May 5, 2022
JUDGES 2-3:
Yesterday we heard how the tribe of Judah was
more successful in driving out the Canaanites than the other
tribes. Several of the tribes just moved in with their
enemies.
PSALM 79:
This
lament by Asaph is like Ps 74, talking about Jerusalem and the
Temple conquered by enemies. There is a strong comparison with what
we see starting to happen in Judges.
GALATIANS 1:
We
heard the controversy over circumcision in Acts 15. This letter to
the Galatian believers is on a similar theme, and it shows how Paul
would have argued with the Jews of the circumcision party. Paul
stays very much on this theme in this book— which in some ways
foreshadows some arguments in the book of Romans. Important
sections for memorizing include the ‘crucified with Christ’
passages in chapter 2 and 6, and the works of the flesh and fruits
of the Holy Spirit in chapter 5. This book makes it perfectly clear
that we are not saved by religion.
We are saved by ‘faith’— which means ‘fully believing in Christ’. Do not fall into the trap of choosing between what James says about being saved by works and what Paul says. The two teachings are compatible. The saying taught to me by one of my spiritual fathers (Glen Zumwalt) is this: We are saved by ‘faith alone’; but saving faith will never be ‘alone’.
Paul’s introduction in the first chapter is unique among his letters. He normally starts with praise for the congregation he is writing to. Not in this case! After he expresses his shock at the Galatian church, he goes on to remind them that the Good News they had so quickly abandoned was revealed directly to him by the Lord.