The Law and Faith in Christ
Galatians 3:1-9 NLT
3:1 Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross. 2 Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. 3 How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? 4 Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it?
5 I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.
6 In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” 7 The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God.
8 What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would make the Gentiles right in his sight because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.” 9 So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.
Examine the scriptures:
Galatians 3:1-9 NLT
The Law and Faith in Christ
3:1 Oh, foolish Galatians!
Paul tackled this issue head-on.
Galatians 1:6 NLT
6 I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News
- The Galatians were being misled by the Judaizers, the Jewish false teachers, who were undermining the central New Testament doctrine of justification by faith with their enticing arguments. Paul tackled this issue head-on.
Galatians 2:21 NLT
21 I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.
- To embrace a doctrine which declared the death of Christ unnecessary was irrational.
John 3:16 NLT
16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
Who has cast an evil spell on you?
This is a rhetorical question. Paul knew the answer to this question. (The Judaizers, or in reality, Satan)
The Judaizers, the Jewish false teachers, who were undermining the central New Testament doctrine of justification by faith with their enticing arguments.
For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross.
1 Thessalonians 5:10 NLT
10 Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever.
Hebrews 7:25 NLT
25 Therefore he (Jesus) is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.
- Paul’s teaching clearly portrayed Christ’s death and explained its significance.
Romans 10:17 NLT
17 So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.
The Galatians had heard and had responded positively to the Gospel.
Now the eyes of the Galatians have been diverted from the cross to the law.
The Galatians were acting foolishly and without excuse.
- The Galatians had heard and had responded positively to the Gospel. Now the eyes of the Galatians have been diverted from the cross to the law.
2 Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not!
As Gentiles, they did not even have the Mosaic Law.
Ephesians 1:13-14 NLT
13 And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.
There is nothing in these verses about “obeying the law”.
You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ.
- The Galatians received the Holy Spirit by faith in Christ, not by obeying the Law of Moses.
3 How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?
- Using human effort to improve on the work of the Holy Spirit is ludicrous.
4 Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it?
Experienced so much:
Experiencing all of the blessings of salvation from God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit.
Or
Acts 14:21-22 NLT
Paul and Barnabas Return to Antioch of Syria
21 After preaching the Good News in Derbe and making many disciples, Paul and Barnabas returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia, 22 where they strengthened the believers. They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that we must suffer many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.
5 I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not!
As a Gentile church, they did not even have the Mosaic Law.
It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.
- God give the Galatians the Holy Spirit and worked miracles among them because they believed the message they heard about Christ.
6 In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”
Even the Old Testament taught justification by faith.
- The Old Testament taught justification by faith.
- God counted Abraham righteous because of his faith before he was circumcised.
Hebrews 11:8-10 NLT
8 It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. 9 And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. 10 Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.
7 The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God.
Romans 4:11, 16 NLT
11 Circumcision was a sign that Abraham already had faith and that God had already accepted him and declared him to be righteous—even before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the spiritual father of those who have faith but have not been circumcised. They are counted as righteous because of their faith.
16 So the promise is received by faith. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we have faith like Abraham’s. For Abraham is the father of all who believe.
- The real children of Abraham are those who put their faith in God.
The children of Abraham are members of God’s family.
8 What’s more, the Scriptures (God’s Word-God’s plan) looked forward to this time when God would make the Gentiles right in his sight because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.”
- Justification of uncircumcised Gentles was always a part of God’s plan.
9 So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.
- All who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.
Made right in the sight of God.
Jews and Gentiles.
