Galatians Lesson 5

Galatians Lesson 5
Lesson Passage: Galatians 3:1 to 4:11

This lesson continues Paul’s defense of the Gospel of Grace.

Read 3:1-5 ===========

NIV

You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 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? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?

ESV

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith—

The position that the Galatians are in is so confused that Paul begins this line of argument as if they are under some sort of stupid spell. He asks if someone has bewitched them. Each of us has to answer that we became a Christian by faith and not by works of the law. However, we also have an inclination to add works.

I was watching a David Frost interview of Billy Graham once years ago. David Frost was trying to make the point that Billy Grahams works would certainly get him some favors with God. Billy Graham kept saying he was a sinner saved by Grace but David Frost wasn’t buying it. In Frost’s mind God owed Billy Graham for his service.

Phil 2:12-13 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Billy Graham knew that he was simply letting God be God in his life. How much fear and trembling do we have in our hearts when we think God now owes us something for our fine service to His kingdom. God has not profited by my salvation. I have profited. He has shown great patience with a stubborn procrastinator. I serve by His Grace.

Luke 17: 7-10 “Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’”

Hear what Jesus is saying because this is a key attitude for serving God. When you do what you are supposed to do then you should know in you heart of hearts that God doesn’t owe you something for your service and you have only done what was your duty. Your flesh with not be happy with this knowledge and you’ll need to relearn it from time to time. I’m sure that if God wasn’t God then I’d drive Him crazy with my service.

Read 3:6-14 ===========

NIV

Consider Abraham: “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. 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.” So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

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.” Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.” The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.” 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.” 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.

ESV

just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

Paul points out that the Gospel was foreshadowed in two key ways in Abraham. First salvation by faith, “Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness” and secondly, “all the nations” would be blessed. The Gentiles would enter into the blessing of Abraham.

Paul then points out the fatal flaw of those who try to be justified by the law. They are under a curse. They have all failed on some point and are subject to judgment. However, the curse for us has been dealt with by Christ. Our sins have been imputed to Christ. His righteousness has been imputed to us and we have received the promise of the Holy Spirit.


Read 3:15-25 ===========

NIV

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. 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,” a meaning one person, who is Christ. 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. 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.

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. A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is one.

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. 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.

Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.

ESV

To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.

Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.

Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. 22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,

Note that Paul uses “brothers” here rather than foolish Galations.

Paul continues an exposition based on Old Testament history and logic. He makes the point that the law actually came after Grace.

I think it is important to see that the law would have no real purpose except for the Gospel. It was there to foreshadow Christ. That is why so many Old Testament scriptures have so much relevance for us.

3:19 because of transgressions.
The law not only makes our sins specific it also reveals our disinclination to serve God.

3:20 mediator.
Moses mediated between God and Israel when God made His covenant with Israel at Mount Sinai (Ex. 19–34). The promise given to Abraham was one on one and required no mediator. Consequently it takes precedence over the covenant at Sinai and demonstrated God’s unity and sovereignty more perfectly than the covenant at Sinai.

against the promises of God.
The law doesn’t compete with the Gospel because it provides not method of justification. Once you are under it you are simply a dead man walking.

3:24 tutor.
Some functions of the law are ended. There is no need for separation and protection from the Gentiles. The ritual law pointed to Christ and is no longer something we must obey.

Read 3:26 – 4:7 ===========

NIV

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

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. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

ESV

for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

3:26 you are all sons of God.
We are adopted because we are united to the Son, Jesus Christ. Baptism is a public testimony and sacrament that reflects our living union with Christ. Double imputation is present here in the positive sense.

3:28 you are all one in Christ Jesus.
There is no preferential status in salvation.

3:29
Strong statement against circumcision and for the sufficiency of Christ since some in the list can’t be circumcised and others certainly are not.

4:1–7 Paul has compared the law to a prison warden (3:23) and a tutor (3:24 note). Now he compares its preparatory role to that of guardians or trustees of a minor. The full right reserved for one who has grown up is adoption as a son and receiving the inheritance.

God sent forth His Son. His eternal Son, sent to be born of a woman.

under the law.
Although Christ was without sin (2 Cor. 5:21), He was born under the law, not only as One obligated to fulfill it, but also as One identified with sinners who are under the curse of the law. His death freed us from that curse (3:10–14).

The concept of redemption comes from the institution of slavery. In both the Jewish and Greco-Roman worlds, a slave could buy his freedom (or someone else could buy it for him) by paying a redemption price to his owners. The price of our redemption was paid by the Father in the blood of His Son (1 Pet. 1:17, 18), and by the Son in giving His life a ransom for many (Matt. 20:28).

the adoption as sons.
Paul has been speaking of God’s people under the law as children (Ex. 4:23; Is. 1:2). He now describes the only way in which the children become full members of the household, no longer minors. God seals our adoption by giving us the Spirit of His Son (Rom. 8:9–17).

4:6 Abba. The Aramaic word for “Father,” used by Jesus (Mark 14:6). It was natural for Jesus, God’s Son in a unique sense, to use this term. Now the Spirit puts the same word on the lips of men and women who are adopted in Christ.


Read 3:26 – 4:7 ===========

NIV

Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now 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? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.

ESV

Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? You observe days and months and seasons and years! I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.

Coram Deo

Adoption
The gift of justification (that is, of present acceptance by God, the world’s Judge) is accompanied by the gift of adoption, that is, of becoming a child of the heavenly Father

Adopted status belongs to all who receive Christ. In and through Christ God loves His adopted children as He loves His only begotten Son, and will share with them the glory that is Christ’s

Adoption results in a new relationship, while regeneration is a change of our moral nature. Yet the connection is clear. God wants His children whom He loves to have His character, and He takes action accordingly.

This relationship has natural extensions to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Our behavior, as our sanctification increases will change the way we view and treat others in the body of Christ.

Galatians Lesson 4

Galatians Lesson 4
Lesson Passage: Galatians 2:11-21

This lesson is a continued defense of the Apostleship of Paul and his history and then flows into a defense of the Gospel of Grace.

Read 2:11-14 ===========

NIV

When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. 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. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.

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?

ESV

But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

2:11
Antioch was a Roman capital city for Syria and a large city. They had a large Jewish church and it was the first place recorded that Jewish Christians preached to Gentiles (Acts 11:19, 20). This local church was pivotal since it brought Jewish and Gentile Christians together for worship and fellowship and, as far as we know, it was the first church to send missionaries to preach the gospel specifically to Gentiles (Acts 13:1-3).

2:12-14
As we discussed previously, Jewish Christians had difficulty accepting God's commandment that Gentile believers should be received without having to follow the ceremonial law (Acts 10:28; 11:2, 3, 19; 15:1). Even Peter and Barnabas (v. 13) folded up a bit under the pressure from a group that believed circumcision (full Jewish proselyte process) was necessary for becoming a Christian. Peter waffled depending on who he was with.

Given all that God had done in the nation of Israel (special Grace) you could argue that you must introduce a new believer to all of that including at least part of the ritual law.

Read 2:15-21 ===========

NIV

“We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’ 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.

“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! If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 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. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

ESV

We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if justification were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

Justification is that once for all monergistic work of God that brings you from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. This is how your second birth. You were born again by the Grace of God. Sanctification is the work of God that is progressive (by the Grace of God) as He sets your life apart for His purposes and for a fuller fellowship with Him. Sanctification brings us inline with the moral law as our minds are conformed to His mind.

2:15, 16
These verses are the central message of Galatians.
The point is that everyone (Jew or Gentile) is placed in a right relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ alone. The Greek words for "righteousness," "righteous," "justify," and "justification" all have the same root.

2:16
God could have continued to rule and judge with perfect justice (1 Sam. 26:23). To "justify" is to declare to be right (Deut. 25:1) but it must be “just”. No one (except Jesus) is righteous before God (Ps. 143:2) so how can there be any hope (Job 9:2)? God is the Judge and He is the Savior who can provide deliverance from His own judgment (Jon. 2:9). God's righteousness is revealed, not only as His requirement, but as His gift (Is. 45:24, 25; 54:14-17). That gift comes at last through the Messiah (Is. 53:8; Jer. 23:5, 6; 33:14-16). Paul proclaims the fulfillment of the Old Testament promise (Rom. 3:21-26). Faith receives the gift of Christ's righteousness as well as forgiveness through His atonement.

works of the law.
Paul has been referring to the "works" that distinguish Jews from Gentiles (v. 15), such as circumcision, dietary restrictions, and Sabbath-keeping. His phrase, however, includes all the efforts of fallen humanity to keep God's law so as to merit His justifying verdict.

no flesh shall be justified.
A near quotation of Ps. 143:2. No one can keep the law fully, so legal observances such as circumcision cannot establish a right relationship with God. Something other than the law is needed for that, and God has provided it in the gift of Christ's righteousness and the blood of His atonement. Faith does not merit God's acceptance; it accepts Christ's merit before God (Phil. 3:9).

Historic Roman Catholic theology includes sanctification in the definition of justification, considered as a process rather than a single decisive event, and affirms that while faith contributes to our acceptance with God, our works of satisfaction and merit must contribute too. Catholics see baptism as conveying the sanctifying grace that first justifies us. Afterward the sacrament of penance allows supplementary merit to be achieved through works, securing justification if the grace of God’s initial acceptance is lost through mortal sin. This supplementary merit does not oblige God to be gracious although it is the normal context for receiving it. On the Roman Catholic view, believers effect their own salvation with the help of the grace that flows from Christ through the church’s sacramental system. The Reformers pointed out that this view of salvation undercuts the sense of confidence that only free grace can provide to those who have no merits. Paul had already showed that all people, of whatever piety, are without merit, and need a free justification if they are to be saved. A justification that needs to be completed by the recipient is no resting place.

2:17
Paul was considered a sinner and promoter of sin because he rejected Jewish dietary laws. If Christ inspired Paul and Peter to abandon the ritual law in error then Christ has become a promoter of sin. That is argument reductio ad absurdum.

2:18
destroyed.
The Greek word translated "destroyed" is used in the New Testament to mean the tearing down of an edifice (Matt. 24:2; Mark 13:2; Luke 21:6; Rom. 14:20). To rebuild the wall of the law is to bring in again the condemnation of the law. The lawbreaker is not the one who turns from the law to Christ for justification; it is the one who turns back again from Christ to the law.

2:19
Paul died to the law in the death of Christ; he was crucified with Christ (v. 20) and so did you (if you are a believer) because you are united to Christ who died in his place (3:13; Rom. 4:25; 5:6). So too, he was raised with Christ and lived in relation to God (Col. 2:12; 3:1). Death to the law does not violate the law, for Christ met the law's demands. It is therefore "through the law" that believers are released from the bondage and condemnation of the law.

2:20
Union with Christ means that He represented us in His death and resurrection but it is a living union. Jesus is present with the believer; by the Spirit the Lord lives in inward fellowship with His own. Paul does not mean that the individuality of a person is suppressed or absorbed; he lives "in the flesh" by "faith." The union is a spiritual relationship of the utmost intimacy.

Coram Deo

1) Moral law as opposed to the ceremonial law. We as obedient children of God will obey the moral law but not to become justified before God.

2) Our walk is between antinomianism and legalism with a correct view of the moral law in our lives.

3) Don't forget the principal of plucking out your eye if it causes you to sin but remember that doesn't mean that you go around pulling out everybody's eyes.

Galatians Lesson 3

Galatians Lesson 3
Lesson Passage: Galatians 2:1-10

This lesson is a continued defense of the Apostleship of Paul as he describes some more of the history of his Apostleship.

Quotation:

The fundamental note of the Old Testament, in other words, is revelation. Its seers and prophets are not men of philosophic mind, who have risen from the seen to the unseen and, by dint of much reflection, have gradually attained to elevated conceptions of Him who is the Author of all that is. They are men of God whom God has chosen, that He might speak to them and, through them, to His people. Israel has not, in and by them, created for itself a God: God has, through them, created for Himself a people.
... Benjamin B. Warfield (1851-1921)

This is very clearly not just Old Testament but the action of Paul in the New Testament.

Read Galatians 2:1-5

NIV

Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. 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. Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. 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. We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you.

ESV

Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain. But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery— to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.

2:1
fourteen years.
Either after his conversion or after his first visit to Jerusalem.

again to Jerusalem.
If, as some scholars believe, Galatians was written after Paul's first missionary journey (Acts 13; 14) but before the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15), then the journey spoken of here is the Acts 11 journey, and the Acts 15 journey has not yet occurred. Five visits (Acts 9:26; 11:30; 15:2; 18:22; 21:15).

Probably Acts 15 – Therefore you get two points of view; Luke’s and Paul’s. Could also be Acts 11:30.

Barnabas.
A native of Cyprus and an early Christian of stature (Acts 4:36). Barnabas's name means in Aramaic "Son of Encouragement," and his appearances in Acts demonstrate that he lived up to his name (Acts 4:36, 37; 11:22-24, 30).

Titus.
Although not mentioned in Acts, Titus was one of Paul's trusted companions and messengers. See 2 Cor. 2:12, 13; 7:6; 8:6; Titus 1:4, 5.

2:2
by revelation.
If this is the Acts 11 visit, the revelation may have been the prophecy of Agabus (11:28). If not, it was probably similar to other special revelations that Paul received from God (Acts 9:4-6; 16:9; 18:9, 10; 2 Cor. 12:1-6).

in vain.
While the Jerusalem leaders were not the source of Paul's authority, his efforts to preach the gospel would have been hindered if these influential men had opposed him. How could he succeed with all the opposition he already had if the other Apostles opposed him.

2:3
compelled to be circumcised.
See 5:12 and Acts 15:1. Circumcision was the distinguishing mark of the Jew, and the final step in the conversion of a male Gentile to the Jewish religion. Some Jewish Christians believed that Gentiles also had to accept circumcision and thus become Jews before they could be Christians and belong to God's chosen people. Paul was vehemently opposed to this teaching and maintains throughout Galatians that we are justified by faith in Christ alone.

2:4
false brethren.
Paul considered the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith alone to be so important that he excluded from the church all who did not hold to it (1:8, 9; 5:2-4). Note that he didn’t call these guys brothers … they were false brothers. They rejected sola fidae and Paul taught that that disqualified them from being brothers.

liberty.
The freedom of the believer is not freedom to sin, but freedom from the curse the law pronounces on sin (3:10-14; 5:1, 13).

bondage.
Probably bondage to sin and to the curse that the law pronounces on those who sin but also a bondage to the ritual law. That was fulfilled in Christ. Think of what an offense it is (to God) to take something given to point to Christ and practice it for righteousness sake. If someone said I was unrighteous because I did something or didn’t do something (adiaphorous) then I could take offense but I’d probably just ignore their comments (I’ve drunk coffee in front of Mormons). However, the real issue is that they consider that they have done or not done something that, in part, results in their salvation. They add to the work of Christ in Justification.

We constantly walk between the errors of antinomianism and legalism. Here Paul is fighting against legalism. If we pursue legalism, we take a sinful pleasure (consider ourselves to have acquired merit) in our conformity to a particular set of behaviors that may or not have a biblical basis.

Someone who is legalistic will frequently display an “enforcement mentality”. They have their rules and everyone must obey them to be righteous. The legalist can have a surface veneer of a homemade righteousness but it is an offense to God.

Quotation:

I am persuaded that some have scarce any better or more forcible argument to satisfy their own minds that they are in the right in religion than the inclination they find in themselves to hate and persecute them whom they suppose to be in the wrong.
... John Owen (1616-1683)

We are not really “bound” by the moral law. In fact, our obedience to the moral law is a natural outgrowth of the Spirit working and living within us. Rather than bound, I am free to express the work of the Holy Spirit in my life. The Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in me, and He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead gives life to my body through His Spirit who dwells in me. I’m no longer a debtor to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. I’m subjecting myself to the Spirit to put sin to death. Since I’m led by the Spirit of God I am a son of God. I did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. I’m not in bondage, however, I have received the Spirit of adoption as a son and I cry “Abba! Father!” (Ro 8:11-15).

2:5
truth of the gospel.
Entrance into the community of God's covenant people (the church) comes only by faith that is graciously given to the believer by God (1:6, 15; Eph. 2:8). Any attempt to add entrance requirements, such as circumcision, is a denial of the sufficiency of faith in Christ's merits for satisfying God's justice, and therefore is a perversion of the gospel.

Galatians 2:6-10

NIV

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. 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. 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. 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. All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.

ESV

And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me. On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.

2:6
personal favoritism.
Just as the external mark of circumcision does not define the boundary of God's people, so worldly prestige is not important to God (1 Sam. 16:7; Rom. 2:25-29).

2:7
the uncircumcised.
circumcised … to Peter. Peter was apparently the chief spokesman of the early Jerusalem church (Acts 1-12). Only with great reluctance did he respond to God's command to associate with the Gentile Cornelius (Acts 10). Although Peter recognized the necessity of including Gentiles within God's people (Acts 10:34, 35; 11:17; 15:7-11), he evidently felt God's call to preach the gospel specifically to Jews.

2:9
James, Cephas, and John.
See notes on v. 7; 1:18, 19. These three men had special authority in the early Jerusalem church. Peter and John are frequently seen together (Acts 3; 4), and James was prominent in the Jerusalem church (Acts 12:17; 15:13; 21:18). "Pillars" was used as a metaphor in Greek as in English for persons in important leadership positions.

grace … given to me.
Regarding Paul's conversion and call, see 1:15 and note. Paul frequently referred to his call as God's grace, given to him (Rom. 1:5; 12:3; 15:15, 16; 1 Cor. 3:10).

we should go to the Gentiles.
Barnabas, like Paul, was chiefly a missionary to the Gentiles (Acts 13; 14; 15:36-41).

2:10
remember the poor.
Some refer these words to the purpose of Paul's second visit to Jerusalem (Acts 11:27-30). On that visit, Paul and Barnabas were commissioned to take an offering from Antioch to the Christians in Judea who were suffering because of a famine. In this case, the poverty of which Paul speaks would be literal poverty. Others believe that these words refer to Paul's collection for the Jerusalem saints (Acts 24:17; Rom. 15:26; 1 Cor. 16:1-3; 2 Cor. 8; 9), to which the Galatians contributed (1 Cor. 16:1).

Moral and Ritual Law

As we navigate our hearts between the errors of antinomianism and legalism think about the following. When we give ourselves to antinomianism we grieve the Holy Spirit by our sinful behavior because we reject the moral demands that God makes on our behavior. On the other hand, if we pursue legalism we take a sinful pleasure in our conformity to a particular set of behaviors that may or not have a biblical basis.

Antinomians often have lives that are in Spiritual disarray and hard to distinguish from someone who is unregenerate. On the other hand, someone who is legalistic will frequently display an “enforcement mentality”. They have their rules and everyone must obey them to be righteous. The legalist can have a surface veneer of a homemade righteousness but it is an offense to God.

Neither an antinomian nor a legalist is necessarily regenerate or unregenerate. God will deal with His children and it is our own hearts we need to offer up for examination by God. Pray this prayer from Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”

Before the face of God we must answer in our heart and lives about how we live with regard to the ritual law and moral law. As we study the book of Galatians we find Paul in a fight with those who insist on obedience to the ritual law. They were legalists who demonstrated that enforcement mentality (Galatians 2:4). If you want to see Paul fighting against antinomians then you can read the epistles to the Corinthians.

For years I’ve thought of the difference of the moral and ritual law. When I’ve taught on the subject I’ve often said that the ritual law was ended (Romans 10:4) but that we are still bound by the moral law (Romans 6:1-3). However, I think I’ve got an understanding that is more consistent with scripture. We are not really “bound” by the moral law. In fact, our obedience to the moral law is a natural outgrowth of the Spirit working and living within us. Rather than bound, I am free to express the work of the Holy Spirit in my life. The Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in me, and He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead gives life to my body through His Spirit who dwells in me. I’m no longer a debtor to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. I’m subjecting myself to the Spirit to put sin to death. Since I’m led by the Spirit of God I am a son of God. I did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. I’m not in bondage, however, I have received the Spirit of adoption as a son and I cry “Abba! Father!” (Romans 8:11-15).

Galatians Lesson 2

Galatians Lesson 2
Lesson Passage: Galatians 1:11-24

In the first lesson as we covered 1:1 to 1:10 we studied the introduction.

This week begins a stretch of autobiographical material from Paul that runs from 1:11 to 2:21.  This was necessary because Paul’s authority was being questioned.  Paul’s authority and the Gospel (among the gentiles) were intimately linked.  If the legalists had won then the Gospel would have lost.  Of course God wasn’t going to let that happen and He used Paul, in part, to defend the Gospel.  Paul is divinely taught, inspired, and commissioned.  

Read 1:11-17

NIV
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.
13 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 a 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.

ESV
11 For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. 12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 14 And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16 was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.

1:11 not according to man.
Paul defends himself against his opponents’ charge that he is in rebellion against the Jerusalem apostles who gave him his authority in the first place. Paul contends that his authority comes from God alone, the Jerusalem apostles recognized and confirming God’s work in Paul’s life.  It is also a serious thing for Paul to say formally, “I would have you know”.  Serious for Paul, serious for his opponents, and serious for the Galatians who are beginning to drift.

1:11&12

• Not man’s gospel – not human in origin, we would not have thought of this, literally “not according to man”, a creation of the mind of God, no logical person would require a human rubber stamp.


• Not received from any man – Paul didn’t acquire this by laying on of the hands of other Apostles or as some sort of rabbinic oral tradition, this is as close to ground zero as the Galatians could get.


• Not taught it by any other Apostle in any other way – in a sense he was as surprised as anyone by the revelation.  It wasn’t as much a learning experience as as a revelation experience (an epiphany).


• He received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

I think the revelation comment refers to the entire experience beginning on the Damascus road and including all that God had spoken to Paul.

1:13 persecuted the church of God.

Paul’s persecution of the church before his call was well known to the early Christians (Acts 7:58; 8:3; 9:1, 2). Paul himself was ashamed of this part of his past (1 Cor. 15:9), although he looked on it as evidence that God’s grace can overcome even the most rebellious sinners

1 Corinthians 15:8-10 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

1:14 exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers
Paul was fond of pointing out to opponents like those in Galatia that being a Jew, even a zealous Jew, is not sufficient for salvation. Paul considered his own experience proof that zeal for the law would not save.  As zealous as Paul was it wasn’t pleasing to God and in fact he found himself in opposition to God and God’s purposes.

1:15 from my mother’s womb.
Paul consciously echoes the call of Jeremiah (Jer. 1:5) and, perhaps, the Servant spoken of by Isaiah (Is. 49:1, 5), who both like Paul were called to be God’s messengers to Gentiles. Paul was conscious that his apostleship (v. 1 note) was in continuity with the Old Testament prophetic tradition.

Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew a you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

Isaiah 49:1-5 Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations: Before I was born the LORD called me; from my birth he has made mention of my name. He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver. He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.”  But I said, “I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing. Yet what is due me is in the LORD’s hand, and my reward is with my God.”  And now the LORD says— he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD and my God has been my strength—

called me through His grace
Paul’s call to be an apostle, like the faith of every believer, was the product of God’s prior grace. Before our birth, and therefore before we could do anything good or bad, God chose to create faith in us (Rom. 9:10–13; Eph. 1:4–6). No one can earn God’s call; it is a free gift.

I love the way Paul describes what happened on the road to Damascus as “God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles”  

Paul had no problem realizing that God’s work of Grace was operating and not some part of Paul.  Your salvation was functionally like Paul’s.  Most of us had a much less dramatic conversion.  I was saved as a child and thankful I was but I didn’t get blinded or have a vision.  But God’s work was still the initiator.  I’m saved, I’m being saved, I’m going to be saved someday.  I’m saved = monergistic; I’m being saved = synergistic (still Grace); I’m going to be saved someday = monergistic.

1:16 confer with flesh and blood.
Paul did, of course, meet with Ananias three days after his conversion (Acts 9:10–19; 22:12–16). The word translated “confer,” however, suggests laying something before someone or submitting it for comment and approval. Paul certainly did not consult Ananias in this sense. Ananias’s role was to confirm Paul’s calling to preach to the Gentiles and to baptize him.

1:17 Jerusalem … Arabia … Damascus.
Paul’s conversion and call took place near Damascus (Acts 9:3; 22:6; 26:12). He spent several days in the city after his conversion (Acts 9:19). This ancient city is on a fertile plain between two rivers, and the traveler from there must literally “go up” to Jerusalem in the Palestinian highlands. Jerusalem was the cultural and religious center of Palestine, and home to James, Peter, and John, who are prominent in Acts and Galatians as leaders of the early Christian community in Jerusalem (2:9). Paul stresses that his call to preach to the Gentiles came from God and not from the leaders of the Jerusalem church.

Paul spent time away seeking God.  God changed everything for Paul.  The desert is a great place to go to think.  I’m looking forward to doing that again in a couple of months.
Read 1:18-24

NIV
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.

ESV
18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. 19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother. 20 (In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!) 21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they glorified God because of me.


1:18 to Jerusalem.
Paul’s first trip to Jerusalem after his conversion (Acts 9:26–30).
see. This translates a Greek word that means visiting someone for the purpose of getting information. Paul may have interviewed Peter about Jesus’ life and teaching.
Peter. Peter’s Aramaic name was “Cephas” (see text note). Both “Cephas” and “Peter” mean “rock.”

1:19 James, the Lord’s brother.
See Matt. 13:55 and Mark 6:3. This James is not the disciple James who is frequently coupled with Peter and John in the Gospels. Herod murdered that James in the church’s earliest days (Acts 12:2). James, the Lord’s brother, at first did not believe in Jesus (John 7:5) but later was converted, perhaps as a result of seeing the risen Lord (1 Cor. 15:7).

James was instrumental in the early church after his conversion and was an apostle.  He was a key part of the church conference when those insisting on circumcision were heard and rejected.

Paul’s conversion was a point of encouragement to the Church.  They saw it, as we should see each salvation, as evidence of God’s presence in the world today.

Paul’s credentials were God ordained.  The Church was thankful for God’s work in Paul’s life.  His ministry has been confirmed by God and the other leadership of the church.  The Galatians were falling for a false teaching and Paul was not going to stand by and watch.


Coram Deo

Thankfulness:

• For those like Paul in the early church that God used to keep the Gospel pure

• For God’s work in my life that resulted in my salvation

• For the confidence for my future that God’s past work gives me

• Grace from beginning to end

Galatians Lesson 1

Galatians Lesson 1
Lesson Passage: Galatians 1:1-10

How many of you are confident in speaking up when you hear a distortion of the gospel?

We have lots of laws we live by …

Palo Alto, California has a population that usually feels pretty good about itself. The city’s Web site immodestly states that “Residents are highly educated, politically aware and culturally sophisticated. But after a pattern of inappropriate body language, the City Council drafted a proposal to regulate behavior. “It’s not rocket science,” said Ms. Harrison, assistant city manager, “but there is the need for basics, including how do you behave at a meeting.” Rules were drawn up to prohibit eye rolling, frowning and harrumphing, said to hinder the Council’s decision-making ability. The City Council’s actions drew mocking by conservative talk radio hosts, and a deluge of complaints from people near and far. “Seeing how this has played all over the country has given people a start,” Councilman Jim Burch said. “It is like the old game of telephone. Something is said and then it gets manipulated and distorted in each step.” The City Council dropped the proposal.
Source: Dean E. Murphy, “Chastened Palo Alto Council Drops Plan to Ban Rude Body Language,” The New York Times, 7 May 2003, www.nytimes.com.

Those crazy Californians huh?  But they are behind us this time.
Athens Clarke County has it covered
Sec. 3-5-2. Disturbing meetings. No person shall create any disturbance at any public meeting or any place of amusement by loud talking, indecent or profane language, or any disturbing sound or action. (Ord. of 4-7-92, § 8) State law references: Preventing or disrupting lawful meetings, gatherings or processions, O.C.G.A. § 16-11-34.

Antinomianism and Legalism are opposite sins

Proper view of God commands is part of a normal healthy Christian life

Making faces isn’t something God prohibits

Things that are neither forbidden nor commanded by God are adiaphorous

To teach as a command of God something that He hasn’t commanded is sinful, just like teaching that something He has forbidden is OK to do.

Galatians has been called Luther’s book.  He said it was his wife.  Martin Luther was influenced by the clear presentation of Grace in the book of Galatians.

The basic Gospel truths that were “rediscovered” about 400 years ago have been handed down to us.

Background on Galatians

Author:
The apostle Paul wrote Galatians (1:1). He mentions a group of his coworkers who had some role in sending the letter (1:2), but the letter’s style and theology demonstrate that Paul was the immediate author.

Date and Occasion:
Paul names his addressees as “Galatians” (3:1; cf. 1:2), but to which “Galatians” was he writing? He may have been writing specifically to the Celtic people who lived in northern Galatia and who were widely known as “Galatians,” or he might have been addressing the people who lived in the entire province of Galatia.

If Paul wrote to southern Galatia (a.d. 49). If this is correct, Galatians may be Paul’s earliest epistle in existence today.

If Paul wrote to the ethnic Galatians in the north (a.d. 54 or 55).

In order to understand the epistle, some knowledge of the situation that provoked Paul to write is essential.

Not long after the Galatians had accepted the gospel, agitators came among them who attacked Paul personally (4:17) and preached a distorted form of Christianity (1:6, 7). Their “gospel” required circumcision for salvation (6:12). Since the Galatians were uncircumcised Gentiles, the agitators insisted that the Galatians not only believe in Christ for salvation but also accept circumcision (2:3–5; 5:2, 6, 11; 6:12, 13, 15).

The zeal of these agitators likely reflects Jewish pressure as well as their own pride. Probably they were attempting to convert the Gentile Galatians to Judaism under pressure from nationalistic Jewish groups in Judea who, according to the Jewish historian Josephus, were becoming increasingly intolerant of contact between Jews and Gentiles during the last half of the first century.

First, they claimed that Paul was a renegade who had defied his superiors, the Jerusalem apostles.

Second, they said that Paul had recently argued with Peter over whether the gospel required Gentiles to become Jews in order to become Christians.

Third, the agitators spread the notion that Paul had originally preached circumcision for salvation (5:11) but had recently changed his gospel so that he might more easily accommodate the Gentiles (1:10).

Characteristics and Themes:
The Galatian letter stands like a sentinel over the truth that salvation is the gift of God’s grace, unearned and undeserved, to be received by faith alone (2:15, 16). Indeed, faith itself is God’s free gift (1:3, 6, 15; 2:19, 21; 6:18). Quite simply, this is “the truth of the gospel” (2:5, 14). Paul shows deep anger over the agitators’ denial of it (3:1; 5:12), warning that those who reject it cannot expect to be saved (1:8; 5:4).

Read 1:1-5
NIV
1 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:  
3 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.  

ESV
1 Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers who are with me,
To the churches of Galatia:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

1:1 Paul, an apostle
Remember the Apostle Johnny Washington, Pastor and founder of Tabernacle of Prayer, Inc. in Jamaica Queens, New York?  We don’t recognize a position of apostle in this age.  “One sent as an authorized ambassador to speak in the place of another”.  Paul was claiming a special authority.  He wasn’t just saying he was a missionary.  Some of the functions of an apostle are still present in church planting and pastoral care. We do not allow for the authority with regard to doctrine that was present prior to the time that the canon of Scripture was complete.  However, the term is often used as an honorific title rather than a functional title.  That can be harmless if the person is just unaware of what they would otherwise appear to be claiming.

Roman Catholic teaching claims apostolic succession and infers an authority.  They imply that Protestants have a problem because they can’t track a line back to The Apostles.  They should read the Old Testament.  God has never been bound to man.  He has forever called His people back to Himself and replaced leadership structures.  God has always had a people and a True Church and the True Church stretches across denominations.  Roman Catholic teaching clearly violates the teaching of Galatians with regard to Grace.

Paul’s Apostleship was special because he was commissioned (mugged) by Jesus after His resurrection.  All the Apostles were apostles through Jesus and God the Father but Paul was “as one born out of time”.  However, they all had the same function that was of critical importance as the canon of New Testament Scripture came into being.


1:2 and all the brothers
Paul was not the Lone Ranger.  They weren’t writing with him but they were an organization and a support group to him.

1:2 the churches of Galatia
We don’t know for sure exactly which part of modern day Turkey was involved.  North or South is about all we can be sure of.  This may have been Paul’s first epistle.   Paul doesn’t use any sort of affectionate or encouraging title for the Galatians.  He doesn’t call them saints or faithful in Christ Jesus.  This probably indicates Paul’s distress with them.  

1:3 Grace to you and peace.
Each of Paul’s letters begins with a reference to these two blessings from God. “Grace” translates the Greek charis, which means “an undeserved act of kindness.” Paul uses this word more often than any other New Testament writer and gives it immense theological significance. It refers to all that God has given us in Christ, nothing of which we have earned or can repay. “Peace” refers to the relationship that Christ’s death and resurrection (1:4) have established with God for those who believe the gospel.  You get them in that order Grace and then Peace.

1:4 who gave himself.
The atonement is in view already because this is where the Galatians are losing their religion.  He gave himself … according to the will of our God and Father.  His life was not taken from Him.  He laid His life down for your sins according to the will of the Father.  The atonement was purposeful.  He meant to do it.  He re-signified Passover as giving himself as food and drink for His sheep.  We have a short version in communion.  But it was no mistake He was laid in a feed bunk at his birth.  

1:5 Soli Deo Gloria
Only God gets glory for our salvation

Read 1:6-10
NIV
6 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!
10 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.

ESV
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.
10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

1:6 called you in the grace.
God’s grace comes to us at His initiative, by His call, and not because of anything we have done to deserve it.  We must watch ourselves to keep from falling into this same error and thinking that we can add to something to add to the salvation that God offers freely as a work of Grace.  This is a seductive heresy.  We like to feel good about our own righteousness.  Our flesh finds it distasteful to be completely dependent on the Mercy of God that was bought at such a price.  Our flesh finds it distasteful to be told that we were dead in our trespasses and sins.  We would be happier if we were just confused and God offered a helpful suggestion.  Instead He took out a heart of stone and put in a heart of flesh because there was no other way to resurrect me.

1:7 some who trouble.
Probably Jewish Christians from Jerusalem who insisted that Gentiles must not only believe in Jesus Christ but must also accept circumcision and thereby become Jews. Various shades of this idea were widespread among early Jewish Christians.  To be fair, Peter had trouble understanding this too.  Paul didn’t dream this up.  God worked on him really directly.  This was a really radical shift in thinking for Jewish Christians.  What is the same and what is different?  How do you know?  The flesh was just as big a problem for them as it is for us.  

1:8, 9
Those who add any additional requirements for salvation to faith in Jesus Christ, no matter how excellent their credentials, twist the gospel into another form. The preachers of the false gospel are under God’s condemnation.  So if an angle named Moroni shows up with gold tablets and claims they are from God … then please do us all a favor and tell him to return to his father the Devil.

1:9 accursed.
Paul’s usual thanksgiving for his readers is here replaced by the threat of a curse, repeated for emphasis.  God doesn’t repeat stuff that often.  This is a serious thing.  This has serious implications for who we fellowship with.  To seek “common ground” is a good thing but not if we allow it to compromise the Gospel.  One of the most common points of departure is Grace.  The mixture of Grace with works is always a red flag.  Grace is almost always attacked and when we drift we drift from Grace.

1:10 seek to please men.
Paul’s opponents in Galatia attacked not only the gospel but also its messenger, Paul. One of their charges was that Paul preached an easy form of the gospel, requiring neither circumcision nor obedience to the Sabbath laws and dietary restrictions.  The key to understanding this is that it is only a problem for Paul (and of course God) when you claim works as a source of righteousness.  If I want to celebrate Passover this year then fine.  If I think or teach that it makes me more righteous then that is a big problem.  The general thing we keep in mind is that the moral law is still in effect to live a life that is pleasing to God.  The ritual law is not in effect.


Coram Deo

Doctrine matters even in this age

Grace is the beginning, the sustainer, and the end of our salvation

…man is justified by faith in Jesus Christ – by nothing less and nothing more – and he is sanctified not by legalistic works but by the obedience that comes from faith in God’s work for him, in him, and through him by the grace and power of Christ and the Holy Spirit.

You can error on either an antinomian or legalistic side.  

We draw a distinction between the ritual law and the moral law.

With the moral law our obedience comes from faith in God’s work for us, in us, and through us by the grace and power of Christ and the Holy Spirit.