Being good never justified anyone. Only faith does that.
Galatians 3.5-12.
Nor have the really read Paul. He never taught dispensationalism. Doesn’t matter how many
As proven by the fact whenever Paul used proof texts, he didn’t quote Jesus: He quoted the Old Testament. Yep, the part of the bible dispys claim is entirely out-of-date old-covenant stuff. In fact a whole lot of Paul’s quotes actually come from the Law. The Old Testament scriptures “testify of me,” Jesus said,
As he does in today’s text.
Galatians 3.5-11 KWL - 5 So is giving you the Spirit, working power among you
- by working the Law, or by hearing and trusting?
- 6 Like Abraham “trusted God and was deemed righteous by it.”
Ge 15.6 - 7 So understand this: These “children of faith” are like Abraham.
- 8 The scripture, foreseeing how God justifies gentiles by their faith,
- fore-presented the gospel through Abraham—that “all gentiles will be blessed through you.”
Ge 12.3, 18.18, 22.18 - 9 Hence those who act by faith are blessed with Abraham’s faith.
- 10 Whoever works the Law is under its curse, for this is written:
- “Everyone who doesn’t persevere in doing all this book of the Law’s writings, is cursed.”
Dt 27.26 - 11 Clearly no one’s justified under the Law: “The righteous will live by faith.”
Ha 2.4 - 12 And the Law isn’t based on faith, but “One who does them must live by them.”
Lv 18.5
Y’see, legalists were trying to teach the Galatians they had to follow the Law to be saved. You know, exactly like dispensationalists claim people in Old Testament times were saved. But if that were true—if the Law actually had been the way to salvation in the time before Christ Jesus—Paul would’ve presented an entirely different argument. He’d have used the very same line “New Testament Christians” regularly try to use on me: “That’s the old covenant. We live under the new covenant.” (Oh, and don’t forget the condescending tone. I may have been a Christian decades longer than these “New Testament Christian” folks, but somehow they know it all.)
Y'see, the legalists had told the Galatians they had to follow the Law. And if the Law had legitimately been the way to salvation under some previous dispensation, Paul would've presented an entirely different argument. Namely the one “New Testament Christians” try to use on me: “That's the old covenant. We're under the new covenant.” (Don't forget the condescending tone, 'cause even though I've been Christian decades longer than they, somehow they know it all.)
But you’ve been reading my Galatians posts, right? (Hope so.) So you know Paul didn’t take that tack whatsoever. Not even close. He didn’t tell the Galatians, “Those guys are operating out of the old dispensation; Christ inaugurated a new one; get with the program.” It’s “I’m wondering at how you so quickly switched from your calling in Christ’s grace
to another “gospel”—which isn’t another gospel.”
You don’t get supernatural power by following the Law.
Lemme quote verse 5 again.
Galatians 3.5 KWL - So is giving you the Spirit, working power among you
- by working the Law, or by hearing and trusting?
It tends to get skipped as redundant, ’cause Paul said a very similar thing in verse 2,
Galatians 3.2 KWL - I only want to know this from you: Is the Spirit given to you
- by working the Law, or by hearing and trusting?
with the minor addition of
Except this is not a minor addition. Well,
When the Galatians became Christian,
The Spirit visibly, demonstrably did stuff among the Galatians. And, lemme add, despite any wrong beliefs they held, like legalism. Because like Paul said, y’don’t receive the Spirit and power by earning him. We don’t earn God whatsoever. We don’t earn his grace. We don’t earn the things he graciously does for us. Not just
And yeah, that includes empowering wrong-minded people, even heretics, to perform miracles. No I’m not kidding. I’ve seen it happen. I’ve seen
I know. Plenty of Christians—
But this just goes to show how deeply
Contrary to what karma-based thinking would insist, answered prayer and miracles do not mean God endorses the petitioner or miracle-worker. God has his own will. He’ll do what he does either with us, or in spite of us. Paul indicated in 1 Corinthians it’s entirely possible to
Y’see, every human is a flawed creature. Us included, naturally. If the Spirit couldn’t bring himself to empower anyone but perfect people, he’d empower no one. And while we humans might have standards and levels for whom we’d deem worthy of miracles (based on karma, of course), the Spirit lumps us all in the same bunch. Every last one of us is a screw-up in one way or another. But the Spirit’s willing to work with screw-ups to achieve his will. Redeeming us is his speciality.
So, as Paul asked, did the Spirit’s power happen among ’em because they obeyed the Law, or because they heard and believed? Did the Galatians get his power on merit?—because they were good and obedient, and earned it, and deserved it, and it was their power to own and wield and have by right? I could go on, but hopefully you’ve seen how ridiculous the idea is. Nobody earns God’s power. We get it, as Jesus taught us, for one reason alone:
The faith of Abraham.
The L
The L
Genesis 15.6 KWL - Avram believed in the L
ORD , and to the LORD this was considered rightness.
The apostles pointed to this proof text more than once. Because they knew—because everybody in ancient Israel knew—it’s foundational to Abraham and the L
Likewise every human who enters into a relationship with God: We believe him. We trust him. That’s faith, and not only can God work with that, it’s what he wants to work with. Our faith makes us right with him. And God’s gracious salvation, and the indwelling of his Holy Spirit, follow right after.
So how’d the Galatians get the Holy Spirit? They believed, so God gave ’em the Spirit. If they thought it was ’cause they obeyed… well clearly they hadn’t been reading their bibles. (Which, back then, was only the Old Testament. Galatians is arguably the first book written of the New Testament! Yep, even before
For anyone who still insisted the Law was a factor, Paul pointed out the Law kinda bones them:
Deuteronomy 27.26 KWL - “Whoever won’t stand by the Law’s words and do them: They’re cursed.”
- “Amen,” say all the people.
That’s all the words, the apostles point out.
James 2.10-11 KWL - 10 For whoever’d keep the the entire Law could stumble in one command—
- and become guilty of breaking the whole.
- 11 He who said “Don’t adulter”
Ex 20.14 also said “Don’t murder.”Ex 20.13 - If you don’t adulter, yet you do murder, you become a Law-breaker.
It’s not impossible to follow
So: You wanna be right with God? You wanna see power, miracles, get your prayers answered? Then you need to trust him. Not just obey him—and definitely obey him, and keep obeying him. But don’t put your trust in your own obedience; that’s the path to legalism and unfaith. Trust God. He’s the one who saves, cures, and empowers.