Daily Meditations on the Bible / We stand with Israel
Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come.
Summary: Paul asks a question and then provides the answer. Why do we need the law? We need it until our Shepherd shows up in our lives.
Continue reading “Galatians 3:19a – Waiting for Jesus”The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.”
Summary: Paul draws a contrast between faith and law, which leads to an unlikely comparison between faith and physics.
Continue reading “Galatians 3:12 – The Physics of Faith”Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God …
Summary: Reliance on the law is a fantasy whispered in our ear by the same serpent who whispered in Eve’s ear in the Garden of Eden.
Continue reading “Galatians 3:11a – Did God Really Say?”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.”
Summary: Following the Law is like following God and doing everything he does just like he does it.
Continue reading “Galatians 3:10 – His Name is Jesus”So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?
Summary: Paul raises an interesting question. Does God work miracles through his law or through his Spirit?
Continue reading “Galatians 3:5 – Personal Miracles”Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?
Summary: Paul is very concerned about what is happening to the churches in Galatia.
Continue reading “Galatians 3:3 – Only Jesus”(Did you receive the Spirit) … by the works of the law …?
Summary: The “works of the law” are intended to show us our need for God, not answer that need.
Continue reading “Galatians 3:2c – The Greatest Command”I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!
Summary: Paul has led us up the mountainous trail of his logical reasoning for many verses. We are finally at the top of the mountain, where Paul presents us with a choice. We can jump off on one side or the other, but not both.
Continue reading “Galatians 2:21 – The Knife’s Edge”“For through the law I died to the law …”
Summary: The complexities of Paul’s logic can be difficult to follow. Here, we explore the meanings of life and death and how they relate to the laws of the old covenant.
Continue reading “Galatians 2:19a – Walking Away”If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker.
Summary: Keep up with Paul can be a challenge. In this passage he reflects on his personal journey with God’s law. The old covenant law is obsolete, and the “new law” is to trust in Jesus. If we try to mix the old with the new, we end up breaking the new law.
Continue reading “Galatians 2:19 – Old Laws and New”