Paul’s message to those who pervert the gospel was clear. They could go to hell. Twice he wrote, “Let him be eternally condemned!” Galatians 2:8-9. That was Jesus’ view too. “You snakes! You vipers!” he yelled in Matthew 23:33, “How will you escape being condemned to hell?” And who was he yelling at? “The teachers [...]
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“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” Paul wrote in Romans 10:15, to describe those who preach the gospel. To Paul, a preacher who could show just how good the gospel is was a joy to watch in action, like watching a brilliant ballet dancer or gymnast and the amazing way [...]
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It is God’s wish to reach everyone with the gospel message, and he’s gone to great lengths to make it possible. He gave us a conscience that lights up when the true gospel is preached ((2 Corinthians 4:2), and he pours out his Spirit all over the world to enable us humans to understand truth [...]
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If a person doesn’t believe, is that it – no belief equals no salvation? It appears that way in Romans 10:9, which says, “if you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Does that mean if a person doesn’t [...]
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The Galatians heard the right gospel and miracles started happening in their lives, and obvious miracles they couldn’t deny. But then they started “turning to a different gospel,” Galatians 1:4, a wrong gospel based on their own efforts (3:3), not the miracles of the Spirit (3:5). And why was that? Because, chapter 1:7, “some people are [...]
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“You were running a good race,” Paul writes in Galatians 5:7. And why were they running so well? Because, verse 16, they were trusting the Spirit to replace their sinful nature with Christ’s nature (see parts 4 and 5). But then Paul writes in verse 8, “Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the [...]
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When we hear the right gospel and believe it, the Spirit begins to work miracles in us. What miracles? Galatians 5:3, “by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope.” The Spirit works the miracle of righteousness in us. And it’s a miracle because we can only “hope” for it [...]
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When the Galatians began slipping back to trying to attain their goal by human effort (Galatians 3:3), Paul asked them in verse 5, “Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?” Answer? God gave his Spirit when they believed what [...]
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In part 2, Christ died to remove the curse of us depending on our own strength. And when a person believes that, something remarkable happens. It’s in Galatians 3:14. ”He (Christ) redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive [...]
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Paul asks an amazing question in Galatians 3:5, amazing for two reasons: first, because he’s talking about real, live miracles happening to people, and secondly, because the people he’s talking to know these miracles are happening. And the question was this: When God gives you the Spirit and works miracles among you, is it because [...]
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