Galatians 3:1-3
Paul was not in the habit of calling his brothers and sisters names, but in Galatians chapter 3 he calls the church “foolish”. His frustration was not because they were committing sins or living immoral. If that were the case, he would have blistered the Corinthian church! His statement is aimed at their having removed themselves from the message of justification by faith alone and adding works into their salvation.
The Galatians were guilty of a very common problem in the church today; they believed that anyone could be saved by simple faith, but that it took works on the part of the believer in order to go on to perfection (Galatians 3:3). Most Christians have a firm belief that salvation comes by faith alone but they feel that in order to be a “better Christian” one must adhere to a set of rules and regulations and that the one who does them better will be greater than the rest.
Paul confronts this idea by asking a pointed question: “He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” (Galatians 3:5) He is questioning how people function under the anointing. When you hear someone preach under the power of the Holy Spirit and work miracles, do they do it because the keep the law better than everyone else or because they hear of the finished work of Christ?
Calling the Galatians, “foolish” is not Paul mocking them, but pointing out how easily they have been deceived into going back into the works from which they were set free. Two chapters later he will remind them to, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1). It is necessary to “stand fast” in your liberty because there are many things in this world that will knock you off of the liberty of grace and onto the foundation of your own abilities and works. When you go back to your own ability to save yourself, you are going back under the yoke of bondage, “entangled again”.
The word “bewitched” is “baskaino” in Greek, and it means “hypnotized”. Paul had preached the sacrificial, finished work of Jesus in front of the Galatians with such emphasis, it was as if Jesus had been “crucified among you” (Galatians 3:1). He cannot imagine that they could then easily turn back to their own works. It was obviously the work of enchantment by the powers of darkness that would cause these believers to trust in the law to keep them from sinning.
When a believer trusts their ability to keep the law in order to achieve some form of higher sanctification, they place themselves back under the curse that Christ died to deliver them from. “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all the things which are written in the book of the law to do them” (Galatians 3:10). It is important to note that Paul does not say that he who sins is under the curse of the law, but rather, he who tries to keep the law is under the curse. By attempting to keep the law in order to be sinless, you actually go back under the curse that Jesus lifted (3:13). Do not be foolish today, but be free!
Paul was not in the habit of calling his brothers and sisters names, but in Galatians chapter 3 he calls the church “foolish”. His frustration was not because they were committing sins or living immoral. If that were the case, he would have blistered the Corinthian church! His statement is aimed at their having removed themselves from the message of justification by faith alone and adding works into their salvation.
The Galatians were guilty of a very common problem in the church today; they believed that anyone could be saved by simple faith, but that it took works on the part of the believer in order to go on to perfection (Galatians 3:3). Most Christians have a firm belief that salvation comes by faith alone but they feel that in order to be a “better Christian” one must adhere to a set of rules and regulations and that the one who does them better will be greater than the rest.
Paul confronts this idea by asking a pointed question: “He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” (Galatians 3:5) He is questioning how people function under the anointing. When you hear someone preach under the power of the Holy Spirit and work miracles, do they do it because the keep the law better than everyone else or because they hear of the finished work of Christ?
Calling the Galatians, “foolish” is not Paul mocking them, but pointing out how easily they have been deceived into going back into the works from which they were set free. Two chapters later he will remind them to, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1). It is necessary to “stand fast” in your liberty because there are many things in this world that will knock you off of the liberty of grace and onto the foundation of your own abilities and works. When you go back to your own ability to save yourself, you are going back under the yoke of bondage, “entangled again”.
The word “bewitched” is “baskaino” in Greek, and it means “hypnotized”. Paul had preached the sacrificial, finished work of Jesus in front of the Galatians with such emphasis, it was as if Jesus had been “crucified among you” (Galatians 3:1). He cannot imagine that they could then easily turn back to their own works. It was obviously the work of enchantment by the powers of darkness that would cause these believers to trust in the law to keep them from sinning.
When a believer trusts their ability to keep the law in order to achieve some form of higher sanctification, they place themselves back under the curse that Christ died to deliver them from. “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all the things which are written in the book of the law to do them” (Galatians 3:10). It is important to note that Paul does not say that he who sins is under the curse of the law, but rather, he who tries to keep the law is under the curse. By attempting to keep the law in order to be sinless, you actually go back under the curse that Jesus lifted (3:13). Do not be foolish today, but be free!
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