Dear Student of God's Word!
It's time once again for your Bible installment from the New Testament. This week we look into part three of our study of Galatians, which is one focused arguement for the supremacy of faith in Christ. Paul had many opponents who were urging his followers to adhere to the Jewish Law and Paul would have none of it. He was adamant that faith in Christ was and is enough to reconcile anyone to God (and enough to keep them reconciled). In this week's installment, I wrote in part four of the seven-part presentation:
3:22 – The promise of God in the Old Testament was Jesus! The Law gave everyone an awareness of sin without any permanent power to deliver man from this imprisonment, for the sacrificial system had to be repeated again and again whenever a sin was committed. God always intended faith in Christ to be the way out of man’s dilemma. Faith isn’t just the entrance; it is a way of life! Without faith, it is impossible to please God.
3:23&24 – The Law held men captive through rules and regulations that were endless and impossible to keep perfectly. These rules were all God’s will, but too much for sinful man to comprehend and fulfill. You see that the problem wasn’t the Law, but rather sinful man. The Law was our tutor that led us to Christ; the Law taught us that there was a better way to God than through the sacrifice of animals, circumcision and the keeping of holy days. Man, however, is a religious being in his fallen state. He yearns for a system that can simplify and systematize our way to God. Thus some people prefer the legalistic tutor rather than freedom in Christ. Faith, however, is the only means to God. Are you walking in faith?
3:25 – As stated earlier, believers are not free from righteous living that the Law described because they walk by faith. In many ways, the law of the Spirit is more exacting than the Law. The Law said not to commit adultery; the law of the Spirit says don’t even consider adultery in your heart. The Law said to give ten percent of your income to God; the law of Spirit says to obey the Spirit and give what He directs (which could be everything!) The difference between the Law and he law of the Spirit is that the Spirit empowers the believer to do God’s will in the power of God and not in the power of human strength.
So the Law was a righteous system that was impossible to keep without God’s help. God sent the help in the form of His Son and the Spirit and now those two empower anyone who puts their faith in Christ to keep and do the will of God. No other religion, so to speak, can offer that kind of help. All others tell man, “Keep these rules or else!” Those who follow Christ are told, “These are the rules and I will empower you to keep them. This is my will: I will show you what it is and then help you to do it!”
If you can find a better “deal,” I urge you to take it. The point is that those who followed after Paul and told people they had to obey the Law of Moses were indeed looking for a better offer than Paul had originally made to the Galatians, and Paul was furious! He knew that what he was preaching and teaching were the will of God; what his opponents were offering sounded good but was pure error.
As always, I welcome your comments to this week's study. For additional Bible studies, check out my website archive, which contains a complete collection of all my verse-by-verse New Testament studies, along with the unpublished volumes of The Faith Files.
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