Galatians 3 (1)

Pray Psalm 119.41, 42.
Let Your mercies come also to me, O LORD —
Your salvation according to Your word.
So shall I have an answer for him who reproaches me,
For I trust in Your word.

Sing Psalm 119.41, 42.
(Dix: For the Beauty of the Earth)
Let Your mercies come to me, Your salvation by Your Word.
From reproaches set me free, for I trust in You, O LORD.
Let my life an answer be for those who may question me.

Read and meditate on Galatians 3.1-4.

Preparation
1. How did the Galatians receive the Holy Spirit?

2. How should they work to “perfect” their lives?

Meditation
Galatians 3 is a very important chapter for understanding the doctrine of salvation; but parts of it can be and have been widely misconstrued. To sum up the essence of Paul’s argument in this chapter: God’s covenant of promise with His people has always been by grace through faith. If we seek salvation through keeping the Law, we will be condemned.

The Galatians were being foolish because they were drifting away from the true Gospel and yielding to the pressure of learned men, who were leading them astray into “another” gospel which was no good news at all. This “other” gospel insisted that Gentile believers must also be circumcised to be true Christians.

Paul urged the Galatians to remember how he had proclaimed Jesus to them: He was the crucified One. Having fulfilled the Law on our behalf, to fulfill the righteousness we need before God, He then bore the curse of the Law in our place (v. 1). Bringing us to this faith is the work of the Holy Spirit, Whom we receive not by any act of obedience to God’s Law but by faith alone (v. 2). In the Holy Spirit, Christ lives in us and His righteousness, gradually but consistently worked out in us, points the way to our ultimate perfection in glory. This is the work of the indwelling Spirit (v. 3).

At first, the Galatians were persuaded of the truth as Paul proclaimed it. They believed in Jesus. The Spirit came among them in power. They began living and proclaiming Jesus, and this led them into conflict both with the Judaizers and with those who did not believe, in which they “suffered so many things” for Jesus (3). Paul urged them not to have suffered “in vain” but to hold fast to their original confession. The Galatians could not allow suffering to force them to yield to the pressure to deny Jesus and cling to the Law. The Law has its place in our redemption—as we shall see. But keeping the Law is not the path to redemption; it is the path of it.

Only fools try to earn their salvation. Our message to them is the same as Paul’s message to the Galatians: Look to Jesus, the crucified One.

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble.
LORD, I hope for Your salvation, and I do Your commandments.
My soul keeps Your testimonies, and I love them exceedingly.
I keep Your precepts and Your testimonies, for all my ways are before You” (Ps. 119.165-168).

“Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD listened and heard them;
so a book of remembrance was written before Him
for those who fear the LORD
and who meditate on His name.
‘They shall be Mine,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘on that day that I make them My special treasure.
And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.’
Then you shall again discern between the righteous and the wicked,
between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him” (Mal. 3.16-18).

“But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed,
being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
even the righteousness of God,
through faith in Jesus Christ,
to all and on all who believe.
For there is no difference;
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
being justified freely by His grace
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood,
through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness,
because in His forbearance
God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,
to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness,
that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Where is boasting then?
It is excluded.
By what law?
Of works?
No, but by the law of faith.
Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.
Or is He the God of the Jews only?
Is He not also the God of the Gentiles?
Yes, of the Gentiles also,
since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith
and the uncircumcised through faith.
Do we then make void the law through faith?
Certainly not!
On the contrary,
we establish the law” (Rom. 3.21-31).

To Obey the Truth.

Reflection
1. Should Christians expect to suffer for believing the Gospel? Explain.

2. How does the righteousness of the Law become our righteousness?

3. Keeping the Law is not a path to redemption but it is the path of it. Explain.

Alas, that men should turn from the all-important doctrine of Christ crucified, to listen to useless distinctions, mere moral preaching, or wild fancies! The [g]od of this world, by various men and means, has blinded men’s eyes, lest they should learn to trust in a crucified Savior. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Galatians 3.1-5

Pray Psalm 119.43-48.
Pray that God will imprint His Word on your soul and that He would strengthen you to live for Him today. Pray that He will give you opportunities to speak His Word to others—to encourage your fellow believers and to enlighten lost souls. Thank Him that He will be with you in all things.

Sing Psalm 119.43-48.
(Dix: For the Beauty of the Earth)
Let my words be Your words, LORD; strengthen me to keep Your Law.
All my hope is in Your Word, and I seek Your precepts all.
I will ever keep Your Word, for I trust in You, O LORD!

LORD, take not Your Word from me, for I trust it day by day.
I will walk in liberty as Your precepts I obey.
I shall keep Your truth, O LORD, for I hope in all Your Word.

I will speak Your Word to kings, and I will not be ashamed.
In Your Word my glad heart sings, as Your truth I have proclaimed.
In Your Law will I delight, which I love with all my might.

To Your Law I lift my hands to embrace and hold it dear.
In Your truth my glad heart stands, knowing You are ever near.
I will meditate, O LORD, on Your statutes and Your Word.

T. M. and Susie Moore

If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.