We are ready to begin this study portion on: “Galatians Proves we Should Observe the Law (Torah) – Part 1.” The Hebrew word for “Law” is “Torah.”

And we are going to look at Galatians in its proper context. We are going to cover every verse. We are going to analyze, underline, circle, and we are going to look at different things.

We are going to go over this together, and we are going to take it verse by verse, piece by piece, in context, so everything that is being read is being read in its context. And I think that is very important for us to do.

Anyone can quote a verse here and quote a verse there, but we are going to look at the entire book of Galatians from the very first verse to the very last verse and see what Paul is really trying to say. And not just Paul. There were others who were with him who also were in agreement as he wrote this letter to the Galatians.

Now one of the first things you might hear from people who think that you are wrong for trying to keep the Law of Yahweh– and keeping the Sabbath day or the Feast days, and things like that– one of the first things they will say to you is, “Wow, you just need to go read the book of Galatians. Paul talked about that. He addressed that already.”

And I have heard that many, many times. “Haven’t you read Galatians?” You know, “Galatians, Galatians, Galatians…”

And, yes, I have read the book of Galatians, and I have studied it. I have analyzed it. I have looked at every possible angle I can think of, and I believe I have come to a firm conclusion: Not only does the book of Galatians confirm what I am doing, it preaches what I am doing– which is keeping Yahweh’s Law.

Now that may seem odd to your ears, but it really does. And we will be getting into the reasons why it really does.

But, first of all, I want to talk about this word “Torah.” You are going to notice that I use this word “Torah” a lot when I am referring to Yahweh’s Law. Torah is Scripture. It is the Hebrew word translated “Law.”

There is another word that is a Hebrew word known as “Talmud,” and that is not Yahweh’s commands. Those are traditions of men that is a document written by Jewish rabbis (so called “rabbis”) that have added all kinds of things, and they have different discussions about how to interpret different things in the Law.

But what I am talking about is Scripture. I am talking about Yahweh’s Law.

Now this is an example of why I say “Torah.”

Exodus 24:12 – Then YAHWEH said to Moses, Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them.

The word translated “law” is from 8451, and it is the Hebrew word “torah,” or “to-raw'” is how you would say it. And it simply means “law,” “direction,” “instruction.”

08451 towrah {to-raw’} or torah {to-raw’} Meaning: 1) law, direction, instruction. Translated “law” 219 times in the OT.

Very interesting definitions. And most Hebrew lexicons will tell you “law” is not a very good translation. Actually, it should be “teaching” or “instruction.”

And so, this is Yahweh’s Word. What we are talking about when we say “Torah” is we are talking about Yahweh’s Word.

And, from my perspective, the Law doesn’t just include Genesis to Deuteronomy, or what Moshe uttered. It also includes what the Prophets taught. And, actually, in 1 Corinthians 14:21, Paul himself referred to the book of Isaiah as “the law.”

And I think that His teaching, His Law, continues into New Testament scripture– Matthew, Mark, Luke, John… Galatians… Ephesians… the book of James. This is all Yahweh’s instruction, and I don’t make a distinction from one to the other.

It is all His instruction. It is all for our benefit so that we will understand how to love one another and how to love our heavenly Father. And so, that is what it is all about.

Now there are a number of scriptures in Paul’s writings that would suggest we absolutely, positively, without question, should be keeping Yahweh’s Law. And I have covered them in other segments.

Romans 3:31: “Do we make void the law through faith? Certainly not! We establish the law.” Romans 8:7: “Because the carnal mind is not subject to the law of Elohim.” That is why it is at enmity against Elohim. It is not subject to the Law.

And so, we definitely believe in keeping the commandments. And these are some of the scriptures that demonstrate why we do.

Romans 3:31 – Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.

We establish the Law by our faith. We don’t make it void. We establish it. We cause it to stand. That is what the word “establish” actually means in the Greek.

Romans 8:7 – Because the carnal mind [is] enmity against Elohim; for it is not subject to the law of Elohim, nor indeed can be.

And if you are not subject to the Law of Elohim, then what are you? You have a carnal mind that is at enmity with Him.

Now there are lots of scriptures that I can pull out– and I don’t believe I am taking them out of context at all– and show you that Paul supported the keeping of Yahweh’s Law and that we do not void it out or cause it to be abolished by our faith, but on the contrary, we actually cause it to stand.

And so, what we need to do is we need to look at all of Scripture, and say, “Okay, how do we reconcile these things, because on one hand it sounds like he is saying, ‘Oh, don’t keep the Law,’ and the next thing you read, ‘Oh, we should keep the Law’?” And so, what in the world is he saying? Is he mixed up?

I don’t think he is mixed up. I think we just sometimes don’t understand what he is trying to say. And so, we need to study. Paul’s letters are very deep. They are very, very complicated sometimes because he was a very advanced learned man and Yahweh gave him an abundance of revelations.

Now I want to explain– you probably notice in the verses I am quoting that I use these terms for the Heavenly Father and the Messiah: YAHWEH – The Heavenly Father’s Name. Yahushua – The Hebrew name of the Messiah. Elohim – Commonly translated “God.” A Hebrew word meaning “Mighty One.”

And instead of saying “the LORD,” I call Him by His name as it is found over 7000 times in the Scriptures. I call Him by His name Yahweh. I also call the Son by His name that was originally revealed to Mary and to Joseph– not “Jesus,” but Yahushua, as I would understand it.

And instead of using this word “God,” which I think is a mistranslation, the correct Hebrew word translated “God” is the Hebrew word “Elohim.” And my understanding is this means “Mighty One,” and that is the meaning of it.

So, anyway, I just want to get this out of the way in case you are new to these terms. And I hope this is not a problem for you because I don’t want any of this to be something that gets in the way of what I am saying. So I will help you along here if you need to with these terms.

And I have other studies that share why I use these terms, and you can find those studies on the front page of: http://www.eliyah.com/. On the right hand side there is a section called: “Is it important to use the True, Original Names of our Heavenly Father and the Messiah?”

So you can take a look at that some other time, but for now, we are going to move forward into Galatians.

You know, the reality is there is not a single verse in the book of Galatians, or anywhere else in the Scriptures, that would tell us that Yahweh’s Law has been abolished.

In fact, to the contrary, the book of Galatians proves that while we are not saved by our obedience to the Torah, or the Law, true believers will make a sincere effort to walk out its precepts. And so, here are the things that we are going to cover in this study series, and they are, as follows:

• Did Paul teach that the law is abolished? We are going to cover that question.

• Was Paul talking about feast and Sabbath days when he said “you observe days, month, times and years?” You might remember that in the book of Galatians he says those things.

• Does the Sinai covenant bring us to bondage? A lot of people think it does. We are going to examine that question in detail.

• What does it mean to be “under the law?” What does that mean?

• Should believers in Messiah be circumcised? We are going to address that question as well.

• Did Paul rebuke Peter for trying to get Gentiles to keep the law (torah)? That is in Galatians 2. We will look at that question next week.

• Are those who observe the law (Torah) under a curse? People might quote the scripture: “For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse, for it says ‘cursed is he who does not continue in the things written in this book.'” We will look at that.

• Did the law end when Messiah came to earth?

And so, we are going to address these questions as part of our study series, and we are going to dig right in here to the book of Galatians, verse by verse. And so, here we go.

Our very first verse in the book of Galatians– chapter 1 and verse 1:

Galatians 1:1 – Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Yahushua Messiah and Elohim the Father who raised Him from the dead),

2 – and all the brethren who are with me, To the churches of Galatia:

And so, this is from Paul– and also from all the brethren who were with him– to these congregations in the land of Galatia.

And so, I am going to be using the New King James Version in this study series. You can also look at the King James if you would like. They are pretty close to each other. And I also have online a version that covers the NIV, as well, but for now, we are just going to look at the New King James Version.

And this is how he addresses: “not from men nor through man.” So he was an apostle who was appointed by Yahushua Himself when he met Him on the road to Damascus.

Now there were a number of congregations in Galatia, and it would have been copied and read to each of them. And so, this is how he starts off his letter. And he says:

Galatians 1:3 – Grace to you and peace from Elohim the Father and our Master Yahushua Messiah,

4 – who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our Elohim and Father,

5 – to whom [be] glory forever and ever. Amen.

And so, in whatever Yahweh calls us to do, it is He that should have the glory. And he is greeting them with the Hebraic and the common Greek way of greeting. “Grace” is the Greek way and “Shalom” is the Hebrew way. And so, he is addressing Jew and Gentile.

And it is from Elohim the Father and our Master Yahushua Messiah, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age. And He gets the glory. He gets the glory for having delivered us from this evil age that we are in.

Galatians 1:6 – I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Messiah, to a different gospel,

7 – which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Messiah.

And so, it is a different gospel.

What is this word “gospel”? What does the word “gospel” actually mean? It is the Greek word 2097 “euaggelizo” yoo-ang-ghel-id’-zo from 2095 and 32; to announce good news (“evangelize”) especially the gospel:– declare, bring (declare, show) glad (good) tidings, preach (the gospel).

That is the meaning. Basically, “good news.” And he is marveling that these Galatians are turning aside so quickly to a different “gospel” or “evangel” or “good news,” which, he says, is not really another good news because it is not good news at all. It is actually bad news. And we will go into why that is.

But this is the discussion that Paul is centering on from chapter 1 to chapter 6. He is concerned that the Galatians are turning away so quickly to a different evangel, to a different good news, which is not good news.

So what is the good news? Is the good news that Yahushua came and cleansed you from all your sins and now you can live however you want? No. Is the good news that Yahushua came and cleansed you from your sins, but first you have to be circumcised? No.

What is the good news? We are talking about the foundations of our faith. We chose to believe “this,” the good news. If you don’t have the right foundation, if you are not building off the correct good news, then you are going to be all messed up. You are building your foundation on sand, something that will never hold up.

And so, if you do not have the good foundation, you will be a complete mess. The foundation is not level. It is not on a solid footing. The entire building, as you can see, will not survive the wind and the rain.

There is really not much we can do. If the building has a bad foundation, you pretty much have to rebuild the whole thing or somehow try to go in and fix it. But you have to build your faith in Messiah on the correct foundation.

1Corinthians 3:11 – For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Yahushua Messiah.

He is our foundation. If He is not our foundation, something else is going to take its place.

So are we laying a different foundation based on a different good news, one that does not believe in His grace, but is trusting in our own works rather than Yahushua’s work and what He did for us? That is an important question.

Ephesians 2:19 – Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of Elohim,

20 – having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Yahushua Messiah Himself being the chief [cornerstone],

21 – in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in Yahweh,

Ephesians 2:22 – in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of Elohim in the Spirit.

So our foundation– the apostles and prophets. Now a lot of people might think, “Oh, I thought the Law and the Prophets was the foundation.” Interesting.

And, also, notice that he says we are no longer strangers and foreigners (that means outcasts) from the people of Israel. Now we are fellow citizens of Israel. We become Israel through the Messiah Yahushua because He is an Israelite. It is no longer we who live. It is Yahushua who lives in us.

And the foundation is the apostles and prophets because if the Law itself was our foundation, we would be in a big mess.

Because what would happen if the Law was the foundation for our faith– “I have kept Your Law, therefore this is my foundation”– if that is our foundation, we ultimately would be weighed on its scales and found wanting because we all have failed to keep Yahweh’s Law.

It cannot be our foundation. Our obedience cannot be our foundation. It is Yahushua’s obedience that must be our foundation. It must be Him, and the apostles are the eyewitnesses of that. They are the ones who proclaimed and told us about Messiah. And so did the prophets. They predicted it.

The apostles were eyewitnesses that those prophecies were fulfilled. And so, the apostles and prophets are our foundation because they speak of the Messiah Yahushua and He is our foundation. He is our chief cornerstone. And so, we build this off of testimony of multiple witnesses that Yahushua is the Messiah.

Now that doesn’t mean the Law has no part in the process of becoming a believer in the Messiah. It is the way through which we realize we need a Savior, but it can’t be what causes us to be this holy temple.

What causes us to be this holy temple is not the Law. The Law can’t make us righteous. It can only show us how wicked we have been. It can only show us we need a Savior. But the apostles and prophets are our foundation because they are the ones that taught us about the coming Messiah.

Now there is a danger of placing so much emphasis on obedience that we begin to feel like we are trying to earn our way into the Kingdom somehow. And so, that is a danger. Because if we think, “Okay, Yahushua is not my foundation. It’s me. I have to be this. I have to be that,” we are always going to be wondering whether we are really saved.

But Scripture says:

1John 1:8 – If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

9 – If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

As simple as that. You have already repented. You have already turned away from sin. Now you just have to confess it and acknowledge it. If you fail, if you mess up, you have a guarantee. He is faithful. He is just. You don’t have to wonder whether He is faithful or He is just. He will cleanse you and forgive you.

So that is called having faith in Yahushua and His righteousness to cleanse us. That is what that is all about.

We all have some kind of sin in our life that, whether we realize it or not, Yahweh sees it. And we might not see it, but it is there. And He is going to teach us and He is going to get rid of that out of our lives as we have success. And He will lead us to, more and more, being like Messiah every day.

But our success and being obedient to the Law is not our foundation. It is simply the end result of faith. The foundation upon which we choose to obey Yahweh’s commandments is the fact that we have been saved. If everyone believed our salvation was dependent on how well we performed or kept His commandments in the Law, really none of us would make it.

We would only have to sin one time and we are gone. That’s it. And Yahushua would have died in vain if that is what we all thought. But it is not what we all think and I don’t ever want to lose sight of that.

I believe we should observe the Torah (the Law), but Yahushua is our foundation, not any one act of obedience– not “love your neighbor,” not Sabbath keeping, not anything. No one act of obedience or commandment that you have kept will qualify you for the Kingdom.

At the same time, our faith in Yahushua must include repentance. It is the elementary principle here.

Hebrews 6:1 – Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary [principles] of Messiah, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward Elohim,

Our foundation is in Messiah, but in order to receive Messiah, we must repent from dead works. We must turn away from them.

And we see other things…

Hebrews 6:2 – of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.

We all recognize these things as being basic, fundamental things and elements of our understanding of what Yahweh has said and what He is calling us to do.

Now the truth is unless we repent we cannot really be Yahushua’s disciple. Peter told the crowds in Acts 2:38:

Acts 2:38 – Then Peter said to them, Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Yahushua Messiah for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

This is one reason I believe the name is important. It is the name we are supposed to be baptized in. So first we repent, and we also receive Messiah Yahushua. And then He gives us the Holy Spirit. That is the process behind it.

Paul taught the Gentiles the same message. In Acts 20, verse 20, he was talking to King Agrippa. He said:

Acts 20:20 – how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house,

21 – testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward Elohim and faith toward our Master Yahushua Messiah.

The same message: repentance toward Elohim and faith toward our Master Yahushua Messiah. That is what is required of us– faith toward our Master Yahushua and repentance. That is the good news.

If you turn away from your sins– if you turn away from what you know is wrong and turn toward what you know is right– you turn (the word “repentance” means “to turn”), then He, if you have faith in Yahushua, will cleanse you from all your sins. And that is a promise.

We must have two elements. There are two things required for us to have salvation: repentance and faith in the Master Yahushua. That is the good news. He has come to the repentant ones to save them from their sins.

He doesn’t just toss out, “Here, everybody can have Messiah. Forget whether you change your life or even try to change your life. We are just going to save everybody and you don’t have to love Me or anything. You just live how you want and here is our Savior.”

Yahushua is not a “Get Out of Hell Free” card that you hand to Him at the pearly gates. It doesn’t work that way. It is not even going to be that way. But my point is it doesn’t work that way. We have to repent.

But there are people who are relying on things other than repentance. They are relying on, “Oh, look at all the miracles I am able to do through Messiah. I prayed for this person and they were healed. I did this and I did that.” But they are not repenting. And Yahushua says:

Matthew 7:21 – Not everyone who says to Me, `Master, Master,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

That is who is going to enter the Kingdom.

Matthew 7:22 – Many will say to Me in that day, `Master, Master, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’

23 – And then I will declare to them, `I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Interesting word there– “lawlessness.” “Iniquity” in the King James. I would call this “torahlessness.”

Now this word “lawlessness” doesn’t just mean lawlessness in terms of rejecting any kind of law in your life, but a “rebellious rejection” of law in your life. So we will be unpleasantly surprised if we think that we can just have salvation by believing in Yahushua alone without repentance.

He won’t even know who we are. We can’t even receive Him. He won’t know us and we won’t know Him unless we express a willingness to do the will of our Father in heaven. That means we have repented. We have turned toward righteousness, away from unrighteousness.

Now this word translated “lawlessness” here in this verse, Matthew 7:23, is the Greek word “anomia.” It literally means: “the condition of without law.” Why? Because of “ignorant of it,” because of “violating it,” “contempt and violation of law,” “iniquity,” “wickedness,” and so on.

Greek meaning of “Lawlessness”: 458 anomia {an-om-ee’-ah} Meaning: 1) the condition of without law 1a) because ignorant of it 1b) because of violating it 2) contempt and violation of law, iniquity, wickedness.

I am not sure this here, “ignorant of it,” I would agree with that definition. But the other definition (this is Strong’s) is “illegality.” That is “violation of the law” or “wickedness.” It is translated different ways: “iniquity,” “transgression of the law,” and “unrighteousness.” But “illegality,” “violation of the law.”

458 anomia an-om-ee’-ah from 459; illegality, i.e. violation of law or (genitive case) wickedness:– iniquity, X transgress(-ion of) the law, unrighteousness.

So, He is basically saying, “Depart from Me, you who practice violation of the Law, illegality, who are without the Law, contempt and in violation of the Law, who are workers of iniquity, who are wicked, who refuse to repent, who refuse to do the will of My Father in heaven.”

So we must have repentance as part of our good news that we are building a foundation upon. There are people claiming to be believers and they have all these miracles, and yet it doesn’t mean a thing. It doesn’t mean anything.

So while Yahushua, being our foundation, is an offer of grace to us, that grace is given to one who is willing to repent. And that means we are actively in pursuit of righteous living and seeking to keep the Father’s commandments with sincerity.

Grace should never be an excuse ever to take the edge off our passion for keeping Yahweh’s commandments. And keeping Yahweh’s commandments should never be a cause to think that our own deeds are sufficient for us to earn eternal life. Do you understand that?

Grace is never an excuse to take the edge off our passion for keeping Yahweh’s commandments, and keeping Yahweh’s commandments should never cause us to think our own deeds will be enough for us to earn eternal life. Why? Because…

Ephesians 2:8 – For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; [it is] the gift of Elohim,

9 – not of works, lest anyone should boast.

If we could say, “Hey, I’ve kept all these laws. Look at me!” then, guess what? We have saved ourself. At the same time, the fact that we are given grace should never cause us to be less passionate, less committed, less repentant, less desirous of keeping Yahweh’s commandments.

In fact, it is what Messiah has done for us that causes us to go, “Wow! I want to go do it for Him.” It is just reciprocal.

How many times have you heard someone save someone else’s life, and they say, “Wow, anything you ever ask me to do, you just say the word and I will do it”? Right? It’s the same thing. It really is the same thing.

Yahushua saved our souls from eternal damnation in the lake of fire. Well, by nature, you would want to say, “What can I do for You now?”

And so, it is really that simple. It is by grace we are saved through faith, not of ourselves. We cannot rely on our own obedience. But we should not let that fact cause us to be lax in our obedience to Scripture, because we are a repentant people. Repent means “to turn”– turn away from sin, turn toward righteousness.

And so, Yahushua, after having told the crowds this message, “If you don’t do the will of the Father in heaven, then I don’t even know who you are,” He says:

Matthew 7:24 – Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:

25 – and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

26 – But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:

Matthew 7:27 – and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.

So, Yahushua is saying, “Listen to the sayings of mine and do them, and you will have built your house on the rock. If you don’t listen to the sayings of mine, you will build your house on the sand and you will fall.”

So repentance is necessary. It is. But so is faith in Yahushua the Messiah for the remission of sins. Both are necessary, and unless we build our foundation on the true good news of repentance and faith in Yahushua, we will be one messed up house.

Our walk won’t look right. Our priorities will be messed up. We won’t get the freedom we are seeking. And we, generally speaking, will just be a big mess. A total mess. That is because we are living without hope. If we don’t trust in Messiah, we are living without hope.

If we trust in ourselves, then we are going to be arrogant and prideful and boastful. We have to be humble people. And so, we need to have the firm foundation.

Psalms 11:3 – If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?

Now you try to minister to someone and their foundation is completely off. You really can’t do anything. You have to address the foundation.

I find myself taking people to this foundation quite often. And so, we have to build our foundation on the true good news– Yahushua Ha Mashiach and repentance.

1Peter 1:13 – Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest [your] hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Yahushua Messiah;

This is what we are going to rest our hope on. Otherwise, guess what? You are hopeless. You are a hopeless case unless you rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Yahushua Messiah. But…

1Peter 1:14 – as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, [as] in your ignorance;

15 – but as He who called you [is] holy, you also be holy in all [your] conduct,

Just as He is holy, you also be holy.

Repentance and faith in Yahushua. I cover this in a multitude of different ways because this is the foundation for everything we are going to talk about in Galatians.

This is what we are going to build off of– these two elements that bring us salvation– because that is what Paul is referring to and how we can reconcile, yes, it is faith in Yahushua that cleanses us from sin, but, yes, we also must repent. We can’t walk in the works of the flesh.

He says those who walk in the works of the flesh will not be saved. They will not be in the Kingdom. So, repentance and faith in Yahushua.

So getting back to Galatians 1, he says:

Galatians 1:6 – I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Messiah, to a different gospel,

7 – which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Messiah.

It is not another good news because it is really not good news.

Galatians 1:8 – But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.

Even if “we” (even if “I, Paul”) did this. Whoa! Some serious words here. Look out!

Galatians 1:9 – As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

He is under a curse because he is not preaching the correct foundation. If we receive and walk out the wrong good news, we will have a worthless and cursed foundation. The roots of our faith will be cursed because they are not Yahushua’s teaching.

And Paul said, “Even if I did it. Even if I taught you something different than what you received initially, I should be accursed.”

So the good news, once again, in Acts 26:19. What did he tell them?

Acts 26:19 – Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,

20 – but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and [then] to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to Elohim, and do works befitting repentance.

Yes, works should follow. I am repeating this because this is what Paul is discussing throughout the book: repentance and faith in Messiah. Very, very, very, very important. You do not want to have a cursed foundation.

Galatians 1:10 – For do I now persuade men, or Elohim? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Messiah.

That means at one time he did.

Galatians 1:11 – But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man.

It is not according to man.

Galatians 1:12 – For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught [it], but [it came] through the revelation of Yahushua Messiah.

He was at one time pleasing a lot of men in high places and high positions. But now he has ceased from being a man pleaser, as the Pharisees often were, and the evidence of that is his willingness to be a bondservant of Messiah.

And so, this good news that Paul himself taught, repentance and faith in Messiah, is not according to man. It is not. It is by revelation of Yahushua Messiah.

There he was on the road to Damascus. Yahushua met him right there. He was on his way to go imprison some disciples. Right there Yahushua met him, and said, “No, you are going to become a disciple. Now, go!” Yes, Sir!

And so, he says:

Galatians 1:13 – For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of Elohim beyond measure and [tried to] destroy it.

14 – And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

At one time he was a man pleaser.

Galatians 1:15 – But when it pleased Elohim, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called [me] through His grace,

16 – to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood,

17 – nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those [who were] apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.

The book of Acts has not recorded this. It does not always record everything that happens. But he went to Arabia, and then came back to Damascus.

What is in Arabia? What is he doing in Arabia? That is a long journey down there. Well, guess what is in Arabia? Sinai!

He is talking about Arabia a little bit later in Galatians 4:25. He says:

Galatians 4:25 – for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children —

He did not confer with flesh and blood. He went to Arabia. He thought, “Ok, wait a minute. I am totally messed up. I have completely misunderstood something. I am going to go down to Sinai.” What else is in Arabia? A bunch of desert land.

And so, this message, this good news, came from Messiah. He was taught by Messiah, and I suppose Paul wanted to go to the source. He had to know what was true and didn’t want to hear it from man. If he is going to teach anything, he wants to teach the truth.

And so, one of the reasons why Paul had so many revelations and wisdom could very well have been traced to this time in Arabia. And so, he is talking here, he did not confer with flesh and blood.

Now Paul had an abundance of revelations. In fact, he said in 2 Corinthians 12:7:

2Corinthians 12:7 – And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.

Because we all know knowledge puffs up, love edifies, right? So he didn’t want to be puffed up, and Yahweh probably gave him poor eyesight. I don’t know for sure, but there are some indications.

But the point is, he had an abundance of revelations. And Paul was not the only one to recognize the fact that he had an abundance of revelations. Peter also took note of that.

2Peter 3:13 – Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

14 – Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless;

What things? The place where righteousness dwells. It is okay to pursue righteousness to the extent that we would be without spot and to be blameless in our conduct and our walk. Can we do that? Yes, we can. It is okay, and it is really the will of the Father as long as we recognize it is not our own works that get us to the Kingdom.

And he reminded us, yes, while he said this, we need to repent, he also said: “Consider that the longsuffering of our Master is salvation.” So while we are called to repent, it is Yahushua who brings us the salvation, who causes us to be righteous.

2Peter 3:15 – and consider [that] the longsuffering of our Master [is] salvation — as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you,

He was given these revelations.

2Peter 3:16 – as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable [people] twist to their own destruction, as [they do] also the rest of the Scriptures.

What are “these things”? The longsuffering of our Master is salvation. And, yes, pursue righteousness.

Now if Peter found them hard to understand– he walked with Yahushua three-and-a-half years, he knew Paul– if he found them hard to understand, guess what? We might find them a little hard, too. And that is because the revelation and the wisdom there is so deep.

So we need to spend time. We have to really concentrate and pray, and ask Yahweh, “Help me to understand what Paul is talking about here.” Because he says “untaught and unstable people” twist his letters to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.

In other words, if I said to you, “Well, they killed so-and-so just like they killed the rest of the brothers,” by implication, “so-and-so” is a brother, correct? And so, by implication, Paul’s letters (his epistles) are indeed Scripture. And they twist his writings as they do to the rest of the Scriptures, too.

So Peter knew Paul not only was given revelation. He was writing it down as Scripture. And so, this is what Paul talked a lot about, the longsuffering of our Master is salvation. He talked a lot about it.

And so, while we seek to be without spot and blameless, we must account that it is not our own righteousness saving us. It is Yahushua saving us. So that is what we need to remember when we are reading Paul’s letters.

And it is true, and people found that hard to understand. And there were people who twisted it. But who are the ones that are twisting it? Who is doing the twisting? This is an important question.

Because we are talking about… if someone like me, if I am twisting it, if I am twisting Paul’s letters into saying, “We need to keep Yahweh’s Law,” I am in big trouble, because it says “twist to my own destruction.” I mean that is scary.

But if I am right, I mean, two-thirds of the Bible is at stake here. Two-thirds of the Bible is at stake. Are we going to follow this other two-thirds of the Scriptures or are we just going to follow the last third? And maybe even less.

You know, five percent of the Bible, by volume of words, are Paul’s letters. And a lot of people, that is pretty much all they read. And so, what is going on? Are we somehow– am I somehow– twisting things around to make people obedient to the commandments?

And so, he goes on to say… just like they twist the rest of Scriptures, they twist these Scriptures…

2Peter 3:17 – You therefore, beloved, since you know [this] beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked;

And so, who is doing the twisting? That is an important question.

Well, if we examine Peter’s writings and put it under a microscope and examine it closely, we will find out why I am NOT– that is NOT– twisting Paul.

1. The untaught are those who are not yet instructed in Yahweh’s law (Romans 2:17-18).

Do you get that? The “untaught,” the “unstable,” are the ones who are not “taught.” The ones who are not instructed in the rest of the Word are the ones who are “untaught.”

Roman 2:17 says:

Romans 2:17 – Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in Elohim,

18 – and know [His] will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law,

Ah! You know His will. But I thought the Law was not His will anymore. He called the things that are excellent (you get that?) “out of the Law.”

Romans 2:19 – and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,

20 – an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law.

So Paul acknowledges that, yes, in the Law we know His will, we are being instructed, we are a guide to the blind, a light to those in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, and we have this form of knowledge and truth that is in the Law.

So the ones who are untaught in these things are the ones who are going to twist Paul’s letters, because it says “as they do the rest of the Scriptures.”

And, interestingly, it is the modern day mainstream teachers of Christianity who will tell you, “Oh, you don’t need to be reading so much of the Old Testament. Just stick with the New Testament. You will just get confused.”

And if you bring a scripture out of the Old Testament to prove a point, they will say, “Oh, that is just the Old Testament. We don’t do that anymore. We don’t pay any attention to that. It is not for us.”

But you know what? There were no New Testament scriptures other than what was progressively being revealed slowly as the New Testament was being written. But there wasn’t like a complete book– “Here is a New Testament right here.” They were getting their information from divine revelation, of course, and from the Old Testament scriptures.

And so, the ones who are untaught are the ones who are in great danger and, of course, unstable as well.

Now the second reason why I do not for one second believe I am twisting Paul is that: 2. Peter interprets his own words by saying beware lest “you also.” He says, “Don’t be led away with the error of the ‘Wicked.'” Because he says down here (2 Peter 3:17), “beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness.”

Here are the ones who twist the Scriptures to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:16). He says beware lest you also what? “Twist [the letters of Paul] to your own destruction… being led away with the error of the wicked.” And the word that is translated “wicked” in this verse is “athesmos.” It is a “negative particle… in the sense of enacting.”

Lexicon: 113 athesmos {ath’-es-mos} from 1 (a negative particle) and a derivative of 5087 (in the sense of enacting); TDNT – 1:167,25; adj AV – wicked 2; 2.

I don’t have it up there, but let me post this up here, and it is the Thayer’s Lexicon definition of the Greek word translated “wicked.” And I am going to post this directly, a copy and a paste, directly from the Thayer’s Lexicon and what this word “wicked” actually means.

It is a very interesting word because it kind of illustrates what it is I am sharing.

Greek word translated “wicked”: 113 athesmos {ath’-es-mos} Meaning: 1) one who breaks through the restraint of law and gratifies his lusts Origin: from 1 (as a negative particle) and a derivative of 5087 (in the sense of enacting); TDNT – 1, 167,25; adj Usage: AV – wicked 2;2.

It is “one who breaks through the restraint of law and gratifies his lusts.” That is what the word means.

This word that is translated “wicked,” in 2 Peter 3:17, is “athesmos,” one who “breaks through the restraint of law and gratifies his lusts.” That is what the word is defined as.

So what does that tell you about who is doing the twisting? And that is why we believe this very scripture:

Romans 3:31 – Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.

We do not make it void. We establish it. We cause it to stand. And that is why we believe that. One of many reasons.

So we do not want to be breaking through the restraint of Yahweh’s Law. We want to observe it. We want to walk out our repentance.

Another thing to pay attention to as a reason why I don’t believe I am twisting Paul’s letters is this: 3. It is commandment breakers (that we can see in Scripture) that are the ones in spiritual danger, not commandment keepers. Thus, it is commandment breakers who would “twist [Paul’s letters] to their own destruction.”

I mean, think about this. Do you ever read in Scripture somewhere where Yahweh says, “Depart from Me, you who keep My commandments! How dare you observe My laws and My statutes and My judgments! Go into the lake of fire!”

Never! You never see that. It is the commandment breakers who are in trouble, not the commandment keepers. Of course, the ones who reject Messiah outright are also in grave danger. But it is the commandment keepers that are the ones who are in Yahweh’s favor, not the commandment breakers.

And so, you can’t look at that, and say, “When I look at Paul’s letters, he is telling me to break the commandments.” That doesn’t make any sense to me.

So the ones who are going to twist his letters to their own destruction are the ones who are going to take his letters, and say, “I can disobey my Father in heaven now” or “I can reject this Messiah Yahushua now.” One of those two things. If we are missing repentance or if we are missing faith in Messiah, we are equally in trouble.

I am not trying to bring people to disobedience. I am trying to bring people to obedience. I am not trying to take people away from Messiah. I am bringing them to the feet of Messiah for salvation and to the example of Messiah for the way in which we should walk.

How did He walk? He kept every one of Yahweh’s commandments. And so, if He dwells in us, if He lives in us, then we also should live as He did.

I want you to understand, I am not condemning anybody. I believe in Yahweh’s mercy, especially when we just don’t know better. In the same way, I don’t come down hard on my son if he doesn’t know any better that he shouldn’t do this or shouldn’t do that. Instead I try to teach him the right thing to do.

Likewise, our Father in heaven if we have made a mistake, or people in former generations if they made a mistake, they didn’t realize something. I am not condemning those of former generations of somehow all being on the road to destruction, twisting Paul’s letters, all going to the lake of fire. I am not saying that.

Because, you know, we all are human. As long as we are truly, from our heart, seeking to do and to have faith in Yahushua Messiah and keep His Word to the best of our understanding, there is a lot of grace in areas we may make a mistake.

Look, we have inherited doctrines and a system of theology that, from what I see, are flawed. They are not scriptural. But just because a certain theology or interpretation is messed up and we happen to follow it, it doesn’t mean Yahweh is going to immediately strike us down and throw us into the lake of fire.

There is a lot of grace when we just don’t know any better. It is a father-son relationship.

But, at the same time, people take confidence in the fact that, “Well, this is very old theology. It is a couple hundred years… three hundred… four hundred years old.” But just because a certain way of theology is old, doesn’t mean it is automatically correct.

I mean, the Catholic Church has some very, very old doctrines, and it is a very, very old church, but there are a number of things that they teach which are not lining up with the Scriptures. And if you ask any Catholic priest, they will tell you, they actually believe church tradition trumps what is written in Scripture.

And they will tell you, “Oh, Peter had the authority to bind and loose anything, and our authority is an unbroken chain going back to Peter.” And so, they justify themselves.

But the Protestant movement, they did well. They brought some unscriptural practices to light, but they did not uncover everything. They stopped. They got so far and they stopped.

Now Protestant doctrine will say I am on the road to destruction because I am teaching people to keep Yahweh’s Word, to keep the commandments of Yahweh and the Law.

But what I see here– these three elements, the error of the wicked– the ones who are in trouble on the final day of judgment are not the ones keeping Yahweh’s Law and the fact that the ones who are untaught are the ones who are refusing Yahweh’s instruction in the rest of HIs Word.

And all they read is Paul and all they want to care about is Paul. We have to look at the full counsel of Yahweh’s Word, not just one section of it.

And so, who are the ones who are saved? Those who repent and have faith in the Messiah Yahushua. And we want to seek to live our lives just as Messiah did.

Now just because I believe in keeping certain commandments, such as the Sabbath day or these other things that are written in the Law, that doesn’t automatically cause me to somehow think as soon as you keep that commandment you are trying to earn your way into heaven.

It is not the kind of commandment you keep. It is the attitude with which you are keeping them. What is your reason for keeping them?

There are people today who are trying to “earn their salvation” in a multitude of ways:

• Giving to the poor. Some people believe if they give to the poor then they will be good enough and Yahweh will accept them.

• Paying tithes. Some people believe, “Oh, if I pay my tithes to my church every week, I will be good enough and Yahweh will accept me.”

• Honoring Parents. Some people think, “Well, I honor my parents. I was always very good with my parents. I always treat them with respect, and so I am a good person.”

• Keeping oneself from sexual immorality. Other people say, “Well, if I keep myself pure from any kind of sexual immorality, then I will be in the Kingdom and I will be protected and I will make my way in.”

Look, every one of these is rejecting the good news of Messiah. Now, we should give to the poor. We should pay our tithes and honor our parents and keep ourselves from sexual immorality, and so on.

But if you are trying to do that as a means to save you, as if you have enough righteousness in and of yourself to save yourself, you have missed it. You do not understand the good news.

• ANYTHING, ANY ACT OF COMMANDMENT KEEPING. And so, really anything– any act of commandment keeping– can cause you to be in violation of the principles behind the good news of Yahushua if you are doing it for the wrong reasons and purposes.

These are all attempts to be justified by one’s own righteousness rather than resting in the knowledge that is in Messiah Yahushua and His righteousness saving us.

It is not any kind of commandment that we are keeping that determines whether or not we are steeped in legalism. The style of commandment, the way you keep it, the commandment itself of keeping the Sabbath, or keeping these other things, are in no way inherently causing us to reject the Messiah.

It is the reason why we keep them that could place us in danger of being one who rejects the good news and instead trying to earn our way in.

So I am not earning my way in any more by the things I do in keeping the commandments and the Law than somebody else who is trying to earn their salvation by giving to the poor or loving their wife properly or refraining from stealing, or whatever. There is no difference.

There is nothing inherent about keeping a Feast day or a Sabbath, or anything, that causes you to flip over all of a sudden so now you are a legalist, because you could be trying to earn your salvation by keeping some New Testament commandment just as easily as someone can do the same thing by something written in the Old Testament.

So I am not denying Messiah by keeping the Sabbath day or any other thing in the Torah or the Law. You cannot say I am on the road to destruction just because I am keeping certain select commandments.

Yahweh is not in heaven saying, “Tom, you need to stop obeying My laws. I gave you Paul’s letters to stop you from these commandments I gave and to save you from all these commandments.” No. The issue is not the kind of commandment you are keeping. The issue is, why are you keeping it?

Are you keeping it as a substitute for what Yahushua did for you or because you love Yahweh and want to live like Yahushua did? Big difference. Big, big, difference.

It is not the commandment you keep. It is your intent and purpose for keeping it. Is it a substitute for what Yahushua did or is it because of what Yahushua did you want to keep it?

Grace should never be an excuse to take the edge off of our passion for Yahweh’s commands. And keeping Yahweh’s commands should never cause us to think our own deeds are enough to earn eternal life.

Revelation 14:12 – Here is the patience of the saints; here [are] those who keep the commandments of Elohim and the faith of Yahushua.

Repentance and faith in Yahushua the Messiah. I am hammering this point because we have to get this down to understand Galatians.

All right, back to Galatians 1. To review…

Galatians 1:15 – But when it pleased Elohim, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called [me] through His grace,

16 – to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood,

17 – nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those [who were] apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.

And we know what is in Arabia. It is Mount Sinai. And he returned again to Damascus, where he confounded the Jews, as we read later, in proving Yahushua was Messiah.

Galatians 1:18 – Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days.

19 – But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Master’s brother.

20 – (Now [concerning] the things which I write to you, indeed, before Elohim, I do not lie.)

This is his testimony of what happened after he received Yahushua the Messiah.

Galatians 1:21 – Afterward I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.

22 – And I was unknown by face to the churches of Judea which [were] in Messiah.

Assemblies or churches of Judea.

Galatians 1:23 – But they were hearing only, He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once [tried to] destroy.

24 – And they glorified Elohim in me.

No greater thing than to see Yahweh glorified by something He has done in your life. HalleluYah!

Moving on to chapter 2…

Galatians 2:1 – Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and also took Titus with [me].

2 – And I went up by revelation, and communicated to them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those who were of reputation, lest by any means I might run, or had run, in vain.

So this chapter begins with Paul describing his time in Jerusalem with his fellow laborer in the faith, Barnabas. They had gone to Jerusalem to discuss the matter of what the true good news really is. And so, while he is recognizing he had divine revelation, he wanted to make sure he was teaching the good news properly. And it turned out he was.

But the details of this event in Galatians 2 mentioned here will be found in the book of Acts chapter 15. And here is the event he is talking about:

Acts 15:1 – And certain [men] came down from Judea and taught the brethren, Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.

2 – Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question.

Now notice carefully the reason why this trip was necessary was due to these certain men who came down from Judea and they taught the brethren that you are not saved until you are circumcised. “You aren’t saved. You can’t be saved. You can’t be saved until you are circumcised.” So the question now is whether circumcision is a part of the good news.

In other words, do you need to be circumcised before Yahweh will accept you? That is the question being asked. That is the doctrine being taught, that they are not saved. They can’t be saved unless they are circumcised.

So the big question being asked is what is the good news? Can a person be saved without being circumcised or do you need to require Gentiles to be circumcised before we can officially consider them to be believers? So they went to go ask about that question.

Acts 15:3 – So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brethren.

4 – And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that Elohim had done with them.

5 – But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command [them] to keep the law of Moses.

So here are the men from Judea. They are from the sect of the Pharisees who believed, and they rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses [because they are not save until they do that].” You have to keep the law of Moses and you have to be circumcised or these people are not yet saved.

That is the context, what brings us salvation. And we will see more of that later.

So the good news is what is at stake here. Is the good news repent and believe in Yahushua or is the good news repent, get circumcised, keep the Law, and then you will be saved? That is the question.

Acts 15:6 – Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter.

7 – And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up [and] said to them: Men [and] brethren, you know that a good while ago Elohim chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.

The good news, the gospel, the evangel. At stake here is: What is the good news? What brings us to salvation? That is the question.

Acts 15:8 – So Elohim, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as [He did] to us,

So what is he talking about? When Yahweh chose that by Peter’s mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of… what? The good news and believe.

This is what happened:

Acts 10:45 – And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.

46 – For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify Elohim. Then Peter answered,

47 – Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we [have]?

Acts 10:48 – And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Master. Then they asked him to stay a few days.

And so, Yahweh made no distinction between circumcised and uncircumcised, giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did “to us.” He made no distinction.

So the minute you believe in your heart. He knows the heart. You believe. You are repentant. That is when you get saved. Yahweh Himself settled the issue. He gave them the Holy Spirit. They saw that. They heard it.

And so, it so by FAITH that our hearts are purified– not through circumcision, not by giving to the poor, not by doing this or doing that. No specific act you do will bring you salvation. It is the condition of the heart. Is it repentant? Is it receiving Yahushua the Messiah?

Acts 15:8 – So Elohim, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as [He did] to us,

9 – and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

Not by circumcision.

Acts 15:10 – Now therefore, why do you test Elohim by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

What is the yoke? Salvation by circumcision and obedience to the Law. That is the context that we are talking about here.

Acts 15:11 – But we believe that through the grace of the Master Yahushua Messiah we shall be saved in the same manner as they.

“We”– that is “us Jews.” We are all saved by the same thing: GRACE.

So the yoke is, “Oh, no! You are not saved until you do a, b, c… x, y, z. Fill in the blank.” “Not until you obey these commandments are you saved.” “Not until you do this.” “Not until you are circumcised.”

Look, no one at any time had ever obeyed every commandment in the Law except for Yahushua. So to put the yoke of the entire Law on the neck of the disciples, and say, “No, we can’t accept you, yet. You have to keep these things,” Peter says, “Look, we are going to be saved the same way they are. Our fathers couldn’t bear it. We couldn’t bear it.”

Yahweh purifies our hearts by faith in Yahushua and gave us grace, not by our works, not by our own righteousness. He said, “We are saved by Yahushua and His grace. And the Gentiles, look, they are going to be saved the same way. We are all saved the same way– Jew or Gentile. We all have to believe in the good news.”

And this is not a new concept really. If anyone, at any time– from Genesis to Revelation– if they got on their face in repentance and asked for Yahweh’s mercy and grace to be upon them, they could be accepted by Yahweh.

Now they did not have Yahushua in terms of knowing Him and knowing what He has done for them, but they, instead, were able to trust in Yahweh’s mercy. David was one of them. Many men in the Old Testament trusted in Yahweh’s mercy.

They didn’t know the mechanism through which they would be saved through Yahushua as we know. But to whom we now have knowledge of this, we must be responding to that knowledge. Because to whom much is given, much is required.

But it is not a new thing. It really isn’t. No one can bear this yoke– keep all this Law and then you will be saved. No one can.

And did you know modern denominations, churches today, many of them violate that principle?

Now they do not say circumcision, but they will say other things. “Uh… well… in order for you to be saved, you have to join my church” or “You first must do this and then do that and then you get baptized into our church. And then you will be saved and then you will be a part of us.”

Sign this “Statement of Doctrine” saying you agree with it. Sign on the dotted line, and then we will accept you into “our nice little club”, or “our little groupie” here we have going, “our little denomination.” “We are the ones saved.”

It is the same thing that Paul was teaching against. It really is. Okay, it is not circumcision. It is just something else– baptize a certain way, a certain name, a certain this, a certain that, believe this doctrine. It is all the same. It really is. I am sorry, but it is by grace through faith.

If a man was in a hotel room and he had no biblical knowledge whatsoever and he opened up a Bible and started reading it, and he got two messages out of it: “I need to repent and I have to receive this Messiah Yahushua so that I can be saved,” now he might call Him “Jesus,” and I am okay with that if he didn’t know any better…

He got on his face, and he said “I repent. I don’t want to do these things anymore. I don’t want to live the way I have been living. I want to live for You now. And I receive Messiah and I accept Him as the One who saves me and cleanses me of all my sins.”

Now he may not know your church doctrine. He may not know but one percent of the Bible, but one thing he does know: the good news– repentance and faith in Messiah Yahushua. Yahweh can meet him right then and there. And in that motel room, he has entered into a relationship with Messiah and the Father.

And if he died five minutes later, and we all died five minutes later, we are all going to the same place because he received what was necessary for him to be saved.

But there are modern Pharisees in the churches today, and it is because of that I believe that many modern denominations are actually the ones guilty of violating these principles taught in Galatians.

Because they are adding things on top of the original good news of Yahushua, saying, “No, not until you do this, not until you sign on the dotted line, not until you believe this way or that way are you going to be saved and be a part of our church.”

But my opinion, and what I see in Scripture, any man can receive salvation at any time without joining any particular denomination. It is repentance and faith in Yahushua. And that is what Peter was bringing people to.

Anything else is a yoke that no one can bear. You have do this. You have to do that. You have to do this. You have to do that. And you are not saved.

Yes, we have to repent and there has to be obvious fruit of repentance that comes out of that. And they made those decisions in Acts 15. Look, you can’t be committing idolatry. You have turned to Yahweh now, right? You cannot be drinking blood and having relations with prostitutes.

I mean that is obvious stuff that is so basic that you need to be walking out. However, that is just a demonstration of the repentance. And so, the truth is, none of us, not a man in all the generations of Israel, had ever kept the Torah. And so, to keep this Law as a requirement before receiving salvation is not the good news.

But as part of repentance, as Yahweh reveals things to us and shows things to us? Yes, we should be keeping commandments.

And so, Peter, after detailing this proof that Yahweh had accepted the Gentiles in their uncircumcised state, he affirmed Jews and Gentiles both are saved through the grace of Yahushua the Messiah– not circumcision, not any other act of obedience to the Torah.

And the ultimate decision in Acts 15 by James was to not require circumcision for salvation. Now I do have a full study on Acts 15 if you are interested.

So who are these men from Judea and what are they all about? I mean, we have to understand what Paul was up against before we can really understand what he is trying to say and the context of what he is trying to say. So let’s take a look at the Galatian opponents. What were these men from Judea like?

• They were men from Judea. Acts 15:1 tells us that. So they were certain men from Judea. And what else?

• They were from the “sect of the Pharisees,” according to verse 5 of Acts 15, which we looked at.

• They claimed to be believers in Yahushua, according to Acts 15 verse 5.

• They believed that one cannot have salvation unless they are first circumcised and/or keep the Torah (the Law), according to verse 1. You cannot be saved unless you first get circumcised and/or keep the Law.

• They are actually vigorous enough in that belief to argue with Paul and Barnabas over it (two men who had been chosen by Yahushua Himself), and even approach the apostles and elders about it (Acts 15:1, 5). They were very vigorous and very zealous for their errors.

So continuing in Galatians, he said:

Galatians 2:2 – And I went up by revelation, and communicated to them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those who were of reputation, lest by any means I might run, or had run, in vain.

3 – Yet not even Titus who [was] with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised.

4 – And [this occurred] because of false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Messiah Yahushua, that they might bring us into bondage,

This is who they are– “false brethren.” This “bondage” is a belief in a false gospel or a false good news.

Galatians 2:5 – to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.

So they did not yield to this “false evangel,” this “false good news,” which was not really good news.

Chronologically here, he is describing this Acts 15 event. This is the first time we read about Titus. Titus was Paul’s companion, and he actually wrote a letter to Titus later on. And he became Paul’s co-laborer and assisted with ministry at Corinth and other places he ministered with Paul.

But Titus was among the group that went to Jerusalem, and the apostles in Jerusalem did not require him to be circumcised. So it became a personal decision.

So these men, who were false brethren, were brought in from the sect of the Pharisees secretly, and they had not even accepted the good news really because they were relying on their own circumcision and their own righteousness for salvation rather than faith in Yahushua. And so, they were basically false brethren.

And this liberty that we have is a freedom to learn Yahweh’s Word and apply it at a pace that we can bear as Yahushua instructs us.

It would be like sitting you down in front of a meal and this is the only food you are going to eat for the rest of your life, at this table right here. It is a massive table with piles and piles of food. “You need to eat this right now or you will die.” You just wouldn’t make it. You can’t eat everything in one sitting.

But that is essentially what the Pharisees were demanding of the Gentiles. “You have to eat all this right now or you are not going to be saved. You have to partake of all this spiritual food, keep all these commandments and do all these things, and then we will accept you into our little club.”

And I have seen statements of doctrine that are even longer… I mean… it is long, ridiculous. And then, yes, you accept all these things, go through this (some places it is a one year process) and then you get baptized. Get out of town! That is man’s organization and stuff. That is what the first century believers were dealing with in those times.

And these were false brethren. And he said, about these men, later on in chapter 6:

Galatians 6:12 – As many as desire to make a good showing in the flesh, these [would] compel you to be circumcised, only that they may not suffer persecution for the cross of Messiah.

13 – For not even those who are circumcised keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh.

They were law breakers themselves. These false brethren were actually Torah breakers themselves, but they were most interested in circumcising Gentiles so they could go back to their Pharisee friends, and say, “Look, even though we believe in this Messiah, we are still on this circumcision bandwagon. These Gentiles, in fact, we circumcise them.”

And so, basically, they would go back to their cronies and brag about how they had circumcised the Gentiles. “Now I have these converts.” And the focus was on the praise of men. That was their characteristics. That was how the Pharisees were– a good showing in the flesh and boasting, and, “Look, we have these people circumcised,” and all this.

What did Yahushua say about them?

Matthew 23:4 – For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay [them] on men’s shoulders; but they [themselves] will not move them with one of their fingers.

5 – But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments.

Look at this. Look at what is happening here. Paul is dealing with the same people, who “bind heavy burdens” and “will not move them with one of their own fingers,” and they are doing it to be seen by men. The same exact thing.

They don’t themselves keep the Law, so they are not even Law keepers themselves. And they are binding on men heavy burdens.

Look, to take a knife to your privy is a difficult thing. You don’t come up to a Gentile, and say, “Here is a Torah scroll in one hand and here is a scalpel in the other and here is the Messiah I am going to tell you about.” That is just not going to work. It is just not going to work.

It is ridiculous. It is almost silly. And that is what Paul was up against. That is what he was dealing with and with people that didn’t even keep the Torah themselves.

So what Yahushua said about them continued to be true when Paul wrote this letter to the Galatians. They wanted to throw the weight of having to learn and keep the Torah and everything upon these Gentiles before they would be accepted into their little group.

“Oh, you are not saved, yet. You go over there… at the table over there. You are not circumcised… over here. We are the ‘haves’ and you are the ‘have-nots.'” And so, this division in the body, that is not Yahushua’s yoke.

Yahushua– the minute we repent and we turn to Him– embraces us, loves us, cleanses us and promises us eternal life. That is Yahushua’s yoke. That is one we can bear.

He says, “Take My yoke upon you. Learn of Me. I am meek and gentle of heart. I lead gently. You will find rest for your souls.” That is Yahushua’s yoke.

Yes, He wants us to walk in obedience, but it is a gentle leading. Satan pushes, but Yahweh, and the Good Shepherd, leads. Big difference.

And so, these Galatians were troubled by the things that were being taught to them. So let’s add these elements to the list of notable characteristics of these Galatians opponents. We have gotten this far:

• They were from Judea (Acts 15:1).

• They were from the “sect of the Pharisees” (Acts 15:5).

• They claimed to be believers in Yahushua (Acts 15:5).

• They believed that one cannot have salvation unless they are first circumcised and/or keep the Torah (Acts 15:1).

• They were vigorous enough to argue with Paul and Barnabas over it, and even approach the apostles and elders about it (Acts 15:1, 5).

• They were actually “false brethren,” according to Galatians 2:4.

• They liked to sneak into the assemblies of true brethren to convert them to their own version of the “good news” (which is not “good news” at all), and understanding of how to receive salvation (Gal. 2:4).

• They didn’t even keep the Law themselves (Gal. 6:12-13). Boy, these people were a big mess, weren’t they?

• They were interested in circumcising the Gentiles so that they could receive glory from men (Gal. 6:12-13). What else?

• Their sect had a history of being focused on “man pleasing” and laying heavy burdens on people that they themselves would not do (Matthew 23:4-5).

So these Pharisees regarded it as their duty to go to the Gentile believers, bring them over to this other gospel, which had their own way of getting salvation. They turned circumcision, sadly, into a hazing act. “Well, you do this and you will be in our gang over here.” That is what they turned Yahweh’s commandments into. And that was wrong.

The true good news: repentance and faith in Messiah. And they, apparently, thought the good news was bad news. They were afraid that, “Well, all my cronies will see me hanging out with Gentiles and reject me.”

And it was bad news for the future of their sect, also, because they wanted to bring their own doctrines into it, which Yahushua says, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Beware of their leavening.” That means their doctrines.

So wrapping up Galatians 2…

Galatians 2:6 – But from those who seemed to be something — whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; Elohim shows personal favoritism to no man — for those who seemed [to be something] added nothing to me.

They believed he was preaching the truth.

Galatians 2:7 – But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as [the gospel] for the circumcised [was] to Peter

Remember it is the same gospel, the same good message, for both Jew and Gentile.

Galatians 2:8 – (for He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles),

So the focus again is: What is the good news? That is the big question in the book of Galatians. And so, they agreed to have Paul and Barnabas go to the Gentiles. They went to the Jews. And they were confirming what the good news really is.

Galatians 2:9 – and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we [should go] to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.

Kepha (Cephas) is Peter.

Galatians 2:10 – [They desired] only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do.

So make sure you take care of the poor, that there are no brethren among us who are poor. They should not be at a disadvantage. That is why this teaching on Galatians will never be sold to anybody. I don’t want the poor to be at a disadvantage. Everything is free.

And so, that is how I believe we should conduct ourselves as believers. Freely we have received. Freely we give. And let the good news go out without hindrance. And we will be blessed and Yahweh will provide.

So that concludes Part 1 of this study into Galatians. Next segment we will get into the question of why Paul rebuked Peter. That is important for us to understand– why Peter was being rebuked. And we will find, once again, we are dealing with the good news: What is the good news?

In the meantime, you are free to contact me with any questions regarding Galatians 1:1-2:10 at: Disciple@EliYah.com. I would be more than happy to address any questions you may have in an email.

We, also, at the conclusion of this broadcast today (this is part of a live broadcast), we will be taking live questions and comments as well here on this day commonly called June 6th, 2015.

So, anyway, as you continue to research what the good news is and apply it to your life, brothers and sisters, may Yahweh bless you, and may Yahweh truly, truly have mercy on us all.