When Common Sense Isn't Enough - James 1:2-18

I will start this study by giving you a few simple facts boiled down to super nuggets of wisdom that I have found scattered through several commentaries and the bible as I opened the study on the book of James. The first is listed as a blueprint for the study. Chapter 1: 1-27 gives us James’ definition of genuine religion. 2:1 to 3:12 explains genuine faith; and genuine wisdom is found in 3:13 to 5:20.

Jewish Christians have learned no lesson greater than how to withstand persecution. At the time of this lesson, the Roman Empire has declared political control over the Jewish nation and Jewish Christians have been scattered throughout the Mediterranean world because of persecution. In their hostile surroundings they were tempted to let intellectual agreement pass for true faith. This letter can have rich meaning for us as we are reminded that genuine faith transforms lives. We are encouraged to put out faith into action. It is easy to say we have faith, but true faith will produce loving actions toward others. [At this point James declares that faith without [works] [action] is dead.]

A simple chapter by chapter explanation of James looks like this……!

Chapter 1 Confident Stand What a Christian has

Chapter 2 Compassionate Service What a Christian does

Chapter 3 Careful Speech What a Christian says

Chapter 4 Contrite Submission What a Christians feels

Chapter 5 Concerned Sharing What a Christian gives

FIVE MEGATHEMES IN THIS BOOK AND THEIR IMPORTANCE

THEME EXPLANATION IMPORTANCE

Living Faith….James wants believers to hear Living faith makes a

the truth and do it. He contrasts difference. Make sure your

empty faith with faith that works. faith is more than just a

Commitment is evidence of true statement—it should also

Faith. Result in action.


Trials ….In the Christian life there are trials Don’t resent troubles. Pray

and temptations. Successfully over- for wisdom; God will supply

coming produces maturity and strong all your needs.

character.


Law of Love….We are saved by God’s mercy, Keeping the law of love

not by keeping the law. We must love our shows that our faith is neighbor as ourselves. vital and real


What would it have been like to have been in James shoes during his boyhood days? You talk about pier pressure; the Mary and Moses household must have been like the old time pressure cookers that were sometimes dangerous when overheated. I say this because I believe that James who wrote this book was the half-brother of Jesus Christ.


It would have been much easier for a novice like me to study about family relationships if everyone had at least two names like Paul Harvey, John Jones, Matthew Henry and James Garfield. This would have helped designate a certain family in to whom each one was born. I do not know the number of men known as Paul listed in the New Testament. Nether do I know the number of Matthews; but the two we know best are more prominent and cause no problems. The third name John is also prominent but requires us to be careful in writing about them so that proper reference is made. James is somewhat different. We know of four James boys, and feel pretty sure that the author of this book was James ‘The brother of Jesus.’


Four men named James appear in the New Testament. Two of these were James, the father of Judas {Luke 6: 16} and James, the son of Alphaeus {Mark 3: 18} are not well known, and little is said of them, therefore neither is likely the author of the book of James. James, the son of Zebedee and brother of John was a prominent leader among the apostles {Acts 2: 2} but he died an early death as a martyr before the book was written. This suggests that the most likely candidate among the New Testament Jameses for authorship is the half brother of our Lord {Mark 6:3l Acts 15: 23}.

James was a younger half brother of Jesus and the son of Mary and Joseph. His name appears first in a list of full brothers which indicates that he was the oldest of Jesus’ half-brothers. John tells us in 7: 5 that James did not believe his brother to be the Messiah during his ministry, and accepted Him only after his resurrection—and after receiving the Holly Spirit in the upper room. I will now renew the thought of being one of several boys who are half brothers to the Lord Jesus Christ who was the elder son in the house.

The author of this letter gives us practically no information about himself. He says that he is just “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.” We also know that James and his brothers did not accept Jesus as lord until after his ministry on earth was over. We know that soon after the ascension James had gained a place of influence in the church in Jerusalem. Paul sought his help when he was in trouble because of his stand that Salvation was by grace through faith. James may have had a hard time as a youth, growing up in the family of Christ, always having to compare his life with the perfect one. But when the chips were down, he stood the test and even gave his life a martyr for his Brother.


Are you strengthened in the spirit when a challenge comes to you that really prove that you can withstand the temptations of the devil? James says that we should consider it pure joy; when we face trials of many kinds that really test our faith. Without a test now and then, how do we know that we can and will withstand the temptations of the devil?


One last great thought here before we close. Do not believe or even think that God tempts you in any way to do evil instead of good.. He may allow the devil to tempt you, but Christ does not tempt his children to do wrong. I am sorry that I can not be more positive about the devil and his actions. He is sly and cunning and continually looking for a way to mislead you into temptation and wrong.

Be Responsible - Galatians 6:1-18

What is your responsibility as a Christian? What is mine? Are they the same? Could there be a difference in the responsibility that two different Christians have to the Lord? As students attend school each day, each one is responsible for his assignments and is graded on his quality of work. You are attending your school of Christian work and God will grade you on how well you complete your assignments. Do you prefer God to grade you on “the curve” or individually? What I mean by the curve system is explained below so study it before you make up your mind.

Some school teachers grade all their students on what is called the bell curve; and it is a figure that looks something like the roof of a metal building or a rainbow which is divided into five parts. On the left of the curve and going up, 8% of the highest scores are listed as 100 to 92 and =A, excellent. From 91 to 80 is counted as a B, and considered above average. Students that are considered as average are those that finish the curve toward the top and the grade of 60 or one half or 60% of answers as correct. Below average and barely passing are those in the range of 59% down to a score of 42 %. Any score below 42 percent is considered as failing. In this context, each student is scored in relationship to the scores made by all students in the test group.

What I am asking you is this. Would you like to be compared to all other fellow Christians when Christ gives you your final score on how well you live your life for him while here on earth? Or, would you prefer Him to compare what you do to what you are capable of doing for him? In order to answer this question with any validity you must decide the questions. First, are you doing better or worse than others? Or are you doing more or less than you are really capable of doing? Now I am talking about works and not faith. There is no grade for faith. You either believe or you do not believe. You tell me, “I am Baptist, saved by faith, and so works don’t count.” Now I remind you that we will soon study the book of James who will tell you that your faith without works is dead; and I also remind you that there is no conflict between Paul’s teaching and the teaching of James. The scripture is clear; works always come as evidence of your faith.

I don’t know whether or not you realize it but we are no longer talking about salvation by grace that requires no works, but only faith. We are now talking about the person who has salvation locked up by grace through faith—but still has the great responsibility of obeying God, doing his will, and living by his precepts. You are now a Christian, saved by grace and cannot be lost for any reason, BUT, what kind of grade are you making in the school of life? The title of this lesson today is BE RESPONSIBLE. And I am asking you just HOW RESPONSIBLE ARE YOU? How secure do you feel? Are you ready to take the test? That is are you ready to stand before God in the Judgment? I really do not know why I ask you if you wanted Him to grade you on the curve—because you do not have a choice. You and I will be judged as individuals according to how well we do with what we have to do with…HOW RESPONSIBLE ARE WE?
I know John Vandiver better than I know any of you, and so I will use him as the example of Christian that I personally worry about. I have read and studied the Bible until I feel comfortable that I recognize overt sin that confronts me. I have reached the place in my Christian life that I am able to say, “Get behind me Satan, leave me alone, I will not live my life with, in or for you;” and I have few problems dealing with him as he deserves. However, I am sometimes tired, sleepy, weak, and worn-out or just plain lazy and I realize that there is a task that needs to be done for Christ, but I fail to respond to the task. Then there are times that opportunities present themselves in such a way that I do not recognize it when it appears. I really do have problems distinguishing between problems and opportunities. I am afraid that if my heaviest load of sin is one of commission, I will bee in deep trouble. My problem will more likely be one of omission; some intended; which means that I recognized the opportunity do something that needed to be done, and did not do it. However, I believe that the most of my sins are unintended on my part. I just do not react instantaneously to problems of need; for some reason I seem to see them later, after my opportunity to react has past by. My prayer to God is that He will be able to place this failure into a category that lays less blame to the sinner.

Doing good to all the people concerned is an example of works. Helping others who are in need is works. Read Chapter 6: 1-18 and get a glimpse of what it means to do good to all.

“My brothers if someone is caught in any kind of wrongdoing [SIN], those of you who are spiritual should set him right; but you must do it in a gentle way.” Now let me warn you that you had better keep your eyes open and your prayer-life strong so that the same sin your brother has committed will not overtake you. The devil will use situations like this to tempt you to fall into sin. Remember well, this same fault may be yours to bear some day and you will need to call on others for assistance.

No Christian should ever feel so independent that they never need help from others in the faith, and no one should ever feel that they have been excused from helping others who need help. The church is the body of Christ on earth and it only functions when the members work together for the common good. Do you know someone who needs help? Is the need one of instruction? What about correction? Or is the need simply for encouragement? Read John 13: 24-25

When you do your very best, you feel good about the results. There is never any need to compare yourself with others. People make comparisons for many reasons. Some point out others’ flaws in order to feel better about themselves. Others are searching for reassurance that they are doing well. When you are tempted to compare, look at Jesus Christ and compare yourself to him for he is the only good example that is worth using. And his loving acceptance will always comfort you when you fall short of your own expectations. Remember what I said about Christ grading us on the bell-curve? You are grading yourself on the bell-curve if you are comparing your actions to those of your friends. And I believe that by now you are beginning to understand why we do not want Christ to use the bell-curve to evaluate us. We need his mercy and not justice.

Man, I really like the sixth verse! I will quote it for you from the “GOOD NEWS FOR MODEREN MAN Bible. “The people in this class who are being taught the Christian message should share all the good things he or she has with John Vandiver, Heber Springs, Arkansas.” Ok, I know the Bible tells me not to add or take away one “jot” or “tittle” and I have sinned and added the teacher’s name. Just never take my word without question…always check God’s word and see if I am misleading you. Read the sixth verse in your Bible and see what it really says. This subject is also addressed in 1 Timothy, 5: 17 -18.

We have come to the most profound message in the Bible regarding the position “works” has in the life of a Christian. It is another great teaching following verse six. “Do not deceive yourselves; no one makes a fool of God. A man will reap exactly what he plants. If he plants in the field of his natural desires, from it he will gather the harvest of death; if he plants in the field of the Spirit, from the Spirit he will gather the harvest of eternal life. So let us not become tired of doing good; for if we do not give up, the time will come when we will reap the harvest. So then, as often as we have the chance, we should do good to everyone, but especially to those who belong to our family in the faith.” {Good News Bible}

I sometimes wonder why people will defy nature and expect to win. It is “the law of nature”—God’s law of the harvest and it will never fail. You can not plant seed corn and reap watermelons; or tomato seed and gather pepper. This is so simple that people with weak minds can understand. This law applies to other areas of our lives…YOU WILL REAP WHAT YOU SOW. Every action has a guaranteed result. Gossip about your friends and you will loose your friends. Plant to reap only your own desires and you will reap a crop of evil and sorrow. If you plant to please God, you will reap joy and everlasting life. What kind of seeds are you sowing?

I attended the first deacon retreat held after Bro. J.R. arrived as our pastor. The study material contained a survey that asked each deacon to predict the growth of the church over the coming years. I remember with sadness that my prediction was for us to grow until we would realize a weekly attendance of 1000 or more in Sunday Morning church services. I have been and still am very discouraged that the numbers did not materialize. I am happy to say that the quality of our spiritual experiences together has surely improved. It is so wonderful to experience business meetings that are conducted without strife, bickering, and open conflict.

It is discouraging though when we try week after week to do right and receive no word of thanks or see tangible results. Paul challenged the Galatians and he challenges us to keep on doing “good works” and then trust God for the results. We must believe—in due time we will reap a harvest of blessings. It may not come in the numbers that I had hoped for in this church—but it will and has come in spiritual strength, and especially in the missionary outreach of this church. And if we remain faithful, it will come in numbers of new Christian members.

Some of the time Paul used a scribe to do his writing as he dictated, at other times he actually wrote to us in his own hand. It is obvious that the remainder of this chapter, starting with verse eleven was written by Paul in person. He must have increased the size of the print being used so that it would be obvious that he was emphasizing what he was telling them. As you read this listen carefully to the tone in his voice. It is pretty obvious that he has reached the end of his patients with his critics.

“See what big letters I make as I write to you now with my own hand! Those who want to show off and brag about external matters are the ones who are trying to force you to be circumcised. They do it, however, openly that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. Even those who practice circumcision do not obey the law; they want you to be circumcised so they can boast that you submitted to this physical ceremony. As for me, however, I will boast only of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ; for by means of his cross the world is dead to me, and I am dead to the world. It does not matter at all whether or not one is circumcised. What does matter is being a new creature.”

Follow the Spirit - Galatians 5:16-26

During my life as an educator I have moved several times and as a result have belonged to six different Southern Baptist churches ranging in memberships of one hundred to two thousand; and with average attendance from approximately fifty to eleven hundred. As I think about these churches where I have worshipped, several people from each church stand out in some kind of special way. At the same time there are hundreds of members that I do not even remember. I realize that my forgetfulness is the major problem here, but I also will remind those that I do not remember that they may have been the reason they are not remembered.
As I continue to think about my personal roll call of the faithful, I realize they came from different educational and economic levels or backgrounds. Since I have been a member of the First Baptist Church in Heber Springs, Arkansas for the last 34+ years, it is only natural and expected that many of these great Christians are my Heber friends. Not one of them would have thought he or she was an especially inspiring role model of faith. NOTE: {I MAY BE TALKING ABOUT YOU, SO LISTEN…}. What was the common characteristic that led them to their remarkable lives?
In light of this lesson, I believe that the common characteristic is the fact that each one has chosen to follow the Spirit’s leadership as a way of life. Instead of a self-directed life, that inevitably leads to frustration, these inspiring role models chose to follow and be led by God’s Spirit.
I hope you remember that Christ told his disciples and other followers just before he ascended into heaven following his resurrection that He would not leave them alone and without help. He said, “I will send you the Holy Spirit who will comfort you and instruct you” therefore we do not have to worry about being alone without help. The great leaders, the outstanding members of our churches today listen to the teaching of the Holy Spirit and follow the instructions they receive. These instructions do not come unless you keep your eyes and heart on God’s word.
The first five chapters in Galatians deal almost inclusively with the two exclusive ways of attempting to be righteous before God—the law and Grace. First, the law cannot make a person righteous, but there are still many that try to follow it because “good works” plays on human pride and builds our egos. If we are a doer of “good works” it can deceive us into thinking we are better than we are, and most of us like to do that. Just as it was with the Jews, the way of the law produces a combination of pride, arrogance, frustration and doubt. The second way under the new covenant is of grace through faith in Christ. Remember that our salvation is not free—Christ paid the price—but thanks are unto God, OUR ACCESS TO GRACE IS FREE JUST FOR THE ASKING.
What have you done as an individual with the freedom to this access? Have you through your faith requested this personal access? Once granted this perfect freedom do you use it as an excuse to engage in unrighteous behavior? Paul said, “Absolutely not”. The honest and sincere will acknowledge that the freedom brought with it a responsibility to draw close to Jesus and begin to imitate Him.
Do you remember that Paul once said that he did what he should not and failed to do what he should? Look at 5: 16-18. If your sinful desires are being gratified then you know that you are not living by the Spirit. Look! Listen! “For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”
Pick up the Sunday newspaper and read the head lines and you will find examples of the sinful nature of man in 2009. The list given in verses 19-21 will exist and be covered as a new article in just about any paper. The shocking thing about the articles you read is that many of them will give you examples of ways that people are living today as acceptable and in some case very desirable life styles.
Now use the same paper and try to find an article of any kind that will express the fruit of the Spirit. There may be a few examples but you can feel very fortunate if you find half as many as you find of about man’s sinful nature. Verse 22 describes a tree with a different desirable fruit hanging from each limb. You should read them slowly and think about your desires to have these qualities in your life. IF YOU DESIRE TO HAVE THE QUALITIES LISTED AS ‘Fruit of the Spirit’, THEN YOU KNOW THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT IS LEADING YOU.
How can you know that you are FOLLOWING THE SPIRIT? The process will employ at least three aspects. 1. Do you desire to hear what God has to say to you personally? Watch out! Don’t get caught with the wrong answer. Well, if you are a Christian then your answer should be YES. But if you answer me with a “yes” I will ask you how often you study your Bible with the intention of allowing God to talk to you? Is it often enough for you to prove to others that you really have a desire to hear what God has to say to you?
Following the spirit requires a 2nd aspect—are you ready and willing to obey God’s word? Are you obedient? Do you tithe your income?
No. 3, do you have the sensitivity to discern between your feelings and what God has told you to do. In other words—do you hear him speak and know what he says, but you just do not ‘feel like’ he really is talking to you, but this is for someone else?
Put all these three aspects together and you will live each day controlled and guided by the Holy Spirit.
Paul described the two forces that are conflicting within us. They are the Holy Spirit and the sinful nature. Man is equipped with physical mind that thrives on evil desires and it will take over control of your actions if it is allowed to run loose without spiritual instructions. First we must want to control these evil desires, and when we are sincere in wanting to control—then the Holy Spirit will step in and help. The Holy Spirit is infinitely stronger than we are—but He has no power at all until He is invited to help us in our control.
We all [lost sinner and saved sinner] have evil desires and we must not try to ignore them. We must recognize them and deal with them decisively. The Bible teaches that we must put Satan behind us; grind his head with our heal; and that we must get rid of our sin; crucify it—that is put it to death as on the cross. Verse 24 says “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passion and desires.” This does not mean that you will forget the evil desires that have always been with you, but it does mean that you can not continue to practice the fulfillment of the evil desire. How can you know YOU ARE FOLLOWING THE SPIRIT?
Ask yourself; “Is this the path that Jesus would follow.” Must be Yes.

Claim Your Freedom - Galatians 5:1-5

A generation is said to be the average length of time that expires between the birth of a parent and the birth of his/her first offspring. I do not remember ever seeing the exact average as pertains to the citizens in the United States so I will just assume that it is twenty years or five generations equals one hundred years. This means that we are living in the eleventh or twelfth generation after our founding fathers.
It has always been the assumption of conservative Christian thought that time is an excellent teacher because of the accumulation of experiences that occur. As a conservative pragmatic person I sometimes think that time is a better teacher of forgetfulness than it is of remembrances. So often when a person has endured a sequence of hard times his bent is to forget about the pain and anguish as soon as possible. The actual response is to try in every way possible to see that their offspring does not have to suffer the same pain or hardships. The generation that follows is never made fully aware of the price that has been paid for their so-called freedom.
Our lesson today is entitled CLAIM YOUR FREEDOM. Personally, I have considered this word {FREEDOM} from every angle, and I do not believe that the state of {FREEDOM} even exists. Freedom is actually two words and the last word is [DOM] and it means {the state of being; or those belonging to a group;} therefore it is a state or fact of being an American citizen; or it is the state or fact of being a Christian—or even being a member of your earthly family.
Freedom consists of two separate words—the first of which is FREE, which means that something of worth, or true value, is obtained by a person without any cost to him/her in money or in kind. To obtain anything free means that you now own an unmerited gift that cost no one anything; and that appears to me to be impossible. Why? Because we are not totally free in America and what freedom we experience was bought and paid for with the blood of the faithful soldiers that have given their all.
The lesson admonishes us to CLAIM OUR FREEDOM and we are able to do that only because Jesus Christ paid the price on the Cross of Calvary. If there ever was a misnomer this is it—because our salvation is only free to us and not to our Savior who paid the ultimate price.
We have studied the first four chapters of Galatians and find that Paul’s opponents have appeared creditable. They did not present any wild ideas about obtaining religion; neither did they suggest idol worship. They simply held out that the law had been give by God and could not be replaced. This was devastating to Paul who had lived by the law, and knew it better than most. He had met Christ personally and knew by that experience that Christ died for the sins of men and that salvation came by God’s grace through our faith and nothing more or less. For four chapters now, Paul has argued this point without relenting.
He is still somewhat perplexed to find that the Jews will not accept fully his teaching. Now throughout the remainder of this letter to the Galatians he will try to show them that they can experience this salvation simply by faith. He tells them that they now have the freedom they have always wanted because Christ has now paid the price that makes it FREE to them…that it is unmerited grace; undeserved grace; and cost them nothing, but has already been paid for in full. He fully explains this in the very first verse of chapter five.
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.” Like I said at first, freedom does not exist outside of Christ. Christ set us free—so salvation is free to us. But it was not free to Christ because he DIED that we might be free. So, once saved no man should allow anyone or anything to cause him to willfully sin again. Paul told the Gentiles {us} that if they {or we} allowed themselves/ourselves to be circumcised thinking there was any value in it that they/we were actually taking their/our salvation into their/our own hands and Christ is of no value. There is no substitute for Christ.
I ask, are you a good person? You answer, “Oh yes, I think so. I go to church regularly. I tithe, pray, sing in the choir; and I visit the ill and give to the poor—I love the Lord and I am proving it by doing right by his little ones just as he told me to do. I live a Godly life as nearly perfect as I possibly can and I believe that is all Christ expects of me. I will go to heaven!”
I then ask God, is he/she a good person? God says, “No, there is no one good, no not one. All have sinned and come short of the Glory of God. And then I went back and read this second verse in Galatians which says that if you allow yourself to be circumcised {or do anything else to obtain salvation} “it means that Christ is of no use to you at all.”
I remind you again, there are only two covenants. The first demands that you keep the law…all of it…all of the time—and you can not fail any where or any time; if you do you are forever lost. The second covenant demands that you live a perfect life. And it also declares that it is impossible for you to live a perfect life. But in due time [at the right time] God sent his Son, Jesus Christ who died on the cross and paid for every sin you have, or will ever commit. Then he told us through Paul, in Galatians, that if we would accept his grace through faith, repent of our sins and ask Him to save us—all he has to do is write our name in the Book Of Life, because he has already paid the price for our sins…they are already forgiven.
You obey the law by your works—you do what ever it requires. Those of you that try to be made right [or put right] with God by obeying the Law through your lawful works, have cut yourselves off from Christ. You are outside [and not in] God’s grace.
Paul was very concerned about his early followers that had begun to stray. He said to them, “you were doing so well! Who made you stop obeying the truth?” Whoever this man is, God will punish him.” Paul continued condemning this man. He said, “I wish the people that are upsetting you would go all the way; let them go on and castrate themselves!” I think that he was saying that if circumcision will take care of the lack of cleanliness—then castration should take care of committing adultery. What ever he meant by it—it was said in a tone of condemnation for their false teaching.
In verse thirteen he tells us that we were called to be free. God made us to be free. Sin took our freedom away. Then Jesus purchased our freedom and it is ours for the asking. However once we are saved…once we are free…we can not allow that to be an excuse for our letting our physical desires rule over us. As Christians we are to let love make us serve one another. This is not to be our personal choice. We must serve one another.
Christ said that he did not come to destroy [or condemn] the law, but he came to fulfill it. How did he do that? He fulfilled the entire law by making the 11th [eleventh] commandment. First, he loves us more than he loved his own life and then told us to “LOVE YOUR FELLOW-MAN AS YOURSELF.” Christ told his disciples that this was a greater law than any of the first ten recorded in the Old Testament. The entire law is summed up in that one statement.
Watch the news carefully for the next few days and see what most of our foreign neighbors are saying about America. Do they treat us as friends or foes? You make the decision. Here is what Paul told us about them. “If you act like animals, hurting and harming each other, then watch out, or you will completely destroy one another.”

Living by the Gospel - Galatians 3:26 - 4

Physical growth of children is the responsibility of the parents requiring them to furnish healthy food through a balanced diet; exercise and rest in the required amounts and to furnish the proper care and concern during the developing years. There are no inborn characteristics that automatically make this a difficult task. Spiritual growth of children is also the responsibility of the parents requiring them to set the proper example and provide instruction in the teachings of the Holy Scriptures. There is an inborn characteristic that causes the child to rebel, and refuse to ingest the spiritual diet. He/she was conceived in sin; born in inequity and if they live to reach the age of accountability they become entirely responsible for their lost condition.
Physical maturity starts at birth and requires a proper diet and physical activity—it starts at birth and continues for a varying period of time; at least twenty one years. Spiritual growth starts at the time of spiritual birth [when one is born again] and should continue for the remainder of this life on earth. You should note that both of these processes require a great length of time. There is no fast lane. Spiritual growth [LIVING BY THE GOSPEL] comes one day at a time: through a dedicated prayer life; through sacrifice and service to others; and through dedicated worship of almighty God.
Paul contends that we obtain or acquire our Christian life by grace through faith simply believing in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior. His opponents, the Jewish leaders held fast to the argument that some phases of the law were essential to salvation. Paul said no, but it is to be our guide, or proof that we are in need of salvation. In 3: 23 Paul emphasized: “So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ [or until Christ comes] that we might be justified by faith.” It may be that if we fully understand what the Law really consist of…what it does…how it works…that we can see that it is not a plan of salvation in itself. So what is the law? There were three types all found in the Old Testament.
First there was the Ceremonial Law and it related specifically to the way the people worshipped [Leviticus 1: 1-13]. The primary purpose was to point the people forward to the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. Therefore {in Paul’s opinion} these laws were no longer required to obtain eternal life after the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. Though our salvation does not depend upon the Ceremonial law—the principals behind them, and taught by them—to worship and love a holy God, still applies.
Secondly, Civil law was to guide daily living in Israel, see [Deuteronomy 24: 10-11]. Our modern society is so different from theirs that it is impossible to follow some instructions in exactly the same way. Again, there are principals behind these laws that that Christians should practice. Paul even asks some gentiles to practice some of these laws just to promote harmony. That is, they did not save the gentile, but the Jews did not resent the gentile as much.
Third and still very important to modern day society is the MORAL LAW as given in the Ten Commandments [Exodus 20: 1-17]. Moral Law requires strict obedience. It reveals the nature and will of God, and has and will always apply to all people, not to obtain salvation but to please and obey God. America needs to read again the one that says “Thou shall not kill” and then they need to realize what happens to a living child that is several months old when it is surgically removed from its mother and cast into the trash dumpster.
Read 3: 26-29. Probably the reason for using the term of being clothed with Christ was used because in the Roman society they youth that come of age laid aside the robe of childhood and was clothed in the adult toga that many times represented his profession. Their toga usually indicated whether they were in clergy, a judge, priest, carpenter or farmer, free or slave. Paul was indicating that those who were baptized were now spiritually grown and ready to assume responsibilities of the church. He may have meant that they had laid down the robe of the Law and took on Christ’s new robe of righteousness.
When he reminded them that they were now neither male nor female [just Christians] he was probably thinking about some Jews that would pray thanking God that they were neither female nor gentile. This is one of the first times in scripture when women were declared equal to men in that Christ died for all alike. It is somewhat surprising to me that at sometime during the last two thousand years more of the battered women of the Far East and Africa have not found the teachings of the New Testament regarding the equal treatment of women. In many places they are compelled to remain covered and silent.
Beginning in the 8th verse of the 4th chapter Paul begins to reveal his concern for the position the Gentiles are in. Even those who had heard him when he was there with them preaching have begun to slip back under the thumb of those that were over them making slaves of them and denying them their rightful place in worship and Christian practice.
He warns the Galatians that they are being slaves to those who are not Gods. All of you are equal and you should bow to no one. Paul reminded them of how he was sick and a burden to them and they still took care of him and treated him with great respect. They appeared to be joyful and content in their new faith centered salvation. He wonders what has happened that has caused the difference, and he warns them that they are being misled by those who do not believe in salvation by grace through faith.
Paul warns them that the Jews are zealous and determined to win them over. I simply must warn you who read and study this lesson today that a foe much greater and stronger is set at this moment to win over all Christian nations, especially the United States and they are determined to take away our rights regarding freedom of religion.
We have been warned before by some of the leading powers in the world that America was its worst enemy and that we would decay and fall as a result of our own leadership. We have never been so near as we are today. When the President tells the world that we are no longer a Christian Nation and the Christians sit silent and do not protest…what do you think others believe? How much longer will the Christians of America sit quietly by and watch this President totally destroy our Nation?
“Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?” Paul asked the Galatians and I ask you. He said to them and I say to you “Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so you may be zealous for them.”
How much longer do you really believe you will have the right to practice your religious beliefs in public?

Receiving the Gospel - Galatians 2 - 3

The first verse in the second chapter of Galatians was written by Paul and it tells us that fourteen years after his conversion on the Damascus Road he went again to Jerusalem. There is no way for us to know for sure the number of times Paul was in the city. We know that during the time of Christ’s ministry Paul was working for the Sanhedrin Court that was based in Jerusalem and he must have been in the city often getting his orders regarding where he was to go in search of the new Christian’s movement whose membership were considered enemies of the Jewish church during that day. He had just departed the city and was on his way to Damascus to make Christian arrests when he met Christ on the road and was converted.
It is easy for us to understand that Paul would not want to go back to Jerusalem right away because of the conflict he would have over the drastic change brought about by his conversion. Peter, John and the other disciples who had been called from their work to follow Christ and named apostils by Him were all Jews. When word got around that Paul was now claiming to also be an apostil of Christ, as a result of his miraculous conversion, he met with some strong Jewish opposition including some reluctance on the part of the apostils to accept him as a God called apostil.
You must remember that the church was given instructions to be followed when they considered a replacement for Judas, the disciple that betrayed Christ and then committed suicide. Qualifications included having walked with Christ during his three years of ministry; he must have been present with those that gathered in the upper room and witnessed the coming of the Holy Spirit and he had to have been present and visited with Christ after his resurrection. Paul did not do any of these things, and therefore many did not consider him to be an apostil.
His calling was not in question any more than was his message. Paul contended that his calling was to preach to the gentile, just as Peter, and others had been called to witness to the Jews. The Jerusalem disciples had been under the direct influence of the original Jewish synagogue and the Sanhedrin court and there was pressure on them to hold on to the teaching that it was necessary for all new Christians to also be Jews. And that they had to at least practice some of the laws pertaining to circumcision and restricted foods.
Paul was preaching the true doctoring of Jesus Christ that salvation came only by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and his death on the cross and nothing else. Paul took Barnabas and Titus, who was a Greek, with him to Jerusalem and they met with the leaders. Paul tells us that Peter, James and John all gave him the right had of fellowship when they realized that he was preaching the truth. It is too bad that the old guard did not agree, but instead they continued to be enemies that tried to stop Paul wherever he went preaching God’s word. Paul was considered a bigot in his day because he was right and all others were wrong. Times haven’t changed here either. I am considered a bigot because I believe that Christ is truth, and that truth is not relative. Christ told us that he is the way, truth and life and that he is the only one by whom or through whom anyone can be saved. We must accept either Christ crucified on the old rugged cross or be lost forever without hope—and you and I must make the choice.
It appears to me that the greatest enemies of Christianity today are those who add to it things that are useless and unacceptable to our Lord and those that would delete from it rules, regulations and precepts that Christ claims are of value. Paul is my hero of the New Testament and the greatest man ever next to Christ. We both believe that Christ and the cross are the most important objects of our worship. Any church that refuses to display the cross as an important symbol of religion has a problem. Any church that has to depend on a book other than the inspired word of God for its directions is disobeying God’s command that there should be nothing added to or taken from His Holy Word.
Paul had only been gone from Galatia a short time when he learned that they had already started adding to and taking away from the gospel he had taught. His trip back to see them and the writing of this book to them is the result of his finding that they were going astray. When Paul returned to Jerusalem he took Titus with him. There was pressure placed on him to have Titus circumcised, but since he was a Greek, Paul did not give in. You may not realize it, but later Paul allowed Timothy to be circumcised, and some may wonder why he made the exception. Timothy was half Jew, and Paul explained the he did not wish to disallow the Jews the right to be circumcised, but that he simply wanted all to understand that there was nothing wrong with the practice—but it was not necessary for salvation.
This opposition came mostly from the party of the Pharisees, [Acts 15, 5] and the other apostles did not disagree with Paul. The only problem that arose between Paul and Peter had to do with the fact that Peter had a problem eating with the new non Jewish Christians because of what his Jewish friends would think and say about it. If you will remember, Christ had to deal with Peter in a personal way about what foods were clean when He showed Peter the vision with all kinds of food being let down from heaven on a sheet. In verses 11 and 12, it specifically says that Peter felt ok eating with the gentiles until he realized that he may be seen by some of the opposing Jews.
Chapter two winds to a close with some of the strongest teachings found anywhere in the Word. Read it now. Are you saved? Have you been crucified? Yes. If you are a Christian you were crucified on the cross at Calvary. You ask how. When we accept Christ as savior, He looks at our sins as if they died on the cross with him—and we are no longer condemned. The Bible says that we have become one with Christ—we are in him and he is in us—therefore his experiences are our experiences. We became a Christian the moment this unity with Him became a reality. We died with Him. We were raised with Him Rom. 6:5.
It is so easy for us to act like Christ died for nothing, and that is not so. We go to church regularly. We pray often. We witness to sinners. We give to the poor. We support our church. We sing in the quire. We teach a class. We attend often and regularly. We visit the sick and homebound. We observe the Lord’s Supper. We get baptized. All of thee are well and good, but have nothing to do with being justified or getting saved. Rather these are all necessary because we are saved and God expects the saved to work—but he does not allow the sinner to work in order to be saved. You can not do these things to set aside the grace of God [or instead of depending on the grace of God] for if righteousness could be gained through the law, CHRIST DIED FOR NOTHING verse 21.
As a final thought Paul takes us back to the faith of Abraham in 3: 9. Those of us who have faith are blessed along with Abraham who is known as the “Man of Faith.” The Judaizers argued that Gentiles had to become Jews in order to become Christians. Paul exposed the error in this argument by simply showing that the real children of Abraham are those who have faith, and not those who kept the law. The Bible plainly teaches that Abraham was saved by his faith.

Talking About the Gospel - Galatians 1 - 2:10

What is the gospel that is referred to in the Bible? It is the Good News of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and about how He will return to earth to claim his own. The gospel is the GOOD NEWS that Christ loved you so much that he died to save you. The GOOD NEWS is that if you will only believe that Christ died for you—confess your sin—and call on His name to save and keep you—then you are a child of God. Are you able to express in your own words and verify according to the Bible exactly how any person can be sure that he/she is going to heaven when they die? The next thirteen lessons in this series will be based on the wirings of Paul and James. No other writer of New Testament Scripture emphasized the importance of grace and faith in the plan of salvation any more than Paul. Paul said that it is by grace, through faith that we are saved and NOT OF WORKS lest we would have something to boast about.
Peter comes back with the statement that FAITH WITHOUT WORKS is dead faith and will produce nothing. These lessons will place faith and works side by side and compare their functions in the life of a Christian. There will be six lessons by Paul and seven by Peter, and when the argument is settled you will be able to see that there is absolutely no conflict between the writings of these two men.
Christ was crucified in about AD. 33. The apostles began to travel and preach the gospel throughout the land. At first there were only the twelve apostles and a few close followers that had been with them in the Upper Room when the Holly Spirit arrived—and the gospel they knew was in their memories from the sermons that Christ had preached over a three year period in his personal ministry. There seems to be no exact time recorded when certain apostles started writing the word of God in book form. We know that most of scripture [possibly all except John} had been completed by AD 68. We also know that the apostles started preaching immediately after the ascension. Therefore we can draw the conclusion that they started writing their sermons based on what Christ had taught them in person. Maybe later on they would draw from their personal notes the truths that made up the gospels.
In Paul’s day the arguments, conflicts, and religious differences were basically between law and grace and between the Christian and the Jew. It is really difficult to understand how so many different teachings have arisen in the past two thousand years. Religion has become like a Sunday meal at a huge cafeteria, the selections are endless and each selection may seem fairly appealing. So what will you choose? Now add to the problem of choice the fact that many will argue that their choice is the only true choice and all others are wrong. Complicate it more by the fact that many today believe that there are many ways to heaven and that it doesn’t matter which route you take. Many Christians are not immune to this high degree of uncertainty. Some still think that we must earn our way to heaven.
Let us TALK ABOUT THE GOSPEL. First, do you believe that the GOOD NEWS is simply the story about how Christ died on the cross to save people from sin? In fact we might even just say the GOOD NEWS is simply CHRIST.
Are you clear about the truth of the gospel as presented in the New Testament? Can you use quotations from the Bible to explain exactly how people enter heaven? This letter written by Paul to the Galatians provides a vivid presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ and clearly answers the question of how a person gets into heaven. You can read what he says and gain a clear understanding of what the true gospel really is.
The first Christian teachers had no written manual to guide them. Paul could not leave a written Bible with the people at Galatia and other churches, so it was so easy for a leadership problem to arise. Differences of opinions arose, and misinterpretations became many. False teachers had a hay-day and no one had the Bible to prove them wrong.
One of the most important of the false teachings that threatened the early church concerned the nature of the gospel itself. What did a person have to do to be saved? Paul argued that salvation was by grace through faith alone. False teachers claimed the obedience to at least some of the Law of Moses was necessary. The biggest argument was probably over circumcision. Paul had a second battle to fight at this time for the Jews were arguing that he was not one of the disciples as defined in the scripture. His rebuttal came in the argument that God called him individually in his dramatic encounter on the road to Damascus
Paul had been to Galatia and preached the gospel of salvation by faith in Christ. After his departure it was not long until there were the false teachers that were preaching other ways to be saved. In the sixth verse Paul lets them know that he is unhappy with them in that they so quickly turned from the truth to false doctoring. We must continue to be ware of those that say that we must do more than have simple faith in Christ to be saved.
Paul said that he was astonished that so many were so quickly turning from his teaching of salvation by grace through faith to “a different gospel.” Then he said that this was really no gospel at all. My brother, the Bible says that if you are not saved by grace through faith…then you are depending on a different gospel which is no gospel at all. I contend that the Bible teaches that the name of your church or denomination has nothing to do with your salvation. In fact, you have no salvation unless you received it from God, by his free and unmerited grace—through your faith…simply believing in Him—and there was absolutely no kind of works involved. God does not accept any man made religion as a substitute for Jesus Christ. There is just the one way—Jesus Christ see John 14:6. If you doubt Paul…Can you deny Christ when he says the same thing? There is simply no other way to heaven except through Christ.
Each individual was borne in sin; at birth we are sinners, lost and condemned. The sin has already been committed at birth. It was committed in the Garden of Eden and there is only one solution for the problem. A price has to be paid. You can not pay the price even for yourself and especially not for some other one. God sent his son Jesus Christ to this world for the special purpose of giving his life on the cross to pay our sin debt. He did it freely. It was pure grace…we did not deserve it. Then he told us that if we would confess our sin and our need for him to forgive us; that he would forgive us of all our transgressions and make us as clean as wool.
Oh, how I wish there was more time for us to dwell on this the most important one subject in the Bible.
You can say that I am very, very, extremely… narrow minded, and that is fine with me—but there is ONLY ONE WAY TO HEAVEN! And that is by God’s GRACE, and through our faith in Jesus Christ as our savior. You must feel the need and call on the name of the Lord in order to be saved. The thief on the cross barely had time to do just this much and Christ assured him that he was ready to die. I hope and pray that we will all have more time to praise him for what he has already done in our lives.
MAY GOD GET THE GLORY:
My wife, Juanita came home Friday, May 22, and is steadily improving. She is able to be up and around the house. I have to watch to keep her from doing too much. Praise Him. And thank you.