The Gospel in Galatians

Old Testament Faith

Lesson #5 for July 29, 2017

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Scriptures: Galatians 3:1-14; Romans 1:2; 4:3; Genesis 15:6; 12:1-3; Leviticus 17:11; 2 Corinthians 5:21.

1.    This lesson is about curses, substitutions, and salvation by faith alone. What do these ideas conjure up in your mind?

2.    Read Galatians 3:1-5[2]. Clearly, Paul was upset by the news he had received from Galatia. The Greek word in this passage sometimes translated as foolish is actually a word which means “mindless” which might more correctly be translated dumb or stupid or it doesn’t make sense. Why would those Galatian believers have chosen to do something that was mindless? Paul even suggested that they might have been bewitched or put under a spell! Who would love to bewitch all of God’s people? (2 Corinthians 4:4[3]) Undoubtedly, the Judaizers were trying to convince them that their salvation was not complete without doing those additional things. Judaizers claimed that to be a “real saint,” one also needed to follow all the rules in the Old Testament.

3.    Furthermore, our naturally selfish natures would love to accept the idea that we can somehow earn at least part of our way to heaven. Wouldn’t that give us a basis to boast? Does it make you feel helpless when you realize that you cannot do anything to earn your salvation? Does it bother you to allow the Holy Spirit the time it takes to work with you in changing your life? Do Bible study, prayer, and witnessing excite you? Or, do they seem like a chore? (See Christ’s Object Lessons 159.3.)

4.    What is implied by the expression: “Before your very eyes you had a clear description of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross”? (Galatians 3:1, GNB) Does that imply that an explanation of why Jesus had to die was the basis of Paul’s gospel message? The expression clear description is a translation of a word meaning “placarded” or “painted”-a word describing a very public proclamation. Paul was suggesting that he had portrayed to the Galatians as clearly as he possibly could the actual events of Christ’s death and their implications. Does this imply that by turning away from Paul’s view, they were rejecting Christ? Did they understand why He died? Did they understand about the second, final death resulting from sin? (Genesis 2:17; Isaiah 59:2; Matthew 27:46[4]) What do you think attracted the Galatians -who were really heathen pagans before Paul arrived-to the good news in the beginning? Was it the idea that there was the possibility of life beyond death?

5.    Paul clearly suggested that at the beginning they had come to be Christians in a correct way. How did the Galatians “receive the Spirit”? (Galatians 3:2[5]) Was that a Pentecost-type experience? Or, a Cornelius experience? (Acts 10:44-48[6]) Paul absolutely believed that the gospel he presented to them was the correct one! (Galatians 1:7-9[7]) What was Paul’s appeal? What was the Judaizer’s appeal? Paul seemed to suggest that they had actually received the gift of the Holy Spirit when they accepted the gospel. In this passage, he was essentially asking: Having been through that experience and having understood at least partially why Jesus had to die, do you really want to go back to a works-based religion?

6.    Follow Paul’s argument. First, he explained that his gospel was not different from the one that had been approved by the leaders in Jerusalem. (Galatians 2:1-10[8]) Then, he reaffirmed the correctness of his gospel by telling of his experience at Antioch with one of the Jerusalem leaders, Peter. (Galatians 2:11-14[9]) Peter had started to fall into the same trap that the Galatians were being drawn into by the Judaizers! And finally, Paul reminded the Galatians of their own experience with the Holy Spirit and asked: “Do you really want to give up on that experience?” (Galatians 3:1-5) How did the super-educated Paul interact with the uneducated Galilean fishermen who had been Jesus’s disciples?

7.    Do we ever look around in the church and compare ourselves with others in the church? Do we subconsciously think that God grades on the curve? Then, do we think that if we are at least as good as the others in the church, we will be saved? And what do we look at to decide that we are at least as good as the others? Our good works-whatever they may be? Isn’t that what the Judaizers were promoting? When the Holy Spirit comes down on someone, He does not just overwhelm them with everything they need to know at once!

8.    Peter slid back after the experience with Cornelius! Do we ever think we are good enough to be saved? Does God really grade on the curve? When we finally realize that we are not able to fully do everything that God requires, do we give up? Or, do we humbly accept the help that God offers?

9.    In any significant degree, do we sense the actual sufferings that Christ went through on the cross? We believe that He died the second death-the death of separation from God that results directly from sin. (Isaiah 59:2; Matthew 27:46[10]) He experienced what it meant to be separated from His Father by sin. The terror and pain of that experience was so bad that His physical pain was hardly felt. (Desire of Ages 753.1) Do we have any comprehension of what those words really mean?

10. When God first gave the sacrificial system outside the gates of the Garden of Eden, it was probably clear to Adam and Eve that the intention was to show that sin leads to death. How long do you think it took before people began to get the idea that if they had enough lambs to offer, they could sin, more or less, freely? How many of the people sacrificing lambs throughout the history of the Old Testament really understood what that was supposed to mean? By the time of Jesus, they had turned the sacrifice of lambs into almost an indulgence system?

11.    How was the question of substitution represented by the sacrificial system? A person’s sins were “placed” on the head of the lamb, and then the lamb was sacrificed. Those sins were then “transferred” to the temple. On the Day of Atonement they were placed on the head of the scapegoat and carried far away from the camp of Israel. That was a very concrete way to represent “substitution.” What did substitution mean? Does it simply mean that Christ died in our place? Or, is there something more implied? Are our sins buried in the bottom of the sea? (Micah 7:19[11]) What about all of the sins of the “saints” that are described in the Bible? Did God go to the bottom of the sea and dig them out again? Will there need to be a massive burning of Bibles at the gates of the New Jerusalem to destroy the sinful records of the saints? Is there a sense in which Christ’s righteousness is transferred to us? Is that illustrated in some way in the sacrificial system? Does the “righteousness” of the Lamb get transferred to the person?

12.    We have suggested that the life and death of Christ give us a choice: We can agree to live a life patterned after His life, or we will die the death that results from sin-as He died. So, how do we actually accept by faith the death of Christ on our behalf? How do we accept His gift of life?

13.    As we have discussed, so far in the letter to the Galatians, Paul had expressed his absolute confidence in the gospel he had presented to them. He made it clear that his gospel was approved and given by God Himself; and, furthermore, it was later accepted without change by the brethren in Jerusalem. (Galatians 2:1-10[12]) He then proceeded to talk about the personal experience of the Galatians themselves. (Galatians 3:1-5[13])

14.    Paul turned next to discuss the biblical or Old Testament basis to confirm his gospel. He focused on the story of Abraham and its partial fulfillment when the children of Israel escaped from Egyptian slavery. God’s promise was fulfilled. Consider the story of Abraham. He left his home in Ur and traveled a long distance to a new homeland; he was willing to circumcise himself and the males in his family; and, finally, he made that trip to Mount Moriah to sacrifice the promised son! Doesn’t that sound like Abraham deserved salvation because of his obedience?

15.    But, Paul made it very clear in Galatians that Abraham will be saved because of his special relationship with God, his faith-not because he earned it by obeying God. Abraham also made some significant mistakes! So, what does it mean when God said Abraham’s faith was counted, reckoned, or imputed to him as righteousness? It was Abraham’s faith, his friendship with God, that led to his obedience and not vice versa. The children of Israel had nothing to do with the plagues or the deliverance from Egypt. All they had to do was march out. Was that based on faith? Their relationship with God? Or, just slave-like obedience? What has your relationship with God led you to do?

16.    There is excellent evidence suggesting that Paul was the first or earliest writer of the New Testament. Only the book of James might have been written earlier. So, when he talked about evidence from Scripture, the only evidence he could have been talking about was the Old Testament.

17.    In the very last letter that Paul wrote-2 Timothy-he said that every inspired-that is, God-breathed-Scripture is profitable for many things. (See 2 Timothy 3:16-17[14].) The apostles and disciples repeatedly referred to the Old Testament to substantiate their beliefs. Is that a valid basis for belief? No doubt, Paul’s enemies were using Scripture. Paul did too!

18.    Read Galatians 3:6-14[15]. Paul was making reference to a number of passages in the Old Testament: Genesis 15:6; 12:3; Deuteronomy 21:23; 27:26; Habakkuk 2:4; and Leviticus 18:5[16]. Why do you think Paul was making such extensive use of the Old Testament? Do you think that might have been what the Judaizers had been doing?

19.    We live in a day and time when almost everything has to be proven. History seems to define truth as “tested hypotheses,” “statistical analyses,” etc. Do we have a hard time believing in Someone we cannot prove or disprove by scientific investigation?

20.    Do you have a hard time believing the story of Abraham? Do you think that Abraham lived the life of faith? What about the times when he lied about his wife? (See Genesis 12:10-20; 20:2-18. Compare Isaac, Genesis 26:7[17].) Considering that there are real differences in culture, living circumstances, etc., can we learn anything from the life of Abraham that might help us to live better lives in our day? As you read the story of Abraham, what sticks out in your mind? His faith relationship to God? Or, his obedience? He left his homeland and his family to travel thousands of miles into an unknown land. (Genesis 12) Think about the facts that he was willing to be circumcised and that he was willing even to sacrifice his son at God’s command! (Genesis 22) What kind of obedience was that?

21.    Paul took the offensive by focusing on Abraham’s faith as opposed to his obedience or law-keeping. Do you think Abraham considered himself a friend of God? If you are not a friend of God, would you dare to say the following to Him?

“Surely you won’t kill the innocent with the guilty. That’s impossible! You can’t do that. If you did, the innocent would be punished along with the guilty. That is impossible. The judge of all the earth has to act justly.” (Genesis 18:25, GNB*)

22.    Read Genesis 15:6[18]. What do these words mean? These words have been repeated a dozen times in Scripture concerning Abraham. What does it mean to count, reckon, or impute righteousness? Do we ever have righteousness credited to us because of our obedience? Is there a relationship between faith and obedience? Someone has suggested that faith works! We are not saved by works alone or by faith and works. But, it is still true that “faith works!” (See James 2:14.) How many times did Abraham personally interact with God?

23.    Have we ever been tempted to think that our works might have something to do with our salvation? What do we mean when we say that we are saved by faith alone? Why is it important to recognize that our works cannot save us? Good works may be the result of our faith; but, they are not the cause of our faith or the basis for our salvation. Do we need to reorient our thinking?

24.    If salvation is by faith alone, does faith have anything to do with evidence? Faith is a relationship. Does that have anything to do with logic or reason? Isn’t it natural for humans to be selfish? Are there other examples of faith in the Old Testament? See Leviticus 17:11; Psalm 32:1-5; 2 Samuel 12:1-13; and Zechariah 3:1-4[19].

25.    Our lesson emphasizes that we are saved by what Christ has done for us. What about what the Holy Spirit is doing in us? Is that also good news? What happens when we study, pray, and meditate on the life of Jesus? Does it change us in some significant way? (Great Controversy 555.1)

26.    How many times and in how many different ways did God revealed Himself to Abraham? Did Abraham get to know God’s voice? There were no Scriptures! How did he know for sure it was not the Devil telling him to take his son out and sacrifice him? Based on modern ordinary thinking, would we suggest that Abraham did several very crazy things in response to God’s commands? Would you leave your home and travel to the other side of the world because God spoke to you? There are at least three things we can learn from Abraham’s faith:

1)    Faith is more than just a belief in God. (James 2:19[20]) Clearly, Abraham had a personal relationship with the Divine. (For example, see Genesis 18:25[21].) Are we open to God’s voice in our lives? In how many different ways does God speak to people? Can God speak through nature? Through impressions? Through Bible study? Through counsel from friends? Or, even signs, dreams, or visions? Do God’s directions to us always seem rational? Has God ever directly communicated with you? Even before Abraham left Ur of the Chaldees, God had promised him that he would be the father of many nations and a blessing to many nations. How long did it take for that promise to be fulfilled? More than 25 years even for the promised son! What would you think at the age of 75, for example, if God had promised you that your descendants would be a blessing to all nations and you still did not have a son?

2)    Did God practice progressive revelation to Abraham? Could you call that “present truth”? Didn’t He come back again and again, each time giving a little more information? When God gives us a new revelation, does that nullify what He has said before? Or, does any new revelation have to agree with what God has said previously?

3) When God finally said to Abraham: “I will come back next year at this time, and you will have a son,” what was Abraham’s response? (Genesis 18:1-15; Romans 9:9[22]) Prior to that as recorded in Genesis 17:9-16, hadn’t God already set certain conditions on His covenant? Abraham not only questioned God’s covenant, but also he laughed! (Genesis 17:17[23]) Abraham has a lot of failings spelled out on the pages of Scripture. Yet, he chose to believe God when God said astonishing things. And God called Abraham His friend. The final test before the onlooking universe was proof that they were real friends. Abraham trusted God, believing that anything God asked him to do was for a good reason.

27.    It is significant to notice that God did not ask Abraham to promise anything. Four times God said, “I will do this,” or “I will do that.” (Genesis 12:1-3[24]) The promises were completely one-sided. This is really an example of the “new covenant.” What is sometimes referred to as the old covenant took place between God and the children of Israel at the foot of Mount Sinai. (Exodus 19:8; 24:3,7[25]) But, covenants that are based on God’s promises are real. What does God ask us to do on our side of this covenant relationship we call faith? Do we all get the kind of test that Abraham had?

28.    There are those in modern Christianity who believe that there is an older dispensation and a newer dispensation. They believe that the older dispensation was some kind of righteousness by works as found in the Old Testament. The newer dispensation is righteousness by faith alone as found in the New Testament. Is that a valid analysis? Clearly, Paul believed that there was only one gospel. (Galatians 1:7-9[26])

29.    If God does all the promising as in the new covenant, (Jeremiah 31:31-34[27]) is that an example of cheap grace? God does not seem to require anything from us. Is that grace “cheap”? Or, “free”?

30.    So often, we find human beings trying to bargain with God by promising all sorts of things. What kind of covenant is that? What about “foxhole” promises?

31.    What would you do if you got a message from God in the middle of night to take your miracle son-the one through whom God had promised to raise up entire nations-on a three-day journey into the wilderness to sacrifice him? Would you see a psychiatrist first?

32.    The case of Abraham’s faith was clearly more than a one-time acceptance of God’s plan for him.

33.    What do you think Paul’s friends-who were so proud of the law they were promoting-thought when they read Galatians 3:10? (Compare Deuteronomy 27:26[28].) Did they, in any way, believe they were under a curse? Or, did they think they would be blessed because of their obedience?

34.    What message do you get from reading Deuteronomy 27 and 28[29]? Turning back to the experience at Mount Sinai, the children of Israel had promised to obey all of God’s commands. (Exodus 19:8; 24:3,7[30]) After 40 years of experiences in the wilderness, had they not yet learned that their promises were not very reliable? Why did God ask them to make another promise as recorded in Deuteronomy 27:26 and 28:1[31]? They were very rapidly willing to claim the promises recorded in Deuteronomy 28. Did they ever seriously consider that they might be due for the curses recounted in Deuteronomy 27?

35.    When obeying God, do we have the option of choosing and picking what we want to obey? Can we count on God to overlook a few mistakes here and there? Or, must we recognize that our best efforts will never accomplish what needs to be done?

36.    In what sense did Christ deliver us from the curse of the law? (Galatians 3:13; 2 Corinthians 5:21[32]) Christ hung on the cross to demonstrate the natural results of sin. Isn’t that where we were supposed to be? Didn’t He take our place? Did He actually die the second death for us? Would it be correct to call that a substitution? Or, was it primarily a demonstration?

37.    One of the little-known facts in the writings of Moses is that virtually all of the Ten Commandments are followed later in the writings of Moses by a death decree for those who break them. Are those death decrees still valid? Should we be stoned if we pick up sticks on the Sabbath? (Numbers 15:32-36[33]) Are any of our sins intentional? (Numbers 15:30-31[34]) Are we somehow “healed by His wounds”? Can we begin to fathom why the idea that the Messiah would come and die a cruel traitor’s death seemed unfathomable to Jews who believed the prophecies in the Old Testament? Surely, the Messiah could not be cursed! It was not His curse. It was our curse!

38.    So, what really happens when we exercise faith? Is there an honest sense in which faith is a kind of leap? Is it only safe to leap if God has promised to catch us? Or, is it only safe to leap when the One who tells us to leap has gone over the path before us? Moving forward in the dark is only safe when you have a reliable Guide giving you instructions. It is never safe to leap in the dark with no guidance!

39.    The terrible struggle that Christ went through on the cross-and even before that in the Garden of Gethsemane-is spelled out in considerable detail in Desire of Ages on pages 753 and 756.3.

40.    So, how did Christ gain the victory in the end? “He relied upon the evidence heretofore given Him.”

Amid the awful darkness, apparently forsaken of God, Christ had drained the last dregs in the cup of human woe. In those dreadful hours He had relied upon the evidence of His Father’s acceptance heretofore given Him. He was acquainted with the character of His Father; He understood His justice, His mercy, and His great love. By faith He rested in Him whom it had ever been His joy to obey. And as in submission He committed Himself to God, the sense of the loss of His Father’s favor was withdrawn. By faith, Christ was victor.—Ellen G. White, Desire of Ages* 756.3.

41.    Is that faith? Absolutely! It was the greatest exercise of faith in the history of the universe. Jesus followed the Father’s instructions all the way to the second death! Shouldn’t we be willing to trust God a little more than we do?

© 2017, Kenneth Hart, MD, MA, MPH. Permission is hereby granted for any noncommercial use of these materials. Free distribution of all or of a portion of this material such as to a Bible study class is encouraged. *Electronic version.    Info@theox.org

1-Gal 3:1-14 NIV You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. (2) I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? (3) Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? (4) Have you experienced so much in vain--if it really was in vain? (5) So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? (6) So also Abraham "believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." (7) Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. (8) Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." (9) So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. (10) For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law." (11) Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because "the righteous will live by faith." (12) The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, "The person who does these things will live by them." (13) Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole." (14) He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

Rom 1:2 NIV the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures

Gen 15:6 NIV Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

Gen 12:1-3 NIV The LORD had said to Abram, "Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you. (2) "I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. (3) I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

Lev 17:11 NIV For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life.

2-Gal 3:1-5 NIV You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. (2) I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? (3) Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? (4) Have you experienced so much in vain--if it really was in vain? (5) So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?

3-2Co 4:4 NIV The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

4-Gen 2:17 NIV but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die."

Isa 59:2 NIV But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

Mat 27:46 NIV About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" (which means "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?").

5-Gal 3:2 NIV I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard?

6-Act 10:44-48 NIV While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. (45) The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. (46) For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said, (47) "Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have." (48) So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

7-Gal 1:7-9 NIV which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. (8) But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God's curse! (9) As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God's curse!

8-Gal 2:1-10 NIV Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. (2) I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain. (3) Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. (4) This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. (5) We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. (6) As for those who were held in high esteem--whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism--they added nothing to my message. (7) On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised. (8) For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles. (9) James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. (10) All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.

9-Gal 2:11-14 NIV When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. (12) For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. (13) The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. (14) When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?

10-Isa 59:2 NIV But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.

Mat 27:46 NIV About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" (which means "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?").

11-Mic 7:19 NIV You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.

12-Gal 2:1-10 NIV Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. (2) I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain. (3) Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. (4) This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. (5) We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. (6) As for those who were held in high esteem--whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism--they added nothing to my message. (7) On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised. (8) For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles. (9) James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. (10) All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.

13-Gal 3:1-5 NIV You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. (2) I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? (3) Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? (4) Have you experienced so much in vain--if it really was in vain? (5) So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?

14-2Ti 3:16-17 NIV All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, (17) so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

15-Gal 3:6-14 NIV So also Abraham "believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." (7) Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. (8) Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." (9) So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. (10) For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law." (11) Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because "the righteous will live by faith." (12) The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, "The person who does these things will live by them." (13) Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole." (14) He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.

16-Gen 15:6 NIV Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

Gen 12:3 NIV I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

Deu 21:23 NIV you must not leave the body hanging on the pole overnight. Be sure to bury it that same day, because anyone who is hung on a pole is under God's curse. You must not desecrate the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

Deu 27:26 NIV "Cursed is anyone who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!"

Hab 2:4 NIV "See, the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright-- but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness--

Lev 18:5 NIV Keep my decrees and laws, for the person who obeys them will live by them. I am the LORD.

17-Gen 12:10-20 NIV Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. (11) As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "I know what a beautiful woman you are. (12) When the Egyptians see you, they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will let you live. (13) Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you." (14) When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. (15) And when Pharaoh's officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace. (16) He treated Abram well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels. (17) But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram's wife Sarai. (18) So Pharaoh summoned Abram. "What have you done to me?" he said. "Why didn't you tell me she was your wife? (19) Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!" (20) Then Pharaoh gave orders about Abram to his men, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and everything he had.

Gen 26:7 NIV When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, "She is my sister," because he was afraid to say, "She is my wife." He thought, "The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful."

18-Gen 15:6 NIV Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

19-Lev 17:11 NIV For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life.

Psa 32:1-5 NIV Of David. A maskil. Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. (2) Blessed is the one whose sin the LORD does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit. (3) When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. (4) For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. (5) Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD." And you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Zec 3:1-4 NIV Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. (2) The LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?" (3) Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. (4) The angel said to those who were standing before him, "Take off his filthy clothes." Then he said to Joshua, "See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you."

20-Jas 2:19 NIV You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder.

21-Gen 18:25 NIV Far be it from you to do such a thing--to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?"

22-Gen 18:1-15 NIV The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. (2) Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. (3) He said, "If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. (4) Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. (5) Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way--now that you have come to your servant." "Very well," they answered, "do as you say." (6) So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. "Quick," he said, "get three seahs of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread." (7) Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. (8) He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree. (9) "Where is your wife Sarah?" they asked him. "There, in the tent," he said. (10) Then one of them said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son." Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. (11) Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. (12) So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?" (13) Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really have a child, now that I am old?' (14) Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son." (15) Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, "I did not laugh." But he said, "Yes, you did laugh."

Rom 9:9 NIV For this was how the promise was stated: "At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son."

23-Gen 18:1-15 NIV The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. (2) Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground. (3) He said, "If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by. (4) Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree. (5) Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way--now that you have come to your servant." "Very well," they answered, "do as you say." (6) So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. "Quick," he said, "get three seahs of the finest flour and knead it and bake some bread." (7) Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it. (8) He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree. (9) "Where is your wife Sarah?" they asked him. "There, in the tent," he said. (10) Then one of them said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son." Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. (11) Abraham and Sarah were already very old, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. (12) So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?" (13) Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really have a child, now that I am old?' (14) Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year, and Sarah will have a son." (15) Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, "I did not laugh." But he said, "Yes, you did laugh."

Rom 9:9 NIV For this was how the promise was stated: "At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son."

24-Gen 12:1-3 NIV The LORD had said to Abram, "Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you. (2) "I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. (3) I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

25-Exo 19:8 NIV The people all responded together, "We will do everything the LORD has said." So Moses brought their answer back to the LORD.

Exo 24:3 NIV When Moses went and told the people all the LORD's words and laws, they responded with one voice, "Everything the LORD has said we will do."

Exo 24:7 NIV Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, "We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey."

26-Gal 1:7-9 NIV which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. (8) But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God's curse! (9) As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God's curse!

27-Jer 31:31-34 NIV "The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. (32) It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them," declares the LORD. (33) "This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. (34) No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

28-Gal 3:10 NIV For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law."

Deu 27:26 NIV "Cursed is anyone who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!"

29-Deu 27:1-26 NIV Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people: "Keep all these commands that I give you today. (2) When you have crossed the Jordan into the land the LORD your God is giving you, set up some large stones and coat them with plaster. (3) Write on them all the words of this law when you have crossed over to enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, promised you. (4) And when you have crossed the Jordan, set up these stones on Mount Ebal, as I command you today, and coat them with plaster. (5) Build there an altar to the LORD your God, an altar of stones. Do not use any iron tool on them. (6) Build the altar of the LORD your God with fieldstones and offer burnt offerings on it to the LORD your God. (7) Sacrifice fellowship offerings there, eating them and rejoicing in the presence of the LORD your God. (8) And you shall write very clearly all the words of this law on these stones you have set up." (9) Then Moses and the Levitical priests said to all Israel, "Be silent, Israel, and listen! You have now become the people of the LORD your God. (10) Obey the LORD your God and follow his commands and decrees that I give you today." (11) On the same day Moses commanded the people: (12) When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin. (13) And these tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal to pronounce curses: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali. (14) The Levites shall recite to all the people of Israel in a loud voice: (15) "Cursed is anyone who makes an idol--a thing detestable to the LORD, the work of skilled hands--and sets it up in secret." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!" (16) "Cursed is anyone who dishonors their father or mother." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!" (17) "Cursed is anyone who moves their neighbor's boundary stone." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!" (18) "Cursed is anyone who leads the blind astray on the road." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!" (19) "Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!" (20) "Cursed is anyone who sleeps with his father's wife, for he dishonors his father's bed." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!" (21) "Cursed is anyone who has sexual relations with any animal." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!" (22) "Cursed is anyone who sleeps with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!" (23) "Cursed is anyone who sleeps with his mother-in-law." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!" (24) "Cursed is anyone who kills their neighbor secretly." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!" (25) "Cursed is anyone who accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!" (26) "Cursed is anyone who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!"

Deu 28:1-68 NIV If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. (2) All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God: (3) You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. (4) The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock--the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. (5) Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. (6) You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. (7) The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. (8) The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you. (9) The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in obedience to him. (10) Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. (11) The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity--in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground--in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you. (12) The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. (13) The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. (14) Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them. (15) However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you: (16) You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country. (17) Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed. (18) The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. (19) You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out. (20) The LORD will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him. (21) The LORD will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess. (22) The LORD will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish. (23) The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron. (24) The LORD will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed. (25) The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven, and you will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms on earth. (26) Your carcasses will be food for all the birds and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away. (27) The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured. (28) The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind. (29) At midday you will grope about like a blind person in the dark. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you. (30) You will be pledged to be married to a woman, but another will take her and rape her. You will build a house, but you will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will not even begin to enjoy its fruit. (31) Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will eat none of it. Your donkey will be forcibly taken from you and will not be returned. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and no one will rescue them. (32) Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation, and you will wear out your eyes watching for them day after day, powerless to lift a hand. (33) A people that you do not know will eat what your land and labor produce, and you will have nothing but cruel oppression all your days. (34) The sights you see will drive you mad. (35) The LORD will afflict your knees and legs with painful boils that cannot be cured, spreading from the soles of your feet to the top of your head. (36) The LORD will drive you and the king you set over you to a nation unknown to you or your ancestors. There you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone. (37) You will become a thing of horror, a byword and an object of ridicule among all the peoples where the LORD will drive you. (38) You will sow much seed in the field but you will harvest little, because locusts will devour it. (39) You will plant vineyards and cultivate them but you will not drink the wine or gather the grapes, because worms will eat them. (40) You will have olive trees throughout your country but you will not use the oil, because the olives will drop off. (41) You will have sons and daughters but you will not keep them, because they will go into captivity. (42) Swarms of locusts will take over all your trees and the crops of your land. (43) The foreigners who reside among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower. (44) They will lend to you, but you will not lend to them. They will be the head, but you will be the tail. (45) All these curses will come on you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the LORD your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you. (46) They will be a sign and a wonder to you and your descendants forever. (47) Because you did not serve the LORD your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity, (48) therefore in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the LORD sends against you. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you. (49) The LORD will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand, (50) a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young. (51) They will devour the young of your livestock and the crops of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine or olive oil, nor any calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks until you are ruined. (52) They will lay siege to all the cities throughout your land until the high fortified walls in which you trust fall down. They will besiege all the cities throughout the land the LORD your God is giving you. (53) Because of the suffering that your enemy will inflict on you during the siege, you will eat the fruit of the womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters the LORD your God has given you. (54) Even the most gentle and sensitive man among you will have no compassion on his own brother or the wife he loves or his surviving children, (55) and he will not give to one of them any of the flesh of his children that he is eating. It will be all he has left because of the suffering your enemy will inflict on you during the siege of all your cities. (56) The most gentle and sensitive woman among you--so sensitive and gentle that she would not venture to touch the ground with the sole of her foot--will begrudge the husband she loves and her own son or daughter (57) the afterbirth from her womb and the children she bears. For in her dire need she intends to eat them secretly because of the suffering your enemy will inflict on you during the siege of your cities. (58) If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book, and do not revere this glorious and awesome name--the LORD your God-- (59) the LORD will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses. (60) He will bring on you all the diseases of Egypt that you dreaded, and they will cling to you. (61) The LORD will also bring on you every kind of sickness and disaster not recorded in this Book of the Law, until you are destroyed. (62) You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left but few in number, because you did not obey the LORD your God. (63) Just as it pleased the LORD to make you prosper and increase in number, so it will please him to ruin and destroy you. You will be uprooted from the land you are entering to possess. (64) Then the LORD will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods--gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your ancestors have known. (65) Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart. (66) You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life. (67) In the morning you will say, "If only it were evening!" and in the evening, "If only it were morning!"--because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the sights that your eyes will see. (68) The LORD will send you back in ships to Egypt on a journey I said you should never make again. There you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.

30-Exo 19:8 NIV The people all responded together, "We will do everything the LORD has said." So Moses brought their answer back to the LORD.

Exo 24:3 NIV When Moses went and told the people all the LORD's words and laws, they responded with one voice, "Everything the LORD has said we will do."

Exo 24:7 NIV Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, "We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey."

31-Deu 27:26 NIV "Cursed is anyone who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out." Then all the people shall say, "Amen!"

Deu 28:1 NIV If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.

32-Gal 3:13 NIV Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole."

2Co 5:21 NIV God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

33-Num 15:32-36 NIV While the Israelites were in the wilderness, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. (33) Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, (34) and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. (35) Then the LORD said to Moses, "The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp." (36) So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the LORD commanded Moses.

34-Num 15:30-31 NIV "'But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or foreigner, blasphemes the LORD and must be cut off from the people of Israel. (31) Because they have despised the LORD's word and broken his commands, they must surely be cut off; their guilt remains on them.'"

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