The Point Behind the PointGalatians 3:1-14

Peter Fitch, St. Croix VineyardSunday, November 18, 2012

Last Week

• A bit new in terms of my understanding• A bit exciting• A bit personal• Didn’t record . . .

So, a quick review of some of the main ideas is in order

Galatians 3:1-5

1 You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? 2 This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?

Galatians 3:1-5

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 So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?

What’s it all about?

• Miracles?• Faith?• A Pastor’s frustration that his people aren’t

hearing him?• Argument against legalism?• All of the above, and . . .

If you have read Ch. 2 . . .

• Exclusion• Thinking that Gentiles have to become Jewish

before they can join the worshiping community

• Or, thinking that people have to become perfect before they can join the worshiping community

Galatians 2:11-15ff

Story of Peter visiting Antioch where Barnabas and Saul are pastors, and Jews and Gentiles worship together and love each other

Peter joins in until men come from James in Jerusalem and then he withdraws, as does Barnabas . . . Saul lets them have it!

So hard . . .

• Jews sure they were right• Had clear teaching from the Bible that they

were not to eat with Gentiles• They didn’t consider Gentiles to be morally

neutral (look at what even Paul says in Ch. 2 to Peter— “We who are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles”)

And yet . . .

• An Ethiopian eunuch had been baptized (Acts 6)

• A trusted leader like Peter had emerged with news that God had surprised him with a vision leading him out into ‘sinful’ territory, to enter a Gentile house and preach (Acts 10)

• A Jewish-Gentile church had been planted in Antioch (Acts 11:19-26)

Acts 11:19-30

Story of the founding of the Antioch church, and of the prophets who came from Jerusalem

Antioch—a great church

• Mixed race• Full of the Spirit• People coming to the Lord• Good pastors• Prophecy alive• Generous• Action-oriented

But were the Prophets the ones in Galatians 2?

• Was Peter intimidated because of their standing with James and the others in Jerusalem?

• Or was he impressed with their spiritual gifts?• Is it possible that someone could be really far

along in one area of life or ministry and not have another area figured out yet?

• Those who are best at something may have the hardest time seeing a need to change

Our passage: Galatians 3:1-5

• First of 8 arguments that Paul makes on this same point

• Easy to understand it when looking backward• Harder to get it when we are faced with it in

our own generation

What is it Teaching?

• Not performance, not purity, not morality, not ethnicity—none of these things bring the reception of the Holy Spirit and power into the human heart

• Only one thing, and it’s the same for everyone—opening the heart by faith to receive a gift that God is willing to give

Therefore . . .

• The Church must be a welcoming place for all who wish to learn about this and hopefully do it, no matter where people are starting from

• And we grow in faith, and we learn to see miracles, exactly the same way, not by creating a perfect society, but by coming open-hearted to a beggar’s feast

Galatians 3:6-9

6 Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. 7 Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. 8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.”

Galatians 3:6-9

9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.

Who Better to Turn To?

• Abraham, father of the Jewish religion, was brought into a blessed and saving friendship with God by faith, not by obedience to a law

• Even in his day, God promised that the blessings of this friendship were for everyone

• In fact, look back at Genesis 15, the famous passage quoted 3 times in the NT . . .

Galatians 3:10-14

10 For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.” 11 Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “The righteous man shall live by faith.”

Galatians 3:10-14

12 However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, “He who practices them shall live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”— 14 in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

As If Abraham’s Example Wasn’t Enough . . .

• Well, let’s turn to something else to see that there is a point behind the point that the Judaizers are making

• Even the ancient and founding Scriptures promise something beyond themselves

The Judaizer’s Point

• The Jews had a special relationship with God based on their covenant obedience to the laws that had been given

• Therefore, it’s relevant to want to keep a strict adherence to these laws

The Point Behind the Point

• No one is able to earn God’s moral stamp of approval by the quality of their obedience alone

• Therefore, in the wisdom and love of God, another way was promised and has been established: faith in Jesus Christ, the real Chosen One, who takes away the sin of the world