| By Andy Moyle | 2 mins 49 secs | 0 Comments
Called to Freedom Here Paul makes it clear that some believers had gone off-track from their pursuit of Christ and his grace (v.7). They’ve returned to the law as their means of justification (v.4), or their being in right standing with God. They are throwing away the riches of grace for the fool’s gold of […]
| By Andy Moyle | 4 mins 14 secs | 0 Comments
Paul is again reminding us that the purpose of the law was to show us our need for God. He uses examples from the Old Testament to explain why we are no longer under the law. Abraham had children with two women – Hagar (Sarah’s slave) and Sarah (his wife). Paul uses the example of […]
| By Andy Moyle | 2 mins 2 secs | 0 Comments
Paul has been arguing that Jews and Gentiles alike are not made right with God (justified) or even sanctified by the law. Christ came to free people from the law, so we can be justified by faith. The law is weak because human nature hates following rules. The law had no power to change us, […]
| By Andy Moyle | 3 mins 36 secs | 0 Comments
To live successfully under the law of Moses meant to obey every single aspect of it. If even a small part of the law was breached, then a person fell short of the whole law. It was all or nothing and lawbreakers were ‘cursed’ by God. This may sound really harsh, but it is important […]
| By Andy Moyle | 2 mins 3 secs | 0 Comments
How do you receive the Spirit? Not by obeying the Old Testament Law! We put our faith in Jesus (actually because the Spirit of God has made us come alive to Him), we receive the Spirit’s power by faith and we continue to receive more of the Spirit by faith. Paul is from a Jewish […]
| By Andy Moyle | 1 min 50 secs | 0 Comments
The false teachers are most likely telling the Galatians that Paul is a self-appointed, upstart, apostle who has changed the gospel to make it less Jewish – ‘Don’t listen to him, Jesus was Jewish, you need faith in Jesus plus the Law.’ Paul argues that he has not made up the gospel he preaches, it […]
| By Andy Moyle | 2 mins 54 secs | 0 Comments
You can’t read these verses without realising that something really important is at stake here. They are not verses that you can read and say ‘that was nice’. Paul had planted the churches in Galatia early on in his ministry (Acts 13-14). Now others have come in and started to undermine the gospel and then […]
| By Andy Moyle | 1 min 58 secs | 0 Comments
Paul is finishing up his last words in this letter to a church that he planted, that is now in a mess and nearly rejecting him. He wants them to deal with the issues so that his third visit will be fruitful and a fun time of fellowship and encouragement. Paul’s first visit was to plant […]
| By Andy Moyle | 1 min 25 secs | 0 Comments
Paul is not giving us three signs of a genuine apostle in v12. The grammar of the Greek language puts ‘signs and wonders and mighty works’ in the dative – so they are accompanying his ministry, not the sign of his ministry. Those that believe that the gifts of the Spirit ceased at the end […]