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Did you know that God's Holy Feast Days given to us in Leviticus 23, are all prophetic? Yahshua (Jesus) actually FULFILLED the first 4 of these Holy Feast Days during His first coming! He will fulfill the next 3 of these Feast Days in His Second Coming!!! Many people believe that only the "Jews" are supposed to observe these feast days of YHVH (the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; but did you know that this isn't what the Bible teaches us? They are for ALL of YHVH's (God's) children and even our Lord & Savior Yahshua observed them! Leviticus 23:1-4 teaches us:
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
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.
3 Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.
4 These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.
We are to observe these feast days even today because they are prophetic shadows of what Yahshua did during His first coming and what we can expect during His second coming! To learn more about YHVH our God's holy feast days, watch the videos by Pastor Mark Biltz of El Shaddai Ministries called "The Feasts Of The Lord" at: yah-tube.com/videos/biltz/index.html.
It's a four part seminar which covers in detail the amazing prophetic significance of each holy feast day given to us by YHVH our God! ENJOY!!! I know I did!!! : )
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
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.
3 Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.
4 These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.
We are to observe these feast days even today because they are prophetic shadows of what Yahshua did during His first coming and what we can expect during His second coming! To learn more about YHVH our God's holy feast days, watch the videos by Pastor Mark Biltz of El Shaddai Ministries called "The Feasts Of The Lord" at: yah-tube.com/videos/biltz/index.html.
It's a four part seminar which covers in detail the amazing prophetic significance of each holy feast day given to us by YHVH our God! ENJOY!!! I know I did!!! : )
Hosea 4:6: (New Revised Standard Version) My people are destroyed (the original Hebrew reads "cut off") for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.
“MY PEOPLE PERISH FOR LACK OF KNOWLEDGE”
Below is An e-mail response addressing what EVERY Christian should know about what the Bible REALLY teaches about obeying God's Commandments as given to us in His Word.
You completely misunderstand me. I don’t keep God’s Commandments for “salvation”, I keep God’s Commandments because “I LOVE Him”. Just like Jesus said, “If you “LOVE” Me, KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS”. These are two different issues entirely. The “Pharisees” were men who put their OWN man-made laws and traditions ABOVE God’s Commandments. We know this because Jesus told us so in Matthew 15:1-9:
Matthew 15:1–9: 1 Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, 2 Why do thy disciples transgress the “tradition of the elders”? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. 3 But He answered and said unto them, “Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. 5 But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; 6 And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. 7 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, 8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. 9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”
Notice that Jesus rebuked these Pharisees because they WERE “NOT” OBEYING GOD’S COMMANDMENTS, but placing their own man-made traditions above God’s Law. I tell you this because you said that I practice “pharisaical christianity”, which is simply NOT TRUE. I follow God’s Word, just as He’s given it to us. If anything, I practice my own Christianity in the exact OPPOSITE manner because I DON’T pay attention to man-made doctrine or tradition or false teachings of men, let alone hold it above God’s Own Word.
As far as Paul goes, He “NEVER” taught us “NOT” TO KEEP GOD’S HOLY DAYS. Paul kept God’s Holy Days himself, along with Jesus and the rest of the writers of the New Testament, including ALL of the 1st Century Christians. The ONLY reason you don’t know that is because you haven’t been taught what God’s Holy Days actually are. You should learn, because they’re also highly prophetic. Jesus fulfilled the first 4 Holy Days in His first coming to the exact details and will fulfill the last 3 in the same way in His second coming. You miss so much because you’ve never been taught how important these days are. If you want to learn, tell me and I’ll forward you a highly detailed video series on this. It also looks as if you’ve never been taught any history of the New Testament, so I’ll teach you what the Book of Galatians “IS” all about in it’s historical context, because from your explanation of it, I can tell that you’ve never studied or been taught the details of what this book is all about before.
You can’t just take the Bible out of context like you did and make it say what you want it to say. The fact that we’ve all been taught to do that growing up, including myself, is just horrible. This is what Jesus pulled me OUT of. When you actually study the historical context of the Bible and it’s different books, you find that much of what you’ve been taught, this explanation you gave me being a “typical” example, is because people “HAVE” taken Scripture out of context like that (and I mean out of the context of the entire Bible on a whole), and it’s just plain WRONG. I’ll also show you how and where the other books of the Bible actually CONFIRM the facts I’m about to share with you. This is the biggest problem with Christianity today. So many different pastors and scholars have taken verses out of context to back up their own “opinions”, that they no longer have any idea what the truth of God’s Word really is and they end up teaching everybody else to believe the same lies. So, I’ll start with the book of Galatians.
You stated that Galatians was about, ““Christians who were victims of Judizers, a sect of christians who tried to make them obey Torah”. This statement is just so wrong on so many different levels. There were many different sects of Jews in the first Century, the “circumcision Jews” among them, which is what Galatians is addressing. The issue wasn’t about “obeying or not obeying the Torah or God’s Commandments”, but about “the new Galatian Christians, who had been pagans before they were saved, thinking they could DO something to have salvation and then go back to their old gods and pagan rituals, thinking that would be o.k. because they got “circumcised”. The “circumcision jews” are the Jewish Christians who would rather circumcise the Galatians, stating that if they weren’t circumcised, they couldn’t be saved. Paul vehemently argues against this because he knows it’s wrong.
At an earlier time, some Judean Christians had insisted that Galatian believers be circumcised to be saved (Acts 15:1-2: And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. 2 When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.).
Although the Jerusalem Council had apparently settled this issue, side effects lingered: could Gentiles be part of God’s people without circumcision? Some of the strictest Pharisees may have required circumcision for salvation, but many Pharisees believed that any Gentiles who kept the few laws given Noah would be saved. But even for this more lenient class of Pharisees (see Acts 15:5 below), one could not become part of the people of God without circumcision; very few Jews were so lenient as to accept Gentiles on such terms.
Acts 15:5: But some believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and said, “It is necessary for them to be circumcised and ordered to keep the law of Moses.”
Indeed, circumcision had even become a major cultural symbol of fidelity to Judaism: attempts to restrict the practice led to revolts both before and after Paul’s time.
Some Judean Christians were now arguing that one must become culturally Jewish to become a full Christian, fully righteous; after all, the Bible itself made this requirement for one who wished to belong to God’s people (see Genesis 17:10–14). Further, they may have reasoned, if Paul argued for baptism (a post-Old Testament Jewish addition to circumcision), why could Judean Christians not require circumcision, even though it drove away potential converts? Paul argues forcefully against this view. THIS is what the entire book of Galatians is addressing. It has NOTHING to do with “obeying the Torah”.
Now let’s take a look at Galatians 3:23-28 specifically as you wanted me to in this second e-mail.
Galatians 3:23-28: But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. 26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 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.
Here again, your taking verses out of context to make it sound like something it isn’t saying at all. You can’t do that and get the truth of God’s Word! In verses 19-21, RIGHT ABOVE these verses, Paul states very clearly that God’s law is NOT against His promises:
Galatians 3:19-21: 19 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. 20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. 21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid:...
Galatians 3:19: “It was added on account of transgressions”: Reveals the purpose of the law. The phrase “It was added” shows that it was subsequent to the covenant that God had made with Abraham, and therefore less binding. The next phrase “on account of transgressions” indicates that the law made people conscious and knowledgeable of their own sinfulness.
“by the hand of a mediator”: Paul mentions how the law was given because it shows how much greater the promise of faith in Christ is. As God spoke directly to Abraham, so He has spoken directly to people about the promise of grace through Christ.
3:21 “law opposed”: Although the law is an inappropriate means of being justified, it is not in opposition to the promises of God. It simply serves a different purpose.
Meaning of Galatians 3:23-28, verse by verse:
3:22 “the scripture imprisoned all under sin”: This does not mean that sin imprisons people through Scripture; rather, Scripture provides a clear definition of sin, making all aware of their need for deliverance from its influence and effects.
“given by faith in Jesus Christ”: This would seem to suggest that people in the Old Testament were saved by the law, while those in the New Testament were saved by faith. Abraham, however, was justified before God through faith, so we know this isn’t true. Paul refers not to faith in the general sense here, but specifically to faith in Christ.
3:24 “the law became our guardian”: This is Paul’s second direct statement concerning the purpose of the law (see v. 19 above for the first). The law has a protective role. It keeps people mindful of their condition so they will look forward to God’s gracious deliverance.
The Greek word paidagōgos means “guardian.” It refers to the person who, as a guardian to a young child, would be responsible for protecting the child from harm, administering discipline, and instilling virtue.
3:25 “no longer under a guardian” The agitators may have argued that faith in Christ was for those who were spiritually inexperienced, while the law was meant for the mature in Christ. But Paul tells the Galatians that the opposite is true. The law looked after them like a guardian when they were young and in need of basic education about morality. Now they have matured through faith, and the Spirit of God leads them to do right thing.
3:26 “sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus”: The Galatians, though they are Gentiles, are eligible for adoption through faith in Christ. Observance of the law is not a requirement or condition for becoming a child of God. Adding the law to their faith would be misguided and destructive. The idea was as James put it in Acts 15:5-21:
Act 15:5 But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
Act 15:6 And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.
Act 15:7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
Act 15:8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
Act 15:9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
Act 15:10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
Act 15:11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
Act 15:12 Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.
Act 15:13 And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me:
Act 15:14 Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.
Act 15:15 And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,
Act 15:16 After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:
Act 15:17 That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.
Act 15:18 Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.
Act 15:19 Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
Act 15:20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
Act 15:21 For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.
Acts 15:21 is telling us that James knows that these new Christians will be listening to the Torah every Sabbath day, so through that, the Holy Spirit will teach them the rest of God’s laws/Commandments; assuming that when they learn, they will obey; for even Yeshua (Jesus) Himself taught us to “obey His Commandments”. See the following verses for confirmation of this:
Mat_5:19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Mat_15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Mat_19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
Mat_22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Mar_7:7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Mar_10:19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.
Mar_12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
Luk_1:6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
Luk_18:20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.
Joh_14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Joh_14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
Joh_15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
Act_1:2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:
1Co_7:19 Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.
1Co_14:37 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
Eph_2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Col_2:22 Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?
Col_4:10 Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister’s son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;)
1Th_4:2 For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.
Tit_1:14 Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.
1Jn_2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
1Jn_2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
1Jn_3:22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
1Jn_3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
1Jn_5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
1Jn_5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
2Jn_1:6 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
Rev_12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Rev_14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
Rev_22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
Now, try and tell me how Paul or ANY of the New Testament writers taught or even believed themselves that we no longer need to obey God’s Commandments? And remember, THERE WAS NO NEW TESTAMENT WHEN JESUS WALKED THE FACE OF THIS EARTH! Only the Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures.
Going back to Galatians 3:27 on our verse-to-verse explanation of these Scriptures:
3:27 “baptized into Christ have put on Christ”: This is the only place in Galatians where Paul mentions Baptism. Believers who have been baptized have “put on Christ” in the sense that they have aligned themselves with Christ’s virtues and concerns. This verse speaks to a concern the agitators may have had: without the law to govern the believer’s action, what will ensure that they will not live a life of immorality?
3:28 “neither Jew nor Greek”: Paul has already established that the Galatians’ status as children of God is not dependent upon their ethnicity. He emphasizes here that the standard categories (race, social status, and gender), which normally divide people, no longer apply to those “in Christ.” It is not that people cease to be male or female; rather, these distinctions are not grounds for exclusion from the life that God offers all people in Christ.
3:29 “descendants of Abraham”: Faith is what makes a person a descendant of Abraham—not ethnicity or circumcision. Those who have aligned themselves with Abrahamic faith are not obligated to become circumcised or observe the laws that the Jews made up themselves ON TOP OF GOD’S LAWS AS WRITTEN IN THE TORAH, both of which came later. Paul thus sees the work of Christ (at least in part) as fulfilling the Abrahamic covenant (see vv. 7–9; Gen 12:1–3).
The bottom line is this: The law can “NOT” bring “salvation” to anyone. Only faith in Yeshua (Jesus) can give salvation. However, God’s laws have NOT been done away with either. God’s laws are good and are there for our protection. Jesus Himself obeyed all of God’s laws and taught us to do the same. So, “if we love Him, we keep His Commandments”. Not for salvation, but because we love Him and want to live our own lives according to His teachings as best as we can. This teaching that we shouldn’t obey God’s laws anymore is nothing more than a LIE from Satan himself, because Satan knows that God’s laws protect us and that if we are continually breaking them, we are then continually sinning, and continually being hurt and hurting others through our own sin. It’s a vicious cycle brought about by Satan himself. God’s laws are only GOOD and satan knows that. He DOESN’T want ANY OF US TO BE FOLLOWING GOD’S LAWS because he knows that when we “DO”, HE CAN’T HURT US! I’ll let God’s Word finish this letter:
1Th_4:2 For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.
Tit_1:14 Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.
1Jn_2:4 He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His Commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
1Jn_2:3 And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His Commandments.
1Jn_5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His Commandments: and His Commandments are not grievous.
2Jn_1:6 And this is love, that we walk after His Commandments. This is the Commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning (the Torah), ye should walk in it.
Joh_14:15 If ye love Me, keep My Commandments.
Joh_14:21 He that hath My Commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him.
Joh_15:10 If ye keep My Commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father’s Commandments, and abide in His love. —Jesus
Sincerely,
Lisa Baker
Below is An e-mail response addressing what EVERY Christian should know about what the Bible REALLY teaches about obeying God's Commandments as given to us in His Word.
You completely misunderstand me. I don’t keep God’s Commandments for “salvation”, I keep God’s Commandments because “I LOVE Him”. Just like Jesus said, “If you “LOVE” Me, KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS”. These are two different issues entirely. The “Pharisees” were men who put their OWN man-made laws and traditions ABOVE God’s Commandments. We know this because Jesus told us so in Matthew 15:1-9:
Matthew 15:1–9: 1 Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, 2 Why do thy disciples transgress the “tradition of the elders”? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. 3 But He answered and said unto them, “Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. 5 But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; 6 And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. 7 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, 8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. 9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”
Notice that Jesus rebuked these Pharisees because they WERE “NOT” OBEYING GOD’S COMMANDMENTS, but placing their own man-made traditions above God’s Law. I tell you this because you said that I practice “pharisaical christianity”, which is simply NOT TRUE. I follow God’s Word, just as He’s given it to us. If anything, I practice my own Christianity in the exact OPPOSITE manner because I DON’T pay attention to man-made doctrine or tradition or false teachings of men, let alone hold it above God’s Own Word.
As far as Paul goes, He “NEVER” taught us “NOT” TO KEEP GOD’S HOLY DAYS. Paul kept God’s Holy Days himself, along with Jesus and the rest of the writers of the New Testament, including ALL of the 1st Century Christians. The ONLY reason you don’t know that is because you haven’t been taught what God’s Holy Days actually are. You should learn, because they’re also highly prophetic. Jesus fulfilled the first 4 Holy Days in His first coming to the exact details and will fulfill the last 3 in the same way in His second coming. You miss so much because you’ve never been taught how important these days are. If you want to learn, tell me and I’ll forward you a highly detailed video series on this. It also looks as if you’ve never been taught any history of the New Testament, so I’ll teach you what the Book of Galatians “IS” all about in it’s historical context, because from your explanation of it, I can tell that you’ve never studied or been taught the details of what this book is all about before.
You can’t just take the Bible out of context like you did and make it say what you want it to say. The fact that we’ve all been taught to do that growing up, including myself, is just horrible. This is what Jesus pulled me OUT of. When you actually study the historical context of the Bible and it’s different books, you find that much of what you’ve been taught, this explanation you gave me being a “typical” example, is because people “HAVE” taken Scripture out of context like that (and I mean out of the context of the entire Bible on a whole), and it’s just plain WRONG. I’ll also show you how and where the other books of the Bible actually CONFIRM the facts I’m about to share with you. This is the biggest problem with Christianity today. So many different pastors and scholars have taken verses out of context to back up their own “opinions”, that they no longer have any idea what the truth of God’s Word really is and they end up teaching everybody else to believe the same lies. So, I’ll start with the book of Galatians.
You stated that Galatians was about, ““Christians who were victims of Judizers, a sect of christians who tried to make them obey Torah”. This statement is just so wrong on so many different levels. There were many different sects of Jews in the first Century, the “circumcision Jews” among them, which is what Galatians is addressing. The issue wasn’t about “obeying or not obeying the Torah or God’s Commandments”, but about “the new Galatian Christians, who had been pagans before they were saved, thinking they could DO something to have salvation and then go back to their old gods and pagan rituals, thinking that would be o.k. because they got “circumcised”. The “circumcision jews” are the Jewish Christians who would rather circumcise the Galatians, stating that if they weren’t circumcised, they couldn’t be saved. Paul vehemently argues against this because he knows it’s wrong.
At an earlier time, some Judean Christians had insisted that Galatian believers be circumcised to be saved (Acts 15:1-2: And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. 2 When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.).
Although the Jerusalem Council had apparently settled this issue, side effects lingered: could Gentiles be part of God’s people without circumcision? Some of the strictest Pharisees may have required circumcision for salvation, but many Pharisees believed that any Gentiles who kept the few laws given Noah would be saved. But even for this more lenient class of Pharisees (see Acts 15:5 below), one could not become part of the people of God without circumcision; very few Jews were so lenient as to accept Gentiles on such terms.
Acts 15:5: But some believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and said, “It is necessary for them to be circumcised and ordered to keep the law of Moses.”
Indeed, circumcision had even become a major cultural symbol of fidelity to Judaism: attempts to restrict the practice led to revolts both before and after Paul’s time.
Some Judean Christians were now arguing that one must become culturally Jewish to become a full Christian, fully righteous; after all, the Bible itself made this requirement for one who wished to belong to God’s people (see Genesis 17:10–14). Further, they may have reasoned, if Paul argued for baptism (a post-Old Testament Jewish addition to circumcision), why could Judean Christians not require circumcision, even though it drove away potential converts? Paul argues forcefully against this view. THIS is what the entire book of Galatians is addressing. It has NOTHING to do with “obeying the Torah”.
Now let’s take a look at Galatians 3:23-28 specifically as you wanted me to in this second e-mail.
Galatians 3:23-28: But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. 26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 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.
Here again, your taking verses out of context to make it sound like something it isn’t saying at all. You can’t do that and get the truth of God’s Word! In verses 19-21, RIGHT ABOVE these verses, Paul states very clearly that God’s law is NOT against His promises:
Galatians 3:19-21: 19 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. 20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. 21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid:...
Galatians 3:19: “It was added on account of transgressions”: Reveals the purpose of the law. The phrase “It was added” shows that it was subsequent to the covenant that God had made with Abraham, and therefore less binding. The next phrase “on account of transgressions” indicates that the law made people conscious and knowledgeable of their own sinfulness.
“by the hand of a mediator”: Paul mentions how the law was given because it shows how much greater the promise of faith in Christ is. As God spoke directly to Abraham, so He has spoken directly to people about the promise of grace through Christ.
3:21 “law opposed”: Although the law is an inappropriate means of being justified, it is not in opposition to the promises of God. It simply serves a different purpose.
Meaning of Galatians 3:23-28, verse by verse:
3:22 “the scripture imprisoned all under sin”: This does not mean that sin imprisons people through Scripture; rather, Scripture provides a clear definition of sin, making all aware of their need for deliverance from its influence and effects.
“given by faith in Jesus Christ”: This would seem to suggest that people in the Old Testament were saved by the law, while those in the New Testament were saved by faith. Abraham, however, was justified before God through faith, so we know this isn’t true. Paul refers not to faith in the general sense here, but specifically to faith in Christ.
3:24 “the law became our guardian”: This is Paul’s second direct statement concerning the purpose of the law (see v. 19 above for the first). The law has a protective role. It keeps people mindful of their condition so they will look forward to God’s gracious deliverance.
The Greek word paidagōgos means “guardian.” It refers to the person who, as a guardian to a young child, would be responsible for protecting the child from harm, administering discipline, and instilling virtue.
3:25 “no longer under a guardian” The agitators may have argued that faith in Christ was for those who were spiritually inexperienced, while the law was meant for the mature in Christ. But Paul tells the Galatians that the opposite is true. The law looked after them like a guardian when they were young and in need of basic education about morality. Now they have matured through faith, and the Spirit of God leads them to do right thing.
3:26 “sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus”: The Galatians, though they are Gentiles, are eligible for adoption through faith in Christ. Observance of the law is not a requirement or condition for becoming a child of God. Adding the law to their faith would be misguided and destructive. The idea was as James put it in Acts 15:5-21:
Act 15:5 But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.
Act 15:6 And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter.
Act 15:7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.
Act 15:8 And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;
Act 15:9 And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
Act 15:10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
Act 15:11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
Act 15:12 Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.
Act 15:13 And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me:
Act 15:14 Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.
Act 15:15 And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,
Act 15:16 After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:
Act 15:17 That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.
Act 15:18 Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.
Act 15:19 Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
Act 15:20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
Act 15:21 For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.
Acts 15:21 is telling us that James knows that these new Christians will be listening to the Torah every Sabbath day, so through that, the Holy Spirit will teach them the rest of God’s laws/Commandments; assuming that when they learn, they will obey; for even Yeshua (Jesus) Himself taught us to “obey His Commandments”. See the following verses for confirmation of this:
Mat_5:19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Mat_15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Mat_19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
Mat_22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Mar_7:7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Mar_10:19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.
Mar_12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
Luk_1:6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
Luk_18:20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.
Joh_14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Joh_14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
Joh_15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
Act_1:2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen:
1Co_7:19 Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.
1Co_14:37 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
Eph_2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
Col_2:22 Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?
Col_4:10 Aristarchus my fellowprisoner saluteth you, and Marcus, sister’s son to Barnabas, (touching whom ye received commandments: if he come unto you, receive him;)
1Th_4:2 For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.
Tit_1:14 Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.
1Jn_2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
1Jn_2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
1Jn_3:22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
1Jn_3:24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.
1Jn_5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
1Jn_5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
2Jn_1:6 And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it.
Rev_12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Rev_14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
Rev_22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
Now, try and tell me how Paul or ANY of the New Testament writers taught or even believed themselves that we no longer need to obey God’s Commandments? And remember, THERE WAS NO NEW TESTAMENT WHEN JESUS WALKED THE FACE OF THIS EARTH! Only the Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures.
Going back to Galatians 3:27 on our verse-to-verse explanation of these Scriptures:
3:27 “baptized into Christ have put on Christ”: This is the only place in Galatians where Paul mentions Baptism. Believers who have been baptized have “put on Christ” in the sense that they have aligned themselves with Christ’s virtues and concerns. This verse speaks to a concern the agitators may have had: without the law to govern the believer’s action, what will ensure that they will not live a life of immorality?
3:28 “neither Jew nor Greek”: Paul has already established that the Galatians’ status as children of God is not dependent upon their ethnicity. He emphasizes here that the standard categories (race, social status, and gender), which normally divide people, no longer apply to those “in Christ.” It is not that people cease to be male or female; rather, these distinctions are not grounds for exclusion from the life that God offers all people in Christ.
3:29 “descendants of Abraham”: Faith is what makes a person a descendant of Abraham—not ethnicity or circumcision. Those who have aligned themselves with Abrahamic faith are not obligated to become circumcised or observe the laws that the Jews made up themselves ON TOP OF GOD’S LAWS AS WRITTEN IN THE TORAH, both of which came later. Paul thus sees the work of Christ (at least in part) as fulfilling the Abrahamic covenant (see vv. 7–9; Gen 12:1–3).
The bottom line is this: The law can “NOT” bring “salvation” to anyone. Only faith in Yeshua (Jesus) can give salvation. However, God’s laws have NOT been done away with either. God’s laws are good and are there for our protection. Jesus Himself obeyed all of God’s laws and taught us to do the same. So, “if we love Him, we keep His Commandments”. Not for salvation, but because we love Him and want to live our own lives according to His teachings as best as we can. This teaching that we shouldn’t obey God’s laws anymore is nothing more than a LIE from Satan himself, because Satan knows that God’s laws protect us and that if we are continually breaking them, we are then continually sinning, and continually being hurt and hurting others through our own sin. It’s a vicious cycle brought about by Satan himself. God’s laws are only GOOD and satan knows that. He DOESN’T want ANY OF US TO BE FOLLOWING GOD’S LAWS because he knows that when we “DO”, HE CAN’T HURT US! I’ll let God’s Word finish this letter:
1Th_4:2 For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.
Tit_1:14 Not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men, that turn from the truth.
1Jn_2:4 He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His Commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
1Jn_2:3 And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His Commandments.
1Jn_5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His Commandments: and His Commandments are not grievous.
2Jn_1:6 And this is love, that we walk after His Commandments. This is the Commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning (the Torah), ye should walk in it.
Joh_14:15 If ye love Me, keep My Commandments.
Joh_14:21 He that hath My Commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him.
Joh_15:10 If ye keep My Commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father’s Commandments, and abide in His love. —Jesus
Sincerely,
Lisa Baker
