Understanding Galatians

UNDERTSANDING GALATIANS – AN OVERVIEW OF PAUL’S MESSAGE

Galatians

Blessed be Yahweh our Elohim, who has given us abundant life in Yahshua the Messiah, amen! Shabbat Shalom to you all and welcome. I am going to share with you tonight some great insight into understanding a book or letter that has, in many ways, often been misunderstood and has, in essence, left us at times confused. It is the letter to the Galatians by Paul. In light of what we as a fellowship have been going through over the past few weeks and months – having spoken about Torah and Grace, living the Married life and reviewing the Marriage vows etc – it is very fitting to bring you great insight into Galatians, helping us understand what Shaul (Paul) is really saying. Galatians is a letter that is often very quickly turned to in order to seemingly defend the right ‘not to walk in the Torah or Law of Elohim’. My message tonight is called, “Understanding Galatians – an overview of Shaul’s/Paul’s message.” Let us pray…

Shaul/Paul, at times, wrote in a way that was often hard to understand; Peter spoke of this in:

2 Peter 3:15-16 “Bear in mind that YHWH’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that Elohim gave him. 16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.”

The heart of what I want to address tonight is the issue of ‘law’. What is Paul teaching – did he keep it or didn’t he – did he teach it or didn’t he? Did his teachings go against what Yahshua taught or was he teaching what Yahshua taught?

Yahshua said in Matthew 5:18 that until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law or Torah until all has been accomplished! That is very straight forward – the new heaven and earth is not here yet, so nothing has disappeared! But on the outset, as many have so erroneously taught today, it appears that Paul is contradicting the very words of Yahshua by saying it is all gone and is old – we do not need to follow it. But is that really what Paul was saying, you must ask yourself, or was he simply a brilliant Torah teacher?

One thing we must realise is that we must never give up studying the Scriptures, seeking the correct interpretation of any given passage. In Paul’s writings there are terms such as ‘under the law, observance of the law, or ‘the works of the law’ etc and I want to shed some much needed light on these. Paul, in fact, warned that in the last days a spiritual delusion will come over the saints of Yahweh and many will fall away from Scripture and turn to a ‘Lawless’ or rather ‘Torahless’ gospel message referred to as the ‘mystery of iniquity’. Let us read 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12…

“Concerning the coming of our Master Yahshua Messiah and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of YHWH has already come. 3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called Elohim or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in Elohim’s temple, proclaiming himself to be Elohim. 5 Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? 6 And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. 7 For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed whom Yahweh Yahshua will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendour of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, 10 and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason Elohim sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.”