Daily Meditations on the Bible / We stand with Israel
Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.
Summary: Paul’s statement about circumcision seems a bit over the top. Fortunately, we have lots of context to help us understand Paul’s meaning.
Continue reading “Galatians 5:2 – Complications”Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Summary: Paul is working hard to help us understand our relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
Continue reading “Galatians 5:1b – Standing Firm”It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.
Summary: Understanding what Paul means by freedom is key to understanding what it means to be saved by faith in Jesus.
Continue reading “Galatians 5:1a – Children of the King”Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.
Summary: Freedom is not something that comes naturally to someone who was born into slavery.
Continue reading “Galatians 4:31 – Live Free”“Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”
Summary: Sarah’s demand that Abraham “get rid of” Hagar and Ishmael puts Abraham in a tough spot.
Continue reading “Galatians 4:30b – Two Paths”But what does Scripture say?
Summary: Paul’s statement about Scripture points us to an important truth. God arranged for us to have Scripture for a reason.
Continue reading “Galatians 4:30a – Checking In With God”At that time the son born according to the flesh persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now.
Summary: In this passage, Paul gives us a timeless insight into the human condition.
Continue reading “Galatians 4:29 – Flesh Versus Spirit”Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise.
Summary: Paul has been using Sarah and Hagar as examples of faith and works. Abraham had faith, but Sarah wanted to rely on works. Faith worked out better.
Continue reading “Galatians 4:28 – The Child of Promise”For it is written:
“Be glad, barren woman,
you who never bore a child;
shout for joy and cry aloud,
you who were never in labor;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
than of her who has a husband.”
Summary: The passage from Isaiah describes the miracle of a woman who has no children finding herself blessed with an abundance of children.
Continue reading “Galatians 4:27 – A Portrait of Two Women”But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.
Summary: Paul’s reference to a “Jerusalem that is above” is a bit obscure. To understand what he is talking about we have to explore the rest of God’s Word.
Continue reading “Galatians 4:26 – The Jerusalem Above”