Archive for month: May, 2023

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Galatians 6:11-18.  Let’s go!

Galatians 6:11-18 (NIV)
11  See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!
12  Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.
13  Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh.
14  May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
15  Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.
16  Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God.
17  Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
18  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.

On verses 11-18:  As a final word to the churches in Galatia, Paul sums up the main message of his letter: It’s not circumcision or uncircumcision that justifies me (v13, 15).  It is not my own efforts to obey God’s laws that save me.  It’s only the cross of Jesus Christ that gives me right standing before God (v14) – “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world”.

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Galatians 5:19-26.  Let’s go!

Galatians 5:19-21 (NIV)
19  The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;
20  idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions
21  and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

On verses 19-21:  Paul lists a number of examples of what it looks like when people live according to their sinful nature.  These examples can possibly be broadly categorized as sexual sins (“sexual immorality, impurity [referring likely to an impure thought life] and debauchery”), sins of the spirit (“idolatry and witchcraft”), sins related to poor management of our emotions and relationships (“hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions”) and other sins (“drunkenness, orgies and the like”).  When Paul says that “those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God” (v21), he doesn’t mean that if you engage in sin after being saved that such sin will automatically disqualify you from God’s kingdom.  Rather, Paul is likely saying that those who live without any regard for holiness, who treat God’s grace as an excuse to sin even more, have misunderstood the Gospel and were probably never saved in the first place.

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Galatians 5:13-18.  Let’s go!

Galatians 5:13-18 (NIV)
13  You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.
14  The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
15  If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
16  So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
17  For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.
18  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

On verses 13-18:  We must choose what we will do with the freedom Jesus has given us.  Either we can choose to indulge the sinful nature (also called our flesh) or we can choose to love (v13).  Here Paul identifies the struggle that every Christian experiences, the struggle between doing what is loving, just and honourable and doing what pleases our sinful nature (also called our flesh).  This struggle between the Spirit and the flesh is an ongoing one in every Christian’s heart and mind (v17).