The Bible Provocateur
The Bible Provocateur
LIVE DISCUSSION: True Sons of Abraham (Part 1 of 5)
Dive into the profound simplicity of justification by faith alone through our exploration of Galatians 3:6-9. This rich discussion uncovers how righteousness works - not as something we achieve, but as something credited to our account when we believe God, just as Abraham did thousands of years ago.
The conversation begins with a powerful premise: God wasn't trying to confuse anyone with His gospel. Instead, He gave us a wonderfully simple message that many unnecessarily complicate. We explore how Paul emphatically teaches that justification comes by faith alone - not by works of any kind, whether civil, moral, or ceremonial laws.
What does it mean to be children of Abraham? We tackle this revolutionary concept that redefines spiritual lineage. True children of Abraham aren't determined by genetics or ritual circumcision, but by sharing Abraham's faith. This spiritual family transcends all physical barriers, allowing people from every nation to become part of God's covenant through faith alone.
Perhaps most striking is the revelation that there has only ever been one gospel throughout history. Abraham was justified through faith in God's promise of a coming Messiah, while we look back to Christ's completed work - but the mechanism of salvation remains identical. Abraham participated in the new covenant by anticipation, justified by faith in the certainty of Christ's future atonement.
Ready to embrace the beautiful simplicity of salvation by faith? Join us as we unpack how understanding justification by faith alone frees us from the impossible burden of self-righteousness and releases us into the joy of living by faith in Christ alone.
Christians, how are you doing this evening? I trust you're doing well and I'm doing all right. I'm looking forward to tonight's discussion and, like every other night when we get live together and we have our conversations, you never know what to expect. You just never know what to expect, but nonetheless, I am looking forward to this fellowship and this time of discussing the Word of God and our fine-tuning and sharpening the perspectives that we have when it comes to biblical truth. And I think it's important because many people take the word of God and they have a tendency to complicate it. But we don't want to complicate the word of God. We want to make it clear, precise and simple. Here's the thing the Lord, god, was not trying to confuse anyone. He wasn't trying to confuse anyone and in order to demonstrate that, he gave us a very simple gospel, a very simple gospel, a very simple gospel to believe and to promote our sanctification in this faith. And so what my goal is here is to try excuse me is here Is to try To Be a part of Making the gospel Simple To God's people, as we should do, as we should do, and so I'm looking forward to the conversation. Now. We are in the book of Galatians, an expository series on the book of Galatians, and, as I've maintained in the past with regard to this book, galatians is a book about understanding how we are justified, with, how we're justified, and Paul goes through great pains to educate us on how we are justified. We are justified by faith. We are justified by faith, and by faith alone. Not only that, not only does he tell us how we are justified, he tells us how we are not justified, so that we don't fall into a quagmire, into a pit, into quicksand. He tells us how we're not justified. We're not justified by any works of any law. We're not justified by any works of any law, whether it be civil, whether it be moral or whether it be ceremonial. No man Can be justified by any works Of any law, period. And there are going to be many people who will attempt to tell you Otherwise, and when they do so they frustrate the grace. People who will attempt to tell you otherwise, and when they do so they frustrate the grace of our Lord. But we are not going to do that, and I with you, we are not going to let people get away with these lies of those folks who would tell us that there's something more that we need to add to God's grace in order to be justified in his sight, in order to be reconciled to our Lord. Now, in the last segment on this chapter, or on Galatians, chapter 3, we left off on verse 6, where it says that See, therefore, that they which are of faith, the same I'm sorry, verse six Even as Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness, even as Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness to impute to Abraham's account his general ledger that he was now righteous. On what grounds? The grounds that he had faith in the Lord who could raise the dead. This is what we're told, this is what we believe. This is the very ground For our salvation.
Speaker 1:Now, when I went through Galatians 3. I had expected to get through verses 6 through 8 together, that grouping of text together, and we were not able to get through it because we had an event that was unexpected, that curtailed our endeavor to complete that section. So now I want to embark upon verses 7 through 9 of Galatians 3, with the intent and the goal to put some more color on what Paul is trying to communicate to us in this third chapter of Galatians. Now let me bring up something here, something here. So verse seven. I have already read verse six.
Speaker 1:Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Abraham did not have to do anything. Abraham did not have to do anything, didn't have to offer any sacrifices, didn't have to show his ability to be sinless in any kind of way or for any type of a sin. But it says that all he did in order to have righteousness imputed to his account was to believe God, and I love what it says here. Abraham believed God, galatians 3.6. He believed God. He believed what God says. He trusted in what God could do. He believed God and that belief was accounted to him, reckoned to him as righteousness. So here we go now to verse 7.
Speaker 1:Now let me just say one more thing Abraham, obtaining righteousness by faith, by believing God. It doesn't indicate or say or teach anywhere in the scripture that by believing it means you become righteous inherently. In other words, there are no righteous characteristics in or about you. Abraham understood that the righteousness that he had obtained was a righteousness that was imputed to his account, which means that the righteousness that he had was not his. If you are a believer, you have been saved by grace, through faith, and that means that if you do so, the righteousness of Christ, as a result of his obedience to the law of God, has been transferred to you, imputed to your account. You yourself were never righteous. There was no righteousness in you. The only thing that gives you righteousness was an imputation of the righteousness of Christ being given to you for your belief in God, through Jesus Christ, by grace, through faith, and I know that this seems a little simple. I know it seems a little simple For a lot of folks and I understand the simplicity of it Is only understood by those who are in Christ.
Speaker 1:But all men Do not belong to him. All men Will not be saved. All men Will not have the imputed righteousness of Christ put onto their account. All men will not be ransomed and redeemed, as we discussed last evening, by Christ. Ransom, regeneration or ransom, redemption, regeneration and resurrection is all an act of the Lord and it has nothing to do with you, nothing. I know so many of you want it to be, but it's not, I hate to tell you. For those of you who want to sit on the throne that exists in your heart, you are going to have a hard time dealing with this subject matter, the hardest thing for men to embrace is the simplest thing that men ought to embrace in order to receive the greatest gift that any person could ever receive the gift of eternal life, made possible through the blood, sacrifice and atonement of our Lord and Savior, jesus Christ. An atonement, by the way, which was only made and rendered and tendered to those whom the father elected and gave to the son in order to bring us to faith in him. It was necessary. It was necessary because man could not do it on his own. Man cannot do it of his own accord. Man was incapable. Why? Because of his sinful nature. Enough of my little rant.
Speaker 1:For the moment, let me read these three verses, and then I want to get the opening remarks from those who are on the panel currently. Galatians 3, are on the panel currently Galatians 3, verse 7, and I'm going to read through verse 9. Know ye, therefore, that they which are of faith, they which are of faith the same, are the children of Abraham. The same, they which are of faith the same meaning those who are of faith, these are the children of Abraham. Verse 8 in the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen, the Gentiles through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying in thee, in Abraham, that is in thee, in Abraham, that is in thee, shall all nations be blessed. So then, they which be of faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham.
Speaker 1:Now, listen, it is my hope and sincere desire that all of you, my friends here, my brethren on the panel, my brethren who are listening, that you understand these verses, that you understand these verses, because some of the things that I'm going to say following the introduction, the introductory comments of the panel, the things that I'm going to say following, some people are going to have a significant problem with. That's all right, we deal with problems. That's all right. We deal with problems One more time Know ye, therefore, that they which are of faith the same are the children of Abraham, and seeing in the scripture foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, priests before the gospel unto Abraham, saying in thee shall all the nations be blessed. So then, they which be of faith are blessed with the faithful Abraham. So now I want to open it up and get the initial comments from those who are on the panel. I want to start with my sister, angie. Your opening remarks, angie, your thoughts, whatever it is opening remarks. What do you think so far?
Speaker 4:Everybody. I just want to say God bless you all tonight. I'm so glad we're all here on Friday night, like I do on my Friday nights. My opening remark would be that to me, this is very simple. It's those who live by trusting and being faithful to God that are accounted as his children, as Abraham's children, because he was trusting and faithful in God himself. And the seed comes from Jesus Christ, who had, if you look at scripture, said Jesus had trusting faithfulness. So to me, that's just all connected together in this passage here that you're teaching us tonight. So, like I said, it's a simple concept, but a lot of people get it overcomplicated. It's not based on words, if you notice that. That's all grace. We all want to do that because we have Christ in us. Therefore, we have the desire to please God and we want to trust Him, and we want to trust him and we want to have faithfulness. So be faithful to him. So that's my opening comment.
Speaker 1:Thank you, sister, appreciate that. Johnny January opening remarks you there. Johnny Yep, I'm here, All right brother, how are you doing tonight?
Speaker 5:I'm here. I'm here. How are you, brother?
Speaker 1:I'm doing all right.
Speaker 5:Okay, we're here, amen. Romans 4 is interesting because it talks about in Romans 4 and 16. It says, therefore, it is of faith that it might be by grace to the end. The promise might be sure to all the seed, not to that only, which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all. As it is written, I made thee a father of many nations before thee, and so, looking at that, we can see that the promise is given to us by grace, undeserved favor. Right us, by grace, a deserved favor, right uh the love of god and his, his, his, his power to enable us right to have, uh, the salvation. But then there are also, uh, biblical principles related to the nature of saving faith too, and that's something that we have to understand. While we're saved by faith alone, faith to save is not the end of the expression of faith. Right For James, yeah, james, he said that faith without works is dead. I think that's in James, chapter 2, verse 14. I don't know if you want me to read all that.
Speaker 1:No, that's right, but I get what you're saying, because faith, faith is the producer of good works. Yes, faith is what produces the good works. So what James makes clear is that those two things go hand in hand. There are no good works that can be produced without faith. Right, plain and simple, plain and simple, plain and simple. Sister Mariah opening remarks.
Speaker 2:So first, as I'm looking, it's clear that we are. The gospel that we have today is the same gospel in which Abraham had and received in the beginning.
Speaker 1:Great point.
Speaker 2:And then, as I'm seeing that it went in verse seven, the same are the children of Abraham, and that really just reminds me of the scripture that, like in 2 Corinthians 5, 16, therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh, even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we no longer know him, thus no longer. So now it was at some point in time about flesh, about the physicality or the bloodline or the descendants, but now no longer is that the case.
Speaker 1:Right, amen. Good one, brother, jeffrey. Opening remarks. Brother, glad to have you.
Speaker 3:Oh, glad to be here. Good evening Jonathan, good evening panel and everyone joining down in the scroll. Good to see you and hear you all tonight. Joni is here with me tonight as well.
Speaker 4:Hey.
Speaker 3:Joni, I posted a scripture in the scroll a couple minutes ago, jonathan, isaiah 64, verse 6, that says Our righteousness is as filthy rags and garments before the Lord. And I would simply ask in respect and love, what part of that do we not understand? And love, what part of that do we not understand? Is that not as simple and as plain as it can be, that we can in no way save ourselves or get ourselves to a position before God that justifies us before God? We can't. It's that simple, do?
Speaker 1:you know? Do you know what in Isaiah 64, 6, do you know what the filthy rags are?
Speaker 3:I believe so, but maybe you should. You should say it, I think. But I think I do Go ahead.
Speaker 1:So look, one reason why I have no problem saying it is because that's what was said, right, yeah, but it is what was used back in that day for a women's menstrual reform Right.
Speaker 3:That is correct.
Speaker 6:That's pretty gross, that is correct.
Speaker 3:That is correct.
Speaker 1:Absolutely correct. So Isaiah is saying that that is how, that is what we can equivocate, or equal our righteousness to Correct.
Speaker 6:It's just pretty gross yeah.
Speaker 3:Go ahead. Yeah, jonathan, that should give us an incredibly clear picture or description of what God looks at and thinks of our righteousness, totally apart from him.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, absolutely, and I and I, you know him, absolutely, absolutely, and I and you know, and I, I have no problem because I think, I think that one reason why, whenever that verse comes up, I will never let it get past us what isaiah and what paul, who referred to isaiah was talking excuse me was talking about Because you don't really get the full import of what he is saying unless you talk about what he was saying so many people want to soft pedal the truth of God's word and they think that they need to stand in between God and then monitor how or what language he uses to communicate his truth to us.
Speaker 3:Yeah, they want to sugarcoat it, jonathan, and you can't. You poison it. If you try to Right, that's exactly what you do.
Speaker 1:And it's interesting that you say you poison it if you try to, because normally the poisoning comes with the addition of something and that is poisoning it. A little leaven leavens the whole lump, but likewise, on the flip side, pulling something out of it is equally poisoning to the truth. Right, and so good point. You brought up Candy girl. You're there.
Speaker 6:Can I say something?
Speaker 1:Go ahead, joni, go ahead.
Speaker 6:Okay. So there's a song Casting Crown Sings I'm a Nobody trying to tell somebody about, or everybody about somebody. And a friend of mine actually an ex-friend of mine she decided she don't want to be my friend, no more. She told me she hates that song. I'm not a nobody, right? Too bad I am. I'm not a nobody, right? Too bad I am, I'm a nobody. And in Casting Crowns that lead singer is dyslexic and should have never even graduated high school, let alone be the leader, lead singer in a band.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 6:That's amazing and I stood up for him to her. But it's just, some people think they're all that. No, whatever, Terry on top.
Speaker 7:Right, right.
Speaker 3:Apart from him, we can do nothing.
Speaker 1:We can do nothing and apart from him we are nothing. Amen, okay, candy girl, candy girl Thoughts. Your opening remarks you there.
Speaker 8:Yeah, I had to find myself on the screen here. All right.
Speaker 1:All right. What are your opening thoughts so far?
Speaker 8:When we come into Jesus, we are no longer us. It is him who is in us and we are in him. And by that, of course, you go to John. It's John 14, 23. I'm going to start there. Jesus answered and said to him If anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my Father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him. So unless, through the faith of hearing, and we come to Jesus and he comes in us and reconciles us to the Father who sends us his helper, the Spirit who is dwelling in us, then who are we?
Speaker 8:We are him, because it is Christ who lives in us and us in him, as the father lives in him and he lives in his father, and it's such a great blessing to have that and to know that he loved us that much to do what he did. And it's just for us believing in what he tells us he did from the beginning, the beginning until it's, trusting him and just living for him, because if we don't do self-denial, if we don't repent and we're not thankful for all that he does, how do we expect to have fruit to produce and do good works along with our believing in our faith? So it's only through him we are anything, period.
Speaker 4:That's right.
Speaker 1:That can't be argued with Brother Greg.
Speaker 7:Yeah, I like what Mariah said about how you know you entered into the Abrahamic covenant by natural birth. Yep, Same thing with the Mosaic covenant you entered in by natural birth, Right? Not so with the new covenant you enter in by supernatural birth. Yet there's a lot of Christians who still think it's not the case. You know a lot of Christians who still think it's not the case. So even being born and bearing the mark of circumcision had no spiritual benefit to anyone, Right? Only faith, the ones who are of faith. They're the true heirs of Abraham. Doesn't matter if you got circumcised, doesn't matter if you got sprinkled as a baby.
Speaker 1:So what does that? So, brother Greg, so what does that? It's not a challenge to you, because I know you know what the answer is, but I want to hear. I want you to be the saver, the benefiter of everyone else. So, that being the case, what you just said, which is true and I totally agree with with it, and that's what the bible teaches, so what it is. So, when we talk about the covenants, what does that suggest to you about what covenant abraham and moses both belong to? Um, yeah, that they belong to. In other words, there was this covenant that moses had. It was his covenant with abraham, but for us to be children of abraham, what does that suggest regarding the covenant that abraham and and moses were actually a part of? Or what does that suggest about the covenant itself? I hope I made that question clear. Yeah, I think so.
Speaker 7:So the new covenant is the full expression of the Abrahamic covenant, the maturity of the olive tree, right? And in that final stage of full expression, you know, there's new branches that are graphed in and there's natural branches that are cut off. And the basis is faith, right, not on any ceremony, not circumcision, not baptism. And you know, if baptism really were the new circumcision, paul only needed to write a couple of sentences to the Galatians hey, don't worry about getting circumcised, you were baptized, so you're good.
Speaker 2:You know circumcision.
Speaker 7:Paul only needed to write a couple of sentences to the. Galatians hey, don't worry about getting circumcised, you were baptized, so you're good, you know, simple, right, that's it.
Speaker 1:Did I answer your question? No, it's true. Yeah, exactly, and I knew you would know the answer to that, but I just wanted to you know, to have you articulate that for the benefit of everyone who's listening, because that is exactly the truth. It is because what the covenant that we are in now and under the last one, is the natural, or I should say, the spiritual, spiritual progression of the old covenant, what the old covenant was turning into and becoming, and so I think that's what you're saying and I agree with you.
Speaker 7:Yeah, so, abraham Moses, anyone who was saved, you know under either of those covenants they're participating in the new covenant, you know, in anticipation of its coming, in anticipation of its coming. In Romans, paul says how Christ was set forth as a propitiation for the sins which are past Right, so they were able to be justified by faith, in anticipation of the certainty of the cross.
Speaker 1:Right, absolutely, and that's important because of what Mariah said Regarding the gospel being Get been given when believed by Abraham. Because so many people, especially those of the dispensational persuasion, they want to tell you that there are Multiple gospels, because they will also want to tell you that there are multiple dispensations and each one of those distinctive dispensations there is a different way in which men are saved. But what we're learning here, in these words of Paul, is that there has always, only ever, been one gospel, just one.
Speaker 7:That's right. One gospel but several covenants Right, and that's how they—then I get called a dispensationalist, right? It's funny. Who was I talking to? Somebody? I said well, how did I say? I said, you know, I disagree. I like I don't agree. I don't know what you think. I don't think that baptism is the sign of the new covenant. I don't think so. I believe that the Holy Spirit is new covenant. I don't think so. I believe that the Holy Spirit is. And someone said well, that makes you a dispensationalist. I'm like wait a minute, wait a minute. You also believe that the covenant sign has changed. You don't think it's circumcision, you think it's baptism. So we both think the sign has changed. But how come that's? Why does that make me a dispensationalist, but not you?
Speaker 4:Right.
Speaker 7:You know anyway. I'm just kind of I'm I'm picking on some people I see under me on the panel. That's all. Actually Brian, I think I don't. I don't know. I'm not even sure what Brian is. I don't know if he's a Baptist or not, but anyway.
Speaker 7:Yeah, we're supposed to have we're supposed to have a big showdown at the OK Corral Uh-oh 5 am tomorrow morning. Not me and Brian. No, it's like you know, chosen, right? Yes, I do. Yeah, she's trying to win everyone to the Westminster Confession of Faith. You know the gospel of the Westminster, chosen, I love that.
Speaker 1:I love her, though she's awesome. I love that. I love her, though she's awesome. I think she really champions the Presbyterian the whole thing, and that's fine.