11But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.[a] 13And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?
Galatians 2: 11-14 ESV
12So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
Romans 7: 12 ESV
12Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.
Romans 7: 12, NKJV
Why did Paul write the letter to the Galatians that almost caused a division in the Galatian churches.? From the Andrews Bible Commentary is this explanation. “The Epistle to the Galatians was born in the heat of this debate, which threatened to divide the church. (Galatians 2: 11-14), as noted in the above text.” Why so? “Paul exalted the liberating force of Jesus’ Gospel in opposition to the slavery of the law that some wanted to impose on the believers (Galatians 4: 1-25). Throughout his epistles, Paul explains that the work of Christ brings a three-fold liberation: 1. From the guilt and punishment of sin; 2. From the power and slavery of sin; 3. From the presence of sin. This three-fold liberation—the essence of the gospel—takes place in three phases”.
In the first phase, the Son of God assumes human nature and gives His life for fallen humanity—mysteriously opening the way to our to redemption (Galatians 4:5-5). Ion this stage, the perfect life of Christ is credited to the account of the believer, who receives it by faith alone. Our salvation is definitely marked by the sign of the cross (Romans 5: 12-20, 1 Corinthians 2: 2, Galatians 6: 14). Christ’s first objective is to free believers from the guilt and punishment of sin. While the law condemns sin, it does not provide the strength necessary to avoid it. This situation of “chronic falls” often leads to discouragement other rebellious feelings (Romans 7: 2-25; Rom. 8: 2, Rom. 10:3; Galatians 2: 4—5: 1-15). Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (Gal.3:13). In both His life and death, Christ acted as our substitute. His perfect life covers our imperfect life and provides us with the righteousness we need to stand in God’s presence. His death on the cross takes the place of the penalty of death that engulfed all of humanity as a result of sin. This aspect of liberation is the means of our justification. “Justification” is a term that refers to a positive verdict a judge pronounces when a person is found innocent of the charges brought against him or her (cf. Deuteronomy 25:1, Proverbs 17: 15). In this case, the law can no longer condemn us, because through our faith in Christ, God has pronounced us as righteous (Rom. 5:1) Christ’s history is now our history.
“In the second phase, which really cannot be separated from the first, the Spirit begins to make personal the triumph obtained by Christ in the believer’s life—which is symbolized by baptism (Gal. 3: 26-29). This work of sanctification continues throughout the life of the believer as the Holy Spirit produces the fruits of a progressive liberation from sin (Gal. 5: 16-25 cf., Phil. 4:13). Thus, in addition to freeing humanity from the guilt and punishment of sin, Christ has also liberated us from the power and slavery of sin. On taking humanity on Himself for never succumbing to sin, Christ broke the power of sin and death that dominated humankind (Rom. 8: 3). The resurrection of Jesus demonstrated that sin is a defeated foe (enemy). Christ’s victory is the basis of our sanctification. While sin is still a present force that seeks to wreak havoc on people’s lives, it does not need to reign as an enslaving force in the life of a believer. Christ has made it possible for the moral and spiritual of the law given to Moses to be fulfilled in the lives of His followers through the power of the indwelling Spirit (v. 4). While justification is a one-time event that happens when God declares the repentant sinner as righteous before Him, sanctification is the work of a lifetime—as the Spirit makes true in our experience what is already true of us in Christ.” (Andrews Bible commentary, pp. 11445-1145)
We will continue the final phase in the nest issue of the News Today as it is rather lengthy. Suffice it to say that God has made provisions for us to live a true Christian life through the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives, made possible because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. We end this with the famous statement of Jesus to Nicodemus in John 3:16 NKJV: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
Happy Easter, everyone. The resurrection of Jesus is another phase of our salvation.
When He comes again the second time and rewards us with everlasting life, are we ready?
The theme of the Bible is Jesus, and how He died to save men;
The plan of salvation assures us, He’s coming back again.
Are you ready for Jesus to come? Are you faithful in all that you do?
Have you fought a good fight? Have you stood for the right?
Have others seen Jesus in you?… Are you ready for Jesus to come?
To contact us: Our website is www.abundantlifeadventist.ca. Worship with us every Saturday Sabbath, the seventh day of the week. Genesis 2: 2, 3, Exodus 20: 8-10, Isaiah 58: 13, 14; Isaiah 66: 22, 23; Matthew 5: 17-19; Revelation 22: 14, John 14: 1-3, Rev. 6:6-12
