Freedom and Love

Galatians 5:13-5 NLT
¹³ For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. ¹⁴ For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁵ But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another.

Examine the scriptures:

Galatians 5:13-15 NLT
Freedom and Love 

¹³ For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters.

Galatians 3:13
¹³ But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. 

Philippians 3:8-9 NLT (Paul speaking to the Philippians.)
⁸ Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ ⁹ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.

Galatians 5:1 NLT
Freedom in Christ
^5:1 So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.

John 8:36 NLT
³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.

• As Christians, we have been called to live in freedom. (Freedom from the Mosaic Law.)

But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature.

• Don’t use your freedom to follow your fallen, sinful desires and act contrary to God’s moral laws.

Romans 6:1-2 NLT
^6:1 Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? ² Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?

Romans 6:15 NLT
¹⁵ Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! 

1 Peter 2:16 NLT
¹⁶ For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil.

• Freedom is not a license to sin. 

Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.  

• Use your freedom to serve God and each other in love. 

¹⁴ For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 

Leviticus 19:18 NLT
¹⁸ “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. 

Deuteronomy 6:5 NLT
⁵ And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 

Matthew 22:36-39 NLT
³⁶ “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
³⁷ Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Luke 10:25-28 NLT
²⁵ One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”
²⁶ Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”
²⁷ The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
²⁸ “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”

Matthew 7:12 NLT
¹² “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.

Luke 6:27-36 NLT
²⁷ “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. ²⁸ Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. ²⁹ If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. ³⁰ Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. ³¹ Do to others as you would like them to do to you.
³² “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! ³³ And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! ³⁴ And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.
³⁵ “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. ³⁶ You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.

John 13:34-35 NLT
³⁴ So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. ³⁵ Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

**Romans 13:8-10 NLT
Love Fulfills God’s Requirements
⁸ Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. ⁹ For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.”
These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰ Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.

Love, not lust.

• When a Christian genuinely loves others, he fulfills all of the moral requirements of the Mosaic Law. 

He does what he should be doing, and does not do what he should not be doing. 

¹⁵ But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another. 

Strife and bitterness destroys relationships.

Strife and bitterness is destructive to churches. (Schools, families, work places)

Christian fellowship can be utterly ruined by conflict.

Both parties are ruined by conflict.

Matthew 12:25 NLT
… A town or family splintered by feuding will fall apart.

Mark 9:50 NLT
⁵⁰ Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? You must have the qualities of salt among yourselves and live in peace with each other.”

This is the opposite of love.

• Biting and devouring one another will be fatal to the Christian community as a whole. The life of the body will be destroyed by its own members.

Live in harmony with each other.

Psalm 133:1 NLT
¹ How wonderful and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in harmony!

Romans 12:16-18 NLT
¹⁶ Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!
¹⁷ Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. ¹⁸ Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

Romans 15:5-6 NLT⁵ May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. ⁶ Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

John 17:20-21 NLT
²⁰ “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. ²¹ I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.

• Live in harmony with each other.

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• As Christians, we have been called to live in freedom. (Freedom from the Mosaic Law.)

• Don’t use your freedom to follow your fallen, sinful desires and act contrary to God’s moral laws.

• Freedom is not a license to sin.

• Use your freedom to serve God and each other in love.

• When a Christian genuinely loves others, he fulfills all of the moral requirements of the Mosaic Law.

• Biting and devouring one another will be fatal to the Christian community as a whole. The life of the body will be destroyed by its own members.

• Live in harmony with each other.

A Law-Oriented Gospel Is False

Galatians 5:7-12 NLT
⁷ You were running the race so well. Who has held you back from following the truth? ⁸ It certainly isn’t God, for he is the one who called you to freedom. ⁹ This false teaching is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough! ¹⁰ I am trusting the Lord to keep you from believing false teachings. God will judge that person, whoever he is, who has been confusing you.
¹¹ Dear brothers and sisters, if I were still preaching that you must be circumcised—as some say I do—why am I still being persecuted? If I were no longer preaching salvation through the cross of Christ, no one would be offended. ¹² I just wish that those troublemakers who want to mutilate you by circumcision would mutilate themselves.

Examine the scriptures:
Galatians 5:7-12 NLT
A Law-Oriented Gospel Is False

⁷ You were running the race so well.

Metaphor:  The Christian life is like running a race.

• The Christian life is like running a race.

Galatians 2:2 NLT
² … I met privately with those considered to be leaders of the church and shared with them the message I had been preaching to the Gentiles. I wanted to make sure that we were in agreement, for fear that all my efforts had been wasted and I was running the race for nothing. 

Philippians 2:16 NLT
¹⁶ Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless.

Philippians 3:13-14 NLT
¹³ No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,¹⁴ I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 NLT
²⁴ Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! ²⁵ All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. ²⁶ So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. ²⁷ I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.

2 Timothy 4:7-8 NLT
⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. ⁸ And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing. 

Who has held you back 

Who has caused you to break stride?

Who has caused you to stumble? 

from following the truth?  

• The Galatians had a good start. They had received the Gospel message by faith and had begun to live their Christian lives by faith.

• Now some of the Galatians were believing that circumcision was necessary for salvation. 

The influence of the Judaizes prevented the believers from living by faith and prevented the unsaved from responding in faith to the gospel of grace.

Paul wanted the Galatians to name the person who was responsible for the false teachings they were hearing.  This man was a false teacher, and his teaching should not be allowed to continue among them.

Matthew 18:6 NLT
⁶ But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.

⁸ It certainly isn’t God, for he is the one who called you to freedom. 

The Galatians thought that commitment to the law would please God, but God wasn’t calling them to this slavery.  God called them to freedom.

Discuss the phrase “God told me …”

• If teaching contradicts scripture, it’s not from God.

⁹ This false teaching is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough! 

Matthew 13:33 NLT
Parable of the Yeast
³³ Jesus also used this illustration: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”

Paul desperately wants the Galatian believers to identify the false teaching about adding works to faith in Christ, so that they can remove it from among them.

False teaching and its consequences are never limited to just a few people in a group. It is either rejected—and removed—or it works its way into the thoughts and practices of the whole group.

False ideas are contagious; they spread and take hold.

False ideas can affect an entire church (or school.)

Matthew 16:6 NLT
⁶ “Watch out!” Jesus warned them. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” (the deceptive teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees)

• One seemingly small deviation from scripture can destroy the whole church.

If circumcision were necessary for salvation, the whole grace system would fall.

1 Corinthians 5:6-7 NLT
⁶ Your boasting about this is terrible. Don’t you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough? ⁷ Get rid of the old “yeast” by removing this wicked person from among you. Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is what you really are. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us.

Application:

Be careful when teaching others.

Deuteronomy 4:2 NLT
² Do not add to or subtract from these commands I am giving you. Just obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you.

Deuteronomy 12:32 NLT
³² “So be careful to obey all the commands I give you. You must not add anything to them or subtract anything from them.

Proverbs 30:5-6 NLT
⁵ Every word of God proves true.
He is a shield to all who come to him for protection.
⁶ Do not add to his words,
or he may rebuke you and expose you as a liar.

Jeremiah 26:2 NLT
² “This is what the Lord says: Stand in the courtyard in front of the Temple of the Lord, and make an announcement to the people who have come there to worship from all over Judah. Give them my entire message; include every word.

Revelation 22:18-19 NLT
¹⁸ And I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the words of prophecy written in this book: If anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book. ¹⁹ And if anyone removes any of the words from this book of prophecy, God will remove that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book.

• Do not add anything to the scriptures and do not delete anything from the scriptures.

¹⁰ I am trusting the Lord to keep you from believing false teachings.

Paul is optimistic about the outcome in Galatia.

Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT
⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
⁶ Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take. 

2 Thessalonians 3:3 NLT
³ But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.

Ephesians 6:11 NLT
¹¹ Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.

John 14:16-17 NLT
¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. ¹⁷ He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 NLT
²³ Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. ²⁴ God will make this happen, for he who calls you is faithful.

John 10:27-30 NLT
²⁷ My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, ²⁹ for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. ³⁰ The Father and I are one.”

• The Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. 

God will judge that person, whoever he is, who has been confusing you.

1 Peter 3:12 NLT
¹² The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right,
and his ears are open to their prayers.
But the Lord turns his face
against those who do evil.”

1 Corinthians 5:13 NLT
¹³ God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.”

• God will judge the false teachers.

• “You must remove the evil person from among you.”

¹¹ Dear brothers and sisters, if I were still preaching that you must be circumcised—as some say I do—why am I still being persecuted?

Apparently the Judaizers had falsely claimed that Paul agreed with their teaching.

If Paul was preaching a law-based religion, the Judaizers would not have been persecuting him. 

If I were no longer preaching salvation through the cross of Christ, no one would be offended. 

• The message of the cross is offensive to those who are perishing.

Their Efforts to be made right with God outside of Christ are useless.

1 Corinthians 1:18-23 NLT
¹⁸ The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. ¹⁹ As the Scriptures say,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise
and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.”
²⁰ So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. ²¹ Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. ²² It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. ²³ So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. 

2 Corinthians 2:14-16 NLT
¹⁴ But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. ¹⁵ Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. ¹⁶ To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?

¹² I just wish that those troublemakers who want to mutilate you by circumcision would mutilate themselves.

Biting sarcasm with multiple levels of meaning.

To cut off or to castrate. 

Mutilate themselves physically

Remove themselves from the community

Castrate themselves (a practice of some pagan priests)

 

Simply put – harm themselve instead of harming the Galatian Christians

Philippians 3:2 NLT
² Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved. 

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• The Christian life is like running a race.

• The Galatians had a good start. They had received the Gospel message by faith and had begun to live their Christian lives by faith.

• Now some of the Galatians were believing that circumcision was necessary for salvation.

• If teaching contradicts scripture, it’s not from God.

• One seemingly small deviation from scripture can destroy the whole church.

• Do not add anything to the scriptures and do not delete anything from the scriptures.

• The Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.

• God will judge the false teachers.

• “You must remove the evil person from among you.” 

• The message of the cross is offensive to those who are perishing.

 

Freedom in Christ

Galatians 5:1-6 NLT
^5:1 So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.
² Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you. ³ I’ll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses. ⁴ For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.
⁵ But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us. ⁶ For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.

Examine the scriptures:

Galatians 5:1-6 NLT
Freedom in Christ 

^5:1 So Christ has truly set us free.

Galatians 5:1 is a summary of chapter 4.

Galatians 4:4-7 NLT
⁴ But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. ⁵ God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. ⁶ And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” ⁷ Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.

John 8:36 NLT
³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.

• Christ has truly set us free.

• Christ is the great liberator who sets the believer free from bondage.

Now make sure that you stay free, (Our part)

1 Corinthians 16:13 NLT
¹³ Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.

Philippians 1:27 NLT
²⁷ Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.

Philippians 4:1 NLT
^4:1 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stay true to the Lord. I love you and long to see you, dear friends, for you are my joy and the crown I receive for my work.

1 Thessalonians 3:7-8 NLT
⁷ So we have been greatly encouraged in the midst of our troubles and suffering, dear brothers and sisters, because you have remained strong in your faith. ⁸ It gives us new life to know that you are standing firm in the Lord.

2 Thessalonians 2:15 NLT
¹⁵ With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter.

Christians are in a battle.

Ephesians 6:10-12 NLT
¹⁰ A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. ¹² For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. 

and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law. 

Don’t listen to false teachers.

• Make sure that you stay free. 

² Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you.  

• Anyone who believes that they need to be circumcised in order to be saved is adding works to faith.

• The atoning sacrifice of Christ cannot benefit anyone who trusts in law and ceremony for salvation. 

³ I’ll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses. 

• If a person believes that they are saved by obeying the Law of Moses, that person is obligated to obey the whole law.

Galatians 3:10 NLT
¹⁰ But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.” 

James 2:10 NLT
¹⁰ For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws.

• Salvation is by faith alone!

⁴ For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ!

• Any attempt to be justified by the law is to reject salvation by grace alone through faith alone. 

You have fallen away from God’s grace.

Think of the acronym for grace.

G  God’s

R  riches

A  at

C  Christ’s

E  expense

⁵ But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us. 

Romans 8:23 NLT
²³ And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.

Romans 8:25 NLT
²⁵ But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.

1 Corinthians 1:7 NLT
⁷ Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Galatians 5:5 NLT
⁵ But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us.

Philippians 3:20 NLT
²⁰ But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.

Hebrews 9:28 NLT
²⁸ so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.

• Scripture tells us to wait eagerly, patiently, and confidently to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us.

Enjoy the process of sanctification that is taking place within you.

⁶ For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised.

• It really doesn’t matter if we are circumcised or are not circumcised.

What is important is faith expressing itself in love.

Ephesians 2:10 NLT
¹⁰ For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. 

James 2:14-18 NLT
Faith without Good Deeds Is Dead
¹⁴ What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? ¹⁵ Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, ¹⁶ and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?
¹⁷ So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
¹⁸ Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” 

• What is important is faith expressing itself in love.

• Faith without good deeds is dead. 

 

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• Christ has truly set us free.

• Christ is the great liberator who sets the believer free from bondage.

• Make sure that you stay free.

• Anyone who believes that they need to be circumcised in order to be saved is adding works to faith.

• The atoning sacrifice of Christ cannot benefit anyone who trusts in law and ceremony for salvation.

• If a person believes that they are saved by obeying the Law of Moses, that person is obligated to obey the whole law.

• Salvation is by faith alone!

• Any attempt to be justified by the law is to reject salvation by grace alone through faith alone.

• Scripture tells us to wait eagerly, patiently, and confidently to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us.

• It really doesn’t matter if we are circumcised or are not circumcised.

• What is important is faith expressing itself in love.

• Faith without good deeds is dead.

 

Introduction:

Paul continues to deal with the influence false teachers on the Galatians.

Paul’s argument remains the same.

The truth of the gospel message: Salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

Paul’s techniques vary.

Paul had just made a personal appeal.

Now he uses a theological defense.

Paul uses an Old Testament story from the life of Abraham, using the contrast between Hagar and Sarah and between their children. Paul argues for a similar contrast between those who are slaves under the Mosaic Law and those who are free in Christ.

Galatians 4:21-31 NLT
Abraham’s Two Children
²¹ Tell me, you who want to live under the law, do you know what the law actually says? ²² The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons, one from his slave wife and one from his freeborn wife. ²³ The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God’s own fulfillment of his promise.
²⁴ These two women serve as an illustration of God’s two covenants. The first woman, Hagar, represents Mount Sinai where people received the law that enslaved them. ²⁵ And now Jerusalem is just like Mount Sinai in Arabia, because she and her children live in slavery to the law. ²⁶ But the other woman, Sarah, represents the heavenly Jerusalem. She is the free woman, and she is our mother. ²⁷ As Isaiah said,
“Rejoice, O childless woman,
you who have never given birth!
Break into a joyful shout,
you who have never been in labor!
For the desolate woman now has more children
than the woman who lives with her husband!”
²⁸ And you, dear brothers and sisters, are children of the promise, just like Isaac. ²⁹ But you are now being persecuted by those who want you to keep the law, just as Ishmael, the child born by human effort, persecuted Isaac, the child born by the power of the Spirit.
³⁰ But what do the Scriptures say about that? “Get rid of the slave and her son, for the son of the slave woman will not share the inheritance with the free woman’s son.” ³¹ So, dear brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman; we are children of the free woman.

Examine the scriptures:

Galatians 4:21-31 NLT
Abraham’s Two Children

²¹ Tell me, you who want to live under the law, do you know what the law actually says? 

Paul desperately wanted to stop the Galatians before they submitted to the bondage of the Law.

Paul wanted to turn them back to a life under grace.

Paul was asking, “Do you really know what you are doing? Do you really know what it means to live under the law?”

• The Galatians did not truly understand what it meant to live under the law.

The Galatians would not know much about the Old Testament.

The Galatians, not having a Jewish background, might not know the stories of the OT.

The Judaizers in the audience, if there were any, would know the OT stories.

Paul uses an Old Testament story to make his point. (The power of scripture.)

²² The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons,

• Abraham had two sons, Isaac and Ishmael. 

one from his slave wife and one from his freeborn wife. 

• Isaac was born of Sarah, the free woman. Ishmael was born of Hagar, the slave woman.

According to ancient law and custom the status of the mother affected the status of her son. 

²³ The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise.

• Ishmael was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise.

Genesis 16:1-4 NLT
The Birth of Ishmael
^16:1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to bear children for him. But she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar. ² So Sarai said to Abram, “The Lord has prevented me from having children. Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her.” And Abram agreed with Sarai’s proposal. ³ So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian servant and gave her to Abram as a wife. (This happened ten years after Abram had settled in the land of Canaan.)
⁴ So Abram had sexual relations with Hagar, and she became pregnant.  

But the son of the freeborn wife (Isaac) was born as God’s own fulfillment of his promise.

• Isaac was born as the result of a promise. Abraham and Sarah were beyond the age of childbearing, but God miraculously fulfilled his promise in bringing life out of the deadness of Sarah’s womb.

Genesis 17:15-19 NLT
¹⁵ Then God said to Abraham, “Regarding Sarai, your wife—her name will no longer be Sarai. From now on her name will be Sarah. ¹⁶ And I will bless her and give you a son from her! Yes, I will bless her richly, and she will become the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will be among her descendants.”
¹⁷ Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief. “How could I become a father at the age of 100?” he thought. “And how can Sarah have a baby when she is ninety years old?” ¹⁸ So Abraham said to God, “May Ishmael live under your special blessing!”
¹⁹ But God replied, “No—Sarah, your wife, will give birth to a son for you. You will name him Isaac, and I will confirm my covenant with him and his descendants as an everlasting covenant.

Simple summary:

Paul is talking about God’s promises vs. human efforts.

²⁴ These two women serve as an illustration of God’s two covenants.

Symbolic of a deeper meaning. (Allegory?)

Paul interpreted the characters of the historical story as symbolizing the current situation.

• God’s two covenants:

The old covenant was formed through Moses. The covenant of law.

The new covenant came through Jesus Christ.  The covenant of promise.

The first woman, Hagar, represents Mount Sinai where people received the law that enslaved them. 

Hagar represents slavery to human effort based on Mount Sinai.

A slave wife who represents human effort.

• Hagar represents Mount Sinai where people received the law that enslaved them.

²⁵ And now Jerusalem is just like Mount Sinai in Arabia, because she and her children live in slavery to the law. 

• Both Hagar and Mount Sinai were symbols of (the earthly) Jerusalem.

Two Jerusalems

The first Jerusalem:

The first century city of Jerusalem, enslaved to Rome and in slavery to the Law.

Trusted in the law and in physical decent from Abraham for their status before God.

They rejected Christ and continued to live in slavery to the law 

²⁶ But the other woman, Sarah, represents the heavenly Jerusalem.

• Sarah represents the heavenly Jerusalem.

The second Jerusalem, the heavenly city.

Occupied by those who trust in God for salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

Sarah represents freedom in the heavenly Jerusalem, the ideal city of God.

Hebrews 12:22-24 NLT
²² No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering. ²³ You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect. ²⁴ You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.

Simple summary:

Paul is talking about living under the covenant of law vs. living under the covenant of promise. 

She is the free woman, and she is our mother. 

Sarah represents the heavenly Jerusalem. 

²⁷ As Isaiah said,

Quoting Isaiah 54:1

“Rejoice, O childless woman,
you who have never given birth!
Break into a joyful shout,
you who have never been in labor!
For the desolate woman now has more children
than the woman who lives with her husband!” 

Paul connects this prophesy to Abraham’s wife Sarah. She waited and waited and finally gave birth to a free son of her own, just as God had promised (Genesis 21:1–3). In a similar way, when the time was just right, God sent Christ to earth as a man to provide a way for those under the law to be truly free (Galatians 3:23–29).

Simple summary: Paul connects Isaiah’s prophesy to Abraham’s wife Sarah. 

²⁸ And you, dear brothers and sisters, are children of the promise, just like Isaac. 

You experienced a supernatural birth.

You are children of promise.

A recipient of the promise of salvation.

• Paul reminds the Galatians that they are children of the promise.

²⁹ But you are now being persecuted by those who want you to keep the law, just as Ishmael, the child born by human effort, persecuted Isaac, the child born by the power of the Spirit.

Ishmael persecuted Isaac.

Genesis 21:8-9 NLT
⁸ When Isaac grew up and was about to be weaned, Abraham prepared a huge feast to celebrate the occasion. ⁹ But Sarah saw Ishmael—the son of Abraham and her Egyptian servant Hagar—making fun of her son, Isaac. 

Similarly in Galatia, those who want to keep the law were persecuting those who trusted in God’s promise, the message of God’s grace through faith in Christ alone.

• In Galatia, those who wanted to keep the law were persecuting those who trusted in God’s promise, the message of God’s grace through faith in Christ alone.

• Incompatibility existed between the two sons. (Ishmael and Isaac, slave and free)

³⁰ But what do the Scriptures say about that? “Get rid of the slave and her son, for the son of the slave woman (Ishmael) will not share the inheritance with the free woman’s son.” (Quoting Genesis 21:10)

• Those enslaved by the law have no inheritance in the family of God.

Romans 9:31-32 NLT
³¹ But the people of Israel, who tried so hard to get right with God by keeping the law, never succeeded. ³² Why not? Because they were trying to get right with God by keeping the law instead of by trusting in him. They stumbled over the great rock in their path.

• The believers in Galatia needed to excommunicate the Judaizers.

This would have been shocking to the Judaizers who thought that they were the legitimate children of Abraham because of their insistence on keeping the law.

³¹ So, dear brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman; we are children of the free woman. (Isaac)

• Those who come to God through Christ alone, by faith and not by keeping the law, are children of the free woman who inherit God’s blessing.

Romans 8:17 NLT
¹⁷ And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. 

 **************************************

“We will…tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord…
so that they should set their hope in God.”

Abraham’s Two Children

• The Galatians did not truly understand what it meant to live under the law.
• Paul discusses Abraham’s two sons, Isaac and Ishmael.
  • • Isaac was born of Sarah, the free woman. Ishmael was born of Hagar, the slave woman.
    • Ishmael was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise.
    • Isaac was born as the result of God’s promise. Abraham and Sarah were beyond the age of child bearing, but God miraculously fulfilled his promise in bringing life out of the deadness of Sarah’s womb.

Simple summary:

Paul is talking about God’s promises vs. human efforts.

• Paul discusses God’s two covenants:

The old covenant was formed through Moses. The covenant of law.
The new covenant came through Jesus Christ.  The covenant of promise.

• • • Hagar represents Mount Sinai where people received the law that enslaved them.
    • Both Hagar and Mount Sinai were symbols of (the earthly) Jerusalem.
    • Sarah represents the heavenly Jerusalem.

Simple summary:

Paul is talking about living under the covenant of law vs. living under the covenant of promise.

Simple summary: Paul connects Isaiah’s prophesy to Abraham’s wife Sarah. 

• Paul reminds the Galatians that they are children of the promise.
• In Galatia, those who wanted to keep the law were persecuting those who trusted in God’s promise.
• Incompatibility existed between the two sons. (Ishmael and Isaac, slave and free)
• Those enslaved by the law have no inheritance in the family of God.
• The believers in Galatia needed to excommunicate the Judaizers.
• Those who come to God through Christ alone, by faith and not by keeping the law, are children of the free woman who inherit God’s blessing.

 

Paul’s Concern for the Galatians.

A Personal Appeal

Galatians 4:12-20 NLT
Paul’s Concern for the Galatians. A Personal Appeal
¹² Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to live as I do in freedom from these things, for I have become like you Gentiles—free from those laws.
You did not mistreat me when I first preached to you. ¹³ Surely you remember that I was sick when I first brought you the Good News. ¹⁴ But even though my condition tempted you to reject me, you did not despise me or turn me away. No, you took me in and cared for me as though I were an angel from God or even Christ Jesus himself. ¹⁵ Where is that joyful and grateful spirit you felt then? I am sure you would have taken out your own eyes and given them to me if it had been possible. ¹⁶ Have I now become your enemy because I am telling you the truth?
¹⁷ Those false teachers are so eager to win your favor, but their intentions are not good. They are trying to shut you off from me so that you will pay attention only to them. ¹⁸ If someone is eager to do good things for you, that’s all right; but let them do it all the time, not just when I’m with you.
¹⁹ Oh, my dear children! I feel as if I’m going through labor pains for you again, and they will continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives. ²⁰ I wish I were with you right now so I could change my tone. But at this distance I don’t know how else to help you.

Examine the scriptures:

Galatians 4:12-20 NLT
Paul’s Concern for the Galatians – A Personal Appeal 

¹² Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you

Notice the intensity of Paul’s appeal.

Brothers and sisters.

“Believers”

Fellow Christians

• Paul is making an intense appeal to the Galatians in an attempt to restore a broken relationship.

(A relationship between Paul and the Galatians.)

(A relationship between the Galatians and God.) 

to live as I do in freedom from these things, for I have become like you Gentiles—free from those laws.

Philippians 3:5-6 NLT
⁵ I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. ⁶ I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault.

When Paul came to Christ, he abandoned all efforts to save himself, trusting wholly in God’s grace.

Philippians 3:7-9 NLT
⁷ I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. ⁸ Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ ⁹ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.

Become free from the law as I am, for after my conversion I became like the Gentiles, no longer living under the law.

• Paul is no longer living under the law, as he once did.

John 8:31-32 NLT
³¹ Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. ³² And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

On the other hand, the Gentiles were putting themselves under the law after their conversion.

The Galatians were being negatively influenced by the legalism being taught by the Judaizers.

• The Gentiles are putting themselves under the law after their conversion.

• Paul is exhorting the Galatians to live “free from those laws”. 

You did not mistreat me when I first preached to you. ¹³ Surely you remember that I was sick when I first brought you the Good News. 

Bible scholars do not know the details of Paul’s sickness.

¹⁴ But even though my condition tempted you to reject me, you did not despise me or turn me away. No, you took me in and cared for me as though I were an angel from God or even Christ Jesus himself. 

• Initially, the Gentiles treated Paul as if he were an angel from God or even Christ Jesus himself.  

¹⁵ Where is that joyful and grateful spirit you felt then?

• The legalism of the law took away the Joyful and grateful spirit the Galatians had initially felt after experiencing Paul’s teaching.

Paul wonder why the Galatians have turned against him.

I am sure you would have taken out your own eyes and given them to me if it had been possible. 

This may simply be a bold figure of speech to convey the high esteem the Galatians had for Paul.  They would have given him their most precious possession. 

¹⁶ Have I now become your enemy because I am telling you the truth?

Initially, the Galatians had taken Paul in and cared for him as though he was an angel from God or even Christ Jesus himself.

But all that changed.  The Galatians are now acting as if Paul had become their enemy simple because he had spoken truthfully with them.

Sometimes the truth hurts!

The Galatians were turning against the Lord, the gospel of grace, and the messenger who brought them the good news of justification by faith.

• The Galatians are now acting as if Paul had become their enemy simple because he had spoken truthfully with them. 

¹⁷ Those false teachers are so eager to win your favor, but their intentions are not good. 

The false teachers appeared to have a genuine interest in the Galatians.

False teachers:

Matthew 24:11 NLT
And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people.

2 Peter 2:1 NLT
But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. 

Romans 16:17-18 NLT
¹⁷ And now I make one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters. Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them. ¹⁸ Such people are not serving Christ our Lord; they are serving their own personal interests. By smooth talk and glowing words they deceive innocent people.

2 Timothy 4:3-4 NLT
³ For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. ⁴ They will reject the truth and chase after myths.

• • False teachers:

Deceive people.

Teach destructive heresies.

Cause divisions.

Upset people’s faith.

Cause people to reject the truth and chase after myths. 

They are trying to shut you off from me so that you will pay attention only to them. 

The Judaizers were trying to alienate the Gentiles from Paul and his teaching.

The Judaizers wanted the Galatians to look to them as they had initially looked to Paul.

¹⁸ If someone is eager to do good things for you, that’s all right; but let them do it all the time, not just when I’m with you. 

¹⁹ Oh, my dear children!

• The Galatians are Paul’s spiritual children.

I feel as if I’m going through labor pains for you again,

The process of bringing them to Christ had been like going through labor pains.

A hard labor with a definite and joyful conclusion.

First for their salvation, now for their deliverance from the false teachers.

• Paul’s ministry is hard work.

and they will continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives.  

• Paul will continue to experience “labor pains” until Christ is fully developed in the lives of the Galatians.

A transformed life.

Colossians 3:10 NLT
¹⁰ Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.

Ephesians 4:22-24 NLT
²² throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. ²³ Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. ²⁴ Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

Galatians 2:20 NLT
²⁰ My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 

Romans 12:1-2 NLT
^12:1 And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. ² Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. 

• Several descriptions of a transformed life: Colossians 3:10, Ephesians 4:22-24, Galatians 2:20, and Romans 12:1-2

 ²⁰ I wish I were with you right now so I could change my tone. But at this distance I don’t know how else to help you. 

Paul wasn’t sure that he could minister effectively to the present needs of the Galatians from a “distance”.

 

Introduction:

Paul’s Concern for the Galatians – Serving the Law: A Return to Slavery

1 Peter 5:8 NLT
⁸ Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

Galatians 4:8-11 NLT
⁸ Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist. ⁹ So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world? ¹⁰ You are trying to earn favor with God by observing certain days or months or seasons or years. ¹¹ I fear for you. Perhaps all my hard work with you was for nothing. 

Examine the scriptures:
Galatians 4:8-11 NLT
Paul’s Concern for the Galatians – Serving the Law: A Return to Slavery

⁸ Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist. 

• The Galatians had previously practiced pagan idolatry.

Prior to conversion the Galatians, in their ignorance of the one true God, were in bondage to false gods such as Zeus and Hermes.

Acts 14:11-13 NLT
¹¹ When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in their local dialect, “These men are gods in human form!” ¹² They decided that Barnabas was the Greek god Zeus and that Paul was Hermes, since he was the chief speaker. ¹³ Now the temple of Zeus was located just outside the town. So the priest of the temple and the crowd brought bulls and wreaths of flowers to the town gates, and they prepared to offer sacrifices to the apostles.

• The Galatians were once slaves to sin.

Romans 6:17 NLT
¹⁷ … Once you were slaves of sin …

The condition of all unbelievers:

• We were all slaves to sin.

1 Corinthians 12:2 NLT
² You know that when you were still pagans, you were led astray and swept along in worshiping speechless idols.

Romans 3:23 NLT
²³ For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 

Romans 6:17 NLT
¹⁷ … Once you were slaves of sin … 

Romans 6:20 NLT
²⁰ When you were slaves to sin,

Romans 6:23 NLT
²³ For the wages of sin is death …

Romans 6:16 NLT
¹⁶ Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. 

⁹ So now that you know God

NOW:

Galatians 3:26-29 NLT
²⁶ For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁷ And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. ²⁸ There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.

• The Galatians came to know God.

Christians have a personal relationship with God that is like a child to a parent rather than a slave to a master.

Romans 6:18 NLT
¹⁸ Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.

(or should I say, now that God knows you),

• We can know God and we are known by God.

We are known by God. 

Psalm 139
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
¹ O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
² You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
³ You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
⁴ You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
⁵ You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand! 

Jeremiah 1:5 NLT
⁵ “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.
Before you were born I set you apart
and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”

Psalm 139:13-16 NLT
¹³ You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
¹⁵ You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
¹⁶ You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.

Hebrews 4:12 NLT
¹² For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

We are loved by God.

Romans 5:8 NLT
⁸ But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

1 John 4:19 NLT
¹⁹ We love each other because he loved us first. 

1 John 4:19
New International Version
¹⁹ We love because he first loved us.

1 John 4:19
English Standard Version
¹⁹ We love because he first loved us.

1 John 4:19
Common English Bible
¹⁹ We love because God first loved us.

We are chosen by God.

John 15:16 NLT
¹⁶ You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.

John 6:44 NLT
⁴⁴ For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up. 

We are children of God. 

Galatians 3:26-29 NLT
²⁶ For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁷ And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. ²⁸ There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you. 

• Our relationship with God starts with God.

The Galatians had been slaves to sin.

The Galatians came to know God and were now free from their slavery to sin.

The Galatians were known by God.

The Galatians were loved by God.

The Galatians were chosen by God.

The Galatians were children of God. 

why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world? 

The Gentiles are turning back!!!!

Review Galatians 1:6-7 NLT
⁶ I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News ⁷ but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.

• The Galatians were following a different way that pretends to be the Good News.

¹⁰ You are trying to earn favor with God by observing certain days or months or seasons or years. 

Judaizers were teaching that Gentile Christians had to be circumcised to be considered members if God’s family.

The Galatians were being led astray by the hypocrisy of others.

Not just circumcision.

Celebrating the Jewish festivals thinking it would make them more acceptable to God.

• The Galatians were “being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ”.

Requiring Christians to follow such OT laws is to forfeit the Gospel of justification by faith alone in Christ alone.

Either they did not understand, or had turned their backs on, the good news of God’s grace through Christ.

They did not understand:

Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT
⁸ God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. ⁹ Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

Practicing circumcision (and the law in general) would be a return to the same kind of slavery they had experienced before they knew God.

• The Galatians were trying to “earn” favor with God.

¹¹ I fear for you.

• Choosing to “become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world” is a very foolish and destructive choice.

Galatians 1:7 NLT
You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.

• The Galatians were “being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ”.

• The Galatians were in danger of turning away from Christ by relying upon the law.

The Galatians are in danger of forfeiting sonship and abandoning the true God.

Peter put some people in a similar position.

Galatians 2:11-13 NLT
Paul Confronts Peter
¹¹ But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. ¹² When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile believers, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision. ¹³ As a result, other Jewish believers followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.

Food for thought:

Hebrews 6:4-6 NLT
⁴ For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, ⁵ who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come— ⁶ and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame.

2 Peter 2:20-22 NLT
²⁰ And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. ²¹ It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. 

Perhaps all my hard work with you was for nothing. 

• Paul feels that all of his hard work may have been for nothing.

Review Paul’s message.

Galatians 2:16 NLT
¹⁶ Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.” 

Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT
⁸ God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. ⁹ Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

 

God’s Heirs through Christ

Adoption can be a very good experience.

Galatians 4:1-7 NLT
God’s Heirs through Christ
^4:1 Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. ² They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set. ³ And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world.
⁴ But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. ⁵ God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. ⁶ And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” ⁷ Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.

Examine the scriptures:

Galatians 4:1-7 NLT
God’s Heirs through Christ

^4:1 Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. 

Paul expands on the analogy of a child coming of age.

Young children who inherit an estate technically own everything their father had owned.

However, as young children, these heirs are treated as minors. (Treated as slaves.)

They are not free to do as they wish.

They are not able to make significant decisions.

• If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they reach a certain age, even though they actually own everything their father had.

² They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set. 

These heirs are under guardians who watch over them

and under trustees who manage the estate.

These heirs are treated like minors until they reach the age of maturity.

³ And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came.

Before saving faith in Jesus Christ.

We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world.

Like children – spiritually immature.

The Galatians, as Gentiles, were not under the Mosaic Laws.  They were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world.

Colossians 2:20-21 NLT
²⁰ You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, ²¹ “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”?

Slaves to “religion”.

A man made system of works.

Laws and ceremonies to be performed to achieve divine acceptance.

• That’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world.

⁴ But when the right time came,

God the Father chose the time for Christ’s coming to earth.

God sent his Son,

Divine intervention.

God sent Jesus, the eternal second member of the Trinity.

 born of a woman,

Isaiah 7:14 NLT
¹⁴ All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).

Matthew 1:18 NLT
¹⁸ This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.

subject to the law. 

Jesus was born under the law as a Jew.

Jesus kept the law perfectly.

2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT
²¹ For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

Jesus fulfilled the Law.

Matthew 5:17 NLT
Teaching about the Law
¹⁷ “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the Law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose (to fulfill the law). 

Jesus rescued us from the curse of the law. 

Galatians 3:13 NLT
¹³ But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” 

• Jesus was born under the law as a Jew.

Jesus kept the law perfectly.

Jesus fulfilled the Law.

Jesus rescued us from the curse of the law.

⁵ God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law,

Freedom from the bondage of the Law.

Colossians 1:13 NLT
¹³ For he (God) has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son,

1 Peter 3:18 NLT
¹⁸ Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.

Why would Gentile converts want to be placed under the bondage of the law?

so that he could adopt us as his very own children. 

Ephesians 1:5 NLT
⁵ God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

The Galatians (all believers) could now experience the enjoyments and privileges of a mature son in the family of God because of Christ’s redemptive work.

• When the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law, to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.

⁶ And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,

• All believers receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.”

Romans 8:15 NLT
¹⁵ So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 

God’s Spirit present in our hearts moves us (prompts us) to pray to God, addressing Him as Abba, Father. (Daddy)

An intimate Father child relationship.

• As Christians we can experience an intimate Father/child relationship with God.

 ⁷ Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.

From slaves to sons and heirs.

Note that the “we”, “our”, and “us” in verse 6 has been changed to “you”.

Romans 8:17 NLT
¹⁷ And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. 

• As believers we are God’s children and we are his heirs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“We will…tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord…

so that they should set their hope in God.”

 

 

God’s Heirs through Christ

 

Galatians 4:1-7 NLT

^4:1 Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. ² They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set. ³ And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world.

⁴ But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. ⁵ God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. ⁶ And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” ⁷ Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.

 

 

• If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they reach a certain age, even though they actually own everything their father had.

 

• That’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world.

 

• Jesus was born under the law as a Jew.

Jesus kept the law perfectly.

Jesus fulfilled the Law.

Jesus rescued us from the curse of the law.

 

• When the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law, to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.

 

• All believers receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

 

• As Christians we can experience an intimate Father/child relationship with God.

 

• As believers we are God’s children and we are his heirs.

God’s Children through Faith

Galatians 3:23-29 NLT
²³ Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed.
²⁴ Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. ²⁵ And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.
²⁶ For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁷ And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. ²⁸ There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.

Examine the scriptures:

Galatians 3:23-29 NLT
God’s Children through Faith
²³ Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. 

• God gave the law, through Moses, to His chosen people more than 1400 years before the birth of Jesus.

Exodus 19:3-6 NLT
³ Then Moses climbed the mountain to appear before God. The Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “Give these instructions to the family of Jacob; announce it to the descendants of Israel: ⁴ ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. ⁵ Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. ⁶ And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.’ This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.”

• God instructed His people to obey the Law of Moses.

Malachi 4:4 NLT
⁴ “Remember to obey the Law of Moses, my servant—all the decrees and regulations that I gave him on Mount Sinai for all Israel. 

We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed.

The law was a guard, keeping God’s people in “protective custody” until the way of faith in Christ was revealed.

• God had reasons for giving the Law.

The law instructed God’s people how to live their lives.

God always expected his people to live differently than those around them.

Both New and Old Testament

2 Corinthians 6:17 NLT
¹⁷ Therefore, come out from among unbelievers,
and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord.
Don’t touch their filthy things,
and I will welcome you.

Leviticus 18:3 NLT
³ So do not act like the people in Egypt, where you used to live, or like the people of Canaan, where I am taking you. You must not imitate their way of life.

The Law showed people the need for a Savior.

• The law was temporary. The law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. (Galatians 3:19) 

²⁴ Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. 

The law is like a child’s guardian. In Greco-Roman culture, a guardian was a faithful slave responsible for training and protecting the heir until he came of age.

²⁵ And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.

In Greco-Roman culture, a freeborn child who came of age was no longer under the discipline of a guardian but was free to rule himself.

• A time came when the law was no longer needed as a guardian.

Verses from the next lesson.

Galatians 4:4-5 NLT
⁴ But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. ⁵ God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. 

• God sent his Son, Jesus, to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.

Now:

²⁶ For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 

John 1:12 NLT
¹² But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

• To all who believed in Christ and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

Romans 8:17 NLT
¹⁷ And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. 

• Christians enjoy all the privileges, responsibilities, and inheritance rights of God’s children.

²⁷ And all who have been united with Christ in baptism

Baptism represents death of an old life and birth into a new one.

have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. 

2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT
¹⁷ … anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!  

• Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 

²⁸ There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. 

Human distinction lose their significance.

None is spiritually superior over another.

A believing Jew is not more privileged before God than a believing Gentile.

A believing slave does not rank higher, or lower, than a believing free person.

A believing male is not superior to a believing female.

1 Corinthians 12:27 NLT
²⁷ All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it.

Romans 12:4-5 NLT
⁴ Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, ⁵ so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.

There are different roles.

• Believers are all one in Christ Jesus.

• All believers receive God’s promises.

²⁹ And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham.

Jews and Gentiles who believe in Christ become the spiritual seed of Abraham.

Romans 9:8 NLT
⁸ This means that Abraham’s physical descendants are not necessarily children of God. Only the children of the promise are considered to be Abraham’s children.

• Abraham’s physical descendants are not necessarily children of God. Only the children of the promise are considered to be Abraham’s children.

You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you. 

All believers are heirs of all that was promised to Abraham. 

Galatians 3:6-9 NLT
⁶ In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” ⁷ The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God.
⁸ What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would make the Gentiles right in his sight because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.” ⁹ So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith. 

• All who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing (promises) Abraham received because of his faith.

 

The Law and God’s Promise

Galatians 3:15-22 NLT
¹⁵ Dear brothers and sisters, here’s an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or amend an irrevocable agreement, so it is in this case. ¹⁶ God gave the promises to Abraham and his child. And notice that the Scripture doesn’t say “to his children,” as if it meant many descendants. Rather, it says “to his child”—and that, of course, means Christ. ¹⁷ This is what I am trying to say: The agreement God made with Abraham could not be canceled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses. God would be breaking his promise. ¹⁸ For if the inheritance could be received by keeping the law, then it would not be the result of accepting God’s promise. But God graciously gave it to Abraham as a promise.
¹⁹ Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people. ²⁰ Now a mediator is helpful if more than one party must reach an agreement. But God, who is one, did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham.
²¹ Is there a conflict, then, between God’s law and God’s promises? Absolutely not! If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. ²² But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.

Examine the scriptures:

Galatians 3:15-22 NLT

Review:

• • • People who depend on following the law to make them right are under a curse.
    • Scripture clearly says, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” 
    • The way of faith is very different from the way of law.
    • Salvation does not come by combining faith with the law.
    • Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law.

The Law and God’s Promise
¹⁵ Dear brothers and sisters, here’s an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or amend an irrevocable agreement, so it is in this case. 

Irrevocable agreement

The Galatians understood “irrevocable agreements”.
A properly executed Roman covenant could not be arbitrarily set aside.

Other irrevocable agreements:

Occurred in the story of Daniel in the lion’s den and
In the story of Esther.

• The Galatians understood “irrevocable agreements”.

• The promises of God are irrevocable and unchanging.

James 1:17 NLT
¹⁷ Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. 

¹⁶ God gave the promises to Abraham and his child. And notice that the Scripture doesn’t say “to his children,” as if it meant many descendants. Rather, it says “to his child”—and that, of course, means Christ. 

The promises spoken to Abraham found fulfillment in Christ and are in effect forever.

As a descendant of Abraham, Christ was a Child of Abraham.

Matthew 1:1 NLT
This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah, a descendant of David and of Abraham: 

¹⁷ This is what I am trying to say: The agreement God made with Abraham could not be canceled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses. God would be breaking his promise. 

645 years after the initial promise to Abraham. (Genesis 12)

430 years after the last known reaffirmation of the Abrahamic covenant to Jacob. (Genesis 46)

Galatians 3:6 NLT
⁶ In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” 

Genesis 15:6 NLT
⁶ And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith. 

• The blessing of justification by faith is therefore permanent and could not be changed the law.

¹⁸ For if the inheritance could be received by keeping the law, then it would not be the result of accepting God’s promise. But God graciously gave it to Abraham as a promise.

• The Abrahamic covenant is superior to the law 

¹⁹ Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins.

• God gave the law alongside the promise.

Two events:

God gave promises to Abraham.

God gave the law to Moses.

But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised.

Romans 6:14 NLT
¹⁴ Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.

• The law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. 

God gave his law through angels to Moses,

The Bible teaches that angels were involved in the giving of the law (Acts 7:53 and Hebrews 2:2) but does not explain the exact role they played.

Acts 7:53 NLT
⁵³ You deliberately disobeyed God’s law, even though you received it from the hands of angels.”

Hebrews 2:2 NLT
² For the message God delivered through angels has always stood firm, and every violation of the law and every act of disobedience was punished.

who was the mediator between God and the people. ²⁰ Now a mediator is helpful if more than one party must reach an agreement.

• A mediator implies a covenant between two parties both of whom have responsibilities, true of the Mosaic Covenant. 

But God, who is one, did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham.

• God’s promise to Abraham was unilateral and was given to man directly without a mediator. 

 ²¹ Is there a conflict, then, between God’s law and God’s promises? Absolutely not!

God gave both the law and promises, but for different purposes.

The law was given to show people their sins.

God’s promises are salvation (righteousness) through faith.

• God gave both the law and promises, but for different purposes.

If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. ²² But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin,

Romans 3:23 NLT
²³ For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

• The Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin. 

so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.

Romans 8:3-4 NLT
³ The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. ⁴ He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

Romans 6:23 NLT
²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

• We receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.

 

 

Law vs. Faith

Galatians 3:10-14 NLT
¹⁰ But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.” ¹¹ So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” ¹² This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, “It is through obeying the law that a person has life.”
¹³ But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” ¹⁴ Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith.

Examine the scriptures:
Galatians 3:10-14 NLT
Law vs. Faith

¹⁰ But those who depend on the law to make them right with God

Circumcision would be one example of this.  Dietary restrictions are other examples.

are under his curse,

• People who depend on following the law to make them right are under a curse.

for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.” 

Quote from:
Deuteronomy 27:26 NLT
²⁶ ‘Cursed is anyone who does not affirm and obey the terms of these instructions.’
And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’

Fact:

• “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.”

Name someone who believed that the law made them right with God.

Who believed that he could obey the law without fault?

Paul.

Philippians 3:4-7 NLT
⁴ though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more!
⁵ I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. ⁶ I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault.
⁷ I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 

Galatians 1:14 NLT
¹⁴ I was far ahead of my fellow Jews in my zeal for the traditions of my ancestors. 

Paul sees things differently now.

¹¹ So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law.

James 2:10 NLT
¹⁰ For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws.

Divine acceptance by human effort is totally destroyed by failing to keep any part of the Law.

• The Law demands perfection and a curse is attached to failure to keep any part of it.

“Rabbit trail”

But still. The Law is good.

Romans 3:20 NLT
²⁰ For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. 

More about the “Law”.
Romans 7:7-13 NLT
God’s Law Reveals Our Sin
⁷ Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.” ⁸ But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have that power. ⁹ At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life, ¹⁰ and I died. So I discovered that the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead. ¹¹ Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me. ¹² But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good. ¹³ But how can that be? Did the law, which is good, cause my death? Of course not! Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation to death. So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God’s good commands for its own evil purposes. 

For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”  

Here Paul is quoting Habakkuk 2:4

Romans 1:17 NLT
¹⁷ This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”

Romans 3:24 NLT
²⁴ Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.

Hebrews 10:38 NLT
³⁸ And my righteous ones will live by faith.

• Scripture clearly says, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”  

¹² This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, “It is through obeying the law that a person has life.”

• The way of faith is very different from the way of law.

• Salvation does not come by combining faith with the law.

Faith vs. “Law”

Believing vs. doing.

Leviticus 18:5 NLT
⁵ If you obey my decrees and my regulations, you will find life through them. I am the Lord.

Life under the law comes by obeying (doing) rather than believing.

Romans 10:5 NLT
⁵ For Moses writes that the law’s way of making a person right with God requires obedience to all of its commands. 

James 2:10 NLT
¹⁰ For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws.

¹³ But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. 

Philippians 3:8-9 NLT (Paul speaking to the Philippians.)
⁸ Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ ⁹ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. 

When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” 

Quote from:
Deuteronomy 21:22-23 NLT
²² “If someone has committed a crime worthy of death and is executed and hung on a tree, ²³ the body must not remain hanging from the tree overnight. You must bury the body that same day, for anyone who is hung is cursed in the sight of God. In this way, you will prevent the defilement of the land the Lord your God is giving you as your special possession.

Galatians 4:5 NLT
⁵ God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children.

Titus 2:14 NLT
¹⁴ He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.

1 Peter 1:18-20 NLT
¹⁸ For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value.
¹⁹ It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. ²⁰ God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake.

2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT
²¹ For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

• Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law.

¹⁴ Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith.

• When the Gentiles believed in Christ (Ephesians 1:13-14) God gave them the Holy Spirit.

• We who are believers receive the Holy Spirit through faith.

Ephesians 1:13-14 NLT
¹³ And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. ¹⁴ The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.

See also Romans 8:1-17, 23. 

• The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people.