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Bewitched and Bothered Galatians 3:1-14
The sixty verses that make up Galatians 3 and 4 are some of the strongest writing that Paul ever penned. But, after all, he was in a battle! He was out to prove that salvation is by grace alone, and not by the works of the Law. His opponents had used every possible means to try to capture the churches of Galatia, and Paul was not going to fight them halfheartedly. The apostle was no amateur when it came to debate, and in these two chapters he certainly proves his abilities. His logic is unassailable. Paul uses six different arguments to prove that God saves sinners through faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law. He begins with the personal argument (Gal. 3:1-5) in which he asks the Galatians to recall their personal experience with Christ when they were saved. Then he moves into the scriptural argument (Gal. 3:6-14), in which he quotes six Old Testament passages to prove his point. In the logical argument (Gal. 3:15-29) he reasons with his readers on the basis of what a covenant is and how a covenant works. He then presents the historical argument (Gal. 4:1-11), explaining the place of Law in the history of Israel.
At this point, Paul's love for his converts comes to the surface. The result is a sentimental argument (Gal. 4:12-18) as the apostle appeals to them to remember his love and their happy relationship in days past. But then Paul goes right back to his close reasoning, and concludes with the allegorical argument (Gal. 4:19-31), based on the life of Abraham and his relationships with Sarah and Hagar. Practical application of his doctrinal argument follows in the last two chapters.
The Personal Argument (Gal. 3:1-5) The key to this section is in the word suffered (Gal. 3:4), which can be translated "experienced." Paul asks, "Have you experienced so many things in vain?" The argument from Christian experience was a wise one with which to begin, because Paul had been with them when they had trusted Christ. Of course, to argue from experience can be dangerous, because experiences can be counterfeited and they can be misunderstood. Subjective experience must be balanced with objective evidence, because experiences can change, but truth never changes. Paul balances the subjective experience of the Galatian Christians with the objective teaching of the unchanging Word of God (Gal. 3:6-14).
It was obvious that these people had experienced something in their lives when Paul had first visited them; but the Judaizers had come along and convinced them that their experience was not complete. They needed something else, and that "something else" was obedience to the Law of Moses. These false teachers had bewitched them and turned them into fools. In calling them "fools" Paul is not violating Christ's words in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:22), because two different words are used and two different ideas are expressed. Foolish in Galatians 3:1 means "spiritually dull" (see Luke 24:25), while the word Jesus used carries the idea of "a godless person." Paul is declaring a fact; Jesus is warning against verbal abuse.
Paul reminds them that they had truly experienced a meeting with God.
They saw God the Son (v. 1). It was "Christ and Him crucified" that Paul had preached in Galatia, and with such effectiveness that the people could almost see Jesus crucified for them on the cross. The words evidently set forth translate a Greek word that means "publicly portrayed, or announced on a poster." Just as we put important information on a poster and display it in a public place, so Paul openly presented Christ to the Galatians, with great emphasis on His death for sinners on the cross. They heard this truth, believed it, and obeyed it; and as a result, were born into the family of God.
They received God the Holy Spirit (vv. 2-4). The Holy Spirit is mentioned eighteen times in this epistle and plays an important part in Paul's defense of the Gospel of the grace of God. The only real evidence of conversion is the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer (see Rom. 8:9). Paul asks an important question: did they receive the Spirit by faith in the Word of God, or by doing the works of the Law? Of course, there could be but one answer: the Spirit came into their lives because they trusted Jesus Christ.
It is important that we understand the work of the Spirit in salvation and Christian living. The Holy Spirit convicts the lost sinner and reveals Christ to him (John 16:7-11). The sinner can resist the Spirit (Acts 7:51) or yield to the Spirit and trust Jesus Christ. When the sinner believes in Christ, he is then born of the Spirit (John 3:1-8) and receives new life. He is also baptized by the Spirit so that he becomes a part of the spiritual body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12-14). The believer is sealed by the Spirit (Eph. 1:13-14) as a guarantee that he will one day share in the glory of Christ.
Since the Holy Spirit does so much for the believer, this means that the believer has a responsibility to the Holy Spirit, who lives within his body (1 Cor. 6:19-20). The Christian should walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16, 25) by reading the Word, praying, and obeying God's will. If he disobeys God, then he is grieving the Spirit (Eph. 4:30), and if he persists in doing this, he may quench the Spirit (1 Thes. 5:19). This does not mean that the Holy Spirit will leave him, because Jesus has promised that the Spirit abides forever (John 14:16). But it does mean that the Spirit cannot give him the joy and power that he needs for daily Christian living. Believers should be filled with the Spirit
(Eph. 5:18-21), which simply means "controlled by the Spirit." This is a continuous experience, like drinking water from a fresh stream (John 7:37-39).
So, in their conversion experience, the believers in Galatia had received the Spirit by faith and not by the works of the Law. This leads Paul to another question: "If you did not begin with the Law, why bring it in anyway? If you began with the Spirit, can you go on to maturity without the Spirit, depending on the flesh?" The word flesh here does not refer to the human body, but rather to the believer's old nature. Whatever the Bible says about "flesh" is usually negative (see Gen. 6:1-7; John 6:63; Rom. 7:18; Phil. 3:3). Since we were saved through the Spirit, and not the flesh, through faith and not Law, then it is reasonable that we should continue that way.
The illustration of human birth is appropriate here. Two human parents are required for a child to be conceived and born, and two spiritual parents are required for a child to be born into God's family: the Spirit of God and the Word of God (John 3:1-8; 1 Peter 1:22-25). When a normal child is born, he has all that he needs for life; nothing need be added. When the child of God is born into God's family, he has all that he needs spiritually; nothing need be added! All that is necessary is that the child have food, exercise, and cleansing that he might grow into maturity. It would be strange if the parents had to take the child to the doctor at one month to receive ears, at two months to receive toes, and so on.
"You have begun in the Spirit," writes Paul. "Nothing need be added! Walk in the Spirit and you will grow in the Lord."
They experienced miracles from God the Father (v. 5). The He in this verse refers to the Father as the One who ministers the Spirit and "worketh miracles among [them]." The same Holy Spirit who came into the believer at conversion continues to work in him and through him so that the whole body is built up (see Eph. 4:16; Col. 2:19). The Father continues to supply the Spirit in power and blessing, and this is done by faith and not by the works of the Law. The phrase among you can also be translated within you. These miracles would therefore include wonderful changes within the lives of the Christians, as well as signs and wonders within the church fellowship.
"Do you really believe the miracles in the Bible?" a skeptic asked a new Christian who had been a terrible drinker.
"Of course I do!" the believer replied.
The skeptic laughed. "Do you mean that you really believe that Jesus could turn water into wine?" he asked.
"I sure do! In my home He turned wine into food and clothing and furniture!"
The Scriptural Argument (Gal. 3:6-14)
Paul turns now from subjective experience to the objective evidence of the Word of God. We never judge the Scriptures by our experience; we test our experience by the Word of God. In the first section, Paul asked six questions; in this section he will quote six Old Testament statements to prove that salvation is by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law. Since the Judaizers wanted to take the believers back into the Law, Paul quotes the Law! And, since they magnified the place of Abraham in their religion, Paul uses Abraham as one of his witnesses!
Abraham was saved by faith (vv. 6-7).
Paul begins by quoting Moses to show that God's righteousness was placed to Abraham's account only because he believed God's promise (Gen. 15:6). The words accounted in Galatians 3:6 and counted in Genesis 15:6 mean the same as imputed in Romans 4:11, 22-24. The Greek word means "to put to one's account." When the sinner trusts Christ, God's righteousness is put to his account. More than this, the believer's sins are no longer put to his account (see Rom. 4:1-8). This means that the record is always clean before God, and therefore the believer can never be brought into judgment for his sins.
The Jewish people were very proud of their relationship with Abraham. The trouble was, they thought that this relationship guaranteed them eternal salvation. John the Baptist warned them that their physical descent did not guarantee spiritual life (Matt. 3:9). Jesus made a clear distinction between "Abraham's seed" physically and "Abraham's children" spiritually (John 8:33-47). Some people today still imagine that salvation is inherited. Because mother and father were godly people, the children are automatically saved. But this is not true. It has well been said, "God has no grandchildren."
This salvation is for the Gentiles (vv. 8-9).
The word heathen (Gal. 3:8), as used here, simply means Gentiles. Paul's quotation of Moses (Gen. 12:3) proves that, from the very beginning of Abraham's relationship with God, the blessing of salvation was promised to all the nations of the world. God preached the "Good News" to Abraham centuries ago, and Paul brought that same Good News to the Galatians: sinners are justified through faith and not by keeping the Law. The logic here is evident: if God promised to save the Gentiles by faith, then the Judaizers are wrong in wanting to take the Gentile believers back into Law. The true "children of Abraham" are not the Jews by physical descent, but Jews and Gentiles who have believed in Jesus Christ. All those who are "of faith" (believers) are blessed with "believing Abraham."
When you read God's great covenant with Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3, you discover that many different blessings were promised—some personal, some national and political, and some universal and spiritual. Certainly God did make Abraham's name great; he is revered not only by Jews, but also by Christians, Muslims, and many others. God did multiply his descendants, and God did bless those who blessed Abraham. He also judged those who cursed his descendants (Egypt, Babylon, and Rome are cases in point). But the greatest blessings that God sent through Abraham and the Jewish nation have to do with our eternal salvation. Jesus Christ is that promised '"Seed," through whom all the nations have been blessed (Gal. 3:16).
This salvation is by faith, not Law (vv. 10-12).
Salvation could never come by obedience to Law because the Law brings a curse, not a blessing. Here Paul quotes from Deuteronomy 27:26. Law demands obedience, and this means obedience in all things. The Law is not a "religious cafeteria" where people can pick and choose (see James 2:10-11). Paul next quotes Habakkuk, "The just shall live by his faith" (Hab. 2:4). This statement is so important that the Holy Spirit inspired three New Testament books to explain it as mentioned before. Romans explains "the just" and tells how the sinner can be justified before God (see Rom. 1:17). Galatians explains how the just "shall live"; and Hebrews discusses "by faith" (see Heb. 10:38). Nobody could ever live "by Law" because the Law kills and shows the sinner he is guilty before God (Rom. 3:20; 7:7-11).
But someone might argue that it takes faith even to obey the Law; so Paul quotes Leviticus to prove that it is doing the Law, not believing it, that God requires (Lev. 18:5). Law says, "Do and live!" but grace says, "Believe and live!" Paul's own experience (Phil. 3:1-10), as well as the history of Israel (Rom. 10:1-10), proves that works righteousness can never save the sinner; only faith righteousness can do that.
The Judaizers wanted to seduce the Galatians into a religion of legal works, while Paul wanted them to enjoy a relationship of love and life by faith in Christ. For the Christian to abandon faith and grace for Law and works is to lose everything exciting that the Christian can experience in his daily fellowship with the Lord. The Law cannot justify the sinner (Gal. 2:16); neither can it give him righteousness (Gal. 2:21). The Law cannot give the gift of the Spirit (Gal. 3:2), nor can it guarantee that spiritual inheritance that belongs to God's children (Gal. 3:18). The Law cannot give life (Gal. 3:21), and the Law cannot give liberty (Gal. 4:8-10). Why, then, go back into the Law?
This salvation comes through Christ (vv. 13-14).
These two verses beautifully summarize all that Paul has been saying in this section. Does the Law put sinners under a curse? Then Christ has redeemed us from that curse! Do you want the blessing of Abraham? It comes through Christ! Do you want the gift of the Spirit, but you are a Gentile? This gift is given through Christ to the Gentiles! All that you need is in Christ! There is no reason to go back to Moses.
Paul quotes Deuteronomy again, "He that is hanged is accursed of God" (Deut. 21:23, NKJV). The Jews did not crucify criminals; they stoned them to death. But in cases of shameful violation of the Law, the body was hung on a tree and exposed for all to see. This was a great humiliation, because the Jewish people were very careful in their treatment of a dead body. After the body had been exposed for a time, it was taken down and buried (see Josh. 8:29; 10:26; 2 Sam. 4:12).
Of course, Paul's reference to a "tree" relates to the cross on which Jesus died (Acts 5:30; 1 Peter 2:24). He was not stoned and then His dead body exposed; He was nailed alive to a tree and left there to die. But by dying on the cross, Jesus Christ bore the curse of the Law for us; so that now the believer is no longer under the Law and its awful curse. "The blessing of Abraham" (justification by faith and the gift of the Spirit) is now ours through faith in Jesus Christ.
The word redeemed in Galatians 3:13 means to purchase a slave for the purpose of setting him free. It is possible to purchase a slave and keep him as a slave, but this is not what Christ did. By shedding His blood on the cross, He purchased us that we might be set free. The Judaizers wanted to lead the Christians into slavery, but Christ died to set them free. Salvation is not exchanging one form of bondage for another. Salvation is being set free from the bondage of sin and the Law into the liberty of God's grace through Christ.
This raises an interesting question: how could these Judaizers ever convince the Galatian Christians that the way of Law was better than the way of grace? Why would any believer deliberately want to choose bondage instead of liberty? Perhaps part of the answer is found in the word bewitched that Paul uses in Galatians 3:1. The word means "to cast a spell, to fascinate." What is there about legalism that can so fascinate the Christian that he will turn from grace to Law?
For one thing, legalism appeals to the flesh. The flesh loves to be "religious"—to obey laws, to observe holy occasions, even to fast (see Gal. 4:10). Certainly there is nothing wrong with obedience, fasting, or solemn times of spiritual worship, provided that the Holy Spirit does the motivating and the empowering. The flesh loves to boast about its religious achievements—how many prayers were offered, or how many gifts were given (see Luke 18:9-14; Phil. 3:1-10).
Another characteristic of religious legalism that fascinates people is the appeal to the senses. Instead of worshiping God "in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24), the legalist invents his own system that satisfies his senses. He cannot walk by faith; he has to walk by sight and hearing and tasting and smelling and feeling. To be sure, true Spirit-led worship does not deny the five senses. We see other believers; we sing and hear the hymns; we taste and feel the elements of the Lord's Supper. But these external things are but windows through which faith perceives the eternal. They are not ends in themselves.
The person who depends on religion can measure himself and compare himself with others. This is another fascination to legalism. But the true believer measures himself with Christ, not other Christians (Eph. 4:llff). There is no room for pride in the spiritual walk of the Christian who lives by grace; but the legalist constantly boasts about his achievements and his converts (Gal. 6:13-14).
Yes, there is a fascination to the Law, but it is only bait that leads to a trap; and once the believer takes the bait, he finds himself in bondage. Far better to take God at His Word and rest on His grace. We were saved "by grace, through faith" and we must live "by grace, through faith." This is the way to blessing. The other way is the way to bondage.
Bewitched and Bothered Galatians 3:1-14
The sixty verses that make up Galatians 3 and 4 are some of the strongest writing that Paul ever penned. But, after all, he was in a battle! He was out to prove that salvation is by grace alone, and not by the works of the Law. His opponents had used every possible means to try to capture the churches of Galatia, and Paul was not going to fight them halfheartedly. The apostle was no amateur when it came to debate, and in these two chapters he certainly proves his abilities. His logic is unassailable. Paul uses six different arguments to prove that God saves sinners through faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law. He begins with the personal argument (Gal. 3:1-5) in which he asks the Galatians to recall their personal experience with Christ when they were saved. Then he moves into the scriptural argument (Gal. 3:6-14), in which he quotes six Old Testament passages to prove his point. In the logical argument (Gal. 3:15-29) he reasons with his readers on the basis of what a covenant is and how a covenant works. He then presents the historical argument (Gal. 4:1-11), explaining the place of Law in the history of Israel.
At this point, Paul's love for his converts comes to the surface. The result is a sentimental argument (Gal. 4:12-18) as the apostle appeals to them to remember his love and their happy relationship in days past. But then Paul goes right back to his close reasoning, and concludes with the allegorical argument (Gal. 4:19-31), based on the life of Abraham and his relationships with Sarah and Hagar. Practical application of his doctrinal argument follows in the last two chapters.
The Personal Argument (Gal. 3:1-5) The key to this section is in the word suffered (Gal. 3:4), which can be translated "experienced." Paul asks, "Have you experienced so many things in vain?" The argument from Christian experience was a wise one with which to begin, because Paul had been with them when they had trusted Christ. Of course, to argue from experience can be dangerous, because experiences can be counterfeited and they can be misunderstood. Subjective experience must be balanced with objective evidence, because experiences can change, but truth never changes. Paul balances the subjective experience of the Galatian Christians with the objective teaching of the unchanging Word of God (Gal. 3:6-14).
It was obvious that these people had experienced something in their lives when Paul had first visited them; but the Judaizers had come along and convinced them that their experience was not complete. They needed something else, and that "something else" was obedience to the Law of Moses. These false teachers had bewitched them and turned them into fools. In calling them "fools" Paul is not violating Christ's words in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:22), because two different words are used and two different ideas are expressed. Foolish in Galatians 3:1 means "spiritually dull" (see Luke 24:25), while the word Jesus used carries the idea of "a godless person." Paul is declaring a fact; Jesus is warning against verbal abuse.
Paul reminds them that they had truly experienced a meeting with God.
They saw God the Son (v. 1). It was "Christ and Him crucified" that Paul had preached in Galatia, and with such effectiveness that the people could almost see Jesus crucified for them on the cross. The words evidently set forth translate a Greek word that means "publicly portrayed, or announced on a poster." Just as we put important information on a poster and display it in a public place, so Paul openly presented Christ to the Galatians, with great emphasis on His death for sinners on the cross. They heard this truth, believed it, and obeyed it; and as a result, were born into the family of God.
They received God the Holy Spirit (vv. 2-4). The Holy Spirit is mentioned eighteen times in this epistle and plays an important part in Paul's defense of the Gospel of the grace of God. The only real evidence of conversion is the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer (see Rom. 8:9). Paul asks an important question: did they receive the Spirit by faith in the Word of God, or by doing the works of the Law? Of course, there could be but one answer: the Spirit came into their lives because they trusted Jesus Christ.
It is important that we understand the work of the Spirit in salvation and Christian living. The Holy Spirit convicts the lost sinner and reveals Christ to him (John 16:7-11). The sinner can resist the Spirit (Acts 7:51) or yield to the Spirit and trust Jesus Christ. When the sinner believes in Christ, he is then born of the Spirit (John 3:1-8) and receives new life. He is also baptized by the Spirit so that he becomes a part of the spiritual body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12-14). The believer is sealed by the Spirit (Eph. 1:13-14) as a guarantee that he will one day share in the glory of Christ.
Since the Holy Spirit does so much for the believer, this means that the believer has a responsibility to the Holy Spirit, who lives within his body (1 Cor. 6:19-20). The Christian should walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16, 25) by reading the Word, praying, and obeying God's will. If he disobeys God, then he is grieving the Spirit (Eph. 4:30), and if he persists in doing this, he may quench the Spirit (1 Thes. 5:19). This does not mean that the Holy Spirit will leave him, because Jesus has promised that the Spirit abides forever (John 14:16). But it does mean that the Spirit cannot give him the joy and power that he needs for daily Christian living. Believers should be filled with the Spirit
(Eph. 5:18-21), which simply means "controlled by the Spirit." This is a continuous experience, like drinking water from a fresh stream (John 7:37-39).
So, in their conversion experience, the believers in Galatia had received the Spirit by faith and not by the works of the Law. This leads Paul to another question: "If you did not begin with the Law, why bring it in anyway? If you began with the Spirit, can you go on to maturity without the Spirit, depending on the flesh?" The word flesh here does not refer to the human body, but rather to the believer's old nature. Whatever the Bible says about "flesh" is usually negative (see Gen. 6:1-7; John 6:63; Rom. 7:18; Phil. 3:3). Since we were saved through the Spirit, and not the flesh, through faith and not Law, then it is reasonable that we should continue that way.
The illustration of human birth is appropriate here. Two human parents are required for a child to be conceived and born, and two spiritual parents are required for a child to be born into God's family: the Spirit of God and the Word of God (John 3:1-8; 1 Peter 1:22-25). When a normal child is born, he has all that he needs for life; nothing need be added. When the child of God is born into God's family, he has all that he needs spiritually; nothing need be added! All that is necessary is that the child have food, exercise, and cleansing that he might grow into maturity. It would be strange if the parents had to take the child to the doctor at one month to receive ears, at two months to receive toes, and so on.
"You have begun in the Spirit," writes Paul. "Nothing need be added! Walk in the Spirit and you will grow in the Lord."
They experienced miracles from God the Father (v. 5). The He in this verse refers to the Father as the One who ministers the Spirit and "worketh miracles among [them]." The same Holy Spirit who came into the believer at conversion continues to work in him and through him so that the whole body is built up (see Eph. 4:16; Col. 2:19). The Father continues to supply the Spirit in power and blessing, and this is done by faith and not by the works of the Law. The phrase among you can also be translated within you. These miracles would therefore include wonderful changes within the lives of the Christians, as well as signs and wonders within the church fellowship.
"Do you really believe the miracles in the Bible?" a skeptic asked a new Christian who had been a terrible drinker.
"Of course I do!" the believer replied.
The skeptic laughed. "Do you mean that you really believe that Jesus could turn water into wine?" he asked.
"I sure do! In my home He turned wine into food and clothing and furniture!"
The Scriptural Argument (Gal. 3:6-14)
Paul turns now from subjective experience to the objective evidence of the Word of God. We never judge the Scriptures by our experience; we test our experience by the Word of God. In the first section, Paul asked six questions; in this section he will quote six Old Testament statements to prove that salvation is by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law. Since the Judaizers wanted to take the believers back into the Law, Paul quotes the Law! And, since they magnified the place of Abraham in their religion, Paul uses Abraham as one of his witnesses!
Abraham was saved by faith (vv. 6-7).
Paul begins by quoting Moses to show that God's righteousness was placed to Abraham's account only because he believed God's promise (Gen. 15:6). The words accounted in Galatians 3:6 and counted in Genesis 15:6 mean the same as imputed in Romans 4:11, 22-24. The Greek word means "to put to one's account." When the sinner trusts Christ, God's righteousness is put to his account. More than this, the believer's sins are no longer put to his account (see Rom. 4:1-8). This means that the record is always clean before God, and therefore the believer can never be brought into judgment for his sins.
The Jewish people were very proud of their relationship with Abraham. The trouble was, they thought that this relationship guaranteed them eternal salvation. John the Baptist warned them that their physical descent did not guarantee spiritual life (Matt. 3:9). Jesus made a clear distinction between "Abraham's seed" physically and "Abraham's children" spiritually (John 8:33-47). Some people today still imagine that salvation is inherited. Because mother and father were godly people, the children are automatically saved. But this is not true. It has well been said, "God has no grandchildren."
This salvation is for the Gentiles (vv. 8-9).
The word heathen (Gal. 3:8), as used here, simply means Gentiles. Paul's quotation of Moses (Gen. 12:3) proves that, from the very beginning of Abraham's relationship with God, the blessing of salvation was promised to all the nations of the world. God preached the "Good News" to Abraham centuries ago, and Paul brought that same Good News to the Galatians: sinners are justified through faith and not by keeping the Law. The logic here is evident: if God promised to save the Gentiles by faith, then the Judaizers are wrong in wanting to take the Gentile believers back into Law. The true "children of Abraham" are not the Jews by physical descent, but Jews and Gentiles who have believed in Jesus Christ. All those who are "of faith" (believers) are blessed with "believing Abraham."
When you read God's great covenant with Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3, you discover that many different blessings were promised—some personal, some national and political, and some universal and spiritual. Certainly God did make Abraham's name great; he is revered not only by Jews, but also by Christians, Muslims, and many others. God did multiply his descendants, and God did bless those who blessed Abraham. He also judged those who cursed his descendants (Egypt, Babylon, and Rome are cases in point). But the greatest blessings that God sent through Abraham and the Jewish nation have to do with our eternal salvation. Jesus Christ is that promised '"Seed," through whom all the nations have been blessed (Gal. 3:16).
This salvation is by faith, not Law (vv. 10-12).
Salvation could never come by obedience to Law because the Law brings a curse, not a blessing. Here Paul quotes from Deuteronomy 27:26. Law demands obedience, and this means obedience in all things. The Law is not a "religious cafeteria" where people can pick and choose (see James 2:10-11). Paul next quotes Habakkuk, "The just shall live by his faith" (Hab. 2:4). This statement is so important that the Holy Spirit inspired three New Testament books to explain it as mentioned before. Romans explains "the just" and tells how the sinner can be justified before God (see Rom. 1:17). Galatians explains how the just "shall live"; and Hebrews discusses "by faith" (see Heb. 10:38). Nobody could ever live "by Law" because the Law kills and shows the sinner he is guilty before God (Rom. 3:20; 7:7-11).
But someone might argue that it takes faith even to obey the Law; so Paul quotes Leviticus to prove that it is doing the Law, not believing it, that God requires (Lev. 18:5). Law says, "Do and live!" but grace says, "Believe and live!" Paul's own experience (Phil. 3:1-10), as well as the history of Israel (Rom. 10:1-10), proves that works righteousness can never save the sinner; only faith righteousness can do that.
The Judaizers wanted to seduce the Galatians into a religion of legal works, while Paul wanted them to enjoy a relationship of love and life by faith in Christ. For the Christian to abandon faith and grace for Law and works is to lose everything exciting that the Christian can experience in his daily fellowship with the Lord. The Law cannot justify the sinner (Gal. 2:16); neither can it give him righteousness (Gal. 2:21). The Law cannot give the gift of the Spirit (Gal. 3:2), nor can it guarantee that spiritual inheritance that belongs to God's children (Gal. 3:18). The Law cannot give life (Gal. 3:21), and the Law cannot give liberty (Gal. 4:8-10). Why, then, go back into the Law?
This salvation comes through Christ (vv. 13-14).
These two verses beautifully summarize all that Paul has been saying in this section. Does the Law put sinners under a curse? Then Christ has redeemed us from that curse! Do you want the blessing of Abraham? It comes through Christ! Do you want the gift of the Spirit, but you are a Gentile? This gift is given through Christ to the Gentiles! All that you need is in Christ! There is no reason to go back to Moses.
Paul quotes Deuteronomy again, "He that is hanged is accursed of God" (Deut. 21:23, NKJV). The Jews did not crucify criminals; they stoned them to death. But in cases of shameful violation of the Law, the body was hung on a tree and exposed for all to see. This was a great humiliation, because the Jewish people were very careful in their treatment of a dead body. After the body had been exposed for a time, it was taken down and buried (see Josh. 8:29; 10:26; 2 Sam. 4:12).
Of course, Paul's reference to a "tree" relates to the cross on which Jesus died (Acts 5:30; 1 Peter 2:24). He was not stoned and then His dead body exposed; He was nailed alive to a tree and left there to die. But by dying on the cross, Jesus Christ bore the curse of the Law for us; so that now the believer is no longer under the Law and its awful curse. "The blessing of Abraham" (justification by faith and the gift of the Spirit) is now ours through faith in Jesus Christ.
The word redeemed in Galatians 3:13 means to purchase a slave for the purpose of setting him free. It is possible to purchase a slave and keep him as a slave, but this is not what Christ did. By shedding His blood on the cross, He purchased us that we might be set free. The Judaizers wanted to lead the Christians into slavery, but Christ died to set them free. Salvation is not exchanging one form of bondage for another. Salvation is being set free from the bondage of sin and the Law into the liberty of God's grace through Christ.
This raises an interesting question: how could these Judaizers ever convince the Galatian Christians that the way of Law was better than the way of grace? Why would any believer deliberately want to choose bondage instead of liberty? Perhaps part of the answer is found in the word bewitched that Paul uses in Galatians 3:1. The word means "to cast a spell, to fascinate." What is there about legalism that can so fascinate the Christian that he will turn from grace to Law?
For one thing, legalism appeals to the flesh. The flesh loves to be "religious"—to obey laws, to observe holy occasions, even to fast (see Gal. 4:10). Certainly there is nothing wrong with obedience, fasting, or solemn times of spiritual worship, provided that the Holy Spirit does the motivating and the empowering. The flesh loves to boast about its religious achievements—how many prayers were offered, or how many gifts were given (see Luke 18:9-14; Phil. 3:1-10).
Another characteristic of religious legalism that fascinates people is the appeal to the senses. Instead of worshiping God "in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24), the legalist invents his own system that satisfies his senses. He cannot walk by faith; he has to walk by sight and hearing and tasting and smelling and feeling. To be sure, true Spirit-led worship does not deny the five senses. We see other believers; we sing and hear the hymns; we taste and feel the elements of the Lord's Supper. But these external things are but windows through which faith perceives the eternal. They are not ends in themselves.
The person who depends on religion can measure himself and compare himself with others. This is another fascination to legalism. But the true believer measures himself with Christ, not other Christians (Eph. 4:llff). There is no room for pride in the spiritual walk of the Christian who lives by grace; but the legalist constantly boasts about his achievements and his converts (Gal. 6:13-14).
Yes, there is a fascination to the Law, but it is only bait that leads to a trap; and once the believer takes the bait, he finds himself in bondage. Far better to take God at His Word and rest on His grace. We were saved "by grace, through faith" and we must live "by grace, through faith." This is the way to blessing. The other way is the way to bondage.
