{"id":70930,"date":"2024-11-06T12:19:43","date_gmt":"2024-11-06T18:19:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=70930"},"modified":"2024-11-06T12:25:16","modified_gmt":"2024-11-06T18:25:16","slug":"could-the-galatians-repent-of-their-sins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/could-the-galatians-repent-of-their-sins\/","title":{"rendered":"Could the Galatians repent of their sins?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t<h2>Question:<\/h2>\n<p>Hi Mr. Hamilton,<\/p>\n<p>I have been reading your website for quite some time. I struggle with the unpardonable sin and have read your articles dozens of times. My question is: Could the Galatians repent of their sin of mixing the old and new covenant and return to Christ, or was there no hope for them? I read one of your studies on Galatians, and it mentioned Paul hoped that they wouldn&#8217;t continue believing the false teachers. So that would mean they could repent, right?<\/p>\n\t<h2>Answer:<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Paul gives himself as an example. &#8220;<em>For you have heard of my former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it<\/em>&#8221; (Galatians 1:13). However, God graciously called Paul into the fold of Christ (Galatians 1:15-16). &#8220;<em>I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which were in Christ; but only, they kept hearing, &#8220;He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy.&#8221; And they were glorifying God because of me<\/em>&#8221; (Galatians 1:22-24). If Paul can make that great of change, others can do the same.<\/li>\n<li>Peter is given as an example. He had accepted the Gentiles as Christians. In fact, he was the first to convert Gentiles to the faith (Acts 10-11). However, he sinned by allowing Jews to pressure him into avoiding the Gentiles. &#8220;<em>But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy<\/em>&#8221; (Galatians 2:11-13). We know that Peter did not remain in his sin. He clearly repented.<\/li>\n<li>Paul urged the Galatians to change. &#8220;<em>I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain. I beg of you, brethren, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You have done me no wrong<\/em>&#8221; (Galatians 2:10-11). Paul would not beg for them to change if it was not possible. &#8220;<em>My children, <strong>with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you<\/strong> &#8212; but I could wish to be present with you now and to change my tone, for I am perplexed about you<\/em>&#8221; (Galatians 4:19-20). Notice that Paul had labored to start the churches in Galatian, and he is laboring again so that Christ will be formed in them. He is expecting them to change. &#8220;<em>I have confidence in you in the Lord that you will adopt no other view; but the one who is disturbing you will bear his judgment, whoever he is<\/em>&#8221; (Galatians 5:10).<\/li>\n<li>Paul urges the faithful in the Galatian churches to restore those who have lost their way. &#8220;<em>Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted<\/em>&#8221; (Galatians 6:1).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If the Galatians had no chance to turn from their sins, there would be no reason to write to them, scold them for their sins, and urge them to follow Christ.<\/p>\n\t<h2>Response:<\/h2>\n<p>Thank you, sir. I appreciate you and your website. It has helped me a lot. I have been diagnosed with OCD, and my mind wonders a lot. Having your website helps me resist jumping down the rabbit hole of anxiety.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Question: Hi Mr. Hamilton, I have been reading your website for quite some time. I struggle with the unpardonable sin and have read your articles dozens of times. My question is: Could the Galatians repent of their sin of mixing the old and new covenant and return to Christ, or was there no hope for&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[1571,710,50,181],"class_list":["post-70930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-forgiveness","tag-galatians","tag-repentance","tag-unforgivable"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":51463,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-paul-talking-about-physical-circumcision-or-something-else-in-galatians-53-4\/","url_meta":{"origin":70930,"position":0},"title":"Is Paul talking about physical circumcision or something else in Galatians 5:3-4?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 23, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi. I've read some of your articles and they've been helpful. Thanks. I'm a kind of confused about what is written in Galatians 5:3-4 \"I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":40759,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-people-find-no-place-for-repentance\/","url_meta":{"origin":70930,"position":1},"title":"When People Find No Place for Repentance","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 26, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry W. Benton If grace so freely covers all sin without repentance, why was Paul so concerned that he warned night and day with tears about people in the church teaching false doctrine? I have a hard time reading Paul's warnings to Timothy and come away with the modern\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29429,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-paul-die-with-christ-if-christ-is-living\/","url_meta":{"origin":70930,"position":2},"title":"How can Paul die with Christ if Christ is living?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 4, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am confused about \"My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me\" (Galatians 2:20 NLT).\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":56944,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/holy-days\/","url_meta":{"origin":70930,"position":3},"title":"Holy Days","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 16, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Clem Thurman via Gospel Minutes, Vol. 57, No. 24, June 13, 2008 Question: Does Galatians 4:9-11 refer to holy days (religious observance)? Or could it have a reference to such days as July 4th or our birthdays? Answer: The letter to the Galatians was written primarily to teach these\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":87444,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/paul-and-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":70930,"position":4},"title":"Paul and Jesus","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores In many ways, Galatians is about Paul and Jesus. One of the things I love about the short book of Galatians is how, although Paul writes on deep theological themes concerning the differentiation between the old and new covenants and their respective purposes, he often refers to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24522,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-jesus-become-a-curse\/","url_meta":{"origin":70930,"position":5},"title":"Did Jesus become a curse?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 10, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good day, In Galatians 3:10-13, did Jesus become a curse? Please give some insight into this verse. Thanks. Answer: \"The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, 'All the nations will be blessed in you.'\" So then those who\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70930"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70930\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}