Galatians: Lesson 6

Overview

Saved by Grace, Sustained by the Spirit: Reflections on Galatians 3

Paul's sharp rebuke in Galatians 3:1—"You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you?"—is not just a word for an ancient congregation. Luther reminds us that the Galatians' error illustrates "bad traits that cling to individual Christians and entire congregations." Grace does not instantly transform us into faultless creatures this side of heaven. We remain saint and sinner at once, with the dregs of the old Adam still clinging to us, while the Spirit carries on the lifelong work of sanctification. Some seasons are marked by visible growth, others by apparent plateau—but the Spirit is always at work, sometimes even preparing us for ministry we cannot yet see. Paul's own lament in Romans 7, set within the larger argument of Romans 6:10–14, reminds us: the struggle is real, but God's mercy is greater. We are not under law but under grace, and so we refuse to let sin reign.

The heart of Paul's argument follows in Galatians 3:2–5: "Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?" To turn back to self-righteousness is, in Luther's words, to crucify Christ again in our hearts—rejecting the grace, faith, and free remission of sins he has given. The law does not bestow the Holy Spirit; the gospel does, because the gospel conveys God's good gifts. The story of Cornelius in Acts 10 makes this plain. Cornelius was devout, generous, and prayerful—good by every human standard—yet he was still outside of Christ until Peter preached Christ crucified. While Peter was still speaking, the Spirit fell on all who heard. They did nothing; they listened, believed, and received. Goodness apart from Christ is not the same as life in the Spirit, and our pastoral longing for those we love must be that they would hear the gospel and believe.

Paul then anchors this truth in Abraham. Galatians 3:6–9, echoing Genesis 15:6, declares that Abraham "believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness." Luther calls faith "the first duty of man"—to believe God and honor him with our trust, which is precisely what the First Commandment requires. Faith may seem absurd to worldly reason: that Christ gives his body and blood, that baptism is the washing of regeneration, that the dead will rise. But faith honors God by taking him at his word, and God counts that faith as righteousness.

Take care, then, not to turn faith itself into a work. If we do, we spiral into anxious questions: Do I have enough faith? Is my faith big enough? Remember that faith is itself God's gift. Two things make for Christian righteousness: faith in Christ, which God gives, and God's gracious acceptance of our imperfect faith as perfect righteousness for Christ's sake. Luther presses the pastoral question home: if God offers his unspeakable gifts free of charge, why waste time pondering whether we are worthy? Why not simply hold out empty hands and say, "Thank you, Lord Jesus"? You have heard the word of the Lord; you have believed; and God has counted it to you as righteousness. You are right before him through the blood of Jesus—freely, fully, and forever.

Transcript

Lord Jesus, we thank you so much. 5s

We thank you for calling us as your own, for washing us in the waters of baptism to be 8s

redeemed and saved by your grace. 14s

Lord, we ask that as we continue to study your word in the letter to the Galatians, Lord, 17s

we ask that you would stir in our hearts, that you would open our eyes to see of your goodness 24s

and that we would have open ears to hear the good news that we are saved by grace through faith 31s

and it is not our own doing but all yours. 38s

Lord, to you be the glory forever and ever in Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen. 42s

Okay, so last week we finished with that good word that we cannot deny that we're sinners 47s

but that means that we can't deny that Christ died for our sins. 56s

Let's go ahead and open up to Galatians, the third chapter and we're going to just read, 61s

we're going to read verse one. 69s

So Galatians chapter three, verse one, this is in the New Testament, it's after the 71s

gospels after the book of Acts, after Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, we find ourselves 76s

in Galatians. So Paul begins with saying, you foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? 81s

It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly exhibited as crucified. 90s

He's reproving the Galatians, he's calling them foolish, bewitched, disobedient. 96s

Luther says that this is an example of bad traits that cling to individual Christians 103s

and entire congregations. It's an example of the bad traits that cling to Christians and cling 109s

to congregations. Grace doesn't suddenly transform a person into a perfect creature 120s

this side of heaven, meaning that we can or that we will and do obey and live completely 132s

righteous under God's law because we still have the drags of the old Adam, the old Eve, the 140s

drags of the sinner that and that natural corruption that remains. The spirit of God 148s

uses sanctification as a lifelong happening. So we are always from the moment of being called 158s

into faith and being reborn in the spirit, we are entering into a lifelong journey of being 168s

made, whole, being made more and more into the new creature, the new creation that we have been made 179s

in Christ and Christ alone. And so when we are or as we are this side of heaven, we never come to 188s

a point of, I'm finally perfect, we never come to a point of arriving at holy perfection in all of 196s

our words, deeds, thoughts. But the spirit is always working and molding and transforming us. 207s

And we all know in our own lives we can look back and say, oh yeah, there were seasons of greater 216s

growth where we've grown so much in the faith that God has given us. And then there are also 222s

those seasons of lesser growth or even the seasons of plateaus. It does not mean that the holy 230s

spirit is not working on us, transforming us, molding us, shaping us. There's a story of a couple of 238s

women from, oh, I think they were in Lebanon. They were Muslims that were converted to Christianity 247s

and they were on fire for mission and for sharing the word of God. And they had 258s

like rooms of bibles that they were handing out to people. And they were constantly growing. 267s

And the Lord was constantly doing his work in them and through them. And they hit a season of a 275s

plateau. And they just, they didn't have that same drive and hunger that they had been experiencing. 283s

And they were let down. They were kind of disappointed. They thought that it was not good. And so, 291s

so they had not, I mean, they had a few bibles still and they would give them out here and there. 297s

And then they were arrested. And the police came in and they arrested these ladies. And they were 304s

thrown in jail because they had a few bibles. Can you imagine if it had happened when they had 313s

rooms full of bibles? And so they were thrown into jail and they found themselves in a season of 318s

mission again where they, they were able to evangelize and to witness to all of the prostitutes 326s

that were in jail with them, to all of the other Muslims that that were thrown into jail for some 335s

one reason or another. They were able then to share God's word with those people. And so, so what 341s

looked or seemed like a season of plateau for these women was actually a season of preparation 348s

where God was preparing them for prison to be thrown into prison where then they could 356s

preach his word and share. You know, it's the, it's kind of like Kory Tenbaum, you know, with her 363s

sister in the concentration camp where they got to preach to all of the Jewish women and the 369s

the non-Christians and those that had been put into the concentration camp, they got to share 379s

God's word. And so God prepared them for that season. God is always at work and thank God for 385s

that. Thank God for that. He is always working on us, changing us, molding us, growing us. 394s

As a Christian, you are a saint and sinner, not a faultless creature yet. We are promised 402s

in eternity we will be in perfect communion. Sin will be no more. The old Adam, the old Eve is 411s

left behind and it is the new creation that God has made. It is who he has truly created 419s

you to be that will be with him for all of eternity. This doesn't mean just because we have 428s

that struggle of saint and sinner, this side of heaven, it does not mean that we throw in the towel 435s

and say, well, I'm going to be a sinner. So I guess it might as well sin. No, absolutely not. We 441s

still strive to be close to the Lord. We still strive to seek his will knowing that by his spirit, 449s

he empowers us to move and work through and in his will. Romans, Paul, in the letter to the Romans, 457s

he gets at this so beautifully where he says, why is it that I do the things I don't want to do? 468s

And I don't do the things I do want to do. He is lamenting that he has the struggle of 474s

sin, sin, saint and sinner. But it is really lovely to read it in the big context of chapters 5-8, 481s

where it is not a standalone that I am a sinner and so I'm going to be stuck as a sinner and 492s

I might as well sin. But it is that acknowledgement of, okay, so the struggle is real. I don't know if 499s

that's still hip to say that. The struggle is real, but we're going to pretend it is. So the struggle 508s

is real, but God's mercy is realer. It's greater and it's more powerful. Luther says, 514s

Luther says, Satan is clever. There is not one among us who is not at times seduced by Satan into false 525s

beliefs. I thought that was really interesting because we read of the Galatians or we read of any 533s

of the ancients and it's almost like we take comfort in the historical buffer. That we can 540s

look at those people from a distance and call them those people and those poor foolish Galatians 550s

who have been bewitched and beguiled or bewiled. But we are just as much at risk as any other. 558s

Any of those who were seduced by Satan in Scripture, there is not a historical buffer. 570s

We can see ourselves in that. We can see how Satan continues to be clever and continues to 582s

seduce us. Steve Burke has a saying, it's the understatement of the forever, says the devil. He's 590s

such a jerk. I love that. I love that. And yes, yes he is. So the thing we need to remember is that 598s

you are in Christ. You are in Christ. You have his spirit dwelling in you. Remember we read last 614s

week. It is no longer I who live but it is Christ who lives in me. It is Christ who lives in me. 623s

So we can turn to his spirit to resist. As Satan tempts us, as the world around us tempts us, 632s

as even our own minds tempt us, we turn to the spirit to help us resist. The spirit is the 641s

advocate, the helper, the parakeet, the one who has your back, who fights with you and for you. 651s

And so we turn to the parakeet. We turn to the spirit. Let's turn to Romans. Keep your hand here 657s

at Galatians but turn to Romans 6. So you are going to go back past the Corinthians and then into 664s

Romans 6. This is in the middle of that Saint-Cinner discussion that Paul is having. We are going to 672s

pick up at verse 10 where Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit says the death he died, 680s

that is Christ. The death that Christ died, he died to sin once for all. But the life he lives, 689s

he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ. Jesus 696s

therefore do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies to make you obey their passions. 706s

No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God 713s

as those who have been brought from death to life and present your members to God as instruments of 719s

righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you since you are not under law but under grace. 725s

Do not submit to sin. You are not under, remember we've talked so much about that law and gospel 735s

and the laws position and the laws purpose and the laws place. You are under grace in Christ, 744s

which means that you are redeemed and you are free to live in redemption and as a redeemed 753s

person. So you are not under the penalty of eternal death because you are in Christ. 762s

Going back to Galatians chapter 3, you foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? It was before 773s

your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly exhibited as crucified. Luther says that Paul uses sharp 782s

language to call out the Galatians asking if they realize what they've done by falling into the 791s

false teaching of salvation through works. He's saying, Paul, Luther says that Paul is saying that 797s

he's accusing them of crucifying Christ again and again, crucifying him in the heart, 806s

in their hearts they're crucifying him because they're rejecting grace. They're rejecting the grace 813s

that Christ has. They're rejecting the faith that they've been given. They're rejecting the free 820s

remission of sins and seeking salvation through self works instead of Christ's work. 828s

And so Paul is admonishing them and saying, you're crucifying him again. You've seen, you are witness 837s

to what God has done for you. You know what he has done for you. You are not under the law. Quit 845s

trying to find your righteousness in the law. Turn again to Christ. See what Christ has done for you. 855s

Let's go on with verses two through five. The only thing I want to learn from you is this. 866s

Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard? 873s

Are you so foolish having started with the Spirit? Are you now ending with the flesh? 879s

Did you experience so much for nothing? If it really was for nothing, well then, or if it really 885s

was for nothing, well then, does God supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you by 891s

doing the works of the law or by your believing what you have heard? Look at verse two again. 897s

Are you so foolish? The only thing I want to learn from you is this. Did you receive the Spirit 905s

by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard? That's a great, great question 911s

that any Christian can pause and think about and consider. Think about what God has done in your 919s

life. Think about clinging to the work that Christ accomplished on the cross for you. 931s

It's not you're doing. It is his and we know that he has done that because he has made it known to us 942s

and we know we have the Holy Spirit in us because he has gifted it to us. Good people are all around us. 950s

It does not mean that they are filled with the Holy Spirit. 961s

I think again, I really hate that I have family members that I can use as examples. 966s

It just hurts. But by anyone's standards, we would think that these people are good. They're good. 974s

But I know for a fact that they do not have the Holy Spirit in them. That sounds so harsh. 987s

But I would not be surprised if you all can think of someone in your own lives 996s

that you would say, this is a good person. I really, really pray that they will come to know 1003s

Christ so that they can really be good because they have the Holy Spirit and it's his goodness 1010s

that dwells in them. Because our good is nothing. Our good is nothing. It is God who is everything. 1018s

A great example of this is in the Book of Acts. So if you go to the Book of Acts, 1033s

we're going to go just right after the Gospels. The Book of Acts, chapter 10, 1038s

starting in the first verse. And this is that story of Peter and Cornelius. It's that 1047s

encounter they have. In Cessaria, there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian cohort 1055s

as it was called. He was a devout man who feared God with all his household. He gave alms, 1062s

generously to the people and prayed constantly to God. One afternoon at about three o'clock, 1068s

he had a vision in which he clearly saw an angel of God coming in and saying to him, Cornelius, 1073s

he stared at him in terror and said, what is it, Lord? He answered, your prayers and your alms have 1078s

ascended as a memorial before God. Now send men to Japa for a certain Simon who is called Peter. 1083s

He is lodging with Simon a Tanner whose house is by the seaside. When the angel who spoke to him 1089s

had left, he called two of his slaves and a devout soldier from the ranks of those who served him. 1094s

After telling them everything, he sent them to Japa. Now skip down to verse 30. In the meantime, 1098s

or at the same time, Peter is, he has a vision and the sheet comes down from heaven with all animals. 1108s

Lord says, eat. Peter says, no, no, I can't. I've never eaten an unclean thing. The Lord says, 1116s

what I have made, what I have created is not unclean. Then the people from Cornelius come and they say, 1122s

you're supposed to come with us. Then Peter shows up to Cornelius' house. This is where, 1133s

and he asks, why did you send for me? Why did you send for me? Verse 30. Cornelius replied, 1143s

four days ago at this very hour at three o'clock, I was praying in my house when suddenly a man in 1150s

dazzling clothes stood before me. He said, Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have 1155s

been remembered before God. Send therefore to Japa and ask for Simon who is called Peter. He is 1160s

staying in the home of Simon a Tanner by the sea. Therefore, I sent for you immediately and you 1166s

have been kind enough to come. So now all of us are here in the presence of God to listen to all that 1171s

the Lord has commanded you to say. Then Peter preaches. Peter preaches. He tells of Christ and what 1177s

Christ had done. Cornelius before knowing Peter, before knowing of Peter, he had done good things. 1194s

He did acts of praying. He did acts of giving to the poor. The Lord commanded that he should send for 1206s

Peter to hear from Peter. Peter preached Christ crucified. And when he preached Christ crucified, 1215s

if we look at, a bit, a bit, a bit, a bit, a bit, a bit, hold on a second here, where is it? Yes, 1229s

at verse 44, while Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. 1236s

The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit 1243s

had been poured out even on the Gentiles, for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. 1248s

So Cornelius, in all of his acts of prayer, in all of his acts of giving to the poor, 1258s

he was Cornelius. He was who he was. And he was good by world standards, but he was still outside of 1266s

Christ. And so God sent men to preach. Christ crucified. Cornelius believed what he heard. He believed 1278s

and was filled with the Holy Spirit. Peter was doing the talking. Cornelius and everyone that was 1288s

with them, with him, they sat and they listened. They did absolutely nothing. 1295s

But it was through the power of the Holy Spirit. They heard, they believed, they were converted. 1305s

And they were filled with the Holy Spirit. The law does not bring on the Holy Spirit. It's the 1314s

gospel that does that because it's the gospel that conveys the good gifts of God. 1320s

It is the gospel that is the good news. Luther says, we must learn that forgiveness of sins, 1328s

Christ and the Holy Spirit are freely granted unto us at the preaching of faith in spite of our 1335s

sinfulness. We are not to waste time thinking how unworthy we are of the blessings of God. 1343s

We are to know that it pleased God freely to give us his unspeakable gifts. If he offers his gifts 1350s

free of charge, why not take them? Why worry about our lack of worthiness? Why not accept the gifts 1357s

with joy and thanksgiving? God has the gift of salvation for you, paid for by him, delivered to you, 1366s

by him through his word. Why, as Luther says, would we waste time pondering if we're good enough 1384s

or worthy enough to receive this gift? Why wouldn't we then instead hold out our hands and say, 1396s

thank you, Lord Jesus. Thank you for this gift. Thank you for the gift of salvation, the gift of 1408s

forgiveness. We hear it and we believe it and it is ours. Let's go back to Galatians chapter 3. 1418s

Just as Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness, so you see those who believe 1443s

are the descendants of Abraham and the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by 1451s

faith, declared the gospel beforehand to Abraham saying, all the Gentiles shall be blessed in you. 1457s

For this reason, those who believe are blessed with Abraham who believed. In Genesis chapter 15 verse 6, 1463s

it says, and he, that's Abraham, he believed the Lord and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness. 1474s

Abraham believed. He believed the word from the Lord. The first duty of man, Luther said, 1482s

is to believe in God and to honor him with his faith. The first duty of man is to believe in God and 1493s

honor him with their faith. Think of the first commandment. I am the Lord your God. Therefore you 1504s

shall have no other gods. By God's grace, the gift that he gives to us is that we hear how he loves 1511s

us and we can say, you are my God. I will put no other gods before you. Forgive me if and when I do, 1522s

it is our first duty to believe in God and honor him with our faith. Faith is the height of wisdom, 1532s

the right kind of righteousness, the only real religion. 1540s

Luther, and we talked about this before, Luther really struggled. He struggled with what had been 1548s

ingrained in him that that were, that he had to do in order to be righteous. And even as he came 1557s

before the Lord, he would not be righteous enough in his own doing. You know, I think we all 1566s

have experienced that time of like, my brain knows X, but my heart, I don't feel X. So Luther, 1573s

Luther could reason through things. He could grasp them, but his heart still struggled. He still 1585s

longed reason. Faith is absurd. What we know by faith is absurd. That Christ would give his body and 1602s

blood in the Lord's supper. That baptism is the washing of regeneration. That the dead will rise, 1612s

that God was conceived in the womb and born of the Virgin Mary for reason. And to make sense of 1621s

it, according to the world's reason, it's preposterous. Think about the whole last series on the wisdom 1630s

incarnate. The wisdom of God does not make sense to our own reasoning. Thank God, God is wiser. 1639s

Thank God, God is God. Faith is the foremost service rendered to God. Luther says, faith says to God, 1654s

I believe what you say. Faith honors God because faith honors God. And because faith honors God, God 1670s

counts faith as righteousness. Don't make the mistake of turning faith into a law, into an act that we 1681s

can drum up in our own doing. Remember, faith itself is a gift from God. If we get stuck in the whole idea 1694s

of faith as a work, as a work righteousness, a work of righteousness, then we get in the spiral of 1707s

wondering if I have enough faith, big enough faith, and we go in a spiral and talk ourselves or have 1715s

the danger of talking ourselves out of faith. Remember, faith is a gift. God has seen it right to give 1725s

you the gift of faith. You don't have to worry or question why he has chosen you to have that 1736s

gift of faith. He has called you, he has given it to you, he has placed it in your hands, take it, 1743s

receive it. It is yours. No questions asked. No questions needed. It is yours. Two things make for 1751s

Christian righteousness. Faith in Christ, which is a gift from God and God's acceptance of the 1763s

imperfect faith of ours for perfect righteousness. He gives us faith and he counts us righteous. 1771s

The word of the Lord is that you are forgiven. The word of the Lord is that you are redeemed. 1787s

Blessed be to God who gives us the faith where it could be said or written of us. 1796s

They heard the word of the Lord and believed and God counted it as righteousness. 1806s

You are right before the Lord, in and through the blood of Jesus, in a gift of faith that is yours, 1815s

given freely by God. 1825s