Galatians 5: Fallen From Grace

Last time, in chapter 4 we reviewed how we were sons of God through Christ, and because of this great position we should not think of going back to the inferior ways of living under Mosaic law.

Remember the main theme of Galatians:

Putting the church back under the Old Covenant, negates what Christ has done and His New Covenant.

Now we look at Galatians 5, where Paul will show us how this gospel works.

A. STAND FAST
Gal 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery

Paul now reminds the Galatians not to let themselves be burdened again by this yoke of slavery. He says, "again" because Mosaic law is what had entangled the Jews for so long but now they were free.

He says it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. This freedom is not the kind of freedom that means we can do whatever we want. No, it’s the specific freedom of being freed from the Mosaic law. It is not the freedom from any kind of law-- just Mosaic law. It is not freedom from effort because Paul says, "stand firm" then. That's a command. The picture here is of a sentry standing guard. It takes alertness, effort, watchfulness.

Again we must be careful not to do what so many of us have done with Galatians, and that is to make it out to be anti-law, anti-effort treatise by the anti works apostle Paul. Nothing could be further from the truth.

B. FALLEN FROM GRACE.

5:2 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3 Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4 You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.

Paul says something very important here. He says that if you let yourselves be circumcised, then Christ will be of no value to you at all. What does he mean by this? We know he can’t mean that circumcision will cost you your salvation because as we saw that in Acts 16, Paul went ahead and had Timothy circumcised in order to serve the mission and not be a stumbling block to the Jews.

So here Paul is speaking to the motive. If your motive for getting circumcised is to somehow be made right with God, then Christ will be of no use to you. Because you are going around the gospel. And by going around the gospel, you are headed into a dead end.

He goes on to say that if you let yourself be circumcised because you are coming under the law, then you can’t cherry pick the law. You have to obey the whole law. Either you are under the Mosaic law as a system or you are not.

See, this is what a lot of cults do. They want to cherry pick the laws that they are under. For instance, the 7th day Adventists say that we are obligated to keep the Saturday Sabbath of the Jews. But they don’t realize that by so doing, they are obligated to keep the whole law. Not just their pet one. Believe me there is no group today, even the Jews, who are keeping the whole law because the Temple has been destroyed. And the Levitical priesthood has been destroyed. People just pretend that they are keeping the OT law.

You are either under one system or the other. You can’t be under both systems. So Paul goes on, and says if you go this route, you have been alienated from Christ. That word means to make useless. The act of Christ on the cross has been made useless in our case if you are going to the law for justification.

Then he uses the phrase "you have fallen from grace”. The word is literally out- fall. You have fallen out of grace.

Now some, especially in "Reformed" circles will tell you that this certainly does not mean that the Galatians had fallen from their salvation. I can’t understand that interpretation at all. If it says that Christ has become of no effect to you---that you have fallen from grace--that you have been alienated from Christ--that if you let yourself be circumcised Christ will be of no value to you--what else can he be talking about except salvation? To use the term "fallen from grace" means that they had previously attained something. Otherwise there would have been nothing to fall away from.

Certainly, this was a warning that they were in danger of turning their backs on the gospel, and therefore their salvation. This is the only interpretation that explains the zeal of th eapostle in refuting this monumental error.

C. FAITH EXPRESSING ITSELF THROUGH LOVE
Gal 5:5 But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

The word "hope" in the Bible is not like in English: "Hope so." Meaning maybe yes or maybe no. No, it is a confident expectation. The fact that Paul says that they AWAIT righteousness, does that mean that they don’t already have it? No, they have it, but they have a confidant expectation of the consummation of it. This is something you see in the Bible a lot and that is the expectation of consummation. Paul often talks about salvation in the future tense.

Then he uses this phrase “faith expressing itself through love" is the only thing that counts. Love is the result of a true faith. A true faith will lead to love for God and for others. That love is the proof that a true faith is present. We will look deeper at this in the next section.

D. THE OFFENSE OF THE CROSS

Gal 5:7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? 8 That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9 "A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough." 10 I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. 11 Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12 As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

Paul is defending the gospel and leaves one more parting shot to the legalists. This generation is full of people who water down the offense of the cross. The cross itself is a stumbling block and we must boast in the cross.

In other parts of the Bible, Paul uses an illustration of running a good race. Paul looks at grace as something that produces fervent running. But those that were teaching legalism, Paul claims are not of God. If they are not of god , could they be of the Devil? He portrays them as cutting in and being a stumbling block to the faith fo the Galatians. Sounds pretty demonic to me.

Paul uses a phrase: "the offense of the cross?" The cross is an offense to every man made system. The Jews were offended because the gospel was saying that the Mosaic law was no longer the way unto justification.

The NIV says that they should go all the way and "emasculate themselves." The word there is literally “cut off all the way”. I don't think the NIV is the best translation here. I think Paul was playing on the words "cutting" Paul did not want the Judaizers to be Eunuchs, but he was basically wishing that, since the Judaizers were so good at cutting things, that they would cut themselves off completely from the Galatians.

Galatians 4: Sons of Hagar or Sarah?

We've been working through Galatians 4.

A. BORN OF SPIRIT OR OF FLESH
Gal 4:21-31 Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. 23 His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise.

Remember Abraham was a very important character for the Jews. Paul goes back to the Father of the Jews to make his concluding illustration. If what he says applies to Abraham , then it should apply to all Israeil.

Paul counted on their familiarity with Hagar and Sarah. If we look at Genesis 15 and 16, we remember that Abraham was promised many descendants, but then many years went by and Abraham and Sarah got impatient. they were getting old and didn't understand how they could possibly have a child. Sarah had an Egyptian maid named Hagar. Abraham listens to Sarah and goes in to have a child with Sarah’s maidservant. Abraham, just like Adam, fell from grace. He tried to make the promise come forth in the flesh. But God says that the son of Hagar, Ishmael, is not going to be the line of promise.

Isaac was born in a miraculous way. He was the child of promise, not born in the ordinary way.


Now Paul applies this story to the Galatian legalists.

The right response to the promise is faith not the flesh!

By saying that people had to be circumcised in order to be saved, the Judaizers were saying that they could merit salvation and blessings. But salvation is a promised gift not earned. They are making the mistake that Abraham and Sarah made and trying to bring forth in the flesh what is the result of a promise.

John 8:39-41 "Abraham is our father," they answered. "If you were Abraham's children," said Jesus, "then you would do the things Abraham did. 40 As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing the things your own father does."

Israel was insistent that it was right with God because they were sons of Abraham. But Jesus makes it clear that only faith makes you a child of Abraham. Paul makes a similar point in Romans 9.

Rom 9:6-9 It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children. On the contrary, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." 8 In other words, it is not the natural children who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring.

God is calls us to be Isaacs not Ishmaels.


B. FREEDOM OR SLAVERY.
Gal 4:24 These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written:

"Be glad, O barren woman,
who bears no children;
break forth and cry aloud,
you who have no labor pains;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
than of her who has a husband."

Paul here is not allegorizing what was said in Genesis. He is saying that there is a principle in this story that can be applied to his argument. He is just using this as an illustration. The women Srah and Hagar represent two covenants. The two covenants are the Mosaic covenant and the Covenant of promise.

Now you can’t stretch this too far because even the old covenant has promise at the heart of it. But here Paul is speaking specifically of the insufficiency of the Mosaic covenant. He goes back to the fact that the Mosaic law made slaves. Slaves, because people could not be justified by the law. And Paul goes on to represent all of Jerusalem being in the same boat. Because Jerusalem (including the Judaizers that came from there) was still in bondage to the Mosaic law which was, unable to save and to cleanse.

But the Jerusalem from above is free. The true Jerusalem, the church, is free. They are free because of what Christ did on the cross. Then he quotes Isaiah 24. The barren woman conceives many children.

It’s a miraculous birth that comes from faith that has been able to bring orphans into the church. The Gentiles had no great lineage. The Gentiles have been supernaturally born by faith. If they were born by faith than why are they now trying to be justified by law?

C. GET RID OF THE SLAVE WOMAN

Gal 4: 28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29 At that time the son born in the ordinary way persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. 30 But what does the Scripture say? "Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman's son." 31 Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman

Legalists will not like those that are born of the Spirit. Even today the legalists, persecute the church. Even today this has happened. John Bunyan was thrown into the prison by the Anglicans. Rome killed and persecuted the Reformers. People under law don’t like people under grace.

"Cast out the bond woman." Legalists can not receive what God has for them. Paul wants them to be cast out as false teachers. Legalism is the heresy of all heresies.

Are you born of the flesh or of the promise? Is your religion a striving of keeping rules or are you resting in the Lord. Are you zealous against false teachers?

We need to recognize that we are sons of the promise through Christ, that we will not be persuaded back into external rule keeping in order to be justified

Galatians 4: Paul's Relationship

Now Paul gets personal . He has been arguing from a doctrinal point of view, now he gets into the personal.

A. THE WARMTH OF THE PAST.
Gal 4:12-20 I plead with you, brothers, become like me, for I became like you.

In order to win the Gentiles, he had become like them. He didn’t bank on any of his Jewish distinctives when he came to them. He had forfeited his reputation as a Pharisee. All that had been lost. There were awful things said about him. He had become an enemy of the Jewish religion as a whole. Paul had been persecuted harshly in this missionary journey. Remember in Acts 14, Paul is shown being persecuted by the Jews. They talked badly of him. They stirred up crowds against him. Now the Galatians were becoming like his enemies.

"You used to be on my side , now you are becoming like the Jews who persecuted me because of my message."

Gal 4:12 You have done me no wrong. 13 As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you. 14 Even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself. 15 What has happened to all your joy? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me.

Paul was saying, "There is no problem on my side of this relationship. Let’s remember how it used to be between us." When they first got together there was an illness, or bodily ailment. But that was not the reason he preached. It was in spite of his illness.
We don’t know what the illness was, but the Galatians loved him and cared for him in spite of it. They treated him with the utmost respect. They treated him like an angel of God.

Remember the Galatian believers were also probably a witness to all the persecutions that Paul suffered a the hands of the Jews when he was in Galatia.

He says, "what has happenrd to all your joy?" In other words, they had an understanding of the blessings that were being received and they rejoiced in it. In the midst of all the craziness--the persecutions and stonings, the Galatians had been full of joy over the blessings they received in Christ.

Paul says, "You loved me so much, that you would have done anything for me. You would have taken out your own eyes for me. Now what happened to that relationship?"

B. THE COLDNESS OF THE PRESENT
Gal 4:16 Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?
17 Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you [from us], so that you may be zealous for them. 18 It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always and not just when I am with you.

Paul says, "Now, am I your enemy because I tell you the truth? Paul compares his motive with the motive of the Judaizers. The motive of the Judaizers was the praise of men. They wanted to be sought out, depended on, stroked. In order to get that, the Judaizers say that the Galatians are going to be excluded from the community unless they get right with Moses. Every time they get circumcised they got what they wanted-- to get in between the Galatians and Paul.

They got the Galatians to accept a false gospel. So now Paul is viewed as an enemy.

Paul says that the Judaizers are zealous for the Galatians but their motives were not godly. They were not genuine. Paul is saying, "They want to shut you out. Shut you out from me. And also shut off from Christ. "

They want to have a thriving ministry for the praise of men. It’s not wrong to want to be zealous for people. If the motive is right.

C. A FUTURE HOPE.
Gal 4:19 My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, 20 how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you!

In verse 19 he says “my little children.” He calls them this for the first time. He changes his tone here. “I want you to know the reason I’ve shared this with you is because I love you!” He cries that Christ would be formed in them. He compares this with childbirth. Now I am going through it all over again . What is this experience of having Christ formed within them? To be so shaped with our union with Christ that His life is manifested in our lives.


Who is appealing to you about your walk with God?
Is there anyone whose soul you are concerned about?
Are you willing to speak truth for their sake even at the risk of harmony?

Galatians 4: Sons of God through Faith

Today we look at Chapter 4 in our series on Galatians. Let’s briefly recap our story so far in this letter: Paul was outraged over the Judaizers who infiltrated the churches he had planted and began trying to bring them under the law of Moses.

In the first chapter of Galatians, we learned about Paul’s testimony. He had been a persecutor of the church, but after his road to Damascus experience, he became a church planter. He defends his apostleship and his authority saying that his gospel was of divine origin. He recaps his gospel and forcefully says let anyone who preaches different be eternally condemned

Then in the second chapter Paul declared that his gospel was approved by those that belonged to the 12. He then recounts his experience in publicly rebuking Peter who was led by Judaizers into separating from the Gentiles.

Then in chapter 3 Paul uses Abraham, the father of the Jews to show he was also the father of justification by faith not of the law, he goes on to declare that the law could never save and will never save because it is not based on faith, but leads us to faith.

Now chapter 4.

Remember the main theme of Galatians:

Putting the church back under the Old Covenant, negates what Christ has done and His New Covenant.

Gal 4:1-7 What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. 2 He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. 3 So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world.

Paul now continues to explain our standing before God because of Christ. He is saying in essence, “do you understand that the Law that we were under was kindergarten stuff, but now we are entering into our true inheritance.” In order to illustrate, Paul uses the example of an heir.

He says that when an heir is a child, he has this great inheritance, but he has not yet reached the age when he is able to handle it, to receive it, to enjoy it. So therefore, he is just like a servant because he can’t do anything with his own property but is told what to do. Even though he is “lord of all”. In other words in his identity, he is the heir.

He is making an incredible point here.The Jews under the Mosaic law were the people of God, but they were like infants who had not yet been able to walk in their full inheritance. Now that Christ has come he has made us able to receive and handle the full inheritance of children of God.

Imagine how this must have made the Jews, even the Judaizers feel. He is saying that walking with Jesus is the new thing and we can’t go back to being babies !

A. THE FULLNESS OF TIME
Gal 4:4 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, 5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons

Paul says that the inheritance will be received when the time has fully come- the time set by the Father. He says that this time has come when God sent his son Jesus Christ--born under the law to redeem those under the law.

It is interesting to realize that Jesus himself was under the same law. That’s why Jesus was circumcised. That’s why he was baptized. That’s why Jesus was observant and encouraged others to be observant. Because until the crucifixion, the law was still in place. The law was in effect until the time of redemption when Jesus went to the cross. The time came when this Son would redeem those under the law, when he went to that wooden cross. Praise God!

B. THE SPIRIT OF ADOPTION
Gal 4:6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit. In other words, he is saying that we received the Holy Spirit, not to become sons, but as a result of already being sons of God through faith. This Spirit is the one that testifies with our spirit that we are the children of God. This is the spirit that cries out Abba Father.

The name "Abba" means Daddy. It is a term of intimacy, endearment, and love. This was an intimacy that was not frequently associated with God by the Jews, so this was revolutionary. But in essence, Paul is saying that through the adoption as sons, we now have this very intimate relationship with the Father. That our spirits cry "Abba Father".

Now you have been made sons and that means that you are heirs. Don’t take that word lightly. For an heir possesses something called an inheritance. Only sons can be heirs. Only heirs receive the inheritance. Therefore what inheritance do we have?

We have the inheritance not so much of material things, but of God himself. You are now a temple of the Holy Spirit, forgiven of sins, made into a new creation, adopted into the family. Paul is saying "If you really knew who you were in Christ, you would not be searching for this other nonsense. "

C. DON’T GO BACK

Gal 4:8-11 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. 9 Butnow that you know God-or rather are known by God-how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? 10 You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! 11 I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.

Bob Dylan has a song that goes: "You got to serve somebody. It may be the devil or it may be the Lord but your going to have to serve somebody." The Apostle Paul had the same idea when he wrote this scripture. He said that before you were serving the true God, you were serving idols. In fact you were enslaved by your idols. When you serve idols you become a slave to whatever it is you serve? You can become a slave to money, to people, to ambition, to lust, etc.

Paul is saying in essence, "How in the world after experiencing the glory of this son ship--after you have come to know God , better yet, now that God has known you and has done these miracles in your life, how can you go back to the law which you were set free from?" Something must be very wrong here.

Paul calls the law, "these weak and miserable principles."

What did he mean by that? They were weak because they had no power to save. They were miserable because they could confer no inheritance. They were poor as compared to the incredible inheritance of the New Covenant.

Paul goes on to say that the Galatians were observing months, days and times. What was that? Obviously the Judaizers had gotten the Galatians to do more than just get circumcised. They had now begun keeping the Jewish feasts, and festivals. They were bringing them into this whole thing.

In other words, the Hebrew Christians that were present and wrote the vast majority of the New Testament’s 27 books (Peter, Paul and James) never said a single word about the necessity of the Gentile converts observing the Jewish feast days, the Saturday Sabbath, dietary laws, circumcision, etc.

Paul says "I have fear for you . I am afraid that all my work was in vain."
"But PAUL, are you saying we might not be saved?

That is exactly what he is saying--that if they continued this way, they were in danger of actually not being saved , and that meant that all of Paul’s efforts would have been in vain.
How could they be saved by this false gospel? that is why Paul has been so urgent in this letter.

Do you know the great inheritance that you already have in Christ? The more you know, the less easily deceived you will be into substitutes.

Galatians 3: Law vs. Grace

A. CHRIST REDEEMS US FROM THE CURSE OF THE LAW

Gal 3:10-14 All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law." 11 Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith." 12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "The man who does these things will 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 hung on a tree." 14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

The law was never meant to justify anyone. Now what does he mean about being cursed?
Is the law a curse? No he doesn’t say that. Are those that keep the law cursed? He doesn’t say that either.

No the person who is under a curse is the one who expects to be justified by the law apart from faith. We must be careful here to keep Paul’s nuanced position. We know that Paul is not anti-law. And we know that he isn’t even anti- Mosaic law for the Jews.

Acts 16:1-3 He came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was a Jewess and a believer, but whose father was a Greek. 2 The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. 3 Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

He had no problem with Jews getting circumcised, and if they would accept Timothy more because of it, he had no problem. The only problem was bringing it into the church and saying that you are justified by it.

Paul is saying that you can’t rely on the law for justification because, if that is your only hope, you must realize that you are guilty--that in fact, you have not been one that keeps the Mosaic law perfectly. But that is what the law was all about. It was not about faith. It didn’t care about faith. It cared about what have you done. Law was not about faith, it was a code of living. But the law was to be kept by faith.

But Christ has redeemed us from the curse that was upon us all. For the Jews, for breaking the Mosaic law, and for the Gentile for breaking the law of God that he didn’t know. Both are condemned for law breaking and both can be justified because Jesus took upon himself the curse that was due us.


B. THE LAW DRIVES US TO FAITH

Gal 3:19-22 What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. 20 A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is one. 21 Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22 But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

The question might be leveled at Paul then why bother with the law at all? What was the purpose. Paul answers that it was added because of transgressions. As God gave the law, it made a clear demarcation of right and wrong. It showed the hideousness of sin through the punishments of the law. But Paul shows that it was a temporary arrangement for God’s people until the Seed makes his appearance.

This was one of the messianic promises. The law was given to keep men from sin. It convicts men of sin. And in fact the law still has the effect today. Even Jesus law brings conviction. Jesus said that though Moses law said not to commit adultery, Jesus condemned even looking at a woman with lust.

C. BELIEVERS ARE FREE FROM THE LAW

Gal 3:23-29 Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. 24 So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law. You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Now what faith is he talking about? Obviously Christian faith. Not that faith was not necessary before, because we saw that indeed it was. So the law was a temporary system put in charge to prepare us and to lead us to Christ. It was the a true understanding of the law that led to faith in Jesus . It’s interesting to see that those that were most humbled by the demands of the law were those that were most receptive to Jesus.

Now that faith has come. What faith? The Christian faith. The Christian faith has made the Mosaic law unnecessary. Now there is no more distinction between Jew and Greek. If you belong to Christ you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to he promise. Believers are not under Moses anymore.

Recognize that Mosaic law is no longer your master. But that through faith in Christ you have the inheritance of Abraham.

We have entered into this life of grace through faith, not by the law. We continue in it through faith. We are free from the Mosaic Law as a system and live the law of Christ through faith. Live free as heirs of the promise and not as religious slaves!

Galatians 3 - Consider Abraham

Gal 3:6 Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." 7 Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. 8 The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." 9 So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.


Now after making the point that the Spirit was given in response to faith--not flesh obeying Moses--Paul wants to give an example, and he gives the most powerful example he could give. He uses Abraham , the father of the whole Jewish nation. He uses Abraham as a test case.

What exactly is Paul trying to tell us about Abraham?


A. THE MOSAIC LAW WAS ­NEVER THE WAY TO SALVATION
God had always been looking for sons by faith. So even the Father of the Jews was not saved through keeping law. He was saved through his faith in God. Many tend to think that in the Old Testament, saints were saved through law and that in the New Testament we are saved by faith. But that is not true. Faith has always been the way to salvation.

Therefore justification by faith is not a new doctrine but the original doctrine of salvation.

This is so important to understand. Nobody was ever saved by rule keeping. No, rule keeping was a fruit of one’s faith in God. This is what Paul is attempting to show.

Paul quotes the scripture Genesis 15:6 when he says this. He is using the scripture to prove his point. It was Abraham’s trusting in the Lord that was the thing that was credited to him as righteousness.

He says, understand then that it is those that believe that are the sons of Abraham.

B. BIRTH OR WORKS WERE NEVER THE WAY UNTO SALVATION
Paul goes on to say something that must have been really offensive to the Judaizers. He didn’t deny that theirs were the prophets, but he did deny that it was through their birth into the nation or their keeping of external rituals that justified them before God. You see, here is where so much religion goes wrong. The Jews of Jesus time, and even to this day, think they are God’s favored based upon their birth. Many religions think they are made right with God by the keeping of some external ritual.

Paul blows the religious out of the water. He says that it is not the religious that are right with God, but those with a believing heart towards God.

Remember the Roman Centurion. Here was someone who was neither born into the family of God, or was he a keeper of the Jewish laws. Yet he had a heart faith in God. Jesus said that he had found no greater faith in Israel. This was a constant source of friction between Jesus and the Pharisees. The Pharisees were concerned with being Religiously Correct. But Jesus was after a pure heart of faith towards God.


C. THE GENTILES WERE EVERY BIT AS MUCH CHILDREN OF GOD AS THE JEWS BECAUSE OF FAITH


This was so hard for the Jews to really grasp . Remember that he was writing about the Judaizers. But Paul points out that the gospel was already being preached in Genesis when God said that all nations would be blessed through Abraham. The gospel is all over the OT. It didn’t just start in the New Testament.


D. THE LAW DOES NOT NULLIFY THE ABRAHAMIC COVENENAT.

Gal 3:15-18 Brothers, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. 16 The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ. 17 What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. 18 For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.
NIV

Now here Paul does something quite incredible, he goes back to the scriptures and makes a really interesting argument. He interprets the Old Testament through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He uses the mere fact that one word is in the singular and not the plural to make an incredible point that the "seed" referred to is Jesus Christ.

Many people think doctrine is so unimportant and that when we look at the actual words and their tenses, that it is all just a matter of theological hairsplitting. But in fact, Paul shows us what an incredible exegete or interpreter of the scriptures he is, and what high regard he had for the actual words of the Old Testament.

Gen 12:7 And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.

He is saying that the promise made to Abraham that all nations would be blessed through him--
the promises regarding Abraham were made 430 years before the law of Moses. This was an unconditional covenant or agreement made with Abraham. God gave this promise to Abraham based on grace, not based on law keeping. And since it was not based on the Mosaic law it still stands, and it has been put into further effect by the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, who has become the avenue by which all nations are blessed.

Do you realize that the promises made to Abraham were of faith and not of the law, and that these promises are yours the same way?

Galatians 3 - Spirit Received by Faith

Today we look at Chapter 3 in our series on Galatians. Let’s briefly recap our story so far in this letter.

In the first chapter we learned that Paul was a Jews Jew. A Pharisee that hunted down and helped kill Christians before his dramatic “Road to Damascus” conversion experience. Then he became a church planter. Paul wrote to his first church plants to defend his gospel against this group that we call the Judaizers. They were people that had come to the churches that Paul had planted, and began questioning Paul’s authority and his gospel. They began to try to bring the new churches under the law of Moses.

Paul was outraged. First he defends his apostleship and his authority saying that his gospel was of divine origin. He knew who he was. Secondly he recaps his gospel and forcefully says let anyone who preaches different be eternally condemned. Then he recounts his testimony to prove that he is not, as his critics say, a man pleaser but that he was moved by the Spirit of God.

Then in the second chapter we saw that Paul declared that though he was independent of the apostles, his gospel was approved by those that belonged to the 12. He shares about his earlier trip to Jerusalem when he met the 12 privately with Titus. He refused to be moved by the Judaizers who even back then were trying to pressure Titus, his gentile companion, to be circumcised.

He then recounts his experience in publicly rebuking Peter who was led by Judaizers into separating from the Gentiles out of prejudice.

Now in Chapter 3 Paul gets into the theological meat of his address . The first two chapters were spent in giving a much needed defense of his authority and his credentials in addressing this issue. Now he goes for the jugular in a very aggressive way.


I. THE SPIRIT WAS RECEIVED BY FAITH NOT LAW
Gal 3:1-5 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? 4 Have you suffered so much for nothing-if it really was for nothing? 5 Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?

Remember the main theme of Galatians:

Putting the church back under the Old Covenant, negates what Christ has done and His New Covenant.

Paul unleashes what is a very strong and shocking language. He calls the Galatians fools. The word is anoaytos, which literally means mindless. Not that they didn’t have a mind, but that they were acting without thinking through the implications.

Then he says, "Who has bewitched you? Who has led you astray through this malice?"
He says look Jesus was so clearly presented to you that it was as if you had been eyewitnesses yourselves of the crucifixion of Jesus. He says that there was no mistaking how clearly Christ was portrayed as crucified. How can they miss its significance?

How can you be led astray after seeing this crucifixion of Christ? How could they think that there was any other way to be saved?

Did you receive the Spirit by observing the Mosaic Law or by believing what you heard? The answer to his question is very obvious. Obviously these Gentile Christians had nothing to do with the Mosaic Law. Yet through simple faith in Christ , they had received the Holy Spirit. They had received healings and miracles. All of which were testimonies of their acceptance with God.

He wanted them to think back to the beginning before they became so sophisticated.

A. Spirit vs. Flesh
Now Paul takes them to the next step of logic. "Since you began this life in the spirit now, are you trying to finish by the flesh?" The words in this passage are very important. It literally says having begun in the spirit are you now trying to bring your faith to completion in the flesh? I think the NIV translation here is unfortunate. Because it puts it "are you trying to attain your goal by human effort?"

But Paul was never anti effort! He was anti flesh. There is a big difference. The issue was WHAT they were putting their effort in: the spirit or the flesh. These were the two things he was contrasting.

1. Paul does not disapprove of effort.
Here is where the present day church has stretched this verse beyond its meaning. Protestants are so committed to justification by faith alone, over and above Catholicism, that they tend to go to the opposite extreme, and have used Galatians as a censure of effort in the Christian life. But we must see that this was not what Paul was talking about. This interpretation has led many into a lazy and vague faith which is very dangerous.

2. Paul does not mean to say that we have no need of works or of rule
We must be very careful of reading into what Paul says and going beyond his position. So then what does Paul mean when he asks if they are trying to complete their faith in the flesh?

The word flesh in the Greek is sarx, and it literally means the body. The flesh is the body and not every time it is used in the Bible, is it used negatively. The flesh is the flesh. It is the body. Now there are some things which are obvious about the body and one is that it has a pull, a desire to do whatever is pleasurable to it.
But “human effort" is a bad translation in Gal 3:3.

What Paul is saying is that the Kingdom of God is a spiritual endeavor. It is received in the spirit and walked by the Holy Spirit. It is not completed by focusing on the external body. Of course here he is making special reference to circumcision which was a cutting of the body.

Rom 2:28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh.

Here is where the gospel is a stumbling block to many. Because the gospel undercuts the religious and the irreligious.

The irreligious person does not care about God, yet even so, the hearing of faith saves them.

Remember Cornelius, it wasn’t his religious works that gave him the Holy Spirit, it was the hearing of faith.

If the Christian life and the Spirit come through the hearing of faith, are you spending time in the Word and applying faith in what you hear?

Galatians 2: Don't Rebuild The Law

Gal 2:17-18 "If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! 18 If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker

Here Paul is asking that if we do away with Mosaic law, are we then lawless sinners that have no standard to live by? This was the probable accusation of the Jews who criticized Paul.

But Paul says "God forbid". Jesus is not an enabler of sinners. The real sinner is Peter who has built up again what Christ has destroyed, namely the dividing wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile which was the law of Moses!

In other words, if I go back to living like a Jew, therefore putting myself under the Mosaic law, and expect the Gentiles to do the same, I make myself a transgressor--and the Gentiles as well! Because I could never really live up to the law!

19 For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God.

What does he mean "died to the law". We get a clue from Romans 7.

Rom 7:9-13 Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10 I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. 11 For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. 12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.
Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.
NIV

Paul is saying that the Mosaic law was not a ministry of life, it was a ministry of death, in that it brought the conviction that we have disobeyed it and that there was no way to be justified by it. Therefore the law brought condemnation and caused him to cry out for a savior. The law was a schoolmaster to lead us to Christ.


Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"

Paul finishes his rebuke of Peter by saying that he has been crucified with Christ. Of course he did not mean this literally. But he goes on to say that he died with Christ. Died to what? Died to the law. The effects of Jesus' death was to make Paul dead to all these things of the law.

Finally, Paul says that he cannot set aside the grace of God, for if it is through the Mosaic law that we are justified, the gospel is worthless and therefore Jesus died in vain--there was nothing to this cross. This is Paul’s’ central argument. If we can earn our way to heaven, there was no need for Christ to die on the cross.

We need to let the law of God bring us to the point that we can embrace the Savior. And embrace the Savior until we can say I have been crucified with Christ!

Galatians 2: The Clash of Titans

Gal 2:11-16 When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. 12 Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. 14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?

THE HYPOCRISY IN ANTIOCH.
Some time after the Jerusalem visit of Paul, Peter came to Paul’s stomping grounds in Antioch. Peter the Jew, was having a grand old time with the Gentiles . They were eating bacon and ham sandwiches and pork chops on the side. They were enjoying a great time of fellowship. But then all of a sudden, some other folks, friends of James, came from Jerusalem Headquarters. All of a sudden, Peter started to shrink back from the Gentile believers.

You see here is one of the key things that legalism breeds: hypocrisy.

This was Peter, the rock. Peter who had been with Jesus. But here is the death blow for those that think Peter was a pope, which he wasn’t. This destroys the idea of papal infallibility, since Peter was clearly in the wrong here. Peter was playing the hypocrite.

Legalism leads to fear which leads to hypocrisy.

The hypocrisy got so bad that even the son of encouragement, Barnabus himself, got caught up in it and started to erect that wall between the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians.

Can you imagine how that made the Gentiles feel? First they were introduced to grace, but now they are being taught that they are not doing all that is necessary. They thought, “ If we want to be real Christians we need to get circumcised and obey the law of Moses and until we do Peter and the Jewish Christians wont fellowship with us.”

Paul had to publicly rebuke Peter about the basis of our acceptance before God. Here was a clash of titans. Paul says,

"Peter, you yourself don’t live like a Jew anymore. You know that we are under a new covenant. You have been eating pork and ham sandwiches, and bacon and eggs, and now you are going to pretend that you are better than the Gentiles? Salvation has nothing to do with keeping Kosher. It has everything to do with faith in Jesus Christ. If you have faith in Jesus Christ today, you have been accepted by God. "

Folks, we are accepted by Grace. God doesn’t give you anything because you earned it. No, we need to realize that salvation is all of grace. It is something you could never earn but, praise God, God sent his son Jesus to die on the cross for you. You need to stand on the truth of this gospel. Speak acceptance to yourself and anyone else who tries to shake you from it. Resist the lie with truth.

You see if you have made a terrible mistake, you are not beyond the grace of God. God is not waiting to blast you. No on the contrary, the Bible says if we confess our sins , he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. God does not turn away the repentant heart. It does not matter what you have done.

Are you treating yourself or others like Peter was treating the Gentile Christians?

GRACE OF NEW COVENANT

Gal 2: 15 "We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' 16 know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

The Jewish Christians should have known that it was not following the Law of Moses that justified them but it was faith in Jesus Christ. By keeping the Mosaic law no one will be justified. So Paul rather than building up this wall between Jew and Gentile was bringing it down. He said , "look the main thing is faith in Jesus Christ. If that is how we are saved, then why are going back to the Mosaic law which never could save us in the first place?"

GRACE leads to love leads to Sincerity.

The Gentile Christians were made to feel condemned, less than. Have you ever been made to feel that way? Or have you ever caused others to feel that way. ? That is not love, but condemnation.

If you truly understand that you have been accepted through grace, freed from fear through grace, then you will be loving others through grace.

Let’s face it. If you think God is just waiting to blast you, if someone does something wrong, how much grace are you going to show them? Probably not much. That's why it's so important to receive the forgiveness and grace of God every day. You see Grace is not just how we get saved. Grace is how we live!

I love the story about when Jesus ate at the house of the Pharisee . The Pharisee despised the woman who had led a sinful life who came in kissing Jesus feet and wiping Jesus feet with her hair. The Pharisee thought if Jesus knew what kind of a woman she was he wouldn’t let her touch him. Then Jesus tells the story about two men, one owed 50 and the other owed 500 denary to the same man. He canceled both debts. Jesus asked, "who will love the lender more." The Pharisee replied, "I guess the one who had the bigger debt forgiven." And Jesus goes on to point to the woman and say "He who has been forgiven much loves much. He who has been forgiven little loves little."

The more grace you receive the more you give it away.

Grace would have prevented the feelings of inadequacy among the Gentiles. And the Power of Grace does the same for you. It says you have been made perfectly acceptable, you are free from having to please men, and free to love others with the same Grace you have been shown.

GALATIANS 2: The Gospel Approved

Gal 2:1-2 Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. 2 I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain.

JERUSALEM AND TITUS
Paul continues his testimony from chapter one. In the first chapter he had mad a big point that he had heard this gospel independently of any man. When he had this experience with Christ, he had very little interaction with the other apostles. This proved the divine origin of his gospel and calling. But now in chapter two, he shows that when he finally did meet the other apostles, they all approved his message, and his apostleship.

In the first chapter Paul emphasizes his complete independence from the other apostles. Here he emphasizes his unity with them.

First he had the desert experience. Then he went to Damascus. Then only three years after his conversion he went to Jerusalem. That first visit, he only saw Peter and James. He then went back to the regions of Asia Minor to preach the gospel. So now he goes back to Jerusalem, fourteen years later. After 14 years of ministry he goes, not because he was summoned, but again based on a revelation.

Scholars disagree when this trip occurred but I believe the revelation that Paul speaks of is what happened in Acts 11 when Barnabus and Saul were bringing a gift to Jerusalem.

Acts 11:27-30 During this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.) 29 The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. 30 This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.

Now when they get to Jerusalem, Paul decides to share the gospel that he has been preaching. He was concerned that the 12, the pillars of the church would be in agreement with him, or else the whole work might be brought to nothing.

Notice this was not a public meeting. It was a private meeting with the apostles in Jerusalem. Why was it private? Well it seems in fact that there were already some controversy in the church at Jerusalem. Even at that time there were Judaizers in the church. This was a "private" meeting because Judaizers were already there in Jerusalem , even at that time! How do we know?

Gal 2:3 Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. 4[This matter arose] because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves.

He goes on to describe Titus as a case in point. When Titus came, there was some pressure for Titus to be circumcised. Where did this pressure come from?

Paul intimates that the only reason even the issue of circumcision came up is because there was this pressure coming in the Jerusalem church from the Judaizers, whom he calls "false brothers"

But in fact, in spite of this pressure, after he explained his ministry to the apostles, and the fruit that his ministry was bearing among the Gentiles, he says that the apostles did not insist that his companion, Titus, be circumcised, even though he was a Gentile.

The apostles did not insist that Titus be circumcised!

It’s interesting that it seems like the Apostles were not being too vigorous against these Judaizers. The Judaizers seem to have infiltrated the ranks of the church even at this point. So though the apostles would not agree with the Judaizers, they were TOLERATING this nonsense for the sake of unity or "keeping the peace."

Now, Paul sees this doctrine of such horrific consequence that he calls these people false brethren. Meaning that they were pretending to be brothers in the church . But in fact, they were less concerned about following Christ as they were about making sure that the church was run their way and with their pet hobby horse doctrine.

A False Gospel equals False Brothers

Now before we get too down on the Judaizers: If you are more concerned with speaking in tongues than in following Christ, I doubt your Christianity. If you are more concerned with people coming into your particular church, than following Christ, I doubt your Christianity. If you are more concerned with everybody embracing your view of baptism, systematic theology, etc. etc. let me say that you have lost your focus on Christ. Sad to say that is the condition of many churches in America. We have become more concerned with our way than His way.

There are many church hoppers and shoppers that are more concerned with running the church than they are with Christ.

Gal 2:5 We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you.

Paul makes an important point. Even at this point in Jerusalem there was this pressure to be circumcised to fit in with the group. It seems that Paul as an apostle to the Gentiles really saw this for what it was , even beyond the other apostles. He knew that to give in here would be to give in to a corruption of the gospel completely, but they refused to be budged. They refused to give in. Why? So that the Truth of the Gospel might remain with you. For who, the Gentiles? He equates giving in on this point to a total destruction of the gospel!


Are you more concerned with your way(charismatic, reformed theology than His way?)

WE ARE THE APOSTLES AND WE APPROVE THIS MESSAGE

Gal 2:6-10 As for those who seemed to be important-whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance-those men added nothing to my message. 7 On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the Jews. 8 For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles. 9 James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews
10 All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.

Here Paul is careful to describe how his message was ultimately approved by the apostles. So though his message didn’t originate with them, it was ultimately received their seal of approval.

Are you able to withstand the pressure that others put on you to conform to their way of thinking, or are you careful to stand with the Word?

Paul's Vindication

The Source of Paul’s gospel and mission
Gal 1:10-12 Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
11 I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

You see the Judaizers were saying, "Oh Paul, he wants to be liked, that’s why he didn’t tell you the whole truth about circumcision and about law keeping. He can’t be trusted."

Paul here directly challenges the charge that he is a man pleaser. In fact, it is because he was not a man pleaser that caused him to be stoned, plotted against and chased out of town time and again. He claims that he received from his gospel from the horses mouth so to speak. The revelation that Jesus himself gave him. Paul was not a man pleaser.

The man pleasing church. We live in an age where the church is so busy trying to please the world. We have unconfrontational meetings, sin is seldom mentioned, hell rarely, if ever. Because of this, our gospel has been compromised. Paul was not afraid of speaking unpopular truth. See, we all have to decide who we are going to serve. Man or God. Can you imagine some of our popular TV preachers being taken out and stoned somewhere. No? Because we have become so accommodating to our age. The church is very sick and only the strong medicine of the Truth of God will cure it.

Paul’s Testimony
Gal 1:13-24 For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.

18 Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 I saw none of the other apostles-only James, the Lord's brother. 20 I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie. 21 Later I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22 I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only heard the report: "The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy." 24 And they praised God because of me.

Paul was a Jews Jew. If anybody knew about keeping the law of Moses, he did. He was a Pharisee. He was such a zealous Jew that he tried to destroy the church of Jesus Christ. But Paul says that when he had this experience with Jesus he did not go consulting men. He knew who he was, he knew the grace of God. He knew that his life had been radically changed by the grace of God. He knew his calling and he began to fulfill it.

Are you more interested in pleasing men, than pleasing God? Can you recall your testimony and does that motivate you to live for Him now?

The Book of Galatians is the Magna Carta of Christian liberty. Paul fought for the truth. Do you like Paul, know who you are? Are you willing to stand for the truth regardless of the results? Are you more interested in pleasing God than man? Stand fast in the truth that we have been saved by faith in Christ!

Galatians 1 : Paul's Gospel attacked!

Gal 1:3-5
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

"Grace and Peace" was a common greeting. Grace was known to be said by the Greeks and Peace or "shalom" by the Jews. Paul always puts grace first because you can’t have peace with God without grace.

Paul made it clear what the gospel was: Jesus gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age according to His will.

Now that is a mouthful of truth right there. First of all...

We had sins that needed dealing with.
This is the core of the core of the gospel: that Jesus gave himself for our sins--that they were dealt with by Jesus Christ.

Let me tell you that this kind of truth will never be popular. It caused riots in the towns it was preached in. It is a radical message. It is a message that accuses as well as forgives. It is a message of absolutism and certainty. It is a message that today , most people would have no problem calling intolerant, hate speech..

Why? Because it has the temerity to declare itself something special. Now, it was exactly this message that caused Stephen to be stoned, Peter to be martyred upside down, and Christians to be thrown to the lions. It is exactly this message that spawns the hatred of many even today. But this is the message that Paul was living for and willing to die for.

Paul says that Jesus rescued us from this present evil age.

Notice this literally says the "age that we have at hand." Now the new Agers may tell you that we are living in the age of Aquarius or enlightenment, but Paul calls the age evil. Does that mean that nothing good is happening in this age? No, but it does mean that the world as it is, is essentially different from what God is bringing us to.

Notice is says "from". The work there is "Ek" which means "out of." God has rescued us "out of" this evil world. But we are all still here, so what is he talking about? He has made us into a people. We have to see that God’s purpose was always to have a people. That was the point of the gospel. It was not just for heaven, it was for the here and now. That we would be his people. Therefore God gets the glory. This is very important to Paul’s later argument.

If Jesus has rescued us from this evil world, he has brought us into a new world with a new covenant, the Kingdom of God.

Now Paul gets right down to business to deal with the problem at hand.

The Judaizers.

Gal 1:6-9 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel- 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!

Here we see the problem with the Judaizers. They were trying to put a spin on what Paul had told them. They said in essence, "you know what, Paul meant well when he brought this message about Jesus Christ. But he left out some things. He NEGLECTED to tell you that there are still some things you need to do to be right with God . You need to be circumcised, you need to keep kosher. You need to keep the Mosaic law that you were under."

Paul was amazed at the speed with which they deserted Christ and turned to a different gospel. He considers them to have abandoned Jesus Christ. This is a pretty serious charge.

The Judaizers basically were doing what every cult does today. They say that you have to have, not just Jesus, but Jesus plus something else to be saved. But this is, to Paul, an error of drastic proportions. He feels so strongly about this, that he begins to send people to hell. Let anyone, or even an angel be eternally condemned that preaches anything other than the gospel that we preached to you. Pretty strong language. Because to Paul truth mattered.

He was ready to defend the truth from the attackers. This is also part of apostolic ministry. Why? Because the truth meant life or death. You see, we don’t generally feel that way today. Everything about our way of life seems to mitigate against truth. And if there is any truth, surely it’s not worth dying for. "Don’t make such a fuss. Don’t get so riled up. Can’t we all just get along?"

Here is where Islam has an advantage on Christianity. Christians have compromised for so long, but the Islamic world says, "no it has to be the way we believe it." The world sees anybody fighting for perceived truth as insane. That is why anybody who dares call themselves a fundamentalist, might as well be telling people he is a Martian, because people think fundamentalism is the enemy. But no, its lies that are the enemy. The secular are under the illusion that there is safe truth and unsafe truth.

Traditional Misinterpretations of Galatians.
Many in the church have misinterpreted Galatians to their spiritual detriment. The key to what Paul was saying ...

Putting the church back under the Old Covenant,

negates what Christ has done and His new covenant.

1. The true gospel does not mean that you don’t need works.
James 2:25-26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Many have misinterpreted Galatians to mean that works is unnecessary in the Christian life. But faith begets works. But you can’t put the cart before the horse. Grace then peace. Faith then works.

2. The True gospel does not mean you don’t need to persevere
Rev 3:5 He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels
Many have misnterpreted Galatians to mean that we don't need to persevere but or salvation is automatically assured once we believe. But Paul is not anti perseverance. He is against persevering in the wrong things.

3. The True gospel does not mean there is no law.
1 Cor 9:20-21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law)

Some have misterpreted Galatins to be anti law. But it is not . It is anti Mosaic law for the Christian. We need to know whose commandments we are to folow. Christ's or Moses?

4. The True gospel does not mean that there is no effort in the Christian life.
Eph 4:3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Many have used the book of Galatians to justify a lack of works, effort. A lack of law. And no need of perseverance in the Christian life. Many would cite Galatians as the reason why works are anathema to the Gospel. But we have to be very careful and not go beyond scripture. Paul was simply upset that they were saying that salvation came about by performing rituals, especially those of the Mosaic law.

Are you willing to be called narrow minded, bigoted, dangerous fundamentalist, for the sake of the truth of the gospel? Have you bought into the lie that Galatians means that perseverance is unnecessary to salvation?

Galatians 1: Paul the Apostle

Usually this blog has been topical, but for the next several days we are going to look deeply into the book of Galatians. This is arguably the first letter of the Apostle Paul in the Bible. Before we get into it, it is so important to to know the story behind the letter. As you may remember, Paul had been a persecutor of the church unitl his "Damscus road " expereince with the Lord led to his becoming a church planter.

Paul knew early on that he was being called to be a preacher to the Gentiles. Most scholars agree that it was about 12 years after his conversion that he was commissioned to go on his missionary journeys. Galatia was the area of Paul’s first missionary journey. He planted four churches in this region . But no sooner had he planted these churches, than he found that there had been some coming after him that were corrupting the message of the gospel. So much so, that Paul sent this letter to affirm them in the truth. The nature of this controversy was that these Judaizers wanted to add Mosaic law to the newfound faith. They have been called Judaizers because of their insistance on adherance to circumcision and the law of Moses. Heresy has dogged the church from its inception. Let's begin.

Gal 1:1-5 Paul, an apostle-sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead- 2 and all the brothers with me, To the churches in Galatia:

PAUL WAS AN APOSTLE OF GOD
Paul, at the very outset of his letter, is not writing a nice little salutation. He is introducing the theme of his authority to write this letter. Whenever we look at a text in the Bible it is important to know the author and its important to know the audience. Again, Paul was writing to a group of churches that he had planted. If you want to know the background of Paul’s missionary journey, read Acts 13, 14. where it talks about Paul’s mission in primarily 4 cities in the province of Galatia: Antioch Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra,and Derbe.

We always have to keep the story in mind. Why did Paul find it necessary to discuss his authority? The churches knew that Paul had been their founder. The reason was that these Judaizers were making all kinds of trouble for Paul. These were like counter missionaries that came after Paul and basically asserted TWO things.

1. Paul is not a real apostle because he wasn’t dispatched from our Jerusalem headquarters.

2. Paul’s gospel is deficient. He is a man pleaser who refuses to emphasize the importance of keeping Mosaic law, for the church.

So when Paul writes of his apostolic authority. It wasn’t to throw his weight around. He had to counter the arguments of the Judaizers.

First of all, let’s get some definitions. What is an Apostle? Literally it means a "sent one". The bible shows that the 12 apostles of Jesus had a special place.

They are to sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel Luke 22:30

But then there were the Apostles that were called after the 12. They included Paul , Barnabus, Silas, and Timothy

Barnabus and Saul were Apostles

Acts 14:3-4
4 The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. (Paul and Barnabus)

Greet Andronicus and Junias, my relatives who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.

Paul, Silas and Timothy of the church of the Thessalonians
As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you. 1Thess 2:6

Rev 2:2-3 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.

There would have been no need to test apostles if the ministry of "apostle" had ended with the Twelve!

Ephesians 4:11-12 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Some have mistakenly asserted that Paul, by virtue of his being in the same league as the 12, had the authority to simply dictate to the churches in all matters. This is simply not provable biblically. In fact, we know th,at Paul is not one of the 12 but was simply one of the Holy Spirit apostles. There is no evidence to indicate that the ministry of apostles is no longer needed.

What do apostles do? They are basically a foundational ministry for the planting of churches and equipping others for the work of the ministry.

Now that is important, because we realize that when Paul was writing this, he was not just trying to dictate from his position. No, he was persuading based on the fact that those churches were a proof of his apostle ship. He was a father to these people. He planted the churches in question.

Paul did not have a cake walk in planting these four churches in Galatia. The apostles had been persecuted and kicked out of Antioch Pisidia, fled from a murder plot in Iconium, were stoned and left for dead in Lystra.


Paul reminds them that he was not appointed by men. But by Christ himself.

Though he was commissioned by Jesus. He was set apart for the work by men. And he was to be recognized by His churches. It was important for Paul to spell this out at the beginning (that he was an apostle that was commissioned by Jesus) of his letter, in order to refute those that were trying to defame him.

God calls each of us to do things--especially in the church. He is the one who calls and moves people where he wants them.

Do you, like Paul, know who you are and what God has called you to do? Are you doing it? If not, why not?

The Jesus I Never Knew: The Religious?

Jesus the Religious. Here is one of the biggest distortions of Jesus going. Many people interpret Christians as those that "don’t smoke, drink or chew or date the girls that do." This is a distortion of Jesus because we want Jesus to fit into our own religious mold--but Jesus was a radically unreligious man.

His first miracle was a party miracle. He turned the water into wine. He chose wine to represent his blood and he made the disciples drink it. Jesus even promised to drink wine at his return. Jesus drinking wine. What kind of a scandal?! But many in the church would be scandalized by Jesus if he showed up.

People think Jesus would never go to a sporting event, or to the movies or watch television.

Jesus was a carpenter. Have you ever hung out with a bunch of blue collar guys? Let me tell you something .. they often don’t sound like choirboys. I think Jesus could handle rough language. Fishermen also have been known for their salty language. Yet those are the guys that he chose to go to war with. Jesus was no wimp. The problem with us is that we want men to become eunuchs when they come into the church.

We want them to give up drinking, but Jesus drank. We want them to stop going to the movies, stop watching TV--and we judge them based on that. We judge their maturity based on their adherance to our religion. No wonder it's so hard to get men into the Church. One of the most important things we can do is liberate Christ from all these religious notions.

Why?
"Religious Jesus" makes us comfortable. We can handle "religious" Jesus.
"Religious Jesus" makes Christianity easy. Its’ so much easier if we have our "dos and don’t's" . If we didn’t have them, who knows? We might actually have to pray and find God’s will for ourselves regarding these gray area issues.

Jesus broke taboos.
He talked to the woman he was not "supposed" to
He let people touch him who were not "supposed" to
He turned water into wine
He healed on the Sabbath
He extolled a Gentile as having the greatest faith in Israel etc. etc. etc.

So put all the false Jesus' together and what do you have? A picture of a helpless Jesus who was a victim, who never got angry or fought back or had a political opinion--who was too spiritual to be any earthly good. A Jesus who covers over our sins with a wink, and promises to accept us regardless of our behavior. A Jesus who never drank or partied, danced or was involved in the arts.

No wonder we have such a problem in the church, many of us have been following a false Jesus.

We need the real Jesus, not a Jesus that has been distorted to fit all of our pet doctrines and ideas about psychology, morality, politics, and religion. Embrace the real Jesus and be a real Christian.

The Jesus I Never Knew: Tolerator of Sin?

Here is another myth. The gospel of grace is presented as somehow giving believers a bullet proof vest or an immunity from sin. People of this theological stripe are quick to say that this is not a license to sin. They say that now that they know Christ, that there is no eternal danger in sin. The other day, the president of the National Association of Evangelicals had to step down amid accusations of sexual misconduct. How many sex scandals do we need to have until we admit that maybe something is very wrong with our theology, maybe something is wrong with our milquetoast gospel and our milquetoast Jesus.

Jesus came to save people from their sins. Not to save people in their sins.


John 9:38-41 Then he said, "Lord, I believe!" And he worshiped Him. 39 And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind." 40 Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?" 41 Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains.

Jesus let people remain in their sins. He is not obligated to save anybody. The reason their sin remained is that they refused to repent, and refused to acknowledge Him for who he was despite the evidence.

Jesus is not a tolerator of sin but a preacher against sin. Yes Jesus is the way out from sin, but it is conditional on repentance. But according to the prevalent theology- there is no fear of judgment based on a one time profession of faith. This is not the Jesus of the Bible who threatens the church of Laodicea that he will spit them out.

Rev 3:16 So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold-I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

We have a holy God, not a tolerator of sin, but a Savior from sin. Hallelujah!

The Jesus I Never Knew: Apolitical?

Some people are so sick of Republicans, Democrats, liberals or conservatives that they want to wash their hands of the whole thing and say that Jesus was apolitical. Because of this, it seems we had the church on the sideline for the first 75 years of the 20th Century. The mainline churches took up every liberal cause under the banner that "Jesus is love". When I say mainline, I mean the Presbyterians, Episcopals, and Methodists, but they defined love as they wanted to define it--a love with no teeth, but a mere sentimentality that judged no one.

People want to say that because Jesus said to turn the other cheek, that he was a pacifist.
People want to have a private religion. But I am here to tell you that there is no such thing.

We know that the scriptures say that

Rom 13:1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

God has created government. Government is accountable to God.

Rom 13:4 For he(government) is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.

The government is literally called a "deacon" of God--bearing the sword as an agent of wrath of God himself.

We need to see that government is not allowed to just act contrary to the moral will of God. God is in charge of government.

John 18:36 Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place."

Jesus was not saying that Christians should not be involved in government when he said this! This verse is in reference to the origin of His Kingdom. In no way is Jesus saying that those on earth did not have to listen to him. He is saying that the source and nature of his kingdom is a spiritual one. It is in one of “men’s hearts”. If one in men’s hearts, then surely that would also affect the ruling of governments.

If anybody should understand the goals of Muslims it should be Christians. Christians are to steward the earth under the direction of God. Muslims feel the same way. The problem is with their interpretation of God, His prophet and His law, and our interpretation of God, His Son, and His law. It is certainly a clash of civilizations. All this talk of separation of church and state is nonsense:

When Herod, a politician, failed to give glory to God he was struck down by God and killed. Is government accountable to God?

We know that Jesus was not apolitical. Because he spoke about His Kingdom. If he presents himself as a King of a coming kingdom you can’t get more political than that.

2 Thess 1:5-9 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8 He will punish those