Study Desk

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.

Paul, an Apostle sent not from men nor by any man, but by Jesus Christ and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from among the dead--

May grace and peace be granted to you from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,

who gave Himself to suffer for our sins in order to rescue us from the present wicked age in accordance with the will of our God and Father.

For you have heard of my early career in Judaism--how I furiously persecuted the Church of God, and made havoc of it;

In making these assertions I am speaking the truth, as in the sight of God.

And they gave glory to God on my account.

From those leaders I gained nothing new. Whether they were men of importance or not, matters nothing to me--God recognizes no external distinctions. To me, at any rate, the leaders imparted nothing new.

for it is by the Law that I have died to the Law, in order that I may live to God.

I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I that live, but Christ that lives in me; and the life which I now live in the body I live through faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself up to death on my behalf.

I do not nullify the grace of God; for if acquittal from guilt is obtainable through the Law, then Christ has died in vain."

even as Abraham believed God, and his faith was placed to his account as righteousness?

And the Scripture, foreseeing that in consequence of faith God would declare the nations to be free from guilt, sent beforehand the Good News to Abraham, saying, "In you all the nations shall be blessed."

It is evident, too, that no one can find acceptance with God simply by obeying the Law, because "the righteous shall live by faith,"

(Now the promises were given to Abraham and to his seed. God did not say "and to seeds," as if speaking of many, but "and to your seed," since He spoke of only one--and this is Christ.)

I mean that the Covenant which God had already formally made is not abrogated by the Law which was given four hundred and thirty years later--so as to annul the promise.

For if the inheritance comes through obedience to Law, it no longer comes because of a promise. But, as a matter of fact, God has granted it to Abraham in fulfilment of a promise.

Why then was the Law given? It was imposed later on for the sake of defining sin, until the seed should come to whom God had made the promise; and its details were laid down by a mediator with the help of angels.

God, however, is only one. Is the Law then opposed to the promises of God? No, indeed; for if a Law had been given which could have conferred Life, righteousness would certainly have come by the Law.

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus;