Party Poopers
In Matthew 22, Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a monarch who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. In our last blog, we examined the nature of this…
The Kingdom of Heaven
Jesus often used parables to convey his message, some of which are quite disturbing. Once such parable is found in Matthew 22: "Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: “The…
Blessing and Obedience
Throughout the story of Abram/Abraham, God's promises are closely tied to Abraham's obedience & faithfulness. The account begins with Abram's obedience to the divine command: "Go from your country, your…
Faithful Abraham
Romans 3 & Galatians 2 are two main passages where the Apostle Paul discusses "justification by faith." Martin Luther famously made this doctrine central to his theology. But as this…
Gaining Righteousness
Evangelical pastors routinely use Galatians to teach their congregations that salvation hinges purely upon "faith" (passive belief or trust) in Jesus. Through faith, we receive Jesus' righteousness & are justified…
The Messiah in Us
This blog series has explored how Evangelical Christians have long misunderstood the book of Galatians & Paul's doctrine of "justification by faith." In short, evangelicals have constructed a false dichotomy…
Tearing Down the Barrier
This blog series has begun to explore how the book of Galatians has been misunderstood by most evangelical Christians. Written around 48 AD, Galatians is probably the Apostle Paul's very…
Welcoming the Nations
Galatians is arguably the most misunderstood book in the New Testament. (Revelation makes a strong claim as well!) This letter contains Paul's most confrontational rhetoric. But why was Paul so…
Family Division
The book of Galatians is perhaps the most misunderstood book in the New Testament. For most evangelicals, Paul's epistle to the Galatians soundly refutes "works" based righteousness. That is, our…
Kingdom, Present & Future
The death & resurrection of Jesus are obviously the central events of the Christian religion. But evangelicals often fail to grasp the full meaning of these events. Easter sermons frequently…