Law
vs Grace????
A review of the basics Part 6
Are these really in conflict??
Lessons on how to explain what you believe!!!!
Review:
Here is a brief overview of what we have covered…..
Ø Dietary laws.
Ø Sabbath being changed.
Ø 2 ‘New’ Commandments.
Ø Messiah is the ‘end’ of the law.
Ø The law is fulfilled and is no more.
Ø The ‘faulty’ Old Covenant.
Ø And many other issues……
We left off in Galatians chapter 5 verse 14…..
Gal 5:14 For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF."
Gal 5:15 But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.
Gal 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
Gal 5:17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
Gal 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.
Gal 5:19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality,
Gal 5:20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions,
Gal 5:21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Gal 5:23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Gal 5:24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Gal 5:25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
Gal 5:26 Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.
Lets deal with verse 14
Gal 5:14 For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF."
We have already determined that the word ‘fulfilled’ does NOT mean do away with, abolish or annul. It means to fill up with meaning…..
Where does this statement Paul made “Love your neighbor as yourself come from?????
Oy Vey……… It comes from the Torah !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lev 19:18
'You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of
your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.
So how can Paul quote from the Torah (the Law) in a positive manner and then say it has been abolished????
The fact is….. He didn’t , Paul was simply battling the concept that obedience produces salvation….. Which we all agree with…
Let’s jump to verses 16 – 18…..
Gal 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
Gal 5:17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
Gal 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.
The phrase ‘walk by the spirit’ has been used many times to say that we don’t have to obey the Torah (the law), it means that we live by how our spirit leads us….. In other words….. We live by how we feel. However a closer look at the phrase reveals something……
“Walk by THE Spirit…..” is the phrase and the word ‘THE’ is often neglected. In other words, walk AS THE SPIRIT. No where are we told to walk by our emotional responses. Living by emotional responses is dangerous and is actually contrary to THE Spirit…
Those who try to say that the Spirit leads them to do things which are against the Torah (the law) have apparently never read Zech 7:12……
Zec 7:12 "They made their hearts like flint so that they could not hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from the LORD of hosts.
The Spirit GAVE the Torah (the law)…. The Spirit is not against the Torah (the law). The Spirit cannot lead you to do something that is against the Torah (the law)….
The people made their heart like flint and could not hear the law or the prophets….. In other words, they were not bondservants, they has not had their ears changed…..
Perhaps this is why we have so many denominations and prophetic teachings that are so completely against what God has said..…
Of course you’ll probably have someone say that Moses was not a prophet….
Deu 34:10 Since that time no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,
But wait, that’s the Old Testament, show me where it says that in the New Testament…..
Okie Dokie
Act 3:22 "Moses said, 'THE LORD GOD WILL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET LIKE ME FROM YOUR BRETHREN; TO HIM YOU SHALL GIVE HEED to everything He says to you.
and
Act 7:37 "This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, 'GOD WILL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET LIKE ME FROM YOUR BRETHREN.'
So both the Old and the New Testaments show that Moses was a prophet.
Gal 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.
We need to deal with the phrase ‘under the law’ again…..
Gal 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, then you are not in subjection to the system that results from perverting the Torah into legalism.
We have to read these phrases like a Hebrew would, not a 21st century American…..
Gal 5:19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality,
Gal 5:20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions,
Gal 5:21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Let’s focus on a few of these deeds and see if we can see some similarities to today…….
Immorality – Strongs 4202 – It means Harlotry….
Impurity – Strongs 167 – It means uncleanness…..
Idolatry – Strongs 1495 – It means Image worship……
Enmities – Strongs 2189 – It means hated, hostile, opposing each other……
Disputes – Strongs 2052 – It means electioneering/ intriguing for office…..
Dissensions – Strongs 1370 – It means divisions….
What modern day organization has these traits????
The Modern Day Church
The very group that claims the Torah (the law) is not for us….
How do they do this????
Harlotry – They have gone with other god’s…….
Impurity – they claim that nothing is unclean……
Dissensions – 3000 denominations in the USA alone….
Enmities – constant internal battles…..
Disputes – constant manipulating of people to gain more……
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Gal 5:23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
See…. The law doesn’t contain the fruit of the Spirit…..
That’s not what Paul was saying…. He said that there is no law or commandment in the Torah (the law) that goes against any of these things…. He never said the Torah was against such….
Gal 5:24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Gal 5:25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
Gal 5:26 Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.
Don’t forget….. it’s THE Spirit, not YOUR spirit that you must live by……….
Let’s move on to chapter 6……….
Gal 6:1 Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.
Gal 6:2 Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.
Forgiveness is key…. Any of us are capable of falling into sin so we must be ready to forgive and help each other when we fall…..
The Law of Christ?? What is that??? Is that something different than the Torah??
Of course not…. The Law of Christ is the Torah, when its properly applied to our lives… The Law of Christ is not the version of legalism that was common in the time of the Messiah…
Gal 6:3 For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
Gal 6:4 But each one must examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another.
Gal 6:5 For each one will bear his own load.
Paul warns us that arrogance is a danger for us. Even though God is revealing many truths to us we must be careful to keep grounded. We can get over excited and think way too much of ourselves….
Gal 6:7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.
Gal 6:8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
We are all sowing something…. What we reap will be what we sow…. The choice is what kind of seed are we sowing…..
When you sow something, you reap more than what you sow…..
Gal 6:9 Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.
Gal 6:10 So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.
Living by Torah is not always easy. It can be tough and not always popular but its worth it…. Don’t lose heart, it will be worth it in the end…. Don’t ever miss the opportunity to do good, not only should you not miss an opportunity….. Go looking for the opportunity to do good. Use the Torah to do good…. Show people how much good can be done by living by Torah.
Gal 6:12 Those who desire to make a good showing in the flesh try to compel you to be circumcised, simply so that they will not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.
Gal 6:13 For those who are circumcised do not even keep the Law themselves, but they desire to have you circumcised so that they may boast in your flesh.
Who is Paul speaking about??? Is he speaking about the Jews?? Is he speaking about people who keep the Law??
Paul was speaking of those who were teaching that obeying Torah provided salvation. He was saying they were more interested in outward appearances than the condition of the heart….
Gal 6:15 For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.
See the law is nothing, it is meaningless…..
That’s not what Paul was saying…. He was trying to show that obeying the Torah won’t provide salvation…. Paul was battling a perception that only the Jews were qualified for salvation…. Paul was saying all people are qualified, if they accept the Messiah’s redemptive work….
Gal 6:16 And those who will walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.
Gal 6:17 From now on let no one cause trouble for me, for I bear on my body the brand-marks of Jesus.
Gal 6:18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen.
Paul was saying that if you live as he explained in this letter…. Accept the Messiah as your Saviour…. And then live as He lived, Obey the Torah that you will have peace and mercy….
Paul was encouraging these people to not let people cause them so much trouble….. Study daily, obey the Torah and don’t let people become a stumbling block!!!!!