JanMary

Q4. (Galatians 6:15) What characterizes this “new creation” that Paul talks about? The New creation is the result of the "new birth" in Jesus Christ, which gives us a "new nature"....the old me is dead and I'm a new creature in Christ. What does the “old creation” look like in contrast? It looks like the old "me" before I was born again: dead in sin, hopeless, damned, unregenerate...a life of flesh and despair...and trying to be good enough to go to Heaven! What does the old creation lack that the new creation possesses? A regenerated, born again spirit...Christ in me, the hope of Glory! How does Jesus’ saying, “You must be born again” (John 3:3-8) relate to this concept of the new creation? Being born again is the only way to the Father...through receiving His Son's substitutionary death on the cross for my own sins, and I gain eternal life in Heaven with Him which began the day I received Him, and a life of constant companionship until that day, with Him by His Holy spirit who lives in me! Thank you, Lord for all that you have given me...your free gift I could never earn....the "filthy rags" of my good works were futile....your grace gift is so precious to me!!!!

Q3. (Galatians 6:9-10) Why do we tend to become weary living out our faith? Living in a constant war zone is exhausting! We grow battle weary, suffer occasional defeats, and almost constant opposition from our enemy. Many don't even realize we have an enemy or that we are in a spiritual war...those get beat up even more badly because they don't resist or do battle. Much of life is spent WAITING...and waiting is wearying, especially during long years as the Lord works invisibly...this too is a battle of surrendering the will to His perfect will and timing. What promise does Paul give us in 6:9 to forestall this weariness? The promise that we will reap a harvest at the appointed and right time. Why should our “doing good” begin with our spiritual family, not with the non-Christians? Because we are in the battle zone together and are the only ones who will encourage, support and lift one another up in prayer!

Q2. (Galatians 6:7-8) What does it mean to “sow to the flesh”? What does this look like? It looks exactly like the corrupt world we live in. It's a life of sensuality, love of pleasure, self centeredness....doing everything "that comes naturally" to the fallen human nature! Timothy described it as: "Lovers of self, utterly self centered, aroused by an inordinate greedy desire for wealth, proud and arrogant, contemptuous boasting, abusive, rebellious, ungrateful, unholy and profane." II Tim. 3:2 It's human nature living without God! What synonyms does Paul use for “sow to the Spirit” in Galatians? (Hint: see 5:16, 18, 25). "Walk and live habitually in the Holy Spirit", "Responsive and controlled by the Spirit", "Guided by and led by the Spirit", "If by the Holy Spirit we have our life in God, let us go forward walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit." What does sowing to the Spirit look like in a congregation? A congregation which is "reverent toward God, worshippers and sincere lovers of God and of each other as well as "outward looking toward their community", unselfish givers, "doing unto others as they would have others do unto them", sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit (rather than making their plans and asking the Lord to bless what they've come up with apart from His leading", a joyful church, accepting and welcoming rich, poor, sinners, saints, the high born, the lowly and down and out, equally. A congregation which is growing and welcoming to the Holy Spirit's presence in their midst. A church which is a mixture of races, all getting along. The Word is preached and received (not just the pastors favorite parts or which are considered the "milk" which goes down easily)...actually, I'm describing the wonderful church the Lord led us to 9 years ago...It's been called "A Miracle Church"...because it's all of the things I've described, and more. What are the results in a congregation of sowing to the flesh? This congregation may "look good" for a time with outward displays of "Christian" behavior, but having no inward transformation. The flesh is corrupt apart from the saving and cleansing by the blood of Jesus, so a "fleshy" congregation is full of strife, moral decay, phoniness, back biting, striving for the perceived "high" positions, competition. Individuals lean toward traditions, even when those are not Biblical. Factions abound and the devil gains a foothold where Jesus is no longer "high and lifted up". Eventually the pastor will leave for greener pastures or be forced to leave depending upon where the problem lies. Christ is dishonored and an ugly stain is left in the community toward Christianity, since this is the "name" on the church building!

Q1. (Galatians 6:1-5) What does Paul mean, “caught in a sin”? I think it means someone has fallen or become ensnared in a habitual sin which has become known to others. What would restoration of a such brother or sister look like in his or her life? I've seen this done in our church when a deacon, a recovering alcoholic, slipped, got drunk after a long period of sobriety, and totaled his car in an accident. He was asked to step down for a time of restoration. The pastor and elders came along side him and worked with him. The congregation was told a brief account of what happened (some knew and this prevented gossip and assumptions) and were asked to love him, to give he and his family privacy from questions, as he worked through the restoration process. He's a wonderful man who has been restored, is loved and accepted by all, and serves with joy! Who should restore this person? My hope would be that it is the person who has been led by the Holy spirit, so that it's done in love and gentleness, rather than in legalistic judgment or haughty condemnation. Someone who has maturity and who knows that he/she is also a sinner saved by grace and vulnerable to falling as well so that it's done "brother to brother" or "sister to sister", rather than "judge to sinner". In what spirit should it be done? It should be done in humility, love and gentleness...as the Holy Spirit leads, which will bring comfort and dignity to the one being restored. What is the result of trying to restore a person without humility? It may cause the "restorer" to fall into the sin of pride and arrogance. It certainly leaves the "sinner" in worse condition than before the process began.

Q4. (Galatians 5:24-25) What does it mean to “crucify the flesh with its passions and desires”? Crucifixion KILLS....it's a death of surrender to the cross. I read once that "the cross is when my will "crosses" His will", and I surrender mine to His. Can a person be a Christian without “crucifying the flesh”? Of course! The thief on the cross became a Christian right there on the cross, moments before he died...so we know there was no time to repent or other things he had no knowledge of...... but to WALK with the Lord involves that "death" of my will surrendered and then Sanctification occurs and brings us baby steps from glory to glory...day by day until "that day when we see Him face to face and we will be like Him in character....the flesh will finally, once and for all be in the grave!!! How have we produced such a crop of lukewarm Christians? I can think of several reasons....The Blood became offensive to many, and pastors stopped preaching about it. The Holy Spirit's power became offensive or frightening to some and He got kicked out of churches, in favor of the tried and true methods of men and women who "know how it should be done." (Just before we left a church where the pastor had "gone bad", I had a vision of a long train barely inching along up a grade. I noticed that the engine was without an engineer....then I saw the pastor behind the caboose trying to push the train in his own strength. ( I realized this is why things had gone the way they had....the Holy Spirit had been denied access in favor of this man's ego.) One other reason, I think, is that Salvation is preached like it's "fire insurance" to avoid hell....the message from many is "just accept Christ and you're in...check in with Him occasionally...and it's all good." Holiness is no longer preached in many churches which seem more like a Rotary meeting than a worship service. Worship is a few catchy choruses, and reverence has gone by the boards as people sit with feet on the chairs drinking their coffee during the service....."we want to attract seekers....so we want them to be comfortable."....No wonder lukewarm is the norm.

Q4. (5:21) Why do some Christians resist accepting Paul’s warning in 5:21 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11? The only reasons I can think of, are Ignorance (of God's word and His love for them), a hard wounded, "encrusted" heart (not allowing Him to work in their lives because they've learned that they can't trust ANYONE and try to live by their own rules and strength), unbelief (perhaps they accepted the Lord's gift of Salvation, but only as "fire insurance" in case it turns out to be true that hell is a real place after they die), No Holy fear"..or reverence and respect for God that is due Him (casual familiarity with a "Santa Claus" God who is love but not just) What statement might these Christians desire to substitute for Paul’s warning if they could reword the Scripture? I have no idea....I just thank the Lord that His justice is tempered with mercy and grace....and that if one is truly born again, that the Lord will persevere and work in them until one day they yield to His love and grace. (Charles Spurgeon said "I bear my willing witness that I owe more to the fire, the hammer, and the file, than to anything in my Lord's workshop. I sometimes question whether I have ever learned anything except through the rod. When my school room is darkened, I see most.") .... I thank God too that He has tools which He will use in His mercy to help the recalcitrant child of His become a willing and yielded vessel.

Q3. (Galatians 5:22-23) How does the Holy Spirit produce this fruit in our lives? Gal. 5:24 (1) We crucify the flesh, by (2) yielding to and walking in the Holy Spirit on a daily basis. V25 (More of Him than there is of me!) What theological term would you use to identify this process? Sanctification. This is a work of grace which continues throughout our entire lifetime until "that day when we see Him face to face".... How can it be that a person who has been a “Christian” for years displays few or none of these fruits? Are they saved, but just immature? Of course there are many who claim to be believers and are not, but there are also too many who are believers, but are immature, or "stuck" for whatever reasons. I've known some that I know are believers, but they are STUBBORN and STRONG WILLED! Not much fruit, but lots of testing's and trials as the Lord works with them and in them to soften, train and teach...to help them to desire to yield to His Holy Spirit, and have seen that fruit (character) is slowly changed to His character qualities or "produced". What does James 2:17-19 say about this? Is that too harsh? I may be wrong but I'm thinking the fruit of the Spirit is speaking of who we are in Christ, (character, attitude or HOW we behave as we serve), rather than WHAT we do (the works of service). James seems to be speaking to the individual who says he/she has faith, but which never manifests in service to others. On the other hand, there are those who do works of service, with fleshly motives and who do them with the attitude of a rattle snake, but to be seen or to be "obedient"...they fulfill the "law", but the "spirit" is missing and Christ is dishonored by their "rotten or absent fruit".

Q2. (Galatians 5:22) The fruit of patience should be understood as forbearance, that is, putting up with people around us without exploding. Why is this patient forbearance such an important personal character element? Why is it so important for peace in the family and in the Christian community? Impatience goes along with pride ("Things should be done MY WY and IN MY TIME FRAME!!!) "Love endures LONG and is patient and kind." ICor 13:4. Patience is Who God is! I'm to be allowing Him to develop His character in me. Without it, we act like the devil....pushy, rude, unloving, judging, critical, hostile, ugly. This "fruit" of the fallen nature destroys relationships in the family and the Christian community....any community for that matter! Nothing can shut down our witness for Christ faster than a pushy, impatient attitude!

Q1. (Galatians 5:22a) Love is the first and primary fruit of the Holy Spirit, but joy and peace are inseparable from love. Why can’t joy and peace exist apart from love – love for God and love for our neighbors? The love mentioned in Gal. 5:22 is the love of God which flows out of our innermost being from Him to us and out to others. If we don't know and believe God loves us, we can't really love ourselves or others. We're told to love others AS MUCH AS WE LOVE OURSELVES. Self contempt or hatred toward oneself, shuts out the love of God. Without the security of knowing and BELIEVING we are loved by God, peace and joy fly out the window, and are replaced by anxiety, fear and inner turmoil. I Cor 13: 2b "If I have not love (God's love in me) I am nothing (a useless nobody), and in v3 "I gain nothing". Amplified (I think of it this way: If the fruit of the Spirit were a plant, love is the tap root into God, from which all the other fruit grows)

Q3. (Galatians 5:19-21) If you were to divide the works of the flesh into several groups, what would those groups be? 1. Vertical: Sins against God: idolatry, sorcery, sects with peculiar opinions and heresy (Immorality) 2. Horizontal: Sins against my fellow man: enmity, strife, jealousy, anger/ill temper, selfishness, divisions, dissensions, party spirit, factions. 3. Sins against my own body: Envy, drunkenness, carousing, impurity, gluttony, (sexual sins, lus_, fornication, adultery)

Q2. (Galatians 5:16-18) We are told that it’s impossible for a Christian to live a sinless life. What do these verses teach about that? In what way does yielding to the Spirit suppress the power of the old nature (the flesh)? If Spirit-led living is possible, why do people claim that it’s impossible not to sin? The key to these questions is in verse 16. To the degree that we CHOOSE to walk, live, and yield to the Holy Spirit's control is the level at which we deny the sinful desires of the flesh. But here's what I've discovered in 40 years of intimacy with our Lord: As I've matured through the years of walking with Him, I no longer fall prey to the early "big" temptations which plagued me but Paul's lament comforts me (I do the things I don't want to do, and don't do the things I ought....etc.) because in the Lord's "fine tuning" I'm more aware of those sins that I was oblivious to in my early walk... that ugly thought about someone, or eating half a dozen cookies or other forms of gluttony to relieve anxiety or loneliness rather than running to Him for comfort. He hates the sin of pride, and I'm certain that if I thought for one moment that I was able to live a sinless life, I'd blow it with arrogance! For me to live otherwise, fosters denial, and I can no longer stand to live in that place of self deception. Only He is sinless and perfect! And He will perfect me "at that day when we are face to face", but in the meantime I strive to yield to Him every day and in spite of His indwelling Holy Spirit and His mighty power to deliver, I fail at times because I fail to ask Him for His way of escape. I thank Him for teaching us about all of the sin offerings in Leviticus (5:17-19) so I appreciate that there was a sacrifice required for unintentional sin and sins of omission or sins committed in ignorance which needed to be atoned for with innocent blood. Jesus died for those sins too. In the early days when I tried to have a perfect "record" I became self absorbed, and totally focused on my "performance"...and found that was sin, too. I started to say that I never intentionally sin, then remembered that yesterday when several polite attempts to end a phone call with a controlling person failed, I said there was someone at the door and I had to run! So thank you Jesus for the Divine Exchange which took place on Calvary....my sin which You didn't deserve for Your righteousness which I don't deserve!

Q1. (Galatians 5:13-15) Have you ever seen Christians act as if they were lawless? Yes, a few, and even more who are legalistic....both create the same destruction in the body of Christ! How do Spirit-led Christians fulfill the spirit of the law? When we allow the Holy Spirit to override our selfish flesh, to love and serve others as much as we love and serve ourselves! What does backbiting and rudeness in a congregation say about the spiritual climate of that congregation (5:15)? It shouts that the congregation is dominated by the fallen nature and that the Holy Spirit has been "shut out" of leadership! The Shepherd has allowed the "wolf" to come in to reign and his flock will devour one another (as well as the shepherd) if this is not stopped. Both legalism and lawlessness are the cause of this dysfunction. This takes a shepherd who is led by the Spirit to bring order to the house. In one case we experienced, it was the shepherd who became lawless after a number of years of wonderful leadership. He began to devour his own sheep and the flock was scattered. He lost his church in disgrace. How very tragic and sad for everyone and for the cause of Christ, as the community watched this unfold!

Q5. (Galatians 5:11) What is “the offense of the cross” that offended the Jews? I believe the offense of the cross is that "Salvation is a free gift to all, Jew, Gentile, regardless of age, status, or whatever, we are all sinners who need to be saved by the cross." Because they believed they were justified by trying to obey the Law, they missed the coming of their Messiah. How does the cross offend people in our day? People are the same in every age. We do not want to admit we are sinners...we'd rather try to earn salvation by our works, and hope no one notices our dark side and secret sins we hide, (even from ourselves), ignorant of the fact that God sees it all, even our thoughts and motives and made provision to clean up our whole mess through the Cross and the Resurrection! Have you noticed Christians softening their proclamation of the cross? Yes, I have. Not at the church I attend but I've heard others side stepping the sin issue, so as "not to offend". The Blood offends to the point that we now have people willing to kill anyone who clothes themselves with fur, because the animals blood was shed! I find that so interesting....that is an offense to some, while the One who died to clothe us with His righteousness and gives eternal life, offends many and is ignored in preference for trying to save the lives of animals. Just this week another well known Pastor in Los Angeles proclaimed that God and Allah are one in the same....another well known t.v. evangelist declared that a huge well known cult "are Christians", even though the men in that religion are striving to be gods of their own planets if they obey all of the rules of the church. (Some of this is ignorance of what those religions believe, and they seem to be trying the old "Can't we all just get along?" approach. Does this help them communicate more clearly to our age or does it compromise the true message? It may help some to feel they are sharing their faith, but it makes the Gospel null and void. The fact is, "All have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God"....all except the ONE who died for us. His shed blood is what bought us back from the devil. Without the cross, there is no salvation. Both of the religions I mentioned about ignore the cross and teach abiding by their laws.

Q4. (Galatians 5:5-6) Circumcision had been the primary “mark of identity” for a believer in God. In what way has the Spirit become the new “mark of identity” for the believer? Circumcision was an outward physical "mark of identity", while the Spirit is physically invisible but manifests His Presence from the inside out as He indwells the believer, giving us the choice to walk by faith rather than outward conformity to the rules of men or religious laws and regulations. The Spirit leads, directs, and affirms our son ship and right standing with God, FROM THE INSIDE, while we no longer seek the approval of men. What is the evidence of the Spirit’s presence in a believer’s life according to verse 6? The Holy Spirit's indwelling the believer results in our "Faith being activated and energized and expressed and working through love."...(providing that we yield to Him and allow Him to work through us. There are believers who are truly born again but who refuse to yield to His Lordship, who look and act like they've been baptized in lemon juice....but eventually as one matures, a life of love outpoured to Him and through Him to others is what I believe Paul is talking about.

Q3. (Galatians 5:4) Exactly what does Paul mean by “fall from grace” here? Paul is saying, "You were saved by grace and held firmly in the grip of Jesus by His grace alone. Now you are choosing to believe the lie that you can/must work to continue on with the Lord by the sweat of your flesh endeavors." What has occurred that has caused this fall? They have been deceived by the lie of the devil, promoted through false teachers, through the open door of pride and self righteousness...the part of us that like 2 year olds, stays stuck in the "I can do it myself" stage of development. How can present-day Christian legalism cause such a “fall from grace”? It's exactly the same today as it was for the Galatian Christians. Whenever we start to believe that we can add ANYTHING of our own works to salvation and His grace, we've bought the same lie. The devil has always peddled the lie that we must earn grace or salvation....because he hates Jesus and wants always to try to diminish His perfect work on the cross, which defeated his evil works and declawed and defanged him.....unless we choose to give him place in our lives and our thinking.

Q2. (Galatians 4:19-20) How is Paul’s grief over his spiritual children like that of a parent seeing children stray? Very relevant question for me today, as I watch one of our children floundering, miserable, walking his own way with his back to the Lord, whom if he only knew, is standing with His nail scarred hands and arms outstretched in Love for him to turn and run into! Paul "birthed" these spiritual children and regarded them as such, to love, shepherd and guide. As a "parent" he longed to see Christ formed in them, and for them to flourish and grow and thrive and multiply, just as a natural, loving parent longs for ones children. Paul must have felt the same pain and grief that I feel for my own child, and the same earnest prayers and pleadings to yield to the One Who loves them so. What does it look like when Christ is formed in a person? What is the process involved in this spiritual formation? When I see that Christ is formed in a person, I see more of Christ than I do the person. (He is the "form" which fills the "glove" which is them) The will is yielded to the Holy Spirit, and there is joy and peace and the other fruit of the Spirit being produced in increasing measure. No longer self preoccupied, but outward focused and willing to follow the Lord's leading concerning others. The words spoken honor Jesus, and bring life. The personality of that one is enhanced rather than replaced...just a better more complete individual, and one I enjoy being with because it's like hanging out with Jesus! All of this reveals: time spent with Jesus, in fellowship, listening, learning, feeding, growing; enduring trials, testing's, many surrenders, and much groaning; recognizing and enjoying grace and receiving His unconditional love; walking in intimacy with Him; loving His Word; allowing Him to be Lord as well as Savior.

Q1. (Galatians 4:10-11) Is celebrating different special worship days essentially wrong? I don't believe they are. We celebrate many special days in honor of our Jesus, as worship and in remembrance of His birth, death and resurrection. Christianity is a relationship of JOY, not somber, formula driven, rule observing, slavery! Why did Paul grieve over the Galatians’ observances? Paul was speaking and reasoning with the "foolish" Galatians, who once set free from bondage and law, were being drawn back to "the weak and beggarly and worthless elementary things of all religions before Christ came and whose slaves they once more wanted to become." Paul was pleading with them to let go of the old chains and walk in the freedom which Jesus had purchased for them. What significance did these have in terms of their movement towards Judaism? Any observance which is a legalistic ritual moves one toward bondage....these opened them up to the false teachers, the Judaizers, who were luring them into observing the law in order to be true believers. How can we be blessed by observing special days in our era? I believe when we celebrate birthdays, holidays, special days, with joy and the intent to rejoice and to honor our Lord, He is pleased! The Lord loves celebration! After all, He celebrates us: "The Lord your God is in the midst of you, a Mighty One, a Savior Who SAVES! He will rest in silent satisfaction and in His love He will be silent and make no mention of your sins or even recall them! He will rejoice over you with singing!" I believe He loves parties and rejoicing! He's the Father who killed the fatted calf in rejoicing over the return of his prodigal son! ....or daughter, like me! How can observance of special days become legalistic for Christian believers? I think of legalism as trying to "work in the flesh" to gain what Jesus purchased for us and has already freely given us, and which results in self righteousness and pride. I would say if anything in that definition rings true, the "special day" does not please Him, as it makes His sacrifice null in that one's life.

Q4. (Galatians 4:6-7) How does the Spirit’s filling demonstrate we are full sons? He has filled us with Himself in the Person of the Holy Spirit...it doesn't get any more personal or more intimate than that! "Christ in me the hope of Glory!" What is the special sense in which the Aramaic word abba is used to speak to one’s father? Abba means Daddy, or Papa, an intimate term reserved for a son or daughter addressing a beloved Father! What is the significance of being heirs of God? Jesus tells us that all that belongs to Him is now ours as His joint heirs! That is the most amazing thing...how precious we are to Him!!! Are we sons in the same sense that Jesus was God’s Son? Jesus is Creator God, and we are His created beings, now His joint heirs, with the same rights and privileges, but we are not Divine. He is our Lord, Savior and God whom we will worship and praise for all eternity. We are redeemed and restored to righteousness and wholeness in Him, but are not to ever seek to be "gods" or to be worshipped. (That was Lucifer's dream, and the dream of many cults who aspire to become gods)

Q3. (Galatians 4:3-5) In what sense were both the Gentiles and the Jews enslaved? They (and we) were all born into a fallen world and enslavement to Satan who is the ruler of this world. What does “redeem” mean in verse 5? It means to "buy back that which once belonged to the owner, and was lost." (It's like this: A priceless diamond was stolen from me and was lost! Later it was found in a pawn shop, and I was able to purchase or redeem that which was once mine." What are the implications of adoption regarding a person’s legal and spiritual rights? Adoption confers on the adopted one, the same legal and spiritual rights as a natural born child. Jesus' sinless shed blood was the enormous price paid to the usurper to purchase us back to the rightful place as sons and daughters of our Father!

Q2. (Galatians 4:4) Why do you think it took so long to send the Messiah? God is never in a hurry! He is all wise, all knowing and the Master Architect of the Universe! There had been 400 years of silence since the last prophet had spoken God's Words.....a pregnant silence! The silence created an expectancy of hearing from God once again. Great question, Pastor Ralph! It caused me to think of how the star which led the wise men had to be created and put into the perfect orbit at creation to be ready and in the right place and the right time for them to see it and to understand that it was prophetic for that very season and be willing to follow. He had to wait until the young virgin Mary was old enough to carry a child and for Joseph to fall in love with her enough to stand by her side through the humiliation of her situation, and for them both to be from the prophesied lineage.....for Caesar to get the idea to force a tax and census upon the people which would take Joseph and Mary to the prophesied Bethlehem at the exact time for the days of her pregnancy to be accomplished so that Jesus would be born there according to His Word. For Elizabeth to conceive miraculously in her old age to give birth to John the Baptist, Jesus' cousin who would be inclined to proclaim and prepare the way for Messiah. Herod the evil king had to be on the throne who in his jealousy would fulfill the prophecy of killing all male children under 2 in Bethlehem, which removed any possibility of another born in that village who could try to be an imposter. There were dozens of prophecies to be fulfilled to the letter....so it was the perfect time, and on the exact day that God ordained Jesus to be born, before the foundations of the world when He knew Adam would fall and we'd need a Savior to purchase us back from Satan, with His sinless shed blood. What about the first century world made it fertile ground for the revelation of the Messiah and the spread of the gospel? One good reason was that the Roman Empire had spread throughout the known world and they had built an amazing network of good roads for those who would carry the Gospel to travel on. I'm sure Alexander the Great and others had no clue why they were stirred up to build such fabulous roads! The Jews were under bondage to the Romans and were crying out for deliverance, just as they had done when they were enslaved by the Egyptians. They were expectant and looking for a deliverer to come.....just as we are looking for Him to come again! "Even so, come Lord Jesus!"

Q1. (Galatians 4:26-29) Do you think Jewish Christians regarded Gentile Christians as second-class citizens? The Jews were the chosen people, Abraham's descendents, called apart to worship the One True God. They saw Gentile Christians as "the poor relatives", so to speak...those who came "late to the party", and were uncircumcised... just not "as good as" the Jewish believers....not children of Abraham. What is the basis of our unity in Christ? "For as many as were baptized into Christ, the Anointed One, have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is now no distinction, neither Jew nor Greek, there is is neither slave nor free, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, are in Him Who is Abraham's Seed, then you are Abraham's offspring and spiritual heirs according to the promise." Gal 3:27-29 In what way does this unity pull down barriers? In Christ we are all ONE, all EQUAL, His BODY.....it eliminates favoritism, elitism, denominational pride, racial prejudice, class prejudice....or that is His intent and desire for us. Sadly though, our flesh may still participate in this nonsense! Do any groups continue to be regarded as second-class citizens in our congregations? In many churches, women are considered second-class and are not allowed to teach or hold positions traditionally held by men. In other churches, there may be a division between those who speak in tongues and those who choose not to operate in this gift. Many churches are still racially segregated. The wealthy are often those in key positions, as the larger donors, and the poor are overlooked as unworthy to lead. What should we do about this? I'm the only one I can do anything about....each of us must examine our own hearts and our beliefs in this area, asking the Holy Spirit to show us any prejudice or spiritual pride or elitism, and ask to have it torn out by the roots. This should not be! I can also pray and ask the Lord to reveal these divisions as sin....as cancers in His Body.

Q4. (Galatians 3:19-25) What was the purpose of the law? The purpose of the Law was to disclose and expose to men/women their guilt and transgressions against God.....to make men/women more conscious of the "sinfulness of sin". Was it intended to justify a person? No! The Law cannot justify, but only condemns. There is no hope or redemption in the Law because if you break one you've broken them all and are therefore cursed. In what ways did it restrain sin? The Law restrained, in the sense that it made one conscious of what is unacceptable to God. It didn't prevent sin, but makes men less prone to want to sin. The trouble with being sin conscious, is that the more we focus on it, the more we sin! In what ways did it expose sin? The Law is like looking into a mirror and seeing "the truth of who we are" in our fallen nature, in minute detail, and how far apart we are from God's Holiness... How I thank the Lord for GRACE and that He set us free from the Law of sin and death!

Q3. (Galatians 3:10-14) What is Paul’s argument for salvation by faith based on the concept of the “curse of the law”? Anyone who depends upon the law to be justified or made right with God is cursed, as the scripture says, since no one except Jesus was able to keep the law....if one was broken, the individual was guilty of all, and cursed! We either live by the law and die by it, or live by faith in Christ to eternal life. On what basis do the Gentiles receive “the promise of the Spirit” (3:14)? Christ purchased our freedom from the law and the curse, becoming a curse for us, so that in Him we live and move and have our being, free from bondage. As a Gentile receives Christ, the blessing promised to Abraham becomes his, by faith.

Q2. (Galatians 3:6-9) What is Paul’s argument for salvation by faith based on Abraham? Abraham was saved by believing God's promise and trusting Him... grace! He lived by faith! He was born before the law existed, so Paul is using Abraham to demonstrate salvation by faith. The law had a place for an allotted time, .....after Abraham, and before Jesus, the Messiah, but does not save us. Paul was saying that for 1,500 years the law was "school Master" to reveal sin, and then Jesus Christ came to deliver us from the power of sin and death! In what sense are we “children of Abraham”? When we are born again, we become "grafted in" to Abraham's line of believers saved by grace.

Q1. (Galatians 3:2-5) What argument for salvation by faith does Paul give from the presence of the Spirit? Paul is saying that they received salvation and the presence of the Holy Spirit the moment they asked Jesus to become their Lord and Savior....BEFORE they had performed any works of the flesh or effort to EARN salvation or growth in Christ through their own WORKS! Great question Pastor Ralph! That should settle the issue for good, but probably won't due to the pride in fallen man who wants to WORK for God's approval...which he already has. What does this tell us about the spiritual environment of the Galatian churches? It says that the Judaizers had made great inroads and the gospel of salvation by faith in God's grace, was being compromised. It tells us the Galatian church was in turmoil and disunity, with many under bondage once again to the Law, having abandoned allowing the Holy Spirit to reign in their lives. How can we regain this dynamic environment in our our own congregations? Verse 5 speaks of how the Holy Spirit was working powerfully and miraculously among them, "BECAUSE OF YOUR BELIEVING IN AND ADHERING TO AND TRUSTING IN AND RELYING ON THE MESSAGE THAT YOU HEARD". This dynamic is regained through the preaching of the pure gospel of grace then trusting in the FINISHED WORK OF CHRIST AND THE INFILLING AND EMPOWERING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT TO TEACH, TRAIN AND MOVE US FROM GLORY TO GLORY! No more trying to motivate the saints through guilt and manipulation, and the saints must know the Word of God while resisting the enemy who tries to dilute the gospel and enslave God's children.