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Dear Galatia - The Book of Galatians · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. For do I now persuade men, or God?
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  Speaker 1: Or do I seek to please men? For if I
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  Speaker 1: yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
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  Speaker 1: Galatians 1.10 Free me, Lord, from my brothers and sisters
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  Speaker 1: in Christ who are more focused on their own works
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  Speaker 1: than on their faith. Free me from the legalistic Christ
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  Speaker 1: followers who were bent on justifying themselves through the law.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you, Jesus, that by your sacrifice I am saved
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  Speaker 1: by faith and not by my works. Thank you that
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  Speaker 1: I can walk in complete freedom and enjoy my walk
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  Speaker 1: with you, free from the opinions of others. Continue to
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  Speaker 1: allow the fruits of the Spirit to be evident in
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  Speaker 1: my life. I decree and declare that that in Christ
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  Speaker 1: Jesus I am free and unchained. I decree and declare
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  Speaker 1: that I serve you, Lord, by devotion and not obligation.
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  Speaker 1: As I work out my faith in love, I will
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  Speaker 1: walk in freedom and in step with the Spirit. Where
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  Speaker 1: the Spirit of the Lord is, there is always freedom.
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  Speaker 1: There is no bondage in Christ. So, Lord, I thank
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  Speaker 1: you that I don't have to earn my way into heaven,
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  Speaker 1: but because I place my trust and love in you,
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  Speaker 1: you will guide me in the way everlasting. In the
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  Speaker 1: name of Jesus. Amen. Listening to these daily prayers strengthens
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  Speaker 1: your relationship with God. Continue hearing from the Lord by
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  Speaker 1: listening to today's Bible in a Year. Brought to you Dear.
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: Galatia, In our last story, we learned about certain Jewish
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  Speaker 2: believers forcing Gentiles to be circumcised to be accepted into
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  Speaker 2: the family of God. Outraged by this, Paul and Barnabas
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  Speaker 2: held a council of all the leaders in Jerusalem and
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  Speaker 2: They debated whether Gentiles should be forced to follow the
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  Speaker 2: Jewish customs laid out in the law. The consensus was
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  Speaker 2: a resounding no. Now, we listen in on a letter
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  Speaker 2: Paul wrote to the Galatian church. Paul wrote to the
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  Speaker 2: Galatians because they had men in their midst, teaching them
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  Speaker 2: that all Christians should be circumcised to be saved. Paul's
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  Speaker 2: words would reflect the heart of Jesus as he defends
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  Speaker 2: the grace given by Jesus on the cross, inspired by
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  Speaker 2: the book of Galatians.
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  Speaker 3: Hello, I'm Pastor Jack Graham with today's episode of The
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  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year. In our previous time together, we
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  Speaker 3: heard how the Council of Apostles and Elders in Jerusalem,
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  Speaker 3: along with Paul and Barnabas, affirmed that Gentile believers were
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  Speaker 3: not bound to Jewish customs outlined in the law, but
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  Speaker 3: should focus on abstaining from things that would hinder their
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  Speaker 3: relationship with God in Christ, such as sexual immorality and
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  Speaker 3: food sacrifice to idols. Today we'll hear Paul's words to
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  Speaker 3: the church in Galatia and his affirmation of their freedom
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  Speaker 3: in Christ, not because of obedience to the law and
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  Speaker 3: things like circumcision, but because of faith and the grace
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  Speaker 3: of God. Let's hear now the reading from Paul's letter
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  Speaker 3: to the Galatians.
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  Speaker 2: To the church in Galatia, grace and peace to you
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  Speaker 2: from our Lord. I am amazed that you would turn
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  Speaker 2: from grace so quickly to adopt another gospel. one of
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  Speaker 2: bondage and works. Let me tell you this. Even if
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  Speaker 2: you see an angel coming down from heaven preaching another
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  Speaker 2: gospel to you, it is false. I tell you this honestly,
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  Speaker 2: since I do not seek the approval of man, but
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  Speaker 2: of God. If I simply sought to please you, I
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  Speaker 2: would not be a servant of Christ. I need you
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  Speaker 2: to know this, brothers, that the gospel preached by me
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  Speaker 2: to you is not a gospel forged and penned by man.
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  Speaker 2: It is from the heart of Christ himself. You know
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  Speaker 2: my past. You know that I was once a zealous Pharisee,
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  Speaker 2: hell-bent on the destruction of the church. I held the
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  Speaker 2: law tightly and honored it my whole life. But Jesus
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  Speaker 2: called me into grace. So I fled to Arabia, and
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  Speaker 2: then Damascus, then to Jerusalem. I wanted to know what
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  Speaker 2: was happening to my heart. I wanted to know Christ.
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  Speaker 2: Those who saw me change glorified Christ. It was not
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  Speaker 2: because I followed the law, but because I was changed
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  Speaker 2: by grace. Fourteen years had passed, and I was traveling
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  Speaker 2: to Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus, who was a Gentile.
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  Speaker 2: We did not force him to be circumcised, yet false
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  Speaker 2: brothers tried to bind him into slavery to the old
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  Speaker 2: covenant law. We did not yield in submission to them.
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  Speaker 2: To do so would have been to deny the power
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  Speaker 2: of the gospel. It started to become clear to me
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  Speaker 2: that I was to be an apostle of the Gentiles,
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  Speaker 2: just as Peter was called to the Jews. I want
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  Speaker 2: to tell you something about Peter so that you might
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  Speaker 2: learn from him. Peter would eat with the Gentiles and
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  Speaker 2: fellowship with them, but when his Jewish brothers were present,
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  Speaker 2: he would not speak to them or eat with them.
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  Speaker 2: This was two-faced and not honoring to Christ, so I
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  Speaker 2: opposed him to his faith. Peter was supposed to be
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  Speaker 2: an example to us, and instead his conduct was not
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  Speaker 2: in step with the truth. I told him that if he,
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  Speaker 2: being a Jew, was able to live like a Gentile,
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  Speaker 2: then he should not force Gentiles to live like Jews.
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  Speaker 2: It was simple, and Peter received his correction. Let me
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  Speaker 2: make one thing clear. We are Jews by birth, but
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  Speaker 2: it is not our tradition or race that makes us justified.
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  Speaker 2: Our faith in the work of Jesus on the cross
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  Speaker 2: makes us justified. It is not by works that we
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  Speaker 2: attain favor with God, for he is pleased with us
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  Speaker 2: in Jesus. We must die to the law so we
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  Speaker 2: can live in Christ. I have been crucified with Christ.
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  Speaker 2: I am no longer living. It is Jesus who lives
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  Speaker 2: in me. The life we ought to live should be
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  Speaker 2: by faith in Jesus. He has loved us and gave
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  Speaker 2: his life for us. If we gained our righteousness from
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  Speaker 2: our good deeds or following the law, then why would
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  Speaker 2: Christ have died for us? You foolish Galatians! Who has
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  Speaker 2: cast a spell on you that you would turn from
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  Speaker 2: this glorious truth? Some of you saw with your own
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  Speaker 2: eyes Jesus being crucified. Let me ask you this. Did
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  Speaker 2: you receive the Holy Spirit by being perfect?
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  Speaker 1: No.
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  Speaker 2: Are you so dumb that you would now try and
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  Speaker 2: be perfect after receiving grace? Even Abraham was called righteous
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  Speaker 2: because of his faith, not his ability to follow rules.
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  Speaker 2: The truly righteous ones are the ones who look unto
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  Speaker 2: Jesus and have faith in Him. The righteous live by faith.
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  Speaker 2: Let me give you an example of what the law
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  Speaker 2: is for. Picture a contract. Every human contract can be
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  Speaker 2: annulled or ratified, but not with God. He keeps His
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  Speaker 2: promises despite our failures. So what good is the law? Well,
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  Speaker 2: the law was our tutor until Christ came. The law
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  Speaker 2: was an image of the perfect character of God. That
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  Speaker 2: character was fulfilled in Jesus. So we look to follow Him,
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  Speaker 2: not the law. That way the gospel is not only
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  Speaker 2: for Jews who follow the law, but for people of
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  Speaker 2: all nationalities who believe in Jesus and follow Him. A
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  Speaker 2: child is no freer than a slave until he becomes
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  Speaker 2: a man. So the child must be looked after and protected.
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  Speaker 2: That is what the law did for us. It took
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  Speaker 2: care of us until we were ready to step into maturity.
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  Speaker 2: You are sons, daughters, and heirs to all the gifts
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  Speaker 2: of Jesus. To know Jesus is to be free. So
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  Speaker 2: it concerns me that you are all trying to enslave
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  Speaker 2: yourselves to the law. Stop! I am afraid that all
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  Speaker 2: your effort and labor to be perfect is all in vain.
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  Speaker 2: Brothers and sisters, I beg you, be like me. Let go.
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  Speaker 2: We were close once. You would have laid down your
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  Speaker 2: life for me, but now I feel like I am
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  Speaker 2: your enemy just because I preach to you the truth.
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  Speaker 2: I am perplexed and disturbed by you. Christ has set
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  Speaker 2: us free to walk in liberty. The ability to do
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  Speaker 2: what is good and noble comes from a place of freedom,
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  Speaker 2: not bondage. Do not be slaves to mindless devotion. If
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  Speaker 2: you decide that one must be circumcised to be saved,
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  Speaker 2: then you put yourself under the bondage of the whole law.
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  Speaker 2: You cannot pick and choose. You either follow the whole law,
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  Speaker 2: or you follow the one who has made you righteous.
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  Speaker 2: It is not about being circumcised. It is about working
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  Speaker 2: out your faith in love. You are doing so well.
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  Speaker 2: Tell me, who has whispered lies in your ears? Who
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  Speaker 2: has hindered you from speaking the truth? Know this, that
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  Speaker 2: a little bit of leaven can ruin the whole.
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  Speaker 1: Loaf of bread.
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  Speaker 2: The same is with people. Honestly, I wish that those
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  Speaker 2: who told you you needed to be circumcised would just
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  Speaker 2: cut off their privates altogether. For you were called to
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  Speaker 2: freedom and they have set you back. Walk in freedom.
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  Speaker 2: Do not use your freedom as an opportunity to sin.
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  Speaker 2: Serve one another. For the entire law is truly fulfilled
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  Speaker 2: in these words. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
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  Speaker 2: But if you insist on devouring one another, take heed
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  Speaker 2: lest you all consume yourselves into oblivion. If you keep
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  Speaker 2: in step with the Spirit, you will have no need
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  Speaker 2: of laws, for He will guide you. For the desires
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  Speaker 2: of the Spirit will oppose the flesh. For the fruit
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  Speaker 2: of the flesh is obvious, fits of rage, rivalries, division, envy, drunkenness,
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  Speaker 2: selfish sexual gratification, jealousy, idolatry, and all sorts of rage
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  Speaker 2: that break instead of build. But the fruit of the
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  Speaker 2: Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
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  Speaker 2: and self-control. If you have these things, you have no
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  Speaker 2: need of law. Yet we all fail. We all fall
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  Speaker 2: in some way. So let us restore one another in gentleness.
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  Speaker 2: If anyone is caught in sin, let us help. Bear
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  Speaker 2: one another's burdens and take heed of your heart, for
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  Speaker 2: whoever thinks they have reached the heights of holiness are
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  Speaker 2: sure to be brought low. Take care of one another.
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  Speaker 2: As you can see, I have written this letter with
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  Speaker 2: my own hand, for my eyesight is failing me and
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  Speaker 2: the words are large on the page. Understand these large
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  Speaker 2: words of mine. Far be it from me to boast
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  Speaker 2: except in the cross of Jesus Christ. From now on,
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  Speaker 2: let no one cause anybody else to stumble. May the
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  Speaker 2: grace of the Lord Jesus be upon you.
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  Speaker 3: Amen. We begin today's reading with Paul's surprise at how
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  Speaker 3: quickly the believers in Galatia had lost the point of
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  Speaker 3: the gospel and were trying to add requirements to the
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  Speaker 3: grace of God in Christ and subject themselves again to bondage.
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  Speaker 3: There were Jews among them who insisted that believers needed
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  Speaker 3: to also follow the requirements of the law in order
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  Speaker 3: to be saved. And Paul is unequivocal in his words.
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  Speaker 3: Anything different than the gospel of God's grace through Christ
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  Speaker 3: and Christ alone is a false gospel. To make this
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  Speaker 3: point even stronger, Paul told them that even if an
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  Speaker 3: angel were to come down and give them a different gospel,
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  Speaker 3: that angel would be cursed. The reminder to the Galatians
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  Speaker 3: is one that we should heed today as well. If
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  Speaker 3: you try to add to the gospel, whether you're subtracting
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  Speaker 3: it or adding to it, you end up with a lie.
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  Speaker 3: It's subtraction or it's addition or subtraction by addition. As
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  Speaker 3: Paul told these believers, he of all people would know
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  Speaker 3: that following the law does not save. And to be
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  Speaker 3: saved means to know God and to be forgiven of
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  Speaker 3: sins and to know eternal life. So how is one saved?
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  Speaker 3: Not by works of the law. Before his conversion, he
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  Speaker 3: was an example of piety and zealousness among Jewish believers.
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  Speaker 3: Paul knew the law backwards and forwards, inside and out.
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  Speaker 3: He followed it to the letter and even persecuted those
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  Speaker 3: who preached the gospel he is now advancing. Paul argued
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  Speaker 3: that if the law could have made him justified before God,
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  Speaker 3: it would have. But it did not because the law
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  Speaker 3: cannot save. His life was changed because he embraced Jesus
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  Speaker 3: Christ as his Lord and Savior and God's grace in
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  Speaker 3: order to save him. He then gave the example of Titus,
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  Speaker 3: a Gentile, a Greek man who came to faith in
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  Speaker 3: Christ and joined Paul and Barnabas on their missionary journey.
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  Speaker 3: There were Jewish believers who tried to impose the burden
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  Speaker 3: of circumcision and Jewish law on Titus, but Paul defended
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  Speaker 3: him and refused to let him be subject to the
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  Speaker 3: bondage of legalism which would strip away the power of
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  Speaker 3: the gospel. Paul even confronted Peter, an apostle and the
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  Speaker 3: leader of the church. Paul had witnessed Peter eating with
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  Speaker 3: Gentiles when Jews were not around, but separating himself from
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  Speaker 3: them when Jews were present. By his hypocritical actions, Peter
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  Speaker 3: was creating a division between Jews and Gentiles, and this
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  Speaker 3: was inconsistent with the gospel. Not only that, it was
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  Speaker 3: robbing the gospel of its power. Paul called on Peter
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  Speaker 3: to examine his own life and to experience the freedom
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  Speaker 3: in Christ, the freedom that we have because of what
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  Speaker 3: Christ has done, not because of what the law has done.
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  Speaker 3: If Peter could enjoy his freedom, how could he not
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  Speaker 3: allow others to experience that same freedom in Christ? It
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  Speaker 3: takes courage to stand up for the truth, especially when
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  Speaker 3: a leader may be more mature and yet is wrong
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  Speaker 3: at acting in a way that undermines the power of
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  Speaker 3: the gospel. Paul was willing to confront Peter for the
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  Speaker 3: sake of the advancement of Jesus Christ and the message
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  Speaker 3: of the gospel. Paul's example is one of encouragement for
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  Speaker 3: all of us to stand boldly and courageously for the
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  Speaker 3: truth of God's word and the power of God's message.
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  Speaker 3: And as Paul continued his letter, he reminded the Galatians
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  Speaker 3: just what that truth is. Justification does not come from
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  Speaker 3: our human efforts, but by faith, and the object of
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  Speaker 3: our faith is Jesus. It is our faith in Christ
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  Speaker 3: that makes us righteous, not our works. To bring this
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  Speaker 3: point home, Paul said that if the law made people righteous,
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  Speaker 3: then Jesus died for nothing. Why then, if we have
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  Speaker 3: righteousness through faith in Christ and Christ alone, would these
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  Speaker 3: Galatians look to the law to make them righteous? Paul
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  Speaker 3: then pointed back to the first patriarch, to Abraham himself,
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  Speaker 3: to explain that righteousness by faith is nothing new. Righteousness
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  Speaker 3: has always come through faith, not works. Abraham believed God,
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  Speaker 3: and his faith was credited to him as righteous. The
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  Speaker 3: law was not given to make people righteous, but as
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  Speaker 3: a guardian, a guide, a teacher, until the time when
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  Speaker 3: Christ came to set all people free. Not only Jews,
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  Speaker 3: but people of all nations. Listen to what Paul writes
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  Speaker 3: in Galatians 3, 25-28 about what Jesus has done for us.
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  Speaker 3: These are powerful words. But now that faith has come,
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  Speaker 3: we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ
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  Speaker 3: Jesus you are all sons of God through faith. For
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  Speaker 3: as many of you as were baptized into Christ have
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  Speaker 3: put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek. There
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  Speaker 3: is neither slave nor free. There is no male and female,
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  Speaker 3: for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Don't miss
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  Speaker 3: how profound this statement is. We are the children of God.
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  Speaker 3: We are the sons and daughters of God, heirs to
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  Speaker 3: the promises of Christ. We have been adopted into his
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  Speaker 3: eternal family, God's forever family. And it's all because of
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  Speaker 3: what Jesus has done for us. This adoption means that
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  Speaker 3: we are truly free and favored by God. Paul calls
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  Speaker 3: the Galatians to not walk away from this freedom, but
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  Speaker 3: rather to walk in it. It is a freedom to
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  Speaker 3: love and serve God fully. But Paul knew also he
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  Speaker 3: needed to caution against misunderstanding this freedom. Our freedom in
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  Speaker 3: Christ is not licensed to live in sin as we please.
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  Speaker 3: It is a freedom to live by God's grace and
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  Speaker 3: the power of His Spirit. He then explained what it
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  Speaker 3: looks like to live by God's Spirit, giving us the
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  Speaker 3: fruit of the Spirit. Love and joy and peace and
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  Speaker 3: patience and kindness and goodness and faithfulness and gentleness and self-control,
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  Speaker 3: all of this flows out of a life committed to
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  Speaker 3: follow Jesus Christ. The work of the Holy Spirit is
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  Speaker 3: to fuel us for godly living and to fill us
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  Speaker 3: that we might produce the fruit of the Spirit. The
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  Speaker 3: fruit of the Spirit is Christ's likeness, and he reproduces
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  Speaker 3: himself in us by the power and the presence of
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  Speaker 3: the Holy Spirit. Finally, Paul concludes by acknowledging that we
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  Speaker 3: will fail, and he impressed upon the Galatians that they
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  Speaker 3: must support and encourage one another and bear one another's burdens.
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  Speaker 3: The Christian life was never meant to be lived alone.
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  Speaker 3: It was true then, and it's true today. Dear God,
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  Speaker 3: we thank you for this powerful letter that Paul gave
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  Speaker 3: to the Galatians and to us. We are so grateful
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  Speaker 3: that we are not saved by our own works because
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  Speaker 3: we could only fail, but by your grace, through your cross,
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  Speaker 3: in the power of your resurrection, we are saved from
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  Speaker 3: our sins. You live in our lives, and we can
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  Speaker 3: live forever with you. all because of Christ. God, help
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  Speaker 3: us to walk in the fullness, in the freedom, in
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  Speaker 3: the favor that you have given us in Christ, and
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  Speaker 3: may we live to humbly serve you and point others
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  Speaker 3: to your Son. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for
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  Speaker 3: listening once again to the Bible in a Year podcast.
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  Speaker 3: I'm Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church.
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  Speaker 3: You can download the Pray.com app and make prayer and
• 18:45
  Speaker 3: Bible study a priority in your life. And if you
• 18:48
  Speaker 3: are enjoying this podcast, please let others know. Share it
• 18:52
  Speaker 3: with someone else so that they can also join our
• 18:55
  Speaker 3: journey with Jesus through the scriptures. God bless you and
• 18:59
  Speaker 3: thank you for joining us.