We’re back in Galatians this Sunday, looking at Galatians 5:1–6. In these verses, Paul calls believers to stand firm in the freedom Christ has secured by refusing every form of self-salvation or law-keeping as a way to be right with God. Rather than returning to slavery, we are invited to cling to Christ alone—living by faith through the Spirit, a faith that expresses itself in love and good deeds rather than in license or anxious striving.
As we close 2025, we prepare to resume our study through Galatians by reflecting upon how our identity is grounded in our justification. We are saints chosen by God; a peculiar people.
During the Advent season, we take a break through the book we are teaching to prepare our hearts to celebrate Christ's incarnation at Christmas. This year our Advent series leads us through the Psalms to see how Christ is both the subject and the singer of the Psalms.
During the Advent season, we take a break through the book we are teaching to prepare our hearts to celebrate Christ's incarnation at Christmas. This year our Advent series leads us through the Psalms to see how Christ is both the subject and the singer of the Psalms.
During the Advent season, we take a break through the book we are teaching to prepare our hearts to celebrate Christ's incarnation at Christmas. This year our Advent series leads us through the Psalms to see how Christ is both the subject and the singer of the Psalms.
During the Advent season, we take a break through the book we are teaching to prepare our hearts to celebrate Christ’s incarnation at Christmas. This year our Advent series leads us through the Psalms to see how Christ is both the subject and singer of the Psalms.
In Galatians 4:28–5:1, Paul reminds believers that we are children of promise, not slaves, and urges us to reject legalism, remember our true identity in Christ, and stand firm in the freedom His grace has secured.
In Galatians 4:21–27, Paul uses the stories of Hagar and Sarah to contrast two ways of relating to God—one through human effort and one through divine promise. Those who depend on their own wisdom and strength find only frustration and bondage, but those who trust God’s promise experience true freedom and joy. The gospel reminds us that freedom is found not in what we do for God, but in what God has done for us in Christ.
Presenting the truth, even in love, can be costly. In Galatians 4:12-20, Paul urges the Galatians to return to the freedom and joy they once knew and reminds them of his affection for them. Like a loving Father, he contrasts his longing for Christ to be formed in them with the false teacher's desire to use and enslave them.
In Galatians 4:8-11, Paul reminds us that before Christ we were enslaved to false gods—impersonal masters that demanded everything and gave nothing. But now, through Jesus, we are known and loved personally by the living God who calls us His sons and daughters. Paul has argued that in Christ we exchange our slavery for sonship, and now he grows deeply personal—pleading with the Galatians not to reverse course and trade their sonship for slavery.
In Galatians 4:1–7, Paul paints a powerful picture of our adoption into God’s family—no longer slaves but beloved sons and daughters. Through Christ’s redemption and the Spirit’s witness, we are free to live with confidence, intimacy, and joy as heirs of our Father’s kingdom.
In Galatians 3, Paul shows that the law’s purpose was never to save but to reveal our sin and point us to Christ. In verses 23-29, he explains that the law imprisoned and guarded us until faith in Christ was revealed. Now, in Christ, we have a new identity, a new unity, and a new inheritance. The gospel truly changes everything!
In Galatians 3:15–22, Paul explains that God’s promise to Abraham came long before the law—and the law didn’t cancel or replace it. The promise was always pointing to Christ, the true “offspring” of Abraham, through whom the blessing would come. The law was given later to reveal sin, not to give life or replace faith. In short, God’s promise stands firm—our inheritance comes by faith in Christ alone, not by keeping the law.
In Galatians 3:1–14, Paul confronts the Galatian believers—and us—for drifting from the gospel. He shows how easy it is to begin by grace but slip back into self-effort, warns of the damage it brings, and calls us to daily rehearse the good news: Christ crucified for us, Christ living in us, and the Spirit empowering us.
In Galatians 2:17-21, Paul reminds us that we are justified not by law-keeping, but by faith in Christ, and what this means for our practical, everyday living. If we, like Paul, renounce law-keeping as a means of salvation and trust in Christ alone, then we are dead to the curse and burden of the law, alive to God, and living under the good, wise, and gracious reign of King Jesus, who loves us and gave his life for us. Living out of that identity, Paul has all the motivation in the world to pursue holiness.
This week in Galatians 2:15-16, Paul takes Peter and the Jewish believers to the heart of the gospel: we are justified—declared right with God—only through faith in Christ, not by any human status or activity. This essential truth must be guarded and proclaimed, for it is both the foundation and the fuel of the Christian life.
In Galatians 2:11–14, Paul confronts Peter and others for hypocrisy that contradicted the gospel. This passage shows us the need for gospel-centered correction, the ongoing struggle between what we know and what we love, and the vital importance of daily remembering and rehearsing the gospel.
This week we'll examine Galatians 2:1–10, where Paul gives more evidence for the origin and truth of the gospel. Sent by God for the sake of the gospel, Paul meets with Peter, James, and John, who each affirmed that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone. Their meeting results in unified fellowship and gospel application, and offers us confident assurance.
This week we're studying Galatians 1:10-12. In these verses, Paul shows us the power of the gospel to free us from the approval of man, and then begins to explain where he received the gospel he proclaimed. Knowing that it comes directly from Jesus gives us assurance and confidence that what we have believed is the true gospel.
In Galatians 1:6-9, we begin to see the heart of the problem Paul is addressing. The Galatian believers are putting down and setting aside the work of Christ to pick up their own. Rather than resting in the righteousness they receive from Jesus and allowing that to fuel their works, they are attempting to add to Jesus' work and earn righteousness and acceptance before God by their works. Paul knows this has devastating consequences, and he acts quickly to address it.