Paul the apostle ended
chapter two of Galatians with reasoning that if righteousness could
come by the law, then Christ died in vain. There would have been no
purpose for Jesus to die if anyone could keep God's law, and because
Jesus did die, anyone who believes in Him will have Jesus'
righteousness appropriated by the Heavenly Father. The only way we
will ever have entrance into Heaven to live in a relationship with
God forever is to be righteous, and this righteousness is only
obtained by believing in Jesus' substitutionary work. As Paul begins
chapter three of Galatians, he directs his comments to the church
members by name once again. We read in verse one:
O foolish Galatians,
who has bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before
whose eyes Jesus Christ has been evidently set forth, crucified among
you?
This
time Paul doesn't hold back with his thoughts toward the Galatians.
He calls them, “O foolish Galatians” which means “not
understanding or unwise” Galatians. It's as if Paul cannot believe
that the church members are believing the way they are. We must
remember that Judaizers have come into the church and promoted ideas
of righteousness that are based upon the law rather than grace.
Because some of the church members believed the Judaizers, the church
now has a division within it. There are those who believe in the
substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus for righteousness, and there are
those who believe that they must also keep the law and rules of
circumcision. Paul addresses this problem by appealing to them in a
rhetorical question.
Paul
asks, “who has bewitched you, that you should not obey the
truth...” Paul obviously knew who it was that “bewitched”
them which means “speak ill of, slander, traduce, bring evil on one
by feigning praise or an evil eye, to charm.” Paul wanted to bring
their thoughts to who fooled them in this manner. The direct
attention toward those whose pernicious acts subverted the doctrine
that Paul had given them shows Paul's seriousness about the way they
are thinking. Someone has come in and totally obliterated the truth,
and Paul is giving them correction as their apostle from God.
Paul
continues, “before whose eyes Jesus Christ has been evidently
set forth, crucified among you?” The evidence was clear when
Paul presented it to the church of Galatia. Jesus Christ was
crucified because there was no one who could keep the law, and as he
said in the last chapter, if people could keep the law, then Christ
would not have been required to die. Paul had taught God's plan of
redemption and grace before the church in Galatia, and this plan
required the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Jesus' death was a finished
work, and there is no adding to it. Those who were promoting
righteousness by obedience to the law were subverting the very gospel
of grace that Paul presented.
Now it
is easy to sit back and criticize these Judaizers for their promoting
justification and righteousness by works, but are there “rules”
we have believed or followed that are more than faith in Jesus'
finished work? Are there dress codes, ways of speech, church
attendance, Bible reading patterns, and other “spiritual works”
that we impose upon others or ourselves and expect that following
those rules will make us more spiritual? Do we have certain
traditions or patterns of living that must be followed and if we do
not keep them we are no longer righteous? As we ponder these things
today, we might wonder if Paul would speak to us in this manner, “O
foolish...” May we all seek the Lord for His wisdom in this area,
and realize that the righteousness of God comes simply by faith in
Jesus Christ's finished work.
Next time we will
study a question asked by Paul as to the source of the Spirit of God
, so read ahead, and let us join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look for
the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation
to Generation” in all major
bookstore
sites, www.amazon.com ; www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to
e-books, and find it
locally
at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
No comments:
Post a Comment