Ignoring the Obvious

Series on Galatians

II The Apostolic Assertions

A The Preposterous

Text: 3:1-5

Introduction

We begin our study of chapters 3 and 4 wherein the Apostle sets forth a series of compelling grounds that demonstrate how hard-headed and foolish the Galatian Christians have been in listening to the Judaizers who were trying to bring them out of the freedom of forgiveness into bondage. He begins in 3:1-5 with a series of facts that should have been self-evident. They were ignoring the obvious. Civil courts have decided that people are responsible for their actions when they could have known and should have known something and strove not to see it. It is called willful blindness and it probably describes the people to whom Paul writes. It is a legal precedent that began in the nineteenth century. Business leaders are writing thoughtful and entertaining treatises on the seductiveness, and consequences of ignoring what’s right in front of our eyes. In the scandal concerning Rupert Murdoch and News International in Britain, the Murdochs were accused of willful blindness. An article in the magazine, New Statesman said, “This is characteristic of an age when some companies are not just too big to fail, but too big to govern. So whether it’s twenty-first century companies or first century churches, human nature is plagued with the flaw of ignoring the obvious. In our text Paul sets forth four reasons that these believers have been foolish and they are what they have seen, what they have received, what they have experienced and the miracles to which they have been exposed. We shall call these the sight, the supply, the suffering, and the signs.

I The Sight

First the Apostle says in verse 1, You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. This statement implies that the people understood that they could not be saved part from Jesus’ sacrifice. That sacrifice was both necessary and sufficient and they had seen it clearly as if they were going down the road and saw it on a billboard, or as if they viewed it on the Broadway stage. Our Westminster Catechism tells us that the Second commandment forbids images or depictions of all or any of the persons of the Trinity outwardly in art or inwardly in our mind. The reason God does not want us to do that is that He has given us a perfect picture in the words of the Bible, and no graphic representation can do justice to that word picture. This is the portrayal Paul is talking about here. They have seen it. They have contemplated the truth of it and now they were acting like fools and rejecting it. Once, as a boy, I found some Iron pyrite. If you have seen it you know that it is a stone with very distinct lines of gold in it. I thought I had something valuable. I learned, however, that another name for that mineral is Fool’s Gold. If you were a miner and you brought fool’s gold to the market expecting to make a fortune, you would end up a fool who couldn’t tell what has real value from what is worthless. Such were the Galatians. Unlike the man in Jesus’ parable who saw a pearl of great price and went and sold everything he had to buy it, the Galatians were passing the treasure by like it was nothing. The Bible reminds us in Psalm 14 that the fool has said in his heart that there is no God, In The sixth decade of the twentieth century we were confronted with atheism in the church through John Robinson’s “Honest to God” and Bishop Pike’s “ A Time for Christian Candor.” Now many think we are better off because instead of no belief and the “God is Dead” philosophy we have the widespread view that anything goes and all gods and all beliefs and all religions are OK. This post-modernism is just another brand of foolishness. Exclusivity is a leading characteristic of true religion. Jesus said in John 14:6 that there is no other way than His way. His way is grace. All other ways are the way of fools.

II The Supply

In verses 2 and 3 the Apostle talks about the blessings they had received. The abundant supply of grace should have been unforgettable, I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Paul’s questions move from the experience of the preaching of the cross of Christ to the experience of the Spirit. The two are linked: the cross opens the door for the Spirit, and the experience of the Spirit is the result of faith in the message of the cross of Christ. That the evidence of the Spirit’s entrance into their lives was clear enables Paul to use it in his argument. Their baptism is noted by Paul in the 27th verse of chapter 3 where he says that they had clothed themselves in Christ and again in 4:6 where he mentions that they had experienced the Father’s love through the Spirit calling out “Abba, Father,” in their hearts. Paul is saying that either God’s blessing depends on joining a certain group or attaining a certain level of approval or it depends on the Spirit and these are mutually exclusive. In our own day there are many spiritual fads that are popular because sincere Christian people have often felt that belonging to a new and innovative religious method or group would enhance their spirituality. They sometimes conform to extreme requirements to gain acceptance. There are leaders who love to attract followings through such demagoguery. Such were the Judaizers and Paul exposes their soapbox teaching as corrupt and evil. We began our Christian lives at the cross and by the Holy Spirit and that is the only way we can progress.

III The Suffering

In verse 4 according to the New International translation, Paul argues the folly of forsaking Christ alone after what the Galatians have suffered, Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? The Greek word translated suffer is “pascho” which basically means “to experience something that comes from outside.” The “something” is usually bad, and while a neutral use develops, the idea of suffering evil remains so strong that an addition is needed to show that good is meant unless the context is very plain. From this word we get pathetic, sympathy, pathological and other such words, all dealing with pain and suffering. Evidently several translations thought it should be translated, Have you experienced so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? I am persuaded from the force of the word and from other Scripture that Paul meant suffer, because the Galatians did suffer for their faith. The book of Acts describes this in 13:50 where we learn of Paul’s experience in the region of Galatia, But the Jews influenced the gentlewomen of rank who worshipped with them, and also the leading men in the city, and stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of the district. The account continues in 14:2, 5, and 19, But the Jews who had refused obedience stirred up the Gentiles and embittered their minds against the brethren…And when a hostile movement was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with the sanction of their magistrates, to maltreat and stone them, the Apostles, having become aware of it, made their escape…But now a party of Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and, having won over the crowd, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the town, believing him to be dead. And Luke adds in verses 21 and 22, After proclaiming the Good News to the people there and gaining a large number of converts, they retraced their steps to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch. Everywhere they strengthened the disciples by encouraging them to hold fast to the faith, and warned them saying, “It is through many afflictions that we must make our way into the Kingdom of God.” This is sufficient to convince me that the people in the churches of Galatia really did suffer, and clearly this suffering was often instigated by the Apostle’s fellow Jews who continued to resist any change in their ancient faith.

IV The Signs

The final appeal of the Apostle in verse 5 has to do with the miraculous signs and wonders that accompanied the apostolic preaching of the gospel, Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard? One of these signs is recorded in Acts 13:8-12, But Elymas (or ‘the Magician,’ for such is the meaning of the name) opposed them, and tried to prevent the Proconsul from accepting the faith. Then Saul, who is also called Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and, fixing his eyes on Elymas, said, “You who are full of every kind of craftiness and unscrupulous cunning — you son of the Devil and foe to all that is right — will you never cease to misrepresent the straight paths of the Lord? The Lord’s hand is now upon you, and you will be blind for a time and unable to see the light of day.” Instantly there fell upon him a mist and a darkness, and, as he walked about, he begged people to lead him by the hand. Then the Proconsul, seeing what had happened, believed, being struck with amazement at the teaching of the Lord. And there is another account shortly after in chapter 14 where we read in verses 6 through 11 that the Apostles, made their escape into the Lycaonian towns of Lystra and Derbe, and the neighboring country. And there they continued to tell the Good News. Now a man who had no power in his feet used to sit in the streets of Lystra. He had been lame from his birth and had never walked. After this man had listened to one of Paul’s sermons, the Apostle, looking steadily at him and perceiving that he had faith to be cured, said in a loud voice, “Stand upright upon your feet!” So he sprang up and began to walk about. There was a famine of miracles and signs in Israel in the centuries preceding the advent of the Messiah, Jesus. God had stopped speaking and therefore he had stopped demonstrating the truth until Jesus came and there was an incredible outpouring of miracles in his ministry and then this continued somewhat abated in the ministries of the Apostles as they were founding the church. The Jewish people were seeing things they had not seen in their lifetimes, but, humanly speaking, it was not enough to overcome their prejudices. Of course, some did believe as a result of the work of the Holy Spirit, but the majority did not. And they opposed the gospel and the growth of the Church.

Conclusion

It is clear then that the Galatian Christians were playing the fool. So ridiculous was their folly that Paul can cite many reasons for it. I would like to suggest in conclusion that understanding what God is saying to us in His Word is a remedy for this kind of madness and lunacy. Ignorance is one of our worst enemies, and it is the reason for ignoring the obvious. Today there are fewer and fewer serious students in every area of our experience. I can honestly say that in teaching, time after time people asking questions or discussing something have said to me that they know but they just cannot frame the question or put their thoughts into words. Guess what? Einstein once wrote, “You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother.” What this means, in other words, is that people really don’t know what they want to say or ask. That is sad, but it can be overcome by the discipline of studying the Word of God, and I urge you to do it more. As John Stott said, “Your Mind Matters.”