Archive for May 2019

In keeping with the Bible reading plan we are using, the last days of each month are designated as “free days.” May 26-31 then are intended to allow you to catch up on reading you may have missed or to study passages more in depth that intrigued you during the first 25 days of the month. With…

2 Samuel 23-24, Psalm 118, Mark 16, Galatians 6 Galatians 6: Having so passionately warned the Galatians against legalism, Paul has now been helping them see that this gospel of grace and peace does by its very nature and power lead to a changed life. This “walking in the Spirit” he has exhorted them to follow. Now, in…

2 Samuel 22, Psalm 117, Mark 15:42-47, Galatians 5:13-26 Galatians 5:13-26: If we are set free from legalism, does this mean that the Christian has no responsibility to live a moral life? Not at all! There are two dangers frequently fallen into by the unwary. On the one side of the path is the ditch of legalism. Paul…

2 Samuel 20-21, Psalm 116, Mark 15:33-41, Galatians 5:1-12 Galatians 5:1-12: If – as Paul has been arguing – it is true that the gospel of grace and peace is the one true gospel, and the legalistic, ritualistic gospel of the false teachers in Galatia was heretical, how then do we ensure that we guard our “freedom” in…

2 Samuel 18-19, Psalm 115, Mark 15:16-32, Galatians 4:21-31 Galatians 4:21-31: Paul is continuing with his argument that the Old Testament teaches the gospel of grace and peace that he has been preaching to the Galatians. He makes one consistent argument through this section, and it comes with a compelling exhortation. The consistent argument is that the promise…

2 Samuel 16-17, Psalm 114, Mark 15:1-15, Galatians 4:1-20 Galatians 4:1-20: Paul’s concern that the Galatians are deserting the one true gospel for an entirely different, and false, gospel continues to animate his prose with passion and conviction. What are the characteristics of the true gospel? First, you are no longer a slave but God’s child. The gospel…

2 Samuel 14-15, Psalm 113, Mark 14:66-72, Galatians 3:15-29 Galatians 3:15-29: Paul is making the case that the way we are saved and grow as a Christian is through the power of Christ by his Spirit – the gospel at work in us as received through faith. This is a critically important lesson for us to understand: it…

2 Samuel 13, Psalm 112, Mark 14:53-65, Galatians 3:1-14 Galatians 3:1-14: Where does the power come to live for God? Is it through true grit, personal determination, clever human tactics – or is it the power of the Spirit received and accessed through faith? According to Paul, there is only one answer to that question!  Here are five…

2 Samuel 11-12, Psalm 111, Mark 14:43-52, Galatians 2 Galatians 2: Paul is continuing to establish his authority as a real apostle. He does it in the following ways – each of which allow us to put our trust in the authority of the Bible: First, Paul tells the story of his own visit to Jerusalem, making clear…

2 Samuel 8-10, Psalm 110, Mark 14:32-42, Galatians 1 Galatians 1: The church of Galatia was experiencing false teaching that had come to them under the guise of the authority of Jerusalem – men claiming to be sent “from James” – and were disturbing the faith of these Galatians. They were saying that you had…