Remember When | Zane Garza | Galatians 3:1-14 — Zane Garza
This week is an exciting week at the Garza household. Not only is Callie's birthday on Saturday, but on Thursday we celebrate 10 years of marriage. We are excited for our 10-year anniversary. Yes, she has dealt with me for 10 years, if you can believe it—a full decade. It has been awesome to be married to Callie; she is my better half for sure, and we are looking forward to celebrating our 10 years of marriage. As I was planning for that and trying to get things ready, I thought to myself that I never forgot that I was married in the whole 10 years that we have been married. I wanted to pat myself on the back for that.
I married Callie, and I have not yet forgotten that I married Callie. It would be hard to forget, seeing how I wear this ring on my finger. Every week when I go to the gym, I take off this ring and put on a silicone ring because I do not want to mess this one up. I try to keep it nice. I am so cognizant of the ring on my finger that last week at the gym, I took this ring off the D-ring, set it on the bench, took off my silicone ring, put it on the D-ring, and then left the gym, leaving my wedding band there on the bench. As soon as I got back to the office and sat in my chair to start typing, I realized that I was not wearing my wedding band. Thankfully, Callie went and found it right where I left it, and it is on my hand today.
I do not have to be reminded that I got married. I remember the fact that I got married 10 years ago. Every time I look at this ring, I am reminded of the covenant that I made with Callie, and every day that shapes my choices. As we come up to 10 years, we are going to do a lot of "remember when" moments, looking back and being reminded of how good God has been, how faithful He has been, and how we have been faithful one to another.
With that thought in mind, the Apostle Paul in the Book of Galatians is writing a letter to several churches in the region of Galatia. Since the beginning of the Book of Galatians, from chapter number one all the way up to chapter number three, Paul has been defending the gospel of grace through faith in Christ alone. The reason he has been defending that truth is because false teachers had come into the church. These false teachers were called the Judaizers, and they wanted to add to the gospel. They said, "Jesus is good, but you also need something else."
What was the something else they wanted to add? They necessitated the works of the law given to Moses. They said that in order to be right with God and to be saved, a Jew must continue in the works of the law, and Gentiles had to add the works of the law to their faith. Essentially, they said that Gentiles had to become a Jew first and keep the works of the law before adding Jesus to be saved. Obviously, we know this is not the gospel. As Paul argued:
"I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." — Galatians 2:21
Christ came and died for nothing if you can earn your way to heaven, but that is not the case. Paul has been arguing for the gospel of grace through faith alone in Christ alone. A man must be justified by faith in Christ; justification does not come by the works of the law. Up until this point, Paul argued from the point of view of his own experience and his calling as an apostle. In chapter number one, Paul gave his testimony about how he was a persecutor of the church, living in direct opposition to Christ, before his conversion. He told about confirming the gospel with the apostles in Jerusalem, and his confrontation with Peter at Antioch. Now, in chapter number three, he turns to the experience of the Galatians.
Throughout our text, it is almost like Paul is saying over and over again, "Churches at Galatia, remember when." He reminds them of their experience:
"O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain. He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?" — Galatians 3:1-5
As we come to our text, we see the first point Paul makes: remember that faith is a necessity for today. Paul says, "O foolish Galatians," using a word that means they are without comprehension. What are they not comprehending? When Paul preached the gospel to them and planted these churches, Jesus Christ had been clearly set forth as crucified among them. Jesus was not literally crucified in Galatia, but it was so evident when Paul preached that Jesus Christ was the Messiah who gave Himself for their sins, and that the only way to be justified was to turn to Him by faith.
The truth of the gospel was plain and evident, yet who persuaded them to obey something else? In verse two, Paul asks if they received the Spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith. You can sense a hint of sarcasm in Paul's voice. The gospel was so clear, yet now they are listening to the Judaizers? The Galatians might have had all sorts of arguments ready, but Paul says, "This only would I learn of you." He has one question: when the Holy Spirit took up residence in their hearts, did they receive Him by works or by faith in Jesus Christ?
The answer is rhetorical—it was by faith. Long after the Galatian churches were planted, the Judaizers came in to lead them astray, telling them that to be right with God they must perform the works of the law. Paul calls them back to the beginning: they received the Spirit by the hearing of faith. Do not forget that your faith of yesterday is necessary for today. Do not turn from the faith of your salvation, but continue in it.
Paul peppers them with questions in verses one through five because faith is a necessity for today. Having begun in faith, you must continue in faith. Faith and works are incompatible; mixing them is like mixing oil and water. The same way you were saved by faith, you must continue in that faith.
Christian, do you remember when you got saved? Do you remember when you realized you were a sinner and Jesus Christ was the only Savior? When you first received Him, you were fired up about the things of God. You could not wait to go to church, to attend mid-week services, outreach, and workdays. Everything was new and amazing. But what happened between then and now? Do you have that same zeal for Jesus today?
Jesus is still on the throne, and Jesus is still good. In the same way you were fired up when you first got saved, we should still be excited about the things of God today. Faith at salvation is a necessity today as well; the just shall live by faith. That is what revival is—hearing God's voice again and continuing in faith.
Just yesterday I was on outreach doing visits here in Linda Vista right near Taco Bell. I got out of my car, knocked on a door, left a note, and as I walked back, I noticed a lot of people outside. The Holy Spirit spoke to me: yes, we need to do visits and put flyers on doors, but what about living by faith to build relationships with random people? When I first got saved, I used to walk around my neighborhood inviting people to church. One time I went downtown on my bike with a backpack full of water bottles, trying to tell homeless people about Jesus. I did not even fully know how to share the gospel yet, but I just wanted to tell people that Jesus loved them. Where is that faith today? Faith is a necessity for today.
In verse five, Paul asks whether He who ministers the Spirit and works miracles does so by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith. Blessing in the Christian life comes just as the Christian life began: through faith. God works in your life not because you earn His favor, but through faith.
Faith is the necessary human response to what God has objectively accomplished in the cross of Christ. Jesus dying on the cross for your sins should change your day-to-day decisions. A true life that cries out to Jesus in faith will be a changed life.
What does living by faith look like daily? It means disciplining yourself to read books that deepen your faith so you can help others. It means praying for opportunities to share the gospel and stepping out when those opportunities arise. It means prioritizing church service or outreach over hobbies, stepping out of your comfort zone, and giving sacrificially to missions so others can hear the gospel.
Living by faith is not just abstaining from being a bad testimony; it is seeking out opportunities to be a good testimony. Yesterday on outreach, I was delivering a baby basket to a couple in an apartment complex, and I encountered an upset woman who started filming me on her phone while I was holding the package. Everything in me wanted to fire off sarcastic remarks, but living by faith means stepping back from the flesh, representing Christ, and actively being salt and light.
Secondly, Paul reminds the Galatians that faith was also a necessity in the past, pointing them to the patriarch Abraham.
"Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." — Galatians 3:6
The Judaizers used the Old Testament to argue that to be blessed by God, one had to join the family to whom God's promises were made through physical works like circumcision. But who was Abraham? God made a covenant with him in Genesis 12:
"Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." — Genesis 12:1-3
God promised Abraham land, descendants, and that his family would bless the whole world. Later, in Genesis 17, circumcision was given as a sign of this covenant. But before that, in Genesis 15, God confirmed His unconditional covenant with Abraham:
"And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness." — Genesis 15:6
How was Abraham justified? Was it by works or circumcision? No, Abraham believed God by faith, and God imputed righteousness to him. Abraham was saved by faith looking forward to the Messiah, just as we are saved by faith looking back at Jesus Christ.
"Know ye therefore that they which be of faith, the same are the children of Abraham." — Galatians 3:7
"And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed." — Galatians 3:8
"So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham." — Galatians 3:9
Consider Abraham's life. When God told him to leave his country, he obeyed by faith. When God asked him to offer his son Isaac in Genesis 22, Abraham obeyed. He trusted God's promises, accounting that God was able to raise Isaac from the dead:
"Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure." — Hebrews 11:19
Abraham understood that there was more to life than the physical; he recognized the reality of the spiritual.
"God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." — John 4:24
It is not your physical heritage or keeping the law that affords you the blessing of Abraham; it is having faith like Abraham. Faith was also a necessity for those under the law of Moses.
"For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them." — Galatians 3:10-12
The law requires complete obedience. As the Scriptures say:
"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." — James 2:10
No amount of good works can outweigh bad works. To be guilty of one point is to be under the curse of the law. The law itself demonstrates that no man is justified by it before God; as the prophet Habakkuk made clear, the just shall live by faith.
Lastly, faith is a necessity for all.
"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:" — Galatians 3:13
Praise God that Jesus Christ came to redeem us. To redeem means to buy out of slavery. Before salvation, you are a slave to sin with no means to purchase your freedom, but Jesus provided the means when He died for us. He died so that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles as well as the Jews. Justification is by faith alone in Christ alone.
If we know these truths, are we doing them? Are you living by faith today? Remember the faith you had when you came to Jesus Christ. Jesus is still on the throne, and He is still worthy of us living by faith.