Tag: New Testament Studies

Father Abraham had many sons

In Galatians 3:6, Paul has taken us back to the example of Abraham, the ancestor of God’s people, to whom, through whom and in whom God’s covenant with his people was made.   He has demonstrated, as he will again when he writes to the Christians in Rome that Abraham was justified by faith. In other… Continue reading Father Abraham had many sons

Bewitched

Do you enjoy magic tricks?  Are you left amazed by how the magician manages to get the right card every time, pull the rabbit from a hat or make his assistant disappear. Of course, no one really thinks that it’s real magic. We know that the magician relies on slights of hand and diversion tactics… Continue reading Bewitched

Terms and conditions

Paul reminds the Galatians in chapter 3 of what they’ve seen, heard and received, They’ve seen the Gospel clearly presented, that Christ was crucified for them. They’ve received the Spirit.  They know that their new life in the Spirit is founded entirely on Christ’s crucifixion and has been received by faith. So how can they… Continue reading Terms and conditions

Exclusion

It is unlikely that we  are going to find ourselves in exactly the same boat as the Galatian church. The issue of circumcision is unlikely to come up in our churches.  So, what does the application of Galatians 2 have to do with us? I asked the question at our Life Group one evening and… Continue reading Exclusion

Infiltration

One big question that comes up as we read through Galatians is “How were the agitators able to be so successful?”  It seems that they had already managed to infiltrate the Jerusalem church quite significantly when Paul and Titus visited (2:1-10).  They also were able to get Peter to cooperate with them, even though it… Continue reading Infiltration

Saving Titus

One of the striking things in Galatians 2 is the pivotal role that Titus plays in the drama.  Titus is part of Paul’s team and he goes to Jerusalem with him. Paul tells us that Titus is not compelled to be circumcised.  We can skim read it as an incidental extra but actually, the point… Continue reading Saving Titus

Is Racism a Gospel issue?

This issue became controversial following the death of George Floyd and the resulting #BlackLivesMatter protests.  Quite a few churches sought to take the issue of racism and prejudice seriously  with pastors publicly repenting from sin.  Significant thought leaders such as Tim Keller had been arguing for some time that racism is a gospel issue.  Whilst,… Continue reading Is Racism a Gospel issue?

No U-Turn

In the musical, The Phantom of the Opera, towards the end, the Phantom makes his move to bring Christine fully under his power. He commits murders and then she removes his mask on stage exposing him.  He sings “Past the point of no return” arguing that there is now no going back, they are fully… Continue reading No U-Turn

Face to face

Would you draw a connection between who you had round for dinner and whether or not you really believed the Gospel?  Paul did. A look at the text: Read Galatians 2:11-14 When Paul had visited Jerusalem, he had found himself in agreement with Peter but at a later date, Peter had reason to visit the… Continue reading Face to face