Category Archives: Itty Bitty Bible Study

Itty Bitty Bible Study – Galatians 6

I’m going to just throw this out there today – it’s late – and I’m sure those that have been following this can look up the verses on their own!

My thoughts for the Itty Bitty Bible Study group on Facebook. (join if you’d like to get these in fb!)

Galatians 6

1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

  • Matthew 18
  • 2 thes 3:15
  • 2 Tim 2:25
  • 1 John 5:16
  • James 5:19
  • Nathan with David – 2 Samuel 12

In my IBBS thoughts on Galatians 5, I talked about WHY we are to judge righteous judgement.
Paul talks about his confronting Peter in Galatians 2:11-14.
WHY???
To RESTORE our brethren!

2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.

5 For each will have to bear his own load.

Responsibility to oursevles and each other!

  • Romans 15:1, 14:1
  • Matthew 9:13
  • Isaiah 35:3-4
  • 2 Thess 3:15

6 Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches.

If we know anything – we are to teach…old women teach the younger, older Christians teach the newer.

  • Deut 6:7
  • Mat 28:19
  • Psalm 25:4, 27:11
  • Acts 1:1, 15:35
  • 1 Tim 1:3, 3:2
  • 2 Tim 2:24

7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.
8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

Cause and effect

  • Eccl 11:1-6
  • Luke 8:5-15

9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Endure to the end!

  • Mt 24:13
  • James 1:12
  • 1 Cor 13:7
  • James 1:22
  • 1 Peter 3:11
  • Amos 5:14
  • Luke 6:27

Paul is stating that this is HIS writing…hand in hand with his declaring that he is an apostle.

11 See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand.

Again – Paul repeats that those that want the Galatians to be circumsized are not able to keep the law themselves.

12 It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.
13 For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.

Interesting note here – several times he mentions being persecuted – and it’s always about refusing to apply the Jewish laws…and for teaching saved by faith through grace. He is saying that those others do not want to be persecuted, as Paul is, for the cross of Jesus.

14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.
16 And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come

17 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.

Paul is referring back to his explanation of his position and calling…basically saying, leave me alone! It’s settled!

He ends with a simple prayer, though, grace is nothing simple!

18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.

Amen – and I pray this for those that are joining me in this journey!

I’ve shared my thoughts on

2009 IBBS Galatians 6
My focus for this week will be to write up a summary of my thoughts – and starting next week, Itty Bitty Bible Study will be looking at Joel.

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

Some artwork is from me – ChristArtist. It is copyrighted – by me. Please do not share it without my permission.
The same goes for my written work.
Some artwork is from ChristArt – not me! I have purchased a membership, and the art is copyrighted by them.

I’d love to hear what you think – please leave a comment!
Or choose to LIKE me on facebook, or other social media!
I’d love to stay in touch with you – we are working on email subscriptions…sign up! 
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

There are many organizations that support children and families. Here is one that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

Itty Bitty Bible Study – Galatians 5

Galatians 5

My thoughts for the Itty Bitty Bible Study group on Facebook. (join if you’d like to get these in fb!)

I’ve shared my thoughts on

Galatians 5
1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

I believe that this is one of the key verses in Galatians!
I love the King James Version – it’s what I memorized as a young Christian!

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

It’s not just chains…it’s entanglement!

From Marmion by Sir Walter Scott

copyright by ChristArt.inc

The vision is that once entangled, it is very hard to unravel all the parts to be set free.

How are we set free?

John 8:31-32
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,
32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

John 8:36
36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Because the issue of being entangled into the law is:

James 2:10
For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.

Paul specifically points out the law issue of THIS letter – circumcision – to be counted as a child of God.

Galatians 5:2-6
2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you.
3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.
4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.
5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.
6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

The historical background is in Acts 15.
Paul wrote about this experience with Peter in Galatians 2:11-21
My thoughts on the aspects of the danger of the law in IBBS Galatians 2:14-21; Galatians 3:1-9; Galatians 3:10-20; Galatians 3:21-29.

Paul pleads with the Galatians…with a bit of an interesting wish for those that were preaching the “other” gospel…aside from being accursed (Galatians 1:6-9)

7 You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?
8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you.
9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump.
10 I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is.
11 But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed.
12 I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!

A little leaven leavens the whole lump.
in Galatians 2:11-21, Paul makes it evident that Peter’s hypocrisy affected others in the area to raise themselves up above the gentile believers.
One reason for our walking in the Spirit(later in this chapter) is that we do not cause others to stumble!

Mark 9:42
“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.

Matthew 18:6-7
6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,[a] it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
7 “Woe to the world for temptations to sin![b] For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!

1 Corinthians 8:12
Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.

1 Peter 2:15-16
15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.
16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.

Called to Freedom – and the purpose is not to sin, but to love and serve one another.

Galatians 5:13-15
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

Walking in the Spirit does NOT lend to itself to sin,

Galatians 5:16-17
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the
flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

Romans 6:1-2 –
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?
2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

One version says GOD FORBID!

Christians will be known by their fruit…their lives…their works!

Matthew 7:16

You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?

Being led of the Spirit – is to walk in liberty, not the law!

Galatians 5:18
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

The works of the flesh…known by their fruit!

In Matthew 7, Jesus is talking about a lot of things!
It starts out in verses 1 – about Judge not that ye not be judged.

1“Judge not, that you be not judged.
2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.

In verses 13-14 he talks about the narrow gate:

Matthew 7:13-14
13 Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Then,Matthew 7:15, he’s talking about judging false prophets!
Verse 16 –

you shall know them by their fruit.

We are to judge people BY THEIR FRUIT!

Matthew 7

15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.
18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit.
19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

In John 7:24 Jesus tells the leaders of the church to judge justly. Interestingly enough – his talk references circumcision being done on the sabbath, and that not breaking the law! There this sticky issue comes up, again!

We are to test the spirits of the prophets…1 John 4:1-3
How are we to know if we need to help a weaker brother, if we do not recognize the fruits of the flesh?

1 Thessalonians 5:14
And we exhort you, brothers: warn those who are irresponsible, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone

Matthew 18, Jesus tells us how to address a brother or sister in sin –
Obviously, there is a difference between judging another in order to ignore a sin in our own life(hypocrisy), and recognizing that a brother or sister is having difficulty, and going to them in love to restore them to fellowship(love for the brotherhood).

Galatians 5:19-21
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,
20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,
21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Based on the Matthew 7 chapter – first we need to take the log our of our own eye!

1 Peter 2:1-3
So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

There are plenty of passages for putting off the sins of the flesh.
Even a few verses back!

Galatians 5:16-17
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the
flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

Why should we take heed to how we act and are?

1 Peter 2:15-17
15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.
16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.
17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

Why? To silence those that are outside the church. To not give them any reason to truthfully say evil against us, thereby the church, thereby the reputation of Jesus Christ. We are ambassadors – we are often the only Jesus someone will see.

Galatians 5:22-25

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

Peter had something to say about this!

2 Peter 1:3-10
3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,
4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge,
6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness,
7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.
10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.

Paul talked to Timothy about it in 1 Timothy 6

Titus 3:1-2
1 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,
2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.

Colossians 1:9-14
9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;
12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

In Revelation 2 and 3, the Apostle John is told to write, over and over and over “i know your works…”

James 2:14-26 talks about faith without works being dead.
Works IS THE EVIDENCE of faith!
We cannot SEE faith, but God, in His wisdom, has showed us how to grade ourselves…and how to take the temperature of others in order to love them back to the fold.

John 13:35
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

This is Jesus speaking! The only way to know about someone’s love for another is to SEE it!

We were created FOR GOOD WORKS!

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Paul describes love in 1 Corinthians 13 – and it sounds a lot like the fruit of the Spirit!

Jesus talked about the difference between following the law in Luke 10, comparing it to that of the Samaritan who showed HIS faith by HIS works, and was commended for his acts, or “work”.

We need to show our faith by our works – our fruit – our evidence!
We will be judged by our works:

1 Corinthians 3:12-15
12 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled[b]master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.
11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—
13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.
14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.
15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

We are building upon the foundation – Jesus Christ. We are not adding to salvation, we are declaring our LOVE for HIM and our desire to HONOR HIM with our lives.

We will be judged by our words:

Matthew 12:36-37
36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,
37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

John 15:8-10
8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.
10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.

The beauty of Christianity is not that we don’t have to walk circumspectly…it’s that God has made a way!

John 15
Specifically verse 5

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

And he even promises us Joy for abiding in HIM!

John 15:11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

Fruit and works are similar –

​Galatians​ ​5:22-23
22​ ​But​ ​the​ ​fruit​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Spirit​ ​is​ ​love,​ ​joy,​ ​peace,​ ​patience,​ ​kindness,​ ​goodness,​ ​faithfulness,
23​ ​gentleness,​ ​self-control;​ ​against​ ​such​ ​things​ ​there​ ​is​ ​no​ ​law.

I looked up some verses about Love, Joy and Peace. Just the first three!

LOVE The only way to know if someone, if I, have the fruit of LOVE – is to see it. – it’s often said that Love is a verb. We can SEE it! (1 Cor 13; Mt 5:43-48, 22:39; Lk 6:27; Eph 5:2; 1 John 3;1 John 4 )

JOY – this should show on my face, even in times of despair…and I’m not talking about happiness that is based upon happenings around me. I’m talking about JOY that transcends what is going on, and is based in Jesus. (Mt 25:21; 1 John 1:4; Rom 14:17; Neh 8:10; John 15:11; Ps 16:11)

PEACE – it is obvious when someone has peace – or anxiety. (John 14:27; Eph 2:14; Phil 4:7; Heb 12:14; Isaiah 9:6)

 

I found a lovely coloring page for the Fruit of the Spirit from paper gifts for Estafany.

Galatians 5:26
24​ ​And​ ​those​ ​who​ ​belong​ ​to​ ​Christ​ ​Jesus​ ​have​ ​crucified​ ​the​ ​flesh​ ​with​ ​its​ ​passions​ ​and​ ​desires.
26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

We do not use our liberty to sin – but rather, rejoice in our liberty, wherewith Christ has set us free – and abide IN HIM, so that we are empowered to not become entangled again in the sins and lusts of our lives. Will we sin again? of course. Thank God for our advocate in Jesus Christ (1 John 1:9) But will we become entangled? Not if we abide in Christ!

1 John 5: 1- 3
1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.
2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome

Adding a little hope of joy and peace:

Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

 

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

Some artwork is from me – ChristArtist. It is copyrighted – by me. Please do not share it without my permission.
The same goes for my written work.
Some artwork is from ChristArt – not me! I have purchased a membership, and the art is copyrighted by them.

I’d love to hear what you think – please leave a comment!
Or choose to LIKE me on facebook, or other social media!
I’d love to stay in touch with you – we are working on email subscriptions…sign up! 
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

There are many organizations that support children and families. Here is one that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

2009 IBBS Galatians 4

Itty Bitty Book 2 – Galatians, Chapter 4, June 10
Galatians 4:6
And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father”
:7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
Woo Hooo! Hallelujah! Someone give me an AMEN!!!
And then – read the rest of the chapter, remembering that the Arab/Muslims are the children of Hagar – they still live by the law, because they do not know through thier lineage anything other than their birthright ‘stolen’ from the Jews.
We are in a holy war – the sons of Ishmael fighting for their first born son rights from the sons of Isaac. It all goes back to Abraham leaning to the arm of the flesh – and then he begged God to make Ishmael’s seed as powerful as Isaac’s. In Genesis – Isaac has two sons – Jacob and Esau – and Esau turns from Abraham’s seed, and takes a wife of Ishmael. And through Jacob – there are 12 sons, 12 tribes – the Nation of Israel.
BUT God promised Ishmael leaders as well…..and he had 12 tribes, and the connection with Esau…..
Sibling rivalry, caused by parental mistakes, brings us to today’s world situation in order to bring about the rest of God’s plan for eternity.
Praise God that I am an heir of Christ, and I am a ‘son’ of God, and my heart cries out “Abba Father!”
The book is true….we just have to trust and obey!
In His hands and Under His wings,
~Christi

Itty Bitty Bible Study Galatians 4

2009 IBBS Galatians 3

Itty Bitty Book 2 – Galatians, Chapter 3, June 9
I just wrote this in a late addition to chapter 2 – in response to Jim’s and Janet’s posts….trying to do my ‘penance’ for not getting it in yesterday…and then I see that it fits so well in today’s reading.
Paul is exhorting the Galatians (and us!) that NOTHING can be gained by works…..we are not justified by works…….
My chapter 2 post:
We talked a lot in some of the previous Bible studies about how important grace by faith is…..
Abraham was counted righteous by his faith.
The just shall live by faith.
we are saved by grace through faith – and that not of ourselves – it is a gift of God!
Thank God that He had a plan to draw us in….and to make it possible! And thank God that Paul was able to stand up to Peter….Paul, who was Saul, who knew the Bible inside out as a Pharisee and teacher of the law….
If anyone knew how important it was to be saved by faith – not by law – it’s Paul!
And through Paul – Martin Luther had the same thing revealed to him.
Thank you Lord for those that go before – and help me to share with others the grace that you have for each person, if only they will believe and receive!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
vs 6 Just as Abraham “believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness”
vs 9 So that those who are of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
vs 11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident for “the just shall live by faith”.
Now, here’s what I consider a caveat – blessed with FAITHFUL Abraham.
While we are saved by faith – we will be blessed by being faithful…..
But what a promise:
vs 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise!
We are part of the ‘count the sands” and “count the stars” part of being Abraham’s seed!
I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s chapter!

2017 Itty Bitty Bible Study Galatians 3:1-9
2017 Itty Bitty Bible Study Galatians 3:10-20
2017 Itty Bitty Bible Study Galatians 21-29

Itty Bitty Bible Study – Galatians 4

Galatians 4

My thoughts for the Itty Bitty Bible Study group on Facebook. (join if you’d like to get these in fb!)

I’ve shared my thoughts on

As you can see – I had difficulty getting out of Galatians 3.
The Bible was not written with chapters and verse, well, unless you are talking about Psalms.
So, Galatians 4:1 is a continuation of what Paul was explaining in Galatians 3
.

Galatians 4

4:1 I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything,
2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father.
3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world.
4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,
5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

From the time of Creation – when Adam and Eve sinned, God was putting into production the plan to bring us back to HIM.
The Law as a school teacher – until such time as we were ready to receive our sonship through faith in Christ Jesus!

Just like when we first have a child.
We tell them

      • when to eat,
      • when to drink,
      • when to brush their teeth,
      • wipe their toosh,
      • and go to bed.

We tell them to

      • pick up their toys,
      • put dishes away,
      • be nice to their sisters,
      • don’t lie,
      • don’t steal
      • don’t hit

…you get the point.
Once they are old enough, the get to learn the consequences of their choices.

      • hunger
      • thirst
      • rash on their bottom
      • too tired to have fun
      • broken toys
      • hit in the nose by the sister…

We have adult children that are all around their 30s. Every now and then, we get a call, and we hear “I know you told me that if I did this, then that would happen.” We do NOT rejoice in the troubles of our children – we do rejoice in their growth. I will say it right now, We have been very blessed to watch our children grow into adults. The struggle is wishing we could protect them from pain! It was often through that pain that they have learned to be responsible adults.
Because of grace, our children can talk to us, and they know that we will love them through whatever. Sometimes, they wonder – but the truth is, God has taught us that a parent always loves. Nothing they can do can ever cause that to stop.

I’ll love you forever,
I’ll like you for always,
As long as I’m living
my baby you’ll be.

From the book “Love You Forever” by Robert Munsch

God has done the same thing for us, his children. He doesn’t want us to hurt. And if we had just listened to what HE said we should do, and done it…we could have saved ourselves SOOOOOOO much trouble! Just ask Adam and Eve!!! Moses! David! Peter!!! AND, He loves us forever – FOREVER.

The thing is, that humans are hard headed, and we all need a teacher. The law showed us what is right and wrong, our actions showed us how impossible it is for us!

Galatians 4:8-11

8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods.
9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?
10 You observe days and months and seasons and years!
11 I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.

ENSLAVED!

Captive!

Romans 6 is such an amazing chapter on the difference between being a slave to sin and a slave to righteousness.

Jesus declared the beginning of his ministry by standing up in “church’ and reading Isaiah 61:1:

Luke 4:18-19

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Other versions of Luke 4:18

      • The Berean Study bible says:
        “proclaim deliverance to the captives”
      • Holman Christian Bible says:
        “proclaim freedom to the captives”
      • God’s Word Translation:
        “He has sent me to announce forgiveness to the prisoners of sin and the restoring of sight to the blind, to forgive those who have been shattered by sin,”
      • Weymouth New Testament:
        “He has sent me to announce release to the prisoners of war and recovery of sight to the blind: to send away free those whom tyranny has crushed,”
      • Amplified
        “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me (the Messiah),
        Because He has anointed Me to preach the good news to the poor.
        He has sent Me to announce release (pardon, forgiveness) to the captives,
        And recovery of sight to the blind,
        To set free those who are oppressed (downtrodden, bruised, crushed by tragedy),

The very purpose for which Christ was sent was in jeopardy by the Galatians turning back, or turning to the law!

Colossians 1:13-14

13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Ephesians 2:1-7

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Also – Read Ephesians 2:11-22 – Again, Paul is declaring to the Ephesians what GREAT deliverance God has given them!

Paul is referring back to the beginning of the letter!

Galatians 1:6-9

In IBBS Galatians 3:1-10, I was quite struck by how serious Paul took their deception!

After he has spent time trying to explain to them how deadly the law was, and how life was given through Christ by faith – he pleads with the Galatians!

Galatians 4:12 12 Brothers, I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong.
13 You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first,
14 and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus.
15 What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me.
16 Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?
17 They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them.
18 It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you,
19 my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!
20 I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.

This passage sometimes gets confusing to me.
What I hear here is the heart of an apostle, evangelist, preacher, pastor, shepherd – whose heart is filled with the desire for his spiritual children to follow the path laid before them, and not to wander. I hear frustration in Paul’s voice here. He does not want to see them suffer the consequences of the old ways…but to walk in the freedom of the way of Christ!

Romans 6:20-23

20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.
21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:1-2

1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

I can’t help stopping a moment to worship!


 

Paul takes the time to try to show the Galatians, and US – the difference between those of the law and those of faith:

Galatians 4:21-31

21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law?
22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman.
23 But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise.
24 Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar.
25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.
27 For it is written,

“Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear;
break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!
For the children of the desolate one will be more
than those of the one who has a husband.”
28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.
29 But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now.
30 But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.”
31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.

The Old Testament is a rough, raw, set of stories. Life is rough and raw.
God uses the past to teach us in our present so that we can have a different future.

Why would someone want to live under the law whe this is true?

Romans 8:1-2

1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

When I was looking at Galatians 3:10-20, I was impressed with how impossible the requirements of the law were, and that to try to live by the law is to have to live by ALL of the law!

I can’t do it. You can’t do it. The Galatians couldn’t do it. Adam and Eve couldn’t do it. EVEN NOAH couldn’t do it. And Enoch…he was so righteous that he just ended up walking with God and was not…but, did HE do it????

Galatians 5 starts with

1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

That will be my next thoughts…

2009 IBBS Galatians 4

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,

~Christi

Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

I’d love to hear what you think – please leave a comment!

Or choose to LIKE me on facebook, or other social media!

I’d love to stay in touch with you – we are working on email subscriptions…sign up! 
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

There are many organizations that support children and families. Here is one that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

Itty Bitty Bible Study – Galatians 3:21-29

Galatians 3

My thoughts for the Itty Bitty Bible Study group on Facebook. (join if you’d like to get these in fb!)

I’ve shared my thoughts on Galatians 1:1-10; Galatians 1:11-24 & 2:1-10; Galatians 2:11-21; 3:1-9 and Galatians 3:10-20.

Here’s a few thoughts in review:

Galatians 3:20 mentions a mediator…of what?

The Amplified version reads:

20 Now the mediator or go-between [in a transaction] is not [needed] for just one party; whereas God is only one [and was the only One giving the promise to Abraham, but the Law was a contract between two, God and Israel; its validity depended on both].

Galatians 3:15- 19 talks about the difference between an inheritance and a promise. The link is for the Amplified version.

What was the promise?

Vs 14 – To the end that through their receiving Christ Jesus, the blessing promised to Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, so that we through faith might all receive the realization of the promise of the Holy Spirit

The law CANNOT annul the promise! vs 17.

What is the purpose of the Law?

Galatians 3:19 AMP
19 Why, then, the Law [what was its purpose]? It was added [after the promise to Abraham, to reveal to people their guilt] because of transgressions [that is, to make people conscious of the sinfulness of sin], and [the Law] was ordained through angels and delivered to Israel by the hand of a mediator [Moses, the mediator between God and Israel, to be in effect] until the Seed would come to whom the promise had been made.

Abraham came first. Genesis 22:18
Adam and Eve were given a promise before that! Genesis 3:15

“And I will put enmity (open hostility)
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed (offspring) and her [e]Seed;
He shall [fatally] bruise your head,
And you shall [only] bruise His heel.”

There was NO nation of Israel…until Israel had his twelve children, they went into captivity, and Moses brought them out.
Then, God gave the law. Not just between him, and a man and his family…but between him, his ambassador(Moses) and his people – Israel.
The Law did NOT Annul the Promise.
And God is faithful to His promise.

Galatians 3:21 Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law.

AMP 21 Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a system of law had been given which could impart life, then righteousness (right standing with God) would actually have been based on law.

Romans 6 has something to say about this, as well as the rest of the Bible – yet we know that this is a facetious question. The answer is implied…and then, explained!

Galatians 2:11-21 discussed the importance of grace for our salvation!
Galatians 3:1-9 talked about being saved like Abraham – by FAITH!
Galatians 3:10-20 discussed what the difference is between being saved by law(NOT) or Faith by grace!

And Paul is going over it again!

Galatians 3:22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed.
24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.

Amplified:
22 But the Scripture(my word – LAW) has imprisoned everyone [everything—the entire world] under sin, so that [the inheritance, the blessing of salvation] which was promised through faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe [in Him and acknowledge Him as God’s precious Son].

THE Law showed us prideful folk that WE NEED A SAVIOR! We cannot attain to the standards of a HOLY God on our own…and HE knew that! But, the law, like all laws, are for our protection and our training.

Galatians 3:25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,
26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 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.
29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

REMEMBER???

Galatians 3:7-9
7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.
8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.”
9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

What does being Abraham’s offspring mean?
We are heirs according to the promise!

And what is that promise?

Romans 4:13
For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith.

HEIRS WITH CHRIST!

Romans 8:14-17
14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

HOW?

Romans 10
10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
10:5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them.

 

Romans 10:8-13
8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.
13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

These scriptures touch on believing, trust, faith, confession(Romans 10) and baptism(Gal 3:27).

In case we start thinking that this is on us again…

Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Titus 3:6-7
6 This is the Spirit He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
7 so that, having been justified by His grace, we would become heirs with the hope of eternal life.

Galatians 3:6-9
6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?
7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.
8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify[a] the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.”
9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

Saved by grace, through faith – the gift of God.
Made heirs to the promise.
The promise being eternal life!

Being a son – daughter – that is the focus of Galatians 4!

Want to see my scribbles?

Galatians 3 – 10-29

2009 IBBS Galatians 3
Now, on to Galatians 4!

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

I’d love to hear what you think – please leave a comment!
Or choose to LIKE me on facebook, or other social media!
I’d love to stay in touch with you – we are working on email subscriptions…sign up! 
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

There are many organizations that support children and families. Here is one that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

Itty Bitty Bible Study – Galatians 3:10-20

Galatians 3

My thoughts for the Itty Bitty Bible Study group on Facebook. (join if you’d like to get these in fb!)

I’ve shared my thoughts on Galatians 1:1-10; Galatians 1:11-24 & 2:1-10; Galatians 2:11-21; 3:1-9 and now,

Galatians 3:10-20.

The Righteous Shall Live by Faith(title from the ESV Bible)
Galatians 3:10-12 – Do you rely on the works of the Law?

Galatians 3:10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”
11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”
12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Habakkuk 2:4

The New Living Translation says Galatians 3:10- 11:

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.

God’s Word Translation phrases it:

10 Certainly, there is a curse on all who rely on their own efforts to live according to a set of standards because Scripture says, “Whoever doesn’t obey everything that is written in Moses’ Teachings is cursed.”
11 No one receives God’s approval by obeying the law’s standards since, “The person who has God’s approval will live by faith.”

This refers back to Galatians 1:6-9
Especially verses

8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.
9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

And Galatians 2:16

16 yet we know that a person is not justified[a] by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

Danger Danger!
I touched on the danger of the law in IBBS Galatians 2:11-21

Deuteromony 27:26 In New Living Translation to make it clear what is said:

‘Cursed is anyone who does not affirm and obey the terms of these instructions.’ And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’

Youngs Literal Translation says it this way:

Cursed is he who doth not establish the words of this law, to do them, — and all the people have said, Amen.

Jeremiah was told:

Jeremiah 11:3-5
3 You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant 4 that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, 5 that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.” Then I answered, “So be it, Lord.”

Even Jesus explained the power and importance of the Law this way:

Matthew 5:18-20
18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

 

Trusting in the law is Not a good idea!
BECAUSE No one is justified by the law!

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, 

But God! God had/has a plan!

Romans 6:23 but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Back to Galatians 3:13-14

Galatians 3:13
13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—
14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

 

REDEEMED!!!

TO ME, THIS IS THE GOSPEL!!!

Isaiah 53:1-6
1 Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

2 Corinthians 5:18-19
18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
19 that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s trespasses against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

Romans 4:7-8
7 “Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven, whose sins are covered;
8 Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.”

THE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE!

Romans 6:23 but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

HOW?

Ephesians 2:8-10
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

IN CHRIST!

Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

This is along the same lines that Martin Luther declared his change of heart – and desire for the church to recognize scripture(he never wanted to leave the Catholic Church).Nathan Bingham discuses Justification by Faith, and Martin Luther’s revelation about Romans 1:17.

15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Paul wrote Romans.
The Gospel that he proclaims is that the just shall live by faith – faith imparted, imputed to us, through the death burial and resurrection, depending upon our response to hearing the gospel. If we respond in faith –
it is counted to us a righteousness!

New Living Translation:

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

Thank you Lord Jesus for saving my soul! And all that the comment implies!

MORE of Romans!

Romans 5:6-11
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

When my heart thinks on this, I know that God loves me! WHILE I WAS STILL A SINNER!
~~~~

I’ve included a lot of Romans.
There is a very easy way that I understand the plan of Salvation, and it’s called the Romans Road.
It is verses through Romans that take a person down the path to understand the steps of salvation.
It is NOT law! It is just a compilation of verse to make it easy to understand!
I appreciate GotQuestions.org for providing this!

I share my steps in My Testimony!

~~~~
The Law and the Promise(title by ESV)

Galatians 3:15 To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified.
16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.
17 This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void.
18 For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.

There are many references to the legal aspects of the law – and here, Paul is explaining, as only a very well trained Judaic lawyer can, that Abraham’s promise was to have ONE come from him to deliver us all.

Galatians 3:19 Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary.
20 Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.

I have grown to understand this a little better after becoming a mom. Even since working with children in child care.
Children NEED rules – for their safety – yes, but also to teach them.

DON’T TOUCH THE STOVE
Why not?
IT’S HOT!
What’s hot?
DON’T TOUCH THE STOVE!
….OWWWWWWWW, MOMMMY!
I SAID, DON’T TOUCH THE STOVE, IT’S HOT!
Then, the child learns by experience that touching the stove was hot, what hot meant, and why mommy had a rule. Not following the rules can cause pain!
The outcome is that once the child is able to rule themselves, they no longer touch the stove…on purpose!

This is how I understand the concept of the Law – it was to teach the Hebrews what things were not good for them.
The cleansing rituals? Protected them from many diseases that other tribes and nations died from.
The clean and unclean? Many of the foods were more apt to have toxins or parasites in them, that killed other nations.
Why did Israel have these rules and others suffer without them? Because Abraham chose to follow God! And he taught his family. And they taught theirs.
Sadly, historically, Jews have been persecuted for their being protected, health wise, financially, and other ways. Those that suffered saw that the Jews did not suffer, and decided that they were either stealing from them, or were putting curses on them, causing the diseases, or whatever. It is so hard for the human to accept responsibility for their own choices, and so easy to point the finger to those that have made choices that bring them blessings. It’s so easy for humans to cry “no fair”, when they do not want to play by the rules in the first place.

The law was given as a teacher, as a guide.
That is the rest of Galatians 3!

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

I’d love to hear what you think – please leave a comment!
Or choose to LIKE me on facebook, or other social media!
I’d love to stay in touch with you – we are working on email subscriptions…sign up! 
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

There are many organizations that support children and families. Here is one that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

Itty Bitty Bible Study – Galatians 3:1-9

Galatians 3

My thoughts for the Itty Bitty Bible Study group on Facebook. (join if you’d like to get these in fb!)

Galatians 3:1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.

Amplified:
O you foolish
and
thoughtless
and
superficial
Galatians,
who has bewitched you [that you would act like this],
to whom—right before your very eyes—Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified [in the gospel message]?

Scathing!!!

WHO! Bewitched!
Definition:

  • cast a spell on and gain control over (someone) by magic.
    “his relatives were firmly convinced that he was bewitched”
    synonyms: cast/put a spell on, enchant;
  • enchant and delight (someone).
    “they both were bewitched by the country and its culture”
    synonyms: captivate, enchant, entrance, enrapture, charm, beguile, delight, fascinate, enthrall
    “we were bewitched by the surroundings”

Strongs(Blue Letter Bible Resource) (G940) defines it:

  1. to speak ill of one, to slander, traduce him
  2. to bring evil on one by feigning praise or an evil eye
  3. to charm, to bewitch

Thayers Greek Lexicon explains this word:
“of those that lead away others into error by wicked arts”

Witches were not looked upon favorably!
Leviticus 20:27 A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood [shall be] upon them.
Exodus 22:18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.
Revelation in 21:8 and 22:15 place witchcraft and sorcery outside of the Kingdom of Heaven.
King Saul is said to have died for seeking the insights of a witch in 1 Chronicles 10:13-14

Paul says in Galatians 1:8-9

8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.
9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

He is coming from his understanding of the old testament – the Jewish Bible – witchcraft is a destructive force! He is using very strong language, and stating that they should be accursed is just agreeing with God’s words!

Witchcraft is idolotry – and God does not look kindly upon idolotry:
Exodus 20:1

And God spoke all these words, saying,
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,
6 but showing steadfast love to thousands[b] of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Somewhere around 2001, I wrote a web page on Eclectic, dealing with Witchcraft.

1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

The books of John – First, Second and Third – speak a lot about how to test the spirits.
Jesus warned us of False Prophets –

Matthew 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

Jesus warned us that the closer to the time he returns(and we are closer now than in Peter, James and John’s day) the more danger there will be: Matthew 24:

3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray.
5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray.

11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.
12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.

23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.
24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
25 See, I have told you beforehand.
26 So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.

This cry of Paul’s to the Galatians is as important to us today as it was in the first century.
And, between he and John(as well as the written gospels which give us Christ’s words) – we can KNOW how to beware of the bewitching of false prophets.

2 Timothy 4
1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom:
2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.
3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,
4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Paul even warned the Corinthians!

2 Corinthians 11:3-4
3 But I am afraid that, even as the serpent beguiled Eve by his cunning, your minds may be corrupted and led away from the simplicity of [your sincere and] pure devotion to Christ.
4 For [you seem willing to allow it] if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted. You tolerate all this beautifully [welcoming the deception].

I’m not sure if the Galatians were as aware of the seriousness of this accusation, but I do know that Paul is going to try to lay it out for them. I’m glad, because I know that I become a little jew – leaning on rules – to not have to seek God’s face for answers. I KNOW, because of Paul’s writings, that I do not want to fall again into the darkness of the law, rules, and works. I KNOW I do not want to be judged by them! Paul’s writings are deep, wide, and thick. Let’s dive in.

Galatians 3
3:2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?
3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?
5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith—

I have to keep floating between versions, and the one that helps me the most is the Amplified.

Galatians 3:2-5 AMP
2 This is all I want to ask of you: did you receive the [Holy] Spirit as the result of obeying [the requirements of] the Law, or was it the result of hearing [the message of salvation and] with faith [believing it]?
3 Are you so foolish and senseless? Having begun [your new life by faith] with the Spirit, are you now being perfected and reaching spiritual maturity by the flesh [that is, by your own works and efforts to keep the Law]?
4 Have you suffered so many things and experienced so much all for nothing—if indeed it was all for nothing?
5 So then, does He who supplies you with His [marvelous Holy] Spirit and works miracles among you, do it as a result of the works of the Law [which you perform], or because you [believe confidently in the message which you] heard with faith?

How did you receive the Holy Spirit?
Did He show up because you were doing good works?
Or did you HEAR the preaching, and believe it – and received it!

Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Ephesisans 2:8-9AMP
8 For it is by grace [God’s remarkable compassion and favor drawing you to Christ] that you have been saved [actually delivered from judgment and given eternal life] through faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [not through your own effort], but it is the [undeserved, gracious] gift of God;
9 not as a result of [your] works [nor your attempts to keep the Law], so that no one will [be able to] boast or take credit in any way [for his salvation].

The point is, if there is any way that our works can save us, then Christ’s death is in vain!

Galatians 2:21 AMP
21 I do not ignore or nullify the [gracious gift of the] grace of God [His amazing, unmerited favor], for if righteousness comes through [observing] the Law, then Christ died needlessly. [His suffering and death would have had no purpose whatsoever.]”

I want to follow closely the true Gospel – because Hebrews 6:4-6 puts the fear of God into my heart:

4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit,
5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come,
6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.

Hebrews 10:26-27
26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.

In this last day – nearer to the end of the age – I want to make sure that I cling to the right gospel! To trust in works is to nullify, negate, or diminish the work of Christ on the cross.
On this web site, if one does a search for the tag grace, you will find many many blogs that I have tagged grace over the years. It is by GRACE! I am saved!

Romans 7 explains the purpose of the Law – Paul explains the struggle.
He concludes this chapter crying out:

Romans 7:24-25
24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

Apparently the Galatians had ‘suffered’ many things on behalf of the gospel – whether dying to the flesh personally, or actually having persecution. Paul asks them basically – is it worth it to go back to being a slave to the law? Was that the price you were wanting to pay?
We are asked to count the cost…is that gospel worth that price?

Galatians 3:6-9
AMP –
6 Just as Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, [as conformity to God’s will and purpose—so it is with you also].

ESV
6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

Abraham?

I’m going to try this…I hope it works!
The Bible Guy at The Bible Helper shares a power point on Abraham!

I’m going to cut Galatians short here – because there is something that Paul is trying to say…

EVEN as ABRAHAM believed GOD!
THAT faith is what was counted to HIM as righteousness!

Where did Abraham come from?

From Adam to Noah – Genesis 5
Noah’s Grandfather was Methuselah. LONGEST LIVING HUMAN!
Enoch was his Great Grandfather. HE WALKED WITH GOD!
This is the ancestry of SHEM!

Thanks to Knowing Jesus – here is a list of scriptures about Abraham, his family and his descendants.

Genesis 11 gives us the whole lineage, following the Tower of Babel.

Noah believed God – AND BUILT AN ARK FOR A FLOOD!

Heb 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

SHEM! The son of Noah!
Shem RODE IN THE ARK!Genesis 6; Genesis 9; Genesis 10

Abraham descended from Shem, and is one of the heroes of the faith!
Genesis 11:26-32 give the snapshot of Abraham’s Beginning in the Bible.

Hebrews 11:8-10
8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.
10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

The key here is Hebrews 11:6

6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Jesus asks at the end of a parable:

Luke 18:8b
Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

2 Chronicles 16:9
For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.”

How is a heart blameless(or other versions say perfect) towards God?

Deuteronomy 6:5
You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Deuteronomy 4:29
But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Matthew 22:36-39
36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Also in Mark 12:29-31;

This passage is interestingly titled “Circumcise your Heart”

Deuteronomy 10:12-15
12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
13 and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good?

How?

Psalm 119:9
BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.

Psalm 119:11
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

And what were those commands?

Luke 10:26-28

26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Matthew 22:37-38
37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment.

AND

John 13:34-35
34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

AND

Micah 6:8
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

AND

James 1:27
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

And now we are right back at the beginning!
How did we receive the Holy Spirit? By works or by faith?

Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

And that is only because:

Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

2 Corinthians 5:17-19
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

Ephesians 2
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,
5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—
6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Our salvation IS ALL A WORK OF GOD!
Yes, we have freewill.
Yes, we have to receive Him, and believe –
but that very ability is a gift from God!
The downside is that we can say no –
or we can follow “another” gospel:

Galatians 1:6-7
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—
7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

Oh Father God, let us NOT be bewitched by the false teachings of this current age.
Oh Father God, deliver us from evil!
Oh Father God, open our eyes that we might see clearly!
Oh Father God, make the “tickling ears” teachings ring so false in our ears, because we have hidden YOUR word in our hearts, and we have been like Bereans and searched out the scriptures, and we love you with our WHOLE heart!
In Jesus’s precious name, I Pray!
Amen.

Itty Bitty Bible Study On Galatians 1:1-10
IBBS on Galatians 1:11-24 & 2:1-10
IBBS on Galatians 2:11-21

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

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2009 IBBS Galatians 1

Itty Bitty Book 2 – Galatians, Chapter 1, June 7
I’m on vacation, so I’m not putting in a Galatians intro – but you can go to www.Blueletterbible.org and read one yourself.
Chapter 1:1 I love how Paul starts this letter:
Paul, an apostle (not from men, nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead),
I look at what the apostles did with their lives….and I think – they were hand picked, chosen by God for that job….I’ll never be able to be like them.
BUT – each of us is handpicked by God before the foundation of the world…..
This was to Jeremiah:
Jer 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, [and] I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
and lest we rule that out because God gave that call to Jeremiah –
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
and if there is any question that God handpicked each of us for HIS work, Romans 8:28-31 blows them all away!
Rom 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose.
Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [to be] conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Rom 8:30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
Rom 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God [be] for us, who [can be] against us?
Galatians 1:6-9 – WARNING WARNING WARNING!!! There are going to be those that will preach ANOTHER gospel – and he’s not just talking about the non Christian folks. THERE ARE ERRORS IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH THAT ARE BEING PREACHED TODAY that will keep the believers from their true calling – their preparation for the battle to come – their moving out into the battle.
WARNING – the 501c3 designation of a church has already prevented pastors from speaking things clearly to the church. They cannot preach against political topics – against sins – and anything that could be considered hate speech. Legislation is being proposed to really shut the mouths of the church – the fact that a nation that has embraced aborting babies, exalting sinful lifestyles and vanity and excess is now trying to make it legal to to point at a Christian(not other religions) and say “You are hateful – you go to jail”.
I don’t know how many of you read about the pastor that was having Bible study in his home and was told they had to stop. Don’t know the details….but that would destroy many moves of the church.
So – WARNING WARNING WARNING – watch the signs of the times!!!!
vs 3-5 – the basic gospel:
Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christi. Who gave Himself for our sins, that He3 might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, To whom be all glory forever and ever, amen!
Christ delivered us so that we would be able to stand against the attacks of the enemy – and that we would be able to endure to the end, to receive that crown of life he has waiting for us!
May you be filled with the true gospel through Jesus Christ today – and turn from the tempting, teasing, tickling teachings that would draw you away from the TRUTH.
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi

2017 Itty Bitty Bible Study Galatians 1:1-10
2017 Itty Bitty Bible Study Galatians 1:11-

Itty Bitty Bible Study – Galatians 2:11-21

Galatians 2:11-21

My thoughts for the Itty Bitty Bible Study group on Facebook. (join if you’d like to get these in fb!)

Galatians 1:1-10
Galatians 1:11-24 & 2:1-10

Galatians 2:11-14
11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.
12 For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.[a]
13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.
14 But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

Paul had been preaching to the Gentiles.
Because of the freedom from the law – as he explains in Romans and Hebrews, he never required circumcision for Titus, or any of the Greeks that were with him.

Apparently, based on this passage, Peter was fine with the Greeks, until the Jews were watching, and then he reverted to the Jewish clean and unclean practices, and avoided these brothers.

Jesus made clear directions on how to address a brother or sister that was sinning – Matthew 18:15 – 16

If I had better Biblical history Knowledge, I could tell you if the sheet of unclean animals was before or after this – but here is what I think:

  • Acts 9 – Saul’s Conversion
  • Acts 10, God sends Peter to Cornelius, the vision of the sheet of unclean animals
  • Acts 11 – Peter defends preaching to the gentiles, and they send Barnabas after Saul/Paul in Tarsus
  • Now, in the beginning of Chapter 12, Herod kills James, the brother of Jesus.
    In Galatians, in Paul’s first visit to Jerusalem, 3 years after his conversion, he met James, the brother of Jesus. (Galatians 1:19)
  • Acts 12 – Peter is jailed, Herod is smitten, Paul, Barnabas and JohnMark continue.
  • Acts 13 – Paul and Barnabas commissioned
  • Acts 14 ministry, and Paul stoned, first time
  • Acts 15 – here we have the dispute about circumcision.

5 chapters after Peter had been shown that the Gentiles were to be received.
Also, after Paul had been commissioned, based upon his sharing of what he had been preaching.
Chapter 15 is where Peter has a great speech!

Acts 15:7-11
7 And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, 9 and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. 10 Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? 11 But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”

James(the Apostle, not the brother of Jesus), after listening to Paul and Barnabas says this:

Acts 15:19-21
19 Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, 20 but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. 21 For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”

The council then wrote a letter – and sent it out

Acts 15:22-29
22 Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers,
23 with the following letter: “The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings.
24 Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions,
25 it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth.
28 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements:
29 that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”

I don’t know where the confrontation between Paul and Peter landed – but the main issue is that the doctrine of grace, not works was confirmed. And it’s the doctrine of works that started this whole dispute in the beginning of Acts 15!
And it’s the very doctrine of works that Paul is trying to undo in this letter to Galatia!

Back to Galatians:
In 2:15-21, Paul writes,

15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners;
16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
17 But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not!
18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor.
19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God.
20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

Romans 3 discusses this in much detail.
Galatians 3 goes into more detail, and we will get there.

The basic take home here, for me is this:

Galatians 2:20
I am crucified with Christ
Nevertheless I live,
Yet not I
But Christ
Lives in me:
And the life that I now live in the flesh
I live by the faith of the Son of God
Who loved me
And gave himself for me.

If that isn’t clear enough – Paul drives it home:

Galatians 2:21
I do not frustrate the grace of God:
For if righteousness come by the law,
THEN CHRIST IS DEAD IN VAIN!

Basically, Romans 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 all explain this more fully!
It makes sense – Paul wrote Romans!

Today, we are flooded with a lukewarm gospel, not one of adding legalistic bondage.
Of course, there are those versions of Christianity that do hold to variations of the law.

James wrote, in light of favoritism, to explain the dangers of holding to the law:

James 2:8-13
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.
9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.
11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.
12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty.
13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

That explains the danger of getting pulled back into the law!
James also addresses the faith without works position in James 2:14-26 (James is going to be one of the Itty Bitty Bible Studies!)

It is such a fine line…and yet, it had the power to potentially destroy the early church. It still does.
Even today, in Amish communities, there are approved shawl patterns and non approved. Approved fabric and non approved. Where there is a difference, there is a split in fellowship!
Look at all the denominations we have.
Look at all the different types of Baptists we have?

We have ONE Lord – Jesus Christ.
Let’s get back to sharing the gospel, and not our own applications!
Applications of the gospel are quite often personal in nature.
And if we are making decisions based upon the fear of man’s opinion, the we have missed the boat!

Blast from the Past Itty Bitty Bible Study from 2009 Galatians 2
Galatians 3 goes more into depth about Faith and Works. I’ll try to go into more detail there.

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

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