Galatians 3:1-5
Relax, Read and Reflect
Prayer- Lord, Open my heart and open my mind and help me learn. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.
Faith or Observance of the Law
1You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? 4Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? 5Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?
This seems rather harsh, and these are his favorites? Paul starts out by calling the church at Galatia foolish, is that what a good pastor would do? I have tow theories; the first is that this may be a translation glitch. Obviously, Paul did not speak English, so finding suitable words may have been a problem. Also, we did like these churches , and may have used terms of endearment, such as "you bunch of nuts". Paul knew the church knew better, the way they acted was if someone had thrown a spell on them.
Evidently, many of these people had been in Jerusalem during Pentecost when the Holy Spirit rushed into thousands, ( Acts 2: 1-13) so they knew that they were saved by the Spirit, not by the laws. Paul re-enforces this by asking questions , and Paul knows what the answer will be.
We as the modern church face the same problems. We know that all is through God and the spirit, and yet we can become fascinated with situations that remove us from the spirit, ( maybe a book of fiction or the latest "lost gospel.") We become obsessed almost like we are in a spell. We, as humans, have a great flaw. We have a hard time with simplicity. We are saved by God’s grace, (and only God’s grace,) and all we have to do is to accept salvation. Sometimes that looks too easy. It is, but living and spreading the Truth can be tough, so don’t go out of your way to put obstacles in your friends path-or your own.
Prayer- Lord, help me remember how simple it is to receive Your Spirit, and help me share that with others. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.
Prayer- Lord, Open my heart and open my mind and help me learn. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.
Faith or Observance of the Law
1You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? 4Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? 5Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?
This seems rather harsh, and these are his favorites? Paul starts out by calling the church at Galatia foolish, is that what a good pastor would do? I have tow theories; the first is that this may be a translation glitch. Obviously, Paul did not speak English, so finding suitable words may have been a problem. Also, we did like these churches , and may have used terms of endearment, such as "you bunch of nuts". Paul knew the church knew better, the way they acted was if someone had thrown a spell on them.
Evidently, many of these people had been in Jerusalem during Pentecost when the Holy Spirit rushed into thousands, ( Acts 2: 1-13) so they knew that they were saved by the Spirit, not by the laws. Paul re-enforces this by asking questions , and Paul knows what the answer will be.
We as the modern church face the same problems. We know that all is through God and the spirit, and yet we can become fascinated with situations that remove us from the spirit, ( maybe a book of fiction or the latest "lost gospel.") We become obsessed almost like we are in a spell. We, as humans, have a great flaw. We have a hard time with simplicity. We are saved by God’s grace, (and only God’s grace,) and all we have to do is to accept salvation. Sometimes that looks too easy. It is, but living and spreading the Truth can be tough, so don’t go out of your way to put obstacles in your friends path-or your own.
Prayer- Lord, help me remember how simple it is to receive Your Spirit, and help me share that with others. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.
posted by Steve Killam TMTL | 6:22 AM
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