An Appeal to Experience and the Scriptures. Galatians 3:1-9 Paul reflects on the past, emphasizing that we have not only been justified by faith and united with Christ through faith but also set apart and sanctified by faith. The Spirit of God was how we were convicted of our sins. It is through the Spirit we were awakened and given new life in Christ. The law did not save us; it condemned us. We did not receive the Holy Spirit by keeping the law. We began in the Spirit, and now the Spirit of God dwells within us, enabling us to grow. Through the Spirit, we know that we are in Christ, and Christ is in us, "the hope of glory." The Spirit did not dwell in Adam, even in his innocence. The Spirit did not dwell in Abraham, nor in any who were under the law. The Spirit came upon them to serve and obey God, accomplishing a work for Him.
Some of God's people face a challenge when the initial excitement they felt after being saved gradually diminishes. They start to feel insecure because the thrill they experienced when they first trusted Christ fades into a dull routine in everyday life. They long to recapture that excitement, and when someone comes along and explains how they can "be excited" about their Christian life, they listen.
People say that 'faith alone' is too easy. They believe you need extraordinary things to happen to be a true Christian. As a result, "faith healing," speaking with meaningless words, and feelings of ecstasy are taught as the real signs of divine life. They will admit they trust only in the work of Christ to save them and make them righteous before God, but after they are saved, they feel they need the law to help them walk with God. They believe keeping the law is necessary to be holy.
Paul replied to the Galatians, who brought up that suggestion, "Are you so foolish (so senseless)?" Having begun in the Spirit, can you now reach your goal by your own efforts? They had suffered for their faith in Christ at the start of their Christian journey. Now, they were turning back to relying on their law-keeping efforts. Their lack of wisdom seemed to Paul as if an evil spell had made them forget the Gospel and the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ.
They failed to harness the power of perception that the Holy Spirit provides. God has not given the Spirit a little at a time; instead, He has poured out His Spirit abundantly, and we have access to all the divine power of the Holy Spirit. He is like "rivers of living water." The Holy Spirit is a Person— the One who guides us into all truth and reveals Christ to us. After convicting us of sin, righteousness, and judgment to come, which leads us to repentance, He gives us new life. The Christian life can only be lived through the Spirit's power. We are not sanctified by our own efforts. The purpose of that new life is that we will love and worship God.
The principles of the law were meant to inspire love for God and worship, but those words alone cannot give life. They teach and, to a degree, guide us so that we understand what is right and wrong. The law provides rules to follow with specific boundaries for personal, marriage, and family life. It also outlines what communities and nations need to maintain order and prevent chaos, but laws themselves do not give life. The Judaizers claimed that Gentiles had to become Jews to be Christians. To them, Christianity was simply another Jewish sect, alongside the Pharisees and Sadducees. Those groups relied on rules to guide their lives.
Abraham did not have laws to earn acceptance from God. He believed in God, and his faith and trust were in God's promises. That was the foundation of his righteousness. Our lifestyle or religious rituals do not form the basis of salvation. The law does not justify us. Those who live by faith are the children of Abraham. No physical birth or outward signs make someone a child of God. The principle of faith, practiced by Abraham, is still observed today when God's people, "the just, shall live by faith."