Galatians....Salvation thru faith alone

Galatians is a great book to read to get a better understanding of “salvation is thru faith alone” and not thru works. In the letter, Paul is addressing a community of believers he founded. It looks like he was going thru the area, fell sick, they took care of him, and he ministered to their souls (4:12-20). Apparently some “Jewish Christians” have come to the Galatian community after Paul. They have denounced Paul as an apostle, and they have said that Paul is right that Jesus is the messiah but to be a son of Abraham and be saved, you must be circumcised. Besides the truth of salvation by faith alone, this book is also a good study for the argument of free will or election. There are others that can go better into that argument, but it can be made here also.
Let me start with the free will/election problem. To do this we have to go all the way back to the beginning of humans. In the beginning there was Adam and Eve. They were in paradise, everything was provided for them, and their biggest challenge is whether to eat carrots or potatoes today (yes I know there probably were not bananas or potatoes there, but it really doesn’t matter for this story). Eve is out one day doing her Eve-like thing and the snake comes up and deceives her. Where was Adam? He was right beside her. He didn’t stop Eve from eating the apple. He even took it from her to eat of it. I wonder if he started singing the song by Dierks Bentley after that. What Was I Thinking.
Why did God not come in and stop them from eating the fruit? Or why didn’t God tell Adam the day before “Hey Adam…tomorrow the serpent is going to be talking to your girl and is going to start messing with her mind. You need to be there to pull her to the side and tell her what’s going on.” But God didn’t. Why?
I’m actually jumping ahead in the Galatians study to chapter 3 but that’s ok. You see, God knew what was going to happen. He knew Eve and Adam would fail. But he didn’t tell them because if he did, their acceptance and our acceptance of his love and grace would not be genuine and authentic. You see, I don’t think anyone can make a good decision unless they have all the facts and know both sides. All of history thru Abraham and Moses, from the Law to grace of Jesus had to happen so we could make an informed decision (see Galatians 3:19-4:31). The Law was added when Moses was around to show us what has happened (that is, what we have done wrong), and what was to come. The Law was our guardian (Chapter 4) to keep us in line until we became mature enough to understand the end game. The gift (salvation) was given by God to Abraham and to his offspring Jesus. We became heirs Abraham and we get the benefit of that inheritance by accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. By accepting the truth of Jesus (instead of looking for circumcision) you receive the Spirit and become children of the true Jerusalem (Heaven) from above.
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Throughout this book, Paul has to assert he is an apostle just like the other 12. He was called by God, shown the truth, and given a commission to go and share the Word with gentiles. He jumps right in the face of the Galatian believers right off the bat….”You are confused and want to follow a perverted gospel….anyone that gives you a different gospel than the one we gave you will be accursed (and he says that twice to make sure they got it)”. Paul was an apostle because of authority of JC and God the Father (1:1-3); he was made an apostle by the revelation of JC (1:11-12); he was an apostle because God set him apart from birth.
This last one is significant. Remember what I wrote at the beginning of this post. We cannot fully accept the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ unless we know the whole story (where is Paul Harvey when I need him). So Paul, who is a very zealous Pharisee, probably knew the Law inside and out, persecuted the church because THEY were perverting the word of God. He knew where he came from. He knew the past. The present is his salvation thru Jesus Christ. And the future (or where he is going) is his journey to perfection and eventually heaven because of the faith of Jesus Christ and his acceptance of Jesus.
That jumps us up to chapter 2 starting at vs 15. Jews and Gentiles are both saved by faith. The question we can ask ourselves, is it faith in Jesus or faith of Jesus. It’s a subtle difference but one that is important. The funny thing is it can be both at once. Here is what I mean. I believe it is the faith OF Jesus that saves us. Our belief in Jesus as our Lord and savior makes us heirs of the promise. In addition to that, it is Jesus’ faith (in us, in the truth, in himself, in God the father) that gives us this promise. So in 2:15-21 Paul says we are justified by the faith of Jesus and not works because no one can be justified by works. And I now live in the flesh (and all the sinning and crap that comes with that) but I live knowing that I am justified by faith of the Son of God.
Here is the kicker for the of/in debate. Paul asks in vs 17, if we are saved (justified) and still sin, isn’t Jesus a servant of sin. To put it another way, if we are justified by the faith of Jesus, and we are found to be sinners, isn’t Jesus just a peddler of sin then? If he is so perfect, and it’s his faith that justifies us, doesn’t that mean it’s him that put the sin in us? The answer is a resounding NO. The Law showed me my sin, I am still a sinner, but Christ is perfect and it is his perfection and faith that allows me to have salvation even though I am a sinner. My sinning crappy terrible self has died to the Law and now because of that I don’t live. Christ lives within me and he carries me thru the pain and suffering of sin. The life I live now in this flesh (this is vs 20) I live because of the faith of Jesus. The Law exposes my sin to me and to the world, but that doesn’t give me justification. And with the Law exposing my sin (and proving me a sinner), that doesn’t invalidate the grace given to me because if the Law did justify me, Christ would have died for nothing.
Galatians 3:12…you either live by faith or you live to your works. 3:10 shows us that if you are a follower of the Law and don’t obey the Law fully, you are cursed (lost). You must choose either the Law or faith, and it can’t be both. If you close the Law you are lost because no-one can follow every single law. Choose faith and you are righteous (saved). If you have faith and are righteous you are a descendent of Abraham (3:7). Decedents of Abraham get his blessing of redemption. Christ died and was hung on a tree and he absorbed the curse that comes with the Law so we are FREE TO CHOOSE TO RECEIVE the promise of the Spirit. Starting at 3:15, the inheritance we get comes thru the promise made to Abraham down to Jesus. The promise comes to Abraham and to us because of faith.
So to finish out chapter 3 and go into chapter 4, let’s ask the question “what is the purpose of the law?” So far we have downgraded the law to some backwoods hillbilly that has not moved thru evolution yet. Paul’s purpose is to show that the Law had a temporary role that ended with the appearance of Christ. It was never intended to give life or to justify; otherwise, there would have been no need for Christ to die for our sins. (from my study bible notes) Vs 21…is the law opposed to the promises of God? Remember the promises are faith and righteousness and salvation. Before faith came (that is before Jesus came around) we were imprisoned under the law. Basically since we know right from wrong and we fail to do right every time, we break the law all the time. If we break the law we cannot be saved. By breaking the law all the time, we cannot be saved ever under the law. Vs 25…but now Christ has come into the picture. Faith has come and in that faith those of us who believe Jesus and trust him to be our Lord and savior are now children of God thru that faith. To show we are heirs to the promise, we get baptized. Baptism is our sign of holy adoption into the family of believers so instead of a blood family of people with similar dna, we are a spiritual family, part of Abraham’s offspring, and heirs in the promise. Since we become a member of the family, we receive the Spirit into our lives.
The Spirit is our possessor or keeper and he is here to show us the way. That’s what Paul gets into in chapter 4. We were minors not knowing the truth and probably not able to handle the truth. So the Law was put into place to keep us in line. God sent his son Jesus to be born under this law that keeps us down, he fulfills the law perfectly, and dies to the law so we can be adopted as heirs to the promise outside the law.
Starting at 4:8, Paul talks about elemental spirits. At first I thought he might mean false prophets or false teachers (kind of like Benny Hinn today). But in Hellenistic view, there were demonic elements that worked within the individual and cosmos (think astrology) to control human destiny. Magic, prayers, rituals (observing special days and years in 4:10) and laws were used to keep them at bay. Paul says that the Galatians are circumcising themselves as a way to be protected from the elements (even angels). To finish up chapter 4, Paul gives an allegory of Hagar and Sarah. In the end he is saying we must reject trying to please God by relying on the Law.
Live by the Spirit, Paul says in 5:16. Gratifying the flesh is against the Spirit. Here is what the Jews would say and what unbelievers would say…..”we have the Law. That tells us what to, when to do it, and as long as we follow the recipe prescribed out before us, we have it made.” The Jews say that because that’s the way it’s always been and that’s what they were taught from birth. The unbeliever says that they want something concrete in their life to make it. Unbelievers want to go to heaven also (most do). These people do want to have steps for what they can do get salvation. We are a society of independent people. So the question they ask is what can I do to be saved? The answer they get back is “do this and this and this and be circumcised and you made it”.
But Paul says to live by the Spirit. In vs 18 if you are living by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. What that means is you still do right but you don’t try to get your salvation by following the law. Paul says in vvs 13-15 that thru love you must become slaves to one another and the WHOLE law is summed up in the single commandment of “love your neighbor as yourself.”
But if you are not led by the Spirit, you are searching out to do works of the flesh. Here are some things you will do (vs 19-21) fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, and carousing. I love the way The Message paraphrase bible puts this: 19 It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; 20 trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; 21 the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community.
He then contrasts those works of the flesh with the fruits of the Spirit. Mmmm fruit. Sweet, natural, healthy. There is no law against these things. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The Message puts it this way: 22 But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard - things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, 23 not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.
Therefore we do not compare ourselves with others, don’t envy what others have. We are guided by the Spirit and everything connected with the ways of the flesh above are killed off (or crucified).
Then starting in chapter 6, Paul says something interesting. “If anyone has transgressed (read that as backsliding, sinning, failing, falling, or in other words not acting in a way that shows you to ‘love your neighbor as yourself’) then you who are Spirit-filled must love them back to health. Take care that you are not tempted. I like that line. For example, you who have turned your back from drugs and have are now free…don’t go down and hang around your old dealer and addict friends to see how they are doing. If you on the other hand fall back into that lifestyle, your Christian friends should come along side you and lift you up to health again.
Bear one another’s burdens because that’s what Christ did. I will dig deeper in that in one minute. Help others, but you must test your own work. Work as if you are working for God and not for men. So those who can’t, will have help and those that can will help on top of doing a good job with their own work. So back to Christ. Christ in his perfect life/death/resurrection showed that his love fulfilled the Law. He gave himself up for others by embracing the love commandment.
When I began this post, I stated that yes Galatians is a book showing salvation is by faith alone. In Paul’s closing (and in mine), his focus is on circumcision. He states it right…”Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything. But a new creation is everything”. Reference that to 2 Corinthians 5:17. Before the Spirit you were doing the works of the flesh. Now after the Spirit (no mention of circumcision here) you are exhibiting the fruits of the Spirit. And then a reference back to the “Jerusalem from above” he says as for those who follow this rule…those who are believers, love their neighbors as themselves, and exhibit the fruits of the Spirit….peace be upon you, mercy upon you, and upon the true Israel.
One last mention of his authority, Paul says that he bears the marks of Jesus branded on his body. That could be the persecution he received as a believer from unbelievers and Jews. Here is him saying, “I am an apostle. I imitate Jesus and you can imitate me”. So no one should make trouble for me. And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

sex and preaching

Ed young @ Fellowship Church of Dallas is doing a series of sermons about sex. He has tasked his married congregation couples to have sex EVERY DAY for seven days. Check out http://www.edyoung.com/. Now I love the fact that he has the 'cahonies' to do a sermon like this. The bible is a love story. And it gives us a prescription of what marriage and in that marriage what sex should look like.
What is sad is how unbelievers don't understand what a biblical marriage looks like. Check out this CNN video (LINK). She tells Ed "well it's rape if a man tells his wife that his pastor said they have to have sex." It's thinking like this that made people misinterpret the word "submit". I'm sure the CNN rep will not watch the sermon, but I pray she will so she can understand exactly what God is looking for in marriage and sex.