The Bewitching of the Galatians (Transcript)

Sounds like some Hollywood science fiction movie.

But we're not talking about the Martians or the Venutians, here. We are talking about some aliens, though, who seem to never stop invading the Church, and bewitching people who really should know better.

The Galatians were not the invaders, they were the ones invaded. They were invaded by the aliens we call the Judaizers or the Circumcision Party.

Here's how it happened. Paul the Apostle, in his missionary journeys, had been to the area called Galatia and preached the gospel. By the grace of God, a good number believed the gospel and were saved. They became the churches of Galatia.

This would include some towns you may have heard of, such towns as Lystra, Derbe, Pisidia and Iconium.

But after Paul had preached the gospel to these folks and, you might say, founded these churches, along came some alien false teachers who sort of went behind Paul's back and told the people that Paul was not really the Apostle he claimed to be.

They said that he was leaving part of the gospel out. They said things that the people began to believe. Things that were so outrageous that Paul was not only a good bit peeved with the Galatians, calling them foolish, but he even went so far as to ask them, “Who has bewitched you?”

But you know what's alarming? The errors that the Galatians fell into are still alive and well in churches today. The evil false teachings that the Galatians were lured by are still luring unsuspecting believers today.

Well, what are these false teachings?

I want to talk about nine of them, which are distinct, yet related to each other.

1. They were bewitched to turn away from the true gospel.

We read in Chapter 1, verse 6, "I'm amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel." "Which is really not another gospel", he says in verse 2.

First of all, what is the gospel? You know, many believers are unable to clearly say what the gospel is. They know they're born again, they know they're saved, they know they believe in Jesus Christ, but when it comes to saying what the gospel is, or explaining the gospel, they really have to think.

Well, here's the gospel in a capsule version:

First of all, the gospel is Jesus Christ Himself. That's the good news. But the other good news ("gospel" means "good news") is that Jesus Christ died for our sins on the cross, was buried and rose again from the dead, and ascended to the right hand of the Father, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion.

He is Lord. And when someone believes in Him as Savior and Lord, they are saved by God. And it's by grace, which means it's a totally free gift, through faith, through believing in Him. Through faith alone without works adding to that salvation at all. That's the gospel.

Well, what were the Galatians turning to? It's what Paul called a "different gospel" and here's what that different gospel was: Grace plus works.

Now, I should explain, when we're born again, when we become a new creation, when we're saved, we will have good works. God works in us, He tells the Philippians, both to will and to do for His good pleasure. We are His poiema, His "poetry". He's built good works into us, and they will come out, in one form or another.

But those works don't add to our salvation. They don't gain our salvation, and they don't keep our salvation. Our salvation is gained and kept entirely by grace...through faith.

What does it mean, then, that they had a "different gospel"? Well, it was being perverted or distorted to the opposite of the true gospel. The true gospel is by grace alone, and they were being taught a gospel by grace plus works.

Don't be bewitched by that. If anybody ever tells you that you need to DO something in order to keep your salvation, or to get your salvation, don't believe them. That's another gospel, which is not a gospel at all.

2. They were bewitched to turn away from Christ Himself.

Look again at Verse 6, Chapter 1. "I'm amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel."

See, they were turning... when you turn away from grace, you turn away from the Grace Giver. This takes away the relationship that causes our lives to flourish.

When we understand grace, and walk in unity with Jesus Christ, by grace, our lives flourish. We have the fruit of the Spirit. We have an ability to live the Christian life that we don't have when we turn it into a series of laws and rules, and think that we're gaining something in our salvation by following those laws.

Doctrine is important. But it's important because it reinforces a close relationship to God. It's not a matter of academics. Doctrine should reinforce a close relationship to Jesus Christ. And of that doctrine, grace is foundational.

Don't be bewitched to turn away from Christ Himself, and make your Christian life just a matter of following "do's" and "don't's". Those will come by the fruit of the Spirit as we walk closely with Him.

3. They were bewitched to reject the authority of the Word of God.

Paul was an Apostle, after all. We read in Chapter 1, verse 11 and 12, "For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it. But I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

Now, as the saying goes, don't try this at home. Paul was in a very unique position as an Apostle, to receive direct revelation. And that revelation has ultimately been put down in the written Word of God. And that's all the revelation that we need.

The Word of God is sufficient for life and godliness. You don't need to go look for direct revelation from the Lord. Because you're not going to get it.

Paul had been given the gospel directly from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. And he spends a lot of time in Chapters 1 and 2 defending his apostleship. Because that became important for the Galatians to understand, that when he spoke to them the gospel, and when he wrote them, in this case the letter to the Galatians, that this is the Word of God.

You may remember the salvation of Paul, when he was miraculously saved on the road to Damascus....from there he went into the wilderness of Arabia, alone. He didn't go meet with the other Apostles. He went alone with God, in the desert of Arabia, and met with the Lord directly for years. And during that time he, by direct revelation, received the gospel from Jesus Christ Himself.

And He preached that gospel to the Galatians. And they were bewitched to reject the authority of the Word of God. Don't you be bewitched by that thought, that the Word of God is not sufficient. That you need something more. That a false teacher has something that's revelation from God. If you have anybody that says "I have new revelation from God," [or] that contradicts the Bible, you can immediately know that that's a false teacher.

4. They were bewitched to forget what else happened on the Cross.

Let me read Galatians Chapter 2, Verse 20. This is one of the most important verses in the Scripture. "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and delivered Himself up for me."

You see, when Jesus was crucified on the cross, something else happened on the cross. We who are Christians were crucified with Him, in a mysterious way, but nevertheless an actual crucifixion of our old self. Our old man is dead now because we were crucified with Christ, and we were made a new creation.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says you've been made "a new creation...old things have passed away, behold all things have become new." And that's why Paul was asking the Galatians, what could works or law add to what had already been accomplished?

He says in Chapter 3, Verse 1, "You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?" And he says that right after Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ..."

At the same time, we have been justified, that is, declared righteous by God. Totally righteous, in right standing with God, as though we had never sinned. And so he's saying, you foolish Galatians, what can you add to that? Having begun by the Spirit, are you going to be made perfect by the flesh? By following the Law? By doing something to complete your salvation, to gain your salvation, or to keep your salvation?

No, and don't you be bewitched by whoever who would tell you that you need to do something in addition to believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, for your salvation.

5. They were bewitched to forget what the Law was for.

You see, they thought that the Law could give life. That's what the Judaizers taught them. "Oh yeah, grace is fine. But you need to add these works to gain life, or to maintain life."

Well, in Chapter 3, Verse 21, he says this, "Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteous would indeed have been based on law."

You see, the law couldn't give life. If it could, then righteousness would be by the law. We would be made righteous, in right standing with God, by the law. But he goes on in that chapter, where Verse 22 says that the law confines all under sin. In other words, the law shows us that we were under sin.

And so the law is a tutor, Verse 24, a tutor that leads us to Christ. Shows us that we need a Savior who will save by grace. Because we're not going to cut it if we need to gain or keep our salvation by the law.

But after faith, after believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, after we're made a new creation, we're no longer under a tutor, Verse 25. The law has fulfilled its purpose in leading us to Christ, that we might be saved by grace through faith.

Don't be bewitched and think that we need to go back to that law in order to maintain or gain that salvation.

6. They were bewitched to forget that the Old Covenant was made obsolete.

This is really made clear in Hebrew 8, which would be great for you to read. The Old Covenant was done away with precisely because we can't keep the law perfectly, and that's the only way that the law would gain anything.

And because we can't keep it perfectly, God gave a New Covenant in Jesus Christ, which is unilateral. He totally did it on His part, and then gave us the gift of salvation and righteousness through this New Covenant.

Don't be bewitched by going back to the Old Covenant and thinking that the following of those laws will gain or keep your salvation.

7. They were bewitched such that they didn’t stand fast or stand firm.

Chapter 5 of Galatians, Verse 1 says, "It was for freedom that Christ set us free. Therefore, keep standing firm, and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery."

Don't fall back into that. Stand firm in the fact that you are saved entirely by grace.

And then in Verse 4, he says that the Galatians had "fallen from grace". Falling from grace doesn't mean that they lost their salvation. It means that they got off of the ground of grace, and got onto the ground of law. And that quenches the Holy Spirit and actually hurts their relationship to Jesus Christ.

They forgot about faith and love, which is the fulfillment of the law.

Don't be bewitched by that. Stand fast. When anybody tries to lure you away from grace, you stand fast and stick with the Word of God.

8. They were bewitched to forget to walk by the Spirit.

Chapter 5, Verse 16, "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." "You will not fulfill the lust of the flesh," one translation says.

They were bewitched to forget about walking by the Spirit. They went back to the law, and began to say that we're going to complete our salvation by these laws.

When you walk by the Spirit, it leads to the fruit of the Spirit, and leads away from the works of the flesh. So our life is actually more abundant when we walk by the Spirit and not by the law.

Don't be bewitched by that. You stand firm and walk by the Spirit.

9. They were bewitched so that they forgot to bear one another’s burdens in grace.

You see, not only are we saved by grace, and kept by grace, but when we do sin, or when we find another who sinned, we need to treat that with grace. It needs to be corrected, but it needs to be done so by grace.

Grace is not self-righteous. Grace doesn't say, "I'm wonderful, and you're not, and you better get your act together."

No, look at Chapter 6, Verse 1. "Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual [See that? You who are filled with the Spirit, walking by the Spirit, you who are spiritual] restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, each one looking to yourself lest you too be tempted."

See, grace is not self-righteous. It's gracious.

And grace keeps us going. Verse 9, "And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap, if we do not grow weary." And it's grace that keeps us from not growing weary, as we walk in grace and the Spirit of God.

Grace glories in the Cross. It doesn't glory in our own successes, like self-righteousness does ("Oh, now I'm doing really well. You're not, so you have to get it together, buddy!") No, it's not that attitude at all. It's the attitude that we're all under grace, now let's walk by the Spirit together.

Don't be bewitched. Don't be like the Galatians who fell from grace and forgot these things that they had been taught by the Apostle Paul.

The Bewitching of the Galatians

This week's audio message:

The Bewitching of the Galatians

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When Gracers Go Too Far (Transcript)

When I say, “When Gracers Go Too Far”, I don't mean one can go too far with Grace. Grace is absolute.

I trust that those of you who have listened to or read my teaching of the Word of God know how strongly I believe in Grace. The Bible teaches that Grace is foundational to God's working with man. And if one doesn't have a good grasp on the truth of the New Covenant that we are "no longer under Law but under Grace" (Rom. 6:14), then much of the rest of their theology and practical Christian living will be flawed.

I am a Gracer from start to finish. I believe the Bible teaches that we are not only saved inititally by Grace through Faith, "not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:8,9), but that the keeping of our salvation and our ultimate glorification is entirely by Grace through Faith. That our works had nothing to do with our salvation to begin with, and our works have nothing to do with our staying saved and going to heaven.

I believe that there is nothing we can do to make God love us more, and nothing we can do to make God love us less, as believers, as born-again children of God. He has set His love on us and there is nothing that can separate us from that love.

The Issue

Now, having said that, I have noticed something a little disturbing among some other so-called Gracers. There is something I have seen among those who really do glory in the Grace of God, that goes too far.

I want to be kind here, but there is something that I have seen among those who really do glory in the New Covenant of Grace that I believe has made them gullible.

By gullible, I mean that they have embraced as a brother or sister in Christ, anyone who claims to be a Christian, no matter what that person believes.

Under the banner of Grace, these well-meaning Gracers have undermined the Gospel of Grace.

While denouncing works-based salvation, while denouncing Galatianism, where grace and works are mixed together in a false Gospel, while meaning to be Grace-centered, they have stepped over into a strange acceptance of Legalism, even another Gospel, which is not a Gospel at all. And they've done it without even knowing it.

Performance-Based Legalism

Now, I'm going to give a specific example of this. But first, I want to say a few words about that form of “legalism” which I call Performance-Based Christianity, as opposed to Grace-Based. It's that form of legalism that tries to earn God's favor or love by what we do.

There are several other forms of legalism, for example:

1. There is initial salvation by works;

2. There is the Seventh Day Adventist type of legalism, which speaks of initial salvation by grace, but it must be followed by law-works or you end up losing your salvation;

3. There is that extra-biblical type of cultural "legalism", such as "no lipstick", "no pants for ladies", etc.;

4. There is pure Galatianism, which mixes law-works with grace, which of course makes it not grace.

Which Paul points out makes it no longer grace, whereupon one "falls from grace", as the Galatians did in their foolishness, and gets on the ground of Law, which quenches the Holy Spirit, and inflames sin.

The problem with Law-based living is that the one who lives that way must, a. obey all of it, b. obey it continually, c. obey it perfectly.

"Striving to obey God's commandments" won't cut it, and one who lives that way is cursed by his own paradigm.

"For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law to perform them.'" (Gal. 3:10)

But...We are "...servants of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." (2 Cor. 3:6)

And that New Covenant, of course, is in Jesus Christ, our Lawgiver, Lawkeeper, and Sacrifice Lamb, who became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. What a Savior and Friend!

The Disturbing Habit of Some Gracers

Okay, let's get back to the problem I've seen in some Gracers. Those, who have come to see that our salvation from start to finish is completely by Grace, and not works.

Here's the problem. They have stood strong for Grace and against Legalism, but then in the name of Grace, have embraced those in false legalistic religions as brothers and sisters.

Some have gone as far a a form of Universalism, in which they teach that everyone will be saved, because after all, if Jesus paid for the sins of everyone, and unbelief is a sin, then didn't He pay for the sin of unbelief and therefore must welcome everyone into heaven eventually?

They are careful to say that no one EARNED their way into heaven, but everyone makes it anyway. This is, of course, a direct contradiction of the Word of God, which clearly teaches that some will never believe in Christ, and will indeed be thrown into the lake of fire.

But I'm not speaking of these Gracer Universalists. I'm speaking of those Gracers who have, in the name of Grace, embraced works-based religious leaders. This usually involves the works-based religion of Roman Catholicism, and might involve studying the monk Thomas Merton and his meditations. Or it might involve a dialog on the radio or the Internet with a Roman Catholic fellow who is so nice and loving that it is thought that he must be a true believer, and how can I judge him, when I'm not perfect myself? And so on.

And rather than give a detailed theological study of Roman Catholicism and how it so badly disagrees with the Gospel of Grace in the Scriptures, I will attempt to illustrate this disturbing tendency by asking the question:

Was Pope John Paul II a Great Spiritual Leader?

I choose John Paul, because he made so many public statements that sounded gracious, and was so attractive to Bible believing Christians, that if he couldn't be seen as a good spiritual leader, then who could, in the Roman Catholic Church?

To my Gracer friends, if the answer to the question, Was Pope John Paul II a Great Spiritual Leader? is “No”, then I would urge you to not extend your understanding of Grace to include the false Galatianist religion of [so-called] grace-plus-works of which he was a part. Use the Scriptures and your God-given discernment to discern the awful Legalism that his religion embraces.

So, Was Pope John Paul II A Great Spiritual Leader?

First, let me say, I liked Pope John Paul II. He was kindly, charming, hard-working. A genius who spoke many languages, and he shared some of my own views on moral issues, such as the evil of killing our unborn, so I'm grateful for his influence in those areas.

And I wouldn't judge his final destination, heaven or hell, because it's God Who saves, by grace through faith, and none of us knows what may have happened, even on John Paul's death bed.

But was John Paul a great spiritual leader?

In the interest of slaying the dragon of Legalism, I must say "no", for three reasons:

1. He taught and supported a religion of "grace" plus works.

The Bible says clearly that if works is added to grace for salvation, it's no longer grace ("But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace." --Romans 11:6)

Look at some excerpts from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (this is the "new" "modern" "open-minded" one...you should see the Traditional One!):

". . Baptism is the first and chief sacrament of forgiveness of sins because it unites us with Christ, who died for our sins and rose for our justification, so that 'we too might walk in newness of life,'"(Catechism of the Catholic Church, par. 977).

Note this first of seven sacraments actually obtains the forgiveness of sins.

"In every circumstance, each one of us should hope, with the grace of God, to persevere 'to the end' and to obtain the joy of heaven, as God's eternal reward for the good works accomplished with the grace of Christ," (CCC, par. 1821).

Note, "as God's ETERNAL REWARD for the good works".

"Moved by the Holy Spirit and by charity, we can then MERIT for ourselves and for others the graces needed for our sanctification." (CCC, par. 2010).

Note we not only MERIT for ourselves, but for others.

And since the Catholic Church obviously teaches that salvation includes man's works, then it follows that the failure of man's works can destroy that salvation and damn him again, after he's been "justified".

The solution: more works! Listen to the following:

"Christ instituted the sacrament of Penance for all sinful members of his Church: above all for those who, since Baptism, have fallen into grave sin, and have thus lost their baptismal grace and wounded ecclesial communion. It is to them that the sacrament of Penance offers a new possibility to convert and to recover the grace of justification. The Fathers of the Church present this sacrament as 'the second plank (of salvation) after the shipwreck which is the loss of grace.'" (CCC, par. 1446).

Acts of penance may be such things as prayer, saying the Rosary, reading the scripture, saying a number of "Our Father's" or "Hail Mary's", doing good works, fasting, etc.

Hold on, I gotta breathe in some fresh air of the Word of God, here:

"You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? (Galatians 3:1-3)

2. John Paul also affirmed the Council of Trent,

...even traveling to Trento, Italy for the 450th Anniversary of the Council, and giving his approval. Among many other unbiblical teachings, the Council of Trent curses with damnation all of us who teach salvation "by grace through faith, not of works". Excerpts can be viewed at www.carm.org/catholic/trent.htm.

3. Like many false teachers, John Paul was deceptive in his public speeches,

...opening the gates of heaven to almost anyone from Protestants to Buddhists, Hindus, etc., ignoring the words of Jesus, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

Whether by deliberate deception, or personal confusion, John Paul spoke out of both sides of his mouth when it came to whom are children of God.

At best his sloppiness has caused masses (no pun intended) of people to miss the pure beautiful Gospel of faith alone, by grace alone, in Jesus Christ alone.

At worst, he deliberately said whatever itching ears wanted to hear, in order to win the crowds.

Either way, he couldn't qualify as a great spiritual leader.

Let me say, I have a particular love for Roman Catholics. I was once a member of the Roman Catholic Church myself, and my wife Michele was raised Roman Catholic. Many of our family members are of that faith.

If you are a Roman Catholic, or anyone who thinks that heaven can be earned by Sacraments or good works of any kind, I have terrific news for you. Jesus died on the cross for sins. He took the penalty for the sins of His people. He was buried and rose again from the grave, to give eternal life to all who will believe on Him and trust that His work on the cross was enough...who will believe that He meant it when He said on the cross, "It is finished." Whoever will may come to Him. God calls all men everywhere to repent, to change their minds. No works can earn it. It's a free gift of God. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.

So, in conclusion, I hope my Gracer friends don't see this as some kind of hate piece against Roman Catholics, or any other religion. It's simply a plea to stay consistent in your proclamation of the wonderful Grace of God, and correspondingly to stand firm against Legalism in its all of its forms.

Preach the truth that we have been set free from the Law. We are no longer under Law but under Grace.

We love the laws of God, and we love the fact that He is working in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure. We are His workmanship, and He is working in us His good works which He prepared for us before we were even born.

But we are free from having to perform to get the Lord's love and favor.

When Gracers Go Too Far

This week's audio message:

When Gracers Go Too Far

Grace For Life audio archives are here.