The True Gospel is Reaffirmed to the Galatians Volume 25

Paul Details the Fruit of the Holy Spirit

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. KJV

Paul now uses the primary particle “but” to express the antithesis or the exact opposite of the “works of the flesh” (which are all independent of one another) to the fruit of the Spirit (singular) because they all are connected to one another as one cluster of grapes would be picked off a vine. Human nature is born to produce the “works of the flesh” naturally just like tiger is born to hunt and kill in order to survive. However, the manifestation of the “fruit of the Holy Spirit” does not come built in or born into the heart of man, but it is only poured in by God the Holy Spirit when the “natural man” (1 Corinthians 2:14) is converted or spiritually reborn, regenerated, and resurrected from the death of trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1-10). This cluster consisting of nine (9) attributes are the result of supernatural infusion as a modifying element to the previously corrupt soul of every man before receiving Jesus Christ as Lord, Master, and Savior. This is why the Apostle Paul has been so rigid, fixed, and unbending in his denunciation of the Judaizing teachers of the Mosaic Law and circumcision, because Paul knows from the truth of the Word of God and from his own personal experience that no amount of rule keeping can make a man or woman bear or bring forth these character traits.

The “old nature” can only produce “dead works” (Hebrews 9:14) or the “works of the flesh” as we learned in the last study, but only the “new nature” we received when we were born again can bear fruit from the Spirit of God being in control. This is the desire of our Heavenly Father that He be Glorified through our renewed, redeemed, and resurrected lives from spiritual death through Christ Jesus our Lord. The fruit of the Spirit here has to do solely with Christian character (that produces Christian conduct Glorifying to Christ) and this is by virtue of the graces of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit also produces “other fruit” through our new lives “in Christ” i.e. Romans 1:13 (When the Gospel is preached and lost souls are born again (Romans 1:16); Romans 6:22 (As sanctification increases in the life of the believer holy living is the result or fruit); Romans 15:26-28 (The desire placed in the heart to give financially to meet the needs of struggling believers in other parts of the world); Colossians 1:10 (Living in a manner that pleases our Lord Jesus Christ going about doing good as He did (Acts 10:38); Hebrews 13:15 (Offering up to our Heavenly Father thanks giving with the praise of our lips for His saving us and keeping us in His love and care daily). The cluster of fruit that God the Holy Spirit is responsible for bringing forth in the believers life can be categorized in these three (3) ways: 1) Love, Joy, and Peace are Godward fruit. 2) Longsuffering, Gentleness, Goodness are Mankind ward fruit. 3) Faith, Meekness, and Temperance are Self ward fruit.

Love, Joy, and Peace: Let us first acknowledge the obvious and that is that all these character traits flow out from the first one love or the Greek word agape which means a love feast for God the Father pouring back or offering up His very own love He has poured into our hearts when we were regenerated (Romans 5:5). This love or agape is not our own human manufactured love it is God’s own love (a pure untainted moral love) given to us that we would freely give it back to Him. Search out and investigate for yourselves that there is not one reference to the Greek word eros which is sensual love in the entire New Testament. Joy is the immediate result of receiving such an unexplainable or indescribable love (1 John 3:1). This English word joy is translated by the Greek word chara which means to be full of cheer or to be cheerful and to have a calm happiness or calm delight; to be like a sealed container filled with liquid under high pressure ready to burst at any and every moment (John 15:1-11). Peace is the result of the weight of sin lifted and removed “in Christ” and the assurance that nothing seen or unseen can change or reverse that truth for any of us who are truly “in Christ” having right now already eternal life (John 5:24). This English word peace is translated by the Greek word eirene and is from a primary verb which means to join in quietness, rest, or to be set at one again (Romans 5:1). 

Longsuffering, Gentleness, and Goodness: Longsuffering is what God has shown and is showing to rebellious man since Adam disobeyed in the Garden of Eden. The English word is translated by the Greek word makrothumia which means forbearance or to have a long enduring temper patiently bearing continual wrongs or trouble (2 Peter 3:9). Gentleness is translated by the Greek word chrestotes which means usefulness, that is moral excellence (in character or demeanor), gracious, kind (Matthew 11:29). Goodness is the essence of who God the Father truly is and this English word is translated by the Greek word agathosune which means beautiful, morally good, valuable, and virtuous, honest, and worthy (Ephesians 5:9) as Paul prayed for the Thessalonians in this manner, “With this in view we constantly pray for you, that our God may deem {and} count you worthy of [your] calling and [His] every gracious purpose of goodness, and with power may complete in [you] every particular work of faith (faith which is that leaning of the whole human personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness).” (2 Thessalonians 1:11).

Faith, Meekness, and Temperance: Faith here is translated by the Greek word pistis which means complete acceptance and persuasion of God and His Word as being the only truth; complete moral conviction of Christian truth and of the truth of God as Paul declared with these words to the Roman believers, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” (Romans 10:17). Meekness is translated by the Greek word praotes which means gentleness or by implication humility; it is strength under the control of God the Holy Spirit somewhat as a 2,000 lb horse is under the control of its human rider; it is a teachable spirit as the Apostle Peter declared with these words, “But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.” (1 Peter 3:4). Temperance is translated by the Greek word egkrateia which means self-control.

It is not happenstance or coincidence that the order of this cluster of fruit begins with love and ends with self-control, for only God the Holy Spirit can bring rebellious man’s spirit under the authority of Heaven. There are no Heavenly laws or man-made laws required or needed for the man or woman living under the leading control of God the Holy Spirit. Despite the reality that no laws are required to restrict, rebuke, or restrain the believer living by the direction and leading of God the Holy Spirit, the manifestation of these character qualities in the outward life of the believer does not come automatically, but instead requires the believer to conscientiously cultivate this cluster of fruit through regular prayer time with God the Father confessing sins and being cleansed (1 John 1:9), daily reading and meditating on the Word of God fully accepting it as our only authority, praise and worship to God the Father (internal and external), learning and speaking out loud the Word of God into our circumstances daily, You and I must cultivate and develop a fear (moral reverence) of the Lord Jesus Christ and be continually filled with the Holy Spirit!, and we must fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ for the “fruit of the Holy Spirit” to make continual work in our inner man or inner woman.

My own Personal Note: In the Bible, the mind of Christ and the mind of God in Christ, are made known to us fully. Our great privilege as Christians is that His Spirit reveals the mind of Christ to us. Perhaps the most important responsibility of a true disciple is growing in the knowledge of Christ. It is only through a more intimate knowledge of Christ that we can then live as true disciples should live. Throughout the New Testament, we see the Holy Spirit inspiring all the Apostles to pray for and exhort us to grow in the knowledge and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Excerpt from my Book entitled “Silent Assassins of the Soul: Finding Freedom from Sexual Impurity through the Lord Jesus Christ, A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs”

“‘The fruit of the Spirit,’ says Paul, not the fruits, as we might more naturally have expected, and as the phrase is most often quoted; all this rich variety of graces, of conduct and character, is thought of as one. The individual members are not isolated graces, but all connected, springing from one root and constituting an organic whole. There is further to be noted that the Apostle designates the results of the Spirit as fruit, in strong and intentional contrast with the results of the flesh, the grim catalogue of which precedes the radiant list in our text. The works of the flesh have no such unity, and are not worthy of being called fruit. They are not what a man ought to bring forth, and when the great Husbandman comes, He finds no fruit there, however full of activity the life has been. We have then here an ideal of the noblest Christian character, and a distinct and profound teaching as to how to attain it.” Alexander MacLAren

“It is possible for the old nature to counterfeit some of the fruit of the Spirit, but the flesh can never produce the fruit of the Spirit. One difference is this: When the Spirit produces fruit, God gets the Glory and the Christian is not conscious of his spirituality; but when the flesh is at work, the person is inwardly proud of himself and is pleased when others compliment him. The work of the Spirit is to make us more like Christ for His Glory, not for the praise of men.” Warren Wiersbe

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The True Gospel is Reaffirmed to the Galatians Volume 24

Paul Details the Works of the Flesh to the Galatians

Galatians 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. KJV

Immediately Paul now contrasts being led by God the Holy Spirit to the “works of the flesh” that is the result of a believer not being led by God the Holy Spirit. The believer in Jesus Christ can operate in the “works of the flesh” and everyone born of the Spirit of God surely has recognized this reality in their own personal walk with our Lord Jesus Christ. However, the truly regenerated believer cannot make the “works of the flesh” his or her habitual or usual way of living because we have the “seed” or “sperm” of God “in us” as declared by the Apostle John with these words, “No one born (begotten) of God [deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] practices sin, for God’s nature abides in him [His principle of life, the Divine sperm, remains permanently within him]; and he cannot practice sinning because he is born (begotten) of God.” (1 John 3:9). On the contrary, the unregenerate man or woman is bound only to their nature received from Adam (1 Corinthians 2:14) and can only practice the “works of the flesh” at all times as the Apostle John also declares with these words, “[But] he who commits sin [who practices evildoing] is of the devil [takes his character from the evil one], for the devil has sinned (violated the Divine law) from the beginning. The reason the Son of God was made manifest (visible) was to undo (destroy, loosen, and dissolve) the works the devil [has done].” (1 John 3:8).

The English word flesh Paul uses is translated by the Greek word sarx which means in this usage the human nature of man inherited from the first man Adam due to his disobedience making all of mankind after him “born sinners”; man’s human nature with its frailties, feebleness, built in infirmity, and moral weakness. It was our Lord Jesus Himself who detailed for us the condition of man’s heart (absent His Presence and Control) with these words, “And He said, What comes out of a man is what makes a man unclean {and} renders [him] unhallowed. For from within, [that is] out of the hearts of men, come base {and} wicked thoughts, sexual immorality, stealing, murder, adultery, Coveting (a greedy desire to have more wealth), dangerous {and} destructive wickedness, deceit; unrestrained (indecent) conduct; an evil eye (envy), slander (evil speaking, malicious misrepresentation, abusiveness), pride (the sin of an uplifted heart against God and man), foolishness (folly, lack of sense, recklessness, thoughtlessness). All these evil [purposes and desires] come from within, and they make the man unclean {and} render him unhallowed.” (Mark 7:20-23).

If we examine this list that our Lord Jesus spoke of to what Paul has listed here, we see practically all the same sins being documented. It is the heart of man that is sick and out of it flows these things that are disgusting, deplorable, and despicable to God (Jeremiah 17:9).  The sins that the Apostle Paul list for the Galatians and for us here can be separated into three (3) distinct categories sensual sins, spiritual sins, and societal sins. The sensual sins are the sexual acts, actions, and activities that are opposed to or completely opposite of the “will of God” (1 Thessalonians 4:1-8). All sensual sexual sins whether they be in the mind or acted out through the human body that is outside of marriage between one man and one woman is against the “will of God” and the writer of Hebrews puts it for us in this manner, “Let marriage be held in honor (esteemed worthy, precious, of great price, and especially dear) in all things. And thus let the marriage bed be undefiled (kept un-dishonored); for God will judge {and} punish the unchaste [all guilty of sexual vice] and adulterous.” (Hebrews 13:4).

The spiritual sins which are idolatry and witchcraft result in the deifying of things or other people rather than the One True God. Idolatry is the worship of anything or person rather than God. Witchcraft is the practice of Satanic worship that brings a person into contact with the demonic world and it is that which is repulsive to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit as Moses documented for us when he wrote this, “There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD; and because of these detestable things the LORD your God will drive them out before you.” (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).

The societal sins are those thoughts and actions that can and do cause injury, harm, and even death to other human beings as listed here by Paul, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, they can all lead to the most anti-social behavior any society can witness. Notice that Paul concludes his list at the end with “such like” and the English word like is translated by the Greek word homoios meaning others similar in appearance and character or in like manner. In other words Paul has just given us a small sample of the depths of sinful works that pour out of the heart of man. Paul also declares these “works of the flesh” to be manifest and this English word is translated by the Greek word phaneros which means they are apparent, they shine forth, they are public, and they are external as they come forth from the heart or inner man. The heart of a man cannot but bring forth what it is full of at the time.

Paul brings this list to these Galatians and to us as a warning and a red flag tying into what he said to them with these words, “But if you bite and devour one another [in partisan strife], be careful that you [and your whole fellowship] are not consumed by one another.” (Galatians 5:15). Paul’s warning is clear and without vague or obscure language when he declares to them and to us finally with these words, “I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:21). The English phrase “they which do” is translated by the Greek word prasso which is a primary verb that means to practice or perform repeatedly or habitually, which is in contrast to the Greek word poieō for occasional doing. This is likewise in agreement and accord with exactly what the Apostle John wrote in his epistle in 1 John 3:8-10.

The believer can get into the “works of the flesh”, but if he or she stays in them too long defying the chastening hand of our Heavenly Father (Hebrews 12:4-13), then just as an earthly Father would go outside and get his son who kept disobeying while playing at his friend’s house and take him home for being a disgrace and disappointment to the Father in public, even in a similar way our Heavenly Father will remove His son or daughter that continues to sin against Him in rebellion not heeding His corrective discipline as described by the Apostle John with these words, “If anyone sees his brother [believer] committing a sin that does not [lead to] death (the extinguishing of life), he will pray and [God] will give him life [yes, He will grant life to all those whose sin is not one leading to death]. There is a sin [that leads] to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin which does not [involve] death [that may be repented of and forgiven].” (1 John 5:16-17).  

My own Personal Note: The “works of the flesh” Paul enumerates for us are all and always committed against God, but also they are committed against our fellow human beings, and finally against ourselves. Our fallen nature (which each and every son and daughter of Adam inherits) is our number one enemy. Even if the world and the devil could be removed right now, man would still have a problem with sin because of our fallen nature. This is a fact that many people are not aware of, do not understand, or do not believe.

“The law cannot change or control the old nature. The old nature must be crucified. He does not tell us to crucify ourselves, because this is impossible. (Crucifixion is one death a man cannot inflict upon himself). He tells us the flesh has already been crucified. It is our responsibility to believe this and act on it.” Warren Wiersbe

“The Holy Spirit brings influences to bear which act upon the germs of sin, as a disinfectant upon the germs of disease. If we yield ourselves to these influences, and are filled with the Spirit of Jesus, we shall be delivered from the self-life, which the Apostle describes as the flesh. As Jesus is more and more formed in us, the new flower and fruitage of the risen life will appear, while the corrupt works of the flesh will shrink and drop away.” F. B. Meyer

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The True Gospel is Reaffirmed to the Galatians Volume 23

Paul Exhorts the Galatians to live by the Direction of the Holy Spirit

Galatians 5:16-18 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. KJV

As we learned from Paul in the previous study, he declared these Galatian believers and us today to be liberated “in Christ” by virtue of the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit. Therefore, Paul now tells them and us to “walk” in the Spirit. What exactly is he writing to them with this exhortation? Well we know at the moment of every sinner’s regeneration and new birth, the Holy Spirit comes into the heart or “inner man” to abide, continue, and remain forever in the believer. However, just as He (God the Holy Spirit) does not force any sinner to repent or turn to Christ, He also does not force the believers will into obedience to Christ after salvation. This is what we see happening here with many of the believers throughout Galatia, they have grieved and quenched the Spirit’s work in their lives and by so doing have gone away from the truth of the Gospel into this heretical teaching by the Judaizing men of adding circumcision and Mosaic Ceremonial Law keeping to the Gospel of Grace.

Paul’s use of the English word “walk” is in connection with the course or way these Galatians and us today are to live. The Greek word translated for “walk” is peripateo which means a path to tread upon; figuratively it means to live or behave in a certain manner. Paul is literally telling them to follow the Holy Spirit’s lead and guidance as His devoted and loyal companion being occupied with Him completely and then they will not find themselves being led into doctrinal, theological, or practical error as our Lord Jesus spoke of His Spirit with these words, “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.” (John 16:13).

The Galatians had lost the ability to discern truth and this led to their infighting, backbiting, and devouring one another with quarrelling and arguments and also led to them being about to accept the error of the Judaizing teachers. Paul declares to them with the use of  “ye shall not” and this phrase is translated by the Greek word ou me which is a strong double negative which expresses an absolute denial meaning not at all or any more or never again. Paul is saying here that the believer who purposes his will to be controlled by the Divine Influence of the Spirit of God dwelling in them will not satisfy the cravings or the intense desire of the “old nature” which leads to sin, disobedience, and rebellion as James wrote of sin in this manner, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”  (James 1:13-17).

Paul wants the Galatians and us today to know that the “new nature” we received at our “new birth” is at all times opposed to sin of any kind and he now points out to them and to us the continual and on-going conflict that wars in the “inner man” and “inner woman” of every true child of God. This lust of the flesh against the spirit Paul proclaims here is not a conflict of the “old nature” with the Holy Spirit, for there is no power or force that can war successfully against God the Holy Spirit, but Paul declares the “old nature” and the “new nature” at war with one another in the heart of the believer. Note: God the Holy Spirit is everywhere at all times on the earth and in the vast universes that He created (Genesis 1:2) and in the heart of every born again believer all at the same time, this is a Divine mystery to us that we cannot explain, but by faith trust and believe.

The very reason “in my opinion” our Lord Jesus Christ left our “old nature” in us after our new birth is that we would learn day by day to do this very thing Paul is exhorting the Galatians to do and that is to “walk in the Spirit” being constantly, continually, and completely controlled by Him. We find our Lord Jesus Christ showing us how this is done with His conflict with Satan as documented by Matthew 4:1-11 and Mark 1:12-13 and Luke 4:1-13. Our Lord Jesus did not fight against Satan here using all He is as God, but He fought against and defeated Satan as the Son of Man filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:1). Paul declares now to these Galatians and to us that in like manner we too can be victorious over sin and Satan as did our Lord Jesus Christ being filled with and led by God the Holy Spirit.

Paul used the English phrase “ye be led” which is translated by the Greek word ago a primary verb meaning to lead or to keep or to induce someone to act in a particular way or do a particular thing i.e. to follow the Holy Spirit’s lead and direction which will always lead away from sin and the gratifying of the old man as Paul wrote this to the Roman believers, “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh--for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” (Romans 8:11-14). The “sons of God” are under grace and not under law any longer (Romans 6:14), but it is our responsibility to yield to God the Holy Spirit that this might be fulfilled in us because He will never force us to yield, NEVER.

My own Personal Note: Every true child of God knows the sweetness of yielding to the Holy Spirit’s guidance and leading that leads to life and peace, but at the same time every true child of God knows the crushing in their spirit’s when they do not yield and they then experience spiritual death or disconnect from God the Father (Romans 8:6). When our minds are set on the flesh or “old nature” we cannot and will not be subject to the Moral Law of God  and in so doing we will not please our Heavenly Father (Romans 8:7-8), therefore, it will serve each of us well if we every day read and meditate on these words spoken by our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ when He said, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5).

“The sheep is a clean animal and avoids garbage, while the pig is an unclean animal and enjoys wallowing in filth (2 Peter 2:19-22). After the rain ceased and the Ark settled, Noah released a raven which never came back (Genesis 8:6-7). The raven is a carrion-eating bird and found plenty to feed on. But when Noah released the dove (a clean bird), it came back (Genesis 8:8-12). The last time he released the dove and it did not return, he knew that it had found a clean place to settle down; therefore, the waters had receded. Our old nature is like the pig and the raven, always looking for something unclean on which to feed. Our new nature is like the sheep and the dove, yearning for that which is clean and holy. No wonder a struggle goes on within the life of the believer! The unsaved man knows nothing of this battle because he does not have the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9).” Warren Wiersbe

“We all know it as a familiar experience that the surest way to conquer any strong desire or emotion is to bring some other into operation. To concentrate attention on any overmastering thought or purpose, even if our object is to destroy it, is but too apt to strengthen it. And so to fix our minds on our own desires of the flesh, even though we may be honestly wishing to suppress them, is a sure way to invest them with new force; therefore the wise counsels of sages and moralists are, for the most part, destined to lead those who listen to them astray. Many a man has, in good faith, set himself to conquer his own evil lusts and has found that the net result of his struggles has been to make the lusts more conspicuous and correspondingly more powerful. The Apostle knows a better way, which he has proved to his own experience, and now, with full confidence and triumph, presses upon his hearers. He would have them give up the monotonous and hopeless fight against the flesh and bring another ally into the field. His chief exhortation is a positive, not a negative one. It is vain to try to tie up men with restrictions and prohibitions, which when their desires are stirred will be burst like Samson’s bonds. But if once the positive exhortation here is obeyed, then it will surely make short work of the desires and passions which otherwise men, for the most part, do not wish to get rid of, and never do throw off by any other method.” Alexander MacLaren

“The spiritual life derived from Jesus Christ and lodged in the human spirit has to be guarded, cherished and made dominant, and then it will drive out the old. If the Spirit which is life because of righteousness is allowed free course in a human spirit, it will send forth its powers into the body which is ‘dead because of sin,’ will regulate its desires, and if needful will suppress them. And it is wiser and more blessed to rely on this overflowing influence than to attempt the hopeless task of coercing these desires by our own efforts. If we are still dependent on the desires of the flesh we are still but children, and if we are walking in the Spirit we have outgrown our childish toys. The enjoyment of the gifts which the Spirit gives deadens temptation and robs many things that were very precious of their lustre.” Alexander MacLaren

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…

 

 

 

 

 

The True Gospel is Reaffirmed to the Galatians Volume 22

Paul Declares the Holy Spirit’s Internal Work in the Believer and Warns the Galatians against Infighting

Galatians 5:13-15 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. KJV

Paul declares to these Galatians and to us today that through Christ death, burial, and resurrection from the dead for them and for us that by the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit, they and we “have been called” to “liberty” in Christ. The English phrase Paul uses here “have been called” is translated by the Greek word kaleo which means to call properly aloud directly; to bid forth; to incite by word or to provoke or urge on or to give an incentive for action or to cause one to act; to order or to command. God the Holy Spirit in these Galatians and in us today is working “in the believer” to bring him or her into all the fullness that is inherent in Christ Jesus our Lord. The believer’s responsibility is to not grieve, distress, or sadden Him (Ephesians 4:30) by willful sin and rebellion and by quenching or extinguishing (1 Thessalonians 5:19) His operating influence in each of our “inner man” and “inner woman” causing in us the fulfilling of Christ Law which is the “Law of Love”.

Paul declares these Galatians and us today to be called into “liberty” and this English word is translated by the Greek word eleutheria which means legitimate freedom i.e. chiefly moral freedom. Paul is saying here to these Galatians and to us that before theirs and our encounter with the Risen Christ we were born into slavery to the corrupt nature inherited from Adam, but now that we are in relationship with Christ united to Him by the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit, they and we are bid to come out of that bondage and allow the Spirit to continually lift us to a higher plane of life and living that is impossible for the Galatians and for us to achieve, acquire, or attain through the observance, obedience, or obligation to any external ceremonial laws. This liberty Paul declares is not to be turned into a license, a deliberate deviation without restraint away from the Moral Law of God by these Galatians or by us as the Apostle Peter wrote in this manner, “Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bond-slaves of God.” (1 Peter 2:16). These Galatians and we today are to be slaves of Christ and not slaves of our old nature as Paul wrote in this manner to the believers in Rome, “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:11-14).

It is the Grace of God and His Grace only that can truly liberate or set free these Galatians and us today and not conforming to some legalistic rules and regulations. God the Holy Spirit is the liberator, but He will not liberate any believer by overriding their will. The believer must cooperate with the Holy Spirit and receive the grace or Divine influence upon the heart or inner man that will then produce freedom from allowing the old nature to rein or control the believer’s behavior. Christ’s purpose for saving these Galatians and us today was to freely give those who come to Him a complete new life or way of living as He said here, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). Love is the fulfillment of all of God’s Laws (Matthew 22:37-40). Love will replace the tyranny of fearing the consequences of breaking the laws with a built-in desire to please the object of Love and that is Christ Jesus our Lord as He declared with these words when He said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15) and as Paul prayed for the Ephesians with these words, “And to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:19).

Yielding to God the Holy Spirit and not grieving Him will place the desire in these Galatians and us today to serve other believers by doing everything in our power to contribute to their physical well-being, but more importantly their spiritual well-being which is exactly what the Apostle Paul is doing for these Galatians with this very letter written to them. These false teachers had spread like cancer in the human body and began to infect all of the Galatian Churches with wrangling and many altercations between the perpetrators of the false gospel with those who were standing firm in their liberty “in Christ” and the true Gospel. However, Paul declares to them and to us today the consequence of not allowing love to one another to be their chief and sole motivator and that would be disintegration, dissipation, dissolution, dissolving (i.e. to stop functioning or cohering as a unit) and all of this would lead to the ultimate destruction of their Churches. Paul knew that these disputes among them would lead to their destruction and so is the purpose of his penning this letter and also the extreme fury he displays earlier in this letter toward those who brought about this dissension, disagreements, and discord as we discussed in the last study when he wrote, “I wish that those who are troubling you would even mutilate themselves.” (Galatians 5:12). Paul’s desire is to see them striving, battling, and fighting against sin in themselves individually and the Churches collectively as radically as we see people today diagnosed with cancer in the human body fight to kill it and eradicate it from their body.

My own Personal Note: It is not an uncommon thing for those who have been truly liberated by the Grace of God to find themselves in the wilderness of the extreme of license or legalism, but neither one is the true liberty we have received from our “new birth”, for Christ did not save us that we would be free to sin against Him, nor did He save us so that we would develop our own rules, rites, and regulations to follow, but He saved us to be His disciple, pupil, learner, and student, and if we allow Him to teach and lead us, then and only then will we know and experience real freedom. 

“The amazing thing about love is that it takes the place of all the laws God ever gave. ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself’ solves every problem in human relations (see Romans 13:8-14). If you love people (because you love Christ), you will not steal from them, lie about them, envy them, or try in any way to hurt them. Love in the heart is God’s substitute for laws and threats.” Warren Wiersbe

“The man, or the nation that has won its freedom, has won but half the battle. It has conquered external foes; it has still to prevail over itself. And this is the harder task. Men clamour for liberty, when they mean license; what they seek is the liberty of the flesh, not of the Spirit, freedom to indulge their lusts and to trample on the rights of others, the freedom of outlaws and brigands.” Expositor’s Bible Commentary

“Even the man whose heart has been truly touched and changed by Divine grace, when the freshness of his first love to Christ has passed away and temptation renews its assaults, is liable to this deception. He may begin to think that sin is less perilous, since forgiveness was so easily obtained. He may presume that as a son of God, sealed by the Spirit of adoption, he will not be allowed to fall, even though he stumble. He is one of ‘God’s elect’; what ‘shall separate him’ from the Divine love in Christ? In this assurance he holds a talisman that secures his safety. What need to ‘watch and pray lest he enter into temptation,’ when the Lord is his keeper? He is God’s enfranchised son; ‘all things are lawful’ to him; ‘things present’ as well as ‘things to come’ are his in Christ. By such reasoning his liberty is turned into an occasion to the flesh. And men who before they boasted themselves sons of God were restrained by the spirit of bondage and fear, have found in this assurance the occasion, the ‘starting-point’ for a more shameless course of evil. Law makes the path; love gives the will and power to follow it.” Expositor’s Bible Commentary

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…

 

 

The True Gospel is Reaffirmed to the Galatians Volume 21

Paul sees their stumble from Grace but trust they will turn Around

Galatians 5:7-12 Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be. And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased. I would they were even cut off which trouble you. KJV

Paul quickly switches his concentration to what is very familiar in all of his writings and that is to compare the Christian life to running a race. The people in the region of Galatia would have also been very familiar with the Greek games that were so popular to many Jews and Gentiles. It is as if Paul would be picturing for us today the 10,000 meter race in track and field which is one of the longer races. At the beginning the runners are all jumbled up close together, but as the race proceeds each person settles into a running rhythm that is comfortable for each person and they are obliged to stay in their own running lane or path that they have carved out for themselves. This is Paul’s analogy of these Galatians running along strongly and confidently in their Christian race and suddenly someone (the Judaizers) breaks into their lane or path and causes them to stumble or fall off course. The goal or the finish line in sight is our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ as we run our Christian race of faith in Him trusting in His Grace to sustain us, strengthen us, and secure us along the course of our life of sojourning here on the earth. However, the Galatians had been cut in front of during their race and were being led away from the truth of the Gospel into believing that circumcision and obedience to the Jewish Mosaic laws must be added to the Gospel of Grace for complete salvation.

Paul tells them that they were running well from the beginning and were obedient only to the Gospel. Paul wants them to recall the joy in the Holy Spirit they had once experienced along with His enabling power working in their “inner man” and “inner woman” through love directing their focus solely and only on our Lord Jesus Christ as our Lord Jesus declared He (the Holy Spirit) would do when He said this, “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.” (John 16:13-14). In this passage our Lord Jesus tells the disciples that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth and likewise here Paul is declaring to these Galatians that what these Judaizers have brought to them is not the truth, but in fact a lie from the father of lies the devil (John 8:44). Paul declared to them that this persuasion or argument that has been brought to them does not originate from God the Father who called them to the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ nor does it come from Paul who was God the Father’s human instrument in bringing the Gospel or Good News to these Galatians.

Paul warns them now that what appears to be a small departure from the truth of the Gospel will in fact work like leaven or yeast in a lump of dough by permeating the entire dough. In this case the entire congregations in all of the Churches in the region of Galatia will be infected by this leaven of the Judaizers until the truth has been erased and eradicated from the Gospel. Leaven is a substance used to produce fermentation in dough or a liquid. It is an influence that works subtly to lighten or modify something. This is exactly the effect that Paul sees happening amongst the Galatian believers (by the infiltration of one or more Judaizing teachers) that they are being led softly, secretly, and subtly away from their liberty in our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ (Galatians 5:1). Paul warned the Corinthian believers of allowing sexual immorality to be accepted in their fellowship using this same language when he said, “Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (1 Corinthians 5:6-8). Just as Paul was confident with his writing such harsh rebuke to the members of the Corinthian Church, even though he felt a sense of sadness in what he wrote to them (2 Corinthians 7:8), Paul also tells these Galatians that he has confidence in them in our Lord Jesus Christ.

The English phrase “have confidence” Paul uses is translated by the Greek word peitho a primary verb meaning to convince by argument the truth or error of something; also by analogy to pacify that is to cause these Galatians to be more favorably inclined to adhere to only the Gospel he preached to them; also to rein in or curb their departure from the true Gospel as Paul wrote in this manner to the believers in Thessalonica, “But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. We have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will continue to do what we command. May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 3:3-5). Paul does not absolve the Galatians for their part in departing from the truth of the Gospel, but he places the lions share of the blame on the one individual or group of Judaizing men who have infiltrated their ranks with this blasphemous teaching being led by Satan in order to overthrow the Galatians liberty in Christ Jesus our Lord (Galatians 2:4). Paul declares that “he that troubleth” and this English phrase is translated by the Greek word tarasso which means to stir or agitate i.e. to exert oneself continuously, vigorously, or obtrusively to gain an end or engage in a crusade for a certain cause or person and in this case it was to win away the Galatian converts to their cause. For example today Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses spend the bulk of their time and efforts trying to convince true Christians to turn away from the truth of the Gospel of Christ and come join their cults and sadly (like these Judaizers in Galatia) they have been successful with some.

This one individual or group of Judaizers came to these Galatians declaring that Paul was a circulator of circumcision, but Paul disputes the lies told about him being a preacher of circumcision testifying of his persecution at the hands of the Jews because Christ Crucified was indeed a stumbling block to them (1 Corinthians 1:23). Paul surely had declared to them the five separate occasions when he was severely beaten by the Jews for preaching the Cross of our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ as he wrote with these words to the Corinthian believers, “Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes.” (2 Corinthians 11:24). Is this the result or the treatment of a man, a fellow Jew from other Jews if he is still declaring that circumcision is necessary for the salvation of the Gentiles. Paul is certain that these Galatians will see through the lies of the troubler or troublers of their faith in Christ Jesus our Lord. Paul ends with a graphic picture of what he wished these men would do to themselves and that is castrate themselves and leave the Lord Jesus’ Galatian sheep alone which goes along with the very same language Paul began his letter with referring to these men when he said, “As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a Gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!” (Galatians 1:9).

My own Personal Note: Paul had no warm fuzzy feelings in his heart for these type of men only “holy contempt” i.e. a complete lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike.

“The truth is not only to be believed, but to be obeyed, to be received not only in the light of it, but in the love and power of it. Those do not rightly obey the truth, who do not steadfastly adhere to it. There is the same reason for our obeying the truth that there was for our embracing it: and therefore those act very unreasonably who, when they have begun to run well in the Christian race, suffer themselves to be hindered, so as not to persevere in it.” Matthew Henry

“The believer who lives in the sphere of God’s Grace is free, rich, and running in the lane that leads to reward and fulfillment. The believer who abandons grace for law is a slave, a pauper, and a runner on a detour. In short, he is a loser. And the only way to become a winner is to ‘purge out the leaven,’ the false doctrine that mixes law and grace, and yield to the Spirit of God.” Warren Wiersbe

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…

 

 

 

 

 

The True Gospel is Reaffirmed to the Galatians Volume 20

Paul Urges the Galatians to Reject the Judiazers and Stand fast in their freedom in Christ

Galatians 5:1-6 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. KJV

Paul has now begun to turn away from revealing to them the correct teaching or Doctrine of the Gospel of Grace and faith in Christ, to the actual, factual, and practical way true believers are to apply their reception of God’s Grace through Christ Jesus our Lord in our daily lives as we sojourn down here on the earth. The Grace of God motivates the newly born child of God to desire the Glory of God. No amount of Jewish rites or ceremonies can put that desire in the heart of its strictest follower. Paul begins by exhorting them to “Stand fast” and this English phrase is translated by the Greek word steko which means to be stationary, that is, figuratively to persevere or continue. Paul is reminding them that when they received Christ as Lord and Savior, they received His Resurrection Life which when they are yielded to Him (through the Holy Spirit) they are loosed or freed from trying to obey external laws in their own strength, but through their love for Christ Jesus our Lord they are enabled and empowered by His Spirit to do what they in themselves could never do.

It is the releasing of the Grace of God supplied to them through the Holy Spirit that works out salvation in their daily lives and not observing Jewish rites and ceremonies. Paul prayed for the Ephesian believers to understand all they had “in Christ” with these words which surely can be applied to these Galatians and to us today, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.” (Ephesians 1:18-21). This is why Paul is here urging them to continue and remain in the only liberty they have by abiding in Christ alone. Paul had lived his entire life (before he met Christ) trying to keep every detail of these Jewish rites and ceremonies and he never experienced the freedom he has now found “in Christ” alone.

Paul wants them to pay close attention to what he is writing to them here in this section of his letter as we see with the word he uses “Behold”. Paul wants them to see that if they submit to circumcision with the intended outcome that they will be justified before God the Father by doing so, then they will find themselves severed, detached, or cut off from the Resurrection Life of our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ. Christ is the only One who has satisfied the Jewish rites and ceremonies as well as the Moral Law of God by His Perfect Sinless Life, therefore, for these Galatians to remove themselves from their freedom “in Him”, then obliges them to accomplish satisfying every detail of the Mosaic and Moral Law in their own human strength without the Life of Christ operating in them and through them. Paul warns them that if they venture down this path of seeking justification by the law then “ye are fallen” from grace. “Ye are fallen” is the English phrase translated by the Greek word ekpipto which means to drop away; specifically to be driven out of one’s course; figuratively it means to lose or to become inefficient. Paul is very serious with these Galatians when he declares to them that they will forfeit all their benefits of the Grace of God through Christ if they become circumcised. It will be as if they were renouncing their “faith in Christ” for justification and choosing to be justified before God the Father by desiring to observe, obey, and operate under the Jewish Mosaic Laws.

Paul wants them to see the clear impossibility of this endeavor as the Apostle James wrote in this manner, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.” (James 2:10) and likewise as he has already written to them in this same letter with these words, “For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.’” (Galatians 3:10). In great contrast to those who came from Judea (Galatians 2:3-5) teaching these Galatians that they must also be circumcised in order to be truly saved (Acts 15:1), Paul declares to them that it is not through adding to the Gospel the keeping of Jewish Law that gives them and us confidence and assurance before God the Father, but instead it is through the testimony and operation of God the Holy Spirit in theirs and our “inner man” that we have truly received the righteousness of God through “faith in Christ” alone (Romans 4:4-9) and He (God the Holy Spirit) is enabling us to work out our salvation day by day with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12).

Paul declares that “in Christ” all are on equal footing Jew and Gentile. Neither the circumcision of the Jews nor the uncircumcision of the Gentiles gives any advantage before God the Father. The English word “availeth” Paul uses is translated by the Greek word ischuo which means to have or exercise force, power, and strength. Literally circumcision renders no spiritual power whatsoever to its recipient. The faith these Galatians and we received at salvation works through love and love for God and to God produces obedience to His Will or His Word and love endeavors to do no wrong to all of humanity and especially to our brothers and sisters in Christ as Paul wrote so eloquently with these words to the Roman believers, “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” (Romans 13:8-10).

My own Personal Note: Legalism is like someone being trapped at the bottom of a 100 foot well being able to see the freedom above, but without a rope or other climbing gear their own human efforts never getting them to the top of the wells opening into freedom. However, grace is that same person trapped at the bottom of the same well, but someone outside of himself reaches down to him with a rescue rope and safety harness and bids him to strap it on and hold on to the rope as they proceed to pull him up to the top and freedom.

“He who is circumcised is circumcised as fearing the law: but he who fears the law distrusts the power of grace: and he who distrusts gains nothing from that which he distrusts.” John Chrysostom, 349 A.D. – 407 A. D.

“The Christian who lives by faith is not going to become a rebel. Quite the contrary, he is going to experience the inner discipline of God that is far better than the outer discipline of man-made rules. Paul’s doctrine of Christian liberty through grace is not the dangerous doctrine. It is legalism that is the dangerous doctrine, because legalism attempts to do the impossible: change the old nature and make it obey the Laws of God.” Warren Wiersbe

 “We are free. The Son has made us free, and we are free indeed, though not free to disobey the dictates and promptings of our new nature. We are set free from minute prescriptions, from priestly rules and requisitions, from all that would cramp and hinder our spiritual development; but we are still under the law of Christ, who will see to it that the essential righteousness of the Mosaic law is fulfilled in us, ‘who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit,’ (Romans 8:1).” F. B. Meyer

“This declaration is no less authoritative and judicially threatening than the anathema of Chapter 1. That former denouncement declared the false teachers severed from Christ. Those who yield to their persuasion, will be also ‘severed from Christ.’ They will fall into the same ditch as their blind leaders. The Judaisers have forfeited their part in Christ; they are false brethren, tares among the wheat, troublers and hinderers to the Church of God. And Gentile Christians who choose to be led astray by them must take the consequences. If they obey the ‘other Gospel,’ Christ’s Gospel is theirs no longer. If they rest their faith on circumcision, they have withdrawn it from His cross. Adopting the Mosaic regimen, they forego the benefits of Christ’s redemption. ‘Christ will profit you nothing.’ The sentence is negative, but no less fearful on that account. It is as though Christ should say, ‘Thou hast no part with Me.’” Expositor’s Bible Commentary

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…