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  • From: Jim West <jwest AT highland.net>
  • To: Corpus-paul <corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: C-P: Gal. 5:16-21
  • Date: Thu, 13 May 1999 13:12:03 -0400


At 12:29 PM 5/13/99 -0400, you wrote:
>Dear All,
> I have just started reading Paul, and am having trouble understanding his
>letter to the Galatians. I thought I understood it until I reached 5:16-21.
>There I read that all sorts of people who are Christians are not going to
>inherit the kingdom of God.
>
> I deduce from 5:16-21, but especially vs. 18, that either you are under the
>flesh/law/sin/devil/this world or under the Spirit/Jesus. The latter go to
>heaven (or participate in the Parousia, or something), the former don't.
>Paul says, "those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its
>passions." Evidence of not belonging to Christ, of not having crucified the
>flesh, are the behaviors listed in 19-21.
>
>Paul says the whole law is "love your neighbor as yourself." It seems to
>me that those who are under the spirit are obligated by this version of the
>"whole of the law" if they want to inherit the Kingdom of God.
>
>This is not how I had interpreted justification by faith. It seems that Paul
>really did expect those who "put on the body of Christ as one puts on
>clothes" to have the whole law written on their hearts, as in Jeremiah. I
>think Paul really did expect that "putting on Christ" would bring about a
>transformation in the *behavior* of the Christian, that this change in
>behaviour would happen automatically, by God. The person so transformed
>would then keep the whole of the Jewish moral law, not covet, etc.
>
>Practically speaking then, a person who puts on the body of Christ and
>continues to practice the sins that flesh is heir to will not inherit the
>Kingdom of God. He is not in fact justified by faith alone, but only by the
>faith that brings about a transformation of behavior.
>
>Is this a correct understanding of Paul's thought in his letter to the
>Galatians?
>
>Thanks,

Yup- you have it just as Paul had it. Your previous view of "justification
by faith" is pure Luther!

Best,

Jim

+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Jim West, ThD
email- jwest AT highland.net
web page- http://web.infoave.net/~jwest




  • C-P: Gal. 5:16-21, Liz Fried, 05/13/1999
    • <Possible follow-up(s)>
    • Re: C-P: Gal. 5:16-21, Jim West, 05/13/1999

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