The Gospel Has Always Been the Gospel: Galatians 3:6–25

Again, some notes and observations on a sermon by Dominic Smart, here, first posted 7 May 2009.

The Galatians had come to believe in the message of the gospel of Christ and thus received the Spirit (Gal 3:1-5). Paul in this passage aims to convince them that the gospel of free grace in Christ has always been the gospel. The ‘Judaizers’ of all people should’ve been the very strongest advocates of the gospel faith of Abraham!

Law and Its Curse

Paul calls up the example of Abraham, then, the father of the faithful, who believed in the God of promise — promises that were made to the Gentiles and fulfilled among the Gentiles as well:

Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. (Gal 3:7-9, quoting Gen 12:3; see further Luke 19:9; Rom 3:30)

In fact, righteousness is only attainable as a gift from God of the righteousness of another, a substitute who takes upon himself both the law and its heavy curse. Listen carefully to Paul’s clear words, and his emphatic grounding of this gospel in the Old Testament scriptures:

Christianity versus Religion: Some Thoughts on Galatians 3:1-5

These are some notes and observations on a sermon preached by Barry Douglas, available here, first posted 4 May 2009.

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain — if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?

What are ‘religious works’? Well, it all depends on what ‘religious’ and ‘religion’ mean; for Paul here, they’re certainly not the outflow of the communal Christian life of fruit and faithfulness. Some of the Galatians are rather seeking after righteousness or uprightness through rites and ceremonies on one hand or personal standing or piety on the other (and most often its both in conjunction). But does it matter if we’re a little ‘religious’ in this sense, looking to Jesus while ‘supplementing’ him and his work with personal and corporate status or words or actions or feelings that are intended to ‘clinch’ the certainty of our redemption? Paul calls the Galatians foolish — Christianity looks from first to last to our redemption from ourselves and the spirit of the present age by God in Christ, and to our life with him and one another in the age to come by the Spirit, by grace alone through faith alone.

There are six questions in these verses, summed up in the second: did we receive the Spirit by works or by faith? Paul draws them and us to consider our own experience of redemption, as we have by the Spirit trusted in Christ and not in ourselves. If we have all become Christians in this way, can our progressbe according to any other principle or power than our beginning?

If Christ is enough, then nothing else is necessary, and precisely for this reason any other thing called ‘necessary’ is very dangerous, and this is the particular understanding of ‘religiosity’ that can be dangerous as well. ’Grace’ is in such circumstances is no longer recognized for what it is –purely gracious — and that’s misleading and hope-draining with respect to ourselves, each other, and the watching world. If we ask, Is Christ enough? Is he the ‘one thing necessary’? (Luke 10:38-42), Paul has already answered emphatically, YES.

Paul ‘placarded’ or ‘billboarded’ Christ and him crucified before the Galatians in his preaching and teaching, and did they think they could contribute something to that work? Since we take from the gospel whenever we add to it, therefore, let us be satisfied with its overflowing fullness. We have all we need in Christ on our behalf and the Holy Spirit within us, granting true grace and true peace because they are truly and wholly gracious and peace-granting.

Content, Conversion, and Call: Paul’s Defense of the Gospel in Galatians 1:10-2:21

Some notes and observations on a sermon preached by Dominic Smart, available here, originally posted 28 April 2009.

The gospel of Christ’s perfect obedience for righteousness on our behalf was being corrupted, according to Paul, a subtle yet deep departure from the apostolic gospel — from his gospel. Throughout this epistle Paul strongly presses his point, and in these verses we see Paul arguing for the gospel from its content, his conversion, and his call.

The Gospel’s Content

All Paul preached came straight from God, although it was simultaneously the fulfillment of all the promises given to Israel; on this he was emphatic:

For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. (Gal 1:11-12; see Acts 9:1-19; 22:3-21;26:12-23)

This means that, on one hand, we shouldn’t import whatever we like from elsewhere, and on the other hand, what they’re corrupting or rejecting is God’s own truth.

Grace and Peace, or Works and Despair: Galatians 1:1-9

These are some notes and observations on a sermon by Dominic Smart, available here, first posted 25 April 2009.

According to Acts 13-14, the churches Paul established in Galatia received a letter from him due to a massive problem within the community. It was a doctrinal problem, which fact is itself a challenge to so much of our contemporary sensibilities and assumptions about what constitutes a serious issue within the church. The problem was legalism.

Legalism is most commonly found in churches that are full of zeal. In the Galatian churches it arose from Judaizers, who taught that, in a certain sense, we have to ‘prepare’ ourselves or ‘fit’ ourselves for being acceptable to and accepted by God (justified), as a ‘supplement’ to what Christ has done for us and on our behalf.

To Fulfill All Righteousness: Jesus’ Baptism of Repentance

Why was Jesus baptized by John? That is to say, why did Jesus go to John, who was callling people to ‘repent’ in view of the coming Kingdom (Matt 3:2), among people who were ‘baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins’ (v. 6)? Why did Jesus undergo the baptism about which John lambasted the hypocritical Pharisees, an act which symbolized ‘fleeing from the wrath to come’ — in short, the ‘baptism with water for repentance’ (see vv. 7-8, 11)?

John, after all, was also taken aback by Jesus’ request for baptism: “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” (v. 14). John was the sinner, not Jesus; why was Jesus asking to be baptized ‘for repentance’? Jesus’ answer to John represents not only the answer to this particular question but the character of his entire mission: “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” (v. 15). This is key.