This Week’s Readings

Monday, May 14: 1 Samuel 1-5
Tuesday, May 15: 1 Samuel 6-10
Wednesday, May 16: 1 Samuel 11-15
Thursday, May 17: 1 Samuel 16-20
Friday, May 18: 1 Samuel 21-25

The overall year’s plan is here.

1 Samuel 16

Things had gone really downhill for Saul. His attitude had become awful. Before being rejected as king by God, he had built a monument for himself (15:12). Now, when Samuel is called by God to appoint a replacement for Saul, Samuel actually fears for his life.

The end of it all is that the LORD himself sends an evil spirit to "terrorize" (16:14, NASB) Saul.

1 Samuel 17

A cubit is the distance from a man’s elbow to his fingertips. Typically, a cubit is considered to be about 18 inches (1.5 feet or 45.7 centimeters). A span was the distance from the thumb to the middle finger or pinky, when stretched out as much as possible. That is generally treated as being a half a cubit or 9 inches. This would make Goliath 9 feet 9 inches tall (2.97 m).

Goliath was from Gath, where the Anakim, a race of giants, were said to be left, though they were driven out of almost all the rest of the land of Canaan (Josh. 11:22).

David was not a part of the Israelite army. He was simply bringing bread to his brothers when Goliath showed up for his daily challenge.

Saul had promised to give great riches to the man who killed Goliath. He had also promised to let him marry his daughter and to make his family free in Israel. The general agreement of commentaries (and the note in the NAS Bible I’m using) is that "free"meant that his family would not have to pay taxes nor, possibly, provide sons for public service.

1 Samuel 17:55-58

This passage seems like a problem. David had been playing the harp whenever Saul was terrorized by the evil spirit. Saul had sent for David by sending a message to Jesse, David’s father. The harp playing had gone so well that Saul "loved him greatly, and he became his armor bearer" (16:21). Because of that, Saul sent a second message to Jesse, asking for David to be able "stand before" him (16:22).

So why did Saul not know who David’s father was?

I have three possible explanations. Two of them can be found in commentaries here, and the other is purely mine.

1. Saul forgot David’s father. Saul was a king, David only played before Saul occasionally and only when Saul was terrorized by an evil spirit, and Saul had lots of servants. It may also have been a long time since he had last called for David because David was back attending sheep again.
2. The Keil-Delitzch commentary, which is highly respected, thinks the theory that Saul forgot has "but little probability." They insist that Saul was not actually asking the name of David’s father, but asking more information about David’s father and their family’s social status. In other words, "Why is this shepherd boy from an obscure family such a warrior that he kills lions, bears, and is not afraid of the giant from Philistia?"
3. Finally, my theory is that 1 Samuel, covering the history of Samuel, Saul and David, was not written day by day or month by month as the events happened. 1 Samuel was written in one or several sittings after David became king so that his story would be on paper. That meant that the historian who wrote it had a collection of stories and memories to work with. The stories are in somewhat chronological order, and their details match, but not exactly. Notice that David is introduced all over again in 17:12, as though we had not already been introduced to him. Also, both 16:22 and 18:2 give reasons that David stayed at Saul’s palace rather than returning to the sheep.
      In my opinion, that is because the historian had both the story of David as Saul’s musician and the story of David killing Goliath in front of him. He set them both down, one right after the other, in the order that made the most sense. However, since both stories involve David’s introduction to Saul, we are left not knowing whether Saul really didn’t love David as much as 16:21 suggests or whether the killing of Goliath was really David’s formal introduction to Saul.

I realize, of course, that my theory is considered "liberal," but I just don’t see that "inspired" means "gets every detail correct of all stories, math, and science, even if the author had no way of knowing such things."

I pointed out when we began reading the Gospel of Luke that Luke says that his Gospel is the product of research, not an eyewitness report. Just because some detail of some story or parable does not exactly match the details as given by Matthew, who was an eyewitness (but who probably didn’t write until at least 20 years after Jesus died and rose), should not surprise us, distress us, or cause us to wonder about God’s inspiration.

We are followers of the Spirit, not of the letter (2 Cor. 3:6). We do not violate the Scriptures, but we follow God by the Spirit, not by our interpretations of Scripture.

That may sound strange, but the Pharisees considered themselves followers of Scripture. In fact, they adhered so diligently to Scripture that they angered God, crucified his Son, and had the kingdom of God taken away from them and given to another (spiritual) nation (Matt. 21:43). Jesus rebuked them for the stand they took on Scripture. He said that Scripture should have driven them to him, but they couldn’t see it (Jn. 5:39-40).

As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. (Rom. 8:14)

1 Samuel 18

1 Samuel 18 merges the two stories of David as Saul’s harpist and David as Saul’s leading warrior.

Even by my theory, given above, I believe both stories are true. However, the historian, writing years, or perhaps decades, after the actual events, was unable to harmonize the details of Saul meeting David and assigning him to the king’s staff on a permanent basis. Once both stories are introduced, it was easy to continue the story, for David was both the king’s harpist and a soldier.

Having said all that, don’t miss this great history of David. The rise of David from shepherd boy to king is possibly even more complicated than the quite similar route Joseph took.

David put himself in incredible danger out of trust in God. He faced Goliath, and he fell from leading the king’s soldiers to being chased through the wilderness by the king’s armies, unwilling to defend himself if the Lord did not defend him (coming in the next chapters).

1 Samuel 19

Strange things in this chapter!

First, why did Michal have a household idol to use to put in David’s bed(v. 13)?

I liked Keil & Delitzch’s comment that Michal probably kept the household idol in secret because she was barren, which may have been the reason that Rachel, Jacob’s wife, stole her father’s household idols as well (Gen. 31:19).

Other commentaries said such household idols were popular among Israelite women, which would be a very sad commentary on their spiritual state.

Second, the way that God defended David while he was with Samuel is strange, too!

1 Samuel 20

This chapter describes the beginning of David’s time of flight from Saul.

It is not just David’s trust in God that led to the writing of so many Psalms. It is also the hardships he endured during this time of flight that helped shape him into the king and psalmist that he was.

Joseph, Moses, David … they all had their "wilderness" time. Do not despise yours, nor let your faith falter, for risk and suffering is the only route to spiritual depth.

This Week’s Readings

Monday, May 14: 1 Samuel 1-5
Tuesday, May 15: 1 Samuel 6-10
Wednesday, May 16: 1 Samuel 11-15
Thursday, May 17: 1 Samuel 16-20
Friday, May 18: 1 Samuel 21-25

The overall year’s plan is here.

1 Samuel 12:12-18

Proverbs 26:1 says:

Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.

Rain in harvest was very uncommon in Palestine, so Samuel’s prayer for rain during the harvest was miraculous.

Also, a thunderstorm during harvest could be devastating to the crops, so it was not just a sign, but a punishment as well.

1 Samuel 13:2-4

This attack on the Philistines was not in Philistine territory, but on a Philistine garrison ["a body of troops stationed in a fortified place" or "the place where such troops are stationed" (ref)]. The garrison was at Geba, which was between Jericho and Jerusalem, far from the Philistine land on the Mediterranean coast.

Thus, this was an overthrow of invaders, not an attempt to take Philistine land.

1 Samuel 13:5-23

The location of Gilgal is not certain, but it was close to Jericho, and it was on the west side of the Jordan. It was there that the Israelites made their first camp before attacking Jericho, and Joshua circumcised all the men there.

Michmash, where the Philistines were camped, was miles away, near Geba, which had been attacked by Jonathon. From there they sent raiders north towards Ophrah, which was east of Bethel, west towards Beth-horon, and east to overlook the valley of Zeboim (probable location). Saul was stationed to the south at Gilgal.

Saul and his army were in terrible straits. They were up against 30,000 chariots and 6,000 horsemen without any real weapons.

Worse, he must have been sure that God had abandoned him because Samuel had abandoned him. Exactly why Saul’s sacrifice was such a great offense to Samuel and to God is not told to us. We could speculate that it was a violation of the Law of Moses, but every sacrifice performed by Samuel was a violation of the Law of Moses. None of them were done at the tabernacle.

Further, once David becomes king, he will make sacrifices in almost exactly the same way that Saul did, but without reproof.

It is relationship with God that matters even more than the Law and even under the Old Covenant.

Further, it is important to understand that sacrifice is not a way to obtain the favor of God. Sacrifice is for those who already have the favor of God because of repentance. In other words, the heart of the offerer sanctifies the offering, not the other way around.

David explains this after his sin with Bathsheba in Psalm 51:

You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would offer it. You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. You will not despise a broken and contrite heart, oh God. … Then you shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering; then shall they offer bulls upon your altar. (vv. 16-17,19).

1 Samuel 14

Saul had moved from Gilgal to Gibea, which was west and put him due south of the Philistines at Michmash. Perhaps he was fleeing the raiders who were headed toward the wilderness of Zeboim. Perhaps he was just in despair, not certain what to do.

Deliverance ends up being brought about by Jonathan, who, as we shall see as we go along, was clearly one of the Lord’s favored ones. His name has become synonymous with friendship, and it is clear that he was a man of great faith and power.

1 Samuel 15

The land of the Amalekites was south and east of Philistine land. We read in chapter 14 that Saul had battled the Philistines. The attack on the Amalekites was probably progress in his conquering. However, his disobedience becomes his downfall despite a great victory.

Saul tries to blame the disobedience on the people, but Samuel will have none of it. When he pronounces judgment on Saul, Saul repents and admits he "feared the people and listened to their voice" (v. 24, NASB).

How many of us have found ourselves in the same boat, being a part of something that we were not comfortable with because we "feared the people." God has high regard for courage (Josh 1:9), and he has extremely harsh words for cowardice (Rev. 21:8).

The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion. (Prov. 28:1)

I know from experience how seriously we need to take this. By nature, I’m a follower, letting others make decisions. Overcoming that tendency to just let things go is terribly difficult for me, but we who are Christians have to be followers of God, not men. I continually remind myself that concerning courage, I have to make progress, not excuses.

I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you should be afraid of a man that shall die and of the son of man, who shall become like grass? You forget the LORD your Maker, who stretched out the heavens, laid the foundations of the earth, and you have been afraid continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy. Where is the fury of the oppressor? … I am the LORD your God, who divides the sea, whose waves roared. The LORD of armies is his name. I have put my words in your mouth, I have covered you in the shadow of my hand, so that I may plant the heavens and lay the foundations of the earth, and I say to Zion, "You are my people." (Isa. 51:12-13,15-16)

Saul didn’t take the Lord’s words seriously enough, and the results were disastrous for him.

This Week’s Readings

Monday, May 14: 1 Samuel 1-5
Tuesday, May 15: 1 Samuel 6-10
Wednesday, May 16: 1 Samuel 11-15
Thursday, May 17: 1 Samuel 16-20
Friday, May 18: 1 Samuel 21-25

The overall year’s plan is here.

1 Samuel 6-7

The major cities of the Philistines were along the Mediterranean coast south of Israel. You can see Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, Gath, and Gaza on this map. We are told that Bethshemeth was north along the coast from these cities. Kirjathjearim and Mizpeh were each a step further inland from the coast. Mizpeh was most likely due north of Bethlehem (and thus Jerusalem), near Bethel.

God struck the inhabitants of Bethshemeth for looking in the ark. Apparently, the inhabitants of Kirjathjearim only handled it; they didn’t look in it. They even were wise enough to consecrate one individual to be in charge of it.

1 Samuel 8

I said yesterday that Samuel was the last judge of Israel, but as you can see, that’s not really true. Samuel’s sons, Joel and Abiah, were the last judges of Israel. Of course, they really didn’t get any chance to have the authority earlier judges, including their father, had. When the people were fed up and demanded a king, they went to Samuel, not his sons.

1 Samuel 9

The story of the coronation of Saul as the first king of Israel is a great story, but I never cease to marvel at the liberty that God gave to Samuel. When Saul and his servant went looking for the man of God, they found him sacrificing on a high place in his home town, where he had built an altar (7:17), and not at the tabernacle of God.

There was never any judgment or a rebuke to Samuel for doing this.

It tells me that our primary duty is to believe God, as we’ve been learning in Romans and Galatians. Samuel’s faith, like Abraham’s and David’s, was not a faith that did not work, but a faith that worked diligently in relationship with God. Sometimes, however, that involved complete ignorance of or indifference to at least parts of the Law of Moses.

"To obey is better than sacrifice," Samuel will eventually tell Saul. Obedience and faith go hand in hand. Sacrifice, law, and religion go hand in hand. There is a place for sacrifice and religious activities, but when they become an excuse for "sanctification" without obedience to God’s voice, God hates them.

1 Samuel 10

The difference between a judge and a king is that a king rules. A judge only judges, which means he only deals with those who come to him. He is not a ruler, just a person who makes the final call when one is needed. Leave him alone, and generally he will leave you alone.

A judge also doesn’t require taxes. He has no army. He has no palace. He needs no servants.

A king, on the other hand, rules. He raises taxes to support an army and to conduct all the affairs of state. He checks on the populace, ensuring their obedience to his laws, rather than merely making himself available as a judge does.

Thus, during the time of judges, God considered himself to be in charge. He was the King. When the people demanded a different king, God lets them know what it will be like. They are ready to be a kingdom, however, and God’s warnings do no good.

It is of interest to me that the people clamored for a king while Samuel’s sons were judges because they were corrupt. Having a corrupt judge means that you don’t have a safe court of appeal. That’s bad, but that’s not nearly as bad as having a corrupt king who is going to come to you and take your money and possibly your children!

This Week’s Readings

Monday, May 14: 1 Samuel 1-5
Tuesday, May 15: 1 Samuel 6-10
Wednesday, May 16: 1 Samuel 11-15
Thursday, May 17: 1 Samuel 16-20
Friday, May 18: 1 Samuel 21-25

The overall year’s plan is here.

1 Samuel 1-5

If there was any time for me to be moving in and without reliable internet, this is a good time. 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel are the stories of Samuel, Saul, and then David. There’s a little commentary needed to clear up some questions of chronology with Saul and David, but otherwise these are all interesting, easy-to-follow stories.

If everything goes right, I’ll have good internet tomorrow, though I’ll still be moving in, pressed for time, and tired a lot.

For today, enjoy the story of Samuel. He’s the last of the judges.

I do want to point out one thing, and then give you a link that will help you guess at what plague was striking the Philistines in chapter 5.

1 Samuel 3:19

Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.

This verse has always been very important to me. Samuel as a prophet was not necessarily always right in his prophecies, as I read the wording of the verse. God did not simply make sure that Samuel had the right words, but God did not let any of Samuel’s words fall to the ground.

This implies to me that Samuel had such favor with God that God was going to back him up even when Samuel was wrong. God didn’t let his words fall to the ground. In other words, Samuel was so trustworthy that God wouldn’t let him be wrong. Even when he was wrong, God would make him right.

At least, that’s how I read it.

1 Samuel 5: The Plague on the Philistines

The Hebrew word describing the affliction of the Philistines most likely means hemorrhoids or tumors. EnduringWord.com has a list of commentators (including Keil and Delitszch, perhaps the most respected commentators available as far as the definition of words) speculating on the meaning of the Hebrew word here. Keil and Delitszch—perhaps the most respected commentators as far as word definitions are concerned—reference the rabbis, who consider it a hemorrhoid. Others argue that this was beubonic plague.

You can read their arguments yourself at EnduringWord.com.

On Monday, we’ll be returning to the Hebrew Scriptures and reading 1 Samuel. We’ll read chapters 1-5 on Monday.

For today, I’m going to send you back to last week’s post on Romans 7-11. I have just moved from our apartment in Nashville—provided by the combined kindness of the American Cancer Society, the Open Arms program, and Grande View Apartments—back to our home in Selmer, at Rose Creek Village.

I read last week’s post, and I think that between what I’ve written this week, and last, we have covered the points that I would want to make sure to cover.

So I’m asking you, please actually read Romans 9-11 again, and then look at last week’s post. The section on Romans 9-11 is not very long, but I believe that what we’ve been talking about all week covers everything that last week’s commentary doesn’t cover. I believe at this point, that the discussion of righteousness, life, and the Law is something that should now be relatively simple to you, having laid the foundation we’ve been laying over these last two weeks.

In fact, the things Paul writes in these chapters are so in line with what we’ve been saying, that they reinforce our commentary by having you just read them and see how well they fall right in place.

Thank you and see you again Monday morning to begin 1 Samuel!

This Week’s Reading Schedule

Monday, May 7: Romans Overview
Tuesday, May 8: Romans 1-3
Wednesday, May 9: Romans 4-6
Thursday, May 10: Romans 7-8
Friday, May 11: Romans 9-11

Next week we will return to the Hebrew Scriptures to begin the histories with 1 and 2 Samuel.

The overall year’s plan is here.

Romans 7

There’s just one point to Romans 7. You can give us any law, the Law of Moses or the Code of Hammurabi or the IRS tax code, and we’re not going to keep it. The Law of Moses is a perfect Law because it came from God, but it doesn’t matter. We’re deficient, so the Law is not going to make us righteous or give us life.

It’s a bad situation, and Paul cries out, "Oh, wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death!" (v. 24).

The answer is that we will be delivered "through Jesus Christ our Lord" (v. 25).

I’ve heard it argued and discussed whether Christians suffer from the problem in Romans 7. I’ve even heard it argued that Paul was speaking of himself, and that he was still doing "the very thing I hate" (v. 15).

Obviously, Christians still suffer from the problem, the law of sin and death, described in Romans 7. On a practical basis, if you have any experience with Christians at all, you know that Christians struggle with what is described in Romans 7. That cannot be denied.

But that is not the normal Christian life, and it is not the life lived by the apostle Paul!

Paul disciplined his body daily and brought it under subjection (1 Cor. 9:27). Poul lived in good conscience before God and men (Acts 23:1; 24:16).

We can, too.

We saw in Romans 6 that this takes some choices from us. We have to know that we’ve died to Christ, been raised with him so that he can live through us, and we need to set our eyes on him and walk in the Spirit.

It’s important. Jesus died for this (Tit. 2:11-14; 2 Cor. 5:14-15).

Paul gives some specific advice we should look at in Romans 8 because it’s life changing.

Romans 8

First, let’s make it clear that Paul does not leave us wondering whether he was living in Romans 7 or whether we should be trapped in Romans 7.

Romans 8 starts by telling us that there is no condemnation for those of us that are in Christ Jesus.

There’s a reason for this! Those of us in Christ Jesus "have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (Gal. 5:24). The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has delivered us from the law of sin and death (v. 2).

In verse 3, Paul says, "What the Law could not do, God did."

We are not stuck in Romans 7, and Paul was not either. We don’t have to continue to cry, "Who will deliver us from this body of death?" Jesus will, and if we have believed into him, then we already are.

"Reckon yourselves," Paul said (Rom. 6:11) to be dead to sin and alive to God through Jesus. We need to believe, to mark it down in our minds, that we are not the same. We don’t live by the same old life. We are new creatures, created in Christ Jesus to do good works.

Paul goes on in Romans 8 to explain that this is exactly the route to righteousness and holiness, and its end, eternal life.

For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace … and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (vv. 5,6,8, NASB)

Our power is in a mind set on the Spirit. Unbelievably, the difference between a godly Christian and one who is being destroyed by the world and by the flesh is simply where his or her mind is set.

Perhaps that shouldn’t be a surprise. Paul made a point of saying that Abraham’s faith was marked by the ability to avoid considering his own body or Sarah’s, too old to have a child, and instead to dwell on the promise of God in faith.

Romans 8 is not the only place Paul says this:

If you are risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth. For you are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Col. 3:1-3)

Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith … Consider him who endured such opposition of sinners against himself, lest you be wearied and faint in your minds. (Heb. 12:1b,2a,3)

There is a meditating and pursuing of God that we CANNOT live without. You CANNOT dodge this. You CANNOT get around it.

God thinks Jesus is worth it. When you stand before him, you are not going to be able to convince him that you had more important things to do which prevented you from meditating on his Word and setting your mind on Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

So, then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh to live according to the flesh, for if you live according to the flesh you will die. If, however, you put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit, then you will live. (vv. 12-13)

Romans 8, Part II

That last section was Paul’s advice on being delivered from the law of sin and death by the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus.

Right after v. 13 (quoted just above), Paul gives us what I consider a transition verse. The transition verse is:

Those who are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. (v. 14)

It is those who are led by the Spirit of God who are the sons of God, but now we’re moving from the qualifications—walking in the Spirit and not in the flesh—to the rewards, and the rewards are incredible.

Above everything else is that we get to be sons of God! The entire creation is awaiting the revelation of these sons of God!

This, by the way, explains why Jesus said you must be worthy and overcome (Rev. 3:4-5). We are the trophies of the grace of God. He is going to put us on display for all eternity as the proof of the riches of grace (Eph. 2:7).

But if we walk in the Spirit (and suffer with him, v. 17), then the sufferings of this time won’t even compare to the glory that will be revealed in us (v. 18).

Not only that, but God is with us! We are in right standing with God. As we live every day in grace through faith, God will not impute sin to us. He will not accept the charges of men or angels against us. We are his elect, and no one can lay anything against us. We "overwhelmingly conquer" (v. 37, NASB) through him who loves us.

He makes all things work together for good, and he will carry us through from justification to glorification.

This Week’s Reading Schedule

Monday, May 7: Romans Overview
Tuesday, May 8: Romans 1-3
Wednesday, May 9: Romans 4-6
Thursday, May 10: Romans 7-8
Friday, May 11: Romans 9-11

Next week we will return to the Hebrew Scriptures to begin the histories with 1 and 2 Samuel.

The overall year’s plan is here.

Romans 4

If Romans 4 were the only chapter in the Bible, it might be possible to justify the common doctrine that a person can live however they want and go to heaven. That would be one possible interpretation of Romans 4 by itself.

But Romans 4 is part of a letter that gives a context to Paul’s argument. We have seen, and will see further, that Paul talks about faith alone when he is talking about our coming to Christ, the beginning of our faith, our "past tense" salvation. When he talks about eternal life and heaven—our "future tense" salvation—judgment according to works is mentioned.

Excursus on Faith, Works, and Semantics

To be fair, most people who teach that a Christian can go to heaven by faith alone, no matter how he lives, also teach that faith will automatically produce righteous living in a person, whether out of gratefulness or divine influence.

Practically, however, we all know that not everyone who claims faith in Christ lives righteously. I’ve met not just a few, but many, who are living in works of the flesh mentioned in Galatians 5:19-21 and who expect to go to heaven despite the fact that they are completely unrepentant about their sin.

Further, in a number of churches of which I’ve been a part, church leaders justified such behavior, saying things like "They’re saved by grace not works" or "You’re not the Holy Spirit; don’t judge them."

They justify this by saying that Galatians 5:19-21, when it says that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God, really refers to "experiencing kingdom living here on earth."

This is not some fringe teaching. Everywhere that "eternal security" is taught, this bizarre interpretation of Galatians 5:19-21 (and thus 1 Cor. 6:9-11 and Eph. 5:5 as well) is taught.

This false teaching has spread so far that I sat in a Sunday school class once and listened to three couples tell my wife and I that Jesus didn’t mean it when he said that the Father wouldn’t forgive us if we didn’t forgive others (Matt. 6:15). I listened to the popular pastor and preacher, Charles Stanley, explain on the radio that there’s two kinds of forgiveness, one for experiencing God on earth and one for going to heaven, and Jesus only meant the former.

Let me make this practical for you and for me.

Romans is very clear that we enter into Christ by faith, apart from works of any kind. Even after we come into Christ, we live by his life, his grace, and his Spirit. It is "by the Spirit" that we put to death the deeds of the body.

But does this happen automatically, or do we have to make choices, some of them very hard to make?

When we get to Romans 6 and Romans 8, we will see that Paul talks about being freed from sin by the power of grace. He talks about being dead to ourselves and alive to Christ.

But we will also see that over and over we are told to put forth our own effort to be obedient to the Spirit, or in other words, to walk according to the Spirit rather than according to the flesh. As Paul puts it in Galatians:

If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. (5:25)

This concept is not difficult to see, not even in Romans and Galatians. What is difficult in the modern age is to feel free to use apostolic terminology in expressing what the apostles say.

It is a rare church that would tolerate your teaching that God gives eternal life to those who pursue immortality by patiently continuing to do good. Yet Paul said exactly that in Romans 2:6-7.

It is a rare church that would tolerate your teaching that we are justified by works and not faith only, yet James said exactly that. It won’t matter that you explain what you mean. In modern Protestant churches, you simply are not allowed to say what James said.

It is a rare church that would tolerate your teaching that you must not grow weary in doing good if you want to reap eternal life, yet in context there is no question that Paul said exactly that.

When we learn to speak scripturally, we will learn to believe scripturally. When we have taboos against statements that can be found repeatedly in Scripture, we will never believe scripturally.

Have you ever heard that we are not to add to our faith because we are saved by faith alone? I have. Often. That is not only unscriptural, it is an exact violation of the command in 2 Pet. 1:5 to add virtue (and a lot of other things) to our faith.

Most of modern Protestantism fears tradition. You must not choose tradition over the Word of God, even if it gets you defamed, as it got Christ defamed.

You must also heed the warning that Scripture gives. You cannot relax and coast along. Like Paul, you must discipline your body daily (1 Cor. 9:27), sow to the Spirit (Gal. 6:8), and so obtain the prize (Php. 3:9-15).

Back to Romans 4

With all that in mind, let’s not miss what Romans 4 is giving us. What a glorious prize to obtain! That the Lord God Almighty would not impute sin to us! We can follow the faith of Abraham, who took God at his word and left his homeland, and David, who believed God so much he stood up to Goliath, and enter into a life of grace.

This is truly salvation. Formerly, we were powerless over sin and hopeless of mercy. Now, we can obtain a covenant relationship with God, in perfect standing with him, and have God continually cleanse us where we fall short.

If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from every sin. (1 Jn. 1:7)

It may seem like I’m bringing things into Romans 4, but notice that Paul says in 4:16, "It is by faith, in order that it might be in accordance with grace" (NASB).

We have learned what grace is. Grace breaks sin’s power over us (Rom. 6:14). It teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live soberly, righteously, and godly (Tit. 2:11-12).

Grace is for everyone. It is by faith, Paul says, so that it might be by grace, so that not only those who have the Law might be justified (4:16).

Romans 5

Paul begins Romans 5 on the same subject he was on in Romans 4. Don’t let chapter breaks throw you off. When you start a chapter after a break of a day or two, it’s good to read the end of the chapter before so that you’re back in the context of the writer.

Through faith we obtain our introduction into grace, and it is grace which saves us (Eph. 2:8) and grace by which we stand (Rom. 5:2).

This chapter has my favorite example of the past tense/future tense dichotomy in Paul’s writings:

Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. (vv. 9-10, NASB)

Our justification apart from works is tied to Jesus’ death and blood. Our salvation from the wrath of God, in the future, at the judgment, comes through his life.

Please don’t misunderstand. While Paul and James (and the other apostles) are not afraid to use the "works" word in regard to heaven, and neither should we, our good works are the produce of Jesus Christ living his life through us. Struggle and strive on your own, without complete dependence on Jesus Christ, and you will create a whirlwind of self-effort that will suck you down into despair.

I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live. Yet not I, but Christ lives in me. (Gal. 2:20)

Because of God you are in Christ Jesus, who by God is made wisdom, righteousness, holiness, and redemption for us. (1 Cor. 1:30)

Eternal Life and Individual Terminology Among Apostles

Romans 5 ends by saying:

Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (vv. 20b-21, NASB)

We have already seen that Paul speaks of eternal life as something that will be rewarded to us in the future. When he speaks of the life of God in us on earth, he just calls it life.

The apostle John, whose writings we have not looked at yet in this Through the Bible plan, uses eternal life differently. He speaks of eternal life as the current possession of the believer (Jn. 6:47), and he even refers to Jesus as eternal life incarnate (1 Jn. 1:1-2). We’ll talk more about the difference between the two usages when we get to John’s letters and Gospel.

For now, suffice it to say that a common mistake in interpretation that Protestants make is trying to fit John’s terminology into Paul’s letters. It doesn’t work.

Thus, when Paul says, " … grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life … ," he is giving us a progression. Grace reigns in us, displaying itself in righteousness, and resulting in eternal life.

Romans 6:22 says it almost exactly that way:

Having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification [holiness], and the outcome, eternal life. (NASB, brackets mine)

But let’s get to Romans 6:

Romans 6

There’s not much to say here. We’ve clarified this so much on the way here, even quoting several verses from it, that it ought to speak for itself.

First, this chapter should have put to rest all the false doctrine we talked about above.

Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? (vv. 1b-2, NASB)

The first eleven verses of this chapter are something that all great saints of God have internalized. There is no other way to a life of holiness. You must understand your identification with Christ. You have died with him, you were buried in baptism, and you were raised with him to a new life that he lives through you. He is your life!

For you are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then you shall appear with him in glory. (Col. 3:3-4).

One note about holiness:

Holiness means separation. To be holy is to be set aside for the purposes of God.

For the most part, none of us really understands what that looks like. Our ideas of holy are almost certainly all wrong. The only way for us to attain to a real holiness is to let the Spirit of God live through us. That doesn’t necessarily look clean and pristine. It might mean spending time with sinners, homosexuals, and prostitutes and being accused of being a drunk, which is what happened to Jesus.

Here in Romans 6, we really see the synergy of divine, miraculous salvation and human effort and obedience. These two verses are perhaps the best example:

Our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might bedone away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin. (v. 6b, NASB)

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you should obey its lusts. (v. 12, NASB)

Let me once again remind you that the difference between "free gift" and "gift" in Romans (in most translations) is that "free gift" translates charisma and "gift" translates dorima.

"Free gift" is really a redundant term. All gifts are free. So some translations render charisma as "gift of grace" because the Greek word for grace, charis, is the root word of charisma.

I like "gift of grace" because I believe the difference between the two is that a charisma is a gift that changes the recipient. The spiritual gifts of 1 Corinthians 12 are charismata (plural of charisma).

I mention all this because eternal life is called a charisma in v. 23. To me, this says that when we receive eternal life at the judgment, we will be utterly transformed. To the early Christians, those who wrote immediately after the time of the apostles, this was a central idea. They looked forward to the time when they would become immortal, which to them made them gods. (We flinch at the word "gods," but they didn’t. They referenced John 10:34-35, where Jesus says that the Scriptures "called them gods to whom the Word of God came.)

Some, though, like to use this to argue that eternal life, given out at the judgment is a "free" gift, which they argue means that God does not require us to be worthy of it.

Eternal life is a gift, given out to those who obtain grace and its fruit, holiness, and the result of holiness, which is eternal life (v. 22). This does not mean that we are not required to be worthy of it.

If a boss at a company hands out bonuses at Christmas, and the most important and beneficial employees get the highest bonuses, while troublesome employees get little or none, does this make the bonus any less a gift? It was not due. The employee could not demand it. It was freely offered, and nothing new was asked of the employee to receive it. It was free.

Eternal life is a gift, but it is given to the worthy:

You have a few names, even in Sardis, who have not defiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. (Rev. 3:4)

Jesus, who was the author of that letter to Sardis, apparently knew nothing about the doctrine that we cannot be worthy of eternal life.

This Week’s Reading Schedule

Monday, May 7: Romans Overview
Tuesday, May 8: Romans 1-3
Wednesday, May 9: Romans 4-6
Thursday, May 10: Romans 7-8
Friday, May 11: Romans 9-11

Next week we will return to the Hebrew Scriptures to begin the histories with 1 and 2 Samuel.

The overall year’s plan is here.

Romans 1

If you’re trying to follow Paul’s argument in Romans, then Romans 1:16-17 is a crucial passage. After he has concluded all his greetings, he begins his argument with these two verses:

I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. (NASB)

Paul is confident of his Gospel, the Gospel of faith, because it produces the righteousness of God. There is a real power in his Gospel, and that power is the power to produce salvation. That salvation can be seen ("is revealed") as each person believes.

Paul follows this up by saying the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.

Romans 2:1-4

Having distinguished in chapter one between those who walk in the righteousness of God by faith and those who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, he continues that thought in Romans 2 in a way that applies to much of modern Christianity.

Paul is writing to Christians, but the hypocrisy he describes here was a problem among Jews as well. They considered themselves keepers of the Law, in solid covenant with God, because they were circumcised, kept the Sabbath and food laws, and offered sacrifices. Outside of those religious activities, they lived much like the outside world, being greedy, practicing adultery, etc.

Today, we have Christians in much the same boat. They live just like the world, but they’ve "accepted Jesus," so they think they have a free ticket to heaven. Paul is appalled by such thinking:

Do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? (Rom. 2:3, NASB)

Yes, Paul. Today many Christians suppose that they can practice what non-Christians practice and escape the judgment of God. In fact, it’s a central doctrine of many Protestant churches that Christians will not be judged impartially like the world! They believe they will be shown partiality because they "accepted Jesus"!

Paul doesn’t just address this here, but also in Ephesians:

For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them. (Eph. 5:5-7, NASB)

You can’t miss the import of these words. God’s wrath comes upon the sons of disobedience because of immorality, impurity, and greed. So don’t do those things, or God’s wrath will come on you, too! You should know "with certainty" that such people have no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Romans 2:5-8: Judgment

Most Protestants don’t believe this passage applies to them. They don’t believe they will be judged according to their works, and if they do, they certainly don’t believe that eternal life is at stake!

But Paul describes the judgment in exactly that way. God is going to give eternal life to those who pursued glory, honor, and immortality by patiently continuing to do good.

That’s not an interpretation; that’s what Paul said.

We discussed a similar passage in Galatians yesterday.

He who sows to the flesh will reap corruption from the flesh. He who sows to the Spirit will reap everlasting life from the Spirit. Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap if we do not lose heart. (Gal. 6:8-9)

In Galatians, writing to Christians, Paul tells them that by not growing weary in doing good, they will reap eternal life. He is not talking about reaping rewards, and you don’t reap both eternal life and corruption. You reap one or the other.

There’s not much difference between "not growing weary in doing good" and "patiently continuing in doing good," so Paul has told us twice, in the great faith books of Romans and Galatians that we will inherit eternal life by doing good.

This should not surprise us! Protestants don’t like what the apostles’ writings have to say about the judgment, but there are a lot of passages, and they are very consistent:

• Matt. 7:21: Only those who do the will of the Father will enter the kingdom of heaven.
• Matt. 25:31-46: The sheep and goats are judged according to their care for the needy. The sheep receive eternal life, and the goats are consigned to everlasting punishment.
• Jn. 5:26-29: Jesus is the Judge, and he will raise up those who have done good to life and those who have done evil to condemnation.
• Rom. 2:5-8: We looked at that here.
• Rom. 8:13: If we put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit, we will live.
• 1 Cor. 9:27: Paul has to discipline his body, or he will be disqualified.
• 2 Cor. 5:10-11: Christians will be judged according to their works, whether good or bad, and the terror of this judgment compels Paul to persuade men.
• 1 Pet. 1:17: God will judge impartially according to everyone’s work, something we should always fear.
• Rev. 20:11-15: At the resurrection, everyone will be judged according to their works.

There is just nothing to the contrary anywhere in the New Testament.

Because most theologians are after a goal, an interpretation that they want, rather than reading the Scriptures for what they say, 1 Corinthians 3:5-15 is often cited as an example of someone having no good works, but being saved at the judgment anyway.

I don’t think it takes a lot of insight to see that 1 Corinthians 3:5-15 is talking about ministry, not the works in a person’s life. If you teach, you will receive a stricter judgment (Jam. 3:1), but you won’t go to hell for being a lousy teacher.

Romans 2:14-16

Does this passage say that non-Christians (and non-Jews) can be justified at the judgment for living their lives in good conscience? That seems to defy what Paul says about concluding all men under sin (the whole point of Romans 3). It seems to defy what Jesus said about being the only way to the Father.

I don’t have answers for you. I find Christians all over the place on this subject. I like to think that God, as a merciful Judge, offers hope to those that have never heard the Gospel, but I can’t confidently say this passage assures me of that.

There is the statement by Peter in Acts that says:

In every nation, the one that fears [God] and works righteousness is accepted by him. (Acts 10:35)

So I lean toward thinking that God has a merciful judgment even for those that have not heard the Gospel of Christ, but I don’t think my case is inarguable.

Romans 2:28-29

I need to point out here that the early churches considered themselves spiritual Israel. Paul says here that those who are circumcised only outwardly are not Jews.

It’s hard to know the purposes of God with the earthly nation of Israel. Their return to their land after over 18 centuries was amazing. But we must not lose sight of the Gospel. God is not going to raise up a new Old Covenant people. The Old Covenant is gone; it has vanished away (Heb. 8:13). Jews, like Gentiles, need to receive a spiritual circumcision by faith if they want to be grafted back into the tree that is the Israel of God.

Romans 3

This chapter emphasizes that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (v. 23). Much of the chapter builds up to that one verse. Every one of us is in desperate need of some alternative to the Law, which cannot bring us to life, righteousness, and justification before God.

By the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in his sight (v. 20, NASB)

So what is the alternative to the Law?

Now, apart from the Law, the righteousness of God has been revealed. (v. 21)

The alternative is faith in Christ. The alternative involves both mercy and grace, and though those are used interchangeably often in modern Christianity, they are very different.

Faith in Christ brings forgiveness for our former weakness and our violation of the Law and our consciences. That is mercy:

In the forbearance of God, he passed over the sins previously committed. (v. 25, NASB)

It also brings the righteousness of God, lived out in those of us who walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh. That is grace:

Being justified (lit. "rendered righteous") as a gift by his grace through the redemption (i.e., purchase out of slavery [to sin]) which is in Christ Jesus. (v. 24, NASB)

Paul will explain all of this more fully as we go through the next five chapters.

This Week’s Reading Schedule

Monday, May 7: Romans Overview
Tuesday, May 8: Romans 1-3
Wednesday, May 9: Romans 4-6
Thursday, May 10: Romans 7-8
Friday, May 11: Romans 9-11

Next week we will return to the Hebrew Scriptures to begin the histories with 1 and 2 Samuel.

The overall year’s plan is here.

Why Overview Romans?

The belief that we go to heaven by faith alone is so pervasive in Protestant Christianity that it is accepted unquestioningly by most Protestants. In fact, questioning heaven by faith alone is considered heresy in many denominations, and their members, for the most part, will not even hold a discussion with you on the subject.

Heaven by faith alone is not true, however. It is a brand new doctrine, only as old as the Reformation, and it violates Scripture and common sense on many levels.

If we don’t deal with heaven by faith alone thoroughly now, there’s no point in going through the apostles’ letters with me because we will disagree on almost every page.

Heaven by Faith Alone

You probably noticed that I said "heaven by faith alone" rather than "salvation by faith alone."

Salvation by faith alone is something that the apostle Paul teaches, but "salvation" is a very big word. You can be saved from sin, saved from hell, saved from demonic possession, saved from drowning, and saved from financial ruin. Paul is not talking about all those things when he says we are saved by faith apart from works.

When Paul says we are saved from faith apart from works, he is not talking about going to heaven. You do not go to heaven apart from works, which is what James was trying to warn us about in chapter 2 of his letter. (And what John is trying to warn us about throughout 1 John, but we haven’t gotten to that yet.)

Past Tense and Future Tense Salvation

Whenever Paul talks about faith apart from works, he is always speaking in the past tense. This is consistent throughout his letters; there are no exceptions.

When we came to Christ, past tense, we came as slaves to sin. God didn’t ask us to do works to become a Christian. The very point of the New Covenant is that we could not do good works. We need Jesus’ death, grace, the Spirit of God, and the church before we could be taught to live righteously.

Thus, we were justified, past tense, by faith alone. We repented, we were baptized, and he washed away our sins and gave us the Spirit of God so that we could be new creatures, living a new life.

But what does Paul say about the future?

So, then brothers, we are in debt, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh, for if we live according to the flesh, we will die. But if, by the Spirit, we put to death the deeds of the body, then we will live. (Rom. 8:12-13)

Notice that Paul writes we “will” die or we “will” live. He speaking in the future tense now, and suddenly something is required of us. It is no longer just faith, but we must put to death the deeds of the body by the Spirit.

He says it in Galatians, too:

Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. Whatever a person sows, that will he reap. He who sows to the flesh will reap corruption from the flesh. He who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap everlasting life. Let us not grow weary in doing good because we will reap in due season if we do not lose heart. (Gal. 6:7-9)

Again, Paul uses the word "will." He is speaking of what we "will" reap, future tense. And once again, there is something we must do. It is not apart from works, but we must sow to the Spirit.

In fact, Paul sums it up with, "Let us not grow weary in doing good." Apparently, he sees a strong tie between sowing to the Spirit and doing good.

Finally, he adds that we will "reap" in due season if we don’t lose heart. What is being reaped? In context, there is no doubt that it is eternal life that Paul says we will reap if we do not lose heart.

Early Christian Testimony

One of the earliest writings outside of the apostles’ writings is by a man named Polycarp, the bishop (overseer) of Smyrna, one of the churches mentioned in the Revelation. Tradition holds that he was appointed to his position by the apostle John.

Many years ago, when I was as confused by the conflict between James 2 and Romans 3 as everyone else was, I read Polycarp’s letter. In its first chapter, he wrote:

… into which joy many desire to enter, knowing that by grace you are saved, not of works.

In the very next chapter, he wrote:

He who raised Him up from the dead will raise up us also, if we do His will, and walk in His commandments, and love what He loved, keeping ourselves from all unrighteousness …

Was Polycarp—a leading bishop of his day, a martyr for Christ, and a selection of the apostles—a heretic? Or did he simply understand what we have forgotten? We entered the Christian life, past tense, apart from works, but we must sow to the Spirit, putting to death the deeds of the body, if we want to be raised up and inherit the kingdom of God in the future.

Consistency in Paul

Let’s look at another one of Paul’s letters, Ephesians, so that you can see the consistency of this past tense (faith)/future tense (works by the Spirit) dichotomy.

For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God has prepared beforehand for us to do. (Eph. 2:8-10)

This is past tense salvation. Through faith, we entered into grace, and grace saves us, completely apart from works, by making us his workmanship, a brand new creation, created for good works, which we were powerless to walk in before.

For this you know, that no sexually immoral person, unclean man, or covetous person—who is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for it’s because of these things that the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. (Eph. 5:5-6)

The letter to the Ephesians is just like Polycarp’s letter. We are saved from our old way of life, raised anew in Christ, by grace, apart from works, but if we wish to be raised with him, then don’t be deceived, we must not be sexually immoral, unclean, or greedy.

In fact, it has always amazed me how many of these passages contain the words "do not be deceived." It’s as though Paul foresaw the modern mindset and warned us not to embrace it ourselves.

Forgiveness Today

The one thing I do not discuss in today’s blog is Paul’s discussion of those to whom the Lord will not impute sin (Rom 4). We must briefly discuss who it is to whom the Lord will not impute sin.

Do we really believe that the Lord will not impute sin to those who sow to the flesh? He has said they will reap corruption (Gal. 6:8). He has said they will die (Rom 8:12). He has said that the immoral would not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9; Eph. 5:5). Does that sound like he is not imputing sin to them?

I think John sums it up well:

If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from every sin. (1 Jn. 1:7)

This sounds like a person to whom the Lord is not imputing sin. It is a person who is walking in the light. He is not necessarily perfectly sowing to the Spirit (and perhaps no one is—Jam. 3:2), but he is walking in the light, generally marked by obedience to the Gospel. We all know people like this. We expect God to have mercy on them.

Others, though, walk as mockers of God, and we are horrified at the thought that God is going to show them mercy. He won’t. God is not mocked (Gal. 6:7).

Justin Martyr, a Christian of the mid-2nd century, summed it up this way:

"Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin"; that is, having repented of his sins, that he may receive remission of them from God; and not as you [Jews] deceive yourselves, and some others who resemble you in this, who say, that even though they be sinners, but know God, the Lord will not impute sin to them. We have as proof of this the one fall of David … which was forgiven then when he mourned and wept in the way it is written. But if even to such a man no remission was granted before repentance … how can the impure and utterly abandoned, if they weep not, and mourn not, and repent not, entertain the hope that the Lord will not impute to them sin? (Dialogue with Trypho, a Jew 141)

This Week’s Reading Schedule

Monday, April 30: Romans 1-6
Tuesday, May 1: Romans 7-11
Wednesday, May 2: Romans 12-16
Thursday, May 3: James 1-5
Friday, May 4: Galatians 1-6

Next week we will go back over Romans chapter by chapter, comparing James and Galatians (and the Gospels).

The overall year’s plan is here.

Galatians

Galatia was a province, not a city, so Paul writes to the "churches" of Galatia, rather than the church. It is northwest of Antioch, Paul’s home church, in present day Turkey.

The issue in Galatians is that "Judaizers" had come through and convinced these Galatian churches that they should be circumcised and keep the Law. Paul spends most of Galatians explaining why this is not true.

Galatians 1:1-5

Paul defends his apostleship in the very first line. His authority has been challenged, so he defends it.

Notice the reason Jesus died in verse 4. His death delivers us from this present evil age (cf. Acts 2:40). As we saw in Romans, there is real power in what Jesus did, and it transforms those who believe.

Galatians 1:6-9

Paul does not beat around the bush. The gospel of the Judaizers is a false gospel, and he is not going to tolerate it (cf. 2:5). He pronounces an anathema on those who would change the Gospel of Christ.

The term "Judaizer" is used of those early Christians who promoted circumcision and the keeping of the Law. It’s used because they were trying to make Jews out of Gentiles.

An anathema is an ecclesiastical curse. Some think it consigns the cursed one to damnation, others to separation from the church, and others don’t specify.

Galatians 1:10-2:14

This is Paul’s story, where he explains how he received his Gospel and points out that it is endorsed by the apostles. These Judaizers may claim the support of the church in Jerusalem, but Paul really had it (see Acts 15).

Note in 2:11-14 that while it must have taken great courage for Paul to rebuke Peter publicly, it must have taken even greater humility for Peter to put up with it!

Note also the influence that James had over the church in Jerusalem and even among the apostles. James didn’t even come to Antioch, just "certain men" from James, and Peter stopped eating with the Gentiles! Peter, the apostle that brought the Gospel to the Gentiles and the apparent leader of the apostles, was intimidated by men from James! (Acts 11:1-18).

Very little is known about how James became so influential, other than he was known as a very righteous man and he was Jesus’ brother. His "rise to power" is never discussed anywhere authoritatively that I know of.

Galatians 2:15-21

This passage is probably a continuation of what Paul said to Peter, but I’m treating it separately because of the teaching that is in it. Here, as in Romans, Paul begins to defend his Gospel again.

In this passage Paul says both things he was trying to explain in Romans.

• We cannot achieve our own righteousness through works because we’re slaves of sin.
• Righteousness will come to us if by faith we enter into the life of Christ and walk by that life rather than our own.

Yes, we are "saved" by faith alone, but the salvation to which he refers is our entrance into the Christian faith, our deliverance from our old life. At baptism, we became a new creation, and Christ lives through us, completely by faith. Faith is the entrance to grace (Rom. 5:2), which breaks sin’s power over us (Rom. 6:14) and teaches us to live sober, godly, and righteous lives (Tit. 2:11-12).

Today, though we think salvation by faith alone is heaven by faith alone. The Scriptures don’t teach that, and Paul doesn’t teach that (Rom. 2:5-8; Gal. 5:19-21; 6:7-9). You will never find Paul teaching that a Christian goes to heaven by faith alone. In fact, he never uses the terminology "go to heaven," but he does speak often of inheriting the kingdom of God and receiving eternal life. When he does, he talks about walking by the Spirit vs. walking by the flesh and about the sins that can keep us out of that kingdom. Galatians 5:19-21 and 6:7-9 are excellent examples.

Just because a person has been saved from their sins through faith is not a guarantee of heaven. We still need to be saved from wrath by living out Christ’s life (Rom. 5:9-10). We need to "be diligent to make our calling and election sure" (2 Pet. 1:10).

Galatians 3

Verse 3: The contrast here is between the Spirit and the works of the Law. In both cases, the goal is to be perfected or completed. The Law will not successfully perfect us because our flesh is weak and sinful (Rom. 7), but the Spirit can: "What the Law could not do, God did by sending his own Son … " (Rom. 8:3-4).

Paul rebukes the Galatians here for starting in the Spirit and then expecting to go on by the keeping of the Law.

He is not rebuking them for seeking to do good works. In this very letter he will tell them, "Do not grow weary in doing good, for in due season you will reap if you do not lose heart" (6:9). As we’ll see when we get there, the thing being reaped by not growing weary in doing good is eternal life.

In Paul’s letter to Titus, he tells us that one purpose of Jesus’ death is that we would be "zealous for good works" (2:14).

Thus, Paul is not speaking against good works. He is speaking against the attempt to live righteously by the Law rather than by walking by the Spirit.

Verses 13-14: Throughout Paul’s letters he explains several different ways that Jesus’ death took away the Law’s claim on us. In this case, he points out that Jesus already took the Law’s curse, so we don’t have to worry about that anymore.

(In Rom. 7, he says we died in Christ so that we are no longer married to the Law. In Ephesians 2, he says that the Law was nailed to the cross and taken out of the way.)

Verses 15-18: Paul argues that Abraham’s covenant of promise came before Moses’ Law, so that it takes priority. Paul is presenting the argument against the Law from every angle.

Verses 19-22: The purpose of the Law was to reveal our sin. If there were a Law that could have delivered us from sin, Paul says, then righteousness would have come that way, but there’s not. So Paul preaches faith in Christ, which does bring life and righteousness to those who believe.

Verses 26-28: Paul ties faith and baptism together in verses 26 and 27. We’re sons of God through faith in Christ, but the way into Christ was that we were baptized into him. The result is that we are part of Abraham’s covenant of promise and faith, not Moses’ covenant of law and works.

Galatians 4:1-20

Paul continues his thought that the Law was a schoolmaster to lead us to Christ. It was our guardian until the promised Messiah came.

Galatians 4:21-5:1

Paul uses Sarah and Hagar as symbolic representatives of the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. One is free, and one is a slave. Paul is driving the point home that the Galatians, by choosing the Law, are choosing a powerless slavery. (Peter called it a yoke too great to bear in Acts 15:10 as well.)

Galatians 5:2-6

Paul has strong words for the Galatians who give in to the Judaizers. They are "severed from Christ" and they are "fallen from grace."

God is not going to empower them to keep the Law. That is not the New Covenant. The New Covenant is to walk by the Spirit and not by the letter. God’s not going to change his covenant because men don’t understand or appreciate it. That covenant was purchased with the precious blood of his Son, the most costly purchase in the history of the universe.

I want to encourage you, too, to take some comfort from verse 5. Many of us who are Christians struggle. We read yesterday that "we all stumble in many things" (Jam. 3:2). Being spiritual means setting your mind on the things of the Spirit and letting Christ live through you. Paul calls it a "hope" of righteousness.

As we lean into the Spirit and walk in the Spirit, we will find ourselves changing. The Christian walk is not a walk from sin one day to perfection the next. It’s a walk of mercy and growth day by day.

Galatians 5:16-25

Here Paul drives home the difference between Spirit and flesh. In case his statements about walking in the Spirit are too abstract, he gives concrete examples of works of the flesh and fruit of the Spirit.

That’s not accidental terminology. Walking by the Spirit produces good works, but those good works are the fruit, or result, of setting our mind on spiritual things. As Paul said in Romans 8, the righteous requirement of the Law is fulfilled in those of us who walk according to the Spirit.

And again, this is all tied to inheriting the kingdom of God. Walk in the flesh, and you will not. He’ll say that again in the next chapter.

Galatians 6:1-10

This continues the thoughts at the end of chapter 5. We must help each other to walk spiritually, not condemn each other. If we take care of each other, perhaps the Judaizers would have no place among us. In the same way, today, if we take care of one another, we will find ourselves able to walk in the power of the Spirit.

But God is not mocked. There is mercy and restoration for the weak, but there is corruption and death for those who sow to the flesh without repentance.

Galatians 6:11

This statement about large letters has prompted most commentators to suggest that Paul had an eye disease. They suggest it is to this that he refers when he mentions an "infirmity" in 4:13.

Galatians 6:12-18

Paul makes an interesting charge in verses 12-13, saying that the Judaizers don’t keep the Law themselves! They’re preaching circumcision to avoid persecution and to boast about their successes.

He then makes a statement well worth memorizing:

For circumcision is nothing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. (v. 15)