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#103-G49 ~ Galatians 2 study continued

Gary Googe Mar 11

I begin with some review on the gospel given to us and the principle given in II Timothy 2:15 that speaks of the importance of rightly dividing the things written in the Bible. Some of the Bible was addressed to Israel and some to us today.

I then discuss the salvation provided for Abraham and go to the Apostle Paul’s comments about it in Romans 4:1-5. How was Abraham saved? Was it by his works? It was not! There was no Mosaic Law in his day and the cross and resurrection of Christ had not occurred. I then point out the importance of faith, faith in God’s word and what He presented as the basis for one’s salvation. What God said about what man was to believe has changed from time to time. It, of course, is most important that we understand what He has said specifically TO US today. I then go on to explain things related to all this and more.

Next I point out that what God required in the past as one’s expression of faith is not the same as what He requires today. I then explain that TODAY it is all about putting one’s faith in what God provided through Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. It is THAT and THAT alone! It is all about accepting what Christ did. What we might DO for salvation would never be enough. Salvation is certainly a gift, not a payoff for works we may do for it.

I then get into talking about what people who reject God’s grace like to talk about, namely their own works for salvation. When grace is presented there are always those who want to go to other parts of the Bible outside Paul’s writings to justify their beliefs. One of the most popular places is the book of James. They go to passages like James 2:20 and James 2:26, failing to realize that those passages and others like them were not written to us. In this case, they fail to see the significance of James 1:1 that clearly shows right up front that the book was not written to us, the Gentiles, but to Israel. And WE are not Israel in any form. But what confusion people bring on themselves and spread to others when they fail to rightly divide the Scriptures.

I then go to Romans 5:9-10 where there’s more about how a person is saved in our time. I then close with some comments about 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 where we see how our sins were applied to Christ even as His righteousness is applied to us when we put our confidence in what He did, instead of anything we might do. Again, salvation is totally a work of God. Only our faith brings it to us.

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