The Promise That Saves – Galatians
The Promise that Saves
Together Church | Pastor Brandon Werner
October 25, 2026 | Series: Galatians
INTRODUCTION
Once you’ve received and believed the gospel of grace, your heart hurts for anyone who is still struggling to justify themselves without it.
One time I felt that recently was this past March on a plane ride from Toronto to Chicago.
On the flight, I sat next to a man from India named Jeeb…
TELL THE STORY
When I left that conversation, my heart hurt for Jeeb.
He had just heard the gospel for the first time, but he had not placed his faith in Jesus. He left still trying to justify himself by keeping the laws of false gods that he could never appease.
As bad as I felt for Jeeb, imagine how the Apostle Paul felt for the churches in Galatia! On one of his missionary journeys, God used him to deliver to them the gospel of grace.
This is the gospel of grace…
Faith in Christ + NOTHING = Justification
That’s the gospel Jeeb needs! That’s the gospel we all need. That’s the gospel Paul gave to the Galatians while he was with them.
Initially, that was the gospel they received.
But after Paul left Galatia, some troublesome Judaizers infiltrated the church with a false gospel… the gospel of legalism.
For the past couple weeks, Pastor Jerry has done a phenomenal job defining and exposing legalism in the church.
The false gospel of legalism is this…
Faith in Christ + LAW = Justification
This so-called gospel is no gospel at all. The idea that we can earn right standing with God by our works or performance is demonic. By the works of the law, no one can be justified!
That’s Paul’s message throughout Galatians and especially in Galatians 3. If you have your Bible… open with me to Galatians 3.
Pastor Jerry started this section last week, and we’ll pick up on it.
In this section, Paul is building his argument. He wants the Galatians to see they are being fools for abandoning the gospel of grace by seeking to justify themselves through the law.
He opens this section like this…
Galatians 3:1
O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?
Jerry told us last week that to be a fool means they weren’t thinking.
And to be bewitched means that they had been seduced by false ideas.
Paul’s goal in this section is to help them think straight and to see legalism for what it truly is: a promise of salvation that cannot save.
- It tells you to earn what God gives by faith. (vv.5-9)
- It puts you under the curse of the law that only Christ can remove. (vv.10-14)
- It sends you back to the law when God has already made the way through His promise. (vv.15-18)
Today, in Galatians 3:5-18, Paul will show us that NO ONE can be justified by the LAW… we can only be justified by FAITH in the PROMISE of God.
BODY
So, as we get into this, let’s think like Paul… a friend and a church leader trying to help people he loves who have bought into false ideas about the gospel. He’s identifying the tenets of the Judaizer’s arguments and dismantling them piece by piece.
And he was the right man for the job…
The Apostle Paul knew how to think like a Judaizer.
He himself was a Jew of Jews and a Pharisee of Pharisees. In Philippians, Paul said he was blameless in keeping the law.
If anyone was going to be approved by the law it would have been him.
Because of his own background and knowledge of Judaism and the law, Paul knew the Judaizer’s playbook forwards and backwards… it’s like he was in their huddle.
How does Paul dismantle the arguments of legalism? What does he expose to call the Galatians back to the gospel of grace?
- Legalism tells you to earn what God gives by faith. (vv.5-9)
Galatians 3:5-9
5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith—6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?
7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
Paul’s in their huddle…
He knew a Judaizer would use the story of Abraham to show how those who are in covenant relationship with God must be circumcised.
So, Paul goes to Abraham to make his case!
He turns the tables by showing the Galatians that NO ONE IS JUSTIFIED BY WORKS OF THE LAW… NOT EVEN ABRAHAM!
Abraham did not earn his righteous standing with God! He was justified by faith.
Paul says, “just as Abraham ‘believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.’”
Paul’s not making things up… he’s quoting scripture to show the Galatians that it has always been God’s plan to justify people by faith… even Abraham!
In fact, Paul goes so far as to say that God, through Scripture, preached the gospel BEFOREHAND to Abraham!
Beforehand means…
- Before the law was given
- Before the prophets lived
- Before Jesus came
- Before the church was born
If the Judaizers were trying to use Abraham’s circumcision to support their legalism, they had come to the wrong place.
Paul dismantles that argument by showing how Abraham himself was justified by faith and how God revealed His plan to justify the world by faith through Abraham when He said to Abraham, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.”
Hold on to that line. Paul likes to drop bars, let them sit, then circle back… and Paul will bring it back in a few verses.
Legalism tells you to earn by works what God gives through faith.
- Legalism puts you under the curse of the law that only Christ can remove. (vv.10-14)
Paul’s back in their huddle…
Another common move from Judaizers would be to elevate themselves by showing how they are better or more righteous than other people because they keep certain laws.
To show them their foolishness, Paul uses the curse of the law to show them that the Judaizers – and anyone else relying on the works of the law – are still under the curse of the law…
Galatians 3:10-14
10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
Notice a few important points in Paul’s argument…
“ALL who rely on works of the law are under a curse”
The curse for disobeying God’s law is death, both physical death and spiritual death. God revealed that curse when Adam and Eve disobeyed and ate from the forbidden tree.
In addition to the curse upon all mankind for breaking the law, God gave the Jews a list of curses in Deuteronomy 28:15–68. These curses applied to anyone who did not keep God’s law.
Paul’s point? He says ALL who rely on works of the law are under a curse. If anyone is justified, it is not because they kept the law! Abraham was not justified by keeping the law. Neither was Moses, David, Elijah, John the Baptist, Peter, or Paul.
The law is powerless to break the curse.
Paul doubles down on this point by quoting from Deuteronomy…
“Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”
That statement is ironclad. If an attorney looked at it, there would be no workaround.
The Judaizers were going to the law to try to prove that works of the law are necessary to be justified. So, Paul goes to the law and shows that the LAW ITSELF says IT WON’T WORK.
Paul is showing the Galatians that if you choose keeping the law to justify yourself to God, you must live by all 613 laws. You cannot just choose a few laws that you know you can keep.
This isn’t your diet plan or exercise routine, ya’ll.
Let’s be real… no one but Jesus has ever kept the whole law.
Why would anyone want to give up justification by grace through faith and go back to trying to earn their own justification through works of the law? It is a literal suicide mission that will cost you your life!
The gospel of grace is so much better.
Paul writes, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.”
To redeem means “to buy out of slavery.” Because of our disobedience, we were all slaves to the curse.
But not Jesus. He did not abolish the law, He fulfilled it! He kept the 613 laws to perfection. He was not a slave to the curse of the law or to death.
But because of His great love for us, Christ took our place as a slave to the curse by becoming a curse for us.
How did He do it?
Through His death on the cross.
Paul quotes from the law in Deuteronomy again…
“Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”
Why did Christ do it? Paul says it…
so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
Because of the influence of the Judaizers…
there were those who believed they could be justified by faith in Jesus AND by relying on the works of the law.
Paul is saying to the Galatians that if you choose keeping the law to justify yourself to God, you must keep it all.
Paul is calling their bluff to show them how foolish they are being!
Legalism puts you under the curse of the law that only Christ can remove.
- Legalism sends you back to the LAW when God has already made a way through His PROMISE. (vv.15-18)
One more time, Paul goes back into the huddle of the Judaizers.
It’s like he can hear their comebacks to his insights! They might say…
“Well, sure, God entered into covenant with Abraham by promise… but later on He gave the law, so that law supersedes the promise.”
To that, Paul writes…
Galatians 3:15-18
15 To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. 16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. 17 This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. 18 For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.
To show the Judaizers that the law does not replace the promise, Paul uses human covenants to illustrate his point.
He says, “even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified.”
An example of this in our legal system is your last will and testament. It is binding. Probate is the court‑supervised legal process of proving a will is valid and administering a deceased person’s estate based on the will of the deceased. A judge can review it and prove it is valid but even the judge does not have the authority to change a person’s will.
Paul is saying if human agreements are binding, God’s promise is immutable. The giving of a law does not nullify the promise.
And then Paul goes back to the scriptures…
Using a small detail in the account of Abraham that neither the Judaizers nor the Galatians may have ever noticed, he points out that the PROMISE was made to Abraham and his OFFSPRING (v.16).
Now we’re diving deep into scripture.
Paul is now revealing that the PROMISE of God is not some abstract idea, but it is a real and tangible thing.
And the PROMISE God made to Abraham isn’t to his “offsprings” (plural), but to his “offspring” (singular).
Paul is bringing back those gospel lines from earlier when he said, “In you shall all nations be blessed.” How was God going to make that happen?
Paul reveals who the offspring is…
It’s not Ishmael
It’s not Isaac
It’s not Jacob…
The offspring of God’s promise to Abraham is CHRIST! Jesus is the offspring God promised Abraham through whom all the nations of the world are blessed!
Then Paul brings it home…
He says the law that was given 430 YEARS after Abraham does not and cannot make void a previously ratified promise of God!
Paul echoes this idea in 2 Corinthians 1:20 when he writes,
“For all the promises of God find their Yes in him.”
Then, Paul lands the argument. He concludes…
“For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.”
Church, God did not promise Abraham a Savior and then tell Moses, “Never mind. They’ll have to save themselves.”
God kept His word!
Jesus came.
He bore our curse.
He rose from the grave.
And through HIM, the blessing comes to us!
The law cannot cancel what God promised.
Our works cannot purchase what Christ secured.
So what could we possibly add?
The curse has been borne.
The price has been paid.
The promise has been fulfilled in JESUS!
Faith in Christ + NOTHING = Justification.
And ALL the glory belongs to HIM!
CONCLUSION
You cannot earn God’s acceptance through your works. The only way you can be made right with God is by grace through faith in God’s promise.
That’s the gospel of grace!
And it is the gospel that sets you free.
But Satan is hard at work to seduce your mind and bring you back under the bondage of legalism.
How is legalism bondage?
Legalism imprisons your mind by forcing you to be its slave.
It requires you to constantly try to justify yourself by your own works instead of by resting in the promise of God.
It happened to Jeeb…
He’s heard the gospel, but he did not put his faith in it to be set free! He is still trying to perform well enough to appease false gods. Legalism has lied to Jeeb, made promises it cannot keep, and has made him its slave.
It happened to the Galatian CHURCH…
Paul gave them the gospel of grace! But they were seduced into bondage by allowing false teachers to convince them that they had to perform a certain way to be accepted by God.
It even happened to Peter and Barnabas!
Love was imprisoned and their freedom in Christ stripped away as they allowed the opinions of others to dictate their behavior.
If it happened to them, don’t you know it can happen to you?
Satan can turn ANYTHING into legalism… even good things!
All he has to do is convince you that your performance earns you God’s acceptance…
- Read your Bible to be accepted by God
- Go to church on Sundays to be accepted by God
- Attend a group to be accepted by God or by others
- Volunteer or give to be accepted
- Be a godly parent or obedient child to be accepted by God
- Love or serve someone to be accepted
In the soul of every human is a longing to be loved and accepted… Satan knows it and exploits it!
Anything, even great gifts from God, can be hijacked by Satan to put us back under the burden of legalism!
But the gospel of grace is God’s counter to legalism.
There is such a huge difference between doing a work to try to earn God’s acceptance and doing a work because you love God and because it is who you are in Christ!
Let me get into Satan’s huddle a bit.
If you reject legalism as a way to earn God’s acceptance, Satan may counter, “Well then what about obedience? Don’t your works matter to God?”
Tricky, tricky! The spirit of legalism can be so seductive.
It’s maddening how Satan can manipulate the truth to bring us back into bondage!
What’s the truth? Of course your works matter to God!
But not as a means to justify yourself or to be accepted. Only Christ’s work can do that.
Your obedience is your love response to God, not a way to earn God’s love. And even the grace you need to obey comes from God’s power and not your own.
Glory to God!
The gospel of grace demands our boast be in Christ alone!
Legalism isn’t freedom, it’s bondage.
You don’t have freedom when you feel obligated to perform a work to make yourself acceptable to God…
You experience freedom when you know that work has already been done for you and you choose to love Him back by joyfully obeying Him!
That’s why Paul says later in…
Galatians 5:13
For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
Your obedience doesn’t earn God’s love; it’s your love response to God!
Let me give one last illustration…
Paul gave a man-made illustration in the text today, so let me make one…
ILLUSTRATION OF A GOOD FATHER
Your heavenly Father is a good father.
His love for you is not dependent on your performance; He loves you because of who He is!
And when it comes to your acceptance?
Your disobedience of God’s law caused you to fall short of God’s righteous standards. But rather than imprison you to the law, God gave His promise to Abraham… and He delivered. Through the seed of Abraham came Jesus Christ!
You are already loved by God your Father.
And when you put your faith in God’s promise, you are made righteous by God through faith in Jesus… and not by your works!
INVITATION
Come on now! Who would want to stay in legalism when God has given us this incredible gospel of grace?
Will you turn from trusting in your own works on ANY LEVEL AT ALL to make you acceptable to God?
Will you choose to put your whole faith in Jesus and in the work He has already done for you on the cross?
And will you stop trying to earn the approval of God or others through obedience, and instead will you let your obedience be your love response to God?