Eudora

Galatians 5: 11-12 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. Apparently there were a group of people that had been making the claim that Paul was preaching that circumcision was necessary for Gentiles who wanted to join God’s family. He used too, prior to his encounter with Yahushua but certainly not anymore. Perhaps Jesus had met them too: Matthew 23:15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. What is "the offense of the cross" that offended the Jews? It was Paul's declaration and teaching that Gentiles could join the family of God without being circumcised that caused the offence. Paul wished that these people who taught this false teachings and made these false claims against him were cut off. Seems a bit sarcastic but I believe that Paul meant it to be. His desire is that the people who were bothering them about circumcision would go the whole way and castrate themselves. Then they would be unfit to teach anything to anyone. 　 How does the cross offend people in our day? Have you noticed Christians softening their proclamation of the cross? Does this help them communicate more clearly to our age or does it compromise the true message? I do not have any answers to offer to these questions. I suppose you might ask the persons who are offended.

Galatians 5: 5-10 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. Paul says it too: we ‘wait for the hope of righteousness’, through the Spirit by faith. Neither being circumcised or un-circumcised matters. What matters is that we are accepted by God on the grounds of trusting Yahushua. Trust and faithfulness, expressing our self through good deeds done in love. In the New Testament and the Old, ‘love’ refers to works and not mere feelings, believe it or not. Verse six, refutes the idea that Christianity and Judaism elevate belief over action, creed over deed. Faith that is worked by love. Circumcision had been the primary "mark of identity" for a believer in God. What is the evidence of the Spirit's presence in a believer's life according to verse 6? Galatians 5:6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. Good deeds, to those who benefit is a value to those who do them when they spring from love because it is our faith in action, presented in love by the Spirit of love who works in us. This is a progression of behavioral righteousness in action, when we are more concerned with the well being of others, at the cost of our own creature comforts. This is our sacrifice unto the Lord. He knows what is true and what isn’t. The Galatians had been exposed again to legalism, that false principle that grants acceptance to people apart from putting their trust in Jesus, rather than relying solely on Him and accepting His love for us and the promise that He will do all the work that He intends to perform in us through the power of the Holy Spirit. Rather than our obedience to Him and the ‘whispers’ of the Holy Spirit, legalism is based on obedience to a set of rules that was never intended to save us, but only ground us in the view of our need for salvation’s promise through the blood of Christ Jesus rather than animals that were used in the interim until the perfect Lamb of God was revealed. As a good co-shepherd would, Paul had no choice but to use the strongest possible language because he had been the man responsible for establishing these congregations on the path of truth. If not, these false teachings would have destroyed all of God’s work that He had worked through Paul. If Paul had brought any other gospel, it would have been an accursed thing. We are identified now through the fruit of the Spirit of the Son of God. Because God could not be everywhere, His Spirit form can and this is our new identity as a Son of God. This is the power that He gave to those who have received Him

Galatians 5:1-4 ¶ 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. There must be a reason Paul feels this way. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. I wonder if he might have said, ’Any Gentile man who gets circumcised as a result of heeding the Judiazers ‘who is’ obligated to observe the entire Torah.’ It is because of the circumcision its self that would bind them to that law because the circumcision is a work of legalism. It was for the people of that time as a sign of the covenant to do the law by faith so to do the circumcision as a sign now would be a sign of self worth and recognition, getting in the way of faith. If they got circumcised they might as well just go with the legalism of it all because they would have fallen from grace because he is trying to be shall we say, ‘medico legally or forensically righteous‘. There are so many different versions of Judaism today that I don’t know if Paul’s audience would have known what he meant if he were to speak today. We have to look at this in a time perspective. He must have meant the time prior to Yahushua. Anything after the time of Yahushua was in vain because they now had the teaching of freedom in the law of Christ. Paul said to stand fast in this liberty and not to be entangled with the way of the past. It would profit them nothing. It is through Christ that we find the way, the truth and the life. Exactly what does Paul mean by "fall from grace" here? There were Gentiles who had been circumcised in hope that they would be found righteous by legalism but were separated from Messiah. That is why Paul said ‘if you would be circumcised, Messiah profit you nothing. What has occurred that has caused this fall? The gentile backsliders who had listened to ‘that other gospel’, had fallen back into legalism and gotten themselves circumcised hoping to be found righteous. How can present-day Christian legalism cause such a "fall from grace"? By believing that the law was done away with but that His laws are now being put in their mind and written them on their hearts; and He will be their God, and they shall be His people. He did not write a different set of laws. He never found fault with the laws that He wrote. He found fault with them, the people who turned their back on Him. They robbed the covenant of it’s significance. For if that first covenant had not given ground for fault finding, then no place would have been sought for a second.

Galatians 4:19-20 ¶ My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you, I desire to be present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt of you. How is Paul's grief over his spiritual children like that of a parent seeing children stray? Paul has led folks to Christ and pointed them in His direction and helped folks to grow in their spiritual walk. He is trying to measure his sincerity towards them to that of childbirth and how desperate he is to encourage them to remain faithful to God and to grow in the spirit of this truth. He shares that he is very concerned about them. As their spiritual father who had basically birthed this truth into them, he has every right to feel this way. What does it look like when Christ is formed in a person? When someone begins to bear the fruit of the Spirit of the Living God and that fruit continually is extracted from that certain someone and showered upon the folks around them. What is the process involved in this spiritual formation? Jacob (James) 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. The words temptation and tried are basically used the same in God’s eyes. When we ar tempted, God will use that temptation as a trial in our life to help us overcome that temptation if we turn to Him for that help. I believe that this is where we truly grow is in the hour of our trial.

Galatians 4:10-11 Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain. Is celebrating different special worship days essentially wrong? These non-gods that Paul mentions are who we all once upon a time served before we were enlightened in the truth. The culture that Yahushua was born into were used to celebrating a lot of prescribed times for celebration so adding extra holidays to their holy days was probably something that they adopted easily and maybe even eagerly. When the Gentiles observed God’s annually prescribed days, new moons, the seven feasts, the weekly Sabbaths, the Sabbatical years and the Jubilees, they may have done so out of fear and acceptance rather than relishing in the relevance and spiritual identification of them all. But these too had become subject to legalism and performance sprinkled in by the demonic powers, those weak and elemental spirits. What significance did these have in terms of their movement towards Judaism? I do not and probably never will understand why folks think that the Holy Days that God instilled are called Jewish or part of Judaism. These days are what God called, My Feasts. Leviticus 23:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts. He gave them to man to observe not the other way around. They do not belong to any specific culture.. They were meant to point to days that would bring about specific events in the life of Yahushua. The fifteenth of Nisan begins the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is a high sabbath. It is a seven day feast to the Lord. The day following the sabbath during Passover is called the Feast of First Fruits (Leviticus 23:10-14). The Feast of First Fruits can be found in Leviticus 23:9-14. The firstborn of both man and beast were sanctified (made holy) and presented to the Lord (Exodus 13:2,22:29). The first fruits of all the earth were presented to the Lord at His altar in praise and thanksgiving (Deuteronomy 26:1-11). The Lord Jesus celebrated the Festival of First Fruits by offering Himself as the first fruits to all future generations. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. ~1 Corinthians 15:20-23 Passover, He gave His life on this day. On the Feast of Weeks, Jesus had already ascended but it was on this day that He sent His Spirit to mankind. This day we now observe as Penticost. In the future we will more than likely see Yahushua fulfill the Feast of Trumpets, probably when He returns and we hear the great sound of the trumpet and then when we go to the wedding supper of the Lamb and live with Him forever, this will be the celebration we have long awaited for, the Feast of Tabernacles when we live with Him in the Kingdom of God. How can we be blessed by observing special days in our era? I think I just explained the answer to this. How can observance of special days become legalistic for Christian believers? That can become legalistic if we feel that we have to do them, but in my mind, they all point to Him, why wouldn’t we want to observe them. We will in the new heavens and the new earth as it is clear from scripture. Oh yeah and Sabbaths as well being on the seventh day of the week instead of the first day of the week. For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD. ~ Isaiah 66:22-23 Zechariah 14:16 ¶ And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. If anyone is interested I have written a document called “Shadows of Good Things to Come” . You can copy and paste the title into your browser and find it pretty easily. It is under eudoranachand found at wordpress

Galatians 4:6-7 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. How does the Spirit's filling demonstrate we are full sons? Our assurance is that the Spirit is God’s Spirit, He who moved over the face of the waters on the first day of creation. Our assurance is built on being adopted as His sons. We do not come in a spirit of slavery, implying alienation, but one of deep intimacy, like children who lovingly call their father, ‘Daddy’ What is the special sense in which the Aramaic word abba is used to speak to one's father? Abba, that is Dear Father is a familiar way of addressing one’s father. It is the equivalent of ‘Dad’ or ‘Daddy’ What is the significance of being heirs of God? This adoption as God’s sons is only for those who are led by God’s Spirit, that is, only for those who have put their trust in Yahushua, because it is He who sends the Spirit (John 14:6) and those who do not yet have Yahushua do not have the Father either. (1st John 2:23) But in the case of believers, the Spirit of God Himself bears witness with our own spirit that we are children of God. The adoption process will become complete when we are redeemed and set free. Are we sons in the same sense that Jesus was God's Son? No we are not God and we never will be. There is only one God. We are adopted into His family.

Galatians 4:3-5 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. In what sense were both the Gentiles and the Jews enslaved? They as all are with out the Spirit of the Son of God are bound by the elements of the world. These are the elemental spirit who hold folks captive. "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God These are subject to the god of this world who is the enemy of our Lord. Gentile and jew alike served these elemental spirits as gods, though there were many Jews who believed and had faith in the One true God. Many were lead astray by these demonic spirits and including demonic spirits of legalism. When ever they perverted the Torah, the teachings of God handed down through Moses, into a legalistic system. We know that Jews were bound by demonic spirits Before we were called or chosen into the knowledge of truth, we all served the god of this world. Through the Messiah, we have all, Jews and Gentile alike been joined together into a single people of God. The elements of the universe are under a certain limited power by the god of this world. People are lead astray by the demonic spirits and even legalism is governed by the powers of the let’s say... the underworld. Paul discusses this or at least hints at this in the passage below to the folks in Ephesus. Ephesians 2:1-3 ¶ And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. We can all rest assured, this limited ability will one day run out. What does "redeem" mean in verse 5? to buy up, i.e. ransom; figuratively, to rescue from loss (improve opportunity):--redeem. God sent forth His Son speaks of a pre-existence of God who sends His own form to the woman Mary who gave birth to the form of God in the flesh. This is what Paul is talking about when he mentions that He (the Son) was born of a woman (Mary) which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh. This and the little snippet from Romans 1:3 that I mentioned is all Paul mentions in any of his letters about the miracle birth that came upon Mary. Even though Yahushua was a heir and Lord of all, while He was a child, He was under those who tutored Him until God appointed that the time would come when He would begin His ministry and joyfully and willingly give His life to reconcile us back to the Father. Yahushua came to redeem those who are in subjection to the law of legalism.

Why do you think it took so long to send the Messiah? Galatians 4:1-45 ¶ Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. Before we were called or chosen into the knowledge of truth, we all served the god of this world. Through the Messiah, we have all, Jews and Gentile alike been joined together into a single people of God. The elements of the universe are under a certain limited power by the god of this world. People are lead astray by the demonic spirits and even legalism is governed by the powers of the let’s say... the underworld. Paul discusses this or at least hints at this in the passage below to the folks in Ephesus. Ephesians 2:1-3 ¶ And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. We can all rest assured, this limited ability will one day run out. God sent forth His Son speaks of a pre-existence of God who sends His own form to the woman Mary who gave birth to the form of God in the flesh. This is what Paul is talking about when he mentions that He (the Son) was born of a woman (Mary) which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh. This and the little snippet from Romans 1:3 that I mentioned is all Paul mentions in any of his letters about the miracle birth that came upon Mary. Even though Yahushua was a heir and Lord of all, while He was a child, He was under those who tutored Him until God appointed that the time would come when He would begin His ministry and joyfully and willingly give His life to reconcile us back to the Father. Yahushua was born into a culture during the time when legalistic perversion of the law was in full swing. It was a normal occurrence then just like it is to this day. Being under law is not a phrase that most folks really understand. ‘Under law’ is a technical term that means being subject to the system which results from perversion of the law into the legalism of it. The law of God had been so far perverted that folks could hardly do anything with out running into some extra added teaching by those who thought they knew what they were doing, when in all reality they themselves were being taught and led astray by the spirit of the god of this world. An article that really helped me understand why all this junk is happening on our planet became easier for me to understand once I read an article called ‘War in Heaven’. This is a really interesting article if you have time to read it. Here is the link: http://glowonline.org/tract/war-in-heaven/ A paragraph that I find very interesting from this article is : With this insight we can better understand why earth and the human heart so often experience unrest. Satan today is a hater of the law of God, which is the foundation of God’s government. God is seeking subjects for His kingdom, but they must be willing to abide by the laws of Heaven. The same is true for any government. I had never really thought about the law being the foundation of God’s government. I had always thought of it as boundaries to live in a communal setting which is basically the same thing, but I attributed it to living here on earth now and not living in the kingdom although I knew that His law would remain even in His kingdom. I think that the culture that believes that the law is done away with is an inner way of saying, “I will live my own life the way I see fit an call it grace instead of living the way that God demands.” Jesus was not subject to the oppression of the laws sense of subjection. Jesus willingly submitted to God’s will that he be born a Jew in a Jewish society where legalism was wide spread. Paul understood this because he too grew up in this life of lies and deception just like we all have. But for yahushua, He grew up in all this mess so that He might redeem those who are in subjection to legalism. We thank God that He did. If He had not been born into all this mess how could He possibly understand what we have to go through to be re-programmed by the truth. He had to grow up in the circumstances that all Jews were by this time in order to redeem humanity who have been legally bound by a covenant to obey the Torah (Exodus 24:7) and yet at the same time be in a culture where that same law was perverted into a legalistic system. So you wee the dilemma here. In order to enable them and us, Jew and Gentile, to be made God’s son’s, Jesus had to be born into that culture at that time. Paul seems kind of empathetic here to these folks and their dilemma but he has to remind them of the circumstances from where they have come from and where they are being sucked back into, so that they are completely aware of the falsity of it all. What about the first century world made it fertile ground for the revelation of the Messiah and the spread of the gospel? The prophets had spoken so much of Him and the people were awaiting Him. They just failed to recognize Him which boggles my mind at times and I ask the question... Will we do the same when He returns? For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Seems like an apparent warning that this is possible huh?

(Galatians 4:26-29) Galatians 3:26-29 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. What is the basis of our unity in Christ? It is the emersion of the Holy Spirit that brings us in union with Christ that transforms us from our fleshly desire and nature into a spirit filled life that yearns to please God and not ourselves. In what way does this unity pull down barriers? Daily, as we absorb the word deep with-in ourselves, we become more and more like Yahushua who lived a sinless life. We are still human and live in the flesh and we will never be perfected until we are fully spirit. However we can mirror Him by staying true, steadfast and faithful to Him who has always been faithful, steadfast and true. Conclusion: Magic was common during Paul’s teaching days. This is why he asked who had bewitched them. They used optical illusions to perform what the folks thought were miracles but they were only witnesses of satan’s power. The Spirit of God in us is not an optical illusion but the sheer power that God uses to aid us along in our growth to help us live for God. Unfortunately there have been folks who have always wanted more than what God provides as if there is more than His Son to give. God’s grace is sufficient. All believers in every age share in the blessings of Abraham and the grace of God, no different than they did in the time of Abraham and Moses, with the exception being that they had the promise by faith in the Seed that was coming and we have the promise manifested of the Seed before we were born. We have the Spirit by faith in the Seed who brings the promise. The Torah (Teaching) reveals the nature and will of God showing all people how to live, pointing out the sin to avoid and to repent of should we fall. The covenant with Abraham teaches us that faith in the SEED is the only way to be saved. The Law of Christ shows us how to be grateful, loving, compassionate and caring to others. Fortunately and not un-fortunately, the more we draw nearer to God, the more our sin is revealed and the more our sin is revealed, the more humble we become and want to learn servant hood through the Law of Christ. Thank God He provided a way of escape from our sinful nature that is at enmity with Him. Our way of escape is faith in Christ Jesus, our Lord Yahushua who died and became the substitute for sin, giving His life so that we did not have to give ours in death. Through Him, we have the promise of eternal life. It has always been this way. The law was and is still our guide that in a since tutors us like a schoolmaster would. The law shows us our need for reconciliation with a Holy God. In it, we still find His nature, His will for humanity, His moral laws and His guidelines for living in a communal environment. Our faith is not in that law, but in Christ Jesus who saved us from the law of sin and death and given promise for eternal life. Do any groups continue to be regarded as second-class citizens in our congregations? Probably What should we do about this? Repent, turn towards God and seek forgiveness and then ask Him to show you the law of Christ!

(Galatians 3:19-25) What was the purpose of the law? Was it intended to justify a person? In what ways did it restrain sin? In what ways did it expose sin? Galatians 3:19-25 ¶ Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. Therefore, what is the Torah (Teaching of God) it was added on account of the transgressions, until the seed would come for whom it has been promised, since it has been dictated through angels by the hand of the Mediator. And the mediator who represents someone is not the one, but acts on behalf of another party, but is God One. Paul is asking, why would the legal part of the Torah be needed if the promise was independent of it? It was added to the promise and to the environment of the Jewish history in particular to the human history in general, in order to create transgressions, literally, “because of transgressions”. I suppose perhaps to contain and limit transgressions in order to keep the Jewish peoples and us who would later follow and were supposed to be trained by those folks. Perhaps the legal part of the law was intended to keep them from becoming so intolerably sinful and unredeemable not that they were or more sinful than anyone else. More than likely though the legal part of the law was put in place to make folks aware of sin so that we would recognize our need for Yahushua because in or out of the law, we all fall short of earning God’s praise simply because we are spirit inside of flesh and flesh is weak. The Law of God, the Teachings, do have a consciousness-raising role do they not? The Torah still exists, is still in force as Paul points out in Galatians 6: 2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. Meaning that Yahushua uphold the Torah’s true meaning, the Law of Christ. To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. ` 1st Corinthians 9:21 Paul was saying that to those without the Torah (Teachings of God) he became as without Torah (Teaching), although he was not without Torah of God, (Teaching) but a subject of Messiah, so that he would win those without Torah. (Teaching) The mediator mentioned without the capital (M) was Moses because the Torah (Teaching) was handed down to Moses on Mt Sinai through the angels as Paul states in the hand of the mediator; which should have been capitalized in the King James. There are Jews nowadays who make the claim that they do not need Yahushua to be their mediator between them and God but yet God saw fit to position Moses between Him and everyone else. Whether they believe it or not, Moses was a type and shadow of Christ and was the mediator in his time so to them without the law of Christ, they still have a mediator in Moses. A mediator necessarily meditates between two parties, both of whom desire to affect the final outcome. In this case Moses mediated between God and the Israelites who were afraid to have God speak to them directly. But I do not want to loose sight of something here. The promises that God made to Moses were un-mediated. Therefore is Torah (Teachings of God) contrary to the promises of God? God forbid! For if Torah (Teaching) was given, that which was able to make alive, in truth righteousness would have been from Torah (Teaching): but the Scripture has imprisoned everything under the power of sin, so that, through faith in Jesus, the Messiah, the promise would be given to those who believe. Before faith came we were held in custody under tradition, being kept prisoner against the coming faith that was to be revealed, so the Torah (Teaching) has become our custodial guide to Messiah, so that we could be made righteous by faith and since faith has come we are no longer under custody.

(Galatians 3:10-14) What is Paul's argument for salvation by faith based on the concept of the "curse of the law"? Galatians 3:10-14 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. The key to understanding this paragraph is in sorting out when the Greek word ‘nomos’ means God’s Torah and when it means legalistic perversion of it. Most translations fail to make this essential distinction and are not ‘rightly dividing the word of truth‘. For as many as are as are from works of legalism, they are under the curse; for it has been written that “Cursed is everyone who does not abide in all those things which have been written in the scroll of the Torah, (Teachings of God) to do them. We might ask, where was it written? Deuteronomy 27:26 Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen. No one is made righteous in God by legalism is clear because ‘The righteous shall live by faith’, and legalism is not by faith, but ‘the one who does these things will live by them’ Them what? Leviticus 18:5 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD. Should there be any doubt whatsoever, righteousness that results from obeying God’s statutes and judgments leads to eternal life. That is the ‘them’. The verse says, ‘he shall live by them’. To make this a stronger statement Paul says ‘the man which doeth those things (the law) shall live by them’ the statutes and the judgments which culminates, ‘the law‘. A statutes are the boundary, the judgments is what is prescribed should anyone go beyond the boundary. Romans 10:5 For Moses described the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. Therefore, in the Old Testament, folks had the same proposal before them that if they had lived with in the framework of the law by faith, they would have received the gift of everlasting Life who would come through the seed of Abraham, (Messiah) because like all those in the faith chapter of Hebrews 11, doing the law by faith was accredited towards them as righteousness until the Messiah would cover their sin and it would be forgotten through the New Covenant. The blessing of Abraham would come to the ‘heathens’ (Gentiles) by means of Messiah Yahushua, so that we could take the promise of the Spirit through faith just like all those mentioned in the faith chapter. Therefore, everyone, both legalist and those who trust by faith will agree that God’s Torah requires obedience to all of its commands, or looking at it from another angle, God does not gloss over sin. Deuteronomy 27:26 Cursed be he that confirmed not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen. However, in spite of the contrary opinion of many Christian interpreters, Paul’s point is not that imperfect human nature is incapable of keeping all the commands of the Torah. Paul never says this and he doesn’t even try to prove it. On the contrary, the Torah itself, anticipating that people will fall short of complete obedience and thereby go out of fellowship with God states what those who disobey Torah commands must do in order to restore such fellowship; they must repent. God gave a solution to all peoples; repentance. We have a good example in that of King David who committed adultery and murder. God forgave him after he repented. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Not only was king David forgiven after he repented but these two sin alone that he repented of were willful sins. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit!" King David prayed, "Wash away all my iniquity…Cleanse me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow!" God had commanded the Israelites to use the branch of the hyssop plant for sprinkling the blood of the sacrifices. The sprinkled blood illustrated the great sacrifice of the coming Redeemer who would willingly die, shedding His blood as a payment for sin. King David turned from sin... to God; and he was forgiven. Paul proves ‘not’ that the Torah can not be obeyed perfectly, but that legalist in particular merely just by being ‘legalist’ violate one of the Torah's commands and therefore, on the basis of Deuteronomy 27:26, they do not receive the promise of life, are not found righteous and come under a curse. Galatians 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. Once again, Paul was quoting the the law in Torah. On what basis do the Gentiles receive "the promise of the Spirit" (3:14)? The Messiah must come under the curse (vs 13) in order to pay the full penalty for sin required by God's justice. Why did He do this? Why did He trouble Himself? So that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. The blessings that were announced to Abraham were promised not only to the Jew but to the Gentile as well. The blessing comes from being in union with Yahushua so that when He receives what is promised to Him, believers who have their faith and trust in Him will receive it too. What was promised? The Spirit of truth by faith. Remember where Paul began this part of his conversation? Remember the question that he first asked? Galatians 3:2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?

What is Paul's argument for salvation by faith based on Abraham? In what sense are we "children of Abraham"? Galatians 3:6-9 ¶ Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. Abraham is like a favorite hero so Paul uses him to get his point across. Some might think Abraham to be a role model of legalism but they would be wrong. Some might think that Abraham is the father of the Jews but this would be incorrect as well. Abraham is the father of all who have faith. By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure. Abraham had the understanding of the law by faith where others fell short, lacking faith and turned away from God. but make no mistake about it, Abraham is the father of us all. Abraham trusted in God and was faithful to Him, and that was accredited to his account as righteousness. Paul makes it clear that no actions that Abraham did apart from trusting in God ever gave him one iota of righteousness or credit towards his account.

The adversary uses human instruments to turn believers away from God’s truth to some other ‘false’ good news. In every chapter of this letter we will see Paul condemning these deceivers in very strong language. Paul was amazed that these folks had been led astray. Kinda like how we begin to look at ourselves once we have come into the knowledge and are shocked and amazed that we too have been so ‘blind, deaf and dumb’, asking ourselves, why didn’t we turn to Him sooner. We can tell that Paul loved these people dearly because he calls them brothers no less than nine times in this letter but he was shaming them in hopes that they would come back to their faith in Christ Jesus. The main implication is that the Judaizers’ legalistic rule following was a tragic exercise in futility and Paul was trying to waken the Galatians up so that they would not be taken in by it. (Galatians 3:2-5) What argument for salvation by faith does Paul give from the presence of the Spirit? What does this tell us about the spiritual environment of the Galatian churches? How can we regain this dynamic environment in our own congregations? His question, "Have you received the the Spirit by the works of the law or by faith?" This is an interesting question since we can not receive the Spirit by legalistic observance of Torah commands. Paul knew that these Gentiles at Galatia could not receive the Spirit by any other means than faith in Yahushua. They had begin in the Spirit yet now Paul was concerned that they might be made complete in the flesh. Paul said that the One who worked miracles in them is the same One who provided their Spirit. In order for them or anyone to gain the envorment that Paul has written about, one must repent of all sin, seek forgiveness (remission of sin) and turn from all un-godly activities and begin to face towards God. Seek His Kingdom and His righteousness. Seek His ways that are higher than our ways. and His thoughts that are higher than ours. He has laid out the path that we must follow. Yahushua told His disciples to teach repentance and remission of sin and to teach about the resurrection because they had been wittmess to this amazing truth. Instead folks have taught about salvation and rapture following the way of false teachings. Luke 24:44-48 And he said unto them, “These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.” Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, “Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things.” Salvation is a gift that we will receive when He returns. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:~ Eph 2:8 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. ~ Revelation 22:12

Q5. (Galatians 2:20) In what sense have we been "crucified with Christ"? What does that mean? In what sense do "I no longer live"? Whose life now motivates us? How does this verse relate to Paul's closing comments about the "new creation" (Galatians 6:15)? What does Galatians 2:20 teach about Christ's attitude toward us? It is through Christ that we now have a direct relationship with God instead of being shut off from God by legalistic misinterpretation of the Torah or by our own self-importance in thinking that we do not need God in our lives. Ego is a god with-in itself, thinking that ones self-importance can elevate us to a high standard. Having a self-ego is to have pride in ones self and pride is a deluded thought process. Blessed are the poor in Spirit. Those who recognize their need for something better than themselves and knowing that that something is Christ Jesus is where we learn that with out Him, we are bound to a life lived in slavery to our self image instead of the image of God and who were were created to be. When Christ lives in us, we are able to live by the same trusting faithfulness that Lord Yahushua had that enabled Him to love us and give Himself for us. The rest of our lives must be lived by and through the leading of the Holy Spirit. Anything less falls short of the Glory of God who sent His Son to lead us the rest of the way. God’s grace and loving kindness is why we have been given this gift of graciousness ness. His death on our behalf represents our righteousness before God. It is not our righteousness, but His righteousness covered over us, that God sees. The Holy Spirit is what motivates us and the fact that we are to be in an active relationship, seeking His Kingdom and His righteousness. Neither being circumcised nor being un-circumcised matters, what matters is being a new creation of God's, belonging to Him and trusting in Him, responding to the Holy Spirit. When folks walk with in this framework of the Law of Christ, peace and mercy shall follow.

Q4. (Galatians 2:15-21) What happens to the importance of Christ's death if circumcision is deemed necessary to salvation? Why was this issue of the sufficiency of the Messiah's death so important in Paul's day? Why was this issue important to Luther and the reformers? Why is it so important in our own day? How does it affect the relative legalism of our congregations? The Messianic Jews, those who believed in Jesus, knew that they had no advantage over the Gentiles. Paul wrote this in his letter to speak not only of all Jews but of himself as well. Paul knew that there was no amount of rule keeping that could justify his faith. It was only through his personal relationship and faith in Jesus Who is the justifier. Paul goes on to say that if anyone had better rules to keep one’s heart in order it was the Jews, but this system did not present human kind righteous before God. No amount of self-improvement or trying to be good gains anything because it must be by faith. It is by grace that we are all saved through faith. Anything or anyone less would be a ‘legalizer‘. This would be one who has perverted the law into a legalistic system unrelated to trusting God and insists that unless one obeys their legalistic perversion that ‘one’ cannot be saved. Following Jewish customs does not save anyone either. I think I have used this analogy before but going to McDonalds does not make anyone a cheeseburger anymore than following Jewish customs makes someone a Jew. Either you are a Jew by birth or you are not. Man says that you can become a Jew by going through a bunch of hoops, but reality tells me that only makes one a transcultural Jew and nothing more because they are not native. Natural Jewish people are not sinners apart from the Gentiles. One cannot be justified by tradition or by works; but only through faith in Yahushua Who is righteousness. No one will be made righteous by works of legalism in the flesh. According to the Jews in Paul’s time, Gentiles were by definition sinners since they did not have the Torah, live by it or observe to do it. However, I believe that once Paul was filled with the spirit, he recognized the equality of Jews and Gentiles before God. In order for anyone to have fellowship with God, he or she must be righteous because God is righteous. God must clear humankind of guilt for past sins and give a new nature inclined to obey God rather than rebel against Him. This only comes by way of the Spirit of Truth given through accepting the sacrificial death of His Son Yahushua; believing in Him by faith. Jesus made righteousness available to everyone by paying the penalty for sins which God’s justice demands death. (Romans 5:12-21) We learn from Jesus by trusting in Him to teach us to understand what needed to be done by Him, and not what we could do. If we deny all the work that Yahushua has done on our behalf, the Father is not in us. It is only by acknowledging what Christ did on the cross that we have the Father in us. This is how we are declared righteous before God. None of us is perfect. Christ did not come from sin, promote or serve sin. He became sin for our sake so that we would be set free from its curse. Paul says that if he were trying to rebuild the old barn that he had come from he would be a transgressor all over again. He tried keeping the rules and working his tail off to please God but that did not work. He quit being a lawman to become a God man. The life of Christ showed him and enabled him to do that which was right and pleasing to God by identifying himself in the death of Christ Jesus. His ego was no longer central to what his life portrayed because life absorbed in rules only made him appear righteous and self-important making him ‘look’ good in the eyes of humankind. Now he was no longer driven to please God by his own self-efforts but it was Christ in him that now made the difference. Now Paul lived by faith in the Son of God who loved him and gave His life for him. Paul was no going to go back from where he came. Paul was not going to build his life by human created legalism to a set of rules that had power over him. He destroyed its power when he realized that the Torah, the teachings of God given to Moses required only one basic thing, trusting faithfulness. If he were to go backward, he would truly be a sinner, and not just someone whom Judaizers falsely called a sinner. It would be abandoning everything that now made him free in his personal relationship with God. Paul said that if a living relationship with God came by rule keeping then Jesus died for nothing. 　

Q2. (Galatians 2:14) Why do you think Paul confronted Peter publicly rather than privately? Do you expect Paul had talked with Peter about this previously? How did a public discussion of this benefit the Jewish Christians? How did it benefit the Gentile Christians? What kind of pressure do you think this put on Paul? Now Paul begins to share with the folks in Galatia about a confrontation that he had had with Peter when Peter had traveled to Antioch where Paul and Barnabas had been preaching the word of the Lord. He explains the situation where he felt that Peter was out of line. Peter regularly ate with the non-Jews but when a group came from Jerusalem; he distanced himself from the non-Jews. The group that came from Jerusalem had been pushing a teaching that for one to come into salvation they must first be circumcised to become a Jew. By doing this Peter was in a sense saying that there were two gods, one for the Jew and one for the Gentile, thereby breaking the law and Jesus had torn down that barrier. (Ephesians 2:14) Evidently, the rest of the Jews in Antioch had begun to join in this hypocrisy and even Paul’s close companion Barnabas had been led astray by this. We must not forget that it was ok to eat with the sinners. Peter must have known because Jesus was evidently seen eating with sinners because he was accused of this by the Pharisees and scribes. Luke 15:2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them." Paul did not expect Peter to abandon his Jewish ness. It is hard for us in this age to understand how important it was to a Jew who follows the Torah by the letter of it. (Prior to the crucifixion) Maybe Peter did not want these Jews to ‘think’ that he had eaten un-kosher with the non-Jews. (Gentiles) One may or may not know this but 1/6th of the ‘traditions of the elders‘, (the oral law passed down) which later became the written Talmud was devoted to keeping the purity of the law, so this might give us an indication of what may have been going through Peter’s mindset. Being with Gentiles would have been considered an un-pure violation. Maybe he just did not want to be picked on. Paul knew and understood that Jesus makes the un-pure, completely pure and Peter may or may not have known this. Maybe these critical Jews intimidated Peter. Nevertheless, whatever the case may be, Paul felt that Peter was being un-true to the gospel, which he now preached and admonished Peter for not being true to what he (Peter) believed. Peter was considered one of the leading emissaries of the ecclesia at that time so he should have known, but we just do not know. Paul however did. It is my opinion that these folks were the folks who insisted that Gentiles must become Jews before they could believe in Jesus. Instead of Judaizers, we could call them the circumcisers. LOL This incident occurred supposedly two years after the Cornelius conversion so the idea of circumcision before belief to salvation unto the Messiah had not died down yet. Maybe just maybe it was a moment of weakness on Peter’s part. He is human. Paul was not so perfect either according to Acts chapter 23: 3-5. He lost his temper after the high priest ordered him slapped across the mouth. Paul was human too . Galatians 2:14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, "If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews? It was important that Paul admonish Peter publically for one thing it was lawful and because Peter’s actions of separation had led Barnabas astray too. Even though he himself should have known better, Peter was considered a leader. Just so we are all clear here, it was not really Peter that Paul was trying to protect; it was the truth of the Good News that was the central part of this confrontation. Paul certainly was not boasting that he held some glory because he had admonished a fellow believer. Deuteronomy 13:11 "So all Israel shall hear and fear, and not again do such wickedness as this among you. 1st Timothy 5:20 Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear.

Q4. (Galatians 2:1-10) Why do you think Paul seems to distance himself from the leaders of the Jerusalem church (2:2, 6, 9)? Why does he at the same time write of their approval of his ministry? How does this further his argument to the Galatians in this letter? Paul tells the Galatians in this letter that he was not concerned with those who had a reputation because God is not impressed with appearances and neither was he. He said that the other emissaries are teaching the same message and the only difference is that his is to the Gentiles, while there message is to the Jews. He says that James, Peter, and John—the pillars of the church—shook hands with him and Barnabas and that they recognized that his message was from God and they agreed with Paul’s ministry asking only one additional thing that they remember the poor, which Paul was only obliged to do since it was in his heart as well. I don’t see Paul distancing himself at all.

Q3. (Galatians 2:1-3) Paul is arguing that the Jerusalem leaders support his position on circumcision, rather than that of the Judaizers. What is the significance of Paul’s mention that Titus was not required to be circumcised? Paul makes it perfectly clear that Titus is a Greek and that he did not feel compelled to become circumcised in order to claim Messiah as his Saviour. The discussion of circumcision only came up because while they had been in conference, some spies that were pretending to be followers of The Way snuck in just to see how free these folks really were in Lord Yahushua. The false brothers wanted Tutus to undergo circumcision but the leaders of the Jerusalem messianic community did not force Paul to do so. They believed, as Paul did that it was un-necessary for Gentile followers of Yahushua to become Jews. These spies wanted to bring them back into legalism but Paul says that they did not even give them the time of day. He was determined to remain faithful to the truth of what had been revealed to him and preserve this message so that the elders would hear it straight from him that he was preaching the same as they were.

Q2. Paul called the Judaizers’ message as a “different gospel,” a perversion of the true gospel. How is this dangerous to the Galatian believers? Paul was amazed that the folks had so quickly turned from Yahushua Whom had called them in His grace. I do not think he is angry with them but the one who has come with the false teaching. He mentions ‘another gospel’. This would be misleading news and not good news at all because it would not hold steadfast to the gospel of Lord Yahushua, all things according to the law of the Lord and all things that were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made. This is a lesson to all of us to stay on the road that leads to salvation. The Galatians had been exposed again to legalism, that false principle that grants acceptance to people apart from putting their trust in Lord Yahushua, rather than relying solely on Him and accepting His love for us and the promise that He will do all the work that He intends to perform in us through the power of the Holy Spirit. How do twisted gospels (or an unbalanced interpretation of the gospel) affect Christians in our day? Terribly. I fear many folks who believe that they are where they think they are supposed to be will be shocked to find out the truth of where they are not. I do not understand how all this is going to work out for so many people. But Yahwey has His plan and He will take care of it all. My view is only from a human standpoint and from a standpoint of reading scripture and studying it and knowing that the life I live is way different than most folks I know. The word of God is only twisted by the work of the enemy but many have fallen into a snare of believing everything that their minister teaches them and this is extremely dangerous. Many strange teachings and theories come out of pulpits and they do not align at all with what the word of Yahwey teaches. One has got to search the scriptures for themselves because the reality is that their very own lives are on the line.

Q2. (Galatians 1:13-16) What factors in Paul's background made him an ideal apostle to the Gentiles? How did God use his being different from others? Paul himself makes the following statement: ¶ Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. ~ Philippians 3:4-6 Although these were his external qualifications, Paul was still a man working with-in the framework of the Law of Moses. Paul considered all of these a disadvantage in comparison with the supreme value of knowing the Messiah as his Lord. He even goes so far as to call it dung because none of these qualifications provided him with righteousness. Nonetheless, Paul was a Jew. All of his qualifications could have puffed him up, but they did not. Paul refers to himself as ‘more of a zealot’ for the Oral Law than most Jews his age. His zeal was an extension from the fact that he was a Pharisee as was his father. (Acts 23:6) The reason Paul is pointing this out is to show that if ever there was a Pharisee, he was it. Paul may have been trying to get the point across to show that he himself was far more observant that the very legalists he was opposing in this letter, that had come to teach the Galatians the very same that Paul had previously been taught. I can not even imagine how difficult it was for Paul to come to form his teachings and how it must have taken a considerable amount of time to think about the highlights of being a Jew and what that meant to him having been reared in that all of his life, until the time he met Yahushua on the road to Damascus. He would have had to deal with the nature of atonement and forgiveness, the authority of the written Torah and the oral Torah. He would have to have a clear understandings of the meanings of the Messianic prophecies, the role and the future for not only the Jews but now the Gentiles and how God had weaved them into His ultimate plan. The requirement of trust for salvation, the role of ethics and other essential matters had to be formulated and refined with-in the views of what he had been taught. He could not just walk away from all of that. Everything that Paul would teach was like Lewis and Clark becoming the pioneers of their time, Paul became a pioneer in his. His teachings at the feet of Rabban Gamli’el and no doubt his own father, had completely equipped him to investigate and meditate all the implications of the job that God had called Paul too. I can just imagine his own faith was shaken to the core at times. It would have been easier had he not sat at the feet of such preeminence and accepted Jesus on faith alone. However, that in itself I think tells us that someone of Paul’s zeal for truth and education had to be the one that God would choose. It would have been easier had he been just a Jew awaiting the Messiah, but easy is not the general road that Jesus would have taken either, nor did He. God’s ways are clearly not our ways and it is surely a good thing. As for God, His way is perfect. To ponder: How has your unique background fitted you for ministry? Well easily enough, I had a photography business and now I use photos and add them to my blogs. I have been a writer since i was 12 years old and Yahushua is using that talent now mixed with the photo’s. What uniqueness has God given you? Photography and Writing What will it take to see that uniqueness as a God-given strength rather than as an embarrassment? I only see it the way that Yahushua does. It glorifies Him and that is what I strive for. That and the truth.

(Galatians 1:11-12) What is the source of Paul’s gospel? How do we know that it is a true revelation? The Good News that Paul traveled with was revealed to him from the risen Lord Yahushua and no one else. The fact that it is not a human product and that neither did he receive it from someone else nor was he taught it means that he had no reason to try to win the approval of or cater to his teachers that had once been Rabban Gamli’el (Acts 22:3) and other non-Messianic Jews that had taught him something very different. (The traditions of his fathers) The tradition of his fathers did not include Lord Yahushua as the Risen Saviour. Acts 22:3 ¶ I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day. Paul provides evidence as he claimed that the gospel that he preached was by the revelation of Jesus Christ. Paul certainly would not have learned any of this at the feet of Gamli’el. Not to mention but I will that it was God who chose Paul from out of the darkness into His light of truth. He did not go back to Gamli’el to study with him about what had been revealed and he did not even go to the other apostles. He went off to Arabia for as long as three years and began forming his firebrand version of the gospel as it had been given to Him from Yahushua. The reason why it was revolutionary was that now this gospel was going to be presented to the Gentiles without their having to become Jews first. It is like a sparkplug that ignites the truth of what God had intended in the beginning that the gospel was to be preached to all the nations through the Jewish peoples. But they understood this not and God chose the Jew of Jews He goes on to explain that his ministry is developed independently from what the leading Jewish believers of his day taught. How does it conform to our other foundational sources of Christian teaching? What is the danger of taking the teaching of contemporary leaders as our doctrinal basis without checking it with the Scripture? We could die without the promise of salvation if we take any other truth from the altar. It is kind of like when the High Priest would take the fire from the established altar and take that to use when he entered into the Holy of Holies, if he had ‘not’ taken the fire from the altar, this would have represented a false fire, a fire that would not always stay lit and would soon burn out. If he had used any other fire, he would have died. Similarly to the angel in John’s vision that took the censer, filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. If it were not fire from the TRUE ALTAR, it would do nothing but burn out as it is thrown to the earth. Leviticus 16:12-13 And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil: And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not: The danger is our very lives would be in jeapordy.

Q1. (Galatians 1:4) According to verse 4, for what purpose did Jesus give himself? Paul mentions in this salutation that Yahushua is the One Who gave Himself on behalf of our sins, so He could deliver us out from the present evil age according to the will of our God and Father, to Whom be glory forever and ever. Amen This little bit epitomizes the Good News.　　Yahushua’s atoning death, forgiveness of sin, salvation’s promise, obedience to God’s will, resurrection and continuing authority, all for God’s glory.　　This is the standard against which to measure the false supposedly good news that the false teachers had brought. How does Jesus rescue people today? The same way He has ever since he ascended into the heavens. By the power of the Holy Spirit, He calls those whom He plans to call. How does he keep people from falling back into their old ways?　　Rather than our obedience to Him and the ‘whispers’ of the Holy Spirit, legalism is based on obedience to a set of rules that was never intended to save us, but only ground us in the view of our need for salvation’s promise through the blood of Christ Jesus rather than animals that were used in the interim until the perfect Lamb of God was revealed. As a good co-shepherd would, Paul had no choice but to use the strongest possible language because he had been the man responsible for establishing these congregations on the path of truth.　　If not, these false teachings would have destroyed all of God’s work that He had worked through Paul. If Paul had brought any other gospel, it would have been an accursed thing. It is kind of like when the High Priest would take the fire from the established altar and take that to use when he entered into the Holy of Holies, if he had ‘not’ taken the fire from the altar, this would have represented a false fire, a fire that would not always stay lit and would soon burn out.　　If he had used any other fire, he would have died. Similarly to the angel in John’s vision that took the censer, filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.　　If it were not fire from the TRUE ALTAR, it would do nothing but burn out as it is thrown to the earth. Leviticus 16:12-13 And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil:　　And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not: This is the way that we all keep from falling back into our old ways.　　We are filled with the fire from the True Altar and as long as we heed the promptings of the Holy Spirit, we will receive salvations promise and we shall surely live.

ERROR

What is the significance of the Ark in the Holy of Holies? That God is the Holiest, the One True God, whom above there is no other. What did it represent? The heart of Yahwey. Why was it considered so holy? This is where the heart of Yahwey dwelled. If no one really sat upon it, why was it so important? It is the mercy seat where the blood was shed. Look at John 20: 11-12 and you see what Mary saw. The mercy seat where Yahwey met the High Priest ,Yahushua. But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. The whole of the book of Hebrews has been so confusing to many because they do not know that it was written by a priest. Anyone who studies the priest hood can recognize that this book is written from this viewpoint. When in verse 13 of chapter 8 says that Yahwey made the first covenant waxeth old and that it is ready to vanish away, you have to ask yourself what went away? The answer is the order of going through the priest. We no longer go through a priest because Yahushua is the High Priest as is mentioned in prophecy that He would become not of the order of Aaron but under the order of Melchizedek. God told the people through Moshe that everything He taught them was to be as an eternal way of life. Humans largest mistake is that they have been taught that the old had been done away with in that the law was done away with, but you have to ask yourself a serious question. Why would God change anything that He told His chosen people that this and that would be taught through all their generations? God is not a man that He should lie. He doesn’t change from yesterday to today like a shifting shadow. It was prophesied that Yahushua would magnify the law and make it more honorable.. which He did. He didn’t teach or exemplify anything other than what God told Him in the beginning. The penalty of transgressing the law was death because sin is transgression of the law. Yahushua paid that penalty for all mankind. God did not take the folks out of Egypt where they were slaves to put them back into slavery as most folks teach that to be observant to the law was slavery to that which they couldn’t keep? The people CHOSE to be disobedient and this is taught throughout the whole of the Old Testament. The old order of going through a priest had become so mundane that it was all being done out of duty to a law rather than from the heart of mankind. This is why Yahwey spoke through the prophet Jeremiah that He would make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that He made with their fathers in the day that He took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which broke His covenant, even though He was a husband unto them. Yahwey then said, Jer 31:33-34 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. Notice Judah is not mentioned in these words? Israel and Judah would become one. This is because when the temple curtain was torn, it broke down the walls between the Jew and the Gentile and the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. The Gentiles whom we are before we come to know Yahushua are strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But through Yahshua, we are grafted in to the covenant of promise and now share the commonwealth of Israel. But notice again what the Lord our God, the God of Israel spoke through Jeremiah. What did He say that He was going to put in our inward parts and write in our hearts? Yes, you got it. The law of God. We can not be saved or earn our way into the kingdom by any other way than through the shed blood of Yahushua, but because of Him and His work, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can become obedient and take His yoke upon us because He is the one who bares the burden and the Holy Spirit is the ones who guides and protects us and helps us become obedient priests and kings who minister to the very heart of God. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Those whom have been called and chosen by the God of Israel are the children of the God of Israel. Some folks teach that we are spiritual Israel but that is a false teaching. We are the children of Israel because we are led by the Spirit and now we are His sons and His daughters, by adoption. We live in our dad’s house and our dad has a certain way that He demands that we live and that is by the law of love. Our love to Him and our brothers and sisters. We obey our dad’s laid out plan because we love Him and want to please Him. God’s unchangeable nature stands behind every single word that He spoke through Moses. The sacrificial system is what was spoken of that was done away with because Yahushua has become the perfect lamb of God, shedding His blood for all. The Torah continues to have the same purpose in all it’s commandments and statutes, there just happens to be a new system because Yahushua is our High Priest. Yahwey’s love for mankind is represented in the covenant of the blood which was shed and the bread which represents the body of Yahushua.

Why was the camp of the Israelites laid out as it was? So that all of those who were called out would be considered a family and would learn to live in a communal setting, as the children of God. Yahwey desired to be the very center of their every day lives, so in a sense, the place where He dwelled was in the heart of the camp. What did this layout teach the Israelites? That God is to be the very center of everything we think say and do. Why were the Levites and priests camped closer than the other tribes? These folks were set aside to minister to God. We who are called are to do the very same as priests and kings. We are to minister to the heart of God.