Galatians Series #4

The Way of Man

Review of Galatians 3

Fred R. Coulter—May 9, 2020

- Video | - PDF  | Audio [Up]

We will see in Prov. 16 that what is going on today is exactly what is described here. This is quite a chapter, and think about what's going on.

• Why are we having meat shortages when we have a surplus?
• Why are we going to have milk shortages when we're dumping it?

Proverbs 16:25 "There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is the way of death."

Everything that they have brought about to try and stop this Wuhan virus—and I'll call it that because it did come from Wuhan, China—it didn't come 'Eskimoville' near the North Pole.

 'Everyone stay inside—shelter in place!' How is that working out? There are more people coming down with the virus staying at home than if they were out and about.

The quickest solution is that everybody go out in a park on a nice hot day and stay there for about an hour and you'll take in enough Vitamin D to help kill it. It has a half-life of less than a minute in sunlight. So, everybody cooped-up in their houses is stupid! What else is stupid? Masks! Because you have the mask on and you're not around people and you're re breathing all your carbon dioxide, which is from your own breath toxifies your own blood! You need oxygen! You have to breathe!

With the meat shortages, it is because of the virus with the meat cutters, they have had to stop production. Trump used the Defense Production Act of 1950 to get them all back to work, clean it up and get back to work.

Why would there be a meat shortage? That in itself is stupid! Meat going to the restaurants, to the schools and cafeterias, and milk going to them as well are not going, because they're closed down! It's really the height of stupidity!

One little thing that most people don't know, Fauci belongs to the CDC—Center for Disease Control—which is a non-governmental organization. He has ties to Bill Gates, who has ties to the Wuhan virus bio-lab and has helped fund that.

When President Trump came out with the hydroxychloroquine, Fauci was all against it. Why? They had tests in Europe going on showing how good it was working. But Fauci and the CDC have rights to remdesivir and they stand to make a lot of money on that! So, when it came out that they're going to start using this drug, Fauci was all good and happy. Why? Because he has another agenda: so he can make money!

Governor DeSantis of Florida got a lot of hydroxychloroquine and used it for those in the retirement centers and in the rest homes and gave it to the ones who were susceptible and he's had the fewest deaths of any state!

Look at New York! Run by idiots! All jammed together in those buildings, a terrible situation. All these things "…seems right to a man, but the end thereof is the way of death."

Verse 2: "All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirits."

How did this work with Andrew Como, governor of New York? He had all these extra beds that were brought there by Trump's order to put them up in the Javits Center—2500 beds—because Como was screaming and yelling for them, in addition to the ventilators. Do you know what he did? Como signed an order that rest homes and retirement centers could not refuse to take someone who had the virus back into their establishment, after they had been treated!

What happened? One-fourth of all the deaths in New York City have come by that order!It seemed right to him, because after all, he's the governor—"…the ends thereof are the ways of death." He still thinks he's right!

Here's the only way that human beings can run their lives in a way that's decent. In the world, if they don't have God—like Paul wrote, 'The gentiles who have not the Law, doing the things contained in the Law, are a law unto themselves.'

Verse 3: "Commit your works unto the LORD…" [that's what you need to do] …and your thoughts shall be established"—which means that you will be able to make right decisions because you have those faculties and thoughts to do what is right!

That's the only way that it can be! For those of us in the Church, here's what we need to do. Yes, national prayer day was on Thursday, and yes, it's perfectly right to pray for the President and those in charge of the nation. They're finding now, right in the middle of this going on, that everything that was brought against Trump and Flynn were lies, lies, lies that started with Pres. Obama! Again, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is the way of death"

Obama thought that everything was right the way he did with the Middle East plan, and what happened? More deaths! We live in a evil world and sometimes it gets a little frustrating, because you look out there and wonder who has any understanding at all! When you have society that doesn't believe in God, or doesn't believe rightly in the true God, then you have troubles! But here's what we need to do:

Psalm 37:1: "Do not fret yourself because of evildoers… [that's awfully hard to not get frustrated] …and do not be envious against the workers of iniquity, for they shall soon be cut down like the grass; and wither as the green herb" (vs 1-2).

Let's see what happens when all this exposé comes out about everything that they've thrown at the 45th President! How they have done everything in their power to destroy him! They are afraid that if he gets re-elected they're all going to have to pay the price! That's why they're doing what they're doing!

But here's what we are to do; v 3: "Trust in the LORD…"

Every day put yourself in the hands of God for His blessing, protection and for God to watch over you, over all the brethren, the elders and the Churches of God. We're not to just pray for ourselves, selfishly. The other Churches of God, however they understand the Bible… Many of them have a lot of things right, they have some things wrong, but at least they're the Church of God. Read Rev. 2 & 3 and look at the sins and problems of the Churches of God. But nevertheless, still pray for them!

Think about this: The only ones who are going to preach the true Gospel are the Churches of God! That's why we need God's help! We need God's Spirit!

"…and do good; dwell in the land and cherish faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart" (vs 2-3).

What is the greatest desire that we should have in our heart? To be in the Kingdom of God! As we know, when we look at some of the pictures from the Feast of Tabernacles, we're all gray-headed. That is true, and no one—even in the Church—has avoided death. So, here's what we do.

Verse 5: "Commit your way unto the LORD; trust also in Him, and He will bring it to pass." That's what we need to do!

The Bible is given to us to be a lifetime study that we study and restudy, and restudy, and here's a tremendous thing that happens: you learn more every time you study!

It is the mind of God that's behind all of it, so therefore, it's layered with understanding. The more you understand the whole Bible, the more you're going to be able to make connections of the Old Testament and the New Testament together where they agree, and they do agree!

Psalm 115:9: "O Israel, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield…. [that's what we need to do] …O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield.

• Israel is all the brethren in the Church—spiritual Israel
• house of Aaron is all the elders

Verse 11: "O you who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield. The LORD has been mindful of us; He will bless us; He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron" (vs 11-12). That's contingent upon the fact that we love Him and keep His commandments!

Psalm 112:1: "Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who delights greatly in His commandments."

I've been reading the Greek and where it is in Rom. 12 'be renewed in your mind' it's transformed—'metamorphose.' That's like a caterpillar that goes into the cocoon and it's changing, changing, changing and at the set time it comes out and it's completely different from the caterpillar that put itself in the cocoon.

We are to let our mind also be 'metamorphosed'; changed from evil to righteous by letting the Word of God be in our mind. Remember, everything that anyone has ever done—don't care who you are, how long you live, whatever it is—is recorded in your mind, which goes right on to the spirit of man, if you're not converted. And to the spirit of man and God if you are converted. This is what goes back to God when you die!

God uses that. Just like when you were conceived, you were conceived from that which couldn't be seen. Likewise, when you are resurrected, you are resurrected from that which cannot be seen, that is the Spirit of God. That's going to be quite thing!

Verse 2: "His seed shall be mighty upon earth; the generation of the upright shall be blessed. Wealth and riches shall be in his house, and his righteousness endures forever" (vs 2-3).

When are we going to be the wealthiest we have ever been? At the resurrection! We will have eternal life, which is worth more than all the riches in the world.

Verse 5: "It is well with the man who is gracious and lends freely; who conducts his affairs with justice. Surely he shall not be moved forever; the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings…" (vs 5-7).

We're living in a time full of "…evil tidings…" Trust God and stay close to Him!

"…his heart is steadfast… [fixed] …trusting in the LORD. His heart is established; he shall not be afraid until he sees his desire upon his enemies" (7-8)—and that will happen after the resurrection! Think of what God is going to do.

Gal. 3 is one of the most complicated chapters in the whole Bible. We'll do just a little review of it, and then we'll look at some other things connected with it so we can understand.

What did Jesus say about the traditions of the elders of the Jews? Because they keep the traditions, they reject the commandments of God! Yet, they have their works of law. Every Protestant thinks that works of law means keeping the commandments. That is not true! Keeping the commandments is what God foreordained that we should walk in them! Man is not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

That's why it is so difficult to understand, but if we can put it together from the Scriptures, and we'll put it together with some of the things from Code of Jewish Law. Remember that the first exposure of the Gospel was found in Acts 10 with Cornelius the centurion of the Roman soldiers. He was praying and an angel came and said, 'Your prayer is heard, now you go find Simon, called Peter, and he's staying with Peter the tanner up near Caesarea.

Cornelius sent his soldiers and went up there and brought Peter back, and God told him to not doubt anything. Peter had seen a vision where every unclean thing in the way of animals and creeping things were let down in a sheet and he was told to eat. And Peter said, 'No, Lord, I've never eaten anything common or unclean. Then he realized, when the three soldiers showed up, that the three times was relative to the three men who came.

They explained that the centurion Cornelius has asked you to come. According to the vision that Peter had, he was told to go doubting nothing. So, he comes to Cornelius, and what is the first thing that Cornelius did? He started bowing down to worship Peter! Peter said, 'No, you don't do that, I'm a man like you.' Then Peter said, 'You know that it is an unlawful thing for a Jew to keep company with a Gentile.'

• they weren't to keep company
• they weren't to enter into the house
• they were not eat with them
• they were not to associate with them

You know the rest of the story, in order for God to show that He was now going to deal with the Gentiles, right when Peter was speaking to Cornelius' large household, with everybody there, the Holy Spirit came upon them.

Why did God have to do it at that time, before baptism? Because Peter would not have baptized them! This was from God and they were baptized. Peter said, after Cornelius received the Holy Spirit, 'Who can forbid water?' Repenting of your sins requires baptism to bury them in the watery grave of baptism.

So, Peter was the one who went to the Gentiles first, Cornelius and his whole household. Remember what happened with the elders of the Church back in Jerusalem. Some of the sects that went with Peter and saw what happened, that they had the Holy Spirit and were baptized, and Peter stayed in the house and ate the meals for quite few days before coming back to Jerusalem.

What did the leaders of the Church in Jerusalem say when Peter came back? Why did you go to the Gentiles? Then Peter explained everything. They said, 'God has given the Holy Spirit to them, as well as to us.' But in Jerusalem, even in the Church, the Gentiles were sub-citizens. Whereas, God made them equal!

That's the problem that we have in Gal. 2 when the mucky-mucks from James came down to Antioch and they were following the tradition of not eating with the Gentiles. Peter went along with them, when he was the one who first dealt with the Gentiles.

So, in Gal. 2 Paul rebukes Peter for his hypocrisy and Barnabas went along with him as well. Remember that Paul said, 'When I went up to Jerusalem I saw Peter, James and John, the pillars in the Church, but what they are makes no difference to me.' Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles.

One of Paul's main missions was to not let Judaism take hold in the Gentile churches! The other problem was that there were those ministers and preachers coming out of Judea, false ones, who knew about Jesus and so forth who were coming along and saying that all the Gentiles had to be circumcised in order to be saved. But Paul understood that circumcision was of the heart, not of the flesh. And the whole controversy is this:

If they were circumcised, in order to be put into right standing with God, that is to be justified and made right, then faith and baptism were meaningless. Faith in Christ and baptism conjoined to Christ's death is a greater and higher level of connection with God than works of law. That is the whole problem.

Unless you understand works of law, you do not understand why Paul was so furious against those false preachers in getting them to do what is called keep the whole law! Their version of the whole law is not all the commandments of God. Their version is all of  the Jewish traditions and their laws.

In this book Code of Jewish Law there are thousands and thousands of laws to tell you what to do. I'm going to read from some of this so you know:

Code of Jewish Law by Ganzfried and Goldin

What do you suppose is the first thing you are to do when you wake up in the morning if you are a Jews observing Judaism? Many people have heard of this, but they don't understand it, but the vast majority of people and Protestants know nothing about this:

Chapter 2—Hand Washing in the Morning

Since every man upon rising from his sleep in the morning is like a newborn creature, insofar as the worship of the Creator is concerned, he should prepare himself for worship by washing his hands out of a vessel, just as the priests used to wash their hands daily out of the wash-basin before performing their service in the Temple.

The fallacy of Judaism is that they try to make the individual person as clean as the priests. God wants it better. He wants circumcision of the heart and love toward God. Here's what He was to do:

This hand-washing is based on the Biblical verse, Psalm 36:6-7: "I will wash my hands in innocency, and I will compass Thy altar, O Lord; that I may publish with a loud voice," etc. There is another reason given by the Kabbalists…

Who are the Kabbalists? The secret societies of Jews very similar to Masons; very similar to Knights of Columbus! They have a whole different level of worship of God, which actually gets into Satanism, and they have degrees, just like Masons. The highest level in Masonry is the 33rd degree. There's one higher than that. Here's what they are to do:

…for this morning hand-washing; when a man is asleep, the holy soul departs from his body, and an unclean spirit descends upon him. When rising from sleep, the unclean spirit departs from his entire body, except from his fingers, and does not depart until one spills water upon them three times alternately. One is not allowed to walk four cubits (six feet) without having one's hands washed, except in cases of extreme necessity.

Think about how you feel when you wake up, what's the first thing you need to do, and if you did this:

The ritual hand-washing in the morning is performed as follows: Take a cup of water with the right hand and put it in the left…

You can't do it the other way around!

…pour some water upon the right hand. Take the cup back in the right hand and pour some water on the left. This performance is repeated three times.

That's supposed to make you righteous!

It is best to pour the water over the hands as far as the writs, but in case of emergency…

You know what that is!

…it suffices if the water covers the hands up to the joints of the fingers. One must also wash his face in honor of the Creator, as it is said, Genesis 9:6: "For in the image of God He hath made the man." One must also rinse the mouth, because we must pronounce the Great Name in purity and cleanliness.

Think about that! This is what they taught. They had blessings for wine, blessings for wheat, blessings for barley, blessing for beef, blessings for lamb, blessings for fish, blessings for soup, blessings for vegetables. All of those things were all required.

After finishing the meal and before reciting grace we must say the first benediction over it.

Whatever the first benediction is!

Whatever service to aid digestion is not considered as an essential element of the meal. Nevertheless, it is best to say the benediction---all things exist over a piece of sugar in order to exempt the coffee by it.

Then you have to have hand-washing for meals. You have formal grace three times or more. On every page that I'm turning there are laws after laws.

Chapter 47—Non-Jewish wine:

Nowadays the ordinary wine of a non-Jew, or Jewish wine that has been touched by a non-Jew, is, according to the opinion of some authorities, forbidden only for drinking purposes.

That's reasoning in a circle!

Therefore, we are permitted to take non-Jewish wine in payment of a debt due us, for it is equivalent to saving it from a loss. The same law applies to a case, when we have violated the law and have purchased wine from them. But it is forbidden in the first instance to buy wine from them in order to make a profit by it.

Think of that!

Other authorities are lenient…

It is permissible to make a bath [of wine] out of non-Jewish wine for a sick person although he is not critically ill.

If kosher wine that has been boiled until its quantity was reduced by evaporation. Is touched by a non-Jew, it may be used even for the purpose of drinking it.

All laws like that!

The Kiddush and the Sabbath Meals

It is a Biblical precept that the Sabbath be hallowed by means of words, for it is written, Exodus 20:8: "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy," implying that it must be ushered in with the recital of the kiddush (the sanctification of the day), and at its parting to be solemnized by reciting the kiddush. Hence, our Sages instituted the ceremony of the kiddush and the havdalah, to be recited over a cop of wine.

Carrying Garments or Ornaments on the Sabbath

One must not walk out in a public premise or in a karmelit, with any article that is neither a garment nor an ornament. Hence, one is forbidden to walk out with a needle, or a pin stuck in one's garment, even when it is needed for his clothes.

Just let your clothing fall down! That's handy, isn't it?

However, a woman (inasmuch as it is the custom of women to fasten their bands with pins, such as veils or the like), is permitted to walk out with a pin required for her apparel, but not with a needle.

You figure that out! What do you do if you have a fire in your house on the Sabbath?

If a Fire Breaks Out on the Sabbath

If, God forbid, a fire breaks out on the Sabbath, our Rabbis, of blessed memory, were fearful that if the owner of the house and the members of his family were to engage in saving what they can, they might forget that it is the Sabbath and extinguish the fire…

God forbid, let it burn down!

…due to their being excited and frightened at the prospect of losing their property. They therefore, decreed that the owner is forbidden to save even those articles, which may be handled and carried out into a place where it is permissible to remove them. Only that which is required for the needs of the day may be saved. If the fire breaks out on Friday evening before the meal, we may save food for three meals, and also food for the animals; if it occurs on Sabbath morning, we may save food for two meals, and if it occurs in the afternoon, we may save food for one meal.

These are all works of law! Everyone of them; thousands and thousands of them!

If one vessel contains much food, like many loaves of bread, or a barrel full of wine, since it can be taken out at one time, it is permissible to do so. If we spread out a sheet, and put therein large quantities of food and drink, it is likewise permissible to take it out. We are also allow to take out all the vessels we need for that day.

Then it also says that you can't take all your clothes out, but if you can put on as many as you can. Think about this: your house is burning down, so you run to your closet and you're thinking: What am I going to save? You can only take out what you're wearing! You can't grab it all in your arm and go out.

So, here you are putting on this coat, put on that coat and putting on another pair of pants. What are you going to do with shoes? How are you going to put on an extra pair of shoes? All of this while the house is burning!

Another one is that you're walking along on the Sabbath Day and you come to a creek. You can't walk through it; however, you may jump over it!

All of those are the laws that the Jews have. There are many things concerning what to dress, what to eat, and everything that goes along with it. Those are all works of law!

Can anything that I just described or read here be sufficient to be equal to and replace the sacrifice of Jesus Christ? NO!

What is the circumcision that we are to have? Of the heart! Conversion of mind!

There were those coming along preaching these kinds of things required for you to have salvation first beginning with circumcision.

(go to the next track)

Are these laws still enforced today? For Orthodox Jews, yes! You can never get your mind on God because you have your mind on all of these humanly devised laws. This is what the Pharisees did, and Judaism does: they put their laws ahead of anything else—period! They think that if they keep their laws, they won't be breaking the Laws of God.

But, in fact, by keeping their laws they're rejecting the Laws of God! Here are the Galatians, they're converted and received the Holy Spirit, baptized and everything. Let's just review a little bit of Gal. 3.

Galatians 3:1: "O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you into not obeying the Truth…"

IFyou obey the works of law,which are not the commandments of God but the commandments of men, THEN you are not obeying the Truth!

• the Truth of God's Word
• the Truth of His laws
• the Truth of how you are kept in right standing with God

Once you are baptized, then it's through prayer and repentance that you are kept in right standing with God! Directly between you and God!

Not another law that you keep. If you keep another law, that does not undo the law-breaking of God's Law that you have done.

In other words, if you're working on the Sabbath, you cannot have repentance and forgiveness for that unless you repent to God. Any law that man has devised to give you relief in their eyes is against God, because only God can forgive you!

If you do this to make up for what you did that was wrong, that doesn't put you in right standing with God. Only repentance and the sacrifice of Christ can keep you in right standing with God. As we have seen, you must repent every day. After you're baptized and you know what laws you are to keep, where is the sin that so frequently entraps you, that you must go to God to repent of? In your mind!

That's where it is! You're not out here killing someone or stealing from someone. But if you're lusting and hating, then spiritually you're sinning! So, you must repent to God.

"…before whose eyes Jesus Christ, crucified, was set forth in a written public proclamation?" (v 1). They had everything written down! That what it means. The root word here is 'graphe,' which means write.

Verse 2: "This only I desire to learn from you: did you receive the Spirit of God by works of law…"

• By hand-washing, did you receive the Spirit of God?
• By saying a special benediction, did you receive the Spirit of God?
• By letting your house burn down on the Sabbath and not taking things out, did you receive the Spirit of God?

NO!

• How? Repentance! And God's mercy and grace to you!

"…or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being perfected in the flesh?" (vs 2-3). That's exactly what happens!

What is it with the Protestants' work of law that they do? That they require? That they think is going to save you? Sunday-keeping! Having you 'churched.' God wants you converted, not churched! So, their work of law—which was started by the Catholics, and they never separated from Catholicism—was they were afraid to lose people. Why didn't they just tell them that the Catholic Church doesn't believe in the Sabbath and God says to keep the Sabbath? They could have done that, but they haven't done it!

Sunday-keeping is not going to make you righteous. Sabbath-keeping, right Sabbath-keeping, is going to be instructive for you of God's Word so you can learn how to keep your relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ. That's why a hierarchy placed between God the Father and Christ over the brethren is sin! That's why Jesus condemns it with the Church at Pergamos, the works of the Nicolaitans!

There is no one between you and God! That is grace! Forgiveness, with repentance, is grace! Walking in the laws and commandments of God—that He has foreordained for us to walk in, with His blessing—is what God requires in His grace!

Verse 10: "For as many as are relying on works of law are under a curse…"

Why? Think of this as the Protestants do! They think that works of law is commandment-keeping. They don't know anything about Judaism!

If you're under works of law, why are you under a curse? That cannot be for commandment-keeping! They say the law is a curse, but it's not! Why?

Verse 10: "For as many as are relying on works of law are under a curse, because it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things that have been written in the Book of the Law to do them.'"

• What is the Book of the Law? Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy!
• What did Jesus say about that? Man is to live by every word of God!

Everyone is going to say they had the animal sacrifices in the temple. God took all of that away because we have a temple in heaven above. We pray directly to God the Father and Jesus Christ.

When we sin we repent! What is the sacrifice applied with that repentance? The sacrifice of Christ! So therefore, even the works of law that were required under the covenant with Israel in the sacrifice and the priesthood, they're not required in the New Testament.

Furthermore, if you keep works of law, what do you do? If you do this to think you're in right standing with God, you can't! That cannot substitute for the sacrifice of Christ, His shed blood and keeping the commandments of God with God's Spirit to lead you to do it.

The Jews generally don't believe in Christ. There are some Messianics, but they still have too many of their traditional laws. But what it does, it draws you from God to do the works of men. How are you going to love your neighbor as yourself if his house is burning down and you say, 'Well, I'm an observant Jew and I can't go over and help you.' That may be hilarious to state it, but it's tragic that it would actually happen.

Remember the parable that Jesus gave about loving your neighbor? It was a doctor of the Law who came to Jesus and said, 'Rabbi, what is the great commandment in the Law?' Jesus said, 'Hear O Israel, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.' That requires quite a bit of your life! 'And the second one is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.'

The doctor of the Law replied, 'You have spoken correctly, but who is my neighbor?' See what happened? So, Jesus said, 'There was a man coming from Jericho and he was attacked by robbers and beaten, and left on the side of the road to die. Along came a priest on his way to the temple to do his work. He saw the man lying in the ditch and went to the other side of the road and passed by him.

Later came a Levite and saw the man and did the same thing. Then here came a Samaritan, and Samaritans were hated by the Jews in Jerusalem. They had great hatred. They even accused Jesus of being a Samaritan, that's how deep their hatred ran.

So, the Samaritan runs over there and helps the man, cleans up his wounds with wine, takes him into an Inn and takes care of him. He has to leave and tells the owner of the Inn that here is so much money, you take care of him and on my way back if I owe you more I'll pay you.

So, Jesus said to the doctor of the Law, 'Tell me, which one loved his neighbor?' He said, 'I suppose—he could say it directly—that the one who helped him.' Jesus said, 'Go and do the same thing!'

It was the laws that the Jews had that they wouldn't help anybody because they were on their way for 'important' work at the temple! But God did not accept that excuse, because you cannot break the Law of God to keep your law!

"…because it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things that have been written in the Book of the Law to do them'" (v 10). The laws of Judaism do not keep the Laws of God that are written in the Book!

• They are what?
• What is that called? Sin!
• What is the result of sin? Curses (Deut. 28; Lev. 26)!

This has nothing to do with keeping the Laws of God, but keeping the laws of men and looking to that and God must accept them.

God has it this way: You repent to God for your sins of breaking His Laws, and He will forgive you and you will have contact with God!

That is what God requires. Not some ritual, not some other little law, but that's what God requires!

Verse 11: "Therefore, it is evident that no one is being justified before God by means of works of law; because it is written, 'The just shall live by faith.'"

• you believe in Christ
• you believe in God
• you believe in His laws
• you believe in His commandments
• you believe in loving Him
• you believe in loving your neighbor
• you believe in loving the brethren as yourself

and

• you believe in loving your enemies

Verse 12: "Now then, the Law is not based on faith; but, 'The man who practices these things shall live in them.'" That's upholding the Law of God!

What is confusing is that when we get to Gal. 4 where Paul uses the term the law he's using that to include not only the Law of God, but all the laws of Judaism, and that's where it gets difficult.

Verse 13: "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree')"

His sacrifice and shed blood, and upon repentance, the curse is removed! That's what it is. You have to come to God. It's a relationship between you and God spiritually from your innermost being to God, and from God back to you, your faith to Him, and His faith to you. Kind of like alternating current as we would say with electricity.

Verse 14: "In order that the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles by Christ Jesus, and that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." By belief, which is more important, more powerful!

Look at the stupid things that people believe. Let's take one man that we all know: Adam Schiff, representative from California. All of his lies in the face of the truth, he will not change, he will not admit, even though it's all wrong.

What does that show you? Faith and belief is powerful, whether you believe the truth or whether you believe a lie! That's more powerful than some little religious work. The Catholics have the trips on the beads.

Verse 17: "Now this I say, that the covenant ratified beforehand by God to Christ cannot be annulled by the Law, which was given four hundred and thirty years later, so as to make the promise of no effect."

• How did God show the superiority of the Covenant of Eternal Life to Abraham?
• How did He do that?

First of all, He said, 'You're going to have a physical son from your own loins.' Then He took Abraham outside and showed him the stars, and said, 'Now number the stars if you're able to count them.' That is an overwhelming thing of such great proportion. Compare that to what we read in here in Gal. 3; there's no comparison.

So, the Law that was given to Israel required circumcision. Compare circumcision of the flesh to circumcision of the heart. Circumcision of the flesh, by time someone grew up, had virtually no meaning unless they understood the meaning of it. Conversion is circumcision of the heart and mind, and you're growing in grace and knowledge. Quite a different thing.

You can't take circumcision and say that 'we're going replace this faith and belief with circumcision.' No! Faith and belief is stronger and more. That's what Paul is saying here.

Verse 18: "For if the inheritance is by law, it is no longer by promise. But God granted it to Abraham by promise."

Then Paul show, to fill in the gap from the time of Abraham to Christ, he first fulfilled the promise of physical seed, the covenant with Israel. That covenant was given 430 years after the promise was given to Abraham. That was to build up the physical nation of Israel.

Since the Holy Spirit was not given to them, their covenant was to keep the commandments of God in the letter of the Law. They were likewise to love God. But without the Spirit of God you cannot love Him like is necessary for eternal life. Something was coming greater, and what was that something? God Himself would come as a man born of a woman! An amazing thing! There couldn't be anything greater in the flesh than that! He becomes the sacrifice!

Verse 21: "Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? MAY IT NEVER BE!…."—because the Laws of God are forever!

Keeping it in the letter of the Law there are certain physical blessings that come, God acknowledges that. He's not  calling everyone to eternal life at this time. So, there is that level that God deals with people who do the things that are within His Law, according to the same covenant that He gave to Israel.

"…For if a law had been given that had the power to give life…" (v 21). No law has the power to give life!

• Why?
• Who gives life? The Lifegiver: God!

There's no law…! There's no law that says if you keep this and come over here to this slot machine and I will pop a baby. It won't happen! Or come over to this slot machine and it will add a hundred years to your life. Or whatever thing to receive eternal life. That's the promise: eternal life!

"…For if a law had been given that had the power to give life, then righteousness would indeed have been by law. But the Scriptures have shut up all things under sin… [because all have sinned and come short of the glory of God] …so that by the faith of Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe" (vs 21-22). The faith of Jesus Christ is quite a thing! We are to have faith from God!

Did Christ have faith from God to live his life and do everything by faith? Didn't He tell the disciples, 'O you of little faith…'? Yes! That comes from God!

So, that faith of Christ, His personal faith that He had, brought Him through His whole ministry, crucifixion, shed blood and death, because He was God in the flesh! That is supreme over anything else physical. This is physical and spiritual. Nothing else can be like that! That's how God gave it.

"…by the faith of Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe" (v 22).

What are some of the fruits of the Holy Spirit? Love, faith, hope….! It comes from God!

Verse 23[transcriber's correction]: "Now, before faith came we were guarded under law…"—guarded by God! He said that He would bless them physically, everything would go well if they kept the Law, and if they didn't keep the Law, everything would not go good.

The worse you got, or get, the more difficult it's going to be. We see that today. Look at everything we covered in the first part: Everyway of the man seems right, and look at the stupidity of this Wuhan virus thing that it has caused and all the other problems that go with it!

"…having been shut up unto the faith that was yet to be revealed" (v 23). It didn't come until the set time!

• When was the Holy Spirit given to the average person?
• When was the first time that it was given? First to the apostles!
• But to other people? Pentecost!

The Holy Spirit was never given until then to ordinary people. The Holy Spirit comes directly from God the Father and Jesus Christ. You have direct connection with God the Father and Jesus Christ through that. That's fantastic! That's what God wants!

Verse 24: "In this way, the Law was our tutor…"—to instruct us and keep us in the letter of the Law until the promise came, and the faith came with the promise.

Verse 25: "But since faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor." The Law was the tutor! The Law, you could read it. Now we're not under a tutor, we're under God the Father and Jesus Christ. How much greater is that?

Verse 26: "Because you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ" (vs 26-27). That's what we are to do:

• develop the mind of Christ
• be renewed in our mind
• have it written in our heart and mind

Verse 28: There is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither bond nor free; there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus…. [what a fantastic thing that is] …And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (vs 28-29). Eternal life to shine as the stars forever!

That's why works of law will never bring eternal life!

Scriptural References:

• Proverbs 15:25, 2-3
• Psalm 37:1-3, 5
• Psalm 115:9-12
• Psalm 112:1-3, 5-8
• Galatians 3:1-3, 10-14, 17-18, 21-22, 25-29

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Romans 12
• Revelation 2; 3
• Acts 10
• Galatians 2
• Deuteronomy 28
• Leviticus 26

Also referenced: Book:
            Code of Jewish Law by Ganzfried and Goldin

FRC:bo
Transcribed: 5/12/20

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