Gal. 5:1; Matt. 5:17-20; 1 Cor. 10:11-13, Reviewing Galatians

Let us review Galatians to this point.  First, a reminder of the big picture.

ISSUE	AUTHORITY	LAW vs. GRACE	FREE TO SERVE
TYPE OF ARGUMENT	Biographical	Doctrinal	Practical
PASSAGE	1:1                      2:21	3:1                      4:31	5:1                   6:18
CONTENT	Source of the gospel	Essence of the gospel	Impact of the gospel
CHRIST IN US	Revealed	Living	Ruling

Here are simple statements that catch the previous sections.

·       1:1-10: “I am astonished” (v6).

·       1:11-2:21: “the gospel I preached is not something man made up” (1:11).

·       3:1-4:31: “Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because ‘The righteous will live by faith’” (3:11).

Gal. 5:1-15 is a transition passage from the doctrine to the application.

Now let’s review Paul’s teaching on the Law.

ü In the beginning there was no written law.  Nevertheless, there was the law of the conscience (Rom. 5:12-14) which continued to be the Law of God for Gentiles who did not have the written Law.

ü The Mosaic Law was added so that sin might increase (Rom. 5:20).  Under the Law sin increases in two ways:

o   Rom. 7:7: Men become more aware of sin in their lives.

o   Rom. 7:8: The rebellious sin nature is incited by the Law.

ü The Mosaic Law was insufficient to justify us before God (Gal. 2:16).

ü The Mosaic Law was added to lead us to Christ (Gal. 3:24).

ü When we receive Christ we are no longer “under (responsible to, controlled by) the Law” but are “under grace” (Gal. 3:25; 5:18; Rom. 6:14-15).

ü Didn’t Jesus validate the Law in Matt. 5:17-20?  Christ did not simply fulfill the ritual demands of the Law (John 1:29); He fulfilled all the demands of the Law (Rom. 8:3-4).

ü So should I as a believer in Christ read/study the Old Testament?  Yes! In it we find encouragement (Rom. 15:4) and examples to follow or shun (1 Cor. 10:6,11-12).  Furthermore, the Law is designed for sinners, to point out their sin and to lead them to Christ (1 Tim. 1:5-11).