Galatians 3:1-14 : Faith and Works

 

Last Easter we did something rather unusual for an Anglican Church. We launched our own Membership Covenant. As a leadership, we were increasingly feeling that being baptized as a child, or attending church services or giving financially, or serving in some role, or even signing the Electoral Roll - was an inadequate way of expressing our commitment to Jesus Christ and to one another. You can do all these things without even being a Christian. At the same time we observed how God is clearly blessing churches that have introduced a membership covenant - indeed it’s the norm in many other denominations. Encouraging Christians to commit to a daily devotional life, to weekly participation in bible study, prayer and fellowship, to investing our natural talents and spiritual gifts in and through a local church, to sharing our faith with others, and stewarding of God given financial resources - This was certainly the norm and expectation in the New Testament and early Church. These are the ways we express our faithfulness to Christ. The ways we grow to maturity, reach the unchurched and build the kingdom. So we should not be surprised that churches which intentionally prioritise these spiritual disciplines are growing and being blessed by God - and those who don’t, are not. That is why we reshaped our church diary to ensure our evening were given to these priorities. Mondays and Fridays are free of Church events so that families can be together. Planning teams meet on Tuesdays, small group bible studies meet on Wednesdays and evangelistic and discipleship courses are held on Thursday evenings. 

And the Church Council agreed unanimously that having an annual opportunity to express, by God’s grace, our desire to serve Christ together in these ways, was a useful way of encouraging one another to continue to grow to maturity. And many of you agreed with us and are doing so, for which we praise God. And God has blessed this initiative. Attendance, which we know is only one measure of maturity, is nevertheless up around 25% on this time last year. This afternoon at the Welcome Tea, we will share a little more about what it means to be a member of Christ Church for those who have joined our family recently.


Next Easter, as Christians have done for hundreds of years, and are doing all around the world, we will once again invite you to dedicate yourself to serve Christ together in the coming year. Some folk were initially a little uncomfortable with the idea. Some didn’t feel we should add any additional requirement to the Electoral Roll which simply says I am baptized and over 16 and am resident in Virginia Water or attend Christ Church habitually. Some were a little anxious, that we seemed to be adding to the Bible. Were we not asking more of people than the New Testament expects of Christ Followers? We don’t believe so. The majority of the Christian denominations have some way of distinguishing Christ followers from seekers and now we do too. Some others believe that actions are more important than words and what matters is that we demonstrate our faith rather than make promises. I have sympathy with that but it should not be an either, or. So I would encourage you to take another look at the membership covenant, sign it if you have not done so but agree with it. I also encourage you to keep a copy in your Bible and refer to it regularly as a way of evaluating your walk with the Lord and with one another.

Today, at the end of this sermon, we are going to invite you join Christians all around the world to express your commitment to Christ in another way - for in the words of James “faith without deeds is useless” (James 2:20).


I remember as a brand new Christian at university discovering that although receiving Christ had made me part of the Body of Christ, I also had to join a local church family. And that wasn’t easy. Jesus I liked. Some of his family - well I wasn’t so sure.  I also discovered that there seemed rather a lot of divisions in the wider Body of Christ - at least on campus. I soon realized there were the liberals, the evangelicals, the charismatics and the catholics, and all shades in between. There were those who emphasized reason and social action - liberals; there were those who emphasized Jesus and the Bible - the evangelicals; there were those who emphasized the Holy Spirit and experience - the charismatics; and there were those who emphasized tradition and the church - the catholics.  As a student I increasingly gravitated to the evangelicals and the Christian Union because I realized that the Bible is God’s Word and everything else, be it our social responsibility, our experience of the Holy Spirit, or our view of the church must be shaped by God’s word, not the other way round. The Christian Union taught the Bible weekly, encouraged me to pray, join a local church, have fellowship and helped me find ways to share our faith with other students.

I realized that unless we recognize the Bible is infallible and our final authority in all matters, we will never know whether our religious experiences are authentic or not; we will never be able to critique the traditions of the church; we will always be confused about how we should engage with political and social issues.  

So how do we discern truth from error? How do we make sure we are growing in Christ and not going astray? How do we ensure we have a faith that works? That was one of the reasons the Apostle Paul wrote the letter to the Galatians. Its also one of the reasons we are studying this letter this autumn. Let’s remind ourselves what we have discovered so far from chapters 1-2.


Paul had led some people to faith in Jesus Christ on one of his journeys through what is today, Turkey. He had planted one or more local churches, appointed some elders and given them some basic discipleship material. But soon after, some legalistic Chritians had come from Jerusalem insisting that these young Christians be circumcised and obey Old Testament laws as well as believe in Jesus. Both were necessary for salvation they said. When Paul heard he wanted to go back to Galatia and confront the legalists who were throwing the church into confusion. At the same time he knew he needed to travel to Jerusalem and discuss the issue with the other Apostles. What was he to do? His priority was to deal with the causes so he went to Jerusalem. At the same time he wrote this letter to the Christians in Galatia warning them not to listen to the legalists. Paul couldn't disagree with them more strongly.

 

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!” (Galatians 1:6-8)

 

And just in case his readers thought he might have made a mistake, Paul repeats the anathema 1:9. In the rest of chapters 1 and 2, Paul explains the authority for the message he proclaimed.


The Substance of the Gospel: Is Jesus Christ (1:1-10)


Christ died for our sins

Christ died to rescue us from this evil age

Christ died according to the will of God.


As John Stott says “Christianity is… a rescue religion…. The purpose of Christ’s death, therefore, was not only to bring us forgiveness, but that, having been forgiven, we should live a new life, the life of the age to come.” The substance of the gospel…


The Source of the Gospel: From Jesus Christ (1:11-24)

God revealed his will in and through Jesus. It came by direct revelation, not investigation. In these verses Paul shares his dramatic testimony (Though unique, a good example of the model we need for our testimony too).


Before: The kind of person he was before he met Jesus (1:13-14)

During: How he came to know Jesus personally (1:15-16)

After: How his life was changed by following Jesus (1:17-24)


The substance of the gospel… The source of the gospel….


The Servants of the Gospel: Only one Jesus Christ (2:1-10)

Paul and the other apostles were in full agreement. They were servants of the one true gospel. The legalists were repudiated (See the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15). The Apostles had different callings - Paul to the Gentiles, Peter to the Jews - but they shared the same message - grace alone and faith alone in Jesus Christ.


The Seriousness of the Gospel: Justified alone by Jesus Christ (2:11-24) In this painful encounter Paul challenges Peter over his inconsistency. He had said one thing and done another. Actions can speak louder than words. Peter had been happy to eat with the Gentile Christians but when the Jewish Christians showed up, he started to follow his old patterns of behaviour and distanced himself from the Gentiles. Even Barnabas was led astray. Showing partiality between Christians of different races is very dangerous because undermines the gospel. Paul insists.

 

“So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.” (Galatians 2:16)

 

In the next two chapters 3-4 Paul lays out six lines of argument to prove that we are saved by grace through faith, and not works under the Law. These are two mutually exclusive paths. As we shall see this week and next, faith leads to sonship, works leads to slavery. One leads to heaven, the other to hell. This week and next, we will see that Paul has several things to say about the relationship between grace and law, between faith and works.

 

1. The Law was Irrelevant (Galatians 3:1-5)

“You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?” (Galatians 3:1-2)

 

Paul appeals to the Galatians own experience of the Lord. They had clearly received the Holy Spirit, and witnessed his supernatural working, in total ignorance of the requirements of the OT Law.


2. The Law was Secondary (Galatians 3:6-9)

 

“Consider Abraham: “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham.” (Galatians 3:6-7)

 

The Judaizers insisted Gentiles had to become Jews to become Christians. Paul exposed the flaw in this argument by showing that real children of Abraham are those who have faith, not those who keep the law. Abraham himself was saved by his faith 430 years before the law was given (Genesis 15:6). All believers in every age and from every nation share Abraham's blessing. This is a comforting promise to us, a great heritage for us, and a solid foundation for living. The law was therefore secondary. It was intended to help those who already believed to follow God. Paul insists the Galatians are also children of Abraham because they have come to know God in the same way.


3. The Law was Condemnatory (Galatians 3:10-14)

“All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.” (Galatians 3:10-11)

 

Paul quotes Deuteronomy 27:26 to prove that, contrary to what the Judaizers claimed, the law cannot justify and save--it can only condemn. Breaking even one commandment brings a person under condemnation. And because everyone has broken the commandments, everyone stands condemned. The law can do nothing to reverse the condemnation (Romans 3:20-24). But Christ took the curse of the law upon himself when he hung on the cross. He did this so we wouldn't have to bear our own punishment. The only condition is that we accept Christ's death on our behalf as the means to be saved (Colossians 1:20-23). The law wasn't given to enable people to be justified. It was given to show that Gods standards were impossible without sacrifice, without atonement, without a mediator. Under the law there is no hope of escape apart from God alone. That is precisely what Grace means.

 

4. The Law was Temporary (Galatians 3:15-25)

“So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.  Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.” (Galatians 3:24-25)

 

The law was temporary anyway, it was to be a tutor, until the Lord Jesus Christ came. The law had now served its purpose. Whereas they had previously been slaves to the elemental spirits of the universe, they were now heirs of that promise made to Abraham.

We will explore this more next week. For now, to summarise,


1. The Law was now irrelevant 

2. The Law was secondary 

3. The Law was condemnatory 

4. The Law was temporary

 

Now this is not an obscure theological issue or just historical dispute from the 1st Century. These issues of law and grace, faith and works impact us today. Only last week I debated with a Jewish Rabbi on Premier Christian Radio.  We discussed how we can be made right with God. He argued that our good deeds and own efforts were good enough. I asked “how good is good enough?” Who decides? On the basis of the Hebrew Scriptures I explained that our own righteousness is described as like dirty rags before a Holy God. Only through Jesus Christ, can we be set free from the law of sin and death. Orthodox Jews today still believe that it is necessary to keep the Law of Moses in order to be right with God. And if we let them, they would cause the same confusion here as they did in Galatia 2000 years ago. But sadly, some within the more liberal and catholic churches believe something very similar.


Paul is very graphic in describing this belief as ‘foolishness’ (3:1, 3). “You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you?” (Galatians 1:3)

To think that baptism, or good deeds, or service, or attendance, or  giving will get us to heaven is utter foolishness. It won’t - which is why we must not misunderstand the basis of our membership covenant. It is because we are saved by grace, we encourage one another to live by grace, to serve by grace, to give by grace, and grow in grace and share that grace. It is all of grace. Notice the flow in Paul’s logic in verse 14.

 

“He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:14)

Do you see the flow here? Through the example of Abraham and through the promise made to Abraham, Jewish believers (like Paul) were the means of bringing that blessing to the Gentiles.

And that is our purpose too. We can paraphrase this verse,  “he redeemed us in order that the blessings of Abraham might come to Virginia Water through Jesus Christ; might come to Surry and Berkshire through Jesus Christ; might come to the South East of England through Jesus Christ; might come to our nation through Jesus Christ; might come to our world through Jesus Christ.

We are saved to serve, not serve to be saved. In one of his other letters, Paul makes this even more explicit.

 

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:8-10)

 

We are saved by grace, through faith, to do good works. To do good works. To share the blessings God has showered on us with others. One of the greatest barriers to people responding to the gospel is poverty. When I was a young Christian, the Church seemed polarized over the issue. Liberal Christians were deeply involved in social issues of justice, human rights and humanitarian work. So much so, some equated this with the gospel and focused more on earth than heaven. They emphasized the example of Jesus and the good in other religions. And the evangelicals, certainly in the 60’s and 70’s, largely held back from engaging with political issues or social action. Evangelicals rightly emphasized the need for personal repentance and faith, and focused more on heaven rather than earth, and yet… and yet. As the evangelical church has grown, however, much of the defensiveness of former theological battles has been dissipated. We are no longer on the defensive. While retaining a commitment to the authority of Scripture as the word of God, and a personal faith in Jesus Christ, there has been a renewed and growing passion for engagement with the world for the sake of Jesus Christ.  One of the most dramatic shifts has been away from simply the compassionate relief of poverty to the desire to address the causes of poverty and injustice from a biblical perspective. Today is Micah Challenge Sunday. It is called the ‘Micah Challenge’ because of the challenge God gives us through the prophet Micah, “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). The Micah Challenge is being spearheaded by evangelical organisations like Tearfund and World Vision. The World Evangelical Alliance, bringing together 250 Christian organisations providing relief, development and justice activities throughout the world have pledged to:

The facts:

It is easy to feel overwhelmed because of the scale of global poverty. But campaigns like Make Poverty History showed that the more Christians pray and campaign together, the more we can persuade our governments to act together to serve poor people.

Micah Challenge is building an effective, international, north and south alliance of Christians working and praying for justice, and the momentum is growing. There are 2 billion Christians around the world; if we all stand together we can help ensure that global poverty is halved in then next ten years. To demonstrate that our faith works, Christians all over the world are standing up today to respond to the Micah Challenge. We are inviting you to do so also.

Pray hard: Plead for those living in poverty

Speak out: Add your voice to the Micah Call

Stand up: Get involved in action for justice

For more information please visit the Micah Challenge website www.micahchallenge.org.uk

Before I invite you to stand I want to show you a three minute video that summarises the Micah Challenge.

Lets stand together….  Lets express our commitment that God has, in the words of Galatians 3:14, redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the world through Christ Jesus. As we identify with millions of Christians around the world, let us say together,

 

“This is a moment in history of unique potential, when the stated intentions of world leaders echo something of the mind of the Biblical prophets and the teachings of Jesus concerning the poor, and when we have the means to dramatically reduce poverty.

We commit ourselves, as followers of Jesus, to work together for the holistic transformation of our communities, to pursue justice, be passionate about kindness and to walk humbly with God.

We call on international and national decision-makers of both rich and poor nations, to fulfil their public promise to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and so halve absolute global poverty by 2015.

We call on Christians everywhere to be agents of hope for and with the poor, and to work with others to hold our national and global leaders accountable in securing a more just and merciful world.

In Jesus’ name we pray.”

And they all said, Amen.