An Inspired Inquizition Lesson 9 Galatians 3:1-5

If you say, "We see what the gospel can do in the way of reclaiming sinners, but we are going to try something else," you will be fools. I am always ready to try a new machine: we will try the electric light one of these days, instead of gas, when we are sure of it; we are not going to try anything new to the risk of our souls. We will keep to the old, old gospel, until it is worn out. When that happens, it will be time to think of something fresh.” Charles Haddon Spurgeon

I. Paul’s Interrogation of His Galatian Converts

He wanted to know about their:

A. Seducers Gal 3:1 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.

The message for Christians: NO (Brain) PARKING!

FOOLISH - anoetos signifies "not understanding", not applying nous, "the mind," Luke 24:25; in Rom 1:14 and Gal 3:1,3 it signifies "senseless," an unworthy lack of understanding; sometimes it carries a moral reproach Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words

1. those who will not study Luke 24:25-27

25 He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

2. those who will not think Eph 4:14

14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.

BEWITCH - baskaino to bring evil on a person by feigned praise, or mislead by an evil eye, and so to charm, bewitch" (Eng., "fascinate" is connected), is used figuratively in Gal 3:1, of leading into evil doctrine. Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words

CLEARLY PORTRAYED – prografoo before whose eyes was portrayed the picture of Jesus Christ crucified (the attentive contemplation of which picture ought to have been a preventive against that bewitchment), i. e. who were taught most definitely and plainly concerning the meritorious efficacy of the death of Christ. Thayer's Greek Lexicon

3. those who will not listen Acts 13:38-39 38 "Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39 Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.

1 O YOU poor and silly and thoughtless and unreflecting and senseless Galatians! Who has fascinated or bewitched or cast a spell over you, unto whom--right before your very eyes--Jesus Christ (the Messiah) was openly and graphically set forth and portrayed as crucified? AMP The subtle and deceptive appeal of using the scripture to support error

Ex 20:8-11 8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God…. 11 ……the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Eccl 9:5 For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten.

Acts 2:38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

He wanted to know about their:

B. Salvation Gal 3:2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?

1. Did the Holy Spirit enter your life?

Rom 8:9 …And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 1 Cor 6:19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? Gal 4:6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, 1 John 4:13 We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

2. Are you different?

Rom 5:5 …God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

3. How did that happen?

a. the grave problem

Isa 57:12 I will expose your righteousness and your works, and they will not benefit you. Isa 64:6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. Rom 3:10-12 10 As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one."

b. the gracious solution

Eph 1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,

4. The testimony of Peter at the Jerusalem Council

Acts 15:7-9

2 7 After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: "Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 8 God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9 He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. He wanted to know about their:

C. Sanctification Gal 3:3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?

Col 2:6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him.

Rom 8:3-4 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

Does a butterfly still crawl up stems and gnaw on leaves?

Self effort doesn’t work for saints trying to be sanctified any more than it does for sinners trying to be saved!!

A “second blessing” is no more the way to increased power from the Spirit than a “first work” was to have him in the first place!!

The question is never, “How much of the Holy Spirit do you have?” Rather, it is “How much of you does the Holy Spirit have?’

He wanted to know about their:

D. Suffering Gal 3:4 Have you suffered so much for nothing — if it really was for nothing?

Acts 14:21-23 21 They preached the good news in that city (Derbe) and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God," they said.

1 Peter 4:12-13, 19 12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 19 So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

Heb 10:37-39 37 For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay. 38 But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." 39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.

He wanted to know about their:

E. Signs Gal 3:5 Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard? Acts 14:8-10

3 8 In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10 and called out, "Stand up on your feet!" At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.

TNBS Questions Lesson 9 Preparation for week 10

How did Paul’s interrogation of the Galatians clarify your thinking about: How people are saved? ______How people are sanctified? ______How people experience miracles? ______

Read Genesis 15:1-6; Romans 4:1-25; Galatians 3:6-14

1. Why do you think Paul would appeal to Abraham to support his defense against the Judaizers? ______

2. What promise to Abraham did God fulfill after declaring him righteous that affects us personally? ______

3. How would this knowledge have weakened the Judaizer’s argument? ______

4. According to these passages, who qualifies to receive the same spiritual blessings as Abraham? ______

5. From Romans 4:12, what is true of salvation by grace that could not possibly be true of salvation by works? ______

6. From Romans 2:28-29, what is circumcision of the heart? ______

7. From Galatians 3:11, what does Paul mean by “will live”? ______

8. From the context of Galatians 3:13-14, what is a redeemer and why is one necessary?

4 ______

9. How did Christ become “a curse for us”? (see 2 Cor 5:21) ______

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