Sin | - Part 5

September 5, 2015

Bad News Concluded; Good News Begun

The Bad News Concluded; the Good News Introduced

© C. O. Bishop 9/1/15 THCF 9/6/15

Romans Chapter 3

Introduction:

Paul has just finished condemning (for cause) all of three groups of people:

Immoral Sinners (those who ignore moral values and restraints)
Moral Sinners (those who adhere to at least some moral values and restraints, and are sure that because of that they will be on good terms with God) and
Religious Sinners (including the Jews: those who adhere to some form of religious piety, whether based on the Word of God or not…but in this case he specifically addressed the Jews, as they did have the Word available.)

That pretty well sums up the human race, doesn’t it? Biblically, we could divide the whole race into two groups: Jews and Gentiles. We could also state that within each group there are people who ignore all moral restraint, and others who adhere to some (or many) moral values. Paul systematically proved that all these groups were under judgment for sin, and ended with the idea that the Jews were under special judgment because they knew the Law and ignored it.

That is a pretty negative premise with which to begin, though it certainly “levels the playing field,” if that is considered a good thing: no one has a special advantage, and no one is treated unfairly. Paul is simply completing the Bad news as the necessary foundation for the Good News. But I am sure that to each of the groups mentioned, it was shockingly bad news; especially to the Jews who thought they were already on God’s side, and destined for heaven.

So what advantage IS there to being a Jew?

3: ¹What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?

²Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.

Paul, a Jew, poses the question, “Then what possible advantage is there to being a Jew?” His answer? “There is much advantage in every way, but the chief advantage was that to them were entrusted the oracles of God.” As far as I can tell, every single Old Testament prophet was a Jew, unless you recall that Abraham was an Iraqi, later referred to as a homeless Syrian; and none of the immediate progeny of Jacob had ever heard the word “Jew”. That was a later descriptive term applied first to the tribe of Judah and those associated with him, and later to all the children of Jacob (also called Israel).

Melchizedek was certainly not a Jew, though he was the one who blessed Abraham in the name of the Most High God. But every single one of the writers of the Old Testament were Jews, as were all but one of the writers of the New Testament (and that one is questioned by some). (Luke may have been a Gentile, as “Luke” is a Gentile name. But that would suggest that anyone with a Jewish name must be a Jew. (Joe? Sarah? Steve? Elizabeth? Where do you want to stop?) That is clearly not sufficient reason to make such an assumption.) I really do not know what Luke’s origin may have been, but without controversy, all of the other writers were Jews. Is that a privilege? An honor? Looks like one to me. Would it at least tend to give them an “inside track” as far as an opportunity to know the God of the Universe? I would think so.

Further, in every village where Paul (and the other apostles) preached, they began with the synagogue—the Jewish elders in that village. Why? Well, for one reason, they had been waiting for the Messiah for a long time, so it was fitting that they should hear the message first. But a practical reason is that those believing Jews, who had already trusted in the coming Savior, and the blood of his sacrifice, had also been soaking in the Written Word for their whole life; memorizing it, studying it, meditating upon it, and receiving teaching concerning it. They were in a position to vault into Christian maturity far more rapidly than a Gentile, who, even if he were a proselyte to Judaism, could only recently have begun to understand the Word of God. Thus, it was possible for Paul to be run out of a town by the unbelievers, but leave behind a fledgling church with ordained elders…after three weeks or less in some cases!

But what about all those Jews who don’t believe in Jesus?

³For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?

He follows his line of reasoning a little further, saying, If some of God’s people fail to believe God’s Word, does that diminish the faith (or faithfulness) of God? Nope. In fact, it underscores it, as He continues faithful regardless of the sin of his people. In the case of the nation of Israel, God demonstrated this truth later on, showing that there will come a time when the believing remnant of Israel will ultimately turn to God as a nation, and finally, “all Israel will be saved.” Not every offspring of Jacob in history: all the living remnant of Israel. God never took his hand off their history, though they repeatedly took their eyes off of Him.

We see a similar truth in the Church: the Church has failed God in every way, over and over, but Jesus said “I will build my Church, and the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it!” God knows his sheep, and Jesus said He will not lose a single one of them. So, in answer to the question about God’s reliability, Paul says:

⁴God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

The result is that God is absolutely correct in His Judgment, and no accusation against Him will ever be right. (Notice that the truth of God’s Word is not dependent upon those who believe it. My believing it does not make it true. The World’s denial of it does not make it untrue. God’s Word, and, in fact, Truth as a principle, has to stand or fall on its own merit. It either is true or it isn’t. And since The Bible claims to be all true, it either is all true, or it simply isn’t true.)

⁵But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man)

⁶God forbid: for then how shall God judge the world?

⁷For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also judged as a sinner?

⁸And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose damnation is just.

While it is true that Man’s sin is met by God’s Grace (and judgment…don’t forget the Holiness of God), it is foolish to think, “Well, then, more sin means more grace, right?” I used to think Paul was setting up a “straw man” as it were, because I could not imagine someone being goofy enough to teach such a thing, but there are evidently cults teaching just that, today, and advocating really wallowing in filth, so as to inherit more of the grace of God.

Paul says they are worthy of the condemnation they will receive. We should meditate frequently on Isaiah’s response to his vision of God. In Isaiah 6:1-8, Isaiah saw Jesus on the Throne of God, and was devastated at his own guilt, and the guilt of his people, compared to the utter Holiness of God. The Angelic response to God’s presence was similar: they cried out, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD of Hosts! The whole Earth is filled with His Glory!” All of those who saw Him were primarily impressed with the Holiness of God, above all His other attributes.

Other prophets had similar visions and experienced similar dismay. Some simply passed out—they nearly died at the revelation of the Holiness of God. No one got inspired to “go and sin more energetically”: not one! Remember too: Jesus told people “Go, and sin no more!”
Don’t ever get the idea that Jesus is “soft on sin.” It is completely true that He loves sinners, but it is equally true that He hates sin… all of it.

Please bear in mind that Jesus, the Jesus that we admired in Bethlehem, and in Jerusalem, in the temple, and at the Cross, is also the one the Bible identifies as “the Judge of all the Earth.” And Jesus, himself, personally confirmed that truth. (John 5:22)

V. 9-20 Paul’s Conclusion to the “Bad News” of the Gospel

⁹What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;

In verse 9, the “we” and “they” are Jew and Gentile: Paul speaks from the Jewish perspective, and confesses that the Jews are no better than the Gentiles, in spite of the advantages they were given. They still ran away from God, pursuing sin, and their history proves it time after time.

¹⁰As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

¹¹There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

¹²They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

¹³Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:

¹⁴Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:

¹⁵Their feet are swift to shed blood:

¹⁶Destruction and misery are in their ways:

¹⁷And the way of peace have they not known:

¹⁸There is no fear of God before their eyes.

¹⁹Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

²⁰Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

Paul concludes in verses 9-20 that there is not one person in the whole natural human race, who is free from sin; and that, collectively, we are a total loss. He says, “There is none righteous, no not one.” In verses 9-12, he quotes Psalm 14:2, 3. (Turn there and read it.) Notice in Psalm 14, he is not talking about the Jews, nor about any particular group of people. He is definitely talking about the whole human race. He also quotes Psalm 5:9, 140:3, and other passages, applying those as well, as a blanket condemnation of the whole world. He concludes in verse 19, 20 that all the world is guilty before God, and that no flesh can be justified (“declared righteous”) by works of the Law, since by the Law is the knowledge of sin. Law is only the light that reveals our lost state: it cannot save us.

V. 21-28 Divine Contrast

²¹But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

²²Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

²³For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

²⁴Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

²⁵Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

²⁶To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

Finally, in verses 21, 22, the righteousness of Christ imputed—apart from law-keeping— is revealed, and it is completely validated by the Old Testament prophets (specifically David, as we shall see later on.) That righteousness is only available to those who place their faith in Him, but it is applied to all that do so. It is “unto all (therefore available to all) and upon all (applied to all) them that believe.” Verses 21-25 are all in reference to the same individuals…and it is all past tense…a “done deal.”

Verse 23 (with which most Christians are thoroughly familiar) states that “ALL have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” But the point that is missed, is that he is talking about believers! He is saying (in v. 22) that there is no difference (among believers) because all were the same unclean, guilty sinners, and (in v. 24) that all have been freely declared righteous (justified) by GRACE, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. (“Redemption”, in this particular passage, comes from the word “lutro-o”, meaning to be set free from slavery. In other passages it comes from one of two other words: “agorazo” or “exagorazo”. The first, “agorazo”, means “bought in the marketplace”. Jesus literally bought us with his blood. The second implies being “bought out of the marketplace”—that is, that He bought us OUT of that slave-marketplace of sin and that we have been removed from it forever. “Lutro-o” carries the final idea; that we have been set free, eternally, to serve out of Love; not fear.) All of these points are completely true of all believers in Christ…those who have trusted in the shed blood of the historical, Biblical Jesus Christ for their salvation.

v. 25 specifies that our faith is to be in the blood of Christ—not a creed, not a code of morality, not a church membership, nor an ethnic identity; but through the person and work of Christ: specifically, faith in His shed Blood. That is a pretty important concept and frequently is omitted in Bible teaching, today. I don’t know whether it is due to ignorance, personal revulsion at the concept of a blood-sacrifice, or rebellion against the stated need for it. But this was the error of Cain, if you recall, and it seems to increasingly be the error of the modern Church. Cain thought that he could bypass the “gore” of a blood sacrifice, and go straight to a worship experience with God. God sought to correct Cain’s error, explaining what was wrong: Cain compounded the error by killing Abel. Take note that those who deny their need for a Savior, or deny the efficacy of Jesus’ blood, will always attack those who recognize that need and who place their faith in His blood. This is a Biblical principle, and has been consistently borne out in human history.

v. 26 Paul says that Jesus himself is not only righteous, but that He is the only one who can authoritatively (and effectually) declare a sinner to be righteous. He declares those who believe in Him (this implies consciously placing one’s faith in him for salvation, not just believing he exists, or whatever) will be “declared righteous” by Him. The word “Just” means “righteous: having a right standing before God”. “Justified” means “declared Righteous”.

The Conclusion:

²⁷Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith.

²⁸Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

v. 27: Some final questions are posed: “Where is boasting?” It is excluded by the law of faith. That is an interesting concept: “the Law of Faith”. Saving Faith always produces level ground and true humility. How could I be “proud to be a Christian?” The fact of my salvation was predicated upon the fact of my absolute guilt as a sinner. There can be no pride there, surely. Paul’s conclusion in verse 28 is that a man is justified by faith (alone) without works of the Law.

²⁹Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:

³⁰Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.

³¹Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

There is a brief transition in ideas, in verses 29-31. Paul poses the rhetorical question “Is God the God of the Jews only?” (Now some Jews and many Gentiles would have automatically said “yes” because they completely misunderstand who God really is, and thus miss the fact that there is only room for one Sovereign in the universe. There is only one God, in fact, and that God must be the God of all things and all people…there is none other.) Paul concludes then, that the same God has to accomplish the justification of all… both Jew and Gentile. He asks one final rhetorical question: “Do we make void the law, through Faith?”

The answer, resoundingly, is “NO!” (“God Forbid! Yea, we establish the Law.”) But how could the preaching of the Grace of God establish (i.e. “build up; strengthen the position of”) the Law of God?

When we consider the role of God’s Law, throughout History, we can see that Grace is always the conclusion of the Law. By accepting God’s Grace, in salvation, we confess that the Law is correct in condemning us, and agree that we cannot possibly please God in the flesh.

If that is not what you think, in terms of the meaning of Grace, then I would suspect that you do not understand your genuine need for a Savior, and I would question how in the world you were saved. How could you place your faith in an unseen Savior, confessing your sin by so doing, if you do not see yourself as a hopelessly lost sinner apart from His Grace?

But we do see ourselves that way, and we do trust in His Grace. And we rejoice in our Savior.

Lord Jesus, help us to see you in your Holiness, to see our own crying need for your Grace, and to daily seek your face in confession and prayer, and the study of your Word.

Amen!

June 27, 2015

No Longer of this World

No Longer of This World

Galatians 6:11-18

Introduction

Paul is concluding his letter to the churches of the Galatian province. He has compared his own ministry (source, content and result) to that of the legalizers, and has given clear direction as how to live by Grace and walk in the Spirit. He begins his closing with an odd statement: He says, ‘ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand.” What was the meaning? This was in effect, a wry “signature”: he is saying, “Look, the letter was written by me—in crayon!”

Paul evidently had severe eye problems, either caused by disease or by the stoning he received at Lystra…we can’t be sure. We do know that the people he served knew of his eye troubles…he said that they would have given their own eyes to him if they could have done so. We conclude that probably the “thorn in the flesh” of 2^nd Corinthians 12 may be this partial blindness and ocular distress from which he constantly suffered. Further, in Acts 23:2-5, he evidently could not clearly see the person (the High priest as it turned out) who ordered that he be punched in the mouth. The result of this partial blindness, in most cases, was that he had to have someone else write for him, as he could scarcely see. But this time he had no such scribe available, so he had to make the letters large enough that he could see what he was writing…thus the “large letter.”

But Paul prefaced his closing remarks with the admonition to take every opportunity to “do good” to anyone with whom we have contact…and especially to watch for opportunities to bless believers. This is not an incitement to monasticism, where the believers cloister themselves off away from the world…he just encourages us to love one another in practical ways.

Make Use of the Time

¹⁰ As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

In Ephesians 5:16, he says we are to be “redeeming the time, because the days are evil”. This life is the only opportunity we have to do good. We may think we will “just hang on and wait for Jesus to return”, but that is not at all what he commanded: we are to work while we have the opportunity to serve with Him. We already have eternal life; that is not the issue. We are serving out of love, and sowing in hope of eternal reward. We love one another because we want to, and because it is the best advertisement of the truth of the Gospel.

¹¹ Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand.

Paul usually used a scribe to write his letters. Sometimes we actually were given the names of the persons who wrote his words…usually not. But one of the reasons he generally used a scribe, was apparently that his eyes were bad. This particular letter was written by his own hand, evidently in the absence of a scribe. The result was a bit of a mess: he had to make huge letters in order to see what he was writing. He took note of that, possibly to let them know that the letter had not been an easy thing for him, or possibly just a self-effacing joke, in a way, letting them know that he had personally penned the words. It was not an easy task to write such a long letter when he was nearly blind, but he considered it a good investment. He set the example of “redeeming the time”. There is no time like the present to obey God’s leading. Paul could have thought, “Well, sometime soon a scribe will come along, and I can get him to write this letter.” But he didn’t—he wrote it himself.

They already knew that his eyes were bad (compare verse 4:15), so this is just a reminder that he was their faithful teacher and mentor, not one of the elite scribes or pharisaical teachers who plagued them. He refers to those people, next, in contrast: He has spoken at length regarding the motives of the legalizers, and this is his final comment.

Bad Teachers Have Bad Motives

¹² As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ.

¹³ For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.

He says that those teachers were not (and are not) willing to suffer the unpopularity (and the inherent risk of persecution) for having preached the cross. They preach legalism (circumcision, in this particular case) because that gains them glory in this life. They can point to “converts”, and lay claim to all that they have “done for God.”.

I remember listening to a missionary who very seldom spoke of his work in the Gospel, but went on and on about all the lovely church-buildings he had helped build. Were they good buildings? Probably so: but that is not what we are sent to do. Buildings do not save souls, nor do they edify the saints. Even baptism is made a distant second-place to the preaching of the Gospel.

The preaching of the Cross saves those who believe. The consistent preaching of the rest of the Word edifies believers. “Feeding the sheep” requires the preaching and teaching of God’s Word. These false teachers were advocating works of the Law, not only because within their culture that was completely safe to them, but it was a “number” they could claim, to gain honor among their own kind. They could hold up a list of “converts”, and crow about how God was using them. There are those today to whom numbers are very important, as well. It is an easy trap to fall into.

If a mega-church today is truly edifying the saints and preaching the Gospel of Christ to unbelievers, I guess I have no problem with the size of the outfit, except that it seems a bit unwieldy at that point, and more likely that certain believers may tend to not be served well, (see Acts 6; it was a problem in Jerusalem, too) Some people will just disappear in the crowd, and become anonymous. But there is no proof of blessing in size alone. Many such churches are definitely not staying true to the Word of God, but are very popular because of a charismatic preacher, an exciting show, a well-choreographed presentation, a band, or other attractions. Sometimes they have lots of other activities that have nothing to do with the Gospel, and those activities are what are drawing the crowds—pizza, basketball, games, movies, etc. One has to remember that “what a person is drawn by is what they are drawn to.” If you want them to be drawn to Christ, then you had better be using Him alone as your main attraction.

The fact is, Paul actually had to state (1^st Corinthians 1:17) that he had not been sent to baptize—it simply wasn’t much of an issue. And the issue of “who led you to the Lord” was unimportant, too. He said that he (among others) had sown the seed of the Gospel, and that Apollos (among others) had “watered” that seed, by further preaching and exhortation, but that God alone saved souls…God gave the increase…period. Why did he say such a thing? Because the people were dividing over whose disciples they were—who had taught them, who their mentor had been, etc. And Paul told them to knock it off. He said their divisions were wrong. Paul also knew there were such things as false brethren…there were those who pretended to be believers, to be accepted by the group, but were not born again. He was not a “numbers” kind of guy. He knew he no longer fit in, and was satisfied with that.

No Longer of This World

¹⁴ But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

Paul could clearly see the danger of pride in the ministry. He stayed back from that “edge” by maintaining that the Cross of Christ was his only message. In 1^st Corinthians 2:2 he said that he had determined when he first came to Corinth that his only message would be the Cross. In fact he said that he was determined to not know anything beside the Cross. He had had opportunity to observe that too much “human reasoning” would detract from the message of Christ, so he was determined to stay far away from that trap. If anyone described his ministry, they would have to say, “He preaches the Cross!” He recognized that he was eternally separated from the world by that Cross, and that the World was eternally out of reach to him, as well. He could never hope to “fit in” again…and he was satisfied with that arrangement.

My father once warned me, saying “The world is passing you by!” (I was in ministry training at the time, at one stage or another.) I replied that as far as I could tell, the World was “headed for Hell in a hand-basket”, and that it was just fine if they passed me by; I wanted nothing to do with their direction, let alone their destination. I think that sometimes, since then, I have forgotten that resolve, for a time, and have tried to “fit in” at one level or another. The results have never been as good as I wanted. I cannot fit in. I am forever separated from the World by the Cross. The World knows I no longer belong, and will not receive me as its own. And God says that I am no longer of this world…I cannot have partnership with it anymore, though I am required to live within it and function as a light in the darkness. Paul says, over in 2^nd Corinthians 6:14, 15, “Be ye not unequally yoked with unbelievers; for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And, what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord (agreement—common ground) hath Christ with Belial? Or, what part hath he that believeth, with an infidel?”

Those are pretty strong words: Paul said in Philippians 2:15, 16, “that ye may be blameless, and harmless, the Sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; holding forth the Word of Life:” How can we shine as lights in the World if we are not in it? But, just as surely, how can we shine if, effectively, we join with the darkness, so that they see us as self-righteous hypocrites, and pretenders, with nothing real to offer.

Some of you have probably been grieved to see the recent changes in our national laws. This admonition seems particularly apt, today, in light of those changes. We are to continue to shine “in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation”. We are not allowed to draw off and hold ourselves away from them—but we also do not belong to them and cannot join them in their perversion and rebellion. Ephesians 5:11, 12 says for us to “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them, for it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.” And, make no mistake: the result will likely be increasing persecution. Philippians 1:29 says “unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on His name but also to suffer for His sake.” Paul knew that his future held such persecution, and did not turn away from it: He said (Philippians 3:10) “that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings…being made conformable unto His death…” He knew the cost of the ministry. Do we?

The fact is that we are just as “separated from the World” by the Cross as the Apostle Paul was…but it has not had the same effect in our lives, as yet. That time may be coming soon.

Our nation has finally turned its back on God at every level, and people are gloating over the collective shame and sin and debauchery of the nation. The unbelieving world rejoices to see the fall of our once-Christian nation. In the previous verses we saw the warning, “Be not deceived, for God is not mocked: whatsoever a man sows; that shall he also reap.” Judgment is definitely coming: I have no idea what form it will take.

Inward Change is What God Wants.

¹⁵ For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.

Paul says that the outward actions don’t accomplish much of anything; that the key issue is being born again. After that point, God is free to rear up a believer in the nurture of His Word, and produce the inward and outward changes that show the reality of the new birth. The chains and restraints of religious formalism and the trappings of formal piety are essentially useless. The results of the Holy Spirit working through a born-again believer have eternal value. Not only that, but, as we saw in the previous chapter, “against such things there is no law”. There may come a time when we will be condemned for our faith…but the good works of faith are not what they are rejecting: it is the “bad news” of the Gospel…the three-fold bad news that “Sin is black, Hell is hot, and Judgment is coming!” But the Gospel also concludes with the Good News; “Jesus Saves!” They don’t like that part either, so we stand condemned for the whole message of the Gospel. We have to accept the fact that we are cast aside by the World because they also cast aside the Christ who saved us. Jesus said, “Marvel not if the World hate thee; they hated Me first!” We are finally beginning to see that reality in the world around us. We must prepare our hearts to accept it as our cross, joining Jesus in the “fellowship of His sufferings.”

Peace in Persecution

¹⁶ And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.

Paul concludes by praying for peace upon those who live by faith, and obey by faith. He also prays for peace upon the “Israel of God”. (This is not saying that believers have become Jews, though he has already pointed out that they have become part of the fulfilled promise to Abraham. I believe he may be addressing the Jewish believers who have embraced Jesus as their Messiah… but I can’t prove it.) At any rate, Jesus agreed, saying “In the World ye shall have tribulations, but be of good cheer: I have overcome the World.”

I think it is probably important to point out that the trap of legalism is still there: James 3:18 says “the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in Peace by those who make peace.” This whole passage is exhorting us to walk in the light and to shine in a dark world…but it requires that the Peace of God “leak out through us” in every relationship. We cannot preach righteousness in anger and expect good results. James says if we want to reap righteousness we have to sow that seed in peace, as peacemakers.

Philippians 4:6, 7 states that we can experience that peace at all times. We are to avoid anxiety and stress by laying our burden on Jesus…and leaving it there. We are not to just be confident in our own goodness and rightness, and think that that is the “light” we are to shine. The Love of God and the Gospel of His Grace is the light we are to shine.

Paul’s Conclusion

¹⁷ From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.

Paul once may have taken some sort of pride in his being a Jew, and bearing the “marks” of Judaism: physical circumcision, peculiar clothing, peculiar haircut, etc. Now the only marks he points to are the physical scars that he received as a result of preaching the Gospel. He pointed to them as the proof of his ministry. Not numbers, not buildings, not money or fame. He pointed to his suffering which had been the direct result of the preaching of the Cross. And his conclusion was that any accusations against his ministry will have to face the reality of his track-record.

¹⁸ Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. (To the Galatians written from Rome.)

As we mentioned in the beginning of this epistle, Grace is not only for salvation, but for daily life. How fitting that the Epistle should begin and end with Grace, as that is the key theme of the book. Paul’s purpose is to point people away from Law, with its outward works, and to anchor the believers firmly in Grace. If we take his message to heart, then his purpose is fulfilled in us.

If we walk in the Spirit, we can expect the grace of the Lord Jesus to be with our spirits.

Lord Jesus, change our hearts by your Grace. Re-mold us into your likeness and lead us in the path of righteousness. Teach us to sow the Gospel of Grace and Peace and to demonstrate the Love of God in our lives, while maintaining a clean walk before you. Make us the Men and Women of God you have chosen us to be.