We are going through a series that takes us through the New Testament letter of Galatians. Paul wrote this letter to a group of churches he helped start to help them with some struggles they were going through. There had been false teachers creeping into their churches teaching that these people needed something more than Jesus to be right with God.

I invite you to join me in Galatians 3, where we will look at the next part of what Paul shared with these churches and what God has for us today.

While you’re finding Galatians 3, I wonder if you have ever been stuck. Has there been a time when you found yourself in a situation where no matter what you did, you were stuck?

When I was in college, I was returning back to school from a visit home. It was raining pretty good, and my little Mustang was doing its best to stay on the road. I remember hitting some water on the road and going into a spin. I ended up stuck in the mud of the ditch. It didn’t matter how much gas I gave it, the tires just spun. Thankfully, I was able to contact a towing service owned by someone I knew to come to bail me out.

Being stuck is never fun. No matter how hard you try to move forward, there are times when the wheels of your life are just spinning in the mud. It’s frustrating to be stuck.

As Paul writes to the Galatians, he takes a moment to break from the hardcore teaching and move more to a personal address of the people. He realized that it was much more than just an information download. He wanted to make sure they understood what he was sharing with them.

In a sermon shared in Detroit, MI, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. shared what he thought was the part of the problems in the world. He said,

“The trouble isn’t so much that we don’t know enough, but it’s as if we aren’t good enough. The trouble isn’t so much that our scientific genius lags behind, but our moral genius lags behind… My friends, all I’m trying to say is that if we are to go forward today, we’ve got to go back and rediscover some mighty precious values we’ve left behind. That’s the only way that we would be able to make our world a better world and to make of this world what God wants it to be and the real purpose and meaning of it.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Sometimes, in order to go forward, we first have to go back and rediscover what we may have missed or forgotten from the past. Are we in a stuck position because of something that we left behind or forgotten about?

This is what Paul talks about in the first half of Galatians 3. There were those in the churches of Galatia that were either going in a wrong direction with their faith, or they were stuck at a crossroads and didn’t know which way to go.

Going backward seems counterproductive to many people. It seems like going backward is losing. How in the world could going backward help us go forward to where we need to be?

“You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.”

Walt Disney

Many today consider Walt Disney a huge success. Did you know that before he made it big, Disney had a mental breakdown? Did you know that before he made it big, Disney had to file for bankruptcy? Did you know that his ideas were rejected more than 300 times before Mickey Mouse became a success?

Sometimes, going backward is the path that leads us forward. Is it embarrassing? Yes. But going backward also helps a person to see forward better. Sometimes it gives us the ability to see the road ahead clearer.

Paul understood this to be true, and he begins in Galatians 3 by taking his audience back to some important truths.

¹ You foolish Galatians! Who has cast a spell on you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?  ² I only want to learn this from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by believing what you heard?  ³ Are you so foolish? After beginning by the Spirit, are you now finishing by the flesh?  ⁴ Did you experience so much for nothing—if in fact it was for nothing?  ⁵ So then, does God give you the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law? Or is it by believing what you heard— ⁶ just like Abraham who believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness?

Galatians 3:1–6 (CSB)

Paul begins chapter 3 with a series of questions for his readers to answer.

‌How is a person saved?

In verse 2, Paul asks if a person receives the Holy Spirit by the works of the Law or by faith in the gospel. Paul takes the Galatians back to the beginning of their faith journey. He asks them how were they saved: by works or by faith. Of course, the answer is by faith in the message of the gospel. There are no works that we can do to earn salvation.‌

⁸ For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— ⁹ not from works, so that no one can boast.

Ephesians 2:8–9 (CSB)

How do we continue in our relationship with Jesus?

In verse 3, Paul asks about how a person continues their relationship with Jesus: by faith in God or by our works.

⁶ So then, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in him, ⁷ being rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing with gratitude.

Colossians 2:6–7  (CSB)

Did God give His Spirit and miracles because of our works or faith?

In verses 5-6, Paul asks if the work God did in the people’s lives was because they earned it with good behavior or because they trusted in God’s promise as Abraham did in the Old Testament.

Paul realizes that many of the Galatians were in a stuck position and having trouble going forward correctly. He takes them back to the elementary teachings of the faith. From verses 6-18, he goes back to Abraham to show these people (and us) how we can move forward appropriately.

These three questions that Paul asks are intended to show the readers that our relationship with God is by faith and not dependent upon what we do. Should there be a change in our words and actions? Yes, but that comes as a result of the new person that Jesus creates us to be when we place our faith in Him. We don’t get saved because we are good enough. We don’t continue to be saved because we do good things. God doesn’t do mighty works in our midst because we’ve done enough good things ourselves for Him to show up. These things all come about through our faith in Him and His work.

The false teachers that were coming in and causing problems claimed that people had to follow the Law to be right with God. They would have called themselves “children of Abraham” or “children of the Promise” much like the Jews that Jesus spoke to in John 8.

Paul shares in verses 7-9 that those who live by faith are the true descendants of Abraham and experience the blessing he did – a genuine relationship with God. It’s not about what our family tree is or our achievements. Our relationship with God is determined by where we place our faith and trust.

Starting in verse 10, Paul combats what the false teachers were saying about following the Law by showing that the Law only revealed the curse.

¹⁰ For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written, Everyone who does not do everything written in the book of the law is cursed.

Galatians 3:10 (CSB)

James would say it later in the New Testament this way:

¹⁰ For whoever keeps the entire law, and yet stumbles at one point, is guilty of breaking it all.

James 2:10 (CSB)

The Law of Moses was never given to be a checklist to get into heaven. The thought of us keeping these rules and God letting us in doesn’t fly. What the Law did was reveal that we are in desperate need of a Savior because each of us has broken God’s laws in some way.

Paul shares in verse 11 that we are justified before God by faith in Jesus Christ.

¹¹ Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because the righteous will live by faith.

Galatians 3:11 (CSB)

In verse 13, we see the beautiful picture of what Jesus did for us on the cross.

¹³ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, because it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.

Galatians 3:13 (CSB)

Jesus took on our sins when He went to the cross. He paid the debt that we could never pay. He made the only way for us to be made right with God: by trusting in His finished work on our behalf.

Paul wraps up this section in verse 17 by showing that the Law did not cancel the promise that God made to Abraham.

¹⁷ My point is this: The law, which came 430 years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously established by God and thus cancel the promise.

Galatians 3:17 (CSB)

The promise was that through faith in God’s plan, a person would be made righteous. This came over 400 years before the Law was even given. The Law was not a means to gain the promise. The promise comes to any person who comes to God by faith and is willing to submit to His plan.

‌Conclusion

Paul did not want to see the Galatians stuck in the mud about their relationship with God. The teachings of the false teachers had caused them to lose traction in their walk.

There are times when we will feel stuck – it may be in our relationship with God, our relationship with others, our finances, or a host of other things. When we feel like the wheels are spinning and we’re stuck, sometimes the best thing that we can do is to back up.

Henry Blackaby talks about “spiritual markers” in his study, Experiencing God. These are points in our lives where we clearly know God was guiding us. It is important for us to mark those moments in our lives so that when we find ourselves stuck or not knowing which direction to go, we can look back on those moments and see the direction God was moving us in.

I wonder if today some of you find yourselves stuck. Maybe you find the wheels of your life are just spinning, but you aren’t going anywhere. Maybe you’re standing at a fork in the road and aren’t sure which way to go.  I want you to know this: God hasn’t abandoned you. He doesn’t get any enjoyment out of watching you worry. He wants to guide you along the path He has for you — a path that will lead you closer to Him.

If you find yourself stuck or at a crossroads and don’t know what to do, I would encourage you to back up and see how He has led you in the past. Ask the Lord for guidance and clarity as you proceed.

You may say, “I don’t have any points to go back to that I can think of.” If that’s you, then I would say that you need to go back to the cross and start there. Start by surrendering your life to Jesus and receiving His gift of salvation that He offers to anyone who will accept it.