Bewitched

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February 8, 2009 - Galatians 3:1-14

Open It

  1. When was the last time you were sarcastic to someone?

  2. If you were trying to convince a friend to believe in what you were saying, what tone of voice would you use?

  3. If someone close to you displayed a lack of knowledge about a subject you knew well, what would you do about it?

Explore It

  1. Why did Paul scold the Galatians? (3:1)

  2. What rhetorical question did Paul ask? (3:2)

  3. How did Paul expect the Galatians to answer his question? (3:2)

  4. Based on Paul's second question to the Christians, how did he think the Galatians felt the Law could help them? (3:3)

  5. Why did Paul ask the Galatians if their suffering had been for nothing? (3:4)

  6. On what basis did the Holy Spirit perform miracles? (3:5)

  7. How did Paul's use of Abraham as an example of faith strike a blow to the champions of the Law? (3:6-8)

  8. How did Paul link the past with the present? (3:9)

  9. What is the curse of the law? (3:10)

  10. How does a person become justified before God? (3:11)

  11. Why is combining faith and Law impossible? (3:11-12)

  12. How does Christ save people from the curse of the Law? (3:13)

  13. Why is Christ's redemptive work effective for both Jews and Gentiles? (3:14)

Get It

  1. When has your pastor corrected the congregation?

  2. What rules have become very important in your church?

  3. How much of your righteousness is self-righteous behavior?

  4. If you were to write a two-line summary of the doctrine of justification, what would you say?

  5. In your view, what is the biggest difference between Law and faith?

  6. What is your relationship to Abraham?

  7. What has Christ done for you?

Apply It

  1. In what situation can you share the blessings of Christ with someone else this week?

  2. How can you help new Christians get a clear understanding of their position in Christ?

Notes

Galatians 3:1: The Galatian believers had become fascinated by the false teachers' arguments, almost as though they had been bewitched. Magic was common in Paul's day (Acts 8:9-11; Acts 13:6-7). Magicians used both optical illusions and Satan's power to perform miracles, and people were drawn into the magician's mysterious rites without recognizing their dangerous source.

Galatians 3:2-3: The believers in Galatia, some of whom may have been in Jerusalem at Pentecost and received the Holy Spirit there, knew that they hadn't received God's Spirit by obeying the Jewish laws. Paul stressed that just as they began their Christian lives in the power of the Spirit, so they should grow by the Spirit's power. The Galatians had taken a step backward when they had decided to insist on keeping the Jewish laws. We must realize that we grow spiritually because of God's work in us by his Spirit, not by following special rules.

Galatians 3:5: The Galatians knew that they had received the Holy Spirit when they believed, not when they obeyed the law. People still feel insecure in their faith, because faith alone seems too easy. People still try to get closer to God by following rules. While certain disciplines (Bible study, prayer) and service may help us grow, they must not take the place of the Holy Spirit in us or become ends in themselves. By asking these questions, Paul hoped to get the Galatians to focus again on Christ as the foundation of their faith.

3:5 The Holy Spirit gives Christians great power to live for God. Some Christians want more than this. They want to live in a state of perpetual excitement. The tedium of everyday living leads them to conclude that something is wrong spiritually. Often the Holy Spirit's greatest work is teaching us to persist, to keep on doing what is right even when it no longer seems interesting or exciting. The Galatians quickly turned from Paul's Good News to the teachings of the newest teachers in town; what they needed was the Holy Spirit's gift of persistence. If the Christian life seems ordinary, you may need the Spirit to stir you up. Every day offers a challenge to live for Christ.

Galatians 3:6-9: The main argument of the Judaizers was that Gentiles had to become Jews in order to become Christians. Paul exposed the flaw in this argument by showing that real children of Abraham are those who have faith, not those who keep the law. Abraham himself was saved by his faith (Genesis 15:6). All believers in every age and from every nation share Abraham's blessing. This is a comforting promise to us, a great heritage for us, and a solid foundation for living.

Galatians 3:10: Paul quoted Deut. 27:26 to prove that, contrary to what the Judaizers claimed, the law cannot justify and save-it can only condemn. Breaking even one commandment brings a person under condemnation. And because everyone has broken the commandments, everyone stands condemned. The law can do nothing to reverse the condemnation (Romans 3:20-24). But Christ took the curse of the law upon himself when he hung on the cross. He did this so we wouldn't have to bear our own punishment. The only condition is that we accept Christ's death on our behalf as the means to be saved (Col. 1:20-23).

Galatians 3:11: Trying to be right with God ("justified") by our own effort doesn't work. Good intentions such as "I'll do better next time" or "I'll never do that again" usually end in failure. Paul points to Habakkuk's declaration (Habakkuk 2:4) that by trusting God-believing in his provision for our sins and living each day in his power-we can break this cycle of failure.

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