A Glance at Galatians Pt 9

Pt 9 :: Church and fellowship.

This is my last post on Galatians and I just want to do a run through of what we have seen so far: 

The Galatians and Christians today have one true Gospel, a Gospel that should be guarded and proclaimed. Paul has a testimony of not only his conversion but also the work of Christ in his life - he is committed to proclaiming Jesus Christ as savour and Lord - and so should we. Paul is not afraid to show discipline and wants the church to take responsibility in guiding, rebuking and loving the members of the church. The heart beat of Galatians pump out the truth of who we are in Christ and what are identity is - who are we living for? What justifies us - our works or what Jesus did on the cross? The law cannot save us. So what do we need to do? We need to walk in the Spirit and focus on Christ so that we see Him as better then anything else. But the story isnt over, we are not individuals but we are apart of a body - what does this look like?

Paul opens chapter 6 with talking about sin (v1). What happens when someone sins today in the church? Two things happen:

1. We are shocked to think someone could do that - we are like the world with a magazine layout of a scandal that has exposures of the true story revealed - "SHOCKER, A Christian Sins..." ( 3 page spread inside)
2. We elevate ourselves - "I would never do that"...

Think of times when you have heard about someone sinning, what do you think? If your anything like me your mind goes to - "Thats terrible, I would never do that". instantly we have elevated ourselves, believing we are better then they are. But the problem is, is that we sin. And the answer isnt to get proud and self-rightouse, the answer is to "restore him in a spirit of gentleness". This is the mark of the church.

It is good and right to be serious about sin and pointing out sin in our lives and others in order to be restored and to repent. The idea is not to crush the person but to restore. I have seen many christians, including myself be very zealous about these things but instead of restoring the person or having Grace in a situation they crush the person and in themselves they are proud and thankful that they are not like that sinner. There is a lack of Grace here and the Church should be the place where Grace is most exercised.

Look at some of the attributes of the Church that Paul describes:

• Having a spirit of gentleness
• Bear one anothers burdens
• Not growing weary of doing good
• Do good to everyone

Imagine if we live like this not just on a Sunday, but everyday. Aiming to have our words dripping with Grace and in order to restore our brothers and sisters. Its good and right to rebuke sin, but not if its out of our proud and self rightousness - if it is, we will only destroy the person we are talking to and our hearts will just be hard.

We are sowers and what we sow we will reap. Therefore we need to sow in the spirit, sow in serving and loving in order to reap those things and to build up the church. The church isnt about you or your wants, its not about being the best at music or teaching or not sinning. The church is about Christ and about the other people around you. In light of it all, Galatians is anchored in what Christ did for the church on the cross in order that we may be an example of showing Grace and love to the body of Christ.

Thank you for reading some of my thoughts on Galatians, I know that there is so much more in Galatians to dig into but I think that would require more then 9 posts! I would encourage you to read through Galatians and see how amazing Jesus is and how He is using the church to shine this truth. 

You can read all of "A glance at Galatians" series below:

A Glance at Galatians:

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8

A Glance at Galatians Pt 8

Pt 8 :: First Start Walking

They say that 30 min walking a day is a good amount of exercise you need to be healthy. In Chapter 5:16 Paul tells us to walk, but for more then 30 min a day. He wants us to continue walking and to walk by the spirit. We have seen from 5v1 that Christ has set us free and now we are free to walk and once we start walking we wont start gratifying the desires of the flesh. Most of the time we think that if I just stop doing this sin, if I can just have enough strength to not do this again then I will be accepted by God, then I will be able to walk in the Spirit.

But this is BACKWARDS... look at the text:

"But I say, walk by the spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh" - (5v16)

What does Paul tell the Galatians that they must do first? Is it to not gratify the desires of the flesh? Is it to stop sinning in your strength, is it to muster up some amazing power to be perfect? No... He says, "walk by the spirit"... you first walk by the spirit, you first fix your eyes on Jesus, you first walk in His strength and His power, you taste the glory of Jesus and you see Him as better then anything in this world AND THEN... once you know Him and your walking in His ways and you are savouring Him, then you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

WHY? Paul goes on to tell us in 5v17 that the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit. There is a war here, they are opposed to each other. So we need to fight it...

But first we need to see Jesus. Then, fixing our eyes on Him as we walk through the day we will no longer have our eyes on ourselves. We will stop looking inward to our desires and start living for Jesus everyday. Paul talks about this alot in his letters, he wants Christians to stop looking at themselves and start looking at Jesus and keep focused on Him and then they will be able to continue through sufferings and trials and they will look at the things that tempt them or at the things the world strives for (career, money, sex, success, drink, house, cars, good schooling etc) and see all of that as rubbish compared to Christ. But we cant compare it all to Christ if we are not focused on Him, if we are not walking in His ways...

So you need to start walking in the spirit first...fix your eyes and your hopes on Jesus and see how He is better then the temptations in front of you and see how he helps you when struggling against the desires of the flesh.

A Glance at Galatians Pt 7

Pt 7 :: The Law, the Promise and the Faith

I once heard from a preacher that the best book ever written that explains the law is Galatians. Everytime I read it I am blown away by how clear it is about the function of the law and what Christ did. It helps me to understand the Old Testament and also the new. I wont go into details here but I want to show you how amazing Jesus is.

Chapter 3 starts with a rebuke - "O foolish Galatians", Paul did not mince words. Imagine saying that to your church, its just not PC. Paul didnt care, what was at stake here was important, he is arguing for justfication by faith, he wants Jesus to take credit and he uncovers this truth in 3 ways and then an exploding fourth -

- The Galatian Experience -Did they recieve the Gospel by faith or works? (v1-4)

- The life of Abraham - Was it his works or was it by faith? (v5-9)

- The law - Can the law justify us?(v10)

The conclusion that Paul draws to is that you dont need to look any further then to see that its by faith, the Galatians first heard by faith, Abraham believed in God and that was enough and all those that rely on works of the law are under a curse. We therefore need a fourth and its been preached before to Abraham - the Gospel. This is amazing, the plan of the cross was right there in the start and we get glimpses of this mystery in Genesis. Abraham knew that he couldnt rely on what he does for God, but he had to love God and trust him with all of his heart. And God promised him an offspring - which isnt a whole line of people, but this offspring is Jesus Christ, the promised one, the seed and all those that believe in Jesus become Abrahams offspring and recieve the promise of being heirs.

Why have the law? Galatians shows us that the law was given because of our transgressions. The law showed us how Holy God is and how we are sinners. The law was our guardian until Christ came (v24) and the promise was coming to all those that believed in Him.

Now in Jesus we are free. We are "in" Christ and therefore we are clothed in his righteousness and its only because of Jesus. We can never think that its about what we do that has obtained this, its only because of the Cross.

A Glance at Galatians Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

A Glance at Galatians Pt 6

Pt 6 :: I no longer live


This is an amazing verse:
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.


There is so much to unpack from these verses. But one I want to focus on is the bit where it says "I no longer live". Ponder this for a bit. What does this mean for you to no longer live? It doesn´t mean you have physically died. But it does mean your life has changed and has been put to death. I think about this concept of "I no longer live" and why I don´t live anymore? because "I have been crucified with Christ". My life is no longer about me, I am no longer Queen of the life of Cat. It means that my desires, hopes and dreams and character and all the old ways of how I lived have been Crucified with Christ. Think of this freedom!! no longer are we slaves to ourselves and our fleeting desires, or to the world that pumps into our heads ideas of the perfect life. We are now free in Jesus Christ. Which means a change of living and thinking.


I look back on my day and I think - how many times have I thought of "me" of my desires, of my wants and of my needs. The world I live is about me and there is problem here, there is a conflict with living like this and living in Christ. I can´t live like this and shine Jesus, the only person I will be showing is my sinful self. If I no longer live, then the world that revolves around me needs to be turned inside out to a world that is centered on Christ. I know this isnt something I can do by myself but I can keep looking at Jesus, I can keep looking at the cross and pray the God would remind me of who I am living for. I can look at the cross and say - I have died there with Christ, this is not who I am anymore.  Like this:

• When I think of complaining about my life because its not going my way.... I can look at the cross.
• When I think of not helping someone because I am too busy...I can look at the Cross
• When I think the temptation looks good and I want to sin... I can look at the cross
• When I think of not praying or reading my bible... I can look at the cross
• When I can´t be bothered to love some... I can look to the cross
• When I am too busy to talk to someone... I can look to the cross.

As a Christian I live a new life that doesnt revolve around me and my dreams.But its about the church and serving the church, its about my non Christian neighbour and helping at all times of the night, its about the student that I meet up with for a bible study, its about washing up, its about loving others, its about the homeless man on the street, its about the christian struggling in her faith, its about encouraging others, washing their feet, eating food with people,sharing the Gospel. Its about Jesus and what he wants with my life. Its not about my career, my promotion, my talk, my blog, my hunger, my "me" time, my shower, the way I think things should be run. Sometimes all of these things are to be crucified, we are to suffer our comfort for others. 
You hate hearing those words? They are hard. But think... What does it mean for you not to get your own way? for you to be crucified in Christ? For you to no longer live?

A Glance at Galatians Pt 5

Pt 5 :: Justified by what?

Galatians 2:15-21, I feel is the heart beat of Galatains. I can´t take my eyes off the significance of these words and how, if grasped, can change your life. Most of us wouldn´t call ourselves pharisees - those proud, harsh religious folk that just stay in their religious bubble and outwardly do what seems all the right things and not be involved in any secular things what so ever. Or maybe that sounds more like us then we think.

When you think of works, what do you think? We know that doing good works won´t justify you, we know that we are justified through faith in Jesus. Thats what Galatians says, but what does that mean? Does it mean we never do good works? But what about the law, im not a Jew therefore I am not under the law.

I think there is a twist in this. We are not under the law, infact if your a gentile - you were never under the law. But there is a tendancy to rely on our works then have faith in Jesus. You see, having faith and loving Jesus should from that flow abundant joy and good works - but those good works should not be what justifies us and what makes us proud.

Think about when you read your bible. How do you feel? You either feel very good with yourself for managing to make time to read it out of your busy day or you feel guilty because its been months since you last read it. And we think that these feelings affect our relationship with God. This is a danger that every Christian faces - we base our spirituality on what material things we do. When we hear others that don´t read their bibles, we start to put on our spiritual badge and remind ourselves..."well I get up at 5am everyday to read my bible..." Suddenly a spring of pride and bad attitude flows and we start looking more like that Pharisee, because infact the point of reading our bibles is to know Jesus more and to treasure him, not to gain points.

One of my favourite quotes from Relay 1 was :: "If you think that 5 quiet times in a row is excellant, then you need to compare it to Jesus on the Cross - which is better?" I think it puts everything into perspective and means that it is good and wonderful that we are justified because of Christ and because of having faith in Him and not by works or deeds, but because of Jesus. It means we stop looking at ourselves and stop asking ourselves how we feel, how are we doing, what good things am I doing, instead we can start focusing on the One that matters most.

A Glance at Galatians Pt 4

Pt 4 :: Discipline in the church and in Peru

How do we feel when we get told off? It feels like we are at school and the teacher writes in red pen in your note book "see me". *gulp*.
But what about in church? What does discipline look like in church? I think its very easy to switch off from this and not really see it as important. But something I have learnt is that there is discipline in the church in Peru and they take it seriously. I have heard of cases where people have done things like adultary or stealing etc have been made an example of in front of the whole church and been taken out of ministry. I wonder what your first reaction would be of that? I also wonder how you would classify which sins need to be most disciplined?

Sometimes we shy aware from discipline and say that we cannot judge the other person and therefore should not discipline them if they have sinned. But I wonder whether thats biblical? No im not saying that what peruvians do here is an example, but it made me realise how seriouse dicipline is here and how they view sin.

Have a look at Galatians 2:11-14. Paul openly in a letter tells of his rebuking of Peter. Why would Paul include this? I think Paul was showing his love for Peter and the use of discipline and that its good to discipline one another because he wants the church to live for Jesus and show the truth of the Gospel and he wants to encourage them to seek that in each other and sometimes that means rebuking and challenging one another.

Its hard though, especially when you live in a culture that says that you can do what ever you like, that you are King of your world and no one can tell you otherwise. But perhaps the truth is, is that the church needs to exercise discipline as well as Grace and this can only happen with a love for the people and a conviction of the word of God. I dont think its something to be feared nor should discipline occure without help provided, but there is discipline in the bible and God disciplines those whom he loves. But what would that look like in the church now?

I am just throwing out a lot of questions. Do come back to me on them!

A Glance at Galatians Pt 3

Pt 3 :: Remember the Poor

There is much to say about chapter 2 at the start. But there is one verse that strikes out to me:
v10 "Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do." Firstly Paul has been accepted by the other apostles - his testimony is true and the gospel he is sharing is real. There have been a lot of false teachers about, so you have to be careful! But right at the end, after accepting him they wanted him to remember the poor and Paul was eager to do this!

I have been reading a book on intrigual mission - putting the proclamation of the Gospel and the demonstration of the Gospel together. It means speaking and living the Gospel - action without words and words without action just don´t work. They work together as two blades that make a scissor. Some may think that all you have to do is just tell the Gospel and thats it or all you have to do is give someone a bottle of water and they will get it. But they wont. There has to be both.

But what of the poor? Have you ever noticed how God really cares for the poor and the widowed? (Zach 7:10, Amos 2, Isaiah 61:1 and more) Yet its easy for us to ignore them, its easy for us to pretend that they are not there. But its hard when its all around you, when you have slums on your doorstep or as walk down the street there are children asking for money. So what do you do? I dont have an answer, but I am thinking about the question a lot. I can´t give to everyone in Peru but equally I cant ignore them.

Why is it so difficult to reach out to them, not just with words of the Gospel but with love and compassion? Why doesnt it affect our hearts that there are people going hungry every night and even worse there are people that dont know Jesus. Sometimes our hearts can become very dull. And yet Paul is told to remember the poor. To remember the needy. What does this look like really, in Peru and in England?

A Glance at Galatians Pt 2

Pt 2 :: A True Testimony

In Galatians 1, Paul wants to make it certain that he has a true testimony and that the Gospel he preaches is the true Gospel. At the time there was a lot of false Gospel teachers around that were leading the Galatians astray and so its important that this is the true Gospel. So I am going to look at how he describes his testimony...

But firstly: When asked to do your testimony what is it normally about? I guess you. You (including me) say that I was like this, then I knew Christ and then I changed...I stopped this and this and no longer did this and I was full of Joy. Sometimes our testimonies can be more about how we saved ourselves rather then Christ saving us. But Pauls testimony is extreme and holds an interesting framework as well as a great hope.

Before he knew Christ, Paul has a lot to boast in, being a very zealous Jew! But he persecuted the church and was zealous for all the wrong things. He was going after righteousness through works when really Paul needed Grace. Like perhaps many of us before knowing Christ - we were running after the wrong things, thinking they would give us somethng that would fulfil us. But we are actually running the wrong way.
But something amazing happened to Paul that is apart of his testimony and yet he didnt do anything to deserve it nor did he do anything to recieve it.
In verse 1:15-17, Paul says that God did several things:

1. He set Paul apart before he was born
2. He called Paul by His Grace
3. God was pleased to reveal Jesus to Him
4. God commisioned him to preach among the Gentiles.

In many ways I find this is a rhythm to our testimony, that actually before we knew Christ we were zealous for the wrong things and then it was God that saved us, it was God that set us apart and called us by His Grace. It was God that was pleased to reveal Jesus to us and it was God that has told us to share Christ with everyone. Isn´t it amazing that God was pleased to reveal Jesus to us, considering all that we have done and do - he is pleased. We did nothing to change our lives around, it was all Christ.

I find that there is so much hope in this. That no matter how bad we were or cut off we were, infact it is God that brings us back and its not based on our merits or what we do! What Christ did on the Cross and what he is doing now in our lives is more powerful then what we were or are like or what Paul was like! It gives us hope that when we preach Christ and the true Gospel that it is God that changes lives and is pleased to reveal Christ!! We therefore need to keep looking at the Cross and keep reminding ourselves that our testimony is based on what Christ has done and not what we have done.

A glance at Galatians Pt 1

Looking through the lens...

Currently during my quiet times I have been going through Galatians, feasting on its richness and trying to absorb it in. Its difficult to be fed spiritually when you cant speak the language but its equally encouraging to read a letter like Galatians and know that there are some universal truths that will always remain. I am going to explore some of them with you and write up my thoughts and how it is helping me here. Its not going to be an indepth study, but its going to be a glance and hopefully a helpful one at that...

Pt 1 :: One True Gospel

How easy is it to desert Christ? When you think about it right now, its very easy to say that it would never happen. Right now, we can be sure that we would never desert Christ or follow a different Gospel, but what about tomorrow or next week when Christ doesnt seem to fit into my modern living or when God doesn´t feel so close - what happens to our heart? Is it a time where we turn to Christ or desert Him?

What I have noticed in Galatains is Pauls shock to how quickly they are deserting Christ (1v6). And the way they are deserting Him is by going to a different Gospel. Pauls message to the Galatains is very clear - there is only one true Gospel. If anyone preaches something different to this, they are accursed! (1v8-9) This is no fluffy language, Paul is hitting it between the eyes and is making it clear that the Gospel is true and precious. Nothing can match to it, but yet people want to distort it - some days I want to distort it. Why? Because some days the message of the Gospel has razor sharpe teeth and bites hard, it shows me all of my sin and cuts through my pride. The problem is, is that I want to rule the Gospel rather then let the Gospel rule my life, I want it distorted so that it pleases me and allows me to live an easier life. But the message is clear - there is only one true Gospel and it if we are to follow Christ then He must rule over us. IF we reject or change the Gospel then we reject Christ and we are accursed.

This makes me think alot. I have to be careful about what I say when talking about the Gospel through bible studies, teachings or working with students. I am held acountable with the words I use and I have to check myself - am I telling the true Gospel or a watered down, different Gospel? Not only do my words count but also my actions do. Am I telling the Gospel in love and Grace with a heart for the person and our relationship or because I see them as a project or to win evangelism points? Sometimes our actions can shout a different Gospel and this to is dangerious.

But the great thing about there being a one true Gospel is that we know what our foundation is, we know the truth in which we stand on and we can trust it. We can trust Jesus and while I am here in Peru where there is much distortion of the Gospel, especially in catholisim here, then I need to be sure what is real and what I can grasp hold of and pour my heart out with. Its very easy to get trapped and apathetic, but I dont want to do that because the one true Gospel is bringing good news to the lost and they so need to hear it here, they need that truth and security and to know the Love of Christ and how their sins can be forgiven. Paul was so right in expressing such hard language here, he knew how important and precious the Gospel is and how it needs to be treasured and how we need to warn our hearts against distorting it, because once we begin to distort it we start to move away from the hope we have to a complete darkness of superstition.