Pt5-Spirit Walkers: Justified by Experience

February 11, 2018              NOTES NOT EDITED
Spirit Walkers:  Justified By Experience

Galatians 3:1-5

Sermon-in-a-Sentence:  The experiences of a Spirit Walker who is saved by grace through faith alone demonstrates the power and efficacy of justification.

In these five verses Paul asks six questions, and only makes one statement.  The statement he makes is in verse 1:  You foolish Galatians!

The rest of the passage includes a series of questions that are more or less rhetorical because the answer should be obvious to a true believer.  In this section, Paul defends and explains justification as an experience with God.  Justification begins with an experience with the Living Lord, Jesus Christ, and continues as we experience a moment by moment relationship with God through the Holy Spirit.  Spirit Walkers . . . have had a life-transforming experience with the Living Lord, and that sets us on a path in which God interacts with us through each and every passage of our lives.

Paul describes this justifying experience looking at four ways grace interacts with our lives, and God intersects with our experiences.  First, our life experience involves:

1.  Seduction: how by grace we experience Protection (3:1)

You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.

We all experience temptation of varying kinds.  Paul refers to the Galatians as being “foolish” because they have been so easily “seduced, hypnotized, or bewitched” by false teachers.  This serves as a strong warning that the Devil is always lurking in the shadows to “trick, deceive, or bewitch” Spirit Walkers.

The word translated, “foolish,” has both a moral component and a mental component.  The moral component is probably most in view here.  The Galatians were not “seduced” because there was an “intellectual” problem with the gospel.  The reasonableness of the biblical account is as solid as any other truth that we have at our disposal.  The word, foolish refers to both a bluntness in one’s mental activity and also a “hardness” of one’s heart to the things of God.  One writer says this:  “It refers not to bluntness but to a sinful neglect to use one’s mental power to the best advantage” (Baker NT Comm)

Look how Paul describes the reliability of the gospel truth:  ¹Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 

The evidence for the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the most verified historical fact of ancient history.  Generations of public school students have been conditioned to react against anything that is not “scientific.”  Science cannot “prove” any historical event.  Science, by design and definition, can only prove that which is “repeatable” in a laboratory.  There is much more “truth” beyond the grasp of science.  But, our students—with the assistance of their complicit parents—have been “seduced” by public schooling.

Yet, Paul argues rightly that the evidence for the Galatians’ experience with the Risen Christ was indisputable.

The problem with the Galatians, as with all those who rebel against Yahweh, is “moral,” not “intellectual.”  It is a problem with the “heart” not the “mind.”  Consider Eve in the garden of Eden.  She was seduced by the subtle, sneaky temptations of the serpent, not appealing to her intellect, but to her emotions and pride.  Gen. 3:6:

⁶ Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom.

We are “experiential” creatures.  God made us that way.  We not only have the powers of intellect, but we have emotions and will.  We can “enjoy” life and make independent decisions.  These are great gifts—but with freedom comes responsibility, and with responsibility comes the risk of failure.

We must constantly be on guard to make sure that we are not “subtly” seduced by the temptation to act against the best evidence God has given us—the resurrection of Jesus Christ Our Lord.  We must not allow ourselves to be bewitched, beguiled, or hypnotized by subtle, sneaky errors that abound in our world.

By grace, God has given us PROTECTION against the evil designs of the Devil.  We have the clear evidence of God’s Word to guide us through the experiences of life.  The Galatians had irrefutable evidence of God’s grace because “before their very eyes Jesus Christ was vividly portrayed as crucified” on their behalf.  The word, “portrayed” describes something “advertised in large letters,” like a we might see a man on the street wearing a placard saying, “Repent!”

Grace protects us by protecting our heart and mind and validating our experience of justification.  For this to happen we must experience

2.  Submission:  how by grace we experience Direction (3:2-3)

As Paul explains the act of justification in regard to our human experience, he takes up the matter of SUBMISSION.  This is the real key to a Spirit Walkers life.  Verses 2-3 tell us:

²I only want to learn this from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by hearing with faith?  ³ Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now going to be made complete by the flesh?

These are of course, rhetorical questions.  Paul in chapters 1 and 2 has already established that we are justified by grace that begins our Spirit Walk, and we live righteously by the Spirit, not the flesh.  We start in grace, continue in grace, and we will arrive in heaven by grace—grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone.  Paul said in Col. 2:6-7:

⁶ Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, [by grace]  ^•walk in Him, [by grace] ⁷ rooted and built up in Him  and established in the faith, just as you were taught,  overflowing with gratitude. 

Paul’s second question goes to the heart of the salvation experience.  Paul asks the Galatians, “How were you saved?”  That is, by what manner or means did you become “justified” in God’s sight?  Paul goes on to outline the only TWO possibilities:  (1) a person is justified by righteous works—good deeds; or (2) a person is justified—saved, made right with God—by grace, the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.  Works or grace—but not both.  Do or Done?    Which is it?

One writer expresses the choice like this:  “The Law said, “Do!” Grace says, “Done!” The Law said, “Try!” Grace says, “Trust!” The Law says, “Behave!” Grace says, “Believe! Law points to the commandments; grace points to the Christ. The weakness of the Law is the flesh; the wonder of grace is the Holy Spirit.” (J. Philips).

The essence of the Christian experience is a “choice.”  We can choose to submit to the Law and seek to “work our way to heaven,” or we can submit to the Spirit and let Him “work out our salvation on our way to heaven.”  If we submit to the Law and trust our own designs, it always brings death, destruction, and disappointment—even for a believer.  If we submit to the Spirit and trust God’s will for our lives it always leads to blessing and fulfillment.  Spirit Walkers submit to the Spirit in the experiences of life.

Life comes from Life.  In biology, this is called the “Law of Biogenesis.”  Life cannot be created.  It must come from Life that has come before—antecedent life they call it. 

The renowned scientist Louis Pasteur demonstrated that truth in his day. He held up a thoroughly sterilized and hermetically sealed flask before his audience. “It is devoid of life!” he exclaimed. “I can keep it for a hundred years, and it will still be devoid of life. I can beg and plead with it to produce a life-form, even the humblest life form, but it remains unmoved by my pleas. There is no life without antecedent life. Only life can beget life.” (J.Philips).

Spiritual life only comes from the Spirit of God.  Until one submits to God through the Holy Spirit, there is not life.  Unless one continues to submit to the Spirit in every experience, there is no life.  All the human effort in the world does not bring life. The Law brings death.  Grace brings life.  We must submit to the Spirit to experience spiritual life. 

Spirit Walkers walk in the Spirit. Justification gives our lives DIRECTION.  Spirit Walkers also experience

3.  Suffering:  how by grace we experience Consolation  (3:4)

⁴ Did you suffer so much for nothing—if in fact it was for nothing?

Recall that we learned earlier that the word translated, “suffer,” also means, “experience.”  We have already seen Paul describe the “experience” of a believer—a Spirit Walker—as involving God’s PROTECTION from seduction through temptation and God’s DIRECTION by submission to the Spirit.  In verse 4 we can consider the matter of “suffering” in the life experience of the believer.

I have complete books in my library that explore the idea of “suffering” as part of the experience of being human.  We suffer.  This is inescapable.  If you live you will experience pain—sometimes much pain.  Childbirth is surrounded and immersed in pain, and the life that follows includes pain and suffering.

The scholars debate whether Paul intends for this section (1-5) to be primarily about the specific idea of suffering, or the more general description of life as “experience.”  Regardless of how much the Galatians had “suffered” persecution by this time, they all would have experienced personal suffering.  Suffering is part and parcel of the human experience.

Paul’s emphasis is that suffering has “purpose.”  We do not experience Christ in vain, and we do not experience suffering in vain.  I like what I heard one pastor say about pain, “God never wastes our pain.”

The great Christian writer, C.S. Lewis, married late in life, and then lost the love of his life shortly thereafter to cancer.  He wrote a couple books on the experience of pain, “A Grief Observed,” and “The Problem of Pain.” 

Lewis refers to pain and suffering as, God’s megaphone.  “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

I’m sure you are aware of the block-buster film by Mel Gibson titled, “The Passion of Christ.”  The crucifixion is referred to as “passion” based upon the word for suffering, pascho, in Greek, or “passio” in Latin.  The crucifixion shows the depth of our sin by describing the enormity of Christ’s suffering.

Suffering is an integral part of the gospel story.  It is a necessary foundation for our justification.  Had Christ not suffered, the penalty (dike) would not have been paid for our sins and hell would be our destiny.

Suffering is also “integral” to our fully understanding our justification—the payment of the penalty of our sin by Christ.  God uses suffering to allow a way for us to “fellowship” with Christ in a way that cannot be experienced otherwise.  Paul says in several places that suffering fulfills God’s purpose by drawing us closer to Him through Christ.  1Peter 4:12-13 says,

12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; 13 but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation.

Do not misunderstand me.  We should never seek out suffering.  Fellowship with God is not found through seeking out suffering, but suffering fulfills God’s purpose when He seeks us out in the midst of our suffering.  In the midst of our suffering, God’s love for us is validated and His salvation is justified.  Note 1Peter 4:19:

19 Therefore, let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.

Never think that while following Christ as obediently as you can that suffering is an indication that “something is wrong.”  It may be an indication that “something is very right!” 

By grace, justification is justified by giving us CONSOLATION.  The believers life intersects with the

4.  Supernatural: by grace we experience GLORIFICATION (5)

⁵ So then, does God supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law or by hearing with faith?

Glorification is one of those “theological” words that the Protestant Church has abandoned in modern preaching.  Glorification refers to “a supernatural experience, a state of blissful happiness.” It is often referred to as beatification—but we pretty much have surrendered that word to Catholics.  In a word, glorification refers to heaven—the final stage of our salvation; also called, “glorification.”  Paul describes full flower of our salvation experience in Romans 4:30:

³⁰ And those He predestined, He also called; and those He called, He also justified; and those He justified, He also glorified.

By grace alone through faith alone we are justified, sanctified, and glorified.  It is a supernatural process that begins here on earth and culminates in heaven through the absolute and supernatural decree of God Almighty. 

If your relationship with Jesus Christ is not “supernatural,” then it is “superficial.”

I just recently read where the Catholic Church will bestow “beatification” or sainthood on Pope Paul VI, who died in 1978.  I will confess that most of what the Catholic Church does, including making the sign of the cross, kissing the ring of the Pope, and declaring certain people, “saints,” is just freaky.  I am not a supporter of the Catholic Church and the hundreds of traditions they have added to the biblical gospel of justification by grace alone through faith in Christ alone.

I bring up the idea of the beatification of Pope Paul VI because the story intersects with our text in verse 5.  Verse 5 asks the question:

⁵So then, does God supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law or by hearing with faith?

In order for a Pope to become a saint, he has to have performed two “verified” miracles.  Pope Paul VI did his second miracle ** years after he died!  A mother prayed to Pope Paul VI and her unborn child was supposedly healed.  Now, I believe in miracles, but I think the whole idea of Catholic sainthood is bogus nonsense!

But, Paul asked the question concerning miracles in the experience of the Galatian Christians.  Like the other six questions, this too is rhetorical—the answer, “yes,” is assumed.  Paul’s assumption is that one of the experiences of grace is that God “works miracles among you.”  This does not mean that every Christian believer will receive miracles on a daily basis, though it could be argued each heartbeat and each breath is a miracle.

What it does mean is that in the course of our life as Spirit Walkers, we will see God working in miraculous ways among His children throughout the world.

Again, I have many books that analyze and document the truth of God working miracles in our world, today, as well as in days gone by.  Why should we NOT expect supernatural events to take place in our lives as we serve a supernatural God?  Is there any greater miracle than the miracle of justification by grace alone through faith in Christ alone?

If our salvation begins supernaturally with grace in the regeneration of our dead souls, should we not assume that by grace we would continue to see God work supernaturally among us?  Paul’s rhetorical question leads us to a firm and foundational, “Yes!”

A life that is not supernatural is superficial.  The very foundation for salvation is a supernatural transformation in which God’s Spirit joins with our spirit and brings us eternally life.  Without this supernatural, spiritual experience there is not justification—there is no eternal salvation.  Paul points this out very clearly in Romans 8:9:

⁹ You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God lives in you.  But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.

No supernatural experience—no salvation.  Period!  Again Paul says,

Eph. 1:13-14   ¹³When you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed in Him, you were also sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.  ¹⁴He is the down payment of our inheritance, for the redemption of the possession, to the praise of His glory.

I have seen the “supernatural” played out many, many times over my ministry of going on 41 years.  I could tell you of a vision I had standing topside watch on the submarine one night.  I could tell you of a vision I had in the jungle of Guam.  I could tell you of a woman I prayed for who was dying of cancer which had riddled her body.  She is still alive over 38 years later.  I could tell you of many miracles.  I could tell you of coincidences, which are miracles in hiding.  I can tell you that the only “real Christian experience is a supernatural experience.”  If your experience with Christ is not supernatural—it is superficial; and your salvation is suspect.  Albert Einstein saw life as a miracle.  He once said, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”

Modern man reacts against the idea of miracles because he fancies himself to have mastered the knowledge of nature and exhausted its possibilities so that a miracle which contradicts man’s understanding of nature cannot be true.  St. Augustine argues against such a narrow view of nature or the universe in which we live.  He said, "Miracles are not in contradiction to nature. They are only in contradiction with what we know of nature."

Never forget that our ignorance is infinite.  There will always exist more than what we can know and completely comprehend.  God is supernatural, so His workings will always outdistance our natural abilities to understand.  Spirit Walkers embrace this mystery. 

Miracles are moments of GLORIFICATION when human experience intersects God’s Providence.

Let’s review what we have discovered in this, the first of Paul’s 8 sermons justifying justification by grace alone through faith alone.  We learned four ways grace intersects with our life experiences.  We learned that being justified by faith gives us PROTECTION from the SEDUCTION of false teachers.  We learned that by grace through faith alone we DIRECTION through SUBMISSION to God’s Spirit on a daily basis.  In our study of justification by grace alone we have learned we receive CONSOLATION in the experiences of SUFFERING in our Christian walk.  Finally, we observed that we participate in GLORIFICATION when the SUPERNATURAL power of God intersects our daily living.

The experiences of a Spirit Walker who is saved by grace through faith alone demonstrates the power and efficacy of justification.