Just a short while ago I learned of the sudden death of a friend to our church and to me. Some twenty years ago, I had the privilege of helping to conduct Tom and Dottie's wedding ceremony. They were both in their 60s. Tom was a life-long Lutheran and Dottie, a life-long Baptist. For a while they attended both churches on Sunday morning, a remarkable commitment considering how difficult it sometimes is to get folks to come to one church on a Sunday morning. Then, Tom told me he wanted to become a Baptist. Well, true to our tradition, he was baptized by immersion and joined our church.
He was as good a Baptist as he was a Lutheran. Tom was a scholar (he had been a professor at a local university) and we occasionally discussed Luther and the Reformation. I like to think he would have appreciated these messages on Galatians with its stress on justification by faith. May God bless Dottie, Tom's family, and all his friends.
Galatians: A Study of Christian Freedom
Fairly or unfairly, this is one of the most notorious passages in Paul's writings.
Lesson 6: A New Understanding of Abraham
3 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?
This is one of the most passionate statements to be found in anywhere in Paul. His language reveals the shock and concern he feels about the situation.
He begins by addressing them as “foolish Galatians.” The Greek term is anoetos, a word that makes use of the Alpha privative. In Greek, placing that “a” in front of some words reverses the meaning of the word its connected to (add the “a” to theist—one who believes in God—and it becomes atheist). In this case, it’s added to a word that means understanding or thinking. To put it another way, Paul is saying the Galatians had disengaged their brains.
Alternative translations include “witless,” “thoughtless,” “irrational,” and “senseless.” The Amplified Bible tries to capture it all with “O you poor and silly and thoughtless and unreflecting and senseless Galatians!” The Contemporary English Version has one of the strongest renderings, “You stupid Galatians.” J. B. Phillips tries to include Paul’s genuine concern for his readers with this: “O you dear idiots of Galatia.”
The idea is clearly that the Galatians, in listening to the legalists, were giving no thought to the treasure they had in the gospel.
Paul suggests there could be only one explanation—They had been bewitched; someone had cast a spell on them. Paul isn't suggesting the Galatians were literally bewitched by some practitioner of the dark arts. (Though some commentators believed that.) He says this because he had take such pains to present Christ.
The imagery of his claim is vivid.
It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly exhibited as crucified!
Craig Keener says that first century orators worked hard to portray their messages with the most vivid language. Paul did no less when he proclaimed the gospel.
The language recalls signs on placards. We might say the message was put on a billboard. The New Living Bible puts it this way, “For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross.”
Before moving on let me remind you that this statement once again points out the role Christ played in Paul’s message. Christ and his cross was central to his preaching. The Galatians couldn’t have heard Paul without hearing about Christ. There was no way they could have claimed they didn’t understand the significance of Christ for their salvation.
It’s a reminder that most heresies and errors come from the church forgetting Christ. A contemporary parallel to the Galatian situation would be the scenario in which the cultist rings a doorbell, gets invited in, quotes a few scriptures out of context, and hooks the unwary church member who has forgotten everything he or she has learned in Sunday school.
Before we move on, I want to offer one more rendering of this verse. It’s from the so-called Easy-to-Read-Version.
You people in Galatia are so foolish! Why do I say this? Because I told you very clearly about the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. But now it seems as though you have let someone use their magical powers to make you forget.
Paul intends to remind them of some things.
2 The only thing I want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard?
In the previous chapters, Paul used his own experience as a starting point for his argument. Now he uses the Galatians’ experience.
He asks, “Did you receive the Spirit by attempting to obey the Law of Moses or by believing what you heard in the Gospel?”
Receiving the Spirit is a synonym for becoming a Christian. It reflects the New Testament view that the gift of the Spirit comes when we trust Christ. But there may be something more implied in this question. Although the Book of Acts had not yet been written, Paul knew something of the history of the early church. He had watched it grow, first as a hostile outsider and then as an enthusiastic believer. He had probably heard the story of Peter’s experience in preaching to the Roman centurion Cornelius. It’s found in Acts 10.
Peter had felt the heavenly push to step across the religious and cultural barrier and present the gospel to the Gentiles. His effort was met with great success. When others challenged him, he defended his actions by pointing to the outcome of his preaching: the Gentiles had unquestionably received the Spirit.
He said, in Acts 11:15 "As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had on us at the beginning…17 So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God's way?”
The early church saw the Spirit’s coming to Cornelius as evidence that God wished to bless the Gentiles with salvation, just as he had the Jews. (Acts 11:18 When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, "So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.")
3 Are you so foolish? Having started with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?
The question once again implies failure to think through their position. This time, however, Paul doesn’t seem to be focused as much on the beginning of the Christian life as he is on its continuation. That concern is implicit in his question. Here’s how the God’s Word translation renders it “Did you begin in a spiritual way only to end up doing things in a human way?” The suggestion is that even if the Galatians believed they had entered a relationship with God through faith, they now believed they must depend upon human effort to maintain that relationship.
The implication is that this is no more possible than winning our salvation through our own efforts in the first place.
Of course, Paul isn’t saying Christians who want to move toward spiritual maturity should be passive. Prayer, Bible study, Christian fellowship, and service are all things we do to put ourselves in the way of God’s maturing work on our behalf but they are not the cause of our growth.
4 Did you experience so much for nothing?—if it really was for nothing.
While there is no historical reference to the Galatians experiencing persecution, it is certainly possible they had suffered because of their faith in Christ. Who had caused their suffering? The Gentile authorities are likely culprits but many commentators believe some of the more radical Jews “who hated the gospel of grace” may have persecuted them in some way. They may have lost jobs, their homes and businesses may have been subject to attack, they may have been taunted in the streets, etc. Tertullian’s comment that “the synagogues of the Jews are the fountain of persecution” was a groundless accusation when he wrote in the late second century. However, during much of the first century some Jews did target Christians but that seems to have subsided near the beginning of the second century.
The fact the Galatians had suffered for their faith allows Paul speak realistically to them. He invites a comparison to what he said about the sufferings of Christ. If justification could be attained by our efforts, Christ “died for nothing;” his suffering was purposeless. At the same time, if the Galatians, who suffered because they had abandoned the law in favor of grace, shouldn't have done so, their suffering was for nothing.
Ultimately, Paul hesitates to declare their suffering actually to have been in vain. He holds out the hope that they will come to their senses.
5 Well then, does God supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?
Paul expands upon a point he has already made by asking the Galatian believers to ask themselves if the Spirit’s work among them was the related to their faith or to their diligence in following the law.
The reference to miracles reminds us that Paul’s churches appear to have all been “charismatic,” in the Biblical sense of the term. That is, the work of the Spirit was demonstrated in the life of the church, through those individuals the Spirit had specially gifted to enrich and edify the church.
With the possible exception of the Corinthians the Spirit’s activity doesn’t appear to have made the congregations disorderly. And with the possible exception of the Thessalonians the Spirit’s activity doesn’t appear to have made the congregations especially nervous. Paul, of course, would correct each of these churches, moving them toward a more balanced position.
Having said that, the word translated “miracles” literally means “works of power.” (Lenski, p. 130.) Such works were never inward; they always had a public manifestation.
Some of the Galatians could remember when Paul first preached to them. Those from Iconium would have recalled how in the face of opposition Paul and his team continued “…speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.” (Acts 14:3) Those from Lystra may have recalled how the Spirit enabled Paul to heal a man who was born lame. That same Spirit continued to work among the Galatians.
While it would be a mistake to think these works were everyday occurances they did play a role in the evangelistic activity of the church. Lenski suggests Paul is inviting the Galatians to make a comparison: Whose message is confirmed by these works of power, the message of those preaching grace or the message of those preaching the Law?
The Galatians had seen none of the Judaizers perform such works of power. In the Galatians’ experience, the Spirit actively confirmed the message of grace. That should cause them to reconsider their fascination with the notion of salvation by self-effort.
6 Just as Abraham “believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” 7 so, you see, those who believe are the descendants of Abraham.
At this point, Paul moves from autobiographical and biographical arguments to a Biblical and historical argument.
Almost certainly, the Judaizers were claiming to be the true descendants of Abraham because they kept the Law.
Paul—a Biblical scholar—seizes on a passage in Genesis to co-opt that claim for those believers who relied on the message of justification by faith. It comes from Genesis 15.
After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless…” And God brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness
Abraham heard God’s promise and believed it; God counted it or credited to him as righteousness. Like Abraham, Christians hear God’s promise in the gospel and believe it; God counts that or credits it to us as righteousness.
RCH Lenski offers an explanation of what transpired.
When Abraham believed he was in himself no more righteous than before he believed, but God counted his faith as righteousness for him. God’s accounting did not make him righteous, it did not change Abraham’s person, it changed his status with God. Although he was not himself righteous, God regarded him as being righteous.
As The Message puts it, “God declared him Set-Right-With-God.”
Paul goes on to point out that this way of dealing with us was always God’s intention.
8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, declared the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the Gentiles shall be blessed in you.” 9 For this reason, those who believe are blessed with Abraham who believed.
Historically, the promise that all the world would be blessed though Abraham (and his offspring, the Jews) can be demonstrated in a variety of ways—science, the arts, music, medicine, etc. But Paul seems to believe the greatest blessing was the precedent set when Abraham, himself, was justified by faith.
He wanted the Galatians to know that they were beneficiaries of Abraham’s faith.
OBSERVATIONS:
1 Caring for others and truth-telling are linked, sometimes, uncomfortably linked.
We live in an age when we are never supposed to offend anyone with our words, even though we live in a nation where freedom of speech is the first right in our oldest collection of rights. Consequently, your child or grandchild might be sent home for wearing a T-Shirt with the worng slogan on it or your business might be threatend becus you voiced a personal opinion that is in no way expressed in how you do business. Then, too, we live in an age when the very notion of one “truth” being truer than another is, at least theoretically, scorned as arrogant and bigoted. I once heard of a pastor who ended every sermon with, “But then again, I could be wrong.” Couple these facts with the fact we live in an age when we’re not supposed to feel passionate about matters like religion. It makes us bad neighbors, maybe even dangerous neighbors.
But what if what our neighbor believes is actually endangering our neighbor. Can we remain indifferent to that? Paul would say No.
If Paul were simply committed to his position, convinced he was right, he might have heard about the Galatians’ error, shook his head, and said, “What some people believe.” But his commitment to the gospel of grace was accompanied by a concern for the Galatians. He couldn’t remain silent.
Now, someone with the personality Paul apparently had probably would have no trouble confronting his friends with their error. Most of us don’t have that kind of personality. The very thought of telling someone we believe they’ve taken a wrong turn makes our palms sweat and our hearts pound.
Still, when we’re convinced someone we care about has embraced a dangerous error, a soul-threatening error, we will find some way to intervene. It’s the price of caring.
2 No matter how well we’ve been grounded in the truth, we need to remain vigilant against error.
Paul had done a great job presenting the gospel of grace; he had carefully explained the significance of Christ’s death and resurrection. Yet, many of those who heard him fell prey to false teachers.
They had stopped reflecting on the wonder of the message and had allowed themselves to forget.
Years ago, when I was pastor of a church in Texas, there was an older man who never came to Sunday school. One day, he said something like this to me, “You may wonder why I don’t go to Sunday school. Well, I’ve already learned everything I could learn there so there’s no reason for me to go.”
That kind of pride is dangerous. While that man in Texas never succumbed to the teachings of a cult, before his death he did embrace some notions that were on the threshold of error.
3 The popular understanding of how God works always needs to be measured against the Biblical understanding.
Amy Farrah Fowler is known for being Sheldon Cooper’s girlfriend (finally) but she has a mind of her own. (If you have no idea who I’m talking about, you won’t need to know to appreciate this bit of dialogue.)
Amy and Sheldon have met for the first time after being matched by a dating website.
Amy: I’m here because my mother and I have agreed that I will date at least once a year.
Sheldon: Interesting. My mother and I have the same agreement about church.
Amy: I don’t object to the concept of a deity, but I’m baffled by the notion of one that takes attendance.
Sheldon: Well then, you might want to avoid East Texas.
The common understanding sees God as not only taking attendance but taking notes on a lot more of our activities.
Each of the West’s three major religions has, at times, given the impression that our “good works” determines the degree of God’s love for us and are directly linked to our hope of salvation.
Each of the West’s three major religions sees Abraham a key figure in the religion’s history.
Judaism and Islam have traditions that say Abraham’s father was a craftsman who made idols. His son came to realize that these figures carved in his father’s shop were not truly gods. In the midst, of his spiritual dissatisfaction, God spoke to him. Christians have usually resisted filling-in-the-blanks regarding Abraham’s early life. We’ve been willing to simply accept that at some time God spoke to Abraham and Abraham heard.
Paul tells us that if we really understand God’s dealings with Abraham, we will really have an understanding of God that challenges the popular view. God does not evaluate us on the basis of our good works or our obedience to the law (if he did, we’d all have no hope), rather he wants us to take him at his word and trust him.
Paul would remind the Romans that God crediting righteousness to Abraham took place years before circumcision was instituted as the sign of being a Jew. Abraham had already been declared right-with-God before he was circumcised.
In sense, Abraham entered this right relationship with God as a Gentile. This is not to discount Abraham as the forefather of the Jews and certainly not to endorse anti-Semitism. We should never forget Abraham—the man justified by faith—would become a Jew so there might be a people who would be a blessing to the whole world, especially in that this people would bring Jesus Christ into the world.
For some this might be a new way to think about Abraham. It is certainly a new way to think about God.
