Continuing through Galatians 3, Pastor Jeff reminds us that the Christian life is both started and lived by faith. Paul challenges the Galatians for believing they could begin their relationship with God through the Spirit but then grow spiritually through their own effort. Salvation, transformation, and spiritual maturity all come through dependence on Jesus—not through religious performance or self-reliance.
True spiritual maturity is not needing Jesus less, but recognizing how desperately we need Him more. While Christians are called to obedience, prayer, worship, service, and spiritual discipline, these actions cannot produce the internal transformation that only the Holy Spirit can accomplish. Rather than simply attaching Christian behaviors to our lives, we are called to remain rooted in Christ and allow the Spirit to produce genuine spiritual fruit within us.
Paul ultimately points believers back to the finished work of Jesus on the cross. The gospel is not simply where the Christian life begins—it is the foundation of the entire Christian life. Instead of trying harder, performing better, or relying on our own strength, we are invited to remember how we started, depend on the Holy Spirit, and continually fix our eyes on Jesus and His declaration: “It is finished.”