Epistle to the Galatians

Israel (Galations __) and in a spiritual sense by making Christ a home in man’s heart (Galations__). Paul shares that “Christ now lives within me” and that with His Spirit he is able to live as Christ’s ambassador and an instrument of His choosing (Galatians 2:20). Faith alone is the road to salvation Paul shares and he uses the covenant of Abraham to show that Jesus is the fulfillment of that…

Another area of divergence concerns the act of circumcision. It is clear that Jesus and Paul are Jews who are circumcised, yet throughout Paul’s epistles, he repeatedly and vehemently states that circumcision is not necessary. For example, in his first letter to Corinthians, he writes, “Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing; but obeying the commandments of God is everything. Let each of you remain in the condition in which you were called” (I Cor. 7:19-20). The significance of…

As pointed, both the contemporary teachers of the Law and Jesus were very strict about adhering to the Mosaic laws, and neither of them would tolerate disobeying, bending, or misinterpreting them. However, Jesus was more about the real purpose of the Law, which as demonstrated in his sermons throughout the Gospels, was more about becoming intimate with God and being generous and compassionate to people around oneself. In fact, Jesus condemns some of the Pharisees as being brood of vipers, in…

The book under critique, Believer’s Baptism: Sign of the New Covenant in Christ, was written by Shawn D. Wright. Wright is a theology professor at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a member of the Evangelical Theological Society. With this book, Wright teams up with Thomas R. Schreiner, the Dean of the School of Theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Together, they co-edit a collection of scholarly and scriptural essays on the history and truth of baptism. Using…

heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” along with, “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-38). The only way the believer is able to do this is with the help of the Holy Spirit, whom God sent after Jesus ascended into heaven (Galatians 4:6). In Christ, the believer is reborn. The apostle Peter states, “you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God” (1Peter 1:23). Jesus is the word of God, and his word is…

Martin Luther depicted Roman epistle as “truly the most important piece in the New Testament,” “the purest Gospel,” and he highly esteemed the letter insomuch that he wrote, “It is well worth a Christian’s while not only to memorize if word for word but also to occupy himself with it daily, as though it were the daily bread of the soul.” Foundational, vital, Christian subthemes are within Romans that are under the overarching theme of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. One of these themes is one that…

exercises his “free will”, and choose God, then God would give him grace. With “free will”, grace, and good works, God would give him righteousness so he can go to heaven. The Reformation condemned this false doctrine through biblical scripture in Galatians 1:6-9: “If any man preaches any other gospel unto you then that ye have received, let him be accursed.” There position is the deceptive doctrine is hearsay, the rejection of Christ, and sacrilege to God (Engelsma.) Today the Roman Catholic…

Internal Evidence of Early Authorship All of the New Testament was written in the first century. Some scholars date them toward the middle and others toward the end. Usually, the late dating of the gospels is based on knowledge and predictions around the destruction of the temple. That is since some do not believe in the message of the New Testament––they do not believe Jesus could predict future events––and so the gospels must have been written after AD 70 if they predict these events. This is…

Discuss Thomas Gnosticism. What did it mean to be a Thomas Christian? How was that different from Johannine or Pauline Christianity ? Include a broad description of the Gospel of Thomas, the Book of Thomas the Contender, and the Acts of Thomas , pointing to their similarity and differences Gospel of Thomas According to class lecture notes on November 17th 2016 , The Gospel of Thomas can be set during the early part…

The passage, Romans 3:21-27, cannot thoroughly be understood by it once, or perhaps even twice, because of the complexity of what Paul says. Additionally, the text cannot rightly be understood on its own or without the context. Therefore, through looking at the historical background involved, the literary techniques and devices used, and the theological implications of the text, a clear interpretation of the text will develop; leading to the conclusion that righteousness in the eye of God is not…