Time In The Word

If you are a Christian:

• You have divine wisdom, a saving knowledge of God and of divine truth.
• You have a righteousness that secures your justification.
• You are renewed after the image of God and will finally be presented without spot or blemish before the presence of His glory.
• And you will share eternal redemption, full deliverance from all the evils of sin and introduced into the glorious liberty of God.

These blessing...

In today’s message, Dr. Gonzalez reminds us that we can’t overlook the importance of making good decisions, for decisions will play a role in determining the course of our lives. There are four pillars we can build on as a good framework for making decisions:

• God
• Facts
• Advice
• Impact

Good decisions do not come from intellect or luck, but by using a scriptural framework as a lens through which we can see clearly and decide ...

Alexander the Great conquered the world yet died at age 33 in a drunken stupor. Hannibal may have crossed the Alps with elephants, but he had three bushels of gold rings he had taken off knights he slaughtered; and he later committed suicide. Julius Caesar conquered 800 cities across Europe and the Middle East, but he was stabbed by his closest friends. Napoleon was the scourge of Europe, yet he died in banishment.

Solomon was the ...

The author of Hebrews writes, “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.”

In today’s message, Jesus’s Present Work and Ministry, Dr. Gonzalez will consider several New Testament passages that reveal to us Christ’s present ministry. Let us listen as he points out that the Lord Jesus Christ is:

• Ruling from His Heavenly Throne
• Dire...

Each Christian has a personal ministry, and many people exercise that ministry in the context of a local church. You're a Bible study leader, do evangelism visitation, volunteer with children or youth, or you’re a choir member. Beware of Satan's greatest tool -- discouragement.  He wants us to become weary in well doing. Our greatest weapon is faith in the specific promises God has given us.

Deuteronomy 1:21 we read, “See, the LORD...

GALATIANS EXPOSITORY SERIES

Paul's obsession with the cross was strange for two reasons. First, he refused to live for any of the things that people normally live for. He did not boast about his popularity, intellect, influence, appearance, income, or performance. Nor did he boast about his circumcision. Second, what Paul was willing to boast about was even stranger: the cross of Christ. Christians are used to thinking about the ...

GALATIANS EXPOSITORY SERIES

It must have been a dramatic moment. The Galatian church had gathered for the public reading of a letter from none other than Paul. As the letter ended, they heard these words: See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand (Gal. 6:11).

What had probably happened was this: According to his usual custom, Paul had dictated most of this epistle to his secretary. But he finished the docum...

GALATIANS EXPOSITORY SERIES

Do you remember the first time you observed a seed sprouting in a glass jar? It is a fascinating law of creation, governed by God's providence. God has also created seed so that whatever type of seed planted, that is the plant that will grow and bear fruit. You do not pick grapes from a thorn bush; you pick grapes from a grape vine. Scripture is full of figures of speech, similes and metaphors based on...

GALATIANS EXPOSITORY SERIES

We learn by example; we copy things that we see. This is also true for developing spiritually. We call this biblical principle, modelling.

Paul often gave examples to illustrate the principles that he had imparted. In today’s text, Paul exhorts us to live in holiness and in harmony, as we serve one another in love. He concludes the exhortation by relating walking in the Spirit to how we treat one anoth...

GALATIANS EXPOSITORY SERIES

The Holy Spirit does not produce fruit in the Christian life without our cooperation. There are two things every Christian must do to remain fruitful. First, mortification, the putting to death the sinful nature and vivification, the coming to life of the regenerate nature. We find the death of our own sinful nature in the death of Christ, through what J. I. Packer calls "cocrucifixion with Jesus Chris...

GALATIANS EXPOSITORY SERIES

What is spirituality? Who is spiritual? Is it accomplished by legalistic conformity to the Mosaic law? What part does the Holy Spirit have? The self?

In Galatians 5:16-18, Paul explains the nature of spirituality. Verse 16 its command, Walk by the Spirit. In the first part of the verse, Paul defines the command; in the second part, he explains the result, …and you will not carry out the desire of the f...

GALATIANS EXPOSITORY SERIES

Just as justification is not possible through the efforts of self, so sanctification cannot be achieved through one's own energy either. Both come from the provision and power of God.

The basic meaning of "sanctify" is "to set apart."

One of the four stages within the biblical concept of sanctification is Progressive Sanctification. It’s that work of the triune God whereby He sets apart the Christian ...

GALATIANS EXPOSITORY SERIES

The Judaizers charged that Paul’s teaching would lead the Galatians into lawlessness. Paul countered that the false teachers wanted to replace one expression of legalistic bondage for another. Who was right? In this section Paul argued that a proper apprehension of the doctrine of justification by grace through faith alone would lead to a life of spiritual freedom and holy love.

In 5:1 Paul wrote, Chri...

GALATIANS EXPOSITORY SERIES

The Judaizers charged that Paul’s teaching would lead the Galatians into lawlessness. Paul countered that the false teachers wanted to replace one expression of legalistic bondage for another. Who was right? In this section Paul argued that a proper apprehension of the doctrine of justification by grace through faith alone would lead to a life of spiritual freedom and holy love.

Paul writes, Christ has...

GALATIANS EXPOSITORY SERIES

Paul effectively used a double approach to warn the Galatians about the dangers of Judaizing legalism. The first was personal and subjective (4:12-20), and the second was objective and historical (4:21-31).

The characters and events of the OT have often been used as illustrations of NT principles. For instance, the Passover lamb was a type of Christ in His sacrificial death (1 Cor. 5:7). The essence of...

GALATIANS EXPOSITORY SERIES

In this section Paul effectively used a double approach to warn the Galatians about the dangers of Judaizing legalism. The first was personal and subjective (4:12-20), and the second was objective and historical (4:21-31).

In verses 12 through 20, the direct address brothers, served to catch their attention. They were genuine brothers and sisters within the family of God, but the Judaizing teachers, ha...

GALATIANS EXPOSITORY SERIES

Although regeneration changed the spiritual position of a slave, it did not eliminate his social status. He was still a slave. Many NT epistles provided valuable counsel for the converted servants and slave owners. For example, Paul encouraged Philemon to receive the recently saved Onesimus no longer as a slave, but more than a slave—as a dearly loved brother... (Philemon v. 16).

The cultural backgroun...

GALATIANS EXPOSITORY SERIES

 In cultures that practiced slavery, there were obvious differences between the one who served and the master, between the son of a slave and the son of a slave owner. Although the servant may have possessed greater physical strength and innate intelligence than that of the owner's son, the servant was still regarded as an inferior person. The servant was under orders to obey, and the son was free to e...

GALATIANS EXPOSITORY SERIES

This major section begins with the rhetorical question: Why then was the law given? (3:19). In verse 19-25, Paul explained the purpose of God giving the law to Moses and to Israel. In the remaining verses of chapter 3, Paul explains the believer’s position under faith.  He tells us that when a person was under the works of the law, he soon found himself to be under the curse and under sin. Now Paul wan...