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B701. Welcome to this in-depth online free course on the book of Galatians from the Bible Dialog Institute. Galatians 3, part 2: In a previous paper we have reviewed the various types of laws that were given to the nation of Israel. We have seen that some were for the purpose of facilitating the administration of justice for the nation.
Then there were the laws pertaining to sacrifices and offerings, usually referred to as the Ceremonial Law. The sacrificial system was given specifically so that people would look forward with anticipation to the coming of the Messiah, the Redeemer, who would forever provide for the salvation of all those who would accept His substitutionary sacrifice. This is the law that met its fulfillment when Jesus died on the cross.
When Jesus died on the cross, a dramatic signal was given to the priest who was about to perform some sacred service in the temple. (See Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, pp. 894, 895.) The temple sacrifices were no longer necessary. The supernatural events that occurred at that time are recorded in Matthew 27: 50-53: “Once again Jesus shouted, and then he died. At once the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, and rocks split apart. Graves opened, and many of God’s people were raised to life. They left their graves, and after Jesus had risen to life, they went into the holy city, where they were seen by many people.” CEV. What a dramatic demonstration!
The service that the priest was about to perform was probably the sacrifice of the Passover lamb. But Jesus was the real lamb, the Lamb of God that would take away the sins of the world. (John 1: 29) The major problem was through the centuries these rituals and ceremonies became routine, and essentially lost their true meaning to the religious teachers of the nation, and consequently to the people generally. In addition the people of Israel became enamored with the ceremonies and religious rites of the heathen people who lived nearby. For their apostasy God punished them by captivity and exile. Those who were taken to Babylon appear to have gotten the message, because there is no record of idolatry being practiced in the nation after the return to Palestine after the Babylonian captivity.
However, a substitute for idolatry became the obsession of the religious teachers. They in essence worshipped the scriptures and their traditions. Jesus brought this to their attention when He said, “You search the Scriptures, because you think you will find eternal life in them. The Scriptures tell about me, but you refuse to come to me for eternal life.” John 5: 39, 40. CEV
This tendency was still alive and well during the time of Paul’s ministry. The Judaizers were still substituting human ideas for the real means of attaining salvation. They wanted the Gentiles to keep the ceremonial laws of circumcision in order to be saved. (Acts 15: 1) A key point on this matter is found in Galatians 3: 9, 10: “So then, those who are men of faith are blessed with Abraham who had faith. For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, and do them.’” RVS. The Net Bible records these verses as: “So then those who believe are blessed along with Abraham the believer. For all who rely on doing the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not keep on doing everything written in the book of the law.’”
Jesus had already “kept” the law of sacrifice. He was the true sacrifice; there was no need for more. Now the way to salvation was to have faith in Jesus and the sacrifice He made the same way Abraham did. Anybody who will rely on any other means is on the wrong track. To reiterate, “For all who rely on doing the works of the law are under a curse.” They are condemned, as it says in John 3: 18: “The one who believes in him is not condemned. The one who does not believe has been condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.” Net Bible. The belief that is necessary is that the sacrifice that Jesus offered (Himself) was sufficient to satisfy the redemption of the human race. To put it in a more personal way, I must believe that His sacrifice was for my salvation.
Our Lord wants people to trust in Him, to believe Him. Belief is the key ingredient that recommends the example of Abraham. Note Galatians 3: 6, 7: “Just as Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, so then, understand that those who believe are the sons of Abraham.” Net Bible.
Let us elaborate on Galatians 3: 10: “For all who rely on doing the works of the law are under a curse.” The word rely is significant. Jesus, in one of His last discourses, illustrated this truth very vividly. The scene He describes is the final judgment and is found in Matthew 25: 31-45, CEV. “When the Son of Man comes in his glory with all his angels, he will sit on his royal throne. The people of all nations will be brought before him, and he will separate them, as shepherds separate their sheep from their goats. “He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘My father has blessed you! Come and receive the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world was created. When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, and when I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was a stranger, you welcomed me, and when I was naked, you gave me clothes to wear. When I was sick, you took care of me, and when I was in jail, you visited me.’ “Then the ones who pleased the Lord will ask, ‘When did we give you something to eat or drink? When did we welcome you as a stranger or give you clothes to wear or visit you while you were sick or in jail?’ “The king will answer, ‘Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me.’ “Then the king will say to those on his left, ‘Get away from me! You are under God’s curse. Go into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels! I was hungry, but you did not give me anything to eat, and I was thirsty, but you did not give me anything to drink. I was a stranger, but you did not welcome me, and I was naked, but you did not give me any clothes to wear. I was sick and in jail, but you did not take care of me.’ “Then the people will ask, ‘Lord, when did we fail to help you when you were hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in jail?’ “The king will say to them, ‘Whenever you failed to help any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you failed to do it for me.’”
What is the difference between these two groups of people? The first perform works of kindness and mercy and, because they have the law written on their hearts, they fulfill the law. As is recorded in Micah 6: 8: “The Lord God has told us what is right and what he demands: ‘See that justice is done, let mercy be your first concern, and humbly obey your God.’” CEV. And James puts it this way: “Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their misfortune and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” Net Bible. The second group of people has relied on the performance of works, expecting a reward for services rendered.
Earlier, in His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus had warned what those could expect who rely on their so-called “good works.” He said,
“Not everyone who calls me their Lord will get into the kingdom of heaven. Only the ones who obey my Father in heaven will get in. On the day of judgment many will call me their Lord. They will say, ‘We preached in your name, and in your name we forced out demons and worked many miracles.’ But I will tell them, ‘I will have nothing to do with you! Get out of my sight, you evil people!’” Matt. 7: 21-23, CEV.
Obviously having the right attitude and motivation is vital. When the law is “written in our hearts” (Jer. 31: 33) we will act from love for God and love for our neighbors—all mankind—not with the expectation of receiving payment for services rendered.
Galatians 3, indeed all of Galatians, has much to say about law. But what law? That question can best be answered by reference to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Whenever the word law is used in Galatians it is invariably cited as word #3551 in his “Greek Dictionary of the New Testament.” The pertinent definition is give as: “law (through the idea of prescription usage), gen. (regulation), spec. (of Moses [include. the volume]; also of the Gospel), or fig. (a principle):--law.” The bottom line is that we cannot rely on any law to save us. The Judaizers who came to the Galatians relied on the law of circumcision and they insisted that others do the same. Paul’s purpose was to refute this idea. His emphasis was that “those who believe are blessed along with Abraham the believer” (Gal. 3: 9, Net Bible), but in contrast to this blessing, “all who rely on doing the works of the law are under a curse.” (Gal. 3: 10, Net Bible).
by Ordell Calkins, DBA. Library These links may lead to reliable and unreliable information. Use your own judgment to evaluate all pages. Resources: http://www.livingweb.com/library/227_4.htm http://www.gospelcom.net/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/toc/code=3011 http://www.efree.org/sermons_galatians.htm Luther on Galatians: Martin Luther said of Galatians, "This is my epistle, I am wedded to it." Luther A , Luther B, Luther C, Luther D, Luther E, Luther F, Luther G. Commentaries: Note 1, Note 2, Note 3, Note 4, Note 5, Note 6, Note 7, Note 8, Note 9, Note 10, Note 11. Audio: http://calvarychapel.com/portcharlotte/GalAudio.htm Other courses: Course A, Course B, Course C, Course D, Course E, Course F, Course G. Course Instructor: R. Klimes, DMin; Consultants: Ordell Calkins, Diane Ottlinger, Mike Miller, Herald Galer. |
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