Explore the Bible Lesson Preview June 14, 2009 "Receiving the Gospel" Background: Galatians 2:11-3:25 Lesson: Galatians 2:15-3:9 Motivation: Slave or son? Which would you rather be? In Paul's day, the contrast could not have been greater between the two relationships. In this passage we find how we have been transformed by God's grace from slaves to sons and from prisoners to possessors of the promise. I. When the gospel is challenged (2:11-21) A. Confrontation: A Stare Down in Antioch (11-15) 1. Double Standard "Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed. " (11) Believer 's Study Bible, p. 1667: " 2:11 The confrontation between the two great leaders of the early church shows: (1) Peter held no position of authority over all the churches or, for that matter, over any one church; (2) there is a difference between the clearly inspired writings of an apostle, such as 1 and 2 Peter, in which there is no error, and the personal actions of an apostle, which are not divinely inspired; (3) good men may disagree in the church and yet, under the Spirit of God, work through to a solution; and (4) church leaders who sin publicly should be disciplined publicly." 2. Double-mindedness "...the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with 1 / 16
him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy... " (13) James writes " A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways " (Jas. 1:8) Unfortunately, James precipitated this crisis with the arrival of his entourage. Paul called acting one way in front of one group and another way in front of another, hypocrisy. 3. Doublecross "If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews?" (14) Paul made a point of standing up to Peter for at least two reasons: 1) Paul wanted to demonstrate to the Judaizer's that he was equal in authority to Peter or James, and 2) Paul understood that our actions undermine the truth of the gospel message. Peter's behavior was inexcusable because it contradicted God's truth. B. Confirmation: Sit down on Justification 1. The Need for Justification "know that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ...for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified." (16) Justified has often been described as "just as if I'd" never sinned. Do we reach that point through good works or through faith? A primary theme of Galatians is that justification is based 100% on faith in Christ with no mixture of a requirement of works of the law.(john 6:28-29) 2. The Way of Justification "...even as we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law..." (16b) 2 / 16
a. What faith is not: 1. Mere head knowledge (James 2:19) 2. Mere temporal faith (I John 2:19) b. What faith is: trusting by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life F.A.I.T.H.: Forsaking All I Trust Him. (I Peter 2:24; Heb 1:1-3) 3. The Argument Against Justification by Faith "But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not!" (17) The Judaizer's argument against justification by faith alone was that it encouraged sin (in this case, sin was defined by the Jewish prohibition against eating with Gentiles.) In today's culture, those who teach against eternal security of the believer use the same argument. (Eph 2:8-10; Rom. 9:30-32; I John 5:4) 4. The Results of Justification by Faith "For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God " (18-19) Returning to the Mosaic law for acceptance before God would, in fact, return a guilty verdict against Paul. (cf. v. 21)." (Heb 7:19; Matt 5:17-18) 5. The Process of Accepting Justification "I have been crucified with Christ; it 3 / 16
is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me " (20) a. Crucifixion means reckoning ourselves dead 1. Dead to the law (19; Rom. 7:4) 2. Dead to sin (Rom. 6:2, 11) 3. Dead to our past way of living (Rom. 6:4, 19) 4. Dead to the basic principles of this world (Col. 2:20) 5. Dead to the fruits of the flesh (5:16-21) b. Conversion means realizing that Jesus empowers us (Acts 1:8) 1. Power to share the good news (Acts 4:33, Matt. 28:18-20) 2. Power to claim God's promises (Rom. 4:21; 9:4-5; Gal.3:26-28) 3. Power to strengthen our faith (I Cor. 2:3-5; Eph. 6:10; II Thes. 1:3) 4 / 16
4. Power to wage spiritual warfare (2 Cor. 10:4,5) 5. Power to work change in us (Eph. 3:20) II. When the Gospel is Accepted (3:1-9) A. Reception of the Spirit (1-5) 1. Foolishness "O Foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?" (1) Paul reproved the Galatians as a loving Father corrects children. He could not believe that false teachers had led them astray from the truth he preached. 2. Filling "This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of Faith." (2) Paul taught that God's Holy Spirit was the evidence of salvation (2 Cor. 1:22; Eph 1:13; Rom. 8:9; I Cor. 12:13) Filling is commanded of Believers "Be filled with the Spirit" (Eph. 5:18b) 3. Finishing "Are you so foolish? Having begun in the spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?" l. 3:3) (Ga In Texas, we don't switch horses in the middle of the stream. Having established that the Galatians begin their relationship with God by receiving Christ (as 5 / 16
evidenced by being baptized by the Spirit), Paul charges that they are "switching horses" by trying to finish ( "being made perfect" ) in the flesh. 4. Father "Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? (5) Rom. 10:17 Another evidence of the superiority of grace over works is the manifestation of God's power. The coming of the Holy Spirit to the early churches was often demonstrated by supernatural miracles, "signs and wonders" (Acts 4:30, 5:12, 14:3, 15:12; 2 Cor. 12:12; Heb.2: 4). Paul was pointing out that these miracles were not experienced under the law. B. Example of Abraham (3:6-9) Believer's Study Bible, p.1668: "3:6 Salvation by grace is not new to the present dispensation. Prior to the Law, Abraham believed (trusted or had faith in) God, and "He accounted it to him for righteousness" (Gen. 15:6). The term "accounted" ( logizomai, Gk) is a bookkeeping term, which means, "to credit to someone's account." Because of his faith in God, he was considered "righteous" before God and therefore acceptable to God's grace." (Rom. 4:3; Jas 2:23; Gen. 15:6) 1. The Judaizer's Argument 6 / 16
Based on Paul's counter-arguments, we can suppose that the Judaizer's contended three basic proofs from the life of Abraham: a. Man can achieve a righteous standing before God through obedience to the Law. &q uot;children of Abraham" was used by the Pharisees to declare their place in God's family (Matt. 3:9; Luke 3:8; John 8:39) b. Abraham's righteousness was contingent on circumcision (Gen. 17:10, 23-24) c. God's plan (including circumcision) did not change with Christ's coming. 2. Paul's Explanation a. Paul agreed that Abraham was a righteous man..."abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness" (3:6) "Therefore, know that only these who are of faith are sons of Abraham " (7) Paul used Abraham as an example of grace through faith. (Eph. 2:8-9) b. Paul taught that circumcision was no longer the sign of the covenant; baptism replaced circumcision as that sign. (3:27; 5:2-3, 12;Rom 2:28,29 cf Deut 10:16; Acts 15; Gal 5:2; Col 2:11-13) c. Paul demonstrated that God prophetically revealed the gospel to Abraham "And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand..." (8) Therefore, the Patriarch is called 7 / 16
"believing Abraham" (9) III. When the Gospel is Clarified (3:10-18) A. Redemption From the Law's Curse (10-14) 1. Curse "For as many as are under of the works of the law are under the curse;" (10) Believer's Study Bible, 1669: "3:10 The ineffectiveness of human works to secure proper standing before God grows directly from human failure to Continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.' Consequently, the curse rests upon all men who have only their own works to commend them to God" (James 2:10) 2. Continuity "is everyone who does not continues in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them " (10b) (Deut. 27:26) (He b 4:15) 3. Confidence "But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for the just shall live by Faith'" (11) (Hab 2:4; Rom 1:17; Heb 10:38) Paul refers to the Book of Habakkuk to prove that even in the Old Testament, people did not expect to earn salvation by keeping the law. Justified implies making something right i.e. justifying columns in a ledger or justifying two uneven rows. The law is like a carpenter's level; it can reveal that things are unjustified but has no power to make things right. Our only confidence has to be through faith in Christ's atoning work (Phil 1:6; Heb 7: 11-22) 8 / 16
4. Contradiction "Yet the law is not of faith, but the man who does them shall live by them" (12) While the Judaizers combined the law and faith, Paul taught that they were mutually exclusive means of salvation. 5. Christ "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (For it is written, Cursed is everyone who hands on a tree') " (13) Believer's Study Bible, p. 1669: 3:13 "The curse under which man lives is removed through the death of Christ. The curse cannot simply be abolished. Deut. 27:26 is inviolable, and those who fail to keep even one point of the law fall under a curse. From this curse, however, redemption is possible, because Christ becomes the substitutionary recipient of that curse. Appeal is made to the law to confirm that one hanged on a tree is cursed (cf. Deut. 21:23)." 6. Conversion "that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." ( 14) a. Conversion is available universally "that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus..." (14a) The Judaizers were contending that God's blessing fell only on the descendents of Abraham. Therefore, a person must first become a Jew before becoming a Christian. Paul refuted this by stating that God's plan included the Gentiles from the beginning. Under the New Testament (covenant) one could convert to Christ, therefore, without becoming 9 / 16
a Jew. The gospel was (and is) available to all who would receive Christ (John 1:12; John 8:56-58) b. Conversion is available unilaterally "...in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (14b) Conversion is available to anyone who " calls on the name of the Lord " (Romans 10:13) B. Rejoicing in God's Promises (3:15-25) 1. The Promise a. Covenant "Though it is only a man's covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls it or adds to it" (15) Paul changes his tone from &q uot;o foolish Galatians" (3:1) to "Brothers" (15). He used an example from everyday life "I speak in the manner of men." A contract between people, when fully ratified cannot be annulled or amended; that was good business practice. How much more firm is God's covenant with Abraham, which promised that One in his lineage would be a blessing, " to all the families of the earth " (Gen. 12:3 including both Jew and Gentile). 10 / 16
b. Christ "And to your Seed, who is Christ" (16) Paul made his case on the basis of one word "Seed " (sin gular) versus (" seeds ") (plural). Christ is the obvious fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant. This line of reasoning also points to the importance of the verbal inspiration of scripture (2 Tim 3:16). c. Chronology "...the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later..." (1 7) Believer's Study Bible, p. 1669: 3:17 "The length of the sojourn in Egypt is given in Ex. 12:40 as 430 years. Paul gives this more exact figure, whereas Gen: 15:13 and Acts 7:6 round the number off to 400 years." d. Conveyance "the law...cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise" (17-18) The "inheritance" promised to Abraham involved descendants and land. Paul affirmed that the law did not annul the covenant; in fact, its spiritual blessings are available today through Jesus Christ, the World Blesser. (Heb 6:13-20; 7:20-22) 2. The Purpose 11 / 16
"What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator" (18) The law served to point out our " transgressions." Whereas God gave His covenant directly to Abraham, the law was "appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator" (Moses). The very contrast of charges (first person to Abraham, third hand to Moses) shows the superiority of the former covenant. (I John 3:4-5) IV. When the Gospel is Declared (3:19-25) A. Chosen "Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one" (20) Paul further heightened the contrast by demonstrating that the mediator (Moses) came between God and men while God directly dealt with us through His son Jesus. The basic confession of Judaism ("God is one," Deut. 6:4) is realized in Jesus. B. Changeless "Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law." (21) God's plan didn't change. He never intended for redemption to occur through obedience to the law. C. Confined "But the scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But before faith came we were kept under guard by the law, kept for faith which would afterward be revealed." (22-23) 12 / 16
1. Confined by sin- sin keeps us locked up and held captive (Eph. 4:18) 2. Confined by the law- the NIV says "We were held prisoners by the law" Th e disobedience to the law reveals our condemnation. (Rom 8:1) 3. Confined until faith sets us free - "Explore the Bible Commentary" (Summe r, 2003) p. 40: "Paul developed further the preparatory function of the law. He continued to picture sin as a jailer by indicating the law functioned as jailer before this faith came. This faith refers to the way of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. To be held prisoners literally means, to be kept in custody.' We shows Paul included himself along with his fellow Jews and Gentile readers of the letter. The law was intended, however, to deliver its prisoners over to faith when it was revealed. This revelation came in Jesus Christ. Paul was showing that the law had a positive purpose, a point he amplified in the next verse." D. Confirmed "Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that 13 / 16
we might be justified by faith" 1667: 3:24 "The law's purpose was never to save. (24) Believer's Study Bible, p Rather, the law was a tutor' ( paidagogos, Gk.) designed to reveal man's sinfulness and inadequacy, thus sending him to God to find justification by faith. The law effects this purpose by demonstrating in its canons the holy character of God. Additionally, the law provides a perfect standard by which man may measure himself morally and spiritually. Seeing in the law the perfection of God and the imperfection of man, one is instructed to come to Christ in faith. The word paidagogos refers to slave whose charge the children were committed in a given household. Among other responsibilities, the paidagogos was to see that the child made it to school safely and returned home at the conclusion of the day. In the same way, the law supervised the growth of God's people until the coming of Christ" (cf. Also Matt 5:17, 18) ( I Pet 1:15-25; Isa. 6:3) Application 1. God expects us to defend His truth. (John 8:32, 36; John 17:17) 2. God provides salvation as a grace gift, not dependent upon the law. (Heb. 1:1-3) 14 / 16
3. God justifies us through faith in Christ's atoning work. (Rom. 4:24-5:1) Leader Pack Item 5: Handout: Heros of Grace; Item 6: Handout: Path of Salvation; Biblical Illustrator: no illustrator article Notes: **You may access David's Lesson Preview in MP3 format at: http://www.hfbcbiblestud y.org/ ; Dates: 6/4-8/6 - Metro Bible Study, WC; 6/8-12 - Vacation Bible School; 6/12-16 - Middle School & High School Camp; 6/17 - Midsummer's Night Thing; 6/24-28 - Children's Camp; 7/5 - July 4 th weekend - Normal Schedule; 7/7 - Kindercamp; 7/12-16 - Houston Project; 7/20-24 - High 5 Music Camp ; 7/23-25 - First Place 4 Health Leadership Summit; 7/29 - Another Midsummer Night's Thing; 7/30 - Kindercamp; 8/7-8 - Rushapaloosa; 8/23 - SBS Promotion and Start New Church Schedule; 8/28-29 - LivingProof Simulcast; 8/26-11/18 15 / 16
- Fall Midlink; 9/6 - Labor Day Weekend - Normal schedule ; 9/8-11/17 - LivingProof Bible Study; 10/2-3 - Men's Retreat; 10/8-10 - Exodus Conf. 16 / 16