The Christian Life

05/30/2026

Galatians 5:7
You ran well; who hindered you not to be persuaded by the truth? (Galatians 5:7).

Salvation is by grace through faith in the fact that Christ died on behalf of our sins and was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3–4). We receive salvation by the Spirit out from the hearing of faith, not out from works of the law (Galatians 3:2). Therefore, we are not to be so foolish as to think that having begun by the Spirit we are made mature through the flesh (Galatians 3:3). Yet, despite this, there are many who bring another gospel, changing the grace from Christ into another message (Galatians 1:6). Specifically, they teach preservation of salvation by law and works.
The persuasion that Christians must maintain a set of works, rules, or standards to be righteous is not from the One who calls us (Galatians 5:8). In other words, works of the flesh do not save us, nor maintain our salvation. Those who teach such things will bear their own judgment (Galatians 5:10).
Paul did not teach circumcision, thus adherence to the Mosaic law (Galatians 5:11). Instead, when a Christian is being obedient to the commandments from Christ, given through Paul and the apostles (2 Peter 3:2; 1 Corinthians 14:37), he will not do anything that violates law nor live according to the flesh (Galatians 5:22–26).
In light of all this, let us not be persuaded to live by the standards of man to justify ourselves before God or men. We live by grace, not law. This means we have the freedom to live a life of righteousness that is not based on seeking to maintain a standard of righteousness dictated by law. Rather, it is freedom to love other saints and live out the righteousness we possess in Christ.

Memory Verse

05/29/2026

Genesis 17:1–2
And Abram was a son of ninety-nine years and the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God. Walk before My face and you be undivided. And I will make My covenant between Me and you. And I will multiply you exceedingly” (Genesis 17:1–2)

Although some English translations opt to use the word “blameless”, the original Hebrew word focuses on integrity in the sense of not divided. Abram came from an idolatrous nation (Joshua 24:2). God states to Him that He is the Almighty God, for there are no others. Abram is to reject the god’s of his fathers and be undivided in following the Almighty God. “Blameless” is not a word that conveys the concept of a person who is without blame in their conduct. Noah was called blameless in Genesis 6:9 because his line was not corrupted; his line remained fully human (Genesis 6:12).
Abram belief in God’s promise to him concerning his descendants is the reason he is to walk before the LORD and not be divided in his allegiance (Genesis 15:6). The time was almost upon him when this promise would be fulfilled. This child through whom God would fulfill His promise was not Ishmael (Genesis 17:17). Ishmael was not conceived from faith. It is Isaac that God will establish His covenant with, a son not yet born to Abram (Genesis 17:19).

Memory Verse

05/28/2026

Matthew 5:6 Explained: Hunger for Righteousness – Israel vs Church Truth.

Happy are those who hunger and thirst for the righteousness, because they will be satisfied (Matthew 5:6).

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05/28/2026

Matthew 5:6
Happy are those who hunger and thirst for the righteousness, because they will be satisfied (Matthew 5:6).

The righteousness the Jews are hungering and thirsting for is the Kingdom of God, in which Israel will possess righteousness (Matthew 6:33; Isaiah 58:8). At the time Jesus is speaking, Israel will be in the wilderness. The man of lawlessness has broken his covenant with Israel and set himself up as a god in the temple (2 Thessalonians 2:3–4). In this context, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness from God will be happy because they will be satisfied when Christ returns to set up His kingdom—a kingdom in which righteousness will rule (Matthew 13:41).
In contrast, believers today possess the righteousness of Christ (1 Corinthians 1:30); they are not hungering and thirsting for what they have obtained in Christ. Christ is an end of the law unto righteousness for all who believe (Romans 10:4). This is righteousness out from faith, not works of the law (Romans 10:6). Through the gospel of the Christ—Christ died on behalf of our sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures—God’s righteousness is revealed to us today (Romans 1:17).
Therefore, these words cannot be applied to the Christian because Jesus is not addressing the Church. Those who seek to apply these to the Church must allegorize the Scriptures to fit their own personal interpretation. Let us of the Church be wise enough to understand the context of Scripture and rightly divide the word of truth, for we are the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Timothy 2:15; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Philippians 1:9–11).

Memory Verse

05/27/2026

2 John 6 Explained: Walk in Love – Jesus' Commandment for the Church Today.

This is the love, in order that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you heard from a beginning, in order that you should walk in it, 2 John 6.

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05/27/2026

2 John 6
This is the love, in order that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you heard from a beginning, in order that you should walk in it, 2 John 6.
After stating the importance of walking according to His commandments, the apostle John switches from a plural command to a singular command. This singular commandment is the one we received from the beginning of the Church; love one another as I have loved you (John 13:34). All of the commandments are based on this commandment, for without love we are nothing more than a sounding brass or clanging cymbal (1 Corinthians 13:1).
The commandments from Jesus came to the Church through Paul and the other apostles (1 Corinthians 14:37; 2 Peter 3:2). These commandments have nothing to do with the Ten Commandments of the Mosaic law, for Christ is an end to the law for all who believe (Romans 10:4). A Christian cannot live by any quality of law because the sin nature residing within him will use the law to produce death (Romans 7:8–13). Since all of the commandments of the law are summed up in “You will love your neighbor as yourself,” and the commandment for the grace believer is to love other saints as Christ loved us, how much greater is the Church saint who keeps Jesus’ commandments? When we are abiding in Christ and producing fruit, this fruit has no law against it (Galatians 5:22–23).
His commandments for us are to believe in the Son of God, love one another—that is, other saints—and abide in Christ (1 John 3:23–24). The one who loves God will keep these commandments and reject the commandments of law and men (1 Timothy 6:14; Ephesians 2:15). For the one saying he knows Jesus and does not keep His commandments, this one is a liar (1 John 2:4).

Memory Verse

05/26/2026

Only God Judges the Heart: 1 Corinthians 4:4-5 Explained

For I am aware of nothing against me, but I am not justified by this. The one discerning me is the Lord. Wherefore, do not judge anything before the time, until the Lord comes, Who also will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will manifest the determinations of the heart. And then the praise of each one will come from God (1 Corinthians 4:4–5).

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05/26/2026

1 Corinthians 4:4–5
For I am aware of nothing against me, but I am not justified by this. The one discerning me is the Lord. Wherefore, do not judge anything before the time, until the Lord comes, Who also will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will manifest the determinations of the heart. And then the praise of each one will come from God (1 Corinthians 4:4–5).

Paul, regarding himself as the least of the apostles due to his persecution of the Church (1 Corinthians 15:9), reminds us that only the Lord is the true Judge. He encourages us to lay aside our past lives before salvation, entrusting the judgment of our works to the Lord (1 Corinthians 3:13). While we may judge actions, we are not to judge motives (1 Corinthians 6:1), and the faith we possess is to be directed toward the Lord, not people (Romans 14:22).
Therefore, let us examine our works, ensuring they are being done out from faith, not by law as a means to justify ourselves before God or men (Genesis 6:4). Similarly, let us examine our faith, ensuring we are basing it upon God’s word and not according to the persuasive words of wisdom that are based upon man’s philosophy (2 Corinthians 13:5; 1 Corinthians 2:5). Let us also not be those who are shortsighted, forgetting we have been cleansed from our former sins (2 Peter 1:9). If our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts (1 John 3:20).

Memory Verse

05/25/2026

Romans 3:5
But if our unrighteousness stands together with God’s righteousness, what will we say? Is God, the one bringing the wrath, unjust? I speak according to a man (Romans 3:5).

In the letter to the saints in Rome, Paul has been explaining how both the Jew and the Gentile are under sin. When the Gentile, who is not circumcised nor under law, does by nature the things related to the law, these are law unto themselves (Romans 2:14). A Jew is not saved because he is circumcised in the flesh. If a Jew transgresses the law, will not the uncircumcised who fulfills the law judge such a one? (Romans 2:27). Thus, there is no advantage in circumcision other than that the Jews first received the oracles of God (Romans 3:1).
Given this understanding, how then can one say that Paul is doing unrighteousness when what he speaks demonstrates the righteousness of God? God is just and will be justified in His words and overcome when He judges (Romans 3:4). Furthermore, Paul is speaking the truth, which is shown by how the truth of God increases among the Gentiles to a proper opinion of God (Romans 3:7).
At the same time, many will speak against the truth. Even those who say, “Let us do wrong in order that the good may come.” Their condemnation is just, for they speak a lie (Romans 3:8). Indeed, God has no part of darkness, and the unrighteousness of man will not display a proper opinion of God or the truth (1 John 1:6). The Jew is not above the Gentile. Nor will a Jew be able to manipulate his way out of judgment if he does the very things he is instructing the unlearned not to do. In the end, God is not a respecter of persons. Only the Jews who believe God will be saved; the rest will be cast out.

Memory Verse

05/24/2026

Faith Working Through Love: Grace Over Law in Christ (Galatians 5:6).

For in Christ circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love (Galatians 5:6).

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