Maranatha Grace Church

Welcome to the Book of Galatians Challenge.

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Galatians Challenge – Day 1 – Galatians 1 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

¹⁰ Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10)

The Bible gives us many simple but very powerful tools to help us in our spiritual journey. Those tools help us in clarifying our thinking so we can make the best decisions possible.  Galatians 1:10 is one of those very good tools. “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ (Gal. 1:10).”

If we really need true clarity on a difficult decision, we should pay a friend to ask us this simple question: Are you trying to please yourself, or are you trying to please God? Why pay the friend?  Because it is said that advice is cheap. We pay psychologists and psychiatrists very good money to ask us simple questions, why not pay lunch for a friend or give him whatever gift you think would force you to value the advice.

Am I a people pleaser, or a servant of Christ? Am I in it to satisfy my ego, or am I in it to please the Lord? Unfortunately, the answer cannot be both (Matthew 6:24). Jesus tells us to serve his people, not to please them. We are their servants, but they are not our master. As an example, a waiter in a restaurant needs to serve the customers, but they are not his boss. We need to serve our brothers and sisters, but the Lord is the Boss.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Galatians Challenge – Day 2 – Galatians 2 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

¹¹ When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. ¹² For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. ¹³ The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.

¹⁴ When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? (Galatians 2:11-14)

A very important lesson for us in that short passage is that “our true model is Christ.” The Bible makes it clear that we have to show deference to our leaders, they are models to follow. However, we need to know that our true and perfect model is Christ, and Christ alone. We can only imitate someone to the extent that they are imitating Christ. Just as Apostle Paul said, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1).”

Apostle Paul had to publically challenged Apostle Peter because his behavior was not “Yes, Yes, or No, No” as Christ demands it from his followers (Matthew 5:37). Because Peter wanted to avoid a confrontation, he found himself behaving hypocritically toward the Gentiles. This is a lesson for all of us. We must live in peace with our brothers and sister, but we should not seek peace at the cost of compromising our Christian integrity.

We should pray for God to bless us with great Christian friends, like Apostle Paul was to Apostle Peter. Friends who love us so much, and who care so much for the gospel that they are ready to rebuke us if we start going astray. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy (Proverbs 27:6). What are friends for?

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Galatians Challenge – Day 3 – Galatians 3 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

⁰ For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”^{[e] 11} Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.”^{[f] 12} The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.”^{[g] 13} Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”^{[h] 14} He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. (Galatians 3:10-14)

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (Galatians 3:13a).” Our hearts are filled with love for the Lord Jesus when we understand all he has done for us on the cross. He sets us free from the curse of the law. A situation that was really bad when we consider the list of curses found in Deuteronomy 28:15-68 for disobedience to the law.

“You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country. Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed. The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out. The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies (Deut. 28:15-19, 25).” The list of the curses goes on and on.

Our gratitude goes to the Lord who paid the consequences of our sins. We are no longer under the law, we are under grace. All we need is faith in Christ to receive all the blessings that come with grace. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3:29). That's the reason why we serve the Lord with great expectancy. We enjoy the blessed life!

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Galatians Challenge – Day 4 – Galatians 4 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. ² The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. ³ So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces^[a] of the world. ⁴ But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.^{[b] 6} Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba,^[c] Father.” ⁷ So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir. (Galatians 4:1-7)

Paul called attention to the sovereignty of God in controlling the events of the coming of Jesus on earth, “When the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son (Gal. 4:4).” Mark also emphasized God’s right timing for the coming of Christ. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news (Mark1:15)!”

God’s timing is perfect timing. Three groups of people, the Jew, the Greek and the Roman contributed to the religious preparation for the Gospel. The Roman Empire provided a relatively peaceful world in which the early Christians could move from place to preach the gospel to all men everywhere. The Greek intellectual environment provided a universal language, a dialect known as Koine, for the spread of the gospel.

The Jews offered to the world the worship of one true universal God of all the earth, the hope of a coming Messiah, and the moral part of the Jewish law, the purest ethical system in existence. Jesus told the woman at the well that salvation is from the Jews (John 4:22). Salvation is only in Jesus’s name: “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).”

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Galatians Challenge – Day 5 – Galatians 5 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

¹³ You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh^[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love. ¹⁴ For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”^{[b] 15} If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

¹⁶ So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever^[c] you want. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. (Galatians 5:13-18)

After the overthrow of the Baby Doc regime in 1986, every Haitian was talking about freedom and democracy. The people took the idea so far that a driver who had run a red light, refused to accept the traffic violation ticket, claiming that he was living in a democracy and that he could do whatever he wanted. Does democracy imply a license for a citizen to do whatever he wants?

This sounds ridiculous, but this is exactly how some of the Galatians Christians were thinking after that Apostle Paul told them about the freedom that they had in Christ. They thought that since they were saved, they could do anything they wanted in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul had to correct that faulty concept of freedom in Christ.

Christ has set us free so we can live a life that is pleasing to God. Paul told to them as he is telling us today, “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever^[c] you want (Galatians 5:16-17).”

May the Lord richly bless you!

Hello:

Book of Galatians Challenge – Day 6 – Galatians 6 (Please click on the blue links to be directed to the Readings)

⁷ Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. ⁸ Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. ⁹ Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ¹⁰ Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Galatians 6:7-10)

Galatians  6:7, “A man reaps what he sows,”  is one  of the least understood  spiritual principles by mankind.  In the physical realm everyone intuitively understands if one sows corn, they will get corn and many more than the quantity that was planted. Even little children understand perfectly the principle of sowing and reaping in the physical realm, but it is hard for humans to believe this truth in the spiritual realm. Why? Because of the time delay factor.

By example, coconut palms produce their first fruit in six to ten years. It takes five years for a mango tree to produce its first fruit. For tomatoes, it takes as little as 49 days and up to 100 days depending on the type. Naturally people do not get a crop right away, it takes time, but surely in due time people will get a harvest. They will reap what they sow.

What about planting a seed of being rude to people, talking bad about a friend? How long will it take to get the same? Nobody knows. Some seed takes six to ten years to produce, others a couple of months. On the bright side, what about planting a seed of generosity and kindness in the life of a child, a young person, or an elderly person. How long will it take to reap that harvest? Nobody knows.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ¹⁰ Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Galatians 6:9-10).

May the Lord richly bless you!