Paul fights for all of us, both then and now, and thank God he did! He was emphatic and hard pressed to keep the Message of Christ Jesus pure and without any "strings attached".
We are all grateful, both those who were alive in the 30's and 40's A.D. as well as today: 2012 AD....
" To all my friends in Galatia: Don't be so thoughtless, don't be foolish, and don't act like you have lost all common sense. You act like some witch has come among you and has been successful to cast a spell over each and everyone of you.
The true meaning of Christ Jesus and all He has done for all of us...dying on the Cross to set us free...has been made so clear to you...it's like you have a picture ever in front of you depicting Christ, His death at the Cross and His Resurrection from the dead...it is right in front of your faces!
But now it seems like something has come over you. Let me ask you this: " How did you receive the Holy Spirit anyway?...by obeying the Law of Moses?" ....Hello! Are you not Gentiles?...You gave no adherence to any Jewish Laws or customs!
So, the answer to all this would be a "No"...am I correct? Instead, you all know exactly how you received the Holy Spirit...the very same way you received Jesus into your hearts...you believed...by faith!
So, why then would you...who began this New Life journey in receiving Christ and given the Power of the Holy Spirit to live within you as God's gift to you...now change the whole Plan of Salvation by saying the way to be made right with God comes by the observance of Mosaic Law and all its customs and rituals? Have you lost it? Are you mad? Have you gone completely nuts?
And all the things you have gone through since giving your hearts to Christ Jesus, along with all the sufferings you have gone through...will all this end up being of no purpose, just chasing a vain dream, a "bad joke" God played on you?
Let me ask you another question: " Does God give you the Precious Holy Spirit to each of you...and work miracles among you...because you have been "so good" and obeyed every part of Jewish Law?"
Step back a moment and think about this: "Don't you think this all happened to you because of the very same reason it happened to Abraham (the Father of the Jewish race and the Father of many nations): the scriptures make this clear...Abraham BELIEVED what God had said and it was his FAITH, acting on what God had told him that enabled Father Abraham's own life to be a life that was made right with God!
This is a witness of what true obedience really is...not trying to follow a bunch of laws...and this same example is what we all should follow in the very same manner. We BELIEVE Christ Jesus died for us, and we put our total trust by FAITH in Him!
As far as those who choose to go alone..doing it by their own merit, actually having the audacity and the arrogance to think they can gain entrance into God's heart by obeying a set of rules that is nothing more than trying to look "holy" on the outside while their hearts are far from Him. They are prophesying their own doom...signing their very own death sentence.
What does it say long ago in Deuteronomy? " Utterly cursed to eternal punishment is anyone who does not only obey every part of the Law, but fails to continually abide by and live every part of the Law." This means you can't afford to make a mistake...you got to follow every part of the Law...or it will cost you in giving sacrifices that will never totally eradicate the sin and errors you have made. And besides, does the Law have the power to change a person's heart?
I got some news for you...it "ain't gonna" happen! Better men than you have tried a whole lot harder than some of you...and they simply couldn't do it. No one lives through this life sinless and no one can have deep changes made in their hearts from simply adhering to a set of laws.
Listen up Galatians! The way of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ is the only way to lead a fulfilled life...at peace with our Great God and giving us purpose to live. There are no Laws or Rituals that can even touch the Power of our Beloved Jesus the True Christ!
Matters of the heart can never be made right by following the Law as well...hearts are changed one way...His Amazing Grace!
We are all grateful, both those who were alive in the 30's and 40's A.D. as well as today: 2012 AD....
" To all my friends in Galatia: Don't be so thoughtless, don't be foolish, and don't act like you have lost all common sense. You act like some witch has come among you and has been successful to cast a spell over each and everyone of you.
The true meaning of Christ Jesus and all He has done for all of us...dying on the Cross to set us free...has been made so clear to you...it's like you have a picture ever in front of you depicting Christ, His death at the Cross and His Resurrection from the dead...it is right in front of your faces!
But now it seems like something has come over you. Let me ask you this: " How did you receive the Holy Spirit anyway?...by obeying the Law of Moses?" ....Hello! Are you not Gentiles?...You gave no adherence to any Jewish Laws or customs!
So, the answer to all this would be a "No"...am I correct? Instead, you all know exactly how you received the Holy Spirit...the very same way you received Jesus into your hearts...you believed...by faith!
So, why then would you...who began this New Life journey in receiving Christ and given the Power of the Holy Spirit to live within you as God's gift to you...now change the whole Plan of Salvation by saying the way to be made right with God comes by the observance of Mosaic Law and all its customs and rituals? Have you lost it? Are you mad? Have you gone completely nuts?
And all the things you have gone through since giving your hearts to Christ Jesus, along with all the sufferings you have gone through...will all this end up being of no purpose, just chasing a vain dream, a "bad joke" God played on you?
Let me ask you another question: " Does God give you the Precious Holy Spirit to each of you...and work miracles among you...because you have been "so good" and obeyed every part of Jewish Law?"
Step back a moment and think about this: "Don't you think this all happened to you because of the very same reason it happened to Abraham (the Father of the Jewish race and the Father of many nations): the scriptures make this clear...Abraham BELIEVED what God had said and it was his FAITH, acting on what God had told him that enabled Father Abraham's own life to be a life that was made right with God!
This is a witness of what true obedience really is...not trying to follow a bunch of laws...and this same example is what we all should follow in the very same manner. We BELIEVE Christ Jesus died for us, and we put our total trust by FAITH in Him!
As far as those who choose to go alone..doing it by their own merit, actually having the audacity and the arrogance to think they can gain entrance into God's heart by obeying a set of rules that is nothing more than trying to look "holy" on the outside while their hearts are far from Him. They are prophesying their own doom...signing their very own death sentence.
What does it say long ago in Deuteronomy? " Utterly cursed to eternal punishment is anyone who does not only obey every part of the Law, but fails to continually abide by and live every part of the Law." This means you can't afford to make a mistake...you got to follow every part of the Law...or it will cost you in giving sacrifices that will never totally eradicate the sin and errors you have made. And besides, does the Law have the power to change a person's heart?
I got some news for you...it "ain't gonna" happen! Better men than you have tried a whole lot harder than some of you...and they simply couldn't do it. No one lives through this life sinless and no one can have deep changes made in their hearts from simply adhering to a set of laws.
Listen up Galatians! The way of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ is the only way to lead a fulfilled life...at peace with our Great God and giving us purpose to live. There are no Laws or Rituals that can even touch the Power of our Beloved Jesus the True Christ!
Matters of the heart can never be made right by following the Law as well...hearts are changed one way...His Amazing Grace!
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