Epistles of Paul 25

Well, good evening, brethren. In previous studies on the Book of Galatians, we looked at difficulties that existed in the early church.

One of the concerns that Paul had was that various people, various brethren, after conversion, after a period of conversion, over the period of time, started bringing back into the church, they hold abbots or their traditions.

So if we look at the Jewish community, particularly those that were of the Phariseical group, they would bring their own man-made traditions, which Christ criticized, which were not part of Moses' teaching. So they were bringing them into the church. On the other side, Gentiles, over time we saw, and there is a beginning of it during the early Testament church, we see that, but Gentiles were bringing in their pagan traditions, and history proves that that's what happened, and that's why Christianity as a religion is very different than what Christ taught. I would imagine that it's like the Jewish religion at the time of Christ's Phariseical religion was equally very different than what Moses had originally taught. And therefore, we get to Galatians chapter 4 verse 11.

Galatians chapter 4 verse 11, that's where we stopped last. Paul says, I'm afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain. In other words, I'm afraid that I'm working in vain.

It's like as if he's stating a concern, in a way, disappointment for people going back to what Paul just mentioned in Galatians, turning back again to the weak and beggarly elements to which you desire again to be in bondage, as we read in verse 9 of Galatians 4. And so, indeed, historically, if we look at history, many went back, particularly in the pagan world, those that came from the pagan world with their pagan traditions, over time, if we look at the early church history, they brought into Christianity many, many false teachings. And look at the result today. We see that in religions today. For instance, briefly, we look at three of the first letters to the church in the book of Revelation. We read in the first letter, which is in Revelation chapter 2 verse 1, the letter to Ephesus. We see in verse 2, he says, I know your works, your labour, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil.

Amazing! It says those who are evil. It's really referring to people trying to change the truth in the church. And you have tested those who say they are apostles. In other words, they are leaders in the church, but they're not.

And I found them liars. So right in the early church, the first era, the era of the letter to Ephesus, the truth was already being distorted intentionally. Look at verse 6. It says, but this you have that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. Nicolaitans, to our best knowledge, was a Gnostic sect. There was intentionally distorting the truth through these Gnostic approaches.

So if you look at the Galatians, because we are reading Galatians, at the very beginning of Galatians, in chapter one, verse seven, you know, in verse six, it says, I marvel that you are turning away so soon from him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel, which is not another. So it was not a different gospel, but it was the gospel about Christ, but they were distorting the gospel of Christ. And so we read here in verse seven, which is not another, but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. In my Bible, there's a little mark, a little number, a little letter next to the word pervert, and it says, distort. They were distorting the gospel. So it's not another gospel, but it's a gospel which has been distorted.

And so, indeed, it is a different gospel, but it says, which is not another. You see, so it's a gospel. It's got the same title, let's call it, but it has been distorted. And this happened. The unfortunate thing is happening again.

You see, Satan doesn't change his tricks and his plot. It's happening again.

And then he says, there in going back to Revelation, chapter two, it says, they lost their first love. In verse four, you've left your first love, that first enthusiasm for the truth. So initially, the church in Ephesus was battling against these people who were coming into the church and trying to distort the truth. But over the years, over the years, over the years, you look at the second letter to Smyrna. And then in verse eight and nine, he says, these things says the first and the last was dead and came to life. That is Christ.

Verse nine, I know your works and your tribulation. They were having trials. They were really having challenges and difficulties. I know your works and tribulation and poverty, but you are rich. And I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews.

So at this time, because we're looking now at about 300 years, the letter of Smyrna is in the years 300 and beyond, there was this movement that initially during the era of Ephesus was fought against completely. But now in the time of Smyrna, this group started attacking the church. And it says, yeah, I know your works, your tribulation, because these people were now literally attacking the church. And you know what happened during that time. It was run about in year 325, when there was the Council of Nisaya. And during that Council of Nisaya, it was decreed that they would change officially Sabbath to Sunday, and they would change the Passover of the 14th to Easter Sunday. And so that was decreed in the year 325. And then a year or two later, the church went through an enormous, intense persecution for 10 years until Constantine's death in 333 AD. And so he says, I know your works, your tribulation, because this started attacking the church. These attacks went or came into the church. And these are from people who said they were Christians, but they were not, but are a synagogue of Satan. They are a false church, from which today we have a Europe-based, secular, Roman-based church.

And then he says, do not fear any of these things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation 10 days, a day for a year for 10 years. And so that intense persecution happened for 10 years from about 327 AD, about two years after the Council was say, till 337 AD, saying that the persecution stopped, but it was very intense during those first 10 years. And then later on, we see in later era, the third letter to Pergamos, where Christ says in verse 13, He says, I know you works, and will you dwell where Satan's throne is. And then he says, but I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam. And then he says in verse 15, and you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. So we see initially, the church fought against it, and they hated it. Later, this started attacking the church, and then later, it got into the church.

It took a number of hundreds of years for that to happen during that time. But if we look at, let's call it when, I'm just going to use a phrase that was used by somebody else, and you know where it was.

He said, when God started putting the church back on track, and started bringing these basic truths to awareness, and the church started growing like a modern era, let's call it coming back of the church. As in the apostolic time, and many people came into the church, as we know, then there was a falling away, as we know, in 1995.

And even though, after that falling away, a number of people have stayed faithful, percentage-wise, a small percentage, compared to the ones that had been called, which probably is a very similar image to what happened in the early apostolic era.

What we have now is little groups starting out there, which are bringing in these doctrines, let's call it of the Nicolaitans, which was a Gnostic type, false, false grace, but still happening, coming across, they are part of the church of God. But there is this distortion happening, and we have to be very careful. If we look at 2 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2, verse 10, we say that these are people that did not receive the love of the truth.

You see, this is very dangerous, because these people will say, no, we believe in the truth. We believe in Christ. But ever so slowly and subtly, they bring little deviations, re-indiviations from the very understanding, which is to us so important for instance, of the meaning of the eighth day, of the significance of that day, and the significance of that second resurrection, and how during the period of the second resurrection, and if we bring in scriptures like Ezekiel 37, the Valley of the Dry Bones, and others, we start understanding a little bit better God's plan. They do away with some of that meaning ever so slightly. We've got to be very careful. And what happened? The deviation from the truth in the early years of the Apostolic Church, all the way through the third and fourth and fifth and sixth century, took centuries. This second happening now at the time of the end, it will just take a few years. It will be very quick, because of the way knowledge is increased, because of the way information just flows so much quicker, things will go very, very much quicker. And like we know, and we've seen, when the Apostolic Church started, all the way to when we got to the Middle Ages, only a trickle of a few people stayed faithful. Now, there is a very, very concerning Scripture that we should pay attention to, which is in Daniel 12. In Daniel 12. And there, in verse 7, when it's talking about when there's a man clothing linen, and Daniel asks him, or this man says, how long shall the fulfillment of these wonders be?

Then there is an answer, Yahreh says, and I heard a man clothing linen was above the waters of the river when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven and swore by him, we'll lose forever. He says that it shall be for a time, times and oft a time, for three and a half years. The word and is not in Hebrew, so we could read when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered. So if we read it that way, it means three and a half years before Christ's coming, when the power of the holy people will be completely shattered, all these things shall be finished. So it will be three and a half years. That's how long when the power of the holy people completely shattered, which is probably the period of 30 days between 1290 and 1260, between the abomination of desolation and the beginning of the 1260 of the Great Tribulation, at that time, the power of the holy people will be completely shattered. If I'm reading this correctly, if I'm interpreting it correctly, it basically means that when the Great Tribulation begins, the power of the holy people will be completely shattered. Now, who's the holy people?

I would venture that a meaning here, I'm speculating, but outside is about physical and spiritual. Spiritually, it's the Church of God. When there will be a time when the Church will not be able to preach anymore, preach the Gospel, we will not be able to have Beyond Today programs, we'll not be able to have the Beyond Today magazine and other methods to preach the Gospel, we will not be able to have the Beyond Today magazine like that, we will not be able to be on the internet and things like that, will be cancelled.

That means the power of the holy people is completely shattered. But physically, is when the Israelite-ish people will be taken to slavery, and then it will be three and a half years. So, there is going to be a time when the power of the holy people is going to be completely shattered. That is frightening, brethren, because Satan hates the Church and hates you and I, and this chipping away is starting to happen in many different ways or angles. Individually, many of the brethren are going through trials like never before.

Collectively, we will see many attacks to the Church. We've seen, for instance, in areas where the Church has been told they can't gather together unless they have so many signatures like the case in Angola. We're trying to work around that, but I just heard recently of a very serious situation in Bangladesh, where this just happened last week, where some members of the Church, there was somebody that died, and they couldn't bury the and they couldn't bury the person, because the community is very Hindu or other religions, and they said to bury that person, you're not allowed to bury it unless you're Hindu or some other religion, and I think it was Muslim, and you can only bury a person with that, and then that one family was told you can't bury the person, and then they said, but you can't bury if you convert to Hindu or Muslim, but not only you have to convert, you have to promise that you will never leave the Hindu or the Muslim religion again. And then some people in the Church were saying, what can we do? We need to legalize the Church, yeah, but there's only like two or three members there in that whole area, so it is, we can just see Satan is starting to create problems, very serious problems with God's people around the world, and I think that is going to increase.

But you and I look at the political situation, and there's a situation of fighting between nations and what's happening, for instance, now with Saudi Arabia making a pact with Iran, which has been negotiated by China. I think this is very serious, because it could mean a weakening of the US dollar, and then if China does something against Taiwan, then normally what the United States does, oh well, we'll put sanctions on you.

They say you can put sanctions on you, because we have a different banking system and things like that, so things can accelerate very quickly, and a lot of other nations are starting to form nations out of what they call the BRIC group. That's Brazil, Russia, India, and China.

The Brazilian president has just been in China, and he is implementing things in Brazil, which are very, let's call it, communist. So things are happening very quickly. In the meantime, we just hear the news, and we kind of have our head in the sand, like an ostrich, and we're worried about whether this person did this or that person, whatever it is. And really, we're not looking at the situation in the world. There are big things happening, and these things can escalate so quickly, so quickly.

Another big area of war that is going to be cyber war, and who controls the satellites and things like that, and you can put viruses in those things through nations can do that. So things can happen very quickly, brethren. And Christ prophesied us in Matthew 24. So if we go quickly to Matthew 24, Matthew 24, verse 4, it says, Take it, no one deceives you. And verse 5, And many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and will deceive many. Many will come in my name and deceive.

So it's not a few. Many will come as, hey, I'm a leader that is going to bring peace to the world, and things like that. And then a little light, and in verse 11 and 12, then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many, many false teachers, many false so-called pastors, and preachers, so-called Christians, even, even very close in deception to the beliefs that we have in the Church of God. We have to be aware of that.

And because of this lawlessness, the love of many will wax cold. Just like in Ephesus, they lost their first love. We got to be careful. We got to be careful. If we turn into 2 Corinthians 11, 2 Corinthians 11, let's read verse 13 and 14.

It says, For such are false apostles. Let's put it into modern-day language. Such are false ministers, false pastors in so-called churches that look like the Church of God. They may probably have a different name, and they will attract many of our people, if they're not aware. Deceitful workers transforming themselves into ministers of Jesus Christ. I'm putting it in modern-day language. And no wonder, for Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.

So we are moving into very serious times, and Paul was concerned that his work had been in vain. As newly converted Christians were returning to paganism because of the pressures they had, or because of the traditions they had come from, because they are not really left after a period of time, they're strongly held traditions and beliefs. And as I said, the same can happen today, and he's happening today, if we just open our eyes. People came to the Church of God, they said they were converted, they got baptized, they gave that impression, they're very nice people, but they continued to subtly stay in their own old ideas and not really change their ideas.

And that's why in Galatians chapter 4 verse 12, Paul says, chapter 4 verse 12 says, Brethren, I urge you to become like me. It was, he may take me. For I become like you, I try and understand your situation. And also in 1 Corinthians 11 verse 1, he says, imitate Christ. But Paul is saying, I don't have an issue against you.

That's what he says, yeah, you have not injured me at all. I do not have a personal reason to complain against you personally as people. But the problem is when Christians turn away from the truth, from the teaching once delivered to the saints, Jude 3, it's not a personal matter or a matter of personal offense.

It's a bigger matter. It's a bigger matter. It's because God's teaching, God's doctrine is being attacked. It's because the Church in general is being hurt, being impacted. And because in the end, he's an attack against what Christ and the Father have done and are doing for us. And so Paul shows these magnanimity that although they had abandoned, some of these people had abandoned their Pustalic teaching, and they had in reality forgotten God's meaning of grace and of outgoing love, even though they proclaim, oh well, Christ is very loving, very forgiving. But they were tilting it to lawlessness, to lawlessness. They had forgotten that Christ and God's sacrifice, God sacrificed his Son and Christ sacrificed his life, which is for our well-being. Paul didn't consider it as a personal offense to him, but he considered this very seriously because it's a hurt to the Church and to the brethren.

And then Paul goes on to say, you know, I've had trials. I was physically beaten. He had trials with his sight. You look in Galatians chapter 6, verse 11, just towards the end of the book, he says, see with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand. So he wrote in large letters, probably because, you know, he needed a bigger font, let's call it in today's modern, so that he could see it because the smaller font, he couldn't quite see it. He had to write in large letters. So he had a problem with his sight, but he was also attacked, maybe because he was beaten, maybe because he was beaten physically, that affected his sight in some way. And so in 2 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 3, he talks about a thorn in the flesh. 2 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 3. Now, the thorn in the flesh.

I'll be a part of it, verse 7. 2 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 7, he says, unless I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.

Now, what was this thorn in the flesh? Again, I would speculate here that it's probably a duality, because the thorn in the flesh literally could be his trouble of his eyesight, but a thorn in the flesh could be people that come and were attacking him all the time. So whenever he did work, it was like a thorn in the flesh was being attacked spiritually. And so it could well be a duality as well. So let's continue then in Galatians chapter 4. We're going to read now in verse 14 and 15.

Well, let's finish reading verse 13. You know that because of physical infirmity, I preached the gospel to you at first. Yes, you know, I started preaching to you because I was kicked out of different areas and I was attacked and I was cunning. So that's how he first preached the gospel to them. And in my trial, which was in my flesh, you do not despise or reject, but you received me. So in this difficulty, physical difficulty, was they received Paul as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. So they received Paul and allowed him to preach.

And then in verse 15, what then was the blessing you enjoyed? You see, what was the blessing? For out there you witnessed that if possible, you would have plucked your own eyes and given them to me. So yeah, I was being attacked. I could not see properly. You were willing to, if it's possible, to give me your own eyes. So you received me well initially at the beginning. And then in verse 16, have I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth.

You see, what is happening now? After you're in the church for a little bit, you know the truth. But now you're dragging in those old things, and I have now become your enemy, because I'm telling you, hey, stick to the faith once delivered to the saints.

You see, he was warning them not to be, let's call it, infected by these pagan or false ideas, like, for instance, that you were saved or justified by the law of works.

So they had these ideas, this Gnosticism, which had entered both into the Jewish community and into the Gentile community, these Gnostic ideas of human reasoning apart from God, and also licentiousness. As you read in Jude 4, in Jude 3 says, you know, doing away from the faith once delivered to the saints. And in Jude 4 says, turning the grace of God into licentiousness, into lawlessness. And this is what modern Christianity, in a way, is doing it. Oh, they say they're not doing it, but they are doing it. And therefore, Paul was telling it like it is. He was not being politically correct. He was telling it like it is. I tell you the truth. And now because I'm telling the truth, am I becoming your enemy? And now let's continue reading in verse 17. They zealously caught you, but for no good. You see, these false teachers are very zealous. They're very, oh, they're very quote unquote Christian and, and, and particularly those that left the church of God and are distorting the truth, as we understand it, ever so slightly. They're very zealous.

They want you in their camp. They want, oh, come to our church. You see how nice our church is. It's got this nice music and things like that. Come to my church. We have some new, so many new people. Come here. They zealously caught you, but for no good. Yes, they want to exclude you. They want you to feel excluded, so you move to their camp. They want you to feel, well, staying in your right church of God. I'm kind of, I better move. They want to exclude you, that you may be zealous for them, that you move to their camp. Verse 18. Yes, but it is good to be zealous in a good thing always. Oh yeah, it is good to be zealous. It's good to be committed and zealous, but for a good thing. And even if I'm not present, it's good to be zealous, but you've got to be zealous for the right thing. And verse 19. My little children, my little children, for whom I labor in birth, again until Christ is formed in you. You know, children, I'm suffering as if I'm giving birth, as if I'm having birth pangs for you. As a mother giving church, I feel for you, I feel the pain. This, that's happening, it gives me pain. And so I'm laboring, and that's why it says, I hope I'm not laboring in vain. And then he says, verse 20, I would like to be present with you now.

You know, you was far away, he was writing to the Galatians. I'd like to be there.

I'd like to be present with you. And I would love not to have to give you this lecture. I'd love not to have to write you in this way, with this tone.

But, he says, I have doubts for, I have doubts about you. You know what, I am surprised. And how are you turning? And therefore, I have concerns now. What is going on? I have concerns. That's why I said in verse 11, I'm afraid for you, lest I've labored for you in vain. And then in verse 9, he says, you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements.

You see, Paul had reason to doubt the sincerity and soundness of their Christian principles. And he was deeply anxious about it. And so now, he tries and address this issue a little bit more specifically. And he says, verse 21, tell me, you desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law?

You see, so one of the main concerns at that time, later on, it became with the principle applies, obviously, to both Jews and Gentiles. But the main big issue was with fantasies coming in, trying to distort the gospel of Christ. But there was already beginnings of Gentiles coming in as well, with this Gnosticism of Jews and Gentiles. But over time, as we know historically, many Gentiles came into the church, and that infiltrated and took the church the wrong way. But at this specific time of the Galatians, the main issue was that people were coming in and saying they desire to be under the law. What law? The law of works. What is the law of works? The law that was added, the law that was added because of their sense of breaking the spiritual law. That's what we read in Galatians chapter 3 verse 19. What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions till the seed that's Christ should come. And so, as it says here in verse 21, you desire to be under the law, under this law of works, under this law that you need to do certain things to be justified, to be just. Do you not understand what the law says?

And so, in a sense, it's like a little bit sarcastic or a bit of an irony, and he's making a point. Why do you want to be under the law, under the ceremonial law? Because in the end, this law, the ceremonial law, is not really going to forgive you, because true forgiveness comes through Christ, through his sacrifice, not the sacrifices of bull and goats and the ceremonial, because those were only shooters that pointed to Christ. You see, that ceremonial law was only a teaching method to point to Christ. That's what we read in Galatians chapter 3 verse 24. Therefore, the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, and your desire to be under the law.

You see, so let's see what the law says. Now, understand Paul is a very intelligent man, and is now talking about something that really is deep, and so we're going to try and explain it clearly and simply. And he says, and I'm going to just read verse 22 through 25. For it is written that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bond woman and the other by a free woman. There was the one by Agaw, that was Ishmael, and the other one by a free woman, which was Sarah, and the son was Isaac. But he was of the bond woman, that's Ishmael, was born according to the flesh.

Yeah, there was no problems in the flesh, and everything functioned, and according to the flesh, the baby was born. And he of the free woman, that is Isaac, you know, Sarah couldn't give birth, and she was already 99 years old, she had already passed the time of childbearing. I beg your pardon, Abraham was 99 years old, she was young, but still, she was already passed that childbearing time. And so Isaac was born because of a promise. Oh yes, it was still the physical fertilization process, but it was a miracle, a promise. God made a promise, and that miracle happened, and she gave birth. Sarah gave birth to Isaac, it was through a promise. Now verse 24, which things are symbolic? Oh, this whole thing that happened to Agar and Sarah, and Agar giving birth to Ishmael, and Sarah giving birth to Isaac, is symbolic of something spiritual, much bigger. That's what Paul is saying. And he says, for these are the two covenants. Oh, an old covenant and a new covenant.

The one from Mount Sinai, the covenant in Mount Sinai, which gives birth to bondage, which is Agar, which gives birth to a ceremonial law. They didn't obey, and they went under bondage of sin, and which is Agar, which is that woman, the church in the wilderness, that woman, Agar.

For this Agar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem, which now is, and is in bondage with a children. So Jerusalem that now is, that is the Israelite-ish physical Jerusalem as it was, and those Israelite Jews were in bondage. They were just, were not free from that law of bondage, which was the law of works.

And then he says, but the Jerusalem above is free. Jerusalem above, that is Sarah, symbolically in the synology, or let's put it in other ways, the New Testament church.

See the Jerusalem that he referred to Mount Sinai, which is Jerusalem now, was the congregation in the wilderness, that congregation is the lightish congregation as they were then. But now the Jerusalem for above, we are from this woman of, that gave birth through promise. We are from this spiritual woman, which is Jerusalem from above, which is the New Testament church. He's free, which is the mother of us all. The church is our mother. When you are baptized into the church of God, into crushed spiritual body, into a spiritual organism, the church is the mother of us all. And now we have to grow in the womb of the spiritual mother, which is the church, until the church is ready, quote unquote, to give birth, which is when Christ comes at our resurrection or when we are changed if we are still alive.

You see, so we have an amazing, very deep understanding of two covenants. One is the old covenant, one is the new covenant. Sinai had its added laws, as we read Galatians 3.19, because of transgression, and they were simply a tutor, as we read Galatians 3 verse 24.

So the slavery is not God's spiritual laws, which is thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not lie, thou shalt not commit adultery, and so on, all the other ten, or the rest of the ten. So those were not slave, they are not slavery. The slavery was the laws of works which were added, you see, and then again he's talking about a type and an anti-type, you see, because those laws, that law of works, was a tutor to bring us to Christ, and therefore, yah is the whole meaning. And so we need to grow, we need to move from that to the anti-type. So the Jews, the Pharisees, needed to move that. The ones that are gentiles also need to move from their pagan ideas and things like that, to actually obey God, and they are justified freely by the sacrifice of Christ. And let's go on reading now.

Verse 27, for it is written, Rejoice, O barren! Baren or Sarah, that couldn't have children?

You do not, who do not beg, you know, or Sarah, that rejoice or Sarah, or put it this way, Sarah is Jerusalem from above. Okay. Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor. In other words, break forth half children, but not through a physical labor, half spiritual children, but through the promise. We are children of Abraham through that spiritual promise, not through a physical birth. In other words, not through physical labor. For the desolate, as many more children, the desolate, that woman that was desolate, that could not have children, which was Sarah, she could not have children, has many more children. Oh yeah, she has Isaac, but now, spiritually speaking, spiritual Israel, Jerusalem from above, Sarah, the New Testament Church, has many more children. Or not yet, but we will have. Well, the people in the kingdom of God, spiritual Israelites will be many more than just the physical Israelites.

Then she who has a husband, then she who had children under the normal flesh process, like agar, had children, and had Ishmael. So verse 28, now we brethren, as Isaac was, we are the children of promise. As Isaac was a child of promise, we are spiritual Israelites from Jerusalem above, we are the children of promise. We are made spiritual Israelites by a promise.

Verse 29, but as he was born according to the flesh, then persecuted him was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. Ishmael was born according to the flesh, persecuted him was born according to the Spirit, in that analogy that was according to a promise, but so it is now. We are persecuted in the church by those of the flesh. The Jews were persecuting Christians in the church, and this kind of gets repeated itself. Verse 30, nevertheless, what does the scripture say? The scripture says, cast out the bond woman and her son, for the son of the bond woman shall not be here with the son of the free woman. You see, the real hairs of the kingdom of God are the children of promise through Jesus Christ, free or apart from the law of ceremonial works. But because Jesus Christ paid for our sins, he made us right with God, he is our true possible lamb. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bond woman, but of the free. And so, don't go back. And so that's the point that Paul was saying. Don't go back to become children of bondage. Don't go back to the law of works, because those works can never pay for our sins, because it never really pays for sins. What pays for our sins is Christ's sacrifice.

And so, brethren, we, likewise, and in this example, what Paul is saying is, we are made just by grace. We are made right with God by grace. And if you look in Romans chapter 3 verse 24, it says, being justified freely by His grace. We are made right with God freely by God's gentle kindness love through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Through what is done for us, through Him buying us back from death. And look at verse 28. Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith. You and I are made right with God by faith, apart from deeds of the law. Obeying the law never pays for our sins. Never pays the fine. But now that we are out of jail, now that we have been freed, we now have to obey God's spiritual law. That's why in Romans chapter 2 verse 13, the same book of Romans, just a few verses before, says, for not the hearers of the law, that's of the spiritual law, are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will ultimately be justified at the end of our life. So you and I have sinned. We quote unquote are put in jail. We can't get out of jail because you and I cannot pay for our sins because the the wage of sin is death, but Christ's death paid for us. So you and I are freed from jail, really, by grace, by Christ's sacrifice. Now that you and I are freed from jail, from this death, we now have to obey the spiritual law. It's our job. Otherwise, we're going to go back into jail. But you and I got out of jail, got our sins forgiven, not because we obey the law, but because Christ died for us. But now that he's died for us and we are freed, we better obey. So Galatians brings this very clearly, ties in nicely with Romans, and then next study will then start going into Galatians chapter 5.