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.
https://www.bible.com/bible/116/jdg.2.nlt
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.
https://www.bible.com/bible/116/psa.79
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 clear that we are not saved by religion.
We are saved by faith (which I will frequently change to ‘fully believing’. The reason I do this is because ‘faith’ is a very fuzzy concept in English, but it is not fuzzy in Greek. In Greek ‘believe’ and ‘faith’ are simply the verb and noun forms of the same root word. Do not fall into the trap of choosing between what James says and what Paul says. Their 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’.
Translation notes:
1This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by [Christ Jesus//Jesus Christ] himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead.
6 [But] I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ.c You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News
15But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by
his marvelous [kindness/grace]. Then it pleased him 16 to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles.
23All they knew was that people were saying, “The one who used to persecute us is now preaching the very [beliefs//faith] he tried to destroy!”
https://www.bible.com/bible/116/gal.1
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