Give Me Liberty!
Tuesday, 20th of February 2017
Capitol Commission Georgia
G i v e M e L i b e rt y !
Ron J. Bigalke, Ph.D. P.O. Box 244, Rincon, GA 31326-0244 (912) 659-4212 [email protected]
Capitol Commission Bible Study
• TUESDAYS @ 12 NOON in 123 CAP
Members’ Bible Fellowship • WEDNESDAYS @ 7:15AM in 125 CAP
Capitol Commission Bible Studies are held every Tuesday. The weekly Bible study is nonpartisan and non-denominational. We are studying the book of Galatians during the 2018 legislative session, and will continue doing so every week on Tuesdays. Capitol Commission provides an open-to-all Bible study every Tuesday from 12:00-12:45pm in 123 CAP (where ministry sponsors provide lunch). The member’s only Bible Fellowship is held every Wednesday (unless not a legislative day) from 7:158:00am in 125 CAP. I pray that this study will be edifying to you. The sole intent of the ministry of Capitol Commission is to serve you, and to be a resource to you for pastoral attention, care, counsel, and prayer. The present study in the Word of God is just one aspect of that desire to serve you. – Dr. Ron J. Bigalke, Georgia State Minister, Capitol Commission
Capitol Commission Bible Studies are
Tuesday, 20 February 2017 Galatians 5 – “Give Me Liberty!” Patrick Henry (1736-99) had little schooling, yet he emerged as one of the foremost spokespersons for the American Revolution. He was only 29 years old when elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses, where he soon became notable for his provocative rhetoric against the Stamp Act of 1765. Later, he would become governor of Virginia. On 28 March 1775, he delivered his famous and passionate speech before the Second Virginia Convention, concluding with his immortal words, “Give me liberty or give me death!” Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves longer. Sir, we have done everything that could be done, to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced
additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne. . . . There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free—if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending—if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained, we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left us! They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? . . . Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. . . .There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations; and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. . . . It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, peace, peace—but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! . . . Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! [Lewis Copeland, Lawrence H. Lamm, and Stephen J. McKenna, eds., The World’s Great Speeches, 4th enl. ed. (Mineola, NY: Dover, 1999) 233-34].
Many historians agree that Henry’s speech, and his concluding words in particular, were fundamental in leading the colonies to Revolution. The freedoms that Americans enjoy are very much the consequence of Henry’s impassioned oratory. With language sounding like Henry, the book of Galatians declares, “therefore keeping standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery” (5:1). Henry spoke at a time when much risk was involved, yet when the “just God who presides over the destinies of nations” gave the book of Galatians the circumstances could not be more fundamentally important because the eternal destinies of souls were endangered. False teachers wanted to deprive others from the enjoyment of freedom, the very liberty from the law that Christ offered as a means of salvation. Freedom in Christ means being liberated from the law’s curse. In Christ Jesus, believers are no longer “children of a bondwoman,” which is why the Bible pleads, “do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.”
LIBERTY MUST BE GUARDED (Gal 5:1-12) Failure to instruct in sound doctrine is the reason for misbehavior and cultural powerlessness of God’s people, which is why Galatians 1—4 reveals biblical doctrine, and then (beginning with 5:1) reveals the implications of salvation (justification) by faith. The first responsibility is to “keep standing firm” by not retreating into bondage and sin.
Capitol Commission Bible Study Tuesday (20th of February) @ 7:30am – 8:00am, 123 CAP
Member’s Bible Fellowship
Wednesday (21st of February) @ 7:15am – 8:00am, 125 CAP (ministry sponsorship by State Representative Trey Kelley)
Tuesday, 20 February 2017
Certainly, it is distressing to witness someone returning to the very lifestyle from which they were extricated. Returning to the law (bondage) results in six negative consequences. First, by adding works to what God has accomplished invalidates the sufficiency of Christ for salvation (v. 2; cf. Matt 6:24).
The sixth and final negative consequence for returning to the law is righteous anger (Gal 5:12). Being committed to what is truthful can sometimes be exasperating when others are intent upon sabotaging it. There are times when anger is entirely appropriate toward people who are spreading infectious falsehoods that upset their lives and those influenced by them.
“HOPE” IN THE BIBLE DOES NOT REFER TO WISHFUL THINKING; RATHER, IT IS . . . CONFIDENT EXPECTATION. . . .
LIBERTY HAS LIMITATIONS (Gal 5:13-26) What truly matters in the life of a believer is “faith working through love” (v. 6; cf. Eph 2:10; Jas 2:14-18), and it is Christ who gives his followers the freedom to love others truly (Gal 5:13-15). Freedom includes the responsibility to serve.
The second negative consequence for returning to the law is “obligation to keep the whole law” (v. 3). The third detrimental result is removing oneself from the realm of grace (v. 4). The legalist substitutes regulations for a personal relationship with the Lord and thus has no assurance because he or she can never know if they have done enough to merit salvation. The believer, however, is secure through faith in Christ Jesus and is eagerly “waiting for the hope of righteousness” (vv. 4-6).
If a person is free, the question could be asked whether he or she can do as they please. The answer is no because the Christian has a greater authority: the Holy Spirit. As opposed to a regulation (the law), the follower of Christ is related to a Person, the Holy Spirit. Freedom, therefore, has limitations, which are accomplished by the control of the Holy Spirit. One can only “through love serve one another” (v. 13) and forgive others (v. 15) by the power of the Holy Spirit.
In contrast to those who “have fallen from grace,” the ones who are trusting in Jesus Christ are eagerly awaiting greater conformity to the will of God in the present time, and especially for the day in which all sin is removed from their presence, and they will not only be declared righteous (justified) by grace through faith, but also will be made righteous (glorified) just as Christ is (1 John 3:2). “Hope” in the Bible does not refer to wishful thinking; rather, it is concerned with confident expectation of a reality that will occur because God has promised it. The only aspect that is hopeful is that the promised event is yet future. Nevertheless, the hope is certain.
FREEDOM INCLUDES THE RESPONSIBILITY TO SERVE.
Fifteen “deeds of the flesh” are listed and none of them result in anything profitable (vv. 19-21). When a person is under the authority of the flesh, he or she will always fall short of God’s righteous standard (vv. 16-18). “The fruit of the Spirit” is essentially the Christlikeness that is to be manifested in the life of a believer.
NEVER LET ANYONE TELL YOU THAT WHAT YOU BELIEVE AND THE PRACTICE OF THOSE BELIEFS IS A MATTER OF INDIFFERENCE (OR . . . STRICTLY PRIVATE AND PERSONAL).
The nine elements of the fruit of the Spirit should be understood as a whole (vv. 22-23). A person is not entirely under the control of the Holy Spirit unless there is evidence of all elements of the fruit. A person’s life is defective when one or more aspects of the fruit are absent because Christ died to provide freedom from “the flesh with its passions and desires” (v. 24). The flesh is “crucified” when a person trusts in what Christ did for them on the cross, and becomes identified with Him. The Holy Spirit is the believer’s strength for living a life of harmony (vv. 25-26).
The fourth negative consequence for returning to the law is that it hinders spiritual development and maturity. The statement “you were running well” is language from the Olympic games, and would indicate spiritual progress, yet false teaching is a hindrance to “obeying the truth” (Gal 5:7). The yeast metaphor illustrates how quickly even a small amount of legalism can disrupt a person’s life, and even the church as a whole (vv. 7-10). Obedience to the truth (or neglecting it) has compelling practical implications. Never let anyone tell you that what you believe and the practice of those beliefs is a matter of indifference (or a matter that is strictly private and personal).
Thank you for allowing Capitol Commission the honor in providing Bible studies to you. If we can serve you in any manner, please talk with us, or contact by email or phone.
About Capitol Commission Capitol Commission state ministers are pastors-missionaries who teach weekly verse-by-verse Bible studies for legislators, lobbyists, and staff members. The Bible studies are handdistributed to each legislative office, emailed, and made available throughout the Capitol community. With the Bible as our foundation and authority, the exclusive mission of Capitol Commission is to provide a pastoral presence in the capitol communities of our nation.
A fifth damaging result occurs when “the stumbling block of the cross has been abolished” (v. 11). There will always be people who are offended by truth because of its very nature: it is absolute and exclusive, not relative. The absolute nature of truth means that it is not dependant upon, nor changed by, people’s opinions. Be wise by speaking “the truth in love” (Eph 4:15). this week’s Bible studies sponsored by: Representative Trey Kelley Georgia House District 16
Bible study copies made by:
NEXT CAPITOL COMMISSION BIBLE STUDY: Tuesday, 27th of February @ 12 Noon in 123 CAP
!
!
http://www.kennickell.com
!
Capitol Commission Georgia
G i v e M e L i b e rt y !
Ron J. Bigalke, Ph.D. P.O. Box 244, Rincon, GA 31326-0244 (912) 659-4212 [email protected]
Capitol Commission Bible Study
• TUESDAYS @ 12 NOON in 123 CAP
Members’ Bible Fellowship • WEDNESDAYS @ 7:15AM in 125 CAP
Capitol Commission Bible Studies are held every Tuesday. The weekly Bible study is nonpartisan and non-denominational. We are studying the book of Galatians during the 2018 legislative session, and will continue doing so every week on Tuesdays. Capitol Commission provides an open-to-all Bible study every Tuesday from 12:00-12:45pm in 123 CAP (where ministry sponsors provide lunch). The member’s only Bible Fellowship is held every Wednesday (unless not a legislative day) from 7:158:00am in 125 CAP. I pray that this study will be edifying to you. The sole intent of the ministry of Capitol Commission is to serve you, and to be a resource to you for pastoral attention, care, counsel, and prayer. The present study in the Word of God is just one aspect of that desire to serve you. – Dr. Ron J. Bigalke, Georgia State Minister, Capitol Commission
Capitol Commission Bible Studies are
Tuesday, 20 February 2017 Galatians 5 – “Give Me Liberty!” Patrick Henry (1736-99) had little schooling, yet he emerged as one of the foremost spokespersons for the American Revolution. He was only 29 years old when elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses, where he soon became notable for his provocative rhetoric against the Stamp Act of 1765. Later, he would become governor of Virginia. On 28 March 1775, he delivered his famous and passionate speech before the Second Virginia Convention, concluding with his immortal words, “Give me liberty or give me death!” Let us not, I beseech you, sir, deceive ourselves longer. Sir, we have done everything that could be done, to avert the storm which is now coming on. We have petitioned; we have remonstrated; we have supplicated; we have prostrated ourselves before the throne, and have implored its interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the ministry and Parliament. Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced
additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne. . . . There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free—if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending—if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained, we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of Hosts is all that is left us! They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? . . . Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. . . .There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations; and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. . . . It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, peace, peace—but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! . . . Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! [Lewis Copeland, Lawrence H. Lamm, and Stephen J. McKenna, eds., The World’s Great Speeches, 4th enl. ed. (Mineola, NY: Dover, 1999) 233-34].
Many historians agree that Henry’s speech, and his concluding words in particular, were fundamental in leading the colonies to Revolution. The freedoms that Americans enjoy are very much the consequence of Henry’s impassioned oratory. With language sounding like Henry, the book of Galatians declares, “therefore keeping standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery” (5:1). Henry spoke at a time when much risk was involved, yet when the “just God who presides over the destinies of nations” gave the book of Galatians the circumstances could not be more fundamentally important because the eternal destinies of souls were endangered. False teachers wanted to deprive others from the enjoyment of freedom, the very liberty from the law that Christ offered as a means of salvation. Freedom in Christ means being liberated from the law’s curse. In Christ Jesus, believers are no longer “children of a bondwoman,” which is why the Bible pleads, “do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.”
LIBERTY MUST BE GUARDED (Gal 5:1-12) Failure to instruct in sound doctrine is the reason for misbehavior and cultural powerlessness of God’s people, which is why Galatians 1—4 reveals biblical doctrine, and then (beginning with 5:1) reveals the implications of salvation (justification) by faith. The first responsibility is to “keep standing firm” by not retreating into bondage and sin.
Capitol Commission Bible Study Tuesday (20th of February) @ 7:30am – 8:00am, 123 CAP
Member’s Bible Fellowship
Wednesday (21st of February) @ 7:15am – 8:00am, 125 CAP (ministry sponsorship by State Representative Trey Kelley)
Tuesday, 20 February 2017
Certainly, it is distressing to witness someone returning to the very lifestyle from which they were extricated. Returning to the law (bondage) results in six negative consequences. First, by adding works to what God has accomplished invalidates the sufficiency of Christ for salvation (v. 2; cf. Matt 6:24).
The sixth and final negative consequence for returning to the law is righteous anger (Gal 5:12). Being committed to what is truthful can sometimes be exasperating when others are intent upon sabotaging it. There are times when anger is entirely appropriate toward people who are spreading infectious falsehoods that upset their lives and those influenced by them.
“HOPE” IN THE BIBLE DOES NOT REFER TO WISHFUL THINKING; RATHER, IT IS . . . CONFIDENT EXPECTATION. . . .
LIBERTY HAS LIMITATIONS (Gal 5:13-26) What truly matters in the life of a believer is “faith working through love” (v. 6; cf. Eph 2:10; Jas 2:14-18), and it is Christ who gives his followers the freedom to love others truly (Gal 5:13-15). Freedom includes the responsibility to serve.
The second negative consequence for returning to the law is “obligation to keep the whole law” (v. 3). The third detrimental result is removing oneself from the realm of grace (v. 4). The legalist substitutes regulations for a personal relationship with the Lord and thus has no assurance because he or she can never know if they have done enough to merit salvation. The believer, however, is secure through faith in Christ Jesus and is eagerly “waiting for the hope of righteousness” (vv. 4-6).
If a person is free, the question could be asked whether he or she can do as they please. The answer is no because the Christian has a greater authority: the Holy Spirit. As opposed to a regulation (the law), the follower of Christ is related to a Person, the Holy Spirit. Freedom, therefore, has limitations, which are accomplished by the control of the Holy Spirit. One can only “through love serve one another” (v. 13) and forgive others (v. 15) by the power of the Holy Spirit.
In contrast to those who “have fallen from grace,” the ones who are trusting in Jesus Christ are eagerly awaiting greater conformity to the will of God in the present time, and especially for the day in which all sin is removed from their presence, and they will not only be declared righteous (justified) by grace through faith, but also will be made righteous (glorified) just as Christ is (1 John 3:2). “Hope” in the Bible does not refer to wishful thinking; rather, it is concerned with confident expectation of a reality that will occur because God has promised it. The only aspect that is hopeful is that the promised event is yet future. Nevertheless, the hope is certain.
FREEDOM INCLUDES THE RESPONSIBILITY TO SERVE.
Fifteen “deeds of the flesh” are listed and none of them result in anything profitable (vv. 19-21). When a person is under the authority of the flesh, he or she will always fall short of God’s righteous standard (vv. 16-18). “The fruit of the Spirit” is essentially the Christlikeness that is to be manifested in the life of a believer.
NEVER LET ANYONE TELL YOU THAT WHAT YOU BELIEVE AND THE PRACTICE OF THOSE BELIEFS IS A MATTER OF INDIFFERENCE (OR . . . STRICTLY PRIVATE AND PERSONAL).
The nine elements of the fruit of the Spirit should be understood as a whole (vv. 22-23). A person is not entirely under the control of the Holy Spirit unless there is evidence of all elements of the fruit. A person’s life is defective when one or more aspects of the fruit are absent because Christ died to provide freedom from “the flesh with its passions and desires” (v. 24). The flesh is “crucified” when a person trusts in what Christ did for them on the cross, and becomes identified with Him. The Holy Spirit is the believer’s strength for living a life of harmony (vv. 25-26).
The fourth negative consequence for returning to the law is that it hinders spiritual development and maturity. The statement “you were running well” is language from the Olympic games, and would indicate spiritual progress, yet false teaching is a hindrance to “obeying the truth” (Gal 5:7). The yeast metaphor illustrates how quickly even a small amount of legalism can disrupt a person’s life, and even the church as a whole (vv. 7-10). Obedience to the truth (or neglecting it) has compelling practical implications. Never let anyone tell you that what you believe and the practice of those beliefs is a matter of indifference (or a matter that is strictly private and personal).
Thank you for allowing Capitol Commission the honor in providing Bible studies to you. If we can serve you in any manner, please talk with us, or contact by email or phone.
About Capitol Commission Capitol Commission state ministers are pastors-missionaries who teach weekly verse-by-verse Bible studies for legislators, lobbyists, and staff members. The Bible studies are handdistributed to each legislative office, emailed, and made available throughout the Capitol community. With the Bible as our foundation and authority, the exclusive mission of Capitol Commission is to provide a pastoral presence in the capitol communities of our nation.
A fifth damaging result occurs when “the stumbling block of the cross has been abolished” (v. 11). There will always be people who are offended by truth because of its very nature: it is absolute and exclusive, not relative. The absolute nature of truth means that it is not dependant upon, nor changed by, people’s opinions. Be wise by speaking “the truth in love” (Eph 4:15). this week’s Bible studies sponsored by: Representative Trey Kelley Georgia House District 16
Bible study copies made by:
NEXT CAPITOL COMMISSION BIBLE STUDY: Tuesday, 27th of February @ 12 Noon in 123 CAP
!
!
http://www.kennickell.com
!
