Galatians

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  Paul: Apostle to the
  Gentiles


  Sabbath Afternoon				 Read for This Week’s Study: Acts 6:9–15; 9:1–9; 1 Sam.
  16:7; Matt. 7:1; Acts 11:19–21; 15:1–5.

  I
      t’s not that hard to understand Saul of Tarsus (also known as the
      apostle Paul after his conversion) and why he did what he did. As
      a devout Jew who was taught all his life about the importance of
  the law and about the soon-coming political redemption of Israel, the
  idea of the long-awaited Messiah being ignominiously executed like
  the worst of criminals was just too much for him to tolerate.
     No wonder, then, he was convinced that the followers of Jesus were
  being disloyal to the Torah and, thus, hindering God’s plan for Israel.
  Their claims that the crucified Jesus was the Messiah and that He had
  risen from the dead were, he believed, rank apostasy. There could be
  no tolerance for such nonsense or for anyone who refused to give up
  those notions. Saul was determined to be God’s agent to rid Israel of
  these beliefs. Hence, he first appears in the pages of Scripture as a
  violent persecutor of his fellow Jews, those who believed that Jesus
  was the Messiah.
     God, however, had far different plans for Saul, plans that he never
  could have anticipated for himself: not only was this Jew going
  to preach Jesus as the Messiah, he was going to do it among the
  Gentiles!

 Persecutor of Christians
   Saul of Tarsus first appears in Acts as one involved in the stoning of
 Stephen (Acts 7:58) and then in connection with the more wide-scale
 persecution that broke out in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1–5). Peter, Stephen,
 Philip, and Paul play a significant role in the book of Acts because
 they were involved in events that led to the spread of the Christian
 faith beyond the Jewish world. Stephen is of particular significance
 because his preaching and martyrdom appear to have had a profound
 influence on Saul of Tarsus.
   Stephen himself was a Greek-speaking Jew, and one of the original
 seven deacons (Acts 6:3–6). According to Acts, a group of foreign Jews
 who had come to live in Jerusalem (vs. 9) entered into a dispute with
 Stephen over the content of his preaching about Jesus. It is possible,
 maybe even likely, that Saul of Tarsus was involved in these debates.

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    The fierce hostility toward Stephen’s preaching appears to have
 resulted from two different things. On the one hand, Stephen drew the
 ire of his opponents by not placing primary importance on the Jewish
 law and the temple, which had become the focal point of Judaism and
 were treasured symbols of religious and national identity. But Stephen
 did more than merely downplay these two treasured icons; he vigor-
 ously proclaimed that Jesus, the crucified and risen Messiah, was the
 true center of the Jewish faith.
     No wonder, then, that he angered the Pharisee Saul (Phil. 3:3–6),
 whose zeal against the early Christians indicates that he probably
 belonged to a strict and militant wing of the Pharisees, one full of
 revolutionary fervor. Saul saw that the great prophetic promises of
 God’s kingdom had not yet been fulfilled (Daniel 2, Zech. 8:23,
 Isaiah 40–55), and he probably believed it was his task to help God
 bring that day about—which could be done by cleansing Israel of reli-
 gious corruption, including the idea that this Jesus was the Messiah.

  Convinced he was right, Saul was willing to put to death those
  whom he thought wrong. While we need to have zeal and fervor
  for what we believe, how do we learn to temper our zeal with
  the realization that, at times, we just might be wrong?
                                                                       7

  Saul’s Conversion
    “And he said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ Then the Lord said, ‘I am
  Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against
  the goads’ ” (Acts 9:5, NKJV).

 Although Saul’s persecution of the early church begins rather    inconspicuously (as he only holds the coats of Stephen’s execution-    ers), it quickly intensifies (see Acts 8:1–3; 9:1, 2, 13, 14, 21; 22:3–5).    Several of the words Luke uses to describe Saul paint a picture of a    wild, ferocious beast, or a pillaging soldier bent on the destruction of    his opponent. The word translated as “ravaging” in Acts 8:3 (ESV),    for example, is used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament    (Ps. 80:13) to describe the uncontrolled and destructive behavior of    a wild boar. Saul’s crusade against the Christians was clearly not a    half-hearted matter of convenience; it was a deliberate and sustained    plan to exterminate the Christian faith.

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    Saul’s conversion, from a human perspective, must have seemed
  impossible (hence the skepticism that many expressed when they first
  heard about it).
    The only thing Saul deserved was punishment, but God extended
  grace to this fervent Jew instead. It is important to note, however, that
  Saul’s conversion did not happen in a vacuum, nor was it forced.
    Saul was no atheist. He was a religious man, though gravely mis-
  taken in his understanding of God. Jesus’ words to Paul, “ ‘ “It is hard
  for you to kick against the goads” ’ ” (Acts 26:14, ESV), indicate that
  the Spirit had been convicting Saul. In the ancient world, a “goad”
  was a stick with a sharp point used to prod oxen whenever they
  resisted plowing. Saul had resisted God’s prodding for some time,
  but, finally, on his way to Damascus, through a miraculous encounter
  with the risen Jesus, Saul chose to fight no longer.

   Think back to your own conversion experience. Maybe it
   wasn’t as dramatic as Paul’s (most aren’t), but in what similar
   ways were you the recipient of God’s grace? Why is it impor-
   tant never to forget what we have been given in Christ? 8

                                                                 9

  The Gospel Goes to the Gentiles Where was the first Gentile church established? What events caused
  the believers to go there? Acts 11:19–21, 26. What does that
  remind you of from Old Testament times? See Daniel 2.

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     The persecution that broke out in Jerusalem after Stephen’s death
  caused a number of Jewish believers to flee three hundred miles north
  to Antioch. As capital of the Roman province of Syria, Antioch was
  second only to Rome and Alexandria in significance. Its population,
  estimated at five hundred thousand, was extremely cosmopolitan,
  making it an ideal location not only for a Gentile church but for a
  starting base for the worldwide mission of the early church.

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    It is difficult to construct a chronology of Paul’s life, but it appears
  that some five years passed between his post-conversion visit to
  Jerusalem (Acts 9:26–30) and the invitation by Barnabas to join him
  in Antioch. What was Paul doing during all those years? It is hard to
  say for sure. But based on his comments in Galatians 1:21, he may
  have been preaching the gospel in the regions of Syria and Cilicia.
  Some have suggested that perhaps it was during this time that he was
  disinherited by his family (Phil. 3:8) and suffered a number of the
  hardships he describes in 2 Corinthians 11:23–28.
    The church in Antioch blossomed under the guidance of the Spirit.
  The description in Acts 13:1 indicates that the cosmopolitan nature of
  the city was soon reflected in the ethnic and cultural diversity of the
  church itself. (Barnabas was from Cyprus, Lucius from Cyrene, Paul
  from Cilicia, Simon presumably from Africa, and also there were all
  the Gentile converts.) The Spirit now sought to take the gospel to even
  more Gentiles by using Antioch as the base for more far-reaching mis-
  sionary activities, beyond Syria and Judea.

   Read again Acts 11:19–26. What can we learn from the
   church at Antioch, a very culturally and ethnically diverse
   church, that could help churches today emulate the good that
   existed there? 10

 Conflict Within the Church
    Of course, nothing human is perfect, and it wasn’t long before
 trouble began within the early community of faith.
    For starters, not everyone was pleased with the entry of Gentile believ-
 ers into the early church. The disagreement was not over the concept of a
 Gentile mission but over the basis on which Gentiles should be allowed
 to join. Some felt that faith in Jesus alone was not sufficient as the defin-
 ing mark of the Christian; faith, they argued, must be supplemented with
 circumcision and obedience to the law of Moses. To be a true Christian,
 they asserted, Gentiles needed to be circumcised. (We can, in Acts 10:
 1–11:18, see the extent of the division between Jews and Gentiles through
 Peter’s experience with Cornelius and the reaction that followed.)
    The official visits from Jerusalem, which monitored Philip’s work
 among the Samaritans (Acts 8:14) and the work with Gentiles in
 Antioch (Acts 11:22), may suggest some concern about the inclu-
 sion of non-Jews in the Christian community. Yet, the reaction to
 Peter’s baptism of Cornelius, an uncircumcised Roman soldier, is a
 clear example of the disagreement that existed regarding the Gentile
 question among the earlier believers. The inclusion of an occasional
 Gentile such as Cornelius may have made some feel uncomfortable,
 but Paul’s intentional efforts to open wide the doors of the church
 for Gentiles on the basis of faith in Jesus alone resulted in deliberate
 attempts by some to undermine Paul’s ministry.

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    Although the Jerusalem Council, in Acts 15, ultimately sided with
 Paul on the issue of circumcision, the opposition to Paul’s minis-
 try continued. About seven years later, during Paul’s final visit to
 Jerusalem, many were still suspicious of Paul’s gospel. In fact, when
 Paul visited the temple, he nearly lost his life when Jews from Asia
 cried out, “Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men
 every where against the people, and the law, and this place” (Acts
 21:28; see also 21:20, 21).

  Put yourself in the position of these Jewish believers who were
  concerned about Paul’s teaching. Why do their concern and
  opposition make some sense? What can we learn from this
  about how our own preconceived ideas, as well as cultural (and
  even religious) notions, can lead us astray? How can we learn
  to protect ourselves from making the same kind of errors, no
  matter how well-intentioned we are?
                                                                          11

Further Study: For the relationship between personal conversion and
     the church, read Ellen G. White, “Individual Independence,” pp.
     430–434, in Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3. For a helpful map of
     the early life of Paul and commentary on his conversion, see The SDA
     Bible Commentary, vol. 6, pp. 226–234.

       “Paul had formerly been known as a zealous defender of the
     Jewish religion and an untiring persecutor of the followers of Jesus.
     Courageous, independent, persevering, his talents and training would
     have enabled him to serve in almost any capacity. He could reason
     with extraordinary clearness, and by his withering sarcasm could 1        place an opponent in no enviable light. And now the Jews saw this
     young man of unusual promise united with those whom he formerly
     persecuted, and fearlessly preaching in the name of Jesus.
       “A general slain in battle is lost to his army, but his death gives
     no additional strength to the enemy. But when a man of prominence
     joins the opposing force, not only are his services lost, but those to 2        whom he joins himself gain a decided advantage. Saul of Tarsus, on
     his way to Damascus, might easily have been struck dead by the Lord,
     and much strength would have been withdrawn from the persecut-
     ing power. But God in His providence not only spared Saul’s life,
     but converted him, thus transferring a champion from the side of the
     enemy to the side of Christ. An eloquent speaker and a severe critic,
     Paul, with his stern purpose and undaunted courage, possessed the
     very qualifications needed in the early church.”—Ellen G. White, The 3        Acts of the Apostles, p. 124.

Discussion Questions:
      l
      1 What lesson can we learn from the fact that some of Paul’s
      harshest opponents were fellow Jews who believed in Jesus?

      l2 How can you stand up for matters of religious principle and
      at the same time make sure that you are not fighting against
      God?

Summary: Saul’s encounter with the risen Jesus on the Damascus
     road was the defining moment in his life and in the history of the
     early church. God changed the one-time persecutor of the church and
     made him His chosen apostle to bring the gospel to the Gentile world.
     Paul’s inclusion of Gentiles in the church by faith alone, however,
     proved a difficult concept for some within the church to accept—a
     powerful example of how preconceptions and prejudice can hinder
     our mission.



12

  Paul’s Authority and
  Gospel


  Sabbath Afternoon				 Read for This Week’s Study: 2 Pet. 3:15, 16; Galatians
  1; Phil. 1:1; Gal. 5:12.

  S
         tudents at a university built a center on their campus where
         everyone—regardless of race, gender, social status, or religious
         beliefs—would be welcome. Imagine if, years later, these
  students returned to the campus only to discover that other students
  had redesigned the center. Instead of the large room with plenty of
  space for socializing—designed to bring a sense of unity to everyone
  there—the room had been subdivided into many smaller rooms with
  entrance restrictions based on race, gender, and so forth. The students
  responsible for the redesign might have argued that their authority to
  make these changes came from centuries-old established practice.
    This is something like the situation that Paul faced when he wrote
  his letter to the churches in Galatia. His plan that Gentiles could join
  on the basis of faith alone was being challenged by false teachers
  who insisted that Gentiles must also be circumcised before they could
  become members.
    This position, Paul saw, was an attack on the essence of the gos-
  pel itself; thus, he had to respond. The response is the letter to the
  Galatians.

 Paul, the Letter Writer Read 2 Peter 3:15, 16. What do these verses tell us about how the
 early church viewed Paul’s writing? What does this teach us
 about how inspiration works?

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    When Paul wrote to the Galatians, he was not trying to produce a
 literary masterpiece. Instead, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit,
 Paul was addressing specific situations that involved him and the
 believers in Galatia.
    Letters such as Galatians played an essential role in Paul’s apostolic
 ministry. As the missionary to the Gentile world, Paul founded a num-
 ber of churches scattered around the Mediterranean. Although he vis-
 ited these churches whenever he could, he couldn’t stay in one place too
 long. To compensate for his absence, Paul wrote letters to the churches
 in order to give them guidance. Over time, copies of Paul’s letters were
 shared with other churches (Col. 4:16). Although some of Paul’s letters
 have been lost, at least thirteen books in the New Testament bear his
 name. As the above words from Peter show, too, at some point Paul’s
 writings were viewed as Scripture. This shows just how much authority
 his ministry eventually gained early on in the history of the church.
    At one time some Christians believed that the format of Paul’s
 letters was unique—a special format created by the Spirit in order to
 contain God’s inspired Word. This view changed in 1896 when two
 young scholars from Oxford, Bernard Grenfell and Arthur Hunt, dis-
 covered in Egypt about five hundred thousand fragments of ancient
 papyri (documents written on papyrus, a popular writing material
 used several hundred years before and after Christ). In addition to
 finding some of the oldest copies of the New Testament, they found
 invoices, tax returns, receipts, and personal letters.
    Much to everyone’s surprise, the basic format of Paul’s letters
 turned out to be common to all letter writers in his day. The format
 included (1) an opening salutation that mentioned the sender and the
 recipient and then included a greeting; (2) a word of thanksgiving; (3)
 the main body of the letter; and, finally, (4) a closing remark.
    In short, Paul was following the basic format of his time, speaking
 to his contemporaries through a medium and style with which they
 would be familiar.

  If the Bible were to be written today, what kind of medium, for-
  mat, and style do you think the Lord would use to reach us now?

                                                                       15

 Paul’s Calling
    Though Paul’s epistles generally follow the basic format of ancient
 letters, Galatians contains a number of unique features not found in
 Paul’s other epistles. When recognized, these differences can help us
 to better understand the situation Paul was addressing.

    Paul’s opening salutation in Galatians is not only a bit longer than
 his other opening salutations, but he goes out of his way to describe
 the basis of his apostolic authority. Literally, the word apostle means
 “someone who is sent” or “a messenger.” In the New Testament, in the
 strictest sense, it refers to the original twelve followers of Jesus, and to
 others to whom the risen Christ appeared and commissioned to be His
 witnesses (Gal. 1:19, 1 Cor. 15:7). Paul declares that he belongs to this
 select group.
     The fact that Paul so strongly denies that his apostleship rests on any
 human being suggests that there was an attempt by some in Galatia to
 undermine his apostolic authority. Why? As we have seen, some in the
 church were not happy with Paul’s message that salvation was based on
 faith in Christ alone and not on works of the law. They felt that Paul’s
 gospel was undermining obedience. These troublemakers were subtle.
 They knew that the foundation of Paul’s gospel message was directly
 tied to the source of his apostolic authority (John 3:34), and they deter-
 mined to launch a powerful attack against that authority.
    Yet, they did not directly deny Paul’s apostleship; they merely argued
 that it was not really too significant. They likely claimed that Paul was
 not one of Jesus’ original followers; his authority, therefore, was not from
 God but from humans—perhaps from the church leaders from Antioch
 who commissioned Paul and Barnabas as missionaries (Acts 13:1–3). Or,
 perhaps, his authority came only from Ananias, who baptized Paul in the
 first place (Acts 9:10–18). Paul, in their opinion, was simply a messenger
 from Antioch or Damascus—nothing more! Consequently, they argued
 that his message was merely his own opinion, not the Word of God.
    Paul recognized the danger these allegations posed, and so, he
 immediately defended his God-given apostleship.

  In what ways, even subtly, is the authority of Scripture being
  challenged today within the confines of our church? How can
  we recognize these challenges? More important, how have they
  perhaps influenced your own thinking in regard to the author-
  ity of the Bible? 16

  Paul’s Gospel

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    One of the unique features of Paul’s letters is the way in which he links
  the words grace and peace in the greetings. The combination of these
  two words is a modification of the most characteristic greetings in the
  Greek and Jewish world. Where a Greek author would write “Greetings”
  (chairein), Paul writes “Grace,” a similar-sounding word in Greek
  (charis). To this Paul adds the typical Jewish greeting of “Peace.”
    The combination of these two words is not a mere pleasantry. On
  the contrary, the words basically describe his gospel message. (In fact,
  Paul uses these two words more than any other author in the New
  Testament.) The grace and peace are not from Paul but from God the
  Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

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  ________________________________________________________

     Although Paul has little space in his opening greeting to develop
  the nature of the gospel, he masterfully describes the essence of the
  gospel in only a few short verses. What is the central truth upon which
  the gospel resides? According to Paul, it is not our conformity to the
  law—the point that Paul’s opponents were trumpeting. On the con-
  trary, the gospel rests fully on what Christ accomplished for us through
  His death on the cross and resurrection from the dead. Christ’s death
  and resurrection did something that we never could do for ourselves.
  They broke the power of sin and death, freeing His followers from the
  power of evil, which holds so many in fear and bondage.
     As Paul reflects on the wonderful news of the grace and peace that
  God created for us in Christ, he falls into a spontaneous doxology,
  which appears in verse 5.

   In about as many words as Paul used in Galatians 1:1–5, write
   down your understanding of what the gospel is all about. Bring
   your words to class on Sabbath.

                                                                         17

  No Other Gospel What normally follows the opening greeting in Paul’s letters? How
  is Galatians different? Compare Gal. 1:6 with Rom. 1:8, 1 Cor. 1:4,
  Phil. 1:3, and 1 Thess. 1:2.

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    Although Paul addressed all kinds of local challenges and problems
  in his letters to the churches, he still made it a practice to follow his
  opening greeting with a word of prayer or thanksgiving to God for the
  faith of his readers. He even does this in his letters to the Corinthians,
  who were struggling with all kinds of questionable behavior (compare
  1 Cor. 1:4 and 5:1). The situation in Galatia is so upsetting, however,
  that Paul omits the thanksgiving entirely and gets right to the point.

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  ________________________________________________________

    Paul does not hold back any words in his accusation against the
  Galatians. Simply put, he charges them with betraying their calling
  as Christians. In fact, the word turning (NJKV), which appears in
  verse 6, often was used to describe soldiers who gave up their loyalty
  to their country by deserting the army. Spiritually speaking, Paul is
  saying that the Galatians were turncoats who were turning their backs
  on God.
    How were the Galatians deserting God? By turning to a different
  gospel. Paul is not saying that there is more than one gospel, but that
  there were some in the church who—by teaching that faith in Christ
  was not enough (Acts 15:1–5)—were acting as if there were another
  one. Paul is so upset by this distortion of the gospel that he desires that
  anyone who preaches a different gospel might fall under the curse of
  God (Gal. 1:8). Paul is so emphatic about this point that he basically
  says the same thing twice (Gal. 1:9).

   There is, today, a tendency even in our church (in some places)
   to emphasize experience over doctrine. What matters most (we
   are told) is our experience, our relationship with God. However
   important experience is, what does Paul’s writing here teach us
   about the importance of correct doctrine? 18

  The Origin of Paul’s Gospel
    The troublemakers in Galatia were claiming that Paul’s gospel was
  really driven by his desire to obtain the approval of others. What
  might Paul have done differently in his letter if he were merely seek-
  ing human approval? Consider Gal. 1:6–9, 11–24.
  ________________________________________________________
  ________________________________________________________

    Why did Paul not require Gentile converts to be circumcised?
  Paul’s opponents claimed it was because Paul wanted conversions at
  any cost. Maybe they thought that because Paul knew that Gentiles
  would have reservations about circumcision, he didn’t require it. He
  was a people-pleaser! In response to such allegations, Paul points his
  opponents to the strong words he had just written in verses 8 and 9.
    If all he wanted was approval, he would surely have answered
  otherwise.

    Verses 13–24 provide an autobiographical account of Paul’s situation
  before his conversion (vss. 13, 14), during his conversion (vss. 15, 16),
  and afterward (vss. 16–24). Paul claims that the circumstances that sur-
  rounded each of these events make it absolutely impossible for anyone
  to claim that he received his gospel from anyone but God. Paul is not
  going to sit by and allow anyone to disparage his message by question-
  ing his calling. He knows what happened to him, he knows what he was
  called to teach, and he is going to do it, regardless of the cost.

   How certain are you of your calling in Christ? How can you
   know for sure what God has called you to do? At the same time,
   even if you are sure of your calling, why must you learn to listen
   to the counsel of others?
                                                                       19

Further Study: “In almost every church there were some members
     who were Jews by birth. To these converts the Jewish teachers found
     ready access, and through them gained a foot-hold in the churches.
     It was impossible, by scriptural arguments, to overthrow the doc-
     trines taught by Paul; hence they resorted to the most unscrupulous
     measures to counteract his influence and weaken his authority. They
     declared that he had not been a disciple of Jesus, and had received no
     commission from him; yet he had presumed to teach doctrines directly
     opposed to those held by Peter, James, and the other apostles. . . .
        “Paul’s soul was stirred as he saw the evils that threatened speed- 1
     ily to destroy these churches. He immediately wrote to the Galatians,
     exposing their false theories, and with great severity rebuking those
     who had departed from the faith.”—Ellen G. White, Sketches From
     the Life of Paul, pp. 188, 189.

      l
      1 In class, read your explanations of what you understand the gos-
      pel to be. What can you learn from the writings of each other?

      l
      2 In Paul’s greeting to the Galatians, he declared that Jesus’
      death occurred for a specific reason. What was that reason, and
      what meaning does that have for us today? 3
      l3 In Galatians 1:14 Paul says he was extremely zealous for the
      traditions of his fathers. By “traditions” he probably means both
      the oral traditions of the Pharisees and the Old Testament itself.
      What place (if any) is there for traditions in our faith? What
      warning might Paul’s experience offer for us today in regard to
      the whole question of tradition?

      l
      4 Why was Paul so seemingly “intolerant” of those who believed
      differently from the way he did? Read again some of the things
      he wrote about those who had a different view of the gospel. How
      might someone who holds such a strong, uncompromising stance
      be viewed in our church today?

Summary: The false teachers in Galatia were trying to undermine
     Paul’s ministry by claiming that his apostleship and gospel message
     were not God-given. Paul confronts both of these accusations in the
     opening verses of his letter to the Galatians. He boldly declares that
     there is only one way of salvation and describes how the events sur-
     rounding his conversion demonstrate that his calling and gospel only
     could be from God.


20

  The Unity of the Gospel




  Sabbath Afternoon				 Read for This Week’s Study: Gal. 2:1–14, 1 Cor. 1:10–13,    Gen. 17:1–21, John 8:31–36, Col. 3:11.

  P
        rotestant reformer John Calvin believed that disunity and divi-
        sion were the devil’s chief devices against the church, and he
        warned that Christians should avoid schism like the plague.
    But should unity be preserved at the cost of truth? Imagine if Martin
  Luther, the father of the Protestant Reformation, had in the name of
  unity chosen to recant his views on salvation by faith alone when he
  was brought to trial at the Diet of Worms.
    “Had the Reformer yielded a single point, Satan and his hosts
  would have gained the victory. But his unwavering firmness was the
  means of emancipating the church, and beginning a new and better
  era.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 166.
    In Galatians 2:1–14, we find the apostle doing all in his power to
  maintain the unity of the apostolic circle in the midst of attempts by
  some believers to destroy it. But as important as that unity was to
  Paul, he refused to allow the truth of the gospel to be compromised in
  order to achieve it. While there is room for diversity within unity, the
  gospel must never be compromised in the process.

  The Importance of Unity

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     Having refuted the allegations that his gospel was not God-given,
  Paul directs his attention in Galatians 2:1, 2 to another charge being
  made against him. The false teachers in Galatia claimed that Paul’s
  gospel was not in harmony with what Peter and the other apostles
  taught. Paul, they were saying, was a renegade.
     In response to this charge, Paul recounts a trip he made to Jerusalem
  at least fourteen years after his conversion. Although we’re not totally
  sure when that trip took place, no trip in antiquity was an easy affair.
  If he traveled by land from Antioch to Jerusalem, the three-hundred-
  mile trip would have taken at least three weeks and would have
  involved all kinds of hardships and dangers. Yet, in spite of such
  difficulties, Paul undertook the journey, not because the apostles had
  summoned him but because the Spirit had. And while he was there,
  he set his gospel before the apostles.
     Why did he do that? Certainly not because he had any doubt about
  what he was teaching. He certainly did not need any kind of reassur-
  ance from the apostles. After all, he already had been proclaiming
  the same gospel for fourteen years. And though he did not need their
  permission or approval, either, he highly valued the other apostles’
  support and encouragement.
     Thus, the accusation that his message was different was not only
  an attack on Paul but also an attack on the unity of the apostles, and
  on the church itself. Maintaining apostolic unity was vital, since
  a division between Paul’s Gentile mission and the mother church
  in Jerusalem would have had disastrous consequences. With no
  fellowship between the Gentile and Jewish Christians, then “Christ
  would be divided, and all the energy which Paul had devoted, and
  hoped to devote, to the evangelizing of the Gentile world would
  be frustrated.”—F. F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Galatians (Grand
  Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982),
  p. 111.

   What are some issues that threaten the unity of the church today?
   More important, after we define these issues, how do we deal with
   them? What issues are more important than unity itself?
                                                                      23

 Circumcision and the False Brothers Why was circumcision such a focal point in the dispute between
 Paul and certain Jewish Christians? See Gen. 17:1–22; Gal.
 2:3–5; 5:2, 6; Acts 15:1, 5. Why is it not that hard to understand
 how some could have believed that even the Gentiles needed to
 undergo it?

 ________________________________________________________

 ________________________________________________________

    Circumcision was the sign of the covenant relationship that God
 established with Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation. Although
 circumcision was only for Abraham’s male descendants, everyone
 was invited into the covenant relationship with God. The sign of cir-
 cumcision was given to Abraham in Genesis 17. This occurred after
 Abraham’s disastrous attempt—by fathering a child with his wife’s
 Egyptian slave—to help God fulfill His promise to him of a son.
    Circumcision was a fitting sign of the covenant. It was a reminder
 that the best-laid plans of humans can never accomplish what God
 Himself has promised. Outward circumcision was to be a symbol of
 circumcision of the heart (Deut. 10:16, 30:6, Jer. 4:4, Rom. 2:29).
 It represented a stripping away of our confidence in ourselves and a
 faithful dependence on God instead.
    During Paul’s time, however, circumcision had become a prized
 sign of national and religious identity—not what it was originally
 intended to signify. About one hundred fifty years before Jesus’ birth,
 some overly zealous patriots not only forced all uncircumcised Jews
 in Palestine to be circumcised, but they also required it of all men liv-
 ing in the surrounding nations who fell under their jurisdiction. Some
 even believed circumcision was a passport to salvation. This can
 be seen in ancient epigrams that confidently declare things such as,
 “ ‘Circumcised men do not descend into Gehenna [hell].’ ”—C. E. B.
 Cranfield, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the
 Romans (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark Ltd., 1975), p. 172.
    It would be a mistake to assume that Paul was opposed to circumci-
 sion itself. What Paul objected to was the insistence that Gentiles had
 to submit to circumcision. The false teachers said: “ ‘Unless you are
 circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved’ ”
 (Acts 15:1, NKJV). The issue, then, was not really about circumcision
 but about salvation. Salvation is either by faith in Christ alone, or it is
 something earned by human obedience.

  Maybe today circumcision isn’t the issue. But what (if anything)
  do we as a church struggle with that parallels this problem? 24

  Unity in Diversity Read Galatians 2:1–10. Paul says that the false brothers “slipped in
  to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they
  might bring us into slavery” (Gal. 2:4, ESV). What are Christians
  free from? Read John 8:31–36; Rom. 6:6, 7; 8:2, 3; Gal. 3:23–25;
  4:7, 8; Heb. 2:14, 15. How do we experience for ourselves the real-
  ity of this freedom?
  ________________________________________________________
  ________________________________________________________

     Freedom, as a description of the Christian experience, is an impor-
  tant concept for Paul. He used the word more frequently than did any
  other author in the New Testament, and in the book of Galatians the
  words free and freedom occur numerous times. Freedom, however,
  for the Christian means freedom in Christ. It is the opportunity to live
  a life of unhindered devotion to God. It involves freedom from being
  enslaved to the desires of our sinful nature (Romans 6), freedom from
  the condemnation of the law (Rom. 8:1, 2), and freedom from the
  power of death (1 Cor. 15:55).

    The apostles acknowledged that God had called Paul to preach
  the gospel to the Gentiles, just as He had called Peter to preach to
  the Jews. In both cases, the gospel was the same, but the way it was
  presented depended on the people the apostles were trying to reach.
  Implicit in this verse “is the important recognition that one and the
  same formula is bound to be heard differently and to have differ-
  ent force in different social and cultural contexts. . . . It is precisely
  this oneness which is the basis of Christian unity, precisely as unity
  in diversity.”—James D. G. Dunn, The Epistle to the Galatians
  (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1993), p. 106.
   How open should we be to methods of evangelism and witness-
   ing that take us out of our “comfort zone”? Are there some
   forms of evangelism that bother you? If so, what are they,
   why do they bother you, and might you need to be more open-
   minded about these things?
                                                                        25

 Confrontation in Antioch (Gal. 2:11–13)
   Some time after Paul’s consultation in Jerusalem, Peter made a
 visit to Antioch in Syria, the location of the first Gentile church and
 the base of Paul’s missionary activities as described in Acts. While
 there, Peter ate freely with the Gentile Christians, but when a group
 of Jewish Christians arrived from James, Peter—fearful of what they
 would think—changed his behavior entirely.

 ________________________________________________________

 ________________________________________________________

   Some have mistakenly assumed that Peter and the other Jews with
 him had ceased following the Old Testament laws about clean and
 unclean food. This, however, does not seem to be the case. If Peter
 and all the Jewish Christians had abandoned the Jewish food laws, a
 major uproar in the church certainly would have followed. If so, there
 would surely be some record of it, but there is not. It is more likely
 that the issue was about table fellowship with Gentiles. Because many
 Jews saw Gentiles as unclean, it was a practice among some to avoid
 social contact with Gentiles as much as possible.
   Peter had struggled with this issue himself, and it was only a vision
 from God that helped him to see it clearly. Peter said to Cornelius,
 the Roman centurion, after he entered his house, “ ‘You yourselves
 know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone
 of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any
 person common or unclean’ ” (Acts 10:28, ESV). Although he knew
 better, he was so afraid of offending his own countrymen that he
 reverted to his old ways. That’s, apparently, how strong the pull of
 culture and tradition was in Peter’s life.
   Paul, though, called Peter’s actions exactly what they were: the
 Greek word he used in Galatians 2:13 is hypocrisy. Even Barnabas, he
 said, was “carried away with their hypocrisy” (NKJV). Strong words
 from one man of God to another.

  Why is it so easy to be a hypocrite? (Isn’t it, perhaps, that we
  tend to blind ourselves to our own faults while eagerly looking
  for faults in others?) What kind of hypocrisy do you find in
  your own life? More important, how can you recognize it and
  then root it out?

 Paul’s Concern (Gal. 2:14)
   The situation in Antioch surely was tense: Paul and Peter, two lead-
 ers in the church, were in open conflict. And Paul holds nothing back
 as he calls Peter to account for his behavior.

    As Paul saw it, the problem was not that Peter had decided to eat
 with the visitors from Jerusalem. Ancient traditions about hospitality
 certainly would have required as much.
    The issue was “the truth of the gospel.” That is, it wasn’t just an
 issue of fellowship or dining practices. Peter’s actions, in a real sense,
 compromised the whole message of the gospel.

    During Paul’s meeting in Jerusalem with Peter and the other apos-
 tles, they had come to the conclusion that Gentiles could enjoy all of
 the blessings in Christ without first having to submit to circumcision.
 Peter’s action now put that agreement in jeopardy. Where once Jewish
 and Gentile Christians had joined in an environment of open fellow-
 ship, now the congregation was divided, and this held the prospect of
 a divided church in the future.
    From Paul’s perspective, Peter’s behavior implied that the Gentile
 Christians were second-rate believers at best, and he believed that
 Peter’s actions would place strong pressure upon the Gentiles to
 conform if they wanted to experience full fellowship. Thus, Paul says,
  “ ‘If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how
 can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?’ ” (Gal. 2:14, ESV). The
 phrase “to live like Jews” can be more literally translated as “to
 Judaize.” This word was a common expression that meant “to adopt
 a Jewish way of life.” It was used for Gentiles who attended a syna-
 gogue and participated in other Jewish customs. It is also the reason
 that Paul’s opponents in Galatia, whom he calls the false brothers, are
 often referred to as “the Judaizers.”

  As if Peter’s actions weren’t bad enough, Barnabas got caught
  up in this behavior, as well—someone who should have also
  known better. What a clear example of the power of “peer
  pressure”! How can we learn to protect ourselves from being
  swayed in the wrong direction by those around us?
                                                                       27

Further Study: For further study on the issue of unity and diver-
     sity in the church, read Ellen G. White, “Investigation of New Light,”
     pp. 45, 47, in Counsels to Writers and Editors; “An Explanation of
     Early Statements,” p. 75, in Selected Messages, book 1; “Tactfulness,”
     pp. 117–119, in Gospel Workers; and “Manuscript Release 898,” pp.
     1092, 1093, in 1888 Materials, vol. 3.

        “Even the best of men, if left to themselves, will make grave
     blunders. The more responsibilities placed upon the human agent,
     the higher his position to dictate and control, the more mischief he is 1        sure to do in perverting minds and hearts if he does not carefully fol-
     low the way of the Lord. At Antioch Peter failed in the principles of
     integrity. Paul had to withstand his subverting influence face to face.
     This is recorded that others may profit by it, and that the lesson may
     be a solemn warning to the men in high places, that they may not fail
     in integrity, but keep close to principle.”—Ellen G. White Comments, 2        The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1108.

Discussion Questions:
      l1 Very few people enjoy confrontation, but sometimes it is nec-
      essary. In what circumstances should a church condemn error,
      and discipline those who refuse to accept correction?

      l
      2 As the Seventh-day Adventist Church grows around the 3         world, it becomes more and more diverse. What steps can the
      church take to make sure that unity is not lost in the midst of
      such diversity? How can we learn to accept and even enjoy the
      diversity of cultures and traditions among us, while at the same
      time maintaining unity?

      l
      3 When sharing the gospel in a different culture, what are
      the essential elements that should not change, and what can be
      changed? How do we learn to distinguish between what must
      remain and what we can, if necessary, let go?

Summary: The insistence by some Jewish Christians that Gentiles
     must be circumcised in order to become true followers of Christ posed
     a serious threat to the unity of the early church. Instead of letting this
     issue divide the church into two different movements, the apostles
     worked together, in spite of conflicts among themselves, to ensure
     that the body of Christ stayed united and faithful to the truth of the
     gospel.




      28

  Justification by Faith
  Alone


  Sabbath Afternoon				 Read for This Week’s Study: Gal. 2:15–21; Eph. 2:12;
  Phil. 3:9; Rom. 3:10–20; Gen. 15:5, 6; Rom. 3:8.

  A
           s we saw last week, Paul publicly confronted Peter in Antioch
           for the lack of consistency between the faith he advocated and
           the behavior he displayed. Peter’s decision no longer to eat
  with former pagans suggested that they were second-rate Christians,
  at best. His actions implied that if they really wanted to be part of the
  family of God and enjoy the blessings of full table fellowship, they
  must first submit to the rite of circumcision.
     What did Paul actually say to Peter on that tense occasion? In
  this week’s lesson, we will study what is likely a summary of what
  went on. This passage contains some of the most compressed word-
  ing in the New Testament, and it is extremely significant, because
  it introduces us for the first time to several words and phrases that
  are foundational both to understanding the gospel and to the rest of
  Paul’s letter to the Galatians. These key words include justification,
  righteousness, works of law, belief, and not only faith but even the
  faith of Jesus.
     What does Paul mean by these terms, and what do they teach us
  about the plan of salvation?

  The Question of “Justification” (Gal. 2:15, 16) In Galatians 2:15, Paul writes, “We ourselves are Jews by birth and not
  Gentile sinners” (ESV). What point do you think he was making?

  ________________________________________________________

     Paul’s words need to be understood in their context. In an attempt
  to win over his fellow Jewish Christians to his position, Paul starts
  with something with which they would agree—the traditional dis-
  tinction between Jews and Gentiles. Jews were the elect of God,
  entrusted with His law, and they enjoyed the benefits of the covenant
  relationship with Him. Gentiles, however, were sinners; God’s law
  did not restrain their behavior, and they were outside the covenants of
  promise (Eph. 2:12, Rom. 2:14). While Gentiles were obviously “sin-
  ners,” in verse 16 Paul warns the Jewish Christians that their spiritual
  privileges do not make them any more acceptable to God, because no
  one is justified by “works of the law.”

  ________________________________________________________

    The verb to justify is a key term for Paul. Of the thirty-nine times it
  occurs in the New Testament, twenty-seven are in Paul’s letters. He
  uses it eight times in Galatians, including four references in Galatians
  2:16, 17. Justification is a legal term, used in courts of law. It deals
  with the verdict a judge pronounces when a person is declared inno-
  cent of the charges brought against him or her. It is the opposite of
  condemnation. Additionally, because the words just and righteous
  come from the same Greek word, for a person “to be justified” means
  that the person also is counted as “righteous.” Thus, justification
  involves more than simply pardon or forgiveness; it is the positive
  declaration that a person is righteous.
    For some of the Jewish believers, however, justification also was
  relational. It revolved around their relationship with God and His
  covenant. To be “justified” also meant that a person was counted
  as a faithful member of God’s covenantal community, the family of
  Abraham.

   Read Galatians 2:15–17. What is Paul saying to you here, and
   how can you apply these words to your own Christian experi-
   ence?
                                                                        31

  Works of the Law Paul says three times in Galatians 2:16 that a person is not justified
  by “works of the law.” What does he mean by the expression
  “works of the law”? How do these texts (Gal. 2:16, 17; 3:2, 5, 10;
  Rom. 3:20, 28) help us understand his meaning?

  ________________________________________________________

  ________________________________________________________

     Before we can understand the phrase “the works of the law,” we first
  need to understand what Paul means by the word law. The word law
  (nomos in Greek) is found 121 times in Paul’s letters. It can refer to a num-
  ber of different things, including God’s will for His people, the first five
  books of Moses, the entire Old Testament, or even just a general principle.
  However, the primary way Paul uses it is to refer to the entire collection of
  God’s commandments as given to His people through Moses.
     Therefore, the phrase “the works of the law” likely involves all
  the requirements found in the commandments given by God through
  Moses, whether moral or ceremonial. Paul’s point is that no matter how
  hard we try to follow and obey God’s law, our obedience never will be
  good enough for God to justify us, to have us declared righteous before
  God. That’s because His law requires absolute faithfulness in thought
  and action—not just some of the time but all of the time, and not just
  for some of His commandments but for all of them.
     Although the phrase “works of the law” does not occur in the Old
  Testament and is not found in the New Testament outside of Paul, stun-
  ning confirmation of its meaning emerged in 1947 with the discovery
  of the Dead Sea Scrolls, a collection of writings copied by a group of
  Jews, called Essenes, who lived at the time of Jesus. Although written
  in Hebrew, one of the scrolls contains this exact phrase. The scroll’s
  title is Miqsat Ma’as Ha-Torah, which can be translated, “Important
  Works of the Law.” The scroll describes a number of issues based on
  biblical law concerned with preventing holy things from being made
  impure, including several that marked the Jews out as separate from
  the Gentiles. At the end the author writes that if these “works of the
  law” are followed, “you will be reckoned righteous” before God.
  Unlike Paul, the author does not offer his reader righteousness on the
  basis of faith but on the basis of behavior.

   In your experience, how well do you keep God’s law? Do you
   really sense that you keep it so well that you can be justified
   before God on the basis of your law-keeping? See Rom. 3:10–20.
   If not, why not—and how does your answer help you under-
   stand Paul’s point here? 32

  The Obedience of Faith
    Paul makes it clear that faith absolutely is foundational to the
  Christian life. It is the means by which we lay hold of the promises we
  have in Christ. But what is faith exactly? What does it involve?

  ________________________________________________________

  ________________________________________________________

    Genuine biblical faith is always a response to God. Faith is not
  some kind of feeling or attitude that humans one day decide to have
  because God requires it. On the contrary, true faith originates in a
  heart touched with a sense of gratitude and love for God’s goodness.
  That’s why when the Bible talks about faith, that faith always follows
  initiatives that God has taken. In the case of Abraham, for example,
  faith is his response to the amazing promises God makes to him (Gen.
  15:5, 6), while in the New Testament, Paul says that faith is ultimately
  rooted in our realization of what Christ did for us on the cross.

  ________________________________________________________

  ________________________________________________________

     Many people define faith as “belief.” This definition is problematic,
  because in Greek the word for “faith” is simply the noun form of the
  verb “to believe.” To use one form to define the other is like saying
  “faith is to have faith.” It tells us nothing.
     A careful examination of Scripture reveals that faith involves not
  only knowledge about God but a mental consent or acceptance of that
  knowledge. This is one reason why having an accurate picture of God
  is so important. Distorted ideas about the character of God actually can
  make it more difficult to have faith. But an intellectual assent to the gos-
  pel is not enough, for, in that sense, “even the demons believe.” True
  faith also affects the way a person lives. In Romans 1:5, Paul writes
  about the “obedience of faith.” Paul is not saying that obedience is the
  same as faith. He means true faith affects the whole of a person’s life,
  not just the mind. It involves commitment to our Lord and Savior Jesus
  Christ, as opposed to just a list of rules. Faith is as much what we do and
  how we live and in whom we trust as it is what we believe. 34

  Does Faith Promote Sin?
    One of the main accusations against Paul was that his gospel of
  justification by faith alone encouraged people to sin (see Rom. 3:8,
  6:1). No doubt the accusers reasoned that if people do not have to
  keep the law to be accepted by God, why should they be concerned
  with how they live?

  ________________________________________________________

    Paul responds to his opponents’ charges in the strongest terms
  possible: “God forbid!” While it is possible that a person might fall
  into sin after coming to Christ, the responsibility would certainly
  not belong to Christ. If we break the law, we ourselves are the law-
  breakers.

  ________________________________________________________

    Paul finds the reasoning of his opponents simply preposterous.
  Accepting Christ by faith is not something trivial; it is not a game of
  heavenly make-believe where God counts a person as righteous while
  there is no real change in how that person lives. On the contrary, to
  accept Christ by faith is extremely radical. It involves a complete
  union with Christ—a union in both His death and resurrection.
  Spiritually speaking, Paul says we are crucified with Christ, and our
  old sinful ways rooted in selfishness are finished (Rom. 6:5–14). We
  have made a radical break with the past. Everything is new (2 Cor.
  5:17). We have also been raised to a new life in Christ. The resur-
  rected Christ lives within us, daily making us more and more like
  Himself. 			
    Faith in Christ, therefore, is not a pretext for sin but a call to a much
  deeper, richer relationship with Christ than could ever be found in a
  law-based religion.

   How do you relate to the concept of salvation by faith alone
   without the deeds of the law? Does it, perhaps, scare you a
   little, making you think that it can be an excuse for sin—or
   do you rejoice in it? What does your answer say about your
   understanding of salvation?
                                                                         35

Further Study: “The danger has been presented to me again and again
     of entertaining, as a people, false ideas of justification by faith. I have
     been shown for years that Satan would work in a special manner to
     confuse the mind on this point. The law of God has been largely dwelt
     upon and has been presented to congregations, almost as destitute of
     the knowledge of Jesus Christ and His relation to the law as was the
     offering of Cain. I have been shown that many have been kept from
     the faith because of the mixed, confused ideas of salvation, because
     the ministers have worked in a wrong manner to reach hearts. The
     point that has been urged upon my mind for years is the imputed
     righteousness of Christ. . . . 1           “There is not a point that needs to be dwelt upon more earnestly,
     repeated more frequently, or established more firmly in the minds of
     all than the impossibility of fallen man meriting anything by his own
     best good works. Salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ alone.”
     —Ellen G. White, Faith and Works, pp. 18, 19.
        “The law demands righteousness, and this the sinner owes to the 2        law; but he is incapable of rendering it. The only way in which he can
     attain to righteousness is through faith. By faith he can bring to God
     the merits of Christ, and the Lord places the obedience of His Son
     to the sinner’s account. Christ’s righteousness is accepted in place
     of man’s failure, and God receives, pardons, justifies, the repentant,
     believing soul, treats him as though he were righteous, and loves him
     as He loves His Son.”—Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, book 1,
     p. 367. 3

Discussion Questions:
      l
      1 In the first passage quoted above, Ellen G. White says no
      subject needs to be emphasized more than justification by faith.
      As a class, discuss whether her comments are as applicable for
      us today as they were when she wrote them over a hundred years
      ago and, if so, why.

      l
      2 Why does Paul say that Christ would have died for no pur-
      pose, if justification were through the law? Gal. 2:21. What does
      he mean by that?

Summary: Peter’s behavior in Antioch suggested that former pagans
     could not be true Christians unless they were first circumcised. Paul
     pointed out the fallacy of such thinking. God cannot pronounce any-
     one righteous on the basis of that person’s behavior, for even the best
     humans are not perfect. It is only by accepting what God has done for
     us in Christ that sinners can be justified in His sight.



36

                          Tawgy (left) continues to study and share his faith in
                          Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

  Old Testament Faith




  Sabbath Afternoon				 Read for This Week’s Study: Gal. 3:1–14; Rom. 1:2; 4:3;
  Gen. 15:6; 12:1–3; Lev. 17:11; 2 Cor. 5:21.

  A
           little boy made a little boat, all painted and fixed up beauti-
           fully. One day someone stole his boat, and he was distressed.
           In passing a pawnshop one day he saw his boat. Happily he
  ran in to the pawnbroker and said, ‘That is my little boat.’ ‘No,’ said
  the pawnbroker, ‘it is mine, for I bought it.’ ‘Yes,’ said the boy, ‘but
  it is mine, for I made it.’ ‘Well,’ said the pawnbroker, ‘if you will pay
  me two dollars, you can have it.’ That was a lot of money for a boy
  who did not have a penny. Anyway, he resolved to have it; so he cut
  grass, did chores of all kinds, and soon had his money.
     “He ran down to the shop and said, ‘I want my boat.’ He paid the
  money and received his boat. He took the boat up in his arms, and
  hugged and kissed it, and said, ‘You dear little boat, I love you. You
  are mine. You are twice mine. I made you, and now I have bought
  you.’
     “So it is with us. We are, in a sense, twice the Lord’s. He cre-
  ated us, and we got into the devil’s pawnshop. Then Jesus came and
  bought us at awful cost—not silver and gold, but His precious blood.
  We are the Lord’s by creation and by redemption.”—William Moses
  Tidwell, Pointed Illustrations (Kansas City, Mo.: Beacon Hill Press,
  1951), p. 97.

 The Foolish Galatians Read Galatians 3:1–5. Summarize below what Paul is saying to the
 Galatians. In what sense could we be in danger of falling into the
 same spiritual pitfall, of starting out right and then falling into
 legalism?

  _______________________________________________________

 _______________________________________________________

 _______________________________________________________

 _______________________________________________________

    Several modern translations have tried to capture the sense of Paul’s
 words in verse 1 about the “foolish” Galatians. The actual word Paul
 uses in Greek is even stronger than that. The word is anoetoi, and it
 comes from the word for mind (nous). Literally, it means “mindless.”
 The Galatians were not thinking. Paul does not stop there; he says that
 because they are acting so foolishly, he wonders if some magician has
 cast a spell on them. “Who has bewitched you?” His choice of words
 here may even suggest that the ultimate source behind their condition
 is the devil (2 Cor. 4:4).
    What baffles Paul so much about the Galatians’ apostasy on the
 gospel is that they knew salvation was rooted in the Cross of Christ.
 It was not something that they could have missed. The word translated
 as “portrayed” or “set forth” (KJV) in Galatians 3:1 literally means
 “placarded” or “painted.” It was used to describe all public procla-
 mations. Paul is saying that the Cross was such a central part of his
 preaching that the Galatians had, in effect, seen in their mind’s eye
 Christ crucified (1 Cor. 1:23, 2:2). In a sense, he’s saying that, by
 their actions, they are turning away from the Cross.
    Paul then contrasts the current experience of the Galatians with
 how they first came to faith in Christ. He does this by asking them
 some rhetorical questions. How did they receive the Spirit, meaning
 How did they first become Christians? And from a slightly differ-
 ent perspective, Why did God give the Spirit? Was it because they
 did something to earn it? Certainly not! Instead, it was because they
 believed the good news of what Christ had already done for them.
 Having begun so well, what would make them think that now they
 had to rely upon their own behavior?

  How often, if ever, do you find yourself thinking, I’m doing pretty
  well. I’m a pretty solid Christian, I don’t do this and I don’t do that . . .
  and then, even subtly, thinking you’re somehow good enough to
  be saved? What’s wrong with that picture?
                                                                            39

 Grounded in Scripture
   So far, in his letter to the Galatians, Paul has defended his gospel of
 justification by faith by appealing to the agreement reached with the
 apostles in Jerusalem (Gal. 2:1–10) and to the personal experience of
 the Galatians themselves (Gal. 3:1–5). Beginning in Galatians 3:6,
 Paul now turns to the testimony of Scripture for the final and ultimate
 confirmation of his gospel. In fact, Galatians 3:6–4:31 is made up of
 progressive arguments rooted in Scripture.

 ________________________________________________________

    It is important to remember that at the time Paul wrote his letter to
 the Galatians there was no “New Testament.” Paul was the earliest
 New Testament writer. The Gospel of Mark is probably the earliest of
 the four gospels, but it likely was not written until around the time of
 Paul’s death (a.d. 65)—that is, about fifteen years after Paul’s letter
 to the Galatians. So, when Paul refers to the Scriptures, he has only
 the Old Testament in mind.
    The Old Testament Scriptures play a significant role in Paul’s
 teachings. He does not view them as dead texts but as the authoritative
 and living Word of God. In 2 Timothy 3:16 he writes, “All Scripture
 is given by inspiration of God.” The word translated “inspiration” is
 theopneustos. The first part of the word (theo) means “God,” while
 the second half means “breathed.” Scripture is “God-breathed.” Paul
 uses the Scripture to demonstrate that Jesus is the promised Messiah
 (Rom. 1:2), to give instruction in Christian living (Rom. 13:8–10), and
 to prove the validity of his teachings (Gal. 3:8, 9).
    It is difficult to determine exactly how many hundreds of times Paul
 quotes the Old Testament, but quotes are found throughout all his let-
 ters, except his shortest ones, Titus and Philemon.

 ________________________________________________________

 ________________________________________________________

  Do you at times find yourself thinking that one part of the Bible
  is more “inspired” than other parts? Given Paul’s statement in
  2 Timothy 3:16, what’s the danger of going down that path? 40

 Reckoned as Righteous Why do you think Paul first appeals to Abraham as he looks to the
 Scriptures to validate his gospel message? Gal. 3:6.


    Abraham was a central figure in Judaism. Not only was he the
 father of the Jewish race, but Jews in Paul’s time also looked to him
 as the prototype of what a true Jew should be like. Many not only
 believed that his defining characteristic was his obedience, but that
 God had declared Abraham righteous because of that obedience. After
 all, Abraham forsook his homeland and family, he accepted circumci-
 sion, and he was even willing to sacrifice his son at God’s command.
 That’s obedience! With their insistence on circumcision, Paul’s oppo-
 nents certainly argued along these same lines.
    Paul, however, turns the tables by appealing to Abraham—nine
 times in Galatians—as an example of faith instead of law-keeping.

 _______________________________________________________

    Whereas justification was a metaphor taken from the legal world,
 the word counted, or reckoned, is a metaphor drawn from the domain
 of business. It can mean “to credit” or “to place something to one’s
 account.” Not only is it used of Abraham in Galatians 3:6, but it
 occurs another 11 times in connection with the patriarch. Some Bible
 versions translate it as counted, reckoned, or imputed.
    According to Paul’s metaphor, what is placed to our accounts is
 righteousness. The question is, however, On what basis does God
 count us as righteous? It surely cannot be on the basis of obedience—
 despite what Paul’s opponents claimed. No matter what they said
 about Abraham’s obedience, Scripture says that it was because of
 Abraham’s faith that God counted him as righteous.
    The Bible is clear: Abraham’s obedience was not the ground of his
 justification; it was, instead, the result. He didn’t do the things he did
 in order to be justified; he did them because he, already, was justified.
 Justification leads to obedience, not vice versa.

  Dwell on what this means—that you are justified not by any-
  thing you do but only by what Christ has done for you. Why
  is that such good news? How can you learn to make that truth
  your own; that is, to believe it applies to you, personally, no
  matter your struggles, past and even present?
                                                                       41

 The Gospel in the Old Testament
   “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles
 by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘In you
 shall all the nations be blessed’ ” (Gal. 3:8, ESV). Paul writes that
 not only was the gospel preached to Abraham, but it was God who
 preached it; so, it must have been the true gospel. But when did God
 preach the gospel to Abraham? Paul’s quotation of Genesis 12:3 indi-
 cates he has in mind the covenant that God made with Abraham when
 he called him in Genesis 12:1–3.

 ________________________________________________________

    The basis of God’s covenant with Abraham centered on God’s
 promises to him. God says to Abraham four times, “I will.” God’s
 promises to Abraham are amazing because they are completely one-
 sided. God does all the promising; Abraham promises nothing. This
 is the opposite of how most people try to relate to God. We usually
 promise we will serve Him, if only He will do something for us in
 return. But that is legalism. God did not ask Abraham to promise any-
 thing but to accept His promises by faith. Of course, that was no easy
 task, because Abraham had to learn to trust completely in God and not
 in himself (see Genesis 22). The call of Abraham illustrates, therefore,
 the essence of the gospel, which is salvation by faith.
    Some mistakenly conclude that the Bible teaches two ways of sal-
 vation. They claim that in Old Testament times salvation was based
 on keeping the commandments; then, because that did not work very
 well, God abolished the law and made salvation possible by faith.
 This could not be farther from the truth. As Paul wrote in Galatians
 1:7, there is only one gospel.

 ________________________________________________________

  We often hear the phrase “cheap grace.” Yet, it’s a misnomer.
  Grace isn’t cheap—it’s free (at least for us). But we ruin it when
  we think that we can add to it by our works or when we think
  we can use it as an excuse to sin. In your own experience, which
  one of these two ways are you more inclined to lean toward, and
  how can you stop? 42

 Redeemed From a Curse (Gal. 3:9–14)
    Paul’s opponents were no doubt stunned by his bold words in Galatians
 3:10. They certainly did not think themselves to be under a curse; if
 anything, they expected to be blessed for their obedience. Yet, Paul is
 unequivocal: “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the
 curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all
 things which are written in the book of the law, to do them’ ” (NKJV).
    Paul is contrasting two completely different alternatives: salvation by
 faith and salvation by works. The covenant blessings and curses outlined
 in Deuteronomy 27 and 28 were straightforward. Those who obeyed
 were blessed, those who disobeyed were cursed. That means that if a per-
 son wants to rely on obedience to the law for acceptance with God, then
 the whole law needs to be kept. We do not have the liberty to pick and
 choose what we want to follow; nor should we assume that God is willing
 to overlook a few mistakes here and there. It is all or nothing.
    This is, of course, bad news not only for Gentiles but also for Paul’s
 legalistic opponents, because we “all have sinned, and come short of
 the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). No matter how hard we try to be good,
 the law can only condemn us as lawbreakers.

 ________________________________________________________

 ________________________________________________________

    Paul introduces another metaphor to explain what God has done for
 us in Christ. The word redeem means “to buy back.” It was used as
 the ransom price paid to release hostages or as the price paid to free a
 slave. Because the wages of sin is death, the curse of failing to keep
 the law was often a death sentence. The ransom paid for our salvation
 was not insignificant; it cost God the life of His own Son (John 3:16).
 Jesus ransomed us from the curse by becoming our sin-bearer (1 Cor.
 6:20, 7:23). He voluntarily took our curse upon Himself and suffered
 in our behalf the full penalty of sin (2 Cor. 5:21).
    Paul cites Deuteronomy 21:23 as scriptural proof. According to
 Jewish custom, a person was under God’s curse if, after execution,
 the body was hung upon a tree. Jesus’ death on the cross was seen as
 an example of this curse (Acts 5:30, 1 Pet. 2:24).
    No wonder, then, that the cross was a stumbling block for some
 Jews who could not fathom the idea that the Messiah was accursed by
 God. But this was exactly God’s plan. Yes, the Messiah bore a curse,
 but it was not His curse—it was ours!

                                                                       43

Further Study: “Upon Christ as our substitute and surety was laid
      the iniquity of us all. He was counted a transgressor, that He might
      redeem us from the condemnation of the law. The guilt of every
      descendant of Adam was pressing upon His heart. The wrath of God
      against sin, the terrible manifestation of His displeasure because of
      iniquity, filled the soul of His Son with consternation. All His life
      Christ had been publishing to a fallen world the good news of the 1
      Father’s mercy and pardoning love. Salvation for the chief of sinners
      was His theme. But now with the terrible weight of guilt He bears, He
      cannot see the Father’s reconciling face. The withdrawal of the divine
      countenance from the Saviour in this hour of supreme anguish pierced
      His heart with a sorrow that can never be fully understood by man. So
      great was this agony that His physical pain was hardly felt. 2
        “Satan with his fierce temptations wrung the heart of Jesus. The
      Saviour could not see through the portals of the tomb. Hope did not
      present to Him His coming forth from the grave a conqueror, or tell
      Him of the Father’s acceptance of the sacrifice. He feared that sin was
      so offensive to God that Their separation was to be eternal. Christ felt
      the anguish which the sinner will feel when mercy shall no longer
      plead for the guilty race. It was the sense of sin, bringing the Father’s
      wrath upon Him as man’s substitute, that made the cup He drank so 3
      bitter, and broke the heart of the Son of God.”—Ellen G. White, The
      Desire of Ages, p. 753.

Discussion Questions:
       l
       1 Even today in our own church, some still have a hard time
       accepting salvation by faith alone—that God’s grace, through
       Christ, saves us, apart from our works. What’s behind the hesi-
       tancy of some to accept this crucial truth?

       l
       2 Paul spoke very strongly about the theological error of salva-
       tion by works. What does that tell us about the importance of
       good theology? Why should we, as a church, stand up, forcefully
       if need be, when error is being taught among us?

Summary: From start to finish in the Christian life, the basis of our
      salvation is faith in Christ alone. It was because of Abraham’s faith in
      God’s promises that he was counted as righteous, and that same gift
      of righteousness is available for anyone today who shares Abraham’s
      faith. The only reason we are not condemned for our mistakes is that
      Jesus paid the price for our sins by dying in our place.




44

  The Priority of the
  Promise


  Sabbath Afternoon				 Read for This Week’s Study: Gal. 3:15–20, Gen. 9:11–17,
  Matt. 5:17–20, Exod. 16:22–26, Gen. 15:1–6.

  S
         omeone once asked a politician, “Have you kept all the prom-
         ises that you made during the campaign?” He responded, “Yes
         . . . well, at least all the promises that I intended to keep.”
     Who hasn’t, at one time or another, been at one end or the other of
  a broken promise? Who hasn’t been the one to break a promise or the
  one to have a promise made to him or her broken?
     Sometimes people make a promise, fully intending to keep it but,
  later, don’t; others make a promise, knowing—as the sounds leave
  their mouths or the letters their fingers—it’s all a lie.
     Fortunately for us, God’s promises are of an entirely different
  order. God’s Word is sure and unchanging. “ ‘I have spoken, and I
  will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it,’ ” says the Lord
  (Isa. 46:11, ESV).
     In this week’s lesson, Paul directs our attention to the relationship
  between God’s promise to Abraham and the law given to Israel 430
  years later. How should the relationship between the two be under-
  stood, and what implications does that have for the preaching of the
  gospel?

  Law and Faith (Gal. 3:15–18)
    			
    Even if his opponents conceded that Abraham’s life was characterized
  primarily by faith, Paul knew that they still would have questions about
  why God gave the law to Israel about four centuries after Abraham. Did
  not the giving of the law nullify any previous arrangement?

  ________________________________________________________

  ________________________________________________________

  ________________________________________________________

     A covenant and a will are generally different. A covenant is typi-
  cally a mutual agreement between two or more people, often called a
  “contract” or “treaty”; in contrast, a will is the declaration of a single
  person. The Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint,
  never translates God’s covenant with Abraham with the Greek word
  used for mutual agreements or contracts (syntheke). Instead, it uses
  the word for a testament or a will (diatheke). Why? Probably because
  the translators recognized that God’s covenant with Abraham was not
  a treaty between two individuals where mutually binding promises are
  made. On the contrary, God’s covenant was based on nothing other
  than His own will. No string of “ifs, ands, or buts” was attached.
  Abraham was simply to take God at His word.
     Paul picks up on this double meaning of “will” and “covenant” in
  order to highlight specific features of God’s covenant with Abraham.
  As with a human will, God’s promise concerns a specific beneficiary,
  Abraham and his offspring (Gen. 12:1–5, Gal. 3:16); it also involves an
  inheritance (Gen. 13:15, 17:8, Rom. 4:13, Gal. 3:29). Most important
  to Paul is the unchanging nature of God’s promise. In the same way that
  a person’s will cannot be changed once it has been put into force, so the
  giving of the law through Moses cannot simply nullify God’s previous
  covenant with Abraham. God’s covenant is a promise (Gal. 3:16), and
  by no means is God a promise-breaker (Isa. 46:11, Heb. 6:18).

   Replace the word covenant with promise in the following pas-
   sages. What is the nature of the “covenant” in each passage?
   How does understanding God’s covenant as a promise make the
   meaning of the passage clearer, and how does it help us under-
   stand better what a covenant is? Gen. 9:11–17, 15:18, 17:1–21.
   What does this also teach us about the character of God and
   how we can trust Him?
                                                                        47

 Faith and Law (Rom. 3:31)
   Paul has argued strongly for the supremacy of faith in a person’s
 relationship with God. He has repeatedly stated that neither circum-
 cision nor any other “works of law” are a prerequisite to salvation,
 “because by works of the law no one will be justified” (Gal. 2:16,
 ESV). Moreover, it is not the works of the law but faith that is the
 defining mark of the believer (Gal. 3:7). This repeated negation of the
 works of the law raises the question, “Does the law have absolutely no
 value, then? Did God do away with the law?”

    Paul’s argument in Romans 3 parallels his discussion about faith
 and law in Galatians. Sensing that his comments might lead some to
 conclude that he is exalting faith at the expense of the law, Paul asks
 the rhetorical question, “Do we then overthrow the law by this faith?”
 (ESV). The word translated as “overthrow” in Romans 3:31 (ESV) is
 katargeo. Paul uses the word frequently, and it can be translated as
 “to nullify” (Rom. 3:3, ESV), “to abolish” (Eph. 2:15), “to be brought to
 nothing” (Rom. 6:6, ESV), or even as “to destroy” (1 Cor. 6:13). Clearly,
 if Paul wanted to endorse the idea that the law was somehow done away
 with at the cross, as some people today claim he taught, this would have
 been the time. But Paul not only denies that sentiment with an emphatic
 no, he actually states that his gospel “establishes” the law!
    “The plan of justification by faith reveals God’s regard for His law in
 demanding and providing the atoning sacrifice. If justification by faith
 abolishes law, then there was no need for the atoning death of Christ to
 release the sinner from his sins, and thus restore him to peace with God.
    “Moreover, genuine faith implies in itself an unreserved willingness
 to fulfill the will of God in a life of obedience to His law. . . . Real
 faith, based on wholehearted love for the Saviour, can lead only to
 obedience.”—The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 510.

  Think through the implications if Paul did, indeed, mean that
  faith nullifies the need to keep the law. Would then, for instance,
  adultery no longer be sin or stealing or even murder? Think
  about the sorrow, pain, and suffering you could spare yourself if
  you merely obeyed God’s law. What suffering have you or others
  gone through as a result of disobedience to God’s law? 48

  The Purpose of the Law In Galatians 3:19–29 Paul makes multiple references to “the law.” To
  what law is Paul primarily referring in this section of Galatians?

  ________________________________________________________

  ________________________________________________________

    Some, believing that the word until in verse 19 (ESV) indicates that
  this law was only temporary, have thought the passage must refer to
  the ceremonial law, since the purpose of that law was fulfilled at the
  cross and thus came to an end. Although this makes sense by itself, it
  does not appear to be Paul’s point in Galatians. While both the cere-
  monial and moral law were “added” at Sinai because of transgression,
  we will see by considering the following question that Paul appears to
  have the moral law primarily in mind.

  ________________________________________________________

    Paul is not saying that the law was added to God’s covenant with
  Abraham as if it were some sort of addendum to a will that altered
  the original provisions. The law had been in existence long before
  Sinai (see tomorrow’s lesson). Paul means, instead, that the law was
  given to Israel for an entirely different purpose. It was to redirect the
  people back to God and the grace He offers all who come to Him
  by faith. The law reveals to us our sinful condition and our need of
  God’s grace. The law was not intended to be some kind of program
  for “earning” salvation. On the contrary, it was given, Paul says, “to
  increase the trespass” (Rom. 5:20, ESV); that is, to show us more
  clearly the sin in our lives (Rom. 7:13).
    While the ceremonial laws pointed to the Messiah and emphasized
  holiness and the need of a Savior, it is the moral law, with its “Thou
  shall nots,” that reveals sin, that shows us that sin is not just a part of
  our natural condition but is, indeed, a violation of God’s law (Rom.
  3:20; 5:13, 20; 7:7, 8, 13). This is why Paul says, “Where there is no
  law there is no transgression” (Rom. 4:15, ESV). “The law acts as a
  magnifying glass. That device does not actually increase the number
  of dirty spots that defile a garment, but makes them stand out more
  clearly and reveals many more of them than one is able to see with
  the naked eye.”—William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary,
  Exposition on Galatians (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House,
  1968), p. 141.

                                                                         49

 The Duration of God’s Law Does Paul’s statement about the law being added at Mount Sinai
 mean that it did not exist previously? If not, what was the differ-
 ence before and after Mount Sinai? Read Gen. 9:5, 6; 18:19; 26:5;
 39:7–10; Exod. 16:22–26.


    God did not need to reveal His law to Abraham with thunder,
 lightning, and a penalty of death (Exod. 19:10–23). Why, then, did
 God give the law to the Israelites in that manner? It was because,
 during their bondage in Egypt, the Israelites had lost sight of God’s
 greatness and His high moral standards. As a result, they needed to be
 made aware of the extent of their own sinfulness and the sacredness
 of God’s law. The revelation at Sinai certainly did just that.

    Many have understood this text to mean that the law given at Mount
 Sinai was temporary. It entered 430 years after Abraham and ended
 when Christ came. This interpretation, however, conflicts with what
 Paul says about the law in Romans, as well as other passages in the
 Bible, such as Matthew 5:17–19.
    The mistake readers often make with this passage is to assume
 that the word until always implies a limited duration of time. This is
 not the case. Describing the person who fears the Lord, Psalm 112:8
 (ESV) says, “His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks
 in triumph on his adversaries.” Does this mean that when he triumphs
 he will become afraid? In Revelation 2:25 (ESV) Jesus says, “Only
 hold fast what you have until I come.” Does Jesus mean that once He
 comes we no longer need to be faithful?
    The role of the law did not end with the coming of Christ. It will
 continue to point out sin as long as the law exists. What Paul is saying
 is that the coming of Christ marks a decisive turning point in human
 history. Christ can do what the law could never do—provide a true
 remedy for sin, that is, justify sinners and, by His Spirit, fulfill His
 law in them (Rom. 8:3, 4).

  Have you ever thought to yourself, If only the Lord did this for me,
  or that, or the other, then I would never again doubt or question
  Him? Think, though, about what happened at Sinai, about how
  powerful a manifestation of God’s power the Israelites saw—and
  yet, still, what did they do? What should this tell you about what 50    true faith is and how we obtain and maintain it? (See Col. 2:6.)

 The Superiority of the Promise		
    “ ‘He was in the assembly in the desert, with the angel who
 spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers; and he
 received living words to pass on to us’ ” (Acts 7:38, NIV).
    								
     In Galatians 3:19, 20, Paul continues his train of thought about
 how the law does not nullify the covenant of grace; this is important
 because, if the theology of his opponents were correct, the law would
 do just that. Think, then, what our position as sinners would be if we
 had to rely on our law-keeping, as opposed to God’s grace, to save us.
 We would, in the end, be without hope.
    Although the details of Paul’s comments in Galatians 3:19, 20 are
 difficult, his basic point is clear: the law is subsidiary to the promise,
 because it was mediated through angels and Moses. The connection
 of angels to the giving of the law is not mentioned in Exodus, but it is
 found in several other places in Scripture (Deut. 33:2; Acts 7:38, 53;
 Heb. 2:2). Paul uses the word mediator in 1 Timothy 2:5 in reference
 to Christ, but his comments here strongly suggest he has Deuteronomy
 5:5 (ESV) in mind, where Moses says, “I stood between the Lord and
 you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord.”
    As majestic as the giving of the law was on Sinai, with countless
 angels in attendance, and as important as Moses was as the lawgiver,
 the giving of the law was indirect. In stark contrast, God’s promise
 was made directly to Abraham (and, therefore, to all believers), for
 there was no need for a mediator. In the end, however important the
 law, it is no substitute for the promise of salvation through grace by
 faith. On the contrary, the law helps us to better understand just how
 wonderful that promise really is.

 ________________________________________________________

 ________________________________________________________

  Think about some of the other encounters people in the Bible
  had with God—Adam and Eve in Eden (Genesis 3); Jacob’s lad-
  der (Genesis 28); Paul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9). Maybe
  you haven’t experienced anything as dramatic, but in what ways
  has God revealed Himself to you? Ask yourself, too, whether
  anything in your personal life might prevent you from having
  the kind of intimacy and immediacy that Abraham experienced
  with God. If so, what steps can you take to change?
                                                                       51

Further Study: “In their bondage the people had to a great extent
     lost the knowledge of God and of the principles of the Abrahamic
     covenant. In delivering them from Egypt, God sought to reveal to
     them His power and His mercy, that they might be led to love and
     trust Him. He brought them down to the Red Sea—where, pursued 1
     by the Egyptians, escape seemed impossible—that they might realize
     their utter helplessness, their need of divine aid; and then He wrought
     deliverance for them. Thus they were filled with love and gratitude to
     God and with confidence in His power to help them. He had bound
     them to Himself as their deliverer from temporal bondage.
        “But there was a still greater truth to be impressed upon their 2        minds. Living in the midst of idolatry and corruption, they had no
     true conception of the holiness of God, of the exceeding sinfulness of
     their own hearts, their utter inability, in themselves, to render obedi-
     ence to God’s law, and their need of a Saviour. All this they must be
     taught.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 371.
        “The law of God, spoken in awful grandeur from Sinai, is the utter-
     ance of condemnation to the sinner. It is the province of the law to
     condemn, but there is in it no power to pardon or to redeem.”—Ellen 3
     G. White Comments, The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1094.

Discussion Questions:
      l
      1 Think about this whole idea of promises, especially broken
      ones. How did you feel about those who broke their promise
      to you? How much difference did it make whether a person
      intended to keep it and then either couldn’t, or changed his or
      her mind, or if you realized that the person never meant to keep
      it? What happened to your level of trust after the promise was
      broken, whatever the reason? What does it mean to you to know
      that you can trust God’s promises? Or perhaps the question
      should be, How can you learn to trust God’s promises in the
      first place?

      l
      2 In what ways are we in danger of being corrupted by our
      environment to the point that we lose sight of the important
      truths God has given us? How can we make ourselves aware of
      just what those corrupting influences are, and then how can we
      counteract them?

Summary: The giving of the law on Sinai did not invalidate the
     promise that God made to Abraham, nor did the law alter the prom-
     ise’s provisions. The law was given so that people might be made
     aware of the true extent of their sinfulness and recognize their need of
     God’s promise to Abraham and his descendants.


52

                      Dr. Dybdahl shows us grace
                      in even the hardest stories
                      from the Old Testament. He
                      examines the stories of
                      Nadab, Abihu, and Uzzah
                      (among others), compares it
                      to a modern-day story, and
                      shows us God’s grace—even
                      in the strangest places.

                         ©2011 Pacific Press® Publishing Association
                         Please contact your ABC for pricing in Canada.
                         15590230

                                               ethnic group. Many live their They find comfort living with others from their
                                              d them. They’re the invisible entire lives unnoticed and unhelped by those aroun
                                               largest unreached population groups. ones; they are refugees, one of North America’s

                                                only someone would go to them  These people are open to the gospel of Christ, if
                                                   can understand, that Jesus  and tell them in their own language, in terms they
                                                 little Adventists in North  died for them, that He is their Savior. Little by
                                               them to Christ. I want to help   America are reaching these people and bringing
                                                    of this quarter’s Thirteenth   reach the strangers in the land. I’m glad that part
                                               s. For me, it’s personal.   Sabbath Offering will reach even more for Jesu

  The Road to Faith




  Sabbath Afternoon				 Read for This Week’s Study: Gal. 3:21–25; Lev. 18:5;
  Rom. 3:9–19; 1 Cor. 9:20; Rom. 3:1, 2; 8:1–4.

  H
           oming pigeons long have been known for their ability to fly
           hundreds of miles a day and arrive at their destination with
           amazing accuracy. Yet, even the best homing pigeons at times
  have become disoriented, never returning to their starting point. The
  worst incident happened in England, when about twenty thousand
  birds (valued at more than six hundred thousand dollars) never came
  back to their lofts.
     As most of us have experienced in one way or another, being dis-
  oriented, or lost, is not enjoyable. It fills us with fear and anxiety; it
  can lead us to moments of panic, as well.
     The same is true in the spiritual realm. Even after we accept Christ,
  we can get lost, or disoriented, even to the point of never returning
  to the Lord.
     The good news is, however, that God has not left us to ourselves. He
  has mapped out the road to faith, as revealed in the gospel, and that path
  includes the law. Many people try to separate the law from the gospel;
  some even see them as contradictory. Not only is this view wrong, it
  can have tragic consequences. Without the law we would have no gospel.
  It’s hard, really, to understand the gospel without the law.

 The Law and the Promise
   “Is the law then contrary to the promises of God?” (Gal. 3:21,
 ESV).
    			
   Sensing that his comments might lead his opponents to conclude
 he had a disparaging view of the law, or that his comments about
 the priority of God’s promises were just a veiled put-down of Moses
 and the Torah, Paul asks the very question they were thinking: “Are
 you saying the law contradicts the promises of God?” To this Paul
 responds with an emphatic, “No!” Such a conclusion is impossible,
 because God is not opposed to Himself. God gave both the promise
 and the law. The law is not at odds with the promise. The two merely
 have different roles and functions in God’s overall plan of salvation.

 ________________________________________________________

    These people believed that the law was able to give them spiritual
 life. Their views probably arose out of a mistaken interpretation of Old
 Testament passages such as Leviticus 18:5 and Deuteronomy 6:24, where
 the law directs how life should be lived by those abiding in God’s cove-
 nant. The law did regulate life within the covenant, but they concluded
 that the law was the source of a person’s relationship with God. The Bible
 is clear, however, that the ability to “make alive” is a power exercised by
 God and His Spirit alone (2 Kings 5:7, Neh. 9:6, John 5:21, Rom. 4:17).
 The law cannot make anyone alive spiritually. This does not mean, how-
 ever, that the law is opposed to God’s promise.
    Seeking to prove the inability of the law to give life, Paul writes
 in Galatians 3:22, “Scripture has confined all under sin” (ESV). In
 Romans 3:9–19, Paul draws from a string of verses extracted from the
 Old Testament to show just how sinful we are. The passages are not
 strung together in a haphazard manner. He begins with the heart of
 the sin problem—the selfish attitude that plagues human hearts—and
 then moves to verses that describe sin’s pervasiveness and finally its
 universality.
    His point? Because of the extent of sin and the limitations of the
 law, the promise of eternal life can come to us only through the faith-
 fulness of Christ in our behalf.

  Although the law cannot save us, what great benefits does our
  adherence to it have for us? That is, what practical good have you
  experienced in your own life through obedience to God’s law?
                                                                        57

 “Kept Under Law”
    In Galatians 3:23, Paul writes that “before faith came, we were kept
 under the law.” By “we” Paul is referring to the Jewish believers in
 the Galatian churches. They are the ones acquainted with the law, and
 Paul has been speaking to them in particular since Galatians 2:15.
 This can be seen in the contrast between the “we” in Galatians 3:23
 and the “you” in Galatians 3:26 (ESV).
    Galatians 3:23 reads, “Before faith came”; but in the literal Greek it
 reads, “before the faith came.” Because Paul is contrasting the place
 of the law before and after Christ (Gal. 3:24), “the faith” is most
 likely a reference to Jesus Himself and not a reference to Christian
 faith in general.

 ________________________________________________________

 ________________________________________________________

    Paul uses the phrase “under the law” twelve times in his letters.
 Depending on its context, it can have a couple of different connotations.
    1. “Under the law” as an alternative way of salvation (Gal. 4:21).
 The opponents in Galatia were trying to gain life-giving righteousness
 by obedience. However, as Paul has already made clear, this is impos-
 sible (Gal. 3:21, 22). Paul later will even point out that, by desiring
 to be under the law, the Galatians were really rejecting Christ (Gal.
 5:2–4).
    2. “Under the law” in the sense of being under its condemnation
 (Rom. 6:14, 15). Because the law cannot atone for sin, the violation of
 its demands ultimately results in condemnation. This is the condition
 in which all human beings find themselves. The law acts as a prison
 warden, locking up all who have violated it and brought upon them-
 selves the sentence of death. As we will see in tomorrow’s lesson, the
 use of the word guard (Gal. 3:23, NKJV) indicates that this is what
 Paul means by “under the law” in this passage.
    A related Greek word, ennomos, normally translated as “under the
 law,” literally means “within the law” and refers to living within the
 requirements of the law through union with Christ (1 Cor. 9:21). By
 “the works of the law,” that is, by trying to keep the law apart from
 Christ, it is impossible to be justified, because only those who through
 faith are righteous will live (Gal. 3:11). This truth doesn’t nullify the
 law; it shows only that the law can’t give us eternal life. It’s way too
 late for that.

 The Law as Our “Guard”
   Paul gives two basic conclusions about the law: (1) the law does not
 nullify or abolish God’s promise made to Abraham (Gal. 3:15–20);
 (2) the law is not opposed to the promise (Gal. 3:21, 22).
   What role does the law actually play then? Paul writes that it was
 added “because of transgressions” (Gal. 3:19), and he expands on this
 idea using three different words or phrases in connection to the law:
 kept (vs. 23), shut up (vs. 23), and schoolmaster (vs. 24).

    Most modern translations interpret Paul’s comments about the law in
 Galatians 3:19 in wholly negative terms. But the original Greek is not
 nearly so one-sided. The Greek word translated as “kept” (vs. 23) literally
 means “to guard.” Although it can be used in a negative sense, as to “hold
 in subjection” or to “watch over” (2 Cor. 11:32), in the New Testament
 it generally has a more positive sense of “protecting” or “keeping” (Phil.
 4:7, 1 Pet. 1:5). The same is true of the word translated as “shut up” (Gal.
 3:23). It can be translated “to close” (Gen. 20:18), “to shut” (Exod. 14:3,
 Josh. 6:1, Jer. 13:19), “to enclose” (Luke 5:6), or “to confine” (Rom.
 11:32). As these examples indicate, depending on its context, this word
 can have either positive or negative connotations.

    While Paul can speak about the law in negative terms (Rom. 7:6,
 Gal. 2:19), he also has many positive things to say about it (see Rom.
 7:12, 14; 8:3, 4; 13:8). The law was not a curse that God placed upon
 Israel; on the contrary, it was intended to be a blessing. Although its
 sacrificial system could not ultimately remove sin, it pointed to the
 promised Messiah who could; and its laws guiding human behavior
 protected Israel from many of the vices that plagued other ancient
 civilizations. In light of Paul’s positive comments about the law else-
 where, it would be a mistake to understand his comments here in a
 completely negative way.

  Think of something good that is misused. For example, a drug
  created to treat a disease could be used by some people to get
  high. What examples have you seen in your own life of this prin-
  ciple? How does our knowledge of how something good can be
  misused help us to understand what Paul is dealing with here?
                                                                         59

  The Law as Our Schoolmaster In Galatians 3:23, Paul describes the law as a guarding and protecting
  force. To what does he liken it in verse 24, and what does that
  mean?

  ________________________________________________________

  ________________________________________________________

     The word translated “schoolmaster” (KJV) comes from the Greek
  word paidagogos. Some versions translate it as “disciplinarian”
  (NRSV), “tutor” (NKJV), or even “guardian” (ESV), but no single
  word fully can encompass its meaning. The paidagogos was a slave
  in Roman society who was placed in a position of authority over
  his master’s sons from the time they turned six or seven until they
  reached maturity. In addition to providing for his charges’ physical
  needs, such as drawing their bath, providing them with food and
  clothes, and protecting them from any danger, the paidagogos also
  was responsible for making sure the master’s sons went to school and
  did their homework. In addition, he was expected not only to teach
  and practice moral virtues but also to ensure that the boys learned and
  practiced the virtues themselves.
     Although some pedagogues must certainly have been kind, as well
  as loved by their wards, the dominant description of them in ancient
  literature is as strict disciplinarians. They ensured obedience not only
  through harsh threats and rebukes but also by whipping and caning.
     Paul’s description of the law as it refers to a pedagogue further
  clarifies his understanding of the role of the law. The law was added
  to point out sin and provide instruction. The very nature of this task
  means that the law also has a negative aspect, and that’s because it
  rebukes and condemns us as sinners. Yet, even this “negative” aspect
  God uses for our benefit, because the condemnation that the law
  brings is what drives us to Christ. Thus, the law and the gospel are not
  contradictory. God designed them to work together for our salvation.
     “In this Scripture [Gal. 3:24], the Holy Spirit through the apostle is
  speaking especially of the moral law. The law reveals sin to us, and
  causes us to feel our need of Christ and to flee unto Him for pardon and
  peace by exercising repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord
  Jesus Christ.”—Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, book 1, p. 234.

   When was the last time you compared your actions and words
   and thoughts to the law? Do it now, comparing them not just to
   the letter of the law but also to the spirit (Matt. 5:28, Rom. 7:6).
   How well do you fare? What does your answer tell you about
   Paul’s point in this epistle? 60

 The Law and the Believer (Gal. 3:25)
    Many have interpreted Paul’s comment in Galatians 3:25 as a com-
 plete dismissal of the law. This makes little sense, however, in light of
 Paul’s positive comments about the law elsewhere in the Bible.
    What does he, then, mean?
    First, we are no longer under the law’s condemnation (Rom. 8:3).
 As believers, we are in Christ and enjoying the privilege of being
 under grace (Rom. 6:14, 15). That gives us the liberty of serving
 Christ wholeheartedly, without fear of being condemned for mistakes
 we might make in the process. This is what true liberty and freedom
 in the gospel is, which is something radically different from no longer
 having to obey the law—which is what some people claim is “free-
 dom” in Christ. But disobedience to the law, instead, is sin—and sin
 is anything but freedom (John 8:34).

 ________________________________________________________

 ________________________________________________________

 ________________________________________________________

   As a result of being forgiven through Christ, our relationship to
 the law is now different. We are now called to live a life that is
 pleasing to Him (1 Thess. 4:1); Paul refers to this as walking in the
 Spirit (Gal. 5:18). This does not mean that the moral law is no longer
 applicable—that was never the issue. How could it be when we have
 seen so clearly that the law is what defines sin?
   Instead, because the law is a transcript of God’s character, by obey-
 ing the law we simply reflect His character. But more than that, we
 follow not just a set of rules but the example of Jesus, who does for
 us what the law itself could never do: He writes the law on our hearts
 (Heb. 8:10) and makes it possible for the righteous requirement of the
 law to be fulfilled in us (Rom. 8:4). That is, through our relationship
 with Jesus, we have the power to obey the law as never before.

  Read Romans 8:4. What is Paul saying here? How have you
  seen this promise manifested in your own life? At the same
  time, despite whatever positive changes you have experienced,
  why must salvation always be based on what Christ has done
  for us and nothing else?

                                                                      61

Further Study: “I am asked concerning the law in Galatians. What
      law is the schoolmaster to bring us to Christ? I answer: Both the
      ceremonial and the moral code of ten commandments.
         “Christ was the foundation of the whole Jewish economy. The death
      of Abel was in consequence of Cain’s refusing to accept God’s plan in
      the school of obedience to be saved by the blood of Jesus Christ typi-
      fied by the sacrificial offerings pointing to Christ. Cain refused the
      shedding of blood which symbolized the blood of Christ to be shed
      for the world. This whole ceremony was prepared by God, and Christ 1         became the foundation of the whole system. This is the beginning of
      its work as the schoolmaster to bring sinful human agents to a consid-
      eration of Christ the Foundation of the whole Jewish economy.
         “All who did service in connection with the sanctuary were being
      educated constantly in regard to the intervention of Christ in behalf of
      the human race. This service was designed to create in every heart a 2         love for the law of God, which is the law of His kingdom.”—Ellen G.
      White, Selected Messages, book 1, p. 233.
         “The law of ten commandments is not to be looked upon as much
      from the prohibitory side, as from the mercy side. Its prohibitions are
      the sure guarantee of happiness in obedience. As received in Christ,
      it works in us the purity of character that will bring joy to us through
      eternal ages. To the obedient it is a wall of protection.”—Ellen G.
      White, Selected Messages, book 1, p. 235. 3

Discussion Questions:
       l1 We often struggle with the question of how we can overcome
       sin in our lives. What promises do we have in the Bible about
       victory over sin? How can we better position ourselves to help
       make these promises real? At the same time, why must we be so
       careful to make sure that we place our full hope of salvation not
       on whatever victories we get but on Christ’s victory for us?

       l
       2 We often hear Christians claim that the law has been done
       away with. Of course, these same Christians will speak out
       against sin, which means, of course, that they really don’t mean
       the law has been done away with. What, in fact, do they really
       mean by that claim? (Hint: In the context of what command-
       ment does that claim usually arise?)

Summary: The law was given to point sinners to their need of Christ.
      As a custodian, it provides instruction about God and protection from
      evil. But, like a disciplinarian, it also points out our sinfulness and
      brings condemnation. Christ frees us from the law’s condemnation
      and writes His law upon our hearts.


62

  From Slaves to Heirs




  Sabbath Afternoon				 Read for This Week’s Study: Gal. 3:26–4:20; Rom.
  6:1–11; Heb. 2:14–18; 4:14, 15; Rom. 9:4, 5.

  P
         aul tells the Galatians that they should not live and act as slaves
         but as the sons and daughters of God, with all the rights and
         privileges thereof. Their situation was similar to the story of
  a discouraged new convert who came to talk with Chinese Christian
  Watchman Nee.
     “ ‘No matter how much I pray, no matter how hard I try, I simply
  cannot seem to be faithful to my Lord. I think I’m losing my salva-
  tion.’ Nee said, ‘Do you see this dog here? He is my dog. He is house-
  trained; he never makes a mess; he is obedient; he is a pure delight to
  me. Out in the kitchen I have a son, a baby son. He makes a mess,
  he throws his food around, he fouls his clothes, he is a total mess.
  But who is going to inherit my kingdom? Not my dog; my son is
  my heir. You are Jesus Christ’s heir because it is for you that He
  died.’ ”—Lou Nicholes, Hebrews: Patterns for Living (Longwood, Fla.:
  Xulon Press, 2004), p. 31.
     We, too, are God’s heirs, not because of our own merit but because
  of His grace. In Christ we have much more than we even had before
  Adam’s sin; this is one of the points that Paul was trying desperately
  to teach the Galatian believers, who were fast losing their way.

  Our Condition in Christ (Gal. 3:26–29) Keeping Galatians 3:25 in mind, read Galatians 3:26. How does
  this text help us to understand our relationship to the law, now
  that we have been redeemed by Jesus?


    The word for at the beginning of verse 26 indicates that Paul sees
  a direct connection between this verse and the preceding one. In the
  same way that a master’s son was under a pedagogue only as long
  as he was a minor, Paul is saying that those who come to faith in
  Christ are no longer minors; their relationship with the law is changed
  because they are now adult “sons” of God.
    The term son is not, of course, exclusive to males; Paul clearly
  includes females in this category (Gal 3:28). The reason he uses the
  word sons instead of children is that he has in mind the family inheri-
  tance that was passed on to the male offspring, along with the fact that
  the phrase “sons of God” was the special designation of Israel in the Old
  Testament (Deut. 14:1, Hos. 11:1). In Christ, Gentiles now also enjoy
  the special relationship with God that had been exclusive to Israel.

     Paul’s use of the word for in verse 27 indicates once again the close
  logical development of his reasoning. Paul sees baptism as a radical
  decision to unite our lives with Christ. In Romans 6, he describes
  baptism symbolically as our uniting with Jesus, in both His death and
  His resurrection. In Galatians, Paul employs a different metaphor:
  baptism is the act of being clothed with Christ. Paul’s terminology
  is reminiscent of wonderful passages in the Old Testament that talk
  about being clothed with righteousness and salvation (see Isa. 61:10,
  Job 29:14). “Paul views baptism as the moment when Christ, like
  a garment, envelops the believer. Although he does not employ the
  term, Paul is describing the righteousness which is conferred upon
  believers.”—Frank J. Matera, Galatians (Collegeville, Minn.: The
  Liturgical Press, 1992), p. 145.
     Our union with Christ symbolized through baptism means that what is
  true of Christ also is true of us. Because Christ is the “seed” of Abraham,
  as “joint-heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8:17), believers also are heirs to all the
  covenant promises made to Abraham and his descendants.

   Dwell on this thought that what is true of Christ is also true of
   us. How should this amazing truth affect every aspect of our
   existence?
                                                                           65

 Enslaved to Elementary Principles
    Having just compared our relationship to God with that of sons and
 heirs, Paul now elaborates on this metaphor by including the theme of
 inheritance in Galatians 4:1–3. Paul’s terminology evokes a situation
 in which an owner of a large estate has died, leaving all his property
 to his oldest son. His son, however, is still a minor. As is often the
 case with wills even today, the father’s will stipulates that his son is to
 be under the supervision of guardians and managers until he reaches
 maturity. Although he is master of his father’s estate by title, as a
 minor he is little more than a slave in practice.
    Paul’s analogy is similar to that of the pedagogue in Galations 3:24,
 but in this case the power of the stewards and managers is far supe-
 rior and much more important. They are responsible not only for the
 upbringing of the master’s son, but they are also in charge of all the
 financial and administrative affairs until the son is mature enough to
 assume those duties himself.

 ________________________________________________________

    Exactly what Paul means by the phrase “elementary principles” (Gal.
 4:3, 8, ESV) is disputed. The Greek word stoicheia literally means
 “elements.” Some have seen it as a description of the basic elements
 that compose the universe (2 Pet. 3:10, 12), or as demonic powers that
 control this evil age (Col. 2:15), or as the rudimentary principles of
 religious life—the ABCs of religion (Heb. 5:12). Paul’s emphasis on
 humanity’s status as “minors” before the coming of Christ (Gal. 4:1–3)
 suggests that he is referring here to the rudimentary principles of reli-
 gious life. If so, Paul is saying that the Old Testament period, with its
 laws and sacrifices, was merely a gospel primer that outlined the basics
 of salvation. Thus, as important and instructional as the ceremonial
 laws were to Israel, they were only shadows of what was to come. They
 never were intended to take the place of Christ.
    To regulate one’s life around these rules instead of Christ is like
 wanting to go back in time. For the Galatians to return to those basic
 elements after Christ had already come was like the adult son in
 Paul’s analogy wanting to be a minor again!

  While a childlike faith can be positive (Matt. 18:3), is it neces-
  sarily the same thing as spiritual maturity? Or could you argue
  that the more you grow spiritually, the more childlike your
  faith will be? How childlike and “innocent” and trusting is your 66    faith?

 “God Sent Forth His Son” (Gal. 4:4)
   “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his
 Son, born of woman, born under the law” (Gal. 4:4, ESV).

   Paul’s choice of the word fullness indicates God’s active role in
 working out His purpose in human history. Jesus did not come at just
 any time; He came at the precise time God had prepared. From a his-
 torical perspective, that time is known as the Pax Romana (the Roman
 Peace), a two-hundred-year period of relative stability and peace
 across the Roman Empire. Rome’s conquest of the Mediterranean
 world brought peace, a common language, favorable means of travel,
 and a common culture that facilitated the rapid spread of the gospel.
 From a biblical perspective, it also marked the time that God had set
 for the coming of the promised Messiah (see Dan. 9:24–27).

 ________________________________________________________

 ________________________________________________________

 ________________________________________________________

    Galatians 4:4, 5 contains one of the most succinct accounts of the
 gospel in Scripture. The coming of Jesus into human history was no
 accident. “God sent forth His Son.” In other words, God took the
 initiative in our salvation.
    Also implicit in these words is the fundamental Christian belief in
 Christ’s eternal deity (John 1:1–3, 18; Phil. 2:5–9; Col. 1:15–17).
 God did not send a heavenly messenger. He, Himself, came.
    Although He was the divine preexistent Son of God, Jesus was also
 “born of woman.” Although the virgin birth is implied in this phrase,
 it more specifically affirms His genuine humanity.
    The phrase “born under the law” points not only to Jesus’ Jewish
 heritage, but also includes the fact that He bore our condemnation.
    It was necessary for Christ to assume our humanity because we
 could not save ourselves. By uniting His divine nature with our fallen
 human nature, Christ legally qualified to be our Substitute, Savior,
 and High Priest. As the second Adam, He came to reclaim all that
 the first Adam had lost by his disobedience (Rom. 5:12–21). By His
 obedience He perfectly fulfilled the law’s demands, thus redeeming
 Adam’s tragic failure. And by His death on the cross, He met the jus-
 tice of the law, which required the death of the sinner, thus gaining the
 right to redeem all who come to Him in true faith and surrender.
                                                                      67

 The Privileges of Adoption (Gal. 4:5–7)
    In Galatians 4:5–7, Paul expands on his theme, stressing that Christ
 has now “redeemed those who were under the law” (vss. 4, 5, ESV).
 The verb to redeem means “to buy back.” It referred to the price paid
 to buy the freedom of either a hostage or a slave. As this context indi-
 cates, redemption implies a negative background: a person is in need
 of being liberated.
    From what, though, do we need to be freed? The New Testament
 presents four things among others: (1) freed from the devil and his wiles
 (Heb. 2:14, 15), (2) freed from death (1 Cor. 15:56, 57), (3) freed from
 the power of sin that enslaves us by nature (Rom. 6:22), and (4) freed
 from the condemnation of the law (Rom. 3:19–24, Gal. 3:13, 4:5).

 ________________________________________________________

 ________________________________________________________

    We often speak about what Christ has accomplished for us as “sal-
 vation.” Although true, this word is not nearly as vivid and descrip-
 tive as Paul’s unique use of the word adoption (huiothesia). Although
 Paul is the only New Testament author to use this word, adoption was
 a well-known legal procedure in the Greco-Roman world. Several
 Roman emperors during Paul’s life used adoption as the means of
 choosing a successor when they had no legal heir. Adoption guar-
 anteed a number of privileges: “(1) The adopted son become[s] the
 true son . . . of his adopter. . . . (2) The adopter agrees to bring up the
 child properly and to provide the necessities of food and clothing. (3)
 The adopter cannot repudiate his adopted son. (4) The child cannot
 be reduced to slavery. (5) The child’s natural parents have no right
 to reclaim him. (6) The adoption establishes the right to inherit.”
 —Derek R. Moore-Crispin, “Galatians 4:1–9: The Use and Abuse of
 Parallels,” The Evangelical Quarterly, vol. 61, no. 3 (1989), p. 216.
    If these rights are guaranteed on an earthly level, just imagine how
 much greater are the privileges we have as the adopted children of God!

  Read Galatians 4:6, realizing that the Hebrew word Abba was
  the intimate word children used to address their father, like
  the words Daddy or Papa today. Jesus used it in prayer (Mark
  14:36), and as God’s children we have the privilege of calling
  God “Abba,” as well. Do you enjoy that kind of intimate close-
  ness to God in your own life? If not, what’s the problem? What
  can you change to bring about this closeness? 68

 Why Turn Back to Slavery? (Gal. 4:8–20)

 ________________________________________________________
 ________________________________________________________
    Many have interpreted Paul’s reference to “days and months and
 seasons and years” (Gal. 4:10, ESV) as an objection not merely to
 ceremonial laws but to the Sabbath, as well. Such an interpretation,
 however, goes beyond the evidence. For starters, if Paul really wanted
 to single out the Sabbath and other specific Jewish practices, it is clear
 from Colossians 2:16 that he easily could have identified them by
 name. Second, Paul makes it clear that whatever it is the Galatians are
 doing, it has led them from freedom in Christ to bondage. “If obser-
 vance of the seventh-day Sabbath subjects a man to bondage, it must
 be that the Creator Himself entered into bondage when He observed
 the world’s first Sabbath!”—The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p.
 967. Also, why would Jesus not only have kept the Sabbath but taught
 others how to keep it, if its proper observance were in any way depriv-
 ing people of the freedom that they have in Him? (See Mark 2:27, 28;
 Luke 13:10–16.)

  Might there be any practices in Seventh-day Adventism that
  take away from the freedom that we have in Christ? Or, instead
  of the practices themselves being problematic, what about our
  attitudes toward the practices? How could a wrong attitude
  lead us into the kind of bondage that Paul warned the Galatians
  about so vehemently?
                                                                       69

Further Study: “In the council of heaven, provision was made that men,
      though transgressors, should not perish in their disobedience, but,
      through faith in Christ as their substitute and surety, might become
      the elect of God predestinated unto the adoption of children by Jesus
      Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will. God wills
      that all men should be saved; for ample provision has been made, in
      giving his only-begotten Son to pay man’s ransom. Those who per-
      ish will perish because they refuse to be adopted as children of God
      through Christ Jesus. The pride of man hinders him from accepting 1
      the provisions of salvation. But human merit will not admit a soul
      into the presence of God. That which will make a man acceptable
      to God is the imparted grace of Christ through faith in his name. No
      dependence can be placed in works or in happy flights of feelings as
      evidence that men are chosen of God; for the elect are chosen through
      Christ.”—Ellen G. White, “Chosen in Christ,” Signs of the Times, 2
      January 2, 1893.

Discussion Questions:
       l
       1 Dwell more on the idea of what it means, and what it does
       not mean, to be like children in our walk with the Lord. What
       aspects of children are we to emulate in regard to our faith and
       our relationship with God? At the same time, what are ways in
       which we can take this idea too far? Discuss. 3
       l
       2 What is it about human beings that makes us so afraid of the
       idea of grace, of salvation by faith alone? Why is it that many
       people would rather try to work their way to salvation, if that
       were possible?

       l
       3 As a class, go over the final question from Thursday’s lesson.
       In what ways can we as Seventh-day Adventists get caught up in
       the kind of slavery from which we have been ideally freed? How
       could this happen to us, how can we know if it does, and how can
       we be set free? 		

Summary: In Christ we have been adopted into God’s family as His
      sons and daughters. As God’s children, we have access to all the
      rights and privileges that such a family relationship entails. To relate
      to God on the basis of rules and regulations alone would be foolish. It
      would be like a son wanting to renounce his position and inheritance
      in order to become a slave.




70

  Paul’s Pastoral Appeal




  Sabbath Afternoon				 Read for This Week’s Study: Gal. 4:12–20, 1 Cor. 11:1,
  Phil. 3:17, 1 Cor. 9:19–23, 2 Cor. 4:7–12.

  A
           s we’ve seen so far, Paul did not mince words with the
           Galatians. His strong language, however, simply reflected the
           inspired passion he felt concerning the spiritual welfare of the
  church that he had founded. Besides the crucial theological issue with
  which Paul was dealing, the letter to the Galatians in a broad sense
  also shows just how important correct doctrine is. If what we believed
  were not that important, if doctrinal correctness did not matter all that
  much, then why would Paul have been so fervent, so uncompromis-
  ing, in his letter? The truth is, of course, that what we believe matters
  greatly, especially in the whole question of the gospel.
    In Galatians 4:12–20 Paul continues his discourse, although he
  changes his approach, at least a bit. Paul has made a number of
  detailed and theologically sophisticated arguments in his attempts
  to persuade the Galatians of their errors, and now he makes a more
  personal, pastoral appeal. Unlike the false teachers who had no true
  interest in the Galatians, Paul reveals the genuine concern, worry,
  hope, and love of a good shepherd for his wayward flock. He was not
  just correcting theology; he was seeking to minister to those whom
  he loved.

 The Heart of Paul Read Galatians 4:12–20. What is the thrust of Paul’s message in
 these verses?

 ________________________________________________________

   The initial indication of the concern that weighs heavily on Paul’s
 heart is his personal appeal in verse 12. The appeal follows imme-
 diately after Paul’s insistence that the Galatians “become as I am.”
 The significance of the word entreat or beseech is, unfortunately, not
 fully conveyed in some translations. The word in Greek is deomai.
 Although it can be translated as “to urge” (NKJV) or “to entreat”
 (ESV), the Greek word has a stronger sense of desperation connected
 to it (see 2 Cor. 5:20, 8:4, 10:2). Paul is really saying, “I’m begging
 you!”
   Paul’s concern was not simply about theological ideas and doctrinal
 points of view. His heart was bound up with the lives of the people who
 were brought to Christ through his ministry. He considered himself more
 than just a friend; he was their spiritual father, and they were his chil-
 dren. But even more than that, Paul likens his concern for the Galatians
 to the worry and anguish that accompany a mother in childbirth (Gal.
 4:19). Paul had thought that his previous “labor” had been sufficient
 for their “safe delivery” when he founded the church. But now that the
 Galatians had wandered from the truth, Paul was experiencing those
 labor pains all over again in order to secure their well-being.

 ________________________________________________________

    Having first described the Galatians as being formed in the womb,
 Paul now speaks of the Galatians as if they were expectant mothers
 themselves. The word translated as “formed” was used medically to refer
 to the development of an embryo. Through this metaphor Paul describes
 what it means to be Christian, both individually and collectively as a
 church. To be a follower of Christ is more than just the profession of
 faith; it involves a radical transformation into the likeness of Christ. Paul
 was “not looking for a few minor alterations in the Galatians but for such
 a transformation that to see them would be to see Christ.”—Leon Morris,
 Galatians (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1996), p. 142.

  In what ways have you seen the character of Christ manifested
  in your life? In what areas do you still have a lot of growing
  to do?
                                                                          73

 The Challenge to Become Read 1 Corinthians 11:1; Philippians 3:17; 2 Thessalonians 3:7–9;
 and Acts 26:28, 29. What is Paul saying here that is reflected in
 Galatians 4:12? How are we to understand his point?

 _______________________________________________________

 _______________________________________________________

    Paul encourages Christians to imitate his behavior several times
 throughout his letters. In each situation, Paul presents himself as an
 authoritative example that believers should follow. In 2 Thessalonians
 3:7–9, Paul offers himself as an example of how the believers in
 Thessalonica should work to earn their own living and not be a burden
 on others. In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul calls upon the Corinthians to
 imitate him in placing the welfare of others first. Paul’s concern in
 Galatians appears to be somewhat different.
    In Galatians 4:12, Paul does not ask the Galatians to imitate him;
 instead, he asks that they “become as” he is—he is talking about being,
 not acting. Why? The trouble in Galatia was not unethical behavior
 or an ungodly lifestyle, as it was in the church in Corinth. The issue
 in Galatia was rooted in the essence of Christianity itself. It was more
 about “being” than “behavior.” Paul was not saying act like me, but be
 what I am. The exact terminology in Galatians 4:12 occurs in Paul’s
 appeal to Herod Agrippa II in Acts 26:29 (ESV) where Paul writes, “I
 would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might
 become such as I am—except for these chains” (emphasis supplied). In
 other words, Paul is referring to his experience as a Christian, a founda-
 tion that rests on Christ alone, a faith that trusts in what Christ has done
 for him and not in his works of the law. The Galatians were placing
 greater value on their behavior than on their identity in Christ.
    Although Paul does not specifically say how he wants the Galatians
 to become like him, the context of the situation in Galatians indicates
 it was not a blanket statement that covered every aspect and detail of
 his life. Because his concern was with the law-centered religion of the
 Galatians, Paul surely had in mind the wonderful love, joy, freedom,
 and certainty of salvation he had found in Jesus Christ. In light of the
 surpassing wonder of Christ, Paul had learned to count everything
 else as rubbish (Phil. 3:5–9)—and he longed for the Galatians them-
 selves to have that same experience.

  Is there someone you know (other than Jesus) who presents to
  you a good example? If so, what are the qualities of that person
  that you find so exemplary, and how can you better reveal those
  qualities in your life? 74

 I Have Become as You Are Read 1 Corinthians 9:19–23. What does Paul say in these verses
 that can help us to understand better his point in the latter part
 of Galatians 4:12? See also Acts 17:16–34, 1 Cor. 8:8–13, Gal.
 2:11–14.

 ________________________________________________________

 ________________________________________________________

 ________________________________________________________

   Galatians 4:12 can seem a little confusing. Why should the Galatians
 become like Paul, if he had already become like them?
   As we saw in yesterday’s lesson, Paul wanted them to become like him
 in his complete faith and confidence in the all-sufficiency of Christ for
 salvation. His comment about having become like them was a reminder
 of how, although he was a Jew, he had become a Gentile “without the
 law” so that he might reach the Gentiles among them with the gospel. As
 the great missionary to the Gentile world, Paul had learned how to preach
 the gospel to both Jews and Gentiles. In fact, according to 1 Corinthians
 9:19–23, although the gospel remained the same, Paul’s method varied,
 depending on the people he was trying to reach.
   “Paul was a pioneer in what we call today contextualization, the
 need to communicate the gospel in such a way that it speaks to
 the total context of the people to whom it is addressed.”—Timothy
 George, The New American Commentary: Galatians (Nashville,
 Tenn.: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1994), p. 321.
   Paul’s own comments in 1 Corinthians 9:21 indicate that he
 believed there were limits to how far someone should go in contex-
 tualizing the gospel. He mentions, for example, that while one is free
 to reach out in different ways to Jews and Gentiles, this freedom does
 not include the right to live a lawless lifestyle, for Christians are under
 the “law of Christ.”
   Although contextualization is not always easy, “insofar as we are
 able to separate the heart of the gospel from its cultural cocoon, to
 contextualize the message of Christ without compromising its con-
 tent, we too should become imitators of Paul.”—Timothy George,
 Galatians, pp. 321, 322.

  It’s so easy to compromise, isn’t it? Sometimes the longer one is
  a Christian, the easier compromise gets. Why might that be so?
  Look at yourself, honestly. How much compromise has crept into
  your life, and what have been the ways you have justified it? How
  can you turn this around in areas where you need to?
                                                                        75

  Then and Now
    Paul’s relationship with the Galatian believers was not always as
  difficult and frigid as it had now become. In fact, as Paul reflects on
  the time when he first preached the gospel in Galatia, he speaks in
  glowing terms of how well they treated him. What happened?

    Apparently it had not been Paul’s original intention to preach the
  gospel in Galatia. Some sort of illness, however, overtook him on his
  journey, forcing him either to stay longer in Galatia than expected
  or to travel to Galatia for his recovery. Mystery surrounds the exact
  nature of Paul’s malady. Some have suggested that he contracted
  malaria; others (on the basis of Paul’s reference to the Galatians’ will-
  ingness to pluck out their eyes and give them to him) suggest that it
  was perhaps an eye disease. His illness may also have been connected
  to the “thorn in the flesh” he mentions in 2 Corinthians 12:7–9.
    Whatever Paul was suffering from, he does tell us it was so unpleas-
  ant that it became a trial to the Galatians. In a world where illness was
  often seen as a sign of divine displeasure (John 9:1, 2; Luke 13:1–4),
  Paul’s illness easily could have provided the Galatians with an excuse
  to reject both him and his message. But they welcomed Paul whole-
  heartedly. Why? Because their hearts had been warmed by the preach-
  ing of the Cross (Gal. 3:1) and the conviction of the Holy Spirit. What
  reason could they give now for their change of attitude?

    Whatever Paul’s illness was, it certainly was serious, and it easily
  could have provided him with an excuse either to blame God for his
  problems or to simply give up on preaching the gospel. Paul did nei-
  ther. Instead of letting his situation get the best of him, Paul used it
  as an opportunity to rely more fully on God’s grace. “Time and again
  God has used the adversities of life—sickness, persecution, poverty,
  even natural disasters and inexplicable tragedies—as occasions to
  display his mercy and grace and as a means to advance the gospel.”
  —Timothy George, Galatians, pp. 323, 324.

   How can you learn to let your trials and suffering make you
   lean more upon the Lord? (What other options do you have?) 76

 Speaking the Truth

 ________________________________________________________

 ________________________________________________________

    The expression “speaking the truth” often has negative connotations,
 especially in our day and age, when it can be viewed as a hard-hitting,
 no-holds-barred, spare-no-enemies tactic of telling someone the facts,
 no matter how unpleasant or unwanted they may be. If it were not for
 Paul’s comments in Galatians 4:12–20 and a few other comments scat-
 tered throughout his letter (see Gal. 6:9, 10), one might mistakenly
 conclude that Paul’s interest in the truth of the gospel outweighed any
 expression of love. Yet, as we’ve seen, although Paul was concerned
 about the Galatians knowing the “truth of the gospel” (see Gal. 2:5,
 14), that concern arose because of his love for them. Who hasn’t experi-
 enced personally just how painful it can be to have to chastise someone,
 or in plain terms speak truths to them that—for whatever reason—they
 don’t want to hear? We do it because we care about the person, not
 because we want to cause hurt, although at times the immediate effect
 of our words is hurt, or even anger and resentment against us. We do it
 anyway, because we know it is what the person needs to hear, no matter
 how much he or she might not want to do so.

 ________________________________________________________

   In contrast to the candor of Paul’s gospel, by which he risked the
 possible ire of the Galatians, his opponents were actively courting
 the favor of the Galatians—not out of love for the Galatians but out
 of their own selfish motives. It is unclear exactly what Paul means
 when he says that his opponents “want to shut you out,” although this
 perhaps refers to an attempt to shut them out of the privileges of the
 gospel until they first submit to circumcision.

  Think of some incident when your words, however truthful and
  needed, caused someone to be angry with you. What did you
  learn from the experience that could help you the next time you
  need to do something similar?
                                                                     77

Further Study: “In the Galatian churches, open, unmasked error was
     supplanting the gospel message. Christ, the true foundation of the
     faith, was virtually renounced for the obsolete ceremonies of Judaism.
     The apostle saw that if the believers in Galatia were saved from the
     dangerous influences which threatened them, the most decisive mea-
     sures must be taken, the sharpest warnings given.
        “An important lesson for every minister of Christ to learn is that of
     adapting his labors to the condition of those whom he seeks to benefit.
     Tenderness, patience, decision, and firmness are alike needful; but
     these are to be exercised with proper discrimination. To deal wisely 1
     with different classes of minds, under varied circumstances and con-
     ditions, is a work requiring wisdom and judgment enlightened and
     sanctified by the Spirit of God. . . .
        “Paul pleaded with those who had once known in their lives the
     power of God, to return to their first love of gospel truth. With unan-
     swerable arguments he set before them their privilege of becoming 2
     free men and women in Christ, through whose atoning grace all who
     make full surrender are clothed with the robe of His righteousness.
     He took the position that every soul who would be saved must have a
     genuine, personal experience in the things of God.
        “The apostle’s earnest words of entreaty were not fruitless. The
     Holy Spirit wrought with mighty power, and many whose feet had
     wandered into strange paths, returned to their former faith in the gos-
     pel. Henceforth they were steadfast in the liberty wherewith Christ 3
     had made them free.”—Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, pp.
     385, 386, 388.

Discussion Questions:
      l
      1 Dwell more on the whole question of suffering and how God
      can use it. How do we deal with situations in which nothing good
      appears to have come from suffering?

      l
      2 Meditate on the idea of Christ being formed in us. What does
      this mean in practical terms? How can we know that this is hap-
      pening to us? How do we keep from being discouraged if it’s not
      happening as quickly as we think it should?

Summary: Having made a number of detailed and theologically
     sophisticated arguments, Paul now makes a more personal and emo-
     tional appeal to the Galatians. He begs them to listen to his counsel,
     reminding them of the positive relationship they once shared and
     of the genuine love and concern he has for them as their spiritual
     parent.



78

  Sabbath Afternoon				 Read for This Week’s Study: Gal. 4:21–31; Gen. 1:28;
  2:2, 3; 3:15; 15:1–6; Exod. 6:2–8; 19:3–6.

  C
          hristians who reject the authority of the Old Testament often
          see the giving of the law on Sinai as being inconsistent with
          the gospel. They conclude that the covenant given on Sinai
  represents an era, a dispensation, from a time in human history when
  salvation was based on obedience to the law. But because the people
  failed to live up to the demands of the law, God (they say) ushered in a
  new covenant, a covenant of grace through the merits of Jesus Christ.
  This, then, is their understanding of the two covenants: the old based
  on law, and the new based on grace.
    However common that view may be, it is wrong. Salvation was
  never by obedience to the law; biblical Judaism, from the start, was
  always a religion of grace. The legalism that Paul was confronting
  in Galatia was a perversion, not just of Christianity but of the Old
  Testament itself. The two covenants are not matters of time; instead,
  they are reflective of human attitudes. They represent two different
  ways of trying to relate to God, ways that go back to Cain and Abel.
  The old covenant represents those who, like Cain, mistakenly rely
  on their own obedience as a means of pleasing God; in contrast, the
  new covenant represents the experience of those who, like Abel, rely
  wholly upon God’s grace to do all that He has promised.

 Covenant Basics
    Many regard Paul’s interpretation of the history of Israel in Galatians
 4:21–31 as the most difficult passage in his letter. That’s because it
 is a highly complex argument that requires a broad knowledge of Old
 Testament persons and events. The first step in making sense of this
 passage is to have a basic understanding of an Old Testament concept
 central to Paul’s argument: the concept of the covenant.
    The Hebrew word translated “covenant” is berit. It occurs nearly
 three hundred times in the Old Testament and refers to a binding
 contract, agreement, or treaty. For thousands of years, covenants
 played an integral role in defining the relationships between people
 and nations across the ancient Near East. Covenants often involved
 the slaughter of animals as part of the process of making (literally
 “cutting”) a covenant. The killing of animals symbolized what would
 happen to a party that failed to keep its covenant promises and obli-
 gations.
    “From Adam to Jesus, God dealt with humanity by means of a
 series of covenant promises that centered on a coming Redeemer
 and which culminated in the Davidic covenant (Gen. 12:2, 3; 2 Sam.
 7:12–17; Isaiah 11). To Israel in Babylonian captivity, God promised
 a more effective ‘new covenant’ (Jer. 31:31–34) in connection with
 the coming of the Davidic Messiah (Ezek. 36:26–28; 37:22–28).”
 —Hans K. LaRondelle, Our Creator Redeemer (Berrien Springs,
 Mich.: Andrews University Press, 2005), p. 4.

 ________________________________________________________

   While marriage, physical labor, and the Sabbath were part of the
 general provisions of the covenant of creation, its main focal point
 was God’s command not to eat the forbidden fruit. The basic nature of
 the covenant was “obey and live!” With a nature created in harmony
 with God, the Lord did not require the impossible. Obedience was
 humanity’s natural inclination; yet, Adam and Eve chose to do what
 was not natural, and, in that act, they not only ruptured the covenant of
 creation, they made its terms impossible for humans now corrupted by
 sin. God had to restore the relationship that Adam and Eve had lost.
 He did this by immediately enacting the covenant of grace based on
 the eternal promise of a Savior (Gen. 3:15).

  Read Genesis 3:15, the first gospel promise in the Bible. Where
  in that verse do you see an inkling of the hope that we have in
  Christ?
                                                                       81

  The Abrahamic Covenant What covenant promises did God make to Abram in Genesis 12:1–5?
  What was Abram’s response?


     God’s initial promises to Abram make up one of the more powerful
  passages in the Old Testament. These verses all are about God’s grace. It
  is God, not Abram, who makes the promises. Abram had done nothing
  to earn or merit God’s favor; neither is there any indication that suggests
  that God and Abram had somehow worked together to come up with
  this agreement. God does all the promising. Abram, in contrast, is called
  to have faith in the surety of God’s promise, not some flimsy so-called
  “faith” but a faith that is manifested by his leaving his extended family (at
  the age of seventy-five!) and heading to the land God promised.
     “With the ‘blessing’ pronounced on Abraham and through him on
  all human beings, the Creator renewed His redemptive purpose. He
  had ‘blessed’ Adam and Eve in Paradise (Gen. 1:28, 5:2) and then
  ‘blessed Noah and his sons’ after the flood (9:1). This way God clari-
  fied His earlier promise of a Redeemer who will redeem humanity,
  destroy evil, and restore Paradise (Gen. 3:15). God confirmed His
  promise to bless ‘all peoples’ in His universal outreach.”—Hans K.
  LaRondelle, Our Creator Redeemer, pp. 22, 23.

    It often is easy to glorify Abram as the man of faith who never had
  any questions or doubts. Scripture, however, paints a different picture.
  Abram believed, but he also had questions along the way. His faith was
  a growing faith. Like the father in Mark 9:24, Abram basically said to
  God in Genesis 15:8, “I believe, help my unbelief.” In response, God
  graciously assured Abram of the certainty of His promise by formally
  entering into a covenant with him (Gen. 15:7–18). What makes this
  passage so surprising is not the fact that God enters into a covenant with
  Abram but the extent to which God was willing to condescend to do
  so. Unlike other rulers in the ancient Near East who balked at the idea
  of making binding promises with their servants, God not only gave His
  word, but, by symbolically passing through the pieces of slaughtered
  animals, He staked His very life on it. Of course, Jesus ultimately gave
  His life on Calvary to make His promise a reality.

   What are some areas now where you have to reach out by faith
   and believe in what seems impossible? How can you learn to
   keep holding on, no matter what? 82

  Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar Why does Paul have such a disparaging view of the incident with
  Hagar? Gal. 4:21–31, Genesis 16. What crucial point about salva-
  tion is Paul making through his use of this Old Testament story?

  ________________________________________________________

  ________________________________________________________

    Hagar’s place in the Genesis story is directly related to Abram’s fail-
  ure to believe God’s promise. As an Egyptian slave in Abram’s house-
  hold, Hagar likely came into Abram’s possession as one of the many
  gifts Pharaoh gave to him in exchange for Sarai, an event associated
  with Abram’s first act of unbelief in God’s promise (Gen. 12:11–16).
    After waiting ten years for the promised child to be born, Abram
  and Sarai remained childless. Concluding that God needed their
  help, Sarai gave Hagar to Abram as a concubine. Although strange
  to us today, Sarai’s plan was quite ingenious. According to ancient
  customs, a female slave legally could serve as a surrogate mother for
  her barren mistress. Thus Sarai could count any child born from her
  husband and Hagar as her own. While the plan did produce a child, it
  was not the child God had promised.
    In this story we have a powerful example of how, when faced with
  daunting circumstances even a great man of God had a lapse of faith.
  In Genesis 17:18, 19, Abraham pleaded with God to accept Ishmael
  as his heir; the Lord, of course, rejected that offer. The only “miracu-
  lous” element in the birth of Ishmael was Sarah’s willingness to share
  her husband with another woman! There was nothing out of the ordi-
  nary about the birth of a child to this woman, a child born “according
  to the flesh.” Had Abraham trusted in what God had promised him
  instead of letting the circumstances overcome that trust, none of this
  would have happened, and a lot of grief would have been avoided.

  ________________________________________________________

  ________________________________________________________

   In what ways has your lack of faith in God’s promises caused
   you some pain? How can you learn from these mistakes to take
   God at His word, no matter what? What choices can you make
   that can help strengthen your ability to trust God’s promises?
                                                                       83

  Hagar and Mount Sinai (Gal. 4:21–31) What type of covenant relationship did God want to establish with
  His people at Sinai? What similarities does it share with God’s
  promise to Abraham? Exod. 6:2–8, 19:3–6, Deut. 32:10–12.

  ________________________________________________________

     God desired to share the same covenant relationship with the chil-
  dren of Israel at Sinai that He shared with Abraham. In fact, similari-
  ties exist between God’s words to Abraham in Genesis 12:1–3 and
  His words to Moses in Exodus 19. In both cases, God emphasizes
  what He will do for His people. He does not ask the Israelites to prom-
  ise to do anything to earn His blessings; instead, they are to obey as a
  response to those blessings. The Hebrew word translated as “to obey”
  in Exodus 19:5 literally means “to hear.” God’s words do not imply
  righteousness by works. On the contrary, He wanted Israel to have the
  same faith that characterized Abraham’s response to His promises (at
  least most of the time!).

  ________________________________________________________

     The covenant at Sinai was intended to point out the sinfulness of
  humanity and the remedy of God’s abundant grace, which were typified
  in the sanctuary services. The problem with the Sinai covenant was not
  on God’s part but rather with the faulty promises of the people (Heb.
  8:6). Instead of responding to God’s promises in humility and faith, the
  Israelites responded with self-confidence. “ ‘All that the Lord hath spo-
  ken we will do’ ” (Exod. 19:8). After living as slaves in Egypt for more
  than four hundred years, they had no true concept of God’s majesty nor
  the extent of their own sinfulness. In the same way that Abraham and
  Sarah tried to help God fulfill His promises, the Israelites sought to turn
  God’s covenant of grace into a covenant of works. Hagar symbolizes
  Sinai in that both reveal human attempts at salvation by works.
     Paul is not claiming that the law given at Sinai was evil or abolished.
  He is concerned with the Galatians’ legalistic misapprehension of the
  law. “Instead of serving to convict them of the absolute impossibility
  of pleasing God by law-keeping, the law fostered in them a deeply
  entrenched determination to depend on personal resources in order to
  please God. Thus the law did not serve the purposes of grace in lead-
  ing the Judaizers to Christ. Instead, it closed them off from Christ.”
  —O. Palmer Robertson, The Christ of the Covenants (Phillipsburg,
  N.J.: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1980), p. 181. 84

 Ishmael and Isaac Today
    Paul’s brief sketch of Israel’s history was designed to counter
 the arguments made by his opponents who claimed that they were
 the true descendants of Abraham and that Jerusalem—the center of
 Jewish Christianity and the law—was their mother. The Gentiles, they
 charged, were illegitimate; if they wanted to become true followers
 of Christ, they must first become a son of Abraham by submitting to
 the law of circumcision.
    The truth, Paul says, is the opposite. These legalists are not the sons
 of Abraham but are illegitimate sons, like Ishmael. By placing their
 trust in circumcision, they were relying on “the flesh,” as Sarah did
 with Hagar and as the Israelites did with God’s law at Sinai. Gentile
 believers, however, were the sons of Abraham not by natural descent
 but, like Isaac, by the supernatural. “Like Isaac they were a fulfil-
 ment of the promise made to Abraham . . . ; like Isaac, their birth into
 freedom was the effect of divine grace; like Isaac, they belong to the
 column of the covenant of promise.”—James D. G. Dunn, The Epistle
 to the Galatians (London: Hendrickson Publishers, 1993), p. 256.

    Being the promised child brought Isaac not only blessings but also
 opposition and persecution. In reference to persecution, Paul has in
 mind the ceremony in Genesis 21:8–10, where Isaac is being honored
 and Ishmael appears to make fun of him. The Hebrew word in Genesis
 21:9 literally means “to laugh,” but Sarah’s reaction suggests Ishmael
 was mocking or ridiculing Isaac. While Ishmael’s behavior might not
 sound very significant to us today, it revealed the deeper hostilities
 involved in a situation when the family birthright was at stake. Many
 rulers in antiquity tried to secure their position by eliminating poten-
 tial rivals, including siblings (Judg. 9:1–6). Although Isaac faced
 opposition, he also enjoyed all the privileges of love, protection, and
 favor that went along with being his father’s heir.
    As spiritual descendants of Isaac, we should not be surprised when
 we suffer hardship and opposition, even from within the church fam-
 ily itself.

  In what ways have you suffered persecution, especially from
  those closest to you, because of your faith? Or ask yourself this
  hard question: might you be guilty of persecuting others for
  their faith? Think about it.
                                                                       85

Further Study: Read Ellen G. White, “The Law and the Covenants,”
     pp. 363–373, in Patriarchs and Prophets.

        “But if the Abrahamic covenant contained the promise of redemp-
     tion, why was another covenant formed at Sinai? In their bondage
     the people had to a great extent lost the knowledge of God and of the
     principles of the Abrahamic covenant. . . . 1
        “God brought them to Sinai; He manifested His glory; He gave
     them His law, with the promise of great blessings on condition of
     obedience: ‘If ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant,
     then . . . ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.’
     Exodus 19:5, 6. The people did not realize the sinfulness of their own
     hearts, and that without Christ it was impossible for them to keep 2
     God’s law; and they readily entered into covenant with God. . . . Yet
     only a few weeks passed before they broke their covenant with God,
     and bowed down to worship a graven image. They could not hope for
     the favor of God through a covenant which they had broken; and now,
     seeing their sinfulness and their need of pardon, they were brought
     to feel their need of the Saviour revealed in the Abrahamic covenant
     and shadowed forth in the sacrificial offerings. Now by faith and
     love they were bound to God as their deliverer from the bondage of 3
     sin. Now they were prepared to appreciate the blessings of the new
     covenant.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 371, 372.

Discussion Questions:
      l
      1 Is your own walk with the Lord more of an “old covenant” or
      a “new covenant” type? How can you tell the difference?

      l
      2 What are some of the issues in your local church that are
      causing tension within the body? How are they being resolved?
      Although you might find yourself being the victim of “persecu-
      tion,” how can you make sure, too, that you aren’t the one doing
      the persecuting? Where’s the fine line there? See also Matt.
      18:15–17.

      l3 How many times have you made promises to the Lord that
      you would not do this or that, only to do this or that? How does
      this sad fact help you understand the meaning of grace?		
      					

Summary: The stories of Hagar, Ishmael, and the children of Israel
     at Sinai illustrate the foolishness of trying to rely upon our own
     efforts to accomplish what God has promised. This method of self-
     righteousness is referred to as the old covenant. The new covenant is
     the everlasting covenant of grace first established with Adam and Eve
     after sin, renewed with Abraham, and ultimately fulfilled in Christ.
86

                           Jordy Estrada (left) lives in Quito, Ecuador.

  Sabbath Afternoon				 Read for This Week’s Study: Gal. 5:1–15; 1 Cor. 6:20;
  Rom. 8:1; Heb. 2:14, 15; Rom. 8:4; 13:8.

  I
      n Galatians 2:4, Paul briefly referred to the importance of protect-
      ing the “freedom” that we have in Christ Jesus. But what does
      Paul mean when he speaks about “freedom,” which he so often
  does? What does this freedom include? How far does this freedom
  go? Does it have any limits? And what connection does freedom in
  Christ have to the law?
     Paul addresses these questions by warning the Galatians of two
  dangers. The first is legalism. Paul’s opponents in Galatia were so
  caught up trying to earn God’s favor through their behavior that they
  lost sight of the liberating nature of Christ’s work, of the salvation
  that they already had in Christ through faith. The second threat is the
  tendency to abuse the freedom Christ has obtained for us by lapsing
  into licentiousness. Those who hold this view mistakenly assume that
  freedom is antithetical to the law.
     Both legalism and licentiousness are opposed to freedom, because
  they equally keep their adherents in a form of slavery. Paul’s appeal
  to the Galatians, however, is to stand firm in the true freedom that is
  their rightful possession in Christ.

 Christ Has Set Us Free
   “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made
 us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage”
 (Gal. 5:1).

    Like the rallying command of a military leader to his wavering
 troops, Paul charges the Galatians not to surrender their freedom in
 Christ. The forcefulness and intensity of Paul’s tone cause his words
 nearly to leap off the page into action. In fact, this seems to be exactly
 what Paul intended. Although this verse is connected thematically to
 what precedes and what follows, its abruptness and lack of syntacti-
 cal connections in Greek suggest that Paul wanted this verse to stand
 out like a gigantic billboard. Freedom in Christ sums up Paul’s entire
 argument, and the Galatians were in danger of giving it away.

    Paul’s words, “for freedom Christ has set us free” (Gal. 5: 1, ESV),
 may suggest that he has another metaphor in mind here. The word-
 ing of this phrase is similar to the formula used in the sacred freeing
 (manumission) of slaves. Because slaves had no legal rights, it was
 supposed that a deity could purchase their freedom, and in return, the
 slave, though really free, would legally belong to the god. Of course,
 in actual practice the process was fiction; it was the slave who paid
 the money into the temple treasury for his or her freedom. Consider,
 for example, the formula used in one of the nearly one thousand
 inscriptions found at the temple to Pythian Apollo at Delphi that date
 from 201 b.c. to a.d. 100: “ ‘For Freedom, Apollo the Pythian bought
 from Sosibus of Amphissa a female slave whose name is Nicaea. . . .
 The purchase, however, Nicaea has committed unto Apollo for free-
 dom.’ ”—Ben Witherington III, Grace in Galatia (Grand Rapids,
 Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1998), p. 340.
    This formula shares a basic similarity with Paul’s terminology, but
 there is a fundamental difference. In Paul’s metaphor, no fiction is
 involved. We did not provide the purchase price ourselves (1 Cor.
 6:20, 7:23). The price was far too high for us. We were powerless to
 save ourselves, but Jesus stepped in and did for us what we could not
 do (at least not without forfeiting our lives). He paid the penalty for
 our sins, thus freeing us from condemnation.

  Look at your own life. Do you ever think that you could save
  yourself? What should your answer tell you about how grateful
  you need to be for what we have been given in Jesus?
                                                                       89

  The Nature of Christian Freedom
     Paul’s command to stand firm in freedom is not made in isolation.
  An important statement of fact precedes it: “Christ has set us free.”
  Why should Christians stand firmly in their freedom? Because Christ
  has already set them free. In other words, our freedom is a result of
  what Christ has already done for us.
     This pattern of a statement of fact followed by an exhortation is typi-
  cal in Paul’s letters (1 Cor. 6:20; 10:13, 14; Col. 2:6). For example,
  Paul makes several indicative statements in Romans 6 about the facts
  of our condition in Christ, such as, “We know that our old self was
  crucified with him” (Rom. 6:6, ESV). On the basis of this fact, Paul
  can then issue the imperative exhortation, “Therefore, do not let sin
  exercise dominion in your mortal bodies” (Rom. 6:12, NRSV). This
  is Paul’s way of saying essentially, “Become what you already are
  in Christ.” The ethical life of the gospel does not present the burden
  of trying to do things in order to prove that we are God’s children.
  Rather, we do what we do because we already are His children.

  ________________________________________________________

  ________________________________________________________

     The use of the word freedom to describe the Christian life is more
  prominent in Paul’s letters than anywhere else in the New Testament.
  The word freedom and its cognates occur 28 times in Paul’s letters, in
  contrast to only 13 times elsewhere.
     What does Paul mean by freedom? First, it is not a mere abstract
  concept. It does not refer to political freedom, economic freedom, or
  the freedom to live any way we might please. On the contrary, it is a
  freedom that is grounded in our relationship to Jesus Christ. The context
  suggests that Paul is referring to freedom from the bondage and con-
  demnation of a law-driven Christianity, but our freedom includes much
  more. It includes freedom from sin, eternal death, and the devil.
     “Outside of Jesus Christ, human existence is characterized as
  bondage—bondage to the law, bondage to the evil elements dominating
  the world, bondage to sin, the flesh, and the devil. God sent his Son into
  the world to shatter the dominion of these slave-holders.”—Timothy
  George, Galatians, p. 354.

   To what things do you feel enslaved in life? Memorize Galatians
   5:1 and ask God to make the freedom you have in Christ a real-
   ity in your life. 90

 The Dangerous Consequences
 of Legalism (Gal. 5:2–12)
    The way in which Paul introduces Galatians 5:2–12 indicates the
 importance of what he is about to say. “Look” (ESV), “Listen!”
 (NRSV), “Mark my words!” (NIV), “I, Paul, say to you” (ESV). Paul
 is not fooling around. By his forceful use of the word look, he not only
 calls for his readers’ full attention, but he even evokes his apostolic
 authority. He wants them to understand that if the Gentiles are going
 to submit to circumcision to be saved, then the Galatians need to real-
 ize the dangerous consequences involved in their decision.

 ________________________________________________________

    The first consequence of trying to earn God’s favor by submit-
 ting to circumcision is that it obligates the person to keep the entire
 law. Paul’s language in verses 2 and 3 includes an interesting play
 on words. Christ, he says, will not benefit them (ophelesei); rather,
 they will be obligated (opheiletes) to the law. If a person wants to
 live according to the law, he or she cannot just pick and choose the
 precepts to follow. It is all or nothing.
    Second, they will be “cut off” from Christ. A decision to be justi-
 fied by works involves at the same time a rejection of God’s way of
 justification in Christ. “You cannot have it both ways. It is impossible
 to receive Christ, thereby acknowledging that you cannot save your-
 self, and then receive circumcision, thereby claiming that you can.”
 —John R. W. Stott, The Message of Galatians (Leicester, England:
 InterVarsity Press, 1968), p. 133.
    Paul’s third objection to circumcision is that it hinders spiritual
 growth. His analogy is of a runner whose progress toward the finish line
 has been deliberately sabotaged. In fact, the word translated “hindered”
 (vs. 7, ESV) was used in military circles to refer “to breaking up a road
 or destroying a bridge or placing obstacles in the way of an enemy, to
 halt his advance.”—The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 978.
    Finally, circumcision removes the offense of the Cross. How? The
 message of circumcision implies that you can save yourself; as such,
 it is flattering to human pride. The message of the Cross, however, is
 offensive to human pride, because we have to acknowledge that we
 are dependent completely on Christ.
    Paul is so outraged at these people for their insistence on circum-
 cision that he says that he wishes that the knife would slip and they
 would castrate themselves! Strong words, but Paul’s tone simply
 reflects how seriously he views this issue.
                                                                      91

  Liberty Not Licentiousness (Gal. 5:13)
    Galatians 5:13 marks an important turning point in the book of
  Galatians. Whereas up to this point Paul has focused entirely on the
  theological content of his message, he now turns to the issue of Christian
  behavior. How should a person who is not saved by works of law live?

  ________________________________________________________

     Paul was well aware of the potential misunderstanding that accom-
  panied his emphasis on the grace and the freedom that believers have
  in Christ (Rom. 3:8; 6:1, 2). The problem, however, was not Paul’s
  gospel but the human tendency for self-indulgence. The pages of his-
  tory are littered with the stories of people, cities, and nations whose
  corruption and descent into moral chaos were directly related to their
  lack of self-control. Who hasn’t felt this tendency in his or her own
  life, as well? That’s why Paul so clearly calls followers of Jesus to
  avoid indulging in the flesh. In fact, he wants them to do the opposite,
  which is “through love serve one another” (NKJV). As anyone who
  serves others out of love knows, this is something that can be done
  only through death to self, death to the flesh. Those who indulge their
  own flesh are not the ones who tend to serve others. On the contrary.
     Thus, our freedom in Christ is not merely a freedom from the enslave-
  ment to the world but a call to a new type of service, the responsibility
  to serve others out of love. It is “the opportunity to love the neighbor
  without hindrance, the possibility of creating human communities
  based on mutual self-giving rather than the quest for power and
  status.”—Sam K. Williams, Galatians (Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon
  Press, 1997), p. 145.
     Because of our familiarity with Christianity and the wording of mod-
  ern translations of Galatians 5:13, it is easy to overlook the startling
  power these words would have conveyed to the Galatians. First, the
  Greek language indicates that the love that motivates this type of ser-
  vice is not ordinary human love—that would be impossible; human
  love is far too conditional. Paul’s use of the article (the) before the
  word love in Greek indicates he is referring to “the” divine love that
  we receive only through the Spirit (Rom. 5:5). The real surprise lies
  in the fact that the word translated as “serve” is the Greek word for
  “to be enslaved.” Our freedom is not for self-autonomy but for mutual
  enslavement to one another based on God’s love.

   Be honest: have you ever thought you could use the freedom
   you have in Christ to indulge in a little bit of sin here and there?
   What’s so detrimental about that kind of thinking? 92

  Fulfilling the Whole Law (Gal. 5:13–15) How do you reconcile Paul’s negative comments about “do[ing] the
  whole law” (Gal. 5:3) with his positive statement about “fulfill[ing]
  all the law” (Gal. 5:14)? Compare Rom. 10:5; Gal. 3:10, 12; 5:3
  with Rom. 8:4; 13:8; Gal. 5:14.

  ________________________________________________________

     Many have seen the contrast between Paul’s negative comments
  about “doing the whole law” and his positive assertions about “fulfill-
  ing the whole law” as paradoxical. They really aren’t. The solution lies
  in the fact that Paul intentionally uses each phrase to make an important
  distinction between two different ways of defining Christian behavior
  in relation to the law. For example, it is significant that when Paul refers
  positively to Christian observance of the law, he never describes it as
  “doing the law.” He reserves that phrase to refer solely to the misguided
  behavior of those who are living under the law and are trying to earn
  God’s approval by “doing” what the law commands.
     This is not to imply that those who have found salvation in Christ
  do not obey. Nothing could be further from the truth. Paul says they
  “fulfill” the law. He means that true Christian behavior is much more
  than the outward obedience of just “doing” the law; it “fulfills” the
  law. Paul uses the word fulfill because it goes far beyond just “doing.”
  This type of obedience is rooted in Jesus (see Matt. 5:17). It is not an
  abandonment of the law, nor a reduction of the law only to love, but
  it is the way through which the believer can experience the true intent
  and meaning of the whole law!

  ________________________________________________________

     Although it is a quotation from Leviticus, Paul’s statement in
  Galatians is ultimately rooted in Jesus’ use of Leviticus 19:18. Jesus,
  however, was not the only Jewish teacher to refer to Leviticus 19:18
  as a summary of the whole law. Rabbi Hillel, who lived about a gen-
  eration before Jesus, said, “What is hateful to you, do not do to your
  neighbor; that is the whole law.” But Jesus’ perspective radically was
  different (Matt. 7:12). Not only is it more positive, but it also demon-
  strates that law and love are not incompatible. Without love, the law
  is empty and cold; without law, love has no direction.

   What’s easier, and why: to love others or simply to obey the
   Ten Commandments? Bring your answer to class.
                                                                          93

Further Study: “Genuine faith always works by love. When you look
     to Calvary it is not to quiet your soul in the nonperformance of duty,
     not to compose yourself to sleep, but to create faith in Jesus, faith that
     will work, purifying the soul from the slime of selfishness. When we
     lay hold of Christ by faith, our work has just begun. Every man has
     corrupt and sinful habits that must be overcome by vigorous warfare.
     Every soul is required to fight the fight of faith. If one is a follower of
     Christ, he cannot be sharp in deal, he cannot be hardhearted, devoid 1
     of sympathy. He cannot be coarse in his speech. He cannot be full of
     pomposity and self-esteem. He cannot be overbearing, nor can he use
     harsh words, and censure and condemn.
        “The labor of love springs from the work of faith. Bible religion
     means constant work. ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they
     may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’ 2
     ‘Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God
     that worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure.’ We
     are to be zealous of good works; be careful to maintain good works.
     And the true Witness says, ‘I know thy works.’
        “While it is true that our busy activities will not in themselves
     ensure salvation, it is also true that faith which unites us to Christ will
     stir the soul to activity (MS 16, 1890).”—Ellen G. White Comments,
     The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1111. 3

Discussion Questions:
      l
      1 As a class, go over your answers to the last question from
      Thursday’s lesson. Which option did most people find easier,
      and why? What important truths does your answer suggest to
      you about what it means to fulfill the law?

      l
      2 Paul says that faith “works” through love. What does he
      mean?					

      l
      3 Examine the idea of seeking to use your freedom in Christ to
      indulge in sin. Why is that so easy to do? When people think that
      way, what trap are they falling into? See 1 John 3:8.

Summary: Freedom is one of Paul’s favorite words for defining the
     gospel. It includes both what Christ has done for us in freeing us from
     bondage to the world and also how we are called to live the Christian
     life. We need to be careful, however, that our liberty does not fall
     prey either to legalism or licentiousness. Christ did not set us free so
     that we could serve ourselves but so that we might give our lives in
     ministry to our neighbors.



94

  Sabbath Afternoon				 Read for This Week’s Study: Gal. 5:16–25; Deut. 13:
  4, 5; Rom. 7:14–24; Jer. 7:9; Hos. 4:2; Matt. 22:35–40.

  O
           ne of the most beloved Christian hymns is Robert Robinson’s
           “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” Robinson, however,
           was not always a man of faith. The death of his father left him
  angry, and he fell into debauchery and drunkenness. After hearing the
  famous preacher George Whitefield, Robinson surrendered his life
  to the Lord, became a Methodist pastor, and wrote that hymn, which
  originally included the lines: “Oh, to grace how great a debtor / Daily
  I’m constrained to be! / Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, / Bind me
  closer still to Thee.”
     Uncomfortable with the line about the Christian heart’s wandering,
  someone changed the words to read: “Prone to worship, Lord, I feel
  it, / Prone to love the God I serve.”
     Despite the editor’s good intentions, the original words accurately
  describe the Christian struggle. As believers we possess two natures,
  the flesh and the Spirit, and they are in conflict. Although our sinful
  nature will always be “prone” to wander from God, if we are willing
  to surrender to His Spirit, we do not have to be enslaved to the desires
  of the flesh. This is the thrust of Paul’s message in the texts for the
  week.

 Walking in the Spirit Read Galatians 5:16. What does the concept of “walking” have to do
 with a life of faith? Deut. 13:4, 5; Rom. 13:13; Eph. 4:1, 17; Col.
 1:10.

 ________________________________________________________

 ________________________________________________________

    “Walking” is a metaphor drawn from the Old Testament that refers
 to the way a person should behave. Paul, himself a Jew, makes use
 of this metaphor often in his letters to describe the type of conduct
 that should characterize the Christian life. His use of this metaphor
 is also likely connected to the first name that was associated with the
 early church. Before the followers of Jesus were called Christians
 (Acts 11:26), they were known simply as followers of “the Way”
 (John 14:6, Acts 22:4, 24:14). This suggests that, at a very early date,
 Christianity was not merely a set of theological beliefs that centered
 on Jesus but was also a “way” of life to be “walked.”

 ________________________________________________________

 ________________________________________________________

    Conduct in the Old Testament simply was not defined as “walking”
 but more particularly as “walking in the law.” Halakhah is the legal
 term Jews use to refer to the rules and regulations found in both the law
 and the rabbinic traditions of their forefathers. While Halakhah usually
 is translated “the Jewish law,” the word actually is based on the Hebrew
 word for “to walk” and literally means “the way of going.”
    Paul’s comments about “walking in the Spirit” are not contrary to
 obedience to the law. He is not proposing that Christians should live
 in a way that violates the law. Again, Paul is not opposed to the law
 or to obedience to the law. What he is opposed to is the legalistic way
 in which the law was being misused. The genuine obedience that God
 desires never can be achieved by outward compulsion but only by an
 inward motivation produced by the Spirit (Gal. 5:18).

  What has been your own experience of “walking in the Spirit”?
  How do you do that? What practices in your life make this kind
  of walk more difficult?
                                                                      97

 The Christian’s Conflict
   		
   “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against
 the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye
 cannot do the things that ye would” (Gal. 5:17; see also Rom. 7:
 14–24). How have you, in your own life as a believer, experienced
 the harsh and painful reality of these words?
 ________________________________________________________
 ________________________________________________________
 ________________________________________________________

    The struggle that Paul describes is not the struggle of every human
 being; it refers specifically to the inward tug-of-war that exists in the
 Christian. Because humans are born in harmony with the desires of
 the flesh (Rom. 8:7), it is only when we are born anew by the Spirit
 that a real spiritual conflict begins to emerge (John 3:6). This does
 not mean that non-Christians never experience moral conflict; they
 certainly do. But even that conflict is ultimately a result of the Spirit.
 The struggle of the Christian, however, takes on a new dimension,
 because the believer possesses two natures that are at war with each
 other, the flesh and the Spirit.
    Throughout history, Christians have longed for relief from this
 struggle. Some have sought to end the conflict by withdrawing from
 society, while others have claimed that the sinful nature can be
 eradicated by some divine act of grace. Both attempts are misguided.
 Although by the Spirit’s power we certainly can subdue the desires of
 the flesh, the conflict will continue in various ways until we receive a
 new body at the Second Coming. Fleeing from society does not help,
 because no matter where we go, we take the struggle with us, and we
 will until death or the Second Coming.
    When Paul writes in Romans 7 about the inward conflict in
 Christians preventing them from doing what they want, he is under-
 scoring the full extent of that conflict. Because we possess two natures,
 we are literally on both sides of the battle at once. The spiritual part
 of us desires what is spiritual and detests the flesh. The fleshly part
 of us, however, longs for the things of the flesh and opposes what is
 spiritual. Because the converted mind is too weak to resist the flesh
 by itself, the only hope we have of subduing the flesh is by making a
 daily decision to side with the Spirit against our sinful selves. This is
 why Paul is so insistent that we choose to walk in the Spirit.

  From your own experience of the battle between these two
  natures, what advice would you give to a Christian who is try-
  ing to come to terms with this never-ending struggle with self?

 The Works of the Flesh
   Having introduced the conflict that exists between the flesh and
 the Spirit, Paul, in Galatians 5:18–26, elaborates on the nature of this
 contrast by means of a list of ethical vices and virtues. The catalog of
 vices or virtues was a well-established literary feature present in both
 Jewish and Greco-Roman literature. These lists identified behavior to
 be avoided and virtues to be emulated.

    Although Paul was well aware of vice and virtue lists, there are
 significant differences in the way he uses the two lists in Galatians.
 First, even though Paul contrasts the two lists, he does not refer to
 them in the same manner. He labels the vice list as the “works of the
 flesh” but the virtue list as the “fruit of the Spirit.” This is an impor-
 tant distinction. As James D. G. Dunn writes, “The flesh demands,
 but the Spirit produces. Where the one list breathes an air of anxious
 self-assertiveness and frenetic self-indulgence, the other speaks more
 of concern for others, serenity, resilience, reliability. The one features
 human manipulation, the other divine enabling or engracing, reinforc-
 ing the point that inner transformation is the source of responsible
 conduct.”—The Epistle to the Galatians, p. 308.
    The second intriguing difference between Paul’s two lists is that
 the vice list is deliberately labeled as plural in number: “works of
 the flesh.” “Fruit of the Spirit,” however, is singular. This difference
 may suggest that the life lived in the flesh can promote nothing more
 than division, turmoil, divisiveness, and disunity. In contrast, the life
 lived in the realm of the Spirit produces one fruit of the Spirit, which
 manifests itself in nine qualities that foster unity.
    In this context, some people claim that what a person believes about
 God does not really matter as long as he or she is sincere. Nothing could
 be farther from the truth. Paul’s list of vices suggests the opposite: cor-
 rupt views about God lead to distorted ideas about sexual behavior and
 religion and ethics, resulting in the breakdown of human relationships.
 Furthermore, they can lead to the loss of eternal life (Gal. 5:21).

  Look through the list of “works of the flesh.” In what ways
  can you see each as a violation of one or more of the Ten
  Commandments?
                                                                        99

  The Fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22–24)
    “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
  goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things
  there is no law” (Gal. 5:22, 23, ESV). In what ways does obedience to
  the Ten Commandments reflect the fruit of the Spirit as it is expressed
  in these verses? See also Matt. 5:21, 22, 27, 28; 22:35–40. 		
  						
  _______________________________________________________

  _______________________________________________________

  _______________________________________________________

     The Ten Commandments are not an alternative to love; they help
  guide us in how we are to show love, both to God and to humankind.
  However much it might transcend the letter of the law, love is not
  in conflict with the law. The idea that love for God and love for our
  neighbor void the Ten Commandments makes about as much sense as
  saying that love for nature voids the law of gravity.
     Also, in contrast to the 15 one-word descriptions of the works of
  the flesh, the fruit of the Spirit is described in nine elegant virtues.
  Scholars believe these nine virtues are organized into three clusters
  of three, but there is little agreement on the significance of their
  order. Some see an implicit reference to the Trinity in the number
  three; others believe the three triads reflect the ways in which we
  should relate to God, to our neighbor, and, finally, to ourselves; and
  others see the list as essentially a description of Jesus. Although
  each of these views has some merit, the most significant point not
  to be overlooked is the supreme importance Paul places on love in
  the Christian life.
     The fact that Paul lists love as the first of the nine virtues is not
  accidental. He has already highlighted the central role of love in the
  Christian life in Galatians 5:6 and 13, and he includes it in his virtue
  lists elsewhere (2 Cor. 6:6, 1 Tim. 4:12, 6:11, and 2 Tim. 2:22).
  Whereas all the other virtues appear also in non-Christian sources,
  love is distinctly Christian. All this indicates that love should be seen
  not merely as one virtue among many but as the cardinal Christian
  virtue that is the key to all other virtues. Love is the preeminent fruit
  of the Spirit (1 Cor. 13:13, Rom. 5:5), and it should define the life
  and attitudes of every Christian (John 13:34, 35), however difficult at
  times it might be to show love.

   How much self-denial is involved in love? Can you love with-
   out self-denial? What does Jesus teach us about love and self-
   denial? 100

 The Way to Victory
   Although an inward conflict between the flesh and the Spirit always
 will rage in the heart of every believer, the Christian life does not have
 to be dominated by defeat, failure, and sin.

 ________________________________________________________

 ________________________________________________________

 ________________________________________________________

    Galatians 5:16–26 contains five key verbs that describe the type of
 life in which the Spirit reigns. First, the believer needs to “walk” in
 the Spirit (vs. 16). The Greek verb is peripateo, which literally means
 “to walk around or to follow.” The followers of the famous Greek
 philosopher Aristotle came to be known as the Peripatetics because
 they followed Aristotle everywhere he went. The fact that the verb is
 in the present tense implies that Paul is not talking about an occasional
 walk but rather a continuous daily experience. In addition, since it is
 also a command “to walk” in the Spirit, it implies that walking in the
 Spirit is a choice we have to make on a daily basis.
    The second verb is “to be led” (vs. 18). This suggests that we also
 need to allow the Spirit to lead us where we should go (compare Rom.
 8:14, 1 Cor. 12:2). It is not our job to lead but to follow.
    The next two verbs appear in Galatians 5:25. The first is “to live”
 (zao in Greek). By “live,” Paul is referring to the new-birth experience
 that must mark the life of every believer. Paul’s use of the present
 tense points to a new-birth experience that is to be renewed daily.
 Because we live by the Spirit, Paul goes on to write that we also need
 “to walk” by the Spirit. The word translated as “walk” is different
 from the one in verse 16. Here the word is stoicheo. It is a military
 term that literally means “to draw up in a line,” “to keep in step,” or
 “to conform.” The idea here is that the Spirit not only gives us life but
 should direct our lives on a daily basis also.
    The verb Paul uses in verse 24 is “to crucify.” This is a little shock-
 ing. If we are to follow the Spirit, we must make a firm decision
 to put to death the desires of the flesh. Of course, Paul is speaking
 figuratively. We crucify the flesh by feeding our spiritual life and by
 starving the desires of the flesh.

  What changes and choices must you make in order to have the
  victories you are promised in Christ—victories that now con-
  tinually elude you?
                                                                      101

Further Study: “The life of the Christian is not all smooth. He has
      stern conflicts to meet. Severe temptations assail him. ‘The flesh lust-
      eth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.’ The nearer we
      come to the close of this earth’s history, the more delusive and ensnar-
      ing will be the attacks of the enemy. His attacks will grow fiercer and
      more frequent. Those who resist light and truth will become more
      hardened and unimpressible, and more bitter against those who love
      God and keep His commandments (MS 33, 1911).”—Ellen G. White
      Comments, The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1111.
         “The influence of the Holy Spirit is the life of Christ in the soul. We 1         do not see Christ and speak to Him, but His Holy Spirit is just as near
      us in one place as in another. It works in and through every one who
      receives Christ. Those who know the indwelling of the Spirit reveal
      the fruits of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness,
      goodness, faith (MS 41, 1897).”—Ellen G. White Comments, The
      SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1112. 2
Discussion Questions:
       l
       1 Dwell more on the idea of crucifying the desires of the flesh.
       What does that mean? How do we do it? How often do we have to
       do it? Why would Paul use such a strong verb? What does his use of
       the word crucify tell us about just how hard the battle with self is?

       l2 What role, if any, does human effort play in producing the 3
       fruit of the Spirit? What does your own experience tell you about
       this role?

       l
       3 Paul says that those who practice the works of the flesh will
       not inherit the kingdom of God. How do you reconcile this state-
       ment with the fact that Paul says we are saved by faith and not
       by works?

       l4 In your own walk with the Lord, what’s the biggest struggle
       you face? Is it not sin and what sin does to your relationship with
       God? What Christian hasn’t felt alienation, doubt, and disap-
       pointment as a result of the sin in his or her life, especially because
       we have the promise of victory over that sin? Given this fact in the
       context of victory over sin, why must we always remember that
       our salvation rests totally upon what Jesus has done for us?

Summary: Although in the life of all believers a conflict exists
      between the desires of the flesh and the desires of the Spirit, the
      Christian life does not have to be doomed to failure. Because Christ
      has conquered the power of sin and death, the Christian life can be
      a life where the Spirit reigns, bringing a daily supply of God’s grace
      that enables us to keep the desires of the flesh at bay.
102

  Sabbath Afternoon				 Read for This Week’s Study: Gal. 6:1–10, Matt. 18: 15–17,
  1 Cor. 10:12, Rom. 15:1, John 13:34, Luke 22:3.

  S
         ome potato farmers decided to save the biggest potatoes for
         themselves and to plant the smaller potatoes as seed. After a few
         disappointing harvests, they discovered that nature had reduced
  their potato crops to the size of marbles. Through this disaster, those
  farmers learned an important law of life.
    “They could not have the best things of life for themselves and use
  the leftovers for seed. The law of life decreed that the harvest would
  reflect the planting.
    “In another sense, planting small potatoes is still common practice.
  We take the big things of life for ourselves and plant the leftovers. We
  expect that by some crazy twist of spiritual laws, our selfishness will
  be rewarded with unselfishness.”—International Student Fellowship
  Newsletter, March 2007.
    Paul applies this principle in Galatians 6:1–10. Instead of members
  “bit[ing] and devour[ing] one another” (Gal. 5:15), the church should
  be a place where the Spirit leads us to put others before ourselves.
  Understanding that we are saved by grace should make us humble and
  more patient and compassionate in how we treat others.

  Restoring the Fallen
     While Paul has lofty expectations for the nature of the Christian
  life (Gal. 5:16), his counsel to the believers in Galatians 6:1 also
  is refreshingly realistic. Humans are not perfect, and even the most
  dedicated Christians are not immune to mistakes. In Greek, Paul’s
  words in Galatians 5:16 indicate that he is envisioning a situation that
  is likely to happen in the church at some time. Paul gives the Galatians
  practical advice on how to deal with such situations when they arise.

  ________________________________________________________

     To benefit from Paul’s advice in Galatians 6:1, we need to under-
  stand the precise type of situation that Paul has in mind. This revolves
  around two words used in the first half of the sentence. The first word
  is caught (ESV) or overtaken (KJV). It literally means “to be detected,
  overtaken, or surprised.” The context and different nuances associated
  with this word suggest that Paul has two aspects in mind. It refers not
  only to a believer who “catches” another believer in the act of some
  wrongdoing but also to the process by which a person finds himself
  “overtaken” by a behavior (see Prov. 5:22) that, under the best of
  circumstances, he would have chosen to avoid.
     The likelihood that the wrongdoing Paul is discussing is not delib-
  erate is evident from the terminology he uses. The word translated
  “fault” (KJV) or “sin” (NIV), which comes from the Greek word
  paraptoma, does not refer to a deliberate sin but rather to a mistake,
  a stumble, or a false step. The latter makes particular sense in light
  of Paul’s previous comments about “walking” in the Spirit. Although
  this in no way excuses the person’s mistake, it makes clear that Paul
  is not dealing with a case of defiant sin (1 Cor. 5:1–5).
     The proper response in such circumstances should not be punishment,
  condemnation, or disfellowship but restoration. The Greek word trans-
  lated “restore” is katartizo and means “to mend” or “to put in order.” In
  the New Testament it is used as “mending” fishnets (Matt. 4:21), and in
  Greek literature it is used as a medical term describing the process of set-
  ting a broken bone. In the same way that we would not abandon a fellow
  believer who fell and broke a leg, as members of the body of Christ we
  should gently care for our brothers and sisters in Christ who may stumble
  and fall as we walk together on the path to God’s kingdom.

   Instead of practicing Matthew 18:15–17, why do we so often
   talk badly about the person with whom we’re angry, let our anger
   simmer against the person, or even plan revenge?
                                                                         105

  Beware of Temptation
    “And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man” (2 Sam. 12:7).

     The seriousness of Paul’s words in Galatians 6:1—to guard our
  own lives lest we also follow into temptation—should not be over-
  looked. An indication of the urgency and personal concern behind
  Paul’s counsel can be seen in the way he makes his appeal. The word
  translated “considering” (KJV) or “take care” (NRSV) literally means
  “to look at carefully” or “to pay careful attention to” (compare Rom.
  16:17, Phil. 2:4). So, what Paul literally is saying is, “keep a careful
  eye on yourself” lest sin also takes you by surprise. To highlight this
  warning, Paul switches from the second person plural (“you all”) in
  the first half of Galatians 6:1 to the second person singular (“you”)
  in the last half of the verse. This is no general warning that applies
  to the whole congregation; it is a personal warning addressed to each
  individual within the church.
     Paul does not explicitly identify the nature of the temptation that
  he so strongly warns the Galatians against. Perhaps he didn’t have
  one specific trespass in mind but was simply referring to the danger
  of committing the same sin, whatever it is, from which they are try-
  ing to restore another. At the same time, his words in Galatians 5:26
  against becoming “conceited” (NKJV) suggest that he is warning
  them against feeling that they are in some way spiritually superior to
  those whom they are restoring.

  ________________________________________________________

  ________________________________________________________

     One of the greatest dangers to the Christian walk is a sense of
  spiritual pride that makes us think we are somehow immune to com-
  mitting certain types of sin. The sobering fact is that we all have the
  same sinful nature—a nature that is opposed to God. Thus, without
  the restraining power of God’s Spirit, we could stoop to just about
  any sin, given the right circumstances. Such an awareness of our true
  identity outside of Christ can keep us from falling into the sin of self-
  righteousness, and it also can give us greater sympathy for others who
  make mistakes.

   How many times have you found yourself condemning others
   (maybe even only in your heart) for doing sins that, one day,
   you were guilty of yourself? 106

  Burden Bearing (Gal. 6:2–5) In addition to restoring the fallen, what other instructions does Paul
  give to the believers in Galatia? Gal. 6:2–5; see also Rom. 15:1,
  Matt. 7:12.


     The Greek word translated “burden” in Galatians 6:5 is baros. It
  literally referred to a heavy weight or load that someone had to carry
  a long distance. Over time, however, it became a metaphor for any
  type of trouble or difficulty, such as the burden of a long day’s work
  on a hot day (Matt. 20:12). While the immediate context of Paul’s
  injunction to “bear one another’s burdens” certainly includes the
  moral lapses of the fellow believers mentioned in the preceding verse,
  the concept of burden bearing that he has in mind is much broader.
  Paul’s instructions reveal several spiritual insights about the Christian
  life that should not be overlooked.
     First, as Timothy George notes, “All Christians have burdens. Our
  burdens may differ in size and shape and will vary in kind depend-
  ing on the providential order of our lives. For some it is the burden of
  temptation and the consequences of a moral lapse, as in verse 1 here.
  For others it may be a physical ailment, or a mental disorder, or a family
  crisis, or lack of employment, or demonic oppression, or a host of other
  things; but no Christian is exempt from burdens.”—Galatians, p. 413.
     Second, God does not intend for us to bear all our burdens alone.
  Unfortunately, we often are far more willing to help others to carry their
  burdens than we are in allowing others to help us shoulder our own. Paul
  condemns this attitude of self-sufficiency (Gal. 6:3) as human pride—
  when we refuse to admit that we also have needs and weaknesses. Such
  pride not only robs us of the comfort of others but also prevents others
  from fulfilling the ministry that God has called them to perform.
     Finally, God calls us to bear the burdens of others because it
  is through our actions that God’s comfort is made manifest. This
  concept is built on the fact that the church is the body of Christ. An
  illustration of this is in Paul’s words, “But God, who comforts the
  downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus” (2 Cor. 7:6, ESV).
  Notice that “God’s comfort was not given to Paul through his private
  prayer and waiting upon the Lord but through the companionship of a
  friend and through the good news that he brought.
     “Human friendship, in which we bear one another’s burdens, is
  part of the purpose of God for His people.”—John R. W. Stott, The
  Message of Galatians, p. 158.

   What keeps you from seeking help—pride, shame, lack of trust,
   a sense of self-sufficiency? If in need, why not seek out someone
   whom you trust and ask this person to share your burdens?
                                                                       107

  The Law of Christ (Gal. 6:2–5) Paul connects burden bearing with fulfilling the law of Christ. What
  does he mean by “the law of Christ”? Gal. 5:14, 6:2, John 13:34,
  Matt. 22:34–40.

  ________________________________________________________

  ________________________________________________________

     Paul’s use of the phrase “the law of Christ” (ton nomon tou
  Christou) occurs nowhere else in the Bible, although he uses a similar
  expression in 1 Corinthians 9:21 (ennomos Christou). The unique-
  ness of this phrase has resulted in a number of different interpre-
  tations. Some mistakenly argue that this is evidence that the law
  of God given at Sinai has been replaced by a different law, the
  law of Christ. Others claim the word law simply means a general
  “principle” (see Rom. 7:21), meaning that in bearing the burdens of
  others we are following the example of Jesus. While the latter inter-
  pretation has some merit, the context and similar terminology with
  Galatians 5:14 suggest that “fulfilling the law of Christ” is another
  reference to fulfilling the moral law through love. Paul showed ear-
  lier in his letter that the moral law was not annulled with the coming
  of Christ. Instead, the moral law as interpreted by love continues
  to play an important role in the Christian life. This is the epitome
  of what Jesus taught during His earthly ministry and also practiced
  throughout His life and even in His death. In bearing the burdens of
  others, we are not only following in the footsteps of Jesus, we are
  also fulfilling the law.
     Another issue arises in these texts, the apparent contradiction
  between Galatians 6:2 and 6:5. This problem, however, is easily
  resolved when one realizes that Paul is using two different words to
  describe two different situations. As we have already seen, the word
  for burden in verse 2 (baros) refers to a heavy load that has to be car-
  ried for a long distance. The word phortion in verse 5, however, refers
  to a ship’s cargo, a soldier’s backpack, or even a child in the womb.
  Whereas the former burdens can be laid aside, the latter cannot. A
  pregnant mother must carry her own child. As this example suggests,
  there are some burdens that people can help us bear but others that
  no human can bear for us, such as the burden of a guilty conscience,
  suffering, and death. For these, we must rely on God’s help alone
  (Matt. 11:28–30).

   While you can get help from other people with some burdens,
   some you have to take to the Lord alone. How can you learn to
   give to the Lord the things that you, yourself, just can’t bear? 108

 Sowing and Reaping (Gal. 6:6–10)

    In Galatians 6:7, the word translated “mocked” (mukterizo) occurs
 only here in the New Testament, although it often appears in the Greek
 translation of the Old Testament. It literally means “to turn up one’s nose
 in contempt.” In the Old Testament it typically refers to the despising of
 God’s prophets (2 Chron. 36:16, Jer. 20:7), and it even is used once to
 describe graphically a rebellious attitude toward God (Ezek. 8:17).
    Paul’s point is that people may ignore God or even flout His com-
 mandments, but they cannot outwit God. He is the ultimate judge, and
 in the end they will have to pay the price for their actions.

 ________________________________________________________

    Paul’s metaphor about sowing and reaping is not unique. It is a
 fact of life that appears in many ancient proverbial sayings. What
 is significant, however, is how Paul uses it to highlight his previous
 comments about the flesh and the Spirit. James D. G. Dunn notes, “A
 modern equivalent is that we are free to choose, but we are not free to
 choose the consequences of our choice.”—Galatians, p. 330.
    Although God does not always deliver us from the earthly conse-
 quences of our sins, we should not be overcome with despair for the
 bad choices we have made. We can rejoice that God has forgiven us
 of our sins and adopted us as His children. We should capitalize on
 the opportunities we have now to invest in those things that will yield
 a heavenly harvest.
    Galatians 6:10, meanwhile, illustrates the point that “Christian eth-
 ics has a dual focus: one is universal and all-embracing, ‘Let us do
 good to all people’; the other is particular and specific, ‘especially
 to those who belong to the family of believers.’ Paul’s universalistic
 appeal was based on the fact that all persons everywhere are created
 in the image of God and are thus infinitely precious in his sight.
 Whenever Christians have forgotten this primary datum of biblical
 revelation, they have inevitably fallen victim to the blinding sins of
 racism, sexism, tribalism, classism, and a thousand other bigotries
 that have blighted the human community from Adam and Eve to the
 present day.”—Timothy George, Galatians, pp. 427, 428.

  You are sowing, either for good or bad. Look at yourself. What
  kind of harvest are you going to reap?
                                                                       109

Further Study: “The Spirit of God keeps evil under the control of con-
      science. When man exalts himself above the influence of the Spirit,
      he reaps a harvest of iniquity. Over such a man the Spirit has less
      and less influence to restrain him from sowing seeds of disobedience.
      Warnings have less and less power over him. He gradually loses his
      fear of God. He sows to the flesh; he will reap corruption. The harvest
      of the seed that he himself has sown, is ripening. He has a contempt
      for God’s holy commandments. His heart of flesh becomes a heart of 1         stone. Resistance to truth confirms him in iniquity. It is because men
      sowed seeds of evil, that lawlessness, crime, and violence prevailed
      in the antediluvian world.
         “All should be intelligent in regard to the agency by which the
      soul is destroyed. It is not because of any decree that God has sent
      out against man. He does not make man spiritually blind. God gives 2         sufficient light and evidence to enable man to distinguish truth from
      error. But He does not force man to receive truth. He leaves him free
      to choose the good or to choose the evil. If man resists evidence that
      is sufficient to guide his judgment in the right direction, and chooses
      evil once, he will do this more readily the second time. The third time
      he will still more eagerly withdraw himself from God and choose to
      stand on the side of Satan. And in this course he will continue until he
      is confirmed in evil, and believes the lie he has cherished as truth. His 3         resistance has produced its harvest (MS 126, 1901).”—Ellen G. White
      Comments, The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1112.

Discussion Questions:
       l1 In a practical sense, what does it really mean to “restore” a
       fellow believer who has fallen into sin? In what ways does the
       nature of the sin committed affect the restoration process? Does
       restoration mean that everything will be the same as before?
       Discuss.

       l2 Because there are some burdens that people must bear on
       their own (Gal. 6:5), how does a believer determine if he or she
       should try to help someone?

       l
       3 How does your church measure up to Paul’s instructions in
       Galatians 6? What can you do personally to make a difference?

Summary: The indication of God’s presence among His people is
      in the Christlike spirit manifest within the church. It can be seen in
      the way forgiveness and restoration are extended to those who err, in
      how they help each other in trials, and in intentional acts of kindness
      shared not only among themselves but also with unbelievers.


110

  Sabbath Afternoon				 Read for This Week’s Study: Gal. 6:11–18; Rom. 6:1–6;
  12:1–8; 2 Cor. 4:10; 5:17; 11:23–29.

  T
         his study on Galatians has been intense. That’s because the
         letter itself is intense. Knowing his calling, knowing the truth
         of what he preached (after all, as he said numerous times, that
  truth came from the Lord), Paul wrote with the inspired passion of
  the Old Testament prophets, of an Isaiah, a Jeremiah, a Hosea. Just as
  they pleaded with the people of God in their time to turn away from
  their error, Paul here is doing the same with those in his time.
     No matter how different the immediate circumstances were, in the
  end the words of Jeremiah could just as easily apply to the Galatians
  as they did to those in Jeremiah’s day: “Thus saith the Lord, let not the
  wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his
  might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glorieth
  glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord
  which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the
  earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord” (Jer. 9:23, 24).
     Nowhere do our “glorious” human wisdom, our riches, and our
  might appear more clearly in all their futility and vanity than before
  the Cross of Christ—the focus of Paul’s letter to his erring flock in
  Galatia.

 Paul’s Own Hand Compare Paul’s closing remarks in Galatians 6:11–18 to the final
 remarks he makes in his other letters. In what way is the ending
 of Galatians similar to, and different from, them? See the final
 remarks in Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians,
 Colossians, and 1 and 2 Thessalonians.
   							
 ________________________________________________________

 ________________________________________________________

 ________________________________________________________

    Paul’s closing remarks are not always uniform, but a number of
 common elements appear in them: (1) greetings to specific individu-
 als, (2) a final exhortation, (3) a personal signature, and (4) a closing
 benediction. When these typical features are compared to Paul’s final
 remarks in Galatians, two significant differences appear.
    First, unlike many of Paul’s letters, Galatians contains no personal
 greetings. Why? As with the absence of the traditional thanksgiving
 at the beginning of the letter, this is probably a further indication of
 the strained relationship between Paul and the Galatians. Paul is polite
 but formal.
    Second, we must remember that it was Paul’s custom to dictate his
 letters to a scribe (Rom. 16:22). Then after finishing, Paul often would
 take the pen himself and write a few brief words with his own hand
 to end the letter (1 Cor. 16:21). In Galatians, however, Paul deviates
 from his practice. When he takes the pen from the scribe, Paul is still
 so concerned with the circumstances in Galatia that he ends up writing
 more instead. He simply cannot put the pen down until he pleads with
 the Galatians once more to turn from their foolish ways.
    In Galatians 6:11 Paul stresses that he wrote the letter with large
 letters. We really don’t know why. Some have speculated that Paul
 was not referring to the size of the letters but to their misshaped form.
 They suggest that perhaps Paul’s hands were either so crippled from
 persecution or gnarled from tent making that he could not form his
 letters with precision. Others believe his comments provide further
 evidence of his poor eyesight. Although both views are possible, it
 seems far less speculative to conclude simply that Paul was intention-
 ally writing with large letters in order to underscore and reemphasize
 his point, similar to the way we might emphasize an important word
 or concept by underlining it, putting it in italics, or writing it in
 CAPITAL LETTERS.
    Whatever the reason, Paul certainly wanted the readers to heed his
 warning and admonitions.
                                                                     113

  Boasting in the Flesh Read Galatians 6:12, 13. What is Paul saying in these verses?

  ________________________________________________________

  ________________________________________________________

     Although Paul has hinted previously about the agenda and motiva-
  tion of his opponents (see Gal. 1:7, 4:17), his remarks in Galatians
  6:12, 13 are the first explicit comments he makes about his opponents.
  He describes them as wanting “to make a good showing in the flesh”
  (ESV). The phrase “a good showing” in Greek literally means to put
  on “a good face.” In fact, the word for “face” is the same in Greek
  as the word for an actor’s mask, and this word was even used figu-
  ratively to refer to the role played by an actor. In other words, Paul
  is saying that these people were like actors seeking the approval of
  an audience. In a culture based on honor and shame, conformity is
  essential, and those teaching the errors appear to have been seeking
  to improve their honor rating before their fellow Jews in Galatia and
  other Jewish Christians back in Jerusalem.
     Paul makes an important point about one of their motives—the desire
  to avoid persecution. Although persecution can certainly be understood
  in its more dramatic forms involving physical abuse, it can be just as
  damaging even in its more “mild” forms of harassment and exclusion.
  Paul and other fanatical zealots in Judea had once carried out the former
  type (Gal. 1:13), but the latter also had its effect on Christians.
     The Jewish religious leaders still had significant political influence in
  many areas. They had the official sanction of Rome; hence, many Jewish
  believers were eager to maintain good relations with them. By circumcis-
  ing Gentiles and teaching them to observe the Torah, the troublemakers
  in Galatia could find a point of common ground with the local Jews. Not
  only would this allow them to maintain friendly contact with the syna-
  gogues, but they could even strengthen their ties with the Jewish believers
  in Jerusalem, who had a growing suspicion about the work being done
  with the Gentiles (Acts 21:20, 21). No doubt, too, in one sense their
  actions could have made their witness to the Jews more effective.
     Whatever situation Paul has in mind, his meaning is clear: “All who
  desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Tim.
  3:12, NKJV).

   Think through the reason these people had for teaching their
   errors. It sounds pretty reasonable, all things considered. What
   should this tell us about how even the “best” of motives can
   lead us astray if we aren’t careful? When was the last time you
   ended up doing wrong things for the right motives? 114

 Boasting in the Cross (Gal. 6:14)
   “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our
 Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I
 unto the world” (Gal. 6:14).

   Having exposed the motives that prompted some to insist on cir-
 cumcision, Paul presents his gospel message to the Galatians one final
 time, although only in summary form. For Paul, the gospel is based
 on two fundamental tenets: (1) the centrality of the Cross (vs. 14) and
 (2) the doctrine of justification (vs. 15). In today’s lesson the focus is
 on the former.
   Living in the twenty-first century, it is difficult to comprehend the
 shock that Paul’s comments about the Cross (Gal. 6:14) originally
 conveyed. Today the cross of Christ is a common and cherished
 symbol that evokes positive feelings for most people. In Paul’s day,
 however, the cross was not something to boast of but something to be
 despised. Jews found the idea of a crucified Messiah offensive, and
 Romans found crucifixion so repulsive that it was not even mentioned
 as a form of punishment suitable for a Roman citizen.
   The contempt with which the ancient world looked upon the cross of
 Christ is clearly seen in the earliest drawing of the crucifixion on record.
 Dating back to the early second century, a piece of ancient graffiti depicts
 the crucifixion of a man with the head of a donkey. Below the cross
 and adjacent to a drawing of a man with his hands raised in worship, an
 inscription reads, “Alexander worships his god.” The point is clear: the
 cross of Christ is deemed ridiculous. It is in this context that Paul boldly
 declares that he can boast of nothing other than the cross of Christ!

   The cross of Christ changes everything for the believer. It chal-
 lenges us not only to reevaluate how we view ourselves but also how
 we relate to the world. The world—this present evil age and all that it
 entails (1 John 2:16)—stands in opposition to God. Because we have
 died with Christ, the world no longer has the enslaving power it once
 held over us, and the old life that we once lived for the world is no
 longer. Following Paul’s analogy, the break between the believer and
 the world should be as if the two died to each other.

  What has the Cross done to affect your relationship to the
  world? What difference has it made in your life? How differ-
  ently do you live now than you did before giving yourself to the
  Lord, who died for you?

                                                                        115

  A New Creation
    Having emphasized the centrality of the cross of Christ to the
  Christian life, Paul now emphasizes the second fundamental tenet of
  his gospel message: justification by faith.
    As we have seen all quarter, Paul has basically pitted circumcision
  against the gospel. Yet, he’s not against the practice itself. Paul has made
  several strong statements against circumcision (see Gal. 5:2–4), but he
  does not want the Galatians to conclude that being uncircumcised is more
  pleasing to God than being circumcised. That is not his point, because one
  can be just as legalistic about what one does as about what one doesn’t
  do. Spiritually speaking, the issue of circumcision by itself is irrelevant.
  True religion is not rooted in external behavior but in the condition of the
  human heart. As Jesus Himself said, a person can look wonderful on the
  outside but be spiritually rotten on the inside (Matt. 23:27).

  ________________________________________________________

  ________________________________________________________

  ________________________________________________________

     Ktisis is the Greek word translated “creation.” It either can refer to
  an individual “creature” (Heb. 4:13) or to all of the “created” order
  itself (Rom. 8:22). In either case, the word implies the action of a
  Creator. That is Paul’s point. Becoming a “new creature” is not some-
  thing that can be brought about by any human effort—whether it be
  circumcision or anything else. Jesus refers to this process as the “new
  birth” (John 3:5–8). It is the divine act in which God takes a person
  who is spiritually dead and breathes spiritual life into him. This is
  yet another metaphor to describe the saving act that Paul typically
  describes as justification by faith.
     Paul refers to this new creation experience in greater detail in
  2 Corinthians 5:17. In this verse, Paul explains that becoming a new
  creation means far more than just a change in our status in the books of
  heaven; it brings about a change in our lives today. As Timothy George
  notes, it “involves the whole process of conversion: the regenerating
  work of the Holy Spirit leading to repentance and faith, the daily process
  of mortification and vivification, continual growth in holiness leading to
  eventual conformity to the image of Christ.”—Galatians, p. 438.
     Becoming a new creature, however, is not what justifies us. This
  radical change is, instead, the unmistakable manifestation of what it
  means to be justified. 116

 Final Remarks (Gal. 6:16–18)

 ________________________________________________________

 ________________________________________________________

    The word translated “rule” literally refers to a straight rod or bar used
 by masons and carpenters for measuring. The word eventually took on a
 figurative meaning referring to the rules or standards by which a person
 evaluates something. For example, when people talk about the New
 Testament canon, they are referring to the twenty-seven books in the
 New Testament, which are seen as authoritative for determining both
 the belief and practice of the church. Therefore, if a teaching does not
 “measure up” to what is found in these books, it is not accepted.

 ________________________________________________________

 ________________________________________________________

   The word mark comes from the Greek word stigmata, from which the
 English word stigma also is derived. Paul may be referring to the common
 practice of the branding of slaves with the insignia of their master as a
 form of identification, or to the practice in some mystery religions where
 a devotee branded himself or herself as a sign of devotion. In any case,
 “by ‘the marks of the Lord Jesus’ Paul doubtless refers to the scars left
 upon his body by persecution and hardship (see 2 Cor. 4:10, 11:24–27).
 His opponents now insist on compelling his Gentile converts to accept the
 mark of circumcision as a token of their submission to Judaism. But Paul
 has marks that indicate whose slave he has become, and for him there is
 no other loyalty than to Christ. . . . The scars Paul had received from his
 enemies while in the service of his Master spoke most eloquently of
 his devotion to Christ.”—Ellen G. White Comments, The SDA Bible
 Commentary, vol. 6, p. 989.

  What are the “marks,” physical or otherwise, that you have
  accumulated because of your faith in Jesus? In other words,
  what has your faith cost you?
                                                                        117

   l
   2 In light of Paul’s statement about having been “crucified . . . to
   the world” (Gal. 6:14), what relationship should Christians have
   with the world today? How should Christians relate to issues deal-
   ing with the environment, racism, abortion, and so on, if they have
   died to the world?

   l
   3 How does a person know if he or she has experienced the
   “new creation” about which Paul writes?

   l4 Based on what you have learned this quarter, how would you
   summarize Paul’s views on the following topics: the law, works
   of law, justification by faith, the old and new covenants, the work
   of Christ, and the nature of the Christian life?

      Next quarter, the Adult Bible Study Guide, entitled Glimpses of Our
   God, by Jo Ann Davidson, will look at God, at various aspects of Him
   as they have been revealed to us, and at what these things mean for us on
   a practical level. The lesson study will begin by examining the Trinity:
   the amazing teaching that God is One God and yet composed of three
   Persons. From there, the study will focus on God as Creator, the doctrine
   that forms the foundation of all that we believe. But being created isn’t
   enough. We need to be redeemed as well. So we will look also at His
   work of redemption, as a God of both grace and judgment. We will look
   at His holiness, His law, and the Sabbath—all of which stem from the
   essence of His character and help us to understand more about what He
   is like. How grateful we should be, then, for every bit of light the Lord
   casts our way. This quarter we will look at some of that light. It is up to
   each of us, individually, as to how faithfully we will walk in it.

Morris Venden
Pastor Morris Venden’s insights into righteous-
ness by faith have shaped recent generations
of Adventists. His parables and sermons have
won many to Christ. In this book, he draws on
the writings of others as well as his own writ-
ings to explain what conversion is and is not.
ISBN 10: 0-8163-2342-9 • US$13.99




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                     15590231




                                                                      121

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                           15590232

                            Jerry D. Thomas
                            Working with the E. G.
                            White Estate, author Jerry
                            D. Thomas has prepared
                            this contemporary adapta-
                            tion of Mrs. White’s great
                            work, The Desire of Ages.
                            The author’s friendly style
                            amplifies the beautiful
                            message of this devotional
                            classic, making the sub-
                            lime themes of the original
                            easier to grasp.

                            0-8163-1978-2 • Paperback    ISBN 10: 0-8163-1845-X       0-8163-2002-0 • African American    Hardcover with Dust Jacket   0-8163-2132-9 • Pocket Edition    US$19.99                     0-8163-2334-8 • Sharing Edition




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                             Please contact your ABC for pricing in Canada.
                             15590233




                                                                              123

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                              Please contact your ABC for pricing in Canada.
                              15590234

                         ©2011 Pacific Press® Publishing Association
                         Please contact your ABC for pricing in Canada.
                         15590235




                                                                          125

                         Now you can study in
                         your car on the way to
                         work, or at the gym
                         while you do your miles
                         on the treadmill or bike.
                         How? With the new
                         audio CD version of the
                         Adult Sabbath School
                         Bible Study Guide. It is
                         made for your multi-
                         tasking lifestyle.
                         Bert Williams reads the
                         lessons including perti-
                         nent biblical texts from
                         the New King James
                         Version. One quarter’s
                         lessons are recorded on
                         five CDs.




                      ©2011 Pacific Press® Publishing Association
                      Please contact your ABC for pricing in Canada.
                      15590236

                                  Science can’t explain why,
                                  but the deepest human
                                  desire is to love and be
                                  loved. Is it possible that
                                  we are beings in need of
                                  giving and receiving love because we were made in the image of a loving God? Is it possible that this God of love is searching for you? US$17.99 • ISBN 10: 0-8163-2397-6 • Hardcover




                                  ©2011 Pacific Press® Publishing Association
                                  Please contact your ABC for pricing in Canada.
                                  15590291




                                                                                   127

  Pressing in to His
  Presence
  Shelley Quinn
  3ABN speaker Shelley Quinn
  shares some of her most
  popular teachings. Among other
  things, the reader will learn the
  PRAISE prayer pattern—Praise,
  Repentance, Affirmations,
  Intercession, Supplication, and        US$14.99
  Entering in to His presence.           ISBN 10: 0-8163-2412-3




                                ©2011 Pacific Press® Publishing Association
                                Please contact your ABC for pricing in Canada.
                                15590292