The Gospel According to Galatians
“Law and Gospel According to
Galatians”
Rev. Charles R. Biggs
Introduction
In chapter 3 of
Galatians, we approach Paul’s teaching of Law and Gospel and their biblical
relationship one to the other.
Dietrich
Bonhoeffer wrote of law and grace: “It is only when one submits to the law that
one can speak of grace…I don’t think it is Christian to want to get to the New
Testament too soon and too directly.” Letters and Papers
from Prison, pg. 50.
One theologian remarked: “Satan
would have us to prove ourselves holy by the law, which God gave to prove us
sinners.” (Andrew Jukes, quoted in Stott’s Commentary on Galatians,
pg. 90).
Summary
statement of our study today in Galatians 3: “If you are Christ’s (that is, if
you belong to Christ by faith and are in union with him), then you are indeed
Abraham’s offspring (seed) too! Therefore, you are heirs according to the
promises made to Abraham through Christ Jesus whether you are Jew or Gentile,
Slave or Free, Male or Female!
By this time in
our Galatians study, I hope you can more passionately sing the great hymn
‘Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing’:
“O to grace how great a debtor daily I’m
constrained to be,
Let that grace now, like a fetter, bind
my wand’ring heart to thee.
Prone to wander- -Lord, I feel it- -prone
to leave the God I love:
Here’s my heart, O take
and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.”
The Judaizers
had cast a wicked spell on the Churches of Galatia (Gal. 3:1). The
Apostle Paul is surprised and astonished that they so quickly are turning from
the gospel of promise fulfilled in Christ back to the Law that condemns (Gal.
3:1-4; cf. 1:6-9).
The Apostle Paul
says that it was before the very eyes of the Galatians that Jesus Christ was
publicly portrayed as crucified (Gal. 3:1-2). This is a fascinating reference
to preaching of the gospel of Christ crucified. The Galatians would not
have seen “before their own eyes” Christ crucified, but they saw it with eyes
of faith, placarded as Paul had preached to them the truth of Christ crucified
for sinners. Unfortunately and sadly, it was from Christ they were
turning away to another gospel (cf. Gal. 1:6).
Because the
Judaizers were teaching the Gentile Christians at Galatians that they must
submit to Mosaic Law and be circumcised before they could be considered “fully
Christian”, Paul sets up a pedagogical contrast between Law and Gospel in
chapter 3 of Galatians in order to show the necessity of believing the gospel
rather than attempting to do the works of the law.
The Judaizers
were teaching the Churches of Galatia that a person had to be “sent to Moses”
and to be obedient to him before they could be “sent to Jesus Christ.”
Paul is
responding adamantly that it is true that sinners need to be sent to Moses, but
not in order to cooperate with the Law, or to attempt to keep it. Rather,
sinners should be sent to Moses in order to be condemned by the demands of the
Law, so that they will desperately run to Jesus Christ for help!
Paul responds to
the Judaizers by saying that while Mosaic Law of circumcision was once the “way
of the Spirit” at a certain time in redemptive-history (it was a sign that pointed
forward to Christ’s circumcision on the cross, see Col. 2:11-14), now that
Christ has come, the Mosaic ceremonial law is the “way of the flesh”- -and
therefore no gospel at all (“of the flesh” literally and spiritually).
Now it is baptism that is the sign of the New Covenant (Gal. 3:27), and the old
way of doing things must be put away now that the new has come.
Paul is saying
something similar in Galatians 3 to Jesus’ teaching that you cannot put old
wine in new wineskins - -they will burst!
Paul explains to
the Churches of Galatia that the promises were given to Abraham by faith, and
that all who want to share in Abraham’s
“faith-inheritance” are to be believers, whether Jew or Gentile, who
believe in God’s promises as Abraham believed.
In Christ Jesus,
there is neither Jew nor Gentile, but one Church, one people united to the heir
of Abraham, his “Seed”, who are the sons and heirs of all that Christ,
Abraham’s “Seed” accomplished in his life, death, resurrection and ascension.
In order to better
understand Paul’s contrast between Law and Gospel, let us trace the history of
the gospel promises throughout redemptive-history.
History of
the Gospel Promises
We should
understand that both Law and Gospel are revealed in the Garden of Eden
(Gen. 2). God essentially said to Adam and Eve: “Don’t do this” but
“believe me and my commands;” Adam and Eve were taught to be obedient to God’s
commands and God had graciously made himself, and his commands known to them by
his grace.
In the Garden
however, there was a failure to do the Law, or obey it, and Adam and Eve are
condemned by it and sentenced to a life of sin and misery outside the Garden,
away from the special presence of God. Yet God in his grace announces the
“first gospel” sermon.
Sometimes called
the Protoevangelion or “First Gospel Announcement” in the Garden (Gen.
3:15), this was the beginning of God’s revelation of the gospel after the fall
(along with God clothing Adam and Eve with coverings made by him from a
sacrificed animal). The hope of this gospel promise was that the Seed of
the woman would one day crush the head of the serpent:
ESV Genesis 3:15 I will put enmity between you and the
woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel."
God declares an
ongoing war against the seed of the Serpent, and through the Seed of the Woman,
God promises to redeem his people from their sins, thus the reason it is the “protogospel” or protoevangelion.
Later in
redemptive-history, God makes gospel Promises to Abraham (Gen. 12; 15;
17). The promises that God makes to Abraham are based solely on his
initiating grace and favor that he chose to show Abraham (Remember, Abraham was
a pagan from Ur of the Chaldees, and believed while
he was still uncircumcised, cf. Joshua 24:1-4). Paul makes this point in
Romans 4:8-12 that sheds more light on this passage:
“Blessed is the man against
whom the Lord will not count his sin." 9 Is this blessing then
only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We say that faith was
counted to Abraham as righteousness. 10 How then was it
counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not
after, but before he was circumcised. 11 He received the
sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while
he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who
believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to
them as well, 12 and to make him the father of the
circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps
of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
In our passage
in Galatians 3 (as well as in Romans 4) Paul is concerned to show that the
gospel was given in the Old Testament. Paul is confronting the Judaizers,
and those of the false religion of Judaism, who were denying that the true
gospel was justification by faith alone in Christ alone (see previous
studies).
Paul’s emphasis
is on the fact that in the Old Testament, “Father Abraham” was credited as
righteous based on his faith alone, and that this has always been the true and
only gospel- -believing God’s promises by faith.
Abraham believed
God, or his gospel “good news” and was considered
righteous (Galatians 3:5-8).
ESV Galatians 3:5-8: Does he who supplies the Spirit to
you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law,
or by hearing with faith- 6 just as Abraham "believed God, and
it was counted to him as righteousness"? 7 Know then that it is
those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture,
foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel
beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be
blessed."
Paul explains
that justification by faith alone was the gospel in the Old Testament teaching,
and this is exemplified from the life of Abraham, the Father of the
Faithful. Paul reminds them of the universal, global, extensive promise
to Abraham by faith: “In you shall all nations be blessed.” God always
had covenantal plans to justify the Gentiles by faith with the believing Jews.
The truth
revealed here in Galatians 3 is that all those who are truly Abraham’s children
(whether Jew or Gentile) are those who believe God’s promises to Abraham’s Seed,
who is Christ (Galatians 3:9).
So then, those who are of faith are
blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. - Galatians 3:9
In other words,
Paul is saying it is not your circumcision or ethnicity that matters any more,
but a new creation in Christ Jesus alone. Paul says elsewhere in
Galatians:
And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's
offspring, heirs according to promise. - Galatians 3:29
“But far be it from me to
boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been
crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For neither
circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision,
but a new creation. 16 And as for all who walk by this
rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.”- Galatians
6:14-16
Paul goes on to
add in Galatians 3 that the promises to Abraham were not made to many (plural), but to one (singular) who is Christ.
God made the Gospel Promises to Abraham and “His Seed” (Gal. 3:16):
Now the
promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, "And
to offsprings," referring to many, but referring
to one, "And to your offspring," who is Christ.
Paul continues
his exposition of the Law of God, and shows that the Law did not make the
promises to Abraham and “to his Seed” void or vetoed. The truth is that
the Law came after the promises and the promises were ultimately made to
Christ, the “Seed of Abraham” (singular).
The gospel good
news that Paul is communicating to the Churches of Galatia is that the promise
was not to Abraham’s children according to the flesh, but to Christ, the “Seed
of Abraham” and those who believe in him by faith, whether Jew or
Gentile.
In Christ Jesus,
who is both the Seed of the Woman, and the Seed of Abraham, all who believe are
heirs along with Christ whether they are slaves or free (social position), male
or female (gender), or Jew or Gentile (ethnicity), but all are one in Christ
Jesus (Gal. 3:29).
Over 400 years
after the Gospel Promises are made to Abraham and his Seed, the Mosaic Law is given
to the Israelites in Exodus 20 after the Exodus from
“Why then the Law?”
If you’re
following Paul’s argument in Galatians 3:1-18, then you are probably asking
yourself: “If promise was already given to Abraham and “his Seed”…
“Why then the Law?” (if the promises were made to
Abraham and to “his Seed”). Galatians 3:19-22:
ESV Galatians 3:19-22: Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the
offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in
place through angels by an intermediary. 20 Now an intermediary
implies more than one, but God is one. 21 Is the law then contrary
to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been
given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law.
22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the
promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
Why then the law?
Indeed. If
promises were given to Abraham, why did God reveal the Law to Moses after
Abraham? If we are following Paul’s argument, we would now be asking, “Why the
Law then?” What was the purpose of the Law to
Paul goes on to
reply that the Law was added because of transgressions, until the
Seed-offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in
place through angels by an intermediary.
Paul goes on to
ask in Galatians 3:21-22:
21 Is the law then contrary to the promises
of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given
that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law.
22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the
promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
The Law is not
contrary to the promises of God to Abraham Paul is arguing, but the Law had no
Holy-Spiritual power to impart life to sinners; Law could only condemn
sinners. The Law’s purpose was not given as a way of salvation, but as a
way of condemnation, leading one to look to God’s Gospel Promises to Abraham by
faith alone.
The Scripture
(Law) was like a sentence of imprisonment Paul is saying here (condemnation:
opposite of justification as we learned in previous studies), and so it was
only by faith in Jesus Christ that we could be set free from the Law and its
holy demands upon us. As Paul summarizes similarly elsewhere:
ESV Romans 8:1-4: There is therefore now no
condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the
Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3
For God has done what the law,
weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of
sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order
that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk
not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
The Mosaic Law
was to be kept by the Israelites in order for the temporal promises to be
realized and continued for ethnic
Paul quotes
Leviticus 18:5, Habakkuk 2:4, Deuteronomy 27:26-28:1:
ESV Deuteronomy 27:26-28:1: "'Cursed be anyone who does not
confirm the words of this law by doing them.' And all the people shall say,
'Amen.'28:1 "And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your
God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the
LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.
ESV Leviticus 18:5 You shall therefore keep my statutes and my
rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the LORD.
ESV Habakkuk 2:4 "Behold, his soul is puffed up; it
is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.
In Galatians
3:10-13, Paul quotes these Old Testament passages to show that attempting to
live by the law was to be condemned and cursed before God’s holy throne.
No sinner could live by the Law, so the Law was to point us forward to Christ,
the Seed of Abraham, the only hope for both Jew and Gentile!
ESV Galatians 3:10-12: For all who rely on works of the law are
under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who does not abide
by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them." 11 Now
it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for "The
righteous shall live by faith." 12 But the law is not of
faith, rather "The one who does them shall live by them."
Paul is saying
that the way of law and the way of faith are mutually exclusive ways of seeking
one’s salvation.
In contrast to
the Mosaic Law that condemns, the Gospel is this:
Galatians
3:13-14: Christ
redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us- for it is
written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"- 14 so
that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so
that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
The Law brings a curse of condemnation
and death on sinners; the gospel promise brings life, justification, and
blessing to those who believe in Christ crucified: he was cursed, condemned
and died on the cross- -this was what was publicly placarded through the preaching
of the gospel to the Galatian Churches (cf. Gal. 3:1b) !
“It was before your eyes that Jesus
Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.”
Christ redeemed
us by becoming a curse for us on the “tree” or on the cross by taking God’s
just wrath for sinners upon himself in our place. This is substitutionary
atonement made for those whom Jesus loves.
In order for us
to better grasp the Law in Paul’s theology and its relationship to the Gospel Promises, let us look at a few texts from Paul’s Epistle to
the Romans. Sometimes the Law is misunderstood in the writings of Paul,
so it is important to take a look at what Paul has to say also in Romans.
The Law in
Paul’s Theology
A Look at Paul’s
Doctrine of the Law in Romans: Rom. 3:20, 31; 4:15; 5:13, 20; 6:14; 7:6-12.
Romans 3:20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in
his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
Romans 3:31 Do
we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we
uphold the law.
Romans 4:15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is
no transgression.
Romans 5:13 for
sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted
where there is no law.
Romans 5:20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin
increased, grace abounded all the more,
Romans 6:14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not
under law but under grace.
Romans 7:6 But
now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so
that we serve not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit.
7 What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if
it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. I would not have known
what it is to covet if the law had not said, "You shall not covet." 8
But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me
all kinds of covetousness. Apart from the law, sin lies dead. 9 I
was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came
alive and I died. 10 The very commandment that promised life proved
to be death to me. 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12 So
the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
Here is what
we learn clearly from Paul’s teaching on the Law:
The Law is good,
righteous and holy (a reflection of God’s character)-
Rom. 7:6-12.
The Law is a
Revelation of God’s Requirements for Man
Through the Law
comes a knowledge of our sin (Romans 3:20).
We are to uphold
the Law (Romans 3:31).
The Law reveals
sin in all its sinfulness (Romans 4:15; 5:13,20).
The Law is
Impossible for Sinners to Fulfill.
In contrast to
the Law, the Gospel good news is that the Law is Fulfilled “in Christ” for
sinners who believe as Abraham believed many years. The only hope for
both Jew and Gentile is found in Christ’s law-keeping or righteousness alone!
We should
remember that every human being who is ever born is in one of two categories:
“under law” and condemned (“in Adam”), or “in Christ” and justified (“in
Christ”)- -this is all whether you are Jew or Gentile
(cf. Adam and Christ in Romans 5:12-21).
What does it
mean to be living, or being “Under Law” according to the Apostle Paul:
a. “Under Law” is a state of “being in the flesh”
or condemned in Adam (Romans 5:12-21).
b. “Under Law” is “fleshly” as Paul
contrasts the flesh and the Spirit in Galatians 3:
ESV Galatians 3:1-4: O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched
you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as
crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the
Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so
foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
4 Did you suffer so many things in vain- if indeed it was in vain?
Important to
notice the contrast between flesh = Law and Spirit = Faith in Galatians
3:1-4. At one time in redemptive-history Law served its important purpose
as Paul explains in Galatians 3:19-24, but now that Christ has come and
righteousness has been fully and clearly revealed in him, trying to keep the
Law, and failing to understand the condemnation of God’s holy Law, is to live
to the flesh, not the Spirit by faith (cf. 2 Corinthians 3-4: Spirit written on
human hearts and received by faith, not like the Law written on external
tablets of stone).
Although the Law
was a good thing in that it was a righteous revelation of God and his holiness,
if it was used in order to try and gain the righteousness of God apart from his
promises then it was “flesh”.
In other words
there is a contrast between Gospel and Law, Spirit and Flesh. The Gospel
or Work of the Spirit is believing by faith in God’s
promises through a realization that the Law condemns the sinner, and ultimately
looking to God’s promises fulfilled in Christ.
Law or Work of
the Flesh is having a misplaced faith in one’s striving to keep the law,
nullifying God’s promises and the ultimate realization of those promises in
Christ Jesus! (cf. Galatians 2:21).
c. “Under Law” is a state of slavery or
imprisonment because the Law is powerless to change us (Gk. evfrourou,meqa sugkleio,menoi/ “held captive” “imprisoned” or
“guarded” as a prisoner).
ESV Galatians 3:23-24: Now before faith came, we were held
captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24
So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we
might be justified by faith.
Paul calls the
Law a tutor, guardian, or teacher until Christ would come in the fullness of
the times (Gal. 3:24-25). Part of the Law’s “tutoring” aspect that we do
not always appreciate and understand clearly is that Israel’s temporal
blessings in the land were meant to show forth God’s eternal blessings of
dwelling in the midst of his people, both Jew and Gentile for eternity (not
merely in the land, but in the New Heavens and the New Earth).
d. “Under Law” is a state of bondage for
those who are condemned and cannot keep it as God requires (perfection!).
John Stott in his commentary
on Galatians writes: “[The Law’s] purpose was to shut us up in prison until
Christ should set us free, or to put us under tutors until Christ should make
us sons.” –pg. 98.
Being and
Living “in Christ”
But Being “In
Christ” is the opposite of being “under law”! This is the Gospel
hope! If you are a believer by faith alone in Christ alone, you are not
“under law” but “in Christ”! This is our only hope of right standing
before God- -our only hope of salvation!
Paul says that
all who believe are no longer imprisoned slaves, but sons, united to Christ by
faith:
ESV Galatians 3:25-26: But now that faith has come, we are no
longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of
God, through faith.
Being “in
Christ” or united to Jesus Christ is a state of being one, or unified whether
Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female.
Paul is teaching
in Galatians 3:23-29 that now that “faith has come” (that redemptive-historical
objective faith in Christ has come), we are no longer under a guardian, but we
are full adopted sons or children of the living God through faith
(alone!).
Those who have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. –Galatians 3:27
Because of this,
there is neither social identity (slave nor free) that should be emphasized
over our identity in union with Christ, nor sexual identity (male or female)
that should be emphasized over our identity in union with Jesus Christ, nor
ethnic identity (Jew or Gentile) that should be emphasized over our ultimate
identity in union with Jesus Christ.
Being “in
Christ” is a state of “being in the Spirit” or “Spirit filled” and of having
the Law written on the heart.
Being “in
Christ” the Law goes from being our “Guard” to our “Guide”.
In Christ” the Law is no longer a prison guard, imprisoning us all to
condemnation and God’s wrath, rather the Law is a friend and guide for the
Christian “in Christ”
The Gospel
as Fulfillment of Law
As Christians,
we must be reminded daily of the “Badness” of the Law for the Christian as a
way of salvation or cooperating with God. The Law is God’s revelation of
his righteousness and perfect will to sinners so that they might get out of
themselves, repent of their best works, and turn to Christ alone for
righteousness.
One theologian
remarked: “Satan would have us to prove ourselves holy by the law,
which God gave to prove us sinners.” (Andrew Jukes, quoted in
Stott’s Commentary on Galatians, pg. 90).
Luther in his commentary on
Galatians wrote: “The principal point…of the law…is to make man not better but
worse; that is to say, it shows unto men their sin, that by the knowledge
thereof they may be humbled, terrified, bruised and broken, and by this means
may be driven to seek grace, and so to come to the blessed Seed.”- Luther, pg.
316.
The “Goodness”
of the Law for the Christian is that it no longer condemns, but is written on
our hearts and in our redemption “in Christ” we are learning to keep the Law,
being obedient by faith to God’s commands. As stated earlier, the
“goodness” of the Law for the Christian is that we have Holy-Spirit power to
uphold the law of God (although imperfectly, and we still do not in any way
look to this obedience as meritorious).
Only in Christ’s
perfect law-keeping do we find life! In Christ’s sending forth his Spirit
into our hearts, we are being changed into his likeness day by day.
Although this can be an extremely slow process, it is one in which God is
working in us to do his Law, or that which is good and pleasing to him (cf.
Phil. 1:6; 2:12-13; Eph. 2:10).
Never forget
that the Gospel is about Christ and His Law-Keeping. Even though we do
have the Spirit and the Law written on our hearts, our only hope is still in
Christ’s law keeping for us. The more you grow in sanctification or
Christ-likeness and understand the deep and perfect demands of the Law (Matt.
5:48), the more you should be driven into the arms of Christ, our loving and
merciful Savior.
Christians need
to hear the demands of the Law as a guide for living, and they need to
continually hear the Gospel Promises of God in Christ for their failure to keep
the law in word, thought and deed as they should. Christians will still
struggle as Romans 7 says wanting to do good, but sometimes doing evil.
Our hope, as was the Apostle Paul’s in Romans 7:25: “Thanks be to God for Jesus
Christ our Lord!”
Remember that
our assurance of salvation is found in Christ alone- -in his perfect
law-keeping for us. Remember that God sees us as if we have never sinned,
and as if we have kept the law perfectly, moment by moment, day by day, in
word, thought and deed because we are “in Christ”. This is not of our own
doing- -it is the work of God’s grace for us in Jesus Christ!
Those who do not
know Christ need to hear Law and the perfect demands of the Law in order to
understand the sweet Gospel Promises of God! As Dietrich Bonhoeffer said
in his quotation earlier, we must understand the demands of the Mosaic Law in
the Old Testament before we go to the New Testament.
As one of my
former pastor-teachers used to say: a sinner needs to realize he is lost by the
Law before he will ever be found by the gospel! As the hymn ‘Come, Ye
Sinners, Poor and Wretched’ puts it so eloquently:
“Not the righteous, not the righteous,
not the righteous;
But sinners Jesus came to call…”
Let us strive to
make know the Law and the Gospel, and look forward to the day when God will
dwell with man in a world without sin and misery in the New Heavens and the New
Earth. This is the eternal destination and hope of fellowship with God,
and the cessation of any tension between Law and Gospel!
We shall end our
study this week with one of the Church’s richest hymns and gospel treasures
from Horatio Bonar (1857):
Thy pains, not mine, O Christ,
Upon the shameful tree,
Have paid the Law’s full price
And purchased peace for me.
To whom, save thee, who canst alone for
sin atone, Lord, shall I flee?
Thy cross, not mine, O Christ,
Has borne the awful load of sins
That none in heav’n
or earth could bear but God.
To whom, save thee, who canst alone for
sin atone, Lord, shall I flee?
Thy righteousness, O Christ,
Alone can cover me.
No righteousness avails save that which
is of thee.
To whom, save thee, who canst alone for
sin atone, Lord, shall I flee?
CRB
Sermons available at www.sermonaudio.com/kcpc
©
Bibliography for Further
Bruce, F. F. Paul:
Apostle of the Heart Set Free.
_________. The Epistle to
the Galatians (New International Greek Testament Commentary)
Calvin, John. The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Galatians, Ephesians,
Philippians, and Colossians, trans. T. H. L. Parker.
Fung, Ronald Y. K. The Epistle to
the Galatians (New International Commentary on the New Testament-New
Edition).
Gaffin, Richard B., Jr. By
Faith, Not by Sight: Paul and the Order of Salvation.
Hendriksen, William. Galatians and
Ephesians (Baker New Testament Commentary).
Lenski, R. C. H. The Interpretation of
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