How Does Personal Experience Point To Justification By Faith? (Galatians 3:1-5)
GIST: We are saved by coming to Jesus in faith, and though this life-transformation will often lead to suffering, this faith is exactly what we need to continue growing in Him and experiencing the blessed life for which we were made.
Last week, we moved into what could be considered the “teaching section” of Galatians. Still, Paul’s focus remains unchanged. The entire letter is about the importance of getting the gospel right and understanding we are saved by Jesus alone. As such, our justification, our being declared righteous or clean before God, comes through faith alone. He’s been building his case. He’s made his initial appeal and illustrated how this truth changed his life. Now, we’re moving into a section where he presents arguments for why we should believe in justification through faith.
Though we could try moving through all these arguments in one Sunday, I’m going to try walking through them one argument at a time. Today, we’ll look at the first one which could be called the “argument from experience”. To help me wrap my mind around this one, I found it best to break down the verses and then talk through some applications. Because of that, our structure will be atypical this morning. I’m going to give you our gist, walk through the passage, and then we’ll camp out in our takeaways for a bit.
Here’s the gist: We are saved by coming to Jesus in faith, and though this life-transformation will often lead to suffering, this faith is exactly what we need to continue growing in Him and experiencing the blessed life for which we were made.
PASSAGE WALKTHROUGH
The opening line in this chapter is a memorable one ☺️→ "1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?” These are strong words! Another translation puts it as, “Oh, you dear idiots!” Paul isn’t sugarcoating anything here. He asks them what kind of spell has overtaken them because it doesn’t make sense that they would leave the clear truth for any other reason. That’s the emphasis here. Why are you acting so foolish? What has gotten into you? I know you know better because→
“It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.” Most commentators agree that this is referring to when they received the gospel through Paul’s preaching. They had heard the truth clearly explained. They had come face to face with the reality of Jesus’ sacrifice for them, His resurrection and victory over sin in their place. God had opened their eyes to see it, and He had changed their lives. We see that in the next verse where Paul really lays out his driving question for this section→
“2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?” See how he directs them to their experience? When you were saved, were you saved because you’d done enough? No. Not at all. You couldn’t have been. We could never be enough. We could never do enough. We don’t save ourselves. We’re rescued by His amazing grace. These early believers had that experience. They didn’t keep the ceremonial laws. Those laws had nothing to do with most of their lives at all! They were saved because of Jesus. Paul knows they know this. Which is why he goes back to… calling out their foolishness ☺️→
“3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” If it wasn’t enough to save you, how will it be enough to perfect you. He’s touching on sanctification here. Justification is the act of being declared righteous by God. Sanctification is the process of being transformed more and more into His image. The Judiazers were twisting this to make salvation a process: you enter into the race by believing in Jesus, but obeying the law is what you have to do before you can cross the finish line. As we talked about last week, the law reveals our need for salvation, but it doesn’t save us. We can’t live the perfect lives it demands. Jesus did that for us. We’re rescued by Him. It doesn’t make sense that we’d then have to finish the deal by diving back into the impossible situation of trying to save ourselves.
He then continues to reference their personal experiences in the next question→ “4 Did you suffer so many things in vain--if indeed it was in vain?” Becoming a Christian didn’t elevate their social status. Many of these early Christians faced extreme persecution. Not only were they likely ridiculed by family and friends and disowned by the pagan religions that had once been so central to their identities, but their lives were literally at risk. Paul speaks to this. Was all of that for nothing? Did you put yourselves through that just to go back into another form of darkness? Persecution is just a light momentary affliction if I’m looking forward to eternity with Jesus. If not, it’s needless pain.
The last verse we’ll look at transitions us into his next argument where he’ll look at evidence from the life of Abraham. However, this section still applies to their personal experiences→ “5 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--“ As is the testimony of Christians throughout time, these early believers had seen God work miraculously amongst them. They were rescued from sin and empowered by the Holy Spirit to be used by God. This happened because of faith, not works of the law. They didn’t do the right rituals to call down His miracles. His miracles came because of His amazing love, and they experienced them.
Ok, so let’s try to apply this a bit in several→
TAKEAWAYS
Don’t embrace folly even if it’s appealing or popular. Oh, dear idiots ☺️... I’m right there with you. We can know the truth and still live like we don’t. We can be set free from sin and still choose to return to lives of slavery. That’s why knowing the truth and being around others who will remind you constantly of Jesus’ truth is so vital. Let’s encourage one another to→
See Jesus for who He is & live by faith as you’re changed by Him. This isn’t the entry point of some race that will require you to then earn your own way to the end. Knowing Jesus and being known by Him is what both justification and sanctification are all about. Will you be changed? Oh, absolutely! That doesn’t save you. It’s evidence that you’ve been rescued and are walking with the Life-Changer! This is why personal Bible study and being part of a church that strives to faithfully preach Scripture is so important. However, let’s not enter into this naively. We must→
Be prepared to suffer...but not in vain. Let’s never forget that Jesus never promised an easy life here on earth. In fact, He was always very clear that living in this fallen world will be hard. There are going to be things you won’t understand, and you will face persecution because you are following Jesus. It won’t often be the popular stance. Don’t be surprised. Take heart. If you belong to Him, this is preparing us for the eternal weight of glory. Days might be hard, but Heaven is real, and eternity with Jesus is worth it. Also→
Be prepared to see Him move...because of who He is! The gospel is all about Jesus. Salvation is all about Jesus. Your life should be all about Jesus. And because He is who He is, we can trust that even in this broken world, we will see Him move. 2020 has been a mess. 2021 might be even messier. We have NO IDEA what tomorrow holds, but I can tell you He’s not done. Pray that you see where He’s moving and join in!
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