Galatians 3:29

God had given his laws to the *Jews. But now everyone can receive the good things that God promised to Abraham. *Gentiles do not need to obey the *Jewish laws. And they do not need to become *Jews. They just need to trust Jesus Christ. And the *Jews need to trust Jesus Christ too.

good news ~ the good news for everyone that God forgives everyone who trusts Jesus Christ. God sent Jesus to this world. Jesus died on a wooden cross and then God made him alive again. Jesus died on our behalf. He died to make people free from their sins.
sin ~ when people do not obey God; something bad that a person does against God or against other people.
miracle ~ a great thing that only God can do; an event that seems to be opposite to natural events.
Jew ~ a person who comes from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; or, a person who follows the Jewish religion.
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything about Jews.
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything about Jews.
Jew ~ a person who comes from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; or, a person who follows the Jewish religion.
miracle ~ a great thing that only God can do; an event that seems to be opposite to natural events.
Scripture ~ another name for the Bible, especially the Old Testament.

Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible, which writers wrote before Jesus was born.
Gentile ~ any person who is not a Jew.
Jew ~ a person who comes from the family of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; or, a person who follows the Jewish religion.
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything about Jews.
spiritual ~ that which belongs to the spirit rather than physical things; that which belongs to God’s Spirit or to heaven.'Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible, which writers wrote before Jesus was born.
sin ~ when people do not obey God; something bad that a person does against God or against other people.
descendant ~ a future member of a family or a nation.
angel ~ a servant of God. He brings messages from God to people on earth. But an ‘evil angel’ (also called a demon or evil spirit) is a servant of the devil.
angel ~ a servant of God. He brings messages from God to people on earth. But an ‘evil angel’ (also called a demon or evil spirit) is a servant of the devil.
sin ~ when people do not obey God; something bad that a person does against God or against other people.
baptism ~ the way that people show to everyone that they belong to Christ. The person goes under water, or someone puts water on the person.
baptism ~ the way that people show to everyone that they belong to Christ. The person goes under water, or someone puts water on the person.

Continue to Believe the Truth

Galatians

Roy Rohu

Chapter 3

v1 You foolish Christians at Galatia, someone has made fools of you. But you have known how Jesus died! v2 I want you to think about this one fact. You did not receive the *Holy Spirit because you obeyed the laws. You received the *Holy Spirit because you heard. And then you believed.

Here is what the Christians at Galatia had received:

• Paul, who brought the *good news (4:14).

• The *good news itself (1:9, 12).

• God had brought them into his family (4:5).

• The *Holy Spirit (3:2).

They had received all of this. Paul cannot believe that they could forget.

v3 Do not be so foolish! You cannot complete by effort what God has started. v4 You have suffered so many things. And I am sure that you did not suffer in vain. v5 God gives his *Holy Spirit and he does *miracles among you. He does not do this because you obey the laws. Instead, you believe the truth that you heard. And so God does these things among you.

v6 Similarly, Abraham trusted God and God declared him to be a friend of God. v7 You see! People who trust God are the real ‘sons’ of Abraham! v8 There it is in the *scripture! God decided to make people right with him by *faith. There is the *good news to Abraham, ‘Through you I will do good things for all the people in the world.’ This includes *non-Jews. v9 So then anyone who has *faith has *peace like Abraham.

Some people think that we do not need the *Old Testament. But we could not understand verses 6-9 without it. God is angry with those who trust in keeping rules. We know this because the *scriptures say so. (See Deuteronomy 27:26.) This is because people cannot keep all the rules. (See Deuteronomy 31:26.) Nobody has ever obeyed all the laws (Romans 3:10). If a person does not obey one part of the laws, he is also guilty of the other parts. This shows that the person is against God (James 2:10).

v10 Some people think that their own efforts please God. But he is angry with such people. The *scripture says, ‘God is angry with everyone who does not obey all of the laws.’ v11 To obey the laws does not make a person into a friend of God. But *faith gives life to the person who becomes a friend of God. The *scriptures say that. v12 The laws do not bring *faith. The person who obeys the laws will just continue to obey rules. v13 Christ has removed his anger from us. We do not need to obey the laws in order to have *peace with God. He took our punishment upon himself. The *scriptures say, ‘A punishment is on everyone who hangs on a tree.’ v14 Christ died for us. In that way, God’s promises to Abraham now come to all the people in the world. So, because of what Jesus has done, we can receive the *Holy Spirit by *faith.

Because of what Jesus did, God will not punish us. Jesus took the punishment on himself to make us free (Deuteronomy 21:22-23).

v15 Nobody can change a man’s *will after he has made it.

v16 Now God gave the promise to Abraham and to his *descendant. *Scripture does not say ‘*descendants’, it says ‘*descendant’. That is, one *descendant. That *descendant is Christ. v17 Now the laws came 430 years after God’s promise to Abraham. So the laws cannot put an end to God’s ‘*will’, (his promise). v18 If we have to gain the promise by keeping rules, God’s promise is nothing. But God freely gave the promises to Abraham.

We are not able to *earn our *salvation by what we do. And we are not able to *earn it by what we do not do. The laws show us that. When we see that, we are ready to go to Jesus for help.

The purpose of the laws and the rest of the *Old Testament was to lead us to Jesus (Matthew 11:13; Luke 16:16). When we are right with God, we can show our love for God. God’s *Holy Spirit (verse 14) helps us to love God. And he helps us to obey God.

v19 I will tell you why God added the laws. He added them because people were doing wrong things. The laws would last until Abraham’s *descendant, Jesus, came. *Angels gave the laws to Moses. And Moses gave the laws to the people. v20 But, when God gave his promise to Abraham, he did it by himself alone.

Moses stood between God and the *Jewish people. God used *angels to give his laws to Moses. (See Hebrews 2:2; Acts 7:53; Deuteronomy 5:5.)

v21 But the laws are certainly not against the promise of God. Because, if life could come from the laws, then to obey the rules would make us right with God. v22 But the *scripture says that all people are guilty of *sin. So the promise is for all who have *faith in Jesus.

v23 At first, the laws were all that we had. That was before *faith came. We had to wait for the *faith that was to come. v24 The laws were our *guardian until *faith came. Now, by *faith in Jesus, we can be right with God. v25 Now that *faith has come, the laws are no longer like our *guardian. v26 Now that you have *faith in Christ Jesus, you are all children of God. v27 You have accepted *baptism in the name of Jesus. His life covers you like new clothes.

*Baptism is an important action. People who want *baptism should be ready to live to please Jesus. Paul writes more about *baptism in Romans 6:1-8.

v28 There is no longer *Jew or *non-Jew, slave or free person, male or female. God makes all of us one family in Christ Jesus. v29 If you are Christ’s, you are Abraham’s *descendant. And the promise of God to Abraham is yours too.

This verse teaches that every Christian person is in God’s family. God is a loving Father, who cares for each Christian. He appreciates men and women, servants and rulers, and people from all countries. God does not prefer one person to another person. Things like colour of skin and wealth can divide people. In Christ, they are no longer important to us. He wants us to live at *peace with each other (John 17:20-23).

Holy Spirit ~ also called the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ and the Comforter. He is equal with and he is joined to God and Christ. Jesus sent God’s Holy Spirit to help people.'good news ~ the good news that God saves people from sin by Jesus Christ.

sin/sins ~ when people do things against God or other people.
miracles ~ wonderful works which God does by his power.
scripture ~ a book of God’s holy message.
faith ~ belief in something; or belief and trust in someone; or belief and trust in God and in His Son, Jesus Christ.'non-Jew ~ a person who is not a Jew.
Jew ~ a person who is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children; or a person who believes what Jews believe.
peace ~ when we are friends with God and with other people.'Old Testament ~ the first part of the Bible.
will ~ a person writes a will; it says who should get his possessions after his death.
descendant ~ a child, grandchild, and so on; a person in your family who lives after you are dead.
scripture ~ a book of God’s holy message.
earn ~ gain by work.
salvation ~ when God frees us from the results and power of sin; the rescue of a person from evil things and their results in their life; God forgives us when we are sorry for our wrong ways.

sin/sins ~ when people do things against God or other people.
angel ~ a servant from God who brings messages from God’s home.
Jewish ~ a word that describes a Jew or anything that belongs to a Jew.
Jew ~ a person who is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children; or a person who believes what Jews believe.
angel ~ a servant from God who brings messages from God’s home.'sin/sins ~ when people do things against God or other people.
guardian ~ a person who takes care of children instead of the natural parents.
baptism ~ when they put a person under water or put water on a person; it is to show that they want to obey Christ.
baptism ~ when they put a person under water or put water on a person; it is to show that they want to obey Christ.
Jew ~ a person who is born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children; or a person who believes what Jews believe.