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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
I received Northbound from Aspect Books, a subset of TEACH Services Inc. through BookCrash to review and it was a fun read. I was surprised to find that the book was set in the 1850s somewhere in Northern California, as I usually do not like historical novels. By the description I was expecting something modern. I was confused geographically by the town names as I knew the Feather River area. Somehow I had no idea they had gone so … Continue reading →
Today we talk about two things where most people really mess up: covenants & morality. God‘s solution is always unique and edifying. ___________________________________ Galatians 3 Verse 3:15 Dear brothers and sisters, here’s an example in human terms. Just as no one can set aside or amend an accepted contract, so it is in this case. It is always good to get these truths into everyday experience. We need to look at our laws to see how they … Continue reading →
Jesus attacked religious legalists vigorously. He saw them as one of his main enemies. Today I want to talk about what Jesus said when he was invited to dinner one night. He was talking about his host and his friends. “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe…herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. …Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like graves which are not seen, and the men who walk … Continue reading →
Galatians 3:10 Trying to please God by obeying the Law puts you under a curse. The Scriptures say, “Everyone who doesn’t obey everything in the Law is under a curse.” This is another little Old Testament nugget from Deuteronomy 27:26. Remember that the Law includes the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The arguments that many of the things in the Mosaic law are no longer relevant to modern society is bogus, … Continue reading →
As we continue our study of Galatians we come to the place where Paul is really upset with the people he taught. He calls them stupid which was much stronger than lack of intelligence. But let’s allow Paul to talk to us again. _____________________________________________ Chapter Three: Verse 3:1 You stupid Galatians! I told you exactly how Jesus was nailed to a cross as our Messiah. Who put an evil spell on you? [MVP] Foolish or stupid? The word … Continue reading →
Are your people immune to the Gospel? Have the ones you feel called to serve been vaccinated with religion? Is this even possible? Sadly, the answer is yes. We all know what a vaccine is in this day and age. The basic principle is simple: if you place some dead disease into a person’s body, the body will react as if it were alive and do its best to fight it off. In the process the body … Continue reading →