01/31/2024: Galatians 5:5 – My hope by faith is the righteousness of Christ.

Thought for today – My hope by faith is the righteousness of Christ.

Those who are in Christ have His Spirit in them, and they wait in hope of His righteousness granted to them by faith in Him. Legalism cannot offer any such hope because man’s righteousness always falls short. Paul proclaimed his hope in Philippians 3:9 – “and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith.”

That’s what the Bible says!

 

01/30/2024: Galatians 5:2-4 – Trying to earn my righteousness by keeping the Law is to fall from grace.

Thought for today – Trying to earn my righteousness by keeping the Law is to fall from grace.

Verse 4 is one of the most sobering verses in the Bible.  I am not able to the answers all the theological questions that surround this condition of one being severed from Christ and falling away from grace, but I can say it does show how catastrophic it is to seek to please God by one’s own works.  At the very least, by following the legalists, one would lose the benefit of Christ’s matchless grace.  Personally, I can imagine no greater misery than to turn away from the freedom offered to me in Christ’s sacrifice to spend my life trying to earn righteousness on my own by the things I do.

That’s what the Bible says!

01/29/2024: Galatians 5:1 – Freedom in Christ is to live in His finished work.

Thought for today – Freedom in Christ is to live in His finished work.

By His sacrifice, Christ set us free from the guilt and penalty and of sin and the ceremonial obligations of the Law.  The freedom we now enjoy is the ability to live in His finished work without the bondage of seeking to earn or maintain our own righteousness.  The legalists want us to believe that what Jesus has done is not enough, and we must continue to obey their set of rules in order to be right with God.

That’s what the Bible says!

 

01/26/2024: John 2:5 – Listen for His voice today, and do what He tells you to do.

Thought for the weekend:  Listen for His voice today, and do what He tells you to do.

Jesus still speaks to His flock through the voice of His Spirit within us.  If you listen, you will hear His voice speaking to you.  He may send you to some task of love or service you need to do.  He may speak a person’s name who needs your ministry through a call or a visit.  He may point out someone you meet who needs your word of testimony in the gospel.  He may speak to you affirming or denying a life choice about which you have been concerned.  Whatever it is, when He speaks, you will recognize His voice, and to you it's a command: “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

That’s what the Bible says!

 

01/26/2024: Galatians 4:17 – Following Jesus may lead to your being cancelled.

Thought for today – Following Jesus may lead to your being cancelled.

This verse is so current that Paul could have written it this morning.  The “cancel culture” has been a tool of the Enemy since the early days of the church.  The legalists in the Galatian churches were shutting out those who did not follow and support their false doctrine in an effort to make the “outsiders” feel alone and willing to submit to their rules in order to be part of the group.  This same strategy is a classic weapon of the self-righteous in every generation, so we must be wary of anyone in the culture or in the church who would try to make us feel odd, different, or left out because we reject their ideas and are following Jesus in the power and freedom of the Spirit.

That’s what the Bible says!

 

01/25/2024: Galatians 4:15-16 – The one who tells you the truth in love is your friend.

Thought for today – The one who tells you the truth in love is your friend not your enemy.

The Galatian believers at one time dearly loved and cared for Paul, but when he confronted their legalism, they had begun to see him as their enemy.  People naturally do not like to be corrected, especially when they are convinced of their own high moral position.  We all need to carefully guard our response to those who correct us in our Christian walk.  Our initial response to criticism or correction from a fellow believer should be to remember their love for us and to respond based on our answer to the question, “Is it true and is it biblical?”

That’s what the Bible says!

 

01/24/2024: Galatians 4:8-9 – Legalism rejects living by faith in Christ

Thought for today – Legalism rejects living by faith in Christ and accepts the bondage of works-based religion.

Before we came to faith in Christ, we were in bondage as slaves to the weak and beggarly elements of this world that cannot save.  It sounds incredible that anyone who has trusted in Christ would turn from freedom in Him back to the world and be bound by the Law and its rituals.  This is what legalism is and how it works.  Legalism makes one believe that he can achieve a right standing with God by the things that he does.  That way fails every time and ends in the stifling bondage of fear of not being good enough and pride in one’s own works.

That’s what the Bible says!

 

01/23/2024: Galatians 4:6-7 – By the Spirit of Christ, we can call on God as our Father.

Thought for today – By the Spirit of Christ, we can call on God as our Father.

The fact that we can address the God of the creation, the holy and righteous Lord God Almighty, as “Abba, Father!” is one of the most remarkable statements in this epistle.  How can it be that one who was born a slave to sin under the Law has been adopted into the family of God and made an heir of God through Christ?  As God’s sons and daughters, we have been granted the indwelling presence of the Spirit of Christ by which we call God, “Abba, Father!”  Paul used that specific term, “Abba,” to emphasize the informal, familial relationship with God the Father that is ours in Christ.  Through faith in Christ, we have passed beyond slavery to the freedom of the children of God.  As His children, we can freely call on God our Father for help in every need and crisis.  Glory to God!

That’s what the Book says!

 

01/22/2024: Galatians 4:4-5 – In abject humility, Jesus paid the full price of my redemption.

Thought for today – In abject humility, Jesus paid the full price of my redemption.

This verse describes the requirements God set for my redemption.  That redemption meant that God the Son had to humble Himself beyond imagination to become a man by being born of a woman as one of His own creatures and to place Himself in total subjection to the very Law He had written.  Though this verse does not speak directly of Jesus’s sacrifice, it is implied by the redemption He purchased for us with the ultimate objective that by His humility and sacrifice we would be elevated to adoption into God’s family.

“Amazing Love! How can it be
That Thou, my God, should die for me?”
Charles Wesley, 1738

That’s what the Book says!

 

01/21/2024: Galatians 4:4-5 – God’s timing and execution are always perfect.

Thought for today – God’s timing and execution are always perfect.

From before the beginning, God had ordained the timing and all the details of His plan for our redemption.  When that time had come and everything was ready, God sent Jesus Christ into the world.  Every detail that He planned was accomplished for our redemption from sin and for our adoption as His sons and daughters. 

That’s what the Book says!

01/20/2024: Galatians 3:26-29 – Welcome to the family of God in Christ.

 

Thought for today – Welcome to the family of God in Christ.

Paul made three very important declarations about our faith in these verses using the simple verb “you are.”  In Christ, we are “sons of God” (v. 26), “all one in Christ” (v. 28), and “Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise” (v. 29).  In faith, we are all family with the same lineage of God through Abraham.  The distinctions that separate and by which we identify ourselves and others on this earth have all been swept away, so that we are equally Christ’s and all the seed of Abraham, but more than that we are equally heirs of God according to His promise.  Christ is ours and heaven too!  O, my soul, rejoice!

That’s what the Book says!

01/19/2024: Galatians 3:23-25 – God used the Law to keep His people till faith in Christ would come.

Thought for today – God used the Law to keep His people till faith in Christ would come.

God gave Moses the Law as a means of guarding His people until Jesus the Messiah would come.  Observing the Law kept Israel ever mindful of the promises of God and their obligation to Him.  It served as a custodian, a schoolmaster, and a guardian to keep them until faith in Jesus Christ would come and fulfill the promises of faith.  Now that Christ has come and completed the prophecies of the Scripture, the gospel of salvation by faith has been revealed, and the Law in no longer our master or guardian.

That’s what the Book says!

01/18/2024: Galatians 3:21-22 – The Law is not a pathway to righteousness; faith is.

Thought for today – The Law is not a pathway to righteousness; faith is.

If we are saved by faith and not by works, and we are, what good is the Law?  Paul addresses that question by pointing out the great need of man is to find a way to God.  If there were any way to righteousness and this to God by keeping the Law, Jesus’s sacrifice would have been unnecessary.  The Law itself, however, demonstrated the need for the promise of faith in Christ because it lays bare our sin and reveals how desperately we need a Savior.  We need the Law because it proves how unrighteous we really are.

That’s what the Book says!

 

01/17/2024: Galatians 3:17-18 – The Law cannot supersede the promise of faith.

 

Thought for today – The Law cannot supersede the promise of faith because the law came much later.

In verses 15-19, Paul presents 2 important realities of the covenant of faith that God made with Abraham that invalidate the claims of the legalists.  The second reason is that the covenant of law was not given until 430 years after Abraham.  By then, the covenant of faith had long been made and ratified.  Nothing that comes after that covenant can supersede, change, annul it, so Paul can repeat that the just shall live by faith (verse 11) with complete confidence that law has no part in our justification.

That’s what the Book says!

01/16/2024: Galatians 3:15-16 – Adding law to faith is what tradition tries to do.

Thought for today – Adding law to faith is what tradition tries to do.

In verses 15-19, Paul presents 2 important realities of the covenant that God made with Abraham that invalidate the claims of the legalists.  The first reason (one for today and one tomorrow) is that the law does not supersede faith since once a covenant is confirmed, it cannot be changed or annulled by anyone who is not a party to the promise.  The active parties to the covenant of faith are God, Abraham, and Abraham’s Seed, who is Christ.  The Law has no part in the covenant of faith, so legalism and the law have no power to change or add conditions to the promise.

That’s what the Book says!

01/15/2024: Galatians 3:13-14 – Salvation by keeping the law and living by faith are mutually exclusive.

Thought for today – Salvation by keeping the law and living by faith are mutually exclusive.

The Law and faith are mutually exclusive, and calling these Galatian believers to return to the law was excluding them from the blessings and promises of faith.  It is a logical impossibility to believe in Christ for one’s redemption and then expect to earn the power of the Holy Spirit through keeping the law.  When Jesus Christ died for us as our perfect sacrifice, He redeemed us from the curse of the law.  Christ took on Himself our curse so Gentiles apart from the law might receive the blessings of Abraham, and that all who believe in Jesus Christ might receive the Holy Spirit through faith. 

That’s what the Book says!

01/14/2024: Galatians 3:1 – The just shall live by faith.

1. 
   

This profound verse is central to understanding the chapter, and indeed, the entire epistle to the Galatians.  I am going to pause here and take some time to look at this verse in its context with the goal of gaining a better understanding of Paul’s teaching through the rest of chapter3.

Permit me to speak in superlatives for a moment.  For me, verse 11 contains one of the five most profound statements in all of the Bible. These are:

1. Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning, God….”
2. Romans 3:10 "There is none righteous, no, not one."
3. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave….”
4. Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace are you saved through faith….”
5. Galatians 3:11 “the just shall live by faith.” (also in Habakkuk 2:4, Romans 1:11, Hebrews 10:38)

I see these 5 statements as central to understanding the gospel which is the foundation for all of the Bible.

That’s what the Book says!

01/13/2024: Galatians 3:8-9 – From the beginning, the gospel was God’s only plan of salvation.

 Thought for today – From the beginning, the gospel was God’s only plan of salvation.

The gospel Abraham received is the same gospel preached today so that all those who believe are blessed just as Abraham was.  Though Abraham looked to a future Savior and did not have all the details, he believed, and that faith was counted to him as righteousness (verse 6).  God intended that Abraham’s faith would be the blessing to all the nations of the earth throughout all of history, and believing the word of God in the gospel is God’s only plan for our redemption.

That’s what the Book says!

01/12/2024: Galatians 3:6-7 – Only those who have faith in Jesus Christ are the children of Abraham.

Thought for today – Only those who have faith in Jesus Christ are the children of Abraham.

Verse 7 contains a statement that must have been extremely shocking to the Galatian readers, “only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.”  To the Jewish believers, this was contrary to all that they had been taught about the unique nature of their heritage as the natural sons of Abraham.  According to this statement, some who were Jews by birth were excluded from the family of Abraham for not having faith in Jesus Christ.  To the Gentile believers, the concept that they could be included as children of Abraham by faith set them free from the prejudice and exclusion that they experienced.  Here, then, is the truth of this declaration – Jews who have no faith are not the sons of Abraham, and believing Gentiles are sons of Abraham by their faith.  Unified by faith, Jews and Gentiles form one new body, the church, and are both equally sons of Abraham.

That’s what the Book says!

 

01/11/2024: Galatians 3:6-7 – True righteousness comes from believing God.

 Thought for today – True righteousness comes from believing God.

In verse 6, Paul quotes Genesis 15:6.  He used this verse consistently in his letters to prove that God’s plan of salvation has always been justification by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9).  Abraham, the “Father of the Faithful,” was declared righteous by believing God proving that faith in Him has always been God’s only plan for redemption and salvation.

This is the gospel – if you believe that Jesus lived a sinless life, died for your sins, was buried, and was raised from the dead; and on that basis declare that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, somehow God counts that to you for His righteousness and gives you eternal life.  That is what it means to believe God like Abraham did.

That’s what the book says!

01/10/2024: Galatians 3:4-5 – God works miracles by His Spirit not because our merit.

 Thought for today – God works miracles by His Spirit not because our merit.

The focus of this verse is contained in the word translated “suffer.”  In the Greek, the word speaks of a passionate experience either good or bad.  In that sense, it could be translated as “have you experienced the new life in Christ with all its glories, miracles, and persecutions in vain?”  The answer to that question lies in the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in your life.  Is the gospel at work with miracles in the Spirit by faith or by your obligation to the Law?  Obviously, the Spirit works only by faith, and one’s supposed “merit” by works of the Law has no influence on the Spirit.

That’s what the Book says!

01/09/2024: Galatians 3:2-3 – We receive the Holy Spirit by faith, and we live daily in the Spirit by faith.

Galatians 3:2-3 (NKJV)

Thought for today – We receive the Holy Spirit by faith, and we live daily in the Spirit by faith.

If faith in Jesus Christ by the gospel is essential for salvation, then how can anyone convince you that your daily relationship with Him requires obedience to a set of rules established by men or the church?  No wonder Paul calls them foolish.  It is a logical contradiction to believe that faith in the gospel saves but something else is needed for strength or success in your spiritual life.  Devotion to tradition and religion will only bring pride, frustration, jealousy, bitterness, and failure in one’s walk with Jesus Christ.

That’s what the Book says!

 

01/08/2024: Galatians 3:1 – Legalism bewitches with its lie.

Galatians 3:1 (NKJV)

¹ O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?

Thought for today – Legalism bewitches with its lie that I can earn a right relationship with Jesus.

Bewitch – to cast a spell on someone so they will choose evil.  When Paul asked the Galatians Christians who had bewitched them, it was not hyperbole; he was asking a serious question.  People who are bewitched do not recognize that they have been deceived, and these Christians had come to deny the truth they had witnessed of the grace of God in Paul’s life and teaching.  He had clearly demonstrated the truth of the gospel that Jesus Christ was crucified, buried, and raised from the dead so that salvation was by grace through faith and not the works of the Law.  To deny this truth of the gospel was the result of the “bewitching” teaching of the legalists, and Paul wanted these new believers to recognize the serious wickedness of this false teaching.

That’s what the Book says!

01/07/2024: Galatians 2:21 – I am saved by His grace not my own “goodness.”

 Galatians 2:21 (NASB)

²¹ I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”

Thought for today – I am saved by His grace not my own “goodness.”

To say that a person can achieve righteousness on his own through the Law nullifies grace and declares to Jesus that His sacrifice was of no value.  I cannot imagine anything more absurd!  I will hold to His grace for my salvation and be eternally grateful for His sacrifice.

That’s what the Book says!

01/06/2024: Galatians 2:20 – I live by faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

 

Galatians 2:20 (NKJV)

²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Thought for today – I live by faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

In this verse, Paul presented the synopsis and triumph of his defense of the gospel.  The legalists were perverting the truth with their emphasis on keeping the Law as necessary for salvation.  In response, Paul focused on the truth of our radical, revolutionary spiritual reality with the words, “I live by faith in the Son of God.”  This life of faith we live begins with our death with Christ in His crucifixion so that we now live day-by-day in a new life that proceeds from Christ as He lives within us.

That’s what the Book says!

01/05/2024: Galatians 2:18-19 – The Law does not save, but I live to God guided by the Law.

 

01/04/2024: Galatians 2:17 – Having been saved by grace, can I be condemned for not keeping the Law?

Galatians 2:17 (ESV)

¹⁷ But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not!

Thought for today – Having been saved by grace, can I be condemned for not keeping the Law?

To be able to understand this section, verses 17-19, we need to realize that Paul is using a hypothetical argument to make his case against the Judaizers.  His argument is the question that if we are indeed saved by grace through faith, are we then condemned because we do not obey the Old Testament Law?  The answer is a clear, “NO!”  If it were true that the required obedience to the Law continued after being saved by grace, then Christ would be leading the Jews like Paul others who no longer practiced the Law into sin.  That could never be true.

That’s what the Book says!

 

01/03/2024: Galatians 2:15-16 – We are not justified before God by our heritage or good works.

Galatians 2:15-16 (NASB)

¹⁵ “We are Jews by nature and not sinners from the Gentiles; ¹⁶ nevertheless, knowing that a person is not justified by works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the Law; since by works of the Law no flesh will be justified.

Thought for today – Neither our heritage nor the best we do will justify us before God.

Unlike the Gentiles who did not have the Law as a guide, Paul, as a Jew, had lived all his life under the Law, but he was not justified by is birth or his keeping the Law.  Justification before God is only through faith in Jesus Christ.   Even the very best works of the Law will not bring justification, so both Jews and Gentiles stand before the Lord equally dependent on faith in Jesus Christ.

That’s what the Book says!
 

01/02/2024: Galatians 2:14 – Hypocrisy is setting a standard for others that you don't live by.

 

Galatians 2:14 (NKJV)

¹⁴ But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, “If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews?

Thought for today – Hypocrisy is setting a standard for others that you don't live by.

This verse introduces an significant problem in the early church.  Peter had come to Antioch where Paul was preaching, and he was influenced by some who sought to the Gentiles to live by the Law and separated the Jewish believers from the Gentiles.  Peter had actually tried to persuade the Gentile believers to follow the Jewish law while he himself lived like the Gentiles.  Paul saw this as open hypocrisy and a betrayal of the truth of the gospel, and confronted Peter publicly to his face. What follows in verses 15-21 is a clear and effective defense of the gospel emphasizing that salvation is by grace and not by keeping the Law.

That’s what the Book says!

01/01/2024: Psalm 65:11-12 – Begin the new year remembering the goodness of the Lord.

 

Psalm 65:11-12 (NKJV)

¹¹ You crown the year with Your goodness,
And Your paths drip with abundance.
¹² They drop on the pastures of the wilderness,
And the little hills rejoice on every side.

Thought for today – Begin the new year remembering the goodness of the Lord.

The year has passed, and with its passing, we look back and remember the events that touched our lives.  Too often in our reflection, we measure the Lord’s blessing only in happiness and the material things under what the culture calls “abundance,” and we are saddened by the trials and pains that we endured.  If we look back with the eyes of faith, however, we will see in everything the Lord’s bounty, grace, and goodness – in His true gifts of forgiveness for sin, comfort in sorrow and pain, purpose in living, and joy in Him.

That’s what the Book says!

12/31/2023: Galatians 2:16 – One is made just before God only by faith in Jesus Christ.

 

Galatians 2:16 (NKJV)

¹⁶ knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

Thought for today – One is made just before God only by faith in Jesus Christ.

Paul’s statement in this verse is central to the entire epistle and is the essence of the gospel.  Not one of us, even the best of us, is good enough to be justified by what he has done.  Our salvation is completely by faith in Jesus Christ.

That’s what the Book says!

12/30/2023: Galatians 2:9 – The grace of God carries equal value but separate individual responsibilities.

 

Galatians 2:9 (NASB)

⁹ and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we might go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised.

Thought for today – The grace of God carries equal value but separate individual responsibilities.

This verse states that the essence of God’s work of grace is not based on the Law, practice, or tradition.  God’s grace in salvation is His free gift given sovereignly regardless of what one has done either good or bad or could ever do.  That same grace carries forward into our life in Christ for He continually gives us grace to accomplish His work through us, and for each one of us that grace is unique.

That’s what the Book says!

12/29/2023: Galatians 2:4-5 – The slavery of religion is not the true gospel.

Galatians 2:4-5 (NASB)

⁴ Yet it was a concern because of the false brothers secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy on our freedom which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to enslave us. ⁵ But we did not yield in subjection to them, even for an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

Thought for today – The slavery of religion is not the truth of gospel.

Paul devoted the next two chapters of this epistle to countering these false teachers who taught that to be truly saved, the Gentile believers needed to keep the Old Testament Law beginning by being circumcised.  That teaching seems to have permeated throughout the new churches, and since the Jewish believers had held to the Law from birth, that was not a problem, but for the Gentiles, this was a big step.  In today’s culture, the same hold of tradition is still present among those in the church who believe and teach that a certain lifestyle is necessary for acceptance in Christ.  This teaching is the essence of legalism, the slavery of religion, and is not the gospel of Jesus Christ.

That’s what the Book says!

 

12/28/2023: Galatians 2:3-4 – As Christians, we are free from the bondage of ceremonial religion.

 

Galatians 2:3 (NASB)

³ But not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised.

Thought for today – As Christians, we are free from the bondage of ceremonial religion.

In verses 1 and 2, Paul detailed how he had come to see the leaders of the church in Jerusalem on a mission from the churches in Antioch of Syria to get a clear, unambiguous statement of the requirements of the Mosaic law relating to the lives of the Gentile believers.  Verses 3 states that Paul brought Titus, a Greek Christian, with him to Jerusalem to show the elders there that he was indeed a true believer, a man filled with the Holy Spirit, and a faithful servant of Jesus Christ.  For Paul, Titus was “exhibit A” for his evidence that a Gentile could be a Spirit-filled believer without submitting to the ceremonial law of the Old Testament as proof of our freedom in Christ Jesus.

That’s what the Book says!

12/27/2023: Galatians 2:1-2 – It is wise to be diplomatic.

 

Galatians 2:1-2 (NKJV)

¹ Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and also took Titus with me. ² And I went up by revelation, and communicated to them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those who were of reputation, lest by any means I might run, or had run, in vain.

Thought for today – It is wise to be diplomatic.

When Paul came to see the leaders of the church in Jerusalem, he came on a mission from the churches in Syria.  Because the number of Gentile believers was exploding in the early church, they recognized the necessity for a clear, unambiguous statement of the requirements of the Mosaic law relating to the lives of the Gentile believers.  Paul met with the Jerusalem elders first in private, knowing that to achieve a thoughtful, unemotional hearing from the leaders of the church, he had to recognize their reputations and be sure that they would not be influenced by the need to keep up appearances.  In our own lives, we need to follow Paul’s example by being aware of what motivates others.

That’s what the Book says!