Lesson
14 July 7, 2002
2:21
Paul's conclusion related to importance of Grace
"I
do not nullify the grace of God ouvk avqetw/ to set aside, declare invalid, to reject
"grace" here focuses on His saving - justifying
provision, the cross.
Grace is (B.L.) all that God is free to do for us
based on the work of Christ on the Cross.
Def. Grace
speaks of all that God has done to bring fallen and sinful man into a just and
eternal relationship with Himself and do so without compromising His character
and totally apart from human merit or works.
"for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly."
Christ died needlessly dwrea.n adverb speaks of an unaccepted gift therefore
without purpose, needlessly
Summary
2:21
1. This
verse is the coup-de-grace, the death blow to legalism since it makes it clear
that Grace and works in salvation are mutually exclusive.
2. The
point Paul has been making is that the death of Christ on the Cross is totally
sufficient for one to be justified before God.
3. The
very thought of Christ, the Messiah dying needlessly, without a purpose is
unimaginable to Paul and should be to each of us!
Galatians Chapter
3
II. Justification by Faith as the Basis of
Christian Liberty, 3:1- 4:31
1. 3:1-5
Paul questions the Galatians about their experience.
The first question 3:1 Read
vs:1
You foolish Galatians, avno,htoj
foolish in the sense of without
thinking;
who has bewitched you, baskai,nw literally used to refer to casting a magic spell on
someone; or to bring damage to a person through an evil eye or spoken word.
before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?
With this statement Paul is telling them your
without excuse, your accountable.
If you
Galatians had truly appreciated the significance of the crucifixion of Christ
you would not have found the message of the Judaizers/legalists so attractive.
Observations:
3:1
1. Paul had not been deficient in his communication of the gospel of
grace, that one is justified by faith in the work of Christ on the cross and
they had believed.
2. The problem now is that the doctrine, the truth that they know is
not being used to evaluate what the Judaizers are teaching them.
3. These
Galatian believers appear as if charmed, bewitched by the evil of this heteros
gospel.
4. Point
that Paul makes here in the last part of the verse is that if you reflected on
and appreciated the Work of Christ on the Cross it would destroy your legalism.
5. Part
of the P/T's ministry is to teach the wise, those who realize they don't know
it all and need to be taught and to encourage the foolish to think and become
wise.
6. Application: The danger of being a non-thinking avno,htoj believer.
a.
Non-thinking believers are characterized by superficial attitudes
relative to doctrine.
b.
Non-thinking believers do not discriminate within the world of ideas.
c.
Non-thinking believers without a foundation of doctrine are easy prey
for the false doctrine that is the fad of the day.
d. One's
capacity to discriminate in the world of ideas is an indication of one's
maturity.
3:2 The Second Question
The
set up for the second question!
This is the only thing I want to find out from you: lit. this only I desire to learn from you!
did you receive the Spirit by the
works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?
Did
the Holy Spirit come to indwell you as the result of law motivated works or by
a message that stimulated faith?
Summary
3:2
1. Paul is
challenging them here to think back to what transpired when they believed in
Christ.
2. The
issue that Paul is raising is did your salvation begin on the basis of law
produced works or on the basis of faith in the Gospel that I communicated?
3. Since
these churches were predominately Gentile and did not have a background in the
M/L therefore law oriented works why
are you being sidetracked now by idea that law produced works have some merit.
4. When
they had evaluated the circumstances related to their salvation, the only
conclusion they could arrive at is that they received the Holy Spirit
[indwelling] in response to faith in Christ, the message of grace that Paul had
communicated.
3:3
Question #3 Shifts the issue of
sanctification
Are
you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the
flesh?
Think folks can a work which begun on the basis of
the higher sphere of God's Spirit be perfected or brought to its intended goal
on the basis of the works of the flesh, the sin nature dominating which is a
lower sphere. Is that God's way?
Begun
by the Holy Spirit: [brings into view
the specific things accomplished at salvation]
Regeneration
- gives new life, eternal life, cancels spiritual death
Batism
of the H/S - enters us into union with
Christ; identification with Christ
Indwells
- permanent
Seals
us -
guarantee of our future inheritance in Christ.
Gives
each one a spiritual gift [for the function of the body of Christ the Church]
being
perfected evpitele,w to
accomplish, to complete to bring something to an intended goal
Paul
is saying here that the greatest thing that ever happened to you came about
because you believed in Christ, why
have you abandoned the faith principle now for a system of law produced works. You've gone from grace to legalism.
UNDER
GRACE UNDER
LEGALISM
God
is the source of blessing God is indebted to bless.
Man
is the recipient
Man is the
producer
Works
are the result Works are the
means
Result
is an attitude of humility Result is an attitude of pride