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Chapter 4: The Book Of Galatians
Once you have been "born again," the devil will immediately attack you and try to destroy your new found faith. He will try to deceive you with another gospel or false doctrines or demonic miracles. False gospels, false doctrines, and false miracles will be more and more prevalent in the days ahead. Matthew 24:24 KJV for there shall arise false christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Mark 13:22 KJV for false christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. 1 timothy 4:1 NKJV now the spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, Jesus said that, "if it were possible, even the very elect would be deceived" by false christs showing great signs and wonders. The key word in the verses above is "if". It is not possible for God's elect to be deceived, but, it is only because the Holy spirit will not permit it, not because of our own righteousness or intelligence. John 17:12 NIV while I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that scripture would be fulfilled. John 17:15 NIV my prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. John 17:20 NIV "my prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, If Christ saves you, he will keep you. He has never lost any of those he has been given. Once you come to have faith in Christ, many will try to deceive you with a false gospel based on an outward show of man's idea of what good works are. They will try to make you conform to their teachings by giving you a bunch of their rules and regulations to live by. I have talked with people who have made the claim that they have not sinned for five years; and yet, they were sinning at that very moment by lying, boasting and not obeying the command of Christ to study the scriptures and find out what sin really is. If they had, they would not even dare to make such a statement. 1 John 1:8 KJV If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Once you have been saved by Christ, don't ever let anyone deceive you into believing you can become perfect and obtain salvation by keeping the law. This includes both old testament law and man-made church rules. If you allow those who claim to be perfect to entangle you into their false doctrines, you will suffer much for it. If the devil cannot consign you to hell then he will try to render you ineffective in your Christian walk by deceiving you with false doctrine. If the devil deceives you after you are truly saved, God will bring you out of it. But, only after you have been taught by God that you cannot live a perfect life by human will power. Just as soon as you eliminate a sin from your life and think that you are almost perfect, God will open your mind and show you ten more that you never knew you were guilty of. This will go on until you finally reach the point where you say to yourself, "if I'm going to be saved at all, it will be because Christ was perfect for me and I believe in him! I cannot by my own power attain total perfection as long as I am trapped in this body of flesh and blood, because sin is built into it." Galatians 2:16 KJV 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. False teachers instruct us that good works include: not smoking, not drinking, not going to movies, going to church three times a week, praying in public, and blowing your own trumpet about how good you are and how evil everyone else is. Now there is nothing wrong with following the instructions listed above, with the exception of bragging about your spiritual accomplishments. However, it is not an outward show of piety to impress others that God desires from us. He desires inner purity of the heart and the mind. Colossians 2:20-23 NIV since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: "do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence. Some people believe that doing nothing is the equivalent of godliness. They are like someone who comes to work and does nothing all day and thinks they have done a good job because they haven't made any mistakes. God does not want inactivity from you, he desires action. It is fine to quit your bad habits when you come to have faith in Christ, but God is not looking for more dead weight in the church. Don't just quit the negative actions, but do something positive. If God wished, he could cause us to die the moment we were saved. Then he would never again have to worry about us sinning again or making any kind of mistake. God desires mercy and not sacrifice. What God wants is for you to love him with all of your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. He does not desire an outward pompous show of phony religion such as loud prayers in public, bragging about your giving, and exalting your own holiness because of the sins you have stopped committing. God chastens every believer and teaches them what it is he wants them to do or not to do. His plan is different for every person. Don't judge others. Judge yourself. Christ will judge the rest of us when we stand before him. Mark 12:28-34 NIV one of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "of all the commandments, which is the most important?" "the most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, o Israel, the Lord our God, theLlord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' the second is this: 'love your neighbor as yourself.' there is no commandment greater than these." "well said, teacher," the man replied. "you are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, "you are not far from the kingdom of God." And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions. God has made it so simple that no one will be able to boast about saving themselves. Many false teachers try to entangle those who are babes in Christ into keeping the law by telling them "you must do the will of the father to be saved, and keep the law." (along with their traditions and the commandments of men) Matthew 7:21 NIV "not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my father who is in heaven. The answer to these false teachers who would again entangle you in the law is found in John 6:40. John 6:40 KJV and this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. This is the will of God for you, not a bunch of man-made traditions. Whenever you have doubts, refer to the verses above and Ephesians 2:8 & 9. Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV for it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast. The false teachers will tell you that you must do the will of God to be saved, and this is true. But they will also tell you that the will of God is for you to obey their doctrines, which are man made rules. You can have confidence that the word of God is true that he can be trusted to keep his word and keep you in faith for the duration of your life 2 Timothy 2:15 Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Jesus compared the preaching of the gospel to a farmer sowing seed in the parable below. Luke 8:4-10 NIV While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown." When he said this, he called out, "he who has ears to hear, let him hear." His disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said, "the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, "'though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.' Jesus then interpreted his parable to the disciples in private. Luke 8:11-12 NIV "this is the meaning of the parable: the seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. These are people who hear the gospel, but it goes in one ear and out the other. They hear it and maybe think about it for an hour or two, and then it passes out of their mind. Luke 8:13 NIV those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. These are the people who appear to have been saved, but never were. These are the people about whom the church world has argued about for centuries, believing them to have been saved and then lost. Jesus says that they received the word with gladness, but had no root, they were never truly "born again." To them the Gospel was just a happy story that gave them comfort for a moment, and then they forgot about it. Luke 8:14 NIV the seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. These are carnal Christians. They have a saving faith in Christ, but they are choked off by the cares of this world, and never grow very much spiritually. These are the people who never get off the milk and graduate to eating meat. They think that becoming a deacon or an usher in the church on Sunday is doing a great work for God. They will make it into Gods kingdom, but will not have a very great reward waiting for them when they get there. Still, it is infinitely better to be one of these, than to be lost. Nothing against deacons and ushers, it is a good work to be one, but there is more to the spiritual life than serving in a church office or performing a useful task. Spiritual growth must ensue also. Luke 8:15 NIV but the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop. Mark 4:20 NIV others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop--thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown." Matthew 13:23 NIV but the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." To those who are truly converted and are not choked by the cares of this life, the devil has another method of trying to deceive them and stunt their spiritual growth, he deceives them with another gospel, the gospel of salvation by keeping the law in the flesh. The entire book of galatians was written by Paul to deal with this subject. After you come to faith in Christ, if the devil sees he cannot entice you by using the things of this world, he will attack you through the use of false doctrine that appears to be super spirituality, the keeping of the law. Paul wrote the entire book of Galatians to deal with this problem. Galatians 1:1-2 NIV Paul, an apostle--sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the father, who raised him from the dead--and all the brothers with me, to the churches in Galatia: Galatians 1:6-7 NIV I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel--which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. Paul was astonished that these people could so quickly be deceived by a false gospel. These people were the exact opposite of the Corinthian Christians who were doing everything they wanted in the flesh and calling it freedom in Christ. The Galatians were trying to be so Holy, that they thought they were becoming perfect in the flesh. God gave Paul these two churches that were 180 degrees apart, for our benefit, that we could see both sides of the coin, and know that we don't belong on either side, but in the middle, led by the Spirit of God. Galatians 1:8-12 NIV but even if we or an angel from Heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: if anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. Paul did not receive the gospel he preached from any man, but directly from Christ. He told the Galatians that if anyone, even an angel from heaven preached any other gospel to them, other than what he himself had preached, then that person should be condemned, and what Paul meant was condemned to hell. Galatians 1:13-14 NIV for you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. Paul was zealous for the Judaic faith, and Paul was truly blind, thinking that he was doing right, and not for greed or monetary gain, but for the service of God. God did not hold Paul guilty for his sin because Paul sincerely desired to know the truth, and God gave it to him, as he will do for anyone with an honest heart. Galatians 1:15-16 NIV but when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his son in me so that I might preach him among the gentiles, I did not consult any man, Paul, after his conversion understood, that all of the training that he received before he believed the gospel, was by the will of God to prepare him for his mission, to be the apostle to the gentiles. Paul recognized that he was set apart from birth for his mission, and so are you, if you are one of those whose spiritual eyes God opens. Galatians 1:22-24 NIV I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. They only heard the report: "The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy." And they praised God because of me. Galatians 2:1 NIV fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. Paul preached the gospel to the gentiles for fourteen years without ever having met the inner circle of the disciples that had been with Jesus, except for Peter and James. Galatians 2:2-4 NIV I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain. Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. Poor Titus, the Greek. He was not even safe from the salvation by good works people, in the rest room. These peeping toms were spying on him in the bathroom, to see if he had been circumcised, according to their tradition. They are just like many today, always looking to find something wrong with another persons lifestyle, not even realizing that the spying and gossiping that they are doing is a sin for them, and even worse, because they claim to see, when they are blind. Galatians 2:5-6 NIV we did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you. As for those who seemed to be important--whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance--those men added nothing to my message. Paul received the gospel directly from Christ, and no church leader of the day added anything to the gospel that Paul preached. Galatians 2:9-10 NIV James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the gentiles, and they to the Jews. All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do. The church world today, for the most part has forgotten this, to remember the poor. This was the only request that James, Peter and John made to Paul, when they learned that he now understood the gospel of Christ. Galatians 2:11-16 NIV when Peter came to antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, "you are a Jew, yet you live like a gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force gentiles to follow Jewish customs? "we who are Jews by birth and not 'gentile sinners' know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified. The gospel that Paul received directly from Christ was that no one could be justified by the keeping of the law. On top of this, there is the teaching of Christ that even thinking about breaking the law, with the intention of doing it if one has the opportunity, is a sin itself. Matthew 5:27-28 NIV "You have heard that it was said, 'do not commit adultery.' but I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Also, the same God who said, "do not commit adultery," also commanded us to obey all of the laws of the government that we live under, provided they are not contrary to the laws of God. Romans 13:1-9 NIV everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments, "do not commit adultery," "do not murder," "do not steal," "do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "love your neighbor as yourself." To drive one mile an hour over the speed limit is enough of a sin to render one lost. To spit on the sidewalk or throw a gum wrapper out of the car window is enough of a sin to get you a one way ticket to the lake of fire. God has also stated that we must obey our earthly masters, our employers. Overstaying a coffee break by one second would send you to hell, if salvation were by works. Ephesians 6:5 NIV slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Colossians 3:23-24 NIV whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. To be saved by ones own righteousness, a person would have to keep all of the biblical commandments, never sin in ones thoughts, and keep all of mans laws that do not violate Gods law, and always do exactly as your parents tell you before you become of age, and always do as your employer tells you, and do it perfectly for your entire lifetime. James 2:10 KJV For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. This is why no one will ever be saved by their own righteousness. Gods standard is absolute perfection, and the only way to obtain it is through faith in Christ, or faith in whatever amount of light God has given to a person. Isaiah 64:6 KJV but we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. To those of you who still do not understand, the word translated as filthy in the verse above literally means "menstruous." All of our good works, as far as obtaining salvation is concerned are of about as much value as a used feminine napkin or a used tampon. To those of you who think you will be saved by your works, think about this verse every time you see one of these items, because that is how God views your works until you first have a saving faith in Christ, to wash away your sins. Isaiah 1:18 KJV come now, and let us reason together, saith the lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. The scarlet and red that is spoken of in the verse above, is the scarlet color of blood on a white rag. Though our sins are as red as blood, we can be cleansed from them through faith in Christ. It is impossible for anyone born from human parents to ever keep the whole law. Those who think that they are keeping the law by adhering to 10 or 15 traditions of their church or denomination are deceiving themselves. Unless they study all of the biblical law and keep it perfectly, even in their mind, and all of mans laws, and always obey their parents until they are of age, and obey all of their employers rules, their works are worthless, as far as salvation is concerned. Galatians 2:17-20 NIV "if, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Does this mean that we are free to sin, because the law is dead, having been fulfilled by Christ. Emphatically not. We are not free to sin even though Christ lived the law for us, and by faith his perfection is given to us. What we are free to do is to be led by the Spirit, and we are not bound to keep the letter of the old testament law. Galatians 2:21 NIV I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" If it were possible for anyone to attain salvation through perfection in the flesh, then Christ died for nothing, his sacrifice was unnecessary. It is not possible, the only perfection we can obtain before the resurrection, is the perfection that is given to us by God through faith in Christ. Galatians 3:1-2 NIV you foolish galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Paul then asks these people, how did you receive the Spirit, by keeping the law, or by faith, by believing what you had heard when you were still in darkness. To those of you who have been born again and God has opened your mind to understand spiritual things, when did this happen, when you were already keeping the law to perfection, or when you were still in your sins. It cannot have happened to you when you were keeping the law, because until the spirit of God is in you, you cannot even understand what the law teaches. Philippians 3:4-9 NIV If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the Church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. Even Paul, who was a member of the strictest sect of the Pharisees and was more zealous in keeping the old testament law than most of his peers, could not even understand what the law meant until he was converted when he saw the vision on the Damascus road. Galatians 3:3 & 5 are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard? After having begun in the spirit, are you so foolish as to desire to go back and try to attain perfection by human will power? Galatians 3:22-24 But the scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. The purpose of the law was to show us that we were sinners in the eyes of God, that we were not perfect and in need of salvation, and forgiveness for not keeping the laws that he had given. Galatians 3:25-27 NIV now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law. You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. Once you come to faith in Christ, you are no longer under the supervision of the law. The baptism spoken of here is the baptism of the spirit, the spirit that was received through faith. Water baptism follows spirit baptism and is a picture of being born again. Going under the water symbolizes death, and coming up out of the water pictures being raised to a new life, the life in the spirit. Galatians 5:1-3 NIV It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. Paul tells these people that if they are to be saved by keeping the law, then they must obey the whole law. It doesn't matter what part of the law you choose to keep to justify yourself. If you pick out five or ten commandments and choose to obey them, thinking yourself to be righteous because of it, you are wrong. If you are going to keep the law to be saved, you must keep all of the law. God has already stated that by the works of the law, no one would be justified. If you think you are receiving your salvation by keeping the law, you are in danger of not being saved at all, because God says no one will be in heaven because they kept the law. You are deceiving yourself, and in need of salvation. Galatians 5:10 NIV I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. Galatians 5:12 NIV as for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves! Paul goes on to say that he wishes these people who were teaching salvation by works, would go the whole route, don't stop at just circumcising it, cut the whole thing off. Then they would be sure to have cut enough off to be pleasing to God, if it were possible please him by punishing the flesh. Galatians 5:13-14 NIV You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature ; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: "love your neighbor as yourself." Paul then goes on to say that just because we are free from the letter of the old testament law, not to use this as an excuse to sin. We are under the law of love, to love God with all of your heart, and to love your neighbor as yourself. After conversion we should strive to sin as little as possible, and do as much good as possible, but always keeping in mind that our salvation is possible only through faith in Christ, not because of our good work or Christian service. Galatians 5:16 NIV so I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. Galatians 5:18 & 5:19-21 NIV But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under law. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. Paul gives us a list of things that are never right. Anyone who is led by the Spirit will not be led to do these things, because the spirit of God never leads us into sin. Everyone can and will fall into one sin or another at times, but this will not be the normal lifestyle for anyone who is led by the spirit of God. Galatians 5:22-24 NIV But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Paul then lists the opposite of the works of the flesh, the fruit of the Spirit. We are free to indulge in these as much as we desire. Galatians 6:3-4 NIV if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, Everyone should test their own actions, without comparing themselves to someone else. Only God who knows the thoughts of a person can judge someone else. Let each person judge themselves, and the Lord will judge everyone else at the judgment seat of Christ. In the meantime Paul tells us not to become tired of doing good, but to continue on until we reap the harvest. Galatians 6:9-10 NIV let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. The book of Galatians was written for the purpose of keeping us from being deceived by those who after we have been "born again," would lead us back to mans philosophy of salvation, the keeping of the law and of good works. |