Galatians 3:1-9 – Bewitched and Bamboozled!

{vs 1} The first thing we see is Paul’s own shock and disbelief that they have been taken or coaxed from the good pastures of God’s grace to the barren, desolate wasteland of works!  His opening point is clear – I can’t believe it but you’ve been bewitched and bamboozled!  Somehow, after having seen Christ clearly portrayed (taught, preached and described) right here in front of you (not from afar – but in good detail, up-close) - - - you have either forgotten or rejected Him!  In fact, the verb for portrayed indicates a public, open depiction – something obvious to all!  With that in mind, Paul says in effect - Are you fools?  Has someone put a spell on you? (this is rhetorical for emphasis, not literal! – Paul does not believe that even all the powers of hell put together could snatch even one believer away from God’s care!)

We as believers have the Truth, even more than these first century believers because we have the written encapsulated Word (many of us have multiple copies – some on shelves with a layer of dust on them – but I digress).  We also have, just like them the indwelling Holy Spirit, which teaches us all things and guides us into truth.  How is it possible for believers (and Paul never questions that they are believers – some in their midst are false believers, but he is writing to the true!) – How can believers become so deceived or have such a ‘spell’ put on them?  Well, the first thing to realize is that it can only happen when the believer is not doing everything that they should!  Scripture tells us (commands us) to live by the truth, hold to the truth, guard the truth and to rightly handle the Word of Truth!  Believers are sanctified by the truth (John 17:17) – but we can choose to let go, to not be diligent in our efforts and allow deception in to our lives or outright walk away from the truth. 

Any real believer cannot completely lose the Truth – once we see Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life - once we see Him to even the smallest degree He changes us and indwells us and that cannot be removed!  No one can snatch us from the Father’s hands (John 10:29)!  However, we can take our eyes off Him, wander from the safety of His love and become ineffective, worldly Christians.  The very fact that Paul asks this question, and that he is dealing with this issue – proves that believers can be bamboozled!  I pray that we value the wealth we have in Christ Jesus, that we as believers are in the Word of God, being strengthened by our brothers and sisters, not neglecting the gathering together - - - that we are diligent with all these spiritual disciplines (oh, we dislike that word – yes, these practices take effort and self-discipline) - - - so that we are protecting ourselves from deception.  These things keep our eyes on the true Jesus, and in doing so immunize us from the evils that would come in and bewitch us.  How is your walk – are you protected or susceptible?

Now, understand that this is meant to shock the readers!  Paul is saying as we would today – What happened? What were you thinking?!  After being given unimaginable, endless riches – have you now rejected them to go back and work for a living?!  Today, we see many lottery or sweepstakes ‘winners’ who quickly blow through their prizes only to be forced to declare bankruptcy or at least they have to go back to work to support themselves (possibly selling some of their purchases – at a loss of course).  However, the supply of spiritual blessings delivered by God’s grace (favor) are eternal - - - not wearing out, not good for a limited time and not able to be used up!  So why would you turn away from the source of such riches? 

{vs 2} Like many a parent, Paul get’s a little carried away (passion will do that) – tell me just one thing!  He actually asks several questions through this chapter and the next.  This question amounts to asking them for their own testimony – when you were saved … how did it happen?  Think back to that exciting time when God lifted you out of the fallen state that you were in – what was it that effected the change?  Was it the good works you did, your observance of this Law?  Or were you saved by believing (faith) the good news of the gospel?  There was, could only be one answer – by God’s grace through faith!

{vs 3} Now having brought that back to mind – are you kidding me?  Do you mean to tell me that you know that you were saved by God’s grace (unmerited favor) and somehow you now believe it takes more than grace?  You started on the right road, have been redeemed and received the Holy Spirit as proof.  He is the seal or guarantee of God’s promises (2 Corinthians 1:22; 5:5; Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30) for every believer!  Which is why it’s so dangerous to believe you can be a Christian without receiving the Holy Spirit – it can’t happen!  It is the Holy Spirit’s work that convicts us, bringing us to repentance and it is the Holy Spirit that calls to us, that illuminates the scriptures so that we can understand – not one person who has ever been saved has come without the Holy Spirit!  So Paul, tells them since you came by the Holy Spirit – are you now rolling up your sleeves, to get down to work and finish the job by adding your own efforts?  What this deception does is tell a person that God’s salvation is not finished – that what happened at the cross did not finish it, as Jesus clearly said but that it just got you started (just got the ball rolling for you).  What they were fooled into thinking is that Jesus picked them up, dusted them off and then put them down – saying “now stay out of trouble, stay clean from now on!”  You have to be a tremendous fool to think that we, by our own efforts can ‘stay clean’ for even one day (less!)  How horrendous!  Jesus paid it all!  It is finished.  Have you ever sinned, I mean slipped up or missed the mark since coming to Christ?  I know you have – we all have - - - regularly!  Under this heresy – you and I would once again be lost!  Jesus taught in John 15 that we can do nothing apart from Him – as a believer our joy and responsibility is to abide in Him (the Vine) and allow Him to produce fruit (much fruit and even more fruit) in us!

{vs 4} There are two ways to take this – the word translated experienced by the NIV can be in a good or bad sense (either go through and be affected for the good or suffer for the bad.)  This ‘good’ reading would be has everything that you’ve been through for nothing?  So you can give it all up and change your mind?  If however we read it as suffering it would no doubt speak of what they went through (like Paul) at the hands of the persecuting legalists, the ‘Jews’.  Either way, we could express a similar idea as ‘you’ve come too far to go back now!’

Paul wants to know – ‘Has everything been for nothing?’  I was there with you at the beginning, when I left you were in a good place.  If you keep on believing this nonsense – it will be like you deny all that has happened from the start.  The faith in grace that saved you – lost (on life support or did you ever truly have it?)  Don’t follow these false believers, these workers who will never add up to enough and abandon what you received!  Don’t turn your back on the God, on Christ who saved you – Don’t you dare!

{vs 5} Speaking of those early days – do you remember the wonderful miracles that God did to attest to the message I preached (see the account in Acts for some examples) among you?  Were those miracles done because you believed or because you came under the Law?  Remember, these are gentiles – they knew nothing of the Law – except that those Jews had a lot of rules and they were a pain in the – oh, never mind!  Like many legalists, the observant Jews had an air of superiority – which irritated everyone else around them!  When Paul came to them they had only belief in this wonderful message – God (the God of the Jews) sent His only Son to live and die as one of us so that you can be forgiven!  Sometimes simplicity is the best – but sadly the were tricked into leaving that simple early faith!  (Notice that Paul again stresses it is either by works or belief – this is an either-or choice, the two are not compatible and cannot be combined in any way.)

{vs 6-9} This next point hits directly at those false brothers and their teachings.  They went around teaching this is the God of the Jews, so you need to become like a Jew to please Him.  But Paul’s point here is – the Father of the Jews (the one the so deeply revered), was accepted by God not because of the Law but because he believed! 

What this tells us is that yes, Abraham is the head of a nation (many nations actually) – but more importantly, he is the head of a group (not religion) of believers, a spiritual multitude who are saved by faith.  In part Paul teaches this in Romans 9 when he says “not all who are descended from Israel are Israel”!  There is a nation Israel and there is a spiritual Israel, which we can all belong to based only on whether we believe the promises that God has made beginning at Genesis 3:15 down through the Jewish scriptures into the life of Jesus and the New Testament.  They are all one and the same – one story of faith, one story of God redeeming fallen man and defeating His enemies (any who will not submit in humility and faith).

When Abraham received the promise (before the Law and circumcision), God announced to him the blessing of all nations (remember that is what ‘gentile’ means).  This was not a promise to only those born physically from his line because he had other children!  This was not just for those born in the line of Isaac (from the one son of promise) either because many from that line have been rejected.  Abraham believed and it was credited as righteousness (Genesis 15:6), even though he, as a sinful man was not righteous.  The old testament saints were saved in the same way that we are - - - by God’s grace received through faith!  The key is, has always been and will always be faith!  That is the gospel that Paul preached, that is our gospel and we must continue to tell it and continue to defend it from all the nonsense that Satan tries to pollute it with!