Over the past couple of weeks we have heard Paul describe the struggle within the early church regarding the place of the law within the life of the believer.
For the Judaizers, they saw Christianity as basically an add-on to the base “game” of Judaism. Meaning that to be a Christian, one must follow the totality of the 613 Jewish laws.
At the Jerusalem council this issue appeared to have been settled by the Apostle Peter, yet last week we saw that Peter himself would eventually “bow” a knee in fear of the Judaizers when it came to eating unclean foods with the gentile believers.
Paul would call Peter and those following in his hypocrisy to account.
Yet there is a piece of the puzzle that has not been addressed. A concern put forth by the Judaizers that Paul must now address. A concern that relates well with us today for we still struggle with it, albeit in different areas of how we live out our faith.
Paul will indeed address this issue as we see today what it is to be…
Galatians 07
Crucified with Christ
June 14, 2020 • Pastor Christopher Thompson • Galatians 2:17–21
Galatians 18
September 13, 2020 • Pastor Christopher Thompson • Galatians 6:11–18
Over the past four months, we have walked through the book of Galatians and seen that what these first centuries Christians struggled with was not so different from the struggles of today. We struggle in our world with false teachers twisting the truth to suit their own desires. We see believers enslaved to works of the law rather than living in the freedom purchased by Christ, and we struggled to be known by the Fruit of the Spirit rather than the that of the flesh. This week we close out the book of Galatians as we have reached, the conclusion.
Galatians 16
August 30, 2020 • Pastor Christopher Thompson • Galatians 5:16–26
Paul had just reminded us that with great freedom comes great responsibility. That Jesus did indeed die to set us free from the law of sin and death, but that this freedom was not given that we might spend it on our own pleasures, rather it was given that we might be able to fulfill the greatest commandments of “Loving God and Loving people.” Now, I do not know about you but when I hear such things, I can become concerned, concerned that I do not know enough, that I cannot accomplish such a thing. I mean, what does it even look like to be free in this way? Thankfully, we are not left wonder as Paul now shows us what it is (and is not) to be free as we…Walk in the Spirit