Galatians:  Abraham and Justification

Galatians 3:6-9

 

INTRODUCTION:   Paul has asked five questions (3:1-5) to move the Galatians to know justification by faith alone by their experience of salvation and sanctification.  .In verses 3:6-9, he goes about appealing to the Old Testament to prove that we are saved through faith in Christ alone. 

 

THESIS:  The Gospel of Justification by Faith Alone is not new but very old.

 

TEXT

 

VERSE 6 - Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness

·        The Judiazers, those who asserted that you must keep the law in order to be saved, would have taken note of this.  They were proud to be offspring of Abraham.  This is where circumcision got its start.

·        John 8:33 They answered Him, "We are Abraham's offspring, and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that you say, 'You shall become free'?"

·        BEFORE HE WAS CIRCUMCISED, He believed in God’s promises.  When Sarah was 90 years old and barren, God said she would have a son!  Abraham believed God.

·        God considered Abraham righteous on the basis of faith not works!  

 

VERSE 7 - Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham

·        The start and source of their spiritual life is faith – Just as children get their start and source from their parents, the justified one gets his from trust.

·        Paul links the present salvation with the past – saying this has always been the essence of salvation.

·        Romans 3:26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

·        Faith is always the key to justification –

Romans 3:22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;

 

John 3:36 "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

 

John 5:24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

 

 

Col. 2:10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;

 

Micah 7:19 He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

 

VERSE 8 - preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "All the nations shall be blessed in you.

·        The Gospel is not just a New Testament invention, it is Old –

·        God’s intension was to save the Gentile nations through faith from the beginning. 

·        There is coming a fulfillment to this, when all the ends of the earth will come to know the Lord…

 

VERSE 9 - So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.

·        . With Abraham, all those who are of faith, including the Gentiles, are blessed

·        Romans 4:4-5 Now to the one who works, his wage is not reckoned as a favor, but as what is due. 5But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness,

 

·        So then THOSE (and THOSE ALONE) who are of faith are blessed…

 

·        He draws a sharp distinction between those justified who believe and those who would attempt to be just through works.

 

 

THIS IS THE POINT – THE GOSPEL IS NOT NEW BUT OLD – TO ABRAHAM…

 

What Is Justification?

Answer:          Justification Is An Act of God’s Free Grace, Wherein He Pardons All Our Sin, and Accepts Us As Righteous In His Sight, Only For the Righteousness of Christ Imputed To Us, and Received By Faith Alone.

  1. Justification is a forensic term – meaning to declare righteous.
  2. It is an act – a once and for all event that occurs outside of the sinner…this is God’s act…BASED ON GRACE.
  3. All our sin is forgiven
  4. The ground of justification is the righteousness of Christ
  5. We receive it by faith.

 

The whole world is lost in sin – we can not attain perfect righteousness by keeping the law….

The only way of salvation is by God’s grace alone - Romans 4:4  Now to the one who works, his wage is not reckoned as a favor, but as what is due.

 

Romans 3:27 Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith.

 

Romans 3:28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.

 

The Gospel of Justification by Faith Alone is not new but very old.

 

 

It is an insult to God to try to add anything to Christ's finished work. What if a boy was swimming in a lake one day, and began yelling for help. Another young man on shore ran to the water and swam out to rescue the first fellow. In the process of saving the life of the boy who was drowning, the young man lost his life. The two families, who had been observing all of this, were overwhelmed by the unexpected turn of events. The father of the youth who had been saved approached the father of the dead young man to offer his sympathy. "I really can't express how much I appreciate what your boy did, and how sorry I am that he lost his life. But I just happen to have $1.83 on me, and want to offer this to you as an indication of my feelings.

 

We can add nothing to the work of Christ.  We need only to receive its benefits by faith – How about you.