YOU FOOLISH GALATIANS! "The message that God puts men right with himself through faith is so full of comfort and the proof of it is so plain, that I must ask you foolish Galatians, Who put a spell on you???'" [See Romans 5:1-2; James 2:19 and notes.] RIGHT BEFORE YOUR EYES! Paul uses the strongest p... [ Continue Reading ]
TELL ME. "Since you think The Law is superior to the Good News of God's act in Christ to set men free, let me ask you this question. You have God's Spirit living in you (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Tell me: Did you receive God's Spirit through The Law, or through faith??? When I also gave you the _gifts... [ Continue Reading ]
HOW CAN YOU BE SO FOOLISH! They had begun with a new birth of water and the Spirit (John 3:5) and had been following the spiritual religion of Jesus Christ. To go under The Law means trying to save themselves by their own efforts, which is impossible! When they try to put themselves right with God t... [ Continue Reading ]
YOUR EXPERIENCE? The Galatian Christians had suffered much in the persecution which hostile Jews brought against them. Compare 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16. If they abandon the gospel, all this effort will go for nothing!!!... [ Continue Reading ]
DOES GOD GIVE YOU? "Christians have advantages that those under The Law never did have! You Galatians have the Spirit (John 7:37-39), and you have seen the miracles the Holy Spirit did among you. Was this because you obeyed the ritual of The Law, or was it because you heard and believed the gospel??... [ Continue Reading ]
ABOUT ABRAHAM. Genesis 15:6. "The Scriptures (Old Testament) prove that God intended both Jews and Gentiles to be put right with him through faith, and not through The Law." AND BECAUSE OF HIS FAITH. This quotation shows Abraham, whom every Jew thought of as sort of a "guardian angel" (see Matthew 3... [ Continue Reading ]
ARE THE REAL DESCENDANTS. "You are no relation to Abraham, unless you have the same kind of faith which he had!" Those who reach out through faith to seize Christ are the ones who are Abraham's descendants!!! See Galatians 3:26-29.... [ Continue Reading ]
SAW AHEAD OF TIME. "Since God had already decided to put men right with himself by faith, the scripture tells about it." THE GOOD NEWS. The promise that through Abraham, God would bless all the people on earth, (and not just the Jews). The quotation is found in Genesis 12:3; Genesis 18:18; Genesis 2... [ Continue Reading ]
SO ALL WHO BELIEVE. We see Abraham had an active faith, not passive, and God blessed him because of his faith! Therefore, all who believe with the active faith that Abraham had, are blessed as he was! [On the nature of faith, see note _on_ James 2:19.]... [ Continue Reading ]
ON OBEYING THE LAW. "If you depend on the rites of The Law to save you, you are putting yourself under a curse! For The Law brings God's curse on all who do not keep it perfectly! And, if you break only one command, you are guilty of breaking them all (James 2:10)!!!_"_ The quotation is Deuteronomy... [ Continue Reading ]
BY MEANS OF THE LAW. "Besides, The Law itself proves that no one is put right with God by means of The Law." The quotation is Habakkuk 2:4_. Alford_ (Greek Testament) also translates this: _"The just by faith shall live. "Alford_ says: "He is not seeking to show _by what_ the righteous shall live, b... [ Continue Reading ]
DOES NOT DEPEND ON FAITH. _Johnson_ says: "It is not a system of faith, but proclaims life by _doing_ the Law, rather than by faith. But since none can keep it perfectly, all are under the curse (Galatians 3:10)._"_ The quotation is Leviticus 18:5.... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT CHRIST HAS REDEEMED US. "The Law held us under its curse, but Christ _bought us_ from the curse by becoming a curse for us. It was impossible for us to _free ourselves_ from the curse, but what we find impossible, God did through Christ (Romans 8:1-4)!" The quotation is Deuteronomy 21:23. Compar... [ Continue Reading ]
IN ORDER THAT. "Christ-on-the-cross gives to the Gentiles (and Jews) the blessing God promised to Abraham (Galatians 3:9)!" It is correct to say that: _through Christ, God made His promises to Israel_ (and the Gentiles) _come true;_ and: _Christ was the one who fulfilled Israel's contract to God_ (t... [ Continue Reading ]
AN EVERYDAY EXAMPLE. "To disprove the claims of those who are saying that God's promise to bless the Gentiles through Abraham and his descendant, is to come true through converting them to Judaism, I show you this example.... [ Continue Reading ]
NOW, GOD MADE. "God _promised_ to bless all the people of the world through Abraham and his descendant. God specifically said DESCENDANT to point to Christ." Jewish thought understood _descendant_ (seed) to mean _one chosen family_ (Israel). Paul points this directly to Christ, who is in a far highe... [ Continue Reading ]
WHAT I MEAN IS THIS. "I want to show you that God made a covenant and promised to keep it. Since this was with Abraham and his _descendant,_ it did not terminate with the death of Abraham. Not until four hundred and thirty years later did The Law come, and it came without the consent of either Abrah... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR IF. "If you earn it, it is not a free gift! If it is through The Law, it cannot be through God's promise!" HOWEVER. Abraham proves the point! See Galatians 3:9.... [ Continue Reading ]
WHAT WAS? "Why did God give The Law??? To restrain sin by clearly showing what wrongdoing is!!! But it was temporary and was meant to last only until Abraham's _descendant_ came." BY ANGELS. See Hebrews 2:2; Acts 7:38; Acts 7:53. A GO-BETWEEN. Note that The Law came through both angels and a go-betw... [ Continue Reading ]
IS NOT NEEDED. "When God makes a promise, no go-between is needed!" See the contrast in Hebrews 12:18-24.... [ Continue Reading ]
DOES THIS MEAN: "The Law is not in competition with God's promise, because The Law does not give life at all! If it could give life, then The Law could be said to be _against_ God's promise. The Law, by placing men under its curse and taking away their hope of mercy, forces them to reach out to seiz... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT THE SCRIPTURE. "The scripture shows that all the people of earth, both Jew and Gentile, are held as slaves by sin and are under God's curse. The only way out of this curse, is through the promised _gift_ which comes THROUGH faith in Christ!!! We reach out through faith to seize the sacrifice of... [ Continue Reading ]
BEFORE. "Before the Good News of God's act in Christ was revealed (1 Corinthians 2:7-10), The Law kept us locked up as prisoners, criminals condemned by The Law, to be set free only when this faith should be revealed!" Compare Hebrews 9:15 and note.... [ Continue Reading ]
WAS IN CHARGE. The _Expositor's Greek Testament_ says of the PAIDAGOGOS: "For he was a confidential dependent, usually a slave, neither qualified to instruct, nor invested with authority to control his young master, but appointed to attend on him, to safeguard him, and to report to his father any di... [ Continue Reading ]
NOW. "There is no longer any NEED for The Law to be in charge of us!!!... [ Continue Reading ]
IT IS THROUGH FAITH. "The Law had no authority or ability to make us God's sons! It is through _faith_ that both Jews and Gentiles are _adopted_ as God's sons (Romans 8:15)!" [In the Bible, the _masculine_ usually (but not always) includes the _feminine._ Sons includes daughters.]... [ Continue Reading ]
BAPTIZED INTO UNION. Faith = trust = action. Note salvation is _seized,_ not achieved! Baptism is a _promise made to God_ (1 Peter 3:21 and note). THE QUALITIES OF CHRIST HIMSELF. "By being baptized into union with Christ and taking upon yourselves the qualities of Christ himself, you become more tr... [ Continue Reading ]
SO THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE. "The Law made a difference between persons. All that has been canceled and terminated!!! Under the Good News, no Jew is superior to a Gentile, no slave is inferior to a free man, no man is superior to a woman!!! You are all one, _in salvation, in promises, in dignity,_ and... [ Continue Reading ]
IF YOU BELONG TO CHRIST. "Since Christ is _the descendant_ of Abraham, in your union with Christ, you become what He is, and will receive God's promise, as a spiritual descendant of Abraham." [In the Bible, _faith_ means: (1) _belief/trust -_ active, obediential; (2) the _obedience_ which faith prod... [ Continue Reading ]