A Picture to Remember
If you’re like me, you probably remember bits and pieces of your early childhood, and the further back you go, the harder it is to remember them. I remember growing up in a town called Chervonohrad. I can picture our street, and our home. I remember that I loved it when my parents would take me to the park, because it often meant I’d get my favorite ice cream at the square. I remember that, and you probably have similar memories. But, the further back I go, the more scarce my memories are, and the fuzzier they get. Now fortunately, my mom, like most moms: has kept a lot of pictures. And it’s easy to take pictures for granted, but the fact that we can remember things through pictures is incredible! Especially when it comes to early memories. At this point, if I’m honest, it’s hard for me to even tell which of my early memories are actual memories, and which I’ve just absorbed through pictures. So pictures remind us of things we want to remember. And that brings us to our text this morning. Because like all of scripture, it’s packed with pictures that remind us of the things God wants us to remember, and I’m excited to look at those together this morning. So let’s pray one more time before we dive in to Galatians.
Father, your word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Thank you for giving us your word. And thank you for the gospel hope you reveal to us through it: That all who trust in Jesus are declared righteous, made alive, and are brought into your family. And it’s all because of the perfect work of Jesus on the Cross. Help us to see this afresh this morning. Prepare our hearts and our eyes to see the beauty and the power of the Gospel in Galatians 3. I pray all these things in Jesus’ name, Amen.
So last Sunday, Pastor Jonathan finished Galatians 2, where Paul concludes his confrontation of Peter by explaining the gospel. A person is saved not by obeying works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ alone. (Jesus + nothing else). Christ’s perfect work on the cross for our sin is both necessary and sufficient for our salvation. It’s not something we can ever earn, but is given as a gift, to all who trust in Jesus. And that is great news indeed – it’s the greatest news the world has ever known! And the Galatians heard it. We know this from Paul’s letters, and from Acts 13 & 14. Paul, on his first missionary journey, came to the Galatians, and preached the Gospel to them - clearly and powerfully, and they believed! – Many Gentiles believed the Gospel, and received the Holy Spirit, which worked powerfully in and among them through miracles: both visible and invisible. The Galatians’ lives were transformed by the gospel.
But as time goes on, even Christians can start to give in to the subtle, sinful pull of self-reliance. There’s this constant temptation to re-center our confidence, ever so slightly, on our own abilities. Maybe we want to get just a little credit for our story. To boast just a little in our own abilities. And that seems to be going on here, with the Galatians.
At the same time, there were significant external pressures – there were smart, respected and influential teachers in town, making sincere arguments, even from the scriptures – that although yes, you need to trust in Jesus, but it isn’t the only thing you need in order to be saved. To be truly right with God you’re also required to keep the laws that God gave to the nation of Israel, like circumcision. In effect, what they were teaching was Jesus + works doing, for salvation.
And really, the heart of the matter here is the difference between Christianity and other religions: The world is filled with different religions and ways to think about God, and there are a lot of people who think that all religions are all basically the same. (And that includes some of your coworkers, and your neighbors). But it’s not true. And here’s a big difference: While other religions recognize that our relationship with God has been broken – their solution is that we’ve got to do something to make ourselves right with God. They rely on our ability to fix things.
But the Gospel says something different. The gospel says, yes we are separated from God, but No, it’s not up to us to fix, because we can’t! We’re dead in our sins and we can’t fix anything. Only God can, and he did! Every other religion says we are reconciled to God by working our way back to him. But the Gospel says, we can’t work our way to God, so God came to us, in Jesus Christ. That’s what Jesus was doing when he died on the cross! And his death on the cross for our sin is necessary and enough to reconcile us to God. And it’s a free gift, to all who trust in Jesus. (And that’s the gospel that your neighbors and your coworkers need to hear!)
But what the Judaizers were teaching, was not the Gospel. No matter how genuine they were, their teachings were a lie, and a trap for the Galatian Christians. And the Galatians were being deceived by it.
Now Paul, immediately saw the danger they were in, and he made it very clear to the Galatians - what’s at stake. Gal 2:21 “if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.” Gal 5:2 if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of NO ADVANTAGE to you… you’re severed from Christ…fallen away from grace… If the Galatians fall for the trap of adding “works-doing” or “law-keeping” for their right standing with God, they will be throwing away the very Gospel that saves them! By turning from the gospel, they are walking off a cliff! It will kill them! It is literally the most foolish thing the Galatians could do. So let’s look at Paul’s response, as he turns to plead with the Galatians directly in Chapter 3, starting at verse 1.
v.1 “O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.”
Paul is shocked: he wonders if they’ve been bewitched – hypnotized, put under a spell.
It’s kind of like that scene in the Jungle book, where Mogli get’s hypnotized by Kaa. Mogli is a young boy is walking alone through the jungle, when Kaa, a giant python, comes slithering out from behind a tree. And we know all Kaa wants, is to eat Mogli. And Mogli knows Kaa can’t be trusted, and for a while he avoids eye contact. But eventually, Kaa does make eye contact, and starts singing his enchanting “trust in me” song, and Mogli is out. His eyes start doing that spinning thing, and he falls right into the trap. He is no longer thinking, he is bewitched. And we know that unless something snaps Mogli out of this spell, he’s done for. He’s going to be eaten.
That’s basically what’s going on with the Galatians, they’ve been bewitched (hypnotized) by the false gospel of works-doing. And so Galatians 3 is Paul, pleading with them, to snap out of it. Paul is shocked that this is even happening… why? Because their eyes have seen the gospel! This completely contradicts what Paul expects from those who have seen and believed the true gospel. As Paul puts it, “it was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as Crucified.” Now Paul is not saying here that they were physically present at Christ’s death. They hadn’t been, and that’s not what Paul is getting at. And yet he says they saw Christ crucified, and that’s because their Spiritual eyes had been opened through the preaching of the Gospel. The gospel Paul preached to the Galatians was clear, vivid, and compelling; and it was effective! they saw it! It was as clear as a billboard in front of their face. It was like they were there at the foot of the cross with Mary, and John. Their eyes were opened, and they saw Jesus – crucified for their sins. His work on the cross – as necessary and sufficient for their Salvation. And they believed in Jesus. This wasn’t just an idea Paul got in their head, something actually happened to them. They saw and believed the gospel of Jesus crucified for their sins. So after all that, are they going to throw it away? for what?!? For the trap, of salvation through works-doing and law-keeping? Paul can’t believe it!
How does Paul break this spell? He does it by presenting the Galatians with 3 pictures. So if you’re looking for a sermon outline, here it is: three pictures:
Their Baby picture
Their Family picture
The Gospel picture.
1. Their Baby picture
v.2 “did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?”
Paul points the Galatians to their spiritual baby picture, back to what happened at their conversion: he asks them to remember what happened when they first believed the gospel. Paul is not trying to get them with nostalgia here… he’s asking them “how did it happen??” was it by law-keeping or by hearing with faith. Did you do it? (was it your work?) or did God do it? (as a work of the Holy Spirit?)
And the answer was obvious to the Galatians. Of course they weren’t born again because of works of the law - they were gentiles: most had never even tried to keep the law. It was when Paul preached the Gospel to them, that something incredible happened: They believed and were Born again. It wasn’t a result of their works, The Holy Spirit worked: convicting them of their sin, producing faith in them to trust Jesus and the sufficiency of His work on the cross, Their sins were forgiven, The Holy Sprit united them to the perfect righteousness of Jesus through faith: and just like that, they were alive! A real, living, and breathing baby Christian. All a miraculous work of the Spirit through faith. And that baby picture grounds Paul’s point in the following verse. (v.3) “are you so foolish, having begun by the Spirit are you now being perfected by the flesh?” Do you see Paul’s argument? He is saying, “Galatians, you know that keeping the law played ZERO role in the miracle of your new birth. You know that there was nothing you could do to be born again. Your flesh - your works doing and law keeping had nothing to do with it. It was all completely dependent on The Spirit, working through faith in you. It is absurd, then, to think you can now outgrow your complete dependence on Christ and the Spirit’s work in you through faith. Every heartbeat of your new life, from beginning to the end depends on the Spirit working through faith. There’s only one way to finish in the Christian life, and it’s the same way that you started: Through Spirit-empowered Faith in Jesus Christ alone.
Talk about applicable; that is something we all need to be reminded of. Look back to your Spiritual baby pictures, and remember The Spirit’s miraculous work in your new birth, at your conversion.
The Holy Spirit revealed our sin to us
Convicted us of Sin and led us to repentance
He Produced faith in us. Opened our eyes to see and trust in Jesus
And through faith: with every sin forgiven, He unites us to the perfect righteousness of Christ, through faith,
This isn’t a “one time” event. It’s your new life – and it’s a Spirit-empowered life, in Christ! “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me!”
The Spirit of God is working in you, through faith, today, just as he has been from the moment you were alive. (Paul goes on in v.4&5)
v.4 “did you suffer (experience) these things in vain?
v.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?
Paul is reinforcing the same point. As Christians we experience spiritual realities. Paul has no hesitation reminding the Galatians of their experience at their new birth, and of the Spirit’s continued work in their lives. What Paul says happened to them, is true… And… the Galatians experienced it. He’s saying: The Gospel isn’t just some idea I got in your head, it’s real! Something actually happened to you when you trusted in Jesus and you know it. You’re alive! Your own experience bears witness to it. You were born again – and it was a work of the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ alone. Paul shows them the baby pictures of their new birth, to remind them that there’s only one way to finish in the Christian life, and it’s the same way that it started: Through Faith In Jesus Christ alone.
Then, moving to verse 6: Paul turns the Galatians’ attention to Abraham and his family, and in doing so, he introduces a second picture, and that’s:
2. Their Family picture
Now before we talk about Abraham, let’s talk about family pictures. My mother-in-law, Jodi, loves family pictures. And she’s got 9 kids, so that can be a daunting task, but let me tell you, she makes it happen. It’s incredible. In fact, I think she likes family pictures so much that I imagine the first thing she’ll do when she gets to heaven is gather EVERYONE together for a giant family picture. Now imagine that family picture for a second... what do you see? Look at all the faces in that picture… Do you see any family resemblance? Because Paul does, and he turns to Genesis 15 to the story of Abraham, to show us.
(v.6-7) Just as Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness?
KNOW THEN that it is those of FAITH who are SONS OF ABRAHAM.
Paul starts by reminding us of how Abraham’s justification came about. Abraham was a sinner that needed to be made right with God just like everybody else. He couldn’t do anything to fix it. And yet, Genesis 15 clearly says that he was justified through faith: “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” It was a legal verdict that he had nothing to deserve: he was declared “Righteous” – not because of works doing, or law keeping, but through faith. And the same is true of all God’s promises to Abraham and his descendants: they’re received through faith.
And to understand why he’s even arguing this way, we need to remember, that to the Jews (as several of our pastors have mentioned) the world was divided into two categories. Jews and Not-Jews. You were either sons of Abraham, or gentile sinners. You were either in the family or outside the family, and they were sure that God’s promises belong to God’s family, starting with Abraham, and then his descendants: the Jews.
This had to be crucial in the Judaizer’s pressure on the gentile Christians:
Essentially, the argument goes, “You can’t just walk in and claim to be in God’s family.” And you can be sure they had Bible verses to show it. “Look at God’s promises in Genesis: They were to Abraham and his descendants. God’s blessings don’t belong to just anyone, they belong in God’s family: His nation, Israel! God’s promises are to Abraham and his descendants.” So, if you, a gentile, want in, you’ve got to go all in: You need to join the family (become a Jewish convert) - and start resembling the family: be circumcised and obey the OT laws.
And that had to be incredibly distressing and confusing to the gentile Christians. What the gentile Christians are struggling to know is: Am I part of God’s family? Or not?
This is also why Peter not eating with gentile Christians was such a big deal. By not coming to the family meals with the gentiles, Peter was confusing the gentile believers and reinforcing their own fears - that they’re not in the family!
Paul is having none of that. Paul is clear: in verse 6. He switches from asking Questions to a clear instruction: “Know then, it is those of faith who are sons of Abraham.” There’s only one way into God’s family, for everyone (Jew or Gentile), and It’s the same way that Abraham became part of the family. It’s not about being a Jew. And it’s not about living like a Jew or looking like a Jew. It’s not your ethnicity or your works: It’s FAITH. The sons of Abraham (those who are in God’s family with Abraham) are the very same people who have been Justified by grace, through faith, just like Abraham. The family resemblance is faith.
(so let’s look at verse 8&9)
v.8-9 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.
Notice, Paul’s argument is from the Old Testament Scriptures, he’s quoting Genesis 15! Paul says you’re absolutely right to look to the scripture. You should study the old testament scripture and learn what it preaches, because the old testament scripture preaches the same gospel!
So, from Genesis 15, Paul reminds them of their family picture. It’s not a typical family picture… why? Well for one, everyone looks different! There are people from every nation: Jews and Gentiles, and yet they all share the same family resemblance: it’s faith! Can we just pause for a moment and look at that family picture? (It’s the same picture John gives us in Revelation 7:9) of “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the lamb… crying out… salvation belongs to our God” Beautiful, isn’t it? Paul dismantles any other fundamental identity. There are two categories of people: those who are outside the family, and those who are in God’s family, through faith in Jesus.
That brings us to the third and final picture:
3. The Gospel picture (v.1)
This is the picture Paul Started with when he first preached the Gospel to Galatians, and it’s the picture he started this chapter with, when they’re in danger of abandoning the Gospel. And it’s a shocking picture. Paul reminds them, “it was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as Crucified.” Christ’s death on the cross for their sin - is reality, and they’ve seen it.
The Gospel picture of Christ Crucified exposes the depth of our sin and our guilt: Christ’s death was necessary! Your sin, your treason (against the very God who made you) was so horrible, - so offensive, the wrath of God you and I deserved was so great: that the Son of God had to die. We are guilty, and there’s nothing we can do to fix it.
And yet, the Gospel picture of Christ Crucified reminds us that Jesus did die! It’s reality. God became a man in the person of Jesus Christ. God came to us. Perfectly righteous, perfectly sinless. And yet he willingly died on the cross to satisfy God’s wrath in my place and your place. His perfect righteousness is counted to us, who trust in Him. Jesus Christ has done everything necessary. His perfect work on the cross for our sin - is reality, and we’ve seen it. As one author puts it “A Christian is not someone who knows about Jesus, but one who has “seen” Him on the cross” (Keller). When we heard the Gospel preached, and our eyes were opened, and we saw Jesus – crucified for our sins. It’s like we were there, at the cross. The Holy Spirit Opened our eyes to see and trust in Jesus. Our sins were forgiven. His Spirit, through faith unites us to the perfect righteousness of Christ. Something actually happened. And we’ve seen it. Christian, Jesus loves you! The gospel picture of Christ Crucified reminds us that Jesus Christ has done everything necessary for our salvation, and it’s a free gift, to all who trust in Jesus. We never outgrow the Gospel picture. The Gospel is not something you just see once, years ago, to get your “get out of jail free card” and forget about. It is the heartbeat of our new life in Christ. All of the Christian life depends on looking to Jesus on the cross: from your very first baby picture, to our final and glorious family picture, it all rests on the perfect work of Jesus on the cross.
And that brings us to the table. Because at the table we are reminded of the gospel picture, every week. His death as a substitute for our sin. His body, broken for us, his blood poured out for all who trust in Him. Christ’s work on the Cross both purchased and sustains our life: Whether you’ve been a Christian for 30 days or 30 years: the ground is level at the foot of the cross. Jesus invites us to the family meal, and to remember the gospel picture.
Father, thank you: you so loved the world that you gave your only son, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish, but have eternal life.” Thank you that all who trust in Him are declared righteous, made alive, and are brought into your family. Thank you for the new life we have in Christ. Thank you for the Holy Spirit who lives and works in us from our first breath to our last. It’s all because of the perfect work of Jesus on the Cross. Keep us from ever turning away from the Gospel, but make us always look to and trust in you. And Lord, give us a passion and a boldness to share this good news with those around us: our neighbors, and coworkers, and families. We pray all these things in Jesus name, Amen.
