Galatians Bible Class, Pt. 48: Description of a Believer

Class #48:  We need to be careful how we speak about the description of the believer.  St. Paul draws a clear distinction between the unbeliever and the believer.  The unbeliever is a slave to the law relying upon it for salvation, while the believer is a son of God living by faith in Jesus Christ.  Because of this great difference, the unbeliever and the believer live differently.  The unbeliever indulges the sinful nature, gratifies its desires, and thus condones and perpetuates the works of the flesh.   Believers are led by the Holy Spirit, and thus have been set free to show forth the fruits of the Spirit and love to the neighbor.

In order to clarify last week’s lesson, we begin this lesson with four theses from C.F.W. Walther’s book, The Proper Distinction between the Law and the Gospel.  The believer has been given new desires as seen in St. Paul’s list of the fruit of the Spirit.  However, due to the sinful nature, the believer is constantly assailed and frequently does not progress beyond the will to the action.  Nevertheless, the believer, unlike the unbeliever, is not ruled by his sinful nature so that He sins purposefully.  A person living in mortal sin falls from grace.

Overhead: Galatians Class 48 Overhead
Handout: Handout for Class 48 Law and Gospel

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