First John

John was the youngest of the apostles and the last to pass away.  He was especially close to Christ during His earthly ministry, and John refers to himself as the one “whom Jesus loved” in his gospel.  The relationship was strong enough that Jesus entrusted the young man with the care of His mother, Mary, as one of his last acts on the cross.

In this circular letter to the churches, John drops the opening and closing introductions and greetings common to the other epistles. He launches directly into his message.  I find three themes in this book: the incarnation of Christ and true spirituality, knowing the truth, and love.

The Incarnate Christ and True Spirituality

Christianity firmly asserts that Jesus Christ is God and at the same time that He was incarnated as a man.  He lived and died and was resurrected.  He wasn’t resurrected as spirit, he was resurrected bodily.  John adamantly reiterated that this is not only the doctrine of the church, it is something he witnessed personally.

This teaching has consequences for Christian living.  We are not pure, undefiled spirits residing in sinful, depraved bodies.  We are body and spirit together.   The actions we take with our bodies have spiritual consequences.  Likewise, if we are godly in our spirit, it will show in our actions.

John’s writings on this subject may be a reaction to Gnosticism.  It seems that teachers of some form of Gnosticism or some other beliefs were attempting to infiltrate the church.  They taught a strong duality between spirit and body, so that the spirit was pure, good, and untouchable, so one could do as they pleased in the body, which was inherently bad, lesser, and corrupt.  In their view, the resurrected Jesus was as spirit and shed the corruption of flesh to become pure.

Throughout the Bible, you will not find a concept that material is bad and spirit is good.  In Genesis, God called the material world he made good, along with everything, man, animal, plant, and mineral, in it.  Satan and the demons are spirits, but they are evil.  The Bible assures believers that they will be resurrected bodily, like Christ, and that their resurrected body will be everlasting, good, and incorruptible.

Knowing the Truth

Knowing the truth is a Christian’s defense against false teaching.  John writes a lot about knowing in this letter.  That knowing is founded in the revelation of Christ and in God’s Word.  We can know that we know God (Chapter 2).  We can know that we have a new, everlasting life in Christ (Chapter 3).  We can know that God loves us (Chapter 4).  We can know that God hears our prayers (Chapter 5).

Knowing the truth allows us to test ourselves, what we hear, and who we hear it from.  Do we affirm the gospel, including the divinity and bodily resurrection of Christ?  Do we strive to keep God’s commandments?  Do we recognize when we sin and repent?  Do we love others and act on that love?  Jesus Christ said we could know a tree by its fruit, and John is encouraging us to look around and see if the fruit of would-be teachers is good or not.

Love

John is sometimes called the “Apostle of Love.”  Love is a theme of all his writings preserved in the Bible (yes, even Revelation in my opinion).

God loves us and we should love Him.  If we are Christians, we will love Him.  If we love Him, we will obey Him (Jesus said if we love Him, we will keep his commandments).  If we love Him, we will love others, especially our brothers and sisters in the church (Jesus said we would be known know for our love for each other).  Love is the God’s response to us, even when we were sinful and far from him, as evidenced in the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Christ.  The appropriate response to Gods love is to love Him and love the others He loves.

John also wrote the Gospel of John.

First John.  The Holy Bible.  New King James Version.  Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

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The Holy Bible

It is hard to do the Bible justice in a few pages. In this review, I’ll only attempt to provide an outline. In particular I’ll discuss

-the major themes of the book,

-its major division, and

-the types of literature you’ll find in it.

THEMES

The primary theme of the Bible is the relationship between God and man. It’s a broken relationship. The authors of the various books address this in many ways. A couple of metaphors they use that I find particularly compelling are that of a marriage or a parent-child relationship. In these analogies, mankind is depicted as a cheating wife or a child who has run away to a destructive life. God is depicted as the faithful, loving husband or father who is reaching out to redeem, rescue and reconcile the one he loves.

God’s character is on display throughout the Bible. He is just and righteous, and his character is the foundation of morality. He also has great love and mercy. Fortunately, all of these traits are perfectly harmonized in God and shown to man in Jesus Christ. For those who have faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit works from within to recreate this character in them.

DIVISIONS

The major divisions of the Bible are the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament was written before the coming of Christ. It describes the fall of mankind into sin and God’s work to reconcile mankind to Himself with a focus on how this occurs in the formation (and eventual fall) of ancient Israel. The New Testament describes the coming of Christ and the establishment of the church, which is a fulfillment of the promises of God described in the Old Testament.

The major division of the Old Testament are

-history,

-writings, and

-prophets.

The historical books describe the history of man as a moral being, beginning with the fall into sin, and the God’s plan to save man worked out over time. As this plan unfolds, the history increasingly focuses on the Israelite kingdom. The writing are a set of poetic books. The prophets focus on a period of time leading to the ultimate decline of ancient Israel and predict the coming for Christ.

The New Testament can be roughly divided into

-the gospels, and

-the epistles.

The gospels describe the life of Christ and (in the related book of Acts) the establishment of the church. The epistles are message to the church that often deal with the practicalities of living the life Christ called his believers to live.

TYPES OF LITERATURE

The Bible is an assembly of many books, and there are many types of literature in each book. While the highly symbolic language of parts of the Bible get a lot of attention in some circles, most of it is written in a straightforward style. For instance, a lot of the Old Testament is historical narrative and a lot of the New Testament is letters from the apostles to the churches. Poetry is also commonly used. When reading the Bible, it’s important to know if the part your reading is a narration of events, a parable, a poem, or some other literary form.

The Holy Bible. New King James Version. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

The Joy of Supernatural Thinking by Bill Bright

Bright, Bill. The Joy of Supernatural Thinking. Colorado Springs, CO: Victor, 2005.

Through this book, Dr. Bill Bright, founder of Campus Crusade for Christ International, invites readers on a life of adventure. The adventure is greater than what any person could accomplish; it is living a life that can only be achieved with the power of God.

To Bright, supernatural thinking isn’t just positive thinking or dwelling on what is possible. It is thinking after God, imagining, planning and doing things for Him that would be impossible without him.

Supernatural thinking is also not esoteric thinking. It is instead seeking God and letting Him transform our minds and becoming informed about His plans for us. This may not be something that is common, but it should be within the grasp of every Christian. The Holy Spirit dwells in us and through Him we have the mind of Christ.

A life of supernatural thinking is one of great humility, though one empowered by God for great accomplishment. It begins with knowing God and submitting to Him. It continues with seeking His vision for your life. It involves abandoning reliance on human effort and adopting a perspective that includes the power of God to accomplish what He wills.

Supernatural thinking involves deeply trusting God and letting that deep trust, and the high expectations it engenders, influence the way we pray, our plans and the way we love others. It is a life of walking in the Spirit, trusting God, obeying Him and looking forward to the amazing results He will bring about. Supernatural thinking and supernatural results are only possible for those who are submitted to the lordship of Christ.




The book also includes an audio abridgement read by Mike Huckabee, at the time governor of Arkansas and more recently a candidate for the presidency. It is a nice quality audio CD that smoothly abridges the book.

Titus

Titus.  The Holy Bible.  New King James Version.  Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Like Timothy, Titus was a young pastor who traveled with and assisted the apostle Paul.  At the time of this letter, Titus was in Crete providing leadership for the church Paul had established there.

Titus was not only to serve as a pastor on Crete, he was to help build the church there so that he could return to aiding Paul’s missionary work.  He was a church planter.  Because of this, Paul’s advice and direction deals a lot with church leadership and conduct.

As in his some of his other letters, notably First Timothy, he give specific qualifications for church leaders.  Because good leadership begins at home, they were to have an orderly family life.  In addition, they were to have good character and a good reputation in the community.  Leaders were to serve as examples in conduct as well as be teachers of sound doctrine.

Good character should be typical throughout the church, especially in relationships.  Paul discusses how we are to treat each other as husbands and wives, parents and children, employers and workers, government authorities and citizens.

The grace of God doesn’t stop working with our salvation.  It continues in use, through the indwelling Holy Spirit, to help us be better people, more pure and more ready to receive Christ when He comes again, as we anxiously await.

Paul also wrote

Colossians

First Corinthians

First Timothy

Galatians

Philippians
Romans
Second Corinthians

Second Thessalonians

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Romans

Romans. The Holy Bible. New King James Version. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1982.


Paul wrote this letter to the church at Rome around A.D. 57 and expressed his desire to visit them. In the meantime, he gave them much to consider.

I think Romans is a very important book of the Bible, one that Christians would do well to read carefully. This is because Paul lays out the fullness of Christ’s atoning work and what it means for the way Christians can and should live more thoroughly than possibly any other single book. He also argues that Christ fulfilled the plan of God to reconcile with man that had been in the works from the beginning, drawing heavily on the Old Testament.

Paul may have been uniquely prepared to write this book. He was Jewish, a Pharisee, a zealot and, prior to his conversion, a persecutor of the church. (Paul talked and wrote about his early life and conversion regularly. A nice summary form his address to Agrippa in appears in the 26th chapter of Acts, though it is addressed elsewhere in Acts and his epistles.) Later, the leaders of the church appointed him to serve as a missionary to the Gentiles. Paul came to this letter steeped in the Jewish scripture and tradition, longing to see them experience salvation in Christ and he had, and committed to his calling to carry the Gospel to the Gentiles.

After the introductory matters, Paul lays out the foundations of Christianity going back to the Old Testament. A summary of the major points follow.

-The Universality of Sin. We’ve all sinned, done wrong, and deserve the judgment of God against us. Whether we’re a Jew, a Gentile, or anything else, we’re all in the same boat.

-The Primacy of Faith. From the start, or at least as early as Abraham, God has chosen to have mercy on people who have faith in Him, forgive their sins, and impart to them a righteousness (right standing, merit, or goodness) that wasn’t their own. This began before the law was given to Moses (in the example of Abraham), continued during the law’s seeming primacy (from the words of David), and was completed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, who bore the punishment of our sins and gives us a new life.

-Christ Enables Us to Live in a New Way. As Christians, we can and should live in new way that is characterized by honoring God, doing good, and eschewing sin. However, God doesn’t transform us in an instant; we struggle with sinful habits and new temptations and sometimes we lose. Even so, we can have confidence through our faith in the One who saved us. God chose to love us and adopt us as His own children. We are indwelled by the Holy Spirit, i.e. God lives in us, and He step-by-step quickens us in our new life. Chapter 8 digs into this issue and many believers can read this chapter repeatedly.

Paul them moves on to other issues. One is the unbelief of the Jewish people of his day. He had hoped that his people would respond to the Gospel.

As he approaches the end of his letter, Paul touches on many practical matters of the Christian life. The include service, character, citizenship, getting along, loving and helping each other.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
Acts
Genesis
The Gospels

Ephesians

Ephesians. The Holy Bible. New King James Version. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus from prison. Some think this letter may have been a circular intended for several churches because of the lack of personal greetings that are common in Paul’s other epistles. His theme is far from imprisonment. He writes of liberty, unity, and harmony.

In other letter, the apostle to the Gentiles addresses the error of some Jewish converts that one must convert to Judaism and keep the law and traditions of that religion as part of converting to Christianity. Paul reiterates that the law can only condemn sinful people who don’t keep in every regard; we are dependent on the grace of God, executed in Christ, if we want to be rescued from death and live a new life that is pleasing to God. Freedom from the law is not a license to behave immorally; it’s a new way of living where we are governed by love instead of rules and the Holy Spirit living in us empowers us to do good instead of all the evil things that previously enslaved us.

Because all Christians are partakers of the same grace, both Jews and Gentiles, the church should be unified. It is God’s plan that we should be in relationship with our fellows in Christ, helping each other, working together, and loving one another. There may be a distinction in Jewish heritage and history, but all Christians have the same faith whatever their background.

Grace and unity in the church should be characterized by harmonious relationships. Paul addresses how Christians related to each other and in this letter he specifically addresses marriage, family, and work relationships. In relationships, Christ is our model. The way he treats us, he held nothing back and even suffered a painful, humiliating death to rescue us, should inform the way we treat others, especially those who are under our authority or vulnerable because the don’t have the protectors in life that others may have. As we love others we should also respect others, especially those God has put in our lives for our provision, protection, and upbringing.

In a nutshell, the message of Ephesians is let love rule. This is the broken, partial, conditional, imperfect love that typifies human relationships. It is the perfect, pure love of God, love we can hardly understand. It is love we firs receive from God. God living in us makes us able to share this love with others. Paul doesn’t directly refer to Jesus’ statement that the brotherhood of believers would be recognized by their love for each other, but the notion runs through the letter.



Paul also wrote
First Corinthians
Galatians (216)
Romans
Second Corinthians

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
Deuteronomy
Genesis

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Colossians

Colossians. The Holy Bible. New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Paul wrote to the church at Colossae about the centrality of Christ in Christian faith and living.  This letter is a defense of the Gospel against other teachings, particularly Gnosticism.

In a few sentences, Paul reminds his readers of the who Christ is.  He is divine (1:15).  He is the creator (1:16-17).  He is the head of the church (1:18).  He reconciled us to God, atoning for our sins through his suffering and death on the cross (1:19-20).

As Christians, we have assurance of these beliefs from God by His Word, the Holy Spirit indwelling us, and the evidence of history.  Our salvation is a work of God, not of men or philosophies.

After recapitulating the Gospel and what it means for Christians, Paul moves on to warn against false teachers.  He describes those who would impose another system of philosophy or tradition as someone cheating Christians out of the fullness of what God has provided for them.

One of these philosophies is legalism.  Our nature makes us incapable of living up to a ethical standard imposed from the outside.  We cannot pretend our way to righteousness when our hearts rebel against it and God can see our hearts.  Similarly, not system of thought or philosophy or practice can make us right.

God takes another approach, making us anew and changing us from the inside.  He gives us a new heart.  It isn’t an instant change, as a brief observation of any Christian will attest.  What is instant is that the atoning work of Christ erases the indictments against our sin and His perfect rightness is attributed to us in God’s eyes, even if it is not worked out in practice yet.

Christianity is not a system of philosophy or practice, though there are beliefs common to all Christians.  Christianity is a new life in which God works in us to change our hearts and empower us to live in a new way.  Our new heart loves God and loves to do what is right, so as we grow we put away our old wicked habits (though it can seem painfully slow), and begin to do more and more what our new heart wants, live like Christ.

In Chapter 3 of his letter, Paul contrasts the old life with new life.  He encourages believers to embrace their new life even as they embraced the Gospel.  Both accomplished by the same faith (and both are ultimately the work of God, though we are by His grace participants in that work).

Paul also wrote

First Corinthians

Galatians

Philippians
Romans
Second Corinthians

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Life's Not Fair, but God is Good by Robert H. Schuller

You may remember Robert H. Schuller from the Hour of Power television program. He was a popular figure who attracted celebrities to appear on broadcasts of worship services from the Crystal Cathedral. He preached what you might call a gospel of positivity, making in consciously a successor to Norman Vincent Peale and in some sense a predecessor to Joel Osteen. The Crystal Cathedral and the Schullers have floundered after his passing. Life’s Not Fair, but God is Good was published in happier times for them.

Reading the book two decades after it was published gave me an opportunity to look back. One of the things that struck me is that Schuller wrote of the fall of the Soviet Union soon after it occurred. He had high hopes for Russia and the other countries shifting toward a more democratic form of government. He looked forward to flourishing Christianity, greater freedom, wealth, and opportunity for long oppressed people. I’m not sure what he would think of the current state of affairs, especially in Russia, but clearly fall short of the hopes he expressed.

The book also prompted me to recall the Hour of Power. A routine segment featured Schuller interviewing someone, recorded live before the congregation of his church. Though it is not mentioned, I suspect many of the interviews recounted in the book may have come from the show. These guests were often famous performers, athletes, and politicians. Others were people who overcame troubles of all sorts, handicaps, injuries, financial setbacks, abuse and losses. The common thread through these interviews was how people succeeded through faith in God’s grace, hope, positive outlook and persistence.

Speaking of themes, I should say something about the book. The title expresses the theme: Life’s Not Fair, but God is Good. Schuller concedes that sometimes life sucks. Bad things happen to everyone, and sometimes the worst things happen to those who seem to deserve it least. In spite of that, people can lead lives of purpose and joy because God is good. The Great Redeemer can man something beautiful out of the ugliness of life. Not only can He, He will.

I suppose the meat of the book is advice on how to live in the gap between the unfair circumstances we experience and the awesome goodness we can know even in the midst of them. In this, Schuller presents a mix of Christian philosophy and self-help positive thinking. We can’t always choose our circumstances, but we can choose our reactions. Schuller encourages hopeful, positive responses based on the acknowledgment of God’s goodness. Prayer, belief, gratitude, good works, humility, forgiveness, connection to others, generosity, patience, and vision are tools we have, or can develop, to be overcomers in the face of obstacles. We master these skills under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit as we get to know Christ better.

Robert H. Schuller also wrote Self-Love.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in

The 4:8 Principle by Tommy Newberry

Gratitude by Melody Beattie

I Declare by Joel Osteen

It’s Not About Me by Max Lucado

The Joy of Supernatural Thinking by Bill Bright

Just Say Thanks! by R. T. Kendall

Positive Imaging by Norman Vincent Peale

The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale

Quiet by Susan Cain

Stop Whining, Start Living by Dr. Laura

This Year I Will… by M. J. Ryan

You Can if You Think You Can by Norman Vincent Peale

Schuller, Robert H. Life’s Not Fair, but God is Good. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1991.

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Epistles

Most of the New Testament is epistles, or letters, sent from church leaders to the churches.  Most of these letters were written by Paul, which are collectively known as the Pauline Letters.  The other epistle writers are James, Peter, John, and Jude.

*

The church was growing rapidly and dispersed through the nations around the Mediterranean Sea.  Both in Jerusalem and in the churches founded by missionaries or Christians fleeing persecution, there was a need for sound teaching and a way to bind them together into the larger body of Christ.  The epistles served this purpose.

The epistles cover a lot of ground.  Some of them are fairly long and heavy on instruction.  Others are short, more newsy and encouraging.  Themes that I find recurring in the epistles are: a reiteration of the Gospel emphasizing the centrality of Christ, living as a Christian with character and good relationships, and words of warning and encouragement.

Reiterating the Gospel: The Centrality of Christ

The epistles repeatedly summarize the Gospel.  We have all sinned. Christ came to atone for our sins through His death on the Cross.  His righteousness is imputed to those who receive Him.  He was resurrected, as foretold, as proof of that He was Christ and as evidence of the resurrection we will experience.

The epistle-writers vigorously defended who they knew Christ to be.  He was God (he was divine, God-the-Son, a person of the godhead).  He was incarnated; God became flesh and lived as a human being.  He died on the cross, physically dying as a man.  He was resurrected, and that resurrection was a bodily restoration and transformation, not merely a spiritual continuance.

Christian Living: Character and Relationships

Now that these Christians were saved, what did it mean for the way they lived?  This is still an important question for Christians.   We are to abandon sin and do what is right, exhibiting a Christ-like character.  That character is typified by faith, self-control, humility, and especially love.

One of the toughest problems we face in life, and one of the most important, is our relationships.  The epistle-writers address how we are to relate to each other in church, marriage, family, work, and business.

Warning and Encouragement

The early church was beset by false teachers.  These people twisted the scripture to suit their own purposes.  It has not stopped.  These letters warn us to look out for falsehood and show us how to spot it.

Even more than this, though, these letters are full of encouragement.  We are not alone; God is with us always as the Holy Spirit indwells us.  Whatever trials, temptations, or opposition we face, we can live the life God has called us to in Christ.  Not only that, the difficulties we face in ourselves and around us in this sinful world will pass, and we will be resurrected to live forever in the perfect love and peace of God.

The epistles are:

Romans     1 Corinthians     2 Corinthians

Galatians     Ephesians     Philippians

Colossians     1 Thessalonians     2 Thessalonians

1 Timothy     2 Timothy     Titus

Philemon     Hebrews     James

1 Peter     2 Peter     1 John

2 John     3 John     Jude

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General Epistles

The General Epistles are so called because most are addressed to the entire church. This is in contrast to the Pauline Letters, which are typically addressed to particular people or congregation. They are sometimes referred to as the Catholic Letters, catholic in this case referring to universal or for everyone.

These letters were written by different people at different times with somewhat different intentions. Even so, some common themes can be found in these books. Some themes that I observed are

-the importance of the Gospel taught by the apostles, and a defense against false teachers,

-that Christians should imitate the love and character of Christ,

-that helping others is a particularly important way to of practically emulating Christ, and

-encouragement for Christians, especially those who are suffering or persecuted.

The Gospel

The Gospel was central to the teaching of the apostles, as it is central to the church today. The writings of the apostles particularly emphasized the deity of Jesus Christ, His death on the cross for the atonement of our sins, and His bodily resurrection from the grave as proof of who He was and the authority of His teachings. Even in that first generation, the church was beset with people who tried to alter, twist, or reimagine God’s Word, putting aside the truth to suit themselves and their own agendas. These authors defend the Gospel against false teachers.

Character

Salvation involves an amazing transformation. It is also just the beginning of a life walking with God. God’s Word works in our minds, and the Holy Spirit works in our heart, to change us so we are increasingly more like Christ. The authors of these letters encourage believers to embrace this process and actively imitate Christ. If a person belongs to God, their character will show it, and it will show more as they mature.

Helping Others

One of the most practical ways to show what Christ is like, and to imitate him, is to help other. The authors of these letters encourage Christians to help the widowed, orphaned, hungry, imprisoned and oppressed, especially if there is a fellow Christian in need.

Encouragement

People suffered in the First Century, even as they do today. Christians in those days sometimes faced active persecution. Even where they were tolerated, their new beliefs and behaviors sometimes brought them into painful conflict with family and friends. The writers of these letters encouraged them to stick with the truth. God is with them and will help them overcome. Often it is the character of believers, especially the way they behave in suffering, that is the testimony that touches the heart of a love-one or even a stranger in a way that eventually brings them to Christ.

The General Epistles are

-James,

-First and Second Peter,

-First, Second and Third John, and

-Jude.

If you’re interested in reading these books, you may also be interested in reading

Deuteronomy

Exodus

Genesis

The Gospels

Gospel of John

Hebrews

Leviticus

The Most Effective Organization in the U.S. by Robert A. Watson & Ben Brown

Pauline Letters

Proverbs

Epic by John Eldredge

Eldredge, John. Epic: The Story God is Telling. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2004.



Did you ever feel you were acting in a play or a character in a book? According to John Eldredge, you are a character in a story that is actually happening. The author and protagonist of that story is God.

The story begins with love and relationship before the beginning of time. God, the trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, existed and had perfect love and relationship within him. Most stories start somewhere in the middle; there are things that have gone on before that are in the background. Even the Bible starts at the beginning of humankind, but much has happened before humans come on the scene. Eldredge believes one of the wonderful things about God’s story is that we are invited to be part of a wonderful relationship that has already been going on for a long time.

Evil also enters the scene before man. The first fall is that of angels, and of a particular angel who pridefully attempts to usurp God’s place. This enemy of God became the enemy of men, too, and by deceiving the first couple, he introduced sin and evil to all of us. At the root of this is pride and the belief that God is not as good as he claims; we need to watch out for ourselves. We go off on our own and soon fall into all kinds of trouble.

Like all epic stories, this one has a hero. The hero is God, who rescues us from the destruction we have brought on ourselves. Jesus, God the Son, is the great hero and lover of humankind. He humbled himself, gave his all, suffered torture and death to save us.

Fortunately, this story also has a happily-ever-after ending. For those who respond to God’s loving rescue, there is an eternity even better than we can imagine. This story does not end with our spirits floating in the clouds as we sing hymns on an unending Sunday morning. God’s plan is for us to be perfect men and women (with spirits and bodies) reigning eternally with him over a perfect creation. The creation that was corrupted by sin will be restored to perfection, and God is calling us to live in that world with him.

So how do we live in this story? Eldredge suggests we keep three things in mind. First, there is more to this story than meets the eye. The world we cannot see is a bigger part of reality than the world we can see. Second, we are at war with a real enemy. He is the enemy of God and he is our enemy, too. Finally, we have important roles in this story. If we are to fulfill our roles, we must be alert and believe that what we do is important.

Galatians

Galatians. The Holy Bible. New King James Version. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

The church at Galatia was another founded among the Gentiles by Paul. The apostle kept up with the churches, revisiting and corresponding with them, and sent to them letters, like the one we call Galatians, to encourage and correct his fellow believers.

As with his other letters, Paul encouraged the church to stay true to the Gospel as they were taught by faithful messengers, firstly himself. There were people and sects who were trying to reshape Christianity in their own fashion. The same is true today. Paul defended the received faith.

The particular group active in Galatia are called Judaizers. They sought to institute Mosaic Law in the church, especially amongst the new Gentile believers. This included all manner of laws, ceremonies and traditions. The primary practice, symbolic of them all, was circumcision.

To strengthen their case, the Judaizers attempted to undermine Paul. Paul devoted part of his letter to defending his authority and teachings. The main point is this: Paul taught the same Gospel that the other apostles taught and he taught with the approval of the other apostles, though he did not necessarily need it. In addition, the point on circumcision in particular was long settled among the apostles.



As far as I know, advocates of circumcision for religious purpose aren’t active in or around the church today. There are major religions that have borrowed superficially from Christianity to build religions of laws that depart from the Gospel of grace. The Jehovah’s Witnesses and Latter Day Saints come to mind, though they both depart from orthodox Christianity on almost every major point. Even working within the church are those who teach some kind of law or ethic that binds men with hardly a meaningful mention of the liberating grace of God.

Paul sets up this contrast in his letter: law or grace. It depends on us or it depends on God. God’s law is perfect, as is His justice. Imperfect and sinful Christians can’t keep even a portion of the law and can’t compare to the spotless character of God. A person who looks to the law will only find himself condemned by it. The purpose of the law is to push us to the grace and mercy of God, which is revealed in full in Jesus Christ.

The hymn “Jesus Paid it All” sums up the idea of grace. Jesus fulfilled the law, so in Him, the faithful are no longer condemned by the law, but they are made righteous in God’s sight. In Jesus, we are remade as children of God and given God’s Spirit. As children and heirs of God’s, we are not bound, constrained, and coerced by laws. Instead, we are free to live a new life, quickened by a new Spirit, and having faith in the unshakable work of God and not our flimsy works under the law.

Though the Judaizers attempted to undermine Paul’s teaching as aberrant, he shows himself to be both true to the Gospel and a master of scripture. His arguments are substantially founded on exposition of the Old Testament.

Paul presents the question to the church. If we can trust God, having faith in Christ that He has worked out everything to save us from the destruction of sin and gave us a new life of liberty, why on Earth would we trust ourselves to somehow earn God’s approval by submitting ourselves to laws we don’t keep except though self-delusion? If we truly believe the Gospel, how could anything else turn our heads?

Paul also wrote
First Corinthians
Romans
Second Corinthians

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in
Acts
Genesis
The Gospels
The Pentateuch

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