November 17, 2024 • 19 mins
In this Bible Story, we are able to read the letter Paul wrote to the Galatian church. Paul, with the love and wisdom of Jesus, implores the Galatian church to stop binding themselves to the law. He encourages them to live under grace and live in the Spirit. This story is inspired by Galatians. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.
Today's Bible verse is Galatians 1:10 from the King James Version.
Episode 231: During his travels, Paul heard about the lies that were being spread in Galatia. He heard about how this false teaching was impacting the church that he loved, so he wrote them a letter. In this letter, he called out the foolishness of this new teaching and reminded them of his own past experiences with the law. He reminded them that it is in Christ that we find our righteousness, not the law. And he shared his heart for them, reminding both them and us the importance of walking according to The Holy Spirit, not the flesh.
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Producer: Ben Gammon
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Music by: Andrew Morgan Smith
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let us pray for do I now persuade men or God?
Or do I seek to please men? For if I
yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
Galatians one ten. Free me, Lord from my brothers and
sisters in Christ who were more focused on their own
(00:23):
works than on their faith. Free me from the legalistic
Christ followers who are bent on justifying themselves through the law.
Thank you, Jesus, that by your sacrifice, I am saved
by faith and not by my works. Thank you that
I can walk in complete freedom and enjoy my walk
(00:46):
with You, free from the opinions of others. Continue to
allow the fruits of the Spirit to be evident in
my life. I decree and declare that in Christ Jesus,
I am free and unchained. By decree and declare that
I serve You Lord by devotion and not obligation. As
(01:11):
I work out my faith in love, I will walk
in freedom and in step with the spirit. Where the
Spirit of the Lord is, there is always freedom. There
is no bondage in Christ. So Lord, I thank you
that I don't have to earn my way into heaven.
(01:33):
But because I place my trust and love in You,
you will guide me in the way everlasting in the
name of Jesus. Amen. Listening to these daily prayers strengthens
your relationship with God. Continue hearing from the Lord by
listening to to day's Bible in a Year, brought to
(01:56):
you by Bible in a Year dot com.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Dear Galicia. In our last story, we learned about certain
Jewish believers forcing Gentiles to be circumcised to be accepted
into the Family of God. Outraged by this, Paul and
Barnabas held a council of all the leaders in Jerusalem.
They debated whether Gentiles should be forced to follow the
Jewish customs laid out in the Law. The consensus was
(02:32):
a resounding no. Now we listen in on a letter
Paul wrote to the Galician church. Paul wrote to the
Galatians because they had men in their midst teaching them
that all Christians should be circumcised to be saved. Paul's
words would reflect the heart of Jesus as he defends
the grace given by Jesus on the Cross. Inspired by
(02:54):
the Book of Galatians.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
Hello, I'm past Jack Graham with today's episode of the
Bible in a Year. In our previous time together, we
heard how the Counsel of Apostles and Elders in Jerusalem,
along with Paul and Barnabas, affirmed that gentile believers were
not bound to Jewish customs outlined in the law, but
should focus on abstaining from things that would hinder their
(03:19):
relationship with God in Christ, such as sexual immorality and
food sacrifice to idols. Today we'll hear Paul's words to
the Church in Galicia and his affirmation of their freedom
in Christ, not because of obedience to the law and
things like circumcision, but because of faith and the grace
of God. Let's hear now the reading from Paul's letter
(03:42):
to the Galatians.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
To the Church in Galicia, Grace and peace to you
from our Lord. I am amazed that you would turn
from grace so quickly to adopt another gospel, one of
bondage and works. Let me tell you this, even if
you see an coming down from Heaven preaching another gospel
to you, it is false. I tell you this honestly,
(04:07):
since I do not seek the approval of man, but
of God. If I simply sought to please you, I
would not be a servant of Christ. I need you
to know this, brothers, that the gospel preached by me
to you is not a gospel forged and penned by man.
It is from the heart of Christ himself. You know
(04:27):
my past. You know that I was once a zealous Pharisee,
held bent on the destruction of the Church. I held
the law tightly and honored it my whole life. But
Jesus called me into grace. So I fled to Arabia,
and then Damascus, then to Jerusalem. I wanted to know
what was happening to my heart. I wanted to know Christ.
(04:51):
Those who saw me change glorified Christ. It was not
because I followed the law, but because I was changed
by grace. Fourteen years had passed and I was traveling
to Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus, who was a gentile.
We did not force him to be circumcised. Yet false
brothers tried to bind him into slavery to the old
(05:12):
Covenant law. We did not yield in submission to them.
To do so would have been to deny the power
of the Gospel. It started to become clear to me
that I was to be an apostle of the gentiles,
just as Peter was called to the Jews. I want
to tell you something about Peter, so that you might
learn from him. Peter would eat with the Gentiles and
(05:34):
fellowship with them, but when his Jewish brothers were present,
he would not speak to them or eat with them.
This was too faced and not honoring to Christ. So
I opposed him to his face. Peter was supposed to
be an example to us, and instead his conduct was
not in step with the truth. I told him that
if he, being a Jew, was able to live like
(05:56):
a gentile, then he should not force gentiles to live
like Jews. It was simple, and Peter received his correction.
Let me make one thing clear. We are Jews by birth,
but it is not our tradition or race that makes
us justified. Our faith in the work of Jesus on
the Cross makes us justified. It is not by works
(06:18):
that we attain favor with God, for He is pleased
with us. In Jesus. We must die to the law
so we can live in Christ. I have been crucified
with Christ. I am no longer living. It is Jesus
who lives in me. The life we are to live
should be by faith in Jesus. He has loved us
(06:39):
and gave his life for us. If we gained our
righteousness from our good deeds or following the law, then
why would Christ have died for us? You foolish Galatians?
Who has cast a spell on you that you would
turn from this glorious truth? Some of you saw with
your own eyes Jesus being crucified. Let me ask you this,
(07:00):
Did you receive the Holy Spirit by being perfect?
Speaker 3 (07:03):
No?
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Are you so dumb that you would now try and
be perfect after receiving grace. Even Abraham was called righteous
because of his faith, not his ability to follow rules.
The truly righteous ones are the ones who look under
Jesus and have faith in him. The righteous live by faith.
Let me give you an example of what the law
is for picture a contract. Every human contract can be
(07:29):
annulled or ratified, but not with God. He keeps his
promises despite our failures. So what good is the law? Well,
the law was our tutor until Christ came. The law
was an image of the perfect character of God. That
character was fulfilled in Jesus, so we look to follow him,
not the law. That way, the Gospel is not only
(07:50):
for Jews who follow the law, but for people of
all nationalities. Who believe in Jesus and follow him. A
child is no freer than a slave until he becomes
a man, So the child must be looked after and protected.
That is what the law did for us. It took
care of us until we were ready to step into maturity.
You are sons, daughters, and heirs to all the gifts
(08:12):
of Jesus. To know Jesus is to be free. So
it concerns me that you are all trying to enslave
yourselves to the law. Stop. I am afraid that all
your effort and labor to be perfect is all in vain.
Brothers and sisters, I beg you be like me. Let go.
We were close ones. You would have laid down your
(08:34):
life for me. But now I feel like I am
your enemy just because I preach to you the truth.
I am perplexed and disturbed by you. Christ has set
us free to walk in liberty. The ability to do
what is good and noble comes from a place of freedom,
not bondage. Do not be slaves to mindless devotion. If
you decide that one must be circumcised to be saved,
(08:57):
then you put yourself under the bondage of the whole law.
You cannot pick and choose. You either follow the whole law,
or you follow the one who has made you righteous.
It is not about being circumcised, It is about working
out your faith in love. You are doing so well.
Tell me who has whispered lies in your ears, who
(09:19):
has hindered you from speaking the truth? Know this that
a little bit of leaven can ruin the whole loaf
of bread, the same as with people. Honestly, I wish
that those who told you you needed to be circumcised
would just cut off their privates altogether. For you were
called to freedom, and they have set you back. Walk
(09:41):
in freedom. Do not use your freedom as an opportunity
to sin serve one another, for the entire law is
truly fulfilled in these words. You shall love your neighbor
as yourself. But if you insist on devouring one another,
take heed, lest you all consume yourselves into oblivion. If
you keep in step with the Spirit, you will have
(10:02):
no need of laws, for He will guide you. For
the desires of the Spirit will oppose the flesh, for
the fruit of the flesh is obvious fits of rage, rivalries, division, envy, drunkenness, selfish,
sexual gratification, jealousy, idolatry, and all sorts of rage that
break instead of build. But the fruit of the spirit
(10:23):
is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
self control. If you have these things, you have no
need of law. Yet we all fail, we all fall
in some way. So let us restore one another in gentleness.
If anyone is caught in sin, let us help bear
(10:46):
one another's burdens, and take heed of your heart. For
whoever thinks they have reached the heights of holiness are
sure to be brought low. Take care of one another.
As you can see, I have written this letter with
my own hand, from my eyesight is failing me, and
the words are large on the page. Understand these large
words of mine. Far be it from me to boast
(11:08):
except in the cross of Jesus Christ. From now on,
let no one cause anybody else to stumble. May the
grace of the Lord Jesus be upon you. Amen.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
We begin today's reading with Paul's surprise at how quickly
the believers in Galicia had lost the point of the Gospel,
and we're trying to add requirements to the grace of
God in Christ and subject themselves again to bondage. There
were Jews among them who insisted that believers needed to
also follow the requirements of the Law in order to
(11:42):
be saved, and Paul is unequivocal in his words. Anything
different than the Gospel of God's grace through Christ and
Christ alone is a false gospel. To make this point
even stronger, Paul told them that even if an angel
were to come to down and give them a different gospel,
(12:02):
that angel would be cursed. The reminder to the Galatians
is ones that we should heed today as well. If
you try to add to the Gospel, whether you're subtracting
it or adding to it, you end up with a
lie is subtraction or its addition or subtraction by addition.
As Paul told these believers, he of all people would
(12:25):
know that following the Law does not save, and to
be saved means to know God and to be forgiven
of sins and to know eternal life. So how is
one saved not by works of the Law. Before his conversion,
he was an example of piety and zealousness among Jewish believers.
(12:45):
Paul knew the Law backwards and forwards, inside and out.
He followed it to the letter and even persecuted those
who preached the gospel he is now advancing. Paul argued
that if the law could have made him justified before God,
it but it did not because the law cannot save.
His life was changed because he embraced Jesus Christ as
(13:08):
his Lord and savior in God's grace in order to
save him. He then gave the example of Titus, a gentile,
a Greek man who came to faith in Christ and
joined Paul and Barnabas on their missionary journey. There were
Jewish believers who tried to impose the burden of circumcision
and Jewish law on Titus, but Paul defended him and
(13:29):
refused to let him be subject to the bondage of legalism,
which would strip away the power of the Gospel. Paul
even confronted Peter, an apostle and the leader of the church.
Paul had witnessed Peter eating with gentiles when Jews were
not around, but separating himself from them when Jews were present.
By his hypocritical actions, Peter was creating a division between
(13:52):
Jews and Gentiles, and this was inconsistent with the Gospel.
Not only that it was robbing the Gospel of its power.
Paul called on Peter to examine his own life and
to experience the freedom in Christ, the freedom that we
have because of what Christ has done, not because of
what the Law has done. If Peter could enjoy his freedom,
(14:14):
how could he not allow others to experience that same
freedom in Christ. It takes courage to stand up for
the truth, especially when a leader may be more mature
and yet is wrong and acting in a way that
undermines the power of the Gospel. Paul was willing to
confront Peter for the sake of the advancement of Jesus
(14:35):
Christ and the message of the Gospel. Paul's example is
one of encouragement for all of us to stand boldly
and courageously for the truth of God's word and the
power of God's message. And as Paul continued his letter,
he reminded the Galatians just what that truth is. Justification
does not come from our human efforts, but by faith,
(14:58):
and the object of our faith faith is Jesus. It
is our faith in Christ that makes us righteous, not
our works. To bring this point home, Paul said that
if the Law made people righteous, then Jesus died for nothing.
Why then, if we have righteousness through faith in Christ
and Christ alone, would these Galatians look to the Law
to make them righteous. Paul then pointed back to the
(15:21):
first patriarch, to Abraham himself, to explain that righteousness by
faith is nothing new. Righteousness has always come through faith,
not works. Abraham believes God, and his faith was credited
to him as righteous. The Law was not given to
make people righteous, but as a guardian, a guide, a teacher,
(15:42):
until the time when Christ came to set all people free,
not only Jews, but people of all nations. Listen to
what Paul writes in Galatians three twenty five to twenty
eight about what Jesus has done for us. These are
powerful words. But now that faith has come, we are
no longer under a guardian. For in Christ Jesus, you
(16:04):
are all sons of God through faith. For as many
of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither slave
nor free. There is no male and female, for you
are all one in Christ Jesus. Don't miss how profound
this statement is. We are the children of God. We
(16:28):
are the sons and daughters of God. Heirs to the
promises of Christ. We have been adopted into His eternal family,
God's forever family, and it's all because of what Jesus
has done for us. This adoption means that we are
truly free and favored by God. Paul calls the Galatians
to not walk away from this freedom, but rather to
(16:49):
walk in it. It is a freedom to love and
serve god fully. But Paul knew also he needed to
caution against misunderstanding this freedom. Our freedom in Christ is
not license to live in sin as we please. It
is a freedom to live by God's grace in the
power of his Spirit. He then explained what it looks
like to live by God's Spirit, giving us the fruit
(17:11):
of the spirit love and joy, and peace and patience,
and kindness and goodness and faithfulness and gentleness and self control.
All of this flows out of a life committed to
follow Jesus Christ. The work of the Holy Spirit is
to fuel us for godly living and to fill us
that we might produce the fruit of the Spirit. The
(17:33):
fruit of the Spirit is Christ's likeness, and he reproduces
himself in us by the power and the presence of
the Holy Spirit. Finally, Paul concludes by acknowledging that we
will fail, and he impressed upon the Galatians that they
must support and encourage one another and bear one another's burdens.
(17:53):
The Christian life was never meant to be lived alone.
It was true then and it's true today. Dear God,
we thank you for this powerful letter that Paul gave
to the Galatians and to us. We are so grateful
that we are not saved by our own works, because
we could only fail, but by your grace, through your cross,
in the power of your resurrection, we are saved from
(18:15):
our sins. You live in our lives, and we can
live forever with you, all because of Christ. God, help
us to walk in the fullness, in the freedom, in
the favor that you have given us in Christ. And
may we live to humbly serve you and point others
to your Son in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you for
listening once again to the Bible in a Year podcast.
(18:38):
I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church.
You can download the prey dot com app and make
prayer and Bible study a priority in your life and
if you are enjoying this podcast, Please let others know
share it with someone else so that they can also
join our journey with Jesus through the scriptures. God bless
(18:58):
you and thank you for joining us.
Let us pray for do I now persuade men or God?
Or do I seek to please men? For if I
yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
Galatians one ten. Free me, Lord from my brothers and
sisters in Christ who were more focused on their own
(00:23):
works than on their faith. Free me from the legalistic
Christ followers who are bent on justifying themselves through the law.
Thank you, Jesus, that by your sacrifice, I am saved
by faith and not by my works. Thank you that
I can walk in complete freedom and enjoy my walk
(00:46):
with You, free from the opinions of others. Continue to
allow the fruits of the Spirit to be evident in
my life. I decree and declare that in Christ Jesus,
I am free and unchained. By decree and declare that
I serve You Lord by devotion and not obligation. As
(01:11):
I work out my faith in love, I will walk
in freedom and in step with the spirit. Where the
Spirit of the Lord is, there is always freedom. There
is no bondage in Christ. So Lord, I thank you
that I don't have to earn my way into heaven.
(01:33):
But because I place my trust and love in You,
you will guide me in the way everlasting in the
name of Jesus. Amen. Listening to these daily prayers strengthens
your relationship with God. Continue hearing from the Lord by
listening to to day's Bible in a Year, brought to
(01:56):
you by Bible in a Year dot com.
Speaker 2 (02:09):
Dear Galicia. In our last story, we learned about certain
Jewish believers forcing Gentiles to be circumcised to be accepted
into the Family of God. Outraged by this, Paul and
Barnabas held a council of all the leaders in Jerusalem.
They debated whether Gentiles should be forced to follow the
Jewish customs laid out in the Law. The consensus was
(02:32):
a resounding no. Now we listen in on a letter
Paul wrote to the Galician church. Paul wrote to the
Galatians because they had men in their midst teaching them
that all Christians should be circumcised to be saved. Paul's
words would reflect the heart of Jesus as he defends
the grace given by Jesus on the Cross. Inspired by
(02:54):
the Book of Galatians.
Speaker 3 (02:59):
Hello, I'm past Jack Graham with today's episode of the
Bible in a Year. In our previous time together, we
heard how the Counsel of Apostles and Elders in Jerusalem,
along with Paul and Barnabas, affirmed that gentile believers were
not bound to Jewish customs outlined in the law, but
should focus on abstaining from things that would hinder their
(03:19):
relationship with God in Christ, such as sexual immorality and
food sacrifice to idols. Today we'll hear Paul's words to
the Church in Galicia and his affirmation of their freedom
in Christ, not because of obedience to the law and
things like circumcision, but because of faith and the grace
of God. Let's hear now the reading from Paul's letter
(03:42):
to the Galatians.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
To the Church in Galicia, Grace and peace to you
from our Lord. I am amazed that you would turn
from grace so quickly to adopt another gospel, one of
bondage and works. Let me tell you this, even if
you see an coming down from Heaven preaching another gospel
to you, it is false. I tell you this honestly,
(04:07):
since I do not seek the approval of man, but
of God. If I simply sought to please you, I
would not be a servant of Christ. I need you
to know this, brothers, that the gospel preached by me
to you is not a gospel forged and penned by man.
It is from the heart of Christ himself. You know
(04:27):
my past. You know that I was once a zealous Pharisee,
held bent on the destruction of the Church. I held
the law tightly and honored it my whole life. But
Jesus called me into grace. So I fled to Arabia,
and then Damascus, then to Jerusalem. I wanted to know
what was happening to my heart. I wanted to know Christ.
(04:51):
Those who saw me change glorified Christ. It was not
because I followed the law, but because I was changed
by grace. Fourteen years had passed and I was traveling
to Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus, who was a gentile.
We did not force him to be circumcised. Yet false
brothers tried to bind him into slavery to the old
(05:12):
Covenant law. We did not yield in submission to them.
To do so would have been to deny the power
of the Gospel. It started to become clear to me
that I was to be an apostle of the gentiles,
just as Peter was called to the Jews. I want
to tell you something about Peter, so that you might
learn from him. Peter would eat with the Gentiles and
(05:34):
fellowship with them, but when his Jewish brothers were present,
he would not speak to them or eat with them.
This was too faced and not honoring to Christ. So
I opposed him to his face. Peter was supposed to
be an example to us, and instead his conduct was
not in step with the truth. I told him that
if he, being a Jew, was able to live like
(05:56):
a gentile, then he should not force gentiles to live
like Jews. It was simple, and Peter received his correction.
Let me make one thing clear. We are Jews by birth,
but it is not our tradition or race that makes
us justified. Our faith in the work of Jesus on
the Cross makes us justified. It is not by works
(06:18):
that we attain favor with God, for He is pleased
with us. In Jesus. We must die to the law
so we can live in Christ. I have been crucified
with Christ. I am no longer living. It is Jesus
who lives in me. The life we are to live
should be by faith in Jesus. He has loved us
(06:39):
and gave his life for us. If we gained our
righteousness from our good deeds or following the law, then
why would Christ have died for us? You foolish Galatians?
Who has cast a spell on you that you would
turn from this glorious truth? Some of you saw with
your own eyes Jesus being crucified. Let me ask you this,
(07:00):
Did you receive the Holy Spirit by being perfect?
Speaker 3 (07:03):
No?
Speaker 2 (07:04):
Are you so dumb that you would now try and
be perfect after receiving grace. Even Abraham was called righteous
because of his faith, not his ability to follow rules.
The truly righteous ones are the ones who look under
Jesus and have faith in him. The righteous live by faith.
Let me give you an example of what the law
is for picture a contract. Every human contract can be
(07:29):
annulled or ratified, but not with God. He keeps his
promises despite our failures. So what good is the law? Well,
the law was our tutor until Christ came. The law
was an image of the perfect character of God. That
character was fulfilled in Jesus, so we look to follow him,
not the law. That way, the Gospel is not only
(07:50):
for Jews who follow the law, but for people of
all nationalities. Who believe in Jesus and follow him. A
child is no freer than a slave until he becomes
a man, So the child must be looked after and protected.
That is what the law did for us. It took
care of us until we were ready to step into maturity.
You are sons, daughters, and heirs to all the gifts
(08:12):
of Jesus. To know Jesus is to be free. So
it concerns me that you are all trying to enslave
yourselves to the law. Stop. I am afraid that all
your effort and labor to be perfect is all in vain.
Brothers and sisters, I beg you be like me. Let go.
We were close ones. You would have laid down your
(08:34):
life for me. But now I feel like I am
your enemy just because I preach to you the truth.
I am perplexed and disturbed by you. Christ has set
us free to walk in liberty. The ability to do
what is good and noble comes from a place of freedom,
not bondage. Do not be slaves to mindless devotion. If
you decide that one must be circumcised to be saved,
(08:57):
then you put yourself under the bondage of the whole law.
You cannot pick and choose. You either follow the whole law,
or you follow the one who has made you righteous.
It is not about being circumcised, It is about working
out your faith in love. You are doing so well.
Tell me who has whispered lies in your ears, who
(09:19):
has hindered you from speaking the truth? Know this that
a little bit of leaven can ruin the whole loaf
of bread, the same as with people. Honestly, I wish
that those who told you you needed to be circumcised
would just cut off their privates altogether. For you were
called to freedom, and they have set you back. Walk
(09:41):
in freedom. Do not use your freedom as an opportunity
to sin serve one another, for the entire law is
truly fulfilled in these words. You shall love your neighbor
as yourself. But if you insist on devouring one another,
take heed, lest you all consume yourselves into oblivion. If
you keep in step with the Spirit, you will have
(10:02):
no need of laws, for He will guide you. For
the desires of the Spirit will oppose the flesh, for
the fruit of the flesh is obvious fits of rage, rivalries, division, envy, drunkenness, selfish,
sexual gratification, jealousy, idolatry, and all sorts of rage that
break instead of build. But the fruit of the spirit
(10:23):
is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and
self control. If you have these things, you have no
need of law. Yet we all fail, we all fall
in some way. So let us restore one another in gentleness.
If anyone is caught in sin, let us help bear
(10:46):
one another's burdens, and take heed of your heart. For
whoever thinks they have reached the heights of holiness are
sure to be brought low. Take care of one another.
As you can see, I have written this letter with
my own hand, from my eyesight is failing me, and
the words are large on the page. Understand these large
words of mine. Far be it from me to boast
(11:08):
except in the cross of Jesus Christ. From now on,
let no one cause anybody else to stumble. May the
grace of the Lord Jesus be upon you. Amen.
Speaker 3 (11:21):
We begin today's reading with Paul's surprise at how quickly
the believers in Galicia had lost the point of the Gospel,
and we're trying to add requirements to the grace of
God in Christ and subject themselves again to bondage. There
were Jews among them who insisted that believers needed to
also follow the requirements of the Law in order to
(11:42):
be saved, and Paul is unequivocal in his words. Anything
different than the Gospel of God's grace through Christ and
Christ alone is a false gospel. To make this point
even stronger, Paul told them that even if an angel
were to come to down and give them a different gospel,
(12:02):
that angel would be cursed. The reminder to the Galatians
is ones that we should heed today as well. If
you try to add to the Gospel, whether you're subtracting
it or adding to it, you end up with a
lie is subtraction or its addition or subtraction by addition.
As Paul told these believers, he of all people would
(12:25):
know that following the Law does not save, and to
be saved means to know God and to be forgiven
of sins and to know eternal life. So how is
one saved not by works of the Law. Before his conversion,
he was an example of piety and zealousness among Jewish believers.
(12:45):
Paul knew the Law backwards and forwards, inside and out.
He followed it to the letter and even persecuted those
who preached the gospel he is now advancing. Paul argued
that if the law could have made him justified before God,
it but it did not because the law cannot save.
His life was changed because he embraced Jesus Christ as
(13:08):
his Lord and savior in God's grace in order to
save him. He then gave the example of Titus, a gentile,
a Greek man who came to faith in Christ and
joined Paul and Barnabas on their missionary journey. There were
Jewish believers who tried to impose the burden of circumcision
and Jewish law on Titus, but Paul defended him and
(13:29):
refused to let him be subject to the bondage of legalism,
which would strip away the power of the Gospel. Paul
even confronted Peter, an apostle and the leader of the church.
Paul had witnessed Peter eating with gentiles when Jews were
not around, but separating himself from them when Jews were present.
By his hypocritical actions, Peter was creating a division between
(13:52):
Jews and Gentiles, and this was inconsistent with the Gospel.
Not only that it was robbing the Gospel of its power.
Paul called on Peter to examine his own life and
to experience the freedom in Christ, the freedom that we
have because of what Christ has done, not because of
what the Law has done. If Peter could enjoy his freedom,
(14:14):
how could he not allow others to experience that same
freedom in Christ. It takes courage to stand up for
the truth, especially when a leader may be more mature
and yet is wrong and acting in a way that
undermines the power of the Gospel. Paul was willing to
confront Peter for the sake of the advancement of Jesus
(14:35):
Christ and the message of the Gospel. Paul's example is
one of encouragement for all of us to stand boldly
and courageously for the truth of God's word and the
power of God's message. And as Paul continued his letter,
he reminded the Galatians just what that truth is. Justification
does not come from our human efforts, but by faith,
(14:58):
and the object of our faith faith is Jesus. It
is our faith in Christ that makes us righteous, not
our works. To bring this point home, Paul said that
if the Law made people righteous, then Jesus died for nothing.
Why then, if we have righteousness through faith in Christ
and Christ alone, would these Galatians look to the Law
to make them righteous. Paul then pointed back to the
(15:21):
first patriarch, to Abraham himself, to explain that righteousness by
faith is nothing new. Righteousness has always come through faith,
not works. Abraham believes God, and his faith was credited
to him as righteous. The Law was not given to
make people righteous, but as a guardian, a guide, a teacher,
(15:42):
until the time when Christ came to set all people free,
not only Jews, but people of all nations. Listen to
what Paul writes in Galatians three twenty five to twenty
eight about what Jesus has done for us. These are
powerful words. But now that faith has come, we are
no longer under a guardian. For in Christ Jesus, you
(16:04):
are all sons of God through faith. For as many
of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither slave
nor free. There is no male and female, for you
are all one in Christ Jesus. Don't miss how profound
this statement is. We are the children of God. We
(16:28):
are the sons and daughters of God. Heirs to the
promises of Christ. We have been adopted into His eternal family,
God's forever family, and it's all because of what Jesus
has done for us. This adoption means that we are
truly free and favored by God. Paul calls the Galatians
to not walk away from this freedom, but rather to
(16:49):
walk in it. It is a freedom to love and
serve god fully. But Paul knew also he needed to
caution against misunderstanding this freedom. Our freedom in Christ is
not license to live in sin as we please. It
is a freedom to live by God's grace in the
power of his Spirit. He then explained what it looks
like to live by God's Spirit, giving us the fruit
(17:11):
of the spirit love and joy, and peace and patience,
and kindness and goodness and faithfulness and gentleness and self control.
All of this flows out of a life committed to
follow Jesus Christ. The work of the Holy Spirit is
to fuel us for godly living and to fill us
that we might produce the fruit of the Spirit. The
(17:33):
fruit of the Spirit is Christ's likeness, and he reproduces
himself in us by the power and the presence of
the Holy Spirit. Finally, Paul concludes by acknowledging that we
will fail, and he impressed upon the Galatians that they
must support and encourage one another and bear one another's burdens.
(17:53):
The Christian life was never meant to be lived alone.
It was true then and it's true today. Dear God,
we thank you for this powerful letter that Paul gave
to the Galatians and to us. We are so grateful
that we are not saved by our own works, because
we could only fail, but by your grace, through your cross,
in the power of your resurrection, we are saved from
(18:15):
our sins. You live in our lives, and we can
live forever with you, all because of Christ. God, help
us to walk in the fullness, in the freedom, in
the favor that you have given us in Christ. And
may we live to humbly serve you and point others
to your Son in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you for
listening once again to the Bible in a Year podcast.
(18:38):
I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church.
You can download the prey dot com app and make
prayer and Bible study a priority in your life and
if you are enjoying this podcast, Please let others know
share it with someone else so that they can also
join our journey with Jesus through the scriptures. God bless
(18:58):
you and thank you for joining us.
Host
Jack Graham
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