Grace From Start To Finish Galatians 3:1-5 Series: No Other Gospel [Galatians, #6] Lyle L. Wahl October 30, 2011

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1 Grace From Start To Finish Galatians 3:1-5 Series: No Other Gospel [Galatians, #6] Lyle L. Wahl October 30, 2011 Theme: We Grow By Grace Just As We Were Saved By Grace. Introduction Strategy is important. Boeing s new 787 Dreamliner had its first commercial flight last week that is, after three years of devastating, costly delays. They used an outsourcing strategy designed to slash costs. The strategy backfired. One company executive said, We spent a lot more money in trying to recover than we ever would have spent if we d tried to keep the key technologies closer to home. Some Wall Street analysts estimate the added costs for that strategy at between $12-18 billion. 1 Yes, some strategies carefully planned and evaluated by some of the best and brightest don t work well, or even backfire. There are different strategies for the Christian life. For example, the apostle Paul lays out God s strategy for our spiritual battles in the last part of Ephesians 6. He begins, Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. (10-11) This strategy always is effective. One strategy that never works involves starting one way and then shifting to another. Specifically, we start with salvation by God s grace through faith in Christ. We don t and can t earn it. It is all by God s grace. But then in living and growing as God s child, sometimes a shift is made from relying on what God does to what we do our effort and accomplishments, our discipline, our doing and not doing certain things. Paul deals with this as we move into chapter 3 in Galatians. Here he begins to teach about justification and living by faith. The center of the first paragraph is in verse 3, Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? You see, Paul tells us again it is grace from start to finish. We grow by grace just as we were saved by grace. Let s explore that this morning. Beginning By The Holy Spirit. Paul states two aspects of how people become forgiven sinners and children of God. He presents both from the view of the Holy Spirit s work, of how we came to life and began by the Holy Spirit. First, there is hearing the gospel. In verse one he describes his initial

2 ministry to them as publicly portraying Jesus Christ as crucified before their eyes. In other words, Paul s preaching of the gospel was clear, it was in bold strokes. He did not gloss over any parts of the message, nor did he soften any of the sharp edges of God s sovereignty, their sinfulness and God s grace being only in Christ in an attempt to give them what they wanted to hear. As he told the church at Corinth, we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 2 As he speaks of God working miracles among the Galatians in verse 5, Paul states the clear principle of hearing with faith. They, and all of us who are God s redeemed people, heard the good news of the gospel and then believed. Time after time in his letters Paul talks about his preaching of the gospel not just because he was a preacher, but because speaking and hearing the gospel is God s plan for reaching and redeeming people. He expands on this in Romans 10. Starting at verse 8 he writes of the word of faith which we are preaching, [is] that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. (8b-10) In verse 13 he tells us whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved. And then he describes the necessity of this preaching or speaking and people hearing in verses How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? He concludes, So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ (17). The second aspect of our beginning, our becoming a child of God that he touches on here is receiving the Holy Spirit. Look at verse two where Paul makes the point in the form of a question. 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? Were you saved, did you receive the Holy Spirit by works or by hearing and faith? There was not doubt in his or their minds. Most of them were Gentiles. They had not known let alone tried to follow the Jewish Law. They heard and believed the gospel and were saved. It is the same point he made back in chapter 2, verse 16, a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified. 2

3 Jesus told Nicodemus that unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 3 Paul explains this in Titus chapter 3. Turn to it (page 168 in the second or New Testament section of the pew Bible). Starting at verse 4, But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (4-7) God the Holy Spirit washes, cleanses, removes our sin and takes residence within us. And then He guides and instructs us in the truth. Paul describes believers in Romans 8 as those who are led by the Spirit of God (14). Turning it around, in that same chapter he tells us if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him (9). So, once again, Paul reminded them, and reminds us, that it is all of grace. We have been saved by God s grace, we began by the Holy Spirit s work, not our own. Growing By The Holy Spirit. Even if we are certain and celebrate salvation being the gift of God s grace through faith in Jesus Christ plus nothing else, we can abandon that truth when it comes to living and growing in faith. As I said earlier, sometimes a shift is made from relying on what God does to what we do our effort and accomplishments, our discipline, our doing and not doing certain things. Sometimes it is subtle; other times it is blatant. Subtle messages that we need to have to have more faith, to pray more and work harder. Blatant lists of what we do and don t do to check off to see how we rank and what we have accomplished. The reasons for us falling into this include our natural fallen nature which is focused on what we do and don t do, and also the fact that God calls us to bear fruit, or be productive; 4 to be strong and stand firm; 5 to obey Him; 6 to be His witnesses; 7 to be holy; 8 to bear one another s burdens; 9 3

4 to do good to all people, especially other believers; 10 among many other things. Any and all growth and fruit in our lives comes from and through the Holy Spirit. We must be active and faithful, not passive and disobedient. But God is the source of the strength, the wisdom, the fruit. We must stay close to and rely on Him. We need to give up ownership of the work He does in and through us. We need to abandon comparing, excusing or condemning ourselves on the basis of what we see happening, or what appears to be happening, in others. As Paul writes in chapter 5, If we live by the Spirit, [if we have life by the Spirit] let us also walk by the Spirit (25). We grow by the Holy spirit. Paul challenged them to look at the evidence of this in their own experience. The first piece of evidence he gives might surprise us. Drop down to verse 4. Did you suffer so many things in vain if indeed it was in vain? The first evidence is their suffering for Christ. Believers are persecuted. We do and will suffer at the hands of those who do not believe. Jesus put it this way, in John s gospel, chapter 15, If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you (18). And, Remember the word that I said to you, A slave is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you (20). Remember these words when you wonder why some people ridicule and reject your witness and even you. Remember the reality that Paul brought back to Timothy s mind as he cited his own experience of suffering while ministering in Galatia, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 11 While we should never be rude and always proclaim and live the gospel in love, we cannot be true to Christ and try to blend in with this world, try to avoid rejection and persecution. We see an example at the close of this letter. Turn ahead a page or two to chapter 6, verse 12 Paul writes, Those who desire to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. Those false teachers, those Jewish false teachers wanted to be in on, be known as Christians, but they were not willing to be persecuted by non-believing Jews over the issue of keeping the practice of circumcision and the rest of the Law. They wanted to fit in. So they tried to have it both ways. But that message was false. As we have seen earlier from chapter 1 on, it was not the gospel at all. 4

5 The second piece of evidence was that God worked miracles among them. Drop down to verse 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? They had seen God working miraculously. One of those miracles while Paul was with them in Galatia is recorded by Luke in Acts 14, we have seen it before this morning. At Lystra a man was sitting who had no strength in his feet, lame from his mother s womb, who had never walked. This man was listening to Paul as he spoke, who, when he had fixed his gaze on him and had seen that he had faith to be made well, said with a loud voice, Stand upright on your feet. And he leaped up and began to walk. (9-10) God continues to work miracles among his people today. As we think of Faith in palliative care this morning and her journey on earth drawing into the final few days, as it appears, remember the miracles God has done for her. Faith and Barry have seen and given praise to God for those miracles. In the years I have been here I know of times where the only explanation, the real explanation for what has happened, or not happened, has been God s miraculous intervention. Paul told the Galatians and tells us, Do you really think these miracles came about because you follow certain rituals and rules and all that has been added on to the Old Testament Law? Do you really think they come because you are checking off all the right boxes? Look at the evidence from your own experience! And so, very directly, very passionately, Paul writes, Don t be foolish! Don t be fooled! He says it not only once, but twice! Verse 1. You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? Verse 3. Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? That s strong language! How would you react if I said, You foolish Edmontonians! Who has bewitched you? Are you so foolish? I imagine some of you might quickly take up a collection for a one-way outof-edmonton U-Haul trailer gift certificate? A recently discovered letter from that time has now been made available on the internet. In part it reads, Dear Paul, We are deeply disturbed by your letter We think you should know that there are a lot of other people who were really bothered by your letter. The exasperated tone and biting words that you used are simply inappropriate for a minister of the Gospel and have no place in the church. 5

6 You called us foolish. You suggested someone had put us under a spell! These words hurt our feelings, Paul. Would you like it if someone called you a fool? Is namecalling really appropriate in the church? You also wrote that you wish those who were disturbing us would emasculate themselves. Really, Paul, is such graphic language appropriate in the church? We ve been doing some asking around at some other churches. Some good friends that we really trust say that in their church in Jerusalem Peter and James never use such a tone or such words in their letters. So, we wanted you to know that after a lot of prayer we re going to be looking for another apostle. The letter, of course, was unsigned. 12 Paul s words were strong. The Holy Spirit used Paul s love for them and his commitment to Christ and the gospel to wake them up, to blow away the fog of false teaching. They knew the truth. He had taught them himself. And yet they were toying with trying to live and grow by the works of the Law. Jesus used this same word for foolish in Luke 24. The setting is after His resurrection. Two of the disciples were walking to a small town, discussing all that had happened, but were unable to understand it, to put the pieces together. Jesus joined them, but they did not recognize Him. After they explained the events, Jesus said, O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory? (25-26) Later, when they reached the town and Jesus stayed with them, Luke records Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight (31). That is what Paul was trying to do here open their eyes to see the truth, to no longer be fooled and foolish. We too can be fooled, deceived by different things. We can, for example, think that the bad things which happen to us, including our committing sin, are ultimately God s fault. After all, He is all-powerful, He can do anything, He can stop anything. He is all-knowing. James dealt with this when he wrote, Let no one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God ; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived [do not be fooled], my beloved brethren. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. 13 6

7 We are to grow by grace. We grow by grace just as we were saved by grace. That is the point of verses 2 and 3. Look at them again. 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? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Again, later in chapter 5 Paul wrote, If we live [if we have spiritual life] by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit (25). You began, you received life by the Holy Spirit s work. So now live by the power, illumination, wisdom and direction of the Holy Spirit. It is grace from start to finish. The Holy Spirit works within us to make us more and more like Christ. As Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians, But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. (3:18) He is within us both to will and to work for His good pleasure. 14 And so, as Paul writes in verse 16 of chapter 5 here in Galatians, when we walk by the Spirit we will not carry out the desires of the flesh, of our sinful nature. How does this work? We need to realize and accept the tensions and balance of trusting and working and follow God s strategy. That includes longing for, reading and growing in the Scriptures. Walking by the Holy Spirit does not mean either that we are on auto-pilot or that we have some special, mystical sense. 1 Peter 2:1, Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation If we are not living in the Word we are not living by the Spirit. Then, recognize the dynamics of the work God wants you to do. A verse familiar to many, Ephesians 2:10, For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. This is so reassuring, so freeing! It is not all up to me to come up with, to carry out the work. It also is sobering. I do not want to miss out on things that God purposefully and lovingly prepared for me before time began. Yes, I have erred on both accounts taken things on as if it were all up to me and taken a step away from things that God had prepared for me to do. May neither of those characterize my life or yours. May we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 15 7

8 Conclusion. Dedication and work, disciplined living and work for God are important. But remember their nature, dynamics and place. There is an old and true saying, Faith is the root; obedience is the fruit. We are not justified by works. We are do not grow and mature, we are not sanctified by works. The good works we do, for which Christ will reward us, are the fruit of faith, of trusting, of walking in and by the Holy Spirit. Have you ever felt trapped, unable to be and do what you think you should, or know you should? If so, you may have been fooled, trapped and conditioned to think that way. One writer tells of a time when he worked carrying for some hawks that were being held in a small cage as evidence in a court proceeding. He felt sorry for them. He decided to let the birds go when no one was looking. He opened the door, but the hawks didn t leave the cage. Then he tried to scare them out, but they just hoped around, none flew away, and some hopped back into the cage. Finally he gave up. It seemed that the hawks had been conditioned to accept their confinement. 16 Don t let that happen, or continue to happen to you. It is grace from start to finish. We grow by grace just as were saved by grace. As you think and talk with God about this now, thank Him that it is not all up to you, that it is grace from start to finish. Thank Him that you will grow and thrive as the Holy Spirit works to transform you to be more and more like Christ. Thank Him that He purposefully and lovingly prepared works for you to do before time began. Determine not to be trapped by legalistic or any other human inventions of it all being up to you, that you are not capable, that you don t and you can t measure up. Determine to read and base your thoughts, speech and actions on the Word of God. Determine to tune your heart to, to grow in and by the grace of God. Let s do that now. 1 A prescient warning to Boeing on 787 trouble. The Seattle Times. 09 February < sundaybuzz06.html>. 09 February Accessed 27 October Corinthians 1: John 3:5. 4 e.g. John 15: e.g. Ephesians 6: e.g. John 15:14. 7 e.g. Matthew 28: e.g. 1 Peter 1:

9 9 e.g. Galatians 6:2. 10 e.g. Galatians 6: timothy 3: Eric M. Schumacher. An Infant in a Cradle. < 25 March Accessed 26 October James 1: Philippians 2: Peter 3: Gary Richmond. A View From The Zoo. Nashville: W Publishing Group, 1987, pages Lyle L. Wahl Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. 9