… and gave himself for me.
Summary: Knowing that Jesus gave himself for us only has meaning if we know we need him.
Continue reading “Galatians 2:20g – The Cold Light of Day”Galatians 2:20e – Living by Faith
I live by faith in the Son of God …
Summary: Paul sets an example for us when he lives by faith in Jesus.
Continue reading “Galatians 2:20e – Living by Faith”Galatians 2:20d – Hand and Glove
The life I now live in the body …
Summary: Paul is acutely aware of how his life has changed after encountering Jesus. In today’s passage he begins to describe the difference.
Continue reading “Galatians 2:20d – Hand and Glove”Galatians 2:20b – The Definition of Evil
… 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”Galatians 2:19b – Living for God
… 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”Galatians 2:19 – Old Laws and New
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 The old covenant law is obsolete, and the “new law” is to trust in Jesus.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”Galatians 2:17 – Crime and Punishment
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”Galatians 2:16b – Innocent Before God
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”Galatians 2:16a – Challenge Course
[“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”Galatians 2:14c – The Wrong Club
“You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?”
Summary: Deciphering what Paul is saying to Peter and his companions requires an understanding of past covenants made by God for man.
Continue reading “Galatians 2:14c – The Wrong Club”