Episode 285: The gospel of the uncircumcision

Galatians 1-6

Greetings and Salutations!

1 ^1-2 From Paul (who was made an apostle not by any human, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father) to the churches of Galatia.

If anyone preaches any other gospel, let them be accursed

^6-7 I'm surprised to see that you are so quick to pervert the gospel of Christ.

⁸ If any person, or an angel from heaven, preach any gospel but the one we've preached to you, let them be accursed.

⁹ I said it before and I'll say it again, if anyone preaches any other gospel, let them be accursed.

¹⁰ Should I please God or humans? If I please humans, I'm not the servant of Christ.

My gospel came directly from Jesus

¹¹ The gospel I preach didn't come from any human.

¹² No one taught it to me. It was a direct revelation to me from Jesus Christ.

¹⁵ When God revealed his Son to me, I didn't discuss it with anyone.

¹⁷ And I didn't go to Jerusalem to confer with the apostles but went to Arabia and then to Damascus.

¹⁸ Then, after three years, I went to Jerusalem to see Peter.

¹⁹ But I didn't see any of the other apostles, except for James the Lord's brother.

²⁰ I'm not lying to you in this letter.

²¹ Then I went to Syria and Cilicia.

²² No one saw my face in the churches of Judea.

^23-24 But they heard about me, and glorified God because of me.

The gospel of the uncircumcision

2 ¹ Fourteen years later, I went again to Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus.

³ Titus was a Greek, but he wasn't forced to be circumcised.

⁴ Some false believers tried to spy on us and take away our freedom in Christ so they could enslave us.

⁷ The gospel of the uncircumcision was assigned to me, and the gospel of the circumcision was assigned to Peter.

¹⁰ They asked us to remember the poor, which is something I wanted to do.

¹¹ When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face. Because he was wrong.

¹² Peter ate with the Gentiles until James and the Jewish believers came. Then he quit eating with them for fear of the Jews.

¹⁴ So I said to Peter in front of all of them,

You are a Jew but live like a Gentile.

So why do you force Gentiles to live like Jews?

¹⁶ We are not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus.

²¹ If righteousness comes from the law, then Christ died in vain.

Foolish Galatians

3 ¹ Oh foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you?

¹⁰ Those who obey the law are under the curse.

¹¹ The just live by faith.

¹² The law isn't of faith.

¹³ Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, by being made a curse for us.

Because scripture says, “Everyone who hangs on a tree is cursed.”

²⁴ The law was our schoolmaster.

²⁵ We no longer need a schoolmaster.

²⁸ We are no longer slaves or free, male or female, but we are all one in Christ Jesus.

I had a temptation in the flesh (but you didn't despise me for it)

4 ¹¹ Maybe I have wasted my time working with you.

¹² Be like I am.

¹⁴ I had a temptation in my flesh, but you didn't despise me for it. You welcomed me as an angel of God, like Christ Jesus.

¹⁵ You loved me so much then that you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me.

¹⁶ Am I your enemy now for telling you the truth?

A tale of two sons (the son of the flesh and the son of the spirit)

²² Abraham had two sons, one from a slave and one from a free woman.

²³ The slave woman's son was born from the flesh, but the free woman's son was by promise.

²⁸ We are the children of promise, like Isaac.

²⁹ The son of the flesh persecuted the son of the Spirit. And that's what's happening now.

³⁰ What does the scripture say? Cast out the slave woman and her son, so the son of the slave woman won't share the inheritance with the son of the free woman.

³¹ We are the children of the free woman.

If you get circumcised, Jesus can't help you

5 ² If you are circumcised, Christ can't help you.

³ If a man is circumcised, he must obey the whole law.

⁴ If you are justified by the law, Christ has no effect on you and you have fallen from grace.

¹² I wish those who bother you would castrate themselves.

Love your neighbor as yourself (against such things there is no law)

¹³ Although we are free, we should serve each other with love.

¹⁴ Because the entire law is fulfilled in one law: Love your neighbor as yourself.

¹⁶ Walk in the spirit and you'll avoid the lust of the flesh.

¹⁸ If you're led by the spirit, you can ignore the law.

^19-21 The works of the flesh are these: adultery, fornication, idolatry, witchcraft, heresies, and drunkenness. Whoever does these things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²² The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, meekness, temperance. Against such things there is no law.

²⁶ Let's not vainly provoke and envy each another.

Many want you to get circumcised (so they can glory in your flesh)

6 ¹ If someone makes a mistake, gently help that person make amends.

² Bear each other's burdens.

⁵ Bear you own burden.

⁸ If you live by the flesh, you'll die, and your body will rot.

If you live by the spirit, you'll live forever.

⁹ Don't get tired of doing good things.

¹⁰ Do good to everyone.

¹¹ See how large my handwriting is.

¹² Many people want you to get circumcised so they can glory in your flesh.

¹⁵ Get circumcised or don't get circumcised. It doesn't matter.

¹⁶ I have on my body the marks of Jesus.

¹⁸ Amen.