zealous for the right reasons

Galatians 4:8-20

The key words are: slaves, zealous. Paul uses family language throughout this passage: brothers and sisters, my dear children. He does this to remind them of their connection to him - he is their spiritual father. Paul reminds them of their history: how he was sick and they did not despise him for it but were so excited to see him that they would have torn out their own eyes to see Paul get better (perhaps a hint that Paul has eye problems). Paul wants the Galatians to have this kind of zealousness but only if it is for the right things. Now they have become zealous about the Judaizer's teaching. This perplexes Paul because they have tasted the freedom that comes from the true gospel of Christ and he cannot understand why they would go back to their former ways.
Paul feels for his brothers and sisters. He compares the pain he has for them to the pain of childbirth (not sure that he would know what that was actually like...). There are times when I genuinely hurt for my students and my volunteers. When I see what they are going through - sometimes pain caused by their own choices, sometimes pain caused by another person's choice - it physically hurts and tears come to my eyes. Those are my good moments. My bad moments are when I am so consumed by the program and my checklist of things that need to get done that I come down on, rather than come along side of, those that are hurting. Jesus, I need you to soften my heart. Remind me that it is your children who matter, not my programs or agenda. Help me to see people through your eyes and to have your heart for them. I think I'm ready to have this prayer answered.

adoption

Galatians 4:1-7

The key words: slaves, guardians, law, adoption, sons, children, heirs. Paul uses a word picture of a guardian or trustee of an heir. When the child is young, the guardian or trustee acts like the boss of the child even though the child is the boss (or will be someday). As the child gets older, he assumes the role of the son or the heir - he has legal standing. This is complicated in an adoption situation but "adoption to sonship" is a legal term signifying that the adopted child has full legal standing as the heir. Paul compares this to us: even though we are people created in the image of God, we are not much better than slaves under the law (the law acts as our tutor or guardian) but Jesus came to set us free and allow us to become full heirs of the kingdom of heaven.
There's a lot to unpack in these verses. I think verse seven stands out to me the most: I am not a slave but a child of God and, as his child, an heir. I don't think I understand the deep intimacy that I can have with God - the previous verse says that I have the Spirit who, with deep emotion (the same word is used for Jesus' cry on the cross) cries "Abba". I don't think I understand that. I don't think I've felt the emotional reality of being a child of God. The problem is that if I haven't, then I don't know that I can mentor my students in that direction.

sexist, but at least we're not racist

Galatians 3:26-29

The key words are: faith, Abraham's seed, heirs. Paul uses a list of comparisons: Jew and Gentile, slave and free, male and female. He also uses a word picture of putting on Jesus like you put on clothes. His point is that in Jesus, we are all children of God equally and share in the promise equally - no matter our racial heritage, our economic status or our gender. In Jesus we are not only equal we are all the same - we are one; made from one blood and redeemed by one blood.
I wanted to get on my soap box in regard to the gender issue. I wanted to point out that we have no problem (generally, almost exclusively) in the Church saying that it doesn't matter what race you are - you are accepted in Christ and have full participation in the body of Christ. We have no problem (again, almost exclusively) saying that it doesn't matter what economic status you have that in Christ we are equal and have full participation in the body of Christ. We have no problem... o, wait! Apparently when it comes to gender, at least in North American Evangelicalism, we do have a problem. Sure, it doesn't matter what gender you are - you are accepted in Christ and can have full participation in the Body of Christ as long as it doesn't involve women in positions of teaching or authority over a man. I wanted to point that out but I also have to point at myself: where do I show favouritism, sexism, racism, snobbery, etc? Where do I set up segregation and hierarchy in the Body of Christ? I know that I am drawn to the "in crowd", to the popular, the athletic and the good looking. I make it seem that only those have full participation in the youth ministry (and, by default, in the Body of Christ). "there is no difference... for all have sinned... and all are justified freely." (Romans 3:22-24)

in the custody of the law

Galatians 3:21-25

The key words are: law and faith (both repeated several times) and custody or supervision. The TNIV translation makes it sound like Paul is comparing the law to being in jail: the law kept us confined to keep us from being too unrighteous. When Christ came, custody was handed over to him and we experienced a new freedom in faith. The cultural comparison is to a tutor (that's not quite the right word, I don't think) who is placed in charge of a child until he comes of age. This tutor was generally quite strict, charged with the task of preparing the child for adulthood. This meant that there were generally lots of rules, lots of tasks to be accomplished, etc. When Christ comes, he frees us from the custody of the tutor and all his rules and tasks.
So who am I more like - the tutor or Jesus? Am I adding rules and tasks to people's faith or am I helping them find the freedom of being declared just by faith in Jesus? Am I promoting the old law of trying to achieve God's favour through ceremony and living by the rules or am I promoting the new law of love: Love God with all you have and are, love your neighbour as yourself and that's it!? I know my tendency - it's to control and force conformation, not to set free. God, help me to reflect the character of your Son and the message of the gospel in everything I do and say.

plant a seed

Galatians 3:15-21

The key words of this passage are: covenant, law, seed(s), promise. Paul's argument is that the the promise given to Abraham is not dependent on the law, nor is it done away with by the law. The law was given to contain (not sure that's the best word but I couldn't think of another) or restrain (is that any better?) sin until the promise was fulfilled. He bases his argument on one letter, saying that Abraham was promised seed not seeds and therefore the promise is about Jesus not about all his descendants. This seems like shaky hermeneutics based on our present use of the word seed (a seed package doesn't just have one seed in it, we seem to use seed and seeds interchangeable to speak of the plural).
Paul remains adamant that righteousness is not achieved by doing works or keeping the law. This week I'm listening to Bruxy Cavey speak all about how the gospel is the good news message that God became one of us to show us God's love, save us from sin and destroy religion. This is Paul's message: we don't need the temple rituals, we don't need the law, we don't need religious practices because Jesus is the mediator between us and God (implying that it is not the church, it is not our religious practices, it is not the temple sacrificial system, it is not the law). When I add religion, I am one of the hypocrites and Pharisees that Jesus challenged and spoke against so often. God, I repent of falling in love with my structures and rituals rather than growing in my love and experience of Jesus. Please save me from my tendency to worship forms rather than the substance.

father abraham had many sons and I am one of them

Galatians 3:7-14

The kye words are: justified, law, faith, curse, blessing. Paul's point is that those who are relying on observing the law to achieve righteouseness are under a curse: no one can keep the law entirely and if you don't keep the enitre law, you are under a curse. The only way to achieve righteousness is by faith in Jesus Christ. This is possible becasue Jesus took the curse when he hung on the cross. Soe the curse has been removed by Jesus and if we accept that by fiath, we are delcared righteous.
Paul also points out that this blessing had been promised through Abraham and that through faith we are all the heirs of his blessing.
I think it is so neat to see how God has unfolded his plan from the very beginning of time. I really get excited because it causes me to look forward and wonder how God will continue to unfold his plan. I know that some peopel think they have it all figured out (the "left behind serious" for expample), but I am pretty sure that God will take us all by suprorise just like he did the first time! Then we'll look back and see how it all fits togheter and stand in awe once again! Paul is hitting on the same point agian: that we are justified by fiath in Jesus alone and that we must not add anything to that message. So, the lesson I have been learning all along is reinforced: I must not use the message of Jesus to manipulate my students, I must must not use it to advance my one agenda. I must speak and live grace.

Interpretting Scripture with Paul

Galatians 3:1-6

Paul contrasts the faith and the Spirit with observing the law. He uses rhetorical questions as a device to get his point across. He equates observing the law with human effort. His point is that it is foolish to accept new life by faith but then try to achieve that new life by works (observing the law). The message that Paul received from Jesus and passed on to the Galatians is that we are made righteous by faith in the finished work of Jesus (his death and resurrection). Period.
I wonder if Paul is using the word "foolish" in the OT sense of being morally bankrupt? If so, he is saying that it is morally bankrupt to try to achieve acceptance from God through the things that we do. That is so much stronger than just saying that we are stupid for trying. It flies in the face of what God intended for our lives so by trying to achieve his acceptance through works we are in rebellion against God and insult him: what you did on the cross is not enough - i have to add my own part to it.
I also find it interesting that Paul appeals to Abraham to prove his point. James also appeals to this exact same phrase from Abraham's story to prove his point that faith without works is useless. It is intriguing to me that the Spirit could inspire two different people to use the same phrase to prove what seems like opposing points of view. This means that there must be a bigger picture; maybe it's not "either Paul or James" but "both Paul's and James'" point of view.
If I lived in Paul's day, I would probably have been a Judaizer (if not just a straight up Pharisee). I love structure and rules and I love to build structure around my faith. The problem is that I also love to impose structure on other people as well. God, please forgive me for placing unnecessary burdens on the people around me. Please help me to distill the message of Jesus to its purest form: you are accepted by God in Christ - out gratitude and love for him, I obey. Please help me not to get that backwards: I obey to gain acceptance by God, out of gratitude for my works, you accept me. It sounds absurd when I say it out loud but you know that this is how I live so often. Please forgive me.

It's not my life

Galatians 2:17-21

The key ideas are: death and life, law and righteousness. The main argument that Paul is making is that the law makes the Jews aware of their sin - it does not provide righteousness. Christ provides righteousness as a person dies to himself and allows Christ to live in him. If there is anything else, besides faith in Jesus, that makes a person righteous, then Christ died for nothing.
I don't really understand v. 18 and in typical NIV Study Bible fashion, the notes don't have anything to say about that verse (they never have anything to say about the tough to understand or the controversial verses!). The two phrases, or ideas, that stand out to me are: 1) that I no longer live but Christ lives in me. I know what this means in terms of salvation but beyond that, it means that my life does not belong to me. My life belongs to Christ. I have surrendered it to him to use for his glory and his kingdom (I obviously don't live out the reality of that surrender 100% - or even 50% probably - but it is true nonetheless). This means every decision I face, every temptation that comes my way, every word that I say has to be evaluated in light of Jesus. 2) that if I add any legal requirements to the gospel message I am voiding the message and the death of Jesus. The good news message of Jesus is that we don't need to keep religious law or even perform any sort of religous practice to be accepted by God. It is simply through faith. Anything else makes salvation achievable by works which nullifies Christ's death. God, help me to live by faith alone, to speak of grace alone and to demonstrate your grace in the way that I accept people.

confronting Peter

Galatians 2:11-16

The key words are: Jew and Gentile, law and faith, justified. Paul compares Judaic Christianity to the message of freedom that he preaches; even relating an incident where he confronted Peter for siding with the Judaizers out of fear. Paul's point to Peter is that we are not justified by following the law but by faith in Jesus Christ. I think there is a secondary point that Paul is making to his audience: Paul is at least equal to Peter in the authourity that God has granted him to grow the Church of Christ (as evidenced by Paul confronting Peter publicly).
What I notice from this passage is the transformation the gospel had in Peter - he strikes me as an impulsive person but one who could be a bit hard core when it comes to the Law. This is seen in Acts when he refuses to eat "unclean" animals. Paul points out that Peter is no longer living like a Jew but like a Gentile. This means that Peter's understanding of the message of Jesus has completely changed his view on what is necessary to achieve justification.
The other thing I notice is Peter's humility. We don't read of any split in the Church happening because of this confrontation (which means that Paul must also have been humble in the way that he approached it - although his words sound pretty harsh) so Peter must have heard what Paul said, recognized the truth of it and changed. I know that when someone confronts me, my default is defensive (which quickly moves to offensive). This ministry is not about me. My life is not about me. Everything I do is supposed to be about bringing glory to God. If I can remember that, then I can listen to criticism because I might learn something I could do to better bring glory to God and seek his kingdom.

divide and conquer?

Galatians 2:6-10

People having authourity are mentioned a few times in this passage: those who seemed to be important (v. 6), those reputed to be pillars (v. 9) and those who seemed to be leaders (v. 2). All of these references are to James, Peter and John - the leaders of the Jerusalem church. These leaders welcomed Paul and Barnabas into their fellowship, seemingly recognizing Paul's own authourity to lead.
Another key word is "circumcised" - the NIV translates it Jews. This is going to be the core conflict that Paul deals with: do Gentile believers need to be circumcised?
To sum up this passage in my own words: Paul and Barnabas went to Jerusalem to see the leaders of the church there. The leaders in Jerusalem recognized Paul's authourity to take the gospel to the Gentiles and did not demand that any Jewish law be added to the message of grace and freedom that Paul was preaching. According to Paul, all they required was that the Gentile believers remember the poor. If what Paul is referring to is the incident recorded in Acts 15, then his recollection is not entirely accurate. The leaders in Jerusalem also asked the Gentiles to abstain from sexual immorality, blood, the meat of strangled animals and meat offered to idols (although Paul argues in Corinthians that the food rules are not necessary).
Paul's ability to get to the core of the good news message is astounding, especially since he had grown up under and was a teacher of the rules of Judaism. I have grown up in the culture of fundamental/evangelical Christianity with all its rules and traditions and I know I have a tendency to add rules and traditions to the gospel message. Paul makes it clear that in order to have a relationship with Jesus, all I have to do is place all my trust in him. That's it.

a hill to die on

Galatians 2:1-5

The key words of this passage are gospel and freedom. Pual is continuing the historical account ofhow he received the gospel of freedom he was preaching and how it was supported or authourized by the leadership of the church in Jerusalem (the center of authourity in the early church). He uses a word picture to describe his spiritual adventure - one that he uses a lot in his writings: a runner running a race. Paul wants to make sure that the race that he is running is not in vain; he wants to be sure that what he is preaching is actually true and has the backing of the other appostles. He sues soem pretty harsh language in reference to the Judaizers, calling them spies how have infiltrated the ranks.
Here's what I am takin from this passage: first, I must be willing to submit to authourity, even when I am pretty convinced I am right. Paul received the message of freedom directly from Christ but in the face of opposition, he decide to check his facts with the rest of the community of believers, particularly the recognized leader of that commuity. I need to be as humble as Paul (if not more, since I haven't received any messages directly from Christ) and be willing to submit to the collective wisdom and uthourity of the community of faith that I am a part of. I also need to be as bold as Paul when I am convinced that something is right. "We did not give into them for a moment."

Paul's credentials continued

Galatians 1:18-24

Paul's point seems to be that the gospel he received was directly from God. He further establishes his credentials by pointing out that the apostles did not mentor or teach him - he is not a disciple of Peter or James or John, etc. He was taught directly by Jesus and therefore has apostolic authourity to speak truth. I believe that Paul is doing this to establish his authourity to contradict the teaching of the Judaizers - those who insisted that Gentile believers keep certain Old Testament teachings (circumcision being one that they insisted on). Paul is making it clear that the message of grace, the teaching that there is no ceremony necessary for salvation, comes directly from God.
I don't have a lot of personal application from this passage except to wonder if I've added ceremony and tradition (in the sense of Pharisaical or Judaizer traditions) to the message of grace. I think that my tendency is to make sure that people who come to Jesus reach a certain moral level or at least show a certain contrite-ness before they come. The message of Jesus is "If you are thirsty, come drink. If you are weary, come rest. If you are sinner, come receive forgiveness. If you are lost, I will find you." Jesus does all the work.
Dear God, please help me to remember the message of salvation is a message of grace. Help me to live this message out - to reflect your grace in a world that teaches you have to earn, you have to perform, you have to measure up.

Paul's Testimony

Galatians 1:13-17

There is a contrast between Paul's previous way under Judaism and his new way of preaching the gospel: under Judaism Paul was advancing, full of zeal, it was about traditions; under the gospel it's about grace, God setting Paul apart and Paul reaching out to those outside the traditions of Judaism.
I think Paul is proving his point that he didn't receive the message that he has been spreading from any human source but that it was received from God. For some reason Paul seems desperate to show that the message he is preaching didn't come from the church in Jerusalem. Maybe because, while the gospel was always about Jesus' death and resurrection, the Jerusalem version was mixed with some elements of Judaism (which is not necessarily bad if it was an attempt to be relevant to the culture of Jerusalem) while Paul's version was about radical freedom - a Gentile didn't need to become a Jew to become a Christian.
I'm not sure what I can personally learn from this passage. What I am taking from it is that I need to make sure that the truth of the good news message of Jesus is presented in a way that is relevant and speaks clearly to the culture in which I am living. I must not get so wrapped up in old forms of sharing the good news message of Jesus that I make them a part of the message itself.

Apostolic Authourity

Galatians 1:10-12

Observation:
The repeated words are: humans/people, approval. The key words are: gospel, revelation.

Interpretation:
Paul is saying that he doesn't preach the gospel to gain approval from humans, nor did he receive the gospel from any human source. He makes it clear that the one that he is trying to please is God and that the source of revelation for the gospel he preaches is Jesus Christ.

Application:
The key question from this passage for me is the first one that Paul asks: "Am I now trying to win human approval or God's approval? If I am honest, much of what I do is for the approval of people. I love the affirmations and applause of people. I am addicted to their praise. I depserately want to be free from what people think, I desperately want to "perform" only for God. The sick think is that I project human relationships onto God: in this world you are valued for what you do. If you perform well, you get praise and people value and like you. In God's view, I know that I m valued for who I am in and because of Christ. But I wil still live like I have to perform i order to receive God's approval. The message of the gospel is that there is nothing I could do to make God love me but he loves me anyway. I know this in my head; God, pleas mak ei treal in my heart and life.

the one true gospel

Galatians 1:1-9

This letter is written by Paul on behalf of all the followers of Jesus who are travelling with him (it is not clear how much they collaborated on this letter). It is written to the churches in Galatia - which was a province in the Roman Empire. There is debate on whether this letter was written to churches in the Northern or Southern Region of the province.
The key words are authourity, gospel, God's curse. Paul, right from the beginning of the letter, reminds his audience that he comes in the authourity of Christ and that the gospel that Paul preaches is therefore not a human invention but the good news message of God, as revealed by Jesus. The occassion for Paul's writing this letter is that he has heard that the Galatian church is confused by a different message than the one that was originally given to them. Paul calls down curses on those who are spreading this false gospel.
As a minister and messenger of the gospel, I need to be really careful about the things that I say. I need to make sure that my message is the truth and presents God as he is truly is: good, holy, just and full of grace. I must not take away from or add to anything.

quoting Enoch

Jude 11-25

The key words are ungodly (repeated several times in Enoch's quote), the Spirit. There are a lot of word pictures and metaphors: the way of Cain (possibly seeking their own way to please God rather than accepting the ways of Jesus?), Balaam's error (possibly seeking the power of the Spirit for their own gain?), Korah's rebellion (possibly rebellion against the one God has chosen?), shepherds who feed themselves (possibly using leadership positions for personal profit), clouds without rain (lots of show and no substance, no use to the people who need water), autumn trees twice dead (no lasting benefit and no connection to God), wild waves (causing a big commotion but producing only foam and froth), wandering stars (no fixed point, no use for navigation).
I think the phrase that stuck out to me was "be merciful to those who doubt" (v. 22). I usually applaud those who are sure and lose patience with those who doubt. I need to hear the admonition of Jude: be merciful, be patient, journey with them. Jude also makes it clear that I can't lose my sense of urgency; eternity is at stake and there are some that need to be snatched from the fire. However, I don't need to be motivated by fear. I can just be faithful - open to the prompting of the Spirit and obedient to the call of Christ.

A Cryptic Message

Jude 1-10

So my motives for choosing Jude may not be entirely pure: I need a short book to spend time in before January 5 (being a bit o.c.d. I need to start and finish a book). However, I also have not spent much (any?) time in Jude and haven't heard anyone refer to this book in a very long time. So I was curious: what could be in this book? Why don't people refer to it? If it was important to make it into the canon of Scripture, why don't we hear more about it?
I think I know why now... it is very cryptic. Jude is written by Jude who identifies himself as a servant of Jesus and a brother of James. This James is likely the James who wrote the book of James and therefore Jude would be a brother of Jesus. He is writing to all those who are true followers of Jesus.
The key words are: Lord - Jude uses this word almost awkwardly at times. It seems like he is reminding his readers that Jesus is the King. He is the authority. There is a sense of darkness and impending judgement through this passage. Jude refers to the final judgement, Sodom and Gomorrah, the judgement God poured out on the nation of Israel for their rebellion in the wilderness and the judgement waiting for the angels who have rebelled against God.
So, what's going on here? It would seem that there are some who have entered the fellowship of disciples who are relying more on dreams than on the authourity of Jesus. They are teaching a doctrine of rebellion against God and of extreme authourity over the spiritual forces. Jude seems to be warning the reader not to play with fire and to have respect for the great power of Satan and his demons. While Hebrews would remind us that God is greater than Satan, Jude reminds us that Satan is more powerful than humans.
I draw three lessons from this passage: 1) I need to be careful what authourity I listen to. My only authourity should be my Lord as revealed to me in Scripture as illuminated by the Holy Spirit and constrained by the community of disciples. 2) I need to be careful that I recognize that I am subject to God and not demand from him or command him. There are those who pray in such a way that it seems that they are commanding God. I pray that God would keep me from such arrogance. 3) I need to be aware of the spiritual realm and maintain a humble attitude in how I live in this spiritual kingdom. My freedom and authourity only come from Christ. It is Christ in me that allows me to stand against temptation and to oppose the agendas of the spiritual forces of evil. May I never be so proud or arrogant to think that or act like that I stand in my own power. I stand only in the power and strength and authourity of Christ. If that were removed from me, I would be in grave danger.