In the last lesson I spoke about “faith active in love” being the best roadmap for living in our time. Paul sometimes describes it as living “in Christ”, sometimes as living “in the Spirit”. He is obviously talking about the same thing. “What is the Holy Spirit?” was a very common question throughout my ministry. […]
Romans 1-8 Salvation: by Faith Active in Love I am going to look at Romans as the best road map for the modern age, emphasizing how much better “faith active in love” is than the religious law which has failed us so miserably. It enables us to adjust appropriately to the diverse situations before us. […]
If religions deal with ultimate questions, they eventually have to deal with death. As Paul says, it is the last enemy, the elephant in the room, or to keep our metaphor, the elephant in the middle of the road. No matter what we do, death is ahead. Paul might have put off the task in […]
After discussing moral issues Paul turns to worship. Again we see the freedom of the Spirit. Although he speaks of tradition (I Corinthians 11: 2) this does not appear to include a formal liturgy. Five years earlier he said, “Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances, do not quench the Spirit (I Thessalonians […]
I have always had a hard time making sense of chapters 5-14. Paul seems all over the place, going hither and yon in his reasoning and counseling. After a lot of struggle, I decided to take Paul at his word. There are no laws. Jesus grants us his Spirit which gives us freedom. The only […]
Before offering counsel about the chaotic situation in their church, Paul reminds the Corinthians that Christianity looks at things much differently than the rest of their world. “The message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God…. For since, in […]
Rather than plowing directly into I Corinthians, let me speak to the discussion started in recent lessons. As Sarah assured me from the very beginning, the comments have become very significant. I think this is especially important for understanding Paul’s real gift. If we try to apply Paul’s specific counsels to our present situation, such […]
It is important to keep reminding ourselves not to expect a systematic theology from Paul. He just does not offer that kind of consistency. Instead we find him applying his gospel rather flexibly to the situation of his churches. In Galatians’ first four chapters Paul speaks of the Cross as an act of love by which God […]
If scholars are right, Galatians is the second earliest book in the New Testament. It proclaims the heart of Paul’s message, justification by faith. It pretty evident Paul never wrote thinking his letter would become part of our Bible. His emotions almost get the better of him as he defends his authority as an apostle, […]
Thessalonians pictures the church being persecuted for their belief that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ who shall rule the earth for God. As they wait for him, they live as much as possible in his Spirit, living quietly and loving all. Anne rightly asks how we can understand this in our time 2,000 years […]
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