Galatians 3:22-29 English Standard Version

22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

Is it possible to learn what this new life is like if we do not understand what our old life did to us?

I don’t know. You tell me.

That is as honest as I can be. God is the author and finisher of your faith. It is yours not mine.

God has a perfect plan for you. You will discover that for yourself by using your faith in Christ. That takes time. A new life means a new beginning and what we did in our past did not lead us to a happy life. If it did, we wouldn’t have seen the necessity to follow Christ now.

The followers of Jesus are called disciples. The root word of disciple is discipline. It is more than just listening, it is a matter of doing.

James 1:22-24 English Standard Version

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.

Deceit, lies, are the weapons of the enemy. Oops, sorry newborns, you might not have realized you have an enemy. Learning what that means comes later. Newborns are not asked to fight until they are trained, equipped and know what the enemy is doing.

For now it is time to ask ourselves are we newborns, children of God, disciples of Jesus or have we moved on past the beginning principles and found our calling in Christ.

I don’t know. You tell me.

Galatians 3:5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith—

I will admit that at the time I raised my hand at the altar call, I did not see myself as being under the law. I had parents and they had the greatest influence in my life. If I did something that displeased them I got the switch. There was no explanation of why I was being punished, only that I was being punished.

What happened was that approach led me to be cautious. I hid from my parents hoping they would never find out what was in my head. I had never read the bible or had it read in my presence so I did not know that Adam did the same thing when he disobeyed God. Adam hid his face from God.

I was not told what was right, only punished when they were displeased. Was this the reason I was angry all the time with no understanding of why? I don’t know. I may never know.

Then God took my anger away and I had no idea how or why. I was punished without explanation and then suddenly I was healed without explanation. Worse yet I was left alone again trying to sort out what all of that meant. I had no one to teach me from a place of my reality. None of it made sense.

Now I want to address those who have just become children of God and I have no idea what their background, education, problems, or what their needs are.

Galatians 3:22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

Since I had never heard the scriptures from my parents I had no idea I was a prisoner to sin. I didn’t even know what that meant. I needed a tutor.

Galatians 3:23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed.

Since I had not studied the law, I had no idea of its purpose or effect.

That is my story. What is yours?