Connect

Guest (Female): Welcome to Connect with Skip Heitzig. We're so glad you've tuned in today. At Connect with Skip, our passion is to help you grow in your relationship with Jesus through solid verse-by-verse Bible teaching that's both clear and practical. Every message you hear is designed to strengthen your faith and help you live out God's truth wherever He's placed you.

But did you know that you can stay connected beyond the broadcast? When you sign up for Pastor Skip's free weekly devotion, you'll receive biblical encouragement, exclusive content, and free resources to help you go deeper in God's word, all delivered straight to your inbox.

Guest (Male): As our thanks for your signing up today, we'll send you a free digital download of a chapter of Skip's book, *Biography of God*. It's quick, easy, and completely free, and it's a great way to stay rooted in truth every week. Sign up today at connectwithskip.com. That's connectwithskip.com. Now, here's today's message from Pastor Skip Heitzig.

Skip Heitzig: They become just so on fire for being Messianic and they'll even say, "I'm Jewish," even if they're not. That's an affront to a Jewish person, by the way, to act like you're a rabbi when I would never pretend to be that. I am a German Gentile who loves Israel. I have no natural reason to love Israel, but I love them because of the covenant. But I don't try to act Jewish and think I'm a cut above everybody else because I practice a Messianic form of Judaism.

Or they get saved by faith in Jesus Christ and then feel the need to add liturgical practices to their faith. They're beautiful, but it can also become a hang-up. Or they're saved by simple faith in Jesus Christ and they read a few books by John Calvin and Calvinists and they get a little narrower and a little more legalistic.

So Paul says, "Oh, you dear idiots of Galatia," or "O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?" Or as J.B. Phillips writes, "Who cast the spell on you?" It could be translated "fascinated you." Who has fascinated you? That's a good question. What makes legalism so fascinating to people? I can give you a couple of reasons.

Number one, it appeals to the flesh. Legalism always appeals to the flesh because it appeals to me adding something to the finished work of Christ. I feel better if I do this and I do that and I practice this and I practice that and I keep that ritual and that ceremony. I have now done something. It makes me feel good about myself because I'm a good person because I do. So it appeals to the flesh.

Number two, it appeals to the senses. Human beings are very sensory-oriented creatures. They love to smell the incense. They love to hear the chants. They love to see the rituals displayed in front of them. It can be very appealing. It can be very fascinating.

So Paul begins this chapter just right up front being confrontational. "O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?"

Now the Holy Spirit has a relationship with the Christian and does a work in the life of every believer. First, the Holy Spirit convicts us. Before we're saved, He convicts us. Jesus said, "When the Spirit is come, He will convict the world of sin, and righteousness, and judgment; of sin, because they do not believe in Me." So the first thing the Holy Spirit does is convict us. He convinces us that we're hurting for certain. We need help. We need Christ. We need salvation. He convicts us.

The second work of the Holy Spirit is the new birth. We are born of the Spirit. Jesus said in John chapter three, "Unless you are born of the water and the Spirit, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven." So the new birth is a spiritual act. He regenerates us.

The third work of the Holy Spirit is He baptizes us into the body of Christ, into the community of faith. The fourth thing the Holy Spirit does is He seals us so we are kept until the day of salvation. So the entire experience of salvation is a work of the Holy Spirit.

So Paul says, "So I'd like to know this from you. I'm curious. I want to learn from you. Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law? Did you work hard to get all that done in your life, or by the hearing of faith? You heard the gospel, you met it with faith, you believed, and you were justified. Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit," one of my favorite questions in the Bible, "having begun in the Spirit, are you now made perfect in the flesh?"

Do you really think you can improve on what God has done? Are you that lame? Are you that dumb? Are you that lacking? Or a better term than "dear idiots" or "stupid" is "spiritually dull." Are you this spiritually dull that you think you can improve on the finished work of God in Christ on the cross? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now made perfect by the flesh?

"Have you suffered so many things in vain, for nothing, for no good reason—if indeed it was in vain?" Now I'm sure when you were living in Galatia and you believed in Jesus and you told people, "I believe in Jesus," you got persecuted. They suffered for it. They suffered from the townspeople. They suffered from their relatives. You and I do the same oftentimes. They suffered from the Judaizers who came in and said, "It's not enough. You need more to really, really be a Christian and really mature."

So they've suffered a lot. So Paul says, "Have you suffered for no good reason, for nothing? Therefore, He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith?"

Would you ever tell a person who said they came up to you and said, "Hey, I'm suffering this physical ailment. Would you lay hands on me and pray for me?" Would you say, "Well, I will, but first you have to prove that you're worthy by performing a certain work. And when you perform that work successfully, then I'll know that you've earned it." You'd never do that. We don't believe that.

But he alludes to that idea. "He who works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith?" Now just a note about what he is talking about. "Miracles among you" could also be translated, and often is in some translations, "miracles within you."

So it could be referring to the miracle within you of salvation. That is totally miraculous. You were going to hell, now you're going to heaven. That takes a miracle. You were a part of the kingdom of darkness, now you're in the kingdom of light. That's God's miracle. Salvation is a spiritual work of wonder. It's miraculous. God opened your eyes, now you see.

When I went back to my old friends and told them what happened to me, they couldn't believe it. They go, "Heitzig, you? You're into this stuff? Of all the people, I never would have thought you'd fall into this, you'd fall for it." I said, "I fell for it. I fell hard for it."

So it could be that he's referring to this idea of salvation. He's done a work within you. Or and—it could be either or, or both—among them in their congregation. No doubt miracles happened as Jesus said they would happen. "These signs will follow those who believe." And so perhaps the miraculous signs, as the gospel was preached and the Word of God was taught in Galatia, were happening among them. And Paul's making the strong point: that didn't happen because you worked for it. It happened because you believed. You just simply believed and you were saved.

Now, at this point, he goes from the personal arguments that he has been making in chapter three to the scriptural arguments, and he'll quote several scriptures. Verse six: "just as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." That happens to be a quote now out of Genesis chapter 15. "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness."

The Jewish people were proud of their relationship to Abraham. They bragged about it. But unfortunately, they came to revere that relationship with Abraham so much, they saw it as a guarantee of their salvation simply because of their lineage. "We're sons of Abraham. We're daughters of Abraham. We're the Jewish people. We're the chosen people." Simply because of that, they saw that as a guarantee for their salvation.

So when John the Baptist comes preaching to the Jewish people at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, or before Jesus' ministry, John the Baptist goes down to the Jordan River. He lets the people know that it's not about their physical lineage. Their physical lineage will not give them spiritual life.

Guest (Female): You're listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. Every day, the generosity of friends like you helps reach more people with clear, practical Bible teaching, changing lives as they discover who God really is.

And this month, we want to thank you with a powerful resource bundle designed to help you know God more deeply and walk in the freedom He offers. It features Skip's book, *Biography of God*, a thoughtful, approachable look at God's character, His attributes, and the hope we gain when we understand who He truly is.

You'll also receive Skip's six-message CD series, *Expound: Galatians*, a verse-by-verse journey through Paul's call to spiritual freedom—freedom from legalism, shame, and striving. We'll send you both resources as our thanks when you give $50 or more to support Connect with Skip Heitzig. Call 800-922-1888 or visit connectwithskip.com/offer. Now, let's return to today's teaching.

Skip Heitzig: And this is what John the Baptist says, and I'm reading out of Matthew chapter three: "All Jerusalem, all Judea, and the region around Jordan went out to him"—J. the B., John the Baptist—"and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, 'Brood of vipers! Who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, "We have Abraham as our father."'

That was their boast. "We have a physical lineage. We have a tie to Abraham. He's the father of our nation." John the Baptist is saying, "I know what you're thinking. 'We have Abraham as our father.'" Then he says this: "For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones."

When Abraham was 86 years old, he complained to God. And he said, "Look, God, I'm old and I don't have an heir. All I've got is this guy named Eliezer of Damascus. He's the only heir in my house. He's going to get everything when I die." God said, "Abraham, he's not going to be your heir. I'm going to give you natural-born children. I'm going to bless you and do something in your life. And your descendants are going to be more than the stars of heaven."

As soon as Abraham complained, God took him outside and had him gaze up at the stars. Said, "Go look up at the stars. See all those stars up there? Can you count them? So shall your descendants be, like the stars of the sky."

By the way, before we apply this with Abraham, next time you're feeling down and discouraged and fearful, look up in the night sky and realize your God made that. Think of Isaiah 40, where the Bible tells us that God measures the heavens with a span of His hand. That's a span. That's the measurement of a span—thumb to first finger.

God measures the universe and says, "It's only about that big." Now we know the universe is pretty big. Just our galaxy, the Milky Way galaxy, is 10,000 light years by 100,000 light years. Light years! You know what that means? That's the distance light travels in a year. So light travels at 186,000 miles per second. If you could go the speed of light, you could circle the earth seven and a half times in one second.

If you could go the speed of light, you would sail past the moon in 1.5 seconds and you'd go past the sun in seven and a half minutes, going at 186,000 miles per second. But if you wanted to go from one end of the Milky Way galaxy to the other end of the Milky Way galaxy, it would take you 100,000 years traveling at 186,000 miles per second.

God says, "Yeah, it's only that big to me." So next time you're worried and fearful and you think, "This is just too big," just go outside and look up and realize who your Lord is.

So, "Abraham look up. Yeah, I see stars. Yep, you do see stars. So shall your descendants be." And this is what it says right after that: "Abraham believed God." He goes, "I believe that." And as soon as he said, "I believe that," God accounted that to him as righteousness. And that is mentioned a few times in the New Testament. God accounted it to him as righteousness.

The word "accounted" in Greek is *logizomai*. It's a financial term. It means basically this: you were bankrupt until you believed. The moment you believed, the books changed. The accounts changed. Abraham was spiritually bankrupt before God. As soon as he believed God, God changed the books and said, "You're righteous." Well, what did Abraham do? Nothing except believe. Nothing except believe.

By the way, it's even simpler than that. It's not like, "Okay, I'm going to work myself up to a high level of faith. I believe! I believe! Yes, I believe!" like the weird people on TV say, "I believe!" That's—he didn't do that. In Hebrew, it's the word "amen." *Amen* in Hebrew. God said, "So shall your descendants be." Abraham said, "Amen." God said, "That's it. That's enough. You agree with Me. You believe in what I just said. I will account that to you as righteousness." Beautiful.

So Paul brings up Abraham and makes a point of it. "Just as Abraham believed God"—said amen to God—"and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the nations by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, 'In you all the nations shall be blessed.'"

There's another quote. He's quoting Scripture. He quoted Genesis 15. Now he's saying, "Well, before Genesis 15 was Genesis 12. And in Genesis 12, God said, 'In you all the nations or the families of the earth will be blessed.' In other words, it was God's plan all along to reach people by faith. It was God's plan all along to reach the nations of the world, the Gentiles of the world, by faith."

So the law mentioned 32 times, faith mentioned 21 times through the book. There's this tension. And there's always the tension between faith and works. Always is. I've told you this a number of times. I've told it to you so many times, as soon as I start saying it again, you're going to know what it is and probably say it with me. There's only two religions in the world. You could take every belief system and there's only two categories. Category number one is human achievement. Category number two, divine accomplishment. You've heard me say that many times.

Every single human religion or supposed divine religion, take your pick, any religious system falls under the category of human achievement except the gospel. The gospel is divine accomplishment. Human religion says, "Work your way." Divine accomplishment, the gospel, says, "I am the way." Most religions, the religions of human achievement, say it's by works. Divine accomplishment, the gospel, says it's by His finished work, period. And you believe that and God will account that to you for righteousness. Can you see how freeing this is? It's so freeing.

"For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.'" Now he's quoting Deuteronomy 27 to show them you can't be justified by the law unless you're perfect. If you're perfect and you always keep every law, okay. I haven't met anybody like that yet.

And this is the reason you can't be justified: because cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. God gave the law to the children of Israel through Moses. The people of Israel had told Moses when he was going up to Mount Sinai, they were afraid of going up because of the fire and the lightning and the smoke and they said, "You go, Mo. You go, you hear, you find out what God wants and you tell us what that is and we'll do it all." That's what they said. "We'll do it all. We'll obey all that God says."

God would later on say this: "Oh, that My people had such a heart that they could or would keep all My law." God knew they couldn't do it. He gave it and He opined, "Oh, that they had that kind of a heart." They were unable to do it. You cannot perfectly keep the law. That's why the law's not a blessing, it's a curse. Because all the law can do is reveal how bad you really are. It can't do anything about how bad you really are.

So it's not a blessing, it's a curse. It's a blessing in that it provides you as under the curse. So it tells you the truth so that you will seek help. He'll make that point in a moment.

"But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for"—now he's quoting Habakkuk chapter two—"'The just shall live by faith.'" You've heard that verse before, right? Of course you have. If you've just read the New Testament, in three books they quote this verse out of Habakkuk: Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews. "The just shall live by faith."

"Yet the law is not of faith, but"—now he's quoting another Old Testament scripture—"the law is not of faith but 'the man who does them shall live by them.'" Now he's quoting Leviticus chapter 18. Leviticus chapter 18. "The man who does them shall live by them."

You see, the law doesn't ask a person to believe. The law asks a person to obey. Obey this. Do this. Do this and you will live. Faith says, "Believe this and you will live." So the law isn't a blessing, it's a curse because it says obey, do, continue, work. Only when you get to the New Testament it says, "No, He did the work so just believe it. And if you just believe it, like Abraham that predated the law, you will be justified. It will be accounted to you for righteousness."

Now, I think he's making a fine point here. He's saying if you are going backwards to the legal system of Moses and you are under the law, that means you are not relying only on faith. And if you're not relying only on faith, you have a problem because "The just shall live by faith." If you're living by the law, you are under the law, not faith, so you are not just. You are not righteous. You are not right with God because "The just shall live by faith" and you're not living by faith, you're living under the law. So you're not just and you are not justified. Very, very powerful point.

Guest (Female): We're so glad you joined us today on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before you go, here's a reminder: as our thanks for your gift this month, we'll send you Skip's book, *Biography of God*, along with his six-message CD series, *Expound: Galatians*.

These two resources work together to help you understand God's character more deeply and experience the freedom that comes from the gospel of grace. Your support helps keep this Bible teaching ministry on the air, connecting more people with God's Word. Give today at connectwithskip.com/offer or call 800-922-1888 and request your March resource. See you next time.

Skip Heitzig: (Singing) Make a connection. Make a connection at the foot of the cross. Cast your burdens on His Word. Make a connection. A connection.

Guest (Female): Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.