Introduction
In the last session, Galatians chapter 3: 1-10, we will understand the main cause and stronghold of backsliding called bewitching. We focus on contrasting the two main ways people follow on earth and their end result: the way of faith and grace, and the way of the law and works. we will point out that going back to the former way of life is called backsliding. The churches of Galatia will be a good case study.
Objectives
By the end of this session, the learner will have:
- Compared and contrasted the two main ways people follow on earth and their end
- Reflected why believers backslide from the right way to the wrong way (Galatians example)
- Appreciated the purpose of the law given by God after his children missed the promised pathways.
Outline
- The two main ways on earth
- Forward moving and backsliding
- Drifting away from Faith
- Bewitching
- The purpose of the Law
Group Study Time
Galatians 3:1-11
Connecting
- Gather with two or more people for a community discovery bible study session.
- Start with a heartfelt prayer, inviting God to guide and bless your understanding.
- Explore the passage by reading it at least twice, using different Bible versions if available, then retell the story together as a group.
- Reflect and share the challenges and blessings you experienced from the previous study.
Comprehending
- There are two main ways people follow to their destination (the God’s Right but longer Way and the man’s wrong but shorter way). What are the ends of each way? Prov. 14:12; Prov. 16:25; Gen. 3:7; Gen. 3: 21., Exodus 13:17-18. Discuss
- What is backsliding? What makes believers backslide to the old, wrong, shorter way that leads to death? What is bewitching?
- Paul asked the Galatian church 6 questions to help them discover that they were lost and backsliding. List them, Galatians 3: 1-5. What was Paul telling the Galatian believers about backsliding?
- From Abraham’s example, what do you learn about walking in the Right Way of God? Galatians 3: 6-9. What are the dangers of those who depend on the law to make them right with God? 3:10. Those who walk on the path of the law.
- What do you learn about believers who have backslidden and are walking on the way of the law? Galatians 3:10-14
Committing
- Engage with the Bible—read, study, memorize, meditate, pray, listen, and live it out.
- List three lessons you have learnt as an agent of change that you would like to put into practice and teach others about.
- Take time and worship Jesus with the attributes revealed about Christ.
- Use the SPACEPETS model, to assist you in putting God’s word into practice. Look for:
- Sin to confess
- Promise to claim
- Attitude to change
- Command to keep
- Error to change
- Prayer to make
- Example to copy
- Truth to obey and
- Something praiseworthy
Communicating
- Identify one person you can connect with and share the valuable insights and lessons you gained from this session.
- Reach out to a new believer—either in person or by phone—and pray with them to support them through their challenges, including any concerns about attending church.
- Create a new group and guide others through this study to help them grow in their understanding.
Post Lesson Teaching Summary
Great job completing the study! Take a moment to listen to this summary to reinforce your group’s understanding of the text and ensure you’re all on the same page. We’re here to support your learning journey!
Foolish Galatians who bewitched you
Galatians 3:1-11
Audio Summary
Galatians 3:1-11
Context
- The book of Galatians confronts backsliding, drifting from the way of faith to the way of works or law, which seems right but leads to death.
- There are two main ways: the way of faith and the way of the works of the law or flesh.
- Enemies or agitators draw people from the right path to byways, introducing a false gospel about a fake Jesus, fake spirit, and fake gospel, and discrediting pastors or fathers so children no longer believe.
- Activities of the enemy include introducing false teaching while people sleep, like planting tares among wheat, which are hard to uproot.
- Paul challenges the Galatians on who bewitched them, meaning controlled their minds through false teachers insisting on works like circumcision for justification.
Faith vs. Works of the Law (Galatians 3:1-11)
- Bewitched Galatians: Foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? Before your eyes Jesus Christ was portrayed as crucified; question: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or believing what you heard?
- Beginning with Spirit: Having begun by the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by human effort? Have you experienced so much in vain?
- God’s Provision: He who provides the Spirit and works miracles among you does so by works of the law or believing what you heard?
- Abraham’s Faith: Abraham believed God and it was credited as righteousness; those who rely on faith are children of Abraham.
- Blessing Through Faith: Scripture foresaw God justifying Gentiles by faith, announcing to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you;” those who rely on faith are blessed with Abraham, the man of faith.
- Curse of the Law: All who rely on works of the law are under a curse: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”
- Justification by Faith: Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because “The righteous will live by faith;” the law is not based on faith but on doing its commands.
Application
- If trusting in the law, one is cursed and cut off from the source, as Jesus was on the cross; the righteous live by faith, but cannot be justified by the law since fulfilling one breaks another.