The Gospel Unleashes the Spirit & Supplies Resources to Become Complete (Galatians 3:1-5)

September 12, 2024 Nate Holdridge

When Paul went to Galatia with the gospel, he had clearly and powerfully depicted Jesus for them. He had publicly portrayed Jesus Christ as crucified to the Galatians (1). He had set Jesus and his cross before their eyes (1). With power, clarity, and boldness, Paul had brought these Galatians to the foot of the cross. It was like they had seen the cross, not just with their eyes, but with their souls. But now they were turning from Jesus and the sufficiency of his cross—and Paul could not believe it!

A Gospel-Aligned Life is Lived by Daily Faith (Galatians 2:20b-21)

September 5, 2024 Nate Holdridge

Following Paul’s public rebuke of Peter for bowing to the fear of man, he moves into sharing a beautiful picture of what life should look like when justified by faith in Christ. In our past two posts in Galatians, we saw how the gospel-aligned life is free and for God, is totally identified with Christ, and today, we will see how it is a life of daily faith, a dependence upon Jesus.

A Gospel-Aligned Life Is Totally Identified with Christ (Galatians 2:20a)

August 29, 2024 Nate Holdridge

Our post today picks up with Paul sharing from his heart about a gospel-aligned life—what our life justified by faith in Christ should look like. He confronted Peter for bowing to the fear of man and withdrawing from non-Jewish believers in Antioch, and continued with a beautiful teaching about the type of life the gospel is meant to produce. Last week, we saw that the gospel-aligned life is free and for God. Today, we see how it is totally identified with Christ, connected to him in his death and burial, but also his resurrection.

A Gospel-Aligned Life is Free and for God (Galatians 2:17–21)

August 22, 2024 Nate Holdridge

After Paul confronted Peter for withdrawing from the Gentiles in Antioch and not living in line with the gospel, Paul beautifully taught about the life the gospel is meant to produce. Once you are justified by faith in Christ, what should life look like? This passage gives us three ideas. It describes the beauty of a life in line with the gospel—gospel life.

Live in Step with the Gospel: Part 2 (Galatians 2:11-16)

August 15, 2024 Nate Holdridge

Our passage today details an account of Paul having to publicly confront Peter, who, out of fear of man, had divided himself from the Gentiles after being unified with them. Last week, we saw one way this passage encourages us to live in step with the gospel: by uniting under it. Today we’ll explore two more ways to live in step with the gospel.

Live in Step with the Gospel: Part 1 (Galatians 2:11-16)

August 8, 2024 Nate Holdridge

Paul wanted the Galatians—and us—to fly up into a life of freedom and love, and he knew that the gospel message could take us there (Gal. 5:13). But as we’ve seen, the Galatians were in danger of destroying the gospel message by adding to it, so Paul wrote this letter to defend the message of the gospel of grace. Today’s passage details a third, less peaceful interaction of defending his message.

The Gospel Brings Divine Freedom, not Human Control (Galatians 2:4-5)

July 25, 2024 Nate Holdridge

Last week, in Galatians 2, we saw how the gospel is received, not earned. The next movement of this passage reminds us that the beautiful, acceptable gospel brings divine freedom, not human control. While Paul was in Jerusalem, false brothers were secretly brought in, perhaps even into his meeting with the apostles!

The Gospel Is Received, not Earned (Galatians 2:1-3)

July 18, 2024 Nate Holdridge

Our text today details the second time Paul visited Jerusalem as a Christian, fourteen years after his conversion (1). It took Paul three years from his conversion to finally make his first trip to Jerusalem to meet Peter and James (1:18-19). But after that visit, it took another eleven years or so for him to go back.

What Did Paul's Gospel Produce? (Galatians 1:10-24)

July 11, 2024 Nate Holdridge

Last week, we examined Paul's testimony and saw the evidence for why Paul's gospel was legitimate. The second question we will explore today from this passage is: What did Paul's gospel produce in Paul? Are there things that happened to Paul that we could hope would happen to us?

Why Is Paul's Gospel Legit? (Galatians 1:10-24)

July 4, 2024 Nate Holdridge

The book of Acts tells the story of Paul's conversion three times. He was a persecutor of the church and was on his way from Jerusalem in Israel to Damascus in Syria to imprison and kill Christians when Jesus appeared to him in a bright light, knocked him down, and confronted him with the truth. And Paul believed!