Galatians Chapter 5

InsuranceGuy

Well-Known Member
Howdy,

I had a very interesting evening speaking with someone about this chapter. The person believes Galatians Chapter 5 is clear evidence Grace alone does not cover ALL sin. I honestly was not familiar with the Chapter enough to make any great points. Upon reading it, I can see where this friend believes they are correct. In her opinion, all sin that is premeditated, or any listed in this chapter, are NOT covered by Grace based on what is written here. What say you? I know the Bible clearly says elsewhere we are all sinners and saved by Grace through Faith. I don't believe her opinion is correct, but am having a difficult time in coming up with a reply or rebuttal.

An example: If someone struggles with a specific sin, and they continue doing it after being saved (a sin listed in this chapter), her belief is they cannot possibly be saved or the person would be able to stop that particular sin with help from the Holy Spirit. That's a scary thought as if/when I sin, I feel very badly about it. I've always thought of that as being the Holy Spirit letting me know what I did was wrong. According to her, and how she views Galatians 5, it is simply the person being shown they aren't truly saved. How do you feel about this chapter and how would you reply? It is an Aunt of mine who definitely is a Christian lady, however, we disagree on many things she believes the Bible to be saying in certain areas.
 

Armor of Light

Praising my Savior all the day long!
This may help, from Got Questions
https://www.gotquestions.org/fall-from-grace.html

Question: "What does it mean to 'fall from grace' (Galatians 5:4)?"

Answer:
Galatians 5:4 and its reference to falling from grace is one of those “warning passages” pointed to by those who reject the doctrine of the eternal security of the believer. But because of the biblical doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, we know the warnings cannot be directed at true believers in Christ because once grace has been obtained, believers cannot fall from it.

In Galatians 5:4, the context is Paul’s warning against mixing law and the Gospel to attain justification. He says to those who let themselves be circumcised (Galatians 5:2) that they are “trying to be justified by law” and have therefore “been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.” It should be noted that there is no mention of salvation or the security of the believer. He is telling those who receive circumcision—in other words attempt to justify themselves through the rites and rules of the Law—that Christ will be of “no benefit” to them.

Paul expounds further in verse 3 when he says that “every man who receives circumcision” is “under obligation to keep the whole Law.” Why is such a statement important in regards to Christ being “no benefit to you”? Note what Paul says in Galatians 3:13 concerning Christ’s sacrifice: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us.” Taken in this light, along with a brief understanding of the Greek terms used, we can get a better understanding of what Paul is saying.

The two most important words in Galatians 5:4 are καταργέω (severed) and ἐκπίπτω (fallen). The word καταργέω does not require the “harsh” implications that come with “sever” in the English language, though it should not be taken lightly. In light of Paul’s words in Galatians 5:2 and how Paul uses the term in verses such as Romans 3:3, 4:14, and 1 Corinthians 1:28, a good way of understanding the term καταργέω is “nullify” or “done away with.” While the word ἐκπίπτω can undoubtedly mean to fall away from a previously held position, as those who deny the eternal security of true believers assert, in the context of this verse and how it is used in passages such as Acts 27, a good understanding of the phrase in Galatians 5:4 is that of “estranged” or “separated from.”

Paul warns against setting aside the grace that comes from Christ. Those who do have nullified, or run away from, the grace that comes through His blood and attempted instead to justify themselves by the works of the Law. The purpose of Paul’s letter to the Galatians was to warn against the Judaizers because they attempted to lure born-again Christians back to justification through the Law, which is impossible (Galatians 2:16). He reminds them of the freedom they have in Christ: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1).

Recommended Resource: Eternal Security by Charles Stanley
 

Armor of Light

Praising my Savior all the day long!
And this from Grace Through Faith
https://gracethrufaith.com/topical-studies/eternal-security/are-all-our-sins-forgiven/
Are All Our Sins Forgiven?
By Jack Kelley Sunday September 25th, 2016 About 12 Minutes to Read
Home » Topical Studies » Eternal Security » Are All Our Sins Forgiven?
A Bible Study by Jack Kelley
I’ve received a number of questions about a recent series of online articles disputing the idea that Jesus died for all our sins, past, present, and future on the cross. The articles make the claim that the Bible teaches no such thing. So let’s find out. Does the Bible teach that all the sins of our life were forgiven at the cross or doesn’t it?

Colossians 2:13-14 reads as follows, When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.
The Greek word translated all in this passage is pas. It means each, every, any, all, the whole, all things, everything. This would seem to support the claim that all sins past present and future were forgiven at the cross. It also supports Paul’s statement that at the moment of belief the Holy Spirit was sealed within us as a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance .
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory (Ephes. 1:13-14).
Taken literally, this means the Holy spirit is the down payment that guarantees the redemption of the acquired possession (us). This guarantee went into effect when we first believed. (By the way, for those of you who only speak King James-ese, all translation interpretations on this site are from the Greek text that brought forth the King James Version.)
Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. (2 Cor. 1:21-22).
This tells us that God has established us as His and has placed His seal upon us as well. A seal is meant to authenticate ownership, placing it beyond doubt. It’s similar to the brand a rancher places on his cattle. 1 Cor. 6:19 says we are no longer ours, we were bought with a price. The price was the life of His Son Jesus. The Holy Spirit is our guarantee that God, who acquired us, will also redeem us.
Hebrews 10:12-14 states that Jesus offered Himself as a once for all time sacrifice for sin that has made us perfect forever.
But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
Once for all time means it applies from the beginning of the Age of Man to the end and continuously throughout. That includes the entire life of every believer. In offering Himself as our sacrifice for sin He has made perfect forever we who are being made Holy. This is an expansion of the writer’s claim in Hebrews 7:25 to the effect that because Jesus lives forever He is able to save us forever. (These verses prove that all interpretations of Hebrews 6:4-6 and Hebrews 10:26-27 that are used to deny eternal security are incorrect on their face. The same author, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, could not contradict himself so radically).
Notice the sacrifice made us perfect forever, even though we’re still in the process of being made Holy. That’s a job that won’t be finished until the rapture/resurrection.
Being made perfect forever is what Paul meant when he said, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Cor. 5:17). The verbs here are in the past perfect tense. That means from God’s perspective this is all over and done. Paul said that by accepting the Lord’s death as payment for all our sins we’ve become as righteous as God is (2 Cor. 5:21).
These statements are all consistent. Individually and collectively they clearly show that all the sins of our life are forgiven from the moment we first believe. And there’s not a single verse in the New Testament that contradicts, modifies, or retracts these promises. After all, how could God guarantee our salvation from the moment of belief unless all the sins of our life were paid for and forgiven at the cross?
But We Still Sin!
So how can we reconcile this with the undeniable fact that we still sin? Remember, in His Sermon on the Mount Jesus explained that sin begins with a thought, whether action follows or not. Anger is as much a sin as murder, lust is as much a sin as adultery. He could also have said coveting is as much a sin as theft, and so on. The writer of Hebrews told us that continuing to work to earn or keep our salvation is equivalent to breaking the commandment to keep the Sabbath (Hebrews 4). And James said whoever keeps the whole Law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it (James 2:10). It’s only by using the blood of Jesus to wash away all the sins of our life that God could make good on His promise to guarantee our inheritance. Here’s how He does it.
Because we’ve been born again, God chooses to see us as the perfect being we will be after the rapture /resurrection. He can do this because He’s outside of time. Remember, eternity is not just a lot of time. Eternity is the absence of time altogether and God inhabits eternity (Isaiah 57:15). Remember God telling Adam that in the day he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he would die? (Genesis 2:17) When Adam and Eve disobeyed, they didn’t die then and there. But although they lived for several hundred more years, they were changed from immortal to mortal on that day. Their eventual death became a certainty and God who is outside time saw it at the moment they sinned.
Becoming born again is the exact opposite. We didn’t actually become immortal on that day but our immortality was made certain, and from that time on God saw us as immortal beings. He inspired Paul to write, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Cor. 5:17). Although to us we’re still much the same, to God we became a new creation on the day we accepted the Lord’s death as payment for our sins. He now sees us as being as righteous as He is (2 Cor. 5:21). This righteousness comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe (Romans 3:22).
Paul explained how God is able to do this in Romans 7:18-20. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
For a born again believer, God has separated the sin from the sinner. God sees our sins as a holdover from the old us and does not consider them to be part of the new us.
What Should Be Our Response To This?
Does this mean we’re free to sin all we want? Are the legalists correct in saying that if God didn’t threaten us with the loss of our salvation we would all become the worst kind of depraved sinners? Millions of born again believers whose lives are now radically different stand as evidence to the contrary. We all still sin from time to time but the direction and focus of our lives is not the same as it once was, and we can testify to the fact that we’ve been changed. Although Paul said everything is permissible, he also said not everything is beneficial or constructive. Therefore we no longer seek our own good but the good of others (1 Cor. 10:23-24) in the hope of winning the prize for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus (Phil 3:14). Paul was not talking about his salvation, which he already had, but rewards he hoped to receive at the Bema Seat judgment (1 Cor. 3:10-15) after the rapture.
This is why the loss of our salvation is never threatened. Our belief in our eventual immortality matches what God has already seen for us, and in the meantime we strive to heed Paul’s advice to live up to what we have already attained (Phil 3:16). This is our spiritual act of worship (Romans 12:1) in gratitude for what we’ve been freely and irrevocably given.
But what about those true believers who don’t respond with gratitude and who don’t seem to have changed, living pretty much the way they did before they were saved? Is the gift rescinded? The promise broken? The guarantee revoked? I haven’t found a single verse that threatens them in this way. How could there be when all the sins of their life are paid for, including the sin of ingratitude.
What I’ve found is that for the most part, these ungrateful souls live defeated lives here and forfeit rewards in the hereafter. These are the ones Paul said will still be saved but only as one escaping through the flames (1 Cor. 3:15).
Here on Earth they have union with out fellowship, never experiencing any intimacy with God. As a result their Christian walk consists of movement without progress, battles without victories, and service without success. They’re on the right side of pardon but the wrong side of power, having justification without sanctification.
Jesus described them in the parable of the sower and the seed, saying they’re like the seed that fell among thorns. It germinates and grows but because it’s choked by the thorns, it never matures to bear fruit. Because these believers are too concerned with the ways of the world, they never mature as Christians and never produce anything of value to the Kingdom (Matt. 13:22). At the Bema Seat they’ll stand before the Lord with nothing to show for the incredible gift they were given because they will fave failed to implement the wonderful plan He had for their lives.
The New Testament is crammed with admonitions and encouragement to allow the Holy Spirit to change the focus of our lives from the things of this world to the things of the next one, from the things we can see, which are temporary, to the things we cannot, which are eternal (2 Cor. 4:18), to be made new in the attitudes of our mind (Ephesians 4:23) no longer conforming to the patterns of this world (Romans 12:2). In short, to live up to what we’ve already attained (Phil. 3:16).
Some believers who fail to heed these admonitions will find themselves having escaped judgment simply because on a single day in their otherwise unremarkable life they made a decision that changed everything. For some it will be the only smart decision they ever made, but they will have made it in faith, which is all that matters (Ephesians 2:8-9) because having made it, all the sins of their miserable existence were forgiven and they became a child of God (John 1:12-13), adopted into His forever family (Gal. 4:4-5).
When the time comes, those who failed to make that decision would gladly trade the riches of the world to change places with them. But as indescribably generous as the gift they received on that day is, it was only the first installment on the life they could have had. Whether out of ignorance or rebellion they turned down the rest, refusing to allow the Holy Spirit to guide them into it, until finally the still small voice within them could no longer be heard.
I sometimes wonder if the loss some will suffer at the Bema Seat (1 Cor. 3:15) will appear as endless warehouses of unclaimed blessing or if the tears the Lord wipes from their eyes will be tears of regret upon learning what they could have done through Him had they responded to the Holy Spirit’s prompting. Only time will tell. But at least, it will all be in the past, because Rev. 21:4 goes on to say that from then on there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things will have passed away. All their sins were forgiven from the day they first believed. Selah 08-27-11
 

mattfivefour

Well-Known Member
@chaser has made two good replies to this topic while I was still writing. I am not attempting to dispute any part of Jack Kelley's article. It is excellent. But since I was led to compose a reply, I will post it for whatever value it may offer someone.

There are at least 9 things true about a person who is truly saved:
  1. By faith in Jesus Christ and His finished work, they are snatched from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of God. (Colossians 1:13)
  2. They are entirely redeemed and forgiven of all their sins. (Colossians 1:14)
  3. God has changed them and recreated them as a new being. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
  4. They are no longer under any condemnation. (Romans 8:1)
  5. They have been freed from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2)
  6. They have a new nature imparted by the Holy Spirit who indwells them and has sealed them until the day of the Lord. (Ephesians 1:13; 4:30)
  7. They still have a fleshly nature that wars with their new nature and often leads them to sin. (Romans 7:14-24)
  8. They can be confident that God who saved them will work continue his work to its fulfillment. (Philippians 1:6)
  9. They can rest in the fact that God will present them faultless before His throne. (Jude 1:24)
Now those are scriptural facts. Nowhere in that is there room for us to either add to or subtract from what God has done in Christ. And nowhere is Scripture properly divided is there a teaching that if we who are saved commit sin we will be cast out. But there is a very clear teaching in Scripture that those who are saved do not desire to willfully commit sin without caring that they do. How could we? The Holy Spirit lives inside us and He is, as His name describes, HOLY. And Holiness cannot abide sin. Therefore, the Christian who sins is a most miserable person. But he or she is not lost. You see, they are saved and sealed—not by their efforts, but by Christ's. And Christ alone. They will also be disciplined by God, because He loves them so much He will not leave them to continue in things that are destructive to self, others, or the Gospel. But His discipline is suited to the individual: in other words, it varies from person to person, according as God's perfect knowledge of the individual's heart knows exactly what will work to deliver and correct them specifically.

Yes, at salvation the Holy Spirit regenerates the sinner ... in his or her position. But their condition is quite different. Changing the new saint's condition to conform to their position takes time, and that is the purpose of sanctification. Sanctification is the gradual transformation of the Christian from resembling the sinner they once were to resembling Christ who they one day will be like. Understand that God's work in those He redeems actually occurs in three stages. The first stage is Salvation: an initial instantaneous, once-for-all time act whereby we are forever saved from the penalty of sin. The second stage is Sanctification: a progressive work in which we are gradually being saved from the power of sin. And finally, the culmination of it all will be Glorification: a final instantaneous act in which we will be forever saved from the very presence of sin. This is scriptural fact. Any other interpretation ignores the full truth of Scripture, lessens the beauty of the gospel, and attempts to insert a form of law and a person's works into the equation. But, as Paul stated emphatically to the Galatians, "Having begun in the Spirit are you now made perfect by the flesh?" In other words, if you were saved by grace, then do you think you are perfected by your efforts? The answer of course, is no. A resounding no. And that is perfectly clear in the original Greek.

To state that deliberate sin is unforgivable is to deny Scripture. There is only one unforgivable sin, and that is to blaspheme the Holy Spirit by rejecting His testimony of Christ and His work. But to attempt to crate a special category of sin—namely deliberate sin—is to ignore the fact that nearly ALL sin is deliberate. And what sins would one say are unforgivable? Look at the list in Galatians 5:19-21. Buried between sexual sins, witchcraft and orgies are such things as hatred, discord, jealousy, rivalries, divisions, factions, and envy (which is not jealousy but bitterness that one lacks something that another has.) And that list is not exhaustive. In other places in Scripture gluttony, lying, pride, laziness and greed are all given as "deadly" sins, sins that are detestable to God. Gossiping is also condemned in Scripture as a vile sin. Hmm, it seems to me that there are very few Christians alive who would ever make it to Heaven if committing these sins were the governing factor. But, of course, it isn't. The governing factor is whether one has faith in Christ's finished work. And that alone. Man could not live righteously by his own efforts prior to Christ and he can do no better after Christ. It is through the Holy Spirit alone that man can put to death the works of the flesh. And that is an ongoing work as the Greek tense makes clear in referring to this "putting to death" in Romans 8:13; it is not a once-for-all work.

The question is not whether someone engages in sin, but whether it is through weakness or uncaring rebellion against God. The Christian who struggles with a besetting sin is caught in that fight between the old man and the new man—the flesh and the spirit. God doesn't cut him or her off because first God knew what they were struggling with and how long they would struggle against it before He saved them. And second, God absolutely knows that they are struggling. In fact, that they are struggling is the telltale thing showing they are saved. Those who have no desire for holiness do not struggle against sin: they embrace it.

Galatians 5:21 says that those who (depending on the translation) "do" or "practice" sins will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Of course, they won't, because they are not saved! The word "practice" in the original Greek refers to a lifestyle that is characterized by sin, not to someone who struggles against sin and maybe even often falls into it. The weak Christian's lifestyle is one of trying to live for God; their life, though, through weakness, is often one of defeat rather than victory. But that does not exclude them from the commonwealth of the saints. Those who think it does do not really understand God. Yes, the Bible promises that sin shall not have dominion over us (Romans 6:14) but that is simply stating that we DO have the victory in Christ. The problem is to learn how to experience that victory. And for some it comes a LOT slower than for others. Never think sanctification makes us fit for Heaven. That is not its purpose. We are made fit for Heaven by Christ's work alone. Sanctification makes us fit to be witnesses on this earth. Sanctification gives evidence of the truth that God changes people and makes our witness effective. We should all desire sanctification because by it God receives glory among humanity and souls are won for His Kingdom.

I hope this helps. It has already become a lot longer than I intended when I started writing, but the topic seemed to draw more out as I was writing. God loves us with a love that is far greater than we can even comprehend (although Paul prayed we would be able to grasp its dimensions: Ephesians 3:18-19). And that love not only reached down and saved us while we were still sinners in our nature (Romans 5:8) and enemies of His (Romans 5:10; Colossians 1:21), but it undertakes to preserve us and change us (Jude 1:24). The conclusion of this topic is that it is not in any way up to us to save ourselves. If what we do or do not do allows us to enter Heaven or keeps us from it, then Christ's work was in vain. Either we are saved by Christ alone ... or we are not saved. We are either saved by faith in God's means of salvation, or we are not saved. And if you ask my proof, I present Lot. A most miserable man who cast away ALL that God had blessed him with and ended up committing the vilest of sexual sins; but God calls him "righteous" twice (2 Peter 2:7-8) and he is therefore in Heaven today. The simple truth of Scripture is this— it is GOD who saves us and GOD who keeps us and GOD who will present us faultless before His throne (Colossians 1:22). It is HE who does the work in us ... not we ourselves (1 Corinthians 1:8; Philippians 1:6; Philippians 2:13; Titus 2:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; Hebrews 13:20-21; 1 Peter 5:10) Glory to His Name!!!
 

InsuranceGuy

Well-Known Member
Thank you all for the replies. I have read through them and think I understand a bit better and can come up with a rebuttal for this weekend. My Aunt is very strict in the sense she believes if you still drink after being saved, you just can't be saved. This helped!
 

antitox

Well-Known Member
First of all:

Eccl 7: 20 "Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins."

That's a given. Secondly:

Heb 7:25 "Consequently he is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him since he always lives to make intercession for them."

He knows our struggle. If Paul describes that struggle himself in Romans 7, then it should be understood that that is what we will face. The Lord has made a way for us, so why would He do so if He was going to write us off in the process? No, He's about doing good and seeing us through it. He will never be accused of being unjust. So as 1 John states, that He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
 

Armor of Light

Praising my Savior all the day long!
Thank you all for the replies. I have read through them and think I understand a bit better and can come up with a rebuttal for this weekend. My Aunt is very strict in the sense she believes if you still drink after being saved, you just can't be saved. This helped!
Dan I would like to copy your question and place it with the replies I printed off if you approve.

thanks, Al
 

Almost Heaven

Well-Known Member
My Aunt is very strict in the sense she believes if you still drink after being saved, you just can't be saved. This helped!
Quite possibly your Aunt is conflating salvation and sanctification. Sanctification is a lifelong process and is defined this way...
It is a progressive holiness and growing in purity and it takes a lifetime. We are being perfected and this perfection takes time and patience. I thank God that He is patient with me in this process.
 

Tall Timbers

Imperfect but forgiven
The person believes Galatians Chapter 5 is clear evidence Grace alone does not cover ALL sin. I honestly was not familiar with the Chapter enough to make any great points.

I've never been much of a debater, and that's good I guess because I've never really been interested in arguing points. What I'll say, is that if this person were correct, and she's not, but if she were, then I am certain that she would not be saved. Neither would I be. There would be a lot of unoccupied mansions in New Jerusalem as it would be completely devoid of humankind.
 
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lightofmylife

Blessed Hope-Prepare To Fly!
Quite possibly your Aunt is conflating salvation and sanctification. Sanctification is a lifelong process and is defined this way...
It is a progressive holiness and growing in purity and it takes a lifetime. We are being perfected and this perfection takes time and patience. I thank God that He is patient with me in this process.
Remember the song He's Still Working on me. I had it on the exact song, but it is showing a list. Click on 234. www.songlyrics.com/bill-gloria-gaither-he-s-still-working-on-me-lyrics/
 
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InsuranceGuy

Well-Known Member
I've never been much of a debater, and that's good I guess because I've never really been interested in arguing points. What I'll say, is that if this person were correct, and she's not, but if she were, than I am certain that she would not be saved. Neither would I be. There would be a lot of unoccupied mansions in New Jerusalem as it would be completely devoid of humankind.


Will our mansions be in New Jerusalem, or Heaven? Yeah, without full grace, we'd all be in Hell. No doubt.
 

LisaJoe1986

Active Member
Thank you all for the replies. I have read through them and think I understand a bit better and can come up with a rebuttal for this weekend. My Aunt is very strict in the sense she believes if you still drink after being saved, you just can't be saved. This helped!
Oh dear...well then I hope she has never eaten past the point of being satisfied nutritionally or she has never spoken an unkind word about someone behind their back. She would have committed gluttony or gossip. No matter how hard I try, I can never be perfect. This is frustrating but mostly, IT IS A WONDERFUL TRUTH! I am so glad that His grace is not contingent on my behavior because I screw up a lot! I wonder why people often single out drinking alcohol as the determining factor as to whether one is saved or not?
 

Andy C

Well-Known Member
Will our mansions be in New Jerusalem, or Heaven? Yeah, without full grace, we'd all be in Hell. No doubt.
Revelation 21
1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.

2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.

4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.

7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

9 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.

11 It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.

12 It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.

13 There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west.

14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

15 The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls.

16 The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long.

17 The angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144 cubits thick.

18The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass.

19 The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald,

20 the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.

21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.

22I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.

24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.

25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there.

26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.

27Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
 

madcat

Well-Known Member
Thank you all for the replies. I have read through them and think I understand a bit better and can come up with a rebuttal for this weekend. My Aunt is very strict in the sense she believes if you still drink after being saved, you just can't be saved. This helped!

My grandmother thought the same thing, but her “elixir“ that her doctor gave her for her “nervous condition“ was almost pure grain alcohol with some syrup flavoring! My brother and I used to laugh when she “chilled out” after a snort or two of her medicine. Wanted to add it‘s the way they were brought up, and maybe in a legalistic church?
:water:water
 
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Goodboy

Won't Be Long Now!
Howdy,

I had a very interesting evening speaking with someone about this chapter. The person believes Galatians Chapter 5 is clear evidence Grace alone does not cover ALL sin. I honestly was not familiar with the Chapter enough to make any great points. Upon reading it, I can see where this friend believes they are correct. In her opinion, all sin that is premeditated, or any listed in this chapter, are NOT covered by Grace based on what is written here. What say you? I know the Bible clearly says elsewhere we are all sinners and saved by Grace through Faith. I don't believe her opinion is correct, but am having a difficult time in coming up with a reply or rebuttal.

An example: If someone struggles with a specific sin, and they continue doing it after being saved (a sin listed in this chapter), her belief is they cannot possibly be saved or the person would be able to stop that particular sin with help from the Holy Spirit. That's a scary thought as if/when I sin, I feel very badly about it. I've always thought of that as being the Holy Spirit letting me know what I did was wrong. According to her, and how she views Galatians 5, it is simply the person being shown they aren't truly saved. How do you feel about this chapter and how would you reply? It is an Aunt of mine who definitely is a Christian lady, however, we disagree on many things she believes the Bible to be saying in certain areas.
InsuranceGuy, I assume you are referring to Galatians 5:16-21 as below.

Galatians 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Galatians 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
Galatians 5:18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
Galatians 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Galatians 5:20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Galatians 5:21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

I can see how these verses can easily be misunderstood, if not understood in context. Let's look at another place where Paul states the same thing which is 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 below.

1 Corinthians 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
1 Corinthians 6:10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

Is Paul saying in the verses above that if a Christian does these things he will not go to Heaven? No, not at all. In 1 Corinthians 6:11 Paul states what is different about a Christian and how we get to Heaven. Notice he does not state what we have done, but what was done to us.

So here is what Paul is saying in both Galatians 5:16-21 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. There is no sin in Heaven and no sin is able to enter Heaven. So the unsaved whose sins have not been washed away and will not be given a new body cannot enter Heaven. We Christians will not be allowed in Heaven either with our old sinful bodies, but will be given new sinless glorified bodies at the Rapture. Paul was really telling the Galatians and Corinthians what they already new. Would you expect to see people sinning in Heaven? Certainly not! So Paul is stating that our destination is a place without sin and we will not be sinning there. As this is our destination and future home, he extorts us to try as best we can to live that way now.
 
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