I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain. O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?

It is possible to suffer in vain, and you don’t want to (Gal 2:21-3:4). You don’t want to hear Christ and Him crucified, the forgiveness of sins, and then be shut out from the kingdom because you’ve turned from Christ after suffering so much for Him. You may continue to be religious, but you’ve lost the gospel message of the FINISHED work of Christ, and you’re ruined yourself by turning from the free grace that comes through Him. Christ is everything that you need, and by faith in Him, all debts are forgiven, righteousness is established on your account, and you have the Spirit’s power, so that BELIEVING what Christ accomplished in putting away sins is enough for God to be gracious. Christ gives us the goodness, power, and acceptance that we seek, instantaneously, in a moment of time, apart from works, but only by faith.

Now, why turn from such good news to a dead religion that can’t save? Sincerely believed lies won’t save you, nor will a life of misguided devotion (Gal 4:17-18). You must believe and continue believing the truth, fleeing to Christ and never leaving Him, finding acceptance only in the Beloved (Numb 35:26-28). If the gospel is abandoned, then it cannot save.

What is your relationship with God? Do you FOLLOW the cross of Christ, believing upon Him to graciously save you, or do you distrust God, dishonor Christ, and seek to earn the Almighty’s favor? It cannot be a small matter! Your gospel must REMAIN the gospel, or all is lost (Col 1:23).

Secondly, we must have faith in order to be saved (Gal 3:5-9). Paul writes, “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, ‘In you all the nations shall be blessed.’ So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham”. Faith is our link with God; it is doing all that He commands of us. It is so simple and easy that most people miss it, and we are blind to its beauty, but it is the simplicity of God being gracious to us because His Son has earned this graciousness for us. He sent the Son, and He JUSTIFIES His goodness to sinners by this death work of Christ. He accomplished redemption when He took away our sins, and He purged them away with His own blood at the cursed tree. He laid His life down as sufficient payment, so that NO OTHER righteousness is needed. We simply believe upon Him – trusting Him to save us freely and by faith – and we are JUSTIFIED, immediately! It is like being a debtor. You’ve been caught on camera robbing a bank. Then, the bank owner, agrees to pay your penalty and make you one of the bank employees, so that you can make $250,000 a year. The one thing that YOU must do is BELIEVE that He will pay your debt, give you the position, and by faith, you enter the agreement. This grace of God’s Son meriting the blessings and God giving them to sinners freely is the gospel that we must believe, and only believers are saved.

Finally, faith is the way to get everything from God, and you don’t need anything else (vs10-14). He says, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’), that he blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith”. False religion says, “Christ did His part, but you must do yours”, and this is the lie that we CAN do something, and that God isn’t gracious enough to freely save us. But, He doesn’t want us to WORK for salvation; He wants you to believe that He gives it to you justly and then to trust Him (Rom 4:5). He wants you to see the glory of Christ, that God is SO gracious as to give the Son, and He paid SUCH a price that whatever blessing we receive, even the Spirit Himself, is fully justified for Him to give. This gift of righteousness and eternal life in the Son is actually in harmony with God’s proven gracious character.