CHRIST HAS MADE US FREE GALATIANS _HELEN POCOCK_ CHAPTER 5 CHRIST HAS MADE US FREE V1 We have freedom because Christ has made us free. Be certain that you remain free. You must not allow yourselves to become slaves again to the law. V2 Listen carefully to what I, Paul, tell you. Do not let any... [ Continue Reading ]
This verse is a brief statement about what Paul had already taught. Christ has already freed people from the law. The false teachers were trying to make the Christians in Galatia slaves to the law. But the Christians had the responsibility to remain free.... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul wanted to emphasise what he was writing in this section. If a man became a *Jew, someone *circumcised him. This was the mark that he was a *Jew. Most *Jews did not believe that Jesus Christ was God’s son. They did not believe that Jesus could forgive their *sins. They did not trust him. The Chr... [ Continue Reading ]
In 3:10, Paul explained why the *Jews had to obey all the laws.... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul has already explained that the laws themselves are not bad. But God accepts only the people who trust Jesus Christ. This is God’s kind gift, which is free. Nobody can earn his or her place in God’s family. The people who trust the laws are trying to earn their place in God’s family. They think... [ Continue Reading ]
The Holy Spirit lives inside all Christians. And he helps them to look forward to what God will do in the future. These good things come because Christians trust Jesus Christ. Christians already have a right relationship with God. But in the future, in heaven, there will be no *sin. So a Christian’s... [ Continue Reading ]
It is not important whether Christians were *Jews or *Gentiles. Christians have learned how much God loves them. So they should love other people in the way that God loves them. SOMEONE MADE YOU STOP V7 You were doing so well. But someone made you stop. They persuaded you not to obey the true wor... [ Continue Reading ]
In this verse, Paul used words that described a race. Sometimes people tried to push a runner onto a different track. This would cause him problems. And he would not be able to win the race. Paul often described the Christian life as a race (1 Corinthians 9:24-27; 1 Corinthians 9:2 Timothy 4:7). The... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul had spoken God’s words as he taught about Jesus Christ. The false teachers were not speaking God’s words when they taught about the law.... [ Continue Reading ]
Everyone knew how people made bread. A baker has a big bowl of flour. He adds a very small piece of yeast. He mixes in a lot of water. Then he leaves the mixture in a warm place before he bakes it. Yeast is a substance that people use in bread. It produces a lot of air when it is warm and wet. Each... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul had said many negative things in this letter. But in this verse, he was more confident about the Christians. They had learned the truth from Paul. And he believed that they would continue to believe the truth. The false teachers were not part of God’s family. There were probably several false t... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul taught that Jesus Christ forgives people’s *sins. Jesus died on a wooden cross. God punished him instead of us. Because of that, *Gentiles do not need to obey all the *Jewish laws (Acts 15:1-21). Many *Jews caused trouble for Paul because he taught about Jesus Christ. But some false teachers sa... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul was very angry with the false teachers. In some *Gentile religions, the male priests cut off their male sex parts. The *Jewish law did not allow any such behaviour. Paul was saying that the false teachers were very evil. Perhaps Paul meant that the false teachers were not part of God’s family.... [ Continue Reading ]
The Christians in Galatia were free. They did not have to obey all the *Jewish laws. But that was not an excuse for bad behaviour. Christians still have their own desires. We are not perfect yet, so we still *sin. But Romans 6:1-14 says that *sin no longer controls us. We can choose not to do wrong... [ Continue Reading ]
This law is in Leviticus 19:18. And Jesus taught about it in Luke 10:25-37. ‘Love other people’ was the basic purpose of all the *Jewish laws. If Christians behave in the right way, they will carry out the most important law.... [ Continue Reading ]
The false teachers had caused trouble in Galatia. As a result, the Christians were fighting and arguing with each other. The word ‘hurt’ means to bite. It also means to speak in a way that hurts a person. And ‘damage’ means to eat. These words describe the way that animals tear apart their food. The... [ Continue Reading ]
Christians are free from the law. They are not free to please themselves (verse 13). But they are free to obey the Holy Spirit. WHAT OUR NATURAL DESIRES PRODUCE V19 You can clearly see people’s natural desires by the way that they behave. They have sex with the wrong people. They do not consider s... [ Continue Reading ]
People *sin when they live by their own desires. These *sins are in 4 groups. (1) Sex *sins. God created sex. So it is a good thing. But it is right only between a man and his wife. All other sex is wrong. (2) *Sins about religion. The *Gentiles *worshipped false gods. The *Gentiles made *idols an... [ Continue Reading ]
Each of these qualities is part of God’s character. These qualities do not grow in our lives because we work hard. Instead, they are like the good fruit that a tree produces. They come, as we trust Jesus and grow in our relationship with him (John 15:1-17). The Holy Spirit brings these qualities in... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul had already explained how he had ‘died’ with Christ (2:20). Christians have God’s power to refuse their wrong desires. They can choose to obey the Holy Spirit. But this is often difficult (verse 17). Nobody can change immediately. In Colossians 3:5-10, Paul described how this actually happens.... [ Continue Reading ]
This verse may refer back to the problems in verse 15. But it is important for every Christian and every *church. The answer is to let the Holy Spirit control us. CIRCUMCISE ~ to cut off the loose skin from the end of the sex part of a man or a boy. For the Jews, it was the proof that a man agreed... [ Continue Reading ]