Shocking

by Scott Vance on May 06, 2021

Galatians 3.1-9  (ESV)
By Faith, or by Works of 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”?
7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
 
 
Wayne Gretzky, LeBron James, Cristiano Ronaldo, Brett Favre, Willie Mays, Joe Montana, Michael Jordan, Pele, Hank Aaron.  Can you guess what all these famous athletes have in common? 
Every one of them famously left their team to play elsewhere and in doing so broke the hearts of their fans.  To be fair, for some of the players the circumstances were beyond their control, but regardless of the circumstances, the departure of each athlete at the high point of their careers to another team had fans feeling the loss.
 
I was thinking about the shock and disbelief experienced by fans at the loss of their team’s star player as I read this passage.  Paul feels a great sense of loss and frustration at the Galatian believers regarding the report he’s received about their faith.  Paul is pulling no punches as he confronts their actions head-on.  The Galatian believers were off to an incredible start in their faith as they entrusted their lives to Christ alone, but now they are abandoning faith in Christ alone as they buy into the lie that they need to adopt Jewish law and practice (specifically circumcision) in order to be a “real” follower of Jesus.
 
Twice Paul barks at them calling them foolish for abandoning their faith in Christ in order to pursue their own salvation by adopting Jewish law and practice.  We can almost feel Paul’s shock and disbelief at the thought that these believers have lost their minds.
As N.T. Wright notes in his commentary on this passage, “Being a Christian starts and continues as a matter of faith.  The Jewish law has nothing to say to it.”
 
To make his point Paul uses Abraham as his great example.   Paul focuses on the covenant that God made with Abraham, promising him a great family, land, and that all nations will be blessed through Abraham (Genesis 12 and 15).  In Genesis 15:6 we’re told that Abraham believed the promises of God.  What’s critically important to note is that Abraham simply believed God; Abraham did nothing to earn God’s favor or promises.  The law had nothing to do with Abraham’s faith because the law wasn’t written yet and won’t be written for another 430 years (a point Paul will shortly make)!
 
Paul’s point, which he will pick up again as we walk through the rest of Galatians, is this; if you believe the Gospel, if you entrust your life to Christ, you are just like Abraham.  If fact, if you entrust your life to Christ you stand in the line of Abraham and are considered part of that great family tree of faith.  Faith in Christ then is a just that, a matter of faith, of trust; there is no way to earn God’s love, mercy, and forgiveness, one can only receive that which God so freely gives through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of His Son Jesus.
 
My encouragement to you, if you’ll allow me to put it this way, is not to abandon your team!  Don’t exchange your freedom in Christ for any set of rules and regulations.  God loves you and you did nothing to earn, achieve, or attain His love for you.  It’s just a gift, and all you can do simply receive His incredible love and grace.  How will you respond?
 
As Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesians:
Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV)
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
 
God bless you and know that you are constantly in my prayers.
Scott

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