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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Galatians 5:4 | Gal 5:4 | jeannienbottle2000 | 132705 | ||
In Galatians 5:4 What does the word Grace mean here in context? I heard that it isn't salvation itself but the method of salvation. This is how my pastor interprets it. But when I looked up grace in the concordance in this passage it gives this rendering -charin, through favor of, i.e. on account of:-be(for) cause3 of , for sake of,...fore, reproachfully. Blessings, Jeannie |
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2 | Galatians 5:4 | Gal 5:4 | Hank | 132706 | ||
Jeannie: Good question, yours, and one that demands more than a one-liner for an answer! So, being naturally of a lazy disposition, I am loathe to enter a long and involved answer -- one that gives a 'fair and balanced' exegesis of the passage -- but I see no viable alternative. Here goes it: Legalism requires men to keep the whole law. Legalism means the abandonment of Christ as one's only hope of righteousness. This verse, Galatians 5:4, has given rise to considerable discussion. Many different interpretations have been offered, but these may be grouped broadly into three categories, as follows. ........ [1] -- Many hold that Paul here teaches that it is possible for a person to be truly saved, then fall into sin, and, therefore, to fall from grace and be forever lost. This is often called the "falling away doctrine." But this interpretation appears to be unsound for two compelling reasons. First, the verse does not describe saved persons who fall into sin. There is, in fact, no mention of falling into sin. Rather, it is speaking of those who are living moral, respectable, upright lives and hope thereby to be saved. The passage therefore acts as a boomerang on those who use it to support the falling away doctrine. They teach that a Christian must keep the law, live a perfect life, and otherwise keep from sinning in order to remain saved. But this Scripture insists that all who seek to be justified by works of law or any self-effort have fallen from grace. And, secondly, such an interpretation contradicts the over-all consistent testimony of the New Testament that every true believer in Christ is eternally saved, that no sheep of Christ will ever perish, and that salvation depends solely on the finished work of the Savior, not on man's feeble and ineffectual efforts (John 3:16; John 3:36; 5:24; 6:47; 10:28). .......... [2] -- A second view of the verse is that it refers to those who were originally saved by faith in Christ but who subsequently put themselves under the law to retain salvation or achieve holiness. That is to say, they were saved by grace but now seek to be kept by law. In this case, to fall from grace is to turn from God's way of perfecting His saints by the work of the Spirit in them, and seek to that end through observance of external rites and ceremonies. But these are things that men of the flesh can observe as well as the saints of God. This view is unscriptural. First, the verse does not describe Christians who seek holiness or sanctification, but rather unsaved persons who seek justification (salvation) by law keeping. Note the exact wording: "you who are SEEKING to be justified by law." And, second, this explanation of the verse implies the possibility of saved people being "severed from Christ" -- and this is inconsistent with right views of the grace of God. .......... [3] -- The third interpretation is that Paul is speaking of people who might profess to be Christians but who are not truly saved. They are seeking to be justified by keeping the law. The Apostle is telling them that they cannot have two saviors; they must choose either Christ or the law. If they choose the law, they are severed from Christ as their only possible hope of righteousness; they have thus "fallen from grace." ...... Christ must be everything or nothing. No limited trust or divided allegiance, no mixture of salvific faith and "salvific" works, is acceptable to Him. The man who is justified by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ is a Christian. The man who seeks to be justified by the works of the law is not. ..... These thoughts represent a compendium of information about this passage excerpted from the context of the text itself, from MacArthur's Study Bible notes, and from the "Believer's Bible Commentary." --Hank | ||||||
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Questions and/or Subjects for Gal 5:4 | Author | ||
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Biblekidd | ||
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tj57h@cs.com | ||
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jeannienbottle2000 | ||
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jeannienbottle2000 | ||
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jeannienbottle2000 | ||
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Hank | ||
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kalos |