Only Fools Embrace Law Works

Paul ups the ante in Galatians 3 when he calls those who follow after works righteousness fools!

He preaches that a person would have to be foolish to count Christ's death as nothing and resort back to law keeping for righteousness.

Paul then introduces the Holy Ghost, and a recurring theme in the book: that sanctification and obedience are not by law keeping, but by the work of the Spirit in the believer.

That Spirit was received always by faith in God's promises, and not by works. Paul exhorts the readers to recall back in their own lives, how they believed the Gospel and received the Holy Ghost. There were no works involved at all, only faith.

Paul then declares that they would be foolish to go back to works of the law which made them lost, after they have seen the evidence of the Spirit's work by faith alone.

All the transforming power of the Spirit, all the miracles that were performed by the Spirit, were all received by faith, and the works of the law had nothing to do with them.

It was only after the conversion and powerful working of the Spirit by faith that false teachers came in and tried to take the believers back to the old broken down, powerless, failed methods of law keeping for righteousness.

Even Christ's ministry in the Spirit was all done by faith in His promises, and never by works. Even the weakest of faith in His hearers was "helped by Christ" to provide the greatest of miracles!

Indeed, preachers of law-works have no power of the Spirit and can produce no change and no miracle.

Everything God does for us is received by faith, and never by law keeping. Paul points out that even Abraham was justified by faith and not the law!