True Discipleship is Not What You Think | Galatians 5:5-6
True discipleship isn’t doing your best in striving to measure up to a religious standard. It’s not about how much you know, how hard you work at keeping a variety of spiritual disciplines, or how much faith you have that something will happen. True discipleship, as the Apostle Paul explains in Galatians 5: 5-6, is by faith relying and depending upon the power and strength of the Holy Spirit in you to love others.
Can you lose your salvation? Or are you once saved always saved? | Galatians 5:2-4
Is it possible to lose your salvation? Or are you once saved always saved? When having this discussion, it is important to take into account all of what God’s Word says, not just one or two particular passages. Pastor Ross explains what is at the heart of these questions as it relates to Galatians 5.
Freedom in Christ | Galatians 5:1-4
It was for FREEDOM that Christ has set us free. This is the rallying call of the Apostle Paul to the Galatians that they would resist the temptation to enslave themselves to the Law, but would rather stand firm in the freedom that Christ has purchased for us on the cross.
An Allegory from Hagar and Sarah – Children of Slavery vs Children of Promise | Galatians 4:21-31
Sometimes in Scripture, there is a story behind the story. A deeper spiritual reality that is being played out through people and events in the Old Testament. The apostle Paul reveals one such allegory in Galatians 4 with the story of Hagar, Sarah, and their children who represent two covenants. One of slavery; and one of freedom. The question becomes, who is your mother? And then, what do we do with the one who causes so much trouble?
Hear My Heart | Galatians 4:12-20
Having made a powerful argument over the past chapter and a half as to why all Christians, those of Jewish and Gentile birth, are free from the Law to now live under the Spirit. The Apostle Paul commands them to be free, through an appeal of his heart for them. He contrasts how the Judaizers only want to use them for their own personal glory, while Paul wants to see them grow in their faith with Jesus.
The End of Man’s Religion | Galatians 4:8-11
We are all, by definition, religious people. But not all religions are equal. All of man’s religions are essentially the same – we do our best to earn blessing and favor from the god of our choosing through our sacrifice and adhering to the right rituals and performance. But it only ends up in bondage and failure because those gods cannot provide the fulfillment and contentment that we deserve. In this message, Pastor Ross helps us discover what is the pure and undefiled religion of God that comes from knowing the love God has for you.
Christ Came at the Fullness of Time | Galatians 4:4-5
The timing of Jesus’ birth was not an accident. It was the exact moment to fulfill the prophecies of God. But it also was the exact moment that would allow the church to grow as quickly and easily as it did in the decades after Jesus’ resurrection. Pastor Ross shares a Christmas message from the book of Galatians.
The Adoption of Sons | Galatians 4:1-7
Adoption in first century Roman times was very different from how we understand adoption today. Back then, adoption was the time when the father recognized that their son was mature and no longer needed the child guides that they were in bondage to. The Apostle Paul uses that analogy to show that we have graduated from being under bondage to the Law so that we could be sons of God with the Holy Spirit as our new guide.
Sons of God with Authority | Galatians 3:26-29
Through our faith in Christ, we have been baptised into Christ and therefore become sons of God with authority and power. This applies to all believers, Jews and Gentiles alike, slave and free, men and women – all are one in Christ.
The Surprising Purpose of God’s Law | Galatians 3:19-25
God didn’t give the Law through Moses as a template for us to follow. Instead, it was meant to show us that we could never live up to those standards on our own. And that there would have to be another way to Him – faith in Christ Jesus. But now that we have Jesus, we no longer need the Law. For it has done its purpose in leading us to Jesus by showing us our failure. Now, we live in and from Jesus Christ.