Oxford Bible Church - Living in the Last Days (audio)

After showing that salvation by works contradicts the finished work of the Cross (v1), as well as the Galatians' own experience (v2-5), Paul then also proves from the life of father Abraham that salvation must be by faith, and not works. Paul points out that God preached the Gospel to Abraham, declaring that through the coming Messiah (Abraham's seed), all the nations (gentiles) would be justified and blessed with salvation by faith (Genesis 12:3). This promise of salvation was based on God's grace through the Messiah, not on works. Moreover, Abraham himself was justified by faith in Genesis 15: “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness” (v6). So those who are justified by faith are the spiritual sons of Abraham. Thus salvation by works contradicts God's revelation through Abraham. However, Genesis 15 seems to imply that Abraham was justified by faith through believing that God would give him many children, but saving faith involves faith in the Messiah. We consider the amazing possibility, that God put the Gospel (the Message of the Messiah) in the stars, so that when God showed him the stars, He was preaching the Gospel to Abraham, with the conclusion: "So shall your Seed (the Messiah) be" (v5). Thus Abraham was justified through His faith in the Messiah, just as we are. We look at other Scriptures that support this idea, and point out that astrology is the devil's counterfeit of this original Divine Revelation. Once man possessed the written Word of God, the Gospel story in the Heavens was no longer necessary, and so faded out of use.

In these verses, Paul moves on from the issue of our justification (based on Christ's imputed righteousness) to our sanctification (based on Christ's imparted righteousness). We describe the nature of sanctification, and why we can only really be made perfect, through the nature of Christ being formed in us by the Holy Spirit, who is in us. Our justification is a work of grace accomplished for us and received by faith in Christ. Likewise, our sanctification is a work of grace accomplished in us through our faith in Christ, who continually supplies the Holy Spirit to us. Paul says that trying to perfect oneself by doing the works of law, is fleshly and bound to fail, for if the flesh was impotent to justify us, why do we think it can sanctify us? We can only experience God's life, blessing and be made perfect by grace through faith, for "the righteous by faith shall receive life and live by faith." Although we have to cooperate with God in our sanctification, it is not by doing the works of the law, but by working out the salvation that God has worked within us by His Spirit. The difference between sanctification by the flesh, doing works of law, and sanctification by the Spirit through the hearing of faith, is like the difference between rowing and sailing. We have to stop trying and start trusting, and then obey as the Spirit leads us. When we try to make ourselves perfect by the flesh, we are just imitating the Christian life, rather than living from the reality of Christ's life within us, who perfects us by His Spirit of grace, as we trust and obey.

Paul realised that the reason the Galatians had fallen into legalism, was that they had lost sight of the Cross, and that the antidote to legalism is to present the finished work of Christ on the Cross. We see how the Great Exchange of our sin and His righteousness, accomplished on the Cross, is the basis for us receiving the imputed righteousness of Christ, when we believe in Him, which in turn is the basis for our justification through faith alone. Moreover, we see that at the same time we are justified by faith, Christ's righteousness is imparted to our spirit, causing the New Birth. Also, we receive the indwelling Holy Spirit. We also discuss the nature of saving faith, and the importance of knowing that we are truly born again, through receiving Jesus as our Saviour and Lord.

We study what Paul says to Peter to show why he was wrong to withdraw from eating with the Gentile believers. If the Gospel of Grace is true, then God has fully accepted the Gentiles, on the basis of their faith in Christ. Therefore, Jews and Gentiles are equal in Christ, and so separation on the basis of race is a sin, and a denial of the Gospel. In these key verses, Paul summarises the truths that lie at the heart of Galatians, which he will develop in later chapters. He establishes that we are justified before God by faith in Christ and not works of law, and explains why we are no longer under the jurisdiction and condemnation of the law. He also counters the objection that justification by faith alone encourages a sinful lifestyle, by revealing the transformation that takes place in us when we are put into Christ, for now Christ lives in us! Finally he points out that if we maintain that justification is by our works, then we would be guilty of devaluing, rejecting and setting aside the grace of God, and asserting that Christ died in vain, that His death on the Cross was superfluous.

At the conclusion of the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15), not only did Peter, James and John confirm that Paul preached the true Gospel, but they also acknowledged him as the apostle to the Gentiles, just as Peter was the apostle to the Jews. Thus, they perceived that Paul was an apostle of the first rank, of equal status to themselves. On that basis they publicly offered him the right hand of fellowship, signifying they were partners together in the Gospel. Their only request was that he remember the poor, a reminder that the Gospel of Grace should naturally bring forth good works. However, later when Peter visited Antioch, Paul had to confront Peter publicly, because his behaviour was undermining the Gospel of Grace. By not eating with the Gentile believers, Peter was implying that there was something lacking in their justification and full acceptance by God.

We continue our study showing how Paul fought for the true Gospel at the Jerusalem Council, taking an in-depth look at the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15, and harmonising it with Galatians 2. We also review other challenges to the Gospel of Grace that took place later in Church history, such as the Pelagian heresy and modern liberalism. Finally, we note how Paul was no respecter of persons. Although he honoured the original apostles as true apostles of Christ, he insisted that as men, they were capable of being wrong, and so were not above judgment and accountability.

Paul's letter to the Galatians is the first and most fundamental of all his letters because it establishes the Gospel of Grace. He expresses himself so strongly, because there is no room for compromise on the Gospel. We must stand firm and defend the true Gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16). The first attack against the Gospel in Church history came from legalism, and it was the issue before the first Church Council in Acts 15. We show how Galatians 2:1-6 harmonises with Acts 15.

In their efforts to discredit Paul and his message, the false-teachers were claiming that he preached a man-made message designed to please the Gentiles, having distorted the true message that he had learned from the apostles in Jerusalem. Paul answers this accusation by declaring that he did not receive the Gospel that he preaches from man, but rather that it came through the direct revelation of Jesus Christ (v11-12). In order to prove his point, (1) he describes his life in Judaism before he met Jesus and was saved (v13-14), then (2) he describes how God dramatically saved him by His grace, revealing Christ to Him and in Him, and called Him to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles (v15-16a), and then (3) he describes his life during the first few years after his conversion (v16b-24), pointing out that he did not immediately confer with any of the apostles in Jerusalem concerning the Gospel, but rather lived in Damascus and Arabia, and only made a brief 2-week visit to Jerusalem after 3 years to get acquainted with Peter, after which he went to preach in Syria and Cilicia, far away from Jerusalem and Judea (v16b-24) - we see how this account harmonises with Acts 9:19-31. This all proves that Paul received his Gospel and apostleship directly from God, independently from the other apostles. In fact, he only went to Jerusalem to discuss his Gospel with the other apostles 14 years after his conversion, and at that time they agreed that God had called him to be the apostle to the Gentiles, and they also endorsed the Gospel that he preached, and added nothing to it (2:1-10, see also Acts 15).

Paul declares that all those who preach a false Gospel of 'faith + works' for salvation are 'anathema' (devoted to destruction), for by adding human works to the finished work of Christ, as being necessary for salvation, they distort and corrupt the true Gospel of Grace, which is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes (Romans 1:16-17). Thus, they not only deny the completed work of Christ on the Cross, but they also lead their hearers astray into trusting in themselves and their works for salvation, which will inevitably result in their eternal condemnation. We also see how Paul describes his dramatic conversion to Christ, in order to prove that the Gospel that he preached did not come from man, but directly from God through the revelation of Jesus Christ.

The apostle Paul declares that his apostleship and message (the Gospel of Grace) came directly from God the Father, through the Son (the Lord Jesus). We explore the content of this Gospel of Grace, which declares that Christ's completed work on the Cross is an all-sufficient basis for our salvation, so that we must simply put all our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ alone to be saved. We see why other so-called gospels, which add man's works (to Christ's work) as a necessary condition for our salvation, are in fact not gospels at all (they are bad news, not good news), and are worthy of our full rejection, because they dishonour Christ, for they teach that what He did for us in His death and resurrection was incomplete and insufficient for our salvation, which would mean that His dying declaration from the Cross: "It is finished - the price is paid in full" (John 19:30) was actually untrue.