How can I be accepted by God? I must trust in Jesus for that acceptability.
I can only be saved by what Jesus did in His life and death.
The guarantee that God will accept me if I trust in Jesus is found in the fact that God resurrected Jesus, thereby vindicating His life and death.
The Galatia church had been taught these truths, but the Judaizers had come along and convinced them that faith alone is not enough to be made acceptable before God. When the Apostle Paul heard this he exclaimed, “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?” (Gal 3:1)
“Fools!” That is a strong word. I do not recommend using this word when you send an email to one of your congregates. But fools they are that do not realize that the New Covenant fulfilled the Old Covenant or that preach a faith plus works salvation or that try to mesh Judaism and Christianity as a single religion or that believe that only Jews are Abraham’s offspring (Gal 3:29).
The Greek term ebaskanen means “to cast a spell or hypnotize someone or bewitched”. As you should know, witchcraft in the Bible is always associated with demonic influence. Philip G. Ryken rightly notes that doctrinal error has two primary sources: human ignorance and demonic malevolence. The church at Galatia had both problems. It is possible for the Devil to use the Old Testament to deceive people, especially when they are ignorant of the New Testament. The Judaizers desired for the Galatians to interpret NT doctrines in light of the Old Testament rather than the other way around.
The solution to this problem is to go back to the Gospel. Paul said, “O foolish Galatians, Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?” (Gal 3:1-2)
Indeed, the proclamation of the Gospel is our only hope to overcome human ignorance and demonic doctrines. We must preach Jesus, his life and death and resurrection. He is the only and all-sufficient Savior.
Hebrews 7:1-10, in fact, teaches that the Law of Moses with its priesthood stands upon the greater foundation of the gospel of Christ, represented by Melchizedek who blessed Abraham. Faith in Christ is the foundation of the Law of Moses. The Law keeps before us the reality that we are sinners in need of a Savior (Gal 3:22).
Jesus fulfilled the righteous demands of God (the Law of Moses), paid for the sins of His elect, ascended into Heaven taking His seat at the right hand of God (the Davidic Throne), and there serves as our king and priest (Heb 8:1-6). Hebrews 9:12 teaches us that Jesus “secured an eternal redemption” for us, fulfilling the Old Covenant. The Galatians were acting as if Jesus had not. And there are still some today who are looking for a Temple to be rebuilt in Jerusalem, for sacrifices to be made, and even for Jesus to come to live upon this earth as our High Priest. But Hebrews 8:4 clearly teaches that Jesus will not ever do such for He would not fit the OC regulations according Hebrews 8:5. Jesus’ ministry is a “more excellent” one, not that the first covenant was faulty but that the New Covenant is more glorious.
We shall expand these thoughts soon…
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Jason Robertson is a husband and a father and a pastor. He is dedicated to leading and equipping his the Church with God’s word and biblical theology for life ministry, using a combination of pastoral, church planting and evangelism experience. He holds a Master of Divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He is experienced in church planting, evangelism, missions, and the training of pastors and Bible teachers.
Jason has been preaching the gospel since 1985, serving the first ten years of ministry as a Southern Baptist itinerant evangelist out of Milldale Baptist Church in Zachary, LA which ordained him in 1993. He has preached in hundreds of churches in over 30 States and 4 countries. He planted churches in Siberia, Russia in the summers of 1993 and 1994. He founded Murrieta Valley Church in California, which he planted in cooperation with the SBC NAMB in 2001. He also teaches ministry students at California Baptist University.
You can hear his sermons and read his manuscripts on sermonaudio.com. Just follow the link to "sermons" at the top of this page.
“It is possible for the Devil to use the Old Testament to deceive people, especially when they are ignorant of the New Testament.”
Is that why this is dogeared under dispensationalism?
To be clear, I do not think that Dispy’s are ignorant of the NT. But I know for a fact that their interpretation of the New Covenant is faulty due to bad hermeneutics. Did the Devil make ‘em do it? Well, I know that he is always pleased when the Bible is misinterpreted.
Dispensationalism destroys the continuity of the Scripture. Dispensationalism destroys the glory of the church, viewing it as something seperate from the OT church. etc. etc.
BTW, Galatians and Hebrews are excellent books to help lead someone out of Dispensationalism.
Something like this (that I had forwarded to me by a dispensationalist apologetics ministry)?
“First of all, please notice that this New Covenant was not promised to a new people called Christians, but to God’s own people, the house of Israel,”
Jason, you said, “Jesus’ ministry is a “more excellent” one, not that the first covenant was faulty but that the New Covenant is more glorious.”
Why did you say that when we see this said in Hebrews 8:7
“For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.”
James, you quoted verse 7 of Hebrews 8 and claimed that the OC was faulty. Actually the point of verse 7 is explained in verse 8. Namely, the so called problem of the OC was the infidelity of the people — not a problem with the Covenant. The fault lies squarely with the people. Romans 8:3 and 2 Corinthians 3 affirm this. The OC was inadequate to save such people — but the NC does for it transforms the hearts of such people (see v.10).
I know we have had this conversation before — if I remember right you were defending NCT. I don’t know if you still are a NCT proponent, but the difference between us is as simple as what is defined above.
We are close, but I see more continuity between the covenants. You see the fault as existing in the covenant; whereas, I see the fault existing in the people. But this problem was decreed and necessary to make way for the New Covenant. Indeed, I believe the NC would not be the NC without the OC.
Thanks again for your question.
I hope that we agree that doubting God’s word when it is revealed to us is a sin.
“It is possible for the Devil to use the Old Testament to deceive people, especially when they are ignorant of the New Testament.”
And vice verse, right? The OT is the source text for much of the explanations given by the writers of the new as you demonstrate by quoting Hebrews. There is a proverb that goes something like this. “A wise man brings from his treasures things both old and new.”
‘It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?”‘
Is Paul just speaking of his testimony to the Galations? Acts 2, though it does not mention Galatia directly, it is in the middle of the regions that are mentioned. Is it possible then that some of those whom Paul was addressing were eye witnesses to the events of the passion and resurrection? Keeping in mind that the men sent from James included Peter who was an eye witness, also. This confirms for us just how powerful the enemy is and accounts for the outrage of surprise in Paul. Beyond that, he was the father in the faith to many of them and he above all would know the gospel that he preached was without the errors he was now facing. Link this together with the cares of this world that make the word unfruitful, and Hebrews 12 where we are admonished to fix our eyes on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, and we have ample motivation for the enemies of the cross to undermine the promises of security in the faith begun by the Spirit. Confidence, the empowering motivator of faith that produces fruit, is grounded in that true knowledge that he will never leave us nor forsake us.
“We must preach Jesus, his life and death and resurrection.”
I believe that this is a key to why so many repeatedly fall into the Galatian’s error. More often than not we hear that baptism represents our turning from sin, dying with Christ and living in the newness of resurrection life. Though all this should be true of the believer it is not what baptism represents. Baptism is our identification with, as you said, his life, his death and his resurrection. Our point of entrance is his death. If we get the order backwards and place repentance and obedience before the subsitutionary nature and purposes of the incarnation, both the passive and active obedience of Christ, the tendancy is to begin the Christian walk based on works because of a misunderstanding of the nature of faith, and then to continue pursuing them as a means to gain and maintain favor with God.
“Faith in Christ is the foundation of the Law of Moses. The Law keeps before us the reality that we are sinners in need of a Savior (Gal 3:22).”
This is often lacking in many churches. Law convicts, it does not provide the means for its fulfillment, remembering that the sacrifices were products of the works of sinful mens hands brought before a holy God. We see fulfillment in Christ, alone, because he brought himself, begotten by the Holy hand of God. Sadly, you are correct. A misunderstanding to the continuity of the O and N covenants in such a way that we do not know God as both Just Judge and Merciful Savior, leads many to believe that they must placate the Judge to receive mercy. Without a proper understanding of the propitiatory, substitutionary sacrifice of Christ on the behalf of sinners we will, and we all often do, fall back upon self-effort.
What is so marvelous about faith in Christ is captured in this, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he has made us accepted in the Beloved.” “It is finished.”
The very nature of Covenant would dictate that if the OC was faulty as James defined it, then God Himself is faulty.
aaron, there is no need to be overly simplistic about the issue. I asked Jason an honest question about a verse to understand his perspective.
From the perspective of a NCT advocate, the fault in the OC was not because it was evil, but because it was temporary and incomplete and insufficient in and of itself.
James, why was the OC insufficient? The answer to that question goes to the heart of the CT vs NCT debate.
Here is a great article which helps people to understand that Paul didn’t invent something new when he said not all Israel is Israel…it is found with Abraham! Nathan Pitchford is an exceptional writer so you’ll enjoy this.
http://pitch.fitzage.com/2005/06/19/land-seed-and-blessing-in-the-abrahamic-covenant/