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2:05So then, does he who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you do it by the works of the law or by hearing with faith? Even so, Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Well, in our passage this morning, we encounter the fool. The good news is that I cut the sermon in half so you have less to listen to. The bad news is you'll still be here till 3 p.m.

2:45Bad news is we will look at the blessed in the new year. But look at verse 1, you foolish Galatians. And then again in verse 3, are you so foolish? We encounter in this passage the fool. What is foolish? What does it mean to be a fool in this context? Well, it means to be senseless, gullible, someone without understanding, someone easily taking in. It's the opposite of being wise. I remember when I was little and I was just learning how to spell and spell my name. We were riding in the car, and my sister told me that my name was written all over road signs. And I said, Really? I was excited.

3:47And when we came to a low point in the road, she said, There it is, D-I-P. Tom. Dip. A dip wit. Someone who's dense. Someone who's senseless. I didn't know much better, although I should have known a little bit better, because at that time, my mom had started teaching me how to spell my name, T-O-M. But there it was, D-I-P, and I believed her. And to this day, when I come to a low point in the road, I say, eh. There's my name again, DIP, written. Well, that's the idea of a foolish person, someone who doesn't know any better, someone who can believe just about anything, even the ridiculous.

4:47Now, we celebrate this season, and one of the perplexing questions that has plagued me from my youth is: how does one go from being naughty to nice? As you are well aware, we have many Christmas celebrations that centers around this figure who separates people into two categories, the naughty and the nice. And he has a list, checks it twice, and he has some criteria to determine who's naughty and who's nice. But the question that is important is: how, if I happen to be on that naughty list, how do I go from being on the naughty list to being on the nice list?

5:40Do I have to work to be good for goodness' sake, or is there something else that comes about? What does the Bible teach us about how one goes from being evil to being good? Well, that we have to look beyond the reindeer and the Bells, and we have to look to the manger and the cross. That's how we go from being fundamentally antagonistic to God to being in line with Him and pleasing to Him. And so, the question that is important and before us today is: how do I get on God's good list?

6:25There are two ways presented in the book of Galatians, and one is the way of fools, and the other is the way of the blessed. The fools are the ones who trust in their own ability to obey all that God wants. They are the fools in the book of Galatians and in the passage we have before us. And then there are those who are blessed. They are those who trust not in their own goodness, but they trust in the one who is good and being joined to the one who is good through faith and belief in what he has done.

7:14That he is good, and he desires to share his goodness with all humanity, with everyone who will put their faith and trust in him. You see, by listening to the Judaizers, so we've been Studying. The church of Galatia was becoming a church of religious fools. It's Paul's language. Paul's the one using this term. The church in Galatia was becoming a bunch of religious fools. Are you a religious fool? What is a religious fool in the book of Galatians? Well, that's our topic this morning. And I want to share with you a parable this morning, a parable I've called the Christmas Fool. The Christmas fool. Come with me to a time before handheld devices, computer screens, and social media. Imagine, if you can, a time before television, movies, theatrical plays, and even the printing press. What do you suppose people did, especially the rich and powerful, for entertainment? What do you think they did? Well, welcome to the world of the court jester. You see, jesters were usually employed in the households of noblemen and monarchs to entertain guests. And some of them were very talented. You had to be to entertain so many guests. They were skilled in. Entertainers. Some were talented singers, some were talented musicians, some were great gymnasts and acrobats, some were great orators, some were great storytellers, and some, all of them, really had an ability to make people laugh. Well, this story is about one particular court jester. He lived and served a once great king whose kingdom had begun to crumble. As with all great empires, there comes a time when the internal cohesion of its own citizen breaks down and the external enemies attack its borders. Such was the time as this. It was a time of turmoil and conflict, and it had turned a happy king into a depressed and angry one. So much so that his court officials feared entering the king's presence, and especially in times of bad news.

10:06And so they often called upon the jester to deliver bad news to the king. On one occasion, the king's naval fleet had been destroyed by an enemy during a critical battle. Everyone knew the news would devastate and infuriate the king, so no one wanted to deliver the message. So, guess who was sent in to deliver the message? The court jester. He was sent in to inform the king, and this is the message that he gave to the king: O king, glorious and true, I have some news to give to you.

10:51Your enemies are no braver than the otter, for your men alone jumped into the water. At first, the king laughed, and then he cried when he understood the implications of the jester's words. Only a fool would break news like that to the king in such a manner, he thought. And yet, the king admired the courage of the jester. So, to reward the jester, the king had his servants make a jester's hat. You've seen it. It looks like a crown, and it had little bells attached to the end. The hat symbolized the king's protection of the jester's privilege to speak freely and even mock anything without being punished. The king placed the hat upon the jester's head and said, The king admires your bravery and wit, so upon your head this fool's crown shall sit. Reminding all. Of your protection by me until it is placed on a fool greater than thee.

12:09Well, as the years went on, the kingdom continued to decline despite all the efforts by the king to restore it to its former glory. The jester became the king's closest companion, confidant, and counselor, for only the jester could make the king smile. Eventually, the king declined to such a state that it was time for him to name the successor to his throne. The king had three daughters and no sons. To which of the three would the king grant his kingdom? Which would be able to restore the kingdom to its former glory? Well, Christmas Day would be the day of the reveal. The first daughter's name was Lawless.

12:59She would rule through bribery by allowing the people to do whatever was right in their own eyes. The second daughter was named La Fool, F-U-L-L, Lawful. She would rule through legalism, intimidation, and threats of punishment, much like King Rehoboam. The third daughter, her name was Love. She would rule through truth. Justice, mercy, self-sacrifice, and a good example. Lawless, lawful, and love. Which do you think would be the best to rule? Which do you think that the king would choose? Everybody wanted to know who would be the next ruler. Some of the court advised the king to grant the kingdom to lawless.

14:04Most preferred lawful and were pressing the king to select her. But very few favored love. Well, Christmas morning came. The king's court gathered in his chambers to hear his decision. But before he announced it, the king summoned the jester to his bedside to get his advice. And this is what the jester said. The answer, O king, is plain to see. But so to reveal a greater fool than me, give not your kingdom to number three. So the king was somewhat perplexed. He hardly considered the jester's words and granted the kingdom to his second daughter, lawful.

15:00The room quickly emptied, the coronation occurred, Lawful became queen, and soon afterwards, the kingdom collapsed entirely. The king had clearly made the wrong choice. Well, just before leaving the king's chamber that fateful Christmas day, the jester bowed his head low before the king and said these words: If I am a fool, as you declared me to be, then there be only one fool greater than me. Whoever listens to a fool is a fool greater than he.

15:45And with that, the court jester placed the fool's hat upon the dying king and said goodbye. Whoever listens to a fool is a fool greater than he. Well, such is the lesson of the Christmas fool. And such was the lesson Paul was trying to communicate to the churches in Galatia. By listening to the Judaizers, they had become even more foolish than they. You see, whoever listens to a fool must be more foolish than the fool. Who do you listen to? If you listen to a fool, That makes you more foolish than the fool to be taken in by a fool.

16:38You see, the Galatians had become religious fools, according to Paul's terminology. And again, I'll remind you in the book: a religious fool in this context is one who looks upon the gospel and then turns to another system to please God. Someone who starts with the gospel but then turns to a law-keeping obedience, such as found in the Mosaic law. You see, there were those who, after seeing the gospel, after hearing it, after seeing all that had taken place, were then listening to those who would take their eyes off Christ and put it on a set of legalistic do's and don'ts.

17:33You see, the fool in Galatians is the one who trusts in their own goodness to save and/or to sanctify, and not trusting in God's goodness to save and to sanctify. Look back at Galatians 2:16. Paul says this: A man is not justified by the works of the law, but through Faith in Christ Jesus. A man is not justified by the works of the law, but through faith in Christ Jesus. That's his thesis statement for the whole book. And everything that comes after this is going to be proof.

18:18In our passage today, Paul defends this statement by appealing to the Galatians' own personal experience. And then he's going to relate it to Scripture as the book proceeds. And what he does, he asks five questions, five thought-provoking questions, and then he's going to give them a resounding and definitive answer. Are you a religious fool? Do you think that the gospel isn't enough? And I see this all around. That somehow the gospel isn't enough. Christ crucified isn't enough. We need another work of the Spirit instead of the work, what he did in his Son, and bringing us to faith in that. Is faith not enough? Is there something else out there? Or is there some other legalistic proofs or rules that we need to come under in order to gain more favor with God?

19:25And often we are driving down the road. And the words DIP, dip, are in our forefront because we don't know any better. Well, Paul wrote to challenge this foolish thinking and to square it solidly with the truth of God's word and the truth of the experience, truth of what happened in Galatia. And so Paul's going to ask five questions and then he's going to give a resounding answer. And I want us to look at these so that we won't be a fool. We'll understand how to answer a fool's folly in regards to salvation. Five questions and one answer.

20:19Uh-oh, maybe just. There they are. Five thought-provoking questions. Look at verse number one. You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. The first question. Who wants to take your eyes off Jesus? Think about it for a minute. Who wants to take your eyes off Jesus? It's a similar question that Paul is asking the Galatians. Who has bewitched you? Before whose eyes? Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. The word for bewitched is the idea to someone casting a spell over you. It's to capture you and to influence you in a very bad way. And so, what Paul is saying, someone has bewitched you, someone or something.

21:26Before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed. Look, Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. The idea of being publicly portrayed is like putting up a placard or a poster notice everywhere or a billboard. Think of that. A billboard, something announcing something very important. And when Paul went to Galatia, he was one who was publicly setting before everyone Jesus Christ crucified. That Jesus Christ was crucified. The Messiah, the ruler of all, was killed in the most horrific and humiliating way. But he didn't do it for his own sake. He didn't die for his own sake. He died for the sake of others. He was crucified. Paul's like, when I came there, what I sought to display before Your eyes is this Jesus Christ, God come in the flesh, doing things that only God can do. There he was, crucified.

22:41And his crucifixion happened in the past, but there are abiding effects of that crucifixion that play out in Paul's day and in our days and will be forever crucified. You see, Paul made much of the cross. His Judaizers made little of the cross. Listen, the concept of a crucified Messiah is no light matter. Was he really God's Messiah? Was he really God in the flesh, who we celebrate this time of year, born in the manger? Is he really God's Messiah? And then why in the world did he have to die? Oh, weighty matter. It's the very foundation of Christianity.

23:32You see, Paul didn't come to Galatia expounding on the law of Moses. That's not what his message was. It was Christ crucified, but somebody had bewitched them. You see, this was the king giving his life for his people. Truth, justice, mercy, sacrifice, example, all of that. Christ crucified. But someone had bewitched them. Cause their eyes to turn away from that glorious truth that Paul had set before them. The word who is singular. It's not a whom, who all, whom, singular. And it must ultimately imply Satan. Spurgeon said it like this: If you take your eyes off Christ, it must be witchcraft that makes you do it. There is such glory, such beauty, such perfection, such wisdom, such divinity in Christ crucified that if you turn from that sight to anything else, no matter how scientific and learned it may be, you are foolish. Indeed, somebody has bewitched you. Are you a religious fool?

24:58Are you allowing somebody to take your eyes off Jesus Christ and Him crucified? Then, yes, you are, according to Paul. Second question: What drew you to God in the first place? It's a good question. Are you a religious fool? Well, who wants to take away your eyes off Jesus? Well, you know the answer to that. It's easy. What drew you to God in the first place? He's talking to those who have heard the gospel, those who have received the gospel. And he's asking them, on what basis did you initially receive God's Spirit? What drew you to God in the first place? Look back at verse 2. This is the only thing I want to find out from you. Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by hearing with faith?

25:50What caused you to receive? And the word for receive is an active, to grab on to, to take hold of. What moved you to receive the Spirit of God? To receive that Spirit that comes from the heavenly realms. What moved you to this point? Two options. Was it the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Was it through the preaching of the works of the law that drew you to God in the first place?

26:29Like Paul, did he come there and say, you know, there it was. I heard Paul, there he was. He opened up Deuteronomy 25, 4, and he said, you shall not muzzle an ox while it's treading out the grain, and my heart was stirred. And then he got to the pork carnitas. Oh, the pork carnitis. I cannot eat the pork carnitas, and I came alive. Do you think that's what moved them? That's foolish. Paul didn't come preaching about profiling. Prohibitions about pork carnitas or bacon-wrapped shrimp.

27:06That wasn't the message. He wasn't going through the legalistic regulations of the law. That's not what he proclaimed at all. No, that's not, and that's what Paul's asking. Was it through the works of the law? Was that what brought you to the Spirit? The answer in their minds would have been, of course not. Paul didn't preach that. You see what he's doing? He's leading them to ask these questions and answer the questions in their own minds.

27:35Or was it by the hearing of faith? Did you, were you initially drawn to God through the hearing of the preaching of the excellencies of Christ, who he was and what he did? That doctrine, that material of Christ crucified and all that that touches upon and all that implies of your Creator's love for you. Were you drawn to God through that? God incarnate came and died on a cross to take away your sins. God incarnate came and he rose again. God incarnate loves you dearly and he has called you into a close relationship with him. That's the truth that Paul set before them. And he asked them, what drew you to God? Was it the preaching of the law or was it the preaching of the gospel? Of course there is. Answer would have been, of course, it was the gospel.

28:36What drew you first to God? And then that leads to the next question. Can you complete what God begins? Another question for a religious fool. Can you complete what God begins? Look back at verse 3. Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected in the flesh? In the English, it looks like there's two questions there, but it's really one in the Greek. Are you so foolish, having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected or completed by the flesh? So what Paul is saying is like, look, if your new life began by the Holy Spirit, why do you think its conclusion is now all up to you?

29:27Can you complete what God began? It's foolish to think that the Spirit would start something that he was not able or not willing to finish. Think how foolish this is. I mean, he's like, are you so foolish? Are you so clueless? Are you so gullible that you think you can finish what God began? That'd be like going back to Genesis 1, and God said, let there be light, and you stepping in and saying, Okay, God, I got it from here. I'll take it, I'll take it, and I'll finish all this stuff out. Foolish, or maybe it's like God created, God just get through the separating the waters from the waters, and then I'll take it over and I'll complete this whole thing. That's utterly ridiculous, isn't it? To think that we could finish what God has started. So foolish. And that's what Paul. Are you so foolish to think you can complete what God has begun?

30:31You see, the Spirit in there thinks he was needed to start the job, but not able to finish it. How could the flesh, and think about the enterprise, the project, we think of the cosmos. We think about that great thing, but let me ask you: did Christ had to be crucified for the creation of the cosmos? You ever think about that? He did not. The world came into order, and Christ didn't have to be crucified. But let me tell you something: in order to confirm you in holiness, he had to be crucified.

31:25Listen, friends, God is doing something far more glorious in. You than in the entire cosmos. There is a beauty in Christ's likeness that is so deep, so rich, and God was willing to be crucified to accomplish it. He didn't have to do that for the cosmos, but he did have to do that for us. Yeah, the work of Christ's likeness being perfected in the image of God Himself being perfect, Him drawing out of the darkness of human depravity and of fallen Adam to take from that stock and make a glorious and holy people is a work greater than the cosmos.

32:24And what Paul is saying, do you think you can complete that? No way. It's foolishness. You have a very low view of Christ's likeness if you think you can finish it in your fallen, weak, and decaying flesh. That's what Paul's saying. Look, you can't complete this in your flesh. Question number four. Are you just going to throw it all away? Are you going to throw it all away? Verse 4. Did you suffer so many things in vain, if indeed it was in vain?

33:23You see, you suffered so much. It was very costly to bring the gospel to you. You see, the Galatians, they would not have suffered at all. The word for suffer is actually the word experience. Endure. Did you experience so many things, endure so many things for nothing? Did you go through all that you went through for nothing? All those labors, all that work in bringing the gospel to you, all that was contended for, all that you had to experience, all that you suffered.

34:03You see, they wouldn't have suffered by the hands of the Jews or the instigation of the Jews had they been seeking to follow the Mosaic law. There wouldn't have been all that mess if Paul had been coming and just preaching the Mosaic law. The fact that he preached that the Jewish Messiah had come and that the Jewish Messiah had been crucified, and now that the Jewish Messiah is Lord of all and invites all to come into a favorable relation. With God through him, that is what caused the great kerfuffles in all of those cities of Galatia.

34:44You see, if they listened to the Judaizers and brought themselves under the Mosaic law, all that suffering would have been in vain, for no purpose. Think about all that God did to bring the gospel to you. Think about the parents. There's some kids, you're sitting here today. Think about where God has placed you, He has put you in a home, and you have gone to church all your life. And yet, if you do not receive Christ, it's all for vain. Are you just going to throw all that away? Think of the efforts that other people have done. Think about the church. Think about the friends. Think about the trials and everything that has gone on in your life that has pointed the way or opened your eyes to see Christ.

35:43And are you not throwing it all away if you just simply go back or go off to something other than Christ crucified for your salvation? In which case, you're throwing away all of it for. Nothing. All the ministry, all the efforts, all that came around you to bring, all that you experienced, all that you went through, all of that is for nothing if you reject Christ. And that's what Paul is saying. Did you suffer so many things in vain? If indeed it was in vain.

36:25You see, Paul is holding out hope for him by this statement. He is saying, yeah, if indeed this is true about you, if you indeed you really are a religious fool. But you can tell by Paul's tone here and his question, he's wanting to pull them back. He's not giving up on them. That's the purpose of the letter, is to call them out of this foolishness. To be a fool greater than a fool is to listen to a fool.

36:59Paul is calling them out of their foolishness of listening to fools. Fifth question. What did you experience after coming to God? What did you experience after you came to God? Look at verse 5. So then, does he who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you do it by? The works of the law or by hearing of faith. This question is very much like the question asked in verse 2, but there's a nuance. On what basis did you witness the Spirit's ongoing activity? In verse 2, he asked, What drew you to God in the first place? And now, here in verse 5, he's saying, On what basis did you witness the continual work of the Spirit in your life and in your community?

38:04Was it because you then started obeying the law? That's why you saw miracles after you believed the transformation and all that you experienced? Or was it because you continued to hear the gospel and go deeper and understand more? Notice the verb there is to provide. He who provides, the one who is supplying, granting. So then, does he, who the one who is now currently furnishing you with the Spirit and continuing to do works among you, producing and affecting and doing that which only God can do, even miracles, great, powerful things, things that demonstrate God's presence, whether it's internally, the internal transformation or the external transformation in the Community, Paul's saying, Does he who is providing you with the Spirit and accomplishing all these works and miracles, is he doing it because now you're paying attention to the teachings on the pork carnitas?

39:13No. Or is it because you're still focused on the gospel and what God has done? Paul is saying is: look, you initially received the Spirit by the hearing of faith. Now, on what basis would you expect your continual life and interaction with the Spirit to be except by faith? You see, if the news of Christ crucified and belief in it brought about the dramatic change of the indwelling of the Spirit, that's what initially drew them to God in the first place and caused them to receive the Spirit. If the news of Christ crucified and belief in that brought about such a change of the indwelling Spirit, how much more will growth in the knowledge and understanding and the embracing and the belief in the truths of the gospel further sanctify Christ's people and set them apart for his glory and enable them to walk with God? That's, you see, we are to continue believing in the gospel.

40:31We are to continue to growing in our understanding and the truths of the gospels and the implications of Christ crucified and what that says about our relationship with God and how firm that foundation is. And what does that say about our sanctification and becoming more and more like Him? You see, we are to continue to focus on these truths, those core truths that initially bought us, drew us, transformed us, and they will continue to have their dramatic impacts on our lives unless someone bewitches you and gets your eyes on somebody or something other than Jesus Christ.

41:27Those are the questions for the religious fools. Let's answer these. Who wants you to take your eyes off Jesus? It's clearly the devil. What drew you to God in the first place? It's the proclamation of the gospel. Can you complete what God begins? Absolutely not. Are you going to throw it all away for something else? No, hopefully not. What did you experience after coming to God? All of this. Did it come about through the preaching of the works of the law or through the gospel?

42:20I think by this time, Paul has brought his audience up to speed. They've answered the questions in the very similar fashion that you would have answered them here today. It's like duh, duh, duh. We're not dips. Duh, we know the answers to this. And then Paul gives one definitive answer, irrefutable, definitive answer that answers all these five questions with a resounding exclamation point. Verse 6. Even so, Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. What is his one answer? Abraham. Let's talk about Abraham.

43:19So you can think about what the previous answers ringing in their ears. You can imagine what they would be saying at this point in the letter. We experience life in the Spirit through the hearing of the gospel. Of course, that's what happened. Paul had led them there to reflect on their gospel experience so that they could evaluate it in light of Scripture. So he says, Let me bring to mind your experience. Now let's compare that experience with the scripture. He uses their experience for proof, but not in and of itself. He relates their experience to that found in Scripture. Notice verse 6: Even so.

44:05We're in this manner. It's a comparison. Just as Abraham believed God, just as Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness, so it is in your case. That's what happened. Even so. I read Genesis 15:1 through 6 earlier in the service. Let me read those again. 15, verse 1 says, This, after these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, Do not fear, Abram. I am a shield to you. Your reward shall be very great. Abram said, O Lord, what will you give me, since I am childless? And the heir of my house is Eleazar of Damascus. And Abram said, Since you have given me no offspring to me, I have One born in my house is my heir. Then behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, This man will not be your heir, but the one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir. And he took him outside. Verse 5: God took Abraham outside and said, Now look toward the heavens and count the stars if you are able to count them. And he said to him, So shall your descendants be. So what did he do? He took Abraham out, out of the tent, most likely. Stars all around. No light pollution at that time. Stars.

45:43Vast. He could see the heavens in that desert region. And God took him outside and he set before Abram the stars of heaven. Just look at this. Get your eyes set on this, Abram. So shall your descendants be. Now, Abram was an old man, and his wife was old, beyond childbearing years. Abraham had two options at that point: either believe God by accepting his word as true or inadvertently call God a liar. And so, with these innumerable stars, Stars and the night skies there in his eyesight, and with the knowledge of his own inability in his mind, Abraham believed God.

46:44He put his faith in God. He trusted God. And if you're reading in Genesis chapters 1, all the way up to 15, Abraham is in a stark difference to the flow of human history to that point. It was a God-sized task. Impossible for Abraham. It would have been unthinkable to Abraham that he could ever bring this about on his own. And it's in this context that God said, Then he believed in the Lord and he reckoned it to him as righteousness. And that's what Paul picks up in verse 6 of Galatians 3. Even so, Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Genesis 15, 6, Galatians 3, 6. Paul is using it. Reckoned it.

48:00God declared Abraham to be righteous. He considered him. He looked upon him. He accounted it to him as righteousness, right, just. You see, this was the right response to what God had said. And so that's what Paul is referring back to now. How is he linking that? I think he's just related the experience of the Galatians and what they went through. He asked them all these questions and he brought this to their mind. He said, even so, just like Abraham, this is what happened to you.

48:40Just as God set the stars of heaven before the eyes of Abraham, so Paul set Christ crucified before the eyes of the Galatians. That is what filled their eyes. Just as God called upon Abraham to have faith in him to do what only he could do, so Paul called upon the Galatians to put their faith in God to do what only he could do through Jesus Christ. Forgive your sins, make you right, and transform you into the image of that which is most glorious and beautiful. Just as raising up a great multitude from an old man and an old woman is impossible, so raising up a person. Perfectly holy people from the sin-ruined stock of fallen humanity is an impossible task for us.

49:46Just as Abraham could not bring about numerous offspring without God, so we cannot bring about our own righteousness in our own strength. You see, cleansing sinners is a God-sized task. We call that justification. Perfecting them is also a God-sized task. We call that sanctification. You see, even after we are saved, we are still dependent upon God to complete what He has finished. We still need pardon. We still need provision. We still need understanding. We need our bodies raised from the dust. We need His Spirit permanently put in us.

50:31Needs our fleshly body that is decaying, needs to be confirmed in holiness. We need to put on a new body that's fit for eternal habitation with God Almighty. That's a God-sized task. We're not going to get there on our own. Just as Abraham had to believe God to do the impossible, so we are called to believe God to do the impossible. Possible work of transforming us into the perfect likeness of Christ, but that's what He has promised to do. And friends, that is what He is doing if you're a believer.

51:19Don't let anybody take that from you. Even if you can't make sense of everything that's going on around you, that's what He is doing. And it's a marvelous work. Listen, what Paul is saying here, and we don't have time to get into it here, but what Paul is saying to these Galatians: look, before the law even came, before circumcision was even given, righteousness was present. God had a basis for righteousness even before the law even came on the scene. It's impossible, you foolish Galatians. Abraham was justified before there even was a law, before there even was circumcision. There is a basis for being right with God that is not based on your law-keeping observance. It's faith. Faith in God. Faith in that God is going to do what only God can do. And a faith that God wants a relationship with you, and He has brought that relationship near to you in the person of Jesus Christ. Christ.

52:32Don't let anybody take that away from you. Don't let anybody bewitch you. Well, these are the questions that Paul asked so that the Galatians wouldn't continue to be religious fools. I pray that we will not be fools. I also pray that we will not be Christmas fools, Christmas fools this year. I hope we will not exchange the glory of Christmas for anything else. It is profound. The manger, the cross, fill your eyes with this and trust God.

53:26Do not be a religious fool. You will never meet God's standards of holy perfection except through faith in Jesus Christ. And that's the good news. That's what He has brought. The blessing of Abraham is righteousness. And He invites you to that today by a relationship with Jesus Christ. Let us not throw aside the glory of Christmas. Let us not be religious fools, but cherish his work and believe his word. Heavenly Father, we bow our hearts, thanking you for the truth.

54:15You have come near. Chasten our hearts, let there not be a fool among us, or even a hint of foolishness in any one of us. Forgive us where we have allowed someone or something to take our eyes off the gospel and our eyes off of Christ and Him crucified. Father, we return to that today as a fresh reminder of your goodness, your love, your justice, your mercy, and the rules of your government, which are so glorious. We thank you.

55:05In Jesus' name, amen.