CHRIST HAS MADE US FREE
GALATIANS
_HELEN POCOCK_
CHAPTER 6
CHRISTIANS SHOULD HELP EACH OTHER
V1 My Christian brothers and sisters, a *sin may overcome someone.
Those among you whom the Holy Spirit guides should show the person the
right way. But you must be kind and gentle with him or her. And... [ Continue Reading ]
Christians should not still do what their natural desires want to do.
But all Christians find that *sin tests them. And sometimes the *sin
seems to overcome them. This refers to *sins that people do not mean
to do. Or, this refers to the *sins that people are ready to confess
to God. It is easy to s... [ Continue Reading ]
The word for ‘troubles’ describes a heavy load. It refers to
anything that makes life difficult for a person. Paul had already
mentioned this law in 5:14, ‘You must love other people as you love
yourself.’ It is difficult for someone physically to carry a heavy
load by himself. It feels much lighter... [ Continue Reading ]
Pride is a very bad thing. A Christian can feel superior when he sees
another Christian in trouble or in *sin. But nobody is better than
anybody else. Even the *apostles in Jerusalem were not more important
than other people (2:6). People may feel proud when they act like
judges of other people’s be... [ Continue Reading ]
God has given gifts to everyone (1 Corinthians 12:4-7). He has given
to everyone good work to do (Ephesians 2:10). Everyone will give an
account to God for what he or she said (Matthew 12:36). So every
Christian is responsible for the way that he or she behaves. Other
people can help Christians if *... [ Continue Reading ]
To ‘share all good things’ may refer to money. The members of a
*church should pay the person who teaches them. Paul taught more about
this in 1 Timothy 5:17-18.... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul wanted to emphasise what he was saying here. Someone can cheat
another person. But nobody can cheat God. Paul used a farmer as his
example. A farmer plants seeds in his fields. If he plants corn, then
he will harvest corn from that field. If he plants potatoes, then he
will harvest potatoes fro... [ Continue Reading ]
The farmer in verse 7 harvested the same crops as he sowed. He
received what he deserved. And, in our lives, we too receive what we
deserve. If we live for ourselves, then God will punish us. Instead,
we should live to please God. Then we shall do what pleases the Holy
Spirit. We shall have God’s li... [ Continue Reading ]
People cannot earn their place in God’s family. God will not accept
them because they do good deeds. But when someone becomes part of
God’s family, they should serve other people. This can be hard work.
People get tired. Sometimes people may even feel depressed. But every
good deed is like a good se... [ Continue Reading ]
So Paul encouraged the Christians to serve other people. Christians
can help all kinds of people. But they always should remember to help
other Christians too. This verse links with 2:10.
PAUL’S FINAL MESSAGE
V11 I am writing this myself. You can see what big letters I write.
V12 Some men insist... [ Continue Reading ]
In Paul’s days, many people did not write their own letters.
Instead, they employed skilled writers. These writers knew how to
write official letters. They could write neatly. And they could write
in the official *Greek language. When Paul wrote his letter to the
Romans, he employed a writer (Romans... [ Continue Reading ]
Again, Paul opposed the false teachers. They wanted *Gentile
Christians to become *Jews. The false teachers wanted to be popular
among the *Jews. The false teachers wanted to be the ones whom people
accepted. The false teachers did not want to suffer. Paul was not
popular among the *Jews, because he... [ Continue Reading ]
The false teachers were *Jews. They wanted the *Gentile Christians to
obey the *Jewish laws. However, the false teachers did not manage to
obey all the *Jewish laws themselves. But they were proud. And they
wanted people to admire their work.... [ Continue Reading ]
At one time, Paul was proud of what he achieved. He always obeyed the
*Jewish laws. He did what pleased other people. But Paul’s life
changed completely when he met Jesus Christ. He did not care about
anything except that he knew Jesus Christ. Paul explained this in more
detail in Philippians 3:2-9.... [ Continue Reading ]
It does not matter whether someone is a *Jew or a *Gentile. But it
does matter whether someone is a genuine Christian. It does matter
whether someone trusts Jesus. Everyone needs to invite Jesus into his
or her life.... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul started this letter with a similar prayer in 1:3. Paul had just
described how Christians in Galatia should live. And if they lived in
that way, they would be at *peace with God. They would be at *peace
with other people. And they would feel *peaceful in their spirits. God
had already been kind... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul wrote this letter to teach the truth to the Christians. He had
taught the truth to them when he first visited Galatia. But some of
them started to believe the false teachers. The Christians were not
sure whether Paul was a real *apostle. In this letter, Paul explained
why the false teachers wer... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul ended this letter with a short prayer. ‘*Lord Jesus Christ’
is the full title that Paul used in 1:3. All God’s kind gifts come
to Christians by means of Jesus. All Christians are like brothers and
sisters because we all belong to God’s family. ‘Let it be so’ is
the word ‘Amen’. People say ‘Amen... [ Continue Reading ]