A Study of Galatians
Chapter 5
1. Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Stand fast – this is an admonition that Paul frequently used in his writings. It means to stand firm, with the idea of persistence or perseverance.1 It is most often in the imperative mood (four of the six times), which simply means that this is a command that enjoins our obedience to the directive to remain established despite what may come our way.
“Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13). Here the charge is to stand persistently in the faith. Paul precedes this with the command, watch ye! It is a call to be alert and vigilant lest through complacency or being distracted we should be overtaken by some destructive force. The image is that of the watchman of a city who bore the responsibility of being attentive to the approach of an enemy; the Lord charged Ezekiel with the responsibilities of a watchman to alert the exiles in Babylon to His words (Ezekiel 3:17). Stand fast is not an idle challenge to heed – it is a warning to be alert lest you fall from the faith. As we have seen so far in our study of Galatians, it is very possible not to stand fast in the faith – the Galatians were on the verge of losing their faith to a perverted gospel of faith and works.
“Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel ...” (Philippians 1:27). Although not in the imperative mood (it’s not a command), the focus here is very similar to Paul’s charge to the Corinthians – he wants to hear that the Philippians are being persistently steadfast in the faith of the Gospel. Yes, they are to be of one spirit and of one mind, but it is to be directed toward the faith of the gospel. This is not the Ecumenical unity that is promoted by men like the late Chuck Colson; such unity is merely an outward appearance that is based upon a stripped-down understanding of the Word of God. Colson declared: “The church is, by definition, one.”2 The words that he used are acceptable but they have been redefined – and therein is the hook of the devil. In an effort to defend his statement, Colson presented this quotation: “God is one, and all who are God’s are one. The church is a communal articulation of that truth.”3 Once again, the words may not strike us as being particularly offensive until we realize that they came from the pen of Richard Neuhaus, a Roman Catholic and good friend of Colson’s; then we can begin to understand what he meant by church. When Colson pushed for unity, he did so at the expense of the clear teachings of the Word of God; it is the united front that matters most, the joining-together with those who profess some acceptance of God. However, the same Scriptures that Colson claimed to uphold, and even believed to be inerrant,4 also warn about avoiding all those who promote teachings that are contrary to God’s Word (Romans 16:17). Through the valiant efforts of men like Colson, unity among denominations is no longer a battleground issue – it is virtually taken for granted and accepted. No longer does anyone raise a question or concern when the Charismatics, Evangelicals and Catholics all work together in a local ministerial. These may well stand together in unity, and perhaps even in one spirit, but they do not stand in the Spirit of God, nor are they united in the unalterable truth of the Gospel. The error of the Galatians (compromising true faith in Christ) has flooded the hearts and minds of Evangelicals to the extent that today, for the most part, they are either apostate (having departed from the truth of Christ) or religious pagans (having never known the truth of the Gospel); they have fully embraced the perverted gospel of unity and, therefore, do not stand fast in the faith of Christ.
“Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved” (Philippians 4:1). Paul had just spoken of our hope that Christ will change our mortality to be like unto His glorious body, from whence comes the admonition to remain steadfast in the Lord! The hope of the glory to come should be an encouragement to remain firmly established in the Lord. The Apostle John echoed this thought: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (1 John 3:2-3).
“For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 3:8). Although this phrase is the second of the two that are not in the imperative mood, it provides an important balance to the commandments given. Paul had received a good report of the Thessalonians from Timothy, and now says, we live, or we are strengthened and invigorated by this positive report. However, he then places a condition on this state of invigoration – if ye stand fast in the Lord. Stand fast is in the present tense (demanding a present and ongoing state of remaining firm) and the subjunctive mood (which simply means that it is possible for them to either stand firm or to fall away – a choice must be made). We are called to be alert to our position in Christ and to hold that position with perseverance. We must recognize that “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9); clearly, there is no room for complacency! “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12). To fail to stand fast means to fall away (to become apostate) – the very thing that the Galatians were in the process of doing (Galatians 1:6).
“Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle” (2 Thessalonians 2:15). Both the phrase stand fast and the word hold are in the imperative mood (they are commands). The two are drawn together here so that we find an elaboration of what it means to stand fast. The word traditions speaks of a giving over, or, more specifically within this context, a transmission of instructions from God – in other words, the Message that Paul brought to the Thessalonians was not his own, but was the Gospel from God. Therefore, to stand fast means to hold without wavering, the truth of God’s Word. God is the Source of the instruction that we find in the Bible, therefore we must handle it as we would the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:1, 14). We must not add to the Scriptures, nor take away from them (Deuteronomy 4:2; Proverbs 30:6); although this primarily refers to the actual words (which is a problem for all of the modern translations), we must also guard against imposing our thinking upon the words of the Scriptures in an effort to make them say something that they do not. We are to hold the words of Scripture with great tenacity, but too often we err by desperately clinging to a favored theology rather than to God’s Word. We recognize that cults create their own reality through re-defining words, but those who are professing Evangelicals are also very proficient at the same distortion.
There must be no mistaking the importance of this charge to stand fast. Coming on the heels of the analogy of Hagar (the Mt. Sinai of bondage) and Sarah (the heavenly Jerusalem of promise), Paul now commands the Galatians to be standing firm in the liberty of Christ (stand fast is in the present tense).5 The Greek word for liberty is eleutheria (el-yoo-ther-ee'-ah) meaning freedom, and comes from the word eleutheros (el-yoo'-ther-os) which means freeborn;6 what an excellent fit with the analogy that Paul has just used. The word free, in turn, is another form of the very same Greek word meaning to make free7 – liberty and free (as translated here) come from the same root word in Greek. Through the use of very similar words, Paul is hereby emphasizing the freedom that we have in Christ. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:1); in Christ, we have freedom from the condemnation of the Law, a freedom by which we can live out the righteousness of the Law through the Spirit of God (Romans 8:4). This is not a freedom to do as we please, but the freedom to do as we ought.
Paul concludes this verse with a subtle reference back to Hagar, Mt. Sinai and the Jerusalem of Judea. The command is issued: be not entangled again; in other words, Galatians, don’t be held captive or ensnared by slavery again! Do not become yoked together with bondage again – the Galatians had come out of paganism. “Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service [in Greek this is the verb form of our word bondage] unto them which by nature are no gods” (Galatians 4:8);8 these people had formerly been in bondage to the impotent gods of paganism. Even though they were being persuaded to add the Mosaic Law to their faith in Christ, God having implemented the Law of Moses for a season (Galatians 3:19), their action is equated to returning to their pagan traditions (cp. Galatians 4:9)! The essence is that it matters not what we add to the Gospel, it will result in fruitless bondage – slavery to a creed of man. Religion and theology, which are people’s opinions about God, can take many forms – some may be Biblically more accurate than others, but religion will never bring freedom in Christ and theologies will vary considerably according to their sources. “So then faith cometh by hearing [there is a Message to be heard], and hearing by [or through] the word of God” (Romans 10:17); saving faith will never come through the words of men, only God’s Word.
2. Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
Now the Galatians are reminded of who is speaking to them through this letter. It is Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, who is calling these things to their minds; it is Paul, the one who was given the Gospel message from God to bring to all people (Galatians 1:15-16) – the one whom they had entertained in their midst some years earlier and who had imparted to them the truth of God (Acts 14:21-23).
You will recall that when Paul made his defense before the Apostles in Jerusalem, it was because of those from Jerusalem who had come to Antioch teaching that, unless the Gentile Christians were circumcised, they could not be saved (Acts 15:1). Even at the time of Paul’s defense, there were those who promoted the same heresy for which the Galatians were now falling: “But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses” (Acts 15:5). The error that the Galatians were facing was nothing new; Paul faced it in Jerusalem while with the other Apostles. What seems evident is that the Apostles in Jerusalem failed to squelch this error when it first showed itself. So Paul now strikes at the essence of the Judaizers’ message – circumcision.
Paul makes a very strong statement: if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. First of all, this does not mean that the act of circumcision renders Christ of no value to you. After all, Paul was a circumcised Jew, and Christ was of utmost value to him. It is important to consider the context in order to determine the proper interpretation of a statement, whether it is meant to be taken literally or figuratively. The reality here is that if the Galatians accepted the rite of circumcision as the Judaizers were seeking to foist it upon them, then that would indicate that they had submitted to the teaching of the Judaizers that said that they must be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses in order to be saved. The circumcision, within this context, would be a religious procedure, not a medical one. In other words, Paul makes it clear that if they accepted the doctrine of the Judaizers (which focused firstly on circumcision), then Christ would no longer hold even one advantage for them.9 “For if we sin wilfully [voluntarily] after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more [no further] sacrifice for sins ...” (Hebrews 10:26; cp. Galatians 3:2-3). This is precisely what Paul is telling the Galatians: if they embrace the teachings of the Judaizers (which is a perverted gospel – Galatians 1:7), then they will lose everything that Christ would have been to them. This sobering reality places the stand fast of the previous verse in a much more significant light; Paul is imploring these people to not make the spiritually fatal mistake of accepting the Judaizers’ doctrine, but to stand immovable in the doctrine of Christ that they had received and understood.
3. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
Paul declares: I am testifying again; testify is in the present tense, and is an emphatic affirmation (testify) that he is making one more time.10 The strength of the term in Greek adds an element of solemnity to what follows,11 particularly in light of the fact that this is not the first time that he has made this point.
Once again, as we look at this, we must recognize that it is not speaking of circumcision as a medical procedure but as a religious ceremony that was central to the Judaizers’ message (Acts 15:1). It is so important to consider the context of a verse before creating a teaching from what a particular verse might appear to be saying; failure to exercise this simple rule has resulted in numerous false teachings and many cults. However, equally important is the overall teaching of the Word of God; we must guard against building a doctrine upon an obscure passage when many other passages of Scripture clearly negate such a teaching.
The thrust of Paul’s declaration here is that if a man has accepted the religious ceremonial rite of circumcision, then he has placed himself under an obligation to keep the whole Law of Moses. The rite of circumcision actually began with Abraham, and was to be a sign of God’s everlasting covenant with his descendants (Genesis 17:11). When God met with Abraham, He began with: “I am the Almighty God [El Shaddai – God most powerful]; walk before me, and be thou perfect” (Genesis 17:1) – He opened with a command to Abraham concerning how he was to live: live constantly in My presence and so be perfect.12 However, even though the rite originated with Abraham, Jesus readily declared: “Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision ...,” and John inserts the explanation: “not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers ...” (John 7:22). The ceremonial practice of circumcision was incorporated into the Mosaic Law and was to be carried out on all boys on the eighth day after birth (Leviticus 12:3); it also became a prerequisite to participating in the Passover celebration, even for proselytes who were brought into the community from outside of Israel (Exodus 12:48). As time passed by, circumcision became the central criteria for “who was in” and “who was out” of the fold of Israel, to the extent that when Paul faced the Judaizers in Jerusalem, they were advocating that “except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved” (Acts 15:1). What they had lost sight of was that this ceremonial practice was the sign of the covenant that God had made with Abraham, a covenant that was based upon walking in a godly manner, and focused on the promise of the coming Redeemer.
1. Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Stand fast – this is an admonition that Paul frequently used in his writings. It means to stand firm, with the idea of persistence or perseverance.1 It is most often in the imperative mood (four of the six times), which simply means that this is a command that enjoins our obedience to the directive to remain established despite what may come our way.
“Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13). Here the charge is to stand persistently in the faith. Paul precedes this with the command, watch ye! It is a call to be alert and vigilant lest through complacency or being distracted we should be overtaken by some destructive force. The image is that of the watchman of a city who bore the responsibility of being attentive to the approach of an enemy; the Lord charged Ezekiel with the responsibilities of a watchman to alert the exiles in Babylon to His words (Ezekiel 3:17). Stand fast is not an idle challenge to heed – it is a warning to be alert lest you fall from the faith. As we have seen so far in our study of Galatians, it is very possible not to stand fast in the faith – the Galatians were on the verge of losing their faith to a perverted gospel of faith and works.
“Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel ...” (Philippians 1:27). Although not in the imperative mood (it’s not a command), the focus here is very similar to Paul’s charge to the Corinthians – he wants to hear that the Philippians are being persistently steadfast in the faith of the Gospel. Yes, they are to be of one spirit and of one mind, but it is to be directed toward the faith of the gospel. This is not the Ecumenical unity that is promoted by men like the late Chuck Colson; such unity is merely an outward appearance that is based upon a stripped-down understanding of the Word of God. Colson declared: “The church is, by definition, one.”2 The words that he used are acceptable but they have been redefined – and therein is the hook of the devil. In an effort to defend his statement, Colson presented this quotation: “God is one, and all who are God’s are one. The church is a communal articulation of that truth.”3 Once again, the words may not strike us as being particularly offensive until we realize that they came from the pen of Richard Neuhaus, a Roman Catholic and good friend of Colson’s; then we can begin to understand what he meant by church. When Colson pushed for unity, he did so at the expense of the clear teachings of the Word of God; it is the united front that matters most, the joining-together with those who profess some acceptance of God. However, the same Scriptures that Colson claimed to uphold, and even believed to be inerrant,4 also warn about avoiding all those who promote teachings that are contrary to God’s Word (Romans 16:17). Through the valiant efforts of men like Colson, unity among denominations is no longer a battleground issue – it is virtually taken for granted and accepted. No longer does anyone raise a question or concern when the Charismatics, Evangelicals and Catholics all work together in a local ministerial. These may well stand together in unity, and perhaps even in one spirit, but they do not stand in the Spirit of God, nor are they united in the unalterable truth of the Gospel. The error of the Galatians (compromising true faith in Christ) has flooded the hearts and minds of Evangelicals to the extent that today, for the most part, they are either apostate (having departed from the truth of Christ) or religious pagans (having never known the truth of the Gospel); they have fully embraced the perverted gospel of unity and, therefore, do not stand fast in the faith of Christ.
“Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved” (Philippians 4:1). Paul had just spoken of our hope that Christ will change our mortality to be like unto His glorious body, from whence comes the admonition to remain steadfast in the Lord! The hope of the glory to come should be an encouragement to remain firmly established in the Lord. The Apostle John echoed this thought: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (1 John 3:2-3).
“For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 3:8). Although this phrase is the second of the two that are not in the imperative mood, it provides an important balance to the commandments given. Paul had received a good report of the Thessalonians from Timothy, and now says, we live, or we are strengthened and invigorated by this positive report. However, he then places a condition on this state of invigoration – if ye stand fast in the Lord. Stand fast is in the present tense (demanding a present and ongoing state of remaining firm) and the subjunctive mood (which simply means that it is possible for them to either stand firm or to fall away – a choice must be made). We are called to be alert to our position in Christ and to hold that position with perseverance. We must recognize that “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9); clearly, there is no room for complacency! “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12). To fail to stand fast means to fall away (to become apostate) – the very thing that the Galatians were in the process of doing (Galatians 1:6).
“Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle” (2 Thessalonians 2:15). Both the phrase stand fast and the word hold are in the imperative mood (they are commands). The two are drawn together here so that we find an elaboration of what it means to stand fast. The word traditions speaks of a giving over, or, more specifically within this context, a transmission of instructions from God – in other words, the Message that Paul brought to the Thessalonians was not his own, but was the Gospel from God. Therefore, to stand fast means to hold without wavering, the truth of God’s Word. God is the Source of the instruction that we find in the Bible, therefore we must handle it as we would the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:1, 14). We must not add to the Scriptures, nor take away from them (Deuteronomy 4:2; Proverbs 30:6); although this primarily refers to the actual words (which is a problem for all of the modern translations), we must also guard against imposing our thinking upon the words of the Scriptures in an effort to make them say something that they do not. We are to hold the words of Scripture with great tenacity, but too often we err by desperately clinging to a favored theology rather than to God’s Word. We recognize that cults create their own reality through re-defining words, but those who are professing Evangelicals are also very proficient at the same distortion.
There must be no mistaking the importance of this charge to stand fast. Coming on the heels of the analogy of Hagar (the Mt. Sinai of bondage) and Sarah (the heavenly Jerusalem of promise), Paul now commands the Galatians to be standing firm in the liberty of Christ (stand fast is in the present tense).5 The Greek word for liberty is eleutheria (el-yoo-ther-ee'-ah) meaning freedom, and comes from the word eleutheros (el-yoo'-ther-os) which means freeborn;6 what an excellent fit with the analogy that Paul has just used. The word free, in turn, is another form of the very same Greek word meaning to make free7 – liberty and free (as translated here) come from the same root word in Greek. Through the use of very similar words, Paul is hereby emphasizing the freedom that we have in Christ. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:1); in Christ, we have freedom from the condemnation of the Law, a freedom by which we can live out the righteousness of the Law through the Spirit of God (Romans 8:4). This is not a freedom to do as we please, but the freedom to do as we ought.
Paul concludes this verse with a subtle reference back to Hagar, Mt. Sinai and the Jerusalem of Judea. The command is issued: be not entangled again; in other words, Galatians, don’t be held captive or ensnared by slavery again! Do not become yoked together with bondage again – the Galatians had come out of paganism. “Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service [in Greek this is the verb form of our word bondage] unto them which by nature are no gods” (Galatians 4:8);8 these people had formerly been in bondage to the impotent gods of paganism. Even though they were being persuaded to add the Mosaic Law to their faith in Christ, God having implemented the Law of Moses for a season (Galatians 3:19), their action is equated to returning to their pagan traditions (cp. Galatians 4:9)! The essence is that it matters not what we add to the Gospel, it will result in fruitless bondage – slavery to a creed of man. Religion and theology, which are people’s opinions about God, can take many forms – some may be Biblically more accurate than others, but religion will never bring freedom in Christ and theologies will vary considerably according to their sources. “So then faith cometh by hearing [there is a Message to be heard], and hearing by [or through] the word of God” (Romans 10:17); saving faith will never come through the words of men, only God’s Word.
2. Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.
Now the Galatians are reminded of who is speaking to them through this letter. It is Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, who is calling these things to their minds; it is Paul, the one who was given the Gospel message from God to bring to all people (Galatians 1:15-16) – the one whom they had entertained in their midst some years earlier and who had imparted to them the truth of God (Acts 14:21-23).
You will recall that when Paul made his defense before the Apostles in Jerusalem, it was because of those from Jerusalem who had come to Antioch teaching that, unless the Gentile Christians were circumcised, they could not be saved (Acts 15:1). Even at the time of Paul’s defense, there were those who promoted the same heresy for which the Galatians were now falling: “But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses” (Acts 15:5). The error that the Galatians were facing was nothing new; Paul faced it in Jerusalem while with the other Apostles. What seems evident is that the Apostles in Jerusalem failed to squelch this error when it first showed itself. So Paul now strikes at the essence of the Judaizers’ message – circumcision.
Paul makes a very strong statement: if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. First of all, this does not mean that the act of circumcision renders Christ of no value to you. After all, Paul was a circumcised Jew, and Christ was of utmost value to him. It is important to consider the context in order to determine the proper interpretation of a statement, whether it is meant to be taken literally or figuratively. The reality here is that if the Galatians accepted the rite of circumcision as the Judaizers were seeking to foist it upon them, then that would indicate that they had submitted to the teaching of the Judaizers that said that they must be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses in order to be saved. The circumcision, within this context, would be a religious procedure, not a medical one. In other words, Paul makes it clear that if they accepted the doctrine of the Judaizers (which focused firstly on circumcision), then Christ would no longer hold even one advantage for them.9 “For if we sin wilfully [voluntarily] after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more [no further] sacrifice for sins ...” (Hebrews 10:26; cp. Galatians 3:2-3). This is precisely what Paul is telling the Galatians: if they embrace the teachings of the Judaizers (which is a perverted gospel – Galatians 1:7), then they will lose everything that Christ would have been to them. This sobering reality places the stand fast of the previous verse in a much more significant light; Paul is imploring these people to not make the spiritually fatal mistake of accepting the Judaizers’ doctrine, but to stand immovable in the doctrine of Christ that they had received and understood.
3. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
Paul declares: I am testifying again; testify is in the present tense, and is an emphatic affirmation (testify) that he is making one more time.10 The strength of the term in Greek adds an element of solemnity to what follows,11 particularly in light of the fact that this is not the first time that he has made this point.
Once again, as we look at this, we must recognize that it is not speaking of circumcision as a medical procedure but as a religious ceremony that was central to the Judaizers’ message (Acts 15:1). It is so important to consider the context of a verse before creating a teaching from what a particular verse might appear to be saying; failure to exercise this simple rule has resulted in numerous false teachings and many cults. However, equally important is the overall teaching of the Word of God; we must guard against building a doctrine upon an obscure passage when many other passages of Scripture clearly negate such a teaching.
The thrust of Paul’s declaration here is that if a man has accepted the religious ceremonial rite of circumcision, then he has placed himself under an obligation to keep the whole Law of Moses. The rite of circumcision actually began with Abraham, and was to be a sign of God’s everlasting covenant with his descendants (Genesis 17:11). When God met with Abraham, He began with: “I am the Almighty God [El Shaddai – God most powerful]; walk before me, and be thou perfect” (Genesis 17:1) – He opened with a command to Abraham concerning how he was to live: live constantly in My presence and so be perfect.12 However, even though the rite originated with Abraham, Jesus readily declared: “Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision ...,” and John inserts the explanation: “not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers ...” (John 7:22). The ceremonial practice of circumcision was incorporated into the Mosaic Law and was to be carried out on all boys on the eighth day after birth (Leviticus 12:3); it also became a prerequisite to participating in the Passover celebration, even for proselytes who were brought into the community from outside of Israel (Exodus 12:48). As time passed by, circumcision became the central criteria for “who was in” and “who was out” of the fold of Israel, to the extent that when Paul faced the Judaizers in Jerusalem, they were advocating that “except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved” (Acts 15:1). What they had lost sight of was that this ceremonial practice was the sign of the covenant that God had made with Abraham, a covenant that was based upon walking in a godly manner, and focused on the promise of the coming Redeemer.
There is a common misconception among some Evangelicals that circumcision within the Israelite community has been replaced by baptism within “the church.” From my investigations, this misconception originates within the tradition of infant baptism as practiced by the Catholic Church and most of the Reformation Protestant churches. For the Jews, circumcision became a rite of entrance; because the Law of Moses dictated that it was to be carried out on infants, the entrance into the Jewish community was established very early in life. For the Catholics and Protestants of Reformed persuasion, infant baptism is also a rite of entrance. Within the Catholic tradition, “Holy Baptism holds the first place among the sacraments, because it is the door of the spiritual life [i.e., it is the entrance into the keeping of the other six Sacraments, and together they form the basis of salvation for Catholics]; for by it we are made members of Christ and incorporated with the Church” (emphasis added).13 This thinking is one of the errors carried forward by the Reformers, and still finds its place within the denominations of Reformed affiliation. The Westminster Confession (a Reformed confession of their faith) does not depart far from this Catholic doctrine:
I. Baptism is a sacrament of the New Testament ... not only for the solemn admission of the party baptized into the visible Church; but also to be unto him a sign and seal of the covenant of grace, of his ingrafting into Christ, ... of remission of sins ...
IV. Not only those that do actually profess faith in and obedience unto Christ, but also the infants of one, or both, believing parents, are to be baptized (emphasis added).14
Infant baptism is an entrance into the denomination (whether Catholic or Reformed), and to fail to comply with this is considered to be a serious matter because of the saving aspect that they attribute to this rite. Believer’s baptism, as taught in the Scriptures, is another matter altogether and has no correlation with the teachings related to baptism within the Reformed and Catholic traditions, and, equally, no correlation at all with the Jewish rite of circumcision.
Paul faced those from Jerusalem who were not unlike today’s Catholics (they were steeped in tradition and obedient to ceremonial laws). When Paul made his defense before the apostles in Jerusalem, “there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses” (Acts 15:5). These Pharisees believed that Jesus died for the sins of man, and that, through faith in His sacrifice, the Spirit of God would instill new life. However, what they were unwilling to leave behind were the traditions of the Mosaic Law and the rite of circumcision – after all, both of these had been instituted by God Himself! As we have noted before, the Apostles in Jerusalem were clearly failing to teach that these had been ended at the cross, and even after Paul’s defense before them, it seems clear that they continued to maintain their Jewish practices; otherwise, the Judaizers who were causing havoc within the Galatian community, would undoubtedly have learned differently.
Earlier, Paul reminded the Galatians: “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them” (Galatians 3:10; cp. Deuteronomy 27:26). He now says that if you accept the rite of circumcision, then you are under obligation to keep the whole Law of Moses. Just as faith is the key that opens the freedom of redemption in Christ, even so ceremonial circumcision was the key to entering into the Law of Moses. However, the previous verse (Galatians 5:2) makes it clear that entrance into the obligation of the Mosaic Law is, in fact, a departure from the redemption that is in Christ.
4. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
Speaking specifically to those who were convinced that circumcision was necessary to complete their salvation (the position of the Judaizers – Acts 15:1), Paul boldly declares that Christ is of no effect unto you. When Paul wrote to the Ephesians, one thing that he made very clear was that the ceremonial Laws of Moses had been abolished (katargesas from the root katargeo; to cause to be useless) at the cross (Ephesians 2:15); no effect (katergethete, also from the root katargeo) bears the same thought as the Ephesians passage.15 In Ephesians, where Paul is describing how Jesus abolished the Mosaic ordinances at the cross, the word is singular and in the active voice (Jesus did the abolishing); here in Galatians, the word is plural (it applies to all who are accepting this strange doctrine) and in the passive voice (it comes to them as a result of choosing the teachings of the Judaizers).16 The thrust of Paul’s words is very clear: if you step from faith in Christ alone into the faith-plus-works hybrid of the Judaizers, then your relationship with Christ is ended – it has been done away with. Man’s ability to lose the way to life is not a new concept; Ezekiel wrote of this very thing: “... when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned [remembered]: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die” (Ezekiel 18:24).17 Paul had already declared to the Galatians: “Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham” (Galatians 3:7), thereby clarifying for them that the children of Abraham are such because of their faith (not because of their ancestry). His concluding comment on this was: “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29). It is faith in Christ that makes someone an heir according to the promise, and not the keeping of Mosaic traditions. To the Romans Paul declared: “For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect [same Greek word as in Galatians 5:4] ...” (Romans 4:14). What Paul is saying is that if those who adhere to the Law of Moses are made heirs of the promise that God made to Abraham, then faith has become hollow, or empty (of no significance), and the promise has been destroyed.18 He is making a similar statement here: those of you who think that you are justified by keeping the Law of Moses (this is addressed to the Galatian situation, but would be equally applicable to anyone who has embraced a faith-works gospel), the work of Christ on your behalf has been rendered of no value. Paul has already instructed them that “a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2:16); very clearly, then, the phrase “whosoever of you are justified by the law” cannot be taken to refer to those who in reality are justified by the Law, but rather to those who think that they are justified by keeping the Law, which is everyone who accepts a faith-works gospel (including that of the Judaizers). The truth is that those who hold to a faith-works teaching will not be heirs with those who hold to faith in Christ alone: “the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman” (Galatians 4:30).
Paul makes a simple statement of fact here: if you are justified by the law, then ye are fallen from grace. Although he has already made it clear that no one is justified by keeping the Law (2:16), he makes this statement because anyone who was convinced that circumcision was necessary in order to complete their salvation, was thereby declaring that the Law was needed for justification (which was the position of the Judaizers – Acts 15:1). Even though such justification is not possible, nevertheless that would be their declaration upon accepting the perverted gospel of the Judaizers. To these Paul declares that they have lost the grace of Christ.
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:14-17). Jesus came full of grace and truth (John 14:6; 17:17), and of his fullness we have all been given; i.e., we (as faithful believers) have all laid hold of His grace and truth through faith. Grace for (in the place of) grace refers to the Law of Moses, on the one hand, which contained the grace of God (to those who had eyes of faith to see it) and, on the other hand, to Jesus Christ, the ultimate and pure expression of God’s grace to mankind.19 So the grace that was available through the Mosaic Law, has been replaced by the grace that brings complete redemption in Christ. John declares that the grace and the truth are come by Jesus (the Greek includes the definite articles20); this is not just any grace and truth that have come but that which can bring reconciliation with God. When Jesus came out of the water after being baptized, God declared from heaven: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17); on the Mount of Transfiguration God spoke again: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him” (Matthew 17:5). God’s grace (His pleasure) toward mankind is wrapped up in the Lord Jesus Christ (foretold through the Law of Moses and the prophets and fully realized when the eternal Word became flesh), and so we must recognize the eternal importance of how we approach God’s expression of Grace and Truth. John wrote the book that bears his name so “that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name” (John 20:31). Salvation is through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (both believing and obeying) that He, as the fullness of God’s grace, can impart life; it is through faith that we are joined to the Vine Who will impart His life into our lifelessness (Romans 11:17; John 15:4).
Paul’s very blunt statement to those who add works to faith in Christ is: ye have fallen from grace. Fallen (ekpipto) means to have fallen from a thing, to no longer experience it.21 The Greek text includes the definite article with the word grace, which means that they have fallen from the grace. We might be tempted to think that they have only fallen from the grace of Christ into the grace that exists within the Law of Moses (John 1:16-17) – from the grace of the New Covenant to the grace of God that was apparent in the Old Covenant. However, Paul explained the place of the Old Covenant very carefully to the Ephesians: “he [Jesus] is our peace, who hath made both one [the context tells us that this is the Jew and the Gentile], and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace ...” (Ephesians 2:14-15). Paul had already clarified for the Galatians that the Law of Moses was added until “the seed should come to whom the promise was made” (Galatians 3:19), namely Jesus Christ (Romans 10:4). The Law of Moses has been fulfilled – ended (Hebrews 8:13), and replaced by the New Covenant; the Old Covenant is no longer active as a means of grace – it was instituted by God for a season, and that season has passed. Therefore, when Paul declared these people to have fallen from the grace, they were fallen from Christ – they were now apostate, and the Mosaic Law was not a safety net! To their eternal detriment, they had rejected the only means of salvation: Christ alone!
This very clear consideration of Paul’s teaching to the Ephesians finds no place within those who advocate a dispensational view of the Scriptures. This view (defined by one of its own) “refers to the fact that Bible history can be divided into distinct periods of time during which God works out His purposes … [it] is based on a literal interpretation of the Bible and a clear distinction between Israel and the Church.”22 Despite this view purportedly being based upon fact and distinct time periods of history, this same supporter admits that “the exact number of dispensations or ages is not what is important … The important point is that there HAVE been various periods during which God has worked out His purposes” (emphasis included in the original).23 Clearly, the distinct periods are really not that distinct, for how many you recognize is entirely up to you – just so long as you have some because it is this view of the Scriptures that draws a definite line of separation between the “Church” and Israel. Isn’t it interesting that what forms a fundamental part of the dispensational view is something that Paul clearly taught as having been removed at the cross by the Lord Jesus Christ? As with any interpretive view that is applied to the Scriptures, dispensationalism has far-reaching influences, particularly when it comes to Biblical eschatology. We must be wary of theological systems (all of which have been developed by men) that are used to interpret God’s Word – typically there will be Scriptures that do not fit well, and they will either force them to fit or ignore them altogether.
A favored word within the Evangelical vocabulary is backslide, or variations thereof, a term that means “to fall back into wrongdoing or a bad habit after an attempt to act in a better way.”24 It is used with little or no embarrassment, and is often considered to be part of a normal pattern for the modern Christian; it is deemed to be something from which recovery is possible at any time, no matter how long the condition has prevailed. We do not find the English word, backslide, in our NT Scriptures, but we do find it used several times in the prophetic OT books. For example: “Thine own wickedness shall correct [chastise] thee, and thy backslidings [mᵉshuwbah; apostasies] shall reprove [judge] thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken [abandoned] the LORD thy God, and that my fear [awe or dread] is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts” (Jeremiah 2:19).25 Jehovah is addressing the nation of Israel as an individual (hence the singular pronouns), even though Israel is now a great many people. Israel, generally speaking, had forsaken the Lord, yet the nation included individuals who continued to exercise faith in God, the apostate (those who had fallen from faith) and the pagan (those who had never believed). Israel had been redeemed from Egypt by the Lord God, yet as a nation they had fallen from following the Lord – hence the word backslidings is applied to Israel. In the same way, Canada and the USA are often referred to as “Christian” nations, which are rapidly becoming pagan, yet within these nations there will be those of the three possible categories: the faithful, the fallen, and the pagan.
The meaning of the Hebrew word (mᵉshuwbah) translated as backsliding is “turning away, turning back, apostasy.”26 The Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures (the Septuagint) uses apostasia for this word (Jeremiah 2:19).27 What is immediately evident is the correlation between the Greek word (apostasia) and our English apostasy; also apparent is its superior translation of the meaning of the Hebrew word. Clearly, this word is significant and speaks of more than a lapse in spiritual judgment or a stumble along the pathway of life. This is not unintentional but deliberate; apostasy is defined as “the renunciation of a religious belief”;28 you cannot accidently renounce something – it is an act of the will. Our English word backsliding does not do justice to what Jeremiah is saying; it creates the idea that you have been moving forward, but for some reason you begin to slide backward; even though you are still trying to move forward, you are losing ground. That is how the Evangelical mind would like to think of it – no matter how long you have been unfaithful to the Lord, you are only sliding backward. Jeremiah says, “NO!” Your apostasy will judge you! You are no longer walking in faithfulness to God; you have turned around and are walking (not sliding) in the opposite direction!
Keep in mind that there were three categories of people within Israel (or any nation): the faithful to God, the apostate (those who have fallen from faithfulness to God) and the pagan (those who have never exercised faith). By Jeremiah’s time, it would be safe to say that there were probably few who were apostate in Israel (those who had been faithful, but had fallen away); there would have been a remnant of faithful ones (who undoubtedly were under duress to go along with the faithless), but most would have been those who had never believed in the Lord (despite maintaining appearances) – pagans at heart. The Lord had made provision for Israel to deal with those who turned from Him, but it is very evident that they did not practice this commandment: “And if any soul sin through ignorance, then he shall bring a she goat of the first year for a sin offering. And the priest shall make an atonement for the soul that sinneth ignorantly, when he sinneth by ignorance before the LORD, to make an atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him. ... But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously [with a high hand; in pride], whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth [blasphemes] the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off [destroyed] from among his people. Because he hath despised the word of the LORD, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him” (Numbers 15:27-31).29
Lest we misunderstand the phrase cut off that is used, here it is again: “And the man that will do presumptuously [in arrogance], and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the LORD thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel” (Deuteronomy 17:12).30 There were very clear instructions in place to preserve the purity of God’s people, yet it is very evident that there was no will to obey God’s commandment in this regard. Even though Israel failed to practice this commandment of the Lord in order to keep their walk holy before Him, it must not be construed that God did not apply this principle to His people – He did not close His eyes to the sin of rebellious pride. To those who sinned willfully (with a high hand), God says, “... his iniquity shall be upon him” (Numbers 15:31); in other words, he will bear his sin – it will not be forgiven.
I. Baptism is a sacrament of the New Testament ... not only for the solemn admission of the party baptized into the visible Church; but also to be unto him a sign and seal of the covenant of grace, of his ingrafting into Christ, ... of remission of sins ...
IV. Not only those that do actually profess faith in and obedience unto Christ, but also the infants of one, or both, believing parents, are to be baptized (emphasis added).14
Infant baptism is an entrance into the denomination (whether Catholic or Reformed), and to fail to comply with this is considered to be a serious matter because of the saving aspect that they attribute to this rite. Believer’s baptism, as taught in the Scriptures, is another matter altogether and has no correlation with the teachings related to baptism within the Reformed and Catholic traditions, and, equally, no correlation at all with the Jewish rite of circumcision.
Paul faced those from Jerusalem who were not unlike today’s Catholics (they were steeped in tradition and obedient to ceremonial laws). When Paul made his defense before the apostles in Jerusalem, “there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses” (Acts 15:5). These Pharisees believed that Jesus died for the sins of man, and that, through faith in His sacrifice, the Spirit of God would instill new life. However, what they were unwilling to leave behind were the traditions of the Mosaic Law and the rite of circumcision – after all, both of these had been instituted by God Himself! As we have noted before, the Apostles in Jerusalem were clearly failing to teach that these had been ended at the cross, and even after Paul’s defense before them, it seems clear that they continued to maintain their Jewish practices; otherwise, the Judaizers who were causing havoc within the Galatian community, would undoubtedly have learned differently.
Earlier, Paul reminded the Galatians: “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them” (Galatians 3:10; cp. Deuteronomy 27:26). He now says that if you accept the rite of circumcision, then you are under obligation to keep the whole Law of Moses. Just as faith is the key that opens the freedom of redemption in Christ, even so ceremonial circumcision was the key to entering into the Law of Moses. However, the previous verse (Galatians 5:2) makes it clear that entrance into the obligation of the Mosaic Law is, in fact, a departure from the redemption that is in Christ.
4. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
Speaking specifically to those who were convinced that circumcision was necessary to complete their salvation (the position of the Judaizers – Acts 15:1), Paul boldly declares that Christ is of no effect unto you. When Paul wrote to the Ephesians, one thing that he made very clear was that the ceremonial Laws of Moses had been abolished (katargesas from the root katargeo; to cause to be useless) at the cross (Ephesians 2:15); no effect (katergethete, also from the root katargeo) bears the same thought as the Ephesians passage.15 In Ephesians, where Paul is describing how Jesus abolished the Mosaic ordinances at the cross, the word is singular and in the active voice (Jesus did the abolishing); here in Galatians, the word is plural (it applies to all who are accepting this strange doctrine) and in the passive voice (it comes to them as a result of choosing the teachings of the Judaizers).16 The thrust of Paul’s words is very clear: if you step from faith in Christ alone into the faith-plus-works hybrid of the Judaizers, then your relationship with Christ is ended – it has been done away with. Man’s ability to lose the way to life is not a new concept; Ezekiel wrote of this very thing: “... when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned [remembered]: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die” (Ezekiel 18:24).17 Paul had already declared to the Galatians: “Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham” (Galatians 3:7), thereby clarifying for them that the children of Abraham are such because of their faith (not because of their ancestry). His concluding comment on this was: “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29). It is faith in Christ that makes someone an heir according to the promise, and not the keeping of Mosaic traditions. To the Romans Paul declared: “For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect [same Greek word as in Galatians 5:4] ...” (Romans 4:14). What Paul is saying is that if those who adhere to the Law of Moses are made heirs of the promise that God made to Abraham, then faith has become hollow, or empty (of no significance), and the promise has been destroyed.18 He is making a similar statement here: those of you who think that you are justified by keeping the Law of Moses (this is addressed to the Galatian situation, but would be equally applicable to anyone who has embraced a faith-works gospel), the work of Christ on your behalf has been rendered of no value. Paul has already instructed them that “a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2:16); very clearly, then, the phrase “whosoever of you are justified by the law” cannot be taken to refer to those who in reality are justified by the Law, but rather to those who think that they are justified by keeping the Law, which is everyone who accepts a faith-works gospel (including that of the Judaizers). The truth is that those who hold to a faith-works teaching will not be heirs with those who hold to faith in Christ alone: “the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman” (Galatians 4:30).
Paul makes a simple statement of fact here: if you are justified by the law, then ye are fallen from grace. Although he has already made it clear that no one is justified by keeping the Law (2:16), he makes this statement because anyone who was convinced that circumcision was necessary in order to complete their salvation, was thereby declaring that the Law was needed for justification (which was the position of the Judaizers – Acts 15:1). Even though such justification is not possible, nevertheless that would be their declaration upon accepting the perverted gospel of the Judaizers. To these Paul declares that they have lost the grace of Christ.
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:14-17). Jesus came full of grace and truth (John 14:6; 17:17), and of his fullness we have all been given; i.e., we (as faithful believers) have all laid hold of His grace and truth through faith. Grace for (in the place of) grace refers to the Law of Moses, on the one hand, which contained the grace of God (to those who had eyes of faith to see it) and, on the other hand, to Jesus Christ, the ultimate and pure expression of God’s grace to mankind.19 So the grace that was available through the Mosaic Law, has been replaced by the grace that brings complete redemption in Christ. John declares that the grace and the truth are come by Jesus (the Greek includes the definite articles20); this is not just any grace and truth that have come but that which can bring reconciliation with God. When Jesus came out of the water after being baptized, God declared from heaven: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17); on the Mount of Transfiguration God spoke again: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him” (Matthew 17:5). God’s grace (His pleasure) toward mankind is wrapped up in the Lord Jesus Christ (foretold through the Law of Moses and the prophets and fully realized when the eternal Word became flesh), and so we must recognize the eternal importance of how we approach God’s expression of Grace and Truth. John wrote the book that bears his name so “that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name” (John 20:31). Salvation is through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (both believing and obeying) that He, as the fullness of God’s grace, can impart life; it is through faith that we are joined to the Vine Who will impart His life into our lifelessness (Romans 11:17; John 15:4).
Paul’s very blunt statement to those who add works to faith in Christ is: ye have fallen from grace. Fallen (ekpipto) means to have fallen from a thing, to no longer experience it.21 The Greek text includes the definite article with the word grace, which means that they have fallen from the grace. We might be tempted to think that they have only fallen from the grace of Christ into the grace that exists within the Law of Moses (John 1:16-17) – from the grace of the New Covenant to the grace of God that was apparent in the Old Covenant. However, Paul explained the place of the Old Covenant very carefully to the Ephesians: “he [Jesus] is our peace, who hath made both one [the context tells us that this is the Jew and the Gentile], and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace ...” (Ephesians 2:14-15). Paul had already clarified for the Galatians that the Law of Moses was added until “the seed should come to whom the promise was made” (Galatians 3:19), namely Jesus Christ (Romans 10:4). The Law of Moses has been fulfilled – ended (Hebrews 8:13), and replaced by the New Covenant; the Old Covenant is no longer active as a means of grace – it was instituted by God for a season, and that season has passed. Therefore, when Paul declared these people to have fallen from the grace, they were fallen from Christ – they were now apostate, and the Mosaic Law was not a safety net! To their eternal detriment, they had rejected the only means of salvation: Christ alone!
This very clear consideration of Paul’s teaching to the Ephesians finds no place within those who advocate a dispensational view of the Scriptures. This view (defined by one of its own) “refers to the fact that Bible history can be divided into distinct periods of time during which God works out His purposes … [it] is based on a literal interpretation of the Bible and a clear distinction between Israel and the Church.”22 Despite this view purportedly being based upon fact and distinct time periods of history, this same supporter admits that “the exact number of dispensations or ages is not what is important … The important point is that there HAVE been various periods during which God has worked out His purposes” (emphasis included in the original).23 Clearly, the distinct periods are really not that distinct, for how many you recognize is entirely up to you – just so long as you have some because it is this view of the Scriptures that draws a definite line of separation between the “Church” and Israel. Isn’t it interesting that what forms a fundamental part of the dispensational view is something that Paul clearly taught as having been removed at the cross by the Lord Jesus Christ? As with any interpretive view that is applied to the Scriptures, dispensationalism has far-reaching influences, particularly when it comes to Biblical eschatology. We must be wary of theological systems (all of which have been developed by men) that are used to interpret God’s Word – typically there will be Scriptures that do not fit well, and they will either force them to fit or ignore them altogether.
A favored word within the Evangelical vocabulary is backslide, or variations thereof, a term that means “to fall back into wrongdoing or a bad habit after an attempt to act in a better way.”24 It is used with little or no embarrassment, and is often considered to be part of a normal pattern for the modern Christian; it is deemed to be something from which recovery is possible at any time, no matter how long the condition has prevailed. We do not find the English word, backslide, in our NT Scriptures, but we do find it used several times in the prophetic OT books. For example: “Thine own wickedness shall correct [chastise] thee, and thy backslidings [mᵉshuwbah; apostasies] shall reprove [judge] thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken [abandoned] the LORD thy God, and that my fear [awe or dread] is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts” (Jeremiah 2:19).25 Jehovah is addressing the nation of Israel as an individual (hence the singular pronouns), even though Israel is now a great many people. Israel, generally speaking, had forsaken the Lord, yet the nation included individuals who continued to exercise faith in God, the apostate (those who had fallen from faith) and the pagan (those who had never believed). Israel had been redeemed from Egypt by the Lord God, yet as a nation they had fallen from following the Lord – hence the word backslidings is applied to Israel. In the same way, Canada and the USA are often referred to as “Christian” nations, which are rapidly becoming pagan, yet within these nations there will be those of the three possible categories: the faithful, the fallen, and the pagan.
The meaning of the Hebrew word (mᵉshuwbah) translated as backsliding is “turning away, turning back, apostasy.”26 The Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures (the Septuagint) uses apostasia for this word (Jeremiah 2:19).27 What is immediately evident is the correlation between the Greek word (apostasia) and our English apostasy; also apparent is its superior translation of the meaning of the Hebrew word. Clearly, this word is significant and speaks of more than a lapse in spiritual judgment or a stumble along the pathway of life. This is not unintentional but deliberate; apostasy is defined as “the renunciation of a religious belief”;28 you cannot accidently renounce something – it is an act of the will. Our English word backsliding does not do justice to what Jeremiah is saying; it creates the idea that you have been moving forward, but for some reason you begin to slide backward; even though you are still trying to move forward, you are losing ground. That is how the Evangelical mind would like to think of it – no matter how long you have been unfaithful to the Lord, you are only sliding backward. Jeremiah says, “NO!” Your apostasy will judge you! You are no longer walking in faithfulness to God; you have turned around and are walking (not sliding) in the opposite direction!
Keep in mind that there were three categories of people within Israel (or any nation): the faithful to God, the apostate (those who have fallen from faithfulness to God) and the pagan (those who have never exercised faith). By Jeremiah’s time, it would be safe to say that there were probably few who were apostate in Israel (those who had been faithful, but had fallen away); there would have been a remnant of faithful ones (who undoubtedly were under duress to go along with the faithless), but most would have been those who had never believed in the Lord (despite maintaining appearances) – pagans at heart. The Lord had made provision for Israel to deal with those who turned from Him, but it is very evident that they did not practice this commandment: “And if any soul sin through ignorance, then he shall bring a she goat of the first year for a sin offering. And the priest shall make an atonement for the soul that sinneth ignorantly, when he sinneth by ignorance before the LORD, to make an atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him. ... But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously [with a high hand; in pride], whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth [blasphemes] the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off [destroyed] from among his people. Because he hath despised the word of the LORD, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him” (Numbers 15:27-31).29
Lest we misunderstand the phrase cut off that is used, here it is again: “And the man that will do presumptuously [in arrogance], and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the LORD thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel” (Deuteronomy 17:12).30 There were very clear instructions in place to preserve the purity of God’s people, yet it is very evident that there was no will to obey God’s commandment in this regard. Even though Israel failed to practice this commandment of the Lord in order to keep their walk holy before Him, it must not be construed that God did not apply this principle to His people – He did not close His eyes to the sin of rebellious pride. To those who sinned willfully (with a high hand), God says, “... his iniquity shall be upon him” (Numbers 15:31); in other words, he will bear his sin – it will not be forgiven.
Just in case we should think that this is an Old Testament teaching that has been done away with, consider the words that Peter penned by the Spirit of God: “For if after they have escaped the pollutions [defilement] of the world through the knowledge [a full or precise and correct knowledge] of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein [again involved in the world], and overcome [are being defeated], the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known [to be thoroughly acquainted with] the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them” (2 Peter 2:20-21).31 This speaks of those who have been influenced by false teachers, against whom Peter is warning. “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction” (2 Peter 1:21-2:1; the swift destruction is explained in Hebrews 10:26). Just as there were false prophets among the people of Israel, so there are false teachers among the people of God today. These have “forsaken the right way” (2 Peter 2:15) and “speak great swelling words of vanity” so as to draw those in who have departed from sin, those who have “clean [truly] escaped from them who live in error” (2:18).32 “For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly [desires or appetites33]; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple” (Romans 16:18). What is unmistakable is that there will be those who have begun to walk by faith in Christ through the power of the indwelling Spirit of God, who will fall for the persuasive words and grand claims of these false teachers (Matthew 24:24). Peter says: “... it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them” (2 Peter 2:21). Let’s consider this for a moment more.
Today, we might readily identify men like Benny Hinn and Kenneth Copeland as these false teachers who speak great words, promising liberty to all who follow their teachings and send them their money; however, what we must not miss is that anyone who teaches a gospel other than the pure Gospel of the Word of God is a false teacher, and we are to note him and then avoid him (Romans 16:17). This could very well be the Evangelical next door who ignores the Biblical admonition to separate from those who do not believe in salvation by faith alone. A violation of Biblical separation includes participation in Ecumenical gatherings like Billy Graham crusades (now Franklin Graham’s festivals) that bring together Catholics, Protestants of all stripes and Evangelicals. Another example would be involvement in a local ministerial association where Catholics, Evangelicals, Protestants and Charismatics all work together. Even more subtle is the Fundamental Baptist church that exalts their “pastor” beyond anything that the Scriptures describe, and makes him a virtual “pope” within their circle of influence (something that they have learned from the Catholics, even if they vehemently deny it). Unless we are familiar with the Bible’s teachings on such matters and are prepared to weigh everything that comes our way by that Standard, we are in danger of falling. So we can see that the Judaizers, of whom Paul was warning the Galatians, fall into this category; even though they believed in the necessity of faith in Christ, they added to that the requirement of keeping the Law of Moses, thereby creating a gospel that was perverted, and to be avoided (Galatians 1:7; Romans 16:17). Peter boldly declares that it would have been better for those who succumb to these false teachings (and those who promote these teachings) to never have fully known the truth and walked in the paths of righteousness (2 Peter 2:21). The principle at work here is this: “the soul that doeth ought presumptuously ... that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity [punishment for iniquity] shall be upon him” (Numbers 15:30-31).34 To put it another way: “if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge [a precise and correct knowledge] of the truth, there remaineth no more [no further] sacrifice for sins” (Hebrews 10:26).35 The teaching of Scripture is very plain: if you walk the pathway of righteousness by faith in Christ and then turn from it, there is no longer any hope for you; it would have been better for you to have never known the truth, for then there would still be hope of salvation.
Paul says to the Galatians, if you think that you are justified by the Law of Moses (you who have accepted the teachings of the Judaizers), then you are fallen from the grace; i.e., the liberty that we have in Christ has been lost and replaced with a yoke of bondage that brings death. If we turn away from the truth of God’s Word, then there is no longer a sacrifice available for our sins – we have despised the only Sacrifice and we must bear the punishment for our sins without a Savior (Hebrews 10:26 and Numbers 15:31). “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened [imbued (saturated) with saving knowledge] ... [having fallen away], to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame” (Hebrews 6:4, 6).36 Jesus died only once (1 Peter 3:18), and we can appropriate His sacrifice for our sins only once; if we turn away from our faith in Him, then there is no longer a sacrifice available for us – we have despised the only Sacrifice that there ever will be.
There are two things that we must accept for Paul’s admonition, which was made through the Spirit of God to the Galatians, to make sense: 1) it is possible to fall from a position of salvation in Christ and of walking in the Spirit of God, and 2) to fall from salvation requires a deliberate act of the will – apostasy is not something that you will accidently fall into but, if we are not alert, it is possible to be led astray (Matthew 24:5). We must continually weigh all that comes our way (whether written or spoken) to be sure that the message presented is truly His (1 John 4:1). Provision has been made for our failures along the way: “If we confess [are agreeing with God as to] our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).37 It is a serious matter to turn away from, or fall from, the true Gospel of faith in Christ – the consequences are eternal (there is swift destruction – 2 Peter 2:1).
Evangelicals today have bought into the deadly combination of “pray this prayer and you are saved” and God will then keep you no matter how you live. The theologians and teachers within Evangelicalism (whether liberal or conservative) are, for the most part, selective in their application of the Scriptures and will typically avoid, or gloss over, those passages that might call their theologies into question. Their blind followers either no longer believe that they bear any responsibility before God or they are simply too apathetic to bother to check all things according to the Word of God (1 John 4:1), and so they are duped into believing lies and half-truths (a more deadly form of lie) to their own spiritual demise. Paul warns the Galatians that if they accept the doctrine of the Judaizers, then they are fallen from the grace. This is not backsliding (as the margin of my Bible says) but apostasy; they were not sliding away from the truth, but were willfully turning their backs on it.
5. For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
Paul now seeks to provide a contrast for the Galatians. He has very pointedly identified the position of those who submit to the doctrine of the Judizers – ye are fallen from [the] grace (apostate, not backslidden!). The contrast that Paul now lays out is made increasingly significant by his use of the phrase, through the Spirit. Earlier Paul asked, “Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3). What he emphasizes here is the clear dichotomy that exists between living the Christian life according to the Spirit of God, and accepting the compromised gospel of works from the Judaizers. Paul has just declared that those who will follow the leading of the Judaizers (using the second person plural pronoun ye) are fallen from grace – they are apostate; he now switches to the personal plural pronoun we and declares that we are functioning through the Spirit of God. The contrast is clear: the Spirit of God is no longer working within the lives of the Judaizers; in their fall from grace, the Spirit of God has departed – they began in the Spirit, but that is not how they are ending.
Paul says to the Galatians, if you think that you are justified by the Law of Moses (you who have accepted the teachings of the Judaizers), then you are fallen from the grace; i.e., the liberty that we have in Christ has been lost and replaced with a yoke of bondage that brings death. If we turn away from the truth of God’s Word, then there is no longer a sacrifice available for our sins – we have despised the only Sacrifice and we must bear the punishment for our sins without a Savior (Hebrews 10:26 and Numbers 15:31). “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened [imbued (saturated) with saving knowledge] ... [having fallen away], to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame” (Hebrews 6:4, 6).36 Jesus died only once (1 Peter 3:18), and we can appropriate His sacrifice for our sins only once; if we turn away from our faith in Him, then there is no longer a sacrifice available for us – we have despised the only Sacrifice that there ever will be.
There are two things that we must accept for Paul’s admonition, which was made through the Spirit of God to the Galatians, to make sense: 1) it is possible to fall from a position of salvation in Christ and of walking in the Spirit of God, and 2) to fall from salvation requires a deliberate act of the will – apostasy is not something that you will accidently fall into but, if we are not alert, it is possible to be led astray (Matthew 24:5). We must continually weigh all that comes our way (whether written or spoken) to be sure that the message presented is truly His (1 John 4:1). Provision has been made for our failures along the way: “If we confess [are agreeing with God as to] our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).37 It is a serious matter to turn away from, or fall from, the true Gospel of faith in Christ – the consequences are eternal (there is swift destruction – 2 Peter 2:1).
Evangelicals today have bought into the deadly combination of “pray this prayer and you are saved” and God will then keep you no matter how you live. The theologians and teachers within Evangelicalism (whether liberal or conservative) are, for the most part, selective in their application of the Scriptures and will typically avoid, or gloss over, those passages that might call their theologies into question. Their blind followers either no longer believe that they bear any responsibility before God or they are simply too apathetic to bother to check all things according to the Word of God (1 John 4:1), and so they are duped into believing lies and half-truths (a more deadly form of lie) to their own spiritual demise. Paul warns the Galatians that if they accept the doctrine of the Judaizers, then they are fallen from the grace. This is not backsliding (as the margin of my Bible says) but apostasy; they were not sliding away from the truth, but were willfully turning their backs on it.
5. For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
Paul now seeks to provide a contrast for the Galatians. He has very pointedly identified the position of those who submit to the doctrine of the Judizers – ye are fallen from [the] grace (apostate, not backslidden!). The contrast that Paul now lays out is made increasingly significant by his use of the phrase, through the Spirit. Earlier Paul asked, “Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3). What he emphasizes here is the clear dichotomy that exists between living the Christian life according to the Spirit of God, and accepting the compromised gospel of works from the Judaizers. Paul has just declared that those who will follow the leading of the Judaizers (using the second person plural pronoun ye) are fallen from grace – they are apostate; he now switches to the personal plural pronoun we and declares that we are functioning through the Spirit of God. The contrast is clear: the Spirit of God is no longer working within the lives of the Judaizers; in their fall from grace, the Spirit of God has departed – they began in the Spirit, but that is not how they are ending.
The word wait means to “await or expect eagerly.”38 There is an eager anticipation of the righteousness that comes through faith (Romans 8:1-4). Paul asked the Galatians if they expected to be made perfect through the works of the flesh (Galatians 3:3); in other words, were they convinced that keeping the Mosaic traditions would yield righteousness in their lives? In the previous three verses (5:2-4), he made it abundantly clear that to take that step would be to fall away from Christ Who is our only hope for justification before God. Isaiah understood the frame of man and declared: “... we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away” (Isaiah 64:6). If we anticipate that righteousness will come from within us, then we are waiting in vain – for “in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing” (Romans 7:18). This stands in sharp contrast to the spirituality of which the world today speaks in glowing terms – a spirituality built upon those filthy rags of “goodness” that they find within. “The Dalai Lama told a peace summit in Vancouver [BC] on Sunday that people must look within themselves for peace and compassion.”39 This perfectly expresses the spirituality that is in the world today; yet we see the same spirituality being promoted by those of the Emergent Church persuasion. They practice centering prayer where, through meditation and silence, they go deep within themselves to find god (and they are convinced that it is the God of the Bible).40 The Psalmist knew no such heresy; he said: “Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face” (Psalm 5:8); “Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day” (Psalm 25:5). The Psalmist had the same expectant anticipation for the Lord as Paul speaks of here. The hope of righteousness for us can rest in no one but God, for there is no hope within us; Jesus Christ bore the sins of the world so “that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:4). It is only through the indwelling Spirit of God that we can hope to live a life of righteousness before God. “... Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour ...” (Titus 3:5-6). It is not by anything that we have done, or ever could do, that we are saved; we are saved by faith alone in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8-9), and the Spirit of God is freely given so that we might live out His righteousness (Romans 8:4).
There is nothing of which we can boast. The marvelous gift of salvation that we receive does not provide us with a claim to fame – it is “not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:9). Here is the error of the Judaizers, and all those who today propound a gospel message that includes works: they strive to insert works into the message of the Gospel and thereby provide an element of participation with God in their salvation. The message of the Jews who came to Antioch was very simple: “Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved” (Acts 15:1); unless you DO something, you will not be truly saved. The message of the Gospel is simply faith (active believing, which is not a work), but “not of works”; there is no room for works within the saving message of faith in Christ alone – the works of righteousness and holiness come as we live in obedience to the Spirit of God within (John 14:15; Ephesians 4:24; Philippians 2:12).
6. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
The Apostle carries on with that critically important phrase, in Jesus Christ. Jesus commanded: “Abide in me ... for without me ye can do nothing [no, not even one thing]” (John 15:4-5).41 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God ...” (Ephesians 2:8). It is faith that brings us into salvation: faith in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on our behalf. Paul expressed this truth to the Galatians earlier in his letter: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). We are to live each day by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, a belief (faith) that is strengthened by the presence of the Spirit of God. The words of the father of the child possessed by demons come to mind: “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief” (Mark 9:24); he believed, yet recognized his own weakness and cried out to the Lord to have his faith strengthened. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17); being in Christ means being a new creature. The essence of the Christian life is abiding in Christ and Christ abiding in us through the Spirit; the result is a new creation, a new life of righteousness (Romans 8:4). The Judaizers did not recognize this truth, the Galatians were beginning to lose their grip on this truth, and Evangelicals today have lost sight of this glorious truth. “... be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind ...” (Romans 12:2); therein is the essence of the “new creation,” but that transformation can only come through the working of the presence of the Spirit of God abiding within. Transformed (metamorphoo) means to be changed inwardly (it is also translated as transfigured – an outward change), and it is in the present tense and passive voice: it is to take place continuously, and it must be done by the Lord – living in yielded, obedient submission to the Spirit of God.42 There is nothing within us by which we could ever hope to be changed, yet the New Age lie of the devil that is flooding into Evangelical thinking is that we must look within to discover who we are and our purpose in life – that is nothing other than the inadequate fig leaves of Adam and Eve.
Within this essential relationship of being in Christ, circumcision and uncircumcision are nothing, for neither one holds any meaning (availeth) in Him (cp. Colossians 3:11).43 This declaration strikes at the very heart of the false message that was being brought to the Galatians – namely, circumcision is necessary for salvation (Acts 15:1). Paul summarily declares that neither condition has any merit in Jesus Christ – one is no better than the other. Once again, we are squarely faced with the reality that there are no variations to the Gospel message; it is faith in Christ and nothing more or less. Nothing else has any bearing on the truth of this certainty – not the Mosaic Law (as effective as it was within the time that God allotted for it), nor the rite of circumcision that signified God’s promise to Abraham; it is faith alone in Christ alone. It is so simple, yet the Gospel message of Christ crucified is “unto the Jews a stumblingblock [an offense], and unto the Greeks foolishness [nonsense] ...” (1 Corinthians 1:23);44 the Jews had great difficulty accepting that the crucified and resurrected Jesus was their Messiah, and the Greeks struggled with the whole idea of someone rising from the dead (Acts 17:32).
It is not circumcision or uncircumcision, but, in Jesus Christ, it is faith which worketh by love. As Paul declared earlier: “the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). It is a faith that is presently active and being made effective (worketh) through love.45 “For God so loved the world that He gave ... the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (John 3:16 and Revelation 13:8). God’s love for mankind was shown in the Garden of Eden: “And the LORD God said unto the serpent ... I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it [He] shall bruise thy head [the promise of the coming Savior], and thou shalt bruise his heel [evidence that the Savior would suffer in order to defeat Satan]” (Genesis 3:14-15). By his act of sin, Adam rejected God as his Sovereign and submitted to Satan, thereby bringing all of future humanity and the rest of creation under the control of Satan. God’s immediate promise to defeat the devil opened His plan for the redemption of mankind; the Lamb of God would come as the supreme Sacrifice to bring cleansing from sin to those who would look to Him in faith.
7. Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?
The Galatians are reminded again that prior to their present removing of themselves from the Gospel of Christ (Galatians 1:6), their progress in the Christian life had been commendable; there was no room for blame (ye did run well).46 The tense of the verb run is a past continual action (imperfect tense), not a present continual action (as Paul would desire it to be); i.e., in the past they did run well, but presently that is not the case. The word run is used metaphorically and is “taken from runners in a race, [meaning] to exert one’s self, [to] strive hard.”47 We do not fall into the Christian life and then coast into the glories of the New Heaven. Jesus said: “Strive [agonizomai – be striving (present tense; imperative mood – a command)] to enter in at the strait [narrow] gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:24); “Enter [imperative mood] ye in at the strait [narrow] gate ... Because strait [narrow] is the gate, and narrow [restricted] is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).48 Enter comes from the same Greek word in both cases; Luke includes the command to strive to enter, whereas Matthew shows enter in the imperative mood – clearly, we are to expend energy in entering through the narrow gate; it is a matter of eternal importance, for the Narrow Gate is Jesus, the only Way to life (John 14:6).
Using the metaphor of a race where effort is being expended to run well, Paul asks: who did hinder you; i.e., who beat you back or stepped in your way that you should no longer run well?49 Who was it who came into your path and turned you away from the Pathway to life; who is it who is stopping you in the midst of a well-run race? Why are you “so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel” (Galatians 1:6)? “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth ...” (Galatians 3:1)? There is a recurring expression of Paul’s incredulity that they have been drawn from the way of truth so quickly; they understood the Message of truth and had been walking in it – ye did run well. The evidence is overwhelming that the Galatians were truly born again, and had been walking by faith in Christ (Galatians 3:3).
The result of this hindrance was that the Galatians were failing in their obedience to the truth. The word obey is the same Greek word as used in Galatians 3:1 (peitho), and its primary meaning is that of being persuaded.50 However, both words are also in the passive voice and, therefore, means to be obedient, which is the result of being persuaded. We cannot be persuaded passively (we must choose to be convinced of something), but we cannot claim to have a conviction (a persuasion) unless we are living in accordance with it – in this case, we are convinced that Jesus alone is the Savior, and our obedience to Him flows out of that conviction. Our English word, obey, means to follow instructions, to do as you’re told,51 which is applicable when we choose to obey. We might hear of blind obedience, meaning that someone does what they are told without even thinking about what it is that they are doing or the consequences of their actions; not so here. Paul is asking about who had thwarted their progress in the Lord that they should no longer be obedient to the truth – their convictions have turned away from the truth. The Judaizers came from Jerusalem and were presenting them with seemingly sound arguments to add circumcision and the Law of Moses to their faith in Christ, and they were being convinced that this perverted gospel was the truth (Galatians 1:7). Do not miss the fact that the Galatians were being persuaded; as already stated, apostasy requires a personal decision: you cannot stumble into apostasy – you have to choose to go there. The Greek word translated as obey (peitho) provides that precise meaning. With this understanding, it only follows that Paul would declare those who were being so persuaded as being fallen from [the] grace (Galatians 5:4); they were being drawn away from the Truth – Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).
As we consider the Evangelical landscape of today, we can only echo these words of Paul to the Galatians. There is now open cooperation among Evangelicals, Charismatics and Catholics; anyone who raises a question or concern about this is considered to be divisive and narrow-minded. Despite the Word of God, that eternal Word of Truth (John 17:17), clearly declaring that we are to have no company with those who proclaim a message that is not in keeping with the Scriptures (Romans 16:17), the general Evangelical community has been convinced by the smooth words of their theologians that more can be accomplished through cooperation and unity than through standing alone upon God’s Word. Truly, much may be accomplished socially through such cooperation, but it rings hollow in light of eternity because God is not in it. Jesus warned of this possibility when He said: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21-23). Paul’s question would be very appropriate for today: Evangelical or Baptist, who hinders you from obeying the truth? Sadly, in many cases, Paul’s earlier summation would also be appropriate: ye are fallen from the grace (Galatians 5:4)!
8. This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.
This builds directly on the words of the previous verse. The word obey is from the Greek word peitho, and speaks of obedience from being persuaded or convinced. Persuasion is from peismone (pice-mon-ay’) and refers to the means of being persuaded.52 The influence (this persuasion) that was drawing the Galatians away from the truth did not come from the One Who is calling them (Galatians 1:6 makes this abundantly clear). Those, who were causing them to not obey the truth (v. 7) were absolutely not from God (v. 8); in the Greek, we have two different words translated as not: the former is a simple negative while the latter is an absolute negative. Strong emphasis is used to remove any confusion that might still remain in the minds of the Galatians; this perverted gospel is NOT from God.
“I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel ...” (Galatians 1:6). In those opening comments, Paul made it abundantly clear to the Galatians that they were in the process of substituting a false message for the Gospel that brought them into the grace of Christ. What cannot be missed is that this doctrine of the Judaizers, which they were being persuaded to accept, had absolutely nothing to do with what God had for them. If they followed this teaching, then they would not be obeying the truth but would have been persuaded to turn away from it (Galatians 3:1; 5:7). In other words, if they embraced this teaching they would then be turning to something that was not of God, or they would be turning away from God; they would have fallen from the grace (5:4) and apostatized! This is the reality at which Paul is striking with increasing intensity.
Today what Evangelicals are completely missing is that the doctrine of unity, into which they are being drawn, is absolutely not of God! The holiness of God requires separation from sin. However, the siren songs of the Evangelical leaders carry these words: “Don’t be so narrow, rejoice in the liberty that we have as believers, and embrace all those who profess to believe in God.” That is a favored term used by the Ecumenical crowd; they refer to people whom they really want to accept as Christians, as being believers, which leaves the door wide open as to what that might really mean. In their enthusiasm to join together, all reverence is gone for the holy God Who has provided redemption for all of mankind. Most today are happy with a profession of belief in God; “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble” (James 2:19). Evangelicals might well be content with a profession of belief in God, but the devils demonstrate a greater respect for God, for they tremble at the thought of His power. Out of this chameleon-like qualifier for being a “Christian” flows the fabled notions that the God of the Bible is the same as the god of the Muslims, that unity is “the essence of the church,”53 and that the pathway to heaven is a broad road that includes those who have never heard of Jesus, but know in their hearts that they need something.54 Through this shallow, unbiblical, and deliberately undefined believing, saint and infidel are drawn together, only to soon become apostate and infidel (the saint having fallen from the grace). There was a reason that the Spirit of God declared through Paul: “... what part hath he that believeth with an infidel [the unbelieving]? ... Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord ...” (2 Corinthians 6:15, 17).55 Once our eyes have been drawn away from the truth of God’s Word, there is no end to the error, accommodation and compromise that can take place under the banner of what is now considered to be “Christian.” A strong commitment to stand fast in the faith of Christ will keep us away from such compromise (Galatians 5:1). Our loyalty must be to the eternally established Word of God (Psalm 119:89), not to a denomination, creed, systematized theology, or anyone who is a purveyor of anything that stands alongside of the teachings of Scripture, no matter how eloquent or well-educated they might be. “For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly [desires, appetites]; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple [unsuspecting, naïve]” (Romans 16:18).56
9. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
Contained here, within the metaphor of leaven and the bread-baking process, is a warning to the Galatians of the effect that the heresy of the Judaizers will have within their assembly. It might well begin on a small scale, but it will permeate completely unless it is stopped. Leaven is an ingredient that, if left unchecked, will actually destroy the dough – the fermentation process (introduced by the leaven) is halted by the heat used to bake the bread.
Paul used the same analogy to make a point with the Corinthians. Hearing that they were not only tolerant, but proud of their expressed “freedom” to overlook the fornication of one in their midst, Paul declares: “Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?” (1 Corinthians 5:6). The application is that a little evil, if left unchecked, will invade everyone within an assembly and, therefore, specific instruction is given to deal with the matter. “Purge out [clean thoroughly] therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast [i.e., so that we may celebrate], not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity [purity] and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:7-8).57 Paul’s word to the Corinthians is that we must work to completely remove the old leaven – namely, their compromised thinking that permitted the sin of fornication to be tolerated in their midst. Christ’s sacrifice for us allows us to celebrate our new life in Him, not with the leaven of compromise and tolerance, nor with the sins of the old life, but with purity and truth. The warning to the Galatians is that even the small leaven of the Judaizers (adding the traditions of Moses to faith in Christ) will compromise, contaminate and pervert the pure Gospel (Galatians 1:7).
There is nothing of which we can boast. The marvelous gift of salvation that we receive does not provide us with a claim to fame – it is “not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:9). Here is the error of the Judaizers, and all those who today propound a gospel message that includes works: they strive to insert works into the message of the Gospel and thereby provide an element of participation with God in their salvation. The message of the Jews who came to Antioch was very simple: “Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved” (Acts 15:1); unless you DO something, you will not be truly saved. The message of the Gospel is simply faith (active believing, which is not a work), but “not of works”; there is no room for works within the saving message of faith in Christ alone – the works of righteousness and holiness come as we live in obedience to the Spirit of God within (John 14:15; Ephesians 4:24; Philippians 2:12).
6. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
The Apostle carries on with that critically important phrase, in Jesus Christ. Jesus commanded: “Abide in me ... for without me ye can do nothing [no, not even one thing]” (John 15:4-5).41 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God ...” (Ephesians 2:8). It is faith that brings us into salvation: faith in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on our behalf. Paul expressed this truth to the Galatians earlier in his letter: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). We are to live each day by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, a belief (faith) that is strengthened by the presence of the Spirit of God. The words of the father of the child possessed by demons come to mind: “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief” (Mark 9:24); he believed, yet recognized his own weakness and cried out to the Lord to have his faith strengthened. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17); being in Christ means being a new creature. The essence of the Christian life is abiding in Christ and Christ abiding in us through the Spirit; the result is a new creation, a new life of righteousness (Romans 8:4). The Judaizers did not recognize this truth, the Galatians were beginning to lose their grip on this truth, and Evangelicals today have lost sight of this glorious truth. “... be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind ...” (Romans 12:2); therein is the essence of the “new creation,” but that transformation can only come through the working of the presence of the Spirit of God abiding within. Transformed (metamorphoo) means to be changed inwardly (it is also translated as transfigured – an outward change), and it is in the present tense and passive voice: it is to take place continuously, and it must be done by the Lord – living in yielded, obedient submission to the Spirit of God.42 There is nothing within us by which we could ever hope to be changed, yet the New Age lie of the devil that is flooding into Evangelical thinking is that we must look within to discover who we are and our purpose in life – that is nothing other than the inadequate fig leaves of Adam and Eve.
Within this essential relationship of being in Christ, circumcision and uncircumcision are nothing, for neither one holds any meaning (availeth) in Him (cp. Colossians 3:11).43 This declaration strikes at the very heart of the false message that was being brought to the Galatians – namely, circumcision is necessary for salvation (Acts 15:1). Paul summarily declares that neither condition has any merit in Jesus Christ – one is no better than the other. Once again, we are squarely faced with the reality that there are no variations to the Gospel message; it is faith in Christ and nothing more or less. Nothing else has any bearing on the truth of this certainty – not the Mosaic Law (as effective as it was within the time that God allotted for it), nor the rite of circumcision that signified God’s promise to Abraham; it is faith alone in Christ alone. It is so simple, yet the Gospel message of Christ crucified is “unto the Jews a stumblingblock [an offense], and unto the Greeks foolishness [nonsense] ...” (1 Corinthians 1:23);44 the Jews had great difficulty accepting that the crucified and resurrected Jesus was their Messiah, and the Greeks struggled with the whole idea of someone rising from the dead (Acts 17:32).
It is not circumcision or uncircumcision, but, in Jesus Christ, it is faith which worketh by love. As Paul declared earlier: “the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). It is a faith that is presently active and being made effective (worketh) through love.45 “For God so loved the world that He gave ... the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (John 3:16 and Revelation 13:8). God’s love for mankind was shown in the Garden of Eden: “And the LORD God said unto the serpent ... I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it [He] shall bruise thy head [the promise of the coming Savior], and thou shalt bruise his heel [evidence that the Savior would suffer in order to defeat Satan]” (Genesis 3:14-15). By his act of sin, Adam rejected God as his Sovereign and submitted to Satan, thereby bringing all of future humanity and the rest of creation under the control of Satan. God’s immediate promise to defeat the devil opened His plan for the redemption of mankind; the Lamb of God would come as the supreme Sacrifice to bring cleansing from sin to those who would look to Him in faith.
7. Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?
The Galatians are reminded again that prior to their present removing of themselves from the Gospel of Christ (Galatians 1:6), their progress in the Christian life had been commendable; there was no room for blame (ye did run well).46 The tense of the verb run is a past continual action (imperfect tense), not a present continual action (as Paul would desire it to be); i.e., in the past they did run well, but presently that is not the case. The word run is used metaphorically and is “taken from runners in a race, [meaning] to exert one’s self, [to] strive hard.”47 We do not fall into the Christian life and then coast into the glories of the New Heaven. Jesus said: “Strive [agonizomai – be striving (present tense; imperative mood – a command)] to enter in at the strait [narrow] gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able” (Luke 13:24); “Enter [imperative mood] ye in at the strait [narrow] gate ... Because strait [narrow] is the gate, and narrow [restricted] is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).48 Enter comes from the same Greek word in both cases; Luke includes the command to strive to enter, whereas Matthew shows enter in the imperative mood – clearly, we are to expend energy in entering through the narrow gate; it is a matter of eternal importance, for the Narrow Gate is Jesus, the only Way to life (John 14:6).
Using the metaphor of a race where effort is being expended to run well, Paul asks: who did hinder you; i.e., who beat you back or stepped in your way that you should no longer run well?49 Who was it who came into your path and turned you away from the Pathway to life; who is it who is stopping you in the midst of a well-run race? Why are you “so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel” (Galatians 1:6)? “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth ...” (Galatians 3:1)? There is a recurring expression of Paul’s incredulity that they have been drawn from the way of truth so quickly; they understood the Message of truth and had been walking in it – ye did run well. The evidence is overwhelming that the Galatians were truly born again, and had been walking by faith in Christ (Galatians 3:3).
The result of this hindrance was that the Galatians were failing in their obedience to the truth. The word obey is the same Greek word as used in Galatians 3:1 (peitho), and its primary meaning is that of being persuaded.50 However, both words are also in the passive voice and, therefore, means to be obedient, which is the result of being persuaded. We cannot be persuaded passively (we must choose to be convinced of something), but we cannot claim to have a conviction (a persuasion) unless we are living in accordance with it – in this case, we are convinced that Jesus alone is the Savior, and our obedience to Him flows out of that conviction. Our English word, obey, means to follow instructions, to do as you’re told,51 which is applicable when we choose to obey. We might hear of blind obedience, meaning that someone does what they are told without even thinking about what it is that they are doing or the consequences of their actions; not so here. Paul is asking about who had thwarted their progress in the Lord that they should no longer be obedient to the truth – their convictions have turned away from the truth. The Judaizers came from Jerusalem and were presenting them with seemingly sound arguments to add circumcision and the Law of Moses to their faith in Christ, and they were being convinced that this perverted gospel was the truth (Galatians 1:7). Do not miss the fact that the Galatians were being persuaded; as already stated, apostasy requires a personal decision: you cannot stumble into apostasy – you have to choose to go there. The Greek word translated as obey (peitho) provides that precise meaning. With this understanding, it only follows that Paul would declare those who were being so persuaded as being fallen from [the] grace (Galatians 5:4); they were being drawn away from the Truth – Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).
As we consider the Evangelical landscape of today, we can only echo these words of Paul to the Galatians. There is now open cooperation among Evangelicals, Charismatics and Catholics; anyone who raises a question or concern about this is considered to be divisive and narrow-minded. Despite the Word of God, that eternal Word of Truth (John 17:17), clearly declaring that we are to have no company with those who proclaim a message that is not in keeping with the Scriptures (Romans 16:17), the general Evangelical community has been convinced by the smooth words of their theologians that more can be accomplished through cooperation and unity than through standing alone upon God’s Word. Truly, much may be accomplished socially through such cooperation, but it rings hollow in light of eternity because God is not in it. Jesus warned of this possibility when He said: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21-23). Paul’s question would be very appropriate for today: Evangelical or Baptist, who hinders you from obeying the truth? Sadly, in many cases, Paul’s earlier summation would also be appropriate: ye are fallen from the grace (Galatians 5:4)!
8. This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.
This builds directly on the words of the previous verse. The word obey is from the Greek word peitho, and speaks of obedience from being persuaded or convinced. Persuasion is from peismone (pice-mon-ay’) and refers to the means of being persuaded.52 The influence (this persuasion) that was drawing the Galatians away from the truth did not come from the One Who is calling them (Galatians 1:6 makes this abundantly clear). Those, who were causing them to not obey the truth (v. 7) were absolutely not from God (v. 8); in the Greek, we have two different words translated as not: the former is a simple negative while the latter is an absolute negative. Strong emphasis is used to remove any confusion that might still remain in the minds of the Galatians; this perverted gospel is NOT from God.
“I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel ...” (Galatians 1:6). In those opening comments, Paul made it abundantly clear to the Galatians that they were in the process of substituting a false message for the Gospel that brought them into the grace of Christ. What cannot be missed is that this doctrine of the Judaizers, which they were being persuaded to accept, had absolutely nothing to do with what God had for them. If they followed this teaching, then they would not be obeying the truth but would have been persuaded to turn away from it (Galatians 3:1; 5:7). In other words, if they embraced this teaching they would then be turning to something that was not of God, or they would be turning away from God; they would have fallen from the grace (5:4) and apostatized! This is the reality at which Paul is striking with increasing intensity.
Today what Evangelicals are completely missing is that the doctrine of unity, into which they are being drawn, is absolutely not of God! The holiness of God requires separation from sin. However, the siren songs of the Evangelical leaders carry these words: “Don’t be so narrow, rejoice in the liberty that we have as believers, and embrace all those who profess to believe in God.” That is a favored term used by the Ecumenical crowd; they refer to people whom they really want to accept as Christians, as being believers, which leaves the door wide open as to what that might really mean. In their enthusiasm to join together, all reverence is gone for the holy God Who has provided redemption for all of mankind. Most today are happy with a profession of belief in God; “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble” (James 2:19). Evangelicals might well be content with a profession of belief in God, but the devils demonstrate a greater respect for God, for they tremble at the thought of His power. Out of this chameleon-like qualifier for being a “Christian” flows the fabled notions that the God of the Bible is the same as the god of the Muslims, that unity is “the essence of the church,”53 and that the pathway to heaven is a broad road that includes those who have never heard of Jesus, but know in their hearts that they need something.54 Through this shallow, unbiblical, and deliberately undefined believing, saint and infidel are drawn together, only to soon become apostate and infidel (the saint having fallen from the grace). There was a reason that the Spirit of God declared through Paul: “... what part hath he that believeth with an infidel [the unbelieving]? ... Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord ...” (2 Corinthians 6:15, 17).55 Once our eyes have been drawn away from the truth of God’s Word, there is no end to the error, accommodation and compromise that can take place under the banner of what is now considered to be “Christian.” A strong commitment to stand fast in the faith of Christ will keep us away from such compromise (Galatians 5:1). Our loyalty must be to the eternally established Word of God (Psalm 119:89), not to a denomination, creed, systematized theology, or anyone who is a purveyor of anything that stands alongside of the teachings of Scripture, no matter how eloquent or well-educated they might be. “For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly [desires, appetites]; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple [unsuspecting, naïve]” (Romans 16:18).56
9. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
Contained here, within the metaphor of leaven and the bread-baking process, is a warning to the Galatians of the effect that the heresy of the Judaizers will have within their assembly. It might well begin on a small scale, but it will permeate completely unless it is stopped. Leaven is an ingredient that, if left unchecked, will actually destroy the dough – the fermentation process (introduced by the leaven) is halted by the heat used to bake the bread.
Paul used the same analogy to make a point with the Corinthians. Hearing that they were not only tolerant, but proud of their expressed “freedom” to overlook the fornication of one in their midst, Paul declares: “Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?” (1 Corinthians 5:6). The application is that a little evil, if left unchecked, will invade everyone within an assembly and, therefore, specific instruction is given to deal with the matter. “Purge out [clean thoroughly] therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast [i.e., so that we may celebrate], not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity [purity] and truth” (1 Corinthians 5:7-8).57 Paul’s word to the Corinthians is that we must work to completely remove the old leaven – namely, their compromised thinking that permitted the sin of fornication to be tolerated in their midst. Christ’s sacrifice for us allows us to celebrate our new life in Him, not with the leaven of compromise and tolerance, nor with the sins of the old life, but with purity and truth. The warning to the Galatians is that even the small leaven of the Judaizers (adding the traditions of Moses to faith in Christ) will compromise, contaminate and pervert the pure Gospel (Galatians 1:7).
Jesus warned His disciples: “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees ... [which is] the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees” (Matthew 16:6, 12). He also declared: “Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (Luke 12:1). These people, about whom Jesus warned His disciples, were the religious elite of the day; they would have been the Billy Grahams, Norman Geislers or John MacArthurs of that time. Yet Jesus warned His disciples to be wary of their teachings, because they were hypocrites. It was to the Pharisees that Jesus said: “If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth” (John 9:41). As the religious elite, the Pharisees boasted that they had spiritual insight (we see!), but because they were blind to their own sinfulness, they remained in their sin (their spiritual insight was darkness – Matthew 6:23). Jesus came to call sinners to repentance, but the one who is self-righteous cannot see his own sinfulness and, therefore, sees no need to repent. Despite their blindness, the Pharisees still presented themselves as the righteous ones and everyone else as sinners. Jesus told this story: “Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with [or, to58], himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other ...” (Luke 18:10-14a). The Pharisees feigned a godly righteousness before men, but Jesus knew their hearts and declared: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell [Gehenna; the Lake of Fire] than yourselves” (Matthew 23:15).59 Although Graham, Geisler and MacArthur (even as the Pharisees) might well say many fine things that stand in line with God’s Word, they have each compromised (to varying degrees) the very Scriptures that they claim to uphold. One failure that they all have in common is that they have no qualms about joining with those who do not hold to the pure Word of God.60 This is not to say that God will not use His Word as spoken correctly by these men. Even Paul experienced those who would preach Christ in a way that would add to his tribulation, but his attitude was that “... notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice” (Philippians 1:18). “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). Even though God will use His Word to accomplish His purposes, those who depart from the purity of the Truth do so “unto their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:16).
Consider, for example, John MacArthur – probably the most conservative of the three names mentioned and noted for his expository preaching. In 2007, he was a speaker at Moody Bible Institute’s Founder’s Week! Moody Bible Institute at one time stood opposed to the Ecumenism of men like Billy Graham, refusing to participate in Graham’s crusades when they came to the Chicago area. However, by 1986 this position was forsaken as they welcomed Billy as a Founder’s Week speaker, along with John MacArthur. Moody’s leadership has followed the trend of Evangelicals toward a more open and tolerant attitude toward those who are Liberal (a kind word for being either apostate or pagan). They have also embraced the spread of New Evangelicalism (modifying their curriculum and implementing degree programs to meet the increasing educational demands), and have continued to adopt modern heresies, so that today they promote the latest forms of Emergent spirituality. Moody, like other formerly solid Christian institutions, has followed the pattern away from the truth of the Bible into apostasy. However, despite this spiritually downward spiral, John MacArthur continues to join them for Founder’s Week, thereby aligning himself not only with Moody Bible Institute’s Ecumenical position, but also with those faltering Evangelicals who join him on the conference platform.
By participating in Founder’s Week 2007, MacArthur placed himself alongside of men like Michael Easley, who is the “lead pastor” of Fellowship Bible Church, Brentwood, Tennessee,61 and former president of Moody Bible Institute.62 Easley’s church has a well-rounded ministry focus that includes the Fellowship School of Dance, where they teach “Ballet, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Stretch/Flex, Tap, Modern, and Ballet/Tap/Jazz Combo!”63 This appears on their website under the ministries that they have in their church! “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4). As much as they might like to spiritualize their dancing, it is simply another way of gaining the favor of the world, a marketing technique that seriously compromises whatever message they might have. MacArthur, by standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Easley at Founder’s Week, is approving of what Easley represents, or, at the very least, he is saying that it doesn’t matter.
At this conference, he also joined men like Haddon Robinson, who is with Radio Bible Class Ministries that has become sufficiently Ecumenical that they will no longer teach against the errors of Catholicism. The Ecumenical Louis Palau, the Latin American version of Billy Graham, also spoke at Founder’s Week 2007. There are many who hold MacArthur in very high esteem, yet it is so obvious that he has no regard for Biblical separation from error – Palau, Robinson and Easley
all represent serious compromise with error through worldliness and Ecumenism. Paul’s word of warning to MacArthur would be: “a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump”; you cannot participate with compromisers (those who embrace error, even if they still hold to some shreds of truth) without compromise entering your own life. Biblically, the moment that you participate with them, you have already compromised!
all represent serious compromise with error through worldliness and Ecumenism. Paul’s word of warning to MacArthur would be: “a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump”; you cannot participate with compromisers (those who embrace error, even if they still hold to some shreds of truth) without compromise entering your own life. Biblically, the moment that you participate with them, you have already compromised!
Has this principle held true within the life and ministry of John MacArthur – has compromise entered? Perhaps there is nothing more telling of a person’s spiritual position than the music that he enjoys or accepts. Today there is an obsession with rock music that is all built upon the foundation of rock and roll; whatever it’s label (there are over 250 genres of rock music, including five that include the word Christian64), and even though its debut came as an expression of rebellion, it has become generally accepted by most everyone as the new normal for music – even among “Christians.” Before we go further, let’s consider the words of Jimi Hendrix (a confirmed rocker) on the matter of rock music: “We’re making our music into electric church music – a new kind of Bible, not like in a hotel, but a Bible you carry in your hearts, one that will give you a physical feeling. We try to make our music so loose and hard-hitting so that it hits your soul hard enough to make it open. It’s like shock therapy or a can opener … Rock is like a young dragon …” (emphasis added);65 this new kind of Bible must come from the young dragon, the devil himself (Revelation 12:9), for God’s Word is unchanging (Psalm 119:89). It is also significant that this new Bible will generate a physical feeling; we are to hold God’s Word in our hearts so that we might live before Him in righteousness (Psalm 119:11) – this Bible penetrates the eternal soul of man with an appeal to the sensual. Hendrix went on: “We want them [this would be those who are outside of the rock culture] to realize that our music is just as spiritual as going to church … The soul must rule, not money or drugs. If you can do your own thing, just do it properly …You should rule yourself and give God a chance” (some of what he expresses seems to be contradictory).66 Rock music is considered to be a spiritual experience, but it is with the young dragon (the devil), not with God! “Neither John Lennon [a member of the Beatles] nor his legacy is ethically attractive”; “… it was rock music that set the cultural climate for drugs, degradation, and social irresponsibility …”67 – from the seeds of rebellion comes a harvest of decadence.
Having provided just a glimpse into the world of rock music (and it is undoubtedly worse now), let’s return to the matter at hand. Have John MacArthur’s compromises impacted his own life and judgments on matters? In a sermon that MacArthur gave on alcohol, he included this: “So, you give up your liberties, so as not to ever offend another brother; one who hasn’t yet matured to understand those liberties [is he really saying that you give up your freedom to drink alcohol so that you are not an offense to a brother who is not mature enough to enjoy this freedom?]… You know, I think the same thing about music, a lot; is there anything more demonic, is there anything more ungodly, is there anything more raw, is there anything more lustful, is there anything more drunken than a rock concert? … it’s a horrible thing, and yet they try and reproduce it in the church. True believers – I don’t know how true believers who came out of that background could experience all of the same stuff and not have their conscience wracked, because it’s that that they have been delivered from – and I’m not talking about the style of music, I’m talking about the whole created experience [the rock concert] – it’s endeavored to be mimicked” (emphasis added).68 Notice that his venom is poured out upon the rock concert experience as being so horrible, but he very carefully exempts such condemnation for the genre of rock music, which is the reason for the demonic concert. “It's not just an exaggeration to say that rebellion is more than just an occasional theme in rock, it is its very heart and soul” (emphasis added).69 Why would MacArthur protect the genre of rock music?
In his commentary on Ephesians (1986), MacArthur made this observation: “The association of hard rock with violence, blasphemy, sadomasochism, sexual immorality and perversion, alcohol and drugs, and Eastern mysticism and the occult are not accidental. They are fed from the same ungodly stream. A leading rock singer once said, ‘Rock has always been the devil’s music. It lets in the baser elements.’ Putting a Christian message in such a musical form [rock style] does not elevate the form but degrades the message to the level already established in the culture by that form” (emphasis added).70 What happened between 1986 and 2012 that would make MacArthur flip 180° on the matter of rock music?
The answer is really quite simple: rock music is now a part of his ministry. For a number of years Grace Community Church (MacArthur’s church) sponsored youth conferences called Resolved; included in a number of these was the group Enfield, a band that plays routinely for Grace Community Church in their college ministries.71 At the 2008 Resolved conference, Enfield released an album of their music that is described as being indie-rock – in other words, this is an album of rock music produced by an independent (hence, indie) label.72 MacArthur’s protection of rock music is one of expediency – rock music is present and active within his own church!73 His presence as a speaker at Resolved conferences placed his stamp of approval upon them, including their rock music! In the same way, his participation at Moody’s Founder’s Week conference demonstrated his endorsement of Moody Bible Institute’s position, as well as the other Ecumenical speakers that filled the conference roster.
Evangelical compromise has so often begun as a small grain of leaven called rock music, or with the devil’s soothing whisper, “It’s okay to preach at that conference; after all, you can preach the truth.” It seems evident that Evangelicals have been deceived into thinking that music is neutral, and that speaking a few words of truth in the midst of disobedience is acceptable with God. Nonetheless, both are the leaven of Satan used to permeate many hearts today with a godless element – including the Grace Community Church through John MacArthur, who prides himself on knowing and teaching the Word of God. How much did MacArthur’s compromise with Moody Bible Institute influence his failure in the area of music? Undoubtedly, the two worked together as leaven to provide Satan with a toehold in MacArthur’s life and ministry. Paul’s warning is to watch out for that seemingly innocent piece of leaven that will infiltrate and destroy the individual and the whole assembly, unless it is identified and stopped. For the Galatians, the issue at hand was the doctrine of the Judaizers.
10. I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.
Paul now expresses his confidence that the Galatians will return to the truth. In verse seven, we noted that the word obey (peitho) carries the root meaning of being persuaded (and within that context, obedience was the result); the same Greek word is translated as confidence here (the persuasion leads to a surety).74 Young’s Literal Translation shows this first phrase as: “I have confidence in regard to you in the Lord ...”; what may not be obvious at first glance, but Robert Young brought to light in his literal translation, is that Paul’s confidence is not in the Galatians but in the Lord. That is an important distinction to make; since the Galatians were being swayed to accept the skewed doctrine of the Judaizers (they were being persuaded to be disobedient to the truth – 3:1), there would be little basis for anticipating a complete forsaking of that error of which some were being persuaded – too often the longer that error is contemplated, the greater the surety of its acceptance. However, Paul expresses confidence that the Lord will use this letter, written under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, to draw them back from the brink of spiritual ruin.
Paul’s confidence is that the Lord will see that the Galatians will again be none otherwise minded. That is a somewhat awkward English phrase for three Greek words that are literally nothing other to think.75 Paul is convinced that the Lord will open the eyes of the Galatians so that their minds will be filled with nothing other than the Gospel that he has given to them, and that the perversion of the Judaizers will be forsaken (Galatians 1:7). There is no room for anything else but the truth of the Gospel.
The end of the one who is troubling (present tense) the Galatians is identified; he shall bear his judgment. Whoever he is, he will bear his condemnation; judgment is from the Greek word krima (kree'-mah) and speaks of condemnation or punishment.76 This is not a favorable but a condemning judgment, and those who are bringing this falsehood to the Galatians are assured here of their condemnation. “It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended [impeded], or is made weak” (Romans 14:21).77 We are called to guard against doing anything that would provide occasion for a fellow Christian to stumble, or to be made weak, in their walk with the Lord – the Judaizers, who would have considered themselves to be Christians, were not only causing the Galatians to stumble, but were actually seeking to draw them into their own apostasy (which they did not recognize). Some take this to mean that we must contextualize the Gospel message so as not to offend anyone – nothing could be further from the truth.
Paul’s specific instruction to Timothy was: “Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1:13). The truths of Scripture are not to be compromised – ever! However, within the truth of the Word of God, there is a “stumbling” for the one who does not hold the words of Scripture in all purity:
“Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious [held in honor]: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded [will absolutely not be shamed (a very strong negative; Greek double negative with subjunctive mood78)]. Unto you therefore which believe [are believing] he is precious [valuable]: but unto them which be disobedient [refusing to believe], the stone which the builders disallowed [rejected], the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone [lithos – small, used in building] of stumbling [something to trip over], and a rock [petra – large, immovable] of offence [that which causes a fall or opposition], even to them which stumble at [taking offense, rejecting] the word, being disobedient [refusing to believe]: whereunto also they were appointed” (1 Peter 2:6-8).79 Christ is described here as a stone of stumbling, i.e., He is likened to a small building stone (lithos) that can cause someone to stumble, or trip, as they walk along; however, He is also compared to a rock of offence, a huge, immovable rock (petra) that will bring condemnation to those who refuse to believe. We must carefully hold to the Word of Truth lest unbelief should enter our hearts, and, thereby, some part of the eternal Logos should become a scorned Stone that causes us to stumble, or, even worse, a rejected Rock that affirms our apostasy from the Lord (Hebrews 3:12; cp. Revelation 19:13).
There have been many who have built whole teachings on a part of Scripture that they “wrest [twist, misinterpret] ... unto their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:16).80 What we must be very careful to recognize is that “... no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:20-21). The same Spirit of God Who moved the OT prophets to speak the truths of God, now lives within Christ’s faithful ones, and the promise that Jesus gave is that “when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth ...” (John 16:13). It is not a matter of applying my personal opinions or theologies to the Scriptures, but it is very much a matter of permitting the Spirit of God to guide me into His truth, even to the setting aside of my opinions and theologies. The truths of God do not stand in isolation but are supported by the rest of Scripture – God is the Author Who has ensured a coherence to the Message of Jesus Christ; texts viewed in isolation have proven to be the fuel for many cults and perversions. Paul charged Timothy to hold fast the form of sound words (2 Timothy 1:13) – to be holding firmly to the example (form) of accurate (sound) teaching (words) that he had received from Paul.81 We must be careful to believe ALL of the Word of God and hold the Scripture in higher regard than our own theologies – something that many “Christian” leaders are unwilling to do. If there is one area of teaching where I am unwilling to accept the clear voice of Scripture because of what I have always believed (or some other reason), then in that area I have stumbled at God’s Word. The eternal Logos, Jesus, has at that point become a stone of stumbling for me; therein I have become an unbeliever and disobedient, someone who is not fully persuaded of the truth. Remember, a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump; if I am unwilling to accept God’s Word in that one area, then you can be sure that Satan will use every opportunity to spread the poison of unbelief until it ends in apostasy.
The Galatians might well have understood many things concerning the Christian life, but they were failing to hold to the doctrine of faith alone in Christ’s atonement for salvation. Their failure in this one area was about to cause them to fall from the grace of Christ (Galatians 5:4); it mattered not how much they held accurately, because they were failing in this one area, they were standing on the brink of spiritual disaster.
In his commentary on Ephesians (1986), MacArthur made this observation: “The association of hard rock with violence, blasphemy, sadomasochism, sexual immorality and perversion, alcohol and drugs, and Eastern mysticism and the occult are not accidental. They are fed from the same ungodly stream. A leading rock singer once said, ‘Rock has always been the devil’s music. It lets in the baser elements.’ Putting a Christian message in such a musical form [rock style] does not elevate the form but degrades the message to the level already established in the culture by that form” (emphasis added).70 What happened between 1986 and 2012 that would make MacArthur flip 180° on the matter of rock music?
The answer is really quite simple: rock music is now a part of his ministry. For a number of years Grace Community Church (MacArthur’s church) sponsored youth conferences called Resolved; included in a number of these was the group Enfield, a band that plays routinely for Grace Community Church in their college ministries.71 At the 2008 Resolved conference, Enfield released an album of their music that is described as being indie-rock – in other words, this is an album of rock music produced by an independent (hence, indie) label.72 MacArthur’s protection of rock music is one of expediency – rock music is present and active within his own church!73 His presence as a speaker at Resolved conferences placed his stamp of approval upon them, including their rock music! In the same way, his participation at Moody’s Founder’s Week conference demonstrated his endorsement of Moody Bible Institute’s position, as well as the other Ecumenical speakers that filled the conference roster.
Evangelical compromise has so often begun as a small grain of leaven called rock music, or with the devil’s soothing whisper, “It’s okay to preach at that conference; after all, you can preach the truth.” It seems evident that Evangelicals have been deceived into thinking that music is neutral, and that speaking a few words of truth in the midst of disobedience is acceptable with God. Nonetheless, both are the leaven of Satan used to permeate many hearts today with a godless element – including the Grace Community Church through John MacArthur, who prides himself on knowing and teaching the Word of God. How much did MacArthur’s compromise with Moody Bible Institute influence his failure in the area of music? Undoubtedly, the two worked together as leaven to provide Satan with a toehold in MacArthur’s life and ministry. Paul’s warning is to watch out for that seemingly innocent piece of leaven that will infiltrate and destroy the individual and the whole assembly, unless it is identified and stopped. For the Galatians, the issue at hand was the doctrine of the Judaizers.
10. I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.
Paul now expresses his confidence that the Galatians will return to the truth. In verse seven, we noted that the word obey (peitho) carries the root meaning of being persuaded (and within that context, obedience was the result); the same Greek word is translated as confidence here (the persuasion leads to a surety).74 Young’s Literal Translation shows this first phrase as: “I have confidence in regard to you in the Lord ...”; what may not be obvious at first glance, but Robert Young brought to light in his literal translation, is that Paul’s confidence is not in the Galatians but in the Lord. That is an important distinction to make; since the Galatians were being swayed to accept the skewed doctrine of the Judaizers (they were being persuaded to be disobedient to the truth – 3:1), there would be little basis for anticipating a complete forsaking of that error of which some were being persuaded – too often the longer that error is contemplated, the greater the surety of its acceptance. However, Paul expresses confidence that the Lord will use this letter, written under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, to draw them back from the brink of spiritual ruin.
Paul’s confidence is that the Lord will see that the Galatians will again be none otherwise minded. That is a somewhat awkward English phrase for three Greek words that are literally nothing other to think.75 Paul is convinced that the Lord will open the eyes of the Galatians so that their minds will be filled with nothing other than the Gospel that he has given to them, and that the perversion of the Judaizers will be forsaken (Galatians 1:7). There is no room for anything else but the truth of the Gospel.
The end of the one who is troubling (present tense) the Galatians is identified; he shall bear his judgment. Whoever he is, he will bear his condemnation; judgment is from the Greek word krima (kree'-mah) and speaks of condemnation or punishment.76 This is not a favorable but a condemning judgment, and those who are bringing this falsehood to the Galatians are assured here of their condemnation. “It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended [impeded], or is made weak” (Romans 14:21).77 We are called to guard against doing anything that would provide occasion for a fellow Christian to stumble, or to be made weak, in their walk with the Lord – the Judaizers, who would have considered themselves to be Christians, were not only causing the Galatians to stumble, but were actually seeking to draw them into their own apostasy (which they did not recognize). Some take this to mean that we must contextualize the Gospel message so as not to offend anyone – nothing could be further from the truth.
Paul’s specific instruction to Timothy was: “Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1:13). The truths of Scripture are not to be compromised – ever! However, within the truth of the Word of God, there is a “stumbling” for the one who does not hold the words of Scripture in all purity:
“Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious [held in honor]: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded [will absolutely not be shamed (a very strong negative; Greek double negative with subjunctive mood78)]. Unto you therefore which believe [are believing] he is precious [valuable]: but unto them which be disobedient [refusing to believe], the stone which the builders disallowed [rejected], the same is made the head of the corner, And a stone [lithos – small, used in building] of stumbling [something to trip over], and a rock [petra – large, immovable] of offence [that which causes a fall or opposition], even to them which stumble at [taking offense, rejecting] the word, being disobedient [refusing to believe]: whereunto also they were appointed” (1 Peter 2:6-8).79 Christ is described here as a stone of stumbling, i.e., He is likened to a small building stone (lithos) that can cause someone to stumble, or trip, as they walk along; however, He is also compared to a rock of offence, a huge, immovable rock (petra) that will bring condemnation to those who refuse to believe. We must carefully hold to the Word of Truth lest unbelief should enter our hearts, and, thereby, some part of the eternal Logos should become a scorned Stone that causes us to stumble, or, even worse, a rejected Rock that affirms our apostasy from the Lord (Hebrews 3:12; cp. Revelation 19:13).
There have been many who have built whole teachings on a part of Scripture that they “wrest [twist, misinterpret] ... unto their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:16).80 What we must be very careful to recognize is that “... no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:20-21). The same Spirit of God Who moved the OT prophets to speak the truths of God, now lives within Christ’s faithful ones, and the promise that Jesus gave is that “when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth ...” (John 16:13). It is not a matter of applying my personal opinions or theologies to the Scriptures, but it is very much a matter of permitting the Spirit of God to guide me into His truth, even to the setting aside of my opinions and theologies. The truths of God do not stand in isolation but are supported by the rest of Scripture – God is the Author Who has ensured a coherence to the Message of Jesus Christ; texts viewed in isolation have proven to be the fuel for many cults and perversions. Paul charged Timothy to hold fast the form of sound words (2 Timothy 1:13) – to be holding firmly to the example (form) of accurate (sound) teaching (words) that he had received from Paul.81 We must be careful to believe ALL of the Word of God and hold the Scripture in higher regard than our own theologies – something that many “Christian” leaders are unwilling to do. If there is one area of teaching where I am unwilling to accept the clear voice of Scripture because of what I have always believed (or some other reason), then in that area I have stumbled at God’s Word. The eternal Logos, Jesus, has at that point become a stone of stumbling for me; therein I have become an unbeliever and disobedient, someone who is not fully persuaded of the truth. Remember, a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump; if I am unwilling to accept God’s Word in that one area, then you can be sure that Satan will use every opportunity to spread the poison of unbelief until it ends in apostasy.
The Galatians might well have understood many things concerning the Christian life, but they were failing to hold to the doctrine of faith alone in Christ’s atonement for salvation. Their failure in this one area was about to cause them to fall from the grace of Christ (Galatians 5:4); it mattered not how much they held accurately, because they were failing in this one area, they were standing on the brink of spiritual disaster.
Evangelicals today are not convinced of the unalterable veracity of God’s Word. Some time ago we were given a DVD called The Star of Bethlehem. It had become quite popular within many circles even though the author, Rick Larson, openly claims to hold greater faith in his reverse calculations of the swirling universe than he does in the Word of God. For example: Jesus clearly stated that He would be three days and three nights in the earth (Matthew 12:40); however, the author’s calculations require Jesus to be crucified on Friday and raised up on Sunday (clearly not three days and three nights, no matter how you calculate it). Larson is fine with that, indicating that the astronomical mathematic calculations that he has done are correct (thereby stating that Jesus did not speak the truth). The Creator of time is being accused by a product of His creation of not knowing the period of time that He would be buried! At that point of doctrine, the author has become disobedient and harbors unbelief in his heart (the leaven of doubt as to the truth of God’s Word), and does so to the jeopardy of his own soul. What pride to say that personal research and calculations are more accurate and dependable than the Word of eternal God! Once more we can hear the whisper of the devil, “Yea, hath God said?” (Genesis 3:1). The Galatians failed to hold to the doctrine of faith in Christ alone; this became their point of disobedience (Galatians 3:1) and the hinge in turning aside to the bondage of error again (Galatians 4:9).
11. And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.
Paul now draws an illustration from his own life to demonstrate that he has not in any way accepted the perverted gospel of these troublesome Jews, and also that he has forsaken that to which he had at one time held (Philippians 3:4-8). He includes the word brethren, a reminder that he still considers the Galatians to be part of the household of faith; although they were in the process of falling into error, he is expressing confidence that they will turn from it.
Paul asks the Galatians the question: “If I am still preaching (present tense) circumcision, why am I being persecuted (present tense) by the Jews?” The reality is that Paul, as a devout Pharisee, at one time preached the message of circumcision and the necessity of keeping the Law of Moses. To the Corinthians Paul declared: “But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock ...” (1 Corinthians 1:23). What is evident is that the Jews had difficulty with the Gospel that Paul had been given by God (Galatians 1:15-17). Paul preached Christ as Redeemer, Savior, and Messiah. It was the Jewish religious leaders who cried out: “His blood be on us, and on our children” (Matthew 27:25) as they sought to have Jesus crucified. Now Paul is teaching that, through the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ, salvation is readily accessible for all of mankind (both the Jew and the Gentile). Messiah, crucified? Therein was the stumbling block for the Jews; even though their sacrificial system foreshadowed this reality and Isaiah foretold it with great clarity, they found it very difficult to accept. Compounding the problem for them was that the Law of Moses had been given to them by God at Mt. Sinai; it was the one thing that made them unique in the world and special before God, so that even those who had accepted Jesus as their Messiah and Redeemer still wanted to cling to those traditions (Acts 15:1, 5). Paul clarifies for the Galatians that he was not walking in the way of the Judaizers, for if he had retained the rite of circumcision in his Gospel message, then the Jews would certainly have refrained from persecuting him. The reality was that Paul’s life was filled with persecution from his fellow Jews – because his Message did not meet with their approval. From the very beginning of his ministry, the Jews sought to kill him (Acts 9:22-23), and the last interaction of which we read is of the Jews still seeking to remove Paul from their midst (Acts 23:12-13). Paul understood, first hand, the problem that faith alone in Christ alone was for the Jews, yet he wholeheartedly accepted and committed himself to the Message that God had given him for the world. The Jews, on the other hand, struggled to accept the fact that their traditions had been ended at the cross of Christ (Ephesians 2:14-16).
Paul declares that if he had added circumcision to the Message that he proclaimed, then that which gave rise to such strong opposition from the Jews (offence – same Greek word as for rock of offence – 1 Peter 2:8) would have been removed. Ceased is from the same Greek word as used in Galatians 5:4 (no effect) and Ephesians 2:15 (abolished). If Paul had compromised the Message that had been given to him by God, then two things would have taken place: 1) his message would no longer have brought him persecution, and 2) his message would have been empty. The Message of the cross is that we can do nothing to merit salvation; it is all of Christ and what He has done for us. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). God, in His infinite mercy, provided salvation for all of mankind through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:3-4); this ultimate sacrifice is completely of God – we have no part in it, except for being the reason that God was willing to give His Son to die (John 3:16). Adding anything to what God has done says that His work was not adequate. Even though the Judaizers, by faith, had accepted what Christ had done, they insisted upon the necessity of adding circumcision to their faith, and so they showed to God that the salvation that He had determined before the foundation of the world, was inadequate. All of the religions of the world have man doing something to gain the approval of the gods; by contrast, the Gospel of God declares that there is nothing that we can do to gain His favor. Like the father of the demon-possessed child, our cry should be: “Lord, I believe [am believing]; help thou mine [be helping my] unbelief [weakness of faith]” (Mark 9:24).82
It seems that modern Evangelicals have given a slight twist to the Message that says that man can do nothing to inherit eternal life, and have added the thought that once you have been persuaded (you believe) that there are no further demands placed upon you (you neither have to retain that persuasion nor live righteously). Nothing could be further from the truth. Paul reminded Timothy that it is God “who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling ...” (2 Timothy 1:9). Peter declared: “... But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:15-16). This is not a call to a life of religiosity but, rather, to a life lived through the power of the Spirit of God Who abides within us. “... God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:3-4). Evangelicals have essentially misunderstood the Message of truth; it is not enough to say, “I believe,” and be baptized – unless we hold fast to the words of truth (2 Timothy 1:13), even in the face of opposition, and endure unto the end (Hebrews 3:6), we will have missed life eternal (Matthew 24:13). We must never lose sight of Jesus’ sobering words: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21-23). It is the will of God that we “put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:24); as we abide in the Vine (John 15:4), we are called to show forth the fruit of the Spirit of God (Galatians 5:22-23) in the face of opposition (2 Timothy 3:12). We must guard against the leaven of Evangelicalism lest it permeate our beings and cause us to fall from the grace of Christ (Galatians 5:4, 9).
12. I would they were even cut off which trouble you.
Paul expresses here his desire for the Judaizers (those who were promoting a perverted gospel and swaying the hearts of some): that they would be cut off.83 These people were causing trouble by convincing some that they needed to add circumcision to the exclusive message of the Gospel in order to be truly saved. This was a serious matter, and Paul’s wish was that they would be amputated and removed from their midst.
“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them” (Romans 16:17). Paul’s words to the Galatians are much more direct, but the message is the same: do not entertain those who promote a message other than what has been given in God’s Word. The Evangelical landscape today is a direct product of the compromise that New Evangelicalism made on the narrow teachings of Scripture. Harold Ockenga, and the other leaders of this movement, determined to dialogue with the Liberal (apostate) theologians for the stated hope of drawing them back to the Word of God. However, the result was that these well-intentioned men were drawn into the Liberal compromise and confusion. Pragmatism is never a substitute for obedience! The road to hell is paved with good intentions.84 There will be those who will come before God and say, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?,” and they will hear from the Lord: “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:22-23). The Judaizers proclaimed a message of faith and works thinking that they had the winning combination that would reap God’s approval, yet of them God will say, “I never knew you.” So we read Paul’s vehement desire that these peddlers of a false gospel should be cut off and removed from their midst. We must be careful to hold the same attitude toward those who cling to the fallacies of modern Evangelicalism, so that we might protect ourselves from their error, and set a Biblical example of separation for those who are looking on.
13. For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
Here the Galatians are reminded that they have been called unto liberty; they have been called by God into the liberty of Christ (wherein they have already been charged to stand fast – 5:1). Liberty is from the Greek word eleutheria that means freeborn85 – there is a freedom from the bondage of the Law of Moses, a freedom to live under the tutelage and guidance of the Spirit of God, and a freedom to live in obedience to our Lord and Master. “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants [doulos – slaves] to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? ... Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants [douloo – became slaves] of righteousness” (Romans 6:16, 18).86 There is a change in our allegiance; we no longer go through life doing what we want or what serves our desires, rather we gauge our actions and reactions according to God’s Standard – according to His holy calling (2 Timothy 1:9) and our new man that we have donned (Ephesians 4:24). As we walk according to the leading of the Spirit, His righteousness will become evident through us (Romans 8:4); we have been freed from the destruction of sin.
The Greek word translated as occasion means a starting point,87 or a base of operations.88 The liberty to which we have been called is not to provide us with a means of fulfilling our own fleshly desires. How could this be, since this liberty is in Christ? The reality is that the mind of man is capable of many things – when God viewed the busyness of man at the Tower of Babel, He said: “Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do” (Genesis 11:6). Within man’s very capable mind is an almost inexhaustible ability to justify his actions. The Galatian believers were being convinced to accept the arguments of the Judaizers; after all, what could possibly be wrong with practicing the sign of the covenant that God made with Abraham, or how could keeping the traditions of the Law of Moses ever be construed as anything other than doing what God had commanded? After all, these were practices given to them by God! Yet, as Paul has so ably declared already, such practices are fleshly and have absolutely no bearing on God’s promise to Abraham (Genesis 12:3; Romans 4:11, 16; Galatians 3:16-17, 19). The lesson must be this: what God has ended, let no man perpetuate. The Judaizers accepted the liberty of faith in Christ but were teaching that this liberty could only be properly attained through practicing the rite of circumcision and keeping the traditions of Moses (Acts 15:1, 5) – i.e., take the Message of freedom in Christ and subject it to the bondage of Judaism. Paul says that our faith in Christ must stand alone; anything added to this faith is of the flesh (Galatians 3:3) and serves only to twist or pervert the Gospel (1:7).
11. And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.
Paul now draws an illustration from his own life to demonstrate that he has not in any way accepted the perverted gospel of these troublesome Jews, and also that he has forsaken that to which he had at one time held (Philippians 3:4-8). He includes the word brethren, a reminder that he still considers the Galatians to be part of the household of faith; although they were in the process of falling into error, he is expressing confidence that they will turn from it.
Paul asks the Galatians the question: “If I am still preaching (present tense) circumcision, why am I being persecuted (present tense) by the Jews?” The reality is that Paul, as a devout Pharisee, at one time preached the message of circumcision and the necessity of keeping the Law of Moses. To the Corinthians Paul declared: “But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock ...” (1 Corinthians 1:23). What is evident is that the Jews had difficulty with the Gospel that Paul had been given by God (Galatians 1:15-17). Paul preached Christ as Redeemer, Savior, and Messiah. It was the Jewish religious leaders who cried out: “His blood be on us, and on our children” (Matthew 27:25) as they sought to have Jesus crucified. Now Paul is teaching that, through the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ, salvation is readily accessible for all of mankind (both the Jew and the Gentile). Messiah, crucified? Therein was the stumbling block for the Jews; even though their sacrificial system foreshadowed this reality and Isaiah foretold it with great clarity, they found it very difficult to accept. Compounding the problem for them was that the Law of Moses had been given to them by God at Mt. Sinai; it was the one thing that made them unique in the world and special before God, so that even those who had accepted Jesus as their Messiah and Redeemer still wanted to cling to those traditions (Acts 15:1, 5). Paul clarifies for the Galatians that he was not walking in the way of the Judaizers, for if he had retained the rite of circumcision in his Gospel message, then the Jews would certainly have refrained from persecuting him. The reality was that Paul’s life was filled with persecution from his fellow Jews – because his Message did not meet with their approval. From the very beginning of his ministry, the Jews sought to kill him (Acts 9:22-23), and the last interaction of which we read is of the Jews still seeking to remove Paul from their midst (Acts 23:12-13). Paul understood, first hand, the problem that faith alone in Christ alone was for the Jews, yet he wholeheartedly accepted and committed himself to the Message that God had given him for the world. The Jews, on the other hand, struggled to accept the fact that their traditions had been ended at the cross of Christ (Ephesians 2:14-16).
Paul declares that if he had added circumcision to the Message that he proclaimed, then that which gave rise to such strong opposition from the Jews (offence – same Greek word as for rock of offence – 1 Peter 2:8) would have been removed. Ceased is from the same Greek word as used in Galatians 5:4 (no effect) and Ephesians 2:15 (abolished). If Paul had compromised the Message that had been given to him by God, then two things would have taken place: 1) his message would no longer have brought him persecution, and 2) his message would have been empty. The Message of the cross is that we can do nothing to merit salvation; it is all of Christ and what He has done for us. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). God, in His infinite mercy, provided salvation for all of mankind through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:3-4); this ultimate sacrifice is completely of God – we have no part in it, except for being the reason that God was willing to give His Son to die (John 3:16). Adding anything to what God has done says that His work was not adequate. Even though the Judaizers, by faith, had accepted what Christ had done, they insisted upon the necessity of adding circumcision to their faith, and so they showed to God that the salvation that He had determined before the foundation of the world, was inadequate. All of the religions of the world have man doing something to gain the approval of the gods; by contrast, the Gospel of God declares that there is nothing that we can do to gain His favor. Like the father of the demon-possessed child, our cry should be: “Lord, I believe [am believing]; help thou mine [be helping my] unbelief [weakness of faith]” (Mark 9:24).82
It seems that modern Evangelicals have given a slight twist to the Message that says that man can do nothing to inherit eternal life, and have added the thought that once you have been persuaded (you believe) that there are no further demands placed upon you (you neither have to retain that persuasion nor live righteously). Nothing could be further from the truth. Paul reminded Timothy that it is God “who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling ...” (2 Timothy 1:9). Peter declared: “... But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:15-16). This is not a call to a life of religiosity but, rather, to a life lived through the power of the Spirit of God Who abides within us. “... God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:3-4). Evangelicals have essentially misunderstood the Message of truth; it is not enough to say, “I believe,” and be baptized – unless we hold fast to the words of truth (2 Timothy 1:13), even in the face of opposition, and endure unto the end (Hebrews 3:6), we will have missed life eternal (Matthew 24:13). We must never lose sight of Jesus’ sobering words: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21-23). It is the will of God that we “put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:24); as we abide in the Vine (John 15:4), we are called to show forth the fruit of the Spirit of God (Galatians 5:22-23) in the face of opposition (2 Timothy 3:12). We must guard against the leaven of Evangelicalism lest it permeate our beings and cause us to fall from the grace of Christ (Galatians 5:4, 9).
12. I would they were even cut off which trouble you.
Paul expresses here his desire for the Judaizers (those who were promoting a perverted gospel and swaying the hearts of some): that they would be cut off.83 These people were causing trouble by convincing some that they needed to add circumcision to the exclusive message of the Gospel in order to be truly saved. This was a serious matter, and Paul’s wish was that they would be amputated and removed from their midst.
“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them” (Romans 16:17). Paul’s words to the Galatians are much more direct, but the message is the same: do not entertain those who promote a message other than what has been given in God’s Word. The Evangelical landscape today is a direct product of the compromise that New Evangelicalism made on the narrow teachings of Scripture. Harold Ockenga, and the other leaders of this movement, determined to dialogue with the Liberal (apostate) theologians for the stated hope of drawing them back to the Word of God. However, the result was that these well-intentioned men were drawn into the Liberal compromise and confusion. Pragmatism is never a substitute for obedience! The road to hell is paved with good intentions.84 There will be those who will come before God and say, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?,” and they will hear from the Lord: “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:22-23). The Judaizers proclaimed a message of faith and works thinking that they had the winning combination that would reap God’s approval, yet of them God will say, “I never knew you.” So we read Paul’s vehement desire that these peddlers of a false gospel should be cut off and removed from their midst. We must be careful to hold the same attitude toward those who cling to the fallacies of modern Evangelicalism, so that we might protect ourselves from their error, and set a Biblical example of separation for those who are looking on.
13. For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
Here the Galatians are reminded that they have been called unto liberty; they have been called by God into the liberty of Christ (wherein they have already been charged to stand fast – 5:1). Liberty is from the Greek word eleutheria that means freeborn85 – there is a freedom from the bondage of the Law of Moses, a freedom to live under the tutelage and guidance of the Spirit of God, and a freedom to live in obedience to our Lord and Master. “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants [doulos – slaves] to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? ... Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants [douloo – became slaves] of righteousness” (Romans 6:16, 18).86 There is a change in our allegiance; we no longer go through life doing what we want or what serves our desires, rather we gauge our actions and reactions according to God’s Standard – according to His holy calling (2 Timothy 1:9) and our new man that we have donned (Ephesians 4:24). As we walk according to the leading of the Spirit, His righteousness will become evident through us (Romans 8:4); we have been freed from the destruction of sin.
The Greek word translated as occasion means a starting point,87 or a base of operations.88 The liberty to which we have been called is not to provide us with a means of fulfilling our own fleshly desires. How could this be, since this liberty is in Christ? The reality is that the mind of man is capable of many things – when God viewed the busyness of man at the Tower of Babel, He said: “Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do” (Genesis 11:6). Within man’s very capable mind is an almost inexhaustible ability to justify his actions. The Galatian believers were being convinced to accept the arguments of the Judaizers; after all, what could possibly be wrong with practicing the sign of the covenant that God made with Abraham, or how could keeping the traditions of the Law of Moses ever be construed as anything other than doing what God had commanded? After all, these were practices given to them by God! Yet, as Paul has so ably declared already, such practices are fleshly and have absolutely no bearing on God’s promise to Abraham (Genesis 12:3; Romans 4:11, 16; Galatians 3:16-17, 19). The lesson must be this: what God has ended, let no man perpetuate. The Judaizers accepted the liberty of faith in Christ but were teaching that this liberty could only be properly attained through practicing the rite of circumcision and keeping the traditions of Moses (Acts 15:1, 5) – i.e., take the Message of freedom in Christ and subject it to the bondage of Judaism. Paul says that our faith in Christ must stand alone; anything added to this faith is of the flesh (Galatians 3:3) and serves only to twist or pervert the Gospel (1:7).
For the Galatians, it was holding to the traditions of Jewish heritage that caused problems – an improper focus on something other than the Gospel message that Paul had delivered to them. Today, the distraction would more likely be something like Ecumenical unity; after all, it can be reasoned, Paul declared that there is “... one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all ...” (Ephesians 4:5-6); surely, that speaks of our need for unity. Whether expressed innocently, at a local level, by participation in a ministerial group of all “Christian” faiths, more blatantly through the efforts of men, like Rick Warren, who seek to draw Muslims and Christians together into a common goal, or through the decidedly overt efforts of the Roman Catholic Church to become the mother church for all religions, what is commonly set aside is the Message that God wants us to live before Him in purity. We are not to join together with those who do not hold to the clear teachings of Scripture (Romans 16:17), much less those who are adherents to a faith that is totally foreign to the Word of God (2 Corinthians 6:14).
In our pro-Islamic society, you do not have to look far to find those who are considered to be a part of the Evangelical community who declare that the Muslim Allah is the God of the Bible. President George W. Bush has stated many times that the Muslims and Christians worship the same God. Daniel Pipes of the New York Sun might well provide reasoned thinking that would seek to draw the two together,89 a rationalizing that many Evangelicals would undoubtedly find acceptable. The well-known, late Robert Schuller, while he still held ownership of the Crystal Cathedral, had rented space in his glass house to “Christians and Muslims for Peace” and told Imam Alfred Mohammed, of the Muslim American Society, that “if he [Schuller] came back in 100 years and found his descendants Muslims, it wouldn't bother him ....”90 Schuller had very evidently merged the two concepts of god into one and, in his Biblical ignorance, had certainly become a stumbling block for many; he had stripped the God of the Bible of His exclusive right as the only true God and reduced Him to the level of the gods of the pagans. Lest we consider Schuller to be unique within Evangelical circles, Billy Graham is quoted as saying on public television: “... Mohammed has a great respect for Jesus, and he called Jesus greatest of the prophets except himself. And I think we’re closer to Islam than we really think we are.”91 This man, who has held massive crusades all over the world, and who faithfully sent all of those who came forward back to their own denominations (no matter how apostate), described the message of Islam and the Gospel to be close. How close Billy Graham and Teresa of Calcutta are in their philosophy of ministry; Teresa is quoted: “If in coming face to face with God we accept Him in our lives, then we are converting. We become a better Hindu, a better Muslim, a better Catholic, a better whatever we are.”92 Is that not a clear enunciation of Billy’s philosophy – become a better Catholic, or Anglican, or Muslim; now that you have come forward at my crusade, go back to your dead form of religion and be better at it – be more religious!
Mainstream Evangelical Rick Warren was invited to speak at the main session of the Islamic Society of North America convention held July 4, 2009, where “he called on the members of the two largest faith communities in the world [meaning Christian and Muslim] ... to find a way to work together for the greater good without compromising each group’s convictions.”93 Here are three prominent leaders within Evangelicalism (Schuller, Graham and Warren) who have abused their “liberty in Christ” by reaching out to Islam, not to present the exclusive truth of God’s Word, but to embrace it as being an acceptable faith. As these men have increasingly lost sight of Christ’s narrow way to life, they have been more than willing to equate their faith with the dead faith of Islam. As the eyes of faith in Christ grow dim, the pathway of life appears to become increasingly broad; the dulled vision of the apostate no longer recognizes that “broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction” (Matthew 7:13). What Schuller, Graham, Warren, and all of those who follow their teachings have failed to see is that they are contravening the very Scriptures that they profess to uphold – they are defiling the name of Christ. Like Israel of old, they have rejected the commandments of God, and “they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them, that they should not do like them” (2 Kings 17:15). God warned Israel against following the ways of the heathen (Deuteronomy 18:9-13; Jeremiah 10:2-3) and His warnings are the same for us; Paul’s question to the Corinthians still rings true today: “what communion hath light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14). The broad path of compromise is entered by losing sight of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. We, who have expressed faith in Jesus Christ, are called to walk in holiness (1 Peter 1:15) – we are called to walk the Narrow Way to life eternal (John 14:6 and Matthew 7:14). The blindness of Schuller, Graham and Warren is nothing new; the Israelites turned away from the Lord in the very same way, and the Galatians were about to make a similar error – being on the verge of embracing a perverted gospel that held no life at all (Galatians 1:7; 4:9). Although the object of the apostasy may vary, common to all is the turning away from God; the devil is not concerned about what lures us into apostasy (what we turn to is of no consequence) – he will ensure that there will always be something to entice us to turn our eyes away from God’s desire for us (Hebrews 12:2).
Paul ends with a command to serve or to be in bondage to one another, not in bondage to an empty gospel (4:9). This is a re-statement of Romans 6:18 – “Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” The reality of life is that “to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness” (Romans 6:16). The freedom that we have in Christ is what permits the Spirit of God to work His righteousness in us (Romans 8:4). We are not made free from sin to live unto ourselves but, rather, unto the glory of God (Matthew 5:16); as our focus becomes the Biblical edification and strengthening of those around us, so God will be glorified through us. The reality is that not everyone within a group will jump into error at the same time; there will generally be some who are impulsive and will be ready to make the plunge, but there will also be others who will be more thoughtful and want to weigh the matter more carefully. Hence we read: “And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish [warn or exhort] one another” (Romans 15:14).94 Although this command to serve one another might appear to be somewhat out of place here (Galatians 5:13), it is in essence an admonition to the Galatians to look out for the spiritual welfare of each other, and an indication that this was not being done or else they might not be in the mess in which they now find themselves.
14. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Word, as it used here, does not refer to what we might commonly think of as a single word, but rather it means an expression or statement.95 Here we have an expression that fulfills, or satisfies, all the law.96
When questioned by the lawyer as to the greatest commandment, “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40). Jesus said that there are two statements upon which the Law and the prophets hang; has Paul missed something here? Jesus said this second commandment is like unto the first; they are similar and are intrinsically tied together. The link is the command to love, and this is the key to understanding what Paul is laying out. What we cannot miss is that these two statements are not equal; Jesus specifically states that the one that Paul quotes here is second, i.e., second in order. The reality is that the second will not happen unless the first is already in place; Paul specifically points to the second commandment with the understanding that obedience to the first commandment is already a present reality. These two commandments can neither be separated nor reversed; they only flow from the first into the second.
Within the Greek, there are two words for our English word love. Agape speaks of a love that is the product of judgment or the will; hence, it is completely fitting to be commanded to love the Lord thy God. This is agape and, therefore, is something that can be directed by the will. Phileo (fil-eh'-o), on the other hand, relates to the love engendered by the emotions – we are favorably disposed toward someone or something because they meet with our approval; this is not something that can be commanded – it happens reactively. The word that Paul uses in this instance is agape – the same word as used by the Lord – and it speaks of a love that is directed by the will, not the emotions.
Since this command is the second in order of the two that Jesus said support the Law and the prophets, it is understood that the first command is already established. Paul is not advocating a departure from what the Lord commanded, but merely picks up on the second, dependent commandment that fits with what he has just said. We have been called to liberty in Christ, but we are not to use that liberty to be self-serving, but rather to love our neighbor as ourselves. “Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10). The love spoken of here is also agape, and fulfilling bears the same root as the word fulfilled in our verse.97 Our response to our neighbors is not to be governed by our emotions, but by our will.
15. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.
This must be understood within the context of the command just written: “love thy neighbour as thyself.” Paul warns that if the Galatians do not practice agape (a love that is directed by the will), then they will be subject to the love (or its opposite) that is guided by the emotions. It would seem that dissension among those within the Galatian community was either already evident, or Paul foresees that it could become a reality.
Bite and devour derive from those Greek words that are typically used for the normal process of eating; in this case, they are used metaphorically to speak of being cutting and hurtful toward one another to the point of causing serious harm or actual destruction.98 What this indicates is the controlling presence of phileo – the love that is governed and guided by the emotions. As the Judaizers spread their philosophy among the people, a polarization is taking place between those who were easily convinced and those who would never be convinced (with everyone else being in between). Emotions would run high between the extreme poles, and the expression of those emotions would lead to the biting and devouring.
As already indicated, the word devour speaks of eating up (literally, as in eating food). First Peter 5:8 says that the devil walks about throughout the earth “seeking whom he may devour.” We have the same English word here, but the underlying Greek is very different; the Greek word, in this case, means to drink down, and speaks metaphorically of destruction.99 Although the metaphorical end of both words is the same (destruction), note that the devil spends less time with the process. Paul warns the Galatians not to eat one another up (a time consuming act) lest they be destroyed; the devil, on the other hand, simply swallows those down whom he targets to the same end. The devil will not play with his prey – he simply destroys them.
Paul’s warning is that they will be consumed, used up or destroyed by each other.100 There is a similarity between devour (as used here) and the word consumed – both speak of destruction. However, the former (devour) speaks more of the process, while the latter points more to the end result. Paul has portrayed, in stark contrast, the difference between agape and phileo; “thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” and “bite and devour.” The former finds its basis in the love that we have for God, and is demonstrated by standing fast in the faith of Christ. As the Galatians would descend into the pit of deception (accepting the perverted gospel of the Judaizers) their love would increasingly become phileo. The simplicity of the matter is that we cannot live with God-based agape when we are no longer walking according to the Spirit’s leading (Galatians 3:3). With the Spirit of God departing from the lives of those present, there would be a corresponding increase in the expression of love under the influence of emotions (phileo). Could this be why there is infighting in so many modern churches? Paul warns the Galatians to guard against this failure.
16. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Paul has just presented two contrasting situations, and now he provides a summary of what is expected of the godly follower of Christ.
The primary phrase is walk in the Spirit. Paul expanded on this thought in his letter to the Romans: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after [according to] the flesh, but after [according to] the Spirit. ... God sending his own Son ... condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled [realized or cause to abound] in us, who walk not after [according to] the flesh, but after [according to] the Spirit. For they that are [walking – carrying the thought forward] after [according to] the flesh do mind [to strive for] the things of the flesh; but they that are [walking] after [according to] the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded [to have a mind focused on the flesh, i.e., walking according to the flesh] is death; but to be spiritually minded [walking according to the Spirit] is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity [hostility] against God: for it is [absolutely] not subject [obedient] to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh [absolutely] cannot please God (Romans 8:1-8).101 When Paul speaks of being spiritually minded, he does not have in mind the spirituality on which the world of today thrives; they have a form of spirituality, but it is founded upon a wrong spirit. Modern spirituality is based upon looking deep within one’s self, where one will find nothing other than the carnal mind to build upon – a mind that is hostile toward God.
We might well recognize that the spirituality of false religions is contrary to God, yet we must also realize that there is a growing willingness, even among Evangelicals, to identify almost anything as being of God. How many times have we heard someone say: “God gave me this” or “God showed this to me”? Yet when you look at “this” in the light of Scripture, the contradiction is obvious; perhaps someone gave them whatever “this” is, but it could not be from God. Too often it seems that by ascribing God to be the author of whatever “this” is, places “this” (and the messenger) above criticism – how can you criticize something if it is from God? Unfortunately, most Evangelicals no longer hold the Biblical knowledge necessary to assess such professions; furthermore, among many Evangelicals, to evaluate anything is to invite accusations of being judgmental and narrow-minded. Christians have become careless in their life-walk and have lost sight of their holy calling from God (2 Timothy 1:9); in fact, our holy calling by a holy God is not a common topic for preachers today, and so most Evangelicals are left woefully uninformed and comfortable in their complacency.
Rick Warren (a living example of a professing, woefully ignorant “Christian”) is doing his utmost to build bridges to the Muslims – visiting their countries and leadership, speaking at their conferences, and doing his best to include them in his P.E.A.C.E. program for the world.102 However, the Muslims do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and they say that He did not die on a cross; He is simply a messenger, or prophet, of Allah. “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true [God], and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life” (1 John 5:20). This simple statement by the Apostle John forever makes Islam a false religion, despite the declarations of men like Robert Schuller, Billy Graham and Pope John Paul II (who have all professed that Allah and the God of the Bible are one and the same). Muslims practice a carnal form of spirituality that is hostility against the God of the Bible. We are warned not to partner with such as these – “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? ... Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord ...” (2 Corinthians 6:14, 17). Warren is proving himself to be a false messenger of God; or, perhaps, he is simply a messenger of the false god, Allah. In his zeal to do good for all men, Warren has lost sight of the commands of God in Scripture like walk in the Spirit; he has fallen for the devil’s age-old ploy of pragmatism. “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat” (Genesis 3:4-6). The devil provided Eve with compelling unsubstantiated evidence of the benefits to be realized by eating from the tree, just like he has provided Rick Warren with convincing proof of the advantages to be gained by joining together with infidels to accomplish his goals. Rick (like Eve before him) has failed to recognize that he has been conned by the devil into acting in opposition to what God has explicitly commanded. Today the devil loves to use those who are perishing, especially while they profess to be born-again, as his mouthpiece; “... because they received not the love [agape – guided by the will] of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong [working, energized103] delusion [wandering, straying], that they should believe a lie ...” (2 Thessalonians 2:10b-11).104 Rick Warren is not demonstrating an agape for God’s truth by his many compromises; consequently, Satan will make full use of his disobedience to sow confusion and delusion within the Biblically-ignorant, Evangelical mind. It may not always be convenient or comfortable to accept the truth of God’s Word; therefore, unless we have made a commitment to His truth (love guided by the will), we will be easily swayed by the smooth words of false teachers. We have been warned: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).
Paul wrote of men like Rick Warren and warned Timothy about them: “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly [distinctly105], that in the latter times some shall depart [withdraw, fall away] from the faith, giving heed to seducing [misleading – the Greek noun form (delusion) is used in 2 Thessalonians 2:11] spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron ...” (1 Timothy 4:1-2).106 Paul describes these people (who are fallen from the faith – Matthew 24:24) as speaking lies in hypocrisy; Jesus said: “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing ...” (Matthew 7:15). Jesus calls them false prophets (pseudoprophetes), and Paul says that they will be speaking lies (pseudologos);107 it is only fitting that false prophets should use false words. A prophet is “one who speaks forth,” a “proclaimer of a divine message.”108 We often limit the word prophet to those who speak of things to come, but the application is really much broader than that. Those of whom Jesus warned will come disguised as fellow believers, but you will only have to lift the sheepskins to discover the wolves beneath (try the spirits – 1 John 4:1). Some say that we should read or listen to what these men say and then take the good and leave the bad – eat the meat and spit out the bones. However, that would be like sifting through a garbage dump looking for good food when there’s a gourmet meal already laid out. The false prophets will make their fair-sounding, false speeches even while professing to be of the flock of God – they will come doing their best to appear as sheep, and will do their utmost to speak sheep. Many of their words may well sound familiar to the child of God, but they will always bear a wolfish accent; they will speak lies in hypocrisy – their lies will come forth under the guise of truth. Paul goes on to describe these hypocritical liars as having their conscience seared with a hot iron. The phrase seared with a hot iron is one word in Greek from which we get our word cauterize, and the word is in the perfect tense describing an action that has taken place in the past, once for all time with ongoing consequences.109 The desensitized, or deadened, conscience of these apostate teachers and leaders (Paul says that they have departed from the faith – 1 Timothy 4:1) is a completed reality; once again, we must recognize that there is no hope for those who have apostatized – they cannot be restored to faith in God. “For it is impossible [unable to be done] for those who were once enlightened (imbued or saturated with saving knowledge) ... If they shall fall away [having fallen away (no if in the Greek)], to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame” (Hebrews 6:4, 6).110 This is someone who has had their conscience cauterized and who is fallen away from the faith (apostate). Peter warned that there would be those among us who would seek to destroy others even as they themselves have been destroyed. “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies [sneak in destructive doctrines leading to separation (Romans 16:17)], even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction” (2 Peter 2:1). Their destruction is sealed and irrevocable even though they might still continue to physically live and teach their lies. We must take heed, for their speeches may well be alluring (Romans 16:18); we must continually test all things by the Word of God (1 John 4:1). What the Galatians failed to do was to identify these men from Jerusalem as false teachers – wolves in sheep’s clothing – and avoid them.
Paul commands the Galatians to be walking in the Spirit (it is a present tense command), and the result will be: ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh, or literally: the passions of the flesh ye will absolutely not carry out.111 Once again, we have an aorist, subjunctive verb and two Greek negatives (ou and me) that form a very strong negative.112 As long as we are actively walking in the Spirit, we will not fulfill the fleshly desires; however, the Scriptures warn us to guard against unbelief entering into our hearts and causing us to depart from God and cease walking according to the Spirit (Hebrews 3:12). Paul identifies the same propensity within the Galatians – “... having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3). We must be continually vigilant lest we fall away from walking with the Spirit of God; the Lord has promised to protect us from anything that would seek to remove us from His hand (John 10:28-29; Romans 8:38-39), but we must determine to be attentive in guarding against internal failure. Paul’s word to the Galatians is simply this: You must be walking in the Spirit, and then you will certainly not perform the fleshly desire to cling to the Jewish traditions. These two (walking in the Spirit and living by Jewish traditions) stand as polar opposites: they are mutually exclusive and there is no common ground between them. “There be some that ... would pervert [transform into something of an opposite character113] the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:7); the Judaizers were making the Gospel of life into a yoke of death! These false teachers were “denying the Lord that bought them” (2 Peter 2:1) by turning His Message of salvation by faith into a heresy of salvation by works (yes, they believed in salvation by faith, but that was not enough to be truly saved; they held that the works of the Mosaic Law were an essential part of gaining salvation – Acts 15:1). We must guard our hearts lest we be deceived by the “good words” of false teachers (Romans 16:18).
17. 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.
When Paul’s admonition to walk in the Spirit is followed, conflict will result. Romans 7 is the passage most often referred to regarding this conflict: doing what you don’t want, and not doing what you want. The essence of the conflict that Paul outlined for the Romans is summarized here.
The Greek word translated as lusteth, unlike our English lust, simply means desire, and not specifically a bad desire.114 What is being made abundantly clear is this: not only are the desires of the flesh and the desires of the Spirit not the same, but they are actually in strong opposition to one another. “The carnal mind [the way of thinking that is in keeping with the flesh] is enmity against God: for it is [absolutely] not subject to the law of God ...” (Romans 8:7).115 There is no wiggle room here; the reality is very clear. If the Spirit of God is white, then the flesh is black; if the Spirit leads us east, then the flesh will long to go west. The Psalmist understood this exclusivity: “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). However, this is not to be a cause for Evangelical laxity; you must not think: “I’ve prayed a prayer and so God has forever removed my sins from me as far as the east is from the west!” The Psalmist goes on: “But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children; To such as keep [the form of the Hebrew verb identifies this as being an unbroken continuity] his covenant, and to those that remember [unbroken continuity] his commandments to do them” (Psalm 103:17-18).116 God’s mercy is not extended to those who ignore His commands, to those who turn away from doing His righteousness, nor to those who walk after the flesh. His mercy has always been offered to those who continually walk in obedience to His commands (which is walking according to the Spirit of God); moreover, He requires perseverance (that unbroken continuity) in our faithfulness to Him (Matthew 24:13). The Lord may well have removed our sins from us as far as the east is from the west but, rest assured, the flesh will desire to return to those transgressions. “And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back [present tense – contemplatively], is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62) – an example is Israel’s longing for the leeks and the garlic of Egypt (Numbers 11:5).117 “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast [to be strong; lay hold on] our profession [to speak the same thing; confession; acknowledgment of the truth]” (Hebrews 4:14).118
The children of Israel had the same struggle with this as we do today. Ezekiel faced the questioning of God’s ways by the people of Israel. God said: “Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal [not fair]: but as for them, their way is not equal. When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby. But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby. Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways” (Ezekiel 33:17-20).119 If the one who is living righteously turns away from his righteous living (this requires a conscious decision, and is apostasy), he is a dead man (the word die bears the perfect tense; it is a past completed action). If the wicked turns from his wickedness (again, a conscious decision, hence repentance), then he must continue to live righteously (live bears the imperfect tense that speaks of an action that is incomplete – continuance is required).120 The reality of apostasy is not only acknowledged by Ezekiel, but the consequences of such a deliberate action are clearly laid out. Today, many Christians are not willing to acknowledge that God’s judgment has not changed (Malachi 3:6); i.e., what He decreed through Ezekiel to Israel of old is still applicable today. Even though many may well proclaim the unchangeable nature of God (His immutability), their unwillingness to accept His teaching through Ezekiel regarding apostasy serves to prove that they really do not hold to His eternal consistency (they are saying, by their example, that God has changed). It seems that they make this exception in order to make room for their carefully crafted doctrine of eternal security.
Paul declared, “... let God be true, but every man a liar ...” (Romans 3:4); in other words, if there is a conflict between the doctrines formulated by man and the Word of God – God’s Word must be given the preeminence. “For if we sin wilfully [voluntarily, deliberately] after that we have received the knowledge [a precise and correct knowledge; a full knowledge] of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for [a terrible expectation] of judgment [in this case, condemnation] and fiery indignation [fierceness of fire], which shall devour [is about to be eating (present tense)] the adversaries” (Hebrews 10:26-27).121 We, in this case, is confirmed as being “holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling” (Hebrews 3:1) and those who have been made holy through the blood of Christ (Hebrews 10:29), and the writer applies the consequences of sinning willfully to himself as well. This is not a popular concept among Evangelicals today; as a matter of fact, it is largely rejected, and theologians will go to great lengths in an effort to make their case for doing so.
Paul ends with a command to serve or to be in bondage to one another, not in bondage to an empty gospel (4:9). This is a re-statement of Romans 6:18 – “Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” The reality of life is that “to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness” (Romans 6:16). The freedom that we have in Christ is what permits the Spirit of God to work His righteousness in us (Romans 8:4). We are not made free from sin to live unto ourselves but, rather, unto the glory of God (Matthew 5:16); as our focus becomes the Biblical edification and strengthening of those around us, so God will be glorified through us. The reality is that not everyone within a group will jump into error at the same time; there will generally be some who are impulsive and will be ready to make the plunge, but there will also be others who will be more thoughtful and want to weigh the matter more carefully. Hence we read: “And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish [warn or exhort] one another” (Romans 15:14).94 Although this command to serve one another might appear to be somewhat out of place here (Galatians 5:13), it is in essence an admonition to the Galatians to look out for the spiritual welfare of each other, and an indication that this was not being done or else they might not be in the mess in which they now find themselves.
14. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Word, as it used here, does not refer to what we might commonly think of as a single word, but rather it means an expression or statement.95 Here we have an expression that fulfills, or satisfies, all the law.96
When questioned by the lawyer as to the greatest commandment, “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40). Jesus said that there are two statements upon which the Law and the prophets hang; has Paul missed something here? Jesus said this second commandment is like unto the first; they are similar and are intrinsically tied together. The link is the command to love, and this is the key to understanding what Paul is laying out. What we cannot miss is that these two statements are not equal; Jesus specifically states that the one that Paul quotes here is second, i.e., second in order. The reality is that the second will not happen unless the first is already in place; Paul specifically points to the second commandment with the understanding that obedience to the first commandment is already a present reality. These two commandments can neither be separated nor reversed; they only flow from the first into the second.
Within the Greek, there are two words for our English word love. Agape speaks of a love that is the product of judgment or the will; hence, it is completely fitting to be commanded to love the Lord thy God. This is agape and, therefore, is something that can be directed by the will. Phileo (fil-eh'-o), on the other hand, relates to the love engendered by the emotions – we are favorably disposed toward someone or something because they meet with our approval; this is not something that can be commanded – it happens reactively. The word that Paul uses in this instance is agape – the same word as used by the Lord – and it speaks of a love that is directed by the will, not the emotions.
Since this command is the second in order of the two that Jesus said support the Law and the prophets, it is understood that the first command is already established. Paul is not advocating a departure from what the Lord commanded, but merely picks up on the second, dependent commandment that fits with what he has just said. We have been called to liberty in Christ, but we are not to use that liberty to be self-serving, but rather to love our neighbor as ourselves. “Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10). The love spoken of here is also agape, and fulfilling bears the same root as the word fulfilled in our verse.97 Our response to our neighbors is not to be governed by our emotions, but by our will.
15. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.
This must be understood within the context of the command just written: “love thy neighbour as thyself.” Paul warns that if the Galatians do not practice agape (a love that is directed by the will), then they will be subject to the love (or its opposite) that is guided by the emotions. It would seem that dissension among those within the Galatian community was either already evident, or Paul foresees that it could become a reality.
Bite and devour derive from those Greek words that are typically used for the normal process of eating; in this case, they are used metaphorically to speak of being cutting and hurtful toward one another to the point of causing serious harm or actual destruction.98 What this indicates is the controlling presence of phileo – the love that is governed and guided by the emotions. As the Judaizers spread their philosophy among the people, a polarization is taking place between those who were easily convinced and those who would never be convinced (with everyone else being in between). Emotions would run high between the extreme poles, and the expression of those emotions would lead to the biting and devouring.
As already indicated, the word devour speaks of eating up (literally, as in eating food). First Peter 5:8 says that the devil walks about throughout the earth “seeking whom he may devour.” We have the same English word here, but the underlying Greek is very different; the Greek word, in this case, means to drink down, and speaks metaphorically of destruction.99 Although the metaphorical end of both words is the same (destruction), note that the devil spends less time with the process. Paul warns the Galatians not to eat one another up (a time consuming act) lest they be destroyed; the devil, on the other hand, simply swallows those down whom he targets to the same end. The devil will not play with his prey – he simply destroys them.
Paul’s warning is that they will be consumed, used up or destroyed by each other.100 There is a similarity between devour (as used here) and the word consumed – both speak of destruction. However, the former (devour) speaks more of the process, while the latter points more to the end result. Paul has portrayed, in stark contrast, the difference between agape and phileo; “thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” and “bite and devour.” The former finds its basis in the love that we have for God, and is demonstrated by standing fast in the faith of Christ. As the Galatians would descend into the pit of deception (accepting the perverted gospel of the Judaizers) their love would increasingly become phileo. The simplicity of the matter is that we cannot live with God-based agape when we are no longer walking according to the Spirit’s leading (Galatians 3:3). With the Spirit of God departing from the lives of those present, there would be a corresponding increase in the expression of love under the influence of emotions (phileo). Could this be why there is infighting in so many modern churches? Paul warns the Galatians to guard against this failure.
16. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Paul has just presented two contrasting situations, and now he provides a summary of what is expected of the godly follower of Christ.
The primary phrase is walk in the Spirit. Paul expanded on this thought in his letter to the Romans: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after [according to] the flesh, but after [according to] the Spirit. ... God sending his own Son ... condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled [realized or cause to abound] in us, who walk not after [according to] the flesh, but after [according to] the Spirit. For they that are [walking – carrying the thought forward] after [according to] the flesh do mind [to strive for] the things of the flesh; but they that are [walking] after [according to] the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded [to have a mind focused on the flesh, i.e., walking according to the flesh] is death; but to be spiritually minded [walking according to the Spirit] is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity [hostility] against God: for it is [absolutely] not subject [obedient] to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh [absolutely] cannot please God (Romans 8:1-8).101 When Paul speaks of being spiritually minded, he does not have in mind the spirituality on which the world of today thrives; they have a form of spirituality, but it is founded upon a wrong spirit. Modern spirituality is based upon looking deep within one’s self, where one will find nothing other than the carnal mind to build upon – a mind that is hostile toward God.
We might well recognize that the spirituality of false religions is contrary to God, yet we must also realize that there is a growing willingness, even among Evangelicals, to identify almost anything as being of God. How many times have we heard someone say: “God gave me this” or “God showed this to me”? Yet when you look at “this” in the light of Scripture, the contradiction is obvious; perhaps someone gave them whatever “this” is, but it could not be from God. Too often it seems that by ascribing God to be the author of whatever “this” is, places “this” (and the messenger) above criticism – how can you criticize something if it is from God? Unfortunately, most Evangelicals no longer hold the Biblical knowledge necessary to assess such professions; furthermore, among many Evangelicals, to evaluate anything is to invite accusations of being judgmental and narrow-minded. Christians have become careless in their life-walk and have lost sight of their holy calling from God (2 Timothy 1:9); in fact, our holy calling by a holy God is not a common topic for preachers today, and so most Evangelicals are left woefully uninformed and comfortable in their complacency.
Rick Warren (a living example of a professing, woefully ignorant “Christian”) is doing his utmost to build bridges to the Muslims – visiting their countries and leadership, speaking at their conferences, and doing his best to include them in his P.E.A.C.E. program for the world.102 However, the Muslims do not believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and they say that He did not die on a cross; He is simply a messenger, or prophet, of Allah. “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true [God], and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life” (1 John 5:20). This simple statement by the Apostle John forever makes Islam a false religion, despite the declarations of men like Robert Schuller, Billy Graham and Pope John Paul II (who have all professed that Allah and the God of the Bible are one and the same). Muslims practice a carnal form of spirituality that is hostility against the God of the Bible. We are warned not to partner with such as these – “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? ... Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord ...” (2 Corinthians 6:14, 17). Warren is proving himself to be a false messenger of God; or, perhaps, he is simply a messenger of the false god, Allah. In his zeal to do good for all men, Warren has lost sight of the commands of God in Scripture like walk in the Spirit; he has fallen for the devil’s age-old ploy of pragmatism. “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat” (Genesis 3:4-6). The devil provided Eve with compelling unsubstantiated evidence of the benefits to be realized by eating from the tree, just like he has provided Rick Warren with convincing proof of the advantages to be gained by joining together with infidels to accomplish his goals. Rick (like Eve before him) has failed to recognize that he has been conned by the devil into acting in opposition to what God has explicitly commanded. Today the devil loves to use those who are perishing, especially while they profess to be born-again, as his mouthpiece; “... because they received not the love [agape – guided by the will] of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong [working, energized103] delusion [wandering, straying], that they should believe a lie ...” (2 Thessalonians 2:10b-11).104 Rick Warren is not demonstrating an agape for God’s truth by his many compromises; consequently, Satan will make full use of his disobedience to sow confusion and delusion within the Biblically-ignorant, Evangelical mind. It may not always be convenient or comfortable to accept the truth of God’s Word; therefore, unless we have made a commitment to His truth (love guided by the will), we will be easily swayed by the smooth words of false teachers. We have been warned: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).
Paul wrote of men like Rick Warren and warned Timothy about them: “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly [distinctly105], that in the latter times some shall depart [withdraw, fall away] from the faith, giving heed to seducing [misleading – the Greek noun form (delusion) is used in 2 Thessalonians 2:11] spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron ...” (1 Timothy 4:1-2).106 Paul describes these people (who are fallen from the faith – Matthew 24:24) as speaking lies in hypocrisy; Jesus said: “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing ...” (Matthew 7:15). Jesus calls them false prophets (pseudoprophetes), and Paul says that they will be speaking lies (pseudologos);107 it is only fitting that false prophets should use false words. A prophet is “one who speaks forth,” a “proclaimer of a divine message.”108 We often limit the word prophet to those who speak of things to come, but the application is really much broader than that. Those of whom Jesus warned will come disguised as fellow believers, but you will only have to lift the sheepskins to discover the wolves beneath (try the spirits – 1 John 4:1). Some say that we should read or listen to what these men say and then take the good and leave the bad – eat the meat and spit out the bones. However, that would be like sifting through a garbage dump looking for good food when there’s a gourmet meal already laid out. The false prophets will make their fair-sounding, false speeches even while professing to be of the flock of God – they will come doing their best to appear as sheep, and will do their utmost to speak sheep. Many of their words may well sound familiar to the child of God, but they will always bear a wolfish accent; they will speak lies in hypocrisy – their lies will come forth under the guise of truth. Paul goes on to describe these hypocritical liars as having their conscience seared with a hot iron. The phrase seared with a hot iron is one word in Greek from which we get our word cauterize, and the word is in the perfect tense describing an action that has taken place in the past, once for all time with ongoing consequences.109 The desensitized, or deadened, conscience of these apostate teachers and leaders (Paul says that they have departed from the faith – 1 Timothy 4:1) is a completed reality; once again, we must recognize that there is no hope for those who have apostatized – they cannot be restored to faith in God. “For it is impossible [unable to be done] for those who were once enlightened (imbued or saturated with saving knowledge) ... If they shall fall away [having fallen away (no if in the Greek)], to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame” (Hebrews 6:4, 6).110 This is someone who has had their conscience cauterized and who is fallen away from the faith (apostate). Peter warned that there would be those among us who would seek to destroy others even as they themselves have been destroyed. “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies [sneak in destructive doctrines leading to separation (Romans 16:17)], even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction” (2 Peter 2:1). Their destruction is sealed and irrevocable even though they might still continue to physically live and teach their lies. We must take heed, for their speeches may well be alluring (Romans 16:18); we must continually test all things by the Word of God (1 John 4:1). What the Galatians failed to do was to identify these men from Jerusalem as false teachers – wolves in sheep’s clothing – and avoid them.
Paul commands the Galatians to be walking in the Spirit (it is a present tense command), and the result will be: ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh, or literally: the passions of the flesh ye will absolutely not carry out.111 Once again, we have an aorist, subjunctive verb and two Greek negatives (ou and me) that form a very strong negative.112 As long as we are actively walking in the Spirit, we will not fulfill the fleshly desires; however, the Scriptures warn us to guard against unbelief entering into our hearts and causing us to depart from God and cease walking according to the Spirit (Hebrews 3:12). Paul identifies the same propensity within the Galatians – “... having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3). We must be continually vigilant lest we fall away from walking with the Spirit of God; the Lord has promised to protect us from anything that would seek to remove us from His hand (John 10:28-29; Romans 8:38-39), but we must determine to be attentive in guarding against internal failure. Paul’s word to the Galatians is simply this: You must be walking in the Spirit, and then you will certainly not perform the fleshly desire to cling to the Jewish traditions. These two (walking in the Spirit and living by Jewish traditions) stand as polar opposites: they are mutually exclusive and there is no common ground between them. “There be some that ... would pervert [transform into something of an opposite character113] the gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:7); the Judaizers were making the Gospel of life into a yoke of death! These false teachers were “denying the Lord that bought them” (2 Peter 2:1) by turning His Message of salvation by faith into a heresy of salvation by works (yes, they believed in salvation by faith, but that was not enough to be truly saved; they held that the works of the Mosaic Law were an essential part of gaining salvation – Acts 15:1). We must guard our hearts lest we be deceived by the “good words” of false teachers (Romans 16:18).
17. 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.
When Paul’s admonition to walk in the Spirit is followed, conflict will result. Romans 7 is the passage most often referred to regarding this conflict: doing what you don’t want, and not doing what you want. The essence of the conflict that Paul outlined for the Romans is summarized here.
The Greek word translated as lusteth, unlike our English lust, simply means desire, and not specifically a bad desire.114 What is being made abundantly clear is this: not only are the desires of the flesh and the desires of the Spirit not the same, but they are actually in strong opposition to one another. “The carnal mind [the way of thinking that is in keeping with the flesh] is enmity against God: for it is [absolutely] not subject to the law of God ...” (Romans 8:7).115 There is no wiggle room here; the reality is very clear. If the Spirit of God is white, then the flesh is black; if the Spirit leads us east, then the flesh will long to go west. The Psalmist understood this exclusivity: “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). However, this is not to be a cause for Evangelical laxity; you must not think: “I’ve prayed a prayer and so God has forever removed my sins from me as far as the east is from the west!” The Psalmist goes on: “But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children; To such as keep [the form of the Hebrew verb identifies this as being an unbroken continuity] his covenant, and to those that remember [unbroken continuity] his commandments to do them” (Psalm 103:17-18).116 God’s mercy is not extended to those who ignore His commands, to those who turn away from doing His righteousness, nor to those who walk after the flesh. His mercy has always been offered to those who continually walk in obedience to His commands (which is walking according to the Spirit of God); moreover, He requires perseverance (that unbroken continuity) in our faithfulness to Him (Matthew 24:13). The Lord may well have removed our sins from us as far as the east is from the west but, rest assured, the flesh will desire to return to those transgressions. “And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back [present tense – contemplatively], is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62) – an example is Israel’s longing for the leeks and the garlic of Egypt (Numbers 11:5).117 “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast [to be strong; lay hold on] our profession [to speak the same thing; confession; acknowledgment of the truth]” (Hebrews 4:14).118
The children of Israel had the same struggle with this as we do today. Ezekiel faced the questioning of God’s ways by the people of Israel. God said: “Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal [not fair]: but as for them, their way is not equal. When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby. But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby. Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways” (Ezekiel 33:17-20).119 If the one who is living righteously turns away from his righteous living (this requires a conscious decision, and is apostasy), he is a dead man (the word die bears the perfect tense; it is a past completed action). If the wicked turns from his wickedness (again, a conscious decision, hence repentance), then he must continue to live righteously (live bears the imperfect tense that speaks of an action that is incomplete – continuance is required).120 The reality of apostasy is not only acknowledged by Ezekiel, but the consequences of such a deliberate action are clearly laid out. Today, many Christians are not willing to acknowledge that God’s judgment has not changed (Malachi 3:6); i.e., what He decreed through Ezekiel to Israel of old is still applicable today. Even though many may well proclaim the unchangeable nature of God (His immutability), their unwillingness to accept His teaching through Ezekiel regarding apostasy serves to prove that they really do not hold to His eternal consistency (they are saying, by their example, that God has changed). It seems that they make this exception in order to make room for their carefully crafted doctrine of eternal security.
Paul declared, “... let God be true, but every man a liar ...” (Romans 3:4); in other words, if there is a conflict between the doctrines formulated by man and the Word of God – God’s Word must be given the preeminence. “For if we sin wilfully [voluntarily, deliberately] after that we have received the knowledge [a precise and correct knowledge; a full knowledge] of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for [a terrible expectation] of judgment [in this case, condemnation] and fiery indignation [fierceness of fire], which shall devour [is about to be eating (present tense)] the adversaries” (Hebrews 10:26-27).121 We, in this case, is confirmed as being “holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling” (Hebrews 3:1) and those who have been made holy through the blood of Christ (Hebrews 10:29), and the writer applies the consequences of sinning willfully to himself as well. This is not a popular concept among Evangelicals today; as a matter of fact, it is largely rejected, and theologians will go to great lengths in an effort to make their case for doing so.
The Truth War, a book that bears John MacArthur’s name, is a case in point. In defining the word apostasy, MacArthur says that it “is closely related to the Greek word for ‘divorce.’ It speaks of abandonment, a separation, a defection ....”122 This is a good definition of the term, and its similarity to the word for the bill of divorce is, indeed, an interesting parallel.123 However, he no sooner made this clear definition when he makes this statement: “Can a genuine Christian fall away from the faith and become apostate? No. ... Those who do depart from the faith ... simply demonstrate that they never had true faith to begin with.”124 His definition and this statement do not fit together – they are obviously contradictory. Consider that a divorce can only be issued when a man and a woman are married (in Bible times this included the time of betrothal or engagement). Today, if a couple date and then break up, there is no divorce – they have not entered into a marriage relationship and so they simply go their separate ways. For a divorce to take place, the two people must be married. Yet when MacArthur applies this parallel principle within the Christian realm, he reverses himself; he does so by saying that divorce takes place (apostasy) even though the two (God and that individual) were not married; even though “they never had true faith to begin with” (i.e., they were not in a spiritual marriage relationship), he calls this apostasy! This does not fit with the term, even as he has defined it.
MacArthur also appeals to the parable of the soils for support of his position, and says that the “greatest threat of all [for apostasy] comes from the shallow-soil hearers.”125 “They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away” (Luke 8:13). The word believe is in the present tense – they are believing! Consider John’s words: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe [are believing (present tense)] on his name ...” (John 1:12). Believe is from the same Greek word in both cases, yet there would be no question that John is referring to those who are truly Christian as they are called “the sons of God.” Jesus said of the “shallow-soil hearers” that for a time they are believing, but, when a trial comes their way, they fall away, or withdraw126, or become apostate.127 Using MacArthur’s definition, their falling away speaks of abandonment, separation, and defection (in each case you cannot abandon, separate or defect from something of which you have never been a part). As MacArthur tries to build his case he says: “They give the appearance of genuine life and viability.”128 However, an illusion is not the same as the real thing. Two people might live together and “appear” to be married, but if they split up, there is no divorce – they simply go their separate ways. Jesus said that they are believing, the Word of God produced life (not an appearance of life); at this point, MacArthur makes the choice to contradict the Lord. “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12). Departing is from the same Greek word that is translated as fall away in Jesus’ parable of the soils – it means to become apostate.129
Endeavoring to explain away the clear teachings of Scripture does nothing to change the reality of God’s Word – let God be true and all theologians liars. “For the time will come when they will not endure [accept] sound doctrine; but ... shall [certainly – an additional word in Greek] turn away their ears from [apostrepho – turn away, stop listening to] the truth, and shall be turned [ektrepo – turn aside] unto fables [myths (lies)]” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).130 Paul is not referring to the godless, but to Christians who, because of a lack of Biblical reproof, rebuke, and exhortation (2 Timothy 4:2), develop appetites for the smooth words and fair speeches of those who do not teach the truth (Romans 16:18). If there is anything lacking within Evangelical circles today, it has to be Biblical reproof, rebuke and exhortation; most often, they will direct such corrective actions against those who desire to live godly lives with the hope of scaring them back onto their comfortable, broad road to hell.
MacArthur also appeals to the parable of the soils for support of his position, and says that the “greatest threat of all [for apostasy] comes from the shallow-soil hearers.”125 “They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away” (Luke 8:13). The word believe is in the present tense – they are believing! Consider John’s words: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe [are believing (present tense)] on his name ...” (John 1:12). Believe is from the same Greek word in both cases, yet there would be no question that John is referring to those who are truly Christian as they are called “the sons of God.” Jesus said of the “shallow-soil hearers” that for a time they are believing, but, when a trial comes their way, they fall away, or withdraw126, or become apostate.127 Using MacArthur’s definition, their falling away speaks of abandonment, separation, and defection (in each case you cannot abandon, separate or defect from something of which you have never been a part). As MacArthur tries to build his case he says: “They give the appearance of genuine life and viability.”128 However, an illusion is not the same as the real thing. Two people might live together and “appear” to be married, but if they split up, there is no divorce – they simply go their separate ways. Jesus said that they are believing, the Word of God produced life (not an appearance of life); at this point, MacArthur makes the choice to contradict the Lord. “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12). Departing is from the same Greek word that is translated as fall away in Jesus’ parable of the soils – it means to become apostate.129
Endeavoring to explain away the clear teachings of Scripture does nothing to change the reality of God’s Word – let God be true and all theologians liars. “For the time will come when they will not endure [accept] sound doctrine; but ... shall [certainly – an additional word in Greek] turn away their ears from [apostrepho – turn away, stop listening to] the truth, and shall be turned [ektrepo – turn aside] unto fables [myths (lies)]” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).130 Paul is not referring to the godless, but to Christians who, because of a lack of Biblical reproof, rebuke, and exhortation (2 Timothy 4:2), develop appetites for the smooth words and fair speeches of those who do not teach the truth (Romans 16:18). If there is anything lacking within Evangelical circles today, it has to be Biblical reproof, rebuke and exhortation; most often, they will direct such corrective actions against those who desire to live godly lives with the hope of scaring them back onto their comfortable, broad road to hell.
The conflict of the flesh and the Spirit is the very battle that the Galatians faced. “Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? [by keeping the rite of circumcision and the traditions and ordinances of Moses]” (Galatians 3:3). They had entered into the Christian life by faith and had lived under the direction of the Spirit of God (they believed and grew spiritually – Galatians 4:9); yet now they were being swayed to add Jewish traditions to their faith, supposedly to complete their salvation (they were faced with a spiritual trial). Paul makes it clear that if they believe that they are justified by the Law of Moses, then they have fallen out of the grace of God (Galatians 5:4). There can be no missing the fact that the walk of the Spirit and the walk of the flesh are contrary to each other; “the carnal mind [intents of the flesh – the mind that adds circumcision and the keeping of the traditions of Moses to faith in Christ] is enmity [hostility, hatred; the opposite of agape131] against God ...” (Romans 8:7).132
Paul now includes a statement that is reminiscent of Romans 7: “ye cannot do the things that ye would”; a more literal translation: so that whatever things you are not desiring, these you are doing.133 The English word cannot is a bit too strong in this case. This expresses the result of the conflict that is raging within: the Spirit against the flesh. As noted, this is also reflected in Romans: “For that which I do I allow [learn to know] not: for what I would [intend], that do I not; but what I hate, that do I” (Romans 7:15).134 There is an undeniable struggle raging within the one who has exercised faith in Christ; note: the Spirit of God must be present in order to give rise to this conflict. There is no denying the clash, but Paul’s exhortation to the Galatians and us, is: “stand fast ... in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free ...” (Galatians 5:1). “Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold [seize – to use strength] the traditions [transmissions – thereby signifying that what he taught was not of his own design but received from God] which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle” (2 Thessalonians 2:15). This is God’s Word to us; these are commands that we are to keep with the enablement of the Spirit of God – however, we must permit the Spirit to lead us.
18. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
Here is a statement that Evangelicals have stretched, pummeled and twisted in order to make it say what they want: “ye are not under the law.” It has been interpreted to mean that we are free to live in any way that we desire without judgment – we are no longer under God’s Law (those Ten Commandments). The favored, related text that bears the most scars from being brutally ripped out of context, is Romans 6:14 – “for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” We must permit the text of Scripture to speak for itself and not be taken in by Evangelical, wishful thinking.
First of all, we must recognize that the latter phrase of our verse is conditional on the first phrase being actively in place (led is present tense).135 Once again, Paul brings before the Galatians the real need to permit the Spirit of God to lead them. What we must not lose sight of is that this spiritual position was not unfamiliar to these people: “... having begun in the Spirit ...” (Galatians 3:3) clearly shows that these people were born-again Christians who had been walking in accordance with the Spirit of God before they faced the false doctrine of the Judaizers. They had received the Message of truth from Paul and Barnabas, they had been strengthened and exhorted in that truth (Acts 14:22), and they had received elders who were to watch over them (Acts 14:23); yet, despite all of this, they still failed to discern the error of these Jerusalem Jews. Paul is writing to these brethren (Galatians 5:13) in an effort to snatch them back from the brink of spiritual ruin, and to provide them with the spiritual insight necessary to weather this trial and emerge victoriously. The leading of the Spirit of God is not a foregone conclusion for everyone who has placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; the word if provides a conditional element to this statement.
If the leading of the Spirit of God is actively in place, then you are “not under the law.” Which law is being referred to here? Clearly the law that is central to this letter, the law that is proving to be the downfall of these Galatians who were giving heed to the teachings of the Judaizers – namely, the Law of Moses. There is such a cloud of confusion surrounding references to the Law in Scripture and, if not confusion, then a tendency to ignore what is being said because it has nothing to do with us, which is a lie from the devil. Probably the most common error, after ignoring altogether any mention to the Law, is to think that all Biblical references to the Law point to only one. To help alleviate confusion, I like to refer to the Ten Commandments as the Law of God (uniquely written by the finger of God upon tables of stone – Deuteronomy 4:13) and the statutes and ordinances given to Moses as the Law of Moses (that which was set in place for all men from Sinai to the cross of Christ – Ephesians 2:14-16). Let me briefly review my understanding of this matter. The Ten Commandments were written by the finger of God upon tables of stone, which sets them apart from the Law of Moses that was given to Moses by angels (Galatians 3:19). The permanency of the Law of God (the Ten Commandments) is underscored by several things: 1) they were written on stone (Deuteronomy 4:13), 2) they were written by the finger of God Who does not change (Exodus 31:18; Malachi 3:6), 3) they were kept within the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies (1 Kings 8:9), and 4) the Lord declared through Jeremiah that under the New Covenant, the Law of God would be written upon the heart (Jeremiah 31:31-33). The only Laws that God has written are the Ten Commandments; therefore, under the New Covenant He will write His Ten Laws upon our hearts (certainly not the Law of Moses, which was ended at the cross). The message of the Judaizers was that it “was needful to circumcise them [the new believers], and to command them to keep the law of Moses” (Acts 15:5); as we’ve just seen, the Law of Moses ended at the cross of Christ but the Law of God remains intact – therefore, these Jerusalem Jews were seeking to revive something that God had ended. This is what Paul’s Message was to all men, and it was at this point that many of the Jews were stumbling. Paul is openly declaring that if we are led by the Spirit of God, then we are not under the Law of Moses, which stands in clear contradiction to the message that the Galatians were receiving from these Jews. In the preceding text of this letter, Paul carefully laid out the basis for the error of the Judaizers, and he now makes a plain statement that contradicts these Jews but is substantiated by all that he has written up to this point.
What we cannot (and must not) construe from this verse is that we are free from the Law of God – those permanent Ten Commandments. One of the great accomplishments of Christ was “that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk ... after the Spirit” (Romans 8:4). Christ’s sacrifice not only saves us from our sins but also saves us to His righteousness! Do we live perfectly in His righteousness? The Apostle Paul openly bemoaned the fact that those things that he so desired to do weren’t there, but those things that he hated he saw in his own life (Romans 7:19). However, he also said: “Not as though I had already attained [received or obtained], either were already perfect [complete]: but I follow after [to run after], if that I may apprehend [lay hold of] that for which also I am apprehended of [by] Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12).136 We are in process; we are yet running after what Christ has for us: “I press [to run after – same Greek word translated as follow after] toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). We are still pursuing the high and holy calling of God that we have received by faith in Christ (2 Timothy 1:9); we must not fail in our pursuit of holiness – we are called to persevere (Hebrews 3:6) and to not lose hope in the face of trials and tribulations (James 1:2).
Jesus said to His disciples: “This cup is the new testament [covenant] in my blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:20).137 Jeremiah spoke of this day when he declared: “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law [completed action only done once] in their inward parts [seat of thoughts and emotions], and [continually] write it in their hearts [mind or will]; and will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jeremiah 31:31-33).138 When we place our faith in Christ, there is no escaping the Law of God. He places it where our thoughts have continual access to it, and He promised to continually write it upon our hearts where it can influence our thinking and our decisions. As we live in obedience to His commands in Scripture, we will grow in our understanding of His Word and be stronger in our walk with His Spirit. By faith in Christ, we are no longer under the condemnation of the Law of God (Romans 8:1), but we are under God’s grace, which is expressed by the presence of the Spirit of God abiding within us and enabling us to live out the righteousness of the Law of God (Romans 8:4, 26). As we walk according to the Spirit of God, we are no longer under the confines of the Law of Moses (it was forever done away with at the cross – Ephesians 2:15), but we will walk in the righteousness of the Law of God. Being freeborn in Christ, the expression of our liberty is to walk in the holiness of our calling (Galatians 5:1; 2 Timothy 1:9; Ephesians 4:24) according to the Spirit of God (Romans 8:4). Paul has made it very clear that we are not to use our liberty in Christ as a basis for fleshly living (Galatians 5:13) but as an opportunity to serve one another.
19. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Paul now launches into delineating the characteristics of the flesh and the Spirit. Lest there be any confusion in the minds of the Galatians as to what the fleshly life produces and what life in the Spirit produces, Paul draws up two lists (not meant to be exhaustive, but indicative). He begins with the evidences of the flesh.
Adultery, conjugal infidelity, generally speaks of voluntary sexual activity between a man and “a married or a betrothed woman, and such a woman was [called] an adulteress.”139 However, in Mark 10:11-12, Jesus applies the term (adultery) to both a man and a woman who marries after being divorced. What adultery represents is a violation of God’s perfect plan: “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh” (Genesis 2:24), and a breaking of the seventh commandment, “Thou shalt not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). Within the Law of Moses, adultery was dealt with by death for both parties: “And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death” (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22). When the scribes and Pharisees brought the woman whom they had caught in adultery to Jesus for judgment (John 8:3-11), they did so in violation of their own Law, which called for both the man and the woman to be brought for judgment! Clearly, they were not as concerned about purity as they were about finding fault with Jesus. Jeremiah speaks of spiritually-apostate Israel and failing Judah as being adulterous (Jeremiah 3:8-9); the key is the violation of the marriage vows by either a man or a woman (in this case Israel and Judah, being spiritually married to God, were pursuing the false gods of the nations around them). Paul describes the union of a man and a woman in marriage as a great mystery, and that it is also a picture of the relationship that Christ has with His ekklesia (His assembly of called-out ones – Ephesians 5:31-32). Adultery not only transgresses the Law of God but also damages (or may even destroy) the mystery of the marriage model – the two becoming one; the visible manifestation of Christ and His ekklesia is stained. On the spiritual plane, this would be the error into which the Galatians were falling – they had been spiritually united with the Lord, but were now being persuaded to pursue a tainted version of the Gospel (Galatians 1:7): they were following the pattern of Israel of old. Even though we might consider the perverted gospel of the Judaizers as being much more sanctified than paganism, Paul likens the failure of the Galatians to falling back into the paganism that they had left behind (Galatians 4:9); error comes in all colors and flavors but it matters not what dressing it receives – it is still error! Paul’s warning is that if they are persuaded, they will then have fallen from the grace (Galatians 5:4) – they will have turned away from God and committed spiritual adultery.
Fornication bears a much broader application than adultery and comes from the Greek word porneia. Although it may at times be used to include adultery, the word speaks more generally of any prohibited sexual activity – whether homosexuality, lesbianism, bestiality, incest or today’s more socially accepted “shacking up.” Paul warned the Corinthians against sexual sin: “What? know ye not that he which is joined [kollao; firmly joined – the Greek root word (kolla) means glue] to an harlot [porne – prostitute] is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh [the principle of Genesis 2:24].140 But he that is joined [kollao] unto the Lord is one spirit. Flee fornication [porneia]. Every sin that a man doeth is without [outside of] the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body” (1 Corinthians 6:16-18).141 In the midst of the warning against fornication, Paul inserts the spiritual parallel to marriage – the one who is “glued” to the Lord is one in Spirit with Him. Fornication (of whatever sort) strikes at the very heart of what God has intended for mankind (the mystery of marriage being an illustration of our spiritual marriage to Him) and, therefore, Paul’s command to flee from it is so appropriate.
Uncleanness speaks of impurity. Paul writes of those who would not give proper honor to God: “Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through [or by] the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between [or among] themselves ...” (Romans 1:24).142 Man is sinful (Romans 3:23); “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders ... All these evil things come from within, and defile [make common or unclean] the man” (Mark 7:21-23).143 Uncleanness is a natural product of man without God; even the good things that man might do, are nothing more than filthy rags before a holy God (Isaiah 64:6). No matter how good the deeds might be, within the natural man they flow out of an unclean heart and, therefore, are tainted by sin.
Lasciviousness literally means no restraint.144 This would be a whatever-your-heart-desires lifestyle, a life of excess in whatever catches your fancy, and a life of self-indulgence – truly a life lived to pamper the flesh. Many televangelists today would not appreciate the proper application of this word, for many live extravagantly on the money from their supporters. They feign godliness, but practice fleshliness – living examples of wolves masquerading as sheep.
Paul now includes a statement that is reminiscent of Romans 7: “ye cannot do the things that ye would”; a more literal translation: so that whatever things you are not desiring, these you are doing.133 The English word cannot is a bit too strong in this case. This expresses the result of the conflict that is raging within: the Spirit against the flesh. As noted, this is also reflected in Romans: “For that which I do I allow [learn to know] not: for what I would [intend], that do I not; but what I hate, that do I” (Romans 7:15).134 There is an undeniable struggle raging within the one who has exercised faith in Christ; note: the Spirit of God must be present in order to give rise to this conflict. There is no denying the clash, but Paul’s exhortation to the Galatians and us, is: “stand fast ... in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free ...” (Galatians 5:1). “Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold [seize – to use strength] the traditions [transmissions – thereby signifying that what he taught was not of his own design but received from God] which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle” (2 Thessalonians 2:15). This is God’s Word to us; these are commands that we are to keep with the enablement of the Spirit of God – however, we must permit the Spirit to lead us.
18. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
Here is a statement that Evangelicals have stretched, pummeled and twisted in order to make it say what they want: “ye are not under the law.” It has been interpreted to mean that we are free to live in any way that we desire without judgment – we are no longer under God’s Law (those Ten Commandments). The favored, related text that bears the most scars from being brutally ripped out of context, is Romans 6:14 – “for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” We must permit the text of Scripture to speak for itself and not be taken in by Evangelical, wishful thinking.
First of all, we must recognize that the latter phrase of our verse is conditional on the first phrase being actively in place (led is present tense).135 Once again, Paul brings before the Galatians the real need to permit the Spirit of God to lead them. What we must not lose sight of is that this spiritual position was not unfamiliar to these people: “... having begun in the Spirit ...” (Galatians 3:3) clearly shows that these people were born-again Christians who had been walking in accordance with the Spirit of God before they faced the false doctrine of the Judaizers. They had received the Message of truth from Paul and Barnabas, they had been strengthened and exhorted in that truth (Acts 14:22), and they had received elders who were to watch over them (Acts 14:23); yet, despite all of this, they still failed to discern the error of these Jerusalem Jews. Paul is writing to these brethren (Galatians 5:13) in an effort to snatch them back from the brink of spiritual ruin, and to provide them with the spiritual insight necessary to weather this trial and emerge victoriously. The leading of the Spirit of God is not a foregone conclusion for everyone who has placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; the word if provides a conditional element to this statement.
If the leading of the Spirit of God is actively in place, then you are “not under the law.” Which law is being referred to here? Clearly the law that is central to this letter, the law that is proving to be the downfall of these Galatians who were giving heed to the teachings of the Judaizers – namely, the Law of Moses. There is such a cloud of confusion surrounding references to the Law in Scripture and, if not confusion, then a tendency to ignore what is being said because it has nothing to do with us, which is a lie from the devil. Probably the most common error, after ignoring altogether any mention to the Law, is to think that all Biblical references to the Law point to only one. To help alleviate confusion, I like to refer to the Ten Commandments as the Law of God (uniquely written by the finger of God upon tables of stone – Deuteronomy 4:13) and the statutes and ordinances given to Moses as the Law of Moses (that which was set in place for all men from Sinai to the cross of Christ – Ephesians 2:14-16). Let me briefly review my understanding of this matter. The Ten Commandments were written by the finger of God upon tables of stone, which sets them apart from the Law of Moses that was given to Moses by angels (Galatians 3:19). The permanency of the Law of God (the Ten Commandments) is underscored by several things: 1) they were written on stone (Deuteronomy 4:13), 2) they were written by the finger of God Who does not change (Exodus 31:18; Malachi 3:6), 3) they were kept within the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies (1 Kings 8:9), and 4) the Lord declared through Jeremiah that under the New Covenant, the Law of God would be written upon the heart (Jeremiah 31:31-33). The only Laws that God has written are the Ten Commandments; therefore, under the New Covenant He will write His Ten Laws upon our hearts (certainly not the Law of Moses, which was ended at the cross). The message of the Judaizers was that it “was needful to circumcise them [the new believers], and to command them to keep the law of Moses” (Acts 15:5); as we’ve just seen, the Law of Moses ended at the cross of Christ but the Law of God remains intact – therefore, these Jerusalem Jews were seeking to revive something that God had ended. This is what Paul’s Message was to all men, and it was at this point that many of the Jews were stumbling. Paul is openly declaring that if we are led by the Spirit of God, then we are not under the Law of Moses, which stands in clear contradiction to the message that the Galatians were receiving from these Jews. In the preceding text of this letter, Paul carefully laid out the basis for the error of the Judaizers, and he now makes a plain statement that contradicts these Jews but is substantiated by all that he has written up to this point.
What we cannot (and must not) construe from this verse is that we are free from the Law of God – those permanent Ten Commandments. One of the great accomplishments of Christ was “that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk ... after the Spirit” (Romans 8:4). Christ’s sacrifice not only saves us from our sins but also saves us to His righteousness! Do we live perfectly in His righteousness? The Apostle Paul openly bemoaned the fact that those things that he so desired to do weren’t there, but those things that he hated he saw in his own life (Romans 7:19). However, he also said: “Not as though I had already attained [received or obtained], either were already perfect [complete]: but I follow after [to run after], if that I may apprehend [lay hold of] that for which also I am apprehended of [by] Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12).136 We are in process; we are yet running after what Christ has for us: “I press [to run after – same Greek word translated as follow after] toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). We are still pursuing the high and holy calling of God that we have received by faith in Christ (2 Timothy 1:9); we must not fail in our pursuit of holiness – we are called to persevere (Hebrews 3:6) and to not lose hope in the face of trials and tribulations (James 1:2).
Jesus said to His disciples: “This cup is the new testament [covenant] in my blood, which is shed for you” (Luke 22:20).137 Jeremiah spoke of this day when he declared: “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law [completed action only done once] in their inward parts [seat of thoughts and emotions], and [continually] write it in their hearts [mind or will]; and will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jeremiah 31:31-33).138 When we place our faith in Christ, there is no escaping the Law of God. He places it where our thoughts have continual access to it, and He promised to continually write it upon our hearts where it can influence our thinking and our decisions. As we live in obedience to His commands in Scripture, we will grow in our understanding of His Word and be stronger in our walk with His Spirit. By faith in Christ, we are no longer under the condemnation of the Law of God (Romans 8:1), but we are under God’s grace, which is expressed by the presence of the Spirit of God abiding within us and enabling us to live out the righteousness of the Law of God (Romans 8:4, 26). As we walk according to the Spirit of God, we are no longer under the confines of the Law of Moses (it was forever done away with at the cross – Ephesians 2:15), but we will walk in the righteousness of the Law of God. Being freeborn in Christ, the expression of our liberty is to walk in the holiness of our calling (Galatians 5:1; 2 Timothy 1:9; Ephesians 4:24) according to the Spirit of God (Romans 8:4). Paul has made it very clear that we are not to use our liberty in Christ as a basis for fleshly living (Galatians 5:13) but as an opportunity to serve one another.
19. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Paul now launches into delineating the characteristics of the flesh and the Spirit. Lest there be any confusion in the minds of the Galatians as to what the fleshly life produces and what life in the Spirit produces, Paul draws up two lists (not meant to be exhaustive, but indicative). He begins with the evidences of the flesh.
Adultery, conjugal infidelity, generally speaks of voluntary sexual activity between a man and “a married or a betrothed woman, and such a woman was [called] an adulteress.”139 However, in Mark 10:11-12, Jesus applies the term (adultery) to both a man and a woman who marries after being divorced. What adultery represents is a violation of God’s perfect plan: “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh” (Genesis 2:24), and a breaking of the seventh commandment, “Thou shalt not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). Within the Law of Moses, adultery was dealt with by death for both parties: “And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death” (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22). When the scribes and Pharisees brought the woman whom they had caught in adultery to Jesus for judgment (John 8:3-11), they did so in violation of their own Law, which called for both the man and the woman to be brought for judgment! Clearly, they were not as concerned about purity as they were about finding fault with Jesus. Jeremiah speaks of spiritually-apostate Israel and failing Judah as being adulterous (Jeremiah 3:8-9); the key is the violation of the marriage vows by either a man or a woman (in this case Israel and Judah, being spiritually married to God, were pursuing the false gods of the nations around them). Paul describes the union of a man and a woman in marriage as a great mystery, and that it is also a picture of the relationship that Christ has with His ekklesia (His assembly of called-out ones – Ephesians 5:31-32). Adultery not only transgresses the Law of God but also damages (or may even destroy) the mystery of the marriage model – the two becoming one; the visible manifestation of Christ and His ekklesia is stained. On the spiritual plane, this would be the error into which the Galatians were falling – they had been spiritually united with the Lord, but were now being persuaded to pursue a tainted version of the Gospel (Galatians 1:7): they were following the pattern of Israel of old. Even though we might consider the perverted gospel of the Judaizers as being much more sanctified than paganism, Paul likens the failure of the Galatians to falling back into the paganism that they had left behind (Galatians 4:9); error comes in all colors and flavors but it matters not what dressing it receives – it is still error! Paul’s warning is that if they are persuaded, they will then have fallen from the grace (Galatians 5:4) – they will have turned away from God and committed spiritual adultery.
Fornication bears a much broader application than adultery and comes from the Greek word porneia. Although it may at times be used to include adultery, the word speaks more generally of any prohibited sexual activity – whether homosexuality, lesbianism, bestiality, incest or today’s more socially accepted “shacking up.” Paul warned the Corinthians against sexual sin: “What? know ye not that he which is joined [kollao; firmly joined – the Greek root word (kolla) means glue] to an harlot [porne – prostitute] is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh [the principle of Genesis 2:24].140 But he that is joined [kollao] unto the Lord is one spirit. Flee fornication [porneia]. Every sin that a man doeth is without [outside of] the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body” (1 Corinthians 6:16-18).141 In the midst of the warning against fornication, Paul inserts the spiritual parallel to marriage – the one who is “glued” to the Lord is one in Spirit with Him. Fornication (of whatever sort) strikes at the very heart of what God has intended for mankind (the mystery of marriage being an illustration of our spiritual marriage to Him) and, therefore, Paul’s command to flee from it is so appropriate.
Uncleanness speaks of impurity. Paul writes of those who would not give proper honor to God: “Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through [or by] the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between [or among] themselves ...” (Romans 1:24).142 Man is sinful (Romans 3:23); “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders ... All these evil things come from within, and defile [make common or unclean] the man” (Mark 7:21-23).143 Uncleanness is a natural product of man without God; even the good things that man might do, are nothing more than filthy rags before a holy God (Isaiah 64:6). No matter how good the deeds might be, within the natural man they flow out of an unclean heart and, therefore, are tainted by sin.
Lasciviousness literally means no restraint.144 This would be a whatever-your-heart-desires lifestyle, a life of excess in whatever catches your fancy, and a life of self-indulgence – truly a life lived to pamper the flesh. Many televangelists today would not appreciate the proper application of this word, for many live extravagantly on the money from their supporters. They feign godliness, but practice fleshliness – living examples of wolves masquerading as sheep.
20. Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Idolatry is from a Greek word that means image worship.145 As a work of the flesh, idolatry stands in violation of the Second Commandment: “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God ...” (Exodus 20:4-5). It is noteworthy that the Catholics, who have many statues and icons, roll this commandment into the First (thou shalt have no other gods before Me), thereby seeking to de-emphasize the charge not to make any images of worship. It is interesting that this Second Commandment comes in two parts: 1) do not make any image, not of anything in the heavens above, in the earth, beneath the earth or in the waters, and 2) do not bow to them or serve them. Inasmuch as these two concepts are drawn together, it is clear that the image was made for more than simply decoration – it is crafted for spiritual purposes. The thrust of the command is: don’t make an image and don’t bow down to it (perhaps you wouldn’t commission the construction of your own image, but you might be drawn to bow down to someone else’s). Despite the best efforts of the Catholics to avoid violation of this commandment, including it in the First Commandment does not detract from its strength; their veneration of the statues of Mary and the many saints demonstrates their transgression of this command.
If we consider Catholic art, for a moment, we will recognize that it is renowned for having circles or disks behind the heads of those whom they consider to be saintly. It is so common that it hardly draws our eyes anymore. However, this is a remnant from the ancient, pagan cultures’ veneration of the sun-god that was often symbolized as a disk. Within these cultures, the sun-god was probably the most acclaimed of all of the gods, which is why the chief celebrations centered on the winter solstice – their pagan efforts to bring the sun back for another year of life. A circle or disk, sometimes with rays radiating out from it, came to represent the sun-god and, therefore, the blessing of the sun-god would rest on the one on whom it shone. Mithra (Persian), Sol, Apollo (Roman), Moloch (Canaanite), and Ra (Egyptian) are but a few of the more recognizable names of the sun-god from various civilizations.146 The Catholic monstrance that is used to display the Eucharistic wafer (said to be the body and blood of Christ) also bears the likeness of the sun-disk (namely, a circle, where the wafer is placed, with rays emanating from it). The monstrance is put on display so that people may come and worship before it; within the Catholic mind, it is Jesus Christ contained within the showcase of the monstrance, and so they claim to be worshipping the Lord. This is only one small glimpse into the idolatry within the Roman Catholic Church, which is actually replete with idolatry.
However, lest we become comfortable pointing at the failure of the Roman Catholic Church, we must remind ourselves that idolatry is defined as the “excessive admiration or love shown for somebody or something.”147 We might not commission the construction of an icon or image, and we may not worship a wafer contained in a likeness of the ancient sun-god symbol, but we might well have many things that draw our love away from God – those things are idols. Concerning the leadership of Israel, God said: “Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?” (Ezekiel 14:3). We may not have an idol on display in a shrine nor worship before an image of someone else’s creation, but we might harbor idolatry in our hearts – something that takes a higher priority than obedience to God and His Word. Herein is one of the errors of the Judaizers – within their hearts, they had made an idol out of the Jewish traditions of circumcision and the ordinances and statutes of Moses. This idol, of their own making, stood in the way of a proper understanding of what God desired of them; however, of greater concern, was their zeal to persuade others to follow them in their pattern of idolatry.
Witchcraft comes from the word pharmakeia and is most often translated as sorcerer – “one who prepares or uses magical remedies.”148 Its relationship to our modern pharmacy is evident; it is related to the preparation and administration of drugs or potions. These would not be medications, but rather would be touted as magical – and therein is the problem. The purveyors of these products would claim to be able to influence events, which, if they were successful, would come through intervention by demonic forces. It was this relationship that would have influenced the translators to select the term witchcraft; within Old English, the craft that a witch practiced was the sorceries related to the word pharmakeia. New Age holistic practices frequently fall into this category. One medicine man told me that he will “dowse [a process like water-witching] using a pendulum which allows the subconscious mind to research at the energetic level, in the energetic field that everything springs out of .... The subconscious mind can control the movement of the pendulum to give yes and no answers ....”149 What has become commonly accepted practice in our society (it is often marketed as natural medicine), could more accurately be called sorcery and/or witchcraft.
Hatred is from the Greek word echthra, and it is also used to describe the relationship of the carnal mind to God (Romans 8:7, enmity). This word is described as being the opposite of agape,150 a love that is directed by the will, not the emotions; therefore, this would be a hatred that is an act of the will. This word is used to describe the reality of the ordinances of the Law of Moses – that which Christ did away with on the cross (Ephesians 2:15-16, enmity) and is also used to describe how God views friendship with the world (James 4:4, enmity). The other Greek word translated as hate in the NT is miseo, which is based more in the realm of feelings and would be contrasted with phileo (a love that springs from the emotions).151
Variance is best described as contention, strife152 or a quarrel,153 and the Greek word from which it comes is most often translated as strife. This could very well be an expression of enmity (hatred).
Emulations is from the Greek word zelos (dzay'-los), and is zeal. Obviously, zeal can be either a good or a bad thing depending upon the situation. Since context determines its specific flavor, within this verse it would be best described as jealousy – “an envious and contentious rivalry.”154 When Paul wrote to the Corinthians that “I am jealous over you with godly jealousy ...” (2 Corinthians 11:2), he was ensuring that they understood him correctly – he was zealous for them with a godly zeal. The negative use of the word often bears the thought of anger, and would be more closely aligned with our English word jealous.
Wrath (thumos) is described as passion that finds its expression in anger that boils up quickly and soon fades away.155 This would be used of someone who has a short fuse; they blow up suddenly, and then the outburst is over (although the damage caused might well be significant and long lasting); this would be a response from aroused feelings. The other Greek word for wrath is orge, and is anger that comes from a determination of the mind, often with a view to vengeance.156 The former is a flash in the pan, while the latter is a slow, simmering anger that is prepared to bide its time. It might well be the volatile expression of anger that found itself listed here, but both are forbidden to the child of God. “Let all bitterness, and wrath (thumos), and anger (orge), and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you ...” (Ephesians 4:31); “But now ye also put off all these; anger (orge), wrath (thumos) ...” (Colossians 3:8).157
We might be reminded of Ephesians 4:26: “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.” Here we have two commands joined tightly together: be angry (orge), but don’t sin. This is closely followed by a third command – don’t let the sun set on your wrath (parorgismos – a word that focuses more on the provocation to anger than the anger itself). The Psalmist declared: “O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself” (Psalm 94:1). Here is why anger (orge) is not to be part of our lives – vengeance, often a part of the slow simmering orge is not ours, but the Lord’s. If we seek retribution, then we have placed ourselves in God’s rightful position in that situation (that’s the devil’s trick); as we relinquish the vengeance into the Lord’s hands (where it belongs), our reason for remaining angry will suddenly disappear. We may still bear the burden of being wronged, but our response will be more like the Psalmist, “O God, to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth [shew thyself]!” (Psalm 94:1).158
Strife speaks of selfishness, self-promotion, self-ambition – in general, self-absorption. In the day of the writing of the Scriptures, it was used to describe “a self-seeking pursuit of political office by unfair means.”159 There is a striking similarity between the Greek behind this word (eritheia – er-ith-i'-ah) and variance (eris – er'-is) – the key differentiation is the self-focus within eritheia (strife). Eritheia (strife) also includes the thought of intrigue,160 which incorporates the idea of manipulation and deception – there is a dishonesty that makes it unique.
Seditions (dichostasia), strictly speaking, means standing apart,161 and so division or disunity. This Greek word is used in Romans 16:17, “... mark them which cause divisions [dichostasia] and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid [literally, bend away; turn away, shun] them,”162 and the same word is also used to describe the disunity of the Corinthian ekklesia (1 Corinthians 3:3). This term applies to those who step away from others (whether through holding a different doctrine or unhealthy allegiances). This is not the separation that God calls us to exercise when it comes to those who promote error; Jesus said: “Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division [diamerismos]” (Luke 12:51).163 Jesus is speaking of a parting, or a breaking up, that will occur as you hold fast to sound doctrine, for there will be those who will not put up with such (2 Timothy 4:3); in which case, by holding firmly to the Truth you are not causing the division – others will separate from you because you are aligned with the Truth. Jesus does not work with shades of gray – things are black or white; you are either with Him or you are against Him (Luke 11:23). We are not to be seditious and stand apart from those who hold to the Truth; however, we are to part from those who do not hold to the Truth (in which case it is not being seditious but obedient). On the other hand, if someone parts from us because we hold to the truth of God’s Word, then they are being seditious – defined here as a work of the flesh.
Heresies (hairesis) flows out of the idea of choosing and, hence, an opinion – in particular, a self-willed opinion that is not in submission to the truth.164 The Greek word is often translated as sect, which is merely the product of a self-willed opinion taken to an extreme. A natural outcome of seditions (a self-willed separation from the truth) will be heresies. “But there rose up certain of the sect [same Greek word] of the Pharisees which believed [past action], saying [present action], That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses” (Acts 15:5).165 Here is the essence and root of the Judaizer’s doctrine: they had believed the Truth but were now declaring a lie. They formulated an opinion, made a wrong choice, and now they sought to impose that opinion on others. Paul stood opposed to their choice and identified them as “false brethren” (Galatians 2:4), but the rest of the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem failed to take such a stand, and so the problem spread into the region of Galatia.
21. Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Idolatry is from a Greek word that means image worship.145 As a work of the flesh, idolatry stands in violation of the Second Commandment: “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God ...” (Exodus 20:4-5). It is noteworthy that the Catholics, who have many statues and icons, roll this commandment into the First (thou shalt have no other gods before Me), thereby seeking to de-emphasize the charge not to make any images of worship. It is interesting that this Second Commandment comes in two parts: 1) do not make any image, not of anything in the heavens above, in the earth, beneath the earth or in the waters, and 2) do not bow to them or serve them. Inasmuch as these two concepts are drawn together, it is clear that the image was made for more than simply decoration – it is crafted for spiritual purposes. The thrust of the command is: don’t make an image and don’t bow down to it (perhaps you wouldn’t commission the construction of your own image, but you might be drawn to bow down to someone else’s). Despite the best efforts of the Catholics to avoid violation of this commandment, including it in the First Commandment does not detract from its strength; their veneration of the statues of Mary and the many saints demonstrates their transgression of this command.
If we consider Catholic art, for a moment, we will recognize that it is renowned for having circles or disks behind the heads of those whom they consider to be saintly. It is so common that it hardly draws our eyes anymore. However, this is a remnant from the ancient, pagan cultures’ veneration of the sun-god that was often symbolized as a disk. Within these cultures, the sun-god was probably the most acclaimed of all of the gods, which is why the chief celebrations centered on the winter solstice – their pagan efforts to bring the sun back for another year of life. A circle or disk, sometimes with rays radiating out from it, came to represent the sun-god and, therefore, the blessing of the sun-god would rest on the one on whom it shone. Mithra (Persian), Sol, Apollo (Roman), Moloch (Canaanite), and Ra (Egyptian) are but a few of the more recognizable names of the sun-god from various civilizations.146 The Catholic monstrance that is used to display the Eucharistic wafer (said to be the body and blood of Christ) also bears the likeness of the sun-disk (namely, a circle, where the wafer is placed, with rays emanating from it). The monstrance is put on display so that people may come and worship before it; within the Catholic mind, it is Jesus Christ contained within the showcase of the monstrance, and so they claim to be worshipping the Lord. This is only one small glimpse into the idolatry within the Roman Catholic Church, which is actually replete with idolatry.
However, lest we become comfortable pointing at the failure of the Roman Catholic Church, we must remind ourselves that idolatry is defined as the “excessive admiration or love shown for somebody or something.”147 We might not commission the construction of an icon or image, and we may not worship a wafer contained in a likeness of the ancient sun-god symbol, but we might well have many things that draw our love away from God – those things are idols. Concerning the leadership of Israel, God said: “Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?” (Ezekiel 14:3). We may not have an idol on display in a shrine nor worship before an image of someone else’s creation, but we might harbor idolatry in our hearts – something that takes a higher priority than obedience to God and His Word. Herein is one of the errors of the Judaizers – within their hearts, they had made an idol out of the Jewish traditions of circumcision and the ordinances and statutes of Moses. This idol, of their own making, stood in the way of a proper understanding of what God desired of them; however, of greater concern, was their zeal to persuade others to follow them in their pattern of idolatry.
Witchcraft comes from the word pharmakeia and is most often translated as sorcerer – “one who prepares or uses magical remedies.”148 Its relationship to our modern pharmacy is evident; it is related to the preparation and administration of drugs or potions. These would not be medications, but rather would be touted as magical – and therein is the problem. The purveyors of these products would claim to be able to influence events, which, if they were successful, would come through intervention by demonic forces. It was this relationship that would have influenced the translators to select the term witchcraft; within Old English, the craft that a witch practiced was the sorceries related to the word pharmakeia. New Age holistic practices frequently fall into this category. One medicine man told me that he will “dowse [a process like water-witching] using a pendulum which allows the subconscious mind to research at the energetic level, in the energetic field that everything springs out of .... The subconscious mind can control the movement of the pendulum to give yes and no answers ....”149 What has become commonly accepted practice in our society (it is often marketed as natural medicine), could more accurately be called sorcery and/or witchcraft.
Hatred is from the Greek word echthra, and it is also used to describe the relationship of the carnal mind to God (Romans 8:7, enmity). This word is described as being the opposite of agape,150 a love that is directed by the will, not the emotions; therefore, this would be a hatred that is an act of the will. This word is used to describe the reality of the ordinances of the Law of Moses – that which Christ did away with on the cross (Ephesians 2:15-16, enmity) and is also used to describe how God views friendship with the world (James 4:4, enmity). The other Greek word translated as hate in the NT is miseo, which is based more in the realm of feelings and would be contrasted with phileo (a love that springs from the emotions).151
Variance is best described as contention, strife152 or a quarrel,153 and the Greek word from which it comes is most often translated as strife. This could very well be an expression of enmity (hatred).
Emulations is from the Greek word zelos (dzay'-los), and is zeal. Obviously, zeal can be either a good or a bad thing depending upon the situation. Since context determines its specific flavor, within this verse it would be best described as jealousy – “an envious and contentious rivalry.”154 When Paul wrote to the Corinthians that “I am jealous over you with godly jealousy ...” (2 Corinthians 11:2), he was ensuring that they understood him correctly – he was zealous for them with a godly zeal. The negative use of the word often bears the thought of anger, and would be more closely aligned with our English word jealous.
Wrath (thumos) is described as passion that finds its expression in anger that boils up quickly and soon fades away.155 This would be used of someone who has a short fuse; they blow up suddenly, and then the outburst is over (although the damage caused might well be significant and long lasting); this would be a response from aroused feelings. The other Greek word for wrath is orge, and is anger that comes from a determination of the mind, often with a view to vengeance.156 The former is a flash in the pan, while the latter is a slow, simmering anger that is prepared to bide its time. It might well be the volatile expression of anger that found itself listed here, but both are forbidden to the child of God. “Let all bitterness, and wrath (thumos), and anger (orge), and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you ...” (Ephesians 4:31); “But now ye also put off all these; anger (orge), wrath (thumos) ...” (Colossians 3:8).157
We might be reminded of Ephesians 4:26: “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.” Here we have two commands joined tightly together: be angry (orge), but don’t sin. This is closely followed by a third command – don’t let the sun set on your wrath (parorgismos – a word that focuses more on the provocation to anger than the anger itself). The Psalmist declared: “O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself” (Psalm 94:1). Here is why anger (orge) is not to be part of our lives – vengeance, often a part of the slow simmering orge is not ours, but the Lord’s. If we seek retribution, then we have placed ourselves in God’s rightful position in that situation (that’s the devil’s trick); as we relinquish the vengeance into the Lord’s hands (where it belongs), our reason for remaining angry will suddenly disappear. We may still bear the burden of being wronged, but our response will be more like the Psalmist, “O God, to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth [shew thyself]!” (Psalm 94:1).158
Strife speaks of selfishness, self-promotion, self-ambition – in general, self-absorption. In the day of the writing of the Scriptures, it was used to describe “a self-seeking pursuit of political office by unfair means.”159 There is a striking similarity between the Greek behind this word (eritheia – er-ith-i'-ah) and variance (eris – er'-is) – the key differentiation is the self-focus within eritheia (strife). Eritheia (strife) also includes the thought of intrigue,160 which incorporates the idea of manipulation and deception – there is a dishonesty that makes it unique.
Seditions (dichostasia), strictly speaking, means standing apart,161 and so division or disunity. This Greek word is used in Romans 16:17, “... mark them which cause divisions [dichostasia] and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid [literally, bend away; turn away, shun] them,”162 and the same word is also used to describe the disunity of the Corinthian ekklesia (1 Corinthians 3:3). This term applies to those who step away from others (whether through holding a different doctrine or unhealthy allegiances). This is not the separation that God calls us to exercise when it comes to those who promote error; Jesus said: “Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division [diamerismos]” (Luke 12:51).163 Jesus is speaking of a parting, or a breaking up, that will occur as you hold fast to sound doctrine, for there will be those who will not put up with such (2 Timothy 4:3); in which case, by holding firmly to the Truth you are not causing the division – others will separate from you because you are aligned with the Truth. Jesus does not work with shades of gray – things are black or white; you are either with Him or you are against Him (Luke 11:23). We are not to be seditious and stand apart from those who hold to the Truth; however, we are to part from those who do not hold to the Truth (in which case it is not being seditious but obedient). On the other hand, if someone parts from us because we hold to the truth of God’s Word, then they are being seditious – defined here as a work of the flesh.
Heresies (hairesis) flows out of the idea of choosing and, hence, an opinion – in particular, a self-willed opinion that is not in submission to the truth.164 The Greek word is often translated as sect, which is merely the product of a self-willed opinion taken to an extreme. A natural outcome of seditions (a self-willed separation from the truth) will be heresies. “But there rose up certain of the sect [same Greek word] of the Pharisees which believed [past action], saying [present action], That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses” (Acts 15:5).165 Here is the essence and root of the Judaizer’s doctrine: they had believed the Truth but were now declaring a lie. They formulated an opinion, made a wrong choice, and now they sought to impose that opinion on others. Paul stood opposed to their choice and identified them as “false brethren” (Galatians 2:4), but the rest of the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem failed to take such a stand, and so the problem spread into the region of Galatia.
21. Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Envyings speaks of “the feeling of displeasure produced by witnessing or hearing of the advantage or prosperity of others,”166 or, ill will.167 Although there are strong similarities between this and the word for jealousy (emulations – using the negative context for defining zeal), there is also a significant difference. Envy desires to deprive the other person of their prosperity or advantage; jealousy simply wants the same thing for itself.168 The latter provides incentive to keep up with the Joneses; the former would rather see the Joneses lose what they have.
Murders is probably the result of one or more of the other works of the flesh. Jesus identified this within the Ten Commandments (Matthew 19:18), and Barabbas was described by this word (Mark 15:7). This does not describe the administration of justice by a court.
Drunkenness speaks of habitual intoxication,169 a lifestyle rather than a momentary failure. Paul’s warning to the Ephesians was: “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit ...” (Ephesians 5:18). The warning is to not even enter onto the pathway of intoxication (the focus being on the process more than the end), but to be filled with the Holy Spirit. What is so difficult to comprehend is that modern-day Charismatics speak of the filling of the Spirit of God in terms of being drunk. Rodney Howard-Browne of Tampa, Florida openly describes himself as a “Holy Ghost bartender” and equates the filling of the Spirit of God with behaving in a drunken manner.170 Even though Rodney may say some very sound things, we must avoid him for his excesses and failure to be obedient to the Lord in all things. We are to obey the commands of the Lord, something that we cannot do if we are out of our minds with drink or under the control of a foreign spirit.
Revellings are late night parties of food and drink to excess.
As we see, this is not an exhaustive list of the works of the flesh, but representative. The list ends with a generalized, and such like, or things like these.171 All of these flow out of a high regard for experiencing personal pleasures in the moment, with no regard for anyone else. Each stands in contravention of “love thy neighbor as thyself” (Galatians 5:14), that commandment of God that flows out of a love (agape) for God with all our heart, soul and mind (Matthew 22:37). The works of the flesh stand outside of what God desires for us; they are contrary to the walk of the Spirit – they are hostility toward God (Romans 8:7).
Paul ends with a summarizing statement, but not one that the Galatians have not heard before. In essence, he says: I am saying beforehand to you even as I have said before,172 “... they which do [continually practice – present tense] such things shall [absolutely] not inherit [become a partaker of] the kingdom of God.”173 The kingdom of God is closed to those who practice the works of the flesh; as God declared to Ezekiel: “The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver [rescue] him in the day of his transgression [rebellion] ...” (Ezekiel 33:12).174 This is the warning that Paul has for the Galatians; faith in Christ must be continuous; it is not sufficient to begin well, you must also end well (Galatians 5:7; Matthew 24:13). We read of the Judaizers: “there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed [having believed, (perfect tense) a past completed action; unlike those who are in Christ who are believing (present tense)], saying, That it was needful [necessary] to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses” (Acts 15:5).175 These Jews had believed, but as they now continued to practice that which was rebellion against the Message of God, their former righteousness held no value – because they practiced the works of the flesh, they were not partakers in the kingdom of God (they were fallen from the grace – Galatians 5:4). By keeping the traditions of Moses, they were committing spiritual adultery against the Lord; they had been spiritually one with the Lord (joined together in a spiritual marriage relationship – Ephesians 5:31-32), but had broken this covenant and were now committed to a false gospel of works (Galatians 1:7). Through an evil heart of unbelief, they had departed from the Lord (Hebrews 3:12) and turned unto empty fables (2 Timothy 4:3-4). They had fashioned to themselves idols of self-righteousness and not only worshiped them, but sought to persuade the Galatians to bow to them as well. “... having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3) – Paul recognized that the works of the flesh were active in the doctrine of the Judaizers, and also that these people were now outside of the kingdom of God (they were fallen from the grace – Galatians 5:4) and their practices are likened to paganism (Galatians 4:9); his desire was to prevent the Galatians from coming to such an end.
22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Jesus tells us that there are only two paths through life – the narrow path that leads to life eternal, and the broad way that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14). Paul has just outlined some evidences of someone who is walking the broad way to destruction, and he now looks at the life lived according to the Spirit that will exemplify the righteousness of the Law of God (Romans 8:4).
There is a significant difference between what Paul has just described and what he is about to explain. The contrast is so evident: “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:6) – what could be more opposite than death and life? Paul declares the “works of the flesh ... are” (Galatians 5:19) and then lists several evidences of these fleshly works. Notice that the works are plural; there are many works of which only a few are listed. By contrast we are about to look at the fruit (singular) of the Spirit; the list that follows is what Paul presents in trying to describe the spiritual fruit that will be ours if we walk according to the Spirit. It is not a matter of saying, “I have the fruit of gentleness, but really don’t seem to have the fruit of peace.” These are not many fruits, but one fruit that is actively presenting itself in many different ways through us (is is both singular and in the present tense). As we look at each descriptive word, we must keep in mind that these are differing aspects of the one fruit, or result, of the Spirit of God abiding within us.
Love is the Greek word agape. “And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). “Jesus said unto him [a Pharisee and a lawyer], Thou shalt love [agape] the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love [agape] thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40). Jesus came so that the righteousness of the Law of God might be made complete in us who are walking according to the Spirit of God (Romans 8:3-4). As we have already noted in our study, the love described here is the product of choice and an act of our will – it is not a feeling of our natural affinity for someone, and so it is appropriate for the Lord to command us to love Him. It is also important to recall that our agape of God is the foundation for our agape of our neighbor. Now Paul says that this agape (that we are to have for God and man) is one aspect of the fruit of the Spirit of God. We might well be commanded to make the commitment to love God and mankind, but it is through the Spirit of God abiding within us that we will be able to exemplify this untainted agape. It is as we continually walk by the Spirit of God that we will be able to show forth this agape; it is one aspect of the fruit of the Spirit, but it will be made manifest through us. As we abide in Christ and He abides in us through His Spirit (John 15:6), the agape of God will be in us and shine forth through us; it is only as we continue to abide in Him that our agape for God and mankind will be as it should (yet, mysteriously, we must will it to be so).
We read: “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth [meno – abides or remains176] in love dwelleth in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16). Jesus said: “Abide [meno] in me, and I in you. As the branch [absolutely] cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide [meno] in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide [meno] in me” (John 15:4).177 This is the intimate relationship that must exist between the individual and God in order to receive that life-giving flow that will produce the fruit of the Spirit. If that abiding no longer exists, the fruit will disappear. What is apostasy? It is turning away, or departing from, God (2 Timothy 4:4; Hebrews 3:12), thereby ending this abiding relationship.
Joy is described as a “feeling of inner happiness.”178 However, we must not forget that this is an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit (we’re not looking at personal emotions). This is not a happiness that springs from something that brings us delight, nor from events that we find pleasing – this is joy of heart that flows out of the Spirit of God being our continual Guide as we abide in Christ. It is also described as a calm delight;179 not coming from ecstatic feelings, but from a heart that is right with God. James used this word to describe what our attitude is to be in the face of trials – “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations ...” (James 1:2). The only way that this is possible is through the abiding presence of the Spirit of God.
Peace is seen as “a state of reconciliation with God,”180 and “the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ.”181 Keep in mind, this aspect of the evidence of the Spirit of God will only show itself as we continually abide in Christ. However, the same Greek word is used to describe the peace that the world may experience from time-to-time. “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3). The peace of the world does not flow out of the eternal wellspring of the Spirit of God; it is a physical tranquility (an absence of turmoil), not a product of the branch abiding in the Vine. The peace that flows from an abiding relationship with Christ will not diminish in the face of tumultuous circumstances because it is not founded upon external tranquility. “For to be carnally minded is death [a mind focused only on the externals of life]; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace [a mind joined to and remaining in the life-giving Vine]” (Romans 8:6).
Longsuffering has been described as “patience, endurance, constancy, steadfastness, perseverance”;182 or as “a state of emotional quietness in the face of unfavorable circumstances.”183 As Moses interceded for the children of Israel with God, he declared: “The LORD is longsuffering [literally, slow to anger], and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity [guilt] and transgression, and by no means clearing [acquitting] the guilty, visiting [assigning] the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation” (Numbers 14:18).184 We have here a description of the longsuffering nature of the Lord; He is slow to anger, He extends great mercy to His people and removes guilt and sin. However, He will not acquit. His justice will not permit the penalty for our sins to be acquitted; unless we turn to Him in faith for His forgiveness through the application of the blood of Jesus Christ, which His mercy graciously permits Him to do, the guilt and sin will remain – His justice must be met, there will be no acquittal. When we look back at the past 2000 years and see the steady decline that has characterized those who claim to be His people, we catch just a glimpse of the longsuffering nature of God. Although we read that God is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance,” we must not fail to read on: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night ...” (2 Peter 3:9-10). We must not presume upon God’s longsuffering nature: “behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). Here is an aspect of the very nature of God that will be shown through us by His Spirit.
The Greek word for gentleness is most often translated as goodness or kindness, and speaks of goodness of heart,185 or integrity.186 The root word of this term is found in Jesus’ words: “For my yoke is easy [manageable or good], and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:30).187 As we have seen, Paul is concerned that the Galatians are about to revert to a form of religion that will see them in bondage once again (Galatians 4:9). Paul describes the condition of all mankind: “They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good [same Greek word as gentleness], no, not one” (Romans 3:12). Gentleness is not what we are by nature (and, therefore, definitely a part of the fruit of the Spirit), but what we must become through the working of the Spirit of God.
Goodness speaks of uprightness of heart and life.188 It is said to find its expression in relationships with others through a willingness to give or share, a generosity.189 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16); this speaks of the infinite generosity (goodness) of God – He gave His Son. It is the Spirit of God Who will work this goodness into our lives. “And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness [same as the aspect of the fruit of the Spirit], filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another” (Romans 15:14). Out of this goodness will flow the ability to warn and exhort (admonish) others along the way.
Faith is a conviction of the truth of something, whether that faith is well founded depends upon its object. There are many faiths in the world today, but each one, excepting faith in Christ, will prove to be of little value in the face of eternity. Those who will fall for the delusion of the Antichrist will do so “because they received not [absolutely would not accept] the love [agape] of the truth, that they might be saved” (2 Thessalonians 2:10).190 In our world today, we are being pressured into accepting a subjective view of truth – truth is no longer considered to be an eternal absolute, but is personally defined and subject to change. Truth may not yet be considered to be fluid, but it is definitely malleable. Today, a claim of absolute truth will move even the strongest advocate of tolerance to become intolerant. Within the worldly understanding (and this is becoming increasingly common within Christianity), ten people may hold ten differing forms of truth (as it is now defined), and all must be considered to be equally acceptable. Not one of the ten is permitted to insist that their truth supersedes any of the others. When Paul writes that people will be deceived by the Antichrist because they do not love the truth, he is speaking about God’s eternal, unchangeable, and absolute Truth. Since the world has no room for such truth today, and Evangelicals are rapidly falling in with this worldly philosophy, it quickly exposes the widespread influence of the spirit of Antichrist. George Barna recently updated his statistics concerning those in America who held a Biblical worldview.191 In 2009, those in America holding a Biblical worldview was 9% – of those who claimed to be born again, it was 19%.192 Within those who claimed to be born again, only 46% believed “moral truth is absolute and unaffected by the [sic] circumstances”193 – in other words, over half of those who professed to be Christians did not hold any affection for God’s absolute truth (much less agape). “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me” (Matthew 15:8). Today there is a dwindling agape for the truth of God, even among those who claim to have placed their faith in Christ for salvation. However, the two (faith and truth) are inextricably linked; if we have faith in the wrong “truth,” then we are lost, and if we have no faith in the right truth, then we are equally lost. Barna’s survey would indicate that, today, faith in God’s absolute truth is in rapid decline. Jesus declared: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21); based upon Barna’s statistics, clearly a majority of those today who claim to call Jesus Lord are already outside of the kingdom of heaven and are poised to accept the delusions of the Antichrist spirit that is already among us (1 John 4:3). True faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is becoming increasingly rare – therefore, we must diligently heed the warnings of God’s Word to hold fast to what we have in Christ.
23. Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Meekness is translated from the Greek word praotes (prah-ot’-ace) and does not translate well into English.194 Within our society, it is often thought of as weakness and door-mattishness, but this is far from reality. Jesus described Himself as being “meek and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29). Writing of Jesus, Matthew draws on the prophecy of Zechariah: “... behold, thy King cometh unto thee: ... lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass” (Zechariah 9:9; Matthew 21:5). The eternal, omnipotent Creator of all things is described as being meek; clearly weak is not an appropriate synonym. The foundation of this word is built upon the concept of humility, thinking little of one’s self; out of this comes a mindset and behavior that permits one to receive what comes one’s way without undue reaction.195 Isaiah wrote of the meekness of the coming Messiah: “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7). Christ came for the purpose of providing salvation for mankind and, even while in agony upon the cross, His words concerning his executioners were: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). As we consider this significant basis for this characteristic, and its ultimate demonstration by Christ, we can begin to realize that it flows out of great power (how appropriate for another aspect of the fruit of the Spirit of God).
The Psalmist draws a contrast: “The LORD lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground” (Psalm 147:6), thereby showing the Lord’s favor upon the meek as opposed to the wicked. Jesus said: “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). Modern thinking would scoff at this, for leadership training largely provides people with the tools and techniques to advance their careers, and focuses on how to develop strategies that will bring success. Even though some of the better programs will provide techniques on how to build up those around you as well (grow the team), there is no emphasis placed upon humility – it is all about how to make yourself into a successful leader. However, if we recognize that it is the meek who will be lifted up by the Lord, it is not difficult to realize that the meek will inherit the new earth and live forever in the presence of God. We are reminded that meekness is another aspect of the fruit of the Spirit of God – only those indwelt by His Spirit will show forth the true meekness that will lead to inheriting the new earth.
Temperance is, very simply, self-control. Romans chapter 7 reminds us of the truly limited power of self-control that we have; another indication is the devastating addictions to which many people today are subject. Hence the grandiose efforts of the psychology community to turn these addictions (lack of self-control) into diseases (that for which we are not personally responsible) is a misguided attempt to make man appear to be more than he is.
Against characteristics as delineated here, there is absolutely no law; we all appreciate seeing these things in those with whom we deal, yet they are so frequently not a part of our own daily walk. These are nine aspects to the evidence of the Spirit of God – nine specific things that will flow from us as we walk according to the Spirit and exemplify the righteousness of the Law of God (Romans 8:4). We must do is focus on submitting to the guidance of the Spirit of God and abiding in Christ – not looking in the mirror to try to determine if these characteristics are evident. “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience [different from longsuffering; endurance] the race that is set before us, Looking [with undivided attention] unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2).196
24. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
After identifying many works of the flesh and the many aspects to the singular fruit of the Spirit of God, Paul summarizes with a statement of fact. Those, who have placed their faith in Christ, have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Earlier Paul declared: “I am crucified with Christ ...” (Galatians 2:20); he now states that whoever belongs to Christ will have crucified the flesh; there is no question – it has already been done. If you are Christ’s, then the flesh has been crucified; if your fleshly nature has not been crucified, then you do not belong to Christ: “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:8).
Murders is probably the result of one or more of the other works of the flesh. Jesus identified this within the Ten Commandments (Matthew 19:18), and Barabbas was described by this word (Mark 15:7). This does not describe the administration of justice by a court.
Drunkenness speaks of habitual intoxication,169 a lifestyle rather than a momentary failure. Paul’s warning to the Ephesians was: “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit ...” (Ephesians 5:18). The warning is to not even enter onto the pathway of intoxication (the focus being on the process more than the end), but to be filled with the Holy Spirit. What is so difficult to comprehend is that modern-day Charismatics speak of the filling of the Spirit of God in terms of being drunk. Rodney Howard-Browne of Tampa, Florida openly describes himself as a “Holy Ghost bartender” and equates the filling of the Spirit of God with behaving in a drunken manner.170 Even though Rodney may say some very sound things, we must avoid him for his excesses and failure to be obedient to the Lord in all things. We are to obey the commands of the Lord, something that we cannot do if we are out of our minds with drink or under the control of a foreign spirit.
Revellings are late night parties of food and drink to excess.
As we see, this is not an exhaustive list of the works of the flesh, but representative. The list ends with a generalized, and such like, or things like these.171 All of these flow out of a high regard for experiencing personal pleasures in the moment, with no regard for anyone else. Each stands in contravention of “love thy neighbor as thyself” (Galatians 5:14), that commandment of God that flows out of a love (agape) for God with all our heart, soul and mind (Matthew 22:37). The works of the flesh stand outside of what God desires for us; they are contrary to the walk of the Spirit – they are hostility toward God (Romans 8:7).
Paul ends with a summarizing statement, but not one that the Galatians have not heard before. In essence, he says: I am saying beforehand to you even as I have said before,172 “... they which do [continually practice – present tense] such things shall [absolutely] not inherit [become a partaker of] the kingdom of God.”173 The kingdom of God is closed to those who practice the works of the flesh; as God declared to Ezekiel: “The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver [rescue] him in the day of his transgression [rebellion] ...” (Ezekiel 33:12).174 This is the warning that Paul has for the Galatians; faith in Christ must be continuous; it is not sufficient to begin well, you must also end well (Galatians 5:7; Matthew 24:13). We read of the Judaizers: “there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed [having believed, (perfect tense) a past completed action; unlike those who are in Christ who are believing (present tense)], saying, That it was needful [necessary] to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses” (Acts 15:5).175 These Jews had believed, but as they now continued to practice that which was rebellion against the Message of God, their former righteousness held no value – because they practiced the works of the flesh, they were not partakers in the kingdom of God (they were fallen from the grace – Galatians 5:4). By keeping the traditions of Moses, they were committing spiritual adultery against the Lord; they had been spiritually one with the Lord (joined together in a spiritual marriage relationship – Ephesians 5:31-32), but had broken this covenant and were now committed to a false gospel of works (Galatians 1:7). Through an evil heart of unbelief, they had departed from the Lord (Hebrews 3:12) and turned unto empty fables (2 Timothy 4:3-4). They had fashioned to themselves idols of self-righteousness and not only worshiped them, but sought to persuade the Galatians to bow to them as well. “... having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:3) – Paul recognized that the works of the flesh were active in the doctrine of the Judaizers, and also that these people were now outside of the kingdom of God (they were fallen from the grace – Galatians 5:4) and their practices are likened to paganism (Galatians 4:9); his desire was to prevent the Galatians from coming to such an end.
22. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Jesus tells us that there are only two paths through life – the narrow path that leads to life eternal, and the broad way that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14). Paul has just outlined some evidences of someone who is walking the broad way to destruction, and he now looks at the life lived according to the Spirit that will exemplify the righteousness of the Law of God (Romans 8:4).
There is a significant difference between what Paul has just described and what he is about to explain. The contrast is so evident: “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:6) – what could be more opposite than death and life? Paul declares the “works of the flesh ... are” (Galatians 5:19) and then lists several evidences of these fleshly works. Notice that the works are plural; there are many works of which only a few are listed. By contrast we are about to look at the fruit (singular) of the Spirit; the list that follows is what Paul presents in trying to describe the spiritual fruit that will be ours if we walk according to the Spirit. It is not a matter of saying, “I have the fruit of gentleness, but really don’t seem to have the fruit of peace.” These are not many fruits, but one fruit that is actively presenting itself in many different ways through us (is is both singular and in the present tense). As we look at each descriptive word, we must keep in mind that these are differing aspects of the one fruit, or result, of the Spirit of God abiding within us.
Love is the Greek word agape. “And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). “Jesus said unto him [a Pharisee and a lawyer], Thou shalt love [agape] the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love [agape] thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40). Jesus came so that the righteousness of the Law of God might be made complete in us who are walking according to the Spirit of God (Romans 8:3-4). As we have already noted in our study, the love described here is the product of choice and an act of our will – it is not a feeling of our natural affinity for someone, and so it is appropriate for the Lord to command us to love Him. It is also important to recall that our agape of God is the foundation for our agape of our neighbor. Now Paul says that this agape (that we are to have for God and man) is one aspect of the fruit of the Spirit of God. We might well be commanded to make the commitment to love God and mankind, but it is through the Spirit of God abiding within us that we will be able to exemplify this untainted agape. It is as we continually walk by the Spirit of God that we will be able to show forth this agape; it is one aspect of the fruit of the Spirit, but it will be made manifest through us. As we abide in Christ and He abides in us through His Spirit (John 15:6), the agape of God will be in us and shine forth through us; it is only as we continue to abide in Him that our agape for God and mankind will be as it should (yet, mysteriously, we must will it to be so).
We read: “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth [meno – abides or remains176] in love dwelleth in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16). Jesus said: “Abide [meno] in me, and I in you. As the branch [absolutely] cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide [meno] in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide [meno] in me” (John 15:4).177 This is the intimate relationship that must exist between the individual and God in order to receive that life-giving flow that will produce the fruit of the Spirit. If that abiding no longer exists, the fruit will disappear. What is apostasy? It is turning away, or departing from, God (2 Timothy 4:4; Hebrews 3:12), thereby ending this abiding relationship.
Joy is described as a “feeling of inner happiness.”178 However, we must not forget that this is an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit (we’re not looking at personal emotions). This is not a happiness that springs from something that brings us delight, nor from events that we find pleasing – this is joy of heart that flows out of the Spirit of God being our continual Guide as we abide in Christ. It is also described as a calm delight;179 not coming from ecstatic feelings, but from a heart that is right with God. James used this word to describe what our attitude is to be in the face of trials – “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations ...” (James 1:2). The only way that this is possible is through the abiding presence of the Spirit of God.
Peace is seen as “a state of reconciliation with God,”180 and “the tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ.”181 Keep in mind, this aspect of the evidence of the Spirit of God will only show itself as we continually abide in Christ. However, the same Greek word is used to describe the peace that the world may experience from time-to-time. “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3). The peace of the world does not flow out of the eternal wellspring of the Spirit of God; it is a physical tranquility (an absence of turmoil), not a product of the branch abiding in the Vine. The peace that flows from an abiding relationship with Christ will not diminish in the face of tumultuous circumstances because it is not founded upon external tranquility. “For to be carnally minded is death [a mind focused only on the externals of life]; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace [a mind joined to and remaining in the life-giving Vine]” (Romans 8:6).
Longsuffering has been described as “patience, endurance, constancy, steadfastness, perseverance”;182 or as “a state of emotional quietness in the face of unfavorable circumstances.”183 As Moses interceded for the children of Israel with God, he declared: “The LORD is longsuffering [literally, slow to anger], and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity [guilt] and transgression, and by no means clearing [acquitting] the guilty, visiting [assigning] the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation” (Numbers 14:18).184 We have here a description of the longsuffering nature of the Lord; He is slow to anger, He extends great mercy to His people and removes guilt and sin. However, He will not acquit. His justice will not permit the penalty for our sins to be acquitted; unless we turn to Him in faith for His forgiveness through the application of the blood of Jesus Christ, which His mercy graciously permits Him to do, the guilt and sin will remain – His justice must be met, there will be no acquittal. When we look back at the past 2000 years and see the steady decline that has characterized those who claim to be His people, we catch just a glimpse of the longsuffering nature of God. Although we read that God is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance,” we must not fail to read on: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night ...” (2 Peter 3:9-10). We must not presume upon God’s longsuffering nature: “behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). Here is an aspect of the very nature of God that will be shown through us by His Spirit.
The Greek word for gentleness is most often translated as goodness or kindness, and speaks of goodness of heart,185 or integrity.186 The root word of this term is found in Jesus’ words: “For my yoke is easy [manageable or good], and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:30).187 As we have seen, Paul is concerned that the Galatians are about to revert to a form of religion that will see them in bondage once again (Galatians 4:9). Paul describes the condition of all mankind: “They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good [same Greek word as gentleness], no, not one” (Romans 3:12). Gentleness is not what we are by nature (and, therefore, definitely a part of the fruit of the Spirit), but what we must become through the working of the Spirit of God.
Goodness speaks of uprightness of heart and life.188 It is said to find its expression in relationships with others through a willingness to give or share, a generosity.189 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16); this speaks of the infinite generosity (goodness) of God – He gave His Son. It is the Spirit of God Who will work this goodness into our lives. “And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness [same as the aspect of the fruit of the Spirit], filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another” (Romans 15:14). Out of this goodness will flow the ability to warn and exhort (admonish) others along the way.
Faith is a conviction of the truth of something, whether that faith is well founded depends upon its object. There are many faiths in the world today, but each one, excepting faith in Christ, will prove to be of little value in the face of eternity. Those who will fall for the delusion of the Antichrist will do so “because they received not [absolutely would not accept] the love [agape] of the truth, that they might be saved” (2 Thessalonians 2:10).190 In our world today, we are being pressured into accepting a subjective view of truth – truth is no longer considered to be an eternal absolute, but is personally defined and subject to change. Truth may not yet be considered to be fluid, but it is definitely malleable. Today, a claim of absolute truth will move even the strongest advocate of tolerance to become intolerant. Within the worldly understanding (and this is becoming increasingly common within Christianity), ten people may hold ten differing forms of truth (as it is now defined), and all must be considered to be equally acceptable. Not one of the ten is permitted to insist that their truth supersedes any of the others. When Paul writes that people will be deceived by the Antichrist because they do not love the truth, he is speaking about God’s eternal, unchangeable, and absolute Truth. Since the world has no room for such truth today, and Evangelicals are rapidly falling in with this worldly philosophy, it quickly exposes the widespread influence of the spirit of Antichrist. George Barna recently updated his statistics concerning those in America who held a Biblical worldview.191 In 2009, those in America holding a Biblical worldview was 9% – of those who claimed to be born again, it was 19%.192 Within those who claimed to be born again, only 46% believed “moral truth is absolute and unaffected by the [sic] circumstances”193 – in other words, over half of those who professed to be Christians did not hold any affection for God’s absolute truth (much less agape). “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me” (Matthew 15:8). Today there is a dwindling agape for the truth of God, even among those who claim to have placed their faith in Christ for salvation. However, the two (faith and truth) are inextricably linked; if we have faith in the wrong “truth,” then we are lost, and if we have no faith in the right truth, then we are equally lost. Barna’s survey would indicate that, today, faith in God’s absolute truth is in rapid decline. Jesus declared: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21); based upon Barna’s statistics, clearly a majority of those today who claim to call Jesus Lord are already outside of the kingdom of heaven and are poised to accept the delusions of the Antichrist spirit that is already among us (1 John 4:3). True faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is becoming increasingly rare – therefore, we must diligently heed the warnings of God’s Word to hold fast to what we have in Christ.
23. Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
Meekness is translated from the Greek word praotes (prah-ot’-ace) and does not translate well into English.194 Within our society, it is often thought of as weakness and door-mattishness, but this is far from reality. Jesus described Himself as being “meek and lowly in heart” (Matthew 11:29). Writing of Jesus, Matthew draws on the prophecy of Zechariah: “... behold, thy King cometh unto thee: ... lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass” (Zechariah 9:9; Matthew 21:5). The eternal, omnipotent Creator of all things is described as being meek; clearly weak is not an appropriate synonym. The foundation of this word is built upon the concept of humility, thinking little of one’s self; out of this comes a mindset and behavior that permits one to receive what comes one’s way without undue reaction.195 Isaiah wrote of the meekness of the coming Messiah: “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7). Christ came for the purpose of providing salvation for mankind and, even while in agony upon the cross, His words concerning his executioners were: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). As we consider this significant basis for this characteristic, and its ultimate demonstration by Christ, we can begin to realize that it flows out of great power (how appropriate for another aspect of the fruit of the Spirit of God).
The Psalmist draws a contrast: “The LORD lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground” (Psalm 147:6), thereby showing the Lord’s favor upon the meek as opposed to the wicked. Jesus said: “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). Modern thinking would scoff at this, for leadership training largely provides people with the tools and techniques to advance their careers, and focuses on how to develop strategies that will bring success. Even though some of the better programs will provide techniques on how to build up those around you as well (grow the team), there is no emphasis placed upon humility – it is all about how to make yourself into a successful leader. However, if we recognize that it is the meek who will be lifted up by the Lord, it is not difficult to realize that the meek will inherit the new earth and live forever in the presence of God. We are reminded that meekness is another aspect of the fruit of the Spirit of God – only those indwelt by His Spirit will show forth the true meekness that will lead to inheriting the new earth.
Temperance is, very simply, self-control. Romans chapter 7 reminds us of the truly limited power of self-control that we have; another indication is the devastating addictions to which many people today are subject. Hence the grandiose efforts of the psychology community to turn these addictions (lack of self-control) into diseases (that for which we are not personally responsible) is a misguided attempt to make man appear to be more than he is.
Against characteristics as delineated here, there is absolutely no law; we all appreciate seeing these things in those with whom we deal, yet they are so frequently not a part of our own daily walk. These are nine aspects to the evidence of the Spirit of God – nine specific things that will flow from us as we walk according to the Spirit and exemplify the righteousness of the Law of God (Romans 8:4). We must do is focus on submitting to the guidance of the Spirit of God and abiding in Christ – not looking in the mirror to try to determine if these characteristics are evident. “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience [different from longsuffering; endurance] the race that is set before us, Looking [with undivided attention] unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2).196
24. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
After identifying many works of the flesh and the many aspects to the singular fruit of the Spirit of God, Paul summarizes with a statement of fact. Those, who have placed their faith in Christ, have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Earlier Paul declared: “I am crucified with Christ ...” (Galatians 2:20); he now states that whoever belongs to Christ will have crucified the flesh; there is no question – it has already been done. If you are Christ’s, then the flesh has been crucified; if your fleshly nature has not been crucified, then you do not belong to Christ: “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:8).
“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny [a strengthened or intensified word meaning to deny utterly] himself, and take up [to lift up] his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).197 This runs contrary to the modern philosophy of learning to love yourself, and once you have accomplished that, then you are ready to move on with life. For example, there is a website called “Love Yourself Coaching” where the author boldly declares: “You are Fantastic Just the Way You Are!”198 The credentials of Helen Burton are meant to be impressive: “I am a Certified Empowerment Coach (CEC) and graduate of the Institute of Professional Empowerment Coaching (iPEC).”199 Her alma mater (iPEC) states that their “methodology is based on the scientific application of energy and consciousness ... we built upon the very best of other paradigms, such as consulting, psychotherapy, hypnotherapy, Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), mentoring, quantum physics, metaphysics, adult and accelerated learning theories, emotional intelligence, and leadership development.”200 Incredibly, the word scientific is tossed around today with little regard as to how it is being applied. They refer to the “scientific application of ... consciousness” – that is a contradiction of terms. Consciousness is an abstract term that does not permit examination or experimentation with replication; yet the term scientific is used to provide an element of credibility for something that is completely subjective and metaphysical (abstract). The “other paradigms” from which they draw, expose just how unscientific this whole empowerment coaching really is. This pattern of thinking is not unique in the world today – as a matter of fact, it is very common, particularly among those who view themselves as being somewhat enlightened (i.e., having a higher opinion of themselves than they ought).
By contrast, Jesus says that if anyone has a desire to come behind Him (to follow after Him), then there are three things that that person must do (Matthew 16:24), and these three things are progressive, i.e., they must be done in the order in which Jesus gave them – they are not random. First on this list is the utter denial of one’s self. Before we can do anything in our walk with the Lord, we must shift our focus away from ourselves. Psychotherapists and empowerment coaches seek to do the opposite – they turn the focus inward; they say that we must learn to love ourselves and build up our self-esteem. The late Robert Schuller (held by many as being a good Evangelical) embraced this lie of the devil – he declared sin to be “any act or thought that robs myself [sic] or another human being of his or her self-esteem.”201 What is clearly evident is that you cannot hold to Schuller’s concept of sin and follow the Lord – the two are mutually exclusive. Rather than protect and build ourselves up so as to think more highly of ourselves than we ought, we are to “lose sight of one’s self and one’s own interests” (deny).202 The modern philosophy (of which Schuller was a participant) would have us focus inwardly in order to discover the good within (often spelled: god); the eternal Word of God would have us look “unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith ...” (Hebrews 12:2). The inward focus is self-defeating: “for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), and “there is none righteous, no not one” (Romans 3:10; Psalm 14:2-3). Anything that we find within will be shot-through with sin, for we are sinners, not because of what we do, but because of who we are. Jesus said: “Abide [a command] in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear [present tense] fruit of itself, except [unless] it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except [unless] ye abide in me” (John 15:4).203 It is through denying ourselves that we can turn our undivided attention to the Lord and abide in Him, and then learn to agape our neighbor (Galatians 5:14).
Jesus then calls us to take up our cross – “be prepared to suffer to the point of death.”204 The cross was an instrument of death, and so we read: “our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed [the same Greek word as used in Ephesians 2:15 and translated abolish], that henceforth we should not serve sin” (Romans 6:6). As we lift up our cross, it is with full recognition that through the work of Christ upon the cross our sinful nature might be destroyed, abolished, and rendered inactive.205 We are told to “put off ... the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And ... put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24). As we raise our cross (we must count the cost; see Luke 14:25-33; Romans 8:17; Philippians 1:29; 2 Timothy 3:12; 1 Peter 3:14), it is a reminder to us that our old sin-nature has been crucified with Christ (Who bore the cross for our sins) – a sin-nature that we are still carrying with us and must account as being dead so that we might serve Christ in newness of life through His Spirit (Romans 6:11).
Jesus said: “For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household … And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:35-38). His message is simply that if you are worthy to follow Him, then tribulation will find you, and it will come from within your own family – that is a part of the cross that He calls us to bear. Jesus also made it very clear that we must have Him as our highest priority: “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26-27). Notice again, only making all of our family relationships and our own life less important than God, makes us worthy to be His disciple – whoever does not bear this cross cannot be His disciple. We are called upon to carefully count the cost of following Him before we make that commitment – this is something that is virtually unheard of in today’s sermons, yet it is so important to understand the cross that we are called upon to bear if we would follow the Lord.
Finally, after denying ourselves and bearing our cross, Jesus says, “... follow me.” All three of these are commands: the first two are actions taken with abiding results (we have denied ourselves and taken up our cross), the last is a continuous action – unless the first two commands have been obeyed (with an enduring result), the last command (demanding a continuous action) will not happen.206 This means that unless we have denied ourselves (changed our focus) and have taken up our cross, not simply as a past action but one that continues to impact our present living, we will not be following the Lord. It is not enough to say, “On June 23, 1963 I accepted from Scripture that I must deny myself in order to follow the Lord.” Unless that understanding bears fruit in the present (a presently continuous denial of self), it is of no value. This is the hollow ring of Evangelical salvation: “believe and pray this prayer, and you are set for eternity, then go and live as you please”; Evangelicals might not be this forthright, but their lack of concern for how they now live says the same thing. What is evident in the Greek can be so easily missed in our English translation; Jesus’ words “deny himself, and take up his cross” describe specific actions to be taken, but ones that must bear a continuous effect. The word crucified in our verse (Galatians 5:24) bears the same tense – we have crucified the flesh at a point in time, but out of that flows a perpetual result. If we belong to Christ, then we will have crucified the flesh with the abiding consequence that it remains crucified, and that we walk according to the Spirit of God (Romans 6:11; 8:4).
25. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Walk, as it is used here, differs from that in verse 16 where it referred to all things that make up our lives; in other words, in everything that we do in life, we are to do it all in the Spirit; we are to walk in the Spirit. The Greek word for walk, as used here, carries the more military concept of marching in a row, with a particular emphasis on being under the specific guidance of the Spirit of God. This Greek word (stoicheo) is found only five times in the NT, and it demands a walk that is in conformity to very specific restrictions (in this context, the Spirit).207 What may be permissible under the less restrictive term (peripateo) will not be permitted here; in much the same way, a tourist might well explore an area (peripateo), whereas a military man on a march through the same area is required to march in rank (stoicheo), and to fail to do so would result in discipline.
“Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk [stoicheo] by the same rule, let us mind the same thing” (Philippians 3:16). Here Paul is challenging the Philippians to walk in military fashion according to the principle of living that he has just outlined – namely, forget what is behind and run after the high calling of God. This is not referring to a general way of living, but to a very specific, focused living in accordance with the guiding principle that Paul has laid out.
The word walk in our verse is present tense and in the subjunctive mood. The reality that is presented here is that if we live in the Spirit, we may or may not walk in keeping with the Spirit; however, even though we may choose to walk according to the Spirit or not, we do not get to choose the consequences of our decision. What Paul has written up to this point, supports this position: the Galatians had begun well with the Spirit (Galatians 3:3; 5:7), but they were being enticed by the Judaizers to cast all of this aside for a perverted gospel (Galatians 1:7) that would lead them into a form of paganism (Galatians 4:9). “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12). The correlation is this: the departing that is warned against is in the active voice; it would be the brethren who would be departing from the living God. The subjunctive mood of the word walk as used in Galatians 5:25 says that the individual could well decide to step out of rank with the Spirit of God and go their own way – even as the Judaizers began well. “There rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying ...” (Acts 15:5). Note that these Judaizers believed (perfect tense – it happened in the past, once), but now they are saying (present tense), and it goes on to outline the error that they were propagating (what they were saying now stands in contradiction to what they had believed in the past). Ezekiel understood this reality well: “When the righteous turneth [apostasy208] from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby” (Ezekiel 33:18). As Paul seeks to open the understanding of the Galatians, his charge is to walk carefully in line with the Spirit of God. The reality is that Jesus said that the way to life is narrow (Matthew 7:14) – there is no room for cavorting wherever we like, we must be alert to abiding in Christ and walking through life according to the leading of His Spirit.
26. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
The phrase desirous of vain glory is one word in Greek – kenodoxos, which literally means eager for empty glory, or conceited.209 The admonition is not to become high-minded, or lofty, in our opinion of ourselves so that we would seek or revel in the glory that is heaped upon us by mankind – “being proud without any good reason for it.”210 The work of the flesh, identified as strife (Galatians 5:20), included the idea of self-absorption that would lead to a false sense of personal aggrandizement, even so this empty glory is founded upon the sand of fleshly works. We need the mindset of John the Baptist: “He [Jesus] must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:20). We must remind ourselves that we have all “sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23); who we are before God should prevent us from falling into the pit of self-glorification.
Provoking means to call forth, particularly to a contest or challenge, to irritate211 with the thought “to stir up what is evil in another.”212 This is the first of two examples of how this conceit, or lust for empty accolades, can spring forth. The sense of this word is that it comes from a feeling of superiority. Someone who puts a challenge forward generally does so through a sense of personal confidence, and its reception is most often like sandpaper on a rash – irritating to say the least. “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory [kenodoxia]; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves” (Philippians 2:3). Within the child of God, there is to be no place for an inflated self-esteem (despite the teachings of Robert Schuller), particularly in light of what has just been presented regarding the fruit of the Spirit of God.
Envying is a verb form of the word used in verse 21 to describe another of the works of the flesh. You will recall that this word speaks of a sense of displeasure at hearing of the prosperity of others; this is the work that desires to see others lose what they have because you can’t have it. A king-of-the-pile mentality will maintain their lofty stance by putting others down; an exaggerated self-confidence will hold little regard for others, except where they serve to bolster the ego.
Paul has detailed the works of the flesh and sketched the wonder of the fruit of the Spirit; he has declared the flesh to be crucified (if we belong to Christ), has challenged us to walk in that narrowly-defined pathway of the Spirit of God, and he now concludes that we are to be on the alert against self-glorifying vanity. Do we see another perspective of the Judaizers in this summarizing statement? They were failing to walk that narrowly defined way with the Spirit of God, and it seems that they set themselves up as being superior to the Galatians. They were Jews, after all, of the persuasion of the Pharisees who had come to faith in Christ, but, in their far greater understanding of the Jewish ways, they moved on to invoke the necessity of keeping the Mosaic Law (Acts 15:5). They came into the midst of the Galatian believers and, in their feigned superiority, challenged the faith of these converts to the true Gospel of Jesus Christ – they provoked them. Could it be that they also envied them? Did a part of their hearts recognize the liberty that these Galatians had in Christ, and then seek to destroy it? These Judaizers clearly had lost their liberty in Christ, for they were once again bearing the yoke of Mosaic bondage (Galatians 5:1), which Paul likens to paganism (Galatians 4:9). Since they no longer had such freedom in Christ, were they now intent on sharing their bondage with others (Romans 1:32)? This would be in keeping with the Pharisaical traditions as Jesus uncovered them: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves” (Matthew 23:15). This is an apt description of the work of these Judaizers – they sought to impose their theology upon the Galatian Christians, which would have resulted in the Galatians falling from the grace (Galatians 5:4) and being brought into bondage again (Galatians 4:9; 5:1). “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free ...” (Galatians 5:1)!
By contrast, Jesus says that if anyone has a desire to come behind Him (to follow after Him), then there are three things that that person must do (Matthew 16:24), and these three things are progressive, i.e., they must be done in the order in which Jesus gave them – they are not random. First on this list is the utter denial of one’s self. Before we can do anything in our walk with the Lord, we must shift our focus away from ourselves. Psychotherapists and empowerment coaches seek to do the opposite – they turn the focus inward; they say that we must learn to love ourselves and build up our self-esteem. The late Robert Schuller (held by many as being a good Evangelical) embraced this lie of the devil – he declared sin to be “any act or thought that robs myself [sic] or another human being of his or her self-esteem.”201 What is clearly evident is that you cannot hold to Schuller’s concept of sin and follow the Lord – the two are mutually exclusive. Rather than protect and build ourselves up so as to think more highly of ourselves than we ought, we are to “lose sight of one’s self and one’s own interests” (deny).202 The modern philosophy (of which Schuller was a participant) would have us focus inwardly in order to discover the good within (often spelled: god); the eternal Word of God would have us look “unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith ...” (Hebrews 12:2). The inward focus is self-defeating: “for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), and “there is none righteous, no not one” (Romans 3:10; Psalm 14:2-3). Anything that we find within will be shot-through with sin, for we are sinners, not because of what we do, but because of who we are. Jesus said: “Abide [a command] in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear [present tense] fruit of itself, except [unless] it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except [unless] ye abide in me” (John 15:4).203 It is through denying ourselves that we can turn our undivided attention to the Lord and abide in Him, and then learn to agape our neighbor (Galatians 5:14).
Jesus then calls us to take up our cross – “be prepared to suffer to the point of death.”204 The cross was an instrument of death, and so we read: “our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed [the same Greek word as used in Ephesians 2:15 and translated abolish], that henceforth we should not serve sin” (Romans 6:6). As we lift up our cross, it is with full recognition that through the work of Christ upon the cross our sinful nature might be destroyed, abolished, and rendered inactive.205 We are told to “put off ... the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And ... put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24). As we raise our cross (we must count the cost; see Luke 14:25-33; Romans 8:17; Philippians 1:29; 2 Timothy 3:12; 1 Peter 3:14), it is a reminder to us that our old sin-nature has been crucified with Christ (Who bore the cross for our sins) – a sin-nature that we are still carrying with us and must account as being dead so that we might serve Christ in newness of life through His Spirit (Romans 6:11).
Jesus said: “For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household … And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:35-38). His message is simply that if you are worthy to follow Him, then tribulation will find you, and it will come from within your own family – that is a part of the cross that He calls us to bear. Jesus also made it very clear that we must have Him as our highest priority: “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26-27). Notice again, only making all of our family relationships and our own life less important than God, makes us worthy to be His disciple – whoever does not bear this cross cannot be His disciple. We are called upon to carefully count the cost of following Him before we make that commitment – this is something that is virtually unheard of in today’s sermons, yet it is so important to understand the cross that we are called upon to bear if we would follow the Lord.
Finally, after denying ourselves and bearing our cross, Jesus says, “... follow me.” All three of these are commands: the first two are actions taken with abiding results (we have denied ourselves and taken up our cross), the last is a continuous action – unless the first two commands have been obeyed (with an enduring result), the last command (demanding a continuous action) will not happen.206 This means that unless we have denied ourselves (changed our focus) and have taken up our cross, not simply as a past action but one that continues to impact our present living, we will not be following the Lord. It is not enough to say, “On June 23, 1963 I accepted from Scripture that I must deny myself in order to follow the Lord.” Unless that understanding bears fruit in the present (a presently continuous denial of self), it is of no value. This is the hollow ring of Evangelical salvation: “believe and pray this prayer, and you are set for eternity, then go and live as you please”; Evangelicals might not be this forthright, but their lack of concern for how they now live says the same thing. What is evident in the Greek can be so easily missed in our English translation; Jesus’ words “deny himself, and take up his cross” describe specific actions to be taken, but ones that must bear a continuous effect. The word crucified in our verse (Galatians 5:24) bears the same tense – we have crucified the flesh at a point in time, but out of that flows a perpetual result. If we belong to Christ, then we will have crucified the flesh with the abiding consequence that it remains crucified, and that we walk according to the Spirit of God (Romans 6:11; 8:4).
25. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Walk, as it is used here, differs from that in verse 16 where it referred to all things that make up our lives; in other words, in everything that we do in life, we are to do it all in the Spirit; we are to walk in the Spirit. The Greek word for walk, as used here, carries the more military concept of marching in a row, with a particular emphasis on being under the specific guidance of the Spirit of God. This Greek word (stoicheo) is found only five times in the NT, and it demands a walk that is in conformity to very specific restrictions (in this context, the Spirit).207 What may be permissible under the less restrictive term (peripateo) will not be permitted here; in much the same way, a tourist might well explore an area (peripateo), whereas a military man on a march through the same area is required to march in rank (stoicheo), and to fail to do so would result in discipline.
“Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk [stoicheo] by the same rule, let us mind the same thing” (Philippians 3:16). Here Paul is challenging the Philippians to walk in military fashion according to the principle of living that he has just outlined – namely, forget what is behind and run after the high calling of God. This is not referring to a general way of living, but to a very specific, focused living in accordance with the guiding principle that Paul has laid out.
The word walk in our verse is present tense and in the subjunctive mood. The reality that is presented here is that if we live in the Spirit, we may or may not walk in keeping with the Spirit; however, even though we may choose to walk according to the Spirit or not, we do not get to choose the consequences of our decision. What Paul has written up to this point, supports this position: the Galatians had begun well with the Spirit (Galatians 3:3; 5:7), but they were being enticed by the Judaizers to cast all of this aside for a perverted gospel (Galatians 1:7) that would lead them into a form of paganism (Galatians 4:9). “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12). The correlation is this: the departing that is warned against is in the active voice; it would be the brethren who would be departing from the living God. The subjunctive mood of the word walk as used in Galatians 5:25 says that the individual could well decide to step out of rank with the Spirit of God and go their own way – even as the Judaizers began well. “There rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying ...” (Acts 15:5). Note that these Judaizers believed (perfect tense – it happened in the past, once), but now they are saying (present tense), and it goes on to outline the error that they were propagating (what they were saying now stands in contradiction to what they had believed in the past). Ezekiel understood this reality well: “When the righteous turneth [apostasy208] from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby” (Ezekiel 33:18). As Paul seeks to open the understanding of the Galatians, his charge is to walk carefully in line with the Spirit of God. The reality is that Jesus said that the way to life is narrow (Matthew 7:14) – there is no room for cavorting wherever we like, we must be alert to abiding in Christ and walking through life according to the leading of His Spirit.
26. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
The phrase desirous of vain glory is one word in Greek – kenodoxos, which literally means eager for empty glory, or conceited.209 The admonition is not to become high-minded, or lofty, in our opinion of ourselves so that we would seek or revel in the glory that is heaped upon us by mankind – “being proud without any good reason for it.”210 The work of the flesh, identified as strife (Galatians 5:20), included the idea of self-absorption that would lead to a false sense of personal aggrandizement, even so this empty glory is founded upon the sand of fleshly works. We need the mindset of John the Baptist: “He [Jesus] must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:20). We must remind ourselves that we have all “sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23); who we are before God should prevent us from falling into the pit of self-glorification.
Provoking means to call forth, particularly to a contest or challenge, to irritate211 with the thought “to stir up what is evil in another.”212 This is the first of two examples of how this conceit, or lust for empty accolades, can spring forth. The sense of this word is that it comes from a feeling of superiority. Someone who puts a challenge forward generally does so through a sense of personal confidence, and its reception is most often like sandpaper on a rash – irritating to say the least. “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory [kenodoxia]; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves” (Philippians 2:3). Within the child of God, there is to be no place for an inflated self-esteem (despite the teachings of Robert Schuller), particularly in light of what has just been presented regarding the fruit of the Spirit of God.
Envying is a verb form of the word used in verse 21 to describe another of the works of the flesh. You will recall that this word speaks of a sense of displeasure at hearing of the prosperity of others; this is the work that desires to see others lose what they have because you can’t have it. A king-of-the-pile mentality will maintain their lofty stance by putting others down; an exaggerated self-confidence will hold little regard for others, except where they serve to bolster the ego.
Paul has detailed the works of the flesh and sketched the wonder of the fruit of the Spirit; he has declared the flesh to be crucified (if we belong to Christ), has challenged us to walk in that narrowly-defined pathway of the Spirit of God, and he now concludes that we are to be on the alert against self-glorifying vanity. Do we see another perspective of the Judaizers in this summarizing statement? They were failing to walk that narrowly defined way with the Spirit of God, and it seems that they set themselves up as being superior to the Galatians. They were Jews, after all, of the persuasion of the Pharisees who had come to faith in Christ, but, in their far greater understanding of the Jewish ways, they moved on to invoke the necessity of keeping the Mosaic Law (Acts 15:5). They came into the midst of the Galatian believers and, in their feigned superiority, challenged the faith of these converts to the true Gospel of Jesus Christ – they provoked them. Could it be that they also envied them? Did a part of their hearts recognize the liberty that these Galatians had in Christ, and then seek to destroy it? These Judaizers clearly had lost their liberty in Christ, for they were once again bearing the yoke of Mosaic bondage (Galatians 5:1), which Paul likens to paganism (Galatians 4:9). Since they no longer had such freedom in Christ, were they now intent on sharing their bondage with others (Romans 1:32)? This would be in keeping with the Pharisaical traditions as Jesus uncovered them: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves” (Matthew 23:15). This is an apt description of the work of these Judaizers – they sought to impose their theology upon the Galatian Christians, which would have resulted in the Galatians falling from the grace (Galatians 5:4) and being brought into bondage again (Galatians 4:9; 5:1). “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free ...” (Galatians 5:1)!
END NOTES:
1 Strong’s Online.
2 Chuck Colson, The Body, p. 102.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid, p. 109.
5 Strong’s Online.
6 Ibid.
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid.
9 Strong’s Dictionary, ESword.
10 Stephanus 1550 NT, Bibleworks 8; Friberg Lexicon, Bibleworks 8.
11 Strong’s Online.
12 Strong’s Online; BDB.
13 http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02258b.htm#III
14 http://www.reformed.org/documents/wcf_with_proofs/
15 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
16 Strong’s Online.
17 Ibid.
18 Ibid.
19 Friberg Lexicon.
20 Strong’s Online.
21 Strong’s Online; Friberg Lexicon.
22 https://www.wayoflife.org/database/study_bible_dispensationally.html
23 Ibid.
24 Encarta Dictionary, “backslide.”
25 Strong’s Online; BDB.
26 Ibid.
27 Septuagint, Bibleworks 8.
28 Encarta, “apostasy.”
29 Strong’s Dictionary.
30 Strong’s Online.
31 Strong’s Online; Friberg Lexicon.
32 Ibid.
33 Friberg Lexicon.
34 Strong’s Online.
35 Ibid.
36 Strong’s Online; Stephanus 1550 NT.
37 Ibid.
38 Vine’s “wait.”
39 Amy O’Brian, “Look within yourself for peace: Dalai Lama,” (November 15, 2009) http://www.canada.com/life/Look+within+yourself+peace+Dalai+Lama/2046581/story.html
40 https://www.contemplativeoutreach.org/
41 Strong’s Online.
42 Ibid.
43 Gingrich Lexicon, Bibleworks 8.
44 Friberg Lexicon.
45 Ibid.
46 Strong’s Online.
47 Ibid.
48 Strong’s Online; Friberg Lexicon.
49 Strong’s Dictionary.
50 Strong’s Online.
51 Encarta, “obey.”
52 Friberg Lexicon.
53 Colson, Body, p. 102.
54 This heresy was part of Billy Graham’s response to Robert Schuller’s question, “What do you think is the future of Christianity?” Cathy Burns, Billy Graham and His Friends, p. 19.
55 Friberg Lexicon.
56 Ibid.
57 Strong’s Online.
58 Gingrich Lexicon.
59 Strong’s Online.
60 Graham has departed so far from the Scriptures that he could very well be considered an apostate; Geisler has joined with Rick Warren (a proven Biblical failure), and MacArthur has been part of Moody Bible Institute’s Founder’s Week years after the school had embraced New Evangelicalism (as recently as 2007). All stand in contravention of God’s Word.
61 http://www.fellowshipnashville.org/content/contact/staff.aspx#pastoral
62 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_J._Easley
63 http://www.fellowshipnashville.org/content/ministries/dance.aspx
64 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rock_genres
65 David Henderson, ‘Scuse Me While I Kiss the Sky, p. 214.
66 Ibid, p. 215.
67 David Noebel, The Legacy of John Lennon, pp. 15, 113.
68 https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/80-381 [From a sermon, January 29, 2012]
69 A quote from Rolling Stone magazine; https://amazingdiscoveries.org/S-deception_music_rock_industry_quotes
70 https://middletownbiblechurch.org/separate/macrock.htm
71 https://en.everybodywiki.com/Enfield_(band)
72 Ibid; https://mentalitch.com/the-history-of-indie-rock/.
73 The associates of King Saul recognized that music was not neutral, and that David could sooth Saul’s spirit by playing for him (1 Samuel 16:23); if music was neutral, David’s playing would have had no effect.
74 Friberg Lexicon.
75 Stephanus 1550 NT.
76 Friberg Lexicon.
77 Strong’s Online.
78 https://www.ntgreek.org/learn_nt_greek/subj-negation.htm
79 Strong’s Online; Friberg Lexicon.
80 Friberg Lexicon.
81 Ibid.
82 Strong’s Online.
83 Ibid.
84 First appeared in this form in Hand-book of Proverbs by H.G. Bohn (1855).
85 Strong’s Online; Friberg Lexicon.
86 Strong’s Online.
87 Vine’s “occasion.”
88 Strong’s Online.
89 http://www.danielpipes.org/2714/is-allah-god
90 http://www.thebereancall.org/node/5806
91 Cathy Burns, Billy Graham and His Friends, p. 118.
92 https://ocoy.org/mother-teresa-a-different-kind-of-christian/
93 http://www.christianpost.com/article/20090705/rick-warren-to-muslims-talk-is-cheap-let-s-work-together/index.html
94 Strong’s Online.
95 Vine’s “word.”
96 Strong's Dictionary.
97 Strong’s Online.
98 Ibid.
99 Ibid.
100 Ibid.
101 Strong’s Online; Friberg Lexicon.
102 Warren’s endeavor is: P – plant churches or partner with existing ones (now alternately presented as promote reconciliation), E – equip local leaders, A – assist the poor, C – care for the sick, and E – educate the next generation.
103 Vine’s “work.”
104 Strong’s Online.
105 Strong’s Dictionary.
106 Strong’s Online.
107 Ibid.
108 Vine’s “prophet.”
109 https://www.ntgreek.org/learn_nt_greek/verbs1.htm.
110 Strong’s Online; Friberg Lexicon.
111 Stephanus 1550 NT.
112 https://www.ntgreek.org/learn_nt_greek/verbs1.htm.
113 Vine’s “pervert.”
114 Vine’s “lust.”
115 Friberg Lexicon; Strong’s Online.
116 Strong’s Online.
117 Ibid.
118 Vine’s “hold,” “profess,” “profession.”
119 Holladay Lexicon, Bibleworks 8.
120 Strong’s Online.
121 Strong’s Online; Friberg Lexicon.
122 John MacArthur, The Truth War, p. 43.
123 Apostasy comes from the Greek word apostasia, often translated as falling away (2Thessalonians 2:3); the Greek word for divorced is apoluo, often translated as put away (Matthew 5:32); the Greek word for bill or writing of divorcement is apostasion, which is much closer to apostasy.
124 MacArthur, Truth, p.43.
125 Ibid., p. 63.
126 Strong’s Online.
127 Friberg Lexicon.
128 MacArthur, Truth, p. 63.
129 Friberg Lexicon; interestingly, Luke 8:13 and Hebrews 3:12 are specifically drawn together.
130 Strong’s Online; Friberg Lexicon.
131 Vine’s “enmity.”
132 Strong’s Online.
133 Stephanus 1550 NT.
134 Strong’s Online.
135 Ibid.
136 Ibid.
137 Ibid.
138 Ibid.
139 Easton’s, “adultery.”
140 Strong’s Online.
141 Ibid.
142 Ibid.
143 Ibid.
144 Vine’s “lasciviousness.”
145 Strong’s Dictionary.
146 http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/names/solar.htm
147 EnCarta, “idolatry.”
148 Strong’s Online.
149 Personal correspondence from Robert Harrison (February 6, 2010), www.gethealthyagain.com
150 Vine’s “enmity.”
151 Vine’s “hate.”
152 Strong’s Online.
153 Strong’s Dictionary.
154 Strong’s Online.
155 Ibid.
156 Vine’s “anger.”
157 Strong’s Online.
158 Ibid.
159 Ibid.
160 Strong’s Dictionary.
161 Friberg Lexicon.
162 Strong’s Online.
163 Ibid.
164 Vine’s “heresy.”
165 Strong’s Online.
166 Vine’s “envy.”
167 Strong’s Dictionary.
168 Vine’s “envy.”
169 Vine’s “drunk.”
170 https://pulpitandpen.org/2017/11/13/who-is-rodney-howard-brown/
171 Friberg Lexicon.
172 Stephanus 1550 NT.
173 Strong’s Online.
174 Ibid.
175 Ibid.
176 Ibid.
177 Ibid.
178 Friberg Lexicon.
179 Strong’s Dictionary.
180 Friberg Lexicon.
181 Strong’s Online.
182 Ibid.
183 Friberg Lexicon.
184 Strong’s Online.
185 Vine’s “kindness.”
186 Strong’s Online.
187 Ibid.
188 Ibid.
189 Friberg Lexicon.
190 Strong’s Online.
191 A Biblical worldview was defined as holding ALL of the following: “absolute moral truth exists; the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches; Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic; a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or do good works; Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today” (http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/21-transformation/252-barna-survey-examines-changes-in-worldview-among-christians-over-the-past-13-years).
192 For the purposes of the survey, born again was defined as “those who said they have made a personal to [sic] commitment to Jesus Christ that is important in their life today and that they are certain that they will go to Heaven after they die only because they confessed their sins and accepted Christ as their savior” (Ibid.).
193 Ibid.
194 Strong’s Online.
195 Ibid.
196 Strong’s Online; Friberg Lexicon.
197 Vine’s “deny,” “take.”
198 http://loveyourselfcoaching.com/
199 Ibid.
200 http://www.ipeccoaching.com/about-coach-training-schools.htm
201 Robert Schuller, Self-Esteem: The New Reformation, p. 14.
202 Strong’s Online.
203 Strong’s Online; Friberg Lexicon.
204 Friberg Lexicon.
205 Strong’s Online.
206 Ibid.
207 Ibid.
208 Ibid.
209 Ibid.
210 Friberg Lexicon.
211 Strong’s Online.
212 Vine’s “provoke.”
1 Strong’s Online.
2 Chuck Colson, The Body, p. 102.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid, p. 109.
5 Strong’s Online.
6 Ibid.
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid.
9 Strong’s Dictionary, ESword.
10 Stephanus 1550 NT, Bibleworks 8; Friberg Lexicon, Bibleworks 8.
11 Strong’s Online.
12 Strong’s Online; BDB.
13 http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02258b.htm#III
14 http://www.reformed.org/documents/wcf_with_proofs/
15 Stephanus 1550 NT; Friberg Lexicon.
16 Strong’s Online.
17 Ibid.
18 Ibid.
19 Friberg Lexicon.
20 Strong’s Online.
21 Strong’s Online; Friberg Lexicon.
22 https://www.wayoflife.org/database/study_bible_dispensationally.html
23 Ibid.
24 Encarta Dictionary, “backslide.”
25 Strong’s Online; BDB.
26 Ibid.
27 Septuagint, Bibleworks 8.
28 Encarta, “apostasy.”
29 Strong’s Dictionary.
30 Strong’s Online.
31 Strong’s Online; Friberg Lexicon.
32 Ibid.
33 Friberg Lexicon.
34 Strong’s Online.
35 Ibid.
36 Strong’s Online; Stephanus 1550 NT.
37 Ibid.
38 Vine’s “wait.”
39 Amy O’Brian, “Look within yourself for peace: Dalai Lama,” (November 15, 2009) http://www.canada.com/life/Look+within+yourself+peace+Dalai+Lama/2046581/story.html
40 https://www.contemplativeoutreach.org/
41 Strong’s Online.
42 Ibid.
43 Gingrich Lexicon, Bibleworks 8.
44 Friberg Lexicon.
45 Ibid.
46 Strong’s Online.
47 Ibid.
48 Strong’s Online; Friberg Lexicon.
49 Strong’s Dictionary.
50 Strong’s Online.
51 Encarta, “obey.”
52 Friberg Lexicon.
53 Colson, Body, p. 102.
54 This heresy was part of Billy Graham’s response to Robert Schuller’s question, “What do you think is the future of Christianity?” Cathy Burns, Billy Graham and His Friends, p. 19.
55 Friberg Lexicon.
56 Ibid.
57 Strong’s Online.
58 Gingrich Lexicon.
59 Strong’s Online.
60 Graham has departed so far from the Scriptures that he could very well be considered an apostate; Geisler has joined with Rick Warren (a proven Biblical failure), and MacArthur has been part of Moody Bible Institute’s Founder’s Week years after the school had embraced New Evangelicalism (as recently as 2007). All stand in contravention of God’s Word.
61 http://www.fellowshipnashville.org/content/contact/staff.aspx#pastoral
62 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_J._Easley
63 http://www.fellowshipnashville.org/content/ministries/dance.aspx
64 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rock_genres
65 David Henderson, ‘Scuse Me While I Kiss the Sky, p. 214.
66 Ibid, p. 215.
67 David Noebel, The Legacy of John Lennon, pp. 15, 113.
68 https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/80-381 [From a sermon, January 29, 2012]
69 A quote from Rolling Stone magazine; https://amazingdiscoveries.org/S-deception_music_rock_industry_quotes
70 https://middletownbiblechurch.org/separate/macrock.htm
71 https://en.everybodywiki.com/Enfield_(band)
72 Ibid; https://mentalitch.com/the-history-of-indie-rock/.
73 The associates of King Saul recognized that music was not neutral, and that David could sooth Saul’s spirit by playing for him (1 Samuel 16:23); if music was neutral, David’s playing would have had no effect.
74 Friberg Lexicon.
75 Stephanus 1550 NT.
76 Friberg Lexicon.
77 Strong’s Online.
78 https://www.ntgreek.org/learn_nt_greek/subj-negation.htm
79 Strong’s Online; Friberg Lexicon.
80 Friberg Lexicon.
81 Ibid.
82 Strong’s Online.
83 Ibid.
84 First appeared in this form in Hand-book of Proverbs by H.G. Bohn (1855).
85 Strong’s Online; Friberg Lexicon.
86 Strong’s Online.
87 Vine’s “occasion.”
88 Strong’s Online.
89 http://www.danielpipes.org/2714/is-allah-god
90 http://www.thebereancall.org/node/5806
91 Cathy Burns, Billy Graham and His Friends, p. 118.
92 https://ocoy.org/mother-teresa-a-different-kind-of-christian/
93 http://www.christianpost.com/article/20090705/rick-warren-to-muslims-talk-is-cheap-let-s-work-together/index.html
94 Strong’s Online.
95 Vine’s “word.”
96 Strong's Dictionary.
97 Strong’s Online.
98 Ibid.
99 Ibid.
100 Ibid.
101 Strong’s Online; Friberg Lexicon.
102 Warren’s endeavor is: P – plant churches or partner with existing ones (now alternately presented as promote reconciliation), E – equip local leaders, A – assist the poor, C – care for the sick, and E – educate the next generation.
103 Vine’s “work.”
104 Strong’s Online.
105 Strong’s Dictionary.
106 Strong’s Online.
107 Ibid.
108 Vine’s “prophet.”
109 https://www.ntgreek.org/learn_nt_greek/verbs1.htm.
110 Strong’s Online; Friberg Lexicon.
111 Stephanus 1550 NT.
112 https://www.ntgreek.org/learn_nt_greek/verbs1.htm.
113 Vine’s “pervert.”
114 Vine’s “lust.”
115 Friberg Lexicon; Strong’s Online.
116 Strong’s Online.
117 Ibid.
118 Vine’s “hold,” “profess,” “profession.”
119 Holladay Lexicon, Bibleworks 8.
120 Strong’s Online.
121 Strong’s Online; Friberg Lexicon.
122 John MacArthur, The Truth War, p. 43.
123 Apostasy comes from the Greek word apostasia, often translated as falling away (2Thessalonians 2:3); the Greek word for divorced is apoluo, often translated as put away (Matthew 5:32); the Greek word for bill or writing of divorcement is apostasion, which is much closer to apostasy.
124 MacArthur, Truth, p.43.
125 Ibid., p. 63.
126 Strong’s Online.
127 Friberg Lexicon.
128 MacArthur, Truth, p. 63.
129 Friberg Lexicon; interestingly, Luke 8:13 and Hebrews 3:12 are specifically drawn together.
130 Strong’s Online; Friberg Lexicon.
131 Vine’s “enmity.”
132 Strong’s Online.
133 Stephanus 1550 NT.
134 Strong’s Online.
135 Ibid.
136 Ibid.
137 Ibid.
138 Ibid.
139 Easton’s, “adultery.”
140 Strong’s Online.
141 Ibid.
142 Ibid.
143 Ibid.
144 Vine’s “lasciviousness.”
145 Strong’s Dictionary.
146 http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/names/solar.htm
147 EnCarta, “idolatry.”
148 Strong’s Online.
149 Personal correspondence from Robert Harrison (February 6, 2010), www.gethealthyagain.com
150 Vine’s “enmity.”
151 Vine’s “hate.”
152 Strong’s Online.
153 Strong’s Dictionary.
154 Strong’s Online.
155 Ibid.
156 Vine’s “anger.”
157 Strong’s Online.
158 Ibid.
159 Ibid.
160 Strong’s Dictionary.
161 Friberg Lexicon.
162 Strong’s Online.
163 Ibid.
164 Vine’s “heresy.”
165 Strong’s Online.
166 Vine’s “envy.”
167 Strong’s Dictionary.
168 Vine’s “envy.”
169 Vine’s “drunk.”
170 https://pulpitandpen.org/2017/11/13/who-is-rodney-howard-brown/
171 Friberg Lexicon.
172 Stephanus 1550 NT.
173 Strong’s Online.
174 Ibid.
175 Ibid.
176 Ibid.
177 Ibid.
178 Friberg Lexicon.
179 Strong’s Dictionary.
180 Friberg Lexicon.
181 Strong’s Online.
182 Ibid.
183 Friberg Lexicon.
184 Strong’s Online.
185 Vine’s “kindness.”
186 Strong’s Online.
187 Ibid.
188 Ibid.
189 Friberg Lexicon.
190 Strong’s Online.
191 A Biblical worldview was defined as holding ALL of the following: “absolute moral truth exists; the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches; Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic; a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or do good works; Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today” (http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/21-transformation/252-barna-survey-examines-changes-in-worldview-among-christians-over-the-past-13-years).
192 For the purposes of the survey, born again was defined as “those who said they have made a personal to [sic] commitment to Jesus Christ that is important in their life today and that they are certain that they will go to Heaven after they die only because they confessed their sins and accepted Christ as their savior” (Ibid.).
193 Ibid.
194 Strong’s Online.
195 Ibid.
196 Strong’s Online; Friberg Lexicon.
197 Vine’s “deny,” “take.”
198 http://loveyourselfcoaching.com/
199 Ibid.
200 http://www.ipeccoaching.com/about-coach-training-schools.htm
201 Robert Schuller, Self-Esteem: The New Reformation, p. 14.
202 Strong’s Online.
203 Strong’s Online; Friberg Lexicon.
204 Friberg Lexicon.
205 Strong’s Online.
206 Ibid.
207 Ibid.
208 Ibid.
209 Ibid.
210 Friberg Lexicon.
211 Strong’s Online.
212 Vine’s “provoke.”