THE GRACE WAY OF LIFE

Photo by B Smith from kitchen door

 

233 – THE GRACE WAY OF LIFE

June 25, 1961

HENRY F. KULP

 

Galatians 3: 10 - 12 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.

We have been speaking to you on the book of Galatians on law versus grace, and here in this chapter—the 3rd chapter of Galatians, Paul uses three arguments to prove his Gospel, and to prove that it is the right Gospel. First of all he goes by their experience. Were  they saved by the Gospel he preached?  And he asked them five questions, and of course, these questions prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that they believed just in grace for salvation. Then he turns to the example of Abraham, and that is what we are studying at this time. What did Abraham find out according to grace? Was he saved by law or by grace? Of course he was saved by grace, because law did not come until 430 years after Abraham.

1/  Last week we preached to you concerning the Gospel of Grace that was preached to Abraham. It was preached to him about his son—the miraculous birth, the death and resurrection of his son—all pointing ahead to Jesus Chris

2/  Galatians 3: 10  For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

Notice what it says here—for as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse. What is a curse? The Ten Commandments cannot be the curse, for they embrace the very highest moral and ethical standards for regulating human life. 

Deuteronomy 27: 1 And Moses with the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandments which I command you this day.

Deuteronomy 28: 15  But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:

He is clear that the curse of the law was God’s penalty for breaking the law, and the penalty is death—that was to be enacted upon any man who did not keep all the commandments. 

Then you’ll notice in Galatians 3: 13  Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: does all this mean? 

The Jews put the law-breaker to death by stoning. For example, if one gathered sticks on the Sabbath, he was to be stoned. 

Numbers 16: 32 - 36  And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods. They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation. And all Israel that were round about them fled at the cry of them: for they said, Lest the earth swallow us up also. And there came out a fire from the Lord, and consumed the two hundred and fifty men that offered incense. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,Then if one blasphemed the name of God, he was to be stoned.

Leviticus 24: 16  And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the Lord, shall be put to death.

Then you will remember, when they brought the woman taken in adultery to Jesus Christ. 

John 8: 3 - 5  And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?

Deuteronomy 21: 20, 21 And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

They said Moses said she should be stoned, and then you go back to a man who had a rebellious son was to bring him to the elders and then he was to be stoned. That is the curse of the law—death—and it was brought about by stoning—but then notice where the law-breaker was stoned, but then his dead body was hung on a tree. And he was considered accursed of God. He was under the curse of the law. 

But isn’t it wonderful to know, Galatians 3: 13 That Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.

3/  Galatians 3: 13  Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

Redeemed from the curse of the law. The curse of the  law  is the penalty which is death. The law without penalty is powerless. The only thing which makes a law something to be feared is the fact that it demands punishment, and through this punishment, the law is feared—but if the law cannot punish, that is if the penalty is gone, the curse is gone. That is what legislators mean when they say putting teeth into the law—making the penalty so severe that men will be forced to keep it—but when the penalty is removed the teeth are taken out. And that is exactly what has happened to the believer. The curse is gone, and the law can’t touch us, because the penalty of the law, the curse of the law has been paid by Jesus Christ.

4/  Take the matter of death—murder. How many people would murder if it wouldn’t be that the law says that the murderer should be put to death. There are many foolish people today who want to do away with the death sentence for a murderer—but they are stupid, they are rebelling against God. But if that curse was taken out of the law, the penalty of death—how many more people would commit murder? It is just the fact that they know they can be caught and be put to death which keeps them from murdering other people. But once the penalty, the teeth are taken out of the law, than men no longer fear the law.

5/  We do not fear the law because the curse has been removed by Jesus  Christ. He hung upon a tree, and he paid the price, the curse, the penalty of the law for us.   

6/  But then a great question comes up. If we are saved by grace, and the law has no dominion over us, and we do not live by the law. The believer is secure and cannot be lost, and he can do anything he wants and not suffer penalty. What does God’s Word say on the subject? There is a statement in verse 11 which is very important to us, and I refer to the words, “The just shall live by faith”. This is a tremendous statement, and twice more in the New Testament.

7/  But let’s analyze the Scripture for just the next few moments. Notice the first two words. The just. Who lives by faith? Anyone at all? No. Just those who are just—those who are perfect in God’s sight. The just shall live by faith, and none but the just. The unbeliever cannot live by faith, and none but the just. The unbeliever cannot live by faith simply because he is not just. 

Notice, Romans 5: 9 Much more then, being justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

We are made just through the blood of Jesus Christ when He was made a curse for us. 

We are made just. Now we can live by faith. Now place the emphasis upon the two middle words of these six word—shall live. If we are saved by grace how do we live? By going back under the law? By keeping the law? Oh no, the just are declared righteous by faith, and they live apart from works. And  then the last two words—by faith—not by works but by faith. How wonderful this all is.

8/  Immediately the question arises, can we do anything we want? We can live and do anything we want. They think this is a license for sin.They are afraid this causes a looseness of living. Now notice what God says about the believer and sin.

I John 1: 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

Then the second chapter of this same Epistle continues—My little children these things write I unto you that ye sin not and if any man sin we have an advocate with the father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. 

Now those who say that the believer can say, I am saved by grace, I can live anyway I want, this is an excuse for sin, this is a license for sin, this is permission to sin—they fail to recognize that God will not overlook the fact that they failed to confess their sins and forsake their sins. 

Do you think that God is going to take it lightly that they ignore I John 1: 2 of course, not. 

(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;)

Go to I Corinthians 11: 30, 31 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.

Don’t ever imagine that the believer can make the grace of God an occasion for careless living. If you say, Let us sin that grace may abound, you are inviting the judgment of God. Sooner or later, God will send weakness, sickness and chastening and perhaps death if you continue.

 

9/  Now let us look at another Scripture that teaches this very first thing. If you live in sin, something is going to happen to you. 

Romans 6: 1, 2  Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 

Let us illustrate what I mean here. You cannot live in the element of water, you can live just a few moments, and it won’t be very long before your life is snuffed out because that is not your element. You have a life which desires air, which is oxygen and nitrogen, and water is oxygen and hydrogen. There is a life that lives in the water, and that life that lives in the water cannot live on the land. The two elements are different. The element of water means death to you, and you who are now saved and live in a new element in Christ should not live in sin, because sin will mean death to you. SIN IS SOMETHING YOU CAN’T LIVE IN. 

That is exactly what Paul means here. You can fall into sin as you fall into water, but you can’t live in it. You may have to be rescued, and you have to be rescued if you fall into water, and you have to be rescued from falling back into sinful ways, but if you live in the wrong element, something is sure to happen to you.

10/  But those of us who preach the free grace of God and salvation by faith and freedom from the law and its curses are constantly accused that the teaching of grace makes for looseness of living—it is a license to sin. But I always have a consolation—I am not the first to be so accused—for Paul already had to face the same false charge, because he too, preached the grace of God. 

Romans 3: 7, 8 For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner? And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.

Notice, Paul says here—it is slander when men say that the preaching of grace makes for evil and sinning, and then Paul calls down damnation of God upon these who are slanderers of God. It is a serious thing to make this charge, that the grace of God teaches a license for sin. Paul says the people who do this are slanderers of God, and the damnation, the judgment of God shall be called down upon them.

11/  Here we have an attack upon the doctrine which was preached by Paul, and this is the criticism—it gives an excuse for sinning. I can understand the thought of Paul by looking into his own experience and understand the bitter reactions to my own preaching of Paul’s doctrine of salvation by grace. I know how people have hated it—the letters I have received and the things folks have said to my face. Notice Paul says that the damnation of this group is just—read this Scripture carefully. The damnation that is announced here is for those who slander Christian doctrine.

12/  Have you ever considered the motives that are back of a slanderer against the truth? What is in the mind of a man that accuses God of injustice, and he does that when he makes slander against this doctrine, for the Bible teaches it. 

I had a man say to me once, a preacher—a preacher who evidently loved the Lord. He said, I realize that the Bible teaches the Gospel of grace, this eternal security, but he said, it is a vicious teaching and I am afraid of it and I would never preach it. What was in the mind of this man? It was the sin of Satan who wished to exalt himself into the place of God. Satan’s sin was not a request for God to share his throne with Satan, but a request to abdicate His throne and let Satan move in. Why? Because Satan in his mind thought he could carry on better than God Almighty. When people say, No, the doctrine of grace is evidently taught by the Bible, but I don’t believe it, I think it is vicious, I think it is a license to sin, you know what they are doing? They are saying, I know better than God. My standards are better than the standards of God. God’s thoughts are inferior to my thoughts, I am glad to realize in this case that the disputer is arguing against God, not against me. 

13/  There is a verse in the Old Testament which has a principle which runs throughout the whole Bible. 

Isaiah 54: 17 Here it says, No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shall condemn. 

This verse does not mean merely that every tongue that shall rise against thee shall be condemned at the time of rising. But it means that every tongue that shall rise against all who are saved shall be condemned in the ultimate day of Judgment. Why? Because we are joined to the Judge in the giving of His decision. 

As we brought out a few Sunday nights ago. We are going to be helpers of God in His judgment. We shall judge the world, we shall judge angels. Someone lies about you, or the doctrine you are preaching—salvation by grace. Rest patiently in the Lord. The day will come when God will put His arm about you and draw you to the seat of honor on the judgment bench of eternity and bring your accuser before you, and you will sit on the throne of God while your accuser will stand in the place of condemnation and will be forced to acknowledge that he was wrong before he will be sent into the lake of fire.

14/  This principle is brought out in Revelations 3: 9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

Notice this Scripture, Behold I will make them of the synagogue of Satan which say that they are—and that means God’s people, and they are not to lie—behold I will make them to come and worship before thy feet and to know that I have loved thee. 

The same truth is brought out here. The men who reviled Noah will be forced to stand before God and Noah and then bow before God, before they are sent to the lake of fire. The men who killed the prophets will be forced to stand before God and the prophets and will be thrusted to their knees and confess that they were wrong, then will be cast into the lake of fire. And those who slander the Gospel of the Grace of God and those who preach it will bow before God and the one they slander with their lies and they will confess they are wrong, and then they will be cast into the lake of fire. The modernistic leaders, and those who follow the modernists, will have this same future. There is a great day coming.

15/  Yes, Galatians 3: 11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.

The just shall live by faith, not by law. But do remember, if you slander God you will pay the price, and if you as a Christian, do live in sin, you are living in death, and you will reap the benefits and the profits and the rewards of death. 

AMEN

Ref: 06/25/1961 / 233 - THE GRACE WAY OF LIFE / 04/02/2021

BEWITCHED, BOTHERED AND BEWILDERED - Part II

Photo by B Smith from the kitchen window

 

232 – BEWITCHED, BOTHERED AND BEWILDERED - Part II

       June 18, 1961

Henry F. Kulp

 

Galatians 3: 6 - 9 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. To then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

Last week we told you that Paul starts out this doctrinal section of Galatians by writing to these Galatians saying they are foolish, and they are bewitched, and they are under a spell and they have been charmed by these legalistic teachers. My, how people do act like they are charmed whenever they fall under the spell of legalism. Legalism pleases the flesh—the grace of God is an insult to the flesh. 

Remember that Jesus Christ said in John 3: 19  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

And this is the condemnation—the judgment that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness—why? Rather than light, because their deeds were evil. Men love their own deeds—they are in darkness and they love to offer to God their sinful works. They have been charmed by the darkness of this day.

1/  And then Paul uses a threefold program to show that the law cannot save, that the flesh cannot save. He asks them five questions about their own experience, and when he is finished they know right well that their own experiences under the law cannot save them. And then he turns to father Abraham, and he says what was father Abraham’s experience? How was he saved, and how was he kept saved? Then he turns to Christ’s work and His relationship to the law—what did Christ’s work do to the law?

2/  Now the legalistic Jews love to go back to Abraham. They always boasted that Abraham was their father—so Paul  brings home a killing argument here—a killing stroke when he says Well, let’s go back and see what is Abraham’s experience. 

Galatians 3: 6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

How was Abraham saved? By believing what God said about His long-promised, super-naturally born son. He believed the Gospel. Then notice in the 8th verse—preached before the Gospel unto Abraham. When did God preach the Gospel unto Abraham?

3/  When he was yet a Gentile. He was never a Jew, remember that—he was the father of the Jews, but he was never a Jew. Abraham was a Gentile. Also remember he was never an Israelite. He became the father of the Israelites, but he was a Gentile.

4/  What Abraham believed was what God had to say about the miraculous birth of Isaac. He was dead and his wife’s body was dead. They couldn’t have children. When God said he was to have seed like the sand of the seashore, and the stars of the Heavens, Abraham knew that this son had to be born in a miraculous way. 

Genesis 18: 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.

This promise was physically impossible—for remember the promise that God gave to Abraham.

Genesis 15: 5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

He took him outside his tent one night and said, look now towards Heaven and count the stars. Abraham said, I cannot count them—their number is utterly beyond me. Then He told him to count the sand in the dust under his feet, and Abraham said, I can’t do that, and God said, So shall thy seed be. All this had to come about, and Abraham recognized it, in a miraculous way. A miraculously born son

5/  Abraham believed God and it was counted as righteous, he was saved. Maybe you have heard the illustration of two preachers who were out in a rowboat and they were debating as to whether salvation was by grace or by works or by the two of them combined. Both men listened to them and when they were unable to come to a solution of the problem, he said to them. I have been thinking about this problem of grace and works. Here in this boat i have two oars. I will call one faith and the other works. If I pull only on this oar, the boat goes round and round and will not get anywhere. If I pull on that one it goes round and round and does not get anywhere, but if I pull on both I get across the river, and people that is a beautiful illustration of the fact that salvation is by faith and works. That’s true, it would be, if we were going to go to heaven in a row boat, but we are not. We are going to heaven in Jesus Christ—By the grace of Jesus Christ.

6/  If I get to Heaven by works and grace, and if I just so much as lift my little finger to save my soul and to help save my soul, I’ll be able to stand in front of God and I could say to him and to the others there in Heaven, I am in Heaven by my own combined efforts, and no one will get to Heaven that way.

Ephesians 2: 8, 9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

7/  But now God preached the Gospel to Abraham, He didn’t just talk about the miraculous birth of his son, but I want you to notice also, when Isaac was full-grown, god commanded Abraham to take this miraculously born son to a mountain to sacrifice him on an altar. 

The story is found in Genesis 22, and it is one of the most complete pictures in the Bible of the birth, death and resurrection of the virgin-born Son of God. Abraham obeyed God and took his son, Isaac, and there potentially put him to death. In God’s eyes, listen to this, Isaac was sacrificed, for God accepted the motive for the act. Abraham believed he would actually have to kill his son, and for three days, therefore Isaac was potentially dead in the experience of Abraham. The writer of Hebrews confirms this.

Hebrews 11: 17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,

It says, By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac. Then notice the next part of the verse, and he that had received the promises, offered up his only begotten son. Abraham actually offered up his son in the sight of God.

8/  Genesis 22: 1 - 2 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt (test) Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

God tested Abraham and said, take thy son, thy only son, and go and offer him there in the land. For notice it uses the words, offer him there for a burnt offering. And then notice the next verse on the third day. So it means for three days, as far as Abraham was concerned, Isaac was really dead. When Abraham started out on the journey early in the morning, he had no other idea than that God meant what He said. He must after three days put Isaac to death on Mt. Moriah. For three days he considered his son dead, potentially dead. So Isaac becomes a wonderful type of the Lord Jesus Christ in His death for three days and three nights.

9/  Then follows the resurrection. 

Genesis 22: 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

Isaac has been dead in the mind of Abraham for three days, and now, all of a sudden, he returned to life—that is resurrection—where God says, Take the ram and let Isaac live. 

Notice, Hebrews 11: 17 - 19 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

Notice the last verse, the 19th verse, Accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead, from whence also he received him as a figure. 

Abraham knew and believed all the time that God was going to do something miraculous—that is marvelous, isn’t it? He knew that God had promised that Isaac was to be the father of nations, but he was to die. How then, can God keep His promise to him? That in his seed, in Isaac, he should have this great nation? There was only one way out—Isaac would have to raise again from the dead, and Abraham believed this. 

10/  Oh yes, the Gospel was preached to Abraham. No law, not even the covenant of circumcision at this time. As a Gentile, Abraham believed this. Abraham believed in the death and resurrection of his son. That is the Gospel.

11/  Today, the Gospel is still the same. As Abraham was saved believing what God said concerning his miraculously born son, his death and resurrection. So we must believe the record of His Son. THE IMPORTANT FACT IS THAT ABRAHAM BELIEVED WHAT GOD SAID, THE PROMISE GOD MADE CONCERNING HIS SON. THAT IS THE IMPORTANT POINT.

12/  Now notice what God has to say about what we have to do to be saved. Faith cometh by hearing. 

Romans 10: 17  So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

I John 5: 9, 10  If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.

Notice, the witness of the Spirit. It is not some wonderful feeling. It is not some great sense of exhilaration. It is not voices from Heaven, nor is it visions, or sensation, or dreams, or emotions. The witness is God’s Word, and when we believe the Word of God, what God has said, what He has promised, then we have the witness, and in no other way.

13/  As Abraham was saved by believing the Word of God, just so, we are saved by believing the Word of God. What more can a believer ask than the promise of God?  To ask for an  additional evidence is to insult God. To ask for additional evidence is an admittance that God’s Word alone is not enough.

14/  Remember this Gospel picture is complete, because as Abraham for three days killed his only son—God the Father, slew His Son. God, the Father was responsible for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. What a beautiful picture this is. 

Romans 8: 32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

15/  Now notice, Galatians 3: 10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

These are the unmistakable words of the Holy Spirit. Paul asserts that any man who at any time, or in any measure has ever broken one of the laws of God, that is only one—is under the curse of the law, and of course, the curse is death—he is lost, he is going to spend eternity in hell. It is well to ponder these words carefully, and then ask yourself the question—Am I under law? If so, I am condemned.

16/  The Bible teaches that no man lives, and no man has ever lived, that is except Jesus Christ, who has been able to keep the law perfectly, and not break it at any point. Notice what David had to say—Psalm 14: 2 The Lord God looked down from Heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any who did understand and seek God, and then the next verse is what God had to say. He found as He looked for those who sought after Him that there was not one—this is God’s verdict of every man by nature of his first birth—they are all gone aside, they are all filthy. So when you put these two verses together with Galatians 3: 10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

You can see that all the law can do is curse—all the law can do is kill.

17/  Now let us go to two other verses that are marvelous. 

Romans 8: 3, 4 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh—the law was not at fault. It is man at fault, there is none that doeth righteousness, no not one—there is none that is able to live by the law. 

Then notice the 4th verse, and please notice this statement carefully, That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us. 

Notice what it does not say. It does not say that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled by us, but rather in us. It is not our works, it is the work of God. The righteousness of the law to which we could not attain, we cannot earn, has been provided for us by the work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary, and when we are safe in Him, then we are saved. That is what we find in this present day and age.

18/  If men could only see their condition before God. There is one portion of Scripture that I always love to turn to at this point. I read it because it has meant so much to me. It is an Old Testament portion of Scripture. 

Isaiah 41: 14 Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

And here we have one of the delicate ironies of Scripture, which reveals so clearly the nothingness of man and the wonderful power of God on behalf of His people. Fear not, thou worm, Jacob, I will help thee. What a partnership this is. God and the worm. Not very flattering to Jacob, is it? God and the worm. How much we lose because we do not recognize what we really are. 

When men form a partnership, one man puts up money, and usually another man puts up experience or some other distribution of assets, but when we form a partnership with God, He demands that we do it on His terms. We put up weakness, and He puts up all His strength. We put up sin and He puts up His righteousness. We cast in our nothingness and He answers with His all-ness. God and the worm. How foolish it is for anyone to attack this partnership, yet men do that when they invite us to live by the law and be Sabbath keepers and what-not.

19/  Yet, how loath men are to accept their own bankruptcy in order that they might be saved. Have you recognized that you are a worm this morning, and if you have any partnership with God it is going to be on His terms, by His grace, by belief in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ?

20/  The key verse to all that is said about Abraham is given to us in Romans 4: 20, 21 He staggered not at the promises of God through (now notice) unbelief, but was strong in faith, and giving glory to God, and being fully persuaded—now this is important—that what He promised He was able also to perform. 

God found that Abraham believed, trusted Him, believed His promises, and God saved him. 

You must do that this morning, you must believe the promises of God, and where do you find the promises of God? Of course, in the Bible.

AMEN

Ref: 06/18/1961 / 232 BEWITCHED BOTHERED AND BEWILDERED - PART II / 03/22/2021

BEWITCHED, BOTHERED AND BEWILDERED Part I

Photo by B Smith from the kitchen window

231 – BEWITCHED, BOTHERED AND BEWILDERED Part I

June 11, 1961 

Henry F. Kulp

 

Galatians 3: 1- 6 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain. He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.

Here we have the doctrinal section of the letter—it begins with this chapter. Paul tells the story of his life, and in so doing has established his apostleship, and now he proceeds to meet the errors that were being taught in the Galatian churches.

1/  First he appeals to the experience of the Galatians, and reinforces his argument by appealing to the experience of Abraham, and Abraham is the one in whom the false teachers glorified, and then he follows this by considering Christ’s work in relationship to the law. This is a three-fold approach to the fallacies of the legalists.

2/  You will notice his opening words in the 3rd chapter are strong and arresting. Just imagine yourself getting a letter and reading a statement like this. O, foolish John Smith or Mary Jones, who did bewitch you? I am sure such a statement would shock and arouse the reader. They would probably re-read it a number of times to make sure they were getting it straight, for that is exactly what Paul says. There is no doubt that Paul was worked up and his intense feeling is shown in this statement.

3/  Now when he says that they are foolish believers he did not mean that the Galatians are stupid people, they were just as keen as others—just as smart as the average person, but  they had been hoodwinked by these oily mouthed teachers. No amount of intellectual ability will safe-guard folks from spiritual error. A keen mind is no guarantee against heresy. One needs spiritual discernment, he needs to know his Bible.

4/  You know these Galatians would not be blamed as much as people in our day and age. They were foolish, but how much more foolish are people at this present time. For it is well to keep in mind that the Galatians did not have the apostle’s teaching in print, such as we do. They were dependent upon their memories of what they heard him preach, and of course, with the passing months the impression would be greatly dimmed. Today we have Paul’s teachings right before us so that we can judge by the divine standard—the Word of God. But these people did not have it at this time. So if they were foolish, we are far more foolish than what they are when we fall under the influence of the legalizing teachers of our day.

5/  Then he talks about the experience that the Galatians had, and he asks them five questions.

The first question is: Who hath bewitched you? 

Paul was using that which was a popular superstition of that day—the evil eye. In other words, who hath charmed you? Who has put you under a spell? They believed that folks could put people under spells in those days. They could put the evil eye upon them and would be under their spell. Now Paul says, these evil teachers have come in unto you. These evil legalistic teachers and they seemingly have put an evil eye upon you and put you under a spell, and you are bewitched. Did you ever stop to think that people who are under the guise, or under the control of legalistic teachers are bewitched? They are hard folks to reach. The folks who fall under these sects that are legalistic, how hard it is to sway them to get them to see the grace of God. They act like they have been put under an evil eye—under a spell.

6/  There is another thing I want you to see. That it is quite possible for one to be saved, to begin his Christian experience with a clear definite knowledge of the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ—to know that he has been saved apart from his works, and then because he fails to follow through or study the Word of God, to fall under the influence of some false teaching, some unscriptural line of teaching. And when you go and try to correct that, they seem to be under a spell. It seems to be almost impossible to deliver them. I have seen this happen, many, many times.

7/  Then Paul asked a second question. It is in verse 2. This only would I learn from you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

This is a crucial question, the answer to which would settle the whole matter of the dispute. You know, I believe there is a tinge of irony to this question—this goes right along with the idea of being foolish. Paul is saying look back at your own selves. I want to learn just one thing from you. From what source did you get the Holy Spirit? Was it the source of the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Of course, there is only one answer, the hearing of faith. The majority of folks here were Gentiles, and they paid no attention to law as a source of salvation. 

The answer is given to us in Ephesians 1: 13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

Notice, after ye believed—not the works of the law—ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise. To all who believe in Christ the Holy Spirit comes as a seal, and when you write a letter, you enclose it in the envelope, and what is the next step before you mail it? You seal it, of course. You wet the back piece and close it down. It is sealed because it is finished. The work of salvation is finished, and they knew they had received the Holy Spirit merely by believing, and not by the works of the law. 

IT REQUIRED PRACTICALLY NO THINKING ON THE PART OF THE GALATIAN BELIEVERS TO GIVE THIS ANSWER. THEY KNEW IT AS WELL AS PAUL DID.

8/  Just imagine I walk into one of our men’s stores in town and I buy a pair of gloves. Rather an odd season to think about a pair of gloves, but let’s think about them anyway. So I go up to the counter, and I pick out a pair of gloves. I get the right size and they fit, and I say, How much are the gloves? And they set the price of $3.98, so I take the money out of my pocket, and lay it down on the counter and I pick up my gloves. The store keeps my money and I keep the gloves. That is a bargain, a transaction—it is finished. I walk out and I go home and I say to my wife, I bought some gloves today and I want you to mark them for me. So she gets out a little seal and she put my name upon it and she imprints it or sticks it in one corner of each one of the gloves. There it is, Henry Kulp, 2900 Union Ave. 

So one day, I wear the gloves, but leave them laying around when I am finished with them. Someone picks up the gloves—he thinks they are his. He is not stealing, but he really thinks they are his gloves. It is a mistake on his part. So I say, Excuse me, those are my gloves, and he will say, No, they are my gloves. I’m sorry, I say, but I think I can prove they are my gloves. You look in each underneath the back part there and you will see my name. And he looks, and sure enough they are my gloves. And he starts to stammer and say, Well, I guess they are your gloves. 

I ask you, does the seal in each one of the gloves make the gloves mine? No, my first instinct is to say, of course, it makes them mine, but that is not true. The money I paid that I put down on the store counter made the gloves mine. The seal marks it as my possession, marks them from many other gloves that are in the world just like them. 

So the Holy Spirit dwelling in my life does not make me Christ’s. It is a matter of the transaction—I believed on Jesus Christ—I believed and then the Holy Spirit was given to me as a Seal, and he asks these Gentiles, isn’t that so? And of course, they have to say that it is. 

9/  Then he asks a third question in verse 3: Are you so foolish, having begun in the Spirit, are ye made perfect by the flesh? 

Paul’s argument is logical, because law-keepers are very illogical. There is a strange inconsistency in the law-keepers. They knew they couldn’t be saved by the law—they knew that only too well, but now that they are saved, they say you have to keep the law in order to keep on being saved. In other words, saved by faith, yes, but kept by faith and the law. So Paul says, if the law couldn’t save you, how could it help keep you? That is just common sense, isn’t it? 

I meet many folks like that. They say, we are not saved by the works of the flesh. We are saved by faith in Jesus Christ, but how can we be eternally saved? We’d go out and sin and then we would lose our salvation. We didn’t gain our salvation by works to begin with, and how can we lose our salvation by our works afterward. 

10/  They knew that the flesh is weak and sickly. 

Romans 6: 19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.They knew that in the flesh dwelleth no good thing. 

Romans 7: 18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

How foolish then, to think that a sick and ungodly flesh could keep them saved.

11/  Then the fourth question comes up in verse 4 and Paul continues to press the argument upon argument and he is using the ground of experience. Have you suffered so many things in vain? 

Apparently the Galatians like many other believers in the early church were made to suffer for their stand in Christ. When they received Paul’s message they were persecuted, they suffered horribly, and now Paul reminds them that they were turning their backs upon the very thing that had cause them persecution. Believing the Gospel as Paul preached it. We know that, Acts 14, there was a great dissension in Galatia because of Paul. They received Paul and believed Paul’s message. And they fought for him and suffered for what he taught.

12/  Then Paul brings his final question in verse 5. 

He talks about miracles that had been done—those miracles that had been done, had they been done by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith. We cannot be certain what these miracles were because we are not told. The question was, when the Galatians saw Paul and Barnabas performing miracles, they knew that the power of God was there, and the blessing of God was upon them, and what they were teaching was true, and, of course, the greatest miracle that they had seen in Galatia is found in Acts 14: 19, 20 And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.

Was Paul stoned to death and resurrected from the dead? That didn’t happen by the law, they knew that only full well.

13/  Galatians 5: 6  For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

Now Paul turns to the experience of Abraham. Why does Paul go back to Abraham? Why is he brought in at this point? The reason is obvious. The Judaizing teachers looked upon Abraham as their spiritual father. 

John 8: 33 - 39 They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. I know that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father. They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham.

The Jews boasted to Jesus Christ, we are Abraham’s seed, our father is Abraham, so Paul says, All right now, what about Abraham? What was his blessing? It was the blessing of righteousness. God reckoned his righteousness. He was right with God and before God. 

14/  So when Paul refers to the history of Abraham. How was Abraham saved? How was Abraham kept? For Abraham knew nothing about the law, he lived 400 years before the law was given. 

Notice that in Galatians 3: 17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

How then was Abraham saved and kept? Here is Paul’s answer—even as Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. Notice, Abraham believed God.  

   

15/  We have the same thing in Romans. 

Romans 4: 3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness. In both passages it says Abraham believed God. Notice carefully, it does not say that he believed in God, but rather he believed God. And there is a world of difference between believing in God and believing God. Even the devils believe in God, but a man may believe in God and still be lost, for a man must not only believe in God, he must believe God. To believe God is to accept His Word, to trust His Promise. 

16/  Therefore a vital question comes up—What did Abraham believe? 

We have the answer given in Genesis 15: 1 After these things the word of the Lord came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

Let’s get the background of our story. Abraham had just returned from his great victory over the four kings of the North. He had delivered Lot and his family and the five other kings. But now he becomes afraid, and fears that the kings against whom he fought will come back for revenge later on. Moreover, he refused to take the spoil, and this, too, may have troubled him. It is then that the Lord comes to encourage him and says, Fear not, Abraham, I am thy shield—don’t be afraid Abraham, for I will be your protector—then the Lord adds, And I will be your exceeding great reward. 

God seems to say, you have refused the wealth and spoils of the king of Sodom, but I, myself, will be your great reward. So this promise of God, Abraham makes a strange statement—why should I believe in God, because a promise God had previously made to him had not been fulfilled. God had promised him a son through Sarah, his wife. The years had slipped by, and it was now thirty years since God had promised his son whom Abraham desired so much. Abraham reminds God of this and says, Genesis 15: 2, 3 And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.

In other words, Abraham complains bitterly that the promise of the seed has not been kept, but the Lord immediately reassures him in Genesis 15: 4 - 6 And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

What did God asked Abraham to believe? He asked him to believe what He had said concerning the promised son. But more than that, God asked him to believe in a long-promised son, a long delayed son when it was humanly impossible. 

Genesis 18: 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well-stricken in age, and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. 

They were decrepit, they were well up in age—they couldn’t have a son physically, it was impossible—yet God asked him to believe that he will have a son by Sarah, his wife. It would have to be a miraculous, supernatural birth for him to have a son by Sarah, his wife. 

17/  Hebrews 11: 11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.

This is an astounding portion of Scripture and is about Sarah. It says Sarah, herself received strength to conceive seed and was delivered of the child when she was past age. Why? Because she judged him faithful who had promised. Notice, she believed what God had said about the son, even though it was physically impossible. The human mind could not conceive it. Remember, she had not seen any other woman in her condition bring forth a child, but yet she believed that which was impossible to her mind. 

18/  What was true of Sarah was true of Abraham also he was past the years of fertility and he couldn’t produce a child in the regular course of nature. 

Notice, the Scripture, Romans 4: 18 - 22 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

Here it says, Abraham, who against hope believed in hope that he might become the father of many nations. Then, it says, He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief. He staggered not at the promise concerning the son that he was to have—this supernatural son. And then, being fully persuaded that what He had promised, he was able to perform, and therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. How did Abraham become righteous? He believed what God had said about this son that was coming, and the birth of Isaac was as great a miracle as the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom he is a type.       

19/  And what happened?  He was counted righteous, he was saved. What was true of Abraham and is true today. Salvation, justification, and righteousness comes by believing in God’s Word concerning His Son. His Son was miraculously conceived, and so we are saved by believing what God says about His Son—just as Abraham was, and this was a real slap in the face to these legalizing teachers who had been in the Province of Galatia.

20/  I John 5: 9, 10 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.

Here he says, If we receive the witness of man, the witness of God is greater. For this is the witness of God, which He has testified of His Son. He that believeth on the Son hath this witness in Himself, and so forth—so it is clearly stated—to be counted righteous, to be save, to be kept, we have to do what Abraham did—believe in the Son and trust the Son, and we will find it is well with our souls. 

It is not by law, but by believing the promise of God concerning his Son.

AMEN

Ref: 06/11/1961 / BEWITCHED, BOTHERED AND BEWILDERED - PART I / 03/31/2021