Galatians 6:17 - From now on let no one cause trouble for me, for I bear on my body the brand-marks of Jesus.
5 blessings that come from the genuine gospel:
1. You received the Spirit (v. 2)
2. You began (your Christian life) by the Spirit (v. 3)
3. You experienced Christian growth (v. 3)
4. You suffered meaningfully (v. 4)
5. He worked mightily (v. 5)
4 Scriptural proofs that gospel benefits come by faith
Proof #1: Righteousness Has Always Come by Faith
Galatians 3:6 - Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.
Galatians 3:11 - Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “The righteous man shall live by faith.”
A. Righteousness came by faith prior to the Mosaic Law and prior to circumcision
Genesis 12:3 - And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.
Romans 4:7-10 - Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account. Is this blessing then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, “Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.” How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised…
B. Righteousness came by faith during the time of the Mosaic Law
Galatians 3:11 - Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “The righteous man shall live by faith.”
Habakkuk 3:17-19 - Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, and makes me walk on my high places.
Proof #2: The Blessing of Abraham Is For Those Who Exercise Faith
Galatians 3:8 - The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.
Genesis 18:17-18 - The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, since Abraham will surely become a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed?
Genesis 22:18 - In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.
Romans 4:11-13 - …and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them, and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised. For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.
Proof #3: Cursed Is Everyone Who Fails to Keep the Entire Law = Everyone
Galatians 3:10 - For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.”
Galatians 3:12 - However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, “He who practices them shall live by them.”
Leviticus 18:5 - So you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, by which a man may live if he does them; I am the Lord.
Deuteronomy 27:26 - “Cursed is he who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.” And all the people shall say, “Amen.”
Proof #4: Jesus Redeemed Us From the Just Curse by Becoming a Curse For Us
Galatians 3:13 - Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us–for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”– in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Deuteronomy 21:22-23 - If a man has committed a sin worthy of death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is accursed of God), so that you do not defile your land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance.
1 Peter 2:24 - …and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.
2 Corinthians 5:21 - He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Galatians 3:8 - The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.”
1. Meditate on the wonderful blessings associated with your salvation and the gift of the Spirit and then thank the Lord for them.
2. Be compelling as you share your faith. The model described in vv. 1-14 included both our personal experience and the Scripture.
3. Grow in your understanding of how the Bible uses the Bible to show God’s overall master plan.
4. Be thoughtful about other truth claims and the “cost” associated with it.
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