GALATIANS

Sunday February 2, 2014

 

Contend For The Gospel Of Grace

 

 III. A Call to Freedom from the Law and Freedom in the Spirit (4:12 – 6:10)

                  A. Live in Freedom from the Law: Argument from Friendship (4:12 – 20)

                  B. Stand in Freedom: Argument from Allegory (4:21 – 5:1)

                  C. Resist the Dangerous Message of Bondage (5:2 – 12)

                                    1. It involves the requirement of circumcision (5:2 – 6)

                                    2. Its perpetrators will be judged (5:7 – 12)

                  D. Live Out Freedom in the Spirit (5:13 – 6:10)

Adapted from: Thomas Schreiner, Exegetical Commentary On The New Testament: Galatians; Zondervan Publishers, 2010.

 

Read: Galatians 5:7 – 12

 

Theme: Stand Firm; the Gospel of God’s Grace is Under Attack

 

Main Idea

 

“Paul’s central point here is that the encouragement to be circumcised is not from God.  It stems from messengers who will themselves be judged on the final day.  Nor is there any credibility to the claim that Paul has promoted circumcision.  Despite all the clamor over circumcision, Paul remains confident that the Galatians will not succumb to the blandishments of the opponents.”

 

Review: Galatians 5:1 – 6

 

                  – The righteousness for which we hope is a reference to God’s final verdict of “not                   guilty,” or “no condemnation” that is the certain expectation as well as the present                   reality for believers.

                  – Faith expresses itself through love.  Faith is not simply intellectual assent, but a living                   trust in God’s grace that expresses itself in acts of love.

 

 

5:7 – “Who hindered you…?”  Literally, “Who cut in on you?”

       – “obeying the truth.”  Our lives are to conform fully to the truth.

 

5:8 – The strong persuasion of the Judaizers does not come from God.

 

5:9 – False teaching can corrupt the whole church. 

 

5:10 – Paul is confident that the Galatians will make the right choice. 

         – The troublers will face judgment instead of righteousness on “that day.”

 

5:11 – Teaching the truth will certainly result in persecution of various kinds.

         – The message of the cross is an offense to the world.

5:12 – “Cut off.”  Possibly means that the false teachers should be cut off from the congregation.

 

Scriptures:

 

2 Timothy 4:6 – 8; 1 Timothy 18 -20; 1 Timothy 3:8 – 10; Jude 3; 1 Corinthians 9:24 – 27; Philippians 2:16.

 

Terms:

 

“Stand Firm.”  The Greek is steko.  It means to “stand firm” or “to stand.”  In Paul’s letters, this verb has the nuance of “standing firm in the Lord” (Phil. 4:1; 1 Thess. 3:8), especially in the context of false teaching (Gal. 5:1; 2 Thess. 2:15). 

 

“To Contend.”  epagonizomai – means to contend earnestly in defense of the gospel.  Jude 3