Using Scripture to Deceive

It is hard to believe but it is nevertheless true that some preachers "lie in wait to deceive" their hearers (Eph. 4:14). They even use Scripture to do it by misinterpreting it. Satan used this tactic when he tempted our Lord in the wilderness. He had been defeated on each of the first two attempts and so the enemy said in effect, "O.K. If I can't win by opposing him then I'll win by joining him." And so he quoted Scripture, from Psalm 91. But, he conveniently misinterpreted it for his own advantage (Luke 4:10-11). The Lord recognized this ploy and warded off the attack with another Scripture.

This tactic was used by the Judaizers in the early church. They believed that faith in Christ, though crucial, was not enough for salvation; believers had to observe the ceremonial law to be approved by God and to be welcomed into the family of God. They used Scripture to teach this. Had not Abraham, who received the promise that through him all the nations of the world would be blessed (Gen. 12:2-3), been commanded to be circumcised to be part of the family of God? (Gen. 17:10) This reference to Abraham and to Scripture made a lot of sense to the Jewish and Gentile believers. But, if the Christians of that day carefully studied their Scriptures, they would have discovered the deliberate misinterpretation. The Judaizers conveniently forgot an event that took place ten years after the promise and fourteen years before the command to be circumcised. At that time Abraham was challenged to believe that even at his advanced years, he would have a child who would be the seed of a great nation who would produce the Messiah. Scientifically, this was impossible. But faith takes God at His Word. "He believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness" (Gen. 15:6). This means that Abraham was saved by faith alone - fourteen years before he was circumcised. Paul concludes, "Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham ... So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham" (Gal. 3:7, 9). Friend, don't give up precious gospel truth to people whose major self-appointed task is to lead you astray. They will even use Scripture to do it, but it will be abused.

A Personal Remedy for Deserting the Faith

In 1965 a teenager began to attend our church services. He showed an interest in the Bible and gave every evidence of salvation. However, he left us after several weeks to join with the Mormons who had convinced him that he needed more than just a trust in the cross work of Jesus Christ for his salvation. How tragic! His experience represents that of thousands who desert the pure gospel of grace for a false form of Christianity that presumes to improve on the finished work of Christ. Some look for a second work of grace; some, for a commitment to the Lordship of Christ some time after being justified; still others, the baptism of the Holy Spirit which is evidenced by one's speaking in tongues.


In Galatians 3:1–5 the Apostle Paul reminds his readers that a believer's experience of the Lord Jesus Christ, of the Holy Spirit, and of God the Father are uncontested evidence of having been graciously made acceptable to God through personal faith in the perfect, complete work of Christ, apart from any human supplement. John McArthur states, "Although experience in itself is not entirely reliable evidence of spiritual reality, it is nevertheless a powerful apologetic when closely linked with and built on scriptural truth. Because genuine Christian experience verities the gospel of grace, the inspired apostle was led by the Holy Spirit to use it as an effective means of defending the doctrine of justification by faith." In 3:6-4:11 he will deal with the scriptural truth but here in 3:1-5 he helps to draw us back to the pure gospel if ever we were to stray by directing us to a few questions. (1) Was I justified in any other way than by believing in the cross work of Christ? (3:1) (2) Did I receive the Holy Spirit, our greatest evidence of final salvation, in any other way than by faith in the gospel and at the same time as my justification? (3:2-4) (3) Did the Father grant me, as He had promised, the Spirt power for victory over Satan, sin and the world in any other way than by faith in the gospel of grace (3:5)? If not, then how could I hope to enhance any of that out of my own insignificant human resources?

Superficial Believers

I don't know what the percentage is, but I dare say that evangelical churches are filled with superficial believers. They live only to experience spiritual "highs." In seeking for good feelings, they have missed the truly joyful, happy, satisfying life. Make no mistake about it, there are wonderful feelings in the Christian life, but they are found only in knowing and obeying God's truth. True happiness comes as John McArthur describes it as the product of a "humble pursuit of God's truth and will and of conformity to it."

The first century had their share of such believers too. Paul speaks of them in Galatians 3:1-5. "O foolish Galatians!" (Gal. 3:1) "Are ye so foolish?" (3:3) "Foolish" is such a harsh word! But the Apostle was not calling them stupid. The word that he used here means "no mind" or "no understanding." The Galatian saints failed to use their spiritual intelligence when faced by the unscriptural, gospel-destroying teaching of the Judaizers. They were not using their heads. They were lazy! They had foolishly fallen into Judaistic legalism because they had stopped believing and applying the basic truths of the gospel that Paul had taught them and by which they had been saved.

We are neither saved nor sanctified in the Christian life on the basis of good feelings or attractive inclinations. Both are on the basis of God's truth in Christ. Christians who rely on self-oriented emotions instead of Scripture-oriented minds are doomed to be "tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive." (Eph. 4:14). When they judge an idea on the basis of how good it makes them feel or how nice it sounds rather than on the basis of its harmony with God's Word, they are in serious spiritual danger.

Questions to Ponder:
1. What do you think attracts most people to cults: (1) They are intellectually convinced the doctrines of the cult are true. (2) They find its teachings and practices appealing. Support your answer.
2. Does Paul's appeal to the Roman saints in Rom. 12:1-2 apply to "foolish" saints today? How?

Justification by Faith Alone

Twice Paul describes the Galatian saints as "foolish" in the space of three verses (Gal. 3:1, 3). A. T. Robertson, a Greek scholar, defined that word as "without sense" or understanding. In Romans 1:14, 21 Paul uses this term in speaking of pagans. How, then, does he speak of Christians as being without sense? Sometimes we believers can be so influenced by the world that we think like them, or as in this case, we don't understand the basics of Christianity like them. This is tragic! The confusion in Paul's day - and in ours - is over justification by faith.

Justification is one of the great benefits for trusting in Jesus Christ for salvation. It is a forensic term and envisions a courtroom with God as the Judge. The Bible often speaks of God as judge. To name a few, Abraham called Him "Judge of all the earth" (Gen. 18:25) and Paul called Him "the righteous Judge" (2 Tim. 4:8). Here is where the problems over this doctrine begin because people question how a holy God can announce a sinner righteous. Charles Ryrie (Basic Theology, p. 299) points out that there are only three options for God as sinners stand in His courtroom. He must condemn them, compromise His own righteousness to receive them as they are, or He can change them into righteous people. And if He does the last one, then He can announce them righteous, which is justification. However, Ryrie clarifies, "any righteousness the sinner has must be actual, not fictitious; real, not imagined; acceptable by God's standards, and not a whit short." Here's how God did it; it's all found in Galatians. We will be safeguarded from such confusion if we remember these. (1) His plan centered in Jesus Christ, not in human work (2:16). (2) The prerequisite is faith in the now-revealed Jesus Christ (2:16). (3) The price is the blood of Christ (2:21), a great cost to Him but a free gift to us. (4) The position established for the believer is union with Christ. This is what makes him righteous (2:20). And (5) the pronouncement is righteousness for the sinner who believes in Christ (3:6).

Questions to Ponder:
1. How does Paul's appeal in 3:1-5 validate what he argued for in 2:15-16?
2. What "Christian" rules seem to be important in your circles? Why?

What Makes Christianity Tick

Martin Luther stood alone, like the Apostle Paul, valiantly defending the great doctrine of justification by faith, the doctrine which is at the core of Christianity. He defined a Christian as, “not somebody who has no sin, but somebody against whom God no longer chalks sin, because of his faith in Christ. This doctrine brings comfort to consciences in serious trouble.”

Paul's defence over the same issue took place some 1500 years before Luther. Paul "withstood him [the Apostle Peter] to the face" (Gal. 2:11). There was no unity here. No peace! But Paul was not the problem, though he instigated the troublous moment. It was Peter and he had to be rebuked! His behavior of separating from fellow believers on the basis of race was totally disconcerting to Gentile believers and, I might add, very dishonoring to the Lord. Paul uses the pronoun "I" twice, once in reference to Peter (2:18) and the other, to himself (2:19). In the first he points out Peter's problem of building again by his behavior what he destroyed (a legal system for approaching God). He knew better. He was saved by faith alone in Christ, not by keeping the Law - just like the Gentiles. In the second, in his own person, Paul gives us an excellent description of the mysterious life of a believer. He is crucified, and yet he lives. At the time of His salvation he was united to Jesus Christ, who now lives within the saint. The old man is crucified (Rom. 6:6), but the new man is living; he is dead to the world, and dead to the law, and yet alive to God and Christ; sin is mortified, and grace quickened. What Paul contended for is what we must today. Justification (being declared righteous by God our Judge) by faith alone makes no sense to most people. Surely, they say, we must do something about sins that remain in our lives! Paul answers this more as we will see in our continuing study of the rest of Galatians. For now he points out that he is avoiding two great difficulties:

1. That he did not frustrate the grace of God, which the doctrine of the justification by the works of the law did. "And if by grace, then is it no more of works." (Rom. 11:6)
2. That he did not frustrate the death of Christ, whereas, if righteousness come by the law, then it must follow that Christ has died in vain. Why should He be appointed to die, if we might have been saved without it?

The Harmful Influence of Careless Hypocrisy

In the November issue of Our Daily Bread was an article for the 24th entitled, Careless Preachers. Its substance was summarized in the final statement, "It's a mistake to think that we can impress the world by compromising with it." The great Apostle Peter did just that and was called to task for it by another great apostle, Paul (Galatians 2:11-13). His hypocrisy influenced a great many of the saints in the Syrian church in Antioch. Even the great Barnabas began to compromise because of Peter's actions. This is serious. Unsaved people may not be so much against Jesus as they are against hypocrisy. We repeatedly hear scoffers say, "The church is full of hypocrites!" Of course, it seems to be a good ploy to get out of their own responsibility to face up to the gospel. But let's not ignore that statement and dismiss it without taking heed lest they be true. We tend to think that it's not true of us. But let's think again. How many times have we been like the woman who glanced through her window, only to see a nosy, noisy neighbor approaching her door! Her young, impressionable children heard her as she grumbled, "Oh, no—not her again!" Whereupon she opened the door and gushed insincerely, "How very nice to see you!" Our lips and our lives often preach a mixed message. Let us be careful lest some of our friends are influenced by our careless hypocrisy.

Contending? or Contentious?

A collision happened in the early church in Antioch of Syria. It's a collision that has happened time and time again between people who disagree. In that case (Gal. 2:11) two of the most outstanding apostles, Peter and Paul, did battle. Paul states, "But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed." In doing so Paul was entering on dangerous territory because many others in history had tried to do battle with their fellows, only to fail. Proverbs 26:21 reminds us that "as charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to fire, so is a contentious man to kindle strife." Those “who stir up dissension among brothers” (Proverbs 6:19) are on the same list of things the Lord hates. Contentious hearts look for things to criticize and for opportunities to tear down a person, program, or idea. They destroy the essential commodities of happy and productive relationships, i.e. trust, thinking the best of others, and loving attitudes. It’s no wonder that Paul warned the Christians in Galatia about the danger of this kind of talk. He wrote, “If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other” (Galatians 5:15). We need to watch our attitudes with others. But Paul was doing just that and he entered into battle in order to restore Peter. Peter's compromise needed rebuke and Paul gave it. God is at work, even in the most trying circumstances; what could have been a tragedy, He used for His glory and for the strengthening of His church. By this Paul was our example of his exhortation in Galatians 6:1, "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, considering theyself, lest thou also be tempted."