The Heart of Galatians

We read in the Old Testament that everyone who doesn't abide by all things written in the book of the law will die.

That means all things, if it's by obedience to the law that it's all or nothing. You have to obey all of the law, you have to obey all the law and times of its breakfasts and you have to obey the law in terms of all of its extent and depth.

It's a beast. It's going to kill you. God describes what is required for us to obtain a right standing before God. The problem is it requires perfection and no matter how hard we try will never achieve it. Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in the only one who obeyed the law perfectly. That's why the apostle Paul would not budge when it came to the gospel or teacher this week on Renewing Your Mind is Dr. Derek Thomas, welcome back. This SSS and five and were in the third chapter missions 312 14, and where the hot beats the central heartbeats of Galatians on the question in the second verse. Let me ask you, only this, did you receive the spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith is it law or is it face and interesting that Paul puts it down this way about receiving the spirit to enlarge on this later in Galatians about the implications of becoming a Christian that we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and the ministry of the Holy Spirit in conversion, and regeneration in sanctification and growth in grace, but here were still at the very beginnings in terms of justification by faith. How do we come to be in a right relationship with God is it through obedience to the law as it by works of the law, so we need to introduce searches for couple minutes you're very modern debates that really has changed the way people understand the apostle Paul for good or ill. In my view for ill, rather than for good and it's this expression works of the law. That's an expression that occurs serve for five times in Paul's writings and I'm, what does that expression works of the law mean and for some, and what we sometimes call the new perspective on Paul works of the law is a very specific reference to what we might call Jewish boundary markers like circumcision and food laws ceremonial obedience to compliance to things that essentially Jewish in nature and that the gospel is not about the Jewishness. The gospel is about the breaking down of those barriers. So the gospel is about the inclusion of Gentiles within its orbits and as far as that goes, that's fair enough from the gospel does indeed include Gentiles, but now that view of the works of the Lord doesn't answer the question, how do I get into a right relationship with God and these boundary markers were in themselves, viewed as a means by which I could claim merit in the sight of God that the works of the law includes the idea of my performance and therefore my Maritain God's favor in some way.

The defaults of all of us by nature, to think that we have it within ourselves to provide aid the necessary obedience that will tip the balance in our favor, and when the approval of God Apollo is asking this question. How did you become a Christian, how did you get into a right relationship with God. Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law. Did you receive the Spirit as a result of your compliance. Your obedience to the demands of the law, whether that's the demands of the moral law, whether that's the demands of the specific boundary markers like being circumcised or obeying the food loss and the answer of course is no that's not how we are justified.

Did you receive the submitted by the works of the law or by shooting with face. You heard the message you heard the gospel and you believed it. While all this, of course, is in a very specific context of Paul's discussion with his fellow Jews, Jewish Christians, Jewish in origin and duration their ethnicity and for whom. Abraham, of course, was the chief father figure so in verses 6 to 9 will come back to the first five verses in a minute but in verses six through nine. Paul is asking the question, how does the narrative.

How does the story of salvation begin. When does the story of the gospel begin does it begin with Jesus to sit begin at Pentecost does it begin with the apostle Paul and the answer is no, of course not. When Paul talks about justification in Romans three and four. He goes back to Abraham and David. And he takes a passage from Abraham in Genesis 1215 and 70 and then he does a similar thing with David and takes some of David's psalms. So the gospel begins in the Old Testament the gospel begins with father Abraham know the several reasons why Paul will want to bring Abraham into the picture because the Jews, but because are also insisting on circumcision and wedges circumcision begin what it begins with Abraham.

So let's go back to Abraham that I must ask ourselves how was Abraham justified Abraham come to know the gospel, how was Abraham rescuing righteous in the sight of God's so verse six just as Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.

While always coding. Of course, in Genesis 15, 61 of the most important passages for Jews and for that matter for Jewish Christians. This is father Abraham. This is the one whom he refers to in verse nine of the man of faith. So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith is the prototype if you want to see a prototype of the justification go back to Abraham under the pics appear from Genesis 15 in verse six he believed God, and it was counted to him and did serve a word in the Greek it's a word of attempting it's put in the plus column not in the debit column, but in the plus column and the righteousness of God, back righteousness, which is necessary for us to come into God's presence that righteousness is credited it's put in our account. It wasn't Abraham's righteousness. It was an imputed righteousness.

It was a federally legally reckoned.

Righteousness is the language of justification.

Abraham is still a sinner but is a justified sinner. So what Martin Luther would call the symbol used to reset piccata at the same time justified under sinner.

It's not as though Abraham is morally created within himself by his obedience to a certain standard that has tipped the balance in his favor noises sinner still is the same Richard sinner that he ever was.

But God has reckoned him righteous and Abraham is received that righteousness by faith through faith alone. Well, what did Abraham actually believe he believed to is 86 years old and his wife is older and he's promised some there more than that he can become the father of many nations. A great nation. He believed that when God asked him to sacrifice Isaac on Mount Moriah. He believed that God raised him from the dead is the amount of face what is it about Abraham. It's his face. He believed and it was credited to him for righteousness is only one way of salvation, whether it's English or whether it's in Jerusalem at the time of Titus, whether it's in Antioch to the north with the pistols at dawn moment between Paul and Peter. It's the same in David's time. It's the same in Moses this time it's the same in Abraham's time boundary asked this question of who I was.

A person saved under the old covenant and defer the answer to that is not immediate if you try to introduce the intellectual subtleties at that point you're going down this ship is going down because the answer is in precisely the same way as they are saved in the new covenant one is in shadow one is in the fullness of life. But the way of salvation is exactly the same by faith in God's promise and by faith alone in God's promise and apart from the works of the law. After all, when Abraham believed circumcision hadn't even been brought into the picture at all.

Abraham believed before he was circumcised so it wasn't compliance with circumcision that reckoned him righteous in the sight of God is righteous in the sight of God before he had to Isaac circumcised and none at this point is at least pulling the rug as it were from beneath their feet.

But what happens if we depend on works to save assist on the whole thing 180. What happens if we depend on works to save us, and that's what he's talking about in verses 10 through 14 for all who rely on works of the law are under a curse as it is, so no need to extrapolate this in any great detail if you try to obey the law. It's going to turn around and bite you. Obeying the law is a bit like her crocodile since I'm in Orlando and alligator and you don't mess with them.

If you have one in your backyard to go inside and shut the door and get somebody to take it away. You don't got there and offered scraps of food you don't to try to stroke it on the head as if it's so some dog or cat. This beast is a killer and the law is like that. If you try to live according to the law.

It's going to turn around and curse you, what does every sin deserve well is shorter catechism 84 says that every sin deserves God's wrath and curse both in this life and in that which is to come and look at what Paul says in the courts, not from the book of Leviticus.

All who rely on the works of the law are under a curse verse 10 for it is written curse should be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law and do them. See if it's by obedience to the law that it's all or nothing. You have to obey all of the law, you have to obey all the law in terms of its bricks and you have to obey the law in terms of all of its extent and depth. It's a beast. It's going to kill you and then he quotes in verse 11. From Habakkuk now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law for the righteous shall live by faith. Under this is a famous statement from the book of Habakkuk, Paul takes it up here. He takes it up in Romans three and four, when he is talking about justification. The righteous shall live by faith, not just at the beginning on the day you become a Christian. But throughout the whole course of your life, how he reckoned righteous in the sight of God. 20 years after your conversion. 40 years after your conversion on your desk that by faith, by faith alone in Christ alone, apart from the works of the law. Well, you remember, of course, how important this passage was to mountain Noosa in the Monastery in French later in Italy and Rome depressed and imagined himself under the Roth and curse of God lying in this bad repeating over and overturned whole business of indulgences enrollment.

Remember the church traversing John Locke turn on the steps in going up on his knees. Sin and repeating the Lord's prayer as he did so and all to no avail because I know peace of conscience and obedience to the law. In fact, it was to reverse things just got worse because he realized the more you try to obey the law of the less he could obey it. The greater sin he was the more he studied the law, the more he saw its demands, the more he looked into all of its minutia, the worse he saw himself in front provide to us and then he says in verse 13 Christ redeemed us redemption is the language of purchase from slavery Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us is the gospel it's the gospel of substitution, he became a curse for us in order that we might become the righteousness of God. God made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin that we might be reckoned the righteousness of God in him. Second Corinthians 5 this is a marvelous verse Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written because it is everyone who is hanged on a tree in the languages reflecting other curses and blessings of God's covenant in the Old Testament. Remember that incident in the book of Deuteronomy with Monty Bolland and Gary Seaman people shutting blessings on one side and people shouting curses on the other side and if you try to obey the law, all you'll hear others curses crescent is everyone who doesn't comply with all that the law demands.

Jesus obeyed for us.

He obeyed the Lord in all of its detailing obeyed the Lord in all its fullness. He was sinless, holy, homeless, undefiled, separate from sinners. From the moment of his birth to the moment of his death he was in complete harmony with God's law never transgressed. He never fell short of its glory is the only person in the whole history of humanity who is ever obeyed the law. He was the son of God. He was our mediator. He was our Redeemer. He was the one who paid the ransom price. What is the ransom price. The one who transgresses the law shall die. It's the principle that was laid down in the garden of Eden that if you transgress the law, you will die. You have to ask yourself this question, why did Jesus die if he never sent.

Why did he die. Why did the Roth of God come down here now you can answer that by saying that there is no justice in the world. You can obey the laws Jesus did on the Roth of God still comes on because God cannot be trusted is given to fits of anger just like the Greek and Roman guards were poor, you can say when the Roth of God descended upon. He was the greatest sin of the world had ever seen our sins have been reckoned to his account, our sins have been imputed to him and at that point legally federally.

He was the greatest sin of the world has ever seen God cost him my God, my God, why have you forsaken me is cost. God made him costs for our sins in order that we through faith might be reckoned the righteousness of God in him. Paul asks another question that is the question that actually begins the section turned it over so that we can end on the positive side wiring forgetting the gospel you notice how it begins in verse one of chapter 3, who has bewitched you foolish Galatians who has bewitched you. I love the JB Phillips is not really a translation is a bit more than that, for this is Howie. He renders Galatians 3 in verse one, you idiots, which has cast a spell on you. It's very strong language who has bewitched you. What's wrong with you people remember our seat at a conference assessing the what is wrong with you people, why why are you doing this why you asking these questions, don't you understand the basics. The ABCs while Paul is saying to the Galatian church. These Judaizers.

This group of people who've come in and Dave questioned my authority, but more than that there beginning to insist that in order to be right with God.

You need to comply with ceremonial boundary markers, and that in complying to those ceremonial boundary markers to earn merit under God will favor you and God will show mercy to this is a complete denial of the gospel.

This is not what I talked to.

This is not what I preached you doing to us, which has cast a spell on you from God's own justification by faith alone.

You start with the spirit and end with the flesh. Is that how it is to hear you begin by faith and then this all works. You get into the kingdom by faith. But you remain in the kingdom by works is that how it is for the Christian say that my dear friends, if that's so, then we are doomed. If our remaining in the kingdom of God is entirely left up to us.

We are entirely doomed.

We need the gospel every single day, even as those who are saved, even as those who are indwelt by the Spirit, where still motivated in our obedience by justification by faith every day.

We need to be saying to ourselves. Nothing in my hands, I bring you see the subtlety having begun in the spirit verse three. Are you now being perfected by the flesh. The separatist that God gives you grace to get into the kingdom. Just open the door put you on the inside for the rest of the journey is entirely up to you and Dolly appear obedience well is it going different was that doing for you know what that is. That's the gospel try harder for those who are cynical for those on melancholy for those our costs down when when they realize that the apostle Paul, the good that I would. I do not own the evil that I would not. I find I do wretched man that I who shall deliver me from the body of this death, the answers, of course, Jesus will deliver you and Jesus only will deliver you the gospel of grace will delivery justification by faith is the thing that will deliver you. Paul is encountering you see the gospel of try harder, Christian, and I trusted in Jesus.

I came to him by faith. But my life is filled with disobedience in this there is no hope for me now and and the Judaizers are coming along and say what you need to try harder. You need to do a little more need to comply a little more. You need to pray little more need to get up earlier in the morning and have two hours of prayer will make that three hours of prayer and and then you'll feel better. You need to start coming more often to Christian accountability groups are now about making that are practicing three or four times we contacted you sooner think saying the waiter assurance on the way to peace is to pull yourselves the gospel of try harder, less nonaggressive is another is a gospel that can lead you to despair. And that's why the apostle Paul was so adamant he told the Galatians they were foolish for believing a different gospel. He was grieved that they had given up the heart of the gospel this week on Renewing Your Mind.

We have been featuring Dr. Derek Thomas's latest teaching series is titled no other gospel. Paul's letter to the Galatians, the temptation to add something to our salvation is very real for every believer. We want to feel as though we're playing some small role in gaining God's favor is why understanding Galatians is so important.

This is a 14 part series by Dr. Thomas in that we believe it will enrich your study of Paul's letter.

It's a two DVD set and will send it to you for your donation of any amount to regular ministries calls with your gift at 800-435-4343 or go online to Renewing Your Mind.org.

Our desire here at regular ministries is to establish you as a believer in the word of God and and to deepen your understanding of God, the natural outgrowth of that is to apply that knowledge to your daily living.

That's one of the main reasons table talk magazine exists.

Our hope is the table talk to the articles daily Bible studies will saturate your mind with the word of God. You can take a look at the magazine and that read some sample articles a table talk magazine.com and while you're there, you can click the subscribe button in the upper right-hand corner will next week you're on Renewing Your Mind we will hear a series of messages on the Westminster confession of faith. Dr. RC Sproul examines one of the foundational document of the historically formed faith. I hope you have a great weekend.

We see right back here