What does the Christian life look like? Last week we began the book of Romans, and we saw the Apostle Paul's calling--and our calling--is to be set apart for Christ and his gospel. But what does that mean practically? We'll see in this week's passage that believing the gospel should motivate us to share this good news with others.
Why do you pray? What do you pray about? In our passage this Sunday, the Apostle Paul says that if we want to make the gospel a priority, we need to make prayer a priority. We'll see not only the priority of prayer but the purpose of it for the church.
How do we keep ourselves from drifting away from the gospel like the Ephesian church? By cultivating a personal thankfulness for God's amazing grace in our own lives. Paul models this for us in our passage this Sunday as a fuel for Timothy's good fight for the faith in his own life and in the church.
God’s word for us this week shows that a huge battle rages within every Christian, and it exhorts us to obedience with a list of “do’s” and “don’ts.” Yet truthfully, it seems impossible to “keep in step with the Spirit” and live out the fruit of the Spirit all the time, or even some of the time! So how are we actually supposed to live a life of Gospel Character? The answer is that yes, it’s about the fruit, but it’s also about the root — the “desires” of our hearts.
In today's passage, we see that religion enslaves just as much as irreligion. It's not about what you do or don't do; it's about who you know (and who knows you). And we'll see from the Apostle Paul's example that this truth shouldn't just impact our own lives personally, but also the way we serve and minister to other Christians and non-Christians around us.
In the first chapter of Galatians, Paul has begun to build a very compelling case for why we must not distort the true gospel message. Here in chapter 2, he goes to great lengths to ensure that the integrity of the gospel remains intact. Why? For you and me!
