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OceanSide church of Christ
Read devotionals for January 2025
February 1, 2025
Galatians 2:14 – But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?
Thought: Peter understood that the Law of Moses was abolished at the cross. When he labored among the Gentiles and did not expect them to keep the Law. In fact, he himself did not adhere to all of the demands of law. However, when the Jews came to Antioch, he withdrew from the Gentiles and adhered to the Jewish beliefs and practices. Thus, Paul asked Peter the question: If you do not have to live as do the Jews, why would he make the Gentiles live as do the Jews?
Acts 15:24
February 2, 2025
Galatians 2:15 -We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles.
Thought: Prior to the ratification of the New Covenant, there was a great distinction between Jews and Gentiles in the first century. The Jews were the people of God. The Gentiles were idol worshipers. The Jews lived by the law of God. The Gentiles simply engaged in the works of the flesh. The Jews were holy. The Gentiles were sinners. The Jews viewed the Gentiles as an unclean people. They referred to them as dogs. Christianity, however, changed all of this.
John 4:6-9
February 3, 2025
Galatians 2:16 – Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
Thought: There are two things being contrasted in this verse, the works of the law and the faith. The works of the law are the commands and precepts of the Law of Moses. The faith is the system of faith found in the New Testament of Jesus Christ. It is the New Testament that enables man to be justified. “…for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” If this is true, why would anyone seek to bind the Old Law on the Gentiles? This was Paul’s argument.
Hebrews 10:1-4
February 4, 2025
Galatians 2:17 – But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.
Thought: Justification is by the faith of Jesus Christ, that is, through the New Covenant. If the Old Law were to be mixed with the new system, then we would be partially living under a system that could not take away sin. Thus, we would be found to be sinners. “Is therefore Christ the minister of sin?” Paul boldly affirms: “God forbid.” Jesus came to completely remove us from transgression. He isn’t the author of a system that cannot forgive sins.
Acts 13:38-39
February 5, 2025
Galatians 2:18 – For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.
Thought: This verse helps us understand Paul’s teaching in the previous verse. Paul was the apostle who clearly affirmed that the Old Law had been abolished. He taught that it was nailed to the cross of Calvary. He taught that the death of the testator, Jesus Christ, caused the New Testament to be operative. This covenant granted forgiveness. The Old Covenant did not. If he sought to build again the demands of the Law of Moses, he would become a transgressor.
Colossians 2:14
February 6, 2025
Galatians 2:19 – For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.
Thought: The Law of Moses served several purposes. It separated out the nation of the Jews from all other nations. It made sin appear exceedingly sinful. It brought individuals to the Christ. Once it served its purpose, it was done away. Those who understood the Law’s purposes and came to the Christ would live unto God. The Old Covenant was never intended to be lasting in nature. This doesn’t mean it was bad or sinful. It served God’s purposes.
Galatians 3:23-25
February 7, 2025
Galatians 2:20 – I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Thought: Christ was crucified physically. Paul was crucified spiritually. He put to death the old man of sin. The old man was buried in baptism and arose as a new creation. Christ lived in Paul. Each day of his life after his conversion was lived by “the faith of the Son of God,” that is, in harmony with the New Testament. This doctrine molded him into the likeness of Christ. His motivation stemmed from the fact that Jesus loved him, and gave Himself for him.
Romans 6:3-4
February 8, 2025
Galatians 2:21 – I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
Thought: The Law of Moses was not given to make mankind righteous. If the Law could have made men righteous, Jesus did not have to die on Calvary. In the first century, no one questioned whether Jesus died on the cross. He died in order to make men righteous. However, if the law had made men righteous, Jesus’ death was in vain. This teaching would frustrate the grace of God. It would bring to nought the redemptive work of Jesus on Calvary.
Hebrews 7:11
February 9, 2025
Galatians 3:1 – O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth crucified among you?
Thought: Paul describes the Galatians as foolish. They were foolish because they had been bewitched by the false teachers. The word “bewitched” means to “to fascinate” or “to charm.” Paul had taught the Galatians the truths surrounding the crucified Christ. He had told them that the Law of Moses had been nailed to the cross. The Galatians were now leaving the truth because the Judaizing teachers charmed them with their false doctrines. “O foolish Galatians!”
2 Corinthians 11:13-15
February 10, 2025
Galatians 3:2, 3 – This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
Thought: When the Galatians became Christians, they were given gifts of the Holy Spirit by the laying on of the apostles’ hands. The Holy Spirit gave them variously to be used to carry out the work of the church since they did not have the word of God in written form. Paul reminds them of their gifts and asks them whether they received them by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith. An honest answer should have caused them to remain in the truth.
Acts 8:14-17
February 11, 2025
Galatians 3:4 – Have ye suffered so many things in vain? If it be yet in vain.
Thought: Christians in the first century were often persecuted for their faith. Much of the persecution came from those affiliated with the Jewish religion. The Christians who suffered affliction, however, endured knowing they had embraced the truth in Christ Jesus. Now the Galatians were tempted to go back into Judaism. Thus, Paul asks: “Have ye suffered so many things in vain?” Where the Jews right? Had these Christians suffered needlessly for the faith?
Acts 8:1-4
February 12, 2025
Galatians 3:5 - He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
Thought: This argument is similar to Paul’s previous argument. The Galatians had the Spirit ministered unto them. This simply means the apostles had laid their hands on them and they received the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Paul asks: Where did those who ministered the Spirit to the Galatians receive that ability? “…doeth he is by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” It was by the hearing of faith. If so, why go back the Law that was void of this ability?
Acts 19:5-6
February 13, 2025
Galatians 3:6 – Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
Thought: There are some religious groups that use this verse to teach the doctrine of “salvation by faith only.” Each time this statement is made in Scripture, it needs to be kept in the context. Human faith can respond to three things from God: facts, promises, and commands. When faith responds to facts, it can only believe the facts. When faith responds to promises, it can only embrace the promises. But, when faith responds to commands, it must obey God’s Word.
James 2:21-23
February 14, 2025
Galatians 3:7 – Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
Thought: Abraham is often used as the Old Testament example of salvation by faith. His faith is important because it saved him before the Law of Moses was written and ratified. The Law, therefore, was not essential to a saving faith. In fact, salvation was not the purpose of the Old Covenant. In the Christian age, individuals can be approved of God just as Abraham was. “They which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.” Faith, not the Law, saves.
Romans 4:12-14
February 15, 2025
Galatians 3:8 – And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
Thought: In the days of Patriarchy, God had a dream He longed to bring to fruition. He would “justify the heathen through faith.” God made this plan known to Abraham by means of a promise. He told the father of the faithful that “in thee shall all nations be blessed.” Under the Old Covenant, God magnified sin and brought the Savior into the world through a pure lineage. The design of the Messiah was to save all by the faith of Abraham, not just the Jews.
John 8:56
February 16, 2025
Galatians 3:9 – So they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
Thought: To be placed in a group with Abraham was a privilege. The Jews had long boasted of their being the children of Abraham. Their boast excluded others. Under the New Covenant, all men can become the children of Abraham. This blessing is not tied to the works of the Law of Moses, but is tied to the hearing of faith. Jews and Gentiles could be partakers of this wonderful blessing. Truly, this was the promise given to Abraham in the distant past.
Romans 4:16
February 17, 2025
Galatians 3:10 – For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
Thought: The Law of Moses magnified sin. When a person sinned under the Law, there was no forgiveness. The blood of bulls and goats was not a sufficient sacrifice for man’s sins. The only alternative, therefore, was a curse. “Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the law.” The curse involved condemnation. The curse involved punishment. The curse involved death. Who could truly desire the live under the Law?
Deuteronomy 27:26
February 18, 2025
Galatians 3:11 -But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
Thought: Paul and other writers of the New Testament often make bold contrasts. Here, living by the law is contrasted with living by faith. Did the Law require faith? Absolutely. Is the New Testament a law? Yes. The key is the emphasis of each testament. The Law of Moses was a rigorous system of commands that condemned. The law of Christ involves conditions obeyed by faith that will bring salvation to the lost. The Law could not justify. Faith in Christ does.
Habakkuk 2:4
February 19, 2025
Galatians 3:12 – And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.
Thought: The law did not require faith in order for a person to be justified. The law required perfect obedience. “The man that doeth them shall live in them.” Once a person disobeyed the law, there was no forgiveness. He was condemned. The blood of bulls and goats did not remove his sins. Each year there was remembrance made of his transgressions. Faith, on the other hand, did involve forgiveness. The faith rested in the sufficient sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Leviticus 18:5
February 20, 2025
Galatians 3:13 - Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth upon a tree.
Thought: The law demanded the sentence of death upon the transgressors. To pay the debt for sin, God sent His Son to die. By His sacrifice, Christ redeemed man from the curse of the law. It is ironic that the sinless Son of God was made a curse for us. The proof of this was manifested by His crucifixion. It was written: “Cursed is every one that hangeth upon a tree.” God made him to be sin for us who knew no sin. This was the price of our redemption.
1 Peter 2:24
February 21, 2025
Galatians 3:14 – That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Thought: The blessing of Abraham was that all families of the earth would be blessed through his seed, Jesus Christ. This blessing included the Gentiles. It was accomplished by Jesus becoming a curse on the cross of Calvary. Jesus’ death enabled all, not just the Jews, to receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. The Gentiles could not ever be redeemed by the law because they were not the recipients of that covenant. Only the Jews were.
Genesis 22:18
February 22, 2025
Galatians 3:15 – Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannuleth, or addeth thereto,.
Thought: Paul affirms one of the common elements of a covenant of men. Once a covenant has been confirmed, that is, sealed, stamped, or signed, no man can reject it or add to it. It was to be carried out as written in the document. The same rule applies to covenants God made with men. Once God and man confirmed a covenant, both parties were supposed to fufill their obligations just as the covenant stated. A covenant is a binding contract.
Romans 7:2
February 23, 2025
Galatians 3:16 – Now to Abrham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
Thought: Paul makes an argument based upon one letter found in a promise made to Abraham and his seed. When the Lord said: “In thy seed all families of the earth shall be blessed,” the singular nature of the word “seed” was very important. “He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one.” God had one person in mind who would bless all families of the earth. “And to thy seed, which is Christ.” God chooses His words carefully. All of them are important.
Matthew 22:31-32
February 24, 2025
Galatians 3:17 – And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
Thought: Paul argues that the law which came after the promise does not disannul, that is, make the promise to Abraham of none effect. The law served its purpose in giving Christ to the world. Now, the promise given to Abraham was being fulfilled in Christ by faith. This was a difficult teaching for the Jews. It involved Abraham, their father, who received the promise and the law by which they had been living for hundreds of years. It took faith to accept it.
Genesis 17:7-8
February 25, 2025
Galatians 3:18 – For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
Thought: Paul notes that there is a clear distinction between the promise given to Abraham and the Law of Moses. “For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise.” On the other hand, if the inheritance is by promise, then it cannot be by the law. Paul plainly affirms that “God gave it to Abraham by promise.” The Jews honored Abraham, but they misunderstood the promise. The law, however, would not allow the promise to be fulfilled.
Hebrews 6:13-15
February 26, 2025
Galatians 3:19 – Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
Thought: Paul notes an argument of the Jews. “Wherefore then serveth the law?” In other words, what profit was there in the law? Paul answers: “It was added because of transgressions.” “…the Law was given to show the true nature of transgressions, or to show what was sin. It was not to reveal a way of justification, but it was to disclose the true nature of sin…” (Barnes, e-sword). Thus, angels revealed it unto Moses, the mediator of the Law.
Romans 7:7
February 27, 2025
Galatians 3:20 – Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.
Thought: This verse is simple and difficult at the same time. The concepts the verse expresses are simple. A mediator is not a mediator of one. He operates on behalf of two individuals. He is a go-between. The fact that “God is one” is another easily understandable expression. A plurality of Gods does not exist. There is one God, that is, one divine nature. The difficulty of the verse involves its application to Paul’s argument. The commentators are greatly divided.
1 Timothy 2:5
February 28, 2025
Galatians 3:21 – Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.
Thought: This might have been one of the arguments the Judaizing teachers made against Paul. They would have accused Paul of saying that the Law of Moses was against, that is, in opposition to the promises of God. When asked the question, Paul responds: “God forbid.” No law without the blood of Christ could have given life. If there had been such a law, “verily righteousness should have been by the law.” The law wasn’t evil. It served its own purpose.
Romans 3:28-31
Read devotionals for March 2025