Galatians Week 2 The Religious Mindset VS the Mind of Christ Because of Jesus Ministries BecauseofJesus.

s.com Galatians Chapter 2 Control of Man VS Freedom in Christ

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Then after [an interval] of fourteen years I again went up to Jerusalem. [This time I went] with Barnabas, taking Titus along with [me] also. 2 I went because it was specially and divinely revealed to me that I should go, and I put before them the Gospel [declaring to them that] which I preach among the Gentiles. However, [I presented the matter] privately before those of repute, [for I wanted to make certain, by thus at first confining my communication to this private conference] that I was not running or had not run in vain. 3 But [all went well!] even Titus, who was with me, was not compelled [as some had anticipated] to be circumcised, although he was a Greek.4 [My precaution was] because of false brethren who had been secretly smuggled in [to the Christian brotherhood]; they had slipped in to spy on our liberty and the freedom which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might again bring us into bondage [under the Law of Moses]. 5 To them we did not yield submission even for a moment, that the truth of the Gospel might continue to be [preserved] for you [in its purity]. AMP Verse 2: The Apostle Paul acknowledges that he was being led by Gods Spirit to go to Jerusalem and share the Gospel. He shared with the leaders first before he shared with the people to promote unity among the brethren. Verse 3: He was cautious because there were false religious teachers among them that were looking for ways to discredit Pauls message of grace and bring those who had found freedom in Christ back under the bondage of trying to be good enough by following religious rules and laws. Their real purpose was to bring the people back under their control because people who break free from legalism and embrace relationship with Jesus will no longer submit to the control of men and their religious systems. They are free to be led by Gods spirit because they are no longer trying to please men. Positions of Men VS our Position in Christ Moreover, [no new requirements were made] by those who were reputed to be somethingthough what was their individual position and whether they really were of importance or not makes no difference to me; God is not impressed with the positions that men hold and He is not partial and recognizes no external distinctionsthose [I say] who were of repute imposed no new requirements upon me. AMP
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Verse 6: Religion always places importance on the positions of men, but Paul was stating that a position of man made no difference to him, nor to God, the only thing of true importance was that the Gospel of Grace was kept pure (verse 5) -- that is was not perverted by the false teaching that faith in Jesus was not enough. In Christ, we are all of equal importance and value. It has nothing to do with our earthly positions or the value men place on our lives. When you understand righteousness is a gift you will begin to accept others as no better than you and no worse than you because we are all seated in heavenly places in Christ. We all have the most honored position that could ever be given! We have been made one with Jesus! Our value is found in Him! Human effort VS Empowered by Gods Spirit

But on the contrary, when they [really] saw that I had been entrusted [to carry] the Gospel to the uncircumcised [Gentiles, just as definitely] as Peter had been entrusted [to proclaim] the Gospel to the circumcised [Jews, they were agreeable]; 8 For He Who motivated and fitted Peter and worked effectively through him for the mission to the circumcised, motivated and fitted me and worked through me also for [the mission to] the Gentiles. 9 And when they knew (perceived, recognized, understood, and acknowledged) the grace (Gods unmerited favor and spiritual blessing) that had been bestowed upon me, James and Cephas (Peter) and John, who were reputed to be pillars of the Jerusalem church, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, with the understanding that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised (Jews). 10 They only [made one stipulation], that we were to remember the poor, which very thing I was also eager to do. AMP Verse 8-9: The Apostle Paul acknowledges that his desire and strength to spread the Good News came from God. Again we see relationship demonstrated in Pauls life and ministry. Religion focuses on mans ability, but when you enter into a personal, trusting relationship with Jesus, just like Paul, you depend on Jesus and His ability working in and through you! Verse 10: The fruit of Gods grace upon Pauls heart was a compassion for the poor and a desire to give to those in need. Approval of Man VS Approval in Christ Paul corrects Peter for fearing the opinion of the Religious leaders and reminds him of the true Gospel of Grace.
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But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile Christians, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldnt eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision. 13 As a result, other Jewish Christians followed Peters hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 When I saw that they were not following the truth of the gospel message, I said to Peter in front of all the others, Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you now trying to make these Gentiles follow the Jewish traditions? 15 You and I are Jews by birth, not sinners like the Gentiles. 16 Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law. NLT Verse 12: Religion produces the fear of disapproval and rejection by God and others. And so those who are bound by religion are motivated to follow the rules in order to please God and man. In this verse we see that Peter got his eyes off of Jesus and found himself caught up in a peer-pleasing religion. He feared he would be criticized by the religious leaders if he didnt follow their traditions. The Apostle Paul corrects Peter and reminds him that righteousness (acceptance and approval) is not found by obeying any particular law or doing any particular good deed, but rather it is found through faith in Jesus. Righteousness (46): Innocent; free from guilt or blame; justified: It is the judicial act of God, by which he pardons all the sins of those who believe in Christ, and accounts, accepts, and treats them as righteous in the eye of the law. In addition to the pardon of sin, justification declares that all the claims of the law are satisfied. The law is not relaxed or set aside, but is declared to be fulfilled in the strictest sense; and so the person justified is declared to be entitled to all the advantages and rewards arising from perfect obedience to the law (Rom. 5:1-10). It proceeds on the crediting to the believer by God himself of the perfect righteousness, of Jesus Christ (Rom. 10:3-9). Justification is not the forgiveness of a man without righteousness, but a declaration that he possesses a 8

righteousness which perfectly and forever satisfies the law, namely, Christ's righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 4:68). Identifying with the Law VS Identifying with Jesus Paul Shares His Personal Journey out of Religion into a personal relationship with Jesus
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But suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law. Would that mean Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not! 18 Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down. 19 For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the lawI stopped trying to meet all its requirementsso that I might live for God. 20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die. NLT Read Galatians 2:15-21 in The Message Bible: We Jews know that we have no advantage of birth over non-Jewish sinners. We know very well that we are not set right with God by rule-keeping but only through personal faith in Jesus Christ. How do we know? We tried itand we had the best system of rules the world has ever seen! Convinced that no human being can please God by self-improvement, we believed in Jesus as the Messiah so that we might be set right before God by trusting in the Messiah, not by trying to be good. 17-18 Have some of you noticed that we are not yet perfect? (No great surprise, right?) And are you ready to make the accusation that since people like me, who go through Christ in order to get things right with God, arent perfectly virtuous, Christ must therefore be an accessory to sin? The accusation is frivolous. If I was trying to be good, I would be rebuilding the same old barn that I tore down. I would be acting as a charlatan. 19-21 What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didnt work. So I quit being a law man so that I could be Gods man. Christs life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not mine, but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that. Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate Gods grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily.
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Die to the Law In Verses 19-21, Paul explains clearly what it looks like to forsake religion and embrace relationship. In his former life, He tried following rules and working his head off to please God, but it didnt work. All it did was condemn him. He knew down deep in his heart he would never measure up to Gods standard of righteousness by obeying the law perfectly. So he died to the law -- he stopped trying to meet all its requirements and began to identifying Himself completely with Jesus! Defined by the Law and religious traditions of men My dignity and value comes from an earthly position I hold 9

Mans opinion is important to me and I fear what they think of me. I try hard to obey the law so that I might qualify for Gods blessing Im unsure of Gods love for me because its based on my performance and circumstances

Identify with Jesus Jesus clothed me with dignity and value when He purchased me with His blood My identity is not defined by the opinion of man, but rather by my Heavenly Fathers good opinion of me in Jesus. He see me as perfect and without fault in His eyes! I am qualified for all of Gods blessings because I am righteous in Jesus. Nothing can separate me from His love! I am loved just as much as Jesus! Jesus lives in you! Embrace your identity in Him! Verse 20: When the Apostle Paul forsook religion for relationship, his ego was no longer central and it was no longer important that he appeared righteous before man and had their good opinion. He was no longer driven to impress man or God because he knew he already had his Heavenly Fathers complete approval in Christ. He embraced His new identity in Jesus -- He said, Christ lives in me! The Fathers good opinion of me is all that matters! This new life I live, I live by relying upon the One who loves me perfectly!- I live by His belief in me and the value He has placed on my life. In the KJV Galatians 2:20 reads, I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. KJV We live by the faith of Jesus, His faith in us! We can interpret this profound truth in two ways. 1. We dont have to rely upon our own faith because faith is a fruit of Gods Spirit. As we look to Jesus, He strengthens us by His grace to believe what the Father says about us is true! 2. We live by the faith of Jesus. His faith in us! What He believes and sees in us! This is where true peace comes from -resting in His unconditional, unchanging, unfailing love for us! Living free from rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion Verse 21: Now that the Apostle Paul had found freedom from religion and discovered a new life in Christ, he wasnt going back to bondage. He said to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in his new found relationship with God. He refused to let go of the grace that had been given to him in Christ. He refused to abandon his relationship with Jesus for religion. For if His approval and qualification for His blessing could be gained by rule-keeping then Jesus died for nothing!

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