THE BOOK OF GALATIANS, PT. 3

How can sinful people be made right with a holy God? This question is central to understanding Paul’s letter to the churches of Galatia, and also the entirety of the Bible. The churches in this region were established by Paul on either his first or second missionary journey. Since his departure, false teachers had perverted the gospel he proclaimed. These teachers led many to conclude erroneously that keeping the law, especially practicing circumcision, was essential for salvation. Paul did not mince words in countering this heresy, which Paul argued had fundamentally altered the message of the gospel. Salvation is found through faith in Jesus Christ alone (Gal. 2:16; 3:11-12). The law was used by God to reveal the extent of human sin and point forward to the coming of Christ. It was, as it had always been, a response to the grace of God. Those who try to earn salvation by keeping the law will find themselves cursed by God because they cannot obey it perfectly (Gal. 3:10). With fatherly affection, Paul writes to his “little children” (Gal. 4:19) in the faith and hope that they would not abandon the gospel he proclaimed. Works-based salvation is not good news. It is crushing, burdensome, and condemning. The good news is that God pursued His people in love, knowing full well the extent of their sinfulness. Jesus lived a life of perfect conformity to the law and gives His righteous standing before God as a gift to His people. On the cross, Jesus became a curse on behalf of believers so they would never face the condemnation sin deserves (Gal. 3:13). These gifts—right standing before God and freedom from the wrath of God—are given apart from the works of the law. They are a gift of grace. God then indwells believers by means of His Holy Spirit, who empowers them to live the lives for which God created them. The Spirit produces in them what the law never could (Gal. 5:22-23). Those who are saved by faith will find this faith working in them to produce lives marked by love of God and of one another (Gal. 5:5-6). Jesus alone is the basis for the church’s hope—both for their salvation and their ongoing sanctification. Galatians 2:20 reads “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” We can't wait to jump into God's Word as a House, so make plans to be at the 10a gathering this Sunday at High Prairie!