Philemon
Dear Philemon, Apphia and Archippus,
I am an old man now, and a prisoner. I appeal to you for Onesimus. Formerly he was useless, but now he is useful to you and to me. I am sending him to you.
If you consider me a partner, then receive him as you would receive me. If he has wronged you, or owes anything to you, charge it to my account. I, Paul, will repay it. I am confident in your obedience. Please prepare a guest room for me; I am hoping to visit.
Yours faithfully,
Paul
P.S. Epaphras, Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke say 'hi'.
Philippians
Hey Philippians!
You are in every prayer of mine, because of your partnership with the gospel from day one until now. I am sure that the good work will be brought to completion at the Day of Jesus Christ. You are partakers, with me, of grace. I pray that your love may abound more and more, so that you will be pure and blameless for the Day of Christ.
I want you to know that my imprisonment has occurred to advance the gospel. It has become known throughout the imperial guard that my imprisonment is for Christ! My imprisonment has boosted the confidence of my brothers, and now they are more bold to speak without fear!
I will rejoice; I know that through your prayers and with the help of Jesus this will turn out well; I have full courage that Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. My desire is to depart and be with Christ; but it is necessary for me to remain in the flesh on your account.
Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I manage to visit you or not, I will hear that you are standing firm in one spirit, striving for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened by your opponents. This is a sign to them of their destruction, and of your salvation. You shall not only believe in Christ but also suffer for his sake.
Do nothing from selfish ambition; be humble and count others more significant than yourself. Look not to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. This mind you have through Jesus, who, while in the form of God, was not equal to God, and was born human and became obedient to the point of death on a cross. God exalted him, so that every knee should bow at the name of Jesus, and every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord!
Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Do all things without grumbling or disputing, so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world. Hold fast to the word, so that on the Day of Christ I may be proud to know that I did not labour in vain! Even if I am to be sacrificed for your faith, I am glad and rejoice, and so should you.
I intend to send Timothy to you soon. I hope to send him as soon as I see how it will go with me. I trust in the Lord that I will come also.
I have sent Epaphroditus to see you. He has been longing for you and was distressed that you learnt he was ill. He was very pooly, near to death. But God had mercy on him. Receive him well and honour him, for he nearly died in the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.
Finally: look out for dogs, look out for evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. We are the circumcision, but put no confidence in the flesh - although I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh: I was circumcised on the 8th day; I am of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin; a Hebrew of Hebrews. I was a Pharisee, a persecutor of the church, blameless under the law! But all that is nothing compared to knowing Jesus Christ. For his sake I have lost all things. I no longer have a righteousness of my own which comes from the law, but a righteousness which comes through faith! Righteousness from God depends on faith.
One thing I do: forget what lies behind and strain forward to what is ahead, press on towards the goal: the prize of the upward call of God in Jesus Christ. Brothers, imitate me, and focus on those who follow in our example. Many walk as enemies of the cross. Their end is destruction; their god is their belly; their glory is their shame, with their minds set on earthly things. Our citizenship is in heaven. We await our saviour, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body.
Let your reasonableness be known to everyone! The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything!
Finally: think about whatever is true, whatever is honourable, just, pure, lovely, and commendable. What you have learned and heard and seen in me - practice these things.
I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
It was kind of you to share my trouble. You were the first church to enter a giving and receiving partnership with me. You sent me help in Thessalonica. And I have received your most recent gift through Epaphroditus: a fragment offering, a sacrifice pleasing to God.
The brothers who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household!
Yours faithfully,
Paul and Timothy
Friday, 7 November 2014
Wednesday, 22 October 2014
New Testament: 1 Corinthians
Hey Corinthians!
Please be united as one church, be of the same mind and judgement! Chloe told me that a few of you were arguing: don't. You are all followers of Jesus.
God will destroy the wisdom of the world. The wise God decided that God could not be known through wisdom, but only through the folly which we preach to save the believers. Jews demand signs; Greeks seek wisdom; our faith is a stumbling block to both, but it is power and wisdom to those who are called. The foolishness of God is wiser than men! The weakness of God is stronger than men!
Consider: not many of you were wise by worldly standards; not many were powerful or of noble birth. God chose the foolish to shame the wise! God chose the weak to shame the strong! This is all so that no human may boast in the presence of God! I did not come to you with words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the spirit and of power, so that your faith lies not with the wisdom of men, but in the power of God!
Yet we do have wisdom! It is not the wisdom of this world or its rulers, but the secret and hidden wisdom of God! The rulers of this world do not understand! If they did, they wouldn't have crucified Jesus! These things have been revealed to us by the Spirit! And we impart this knowledge not by words taught by human wisdom but words taught by the Spirit! Let no one deceive himself! If anyone among you thinks that he is wise, let him become a fool that he may become wise!
We are servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. I consider it a very small thing to be judged by humans; in fact, I don't even judge myself! It is the Lord who judges me! Therefore do not pronounce judgement before the Lord comes! Then each one will receive his commendation from God.
It has been reported that there is sexual immorality amongst you, and of a kind not even tolerated among the pagans. A man has had his father's wife?! Let him who has done this be removed from among you!
Although absent in body, I am present in spirit and have already pronounced judgement on the one who did this!
(Literally a few paragraphs ago he told everyone to leave the judging to God on Judgement Day.)
When you are assembled in the name of Lord Jesus you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord!
In an earlier letter I told you not the associate with sexually immoral people. What I mean by this is: do not tolerate sexual immorality, idolatry, drunkenness or swindling within the church. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside!
(So now it's OK to judge people before Judgement Day as long as they are within the church; leave judging outsiders to God.)
If any of you have a disagreement, resolve it yourselves. Don't go to the law. If anything arises, deal with it within the church. There must be someone wise enough among you to settle disputes. Don't go to the unbelievers.
The following people will not inherit the kingdom of God: the unrighteous, the greedy, the sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, drunkards, revilers, and swindlers. Such were some of you, but you were washed and sanctified in the name of Lord Jesus!
The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord! Your bodies are members of Christ! Flee from sexual immorality! Every other sin is committed outside the body, but the sexually immoral sin against their own bodies, and those bodies are supposed to be temples to the Holy Spirit and to God! You are not your own; you were bought with a price; glorify God with your body!
Because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. They should have sex with each other whenever one of them feels like it. Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time so that you can devote yourselves to prayer.
I wish that all were as I myself am. It is good for the unmarried and the widowed to remain single, but they should marry if they cannot exercise self-control. It is better to marry than burn with passion. The married should never divorce.
Let each person lead the life that the Lord assigned to him, and to which God called him. This is my rule in all the churches. Each person should remain in the condition in which he was called. It is good for a person to remain as he is in view of the present distress. If you are married, stay married. If you are unmarried, stay single. Time is growing short. The present form of this world is passing away. I want you to be free from anxieties; devote yourselves to the Lord.
Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus? If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you!
Don't be an idolater! Do not indulge in sexual immorality! Don't grumble! God will not tempt you beyond your ability to resist, so resist!
All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful. Seek not your own good, but the good of your neighbour. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. If an unbeliever invites you to dinner, eat what they set before you. If someone tells you that meat came from a sacrifice, don't eat it.
Do everything for the glory of God! Give no offence to Jews or Greeks or Christians. Try to please everyone as I do. Imitate me, as I imitate Christ.
A man must have his head uncovered when praying. A woman should cover her head when praying. A man doesn't need to cover up because he is the image and glory of God, while a woman is just the glory of man: woman was made from man, for man. That is why a wife should have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels!
(Paul was a fan of the Book of Enoch, which relates the story of fallen angels having sex with female humans to produce a hybrid race of giants which destroy everything. Here he wants to protect the Christian women from these horny angels)
Nevertheless, a woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; as woman was made from man, now man is born from woman! And all things are from God!
Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair is it a disgrace for him, but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? Her hair is given as a covering.
On the night before he was betrayed, Lord Jesus took some bread and wine and told his disciples that it was his body and blood. So, do not eat the bread or drink the wine in an unworthy manner! Be disciplined so that, when we are judged by the Lord, we will not be condemned along with the world!
As the body is one and has many members, so it is with Christ. We have all been baptised into one body. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together.
If one talks without love one is a clanging symbol; if one has prophetic powers and all the faith, but no love, one is nothing; if one gives everything away, but lacks love, one gains nothing.
Love is patient & kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends. Prophecies pass, knowledge fades. Faith, Hope and Love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is Love.
Pursue love and earnestly desire spiritual gifts, especially the power of prophesy. One who speaks in tongue speaks not to men but to God; noone understands him, but he utters mysteries to the spirit. The prophet speaks to the people. The tongue-speaker builds himself; the prophet builds the church. I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more I want you to prophecy!
In all the churches of the saints, the women should be kept silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. It is shameful for a woman to speak in church.
If you disagree, please note that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. If you don't recognise this, you are not recognised.
Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures, he was buried and raised on the 3rd day, in accordance with the scriptures, and then he appeared to Cephas & the Twelve. Then he appeared to more than 500 people, most of whom are still alive. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, he appeared to me.
If Christ raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no such thing as resurrection! If there is no resurrection, then Christ was not raised! If Christ has not been raised then our preaching and your faith is in vain! We would then be misrepresenting God by saying he raised Christ! If Christ has not been raised then your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.
But in fact Christ was raised from the dead. For as by a man came death, by a man has come resurrection. In Adam we die, in Christ shall we be made alive. Christ was the first to resurrect, then, at his coming, so will those who belong to Christ. Then it's the end, and he will destroy every rule and authority and power. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
What you have now is not the body to be, but a bare kernel. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. So it is with resurrection: what is is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable.
I will visit you after passing through Macedonia. I hope to spend some time with you. When Timothy visits, make sure you put him at ease.
Be watchful; stand firm in faith; act like men; be strong. Let all that you do be done in love. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
Yours faithfully,
Paul, who was called by God to be an apostle of Jesus, and Sosthenes
P.S. Aquila, Prisca, and the churches of Asia say 'Hello'.
Please be united as one church, be of the same mind and judgement! Chloe told me that a few of you were arguing: don't. You are all followers of Jesus.
God will destroy the wisdom of the world. The wise God decided that God could not be known through wisdom, but only through the folly which we preach to save the believers. Jews demand signs; Greeks seek wisdom; our faith is a stumbling block to both, but it is power and wisdom to those who are called. The foolishness of God is wiser than men! The weakness of God is stronger than men!
Consider: not many of you were wise by worldly standards; not many were powerful or of noble birth. God chose the foolish to shame the wise! God chose the weak to shame the strong! This is all so that no human may boast in the presence of God! I did not come to you with words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the spirit and of power, so that your faith lies not with the wisdom of men, but in the power of God!
Yet we do have wisdom! It is not the wisdom of this world or its rulers, but the secret and hidden wisdom of God! The rulers of this world do not understand! If they did, they wouldn't have crucified Jesus! These things have been revealed to us by the Spirit! And we impart this knowledge not by words taught by human wisdom but words taught by the Spirit! Let no one deceive himself! If anyone among you thinks that he is wise, let him become a fool that he may become wise!
We are servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. I consider it a very small thing to be judged by humans; in fact, I don't even judge myself! It is the Lord who judges me! Therefore do not pronounce judgement before the Lord comes! Then each one will receive his commendation from God.
It has been reported that there is sexual immorality amongst you, and of a kind not even tolerated among the pagans. A man has had his father's wife?! Let him who has done this be removed from among you!
Although absent in body, I am present in spirit and have already pronounced judgement on the one who did this!
(Literally a few paragraphs ago he told everyone to leave the judging to God on Judgement Day.)
When you are assembled in the name of Lord Jesus you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord!
(So now it's OK to judge people before Judgement Day as long as they are within the church; leave judging outsiders to God.)
If any of you have a disagreement, resolve it yourselves. Don't go to the law. If anything arises, deal with it within the church. There must be someone wise enough among you to settle disputes. Don't go to the unbelievers.
The following people will not inherit the kingdom of God: the unrighteous, the greedy, the sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, drunkards, revilers, and swindlers. Such were some of you, but you were washed and sanctified in the name of Lord Jesus!
The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord! Your bodies are members of Christ! Flee from sexual immorality! Every other sin is committed outside the body, but the sexually immoral sin against their own bodies, and those bodies are supposed to be temples to the Holy Spirit and to God! You are not your own; you were bought with a price; glorify God with your body!
Because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. They should have sex with each other whenever one of them feels like it. Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time so that you can devote yourselves to prayer.
I wish that all were as I myself am. It is good for the unmarried and the widowed to remain single, but they should marry if they cannot exercise self-control. It is better to marry than burn with passion. The married should never divorce.
Let each person lead the life that the Lord assigned to him, and to which God called him. This is my rule in all the churches. Each person should remain in the condition in which he was called. It is good for a person to remain as he is in view of the present distress. If you are married, stay married. If you are unmarried, stay single. Time is growing short. The present form of this world is passing away. I want you to be free from anxieties; devote yourselves to the Lord.
Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus? If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you!
Don't be an idolater! Do not indulge in sexual immorality! Don't grumble! God will not tempt you beyond your ability to resist, so resist!
All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful. Seek not your own good, but the good of your neighbour. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. If an unbeliever invites you to dinner, eat what they set before you. If someone tells you that meat came from a sacrifice, don't eat it.
Do everything for the glory of God! Give no offence to Jews or Greeks or Christians. Try to please everyone as I do. Imitate me, as I imitate Christ.
A man must have his head uncovered when praying. A woman should cover her head when praying. A man doesn't need to cover up because he is the image and glory of God, while a woman is just the glory of man: woman was made from man, for man. That is why a wife should have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels!
(Paul was a fan of the Book of Enoch, which relates the story of fallen angels having sex with female humans to produce a hybrid race of giants which destroy everything. Here he wants to protect the Christian women from these horny angels)
Nevertheless, a woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; as woman was made from man, now man is born from woman! And all things are from God!
Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair is it a disgrace for him, but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? Her hair is given as a covering.
On the night before he was betrayed, Lord Jesus took some bread and wine and told his disciples that it was his body and blood. So, do not eat the bread or drink the wine in an unworthy manner! Be disciplined so that, when we are judged by the Lord, we will not be condemned along with the world!
As the body is one and has many members, so it is with Christ. We have all been baptised into one body. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together.
If one talks without love one is a clanging symbol; if one has prophetic powers and all the faith, but no love, one is nothing; if one gives everything away, but lacks love, one gains nothing.
Love is patient & kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends. Prophecies pass, knowledge fades. Faith, Hope and Love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is Love.
Pursue love and earnestly desire spiritual gifts, especially the power of prophesy. One who speaks in tongue speaks not to men but to God; noone understands him, but he utters mysteries to the spirit. The prophet speaks to the people. The tongue-speaker builds himself; the prophet builds the church. I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more I want you to prophecy!
In all the churches of the saints, the women should be kept silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. It is shameful for a woman to speak in church.
If you disagree, please note that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. If you don't recognise this, you are not recognised.
Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures, he was buried and raised on the 3rd day, in accordance with the scriptures, and then he appeared to Cephas & the Twelve. Then he appeared to more than 500 people, most of whom are still alive. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, he appeared to me.
If Christ raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no such thing as resurrection! If there is no resurrection, then Christ was not raised! If Christ has not been raised then our preaching and your faith is in vain! We would then be misrepresenting God by saying he raised Christ! If Christ has not been raised then your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.
But in fact Christ was raised from the dead. For as by a man came death, by a man has come resurrection. In Adam we die, in Christ shall we be made alive. Christ was the first to resurrect, then, at his coming, so will those who belong to Christ. Then it's the end, and he will destroy every rule and authority and power. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
What you have now is not the body to be, but a bare kernel. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. So it is with resurrection: what is is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable.
I will visit you after passing through Macedonia. I hope to spend some time with you. When Timothy visits, make sure you put him at ease.
Be watchful; stand firm in faith; act like men; be strong. Let all that you do be done in love. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
Yours faithfully,
Paul, who was called by God to be an apostle of Jesus, and Sosthenes
P.S. Aquila, Prisca, and the churches of Asia say 'Hello'.
Saturday, 18 October 2014
New Testament: 1 Thessalonians, Galatians
1 Thessalonians
Hey Thessalonians!
We're always mentioning you guys! You've set a good example for all of Greece by turning from idol worship to serving the one true God, and awaiting Jesus' return from heaven!
We were so glad that you accepted the word of God for what is (i.e. not the word of man which some people keep saying). You imitated the churches of Jesus in Judea, and have suffered from your countrymen, like the churches in Judea suffered from the Jews!
The Jews: they killed Lord Jesus and the prophets, drove us out... they displease God and oppose all mankind by hindering us from speaking to the gentiles.
We sent Timothy to check on you and strengthen your faith in the face of the your current afflictions. Remember, when we were with you we said that you'd have to suffer afflictions. I was worried you'd given in to temptation and abandoned your faith!
But Timothy came back saying you were doing great. We pray night and day hoping to see you again. May God and Lord Jesus bless you, and increase your love for each other.
Finally, remember the instructions we gave you on how to please God! Abstain from sexual immorality! Control yourself! (Unlike those horny gentiles). Love each other. Live quietly. Mind your own affairs.
Jesus died and rose again, and will come back to raise the dead and take the faithful to Heaven. He will descend, and we the living will be taken up to the clouds to meet the Lord.
That day will come like a thief in the night but, unlike the faithless, you won't be surprised when it comes! Encourage each other and build each other's strength until that day comes!
Respect people. Be at peace with yourselves. Admonish the idle. Encourage the faint-hearted. Help the weak. Be patient. Never repay evil with evil. Do good to one another. Pray constantly. Abstain from all evil. I hope your entire spirit and body is blameless at Jesus' coming!
Pray for us, and please read this letter out to everyone.
Yours faithfully,
Paul, Silvanus and Timothy
Galatians
Dear Galatians,
I am astonished that you are so quickly abandoning your faith and turning to a different gospel! Not that there really is another gospel - it's just people distorting the true gospel of Christ. Even if an angel descended from heaven and preached a gospel contrary to the one we taught, you shouldn't believe it. The angel is accursed.
The gospel that was preached to me was not man's gospel; I received it through direct revelation from Jesus Christ. In my former life in Judaism I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. But God, who chose me before I was born, called me by his grace and revealed his son to me, so that I might preach to the gentiles. I went to Arabia first.
Three years later I visited Cephas in Jerusalem for 15 days, but didn't see any of the other apostles except James, brother of Jesus. Then I went to Syria and Cilicia. I was still an unknown person in the churches of Jesus in Judea.
Fourteen years later I returned to Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus. I went to proclaim the gospel I had been teaching the gentiles. They saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised. When James, Cephas and John saw the grace given to me, they gave me the hand of fellowship, and said I should continue preaching to the uncircumcised, while they preached to the circumcised.
We know that a person is not justified by obeying the law: only through faith in Jesus Christ. Christ lives in me now. The life I now live I live by faith in Jesus, who loved me and gave himself for me. If righteousness is through the law, then Christ died for no reason! It is those of faith who are the true sons of Abraham!
God told Abraham that through him all nations would be blessed; it is through Abraham's descendant, Jesus, that all nations are blessed. It is not through adherence to the law, which came 430 years later. The law was put in place by angels to keep Abraham's descendants alive until the coming of Jesus! Before Jesus came, we were captives under the law! The law was our guardian until the coming of Jesus! Through Jesus you are all sons of God!
Now you have come to know God, how can you back to your old ways? I am afraid I may have laboured over you in vain!
Look: if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. If you get circumcised, if you want to follow the law, then you must follow all of it. You will be severed from Christ; you will have fallen from grace. In Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision matters, only faith!
Walk in the ways of the spirit, not the flesh. The ways of the flesh are sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, etc. Those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. With such things there is no law.
Bear one another's burdens. If anyone transgresses, restore him to faith in a spirit of gentleness. Whatever one sows, that will he also reap. One who sows to the flesh will reap corruption; one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life!
Yours faithfully,
Paul, an apostle chosen by Lord Jesus and God the Father.
Hey Thessalonians!
We're always mentioning you guys! You've set a good example for all of Greece by turning from idol worship to serving the one true God, and awaiting Jesus' return from heaven!
We were so glad that you accepted the word of God for what is (i.e. not the word of man which some people keep saying). You imitated the churches of Jesus in Judea, and have suffered from your countrymen, like the churches in Judea suffered from the Jews!
The Jews: they killed Lord Jesus and the prophets, drove us out... they displease God and oppose all mankind by hindering us from speaking to the gentiles.
We sent Timothy to check on you and strengthen your faith in the face of the your current afflictions. Remember, when we were with you we said that you'd have to suffer afflictions. I was worried you'd given in to temptation and abandoned your faith!
But Timothy came back saying you were doing great. We pray night and day hoping to see you again. May God and Lord Jesus bless you, and increase your love for each other.
Finally, remember the instructions we gave you on how to please God! Abstain from sexual immorality! Control yourself! (Unlike those horny gentiles). Love each other. Live quietly. Mind your own affairs.
Jesus died and rose again, and will come back to raise the dead and take the faithful to Heaven. He will descend, and we the living will be taken up to the clouds to meet the Lord.
That day will come like a thief in the night but, unlike the faithless, you won't be surprised when it comes! Encourage each other and build each other's strength until that day comes!
Respect people. Be at peace with yourselves. Admonish the idle. Encourage the faint-hearted. Help the weak. Be patient. Never repay evil with evil. Do good to one another. Pray constantly. Abstain from all evil. I hope your entire spirit and body is blameless at Jesus' coming!
Pray for us, and please read this letter out to everyone.
Yours faithfully,
Paul, Silvanus and Timothy
Galatians
Dear Galatians,
I am astonished that you are so quickly abandoning your faith and turning to a different gospel! Not that there really is another gospel - it's just people distorting the true gospel of Christ. Even if an angel descended from heaven and preached a gospel contrary to the one we taught, you shouldn't believe it. The angel is accursed.
The gospel that was preached to me was not man's gospel; I received it through direct revelation from Jesus Christ. In my former life in Judaism I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. But God, who chose me before I was born, called me by his grace and revealed his son to me, so that I might preach to the gentiles. I went to Arabia first.
Three years later I visited Cephas in Jerusalem for 15 days, but didn't see any of the other apostles except James, brother of Jesus. Then I went to Syria and Cilicia. I was still an unknown person in the churches of Jesus in Judea.
Fourteen years later I returned to Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus. I went to proclaim the gospel I had been teaching the gentiles. They saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised. When James, Cephas and John saw the grace given to me, they gave me the hand of fellowship, and said I should continue preaching to the uncircumcised, while they preached to the circumcised.
We know that a person is not justified by obeying the law: only through faith in Jesus Christ. Christ lives in me now. The life I now live I live by faith in Jesus, who loved me and gave himself for me. If righteousness is through the law, then Christ died for no reason! It is those of faith who are the true sons of Abraham!
God told Abraham that through him all nations would be blessed; it is through Abraham's descendant, Jesus, that all nations are blessed. It is not through adherence to the law, which came 430 years later. The law was put in place by angels to keep Abraham's descendants alive until the coming of Jesus! Before Jesus came, we were captives under the law! The law was our guardian until the coming of Jesus! Through Jesus you are all sons of God!
Now you have come to know God, how can you back to your old ways? I am afraid I may have laboured over you in vain!
Look: if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. If you get circumcised, if you want to follow the law, then you must follow all of it. You will be severed from Christ; you will have fallen from grace. In Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision matters, only faith!
Walk in the ways of the spirit, not the flesh. The ways of the flesh are sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, etc. Those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. With such things there is no law.
Bear one another's burdens. If anyone transgresses, restore him to faith in a spirit of gentleness. Whatever one sows, that will he also reap. One who sows to the flesh will reap corruption; one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life!
Yours faithfully,
Paul, an apostle chosen by Lord Jesus and God the Father.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)