As the Apostle Paul brings closure to his thoughts regarding love being supreme over and above the fleshly extremes of license and law, he raises a tension regarding how to ensure this love will prevail. Galatians 5:16 and following resolve this tension with profound clarity, and the resolution is the antithesis of self-effort. “Walk by READ MORE
Mark 7:1-23 serves as a powerful hinge between the captivating miracles embedded in Mark 6 and the outreach Jesus puts forward to the Gentiles in Mark 7:24 and following. With the miracles, one finds Jesus offering hope to people who are like sheep without shepherds. With the outreach, one finds Jesus embodying the missionary spirit READ MORE
As the Apostle Paul concludes his impassioned letter to his Galatian friends, he starkly contrasts a life of nominal Christianity with being a new creation because of the work of Jesus Christ. These are very important distinctions; worthy of amplification. Nominal Christianity. A “nominal value” is often a value that exists in name only. For Paul, the READ MORE
The Book of Galatians finds the Apostle Paul boldly calling out the evils of legalism. Those who would promote such poison are “stupid” (see Galatians 3:1), and will “bear the penalty” (Gal. 5:10) for their perversion of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul also makes it plain that avoiding legalism does not give us a READ MORE
Consider the following reflections on judgmentalism and hypocrisy, particularly as it relates to the study of Galatians 6:1 and following at Bethel Church. Matthew 7:1-5 is helpful here: “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured READ MORE
Without a doubt, Galatians 5:1 is the key to the entire letter that Paul writes to his Christian friends in the Roman province of Galatia: For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Not only do these words provide an apt summary of READ MORE
