Let's open our Bibles tonight again to the letter of Galatians. Tonight, let's go to chapter 3, and we're looking at the first 9 verses in Galatians chapter 3. May God bless His Word to all of us here tonight for His glory and for our good. O foolish Galatians!

Who hath bewitched you that you should not obey the truth before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth crucified among you? This only would I learn of you. Received you the spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish, having begun in the spirit? Are you now made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain, if it be yet in vain? He, therefore, that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he yet by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness, know you, therefore, that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foresaying that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

And looking at these nine verses tonight, we'll divide them into two parts. The first part, we see a number of questions, a series of questions. And then the second part, we have an example. First of all, a series of questions. And let's be clear in our mind, or let's have this clear in our mind, what these Galatians had done. by embracing the teaching of those that the Apostle Paul had referred to as false brethren in chapter 2 and verse 14.

Now, he called them brethren, false brethren. He called them brethren because they professed to be in the family of God. But in their teaching, it's obvious that they were not members of the family of God. They denied the gospel, the pure gospel of the grace of God. How did they deny it? They denied it by adding, by adding the keeping of the law, being circumcised and come under the law. And Paul was astonished. He was astonished. That's what I pick up in reading these first few verses. He was astonished at what had happened and happened so quickly among these believers.

John Gill put it like this, to leave Christ for Moses, the gospel for the law, and the doctrine of free justification by the righteousness of Christ, which brings so much solid peace and comfort with it, for the doctrine of justification by the works of the law, which naturally leads to bondage. It seems unreal, doesn't it, that they would leave the pure gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and take up the law of Moses as though a person had to submit to the law, come under the law, keep the law, and become a Jew, basically. That's what they were teaching. to become a Jew, to be not Christianity but Judaism is what these false teachers were desiring. I've been reading through the book of Jeremiah and I thought of this passage in Jeremiah chapter 2, for my people, God speaking to the nation of Israel through the prophet Jeremiah, for my people have committed two evils.

They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water. Just picture that in your mind. Have you ever drank from a spring or maybe an artesian well? Have you ever seen an artesian well where water just flowing usually in force out of the ground? It's just coming forth. or maybe you come to a spring and water's just bubbling out and it's clear and it's refreshing.

Well, that's the comparison that God makes here with the nation of Israel by them leaving Him, forsaking Him, that's the first evil, and hewing out. You know, to hew out, that speaks of work, doesn't it? You take a log or something and you hew it out, or stone or rock, and hew it out with a chisel, and it speaks of works. You've left me the fountain of living waters, and you've hewn out cisterns, broken cisterns, cisterns which can hold no water.

What a picture of what these Galatians were doing. and forsaking the gospel, the pure gospel of the grace of God, for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourself. It's through the work of Christ and Christ alone. If we add anything to his work, we pollute it. Why? Because we, by nature, are sinful.

It's like in the law, when God gave the law, one of the first things God told the nation of Israel when they came out of Egypt, if you make me an altar, you don't raise your tool on it. You don't raise your tool on that altar. You just take some stones, and usually that's the way they made altars, right? They would take 12 stones for the 12 tribes of Israel and stack them up.

That's the way God commanded. But if you try to chisel that, try to square that, try to make that very ornamental and very beautiful to appeal to the flesh, it may appeal to the flesh of man, but it doesn't to God. And the same thing is true when men add to the person and work of Jesus Christ.

I don't care what it is. I don't care what it is. I remember one time someone said something to Pastor Scott Richardson and said, is Christ all I need? And Scott said, if he's all you have. If he's all you have, yeah. But you add anything to Christ? No. No, you don't do that. Well, that was a danger here. And I would point this out. Back in our text, you still have your Bibles open there when Paul says, oh foolish Galatians. Have you ever wondered about that, him using that word foolish, oh foolish Galatians?

Well, he used it in the same sense that the Lord Jesus Christ used the same word, the same Greek Aramaic word, when he met those two disciples on the road to Emmaus and he said, oh fools, and slow of heart to believe. The word fools here literally means unaware, unaware.

It's a different word if you have a concordance and wanna look it up. In the Sermon on the Mouth, the Lord Jesus Christ warned about calling someone a fool, remember? In fact, this is what it says. Whosoever shall say thou fool shall be in danger of hell fire. But what I'm saying and pointing out to us tonight is simply this, it's a different word.

In English, it's a fool, yes, but it's a different Greek word. And that word there in Matthew, according to Robert Hawker, it might be much like reprobate, calling someone a reprobate. Don't ever call anyone a reprobate. A reprobate is someone that God's passed over, someone that God hasn't chosen. to know Christ, to be saved. And until a person leaves this world, you don't know what God may do in that person's life.

As long as there's breath, there's hope, isn't there? That's the way I believe. Well, let's look. There's five questions here, a series of questions. First of all, who hath bewitched you? The fact that Jesus Christ had been set before them in the preaching of the gospel in such a clear way.

It could not have been clearer. Here the apostle Paul had preached the gospel to them, and it had been preached in such a way, Paul says, as if you were actually there at the cross. When you heard me preaching Christ, it couldn't have been clearer than if you had stood at the cross and watched and saw Him there suffering and dying in the stead of his people. The preaching that you've heard couldn't have been any clearer than what you've received.

How could you doubt that he died for man, that he died as a substitute for his people, that he died that we might live, that he died the death that I deserve? He lived the life that I need to live, and he died the death that I need to die. They had not actually witnessed his dying, that's true, but the object of his death, they had the fullest knowledge.

Paul says, who's bewitched you? In other words, and in society like I can imagine, Galatia may have been, I mean, we're talking about pagans, pagans that had believed in all kinds of superstitions and casting spells and magic and all that stuff. Who hath bewitched you? Ask them. It's as though someone cast a spell upon you, someone used some magic arts upon you for you to turn away from the pure gospel, that you should not obey the truth.

They seem to be off from the truth here of justification by the imputed righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ unto all who believe. We read that verse in Hebrews chapter 11 that speaks about Abel. How was Abel made righteous? Well, the scripture tells us, right, by faith. By faith. Faith did not do the work of redemption, no. But faith is a connecting link between the person and Christ. Yes. That was a, I said this last week, the solos of the Reformation. The soul of Christ, soul of faith, soul of scripture, soul of grace, remember? Yes. Well, that was the first question. Who hath bewitched you? Who hath bewitched you? The second question is, how did you receive the Holy Spirit? Verse two. This only, as though this would settle it, right here. This one thing. Sounds like that. But this is not all he's going to say. But it does seem like that, doesn't it? This will settle it right here. This only would I learn of you. How?

Receive you the Holy Spirit, receive you the Spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Now, it appears that Paul assumed that they had received the Holy Spirit. There's no question about that. He believed that these people were saved had received the Holy Spirit, but they were turning away from the truth. Here's the question Paul puts to them.

Was it under the preaching of the gospel? Was it under the preaching of the gospel of Christ or by your obedience to the law of Moses that God the Holy Spirit worked in your heart? We sang one of the hymns a while ago, I Know Whom I Have Believed. And one of those verses tells, I know not how, saving faith to me he did impart. It's a mystery, isn't it? The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof. But you can't tell from whence it comes or where it's going. That's the new birth.

But what does God use? Does He use the preaching of the law, the teaching of the law? The law is a ministration of death. The law tells us that we're sinners. It can show us our problem, right? It can show us that. But there's no remedy. It'd be just like going to a doctor who's an excellent doctor as far as diagnosing sicknesses and he can look at you and do some tests and tell you this is what your problem is. Well, what's the cure? I don't know anything about that. That's not my department. No. The law. Yes, it points out that we're sinners. It may slay us, but it cannot give us life.

And yet it is, and it's a mystery, I understand this, it's a mystery how that under the preaching of the gospel, the hearing of faith, that God, the Holy Spirit, He communicates into the hearts of His elect people. He conveys Himself into the hearts of His people. That's what the new birth is, isn't it? And most often, it is under the preaching of the God. Sure isn't under the teaching of the law. Sure isn't there. Most often, I know sometimes people are saved apart from preaching, but that's, how shall they believe in whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?

God has chosen, and I think I'm, said this in the message last Sunday morning, but here's the thing. It shows that the power, the excellency of the power is of God. It's not in the clay pot. It's not in the preacher. No, but God uses man preaching the gospel to show that the excellency of the power is of God. It's God who does it. It's God who must be praised. It's God who must be exalted. Paul said, this is the only thing I'm asking you.

How did the Holy Spirit come into your life, do a work of grace in your heart? Under the teaching of the law or under the preaching of the gospel? His third question, how are you to continue? Verse 3, are you so foolish? How are you going to continue now that you've been Saved by the grace of God, having begun in the spirit, are you now made perfect by the flesh?

How did you first come to Christ? As you have therefore received him, we read in Colossians, so we are to follow him. How did you first come to Christ? You came convicted as a poor, needy sinner. That's the way we should always come. You know, there's three comings to Christ. There's three comings to Christ. First of all, there's an initial coming when we first come to Christ and join to Christ by faith and His Spirit in us. But then there's this continual coming.

We come to Him every day, don't we? I mean, every morning, every afternoon, every evening, we're continually coming to Christ. And if we confess our sins, faithful and just to forgive us our sins. And aren't we doing that every day? Confessing our need of Christ? And how did we come at the first? We came as a needy sinner. How do we come today? As a needy sinner. Nothing changed. No, we're still just as you began in the spirit. Now are you going to be perfected in the flesh, the work of the flesh?

And there's a third coming to Christ in death, in death. When he comes for us, that's his promise, isn't it? That he would not leave us here in this world, but he would come for us in John chapter 14. That where he is, we may be also. Or the rapture, one of these days he's coming back And according to 1 Thessalonians 4, all of the elect, all of the saved are gonna be caught up along with the resurrected bodies of the saints who have gone before us. They'll come back with him, their soul, their spirit, but they'll be joined to their new body. But those who are alive and remain till the coming of Christ will be caught up to do what? To meet him. to meet him in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. So there's several comings to Christ, but Paul makes it clear. How did you come at first? That's the way you keep coming. I have no more in myself to bring him now. You say, well, you've been trying to preach for a long time now, preacher.

So what? So what? I would not dare think that that's any grounds for acceptance with God, anything I've ever done. Would you? Of course not. Christ, he's our acceptance. Here's the fourth question. Have you suffered so many things in vain? Have you? Now, we take it for granted that these Galatians had suffered.

If you look in chapter 5, this verse over here in verse 11, where Paul said, and I, brethren, Galatians 5 and verse 11, and I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why? Why do I yet suffer persecution? In other words, if I preach the law, why? I wouldn't have any problems with these Judaizers. They would love me. They would accept what I'm preaching. No. The reason he suffered persecution was because of the message that offended.

And the gospel is offensive, isn't it? It is offensive to the natural man. To the saved man, he loves the gospel. But to a natural man, the gospel is very offensive because it shows man his need of Christ. His only hope is Christ. Well, have you suffered so many things in vain? Like I said, Paul, it seems knew these people had suffered. Now, if you deny the gospel of the grace of God, if you turn back to the law and substitute that in the place of the pure gospel, then all the suffering you did for the gospel is going to be in vain. It's in vain.

And here's the fifth question. What about the special gifts of the Spirit, in verse 5? He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Now, several weeks ago, I mentioned that there were four requirements for any apostle. And remember, one of those requirements was he could lay hands upon believers and the Holy Spirit would fall upon them. And there were many gifts that were given unto them.

Now, we read the New Testament and we find that dealt with more in 1 Corinthians 12, 13, and 14 than anywhere else. But we shouldn't assume that these gifts were not in the other churches, like the churches of Galatia. The only reason we hear about these gifts, miracles and gift of healing, gift of speaking in tongues, gift of prophecy, those gifts that are given there, the only reason we hear about those in 1 Corinthians is because they were misusing the gifts. That's the only reason. But I assume that in these churches of Galatia that some of these gifts, he calls miracles here.

He that worketh miracles among you. How does he do that? Is that man that works these miracles that has those various gifts, is he a man that teaches the law? Brings men under the law of Moses to be saved? Or is he a gospel preacher? Well, Paul, of course, we know that he had that gift of an apostle. And no doubt, when he was in these churches, there were others who received these gifts. And it wasn't from the teachers that taught obedience to the law of Moses. Again, some of the writers, they combine this verse, verse 5, with verse 3, but Paul made a difference, I believe. And I think we should.

I believe that in verse 3, he's talking about salvation. How did God reveal Christ in you? When you were listening to someone teach about the law or when you heard the gospel? Did the Holy Spirit come into your heart? give you a new life. And here, I believe he's speaking about these special gifts. Well, there's five questions. Let me mention the example in the last few verses here.

Even as Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Now, the point here is when did Abraham live? He lived a long time. I think later in this letter he'll say 430 years. He lived a long time before the law was given to Moses on Mount Sinai.

And that's the reason I asked you when I read the scripture there in Hebrews chapter 11 to remember that phrase about Enoch. He had this testimony. What was it? He pleased God. He pleased by faith. Yes, he walked with God. He knew God. He was justified by the righteousness of Christ like everyone else who's justified, being imputed unto them by faith. But he had this testimony. He walked with God and God took him. But his testimony was he pleased God.

And the point I'm making is he pleased God without the law. He never had the law, Moses. And these people today who would tell us that the Ten Commandments, the law of Moses there, is a rule for the Christian life. How about these men who lived before the law and their testimony was that they pleased God without having the law? Yes. Law can command. It's only Christ, the love of Christ, that constrains people to live as we should live. It's not someone with a whip, so to speak, using the law.

If you don't do this, God's gonna strike you dead, or God's gonna, if you don't give your tithes, God's gonna take your refrigerator out, or you know, all that stuff that people talk about. That's not God's way. God's way is to show us Christ, what he's done for us. And if that doesn't move us to serve him, to love him, to honor him, then nothing else would and be acceptable to God.

You know, it says here that Abraham knew verse 8, and the scripture foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith. In other words, when God told Abraham, in thy seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. And Abraham realized that the Messiah that would come through him, the seed that was promised, that he would not only reconcile and save Abraham's physical descendants, that is Israelites, but also Gentiles, those of the nations, other nations, all the nations of the earth would be blessed in him.

William Tyndale, one of the first men to translate the Bible into English, what a wonderful testimony that man left. Read his life. Read his biography. What a blessing. What he suffered. What he went through for the people, English speaking people to have the scripture in their own language. How he was hated, persecuted. They hated him so much after they killed him and buried him. Then later they dug up his bones and burned them and took the ashes and threw them in the river. But this is how he translated that verse.

He showed beforehand glad tidings unto Abraham. And I looked, I couldn't find it, but I looked for the way William Tyndale translated the word gospel. But it's glad tidings of great joy that makes you dance and sing and shout, I'm in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Good news, good news for sinners. May the Lord bless His word to us here this evening.