There will be dangers as we seek to help each other overcome the sins in our lives. That's not a reason not to do it. But it is a reason to be prepared. Our attempt to intervene could be done harshly -- or from a sense of pride. That's why Paul says in v1 that we are to restore others

Sometimes we'll see sin in others' lives - and they'll see sin in ours - and we'll just want to leave it there. But just seeing it isn't enough. We're called not to look the other way, but to address it. That's not to say we're to point out all the rough edges we see in each other. Paul is

'Change is a community project'. That phrase is used by Tim Chester in his book: You Can Change. But what does it mean? Well the word 'change' talks about God's work in our lives to make us more like Jesus. It's about the calling we have when we become Christians to put to death our old way of thinking and

What then are we to do with our freedom? Paul gives a shocking answer to that question in v13. 'Through love serve one another'. The freedom that we have in Christ isn't a freedom to do whatever we like. We have been set free to serve one another. The world's idea of freedom isn't sacrificial love for one another! But

Look at some of the things Paul mentions here. V15: Biting and devouring one another. Those words describe what animals do to one another. But they also describe what churchgoing people do to one another. So how is your speech? How do you speak to your fellow Christians? How do you talk about them if they're not there. People in

All through this letter Paul has been arguing that the Galatians are free. They're not to submit again to slavery by obeying the law in a futile effort to get right with God. Being a Christian means you're free! To use Paul's own words, it means you're not under law, but under grace! Your standing before God and your place

In v11 Paul deals with an accusation. Apparently, the false teachers were spreading the message that he himself taught circumcision. This seems to be a reference to the fact that Paul had circumcised Timothy in Acts 16. But that was a totally different situation. That was so that he wouldn't offend the unbelieving Jews that he and Paul were trying

Paul's next argument in v6 is that the real mark of a Christian is faith working through love - not circumcision. Being a Christian is first and foremost about loving God and loving his people. If someone doesn't show love for the other people in their church in concrete ways, then it throws their claim of salvation into doubt. Jesus

The Galatians were Gentiles who had come from paganism. But Paul's argument in Galatians is that if they accept circumcision — if they accept Jewish rituals — they'll in effect be going back to paganism. Because it will be Christ-less religion. That's how serious the issues here are.Paul says in v2 that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of

Paul applies the Hagar story to his own day in v. 25. She corresponds to first century Judaism, that had rejected Jesus Christ. But the believing Galatians belong to what Paul describes in v. 26 as 'the Jerusalem above'. In v27 he quotes from Isaiah. Right there, in the Old Testament, there was a description of two Jerusalems. There is