Galatians 3:6-9
⁶ Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. ⁷ Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. ⁸ And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. ⁹ So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
TRANSCRIPT
I greet all of you in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Our texts for today's message is taken from Galatians chapter 3 verse 6 to 9. Allow me to read for you Galatians chapter 3 verse 6, “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.” Verse 8, “And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.” The Lord bless the reading of His holy and sacred Word.
Let us recap what we had learned in our previous message. The Apostle Paul was defending the pure gospel of grace because the false teachers were teaching a gospel plus something else. It was a false gospel: it was a gospel plus a circumcision, or ceremonies, rituals, and requirements of the old covenant. So, Paul reminded the Galatians how they were saved in the first place. Although our testimony, in itself, is not an absolute, reliable, spiritual evidence, because it is very subjective it can be false, and it can be misunderstood. But when our testimony is built on spiritual truth, it is a very powerful defence.
That was exactly what Paul did. He asked the Galatians to consider their testimonies in the light of what the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and God the Father had done in their lives. Firstly, he said, ‘Remember the work of Christ through the preaching of the gospel message. You were brought to the foot of the cross and you saw how Jesus was crucified for you. And you were crucified with him. You were saved and transformed by the powerful gospel in the crucified Christ. How could you be so foolish to go back to Judaism and believe in Jesus plus something else?’ It is Christ and Christ alone, plus nothing else.
Secondly, he said to them, ‘Remember the work of the Holy Spirit. Did you receive the Holy Spirit through the work of the law? Was it through some special ceremonies or rituals that were performed? Or did you receive the Holy Spirit at the very same moment you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour?’ The answer was very obvious. We receive the Holy Spirit at the very same moment we believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour.
Thirdly, he said, ‘Remember the work of the Father: He was the One who has given you the Spirit and through the Spirit he was transforming your life, moment by moment. You know your own testimonies; you know your own transformed lives. Whether it is the work of your heavenly Father, or it is your own effort?’ But it was not as if the Apostle Paul did not know that the people would challenge and argue, that it was not sufficient to just talk about a person's personal testimony. Because – as we have said – it can be very deceiving. That is the reason why he now turned to a higher authority, and that was the Holy Scriptures. And from the Holy Scriptures he quoted a very important person whom the Jews looked up to, and that was none other than Abraham.
You see, the false teachers had thought that in order to be saved, the Gentiles must first become Jewish: get circumcised, obey the law of Moses, before they could be Christians. They supported their erroneous doctrine through a twisted interpretation of the Old Testament. By the way, even today there are some people who believe that the Old Testament teaches that you are saved by works, and the New Testament teaches that you are saved by grace. That is not true; the Bible does not teach that. God is consistent in both the Old and New Testaments: salvation is always by grace, through faith. So, all Paul needed to do was to take the Old Testament and – in a sense – say to the people, ‘You believe in Abraham, right? Then, let us consider Abraham. How was Abraham saved?’ That is what this passage is all about.
The title of our message is: ‘Saved by Faith’. As I've often said, Paul was very systematic in the way he presented the Holy Scriptures. And here is an excellent example of the way he articulated God's truth. There are several Bible passages that we will need to turn to, to help us to better understand these four verses in Galatians chapter 3 verse 6 to 9.
I. Abraham was saved by faith
Our first point is: ‘Abraham was saved by faith’. Let us begin with verse 6, “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness”. To be “saved” means to be justified. Justification is a judicial act, in which God legally declares a sinner to be righteous. And He imputes to that sinner the righteousness of Jesus Christ. To “impute” means to put into one's account; that is the meaning of “it was counted to him for righteousness”. When the sinner trusts in Jesus, Christ’s righteousness is put to his account, and his sins are no longer put to his account. In other words, his record is always clean before God. And therefore, the believer can never be brought into judgment for his sins. As Romans 8 verse 1 tells us, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus”. Why no condemnation? Because that believer has already been justified, declared righteous, never to be brought again into judgment. Now, the question is: how was Abraham saved? How was he declared righteous before God? On the basis of circumcision or on the basis of faith?
Abraham was the father of the Jewish people. The Judaizers would often use Abraham as a proof, that circumcision was necessary to please God; circumcision was necessary to be accepted by God. And they would always use two passages in the Bible as proof texts to support this teaching, that circumcision was necessary for salvation. The first text would be Genesis 12 verse 1 to 4. Maybe you can turn with me to this passage: Genesis 12 verse 1 to 4. After God had called Abraham to come out of the Ur of the Chaldaeans, He gave this promise: “I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” So, the covenant or promise of blessing was given to all families of the earth. To be “blessed” means to be the recipients of God's love, grace and mercy. It is worthy to note, at this point in time, that Abraham had no children; he was childless.
Now, turn with me to Genesis 17 verse 9 to 10. Abraham and his descendants were commanded to circumcise, and that would be a sign of God's covenant, “And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.” If you look down to verse 24, “And Abraham was ninety years old and nine”, which means 99 years old, “when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin” – the cutting off of the foreskin signified the need to cut away sin from the heart.
So, using these two portion of Scriptures, the Judaizers would argue: ‘See, if all the families of the earth want to be blessed, if they want to be recipients of God’s love, grace and mercy, if they want to be saved, if they want to have a share of the promised blessing given to Abraham, then they have to be like Abraham and be circumcised. Why? Because Abraham was commanded to be circumcised, and he obeyed God.’ But Paul said that that was not true.
Back to our text in Galatians 3 verse 6, “Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” This was actually quoted from Genesis 15 verse 6, almost word for word. You see, God's promise was given in Genesis chapter 12. But after about 10 years later, Abraham's wife Sarah was still childless and Abraham prayed in Genesis 15 verse 2. This is what he said to God, “Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?” In other words, ‘What can you give me? Lord God, you promised to make me a great nation, but I still continue to be childless. The one who will probably inherit my household will be this servant Eliezer of Damascus. I have no sons; I have no children; only this servant Eliezer.’ ‘The Lord then took Abraham outside and said’, in verse 5, “Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars” – or count the stars – “if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.” Then we come to this most amazing verse 6, ‘Abraham believed God’, “and he counted it to him for righteousness.”
So, at this point in time (Gen 15:6), Abraham had already believed God and he was declared righteous. He was already justified, he was already saved. But it was only 14 years later – in Genesis chapter 17 – that the command for circumcision was given. So, was Abraham saved before or after his circumcision? Before. Abraham was already declared righteous when he believed God – way, way before his circumcision. That was how Paul explained the sequence to the Galatians. Circumcision was only a sign; it was not the means of salvation. It was the physical sign given to the Jewish people to maintain separation between Israel and the other nations. It was a physical sign given to them that they might solely be God's people, and shine as a testimony in this unbelieving world.
My friends, just like today, there are some people who look to baptism thinking that baptism is the means of salvation: unless you be baptised, you are not saved. Baptism does not save. Baptism is the outward sign of an inward faith. The person who is being baptised is already saved. If he or she truly believed God, that person would come forward and outwardly profess his or her faith and allegiance to God. Baptism does not save us, just as circumcision does not save.
I know of a Christian mother whose son died of a heart attack several years ago. Her son had never openly professed that he believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. But he had heard the gospel, he knew the Bible to a certain extent. Whenever his mother talked to him about Christ and the gospel, he did not reject it, in fact, he would agree with her. But he had never openly professed faith in Jesus Christ. He died. It is the heart-wrenching prayer of his mother that deep in the son's heart he had cried out to God for salvation. It is a heart-wrenching prayer of the mother that perhaps even at the last moment, when he had a heart attack, he had heard sufficient message of the gospel, to cried out to Jesus for salvation. Is that possible? Surely, that is possible.
But if baptism is necessary for salvation, then it will be impossible. All those people who were lying on their deathbeds, at the last moment of their lives, they cried out to Jesus to save them, they would still be eternally lost. Why? Because there was no pastor, at that crucial moment, to baptise them. That is a terrible lie! Baptism does not save us, attending church, worshiping, serving God, giving of your tithes and offerings does not save us. All these spiritual exercises are good and beneficial. You and I do all these things only after we are saved. We are saved by faith alone, plus nothing else. Salvation is by faith alone. Abraham was already justified, declared righteous, when he believed God, way, way before his circumcision. That was Paul's first argument.
II. The Gentiles were saved by faith
Our second point is: ‘The Gentiles were saved by faith’. Look at verse 7, “Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.” To help us to better understand this verse, let us turn to John 8 verse 31. During Jesus time, the Jews would put a lot of emphasis on being the physical descendants of Abraham; they were very proud to be the descendants of Abraham. Jesus was speaking to those Jews who had believed in Him. Jesus said, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham's seed,” – they were speaking about being physical descendants of Abraham – “and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?” (John 8:31-33).
From a historical point of view, their answer was obviously ridiculous. Because throughout history, they were in bondage many times. They were in the bondage of the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians. At this very moment, they were under the Romans. So, to say that ‘we were never under the bondage of any man’ — that was absurd. But Jesus was speaking about things spiritual, not physical. Verse 34, “Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.” Verse 37, “I know that ye are Abraham's seed”, which means, ‘I know that you are the physical descendants of Abraham’; “but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you.” Verse 39, “They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father.” – now they try to claim that they were both the spiritual and physical descendants of Abraham; ‘Jesus saith unto them, If ye be Abraham's spiritual children, ye would do the works of Abraham.’ – you are not the spiritual children of Abraham. Verse 44, “Ye are of your father the devil” which means you are the spiritual children of the Devil.
The point Jesus was making was that: no matter what physical lineage a person may have, if he does not have faith in God, he is not a spiritual descendant of Abraham. If he is not a descendant of Abraham spiritually, if he is not a child of God, then he remains as a child of the Devil. That is a most frightening thought, isn't it? Do you realise that there are only two types of people on this earth? Believers and unbelievers, heaven-bound and hell-bound, children of God and children of the Devil. If you are not a child of God, what is your spiritual condition? You are a child of the Devil and your eternal home will be the Lake of Fire. Some people will boast about coming from a Christian family: “My parents are Christians, my grandparents are Christians or even my great-grandparents are Christians.’ Does that mean you are automatically saved? Most certainly not! The question is: do you believe? The question is: are you a child of God?
One theologian rightly said this, ‘God has no grandchildren. God only has children.’ And you must make sure that you are a child of God by believing in Jesus Christ. No one can save you except Jesus saves. So here, Paul was making the same point to the Galatians, but he said it in a positive way, ‘If you genuinely believe,’ – that is the meaning of “they which are of faith” (Gal 3:7) – ‘then you are a spiritual descendant of Abraham, you are a child of God.’
Then he returned back to the promise in Genesis 12:2-3. Remember a moment ago we read about God's promise to Abraham: “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed”? “All families of the earth” means the Gentiles receiving God's love, grace and mercy. In other words, the Gentiles could be saved. You and I are Gentiles. The question is: how are we saved?
How are the Gentiles saved? Paul explained in verse 8. Look at verse 8, “And the scripture” – a reference to the Word of God recorded in Genesis 12:2-3 — “the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.” So, when God gave the promise to Abraham, it was the gospel, it was the good news that heathens like you and me, Gentiles, could be saved. And the way they could be saved was through faith alone. Nothing about circumcision. It was faith and faith alone. It was through the promise or covenant that God had made with Abraham that all nations shall be blessed.
Whether Jews or Gentiles, they are all saved in the same way by faith alone. When the Gentile is saved, he's saved as a Gentile; just as when a Jew is saved, he's saved as a Jew. It has nothing to do with one's race. It's nothing to do with one's nationality, culture, language or gender. It is about one thing and one thing only: faith, you must believe. And it is only by faith, that a man or a woman can be saved. That is why, verse 9 says, “So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.” The phrase “faithful Abraham” can be translated as ‘with Abraham the believer’. Just as Abraham was blessed, he was saved, when he believed. You and I, when we believe God, we are blessed and saved as well.
My friends, on the cross of Calvary, when our Lord Jesus uttered those last words: ‘It is finished’, do you believe Him? When we say, ‘We believe that the work of salvation was finished’; when we sing, ‘Jesus paid it all’, do we really believe that He has paid it all? Everything? But if we believe in faith plus good works, or faith plus baptism, or faith plus anything – as long as we add something to our faith for salvation – we are declaring that the work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary is not sufficient: it is not sufficient to save us. That is the reason why the idea of ‘we must believe plus something else’ – God forbids. True gospel is faith plus nothing else, Christ plus nothing else, it is by His grace plus nothing else, the Bible and the Bible alone, and all to the glory of God.
Sadly, sometimes we are just like someone who tries to put on makeup. Why do I say that? Because we want to look good before God, thinking that we are able to appear good before God. D. L. Moody once shared this illustration about an artist who wanted to paint a picture of a sinner. He (the artist) searched through the streets, poor houses and prisons to find a man wretched enough to represent the sinner, but he could not find one. One day he was walking down the street and met a poor beggar whom he thought would fit the description. He told the poor beggar, he would pay him well if he could come to his house so that he could paint a picture of him. The beggar agreed and a day was appointed for him to come. The day came and a man appeared on the doorstep of the artist's house. The artist did not know him and said, ‘I’ve never seen you before. Is there anything I can do for you?’ The man replied, ‘But we had an appointment for you to paint a picture of me.” The artist said, ‘You must be mistaken. I was expecting to see a beggar at this hour.’ The man replied, ‘Well, I’m the beggar. I thought I would dress myself a bit before I got painted.’ Of which the artist said, ‘Then, I do not want you. I wanted you to come as you were. Now you are of no use to me.’
That is an illustration of how sinful men would try to come before God with all the outward facades: with his good works and efforts, with his accomplishments, his achievements, his services, his givings, his successes and so forth. All those things mean nothing to God. God wants us to come to Him with nothing of our own. But simply clinging onto the cross, to the finish work of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who was crucified on the cross, He shed His precious blood to wash away all our sins. He died, He was buried, but death cannot consume Him. On the third day, He rose again from the dead. Because He lives, you and I shall live also.
My friends, we are saved by faith and faith alone. We are saved by clinging onto the cross. Don't come before God with anything of our own; it will mean nothing. Faith plus something else is not faith at all. It is faith and faith alone – plus nothing else. Cling onto the cross as the hymn ‘Rock of Ages’ says, “In my hands no prize I bring” – nothing I bring, absolutely nothing – “Simply to thy cross I cling” – only the cross of Calvary I cling, the old rugged cross. Let us pray.
Our Father in heaven, we thank Thee for this opportunity for us to consider this portion of Scriptures. Indeed, what can we bring before Thee? Nothing. In our hands no prize we bring, simply to the cross we cling. We cling onto the old rugged cross, believing in the perfect finish work of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Salvation is truly by faith and faith alone. Help us to remember this. Help us to teach this in our church, in our Sunday school, in our own families. Help us to remember that there are only two types of people on this Earth: believers and unbelievers, children of God and children of the Devil. And we pray that, as we remain faithful to Thy precious Word, teaching our children that their salvation is only by faith alone, that Thou be gracious to save them, that they will ultimately be the children of God. Oh Lord, strengthen our faith, teach us to do what Thou would want us to do, and teach what Thou want us to teach. We pray all this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
SERMON OUTLINE
THE BOOK OF GALATIANSA Letter To The GalatiansA Letter To The GalatiansGalatians 1:1-5
The Danger of Preaching Another GospelThe Danger of Preaching Another GospelGalatians 1:6-9
Be a God-pleaser, not Men-pleaserBe a God-pleaser, not Men-pleaserGalatians 1:10-12
But When It Pleased GodBut When It Pleased GodGalatians 1:13-24
Standing for the Truth of the GospelStanding for the Truth of the GospelGalatians 2:1-5
One Gospel, Different MinistriesOne Gospel, Different MinistriesGalatians 2:6-10
The Need to Confront Sin (Part 2)The Need to Confront Sin (Part 2)Galatians 2:14-16
The Need to Confront Sin (Part 3)The Need to Confront Sin (Part 3)Galatians 2:17-19
Dead, Yet Alive!Dead, Yet Alive!Galatians 2:20-21
Remember How You Were Saved!Remember How You Were Saved!Galatians 3:1-5
Saved by FaithSaved by FaithGalatians 3:6-9
The Age Old Promise of the GospelThe Age Old Promise of the GospelGalatians 3:6-18
Christ Bore Our CurseChrist Bore Our CurseGalatians 3:10-14
Will God Keep His Promise?Will God Keep His Promise?Galatians 3:15-18
Why Then Have the Law?Why Then Have the Law?Galatians 3:19-22
What the Law Meant to Us?What the Law Meant to Us?Galatians 3:23-29
The Son of God Became the Son of ManThe Son of God Became the Son of ManGalatians 4:1-7
No More a Servant and Child, But a SonNo More a Servant and Child, But a SonGalatians 4:1-7
Until Christ Be Formed In YouUntil Christ Be Formed In YouGalatians 4:8-20
Freedom in Christ or Bondage to WorksFreedom in Christ or Bondage to WorksGalatians 4:21-5:1
By Faith Or By Works!By Faith Or By Works!Galatians 5:2-6
The Dangers of False TeachersThe Dangers of False TeachersGalatians 5:7-12
The Christian FreedomThe Christian FreedomGalatians 5:13-15
The Works of the FleshThe Works of the FleshGalatians 5:19-21
The Fruit of the Spirit (Part 2)The Fruit of the Spirit (Part 2)Galatians 5:22-25
Restoring the Sinning BrotherRestoring the Sinning BrotherGalatians 5:26-6:5
Restoring the Sinning BrethrenRestoring the Sinning BrethrenGalatians 5:26-6:6
You Shall Reap What You SowYou Shall Reap What You SowGalatians 6:7-10
Living for the Praise of MenLiving for the Praise of MenGalatians 6:11-13
Living for the Glory of GodLiving for the Glory of GodGalatians 6:14-18
