September 19, 2017
It is faith, not the flesh, that takes hold of true righteousness. And it is the Spirit that makes faith effective and righteousness real. For the flesh strives to earn righteousness through law-keeping, which is a rejection of the grace of Christ. Those who live by the works of the flesh cannot produce righteousness. But those who live by the Spirit are enabled to bear the fruit of the Spirit by faith in the finished work and righteousness of Christ. As Edward Mote wrote in the first stanza of his famous hymn, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness!”
September 17, 2017
|
Galatians 1:1-24
|
exposition, grace
Are you free from slavery to sin? Have you received the grace of Christ which sets you free from sin and sin’s result, which is death? Some have never received this grace and that’s the good news for today. You can be set free because of God’s grace, His free gift of salvation. Many others have received this grace, but aren’t living as one who has been set free. Perhaps you have fallen into the trap of legalism. Having received the mercy of God for salvation, you are now trying to live according to your own merit. Having received God’s favor as a gift, you are now trying to earn God’s favor as a goal — as if God’s love is conditional based on your ongoing effort.
In the apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatian believers, he challenged them to return to Christ’s grace alone that was able to set them free. The only way to experience true freedom is to cling to Christ’s grace alone.
September 17, 2017
If the law cannot save, what purpose does it “serve?” Paul asked this rhetorical question after making the point that the “promise” of God was given 430 years before the law of God was added. The “promise” was given to Abraham that through his “Seed” all nations would be blessed (Gen.22:18). This “Seed” is Christ. So, since faith in the “Promised Seed” is the only way of salvation, why was the law given? It was given “because of transgressions.” The promise is for salvation, but the law is “because” of sin. Paul goes on in his epistle to the Galatians to give what some have called the three “R”s of the law, which answers his question, “what purpose does the law serve?”
THREE “R”s OF THE LAW:
1) Reflect our guilty condition (Like a perfect mirror).
2) Restrain our sinful behavior (Like a prison guard).
3) Reveal our need for a Savior (Like a pedagogue).
The law is good and useful, but it cannot save. Only faith in Christ saves.
September 16, 2017
God’s grace, as Paul speaks of it here, is that which saves and sustains the one trusting in Christ’s finish work of salvation. Grace is about God’s mercy, while “works righteousness” is about our merit. But grace is more than mercy, for mercy only withholds the punishment we deserve. Yet, grace gives us the opposite of what we deserve. This is not only saving and sustaining grace, it is scandalous grace. For it gives the one who deserves an “F” on life’s test, an “A+.” How is this just? It is just because Christ died in our place. He took our “F” and offers us His “A+.” When we attempt to add law-keeping to salvation, we “set aside” grace. And having nullified grace, we nullify the work of Christ on the cross with it. Grace (Greek: χάρις, charis) is God’s unmerited favor freely bestowed on those who having recognized their own inability to save themselves, put their trust in Christ and His finished work of salvation. Grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone saves.
September 15, 2017
This was a pivotal meeting in the history of the Christian Church. The apostle Paul was moved both by a revelation from God and by his desire for unity with the other apostles concerning the matter of salvation by grace alone through faith alone. Certain people had come behind Paul into Galatia teaching that the Gentile believers should essentially become Jewish, following Jewish laws and customs. Paul was confident that the gospel the Lord had given him by revelation was not just a reform movement for Judaism, but good news for the whole world. One could come to Christ without becoming Jewish. The apostles in Jerusalem affirmed Paul’s gospel as the same gospel that Christ had given them. The gospel was for every nation, tribe and tongue. It was for the whole world. And it still is!
September 14, 2017
The apostle Paul warned the Galatians against adding or subtracting from the gospel. He said that they were at risk of deserting the “grace of Christ” and perverting the “gospel of Christ.” The gospel is not only that which sets free the one in slavery to sin, it is also that which sustains the freedom of those who are now sons of God. We never outgrow the gospel. As one commentator has said, the gospel is not only the ABCs of Christianity. It is the A-Z of Christianity.
September 21, 2016
This is one of the “one another” commands found in the Bible. It applies especially to the way believers are to treat other believers, showing that they are members of Christ’s body. In context, the “burdens” to which Paul refers are the troubles that come on one who has fallen into sin. Sin brings burdens, side effects that pile on in addition to the sin itself. Someone abuses drugs, and they lose their spouse, their kids, their job, and find themselves hungry and homeless. Sin equals suffering. Yet, we are not to shoot our wounded, leaving them dying on the field of battle. We are to help them carry their burdens, binding their wounds as the Good Samaritan. The Lord forgives them their sin, yet He expects His body of believers to aid in their restoration. And what is the “law of Christ?” It refers to another “one another.” As Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (John 13:34).
September 20, 2016
Fruit is singular. One fruit with nine seeds, each a part of a triad of triads. These are not works. We can’t do them. They are evidence of being connected to the Vine. Abiding in Christ, we increasingly bear these character traits.
September 18, 2016
Our spiritual identity in Christ is greater than racial, demographic, gender and any other physical identities. An emphasis on the latter leads to disunity and strife. But a focus on the former leads to oneness and blessing. Law cannot accomplish this kind of unity and peace. Only those who by faith have believed in Christ may know this oneness of being members together in God’s family. This is not a call to forget physical conditions, but to make identity in Christ your banner. Race, class and gender warfare belong to the former way of life and have no place among those who follow Jesus.
September 17, 2016
What is the “curse of the law?” Does Paul teach that the law itself is accursed? Certainly not. The law of God is perfect. The law teaches us of righteousness, the difference between right and wrong. Yet, this teaching cannot empower us to keep it, nor can it save us when we inevitably break it. The law is like a mirror, revealing our sin-blemished, leprous flesh, but not able to heal us from its terminal progression. So, what is “the curse of the law?” It is the curse that falls on anyone who does not keep every word of the law. For the one who would live by the law, seeking to be justified by their own effort at righteousness, must keep every word of it (Gal. 3:10, Deut. 27:26). But the good news is this: Christ has “redeemed,” bought us out from under the “curse,” so that we might experience God’s “blessing” (Gal. 3:14). We are to live by faith in Christ’s redemption, not by claiming to be good enough through our own effort.