BIG IDEA:
JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH PROVES THAT WE SHOULD CONTINUE TO LIVE BY FAITH
I. (:1-5) THE ARGUMENT FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE = OUR OWN ENTRANCE INTO SPIRITUAL LIFE WAS BY FAITH NOT WORKS
MacArthur: “Although experience in itself is not entirely reliable evidence of spiritual reality, it is nevertheless a powerful apologetic when closely linked with and built on scriptural truth.”
A. (:1) The Foolishness of Forgetfulness
1. Stinging Rebuke
“You foolish Galatians”
Difficult for the Galatians to hear these words. They needed to be set straight.
2. Serious Deception
“who has bewitched you”
Gromacki: “In a sense, the Galatians were victims of an evil spell. They must have been hypotized or awe struck by the forceful oratory of the key Judaizer.”
3. Clarity of the Gospel Message
“before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified”
Wiersbe: “It was ‘Christ and Him crucified’ that Paul had preached in Galatia, and with such effectiveness that the people could almost see Jesus crucified for them on the cross.”
Almost as clear as if they had been standing at the cross observing.
B. (:2) The Only GamePlan That Works
1. KISS = “Keep it Simple, Stupid” ; Fundamentalism = emphasis on the basic essentials
“This is the only thing I want to find out from you”
2. How did you enter into the Spiritual Life?
“did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?”
Law vs Faith
Reception of the Spirit is evidence of salvation and union with God — Rom. 8:9
C. (:3) The Foolishness of Switching Horses Mid-Race
“Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit are you now being perfected by the flesh?”
Spirit vs Flesh
D. (:4) The Need for Perseverance
“Did you suffer so many things in vain — if indeed it was in vain?”
E. (:5) The Key to the Distribution of Spiritual Blessings
On what basis does God provide these blessings?
“Does He then, who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?”
II. (:6-9) THE ARGUMENT FROM THE EXAMPLE OF ABRAHAM = FAITH IS THE ONLY REQUIREMENT FOR BOTH JEWS AND GENTILES
A. (:6) Abraham was Justified by Faith
“Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness”
Before the law was given; before Abraham was circumcised.
B. (:7) Faith = The Common Denominator for Believing Jews and Gentiles
“Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham”
C. (:8) OT Prophecy Paved the Way for the Inclusion of the Gentiles in the Blessing of Justification by Faith
“And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘All the nations shall be blessed in you.'”
D. (:9) Summary: The Bottom Line for God’s Blessing = Faith
“So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.”