Les Feldick Bible Study

What happened when the Holy Spirit activated the hearts of pagan Galatians?

When the Holy Spirit activated the hearts and minds of those pagan Galatians, it produced a miraculous transformation from paganism with its excesses, idolatry, and immorality. They stepped out into a whole new lifestyle. This change was itself a miracle, not something accomplished by works of the Law.

Les teaches that the Holy Spirit ministered among the Galatians and worked miracles, but the key question was whether this came by the works of the Law or by the hearing of faith. Under the working of the Law, they could perform no miracles; it was impossible. When the Holy Spirit activated the hearts and minds of those pagan Galatians and others throughout the Roman Empire, the result was a miraculous transformation from paganism with all its excesses, idolatry, and immorality. They stepped out into a whole new lifestyle, which was miracle enough in itself. No doubt the early church had other manifestations of the miraculous, though Paul does not explicitly delineate them. The same question remains: was a miracle through keeping the Law or through the manifestation of the Spirit activated by faith? Les emphasizes that we are not under Law but under grace, and we come under grace and out from under the Law by faith, plus nothing. The theme of Galatians is not to be suckered into a works religion but to maintain salvation by grace through faith, plus nothing.