GALATIANS 3:1-142005 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Galatians 3:1-14

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2005. Well, as we begin in Galatians chapter 3 this morning, I would like to just refresh your memory again on the things that we've been learning the past couple weeks. The book of Galatians, it's all about the gospel of grace.

The Gospel of Grace

the first type of religion is based on man trying to reach God. The emphasis, the focus is on the works, what you do, obedience, strict adherence. It's based on how you perform and how well you do. And it's, you know, if you don't make it to heaven, if you don't reach whatever level of enlightenment or whatever the religion you might be practicing or believing, then it's because you didn't

do something and there was something that you missed or you weren't up to par to what was required. The second type of religion though, which is a category of one, is Christianity. And it's not based on what we do for God, but it's based on what God has done for us.

He reached out to us and not the other way around. And that's what the book of Galatians is about. It's about us receiving God reaching out to us rather than us trying to be pleasing to him based on our works, based on how we live our life, based on how we keep the law and the things that we're obedient to.

The focus is on what Jesus did and not on what we do. And Paul has been making this very clear to us thus far in Galatians, and this morning is no different, as he will speak to us about the Holy Spirit. And he will confirm the same things that he's been talking about, being justified by faith, but he will also share with us that we receive the Holy Spirit by faith and not by works. Let's read it together. Galatians chapter 3, starting in verse 1, it says this,

O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? This only I want to learn from you. Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain?

If indeed it was in vain. Therefore, he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does he do it by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Just as Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Therefore, know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. Verse 8.

And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, In you all nations shall be blessed. So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. Verse 10. For as many are of the works of the law are under the curse.

For it is written, Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for the just shall live by faith. Yet the law is not of faith, but the man who does them shall live by them.

Let's pray. Lord Jesus, we thank you for this opportunity this morning to hear Jesus.

what you want to speak to us through your word. And God, we do thank you that we can come to you, not because of how we've been living, God, if that were the case, we could not come. But Lord, because of your grace, we can dwell in your presence. And so Lord, we ask that you would fill this place with your presence. Make this your sanctuary. Lord, we ask that you would speak to us through your word by the power of your Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Amen.

We need to understand that Paul is continuing on with the line of thought and the subjects and the things that he's been sharing with them, which, of course, we've been talking about them. It's justification by faith and the gospel of grace and how it's not about the law and we don't approach God. We're not justified. We're not made righteous to God by the law. And as he continues on in chapter 3, verse 1, now he shares with them, he says, O foolish Galatians!

Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth? Before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified. He starts out by making a proclamation. He is amazed and astounded. He calls the Galatians foolish. No, he's not being mean. He's not just looking to call them names. He says, I can't believe it. I don't understand it. It doesn't make sense.

He asked the question, who has bewitched you? That word bewitched is the idea of as if they had a spell cast on them by someone. And by no means is Paul saying that that could happen. But he's saying it sounds as crazy. It doesn't wouldn't make sense any other way that you're turning from a gospel, a message that preaches that says you can come to God because of what he did for you.

And you're turning to another gospel, which says you must come to God by being obedient to the law, by being perfect in your ways. And Paul says it doesn't make sense to put that burden upon yourself because nobody can keep the law. Are you so foolish? Who has bewitched you? What's happening here? It doesn't make sense. It does not compute.

As Paul is dealing with this battle here in the book of Galatians, it's the battle of the works of the law versus the gospel of grace through faith.

The works of the law on one side, you must keep these things and obey these things to come to God. Or the gospel of grace through faith. Simply believe in what Jesus Christ did for you and you have full access to God. Paul's central point in this argument as he's sharing with the Galatians and having this discussion and dealing with this controversy. His central point, the core of his message is,

is the cross of Jesus Christ. If you step back just one verse into chapter 2, verse 21, he says, I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.

He says, I don't set aside. It's all about the grace of God. Because if righteousness could come through the law, the things that you're teaching and receiving and hearing, if that were true, then Christ died in vain. And so the core of the message, the central point is the cross of Christ. Because if you tell me that I must keep the law and be obedient to these things, then Paul's question is, why did Jesus die then? There was no point because then we could just fulfill the law immediately.

And that would be enough. We could be righteous before God, enter into eternity with God by keeping the law, and Jesus would not have to die. But he did die, and it was for a reason. It's because we cannot keep the law. And Paul is telling the Galatians here, in verse 1, he says, You're foolish. Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth? Before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified.

Paul says, you knew this message of the cross. It was clear before you. You understood the picture. Jesus Christ died. You understood why he died. You understood what that meant to you. You understood how freeing that was that he completed the work there on the cross for us.

He says, you knew it. It was so clear. It was so evident in front of you. You trusted in Jesus' work there on the cross. And that was Paul's message. In 1 Corinthians 2, verse 2, as we started that a while back now, but we saw in Corinthians, as Paul was in Corinth, he said, I made a vow. I determined...

To know nothing among you except for one thing. And that one thing was Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Just Jesus Christ crucified. That was Paul's message. That's what he taught. And so now he says, who has bewitched you? As if you've been cast on a spell that now you're turning from this message, Jesus Christ crucified, and are now relying upon your own works, your obedience to the law, the way that you live. And this happens all the time, unfortunately, still today.

Paul says, how can you believe this stuff? And as we are around and we run into people and meet people and even things that go on in our own hearts, we understand this goes around today. We get caught up or we can get caught up and people do get caught up in false doctrine that relies us or makes us rely upon, points us to things that we do in order to come to God. The need for us.

to be obedient to this law or that law, to this rule or that rule, in order for us to have access to God. Paul says, no way. If that were true, then Christ died in vain. And so he asks the question in verse 2, he gets really to the point of this passage this morning. He says, this only I want to learn from you. Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law?

or by the hearing of faith. This only. Here's the point of it all. Here's the core of what Paul will share with us this morning. Now, last week, Paul was talking about similar things. He was talking about being justified by faith and living by faith. And he used as an example, he pointed out the Jerusalem Council that took place there at the church. And they also agreed with Paul that salvation was based by faith.

It was through faith. Salvation, relationship with God, it was by faith. They said at that time there was no need for a person to be circumcised in order to be saved. There was no need for a person to keep the law in order to be saved. The relationship with God was strictly by faith. This week, Paul will prove the same thing again by asking about the work of the Spirit. And he says, how did you receive the Holy Spirit?

Was it by the works of the law or was it by the hearing of faith? He'll look back and he'll point them back to their own experience now when they got saved, when the Spirit began to work in their hearts.

And he'll ask them, did you receive the Spirit? Did you receive that work of God in you because of some laws and rules that you followed? Or was it because you believed the message that you heard? Was it through faith? And he'll point out to Abraham, the father of faith, also as he shares with them the importance of coming to God, approaching God based on faith and not based on works.

So here's the question. How did you receive the Holy Spirit? Now, receiving the Holy Spirit, there's several relationships that we have with the Holy Spirit. The first is the with relationship, where the Holy Spirit is with us. This takes place before a person is born again. Before they receive Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, the Holy Spirit is with us to lead us to Christ, to convict us of sin, to minister to us and draw us to God.

Then when we become born again, we experience the next relationship with the Holy Spirit. It's called the indwelling, the in relationship. Every believer, everyone who has received Jesus Christ has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. That's why in 1 Corinthians 3, verse 16, Paul asked the question, Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? It happens frequently.

Upon our conversion, the Holy Spirit is involved in making us born again. We're born again through the Spirit. John chapter 3 tells us very clearly.

And so then we have the indwelling of the Spirit, but there's a third relationship also that the Scripture makes mention of, and that is the filling or the baptism of the Spirit. It's the upon relationship. And Jesus in Acts chapter 1 verse 5 told the disciples they'd already been filled, the

But he said, you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit. And in verse 8, he says, the Holy Spirit will come upon you. And it took place later on. Chapter 2, verse 4 of the book of Acts, we see it actually happen. It says, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. So the work of the Spirit in our lives, involved in our conversion,

indwelling us as believers, but also coming upon us for empowering to walk with God, to serve God, to be a witness for God. And we'll look at some of the other things that the Spirit does in our lives at the end of this message. But the Spirit of God, the Spirit is vital here.

in our relationship with Jesus Christ. We cannot walk with Christ without the Holy Spirit. In fact, Romans 8, verse 9 says, You are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now, if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. If we are in Christ, we have the Spirit. If we don't have the Spirit, we are not in Christ. It's very clear. It's very apparent. The Scripture teaches it. So the Holy Spirit dwells

is with us, indwelling in us, and desires to come upon us. He teaches us. He leads us. He guides us. He strengthens us. But most importantly, he gives us intimate relationship with Almighty God. He helps us communicate with God. And Paul says, think about, Galatians, think about for your own experience. Think about, look back for a moment, when you received that relationship with God, when you were born again, when the Spirit began to work in you,

He was gifting you and using you to accomplish the work of God.

Was that by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Look back, Galatians. Think about for a moment. How did you receive the Holy Spirit? Now, we understand as we read through the book of Acts that it's the Apostle Paul who established the work there in Galatia. There was no one teaching about Jesus before Paul went there. That was Paul's style. He would always go where no man has laid a foundation before. And Paul's message, what was it? 1 Corinthians 2.2 Jesus Christ...

and Him crucified. The Galatians, they were not Jewish. They did not have the law. They did not know about the law. They didn't have the law when they were saved.

And so when they were saved and the Spirit began to work, it's very clear to us, they did not have the law. It was because they believed the message that Paul preached about Jesus Christ and Him crucified. So the work that took place there by the power of the Spirit was not by the law, their salvation, the use of the gifts of the Spirit and so on and so forth. That did not take place by their obedience to the law, their knowledge of the law or anything like that. They didn't even know anything about the law.

But it came because they believed in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

And Paul's point as we look at the rest of this passage this morning is we receive the Spirit by faith, not by the law, not by how good we are, not by the things that we do, not because we've been obedient or we've been faithful in the Word or faithful in church or faithful to do all these things that we might impose upon ourselves. We receive the Spirit by faith. And we need to grasp hold of this truth. God relates to us by faith.

He relates to us by faith. It's not about our works. Turn with me just one, well, maybe one or two pages over to Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1. It's the next book there in the New Testament. As Paul is sharing with the Ephesians the wonderful things that God has done for us, he shares with them and reiterates this point for us this morning that we receive the Spirit by faith.

I'm sorry, Ephesians chapter 1, verse 13. It says, Paul says in Ephesians chapter 1, here's the progression.

You heard the word. You heard the message. Then you believed it. And then you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. It was in that order. You heard the message. You believed it. And so you were sealed. You received the indwelling of the Spirit because you believed. You had faith in God. Believed Him. That is His word. And you received the promise of the Holy Spirit.

And Paul goes on to say that the promise of the Spirit now is our guarantee. It's our deposit. We can count it for sure if we have the Spirit, that we have eternal life with God. That's how we can know. That's how we can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we will spend eternity in heaven.

Do we have the Spirit at work in our lives? It's our guarantee that God's coming back and He's going to call us to Himself to spend eternity with Him. But notice the point. Notice the progression. You heard the Word, you believed it, and you received the Holy Spirit. God does not relate to us by works.

How well we perform, how well we live, He relates to us by faith. And He did this on purpose. He designed it this way. He designed it to be of faith so that anybody, any one of us, anywhere on the planet can be saved. That we can receive the Spirit and experience relationship with God. That's what Romans 4, verse 16 tells us. It tells us that it's of faith, that it might be according to grace.

That it's God blessing us with wonderful things that we don't deserve, but He designed it this way that we would approach Him by faith that He could give us the wonderful things that we don't deserve. Now, this can be difficult to accept. This can be difficult for us to comprehend and to understand because we obviously, or not obviously, but very often, we jump to the extreme. And we say, well, we have this person in our mind. It's the worst person imaginable. And what if at the end of their life,

They believe in Jesus. And you're saying that they would be saved there the last two minutes of their dying breath? They believe in Jesus Christ. And that the whole life of ungodliness and wickedness and all the evil things they did, that's just gone and they're saved at that point? Yes, absolutely. That's the grace of God. That's the God that we serve. Paul is the perfect example of that.

He was the great persecutor of the church, causing people to blaspheme the name of Christ, causing people to turn away from Christ. If there's any sin that's great, that's it. Yet, he is set on display for us the proof God can have grace upon anybody if they will have faith in him. It's all about grace.

Will you believe the message that Jesus offers? Now we can think about and struggle with the extremes of the examples that we can conjure up in our minds. But what's the point here? What's the point of Paul's passage? The point is this, that I, me, Jerry Simmons, each one of you individually believe.

We can be saved. We can receive the power of the Spirit in our lives. We can have relationship with God by faith. Why worry about the extremes? Why not just say, hey, that is awesome and wonderful and I can come to God and have relationship with God because I believe His Word. He offers it to me. And so in verse 3, back in Galatians chapter 3, verse 3 says, Are you so foolish?

Having begun in the spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? With this wonderful news, it's about faith. You received it by faith. Are you so foolish? Do you really think that you can add to what God gave you by your own effort? Do you really think you can complete the work that God did there at the cross? It's easy for us to have this mentality. In fact, it's where we naturally go. It's

Where we lean, if we're left to ourselves, that it's up to us. We need to do these things to be pleasing to God. We need to accomplish these things and be obedient to these things in order for us to approach God. But Paul says that attitude is saying, look, I began in the spirit. God did it by faith. That was a good thing. But now I need to do these things. Otherwise, I cannot be close to God and have relationship with God. Paul says, no way. Are you that foolish? Do you think that?

It would be for us, we can imagine, we can kind of understand, if Thomas Kinkade walked in here this morning, and you might know who Thomas Kinkade is. He's the painter of light.

Wonderful painter. And as he comes in, he brings this painting in and it's covered for us. And he brings it to Larry and he says, Larry, this, I want to give it to you. It's my masterpiece. All those others, I've done pretty good jobs on those, but this one I've been working on my whole life. It's finally finished. Here you go, Larry. And Larry says, well, thank you, Mr. Thomas Kincaid. And he sets it up for us to display. And as we're all looking at it, Larry goes, you know, I

I think it needs something. And he pulls out some crayons and he begins to go and make some markings on the painting and try to fix it a little bit. And here's this masterpiece trying to be fixed with some crayons. And that's the idea. That's the picture that we see here. God gave us everything we need. He completed the work. He began us in the Spirit by faith.

Paul says, do you really think you can now be made perfect? You can now finish that by your own flesh, your own efforts, the things that you do? No way. Not even close. That's us saying in our hearts, God, you know, you did pretty good with this whole salvation and relationship thing. You almost got it perfect. I just need to fix a few things here and there and then we'll be good to go. No way. How dare we?

We cannot add on to what God has done for us. He's completed the work. He's paved the way. And now we approach Him based on what He has done for us and not what we do for Him. And you say, Jerry, you're repeating that a lot. You're talking about all these things a lot. Yes, because it's something that Paul is saying to us over and over again that we get it into our hearts, get it into our heads, that we come to God simply by faith and experience all that He has for us.

Even when we've blown it, even when we're not faithful, even when we mess up royally. Because we do. But we don't approach Him based on those things. Our relationship with Him, He doesn't relate to us based on our works, but based on our faith. Do you believe in what He did for you at the cross? Verse 4, He asks another question. He says, Have you suffered so many things in vain, if indeed...

It was in vain. All those things that you suffered for the name of Christ, for having faith in Christ, are you throwing all that away now? Was it all for nothing since now you're trying to come to God by your works and no longer by your faith? I find it interesting that you can be part of pretty much any religion and most people will be very respectful and tolerant and encouraging, but be born again and you can expect persecution.

Any other religion, of course, approaches God based on our own works. Emphasizes what you do for God and that's how you approach Him. But the Bible teaches, no, it's not that way. It's by faith that we approach God. And the world does not like that. Mario was sharing with us on Wednesday.

His testimony of when he came to the Lord and began to be involved in the things of God and his mom would ask him, wouldn't you rather be out partying? I think even Pastor Cisco, that's part of his testimony. His family's like, man, we'd rather you be on drugs and in the world than in that church, then born again, then involved in the Bible and those things.

There's persecution that comes along with being born again. And Paul says, are you throwing that all away? Because now no longer are you approaching God based on faith, which that's what the world doesn't like. But now if you approach Him based on works, well, the world will pretty much be on board. You won't have much persecution and tribulation in that way because they'll agree with you. Yes, we must do these things in order to approach God.

That's not true. That's not what the Bible teaches. And so Paul says in verse 5, therefore, he who supplies the spirit to you and works miracles among you, does he do it by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Who is the one who supplies the spirit? Who is the one who works miracles? Well, quite obviously, we know it. It's God.

The Lord Almighty, He's the one who supplies and gives us the Holy Spirit. He's the one who works miracles. But how does He do it is the question. Based on how good you are, how well you do, this is the attitude that I'm prone to. This is where I often rely upon and think, but this is relating to God in a way that is not good. This is the idea that we are like God's pets.

You know, and when your pet does something good, you reward it with a treat, right? And so it's like, hey, you've been good. Oh, you're such a good little boy. You said, oh, have a treat and he'll give us the spirit or he'll give us some miracle or some work in our life.

Oh, you've been good, so I'll provide for you financially. Oh, you've been good, so I'll fill you with the Spirit and revive you and refresh you in your relationship with me. Or I'll encourage you or use you in this way. Oh, you've been so good, here's your reward. That's the mentality that we have if we approach God and think about God in that way. Does He supply the Spirit and work miracles based on the works of the law or based on the hearing of faith?

It's by faith. It's not based on what I do or how I live or how well I fulfill the law. Think about this for a moment. Follow along with me. I'm going to share some scriptures from the life of Jesus. Matthew 9, verse 22. But Jesus turned around, and when he saw her, he said, Be of good cheer, daughter. Your faith has made you well. And the woman was made well from that hour. Matthew 15, verse 28.

Then Jesus answered and said to her, O woman, great is your faith. Let it be to you as you desire. And her daughter was healed from that very hour. Mark chapter 5 verse 34. And he said to her, Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be healed of your affliction.

Mark chapter 10 verse 52. Then Jesus said to him, Go your way, your faith has made you well. And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road. Luke chapter 18 verse 42. Then Jesus said to him, Receive your sight, your faith has made you well. Never once did Jesus say, Your works have made you well. You've been good, so be healed. Never once. It was always based on faith. Always based on their faith.

That is how God supplies the spirit. That is how God works miracles. It's how the life of Jesus worked. And it's how he relates to you and I. You still need proof? Paul points us now to Abraham in verse 6. He says, Just as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. It's a quotation from Genesis chapter 15, verse 6, where God has been promising Abraham many descendants, as many as the stars in the sky. Abraham said,

Between 60 and 80 years old at this point, receiving this promise, has no children, and believes God and it's accounted to him for righteousness. Was Abraham righteous? No way. We see his stumblings and how many times he fell short just like you and I. But because he believes God, God declared him righteous. Paul's point, you look at Abraham, it's the same way with us. It's by faith.

These Judaizers who would come in and were preaching the law and bewitching the Galatians, using Paul's word, leading them astray from this relationship with God. These Judaizers would come in and they would be using Abraham as their prime example because he was the one who received the covenant of circumcision. He was the one from whom descended all the Israelites. He's the father of the Hebrew nation, of the Jewish people.

And so these Judaizers would come in and Abraham was their hero. Abraham was the one that they looked to. And Paul, using their prime example, using their hero, proves even before circumcision came about, that happened in chapter 18 of Genesis. But here in Genesis 15, Abraham was already declared righteous by God because of his faith.

To prove that it was Abraham's faith and not his circumcision that made him have right standing before God. Because these Judaizers would come in and say, you need to be obedient to the law. And first things first, you need to be circumcised. But Paul says, no way. No way. It's by faith. Verse 7. God says, Abraham believes him.

He has a child many years later. One child, well two really, but one by the promise, which is Isaac. Isaac has a child, Jacob. And Jacob then has 12 sons. There's the tribes of Israel and it goes on from there. And they become a great people, a large nation. The descendants, as many of the stars, Paul's pointing out, not talking about physical descent.

It's not talking about the blood that flows in your veins, your nationality. He says, listen, since Abraham was justified by faith, it is those who have faith who are his descendants. To be a physical descent from Abraham, that's good. But biblically speaking, it is those who are of faith who are really his sons, his children. And that's where the blessing is. Those who are of faith, as Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Verse 8.

What does it say? Beforehand.

Back from the beginning, this has been God's plan. That we are made righteous before God by faith. Why did He do it this way? Again, that it might be according to grace that any one of us might come and have relationship with Him. That we might be saved. And so God promises Abraham, knowing that He was going to justify the Gentiles. Again, that word justify means to be made right before God. To be as if we never sinned.

Completely righteous and holy and pure before him. He knew he was going to do that by faith and not by the completing of the law, not by circumcision or any other requirement that you could lay down. And so God says he knew it already that he was going to do that. And so he says to Abraham and you, all the nations will be blessed.

Because they're going to be able to approach me with the same faith that you had, where you believed me and it was accounted to you for righteousness. It's a quote from Genesis chapter 12, verse 3. And it's a prophecy of Jesus Christ. Because it's those who believe in Jesus, who receive the Spirit, become sons of Abraham, are justified and are blessed because of being a son of Abraham, believing God at His word and receiving Jesus Christ, His work there on the cross.

Verse 9, So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. Could Paul emphasize this anymore? It's by faith. Those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. Those who are of faith receive the blessings, are part of the blessings, along with believing Abraham. It doesn't matter what our nationality is, our background, our upbringing, our occupation. None of that matters. If you want to be blessed with Abraham, know this.

It's by faith. And the question for you and I is, are we of faith? We cannot be pleasing to God. Hebrews chapter 11 tells us that. We cannot be pleasing to God without faith. We must have faith in order to please God. And that's all that's required. To come to Him, believing His work there on the cross, believing His word, and applying it to our lives. Verse 10, For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse,

This quotation is from Deuteronomy chapter 27, verse 26. Now, Paul has some powerful combinations here. It's a one, two, one, two. He's hitting them right and left using the law that they would be referring to, the law

Judaizers could come in and you need to follow the law and Paul says, well, let's check that out. Open up the law and he proves from the law, it's not by the law that we're justified, but it's by faith. There in Genesis, also here in Deuteronomy, later he'll look at Leviticus to prove to us that it's by faith. It's not by the law. He's using the law to prove that we approach God the way that he's always prescribed and it's by faith.

And he says, you're cursed if you do not keep all of the law. Why is that? Well, because the law says, here's the law. Cursed are you if you do not keep all of the law. And so if you're under the law, Paul says automatically you're cursed because there's not one person who can keep all of the law. Again, if you could keep all of the law back to chapter 20 or verse 21 of chapter 2, then Jesus would not have to be crucified.

It's centered around this idea. You're cursed if you do not keep the law. And since nobody can keep the law, everyone under the law is cursed. And that's why, as we saw the first week we started Galatians, the law is powerless. Don't approach God that way. You cannot. You're condemned by the law, cursed by the law, not justified, not made righteous, not made pleasing to God by the law. In verse 11, But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident for...

The just shall live by faith. Paul says, listen, it's very clear. No one is justified by the law. Because we all, every single one of us, we break the law. We fall short of God's glory. We don't live perfectly. And even if we did from this time out, we've already broken it in the past. And so we're under the curse of the law. So Paul says it's obvious. It can be clearly seen. Because God Himself says that it's by faith.

and not by the law. Here in Habakkuk 2:4 is this quotation where God is responding to the prophet Habakkuk and he says, "The just shall live by faith." Not the just shall live by works, not the just shall live by the law, but the just shall live by faith. Who is just? What does that word mean? Well, you might notice it's the same root as justified. Just as if I'd never sinned, the one who is upright

is the one who is just. The one who is perfect is the one who is just. The one who is right with God is the one who is just. And God says, they walk by faith, not by works, not by the law, but by faith.

Over and over again. He tells us it's by faith. It's not by the law. It's not by the requirements that we place upon ourselves or anything that can be imposed on the outside. It's simply by our hearts believing in God and what He did for us at the cross. Verse 12, Yet the law is not of faith, but the man who does them shall live by them. The law is not of faith. And this quotation is from Leviticus chapter 18 verse 5.

But he says the law is not a faith. In fact, the law is the opposite of faith. They counteract one another. Again, if man was able to keep the law, then he would keep it. He would live by it. He would be justified by it. He would be right with God. And there would be no need for anything else. He would not be cursed. But the problem is, that is only if he can keep the law. Can you keep the law? Can you walk perfectly in this life? Would you want that burden?

That if you made one mistake, cheated one time, lied one time, had lustful thoughts one time, then you would be disqualified forever from eternity. Would you want that burden on your life? He set us free from that law that condemns us, that is cursed, because we cannot keep the law. In verse 13, it says that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us, for it is written, Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.

This quotation from Deuteronomy chapter 21, verse 23. Since we are cursed under the law, because the law tells us you're cursed if you cannot keep all of the law. Paul tells us here, he's redeemed us from that curse. How did he do it? Well, he did it by becoming a curse for us. He redeemed us. He pulled us out from the bondage, from being subject to that law.

By becoming a curse for us because the law also said, cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree. And that's what he did. He was nailed, hung there on the cross. He died for us. He took the penalty, took the judgment that we would be able to enjoy relationship with God by faith and not by keeping the law. And so verse 14, that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

He redeemed us from the law, that the blessing of Abraham might come upon us, and that we might receive the promise of the Spirit. All of those things through faith. Believing that when God says, if you confess my name, you believe in your heart, what I did for you on the cross, that my death washes away your sins and gives you full access to God.

that I desire to bless you as you approach me by faith. You believe those things and you receive them. He says the promise of the Spirit. Again, it's by the Spirit that we are born again. It's by the Spirit that we have relationship with God. We receive the Spirit by faith. Paul sums up this portion, answers the question that he asked there in verse 2, and he says you receive the Holy Spirit by faith. By faith.

There's nothing else that's required. Now, I get very excited when I read portions of Scripture like this, when I get to share passages like this, because it's so refreshing to know that God desires to bless us and fill us with His Spirit by our faith with Him and not, not by our works. It's so easy to get caught up in the idea of, well, if you really want to be filled with the Spirit,

If you want to walk with the Spirit and walk in the Spirit and be blessed by the Spirit, if you want God's blessings in your life, then what you need to do, and we lay down the laws, we lay down the requirements, you need to keep these things, you need to be obedient here, you need to be strict here, here's the list of things to do.

If you really want to be filled with the Spirit, if you really want the Spirit to use you, if you really want to be refreshed in your relationship with God, to have that intimate relationship with God, here's what you need to do. And Paul says, no, it's not that way. Don't get caught up in that. Yes, it's easy to go that route, to lean on that path, but do not do it. No way. It's by faith. He offers the Holy Spirit to us by faith.

Now, what does that mean to us? Why is it such a big deal that He offers the Spirit to us by faith, that we receive the Spirit by faith? What does the Spirit do? Why is the Spirit important to us? A few things I'd like to share with you as we look at the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The first thing that the Spirit does for us, and why it's important that we receive the Spirit by faith, as we've talked about already, it's by the Spirit that we're born again.

It's by the Spirit that we're regenerated and have a new life with God. And so this morning, I would ask you the question, are you born again? Have you been born again? A new creation, new life in Christ. Because what God offers to you this morning and I this morning is life in Him. Salvation, eternal life, being born again by the Spirit through faith in Him.

Not by some rituals, not by anything else, but simply by faith in Him. We receive the sealing of the Holy Spirit by our faith. And that's what Ephesians 1, verse 13 and 14 told us. The Bible also teaches, John chapter 14 through 16, Jesus talks about it very extensively. The Holy Spirit is our helper. He's our helper. And I would ask you, do you need help this morning?

life's situations and problems and the things that come up and struggles and concerns upon our hearts, do you need help? Because the wonderful news is this. God has given us His Spirit. He's right here with us to help us, to meet our needs, to minister to us. And we simply receive Him by faith. We don't have to jump through some incredible hoops in order to have God's help in our lives. But we simply receive the Helper.

The Holy Spirit by faith. Acts chapter 9 verse 31 talks about the comfort of the Holy Spirit. He's a comforter. Does anybody here need comfort this morning? Struggles, concerns, hard times, situations, sorrows? Is there healing that needs to take place in your life? God says, I've given you my spirit. You can receive the comfort of the Spirit by faith. Acts chapter 1 verse 8 says,

Talks about the power of the Spirit. The power that will come upon us with the Spirit. And this morning, do you need power? Do you need boldness to serve God and to witness, to share with others? Do you need the power of God at work in your life?

then you need the Holy Spirit. And you receive the Holy Spirit not by any works of the law, but simply by faith. God offers to you exactly what you need. Do you need victory? Romans 8, verse 13 tells us that we put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit.

There's sin, there's struggles, there's areas where we need to overcome. Do you need victory over sin, over areas of your life? God says, here, I've given you exactly what you need, that you could put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit, and you receive the Spirit by faith. Isaiah chapter 11, verse 2, talks about the counsel of the Spirit. He's our counselor.

Do you need counsel this morning? Wisdom, insight, direction, knowledge. He is our counselor. God offers to us exactly what we need in the area of counsel by the power of the Spirit who we receive simply by faith.

How about an understanding of the Word? In John 14, verse 26, Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit will teach us all things and remind us of the things that Jesus has already spoken to us. The Holy Spirit brings the Word of God alive in our hearts. Do you need an understanding of the Word of God? Has your time in the Word been dry and seemingly unfruitful? You need the power of the Spirit. God offers it to you. He says, here's my Spirit, receive Him.

By faith. How about joy? Or peace? Or patience? Or kindness? Or goodness? Or gentleness? Or self-control? The fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5, 22 and 23. Are these things lacking in your life? Do you need these things in place in your life? Do you need the joy? Do you need patience for those times and kindness and goodness and all of the wonderful character that comes from having the Holy Spirit within us moving through us, speaking to our hearts?

Paul says you receive those things as you receive the Spirit by faith. How about your relationship with God? Does it need to be refreshed? The passion restored, the intimacy renewed and back to what it once was. John chapter 7 verse 37 and 38. Jesus on the last day, the great day of the feast, He stood up and He said, If anybody is thirsty, let him come unto Me and drink.

Torrents of living water will flow from Him. He goes on to explain this is the work of the Holy Spirit where He satisfies our thirst. He brings refreshing relationship with God. Renewal of the passion. Do you need your relationship, your intimacy with God restored? Romans 8, verse 15 tells us that it's by the Spirit that we call upon God and we call out, Abba, Father.

Abba, Father. It's a very informal word for Father in the Greek. It means Daddy, Papa. We have the intimacy, the closeness of being a child of God. The relationship with God. Now it's the Galatians.

We're very likely in a state where things seem to be lacking, and you know how it is. Man, we get saved. God does a wonderful work in our hearts. We're excited about God. But as weeks press on, as days go on, as months go forward, that excitement, that passion, it begins to fade. The relationship with God, not as close as it once was, and we find ourselves in a situation, what do we do now? The Judaizers jump on.

the opportunity and they say, well, here's what you need to do. You're lacking because you're not keeping the law because you need to be obedient and here's the things that you need to do and fulfill and complete. And if you do those things, then you'll find exactly what you need. Paul says, no, throw that out the window. Listen, if you're in a state

where you need a touch from God, where you need a helper or a comforter or power. You need to be born again. You need to understand the Word or have joy and patience and kindness in your life. You need to be refreshed and drawn close to God in intimacy again. You don't need the works. You need the relationship. You need to receive it by faith. You need to ask God. In Luke chapter 11, Jesus says in verse 9, I say to you, ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock.

And it will be open to you. And he goes on to describe and to give an example. He says, listen, if you as a father have a son who asks you for a piece of bread, who among you as a father would give him a stone? Or if he asked for a fish or an egg, who among you would give him a scorpion? And then in verse 13 of Luke chapter 11, he says, if you...

then being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children. How much more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? If we have these needs, these areas in our lives where we need a touch from God, we receive the Holy Spirit by faith. And Jesus says, all you need to do is ask. Think about earthly fathers. They're evil. They're wicked in their hearts. But they give good gifts to their sons.

How much more will the loving, merciful, gracious God give us the Holy Spirit when we ask? And so I present this to you this morning. Paul's point, we receive the Spirit by faith. Do you believe God at His word? Do you believe what He says here? Will you ask Him for the Holy Spirit for those needs in your life?

And if that is your heart, if you do, you say, yes, I agree. I need the Holy Spirit at work. I need to be filled up fresh and anew. I need to be restored in my intimacy, my relationship with God. There's an area of my life. I need a comforter. I need a helper. I need power. I need victory. You need the Holy Spirit. And I would ask you at this time, it's not normal for us, but I would ask you, if that's you, if you say, yes, I want the Spirit,

in my heart. I need the Spirit. I want to receive the Spirit by faith. Just stand to your feet where you are. I want to pray with you and agree with you as we ask the Heavenly Father, Jesus, to be faithful to His Word that the Spirit would fill us. If that's you, just go ahead and stand. It's okay. Don't be bashful. It's you and God right now. If you need a touch in your life from the Spirit, you want God to do a work, He says He will. It's by faith.

It's not by works. It's not by anything you can do in approaching God. We simply ask Him by faith. And so let's do that together. Pray along with me. Lord Jesus, thank You for Your grace. Lord, I stand with my brothers and sisters here. Lord, in obedience to Your Word because we believe it's true. Lord, we ask that You would fill us with Your Holy Spirit. Lord, that You would meet our needs by the power of Your Spirit. God, that You would come upon us in power to give us victory today.

in the areas we need it. Lord, to give us boldness to use the gifts that you've given to us and to share our faith with those around us. God, that you would give us comfort to the hurts and the sorrows of our hearts. Lord, that you would give us counsel for the areas where we need wisdom and guidance and direction. Lord, that you would give us help, Lord, where we need you because we cannot do it on our own. God, that you would give us understanding of your word.

that your word would come alive in our hearts, Lord Jesus, and you would continue to speak to us like you once did. Oh, Lord, fill us with your Spirit. Renew us in joy and peace and patience and kindness and goodness and gentleness, self-control. But, Lord, most of all, Lord, renew us in our intimacy with you. Lord, that you would draw us closer to you than we've ever been before by the power of your Spirit. Lord, we would be able to call out, Abba, Father.

having full relationship with You. Thank You, Lord. We receive forgiveness. We receive Your mercy and grace. We thank You that You are faithful and true to fulfill Your Word. And we thank You, God, that You died on the cross for us. And it's in Your precious name that we all agree and say together,

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.