The family church experience
A New Perspective. Galatians 5:16-18 Dear Holy Nation, One may be tempted to think that Paul is telling the Christians what they should not do, without being much help about what they should do. But this is what Paul has been building up to. He wanted his readers to fully appreciate the folly of legalism before…
A Special Calling. Galatians 5:13-15. Dear Ambassadors of the Risen Christ, Often, we fail to appreciate how fortunate we are to have been chosen by God for salvation. The nature of our salvation is such as even “angels desire to look into” (1 Peter 1:12). Part of the reason we are easily misled and swayed…
Frustration with Legalists. Galatians 5:11-12. Dear Family of God, In today’s passage, we get an idea of how irritating the legalists were to the apostle Paul. He was watching the fruit of many months of labor and suffering threatening to go to waste because of the misleading input of the Judaizers. Suffering (v. 11). Paul…
The Power of Influence. Galatians 5:7-10. Dear Strangers and Aliens, We turn with the apostle now, to the impact people can have on others. If we listen to people who have different agendas from what we have been taught, they likely will influence us. This is not to say that we should not listen to…
Faith-Based Righteousness. Galatians 5:5-6. Dear Pilgrims and Sojourners, So far, we have established that the quest for justification based on the law is not only futile, it is fraught with danger. The one who puts his hope in the law is in danger of being lost forever. But the opposite is so simple and attractive,…
Peril in Legalism. Galatians 5:1-4. Dear Family, We look today at the danger inherent in legalism. Previously, we have seen that faith and legalism are mutually exclusive. They are likened to freedom on the one hand and bondage on the other. One cannot subscribe to both. Entanglement (v. 1). Paul encourages the Christians to stand…
A Clear Distinction.Galatians 4:26-31. Dear Royal Priesthood, Today we look at the second part of the Types that Hagar the slave woman, Sarah the free woman and their sons – Ishmael, born of the flesh and Isaac, born of the promise, represent. Exceptional (vv. 26-28). Jerusalem in verse 25 referred to the seat of the…
Hidden Meaning. Galatians 4:21-25. Dear Ambassadors of Christ, In our passage today and continuing tomorrow, Paul introduces a concept Bible scholars call Typology. Many Old Testament events, persons, and places depict New Testament situations. Sometimes the “type” that New Testament writers like Paul use are not obvious. It follows that we should not be quick to…
Misplaced Zeal.Galatians 4:17-20. Dear Holy Nation, Having dismissed legalism in principle and shown it to be impractical, Paul now turns his attention to the perpetrators of the position and exposes them as frauds. He wants the Galatian Christians to be vigilant because they can easily be misled. Insincerity (v. 17). Paul says that the promoters…
An Appeal to Past Harmony. Galatians 4:12-16. Dear Kingdom of Priests, Paul is dealing with believers who are young in the faith and who have been misled by legalists. They have even begun to doubt him as a person, so he takes them back to the past, where it all started. Adapted (v. 12). Paul urges…