Radio Broadcast Monday 08/19/2024

Classic Christianity – Book of Galatians P10 (08-19-24)

Do Not Rebuild What Has Been Torn Down! You Have Been Set Free From Law. Live Free.

~ These are Words of Wisdom from God. If we build back up on the law, no matter what that law is, we simply prove to ourselves we are a law breaker. Why in the world, would anyone want to put on themselves a law, any law, when the word of God declares that we have been set free from the Law? Why would we want to disobey the word of God, and now try to earn God’s acceptance, by trying to keep the law? And if you want to be a law keeper, yet a person gets to pick and choose which laws to obey and which not to obey, how much sense does that make? And then, there are those that create laws out of thin air, because they think that makes them righteous in the sight of God. Catholics have tons of church laws, and Protestants do the same type of things, though they do it more subtly, and don’t really tell anyone that they are trying to keep laws, but in their heart they are doing it because they think God is pleased with them when they think they are doing it. Both are hypocrites, actors, pretenders, because they simply show themselves to be law breakers and are big fat liars too.

We will be hitting this topic of LAW numerous times through the book of Galatians. Stand firm in your freedom. And don’t think you yourself cannot be led astray, for even Barnabas and Peter were led astray. So, do not let anyone put you back under the yoke of slavery to the law, not even yourself. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1

“For Christ is the end of the law, to bring righteousness to everyone who believes.” Romans 10:4

Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, accompanied by Barnabas. I took Titus along also. I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I spoke privately to those recognized as leaders, for fear that I was running or had already run in vain. Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.

This issue arose because some false brothers had come in under false pretenses to spy on our freedom in Christ Jesus, in order to enslave us. We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

But as for the highly esteemed—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—those leaders added nothing to me. On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted to preach the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised. For the One who was at work in Peter’s apostleship to the circumcised was also at work in my apostleship to the Gentiles.

And recognizing the grace that I had been given, James, Cephas (Peter), and John—those reputed to be pillars—gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. They only asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.

When Cephas (Peter) came to Antioch, however, I opposed him to his face, because he stood to be condemned. For 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, for fear of those in the circumcision group. The other [Ἰουδαϊκῶς (Ioudaikōs) Judaeans] joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.

When I saw that they were not walking in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas (Peter) in front of them all, “If you, who are a [Ἰουδαϊκῶς (Ioudaikōs) Judaean Hebrew], live like a Gentile and not like a [Ἰουδαϊκῶς (Ioudaikōs) Judaean], how can you compel the Gentiles to live like [Ἰουδαϊκῶς (Ioudaikōs) Judaeans]?”

We who are [Ἰουδαϊκῶς (Ioudaikōs) Judaean Hebrews] by birth and not Gentile “sinners” know that a man is not justified by works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

But if, while we seek to be justified in Christ, we ourselves are found to be sinners, does that make Christ a minister of sin? Certainly not! If I rebuild what I have already torn down, I prove myself to be a lawbreaker.

For through the law I died to the law so that I might live to 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 up for me. I do not set aside the grace of God. For if righteousness comes through the law, Christ died for nothing. Galatians 2:1-24

Pray to God:

Do you really want to know the WHOLE Truth of what is going on today?

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7

Lord Jesus, teach me the truth of the world today and give me the wisdom to know the truth and identify the lies of the devil. Thank you God.”

~ “And so let’s see how Paul deals with this the first two chapters, he’s dealing with the fact of establishing his own apostleship. He’s establishing the fact that the gospel that I’m proclaiming to you, I did not get from man, I didn’t get it from Peter. I didn’t get it from John. I didn’t get it from anyone except the Lord Jesus Christ, by divine revelation. So he’s saying, this is from God. What I’m teaching you is from God. Now, what he taught was confirmed by the other apostles as coming from God, so he was not in opposition. But Paul was the one that God revealed the fullness of the mystery too, and said, you’re the administrator of this mystery to the Gentile world and ultimately to the Hebrew world. And so the first two chapters are dealing with that. It’s dealing with the hypocrisy as we just talked about it. Here was Peter. And so here he was there, slopping down the pork chops with the best of them, with the Gentile world. And in it said, came the people from James.” ~ Bob George

Bible Study Booklets

Join Bob George in this chapter by chapter exposition of the letter to the Galatians. Available for download the complete series on the Book of Galatians. The Letter to the Galatians is key to understanding Law and Grace, the new covenant, and being one in Christ Jesus.

Announcer 0:12
Welcome to Classic Christianity Radio with Bob George Bob’s clear, timeless teachings on the complete forgiveness and unconditional love of Jesus Christ will transform your life as you learn about God’s amazing grace. Let’s join Bob as he teaches us from God’s Word.

Bob George 0:29
Well, let’s turn to the third chapter of the book of Galatians. The Book of Galatians is a book probably the most detailed writing that the apostle Paul ever wrote in regard to contrasting of law and grace and how this has been abused through the years in our Christian life, where we think nothing of the commingling of law and grace, We see that in, quite frankly, most of our churches where you teach a little grace, at least they teach that, you’re saved by grace, but then you live by law. And Paul attacks that, and in so doing would obviously, to the Hebrew world, attract a terrific amount of criticism because they had the law. Now the Gentiles did not have the law. So it’s a good thing that the apostle Paul, who was Hebrew, is the one who was teaching this, because if a Gentile was teaching that, we would have been run out of the country. He was run out himself. But the issue is, it was a Hebrew teaching that the law that we have had, if you’re in Christ, you’re dead to it.

And so he picks up in the third chapter here of the book of Galatians we talked about last week. And I’ll just review for a moment in regard to that in the second chapter, where he says, you remember that he chastised Peter, and he said, When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter, in front of all of them, you’re a Hebrew, and yet you live like a Gentile, not like a Hebrew. How is it then that you force Gentiles to follow Hebrew customs? And folks, again, you’re into this area of tradition, and people follow tradition instead of the word of God. And if your tradition does not match up to the Word of God, which one do you think you need to get rid of? And so he was saying that all who are Hebrews by birth and not Gentile sinners know that a man is not justified by observing the law. So you say, what can’t the law do for you? Well, the law cannot justify you. Know that no man will ever be justified through obedience to the law. The law cannot, in any way, shape or form, make you right righteous. In the sight of God, it says, If righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing, the law cannot give you life. If life could be gained through the law, then what did Christ need to come for? All of these are passages of Scripture. They’re not my interpretation. So the law can’t give you life. The law can’t justify you. The law can’t make you righteous. What can the law do for you? Kill you. That was its purpose to show you your spiritual death, so that you would turn to Him for the what he came to give us, and that’s life. So what was the purpose of the law? To show you that, through the law you died to the law. To show you that under the law, the wages of sin is what? Death. And all have sinned, and all have fallen short of the glory of God, and all are dead, born that way. That’s the purpose of the law to show us our condition, so that we would turn to Him for His provision. That’s the only purpose of the law. Now what did we do with that? Try to make it an instrument of righteousness.

And so instead of using the law for the purpose that God created it to show us our sinfulness and the consequence of our sinfulness, which is death, we used it as an instrument of righteousness, that if you do this and this and this, you’ll be right in the sight of God. And if you do this and this and this, God just love you to death. And then if the if the 10 weren’t good enough, we few. We threw in 600 and some more to the laws. And especially, you got to get tithing in there, of course. And so we’ve come up with all of this stuff that in the first place, with the majority of us who are sitting in this room, and a majority of people are sitting in churches today are Gentiles, and the Gentiles never were given any of the law. The law was given to the Hebrew, not to the Gentile. And so if we’ll get all of those things straight, the only thing we can do is to sit. And said, Where did we go astray? Really? Where did we go off? Where did the Christian world go off? And then people sit around today and want to study church history. I say, What do you want to study that for? To see all of the failures of man, from this book on, from the book of acts on, all you see in the Christian church is failure. Every place Paul went to establish the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Hebrewaizers came right in behind them and put them back under the law. That’s church history. That’s church history, failure of man to grab a hold of the truth that was proclaimed by Paul that said, if we are an angel from light come and preach any gospel other than when we preach to you, let him forever be accursed. Paul was sincere about this, and yet, from church history on, it’s been man commingling law and grace. And so the Apostle Paul deals with this, and if we would read the book of Galatians, we wouldn’t be in the shape that we’re in today.

And so let’s see how Paul deals with this the first two chapters, he’s dealing with the fact of establishing his own apostleship. He’s establishing the fact that the gospel that I’m proclaiming to you, I did not get from man, I didn’t get it from Peter. I didn’t get it from John. I didn’t get it from anyone except the Lord Jesus Christ, by divine revelation. So he’s saying, this is from God. What I’m teaching you is from God. Now, what he taught was confirmed by the other apostles as coming from God, so he was not in opposition. But Paul was the one that God revealed the fullness of the mystery too, and said, you’re the administrator of this mystery to the Gentile world and ultimately to the Hebrew world. And so the first two chapters are dealing with that. It’s dealing with the hypocrisy as we just talked about it. Here was Peter. And so here he was there, slopping down the pork chops with the best of them, with the Gentile world. And in it said, came the people from James.

Now, what does that tell you about James? James was the pastor in Jerusalem. Do you think he had a good handle on the grace of God? That’s the Lord’s brother. No wonder he didn’t have a handle on it. How would you like to have had Jesus as your brother? The issue is that James had a problem, and he had the problem of trying to introduce grace into the Jerusalem church that was embedded in the law. And so the people in James’ church, as we studied not too long ago, when the Apostle Paul came back to explain to him of the marvel of the Gentile coming to Christ, James’ immediate response was, Well, these Hebrew brothers have all come to Jesus too, and we’re zealous for the law. You’d like to slap him upside the head. What are you talking about? But that was the mindset. We’re zealous for the law, and and, and Paul was saying, you’re not under the law. Conflict? You better believe it. It was the conflict of the Christian world 2000 years ago, and it’s the conflict in the Christian world today. And so Paul could just as well be starting out, you foolish Dallasites, because this is the holy city you know. So you foolish Dallasites, who has bewitched you before your very eyes? Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. The New Living Bible put it that I have painted a picture as clearly as though I’d waved a place guard in front of you. You ought to be able to see what I’ve said to you. I would like to learn just one thing from you. Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law? Now, when you’re receiving the Spirit, what’s he talking about? You’re talking about being born again, or are you talking about being born again one day and receiving a Spirit the next day? Which is it? What does it say about the Spirit of the spirit of the Spirit of God does not live in you. You do not belong to Him. What are you born again of? The Spirit. Unless you’re born again of the Spirit, then you’ll never see the kingdom of God. So it’s not talking about being born again today and receiving the Spirit tomorrow, that is an absolute impossibility, although it’s taught in massive amounts of teaching in the Christian in the so called Christian world, come to Jesus and get the Spirit. Well, if you’re saying to come to Jesus and get the spirit, that may be true, but that isn’t what it said. It’s come and get the spirit after you got Jesus, it’s. If I didn’t have the Spirit, I don’t have Jesus. And so you’re talking about the fact that when you came to Christ and the Spirit of God came to live within you, that’s what you were raised by, the living Spirit from your position of death. Did you receive Christ, the Spirit of God living in you by observing the law or by believing what you heard? Now again, which is that? Well, it’s believing what you heard. No one received the Spirit of God through the law.

Well, then he said, Are you so foolish? Now, those are harsh words, aren’t they? It seems like we’d almost be ready to be anything than dumb. Call me sinful. Don’t call me dumb. We don’t like to be foolish. And yet he’s saying you’re foolish. You’re a fool. After beginning in the Spirit, beginning with new birth by faith in Jesus, Are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Why are you now, after you’ve been born again, of the Spirit, trying to live under the law? Why are you trying to do that? Have you suffered so much for nothing? Now, what was he talking about there suffering? What did they suffer for? What did the people suffer for who came to Christ by faith? For believing and coming to Christ by faith and discounting the law? So there was suffering that took place. Have you suffered so much for nothing? If it really was for nothing? In other words, you suffered, but now you’re right back under what caused you to suffer. So he says, Did God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observed the law?

Now, folks, think about this for a minute. On the surface, is there anything wrong with observing the law? Does that sound like kind of a neat thing to do? I mean, doesn’t it? I mean, it seems like observing the law. If God gave us the law, it ought to be kind of a neat thing to do. Doesn’t it seem like, wouldn’t that be kind of an honorable thing to do? And don’t we argue that we ought to put the 10 Commandments upon, you know, in the schools and everything else? What’s the problem with the law? You can’t keep it. Paul said, nothing wrong with the law. It’s holy and it’s good. Is that true? Do we all agree with that the law is holy and good? What’s the problem? When it flows through me, it kills me. There’s your problem. Anything wrong with the law? No. Where’s the problem? God forbid, not us, not Oh, wonderful me and you, yes, the problems with us, not him. His Law was given to show you you can’t even keep the 10. And if I reduce it to five, you wouldn’t do any better. You can’t keep it. Why? Why can’t we keep it? Because we’re fallen. We were born fallen. All of us were born into this world with feet of clay. Were we not? We come into this world, screaming and yelling, and we go out screaming and yelling. We learn to lie before we can talk, and we think we’re good. We’re fallen creatures. And as fallen creatures, we cannot even keep one. Love your God with all of your heart and mind and soul and spirit. Try that one on precise. Can you literally sit there and say, in my flesh, oh, I just love God with all my heart, mind and soul? Nah. In fact, the Scripture says that it’s not that you love God, but that he loved you first and until you gain get to a point in your life where you’re wallowing and his love for you, there isn’t any way you can love him back. You cannot initiate love to God. Only respond to the love of God

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Bob George 14:37
And so when we see our condition, then he asked the question, Did God give you his Spirit and worked miracles among you because you observed the law? In other words, is God looking at what you’re doing and then responding to you? And there again, is the big fallacy in Christianity today, we think God. God is a responder to us. Instead of us being a responder to him. God is God. He is not responding to you. You are supposed to be responding to him. He is God Almighty. He is not there to be manipulated. And the Christian world, whether it’s the Prayer of Jabez or any of the rest of them, is out trying to find a way to manipulate God. If you do the formula, that’s all you need. There’s some buttons that need to be pushed that you haven’t learned yet. Now we learned that you could push A.C.T.S. and that would do it. So we’ve pushed A.C.T.S. and that didn’t do it. So now we’ve got the Prayer of Jabez, and all of that is is just writings on some obscure prayer back stuck back in the Old Testament that has no bearing at all on you and me today, and it’s become a best seller. And you say, how? Why? What is it? Have you read it? Doesn’t take you long, Increase my boundaries. Well, whoopee. Does that mean give me more kids? Some of you that have some kids hope, they hope that’s not what it means. Make my ministry bigger? Maybe your ministry isn’t supposed to be bigger, but it’s all me do for me, and we think that God is there to be manipulated. And folks, we have spiritual dyslexia, that God is not there to be manipulated. God has said, I’ve already given you everything that you need for life and godliness. Now, do you believe that? Well, if that’s true, then how much do you need?

Then what do you do if you’ve already been given everything you need? Find out what he’s given you. And you don’t do that by praying. You do that by reading the scripture. That’s why I gave you two eyes and two ears and one mouth is to use it proportionately. And the way that I’m going to find out my inheritance is reading the will or listening to someone who is reading the will, and we’re trying to gain it through talking instead of listening, and we again have it in reverse. So he is saying to us, Were you born again by observing the law, or were you born again by listening to what God did for you at the cross and his resurrection, and entering into that by faith? Which one was it? Which one was it in your life? By entering into it by faith, Lord, You took away my sins at the cross, never to see them again. You were raised from the dead so that I too could be raised from the dead, and I accept your life into me by faith, and you’re born again. Any law unconnected in that? Anything that you did in that? No, it’s everything that he did. When he went to the cross did he consult with any of us? Would it be okay if I died for you? No. Salvation was like creation. He did not consult us. He just did it. And then after he did it, what’d he do? What’d he do after he created? Rested. What’d he do after salvation? Rested. And what did he say? Enter into it by faith. And so the Galatian church, just like our churches today have done what the Apostle Paul says is foolish, and so he’s admonishing us today, just like he was 2000 years ago. Did you were born again by observing the law or by believing what you heard now?

Now, he said, consider Abraham now he’s going to go back. He’s going to go back into Old Testament, truth. He believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. Now, when you credit something to somebody, what does that mean? It’s credited to you, but it isn’t paid for yet. In other words, you got the furniture, but it’s on a credit card, so you’re enjoying the furniture, but it isn’t paid for yet. Abraham believed God and it was credited to him. I’m going to credit this to your account as righteousness. Understand then that those who believe now in Christ Jesus are children of Abraham. In other words, you’ve come out of the same family as Abraham. Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. And to any of us today who believe God, it’s credited to them as righteousness. Now, the Scripture, it said, foresaw something, and what it foresaw was that God would justify the Gentiles by faith. Now here again, you’re dealing with this Hebrew and Gentile thing that we’ve been talking about quite a bit, but to the Hebrew, it was unthinkable that the Gentile would ever come to Christ. It was unthinkable that a Gentile could ever be anything except a heathen. And so the Scripture foresaw and pre announced that way back in the book of Genesis, that the Gentiles were going to come to Christ. Did the Hebrews believe that? No, I think they glossed over that one. There must have been a slight mistake there. We just kind of read that fast or talk louder with what we do in our contents, low. The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and he announced that gospel. So the gospel was announced way back in the book of Genesis, and that was that all nations will be blessed through you. Was that given to Abraham? That was a promise to Abraham. So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith, called the man of faith. Now, in contrast to that, all who rely upon observing the law are under a curse. Now, what do you mean relying on something? What are you relying on? All of those who rely on observing the law, relying on what? That you’re making yourself righteous through obedience to the law, right? Are we together? I’m relying on the fact that if I obey the law, God will bless me. I’m relying on the fact that if I will tithe, God will bless I’m relying on the fact that if I obey the law, God will increase my borders. I’m relying on something other than who? Jesus, anything except Jesus.

In the Garden of Eden, if you eat of this, you will be like God. And I want to tell you, folks, we’ve never gotten very far away from that garden, and we want to be like God. And I want to be able to say to God, God, you watch my smoke, you just see how good I am. And then I’m going to, by faith, claim it. You’re going to bless me. What are you doing? Relying upon yourself to do something that will cause God to do something on your behalf. So what does it say about that? It says all who rely upon observing the law are under a curse. Now, is that good news? Now that ought to get your attention, shouldn’t it, folks? I mean, if someone walked up you and said, I put you under curse, you’d probably like to hit me in the head. Number one, it’d be a lie, but there are some people who believe that that somebody can put curses on you. He’s saying that anyone who relies upon observing the law for not just their salvation, but for their acceptance or for their blessing is under a curse. Why? For it is written Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do how much? Everything written in the book of the law. Do you guys know how much is written in the book of the law? Try reading the first five books of Moses. How much is written in the Book of the Law? A bunch, like eating shrimp, and bacon and all of the other dietary laws. What else is included in there folks, in the law? What’s the biggie included in there? The 10 Commandments. What did James say about the 10 Commandments? That if you missed one of them, you’ve missed them all. Now, is that good news if you’re under the law? Is that good news, folks? Well, how do you rationalize this then? How does the so called Christian world today teaching you’re under the law, you’re under the 10 Commandments, and probably to the majority of people that they’re teaching they are under the 10 Commandments, because the 10 Commandments are for the lost, but not for the saved? You, how do you rationalize this fact? How do you say I’m saved, but I’m under the law when it says you’re under a curse, because it’s written that if you under the under the law, that Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the book of the law? Now, what would that everything include? If you’re under the 10 Commandments, why would you say there’s a difference between ceremonial law and moral law? Does this say that there’s any difference in the two? Is there any place in the Scripture saying in the New Covenant, or any place then there’s a difference in the two? If you’re under the law, you’re under the law, the law is the Pentateuch, the first five books of Moses. If you’re under a part of it, you’re under all of it. So why are we nit picking and pulling over the laws we like and leaving the ones we don’t behind? Why don’t we bring a bull and goat in and sley em, not on Sunday, but on Saturday, why don’t we do that? I mean, that’s a part of the law. Why would we bring tithing over as an example and leave that behind? I’ll tell you why. Paul just told us why, we’re foolish, foolish, idiotic, moronic, Dallasites, we’ve been hypnotized cast an evil spell upon us. We used to see the meaning of Christ’s death as clearly as though we’d waved a place card in front of you. Have you gone mad? And that’s what he’s saying to the Christian world today. If he was here, that would be the message that he’d be given an NRB National Religious broadcaster meeting, not the ones that are given. Putting people under laws. Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the book of the law. That’s the law. Now, why is that true? What is the wages of sin under the law? How many sins do you have to commit for you to be dead? One. Well, just today or through your lifetime? Lifetime.

Announcer 27:11
Thank you so much for tuning in to Classic Christianity with Bob George. We hope you’ve enjoyed today’s program. We truly hope that today’s message has inspired you to walk a life of faith in the Lord find more information online at BobGeorge.net. There you will also find available CDs, DVDs and Bible studies available for purchase. It’s through your help that we are able to spread the good word of Jesus Christ. Until next time, walk in faith be good to one another and praise the Lord. Amen.