Wednesday - Grace Abounded through Jesus Christ - Romans 5:18-21 - 4/19/17

Acquittal and life for all followed upon Christ's perfect obedience. Law ... to increase the trespass, this is explained in 7:7-13.


Romans 7:7-13: The law & sin. Though the law is holy ... and good, it not only makes man conscious of sin (Galatians 3:19), but also incites to sin (coveteousness; compare Exodus 20:17; Deuteronomy 5:21). Probably a reminiscence of a thoughtless, carefree boyhood brought to an end (death) by the dawning sense of moral obligation & guilt. The real enemy is sin, which uses even what is good (the law) to make a man more sinful than he would otherwise be.

Reference summary used from The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha Expanded Edition, An Ecumenical Study Bible, RSV

Monday - The Spirit Made You a Believer - Galatians 3:1-5 - 1/30/17

The Galatian believers had become fascinated by the false teachers arguments, almost as thou they had been bewitched. Magic was common in the apostle Paul day. Magicians used both illusions & Satan's power to perform miracles.


The believers in Galatia, many of whom may have been in Jerusalem at Pentecost & received the Holy Spirit there, knew they didn't receive God's Spirit by obeying the Jewish laws. We must realize that we grow spiritually because of God's work in us, not by following special rules.


The Galatians knew they received the Holy Spirit when they believed, not when they obeyed the Law.


The Holy Spirit gives Christians great power to live for God. Some Christians want more than this.

Reference summary used from the KJV Life Application Bible, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois