If there was anyone in the world who knew how to be saved, and was confident in his own salvation, it was Saul—that is, until he met Jesus. Not much is known about Paul’s life before his conversion, but the world has never been quite the same since his conversion. It has been said that, after Christ, Paul has had the greatest impact on Christian th
The title of the Sabbath School lesson this week is, “The Road to Faith.” What does this mean? Is the author referring to another path leading to salvation that exists prior to or separate from faith in Jesus Christ? Are there two paths, one for Jewish Christian believers and another for Gentiles? Or are we all on the same road of faith all
One of Paul’s favorite subjects in his writings is the relationship between the law and faith. Having come from a background of Judaism and the life of a strict Pharisee, Paul regularly engaged former Jews in other ways of thinking to understand how the Gentiles were also heirs of Abraham. To this end, he discusses in Galatians the purpose of the l
There are several issues in Galatians 2:1-14 that I am going to discuss this week that provide insight into confrontation and the resolution of disputes amongst early Christ followers. These issues also relate to last week’s discussion on the issue of authority. The first relates to Paul’s relationship to the apostolic leadership in Jerusalem; seco
The lesson this week looks at Galatians 1, and is concerned primarily with the issue of Paul’s authority in relation to the gospel. The question arises, was Paul’s claim to authority based on his experience of Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus? Or is there something deeper going on in Galatians 1, which could help to explain the reason that Paul
The story of Paul’s letter to the Galatians, in this quarter’s Sabbath school lesson, begins with its author. To learn about this main character, the reader must turn to other materials in the New Testament to discover who Paul is and what motivates his reaction to the situation that arose in the church in Galatia. Acts 7 introduces a malevo
“You can believe that if you want—and be wrong and burn in hell!” I shouted to a coworker while passionately pounding on the table we were both sitting at. It was our lunch break, and I was speaking to him about the Saturday/Sunday “Sabbath” debate we’d been having. I had clearly won this disagreement by sharing only the biblical proof texts and hi
