- Galattansdelto Transcript Online Lutheran Bible Study Bible
- Galattansdelto Transcript Online Lutheran Bible Study
- Galattansdelto Transcript Online Lutheran Bible Study Guide
- Online Lutheran Bible Study
- Galattansdelto Transcript Online Lutheran Bible Study Lessons
by Rev. Paul Doellinger
Bible Study With Luther: Galatians 4:1-7. Posted July 11, 2016. The Reverend Paul M. Doellinger is pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Cassopolis, MI. Read the text for this week's study, Galatians 5:2–12. Then review the following questions and write your own notes on them. (For further background, see the ESV Study Bible, pages 2253–2254, available online at www.esvbible.org.) 1. Where This Teaching Will Lead (Gal. Online Bible Study of the Book of Galatians This is a Lutheran Bible Study of the book of Galatians. This study breaks Galatians down so that each day only a small number of verses are covered. The book is broken down into 22 lessons. So if one lesson is studied each week day, you will be able to go through the book of Galatians and this study. EXCLUSIVE ONLINE AUDIO! McGee's message, 'The Holy Spirit and Fruit Bearing.' (Click image for larger view) Introduction This epistle was probably written by Paul (Gal. 57, on the third missionary journey from Ephesus during his two years of residence there. VERSE 1.Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from aservant, though he be Lord of all; VERSE 2.Butis under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father.
In Galatians, Paul recounts how Peter (Cephas) once extended to him 'the right hand of fellowship' (Gal. 2:9). Things changed, however, in Antioch when Paul confronted Peter and pointed out his error, opposing him to his face 'because He stood condemned' (Gal.2:11). In this famous confrontation, was Paul being 'too strict on doctrine,' simply trying to 'prove he's right,' or was he up to something more?
Read Galatians 2:11-21.
1. The Scriptures are filled with God's commands and demands (Law) as well as His promises of grace and forgiveness (Gospel). The Formula of Concord Article V reads, 'The distinction between Law and Gospel is a particularly glorious light. It serves to divide God's Word properly [2 Tim. 2:15] and to explain correctly and make understandable the writings of the holy prophets and apostles.'[1] While 'The Law is holy, and the commandment is righteous and good' (Rom. 7:12), what is it unable to do for the sinner?
2. The false teachers in Galatia were, as Luther says, 'Changing the Law into grace and grace into Law, Moses into Christ and Christ into Moses. For they teach that after Christ and all the righteousness of Christ the observance of the Law is necessary for one to be justified.'[2] What are some works of the law, prescribed by present-day false teachers, which are added to the righteousness of Christ as being necessary in order for one to be justified?
3. 'The Law of Moses accuses and damns me. But against this accusing and damning Law I have another Law, which is grace and freedom…To die to the Law means not to be bound by the Law but to be free from the Law…Therefore let anyone who wants to be alive in the sight of God strive to be found outside the Law, and let him come out of the grave with Christ.'[3] What is the purpose of the Law? What should the Christian insist he be judged upon: the Law or grace?
4. Luther says, 'The maxim of all theologians (is): ‘He who lives according to the Law lives to God.' By contrast, Paul 'teaches the opposite: ‘Unless you are dead to the Law, you do not live to God.'[4] Why is the Law, as a means to salvation, so attractive to the sinner?
5. Under the Law we 'lose sight of Christ, who alone is (our) righteousness and life. Once He is lost, there is no aid or counsel; but certain despair and perdition must follow. By faith, the Christian looks to Christ alone: ‘Christ and my conscience become one body, so that nothing remains in my sight but Christ, crucified and risen.' [5] Since the Christian lives not 'under the Law,' but 'under Grace' (Rom 6:14), where should we constantly 'fix' our eyes (Heb. 12:2)?
6. 'To nullify the grace of God (means) to want to be justified by the Law… (Whoever) performs the Law with the intention of being justified by it nullifies grace, rejects Christ and his sacrifice, and refuses to be saved by this inestimable price; instead he wants to make satisfaction for his sins through the righteousness of the Law or to merit grace by his own righteousness.'[6] If justification and righteousness is achieved through the observance of the Law, then why did Jesus have to die? Where, then, is our comfort in the face of death and hell?
In his confrontation with Cephas, Paul was up to something more: preaching the sound doctrine of justification by grace through faith in Christ. The Law cannot justify the sinner. It provides no security in the face of death and hell. Only Grace in Christ, crucified and risen, can ease the terrified conscience.
Galattansdelto Transcript Online Lutheran Bible Study Bible
Holding to sound doctrine as it is taught in the Scriptures and confessed in the Lutheran symbols is not about 'proving who's right.' Rather, it's about proclaiming the comfort of Christ to the sinner. 'If justification were through the Law, then Christ died for no purpose' (Gal 2:21). If someone says, 'you're too strict on doctrine,' that's a great opportunity to say with Paul, 'I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself up for me' (Gal 2:20). Clinging tightly to the truth of the Gospel means that you and those to whom you proclaim will not 'doubt that you belong to the number of those who speak this ‘me.' Christ did not love only Peter and Paul and gave Himself for them, but the same grace belongs to and comes to us and them; therefore we are included in this me.'[7]
The Rev. Paul M. Doellinger is pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Cassopolis, MI.
1 The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. (Robert Kolb and Timothy J. Wengert, Eds.). Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2000., Pg. 581.1
[2] Luther, Martin. Luther's Works, vol. 26: Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Chapters 1-4 (J. J. 2Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.). Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1963., pg. 142
[3] Ibid. pg. 156-157
[4] Ibid. pg. 156
[5] Ibid. pg. 166
[6] Ibid. pg. 180
[7] Ibid. pg. 179
by Rev. Paul Doellinger
Instead of preaching the Gospel of forgiveness and salvation by grace through faith in Christ, apart from works of the Law (Gal. 3:16), the false teachers in Galatia were peddling a religion of works based on the Law. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul is deeply concerned that the church was losing sight of the Gospel he first preached to them.
Luther shared this same concern for the Church at the time of the Reformation. He calls 'The office and work of Jesus Christ (and) our redemption…The first and chief article [of faith]…Nothing in this article can be conceded or given away, even if heaven and earth or whatever is transitory passed away…On this article stands all that we teach and practice against the pope, the devil and the world. Therefore we must be quite certain and have no doubt about it. Otherwise everything is lost, and the pope and devil and whatever opposes us will gain victory and be proved right.'[1]
Read Galatians 5:7-15.
1. In verses 7-8 Paul notes how the Galatians were 'running well,' proceeding in faith in Christ toward eternal life until a false 'persuasion not from (God)' was introduced into the Church. Luther, attributing all false persuasions to the devil's lies, notes, 'This…applies to us all who, in their affliction and temptation develop a false idea of Christ. For the devil is a highly skilled persuader…Here the troubled mind should be encouraged…namely, by being told that this thought or persuasion does not come from Christ; for it conflicts with the Word of the Gospel.'[2] How are we to discern whether a particular teaching or persuasion comes from God or from the devil?
2. In verse 9 Paul says that 'A little leaven leavens the whole lump' in order to illustrate that one false teaching—no matter how small—can pervert or compromise the truth and wholeness of the Gospel. Luther says, 'Doctrine must be one eternal and round golden circle, in which there is no crack; if even the tiniest crack appears, the circle is no longer perfect…[The doctrine of faith] is a sunbeam coming down from heaven to illumine, brighten, and direct us. Just as the world with all its wisdom and power cannot bend the rays of the sun which are aimed directly from heaven to earth, so nothing can be taken away from or added to the doctrine of faith without overthrowing it all.'[3] Give an example or two of false persuasions and teachings that ultimately rob the chief article of faith of its glory and truth.
3. Paul was being slandered and persecuted for preaching the 'stumbling block of the cross,' which is the very content of the Gospel and the doctrine of faith. 'The church must suffer persecution because it preaches the Gospel purely…There is nothing that vexes the devil more than the proclamation of the Gospel; for this takes away from Him the mask of God and shows him for what he is, not God but the devil.' [4] In the face of hostility and persecution what comfort can the Church take in these words of Paul and Luther?
4. Everything hinges on the gospel of salvation by faith in Christ apart from works of the Law. This Gospel, however, doesn't give us license to sin, but motivates us to love one another. 'The godly should remember that for the sake of Christ they are free in their conscience before God from the curse of the Law, from sin, and from death, but that according to the body they are bound; here each must serve the other through love, in accordance with this commandment from Paul.' [5] How does the Gospel drive and motivate us to not 'serve the flesh' but to love and serve one another?
Rick and morty season 4 episode 6. 5. Luther places Christian love within the context of vocation: 'Thus we learn to praise the works that each man performs in his calling—even though in external appearance they appear to be trivial and contemptible—provided that they have been commanded by God, and, on the other hand, to despise the works that reason decides upon without a commandment from God, regardless of how brilliant, important, great, or saintly they seem to be.'[6] List some of the everyday, ordinary Christian works that are commanded by God and encouraged by Paul when he says 'through love serve one another.'
Galattansdelto Transcript Online Lutheran Bible Study
Paul's concern for losing the Gospel in Galatia isn't just a matter of silencing his opposition. His aim is to glorify God through preaching the truth of the Gospel. If the Gospel is lost then 'everything is lost.' Included in this Gospel are works of love that proceed from faith. Truly good works flow only out of faith in Christ Jesus and His Gospel. Paul shows how true Christian love for the neighbor is born out of the pure preaching of the Gospel: when we are set free from the curse of the Law and sin, we are then truly set free to live by faith toward God and in love and service toward one another.
Luther shared this same concern for the Church at the time of the Reformation. He calls 'The office and work of Jesus Christ (and) our redemption…The first and chief article [of faith]…Nothing in this article can be conceded or given away, even if heaven and earth or whatever is transitory passed away…On this article stands all that we teach and practice against the pope, the devil and the world. Therefore we must be quite certain and have no doubt about it. Otherwise everything is lost, and the pope and devil and whatever opposes us will gain victory and be proved right.'[1]
Read Galatians 5:7-15.
1. In verses 7-8 Paul notes how the Galatians were 'running well,' proceeding in faith in Christ toward eternal life until a false 'persuasion not from (God)' was introduced into the Church. Luther, attributing all false persuasions to the devil's lies, notes, 'This…applies to us all who, in their affliction and temptation develop a false idea of Christ. For the devil is a highly skilled persuader…Here the troubled mind should be encouraged…namely, by being told that this thought or persuasion does not come from Christ; for it conflicts with the Word of the Gospel.'[2] How are we to discern whether a particular teaching or persuasion comes from God or from the devil?
2. In verse 9 Paul says that 'A little leaven leavens the whole lump' in order to illustrate that one false teaching—no matter how small—can pervert or compromise the truth and wholeness of the Gospel. Luther says, 'Doctrine must be one eternal and round golden circle, in which there is no crack; if even the tiniest crack appears, the circle is no longer perfect…[The doctrine of faith] is a sunbeam coming down from heaven to illumine, brighten, and direct us. Just as the world with all its wisdom and power cannot bend the rays of the sun which are aimed directly from heaven to earth, so nothing can be taken away from or added to the doctrine of faith without overthrowing it all.'[3] Give an example or two of false persuasions and teachings that ultimately rob the chief article of faith of its glory and truth.
3. Paul was being slandered and persecuted for preaching the 'stumbling block of the cross,' which is the very content of the Gospel and the doctrine of faith. 'The church must suffer persecution because it preaches the Gospel purely…There is nothing that vexes the devil more than the proclamation of the Gospel; for this takes away from Him the mask of God and shows him for what he is, not God but the devil.' [4] In the face of hostility and persecution what comfort can the Church take in these words of Paul and Luther?
4. Everything hinges on the gospel of salvation by faith in Christ apart from works of the Law. This Gospel, however, doesn't give us license to sin, but motivates us to love one another. 'The godly should remember that for the sake of Christ they are free in their conscience before God from the curse of the Law, from sin, and from death, but that according to the body they are bound; here each must serve the other through love, in accordance with this commandment from Paul.' [5] How does the Gospel drive and motivate us to not 'serve the flesh' but to love and serve one another?
Rick and morty season 4 episode 6. 5. Luther places Christian love within the context of vocation: 'Thus we learn to praise the works that each man performs in his calling—even though in external appearance they appear to be trivial and contemptible—provided that they have been commanded by God, and, on the other hand, to despise the works that reason decides upon without a commandment from God, regardless of how brilliant, important, great, or saintly they seem to be.'[6] List some of the everyday, ordinary Christian works that are commanded by God and encouraged by Paul when he says 'through love serve one another.'
Galattansdelto Transcript Online Lutheran Bible Study
Paul's concern for losing the Gospel in Galatia isn't just a matter of silencing his opposition. His aim is to glorify God through preaching the truth of the Gospel. If the Gospel is lost then 'everything is lost.' Included in this Gospel are works of love that proceed from faith. Truly good works flow only out of faith in Christ Jesus and His Gospel. Paul shows how true Christian love for the neighbor is born out of the pure preaching of the Gospel: when we are set free from the curse of the Law and sin, we are then truly set free to live by faith toward God and in love and service toward one another.
The Rev. Paul M. Doellinger is pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Cassopolis, Mich.
1 The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church. (Robert Kolb and Timothy J. Wengert, Eds.). Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2000., Pgs. 300-301
Galattansdelto Transcript Online Lutheran Bible Study Guide
[2] Luther, Martin. Luther's Works, vol. 27: Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Chapters 5-6, 1519 Chapters 1-6 (J. J. Pelikan, W.A. Hansen Ed.). Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1964., pg. 33 Primary alivedialectical behavioral training.
[3] Ibid., pgs. 38-39
[4] Ibid., pg. 44
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[5] Ibid., pg. 49
Galattansdelto Transcript Online Lutheran Bible Study Lessons
[6] Ibid., pg. 57
