Tag: Galatians

Forgiveness Is Unequal

For the one who’s forgiven it’s free… undeserved. Grace.

For the one forgiving, it comes at a price. Believing in the opportunity for redemption.

By grace, through faith we’re saved.

Recipients of God’s grace… a product of the faith of Christ… in turn a result of obedience to God’s will.

It’s not “our faith first” that saved us. It’s Christ’s faith. At Calvary we had no faith… but we were included in redemption by God’s grace and Christ’s faith.

Does our faith have a part? Most definitely. How can we receive and take hold of the gift of salvation we don’t believe?

Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Gal 2:20… I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

  • Mark Saunders

Life by the Spirit

Galatians 5:13-26

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Born Again But Not Free?

It’s very possible.

There are things for each one of us that can easily entangle us.

No one of us is “too strong” to fall.

For the Galatians the yoke of bondage was the law… they were turning from the grace of God back to “another gospel.”  

They lost their freedom when they turned from the grace of God… but they didn’t see what had happened.

This also happens to us.  We find ourselves entangled again with things we were once free from and we wonder how it happened?

It’s always the flesh… when we submit to the desires of our flesh we find ourselves turning from the grace of God until we’re entangled again.

The cross... the power and wisdom of God!

What’s the solution?  It’s the cross!  The cross… the power and wisdom of God!  The Holy Spirit leads us to victory through the cross.  There’s no other way.

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. 

Galatians 5:1 (NKJV)

 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 

Galatians 5:16 (NKJV)

And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 

Galatians 5:24 (NKJV)

And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Luke 9:23 (NKJV)
  • Mark Saunders