September 15 Morning Verse of the Day

POSITIVE HOPE IN JESUS CHRIST

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”—in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (3:13–14)

Turning again to the positive, Paul reminds the Jewish believers in Galatia of the fact that Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having been a curse for us.
Redeemed is from exagorazō, a word commonly used of buying a slave’s freedom. Christ justifies those who believe in Him by buying them back from their slavery to sin. The price He paid was the only one high enough to redeem all of mankind, the “precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (1 Pet. 1:19).
The curse of the Law was the punishment demanded because no man could keep from violating its demands, but Christ took that curse upon Himself as a substitute for sinners and became a curse for us in His crucifixion, for it is written (Deut. 21:23), “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.”
In ancient Judaism a criminal who was executed, usually by stoning, was then tied to a post, a type of tree, where his body would hang until sunset as a visible representation of rejection by God. It was not that a person became cursed by being hanged on a tree but that he was hanged on a tree because he was cursed. Jesus did not become a curse because He was crucified but was crucified because he was cursed in taking the full sin of the world upon Himself. “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed” (1 Pet. 2:24; cf. Acts 5:30).
That truth was extremely hard for most Jews to accept, because they could not imagine the Messiah’s being cursed by God and having to hang on a tree. First Corinthians 12:3 suggests that “Jesus is accursed” was a common, demon-inspired saying among unbelieving Jews of that day. To them, Jesus’ crucifixion was final and absolute proof that He was not the promised Messiah.
But for those who trust in Him, the two words for us become the two most beautiful words in all of Scripture. Because God sent His Son to bear the penalty for man’s sin, every person who puts his trust in the crucified Savior has had the curse borne for him.
Jesus’ sacrifice was total and for all men, in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. On man’s part, the curse is lifted by faith, which God, on His part and by grace, counts as righteousness on the believer’s behalf, and the river of blessing begins to flow as the rushing water of God’s grace engulfs the believer. Jesus Christ bore the curse, Paul affirms, to bring the blessing of Abraham … to the Gentiles. Salvation was for the purpose of God’s blessing the world. All that God desired for and promised to Abraham of salvation and its benefits would spread to the nations. A coordinate purpose clause is added—so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith (cf. Acts 1:4–5; Eph. 1:13), who comes as the resident, indwelling Person to bless us with power.
All of this blessing is through faith. Justifying faith involves self-renunciation, putting away all confidence in one’s own merit and works. Like the Israelites who had Pharaoh’s pursuing army behind them and the impassable Red Sea in front of them, the sinner must acknowledge his sinfulness and his total inability to save himself. When he sees God’s justice pursuing him and God’s judgment ahead of him, he realizes his helplessness in himself and realizes he has nowhere to turn but to God’s mercy and grace.
Justifying faith also involves reliance on and submission to the Lord. When a sinner sees that he has no way to escape and no power in his own resources, he knows he must rely on God’s provision and power. Finally, justifying faith involves appropriation, as the sinner gratefully receives the free gift of pardon Christ offers and submits to His authority.
Justifying faith does not have to be strong faith; it only has to be true faith. And true faith not only brings salvation to the believer but glory to the One who saves.
When a person receives Christ as Lord and Savior, he receives the promised blessing and the promised Spirit, which Paul describes in Ephesians as being “blessed … with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (1:3). This blessing gives a testimony of praise to “the glory of His grace” (1:6). God receives glory when His attributes are on display, and nowhere is His grace more evident than in the sending of His only Son to be crucified on man’s behalf, the Sinless paying the debt of the sinful. Believers are “raised … up with Him, and seated … with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward [them] in Christ Jesus” (2:6–7).
Men are redeemed in order to exhibit God’s majestic being before all creation. His supreme purpose is to demonstrate His glorious grace against the backdrop of man’s sinfulness, lostness, and hopelessness. The very purpose of the church is to “stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy” and to praise “the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, … [for His] glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever” (Jude 24–25).

MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1983). Galatians (pp. 78–79). Moody Press.

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13 If these principles are true and if they support the topic sentence of v. 10—“all who rely on observing the law are under a curse”—then the condition of man under law is obviously hopeless. If there is to be hope, it must come from a different direction entirely. Abruptly, therefore, and without any connecting particle, Paul introduces the work of Christ through which the curse of the law has been exhausted and in whom all who believe find salvation.
This is the first time Christ has been mentioned since the opening verse of the chapter, but now both he and his work are prominent. Christ is the only possible means of redemption.
The two ways of understanding the “curse” of v. 10 (the curse of the law exclusive of the curse of God and the curse of the law which contains within it the idea of divine disapproval) lead to two ways of understanding the “us” of v. 13. If redemption is from the curse of the law only, then “us” refers most naturally to Jews who have been living under a serious misconception concerning God and his true nature (so Burton). But if, on the contrary, the curse involves the true anathema of God, then “us” must correctly refer to both Jew and Gentile since both have received deliverance through Christ. This latter view is demanded by the context, for Paul will go on to show that the purpose of Christ’s death was that the blessing given Abraham might come upon both Jew and Gentile.
To redeem (exagorazō) means “to buy out of slavery” by paying a price. Christ paid this price by dying (cf. 1 Peter 1:18, 19; Acts 20:28). Another way of saying the same thing is to say that Christ became “a curse for us,” which Paul does. But what does this mean? In what sense could Jesus become a curse? Paul’s quotation from Deuteronomy 21:23—“Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—suggests that Jesus passed under the law’s curse in a technical way by virtue of the particular means by which he was executed. Thus, having violated the law in one part—through no fault of his own—he became technically guilty of all of it and bore the punishment of God’s wrath for every violation of the law by every man. This may be in the back of Paul’s mind as a particular form of rabbinical argument (hence, the quotation) but it does not do full justice to the situation as Paul describes it. The curse of the law is not a technical, still less an imaginary, thing. The curse is real. Jesus bore this real curse on our behalf. The preposition (hyper) indicates this by showing that Jesus took our place in dying. No doubt there is more to this than anyone can understand completely, at least in this life. Yet it can be understood in part both through the illustration of the OT sacrifices and in Christ’s cry of dereliction from the cross—“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt 27:46). The idea of the curse of sin being borne away by an innocent substitute is best seen in the instruction concerning the scapegoat found in Leviticus 16:5ff.

Boice, J. M. (1976). Galatians. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Romans through Galatians (Vol. 10, pp. 459–460). Zondervan Publishing House.

WEEK 27 | CONTEMPLATING THE CROSS AND FINDING CONTENTMENT

GALATIANS 3:1-14

You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?
Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.
For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the Law, to perform them.” Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “The righteous man shall live by faith.” However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, “He who practices them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”—in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

GRACIOUS FATHER, our pride is utterly extinguished
by the sheer perfection of Your law.
We confess that the law is holy, just, and good.
It is an expression of Your own divine perfection.
It reveals to us in an unmistakable way
what authentic righteousness requires of us.
Its moral standard is authoritative.
Its principles are distilled goodness.
Its precepts show us how to walk uprightly.
Its prohibitions are perfectly just.
The law is honorable in every way.

And yet we must confess that we have sinned,
and sinned repeatedly,
against the holy standard of Your law.
We humbly acknowledge that the law condemns us.
It cuts us off without any remedy.
When the law is finished speaking,
it leaves us with no hope of redemption—
only the fear of judgment.

That is why we are inexpressibly thankful
for the good news of the gospel.
The gospel announces that through Christ,
You have done for us what the law could never do:
You judged our sin and forever put it away
without condemning us.

Christ has thus opened the way of life
(even for the very worst of sinners)
by furnishing us with full and free justification—
not through any works of our own;
not by putting us back under slavish obedience to the law;
but by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross,
together with His already complete,
already perfect obedience to the law.

He stood in our place as a perfect Substitute,
not only fulfilling every jot and tittle
of what the law demands of us,
but also paying—in full—the due penalty of our sins.
By faith we are united with Him
and thus we have been made full beneficiaries
of His spotless perfection.
His death has fully reconciled us to You;
and His life supplies all that we need
to complete our salvation
by elevating us to a position of unimaginable privilege.

The law had left us destitute and desperate.
One of the most staggering lessons we learn from the law
is the impossibility of earning salvation for ourselves
by moral acts or religious rites.
Instead, the law compels us to confess
that sin has brought us to ruin.
By our own wickedness we forfeited Your favor.
We brought on our own heads the law’s righteous curse.
We can only acknowledge our guilt with sorrow;
we cannot remove it or atone for it.

But then the gospel wonderfully answered our dilemma,
supplying in Christ all that we have ever lacked or longed for.
Christ saves us, although we bring to the table
no merit, no worthiness, no achievement—
no goodness of our own.
How could we ever adequately express our gratitude for so great salvation?
The good news of everlasting redemption is so wonderful
that even angels long to understand it better.

Now when we ponder the cross,
we are reminded of how much Christ has done for us.
There we also learn the need to separate ourselves from worldly vanities.
There we see the extent of true humility.
There we find assurance of our salvation,
motivation for self-denial,
hope to cheer our troubled hearts,
love to energize our obedience,
a grand example to guide our footsteps,
and a powerful reminder that our only reasonable service
is to become living sacrifices of praise.

So we stand now in prayer under the shadow of the cross,
realizing that this is the only place
we could ever find true contentment
amid the difficulties of life’s trials and heartaches.
Here is where all our needs are met—and more.

We can only plead, dear Lord,
that even though we are fully committed by faith
to these high and lofty truths,
we are still sinners in need
of Your daily forgiveness and mercy.

We have begun our walk of faith in the Spirit
and we know that we will never be perfected
through the energies of our own flesh.
O Spirit of God, make us like Christ, in whose name we pray,
for we depend on You! Amen.

MacArthur, J. (2014). A Year of Prayer: Growing Closer to God Week After Week (pp. 131–135). Harvest House Publishers.

MARCH 19 | Exodus 30; John 9; Proverbs 6; Galatians 5

AS THE FEEDING OF THE FIVE THOUSAND precipitates the bread of life discourse, so Jesus’ healing of the congenitally blind man in John 9 precipitates some briefer comments on the nature of spiritual blindness and sight.
Some of the authorities were finding it difficult to believe that the victim had in fact been born blind. If it were the case, and if Jesus had really healed him, then this would say something about Jesus’ power that they did not want to hear. Then as now, there were plenty of “faith healers” in the land, but most of their work was not very impressive: the less gullible could easily dismiss most of the evidence of their success. But to give sight to a congenitally blind man—well, that was unheard of in faith-healing circles (9:32–33). Unable to respond to the straightforward testimony of this man, the authorities resort to stereotyping and personal abuse (9:34).
Jesus meets up with him again, discloses more of himself to him, invites his faith, and accepts his worship (9:35–38). Then he makes two important utterances:
(1) “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind” (9:39). In some ways, this is stock reversal, like the account of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19–31), or the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9–14)—a common theme in the Gospels. But this reversal is in the realm of vision. Those who “see,” with all their principles of sophisticated discernment, are blinded by what Jesus says and does; those who are “blind,” the moral and spiritual equivalent of the man in this chapter who is born blind, to these Jesus displays wonderful compassion, and even gives sight.
Some Pharisees, overhearing Jesus’ comment and priding themselves on their discernment, are shocked into asking if Jesus includes them among the blind. This precipitates his second utterance.
(2) “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains” (9:41). Of course, Jesus might simply have replied “Yes!” to their question. But that would not have exposed the seriousness of their problem. By subtly changing the metaphor, Jesus drives home his point another way. Instead of insisting his opponents are blind, Jesus points out that they themselves claim to see—better than anyone else, for that matter. But that is the problem: those who are confident of their ability to see do not ask for sight. So (implicitly) they remain blind, with the culpable blindness of smug self-satisfaction. There are none so blind as those who do not know they are blind.

Carson, D. A. (1998). For the love of God: a daily companion for discovering the riches of God’s Word. (Vol. 1, p. 104). Crossway Books.

THE BEGINNING AND THE ENDING OF Galatians 5, taken together, tell us a great deal about the Gospel that Paul preaches.
In the first part, Paul is still trying to persuade his Gentile Christian readers in Galatia that adding Jewish heritage and ritual to their Christian faith does not add something to it, but subtracts something from it. In particular, if they submit to circumcision, then “Christ will be of no value” to them at all (5:2). Why not? What harm could arise from being circumcised? Paul explains that the Gentile who allows himself to be circumcised “is obligated to obey the whole law” (5:3). That was the symbol-significance of circumcision: it was the mark of submission to the law-covenant. But to take that step betrays a massive failure to understand the true relationship between the law-covenant and the new covenant that the Lord Jesus Christ introduced. The former prepares for the latter, announces the latter, anticipates the latter. But to commit oneself to obeying the terms of the law-covenant is to announce that the new covenant Jesus secured by his death is somehow inadequate. These Galatians, who have in the past clearly understood that men and women are justified by grace through faith, are now “trying to be justified by law,” and in so doing “have been alienated from Christ”; it means nothing less than falling away from grace (5:4). The ultimate righteousness will be ours at the end, when Jesus returns. Meanwhile, “by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope” (5:5). To understand the crucial significance of Christ this way means that those who believe in Christ Jesus—what he has accomplished for us in his central place in redemptive history—know full well that circumcision itself is neither here nor there (5:6). But circumcision actually subtracts from Christ if one undergoes it out of a desire to submit to a covenant that in certain respects Christ has made passé.
While in the first part of the chapter Paul talks about the work of Christ, he slips in a brief mention of the Spirit: “By faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope” (5:5, italics added). Already the Spirit is given to believers, consequent upon Christ’s work. Christians, then, are those who “keep in step with the Spirit” (5:25), who display the lovely fruit of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (5:22–23). Pursue those things; there is no law against them, and they stand over against the wretched acts of our sinful nature (5:19–21; cf. Prov. 6:16–19) against which the Law pronounced but which it could not overcome.

Carson, D. A. (1998). For the love of God: a daily companion for discovering the riches of God’s Word. (Vol. 2, p. 104). Crossway Books.

There is only one true Gospel

6 I marvel that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ for a different gospel, 7 which is really not another, only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to the gospel we have proclaimed to you, let him be accursed! 9 As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is proclaiming to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let him be accursed! Galatians 1:6-12 (LSB) Read verses 10-12 on the site.

The title of this article may surprise many. There are many professing Christians in our time who take the stance that no one can know everything about the gospel. They say that we must be tolerant of others views of salvation because the gospel is inherently unknowable….

Several years ago, I may have become confused by that argument, but not anymore. Our God is very precise and He does things His way in His timing and always for His glory.

The background passages I will use for this article will be mostly from the Apostle Paul’s epistle to the Galatians. However, we will look in Romans, John, Matthew, and Ephesians as well. Galatians was the Apostle Paul’s first epistle. Galatia was a region of the Roman province of Asia. This area is in modern day Turkey. This was the region of Paul and Barnabas’ first missionary journey. They planted several churches throughout that region. However, sometime after they returned to Antioch false teachers had come to those churches preaching and teaching that faith was not enough for salvation. They contended that the Gentiles in Galatia who believed must also keep the Mosaic Law in order to be saved. When Paul found out about this, he responded with the epistle or letter that we call Galatians. <Continue reading post>

Source: There is only one true Gospel

2 MARCH (1856) | The allegories of Sarah and Hagar

“These are the two covenants.” Galatians 4:24
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Galatians 3:19–24

Hagar was not intended to be a wife; she never ought to have been anything but a hand-maid to Sarah. The law was never intended to save men: it was only designed to be a hand-maid to the covenant of grace. When God delivered the law on Sinai, it was apart from his ideas that any man would ever be saved by it; he never conceived that men would attain perfection thereby. But you know that the law is a wondrous handmaid to grace. Who brought us to the Saviour? Was it not the law thundering in our ears? We should never have come to Christ if the law had not driven us there; we should never have known sin if the law had not revealed it. The law is Sarah’s handmaid to sweep our hearts, and make the dust fly so that we may cry for blood to be sprinkled so that the dust may be laid. The law is, so to speak, Jesus Christ’s dog, to go after his sheep, and bring them to the shepherd; the law is the thunderbolt which frightens ungodly men, and makes them turn from the error of their ways, and seek after God. Ah! if we know rightly how to use the law, if we understand how to put her in her proper place, and make her obedient to her mistress, then all will be well. But this Hagar will always be wishing to be mistress, as well as Sarah; and Sarah will never allow that, but will be sure to treat her harshly, and drive her out. We must do the same; and let none murmur at us, if we treat the Hagarenes harshly in these days—if we sometimes speak hard things against those who are trusting in the works of the law.

FOR MEDITATION: God’s law will never have the power to save us (Romans 8:3); but thank God that it points us to a Man who can.

SERMON NO. 69

Spurgeon, C. H., & Crosby, T. P. (1998). 365 Days with Spurgeon (Volume 1) (p. 68). Day One Publications.

BE LIKE ME | Thoughts about God

BE LIKE ME

Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am; for I also have become as you are. Galatians 4:12

Influence is the power to have an important effect on someone. If someone influences someone else, they are changing a person or thing in an indirect but important way.

We have all been influenced by other people or movements and not always in a positive way. My parents had the most and earliest influence on me. I accepted what they believed. Later, the influence came from teachers and peers. Those who influence us have significant effect on our lifestyle.

In Galatians 4:12, Paul is asking the Galatian Christians to become like him, and to put themselves in his shoes. He explains that he became like them, and that he knows what they are going through because he has been there too. He asks why they would now throw away the blessing they once felt, and why they would not pay the same deference to him that they once did.

In other words, Paul is asking the Galatian Christians to fully accept their status as free men and women in as he, Paul, has fully abandoned his own status as a man “under the law” to live free in Christ himself.

Those who influence us can control us and control our behavior, so we need to be cautious as to who gets to us. Do we listen to the wrong people or wrong movements in this liberal anti-Christ world?

How do people influence us? We soak up attitudes, ideas and characteristics like a sponge from the people around us without realizing it. We absorb, assimilate and instinctively mirror behaviors. We adopt mindsets that we understand to be beneficial.

People influence others through political savvy, self-promotion, building trust and networking. The goal is to influence and change others. Sensory data is interpreted according to our cultural learnings long before our ability to think about and understand our culture develops.

As Christians, we need to be sure, both in and out of the church, by whom or what we are influenced. Like Paul, Jesus calls us to be influenced by and emulate Him.

Think about it. By whom are you influenced. Who is your number one influencer?

by John Grant
used by permission

FURTHER READING

See Like Jesus

Just like Jesus

More and More like Him

The post BE LIKE ME can be found at Thoughts about God.

JANUARY 20 | GOD’S GOAL IN SPEAKING

SCRIPTURE READING: GALATIANS 1:11–17
KEY VERSES: GALATIANS 1:15–16

But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood.

When God speaks to us, He always has something very specific to say. Never speaking in generalities, He has a goal in mind to reach the human heart. Using today’s passage from Galatians as our guide, we can identify three clear objectives of God’s speaking. God speaks because He wants us to:

• comprehend and understand His truth;
• be conformed to and shaped by this truth; and
• be equipped to communicate truth to others.

In Galatians chapter 1, the apostle Paul used the example of his own life, preconversion and postconversion, as evidence of God’s objectives. Beginning in verse 12, he explained how God first revealed truth to him through the revelation of Jesus Christ. This was the beginning of Paul’s understanding of the truth.
Next, Paul wrote that, despite his advancement in the teachings of Judaism, the Lord called him through His grace (verse 15). This was the beginning of a process that involved Paul being conformed, or shaped, to the truth.
Finally, we are given Paul’s grace-filled account of the Lord’s plan for his life. “God … called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles” (verses 15–16). Clearly, Paul received and embraced his call to communicate God’s truth to others.
What better proof do we have of God’s objectives being perfectly revealed and carried out in one believer’s life?

Thank You for Your truth in my heart. Please use it to shape me to Your will, so that I may share Your truth with others.

Stanley, C. F. (2006). Pathways to his presence (p. 21). Thomas Nelson Publishers.

JANUARY 18.—MORNING. [Or February 4.] “The just shall live by faith.”

GALATIANS 3:6–18

IN this passage the apostle shows that Abraham’s righteousness was gained by his faith; that the covenant made with him was upon the tenure of faith; and that by the way of faith alone we who are sinners of the Gentiles are made partakers of covenant blessings.
6 Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
Not the trusters in works and boasters in circumcision; these, even among the Jews, are but his children by the power of nature, to whom no more belongs than to Ishmael. Abraham was the father of the faithful, or believing. In his grandest aspect he is not the sire of a rebellious nation, but of the believing seed.
8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
For in no other way can all nations share in the blessing, since they neither inherit it by descent, nor obtain it by circumcision, nor earn it by merit.
10 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. (Let us learn this verse well, and may it ring the death knell of all legal hopes. All that the law can do for sinners is to judge them, condemn them, and curse them. Let us flee from the vain hope of ignorant and proud men, and look to another way of salvation; which, indeed, is the only one.)
11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. (The only just men before God are the men of faith, and these do not live by their works, but by believing; hence it is clear that the law has nothing to do with their righteousness.)
12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. (Hence we cannot be saved partly by faith and partly by works. The roads are distinct. We must keep the whole law if we would be saved by it. Our only hope is in the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ received by faith.)
13, 14 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (His the curse, that ours might be the blessing. By the gate of Substitution all blessings come to us, and even that best of blessings—the Holy Spirit.)
15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulled, or addeth thereto.
Once made, a covenant cannot be justly altered by an afterthought, or affected by an unforeseen event. What consolation is here!
16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. (Mark how the apostle believed in verbal inspiration, for he finds a meaning in so small a matter as the use of a singular word instead of a plural.)
17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. (Sinai and Leviticus cannot supersede the covenant of grace. Notwithstanding the law, the believer is secure in faith.)
18 For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. (And we by faith grasping the promise are made partakers of it, not at all by our doings, but by the simple act of reliance upon the Lord Jesus Christ.)

  In vain we ask God’s righteous law
     To justify us now;
  Since to convince and to condemn,
     Is all the law can do.

  Jesus, how glorious is thy grace!
     When in thy name we trust,
  Our faith receives a righteousness
     That makes the sinner just.

Spurgeon, C. H. (1964). The Interpreter: Spurgeon’s Devotional Bible (p. 35). Baker Book House.

December 24 | Christmas: An Eternal Perspective

scripture reading:	Galatians 4:4–7
key verse:	Galatians 4:4

When the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law.

Do you have a nativity scene that you put out every year in a special place? Maybe it’s the mantel or hearth, or perhaps you place it in the kitchen or a main hallway. You do it to celebrate Christ’s birth with a visual image of what that night in Bethlehem must have been like, the event that all history looked forward to and that the passing of years is measured from.

It was no cosmic accident that Jesus came when He did. God’s timing is never random. Galatians 4:4 says that Jesus was born in the “fulness of the time” (nasb), the exact, perfect moment in history for the accomplishment of God’s purposes. The Lord had the Incarnation in mind since the beginning of time, and even before creation, when in His sovereignty only God existed.

If all of these overwhelming facts seem a bit lofty, that’s because the truths of His mighty plan are wrapped in an infinite mystery that we in our finite condition cannot fully comprehend. Yet it is also true that the great wonder of salvation is as simple as a tiny, gurgling baby in a manger, for all to come and worship.

Isn’t it marvelous that God does not require you to understand every detail to come to Him? The redemptive process will continue to unfold, and the cries of the baby Jesus on that still and holy night echo through eternity.

Dear Lord, tonight marks the night of all nights—the night You came to earth. You knew me from the foundation of the world and worked this plan in my behalf. Thank You for Your redemptive process, which continues to unfold in my life.¹

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¹  Stanley, C. F. (1998). Enter His gates: a daily devotional. Thomas Nelson Publishers.

November 26.—Morning. [Or October 20.] “A man is not justified by the works of the law.”

IN our last reading we commenced Paul’s summary of his early Christian life, we now continue the narrative.

Galatians 2

^{1, 2} Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also. And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain. (He went up to Jerusalem lest he might be misrepresented and thought to be a teacher of some novel doctrine, and not one at heart with the rest of the brotherhood. We must be careful not to create misunderstandings by holding too much aloof from other believers.)

^3–5 But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised: And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. (There were many who wished to make Paul exchange the liberty of the gospel for the yoke of the Jewish law, but he would not for a moment submit to them. We need to be equally staunch against Romanism in these days.)

^6–10 But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsover they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man’s person:) for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me: But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter; (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:) And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision. Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.

^11–14 But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas was also carried away with their dissimulation. But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? (Good men are sometimes afraid of a straight course of action because it may cause trouble, or appear to be too bold. In such a case we must not be silent out of respect for them, but openly oppose them. Dear is Peter, but dearer still the truth.)

^{15, 16} We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. (How boldly is this stated! Faith alone and not works justify the soul before God. He who does not believe this rejects the gospel.)

¹⁷ But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. (Justification by faith does not make us think lightly of sin; on the contrary, it creates in us such love to God that we loathe the very idea of offending him.)

^18–20 For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. 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.

²¹ I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. (We cannot be saved by our own merits, for if so, the atonement was unnecessary,—a blasphemous idea not to be tolerated for a moment. Are we all believers in Jesus?)¹

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¹  Spurgeon, C. H. (1964). The Interpreter: Spurgeon’s Devotional Bible (p. 701). Baker Book House.

Blessing and Cursing | Ligonier Ministries

Although it is rarely noted, the concept of blessing lies at the very heart of the gospel. The Apostle Paul highlights this in his letter to the Christian believers in Galatia. In vigorously defending the inclusion of Gentiles within the people of God, he writes, “The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed’ “ (Gal. 3:8). As Paul goes on to emphasize, the blessing given to Abraham comes to the Gentiles through Jesus Christ (v. 14).

Paul’s observations recall how the concepts of blessing and cursing are highly significant within the book of Genesis. At creation, God blesses humanity when He instructs them to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it (Gen. 1:28). Unfortunately, Adam and Eve’s subsequent disobedience of God brings them under His condemnation. Blessing gives way to cursing, as God pronounces the punishments that will blight the lives of Adam and Eve and their descendants (3:16-19). God’s curses upon humanity bring hardship for both man and woman, affecting the whole of creation.

Against this background, God summons Abraham to initiate a process by which blessing may be restored to people everywhere. The second half of God’s invitation to Abraham underscores the importance of blessing:

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Gen. 12:1-3)

The repetition of the verb bless in these verses highlights the significant role that God calls Abraham to undertake. With Abraham, the possibility is created that some people may once again experience God’s blessing.

Although the hope of blessing begins with Abraham, it continues through a select line of his descendants, who are themselves blessed by God. God’s oath to Abraham in Genesis 22 associates the blessing of the nations with one of Abraham’s descendants: “And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice” (Gen. 22:17b-18).

The offspring mentioned here will come from a line that includes Isaac, Jacob, and, initially, Joseph, all of whom bring blessing to others. We see this especially with Joseph, who rescues from famine people from different countries. Significantly, this line of Abraham’s descendants is linked to royalty (Gen. 17:6, 16; 35:11; see Gen. 27:29; 37:8; 49:8-10). Thus, beginning with Abraham, the expectation exists that God’s blessing of the nations of the earth will come through a future king. In due course, this expectation is linked to the Davidic dynasty and ultimately to Jesus Christ (see Matt. 1:1-17).

The idea that Jesus Christ brings blessing in fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham is also affirmed in Acts 3 when Peter addresses a crowd of Jews:

You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, “And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness. (Acts 3:25-26)

Once again, Jesus Christ is presented as the One who mediates God’s blessing to others. In claiming this, Peter emphasizes that this blessing comes only to those who turn from their wickedness.

Returning to Paul’s remarks in Galatians 3, it is noteworthy that he also speaks of Christ’s “becoming a curse” (v. 13) for those who failed to “abide by all things written in the Book of the Law” (v. 10). Here, Paul alludes to the covenant initiated at Mount Sinai between God and the Israelites. When this covenant is later renewed on the plains of Moab, Moses gives to the Levites the Book of the Law (Deut. 31:24-26). As part of this process, Moses lists blessings (28:1-14) and curses (28:15-68; see 27:15-26) that will come upon the Israelites for keeping or breaking the covenant, respectively. Ominously, the list of curses is much longer than the list of blessings, and Moses’ subsequent remarks indicate that the future disobedience of the Israelites will result in God’s severe judgment coming upon them.

Quite deliberately, Paul draws attention in Galatians 3 to the curses associated with the Sinai covenant, for these have come upon both him and his fellow Jews. Paul believes that Jews in general are under God’s curse because they have failed to observe everything required in the Book of the Law. Consequently, Jews are no better placed to enjoy God’s blessing than the Gentiles are. Paul obviously considers himself to be one of those under condemnation. In light of this, Paul emphasizes how Christ has become “a curse for us,” that is, for people condemned by the law. Ironically, Paul’s opponents want Gentiles to become Jews in order to know God’s blessing. Paul argues strongly that this is not necessary, because blessing comes through Christ.

Apart from the importance of blessing and cursing for understanding the significance of Christ’s death on the cross, we should not forget that in His teaching, Jesus also highlights the issue of knowing God’s blessing. In this regard, it is noteworthy that the Sermon on the Mount begins with a series of statements that focus on the concept of blessing. In the Beatitudes, Jesus describes the characteristics of those who will be blessed. He also indicates that these blessings will not necessarily be experienced immediately. The future orientation of Matthew 5 suggests that the benefits of belonging to the kingdom of heaven await the consummation of the kingdom and the creation of a new heaven and earth (Rev. 21:1-4).

Interestingly, Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mount not only lists blessings (Luke 6:20-23), but also contains a series of “woes” (vv. 24-26) that will afflict those who fail to embrace Jesus as their Lord. This contrast between experiencing God’s blessing or cursing is an important reminder that we do not automatically enjoy God’s favor regardless of how we live. Only those who have truly trusted in Jesus as their Savior and submitted to His lordship will experience God’s eternal blessing. Obedience brings blessing, not because it merits salvation but because it demonstrates the reality of our faith in the One who blesses His people.

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Who Are God’s People? | Ligonier Ministries

For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. (Gal. 3:27–29)

Who are God’s people?

Ask ten people off the street this question and you’ll likely receive ten different answers. Thankfully, God has not left us to our speculations or opinion polls, as He has clearly revealed such truths in His Word. The Apostle Paul takes on this topic in his letter to the Galatians. However, rather than beginning with a definition of God’s people, Paul begins with the gospel. While many today invent checklists such as works of charity or a vague “spirituality” to discern God’s people, Paul starts with the good news. So vital is this message that if even an angel should preach a so-called “different gospel,” Paul says, “Let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:8). These are strong words indeed, but it only further underscores the weightiness of the gospel.

What’s all the fuss?

The New Testament makes it clear that Jesus is the Son of God who gave His life as a perfect sacrifice upon the cross. Christ bore the penalty of God’s holy wrath unto sin for all who would trust in Him alone. In union with Christ, sinners are declared righteous and justified before God.

However, this good news was obscured in Galatia as some started to teach that works played a part in a sinner’s justification. Some were so bold as to rely on the works of the law, even insisting that circumcision, for example, was required to be a Christian. Have you ever had the sneaking thought that your works, at least in part, are what make you right with God?

If so, you’re not alone, and you’d have sympathizers in Galatia. But it is this dangerous idea that has Paul exclaiming, “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?” (Gal. 3:1). The great folly of trusting in our works is that it directly opposes trusting in Jesus Christ. Salvation is a gift of His grace, unmerited by man’s works. Paul makes plain the damnable and dead-end road of works-righteousness when he declares that “by works of the law no one shall be justified” (Gal. 2:16). Indeed, “if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose” (Gal. 2:21). In other words, the death of Christ accomplished what the law never could—the justification of sinners before a holy God.

Why then the law?

But this raises an interesting question. If the law seemed to be so unhelpful, why did God give it to Israel to begin with? Paul clarifies that the Mosaic law functioned as a “guardian” (Gal. 3:24). Think back to when you were a child. At some point, you probably had a guardian or supervisor placed over you. You remained under this guardian’s care until you reached your destination safely and soundly. Upon arrival, the need for that caretaker expired.

In the same way, the law of Moses functioned as a guardian for Israel. To be clear, God did not give the law to Israel in order to introduce a new path to salvation by works rather than by faith. Nay, just the reverse, Israel was “held captive under the law” (Gal. 3:23). So where exactly was this guardian leading them to? In one word, Jesus. All that the Mosaic law typified and symbolized was fulfilled in Christ. From every animal sacrifice to every circumcision, it all pointed to Him.

While God’s law no longer functions as a guardian today, God’s law still remains our guide for all of life. Christians do not obey God’s law in order to be saved, but rather because we have been saved. Unfortunately, some in Galatia reversed this order by teaching that law-keeping brings salvation.

If you guessed that such a teaching would create all manner of confusion and chaos, you’d be right. The careful reader of Galatians will notice tension between the circumcised and the uncircumcised (or more simply, Jews and gentiles). Their squabbles revolve around our very question, Who are the people of God? If anyone could make a claim to be the people of God, wouldn’t it surely be the Jews, the sons of Abraham?

What is the good news?

Perhaps so, were it not for the awesome truth that Paul proclaims: the gospel was preached to Abraham and that “in [him] shall all the nations be blessed” (Gal. 3:8). Once again, the gospel takes center stage. It is (and always has been) the gospel—and nothing else—that defines the people of God. The good news of Galatians is that the gospel formerly promised to Abraham has now been realized in Jesus Christ.

This is not just good news but globally good news because whether Jew or gentile, “If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring” (Gal. 3:29). The Messiah came not only as the glory of Israel but also as a light to the gentiles (Luke 2:32). Just as Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness, the same reality applies to all who believe upon Jesus Christ today. The difference is that while Abraham looked forward by faith to God’s coming promise, believers today look upon the promise fulfilled in Christ.

In belonging to Christ, believers also belong to God’s family. Although we’re separated by millennia, we have similar strife today over things such as identities, ethnicities, gender, and status, as they did in Galatia. We see the world around us madly clamoring to fabricate a unity through ideological buzzwords like inclusion or belonging. But it is only the gospel that freely declares, “You are all one in Christ,” and makes that unity a precious reality (Gal. 3:28). Are you in God’s family?

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October 5 | Jesus in Your Heart

Scripture reading: Galatians 2:20–3:3

Key verse: Galatians 5:24

And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Children have a way of putting profound truth in very simple terms. Dr. D. James Kennedy shares this story in his book, New Every Morning:

A five-year-old Christian boy was very ill, so ill that he required open-heart surgery. After a successful operation, the doctor checked on the little boy in his hospital room.

With bright and eager eyes, the little boy asked, “Doctor, was He there?” The doctor asked, “Was who where?” The young lad replied, “Was He there? Did you see Jesus in my heart?” At that, the doctor suppressed a smile and replied, “Yes, son, He is there.”

The question for you as an adult is this: Can people see Jesus in your heart by the way you live? If you’re trying to generate a Christian image through your efforts, then you’re headed for failure and burnout. All that others will see is stress and a lack of peace.

But when you grasp the truths of Galatians 2:20 (nasb), you learn to let the light of Christ shine through you: “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself up for me.”

Jesus wants you to let go of self-effort and abide in His love, turning your struggles over to Him. Then you can be sure others will see Him when they look at your heart.

Lord, help me let go of self-effort and abide in Your love. I turn my struggles over to You. Let others see You when they look at me.¹

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¹  Stanley, C. F. (2002). Seeking His face (p. 292). Thomas Nelson Publishers.

September 30: 1 Kings 2; Galatians 6; Ezekiel 33; Psalms 81–82 (Part 1)

the end of galatians 6 brings several themes together.

(1) Paul’s practice was to dictate his letters. Nevertheless, in order to authenticate them, he commonly wrote the last little bit in his own distinctive hand (compare 2 Thess. 3:17). So here (Gal. 6:11). Some have suggested that his “large letters” betray failing eyesight. That is possible but not certain. The important issue is that Paul wants his readers to recognize the real voice behind this epistle.

(2) The agitators are trying to get the Galatian Gentile believers to accept circumcision (6:12). That would make them (they thought) good Jews—a necessary condition for them to become genuine Christians. Yet Paul detects that at least part of their motivation is to maintain acceptability in Jewish synagogue circles. At this stage in the church’s history, most persecution came from synagogue councils exerting discipline. Paul himself had suffered his share: the thirty-nine lashes, endured five times (2 Cor. 11), was a synagogue punishment. Paul holds that some Jews who call themselves Christians and who insist that Gentile Christians become Jews are simply unwilling to face the opprobrium they will have to suffer from some fellow Jews if their closest “brothers” and “sisters” are unkosher Gentiles.

(3) Not only so, but circumcision was a mark of professed covenant fidelity. Here, Paul insists, lies the real problem: those who have been circumcised find it impossible to “obey the law,” so why should they try to compel others to go down that track (6:13)? Some of them want to count converts to Judaism like scalps on a spear. But Paul insists that the Christian boasts in nothing but the cross of the Lord Jesus (6:14). That is the sole basis of our acceptance before God, nothing else—not circumcision, not law-keeping, not kosher tables, not belonging to the right community. The sole ground is the cross, so that is our sole “boast.” If you believe that, what the world thinks will matter little: it is as if the world has been crucified so far as you are concerned, and you are crucified so far as it is concerned.

(4) Out of this cross-work of Jesus Christ rises the “new creation” (6:15). That is what counts—men and women so transformed, because of faith in Jesus, that they belong to the new creation still to be consummated. This is invariably true, even for “the Israel of God”—which might refer to the church as the true Israel, or may be saying that racial Israel must face this truth the same as everyone else.

(5) At the personal level, Paul quietly reminds his Galatian readers that he has paid for his beliefs in suffering. Can the agitators claim the same? So why should any true Christian now be adding to Paul’s sufferings?¹

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¹  Carson, D. A. (1998). For the love of God: a daily companion for discovering the riches of God’s Word. (Vol. 1, p. 299). Crossway Books.

September 28 | 2 Samuel 24; Galatians 4; Ezekiel 31; Psalm 79

galatians 4 includes a couple of sections that have long prompted Christians to ponder exactly how Paul understands the history of Israel—especially the so-called “allegory” of 4:21–31. They attract a great deal of attention. Tucked into the middle of the chapter, however, are two short paragraphs that disclose a great deal of the apostle’s heart (4:12–20), even though they are easily overlooked.

(1) The first (4:12–16) finds the apostle pleading with the Galatians. He insists that his strong language with them has nothing to do with personal hurt: “You have done me no wrong” (4:12). Indeed, he reminds them, the earliest stage of their relationship established a link Paul could never break. He first went among them, he says, “because of an illness” (4:13). We cannot be sure what it was. Perhaps the best guess (though it is no more than a guess) is that Paul arrived by boat on the southern coast of what is now Turkey, and while ministering there contracted malaria or some other subtropical disease. The best solution in those days was to travel into the highlands—into the regions of the Galatians. There Paul found a people remarkably helpful and welcoming. As he preached the Gospel to them, they treated him as if he were “an angel of God” (4:14). How could Paul possibly resent them or write them off? But tragically, their joy has dissipated. They have become so enamored with the alien outlook of the agitators that they view Paul as an enemy because he tells them the truth (4:16).

Here, then, is an apostle intimately involved in the lives of the people to whom he preaches, ready and eager to engage with them out of the complex history of their relationships, yet unwilling to compromise the truth in order to smooth out those relationships. In Paul, integrity of doctrine must stand with integrity in relationships; they are not to be pitted against each other.

(2) Paul perceives and gently exposes a deep character flaw in the Galatians: they love zealous people, not the least those who are zealously pursuing them, without carefully evaluating the direction of the zeal (4:17–20). Paul warns: “It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good” (4:18). Unable to communicate by telephone or e-mail and thus have an instant update, the apostle is uncertain how best to proceed. Should he continue his rebuke? Should he now change his tone and woo them? He feels like a mother who has to go through the agony of labor a second time to bring to birth all over again the child she has already borne.

Should contemporary pastors and leaders care less for those in their charge who stray?¹

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¹  Carson, D. A. (1998). For the love of God: a daily companion for discovering the riches of God’s Word. (Vol. 1, p. 297). Crossway Books.