Let's read together Galatians
chapter 3. Have you got it there? Verse
1, O foolish Galatians, who hath deceived you, who hath bewitched
you, who hath cast a spell upon you that you should not obey
God's truth, God's Word, God's Gospel? Before whose eyes the
Lord Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you. How was He crucified among them?
through the preaching of the gospel. Paul clearly set forth
before them in the preaching of the gospel the person of Christ,
that He is God in the flesh and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, as the apostle here, as
he writes to these people, he wants the best for them. He's
interested in helping them. He sees that they're sliding
into error. He sees this and He knows this
and He hears of this as He's in Rome at this time. And He
hears of these things that are happening, how they're being
moved away from the gospel of God's grace. And how these legalizers,
these Judaizers are trying to persuade them that the Lord Jesus
Christ is not enough in salvation. And He writes back to them as
a loving, pastor, sent of God, desiring their good, trying to
help them. And God's preachers are interested
in helping the sheep of Christ to understand the Word of God,
to instruct them in the way of grace, and to teach the Word
of God. I desire the best for you. and for the best for this
ministry. And as such, the Word of God
gives us warnings, warnings and encouragements in the way throughout
the Word. Warnings lest we presume, promises
lest we be discouraged. discouraged. And that's why he
writes here, O foolish, foolish people, would you entertain any
notion that the Lord Jesus Christ is not sufficient, that He's
not enough, that the blood atonement is not effectual to put away
all your sin? Those to whom we love and care
for, when you see them head for danger, Don't you warn them? When you see your children heading
for danger, don't you warn them, stop. Don't do that. Don't go that way. I've been
there. I know what you're headed for.
If you continue on that way, you're headed for trouble. Trouble. Strongly warn our children because
we love them. That's why we warn them. We love
them. When I moved to the location where we're at now, in Pottsville,
Kentucky. We moved there on Highway 119,
where our building sits, and at the time it was a very busy
highway. My boys, when we moved there,
were seven and nine, nine years old and seven years old. Before
we moved there to Pikeville, we lived in Boyd County, Kentucky,
near Ashland, Kentucky. We lived out in the country,
lived on a dead-end road. There wasn't any traffic on that
road. And my boys, they'd get a basketball, they'd play in
the road, ride their bicycles in the road, and they wouldn't
think anything about it. When we moved to Pikeville, Kentucky,
there at Zebulon, when I saw the danger on that road with
the traffic that's constantly going by, I sat my boys down
and I told them this, don't ever, under any circumstances, ever
cross that highway. They listened, and for a while
they didn't go near that road. But one day, My oldest son, who
was nine at the time, he's 22 years old now, 23 years old,
one day I looked out the window and here he headed right across
that highway and I thought, oh my soul. Well, dad, because he
was concerned, took out the front door, headed right toward the
highway. And my son had already crossed
the highway. He turned and he looked at me
and he knew he was in trouble. And I called his name and without
hesitation, without even looking both ways to see if there was
any traffic, he darted across that highway, was hit by a car,
knocked him 40 feet down the road, broke both bones in both
legs, compound fracture. I thought he's dead. I thought
he was dead. I warned him. He didn't listen
and it almost cost him his life. I'm thankful that the Lord was
very merciful and spared his life when we went to the hospital. in the emergency room and the
state police officer came there and was writing the report and
getting the details and he turned and he looked at me and said,
boy, he said, you were mighty lucky. I corrected him. I said, my friend, I respect
your office, but luck had nothing to do with God sparing his life. It was by the pure mercy of God
that he didn't kill him right on the spot. Well, he learned
a tough lesson that day. And the Lord has given him these
years, and he's a fine young man. I'm very thankful for him.
And he's got some screws and pins in his leg, but he's able
to walk. able to walk, and I give thanks." You see, the point I'm
trying to make here, Paul wanted the best for these people at
Galatia. He desired the best for them,
and in doing so, hearing that they were slipping into error,
and moving away from the gospel, he sends this word of warning
back to them. He says, being experienced, knowing
as a Pharisee, and knowing the the rigor of the law and knowing
what it demands when he saw them going that way from which they
were delivered. And from which he was delivered,
he said, don't do that! Don't go that way. Would you
be so foolish? Oh, foolish, foolish Galatians. Who has bewitched you? How foolish
and thoughtless and senseless for any who have heard the gospel
of God's grace in Christ Jesus and have seemed to receive it
and embrace it and rest in it and even rejoice in it and then
depart back To the law? Back to works? Oh, how foolish
it would be to entertain any notion going back to works, back
to false religion, back to the deeds of the law. How foolish
it would be! It would be like someone being
delivered from a raging river and then to jump back in to save
yourself. Why, it would be foolish, wouldn't
it? That's what he's saying here. It would be foolish to be rescued
from a burning building and then run back in to save yourself. Oh, how foolish! A fireman would
say, well, that's foolish! I just delivered you and you
want to run back in? Don't do that! It's foolish.
Foolish. To be delivered from the curse
of the law and then seek to be justified by it? How foolish! And this is his concern for them.
Can't you just see his heart melting with anguish when he
hears that they're thinking about even entertaining any notion
or idea of departing from the gospel of God's grace back to
the Law? His heart's broken, and he writes
with great concern, to leave Christ for Moses, to depart from
the gospel of God's grace and to leave Christ for Moses? Oh, you would say, well, how
foolish, but yet these are the things that they were put under
by these Judaizers who came down from Jerusalem. And because they
came from Jerusalem, they carried a little bit of weight and influence.
You remember they came to the church there in Antioch when
Paul came back from that first missionary journey there in Acts
15. And they said, except ye be circumcised. This is what they told those
Gentile believers. They said, except ye be circumcised
after the manner of Moses, you really can't be saved. They were
saying that Christ is not enough. He's not sufficient. He's not
effectual. And you know the rest of that story. how they went
down and held that counsel. And Peter stood up and said,
we believe through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ that
we shall be saved even, even as others. This rebuke is much
like that given by our Lord Jesus Christ as we just read in Luke
24. O fools, slow of heart! Not to believe all that the Scripture
has said concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. Who has so deceived
you and tricked you and thrown a spell over you? That's what
he's asking here. That you should not, look what
it says there in verse 1, that you should not obey the truth. The truth. before whose eyes."
Now this truth that he's talking about here, the truth before
whose eyes, the Lord's in your presence. In your presence, Paul
came and he preached the gospel of Christ crucified plainly and
clearly to them, showing our sin, showing the need of a suitable
substitute, showing them that by the deeds of the law that
no one could be justified. Jesus Christ had been set before
them in the clear preaching of the gospel, the clear presentation
of the gospel, the truth of how God can be just and holy and
righteous. The truth how God can be a just
God and a Savior. The truth of how God can be just
and yet justify the ungodly. That was set before them. The
truth of how God saves sinners in the Lord Jesus alone. You
shall know the truth, our Lord said, and the truth shall set
you free. The gospel had been set before
them. by the faithful preaching of
the Lord Jesus Christ. In the glorious fullness of His
person, who He is, in Him dwells all the fullness of a Godhead
bodily God Almighty manifest in the flesh, and it's who He
is that gives value and infinite merit to what He did. What did
He do? He obtained for His covenant
people eternal redemption with His own blood. He's redeemed
us, as it says in Galatians 3, verse 13, He's redeemed us from
the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, for cursed is
everyone that hangeth on the tree. Now, we'll look at that
verse more closely in the weeks to come, but the Lord Jesus Christ
was made sin for us. that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. He took the judgment due to me
with my sin on Him, and He gives me the blessedness of that righteousness
He perfected by His obedience. Even He became obedient, it says
in Philippians 2, He became obedient unto death, even the death of
the cross. No man took His life from Him,
He laid it down. He said, I have power to lay
it down. I have power to take it again. This commandment have
I received of my Father. Him being delivered by the determinate
counsel, foreknowledge of God. And had not it been for the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God, no one could have nailed
Him to a tree. It was by the determinate decree
of God, foreordained of God. So that's what He's saying here.
Now let's look at verse 2. this only would I learn of you."
Did you receive, now here's the question, received you the Spirit,
God the Holy Spirit, regeneration, all spiritual blessings in Christ? Did you receive this by the works
of the law or was it through the hearing of faith, through
the hearing of the gospel. That's the gospel, the hearing
of faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of truth,
an all-important question of which there's only one correct
answer. Were you justified by the gospel of Christ or by the
doing of the law. Well, plainly and clearly, it's
not by law, but by grace. You remember verse 16 in chapter
2, Galatians chapter 2 verse 16, knowing that a man is not
justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus
Christ, his faithfulness, his obedience. Even we have believed
in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of
Christ. Not by the works of the law,
for by the works of the law, now watch it, by the works of
the law shall no sinner ever be justified in his sight. The law declares us guilty. It
does nothing to remove the guilt. It exposes the guilt, shows us
the standard of holiness, what God required, but it does nothing,
does nothing to put away our sin. and to redeem us. We are justified totally by the
gospel of God's grace alone. But he asks this question. Now
this supposes that they had been blessed to receive God the Holy
Spirit. Supposes they had been blessed
to receive salvation revealed by God the Holy Spirit. Now what
is this spirit here? I looked at the scripture here
Notice it says here in verse 2, "...this only would I learn
of you, received you the Spirit." Now, what's he talking about
here? Well, of course it's the Holy Spirit, but I found several
places in Scripture where it talks about the Spirit and the
blessings we have. I want you to see these with
me. Find Romans chapter 8. It's got God the Holy Spirit
that has revealed the things of Christ unto us, but it's called
here in Scripture several different things. In Romans 8, 1. Romans
8, 1, "...there is therefore now no condemnation to them who
are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after
the Spirit." Now look at verse 2, "...for the law of the Spirit
of life," it's the Spirit of life, "...in Christ Jesus hath
made us free from the law of sin and death." So it's the Spirit
of life that we have in Christ Jesus. Do you see that? Again
in Romans 8, Look at verse 14. For as many as be led by the
Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For you have not received
the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the
spirit of adoption. It's the spirit of life in Christ
Jesus. It's the spirit of adoption.
We are, by His adopting grace, His electing love, we are sons
of God. Did you get a hold of that? We
are by nature children of wrath, even as others, but by His grace,
He's made us sons of God. Beloved, now, right now, are
you sons of God. So it's the Spirit of adoption.
The Spirit Himself beareth witness with our spirit that we are children
of God. And if children, then heirs of
God, joint heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer with
Him, that we may be also glorified together with him." So it's the
spirit of life, it's the spirit of adoption. Find now 1 Corinthians
chapter 2, turn over there. And I'm sure there's other references,
but these are the ones that I was able to look up and find. 1 Corinthians 2.12. He said, now we have received
not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God. It's the spirit of God. God,
the Holy Spirit, indwells the believer, making us new creatures
in Christ Jesus, that we might know the things that are freely
given to us of God. And here's another scripture.
It's the spirit of God, the spirit of adoption, the spirit of life.
Find II Corinthians 4 now. 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 It's a spirit of his son like
what it says here 2nd Corinthians 4 verse 13 2 Corinthians 4, 13, for we have
the same spirit, the same spirit of faith, rather. That's what
I want, the spirit of faith. We have the same spirit of faith
according as it is written, I have believed, therefore have I spoken.
We also believe and therefore speak. It's a spirit of faith. Now here's one that I'm thinking
about here, the spirit of his son. Find Galatians chapter 4.
Galatians chapter 4. Look at verse 4, but when the
fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son made of a
woman, made under the law to redeem them that were under the
law that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because
you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your
hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore, thou art no more a
servant, but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ
Jesus." So we see that we have received the Spirit of life,
the Spirit of adoption, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of faith,
the Spirit of His Son, the Spirit of meekness in Galatians 6, but
I want you to turn to Ephesians chapter 1. Turn and let's read
this together, Ephesians chapter 1. All this is by what? The doing of the law? The deeds
of the law? No, no, no, my friend. It's by
the sovereign grace and mercy of God in Christ Jesus. Ephesians chapter 1, look at
this one here. He says in verse 11, in whom
also we have obtained an inheritance. Notice it says we didn't earn
it, we've obtained it. Obtained it by grace. being predestinated
according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after
the counsel of His own will, that we should be to the praise
of His glory who first trusted in Christ, in whom ye also trusted
after ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation,
in whom also after that ye believed ye were sealed with the Holy
Spirit of promise." The Spirit of promise. God promised to Abraham
to bless, to call, to save, to redeem a multitude of sinners
in that promised Son, the seed of the woman, the Lord Jesus
Christ. You were sealed with the Holy
Spirit of promise, which is the earnest token or pledge of our
inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession unto
the praise of His glory. Now, back to the text. So did
you receive the Spirit of adoption, the Spirit of life, the Spirit
of God, the Spirit of grace, the Spirit of His Son, the Holy
Spirit of promise, the Spirit of meekness? Was this by the
works of the law? No, no. But by the gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, verse 3, Paul comes with
a follow-up question. Galatians 3, 3. Are you so, so
foolish having begun in the Spirit, are you now made perfect by your
flesh, by your deeds?" Well, no, not at all. You see, he's asking these questions
to motivate their thinking and to help them understand that
it's in salvation that the Lord Jesus Christ is not something
See, it says in Colossians 3, 11, Christ is all and in all. In Him dwells all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily and in Christ we are complete. Complete. Complete. Now, verse
3, Are you so foolish, having begun in the Spirit? Are you
now perfected by the flesh? Is there anyone among us so foolish
to think that salvation starts by grace and is perfected by
deeds of law? That's foolish. That's foolish.
Salvation begins in grace, and what begins in grace will end
in glory. And it's grace in election, and
it's grace in glorification, and it's grace all the way through.
From beginning to the end, He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the end of all things. Look what it says over here.
Remember this scripture from Philippians 1? Turn over there.
Philippians chapter 1. being confident, verse 6, being
confident of this very thing that He who hath begun a good
work in you, whose work is it? It's His work. Who started the
work? He did. Where does it take place?
In you. He will perform it. He will perfect
it until the day of Jesus Christ. Stay right there in Philippians
and find Philippians 2.13, for it is God, it is God which worketh
in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Our Lord Jesus said on Calvary's
tree, it is done. It's finished. of the Lord Jesus Christ is not
sin or do, it is done. Done. Christ finished the work
that God gave him to do. Didn't he pray that way in John
17? Father, I've glorified you on the earth. I've finished the
work you gave me to do. Now, sad but it's true. This is what most preachers are
preaching in our day, that we start by grace and somehow we
are perfected in the flesh. Now, sad, it's sad, but it's
true. Some people think that we attain salvation by grace
and then somehow we maintain salvation by law. That's not
right. Some people think that we're
justified at Calvary and then sanctified at Sinai. That's not
true. Christ is our sanctification.
He's made unto us wisdom, righteousness. He is my holiness. He is my redemption
that we should glory only in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now listen
to this, it says in Romans 10 that Christ did the end of the
law, for righteousness to everyone that believeth. You remember
he said of them, oh, are you so ignorant? Are you so foolish
to go about to establish your own righteousness, not submitting
yourself unto the righteousness which is of God, that comes from
Him, that originates with Him, that's through Christ Jesus,
and going about to establish your own? Wouldn't you be so
ignorant, so foolish? And then he says, Christ is the
end of the law, for righteousness to everyone that believe it.
Now listen to this. As I came to Christ at first,
sinner God be merciful to me the sinner so I must come to
Christ at the very last a sinner only saved by God's grace my
pastor used to have a saying this way never graduate above
the state or position of being a sinner saved by grace That
what the Apostle Paul said This is a faithful saying and worthy
of all acceptation that the Lord Jesus Christ came to save sinners. I'm the chief one. I'm the chief
offender. In myself I have no more to bring
to Him now than I had then. Do I? In my flesh? I'm not perfected
in the flesh. That which is born of the Spirit
is spirit. That which is born of the flesh
is flesh. And it will remain flesh until
it dies. When sin is finished, it's put
in the ground. We were on vacation last week.
And I like to go places where I can learn things and yet be
entertained. And we went to the house of George
Washington, Mount Vernon. Went to the house of Thomas Jefferson.
Went all through those things. Went to the house of Robert Edward
Lee. General Lee, Arlington House,
went to the house of a famous Confederate general from old
Virginia, Lexington, Virginia. His name is Thomas Jonathan Jackson,
better known as Stonewall Jackson. Went to all their houses of these
great leaders. And you know what? They weren't
there. And you know what? I visited each of the graves
of those men. They all died because they were
all just like us, flesh. Flesh. We're not perfected in
the flesh. Now, one day we're going to have
a new body, like unto his body, but this old flesh, if you read
1 Corinthians 15, it has to be changed. This corruption, one
day we'll put on in corruption, I'll have a new body just like
his. But right now, it's just flesh. And that's all it ever
will be. Listen to me, in sanctification,
In sanctification, most people don't know this. In sanctification,
it's not the flesh that's sanctified. It's that new man in Christ Jesus
that's sanctified. He is our sanctification. Christ
in you, the hope of glory. So that's what he's saying here.
Are you so foolish, having begun in the Spirit? Are you now perfected
by the flesh? And yet countless religious people
think somehow they maintain or attain salvation by what they
do or don't do. Isn't that so? Sad, but it's
true. Now look at verse 4. Here's the
other question he comes with in verse 4. Have you suffered
so great? Have you suffered so many things
in vain? If the gospel's not true? Hear what he's saying here? If
it be yet in vain? Another bold question. If you
retreat from grace alone, Christ alone, back to a mixture of grace
and works, Christ and law, all suffering you've experienced
for the gospel was really for a vain, empty, dead, useless
cause. That's what he's saying here.
If the gospel of Christ is not so, if it's not true, he's saying,
you suffered needlessly. He said, I hope you will correct.
I hope you will correct such foolish notion. We are to contend
for the faith once delivered unto the saints. Notice this
scripture, if you will, Philippians chapter 1. Philippians chapter
1. We are to contend. That doesn't
mean to be contentious. That means to take a stand and
don't move away from God's sovereign saving grace in Christ Jesus. And I tell you what, if you take
a stand, you'll suffer for the stand. Our Lord said, if they
persecuted Me, they will persecute you. Get ready. I tell you one
way, I think that's some kind of a measuring rod, whether you're
really standing for the Gospel. Have you suffered for the Gospel?
Have you been persecuted over the Gospel? If you haven't, you're
probably not taking the stand that you ought to stand. Because
when you take a stand, they'll come out of the woodwork against
you. I know what I'm talking about now. I'm not a novice.
I've been around a little while. Philippians chapter 1, look at
verse 27. Only let your conversation be
as it becometh the gospel of Christ, that whether I come and
see you or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you
stand fast. in one spirit, one mind, striving
together for the faith of the gospel and in nothing, terrified
by your adversaries, which is to them an evident token of perdition,
but to you of salvation and that of God." Look at verse 29, "...for
unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ not only to believe
on Him, but also to suffer for Him." Take a stand now. Don't back up, don't back down.
No need to. No need to apologize for God's
truth, God's Word, God's Gospel. No need to defend it. Preach
it. You don't need to defend a lion,
do you? Turn it loose. It'll defend itself. The Word
of God doesn't need our defense. We're to preach the Gospel, proclaim
the Gospel, not apologize for it. Preach it. Proclaim it. Now,
lastly, let's look at verse 5. that ministereth to you the Spirit."
And that word there, ministereth, means supplies to you the Spirit,
or the message of the Spirit, which is Christ and Him crucified.
Our Lord said, when the Spirit of truth has come, He'll take
the things of Christ and show them unto you. And He that works
miracles among you, through the preaching of the gospel. Does
it happen by the works of the law? And he makes this comparison
again with a hearing of faith. You see, these are bold, powerful
questions, aren't they, that we need to consider. In like
manner, God Almighty has sovereignly chosen to fully supply all our
need by His grace and His grace alone. miracles of grace and
redemption, not by false prophets and their lies and deceit, but
rather through the ministry of true prophets and God's gospel. It pleads God through the preaching
of the gospel to save and to call His people. Now, it's interesting,
if you look up that word in verse 5, ministereth, it means to fully
supply. And it is used in this sense,
if you turn back to Philippians again, in Philippians chapter
4, you're familiar with this verse here, verse 19? Philippians
4 verse 19, but my God shall supply all your need according
to the law of God. Whoops! You see, now that's what most
people believe. Most people in false religion,
that's what they do believe. But my God shall supply all your
need. Notice that singular too. Doesn't
say needs. According to His riches in glory
by Christ Jesus. Fully supply to the full. And then this word here back
in Galatians 3 verse 5, this word here, worketh. is the same
word we read in other places that is effectual. Everything
in connection with God and His gospel is effectual. There is
an effectual election, there is an effectual atonement, and
there is an effectual irresistible call of God. Everything connected
with God is effectual. What does that mean? It gets
the job done. And this word here, miracles,
is the same word that's rendered in Romans 1.16, power. Power. The gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ is the power of God and the salvation to everyone
that believes. So, in the preaching of the gospel,
we have a full supply of effectual, powerful, mercies and grace in
Christ Jesus by the gospel, not by the law, but by the gospel,
the gospel of God's grace alone in Christ Jesus. It's the same
word that he uses over here in chapter 2, verse 8. For he that
wrought affectionately in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision,
the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles. And the Word of
God, my friend, is effectual to the sheep of Christ. Another
couple of places, you find 1 Thessalonians 1, turn over there. This word
here, worketh, is used here, and it's effectual, and the word
power. In 1 Thessalonians 1, verse 4,
knowing, brethren, beloved, your election of God. 1 Thessalonians
1, 4, and 5. Are you with me? For our gospel
came not into you in word only, but also in power. In power! And in the Holy Spirit, and in
much assurance. Now in chapter 2, 1 Thessalonians
2, look at verse 13. Here is the same word here. Verse
13 now, this is I Thessalonians 2.13, For this cause also thank
we God without ceasing, because when you received the word of
God which you heard of us, you received it not as the word of
men, but as it is in truth the word that worketh effectually,
the word of God which effectually worketh in you that believe. The Gospel has a powerful, profound
effect. on the elect of God. God effectually
saves His people with the gospel, with the gospel. Now listen to
me carefully. God effectually saves His people with the gospel,
not with a lie, but with the truth. The truth sets sinners
free. You remember what He says about
those who come preaching another gospel in Galatians chapter 1? I marvel that you are soon removed
from him that called you into the grace of Christ, verse 6,
unto another gospel, which is not another, but there be some
that would trouble you and would pervert or change, twist the
gospel of Christ, though we or an angel from heaven preach any
other gospel unto you than that which we have preached." Well,
that's okay. That's not what he says there,
is it? Oh, let him be accursed. And boy, that's a strong word
in the original. Let him be anathema. Let him
be damned. Let him be cut off is what it
actually means. As we said before, so say I now
again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that
which you have received, let him be cut off. Let him be damned. If any man love not the Lord
Jesus Christ, let him be anathema maranatha. Let him be cut off
when the Lord comes back. Now, I want you to think about
this question, and I'll quit with this. Are people sinners,
guilty sinners, saved who reject the truth of God's grace in Christ
Jesus and embrace a lie? No, sir. It's the truth that
sets sinners free. Are people converted sitting
and listening under a false gospel? No, sir. No, sir, it's the truth
of God's grace that sets us free in Christ Jesus. God-given and
God-saving faith is not born of lies. It's born of truth. Truth. Of His own will beget
He us with the word of... What's the next word? With the
word of truth. Truth. Truth. My friend, we must be about preaching the
gospel and taking a stand for the gospel of God's grace in
Christ Jesus. Okay. We'll pick up there next
week, Lord willing, in Galatians chapter 3, and we'll continue
our study and find out how Abraham was justified. You know Abraham
was justified before the law was given? Oh, that ought to
teach you something.