Many Christians at first enter into a walk with Christ that lacks any sort of direction. Out of the urgency of the coming judgment of God, men strive to present the most expedient form of the gospel through tracts and programs of evangelism. But we lose something undetectable when we explain coming to Christ in terms of heaven and hell, rather than in terms of an ongoing relationship with the Lover of our souls. They call this "taking out fire insurance" rather than starting men and women on a life-long journey into oneness with an indwelling Christ. As a result, we often present very little connection between how we first come to Christ and how we continue to follow him.

In order to ensure that men are attracted to the gospel (coupled with the fact that it happens to be true) men present a gospel of salvation by grace alone. People who come to Christ today know well that they cannot earn their salvation, and that it is a free gift of God through faith (which He gives, by the way). But this major discontinuity between initially coming to Christ and following him causes a break in our understanding about the way in which one begins the Christian life as opposed to the way one continues it. The truth is, however, that there is no discontinuity. The way you are saved is the same as the way you grow (see Col.2:6). You start in grace and you continue in grace, or else you might as well give up.

This problem is not a new one, for Paul found himself battling an identical mindset in Galatia in about 49AD. The amazing thing about his response here is that it strikingly resembles Jesus' very own feelings towards "confidence in the flesh" and legalism. Think about the way in which Jesus responded to "sinners," drunkards, and the like. He responded with gentleness and compassion, spending time with them and gently leading them to the Father. Now think about the way in which Jesus responded to the religious men who were seeking to earn God's favor by their service to Him. He called them "white-washed tombstones" and "sons of the Devil!"

Paul exhibits an anger reminiscent of Jesus' towards the teaching of these very religious men who had come to Galatia. If the third chapter of this letter were sent on e-mail it would be typed in ALL CAPS, because he was nostril-flaring mad when he asked "Foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?!" His words will only get more sarcastic and cutting as he gets closer to the heart of what he wants to say. When he wrote to the Corinthians to tell them to quit applauding a man who was sleeping with his mother-in-law and bragging about it, Paul simply told them to cut it out and then he moved on. But here he wages an all out war with something that smacks of matters of spiritual life and death. Why the difference? We will look at two reasons, one in this chapter of this study and one in the next.

Reason Number One

The fact that we are dead to the Law is vitally important, and we must learn this because many will sweep this all aside saying, "Yeah, okay, so maybe I am somehow ‘not under law' anymore, but wouldn't God be more exalted by my acting as if this weren't really true?" Others add that "This teaching should only be shared with mature Christians who can handle such a deep truth." Paul didn't think so, because he begins everything with this: In Christ you are totally free from everything!

Until you see that you have died to the Law you will never be free to love God because you will fear His judgment. God is jealous of your heart, and until you let go of the Law it will serve as the number one distraction in your relationship with Him. But when you see that you have been given the righteousness and freedom of Christ himself, you will spontaneously throw yourself to the One who has done this wonderful thing in you. John will later insist that:

We will have confidence on the day of judgment because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears has not been made perfect in love (1 Jn.4:17-18). God's goal is love, and He will destroy anything which gets in the way of His objective.

How does Paul begin his attack on this problem? He tells them that "before your eyes Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified"(3:1). But what does that have to do with the Law? Paul means once again that everything in the Christian life was accomplished on that cross. When Christ died, you were in him. Not only were you in him, but so were all rules, regulations, and codes of conduct which once condemned you (Col.2:14). If you are in Christ you are a completely new creature altogether. All the requirements which once held you were annulled forever in the body of Christ. They no longer apply to you any more than tax laws apply to residents of graveyards. The Law cannot even find you to accuse you because you have died to it.

Now for any of this to make sense we must ask what it means for us today. It means first of all that all of the rules and regulations which are found in the Old Testament no longer apply to the Christian. You will search in vain for a believer in the New Testament sacrificing in the Temple, because the Old Testament sacrifices were merely pictures of Christ's one sacrifice in his life and death for us. You will also search in vain for a New Testament believer observing the Sabbath, because as the writer of Hebrews would so clearly explain, Christ is the only true Rest for our souls (Heb.4:1-11). You will never even find a New Testament believer giving a tithe, because that too was abolished in the death of Christ. It was a part of an old order, designed to become obsolete. The tithe existed for the priests to live on, but in the Church everyone is a priest before God. We could go on and on through the Old Testament and show how these things merely foreshadowed some aspect of the person or work of Christ, and once we have him we must never go back to the shadows.

But the Old Testament is not the only source of law. Christ himself came teaching an even harder law (or a clarification of just how tough the Law of Moses really is). He was determined to leave no one standing, proving by his words that "there is none righteous; no, not one"(Psalm 14:3). Paul argues that this was the purpose of the Law in the first place--to show us that we need a Savior. This is not the way we have traditionally understood the purpose of the Law, and therein lies our biggest problem. Paul will address that later.

We must add to all of this the myriad of demands and traditions that have accumulated over the centuries in the Church. A young believer growing up in church today will learn that he or she should be able to check off little boxes beside a list of accomplishments on his or her offering envelope (for a tithe, of course). Did you bring a friend to church? Did you read your Bible lesson? (Aren't you glad they didn't ask if you enjoyed it?) You should pray, tithe, witness, and above all go to church. You should not smoke, drink, or chew, and especially don't run around with people who do. Also don't go to movies or stores on Sunday, be sure to wear a smile to church, and start a Bible study at your school or workplace tomorrow. Are you tired yet?

If there is one word which describes the condition of Christians around you (and maybe you, too) it is "bondage." People walk around with an ominous feeling of guilt because surely God has something against them right now. They may not know what that something is, but God is not very pleased with their performance, that much is certain. It all feels like a heavy weight on our shoulders and we are sure that God wants us to carry it all--maybe this is our "cross."

No way, Christian. As the old monkey said to Simba in The Lion King, "you don't know who you are!" In stark contrast to all of this bondage and slavery, Paul says that "where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom"(2Cor.3:17). How free is Christ? Completely free. Then how free are you? You are in him. You are as free as he. And Paul is bound and determined (pardon the pun) to release you from the chains which enslave you. Until you are loosed, your relationship with Christ will never soar to the heights which God intended. Until you learn your new relationship to the Law (or any law for that matter) you will never know what it means to live by the Spirit, because works of law come from "the flesh." And this constitutes the second great reason why Paul cares so much about this issue. We will look at this reason in the next chapter.

Reason Number Two

Paul next asks in verse two a very pointed question: "Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?" Any Galatian in his right mind would have to respond that the gift of new life in the Holy Spirit was not something which he earned. He did nothing which would constitute good reason for God to give the forgiveness and new life. Notice that they knew that. They were never under the illusion that their walk with Christ began with "works." Paul taught them grace from the start! The problem now was that they had been told (as we have) that while the Christian life begins with grace, it proceeds and progresses only by sweat, discipline, and hard work. They had been told that the way they continue differs from the way in which they began. Mark this well: The heresy in Galatia was not justification by works, it was sanctification by works!

Paul's brow begins to furrow and his nose crinkles. "Are you that dense? After beginning in the Spirit are you now trying to be made perfect in the flesh?"(3:3) He touches now on the second great reason why the Law should have no part in our Christian life: Because living by the Law is done in the flesh; living by the Spirit is done in the spirit. God intensely desires to realize His eternal purpose for creation by expressing Himself to the world through His living Temple (that's us), but it will never be done as long as we are trying to live by our own strength and ingenuity. That is what "the flesh" means. We lived in the flesh when we sought to earn God's favor by trying to live up to the Law and be holy. We had to learn that this is impossible and that salvation comes only through trusting dependence (i.e. faith) on Christ. But we do not learn our lessons that easily, so God in His mercy allows us to come unwittingly back under law again until we rediscover that we still cannot live up to His high standard. In that sense even His Law becomes His grace to us. But that never means that we should try to put anyone under the Law again.

Paul opens fire on this issue with everything he has because this issue is foundational to our entire Christian walk. We learn in this book that we must operate on principles wholly different from anything we have heard or practiced before. All of our lives we have been trying to learn to fend for ourselves, take up responsibility, and pay the price for the things that we want. Achievement comes through discipline, study, and lots of hard work. Why not apply the same principles to our spiritual growth as well?

Since these men who came to Galatia like to brandish the Law, Paul decides to go to the same source to build his argument for living by grace through faith in God's promise. "Consider Abraham," he begins, "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness"(3:6). Did you get that when you first read the Old Testament? I never did. Whenever I read that story I saw the Law: circumcision, or else! In fact I got the same feeling reading anything in the Bible, whether it was Moses, Isaiah, Jesus or Paul. Why is that, and where did Paul learn to read the Bible like that? The reason I read it like that is because the Law is there. It permeates the Bible if you want to see it. Just read David exclaim that he delights in God's Law, and meditates on it day and night. Is that the way you feel when you read all about how you come up short of what God desires of you? It makes me get knotted up inside, but I know I probably should love His Law because David did, right?

Wrong. To answer the second question, Paul learned from the risen Christ himself how to interpret the Old Testament. He learned that there are two ways of living present in the Old Testament. Do you know what they are? Good and Evil, right? According to God's Law or not according to God's Law, right? Wrong again. Good and Evil only represent one of your choices. When God puts the Law in front of you, you have two possible responses. The first response says: "Okay, Lord, I'll do my best. Here 'goes." The second response says: "Yes, Lord, I agree that what you have said is right; but I cannot do that. I've tried again and again. But I believe that only you can live that quality of life." Your choice is not about Good versus Evil, but about Good and Evil versus Life.

What were the two choices of trees in the garden of Eden? Was one the Tree of Good and the other the Tree of Evil? No. One was Good and Evil, and the other one was Life. The first one represented lonely old you, doing your best to live up to the standard set before you. The second one represented the Life of Christ himself, which you can accept into yourself in trusting dependence. If Adam had eaten of that tree, that Life would have entered into him and sprung up inside of him producing according to its kind. Adam would have become a tree of Life, too. But he didn't, and his curse had to be borne in the body of Christ on the cross. Now by receiving his Life into ourselves, we have become branches in this gigantic living Vine, bearing fruit which strikingly resembles the very character of God (John 15)! Suddenly we are surprised to find that we are doing naturally what we had once tried so diligently to do on our own: to be "like God." But now we have learned the right way to do it. By dependence.

Paul continues to show us from the story of Abraham what the Spirit began showing him those three years he spent in the desert (1:17-18). Abraham discovered the secret of the two ways of responding to God's demands. God chose Abraham because Sarah was barren. He waited until Abraham was 75 years old (Sarah was 65) to tell him that He would make of him "a great nation." After two botched efforts by Abraham and Sarah for alternative children (first Eliezer the servant and then Ishmael the son of a concubine), the Lord told Abraham at age 99 (Sarah now 89) that a son would come from Sarah's womb. The incongruity of the whole thing sent both of the aged Babylonians rolling with laughter--but they believed God. Abraham looked down at himself and Sarah looked down at herself, knowing their loins were completely dead. Then they looked back to the Lord and said, "Yes, Lord. We believe you can even bring life from the dead!" God chose His subjects carefully, picking only the most unlikely sources of "a great nation." He enjoys the irony immensely. Only in such unexpected vessels will He receive the greatest glory for the things that He does.

Now we see that the father of Israel followed the Lord in faith, not by Law. Paul says in verses ten and twelve that this is the way the Law works: If you will be righteous before this Holy God, then do all these things without fail, or you will die. You must do all of them properly, or you will be accursed forever. He quotes a verse from the Law: "The man who does these things will live by them." In other words, if you can do these things, then do them perfectly, and you will live. The only problem is: you can't do them. You had better find another way to get life. Paul says that in fact there is another way written of in the Prophets: "The righteous will live by faith." The Law says it; the Prophets say it. What more do we need?

<on to Chapter 3:1-25 (part two)>

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