We're in kidnapper. I've entitled this message, five
questions for the foolish. When Paul says to the Galatians
in verse three of Galatians three, Are you so foolish? Having begun in the spirit, are
you now made perfect, completed by the flesh? Are you that foolish? You know what the answer is?
Yes. Every one of us have been guilty of doing this. Every one of us. We have a fallen nature which
amazingly is self-righteous. Isn't that amazing that any of
us could be self-righteous? That's an oxymoron, isn't it?
For a sinful man to actually be self-righteous, and yet every
one of us are filled with it. Self-righteousness. Sinful self-righteousness. Now, Paul is attacking our sinful
self-righteousness with five rhetorical questions. A rhetorical
question is a statement disguised as a question. And Paul is, in
fact, making five statements concerning genuine faith. In
those five verses, each one is a statement with regard to what
genuine faith actually is. And he contrasts this with our
trust in human nature and its works. And by putting these things
in these questions, he's causing us to think these things out
for ourselves and draw some obvious conclusions. Now, here are the
five questions. Verse one, O foolish Galatians,
who has bewitched you? Who's cast a spell on you that
you should not obey the truth? before whose eyes Jesus Christ
has been evidently set forth, crucified among you? There's
the first question. Here's the second question. This only would
I learn of you. Did you receive the Spirit by
the works of the law, by your obedience, by your works, or
were you given the Spirit through faith, the hearing of faith,
the gospel? He says in verse three, are you
so foolish? Having begun in the spirit, are
you now made perfect by the flesh? Are you justified by grace, but
you're sanctified by works? Are you really that foolish to
believe that? Here's the fourth question. Have
you suffered so many things in vain? He's talking about how
they had suffered for the gospel at one time. Was it all in vain
if it be yet in vain? And here's the fifth question.
He therefore that ministers to you the Spirit, and that word
ministers is supplies, he gives you the Spirit, streams of mercy
never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise. Now he that
gives you the Spirit and works miracles among you, And that's
talking about miracles of salvation. Yes, they had the ability during
that time to perform supernatural miracles, all the ones that the
apostles laid hands on, but I don't think that's what he's talking
about. These works of power are works of salvation. He that worketh
miracles among you, doth he it by the works of the law in response
to your works of obedience or by the hearing of faith? Now remember, Paul is grieved
over them leaving the grace of Christ to another gospel. Look back in chapter one, verse
six. I marvel, I'm amazed that you're so soon removed from him
that called you to the grace of Christ unto another gospel. Now, Paul says, oh foolish Galatians,
who has cast this spell on you? Now, if I begin to preach works
and error from this pulpit, I'm wrong. Shame on me. What wickedness. And if I preach
works and error from this pulpit and you receive it, shame on
you. It's your fault. You've got the
Bible to see whether or not what I'm saying is true. You can find
out. I mean, you've got this Word,
and you can know. So, he's saying, why have you
let whoever's done this cast this spell on you? How have you
become bewitched like this? He says, O foolish Galatians,
who have bewitched you that you should not obey the truth. And
here's what the truth is. Before whose eyes Jesus Christ
has been evidently set forth, crucified among you. Now, Christ
crucified is truth. Christ crucified is the whole
counsel of God. I mean, every message that I bring, every message
you hear, ought to have this as its sum and its substance.
Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Whatever the subject is, it's
Christ and Him crucified, isn't it? Paul says, He has been evidently
set forth, crucified among you. And I think of the cross. I touched on this last week.
Who died? It's Christ that died. It's the
Son of God. It's the God-Man. It's the Creator. It's the Second Person of the
Blessed Trinity. That's who died. And that's what gives efficacy
to everything He does. It's because of who died. Why
did He die? Well, let me give you two reasons
why He died. Jesus Christ actually died. The
Son of God was nailed to a cross and died. And let me tell you
why He died. First of all, because it was the purpose of God. Him
being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God. You have taken Him with wicked hands of crucified and
slain. Second reason He died is because of sin. That's only
one reason for death. Sin. The sins of God's elect
actually became His sin. That's, to me, that is so mysterious,
that my sin actually became His sin. He bore it in His own body
on the tree, and that's why the Father forsook Him. That's why
the wrath of God came on Him. Now, for whom did He die? That
question always has to be asked because if we present His death
in a universal way, the way most religion does, we take away the
meaning of it. For whom did He die? He died
for the elect. He died for those the Father
gave Him. He died for those who believe. He died for sinners. Oh, I love that. I even love
the way that sounds. He died for sinners. Why would we ever want to cloud
up his glorious atonement? For whom did he die? That question
has to be answered or we make his death meaningless. Now somebody
that preaches universal redemption, Jesus Christ, shed his blood
for everybody, made salvation available for everybody, does
not preach the gospel. It's not there. Now what did
Christ crucify? This one hanging on a tree there
according to His Father's purpose there for sin. What did He accomplish
by His death? Remember Paul said Jesus Christ
and Him crucified has been evidently set forth, crucified among you.
What did He accomplish by His death? I love thinking about
this. By one offering, He hath perfected forever them that are
sanctified. That's what He accomplished.
He perfected forever them that are sanctified. He put away the
sins of all of those for whom He died. He has appeared once
in the end of the world to put away sin by the sacrifice of
Himself. Do you know what that means?
That means, I don't have sin. I always have a heavy heart because
of my sin, don't you? I mean, you see, it's always
there. It's always there. But it's not there. It's gone
because He put it away. Actually, literally, really,
I have no sin by the accomplishments of His death. That's what He
accomplished. The complete putting away of the sin of everybody
He died for. Beloved, if He died for you,
I don't care what you feel like or what you're thinking, you
don't have any sin before God. Is that wonderful or what? What's He doing right now? Where
is He? Where is He? It's Christ that died, yea rather
that's risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who
also maketh intercession for us. Where is He? He's at the
right hand of God, ruling and reigning right now in control
of everything and everybody. And He's making intercession.
And remember, His intercession isn't Same old father, forgive
him again, he did it again. No, he pleads justice. All he
shows is his hands and feet and that's all that must be said.
He pleads his own glorious work, his own death. Now Jesus Christ
has been evidently set forth as crucified among you. Now,
what is it to not obey the truth? It's to not trust him as all
that's needed. to make you perfect before God.
That's all it is. It's to not trust Him as all
that's needed to make you right now, present tense, and forevermore
perfect before God without spot, wrinkle, or any such thing. Do
you trust Christ, who He is, and what He did to make you that
way right now before the Father? And to not do so is to look to
your works in some way. And these next four questions
demonstrate how that's where the Galatians were going. As
a matter of fact, I think the very summary of the entire book
is found in verse 3. Are you so foolish, having begun
in the Spirit, that you are now made perfect by the flesh? But
let's look at this second question. This only would I learn of you.
Receive ye the Spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing
of faith. Now the receiving of the Spirit
is being born again. That's what it means. If you
receive the Spirit, that means you've been born from above.
You've been given a new nature. God the Holy Spirit has birthed
you into the kingdom of heaven. What a glorious thought. Now,
did you receive the Spirit because of your works of obedience and
God gave him to you or by the hearing of faith. Now, the word
hearing of faith is actually just another name for the gospel.
The word hearing there is not a verb. It's a noun. The gospel
is called the hearing of faith. I love that. I love the different
names that God gives the gospel. That's a good one. And he said,
did you receive the spirit as a result of God giving it to
you because of the things you did? Or did you receive the spirit
because of the gospel? Now in the law, all you have
is fallen nature, the flesh, attempting to do what it can
never do, keep the law. That's all you got. The hearing
of faith is another name for the gospel. And it doesn't mean
that you first heard and then you received or were born again.
You heard and then you were born again. Doesn't mean that at all.
You received the spirit. Because in the gospel, Christ
died for you, and God gave you the Spirit, and you were enabled
to hear the gospel. That's how you received the Spirit
of God. It wasn't that you did something
to give Him. He gave Him to you for Christ's
sake. Now, in receiving the Spirit, in being born again, you're granted
life. You know, 2 Peter 1 verse 4 says
we're partakers of the divine nature. That's another mysterious,
glorious thing. If you've received the Spirit,
that means you have the divine nature in you. That's what loves
God. That's what believes the Gospel. That's what loves your
brother. The Spirit you've received, the
new nature that you've received, that's You were dead in sins,
and you couldn't do any of these things. And He gave you His Spirit,
you received Him, you were born from above. Now, He says, this
only I know to know. Now you know, if you believe,
if you're a believer, you know the only reason you believe is
because of the Holy Spirit, don't you? You know it's His work in you. You
say, with Paul I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and
the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of
the Son of God. And you know that. You know if you repent,
it's because of God the Holy Spirit causing you to do it in
the new birth. If you love God, you know that's
His gift, that's His work in you. Don't you know that? You
know none of this comes from your flesh. I hope we know that.
He said to the Galatians, evidently, they're thinking, differently. Because he said, I want to know,
did you receive God the Holy Spirit because of some work you
performed, or because you believed, or you repented, or you did something,
or did you receive the Holy Spirit because of the gospel? Verse 3, third question, similar. Are you so foolish, having begun in the Spirit? Are you now made perfect by the
flesh? Having begun in the Spirit, that's where your spiritual life
began. It didn't begin when you heard
some preacher. That's not really when it began.
It didn't begin when you did something. You began, your spiritual
life began when God said live and you lived. You know that
so don't you? You've begun in the Spirit. Your
life, the spiritual life you had, is not a result of anything
you have done. It's God willing you to live. I love thinking about that. To
as many as received Him, to them gave you the power to become
the sons of God, even to them which believe in His name, which
were born, not of blood, not of the will of the flesh, not
of the will of man, but of God. God said, live, and you live. you began in the Spirit. Our spiritual life didn't begin
with our proper use of the means. Our spiritual life didn't begin
with our will. Our spiritual life began with
God's will. Now, are you saved by grace,
but now you go on and through your works and efforts, you become
complete and become perfect and you become finished. Progressive
sanctification is what that's talking about. Progressive sanctification. Now you're justified by grace,
but you're sanctified by your works of obedience to the law.
Are you so foolish, you said, having the gun in the spirit?
having begun in the Spirit, the Spirit of God, giving you life. Are you now made perfect by the
flesh? Now, we begin with the Holy Spirit
regenerating us, don't we? It's the Spirit that quickeneth,
our Lord said. The flesh profits nothing. Now,
don't you know that so? That the flesh profits nothing
in the new birth. It's the Spirit that gives life.
It's the Spirit that quickeneth. The flesh profiteth nothing.
And when we're quickened, we're made to see we're completely
unable to save ourselves. You know when Brian was reading
that scripture from Ezekiel 34. I was just thinking, Lord, be
my shepherd. Save me. Seek me. Keep me. I
need him to be my shepherd. I've gone astray like a lost
sheep, David said. Seek thy servant. I don't forget thy word. When
God gives you spiritual life, the first thing you find out
is that you cannot save yourself. You can't do anything to save
yourself, and you're utterly in His hands. You can't do anything
but sin. You know when a sheep is lost,
it might not know it's lost, but that first bleat, that first
bleat, You know, the Savior's already seeking that sheep. Didn't
know it yet. But oh, how I need the Lord to
be my shepherd, to seek me out. Now, we're made to see, we are
completely unable to save ourselves. We cry with Job, behold, I'm
vile. Isaiah said, woe is me, I'm undone. Paul said, I'm the chief of sinners.
Peter said, depart from me, I'm a sinful man, oh Lord. That's
what happens when you have a new nature. You see, it takes a new
nature to see the old nature. As long as all you have is an
old nature, you can't see your sinfulness. When somebody thinks,
oh, they're just talking, he just talked so much about sin,
it's because you have a new nature. If you had a new nature, this
spiritual nature, you would understand something about this thing of
sin. But not only does God the Holy Spirit teach us we're sinners,
God the Holy Spirit makes us to see that although we can't
save ourselves, he is mighty to save. He says, look unto me
and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth. You know, I look
that word ends of the earth up. It's said quite often in Isaiah.
You know what it means? Nothings. Look unto me, all ye
nothings." People that have nothing to bring to the table. People
that have nothing to commend themselves. He says, look unto
me and be ye saved. You're made to see that who Christ
is and what he did is all that's needed to save you. In other
words, you believe the gospel. Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
Paul and Silas replied, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and
thou shalt be saved. And that's what you do. You believe
on the Lord. First of all, you believe He's
the Lord. Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Lord? Do
you believe He's Lord of all, Lord of everything, absolutely
in control? He's Jesus. Thou shalt call His name Jesus,
for He shall save His people from their sins. Do you believe
He's the Savior? Do you believe he has the power to save you
with no contributions from you at all? He's the Christ. He's
God's Christ. God's prophet. The Word of God.
God's priest. The one who, if He brings me
into the Father's presence, I must be accepted. He's God's King.
The one who rules and reigns. The one who can cause me to do
His will. The one who can cause me to believe.
The one who can cause me to continue in the faith. Now that's what
happens when people begin in the Spirit. God gives them life. Now, Paul says, Are you so foolish,
having begun in the Spirit? Are you now made perfect by the
flesh? Now, the work of the Spirit is to cause you to not look to
yourself or your works or your flesh to make you perfect, to
make you complete, to make you continue. Turn with me. I want
to look at a couple of scriptures. Turn to Colossians chapter 1. You're not saved by grace, but
you grow through your works. Doesn't work that way. You're
not saved by grace and you become more saved or more complete by
the things you do. It doesn't work that way. Look
in Colossians chapter one, verse 22. Or verse 21, and you that were sometimes
alienated, and enemies in your mind by wicked works. Yet now
hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death to
present you holy and unblameable and unapprovable in his sight.
Does it get any better than that? Holy, unblameable and unapprovable
in the very sight of God. But look at this next verse,
verse 23. If you continue in the faith, grounded and settled,
and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel. Look in Colossians
chapter 2 verse 6. As you therefore receive Christ
Jesus the Lord. How did you receive him? Rock of ages, cleft for me, let
me hide myself in thee. Let the water and the blood from
thy riven side which flowed be of sin the double cure. Save
from wrath and make me pure. Nothing in my hands I bring,
simply to thy cross I cling. That's how you received him.
When you received him, you didn't have any kind of experience to
trust in. You didn't have any good works. You didn't have anything.
You received him as all, didn't you? You were nothing, and he
was all, and you loved it that way. You loved being saved by
his righteousness only. That's how you received him.
Now, what's he say next? As you therefore have received
Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. Don't move a hair's
breadth from that. The way you received him, that's
the way you walk. Walking in the gospel. Look in
Hebrews chapter three. Verse six, but Christ as a son
over his own house, whose house are we if, if, there's that word
again, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope
firm unto the end. You know the only thing I have
confidence in is who Christ is and what he did. But you don't
think I have confidence in him? I don't have any confidence in
myself? I really don't! I don't have any... All I have
confidence in is who he is and what he did. You have confidence
in... We have confidence in who he
is and what he did. I don't have any confidence in
anything else. You know, Paul put it this way
in Philippians chapter 3 verse 3, he said, we're the circumcision,
which worship God in the spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and
have no confidence in the flesh. All of our confidence is in him. And the rejoicing of the hope. What's my hope? Now, my hope,
I can so easily tell you exactly what my hope is. My hope is that
Jesus Christ died for my sins. That's the only hope I have of
being accepted by God, that Christ lived for me, and that Christ
died for me, and He was raised for me. That's my hope, and what
a blessed hope it is! What a blessed hope He is! Now,
I'm to hold on to that hope, firm to the end. Isn't there anything else? Nope. Nope. That's the life of faith. Look in verse 14 of this same
chapter. For we are made partakers of
Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence. You know what
the beginning of our confidence is? Steadfast unto the end. Now, the only way I'm going to
grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ, is by staying right here and never graduating past that,
never wanting to be past that. You know, it's so sweet to be
a nothing and Him being all, isn't it? So sweet. Looking to Christ is the only
way I will be perfected. That's it. He said, now, are
you so foolish having begun in the spirit that you're now made
perfect by the flesh? Now, there's all kinds of how-tos. Here's
how you grow. Here's how you get better. You do this and you
do that. You read more. You pray more. You witness more.
You deny yourself more. All these different formulas
people can use to grow and get better and so on. Look to Christ only. It's simple. I love the simplicity. It's one thing to do. Look to
the Lamb of God. And then he says in verse 4,
here's the fourth question back into our text in Galatians chapter
3. Have you suffered so many things
in vain if it be yet in vain. There was a time, Paul said,
when you believed and were even persecuted for your faith, and
those days are over. It's not like that anymore. Was all this in vain? I thought
of Hebrews chapter 10, if you'll turn there for a moment, Hebrews
chapter 10. Verse 32, he says to the Hebrews,
but call to remembrance the former days in which after you were
illuminated, I love that, you were given light. God taught
you the gospel. You were given light to see who
you are and who he is and how he saves by Christ. And during
that time you endured a great fight of afflictions. Partly
whilst you were made a gazing stalk, both by reproaches and
afflictions, and partly while you became companions of them
that were so used, you wouldn't be identified with those people.
For you had compassion of me and my bonds, and took joyfully
the spoiling of your goods. Their goods were confiscated,
their property, knowing in yourselves that you have in heaven a better
and an enduring substance. Cast not away therefore your
confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For you
have need of patience, that after you have done the will of God
you might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he
that shall come will come and will not tarry, neither just
shall live by what? Faith. Not works. Faith. Now, the just shall live
by faith, but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure
in him. Draw back from living just by
faith. But we're not of them who draw
back unto perdition, but of to them that believe to the saving
of the soul. Now, he says that persecution
you used to experience, was it nothing? What's happened to you? Are you leaving, is what he's
saying. Now, here's the last question, verse five. He therefore that ministereth
to you the Spirit." And that word ministereth is generally
translated supplies. He supplies you the Spirit of
God. You know we, the Holy Spirit never leaves us. He's always
supplied. Now we grieve him. Scripture
says that, doesn't it? We can quench him. We can quench
his influences through our unbelief, through our sin, and so on. Isn't
it horrible that we do grieve him? He's the Holy Spirit, and
we can grieve him, but you know what? He will never leave us. He's continually supplied. Every drop of faith I have, it's
his work in me. Every bit of love I have to the
Lord, or even you, is His work in me. And He is continually
supplied, He is promised. One of the promises of the Gospel
is we'll always have His Spirit. I love that passage of Scripture
in Hebrews chapter 13, verse 5, where it says, let your conversation
be without covetousness, and be content with such things as
you have. Well, what do you have? You have
the Holy Spirit. You have the Spirit of God. You
have Christ. You have His righteousness. You
have the promise of eternal life. Now, be content with such things
as you have. For He has said, God the Father,
God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, I will never leave thee,
nor forsake thee. Now, the fact that God the Holy
Spirit is continually supplied to you, is that because of your
works? or because of the gospel? Does he continue with you because
of all your good works and how much you read the Bible and all
the things you do, or is he given to you because of the hearing
of faith? And once again, that's a name
for the gospel, the hearing of faith. Faith cometh by hearing,
doesn't it? Comes through the ear hole into the heart. Did you receive the spirit? by
because of your personal obedience to certain rules? Or were you
given this, do you continually give the Spirit because salvation
is continually by grace? Notice it says, he therefore
that ministers to you the Spirit and worketh miracles among you. Now, back then, they could work
miracles. Before the full canon of scripture,
everybody that the apostles laid their hands on were given the
ability to work miracles. They could speak in other languages,
they could heal the sick, raise the dead in some occasions, and
those gifts of miracles were in operation in the early church. Now, when the apostles died,
there wasn't anybody left who could lay hands on people and
transfer those gifts, so the gifts were gone, and they're
no longer needed. And I've actually thought it
would be nice if I could work miracles. It seems like there'd be advantage
if I could do that. It'd be nice, but evidently it's
not necessary because I can't do it. But what Paul is talking
about, the word miracle is a work of power. A work of power. What work of power that gave
you spiritual life? Now is that a miracle? That you
have the life of God in your soul? What about the miracle
of you persevering in the faith? The fact that you continue to
believe, that you continue to look to Christ, that you continue
to love His salvation. What a mighty miracle. What a
work of power it was in putting away your sin. Making it to where it's non-existent.
What a work of power that you have a holy nature that does
not sin. Now, is that miraculous? Is that
a work of God's power? Now, He that does these works
of miracles among you, giving you life, keeping you, preserving
you, giving you eyes to see the glory of Christ, causing you
to actually trust Jesus Christ as your all, and believe the
gospel. What a work! What a mighty, powerful
work! Now, did He do this to you in
response to some kind of works you performed? Or did He do it
because of the gospel? Now, what the Galatians were
doing, They were saying, yes, we're saved by grace, but we're
perfected by our works. The songwriter said, it took
a miracle to put the stars in place. It took a miracle to hang
the world in place. But when he saved my soul, cleansed
and made me whole. It took a miracle of love and
grace. Now, these miracles are not a
response to our works. It's a response to Christ. Paul said in Galatians 2 verse
19, and I hope this is our motto. For I, through the law, through
the law being fully honored by the Lord Jesus Christ, He kept
the law perfectly. And He answered all of the demands
of justice. I died. I was crucified with
Christ. Remember, he didn't say, Christ
was crucified for me. He said, I was crucified with
Christ. He's talking about his union with him. He says, for
I through the law am dead to the law. Law has nothing to say
to me that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by
the faith of the Son of God, the one who loved me and gave
himself for me. I don't frustrate, I don't disannul,
I don't render void, I don't make meaningless the grace of
God for righteousness. And isn't that what we want?
Righteousness, perfect righteousness before God. If righteousness
came by the law, then what Christ did was a waste of time. He died
utterly in vain. Oh, may this be my motto. I'm crucified with Christ. Nevertheless
I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life that
I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God,
who loved me and gave himself for me. Now here is how the life
of the believer is to be carried out, perfected. unto Jesus, the author and the
finisher of our faith. Not going to be perfected any
other way, but by looking to the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's
pray. Lord, we're amazed that we're
so soon removed that we could actually think that our flesh
can carry us through? Lord, would you tenderly, graciously, for Christ's
sake, drive away that wicked self-righteousness that's always
beating us down and keeping us from resting in thy dear Son? Lord, we don't want to see how
sinful we are. That's something that only you
know. We don't, we're not asking that we can see how bad we are.
We don't want to know how bad we are. But Lord, we want to
know enough that will cause us to look only to you, only to
thy son. Lord, make these more than just
words. Create in us a clean heart, oh
God, and renew a right spirit within us. Bless your word for
Christ's sake, in his name we pray, amen. I'd ask Diane to
sing that song.