If you’re a believer, you should know the Ten Commandments. You should have them committed to memory. You should know them well enough that you can rehearse them easily and quickly. At the end of this post I’ll give you a shortcut method for learning them so you can recite what is the summary of […]
In verses 1-5 of Chapter 3 Paul argued for the truth of the gospel based on the experience of the Galatians when he originally preached to them; i.e., they believed and received the Spirit before anyone told them they had to keep the Law to be saved. Beginning in verse 6 Paul makes the case […]
Paul moves from discussing his own experience and justifying his credentials to reminding the Galatians of what they heard and believed when he was with them. He asks them about their experience with the gospel and how that affects their theology today. He makes it very clear to them that he is horrified and incredulous […]
Justification is an instantaneous legal act of God in which He thinks of our sins as forgiven and Christ’s righteousness as belonging to us, and declares us to be righteous in His sight. A right understanding of justification is absolutely crucial to the whole Christian faith. Once Martin Luther realized the truth of justification by […]
Paul ends the autobiographical section of the letter and the defense of his ministry with a story about confronting Peter. The purpose of telling the Galatians about this event is to demonstrate again the freedom that is theirs in the gospel and also to demonstrate for a final time his independence from and equality with […]
Paul continues to defend his message from the criticism of the false teachers – criticism that says he is a second-rate apostle who simply distorts the gospel he was given by the real apostles in Jerusalem. He has already told the Galatians that during the first years after his conversion he spent very little time […]
A little over a month ago, my daughter Lucy – 17 years old, junior in high school – had a big decision to make. The decision wasn’t life-altering, but it was big at this point in her life. And like many decisions, the way forward wasn’t clear at all. It wasn’t a moral choice where […]
This is a series of excerpts from a book called Edwards on the Christian Life by Dane C. Ortlund. Specifically, the words below come from a chapter entitled “Pilgrimage – the Flavor of the Christian Life.” I think they have some resonance for the times we’re living in and pass them along for your encouragement […]
This song goes out to all the hard working men and women who have always considered their office or plant or school someplace they HAD to go but suddenly find that it’s now a place they’d really LIKE to go. If this describes you, then maybe you should send this song out to your place […]
This song is dedicated to all the Spring Breakers who’ve had their travel plans canceled by the virus crisis. Here’s to you from the Beach Boys… Aruba, Jamaica, oh I just can’t take yaTo Bermuda, Bahama, stay home pretty mamaKey Largo, Montego, not places that we go… All the way from Wuhan, there’s a place […]
