May 4, 2025
JUDGES 10-11:
Yesterday we heard the conclusion of the story
of Gideon. It is a pity that Gideon was so successful, but that a
half-son and unfaithful people ruined his legacy. I am always very
disappointed that Gideon so quickly turns to idolatry after God has
worked so fantastically through him. The whole story, including the
part about Abimelech, supports the verse which says, “Whatever you
sow, that is also what you will reap.”
PSALM 83:
This
is a psalm asking God to stop being silent when Israel was praying
for relief from their enemies. And we now have the background to
understand the names mentioned by Asaph.
GALATIANS 5:
In
chapter 4, Paul continued to use Old Testament pictures to show the
teaching that is central to this book: Gentiles do not need to be
circumcised because we have been freed from the Law of Moses. We do
not need to earn favor with God. We have already been adopted as
sons and are considered heirs of God's promises. Proof of this is
that the Spirit of Jesus is in our hearts.
Remember that in Greek, ‘faith’ and ‘believe’ have the same root word. Most other English words— like ‘operate’ and ‘operation’, show their root word similarity. It is an unfortunate quirk of English that it doesn’t work that way for ‘believe’ and ‘faith’. To help you see the cohesion and how Paul is harping on this one concept, I suggest reading this book substituting ‘fully believe’ for ‘faith’.
NLT Translation
notes:
Gal.
5:5But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive [through
believing//by faith] the righteousness God has promised to
us.
[Again, ‘faith’ and
‘believe’ are the same root word in Greek, differing no more than
‘operate’ and ‘operation’ or ‘performance’ and ‘perform’. In
pointing this out and using the verb ‘believe’ rather than the noun
form, I am trying to restore cohesion and clarity. And I do this
because the word ‘faith’ is used today with all sorts of fuzzy and
mystical unbiblical meanings.]
6
For when we [fully believe//place our faith] in Christ Jesus, there
is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is
important is [fully believing//faith] expressing [that
belief//itself] in love.
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.