Tag Archives: Faith

Galatians Bible Study, Pt. 38: Faith Working Through Love

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Class #38:  In chapter 5, verses 1-4, St. Paul is warning the Galatians against requiring the keeping of any law into the article of justification by faith.  Those who are trying to be justified by law–which is impossible–have already fallen from grace.  The works-righteous requirements of the Judaizers does not avail anything, but only separates from Jesus Christ.

With verse 5-6, St. Paul contrasts the actions of those who follow the false teachers with the actions of himself and those who have remained true to his doctrine.  True believers “wait.” That is, they know that they are already justified through faith in Jesus Christ.  They wait for the final judgment when it will be revealed that they were, in fact, the saved ones. This godly waiting is not a lack of activity.  A confident, waiting faith produces love toward the neighbor.

Note: At a few points in this recording, there is an annoying clicking from a failing microphone battery.

Overhead: Galatians Class 38 Overhead
Handout: Faith working through love handout
Handout 2: Galatians Bible Study Chapter 5 2 thru 15

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Galatians Bible Study, Pt. 20: Believing Abraham

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Class #20:  Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness” (Galatians 3:6, Genesis 15:6).  All of the Old Testament upholds the Scriptural doctrine of justification by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone.  The promise given to Abraham was not that he was to be the father of the Jewish nation.  God’s promise was that in Abraham “all the nations/families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen 12:3, 18:18, etc.).  God justifies the people of all nations by faith.

Abraham believed in the promise of the Savior, Jesus Christ, coming from his own body.  Abraham’s righteousness was not accomplished by his own works.  He was declared to be righteous from faith.  Abraham believed that God would create from him “a great nation,” that is the church!  The false teachers cannot claim Abraham in support of their righteousness by works. On the contrary, it is the Galatians, who are “of faith,” that can claim Abraham as their father.  The believing Galatians are the true sons of believing Abraham.

Overhead: Galatians Class 20 Overhead
Handouts: Galatians Bible Study Chapter 3 6-9  and seed offspring descendant NKJV

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Galatians Bible Study, Pt. 17: The Law has No Place in Justification

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Class #17:  St. Paul continues to emphasize the contrast between righteousness by(διά) faith in Christ and righteousness by (διά) law.   The Scriptural teaching of justification by faith cannot allow the introduction of even a drop of works-righteousness otherwise grace is frustrated and Christ died for nothing.

The law has no place in the doctrine of justification.  Of course, the law is to be used to show me my sin, so that I die to the law.  The law is no longer my master and I am no longer his servant.  Through faith in Christ, I live a new life of thankfulness toward God.

Overhead: Galatians Class 17 Overhead

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Galatians Bible Study, Pt. 16: Christ isn’t a Minister of Sin, is He?

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Class #16:  St. Paul declares that Jews know—because of the teaching of the Old Testament—that no flesh is justified by keeping the law(Ps 143:2).  Therefore, in order to be justified according to the promise of the Gospel(Mk 16:16), Christians have believed in Jesus Christ.

With Galatians 2:17-18, St. Paul shows the logical result of what happens when a Christian (who is seeking to be justified by faith) adds the requirement of keeping the law for his justification.  With verse 17, we learn that if faith in Christ alone is insufficient to save, then Christ has become a servant who lead us into sin.  Similarly in verse 18, we see that if believers in Christ need the law in order to be justified, then the church’s teaching of faith alone makes us lawbreakers.  We cannot rebuild the law as a requirement for justification, without turning Christ into a sin-causer and us back into a transgressor.  The truth of the Gospel is that important!

Overhead:  Galatians Class 16 Overhead

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Galatians Bible Study, Pt. 13: The Truth of the Gospel

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Class #13:  When it comes to “the truth of the gospel” (Galatians 2:5, 2:14, 3:1) St. Paul is not willing to budge even a little.  In matters of life and weakness, he shows forth great love and bears all things(1 Cor 13:7).  He was not critical of St. Peter eating with the Gentiles (2:12), for even St. Paul himself said, “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” (1 Cor 9:22).  However, when it comes to the truth of the gospel–that man is saved faith in Jesus Christ without the works of the law–he stands firm. To admit any law requirements into the teaching of how man is saved (declared righteous, justified) is to have “another gospel” (1:9).  When the truth of the gospel is at stake, no human office is to be respected(2:6), “we must obey God, rather than man” (Acts 5:29)

Overhead: galatians-class-13-overhead

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Baptismal Life Bible Class – The Fruits of Faith: Spiritual Impulses and Works, Part 13

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The fruits of faith are so much more than good works.  Without faith in Christ, which produces new spiritual impulses, we could not do good works.  Those impulses include submitting to God’s will, contentment, love, mortifying the old Adam, enduring suffering, facing death with peace and hope, etc.

“Therefore we also hold that the keeping of the law should begin in us and increase more and more. But we mean to include both elements, namely, the inward spiritual impulses and the outward good works.  Our opponents slanderously claim that we do not require good works, whereas we not only require them but show how they can be done” (Ap IV, 136).

Handout: Baptism Apr 13 2016 Lesson 13

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Baptismal Life Bible Class – The Image of Christ or Moses, Part 12

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There is a Scriptural difference between “the new man” who should daily emerge and arise and what the new man does “to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.”  One is faith and the other is the fruits of faith.  “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God” (Gal 2:20).  The Christian mind is faith, which is produced by the ministry of the Word.  When Christ is formed in you(Gal 4:19), faith brings forth good works.  When your confidence rests on the law, it is the image of Moses that is formed in you.

Overheads:
Lesson Twelve Overheads Baptism Apr 10 2016

Resources:
Lesson 11 Yellow Sheet LW v26 p431
Lesson Nine Baptism Mar 20 2016

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Baptismal Life Bible Class – The New Man = Faith, Part 11

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The Small Catechism says, “…and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.”   According to the Scriptures (Eph 4:23, 2 Cor 4:16, Col 3:10, Gal 4:19), the new (inward) man is faith.  This new man in the Christian is being renewed by God through the Gospel.  The two parts of the baptized life are not confession and good works, but confession and faith.  And where there is faith, the fruits of faith (good works) will follow.  Receive faith and you get good works.  Aim at good works and you will get neither faith nor good works.

Overheads: Lesson Eleven Overheads Baptism Apr 3 2016

Resources:  Lesson Nine Baptism Mar 20 2016
Lesson Six The Ways and Means of God in Mortifying old Adam
Lesson 11 Yellow Sheet LW v26 p431

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Baptismal Life Bible Class – The Task of Faith: Slay the old Adam, Part 7

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God ways are not simply external changes which are brought about by sociological principles and behavior modification.  The Triune God works through the Word and Holy Spirit to give the gift of faith in the inner spirit.  The only way in which the believer can mortify the old Adam is through faith, which gives a confidence that calms the conscience, motivates the heart and makes the person “so certain that it would die a thousand times for it.”  Faith works inward contrition and confession of sins.  Contrition puts to death the old Adam daily in fulfillment of holy Baptism.  As the believer exercises his faith, he cries out for mercy because he realizes He is heavily burdened by his own self.  God comes to His aid by attacking the old Adam with adversity, troubles, sufferings, the cross, unrest, dying and death.

Resources:  Lesson Seven Baptism Feb 21 2016
SRM1657- Afflictions or listen at https://soundcloud.com/trinity-lutheran-herrin

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