Christian Living / Controversies in the Church

  • The Revealer

    Psalm 119:105

    All of us have asked the question: What is God’s will for my life? This query is usually posed when we are selecting a vocation or spouse. Specific answers to these questions for each individual are not given in ...Read More

  • The Restrainer

    1 Timothy 1:8–10

    John Calvin says that those who obey our Father’s law only out of fear of punishment “are neither better nor more righteous before God” (Institutes, 2.7.10). Only Christians are able to please the Lord in the doing ...Read More

  • Against the Law

    Romans 3:31

    Perhaps it is better to say that new covenant believers ought never consider the Mosaic law alone. That is, we must view it through the lens of the “law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2). Jesus, when asked about the greatest ...Read More

  • The Goal of the Law

    Galatians 3:25–26

    Jesus Christ is the only one with the inherent right to be called the Son of God. In Him, however, we are adopted as children of God, and receive all the benefits that come with that status. May we take ...Read More

  • The Law as Guardian

    Galatians 3:23–24

    Paul’s main point in Galatians 3:23–26 is to explain the Law’s role in salvation history, but the pattern of preaching in the New Testament indicates that God’s law must play a similar role in our ...Read More

  • The Law and the Promises

    Galatians 3:21–22

    Christians are no longer under the curse of the Law (Gal. 3:13–14). Yet until we are glorified, the presence of sin within us clouds our minds, preventing us on many occasions from seeing the truth about our own ...Read More

  • One God, One People

    Galatians 3:19–20

    Our unity as the people of God testifies to the unity of our Lord. To see Christians living and working together in harmony is a powerful witness that all believers possess the same Holy Spirit and share a common purpose ...Read More

  • Abraham’s One Offspring

    Galatians 3:15–16

    Today’s passage reminds us that we receive the promised blessing of God not by genetics but through personal trust in the Messiah. Thus, the true children of Abraham are those who have faith — whether Jew or Gentile. In this ...Read More

  • Cursed on Our Behalf

    Galatians 3:13–14

    Martin Luther’s commentary on Galatians gives this pastoral advice: “So if sin vex you, and death terrify you, think that it is (as indeed it is) but an imagination and a false illusion of the devil. For there is ...Read More

  • Faith Versus Works

    Galatians 3:11–12

    John Calvin comments, “The contradiction between the law and faith lies in the matter of justification,” and so the law “has a method of justifying a man which is wholly at variance with faith.” It is not that we are ...Read More

  • The Curse of the Law

    Galatians 3:10

    Martin Luther comments on Galatians 2:17 that God’s law “requires perfect obedience unto God, and condemns all those who do not accomplish the same,” and on 3:10 he says that to follow God’s commandments is not ...Read More

  • The Gift of the Spirit

    Galatians 3:1–5

    Good works are not wholly absent from the Christian life. They do not earn God’s favor, but they do prove that we have faith (James 2:14–26). Martin Luther says good works “ought to be done not as ...Read More

  • Crucified with Christ

    Galatians 2:17–21

    Issues like the curse of the Law that were raised briefly today will have to wait a few days for more analysis. In closing, note that Galatians 2:19–20 reveals that being united to Christ means being crucified with ...Read More

  • Justification by Faith Alone

    Galatians 2:14–16

    Martin Luther’s commentary on today’s passage includes this nugget of wisdom: “God is honored in His Son. Whoever then believes that the Son is our mediator and Savior, he honors the Father, and him again does God honor ...Read More

  • Confrontation in Antioch

    Galatians 2:11–13

    The confrontation with Peter is an important segue for Paul to begin explaining the doctrine of justification, and we will consider it more tomorrow. Today, consider how Peter’s failure proves that “we are nothing with all our gifts be ...Read More