Paul asks the Galatians this question – did you start your journey with faith? Why do you expect to finish it by works? We often make the mistake of knowing that we are saved by faith but believing that once we are saved or justified, we have to be sanctified through our own efforts. We partially live as if we are saved by faith but sanctified through works. That’s not the way that it is. We are justified through faith. But we are also sanctified by faith. It is God’s grace at work in us, in all things.

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Good morning. It’s great to be with you on this Friday morning. I hope you’ve had a great week and that everything is going well. I’m looking forward to a good weekend. We have a district training event at the church tomorrow, so I’ll be here helping with that, but other than that, not much else planned. It’s also good to be back home and back in worship this Sunday after being out for the Honduras trip. I’m excited to preach again at Saint Matthew’s—it’s going to be a great day.

Today, we’re picking up with Galatians chapter 3, reading verses 1 through 14. I love how Paul starts this—it always makes me laugh:

“You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly exhibited as crucified. The only thing I want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing works of the law or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? Having started with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?”

Paul is baffled that the Galatians, who started their faith journey with the Spirit, now think they can finish it through their own works.

He then points to Abraham as an example:

“Just as Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness, so you see those who believe are the descendants of Abraham.”

Paul’s making two points here. First, it wasn’t Abraham’s bloodline or works that made him righteous—it was his faith. Second, that same faith makes us, as believers, part of Abraham’s family. It’s not about ancestry; it’s about belief. That means the family of God is open to everyone, Jew or Gentile, through faith.

Paul also warns that relying on the law brings a curse because no one can fully obey it. But Jesus took that curse on Himself when He died on the cross so that we could be made right with God through faith, not through works.

There’s something important Paul highlights here:

“Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard? Having started with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?”

It’s easy for us as Christians to believe we are saved by grace through faith but then think we have to “earn” our spiritual growth through hard work. We assume God starts the process, but it’s up to us to finish it.

But that’s not how it works.

The same grace that saves us is the grace that grows us. Our spiritual growth—our sanctification—doesn’t happen because we work harder; it happens because we keep surrendering to God’s grace. It’s not about striving. It’s about trusting.

Paul’s message is simple: We’re justified by faith and sanctified by faith. It’s all about grace—at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end.

On Monday, we’ll continue with chapter 3, starting in verse 15, and keep digging into Paul’s message about faith and the law. We’re building up to chapter 4, where Paul really turns up the heat—so it’s going to be good.

Have a great weekend, and I look forward to seeing many of you on Sunday. See you Monday!