Verse 5:13 My dear family, you were called to freedom; however, do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. Here we start getting into the area that has caused so much confusion in the church for the past decades, centuries, and millennia. If we are free from the law, why do we bother to obey its precepts at all? Paul acknowledges that we are free, but we must … Continue reading →
Galatians 5:6 For in the Messiah it doesn’t matter whether you are circumcised or not. The one thing that counts is faith working through love. Outward signs do not matter any more. This seems to be the message. However, we need to be careful not to toss the baby with the bath water. Symbols and symbolic actions still have great benefit to humans. It’s just the way we are made. It is also one of the ways … Continue reading →
Chapter Four; Verse 4:1–7 Children who are under age are no better off than slaves, even though they are heirs of everything their parents own. They have to obey their guardians and teachers until the time their parents have set. That is how it was with us before Jesus came. We were like children—slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world. But when the time was right, God sent his Son—born of a woman, under the Law, … Continue reading →
Galatians 3:10 Trying to please God by obeying the Law puts you under a curse. The Scriptures say, “Everyone who doesn’t obey everything in the Law is under a curse.” This is another little Old Testament nugget from Deuteronomy 27:26. Remember that the Law includes the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The arguments that many of the things in the Mosaic law are no longer relevant to modern society is bogus, … Continue reading →
This is the first part of a verse by verse study of Galatians from Learning to Walk in Freedom I will be posting a new part every Monday morning by Noon. All unreferenced scripture quotes are from my own paraphrase, “Modern Viking Paraphrase” [MVP] ________________________________ Letter of Paul to the Galatians: Chapter One Verse 1:1–5 Paul, an apostle (not from men nor by man, but sent by Jesus the Messiah and God the Father, who raised him … Continue reading →