The Righteous Shall Live by Faith
Galatians 3:11-12
Leviticus 18:5 and Habakkuk 2:4

The righteous shall live by faith DIG: What does it mean that salvation by faith is also seen in the proof texts of Leviticus 18:5 and Habakkuk 2:4? How have believers typically interpreted this passage? What effect did these verses have on Martin Luther? Why did he call Galatians “my Katherine” [the name of his wife]. If upholding the 613 commandments of Moshe was never meant to be a means of salvation, what is its purpose today? What is the high standard of the Torah? What is the only way we can reach that standard?

REFLECT: How were you saved? By faith? How do you live? By faith? What does it mean to live by faith? Being saved by faith is a one-time act, but living by faith is a lifetime undertaking. How are you doing? Since the Torah is a blueprint for living, how are you following the blueprint? How does having the righteousness of Messiah transferred to your spiritual bank account change the way you see yourself?

Paul quotes Leviticus 18:5 and Habakkuk 2:4 in a manner consistent with rabbinic interpretation to establish that the righteous shall live by faith.

The Judaizers strongly advocated the necessity of obeying the 613 commandments of Moshe in order to be saved. But here again, simply the sequence of events in the TaNaKh should have shown them the foolishness of that belief. Abraham not only was declared righteous a decade before he was commanded to be circumcised, but more than 500 years before YHVH revealed His Torah to Moshe at Sinai. Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and countless other Jewish believers lived and died long before the Torah was given by God. Just as the Judaizers and their Galatian victims should have known the justification was by faith alone and not circumcision, they should have known that it is not by good deeds of the flesh.⁷⁵

It is clear that no one is set right [justified] before God by Torah, for “the righteous shall live by faith” (Galatians 3:11CJB; Habakkuk 2:4; Hebrews 10:38). Habakkuk 2:4 receives prominent attention in a famous passage in the Talmud. In that passage, the sages began by stating that God gave Isra’el 613 commandments by which they could attain eternal life. If a man does them, he will live by them. But since 613 is far too many commandments and far too difficult, King David simplified it, summarizing the 613 in eleven principles expressed in Psalm 51. Eleven is still a lot. That’s still too much. So Isaiah simplified it even further, summarizing it in six principles in Isaiah 33:15-16. But six is still a lot to remember. So Micah simplified it to three, when he said: He has told you, humanity, what is good and what ADONAI is seeking from you: Only to (1) practice justice, (2) to love mercy, and (3) to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8). But even these three can be imposing, so Isaiah again simplified it, summarizing the entire Torah in two principles: preserve justice, and do righteousness (Isaiah 56:1). That’s concise enough, but the Talmud goes on to say, “Then came Habakkuk, and reduced and simplified the whole Torah into one principle, saying: The righteous will live by faith (Makkoth [Stripes] 24a).

By the word live in Habakkuk 2:4, the Talmud means the olam haba, and describes a time after the world is perfected under the rulership of Messiah. This term also refers to the afterlife, where the soul passes after death. It can be contrasted with olam ha-zeh, meaning this world (Matthew 12:32; Mark 10:30; Luke 18:30 and 20:35; Ephesians 1:21; Hebrews 6:5; Revelation 20-21). Consequently, the sages and rabbis also used this Habakkuk text as a Messianic passage. The righteous who live by faith are those who have faith in the coming Messiah. This is the passage from which Maimonides, a medieval Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah scholars of the Middle Ages, derived his twelfth article of the Jewish faith: I believe with a complete faith in the coming of the Messiah, though His [coming may be delayed], nevertheless, I will wait for Him every day.” For the vision is yet for an appointed time. It hastens to the end and will not fail. If it should be slow in coming, wait for it. For it will surely come – it will not be delayed . . . but the righteous will live by faith (Habakkuk 2:3-4).⁷⁶

Christian interpreters typically understand this passage to demonstrate the difference between Christianity and Judaism, the difference between a Christian and a Jew, the difference between faith and deeds of the flesh. When Paul flatly states: Torah is not based on faith, he seems to contrast “those who live by the Torah,” against “those who live by faith.” A Jew, therefore, is not a person of faith if he is Torah observant, for the Torah is not based on faith. As a logical conclusion of this thinking, if you want to have faith, the one thing you cannot do is be Torah observant.

When Messianic Gentiles tell their friends or relatives in the mainstream Church that they have decided to attend a Messianic synagogue, to observe Shabbat, or eat kosher, their friends and family members often react with alarm and concern. Any perceived observance of the Torah causes them to worry because Torah is not based on faith. Throughout Christian history, Christians castigated Jewish believers who were Torah observant in some fashion (for example, kept the Sabbath on the seventh day or refused to eat unclean meats). The Church considered such Jews insincere converts, backsliders, and not of true faith. The Church often made abandonment of Torah the litmus test for Jewish believers, a test by which they had to prove the authenticity of their commitment to Christ and Christianity. It was as if they were saying, “Now that you are a Christian, you are free from the law. Have a ham sandwich!” When Paul said that Torah is not based on faith, historical Christianity understood it to mean that Torah observance and faith are incompatible.

The Christian Church has maintained this standard even for Jewish believers in Yeshua. When a Jewish person becomes a believer, he quickly learns that he must no longer practice Judaism or keep the Torah. Christian confessions often considered renouncing Torah Judaism as a prerequisite to the life of faith for Jewish believers because the Torah is not based on faith.⁷⁷

There is no justification by means of the Torah. This is obvious. If no one can uphold the 613 commandments perfectly, no one can be justified by it. This is not only a doctrine found in the B’rit Chadashah, and to prove it Paul quotes Habakkuk who lived in before the cross: Behold, the puffed up one – his soul is not right within him. But the righteous will live by faith (Habakkuk 2:4).

Early in his life Martin Luther was greatly troubled by Romans 1:17, where he read: For in the gospel of righteousness of God is revealed – a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written, “The righteous will live by faith.” When he read it, he would ask himself, “What does this mean, that there’s this righteousness that is by faith, and that it is from first to last? What does it mean that the righteous shall live by faith?” The answer to his own question became the key verse in Galatians and later in Romans. And so, the lights came on for Luther. And he began to understand that what Paul was speaking of here was a righteousness that God, in His grace, was making available to those who would receive it passively, not those who would achieve it actively by good deeds, but that would receive it by faith, and by which a person could be reconciled to a holy and righteous God. And Luther said, “When I discovered that salvation was by faith and not deeds, I was born again of the Spirit of God. And the doors of paradise swung open, and I walked through.” Many Church historians maintain that the foundation of the Protestant Reformation was laid with the writing of Martin Luther’s commentary on Galatians.

The great German reformer said, “The letter to the Galatians is my letter. To it I am, as it were, married. Galatians is my Katherine [the name of his wife].” It was out of his careful and submissive study of Scripture, especially the book of Galatians, that Martin Luther discovered God’s plan of salvation by grace working through faith, a plan unalterably contrary to the thousand-year-old Roman Catholic teaching of salvation by deeds.⁷⁸

Even in the Dispensation of Torah, people were saved strictly on the basis of faith. Upholding the 613 commandments of Moshe was never meant to be a means of salvation; it was a blueprint for living for the Righteous of the TaNaKh who had already had their sins temporarily covered by faith that YHVH would accept their sacrifice.

Torah provided a Levitical sacrificial system that allowed people to deal with their sin. When a Jew felt the pang of sin his conscience, he would take the appropriate sacrifice to the Tabernacle or Temple and give it to the Levitical priest, who would offer it on the bronze altar (see the commentary on Exodus Fa – Build an Altar of Acacia Wood Overlaid with Bronze). If the person bringing the sacrifice had faith that his sacrifice would indeed cover his sin, then his sin was temporarily atoned for by the blood of the sacrifice. However, those who were trying to pile up their good deeds as a means of salvation would be lost. All salvation, no matter what Dispensation, is by faith in the blood of a sacrifice. In the Dispensation of Grace, that sacrifice was the blood of the Lamb, Yeshua Messiah.⁷⁹

Legalism, or trying to work your way to heaven, is the exact opposite of faith. Verse 11 assumes this, however, verse 12 proves it. Torah is not based on faith, but on [a misuse of] the text that says “Anyone who does these things by merely going through the motions (see the commentary on Jeremiah, to see link click Cc – False Religion is Worthless) will attain life through them” (3:12 CJB). Legalists say, “No need to trust God, just obey the rules!”

One of Paul’s proof texts is taken from the Torah: So you are to keep My statutes and My ordinances. The one who does them will live by them. I an ADONAI (Leviticus 18:5). The sages taught that the words the one who does them will live by them means “people may attain the resurrection from the dead and eternal life if they do them.” James would later say: Faith without works is dead (James 2:26b). Paul stayed in line with the mainstream of Jewish interpretation by explaining Leviticus 18:5 as saying that, “if a person keeps the commandments, he or she will attain eternal life by them. Yeshua Himself quoted the same passage to the same effect (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Gw – The Parable of the Good Samaritan for greater detail).

Now a certain Torah-teacher stood up to entrap Yeshua, saying, “Teacher, what should I do to gain eternal life?” Then Yeshua said to him: What has been written in the Torah? How would you read it? And he replied, “You shall love ADONAI your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind . . . and your neighbor as yourself.” Yeshua said to him: You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live (Luke 10:25-28). So, Paul is not pitting faith against Torah observance. He is saying faith and faithfulness are two sides of the same coin: faith and obedience. Paul is not saying that keeping God’s commandments is the opposite of faith, he is saying that keeping God’s commandments is the evidence of faith.⁸⁰

But legalism – that is, legalistic obedience to the commands of the Torah – is disobedience to the Torah. One could be obeying every single mitzvah (except, of course, the mitzvah of faith), but if these things are being done without the sincere trust in the God who sent His Son Yeshua to be the payment for sin, then all of the outward “obedience” is hateful to ADONAI (Isaiah 1:14a).⁸¹ Those who think they can work their way to heaven do not receive the blessings of faith, but receive a curse. Because without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6).

The Torah itself marks the danger of trying to live up to its standard, which is perfection. Pointing to the same truth in the Sermon on the Mount, Yeshua destroyed the very foundation of legalism in the Judaism of His day. Because YHVH’s standard is perfection. He said: Therefore be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48). And Messiah had already made it clear that Ha’Shem’s standard of perfection is inner virtue and perfection, not simply outwardly respectable behavior. To those who had piously said they had never committed murder, He said: Everyone who is angry with his brother shall be subject to judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca’ shall be subject to the [Great Sanhedrin]; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be subject to fiery Gehenna (Matthew 5: 22). And to those who claimed they had never committed adultery, He said: But I tell you that everyone who looks upon a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:28).

Whether reading Leviticus or Habakkuk, the message is the same: perfection allows no exceptions, no failure, no matter how small. Failure to obey just one of the 613 commandments of the Torah, is to break them all. For whoever keeps the whole Torah, but stumbles in one point, has become guilty of all (James 2:10). No wonder the Ruach ha-Kodesh inspired Paul to write that no human, on the basis of Torah observance, will be set right [justified] in His sight (Romans 3:20a).

A ship that is moored to a dock by a chain is only as secure as the weakest link in that chain. If a severe storm comes and causes even one link to break, the entire ship breaks away. So it is for those who try to come to God by their own perfection. They will be lost and forever wrecked.⁸²

Is there a weak link to the chain that anchors the ship of your soul? If your chain’s links include works/obedience-then that link is weak and will break. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not from yourselves – it is the gift of God. It is not from yourselves – it is the gift of God. It is not based on deeds, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship – created in Messiah Yeshua for good deeds, which God prepared beforehand so we might walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10). Is your chain secure in the work of Messiah Yeshua? Is so then you are securely anchored. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 6:19-20_NIV). Let us half firmly to our faith in Yeshua, which is a secure chain that no power, nor storm of life can break. Therefore, since we have a great Cohen Gadol who has passed through the heavens, Yeshua Ben-Elohim, let us hold firmly to our confessed allegiance. (Hebrew 4:14).

All Who Rely on the Deeds of the Law are Under a Curse
Galatians 3:10 and Deuteronomy 27:26

All who rely on the deeds of the Law are under a curse DIG: What is the difference between believing in legalism for salvation and believing in the Torah as a blueprint for living? What is the curse of Cain, and how did that relate to the curse of legalism? How did the Judaizers bring a curse upon themselves? How are believers supposed to view the Torah today?

REFLECT: Why do you think legalism can be appealing to some people? Why do you think some people believe that they can work their way into heaven? What are some customs of your Messianic synagogue or church that should not be imposed on new believers? How would you explain the promised “curse” in verse 10 to a seeker?

Paul condemns the Judaizers for relying on the deeds of the Law for salvation,
and writes to convince the Galatian God-fearers from making the same mistake.

Paul loved the Torah, in fact he said: The Torah is holy (Romans 7:12). We need to understand that the Torah is righteous and an important part of God’s Word. As such, it will last forever. As believers in the Dispensation of Grace, we should love the Torah also. At Shavu’ot, about three thousand were saved (see the commentary on Acts, to see link click An – Peter Speaks to the Shavu’ot Crowd). But about thirty years later, tens of thousands of believers were still zealous for the Torah (Acts 21:20). Therefore, the Torah is not merely for the righteous of the TaNaKh, but for all believers today (see the commentary on Exodus Du – Do Not Think That I Have Come to Abolish the Law or the Prophets).

However, the Judaizers during Paul’s ministry, spiritually blinded as they were, maintained that their knowledge of the Scriptures entitled them to the blessings which were obligated to the sons of Abraham. Yeshua said to the Pharisees and Sadducees of His day: You search the Scriptures because you suppose that in them you have eternal life. It is these that testify about Me. Yet you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life (John 5:39-40)! This was the sin of Isra’el, ignoring the righteousness of YHVH and trying to establish her own right standing before God (Romans 10:1-4). For everyone who depends on a legalistic observance of Torah commandments lives under a curse, since it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not keep doing (every moment of every day, all the time) everything written in the scroll of the Torah” (3:10). Salvation, either in the TaNaKh, or in the B’rit Chadashah, has always been by faith. So, Paul quotes from Deuteronomy 27:26. Instead of being blessed by their act of placing themselves under the yoke of the Torah (voluntarily agreeing to obey all 613 commandments), the Judaizers (see Ag – Who Were the Judaizers?) had, in reality, put themselves under a curse.

Paul argued that the Judaizers had brought a curse upon themselves because they were relying on legalism for salvation. For no one can keep all 613 commandments perfectly. James, underscores this curse by saying: For whoever keeps the whole Law, but stumbles in one point, has become guilty of all (James 4:4). Anyone trying to keep the Law is under a curse. Why? Deuteronomy 27:26 clearly taught that unless you are able to perfectly uphold every aspect of the Law, all 613 commandments, you were under a curse. Under the Dispensation of the Torah, the 613 commandments were not a “religious cafeteria” where people could pick and choose which commandments they wanted to obey (James 2:10-11). You only have to be guilty of breaking one of the commandments to be found guilty of breaking them all. All you have to do is to start reading through the 613 commandments and you won’t get very far before you notice that you’ve broken one. All of a sudden, you’re under the curse of the Law. Because no one can uphold all the commandments perfectly, all humanity is under the curse, and the ultimate result of the curse is death. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).⁷⁴

As a result, Paul warned the God-fearing Gentiles in Galatia that becoming Jewish would bring serious consequences. They could not accept the blessings of taking on the yoke of the Law without also accepting the curse obeying all of the 613 commandments of the Law perfectly. If they chose to take on a Jewish identity, they needed to also take on the full weight of the curse of the Law, which is the curse of Cain. Cain thought he could have a right standing before ADONAI through his own effort of working in the field and raising his own crops as an offering; the Judaizers thought they could have a right standing before ADONAI through their own effort of following the 613 commandments of the Torah. Both Cain and the Judizers neglected Ha’Shem’s commandment of a blood offering. For without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin (Hebrews 9:22b).

Therefore, for believers, what is the purpose of the Torah today? First of all, it is not a set of rules. Rules cannot bring freedom, they can only accuse. What they do accomplish is to reveal the heart of God, and thus are an indispensable part of the life of a believer. The 613 Commandments of the Torah have nothing to do with our justification, nothing to do with our salvation . . . but they have everything to do with our sanctification. Justification is a one-time action by the LORD whereby, negatively, He forgives the sins of believers and, positively, He declares them righteous by imputing the obedience and righteousness of Christ to them through faith (Genesis 15:6; Psalm 32:2; Jeremiah 23:6; Romans 3:28 to 4:6; Gal 2:16, 3:8-9, 21, 24). Sanctification, however, is to be set apart, specifically, to the holy use and purpose of God. It takes work, and is a continuous lifetime struggle to be transformed into the likeness of Christ (Second Corinthians 3:18; Romans 12:1-2). It is a goal, and in reality, is never accomplished during our lifetime (see Perfectionism by B.B. Warfield). The result of being transformed is inward peace (Isaiah 32:17), observable spiritual fruit (Second Corinthians 9:8; Second Peter 1:5-11), and a deep desire to honor ADONAI (Matthew 5-16; John 15:8).

The Ten Commandments, for example, reveal the heart of God in three ways. First, the Torah is still a moral guide by revealing sin (Romans 7:7). Secondly, we know that all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (Second Timothy 3:16). Therefore, the Torah can be used as a teaching tool to show ADONAI’s standard of righteousness, so that we can know Him better and love Him more. And thirdly, it can also be used to point others to Yeshua (Galatians 3:24-25). Nine of these Ten Commandments are also found in the B’rit Chadashah with conditions of the heart added that make us even more accountable not only for our actions, but for our thoughts as well. You could say the Torah is God’s blueprint for living. If we view the Torah in this way, we can love the Torah as we love God’s Word, and not be under a curse.

The Scriptures Proclaimed the Good News
to Abraham in Advance
3: 8-9

DIG: How does the example of Abraham here support Paul’s argument? How is our faith in Messiah a fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham? How does each scripture from the TaNaKh here expose the problem of trying to be right with ADONAI by trusting in one’s ability to keep all 613 commandments in the Torah? How does Yeshua solve this problem for us in Galatians 13 and 14?

REFLECT: What was different about Peter’s target audience for salvation and Paul’s? It was not a different gospel, but a different audience. How did Abraham receive his gospel? How would you explain the promised “blessing” in verses 8-9 and 14 to a seeker? What is the difference between Messianic Jews’ and Orthodox Jews’ view of being a blessing to all the nations of the world?

It is important to understand that how the Good News was pronounced to Abraham in advance was identical to Paul’s salvation equals faith-plus-nothing gospel.

Christians often wonder if the righteous of the TaNaKh are “saved.” Have you ever heard that question? When the Jews met at the Jerusalem council (see the commentary on Acts, to see link click Bs – The Council at Jerusalem), the question was, “Are these Gentiles saved?” But today, far too many times, the question has become, “Are these Jews saved?” Did Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, and Isaiah and others go to Abraham’s side when they died? Did they go to heaven? If not, where did they go? Will those men and women who confess the name of Yeshua Messiah ever be resurrected?

During the three days that Messiah was in the tomb, He descended into the low, earthly regions of sh’ol (Ephesians 4:9). The TaNaKh refers to the place of the dead as sh’ol (Deuteronomy 32:22; Job 26:6; Psalm 16:10). One part of sh’ol was a place of torment and agony, occupied by the unrighteous dead and by the demons who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built (First Peter 3:20a). Another part of sh’ol was a place of contentment and rest, inhabited by the righteous of the TaNaKh who had put their faith in God. Abraham’s side (Luke 16:22) was a common phrase for shot at the time of Messiah. The righteous of the TaNaKh rested there until Yeshua paid for their sins on the cross. Then, after declaring victory over those very demons, the Lord of life liberated the godly captives and led them to heaven when He ascended on high (Ephesians 4:8). Among those who went with Him were Adam, Eve, Abel, Seth, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah and the righteous of the TaNaKh before the cross, including those mentioned in the hall of faith in the book of Hebrews (see the commentary on Hebrews Cl – The Hall of Faith).

Then, in the far eschatological future, during the seventy-five day interval (see the commentary on Revelation Ey – The Seventy-Five Day Interval) between the battle of Armageddon (see the commentary on Revelation Ex – The Eight Stage Campaign of Armageddon) and the Messianic Kingdom (see the commentary on Revelation Fh – The Dispensation of the Messianic Kingdom), the righteous of the TaNaKh will be resurrected (see the commentary on Revelation Fd – The Resurrection of the Righteous of the TaNaKh).

The Bible does display a pattern of progressive revelation. ADONAI did reveal more and more of His plan of redemption to His people as time went on, and He did grant earlier generations hints, clues, and glimpses of the future, just the same as He has granted such hints, clues, and glimpses to us. Abraham saw the day of Messiah through some revelation, and he rejoiced to see it. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day; he saw it and was thrilled (John 8:56).

The Bible does not give any indication that Abraham knew the name of the Master or the details of the gospel or the four spiritual laws or the sinner’s prayer. To put it truthfully, Abraham did not accept Yeshua Messiah as his Lord and Savior. But if not, what does the Ruach ha-Kodesh mean when He says: The Scriptures, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, proclaimed the Good News to Abraham in advance, saying: All the nations shall be blessed through you (Galatians 3:8). The word “gospel” means “good news.” Paul had his own version of the gospel, a slightly different telling of the Good News. Paul’s gospel declared that the Kingdom and the world to come are open to Gentiles also. According to Paul in Galatians 3:8, the Good News proclaimed in advance to Abraham proclaimed: All the nations shall be blessed through you.

The seven word gospel proclamation preached to Abraham in advance came from the call of Abraham in Genesis 12. ADONAI called Abram from his home in Ur of the Chaldeans, told him to leave his country and his father’s household and travel to Canaan. God promised to make Abram into a great nation, to bless him, and to make him into a blessing. YHVH promised to bless those who bless him, and to curse those who curse him. Then Ha’Shem added: and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed (Genesis 12:3b).

With an Apostolic Age reading from the Hebrew text, Genesis 12:3b could be translated: In you all the families of the earth shall be grafted in. The sages agreed as we read in the Talmud. Rabbi Elazar, a contemporary of Paul, expounded, “What is meant by the verse, ‘And all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you?’ The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Abraham, ‘I have two godly shoots (Hebrew: berachot) to engraft (Hebrew: lehivrich) on you: Ruth the Moabitess and Naamah the Ammonitess.’ All the families of the earth, even the other families who live on the earth are blessed only for the sake of Isra’el. All the nations on the earth, even the ships that go from Gaul to Spain are blessed only for the sake of Isra’el” (Yebamoth 63a).

Rabbi Elazar uses the passage to explain how two Gentile women came to be regarded as part of Isra’el and even mothers of the Davidic kings. Ruth was a Moabite and Naamah was an Ammonite. The Torah specifically says: No Ammonite or Moabite is to enter the community of ADONAI – even to the tenth generation none belonging to them is to enter the community of ADONAI forever (Deuteronomy 23:4). Ruth became the wife of Boaz, the mother of the Davidic line (see the commentary on Ruth Bd – Coda: The Genealogy of David). Naamah became the wife of Solomon (First Kings 14:21), mother of the Davidic line. How could a Moabite and Ammonite be mothers of the kings of Isra’el? Rabbi Elazar says that the answer is that they were no longer to be considered Moabite and Ammonite. They had been grafted into Abraham through the blessing that ADONAI announced in advance, “In you all the families of the earth shall be grafted in.”

When Paul wrote to the believers in Rome, he addressed the Gentile God-fearers (see the commentary on Acts Bd – An Ethiopian Asks about Isaiah) there by saying: For if you were cut out of that which by nature is a wild olive tree, and grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree . . . being a wild olive, [you] were grafted in among them and became a partaker of the root of the olive tree with its richness (Romans 11:17 and 24).⁷²

Abraham was saved by faith. When Gentiles are saved, they are saved as Gentiles, just as Jews are saved as Jews. But the Judaizers were trying to tell the Gentiles that they had to become Jews before they could be saved. Those who are saved are saved because of their faith, and those who are lost are lost because of their unbelief. The Good News for Abraham was that he would have a son, Isaac. In the same way, the Good News for the Gentiles is another Son, the Lord Yeshua Messiah, through whom salvation comes.

Therefore, Paul draws his conclusion: If you want to go back to the TaNaKh for salvation, go back to how Abraham was declared righteous. So then, the faithful are blessed along with Abraham, the faithful one (3:9). Gentiles who take their stand on the basis of faith are the candidates for the blessings of Abraham. Which they already had! Going back and trying the impossible task of trying to perfectly obey the 613 commandments of Moshe, as the Judaizers were pressuring them to do, would in no way draw them closer to the blessings of Abraham because that can only come on the basis of faith.⁷³

Dear Awesome Heavenly Father, How fantastic You are and how much we love You! Praise You for Your gracious mercy for You told Abraham, the father of your Jewish nation, “in you all the families off the earth will be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3, 18:18, 22:18, 26:4). Thank You that from the very beginning, your gracious heart included all who choose to come to You (Matthew 11:28-29) thru faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), whether Jew or Gentile (Galatians 3:26-29). It cost You so much to love us sinners! We so want to thank You by giving You our whole lives- our thoughts, our plans, our desires, anything that we have or do-for Your glory! We love You! In Your Holy Son’s name and power of resurrection. Amen

Those Who Have Faith
are Children of Abraham
3: 6-7

Those who have faith are children of Abraham DIG: Why did the Judaizers think they had the upper hand in their debate with Paul? How did Paul use Abraham in his argument for his salvation equals faith-plus-nothing gospel? What does “credited” mean? Why do we have different Dispensations? What did James mean when he said, “Faith without deeds is dead?” Do Gentiles who exercise faith become spiritual Jews? Why? Why not?

REFLECT: What is significant to you in Abraham’s story? How would you explain the promised “righteousness” in verse 6 to a seeker? What do good “deeds” mean to you? What is (are) your spiritual gifts? Does good “deeds” mean using your spiritual gift(s)? How can you do good “deeds” apart from using your spiritual gift(s)? If you were accused of being a believer, would there be enough evidence to convict you?

To combat the different gospel of the Judaizers, Paul explains how Abraham was justified by faith, not deeds. Therefore, the true children of Abraham are justified in the same way.

The Judaizers (to see link click Ag – Who Were the Judaizers) claimed to have the TaNaKh on their side, especially looking to Moshe as their teacher. But Paul went centuries farther back and said, “Consider Abraham.” How was the father of the Jewish people justified? The answer was simple and direct. He was blessed because of his faith, not because of his deeds (see the commentary on Genesis Ef – Abram Believed the LORD and He Credited It to Him as Righteousness). Abraham simply believed. Period. And because he exercised faith, God declared him justified. What did Abraham believe? God promised Abraham a son and because Abraham believed the promises of God that faith is what justified him. That is why we call the Dispensation in which Abraham lived, the Dispensation of Promise (see the commentary on Genesis Ds – The Dispensation of Promise).

It is not complete truth to say that the righteous of the TaNaKh were justified by looking forward to the death of Messiah, and we are saved by looking back to the death of Messiah. That sounds spiritual, but it is not completely biblical. While it is true that it is our faith in the death and resurrection of Messiah Yeshua that saves us (Romans 10-9-10), not all whom God saves were aware of that glorious fact when they were saved. The Prophets, who spoke about the grace that was to be yours, searched for this salvation and investigated carefully. They were trying to find out the time and circumstances the Ruach of Messiah within them was indicating, when predicting the sufferings in store for Messiah and the glories to follow. (First Peter 1:10-11). While in every Dispensation, mankind is always saved by faith, the content of faith does vary, that is why we have different Dispensations. And the content of Abraham’s faith was not the death of Messiah. The fact that the Messiah would die for the sins of Isra’el was not revealed until Isaiah’s day. Then, how was Abraham saved? He believed the promises of ADONAI, specifically, the promise of a son (also see Romans 4:1-25 and Hebrews 11:8-19). So, Abraham was the example Paul holds up to the Galatian believers.⁶⁸

Striking a tremendous blow to the Judaizers, Paul linked the past with the present and declared that just as Abraham was saved by faith so were those who now claimed to be his children. Just as Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” know then that those who have faith are children of Abraham (3:6-7).

The words credited (Greek: logzomai) in Galatians 3:6, Genesis 15:6, and Romans 4:11, 22-24 all mean transferred to one’s account. When John says the Spirit gives life (John 6:63a), he means that all the righteousness of Messiah is transferred to our spiritual account at the moment of faith. The theological name for this is imputation. The Bible teaches us that we have all inherited Adam’s sin nature. Just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 5:12 and 3:23). In the TaNaKh, there had to be a sacrifice. Blood had to be shed, and a death had to occur; therefore, because of the death of Yeshua on the cross we have a perfect, absolute, righteousness that God the Father imputes to us through His Son. Because of our faith, we have passed God’s final exam of the universe with a hundred percent. When ADONAI sees us, He doesn’t see our sin, He sees the righteousness of His Son (Romans 1:17). We are in the Holy One, and He is in us. The only way we get to heaven is a result of the perfect righteousness of Yeshua Messiah. Therefore, what is true of Messiah is true of you.

The children of Abraham are declared righteous the same way Abraham was declared righteous – by faith. Therefore, both Jews and Gentiles who exercise faith, and only faith, as the means of salvation, become the real sons and daughters of Abraham.

Later, James (Ya’akov) the half-brother of the Master, declared that faith without deeds is dead. He insisted that faith must be accompanied by good deeds. In other words, good deeds are the evidence, the good spiritual fruit, that a person is truly saved. He said: Wasn’t Abraham our father proved righteous by deeds when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see faith worked together with his deeds, and by the deeds of his faith was made complete. The Scripture was fulfilled that says, “And Abraham believed and it was credited to him as righteousness – and he was called God’s friend. You see that people are also proved righteous by deeds and not by faith alone. And likewise, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute also proved righteous by deeds when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out another way? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without deeds is dead (James 2:21-26). The conclusion is most clear. Faith and deeds are essential to each other as the body and the spirit. Apart from the spirit, or the breath of life, the body is dead. Likewise, apart from the evidence of good deeds, faith may be said to be dead. True faith continually contributes to spiritual growth and development.⁶⁹

It is also important to understand that this does not mean that Gentiles who exercise faith become spiritual Jews. The word Jew is never applied in this context whatsoever. Even in the physical sense, not every descendant of Abraham physically are Jews because the Arabs are descendents of Abraham just as much as Jews are. Try calling one of them a Jew! So, in the physical realm, not all descendants of Abraham are Jews, and the same holds in the spiritual realm. While Gentile believers become followers of Abraham and receive the spiritual benefits of the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 12:3), they are never mentioned as “spiritual Jews” either in the TaNaKh or in the B’rit Chadashah.⁷⁰

The Jewish people were very proud of their relationship with Abraham. The trouble was they thought that this relationship guaranteed them eternal life. John the Immerser warned them that their physical descent did not guarantee spiritual life (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Bf – You Brood of Vipers, Who Warned You to Flee the Coming Wrath). Yeshua made a clear distinction between Abraham’s seed and Abraham’s children (John 8:33-47). Some people today still think that salvation is inherited. Because their mother or father were godly people, the children are automatically saved. But this is not true. It has been said, “ADONAI has no grandchildren.”⁷¹

O Foolish Galatians,
Who has Cast a Spell on You
3: 1-5

O Foolish Galatians, who has cast a spell on you DIG: How does Paul’s appeal here validate what he argued in 2:15-16? How does Paul’s appeal to their suffering in verse 4, their experience in verses 2-5, and Messiah’s death in 2:21 expose the foolishness and futility of human effort? What is the role of the Ruach ha-Kodesh in salvation and a believers’ testimony before the world?

REFLECT: The Ruach ha-Kodesh is the only real evidence of conversion in a person. How have you seen the Ruach at work in someone’s life? When was the last time you were convicted by the Ruach ha-Kodesh? What “rules” seem to be important in your circle of friends who are believers? Why do you think that is? How similar or dissimilar are these rules to the Oral Law (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ei – The Oral Law)? Why do you think that is? Have you endorsed your check?

When Paul first came to Galatia, they readily believed in his salvation equals faith-plus-nothing gospel. But after having received new life in Yeshua by faith, they had been persuaded to live out their new lives by the old way of deeds. Therefore, Paul asked six different rhetorical questions to prove ADONAI saves sinners through faith in Messiah and not by the deeds of the Torah.

Few things are more tragic or disappointing than a believer who deserts the gospel of grace for the counterfeit gospel that tries to improve on the finished work of Messiah. However, in Paul’s absence from Galatia, many of the believers there had fallen under the influence of the Judaizers (to see link click Ag – Who Were the Judaizers?).

Throughout church history some believers have begun well but later pulled away from the truths they first believed and followed. They were saved by the faith-plus-nothing gospel and lived for ADONAI in humble trust, but then fell prey to some system of legalism and works righteousness that promised more but produced much less. Some fall into legalism, substituting external ceremonies and rites, for the internal reality of a personal relationship with Yeshua Messiah. Others fall in legalistic systems of do’s and don’ts, hoping to improve their standing before YHVH by doing or not doing certain things. Still others look for a “second blessing” – a spiritual secret to unlock some higher plane of spirituality, an additional experience of grace – once again hoping to receive more of the Lord than they imagine was granted to them at conversion (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Bw – What God Does For Us at the Moment of Faith).

Paul had been used by Ha’Shem to introduce the gospel of salvation equals faith-plus-nothing to the Galatians. But now they were drifting away from pure grace and had accepted a counterfeit substitute based on the 613 commandments of the Torah. The defecting believers had not lost their salvation (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer), but they had lost the joy and freedom of it and had returned to the slavery of self-imposed legalism. They were still in Messiah and had a right standing with ADONAI, but were not living in conformity with the truth that had saved them to begin with. Because they had allowed themselves to be deceived, they also stumbled the unbelievers around them to think that being a child of God was a matter of following the 613 commandments of the Torah rather than simple faith/trust/belief in Yeshua.

The Adversary never stops in his efforts to destroy the Lord’s way of salvation, and because ADONAI’s way is by His grace working through our faith, the devil’s response is the opposite, the way of mankind’s own effort and good deeds. From the time of Cain’s first works-righteous offering of a grain instead of an animal sacrifice (see the commentary on Genesis Bj – Your Brother’s Blood Cries Out to Me from the Ground), unbelieving man has sought to make himself right with God through his own goodness and merit.

When Paul first came to Galatia on his first missionary journey (see the commentary on Acts Bm – Paul’s First Missionary Journey), he was amazed at his gracious reception. He was physically hurting, yet though my physical condition was a trial to you, you did not hate or reject me. No, you welcomed me as a messenger of God – or even as Messiah 

Yeshua (4:14). But now he was at a loss to explain their defection from the gospel of faith-plus-nothing that he had preached to them, saying: I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from the simple gospel of faith in Messiah, the One who called you by grace, to a different gospel; not that there is another, but only some are confusing you and want to distort the Good News of Messiah (1:6-7). Having received new life in Yeshua by faith, they had been persuaded to live out their new lives by the old way of deeds. They had turned back from grace to the obedience of the 613 commandments of Moshe, from trust to deeds, from the cross to ceremony, from freedom to slavery.

Here, Paul reminds his readers that a believer’s experience of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Ruach ha-Kodesh, and of God the Father are unquestionable evidence of having a right standing before YHVH through personal faith in the perfect, completed work of Messiah, apart from any human effort. Although experience in itself is not entirely reliable evidence of spiritual reality, it is nevertheless a powerful defense of the gospel when closely linked with and built on scriptural truth. Because genuine experience of a believer verifies the gospel of grace, the inspired apostle was led by the Ruach ha-Kodesh to use it as an effective means of defending the doctrine of justification by faith.⁶⁵

Paul uses six different rhetorical questions here, each giving an obvious answer, to prove ADONAI saves sinners through faith in Messiah and not by the deeds of the Torah.

O foolish Galatians (3:1a)! This is an expression of surprise mingled with indignation. Paul was incredulous, hardly able to believe what the Galatians had done. Like many other believers before and after them, they had been deceived by the Adversary. However, the Galatian believers were especially foolish because they were privileged to sit under the teaching of the apostle Paul himself, whose heartbeat was the gospel of grace. The Greek word for foolish is anoetos. It does not express mental deficiency, but mental laziness and carelessness. Anoetos frequently carried the idea of wrong attitude of heart and a lack of faith that clouds judgment. The believers in Galatia were not stupid; they had simply failed to use their spiritual intelligence when faced with the unscriptural, gospel-destroying teaching of the Judaizers. They were simply not using their heads.

First, Who has cast a spell on you (3:1b)? The phrase cast a spell is from the Greek word baskaino, which means to charm or fascinate in a misleading way, as by flattery, false promises, or occultic power, and clearly suggests the use of feeling over fact, emotion over clear understanding of truth. “Who flattered you so much?” Paul asked rhetorically, fully aware of the answer. Although the word baskaino can carry the idea of sorcery, but that isn’t the idea here. The Galatians were not victims of a magical spell or incarnation, but were misled by teachings that they should have instantly recognized as false. They were willing victims who surrendered to the counterfeit doctrine of the Judaizers.⁶⁶

Before your very eyes Yeshua the Messiah was clearly portrayed as crucified (3:1c). Clearly portrayed translates progropho, a word that was used of posting important official notices on a placard in the marketplace or other public location for citizens to read. Yeshua Messiah had been clearly portrayed before the Galatians by Paul himself. Those who sat at his feet could almost hear the ringing of the hammer as it drove the nails into Yeshua’s hands and feet. They may have been able to visualize the blood flowing from His thorn-pierced head and spear-pierced side. They were convinced of His atoning death, convicted of their sin, and brought into the Kingdom of heaven by their faith.

The word crucified is in the perfect tense, indicating that the crucifixion was a historical fact that had continuing results. As John declares: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (First John 1:9). No ritual, ceremony, regulation, or anything else devised or accomplished by mankind can add to the Messiah’s atoning sacrifice on the cross. Those Galatians who put their trust in the Torah of Moshe for salvation obligated themselves to keep all 613 commandments, which is humanly impossible. They were so foolish.

Second, I want to find out just one thing from you: did you receive the Ruach by deeds based on Torah, or by hearing based on trust (3:2)? Paul’s repeated return to the deeds of the Torah indicates the wide-spread conviction of the culture that Yeshua was born into, that Torah-study and obedience had in fact represented the keys of knowledge which would open up God’s Kingdom. It is only now that people can know ADONAI through Yeshua’s faithfulness and obedience on the cross, ushering in a B’rit Chadashah written on the heart of flesh, that the shortcomings of Torah-study for salvation have become apparent.⁶⁷

Here, Paul considers the deeds based on Torah as advocated by the Judaizers as being comparable to perfection via the flesh, namely circumcision, coupled with bad motives. The apostle was not discounting the value of God’s Torah, but was focusing his readers’ attention on its misuse by the Judaizers. As an essentially Gentile church, they did not possess the Torah anyway.

Like the Judaizers of today, the Hebrew Roots movement (see Ak – The Hebrew Roots Movement: A Different Gospel) wants to add special requirements that supposedly add blessings to the finished and perfect work of Messiah – such as wanting to add the impossible burden of following the 613 commandments to faith in Christ, as if His shed blood isn’t enough to save us! Galatians 1:6-10 sums up what Paul said about adding Torah observance for salvation. The Judaizers of today appear to be sincere, but they are sincerely wrong. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Messiah Yeshua, Paul declared. For the law of the Spirit of life in Messiah Yeshua has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what was impossible for the Torah – since it was weakened on account of the flesh – God has already done (Romans 8:1-4).

Third, are you so foolish? The Galatians’ foolishness in Paul’s eye was that they were seeking to add something that was already completed by Yeshua on the cross. The same way we came into the relationship with Messiah, is the way we live it out.

Fourth, after beginning with the Ruach, will you now reach the goal in the flesh (3:3)? It was as if Paul was saying, “How could you think that your weak, imperfect, still sinful flesh could improve on what the Spirit of God began in you when you first believed? Righteousness always having been a matter of circumcision of the heart (Deuteronomy 30:6; Romans 2:29), why wonders Paul, did the Galatians need the physical sign of circumcision? Having begun with a spiritual transformation, were they then looking for justification through a physical transformation . . . and becoming Jewish? A misconception that the Galatians had was that they were justified by faith, but sanctified by works. But that is a different gospel (1:6).

Over a hundred years ago a book of B. B. Warfield’s collected writing called Perfectionism was published. There were certain men at that time who were claiming that they had reached a state of perfectionism in this life. And in his writings Warfield disputed that concept, claiming sanctification in this life was only a goal, not a reality. However, it probably would have been easier, just to ask the wives of those men a few questions.

Fifth, did you endure so much for nothing? When they first became believers they had to separate themselves from paganism and repudiate the worship of foreign gods. This resulted in great persecution from the other Galatians and the new believers suffered much. But now, since they were listening to the Judaizers and submitting themselves to the 613 commandments of Moshe, in essence, they were really saying that they had suffered for nothing. They were being told they really were not yet saved because they had not been circumcised. Was all their suffering for nothing! Paul softens the blow by adding: If it really was for nothing, leaving open the possibility and hope that it was not and they would come to their senses and reject the false gospel of the Judaizers (3:4).

Sixth, the Galatian believers received the Ruach ha-Kodesh by faith in Messiah, not through obedience to the Torah. The gift of the Spirit of God is the believer’s greatest evidence of ADONAI’s favor, His greatest proof of salvation and the down payment of eternal glory. So then, Paul asked: The One who gives you the saving Ruach and works miracles among you – does He do it because of your deeds based on Torah or your hearing based on trust and faithfulness (3:5)? They had seen Paul perform miracles in Iconium (Acts 14:3), and Lystra (Acts 14:8-11). It was clear, furthermore, that those supernatural miracles were not the result of deeds of the Torah, but from hearing that leads to faith. The Galatians did not know the Torah anyway, and Paul’s gospel was salvation equals faith-plus-nothing.

Today, the fact that you are reading this probably means that you are saved . . . and that is a miracle. There are people who have had their life changed. There are alcoholics and drug addicts who have been redeemed. There are people who were living an immoral life that have turned around and are walking in a different direction. There are people whose home was breaking up that have been given a new love and a new relationship. So Paul is saying when these miracles happened in your life, did that happen because of your deeds or because of His grace?

But for most in this world, it seems too simple to be saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Messiah alone. So here in Galatians, Paul will declare his gospel of grace over and over and over again. It is not what we do, it is what He does. They think to themselves, “Surely there must be SOMETHING I have to do to have a right standing before ADONAI!” The Philippian jailer said: What must I do to be saved? And Paul’s answer was: Put your trust in the Lord Yeshua and you will be saved (Acts 16:30-31).

What does putting your faith/trust/belief (Greek: pisteuo from pistis) in Messiah mean? If someone gave you a check for a million dollars as a gift and you go to the bank and speak to the teller and say, “Wow! Can you believe someone gave me this check for a million dollars!” She would say, “I’ve never seen anything like that. How wonderful for you.” Then the teller would say, “But you have to endorse it.” And after you endorse that check, you leave the bank and start telling people that you had earned that money just because you signed your name to it. Would anyone believe you? No! There is no way that anyone would believe that endorsing a check would mean that you worked for the million dollars.

Over two thousand years ago, God wrote a check and made it out to you for eternal life. And He wrote it in the name of Yeshua Messiah. And the way we endorse that check, the way we receive that gift is our faith/trust/belief in Yeshua Messiah, His crucifixion on Calvary and resurrection. It is believing that Messiah died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (First Corinthians 15:3b-4). It is nothing we do; but merely receiving the free gift of salvation that He has offered, in the same way that someone endorses a check.

Have you endorsed your check? If so, see my commentary on The Life of Christ Bw – What God Does for Us at the Moment of Faith.

The Doctrinal Argument:
The Failure of Legalism
3:1 to 4:31

So, in the first two chapters of Galatians, Paul laid out the problem. What is the nature of the gospel, and what does one need to believe to be saved. He showed that the gospel he was preaching came from direct revelation from God Himself. He was independent of all other sources. Next, in the doctrinal argument, Paul will deal with the Torah itself and show its absolute failure in our justification and sanctification. Paul defends his doctrine of justification by faith alone without deeds, against that of the Judaizers who taught that deeds of an individual gave a person acceptance with God.

In these verses Paul deals with the failure of legalism, or substituting external ceremonies and rites, for the internal reality of a personal relationship with Yeshua Messiah. The principle of salvation equals faith-plus-nothing is difficult for humans to accept. The problem that the Galatian church encountered with legalism is not uncommon. Somehow it doesn’t seem right that we should receive salvation without having to do anything for it or to suffer somewhat for our sins. Or if that doesn’t seem to be the case with respect to ourselves, it certainly does seem to be the case with respect to others, especially those who are especially evil.

The gospel itself is a very simple trust. We have nothing to do to be saved except to accept what Messiah has already done. Yeshua died for our sins, was buried and rose again. And all we simply need to do is to believe that, accept it by faith, and come into a relationship with ADONAI (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Bw – What God Does For Us at the Moment of Faith). Because all other additions to the simple gospel are false gospels, counterfeit gospels, and they are, therefore, cursed. The simple gospel is salvation equals faith-plus-nothing. Messiah died for our sins according to the Scriptures, He was buried, and He was raised [to life] on the third day according to the Scriptures (First Corinthians 15:3). Nothing can be added because the perfect sacrifice was slain, that perfect gift completely paid our sin debt. For our trust in Messiah’s death, and our choosing to follow Him, is like what God told the Israelites to do when they brought a burnt offering. He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, so that it will be accepted for him to make atonement on his behalf (Leviticus 1:4). Messiah died for our sins according to the Scriptures, He was buried, and He was raised [to life] on the third day according to the Scriptures (First Corinthians 15:3). Simply trust what God has already done for you.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). It finally comes down to this: each one of us, individually, is responsible for the death of Messiah. It was our sins that nailed Him to the cross. For all have sinned willfully, in greater or lesser degree, against the God of creation and holiness, and therefore, each of us deserved to die and spend eternity away from His presence in sh’ol (Romans 6:23). But the Lord Yeshua loved us so much that He was willing – even anxious – to suffer the judgment that we deserved, and be our substitute, in order that we might be saved. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Messiah died for us (Romans 5:8).

God the Father was willing to offer His one and only Son as the sacrifice for our sins, in order to satisfy both the demands of perfect justice and the compulsions of perfect love. The forgiveness and shalom, both temporal and eternal, thus purchased for us by Messiah on His cross are now available freely and fully to anyone who will acknowledge and receive Him by simple faith, “For if you confess with your mouth that Yeshua is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart it is believed for righteousness and with the mouth it is confessed for salvation. For everyone who calls upon the name of ADONAI shall be saved” (Romans 11:9-10 and 13).

Therefore, having been made righteous by trusting, we have shalom with God through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah (Romans 5:1). Dear Heavenly Father. How we praise You! Your offer of salvation is so great, so loving, so undeserved! We bow humbly before You in worship. We seek to live our lives to please You. We offer up to You our every thought, every action, and every intent of our heart to Your glory and honor. In Your holy Son’s name and power of resurrection. Amen

In Chapters 3 and 4 Paul gives a classic defense of the doctrine of justification by faith, a defense he had introduced earlier (see Bd – Through the Law I Died to the Law). In 3:1-5 he defends the doctrine from the standpoint of personal experience, and in 3:6 to 4:31 from the standpoint of scriptural revelation.

Through the Law I Died to the Law
2: 17-21

Through the Law I died to the Law DIG: How does Paul turn the tables on his rule-keeping opponents? How did Paul rebuke Peter? Does legalism offer a remedy for sin? What is the purpose of the 613 commandments of Moshe? What does it mean to be crucified with Messiah? What did Paul mean when he said, “I have died to the Law?” How was Peter being hypocritical?

REFLECT: Is Messiah’s death everything to you? What difference does this make to your love for Him and your actions in life? How would you explain “justification by faith: to someone who has never been to a Messianic synagogue or church before? How would you explain the difference between being moral and being a believer to someone who thinks being good makes them acceptable to ADONAI? What “additions” to faith might outsiders perceive in your friends who are believers regarding what they should do to be approved? How can you help break down these barriers? In what ways is your old self dead, crucified with Christ? Have you taken off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self? Or are there some old practices still hanging around your neck that continue to give you problems? What can you do this week to remedy that noose around your neck?

In Galatians 2:11-21 the scene changes from Yerushalayim and the council there to Syrian Antioch, where the first Gentile church was established. Paul and Barnabas served as spiritual leaders, with help from three other men (see the commentary on Acts, to see link click Bn – Barnabas and Sha’ul Sent Out from Syrian Antioch). The remaining verses of Chapter 2 develop the inconsistency between Peter’s behavior and his beliefs. At the same time they form a superb transition and introduction to Chapters 3 and 4 which Paul defended his salvation equals faith-plus-nothing gospel.

In typically rabbinic teaching fashion (Romans 10:14-15), Paul anticipates an objection the Judaizers might make (to see link click Ag – Who Were the Judaizers). The objection is two-fold. First, and easily disposed of is Messiah an agent of sin? Their reasoning was, if turning away from the yoke of the 613 commandments is sin, since we have to do that to become believers in Yeshua Messiah, then Messiah is an agent of sin, because that would be exactly what Paul would be asking them to do. Turning away from the 613 commandments of the Torah, and turn by faith to Yeshua Messiah. In theory, if that were a sin (which of course it is not), then Yeshua would become an agent of sin Himself (which of course He is not). But if, while seeking to be justified in Messiah, we ourselves also were found to be sinners, is Messiah then an agent of sin? In other words, does becoming a believer mean that we forsake Torah? Is eating and fellowshipping with Gentiles really a sin against Torah? The answer in Greek is very forceful: May it never be (2:17)!

The second part of the objection might be stated by the Judaizers like this, “You have been seeking to be righteous before God by uniting yourself with Yeshua; but instead of attaining righteousness, you end up being a sinner, just like the Gentiles, because you do not obey every single one of the 613 commandments of Moshe! But Paul answers this objection by declaring: Indeed, if I build up again the legalistic bondage which I destroyed, I really do make myself a transgressor (2:18 CJB). Paul is really referring to Peter’s action of declaring the Levitical commandments regarding the eating of food, null-and-void when he ate with the Gentiles, and then declaring it valid when he turned around and withdrew his fellowship from them. But Paul tactfully puts himself into the picture and supposes a hypothetical case. His argument is that instead of committing sin by abandoning legalism for grace, one becomes a transgressor by returning to the 613 commandments for salvation, which he had previously abandoned.

It was as if Paul was saying to Peter, “If you, of all people, caused a sharp division between Jew and Gentile by removing yourself from the table of fellowship with Gentiles, you are rebuilding the wall of separation (Ephesians 2:14) that you originally tore down. If you are now putting it back up, then you are admitting that you were wrong in the first place, and thus, proving to have been living in sin and transgression.”

Paul then distinguished himself from Peter, contrasting what he did with the Torah with what Peter did with the Torah. For it was through letting the Torah speak for itself that I died to its traditional corrupted, and legalistic interpretation, so that I might live in direct relationship with God (2:19 CJB). Obedience to the 613 commandments of Moses is not our master; ADONAI is. It is not our relationship to the Torah that saves us, it is our relationship with ADONAI (Romans 7:1-2 and 4). Paul’s attempt to fulfill the 613 commandments of Moshe perfectly for salvation revealed his own inability to meets its demands, and its inability to make him righteous. As a result, he abandoned it as a means of justification and accepted salvation by grace in Messiah. He found that while the 613 commandments of Moshe did reveal sin, they provided no remedy for sin, but rather condemned him hopelessly, for no one could fulfill its requirements. Obedience to legalism for salvation exercised a double power over him, for it made him a sinner and then punished him for being one!⁶³

How does one die through the Law? Because legalism convicts the breaker of the 613 commandments, and then executes the punishment. Bondage to legalism kills. The Law did two things. First, it revealed sin. It told us what sin was. But secondly, it provoked sin. As Paul writes in First Corinthians 15:50-55, the power of sin is the Torah because our sin nature cannot operate unless it has a base of operation, and the Torah is sin’s basis of operation. As soon as the Torah says, “You shall not,” our sin nature says, “Oh, yes I will.” It suddenly has a base of operation to make us sin more. The problem was not the Torah, the problem was our sinful human nature. This is taught at length in Romans, especially in Romans 3:19-31, 5:12-21, and 7:1-25.

When Messiah died on the cross, by positional truth, we were crucified with Him. Do you not know that all of us were immersed into Messiah Yeshua were also immersed into His death? Therefore, we were buried together with Him through immersion into death, the death required for failing to perfectly obey all of the 613 commandments of the Torah perfectly (not because of His sin, but because of ours) – in order that just as Messiah was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life (Romans 6:2b-4ff).

And, like Isaac, who knowingly and willingly permitted Abraham to bind him to the altar of sacrifice, so the Lord Yeshua willingly suffered and died for us. I have been crucified with Messiah (Galatians 2:20a; Second Corinthians 5:15; Romans 6:10-11; Colossians 2:20; Second Timothy 2:11). We are saved by faith, but our faith goes all the way back to the cross. It was at the cross that Yeshua paid the price for my sin. When the Father looks at us He doesn’t see our sin, He sees His Son because we have been covered by the blood of the Lamb. We are justified, we are in Messiah (Ephesians 1:1, 3-4, 9-10, 12). We are saved by grace through faith in Yeshua Messiah. It is what Yeshua did that saved me. My faith is accepting and believing that, and even this is not from [ourselves], it is the gift of God – not by deeds, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).

And it is no longer I who live but Messiah lives in me (Romans 8:9). Now something has changed. After salvation He lives in me. A mother took her young daughter to the pediatrician for a physical and he took an ear scope, and to make the child feel comfortable, he told her what he was going to do, and he looked into her ear he said, “I wonder if I can see the Cookie Monster in here.” She just smiled. He went to the other ear and said, “I wonder if I’ll see Big Bird in here.” She just smiled. Then he took a stethoscope and put it on her chest and said, “I wonder if I can hear Barney in here.” But she pushed his hand away and said, “No way! Yeshua lives in my heart. Barney is on my underwear!” She knew where Messiah lived. And you need to know where Messiah lives. In us! This fact gives us the ability to live out life as a believer. We cannot do this on our own. We can’t. And anyone who has been a believer for more than 48 hours knows that you can’t live a righteous life. You try to live a good life. You try to live a moral life. You try to live an honorable life in your own power, you are going to be very frustrated. Salvation is when we are in Messiah, but the ability to live out the life of a believer is when Messiah is in us.

Therefore, Paul was telling those Gentile believers that to go back and try to live up to the 613 commandments of the Torah would be to cancel one’s union with Messiah’s sacrifice on the cross and therefore go back under sin. Having died to legalism, the old self is dead, crucified with Christ. You have taken off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self that is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of the One who created you (Colossians 3:9-10).

And the life I received by trusting in Messiah, I now live by trusting in Ben-Elohim – who loved me and gave Himself up for me (2:20b). The Greek verb behind live is in the perfect tense, indicating a past completed action that has continuing results. When we trust Yeshua for salvation we spiritually participate with the Lord in His crucifixion and in His victory over sin and death. Therefore, Messiah’s death and resurrection (the atonement) satisfies every claim of HaShem’s holiness and justice so that God is free to act on behalf of sinners. Once crucified with Messiah, because we are in Him (Ephesians 1:3, 7, 11-13), we are no longer under the power of the legalism. What Paul was saying to Peter was, in effect, “As Jews, we are free from the Law for salvation, we have died to legalism, and we have no reason to go back to it, consequently, we have no right to expect the Gentiles to obligate themselves to it.”

Summing up his case against Peter, Paul declared: I do not nullify the grace of God -for if righteousness comes through legalism, then Messiah died for no reason (2:21)! If it were possible to be saved by legalism then Messiah did not need to die. But it was necessary for Him to die, because no one (besides Messiah Himself), could perfect obey the 613 commandments of the Torah. Our sin nature would not allow it.⁶⁴

We are Not Justified
by Deeds of the Torah
2: 15-16

DIG: What does justification by faith mean? How does Paul use the term as compared with his opponents (2:15-16)? Why do these differences matter so much? Comparing verses 2:15-16 with Paul’s preaching in Acts 13:38-39, how would you sum up what the gospel is all about?

REFLECT: The heart of the gospel is having a right relationship with ADONAI apart from deeds. What difference would it make to you if you had to earn your way to heaven by keeping all of the 613 commandments of the Torah? If you can get to heaven in any other way than faith in the shed blood of Messiah, did He die in vain? Can you imagine anyone saying to God the Father, “I don’t need Your Son. I’ll figure this out by myself. I’ll find another way to heaven?” Do you know someone in your life that thinks like this? How can you pray for them this week?

In Galatians 2:11-21 the scene changes from Yerushalayim and the council there to Syrian Antioch, where the first Gentile church was established. Paul and Barnabas served as spiritual leaders, with help from three other men (see the commentary on Acts, to see link click Bn – Barnabas and Sha’ul Sent Out from Syrian Antioch). Paul continues his rebuke of Peter and the defense of his salvation equals faith-plus-nothing gospel.

Earlier, we saw that Peter visited the believing community in Antioch, the largest center of believers outside of Yerushalayim. He found a community in which Jewish believers and Gentile believers freely intermingled, worshipped together, and even ate together. Peter did the same until certain men from James (2:12) arrived and applied pressure on the Jewish believers to separate from the Gentile believers. When Peter gave in to their pressure, Paul rebuked him in front of everyone.

The heart of mankind’s spiritual dilemma is that we are incapable of overcoming the total sinfulness that separates us from ADONAI. Job’s friend Bildad asked: How can a person be justified before God (Job 25:4a)? How can a guilty and condemned sinner be made righteous, and thereby acceptable to a holy and pure God? Justification by faith is Ha’Shem’s answer to that dilemma and need. In explaining the true doctrine of justification, Paul first states what it is here in 2:15-16, and then gives his defense of this important doctrine in 2:17-21 (to see link click Bd – Through the Law I Died to the Law).

Paul’s rebuke of Peter (see Bb – The Antioch Incident: How Can You Force Jews to Live Like Gentiles) culminated in one of the most forceful statements in the B’rit Chadashah on the doctrine of justification – the very doctrine that Peter and the men from James were, in effect, renouncing by their hypocritical separation from Gentile believers.⁶¹

We are Jews by birth and not sinners from among the Gentiles (2:15). The word we is emphatic and serves to emphasize the sharp contrast which Paul is about to make between himself, Peter, all other Jewish believers, and the Gentles. First-Century Judaism divided the world into two main categories: Jews and Gentile sinners (see Ba – Gentiles during the Second Temple Period). It’s as if Paul was saying, “As for us, by nature we are Jews, not habitual sinners like the Gentiles.” If you would like Paul to elaborate on what he means by Gentile sinners, just read about God’s wrath against sinful humanity in Romans 1:18-32 and he will tell you exactly what he means by castigating the entire Gentile world as Gentile sinners.

In this verse, one of the most important in Paul’s letter to the Galatians, the word justified occurs for the first time in the Bible. Yet we know that [whether Jew or Gentile] a person is not justified by deeds based on [obeying the 613 commandments of the] Torah, but rather through putting trust in Messiah Yeshua (2:16a). Justification is the act of ADONAI whereby, negatively, He forgives the sins of believers, and positively, He declares them to be righteous by transferring all the righteousness and obedience of Messiah to them through faith. Whatever is true of Him is true of them. It’s just-as-if-I’d never sinned.

At the Jerusalem Council, Peter declared the same truth in response to these belonging to the [sect] of the Pharisees who had believed (Greek: peoisteukotes from pisteuo, meaning to believe, to have faith in, to trust in) stood up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the Torah of Moshe” (Acts 15:5). He declared: Why do you challenge Gentile salvation and put God to the test by putting a yoke on the neck of the [Gentile] believers – which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But instead, we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Yeshua, in the same way as they are (Acts 15:10-11).

Martin Luther, who started the Protestant Reformation, said that if the doctrine of justification by faith is lost, all Christian doctrine is lost. In this last section of Chapter 2, Paul was inspired by the Ruach ha-Kodesh to introduce this most essential doctrine, a doctrine he had preached and explained to the Galatians on many occasions. He uses the verb form of justification (Greek: dikaioo) four times in verses 16-17 and the noun form (Greek: dikaiosune) once in verse 21, where it is translated righteousness. In the B’rit Chadashah these and other forms of the Greek word are variously translated as justify, justification, righteousness, just, righteous, and justified.

So even we [the Jewish believers] have put our trust in Messiah Yeshua, in order that we might be set right [justified] based on trust in Messiah and not by deeds based on Torah – because no human will be justified by deeds based on Torah (2:16b).

And to be justified by Yeshua Messiah, the believing Jews needed to reject the deeds based on Torah. It was as if Paul was saying, “Because we are Jews by nature, and we saw the need for Yeshua Messiah, and believed that He is sufficient for all of our spiritual needs, why now do we suddenly compel the Gentiles to believe in a covenant that we ourselves found that we could not keep? We couldn’t keep the 613 commandments of Moses, and that is why we turned to Yeshua Messiah. Why ask the Gentiles to keep it?

This is the condition of the Jewish believer today. No amount of Torah-keeping can make a person righteous, because the root of sinfulness is in the fallen nature of the human heart. Our basic problem is what we are . . . not what we do. Sinful acts are merely the outward expression of a sin nature that contains sinful thoughts. As a result, no amount of deeds can save a person, because the best of human deeds cannot change the sin nature of the person doing them. Moreover, we know that whatever the Torah says, it says to those trying to obey all of the 613 commandments of Moses for salvation, in order that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world be shown to deserve God’s judgment. For in His sight no one living will be considered righteous (Psalm 143:2) on the grounds of a legalistic observance of Torah commandments, because what Torah really does is show people how sinful they are (Romans 3:19-20 CJB).

The Torah is important as a mirror to show us our sinfulness; but it can only reveal sin, not remove it. But now God’s righteousness apart from the Torah has been revealed, to which the Torah and the Prophets bear witness – namely, the righteousness of God through trusting in Messiah Yeshua, to all who keep trusting. For there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. They are justified as a gift of His grace, through the redemption that is in Messiah Yeshua . . . for we maintain that [we] are justified by faith apart from the deeds of the Torah (Romans 3:21-24 and 28).

Only faith in Yeshua Messiah can bring a person the gracious gift of righteousness that provides forgiveness and salvation. Faith/trust/belief in Christ is not mere intellectual assent to the fact that Jesus died and rose for our sin (see the commentary on Hebrews Al – How Shall We Escape If We Ignore So Great a Salvation), but is personal trust in His death to remove and forgive our own sin. It is a total surrender to Him, not only as Savior, but also as the Lord of our life Therefore, submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you (James 4:7-8a).

All claims that salvation is through belief in Yeshua Messiah plus something else are blasphemous, satanic lies from the pit of hell. There can be no effective or acceptable human addition to Christ’s work on the cross. This passage is as clear and forceful statement of the doctrine of justification by faith alone as can be found in the Bible.⁶²

The Antioch Incident:
How Can You Force Jews
to Live Like Gentiles
2: 11-14

The Antioch incident: how can you force Jews to live like Gentiles DIG: Who were those “men from James?” How can we be confident that they were not Judaizers? Read Acts 11:1-18. In light of this experience, how do you account for Peter’s actions here when he comes to Antioch? Likewise, how can you account for Peter’s actions after the Jerusalem council? Why did Peter withdraw from eating with the Gentiles? How had Peter “lived like a Gentile?” Why did Paul rebuke Peter in front of the whole church? Why was the defection of Barnabas so devastating to Paul?

REFLECT: Have you ever compromised your faith in a social situation? Can you identify with how Peter felt? Were you called out by another believer in front of everyone? If so, how did you react? Or were you talked to privately? Or did you realize what you were doing and correct yourself? Have you ever confronted someone else for their hypocrisy? Have you ever neglected to do so because you were worried about how others would view you? Have you ever stumbled by putting your eyes on another human instead of putting your eyes on Yeshua (Hebrews 12:2)? How can you model your defense of the gospel after Paul? If someone followed you around all week, and knew every conversation and interaction that you had, would your walk live up to your talk?

In Galatians 2:11-21 the scene changes from Yerushalayim and the Council there to Syrian Antioch, where the first Gentile church was established. Paul and Barnabas served as spiritual leaders there, with help from three other men (see the commentary on Acts, to see link click Bn – Barnabas and Sha’ul Sent Out from Syrian Antioch). Paul continues the defense of his salvation equals faith-plus-nothing gospel.

After the Jerusalem Council had met (to see link click Ax – False Brothers slipped in to Spy Out our Freedom in Messiah), Paul and Barnabas returned to their home church in Syrian Antioch with Peter. There, an incident occurred that Paul used in his letter to the believers in Galatia when he heard that their faith was being compromised by Judaizers (see Ag – Who Were the Judaizers). The purpose for Paul including the “Antioch incident” in his letter was to emphasize that Torah observance in any fashion could not be added to his salvation equals-faith-plus-nothing gospel.

But when Peter came to Syrian Antioch Paul opposed him to his face in front of everyone, because he was clearly in the wrong. For before certain people from James (Jacob), he regularly ate with the Gentiles (2:11-12a). It is clear that these men sent by James were men of importance as is shown by the difference with which Peter treated them, and the compliance with which he bowed to their requests. They were not Judaizers, for James would never have sent such men. He had just ruled against them at the Jerusalem Council. They were Jewish believers who, like James, continued to be most scrupulous in their obedience to the Torah. Even after the decision of the Jerusalem Council regarding the relation of the Torah to Gentile converts (see the commentary on Acts Bt – The Council’s Letter to Gentile Believers), James thought that Jewish believers should use their freedom in Messiah to continue to be Torah observant, not for salvation, but merely as a way of life. It was at the insistence of James that Paul go to the Temple and participate in a ceremony marking the culmination of the Nazirite vow of four men to show that he was Torah observant (see the commentary on Acts Cn – Paul’s Advice from Jacob and the Elders at Jerusalem). The news had reached Yerushalayim that Jewish and Gentile believers were eating together, and Jacob sent certain people to Antioch to enforce the Torah dietary commandments so far as the Jewish believers were concerned.

It seems that when the Jerusalem Council made their decision that Gentiles were free from the obligation of circumcision, that all the food restrictions of the Torah were set aside. The foods previously forbidden to the Jew (but found on Gentile tables) would then be available to them. Accordingly, the Jewish and Gentile believers welcomed the opportunity to fellowship together over a meal. This practice had not been in force before the Jerusalem Council, or it would have been dealt with. So, Peter, finding this situation in Antioch, was eating together with Gentiles during meals. However, when James heard of his actions, he sent certain men to investigate and they found Peter eating with Gentiles.⁵⁸

But when the men sent from James came, he began to withdraw and separate himself from the Gentiles, fearing them (2:12b). The word withdraw (Greek: from hupostello) is used frequently to describe strategic military operations. This suggests that it was part of Peter’s strategy in the circumstances with which he found himself. The words withdraw and separate are both in the imperfect tense, indicating that Peter did not start his withdrawal and separation from the Gentile tables all at once, but gradually, under the constant pressure from the visitors from Jerusalem. Peter’s reluctance to separate himself immediately from the Gentiles was probably what was offensive to them.

And because Peter was a natural leader, and the lead apostle, the rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy (2:13a). The Greek word hypocrisy originally referred to an actor wearing a mask to indicate a particular mood or type of character. A hypocrite is someone who, like a Greek actor, masks their true identity. From Paul’s point of view, it was Peter’s true belief in the salvation equals faith-plus-nothing gospel that was masked, the usual type of hypocrisy that comes from fear . . . Peter and the Antioch Jews were afraid.

They would no longer eat with Gentile believers, which probably meant they would not partake of the Lord’s Supper with them also. As a result, the church was split apart on the issue. The love-feast, the bond of fellowship expressing the love among believers, was divided into two groups. The friendly groups of Jews and Gentiles in fellowship was discontinued. The middle wall of separation (Ephesians 2:14) had been built back up so the one was then two. The fact that the rest of the Jews joined Peter in his withdrawal from the Gentiles, shows that the entire group had previously eaten with the Gentiles.

So, that even Barnabas, the great encourager, was carried away with their hypocrisy (2:13b). It was bad enough for Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles and the champion of Gentile liberty to have Peter act as he did. But the hypocrisy of Barnabas was a cruel blow. With the single exception of Paul himself, Barnabas had been the most effective minister of the gospel in winning Gentiles to the Lord. He had been commissioned by the church in Antioch to go to the Jerusalem Council as its representative. He had come back with the wonderful news that the position held by Paul and himself with regard to Gentile freedom from circumcision had been upheld by the Jerusalem apostles. Now, his withdrawing from fellowship with the Gentiles, seemed like a betrayal to Paul and the church at Antioch. Furthermore, the defection of Barnabas was of a far more serious nature with regard to Gentile freedom than the vacillation of Peter. Barnabas was Paul’s chief colleague in the evangelism of the Gentiles, and now to have him play the hypocrite and deserter, was a bitter blow to the great apostle. This may have prepared the way for the dissension between them which two years later led to their separation (see the commentary on Acts Bv – Disagreement between Paul and Barnabas).⁵⁹

Even Barnabas . . . even the great encourager, the one who made people stand taller, run faster, and do better was carried away with their hypocrisy! But this is also a warning to us. Somebody is watching you. Somebody is watching me. And you are going to influence them. Now, you may not like that, and you may want to be taken off of the influencer list, but we all influence in our sphere of life for the better or for the worse. And you can’t plead the fifth and you can’t sit it out. The question is not are we going to influence people, the question is how are we going to influence people. What do people see when they observe your life? Are you walking in the flesh or walking in the Ruach? Even though we are only human and have our faults, we should walk in such a way that when people look at us they see Yeshua, and not a hypocrite. If someone followed you all this week, you didn’t know they were there, but they observed every conversation, every interaction, they read everything you wrote on your computer, and watched the way you walk, and then they saw you reading your bible . . . would they be surprised?

When Paul recognized what was going on, he rebuked Peter in front of everyone. But when Paul saw that they were not walking in a straight line with the truth of the Good News. So, because Peter’s offense was public, Paul rebuked him in public . . . right in front of the whole church on a Sunday morning. Every believer in Antioch, and doubtlessly many unbelievers as well, knew that Peter was no longer associating with Gentiles as he had once done so freely and openly. The Church father Augustine once said, “It is not advantageous to correct in secret an error which occurred publicly.” Unless the public sin of a believer is dealt with publicly, people will think the local assembly does not take sin seriously and therefore give silent approval of it. A body that does not discipline sinning members (especially the most prominent members) loses its credibility because it does not take seriously its own doctrines and standards.

Paul’s response was electric. “If you – being a Jew – live like the Gentiles.” He simply pointed out the obvious inconsistency of Peter’s behavior in Antioch. Paul reminded him when he arrived there, Peter had fellowshipped freely with Gentile believers and regularly are with them. He had openly visited their homes and joined them in love feasts and communion, showing no evidence of legalism or prejudice. In that sense, he lived like the Gentiles and not like the Jews sent from James who continued to believe that Jews should only eat kosher food and not associate with Gentiles while eating. But after his vision of the unclean animals (see the commentary on Acts Bf – Peter’s Vision), and his experience with Cornelius (see the commentary on Acts Bg – Peter Goes to the House of Cornelius), Peter no longer viewed the necessity of eating kosher. He finally came to the realization that even the God-given Levitical commandments observed during the Dispensation of Torah, were no longer valid. But under the pressure from the men from James, he faltered, and fell back in the old way of thinking. Therefore, Paul asked him, “If you live like the Gentiles, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews” (2:14)? Very hypocritical.

Paul had no desire to lord over Peter or to build up his own reputation at the expense of a fellow apostle. Paul was just trying to follow the Matthew 18 principle (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Gi – If Brother or Sister Sins, Go and Point Out Their Fault). His motive was not to humiliate Peter but to correct him in a serious error that had caused many other believers to stumble with him. Paul could tolerate nothing that threatened the integrity of the gospel, especially if that threat came from a prominent and influential leader such as Peter.⁶⁰

Those Jews were watching Peter then . . . and somebody is watching you today. Now, you may say, “Take me off the list of being an influencer.” But the fact is we all influence people in our sphere of life either positively or negatively. Whether you know it or not, you are feeding people spiritual food as they view your life, and there’s only two kinds of spiritual food. There’s angel’s food and devil’s food. And if you’re not feeding them one kind of food, you’re feeding them the other. The question is not – are we going to influence people? The question is – how are we going to influence people? There is only one answer to that question: Therefore, since we have such a great witness surrounding us, let us also get rid of every weight and entangling sin. Let us run with endurance the race set before us, focusing on Yeshua, the initiator and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2a).

Dear Great Father God, You are such an Awesome Father! Praise Your love, holiness, kindness, Almighty power, wisdom . . . It is so special to meditate on how wonderful You are; but sometimes You give us work to do for You – like discipline gently, yet firmly, our brother . . . and correction is not pleasant.

Please help us to remember that ADONAI disciplines the one he loves (Hebrews 12:6a) and Now all discipline seems painful at the moment – not joyful. But later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness and peace to those who have been trained by it (Hebrews 12:11). Help us to be willing to encourage our brothers and sisters to walk worthy of the gospel (Colossians 1:10).

Praise You for being such a caring Father, for when we believe on You (Ephesians 1:13) as our Lord and Savior, You give us Your Holy Spirit to guide us in remembering Your words and living holy lives for You– which includes both praise and correction.

Thank You that though we can do nothing to earn our salvation – You give us the opportunity of serve You by building on the foundation of Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear. For the day will show it, because it is to be revealed by fire; and the fire itself will test each one’s work – what sort it is. If anyone’s work built on the foundation survives, he will he will receive a reward (First Corinthians 3:12-14). May our every word and thought be to bring You glory in all we do-whether in joyful praise or in the harder service of correction. In Your holy Son’s name and power of resurrection. Amen

Gentiles during the Second Temple Period

During the Second Temple period, Gentiles were characterized in general not only as idolaters but also – and consequently – as violent, dirty, immoral, and impure. Cattle may not be left in the inns of the Gentiles since they are suspected of bestiality; nor may a woman remain alone with them since they are suspected of lewdness; nor may a man remain alone with them since they are suspected of shedding blood. The daughter of an Israelite may not assist a Gentile woman in childbirth since she would be assisting to bring to birth a child for idolatry (Abodah Zarah 2:1, also see Matthew 15:26ff; Mark 7:27ff; Romans 1:18ff; Ephesians 4:19; Colossians 1:21-22).

Eating with an uncircumcised person was regarded as the same as eating with a “dog” or consuming the “flesh of abomination.” Why did he [Abraham] circumcise them [the men of his household]? Because of purity, so that they should not defile their masters with their food and with their drink, for whosoever eats with an uncircumcised person is as though he were eating flesh as though he were eating with a dog. All who bathe with the uncircumcised are as though they bathed with a leper, and all who touch an uncircumcised person are as though they touched the dead, for in their lifetime they are like the dead; and in their death they are like the meat of the beast, and their prayer does not come before the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is said: The dead do not praise ADONAI (Psalm 115:17) (PRE – Pirkei de Rabbi Eliezer 29).

The question of precisely when the Gentiles first began to be regarded as Levitically unclean is frequently explained in reference to the Eighteen Decrees enacted by the Shammaites just prior to the outbreak of the War in 66. On this reading, the decrees constituted a political act designed to prevent contact between Jews and their Roman adversaries. The acknowledgment of impurity to the Gentiles nevertheless more accurately seems to represent an extension of the Oral Law (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Ei – The Oral Law) concerning the uncleanness of idols to include those who worshiped them – a tradition that arose much earlier than the Eighteen Decrees and which the latter reinforced (TBE – Tanna debe Eliyyahu page 105).

The strongest proof of the ritual impurity of Gentiles is perhaps reflected in the demand for a proselyte to be immersed upon conversion (see the commentary on Acts Bb – An Ethiopian Asks about Isaiah 53), together with the prohibition against Gentiles entering beyond the middle wall of separation within the courts of the Temple (see the commentary on Acts Cn – Paul’s Advice from Jacob and the Elders at Jerusalem). The Oral Law included doing business with Gentiles for three days preceding their festivals in order to prevent the smallest risk of being involved with their idolatrous practices (Abodah Zarah 1:1f). It was also argued that bathing in a public bathhouse could bring impurity, in other words, putting a Jew in a state of uncleanness because the bathhouse contained a statue of a goddess and a Jew who entered was at risk of participating in idol worship (Abodah Zarah 1:7, 3:4). Gentile land (its earth and air together) and Gentile houses were both regarded as primary sources of impurity.

Food was obviously a central issue of discussion with respect to ritual purity (Acts 11:3), not only because of the danger of idolatry but also because of the independent food and ritual impurity laws. It appears that the peculiar nature of Gentile impurity led to the removal of foods that Jews could eat. The Eighteen Decrees included a list of items prohibited because of their association with Gentiles. “On the very day they prohibited eating Gentiles’ bread, their cheese, wine, vinegar, brine, muries, pickles, stews, salted foods, fish-brine, pounded spices, barley, language, testimony, offerings, sons, daughters, and first-fruits (J Shabat 1, 4, 3c-d).

Peter’s reservations in Acts 10 include both hosting Gentiles and visiting them in their own homes. The issues involved in doing so included the Levitical dietary commandments founded on the distinction between clean and unclean animals, the prohibition against eating meat and milk together, slaughtering regulations, benedictions, and purity commandments – the latter only being applicable in the Land of Isra’el.

The severity of food restrictions can be seen in numerous early texts. Judith refrained from partaking of Holofernes’ food, living instead on the oil, bread, and wine which she brought from her own house (Judith 10:5, 12:1-4), while Tobit kept himself from eating the “food of the Gentiles (Tobit 1:11). Josephus relates that the priests sent by Felix to Rome to plead their cause before Nero subsisted on a diet of nuts and figs in their refusal to compromise Jewish dietary regulations” (Josephus Life 13f). Not only was much of a Gentile’s food prohibited but his/her utensils were also considered to be ritually impure: If a man brought utensils from a Gentile, those [of metal or glass and others used for uncooked foods] which it is the custom to immerse [in order to free them from uncleanness before use] he must immerse, those which it is the custom to scald be must scald; those which it is the custom to make white-hot in the fire he must make white-hot in the fire. A spit must be made white-hot in the fire; but a knife needs to be polished and it is then clean (Abodah Zarah 5:12).

In addition to the restrictions regulating what food was permitted, it was also forbidden to say a blessing over food dedicated to idols. Eating food which a pagan considered to be sanctified to his god was equivalent to co-operating in the deification of created things and hence a blasphemy to the Creator – who would be blessed over the same food. The benediction would consequently become a curse. Rabbi Simon said, “If three have eaten at one table and have not spoken threat words of the Torah [it is] as if they had eaten sacrifices [offered] to the dead, for [of such persons] it is said, ‘For all tables are full of filthy vomit, [they are] without the All-Present (Isaiah 28:8). But, if three have eaten at the table of the All-Present, blessed be He, as it is said: This is the table of the Presence of ADONAI (Ezeki’el 41:22) (Pirkei Avot/Sayings of the Fathers 3:3).

Those who partake of idolatry cannot bless the Creator for their food and therefore are also unworthy to host the presence of the Ruach ha-Kodesh. This attitude is found in several rabbinic sayings, sometimes based on the example of Hezekiah. Among the things a man should keep in mind is taking care not to sit at the table of a heathen Gentile. For [we find], as set forth concerning Hezekiah, king of Judah, that he sat at a table with a heathen Gentile, and because he did, consequently had great punishment imposed on him . . . Hence, we conclude, he who sits at a table with a heathen is on his way to heathen worship and to eat sacrifices to lifeless idols. If such a man is a disciple of the wise, he belittles his learning in the Torah, blasphemes the name of his Father [in heaven], wastes his possessions, turns his sons over to his enemies – indeed, kills them with the sword or causes them to be exiled from their Land (TBE – Tanna debe Eliyyahu pages 46 and 48).⁵⁷

Syrian Antioch during the Time of Paul

During the Seleucid dynasty numerous cities throughout Eretz (the Land of) Isra’el, Syria, and Pisidia, were named in honor of Antiochus. Seleucus Nicator founded Antioch on the Orontes in 300 BC, naming it after his father, where it served as the Seleucid capital. It rapidly became a city of importance and in 165 BC was already the third largest city after Rome and Alexandria. Modern scholars estimate its population in the first century as around 100,000. Following Pompey’s reorganization of the whole region it became a free city in 64 BC, serving as the seat of administration of the Roman province of Syria. Its position on the Orontes River encouraged its growth as a commercial center, the produce of Syria passing through the city on its way to other Mediterranean countries. Enlarged and adorned by Augustus and Tiberius, Herod the Great contributed to the city’s glory by paving its main street with marble and lining it on both sides with marble colonnades. It was called Antioch the great, Antioch the Beautiful, and the Queen of the East.

Jews had settled in Syrian Antioch since its foundation, being included among the military colonists who established the city. In line with city’s political importance, its Jewish community ranked in status with those of Alexandria and Rome. The growth of the Jewish population was presumably stimulated by the material advantages the city offered, as well as its attractions as a major urban center. Many Jews appear to have emigrated from Isra’el, Jews from Syria itself also tending to congregate in the capital – together with migrants from Babylonia and other parts of the Parthian Empire.

The annexation of Eretz (the Land of) Isra’el by the Seleucids around 200 BC intensified the contracts between Antioch and Jerusalem. Jewish representatives were frequent visitors in the Seleucid capital and Onias III apparently sought refuge from his opponents in the famous temple of Apollo at Daphne near Antioch (Second Maccabees 4:33). The book of Acts witnesses to the traffic between Antioch and Jerusalem, as well as the cosmopolitan character of both, noting that in theses days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch (Acts 11:27) and that among the prophets and teachers were Simeon called Niger, Lucius the Cyrenian, and Manaen (brought up since childhood with Herod the Tetrarch).⁵⁴

Persecution scattered the early Hellenistic believers to the city of Antioch, the modern Syrian city of Antakiyeh, which became the home church for Gentile missions. It had a school of theology and became the church home of two church fathers, Ignatius and John Chrysostom. It was there that we see the first widespread evangelism of the Gentiles. As a result, Syrian Antioch became the center of Gentile Christianity, just as Jerusalem had become the center of the Messianic Community. Early on, the city became one of the major bases of the Church (see the commentary on Acts, to see link click Bj – The Church in Syrian Antioch). And it was in Syrian Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians (Acts 11:26b). This may clarify how the church at Antioch was able to send relief help to the Jewish believers in Jerusalem (see Au – After Fourteen Years, Paul went up to Jerusalem, and took Titus and Barnabas with Him).

Antioch was made up of Greek speaking Syrian majority, with a large Jewish minority and probably more than a dozen synagogues. But, it was a major city of pagan worship. Its patron god was Tyche, but being polytheistic, they also worshiped the Ashteroth, which involved immoral festivals and ritual prostitution. Only five miles away was the town of Daphne, which was the center of the worship of Apollo and Artemis, and it was noted for its pleasure seeking Temple. Syrian Antioch was such a wicked city that it was perhaps only overshadowed in its depravity by Corinth. It was so morally corrupt that the Greek writer Juvenal, wrote in his satire that “the sewage of the Syrian Orontes flowed into the Tiber River.” He was describing the degradation of Rome, but blamed it on Antioch.⁵⁵

Jews had settled in Antioch since its foundations, being included amongst the military colonists who established the city. In line with the city’s political importance, its Jewish community ranked in status with those of Alexandria and Rome. The growth of the Jewish population was presumably stimulated by the material advantages the city offered, as well as its attractions as a major urban center. Many Jews appear to have emigrated from the land of Isra’el, Jews from Syria itself also tending to congregate in the capital – together with migrants from Babylonia and other parts of the Parthian empire.⁵⁶