Anthony Gammage ~ Galatians 3:1-5

Sermon Quotes

Galatians 3:1-5
¹ O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. ² Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?  ³ Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? ⁴ Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? ⁵ Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith.

Ezekiel 36:26-27
²⁶ And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

2 Corinthians 5:21
²¹ For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Exodus 20:1-3
¹ And God spoke all these words, saying, ² “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.  ³“You shall have no other gods before me.

Religion Says	The Gospel says…
“I obey; therefore I’m accepted.”	“I’m accepted; therefore I obey.”
“I obey God in order to get things from God.”	“I obey God to get God– to delight and resemble Him.”
“My identity and self-worth are based mainly on how hard I work or how moral I am, so I must look down on those I perceive as lazy or immoral. I disdain and feel superior to others.”	“My identity and self-worth are centered on the One who died for his enemies, including me. Only by sheer grace am I what I am, so I can’t look down on those who believe or practice something different from me. I have no inner need to win arguments.”
“Since I look to my pedigree or performance for my spiritual acceptability  my heart manufactures idols – talents, moral record, personal discipline, social status, etc. I absolutely have to have them, so they are my main hope, meaning, happiness, security, and significance, whatever I say I believe about God.”	“I have many good things in my life – Family, work, etc. But none of these good things are ultimate things to me. I don’t absolutely have to have them, so there is a limit to how much anxiety, bitterness, and despair they can inflict on me when they are threatened and lost.”

Romans 10:9
⁹ because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Psalm 4:7
You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.

Psalm 13:2
How long must I take counsel in my soul  and have sorrow in my heart all the day?  How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

Proverbs 23:6-7
⁶ Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy;  do not desire his delicacies,  ⁷ for he is like one who is inwardly calculating.  “Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.

Mark 2:8
And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts?

Ecclesiastes 10:2
A wise man’s heart inclines him to the right, but a fool’s heart to the left

Acts 2:42-47
⁴² And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. ⁴³ And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. ⁴⁴ And all who believed were together and had all things in common.  ⁴⁵ And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶ And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

“We want to make sure the gospel—the good news of Christ’s death for sin and subsequent resurrection—is of first importance in our churches…and to remember that there is something worse than death and something better than human flourishing. If we hope only for renewed cities and restored bodies in this life, we are of all people most to be pitied.”