Posts that reference the book of Galatians

4 Keys to Faith

Last week, we discussed how to tackle life’s biggest problems through prayer, drawing on the power and presence of God in our daily lives. This week, let’s dive into the foundations of our spiritual journey: faith. Faith is the cornerstone of our relationship with God, and today we’ll explore four keys to faith that can help us build and strengthen our faith.

Faith begins with trusting God’s Promises

The first of our keys to faith is trusting God’s promises. The Bible is filled with assurances of God’s love, provision, and faithfulness. Consider Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

God’s promises are steadfast and true, even when our circumstances suggest otherwise. Abraham’s story in Genesis 15 is a powerful example. Despite his old age and Sarah’s barrenness, Abraham believed God’s promise of numerous descendants. His unwavering trust is a model for us.

We need to read and meditate on God’s promises in Scripture regularly. (We can’t trust them if we don’t know what they are.) Let those sink into your heart and mind. This key to faith will go a long way to reinforcing our trust in Him.

Obedience is the tangible expression of our faith

Obedience is a tangible expression of our faith. James 2:26 tells us, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” Our actions should reflect our trust in God and His commandments.

Noah’s story in Genesis 6-9 illustrates this beautifully. Despite never having seen rain, Noah built the ark in obedience to God’s command. His faith was demonstrated through his actions.

Take some inventory of your life. Where are the areas where you can align your actions more closely with God’s Word? Take small steps of obedience and watch how your faith grows.

Rely on the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is our helper, guiding us into all truth and strengthening our faith. Galatians 5:22-23 lists the fruit of the Spirit, including faithfulness. The Spirit empowers us to live out our faith in practical ways.

The early church in Acts relied heavily on the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Acts 4:31 records that after they prayed, “the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” Their reliance on the Spirit fueled their boldness and faith.

We tend to trudge along carrying an increasingly heavy burden in a barely discernible direction, determined to do it ourselves like we have to prove to God we can do it. That’s not faith. It may be pride, stubbornness, or even insanity, but it’s not faith.

Like so many things in our walk with Christ, the Holy Spirit is key to our faith. Cultivate a habit of seeking the Holy Spirit’s guidance through prayer and listening. Invite Him to strengthen your faith and lead you daily.

Persevere Through Trials

Faith is often forged in the fires of adversity. James 1:2-3 encourages us, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”

Job’s story is a profound example of perseverance. Despite losing everything, he declared, “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him” (Job 13:15). His unwavering faith amidst suffering is an inspiration.

Reflect on past trials and how God has been faithful through them. Use those experiences to bolster your faith in current or future challenges. Start a notebook to record these events or track them in your planner.

Faith is a journey, not a destination. It grows and deepens as we walk with God, trust His promises, obey His commands, rely on the Holy Spirit, and persevere through life’s trials. Embrace these keys to faith and watch how your relationship with God transforms.

The Mission

By Paula Wiseman

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:58

I read a survey recently that found over half of American workers are unhappy with their jobs. Not just low-wage jobs either. Almost 60% of workers earning in the $50,000 to $75,000 range were unhappy. The reasons for this are pure speculation at this point. Some suggest that economic pressures compel people to stay in a job they don’t like for fear of not finding another one. However, one analyst believes that the root of dissatisfaction is when workers feel disconnected from their mission.

I suspect it’s not much different in our Christian life. We are part of a vibrant body of believers, lavishly blessed by Almighty God, and yet, in our quietest moments, I’d conjecture many of us, maybe most of us, feel a level of dissatisfaction, and I wonder if it’s not because we’ve become disconnected from our mission.

Jesus stated our mission succinctly in Matthew 28:18-20. It boils down to two things – evangelism and discipleship. We bring people to Jesus and we help them learn and grow. You may have already guessed, a satisfying mission is not the same thing as an easy one. In fact, evangelism and discipleship are anything but easy. They require investing in the lives of others. They call for energy and prayerfulness. They require grace and perseverance.

Relationships

I understand the hesitation. I really do. I am a 100% introvert (Seriously. I took a test. 100%) and the thoughts of knocking on doors or striking up conversations with strangers are honestly terrifying. But asking people about their lives and letting them talk isn’t so bad. You learn their needs, their hopes, and fears. You learn how to serve with love and compassion. Building relationships with people is the first step to know how to pray for them.

Prayer

Praying for people, specifically, softens our hearts toward them. It deepens our compassion and we see more of God’s heart for them. It makes us more attuned to the areas where God is already at work as well. Prayer reminds us not go in our own strength or brilliance or persuasiveness, but to follow God’s lead. And be aware, that in many cases, one quick prayer isn’t enough.

Patience

If you remember, Jesus talked about how spreading the gospel was like planting a crop. You over-plant to make sure something comes up. There are long periods of time when it looks like nothing is happening. You can do a lot of work, but the results are largely out of your hands. But Paul reminds us that the only surefire way not to see results is to give up. (Galatians 6:9)

Granted, evangelism and discipleship take on many different forms and are accomplished through a host of methods, but when we lose sight of them, we falter and flounder as the body of Christ and as individual believers. Seeing people discover the overwhelming love of God in Jesus Christ, and then continue to be blown away by that reality, is the most satisfying, amazing experience apart from our own salvation. But if it is no longer our focus, our passion, our very reason for being, it is time for some re-evaluation. It is time to re-embrace our mission.

Peter’s Building Blocks: Love

By Paula Wiseman

But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 2 Peter 1:5-7

We’ve been through a lot of blocks
Each one challenging us,
Calling us to be more like Christ
In our actions and attitudes.

The final block is love.
The Greek is agape.
It is sacrificial love.
The 1 Corinthians 13 kind.

This love makes allowances for mistakes and weaknesses.
It is willing to face problems when they come.
It is affirming and loyal.

It is the virtue that sums up all the others (Col 3:14)
It is the goal of all Biblical instruction (1 Tim 1:5)
It is the most excellent way (1 Cor 12:31-13:13)

It is not hypocritical (Rom 12:9)
It builds up (1 Cor 8:1)
It serves others (Gal 5:13)

It is the love God showed to us.

He is Risen!

By Paula Wiseman

But [the angel] said to [the women], “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. Mark 16:6

This is an incredible moment – literally. Too extraordinary and improbable to be believed. Jesus told them. (Matthew 16:21, 17:23, 20:19). He had raised Lazarus a week or two before. But the women (and the rest of the disciples) go on, operating on their own understanding of how life works, how it has always worked. That’s about to change. Incredibly.

God graciously sends an angel to help the women understand what had happened. Let’s break down his message.

Do not be alarmed. – Our first response to drastic change and worldview shift is … stress and worry. Things are uncertain and no longer secure. But in this case, the change is the best thing ever.

You seek Jesus of Nazareth – The angel knew the mission the women were on. And they could be confident that this message was for them,

Who was crucified – He didn’t “swoon” or faint. He died. No one survived a Roman crucifixion.

He is risen! – Jesus is no longer dead. He has been raised by the power of God.

He is not here – This is a tomb, where dead people are. He is not dead, so He is not here.

See the place where they laid Him – You are not in the wrong tomb. Here’s is the place where you saw the body laid on Friday afternoon. Now the body is gone. Jesus isn’t just “spiritually” raised. He isn’t a ghost. His body has come back to life.

The Resurrection changes everything

We change from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant.
The payment for all our sins has been accepted.
Every word Jesus said is true.
We are reconciled to God
We are adopted into His family.
We have an inheritance and eternal life.
And so much more …

If you don’t believe He is risen …

Then you don’t believe the gospel. Paul preached the Resurrection, and he said if anyone preached anything different from what he had preached, that was another gospel, a false gospel. (2 Corinthians 11:4, Galatians 1:8-9)

Then you aren’t saved. Paul says in Romans 10:9, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” The Resurrection proves the sin debt is paid. You must believe that Jesus Christ’s death was for your sins and that He was raised, proving you are right with God.

You have no hope.

Paul walks through the logical implications if Christ is not risen from the dead.

And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up–if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.
1 Corinthians 15:14-19

Jesus Christ is risen, as He said. That is the theme of Acts and the Letters. It is the reason for the praise offered to Christ in the Revelation, praise He alone is worthy to receive.

Since that morning, the Resurrection has changed everyone who has believed it. The women. The disciples. Us.
We have hope. We have life, and we have a message to share.

Christmas with Paul: The Panacea

By Paula Wiseman

When we think of Christmas, we think of the gospels or maybe the Old Testament prophecies that told of Christ’s coming. This Christmas season let’s dig a little deeper and see what the Apostle Paul said about Christ’s birth. While Paul never wrote at length on the subject, he does tell us some things that are critical to understanding who Christ is and why He came. Galatians is one of Paul’s earliest letters. In it he tackles some major doctrines including Christology (who Christ is) and soteriology (what salvation is). Toward the end of the book, he explains Christ’s birth, His coming in the flesh, was the panacea, the cure-all, the solution, to our greatest problem.

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
Galatians 4:4-5

The Problem

Exclusion – Ever since that day in the Garden, when mankind, through Adam, rebelled against God’s most basic command, we have been excluded. It began as Adam and Eve were excluded from His presence in Eden. It continues to eternal exclusion from His presence in hell.

Edict – God decreed that anyone who ate of the tree in the center of the garden would die. (Gen. 2:17) Later, He reiterated the soul that sins, it shall die (Ezek. 18:4, 20). We are under a decree of death.

Enemies – Not only that, but because of our rebellion, we have made ourselves God’s enemies. (Col. 1:24, Romans 5:10).

To put it bluntly, we were hopeless. We can’t undo our sins. We can’t do enough good works to pay for them. Unless God Himself took action we had no way out of the mess we were in.

But God took action. Substitutionary atonement on a breathtaking scale.

The Panacea

Paul says God sent His Son. Better than His personal representative, because of the triune nature of God, He came Himself to do what we could not — to redeem those under the curse because of the law of God.

The punishment wasn’t erased, mind you. God’s justice was satisfied. His holiness and righteousness were maintained. The penalty was paid. We were set free.

And then it gets better.

So complete was God’s solution to our problem, His cure for situation, that He then adopted us into His family. Think of it. When felons are released from prison in our society, they are given the most meager resources to start anew. A few dollars. Perhaps a change of clothes. Maybe a bus ticket.

Not so with God! He opens His arms and welcomes us as lavishly as He welcomes His Son. We can respond like John: Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! (1 John 3:1).

Before we were even aware of our desperate state, Jesus worked out our redemption and salvation.

This panacea, though, would not be available if Christ had not been born of a woman, born at Christmas!

A Holy Priesthood: Obedient

By Paula Wiseman

Peter says believers are a holy priesthood (1 Peter 2:5), drawing parallels with the priesthood established under the Law. Peter packs a lot of information and theological truth in that one metaphor. So let’s take a few posts to break down what Peter wants us to understand. The first thing is God has cleansed us from our sin. We are specially clothed. We are anointed for service. As we serve, we must remain obedient.

Old Testament priests were expected to obey God’s commands

We don’t know how much time passed between the ordination and installation of the priests in Leviticus 8-9 and the beginning chapter 10, but it was relatively soon after. Moses records

Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. Then Moses said to Aaron, “It is what the LORD spoke, saying, ‘By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, And before all the people I will be honored.'” So Aaron, therefore, kept silent.
Leviticus 10:1-3

Nadab and Abihu were Aaron’s two oldest sons. In Exodus 24:1. They were privileged to be called to an intimate meeting in God’s presence with the elders of Israel on Mt. Sinai. They had been through extensive preparation for their roles just like Aaron their father had been. And they knew what was expected of them. In spite of that, they were disobedient and disrespectful. This was a capital offense. Aaron, even in his shock and grief, understood.

Later in the Old Testament, the prophets, especially Jeremiah and Ezekiel, denounce the priests who have completely abandoned the role and charge God entrusted them with. Consider these pronouncements in Ezekiel:

Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. … Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord GOD.
Ezekiel 22:26, 31

Obedience is the mark of believers

A follower of Christ is one who obeys His teachings and commands and imitates His life. It is preposterous to suggest we can believe Christ for salvation and then reject everything else He said. Hearing and doing are irrevocably tied together. At the end of Luke 6. Jesus tells a parable about a wise builder and a foolish builder. The key difference? The wise builder hears Jesus’s words and obeys them. Later in Luke 17, in a parable about a servanthood, Jesus tells His followers:

“So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’ ”
Luke 17:10

It is our duty to do what we have been commanded to do. And in the Great Commission, Jesus further says, we must teach new believers to obey His commands. The New Living Translation puts it simply.

Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:20

If we don’t obey, are we in danger of being consumed by fire? That’s the wrong question. We have a completely different motivation as believers. Paul explains (in one of my favorite verses) in Galatians

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Galatians 2:20

The life I now live is one of faith in Christ and constant recognition of what He has done for me. Obedience flows naturally from that. If we are struggling to obey, we need to revisit Christ’s sacrifice for us and what He saved us from.

Next up, we’ll begin looking at what we as believers do as part of a holy priesthood.