Faith Journey

Galatians 6:11-18

The Story: Paul comes to the close of his letter to the Galatians. "Take note of the big letters" - probably meaning that he penned the letter himself and not with a scribe.  Some think Paul had a problem with his eyesight which cause him to write larger.

Paul's theme of grace continues to the very end as he describes the very heart of the issue.  They could choose to either practice religion or live by grace through the power of the Spirit. The former are driven by their own arrogant appetite (Galatians 6:12-13). In the end it counts for nothing. As one lives by grace, the world will be crucified to him and the world will have no interest in you (Galatians 6:14).

What counts? A transformed life (Galatians 6:15).  A new creation in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. A life only possible as we embrace the grace that God has freely given us through Jesus Christ.

The Key Truth: Galatians 6:15, 16 - God's peace and mercy is upon all who live by the principle of grace.

The Application: If you are trying to live the good life by keeping the practices of religion, understand and embrace the grace of God.  The life of religion is dependent upon others thinking highly of you and instills a spirit of arrogance.  God's grace is hinged to a life of humility and dependent on God's grace.  The story of Galatians is that the transformed life is possible only as one yields to Christ and the power of his Spirit. Transformation is dependent on God's grace and not anything we have done or ever can do.

Galatians 6:1-10

The Story: Paul brings his letter to a close by emphasizing upon the believers the ultimate action of love. In all they do, love should be the motivating factor (John 13:34-4). If we are walking in the Spirit, as Paul has just suggested, we will not use our liberty in Christ for selfish purposes; we will allow the Spirit to work through us to help others. “Others” is the great Gospel word! Jesus lived for others, and we must follow His example. Being free from the Law does not mean we are independent of one another, for we are members of the same family, and we minister to each other.

And how do we respond when a brother is deceived by a sin? In love we are to help them them.  The very word used in Matthew 4:21 of mending nets, to make, fit, to equip thoroughly. The believers that are mature have the godly obligation to lovingly disciple those that are newer in the faith. When believers act in love they will not be consumed by their own lives but that of others, mending and strengthening lives so we are mutually strong in the faith.

The Key Truth: Allow the love of the Spirit to live through you into the lives of other believers in Christ.

Today's Action: Is there a person in your life that you have been unkind to? First, confess that sin to God and then choose to make amends.  Unkind actions toward another believer is not only an offense to the individual but to God. Nobody said this was an easy thing to do, in fact it may even be impossible by your own efforts.  That's why Paul emphasized earlier to put to death the works of the flesh and live by the Spirit.  Let the love of the Spirit work in and through your life into the lives of others. Think of one person that you can do that for today.

Galatians: 5:13-26

The Story: Paul brings his argument to the crux of the matter.  We have been born for freedom, that's God's design. However, that freedom is not a license to feed our own desires or the desires of the flesh.  When confronted with an area of sin, people may say that we should not forget grace.  True, but grace is not a "way out" so that we can continue in a pattern of sinfulness.

How do we identify the sinful nature? In Galatians 5:16-21 we see that without a commitment to follow the Spirit we easily fall into a pattern that desires the flesh. To be clear, Paul provides a partial list (Galatians 5:19-21) of attitudes and actions of the sinful nature.

The Key Truth: Galatians 5:16 - Live by the Spirit and you will not carry out the sins of the flesh.

The Application: Rather than using grace as a license to sin, embrace it as your guide and teacher (Titus 2:11-12) to behave in accordance to the Spirit. What's at stake? Paul describes the serious of the matter in Galatians 5:21 in that those who live in accordance to the flesh do not inherit the kingdom of God. Do not excuse your sinful actions and lifestyle away by showing your "grace" card. In a final warning, Paul looks to the self-righteous and warns them not to be pious or arrogant and don't be jealous of others.  The point being that we should keep our focus on our own faith journey.

Galatians 5:1-12

The Story: Freedom can be a very dangerous thing. If we think it is a license for disobedience then we have it completely wrong. With the gospel we understand that Christ set us free from the bondage of sin when he died on the Cross. Before Christ, the law was given to man to be a reminder and restrainer of sin. As described by Paul, it was a form of slavery. When the gospel came by way of the cross, grace was extended to man. Grace not only freed man from the law but in fact was a better means of teaching and restraining man from sin. It was by no means a license to sin or to give man a way out and continue sinning.  In Titus 2:11-12 it informs us that grace will teach us to say no to godless ways.  How? The Holy Spirit is now resident in our lives and is a constant trainer in the way of righteousness.  As we listen to the Holy Spirit through God's Word and his quiet promptings, we will be becoming what Christ wants us to be.

In a very practical way, Paul is telling the Galatian people of the absurdity of the teaching that you actually required the law to help you become righteous.  Why would you use an inferior tool to accomplish something? It's like digging a ditch with a teaspoon when you have Back-hoe at your disposal. In fact, the people that were teaching the idea of maintaining the law were not adding to Christ, they were putting Christ completely aside.

The Key Truth: “Law means I must do something for God; grace means that God does something for me.” Watchman Nee

Today's Application: Take time for God's Word, meditate upon the words and listen to the Holy Spirit in how you can apply the truths to your life.

Galatians 4:13-31

The Story: Paul starts with a personal appeal by reminding them how they embraced the truth with joy and even treated him as an angel or a messenger of God. Now the false teachers were seducing them with love that had a deceptive motive. Paul reminds them that there is no joy in slavery that the law trapped them in.

He uses the story of Abraham and his two sons. One born of a slave woman (Hagar) and the other of a free woman (Sarah) (Galatians 16:15). The two women represented two covenants of God. One of the law and the other of promise. Those that choose to embrace Christ through faith are children of the promise. They did not have to become Jews first.

The Key Truth: All that embrace Christ are children of the promise given to Abraham.

Today's Application: The Galatian believers were easily swayed by emotions of the moment. We are so much like these people. We are seekers of spiritual excitement and can easily forget the truths of Scripture that bring freedom and lasting joy. Become lovers of the Word by which we learn all the benefits of the promise.

Galatians 4:1-12

The Story: Paul uses an illustration to help both the Jews and Gentiles understand the folly of choosing to their life-status as a minor. When we were minors, we were under the supervision of those that were responsible for our care. No one that comes of age wants to return again to the life as a minor.

To the Jews, the law was their supervision and were like slaves to it. Jesus brought them out of that supervision through his death on the cross and made it possible to be adopted as children of God with the full rights of an heir. They were no longer slaves but sons (Galatians 4:7).  What would drive them to have a desire to throw away their freedom and return to the status as a minor?

Paul then looks at the gentiles with the same argument.  Only here, they were placing themselves as prisoners to gods that didn't even exist. Why would they want to move to a slavery under a different task master (the law) when in fact they could choose freedom and status as a son with all the rights as an heir (Galatians 4:9)  It's all foolishness to Paul.

The Key Truth: As children of God we are heirs with Christ with full rights as sons (John 1:12).

Today's Application: Slavery comes in all different forms. Some foolish Jews sought once again to come under the law when they had tasted freedom in Christ. They were slaves again. Today we can choose to become slaves to status, power, fame, money and completely miss the freedom as heirs with Christ. Don't choose bondage by putting the material things of this world at the center of your lives.  God's plan for you is freedom with your focus on Christ as the center of your life. Yield everything to him (Romans 12:1-2)

Galatians 3:23-29

The Story: This passage describes a pivotal change in the time of man. Up till now, Paul has been speaking in historical times - the Law's history and man's relationship with it. We were a slave to the law, whether we decided to acknowledge it or not. The law was our teacher to show us our need for the new time in man's history, that being the time of grace.

Galatians 3:23 begins with "before this faith came" while in Galatians 3:25 we read "now that faith has come". While Paul speaks about the historical setting of the law, he spoke in general terms, "the whole world" (Galatians 3:22), but now brings it to a very personal level by changing the pronoun to "we" (Galatians 3:23).

In  Galatians 3:26 Paul identifies the "we" as those who have received faith in Christ. It is a new beginning and not an amendment to former time under the law. We are clothed with Christ (Galatians 3:27).  It is in Christ that there is a unanimity of believers, regardless of nation gender and economic status.  In Christ there is equality and all heirs of Abraham's promise.

The Key Truth: Believers in Christ are recipients of the promise that God gave to Abraham. That means that in Christ we are members of a blessed family with a spiritual heritage that can be traced Abraham, the fan who walked by faith.

Today's Application: Today's passage gives us two reasons to praise God:

1. Praise God for the law. It showed us the reality of our sin and taught us that we could not avoid the issue.
2. Praise God for the Saviour. He came to us, loved us, forgave us, and liberated us.

Galatians 3:15-22

The Story: Of course, all of Paul’s arguments are logical. But the particular arguments here depend especially on reasoning, as Paul compares the Law to a human contract. “When two people make a contract, it is illegal for a third party to step in and change it or cancel it. The law came 430 after the promise because of man's disobedience. Salvation is the fulfilled promise that was given to Abraham to one descendent, Jesus.

If there were a law that saved sinners, then God would have spared His Son and used that law instead of the cross. The Law is not contrary to God’s promises; by revealing sin, the law forces the sinner to trust God’s promises. Law shows us our need of grace; grace enables us to please God through faith. The Law places all under sin, which means that all can be saved by grace. If God permitted even one sinner to be saved by law, then no man could be saved by grace. All must be saved the same way.

The Key Truth: God will never break a promise. The Gospel is God fulfilling his promise to Abraham through Jesus death on the cross.

The Application: You can trust God in every situation. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5)

Galatians 3:1-14

The Story: What we read in this section of Galatians is the highly charge emotion from the Apostle Paul.  He's beyond being able to figure them out. "Who has used black magic and bewitched you?" (Galatians 3:1).  He explains that what they are doing is making no sense. Why would they turn to a faith that requires works when they received faith without works - by faith alone?  After all, Jesus placarded the gospel before them through his life, death, burial and resurrection.

Even Abraham, the father of faith, was counted righteous because of his faith and not because of his works (Genesis 15:6; Galatians 3:6). And because of his faith, all nations will be blessed (Genesis 18:18), for those that place their faith in Jesus Christ.  The curse of the law was broken by Jesus because he fulfilled everything in the law, something man would never have been capable of.  Faith in Jesus is freedom.

The Key Truth: What man could never have achieved by works, Jesus accomplished so that we would be free to enjoy intimacy with God. We no longer have to try to earn forgiveness by our "goodness". The gospel tells the story of grace and freedom through Jesus Christ alone.  There is no substitute.

The Application: Have you placed your faith in Jesus Christ? Believing that you will receive God's favor and blessing through any other means is complete foolishness. Any one that tries to explain to you a different way than what the Bible tells is full of deception. Invite Jesus Christ to be the center of your life today. You've lived your life without him, without faith. Ask his forgiveness and claim him Lord.

Galatians 2:11-21

The Story: Paul is still introducing his argument to the Galatians concerning the new version of the gospel that taught that you needed to become a Jew in order to be a Christian. In these next verses, Paul gives them an example of Peter's hypocrisy when he withdrew himself from the Gentiles. He was a Jew living like the Gentiles (Peter was experiencing the freedom) but he required the Gentiles to live like Jews (Galatians 2:14).

The gospel message is not Jesus plus something but rather Jesus alone. When we put our faith in Jesus Christ we are justified, seen as righteous before God.  The debt has been paid. There is nothing that man can do to merit salvation (Galatians 2:15-16). Paul goes on to describe the very crux of the gospel in Galatians 2:20-21. We live by faith in the Christ who loved us and gave himself for us. If we can earn or gain any merit through something else other than through God's grace, then Jesus death is worth nothing. Our salvation depends completely upon our faith in Jesus Christ. It is God that bestows his grace to us and declares us righteous when die to self to live for Christ (Galatians 2:20).

The Key Truth: All of us are sinners and require redemption through Jesus Christ. It was God's grace that allowed Jesus' death on the cross to be the sufficient payment for that sin. Faith alone, yielding completely to Christ, is what is required for the payment to be applied to our debt of sin.

Today's Application: Christ requires that we die to self in order for us to live for God. What is it in your life that holds you back from surrendering all to God? It could be fear as it was in the Apostle Peter's case. It may be your wealth or poverty. Whatever it is, give it to God, all of it, so that Christ can live in you and you can experience what the gospel is: freedom in Christ.