talents, everything you have. This is what Jesus did for you and me. To try to add something to this is to tell Jesus that He was not enough.

Because of the sacrifice of Christ you and I can be delivered from this present, evil world. The finished work of Christ proves its worth when a person accepts Christ and they are delivered from evil. Through Christ people are delivered from drugs, alcohol, pornography and all manner of sins.

Also notice that Paul says that the gospel is God’s will. God willed His Son to come to this earth and die on the cross for you and me. Jesus willingly laid down his life for our sins. Now God is willing that you and I accept His Son, be delivered from this evil world, and walk according to the will of God.

This was a message that these people had heard, accepted and founded their church on. Now however they are contemplating turning away from these truths. Paul marvels that they have been removed from the truths of the gospel. The verb used in this verse indicates that they were in the process of deserting the gospel, but that they had not fully turned away yet. These people were in the process of leveling liberty and returning to legalism.

I think it is worth pointing out that the gospel is broken down into two categories. We have the truths of the gospel which are the death, burial and resurrection of Christ.

“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”   1 Corinthians 15:3-4

These facts are hard to argue with, or at least they were in Paul’s day. There were over 500 witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus. It would prove difficult to argue with 500 people.

The second part of the gospel is the interpretation of the gospel. It was the interpretation of the gospel that the church was struggling with. After Paul left the region a group of Jews came to this Galatain country and presented them with a false doctrine. These Jews would tell the people that Paul was right in teaching them about the facts of the gospel, but that Paul’s message didn’t go far enough. They taught that while it was true you should trust Christ you should also keep the Law of Moses.

Dr. Weirsbe said this. “You cannot mix grace and works, because the one excludes the other. Salvation is the gift of God’s grace, purchased for us by Jesus Christ on the cross. To turn from grace to law is to desert the God who saved us.”

This heresy is still with us today. Many teach and preach a message of grace plus something. Some preach grace plus good works. Some preach grace plus baptism. In each one of these examples people are trying to add to the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Notice what Paul said to the jailer in Philippi.

“And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou salt be saved, and thy house.”   Acts 16:31

Peter said to the Sanhedrin:

“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”   Acts 4:12

I want to say that the grace of God is sufficient for salvation!

Not only were these people guilty of departing from the truth of the gospel, but they were actually guilty of perverting the gospel message. The word pervert means to go from one extreme to another. In Acts, Luke used the word to speak of the sun being turned into darkness. James used this word to describe laughter being turned into mourning. To add something to the gospel means that you make the gospel the opposite of what it really is.

This is such a terrible thing that Paul issues a double warning. His warning was that if any man was to preach a message different than the one he had preached, then that person should be accursed. To make the warning even stronger he states that if an angel from heaven were to appear to you and preach something other than the gospel message then that person should pronounce the angel accursed.

Adding something to the grace of God is what is known as “legalism.” The reason that so many people love legalism is because the gospel places man on a very low level. The gospel says that a man is a low down dirty sinner and there is nothing they can do about it. The gospel says that we are incapable of helping ourselves and therefore we need a savior. Legalism on the other hand says that if a man works hard enough he can overcome his faults. Legalism tells us that there is a little good in each of us and we simply need to cultivate that good.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”   Romans 6:23

Paul knew what he was talking about because he tried to do this same thing. Before he was Paul the apostle, he was Saul the Pharisee. As Saul he tried to work to the best of his ability to please God. After his salvation he said this about that part of his life.

“But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the Excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.”   Philippians 3:7-8

Friend there is no way that you can work hard enough to satisfy God. Paul found this out in his own life. Paul went about from town to town preaching that the only way a person can be saved by the grace of God is by placing their faith, and faith alone, in the finished work of Jesus Christ.

 As we move on through the epistle Paul will offer great examples of justification by faith. We will see the example of Abraham, the friend of God, the father of faith. We will even see the example of how the gospel changed the lives of the people in this church. I pray that you read along with me as we move forward, that you open your heart to the scriptures, and that you accept Christ by faith if you have not already done so.