We come to the part of Galatians that seems quite meaty but is also highly technical. In today's study, we seek to answer questions about the law, it's purpose and what it shows us about God.
“My hope is built on nothing less / than Jesus’ blood and righteousness"
This is Paul’s message to the church in Galatia, and one that might be familiar to us from songs like the one above, and verses like Ephesians 2:8 where we proclaim that our salvation is ‘not of ourselves; it is the gift of God’. Yet while many of us might agree that we are saved by grace alone, functionally, we live by a law-based approach to life. Our sense of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ tells us that if we are to be saved, our good works must outnumber our bad works. After all, isn’t it only ‘good’ people that deserve to be saved? This is what Paul had to say in the middlish bit of his letter to the church:
We're going to look at what the gospel claims and says about God but this is not just an abstract study of God. It actually has an impact on our identity -- who we were, are now and going to be -- and ultimately drives and influences what you are going to do.
To be in gospel step is to be coherent and consistent. It also means first that you belong to Jesus. If you truly believe that you are not your own, but bought with a price, then it would do you good to consider how the Bible calls us to be in gospel step.
This might sound uncool and totalitarian to our modern, "enlightened" minds that tell us that we are self-appointed sovereigns of our souls. We instinctively feel uncomfortable and might be tempted to brush it off. But the main point tonight is that being in gospel step is belonging to Jesus. We are not our own but we belong to the One person that it is probably safe to belong to.
In this study, we're going to introduce this idea of the formal and material principle. The formal principle deals with who has the right to speak the truth, while the material principle deals with the content of the issue. There was a debate in the church 500 years ago, that spoke about how a man is saved. This is the material principle, but the formal principle – who has the right to say – was also important.
Christians believe in the gospel. We believe that we are sinners saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. And we believe that the gospel is foundational to the faith. If you lose sight of it, you lose sight of everything else.
By teaching us important things about gospel authenticity and gospel authority, the book of Galatians also asks us the question, “have the truths of the gospel dug down deep into our hearts?” Have we, like the Galatians church of old, lost sight of the one true gospel?
Zephaniah thus far has spoken extensively on the Day of the Lord. Yet, as this book ends, it seems to end on a different note. The God who has been judging so far, appears to be singing. As we read the closing verses, let's also listen to the words of the song that God is singing and hear His voice.
Zephaniah has two major themes: the judgement on the world and the restoration of God’s people on the ‘day of the LORD’. The past few lessons have seen us looking at the wrath and judgement of God, but today we are finally going to delve deeper regarding the ‘restoration’ of God’s people.
How would you describe yourself? How would you describe your character? We might be tempted to qualify and choose a suitable description so that people will like us. But in some sense, the God of Zephaniah doesn't really care. This text focuses on the righteousness of God. What's also important is that the God we have been seeing in Zephaniah is the same God today! He is not an OT God of wrath and a loving and merciful God today. This is important to remember.
There are 2 big themes in the book of Zephaniah -- judgment on the Day of the Lord and the restoration on the Day of the Lord. In some sense, Zephaniah is the equivalent of Revelation in the Old Testament. But how is this book applicable for us today? Truthfully, is not hard to see that the powers of the world are fumbling. Countries don't gather and cooperate naturally. Just take a look at the newspapers. As we read Zephaniah 2, bear this in mind, that the judgment He is pouring out in chapter 2 is also what He is doing in our world today.
Today's study is based on just 3 verses, but don't let that throw you off. These are 3 verses with important truths, not only for the people of Israel then, but it also has present-day implications for us!
If you knew what tomorrow holds today, how would you live differently? This passage in Zephaniah talks about the "day of the Lord", which is a day of the LORD’s judgment on sin. What does this mean for us today, and how does this change the way we live now?
This is the first of our series in Zephaniah. Zephaniah belongs to the minor prophets in the Old Testament, but most of us don't really read the minor prophets because (a) poetry is hard, (b) it requires knowledge of some history and (c) the themes are hard-hitting. So before we look at the chapters and verses of the book of Zephaniah, let's also remember to understand the context.
What is the link between Jonah and Jesus Christ? This is the question that we seek to answer in this study, where we will examine the words of Jesus in the New Testament, in Matt 12:38-42.
What comes to your mind when you think of the word "God" and "mercy"? What does it mean that God is a God of mercy? In Jonah 4, we read of a God who is merciful, but also Jonah's struggle with this God! As we come to this passage, let us not approach Scriptures and leave in a disengaged manner. Rather, let us come ready to commit to let the Word speak to us, and walk away changed.
At the end of Jonah 2, "the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land" (Jonah 2:17). Jonah 3 records for us what happens after this, and Jonah 3:10 speaks of a God who relents. Immediately, we have many questions about what this means when God does not do what He said He would. This creates a lot of problems for us, which hopefully this study will address.
Jonah 2 is probably the most famous part of the Jonah narrative. When we get to Jonah 1:17, 2:1 and 2:10, many think that this is not possible and dismiss this account. For those of us that grew up in Sunday School, we are also left with the idea that this is a passage that shows us that if we are bad we are punished, and sets up a transactional relationship with God. Yet Jonah 2 is not about these 2 things, as we are about to find out.
Last week we began by understanding the context and circumstances surrounding Jonah's call from God. Jonah the son of Amittai is anything but faithful. God calls him to arise and go northeast but he has southwest instead just to get away from God. This is extremely counter-intuitive for a Jew. Landlocked Israel has always thought of the sea as a tempestuous place, where uncertainty, chaos and disaster reigns. In this study, we'll dive right in and unpack more of Jonah's response to God's call and command.
For this study, we'll only be camping out in the first 3 verses of this book. Why? Understanding these verses is important in shaping our understanding of the rest of the book, for it sets the tone and helps prevent us from being distracted by red herrings.
This final letter was addressed to Laodicea, which was a city similar to Singapore. It was a bustling, prosperous city engaged in trade. It had no water supply and had to pipe in water from the surrounding region. Laodicea was also a medical hub and had a well-known school of ophthalmology. Things seemed to be good in this city, but what did Jesus had to say to them? What can we learn from this letter?