Category Archives: Bible Study

Walk by the spirit, you’re freed from the power of the flesh Galatians 5: 15-18

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Looking for freedom? You need the Holy Spirit for that Verse 5:15 If you fight and squabble, be careful that you do not end up consuming one another. This love thing is key. If you let the flesh get involved and you start biting and devouring each other [the terms used in the NASB], you can end up destroying each other. Verse 5:16–17 My instruction is: walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires … Continue reading →

It’s all about love. Agape Love Galatians 5: 13 & 14

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Verse 5:13 My dear family, you were called to freedom; however, do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. Here we start getting into the area that has caused so much confusion in the church for the past decades, centuries, and millennia. If we are free from the law, why do we bother to obey its precepts at all? Paul acknowledges that we are free, but we must … Continue reading →

Be careful whom you listen to! Galatians 5:7-9

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Galatians 5:7–8 You were doing so well until someone talked you out of obeying the truth. This persuasion did not come from Him who calls you. We must always be careful who we listen to. Over the years my wife and I have spent countless hours correcting strange beliefs held by immature Christians. Note carefully, I do not see any hint here that Paul is calling these people heathens. What he is saying is that the result … Continue reading →

Symbolism or ceremony? Galatians 5:6

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Galatians 5:6 For in the Messiah it doesn’t matter whether you are circumcised or not. The one thing that counts is faith working through love. Outward signs do not matter any more. This seems to be the message. However, we need to be careful not to toss the baby with the bath water. Symbols and symbolic actions still have great benefit to humans. It’s just the way we are made. It is also one of the ways … Continue reading →

Religious rituals bring bondage: Galatians 5:2-5

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Galatians 5:2–3 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 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 would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. [ESV] This is outside most of our experience. It’s hard for us to fathom that becoming a male Jew … Continue reading →

Are you free? Galatians 5:1

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Galatians 5:1 The Messiah has truly set us free. Stand fast and stay free, and do not get bound up in slavery again This is a glorious statement to us—Americans who have made freedom the center of our culture. But it is always a struggle because freedom assumes responsibility. Yes, we are free, but we are responsible for our actions. Are we really free before we realize that the basic freedom is to choose the one we … Continue reading →

Legalism versus freedom: Ishmael or Isaac? Galatians 4:21-31

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Verse 4:21–31 Tell me now, you who have become so enamored with the law: Have you paid close attention to that law? Abraham, remember, had two sons: one by the slave woman and one by the free woman. The son of the slave woman was born by human scheming; the son of the free woman was born by God’s promise. This illustrates the very thing we are dealing with now. The two births represent two ways of … Continue reading →

Are you sure God wants to heal you? Gal 4:12-15

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Verse 4:12a Brothers and sisters, I became like you, so I beg you to become like me. Paul had taken on Gentile cultural practices in order to minister to them effectively. Here he is asking those to whom he ministered to become like him spiritually. This entire little section seems to be about reminding the Galatians about the ties they have of friendship and love. The larger question is: How much are we to mimic our leaders? … Continue reading →

Observing seasons: God-ordained… Galatians 4:10-11

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Today I want to talk about seasons. For years I have found joy in the liturgical year. The Advent to Ascension season about the Lord and the Pentecost season about walking in the Spirit always made internal sense to me. The yearly cycle of winter through spring to summer and back through fall is also deeply meaningful to me personally. When I was a heathen, the cycle of the Zodiac was comforting. But the question in all … Continue reading →

Walking in the Spirit or the flesh?

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Walking in the Spirit or the flesh? This is an extremely important question. This is where power flows from in your life. Let start by looking at Romans: For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those living according to the Holy Spirit, the things of the Spirit.  For to be focused on the flesh is death, but keeping your mind focused on the Lord through His Spirit is life and peace. Because the fleshly … Continue reading →