A Study In Galatians

Book: Galatians

Background:

Apparently, Judaizers came to churches of Galatia, preaching
salvation by faith in Christ, plus circumcision (5:3). Since
relying on a single human merit for salvation, results in
eternal damnation (1:9; 5:2-4), Paul strongly urged the
Galatians to stand firm in Christ's liberty of salvation by
grace, through faith, apart from works.

Contents:

Chapters 1-2 prove Paul's message came from God, not man, and
that it was therefore the only authorized gospel. Chapters
3-4 explain why faith alone, and not the law, or human merit,
is the only way to be justified. Chapters 5-6 show how faith
is the only way to be sanctified from the power of sin in our
daily lives.

Theme: Salvation is by grace, not works.

Outline:

1. Because God said so (1-2)

2. Because Christ freed us from the law (3-4)

3. Because the Spirit gives victory over sin (5-6)

Text: Galatians 1

Theme: Salvation is by grace, not works.

1. Because God said so (1-2)
A. This message came from God (1:1-12)
B. This message did not come from man (1:13-24)

This message came from God (1:1-10)

Paul was an apostle ("sent one") of God, not men. As such, God
is the One who sent his message of salvation by grace ("gift",
"unmerited favor"), apart from works (1:1). This is the only
gospel which glorifies God rather than man (1:2-5).

Further, salvation by the grace of Christ is the only message
which God calls believers to (1:6-10; cf. John 6:44; 12:32).
Adding a single human merit to faith, as a term of salvation,
renders "another" (different) gospel, which is not "another"
(gospel of the same kind), and leads men to eternal damnation
(6-9). Paul urged the Galatians to stand fast in the grace of
Christ, by rejecting any gospel which adds human works to
faith, as a term for salvation.

This message did not come from man(1:13-24)

Paul did not seek to merit God's favor, or please men (10). He
received his gospel by revelation from Christ, apart from
human instruction (1:11-12). This was evident because Paul
used to oppose christians, and their gospel of God's grace. It
was in his zeal to merit God's favor, and while on his way to
persecute christians, that God saved Paul, and sent him to
preach a gospel of grace among the Gentiles (13-16a; cf. Acts
9:1-16). Only three years later did Paul confer with Peter,
and then only for two weeks (18). He remained unknown, by
face, to the churches of Judea, and they heard only that he
now preached the faith he once tried to destroy (22-23). The
gospel of salvation by grace, apart from human merit did not
come from men.

Text: Galatians 2

Theme: Salvation is by grace, not works.

1. Because God said so (1-2)
B. This message did not come from man (1:11 - 2)

By refusing to circumcise Titus (1-5), giving Paul the right
hand of fellowship (6-10), and receiving correction from Paul
(11-21), the other apostles confirm the gospel of salvation by
grace, through faith, apart from works, comes from God, not
man.

They refused to circumcise Titus (1-5). Paul took Titus, an
uncircumcised Greek, to Jerusalem with him. Not only did the
other apostles (whom the Judaizers apparently set up as the
authority for their false gospel) not circumcise Titus, but
they and Paul refused to circumcise him when some false
brethren insisted on it.

They gave Paul the right hand of fellowship (6-10). Far from
teaching a gospel which adds human merit as a term for
salvation, the apostles endorsed Paul's ministry to the
Gentiles as being equal to Peter's ministry to the Jews.

They received correction from Paul (11-21). The OT law
forbids Jews to eat certain kinds of food (Lev. 11:20-25; cf.
John 4:9, 27). In Acts 10:10-16, Peter received a vision from
God, in which he was instructed he could now eat this food.
This was symbolic of the fact that God had opened the door of
salvation to the Gentiles. From that time, Peter ate with
Gentiles (cf. Acts 10:17 - 11:19). When certain men came from
James, however, Peter withdrew himself from the Gentiles,
causing dissension among the other apostles as well. Paul,
however, confronted Peter over the matter, reminding him that
all believers are justified by faith in Christ, not keeping
the OT law (Gal. 2:15-21).

Text: Galatians 3

Theme: Salvation is by grace, not works.

2. Because Christ freed us from the law (3-4)
A. The Galatians were justified by faith alone (3:1-5)
B. Abraham was justified by faith alone (3:6-9)
C. The Law cannot justify (3:10-18)
D. The Law points to Christ (3:19-29)

Having shown his gospel came from God not men (1-2), chapters
three and four now prove men are justified by faith in Christ
alone, rather than faith plus keeping the Law.

The Galatians were justified by faith alone (1-5). As on the
day of Pentecost (Acts 2), and in the household of Cornelius
(cf. Acts 10:34-48), the Galatians received the Spirit of God
by faith in the gospel (cf. Romans 10:17). Having begun in
the Spirit, they should have known they could not, now,
perfect themselves by the flesh (3).

Abraham was justified by faith alone (3:6-9). In Genesis
12:3, and chapter 15, God promised Abraham a "seed" which
would become a blessing to him and the whole world. Genesis
15:6 says, "Then he [Abraham] believed in the Lord; and He
[the LORD] reckoned it to him [Abraham] as righteousness."
Since Abraham was justified by faith in this promise well
before the Law ever came, and the promise was extended to "all
nations" (cf. Genesis 12:3), all men are justified by faith in
God's promise of blessing through Abraham's "seed" (Christ),
rather than the Law.

The Law cannot justify (10-18). First, it is impossible for
men to keep the law (10-12). Romans seven gives a good
illustration of the purpose of the law, and its effect on
people (Read Romans 7:7-25). When a person tries to keep one
of God's commandments, the commandment activates their sin
nature, which then opposes God's will (cf. Romans 8:6-8) by
disobeying the command. When a person sees they have disobeyed
a direct command of God, they realize they have sinned, and
deserve the curse of the Law (Deut. 27:26; cf. James 2:20).
Thus, the purpose of the law is to reveal our sin and
inability to meet God's standards, and point us to Christ. By
hanging on the cross, Christ bore the curse of the Law which
all men deserve (Galatians 3:13-14). This work opens the door
of blessing to Gentiles, to receive the promise of the Spirit
(given to Abraham) through faith.

Next, the Law cannot annul God's promise (15-18). Even in
human covenants, once it is ratified, it cannot be annulled.
God ratified the covenant of promise with Abraham in Genesis
15:7-21. Also, Christ is the "seed" who was the heir of
Abraham's promise (16). For 430 years before the Law came,
men were being justified by faith in Christ (Genesis 46:1-4;
cf. Exodus 12:40). Since God ratified the covenant with
Abraham, since men were justified by faith for 430 years prior
to the Law, and since Christ succeeded the law as the heir of
Abraham's promise, the Law cannot annul God's promise.

Third, the Law points to Christ (19-29). As shown above, the
purpose of the law was to convict men of their sin and
inability to meet God's standards (cf. Romans 7:7 - 8:11).
Since anyone who failed to keep the Law at any of its points
was guilty of breaking the whole Law (Deut. 27:26; cf. James
2:20), and since no one is capable of keeping it, the Law
shuts all men up in their sins, so they will see their need
for justification by faith in Christ (cf. Romans 7:24-25). Now
that Christ has born the curse of the Law which we deserve, by
hanging on a tree (Galatians 3:14-15), all men can be
justified by faith in Christ. Trusting Christ as savior makes
us all one in our standing in Christ, before God. The Law
cannot justify, and points to Christ.

Having shown his gospel came from God not men (1-2), chapters
three and four now prove men are justified by faith in Christ
alone, rather than faith plus keeping the Law.

Text: Galatians 4

Theme: Salvation is by grace, not works.

2. Because Christ freed us from the law (3-4)
D. The Law points to Christ (3:19 - 4:3)
E. Believers become adopted sons (4:6-20)
F. Believers are children of promise (4:21-31)

The Law points to Christ (4:1-3). Continuing in the thought
of 3:19-29, 4:1-3 shows how the Law is a road leading to the
cross. Before Christ came, God's people, like child heirs of
an inheritance, were under the guardianship and management of
the Law. Because of the weakness of our sinful nature, which
opposes God's will (Romans 7:7 - 8:8), the good Law only
motivated us to sin, convicted us of transgression, and
brought us under a curse (Deut. 27:26; cf. James 2:20; Romans
7). Like miserable tutorage, the Law shut us up in our sin
(Galatians 3:22), proving our inability to meet God's
standards, and leading us to see the need of Christ as an
atoning substitute. The Law points to Christ.

Believers become adopted sons (6-20). Christ, having born the
curse of the Law by hanging on a tree (3:14-15), is the end to
which the road of the Law leads. Through faith, He frees
believers from the curse and tutorage of the Law, making them
adult heirs in God's family (4-5; cf. 3:25-29). Since the
Galatians had become sons of God, and adult heirs through
faith in Christ(6-7), why would they return again to the
miserable tutorage and inevitable curse which any attempt to
merit God's blessing brings (8-9)? Contrary to their former
sense of blessing they expressed towards Paul's physical
infirmities (12-16), they were now yielding to the false
gospel of Judaizers (17-18), by observing OT rituals (10-11).
This perplexed Paul, giving him labor pains in his desire to
see them restored to freedom in Christ (19).

Believers are children of promise (21-31). God promised
Abraham blessing through his seed with Sarah (ultimately
salvation through Christ [Galatians 3:8]). After becoming
right with God through faith in this promise (Genesis 12:3;
15:6), Abraham, when no child was born to him through Sarah,
tried to achieve God's promise by fathering a child, in the
strength of his flesh, through Hagar the slave (16:1-4).

As Ishmael (a child born in an attempt to obtain God's
blessing in the strength of the flesh) persecuted Isaac (the
child born of the Spirit and promise of God [Genesis 21:8-9]),
so now the Judaizers (who taught a gospel of justification by
faith plus keeping the law) persecuted the true children of
God. God instructed Abraham to cast out the bondwoman and her
son (21:9-12), because Isaac, and not Ishmael, would inherit
God's promised blessing (typical of salvation through faith in
Christ [Galatians 3:8]). In the same way, believers, as
children born of the Spirit (not the flesh) freewoman (not the
slave), and promise (not personal merit), should throw out any
attempts to merit salvation in the strength of their flesh.

Text: Galatians 5

Theme: Salvation is by grace, not works.

3. Because the Spirit gives victory over sin (5-6)
A. Through the Spirit, we wait for righteousness (1-12)
B. Through the Spirit, we bear the fruit of love (13-26)
Having shown the gospel of grace came from God (1-2), and
faith in Christ alone frees us from the penalty of sin (3-4),
chapters 5 - 6 now show the Spirit, by faith alone, frees us
from the power of sin in daily life.

Through the Spirit, we wait for righteousness (1-12). Far
from keeping us saved, trying to complete salvation by adding
works to faith renders Christ of no benefit. This does not
mean you can lose your salvation, for even Abraham, after
being justified by faith alone, when he failed to see the
fulfillment of God's promise in his life, attempted to obtain
it through the strength of his flesh (Galatians 4; cf. Genesis
16:1-7; 17:15-29). Rather, one who insists on achieving God's
blessing by adding works to faith, takes a course which
obligates him to keep the entire Law, and will therefore be
excluded from the benefit of salvation which comes through
faith in Christ alone. Believers are saved from the penalty
of sin the moment they trust Christ (justification: Romans
3-5). They are saved from the power of sin in their daily
life by the Spirit, through faith in Christ's death and
resurrection (Sanctification: Romans 6-7), and will be
delivered from the presence of their sinful nature and body
when they enter the presence of Christ (Glorification: Read
Romans 8:23-30). Through the Spirit, by faith, believers bear
God's fruit of love, and wait for the hope of glory.

Through the Spirit, we bear the fruit of love (13-26).
Although Christ frees us from the obligation and curse of the
Law, our freedom is not a license to sin (13). Rather, we
should use our liberty to serve one another in love (13-14).
By faith, the believer is so united to the person and work of
Christ, he is said to have died with Him to sin, and been
raised with Him to newness of life (Romans 6:1-11). Knowing
this position, and counting it to be true, the believer is
free, by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, to yield his
members as instruments of righteousness to God (Read Romans
6:12-14; 8:2-23). Although our flesh desires to bear the
fruit of "immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery,
enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes,
dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, etc.
(17-21), the Spirit desires to bear the fruit of "love , joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control, etc., in the believer's life. We should yield
ourselves to this ministry of the Spirit in our lives.

Believers should stand fast in Christ's liberty by rejecting
merit gospels, waiting for the hope of righteousness, and
loving their neighbor.

Text: Galatians 6

Theme: Salvation is by grace, not works.

3. Because the Spirit gives victory over sin (5-6)
B. Through the Spirit, we bear the fruit of love (5:13 -
6:18)
1. By restoring brothers who sin (1)
2. By bearing other's burdens (2-5)
3. By doing good to all men (6-10)

Although Christ frees us from the Law and its curse, believers
should use this freedom to serve one another in love, rather
than sin (cf. 5:13). Chapter six continues this theme,
showing ways to serve in love.

1. By restoring brother's who sin (1). The picture, here, is
of a brother running from but overtaken by a faster sin.
Believers who are "spiritual", should try to restore such. The
concept of being "spiritual" seems to denote one who is led by
the Spirit rather than the flesh (cf. 5:16-26). This includes
being meek (1b), lest the one trying to restore also become
tempted. In 1 Corinthians 4:21, Paul contrasts coming to the
Corinthians with an iron rod of correction, with meekness.
Matthew 11:29, Ephesians 4:2, and Colossians 3:12 associate
meekness with being lowly, humble, kind, patient, and self
controlled. 1 Corinthians 2:6-16 also describes a "spiritual"
person as one who appraises "all things" by the wisdom of
God's Word, rather than the wisdom of the world. Those who are
spiritual should restore sinning brothers.

2. By bearing other's burdens (2-5). The word "burden", here,
means a "heavy, crushing load". We should help those who are
carrying more pressures than they can handle. To engage in
this kind of ministry, one first needs to lay aside arrogant
pride. Rather than compare himself to the person under the
heavy burden, and conclude he is better, a burden bearer
should evaluate his own actions independently (3-4). The
"load" everyone must carry for themselves is a different kind
of load than the one which requires help from others. This
load is only the "pack" of a marching soldier, which Christ
promised would be light (Matthew 11:30).

3. By doing good to all men (6-10). To those who teach us the
Word of God, we should share "all good things. This may refer
to giving money or other goods to those who minister in
teaching us God's Word. The phrase, "God is not mocked" means
He is not "snubbed". That is, no one can "turn their nose up"
at God. What one sows, he reaps. If one sows to the sinful
nature, he will reap corruption. If he sows to the Spirit, he
will reap "eternal life". This doesn't mean one can earn
salvation, but that the Spirit, "in due season" (9) will bear
the fruit of Christ's eternal nature in the life of the
believer who yields to Him by faith. The principle of sowing
and reaping seems to refer back to the matter about yielding
to the Spirit rather than the flesh (7-8) (5:16-26), but also
to sharing all good things with those who teach (6), and the
following verses about doing good to all men, but especially
other believers (9-10).

Verses 11-18 give the closing summary, in which Paul again
urges the Galatians to avoid those teachers and gospels which
promote the addition of works to faith as a term of salvation.
The scars Paul bore for preaching salvation by grace, through
faith, apart from works, confirm his confidence was in Christ
alone, and not human merit. He commends us to the grace of
Our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

--
Have you heard Christ died for our sins, and God raised Him
from the dead? Did you know God saves you from hell and
gives you eternal life through faith in this finished work alone,
not your merits (Jn. 3:16; 1 Cor. 15:1-3; Eph. 2:8-10; 2 Thess.
1:8-9)? This is so man cannot boast, and God alone gets the
glory (Eph. 2:8-9).
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