Daily Meditations on the Bible / We stand with Israel
… and I no longer live,
Summary: Understanding Paul’s meaning requires what the psychologists call “active listening.” We must expand our thinking to engage Paul’s mind and vision for what he means.
Continue reading “Galatians 2:20b – The Definition of Evil”I have been crucified with Christ …
Summary: When Paul says he has been “crucified with Christ,” he is speaking metaphorically.
Continue reading “Galatians 2:20a – Crucified with Christ”… so that I might live for God.
Summary: It turns out that dying to the law and living for God are related. We also discover an interesting relationship between self-interest and the law.
Continue reading “Galatians 2:19b – Living for God”“For through the law I died to the law …”
Summary: The complexities of Paul’s logic can be difficult to follow. Here, we explore the meanings of life and death and how they relate to the laws of the old covenant.
Continue reading “Galatians 2:19a – Walking Away”If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker.
Summary: Keep up with Paul can be a challenge. In this passage he reflects on his personal journey with God’s law. The old covenant law is obsolete, and the “new law” is to trust in Jesus. If we try to mix the old with the new, we end up breaking the new law.
Continue reading “Galatians 2:19 – Old Laws and New”But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not!
Summary: Paul tackles a legalistic conundrum as only Paul can. He lassos it, hogties it, and then throws it in our faces demanding that we confront his argument head-on.
Continue reading “Galatians 2:17 – Crime and Punishment”So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.
Summary: In this passage Paul outlines the basic challenge that confronts all humanity. Who do we trust? Ourselves or our Lord?
Continue reading “Galatians 2:16b – Innocent Before God”[“We who are Jews by birth] … know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.”
Summary: The Jews that Paul refers to are not a homogeneous group. They are, for the most part, people who have stumbled over the “stumbling stone (Romans 9:32).
Continue reading “Galatians 2:16a – Challenge Course”Love never fails.
Summary: If Valentine’s Day is about being with someone who loves you, there is no one better to be mindful of than our Father in heaven.
Continue reading “1 Corinthians 13:8a – Happy Valentine’s Day”“We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles …”
Summary: Paul is striving to explain to the Galatians why it is dangerous to pretend that we can win God’s favor by something as simple as circumcision.
Continue reading “Galatians 2:15 – The Godly Goal”