Stay free!

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You are adopted

Galatians 3:36-4:20

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, […]

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How do you receive the Spirit?

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By faith, not law keeping

Gal 2:15-3:9

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 […]

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Remember the poor!

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Remember the poor

Galatians 2:1-14

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 […]

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Something important is at stake

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Something important is at stake

Gal 1:1-24

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 […]

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Last words

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Last words

2 Cor 13:1-14

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 […]

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How will I find you?

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Look under the stone

2 Cor 12:11-11

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 […]

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The thorn

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The thorn

2 Cor 12:1-10

                      This is a remarkable passage to attempt to explore in the space of a few paragraphs. So much so, that I’ve been sat here with an empty Word document, typing and deleting opening paragraphs, trying to do it justice. Lord, breathe life into these […]

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Boasting

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The fool's speech

2 Cor 11:16-33

Boasting is a horrible character trait. It is born out of insecurity and wanting to be one-up on others. The super-apostles that the church in Corinth are in danger of getting corrupted by do it a lot, (10:12-13). So now Paul, with a heavy dose of irony, boasts back; boasts of his weakness and sufferings […]

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