A problem in Galatia!
Gal.
3 (1) O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the
truth, before whose eyes YAHshua Messiah hath been evidently
set forth, crucified among you? (2) This
only would I learn of you, Received ye
the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? (3)
Are ye so foolish? Having begun in
the Spirit, are ye now made perfect
by the flesh?
Who
were the "some" who were leading the Assembly in Galatia astray and
how were they perverting the Gospel with things pertaining to the flesh? They
were the very same people doing the very things that were mentioned in Acts.
Acts
15 (1) And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and
said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. …(5) But
there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees
which believed, saying, That it
was needful to circumcise them, and
to command them to keep
the law of Moses. …(24) Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which
went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye
must be circumcised, and keep
the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:
Simply
put, the problem was these Pharisees which believed in the Messiah had convinced the
Assembly at Corinth that in addition to
believing in YAHshua, they had to be
circumcised to be saved.
Why
were these people teaching that circumcision in the flesh as part of the
requirements to be saved? They were teaching it because they
themselves were not willing to suffer any persecution from their very own people
(Jews), for YAHshua
and for the sake of the Gospel!
Gal.
6 (12) As many as desire to make a
fair show in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest
they should suffer persecution for the cross [stake]
of Messiah.
Because
YAHshua
said the following, I say, "Woe unto them"!
Mat.
16 (24) Then said YAHshua
unto His disciples, If
any man will come after Me,
let him deny himself, and take up his cross [stake]
, and follow Me.
(25) For whosoever will save his life shall lose
it: and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it.
In
opposition to those Pharisees, Paul was telling the Assembly in Galatia the
following:
Gal.
5 (1) Stand fast therefore in the liberty
wherewith Messiah hath made us free,
and be not entangled again with the yoke
of bondage [by
being justified by the observance of all
of the legalisms of the Older
Covenants Torah]. (2) Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be
circumcised [because
you think that you will be denied salvation without it as they have convinced
you], Messiah
shall profit you nothing. (3) For
I testify again to every man that is circumcised [because
you think that you will be denied salvation without it as they have convinced
you], that he is a debtor to do the whole law [which
would also include sacrificing annimals etc.]. (4) Messiah
is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the [observance of all the legalisms of the Older Covenants, especially
circumcision] law [Torah];
[then]
ye are fallen from grace. (5)
For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. [not
by observing all of the legalisms of the older Covenants Torah] (6)
For in YAHshua Messiah
neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
However,
this was not meant to be a total ban on circumcision or participating in any
older covenant law as Paul had Timothy circumcised. He did not do this because
Timothy would be in danger of loosing his salvation if he was not circumcised.
(He did it because the Jews would not listen to Timothy if he wasn’t
circumcised.)
Acts
16 (1) Then came he to Derbe and Lystra and, behold, a certain disciple
was there, named Timotheus, the son
of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was
a Greek: (2) Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and
Iconium. (3) Him would Paul have to go
forth with him; and took and circumcised
him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew
all that his father was a Greek.
With
the advice of James and the Elders of
the Assembly at Jerusalem, Paul
participated in such things as cleansing
rituals which were administered under the Levitical Priesthood. They did
these things with the Jews before the temple and the Levitical Priesthood had
been taken away in order to be able to teach them Messiah. (I doubt very seriously
that they would have done any of these things after the Temple was taken away if
they had lived that long.)
Acts
21 (20) And when they [James
and all the Elders of the Assembly at Jerusalem] heard it,
they glorified YAHWEH, and said unto him, Thou
seest, Brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law [Torah]: (21)
And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews
which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children,
neither to walk after the customs [of the Torah].
… (23) Do therefore this
that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them; (24)
Them take, and purify thyself with
them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their
heads: and all may know that those
things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are
nothing; but that thou thyself
also walkest orderly, and keepest the
law [Torah]. … (26) Then Paul
took the men, and the next day purifying
himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of
the days of purification, until that
an offering should be offered for every
one of them.
Surely
at the time that Paul, James and the Elders of the Assembly at Jerusalem
participated in these things, (without bringing themselves under the bondage of it) they used these
Torah traditions and customs as a teaching tool which the Torah of the Old
Covenant was for in the first place.
Gal.
3 (21) Is the law then against the
promises of YAHWEH<span
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YAHWEH forbid: for if there
had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should
have been by the law. (22) But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by
faith of Yahshua
Messiah might be given to them that believe. (23)
But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith
which should afterwards be revealed. (24) Wherefore
the law [Torah] was our schoolmaster
to bring us unto Messiah, that we might be justified
by faith. (25) But after that faith is
come, we are no longer under a
schoolmaster.
Paul,
James and the Elders of the Assembly at Jerusalem surely explained to the their
Jewish brothers who were still in bondage under the Torah what those Torah
traditions or customs signified. It was in this manner that they were taught Messiah.
After they were won over for Messiah,
they were surely taught the Torah as mediated by the Messiah under the terms of the New
Covenant. which replaces the Torah of older covenants. If this was not the case
then they would have engendered themselves back into bondage of the older
covenants.
Gal.
4 (21) Tell me, ye
that desire to be under the law [older
covenant Torah], do ye not hear the law? (22) For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a
bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. (23) But
he who
was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by
promise. (24) Which things are an
allegory: for these are the two Covenants;
the one from the mount Sinai, which
gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. (25) For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem
which now is, and is in bondage with her
children. (26) But Jerusalem
which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. (27)
For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren
that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the
desolate hath many more children than she which hath a husband [Isa 54:1]. (28)
Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. (29)
But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. (30) Nevertheless
what saith the scripture? Cast out the
bondwoman and her son: for the
son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. (31)
So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.
CONCLUSION
If
the Assembly in Galatia, with the idea that salvation would be denied them if
they did not obey those older covenant commands pertaining to the things of the
flesh, had started circumcising the flesh and adhering to statutes required by
the older covenants that only brought temporary righteousness to the doers of
the Torah until Messiah,
then they would have indeed engendered themselves into bondage to Mount Sinai
which is Hagar. They would have literally taken upon themselves the promise that
they could perform and fulfill the demands of the older covenant. As Paul said,
they would have fallen from grace because they were in essence saying, that even
though the Messiah
died for them, they still had to meet the demands of the older covenants in
order to be saved. They would have indeed been deceived by the deceiver and
would have needed to repent and turn to embrace the Messiah.
They would have needed to fully placed their faith in YAHshua rather than supplementing
that faith with the works of the fazed out Old Covenant Torah for righteousness.
Paul tells us, that YAHshua
is the fulfillment of YAHWEH’S
promise (i.e. Messiah)
for our righteousness in the New Covenant.
Ro.
10 (1) Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to YAHWEH
for Israel is, that they might be saved. (2) For I bear them record that they
have a zeal of YAHWEH,
but not according to knowledge. (3) For they being ignorant of YAHWEH'S
righteousness, and going about to
establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness
of YAHWEH. (4)
For Messiah is
the end [conclusion i.e.
fulfillment goal] of the torah for righteousness to every one that
believeth.
T.A.H.