Thank you for joining us this week for our continued study through the book of Galatians. For the past two weeks, we have looked into the topic of conflict resolution. Taking a deeper dive into a conflict, Paul experienced with the Church and his resolution steps to solve that conflict. This week we will take a look at Chapter 3. Paul addresses the Church of Galatia and the topic of falling out or away from the Faith. This is a topic that I'm sure many Christians, including myself, can relate to. I want to remind everybody of our overarching theme for our study in Galatians, which is Truth. Truth is absolute and 100% pure, with no grey variations. God is Truth and his Word; what we call the scripture is His physical representation of Truth. Truth does not change, God does not change, but we are imperfect and must change to line up with His Truth.
Galatians 3:1-9 "O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the Law or by hearing with Faith? 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 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the Law, or by hearing with Faith— 6 just as Abraham "believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"?
7 Know then that it is those of Faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by Faith, preached the Gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed." 9 So then, those who are of Faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of Faith."
This passage is a powerful one. Paul is now confronting the Galatians with the five questions he will use to help the Galatian Christians reflect upon their current course of action. Each question invokes reflection upon the Galatian's conversion and spurs them back towards the original Faith they had when first converted. Somewhere along the way, the Galatians lost touch with their roots in Christianity. They became led astray from the Truth of the Gospel. We will look at Paul's five questions and use them as a road map to instruct ourselves on how to return to Christ if we ever find ourselves on the road not leading to him. This method, in general, is a great one to use whenever our worldviews are challenged. We can apply it to both Christian worldviews and Non-Christians.
The first question Paul asks is meant to point the finger at the corruptible source that has caused the Galatians to turn away from their newly devoted lives to Christ. Paul wants to know who has turned the Galatians from the Truth. Who has taught them something contrary to the Gospel Paul has shared with them. This allows the Galatians to pinpoint where or who started the course that led them away from Christ. Paul's first question is to identify the moment that everything began to go wrong. This does not always have to be an individual, as in the Galatians' case. It can be a traumatic life experience or simply complacency in your walk with Christ.
The second question goes a step further, going back to the reason the Galatians Chose to follow Christ, to begin with. Paul is asking them to search their hearts and decide if the reason they believed was because of the Law (essential Old Testament Jewish Law and the 10 Commandments) or by hearing the Gospel and believing through Faith. Faith is to believe without proof. Paul sets two ideals in front of the Galatians; the first is physical proof of God based on the Old Covenant. The same Covenant we proved inadequate to meet. The second question leads to the idea that we believe in a God founded upon Faith, not seeing the physical evidence but feeling God's Truth awaking within us.
Now, this is an interesting philosophical point I want to make without getting too boring. The Law is given to us by God (Exodus 24:12-18), and we cannot have Faith without God giving it to us through the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:8-10). So if both Faith and the Old Law are given to us by God and designed for us to follow God, why can we only follow one of these to receive salvation? The first is the Law of God, and if we break this Law, our penalty is death. None of us could keep the Law, and as a result, a perfect sacrifice had to be given on our behalf so that the Law might be fulfilled and rescue us from the penalty of death (James 2:10, Acts 7:53). Jesus came as a perfect sacrifice. He kept the Law perfectly. He lived a life without sin and, in the end, took our sins upon himself as a sacrifice so that we may be forgiven (2 Corinthians 5:21). Living by the Law means striving to reach salvation on our own. Living by Faith means we believe and trust that Christ came and died for our sins, saving us not by our works but by the Grace of Jesus Christ (Romans 6:23). This is what Paul is trying to remind the Galatians of when he asked question 2. This second question brings us back to the reason we initially believed. We must ask ourselves why we became Christian in the first place.
Question 3 is kind of a two-questioner turned into one. Paul is asking the Galatians sarcastically if they are so foolish to try and believe in Christ but to live by the Law instead. Paul knows that the Galatians are not foolish, but he needs the Galatians to see that, at this moment, they are acting inconsistent with the Truth of the Gospel. The Gospel tells us that Christ came to fulfill the Law so that we no longer must live bound to the Law but instead live bound to Christ. The Galatians became misled at some point into believing that Faith alone was not good enough to be saved but that they must also follow Old Testament Covenant law and be circumcised. This is inconsistent and contrary to the Truth of the Gospel. As we have said previously in this week's devotion and past devotions, Jesus came to fulfill the Law, releasing us from the Old Covenant and establishing a new eternal covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34, Hebrews 13:20-21). Paul's Third question instructs us to analyze our beliefs and look for inconsistencies. Where inconsistencies exist, then the Truth is not present.
Question 4 is more complex, and there is debate about what Paul refers to here. I am going to answer this one from my own experience. This comes from a time in my life when I had fallen away from my walk with Christ and was confronted with these same questions. Paul is asking the Galatians to reflect upon their suffering and remember why they suffered. If they give up their Faith in Christ, the suffering they experienced would have been for nothing. At this time, the Church was facing horrendous persecution, and to be a believer in Christ meant you may lose your job, your home, hurt, and even be killed. I imagine many of the Christians in Galatia had experienced this. Paul tells the Galatians that if they suffered for the Truth of the Gospel and now are turning from the Gospel to follow the Law, their suffering is truly meaningless. They could have chosen not to follow Christ and follow the Old Law, never experiencing persecution. Still, the persecution they faced happened without purpose by turning from Christ and leaving the Gospel behind. Christ tells us if we choose to follow Him, we must be willing to face persecution (John 15:19–20, Matthew 5:10–12). 2 Timothy 3: 12-17 tells us that we are going to be persecuted and that persecution is going to help make us more vital for the salvation that we will receive from Christ at the end of our time on this planet. Persecution weakens us, causing us to lean more on Jesus, and the more we depend on him, the more His Gospel shines.
Paul's 4th question is a reflection of how we handle our fears. It shows the world that we are not saved by our power but by the power of Christ (2 Corinthians 12:9–10). Did we turn away from God in fear of not following him per his Will, or did we leave him out of fear of the persecution this world throws at us? This fear can come in many different ways, not always with the threat of persecution. It can be self-induced based on preconceived notions. It can be the fear of change or the fear of something new. This fear can have a different face for each of us. This question helps us to realize what our fears are so we might face them head-on.
Question 5 is a question about the future. Paul asks the Galatians if people were being saved by the works of the Law or by the Faith brought down by the Holy Spirit. I can't imagine many people saw a group of men chopping off their foreskins and said, "that's a club I want to join; sign me up ." In my own experience, watching the experiences of my friends and families around me come to know Christ, I can honestly say nothing physical brought them or myself to believe in Christ. Our lives were changed internally, my life was altered internally, and I believed not because of physical actions demonstrated to me but by the hand of God massaging my soul into belief. Paul continues in verses 7-9 with the example of Abraham, the father of the original Old Testament Covenant, and the Jewish community. The Covenant was not given to Abraham because he was a good man. The Covenant was not given to him because he chopped his foreskin off. God gave Abraham the Covenantbecuase of his Faith, and with that Faith came the promise of an eternal covenant. The same Covenant Christ fulfilled thousands of years later through Jesus Christ. This last question is to invoke a challenge. The challenge is to live by the Spirit of God every day, and we can only do this if we are in his word daily, studying his Truth (Psalms 119:15-16). Praying without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) and seeking to make our lives a form of worship for our God (Romans 12:1, 2 Timothy 2:15).
Many of you might wonder how this passage should speak to you, and it might not, at least not yet. I'm pretty sure something we all face at some point in our walks with God is falling away from God. This can result from false teachers, such as with the Galatians, from a horrific tragedy, or simply by complacency. My walk fell away when I lost Faith in the Christians around me. I saw fake, self-righteous individuals strutting around calling themselves Christians. I won't go into much detail, but I'm sure you can imagine what I'm talking about. I didn't want to be like these Christians; in my mind, they were the standard of what a Christian should be. As a result, I slowly let go of God and began to push myself deeper into a world of darkness. Once I was in the dark, I was not too fond of it either and had to start to do some soul searching.
I was measuring Christianity off of human beings, not Christ. I thought to be a Christian, I had to live like these other Christians and that life was unsettling. It did not feel right. That life I saw in these self-righteous type Christians made me feel fake. I discovered through this process that Christianity is not based on anything except your walk with God. No man can judge you for the way you live, only God. Following Paul's 5 Steps, I worked myself back into a relationship with Jesus. 1. I identified when and where I took the wrong footing that took me off track. 2. I had to rediscover why I chose to follow Christ, to begin with. 3. I looked back at my life and beliefs, seeking out inconsistencies, and once I found them, I sought out the Truth. 4. I had to decide if I was afraid of living fake, giving up worldly ambitions, or afraid of failing God. 5. I had to dive deep into God's word studying it daily. I had to recondition my brain to spend my waking moments praying. Instead of talking to myself, I spoke with God. I let him Guide me through His Word, change my heart, and show me the Truths I sought.
If you have fallen away or are still away from God, know that it is not too late to return to him. If you are not a Christian, then I would still encourage you to apply these same principles to your life. You might need to change the basis of your questions, but the elements will remain the same. Seek out inconsistencies. Make sure you are living for who you want to be living for. Let this be a guide to direct you in making your life authentic and living for the ideals you wish to. This will help show any loopholes or flaws in your thinking and give you a more substantial base for your beliefs. As a Christian, this method will fortify you in God and show you the Truth He has created, who He is, and the life he calls you to live.
Thank you for joining us this week. I hope you have felt challenged to become more authentic and sturdy in your beliefs this week. I hope this week challenges your worldview and finds inconsistencies for you to seek the Truth. No matter what we believe, we should constantly challenge ourselves to go deeper and seek out the roots of our worldviews. Below are this week's reflection questions.
Where is your walk with the Lord currently?
Has your walk been stronger in the past? And if so, when was that? What has changed to make your walk not as strong now
Why have you chosen to follow God? Or why have you decided not to follow God?
Write out five core beliefs that help you shape the world around you. In these beliefs, what flaws or inconsistencies are there that need answering?
What fears hold you back from living the life you want to live?
What steps will you take this week to get back on a path following Christ closer? Or What steps will you take in seeking out the Truths to fill in the inconsistencies of your beliefs?
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