Welcome to episode 149 of Grasp the Bible. In this episode, we continue our study in the Book of Galatians, covering chapter 3:1-14. The series is called “Free.” Today, we will cover:
- Paul defends the gospel by experience: The reception of the Spirit (vv. 1-5)
- Paul defends the gospel using Scripture: Abraham and faith (3:6–14)
Key takeaways:
- Paul argues that the Galatians have received the Spirit. He concludes from this that they are justified by faith instead of by works of law.
- The Spirit is the sign that one belongs to the people of God.
- Believing—not doing—was the pathway to receiving the Spirit.
- Since the Galatians have the Spirit, they are members of the new people of God. They are part of the family of Abraham, and hence they do not need to observe the Torah.
- Abraham’s faith was what constituted him as righteous before God. The Galatians, then, do not need to be circumcised to be Abraham’s sons. They are already his children if their faith is in Christ Jesus.
- It was God’s intention from the beginning to bless the Gentiles, as long as they exercised the same kind of faith as Abraham. The Gentiles receive the blessing of Abraham provided that they believe like Abraham.
- Those who do not do everything enjoined in the law are cursed. It is the failure to do all that is written in the law that condemns, not the desire to keep the law!
- The curse of the law lies on all people since the law demands perfect obedience.
Quotable:
- Faith alone is the only way to be right with God. We cannot do anything to merit or earn God’s favor.
Application:
- Both justification (being declared right before God) and sanctification (the lifelong process of being conformed to Jesus’ likeness) are due to the Spirit’s work and are the result of faith.
- The Christian life is a battle to rely on the gospel, and even as Christians we are inclined to look to ourselves and trust in our own achievements rather than relying solely on the cross of Christ.
- Righteousness by faith is taught in both the Old Testament (OT) and the New Testament (NT). It is not as if OT saints were right with God on the basis of their works, while NT saints are righteous by faith. Paul argues clearly here that Abraham was justified by faith. Therefore, salvation in both the OT and the NT is by faith alone. There is only one way of salvation.
- Legalism is silly and shallow because it is attempted by people who have not and cannot keep God’s commands, and yet somehow they still think they can put God in their debt.
- Law obedience, then, is contrary to faith since it is predicated on obeying instead of believing to obtain salvation, on performing what is required instead of trusting God’s work in Christ. The attempt, then, to be righteous by keeping the law is fundamentally opposed to believing, to trusting what God has done in Christ for justification.
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