Origins From Of Old

Micah 5:1-2 - Marshal your troops, O city of troops, for a siege is laid against us. They will strike Israel's ruler on the cheek with a rod. "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.

John 8:58 - "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!"

2 Samuel 7:14-16 - I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.' "

Isaiah 9:6-7 - For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

Amos 9:11-12 - "In that day I will restore David's fallen tent. I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be, so that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear my name," declares the LORD, who will do these things.

Conclusions:

• Jesus has always been
• Jesus kingdom will endure forever
• His kingdom will be just and righteous forever

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Restored

Micah 4:8-13 - As for you, O watchtower of the flock, O stronghold of the Daughter of Zion, the former dominion will be restored to you; kingship will come to the Daughter of Jerusalem." Why do you now cry aloud—have you no king? Has your counselor perished, that pain seizes you like that of a woman in labor? Writhe in agony, O Daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor, for now you must leave the city to camp in the open field. You will go to Babylon; there you will be rescued. There the LORD will redeem you out of the hand of your enemies. But now many nations are gathered against you. They say, "Let her be defiled, let our eyes gloat over Zion!" But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD; they do not understand his plan, he who gathers them like sheaves to the threshing floor. "Rise and thresh, O Daughter of Zion, for I will give you horns of iron; I will give you hoofs of bronze and you will break to pieces many nations." You will devote their ill-gotten gains to the LORD, their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

Zechariah 9:9 - Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Genesis 50:20 - You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

Isaiah 45:1-2 - "This is what the LORD says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of to subdue nations before him and to strip kings of their armor, to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron.

Daniel 2:44 - "In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.

Conclusions:

• Watchtower of the flock is the capital city of David, the shepherd-king
• The kingdom of David will be restored under the Messiah
• Your king is the Davidic Messianic King
• Righteous means conforming to the divine standard of morality and ethics, particularly as revealed in the Mosaic legislation; a characteristic of the ideal king
• Gentle means humble
• Riding on a donkey was a suitable choice, since the donkey was a lowly animal of peace as well as a princely mount before the horse came into common use
• The royal mount used by David and his sons was the mule
• Joseph's brother's act out of personal animosity toward a brother, had been used by God to save life--the life of the Israelites, the Egyptians and all the nations that came to Egypt to buy food in the face of a famine that threatened the known world
• At the same time, God showed by these events that His purpose for the nations is life and that this purpose would be effected through the descendants of Abraham

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Bloodshed And Bribes

Micah 3:9-11 - Hear this, you leaders of the house of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel, who despise justice and distort all that is right; who build Zion with bloodshed, and Jerusalem with wickedness. Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD and say, "Is not the LORD among us? No disaster will come upon us."

Habakkuk 2:12 - "Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshed and establishes a town by crime!

Exodus 23:8 - "Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds those who see and twists the words of the righteous.

Ezekiel 13:19 - You have profaned me among my people for a few handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. By lying to my people, who listen to lies, you have killed those who should not have died and have spared those who should not live.

Hosea 4:8 - They feed on the sins of my people and relish their wickedness.

Jeremiah 7:4 - Do not trust in deceptive words and say, "This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD!"

Ezekiel 34:2 - "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?

Conclusions:

• Babylonian injustice is condemned in Habakkuk 2:12
• Samuel exemplified faithful stewardship with regard to bribes, while his sons did not
• Involvement in religious matters of any kind for mere gain is consistently condemned in the Bible
• Priests devoured the sacrifices, profiting from the continuation of the sin rather than helping to cure it
• The idea that God would not destroy Jerusalem simply because His dwelling, the temple, was located there was a delusion, fostered in part by the miraculous deliverance of the city during the reign of Hezekiah
• Shepherds of Israel are those responsible for providing leadership, especially the kings and their officials, but also the prophets and priests
• The Israelites in Jeremiah's time thought the temple was the buildings that constituted the entire temple complex

Application:

• Are you unjust?
• Do you exemplify faithful stewardship?
• Are you involved in religious matters for mere gain?
• Do you profit from sin or seek to cure it?
• Do you trust in deceptive words?
• Do you only take care of yourself and not your flock?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

He Will Not Answer Them

Micah 3:4-5 - Then they will cry out to the LORD, but he will not answer them. At that time he will hide his face from them because of the evil they have done. This is what the LORD says: "As for the prophets who lead my people astray, if one feeds them, they proclaim 'peace'; if he does not, they prepare to wage war against him.

Isaiah 58:4 - Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.

Isaiah 53:6 - We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Conclusions:

• "They" are the leaders.
• Disobedience leads to separation from God
• Hypocritical religious activity is a hindrance to prayer
• The false prophets predicted peace for Judah while Micah predicted destruction and captivity
• Our iniquities are laid on Jesus just as the priest laid his hands on the scapegoat and symbolically put Israel's sins on it

Application:

• Are you disobedient? Are you separated from God?
• Is your religious activity hypocritical?
• Have you gone astray? Have you turned to your own way?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Leaders And Prophets Rebuked

Micah 2:11-3:4 - If a liar and deceiver comes and says, 'I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,' he would be just the prophet for this people! "I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob; I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel. I will bring them together like sheep in a pen, like a flock in its pasture; the place will throng with people. One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate and go out. Their king will pass through before them, the LORD at their head." Then I said, "Listen, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel. Should you not know justice, you who hate good and love evil; who tear the skin from my people and the flesh from their bones; who eat my people's flesh, strip off their skin and break their bones in pieces; who chop them up like meat for the pan, like flesh for the pot?" Then they will cry out to the LORD, but he will not answer them. At that time he will hide his face from them because of the evil they have done.

Romans 12:9 - Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.

Psalm 14:4 - Will evildoers never learn—those who devour my people as men eat bread and who do not call on the LORD ?

Conclusions:

• If I am not just, if I hate good and love evil, God will not answer when I cry out
• My love must be sincere
• If I do not call on the Lord, I am an evildoer.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

The Lord Is Coming

Micah 1:1-5 - The word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah—the vision he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. Hear, O peoples, all of you, listen, O earth and all who are in it, that the Sovereign LORD may witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple. Look! The LORD is coming from his dwelling place; he comes down and treads the high places of the earth. The mountains melt beneath him and the valleys split apart, like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope. All this is because of Jacob's transgression, because of the sins of the house of Israel. What is Jacob's transgression? Is it not Samaria? What is Judah's high place? Is it not Jerusalem?

Isaiah 1:2 - Hear, O heavens! Listen, O earth! For the LORD has spoken: "I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me.

Psalm 96:13 - Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; they will sing before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth.

Genesis 32:28 - Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome."

Micah 3:8 - But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the LORD, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression, to Israel his sin.

Micah 5:2-3 - "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives birth and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites.

Conclusions:

• Isaiah begins and ends the book of Isaiah with the condemnation of those who rebel against God
• Isaiah calls on heaven and earth to testify to the truth of God's accusation against Israel and the rightness of His judgment--since they were witnesses of His covenant
• Because God reigns over all things and is the Lord of history, Israel lived in hope of the coming of God--His future acts by which He would decisively deal with all wickedness and establish His righteousness in the earth
• The Lord is coming is an Old Testament expression describing the Lord's intervention in history

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Marks Of Jesus

Galatians 6:17-18 - Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.

Galatians 1:10 - Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Conclusions:

• In ancient times the Greek word for marks was used of the brand that identified slaves or animals
• Paul's suffering (stoning, beating, illness) marked him as a servant of Christ
• Paul once wore the yoke of slaverey but, having been set free from sin by the redemption that is in Christ, he became a slave of righteousness, a slave of God
• Amen is a word of confirmation often used at the close of a doxology or benediction

Application:

• Are you a slave of righteousness? Are you a slave of God? Have you been set free from sin by the redemption that is in Christ?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

New Creation

Galatians 6:15-16 - Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God.

2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Philippians 3:6 - For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.

Conclusions:

• In Christ man undergoes a transformation that results in an entirely new being
• Creation again takes place
• In Christ means united with Christ through faith in Him and commitment to Him
• Redemption is the restoration and fulfillment of God's purposes in creation, and this takes place in Christ, through whom all things were made and in whom all things are restored or created anew
• Israel of God is a contrast to Israel according to flesh. The New Testament church, made up of believing Jews and Gentiles, is the new seed of Abraham and the heir according to the promise--though some limit the phrase to Christian Jews
• Circumcision's true, inner meaning is realized only in believers, who worship God with genuine spiritual worship and who glory in Christ as their Savior rather than trusting in their own human effort
• Everyone is a boaster, either in Christ or in himself
• Flesh is weak human nature
• Although the term flesh in Paul's letters often refers to sinful human nature, it speaks in Philippians 3:3 of the frailty of human nature: It is not worthy of our confidence; it cannot save

Application:

• Have you been transformed into an entirely new being?
• Are you united with Christ through faith and commitment to Him?
• Do you worship God with genuine spiritual worship? Do you glory in Christ as your Savior?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Crucified To Me, And I To The World

Galatians 6:10-14 - Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand! Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh. May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Titus 2:12-14 - It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

Philippians 3:3-6 - For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.

James 4:4 - You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.

Conclusions:

• Salvation involves the double work of redeeming us from guilt and judgment and of producing moral purity and helpful service to others
• Large letters may have been for emphasis or, as some have suggested, because Paul had poor eyesight
• By advocating circumcision the Judaizers were less apt to experience opposition from the Jewish opponents of Christianity
• Judaizers were thinking only of themselves
• The true, inner meaning of circumcision is realized only in believers who worship God with genuine spiritual worship and who glory in Christ as their Savior rather than trusting in their own human effort
• Everyone is a boaster, either in Christ or in himself
• The world is all that is against God
• Adulterous people are those who are spiritually unfaithful, who love the world rather than God

Application:

• Are you eager to do what is good? (morally pure; helpful service to others?)
• Do you worship God with genuine spiritual worship? Do you glory in Christ as your Savior?
• Are you choosing to be a friend to the world?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Carry His Own Load

Galatians 6:4-6 - Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load. Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.

Jeremiah 31:30 - Instead, everyone will die for his own sin; whoever eats sour grapes—his own teeth will be set on edge.

2 Corinthians 5:10 - For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

1 Timothy 5:17 - The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.

Philippians 4:18-19 - I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

Conclusions:

• Each of us is responsible before God
• The reference to carry his own load may be to the future judgment, when every person will give an account to God
• Although group or collective responsibility is an important concept, Jeremiah and Ezekiel emphasize individual responsibility as both preparation and explanation for the imminent destruction of Jerusalem, which the people might have been tempted to blame on the sins of their forefathers
• This accounting has nothing to do with justification, which is credited to the Christian fully and forever through faith in Christ; instead, it refers to what we have done with our lives as Christians
• Although the body is wasting away, we are responsible for our actions while in it
• Non-Christians, too, are morally responsible and liable to God's judgment, but Paul has believers in mind in 2 Corinthians 5:10
• All elders were to exercise leadership and to teach and preach, and all were to receive honor
• But those who excelled in leadership were to be counted worthy of double honor
• This was especially true of those who labored at teaching and preaching
• Such honor should include financial support
• The Old Testament background is the sacrifice, not of atonement for sin, but of thanksgiving and praise

Application:

• Are you tempted to blame your sins on your forefathers?
• Are you responsible for your actions?
• Do you financially support your elders?
• Are your offerings acceptable and pleasing to God?
• Have you sacrificially given to meet your leader's needs?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Law Of Christ

Galatians 6:2-5 - Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load.

1 Corinthians 9:21 - To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law.

James 2:8 - If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right.

1 Corinthians 11:28 - A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup.

Conclusions:

• The emphasis of carry each other's burdens is on moral burdens or weaknesses
• Those not having the law are those who have not been raised under the Old Testament law (Gentiles)
• Paul accommodated himself to Gentile culture when it did not violate his allegiance to Christ, though he still reckoned that he was under God's law and Christ's law (teachings)
• The law of love is called royal because it is the supreme law that is the source of all other laws governing human relationships
• The royal law is the summation of all such laws
• Each one should test his own actions emphasizes personal responsibility
• A person should test the attitude of his own heart and actions and his awareness of the significance of the Supper, thus making the Supper, under God, a spiritual means of grace

Application:

• Are you willing to accommodate yourself to the culture when it does not violate your allegiance to Christ?
• Do you keep the royal law found in Scripture?
• Do you examine yourself before you partake of the Lord's Supper?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Self-Control

Galatians 5:13,16,22-24 - You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love…So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature…But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.

Acts 24:25 - As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, "That's enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you."

Romans 8:3-4 - For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

Romans 13:14 - Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

Conclusions:

• Hearing of righteousness, self-control and the judgment, Felix looked at his past life and was filled with fear
• Felix had a spark of sincerity and concern
• Lust, pride, greed and selfish ambition made it continually inconvenient to change
• Liberty is not license but freedom to serve God and each other in love
• Living by the Spirit should be habitual conduct
• Living by the promptings and power of the Spirit is the key to conquering sinful desires
• The law still plays a role in the life of a believer--not, however, as a means of salvation but as a moral and ethical guide, obeyed out of love for God and by the power that the Spirit provides
• The righteous requirements of the law are fulfilled in us
• God's aim in sending His Son was that believers might be enabled to embody the true and full intentions of the law
• According to the Spirit is how the law's righteous requuirements can be fully met--by no longer letting the sinful nature hold sway but by yielding to the directing and empowering ministry of the Holy Spirit

Application:

• Do lust, pride, greed and selfish ambition make it continually inconvenient for you to change?
• Do you serve others in love?
• Do you live by the promptings and power of the Spirit?
• Do you yield to the directing and empowering ministry of the Holy Spirit?
• Do you practice all the virtues associated with Christ?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Live By

Galatians 5:16 - So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.

Romans 8:1-4,13-14 - Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit…For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Conclusions:

• Live by the Spirit means go on living by the Spirit
• Living by the promptings and power of the Spirit is the key to conquering sinful desires
• The law of the Spirit of life is the controlling power of the Holy Spirit, who is life-giving
• Paul uses the word law in several different ways in Romans--to mean, a controlling power; God's law; the Pentateuch; the Old Testament as a whole; a principle
• Law of sin and death is the controlling power of sin, which ultimately produces death
• The law still plays a role in the life of a believer--not, however, as a means of salvation but as a moral and ethical guide, obeyed out of love for God and by the power that the Spirit provides
• The righteous requirements of the law are fulfilled in us
• God's aim in sending His Son was that believers might be enabled to embody the true and full intentions of the law
• According to the Spirit is how the law's righteous requirements can be fully met--by no longer letting the sinful nature hold sway but by yielding to the directing and empowering ministry of the Holy Spirit
• God is the Father of all in the sense that He created all and His love and providential care are extended to all
• But not all are His children
• Redemption is the restoration and fulfillment of God's purposes in creation and this takes place in Christ, through whom all things were made and in whom all things are restored or created anew

Application:

• Do you live by the promptings and power of the Spirit?
• Has the controlling power of the Holy Spirit set you free from the controlling power of sin?
• Do you embody the true and full intentions of the law?
• Are you led by the Spirit of God?
• Are you in Christ?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Entire Law Is Summed Up

Galatians 5:13-15 - You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

Leviticus 19:18 - " 'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

Mark 12:31 - The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

Conclusions:

• Doing to others what you would have them do to you expresses the spirit and intention of the Law and the Prophets
• Leviticus 19:18 is quoted by Christ, Paul and James
• The stricter Pharisees added to Leviticus 19:18 what they thought it implied: Hate your enemy
• Jesus reaction, love your enemies, was in line with true Old Testament teaching and was more in agreement with the middle-of-the-road Pharisees
• Rabbi Nahmanides caught their sentiments: One should place no limitations upon the love for the neighbor, but instead a person should love to do an abundance of good for his fellow being as he does for himself
• Neighbor does not merely mean one who lives nearby, but anyone with whom one comes in contact
• Jesus joined the commandment from Leviticus 19:18 to show that love for neighbor is a natural and logical outgrowth of love for God
• Seeking to attain status with God and man by mere observance of law breeds a self-righteous, critical spirit
• Liberty is not license but freedom to serve God and each other in love

Application:

• Do you love your neighbor as yourself?
• Do you love to do an abundance of good for your fellow being?
• Do you seek to attain status with God and man by mere observance of the law?
• Do you serve others in love?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Offence Of The Cross

Galatians 5:7-13 - You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. "A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough." I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be. Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves! You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.

1 Corinthians 5:6 - Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?

Romans 9:32 - Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the "stumbling stone."

Conclusions:

• The Galatians were running a good race before the Judaizers hindered them
• Paul was fond of depicting the Christian life as a race
• The persuasion that kept the Galatians from obeying the truth came by the Judaizers
• A proverb used in Galatians 5:9 stresses the pervasive effect of Judaism
• When the word yeast in the Bible is used as a symbol, it indicates evil or false teaching, except in Matthew 13:33
• To illustrate Christian holiness and discipline, Paul alludes to the prohibition against the use of yeast (leaven) in the bread eaten in the Passover Feast
• Leaven in Scripture usually symbolizes evil or sin, and the church in 1 Corinthians 5:6 is called on to get rid of the yeast of sin because they are an unleavened batch of dough--new creations in Christ
• The failure of Israel was not that she pursued the wrong thing, but that she pursued it by works in a futile effort to merit God's favor rather than pursuing it by faith
• The stumbling stone is Jesus, the Messiah
• God's rejection of Israel was not arbitrary but was based on Israel's rejection of God's way of gaining righteousness
• The Greek word for "emasculate themselves" means to cut of or to castrate
• In Philippians, Paul uses a related word to describe the same sort of people as mutilators of the flesh
• Paul's sarcasm is evident
• Liberty is not license but freedom to serve God and each other in love

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Faith Expressing Itself Through Love

Galatians 5:5-6 - But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

1 Thessalonians 1:3 - We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Galatians 2:21 - I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"

Galatians 6:15 - Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.

Conclusions:

• The righteousness for which we hope is a reference to God's final verdict of not guilty, assured presently to the believer by faith and by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit
• The righteousness for which we hope is one of the few eschatological statements in Galatians
• Faith is not mere intellectual assent, but a living trust in God's grace that expresses itself in acts of love
• The triad of faith, hope and love is found often in the New Testament
• Faith produces action
• Hope is not unfounded wishful thinking, but firm confidence in our Lord Jesus Christ and His return
• To mingle legalism with grace distorts grace and makes a mockery of the cross
• In Christ man undergoes a transformation that results in an entirely new being
• Creation again takes place

Application:

• Do you have a living trust in God's grace that expresses itself in acts of love?
• Do you have firm confidence in our Lord Jesus Christ and His return?
• Do you mingle legalism with grace?
• Are you an entirely new being in Christ?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible