Bible Chapel of Shawnee  
November 18th, 2018  
Galatians series

Big Lessons: Lessons from the book as a whole
 
**Rhetorical theme**: Lessons from the whole book.
 
**Full theme**: Viewed as a whole, the book of Galatians gives us some rich, practical lessons.
 
1. Introduction
    
    1. Final message on Galatians
    2. What can we take away from the book as a whole?
    3. Paul has three big lessons:
        
        1. You can trust the source of the gospel of justification by faith: it comes directly from God
        2. You can trust in the truth of the gospel of justification by faith: there are many proofs, going back all the way to Abraham
        3. You can trust in the freedom the gospel of justification by faith gives you: you wield with love by walking in the Spirit
    4. Through-out the book, several things stood out to me
        
        1. Some obvious and directly stated
        2. Some between the lines, by viewing the book all together
    5. My hope
        
        1. You have some of your own you've learned through our study
        2. Here are some of mine 3. Lesson 1 - It can happen to us
    
    1. It should never have happened to the Galatians
        
        1. They were steadfast believers
            
            1. Called a church (1:2)
            2. Called brethren 9 times (1:11, 3:15, 4:12, 4:28, 4:31, 5:11, 5:13, 6:1, 6:18)
            3. Called children of promise (4:28,31)
            4. Abandoning the gospel (must have been in it) (1:6)
            5. Received the Spirit (3:2)
            6. Suffered for the faith (3:4)
            7. Know/known by God (4:9)
            8. Consequences of taking on circumcision indicate they are in Christ now (5:4)
            9. Were running well (5:7)
        2. They had Paul
            
            1. He preached the gospel to them (1:8)
            2. He cared for them like children (4:19)
        3. They experienced the power of the Gospel (3:5)
    2. So how did it happen?
        
        1. Paul himself not exactly sure (1:6, 4:20)
        2. They listened to false teachers (4:17, 5:10)
    3. Practical application
        
        1. Galatians fell, despite many advantages
        2. It is worth examining ourselves for temptation that we might succumb to an go into legalism
            
            1. Desire for a measure for comparison
            2. Fear we're failing, so false reassurance
        3. Learn discern false from true teachers (6:12)
        4. Key difference: what do they do with Christ?
            
            1. Like major religions
            2. Christ their only boast?
            3. Christ their primary shame?
      
    
4. Lesson 2 - God has always justified by faith
    
    1. To say this, we must know:
        
        1. God justified by faith at the beginning
        2. God never changed His methods
        3. God still does today
    2. These 3 are exactly the proofs chapter 3 gives us
    3. The beginning: Abraham (3:6)
        
        1. Genesis in two parts
            
            1. 1-11: how rebelling leads to death (all the earth)
            2. 12-50: how God will save (one man's family--Abraham)
        2. Abraham, father of all those justified by faith
    4. Never changed: God's promise cannot be undone (3:15-18)
    5. Still today: belonging to Christ makes you an heir of Abraham's promises (3:29)
    6. Practical application
        
        1. Ever been confused by difficult Scriptures?
            
            1. Rich young ruler - Matt 19:16
            2. Live by the Law? - Lev 18:5 - help us pick up the nuance of the requirement of _doing_ all of the Law
        2. Helps to prevent misusing frameworks: dispensationalism (don't go into hyper-dispensationalism)
      
    
5. Lesson 3 - The purpose of the Law
    
    1. My main goal in wanting to study Galatians--how does the Law relate to us today?
    2. Clear what it is not intended to do
        
        1. Never to justify (2:16, 3:11)
        2. Never to give life (3:21)
    3. Clear what it IS intended to do
        
        1. Reveal sin (3:19)
        2. Point us to Christ (3:22-24)
    4. Practical application
        
        1. Parts of the Law
            
            1. Sacrificial/ceremonial - out because of Christ
            2. Temple operations - no temple
            3. Civil - we're not Israel
            4. Moral/ten commandments - point us to Christ
        2. Remind us of our need for Christ
        3. Show others their shortcoming before God's righteousness, to lead them to Christ (1 Tim. 1:8-9)
        4. Great example: Ray Comfort's method
      
    
6. Lesson 4 - Walking in the Spirit produces His fruit
    
    1. Hard concept for me grasp--what does it mean to walk in the Spirit?
    2. Two things clear
        
        1. No list of deeds that make up "walking by the Spirit"
            
            1. Except…it's not the deeds of the flesh (5:16)
            2. The deeds of the flesh are evident, the deeds of the Spirit are not? (5:19)
        2. It will produce the fruit of the Spirit (5:22-24)
            
            1. Not necessarily the deeds of the Spirit
            2. The fruit the Spirit produces in us as we walk in Him
    3. Practical application
        
        1. Evaluate past actions - did it produce the fruit of the Spirit in me?
        2. Choose future actions - what, most likely, will produce the fruit of the Spirit?
            
            1. Know His word (we can't predict the future)
            2. Trust His commandments are right
      
    
7. Lesson 5 - Pursue those who are straying
    
    1. Paul's example of pursuing the Galatians
    2. Observations of how Paul went about it
        
        1. Took the time
            
            1. Not as easy to write a letter and deliver it as it is today
            2. Long letter
            3. Lots of explanation
            4. Lots of doctrine
            5. Lots of thought
        2. Direct with the truth
            
            1. Abandoning the gospel (1:6)
            2. Behaving is foolish (3:1)
            3. Blunt with the consequences (5:2-5)
        3. Explains Scriptural truth (chapters 3 and 4)
        4. Explains practical application (chapters 5 and 6)
        5. Reminds them of their close relationship
            
            1. How they met (4:12-18)
            2. Calls them his children (4:19)
            3. Wants to be with them (4:20)
            4. Calls them brethren throughout and up to the end (6:18)
    3. Practical application
        
        1. Need to be close to people--personal relationships
            
            1. Time
            2. Willingness to attach
        2. Need to have a firm grasp on wielding Scripture to use is accurately, gently and lovingly
        3. Need to take the time to go after people
      
    
8. Conclusion
    
    1. Wonderful summarizing (in my mind) thought from Warren Wiersbe:￼
    
    The contrast between works and fruit is important. A machine in a factory works, and turns out a product, but it could never manufacture fruit. Fruit must grow out of life, and, in the case of the believer, it is the life of the Spirit (Gal. 5:25). When you think of “works” you think of effort, labor, strain, and toil; when you think of “fruit” you think of beauty, quietness, the unfolding of life. The flesh produces “dead works” (Heb. 9:14), but the Spirit produces living fruit. And this fruit has in it the seed for still more fruit (Gen. 1:11). Love begets more love! Joy helps to produce more joy!
    
      
    
    Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 719). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
    
      
    6. If we want living fruit to grow and multiply in our lives, we'll take the lessons of Galatians to heart:
        
        1. Spurning the temptation to measure our righteousness
        2. Embracing the act of faith of walking in the Spirit