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A Crisis in Antioch
Myron Augsburger’s book Caring Enough to Confront proves that confronting, when done biblically, is a virtuous act. When confronting Peter, Paul had the greater good of the church in mind. Accept the responsibility to care and confront, and to ...Read More
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Against the Law
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
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Appearances Can Be Deceiving
God’s law is good, but in itself cannot put the flesh to death because the problem is not simply that we do not obey the Lord but that we do not want to obey Him apart from the grace ...Read More
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Confidence and Boldness in Christ
The gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith in Christ Jesus alone is indeed good news because it assures us that God never rejects those who approach Him through His Son. He will forgive any sin, no matter how ...Read More
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Confrontation in Antioch
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
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Crucified with Christ
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
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Dead to the World or Alive?
Out of His great love for us, God warns His people against legalism and false religious practices because hoping in rules, astrology, and other false spiritualities only gives Satan and the flesh more influence over us. But when we pursue ...Read More
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False Brothers in Jerusalem
It is the duty of all believers, not just our pastors and other leaders, to contend for the faith. We must be especially wary of incremental steps to undermine biblical authority and the historic Christian faith. Denominations do not typically ...Read More
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False Teachers Accursed
Martin Luther’s comments on Galatians 1:8–9 illustrate Scripture’s relationship to tradition: “Here then is a plain text like a thunderbolt, wherein Paul subjects both himself and an angel from heaven, and all others, doctors, teachers, and ...Read More
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Fulfilling the Law
Martin Luther says the love that fulfills the Law is “to instruct him who goes astray, to comfort him that is afflicted, to raise up him that is weak, to help your neighbor by all means possible, to bear with ...Read More
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Guided by the law
Under the old covenant, the covenant community was enslaved to sin and, therefore, burdened by God’s law. In contrast, we live under the new covenant, the era in which God has poured out His Holy Spirit abundantly. If we ...Read More
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Israel at Mount Sinai
In Ephesians 2, Paul tell us that it is by grace that we have been saved through faith and that a gift of God. He also tells us that we are God’s workmanship, created in Him to do good ...Read More
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Jesus Our Cornerstone
Even believers are not immune to the temptation that calls us to treat the commands of God as ends in themselves. But God’s law is not in itself the end; rather, it always points us to Christ and is ...Read More
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Jesus Our Peace
God’s law defines what is pleasing to Him, so we must always seek to understand it and follow it in the power of the Spirit. Yet while the law tells us what is right and wrong and what we ...Read More
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Justification by Faith Alone
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
