Galatians 3

http://www.esvbible.org/Galatians+3/

Paul doesn't understand what happened to the Galatians. It seems as though they do not fully understand what Jesus' crucifixion means. He reminds them that they received the Holy Spirit when they believed, not by following rules or laws. The Holy Spirit could not dwell in people if they could only receive Him through following rules and laws because we would constantly have to work at it. Instead, we first believe and receive the Holy Spirit; thus, we enter the Kingdom of God. Then, we follow the rules He has set out for us because our true faith means we love Him so much, that we couldn't imagine doing anything to hurt Him. Later, Paul also brings up the example of miracles. He says that miracles come from a Spiritual Gift that God gives, not by something amazing we as humans have done. As a great example, look at Abraham. First, Abraham had faith in God. Next, God chose Him to save all people. God didn't say to look at all of these rules that Abraham must follow in order to win God's favor. He received favor through faith. God knew from the beginning that non-Jewish people could win God's approval through faith, and he used Abraham to make it happen. Abraham is Jesus' ancestor, so God told Abraham that all people will be blessed through Abraham. In this way, when we accept our place as sibling of Christ, we are all descendants of Abraham by faith. Unlike what the Galatians have been misled to believe, those who rely on their own god deeds to get to Heaven will find themselves in Hell. Paul even brings to light something that the Pharisees seem to miss in Moses' Teachings. Scripture says that anyone who doesn't obey everything in Moses' Teachings is cursed. In Moses' Teachings, Moses says the person with God's approval lives by faith. Laws have nothing to do with gaining faith but as I said before, it is by our faith that we follow the laws. Christ took on the curse of the world. It is impossible for people not to sin. We have all broken all ten of the commandments (we'll get to them in the Old Testament); therefore, we are all cursed. The only way the curse could break is by Jesus taking on all of the world's curse and dying for it.

This next part is a little daunting because Paul shows the relationship between two interrelated things. First, there is the promise to Abraham. In this promise God told him all people would be saved by his descendant (singular). Then, 430 years later, Moses wrote the laws that God spoke to him. In the promise, God said that faith was all that was required, but now He's given laws. What are we to make of this? God shows us what wrong is through Moses' laws. We need to know why we are cursed and need a savior; otherwise, it would be impossible to have faith. When the Scripture says the world is controlled by sin and that's why a Savior is needed, we need to know what constitutes sinning. Before Christ, Moses' laws were set in place as a guardian. They guarded the promise that we would be saved by the wrongdoings outlined in Moses' laws. Once Jesus came, there was no need for this guardian. Now, we have the Holy Spirit to guide us between right and wrong instead of the laws. Listen to the Holy Spirit instead of Moses' Teachings now because the Holy Spirit gains His knowledge of right and wrong directly from God. So, Moses's laws require circumcision for gaining God's approval, but when we have sons today and ask the Holy Spirit what to do, He says it doesn't matter. As long as he grows up to have faith in Jesus Christ, it won't matter if he's circumcised or not. Take something like lying. Moses' Teachings say it is wrong. When you get in a situation when you can lie, the Holy Spirit says it's wrong. There are also things that come up today that Moses' Teachings do not cover because they come from so far back, but we do have the Holy Spirit as a living guide.